Chapter Text
All week, I worked on getting Yuri to commit to Spirit Week. I think the idea still made him nervous, but he kept saying he’d participate, to an extent at least. On Saturday evening, I had him come over to watch Heathers. “Because I want to dress as Veronica for Movie Day, and you haven’t seen it yet. And what good is the costume if you don’t even get it?” I had said to him. “I’ll even put on the Russian subtitles for you.” So, amused, he agreed, and he showed up after dinner that night. I had invited Charlotte too, so Nick could watch with us.
Charlotte was standing in the hallway with me when Yuri arrived. He handed me a single rose. “For you, Umnyashka.” It was so sweet I nearly fainted.
“Wow, thank you,” I said, taking it with a smile. This guy really beat American boys by miles. “That’s so nice.” Nick came into the hall just then, smiling at Charlotte. “Nick, Yuri just showed you up by a longshot. I think you need some lessons.”
“Hey, Charlotte came to me tonight. Maybe she should’ve brought me something,” he replied, giving her a quick kiss.
I filled a vase of water for the flower and set it on the kitchen table. “I can take it to my room later,” I said to Yuri. “It’ll look nice on my desk.”
I made Nick go make the popcorn while the rest of us moved into the rec room. I stuck the movie in the DVD player while we waited for him. We talked while we waited, and I realized that, technically, this probably counted as Yuri’s and my first date. The thought almost made me nervous, but I decided not to worry about it. A movie is pretty easy, and he already liked my siblings, so what could really go wrong? Nick came back with the popcorn, and we claimed couches, Yuri and me on one and Charlotte and Nick on the other. Yuri put his arm around me casually, like it was no big deal, and I was really hoping he couldn’t feel me suddenly get warm from blushing.
If you haven’t seen Heathers, it involves a girl who accidentally kills the leader of her clique with her boyfriend, and they frame it as a suicide. She gets wrapped up in him, even though he’s clearly dangerous, and he starts making plans to blow up the school with a petition signed by everyone stating it was a mass suicide. (And, let me be honest, after seeing young Christian Slater...I get it.) It’s pretty dark, but it’s funny, too. When Veronica’s dad said, “I don’t patronize bunny rabbits,” Yuri laughed for a solid two minutes, which made us laugh.
“Sorry,” he said. “That was just a...a strange line. I did not expect it.”
“I understand,” Charlotte said. “I laughed at it for awhile, too, when I first saw this movie. His delivery is impeccable.”
After the movie, I asked him what he thought.
“It is no Indiana Jones,” he said with a smile, “but I liked it.”
“And now come Monday, you’ll understand my Veronica costume.”
“Aw, Yuri, you should be JD,” Charlotte said. I had to admit, it would be cute, but I was pretty sure he would end up being Indiana Jones, if he even decided to participate.
“Ae you and Nick going to match?”
“Nah, not this time,” Nick answered for her. “I’m going as Harry Potter. It’s easy. All I need is the robe and the scarf, which we already have.”
“So low-effort,” I teased. “What about you, Char?”
“I’m thinking Boo, from Monster’s Inc. Do you have any purple leggings I can borrow?”
“I might. Let’s go look.” I led her to my room, where I started digging in my drawers.
“Do you think Yuri will dress up?” Charlotte asked me.
“I’m not sure.” I opened another drawer. “He says he is, because I challenged him, but I think the idea makes him nervous. Like, I’m pretty sure they don’t have anything like this in Russia. It probably makes him feel silly.”
“It is silly,” Charlotte said. “But that’s the fun of it.”
“I can see how it wouldn’t be fun if you weren’t used to it.” I finally found a pair of purple leggings and tossed them to her. “I feel like at this point, he already knows if he’ll do it or not, so I’m not going to say anything else about it.”
We went back to the rec room, where Nick had engaged Yuri in a conversation about Linkin Park.
“I didn’t even know you liked them,” I said to Nick.
“You can’t share a room with Byron for seven years and not like them,” he said.
“Do you like them?” I asked Yuri.
“First two albums are really good. In the End was one of first songs I learn on guitar,” he said.
“I think Jordan can play it on the piano, too,” Nick said. “You two should duet.”
Yuri chuckled. “Maybe other time.”
The four of us talked for awhile, until Charlotte’s mom texted her that she had arrived. Nick got up to walk her to the door. “Bye, Char,” I said, waving. Yuri waved, too.
“Bye, guys. See you Monday.” She and Nick left the room.
“I should go, also,” Yuri said, but he didn’t move.
“Are you in a rush?” I asked, leaning a little more into him. If this was the end of our first official date, maybe I could actually get that kiss. I had been trying for awhile, here and there, but something always managed to get in the way. Bad luck and my brothers, usually.
He smiled like he knew what I was thinking. “Not too much,” he said.
I was thisclose to leaning in and going for it when the overhead light suddenly blazed. “It’s awfully dark in here,” Adam said, smirking at us. I rolled my eyes.
“The TV was still on,” I pointed out. “We weren’t doing anything illicit.”
“I know that,” he said, his expression making it clear he had no idea what ‘illicit’ meant. He really needs to read more.
“I should go anyway,” Yuri said, standing up. I wanted to kill Adam for yet again managing to ruin another perfectly good moment. At this rate, we wouldn’t have our first kiss until we got married.
I glared at Adam as I walked Yuri to the door. He just grinned. “Sorry about my brothers,” I said on the front porch. “They never know how to mind their business.”
Yuri smiled. “It is okay. I wish I had brother.”
I snorted. “You say that, but it’s a rollercoaster. Are you going to be okay walking home?” I didn’t think anybody would mess with him, and it wasn’t that far of a walk, but it was still dark, even with the streetlights. It was also pretty chilly. “You could always cut through Mrs. McGill’s backyard. She’s the one who lives directly behind us, and we know her pretty well. She wouldn’t mind. And that would cut your walk down by a few minutes.”
“I do not mind the walk, and I like the cold. I will be okay.”
“Okay.”
“Thanks for movie. I liked it. I see you Monday.” He smiled and squeezed my hand, which was nice, but I just wanted to kiss him like a normal person. He walked off into the darkness before I could try again, though. Dang it.
“Bye,” I called, waving. Then I went into the kitchen, where Adam and Jordan were constructing one of their signature snacks, ice cream sandwiches made with graham crackers and frozen yogurt. “I don’t ask for much,” I said to Adam. “I just want one chance to kiss a cute guy, and somehow you two are always getting in my way.”
Adam took a bite of his sandwich. “Excuse me if I can’t help but want to save my little sister from corruption.”
“I already know what you and Lynn Perone did at Miller’s Park, you hypocrite.” He blanched. Jordan snorted. “Just give me this one thing.”
“How did you…”
“You told me yourself, when I came to pick you three up from Jerry Haney’s party.” Adam and Jordan had both gotten fairly drunk at a barn party one of their classmates had thrown over the summer, and since I had just gotten my license, Byron had called, begging me to come drive them home. He probably could have driven, since he had only had a few drinks, but he’s careful enough not to risk it. So I had Danielle drive me out there (you’re on your own when it comes to cars in this family, and I don’t have nearly enough money saved; I’m fine walking, anyway) and I brought them home in their car, learning exactly what kind of drunks the two of them are along the way. Jordan was a happy one who laughed at everything you said. Adam was a talkative one. He had spilled a lot of his secrets that night, and I always kept them close as my own personal plus-ones. Byron’s drunk type is yet to be determined, since I’ve never actually seen him wasted.
“f*ck,” Adam said under his breath.
I grabbed some graham crackers and started making my own sandwich. “Don’t worry, you’ve got nothing to worry about. I promise I won’t tell Mom and Dad. Just let me kiss him in peace.”
Adam glared at me. “Fine.”
“Thank you.” Maybe homecoming would finally be the night. “So, do you two have dates for the dance?”
He reddened slightly and glanced at Jordan. Jordan looked back at him. I could see them talking with their eyes the way they do. Finally Jordan turned back to me, taking another bite of his sandwich. “Not yet,” he admitted.
“What? Guys, homecoming is next weekend.”
“Well I was going to ask Nicole Ficaro, but someone else asked her first,” Jordan said.
“Yeah, that happened to me with Caryn Hatt,” Adam added.
“And now it’s too late. Everybody else has dates. Even Margo has a date.”
“Oh, did she finally ask David Michael? Good for her.”
“But we’ll look like losers when everybody else had dates and we don’t.”
“There’s no shame in going with your friends.”
Adam rolled his eyes. “Come on. We’re not Byron.” I bit my lip to keep from smiling. Joke’s on them. For once, Byron had beaten them at something, even if they didn’t know it.
“Haley and Danielle are still available,” I said. I didn’t mention that the girls had been hoping to ask them. I briefly wondered why they hadn’t yet.
Adam and Jordan glanced at each other again. I could see them considering that, torn between wanting dates and not wanting to have to resort to asking my friends. I rolled my eyes.
“You’d be lucky to go with them.”
They surveyed each other a bit longer before Jordan said, “I could ask Haley. I’ve always thought she was hot. And that punk chick aesthetic she’s got going on recently makes her even hotter.”
“You’re a simple creature,” I said, shaking my head. “She’s also smart and funny, you know.”
“I’m sure she is,” Jordan acquiesced. “But she’s also hot.”
“I’ll ask Danielle,” Adam said. “She’s cute, and at least she’s a lot of fun. I remember you telling us that story about you guys sledding down her basem*nt stairs on mattresses. That’s awesome.”
“You would think that,” I said, but I knew that Haley and Danielle would be happy about this turn of events. “Better get on that quick, though. You’ve got six days.”
They were quiet after that, thinking, and I let my thoughts drift to back to Yuri as I finished my ice cream sandwich. I wondered what his Indiana Jones costume would consist of. A fedora, probably, and khakis and a button-down shirt. Maybe a leather jacket if he happened to have one. It was an easy costume, and he’d look cute like that.
But, of course, how cute would it be if he actually did come to school as JD? It would make for the cutest Instagram photo. I imagined us standing in front of a whiteboard (because SHS had long abandoned chalkboards), recreating the movie poster. Charlotte was definitely onto something. I didn’t want to hope he would, but I could dream, right?
“Earth to Vanessa!” I heard Jordan say, and I blinked.
“Huh?”
“Land that spaceship back on Earth, cadet. I only said your name three time.” Jordan rolled his eyes while Adam laughed. “I was asking how I should ask Haley to the dance.”
“Oh, well, she loves Halloween. What if we invite her over tomorrow to carve pumpkins and you carve ‘homecoming?’ into yours?”
Jordan scratched his head. “It’s a little long. I don’t know if I could get the whole word onto a pumpkin without her seeing it.”
“Maybe just ‘hoco?’ then.”
He nodded. “I like it.”
“Okay, what about me?” Adam asked.
“Danielle loves Friends. Make her a Friends sign that says ‘season 10, episode 18’ and call it ‘The One Where Adam and Danielle Go to Homecoming.’ She’ll love it.”
“You make this so easy. We should’ve asked your friends out years ago,” Adam said.
I rolled my eyes. “Every other girl could be this easy if you would just listen to them and pay attention to their interests.”
“Sounds fake,” Jordan said.
“And that’s why neither of you have girlfriends.” I left the kitchen, fully intending to pick my daydream back up where it left off.
