Chapter 28
The second Twilight and I got home, she went straight to her room to sleep. Poor girl had been studying most of the weekend, only sleeping for a few hours each night. She deserved all the rest she could get. Meanwhile, I walked into the living room, seeing the girls sitting down and working on various things, from homework, to television, or surfing the net. Fluttershy, however, was sitting at the table, on the chair nearest the sliding door that led to the backyard. She barely noticed me enter, as she was staring outside, almost in a deep trance. I quirked a brow, but didn't really pay attention for too long. Instead, I walked into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.
"How was the exam?" Rarity asked, glancing up from her dress sketches- thankfully, they were now less fit for equines, and more for humans.
"Actually, not that bad." I replied with a small smile.
"Well, that's good. Hopefully, ya did good on it." Applejack chimed in with a small smile, turning her attention back to the basketball game on tv with Rainbow Dash.
"I'm sure you did great! Alex is a smart guy, both him and Twilight! They aced that test, for sure!" Pinkie said joyfully, looking up from the laptop.
"Thanks, Pinkie. You're too kind." I said with a slight chuckle. She only smiled and nodded, going back to the music she was listening to. I glanced over at Fluttershy again, who still didn't add to the conversation. "Fluttershy?" I called. It took a few seconds, but she snapped her attention over to me.
"Oh. Um...Yes?" She replied quietly.
"Is everything alright?" I asked, concern lacing around my words. She sighed and gave me a slow nod.
"Um...Yes, everything's...fine." She replied in a whisper. I pushed myself off the wall I was leaning against, and sat in the chair next to her.
"Are you sure?" I asked gently. Again, she sighed, looking back out the door.
"I-it's nothing, really." She insisted. Her eyes wandered over to a small group of flying birds, and she watched them until they disappeared along the horizon. Next, she spied a couple of rabbits scampering around my backyard, until they ran off with a few more bunnies. Fluttershy gave a shaky sigh, and closed her eyes.
"Hey," I said after a minute. "Let's take a walk. Just you and me." I suggested. She looked up at me with those large, teal eyes, and nodded silently, allowing me to help her up. "Girls, we're goin' for a walk. We'll be back soon." I said, rather quickly at that. Fluttershy and I left, and, instead of going on the path we usually start walks on, I left to a completely different area.
"Where are we?" Fluttershy asked after a few minutes of walking.
"We're just entering the edge of the neighborhood." I replied, pointing to the various trees of the mountains that surrounded my town.
"Why are we going this way?" She asked, and I shrugged.
"Well...I saw the way you looked inside, Fluttershy." I told her, trying to sound comforting.
"Oh...Wh-what do you mean?" She asked, averting her gaze to the side.
"I know you miss home, Shy." I replied quietly.
"...Oh." She whispered. The rest of the walk was silent, until, finally, we reached the start of the small pathway that led into the small forest. The further we walked, the more wildlife we found. Squirrels scampering in the trees, birds perched, high and low, in the branches. Fluttershy smiled wide, letting the butterflies and other adorable creatures land on her, and communicate with them. It was amazing, even in the real world, she was able to be such a great animal handler. It's like she really could talk to them.
"Alex, this is wonderful." She said, petting a small chipmunk, before letting it go off on its way.
"I had a feeling you'd say that." I teased, walking up to her and smiling. She remained silent, staring up at me, still smiling as well. It was strange, when it came to Fluttershy, I never felt that these were awkward moments. We stood there, unmoving, not talking, just looking into eachother's eyes.
"Thank you." She managed to say after a few more minutes of silence.
"My pleasure." I replied, looking past a break in the trees to see the setting sun, and the beautiful shades of red and orange it painted into the sky. "We should probably head back. It's gonna get dark soon." I said, motioning my head back down the path. She smiled sweetly and nodded, heading back with me. We talked, we laughed, and had a really fun outing. I even found her walking close to me at one point, to the point where our hands were lightly brushing against eachother's. Noticing this, we both blushed lightly and chuckled nervously, looking away.
When we made it out of the trail, Fluttershy said goodbye to her little friends, save for a bunny, that decided to tag along with us, much to my dismay. The little bugger belonged inside the forest with his friends. But, I didn't mind too much, and it didn't follow too close. It'd lag behind, only hopping across the street to hide in different bushes. The sidewalk grew wider as we entered the more heavily populated area of my neighborhood, and, of course, the bunny was still following us. As stated, Shy and I didn't pay much attention to him.
Until, at one point, we noticed a large, lifted truck coming down the road, not too far from my house. It was a long street that ran through the neighborhood, and he was going just a tad over the speed limit. Suddenly, Fluttershy stopped laughing, and turned around to see the bunny. It seemed to want to cross the street, but knew that if it did, it'd be in the truck's way.
"...Alex! Alex, look!" She said, as the truck neared us. Unfortunately, the bunny decided it'd test its luck and cross the street. "Alex! It's going to get hit! We have to do something!" She shouted. I was about to take off for the bunny, but it was too late. The truck was heading right straight ahead, obviously not concerned with the small animal it was about to take out.
"Shy, I can't!" I said, taking a few quick strides towards the bunny, before realizing it was hopeless. I stopped after a couple seconds, watching in fear, when suddenly, a breeze rushed past me, and Fluttershy dashed for the poor animal, seconds before the truck approached. "Fluttershy, get back here! Don't!" I called out. She ran right into the street, and directly into the truck's path, before I managed to snatch her and dive for the grass on the sidewalk.
"No!" She screamed, outstretching her hand, as if in a last-second attempt to save the small creature.
But it was too late.
We both panted, and I nearly had a heart attack, having to rescue Fluttershy like that. I looked up, seeing her stare at the dead rabbit in the middle of the road.
"No..." She cried silently, staring at her deceased friend. She stumbled to her feet, walking into the road, blankly observing the corpse. Thankfully, it was a direct impact- no blood. It probably wasn't painful, either. I stood as well, and walked over to her.
"Fluttershy...I'm sorr-"
"How could you!" She suddenly lashed out, whipping around and glaring at me with tearful eyes.
"...What?" I gasped in utter surprise.
"You could have saved him! He didn't have to die!" She cried.
"Shy, it wasn't my fault! You're acting like I was the one driving that truck!" I retorted.
"I don't care! You should have let me get him!" She screamed.
"Hey, I just saved your damn life! That would be you in the middle of the road, not the rabbit!" I barked.
"I don't care! You should have done something!" She then began to storm off, but I gently grabbed her. She struggled as if I was hurting her, and I shushed her. She sobbed heavily into my chest, lightly pounding her fists into me in anger.
In all of my life, I've been beaten, bloodied, bruised, jumped. I've been psychologically tortured by death and abandonment all of my life.
But nothing could ever hurt more than that light assault Fluttershy gave me. Nothing in the world will shatter my heart more than the sound of her wild sobs, than the look on her incredibly angry and sorrowful face. Than the scared and tortured look in her eyes.
"Why...Why did he..." She began.
"Why what?" I asked.
"Why'd he do it? Like it was nothing..."
"Because, Shy. People are horrible beings." I said, my tone suddenly becoming cynical and angry. "No one cares about anyone or anything but themselves. They don't care what they do, and who they hurt."
She shoved me away, and glared at me, despite the tears and sobs. "...I hate you." She whispered. I thought I was hearing wrong, and I had to do a double take.
"...What did you say?" I croaked, feeling my throat catch a knot.
"I hate you! You're...You're so...You could have..." She stammered in anger. She inhaled, as if she was about to scream, or shout, or kick. But all she did was run off towards my house, crying, and leaving me and my broken heart behind. I stood, too shocked to move, to close my mouth that was agape after dropping like a one ton weight, before hefting myself away.
I came home a few minutes later, and, the second I closed the door, Fluttershy dashed from the living room to the bathroom, shutting the door and locking it. I sighed, and walked into the living room, where the others sat, looking concerned.
"Alex, what happened?" AJ asked, standing up and approaching me as if she were upset with me.
"Whoa, hey, calm down!" I snapped. I sighed, and took a few minutes to explain the situation to them.
"That's...That's horrible." Twilight said quietly.
"I know..." I replied with a heavy sigh. I heard a door open, close, then another door do the same. "I just...I feel so bad."
"Don't, Alex. I'm sure there was nothing you could have done." Rarity assured me. I nodded, my expression blank, as I began to stare ahead, almost as if boring a hole into the wall. I excused myself, heading to bed early, refusing to let any of them bunk with me that night. The insomnia came back for a while, and I stared at the ceiling, replaying the day's events over and over in my mind. I couldn't get that look on Fluttershy's face out of my head. It killed me on the inside. Thankfully, I managed to fall asleep around two in the morning.
Unfortunately for me, I had to get up four hours later for school. As predicted, Shy didn't even acknowledge my presence when I saw the others in the kitchen. It created a kind of awkward tension in the air, and everyone seemed to notice it. Even the drive to school was painfully silent. Whenever I glanced at Shy, she either had a scowl on her face, or a sad look in her eyes that broke my heart.
"Hey, guys." Gray greeted when we approached them at school. "Christ, Alex, you look like hell." He said with a smirk. We then heard announcements over the school's PA system, to remind us all about prom tickets being on sale for only twenty dollars. They made them sound cheap.
"Didn't get much sleep." I replied tersely, slamming my back into the lockers and slumping down into a seated position. The others followed suit, and Dana quickly noticed the mixed emotions.
"...Is everything alright, Faith?" She asked Fluttershy, who only nodded slowly in response. Dana and Gray looked at me for an explanation, which I silently gave to them. Fourth period rolled around just as I finished the story, and Fluttershy didn't even look at me.
It was ridiculous. This continued on for days, and it just about killed me on the inside. I'd never meant to hurt her, I could never do that...I just...There was nothing I could have done. Maybe if I hadn't snapped at her, maybe if I should have just not said anything afterwards...Maybe if I never even took her to that trail...
...~...
The rain was a torrent. It'd been like this all day, and they said it wouldn't let up until the next morning. Fluttershy still refused to talk to me, no matter how hard I tried. That day, I'd had enough.
"Fluttershy." I said to her, but she ignored me. "Fluttershy." I repeated, with more authority in my voice. "Stop doing this! You're acting like I'm the bad guy here! Why are you doing this?" I asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.
She jerked her shoulder away, and backed up. "Just leave me alone, Alex..." She said quietly.
"But, Fluttershy-"
She turned tail and ran to the front door, throwing it open and running outside.
"Fluttershy!" I called out, running after her. I chased her down the street, until we were back to the spot where the bunny was struck. She slipped on the wet cement, and fell, remaining on the ground. I sighed, wiping the heavy rain from my eyes and pushing my hair back, going to help her up. But, again, she refused my hand. Instead, she stood up on her own, walking to the middle of the street.
"Why, Alex..." I heard her say, despite the sound of the rain.
"What?" I asked, a bit loudly due to how heavy the rain was getting.
"Why? Why did this happen?" She repeated, as more tears formed in her eyes.
"I don't know, Fluttershy. But I'm sorry." I said, wiping the water from my field of view again. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I'm sorry there was nothing we could do. I'm sorry I didn't save him. I'm sorry, Fluttershy." I cried out, now soaked to the bone by the weather. "I'm sorry. But...It was either the bunny or you. I chose you. I'm sorry if you don't agree with my decision, Shy, but...I-I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you. To any of you. That's why I'm so protective. That's why I pulled you out of this street that day." I practically had to shout, because of the rain's force. "I'm sorry this happened, Fluttershy." I shouted, approaching her. "I'm so, so sorry." I then said, and we both embraced eachother at the same time. Just like that day, she cried her heart out. I cried a bit as well, I'll admit, but I didn't sob. The rain did well to hide my tears. Her sobs got to the point where she dragged me down with her, and I held her, right there, in the middle of the street.
That next day, we returned to that spot. Fluttershy insisted we give him some kind of burial. Unfortunately, since the body had disappeared, we formed a small cross with sticks and a few pretty stones, and set it on the sidewalk in the grass, at the approximate location where he got hit. We didn't say anything- we didn't really need to. She just needed closure, somehow, and this was the best she'd get.
"Alex?" She said quietly, on the walk back to the house.
"Yeah?" I replied, just as silently.
"...Why did this happen?" She asked. I sighed, honestly getting sick of that question, and shook my head.
"I dunno, Fluttershy...I really don't." I answered.
"...Oh." She muttered. "...Is everyone like that? So...Uncaring?" She asked me.
"Honestly, no. Not everyone. There are some people in the world, some people who really are good. They're kind, people love them, and they care for the people and world around them. They're truly good people." I replied with a sad smile.
"So, like you?" She said, catching me off guard.
"What? Like me? Pft. Hell no." I replied. "I'm a cynical, wisecracking, lonely guy who doesn't even deserve the time of day." I added.
"But...You're still a good person, you know." She assured me.
"Yeah? How so?" I asked curiously.
"I...I don't know. I just know you're a good person." She said with a small smile. I sighed, and shook my head in amusement.
"Whatever you say, Fluttershy." I replied with a soft chuckle.
The rest of the walk home was spent in comfortable silence. As we walked, we became closer together, and, again, found our hands lightly brushing against eachother's. We noticed- it was obvious, by the light shade of red on our cheeks. But, this time, neither of us pulled our hands away, yet we didn't act on anything. It just remained like that until we got home, and we all had a nice, relaxing dinner.
"Goodnight, girls," I said, heading to my room.
"Alex, hold on!" Fluttershy called, walking after me.
"Yeah?" I said, looking back at her.
"I, um...I-I'm, uh, sorry." She said meekly, allowing her hair to fall and cover the right side of her face, as she averted her gaze.
"Look, don't be. You have nothing to be sorry for." I assured her.
"Really?" She asked, looking up at me.
"Really." I replied with a gentle smile. She smiled back, and pulled me into an embrace, one that I happily returned.
"Goodnight, Alex." She told me, letting me continue to my room. I smiled contently, and fell down onto my bed, staring at the ceiling until, finally, a well deserved sleep took over.
( Yay. Two chapters in one night.
...
I'm sorry if I don't seem so fun tonight, guys, I just...
It's just one of those days, ya know?
So if things seem to be a bit slow, I apologize. Things in the story will be picking up soon, I promise.
Thank you all so much for the love and support. Remember to check out my blog-
alexbarkhorn.tumblr.com
It helps a lot. Thanks. G'night. )
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so next is Twilight her shtick is books and learning so since they just had exams that means its the end of the year or close to it also the prom so her crisis could be her social awkwardness or she has to stop reading..... Im going to say its the prom thing
I love the story, but it has gotten a bit episodic for my taste. I will truly enjoy seeing the storyline progress!
1268072
Or she tries dancing at prom XD
Some of the parts in this and the previous Chapters feel rushed. Like when Fluttershy was crying in the street. Otherwise still a great story, keep up the good work.
I love this series...keep it up man. I probably should comment more with praises but I dont :/ just letting you know I care.
Read all 30 chapters in one go. Loved it. Keep it up, this is now my favorite story on the site.
R.I.P Random bunny his life was a short one
5496252 meh I'm pretty sure that a few hundred will take his place because damn rabbits you are like weeds you kill one another pops up like suprise bitch I'm back so fuck that rabbit.