One More Dance

by LightningSword

#5 - Out of His League

One More Dance

#5 -- Out of His League

“What do you mean, Rarity?” Sunset asked, the sinking feeling of dread spreading from the pit of her stomach. “What did you say that he might've misinterpreted?”

Rarity reluctantly answered, “Oh, he didn't misinterpret. I was quite . . . lucid with him . . . .”

Pinkie Pie had finally stopped sobbing, but was still sniffing. “You didn't . . . you didn't hurt his feelings, too, did you?”

“Well, I didn't mean to!” Rarity defended herself. “I just gave what I felt were the reasons I couldn't be with him.” She stopped, seeming to realize something, “Although, I do see how he could've . . . handled it badly . . . .” There was a pause in which the fret in Rarity's eyes grew little by little, becoming panicked, then frantic, and finally, it exploded. “DAC!!” she screamed up to the roof. “DAC, PLEASE DON'T DO THIS! I COULDN'T BEAR IT IF SOMETHING HAPPENED TO YOU BECAUSE OF WHAT I SAID! PLEASE COME DOWN! LET US TALK TO YOU! WE CAN HELP YOU GET THE HELP YOU NEED! THE HELP YOU DESERVE! WE'LL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES, BUT PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!”

The others looked at her with wide eyes, and she looked back, a bit sheepishly. “Well, I really would feel awful,” she said rather matter-of-factly. “I mean, we may be incompatible, but I wouldn't mind being his friend.”

“What?” Dash replied, puzzled. “'Incompatible'? What the heck is that supposed to mean?”

Rarity's sheepish look persisted as she answered, “Well . . . it happened about two weeks ago . . . .”

---

The bell signaled the end of class, and students got up to leave. Among the bustle, only two students stayed behind. Rarity wanted to ask a few questions about the latest assignment, and went up to the teacher's desk to inquire.

Dactylic Pentameter stayed behind to ask a completely different question to a completely different person.

“So, next week's Math assignment might be a tad late,” she explained as Dac inched ever closer. “I've just started working on my dress for the Fall Formal, and it's taken quite a bit of my attention already. I may just end up going with a designer label, but if I don't, I thought it prudent to alert you should it become an inconvenience for me.”

As they spoke, Dac slipped up a bit closer, shaky and warm-faced. He was now right next to her, and she hadn't even glanced his way.

“Oh, well, I suppose I'll make something work,” Rarity concluded. “Thank you for understanding.” The teacher left for her office, and Rarity was about to follow her out the door. She quickly turned and ran face-first into Dac before he could get out of her way; both of them dropped their books in a pile in front of the desk.

Indignant, Rarity was about to chastise whoever had blocked her path, but before she could open her mouth, she heard, “Oh, I am so sorry! I didn't mean to—I wasn't—I mean, I shouldn't have—here, let me get that . . . .” She looked down and saw Dac picking up her books and stacking them in his arms.

“Oh,” Rarity uttered, surprised, “well, thank you, darling, but that's not really necessary.”

“No, it's my fault. I was in the way. Sorry . . . .”

Rarity smiled at this act of kindness. “Oh, that's so very sweet of you!” she fawned. “I wish I could repay you somehow.” She then joined him on the floor, helping him pick up the mess. Oddly enough, he was only picking up her things, completely ignoring his own; Rarity balanced that by helping him with his own materials. Soon, they exchanged materials, having them all gathered, save for one book left on the floor. When they both reached for it, their hands brushed together.

Dac gasped and recoiled, his face flushing to red instantly. He looked at Rarity, almost as if to make sure she hadn't noticed, but she showed she had by looking right back at him. “Something wrong, Dactylic?” she asked, a bit concerned over his sudden silence.

“Will you go out with me?!”

He almost bellowed it, and when he did, he recoiled slightly. His eyes widened, he sucked in his lips, and the red on his face considerably deepened.

“Oh,” Rarity tried to answer, “well . . . not exactly the repayment I was expecting, but . . . .” As they both stood up with their books, she paused when she got a better look at him; on top of the eyes and lips, and the reddening of his face, he was also shaking and sweating, and his breathing was way too fast. This looked like something much more than simple nervousness. He looked as if his life depended on her answer.

Rarity sighed, set her books down, and placed her hands on his shoulders. “Right, then,” she said in a regulatory tone, “first of all, calm down. Stand up straight, take a deep breath. Go on, now.”

He was still shaking, and his blushing only got worse (if it was even possible), but Dac obeyed. He straightened his posture, took in a deep, calming breath, and let it out slowly. He looked relieved almost immediately.

“Very good!” Rarity rejoiced. “Now, I suppose I can't leave a question like this unanswered, can I? Ooh, how do I put this delicately . . . well, Dactylic, darling, I'm afraid you and I are too . . . different for that sort of thing.”

Dac's posture slumped as she heard her reply, “. . . . What?”

“Oh, now don't get me wrong, I'm sure you're a wonderful person with a simply grand little personality. But I'm afraid you're just not my type. I look for certain qualities in a fellow before taking him up on that sort of offer. And as nice as you are, I'm afraid you don't quite have what I'm looking for. And I wouldn't want us to both be miserable together if one of us goes unfulfilled. You understand though, don't you, Dactylic?”

Dac simply stared back at her, unresponsive, his redness gone and his eyes looking empty. When he finally did answer, it was weak and melancholy, “Yes.”

“Oh, darling, don't be depressed,” Rarity encouraged, picking up his head with one finger. “We all go through that stage of 'puppy love' sometime in our lives. You'll get over it soon enough, and by then, who knows? Maybe you'll find someone who's looking for . . . whatever it is you have that girls might like.” Rarity then checked her watch, and was surprised at the time. “Oh, dear! I'll be late to class! Sorry, darling, but I've got to run. Lovely chatting with you!” Once she picked her books back up, off she went out the door and to her next class, leaving Dac behind, still slumped and unresponsive.

She had no idea how badly she'd made his heartbreak worse.

---

“And to think I wanted to tell him straight that I was out of his league!” Rarity gasped. “Oh, gracious, what have I done?!”

“Now, don't panic, Rarity,” Applejack stepped in once again to keep the calm. “Ya coulda worded it better, but your point was made. What Dac took from it wasn't 'cause of you, it was 'cause of this depression he's got. He's got the wrong idea of how love works, and he's lettin' it get to him.”

Pinkie Pie sniffed a little before trying to speak again, “Making people smile is what I love to do, but . . . I didn't know he was actually depressed. If I did, I would've made him smile again. I still could if he . . . .” She glanced up to the roof for what had to be the fiftieth time amongst the six of them.

“This all started with me,” Sunset admitted once again. “What I said, what I did . . . maybe he was always depressed, but I started him on this whole thing, this . . . cry for attention.” She crossed her arms across her chest as she concluded, “I may as well push him off the roof myself.”

“Now, what kinda talk is that?” Applejack rounded on her. “We start givin' up, then he gives up, and that's gonna be a disaster! We all gotta stay strong, right? All of us!”

It was at this point that the group began to realize Rainbow Dash hadn't spoken for a good while. “Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked. “Are you okay?”

“He only asked us all out because we each turned him down,” Rainbow Dash mumbled, almost unintelligibly. “He's no player. He was just looking for a girl who would say yes to him, but we all said no. First Fluttershy, then Pinkie Pie, then Applejack, then Rarity, and then . . .” Dash stopped before mentioning herself, then changed her tone. “Look, he's not jumping,” she said resolutely. “He's getting the attention he wants right now, isn't he? That's what this is all about! He just wants someone to look at him!”

“Then why did he choose now to do it, when everyone's in class?” Rarity asked. “And at the front of the building rather than the back, so no one will see him from the running track or soccer pitch?”

“I don't know! All I know is that he's full of it! He's not jumping! He won't do it!”

“But Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy muttered, upset, “How can you be so sure?”

“I already told you, I just am! He doesn't have the guts to go through with it! It's not gonna happen! I know it won't! I know he won't do it! I just know he won't!!”

Dash's outburst lost all of its credibility when her voice slowly started breaking, and a single tear trickled down from her right eye.

Sunset approached her and put a hand on her shoulder. “You really don't know for sure, do you?” she asked placidly. “You just want to be sure. You want to believe he won't jump because you don't want him to.”

Dash looked back at Sunset, and allowed another tear to slide down her face. “No, I don't. Not after what I did to him.”

“What'd you say, sugarcube?” Applejack asked. “It couldn't be all that bad, right?”

Dash shook her head; the closing of her eyes gave way to more tears. “You thought Sunset was bad?” she said, her voice no longer as brassy as it was. “I put him on that roof just as easily as she did.”

---

Dac considered Rarity to be, hands-down, the most attractive girl in school. She was also majorly popular, and had lots of friends. He wouldn't be surprised if guys approached her all the time. Actually, the fact that she didn't have a boyfriend stunned Dac, then and now.

I was a fool to even approach her . . . .

She had said so politely, but the fact was clear—she was way out of his league, and they both knew it. She may have tried to spare his feelings (which didn't work in the slightest), but whereas Applejack's reasons had nothing to do with Dac, Rarity's reasons did. She basically wanted nothing to do with him. And if she were as cruel as Sunset, she would have let him know right away that his attempt to court the prettiest, most popular girl in school was pitiful and laughable. This carried over very easily to his desperate need for affection in general—pitiful and laughable.

Even Rarity hadn't reminded him of that better than Rainbow Dash had.

Comments

[yoso]

Ouch

[2x]

damn bro that's hard and if I were in his shoes I would have tried the same way because all of the things that had happened have got to be painful and depressing.

[LightningSword]

5410864

[LightningSword]

5411019 Believe me, I felt guilty about putting poor Dac through all this.

[HudsonHawk]

I'm hooked.

This... chapter... I like it...

i.imgur.com/tXjgL.gif

[Black Ultron]

Im addicted...

[Royal Radiance]

I'm with you. *drug eyes intensify*

[Heartland]

Raritys a bitch, a stupid bitch she's the biggest bitch in the whole wide world,
She's a stupid bitch, she's a big fat bitch, bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch.

What...someone had to do it eventually.

[Dinode]

You know, in the amount of time they've spent down there talking about it, Applejack could have found a way up herself and lassoed him away from the edge. I know that probably isn't how you should treat someone in such a situation, but seriously, he's taking his time about it.

[Penn Hooven]

So what to say? There is one little error I see that could be fixed. Right after the paragraph where he says Rarity was the prettiest girl in the school, it begins with

She had said so politely

There should be an it between had and said. It would make it flow smoother.

Other than that, I'm enjoying this the more and more I read.

[The Great Derpsby]

Hmm. While it worked with the other girls, I feel you wrote Rarity very inconsiderate. This sentence in particular:

Maybe you'll find someone who's looking for . . . whatever it is you have that girls might like.

That looks more like it was engineered to make Dac feel bad than something Rarity would actually say.

[Pete100]

“Now, don't panic, Rarity,” Applejack stepped in once again to keep the calm. “Ya coulda worded it better, but your point was made. What Dac took from it wasn't 'cause of you, it was 'cause of this depression he's got. He's got the wrong idea of how love works, and he's lettin' it get to him.”

Applejack I’m pretty sure your wrong. I don’t even know if I wanna hear rainbow dash’s story.