Pink Triangle

by Briny Rivers

Chapter 5 - Falling For You

Buzzzzzzz..

The electric shaver whirred as Wallflower ran it along her arms, the constant vibrating slowly making her hand numb. Yet, she continued, because this was one of the few things she was (mostly) able to endure and power through.

She hated being hairy. Anytime she wore short-sleeved shirts at home and saw her arms being hairy, her entire mood would be wrecked for the day. Sure, that was only a problem in summer, but it still applied when she knew she was hairy.

Sitting on the edge of the bathtub, she continued with her arms. Her legs and body were mostly shaved, only a few patches were left.

The electric shaver continued to buzz and shave, leaving tiny and itchy roots of green hair where she shaved. The blade was child safe, making it impossible to shave it all off completely. That, and she didn’t entirely know how to take care of herself like this.

Even still, the fact her uncle only bought her a child-safe razor was demeaning. She could be trusted with a proper razor with a proper blade! It was the only way to get to the root of the problem that plagued her arms and legs, one of the problems that made her so incredibly ugly.

It was only a few times, and she was too squeamish to do it any more. And yes, she did appreciate her uncle’s concern, but it really wasn’t that bad! Besides, if he were there the first time, he would understand..

The memory was etched into her skin.

Wallflower couldn’t remember exactly how old she was at the time, her memory often failed her regarding her early teenage years. She was becoming self-conscious with the hair growing on her limbs, so she grabbed her father’s razor and tried to shave it all off.

She nicked herself a few times before trying to apply any cream, but she couldn’t even get that part right. After what felt like ages, she had only managed to shave off small sections and left her arms weird and patchy and she felt like crying from all the little nicks and cuts she unintentionally gave herself.

Then at the worst possible moment, her mother barged in. She saw Wallflower sitting in the tub, looking up at her with big teary eyes and small wounds on her arms and small strands of green hair in her lap and in the tub.

And she laughed.

She laughed and laughed and laughed, because the sight of her little nuisance of a daughter struggling with shaving was just so hilarious.

It made Wallflower feel awful. She remembered she snapped back in the midst of her frustration, only to be met by her now offended mother reprimanding her in a way she couldn’t quite remember. Maybe it was a light smack or a backhand, or a promise that once her father was home she’d be truly punished. All she remembered was her mother left and closed the door in a huff.

For a moment, she was alone in that bathroom. At the time, her mind was all jumbled up with frustrations directed at her parents and herself. She didn’t know what to do to make it all stop.

Later that night, her father yelled at her for the blade in his razor being missing.

Wallflower snapped herself out of her memories, the shaver’s buzzing having made her hand numb now. She wasn’t sure if all the hair was gone, but it didn’t matter. Turning the shaver off, she stood back up and left her mess for her uncle to clean. Because of course she did, she couldn’t even clean up after herself after thinking about some stupid memories from her stupid childhood.

It was late, anyway. Her uncle would be back home soon. Sure, the last thing he needed was cleaning up after his miserable little niece, but Wallflower was selfish enough to crawl into her bed and sleep without a second thought.

It was really, really cold.

---

Wallflower trudged through the snow, her tired legs almost done with enduring the long walk from home to school. It was a very, very cold day. Too cold for even just one of her stupid sweaters. Instead of enduring the snow and cold with a usual outfit, she actually threw on something else—a jacket. Of course, it wasn’t new. It was from her uncle’s closet. Thankfully, she liked the color enough. Dark, muddy brown.

As she approached the entrance to school, she made eye contact with someone. It was Ditzy, accompanied by Roseluck, just barely about to head inside.

“Hi, Wallyyy!” Ditzy waved her over as she and Roseluck stepped inside, the three joining each other inside the much warmer interior. “Gosh, it’s really cold..do you really only have that jacket, Wally?”

Wallflower tried to hide her frown. “What? Uh, no. I’m just..not that cold. It’s fine,” She answered, her hands digging deeper into her pockets as she lied. She hated lying to them, but it was better than letting the two know she was poor.

“You sure?” Roseluck asked, peering closer to Wallflower’s face, “Your nose is kinda red. You might catch a cold like that, Wallflower..”

Wallflower backed away, a tiny scowl on her face as Roseluck got way too close just to look at her nose. “I’m fine, okay?” She huffed. After a moment, she retracted her scowl and hastily apologized. “S-Sorry. I, uh, you got really close for a second..”

Roseluck backed off, putting her hands up with a concerned smile. “No, no, it’s fine! Just, uh, you haven’t reacted like that in a while.”

Wallflower frowned. For a good while, she had her irrational temper under control—as much as she wanted to hiss at people for speaking to her at the wrong time. Was it Aria imprinting on her, or the inexplicable defect inside of her acting up? Either way, Roseluck and Ditzy were patiently waiting for her to process her little outburst.

“Yeah..sorry.” Wallflower calmed herself, even though she was still somewhat set off for no real reason. Having a tiny outburst was not a good start to the day.

“Oh! Uhmmm, class is about to start, I think,” Ditzy remarked, looking at her wrist despite not wearing a watch, “We should get going, probably..”

“Oh, right,” Roseluck agreed, “If I’m late again, my mom is gonna be really mad..” She sighed, turning to face Wallflower. “Better get to math, right?”

“Ugh..yeah. I guess so,” Wallflower groaned. Math in the very morning should have been illegal. “See you later, Ditzy.”

“Byebye!” Ditzy waved before rushing off to her first period, weaving through and bumping into others as she made her way to her class.

Meanwhile, Wallflower and Roseluck just so happened to share the same math class. “C’mon, Wallflower, we’ll be late!” Roseluck exclaimed, immediately turning to half-heartedly speed walk to their class.

Wallflower held back a snarky remark, instead following behind Roseluck with a slight smile. As boring as math class would be, at least her misery would be shared with a friend.

---

Wallflower frowned as she sat hunched over her desk, fidgeting in any way she possibly could to distract herself. Math and Chemistry were long over, and English was just about done. The last few minutes were the only thing standing between her, and band class.

Which, of course, was only important because of Aria being there.

Wallflower’s fidgeting intensified as her mind settled on thinking about Aria. Her fingers twirled her pencil around and her shoes rubbed together and against the flooring. Why did thinking about her have to make her feel this way? Why did she have to have these silly, stupid feelings for her? It wasn’t right. It couldn’t be. Or was everything she was taught as a child nothing but a lie?

Why did she even care?

It was a valid question. Her parents weren’t in her life any more. Her uncle wouldn’t mind—he’d take down that stupid crucifix and anything else if Wallflower actually said something—and he’d no doubt support her. Maybe too much, but still. So why did it feel so wrong?

Oh, right. Aria didn’t feel the same. Well, it was highly likely she didn’t feel the same. Aria was..perfect. She was different from the other Dazzlings. Yes, they were all pretty, but Aria was beyond that. It was like she somehow understood Wallflower.

It was something she had only ever felt with Ditzy before, but Ditzy was just a friend while Aria was a super cool and attractive magical siren girl who voluntarily cared about Wallflower and spent time with her. There was more to it than just thinking Aria was pretty, but Wallflower couldn’t put it into a proper thought without blushing.

But what did she, little old three-chord Wallflower, have that would ever catch the eye of Aria?

The bell rang, and Wallflower snapped back to attention. The wait was finally over. She stood up from her seat and immediately filed through into the hallway, tracing the familiar steps she had taken many times before. It was, thankfully, only a short walk from her English class.

And there she was. Waiting in the usual spot outside of the band room where they silently agreed was where they’d meet before class and wait several minutes after the bell rang to be slightly late.

Aria looked over with just a quick glance, immediately recognizing Wallflower as she approached. She pushed herself off the wall she was leaning against, now facing Wallflower. “About time you got here. Don’t be late next time, we barely have time to not go in.”

Once again, Wallflower’s heart was fluttering just talking to Aria. If feeling this way was so wrong, why did it make her feel so..happy? Excited? “Sorry! I, uh, the halls were pretty crowded..” She sighed. Aria was right, they didn’t have much time to sit around outside of class anymore.

“Or,” Aria began, “we could leave.” The evil little smirk Wallflower loved to see returned to her face, and immediately had her listening to whatever Aria had to say. “Last class of the day. We could just skip, go hang out or something.”

“O-Oh, gosh, skipping? I don’t, uh..” Wallflower stuttered, momentarily taken aback by the suggestion. She never dared to skip any class ever for her entire childhood, purely due to the fact her parents would find out. Father was always looking for a reason to punish her back then, he always came home angry. But things were different now, would her uncle even care? “I’ve..never skipped class before. Is it..uh, is it really okay for us? To do that?”

Aria rolled her eyes and immediately took Wallflower by the wrist, tugging her along and down the hallway. “Nah, not really. But we’ll still do it. I hate that class, anyways. If you weren’t there, I’d be skipping every day.”

Wallflower’s heart skipped a beat. Not figuratively or metaphorically or whatever, she was genuinely legally dead for a split second. Aria only liked band class because it was a class they had together? Sure, it was something painfully mundane, but it made Wallflower feel..special. Just a bit.

In the midst of her gay haze, Wallflower nearly tripped with how Aria was tugging her. Just barely catching herself, she was snapped out from her thoughts and back to their skipping class and leaving school early. More importantly, to the weather outside as they reached an exit.

“It’s, uh, pretty cold out, isn’t it? I mean, it’s not snowing anymore, but..I think it might rain?” Wallflower became very aware of the jacket she forgot she was wearing over her sweater, pulling it close against herself as they neared the exit.

“So? You said you liked the cold and rain, that one time,” Aria retorted. She was right. Wallflower did mention her fondness for cold weather and rain in one of their many, many conversations. Aria was indifferent to the weather in any case.

“I..I guess..”

Aria let go of Wallflower’s wrist as they reached the exit, turning to face her. “You wanna skip with me or not? I’m just gonna go home if you don’t, so—”
“Yes! Take me with you!”

…

The two shared a brief moment of silence and blushing before either of them spoke again.

“I, uh..do want to skip with you. Let’s go!”

After another moment, Aria simply smiled and turned back around to face the exit again. “Then c’mon, you dweeb. I’m not skipping without you.”

That was more than enough to convince Wallflower. Without a second thought, the two were side by side and leaving school grounds. For the first time in her life, Wallflower was skipping class.

All because she was, quite possibly, in love.

---

“You actually eat the school food?” Aria asked, a look on her face that was a mix of annoyance and disbelief.

“Well, uh, yeah. I don’t bring anything from home, and I get kinda hungry..” Wallflower avoided mentioning her whole poverty thing, hoping Aria wouldn’t prod her about it too much.

The two were absentmindedly walking around the streets of Canterlot, not having a specific destination in mind. It was nothing special, but Wallflower was having a blast. Being with Aria in any way was already fun, but the weather made things exponentially better.

The clouds were heavy and gray, the cold and biting air blowing against them as they walked. For some people, weather like this would have been absolutely miserable, but for Wallflower it was nothing short of perfect. Especially since Aria was with her.

“Mm,” Aria grunted in response. For a few seconds, there was silence between them. It didn't bother Wallflower, keeping up conversation for minutes on end was always exhausting. Besides, small periods of silence was nothing new to them. It was pretty common for the two to simply enjoy eachothers company like that.

“You always sit with your friends at lunch, huh?” Aria asked while looking at Wallflower from the side, not turning fully to her. How could she walk so easily while doing that?

“Uh, yeah..well, most of the time. I think you saw where we usually are once, on the stairs..”

“Yeah. You should sit with us sometime, instead.”

Wallflower paused for a moment, bewildered. Aria wanted to sit together at lunch? With the other Dazzlings? Together? “L-Like..me with..the three of you? Sitting with you?”

Aria gave an annoyed sigh, clearly a little irked Wallflower wasn’t immediately on board with the idea. “Duh. We’re friends, and I’m always sitting with Adagio and Sonata. And, uh..” Aria crossed her arms, blushing just a bit. “Y’know, we’re friends, and..I kinda want you to, alright?”

Wallflower was speechless. Aria was asking her to sit with her? And the other Dazzlings? She was meaning to try and be more than just acquaintances with Adagio and Sonata, but what was more important was Aria wanting to sit with her! It took every ounce of self control inside of Wallflower for her to resist jumping up and down and kicking her legs, instead only fidgeting with her hands with a smile.

“O-Okay, yeah! I’d, uh, really like that maybe I think!” Wallflower eagerly nodded, unable to hide the excitement in her voice. It was uncharacteristic of her to be this vocal, she never was since she was a child, but something as simple as sitting next to Aria during lunch really got to her.

Aria responded with a heavy eye roll, delivering a gentle shove to Wallflower to really feign her annoyance. Judging by her smile, she wasn’t truly annoyed at her. “Yeah, yeah, stop being such a dweeb about it..”

Wallflower nodded and opened her mouth to say something, only to be interrupted by the top of her head feeling awfully wet. Glancing up, she felt little droplets splashing against her forehead. “..I think it’s raining.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” Aria grumbled, pulling her hood over her head and making her big stupid pigtails disappear—how that worked was something Wallflower would never know. “I guess we should go home. I don’t—”

The clouds boomed, the rain coming down even harder now. The two were soaked in a matter of seconds, Wallflower especially. Without another word, Aria grabbed Wallflower and immediately began to drag them somewhere they could stay dry.

“Of course it had to rain..” Aria huffed, tugging Wallflower along. They quickly found a small awning to hide under, only being somewhat sheltered by the rain. It was only getting worse as they stood there, the wind picking up and blowing rain into their shoddy shelter. “..you okay, Wallflower?”

Wallflower zipped up her jacket for the measly warmth and protection it provided, shoving her hands in her pockets. “Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah. It’s..just, I might get a cold from this. It’d really suck if I got sick..”

“You’re gonna get a cold because you’re still in the rain, you dweeb,” Aria said, her tone halfway in between teasing Wallflower and being annoyed at her. Suddenly, she reached around Wallflower and pulled her underneath the awning. Subsequently, she was pulling Wallflower right up against her and hugging her from behind. “There.”

For a moment, Wallflower was completely silent. Internally, she was completely freaking out. Aria was hugging her. From behind. Hugging her! Their bodies were touching! Pressed up against each other! While it was raining, even! The storm around them didn’t even matter in that moment, not while Wallflower was about to explode just from a hug like this.

“..Wallflower?”

“—Yeah!?” Wallflower blurted out, her cheeks blushing crimson. Aria might have noticed, as she let her go. Still, the physical contact wasn’t over. She took Wallflower’s hand and immediately walked them into the building nearest to them, a generic coffee shop that already had a few people inside.

Once again, Aria let go. Wallflower could have shattered like glass. “Quit looking at me like that, you dweeb,” Aria huffed, giving Wallflower a gentle punch in the shoulder. “I wanted to get out of the rain, and you were spacing out or something.”

“Okay, okay..you’ve just, y’know, never held my hand before..” Wallflower’s cheeks were feeling less hot by now, but she could see Aria was blushing as well. Surely it was just out of embarrassment, right? “I, uh..I guess I kinda liked it, maybe..”

Aria grumbled incoherently, hitting Wallflower’s shoulder with a slightly forceful punch this time. It actually slightly hurt, but Wallflower could care less. Seeing Aria all flustered was ridiculously cute.

She was still flustered and blushing even after punching Wallflower, glancing at her with a cute frown. For the first time ever, Aria was too flustered to speak!

“Uh..” Wallflower hesitantly began, hoping to change the subject, “I think we’re gonna be here for a while..I mean, I don’t want to walk home while it rains. I’d definitely catch a cold then..”

Aria seemed to calm down, taking a deep breath and not looking directly at Wallflower. “..Sure. Adagio and Sonata are probably home, but those idiots should be fine.” With that, Aria seemed to compose herself. She turned to a table near the windows, walking over to claim a spot for the two. “We aren’t ordering anything. I hate coffee.”

Wallflower followed behind Aria, taking a seat across from her. “Well, I hate coffee too! It’s really, uh..I don’t know. I just don’t really like it...I like coffee cake, though.”

“Coffee cake? That sounds dumb.”

“It’s not dumb..it’s pretty tasty, actually. You should try it!”

“Nah. If it tastes like coffee, I won’t like it.”

“What if I made it? I’m..not really good at baking, but I could try..”

“You can bake? You’re such a dweeb.”

The two went back and forth once again, just like that. It was much like the many other times they were able to effortlessly go into a conversation, Aria being the only person that Wallflower could ever talk like this to when they had something to talk about. And whenever they did, Wallflower loved every single second.

Maybe Wallflower really was in love with her.

Author's Note:

This one took a while. Resident Evil 4 absolutely wrecked my productivity, whoops! I hope it was worth the wait. The next chapter should be much more interesting.

Comments

[Sunshyne]

Mmmm, fanfic Wallflower continues to be such a mood for me. You write a good sad wally.

Wish I had someone like Aria in my life when I was her age. As bad an influence as she is, lol.

[Briny Rivers]

11579412
Thanks for the kind words! I try my best not to make Wallflower comically sad, drawing from my own life helps.

Aria might be a pretty bad influence, but she’ll show her kinder side in the next chapter (even as it takes me a while to finish it..)

[Salmanzero]

Amazing story bro. Hope to see more and keep up the great work