One Last Sunset

It's more beautiful than you thought it'd be.

The sun clings to the edge of the horizon and sinks lower with every minute that passes. Its magnificent light bounces off of the gentle waves of the ocean in front of you and paints the sand in a soft orange glow. The warmth feels good on your skin, like a comforting embrace from some angelic mother—a stark contrast from the intense barrage of the afternoon sun from earlier. You've watched it go down for hours now, all the while gripping that little orange bottle in your hand so hard that it's left an imprint on your skin.

The sun's light is soft now, soft enough that you can stare right at it without it hurting your eyes. The bright white of the glowing orb you sat down to is finally fizzling out to the red and yellow hues that bathe the sky with color. It really is a beautiful sight, one you're glad you picked. A completely clear sky and not a sound to disturb you except the gentle brushing of the waves against the shore is a nice bonus. You look down to your feet shifting in the sand and digging a little hole for themselves, wondering why you didn't do this more while you had the chance. Maybe things wouldn't have turned out like they did. It's a comforting final scene to cap off the awfulness of life, at least.

The sun inches further and further behind the horizon, threatening to leave you in the dark completely before too long. Once it's gone for the night, you decided that's when you'd get up from the comfortable hole you'd bored into the sand—just as soon as the light left the world, you want to just leave with it. You shake the bottle in your hand to hear your cocktail of pills rattle around in it. Painkillers and sleeping pills, enough to put you out for days, if not kill you outright. They were all small enough to swallow without much trouble and this time you know it's going to work. It has to. You close your eyes and fantasize about that final swim out into the ocean and finally losing consciousness for the last time like you've wanted for so many months now. Maybe your body might wash up on the shore, but at this point you're beyond caring about something like that.

You open your palm and let the little bottle spin around in your hand. The sun is just barely peaking over the horizon now. You close your eyes and take in a long, deep breath. It won't be long until everything is over and it all can just finally end. You gaze back out at the sky as the colors dance away from the bright, beautiful rays of orange and yellow to a dull red and the soft indigo of the night sky creeping in. You take the cap off of the bottle and stare down at the mixture of colors. In any other situation your heart might be pounding in anticipation, but now you can hardly even bring yourself to care. The decision was already made a long time ago, you just need to go through with it now. You enjoy the last few moments of the sun's warmth glowing across your skin and let out a sigh at the thought of the relief finally leaving things behind. You bury your feet even further into the soft sand and lean forward onto your knees, closing your eyes and waiting for that last bit of light to finally leave.

"Hey," a female voice says from behind you, sending a jolt of fear through you. You jump and almost spill the contents all over yourself. The quick scramble to hide the bottle in your pocket is probably a little more obvious than you'd like it to be. You spin around to see who managed to find you out here.

You slowly turn back around at the first glimpse; you'd know that red and yellow hair anywhere. The one and only Sunset Shimmer is standing beside you, casting her gaze down at you. Her easy going smile is an odd sight considering the bully queen of Canterlot you've always known her as. Your first reaction is to sneer at her presence, spit at her feet and tell her to get lost after everything she's done to you. Your lips start to move with the slight hint of anger, but it quickly fades into the void of apathy you've sunk into for so many months. You lean forward and rest your chin on a forearm to stare out at the sunset instead. It's not like she could make things any worse at this point.

"Hey," you say with a monotone mumble.

"Do you mind if I sit next to you? You found a pretty good spot out here to watch the sunset," she says with an odd sweetness that grated against your idea of her. Her gentle smile at your presence is an uncomfortable sight that contrasts with the haughty grin you're used to seeing on her. It's been a long time since anyone has smiled at you though. The caring gesture did stir up some satisfaction, even if it is from her.

"Wasn't really saving it for anyone. Go ahead," you say. You look away from her as she leans down and settles down on her knees, placing her hands on her thighs and sitting just a little bit taller than you. "Not much left to see anyway."

She lets out a long sigh as she brushes some of those red and yellow locks off her shoulder and lets her hair drape over her like a silk sheet. "Maybe tomorrow then. It was a nice walk over here at least. It's nice to see a familiar face around here, too."

You can see Sunset look over at you expectantly out of the corner of your eye, but you don't bother to respond. The two of you are the farthest things from friends you could possibly think of and you have to wonder why she's even bothering to talk to you at all. You give her a sideways glance before looking back out to the ocean.

You can see her purse her lips at your silence before opening her mouth to try again. "So, how have you been? We never really get the chance to talk in class and I've been meaning to get to know you."

"Seriously?" you say, a little bit of malice slipping out as you shoot her a quick glare. You can see her wince a little at the tone, but you can't imagine she didn't expect it, all things considered.

Sunset clears her throat and settles back into the sand, her eyes tracing down to the ground. "Look... I know I haven't made life particularly easy for you in the past, but that doesn't mean we can't still be friends now, right?" she says, looking over to you and making her best attempt at a warm smile. It almost makes you uncomfortable. No one has really smiled at you or because of you in months and she expects you to believe it's genuine coming from her? You look her up and down with a harsh glare for a moment, your mind shooting guesses as to what she could be up to.

"Might be too late for that," you say back to her, shifting your focus back out across the sea. She looks away from you for a moment, a little hurt that you didn't return her warmth. You shake your head in annoyance at her game, just hoping she'd leave already. You can already feel the pills pouring out of the bottle in your pocket and with the last bits of sun finally past the horizon you should've had this done already.

Sunset does her best to put her warm smile back on. "It's never too late to make a new friend." You don't bother to look over, leaving an awkward silence in the air for a moment. "So what brings you out here? Not a lot of people come down this far for the beach."

"Didn't really want to be bothered."

Sunset looks at you for a moment like you just shoved her. "O-oh... do you want me to leave?"

"I don't really care. Do what you want," you say, not entirely sure why you didn't just tell her to go away. The sun has disappeared almost entirely behind the horizon at this point, only offering a few weak rays to light up the sky with the last hints of the day. Sunset's presence isn't something you want on the surface, but you for some reason you couldn't conjure up the anger to really tell her to get lost.

"Okay. Good," she says, the smile returning to her face. "You looked like you could use the company."

You let silence permeate the space between you again for a moment. A long sigh escapes your lips and you look down to the sand in front of you. "Why are you out here, Sunset?" you say in a somewhat defeated tone. The day has already passed and that only gave you excuses to wait even longer and suffer through even more sleepless nights and uncomfortable memories. Frustration grows in a slow boil in your torso as the timing of your plan falls apart.

"What, can't a girl enjoy her winter vacation somewhere warm?" she says with a playful grin.

"No, I mean, why are you out here alone? With me? Don't you have a bunch of new friends now?"

"Oh..." Sunset says, her eyes drifting down to the sand as well. "I guess I just wanted to come out here on my own to think about things. I knew the girls would understand." She lets out a little laugh. "Besides, they didn't exactly have the money to come down here like I did."

You look over at her with a raised eyebrow. You could've sworn she worked at that sushi place in the mall. "How do you?"

"It's a long story, but currency from my old home helps through times like this," she says nonchalantly with a wave of her hand. "It gets me through some of my expenses."

"Right, magical unicorn from another universe..." you let out another uninterested sigh. She obviously wants someone to talk to and it doesn't seem like she's going away anymore, so you finally decide to give in and reluctantly oblige her; maybe it'll make her go away quicker. "So, what did you come to think about?"

She leaves the question hanging for a moment, her eyes glued out on the ocean "I... do you like to dance?" she asks, her expression turning hopeful as she looked over at you.

"Uh, I don't really—"

Sunset gets up off the sand, brushing the grains clinging to her sarong and legs. "There's a place down the beach that has a reggae band playing tonight and I know they don't check for ID's" she says with a sly smile, extending her hand out to you.

You open your mouth to tell her no, but the word catches in your throat. All you've been doing since you got here is sitting in the little beach house alternating between watching TV, looking out at the beach, and being stuck with the thought of how much you wished you could just end it already. You had finally settled on today to have that picturesque departure, but that's already ruined. If you said no now all it would be is another dull night of boredom and misery, so why the hell not?

You raise your hand up to hers, but pause for a moment with a raised eyebrow. She had to be up to something; she was never this nice to you. You look back out to the water and let your hand drop for a moment, thinking about how dull your life had been for the last few months as you worked towards this attempt. One night of something interesting wouldn't hurt before the end, even if it did end with some horrible scheme. Not like whatever Sunset was planning was going to matter soon anyway.

"You know what? Sure." You grab her hand and let her tug on you. You're a lot bigger than her though, so her first tug just unsuccessfully tugs your arm at its socket. The second tug involves her swinging her entire weight up and both hands to get you off the ground, but has the unfortunate side effect of making her slip backward and fall into the sand.

"Whoops, haha," she says with a sheepish smile, with a hint of frustration cast down at the new layer of sand covering her legs.

You do your best to return her smile and it is a little easier at her misfortune. You have to work your jaw for a moment afterwards—those muscles felt odd and uncomfortable as they flexed in your cheeks. It has definitely been a long time since you've even bothered to grin. Your hand returns the favor and pulls her back up to her feet with one quick tug. "I don't think you're supposed to fall doing that."

Her face turns a little bit red. "Well I had to figure something out," she says as she wipes her legs off again.

"So you meant to do that?"

She shoots another grin and a wink at you "Oh yeah, I love taking any excuse to get all sandy. Now lets forget this ever happened and go get something to drink."

The air between you is somewhat tense and awkward as you both make your way down the beach. Your face sinks back to its default hopeless stare, only interrupted by some slight amusement at Sunset's awkward glances over at you. Seems like she's used to having more talkative people around and is growing increasingly nervous at your continued silence.

Sunset clears her throat and looks back over to you. "So, you have a drink of choice?"

You look up into the air and let a quick snort out of your nose. "Not really. I'm only eighteen, remember?"

"Right... well, haven't you tried anything at parties or something?" She asks, leaning over to try to catch your gaze.

"Nobody would ever invite me after what you did," you say in your same monotone. Sunset winced and stood back up straight, unable to look at you for a moment. You don't bother to share any of that emotion—it all stopped mattering a while ago.

"Right... well, for what it's worth, I'm really sorry about all that."

You don't bother to look over at her and just give her a lazy shrug. The air between you becomes even more awkward as Sunset fidgets in place and opens her mouth a few times to try to say something, only for it to close again as the thought gets lost in her throat.

"Hey, look at that. We're here," Sunset says, some relief showing through in her voice.

The little hut with its own bar and stage only held a half dozen or so tables underneath its palm frond roof. There weren't any roads leading to it, so only people making their way down the shoreline around some of the surrounding houses would've found it. As you both made your way in, the only other people around were five older people, probably vacationing somewhere warm in their retirement. Didn't seem like a particularly lively night, but that's not what you really wanted anyway.

"Two mai tais, please," Sunset says as she grabs a stool next to the thatch bar. A gentle flow of slow, gentle music plays out of the instruments behind you. The band looks like they've been doing this for 40 years judging by the white hair and ragged shirts, but the bright smiles and rhythmic swaying of their bodies made it seem like they were enjoying themselves. The relaxed music is a nice change from the silence of your room or the constant rush of the ocean.

You settle onto the old wooden bar stool beside Sunset and watch the elderly bartender mix the drinks with practiced ease. Come to think of it, you two were the only people here who didn't have white hair.

Sunset reaches into the top of her swimsuit for a moment and you catch a flash of green, but you put a hand up to stop her. "No need to expose yourself," you say, pulling some money out of your wallet and slapping it on the bar. You look down at the billfold for a moment, feeling empty from the lack of cards you left back at the house. This was supposed to just be for identifying the body, but oh well.

"That's sweet, but you don't need to do that," she says, sliding the money back over to you. "I am the one that brought us here after all."

"Just let me pay for it, Sunset. It's not a big deal." you slide the cash over back over to her. The jumble of money was going to be useless to you before too long, so might as well do something with it that might make someone else's world a little better.

Sunset opens her mouth to protest, but catches your unamused expression and decides not to. "Alright. Thank you..."

You take in a deep breath and look out to the stars as they begin to peak through the darkness. Your mind starts to wonder again, wondering what exactly Sunset is up to bringing you out here. You can't imagine what she's trying to use you for this time as your eyes dart around the older crowd. Doesn't seem to be much opportunity for one of her plans here. You momentarily play with the idea that she actually did just feel bad, but you know her better than that. You look back over to your teal-eyed tormentor as she twiddles her thumbs awkwardly. Something definitely feels different about her, but you can't help but feel a twinge of anger at the thought of everything she's done.

As pretty as she is, you know she's the nastiest, most cruel person you've ever known. Six months ago being this close to her would stir up a seething hatred inside you and make you want to hit her or worse, but now you can only let out a soft sigh as you look over her. The intense anger only gets lost in the endless void of your own emptiness now and all you really know how to be is miserable or numb.

"What?" Sunset asks with a raised eyebrow. You look up to her eyes, only just now realizing you were staring at her.

You blink a few times then glance away. "So where's this going to go?" you ask right back.

"Well, the hut probably isn't going anywhere, so..."

"What's your plan this time, Sunset? I'm not stupid. You're not one to take losers out for a drink without a purpose."

The bartender places the drinks down in front of you, but as you two lock eyes they go ignored. "Is it so hard to believe I don't have one? Well, I do, but it's just to try to be friends."

You let out another sigh and grip the freezing cold glass in front of you. "With me? Out here completely alone? Look, there's no way you could've known I was here by chance, Sunset. I know you've got something in the wings. It'll probably go smoother if you just tell me what it is."

"It's... it's not like that anymore," Sunset says, looking down and stirring the straw in her own drink. "Look, you have every right to distrust me, and honestly I don't blame you, but please, just give me a chance to prove that I'm not trying anything behind your back now. Can we try that?"

You look away from her for a moment and shake your head, then trace your eyes back. "I'm not buying it, Sunset, but honestly I hardly care anymore, so why not."

"I suppose that's a start."

You lean down and take a sip out of the straw, your face twisting at the odd combination of citrus sweetness and the sour bite of alcohol behind it. Sunset lets off a little giggle at your reaction. "Have you ever had one before?" she says before taking a sip of her own.

"Uh..." you cough a few times, trying to get used to the feeling as it goes down your throat. "I can't say I have." You look back down to the orange slurry in front of you—it doesn't look like it'd have that kind of bite, but as it settles into your stomach it spreads around a strange kind of warmth through the rest of your torso. You lean back down and take another sip, doing your best not to grimace this time.

Sunset giggles at your attempts again. "Oh come on, it's not that bad."

"It's definitely something new..." you say, taking another sip, a little more prepared this time. Once the shock of the alcohol on your tongue subsides the sweet flavor is kind of nice.

"Well, you'll be having a lot more fun after two or three more," Sunset says with a big sip of her own.

"You trying to get me drunk?" you ask with a raised eyebrow. The tension between the two of you is slowly melting away with each sip and you can feel your own numbness start to fade as well.

"Well, that's up to you if you're buying. I should probably be asking you that question instead," Sunset says as she takes another sip of her own.

The melodies coming out of the band start feeling different and you can feel your foot start to sway with the beat. Somehow with every drink you can feel the tension of the last few months fading and emotion flowing in from the music. You close your eyes with your mouth settled on the straw, just watching as the strange warmth spreads out through your body and clouds your mind away from the constant barrage of awful thoughts.

"Are you trying to get drunk?" Sunset asks, snapping you out of the momentary reverie. You look over and blink in confusion at her for a moment before you look back and realize just how much you'd taken in: the fancy glass is already almost halfway empty.

"Oh, well... not really, I don't think. I guess I was starting to like it."

Sunset gives you a warm smile. "Good. Maybe after the next one I can get you to dance," she says, leaning over and giving you a gentle nudge with her elbow.

You give her a weak smile. "Don't push your luck." You look back to take in the little beach hut, glancing around the tables as the tiki torches provide the only light in the growing night. "So, why here exactly? Doesn't really seem like your kind of place."

Sunset raises an eyebrow at you as she leans back onto the counter with her elbows. "Because it was quiet and I wanted to hear the band... maybe dance a little bit. What's 'my kind of place' to you?" she asks with an amused grin.

You give her a shrug and let your eyes wander away from hers. "I dunno, a dark, dirty, evil lair where you mastermind your next scheme."

"If I had a mustache to twiddle that'd be perfect," she says with a roll of her eyes. "I mean, what's wrong with here? I thought I fit in pretty well."

You raise an eyebrow and look around the crowd. "With all the old people?"

Sunset rolls her eyes. "No, I mean with the chill vibe and relaxing music. It feels like a good place to hang out with and have a fun, quiet night. Seems up my alley, don't you think?"

You poke your straw around in the rest of your drink. "I don't know... I always figured a popular girl like you would stick around the big parties and clubs, getting drunk all the time with all your friends."

"I'm still in high school too, you know," she says with a sly smirk. "My favorite parties still involve Pinkie Pie, pinatas, and cupcakes. Don't think I'll ever be into going to clubs."

"Me neither. I don't really know what girls like you do in their off time."

Sunset's smile turns warm and you meet her eyes for a moment. "Well, I'm not entirely sure what boys like you do in their off time, so now's a good time to change that and get to know each other, don't you think?"

Reality slowly creeps back in as you try to take another drink. That familiar emptiness pushes back against the warmth growing inside you to mash down the hope that there'd actually be any future for what she just said. By tomorrow none of this would matter, as much as you want to smile at the thought of having a real friend in her. You look away from Sunset and out towards the growing moonlight illuminating the beech. You have to remind yourself you are out here in the first place because of her, you want to die because of her, and now you'll have to spend another miserable night in that dumb little beach house because of her.

You jerk a little bit at the feeling of Sunset's fingers on your arm. "Hey, is everything okay?" she says, her face actually conveying some genuine concern.

You pull your arm away and give her a quick sneer. Of course everything isn't alright—her of all people should know that. "I'm fine," you let out in a terse, frustrated tone.

The air quickly grows tense between you. Sunset lets her hand hang in the air for a moment as her smile fades from the harsh tone. You're sure she knows better than to actually believe you, but she doesn't say anything. The moment is cut short by the band ending their song and a normal voice calling out to the crowd. They say something about the massive crowd and thunderous applause, enticing a laugh out of the elderly couples populating the seats. They announce the name of their next song and a gentle, calming tune flows out of their instruments, letting a different kind of feeling settle onto the little hut. It's almost like a love song with its sweet, low melody. You take another deep breath, trying to let the harsh feelings fade. It's only one more night, anyway. Might as well enjoy it.

You glance back over at Sunset to see she's somehow downed the entire drink in her hands. A soft redness is forming on her cheeks as she turns to step off of her stool before you can say anything. Sunset holds out an eager hand once she sees you looking at her and looks down her arms expectantly. "Dance with me?" she asks, a hopeful smile on her face.

Your brain is hardly in control anymore as you reach your hand out to meet hers. In any other situation that question would get an instant 'no' but with your own warmth spreading what must be an awkward blush on your cheeks, you stand up and let her pull you out in between the tables.

"I... I don't know how to dance," you say, trying to talk past the weird feeling of having Sunset's hand in yours combined with the looks of everyone around you.

Sunset takes both of your hands in hers as you come to a stop between everyone. "It's okay, I don't really know how either. I've seen some slow dancing in movies though—can't be too hard. Just put your hands here..." Her hands guide yours to the top of her bare hips. A nervous lump forms in your throat as your palms come to rest against her silky skin. Sunset makes things even worse by resting her soft hands against your shoulders and letting herself settle up against you, her bare stomach lovingly caressing yours as you both start to sway.

"See, not that hard, right?"

"N-no..." the warmth on your cheeks grows hotter and you know it's not from the alcohol anymore. You try to look down into her eyes with each sway, but the growing butterflies in your stomach urge you to look away.

Sunset lets off a giggle about the third time it happens. "I'm not gonna bite you, you know."

You clear your throat, still looking away. "I know... I'm just not really used to this kind of thing."

"Me neither. I came here to get some time to think, but some new experiences would beat being bored out here by ourselves, don't you think?"

You have to clear your throat again to stave off an inevitable nervous voice crack. "S-sure..."

You can feel your own hands threatening to tremble on her soft sides. Every time her stomach brushed up against you, a new rush of butterflies flooded your system, threatening to send your entire body into a stiff nervousness. You somehow held strong and managed to sway to the beat with her, but you still couldn't look down into her eyes for long. The feeling of her hair falling over her shoulder and brushing up against your skin, the smell of her fruity shampoo radiating up to you, and your bodies being so close together... it's almost more intoxicating than the alcohol.

As you melt into the wonderful feelings, everything you remember about the awful girl in your arms seems to fade away. All the contempt and fear are gone and it's finally just... living in the moment. You're supposed to hate her, but a smile creeps across your face at the flood of new, wonderful feelings, tugging on those unused muscles. Soon enough the rest of the world fades away into the night and it's only you and her in this embrace.

"Do you like the music?" she asks, breaking you out of your reverie.

You have to blink a few times before you realize she actually just said something."Uh... yeah. It's actually really nice," you say, still unable to fully meet her gaze yet.

"It feels good to just forget about everything and just flow with the music, doesn't it?"

You let out a slow, deep breath around your new, sappy smile as the wonderful feelings consume you. "It really does..."

Before you can settle back into it, you feel a tap on your shoulder. You turn around to see one of the elderly couples looking at you and smiling. "I just wanted to say how nice it is to see two young people so in love with each other in this day and age. I hope you two live a long and happy life together," the older woman of the couple says. You try to say something, but your breath catches in your throat.

Sunset just giggles. "Thank you so much, ma'am. You two are really cute together too," she says with a bright smile before they both share a happy nod. The older woman saunters back over to her husband and takes his hand to start dancing as well. You look around the hut and notice most of the couples had followed your lead, swaying back and forth to the music together.

You look back down to the girl in your arms, this time with a questioning glance. "Sunset, we're not—"

"Shhh, I know. I just didn't want to ruin it for them."

Sunset takes in a deep breath of her own and leans her head forward onto your chest. The feeling of her incredibly soft red and yellow locks brushing up against your skin sent goosebumps across your entire body. Your breathing becomes a little strained at the flood of new feelings. The girl that had completely ruined your life was now lying against your chest like a tired kitten just looking for a safe nap.

The band slowed down their song until it ended with a long, slow note fading into the night. You can feel disappointment flooding through your system as Sunset lifted up her head and the two of you stopped swaying. A new round of blushing starts when the singer points towards you and Sunset and says, "This one is for our two young, lovely love birds. Now close your eyes and let me take you back to those younger days," they say before the next melody resounds out of their speakers.

Sunset let out another short laugh. "I think we've got them convinced."

"Heh... uh, yeah," you say, almost intoxicated by the feeling of Sunset pressed up against you. You can feel yourself melting under her touch. Every little movement together wipes away another depressive thought poking at the back of your mind until all you can think about anymore is her. The soft palms of her hands resting on the back of your neck, the feeling of her head up against your chest, just the idea that someone would actually want to be close to you like this. The smile on your mouth doesn't seem to want to go away at all the wonderful sensations.

You almost laugh at yourself; you're supposed to hate this girl, but now all the sudden you look down at her and your drunken mind starts imagining a friendship... a relationship... the times you could have through this vacation, back in school, college, after...

Your smile fades as something tries to tug the warmth away back to emptiness. Why would she ever want that with you? A bit of logic slips through the drunken facade as you remind yourself this is probably just to manipulate you for something. You lose yourself in the disappointment for a moment and Sunset quickly slows down to look up at you with concern. "Is something wrong?"

"No... I... no," you try to get out. You squeeze her a little tighter up against you, not wanting the wonderful moment to end. You fight a war in your own mind between wanting to be close to her and reminding yourself how horrible she is. The wonderful feelings of her smiles and her touch easily cloud your mind and make you want more, but the thought of the awful ways she might be using you for whatever it is she's up to refuse to go away. Does it really even matter much? You let out a sigh as you look down into those sweet, teal eyes.

"You want to get another drink?" she asks. Can't hide much from her, not that you were doing a very good job of it in the first place.

"Yeah, I think so."

Sunset takes your hand and leads you back to the bar, pulling out some of her money this time and asking the bartender for two more. You don't bother to protest this time as you close your eyes and try to push the conflict out of your mind.

"Thank you," you say with a somber, defeated tone as the next glass drops in front of you.

"What happened?" Sunset asks, putting her soft, caring hand on your shoulder. You don't bother pulling away this time.

You take a long drink out of the straw before spinning the rest around in the glass. "I just... I've got a lot to think about."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

You purse your lips and adjust yourself on the stool, feeling the dozens of little pills that spilled out in your pocket. "I have a lot of things I want to do."

Sunset opens her mouth, but nothing makes its way out. You close your eyes tightly and try to embrace that familiar warmth again, but this time its comfort decides to elude you. "This was really nice of you, Sunset. I just... I think I just want to head in for the night."

Sunset looks down to her own drink and you can see the disappointment on her face forming as she stirs around the orange slush herself. "Did I do something wrong?"

You have to blink a few times as you look over at her. That sweet tone filled with genuine worry was a stark contrast from the haughty narcissism and smug grin you'd grown so used to on her as she called you names. The confusion turns the warmth in your stomach to an uncomfortable churning as your mind desperately tries to go back and fantasize about holding her again.

"No... no, it's nothing like that. I'm just tired and I think I went a little too fast with this," you say, not being able to look her in the eye.

"Oh, well if that's the case maybe you should get some rest. Do you want to do something together tomorrow?"

You look over at her with a raised eyebrow, the question catching you off-guard for a moment. The discomfort fades for a moment; it's been a long time since someone has genuinely wanted to do something with you so you do your best to put on a warm smile for her. Your mind quickly flashes fantasies of what you two might get up to, but then the bottle in your pocket pokes at you again reminding you what you're really here for. "Maybe... I think I'm just going to go for now," you say as you take one last sip and turn to walk out.

Sunset grabs your shoulder and blurts out a quick "Wait!" before you step back into the sand. You turn around and expect an insult over something out of instinct, but instead Sunset wraps her arms around your midsection and gives you a sweet, caring embrace that fills your stomach with those familiar butterflies yet again. "Thanks for dancing with me."

You stand stiff for a moment at the sudden gesture, until finally letting yourself relax and letting your hands squeeze her back. "You're welcome," you whisper down to her.

"I'll see you tomorrow, hopefully," she says as she takes a step backwards, taking that wonderful feeling with her.

"Yeah..." you manage to get out, your eyes tracing down to the ground. You turn around and head out to an empty beach, leaving behind all the music and happiness that little hut held. Your head swims in confusion as you try to sort out what just happened. What was her game? Why would she ever care about you? She never has and you doubted she ever really would. You know this is probably going to end badly, somehow, but the part of your mind loosened by the alcohol shoots back: what would she have to gain alone out here? Why would she go through all this effort?

You put a hand up to your face and rub your eyes. The cold emptiness had a new rival that's fighting hard against your desire to down those pills already. Those sweet, teal eyes, that warm smile... a fond fuzziness builds up inside you at the thought. In your buzzed haze all you can think about is chasing those wonderful feelings yet again, but the rational part of your mind occasionally broke through to remind you she was probably just going to hurt you in the end.

The sound of your feet shifting the sand underneath you added a rhythmic partner to the constant waves in the dark walk back to that old beach house. Another night in those stiff sheets isn't what you want, but it's too late to go through with it now. The thought of the uncomfortably cold water and having to fish out all the pills from your pocket isn't something you want to deal with anymore. A few hours away from the world in that bed sounded pretty nice about now anyway. There's always tomorrow at least.

You let out a frustrated grunt as you reach the creaky steps to the old beach house. Sunset wanted to be in your tomorrow. You grip your temples as you head inside the abode, not sure about anything anymore. Your mind chases the feelings again, pushing you to try to get excited at the prospect of more Sunset, but that's not why you're here. You close the door behind you and quickly find your way into the mattress to watch the moon peak through your window. Tomorrow would be another day, at least.