An Ocean Away

by Tennis Match Fan

Chapter 7: Did Someone Say Sleepover?

"Are you sure you don't want to try my drink?" Green Cycle pressed, holding out his sour cream beverage so that it was right under Adagio's nose.

"Ew, no!" Adagio growled. "Be careful, Green Cycle, or I'll ruin your shirt like I did Cap's!"

Paisley chuckled.

"We're kidding, Adagio," Sweet Leaf assured her. "You don't have to drink anything you don't want to."

"Haha," Adagio replied dryly. She sat down in a chair and took a few more sips of her float.

"What are you doing later, Adagio?" Sweet Leaf asked.

"I-" Adagio paused. Well, what was she doing later? "I'm going to relax, obviously," she chuckled. "With Aria and Sonata out, I have weeks dedicated to the most important person in the world, myself."

"Like manicures and stuff?" Sweet Leaf asked, leaning intently towards Adagio.

"Sure, why not?" Adagio smirked. "Maybe I'll go on a shopping spree!" As she took another sip of her float, another thought occurred to Adagio. "Who's going to hold all my bags? Usually I make Aria and Sonata hold them!"

"Sounds like you miss them more than you let on," Starlight drawled, gulping down the remains of her drink.

"What? Sure, the house won't be the same without those two dorks, and yeah, it's going to be quiet by myself..." Adagio trailed off. "But I'm hanging out with you guys, right?"

"You know what we should do?" Sweet Leaf asked.

"What?" Paisley, Adagio, and Starlight asked in unison.

"A sleepover!" Sweet Leaf squealed. "Oh my gosh, wouldn't that be so fun?! Starlight can bring plants from her gardens, and we can do mud masks! And that way Adagio won't feel lonely at night!"

"I changed my mind," Adagio said flatly. "I don't want to hang out with anyone."

"Dude, it would be fun, though!" Starlight piped up.

"Would I be invited?" Green Cycle asked.

Sweet Leaf smacked him playfully. "No, girls only!"'

"This sleepover sounds fun!" Paisley agreed. "I'm game."

"Same." Starlight beamed.

"So am I!" Sweet Leaf smiled. "Well, Adagio?"

Adagio was about to say no. This venture to Sugarcube Corner made her want to have an evening of alone time. But she'd have plenty of those in the upcoming weeks, right? I'm doing this for Cap, she reminded herself.

"Alright," Adagio said aloud. "I will generously host this sleepover."

"Yay!" Starlight cheered.

"But!" Adagio held up a finger. "My house, my rules."

"Yes, sir!" Starlight saluted her. Paisley nodded in agreement, and Sweet Leaf clapped her hands.

"I'm just gonna leave now," Green Cycle commented. "I have to meditate, anyways."

"Aw, don't be sad, Green!" Sweet Leaf kissed his cheek. "We'll fill you in on everything that happens!"

"Or not," Paisley murmured. Adagio couldn't help but chuckle.

---

That evening, Adagio sat at the kitchen table, filing her nails. She already had her pajamas on: a silk magenta bodice and matching pants framed with lace; a more modest version of her usual bedroom attire.

"When are they going to be here?" she muttered, examining her nails nonchalantly. Eco Kids, it seemed, had a habit of being late. As if on cue, the doorbell chimed.

"Come in!" Adagio called, though she rose to open the door anyways; her guests most likely did not hear her.

"Hi Adagio!" When the door swung open, Sweet Leaf stood right in the doorway, beaming broadly. Her long mossy hair was bound up in two loose buns, and she wore a low-neck cotton nightgown. Stepping inside, she continued, "What a lovely house! Where's your kitchen? I brought s'mores ingredients!"

"So nice of you to agree to this," Starlight drawled. Her lavender hair was loose, wet, and smelled of strawberries. Starlight was clothed in a snug cocoa bodice and short cream short that showed off her figure.

"Nice outfit," Adagio remarked, stepping aside to let Starlight pass.

Paisley smiled politely, but said nothing as she passed bye. Her nightgown was patterned with floral print, colored with so many vibrant hues that Adagio felt dizzy.

"Girls!" Adagio clapped her hands. Her guests looked up, awaiting her instructions. "We will be conducting this sleepover in the basement. Which happens to be Aria's room, but since she's not here, we can have a little fun." Adagio grinned. "Don't ruin any of her possessions, okay? She's mad enough as is." Sweet Leaf laughed.

Adagio led the way down to the basement. The largest room in the house, the basement was painted puce with green star decals on the walls. A large TV hung opposite of a long green couch, and Aria's bed lay in the corner (Adagio had cleaned up the space before her guests arrived, so it was cleaner than usual).

"What are we going to do first?" Sweet Leaf dumped her bags- all five of them- onto Aria's bed.

"I was thinking we could do each other's hair," Paisley suggested, glancing over at Adagio.

Adagio considered it. "Normally only Sonata is allowed to touch my hair, but you can be the exception."

"I brought a curler!" Sweet Leaf piped up, pulling a crimping iron out of her bag.

A few minutes later, the girls sat in a line on the floor. Sweet Leaf leaned against the wall as she curled Starlight's hair; Starlight was struggling to wrangle Adagio's hair into two neat pigtails; Adagio was plaiting Paisley's hair.

"I swear on my favorite azalea bush, the CPA kids make crystal meth in their basement!" Sweet Leaf appeared completely focused on Starlight's hair, but her voice was erratic. "We could bust them for using drugs! No more CPA, all Friendship Games wins are forfeited to us!"

"I couldn't care less, I didn't go to school during the Friendship Games," Adagio commented, rolling her eyes. "What do you have to gain?"

"The satisfaction of having the upper hand!" Sweet Leaf insisted.

"I wouldn't mind," Starlight admitted.

Paisley chuckled, but made no comment on the idea. Adagio grimaced when Starlight gripped her hair a tad too tightly. "Watch the hair, please!"

"Sorry," Starlight apologized. "How did you even get so much hair, anyways? I bet there's a portal to another universe in all these curls."

"It just appeared on my head when I entered the human world," Adagio answered. "You wouldn't believe some of the jokes people make because they're so jealous."

"Cheese puffs?" Sweet Leaf suggested.

Adagio turned beet red. "No!"