Chapter 128: Invitation…success?

[General POV- High School]

Lingering around Haley's locker, Abby and Tara looked at the paper in Abby's hand. Abby was wearing a skull cropped top that showed her belly button and deep cleavage paired with a red plaid skirt, and adding a small net, high waisted panty hose as a finishing touch. 

A few boys had even walked into walls because of it, even some teachers too. She was still reprimanded about the outfit a few times , but she didn't care as school was basically over and she was moving out next year. 

"So… that is a blank card…and Ed gave it to you…to invite you to prom? Did he forget to write the invitation in it…?" Tara asked, bewildered by Ed's eccentric behavior. She was wearing a cropped jacket and a green shirt, paired with jeans and sneakers. She had put two pins on her hair, making her curly hair docile for a while. 

"Noo…He was…confident when he gave me this…Hmmm…" Abby rubbed her chin as she thought about the matter. 

Haley, who was wearing a dark coloured summer dress, rolled her eyes in annoyance before she said, "Could you guys please not…nerd out around me."

"Huh? Nerd out? Wait. Did he tell you anything?" Abby caught Haley's blunder instantly. 

Haley darted her eyes around, but then, she got mad instead as she definitely didn't want to have any part in the conquest mission of a man she was interested in for another girl.

"NO! He wouldn't tell me anything! Alex however, wouldn't shut up about it. I don't have the slightest idea what he put in there, all I can say is that whatever it was he said you could figure it out. After all, you want to get a forensic science degree."

Abby's eyes lit up instantly. Then, she brought the paper close to her face and started sniffing it.

"Eww." Haley exclaimed in disgust.

"Shut up. I'm trying to find traces of lemon or urine in this." Abby replied with an embarrassed face.

"Double Eww." Haley walked to Tara's side, prompting her friend to quickly grab her arm and pull her close before whispering, "Hey. Are you okay?"

Haley replied in a tiny voice, "Ye-Yeah. I just…I don't really like this."

"You don't like Abby's going to prom with Ed, or what they were going to do after?" Tara asked.

"After! We…we were supposed to be equal in this. But once she loses her virginity to him, all I can do is be second place."

"But, you do know it isn't actually confirmed yet right? Based on what Enid told me, Ed thinks the prom thing is something strictly between friends. I don't think he has that in mind."

Abby suddenly exclaimed, causing both of the girls to turn to her. " I got it! There really is a trace! We need to get to the science lab. Come on!" She grabbed her two friends by their wrists and proceeded to quickly drag them off with her.

"Ughh…I don't want to follow." Haley groaned, but she didn't actually try to stop her. No matter what she said, she was still interested in seeing how Ed planned to ask Abby out to prom. The term 'promposal' wasn't widely spread yet in 2009, so boys who put in the hardwork to ask a girl out were still a rare thing.

As they arrived at the science lab, Abby turned on a Bunsen Burner and put the paper on top of the heat produced by the fire. Slowly, the invincible words inside the letter appeared. Tara and Abby were excited while Haley was anxious, but then, all of them became disappointed as they saw what was written.

"Hmm? A link?" Abby muttered to herself in confusion. "Is this like a treasure hunt thing? Where all of my efforts will effectively lead to an invitation from him? Does he consider himself to be the prize? Who the hell does he think he is?" She mumbled in dissatisfaction.

"So, you are NOT going to solve it?" Tara asked.

Abby turned to her and said annoyedly, "Of course I am!" Tara and Haley laughed before they followed Abby from behind to get to the computer lab. However, the bell rang before they even made it through the door.

"Wait- The class-" Tara tried to call her friends, but Haley and Abby grabbed her and pulled her together with them. "We'll just tell the teacher we were on our periods!"  Haley muttered. Tara looked at her in disbelief before thinking secretly, 'Weren't you the one who DIDN'T…want to come before?'

…

[Edward POV]

"Are there any teachers around?" I asked.

"NONE! DO IT!" Abraham who was peeking outside the door slammed it shut and ran to my spot hurriedly. I put the LP disk into the player, and played the music.

♬♫♪ ♬♫♪ Karla Devito - We Are Not Alone (The Breakfast Club – Homage)

♫♪Things are clear in black and white

But living color tends to dull our sight, like dynamite♫♪

I pulled Enid's hands and we danced together while staring into each other's faces, singing the lyrics to the songs at the same time. Elsa and Jacob also did the same thing, while Jenna rejected Abraham as he tried to invite her to dance. He turned to Alex, but to his disappointment, Alex went with Jenna and danced the 'Molly Ringwald' dance with her.

♫♪Just imagine my surprise

When I looked into your eyes and saw through your disguise♫♪

Abraham turned to Finneas– which was startled by his desperate gaze. But then he sighed and let Abraham pull him to the dance floor. We sang the chorus together with the song. 

♫♪If we dare expose our hearts

And just reveal the purest parts

That's when strange sensations start to grow~~~~♫♪

Edward: ♫♪We are not alone

You'll find out when your cover's blown

There'll be somebody there to break your fall♫♪

I sang while dancing together with Enid. Then, both of us split as if we have an unspoken understanding between us, where I went to grab Billie who was fidgeting at the side of the room – watching us dance and brought her to the dance floor, while Enid went to grab Elsa from Jacob before going to dance together with Alex and Jenna. 

♫♪We are not alone

'Cause when you cut down to the bone

We're really not so different, after all, after all♫♪

Elsa flailed her arms around while spinning, completely absorbed in the song. Alex watched her with some embarrassment in her face, but then, she decided to flail her hands around too as watching her friends let loose gave her courage. 

♫♪Not alone♫♪

"Let's do it!" Abraham said.

"Not yet!" I replied. 

♫♪Flying high above the sky

The patterns down below look simplified

A good place to hide♫♪

Jacob took off his pajamas, revealing his blue tank top that he wore especially for today. Then, he did a flip, and at the last moment stumbled, and fell into Finneas's direction.

♫♪But on inspection of the dust

I came upon this thing called trust, it helps us to adjust♫♪

I did the flip, and did the spin around the room like a madman while Jacob tried to apologize to Finneas. 

♫♪Just imagine my surprise

When I looked into your eyes

I knew right then I'd never let you go♫♪

Enid ran towards me with her arms stretched out, in which I grabbed promptly. Then, she spun underneath my arm before falling to my embrace and posed with her right legs raised up. I was stunned, and then I smiled as she quickly stood back up and spinned away.

♫♪We are not alone

You'll find out when your cover's blown

There'll be somebody there to break your fall♫♪

"NOW!" I shouted. Jacob, Abraham and Finneas had a glint in their eyes before they stood back to front with each other in this position, Abraham, Finneas, Jacob. They did the iconic hammer fist march between them while Jenna and Elsa did the side-by-side crab dance. 



♫♪We are not alone

'Cause when you cut down to the bone

We're really not so different, after all, after all♫♪

I did the same back-and-front dance together with Billie and Enid, before Enid broke free and started shaking herself vigorously, imitating Allison's dance in the movie. She fell to her knees, and she shook herself so hard until she lost all of her energy and flopped down on the floor with her buttocks slightly raised up in the air. 

♫♪We're not alone, not alone

After all, not alone~~~~!!!!!!!♫♪

We each did our own unique dance style. I did an air guitar strum, Jacob did a karate chop, Abraham did an indian dance, Finneas and Billie started tap dancing, Alex flailed her arms around like a basic white girl, while Jenna dance seductively, going up and down while rummaging her hands all over her body. 

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪ (Bridge)

"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING AROUND HERE!" Suddenly, the buff mommy slammed the door open, and all of us froze under her stare. Abraham was directly in front of her as she entered the room, making him raise his head to look up to the teacher's face.

 "ABRAHAM! ARE YOU MESSING AROUND AGAIN!" She shouted even though the kid was in front of him. I quickly shut down the music and the cheery atmosphere turned solemn with the teacher's intervention. 

"Wait! No! I wasn't the only one!" Aggrieved, Abraham tried to explain, but then he widened his eyes as he saw all of us were pointing our fingers at him. Even Enid who was currently face-planted on the floor didn't fail to point in Abraham's direction.

"NOOOOO!!!!" The last thing we heard was Abraham's pitiful wail as he was dragged to the detention room after he was caught by the teacher. I suddenly got a notification on my phone at the same time so I grabbed my sweater and my sunglasses as I realized it was time.

Alex noticed it and asked, "Where are you going?"

"I need to go somewhere really quick. Can you cover for me if the teacher asks anything?" 

"Hmm… Alright. Be back soon. We still need to practice." Alex said. I nodded and snuck out of the school without anyone noticing. 

…

[General POV]

As soon as Abby got to the computer lab, she typed in the website url on the search bar. Tara and Haley were both standing behind her, leaning forward to see what was displayed on the screen. 

"Hmm? A game?" She was confused when the website was loaded. Then, an 8-bit figure of her wearing a skull tank top, a red plaid skirt, and her iconic twin-tail hairstyle appeared on the screen, before the title of the game popped up on top of the figure. 

[What Would Abby Do] Title of the game. [Start game: Y/N]

"Click yes now." Tara demanded, her curiosity couldn't be held back any further. As Abby was still being too slow for her, she grabbed the mouse and clicked the button quickly. The game started, and Abby shot an unsatisfied glare at Tara as she did want to click it on her own. 

Not backing down, Tara said, "If you continue staring at me without playing the game, I will take your spot and even go to the prom with Ed. Is that what you want?"

"Shut up! I'm playing, I'm playing!" Abby replied urgently.

As the game started it became clear that most of the effort during game development was put into programming the 'boobie physics' for the 8-bit figure, which were bouncing up and down as the figure walked. It irked Abby, but at the same time, she was still feeling kind of flattered by it which was a really confusing experience for her. 

The 8-bit Abby walked along the streets of New York, where she met an 8-bit figure of Edward riding a bike. She laughed as she knew exactly what Edward was referencing in this scene.

"He really did put a lot of work into this. I'm impressed." Tara said with an awed expression. Haley, however, snorted in jealousy and crossed her arms together as she watched Abby play the game. 

A dialogue bubble popped up on the 8-Bit Ed while a robotic synthetic voice sounded out  : [Oh, It's the scary goth girl.] 

[What would Abby do?]

[Option 1: Beat up the scrawny kid]

[Option 2: Invite him to walk together]

[Option 3: Force him to be the look-out while she buys weed.]

[Option 4: Ignore him.]

"Although I really want to see what happens when I click on the first one, I guess he wants me to stick close to the script. So I will close, Option 3." Abby muttered with a nostalgic smile on her face.

In the 8-bit world, the 8-bit Abby caught the 8-bit Edward and threatened him, forcing him to become the lookout as she went to the alley to meet with the dealer. Then, she came back out of the alley with a brown paper bag in her hand. 

[What would Abby do?]

[Option 1: Kidnap the annoying kid and sneak into the old salvage yard.]

[Option 2: Get high together with the kid in the old salvage yard.]

[Option 3: Let the kid cop a feel before ignoring him.]

[Option 4: Surrender herself to the authorities as she had committed a Class B felony]

"Pfft-" Abby couldn't hold back her laugh as she read the options. Even Tara and Haley laughed a bit as they saw them.

"This little shit. I will make sure to beat him up when I see him later." Abby muttered as she clicked on the second option. 

[Are you sure about your choice? It's not too late to surrender yourself to Justice, or go get some help.] An annoying pop-up bar appeared. 

"Little- '' Abby clicked on the [Yes] option, then another line popped out, [(Sigh), All things considered I guess I still can't handle a criminal. So I have no choice but to follow you]

Abby laughed out loud to Tara and Haley's confusion. "What- What is it?" Tara asked quickly.

"This…This is exactly what he said when I pulled him with me when we first met." Unknowingly, tears pooled in Abby's eyes as the memories flashed through her mind. 

"He really is a bastard." She said with a smile as she wiped off the tears in her eyes. Luckily for her, she wasn't wearing her gothic type mascara that day.

As the game continued it showed several scenes where Abby forced Edward to go and audition for Dylan's band, a scene where he let her ride on his bike to get to school in time, the scene where she drove him in her car, the scene where they decided to be more than friends, then the scene where they broke up.

After that there were various scenes depicting how she met Haley and Tara, how they hung out together and there was even a scene depicting Abby and Haley's make out session, something that slightly irked both of the girls. 

By the end of it Abby, Haley and Tara were all crying as Abby was being hugged by her two friends from behind cause they knew that after the week was over, all that was left was the inevitable separation. 

Only after a good while did Abby manage to reach the last scene of the game. While she knew she could have finished the game in under 5 minutes, the crying and sobbing pushed the time table back over half an hour. But, she still had no regrets.

"Wait. Is that the gym?" Tara said as she noticed where the last scene was. 8-Bit Abby entered a dark and empty gym, and the game ended with the screen still showing the scene. 

"Huh? Y-Yeah. You're right." Abby's eyes lit up and she stood from her seat quickly. "I need to go there."

"We…We will stay here." Tara said and grabbed Haley's hand before she could follow suit. As Abby walked away, Haley turned to Tara and asked in confusion, "Why did you stop me?"

"Trust me. It'll be better if you don't see it." Tara said as she patted Haley on the back to comfort her.

In a few minutes, Abby finally arrived at the well-lighted gym. She then looked around the space, but she realized that no one was there. 

"Hmm? Is he not here?" She muttered before she called, "EDDD. Are you here?"

But, no one answered her. 

"Hmmmmm….." She walked back and forth inside the gym, trying to find traces of Edward there.

"Did he put another clue here?" She muttered.

"Unfortunately…Yes." A voice said from behind her. Abby widened her eyes and turned around in excitement to see Ed's figure standing there. He was wearing a dark brown jacket and jeans as he entered the hall. 

…

[Edward POV]

"Why is your face like that? Aren't you glad to see me?" I asked with a sly smirk on my face. Abby scoffed but her eyes were still smiling as she said, "After making me run around all day, you're still brave enough to waltz in here with that stupid smile on your face."

"Hey, you like my smile. It turns you on." 

"AS IF!" Abby said, but deep inside her heart, I know she wondered how the hell did I know that. I walked towards her as she did to me. We faced each other, and after a while, Abby became puzzled.

"So, are you just going to stand there?" She asked.

"I told you. You still haven't fully completed the puzzle yet." 

"HUUHHH?!!" She dragged her exclamation in annoyance. 

"So, the 'genius' girl couldn't solve it huh. And here I thought it was simple enough for you."

"SHUT UP! Let me think!" She muttered before she thought about the last scene carefully. 

"Wait. It was a dark gym!" Her eyes lit up and she ran to the switch immediately before turning off all of the lights in the gym. Then, she was surprised as she saw a glow in the dark writing on the floor, saying, "Will you go to prom with me?"

She cupped her mouth with her hands as she was touched, before slowly walking over to where I was standing again. I was smiling at her, and  I reached into my jacket sleeves before pulling out a single red rose.

"So, will you?" I asked.

"Yes!" She replied before giving me a hug.

…

Inside a Mercedes convertible that was driving in the streets, Pepper admonished me, "That's too much. And it's definitely something that you shouldn't have done if you just wanted to be 'friends' with this girl."

I sighed and said, "I know."

Pepper caught my expression and said, "But. You seem to have no regrets."

"Yeah. I don't."

"Good. Because now, you're going to be responsible for that girl's special night." Pepper said before he changed the topic. "Okay, now, let's talk about bringing down that old witch."

"You mean your mom?"

"I mean that witch!"

We were on the way to have dinner with Pepper's mother, and I had never seen him this anxious before. Hopefully, I could manage his expectations about this particular meeting, as it was both an investor's meeting as well as a family meeting all rolled into one. 

"You need to be very very careful with that old bit- Witch! Oh hell. You already know. Yeah, she's a bitch."