You sit and eat awkwardly. You and Twilight talk back and forth about your books, though both of you are uncomfortable. Velvet doesn't pay much mind to it.
Twilight glances over at her, wanting to ask her what is wrong, but she resists. You finish your dessert.
"You like it?" Twilight asks, a bittersweet smile on her face.
"Yeah. It was great. You're a good cook, Twilight."
She blushes and giggles, "Thank you."
"You too, Velvet. Thank you very much for the food."
She looks up and smiles at you, but then back to her phone.
Whats biting her? You thought you fixed the issue.
"I want you both to know that I had a great evening tonight. Your cooking was great."
"You're welcome, Anon." Twilight says with a big smile on her face.
Velvet is silent, but she looks up and says, "It was my pleasure, Anon."
You nod and stand up. "I should probably get going."
Twilight's smile fades into a frown, knowing that you want to get out of the awkward situation. "I'll...I'll show you to the door." Twilight says.
She gets up and you both walk to the front door. "I'm sorry again..."
"Stop apologizing. Things like this happen...just talk to her after I leave. I want to come over more in the future."
Her smile reappears. "Really?"
"Yup...So just talk to her. You guys will work it out." You slip your shoes back on.
"I wish you could stay longer, Anon."
"Yeah...me too. Shoot me a text or call me tomorrow if you want."
She nods and smiles warmly. "I will."
You're about to head out the door when Velvet comes into the room.
"Anon."
You turn around, surprised. "Uhh...yes, Velvet?"
"I want to apologize for my behavior. I know you just came over for a quiet evening."
You shake your head. "That's the last thing I wanted. I wanted to laugh with you and Twilight the same way I did when I first came over."
Velvet smiles. "I know that didn't exactly wor-"
RRIIIINNNNGGG
The house phone starts ringing.
"That's probably your Dad, Twilight."
She shakes her head. "It can wait."
"He doesn't get a lot of time to talk to you, sweetie. Go talk to him. I'll show Anon out."
Twilight sighs. "I'm going to talk to my Dad, Anon. He calls around this time on the weekends...he's always busy."
You frown, but then force a smile. "Sure thing. Go talk to him."
Twilight moves forward and gives you a hug. "Talk to you tomorrow."
"Okay." you say, still smiling.
She walks off and picks up the phone from the table. "Hello?...Hey, Dad...I'm doing okay, I jus-" Her voice fades as she walks towards her bedroom.
Velvet sighs. "Thank you for talking to her."
Your smile fades and you look at her sternly. "Why did you act the way you did when she came back downstairs?"
She sighs. "I just felt like I ruined your evening."
You sigh as well. "You didn't. I still had fun."
"You're a wonderful young man, Anon. Thank you for being so kind despite Twilight and I's shortcomings..."
"You guys are really quick to blame yourselves...it was my fault."
"What do you mean?"
You realize what you just said. It all started with the 'checking out' comment that Velvet had made. She blushes when she makes the same realization.
"I uhh...." OH MAN this is awkward.
She giggles, trying to add humor to defuse the tension, "I said give Twilight a chance...not me."
"Why? You don't deserve a chance?"
She looks at you completely shocked. "Anon? What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that I don't like Twilight...I haven't really had enough time to get to know her that well..."
"But you talked to her...I said don't talk to her if you're not interested in her."
She's becoming protective of Twilight...this is sensitive territory.
"I made her feel better. I wasn't going to just leave her like that...You asked if I was at least interested in Twilight, and I said no."
She remains silent, listening to you.
"I meant that. But I am interested in someone else."
She leans back a little bit, knowing where you're going with this. The pink blush on her cheeks deepens into a red. "Anon...no."
"What?"
"No."
.....
Seriously?
"Anon, I know I don't have any place telling you this...but my daughter is interested in you. I know tonight is proof enough of that." She leans back forward, straightening her posture.
"So if I was the least bit interested, I'd decline. I would never hurt my daughter in such a way."
"But-"
"No, Anon...I'm sorry."
Shut down.
Again.
Your eyes fall to the floor in defeat.
"I had no idea you felt that way, Anon...If I'd known I would have never invited you over again."
Fuck.
This isn't going well.
She walks around you and opens the front door. She says nothing, standing there...just waiting for you to leave.
"Velvet."
She glances at you, a stern look on her face. "Are you against Twilight and I still being friends?"
She shakes her head. "No. I encourage it...I just thought that eventually you would warm up to one another...then you tell me this."
"Well its how I feel. You make me laugh a lot, and you have an amazing personality as well as being a really caring person...why wouldn't I be interested?"
She's sits in silence, still holding the door open.
"When was the last time you did something that made you happy? Twilight is important, yeah, but so are you."
"Anon..."
"Just tell me why you won't give me a chance...and I'll leave."
"I'm probably more than half your age, Anon...its just not something that's not realistic."
That excuse again. Seems like every time you try to express your feelings to someone like this, they hand you that excuse. Velvet is fidgeting, uncomfortable with the situation, just like Cheerilee was. You can't help but feel like a burden at this point.
There's an awkward silence as she keeps the door held open, crickets chirping outside, a cool breeze coming through.
"So is it just age, then?"
"No. Twilight cares about you. So I won't interfere."
You don't really want to accept what you're hearing, but what can you do?
"Fine." You straighten your back and make eye contact. "I'll be leaving then."
She's silent, but she folds her arms and nods. With that you walk past her, and without looking back, you grab the doorknob and close the door behind you.
Klick-klack.
...And thats it.
You stand at the top of the stairway, looking down at the cement path leading to the front of the lawn. You just stare forward, thinking about what just happened.
Could you have done anything differently?
Could you have expressed your feelings in a different way?

Author's Note

Little late, but more to come! I blame Toradora! for my tardiness.