//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 - Truth be told // Story: An unexpected friendship // by Shadow SSS //------------------------------// God knows what Gilda was up to right now, you were just glad that she was nowhere near you and the Shadow 5 at the moments, or she would get really suspicious and probably post the video in the blink of an eye. She doesn’t tend to be too patient and if she feels threatened, she will not hesitate to retaliate however she can. But now the question was. What the hell were you going to do now? Sugarcoat sure knows how to isolate from people. The Shadow 5 and you were now on the far back of the fields, way beyond the Futbol fields under a tree away from anyone sight. They would need to get quite close to even notice you hiding back there. Once she made sure no one else was around and that no one followed them there, she took a deep breath and looked at her friends. She clearly did not want to tell them this, but she had no choice now since you sort of fucked up “Look, say whatever you want, but I don’t care. Yesterday, I had a little of… a break down. Despite to popular belief, I am not a robot, and I also have feelings. I might act all tough and all, but I also sometimes need to get things off my chest and well… What basically happen is that… that… Anon was there with me, we were talking and one things lead to another, and I sort of… cried in his arms for a few minutes until I calmed down” her serious and though act of perfect girls was gone. This was not the serious and monotone Sugarcoat talking. This was the real Sugarcoat, the one she always hides from everyone else because she is not all too social and is sometimes scared about what the others will think. “I thought I could trust Anon to keep a secret, but I gave him a little too much credit” She finished giving you deadly glares as she fold her arms and looked away from the group “Go ahead. Say whatever you want, I don’t care. I am also a human, I am entitled to cry if I feel like it” She said in all seriousness once again. Damn this girl had some sort of switch to go from being a soft and caring girl, to a though and serious one. Instead of laughing, making comments or doing anything that would probably humiliate Sugarcoat even more, all 4 of her friends got together and gave her a big hug without saying a word. Sugarcoat was a bit surprised and had no idea how to react other than blush a little and feel a few tears form up on her eyes. “I… don’t understand” She said confused at her friends who were not making fun of her for crying on Anon’s, arms of all people. Sour Sweet pulled out and chuckle “Oh please Sugarcoat, like if we would ever be bothered with you crying on Anon’s arms. SURE HE MAY BE A LITTLE CREEPY… but you are our friend and we respect your decision” “Yes dear. Besides, who are we to say who you want to be intimate with and to whose not to be. It is your life, and we’ve been friends for what… 4 years now? More? Who cares if you cry a little over something. I cry all the time” Sunny Flare added to Sour comment we she didn’t let go of her friend. Lemon and Indigo pulled out at the same time and nodded in unison “Yea dude, like, if we ever made fun of you for something like this, I don’t think we would ever be able to call you friends without being ashamed for our actions” Lemon said happily “Besides if I am honest, I would be more worried if you didn’t cry ever so often than never cry at all. Holding up emotions like that is not good for you” Indigo was the last one to add to this supportive circle, but she was not less important than the rest of her friends for doing that. Sugarcoat could not help but smile as a small tear drop run down her cheek “You girls… are making me feel special. I am just any of you, don’t treat me any different” Indigo laughed and shook her head as she pat Sugarcoat on the back a few times “Oh don’t you worry, we are not going to treat you any different. You are still our monotonous robot friend who is constantly bothering us to be perfect” She joked around as all the girls burst into laughter. Even Sugarcoat let out a small chuckle. The only one who was not laughing was you. Not only you were not part of this little circle of friends, but also, you did not feel it was right to laugh at a time like this. You had quite a lot of things in your mind to even consider laughing right now. Once the tides had calmed and the girls got back to being themselves, it was time to face you. Sugarcoat was still a little mad because she was sort of forced to reveal this, but at the same time, she was really relieved she did so. I did take a big weight out of her back. Maybe now she would be able to take out off your back? “I am still mad at you. Why did you have to bring this up?” She said annoyed walking up to you and out her face only inches away from yours with her arms folded. Looking behind her, the rest of the Shadowbolts were once again glaring at you with disappointment. It was a rollercoaster with them wasn’t it? One day they trust you and find you friendly… the next one, they are back to being enemies. “Look Sugarcoat, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to bring you up… I just… I’m just a little frustrated” You admitted as she tried to back away a little, only to bump with the tree that was giving you all a cool shadow along with the nice breeze that was blowing. “Frustrated? Me crying in your arms really has you that frustrated? No wonder why you don’t have a girlfriend” She said rolling her eyes and took a few step backwards disappointed with your response. “It’s not that Sugarcoat… well not entirely… I mean… look I can not tell you!” “Why the hell not? I mean… it involves me right?” “Well, yes it does an-” Before you could finish, you were interrupted with her argument. “And if it does, shouldn’t I have the right to know?” She said tapping her foot on the ground getting a little impatient once again. You just can’t catch a breath today can’t you? Well… Gilda was not around. No one was around other that you and the Shadow 5, so… Maybe it was safe to tell them. Might as well just let her know. If you are any lucky, she or her friends won’t tell anyone who might start gossiping about this. Hell what the heck are you thinking? The Shadow 5 going around telling how Sugarcoat cried in your arms? Sometimes you surprise yourself with how stupid you can be Anon, of course they won’t tell anyone! Taking a deep breath, you looked up at her and sigh. This was not going to be easy, and you already expect them to get mad at you once again “Look Sugarcoat… as soon as you left yesterday… I found out someone was not only spying on us… but they also recorded you crying on my arms. They told me that if they wanted me to delete that video, I would need to do something for them” Sugarcoat looked a bit confused and not all too sure she was believing your little story but regardless, she let you continue “Go on… and you better not be lying” She warned you as the other four nodded behind her. “I’m not… I swear… anyways… Not only they told me that if I don’t do it, they would post that video, but they also told me that If I ever told anyone, especially not you, and she finds out or she gets in any sort of trouble, she would post the video anyways” “Cut the chase Anon. Just tell us who it was already! At this point there is no reason for you to hide their identity!” Indigo said a bit exasperated and a little agitated. When her friends turned over to her to give her a glare, she just huffed and looked down “Sorry, it’s just… he can be so complicated sometimes” Sugarcoat nodded and stared right back at you “Indigo is right. Just tell us who it was” She demanded already easing up on you with this story, but still not trusting you entirely. That was until you told them it was Gilda. Everyone immediately understood what the problem was. This was not the first time she had done something like this, and it was not going to be the last one, even if they go to Cynch and talk to her about this. But it did do something. The girls smiled back at you for being honest and well, trying to help Sugarcoat “Thanks Anon for trying to cover me, but I think I can handle this on my own, don’t worry about it” She said with a genuine smile. Indigo cracked her knuckles and smirked “Yea, and if anyone says anything about Sugarcoat for crying in your arms, they will have to go through me first” She said confident enough that she could take the whole school on her own, despite having 4 other friends to back her up. But that still left the question… What was the other option? “Hey Anon… Quick question tho. What had you so worked up and worried? What was the alternative?” Lemon Zest asked moving forward closer to you. “The… alternative…” “I can’t do that to her Gilda, if I even think about doing this to her, she will kill me. She will never want to talk to me again!” You said holding your head not believing that Gilda would even suggest something like this. “Why do you even care dweeb? It’s not like she is going to go out with you or anything like that, I mean come on. She is one of the most popular girls in the whole school. Even though I hate to admit it, she is pretty cute as well. You have the same chances of going out on a date with her as finding a cat who likes swimming in water” Gilda said with a shrug not really caring what choice you would take. Exposing Sugarcoat was one thing, but taking a pair of scissors and cutting down Lemon Zest hair while she is looking away without her consent? Yea, you are pretty sure there is a law that could send you to jail for doing that if Lemon decided to call the cops on you, and it’s not like you are guaranteed to get out so easy out of this one. Not only she would hate you for life, but Gilda could easily laugh and post the video anyways just to really fuck with you and make sure you never show up to school ever again. She is the kind of person who would do that after all. “So… she wanted to… cut my hair?” Lemon asked a bit scared, backing away from you while holding her perfect green hair. You nodded slowly and looked away “I couldn’t bring myself to do that. You are the first person who talked to me, who tried to be friendly and…” I kind of like you. Say it “And you are one of my few friends” Coward! Lemon smiled and looked down thinking what to say but just ended up giving you a kiss on the cheek instead “Thanks Anon” She said with a giggle as soon as she noticed your cheeks turning a bright shade of red. Indigo and Sunny giggled as well while Sour Sweet rolled her eyes and spat out a ‘men’ in a whisper. Shaking your head to try and calm down, you looked over at Sugarcoat and hesitated for a moment trying to get the right words out of your mouth “ S-so what are we going to do now? She… gave me until next monday to decide before she posts the video on the internet” You said a little nervous. Sugarcoat looked around thinking how they can avoid having Lemon lose her hair and Sugarcoat lose her reputation as tough girl. The latter one might not be possible, but now she could prepare mentally in case her plan fails. For now, she looked at you and then at Lemon “I have a plan. If Gilda wants to play with fire, we will retaliate with fire as well” Lemon raised an eyebrow and then frown “What do you have in mind Suggy?” “I told you not to call me that. My name is Sugarcoat… and well, if she is blackmailing Anon, it is only fair we blackmail her back” She said as all the girls suddenly grew some sort of dark aura around them. As much as you like them and all, you should not forget that they are still Shadowbolts. In fact, they are the best at being Shadowbolts. If you ever mess with them, you better be ready, because they will have no mercy on your soul. “We’ll get her on your party” She added and the rest of the girls nodded. You were not too sure what party they were talking about, and you really doubt they will even tell you. Not like you would be invited to parties in the first place, you were not too popular. But fate had another path for you this time around. After a little nudge and a fake cough from Indigo to Lemon, the musician reacted and nodded “Oh right. Hey Anon, this friday I am having a party at my place after school around 8PM. We are gonna party all night, you wanna come?” She invited you with a smile, full of energy and optimism. Friday night. You did agree to have other plans “Well, Twilight and I were going to spend the afternoon together since we don’t usually do things. We are not really… popular, to be invited to this places” “Well, tell her to come with you! Come on! You can’t miss the party! You are practically one of us by now!” She said bouncing a little. One of them… yea right, you were not even close to being even a quarter of what they are, but still you agreed “Alright… I will see what I can do with Twilight” Lemon smiled and cheered as she jumped up and down from the excitement “Awesome! Don’t miss it dude! Oh oh, almost forgot, I have a pool, so, feel free to bring a swimming suit. Don’t worry, my parents are cool with it, they even hired a lifeguard to keep any drunk people from jumping on the pool and drowning” Lemon parents sure were cool with her daughter savage parties. He was a really important businessmen who earns quite a lot of money and spoils her daughter to no end. Her mother was a housewife who is always taking care of things in their daily lives so that Lemon can focus on the things she likes and well, enjoy her youth while she has it. A party… you were invited to a party, none other by the coolest girl is school… today was looking like a good day, not only that, but you also got the back of the Shadow 5. Right before you would split up, Lemon pulled you away from the group and waved at the girls”You girls go ahead, we’ll catch you up in a moment” She said with a smile. The rest of the girls shrugged and just left you and Lemon all to yourselves. They didn’t mind at all really, not like they could stop you two, they had classes to attend to anyways. Once you were alone with Lemon, you stared right into those big beautiful lemon colored eyes and could feel your heartbeat raising to the roofs. What could possible make her want you to stay behind with you, all alone, where no one else could see you? “Hey Anon… I had an idea, and feel free to say no if it makes you uncomfortable or anything” She began saying slowly as she looked down at the ground while kicking the ground with her feet. Was she going to ask you out? There was no way she was going to ask you out just now… “You see, I was thinking…” here it comes! “Why don’t you tell Gilda you will cut my hair in my party and humiliate me in front of everyone? That will be a sure way she will attend it and we can get out revenge” She said with an innocent smile. Did you seriously thought she would ask you out? Yea right. Keep on dreaming. “Oh… well, maybe I could do that… She… wouldn’t get suspicious and she won’t post the video of Sugarcoat either” You said rubbing the back of your neck as you looked away with a small blush on your face. “Alright cool! Well, see you around!” She said after giving you a big hug and just run off to catch up with her friends, leaving you all by yourself with your thoughts. “It was the perfect opportunity to ask her out you idiot” You said to yourself and just hit your head against the tree a few times… You stopped after the third time so you wouldn’t give yourself a concussion. Now there was one last thing to do in your to-do list of today, and maybe it was the biggest challenge of them all. Convincing Twilight to come to a party with you… Back at her personal lab inside the school, Twilight was working hard on her little secret project not paying attention to the world. Just as you walk inside, you are greeted by a little dog who comes straight to you, tackles you down despite it’s tiny size and begins growling in your face for intruding inside of here where no one except Twilight, him or Dean Cadance are allowed in. Twilight immediately stopped working and walked up to you, picking her dog up “Spike no! Anon is a friend, don’t worry” She said petting the dog on it’s head. Just like magic, Spike stopped growling and took a more friendly attitude towards you. It seemed he understood perfectly what Twilight just told him “I’m sorry about that” She said embarrassed as she let go of her dog on the floor to help you up. “Don’t worry about it. Now I can knock ‘getting tackled down by a small dog’ out of the list of things I need to do in life”. You said with a smile as your brush yourself off. Twilight chuckled at your silly joke and went back to work “Don’t you have class?” She asked focusing on her device once again. You would ask the same to her, but considering she probably aced all her classes for the rest of the year, you just remain silent “I have a free period before my next class. I just wanted to ask you something” “You can ask me anything Anon, we are friends after all, right?” “The best of friends. Anyways… Well, Lemon Zest kind of invited us to her party next friday and well, I was wondering if you wanted to come with me” You said with a smile hoping she would not get mad or anything for not spending the night just with her like you two had planned. Luckily Twilight was not mad, but she did a bit sad “Oh… thanks Anon, but no thanks… parties are not a thing for me… people don’t really like me, and they tend to take those opportunities to pull pranks on me” She said with a small sigh as she stopped working to face you “But don’t worry about me. You should go. I’ll be fine. I have a lot of work to catch up to anyways, I can use that time to finish it” She said in her friendly and caring voice. Twilight was like a little sister to you. Always friendly, caring and doing what’s the best for you even if it means sacrificing a little of her happiness. But you were going to pay her back, that was for sure “Thanks Twilight. I promise I will make it up to you somehow!” You said not sure what to do. Twilight giggled and played with one of her locks “Well… that is this new book of J-” Before she could tell you which book, you clapped your hands “It’s all yours. Just send me the name and author on a message on my phone because I will forget if you tell me now” Twilight covered her mouth at your reaction and giggled “Alright, I will. Then we are even Anon” She said and went straight back to work. Let’s Recap. Sugarcoat is not mad at you and she is even happier after revealing her secret to her friends. Lemon invited you over to a great party where you will have the chance to finally come out of your shy shell and actually socialize with more people. She even gave you the idea to make sure that Gilda attends the party so you can have your revenge and she doesn’t bother you for the rest of the week and last but not least, things are cool with Twilight. This was a good day….that was if it wasn’t for the fact that you still had to deal with Cynch… Great way to ruin the mood… “Hey Twi… I need to go see Cynch for a moment so…. see you after school?” You said with a smile and waved at her “Sure, see you around… oh, and you better tell me what happened in class” She said with a stern look with a mixture of worrisome. “You heard?” You said with a shy smile “Everyone heard Anon.You would be surprised how fast word gets around in this school. Promise me you'll tell me” She said determined to get the information out of you, even if she had to torture you… even though she was not capable of such thing. She would never harm you… or anyone. She could hardly harm a fly. “I will Twilight, don’t worry. It’s all fixed now” With that, you left the lab and head straight for the principal office for a second time today. Luckily she would not be super angry at you and you would still have time to remedy things. Knocking on her door twice, you did not get an answer. You knocked a third time and still no answer. Maybe she was out? Oh well, time to turn around and- “Mr Anon, what can I do for you now?” Cynch voice coming from behind you almost made your heart crash down to the floor from the scare she gave you. “P-principal Cynch… I came about earlier” You said looking up at her “Are you ready to confess?” She said raising an eyebrow “Not quite… I mean yes…. I mean… I know it’s too much to ask, but please, you need to give me until next monday to fix something!” You pleaded her hoping that the gods would back you up on this one. Lucky for you, it seemed that you caught her in a good mood because she nodded and looked down “Very well Mr Anon, you have until monday. But you will have to stay one hour of punishment after class for this” Well, it was not all too fair, but it was the best case scenario coming from Cynch “Yes, yes Principal Cynch. I will. Thank you” You said bowing down to her. She just dismissed you with her hand to one side “Now go on to your class. I don’t want to see you again today, is that clear?” “Yes principal” You said quickly as you left her alone and head to your next class. Maybe things were finally looking up for you? Maybe your streak of bad luck and misfortune was going to end? Only time will tell, for now, all you really had to do was survive until the party comes around and then you will see what you will do.