//------------------------------//
// Please Tell Me We Are 
// Story: Are We Dating? 
// by Vixie 
//------------------------------//




It was a month since my birthday, which was the best one of my life. Well, apparently, Twilight either has amnesia or only kissed me out of pity and wants to forget that moment, because she's pretending like nothing ever happened.  She avoided me for a while, which must've been easy because I was living in a dreamland from that kiss. I don't know how I managed to keep that feeling for thirty-one days straight, but I did.
It was summer vacation, but I wasn't going anywhere. Luckily, Twilight wasn't, either. I was on my way to her house to hang out, maybe talk... Or hug... Or kiss when I saw a moving truck down the street. And I saw a boy sitting on his front steps, and Twilight talking to him.
Who was that guy and why was he stealing Twilight?! I forced myself to calm down. Maybe she was just talking to him in a friendly way... Wait, it wasn't like Twilight and I were dating or anything! I heard from the older kids at school that dating meant holding hands and "making out", whatever that was, but... Maybe Twilight didn't like me the way I liked her.
I slowly walked down the street, before turning and going into the guy's backyard. I managed to sneak to the front without being seen, and hid in a bush.
"I'm Flash," the boy said.
Twilight blushed. "I-I'm Twilight! It's nice to meet you..."
I knew that face. I made that face on my birthday. I knew what it meant. So I got out of the bushes, pretending I've been there the whole time, and cleared my throat.
"Oh, hey!" Flash stood up to wave.
I smiled sweetly, which was fake. 
Twilight turned to me. "Oh, hey, Sunset!"
Suddenly, I became weak and overwhelmed again. Of course, it was Crush-itis, as I call it. "H-Hey. Wanna hang out?" I said suddenly.
"Sure," Twilight turned to Flash. Her eyes immediately went heart-shaped. "H-How about you come along, Fl..Flash?" Crush-itis was hitting her hard.
"Of course, that's awesome!" Flash grinned.
I gave him a death glare. Well, alone time with my maybe-girlfriend wasn't meant to be, I guess. But what if Flash and I could be friends? Actually, no. I didn't want him to be friends with me or Twilight. What if he stole her from me?! 
Twilight could tell I was upset, so she tried to smile at me, which turned into a goofy one as she looked at Flash out the corner of  her eye.
"Uh, n-no! He can't come since... Uh... I have a special surprise for you!" I blurted out. I admit, it was stupid, but I was not going to lose Twilight. Not today, at least.
"For me?" Twilight asked, directing her full attention to me.
"Uh, yeah! It's for you, and only you." I continued. 
Twilight's eyes widened. "Really? That's awesome!"
Flash stared at me, then at Twilight. With the way I was blushing and looking at Twilight, I think he knew how I felt about her. I hoped he knew to back off, since I took karate classes.
"When do I get to see it?" Twilight asked. Her eyes were lit up, and she was beaming. She always loved surprises. She looked so adorable. I wanted to get a kiss so I could feel as great as I had when her lips had first touched mine. Well, I'd settle for a hug, actually.
"Uh, meet up at the creek in an hour?"
"Can you tell me what it is?" Sometimes, Twilight could barely contain herself when there was something like a surprise involved.
I shook my head. Even I didn't know what the surprise was. "Um, s-see you!" I ran off, finally being able to breathe again. I had to decide what I'd give her, but I couldn't think of what to do. Maybe a cake? No, Twilight wasn't one for cake, she says it's "too sugary". On her birthday, we ate sugar-less peanut butter cookies, which I hate, but she loved them, so I managed to eat a whole plate of it just so she wouldn't be upset.
I looked over my shoulder. Flash was standing up now, and Twilight was dangerously close to him. When I was at my front door, I was tempted to grab my baseball bat and beat him up, but resisted the urge to. After all, violence isn't always the answer unless it involves a girl you're hopelessly in love with.
Walking backwards, I kept glaring at Flash and Twilight before I closed the door and was safely in my house.
"Sunny!"
I almost jumped. I turned to see my parents standing there. I forgot they were meant to be coming back home today. Honestly, I was quite happy with Twilight's parents checking in on me every few days for the past month and having them restock the fridge for me. It was only a matter of time until someone else realised I was living there alone, so my real parents came just in time.
"Don't call me that," I snapped. The only person who could call me that was Twilight and only Twilight.
Dad chuckled. "Don't be like that! Aren't you excited to see us?"
No, not at all. I have  something urgent to do that involves the cutest girl in the world. was what I wanted to say, but I said this instead, "I'm so happy you're back. I just have to-"
"We're sorry for missing your birthday, but we still got you a present." Mom said, handing me a card.
I stared at it, then at them. "You're kidding, right?"
They both looked shocked.
"What do you mean? Don't you like it?" Dad asked.
I bit my lower lip. "You know, I'm really tired. I better go to my room and rest." I hurried out of the room. A fight with my parents was not what I needed right now.
I locked myself in my room, leaving the card on my bedside table. Think, Sunset, think... What could you do for Twilight that Flash couldn't do? What would make Twilight want to date you instead of him? I picked up the red dragon figurine. 
For my birthday, she had gotten me something I always wanted. The week before her eighth birthday, we went to the jewelry store together, and she pointed at a pendant. It had a silver chain which was attached to a sphere-shaped piece of amethyst with a hint of magenta. She said she wanted it, but her parents wouldn't let her. Two years passed and, if my assumptions were correct, she still didn't have it.
What if I got it for her? And maybe something else? What else did she want? She wanted a chemistry set, which she got for her tenth birthday. She wanted a new book, which I got her for her tenth birthday. She wanted a pet, which... She didn't have. I could get her a pet! She loved hamsters. I could get her one!
Now that I knew what I needed to get, I broke open my piggy bank, which had two hundred dollars inside. I stuffed it into my pockets and sped downstairs.
"Sunset, where are you-"
I ran past Mom and Dad and hurried into the garage. I got my bike, and wasted no time riding it to the store. Luckily, the jewelry store was right next to the pet store. I hid my bike in an alley, so I wouldn't lose it, and rushed into the jewelry store first.
For a few minutes, I wandered around, looking for the pendant. Had it already been bought? It had been two years since we saw it, and there had only been a few in stock back then. Maybe Twilight would settle for a pearl necklace? Or a golden bracelet?
I was about to leave when I saw a pendant with a circular object attached. I wasn't sure what it was, but it was purple and it looked... Science-y. 
Twilight would like that. Maybe. Hopefully. It was one of those pendants that you could open and close, and inside it was a bunch of gears and wires. I didn't know what it was, but Twilight would have fun figuring out what it was meant to do.
I took it to the desk.
"Where's your mom?" The clerk asked.
"Uh... At home."
"Does she know you're here?"
"She, um... She told me to buy this for her." I lied. They didn't know where I was. I had to get home before they told Twilight's parents I was missing or something and organized a search party.
"Okay. Pay up, then."
"It's... Two hundred, right?" I remembered the price tag. Two hundred was all I had.
The clerk looked it over. "This amulet creeps me out, and my manager's desperate to get rid of it, so I'll give you a discount. Just fifty bucks."
Amulet? I didn't question it. I gave them fifty dollars and walked out proudly. Now for the hamster. After taking a step through the doors, I was greeted with an assortment of animal screeches. I walked up to one of the many workers. "Do you have any hamsters?"
"Huh?!"
"Do you have any hamsters?!" I yelled.
"I can't hear you!"
"Do you have any hamsters?!" I screamed, which silenced the animals.
The worker blinked. "Yeah. Every pet is three hundred dollars, since we're having a sale! Cool, right?"
"Wait, three hundred? All of them?" I looked over the hundred-fifty dollars in my hands.
They nodded. "Except that one." They pointed at a dog, who was playing with a squeaky toy. They were colored purple and green, which was quite strange, but not too much. It was still cute. "He's only a hundred. He's been here since he was born."
I walked up to the cage. "Hey little guy," I waved.
The dog stopped playing to look at me. He barked and wagged his tail. He pressed himself against the cage.
"Twilight won't mind having a dog? Right?" I asked no one in particular.
The dog seemed to nod in agreement. I giggled.
"So, will you take him?"
I was already opening the dog's cage. On his collar was 'Spike'. He licked my face. "Yeah, I'll take him." I paid the hundred dollars and put what I had left back in my pocket.
After leaving the store, I got my bike out from the alley. I put Spike in the basket attached to my handle bars, along with the amulet. I pushed off, cycling home.



I knew my parents absolutely hate having any animals in our home, so I had to put Spike in my sweater and go inside. Mom and Dad weren't in the living room, so I managed to go upstairs without getting caught. Once I was safely in my bedroom, I let out a relieved sigh.
I checked my watch. I'd have to meet Twilight at the creek in five minutes or I'd be late. I prayed she'd like the presents, even though I had to improvise. Hopefully, it'd be enough for her to not fall in love with Flash the way I did with her. If that happens, I can't say my baseball bat won't be involved.
Quickly, I put Spike and the amulet in a box, after poking air holes in it. "You okay in there, Spike?" I whispered.
I had also placed a cushion in there and a piece of the ham sandwich I had for lunch, along with a divider between him and the amulet, so he wouldn't wreck it. Spike seemed quite comfortable in there, so I put a lid on it and went on to fix my appearance. 
I just finished brushing my hair when I heard a knock on my bedroom door.
"Sunset? Can we come in?" Mom's voice said.
After pushing the box underneath my bed, I cleared my throat. "Yeah, sure."
Both Mom and Dad came in. They were all dressed up, and not at all concerned that I was gone for half an hour. I should've expected that.
"Put this on," Mom gave me a bright red dress.
I stared at it. "Why?"
"We have to go to dinner. It's a welcome-to-the-neighborhood dinner party or something." Dad briefly explained. "And we have to look good."
"Sorry, can't go. I have to do something," I said, praying Spike would keep quiet. Luckily, he did.
Mom narrowed her eyes. "You have to go. Almost everyone in the neighborhood is there."
If everyone in the neighborhood would be there, that'd mean Twilight would be there, too. Which meant that even if I went to the creek, she wouldn't be there. "Fine." I took the dress.
"Be quick," Dad said as he closed the door behind them.
I quickly changed and took the box out from under my bed. I stumbled down the stairs with it.
My parents looked at it, but didn't question me. We walked outside, and down the street. Soon, we ended up in front of a familiar house. The moving truck was gone, but I still knew it was Flash's house. I really should've brought my bat.
After Mom knocked on the door, it quickly opened and we filed in. His house was surprisingly well-decorated, not a box in sight even though they had just moved in. Mom and Dad sat at a table with other adults, and also Twilight's older brother, who was probably old enough to pass off as a grown-up.
Flash's mom smiled at me. "You can go into the living room and play with the other children until the meal is served."
I smiled back. Just because I hated Flash didn't mean I hated her, too. I took the box into the other room, where a bunch of kids were watching TV, wrestling, or playing with monster truck toys. I scanned the room before my gaze fell on Twilight, standing in the corner. I beamed when I saw that Flash wasn't with her.
She was wearing a magenta dress with a matching ribbon in her hair. She looked amazing.
I walked over to her.
"Hey, Sunny!" She said, smiling.
I tried my best to not make a fool of myself. "H-Hey, Twilight." Seriously, if she already caught onto my feelings for her, she wasn't showing it. "Uh, s-since we couldn't meet at the creek, I brought your surprise here."
Her eyes lit up again. "Oooh! Show me! Show me!  Show me!" I could tell she was trying to suppress her excitement the best she could, and was failing at it.
Not wanting to make her wait for too long, I pulled the lid off.
She stared at Spike, not saying a word. Then she squealed, which went unnoticed, as no one else reacted. "Puppy!" She picked him up and started cooing at him. Spike barked in response.
I reached down and took the amulet. I held it in my hands before showing it to Twilight.
She held Spike in one arm, and grabbed the amulet with the other. She looked at it, puzzled, before she managed to open it. The wires and tiny gears made her gasp. "So complex! What does it do?" She asked me.
"I was hoping you'd be able to find out," I gave her a nervous smile.
She was grinning from ear-to-ear. "This is the best surprise ever!" She hugged me. I couldn't breathe at all, and she wasn't even holding me that tight. After a moment of pure shock, I hugged her back. It was the best feeling ever.



After the party ended, we went down to the creek. I made sure not to trip and fall into the river this time. Twilight put a picnic blanket down. Spike was curled up on my lap, sleeping, while Twilight admired her amulet.
"Sunset...?"
That was the first time she called me by my full name in two months. "What is it, Twi?"
"How do you... How do you tell a person you like them?"
My blood ran cold. Was she thinking of confessing to Flash?! "W-Who are you going to tell?"
She put her head on my shoulder. She remained quiet.
I sucked in a deep breath. I prayed it wasn't Flash. "Well, I say you just... Tell them."
Twilight sat up straight. "I like you."
"Huh?"
"I like you, Sunset." She blushed. "A lot."
My heart was about to beat out of my chest. "I-I... Like you too. A lot." I smiled.
Twilight finally relaxed.
"So... Are we dating?" I asked.
"Maybe."