//------------------------------// // The Hallway // Story: Before the Friendship Games: Indigo Zap // by CapNTilfy //------------------------------// "Hey." De Verre said, avoiding eye contact as she lowered her arm. "I imagine you've been looking for me, so I decided to save you the trouble." "Yeah." Indigo said, turning her head away, her tone solemn. "I imagine you needed time away from me." A couple of moments passed, and Indigo broke the silence. "Fleur De Verre." She said, turning her head back to look her in the eyes. "I just want to tell you how sorry I am." De Verre turned her head to face Indigo. "But you already did." Indigo shook her head. "No. I meant a formal apology." She said as she walked towards De Verre. "Asperger's or no, autism or no, I should never have given you the wrong idea. I should have said that from the moment I kissed you." She sighed, putting her hands on De Verre's shoulders. "Fleur De Verre...I'm sorry." She gave De Verre a hug. "Can you forgive me?" She said, her voice barely above a whisper. De Verre stayed silent for a moment, then slowly returned the hug. "I'm sorry about all the drama, Indigo Zap." She said, her voice quavering with a sniffle. Indigo smiled. "Don't be sorry. What you did was brave, and I promise that nothing that happened between us will leave this hall." De Verre's eyes widened, having heard her own words echoed at her. She sniffled again. "Thank you." She said, then broke. The pair stayed still as De Verre's sobs were muffled by Indigo's chest. Several moments later, De Verre had no more tears to shed. She looked up at Indigo, who was looking down at her and smiling warmly. "Hey." She said softly. "Feel better?" De Verre nodded, wiping a stray tear from her eyes as she broke the hug. "Do we still have time for lunch?" Indigo grinned. "C'mon, we weren't standing still for that long. We've got plenty of-" Indigo was cut off as she and De Verre heard something rolling off in the distance. The two looked in the direction the noise was coming from and saw the school nurse rushing towards them, wheeling a gurney. "Out of the way, girls!" Said the school nurse as she hurried towards the cafeteria. She ran down the hallway and disappeared from the pair's sight. Indigo hissed through her teeth. "Yikes. I hope whoever that's intended for is okay." She said, frowning and folding her arms. "Do you think we should follow her?" Asked De Verre. Indigo shook her head. "Speaking as an expert on creating scenes, I think we'd only make things worse. Whoever's in trouble is going to need space, not to mention the nurse and anyone else involved." De Verre sighed. "I guess you have a point." She said, shrugging. "Maybe we should take an alternate route to the cafeteria." Before Indigo could respond, she could hear the school nurse's voice along with an additional one; Dean Cadence. "-Just fell limply onto the floor." Dean Cadence said as the gurney turned a corner, revealing itself to Indigo and De Verre. Indigo held out an arm in front of De Verre. "Best to stay of out their way." She said, to which De Verre agreed with a nod. Once Indigo caught sight of the person occupying the gurney, she gasped and put a hand to her mouth. Sunny Flare laid on it, unconscious. Without thinking, Indigo grabbed Dean Cadence by the arm. "I'm in a hurry, can it-" Cadence stopped speaking when she saw the fear in Indigo Zap's eyes. Indigo's jaw had dropped, and she stammered for a moment until Cadence held her by the hand. The Dean gave Indigo a sympathetic look. "She's going to be fine." She said calmly. "She just...hasn't been sleeping well lately." Indigo stood still in shock until De Verre held her other hand. "But...but I just saw her a few minutes ago. She seemed just f-fine then." She said, trembling. "I assure you, Indigo Zap. Sunny Flare is going to be okay. But promise me that you won't bring this up to her. She's a proud individual." Cadence said. Indigo stayed sill, staring off for a moment. "Yeah...I promise." She all but mumbled. "Indigo...are you going to be okay?" Cadence asked softly. "I...I...I don't know. I'm...in shock...she...was just...fine when I saw her." Indigo felt a lump in her throat. "D-Dean Cadence...I-I'm scared." She said, her voice a near whisper. "I understand. Seeing someone you know in a condition like that can be frightening." Cadence said as she slowly embraced Indigo. "If it's that scary seeing someone you know in a gurney, I can only imagine what it must feel like to see someone you love in the same way." Indigo said as she looked up. She gasped when she saw that the Dean's eyes were red, and a stray tear fell. "Are...are you okay, Dean Cadence?" Indigo managed to say despite all the shock she had experienced. Cadence slowly broke the hug. "Yes. I'm fine." She said, wiping a tear from her face. "Everyone goes through this experience, Indigo Zap. I am no exception. It was just an old memory from a while back." Indigo gave Dean Cadence a look of uncertainty. Cadence sighed. "You don't have to worry about me, I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. But I do appreciate the sentiment." She said, putting an arm on Indigo's shoulder. Indigo smiled warmly. "All right then, if you say so." "Well, if that's everything you need then, you'll have to excuse me." Cadence said as she ran off in the direction the gurney took. "Thank you!" Indigo said as she watched Dean Cadence run off. De Verre slowly let go of Indigo's hand. "Are you going to be okay?" She asked softly. Indigo sighed heavily. "I think so. It's just that so much happened in so little time that it was borderline overwhelming." De Verre smiled. "Yeah, I get that. There's still time for lunch, though. Are you still hungry?" Indigo shrugged. "I'll find out once we get to the cafeteria." She said as the two finally made their way to the cafeteria.