TMP Prompt #326 - “Hush, Hush”
Prompt: “I stood up, my heart pounding, the lump in my throat refusing to be swallowed, my legs shaking with each timid step. I crossed the room and looked in their eyes, finally saying what I’ve needed to say all along, and they replied with a hollow smile and the words I knew would tear my world apart.”
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To See Your Face and Slam the Door
“I’m not in love,” Prince Blueblood said. “I’m not. After what you did—”
He ignored her outraged gasp.
“After what you did, I’d be a fool to fall for you,” he scoffed. “A prize fool. I couldn’t get the smell of cake out of my coat for hours, certainly not in time for the after-party. Not that it would have helped, since everypony already saw you throw that cake in my face.”
He cut off her protest.
“I nearly called it off, but I can take my lumps. Besides, the ladies loved it.” He shifted his hooves. “It didn’t matter, not at all.”
He sighed.
“I looked around the place, and I realized —how did I miss it before? I looked at all the dignitaries, and celebrities, and the doxies I’d hired getting drunk or stoned or buzzed, and it all looked so pointless. So empty. All I could see was—.”
He bit his lip.
“Listen. I’m not in love, do you understand that? I just kept seeing the way your eyes flashed when you glared at me, kept hearing the sound of your voice as you said all those beastly, uncalled-for things—”
She stomped her foot and began to speak.
“I quit the parties. I quit drinking. I was barely keeping the stuff I did on moonflower and locoweed out of the papers, so quitting those was a blessing.” He chuckled bitterly. “I didn’t really want to. I just…couldn’t get you out of my head. The anger, the humiliation, the…the disgust just rose up in me every time.”
His head shot up.
“I’m not in love with you,” he snapped. “I’m not! Don’t get the wrong impression. I just can’t stop thinking about you, that’s all. I can’t…” He looked away. “If I had some means to make you account for this feeling, some way to make you take responsibility, I would make you do so. I want—”
He swallowed, and then the words seemed to burst forth.
“I wanted to see you again. I had to. That’s why I’m here. I heard that you were making a name for yourself here in Canterlot, and I wanted to see you and I, and I wanted to speak to you and to, I don’t know, be a part of your life. Please. It doesn't make any sense. I can’t explain it. I need to be around you. I hate this feeling, I don't know what it is. I’m not in love. I’m not, I'm not, but…but please…please…”
She opened her mouth to speak.
***
His lips were curled upward the whole time the bottle crashed against the Haifisch, curled harder as she spared him the briefest of glances before going to speak with Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis, and his teeth actually showed as he begged off the party early and went home to sleep.
Alone.