Double-Setup! [Yomi/Elsie, Valentine's Day 2019]

    "You didn't."

    "..."

    "Evie. You. Did. Not."

    "...Hee?" If that cat-smile from cartoons could be made in real life, it would be plain as day on Evie's face. "But you seemed so jealous when I went on that Valentine's date last year!"

    Jealousy probably wasn't the right word for it. Did Evie actually think she was helping? Or was this just some terrible prank for anything Elsie might have done to her in the past few months? For once, Elsie was completely lost on any reason that her sibling might seek revenge in a manner like this!

    But, at this point, it was too late to turn back, wasn't it? Evie had waited until the day of the date to even mention anything! Evil sibling! Elsie didn't care what everyone else thought of Evie! Evie was only one letter away from Evil, after all!

    "I'm locking you in the closet," Elsie threatened, grabbing her sister and shoving the green-eyed twin toward their bedroom closet.

    "Who would help you pick out an outfit, then?"

    Pause.

    Crap.

    "You didn't think you would wear pajamas on a date, did you?"

    The teen looked down at her outfit, letting out a small squealing sound as air escaped her throat. Yes. Pajamas were so fashionable, she could wear them on a date. Not. Red eyes lifted to stare at her sibling, lips twisting into a visible frown. "You hate me, don't you?"

    "I'm not allowed to!" Evie chirped, clearly proud of her victory. "Now, let's get an outfit picked out!"

    Letting her sibling do most of the work for her, Elsie sat on the edge of the bed, giving sounds of distaste whenever her twin pulled something from the closet that she hadn't approved of. In the end, this resulted in a tan cardigan, black shirt beneath it, skirt, and some flats. That was kind of cute, right?

    "This is gonna go so badly." Quite the optimist! Letting out a dramatic sigh, Elsie brushed her fingers through her hair a couple of times, staring in the bathroom mirror, while her twin stood beside her. "D'you think I should nix the contacts?" Red eyes probably weren't really the most attractive start to a date, after all!

    But, Evie shook her head. "Nope! They're you. Don't act like someone else just because you don't want to scare someone away on the first date. You would just scare them away on a second date, instead!" Was this terrible logic, or good logic? Elsie couldn't just not wear colored contacts around one person! And, Evie didn't want a chance for the twins to be mistaken down the line!

    With that part of the discussion out of the way, and the teen fully dressed up, she made her way to the door. Things weren't completely said and done, though! Spinning around, she gave an accusatory point to her sibling, "I'm not done being mad at you for this, though! Don't you dare think I'm gonna forget!" Especially if everything exploded in her face! But, with that, Elsie made her way out the door, and towards the park.

    Once there, hopefully it would be an easy process to meet up with the girl that she was supposed to be seeing.

    The girl.

    She was supposed to be--

    Nope! Not a time to start panicking now! She'd just wait and hope that she could find her date before one of them got cold feet!

---

WC: 571/2500

    Unlike her date, there would be no narrative running through Elsie's head. It was mostly a medley of, 'I'm gonna mess up,' 'oh no, oh no,' and things of similar vein. Sure, there was a bit of excitement in there, but a lot of it was anxiety! After all, what if this was all just some terrible prank a stranger was playing on her? Flip side of the coin, what if this was a great date? Who knew? The blonde really just needed to learn how to relax right now!

    Maybe some deep breathing exercises. After all, her date wasn't here yet!

At least. Not that she knew of. Stepping onto the bridge, the teen looked around to see if anyone fit the picture that had been shown to her. But, nobody fit the description as far as she could see! Surely, the stranger was just late. That had to be it. She totally wasn't being stood up right now.

Placing elbows on the railing, that she never would have suspected someone had toppled over just moments prior, Elsie let out a deep breath. "This is so n--"

Was...

That a girl...

Sitting in the water?

"Um." Taking a moment to assess the situation, lips twitched between wanting to laugh and wanting to display concern for the girl. Who just randomly sat in this lake? It wasn't deep enough to take a dip in! And, who in the world would jump in a lake, holding a bouquet?

Who would be holding a bouquet?

This would probably be painful for anyone to watch the dense girl process, as her mouth finally settled on 'concerned' as far as expressions went. And then? Alarmed. Extremely alarmed! "Are... you Yomi?"

They say it only takes ten seconds to make a good first impression. One had to wonder what kind of impression this was leaving on either of them right now!

Trying to recover whatever this situation was, the teen hoisted herself onto the railing, carefully tucking her skirt under her while she did, "if I knew you wanted to go swimming, I would have brought a swimsuit," she tried to joke, before lowering off of the railing. Within seconds, she would be standing in the little lake, just far enough away that she hopefully wouldn't have splashed the other girl from her descent! Who cared if her shoes would end up soaked from this stunt? It almost seemed rude to stay on dry ground, all things considered!

Then again, despite a picture, this might not be her date, and she might just be talking to a random stranger. Talk about even more awkward. Oh well! She'd worry about that later!

Offering a hand out, to try to help the girl up, Elsie would flash a half-grin. There was a mystery here, and no matter how embarrassing it was, the German girl had to know! "What are you actually doing in the water, anyway?"

---

[WC: 1,060]

    Unfortunately? Well, that didn't sound too enthusiastic! For a brief second, Elsie had to wonder if the unfortunate aspect was that Yomi wasn't pleased with meeting her! Then, the realization set in that, no, it was probably because the poor girl was sitting in a 'luxurious'-sized puddle.

    As far as Elsie joining her in the fancy puddle, though? "Not a big deal," she shrugged, before helping Yomi to her feet. "It's just a bit of water." A lot of water. Her socks were going to squish when she walked. "Plus, your shoes are wet too." And her skirt. And her--

    Okay, yeah, no point in listing all the articles of clothing.

    No point in thinking about any embarrassment that Yomi might be feeling right now, either! Hearing the reason why she had taken a dip in the lake, the blonde's eyes widened, and a blush began to cover her face. "You fell in because you wanted to get me a lily?" Talk about a bit of guilt there! She didn't have to do that for Elsie, of all people!

    But, Elsie wasn't going to mind either.

    Working hard to suppress a squeal, the teen took the bouquet, holding it close to her chest. "Thank you," she started, smiling. Was she smiling too wide? Oh, she felt like she was. This was embarrassing! Don't smile when a girl fell in the water for you! That's rude! "Nobody's ever given me flowers on a date before!" Was that something to be proud of? No. No, it wasn't. Would it make Yomi feel successful in some way? ...Well. Elsie could only hope. "They're so pretty."

    Enough about the flowers, though! Okay, never enough about the flowers. But, she had to not make the date all about them! "Yep! Elsie Winter," she responded, with a smile. It had seemed that in Japan, people liked last names for some reason. So, she added it in for once! Maybe, not the smartest choice when it came to the first five minutes of a blind date, but Yomi didn't look like a stalker!

    Not quite understanding whatever her date was mumbling under her breath, the teen was more than pleased to hear the enthusiasm to get out of the water. Maybe the date wasn't totally ruined? Thinking of, she had almost forgotten to address Yomi's doubts! "I don't think you screwed anything up. Unless you wanna, like, run home and ghost me?" That was kind of a joke! Kind of not. Don't ghost Elsie, please! "Do you want to go home and change, though?" That seemed like a valid inquiry, all things considered! "It's sunny, so you'll probably dry off alright, but," she trailed off. Not a lot of people wanted to be wet for very long!

    Though, standing in this water wasn't going to help any, either! At Yomi's suggestion, she'd give a nod and begin toward dry land. Oh, she could already feel the squishing in her shoes. It was going to get so much worse once she was out of the pond! "Or, we can see if any nearby shops have skirts?" Was she still thinking about this? Was this being the perfect amount of considerate, or a little too much? It was hard to tell where that line would be drawn! "I didn't really think too far into what we'd do after we met up, so if you have any ideas, I'm sure they'd work out great!" Was that bad to admit? It was probably worse to admit that she didn't know she was going on a date until today! Best to just skirt around that for now!

---

[WC: 1,665]

    As a new confession was made on Yomi's dating life, Elsie had to pause. "First date? Like, ever?" Ever-ever? Or... with a girl? Or, on Valentines day? It was hard to say what kind of first date it was! Sure, the teen expected that it was 'ever', but who knew! Some people could probably get away with saying it was their 'first date today' if they were the particularly adventurous type!

    Hearing Yomi's initial date plan, Elsie gave a smile. And, then a cringe, once the sound came from the brunette's clothes. Oh, ew. That sounded kind of gross! "I kinda figured," the blonde stated, with a small grin, as her date agreed to going to change clothes. "If you're up for it, we can do the cafe thing after you're dry!" And not making weird wet sounds when her clothes moved!

    Elsie was extremely glad that she didn't slip when jumping into the pond. A wet skirt -- among other things -- sounded pretty unpleasant! Literally!

    But with that thought, they were off to get her date a change of clothes! Or, at least, for a second they were! When a stranger's voice began to call for Yomi, the red-eyed girl raised an eyebrow. "Wha-aa-mmmph?!" What had started as a question, quickly turned into a muffled squeak as she was dragged into hiding!

    Ex-girlfriend?

    Oh wait. Yomi had already said this was her first date. Probably not an ex, then. That was sort of a relief.

    Maybe this was how murders happened from online dating.

    Even with the clear desire for some silence, Elsie had to wonder what was going on! "Mmph?" Oh. Right. Hand over her mouth. She couldn't even ask any proper questions like this! But, hopefully the 'creature' would move quickly, because the blonde probably wouldn't be able to keep quiet for long!

    It was probably a good thing that Yomi realized that she looked like a crazy kidnapper. And removed her hand before Elsie could decide on either licking or biting it. Because, that would be a great early-date-event! Kidnapped, bit/licked someone's hand, all sorts of fun things!

    Then again, Yomi was kind of young to be a murder-kidnapper. Unless they started early in life. Elsie didn't know. She didn't watch serial killer documentaries. Considering the events of this date, she probably should. It was a shame those shows bored her half to death.

    But, what did 'got her into this mess' mean? If Elsie wasn't still trying to wrap her head around hiding from friends, she might ask! At least she was free to respond now! Just in time to find out that this 'friend' also had magical 'teleporting' skills! What a great impression it probably was, that the first thing out of her mouth once she had regained 'words', was to screech at Yomi's shriek! "Eeeee-!" She probably wouldn't have screamed, if Yomi hadn't prompted it with her own! But loud noises apparently just needed more loud noises to accompany them! "Mein Gott!" she managed, pressing a hand to her chest to settle her heart down.

    Yep. Heart was still in her chest. Pounding! But, in place!

    Granted, it was probably going to make a dead stop upon hearing the 'joke' that Yomi's friend made. Elsie was just going to die today, wasn't she? First, her heart was racing. Now, it was halted entirely! This couldn't be good for he health! While it seemed that she had been at a loss for words since the other girl had 'joined' the 'party,' she at least could respond when prompted!

    Matching Yomi's tone surprisingly well, the blonde answered with no hesitation. "Gladly."

    Yomi's best friend better be sweating bullets by now! ...Or laughing. Who really knew with that girl?!

    To Elsie, this entire event was a strange one. As someone who didn't care much to create friendships, the whole thing was a bit of an anomaly! In fact, picking on and teasing people for fun wasn't really a sign of friendship to the German girl primarily because she'd just do that to anyone who talked to her! Stranger, or someone she knew for her whole life! She didn't discriminate. And, neither did her sister, which only fueled her actions and reactions.

    Watching friends 'play' together was actually a really weird way to spend her 'date' wasn't it? Or, whatever was going on. Was this considered playing? The blonde really couldn't tell. But all the sound effects were certainly entertaining, on their own! But, she couldn't help but feel like participating in any way would be interrupting! So, instead, she'd just keep watching the two do whatever it was that they were doing. Fighting? Playing? Something.

    Soon enough, Yomi's friend was tossed to the ground like an unloved doll. And, with statements like what followed, Elsie wouldn't blame her for being treated like one! Girlfriend? Their date had barely started! The teen wasn't ready to commit to a title like that yet! It was a big responsibility! Elsie didn't know if she could handle being called that any time soon. And, in fact, it was a little terrifying!

    Except that terror rapidly subsided with the reasoning for Kaya trailing off. Lifting a foot from the ground, she hovered it only centimeters above Kaya's face, as if threatening to step down. What underwear was she even wearing? Honestly, the teen didn't even pay attention to that! In hindsight, whose drawer did she even grab them from? Ugh, she was going to get yelled at once she got home, wasn't she? "Thanks. They're not mine." Elsie commented, deadpan as ever. Well, that was awkward! Though, from what she could gather from her date's friend, she would just find that more interesting! Elsie could only hope that what she was wearing under her skirt did, in fact, belong to her, though! Evie wasn't a huge fan of when their clothes got mixed up. Especially when it came to 'personal' items like this!

    Thinking of her sister! Her phone let out a small jingle as a text pushed its way through. Judging from that tone, it had to be her sibling checking up on her. Probably nothing important, right? Hopefully nothing important, considering Elsie didn't even pull her phone out to look at it! Wasn't that rude on a date? Considering how it had been going so far, she didn't want to completely ruin it by getting too distracted by her twin! If it was that important, surely Evie would call, anyway. For all Elsie could guess, somehow Evie had just realized that Elsie took clothing from the wrong dresser, too, and was just texting her to scold her! That was definitely a conversation that could wait until later.

    With Kaya's next statement, Elsie was even more glad she hadn't fully put her foot down on the girl's face. Apparently, someone enjoyed being stepped on just a little too much! Soon, she pulled her leg back to return to her normal standing position, while processing what Yomi had said. While some girls probably would have gone to an extra extent on keeping their underwear covered after already being 'spied' on, Elsie just took up her prior stance, not seeming overly concerned. It wasn't like Kaya was going to see anything she hadn't already, it seemed! No point in screaming and trying to awkwardly push her skirt into uncomfortable positions in an attempt to hide! All she could do was hope that she hadn't chosen to wear anything too embarrassing today! Not that it should really matter to the random girl that had shown up! Right?

    "She did what?" Red eyes widened a bit, trying to process just how awkward this moment had gotten. Did things escalate fast? Not really, considering Kaya was an escalation all on her own. Somehow, this just seemed like a really normal admission! "Like, planned it? Or, are we talking like... didn't even consult you on it?" While Elsie really wanted to be offended about that, she had no room to! After all, Evie had done the same to her, if this was the case! There was only one way to find out if they were in the exact same boat, or not, though. And, that was to ask! From the tone Yomi had taken, it certainly seemed like something Yomi wasn't proud of.

    Yeah, it didn't take a genius to establish that this date was created without the participants knowing what was going on. But, if that was the case, "did you not want to go on a date?" Thinking about the flowers she had received, there was an almost awkward glance to the bouquet. That just made things confusing again, didn't it? "Y'fell in a lake to get me a flower." Thanks for the summary of the past ten minutes, Elsie! Maybe, she was just trying to clarify to herself what was going on. Though, surely, if she just waited for Yomi to answer her first question, she'd stop trying to puzzle it together herself! It just all seemed a little strange, didn't it? This bouquet was probably the primary offender to permitting any sense that Elsie would be able to make out of the situation on her own. "Why would you go through all that effort if you didn't even plan the date?"

    Prime example of the question: Elsie, who was both clueless about the date, and brought nothing to the date as a gift! If only Yomi knew that, she might understand the amount of confusion going through the blonde's head at the moment! But, it seemed like bad timing to explain that her own sister had done the same thing to her, without knowing for a fact that they were in the same exact boat!

    Yomi was thinking of lying at first, wasn't she? Elsie swore she could see it in the other girl's stance. Or, maybe she was just over-analyzing. Given the current situation, she didn't really know what to think right now! Maybe, it was because she was being tight-lipped about being in the same circumstance, and would have been fully willing to lie to avoid hurting any feelings! But, from the story that began to unfold, it was more than obvious that Yomi wasn't about to craft any lies about the origin of this date.

    Listening to the explanation, the girl slowly blinked, trying to process the rationalization. Yomi's logic sounded way better than her own. Which was basically just 'my sister bullied me into it.' "Kind eyes?" Did she really? Was that a flaw or a good sign? It was hard to tell at the moment! Ignoring any input that Yomi's friend tried to put in, she just focused on the brunette that was talking to her.

    Fingers tightened around the bouquet, trying to refrain from squishing the stems. Maybe she was a little embarrassed. Though, did she have any right to be? Maybe it was more embarrassing that she still hadn't admitted to being a guilty party in all of this too. But, she didn't have too much time to dwell, since a hand was suddenly being offered! Did she deserve it though? Did she want to?

    There was a reasonable hesitance before reaching out. It felt like an eternity to take the brunette's hand, but she still did! "Yeah. Let's."

    But, then there was a pause, as the blonde scrunched her lips and nose. Ugh. Was she gonna say it? Yeah. She had to, didn't she? All this honesty junk was going to make her feel bad if she didn't. "Uh," Elsie stammered, still debating if she had time to backtrack on her own confession. "First, I've gotta come clean too. I didn't set up that profile, either." It wasn't going to surprise her if Yomi decided to be offended on any of this! Especially considering Elsie's original reaction!

    "My sister set up the date." Both cats were out of the bag now! Hopefully, nobody was allergic to cats. Otherwise, this would be bad. "Which, is a really weird coincidence. But, I hope you don't mind that?" It would be rather hypocritical if she did, to be honest! But, some people still might get offended! "If you don't mind, let's go."