~Heartbeat~

"Hey Aria! Wait up!"

The siren slowed her pace enough for the one who had yelled to catch up.

"Hey Syn." She flashed a small grin, her features softening a bit at her friend's approach.

Syntax fell into step alongside her. "Heya! So, did you get my text during literature class?"

Aria snorted. "Which one out of about a hundred?"

"The one about going to the mall after school, dummy."

"Ohhhh, was that meant for today? I thought it meant next week."

"Smartass."

"You know it."

"So, want to go? We can check out whatever's new, and grab some pizza. Or maybe we could just grab pizza and go hang out at my place. You could finally show me how to play those games you like so much."

Aria pretended to deeply consider it. "Hmmm...nah. Not today."

Her keen eyes took in Syntax's reactions. Her expression falling to one of disappointment, Syntax kicked at a peeble with a sigh.

"Damn. I was hoping you would go."

Snorting, Aria playfully punched her shoulder. "Girl, you are way too easy to pull a fast one on. Sure I'll go."

Syntax glared at her even as she smirked. "You are such a bitch sometimes, y'know that?"

"Who, me? No, I had no idea." Aria deadpanned, making Syntax laugh outright.

"So which option is it? Mall all afternoon or grab pizza and go to my place?" She asked.

"Pizza and then my place." Aria returned with a wicked grin. "If I'm going to teach you the fine art of gaming, I need all of my equipment."

"You'll go easy on me, right?"

"I'll go easy for one actual round." Aria snickered. "After that you either learn to beat me fast, or I continuously kill you til you do."

"Should have known." Syntax rolled her eyes. "Come on, last one to the mall is a rotten egg."

It turned out to be a tie, both girls casually sliding to home plate at the same time. In other words, they both crashed simultaneously into the trash can outside the mall's only pizza station, falling over it and scattering its contents.

"Next time the victory is mine." Aria said with a breathless huff as she picked herself up and helped Syntax up as well.

"Yeah yeah." Syntax brushed off her jeans and righted the can, quickly collecting the scattered trash and throwing it back in it. "Let's order our pizza and go. I'm anxious to learn how to game."

"You mean you're anxious for me to beat you at it." Aria grinned.

"Ass." Syntax huffed.

"Hey, I'm an evil siren, ok? I gotta be a bitch, I got a reputation to uphold."

"Not with me, you don't." Syntax shot back. "I like who you actually are."

"And who am I?" Aria held the door open, and they went inside.

"You're my friend." Syntax responded. "You're pretty cool and fun to hang out with."

Aria was quiet as the approached the counter and ordered their pizza. Plenty of cheese for Aria and lots of mixed veggies for them both.

"What, no pineapple this time?" Aria broke her silence to ask.

"Nope. I fight over its right to exist enough with Rainbow, I am not fighting you too."

"Chicken." Aria said with a snort. "You just know I'd kick your ass in a debate over it."

"No...?"

Aria laughed. "Yeah, uh huh, sure."

Syntax rolled her eyes in feigned annoyance.

The pizza was ready fairly quickly, and they grabbed it and left, stopping off to grab sodas before heading to the Dazzling apartment, which was only a couple of blocks from school. Adagio and Sonata were not yet home, and Aria explained that they had decided to go catch a movie after school and then go for tacos after that.

In short order, they were seated on the couch, pizza and sodas at the ready, and Aria was explaining the game controllers to her friend. She'd picked an easy to learn video game for them to play, and Syntax was a willing pupil, quickly learning the buttons and the rules of the game.

"HaHA!" she crowed triumphantly when she succeeded in finally beating Aria in a round. "Take that!"

"Impressive." Aria admitted, tossing her controller and grabbing her now cold pizza. "How about we eat, and then we move into the extreme level?"

Syntax arched an eyebrow, picking up the slice from her plate and taking a bite. "What's the extreme level?"

"It's where I actually go full competitive and annihilate your ass repeatedly." Aria returned, smirking almost evilly.

"Oh joy." Syntax said sarcastically. "I look forward to it."

Aria elbowed her lightly in the ribcage. "You did better than I thought. You're actually providing a challenge...unlike Sonata and Adagio. Those two wimps don't even really try. Beating them is way too easy."

Syntax snickered. "I'm too stubborn to be wimpy."

"Good." Aria looked her up and down, nodding. "I like stubborn. It's more fun."

They continued to eat their pizza in companionable silence, and Syntax had the perfect opportunity to actually think about her current position. She was seated directly beside Aria, their shoulders touching, and since both of them were in short sleeves t-shirts, it was direct skin to skin contact, and it was doing weird things to Syntax. Her heart rate had increased dramatically, and was so loud she was certain Aria had to hear it. If she did, she gave no indication. Looking her over out of the corner of her eye, Syntax took a really good look at her features for the first time since admitting out loud to her friends that she loved her.

She was really a very good looking girl. Tall and slender, with an amazing smile when she let it show, and her eyes...Syntax released a faint sigh. Those absolutely beautiful violet orbs that shimmered like fine glass in the right lighting. Syntax told herself that Aria must still have some magic, because she fell under a spell every time those eyes met hers, making her go weak at the knees and sending her heart into a frighteningly fast cadence of beats. And the adorable laugh she reserved for when she and Syntax were by themselves just further entranced her.

Perhaps it was just wishful thinking that she could ever have a chance with Aria. She didn't even know if Aria was into girls, although she figured it would be easy enough to find out if she asked one of her sisters. They would likely know. But that was only if she ever got up enough nerve to confess her feelings to Aria in the first place. Sure, she had admitted it to herself, and to her friends, but to actually look Aria dead in the eye and say "I love you"? She would much rather take her chances walking into a cave full of fire breathing dragons.

"Hey! Syn! You conscious?!"

Aria's sharp tone combined with a pinch to her arm made Syntax jump back to reality with a start. She grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry. Zoned out."

"I noticed. You do that a lot. Got something on your mind?" Aria raised a brow in slight concern.

'Yeah, I'm in love with you.'

"Uhhhhh, nope!" Syntax burst out, grabbing for her discarded controller. "So! How bout that extreme round?"

"Oh ho ho, let's do this." Aria grabbed hers as well. "Time for me to totally kick your ass, newbie!"

"Bring it, bitch."

Snorting, Aria started up the game, and further talking was abandoned in favour of viciously competitive gameplay.