Are you an angel?

You kick your legs and bob your head side to side, grinning from ear to ear and humming like someone who’s blissfully unaware of any of the tragedies of life. Vignette Valencia, on the other hand, is almost your polar opposite, burying her face into her arms and moaning in aggravation in the seat across from you. You don’t mean to be this blissfully unaware when your best friend is still obviously depressed about the other day, but it’s not like you’d be able to hide it if you tried, not after the day you’ve had today.

“Ugh… Shut up, Anon.”

“S-sorry,” you say, quickly putting your hands in your lap and keeping yourself as still as you possibly can. How long does she expect you to stay like this, though? You understand that she’s had a tough week, but you just had the best weekend of your entire life, and this afternoon… You can’t put it into words, but even if you could, it would never fully describe how cute Silver Spoon acted around you today.

Finally, Vignette raises her face from her arms and shakes her head. “No, that was my bad. I shouldn’t be taking my anger out on you just because I completely blew it with Feather Bangs the other day.”

“He still hasn’t texted you back yet?”

“Oh, he has.” Despite how comforting Vignette’s words seem on the surface, though, her tone comes off as more pissed off than relieved as she pulls out her phone, scrolling through her messages. “Here’s what I said: ‘Hey, Feather! Sorry if I acted kind of weird the other day.’ You know what he sends back? ‘It’s OK.’ That’s it?! That’s all he has to say?!”

You cringe slightly as Vignette’s voice grows in volume. “Well, to be honest, I’m not exactly sure how I’d respond to that either. Maybe you just caught him at a bad time?”

Vignette immediately holds up her finger as her aggravation continues to rise. “Oh, that’s not all! ‘Have you gained any new followers since we did our little collab?’ See? That’s the perfect conversation-starter, but you know what he sends back? ‘Yeah, a couple.’ UURRRGGGHH!!!”

“I’ve got your milkshakes!” Mr. Cake says, rounding the corner and immediately taking a step back once he sees Vignette’s outburst. Then, switching looks between the two of you (but mostly looking at you, as if you can protect him somehow), he quietly mumbles, “I… came at the wrong time again, didn’t I?”

“GIVE ME THAT!” Suddenly, Vignette snatches her milkshake out of Mr. Cake’s hands, causing both you and the shop owner to reflexively flinch as your friend lowers her head and begins angrily sucking at her straw. Once she looks up and sees the expression on both of your faces, though, she reaches into her phone case, pulls out a large bill and slams it against Mr. Cake’s belly, making him grunt in discomfort. “Keep the change.”

Mr. Cake quickly fumbles around with the paper money, trying to catch it before it floats to the ground, and once he gets a good grasp on it, he nods his head with an awkward smile, places your milkshake in front of you and darts away so fast that dust billows up behind him. Before you dig into your own frozen treat, though, you give Vignette a stern look, but she’s far too absorbed in getting a sugar rush to even glance over in your direction.

“Vignette? Are you alright?”

Finally, she pulls her lips off of her straw, swallows the remnants in her mouth and releases a soft, high-pitched belch. You have to ignore the jealousy you feel knowing that even Vignette’s burps are cute somehow, just so you can continue giving her a concerned stare that you hope she notices.

“Alright? You want to know if I’m alright?! It’s not like you would notice.”

Suddenly, your eyebrows furrow. “What’s THAT supposed to mean?!”

“You see?! The whole time you were here, Feather Bangs was all over you, but you didn’t even notice one single time!”

You recoil in surprise, blinking hard while you try to remember the details of what happened the other day. “Wait… what?! That’s ridiculous!”

Vignette, however, rolls her eyes, groaning in aggravation as she folds her arms and falls back into her seat. “Hmm. Ridiculous. OK. Why don’t you send Feather Bangs a message right now? Go ahead and say anything you’d like. Let’s just see how long it takes him to respond.”

You balk at the request. You’d much rather not play Vignette’s mind games when she’s obviously not thinking clearly, but at the same time, if it’ll pull her out of her delusions and shut her up for a second, maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all. “OK,” you reply with a haughty smirk. “How about this? ‘Hey, Feather Bangs. It’s Anon. What are you up to right now?’ Aaaaand send.”

You immediately put your phone down, giving your friend the cockiest grin at your disposal, but Vignette, meanwhile, just raises an eyebrow with a grin of her own before once again bringing her straw back up to her glossy pink lips. It’s hard for you to imagine Vignette ever acting like such a brat before now. Sure, she’s never had a crush on anyone for as long as you’ve known her, and to play devil’s advocate, she did just have one of the most awkward dates of her life...

Still, though! That’s no reason for her to take out her frustrations on you! You’ll show her. Feather Bangs is probably just going to glance over your message, and even if he does end up messaging you back, it’s not like it’ll be any time soon. In fact, supposing that he really does send you a reply--which he won’t--it’ll probably just be a one- or two-word response just like he’s been sending Vignette. Yup. She’s gonna look like such a dumb--

*Bzzt!*

...You have got to be freaking kidding right now…

You bite down on your lip, refusing to bring your eyes down to check on your phone, but Vignette just shrugs her shoulders, switching glances between you and the device on the table. “Go ahead,” she says, taking another sip.

You furrow your eyebrows again, scrunching your mouth to the side of your face. It’s probably Silver Spoon. Or Cozy Glow. Or your mom. There are plenty of people who could be texting you right now! There’s no way it’s actually--Piece of crap. It’s really from Feather Bangs.

You look into Vignette’s eyes once again, this time with much less confidence in your face, but your friend is busy slurping on her drink, leaning her cheek against her knuckle with her elbow on the table. Finally, you pick up your phone and clear your throat before hesitantly reading the message aloud. “‘H-hey, Anon! I was just thinking about you, actually. I’m just writing some new lyrics, but I’m good if you wanted to chillax a little. Ha ha.’ Oh, sweet Celestia…”

Suddenly, Vignette slips her lips off of her straw and slowly pulls herself up to a standing position, avoiding eye contact with you the entire time. “I think I’m done here.”

“Hang on a sec!” Vignette does as you say, freezing where she stands and looking more towards the direction of the table than your actual face. “Look, I promise I don’t have a crush on Feather Bangs!”

“Of course not. You have someone else who you’re in love with, but for some reason, you still don’t feel the need to share any of the details about that with your BFFBB now, do you?”

Your eyes go wide, but Vignette doesn’t move. She’s still frozen in the same position, still looking in your direction while avoiding direct eye contact. You can see her long fingernails begin to poke into her palm as her fists unintentionally clench and shake. You can see her chest rising slightly higher with each breath, and even though she’s trying to hide it, her lower lip is slowly beginning to tremble.

“I…”

Is now the right time to tell her about Silver Spoon? Vignette is your best friend, after all. She’s done so much for you… but can you really bring it up when she’s like this? If you thought she’d react badly when she was calm, how would she react when she’s already practically in tears? If you told her right now that the person you fell in love with is a nine year old girl… would she ever speak to you again?

“I…” you mutter, dropping your eyes down to your lap. “I… I can’t…”

“...Goodbye, Anon.”

You don’t stop her. Instead, you just watch her walk away through your peripheral vision, too humiliated to lift your eyes away from your legs. Of course you want to grab her before she leaves things off on such a sour note, but that would mean talking about something you’re not ready to talk about yet. Even though this may be your business and nobody else’s, Vignette trusts you with everything, and you’re choosing not to confide in her when she needs a friend more than ever.

You wait patiently for her to walk away, listening to her footsteps gradually diminish in the distance until finally, you hear the bell above the door ring, followed by the sound of the latch closing behind her. Finally, you lift your hands to your face, trying to hide from the rest of the restaurant just how much you’re crying. Today was going so well. Why did it have to end like this?

…

...No!

Then, wiping a tear with your wrist, you quickly grab your cell phone again and begin typing out a new message, glaring daggers at the screen as if it were somehow the cause behind all your pain. “Feather Bangs, is there a time we can meet up? I wanted to talk with you about something.”

Once you hit send, you toss your phone back onto the table in front of you, tapping your finger anxiously as you await his response. Of course, it isn’t Feather Bangs’s fault that you and Vignette are fighting, and it’s ultimately his decision about what kind of relationship he wants with her. Even still, you need to prove that he doesn’t have feelings for you, and when that gets cleared up, maybe it’ll at least help Vignette Valencia calm down a little bit.

*Bzzt!*

What did he say?! What did he say?!

“Fo sho, girl. Just hit me up whenever you wanna shoot the breeze. Ha ha.”

‘Tomorrow? No, that would be too soon. Vignette needs some time to herself. Shoot. That means that school is gonna be super awkward in the meantime, doesn’t it?’

You shake your head to clear your mind as much as possible, then type out, “I’ll let you know when I’m free. Thanks.” Aaaaand send again!

Once again, you toss your phone onto the table and lean back in your seat, stretching your arms as if you just solved all of your problems with one message. You know better than that, though. Vignette isn’t just mad about this Feather Bangs thing, but hopefully once you get some solid evidence that this is all one big misunderstanding, she’ll at least ease up enough to where she can feel comfortable talking to you again. Eventually, you’re going to have to tell her about Silver Spoon. You just hope that when you do, she won’t react like she did today.

After a few minutes of sulking, though, you see your milkshake beginning to drip along the side of your glass cup, covering the tabletop in chocolatey brown fluids. “Waaaah! Shoot…” You then immediately race to grab some napkins before it spills over the edge and accidentally sends that girl with the gray skin and blonde hair to the emergency room.

You’re going to make this right… somehow…

“Sis, there’s not enough room on this bed for all three of us! You have to sit on the floor!”

You look down at the floor with a frown, turning your head back towards Cozy Glow, who responds with a stern stare, her hands on her hips. It’s not like leaving the bed would be the worst thing in the world, but you were kinda hoping you’d get to sit next to your girlfriend since she came to specifically visit you in the first place. Of course, Cozy Glow doesn’t know that part, though. When Silver Spoon asked to come over, she was asking your sister, but this was something you’d planned with her the night before when the two of you were talking on the phone until way past her bedtime.

Before you finally give into Cozy Glow’s demands, however, you lift your finger with a desperate expression on your face. “Couldn’t you just sit on my lap? You used to do it all the time when you were younger!”

“Maybe when I was five, but I'm not a baby anymore! Now, you be a good sister and--”

“I’ll sit on her lap.”

Both you and Cozy Glow jerk your heads towards the girl sitting in between you, although Cozy Glow probably doesn’t have the same terrified look in her eyes that you do. The silver-haired girl looks at the both of you with the same expression, but you can tell that her sadistic smile is just her little way of telling you that she feels like messing with you right now. You should probably get on the floor right now, right? It would be weird if you humored her…

...buuuuuuut theoretically speaking, if she did sit on your lap, then that would mean you’d have no choice but to wrap your arms around her slender waist, wouldn’t it? What if she slipped off? She could get a concussion! You’d really be doing her a favor by holding her as close to your heart as humanly possible, maybe even leaning her back to smell the heavenly aroma of her spring-scented shampoo. You would be a bad sister if you didn’t do that for her friend!

Wait, why are you having this internal conflict again? This is your room!

“Cozy Glow, quit being a baby!” you say right as soon as Silver Spoon begins to lift herself up, catching her off guard and causing her to freeze in surprise. “There’s plenty of room for the three of us. We’re just gonna be a little bit smooshed together.”

“Yeah, that’s what it means when there’s no room,” your sister retorts. “I’m not about to ask Silver Spoon to sit on the floor, and since she came over to see me, I don’t know why I’d be the one sitting on the floor.”

“Right… To see you… Heheh…”

Just as you begin tapping your index fingers together bashfully, however, Cozy Glow rolls her eyes, grabbing Silver Spoon by the wrist. “You know what? Maybe we should play in my room instead. Anon is being weird again.”

“Actually…” Cozy Glow suddenly stops where she stands, looking back at Silver Spoon with a confused eyebrow. “Didn’t you say you were gonna play over at Ruby Pinch’s house today?”

“Oh, poop! You’re right! I can’t believe I forgot! Sorry, Silver Spoon, but it looks like I might not be able to hang out today after all.”

The girl in the glasses, however, shakes her head, looking back at your sister with a genuine smile. “It’s OK! I can just wait for you to come back. You won’t be too long, will you?”

Once the idea comes out of her mouth, Cozy Glow takes a step back in surprise, squinting her eyes suspiciously. “I dunno. I might be. Are you sure you don’t just wanna come back some other time?”

Again, Silver Spoon shakes her head. “I can wait! How about this? Why don’t you send me a message in an hour, and if it turns out that you’re gonna be there for a while, then I can just go home and we’ll play some other time!”

“OK? But what are you gonna do until then?”

“Annoy Anon.”

Gaaaaah! She said it! You’re about to interject before Cozy Glow can misinterpret the situation, but the moment her eyes descend upon you, your body freezes in shock, your tongue binding to the bottom of your jaw.

“You sure about that? Seems to me like she’d just be the one annoying you.”

“I’ll be fine,” Silver Spoon replies with a giggle, gently pushing her friend on the back. “Now, you go have fun! I’ll be here when you get back.”

Again, Cozy Glow tilts her head in surprise, but she continues walking out of your room nonetheless, waving goodbye to the two of you as she walks away. “OK, I guess. See you later.”

Your sister scarcely makes it out of your bedroom by the time the door closes behind her, and almost immediately, Silver Spoon exhales a deep sigh and jumps backwards onto your bed again, leaning back to where her head is resting on your lap while looking up at you with a huge grin on her face. “Phew. I’m so glad I set that playdate up for today. You really need to work on your poker face, by the way.”

Wait, she orchestrated that whole thing?! Before you can even begin to question how far in advance she thinks about things like this, though, her smile fades.

“You’re hiding something.”

She’s right. You really do need to work on your poker face.

“What’s going on, Anon?”

“It’s…” you start, rubbing your elbow while avoiding eye contact. “It’s nothing, really. Just some stuff going on with a friend of mine.”

“Oh?” Silver Spoon lifts herself up, leaning her back against the wall and wrapping her arms around her knees. “Tell me about it.”

When you and Silver Spoon talked about her coming over (which was apparently orchestrated days in advance), you hadn’t exactly anticipated this turning into a confession session. Actually, what you really wanted more than anything was an excuse to forget about your friend problems and just relax a little, but apparently there’s no way to do that without Silver Spoon worrying about you. Besides, it’s been a while since the two of you had a real heart to heart conversation.

“My friend Vignette Valencia. She’s still upset about the whole Feather Bangs thing, and now I feel like I don’t know what to say to even her anymore.”

Silver Spoon rocks to her side, placing her head on the crook of your shoulder. “What do you want to tell her?”

“I want to tell her that she has nothing to worry about! Yeah, she kinda blew it last time, but once she stops being so dang nervous around him, he’ll finally see what a beautiful, smart, selfless, interesting girl she is! That’s why I’m gonna talk to this guy and give her a second chance!”

Silver Spoon waits a few moments before speaking, running her nails up and down your arm before squeezing it tight. “You know that won’t work, right?”

You furrow your eyebrows in shock, but Silver Spoon doesn’t show the least bit of remorse for what she said. “Well, I’m at least gonna try!”

“Love isn’t as simple as that. Neither one of them should have to force a connection. If Vignette can’t act natural with him right now, she shouldn’t need to pressure herself to feel comfortable around him. How do you expect Feather Bangs to fall in love with her when not even Vignette believes that she’s good enough for him?”

You hate that she’s probably right, but you can’t just admit defeat already. “Still, though…”

“There’s more, isn’t there?”

“...Yeah…”

Can you really tell her the next part, though? You’re not sure how you can phrase what’s been bothering you more than anything else without coming off as some huge jerk, but once again, Silver Spoon hugs your arm, looking up at you with her beautiful eyes and adorable glasses.

“Tell me.”

“I…” You gulp. “I’m... afraid... of telling Vignette about you...”

“Hm?”

Dang it. This is harder than you thought. “You see, part of the reason Vignette is mad at me is because I’m not telling her any of the details about our relationship, and I think she might be wondering if I secretly have a thing for Feather Bangs too.”

Silver Spoon lifts an eyebrow. “Do you?”

“No! I couldn’t! I’d never--” Your outburst just seems to make your girlfriend even more suspicious, but then, after clearing your throat, you lift your shoulders up confidently and look straight into Silver Spoon’s deep, purple eyes. “Even if Vignette didn’t have a crush on Feather Bangs, the only person I like right now is you! That’ll never change!”

Silver Spoon giggles, brushing her cheek against your arm. “You’re sweet. You’re naive, but still sweet.”

You look away, your cheeks blushing a bright red as your voice descends into a whisper. “Come on, Silver Spoon. Can’t you be serious for a minute? I’m really worried about what’s going to happen between me and Vignette.”

“Oh, really?” Silver Spoon chuckles femininely, but by the time you look over to see what’s so funny, her hands are sliding up to your shoulders, her face suddenly within just a few inches of yours. You slowly back away, swallowing hard as your heartbeat picks up, but never once do your eyes leave hers. “Sounds like what you’re really worried about is her finding out about me.”

“Y-yeah, well…”

The more you hesitate, the closer Silver Spoon gets, backing up until your back hits the wall behind you with the girl you like suddenly trapping you in. “If you’re not gonna tell anybody about us, maybe I should.” Her whispering voice has gotten even quieter, despite how much clearer her teeth enunciate every word. Every syllable she speaks suddenly sends tingles throughout your skin, making you shake wildly while trying to look away from her fluttering eyelashes and tiny lips.

“Silver Spoon? Please tell me you’re just teasing me right now.” Now you’re whispering too, your chest rising even higher while you try to fight off her overwhelming charm.

“I could tell you that, but I don’t think you want me to.”

You have no idea what you want anymore. You keep telling yourself that what you really want is to push her away from you so that you can go back to having a mature conversation, but the goosebumps along your neck are telling you otherwise. She’s so close that the hairs on your body are starting to stick up, but your body is too frozen to put any distance between the two of you, especially since she’s got you backed up like this. In fact, if anything, you’re trying not to bring your face in any closer.

Besides, if your face got any closer to hers, that would mean…

You quickly close your eyes to battle her adorable face as much as you can and turn your chin to the side. “Y-y-you can’t!”

“Just imagine if your sister found out about us.”

Just the thought of Cozy Glow learning that you’re dating her best friend makes your eyes go wide, but the second they open up again, they’re once again pulled into Silver Spoon’s gravitational pull. She suddenly begins to giggle softly, and again, you’re trying to fight off the invisible force tugging at the back of your head, bringing the two of you closer… and closer...

Then, you feel Silver Spoon’s finger at the base of your chin just as you’re about to turn away again, keeping your face centered with no path to escape. You’re begging your brain to close your eyes, desperately trying to find any way to escape the allure of her irises, but you’re frozen solid aside from the vehement shaking in your shoulders. You dig your nails into your thighs, praying that it’ll break the spell, but nothing seems to be working. Instead, you’re stuck as her victim, following wherever she guides you. Your chin moves forward. You’re so close you can feel her breath against your neck. Why can’t you escape? Celestia, why are you letting this happen?

Then, out of reflex alone, your eyes begin to slowly close. Your lips begin to part. Your last conscious thoughts are begging something to save you, but your hastening heartbeat quickly drowns those thoughts out. You’ve become a lifeless husk, betrayed by your overflowing emotions. Finally, everything fades to black as--

*Creeeeak!*

Oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap!

Both you and Silver Spoon jump, slamming your backs to the wall as fast as you can just as the door to your bedroom begins to open. If you thought your heart was pumping before, it’s practically breaking your rib cage now, sending so much adrenaline everywhere that you’re one shock away from fainting. Or dying. In fact, you’re so embarrassed you could practically die right now. Then, looking over at Silver Spoon, you see something you didn’t think was possible. Her face is just as red as yours, her chest rising and falling at the exact same speed.

Is it really possible? Does the Silver Spoon actually get embarrassed? Oh, you are definitely going to use that to your advantage later on if you don’t die here.

“What’s the big idea?!”

Then, adding one more question mark to what has already been a confusing chain of events, the one to enter through the door is your little sister, slamming the door behind her with her hands on her hips. Is she mad? What did she see? Why is she back so soon? You quickly look over at Silver Spoon, but even as she tries to play cool by crossing her legs and lifting her shoulders back, there’s no way she can hide how red her cheeks are or how much her hands are shaking.

“What do you mean?” you ask hesitantly, awkwardly laughing like that would somehow make this situation not weird.

“I mean, what’s the big deal inviting me over to your house just to cancel when I’m halfway there! Ruby Pinch said that her mom was going out and that she couldn’t have friends over, but you’d think she’d let me know about that before I started walking over! Ugh. Anyway, what were you two doing while I was gone?”

“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh……………….”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Silver Spoon retorts, chuckling with confidence. “We were talking about boys.”

Cozy Glow gasps in amazement, similar to what you’re doing on the inside as your lungs try to function properly again. To be fair, she’s not technically lying. She’s just leaving out the part where the two of you almost k--

“Wow!” your sister exclaims. “You’re so grown up, Silver Spoon! Although, I don’t really know if you’d get any good advice from my sister. She’s not the best at the whole love thing.” Just as you point your finger at her in preparation to tell her off, though, she quickly folds her arms in confusion. “Wait. Are you saying there’s someone you like?”

Silver Spoon, however, shrugs her shoulders, speaking to Cozy Glow despite sending you a subtle wink. “Maybe.”

“Really?! Come on! Let’s go to my room and talk about it some more!”

Then, grabbing your girlfriend by the wrist, your sister immediately pulls Silver Spoon away, leading her out the door before either of you can get two words in. Right before she follows Cozy Glow out the door, however, she looks back at you and smiles, not like in the teasing way that she’s done before, but rather in a genuine way that reminds you what her personality is really like. Yes, she may bully you whenever she gets the chance, but deep down, she’s still probably more mature than you are. She’d never push you past your comfort zone, and at the end of the day, you know that she’s still someone you can confide in with all your secrets. Even after she threatened to tell Cozy Glow about the relationship between the two of you, you know she’d never do it without your permission.

Still, though, you can’t help but put your fingers to your lips, revisiting that moment over and over again in your mind. If you thought you couldn’t tell Vignette about Silver Spoon before, you’re definitely not ready to tell her about her now.

Then, shaking your head, you pull out your phone, scrolling through your messages until you come up to the one from the other day. If you can’t tell Vignette about Silver Spoon, then now’s the time to set things right with Feather Bangs. Even if he doesn’t end up falling in love with her, you have to prove once and for all that he doesn’t like you like that.

“Hey, Feather! Are you free after school tomorrow? I think it’s time we had that talk.”

You barely have to wait two minutes, staring at your phone in aggravation when you feel your phone vibrating, making your blood race as you pull up the boy’s message.

“Yeah, girl. I’ll meet you out by the courtyard and the two of us can acquaint ourselves more formally. Ha ha.”

You’re not really sure what that means, but it has to be good. Come this time tomorrow, Vignette Valencia will no longer hate your guts.

Come this time tomorrow, you’re gonna have your friend back again.

Another awkward day of school where Vignette Valencia ignores you the whole day passes by, making you even more anxious about this whole meetup with the boy she likes. What if she just happens to pass by and see the two of you together? Was this really a big mistake? You could have just sent him a text message or DM, either one of which would have worked just as well as actually meeting him face-to-face.

“Hey, this may sound stupid, but do you like me?”

That’s all you’d have to write! Then he could send you a yes or no answer which you could show Vignette Valencia, and then, supposing all variables remain constant, the two of you could theoretically go back to normal! Maybe it’s not too late to call the whole thing off after all.

Just as soon as you pull out your phone and begin typing, though, you see Vignette Valencia walking through the school corridors with some of her other friends. Then, once her eyes casually glance to the side to make contact with yours, she stops where she stands, almost like she has to comprehend this totally normal coincidence. Hesitantly, you lift your hand to wave at her, doing your best to smile even though you’re really just trying not to accidentally cringe from how awkward this situation is. Unfortunately for you, though, she doesn’t get the chance to wave back.

“‘Sup, girl? A little birdie told me that you were lookin’ for someone you could… confide in at a deeper level. Ha ha.”

Suddenly, you turn around, just to see Feather Bangs’s pearly whites flashing you a smile at the worst possible time, and if he were somehow looking for a way to make things even worse, he’s holding a flower in his fingers, leaning against a wall and wiggling his eyebrows flirtatiously. Immediately, you turn on your heels again to see Vignette Valencia’s reaction, but by the time you face her, she’s already halfway down the hallway, scowling and biting down on her lower lip. You raise your hand to stop her, but even if she could see you with her back turned, there’s no way she’d listen to you now. Of all the worst things that could happen, this is the. Worst. Possible. Thing.

With a defeated sigh, you drop your hand back down to your side, hanging your head and entire upper body in despair as you turn towards Feather Bangs again, who is now cringing awkwardly while scratching at the back of his head. “Should I… come back some other time?”

His question makes you instinctively growl, grabbing him by the wrist and leading him into the school corridors. “You! Sit! Now!” Feather Bangs stumbles comedically as you drag him into the hallway, inviting stares from the girls around you which you try to ignore. Then, flinging him to the bench where the two of you had your first discussion, you take the seat next to him, glaring daggers into the poor boy’s trembling eyes.

“Anon? You alright, girl?”

“No! I’m not alright, as a matter of fact!”

As the girls around you begin to chatter more loudly, you pull your attention away from Feather Bangs to give them the dirtiest look in your arsenal, making most of them either stop talking or walk away altogether. Once you look back at Feather Bangs, though, you see that both his shoulders and jaw are trembling, calming you down enough to at least realize how overly aggressive you’re acting right now. “Did… I do something wrong?”

Finally, you breathe out a long sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose and shaking your head, staying silent for a few moments to allow your aggravation to gradually subside. “No, I’m sorry. I’ve just got a lot going on right now.”

“You… wanna talk about it?”

Yes, you want to talk about it. That was the entire purpose of bringing him out here in the first place! Still, though, you can’t talk to Feather Bangs in the mental state you’re in right now, so rather than answering him, you lean back on the bench, staring up at the ceiling above you. “I want to, but… Ugh… I don’t even know where to start anymore…”

Feather Bangs waits a few moments to allow yourself to cool off a little bit more before saying, “This has got somethin’ to do with your friend Vignette, don’t it?”

You pull your face down and look at the boy with stars in your eyes. “Yes! Thank you! You understand!”

“Not really.” Dang it. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. “I just think it’s kinda strange that you’re talkin’ to me about this instead of her, and as cocky as I might seem on the outside, I don’t think you wanted to talk to me to confess your feelings.”

The comment makes you chuckle softly, rolling your eyes to try to get that image out of your head. “Yeah, but… it’s something along those lines.” Feather Bangs begins to blush, which only makes your next question even harder to force out. “This is probably gonna sound weird, and when I say weird, I mean like borderline creepy, but I promise I’m not like some kind of crazy stalker or anything!”

“Anon?” As soon as Feather Bangs pulls you back to reality, you cringe at how awkward you probably sounded right there. “I promise I ain’t gonna think of you any differently than I do now. Unless you do tell me you’re a crazy stalker, in which case, no offense, but I’m gonna run away.”

You giggle quietly and shake your head. “No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just… Wow, this is harder to get out than I thought it would be. Umm… Whew, how do I do this?”

Suddenly, though, Feather Bangs grabs you by the palm, making your eyes immediately dart to your hands before slowly turning back up to his heavenly smile and gorgeous eyes. If any of the girls at school are looking right now, they’re probably planning on what method they’re going to use to kill you, making you jerk your hands away before anyone else gets the wrong idea about you.

“Anon?” His voice has descended into a gentle whisper, making you gulp a hard lump down your throat. “Whatever’s goin’ on, you can tell me. You just gotta trust me.”

You sigh defeatedly. “You’re right. It’s just… hard to say…” Just as he opens his mouth to comfort you some more, however, you quickly lift your shoulders and exclaim, “Feather Bangs, do you have a crush on me?”

Crap. Oh, crap! You actually said it! Forget what he said about not judging you! He probably thinks you’re insane! Just look at him! He’s laughing at you right now! That’s it. Your social life is over. Gone. Forever. Now you’re going to be known throughout the school as that weirdo girl who thought that the cutest boy at the school had a crush on her. Narcissist much? You might as well just leave and jump into a flaming vat of--

“Yeah.”

You blink. “W-what?”

“Yeah, I like you.”

You want to blink again, but your eyes are too busy in the corner of your head, trying to come up with some mathematical method to formulate how you can even interpret this chain of events. You were so sure that he was just going to laugh it off and tell you that you weren’t his type, but did he just say that he actually has a crush on you?

Don’t punch yourself, Anon. You can do that later when nobody’s looking.

“I don’t get it,” you say, shaking your head. “I mean, Vignette Valencia is so much better than me in basically every way femininely possible! How could anyone like me over her?!”

Feather Bangs chuckles. “Vignette’s cool and all. I like her as a friend and a business partner and all that, but there just ain’t that spark, you know?”

You raise an eyebrow in curiosity. “But why? Why do you like me over her?”

Finally, Feather Bangs stops laughing and gives you a serious, sincere smile. “You mean besides the fact that you’re the most beautiful young lady Canterlot has to offer?” You scowl at his remark. You blush, but you still scowl. “I guess maybe it’s ‘cause you’re just like me.”

“...Me? Just like you…?”

You say it sarcastically, but Feather Bangs either doesn’t notice or ignores your tone completely. “Fo sho, girl! You came here from someplace else, not knowin’ nobody once you got here, carryin’ along all this baggage, and now you’re just tryin’ to get a new start and survive outside your comfort zone. I gotta tell you, girl, when you’re a famous pop star, most of the girls you meet are all the same. They come from this rich background, they’ve lived here their whole life, and they’ve had their future basically planned for ‘em from the start. You and me, we ain’t like that.”

“But neither is Vignette! And if you just gave her a chance, I think you’d start to see that too!”

Suddenly, Feather Bangs’s smile begins to fade, not into anything angry or upset, but rather just a small, simple frown. “Again, Vignette’s cool and all, but she’s just not for me. I’ve got plenty of pretty girls who like me for my music, my popularity, my hair--” He flips his bangs for added effect. “--but I can’t talk to any of ‘em. Look at us, Anon. We’re havin’ a real conversation without tryin’ to impress each other. I get that you might feel bad about me havin’ feelings for you when your best friend has feelings for me, but what I want most is a girl I can open up to, someone who looks at me for me and not my social media following. Even if you don’t like me back, I like how I can just talk to you about whatever.”

You wait a few seconds before speaking again. “When you two first met, though, it sounded like the both of you really hit it off! What happened?”

Feather Bangs looks away, tapping his foot on the ground and sighing deeply, shaking his head. “It always starts out like that. They have no problem at first, but eventually, they start to get weird around me. You saw what happened when we went to that milkshake place. I couldn’t talk to her! Which is why I had to make conversation with you, just to try and help her calm down a little and remember that I’m just a regular guy like her. She had nothing to worry about.”

“Does that mean she has no chance?”

Finally, Feather Bangs looks you in the eye again, lifting an eyebrow with a subtle smirk. “I guess that means I have no chance with you, then, don’t it?”

You wait a minute to respond, then exhale out your nose, looking down at your lap while slowly nodding your head. “Yeah. I’m sorry, Feather.”

“No sweat, girl. It’s not like this is my first rejection, after all.”

You tilt your head, a small smirk suddenly appearing on your own face. “Really? Who else has rejected you?”

“Girl, you would not believe how crazy I was for this girl back in my old town. Her name was Sugar Belle, right? And I was doin’ all kinds of crazy things to get her to like me. You know I actually learned to juggle for her?”

The comment makes you laugh femininely into your hands. “You can juggle?”

“You got any balls right now? Lemme show you.”

“Oh, right, because I totally carry those around school with me, just for occasions like these.”

The two of you then begin cracking up, holding onto your stomach as your laughter fills the empty school corridors. Finally, you let yourself relax a little, allowing yourself to calm down after the tumultuous rollercoaster of emotions that the day has brought with it. Just as you’re about to add another witty comment to the conversation, though, you feel a buzz in your pocket, momentarily pulling you out of your headspace.

“Hang on, Feather. I got a text.”

Once you read it, though, your eyes go wide. Your heart stops beating. Your brain starts racing. You quickly lift your head, looking around in every direction until suddenly, you see someone standing at the end of the hallway with a cell phone shaking in her hand, tears streaming down her face. By the time your mouth opens, though, she runs away as fast as she can, and even though it’s faint, you can hear the sounds of sobs fading as she dashes away.

You quickly jump to your feet, but there’s nothing you can do now. Even if you chased after her, what would you tell her? Would you even be able to catch up with her at this point? Would she even talk to you? Your hands begin to shake, and with all of the emotions flooding through your body at once, you fall back down to the bench behind you, breathing deep, heavy breaths, too traumatized to even cry. Feather Bangs, meanwhile, places a hand on your shoulder, leaning in with a face of concern.

“Anon? You alright?”

Of course not, but it’s not like you can say why. You can’t say anything, even if you wanted to. All you can do is stare down at the message she sent you, reading it over and over and over and over. This can’t be happening. There’s no way…

And finally, you drop your phone, bawling into your hands while Feather Bangs places his arms around you, holding you close while your emotions pour out uncontrollably.

“I can’t do this anymore, Anon. Our friendship is over. I’m sorry.”