//------------------------------// // Chapter Fifteen - Letters and Lunches // Story: Shades of Night // by Sketchy Changeling //------------------------------// I continued to stare at the letter in my hands in disbelief. I was caught off-guard by the reality that Nightmare had sent me a letter, which had today’s date on it, and I was disgusted with myself for actually putting the thought of reading it into consideration. I wasn’t obligated to do so, and it wouldn’t be any skin off my back if I didn’t. What was Nightmare doing sending me a letter any which way? You’d think that she’d understand that I wanted nothing to do with her, but she still had the gall to try and communicate with me. What was her deal? I stared at the letter some more, and without even realizing it, I began to read the words that were written on it. Noah, I know you’re still mad at me, and I’m probably the last mare that you want to hear from, but please, if anything, at least read this through to the end. I’m really, REALLY sorry for what I did! If I knew that you’d be this upset with me, I never would’ve attacked Jade. I swear to you that I’m not the evil mare you think I am. I really have changed, and I didn’t mean to yell at you like that last night. I really didn’t mean to do that. I love you, and I would NEVER knowingly do anything to hurt you! You mean the world to me, and I know that I messed up, but you can forgive me, right? We can start over and be happy again, and if you do give me another chance I promise I won’t do anything to make you mad ever again! I really can’t bear being without you for this long, and I miss having you in my arms at night. Just please give me another chance to show you that I really am a good mare, and I promise that you won’t regret it. Please! Love always, Moon With each sentence I grew more and more aggravated with Nightmare. By the time I had finished reading her pathetic plea of a letter, my first instinct was to tear it up and throw the pieces away. And that’s exactly what I did. As I watched the torn pieces of paper flutter down to the bottom of the trash can, I tried to process what I had just read. What was Nightmare thinking writing me that letter? Did she really believe that I was just going to forgive her like that? Did she really think that a simple apology would make me forget what she did, something that she didn’t even apologize for!? Sure, she said sorry, but she wasn’t sorry because she felt remorse over hurting Jade. She was sorry because of how I reacted to her hurting Jade. I bet she still thought that her actions were justified. “Feh, if she thinks that I’m really gonna forgive her that easily, she’s got another thing coming,” I thought vehemently as I looked out the window. The sun had already gone down, and the moon was just starting to rise, so I went into the fridge and looked around to see what I could make for dinner. As I looked through the items, I heard a strange noise, and I looked around to see what it was. I then noticed the curtains on the window over the sink blowing in the wind, and I went over and shut the window, which immediately ended the strange sound. It was strange, it had ben a relatively windy night, but the wind sounded somewhat like whimpering. Either that or my mind was playing tricks on me. Fifteen minutes later, with my dinner in plate and plate in hand, I sat on my living room couch and ate. I really didn’t feel like watching TV, so I instead decided to consume my dinner in the silence of the night. I went straight to bed soon after eating. The next day, I arrived on campus with a half hour to spare before my Physics class. As I walked down the concrete path from the main entrance, I saw the student lounge in the distance, but I decided not to go there. I was still upset with Maud over what she said to me yesterday, and I felt that seeing her wouldn’t be the best thing for me at the moment. Without my usual hangout, I decided to laze about in the library on my own in order to kill the time before class, and before I knew it, it was time to go. As usual, Physics class was rather dull. I slouched in my usual seat in the back of the class as my attention to the professor’s lecture increased and decreased, picking up chunks of the lecture for a few minutes and then zoning out for another few minutes. Despite my lack of attention, I still made an effort not to fall asleep. There was a rumor that the Physics professor flipped out on the last student that took a nap in his class, and I didn’t want to test the validity of that rumor. I was somehow able to survive until the end of class, and after I left the lecture hall, I heard my phone ring. When I looked at it, I saw that it was Klaus that was calling me, and after briefly debating over whether or not I should pick it up, I decided to answer the phone and see what the griffon wanted. “Hello?” “Hey, Noah. You got a minute?” I sighed. “Sure, what is it?” “I know you might still be mad about what happened with Maud yesterday, but I was wondering if you wanted to get some lunch with me today to help relax and take your mind off things.” I thought about it for a moment. Spending some time with Klaus would help me to relax a little. Even though I had cut Nightmare loose, I still found myself stressed, and I always found it easy to blow off steam when I was hanging out with Klaus. “Sure,” I told him. “Where do you want to meet?” “Meet me at the main entrance to the school in ten minutes, and then we’ll walk to town.” “Sounds like a plan. See you in ten,” I said as I hung up the phone. Since I was quite a ways away from the main entrance, I was relieved that I had a good ten minutes to get there. I made it to the entrance with two minutes to spare, and Klaus was waiting there for me. “Hey, man. What’s up?” he said as he waved to me. “Nothing much. So, what place are we gonna hit for lunch?” I asked as we walked towards town. “How about Burger Frenzy? Haven’t been there for a while.” “Neither have I. Sounds like a plan.” It took us about fifteen minutes to get to Burger Frenzy, and thankfully, despite the lunch rush, we didn’t have to wait for a seat. “Here are your menus, guys,” the host said as he seated us. “A server will be with you in a sec.” “Thanks,” we both said as we sat down, and we browsed the menu looking at the different items. “I might get the chicken sandwich with bottomless fries…” Klaus thought out loud as he viewed his options. I had to stop what I was doing and stare at him for a moment. “Wait… really? Isn’t that kinda like cannibalism?” He shrugged his shoulders. “Eh, not really. I’m a bird of prey, and I’m also part lion, so it’s whatever.” “Well, at least I won’t feel bad for ordering the chicken tenders then,” I shrugged. “I’ll probably get the bottomless fries, too.” “Hey, there!” said a sweet female voice. We looked up and saw a unicorn mare looking down at us. “We ready to order?” “I think so,” I answered, and Klaus and I gave her our orders. “Okay, then. What will it be?” “I want the chicken sandwich with bottomless fries.” Klaus said, pointing at his menu. “And I’ll have the chicken tenders, also with bottomless fries.” I followed. “Good! “Okay, then. What would you guys like to drink?” “Root beer,” I answered. “Pepsi,” Klaus told her. “Alright. I’ll get those for you while your food cooks,” she said as she jotted down our orders and walked off. “So Klaus, how have things been going with you lately?” I asked. “Pretty well, actually.” “Still having trouble with your folks?” “Yeah, but to be honest, I don’t really care anymore.” I gave him a surprised look. “Really?” “Yeah. I’ve been feeling a little better about my situation with them since running into Reggie the other day. Up until then, I thought that Griselda was the only one on my side, but now I know that all my siblings are behind me, even if they didn’t say it. Reggie told me that leaving the way I did took a lot of guts, and I never saw it that way before. For a while, I thought that I was a coward for just leaving without saying a word, but Reg helped me see it in a different way.” “So what about your parents, then?” I asked. “They still haven’t accepted it, but I’m not gonna let it bother me anymore. I’m my own man now, and what I do with my life is my decision to make. They’re gonna need more time to accept that, and if it turns out that they don’t accept it… Fuck ‘em.” I chuckled. “Well said, Stormcloud. Well said.” “Here are your drinks, boys!” our waitress said as she approached us, drinks in hand. She set two coasters on our table and put our drinks on the coasters. “Your food will be here shortly.” “Thanks,” we told her as she walked away. Klaus took a sip of his drink tentatively as he looked away from me. “Look, Noah,” he said, “I’m really sorry for what happened yesterday. With Maud, I mean. She was out of line.” “Why are you apologizing?” I asked, confused. “What happened wasn’t your fault.” “Yeah, but if I hadn’t let it slip that you were having problems with Nightshade, she wouldn’t have been so pushy.” I waved off his concern. “She was already asking questions before you told her about my problems with Nightshade. It wasn’t your fault.” “Well, for what it’s worth, I don’t agree with some of the stuff Maud said. It wasn’t your responsibility to know where Nightshade was. She’s a grown mare, and you’re not her father. If Maud or I wanted to see how she was doing, we should call her ourselves, not ask you.” “Thanks, man.” The griffon smiled. “No problem, and I’m not gonna push you into talking about the breakup either. Just tell me whenever you feel like talking about it.” I smiled. “Thanks again.” Our food came about ten minutes later, and as we ate, I couldn’t help but think about the letter that Nightmare sent me, and thinking about the letter made me think about the breakup. I must have been thinking about it intensely, because Klaus noticed a tense expression on my face. “You alright?” he asked. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I said as I shook my head. He still looked concerned, but he shrugged it off. “If you say so.” I wondered if I should at least give Klaus the gist of what happened between me and Nightmare. I didn’t have to tell him everything, just enough so that he’ll have a basic understanding of what happened. I sighed and looked up at him. “I guess I could tell you what happened.” “You sure?” he asked. I hesitated for a moment, but I nodded. “Yeah… I’m sure.” Klaus stopped eating and looked at me, listening attentively to what I was going to say. “So you already know about the problems I’ve been having with Nightshade, what with how clingy and possessive she was being.” “Uh-huh,” the griffon nodded. “You also mentioned that she was getting passive aggressive with other mares and girls, too.” “Exactly, so the day after our Guys’ Day Out, I stayed home for most of the day, but then I had to get groceries, and of course, Nightshade wanted to tag along. I really wasn’t in the mood to argue, so I just let her come with me so I can get what we needed and get home as quickly as possible. While we were there, Nightshade had to go to the bathroom, and while she was gone, I ran into my ex-marefriend from high school.” From the look on Klaus’s face, I knew that he could tell that the story was going to go downhill from that point on. “We chatted for a while, but I wanted to end the conversation before Nightshade got back, but she showed up before I could leave my ex.” “So she started to get aggressive again?” I nodded. “Yeah, but she was a lot worse this time. It got to the point where it came to blows and my ex got really hurt.” “Oh no. Is she okay?” I paused for a moment before answering. “She could be better, but she’s doing fine,” I half-lied. “So what happened afterward?” “After we got home, I got really mad at Nightshade for what she did, and the argument escalated to the point where we broke up.” “Oh…” Klaus said, unsure of how to respond to that. “See, the thing of it is that if it were an accident, I wouldn’t have been that mad with her, but not only did she mean to do it, but she didn’t feel sorry about it, either.” I clenched my fists tightly as I remembered her words. “How do you know that?” the griffon asked. “At the moment it happened, I asked her why she did it, and she told me that she had every right to do it and that it wasn’t that big a deal, then when we got home and had the argument, she said that she had to attack my ex and then she yelled that I ‘belonged’ to her.” “Oh, man…” Klaus muttered as he took in the severity of the situation. “So after that I told her that I didn’t want to be in a relationship with her, and she left on her own.” “Oh, on her own,” the griffon sighed. “I was afraid to ask if you kicked her out.” “I most likely would have if she hadn’t left on her own accord.” “And you haven’t seen her since?” “Nope,” I said bluntly, and then my eyes suddenly widened. “Did you feel that?” I asked. “Feel what?” “I felt a cool wind.” “In Florida? Isn’t that, like, against the laws of nature?” I sighed and shook my head. “Never mind. It was probably just my imagination.” “If you say so…” Klaus shrugged as he went back to eating. Once we were done, we paid the bill and left the restaurant. “So where are you headed now?” “I have to go to the store and get some groceries. After all that happened the other day, I didn’t even buy the stuff that I had gotten.” “Alright then. I’ve got a class in an hour and a half, so I’m gonna head back to campus. Catch ya later, Noah.” “Yeah. See ya,” I said as we bumped fists and parted ways. It was quarter to three when I got home, and aside from another one of those annoying ads, I didn’t get any mail. After restocking the fridge and pantry with groceries, I plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV, flipping through the channels to find something worth watching. While I was assaulting the remote control with my incessant clicking, I heard my phone ring, and I muted the TV and reached for my phone. “Hello?” I answered. “Hey, Noah. It’s Topaz.” “Oh hey, T. What’s up?” “Nothing, just visiting Jade again before I have to head back to New York tomorrow morning.” “You’re heading back already?” I heard her sigh. “Yeah. As much as I don’t want to, I have to go. Grandma will still be here, so at least she’ll have some family to visit her.” “That’s a relief. I might visit her this weekend, too. Are you in her room?” “No, she’s having a treatment session right now, so I’m in the waiting room.” “Well tell her that I said hi when you see her, then.” “I’ll be sure to do that, Noah. Talk to you later, ‘kay?” “Sure,” I said as I hung up the phone, only for it to ring again seconds later. “Hello.” “…Hey, Noah,” a soft, deadpan voice said. “Maud?” I asked in disbelief as I pulled the phone away to check the caller ID to make sure it was her. “I know we’re not on the best of terms right now, but I was wondering if I could talk to you. I can’t do tonight because I have a class, but you don’t have any classes tomorrow, right?” “No…” “Well, Klaus has class at nine AM tomorrow, so we can meet in the lounge at that time if it’s okay with you.” I hesitated to answer. I was still pretty mad with Maud, and I thought that talking to her wouldn’t be the best option, but my conscience was telling me otherwise. I let out a reluctant breath and spoke. “Sure. I’ll see you tomorrow.”