Perfect Caina

four

Caine and Diana were playing Risk in Caine’s dorm while skipping study hall, when something amazing happened.

“I’m invading Venezuela.” Caine said, like it was the most boring thing on the planet.

“Ha!” Diana laughed. “Good luck with that. That’s where my capital is. I’ve got that thing fortified like the Great Wall of China.”

 

*Five Minutes Later*

 

Diana stared, wide-eyed at the game board. Her mouth fell open in disbelief. “You… You won.”

Caine moaned like he was falling asleep, and looked at the board. His face showed the same expression as Diana’s. Drake looked over and saw the two of them, staring like fish. Then Caine jumped.

“HOLY SHIT! I CAN’T BELIEVE I ACTUALLY DID IT!” He shouted as he ran around the room like a kid on a sugar high rather than a seventeen year old boy. Diana snuck a peek at Drake’s face and saw that he looked more scared than she had ever thought was possible.

As Caine continued to dance around the room, Diana thought about what Caine winning really meant. It meant that she lost. It meant that she wasn’t going to go to her senior prom with her gorgeous boyfriend. She wasn’t going to win prom queen. All of those things she wanted when she was a kid, wouldn’t happen at all. She left without saying a word.

 

Caine walked in to her room a few hours later. “Do you have a dress I could borrow?”

Diana looked at him confused.

“Not for me.” He explained, as he went through her closet. “Drake saw a freshman he’s never beaten up so he’s going to torture the kid until the kid agrees to wear a dress and dance on camera.”

Diana didn’t question it.

“What’s this?” Caine asked as he pulled a black garment bag out of her closet.

“That was going to be my prom dress.” Diana said.

Caine held it out to her. “Put it on.” He said, without looking at her.

“Why?” She asked.

“Because I told you to.” Caine said harshly. This only made Diana more stubborn.

“No.”

“No?”

“You heard me.”

Caine walked up to her and put the hanger in her hand. He smelled amazing, which, for some reason, made Diana even more angry. “Go put it on.” He said slowly.

“No.”

Caine walked back over to the closet and kept looking for a dress, ripping things out now. “I cannot believe you sometimes. It’s just a fucking dress. Why do you have to argue with everything I say?”

“It’s just a dress, Caine, why do you want me to put it on?”

“Because I want to see it.”

“There you go.” Diana said. “That’s a much better answer.”

He scoffed at her. “You are unbelievable.”

“It’s just a fucking dress, Caine! I’ll put the on the fucking dress if that is what you desire, Master.”

Caine didn’t say anything, he just closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and shook his head.

Diana went into the bathroom and put on the dress, muttering the whole time. She came out a few moments later and glared at Caine. She didn’t know what kind of reaction she was hoping to get from him, but she sure didn’t get it. He looked her up and down a couple of times, and nodded. “Thanks.” He said, then she realized he was thanking her for the other dress in his hand. Without another word he walked out.

Diana stood there in disbelief, with her hair in a messy bun and her body squeezed tightly into her five hundred dollar waste of a prom dress. “What the fuck?!” She yelled at no one in particular.

She waited a few seconds before she knocked on the wall three quick times. A moment later there was a knock from the other side, one hard tap. Diana knew that was the code for “Caine isn’t here”. She got changed quickly and walked next door to Caine’s dorm. She opened the door and saw only Drake, as she anticipated. She stormed over to Caine’s dresser and threw all the clothes onto the floor. She sat down on his bed and crossed her arms, her expression one of rage.

“What happened to you?” Drake asked, never having seen Diana so disheveled.

“Is Caine being weird?” She asked him.

“Caine has always been weird, sociopathic, impulsive, and insane. You need to specify.”

“We just got into a stupid fight for no reason because he was being stubborn and mean.” She explained.

Drake didn’t even bother to look up from his phone. “All of your fights are because you guys are being stubborn and mean.”

“Shut up, Merwin. I’m serious.”

“Well,” Said Drake, tossing Diana the dress Caine took. “He did just throw this at my face.”

“Where did he go?” She asked.

“How should I know?” Drake snapped. “He opened the door, threw a dress at me, then left.”

"Hmm." Diana muttered as she walked out the door. She made her way down to the cafeteria, where the majority of people were eating dinner, and scanned for Caine. She didn't see him and kept running. She was so concentrated on finding Caine that she didn't even notice when she bumped into him in the hallway.

“Woah, watch it.” He said as he held her by the shoulders. “Where are you going?”

“I was looking for Dekka.” She lied. Her and Caine had a silent agreement that they never  talked about their fights. It was much easier to pretend things never happened than it was to discuss them, which would probably lead to another fight.

“Who?” Caine asked confused. Diana barely knew who Dekka was, but it was the first name that popped into her head.

“Come on, Caine.” She said sarcastically. “If you are going to rule the school, you might as well know your subjects.” She walked away and left him there, confused in the hall.

Caine stared at her as she turned the corner. He knew exactly what was making her so upset, and it sure as hell wasn’t his attitude. He also knew how to fix it, and that’s what he was going to do. As he walked off towards the courtyard, he pictured her face, with that genuine smile he only saw when she was truly happy. Caine took pride in the fact that he was the only one capable of making her smile like that, and he intended to keep it that way. Which meant he had to do everything to make her happy, before anyone else could get a chance. And that. Caine thought to himself. Is the reason I live.