First and Foremost, this chapter corresponds directly with the new chapter of Moving too fast. This one was supposed to come out first, and then I was an idiot.
It's also the first debut of my headcanon name for Honey Lemon.
Go read Heroes of Flowers because TheSparklyKitten is trying to get just 31 more reviews by chapter twenty, which really isn't a lot if like two more people went and reviewed every single chapter from this point. It's so good and it's definitely worth the investment. Updates every Saturday, which is more consistency than you'll ever get from me. Also, better character descriptions than you'll ever get from me, haha.
Fred draped himself over Honey Lemon's lap, his hand on her face, tilting it down towards him.
"Oh gosh, my heart is racing…" He mumbled. She laughed a little and put a hand on his chest.
"I don't feel anything."
"I promise it's racing…" He whispered, "there's nothing I can do I just love you…"
"There's nothing you need to do because I love you back." She ran her fingers through his hair and he let out a soft sigh.
"I want to do something," Fred mumbled, "I want to show you how much you mean to me, my love…"
"I already know, Fred. I don't need some grand gesture, I have you."
"I wish I knew you in high school. I would've used a thousand balloons for my promposal." Honey Lemon laughed.
"I went to prom with this guy named Dylan."
"Ooh," Fred sulked, "I hate that."
"His promposal wasn't as creative as I'm sure yours would've been. Did you go to prom?"
"I did! I went to prom with twenty of my closest friends. I invited them all using my school's morning announcements broadcast. Anyone who didn't have a date for senior prom was invited to be my date. It was a wild night." Honey Lemon brushed tears from her eyes from laughing so hard.
"That's amazing Freddie! That's so you! Oh, I would've paid to be there…"
"I still have the recording of the promposal, if you want to watch it…"
"Can we?" Honey Lemon looked thrilled.
"Totally. You can imagine that it's your promposal."
"Let's see who I'm going to go to prom with."
"I'm sure I can beat out Dylan." Fred pulled up the video on his phone and pressed play.
"Good morning San Fransokyo Private High School, my name is Fred Frederickson the IV and I have a special invitation for all of you. Prom is coming up and I don't want any of you to miss out on a night full of memories, magic, dancing, friendship, and fun. I know going to prom can be daunting if you don't have a date. That's why I urge you to attend prom with me, as friends. If we aren't friends yet, I guarantee that we will be after a night full of wonder. Please don't make a terrible mistake and miss out on your prom because you think you have to be alone. Don't spend the rest of your life wondering what if." The Freddie in the video, who was wearing a nice suit and had bright eyes, got down on one knee, holding out a rose.
"What do you say, San Fransokyo, will you go to prom with me?" Honey Lemon was doubled over in laughter.
"I will spend the rest of my life wondering what if, Freddie." Fred jumped to his feet.
"Never fear, my love. Would you have this dance?" Fred offered her his hand and she accepted it with a laugh.
"To what music?"
"I have a song." Fred connected his phone to a blue tooth speaker and turned on a love song, singing along as he spun her.
"Hey there, Delilah, What's it like in New York City? You're a thousand miles away but tonight you look so pretty, yes you do, time square can't shine as bright as you-" He danced around his comic book library with her. Honey Lemon couldn't help giggle as they danced. He was ridiculous and she was in love with him.
"I love you, Frederick Frederickson."
"I love you, Itzel Rodriquez." He grinned at her, like the name on his lips was a secret and he couldn't be prouder that he was in on it.
"Stop it, my name is stupid," she blushed.
He went further, "Itzel Rose Rodriguez, your name is as beautiful as you are. Tell me what it means again?"
"Well, Itzel is a Mayan name. It means rainbow lady. My parents had a miscarriage before I was born, they were heartbroken and thought that I would be their last kid, and, since I was a rainbow baby, they gave me a colorful name."
"And then your parents had two more kids after you," Fred remembered, thinking about her warm, inviting, massive family and how it drastically contrasted with his tiny one.
"Yes, Gabrela and Miguel."
"I love your siblings," He said with a smile.
"Oh, they adore you, and so do my parents."
"I'm glad. Though I'm not going to lie, seven kids might be too much for us." Honey Lemon pretended to be surprised, widening her lovely eyes.
"Talking about children? Already? On the night of our prom?" He led her back to the couch as the song ended, both of them unable to contain their laughter.
"We're in our thirties," he reminded her with a chuckle.
"Yeah about that…" She nuzzled up to him, kissing his cheek, "why did it take us so long to fall in love?" Fred looked at her in surprise and laughed.
"It didn't take us long at all. I loved you so fast. I wrote you something in college." Honey Lemon looked surprised, watching Fred stand up and move across the room. He grabbed one of his comic books and shook a folded up piece of paper out of the pages. He passed her the paper.
She read aloud:
"For Honey Lemon,
They say love is blind,
But both my eyes have sight,
They couldn't miss a jewel,
As rich and rare as her,
A perfect shining pearl,
A rainbow in the sky,
I can't match her worth,
But I couldn't miss this sight."
Tears filled her eyes, "Freddie it's beautiful, you have a gift for writing…"
"That's how we reconnected, right? We made something." Their comic, their grand secret (Not the only one) wasn't published yet. It would hit stores in January, and they would announce it to their friends and family at the Christmas Party. Honey Lemon curled her long legs up underneath her as she leaned against him.
"I'm really proud of us."
"You want to tell everyone we're dating? You know, when we announce the book?" Fred asked.
Honey Lemon giggled, "Oh, are we dating? I thought I was just one of your 20 prom dates."
"You were. The best one. I'm no Dylan what's-his-name, but I mean if you wanted to if you were willing to be my girlfriend, or um, my wife-"
"Your wife?" She gasped.
"Itzel, I'm not proposing."
"No, no, no, no, no that was a proposal."
"Okay so maybe I'm proposing a little bit. But I've loved you for a long time. I… I don't know if you feel the same." He stood up, moving away for a second. He picked up a copy of their comic, looking at her cover art.
"It's okay if you just want to be my partner on the comic." He felt something hit him in the back. He turned around and bent down, laughing at what he saw. It was a cheap little charm bracelet he'd gotten for her from a quarter machine that also peddled M&Ms by the handful and bouncy balls, two for a quarter. He wanted to shower her in luxury yet their relationship was practically defined by a 25 cent charm bracelet.
"I got you that the night we decided to do the book together. Your art, your beautiful creative spirit, I wanted it back in my life. I wanted you back in my life."
"I'm glad you reached out, Fred. I'm glad we're partners in this. And you got me something else that night."
Fred laughed, remembering, "that silly plastic ring." He turned towards her then and gasped in surprise. She was on her knees, holding out the little ring.
"I don't want to spend my life wondering what if. Marry me, Freddie?" He took the ring and helped her to her feet, speechless, merely nodding yes, before he pulled her into a hug, unable to contain his tears as he held her close. Honey Lemon laughed a little, utterly ecstatic.
"We have a lot to tell our friends." He nodded, still speechless for once, slipping the plastic heart ring on his finger.
"I love you, Freddie…"
"I love you too," was all he could say, over and over again.
Freddie's promposal was inspired by YouTuber MatPat who actually did that when he was in High School. That is all.