Gen Three- Chapter Nine

The fact that the air brushing against my cheeks and slowly knotting my hair as I zoomed back and forth on the swing wasn't cold pounded my chest with a lively excitement. Back when I was young, well- younger, I hadn't gotten why spring was the reason why people bothered so much more with cleaning and the start of large projects. Now I got it. The feeling of invigoration after the snows had passed and one could go outside without suffocating layers of clothes made one want to actually do stuff. For example, mom, dad, Gilly, and I were outside having a blast being silly as mom and dad did their best to push my sister and I at a matching pace while just a month ago we all lazed about in bed as long as we could hardly wanting to get up to make a cup of hot chocolate.

     "You're pushing too fast." dad complained with a large grin as Gilly and I began to go out of sync.

     "You're going too slow." mom rebuked back.

     "I'm going slower so you don't tire yourself out by trying to match me."

     "You calling me weak, Vivid?"

Gilly and I laughed. We found it amusing that mom used dad's last name to call him out during their playful bantering even if it had been her last name too for over a decade now.

Those two kept up the loving teasing, taking more and more ridiculous digs into the other over increasing random topics. Gilly and I just enjoyed the easy swinging. I especially enjoyed the freedom. My parents had loosened their restrictions on me somewhat after Christmas break ended, but I remained grounded long past the new year. I mean, two weeks was way shorter than the grounding I got for going shopping without permission. There was no way I was going to get anything less than that for doing something way worse. With my punishment fully over just a few weeks ago, I took in every opportunity to get the most I could out of life.

     "Is there anyone you want to invite to the dance?" dad asked when I swung back closer to him.

Which was exactly why I was going to our school's spring dance even though I wasn't super interested in it.

     "Nope. I don't care about that kind of stuff. I just want to go there and eat all the cookies I can." I responded back, awkwardly pausing when I went too far forward and continuing the sentence when I returned closer.

Grandpa, who teased Gilly and I by standing in front of us just close enough for us to almost touch him when we wiggled our feet forward but just far enough away for us to have no chance of that, smiled at me.

     "You don't even care about getting dressed up all pretty?" he wondered.

     "Nope! It's all about the cookies. The PTA always gets those really good peanut butter ones for these types of events."

     "They are really good," Gilly agreed, "I want a reaaaaly pretty dress though. I think it might be fun to invite someone too."

     "Have anyone in mind?" Grandpa asked.

     "Not yet, no."

Grandpa, mom, and dad didn't press the matter forward. They, however, didn't catch onto the fact that Gilly lied. I could read my twin perfectly well though. I'm sure Gilly could have hid her interest from me if she seriously tried, but this time around I definitely caught her. There was also the suspicion that she might have wanted me to approach her. I mean, she basically blurted it all out the second I cornered her alone in our room.

     "So, who is it that you want to ask to the dance? I know you do have someone in mind." I asked curiously.
     "That's the problem, I have too many people I want to ask." Gilly instantly pouted.
     "Um, you know this is our first coupley kind of dance, right? We're not talking about asking friends who want to come."
     "I know that," Gilly professed, "The truth is, I've kinda liked two people for a while. I'm not sure who I should go for. Even if I went with one, I'd still want to be with the other as well."
     "You've gotten mature since we turned eleven, huh?" I teased briefly before continuing on, "Who are these two people you want to ask then?"
     "The first one is Pyre..."

I thought and nodded. He was someone in our grade in one of the other classes. Yellow skinned, orange haired, and red eyed, he was known for being quite nice and easy to get along with.

     "Who's the other person?" I prompted.
     "I don't want to say." Gilly denied, shaking her head and looking almost somber.
     "Is he one of our grade's bad boys or something?"
     "No, nothing like that. It's just that...I don't think my request would be well met if I asked. I think it would end up making things weird."
     "How so?"

Gilly merely pouted deeper and shook her head.

     "I really just don't want to say. And, you know, I think I'll just go ahead and ask Pyre. That's the simplest way to deal with this."
     "Hmm, okay. You can talk to me more about it if you want to though." I accepted uncertainly, not wanting to push my sister after all she'd done for me during the winter months and how much I'd put her through.
     "Of course. Right now, I'm think I'm just going to get some juice. Want any?"
     "I'll come with. Juice sounds great right about now."

However, not even Gilly and I deciding to swipe all the remaining juice boxes from the fridge and gorging ourselves with them up in our room only to hide wide smiles when both Ember and Merlot complained later about how they thought we had some left made me forget that crucial conversation with my sister. I didn't understand why Gilly was so tentative about asking that second person she kinda liked. What I could tell was that it continued to bother her greatly. Even after several days passed and many opportunities to ask Pyre to the dance came and went, my sister did nothing with either person. Realizing the conflict prevented her from acting, I grew determined to help Gilly out.

Reasoning that the sneaking around I was beginning to do again was acceptable this time because I wasn't really telling and lies or doing stuff I wasn't supposed to, my task first began with listening in on Gilly's conversations when possible about potential clues.

My sister and I shared a lot of the same friends, but we each had different people we were closer to than others. Gilly often hung out with Auburn, Ray, and Confetti. They were her best friends after Apple and me. One rainy afternoon after classes ended, I cast my attention towards their conversation that seemed at first to be helpful.

     "Ugh, you don't want to ask anyone either, Auburn?" Confetti sighed in slight desperation.
     "I don't want to go to the dance with a boy. I'd rather just go with us as a group of friends like normal."
     "Me too. My sister dates, and it looks like fun. Boys our age don't make good boyfriends though." Ray added.
     "Boyfriends? Like any of our parents would let us date to begin with," Confetti pointed out, "I don't care about that right now anyway. Still, this is our first big chance to give it a little go. There has to be someone you both kinda like."
     "Not really." Ray shrugged.
     "I like pizza more than I like boys." Auburn replied.
     "Pizza is really good." Gilly smiled.

My ears perked up as the talking continued, and I slowed placing my things inside my backpack.

     "You like Pyre more than you like pizza though. How did asking him go?" Ray wondered.
     "I didn't do it..." Gilly mumbled.
     "Again? I thought you said you refused to go home today unless you did?" Auburn pressed.
     "I know, but every time I get my chance I can't help but to let it pass by. I just don't know if I should ask him or not."
     "Do you want one of us to ask him for you?" Confetti proposed.
     "No, how lame would that be? Thanks though."
     "Well, you're always welcome to come with Auburn and me. You too, Confetti. Unless you're going to get a move on and ask that person you say you want to ask." Ray said.
     "I'm waiting to see if they've already got someone they're going with first before I ask. I haven't been able to confirm it yet." Confetti explained with determination.

Frustratingly, the topic went in a different direction after that. Not that I was overly surprised that I didn't get any helpful information. It didn't seem as if Gilly had even told her other friends there were two people she liked. If she wouldn't tell me about the second person, there was no way she would just blab out the secret in a quiet classroom with several other people around who could easily hear her. It was then that I understood I had to be more hands on. Gilly didn't want anyone to ask Pyre for her, but what if I could subtly encourage Pyre to ask her? It sounded like a genius plan to me.

By the time I found Pyre with two classmates in our grade, it seemed less like the most brilliant idea. It got rid of one of Gilly's dilemmas while leaving one remaining. She would still want to go with that other person. I frowned as I subtly watched Pyre have fun enthusiastically talking to his friends. He was super nice and likeable. Who else could Gilly be just as into?

I got a big clue the next day. One could say I basically got my answer. With our history class having a large project coming up soon, our history teacher had turned one of our classes each week into a study period. We could work on our projects in the classroom or look up references in the library. My project was basically done, so I thought I would just chill out with Apple in the classroom as she'd completely finished hers. Then I saw Gilly heading to the library with another boy from our class, Rain. My teacher allowed me to leave as well, and there I saw them sitting at one of the tables in the room.

Thankfully, Gilly at facing away from me. I never would have been able to get close otherwise. Rain didn't pay me any attention as I slid myself into the aisle behind my sister, and I did my best to pretend to be looking for a book as I thrust all my energy into catching every word the two spoke.

     "Really? It's been so long and I never knew that..." Gilly spoke in amazement, which was the first thing I properly heard.
     "I know, right? It's amazing how much you can not realize even after so much time. Although, it's not like it's talked about that much though. I'd be more surprised if you had been aware of it."
     "Thanks for telling me though. I really wasn't sure what I was going to do. Rain, you've seriously been such a big help."

My interest piqued as I studied my sister's voice. I had no clue what they were talking about, naturally, but something about Gilly's tone seemed nervous. An excited, happy kind of nervous. The kind of emotion one might experience when interacting with someone that person liked.

     "W-Would you mind if I sat with you tomorrow at lunch? That way you could keep telling me more? I don't think today is going to be enough." she requested, that tone growing in strength.
     "Of course. I think that'd be really fun."

I cursed myself at waiting too long to ask to go to the library. I seemed to keep catching the end of conversations. Gilly and Rain broke apart saying they both needed to work on their project, and it didn't take long for Gilly to spot me. She thought nothing of me being there, luckily, and the rest of that class was spent doing actual work. I probably could have gotten it all done, but my whirring mind placed before me another route to follow on my quest to solve my sister's problem. I didn't know Rain all that well, but I did know he loved history.

     "Hey, Rain." I called to him, catching up after school was done for the day.
     "Oh hey, Dianthus."
     "You can just call me Dia," I smiled, "I know this is kind of sudden, but I was wondering if you might help me with something."
     "What do you need help with? I can't wait around for too long or I'll miss my bus, but I'll gladly try to do what I can." he wondered.

I kept my smile the same on the outside, but smiled wider on the inside and started up a mental tally. With that kind of offer, Rain definitely really put himself equal with Pyre in terms of overall niceness.

     "That's okay, I don't mean to keep you late today. I was just wondering if you might help me go over my history project. I'm almost done with it, and I would like a second pair of eyes to make sure everything's right. Would it be possible to meet up in one of the study rooms tomorrow after school? I'm not sure how much help I would be, but I could look over yours as well."

Rain beamed, and I made another mental mark that he could be pretty cute.

     "That sounds like a great idea to me. I was actually thinking of asking around to see if anyone would help me put my presentation together. I've done all the real work, but I still have to do the display board. I've kinda got this pet peeve about getting fingers all gluey and stuff like that." he revealed with an amused, sheepish grin.
     "I'm not super artistic, but I don't mind my fingers getting gluey. I actually think it's fun to pull it off. I'll totally help you with your board." I agreed eagerly.
     "Thanks. I was worried I wouldn't get it done before the weekend. Now I can go camping without having to think about it."
     "You're going camping?"
     "Yeah, with my parents and siblings. We like to go at least a few times each season, except winter, of course."
     "You know, Gilly really likes camping too. She's part of this camping club for girls that goes out a few times each season as well."
     "Really? I didn't know that. Maybe I'll ask my parents to see if they wouldn't mind bringing her along. It's more fun with more people."
     "Sounds great!" I grinned, extremely pleased with myself.
     "Would you want to come?" Rain then asked.
     "Eh heh, no, not really," I chuckled sheepishly now myself, "Gilly and I are opposites like that. I hate camping."
     "I see." Rain smiled.

I didn't hate camping that much, but it really wasn't my thing. Besides, this was the perfect chance for Rain and Gilly to really get some good time together in. Bonding over something they both enjoyed was a fast way to bring them closer. That's what I heard was good for relationships anyway. As the afternoon progressed, I contemplated over whether to hint to Gilly of what was coming. I decided not to in the end. Both Apple and Timber were over, and I wanted Rain's offer to really surprise her. I bet she would be so happy.

     "Oh, mom?" I called over my shoulder at the end of a race where we laughed watching the ridiculous highlights.
     "Yes?" she answered back from the kitchen.
     "Do you think I could stay after school a bit tomorrow? Rain and I agreed we would help finish up each other's history projects."
     "Who's Rain again?" mom wondered.
     "He's just a boy in our class." Gilly replied for me.

Her words made me more confident I'd made the right choice. Here Gilly was trying to pass him off as if he was no big deal to mask her true feelings.

     "That sounds fine to me, as long as you-"
     "Don't go sneaking off, I know." I sighed, and Timber gave me a pat on the back.
     "Dad won't let me forget for a second either." he said quietly near my ear.

The study rooms were full as everyone seemed to want to work on their various projects from their classes, so Rain and I ended up in the library the following afternoon. We decided to work on more research for my project first, because, as Rain declared, it was dull, uninspired, and too by-the-book. He said our teacher would most likely take off points for it basically just being a copy of the texts I'd used even if though I had tried to write it all my own way. He showed me more varied sources rather than the ones I'd used, which were just the first ones that had popped up in my catalog search. My heart sunk at the thought of having to do so much over again, but it sunk more when I heard what Rain had to tell me.

     "Oh yeah, what did Gilly say about the camping trip?" I asked to know, purposely waiting quite a while into our study session to throw off any suspicions of me being too concerned about the matter.
     "She said she didn't want to come." Rain said simply, flipping to the next page in his book.

I closed mine and frowned slightly. That wasn't what I'd expected at all.

     "Really?" I questioned.
     "Yeah, she said she already had plans with Confetti."
     "Oh, I'm sorry. She hadn't told me she was busy."
     "It's fine. It was a last second offer anyway. Besides, I think Confetti and Gilly hanging out is the better option in this case."
     "Why is that?" I wondered in confusion.
     "Oh, you know, reasons." Rain smiled a suspicious grin I wasn't sure how to handle.
     "What kind of answer is that?" I prompted.
     "It's my answer," Rain replied jovially, "Now, pick up your book. I'm not going to let you leave until your presentation brings the class to moved tears."
     "You're a lot stricter than expected." I mock pouted.
     "I take history very seriously. You came to the wrong person for help." Rain joked, pretending to fiddle with a pair of invisible glasses.

Due to Rain ruining the project I'd worked so hard on by making it better, we needed way more than that one afternoon to get things done. Mom and Dad grew ever so slightly suspicious when I kept on requesting to meet up with him, but they had the teachers and librarians confirm we were doing what we were supposed to where we were supposed to. That stopped further complaints or probing questions on their part. It also allowed Rain and I had to have a smidge more fun when we decided we'd done enough work and had time to kill before it was time to leave. The old elementary had a small garden to teach the kids more about nature, so when the new elementary had been built they went ahead and built a much larger garden for us to tend to. There were fruit trees, grapes, tomato plants, and so on. One day when the endless rain finally stopped and the sun came out, Rain and I made our way out there to splash in the puddles and enjoy to heat of the rays streaming down.

In all honesty, I forgot for a time my real intentions. I had just wanted to talk to Rain for an afternoon to make sure he was the one Gilly liked as well as to determine if he was acceptable enough for my sister. I could have said no to changing around my project, but two weeks later there I was with probably the most impressive collection of facts I'd ever put together while Rain stood proudly with his carefully crafted display board that would make one think we did have artistic abilities. When there was no longer that reason to keep meeting up, I panicked slightly. The dance was right around the corner, and Gilly still hadn't worked up the courage to ask either boy out. I worked hard to give her a chance to make her decision on who she might be alright going with. Gilly, Auburn, Confetti, and I stood talking in the lounge corner near the garden, and when I spotted both Pyre and Rain nearby I knew I had to call them over.

     "No matter how unfortunate it was what had happened to their ancestors, it didn't excuse the actions they took in hurting innocent people." Pyre carried on his point in the light debate he had with Gilly.

I sighed when the topic had turned to our history projects. Both Gilly and Pyre had chosen to pick some old, ancient civilization that had come about by the killing of the local people and how the conquering civilization had been split into two countries when the original people started a huge war to take back as much of their land as possible. Gilly and Pyre, however, had different opinions on who was right and who was wrong.

     "I think it was horrible what they did, but what other options did they have? It was fight back or be destroyed entirely. They tried to secure some land for themselves peacefully, but that just led to them being bullied even harder." Gilly offered.
     "True, but then they went on to found their country as if they'd done nothing wrong. They were more cruel to their victims than their conquerors ever were to them. They actually tortured people. They opened their country as a safe haven for those being oppressed while keeping hundreds of captives locked up underground, forcing them to fight each other and eat each other to live. It was proven to be that way, and they still deny it to this day."
     "You're both right," Rain went ahead and said when Gilly looked to him for help, "Both sides did terrible things. The people of Tamana shouldn't have stolen the Havfla's land and suppressed their people, and the Havfla people went too far in their retaliation. It would make more sense for the modern day Havfla to just go ahead and admit the torture that went on since everyone knows about it, but this happened 1,500 years ago. Anyone living their today is just as innocent in it as we are. Both countries have moved too far past it to really be affected by the situation in any way anymore. Besides, every country has blood on its hands. Everyone's dominated someone at some point. Give it several more hundred years, and humanity will probably be united as we fight off the shackle of our alien overlords."

We all laughed, and Pyre and Gilly both accepted his words with ease. They agreed to let their points have their own merits, and we all moved on from talking about war and torture to typical sixth grade nonsense like which class had made the best quilt blanket in home economics.

I kept the conversation in the back of my mind though. It had helped me decided at least who I should recommend to my sister as a potential date. I went back to the classroom with Auburn as we collected our things for the day, and I smiled the whole way home. Gilly shook her head at me for my weird state. I could barely make it through our afternoon snack and homework without bursting out in excitement. Gilly gave me a strange look when I immediately approached her the second our bedroom door closed.

     "I've figured it out." I began gleefully.
     "Figured what out?" Gilly wondered.
     "Who would be a better fit for you to take to the dance." I revealed dramatically.
     "Uh, Dia, I-"
     "I do have to apologize a bit. When you were reluctant to tell me who the second person is, I couldn't help but to do some thinking as to who it was. I figured it out in the end."
     "You did?" Gilly asked in suspicious curiosity.
     "Uh-huh, and I've been watching for a while to see who you would have more fun with. Between Pyre and Rain, I think you should definitely ask Rain." I declared proudly.

Gilly stared at me in bewildered confusion.

     "Rain? Why on earth would I ask him?" she questioned in a way that quickly wore down my confidence.
     "Well, he's the other person you like, right? I've gotten to know him pretty well over these past weeks. You and him have so much more in common than you and Pyre. I think your overall personalities line up better too."
     "Um, Dia, but, but I've never liked him. I think you got mistaken somewhere."
     "What?"

It was my turn to wear that expression of bewildered confusion.

     "But I heard you two talking in the library. You sounded nervous around him, like you were trying to hide like you liked him. You've never really hung out with him before either. It seemed to be as if you were trying to keep it secret so no one suspected you did have a crush." I explained.
     "I was nervous talking to him because I was asking him about the other person I like. They're good friends, so Rain gave me advice on what to do."
     "Oh. I...oh." I mumbled.

Well, I felt pretty silly. So much for my excellent detective skills. Gilly smiled and patted me on the shoulder.

     "I appreciate the effort in you trying to help me though. It...I'm sorry, Dia, it didn't really do anything," she chuckled quietly, "But I do appreciate it. To tell you the truth, what I tried to say a moment ago- I actually worked up the courage to ask out both people today."
     "What? When?" I asked instantly.
     "When you and Auburn went to get your things."
     "So you asked Pyre, but who is the second person then?"

Gilly hesitated. She wriggled nervously, but didn't hold back the crucial information for too much longer.

     "It's Confetti." she admitted
     "Confetti?" I remarked in amazement, "Wow, that's a surprise. Everything makes sense now though. About why you were nervous to ask after you've been just friends for years, why you went to hang out with her instead of Rain, why Rain teased me that you two were better off spending time together. I really missed all the obvious signs. Oh well. What did she say? What did Pyre say when you asked him?"
     "I asked them both as the same time. With you and Auburn gone, Rain was nice enough to walk away to make it us three. I went ahead and admitted that I both liked them a little and that I wanted to go with the dance with both of them."

Frustratingly, Gilly really paused long there. The worst part was that I knew she waited purposely to get me riled up in anticipation. About to get really antsy from expectation, she finally laughed and took pity on me.

     "We all agreed to go together. I'd already been hinting to Confetti that I liked her a bit, and both she and Pyre thought each other were cute too. We're just working off of that right now and not treating it as any big deal."
     "That's so incredible," I gushed, "And lucky too. I don't think it works out like that too often. Good for you too. At this point, you'll probably have all the school wanting to date you by the end of the year."
     "Not the whole school," Gilly laughed, and her tone turned teasing, "I know at least one boy who would perhaps turn to my younger twin sister instead."
     "I'm not interested in Timber." I sighed loudly.
     "I'm not talking about Timber." Gilly rolled her eyes.
     "Then who?"
     "Please tell me you're joking."

I couldn't tell her I was joking because I wasn't. When Gilly figured that out, she clasped both my shoulders and stared at me intently with an amused seriousness.

     "Dianthus Vivid, I cannot believe how dense you can be sometimes. It's really ridiculous. But whatever. I'm going to get some juice."
     "I want some too!" I said, hurrying in her footsteps as she moved to leave the room.
     "Of course you do." Gilly kept on laughing.

Throughout the rest of that day, Gilly kept on giving me these loving, smirking glances as if they'd somehow helped me out. I ignored her. She knew I wasn't interested in coupley type things, so she was probably simply teasing me. Little did I know how truly dense I was. The next day came around, and I thought nothing of it when Rain approached me. The only thing that came into my mind was the question of whether he still had something to discuss about our projects.

     "Hi, Dia. Do you mind if I ask you something really quick? I was going to ask it yesterday, but I wanted to make sure your sister got through asking Confetti and Pyre to the dance first."
     "Sure. What is it?"
     "Since Gilly's going to the dance, I assume you're going too."
     "Yeah. I'll probably end up hanging out with Apple there since Gilly's going to be busy dealing with two dates." I laughed softly.
     "No one's asked you then," Rain said, and it was so optimistic that reality started to hit my dull brain, "I was wondering if you might want to come with me then, although I do know I am asking a little last minute..."

Had I seriously been that stupid? No wonder Gilly had been smirking at me so much.

     "Thanks for asking me, Rain, but I don't...really like you like that?" I started with incredible trepidation, "I mean, I like you, but-"
     "Oh, no, I meant just as friends! Just as friends," Rain hurriedly corrected, "Confetti was the only female friend I had before, and with Gilly snatching her up I wasn't looking forward to going anymore because none of my male friends are interested in going in the first place. I didn't want to stick out and be by myself. Then you and I started hanging out, and I thought it would be fun for us to pair up just to hang out, be entertained watching everyone fail to remember the ballroom dancing they've been teaching us in gym, and swipe as many of the peanut butter cookies from the dessert table as possible."
     "Swiping the peanut butter cookies sealed the deal, but the rest of that sounds great too. I'd love to go with you." I accepted.
     "Great." Rain beamed.

As I expected though, few other people could accept that Rain and I were going as nothing more than a couple of friends instead of two eleven-year-olds with puppy dog crushes that we refused to admit we had. Both dad and Aunt Mimi were actually the only ones who accepted right away that we were telling the truth. They both got a little irritated that others didn't believe us as they did, but I told them it was fine. I didn't care so much, and no one was being super bothersome about it. In any case, pretending to be that little bit coupley with Rain did help me figure out that I definitely did find the idea of being with someone romantically acceptable. The other stuff though, it still wasn't for me at that point.

The day of the dance came, and I had more fun getting dressed up with Gilly and Apple than anticipated. Pyre, Confetti, and Rain eventually came over, Aunt Rosemary took a thousand pictures for us, and mom might have cried a few tears. Dad drove us all to the school, and, I must say, it was quite the enchanting afternoon.