"Give me a reason to smile, the kind that will last for a while,
Like only you know how, make it OK now,
You got your ways to make this girl's day
It's the magic that's in your touch; it makes everything mean so much."
--Cheer Me Up by Victoria Justice

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chocolate Roses Are in the Air (an LLL one-shot)

| KENZIE |

Ah, Valentine's Day--a "holiday" in mid-February created by Satan that people in a romantic relationship enjoy to the core, while single people call it SAD, which means Single Awareness Day. This day makes single people feel like second-class citizens.

Also, Valentine's Day is one of those "holidays" that helps some stores make more money off of chocolates, roses, stuffed toys, greeting cards, and other romantic stuff you can think of.

As you all know, Brandon and I broke up many months ago, and I'd already gone through the bitter phase. I was now single and happy! Heck, even if you're single, you can still date your friends and family.

But, Kenzie, you ask, aren't you and Lance a couple?

Er, no. How come you really think that? Lance is not my type! Sorry to burst your bubble, but your "Lancenzie" ship ain't sailing!

Okaaay, you reply, if you say sooooo!

Then for some unearthly reason I can hear the chorus of Dido's "White Flag" somewhere in the background.

"I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender."

Ugh. Hopeless romantics.

Anyway, I saw many Weyralians holding chocolate roses, while others were also holding some romantic gifts. The gang had informed Rachel and me that every Valentine's Day, Weyral sells chocolates in the shape and size of a rose for $5.00 each to the students who are interested, and the proceeds will go to their chosen charity. Not only you can make your partner or crush happy by giving one, but you also get to help people in need.

Some couples were holding hands while walking. Thankfully, I'd finally moved on from Brandon, so I didn't feel any pain in my heart after seeing this cheesy stuff anymore.

Boo-yah!

As I was walking toward my locker, I couldn't help but notice that some guys were glancing at me, a chocolate rose in their hands. It looked like they wanted to approach me but were just too shy to do it. When I caught some of their eyes, I just gave them a small smile as a form of greeting, and then some of them started hyperventilating; one even fainted on the spot. Thankfully, his friends caught him before he'd fall to the floor.

Er.

"Mackenzie!" someone called when I finally reached my locker. When I turned to my right, Ash, one of my classmates in homeroom, was standing beside me with a determined look on his face. "F-flowers for you!" he stuttered, handing me a bouquet of roses with a chocolate rose in the middle, and I noticed his cheeks were flushing. He was the first person who'd given me a gift on this day, which I didn't expect. "Happy Valentine's Day!"

Flattered, I accepted it with a grateful smile on my face. "Thank you, Ash. Happy Valentine's Day to you, too."

"You're welcome!" He grinned then sped away at the speed of light.

I just chuckled sheepishly before opening my locker. "What the--!" A ton of envelopes fell down on the floor from inside.

"This isn't a surprise for me, since there are many Adamsters in Weyral," Cindy said when she arrived, helping me pick up the fallen letters.

"Well, this surprised me," I replied with wide eyes. "My locker was full of them!"

"Still humble as always. Though I'm sorry I forgot to tell you and Chel that you should've brought many eco bags with you today."

My frows furrowed. "What do you mean?" Cindy was holding an eco bag in her hand, half-full of chocolate roses and letters, and an insect repellant in the other.

"This is expected every Valentine's Day in Weyral, that people who like you give you roses, chocolates, etc.," Cindy explained. "And the insect repellent is to spray people in the face if they say 'love is in the air,' which is wrong, because oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide are in the air." And that's when I noticed that her fingertips had bandages around them.

Hmm...

"Don't worry, Kenzie," Eunice started when she approached us. "I have extra eco bags in my locker."

"Of course! You're always prepared when it's Valentine's Day, Nis, since you also have many admirers." She pointed at Eunice's six eco bags that were full of chocolate roses and letters.

"Nah, I'm sure Kenzie will beat me this time." Nis stared at Dee's eco bag. "You always only get one eco bag every Valentine's Day, though. That's because you rarely smile and have this evil aura around you. Remember last year when someone wrote that you were like a devil in disguise but you were still his crush?"

Cindy scoffed. "Like I'd care!"

"Don't forget, Nis, that Dee only loves Spencer," I teased.

"Ah, right. I forgot about that."

Before Cindy could rebut to that, we saw Spencer coming toward us, carrying three eco bags, full of letters and chocolate roses. Cindy's eyes bulged.

I whistled. "Nice going, Spence!"

Spencer yawned. "I'm too lazy to read these kinds of letters again. Though I'm thankful for my fans for their support. He-he." Then he stared at Cindy's eco bag with a laugh. "Seriously, Dee, one eco bag again?"

"I don't care." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"KENZIE!" Rachel shouted while running toward us.

"CHEL!" I shouted back, laughing.

"Why're two shouting in the locker area?" Nis asked sheepishly.

"Because it's Valentine's Day!" Chel replied enthusiastically, like it made sense. "Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!" I was sure her locker would also be full of love letters.

We greeted each other until I noticed something. "Hey, where's Cocky Violinist Freak?"

"It's unusual that he's still not here," said Spencer, "since Valentine's Day is Lance's most favorite tradition."

"Huh? R-really?" Chel asked, surprised by this fact.

Cindy, Spencer and Eunice nodded.

Confused, I said, "How come? But Lance hates romance. Why would he..." After saying that, realization hit me. "Wait, he loves chocolates and he has many fans. So Valentine's is his most favorite tradition because he receives free chocolates from his fangirls!" I paused. "And fanboys, I suppose."

"Nice deduction right there, Midgetzie," I heard a voice say behind me. "I must say I am impressed."

Turning around, I saw Lance was holding five eco bags, only full of chocolate roses.

"I still have not opened my locker," he said when he caught me looking at the chocolates, "so I have not acquired the letters in it. But they will have to wait, since I am not in a hurry to read them."

Spencer snickered. "Remember when we were in elementary school, you got a mountain of love letters like it was harassment?"

"And in our first year of high school," Dee added, "a girl gave you a love letter, but you gave it back to her after skimming it with your corrections on her grammar but complimented the stationery that she used?"

"Ah, yes, those were an absolute nightmare," he replied with a sigh.

Just then, we heard Mozart's "El Kleine Nachtmusik" so loud from outside, making the six of us curious, so we went out of the main building.

"HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, MILOVES!" a voice boomed from a megaphone. "PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO GIVE ME A CHOCOLATE ROSE LATER AT THE THEATER AT THREE IN THE AFTERNOON! AND YES, YOUR HEARTS CAN BE HEALED IF YOU SMELL ROSES, AND A RED ROSE IS A SIGN OF LOVE."

Wind was whipping in our faces, and rose petals were falling all over the place. Looking up at the same time, Rachel and I gawked when we saw a helicopter hovering fifty feet above us, and on it was Xavier Depardieu, the president of the Drama Club, a smirk on his face. Though for the four, all of this seemed normal.

"Seriously," Nis sighed, "Xavier keeps doing this every year."

Oh, no wonder they weren't surprised by all of this.

"Well, seems like his fans aren't complaining," said Spencer while Xavier's fangirls and fanboys were screaming "We love you, Xavier!" in the background, then gave her a teasing look. "'Sides, aren't you gonna miss this, Nis? I mean, this will be Xavier's last to celebrate Valentine's in Weyral."

Before Eunice could reply, Xavier suddenly said, "Ah, princess Eunice! There you are! Don't forget my chocolate rose, all right? Don't worry, I also have a chocolate rose for you!"

A vein appeared on Eunice's temple and screamed, "DON'T BOTHER, XAVIER!"

We couldn't help but laugh when we started teasing Nis about Xavier while we were walking toward homeroom.

🎹 🎹 🎹

It was lunch time when Alice gave Lance her Valentine's gift, which was a chocolate cake. It wasn't that crowded right now in The Cafeteria. Eunice explained it was because most of the couples were having their lunch date at the school's parks.

Maybe it was best not to go to any of the parks in Weyral today.

Lance accepted the cake wholeheartedly, making Alice grin in return. Then Alice teased Dee: "Your admirers still afraid of you?"

Cindy just shot her an I-don't-give-a-fudge look.

Maybe it's just me, but I thought I saw Alice glance at me with a smug look on her face before returning to her table in a corner of The Cafeteria.

"You didn't give Alice anything?" I asked Lance.

"Why should I?" he replied, getting a slice of the cake. "Look, Kenzie, just because they gave me stuff does not mean I will return the favor." He paused. "I mean, just to be safe; I do not want them to get the wrong idea." Lance had an unconcerned look on his face, seeming as if he didn't have a care in the world.

Well, he had a point there. But I still couldn't help feeling sad for Alice.

Cindy guffawed. "That's why I don't talk back to Hamilton when it's Valentine's Day--it's because Lance doesn't give her anything in return. That's already okay with me."

We just laughed sheepishly at that.

All of a sudden, he told Spence, "We should be grateful that we are not tarantulas."

Spence drank his glass of water. "Huh? Why?"

Lance looked disgusted. "Because female tarantulas are prone to eating male tarantulas after sex. However, the male will die anyway if he intends to escape the female."

We didn't dare to ask him for more information; we just gaped at him like a tarantula had come out from his mouth, while Nis said in a disgusted tone, "I think I'm gonna puke."

The three had forgotten to inform Rachel and me that it was Lance's habit to spill "romantic" facts every 14th of February.

🎹 🎹 🎹

Also, every Valentine's Day, before going home, Cindy, Lance, Spencer, and Eunice always celebrated the tradition at Royal Crown. So Rachel and I had been joyful after they'd invited us to join them.

Thus, after classes, we drove to said restaurant via Spencer's and Chel's cars. Spence had booked a special room for us--the same room where Lance had interrogated Dee, Spence and me after Lance and Alice's "date."

Lance had bought five chocolate roses for each of us. Cindy had done her best to bake chocolate chip cookies (hence the bandages around her fingertips, and the cookies were edible, I tell you). Nis ordered Hershey's chocolate drinks for all of us. Chel gave each of us a large box of Nerds. Spencer had made egg custard tarts. And I'd baked a chocolate cake--the same cake that I'd baked when I won the bet with Lance.

We talked anything under the sun and teased each other while eating sweets to our hearts' content.

Yes, Valentine's Day is all about love. But nowhere does it say that it should all be about romantic love. After all, there are many kinds of love, like platonic love. This day is also a great day to bond with your true friends and show your appreciation to them.

Because celebrating Valentine's Day is also a perfect time to celebrate friendships.

After all, love is love, right?

Right.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Hearts Day, y'all (if anyone's still reading this haha!) I'm now back on track with writing and I'm sorry if this one-shot is just short. I miss the gang and you guys so much! See you on the next chappie!