The next morning, Adagio sat on the edge of her bed. She scrolled through her MyStable feed as Sonata braided her hair. It had been what, an hour since they had started?
"Are you almost done yet?"
"Almost!" Sonata chirped. Adagio flinched when Sonata tightened her grip. Sonata, filled with endless pep, was oblivious to Adagio's suffering.
"There must be a more efficient way to do this."
"I meaaaan, there's always cutting your hair?"
"Of course not! This is my hair you're discussing!"
"But you'd look so cute with a bob!"
"Absolutely not, Sonata. I'd rather stick to braids."
"Well I'm done anyways, so you can go now!"
"Finally!" Adagio jumped up and immediately checked her image in her phone's camera. Today Adagio wore milkmaid braids wrapped around her temples.
"Okay, Sonata, please don't eat all the cereal while I'm gone." Adagio cocked her hip, anticipating a protest.
"Don't worry, I'm gonna hit the arcade with Duskie and Pinkie Pie," Sonata assured her. "We'll have plenty of cereal-less fun!"
"Well then," Adagio replied as she slung her purse over her shoulder, "just don't do anything stupid."
If Adagio had been in Cap's position, she definitely wouldn't have agreed to meet with her clingy, emotionally unstable date. As she strolled down the suburban streets, she nervously checked her messages for any double meaning she could pick out.
Hey uh could we meet at the park today and talk this out? like at noonish?
She had sent that message at six in the morning. An hour later, Cap had replied.
Sure. 🙂
"I hate smiley face emojis," Adagio muttered as the park gate came into view. "They could mean anything." Having known Aria since birth, Adagio knew how threatening smiley faces could be.
Adagio walked in and made a beeline for the nearest bench. The usually serene, quiet park was quite busy and noisy today. Families, couples, and friends alike were picnicking under the warm summer sun. Adagio watched as a pair of kids guided their kites through the air, laughing as the contraptions swooped and soared in the clear skies.
Impulsively, she glanced back to the park's entrance. Oh Celestia, he actually showed up, Adagio thought when she saw Cap walking in. She hadn't been expecting him to ditch her, exactly, but... wow, why was she so nervous? These emotions are beneath you, Adagio. Shut up.
"Hey, Adagio." Cap's greeting was warm and friendly, but Adagio winced. She couldn't help but notice her nickname fell by the wayside.
"Hello, Captain." Adagio watched as he sat down on the opposite side of their bench, leaving a few inches of space between them.
"So..." Adagio trailed off. She closed her eyes and sighed. Own up and apologize, Dazzle. "I'm sorry for throwing my smoothie on to your shirt."
"It's fine," Cap replied. He chuckled, but Adagio could tell it was only an attempt to lighten the mood.
Adagio pursed her lips. "I'm not good at expressing my emotions, okay? Are you mad at me?"
"You?" Cap's thick blue eyebrows rose in surprise. "I'm not mad at you, Adagio."
"Then how do you feel?" Adagio pressed, arms folded tightly against her chest.
Cap was silent for a moment. "Confused? I didn't expect you to throw a smoothie. But I guess I shoulda given you time. That might've been my fault."
Maybe it was. Adagio bit her tongue, knowing that would add fuel to the fire. Instead, she replied. "I'm sorry for... overreacting. I know I can be a bit of a diva sometimes."
"Sometimes." Cap formed air quotes, pointing out the understatement. A smile escaped onto Adagio's lips.
"Okay, all the time," she amended. "And, well, I appreciate you staying by me even when I throw fits like that."
"Of course, Adagio." Cap's face lit up. He leaned in and embraced Adagio. She hugged him back, taking care to notice the way he felt, his soft skin under his thin cotton t-shirt. After the 27th, Adagio would no longer have a hug whenever she pleased.
"What do we do now?" Cap asked after a moment of silence. "I'm leavin', there's no stoppin' it. And I'm happy to be goin'."
Adagio inhaled, held the breath for a few moments, then exhaled. "I know. I just needed a bit of time to accept the fact you're gonna leave. For the entire summer."
Cap pulled out of the hug. For a moment, Adagio feared he was mad, but Cap reached over and gently clasped her hand in his. She looked into his amber eyes as he calmly said, "I get that, Adagio. I can't say I'm mad at you." He chuckled before adding, "Though my mom might be. She ain't keen on havin' to wash another dirty shirt."
Adagio laughed. "Well, I'm not going to lie, even though I am quite an interesting personage on my own, it's going to be completely boring without you." Then she added: "Although technically, days with Sonata and Aria aren't ever boring, but the summer would be such a drag without someone sane to whom I can complain."
Cap simpered, his eyebrows raised mischievously. "I'm sure my friends would be happy to fix that."
"What, you mean your hippie-dippy nature club?" Adagio scoffed. She added a "Sorry" as an afterthought.
"I know your friends," Cap pointed out. "You should probably get to know mine while I'm away. See the world through a new perspective an' all that."
"I suppose it's better than hanging out at the pool with Sonata. She swims around pretending she's still a siren! The amount of weird looks we got last night? So annoying!"
They laughed together. Cap said, "Want me to warn you about my friends?"
Adagio shrugged.
"Okay, so Sweet Leaf is basically a conspiracy theorist. At one point, she was convinced Crystal Prep was making crystal meth in the basement of their science lab!"
"She sounds like a carbon copy of Sonata!"
"They'd get along just dandy."
Adagio grinned half-heartedly. Before Cap could describe Green Cycle's quirks, she changed the subject: "So, have you packed yet?"
Cap admitted, "I should've, but I didn't. My mom's kinda annoyed about it."
"Well, maybe I can be of service," Adagio offered. "If I kept Aria and Sonata organized for years, I'm sure packing for you will be no sweat."
"You'd help?" Cap asked incredulously. His eyebrows arched and his mouth was puckered in an 'o' of surprise.
"Of course. It'll give us more time to talk."
"You wouldn't mind comin' over right now, would you?" Cap asked. "Green and Paisley are comin' over to help me, too. Green might bail, tho."
"Hmmm, let's see." Adagio began scrolling through her phone, looking at a nonexistent calendar. "Maybe I can make time between 'reconcile with my boyfriend' and 'avoid Aria when her trashy band comes over' to help you pack." After tucking her phone back in her bag, she grinned at him. "Come on, let's go."