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“Palmerrr!!”
A familiar voice rang out loudly from behind her. She turned around to see Helios running over to where she was sitting in the cafeteria, waving frantically.
“Weiii! Palmer! Omg the best thing just happened!!”
“Ruby finally agreed to go out with you?” She asked.
Normally, Helios only ever got this hype when something happened with Ruby, so it was a safe bet.
Helios sheepishly rubbed the back of her head, “Uhhh nah, I still got hard curbed, b-but usually her rejections take about 5 seconds, right? This time it took like 6.7 seconds!!”
Really? She was excited over that?
She prodded, “Which means??”
Helios grinned, “That she thought about it more! Obviously! I’m totally in!”
Palmer sighed, it had been like this for a while; Helios throwing herself at Ruby and coming back to her either sulking or over the moon because Ruby didn’t completely shut her down, begging for advice, constantly talking about her.
Every time it happened now, she felt…weird, an odd tightness in her chest the whole time that hung around for way too long. She tried not to think about it too much, but it was starting to get to her.
“Helios…babe, don’t you think it might be time to throw in the towel?”
Helios recoiled like she’d been struck, “Whattt, pshh, no way! She’ll come around eventually.”
She crossed her arms and stared at Helios with the most incredulous look she could muster.
Helios laughed, “Aw, c’mon, girl! Don’t give up on me now! I’m close! I can feel it!” She sat down and wrapped her hands around Palmer’s shoulders.
“I’m pretty sure the only thing you’re close to getting is a restraining order.”
Helios giggled, then groaned and slumped onto her shoulder, squeezing her a little tighter. Palmer felt a flush begin to rise to her face.
Helios suddenly perked up again, her hair brushing against Palmer’s face as she jolted.
“B-But Valentine’s day is coming up right!? I can totally use that as a chance to impress her with my w rizz and amazing manners, then ask her out!”
Her stomach dropped, but she still tried desperately to play it cool.
“You’re completely whipped, are you really sure about this? I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“Pftt! Of course I am!” She waved her hand dismissively, “Don’t worry! She won’t even know what hit her!”
“Oh! What do you think she would like?! Some like…tea stuff? Perfume? Hmmm.” Helios said as she scrolled on her phone.
Palmer sat there in an uneasy silence. She’d already planned a hang-out with Helios on Valentine's, and now she was getting blown off so Helios could-
“You know what? I’ll go ask her! See you later bestie!!” Helio suddenly said, dashing out of the cafeteria.
She huffed, resisting the urge to bury her head in her hands. Get yourself together, girl! She shouted at herself; she needed to come up with a plan later.
The day went by in an exhausting blur; all she could think about was potentially losing her best friend to someone else, even just the thought made her heart twist into knots.
But no way was she going to let that happen. Helios was her best friend; she didn’t need Ruby or anyone else. All she had to do was make sure Helios knew that, and everything would be fine.
Now she was here at the mall with Helios, what was supposed to be a chill hangout (mostly her splurging on Helios), had turned into an impromptu shopping trip for Ruby, with them running all over the place trying to find specific items.
She eventually spoke up, “Helios, this trip was supposed to be for you and me, plus...my feet hurt.” She winced as she shifted her stance.
“I know! I know! Mb, just a couple more things, okay? It's gotta be totally perfect.” Helios was already walking to the next store.
She groaned, moving over and hugging Helios from behind, resting her head on her shoulder.
Helios laughed, “Hehe, you’re so clingy today!!”
She made sounds of disapproval and pulled Helios back as she tried to keep walking.
“Okay! Okay! I’m done! We can go!”
Valentine’s Day inevitably arrived, the cool February air felt sharp, harsher than usual. It was the late afternoon, and she was with Helios, who was begging Palmer to help her get ready.
“I’ve got stuff to do Helios. I don’t think I can.” She was surprised at how easily the lie came out.
“C’mon, you’ve gotta help me!! Plzzz Palmer? I’ll be good for it!” Clasping her hands together and giving her a pleading look.
It was scarily effective; She grumbled, there’s no way she could say no to her. She was really hoping, praying that this didn’t come back to bite her.
They spent about 40 minutes getting ready. She helped Helios pick out a blue varsity jacket, a white and blue long-sleeve, and a denim skirt. She had a bouquet of pink, peach, and white roses (similar to the ones that Ruby usually wore), and a small basket with her gift of a rose-themed tea set.
“You look great, Helios, but are you really sure you want to do this? What if it doesn’t work out?”
“Ty girl!! And just chilll, I’ve got it.”
As Helios walked away out of view, Palmer decided to follow, tailing her at a steady pace (chaser).
She just had to be there, for…moral support, obviously, it totally still counted, even if Helios actually didn’t know she was there. She hid behind a nearby bush, watching.
Helios stood at the door of Ruby’s dorm room, desperately trying to hype herself to just knock already. All the confidence she built up was crumbling just as quickly as it came.
“Just lock in, you’ve got this.”
She took a deep breath, then knocked three times.
Every second of waiting felt like an eternity as she held her breath, fighting the urge to give up and run. Her stomach was doing backflips as she heard light footsteps approach the door.
Maybe she couldn’t do this, maybe she jus-
The door creaked open abruptly, cutting through her spiraling. Ruby peeked out slightly before fully opening the door. She tilted her head to the side a little. “Helios?”
“H-Hey, Ruby! It’s great to see you!
Ruby just stared back at her with that usual wooden expression, which quickly changed to confusion, “How did you know where my dorm was located and that I would be available?”
“H-Huh? Oh! Uhh, I’ve just…seen you walk back here before, like after training, and you’re er…usually back by now.” She cringed; dammit, she probably looked like some weirdo stalker right now.
“I-I swear I’m not some creepy stalker or anything! I just happened to notice! Sorry!”
Ruby didn’t seem phased at all, weirdly enough, her expression just returning to normal.
“It’s alright….what did you come here for exactly?”
She released the breath she’d been holding, c’mon just say it!
“Right…okay, well..I-I was wondering…ifyouwouldliketobemyValentine!”
She rushed the words out, wincing and shutting her eyes as she basically shoved the flowers at Ruby. Please say yes, please say yes.
She opened her eyes after a moment, gathering all her courage to look at Ruby.
She was still just staring at the flowers, her brows had furrowed a bit. Crap
“D-Do you not like roses? I-I can go get something else! It’s totally not a big deal!!” She laughed nervously.
“No, it’s not that.”
“It’s not??”
“No.” She repeated, “I have errands and simply other more important matters to attend to, perhaps another time.”
Her heart sank, “Oh…okay! That’s totally cool! Totally! I’ll just uh, leave you to it…then.”
And with that, Ruby shut the door, leaving her standing there, the flowers and basket limp by her sides.
She slumped away from the door, sighing, maybe Palmer was right,
Palmer let out a small sigh of relief, realizing she’s been holding her breath this whole time. She obviously felt bad, but this was for the best. Helios was hers and hers only. When Helios started walking away, she took out her phone to text her.
How’d it go? You okay girl?
She slowly crept out of the bush, making sure Helios stayed in her line of sight as she texted her again.
I’m here for you okay? No matter what
Helios texted back after a moment.
ty bestie idk what I would do without you lol
Her heart leaped in her chest as she read the message.
Ofc and would you be down to hang? to help get your mind off this, no pressure tho
that would be awesome ill be there ina few
Helios began walking off vaguely in the direction of her dorm, Palmer quickly walked back too, taking another route through the building. Helios wasn’t exactly a fast walker, so she shouldn’t have much trouble beating her there.
She remembered that her dorm was a bit messy when she got back (look, she just didn’t have time with all this happening, okay?). She quickly tried to clean up and get herself ready.
The nerves started to set in as she waited, breathe girl, everything’s fine, just relax.
She heard familiar rhythmic knocking at the door after about 5 more minutes, shooting up from the couch and opening it immediately. Helios stood there looking down, meekly greeting her with the flowers still in hand.
Palmer grabbed her by the hand and pulled her over to the couch, Helios plopping down next to her.
“Uh…you want these?’ Helios said as he held out the flowers, looking to the side.
“H-Hm? Oh uh…yeah!” She took them, the plastic crinkling in her hands as she held them close.
“Thanks, I’ll take good care of them.” Helios stayed quiet, still staring down at the floor.
“Hey, don't think about it too much, you don’t need her, okay? I’ll always be there for you.” She reached onto the table and handed Helios her gift; it was a pair of electric blue sneakers she’d been eyeing for a while.
Helios looked over at her; her eyes looked glassy as they met her gaze. After a moment, she leaned in and hugged Palmer, squeezing her hard and burying her face in the crook of her neck, mumbling a small “thank you.”
Palmer hugged her back tightly, awkwardly holding the box behind her. The scent of Helios’s sharp, fruity perfume filled her nose as she pulled her closer.
The position was a bit awkward, with Helios draped over her shoulders and their legs in the way.
Before she could overthink it, she set the gift down and grabbed Helios’s thighs, hoisting her up into her lap. Helios immediately wrapped her legs around her waist and slumped onto her chest, holding her tight.
They stayed like this for a while, basking in each other’s warmth—Helios’s shaky breathing steadily evening out.
“Helios?”
Helios let out a light, dazed hum.
She laughed, “Are you actually going to sleep? You just want to open your gift later?”
Helios yawned, “Yeah…later.” Her voice was hazy. “And why’d you get me shoes? I’ve already got some girl.”
“Helios…I’ve been meaning to tell you, but those were not it.” Gesturing over at Helios’s shoes, which were kicked off half-hazardously by the couch.
Helios snickered, “They were limited-edition thoo.”
“Yeah? Well, mine are better anyway. You can go to sleep if you want.”
“Hmph, I wanna lie downn.” She whined into Palmer’s shoulder.
She giggled lightly, “Okay, we can.”
Palmer pulled Helios flush against her as she pushed her down on the couch, burying her face in Helios’s hair. Helios soft rhythmic snoring eventually filled the room as she dozed off in her arms.
Her heart was pounding in her chest; this was probably the happiest she’s ever been. She was the one for Helios, and that’s how it’s going to be, forever.