//------------------------------// // Chapter 10; Sleepless Nights // Story: "Just Kiss Already!" And Other Rumbaloo Tales // by Candy-Sweets_12 //------------------------------// As Scootaloo stepped out of class to head for the lunchroom, she was jumped on by a certain two mares. "What the-" She cried out, before realizing it was her friends. She sighed as she stood up from the ground. "You two seriously ought to stop doing that to ponies." She suggested. "We only do it to you." Sweetie Belle smiled back. Scootaloo rolled her eyes and smiled. "So what's the deal? Is there something you want to talk about?" Scootaloo asked, starting to walk to lunch. "You never answered my question." Sweetie Belle explained. "You mean the one from yesterday?" Scootaloo asked. "About me giving an explanation about why I'm going soft?" "Yep. That's the one." Apple Bloom nodded. "I told you that that question went over the line." "Technically," Sweetie Belle corrected, "you said we couldn't mention it in the club house. This isn't the club house is it?" She said, a devious smile crossing her face. "Why do you want to know so badly?" "Well," Apple Bloom began, "we still feel pretty guilty after talking your ears off about our coltfriends. Or crush in mah' case. We just want to know. We promise we won't mention it unless you do." Apple Bloom said. Scootaloo watched as her two friends started doing the Pinkie Promise. Sealing the deal. She rolled her eyes and began to blush a small bit. "I guess that it's because...I just relate to him, you know? I like hanging out with him all the time, and I always feel happy when he's around." She summarized. Deciding to keep what happened at her house a secret as promised. "So, ya think that he's making ya feel this way?" Apple Bloom asked, doing her hardest not to ask if she had developed a crush on the colt. "I guess so." Scootaloo said. Her two friends quickly ran ahead of her and stopped in front of her, big hopeful eyes staring her way. "So, you maybe want to go on a date with him?" Sweetie asked. "No!" Scootaloo quickly added, blushing profusely "Not in that way." "But do you ever think about being with him?" Apple Bloom asked. "Now you two are really pushing it. Can we talk about something else please?" "It's yes or no Scootaloo." Apple Bloom said, standing her ground. "Maybe, I don't know okay?" Scootaloo said, brushing past them and walking into the lunch room, her cheeks still tainted red as she kept her stubborn attitude. "That's all we wanted to know." Sweetie Belle grinned. "Don't you two get any ideas, or do anything crazy. Like set us up on some mystery date." Scootaloo called back. "Why the hay would we do that?" "It's a random thing I came up with okay?" "You know that only happened in cheesy books and movies right?" Apple Bloom grinned. "Whatever. I'll talk to you guys later." Scootaloo called out over her shoulder, already getting in line with her tray. Scootaloo stretched her wings and arms as she flattened herself on her bed, taking in a deep breath before wrapping herself up in the blankets. Despite her best efforts, she knew she wasn't going to get much sleep that night. Just like the night before, she thought of Rumble. She grabbed her pillow and squeezed it. 'Why can't I ever think of anything else?' She thought. 'Why do I think of him so much?' The conversation she had with Rainbow Dash several days before resurfaced. ' "Yeah, I couldn't really relate since I haven't been in that type of relationship before.I didn't think I ever would at first, but I eventually found someone to understand that feeling with, and he makes me happy. I didn't know how I really felt about him, but I finally realized how I truly feel about him, and I love him. I had to take a long time to 'thaw out' as he puts it to say this to him, but...after saying those words, I couldn't be happier." ' 'Do I feel the same way?' She thought. She was getting tired of thinking it every night, it was becoming routine. She groaned into her pillow and squeezed it. 'Why is this so complicated?" She said into the pillow. She turned to her side and scrunched up into a ball. A memory from the past quickly came up, making her blush red. The snow gently fell despite it's previous blizzard from the night before. Scootaloo and Rumble had just tumbled down the biggest hill they could find with their tattered old sled, and found themselves giggling away in the snow. "This is the best day ever!" Rumble said, throwing his legs into the air before making a snow angel. "How come?" Scootaloo asked. "Because, you're here." Rumble grinned, smiling. Scootaloo's eyes flew open, shock painted her face, followed by blush. "R-really?" She asked. "Of course, I wouldn't spend today any other way." The young colt laughed. Scootaloo was speechless. She didn't know what to say or what to do. The two foals lay there, snow working its way through the different layers in their manes. A faint call in the distance stopped their own little fantasy midway, causing Scootaloo to look back. "That's my dad." She said in a disappointed tone. "Oh, I guess that I'll see you later then?" Rumble said. Scootaloo's name became louder. "Of course." She said. Just as she turned around, Rumble grabbed her hoof, filling her with warmth and sending a shiver down her spine. He looked down, red blush tinging his cheeks and his ears, reflecting onto Scootaloo's face. They're faces grew even hotter once he leaned in closer and kissed her on the cheek. Scootaloo froze, not quite sure how to react as the whole world seemed to be blocked off. "I-I'm sorry." Rumble said, scratching behind his head and turning redder than before. Scootaloo, quick to react, grabbed his head and kissed his cheek for a much longer time. It wasn't until she opened her eyes again that she saw Rumble's wings popped up and her dad's voice getting closer. She quickly ran away and into her dad's arms, staying silent for the rest of the day. She really felt the cold of that day as soon as she broke away from him. Scootaloo's ears perked up once she heard the door click. She looked up to see her dad come in. She sighed. "Hey Dad." She said. "Did I scare you there?" He asked jokingly. "No, more like startled." She said. The stallion came in and sat at the edge of Scootaloo's bed. "Is something bothering you?" "Why do you ask?" Scootaloo said. "Well, you're never really up this late. Tell me what's going on." Her dad said. "I just have a lot on my mind is all." She replied. "That being...?" He asked. "Nothing important." She said. "It must be if it's keeping you up like this." He said. "Well, please don't tell anyone this." She said, looking away unsurely. "Scootaloo, I've been a member of the royal guard since before you were born, I've seen some things that not even Luna or Celestia, or even your mother is allowed to know. I think that I can keep this as a secret between us." He reminded her. "Fair point." She sighed before blush painted her cheeks. "You know how Rumble and I started hanging out again?" "Yeah." "I think that, I might, sort of, like him." She said, shrinking into her blankets. "Oh, well that's perfectly fine." He replied. "Really?" Scootaloo asked, her voice was mix of shock and disbelief. "I figured that at some point you'd start getting interested in boys since you were born. I'm just surprised it's happening so late." He teased. "Dad! You know I wasn't interested in colts when I was younger." "But you're older now, and you like him don't you?" "Well, yeah. I do." "Just like your mother when we first met." He said, shaking his head and laughing to himself. "What should I do dad? I can't get him out of my head, and I don't know for sure about whether or not I like him or not." "Don't look at me, I don't have all of the answers here, but I think that when the time comes to it, you'll find out. Just like what they say in the books, follow your heart, though I'd say you should listen to your brain a teeny bit more." He teased. Scootaloo smiled. "Thanks Dad." "Just being of service." He replied. He stood up and went to the door. "Try to sleep well for me won't you Scoots?" He asked, just before shutting the door. "I will. Thanks again." She said. Her Dad nodded and made a motion as though he was tipping his hat respectively to her. Rumble tried to think about anything other than that day in the snow a few years before. But try as he might, he couldn't shut it out of his head. 'I'm such an idiot. Why did I kiss her?' He asked himself. Even though it was such a long time ago, he still couldn't get over the thought of it. He turned to his side and thought about Scootaloo. He didn't think he'd ever forget the look in her eyes when he said he had the best day with her. The way her eyes lit up and her pupils seemed to grow. He didn't stop thinking about the snow reflecting in the black of her eyes, or how adorable the blush on her cheeks looked. He remembered the way she blinked a few times in disbelief as she stared at him. He sighed, knowing he'd never get her out of his head. She always seemed to stick around in his head. His thoughts eventually drifted to when he came to visit her. The thought of tomato soup really made him smile as he thought back to that moment. He remembered how she grabbed his hoof and held it in her own. And how he almost kissed her. He covered his face with the pillow and blushed into it. 'Why do I always feel like doing that?' He asked himself. He turned over, and stayed wide awake from his racing thoughts of Scootaloo. And despite what her father had said, and despite her best efforts, she lay wide awake. It was almost like they were the only ponies in the world left awake. And that the night would last forever almost as if Nightmare Moon had taken over.