Matt

"Why are you staring at me," Addison huffed as she took a bite out of a heart shaped chicken nugget.

I shrugged. "Where else am I supposed to look? Besides, it's kind of hard not to get distracted by that reflective shirt you're wearing. Every time I turn my head, something flashes at me out of the corner of my eye."

She scoffed. "Go sit with Aimee so I can enjoy my lunch in peace without you hovering."

I grimaced at the thought of sharing a Valentine's Day meal with her. It was bad enough that she had already stopped me in the hallway to try and convince me that we were each other's number one match.

"Matt," she shrieked, damn near tackling me as she threw her arms around my neck. "I got you as the perfect match! I just knew that would happen," she exclaimed.

I furrowed my brows at her as I slid out from her embrace. "What are you talking about? You're not on my list, Aimee."

She lowered her gaze to the floor. "Well, it must be a mistake then," she mumbled, "Because you're on mine."

I held out my hand to her. "Let me see it then."

She toed at a scuff mark on the tile floor. "I don't exactly have it anymore. I threw it out."

Rolling my eyes, I pushed past her. "Nice try, Aimee." Knowing her, if I had been her number one, she no doubt would have had that result framed and not have just tossed it away like it was nothing.

She came around to the front of me, blocking my path. "Alright, so maybe you weren't on my list but I still think we should go out for dinner tonight. If you could just go on one date with me, I think you would find that we're very compatible."

I hoisted my back pack further up on my shoulder, stepping around her and continuing to walk. "Ah, now see I would have but since you just admitted to lying to me I don't think I can. Honesty is very important in a relationship, Aimee."

She tugged on my arm. "Matt, please. One date. That's all I'm asking."

I smirked at her as I made my way into the gymnasium. "Sorry, Aim, no can do. Afraid I'm already spoken for."

This brought me back to lunch hour where Addison was glaring at me for just existing. She took a sip of her chocolate milk as she narrowed her eyes. "You know this isn't a date right?"

I dragged my hands down my face. "Nobody said it was, Addie. You act like I had any control over us being paired together."

She stared longingly in the direction of Jeff nibbling on a carrot as he smiled and laughed with Cara, a caramel skin beauty with honeyed color hair. "Why didn't I get him?"

I glanced over at Vanessa frowning as Alex tried to spoon feed her some applesauce. Why didn't I get her?

Addison leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest and furrowing her eyebrows at me. "How did we wind up together anyways? What exactly did you put down on that questionnaire?"

"Clearly a lot of what you did," I muttered.

Suddenly her emerald eyes widened as she slapped the table. "Darn it, Matthew," she yelled. "Did you copy my answers as a prank since I forced you into doing this? That's it. I'm not buying you that Maroon Five album now."

"Addie, that's not fair. I didn-" On second thought, maybe it was better to let her believe that I did. I couldn't go the rest of my life letting Addison Miller be under the impression that we were each other's perfect match. There was no way she would ever let that go. She would spend every day desperately trying to prove how much of a wrong choice I was for her and generally making my life miserable because of it. It sucked that I would have to sacrifice some awesome music over it but clearly, I had no other option. I forced a grin on my face, holding up my palms. "Ooh...you caught me, Addie. I'm afraid I'm guilty."

She nodded her head in satisfaction. "I thought so. There is no way that someone with as dark a soul as yours would ever mesh with my radiant sunshine and joyful colors that I spread around."

I smiled at her. "Hey now, maybe black is the one color you need to complete that rainbow of yours."

She laughed. "Or maybe, it will just ruin it instead. It will completely wreck something that was once so beautiful."

We held each other's gaze as I leaned forward, propping my chin in my hand. "Sounds like bad news then. Best to stay away."

She nodded her head. "I agree. Nothing good could ever come from mixing two things that just don't belong together." She cleared her throat. "It would actually be quite selfish, really. Do you know how many people have trust that the rainbow won't veer from what's expected of it? It could really end up hurting them if it decides to just let that black in."

She looked taken aback as I suddenly broke out into laughter. "What are you even talking about at this point? I think all that hairspray you apply has finally seeped into your brain."

She rolled her eyes, tossing her dinner roll at my face. "Well, who would know better about the impacts of wearing too much product than somebody whose hair could probably withstand hurricane-force winds?"

I threw the roll back at her, hitting her in the chest. "Addie, is that any way to speak to your perfect match?"

She kicked my leg underneath the table, causing me to yelp. "I hate you, Matthew. You couldn't be further from my ideal mate."

"You love me though. No denying it now. The stars have spoken, wifey." Laughing, I caught the bread that she tried to chuck back at me. It was just too easy and too fun to get under her skin. Maybe the matchmaking game hadn't completely missed the mark.

***

Vanessa

As Alex droned on about his rapping career and all the songs he had already dropped, I found my sights repeatedly wandering over to Addison and Matt. The air knocked out of my lungs as laughter erupted from their table. Addison wiped tears from her eyes and I ached to know what they were saying.

Maybe the questionnaire was accurate after all and they were meant for each other. They clearly enjoyed each other's company. I wondered how lunch would have gone if only I had been able to answer a few more questions to align with his. Would we be giggling like that? Would he reach across the table and grab a hold of my hand? Then at the end of the meal, would he pluck the rose from the vase and hold it out towards me before walking me to class?

Would we make plans to go on a date that evening? Would he take me to "the spot" and then as we gazed out at the twinkling lights of the city, would he lean in and give me a kiss? I would never know because in reality, Addison was the girl that had actually been hand-picked for him.

Unable to withstand the sight of their beaming smiles any longer, I focused my attention back towards my table and eyed the wilted rose that perfectly summed up how I felt. So much promise that was gone in an instant.

Alex frowned at me. "You ok, sugar? I would think you would be jumping up and down with glee to get to share a meal on Valentine's Day with the one and only 'Lex B. You know I'm a bit of a celebrity around here. You should feel honored. Most of my dates have to go through my people to get this kind of a luxury bestowed on them."

I sighed, tossing my white linen napkin down on the red plastic tray in front of me. "Thanks for your time but will you excuse me? I don't feel well all of a sudden."

He furrowed his brows. "Was the chicken bad?" A panicked stricken look crossed his face. "Because I ate like seven nuggets and I can't afford to get sick. I'm headlining a concert tonight."

"I think it was my breakfast," I mumbled as I pushed back from my chair.

Tears began clouding my vision and I stumbled over the leg of my chair. "Sugar," Alex called as I walked away, "Before you leave, at least let me give you an autograph. It's a special token I give to all my ladies."

I ignored him as I ran from the gym, officially renouncing Valentine's Day and planning a future of owning seventeen cats with a closet full of nothing but bathrobes.

A/N Next update 02/18 Friday. Addison's party and drunk Vanessa makes an appearance again and she's stepped up her game. Also, what happens when she tries to Addison level banter with Matt? Let's find out.