Torn Between Two Worlds

by Alex Barkhorn

Chapter 33

Oh, God, I didn't know what to do. I think she could detect my hesitation, because I could feel her start to draw away. Dammit! I couldn't move! I...I messed up.

"Well, um...We should get to bed." I heard her whisper, and couldn't help but detect a pang of sadness in her voice. I nodded silently, letting her turn on her heel and walk inside. I stood out there, silent for a few minutes, before Applejack came and poked her head out the door, looking at me with a scowl, and I knew why.

"Really, Alex? Really?" She scoffed. Another moment of silence, and I turned to one of the two pillars next to my door, and applied my forehead to the stucco. Hard. And then I did it again. Even harder. Applejack sighed, and shook her head. "C'mon, lets git you inside. It's late as it is." She said gently, gently grabbing me by the arm and leading me into my room. The place was dead quiet, and the only lights came from the hall bathroom, and from the girls' room.

"I got it from here..." I told AJ, sullenly, opening the door to my room.

"Alright, then." AJ replied.

"Hey, Applejack...?" I called, before she closed the door.

"Yeh, Alex?"

"...Ya think...Should I go-"

"Do what you think's best, Alex. This is your life. I can't tell ya how to live it." She said with a supportive smile. I tried smiling back, but didn't bother, and nodded my head.

"Right...Thanks." I sighed.

"Any time, Alex. G'night." She smiled, before closing the door to my room. After taking off my tux, and making sure my lights were shut off, I slammed my head into the pillow, practically falling asleep on impact.

And then, the nightmares returned.

I couldn't remember much. All I do remember, is that it was another Celestia dream, as she came to take the girls away. Only...It wasn't in anger. She didn't punt me to the moon to chill with Luna. If anything...She looked kinda sympathetic. Regretful, even. I think Gray was with me, and even after a happy, yet tearful goodbye, I snapped, and began thrashing around and crying. Gray had to sit there and hold me back...

Thankfully, I woke up close to four A.M. Hey, if four hours of sleep meant that I wouldn't have to suffer a whole nightmare, I'll take it, no questions asked. The bad part is, ya get real bored, real fast. So, to pass time, I decided to watch some movies.

Who woulda thought movies could be so time consuming. By noon, I hadn't even left my room. In fact, I didn't even wanna leave. Call it unconscious motivation from being a complete flake to Shy last night if ya want, I still think I just lost track of time...

Anyway, it was Twilight who first noticed my absence, so came to investigate. I heard a knock on my door, and turned my head from my couch to look at the door. "Alex? Alex, are you in there?" She asked. I didn't respond. Or, at least, not for a while. I was about to respond, when I heard another voice.

"Alex...? Um, Alex, hello?" Fluttershy called to me. "Uh...Maybe he's asleep." She then suggested. Twilight must have agreed, as I didn't hear anything else afterwards. It was a repeated process for another couple hours, them coming to check on me, but each time I never answered my door. Hell, I poked out for about barely a minute just to grab some snacks, ignoring any look from the girls they gave me- Fluttershy especially. Seemed as if Rainbow Dash was a bit pissed at me to, judging by the glare she gave me from Fluttershy's side. I came to the assumption Shy hadn't taken the other night too well, so Rainbow was there to console her. I scurried back to my room, hearing one of the girls call my name.

"Alex, hey, wait!" Twilight called out, following me to my room. I sighed and stopped just short of my door, and turned around to look at her.

"Yeah?" I replied tiredly. She stopped herself in front of me, and looked at me, wincing a tad bit.

"Wow, Alex. Didn't get much sleep?" She asked gently, reaching out to feel the dark bags under my eyes. I jerked my head away, averting my gaze.

"No." I answered shortly. Twilight retracted her hand and nodded slowly, lacing her fingers together behind her back.

"You know, we're all wondering what happened last night." She said, breaking the silence, and looking at me with a worried look. I was a bit zoned out, so it took me a while to register what she had said. Finally, after more silence, I replied.

"Yeah. So am I." And with that, I retracted back into my room.

This cycle continued for the rest of the day. I was too ashamed, I felt too guilty to go out there and talk to them. What was I gonna say? That I didn't kiss a girl that cared about me as much as I care about her because...Because why?

That very thought struck me at about one in the morning, as I was staring at my ceiling. Why didn't I kiss her? Now that I got a chance to think about it...I guess it was only because of that fear. That same, haunting fear of the girls leaving. But...It had been months now. Close to graduation, even. And still, not even a peep from Equestria. You figured, with all of their power, they'd have found the girls by now.

I sat up in bed, thinking about this revelation. Maybe...Maybe they were here to stay, after all. But then again, that still isn't a good thing. Not for them, at least. It isn't fair that they're just stuck here in a world they're still trying to understand. The least I could do was make it as memorable for them as possible... Fluttershy, especially. I hate playing favorites, but she's dragged in just as deep as I am. I knew I'd have to do something about that.

I woke up, somehow having fallen asleep, feeling pretty tired- granted, I only got about five hours- but I managed to get myself moving all the same. I threw on some random clothes, not feeling the need to get all prettied up anymore, and stepped out into the kitchen. My boots clacked on the tile floor, which is really the only sound that was made. The girls stopped eating and stared at me. I scoffed and raised a brow.

"What?" I sighed.

"Well, it's just that we haven't seen you come out of your room in a whole day!" Pinkie informed me.

"Tact, Pinkie. Get familiar with it." I said with a slight chuckle. "At any rate, you're right, and I'm sorry. I just haven't been feeling good, is all. Really."

"Not much sleep again?" AJ asked me, raising a brow.

"Eh, not entirely. I got a few hours. I just..." I stopped, and glanced at Fluttershy. "I dunno. Whatever. Let's go to school."

I was pretty much like that with the girls for the next couple of days. Even at school, Dana and Gray noticed how sullen I had become. Of course, when I told the two what happened between me and Shy, they could kind of understand why, but that didn't stop them from giving me hell about passing up that chance.

It was Friday already, and things didn't get better, though they didn't entirely get worse. Sleep was fine, I suppose, but I found it hard to talk to Fluttershy. I couldn't even bring myself to hold her hand, I felt like she resented me after leaving her hanging. Sure, there'd be the occasional trading of words between us that wouldn't last more than a minute, but, still. It didn't feel right.

We were on our way to my car after our fifth period class, when Rainbow and Fluttershy veered off to a new direction. "I have to grab something, I'll be right back," She had told us. Naturally, Shy followed her, and we all shrugged it off. We waited at my truck for a few minutes, and we were all wondering what had happened to the two of them. Finally, we heard voices. Four of them- two girls, two boys. I was not happy at all with hearing the voices of those two boys.

"C'mon, Raven, it's Friday. There's a big party at Aaron's house, it's not like you have anything better to do!" Jake laughed, as he and Aaron were walking right behind Rainbow and Shy. I clenched my fists, and leaned against my truck, looking away and crossing my arms. Twilight must have felt the anger flowing from me, and, as such, placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"I do, actually. Not to hang out with you losers. Do you not remember the night you pushed me down when trying to get at Alex?" Rainbow retorted with a sneer.

"Oh, come on, that's water under the bridge. Besides, I found out Faith here is pretty feisty. I like feisty." Aaron purred, walking next to Shy and placing an arm around her, that she instantly shook off and bolted towards me. "Ah, c'mon, babe!" He called out, grabbing her by the wrists and pulling her back in what he thought would be a playful manner. I clenched my fists, struggling to keep my anger under control, until I heard Rainbow scream as well.

"Get off of me!" She shrieked. I looked over at Aaron put an arm around her, but he only got shoved off. Aaron looked pissed, almost enough to hit her. That's when I lost it.

"Hey!" I barked, running over to them. "Why is it that I always catch you two being idiots around my friends?" I shouted.

"Can it, Barkhorn, this doesn't involve you." Aaron scoffed. Fluttershy squirmed in his grasp, looking at me in fear. Rainbow, on the other hand, managed to give Jake a swift kick to the shin, and ran off. Shy, however, didn't have the courage to act in violence.

"Take your damn hands off of her." I growled. "Just let her go." I added, and my emotions must have gotten the better of me. Looking at Fluttershy that scared, seeing her in so much fear, and me just standing there, doing nothing...I felt horrible.

"Aw, Barkhorn, you gonna cry?" Aaron taunted.

"Let her go. Please." I whispered, slowly walking near them.

"Don't even try it, Alex. There's two of us, and one of you. We have the advantage. Ain't that right, Faith?" Aaron asked, looking down at her. I growled in anger, and was about to approach, when Jake snuck up behind me and tried to kick me in the back. Thankfully, these idiots didn't know how to properly fight, so the kick didn't hurt too bad. Still left a bruise, though. I looked over my shoulder, and did a quick back kick to his stomach, causing him to double over. Fluttershy gasped in fear, and I walked over to Aaron, who released Fluttershy.

"Who has the advantage now?" I said calmly, and he backed up, ready to fight. "I'm not gonna waste my time with you today. So I'm only gonna say this once. Get the hell outa my sight. I get sick enough from having to be in the same school as you. If I ever see you ever bother any of my friends again, it will not end well. For either of us." There was an eerie tone in my voice, a threatening one, as I spoke. "In fact, if I see you outside of school, it won't end well."

Jake made it back to his feet, and ran over to Aaron, who caught up to him. "Then you won't see us, next time." He said, running off with Jake. When they were out of sight, I groaned, feeling my back. No permanent damage, but it still hurt like hell.

"Are you alright, Alex?" Twilight asked. I turned around to see the girls all crowded around Dash and Shy, with the latter looking to the ground in shame. I walked up to her, and the girls backed up a step.

"Fluttershy...Are you okay?" I asked gently, cupping her face in my hands.

"Y-yes..." She whispered. Her eyes began to water, and she let her hair cover her face again. "I-I'm sorry, Alex...I'm sorry I caused trouble for you again...I always cause trouble for you, I'm so-"

"Don't be sorry. I'm the one who's sorry." I interjected. She looked up at me, a bit confused, before I brought my lips to her, pulling her into my embrace. It must have come as a shock to her, hearing her give a mild squeak of surprise, but she quickly accepted it, and I felt her arms wrap around my shoulders. I heard Rarity, Twilight, and Pinkie all give out a little, 'Aw.' Though, Rainbow and AJ both let out small chuckles. I pulled away, and looked at a smiling Fluttershy.

"It's back..." She said quietly.

"What is?" I asked, smiling widely.

"That...That little light in your eyes, it lights up when your happy." She said sweetly. I laughed lightly, and hugged her tightly.

I'm happy when I'm with you... I thought to myself.

That was that. If you were looking at it from a certain view, we were officially dating. Though, we never called it that. We preferred saying we were just together. Mr. Donnovan and our third period class practically gushed everywhere because of it.

"It's so cute!" Or, "Aw, you guys look great together!" And, my personal favorite, "You guys are such a perfect couple!"

Things were now back on track. Mom said that she was close to finishing things on her end and would be home soon, I started looking for places to move into after school, and my grades were starting to pick up. We were so close to graduation, I could almost taste it.

Gray and Dana were over, helping me look for places to move into- Turns out, we were all planning on attending the same University, thank god. We were all keeping tabs on different places with different price ranges, and I got up to get us all a drink. Someone whispered something, and everyone laughed.

"Alright, who's talking smack?" I called back to them. "Pinkie?"

"Nuh-uh, not me!" She called back. I smirked and shook my head in amusement, going back to them. I was about to sit back down, when I heard a knock at my door.

"Huh. Wonder who that could be..." I mused aloud, checking the time. Almost nine at night. "And at this time...You guys stay put. I'll be back in a sec." I told them. I wandered over to the door, and slowly opened it. Standing there, was a face I never thought I'd see- then again, with my luck, I couldn't say I was too surprised.

Comments

[SK Alex]

I've been reading this ever since you posted on FanFiction lol This is my favorite story

I find it funny that my name is Alex as well :P

[Klonoahedgehog]

Are you trying to wrap this up before sunrise?

[Alex Barkhorn]

2144234

No, but I am just posting up the chapters I updated on fanfiction and not here.