Spike eyed the t-shirt and shorts Twilight had loaned out to him courtesy of Nightlight's closet. They were clean, comfortable and, to his surprise, suited his style well. The purple shirt hung loosely on the boy's thin frame despite the difference in height between him and Twilight's father. And the black shorts that cut off right below his knees made for a sensible finishing piece to the makeshift nightwear.
As he stared into the mirror, alone in the upstairs restroom as he was, the boy halfheartedly lifted an arm to flex, "Lookin' good, Spike. Lookin' good..." His forced grin faded, his arm fell. The self motivational talk had rarely fallen flat before, but the surge in confidence he was expecting failed to materialize. He looked down at the faded purple shirt, remembering who it belonged to.
Spike's face slightly tensed at the thought of Twilight's dad, uncertainty taking hold of him, "I don't think he would approve of this." His expression fell even further, "And I'm wearing his clothes while doing it. Great."
He was stuck in a no win situation. Spike knew how disappointed Twilight's parents would be in them if they found out about the boundary-crossing sleepover, but he also knew how disappointed his friends would be if he had ditched them to be alone for the weekend. Spike stared through the window to his left and sighed, "We're going to be fine. We'll play games, hang out, and have a lot of good, clean fun..." Memories from the past hour inspired doubt about that last hope, his face reddening at the thought of his friends' nightime apparel.
"If they want to keep it clean." The boy shook his head, trying to shake the dangerous thoughts away. The nightwear they had chosen was not obscene, but it wasn't the ensemble of loose shirts and shorts he was expecting either. "So much leg..." He briefly shut his eyes, picturing the vibrant display of legs he had witnessed several minutes ago.
"Concentrate, Spike," He stared into the pools of green reflecting at him in the mirror, "so what if your friends are super freaking hot and like showing it? Keep it together, dude. You're not twelve anymore. You can handle a little bit of skin." Spike closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. The breath relaxed the young man's physical tension, but the confusion remained.
He opened his eyes once more, but couldn't bring himself to lift his head from staring at the marble sink beneath the mirror. A frustrated groan escaped his lips; Spike didn't understand where any of this was coming from. He ran a hand through his hair, "Why are they doing this?" Contrary to what some of his teachers may have said about him, Spike was not dumb. He understood plenty, including the social dynamics of teenagers - he was one, after all. He also had eyes, he knew what flirting was and when it was happening.
Was this all a big game to his friends? Why would they go as far as they had with their flirtatious comments and attire if it was just a game? What else could they be doing if not for that? They weren't interested in him, not like that. He was younger than them; he wasn't as cool or talented as them and, most importantly, they had never expressed romantic interest in him before. This must be some sort of get-back at the teen, nothing else made sense. "Look but don't touch, I guess."
And look he certainly did. He couldn't help it! Spike bit his lower lip as the details began to mentally flood in. The way Rainbow's red shorts clung to her toned thighs and glutes left little to the imagination. She made a show of adjusting her shorts with a tug of their waistline, getting them to rise even further up her legs in an obviously deliberate way. He tried to play it cool, but the satisfied expression he received in response from Dash told him she knew the effect her outfit was having on him.
"What's the matter with you, Greenie? Cat got your tongue?" Rainbow laughed. In the moment, Spike remained speechless. His brain had short circuited and all he could feel was heat. It was like all the energy in his body had been zapped as he stood motionless in the living room.
"Not so clever now are we, huh?" Rainbow Dash let out, her eyes filled with mischief, ready to take revenge for the earlier comment directed at her by the currently immobile boy. "If you like my legs so much, why don't you come over here and give 'em a little rub and -"
"Give it a break already, Rainbow Dash." Sunset interjected as she walked toward the boy, a teasing smile outlining her face as she grew closer. Spike took in the tantalizing midriff left exposed by her tight black tank top and, to his shame, wondered what it might feel like underneath his hands. Sunset dipped a finger beneath his chin, slowly lifting it to make eye contact with her friend, "My eyes are up here, Spike." Spike blinked, "I - I, yeah, I know." Sunset giggled, "But since you seem to be very interested in my abs, maybe you can take a closer look at them later, perhaps when everyone is asleep?" Spike's throat dried. He could feel the blood rush throughout his body, his body involuntarily reacting to the stimulation and closeness of the older girl.
"It's really nothing so out of the ordinary, dear." A voice accompanied by a sweet smell of roses mixed with lavender approached from his left. A hand lightly gripped his bicep, "We just wanted to remain as comfortable as possible for the nightly festivities, isn't that right, Sunset?" Rarity and Sunset exchanged knowing glances, both nodding along. Spike felt like he was going to explode being between both of his scantily clad friends; the midriff in front of him and the bare legs to his left were the epitome of a rock and hard place.
Spike forced a laugh and scrambled for a reply, "Don't - don't mind me, I was...I was a little thrown off. I haven't seen you guys outside of your school clothes in forever!" The unconvincing response was met with another wordless communication between the two girls, both giggling to themselves as Spike took a few steps backward to make more breathing room for himself.
"I'm going for a quick smoke break, tell me if the pizza gets here!"
"Hold on a minute, Spike," Applejack halted his backpedaling by wrapping an arm around him, "Twilight's looking for your PJs, do you want to get all ashy and hot before putting 'em on?" Spike didn't care for the way Applejack squeezed him when she said "hot", but he quickly forgot about his discomfort upon realizing how close he was to the...surprisingly soft farmgirl. They remained in an awkwardly positioned side hug, their bodies pressed tightly against one another, which the blonde seemed intent on holding. She smirked as he took in her outfit, which consisted of a white sleeveless shirt with exceptionally short and tight blue shorts. "Her legs are like golden bars."
She began to lead Spike to the couch, "Now why don't we take a seat and watch some TV before the food gets here." Spike reluctantly allowed her to guide them, "I gue-guess." Applejack shot Rarity a smug look, only to be met with an eyeroll and arm cross, while Sunset gave a small chuckle. The duo sat down in the same places they had been seated minutes ago, and he noticed the rest of the group follow in behind them. Mercifully, Applejack released him from her grip as they sat down, but they remained centimeters away from each other on the couch. "Goodbye, personal space."
There Spike sat, rigid as ever. The TV had been turned on by Pinkie Pie, who had taken to sitting on the left armrest of the sofa he was on. The TV droned on as he looked at the stairway, "What's taking her so long?" Before he could remove himself from the couch to find Twilight, he nearly lept into the air as he was grasped by two hands from behind, but a quick turn around revealed the culprit to be Fluttershy.
"Hey Fluttershy, whatcha doing?" He made a strong effort to sound as un-startled as he could, hoping to not upset his kind friend.
"Oh, Spike. Sorry for not warning you before grabbing you like that!" She turned her head slightly and smiled, "I just noticed how tense you were. I thought you might like a back massage." The normally shy girl spoke with an unusual amount of confidence, even meeting his questioning gaze head on with her own hopeful expression.
"That's...not strange at all. But I guess that wouldn't be so bad?" Spike deliberated for a few moments, and the others watched with curiosity, not sure what to make of Fluttershy's brazen proposal. Fluttershy began to noticeably wilt with every passing second, afraid her request was too forward for the boy, but her fears dissipated when he gave her a nod, "I...wouldn't mind. If you're still okay with it, that is!" Fluttershy enthusiastically nodded back and began working on his shoulders, happy to finally put her masseuse skills to the test with someone she cared about.
Applejack quirked an eyebrow, mildly impressed at her friend's boldness.
Although Rainbow Dash tinged with mirth, she felt similary impressed with Fluttershy's antics. She let out a wolf whistle, "Oh, man, I knew you were a total softie Spike, but not as soft as Fluttershy's hands, right?"
"I'll say! Fluttershy's hands are like the softest hands in all of Canterlot High! She even gave me some of the caramel scented lotion she uses, it tastes great!"
"You mean smells great, Pinkie?" Rarity hesitantly asked.
"Nope!"
Rarity sighed.
"Wow, Spike. Looks like you're really getting into it!"
Spike barely registered Sunset's comment as Fluttershy continued massaging the knots out of his upper back. He didn't know when Fluttershy learned how to be a masseuse, but he was on Cloud 9 right now. "Her hands are so soft..."
Fluttershy did her best to ignore the banter, concentrating on loosening up the boy's tense shoulders. The focus on the task kept her from fully realizing just how intimate her contact with the younger man was, which allowed her to properly tend to the massage like a professional.
"Well, considering that he's literally speechless, I'm going to go out on a limb and say he is definitely enjoying it." Sunset rested her head on her palm, silently observing the massage.
"He almost looks like Winona..." Applejack was bewildered at the level of serenity Spike appeared to be in, the evident joy on his face being comparable to her family's dog in the middle of a vigorous belly scratching session.
The massage was interrupted by a cough from the stairway, a frazzled but annoyed-looking Twilight stood at the base of the stairs, glaring at the couple who were fast to part.
"Spike, follow me."
Without a word, Spike made for the stairway. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and trudged toward Twilight, refusing to meet the scowl she was boring into him with.
The mood of the room had dulled with Twilight's entrance, but as they ascended out of view, the chatter started again.
"What's Twilight's problem?" Rainbow Dash openly wondered as she brought her hands behind her head as a makeshift pillow.
"Oh, I hope she isn't mad at us," Fluttershy spoke from her spot atop the ottoman.
"If there's anything she's mad about it's that you're getting handsy with her boy toy, Shy." Rainbow teased.
Fluttershy buried her face in her palms, the realization of what she had done fully sinking in.
Applejack glanced at where Spike had sat less than a minute ago, "Why would she care about that? She don't own him."
"Haven't you noticed how agitated she's been since we ordered the food?" Sunset spoke to no one in particular as she absentmindedly twirled a strand of blonde hair with her index finger, "She's getting so worked up over some harmless...fun." The girl rubbed her chin, donning a look of serious contemplation for a few moments before a wicked grin took its place.
"I think someone might have a crush." Sunset's grin sharpened, "And I think that someone might be a little jealous."
Rarity was quick to respond, "Twilight? You think...Twilight has a crush on Spike? What makes you think that?"
Sunset nearly face palmed at the question but restrained herself; she turned to the fashionista and explained, "Haven't you seen the way she gets when we're around Spike? It's like she's always on guard..." Sunset trailed off, remembering all the recent clingy behavior Twilight had started demonstrating around Spike in the past couple of months.
"Don't you see the looks Twilight gives him when she doesn't think anyone's looking! It's adorable! Or adorkable. They're both so adorkable!" Pinkie Pie shouted, loudly agreeing with Sunset's assessment of their friend's psyche.
Applejack rubbed her left ear to ease the pain Pinkie's shrill input had brought on, "I don't know 'bout all that, guys. Isn't she dating Timber? Also, ow." With an apologetic smile, Pinkie extended an arm toward Applejack with a piece of chocolate on her palm. The farm girl gladly accepted the apology chocolate and mouthed a silent thanks to her friend.
"I don't think so, darling. I haven't seen them together since at least the beginning of the school year!"
Fluttershy spoke up, her face still partially buried in her palms, "I remember Twilight saying something about going on a break a few weeks ago at the animal shelter."
"So I guess this means the resident egghead is lookin' for a rebound!" Rainbow Dash shot up, her hands on her hips and a determined look on her face, "I see how it is. I love Twilight, but she's had like ten years to make a move on Greenie, she's lost her chance. What say you, girls?"
Everyone tentatively agreed, but Dash's triumphant attitude began to crumble as she looked around. She noticed the nodding yet somewhat fallen countenances of her friends. Rainbow lightly cringed and rubbed her shoulder, "I'm not saying we need to steal Spike away from her or anything! They're still best friends, right? He's still her favorite assistant, none of that changes if he gets a girlfriend!"
Rarity leaned back into the beige loveseat, "I suppose so, but I do wonder when this began. Twilight has known him for most of their lives, but I've never seen her express any romantic interest in him before, well, today!"
"Maybe she's always felt this way about him, but she's repressed her feelings out of a fear that Spike would never reciprocate them, so she's forced herself to think of him as nothing more than a good friend who she just so happens to invite to her house all the time and never fantasizes about, not even when she's alone at night NOT thinking about his smooth skin or perfect hair and especially not the super dorky but cute way he rubs his hair when he gets nervous!"
The girls looked at Pinkie, their mouths agape at their pink friend, who had taken to eating another chocolate bar on the armrest as if nothing had happened.
Sunset was the first to recover from their collective shock, "Well, I guess that is pretty cute."
"Twilight, I -"
"Here."
Spike looked at the clothes that had just been shoved into his hands, not understanding the hostility emanating from his old friend.
Twilight had walked them to her parents' room in complete silence, and now she was staring at him with an unreadable look on her face.
The atmosphere in the room could be cut with a knife, but the boy was unsure of how to proceed standing there with the clothes in his grasp. He looked around the room, hoping for the words to come to him, but Twilight beat him to the punch.
"It's a shirt and some shorts. It took me a while to find something that I knew would fit you. You can change in the bathroom."
"Thanks, Twilight. But what was that down there? You looked really mad at Fluttershy. And I can tell you're still upset at me."
Twilight closed her eyes and hugged herself, trying to calm her nerves. She took a moment to collect herself, finding the right words to explain her behavior, "I..I don't like it when they mess with you like that. That's all. They should know better than that. I'm not mad at you, Spike. But please, don't indulge them too much. It's only going to hurt you if you do." Her measured reply was offset by an undertone of uncertainty, as if the girl had more to say but was unsure of how to say it.
Spike closed the short gap between them in two strides, and he reached his arms around the petite girl to encompass her in a tight hug. Unbeknownst to him, Twilight's face burned a deep red at the close contact, and she fought the urge to sink completely into the taller's boy chest.
"I'm glad you're not upset with me, Twilight. But Fluttershy was just lending me a hand, nothing to worry about. Promise." He gently squeezed her, much to her unspoken joy, and continued, "The girls are just being a little crazy tonight. It's no big deal. I'm sure it's just the usual slumber party excitement but even stronger because they got a boy around!" He let go of her to hold her by the shoulders, looking directly at Twilight to address her, "I should go change. I'll be fine though."
Suddenly feeling alone and cold as she was seperated from Spike's body, Twilight hoped that the dissastisfaction she felt as he let go of her had not shown itself on her face.
A smell of ash, coconut shampoo, and aftershave lingered around Twilight that she struggled more than she would have like to admit to not openly sniff. As the boy turned to leave, she called out, "Spike, thanks again for coming. To be honest with you, I've missed our sleepovers a lot. I love the girls, but there was nothing like staying up all night watching the stars and reading those scary sci-fi books together."
Spike smiled, "I miss them too."
"I've been wanting to invite you back over for a stay, but I always figured you'd have better things to do than hanging out with a bunch of girls for the night." Twilight fiddled with her glasses, "All of us have felt really bad about excluding you from our sleep overs, they really insisted we offer an invitation to you this time."
"I'm glad my presence is wanted!" He paused, "Although, count me out if you're planning on painting each other's nails or doing your makeup 'cuz I'd rather watch one of Trixie's shows than do that."
They let out a few chuckles, "Oh, please. As if we'd waste nail polish or makeup on you. No promises we won't make you paint our nails though, mister."
Spike gave one last laugh before exiting the room, leaving Twilight to herself in the bedroom. She stared out the doorway, watching her friend as he made his way to the family restroom. There was more to say, but it would have to wait for later. Twilight moved to return to her friends downstairs, now with a newfound energy in her stride. The conversation and hug had a rejuvenating effect on her troubled spirit, which she could always count on finding with her number one assistant.
As Twilight descended the stairs, her ears picked out hushed whispers and feint movements across her carpeted floor. Determined to not get worked up again, she paid them no mind. "Spike is right, everything is going to be fine."