Knock knock!
I rolled over in my bed, turning away from the noise and burying my head further under the pillow.
Knock knock!
"Sunset? I know you're in there!"
"Mmmmno..." I mumbled, tossing around once more."
She paused, and I heard her press an ear against the door. Hearing no further response from me, she turned at the knob, sighing as the door gave way, giving her access to disturb my sleep. Her footsteps grew louder and louder before stopping by my bed, and a hand shook at the layers of blankets covering my figure, rocking the whole bunk.
"Sunset, it's three in the afternoon."
I groaned. "That's it?"
Suddenly, the hand yanked on a sheet, then another, until all of my covers were pulled down to my feet. Finally, the pillow protecting my head was also removed, allow the afternoon sunlight to assault my eyes. I cracked my eyelids open at the heat, mumbling angrily as I rubbed my eyes awake.
"What are you doing still in bed?" My vision slowly turned to Twilight, who tapped her toe in annoyance. I propped my torso up with an elbow, sitting up somewhat.
"How'd you get in?"
"Your roommate. Now answer my question."
Gazing up and making eye contact with her, I shrugged lazily. "Why not?"
She rolled her eyes, holding a hand out. However, I simply stared at it, prompting her to groan and reach for my arm and pull it up. I relented and stood up, though I reclined against the bedpost, giving her a glossy stare as she scanned the room. It was probably dawning on her how different the room looked since she had been here last week to help me move in. Sure, Lavender Breeze's desk looked immaculate as ever, but my space was a disaster.
My laptop sat atop the desk, MyStable still open. More specifically, it revealed my most recent update in which I had aired out my discomfort with being away with my boyfriend. Alongside the social media site, amongst the tabs of my web browser was... coping advice from various websites. Also on the desk, indicating my failure to suppress my heartache, were depleted napkin containers as well as assorted sweets: an empty tub of ice cream, a half-eaten sleeve of cookies, the works.
It wasn't easy leaving him behind in Canterlot, but it was inevitable. He hadn't made it into the same college as me, but attending Manehattan University was a prestigious honor; there was no way I could pass it up, and he had even encouraged me to do so. Still, it didn't make being away from him any less painful - as evident from my past week.
As she drew her conclusion, she whipped her head back to me with a frown and crossed arms.
"Seriously? Over your boyfriend? It's only been a week!"
I recoiled, and the thought of my boyfriend only made my lip quiver.
"Oh my God, Sunset," she sighed. "You're acting like you'll never see him again."
My eyes drifted away from her face, unwilling to make contact when the tears inevitably started up once more. However, she grabbed the bridge of her nose, deep in thought, before gesturing towards my laptop.
"Why don't you video call him?"
Darting my eyes over to her, I tilted my head in confusion, mulling over her words. Then, I looked over the computer, focusing on the tiny webcam at the top, and, realizing my idiocy, I put my head in my hands. I groaned, and I heard Twilight exhale sharply in amusement.
"Yeah, sounds good."
Wordlessly, she placed her hand on my shoulder, rubbing it compassionately until I finally looked back up at her. Twilight's expression softened a tad, motioning for me to sit back down on the bed as she grabbed my computer. Plopping down at my side, she placed the device at my lap, and I navigated to the video calling app we frequented. Scrolling through the contacts, I found my person of interest, pleased by his online status, clicking on his name and hovering over the call button. However, I hesitated, pondering what would happen once I called him. There was the possibility of him not wanting to talk, or even not answering at all.
There was also the possibility of him answering with another...
I shook that thought away, feeling a pang of guilt at even considering it. Finally, I took a deep breath, glancing over at Twilight, who gave a supportive smile. With a surge of supposed courage, I clicked the call button, watching the window transition to the call screen... and immediately cancelled it, returning back to the menu.
"Sunset!" Twilight gave me a nudge, bewildered. "What are you doing?"
"I'm nervous," was all I could muster.
Understandably, she responded by grabbing one of my pillows and smacking my head with it. Steadying my laptop, she took it upon herself to click the call button again, and at the slightest motion of my hand, she gave me an intense stare, visibly tightening her grip on the pillow. Despite the bizarre threat, I was successfully discouraged from intervening. Instead, I simply stared at the screen, watching our webcam output as it reflected our figures.
Eventually, it dawned on me how disgusting I looked, especially compared to Twilight. My hair was disheveled from constantly tossing around in bed, and my pajamas contrasted my friend's more formal outfit of a buttoned blouse and plaid skirt. With one hand, I furiously combed at my locks, wincing at the occasional tangle of hair that refused to fix itself, and with my other hand, I rubbed at the eye crusties that were still on the edges of my eyes. Unfortunately, I wouldn't even succeed in cleaning my eyes, as the dialing stopped and revealed the grainy webcam feed of my boyfriend. My hands shot back down to my lap, and I smiled nervously as if I hadn't been caught.
He groaned, rolling his eyes melodramatically. "What did you do this time?"
Hearing his voice again, and with his usual witty humor at that, made my heart flutter. My smile became more relaxed, and I giggled.
"I've already enslaved the entire city," I joked in kind. "We're marching for Canterlot, so this is your only warning."
My boyfriend smiled, producing a cute set of dimples. "And there's nothing we can do to negotiate?"
I tapped my chin, sighing loudly. "I suppose I can be convinced to stop my troops... Maybe a date over winter break?"
"Make it two."
"Deal."
Both chuckling, a wave of relief washed over me. It felt so nice to talk to him again - the banter, the laughter, the love, I missed it so much. When we both calmed down, his eyes shifted to my side.
"Sorry about that, Twilight. How's it going?"
Remembering she was still sitting next to me, I blushed, giving her an apologetic look. Still, she looked more amused than anything, so I anticipated the imminent teasing for the next few weeks.
"Good, real good," she exaggerated, locking eyes with me mischievously. Fears confirmed, I rolled my eyes. However, she returned her gaze to the laptop. "Classes have been fun."
"Lucky you, I suppose." My boyfriend flashed a grin. "And you, Sunset?"
Again, I glanced over at Twilight, and she had her arms crossed in disappointment. She chimed in before me.
"Don't even ask. She hasn't shown up after the first day."
He cocked an eyebrow. "Really?" Under normal circumstances, that serious look made my chest flutter. Right now, though, it made my heart drop, so I piped up to provide my reasoning.
"Wait, it's not like that!" I waved my hands defensively. "I asked my professors if I could get ahead with assignments, and they all were okay with giving me the week's work on Mondays." I pointed to my desk, looking at Twilight. "You can check. They're in that folder under the ice cream."
"Huh? 'Ice cream?'" came from the laptop.
Standing up, Twilight made her way to my desk, shoving the leftover food away and grabbing the lightly-stained folder. She opened it, flipping through the papers, brow furrowed, and after a while, she hummed contentedly.
"Alright, yeah. Looks like you're telling the truth."
"See? Told you so."
"Uh, hello? What's this about ice cream on top of her assignment folder?"
We turned our attention back to my boyfriend. Twilight's eyes darted over to me, waiting for me to explain. Inhaling deeply, I returned my gaze to the laptop.
"I, uh..." I chuckled nervously. "I've been really homesick. That's why I've been like... this." I gestured to my figure, emphasizing the messy state of my hair. Suddenly, though, Twilight cleared her throat.
"To be more specific, she's 'boyfriend-sick,'" she giggled.
Blushing deeply, I gave her an angry stare. "Twilight!" I hissed. However, she continued.
"She misses you oh so much!" Clasping her hands together melodramatically, she took a step back towards the bed, but decided against it, choosing to tease me from afar. "She's a love addict, and you just gave her another hit." Mortified, I looked over at my boyfriend, who also shared a similar red tint on his face. However, he seemed to take it better than expected, as his smile soon returned.
"Is that so?"
I nodded shyly.
Leaning back in his chair, he crossed his arms, sighing. "Well, at least I'm not alone." He stared directly into the webcam as if he was locking eyes with me. "I missed you, too, Sunset. I missed you so, so much."
Oh. My heart stopped. I was only returned to my senses when Twilight plopped back onto the bed, bouncing the mattress.
"You did?" I asked.
"Oh yeah." He pointed at his head. "This hair? First time I've done it since you left. I only styled it for you."
"Really?"
"No, but that'd be a pretty funny coincidence, huh?"
Beside me, Twilight laughed once again.
"Not cool."
He chuckled softly. "Sorry, sorry. I wasn't lying about missing you, though. I'm really happy that you called."
"Me, too. It's so nice seeing your face again."
"Wanna make it a regular thing? We can talk every week or so. Hell, we don't even have to say anything."
Warmth spreading within me, I grinned. "Sounds like a plan. Let's do it."
"Alrighty then." He glanced to his left, presumably checking the time. "Look, I got homework due tonight, so let's call it here? We can text to solidify when you want to call again."
I nodded enthusiastically. "Sure thing." However, as I moved my mouse over to the red disconnect button, he called out.
"Hold on, Sunny."
The sudden use of my nickname around Twilight, who was still unfamiliar with it, made my stomach turn, and the glint of mischief in his eyes didn't help.
"I love you, Sunny."
Discomfort rising as my violet friend's amusement crept onto her face, I nodded quickly, returning to the trackpad to end the call. However, my boyfriend shook his head vigorously, causing me to stop.
"Say it back, Sunny. Please?"
Twilight's giggle escaped her, and I rolled my eyes. "Do I have to?"
Mustering his best puppy dog eyes, my boyfriend sighed sadly. "Fine... I guess I'll spend the rest of the night knowing my girlfriend doesn't love me..." His eyes drifted away from the computer, and he threw in another melodramatic exhale.
Ultimately, I cracked.
"Fine," I groaned. Taking a deep breath, I looked right into the webcam.
"I love you, too."
Glancing back down at the screen, I noticed confusion on his face.
"What was that? I couldn't hear you."
"I said I love you, too."
"What?"
More giggles to my left.
"Oh my Celestia. Don't play this game with me."
We stared at one another until he eventually broke into a chuckle of his own.
"Fine, fine. I'll take what I can get. See you soon, Sunny."
"See you."
"You hang up first."
A flash of frustration overwhelming me, I nodded in agreement. "Okay." To his surprise, I clicked the button, ending the call and leaving me with Twilight. We remained silent, sitting amongst our thoughts for several minutes. After a while, though, she stirred, turning to me with a grin.
"Well, that certainly helped you feel better, right, Sunny?"