Two Idiots

"I still can't believe my armpits were sweating through my dress! Fuck, just kill me now!" An agitated Ambrosia cursed, hands trembling as they pitifully tried to cover the wet spots on her upper half.

Terrance was too stunned to speak, gaze locked on the bottle of orange juice his senior ran all the way to the other side of the mall to retrieve. In his hand was his favorite drink, something he offhandedly mentioned to his senior once in a late-night conversation and a beverage Ambrosia had been spoiling him with ever since.

He felt like he was ascending to a different plane of reality entirely. Gratitude wasn't enough to describe it, he felt like he could be strangled by his own internal organs from how touched he felt by the gesture. Ambrosia, who so often thought of what other people would think about her outer appearance like most teenage girls, risked being in a compromising state to bring him his comfort drink. And all for a coughing fit.

He would've apologized again, but his senior already refuted his previous attempts with an embarrassed grin and statements similar to, "Don't worry. I would do it again to see you smile like that."

Was this girl trying to lead him on or kill him? Either way, Ambrosia would be successful in her efforts.

"It's okay. It happens to everyone sometimes." Lucy tried reassuring her friend while Terrance stayed stuck in his state of absolute speechlessness. Rose continued to kick her feet as she refused to hear her equally rambunctious friend's dismissal of her embarrassment, her mini-tantrum nearing its climax.

"That's easy for you to say, Ms. Hot Girl Breakdown! You look so gorgeous with your red hair, meanwhile, I look like an unhygienic gym rat!"

Lucy fanned her hand on her face jokingly, "You flatter me, babe, but seriously, you can barely even see it from afar, right Terr—?"

The redhead turned to acknowledge their silent companion, but before she could meet his eyes, they'd already been staring straight into Ambrosia's, jacket gently set atop of her shoulders. He opened his mouth and out in a gentle whisper, Lucy could vaguely make out, "Don't be embarrassed. You're beautiful."

Her friend, on the other hand, didn't look as calm and collected, voice shaking as she felt around the jacket now covering where she had been sweating. "Y— you made my heart skip a beat there, Terr! Keep it up and Felicity's gonna be all over you in no time!"

Lucy watched as her junior's face contorted into one of unmistakable hurt. She felt sympathetic to the boy stuck in an unrequited love, with someone who was as dense as a rock nonetheless, but she knew it in herself that Ambrosia was close to cracking and it was only a matter of time before their desires would align.

The way Rose cared was a reflection of true selflessness. She was a good friend, a great friend, but something about the way she especially pampered the junior told Lucy that it wasn't just her usual friendly treatment. She'd just been deluded by the charms of the academy's most beloved scholar.

With the realization that Ambrosia could be wasting the romance of a lifetime for a manipulative scum like Hugh, Lucy was then determined to play matchmaker and avoid the unfortunate outcome.

She watched Ambrosia squeeze Terrance's cheeks between her fingers— it wouldn't be so difficult. The two just needed a push and if it came to it, a shove.

--

They spent the entire day skipping from store to store, searching for something to buy Hugh. Terrance witnessed the girls agitate over wallets, sweaters, leather shoes, and laugh over rather inappropriate displays in stores that shouldn't have allowed three underaged students to enter.

By the end of it, Ambrosia left the store with nothing, the staff urging them to leave the establishment as the sunset bled into an intoxicating orange. Whenever Lucy proposed to mindlessly purchase something, his favorite senior reminded her friend that the money in her pockets was her own, an amount she had worked for and saved up on to give Hugh something meaningful on his birthday.

Ambrosia lamented the fact that she knew nearly nothing about Hugh, her hair basically tussled from the amount of times she'd grab on the dark strands out of frustration. Even as she looked back to the many times she broke into his dorm room and indulged herself with his belongings, she couldn't quite pinpoint anything he liked except for academic books.

She was defeated, pounding her hand against the ground right after they were kicked out for the Mall's early closing. It didn't help that she could practically feel Lucy and Terrance's pitying stares burning holes into her back.

The sound of the Mall's speakers rang against her ears. She listened as an announcement highlighted the official closing coming up in five minutes. Her ears perked up, her knees immediately leaving the cemented pavement as she bounced to her feet.

Her junior and redhead friend's eyes were wide when she ran back inside the mall, yelling, "Wait here! I'll be back!" practically sprinting.

Terrance was about to follow suit, his worries getting the best of him, when Lucy's hand came in contact with his chest, firmly halting his steps.

"We still have plans to discuss."

He sighed. "Which plans do you mean?"

"The Hugh problem."

Terrance's eyes narrowed. Now that he was in a state of distress, no longer overwhelmed by confusing feelings, he could better make out her suspicious behavior. "I do wonder, what is it to you? I'm sure Ambrosia is an important person in your life, but from the knowledge I've acquired, friends don't usually tamper this far in their friends' affairs, do they?"

"You really want to know, huh?"

His expression remained stern under the challenge of her eyes. It was as if an immovable force met the blazing fires of hell itself.

"I do. That is why I'm asking."

Lucy snickered. "You're much more bearable when Ambrosia is around, snake eyes."

"Trust me, I am aware."

"Hmph. You're lucky I'm rooting for you. But anyway, the reason why I'm so eager is because me and Hugh dated around for a while and I've been trying to warn Rose about him. She's too blinded by his undeniably hot ass to listen though."

Terrance's eyes widened, curiosity successfully captured by Lucy's mention of a previous relationship with the subject of his hatred. "Ha. So the things you say aren't just baseless rumors."

"Of course, they aren't, have you met me?"

There was a long silence before he answered. "That's exactly why I can't trust you."

"Do you want some insider information or what? You're starting to get on my nerves." Lucy remarked, struggling to stop herself from rolling her eyes.

At the threat, he was quick to revive his previous persona, realizing that his brash approach might've been too risky. It was chilling how different he was as a person when smiling, Lucy almost flinched from how unrecognizable her junior became in a split second, nothing but feigned pleasantries reflecting in those dark grays.

"I apologize, senior. I need your assistance quite badly, I hope you are aware of that."

The grin that stretched on her face was nothing short of devilish. Two could play that game. "Of course, my junior."

Thus, the scheming began, and as Ambrosia ran back towards the extremely eye-catching figures she called her friends, she remained completely clueless to the information they shared, a look of contemplation reflecting on both their faces.

Lucy eyed the small bag hidden behind Ambrosia's hands, catching a peek of a familiar logo, and took it as her cue to leave.

"See you, nerds!" The eccentric redhead mused before practically skipping away from the two. Ambrosia didn't spare another second, moving her gaze from her best friend's back to her junior's flushed face. He wasn't sure what they discussed, but he was sure Lucy had roughed him up if he looked like that.

"Senior... Were you able to find a gift for Hugh?"

She gave him an angelic smile, one that would forever engrave itself into his stored memories, and he struggled to return it, stumbling with his face's functions and parts, brain much too gagged to comprehend the current events.

"No, unfortunately not, but I was able to spend the last of my money on something meaningful..."

Ambrosia removed the bag in her hands from hiding, a small, white shopping bag dangling from her fingers. His eyes widened, realizing that she had returned to the store she had dragged him to before. He reached for the bag, hesitation in his every move, unsure of whether it was for him.

When she pushed it into his hands, his doubts vanished.

He opened the bag, a gasp leaving his mouth when the keychain his eyes were drawn to before greeted him. It was a character from his favorite horror novel— their favorite horror novel, a staple in their relationship as their bond was still in its early stages of development.

"I'm still pretty sad about not being able to buy Hugh anything, but I thought, at the very least, you deserved to have this..."

The prodigy didn't know what to say, his breath coming out in short puffs. Quickly, his hand dipped into his pants' pocket, retrieving the same keychain, one he had bought for Ambrosia when she ran out of the store in a rush.

"I— I got you this too." He admitted rather shyly, hand carefully grazing Rose's as he passed the keychain, a delighted grin spreading on her face.

"That's— that's really..." Ambrosia stuttered out, looking like she was on the verge of tears before bursting into a carefree giggle, the sound music to Terrance's ears. "God. I'm so happy right now. This is a really good way to end a bad day."

"I wouldn't call it bad." He shrugged.

"You're right." She leaned towards him, tugging at his arm as they headed towards a car Terrance recognized as the Decker family's, her driver greeting them with a tender smile. "You made it a lot better than it could've been."

They entered the car, soft jazz music immediately filling their surroundings as they sat opposite to each other. Terrance could've sworn his soul left his body momentarily to reach the edge of the universe when he witnessed Rose attach the keychain, his keychain to her phone case. He wasted no time repeating the gesture, the sun casting a soothing glow over their two bodies as it bid its last goodbye for the day.

He felt like they were destined to have that moment, eyes locked on each other as the night intruded the windows, giddy smiles being thrown from both sides.

Terrance didn't know who started it, but before he was aware of the sounds leaving his mouth, he and Ambrosia were already laughing quite freely, drowning in endless glee.

After a while, the girl looked up to him, "Was Lucy able to give you any good advice on the whole club culmination week shenanigans?"

He nodded, preparing himself to answer with a half-truth, "She was able to give me rather valuable information."