The soles of Sky's running sneakers pounded along the sidewalk that led back to Canterlot High. It may have been Friday afternoon, but the intensity of the track team's workouts wasn't easing up. Coach Soarin had sent all of the male distance runners to the seaport, and they were just now returning from it. Sky had felt exhausted around the midpoint of the run, but he'd kept good pace throughout, and as the shape of CHS grew near, he found an extra burst of energy. He suddenly pulled out from the pack, overtook Thunderlane and the two team captains, and began sprinting back to the school.
"Hardo!!!" Thunderlane shouted jokingly. Sky didn't respond. He was solely fixated on finishing the run. Behind him, a few other runners sprinted ahead as well.
Sky was the first one to arrive back at the school. Under a tree next to the track, he found his gym bag and hastily opened it. His forehead was drenched in sweat, and after taking a good long drink from his water bottle, he wiped off his face with a hand towel and began stretching his legs and arms.
Sky's teammates soon came jogging in. When Coach Soarin returned, he spoke to Sky first. "What a kick, Sky! Outstanding!"
"Thanks!" Sky panted. "I found some extra speed right at the end."
"Well, keep that up and you'll do great next week!" said Soarin. He turned his attention to the whole team. "Our first meet is on Tuesday right after school. It's an away meet at Ashleaf High, so don't miss the bus. Great job today, all of you. Enjoy your weekend!"
Whenever Sky went on a distance run, he always carried his phone with him in an armband. After stretching for a few minutes, he took the armband off and texted his mom to come pick him up. "I'm already in the parking lot," Evening replied. Sky stuffed everything back into his gym bag, then walked around the school to where his mom was parked. As he entered the parking lot, he saw the female distance runners go past - Coach Fleetfoot had given the girls' team a hard workout too. He waved to Cloudchaser and Flitter as they ran by, and the twins waved back. Sky then found his mom's car and climbed into the front passenger seat.
"Hi, sweetie!" Evening said as Sky climbed in. "Tough workout today?"
"Yeah, we must have run seven or eight miles," said Sky. "I'm definitely going to need a shower when we get home."
About an hour later, Sky was feeling clean as a whistle. He'd taken a long cold shower to fully wash himself off, and was now sitting on the armchair at the end of his bed, with his feet propped up on the mattress. He was scratching Duke behind the ears when he heard his phone vibrate. He picked it up and saw that Sugarcoat had texted him. "Hey, do you want to come to my house tomorrow?" read Sugarcoat's message. "I'm free this weekend."
"Sure!" Sky texted back. "What time?"
"Does 11:00 work for you?" Sugarcoat asked.
"Sounds good," Sky replied. "I can get up before then. Looking forward to seeing you again!"
"Same to you!" said Sugarcoat. "Six weeks without seeing each other feels like an eternity."
"Yeah, it's been a while. So glad I'm not grounded anymore!"
"I'm glad you've gotten your act together and seem to be happier. Dinner's ready at my place now, so see you tomorrow!"
"You too!" Sky turned his phone off and placed it back on the arm of his chair. Sugarcoat was right - even if a month and a half wasn't very long in the grand scheme of things, it certainly felt like it had been a long time since Sky had last seen her. He was curious to know what she'd been up to since then, particularly with the Friendship Games approaching in a few weeks.
His thoughts then shifted back to Lyra. During Sky's first month at CHS, they'd developed a strong friendship, but ever since meeting her, Sky had been hoping they could eventually become more than that. Whenever he wasn't with her during the day, he would often daydream about her beautiful appearance and sweet personality, and imagine them going someplace special together. However, there was a seed of doubt in the back of his mind. Although he was very much infatuated with Lyra, he was unsure if she would ever feel the same way about him. He feared getting stuck in the "friend zone" if he waited too long, but he also didn't want to ruin their friendship by making a move too soon. He'd never talked about these feelings with anyone before, but since he was going to see Sugarcoat tomorrow, he decided it would be a good idea to talk it over with her. Since Sugarcoat was a girl who knew Sky well, maybe she could offer him some advice on how to approach the situation.
"Dinner's ready!" Evening called from downstairs.
Sky was jolted out of his train of thought. "I'll be down in a sec..." he called back. He got up from his chair and began walking downstairs to the kitchen. Duke ran ahead of him - food was always that dog's number one priority.
Sky woke up at 9:30 the next morning, and treated himself to a delicious breakfast of chocolate waffles with whipped cream. He then went outside and set off for Sugarcoat's house. Since he'd been there so many times, he knew the route to her house by heart. It was a splendid day to be outside. The weather was warm, and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. Sky walked along his street at a leisurely pace, admiring his surroundings while at the same time mulling over how to tell Sugarcoat about his feelings for Lyra.
Soon, Sky entered a wealthy neighborhood, full of big houses with large well-trimmed lawns. The Canterlot Bay neighborhood, located in the northeast, was the most affluent part of the city because it was close to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mistmane River, which formed the northern border of Canterlot. The only downside was that a number of Crystal Prep students lived here, and Sky didn't fancy running into any of his other old classmates.
Fortunately, it was a Saturday morning, so the sidewalks were pretty much empty. Sky got to enjoy some nice solitude as he walked along the wide open streets. When he arrived at Sugarcoat's house, a three-story lavender house with a silver metal fence around its lawn, he walked up the front steps and rang the doorbell.
Within a few seconds, Sugarcoat came downstairs to answer the door. She was wearing her casual outfit, which consisted of a light yellow top, a light blue skirt, and a pair of blue and yellow striped leggings. "Hello, Sky!" she said with a smile. "Good to see you again!"
"It's great to see you too, Sugar!" said Sky. He and Sugarcoat exchanged a hug. "How have you been?"
"I've been doing fairly well," Sugarcoat replied. "Studying and training for the Friendship Games takes up quite a bit of my time, but I've managed to stay on top of everything. I take it you've been enjoying yourself since leaving Crystal Prep?"
Sky nodded. "Yeah, I've been great! I've made several friends at CHS, and I'm just enjoying my life a lot more now."
"That's good to hear. Now how about you come inside? I don't feel like standing here with the front door open all day."
"Oh yes, of course!" Sky entered the house and Sugarcoat shut the door behind him. They sat down in the two living room recliners and propped up the footrests. "Man, I forgot how comfy these things are," Sky remarked.
"Yeah, these were a good purchase. It's a good thing my parents aren't home right now, otherwise my dad would have claimed one already," Sugarcoat chuckled.
At that moment, a gray cat with a blue collar came into the living room and meowed. "Hi, Alaric!" Sugarcoat chirped. She pointed to Sky. "Look who's here!"
Alaric let Sugarcoat pet him for a while, then ran over to Sky and rubbed himself up against his legs. After a few seconds of petting, Alaric jumped into Sky's lap. "Aww!" Sky giggled. "Hey, buddy..." He began scratching Alaric behind the ears, and Alaric curled up in his lap, purring gently.
"He's certainly happy to see you again," said Sugarcoat. "He's always liked you."
"Let me guess, is Eric asleep upstairs?" Sky chuckled.
"He's asleep somewhere. I see him once a day if I'm lucky. Alaric and Eric may be brothers, but their personalities couldn't be more different."
That was certainly true. Alaric was a very friendly and excitable cat, always begging to be pet by whoever was nearby. In contrast, Eric was an extremely skittish and reclusive cat who spent most of his time hiding from everyone. Sky had hardly ever seen Eric, but he and Alaric had always gotten along wonderfully.
"This probably won't affect you much," said Sugarcoat, "but apparently Royal Pin has blacklisted both of us from his parents' store. He announced it on SnapGab a few days after the fight."
Sky rolled his eyes. "Seriously? I've never gone there anyway, but wow, that's petty. Typical of him, though."
"Absolutely," Sugarcoat agreed. "He's always been a petty blowhard, but this takes the cake. He also won't stop going on about how much he hates your guts and wants to get even with you. He's full of shit."
"Well then, it sounds like not much has changed since I left," Sky remarked. "Apart from you making the Friendship Games team, of course."
"Of course. As I said before, I had no trouble making the team. Unfortunately, Royal made the team too. I really hope I never get partnered with him for anything."
"Seriously?" Sky groaned. "How desperate did they get?"
"I'm not happy about it, but I wouldn't necessarily call it desperate," Sugarcoat pointed out. "Royal may be an asshole, but academically he isn't stupid. Almost nobody at Crystal Prep is."
"Didn't he also get off scot-free for the fight?" Sky asked.
Sugarcoat nodded. "Indeed he did, which was completely wrong. You may have thrown the first punch, but he was the one who initiated the altercation in the first place. But enough about that. How's the track season been going so far?"
"It's been going pretty well," Sky replied. "We haven't had any meets yet, but I've had good pace on every practice run."
"That's good. When is the first meet?"
"Tuesday, against Ashleaf High. It's an away meet, so unfortunately that means a long bus ride."
"Well, that's one of the things you sign up for as a student athlete," Sugarcoat chuckled. "I'm sure the meet will go well, though. Indigo Zap told me Ashleaf has the worst track team in the league. You'll beat them easily."
"That's good to know!" said Sky. "I'm definitely one of the quicker distance runners on the CHS team, too. Maybe I'll win a medal."
Sugarcoat smiled. "I'm sure you can! I could keep pace with you when we were younger, but there's no way I could do it now."
"Thanks, Sugar. Ah, I remember when we used to race each other through the park. Good times!"
"Oh, yes! Hanging out during the summer was always fun. We had quite the friendly sibling rivalry, you could say."
"Well, we're both only children, so I guess that was the closest thing we had," Sky chuckled.
"Pretty much!" Sugarcoat agreed. "It's better this way, though. As much as I enjoy spending time with you, I can't imagine us being able to share a house 24/7."
"Me neither!" Sky laughed.
By now, Alaric had practically fallen asleep in Sky's lap. Sky looked down at him and smiled as he continued stroking his fur. He then turned back to Sugarcoat. "By the way... I know I'm doing a lot better now, but I was wondering if you could give me some advice on something."
"What kind of something?" Sugarcoat asked.
Sky thought for a moment. "You know the two girls who gave me a tour of CHS after I transferred?"
"Yes, I remember. What were their names again?"
"Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon. They're on the Friendship Games team, so you'll see them next month."
"Those names ring a bell," said Sugarcoat. "I think I went to middle school with them. I didn't know them personally, but I remember them being practically joined at the hip, they were that close."
"Yeah, they've been best friends since kindergarten," said Sky. "Sometimes they even finish each other's sentences. But anyway... I've had a huge crush on Lyra ever since I met her. Her beautiful face, her sweet personality, how smart and talented she is... everything. I think about her almost any time I'm not with her."
"That certainly sounds like a crush to me," Sugarcoat said with a smile. "You're good friends with her now, aren't you?"
"Yep! But that's the thing - I eventually want to become more than just friends with her, but I'm not sure if she feels the same way. I really hope I'm not stuck in the friend zone."
"The entire concept of the friend zone is bullshit," Sugarcoat said firmly. "A girl is either attracted to you or she's not. The closeness or longevity of a friendship has no bearing on that."
"Okay," said Sky. "That makes sense."
"Short of outright asking Lyra how she feels, the best thing to do would be to analyze the interactions you've had with her," Sugarcoat explained. "For starters, who usually initiates your conversations?"
Sky thought for a while. "I'd say it's about half and half," he concluded.
"That's a good sign," said Sugarcoat. "It means your friendship isn't one-sided. Do you have her number?"
"Yes, I do! We exchanged numbers a couple weeks ago, as soon as I wasn't grounded anymore. I sent my first text to her a few days later, and we've texted each other every day since."
"That's good too. Are your texting conversations initiated at the same 50-50 rate?"
"I think so, yeah. I guess that means she must like me to some degree."
Sugarcoat nodded. "Exactly. She wouldn't be contacting you outside of school if she didn't."
"That's true. Also, I went to the mall with her and two of her friends last Sunday. We got lunch together, and then we watched the new SIA 97 movie. We had a great time!"
"That sure sounds great to me! But don't spoil the movie. I'm seeing it with my friends tomorrow."
"Don't worry, I won't!" Sky chuckled. "I was going to wait until this weekend too, but Lyra invited me to see it with her, and of course I couldn't say no."
Sugarcoat smiled. "She initiates half of your conversations and she invited you to see a movie with her? Looks like you've got nothing to worry about. If I were you, I'd just go for it."
"Thanks, Sugar. I'm always happy to get advice from you."
"Oh, no problem at all. Even though I have no experience with romance myself, I figured I'd do what I can."
At that moment, Sugarcoat's phone vibrated, and she quickly typed a response. "That was Indigo Zap, asking if we could do a motorcycle ride around the city tonight," she explained to Sky.
"A motorcycle ride?" Sky asked. "Did you buy a bike while I was grounded?"
"No, but Crystal Prep owns a few. Since Indigo and I got our motorcycle licenses in Zirconia City last summer, we're allowed to borrow them. And since the Tri-Cross Relay includes a motocross race this year, we've decided to start training for that."
"Wow! Lyra and Bon Bon told me about the two big events, but I didn't know there was going to be a motocross race. That should be fun to watch, as long as I don't go deaf."
"Then you'd better bring a set of earplugs," Sugarcoat laughed. "I always wear them when I go for a ride."
"That's smart," said Sky. He looked out the window. "Next month is going to be interesting, that's for sure."