The Relapse

So… Some things happened today. It’s been two weeks or so since I last wrote and in that time, Selene and I have been spending a lot of time together. Going to the gym, getting lunch, hanging out around town; she’s essentially my new Beth and Dew Star but really cute quiet. After work today, she offered to take me to dinner since I had to work through lunch. Extremely grateful, I accepted and followed her to the restaurant Dew Star took me to that one time except we sat inside on actual seats this time.

“You should have told me we were coming here,” I said as I helped Selene sit. As I sat down across from her, I noticed the flat stare she gave me and I felt an amused smile spread across my face.

“Heh, I only say that because I’ve been here recently,” I replied and she flashed an ‘oh really’ face, “Dew Star brought me here because of the new menu a while ago.” She looked at me expectantly.

“You’ll probably like it; it’s a little… too red for me,” I answered. Taking my word for it, she picked up and scanned her menu and I did the same. After a minute or two, I caught myself looking over my literature at Selene and watching her golden eyes scan the paper in front of her. After the waitress came and took our orders, I found myself staring at Selene again but I wasn’t the only one to notice. My eyes quickly darted away when they met hers and I quickly thought of something to talk about.

“S-so, how’s the family?” Apparently, I thought too quickly. When I looked back at her, her brows had furrowed slightly and her eyes were focused on the tablecloth.

“I-I’m sorry. I don’t know why I asked that,” I apologized awkwardly before my tone went flat, “I would say you could ask the same thing if it makes you feel better, but…” Before I knew it, I was thinking about things I didn’t need to think about anymore, but dismissed the thoughts a second later. When I went to look up at Selene, I didn’t find her, only her empty side of the booth. Right as I was about to call her name, she came out from under the table and sat next to me on my left. I started to say something, but stopped when she rested her head on my shoulder, making me freeze for a second before relaxing. She let out a small sigh before gently nuzzling me, as if to say ‘it’s alright, I forgive you.’

At that moment, a strange feeling poured over and through me. Though it isn’t the first time I’ve felt it recently, it’s still an entirely new feeling I can only remember experiencing last Hearth’s Warming Eve. It’s warm, yet a little cold; nerve wracking but calming; welcoming, but slightly distant… I had no idea what it was, but was content to let it sit like I’ve been doing whenever Selene gets close.

“Mr. Romance over here,” the waitress said when she appeared silently, startling both Selene and me, “the mares can’t get enough of you, huh?” I easily ignored her as she set our food down, but had a hard time ignoring the warmth on my cheeks. When I glanced at Selene who quickly separated herself from me, she too had a noticeable redness on her fluffy cheeks. Smiling to myself, we started eating and enjoyed a quiet dinner with each other.

An hour or so later we finished eating, but Selene wasn’t ready to go home yet. As we strolled down the evening streets, we came across a movie theater that was showing some action movie and only one thing went through my head as we stood outside the building: since when did they have movie theaters? Offering to pay since she took care of dinner, I led the way inside. A form of nostalgia washed over me as we got comfortable in our back-row seats. Movies were one of the few things I enjoyed back on Earth, but didn’t really miss since I came here. I assume it’s because going to movies is a thing you would do with friends or, whenever I would go in the middle of the day, significant other. Though I wasn’t used to seeing a movie with someone else, I’ll admit it was nice.

The movie wasn’t half bad either, Dr. Strange I think it was called, but it was pretty obvious filmmaking was a new art form. When the end of the movie started to roll around, I knew the creators weren’t going to miss the opportunity to show off the poor romance they tried to establish between the main actor and the forgettable actress. Glancing over to Selene, the bored look she had on her face said she felt the same way.

“I don’t know why this whole romance is in here,” I whispered as I looked between the screen and her nodding head, “it’s kind of hard to believe she would take him back after all the shit he said and did to her. I know he said sorry, but it’s not that easy. They do a good job of making it look genuine, but the pacing’s a little off.” Right as I said that, the two characters on screen kissed, proving their love for one another and proving the movie didn’t deserve anything over a seven.

Needing to turn my head away from the scene, I looked over at Selene and found her staring back. Her golden eyes looked softly at me as I smiled lightly in return, her gaze keeping mine locked on her. I noticed her blonde cheeks are a little red, making me think something’s wrong, but right as I was about to ask, it happened… She kissed me. Time seemed to freeze as I slowly analyzed the situation. The two other couples in the theater were making out, the characters on screen were still kissing, the warmth of Selene’s tough but soft beak on my lips, the small moan I heard her make over the loud crescendo of the movie; it was a lot to take in.

I quickly pulled away from her; my eyes wide with surprise as I looked at her equally surprised face. I whipped my head forward and committed myself entirely to the movie as that feeling from earlier came back at full force. Part of me wanted to run, part of my wanted to apologize, part of me wished I had magic so I could set the place on fire and end it right there; but the smallest and simplest part of me said to stay and strangely enough, that’s what I did. Another part of me worried that I might have done something wrong though, that maybe I hurt her. Without telling my body to do so, my right hand reached out and took her left claw. I felt her stiffen before relaxing a second later and lacing her talons in between my fingers.

After few minutes of story wrapping and credit rolling, the two of us were standing outside of the theater awkwardly as she tried to not make eye contact and I tried to get my heart rate under control.

“Uh…” I muttered, unsure of what to say. I didn’t have to worry about it though as I was suddenly pounced on and kissed again. Time froze once more as I felt Selene’s arms wrap around my neck and the wind her wings blew as she kept herself steady. The one thought that came to mind? Don’t want her to fall. I wrapped my arms around her as I closed my eyes and leaned into the kiss, hoping to God I was doing it right. After a few seconds we separated and took a breath as we looked into each other’s eyes, her happy yet concerned look asking me ‘is this alright?’

“I uh, I don’t know too much about… this,” I explained as I gestured at the two of us. Her look changed to a sad one.

“D-don’t get me wrong, I l-liked it,” I stuttered embarrassedly for the first time ever as I fought to keep my face from catching fire, “b-but… I don’t know if I’m ready for everything that comes with it. Do you understand?” She gazed into my eyes for a while as she thought about what I said. Sure, I could have explained that a little clearer, but my mind was racing as fast as my heart was; a more complicated sentence would have failed me. She seemed to get it though as she smiled at me and nuzzled my cheek before hopping back down on all fours.

“Thanks,” I said before letting out a huge sigh, “damn, I’m tired. Must be this weird feeling I’ve been having a lot lately, and it’s usually when I’m with you.” Selene’s cheeks lit up at my words before she looked down and pawed the ground.

“Well, I’ll see you on Monday,” I said after a silent moment, making her look up at me worriedly, “…I’ll have an answer for you then.” Her eyes widened and sparkled with hope before nodding furiously and taking off into the sky. I was only alone for a second before she came back, kissed me on the cheek and flew off again.

Dear Princesses,

Hooray?

Sincerely,

Crystal Beth