"Hey, Trevor."
Trevor turned to the voice.
"Um, h-hi, Hank."
Hank smiled at the younger Conduit, patting him on the back.
"Listen, I hear what you and Principal Celestia were talkin' 'bout in there. I had... some, similar fears when I was-"
"You heard that!?" Trevor shouted.
Trevor's entire body flashed and crackled as he threw the older Conduit into the nearby Custodial Closet. Hank's instincts forced him into a cloud of smoke that went through the vent in the room, surging his entire form towards the roof as the vent glowed with Trevor's deconstructed body as both Conduits made their way through the vents.
In the closet, an older custodian looked up at the vent for a moment before shrugging and going back to his comic.
On the roof, Hank's body reformed and tumbled as the air near the exhaust ionized while Trevor's body reformed.
"Hank, I don't know why I didn't do this earlier, but please! I need your help with Sunset!"
"Ugh, shit... feels like I just got fried," Hank said, grasping his head as he stood up. "As a first tip, don't do that to people."
"Hank, you and I both know that's nowhere near the worst you've taken."
"I'm freaking old, alright!? Agh, give me a minute."
Hank unformed into a cloud of smoke and embers before he compacted and wiped off his shoulders.
"Alright then. Let's have a little talk, you and I."
"Please."
"So, you're real scared of hurtin' Sunset because of your powers."
"Exactly."
"An' that's stupid."
Trevor blinked.
"W-what? How?"
"'Cause I've been there before. Ah met a girl, 'bout six years before the D.U.P got me, an' she was a real sweetheart. She found me bleedin' in a ditch and felt bad for me. Now, Ah told her I was a Conduit when she started askin' too many questions. But, surprise surprise, she didn't care. She wanted ta help me, even knowin' she'd prolly end up in danger too. An' hearin' this, I didn't want ta get her involved. She was better than anyone Ah should have been with. But she wanted me ta stay for a while, make sure Ah was alright. Ah had the same worries 'bout hurtin' her that you're havin 'bout Sunset. And lemme tell ya somethin'... When you're with someone that makes everything feel all tingly inside, and ya don't wanna hurt 'em, no matter what, and ya feel that somethin' burnin' up in yer heart, you won't hurt 'em. Ya can't. It's somethin' deep down in us Conduits, we ain't capable of hurtin' someone like that. 'Cause when there's someone like that in yer life... sometimes, they're the only barrier between us bein' Conduits... and Bio-Terrorists."
"So... I-I just... what? What am I supposed to do?"
"It ain't nothin' yer supposed to do, it's about not bein' able to do anything. That's the important part here, kid."
"I... a-alright, I'll... I'll try, Hank. I'll try."
\\\\\\//////
"So, anyone see the new kid?" Rainbow asked, picking at her steak.
"Not really," Fluttershy said. "Only in Art."
"Yeah, but he's been acting like we've got the plague or something. Sunset, you've got a bunch of classes with him, right?"
"Hm?" Sunset said, looking up from her tray.
"Have ya heard much from the new guy?" Applejack asked.
"Oh! Um, not really, no. He's... been pretty distant. Do you think I might have-"
"Darling, don't even insinuate that you've wronged him in any way," Rarity said. "I myself have been keeping a close eye on him, along with several friends from my extra curricular activities, and I have to say that I've developed a theory of sorts."
The table turned to Rarity, interest piqued.
\\\\\\//////
Trevor looked from across the room at Sunset Shimmer and her friends as they ate. Glancing at his phone, he'd only have a minute to speak.
'Just... push the negatives down,' he chanted in his head.
He forced himself to move forward, shaking in his shoes as he approached. He could feel his hands shaking, and already he was beginning to regret this decision.
'No, come on, just get there,' he told himself.
He stopped. Here he was.
The six girls all looked at him, stopping their conversation.
And there she was, Sunset Shimmer.
She was just sitting there, eating from her tray, wearing that powder blue blouse and studded black jacket, her red and yellow hair caressing the sides of her face while her eyes... her gorgeous blue eyes.
"Uh, hello?" Rainbow said, waving a hand.
Trevor gulped, swallowing the lump in his throat as he took in a deep breath.
"H-hello, S-Sunset," he said. "I-I would like to... t-to ask you..."
Other students started to stare at him. He could feel it. All eyes in the entire cafeteria poised on him, as if waiting for him to make a mistake, to crack under the invisible pressure surrounding him. He wanted to flee, he wanted to just get out of there and never think about this again.
"Because if you don't try to move on, Trevor... Augustine wins."
"Sunset can I talk with you after school today?"
"Uh, sure? I've got some free time after class. Where do you want to meet up?"
\\\\\\//////
"So, Rarity, what were you saying at lunch?" Sunset asked, putting away her guitar.
"Oh, right! About Trevor," Rarity said. "Why, if the evidence I had prior to lunch wasn't convincing enough, then that sudden approach he made earlier certainly seals my suspicions."
"About what, though?" Rainbow asked.
"I believe that the new student, Trevor, does in fact have a crush on our dear Sunset."
All eyes went to Sunset now.
"Um, what? A-are you serious?"
"Darling, my other friends have told me how he looks at you. Of course, it may have been quite a toss to suggest before, but now I especially believe that he has some sort of feelings for you. Why else would he have asked to see you?"
"Uh, well, I mean... there's tutoring, yeah! Or maybe he needs a uh... um..."
"Well what's wrong with at least giving him a shot?" Pinkie said. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen if he asks you out? The two of you have a good time and you make another friend?"
"Yeah, I know, but... I mean, I wouldn't say no to him, bu-"
"But nothing, darling!" Rarity said. "Everyone meets for a reason. Give him the time to open up, and who knows? Maybe you'll develop something more for him as well."
"Well," Sunset said, smiling and turning her gaze away, "he does have a few things I'd like in a guy."
"Oh! Do tell, Sunset!" Rarity urged, desperate to ship her friend.
\\\\\\//////
Trevor sat at the base of the Wondercolts statue at the front of the school, beating the back of his head against the marble.
"Stupid! Freaking! Coward!" he said, punctuating each impact.
He let out a sigh of defeat, checking his phone. It was 6:14, well past the time that Sunset had offered.
"Of course she wouldn't show up. Why would she? I mean... just look at me. Sitting here, beating my head against a horse statue because I can't talk to one girl! Maybe... maybe I-"
"Trevor!"
Trevor shot up and peered around the statue.
"S-Sunset!?" Trevor said.
Sunset smiled and waved to him.
"Hey, sorry about being late, my friends were up to some stupid things and I had to talk my way out of there. So, how are you doing?"
"G-Good, very good. Great. Perfect. And how perfect are you? I mean how are you!?"
Sunset giggled at this, the melody ringing in Trevor's ears.
"Glad to hear that. And yes, actually, I am perfect at the moment. But trust me, you wouldn't be thinking that if you saw what I look like when I've had a full schedule."
Trevor let out the breath he didn't know he was holding.
"So, you said you wanted to talk about something?"
"Yes, yeah, I did. That. Do you think... we can talk while walking?"
"Sure."
The two started walking off school grounds as Sunset started to talk.
"So, I've noticed that you've been a bit distant with, well, everything really."
"Y-Yeah, I guess I have been."
"Don't get the wrong idea, I'm not in any position to judge, but I just wanted to make sure that you're taking the whole 'transfer student' thing alright."
"Yes, I... would say that, I'm fine."
"Good to hear. I thought that, you know, since you're new and all you're probably just nervous. I mean, I've been there before and trust me, I would have appreciated some help back then."
"I... a-actually, I would... like, some help with something."
"Sure, what do you need?"
Trevor took in a deep breath and reached into his pockets. He pulled out two tickets to the local theater.
"Sunset, I... I wanted to say, that... I-I'm really glad that I met you."
Sunset looked at the tickets and back up at Trevor.
"I... I wanted to... thank you, by, maybe, uh, w-we could, s-s-see a movie? Together? Just you and... me?"
Trevor looked down to see Sunset looking right into his eyes. In that moment, he felt everything grind to a near halt. The shimmer in her eyes, her hair in the wind and the smile on her face were stunning to say the least, but what really captivated the Conduit's attention was her hand grasping the tickets.
"That actually sounds really nice, Trevor," she said. "Thank you."
'DON'TFUCKUPDON'TFUCKUPDON'TFUCKUP!'
"So, what time is it and what did you have in mind?"
"Ugh, I, uh - I was thinking! That, maybe, we could see, theeeeee... Power Rangers?"
"That sounds great! I love cheesy, stupid movies! You can really get into how fun some of them are because they just wanted to make something stupid!"
"Ugh, y-yeah! Yeah, that's exactly what I planned on! On Sunday at five!" Trevor blurted out, handing her the ticket.
"Well that sounds great! I can't wait! I'll see you then," Sunset said, taking the ticket. "Good night!"
"Good night!" he replied autonomously.
As she walked away, Trevor looked down at his ticket and smiled wider than he had in years. Hope in his heart, he took off for home, cheering as street lights exploded behind him.