UD   Yes, I'm very dashing and distracting,

UD   But can you please zip it up already? That's all I need you for.

You present your back to him. Hearing him walk up and peer at the back of your dress makes you feel oddly giddy, though you wear your best serious expression.

CP   I didn't think your school was so classy.

UD   It's not.

UD   All the more reason to put in the effort.

CP   Ah, what better than flaunting your nobility among commonfolk?

CP   Jaddi would be proud.

UD   Uu, you know he's the last person who wants me there.

CP   He'll come around.

CP   I can convince him of worse, you know.

UD   Like you haven't already?

UD   You could talk him into stripping naked and running laps around the mosque.

CP   Aww, you're sweet.

UD   No. It's only because you're a boy.

UD   Boys can do the craziest things and get away with it.

Despite your heated tirade, you're forced to remain still as he aligns the zippers.

CP   You've done plenty of crazy things, Dess.

CP   Good-crazy.

CP   Just because he can't appreciate it -

UD   I don't need his appreciation!

UD   Why would I? He's an old fool.

UD   Mama and Baba only put up with him because they must.

UD   And you only talk to him when you want something.

UD   Even if he was useful, I wouldn't want anything from a man like him, anyway.

Once the zipper makes it all the way to the top, he tickles the back of your neck with his fingers. You slap his hand and step away.

CP   Not to drag up an old argument, but...

CP   There are going to be people like Jaddi in your industry.

CP   And your business will need them, old mannish-ness or not.

CP   You'll have to put on a brave face.

You scowl, crossing your arms.

UD   That's not bravery.

UD   It's just being dishonest.

He shrugs in that strange tilted way.

CP   Still. it doesn't hurt to try?

You roll your eyes and make your way over to the full-length mirror, inspecting your outfit from all angles. It's been repurposed from a rather modest hand-me-down, turned into something with more flowing parts. One could mistake the sleeves for a betta's caudal fins.

You had hoped disengaging from the conversation would beget his departure, but, suddenly, Caspian seems all too interested in lounging on the boudoir sofa. What happened to that ever-so-popular young man swept away with his social escapades? You didn't think he had time these days to bother you.

CP   If I didn't know, Miss Belafonte, I'd think you were trying to impress someone.

You purse your lips shut, though he's already snickering at your expression alone.

CP   I can just imagine it... you, coming on the dance floor like a water goddess,

CP   And him, striding in with his football uniform.

CP   Does your school do prom king and queen? a shame that we don't.

CP   I'd kill for something a little less sophisticated.

UD   This isn't prom.

UD   And that wouldn't happen, anyway.

CP   With your get-up? you're practically fit for a nice little tiara.

UD   It wouldn't happen.

UD   I won't be going with him.

That wipes his smirk off of his face.

CP   What?

UD   His season's over.

UD   I'm... not heartless enough to do that to him while he has his games.

UD   But I'll tell him at the end of the week. I promised myself.

He stands up and starts making his way over.

CP   Shit, Dess.

CP   I'm sorry. if I knew it wasn't going well, I wouldn't have -

UD   It's fine.

UD   I'm fine with it. I've been fine with it for a while.

UD   He'll be better off this way. I know he will.

CP   ...

You refuse to look at him. All you look at is yourself in that mirror.

CP   What happened?

CP   Did he... no, he wouldn't.

CP   Was it some kind of mistake? him not thinking properly?

It's a classic tale. Love makes a young maiden do senseless things. It can fool her into believing that someone truly means their words, their eternal life.

But there is no villain. Just a dream she believed in so deeply that a boy was nearly dragged to its depths with her.

UD   It wasn't anything.

UD   It never was.

UD   That's why it was all wrong.

You squeeze your eyes shut - to block out the sight of his pitying face and to block in the salty water you despise.

UD   I wish I hated him.

UD   It'd be so much easier.

You hear him sighing, placing a hand on your shoulder.

CP   Hey.

UD   ...

CP   You want to hear something funny?

You sniffle.

UD   Not about this.

CP   It was actually going to be about me.

UD   ...

UD   And you're sure it's funny? Not just... Caspian-funny?

CP   I think you know the answer to that.

You heave a big sigh, if anything to compose yourself and stave off the sobs that are creeping up your throat.

UD   What is it, then?

You can feel him smiling at you, and facing him confirms just that. But his eyes swirl with a deep, sad blue.

CP   I'm fresh on the market now, too.

Your hands cover your mouth, barely stifling a gasp.

UD   What...?

UD   Since... since when?

CP   Since about a week.

CP   She did the honors of making it official just today, in fact.

CP   Never one to chicken out. until the end.

UD   How? I thought, you two...

You're too dumbfounded to speak anything but the unfiltered truth.

UD   You looked so happy.

He puts his arm around your shoulder, as if he were the one comforting you.

CP   We were.

CP   I don't think either of us could deny it.

CP   Even so, that doesn't mean the world will bend at our will to make it all work out.

CP   That was our fatal mistake, I think.

CP   Too wrapped up in what made us happy to see what was crumbling around us.

He offers you a wink, though his closed eye glistens. You take your sleeve and pat it dry.

UD   It sounds like it ended amenably.

CP   Oh, don't get me wrong. it was a shitshow.

CP   I'm lucky to have never needed a social empire to rely on.

CP   It's the girls I feel for.

CP   I always thought it'd fall apart one way or another.

CP   Just didn't think it'd get so... messy.

The more he talks about all that goes on in that prestigious academy, the more you grow fond of the mundane theatrics at your school. The worst you have to handle is catty cliques and hot-headed delinquents. Where Caspian goes, both the people and problems ascend to absurd heights.

UD   Make sure you're there for her.

UD   Jun, I mean.

UD   If it's as bad as you're making it sound...

UD   She'll need someone like you.

CP   Phah. it isn't as if we've broken a sacred bond.

CP   We're still... you know. we wouldn't let something like this split us apart.

He laughs weakly.

CP   Doesn't... doesn't make it hurt any less, though.

You lean onto his shoulder, feeling small. Strange, as he seems much smaller as well.

UD   I'm going to stay friends with Michael, too.

UD   I won't let this break us apart.

UD   We're not children. We can move past it.

CP   It'll be hard.

UD   I know.

CP   When you're suddenly swept up, alone, anything could look like a buoy.

CP   Don't give him hope again. alright?

CP   It'd be too cruel.

It doesn't suit him, sounding so small.

UD   I know.