#Rockelanie

[rational-mastermind]

@provider-of-guardians‘s prompt for 2017

Rockelanie - First date

A/N: I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to get through these.. Writing original stories is really hard and if anyone has any questions about it, mine and Provider’s inboxes are open.

It was Valentine's Day which meant, for most kids, a day to be in love with someone special. To Rocky it only meant all the chocolate would go on crazy good sales tomorrow and today was just another dumb boring day at school. Despite his charm with the ladies, he didn't normally get Valentine cards unless they were forced-hand-outs like what the teacher makes the class do. And he was fine with that. He wasn't actively searching for a lovelife at this point. So naturally he was pretty surprised when he opened his locker to discover an envelope hiding inside. He and Skyler stared at it a moment before Rocky shrugged and opened it. Inside was a white card with red hearts decorating a corner that said in pretty, red font, "Happy Valentine's Day". Simple, but nice.

"Huh. That's new.", Rocky noted and read the card that was written in bright red ink. "Hm. It says a secret admirer wants to meet up with me tonight."

"Seriously?", his friend asked unable to help sounding confused.

"Yeah.. Says we already know each other but they're shy?", Rocky looked confused and looked over the front and back of the valentine. "And I know everyone in school... Hm."

"Fayette's already given you her valentine."

"Yeah.. So it's obviously not your little sister's crush on me."

"Any guesses?"

"Mmm..I dunno. Could be one of those artsy students.", Rocky opened the card again.

"Hm. Maybe.", Sklyer shrugged. "Doesn't look store-bought."

"No, it's definitely hand-made."

"Yeah, you would know, since your mom's an artist."

Rocky shrugged and tucked the valentine away saying, "I guess I'll find out tonight."

"Damn.", Sklyer sighed. "We were gonna have practice tonight."

"Well if nothing ends up happening, I can still come by later.", Rocky smiled.

"Yeah alright. Sounds cool dude."

They high-fived and went back to their school life while Rocky continued to ponder who his mystery valentine could be. Either way he'd find out soon.

--

He walked down the streets that night and looked around, a little nervously.  There were already plenty of other people out with their special dates. They were all dressed up and pretty. He looked down at the rose he carried. He hadn't seen his date yet. But then again, it's a blind date. Who knew who it could've been?

Yet he turned around the corner and was shocked at what he found.

Outside the restaurant was Melanie. Skyler's trending rival. The same girl who would give him and Skyler shit for their anachronism because it was "out of style".

The funny thing is that despite such rudeness...Rocky will admit to himself, at the very least, that he has developed a small crush on her.

Probably the first thing that caught his attention about her though was last year. Back when he and Skyler signed up for the Smash Brother's tournament and everyone was getting their butts kicked by a mystery player. During one break he saw, just past the poster in the window outside, Melanie under her disguise. And for someone who was firm in turning her nose up at older games, it was a pretty big shock to him to find her there and really getting into the tournament when she played. But...he remained silent, nonetheless. To this day Skyler still never knew.

Of the few times they've interacted peacefully after that, she's come across as someone really different than the "up-to-date millennial trend-follower" persona that she likes to display in school. She was smart and admittedly funny. Even nice, seeing how she got along well with Fayette's friends that one rainy day. And personally speaking, Rocky did artistically as well as just generally find her very pretty, though he would never admit it.

Until now perhaps. Now that she was standing there, obviously dateless and looking at her phone concerned. Probably a clock telling her how late it was.

Finally she noticed him and their eyes met. She looked and was surprised. But then looked uneasy.

"Oh shit..", she muttered, just loud enough that he caught it.

‘Fuck.’, he thought but tried to put on a smile.

"Melanie! Wow. Um..", Rocky walked up to her and gave a nervous chuckle, trying to seem friendly. "Wha..um.. Wh-what are you doing here?"

Melanie quickly looked around again.

"Um.. Well.. I was kind of waiting for my date..", she said, obviously nervous.

There was a pause.

Rocky cleared his throat.

After a moment longer he finally spoke up.

"Alright, lemme guess..", he started, already getting the idea. "...you put the card in the wrong locker?"

Melanie looked back at him and actually felt bad at the look on his face. Like he was actually saddened by this.

"Um..", he pulled out the card and she couldn't help but sigh seeing it. "...yes."

Rocky looked at it a moment before clicking his tongue.

"Well... There it is.", he hesitated a moment and then held it out to her. "S-sorry.. Should I uh...give this back?"

Melanie awkwardly took it and tucked it away in her purse. Her mind was a blur. How could this have happened? She paid super close attention to make sure it was in-

It didn't even matter anymore at this point. She lost her opportunity and now there was nothing to do about it. Instead of him, she got Rocky instead. Great. Fan-freaking-tastic.

"I'm really sorry, Rocky.", she apologized. "I didn't mean to slip it into your locker. I meant it for..someone else."

Rocky shrugged. But honestly when she saw his face, she was surprised at how actually disappointed and upset he was about it. She would've thought he would feel relieved they weren't gonna date or more nonchalant like he always did but...he looked..hurt? Him? Like he had been looking forward to this? With her?? It confused her a moment.

"Shit happens.", he said, still trying to be nonchalant about it but obviously disappointed. "What can you say? I uh.. Well I guess I'll see you in school Monday. Sorry you wasted your time."

He turned to leave and before she had a time to think it just flew out of her mouth,

"Wait!"

Rocky paused and looked back, no doubt caught off guard. She thought about it a moment. Aside from just being disappointed this didn't work out..he did look nice. He was wearing a button up shirt, jeans without holes in them. His bright green Mohawk was even combed back into a ponytail. He wasn't even wearing his many earrings. She almost didn't recognize him. A small part of her didn't really wanna disappoint him, going through all the trouble and then being turned down just because she got the wrong locker.

"Well.. um... I mean, I guess..we both don't have any other plans...right?", she started to say, not really sure where this was going.

"Uh.. No, not really.", Rocky shrugged.

"And well.. we're already here and..all-all dressed up.", she shrugged. "Maybe we can just....?"

Rocky looked a little confused but he seemed to get the idea.

"You wanna...hang out?"

Surprisingly, she felt herself smile.

"..Yeah, let's just..hang out.", she agreed. "Celebrate Singles-Awareness Day."

Rocky paused a moment but then got the joke and chuckled a little.

"Yeah. Happy Singles-Awareness Day."

She grinned.

"Happy Singles-Awareness Day."

They laughed a little. He handed her the rose he had and she took it with a smile. They walked in together and got their table.

'This is just hanging out.', they told themselves.

They sat and glanced through the menu.

"...So are you paying or am I?", Rocky asked.

"Hm? Oh, well I was kind of expecting to pay really since this was my idea.", Melanie shrugged. "I've been saving up a bit."

Rocky looked up at her and smiled, curious.

"Wait, do you have a job?", he asked.

Melanie glanced back up and looked away, a little embarrassed.

"Well.. no..", she admitted. "I said I was saving up.."

"Well then how about I pay?", Rocky shrugged.

Melanie scoffed a little and smiled.

"What, do YOU have a job?", she meant this sarcastically but Rocky sat down his menu and smiled, sure of himself.

"Actually yeah.", he nodded.

Melanie's shocked face was so perfect, he had to laugh a little.

"I work part time as a tattoo artists' assistant.", he explained. "After school."

"...you know, I think I can see that.", she nodded a little, after some thought. "..Yeah you would be into tattoos."

A waiter came by and they placed their orders before returning to the conversation.

"Yeah well hopefully I'll be an artist myself. That pays a little better.", Rocky smiled. "But I could still use a little work."

"Really? But people love the artwork you did around the school. You're one of the best in class.", she asked, perplexed, earning only a shrug in response. "All that stuff you and the others did during that hailstorm last year? I dunno, I thought it was pretty cool."

"I'm good with a brush and some paint, been doing that since I was 4 with Mom for a teacher. But tattoos are different. You work with a needle rather than a brush and I have to be careful, especially about what colors I choose and who I'm doing it to."

"Huh.. I didn't really know anything about it." she shrugged. "Oh, except that I saw this cool post on Bumblr about where to get temporary tattoos."

Rocky couldn't help the scoffing laugh as she pulled out her phone.

"Temporary? Don't you get those at the little vending machines in the mall?"

"Ha ha ha ha. I didn't mean those.", she smiled, despite his teasing, while she tapped her screen. "I mean you can make custom orders and get a cool design for a temporary tattoo. Helps you decide if you like the look for a permanent deal or if you want one without wanting the pain."

She held out her phone to him and Rocky looked at the screen. He's seen kids use these touch-screens before so he carefully slid it up and down to read the whole post.

"Huh.. That's actually kind of cool.", he said quietly, surprised.

He handed the phone back to her and she put it away.

"So like..is that what you do all the time? Share things other people blog about?", he smiled, teasingly.

"No, sometimes I write my own posts.", she replied, smiling too.

"About other blogs?"

"No, actually. About all kinds of things. I like to do mood-boards though."

"The hell is a mood-board?", he asked, perplexed by what came out of his own mouth.

Melanie laughed a little at this before trying to find a way to explain. "It's like...well you find a lot of pictures, quotes, or even song lyrics that center around one thing. Like.. If I was gonna make a mood-board..about you? It would have..pictures of Mohawks, uh..Van Halen. Other...80's things.", she shook her head, trying to think of something more specific to his anachronism, but Rocky started laughing hard.

"'Other 80's things'?", he laughed. "Come ON you could've picked SOMETHING besides Mohawks, Van Halen and 'other 80's things'."

Melanie found herself laughing too and and shrugged.

"What? I dunno! Um..Starry Night?", she guessed, making them laugh more.

"Wow! Okay..you don't know me at all.", he shook his head.

"Well no, obviously. Cause we don't hang out.", she rolled her eyes.

"Alright well first tip; try Billy Joel sometime. Lyric-wise, the guy can have some awesome songs, even if it's not heavier rock like Van Halen, or even the real heavy stuff like Metallica and ACDC. Like, if you wanna go for music, you're forgetting so much! Kansas. Styx. Journey. Hall & Oats. Guns 'n Roses. Kiss? Come on!", Rocky laughed a little. "I can't believe this.. And that's not even all that I like to listen to. As far as music's concerned, I'm all over the place. Not even just in the 80's."

"Huh, that's so weird. Cause I thought you'd be all into that..I dunno, punk rock? Is that what you'd call it?"

"What you mean like British rock? Ehh..", Rocky waved his hand iffy. "I hate just picking one genre. Hell, I even listen to some stuff from the 60's and 90's."

"Whoa.. You sure about that whole anachronism thing?", Melanie teased.

"Well, as far as 80's go, the pop-culture of that time was all about different styles and trying new things. There was a lot of weird shit in the 80's too. Some works, some doesn’t, and it's all about personal preference. Though, granted there was a lot of weird stuff that became very popular for no good reason at the time. But still, I like to celebrate that in my anachroism; finding something different and trying new things. A blank canvas, willing to try whatever and find what I like."

Melanie's original smirk disappeared, and was replaced by simple curiosity and slight wonderment.

"...No, I doubt you'd try anything.", she shook her head, trying to laugh it off.

"Oh really? You wanna try me?", Rocky dared, still smiling.

There was a pause. Melanie thought about it. He looked so sure of himself. She smiled again and pulled out her mp3player.

"You're on."

Rocky looked at the earbuds she handed him and tried to figure it out.

"So I just..?"

"Just put it in your ear."

"And moms used to complain headphones would make you deaf.", he complied and put them in, surprised a little at how well they fit.

"Alright, let's see...", she scrolled through her walkman for a moment. Glanced at him and pressed a few more buttons. "Think you're more of an...Owl City kinda guy. The lyrics don't really make any sense but the sound is good. This is the first song I listened to from him, it's called Rainbow Veins."

Rocky simply shrugged and Melanie pressed play and sat back to watch the show.

Rocky closed his eyes as he listened and instinctively brought a hand up to where he felt a headphone should've been. After a moment, he tapped his other hand on the table in time to the beat and nodded his head, listening carefully. He looked a little confused, she could only assume because of the lyrics. Rocky continued to listen carefully, but then looked a little surprised. She knew the song had finally kicked in and nodded in time with him and pointed as the chorus came in, knowing the song by heart. Rocky leaned back in the chair, looking focused on the song and keeping his eyes close. Suddenly his eyes opened with alarm and jumped a little, the song must've gotten loud and surprised him. But he smiled and closed his eyes again, nodding still until the song finally ended. She looked at the mp3player and then paused when it was done. He took out the earbuds and handed them back to her.

"Okay, that was really weird. A little hard to get into, but it started getting good near the end. The chorus was pretty cool too."

Melanie chuckled.

"Wow, I'm surprised your brain didn't explode.", she grinned.

"Ha ha. No, Skyler's might have."

They laughed a little together and she handed back the earbuds.

"Here, try this one. It's Fireflies. Like, you gotta wait to hear the beat drop. It's awesome!"

"Dude, I'm a drummer. I'll decide how awesome a beat is.", he grinned and took them back.

Their food arrived shortly afterwards and they ate and Rocky tried a few more songs. They talked about music, what it means to different people. After dinner, they walked down the street to Rocky's house to listen to more music.

"...Can I ask you something kinda random?", he started.

She shrugged.

"Hasn't this whole night been random? Shoot."

"It's just...you act so mean and above everyone in school...I'm kinda surprised tonight was as good as it was.", he tried to find the right words. "I guess I just wonder why you pretend to act so harsh, when really you're not so bad to be around?"

She was a little surprised but then frowned and looked back at the sidewalk.

"I... I dunno.. I just..didn't think you and Skyler were exactly the..right kinda clique to be with, you know? The right kinda crowd to be with."

"You mean the cool kids?"

"Pretty much. I...", she sighed. How to say this? She shrugged and tried her best to explain. "Look, my family just recently moved from Electra City.. It was new, and hard, and.."

"Scary?"

Melanie glanced at him and nodded a little in agreement.

"Yeah. ...I didn't exactly fit in with my last school... I wanted to make a good impression. Tried to look like I did fit in.", she shrugged. "I was trying to be like..you know..what other cool kids in my old school were like. So I saw you and Skyler...and you guys just seemed so..."

"Out of date?"

"...Sorry about that.", she frowned, more disappointed in her own word choice back then than anything.

Rocky thought it over a moment and couldn't help what looked like a sad smile.

"Here's the worst part..", he started. "That day...the day we met you? ...Skyler was already kinda..goin' through some things. He was already having a rough time... So it's almost funny...really kinda sad..how rough you two started off."

"....was it his dad?", she asked tentatively.

"..Somethin' about that.. Yeah..", Rocky nodded. "And usually when it comes to that he can get pretty...tense. It's really something he should explain to you. Not me."

She frowned a little, hearing this.

"Oh.."

By now they've reached Rocky's house. But he paused, wanting a moment longer to talk.

"But hey.. Um.. Despite what did happen? I'm glad we got to do this.", he smiled. "I'm glad we did get to know each other a little more. You're actually pretty awesome. Once you..you know..cool it with the all the millennial trend-following stuff."

"...do you really think so?", she smiled, a little surprised.

"Oh yeah.", Rocky nodded but then added on, hopefully and slightly nervously. "Maybe after I lend you my Billy Joel CD...we could hang out again?"

Melanie thought about it a moment. She smiled. She nodded.

"Yeah.. I think I'd like that."

He grinned, eyes lighting up hopefully.

"Really? Awesome!"

"Totes."

And with that, they turned onto the yard and walked up to Rocky's house.