“Fair enough. I’m too beautiful to die.”
Riya glanced at them sideways, eyes narrowed. “Whydo you keep messing with him, anyway? Glutton for punishment?”
“Oh, it’s nothimI’m messing with.” Quin’s smirk returned.
Riya didn’t reply. But her fingers curled slightly around the edge of her script.
“Anyway,” Quin said breezily, “are you sure you’re good for the announcement today?”
She bit back a sigh. “I’ll be fine.”
“Well, if you’re sure,” Quin replied, leaning back in their chair. “Let’s just try to keep the energy up. It’s the big prom theme reveal, after all.”
“We’re live in ten!” Mr. O’Leary’s voice rang out, bouncing off the cluttered AV room walls. Cables sprawled across the floor; camera tripods stood like watchful sentinels. The student broadcast team scurried to finish last-minute adjustments.
Riya scanned the script again, tuning out the chaos. They’d finalized it all last week—she and Quin, sitting through a never-ending council meeting, arguing over ideas for the theme reveal, down to font and lighting cues. They’d even collaborated with the school’s Film Club, though Quin’s endless stream of ridiculous suggestions had slowed down the process.
“I still say we should’ve gone withmytheme,” she muttered.
“The Hunger Games? For Prom?” Quin tugged at their collar, feigning horror. “Prom’s supposed to be an escape.Not a dystopian death match.”
“Sounds like an escape to me.”
“Five seconds!” O’Leary barked.
Quin elbowed her lightly. “Should we have done outer space instead, like your boyfriend suggested?”
“Ha ha,” she deadpanned.
“Speakingof which,” Quin went on, undeterred, “howisKian?”
Riya bristled, ready to snap—she was still annoyed by how Quin seemed to revel in goading Kian lately—but then she hesitated.
Because Quin wasn’t smirking this time. They weren’t teasing in their usual, obvious way. The question landed lightly, almost gently. As if they were genuinely curious.
It threw her.
She turned to look at them fully, but Quin was already spinning a pen between their fingers like they hadn’t said anything strange at all.
Like they already knew the answer.
A prickle climbed the back of her neck.
The dodgeball game. The museum. The expectant glint in Quin’s eyes. What did they think they knew? And more important—
She swallowed. “Why do you care?”
Quin looked at her and smiled, genuinely. “Just making conversation with a friend. It’s what you do when you’re worried about them, no?”
Riya’s breath caught. But before she could reply—
“And we’re live!”
Quin’s grin burst to life, impossibly bright, as they leaned toward the camera. “Good morning, Abbersett High! In case you didn’t notice, we’re not your usual hosts, Eric and Amandi. But as your president and VP, and on behalf of the rest of Student Council, we wanted to hop on here to make an exciting announcement.”
“Thank you for your patience while we’ve worked hard to land on a theme that everyone would be excited about,” Riya added. Her voice was clear, practiced, but she barely felt it leave her mouth. “We think you’ll agree the wait was worth it.”
“So, without further ado, the 2026 theme for Abbersett High School’s Prom is...”
