Chapter 1: As if I wasn't Stressed Out Enough Already...

Misty Mountains
Chapter 1

Today was a day just like any other, except I needed to sing with the rest of Honors Chorale at a big competition later today. Well, I actually didn’t need to since I’m probably the worst tenor in the group, but my choral director refuses to believe that and wants me to sing anyway. Especially since the Honors Chorale is incredible and many people have very high expectations for our group at this competition. Not to be one to argue with my choral director, plus the fact that I really wanted to go in the first place, I agreed to go and attempted to keep it together and not be too nervous by the time we got there. Unfortunately for me, my nervousness was easily shown, as my big sister pointed out as I was changing into my uniform, which is a Tuxedo.

“Hey, sorry to intrude, but your vest is on inside out,” my sister said from the doorway to the bathroom, smirking a little.

“Ugh! Are you serious? And to think I could mess up something so simple…” I ranted a bit as I took off my coat as to fix the vest.

“Dude, calm down. You’re singing with plenty of your good friends and I for one know that you’ll be fine,” my sister said as she came over to the mirror and began combing her hair as per her daily routine.

“Yeah, of course you’d say that Sarah. You where one of the best musicians of you generation, you couldn’t ruin any piece for a major performance like this even if you tried,” I spitefully recoiled as I put my tuxedo coat back on over the fixed vest.

“Seriously though, you need to calm down. But we’ll talk more later, OK? I can tell that you’re trying to keep at least somewhat sane,” Sarah replied, understanding the stress I was under and helped fix my collar for me before I walked out of the bathroom.

My sister, Sarah, and I live alone and have been for the past few years since our parents are either traveling constantly or are helping the rest of the family. My dad travels all the time, so he’s basically never home, while my mom has been down in Georgia with her parents since they’re struggling and since my grandmother’s recently had a stroke, so they’ve left me under the care of Sarah for the last few years until I leave for college. Sarah is seven years older than me and is legally allowed to act as my legal guardian should she ever need to. Currently in grad school, she’s studying philosophy and is one of the more requested tutors for physics. She’s about 6’2” with wavy burgundy hair that she’s let grow down to her shoulders. I’d tell you her weight as well, but regardless of the fact that she’s my sister, it’s still insensitive to ask a woman for her weight, so I actually don’t know how much she weighs. She’s really sweet and kind, but knows how and when to be strict, but she’s generally good natured with a sort of happy-go-lucky daily attitude. When it comes to fighting, she’s not really the best, but she can hold her own enough to survive in a place like New York and luckily for her, we live all the way down here in North Carolina.

Then there’s me, the family screw up that can’t do anything right. I have wavy hair similar to Sarah’s but it’s a healthy dirt blonde tint rather than the burgundy color Sarah decided to die her hair. I tend to keep it longer than most other guys, my bangs tend to hang over my eyebrows and the sides will curl up about halfway down my ear and the back just does whatever. I tend to not care very much about my physical appearance, so my hair is usually a mess, but it’s usually clean. I’m about 5’6” and weigh roughly 138 pounds, which is really light compared to most of the other guys in my grade. I’m a junior in high school and am currently going crazy due to my want for challenging courses. My want for a challenge has led me to take 3 different AP classes this year and I plan to take another 4 next year, and that’s not even mentioning what else I do. I’m currently part of our school’s second best choir, which is also know throughout the state since we’ve won the State Choral festival 13 out of like 16 times now, this year being the most recent and also giving us a three-peat for wining first place in the State festival. Not only that, I’m in our school’s Chamber Strings ensemble, which is the more advanced of the two strings programs here, as a cellist. Granted I cannot play nor sing worth crap, but my teachers put me in said groups anyway. But I’m not done, I also joined my school’s Marching Band this year, this being my first year in any band thing ever, as Pit Captain. While the title itself holds no merit, I still take pride in it. Anywho, I played the Marimba during the marching season when we performed our show, but I played cymbals while in the stands. I was OK at those, I had soooo much fun, but there where definitely better people for the parts. I’m really going to miss those guys though (I tend to say stuff like "guy" or "dude" regardless of gender btw) when I graduate, I mean the Marching band is practically family to me at this point. I tend to be really shy around girls, but I’m getting better about that, while I tend to be somewhat reclusive around other guys. Also, regardless of what everyone keeps telling me and others, I am absolutely worthless. I have no redeeming qualities and anything that I can brag about is easily out done by basically everyone else.

Anywho, I walked directly from the bathroom out to the deck that we had out back over looking our back yard in an attempt to clear my head and calm down. It wasn’t a very big deck, our yard wasn’t too big either, but that’s what the woods behind our house are for. We basically have an entire forest behind us, my sister and I, and the smell of fudge was a welcome addition.

“Mmmmm… that smells soooo good… Hey Sarah, is that you making fudge?” I asked in a trance like state of relaxation as I leaned on the deck railing.

“How could I be making fudge? I’m still in the bathroom,” Sarah called back.

“Huh, then I wonder where that wonderful smell is coming from,” I rambled on a bit, still blissfully leaning on the railing.

“Wait, so you’re not making the fudge eit-“ Sarah started as she made her way out on the deck so that she didn’t have to basically yell at me to hold a conversation, only to stop mid sentence when she saw the sky.

“Hmm? What was that sis?” I asked, still blissfully unaware of what’s going on.

“Look up, and please for the love of god tell me you see this too…” Sarah muttered through her state or shock as she just stared directly up at the sky.

“Oh, OK. But it’s just the sky, I don’t see wh-“ I started, only to be stopped mid-sentence like Sarah when I saw the sky myself.

“Is the sky pink to you too?” Sarah asked, not removing her eyes from the unnatural scene before us.

“Y... Yeah it is… man we must really be trippn’ hard, eh Sarah?” I responded, trying to bring some humor into the situation.

“I’m not sure whether or not that’d be a good thing or not right now,” Was all Sarah said in response.

Our little trip fest was interrupted abruptly after a good minute or two when we both heard a scream from the woods behind our house. I acted immediately and jumped on top of the railing that I was leaning on, but was stopped by Sarah before I could jump off the deck.

“Are you crazy? The deck's two stories above the ground! You’d be better off going through the house to the front door!” Sarah said as she grabbed hold of my arm as to prevent me from jumping.

“Come on sis, we both know I’ve been through worse, and whoever or whatever it was that made that noise needs help!” I said as I pulled my arm free of my sister’s grip and jumped, using my limited gymnastics knowledge to aid in reducing the severity of the impact.

“Don’t think I’m going to just let this slide!” Sarah called after me, but I didn’t hear as I had already broken the tree line.

I weaved through the woods as best I could while in a tuxedo, which actually is much easier than it’s made out to be, until I reached the clearing that my sister and I discovered when we first moved here multiple years ago. As I entered the clearing, I could hear another scream to my left that seemed to emanate from a trail I have cleared not more than a week ago and I made a b-line for the path. The path I was following was soon to lead to the gazebo my dad and I built there a few years ago, which is where I was assuming the screaming was coming from. On the way, I took a roughly 6ft long branch that has a few inches for diameter and smiled as it was going to make for a good staff. As I made my way into the clearing to see what was making the screaming noises.

In the clearing was a girl about my age with icy blue hare and matching eyes wearing a blue uniform with very familiar yellow lightning bolts circling her ankles and wrists crawling on all fours over towards the gazebo that my dad and I built with two wolves at her heels. Her jumpsuit was ripped in the front where another yellow lightning bolt was covering the length of her torso and had blood dripping to the ground. Instinctively, I rushed over towards the mysterious girl and used my stick to grab the attention of the wolves by slamming it on the ground in the space between the two creatures. The wolves were startled and turn around to see where the noise came from, only to see me in my staff stance. I have my left side turned towards the wolves with my stick diagonally pointed towards the ground as I held it across my torso. The wolves took it upon themselves to try and disorient me by attacking from two sides, one from the front and one to my right (in front being the direction in which my stick is pointing).

However, I'm no stranger to sly tactics and saw it coming, and braced myself for the possible pain. The wolf in front of me pounced at me, aiming for my shoulder, its maw agape and vicious. As it came within my reach, I made and upward lance thrust with my stick, resulting in a satisfying thump as it collided with the wolf's chest, effectively launching it back dazed a few feet.. However, in the moment, I forgot about the other wolf and payed for it when said wolf bit my right arm above the elbow. Normally I would've yelped in pain, but that mysterious girl was still here and I couldn't let her down, even if I have no idea who she even is. So I sucked it up and let go of my stick with my right hand and attempted to aim for the wolf's eyes. It worked and it dropped of my arm in a split second with a yelp. Hoping for the best, i thrust my stick towards the wolf as if it were a billiard cue as to put more distance between the wolf and myself/the gazebo where the mysterious girl was laying down in. As soon as the wolf started sliding, I dropped the stick and rushed over the the mysterious and bleeding girl. I picked her up like you'd expect me to and ran back towards the path as fast as I could. The pain in my right arm really didn't help, and the howling of wolves was starting to get at my nerves since I'm not exactly a match for a pack of wolves under the best circumstances. Now I'm injured, restricted by my chorus tuxedo, weaponless, and I'm doing my best to protect this girl in my arms. So I booked it. If I were sprinting for my school's track team right now, I would have blown everyone out of the competition.

It wasn't long before I made my way through the woods and back to my house. after a good few minutes of running, I made it back to the house, mysterious girl still in my hands, and not any more harmed than when we left the clearing. I ran around to the front door and kicked it open, ignoring the fact that it actually opened on my first try., and proceeded to take the wounded girl into the kitchen before my own injury made me drop her. I laid her down on the kitchen table after clearing away two plates and cups and went directly to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, where my sister was showering.

"Woah! Dude, some privacy please?" Sarah said from behind the curtains as I walked in.

"Can't talk, more important stuff to do," I hurriedly replied as I grabbed cleaning supplies, a small hand towel and plenty of bandages.

"Dude, where do you think you're going? At least apologize you jerk!" Sarah yelled at me over the running water, but I paid no heed. More important task at hand and what not.

I first grabbed a cylindrical plastic container and laid in on the floor for when I needed to catch runoff water. Once preparations were set, I took a bar of soap and began cleaning the girl's wounded stomach as to try and keep away infection. Her wound only spanned from her ribs to the lower section of her navel, but they weren't just cuts. There were some pretty hefty gashes and bite marks, all of which were still bleeding a little. As much as I knew it must've hurt had she not been unconscious, I continued to clean the wounds as my parents would for me. By the time I was done bandaging the mysterious girl, my tux had already been caked in dried blood and I made a note for myself to get it cleaned and repaired soon. At that point I could do no more for the mysterious girl, the rest of the scratches and such were just that. Most of them didn't even break the skin, so i just let them be seeing as i didn't exactly know what to do about the minor scratches. So went back out to the deck without even bothering to change and called my chorus teacher.

"Heraba du da... Oh, Hi! How's it going? Yeah I know I'm late, but that's why I'm calling... No I'm not going to... Would you please let me finish my sentence so I can explain? Sorry bout that, but it did work. Anyway, I can't come today, I've run in to something very important here at home. I can't really explain more than that right now cause I don't really know all too much about what's going on. Anyway, I just figured you should know. I'll probably come tell you what's going on eventually, but for now you have more important stuff to worry about... Yeah, I wish I could be there too, but this is really important... I'm sorry... Well good luck to everyone, don't let me down OK?"

"OK, start talking mister," came my sister's voice from the doorway leading into the house from our porch, she really didn't seem mad, but she certainly wasn't happy.

"There's really not too much to explain, I found her out by the gazebo Dad and I built a few years ago being attacked by two wolves. So I brought her back here." I said as I leaned my elbows against the railing, only to yelp a little when my right arm was plagued by an intense pain from the wolf bite.

"Why? You don't even know her, she could've been fine for all we know. And more importantly, you could've gotten killed!" Sarah started, still not conveying a clear emotion, just a jumbled mess of multiple different ones.

"Oh, and what would you have done, just left her there to die? One: that's totally inhumane and I for one could never do something like that. Secondly, even if I could have just left her there, what do you think would've happened had her body been discovered in the woods behind our house eh? I mean seriously Sarah, just because I may not always think everything through doesn't mean I can just ignore my instincts," I retorted factually, half expecting her to yell back at me.

"I... b... you're right. How could I have even thought of such a thing anyway? I feel so terrible now..." Sarah said as she came out on the deck.

"Don't worry about it sis, you were just being protective of me. It's completely understandable," I said as I placed my hand on her shoulder.

I then went up to my room to change out out of my chorus uniform and came back downstairs to check for bandages before I put on another shirt, my wound is still bleeding and I don't want to ruin another shirt. Much to my dismay, we ran out of bandages when I bandaged this mysterious girl. Since i don't really own a sleeveless shirt and since I just fought off two wolves to save a girl I don't even know, got bit in the process, and then proceeded to carry said girl back to my house, so I'm pretty tired. So I took enough paper towel to cover the bite wound, tied it around said wound, and moved the mysterious girl from the table to the living room couch so that she could be at least somewhat comfortable when she wakes. Sarah took a seat in the reclining chair opposite the couch and I rested on the floor while waiting for either something to happen or for blissful sleep to come and lead me to a more peaceful place. Luckily for me, I didn't have to wait long, as the icy blue haired girl awoke only a few minutes after I laid down on the floor.

"Ugh... What happened..." she started as she rubbed her head with her hand, which caused her to freak out.

"What? What's wrong?" Sarah asked before I could even register what was going on, both of us concerned, but only Sarah got up.

"W-what is this thing?" the girl asked, both confused and terrified at the same time.

"Um... It's you hand... All humans have them..." Sarah said, not exactly sure what else to say at the strange reaction.

"What's a human?" the mysterious girl inquired, still looking at her hands as if they were the most terrifying this on the planet.

"Um... What all three of us are, maybe?" Sarah said, completely and utterly confused as to what's going on.

"What? No no no... I'm a pegasus pony. A Wonderbolt even!" this possibly insane girl said.

"A pegasus pony, really? You do know that those things don't exist, right?" I said as I sat up on the floor.

"Is that an insult?" The mysterious girl retorted as she looked away from her hands to look at me.

"How is that an insult? You are a human, plain and simple. And while I may love pegasi since they are awesome, I also realize that they don't exist," I responded, not exactly mean-fully, but it was somewhat apprehensive.

"Well you're wrong then! Whoaoa!" the girl said as she fell of the sofa, hitting the floor with a thud.

"Yeah, says the girl who can't even prevent herself from falling off of a sofa," I spitefully retorted. I'm fine with being wrong, but when you start being crazy and say stuff that obviously isn't true, I tend get a little annoyed.

"How am I supposed to compete in the Wonderbolts Derby like this?" came a muffled sentence from the girl as she tried to get up. What, she landed face first on a carpet floor, of course it's going to be muffled

"Ok, either you're crazy, there was a concussion or some other head injury that I missed, or that wound to your stomach is much worse than I originally thought," I plainly stated while holding back laughter.

"I'll get you for this," the girl growled as she eventually steadied herself on all fours.

"Yeah, I'm really threatened by the the mysterious blue haired girl who has trouble even staying on a sofa and thinks she's one of the great Equestrian Wonderbolts," I snidely retorted, still sitting in the same spot as before.

"Hey, that's enough you two. As much as I am skeptical about you ma'am, we should at least treat you with some respect since you are a guest here. Isn't that right Michael?" Sarah said, effectively stopping the verbal war that would have definitely escalated had she not stepped in.

"Well soorry sis, it's not like I'm perfect like you are," I mumbled

"We'll talk later about that Mike, but right now we have an injured young lady on all fours in the middle of the room. We should at least be courteous," Sarah practically barked as she got directly in my face, only backing off when I gave a simple nod of my head in acknowledgement.

"Now then, please take a seat miss. It must be uncomfortable to be on all fours like that for too long," Sarah offered

"Nah, I'll be fine, but thank you for the offer anyway," this really odd girl declined.

"Ok then... Would it be too much to ask for your name?" Sarah asked, hoping that this girl was just being polite by not accepting her offer.

"I'm Misty, proud member or the Wonderbolts, best fliers in all of Equestria," this more than likely insane girl said

"Man you must be one seriously dedicated cosplayer," I muttered under my breathe.

"You think I'm a cosplayer? How dare you!" the girl snapped back at my snide remark.

"Well let me give it to you like this. One: You have icy blue hair which, last time I checked, is not natural. Two: You say your name is Misty and claim to be a Wonderbolt. Now while you name may actually be Misty, you are not, have not, and will not ever be a Wonderbolt. Sorry, but the Wonderbolts are a fictional group of flying ponies in a show targeted for little girls. Now don't get me wrong, the show itself is actually pretty good, but it is what it is: a kid's cartoon. Given this, what seriously would make you think that I'd believe you're not a cosplayer?" I spat right back.

"What are you even talking about? I really am a Wonderbolt, what can I do to prove it too you?" the girl said, both confused and determined to prove to me that she wasn't lying.

"Ok then, you want to prove yourself? First off, have you ever watched the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic before?" I asked as i stood up and walked over to the girl, kneeling in front of her as I got closer.

"What are you even talking about, what show?" the girls said, looking directly at me with her icy blue eyes.

"Ok, not bad... If you are in fact a Wonderbolt, can you tell me the name of your teammates?" I said, my face losing whatever amounts of expression it once had.

"Captain Spitfire, Soarin', Fleetfoot, Blaze, Fire Streak, High Winds, Lightning Streak, Rapidfire, Wave Chill, and myself," this girl answered without missing a single beat nor name.

"Wait, if you've never seen Friendship is Magic, yet you can list off all the names of the Wonderbolts..." I pondered, trying to both accept and reject the possibility that she really is in fact a Wonderbolt.

"I know what you're thinking, and yes, I really am a Wonderbolt. Ooops!" this 'Misty' girl said, her hands giving out and causing her to fall back on the floor.

"Ugh, lemme help you. But don't go anywhere," I sighed as I helped her back onto the sofa.

"Not like I can really move like this. It's so... unnatural," 'Misty' muttered under her breath as I got up to go get my iPod.

"Ok, I'm going to have you watch something. Depending on how you react will determine whether or not I believe you," I informed her once I came back with my iPod, an episode of MLP:FiM buffering.

It took me a minute to get to the part in the Sonic Rainboom episode, you know, the part when Rarity starts to fall out of the sky once her wings disintegrate, and I just let it play. I for one didn't say anything as I was curious as to how this girl would react when she saw the character she claimed to be got knocked out by Rarity.

"Ooo... I still remember that one..." this girl said as she saw the icy blue maned Wonderbolt get knocked out.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, completely and utterly confused.

"I remember when she knocked me out. on the Bright side, Rainbow Dash was really nice and enthusiastic when she was hanging out with us," she explained, which really started to make me think.

"I... B... Um... Hey Sarah, can you help her get back up and walking on her own two feet?" I stuttered a bit as i stood up from the sofa.

"Well of course I can, but what about you?" Sarah replied as she walked over to take my place on the sofa.

"I... I... I need to go think for a moment..." I slowly replied as I walked over to the door leading to the deck, my mind already working hard enough to try and determine whether or not this blued haired guest of ours was in fact a Wonderbolt.

While my sister was helping reorient this mysterious girl, I took out a pair of earphones and plugged them into my iPod and hit play. It wasn't exactly the best song to play, but I didn't care at this point, I really like the song and I need to listen to something. Leaning against the railing facing the woods, I let my mind formulate what it would and fight it out as to whether or not I should believe this girl.Every so often, I'd take a look back towards the living room to check up on how my sister and this girl were doing (the wall in between the deck and the living room is practically a window) and everytime I did, the girl would look away. I couldn't confirm it, but I thought she might have been blushing, but that's beside the point. After about half an hour of leaning on the railing shirtless in the April sun, I still hadn't made up my mind. But that's when my sister decided to interrupt my reverie.

"You really should put a shirt on you know," Sarah lightly remarked as she took a step out onto the deck.

"I'll be fine," I remarked tersely as I took out an earphone, not in the mood to talk until I make a decision.

"Seriously though, you really should put a shirt on," Sarah continued

"What for? It's the middle of April and right now the only people whom I'd want to prevent from seeing me shirtless are currently eating lunch in the school cafeteria. And I know that it doesn't bother you," I bluntly retorted, still not in the mood.

"Well yeah, I may not mind, but..." Sarah implied as she gave a little shrug and tilted her head towards our mysterious guest.

All I did was shrug. I had nothing else to say and was still thinking over the possibility that this guest of ours actually wasn't lying. My sister got the hint when I put my earphone back in and went back inside. Sighing, I decided to wrap this up in two songs worth of time. I was tired of this overly complicated concept and it's noon. I'm hungry, deal with it. Luckily for me, my iPod shuffled to a song I could sing and so I did. after that and some other random song, I made up my mind and went back inside.

"Welcome to the land of the living, how may I help you today?" Sarah jokingly commented in a way that only she can as I walked into the house.

"Heh, glad to see you're still yourself right now sis," I said as I smiled at her joke.

"How about I start with a shirt for you then. It seems like a good idea to me," Sarah said more seriously as she headed for the stairwell

"I've already said it once, we're in the middle of April, I'll be fine Sarah. Besides, I've made up my mind," I remarked.

"Finally, took you long enough. So what's the verdict?" Sarah inquired as she made her way back to the sofa where this 'Misty' girl was already sitting.

"I can't say for sure just quite yet, but so far, enough evidence has lead me to believe that you are telling the truth," I said, hoping that this guest will take it well rather than flipping like people have a tendency to do when I talk to them.

"So you finally believe me now?" this girl said, standing up as she did. Wait, what?

"Sure. The evidence suggests that you're not lying," I said, very confused as to why she stood up when she did.

"Awesome! And listen, I'm sorry for being a bit of a pain earlier, I was just a little off with you know, not being a pony anymore, ehehe..." Misty nervously chuckled.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, I'm sure most anyone would act similarly given the situation. So, we cool then?" I said, offering her my hand for a friendly handshake.

"Yeah, we're cool. No hard feelings," Misty said as she took me up on my offer.

"So, shall we get you settled in then Misty?" I said as the handshake ended.

"About that... Do remember that we kinda only have two bedrooms Mike," Sarah interjected.

"What are you talking about Sarah? We should have th... Oh yeah... The tree fall last year. Heh, well OK then," I said, feeling like an absolute derp for forgetting about the tree that fell on our house and destroyed my old room last year.

"So how do we want to sort this out? Misty, would you mind sharing a room with one of us?" Sarah said, a devious smile slowly spreading across her face.

"I mean I could, if there's enough room for me," Misty said, looking nervously at my sister much like I was.

"Great! Then you and Mike can share a room then!" Sarah proclaimed, which caused both Misty and I to blush.

"NO! No no no no no no no! She can have the room for all I care, but that would just be too weird!" I practically shouted at Sarah.

"Well then where are you going to sleep? Cause I'm not sharing my room with you again. We both remember how well that turned out..." Sarah said, making a reference to last year after the tree fell on my old room when we'd both push each other off the bed in our sleep, thus making for very uncomfortable days to come.

"I'll take the sofa then. And before either of you say anything, I don't mind. I'd rather let Misty have a bed to sleep in rather than stuck with the floor or the sofa." I stated, not willing to deal with protests from either of them.

"Well then. That settles that," Misty said, still blushing a little.

"Well OK then, if you need my I'll be finishing my shower then," Sarah said as she jetted off towards the stairwell

"Huh, what does she mean by 'finish her shower' anyway?" Misty asked, curiosity peaking slightly.

"Heh, she's just a little upset that I interrupted her shower so I could get bandages and things to clean your wound with." I nonchalantly responded, giving a little shrug as I did.

"Heh, that would explain that. And where the bandages on me came from," Misty responded.

"Anyway, we should probably get you situated in your new room. Other than what you have on you as of right now, is there anything else of yours that you brought with you?" I asked.

"Nope, just got the clothes on my back as far as I know." Misty replied.

"Well then, come on, I'll show you your room for however long you plan to stay for," I said as I took her hand and lead her towards the stairwell.

"Whoa! Ok then..." Misty giggled lightly, a small blush forming over her checks.

"You OK Misty? Or is it just that you haven't really gotten used to being bipedal?" I asked, slowing down out of concern for our new guest.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Your sister helped me get adjusted really quickly, but it's more basic control. I'll get better as the days pass though," Misty replied.

"You sure? I'm willing to listen if there's something you want to say," I offered.

"Don't worry about me Michael, I'll be fine," Misty said as she speed ahead of me towards the stairs.

"Oh, It's on now," I said as I competitively raced Misty up the stairs, only to be tripped in the hallway by my sister coming out of the shower. She probably did that on purpose, but then again it might just be cosmic payback for some of the grief I've given her over the years.

"What took you so long slowpoke?" Misty teasingly said as I caught up with her at the room.

"You and Sarah planned this, didn't you?" I accused, smiling the whole time.

"Maaybe..." Misty said, my smile being infectious and spreading to her as well.

"Heheh, well in any case, welcome to your room. Just give me a minute or two and I'll have my clothes cleared out so you can have space for yours," I chuckled as I opened the door for her and went inside to start making space for her clothing.

"Oh no, you don't have to move your clothes, there will be plenty of space for whatever clothing I do get eventually," Misty said as she saw me taking shirts and pants off their hangers.

"That may be so, but there's also the fact that if I don't move my clothes, then I have to come into your room to change. And that would just be weird," I remarked.

"Oh... That's a good point," Misty tersely commented as she took a seat on the bed.

"If you need anything, just let me know," I said as walked out of the room with an impressively large stack of clothes in my hands.

With some clever usage of my Tetris skills, I maneuvered the living room around so that nobody can see me sleeping on the sofa from the deck, but still practical for people in the house to watch TV while sitting on the sofa. It took a go 15 minutes, but I was satisfied with the result. Afterwords I began to put up my clothes in the spare closet that nobody in our family ever used and went back up stairs into now Misty's room to get the rest of my clothes. But, not surprisingly, I walked into the doorway leading to the room, only to find Misty asleep on the bed. I smiled lightly to myself as I closed the door quietly and went back downstairs. As I made it back into the living room, a very strong urge to follow Misty's lead and get some sleep came into my mind. But I beat it back, at least until I have lunch. So I went and made a quick sandwich, thought better of myself, and made two instead, one for me, one for Misty. Since I have no idea whether or not she'll eat meat now that she's a human rather than a pony, I played it safe and made her a peanut butter sandwich and left a glass of water. Also, just in case Sarah would eat the sandwich, I even wrote a little note, finished my own lunch and made my way over to the sofa for some blissful sleep. Even if I didn't get to go to the chorus competition, today's been a really good day. Hopefully Misty will see the note soon.

What's written on the note :

"Sorry for being such a jerk earlier. I just wasn't thinking clearly at the time. But here's a sandwich for you Misty, in case you're hungry.

Sorry,

-Michael Stephens"

Author's Note

I Fixed it! Well, maybe. Anyway, have an edited version since my first attempt technically shouldn't have passed moderation in the first place. Thanks for reading and please please please tell me what you thought. Even if it was just some grammatical error or spelling error or something minor like that, I'd really appreciate the help!

Thanks!
-Asuya

Chapter 2: It's Saterday, oh Lord...

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Chapter 2: Saturday

Waking up in the morning at like 8am is bad enough as it is, add in a bite wound on your right arm and the fact that I slept from like 1pm yesterday to now on a sofa and that's what I felt like waking up this Saturday. Groaning, I literally rolled off of my makeshift bed an collided with the floor, making an audible thud. Thank god we have carpet floors or that would've been really painful. I made my way over to the once practically abandoned closet that I had claimed for myself and groggily grabbed just a random shirt. Slipping it over my head, I headed to the kitchen table for breakfast (Before you ask, I sleep with the short/pants that I'm going to wear the next already on. Don't ask why, just roll with it please xD). As the ominous clouds of bliss cleared from my mind, or more rather I started to fully wake up, I had an idea. I figured what better way to welcome Misty to our house, and Earth for that matter, than to make her breakfast. Hopefully I would get to the kitchen before Sarah did, since she'd probably think the same thing and cannot cook anything known to man kind, and I luckily did. What surprised me was what I saw when I entered the kitchen.

"Well good morning," Misty said as she yawned while walking into the kitchen from the stairwell. Surprising thing is that she wasn't wearing her flight suit from when I found her, she was wearing just a simple blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

"What're you doing up so early?" I sleepily asked her as I made my way over to the stove, not really caring as to how she got the clothes. I'm tired and I want breakfast, questions can come later.

"I am, or more rather was, a Wonderbolt. The Wonderbolts aren't as great as they are by sleeping in and slacking off," Misty replied as she passed me on her way to the table.

"That makes sense. Anyway, care for some breakfast?" I asked as I got out a decent sized pan. Perfect, now if only i weren't going to be cooking with this...

"Sure, what are my options, Chief Stephens?" Misty jokingly stated as she took a seat at the table.

"Well I was thinking of making you an bacon, ham, and cheese omelet, but then I thought better of it. So, how do pancakes sound madam?" I said, adding the most unnecessary and stereotypical french accent to the last word as I walked over to the pantry to get the pancake mix.

"Sounds good to me. Hopefully they're as good as my friends always said they were," Misty remarked.

"Wait wait wait wait... You've never had pancakes before?" I asked in disbelief as I grabbed the milk and a random spatula.

"Nope," Misty simply said.

"Well then. I don't care what you or Sarah says, you are going to have some of these pancakes. Granted they are absolutely terrible since I'm making them, but still," I said as I started making the batter.

"Whatever you say Michael, whatever you say," Misty replied.

"Hey, I have a quick question..." I said as I poured the pancake batter onto the pan I got out earlier.

"Is it about the clothes?" Misty responded with a raised eyebrow.

"No, not really. It's just that, when I showed you that episode on my iPod, why did you take it so well?" I asked while I waited for the pancakes to be ready for flipping.

"Well the Wonderbolts are filmed a lot, as you could probably guess. Also, that was during the 'Best Young Flier' competition so I just assumed that was coverage from Equestria," Misty replied.

"Huh... Well that does make sense..." I replied, flipping one of the four pancakes on the pan.

"OK counter-question for you," Misty said as she leaned a bit on the table.

"Shoot," I simply responded wile I flipped another pancake.

"What, what happened?" Misty ask, misunderstanding what I meant.

"Nothing happened. I just say shoot sometimes when people ask me a question. Like 'Hey, can I ask you something?' I'll respond by saying shoot, or something like that," I explained, trying my best not to make a joke about that technically being a question.

"Oh. Well anyway, what was with that sandwich yesterday?" Misty asked.

"Well I figured that you'd wake up before I would given that your injury wasn't too sever and I had already made a sandwich for myself. I figured I might as well be courteous and so I made you and sandwich if you were hungry," I nonchalantly explain, flipping the four pancakes off of the pan and onto a plate.

"Well that sure was nice of you," Sarah said as she came down the stairs.

"What, me making the sandwich for Misty?" I asked Sarah as I started pouring more pancake batter onto the pan.

"Well yeah, that was nice. But I was more talking about you making these pancakes for me," Sarah said as she walked by and took the plate of pancakes over to the table.

"Hey! I was going to eat those!" I complained.

"Hey you should know by now that if you leave pancakes just sitting on the counter like that, that I'll more than likely take them," Sarah rebutted as she grabbed a knife and fork from the silverware drawer.

"Yeah, but I'm the one cooking, shouldn't I get first dibs?" I asked annoyed.

"Hey, ya snooze ya loose," Sarah said as she sat down at the table with silverware in hand.

"I got up before you though!" I retorted, flipping a pancake as I did.

"Yeah, but you still didn't get to the pancakes first," Sarah trollishly said, which caused our new house guest to giggle.

"Ugh! Sometimes I don't even know why..." I ranted under my breath a little.

"Dude, get over it. There's gong to be plenty of pancakes. There always is," Sarah remarked as she stuffed a fork full of pancake into her mouth.

"And to think mom and dad want me to model myself after you," I remarked as I flipped the other three pancakes

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Sarah remarked, her mouth still filled with pancakes.

"Well it's just interesting how mom and dad want me to be so much like you, even though you have horrid table manners," I snidely remarked as I theatrically removed the pancakes from the pan by tossing up the pan and catching it behind my back while the pancakes fell on a plate balancing on my knee.

"Show-off..." Sarah said as she saw my stupid performance while Misty just clapped.

"Well that was neat. Sorry to rush, but when can I get some pancakes?" Misty asked

"How about right now?" I said as I took hold of the plate with my right hand and delivered the breakfast items over to our guest.

"Wait a minute, so you flip out when I take the first plate of pancakes, but you'll happily give the second plate to Misty?" Sarah asked, an eyebrow raised as if trying to imply something.

"Well yes, because Misty actually asked for her pancakes rather than just taking them," I snidely commented as I gave Misty her pancakes.

"Oh, I'm sure there's more to it than just that," Sarah smirked, causing both Misty and me to blush.

"No comment," I said as I made my way back to the stove.

"OK! So... um... how do I eat these anyway?" Misty said awkwardly.

"Oh, here, let me show you," Sarah said as she began explaining and demonstrating the basics of utensil usage.

"By the way Misty, what's with the clothes? I kinda figured you'd still be wearing your Wonderbolts uniform," I said as I poured myself a large pancake, one about roughly the size of three.

"Hm? Oh these? Sarah took me out shopping yesterday while you were out cold," Misty said after swallowing her mouthful of pancakes

"Sarah, how much did you two spend yesterday?" I asked as I flipped my personal pancake.

"Not much, maybe $100 for like two weeks worth of outfits not including her flight-suit, why?" Sarah responded.

"Because That's how much I owe you," I plainly stated as I landed my pancake on my plate and made my way over to the table.

"What? No, you're fine. I payed for it of my own volition. You don't owe me any money Mike," Sarah said after almost choking on her pancake

"No, I owe you $100. Don't ask why, because I can't explain, it just feels like I owe you that money," I said as I began cutting my pancake with the silverware the Sarah left out for me.

"It may feel that way, but you really don't. It's fine, seriously. Now eat your pancake before you say something stupid," Sarah instantly responded.

"Do realize that I'm not budging on this Sarah. I owe you that money," I retorted after taking a bite of my pancake.

"Whatever you say man, but I'm not accepting that money from you," Sarah replied.

"Anyway, how did you like shopping yesterday Misty?" I asked in an attempt to talk to our new guest.

"Eh, it was OK. Not really fun to me," Misty shrugged

"Heh, same here," I commented, unsure of what else to say.

"Come on girl, tell him what happened. If you don't, I will..." Sarah teased, causing Misty to blush.

"I... umm.... er..." Misty stuttered as she fumbled around with her fork.

"Sarah stop, if she doesn't want to talk about it then she doesn't have to," I said as I stood up with an empty plate and headed over to the sink.

"Aww, but yesterday was soo fun! Misty even cons-" Sarah began before Misty rushed over to put a hand over her mouth.

"Well then. I'll leave you two to argue for a while then. If you need me, I'll be practicing over by the gazebo," I said as I heard Sarah's voice get cut off and headed for the front door.

"What're you going to be practicing Mike?" Sarah said as she pried Misty's hand from off her mouth.

"My swordsmanship Sarah. Like always," I said as I walked out the door.

"Wait, he can use a sword?" Misty asked in bewilderment as she let her hand fall from Sarah's mouth.

"Yeah, he's actually really good despite what he always says. Whenever he say's he can't do anything, don't believe him, OK?" Sarah answered as she stood up from the table.

I grabbed all three of my blades as I exited the garage and made my way over to the gazebo. Hopefully those wolves have left by now since I'd hate to have to take a blade to them. See one of the things I do on my free time is practice my my skills with a blade. Granted in the real world sword skills are practically worthless against most anyone with a gun, but it's still something to do. Anyway, I trekked my way over to the gazebo with my three blades in hand and grimaced when I remembered about the wolf bite. As much as it may hurt, I need to practice if I'm ever going to get any better, and I'm a righty. So I'll just have to push through the pain, as much as there may be. So I walked over to the treeline a few feet behind the gazebo and pulled out basically a scarecrow, placing it in the ground a few yards away from the gazebo. I stuck my two-handed basic claymore in the ground for use later and strapped my dagger, sheath and all, to my belt leaving me with nothing but my blood red custom-made Talwar. Spinning my curved Indian (like in Asia) sword around in my hand, I tried to remember where I left off last week. Too bad for me, that's as far as I would get this session.

"Michael, what are you doing? If you practice with your swords as you are now, you could exacerbate that bite injury!" Misty called out as she ran into the clearing, Sarah not far behind.

"Dude, what were you even thinking!? Practice with your stupid swords with that kind of injury? That's just stupid, even for you!" Sarah called as well.

"Just leave you two. I don't want either of you getting hurt by me," I calmly stated without taking my eyes off my little scarecrow target.

"No! I'm not going to let you hurt yourself anymore!" Misty practically cried as she tackled me to the ground from behind. Wonderbolts, who would've thought that they were this athl- oh right.

"Get off me Misty! I've got training to do," I practically barked as we both hit the ground.

"Listen to her Mike! She cares about you, so do I! And if that doesn't convince, think about how much it would cost to go to the hospital to fix whatever damage you may cause to yourself," Sarah said as she came around the gazebo. Ah my sister, always bringing economics into these situations. As annoying as it may be, I must admit that it usually works.

"Ugh fine. I won't practice my swordsmanship until my injury is fully healed. OK?" I conceded, knowing that there was no way for me to win the argument that would ensue.

"Do you swear?" Sarah asked, seriously concerned for me.

"Yes, I swear, now would you please get off me Misty?" I asked, trying to wriggle my way out of her tackle hug like thing.

"Oh... my bad," Misty apologized as she got up, her features graced with a light blush. I swear this is going to get to me really soon at this rate. But why is she always blushing around me anyway?

"Thank you," I said as I stood up, talwar still in hand.

"Dude, why did you never tell me about that?" Sarah asked, pointing to my talwar.

"How could I not tell you about it? I've had it for two years now and the weaponsmith who made it refuses to make weaponry for anyone under the age of 21. You ordered it for me sis!" I answer, completely confused as to how she forgot that.

"I did? Oooohhhhh... Yeah, I remember now," Sarah remembered, rubbing the back of her head as she did.

"OK then, now what? I mean Misty's already tackled me today and Sarah's already trolled me, so what do you two want to do?" I asked, making a bit of a joke as to lighten the mood of the situation.

"Well do you want to give Misty a tour of the town?" Sarah said, her devious smile returning to her face. What is with my sister and insisting on me and Misty always do stuff together anyway?

"Why? I know that you gave Misty a tour yesterday when you were shopping," I retorted, not exactly comfortable with my sister's smile.

"How do you know that anyway Mike? You were out cold until this morning," Sarah countered, or more like attempted.

"That may be so, but I know you sis. You'd never let up the chance to go to basically every part in town, and having someone like Misty in the house is the perfect excuse to do just that," I closed the argument. What? She's my sister, of course I know stuff about her.

"Dang! You're no fun, you know that?" Sarah conceded, annoyed.

"I've been told that a few times," I remarked.

"Well then, any ideas Mr. Funpire?" Sarah muttered incredibly snidely.

"Funpire, the hell is a funpire?" I asked, completely understand what she meant. Counter-troll gonna try.

"Fun vampire. You suck the fun out of things, jerk," Sarah huffily explained.

"Yeah, I know. You've already told me that at least twice," I trollishy replied.

"GAH! Not fair man!" Sarah aggrievedly complained. She's not the best sport when it comes to getting counter trolled, which makes it all the more fun! :trollface:

"Anywho, is there anything in particular you'd like to do Misty?" I said as I turned to our still blushing guest.

"Hrm... can we just, you know... Hang out?" Misty suggested, her blush neither increasing nor decreasing in severity

"Sure, I'm fine with that. You in to Sarah?" I asked as I turned to face my sister.

"I'd love to, but I have a tutoring session in.... OH GOD I HAVE TEN MINUTES!" Sarah practically yelled as she checked the time, booking it back to the house.

"Well then, looks like it's just you and me for a while then Misty. You OK with that?" I started, hopefully she'd not have too much of a problem with hanging out with me.

"Sure, that's sounds fun. but, maybe we should get back to the house," Misty suggested, pointing to the house. Dang, and to think that spending time with Sarah has gotten her to have this much control over her new body. Either she's more impressive than I once thought, or Sarah could be one heck of physical trainer.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," I simply said as I walked over to her. Then she grabbed my hand. I'm assuming that it's just for support for the walk back home.

We got home rather quickly and I practically jumped on the sofa as soon as we walked into the living room. Sarah had already left for her tutoring session and Misty just wanted to hangout, so I decided to let go and be the silly and relaxed guy I am yet can never show. Just how silly? Well silly enough to jump onto a sofa, miss, and roll directly into the wall behind it while still smiling. Luckily my silliness was not wasted since Misty was giggling as she made her was over to the sofa. In all seriousness though, what is with this girl? I mean I know she's a Wonderbolt turned human, but why is she always giggling or blushing when she's around me? I just don't get it. But anyway, I got up and walked around the sofa and took my seat next to her, rubbing the back of my head the entire time.

"So, what do you want to do Misty?" I asked like an absolute herp-a-derp, my silly smile still plastered on my face.

"I don't really care, I'm perfectly fine just talking," Misty responded with a shrug added for effect. And to think In all of practically one day Misty's gone from Wonderbolt pony to perfectly normal human, well as close as she can get really, with only my sister to help her adjust to her new body. I must say, I'm impressed.

"Well then, is there anything you'd like to talk about then?" I ask, turning a bit to face her.

We talked for a good hour or so just about Wonderbolts and what it was like to be one of them. What, the Wonderbolts are awesome and I have a chance to learn more about them than anyone else. Anyway, after that we took a bit of time to talk about entertainment here on Earth, which led to practically my favorite thing in the whole world: Music. As soon as Misty asked the first question about music, I just went off! I even grabbed my iPod and played easily 10-20 songs for her as a sample of the music I like. We talked about earlier music from periods like the 80s and such, which eventually led to the 90s. That then led to 2000-2010, at which point I almost died from fanboydom. See, my favorite band, the one which I would practically buy any new album upon it's release date and practically idolize was started in the late 90s but really didn't release/do anything remarkable until 2000. For the record, this band would be none other than Anberlin. I don't care how popular they may or may not be, they're still glorious! After my fanboy moment was over, I moved on to talking about the music made by the brony community. Yeah, I listen to brony music, it's awesome! But anyway, I told her about how there are other people like me here on Earth who have taken watching MLP FiM to a greater and even more glorious level by creating badass techno and dubstep music as well as plenty of amazing rock and even 8-bit songs. About the only things I didn't cover when it came to music was rap, since I've only recently started listening to it more, and screamo meatal stuff. I absolutely cannot stand screamo. But I will put up with it for the sake of friends/family/significant other and things like that. Screamo just hurts my ears and just doesn't really seem like music rather than some guy or girl from a horror movie with background instruments added in for effect. But who am I to judge? I mean I'm on the threshold of physical pain and misery everyday I walk into school just because I'm a brony. So that took a good few hours, not including a break we took to eat. Then we got to the topic that I was trying to avoid with all my might: me. I don't want to talk about me, I've got nothing interesting to say. But Misty was persistent.

"Come on Michael! I told you practically everything you wanted to know about the Wonderbolts, why won't you tell me about yourself?" Misty insisted from the other side of the sofa.

"Because, I'm not interesting. I mean really, I'm not," I repeated for like at least the third time today.

"Oh come one, you brought me to your house without even knowing who I was, fighting off wolves in the process, you treated my wound as if you were trained to do this stuff anyway. And today, I saw you with two different swords at your disposal even though you'd been hurt by a wolf yesterday. Not to mention the fact that you just gave me a three hour lecture about music! How are you not interesting?" Misty argued.

"Because practically anyone can do any of those things," I responded.

"Are you kidding me?" Misty said as she leaned closer to me, which only caused me to lean back.

"No I'm not kidding you Misty," I said, raising my hands in the "I DIDN'T DO IT" position.

"Don't believe him Misty, he always sells himself short," Sarah said as she casually walked through the living room.

"I do not! Sarah, you've been living with me for at least 6 years in a row now and you of all people should know that I can't really do anything!" I called out to my sister as she walked into the kitchen.

"I've told you once already, I've told you again, and then I told you at least 4 more times that you are wrong Mike. Just accept the fact that there is definitely something that you're good at. Actually more like 4 or 5 from what I've seen you do," Sarah said as she cracked open a can of soda and casually walked over to the stairwell.

"See, even your sister disagrees with you Michael," Misty said as Sarah left.

"Well Sarah's wrong. There's really nothing that I'm good at. Just ask anyone in school," I retorted.

"Well I know one thing that we can test if you're good at or not. We can try right here, right now..." Misty said as she leaned over me, blushing lightly as she did so.

"Well what do you have in mind? Also, why are you blushing?" I asked confusedly.

"Because, I want to test how good you are... at kissing~" Misty said as she placed her lips against mine. I didn't even have time to react before it happened. I also didn't know what to do as we locked lips since this was my first kiss ever. God I was so shocked. Not matter how pretty she may be, I've only know Misty for about a day, not to mention that she's from an entirely different world. But I couldn't just push her off of me, that'd be totally rude and I don't know how she'd react to that. So I just let it play out for the few seconds it lasted.

"Well then, I think we've discovered something you're good at~" Misty almost teasingly said as she got off me with a deep blush on her face.

"I... um... uuuhhhh..." Was all I could say before I darted off the couch and headed to the deck door. God I was so confused, luckily for me I put my iPod in my pocket earlier and I made a break for the deck.

"Wait, Michael, come back!" Misty called after me as she got off the sofa to follow. But her pursuit was short lived as I vaulted over the railing in one bound right as she made her first step on the deck.

I'm more than likely going to regret this later, but I landed on the ground and executed the best damn landing roll I've ever done. Then I just ran. I didn't have any particular destination, just anyplace that wasn't my house. I broke the treeline and took off like no person should be able to in thick woods. I didn't slow down as I broke the treeline and I kept up the breakneck speed I had going for me until I found a suitable spot to just stop and think. It took me a good while, but I eventually found a tree that split about 10ft off the ground and I decided to climb up to the split. So as soon as I was settled in the crevasse of the tree, I once again pulled out my iPod, put in the earphones I practically always have with me and began to drown out the noises around me as I tried to comprehend what just happened.

Ok, so I just came back from getting tackled by our new guest, we talked about the Wonderbolts, then entertainment, then music, then she wanted to talk about me. Then Sarah came in, then Misty kissed me. So what possessed her to even want to kiss me anyway? What did I do? It must've been something I did while I was out cold the other day since I can't remember me doing anything that might have provoked her to do that. Even then, why would she want to kiss me anyway? What is it about me that she likes anyway? I'm just a stupid mess that can't do anything special at all and gets practically tortured at school, although that's going to change soon. Was it just some cruel prank that she and Sarah planned, or what? I mean Sarah can be such a pain sometimes and she knew that I'd never kissed anyone before this, maybe she was just trying to mess with me? But then why would Misty go along with Sarah's plan anyway? God I am so confused right now... Maybe I should go back and ask Misty about it. But what if she's totally mad at me for reacting like I did? What am I going to do? Maybe I should just sleep out here tonight. Wait what? Where did that come from?

So after plenty of time to myself, about an hour give or take a few minutes, I decided to get the guts to go back to the house and talk to Misty about what happened. And by that I mean I'm a complete wuss and I'm going to be camping out here tonight as to not get killed in my sleep. So I climbed up Higher into the tree so that I could look at the soon to be night sky. Even though I'm scared for my life right now, a good stargazing session should do me some good. So I I made myself comfortable as I waited for the night sky to engulf me in it's unrivaled mystery, the music from my iPod starting to calm me down a bit, making a mental note to charge this sucker when I got back. So after a a few hours wait in the tree tops, the night sky graced me with it's endless mystery and I instantly felt myself lost in thought as I calmed myself down. I almost dozed off a few minutes after the stars appeared before me, but I forced myself to stay awake so I could gaze. So I was stargazing for an hour before the blissfulness of sleep took over my subconscious. Hopefully sleeping in the top of a tree won't come back to hurt me in the morning.

Author's Note:

So as you can tell already, I'm allowed to continue with my fic, but it's no longer a part of the PonyFall collab. There's been a fairly big crack down withing the collaberation regarding stories that just aren't related enough to the MLP FiM universe and they had to kick mine. While it did hurt, and it hurt pretty bad, I completely understand why they had to drop my fic. I mean how many of you even knew who Misty was before reading this anyway? But enough of that. I'd still hope that you all are going to support the PonyFall collab since, as I've probably already said, this story you're reading originally stemmed from the collab. I can't promise too many updates after this week seeing as I'm on spring break currently and I'll be going back on.... um... either Monday or Tuesday. Which ever one, but right now I don't really care xD I'm just going to enjoy the break while I still have it.

Also, in case you're interested (and you didn't see my blog post), I'll be working on recording myself singing and putting it up on my youtube channel eventually. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to tell me ^_^

Anywho, thanks for reading, please tell me how I'm doing with the story, and again please support the PonyFall collab.

-Asuya

Chapter 3: Is it just me or am I crazy? Oh wait, I am Crazy.

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Chapter 3a: Sunday

So you know how people complain about how their mattress is like really uncomfortable or something else like that? Well I don't want to hear it anymore. I woke up up in the air at LEAST 100ft above the ground intertwined with tree branches and to top it off, I was cranky. All that aside, I decided to stretch since that has a tendency to help me wake up/get comfortable in the morning. Big mistake. As I stretched, the branches under me that were keeping me aloft and not dead decided to shift, which caused me to slip through a bit. I didn't exactly fall through the branches, but maaaaan am I awake now. Nothing like a good dose of "OH SHIT I'M GOING TO DIE" to get you up in the morning. Anyway, I decided now was a perfect time for me to get down from my precarious perch and get back down to relative safety. So I did, but with some difficulty. What, it's early Sunday morning. Even with the rush of adrenaline bringing my mind wide awake, my body's still somewhat asleep. Thankfully I was lucky enough to have sure footing all the way down the tree, thus allowing me to continue my meager existence for the time being. In short, I made it down the tree without slipping and falling to my death. Now at the base of the tree, I figured now would be a good time to stretch since I have less of a chance to die and all. After a good stretch I decided to check my iPod, which luckily stayed in my pocket all night. Unluckily, it's completely drained and I now have no idea what time it is. Whatever, I'll just check when I get home. Home... Hehehe... On second thought, maybe going home might not be a good idea. But then again, I do need charge for my iPod... Gah! Tough decisions, Y U NO LEAVE ME ALONE? Ugh, what should I do? Face the likely storm of hate and anger residing in my house just to charge my iPod or ignore said residence at the cost of no music for however long it is until I charge my iPod. Eh, music's important, so it looks like I'm going back home. If I don't make it out alive, please cremate my left arm and donate the rest of my body to science. Weird right? Whatever, not really worth explaining. Anyway, so I made my way home and prepared myself for the onslaught that awaited me. Once again Karma, or whatever force that may be looking over the human race, decided to spare my sorry butt and both Misty and Sarah were asleep when I got home. Taking this opportunity, i quietly rushed over to the computer and plugged in my iPod so it can charge. Wait, it's going to take some time for it to charge, so that means I'll be here when those two wake up... FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF. Me and my luck. Luck which was getting worse as the day progressed, since Misty came downstairs a few minutes after I started charging my iPod. I braced myself for the ensuing Wonderbolt rage.

"Michael? Is that really you? Or am I just dreaming?" Misty groggily asked as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Yeah, it's me Misty..." I hesitantly responded. She would've come to her senses soon enough anyway.

"Oh thank Celestia you're OK!" Misty exclaimed as she gave me the most impressive bear hug I've ever been given.

"I.. ack... Is everything... ack... OK Misty?" I sputtered as she choked me with her hug of death.

"I was so worried about you Michel. Are you OK, you didn't hurt yourself did you?" Misty asked, her hug still as strong as ever.

"Ack! Can't... breath..." I choked out, which thankfully got her to loosen her grip on me.

"Hehe... sorry. But seriously, are you OK?" Misty asked, her voice full of concern.

"Other than the fact that I might have like half the lung capacity I had yesterday, I'm fine," I jokingly answered, still expecting there to be some hidden anger in the former Wonderbolt.

"Oh thank Celestia..." Misty sighed in relief as she rested her head against my torso.

"Anyway... how about some breakfast?" I attempted to both redirect the conversation and get her let go of me.

"Sure, but can I help make it today?" Misty responded, not releasing me from her hug. Well then, this could get annoying.

"Has Sarah been showing you how to cook?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope," Misty replied.

"Well then I don't see why not," I said.

"Really? Thanks Michael," Misty responded, her hug tightening a bit.

"No problem, but you might want to kill the hug so we can actually cook," I stated.

"Hehe, OK Michael, whatever you say," Misty complied as she stopped hugging me.

"OK, so is there anything in particular that you'd like to learn how to cook?" I asked simply as I walked over to the pantry/cabinets. We keep out food stored in multiple cabinets along a section of kitchen wall, so I will say either pantry or just cabinets when referring to them.

"Personally, I wouldn't mind making some pancakes," Misty said as she walked over to the stove.

"Well OK then, pancakes it is," I said as I grabbed the pancake mix from the cabinets.

There was some conversation throughout the time spent cooking, but it was mainly just her asking me about what to do and me giving her some pointers and tips and such. We only made a batch of eight or so, enough for Misty and Sarah, and I decided to just grab something simple for myself. So I had two Pop-tarts for breakfast while Misty had pancakes that she made, both of us exchanging some conversation, but not much. I was personally trying to avoid conversation as much as possible since I didn't want to provoke anything that may have stemmed from what happened yesterday. Then it hit me: today is Sunday. I groaned very audibly as the realization came, slamming, but not too severely, my head on the table as well.

"What, is something wrong Michael?" Misty asked after she swallowed a mouthful of her breakfast. Well, at least she has table manners.

"Ugh, I just realized it's Sunday," I responded deadly.

"OK, how's that a bad thing?" Misty replied

"Because I have school tomorrow. Sarah does too," I briefly explained, my head still on the table.

"Oh, then I'll just come to school with you," Misty offered before putting another forkful of pancake in her mouth.

"It doesn't wo... Wait a minute, I'm stupid," I thought out loud

"Where did that come from Michael?" Misty asked after she finished her bite of pancake

"Hm? Oh I was just remembering that you coming to school with me will actually be easier than I thought," I explained as I raised my head from the table.

"Oh, OK," Misty tersely responded and went back to eating her pancake. She really seems to enjoy those, just wait until I show her maple syrup.

So the rest of Sunday went much better than expected, Misty never really killed me like I expected her too and the day itself was rather uneventful. Granted that wasn't the case when Sarah woke up, since she proceeded to yell at me profusely about yesterday. Not being one to take the verbal abuse sitting, I fired back with some stuff that she did to me before Misty ever came here, which shut her up instantly. I couldn't tell if she was pissed, or shocked, or what, but she left the house after that claiming that she had another tutoring session. Knowing her, I assumed that she did in fact have a tutoring session and just let it slide before proceeding on with the day ahead. Misty wanted to just hang out and talk some more, to which I obliged. Luckily for me, there was no kissing this time, but the topic of me came up at least twice. She didn't really learn much about me though, since I can evade questions like a politician. Other than that nothing really happened Sunday.

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Chapter 3b: Monday

Monday, the most evil day in the week. Well to me at least. But hopefully that wouldn't be too much of a problem since I had chorus today. So I woke up as per my routine and went over to the kitchen to grab a pop-tart or two for breakfast, not really in the mood to cook anything. Sarah came down stairs a few moments after I sat down at the table and she grabbed a bowl for herself. We had this morning routine down to a T, with little to no verbal communication since none was needed. We both ate our breakfast in silence and left our dishes in the sink for me to clean when I got back. After brushing my teeth and actually putting on a shirt, I suddenly realized something. Misty's going to be coming to school with me. I groaned and asked Sarah to help get her up and dressed and everything, to which she understood and complied. I'd help, but I'm a guy, and a guy helping a girl get dressed and ready to go would just be too weird. Sorry, but I'm not the perv that the majority of guys at my school are. Anyway, when she came downstairs casually dressed, I informed her that we didn't have time to cook pancakes if we wanted to be at school on time, and she nodded as she grabbed a pop-tart. I was a few minutes behind my normal schedule, but the way I did things in the morning, I made sure that I had ample time to spare just in case there was some situation in which I would loss time, like this one. I patiently waited by the door to the garage as Misty made her way downstairs with a big smile on her face.

"You ready Misty?" I asked casually as she came up to me.

"You bet!" She eagerly responded. How is she this awake at 7am Monday morning!? Man I am SO jelly right now.

"Awesome, let's get rollin' then," I said as I opened the door for her.

"Let's," Misty tersely commented as she walked through the door and waited as I walked into the garage as well.

"Ok, don't freak out. We're going to be riding in this thing here," I said as I gestured towards the dark oak green Volvo in the garage bay.

"What is it?" Misty curiously asked as she approached the old car. And by old, I mean OLD.

"It's a car. It's like the chariots that Celestia uses, but it moves on its own and doesn't fly," I said as I opened the passenger seat door for her.

"Oh, Ok. Is it fast?" Misty asked as she got in. Heh, at a moment like this I have the perfect thing to say, but nobody would get it, so I'll just let it be.

"Some cars can, some not so much. This one? Not really. But I'm not really complaining," I answered as I got into the driver seat and buckled up.

"Oh, Ok," Misty responded as I buckled her seat belt for her. As awkward as it may have been, it's a rule should I ever be driving anyone anywhere: seat belt must be on. And since Misty's not exactly well versed in Earth... Well anything, I decided to just do it for her and help teach her later instead of teaching her now and be late.

"Hold on OK? And please don't freak out," I said as I started the engine to the 10 year old Volvo and opened the garage door. Surprisingly, Misty was perfectly calm.

The drive to school was relatively calm since people actually decided not to be huge idiots on the road. The entire time, Misty was messing around with my iPod and selecting different songs to listen to. I showed her how at a red light since I didn't want to risk my 32gb iPod Touch being broken and everything. That thing is more important to me than my phone, like you don't even know. I have my iPod with me practically at all times and I almost always have charge in it so I can listen to my music. It's like my bread and freakin butter. Anyway, we got to school earlier than most every other student, but still late to me, which is good since It gave me time to introduce Misty to my teachers. All of the were cool with having Misty come to class with me and everything, so she and I just waited for the bell. Rather than explain what happened all day, I'm just going to skip to lunch, where things actually happen.

WARNING! There WILL be cussing from here on out. While the setting is my house, the cussing will be limited since that's jut how I am, but there will be a noticeable difference when the setting is School. Just figured you all should know.

So it's around noon and the bell for lunch rang. Thank god too, because there's only so much I can handle on and empty stomach. So Misty and I went to the courtyard since we both thought it was a nice day out and wanted to enjoy it when we could. Unluckily for me, the courtyard was inhabited by some people with whom I've had problems before. Either way, Misty wanted to eat outside and I decided to try and ignore the other people for her sake. Unluckily for me, the other people thought it'd be funny to mess with me for eating in "their" courtyard.

"Hey guys, look at what we have here," a very masculine and pompous voice called out from behind us.

"Is it just me, or did little Michael Stephens think he could just eat in our courtyard without our permission?" another male voice snidely responded accompanied with the sound of something like two chairs sliding across the ground.

"I do believe he did. So what should we do with him?" the first voice asked as it neared us.

"How about we teach him a lesson, I mean we all know how much he likes learning," the second voice came.

"Hey Michael, should I be worried?" Misty quietly asked me.

"No, I can handle this, just move away a bit," I seriously whispered back.

"Hey, did you hear us you idiot? We said get out of our courtyard or else," the first voice said after noticing I didn't respond to their earlier prodding.

"I heard you loud and clear Klark, but why should I leave? This is courtyard is open to anyone and everyone at the school," I rebelliously responded as Misty put some distance in between herself and the unfolding scene, myself not moving at all.

"Are you trying to start something you idiot? Klark here can beat the living shit out of you!" The second voice from earlier said.

"Riiiiight," I sarcastically responded, still not moving from my spot.

"Watch your mouth you-" the second voice started, but was cut of by a hand.

"Mack, cool it, I got this." Klark assured.

"Really? Are you sure you got this Klark? Cause from what I can hear, you aren't doing anything," I responded as I took a bite of my apple.

"Hey, stand up and maybe we'll see how well I have this handled you little bastard," Klark barked, to which I shrugged and continued eating.

"What're you going to do now Klark?" Mack asked

"Well, since this little smart mouth thinks it's OK for him to just shrug off me, I'm just going to do... THIS!" Klark proclaimed as he sent his right leg speeding into my ribs. Since Klark is the kicker for the football team, that hurt. I winced, but kept my ground and didn't really show much of a reaction.

"Come on you stupid piece of shit, fight back!" Klark taunted as he repeatedly kicked me. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't just keep taking the hits and I fell over on my side. To which Klark just laughed.

"Hey, if he won't fight back, maybe we should see if his new friend will fight for him! He's always running to others for help," Mack taunted as he made his way closer to Misty, who was starting to freak a bit.

"Sounds like a plan Mack, let's do it," Klark proclaimed as he stopped kicking me and walked over to Misty as well.

"You leave her alone. This has nothing to do with her," I stated as I stood up and faced the two idiots.

"Oh? She's here wit you isn't she? That mean's she has plenty to do with it," Klark said as he neared Misty.

"I said leave her alone!" I yelled as I ran pulled both Mack and Klark away from her.

"Oh, so now the little pansy has some guts. But you should never have touched us," Klark threatened.

"Bring it you southern hick," I taunted as I put myself in between the two football players and Misty.

"Well then, you asked for it you little bastard," Klark said as both he and Mack charged me.

"What's the problem, cant get me?" I taunted as I dodged swing after wing from both of them.

"Shut up! When I get my hands on you, you're dead!" Klark irritatedly yelled.

"I think you mean 'if' Klark," I snidely commented as I delivered a swift kick to the back of Mack's legs, effectively toppling the moron. But my fun was shattered soon after as Klark grabbed my by the arms from behind.

"No, I meant when you cocky little bastard," Klark angrily said as he shoved me against the wall face first.

"Michael!" Misty called out

"Misty, just leave!" I yelled to the best of my ability.

"Oh, she isn't going anywhere. Not after what you did to Mack," Klark barked.

"Leave her be, it's me you're pissed at anyway," I demanded.

"Oh I will today, but she's my next target," Klark arrogantly stated right into my ear.

"Besides, why should we pass up this opportunity?" Mack said as he limped over to me.

"Yeah, Mack's right. We finally have you pinned to a wall. Why would we give up the opportunity to beat the shit out of you just to go after some random chick?" Klark agreed.

"Then do your worst you little pansies," I retorted.

"Who the fuck are you calling pansies you little fucker?" Mack angrily spat as he pulled out a knife and held it up to my face as if to threaten me.

"The guys who bring a knife with them to fight the weakling you have pinned to the wall," I remarked, doing my best to stand up for myself for once.

"Yeah, well this is how we're taught to fight in Atlanta you little smartass," Klark mouthed off as he turned me around to face them. Big mistake.

"Yeah, will this is how we fight up here asshole," I retorted as I kneed Klark in the gut, effectively incapacitating him. Damn, I was aiming for the groan too.

"Is that supposed to scare us?" Mack arrogantly asked as he lunged at me with his knife, slashing my ribs a bit as I attempted to dodge out of the way. It wasn't really deep, but it definitely wasn't pleasant. And it wasn't just a 'Oh that kind of hurts' cut, it hurt like hell and was bleeding a good bit. Serious enough wound to warrant immediate treatment, but not serious enough to leave too much damage.

"No, just shut you up. By the way, your form is absolutely terrible," I remarked as I landed a roundhouse kick directly on his temple. Mack collapsed instantly.

"Michael! Oh Celestia are you OK?" Misty asked as she ran over to me, hugging me as soon as she could.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. These douches have done worse to me before," I said as I put one hand over the cut in my ribs and hugged Misty with my free arm.

"You really gotta stop being so stupid Cym (pronounced 'Sim')," a female voice said from the door to the courtyard.

"Hey, they started it," I responded to the female voice.

"Ohohoh... what do we have here man?" The female voice said as she came closer to Misty and I.

"Hm? Oh, this is Misty," I said, assuming she was asking about the girl who was hugging me with tears lightly falling from her face. Wait, tears? Where did those come from?

"That's an awesome name, I wish mine were that cool," the female voice responded.

"T-thanks..." Misty responded, hugging to me more tightly. Probably just nervous.

"Misty, this is Amanda McKay, a.k.a Wreath. Don't ask why, the explanation is even more confusing than it should. Wreath and I have been friends for, what ten years now?" I explained, looking at Wreath for confirmation.

"Nope, it's been 11 Cym. Gotta remember that it's 2012 dude," Wreath responded.

"Right right. But anyway, She and I are good friends," I continued.

"Ok then, if he trusts you then I should at least give you a chance," Misty smiled as she stuck her hand out for a handshake.

"Awesome, thanks girl. By the way, are you two, like, dating or something?" Wreath answered as she accepted Misty's handshake.

"Hah! Man you are so red right now Cym!" Wreath teased after she saw both of us blush up a storm after her question. A question to which neither of us responded.

"Hahaha, real funny Wreath," I commented sarcastically.

"Dude, you just need to relax. Take it easy, and stop doing that to people!" Wreath said as she motioned to the unconscious football players in the courtyard.

"Heh, yeah..." I agreed, rubbing the back of my head and smiling in a silly manor.

"Anyway, we should head to class then and beat the rush, especially with that wound of yours," Wreath suggested

"Yeah, sounds like a plan Wreath," I said as I walked with Wreath and Misty towards the door.

The rest of the school day was fine, granted I got a lot of curious looks from people when they saw all the blood on my shirt and right hand, but nobody really cared. Well, except Misty, who was still freaking out and sticking as close to me as possible for the rest of the day. By the time I got to chorus, which I have after lunch, I started feeling light headed probably due to blood loss and asked to go to the nurse. My teacher understood and let me go, no questions asked, with Misty following suit. It wasn't very packed in the nurse's office, so I didn't have to wait long. When the nurse finally saw me, I was almost unconscious and laying on a bed and she began working on patching up the wound. Afterwords, Misty and I just talked for a bit. What, It's a good way to pass the time and you know it.

"So, are you feeling any better?" Misty asked as I regained consciousness

"Meh, bout the same really," I responded as I turned to look at my friend.

"But it doesn't hurt anymore, does it?" The nurse said as she joined into the conversation.

"Nah, it's fine. I don't think it's bleeding anymore either," I lied. It still hurt like hell, but it really wasn't bleed for all I know

"I'm still surprised you lasted as long as you did with that kind of slash on your ribcage. Granted it was only for a few minutes, but most people would get a wound like that treated immediately," The nurse commented.

"I know a few things about first aid. All I did was cover the wound with my shirt and put pressure on it with my hand," I calmly stated, still conscious of the fact that I still lost plenty of blood from the fiasco.

"And I applaud you for that boy, although you should've seen me sooner," the nurse responded.

"That's what I kept telling him," Misty interjected.

"Well you're patched up, just lay down for a bit and you should be fine to get home. And now I'll just let you two be," the nurse informed us as she exited to presumably treat another student.

"Soooo, what was all that about earlier anyway?" Misty asked

"With Klark and Mack? Oh that's nothing. They're just two idiot football players who for some reason are out to get me." I matter-of-factly explained.

"Does anybody else know about that?" Misty prodded. Either she's really concerned for me or she's just really curious. I'm betting on the latter.

"Of course. Like the entire school knows about it. Oddly enough, even though those two absolutely hate me, I'm actually on pretty good terms with the rest of the football team," I stated, shrugging a bit.

"Well that's good," Misty said

"Agreed," I tersely responded.

"Also, why was Amanda-" Misty started

"Just call her Wreath Misty," I interrupted her. Thing is, Wreath is actually proud of the nickname and prefers to be addressed as such. She even has the teachers calling her by her nickname.

"Ok, why was Wreath calling you Cym?" Misty proceeded to correcter herself.

"Oh, well that's actually a nickname she gave me during band camp. See, this year was my first year in the Marching Band and I played cymbals when in the stands. Since I was basically the only cymbalist there, the band just started calling me Cym. Granted it didn't stick with anyone except Wreath, but still," I explained. Marching Band, what're you going to do?

"Well that makes sense. And it fits," Misty said, putting a hand over her mouth and blushing at what she said, but I didn't notice.

"Yeah it does..." I muttered as I kinda spaced out.

The rest of the time I basically slept while waiting for the school day to end. Having nowhere else to really go, Misty helped out around the nurse's office while I basically slept. I awoke to the sound of the day's end, i.e. the final bell ringing, and got out of the bed in the nurse's office. I made my way over to the desk and waited for Misty. She came a few minutes after the bell rang and we made our way to the Volvo, her hand intertwined with mine. At this point I don't have any idea as to why she keeps hugging me and holding my hand. But regardless, I helped her into the Volvo and helped her understand as to why we wear seat belts as well as teaching her how to buckle it herself. She got it down in a few minutes and then we were off, Misty fiddling around with my iPod out of what I'm assuming to be curiosity while I focused on getting us back home alive. We got back unharmed, well for the most part, and I collapsed on the sofa. After a few minutes of just laying on the sofa (facing the wall), I felt something else get on the sofa behind me, but I didn't care. I assumed it was Sarah since that something wrapped it's arms around me, but again I didn't care. I was too far gone and ready to sleep to care about who or what was on the sofa with me and I just dosed off right there.

Author's Note:

Before anyone asks, I'll give a description of Wreath in the next chapter. This one just didn't seem like the right time. Also, As the story progresses and more people from school are introduced, I just want you all to know that the majority of them are going to be based off of IRL people, but with different names/situation/etc. Whereas there will also be people like Klark who actually aren't based off of anyone that I know IRL, but more rather are just ideas that I got off the top of my head. Also, sorry about the 3a 3b thing, I just didn't exactly feel like devoting another chapter entirely to Sunday. I like rarely do anything on Sundays anyway. Anyway, I just wanted to put this out there before I go back to school on Tuesday. I will continue, but with three AP classes (I wasn't kidding in Chapter 1), I need to start really worrying about the exams that I'll have to take for said classes in about another month. Not to mention the SAT *grumble*

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, If I messed anything up (like lower case i's and such) please let me know. I'm really bad about that stuff xD. Feel free to leave me any thoughts you may have and thanks for reading

-Asuya

Chapter 4: Now what? Oh right, school.

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Chapter 4: Tuesday

God I hate mornings. Why does everything have to start at like 8am anyway? I mean High School starts at 8, College classes usually will too, not to mention that many actual jobs in the world start early in the morning too. I freaking hate mornings! On the bright side, at least I woke up warm and snug. However, something was really off this morning... I mean sure I just got slashed at by some idiots yesterday and there was pain emanating from my ribs, but that's honestly to be expected. No the weird thing is that I could've sworn I felt something nestled up against my torso. I was comfortable after a long sleep on a sofa with a newly inflicted wound to my ribs, warm even though the only blanket I took from my old room was just a thin sheet so I could have something over me while I sleep, and either I was laying against something or something was laying against me. Had it not been for the fact that all of this was really weird, I probably would've fallen right back to sleep, but this was just too weird. So I opened my eyes, only to find myself in my old room, laying in my old bed. Weird, so then this entire thing with Misty and the wolves and Mack slashing at my ribs was just a dream? No, it couldn't be... It seemed too real. So I tried to move, only to find myself restricted by whatever it was that was laying up against me accompanied with immediate pain from my ribs. Ok, not a dream. I decided to let my curiosity rule my actions and I lifted the blankets to see what it was that was restricting me. Much to my surprise, I saw Misty nestled up to me with her head resting on my chest and her arms wrapped around me, still asleep. Now was the time that I threw common courtesy out the window, because I freaked out. I didn't care if she was asleep or not, I just flipped out and kinda fell off of the bed clumsily with a decent thud as I landed. Much to my luck, or lack thereof, I landed on my right side, which is where Mack cut me yesterday. As you can probably expect, I yelped and quickly rolled over onto my back. My movement, accompanied with the small yelp I made as I landed, predictably woke Misty up, worried as one might expect her to be.

"Michael! Oh Celestia, what happened?" Misty asked, her voice leaded with concern as she got out of bed herself.

"What happened? I woke up in your bed, with you sleeping right next to me!" I practically squealed out of shock and embarrassment and fear. Thank GOD she actually wore some clothes to bed.

"Well yeah, is that a problem?" Misty asked. I couldn't tell if she was serious or not, but I didn't care right now. I was scared for my life at this point! Yeah, I'm paranoid like this, just roll with it.

"Well yeah! I moved out of this room and onto the sofa to avoid this exact situation!" I exclaimed as she knelt down next to me.

"Oh, but Sarah said that it was OK since-" Misty started, only to shut herself up as she came close to completing her thought, a blush obviously dominating her features.

"Wait, so Sarah told you to do this then?" I seriously asked as I got up from the floor. I was dead freaking serious at this point. I may be fine with pranks and jokes and such from Sarah most of the time, but this was just too far.

"Yeah..." Misty hesitantly answered.

"Sarah!" I yelled furiously as I stormed over to her room.

"What? It's Tuesday which means I don't have class till noon and I'd appreciate some sleep!" Sarah grumpily responded as she opened the door. I had to seriously restrain myself from punching her at this point.

"Why the hell would you tell Misty that it was OK to put me in her bed?" I furiously spat at my sister.

"You were hurt and being on the sofa would've just made it that much worse!" Sarah responded with equal hostility.

"Yeah, but that's Misty's bed! not only that, but I woke up with her asleep right next to me!" I started, only to get stopped by a prompt slap to the face courtesy of my sister.

"Dude, Mike, you just need to shut the hell up for a minute so I can explain something to you," Misty started seriously.

"What, that you're trying to get me killed at the hands of Misty?" I spat, still extremely pissed.

"No. Now get in here, sit down, shut up, and listen," Sarah ordered, which I obeyed.

"Sarah! Pleeeeease don't tell him yet!" Misty practically begged as she made her way over to the door.

"Misty, he'll have to figure it out eventually. And knowing Mike the way I do, that could take for freaking ever. Now, would you like me to tell him or would you like to do it yourself?" Sarah responded as I took a seat on the bed. As pissed as I was, I had to admit that my curiosity was indeed perked.

"Can't it just wait for a few days?" Misty begged.

"After what just happened, no. it can't," Sarah remarked, turning and walking over to her desk and taking a seat in her chair.

"Ok, one of you start explaining. Now," I barked as Misty followed Sarah into the room.

"Have you noticed anything weird going on recently Mike?" Sarah started, trying to allude to her later point.

"Oh you mean other than the pink sky and smell of fudge coming from everywhere on Friday? How about the fact that an actual Wonderbolt is now living with us? Oh I know! Maybe you're talking about how I got into a fight with some douchebags yesterday and got this wound as a result!" I snidely spat at my sister, motioning to the bandages around my ribs.

"I meant regarding Misty you idiot," Sarah snidely spat back.

"Hm, now that you mention it... No. I haven't. At least not anything that you'd expect from someone in her situation," I furiously remarked.

"Wow, you are really clueless aren't you..." Sarah started, shaking her head a bit.

"Old news Sarah. Now get to the point," I barked.

"First off, calm down man. There's no way in hell you're going to believe me if you're so pissed off," Sarah commented.

"Just explain Sarah," I practically ordered.

"Fine. Haven't you noticed that Misty's been around you a lot, blushing a lot when she's near you, hugging you a lot, holding your hand and everything?" Sarah asked, causing misty to start to tense up a bit.

"I have, but that's not explaining anything," I coldly stated.

"Haven't you given any thought as to why she's been doing this?" Sarah continued.

"No, I haven't," I tersely answered, unsure of where she's taking this.

"Think about it Mike. What do many people do when they like each other?" Sarah persisted

"They hug each other, hold hands, kiss, you know, romantic stuff," I answered, still really unsure of where this is going.

"Exactly. Now think, what does Misty tend to do when she hangs out around you?" Sarah insisted.

"She tends to want to talk, she blushes for whatever reason, and she hugs me a lot. What's your point?" I replied, the dots still not connecting.

"Ugh! You're so clueless! If you can't figure it out, then we'll just have to tell you!" Sarah called out in frustration.

"Well yeah, that's kinda who I am!" I replied.

"Fine. Misty, you explain it to him," Sarah groaned as she walked out the door.

"Are you kidding me?!" Misty practically squeaked in shock.

"Hey, this concerns you and I'm starting to get really frustrated with him," Sarah explained.

"But why can't it just wait a little bit longer?" Misty half whined.

"Because he knows that something is up and he'll pester us about it until one of us tells him," Sarah knowingly explained.

"You two do realize that I can hear you, right?" I interjected.

"Yes, now just sit there a wait until we're ready," Sarah rebutted without even looking at me.

"No, I don't think I will. If you need me, I'll be heading off to school," I defiantly stated as I stood up from the bed.

"Oh, really? What makes you think that you're going to school after what happened yesterday? They'll probably come after you again, and I'm not letting that happen," Sarah remarked, stepping in front of the doorway to block my soon to be path.

"Just move. I can't just skip out of my AP classes today all because I decided to be a pansy and stay home from a cut," I replied, pushing her out of the way as I did so. What, just because I'm annoyed with people doesn't mean I'm going to let it effect my education.

"Get back here, we're not done talking!" Sarah called out as she walked after me.

"Yes we are. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got more important matters to attend to than your stupid pranks," I level headedly responded, calming myself as best I can before getting on the road. What, drivers are more dangerous when angry, and if Misty's tagging along today as well, I kinda want to not kill her and everything.

"God, what is with you Mike?" Sarah frustratedly mumbled as she realized that there was no winning this argument.

"Misty, are you coming along today?" I asked as I opened the door to the garage.

"Yeah, sure. Just.... just give me a minute to get ready..." Misty replied as if she were daydreaming or something.

She came down not long after, just changing into clean clothes as well as taking a quick shower. Meanwhile, Sarah had given up and decided to go back to sleep, while I decided to cook an omelet for Misty, should she want to try something other than pancakes today. She gladly accepted the breakfast and we were off. It was a relatively quiet drive after what happened earlier, only to be occasionally disrupted by impatient drivers behind me beeping their horns at me since I tend to actually drive at the speed limit. Then my stomach decided to make itself known and released a substantial growl, one which neither Misty or I could ignore.

"Didn't you eat Michael?" Misty asked after my stomach decided to shut it.

"Nope," I tersely responded, doing my best not to yell at her for what happened earlier. Hey, she's an Equestrian, and for all I know, what just happened earlier could be perfectly normal there. If so, then it wouldn't be Misty's fault.

"Well why not?" Misty followed through.

"One, because it would've distracted me from cooking you your omelet. Two, because the hunger keeps me focused and it ebbs away at my anger," I sagely answered.

"Oh," was all Misty could say in response. What, you got anything better to say? Right, of course you do, my bad...

At that point, it was just as it was before. Quiet, uneventful, and really odd for some reason. I mean the music's generally loud enough for me to drown out the noises of the things around me and allow me to focus on the road. Especially if I have like Alex S. playing or someth...

"Oh god damnit," I muttered to myself, unintentionally loudly.

"Hm?" Misty said as she turned from the window to face me.

"Whelp, today's going to suck," I continued, not exactly registering that Misty said something.

"What's wrong?" Misty asked.

"I just forgot my iPod at home," I answered, still paying attention to the road. Driving rule #1: don't let yourself get too distracted. As painfully boring as it was, I do have to thank my parents for drilling driving lessons into me

"Is that it?" Misty followed with a small amount of 'are you kidding me?' making its way into her tone.

"So far, but that doesn't make it any less significant," I rebutted

"And how is this a big deal?" Misty responded

"Because my iPod to me is like practically any other high school student and their phone," I replied, forgetting for the moment that Misty's an Equestrian.

"What?" Misty simply asked. Yep, kinda figured. Maybe I should've used a different analogy... GOT IT!

"Ok, lemme try that again. My iPod to me is like your goggles to you, that make more sense?" I retried.

"OH! Ok, I get it now," Misty exclaimed with understanding. Ponies, gotta love'm. Also, that analogy, NAILED IT!

"Hey, I just thought about something..." I thought allowed.

"Hm? What's on your mind?" Misty questioned.

"Well, if you really are an Equestrian, and I'm sorry but I've still got a little bit of doubt about the whole 'Wonderbolt' thing. It's just that I'm one of those guys that wants to have a logical explanation for practically everything..." I started as I pulled into the school parking lot.

"Get to the point Michael, we're already at school," Misty interrupted as she unbuckled her seat belt, albeit a little clumsily.

"Well, if you really are an Equestrian, what happened that transported you from Equestria to here? Also, why is it that if you were an Equestrian, i.e. a pony, beforehand, why did coming here transform you into a human rather than letting you stay a pony?" I proposed. What, I'm curious, wouldn't you be?

"Oh that's easy, it was... It was... Um... Huh. Good questions Michael, but I really have no idea. Maybe it'll come back to me eventually," Misty responded as we walked towards the school after I locked the Volvo. Another tip from my parents: lock the car. Car's in the school parking lot? Lock it. Car's in the driveway of your friend's house? Lock it. Car's inside your garage? Lock it. Ok that last one's optional, but still.

"I dunno... I mean even if there is conclusive evidence that does support you being an Equestrian, it'll only lead to further questions and more confusion..." I started to ramble a little, my mind already churning to try and come up with an explanation. However, that didn't last long.

"Michael, you just need to calm down. I'm sure that it'll come to one of us when the time is right. Right now, we just need to work on getting you through the school day without getting killed," Misty interrupted by putting a finger over my lips in that gesture that you see practically EVERYONE do when they want someone to be quiet. Then she took hold of my hand and headed out for school.

Since my school operates on an alternating system, I had my other four classes that I didn't have yesterday today. In other words, I have four classes one day, and four other classes the next day, A-day B-day schedule. If you don't get it now, then you're on your own. Anyway, I started the day off well with a nice welcome for Misty from the Chamber Ensemble, my strings class that I have first thing in the morning on B-days. While I actually really hate mornings, I can't hate B-day mornings that much since I absolutely love Chamber. I've been playing cello since the fourth grade and it's one of the things that made me who I am today. Plus my teacher's a boss! Since we have 6 cellos in an ensemble of 19 total, I asked my teacher if I could teach Misty how to play. What, I'm the worst of us all, I already have a 6 or 7 songs that we're going to play for our concert memorized, and it lets Misty actually do something rather than just sit there and talk to me when allowed. So my teacher agreed, but he also asked our lead violinist to come along, should Misty want to learn how to play something besides cello. Like I said, my teacher's a boss.

"So, would you rather learn to play violin or cello?" I simply asked as I slung my full sized cello (still in it's case) across my back.

"Well that depends, who would be teaching me how to play violin?" Misty replied with a question of her own.

"That would be me, unless you'd like to tell Spencer otherwise," a familiar female voice sounded from behind.

"Ah there you are! Misty, you remember Wreath, right?" I stated as I turned around to face both Misty and my best friend.

"Of course, how could I forget the first new friendly face at this school?" Misty cheerily responded, a smile not hiding from her face.

Wreath has a fairly standard build. She's not exactly tall, but she's not really short either. I'd say somewhere around 5'4" maybe? Anyway, she had black hair that, if straightened would reach just above the middle of her back, but she usually keeps it tied into a ponytail. Although I'm normally all for long, naturally flowing hair on basically everyone, I must admit that Wreath really does pull off the look well.

"I'm not sure whether to take that as a complement to me or as an insult to the school," Wreath stated, a silly smile starting to take root.

"Why not both?" I joked, overly exaggerating a shrug. This caused both of them to giggle a bit. Huh, people actually laughing when I 'm trying to be silly. That's going to take some getting used to.

"You sir, have a very valid point," Wreath equally joked as she playfully pushed me a bit, all of us chuckling as this happened.

Too bad our fun was interrupted by the sound of nothing other than the most annoying PA system ever. Like, I'm not even going to describe it to spare those of you with enough imagination to actually imagine the pain of hearing it. Anyway, Mr. Spencer, my conductor told me that I needed to head on over to guidance for some reason. Upon questioning, he said that since they didn't tell him why, he had no idea. So I just shrugged and placed my cello on the ground, figuring that it was just going to be another scheduling issue like last year. When you sign up for classes that are only offered at one time, there are usually going to be conflicts. Also not surprising was Misty's decision to tag along, although I still don't understand why she wants to be around me so much. Eh, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

"You wanted to see me?" I opened as Misty and I stepped into the guidance office. Or more rather, the guidance lobby or something, since each councilor has their own small office.

"Oh yes hun, your councilor wanted to talk to you about something," the receptionist responded, motioning towards a door, leading to my guidance councilor's office. Well, not mine alone, but she's the one of the three that I go to.

"Ok, thank you," I commented as I went and knocked on the door to my councilor's office.

"It's open," came an adult female voice from inside. Since I actually know who my councilor is and can recognize her voice, I opened the door.

"Hey Mike, how are you doing today?" my councilor greeted me as I walked in, but I didn't notice. I was to busy locking eyes with non other than Mack and Klark.

"Well if it isn't the pussy faggot himself," Klark sneered as he stood up.

"God damnit..." I muttered before turning around.

"Mike, come here. This isn't going to get resolved unless we cooperate," came the strong and wise voice of my councilor. Although I know that this situation is bad enough as it is, I respect my councilor and came back as requested.

"Gee, are you actually going to let us brawl again just to prove that this little fag's win was a fluke?" Mack asked sinisterly as he stood up as well.

"What, so you're actually asking for the school to let you get your asses handed to you now?" I venomously retorted. What, it's a morning and I despise these two.

"Come at me right now, I dare you!" Mack fumed. My guidance councilor being a boss and just waiting for her time to step in.

"Right, cause I'm really going to fight you right in front of a guidance councilor," I sarcastically retorted.

"Mack, just calm down. We'll get him later," Klark attempted to whisper to Mack. Well I mean he did whisper it to him, but we all heard him.

"So, care to explain why I'm here Mrs. V?" I asked, turning to my councilor.

"Yes, some of the administrators and I want to get to the bottom of what happened here yesterday, and I was hoping that you all would be willing to help," Mrs. V explained. Her last name is really hard to pronounce/spell, so I'll just refer to her as Mrs. V, that OK?

"Well OK then, what do you want to know?" I responded while leaning against the doorframe, making sure that I keep myself between these idiots and Misty. She didn't do anything wrong and I refuse to let these morons hurt her.

"Well first off, who's that behind you?" Mrs. V asked, curiosity blatant in her tone.

"I'll explain later, when in better company," I dodged, not sure whether or not to trust Mrs. V with the true, or more rather possible truth, about Misty.

"Fair enough. What exactly happened yesterday anyway?" Mrs. V asked as she leaned back in her chair.

"I can explain that, Michael over here decided it would be funny to come and ruff us up a bit. So Mack and I were just sitting in the courtyard, minding our own buisness when this lunatic here came and just attacked. Even pulled a knife on Mack!" Klark started, but didn't even get to finish before Mrs. V interrupted.

"So, let me get this straight so far. You two where sitting in the courtyard, not doing anything, when Michael here comes out and beats you up with a knife for no apparent reason, right?" Mrs. V clarified, already seeing flaws in the story.

"Exactly," Mack affirmed as he sat back down.

"Ok, so suppose that all happened and all, explain what was with that anger and everything towards Michael when he walked into the room," Mrs. V questioned. I may hate it here, but I will admit that a lot of the staff here rock.

"Well... um... That... That was just us being..." Klark stumbled.

"Hurt in our pride!" Mack chipped in with a sudden outburst.

"Uh huh... Michael, care to tell me what actually happened?" Mrs. V stated as she turned towards me, effectively confounding the two morons over there.

"Gladly. Since yesterday was Misty's first day here, I decided that we should eat in the courtyard while the weather was nice. So we were both eating, when Mack and Klark came out with a bone to pick with me. I don't know why, nor do I really care. So I just took the beating they gave me, eventually resisting when they threatened to hurt Misty. After Klark pinned me to the wall, Mack pulled out his knife and tried to threaten me with it. So after Klark turned me around so that I was facing him, I fought back. That's why those two were unconscious yesterday. But they didn't go without a fight, seeing as Mack cut me with his knife before I knocked him out, hence the blood in the courtyard and the bandages on me today," I explained, motioning towards Misty when needed.

"I see. Now that makes sense, but I'm not exactly sure if I believe that either..." Mrs. V started before getting lost in thought.

"I can testify for him Mrs., I was there and all," Misty piped up.

"I was hoping you would. So is Michael telling me the truth?" Mrs. V proceeded, which prompted Misty to nod.

"Besides, there ARE camera's out there you know. If you really want to know what happened, why not take a look and see?" I inserted, still leaning against the doorframe.

"That's a good point. Michael, you and your friend are dismissed. Thank you for your time, and since you were defending yourself again two people, one of whom pulled a knife, I'll make sure you're let off the hook," Mrs. V determined, unusually quickly.

"Wait, so you're just going to believe me that easily?" I asked, a little confused seeing as how it usually takes more than that to sway Mrs. V.

"Of course, I already saw the camera footage," Mrs. V simply explain, making me feel really stupid.

"Well what about those two?" Misty asked, motioning towards Klark and Mack.

"We'll deal with them accordingly, but that does not concern you," Mrs. V answered.

"If you say so Mrs. V," I said as I began to walk off, motioning for Misty to come as the office door was closed.

"So what do you think will happen to those two?" Misty asked after we re-entered the hallways.

"Don't know, don't really care either. I've known Mrs. V for a long time and I completely trust her judgment. If anyone in this entire schools knows the right way to handle a situation like this, it's her," I responded, giving a small shrug for added effect.

"Oh, well OK then, if you say so," Misty complied, accepting my response as we continued on back to the band room. Our conductor also teaches at our middle school, so he only has two classes here at the high school, so we just share the band room. Which is fine with me since I'm in marching band too.

So the rest of our day went as you might be able to expect. A few stray questions here and there from fellow students about the bandages around my ribs, more about Misty and what you might expect what with her being new here and all. And of course, the rumors spread ahead of us like wildfire. She's only been here since Friday, yet by the time we got to lunch, people came bombarding us with questions on how we met and congratulating us on being together. As you might expect, I just ignored it and went on with the rest of my lunch. And that's when it hit me: if people think Misty and I are together...

"God damnit..." I muttered after finishing my sandwich, covering my eyes with my hand.

"Oh great, what happened this time Michael?" Misty nonchalantly asked.

"It's... It's nothing..." I glumly responded as I stood up and walked away from the table, head hanging slightly.

So I just decided to take a walk over to guidance, ask a question and see what I can do. Question being, since I'm injured as such, do I have to stay for my last class or can I just leave? Hopefully yes, because I need some time to myself to think, and luckily my last class today was just Econ. Luckily for me, Mrs. V answered in my favor, allowing me to get the hell out of here and have some time to myself. However, what about Misty? As much as I want to have time to myself and let nothing interrupt my thoughts, she's still living at my house. If I leave early, she'd have to come with me, seeing as I am her ride to and from... well anywhere really. So I decided to go back and ask her about it.

"Heyo, what're you two talking about?" I asked as I approached Misty and Wreath, still at the table.

"Oh nothing. Just girl stuff," Wreath replied, to which I just nodded. Wreath isn't exactly a girly girl, so when she say's that she and someone else were talking about girl stuff, it's a general sign for me to shut up and leave it be.

"So what's up with you today Cym? According to Misty, you forgot your iPod at home this morning," Wreath asked, knowing better than anyone else how important my iPod is to me (it's one of the most important things in my possession).

"I don't even know. I mean how often is it that I forget my iPod of all things?" I replied.

"Also, why did you just leave the table so abbruptly?" Wreath continued obviously working some kind of angle. Of course, I was utterly clueless as to her motives, but meh.

"Michael, are you OK?" Wreath asked with her voice laced with concern after a good minute or so of silence, or at least as much of it as you can get in a cafeteria full of high schoolers. Wreath tends to address me as Cym most of the time, so when she uses my actual name, then she's obviously worried.

"Don't worry about it... It's... It's just stupid," I half muttered after averting my eyes. What, I'm upset.

"Well OK then, but don't think we're through with this just yet. You're going to tell me eventually," Wreath nodded in understanding.

"Anyway, Misty, would it be too much to ask if we could leave early today? I need to get home," I proceeded on with my original reasons for talking to these two right now.

"Oh... um... I guess...? I mean I can if you need me to, but I was kind of hoping to hang out with Wreath for a while. You know, be friends with people other than you and your sister," Misty answered with conflicting emotion.

"Oh! I have an idea!" Wreath suddenly blurted out.

"Really? Is it actually going to work this time?" I teased. Wreath has had a stream of really crazy ideas lately, so she and I have made a joke about it.

"Yeah! Listen to this: Since I drive as well, and I know where you live, you can take off and I'll hang with Misty and drop her off by your place later," Wreath proposed. Great, another craz- wait, that's actually pretty convenient.

"Hm... I guess it could work..." I playfully pondered, putting on the best troll face I could muster. Truth be told, it's not really all that much of a troll face, but for all intents and purposes, it works.

"Woho! Alrighty then Cym, I'll bring Misty by whenever. Have fun with whatever it is you're planning to go do!" Wreath practically cheered as she pushed me towards the school's front door.

So I just accepted it. And before you all freak out about me not being suspicious or skeptical or anything along those lines, you have to realize: Misty's about as old as I am, if not older, and she'll be hanging with someone whom I've known and trusted for many many years now. I have complete trust in Wreath and Misty can more than likely take care of herself. Besides, who am I to stop her from having fun? So I exited the school and made a B-line for my Volvo, not want to linger around at school more than I had too. Leaving took about as long as it normally would have, what with all the people with giant SUVs parking near me, and the drive home had practically empty roads. Luckily for me, Sarah had already left for her classes, leaving me alone until either she or Misty comes back. Which is great because, although I do love my sister, I just need some time to myself. So I decided to wind down with a match League and keep my mind from over thinking this whole situation. After a good match, rolling 12/4/18 as mid Vlad (for those of you that actually know what I’m talking about), I decided that enough was enough and let the music play as I sort out my thoughts. But that wasn’t exactly possible seeing as how I got phone call after phone call about just the most random things. Of course Sarah called too, saying that she’ll be out till around midnight. Then she called, but I didn’t answer. I can’t. I won’t. It’ll just make things worse. So at that point, I decided to get dinner, then crashed a good hour or two later (around 11:00pm). God I hope that she hasn’t heard that rumor about me and Misty yet…

Author’s Note:

Herro everyone/pony, sorry for the wait, I’ve just been worrying about school as of now. I’ll be more active after the 16th, since that’s my last AP exam *groans*

BTW, now that I actually have a good headset, I’m going to start recording myself singing because I can. So I’ll give you a link once I get a good piece up on youtube. But feel free to suggest songs for me to sing. It doesn't matter what kind of music it is, I'll still look at it. Now, just because I'll look at it doesn't mean I'll sing it, but still.

One last thing, I’m thinking about adding extra characters into the story later. If I do, it’ll be characters that people suggest. I’m not entirely sure at this point whether or not I will add in any characters sent to me, but there is a good chance that I will. If you’d like to help with this, feel free to send me a message either here, at Everypony.com, or via skype (username: asuyasyndori)

Thanks for reading; I’ll be working on chapter 5 sometime next week. But even then I’m not so sure as to how long it’ll take. Also, I’m sorry for all of the literary and grammatical mistakes, I’m sifting through the other chapters as well on the lookout for those things.

Sorry for wasting your time with this story, I know it’s terrible, but still, Thank you for reading <3

-Asuya

Chapter 5: Let's See If This Works...

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Chapter 5: Friday, 4/27/12

Ugh, Prom Night. Most people think that these things are always worth going to, but I just don’t see it. I mean think aboot it; you stand around all night in your super formal attire while the people around you are going crazy. Sure you could dance too, but when is there ever really any room anyway? Not to mention that it can be incredibly difficult to dance in super formal attire. I just don’t see why I’d want to waste my time there. Sure the argument could be made that I go with someone and have a blast with my friends, but most of my friends that I would WANT to go with are already in college. Then there’s the significant other excuse, but I couldn’t use it even if I wanted to. I’m single and plan to stay as such for a while. Relationships are just… troublesome to say the least. I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m still a romantic, albeit a hopeless one, at heart, I’m just a little heartbroken…

All of these reasons as to why NOT to go to the Prom, and yet here I am, full tuxedo and all. I don’t even remember getting the ticket in the first place. What happened to me, did I just act on impulse after like a few days without sleep or something? I mean seriously, I can’t think of what happened. Regardless, I’m here, so I might as well enjoy it right? What do you thin- oh right, I’m alone. Big surprise there. Anyway, I thought about dancing, but, as I said, there’s not really enough room. Then the weirdest thing happened, people started to back away from me. Granted it’s not the weirdest thing in the world, it hasn’t happened to me in ages, so I’ve gotten used to blending in with the crowd. But when I started to turn around and see what was happening, I discovered why they were backing away. It wasn’t because of me, it was because of who was walking toward me.

“Hey Michael, how’re you enjoying the Prom?” this girl from my school, Samantha, genuinely asked. You know those people who are basically the most popular mostly due to their appearance? Well she’s like that, only better. She’s actually a genius.

“Why do you care?” I snidely commented. See, the thing is, she is kind of mean, or more rather she’s a… yeah I’ll refrain from that for the sake of censorship.

“Aw, come on Mike, don’t you at least want to try and have a good time for once?” Samantha seductively near-whined, twirling her shoulder length jet black hair all the while.

“That depends Sam; do I have to make nice with you for that to happen?” I retorted, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow.

“If you want to actually dance, probably,” Samantha toyed as she took my hand, which prompted me to instantly back away from her.

“What are you trying to do Sam?” I suspiciously inquired, not giving her a chance to get too close to me.

“Can’t a girl just try to have fun for once?” Samantha coyly teased as she took my whole arm this time.

“Yes, yes she can. As can you, just not at my expense,” I answered as I tilted my head up and towards her a little. She’s normally only about an inch taller than me, but she’s currently in heels, so yeah.

“You sir, need to lighten up,” Samantha toyed as she requested the DJ to play a slow song. He obliged of course and the music roamed throughout the night.

But right as the dance actually started, the weirdest thing happened, everything started to pixelize. Now normally I would be freaking out, but not now. It is actually a very lucky break on my part. At least now I don’t have to dance with Samantha. Then the thought occurred to me, how is this even happening? Pixelization of anything outside of a computer is physically impossible as of now. That’s really only found in Sci-Fi things and those are just… Oh. I feel stupid now.

“Ugh, worst dream ever…” I groaned with excessive exaggeration as I stretched out on the couch.

“Hm?” Came an awfully familiar voice from the kitchen.

“Oh nothing, I just had a bad dream.” I more clearly enunciated as I sat up on the sofa. And you’ll never guess who was at the table.

“Oh? Do tell, please. You’ve gotten me curious now,” Wreath chuckled as she was tossing an apple up into the air.

“Wreath, what’re you doing here?” I asked groggily as I walked over to the closet to grab a shirt.

“Nothing much really. Sarah let me come over last night so that Misty and I could hang out. We were going to ask you to tag along, but crashed after you got home,” Wreath explained after she took a bite of her apple. She and Misty have been spending a lot more time together over the week, which is good because that means Misty now has other people that she can call her friends.

“Alright. Want some pancakes or bacon or something while you’re here?” I offered as I walked into the kitchen fully dressed.

“Up to you really. If you make stuff, I’ll eat it, but you don’t have to make some food for me,” Wreath answered after taking another bite from her now smaller apple.

“Alright, how crispy do you want the bacon then?” I simply asked, knowing full well that Wreath would prefer the bacon over pancakes.

"The usual." Wreath tersely responded, indicating that she would like it midway crispy.

"Should've seen that one coming," I mumbled to myself as I turned on the stove and set the small pan on the burner.

"So... How're you handling living with Misty?" Wreath teased as she tossed the apple core into the sink. I mean it's not like there's a trash can in here. Also, it's not like you could, oh I don't know, GET UP and throw it away... but I digress

"How does it seem like I'm handling?" I legitimately wondered. Well as far as I know, Wreath is uninformed as to Misty's... well, history. As far as I know, Wreath only knows that Misty is a random person who is living with me.

"Honestly? Surprisingly well. Who would've thought you, the anti-social, over-anxious, depressed, skeptical bastard who is not exactly known for his people skills..." Wreath rambled, giggling lightly all the while.

"OK, I get it. I'm not the most sociable person in the world. Would it kill you to get to the point?" I pressed on as she kept listing things about me. With that I put the bacon on the pan and let the sizzling of the fat make my point. Don't ask how, Wreath and I are just crazy like that.

"Alright. My point, well, it's really rather impressive how well you've integrated her into your life. I never would've pegged you as one to keep up with a stranger like her as quickly as you did. I'm really quite impressed with you Cym," Wreath explain, which made me blush a very little bit. It wasn't very noticeable, but I was watching the bacon, so Wreath wouldn't have seen it either way.

"Uuugh... What is that disgusting smell?" Misty grumpily mumbled as she shuffled down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Hm? Oh, Cym is makin' bacon. You want some?" Wreath offered, which worried me greatly. I've seen how some of my vegetarian friends handle meat (I have a friend who literally cannot eat meat without throwing up. It really worries me that her body reacts that way...) and I really hope that nothing like that happens to Misty.

"What's bacon?" Misty asked disgustedly. I blame the sizzling for at least half or her reaction. Let's face it, the sound of bacon fats sizzling and popping while sitting in a pan of it's own grease is not always the most appetizing thing to hear in the morning.

"It's a type of meat that's, for lack of a better word, harvested from pigs that most people rather enjoy. Usually the meat is cooked, like so, as to make it taste better as well as kill off most bacteria that could potentially harm us otherwise," I explained as I turned over the bacon to finish cooking the other side.

"Wait a minute... Humans eat... meat?" Misty inquired with a more confused tone of voice.

"Well not everyone does, silly. Take Cym over here. This little pansy hardly ever eats meat. The poor guy just doesn't like the stuff," Wreath half teased. I really don't eat much meat at all, and she just loves to give me a hard time aboot it.

"Really? I thought only gryphons ate meat. Even then I can't see how. It's just so..." Misty said, trembling a bit at the thought. Wait a minute, how does she know about this stuff? I mean yeah gryphons, but when did she really ever come into contact with any? Hm.

"Disgusting?" I finished her sentence as I took the bacon out of the pan and placed it onto a plate, putting some paper towels on top to soak up some of the excess grease.

"Yeah... Disgusting..." Misty grunted with obvious disdain. Meanwhile, I was draining the grease from the pain into our grease trap. In other words, I tilted the pan and poured the grease into a small metal container we use to keep grease.

"Well why don't you try a piece?" Wreath offered, not being bothered by Misty's otherwise weird reaction and commentary.

"No. Not now, probably not ever. Besides, we should get going." Misty firmly asserted herself, dragging me by the arm to the garage after I put the pan in the sink to be washed later.

"But you didn't even have breakfast yet!" Wreath called out from the table. Well, more like blurted out through a mouthful of bacon. Misty just ignored it and dragged me into the garage, closing the door behind.

Misty was obviously bothered by something. I can easily guess as to what, it's bloody simple really, but every time I make an assumption like this, I'm wrong. So this time, I decided to take the safer route: I didn't say a word. Misty sat down on the small wooden bench we have in out garage and just hung her head. Being... well, me... I walked over to the bench and sat down beside her. No words, no physical contact, nothing. I just sat there. We sat there in silence for a good 5 minutes or so before she actually said anything.

"How do you guys eat that stuff, it's just so.... horrible..." Misty finally inquired, lifting her head up and looking directly at me.

"Well, on a biological level, we humans must have these certain essential nutrients that we cannot make ourselves. Since there are some that neither us, not most common plants make, yet other animals do, we make use of that and eat the other animals." I explained, even though I knew what she actually meant.

"But then again, we have progressed a lot Misty. Some people, i.e. Wreath, eat meat regularly. Others, myself included, eat meat rarely. I tend to eat meat every know and then because it does taste good to me, I just have a hard time cooping with how we get this meat. But there are some people out there that are a lot like you. They don't eat meat at all. Some even take it as far as just saying no to any animal product, including dairy." I further explained, resting my head in my hands.

"Oh..." Misty simply responded, seemingly thinking about something. I'd love to tell you what, but I'm not mind reader. Ugh, and thank god I'm not, because that would just suck. Anyway, what was I saying? Oh, right. Nothing.

"Well we might want to head out soon so we're not late to school Michael." Misty said after a couple of minutes of silence.

"Wait, did Wreath not tell you?" I asked in a puzzled tone, raising an eyebrow and looking at her.

"Tell me what?" Misty questioned right back, facing me as well.

"Ugh. Why am I not surprised by this... Tonight's Prom night. The school, after WAY to many student 'protests', gave us the day off in preparation for tonight," I explained, a little annoyed that Wreath didn't say anything.

"Oh... Mind if I ask what you mean by 'Prom' Michael?" Misty asked simply. Whelp, here goes nothing.

"Prom is like the Grand Galloping Gala. An overly formal dance/ball type event that many people our age go to as a date of some kind. Some people go with friends just as such: friends. So all in all, it's just a huge waste of time for me," I related, hoping that she'd understand the analogy.

"Oh really? If it's like the Gala, why is it a waste of time?" Misty retorted, seemingly defiantly.

"Because I'm not a good dancer, and even if I was, I'm not very enthusiastic about dancing in a tuxedo. Falling on my face would hurt," I stated plainly, not wanting to say more on the topic.

"Oh, so you can save me from a pair of wolves while in your tuxedo, yet you don't want to dance in the thing?" Misty teased, raising her eyebrow quizzically.

"Situations differ. Besides, school dances are always so boring. Just... ugh. There's hardly ever any songs that I want to dance to and even then there's hardly ever any room to do so. Not to mention the price for the bloody tickets," I practically grunted. I didn't really want to talk about the stupid thing anyway. Prom sucks.

Luckily for me, I didn't have to because of a well timed doorbell. Since I wanted to let Sarah sle- Who am I kidding? I'm just using this as the perfect excuse to escape this whole conversation. Anyway, Misty decided to come with me, why she did I can never understand, and we both answered the door. Upon opening the door, I groaned quietly as not to be too rude, but I really don't like our guest.

"Good morning Michael," Samantha greeted me, smiling all the while. What does this... What does she want with me?

"Mornings suck," I simply uttered. Half of the spitefulness in my tone being because she's here, the other half because I really do hate mornings. Like seriously.

"Well maybe for you, but mornings are fine to me." Samantha playfully disagreed.

"What do you want?" I tersely questioned her.

"Two things actually. One, I would like to meet your new friend here," Samantha answered, making a small gesture towards Misty.

"Alright, and the other thing?" I interrupted before Misty had a chance to respond.

"Come one, at least let me and your friend get to know each other first," Samantha practically groaned.

"Alright, whatever. Go nuts," I huffed, making my way over to the computer, where my iPod was charging over night.

"You OK Michael?" Misty worriedly asked, herself and Samantha following me.

"I'm fine, just... Have fun you two. If you need me, I'll be out somewhere. Don't need me," I seethed a bit, holding in my anger for Misty's sake, as I brushed past them and headed for the door, iPod in tow.

Oh, alright. I'll see you then..." Misty conceded as I walked out the door.

With my iPod and earphones with me, I did the only thing I could think of: I went for a walk through the woods near our house. Thinking of no better place to go, I headed for the gazebo that I found Misty near originally, singing the entire way. What, I'm a singer and I'm practically addicted to music. I express myself through the stuff and it calms me down. Better than the alternative anyway. You know, with the swords and whatnot. Yeah, you get it. Anyway, I got to the gazebo and just sat there for a bit, seething. Big surprise right?

Well that whole period of misguided thoughts and just out right anger ended in a couple of minutes. Pine Tree aroma can be incredibly relaxing, just so you know. But regardless, I sucked it up and went back to the house to make amends. I really don't like Samantha, but what kind of brony am I if I don't even try to follow the mantra of Love and Toleration? A weak one, that's what. Well, at least to me. So I walked back to the house, music still flowing through my earphones, my mind calmed and my emotions settled. Yet when I walked into the house, what happened next shocked me.

"Oh hey, you're back!" Samantha excitedly greeted me from the kitchen, where she, Misty, and Wreath were all sitting.

"Yeah... Why are you excited aboot it?" I curiously asked as I made my way over towards the table.

"Well, Sam here has a question for ya, mate." Wreath said in a horrid Australian accent that she uses for comical purposes. We all got a small laugh out of it.

"Oh really, what do you want Samantha?" I asked, cautiously, but still genuinely curious.

"Nothing really. I was just wondering..." Samantha started, obviously teasing me due to the huge smile on her face.

"Would you go to the Prom with me?" she said after a short pause, which caught me off guard.

"Are you just messing with me or something?" I asked after a short pause. What, I wanted to make sure I had all of my thoughts together before I responded... Ok, I just wanted some thought.

"Um, no. I'm not messing with you. I really do want to go to the Prom with you," Samantha kind of huffed a bit, probably just for effect. Either that or she was actually a little upset with my reaction.

"Well either way, I think I'll pass on the offer. Prom just isn't my thing," I rejected, half out of spite and half out of honest lack on interest.

"Oh come on Cym, she's trying to make up with you for the past few years," Wreath interjected, trying to change my mind.

"Yeah, maybe you should give her a chance Michael," Misty popped in.

"OK, so what? I'm willing to try and make amends, sure. Doesn't mean I want to go to the Prom," I calmly explained.

"Well, would you please just come with us as a group then?" Wreath asked after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, Wreath already gave me her extra ticket and we were going to go, maybe you and Samantha could come along as well. It'd be a lot more fun as just a big group of people." Misty offered, blushing lightly as she spoke up. This girl blushes a lot, what's with that?

"Of course! That's a great idea Wreath, why didn't we think of that sooner?" Samantha exclaimed.

"Ugh. Just give me some time to think about it alright? Go ahead and go get yourselves ready in whatever manner you may need since you'll be going regardless of my decision. The keys to the Volvo are in the closet underneath my mom's old sewing kit," I said, hoping to get them out of my hair for a little bit. That and I want to talk with my sister about this whole ordeal too. Maybe she could help me.

So after some more attempts to persuade me, they took off. All of them pilled into Samantha's car so the Volvo was still available for me should I need it. Then started the long wait for Sarah to wake up. Since I haven't really had breakfast this morning, that's probably a good thing to do while I wait. Besides, Sarah won't be asleep for THAT long, will she? I mean it's only..... What time is it anyway? God I am so out of it this morning... Anyway, a quick look at the clock later, and I was toasting myself some waffles. At 8:30 in the morning. On a Friday. This is so different... But hey, at least I don't have to go to school. Heh.... Oh I'm so confused right now. But getting back to the point, I waited for a good two hours before Sarah got up, time semi-well spent working on perfecting a song I was trying to learn. Luckily for me, Misty, Wreath, and Samantha weren't back yet from their prep, so it was just me and my sister in the house. Just like before... *sighs*

"Where's Misty?" Sarah asked right off the bat as she walked into the kitchen.

"Out. She and Wreath went out with a peer from school to go do Prom related stuff," I replied from the couch, putting down my Wii remote as I paused my match of Super Smash Brothers Brawl.

"Really? I didn't think Wreath was interested in that kinda thing." Sarah pondered as she poured herself some cereal. Probably Cheerios or something if I know my sister.

"This IS Wreath we're talking about, not really much you can ever confidently say about her," I half-joked as I made my way into the kitchen. And I was right, she poured herself a bowl of Cheerios.

"Hey, could you bring me the milk Mike? I forgot it when I was over there," Sarah said through a mouthful of cereal.

"Why? You're already eating without the stuff," I responded as I made my way over towards the fridge.

"I'm hungry." Sarah said after swallowing her first spoonful.

"I... But.... Hm. Can't argue with that logic," I chuckled as I grabbed the milk out of the fridge and brought it over to her.

"Thanks broski." Sarah said through another mouthful, taking the milk from me and pouring it into her bowl.

"Hm. You look troubled. What's the matter?" Sarah questioned after she finished eating. I figured I'd wait till she finished before I started the conversation that way she'd be more attentive to me. Also, I didn't want her cereal to get soggy because of me. Not after last time. See, last time she nearly punched me cause of it. She's not a morning person either.

"You remember that girl that has been giving me trouble throughout high school?" I began, hoping that she would.

"Who, you mean Samantha?" Sarah wondered.

"Yeah, her. Well, she just came by today and kinda asked me to go to the Prom with her," I explained.

"Well then, that just proves everything I was telling you. Told you she only was mean to you because she liked you." Sarah teased. But she knows me too well.

"Ok, so that happened, but what else is bothering you? There's gotta be something else that's got you talking to me at 11am when you could be hanging out with your friends." Sarah prodded.

"Firstly, I'd stay back regardless. They're getting ready for Prom, which could take FOREVER! Also, I'm not so sure me being around when they're doing their preparations is such a smart idea," I clarified, over emphasizing my disapproval of how long it takes people (mostly girls) to get ready. That's not even mentioning the whole dress fiasco. UGH. There are just some common place practices that I will never understand...

"OK, whatever. What's wrong though man?" Sarah continued, not deterred.

"It's.... It's nothing," I wimped out. God I'm such a wimp. Ugh. I can't even talk to my sister about this. It's so frustrating. Just... GAH!

"OH, I see how it is. I get you man. You like her too don't you?" Sarah guessed. Horribly I might add.

"Are you kidding me?" I retorted with a raised eyebrow.

"Hm, ok, so maybe that's not it..." Sarah mumbled to herself.

"Just forget about it Sarah, I'll tell you later," I exhaled as I got up and walked over to the home phone.

"Oh you better. On a completely different note, you still owe me 50 bucks." Sarah clearly said as she got up to go put her bowl into the dishwasher.

"I've got a 10 and two 20s in my wallet, go ahead and grab those, then we'll be even. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a phone call to make," I responded as I dialed Wreath's number.

"Hey Wreath, how're you three fairing? Oh no, don't worry about it Wreath, I'm fine. You're welcome for the bacon. Anyway, more importantly, I've made up my mind. Yeah, it was fast for me, wasn't it? Heh, true. But I'll tag along with you three to the Prom. Yes, really. Don't tell her, but It's really for Misty's sake. You know, since mose people say that Prom is something that everyone should enjoy, I figured I might as well come along for her sake. NO! It's nothing like that! GOD Wreath, you are SO crazy... Anyway, I'm going to check up on my Honors Chorale tux and see if it's ready. If it is, you'll be able to tell. Yeah, you all can just come back here when you're done. Sure we can all go in the same car. We'll hash out the details later. Alright. Alright... I GET IT WREATH. God. Again, we'll hash it out later. Alright, cya then. Give Misty and Samantha the news too by the way. Alright. Bye Wreath."

So after that phone call was over, I went ahead and let Sarah know that Wreath, Misty, and Samantha might be stopping by while I was gone and asked her to make sure that they could get into the house if I wasn't there. With that out of the way, I grabbed my iPod and wallet and headed out into the garage and hopped into the Volvo. I need to go check to see if my Tuxedo has been repaired yet, so I need to go see Mrs. V. Her parents dabble in tailoring and offered to help me get the thing repaired. I insisted on paying them, so I mad sure to give them something like $50 beforehand and I plan to give them another 50 when they're done. They're really nice people. Anyway, I got to their in a good hour or so. Freaking traffic, took half an hour longer than it normally does... Ugh. Just.... Never mind. So I got to there house and knocked on the door, because screw using doorbells, I have class. Kidding, they don't have a doorbell installed. Anyway, they said they had my tuxedo ready and that they refused to let me pay them any more. Which is good because I kinda forgot that I gave Sarah the other $50. Anyway, after thanking them profusely, I went back home, getting stuck in traffic AGAIN. GASODJFASKJFA KWJF. Ugh. Traffic sucks. Anyway, took me another hour to get back, at which point I just sat around and let Sarah go out and do whatever it was she did since I was home to let the girls back in. It took them a couple of hours to get back, but when they did... Just... Just wow...

Author's Notes:

I GOT IT DONE! Also, cliff hangers!

Anyway, thank you all soo much for being patient. I know I said I was going to get it done over the summer, but then I got side tracked what with my brother being home from college, so there were some schenanigans. Then I just got lazy. Then school started back up. By the time thanksgiving came around, I had all of this chapter written and saved on a flash drive and I was feeling great. Then guess what happened! I lost the flash drive >.< But regardless I kept on and on for the week I had off. The school started again. then Winter Break started and I wanted to get it done by then, but I got distracted because BOTH of my brothers came home for the holidays and I wanted to take some time to enjoy my time with them. THEN I GOT BORDERLANDS 2 AND I'VE BEEN BLOWING THINGS UP WITH TORGUE WEAPONRY! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

So tl;dr I just got lazy and sidetracked a lot

But anyway, I'm going with this now as a new years gift for everyone, and the next chapter will be here eventually.

Also, I promise, cross my heart hope to fly stick a cupcake in my eye that I will start recording myself singing for you all soon. I need to practice for showcase somehow.

LASTLY: Congratz to all of you! You've survived the Mayan Apocalypse (no I didn't ever believe in it, but I have some friends who did, so I'm going to mess with them aboot it. I'm evil >:D)

So, this long-winded authors note is over. Please leave any comments regarding your thoughts please. I want to hear your input please. I mean if it wasn't for Gith00 I might not have gotten over my writter's block when I did. so mad props and thanks to you mate.

Happy Holidays to everyone and let's all make 2013 a year to remember!

-Asuya/Michael

ONE MORE THING! Any song recommendations/requests for me to sing? I'm trying to expand my style, so if you have any in mind, throw them my way and I'll see what I can do. Arigato!

Chapter 6: The Prom. Fun Right? Right.

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Chapter 6: Later that Friday Night

“So, how do we look?” Samantha asked as the three of them entered the doorway.

“You look like you put a lot of time and effort into these outfits.” I said, still taken aback.

“Well yes, but I’m more curious as to if we look pretty or not.” Samantha teased.

“I mean you all look fine to me. But then again, I’m not exactly the person to ask when it comes to physical beauty.” I answered, shrugging a bit as we made our way into the living room.

“Eh? Why’s that Michael?” Misty inquired. Oh yeah, she doesn’t know.

“Because I’m asexual and don’t really judge people by their outward beauty.” I very briefly explained.

“I’ll explain it too you later Mist, just worry about having a good night tonight.” Wreath reassured after seeing the look of confusion on Misty’s face as she sat down next to me.

“So, what would you all like to do for dinner?” I hastily asked, making sure not to given them any time to talk about me and my outfit.

“Nothing too expensive, but I think we should at least have some quality,” Wreath chimed in, which caused Samantha to nod in agreement.

“Alright, but do you have any suggestions in mind?” I clarified, only really thinking of a few restaurants that fit the bill.

“Well as long as I can grab a vegetarian meal, I should be fine,” Misty piped up, probably anticipating that I would ask her specifically soon enough.

“Oh yeah… right. I forgot about that,” I mumbled to myself, narrowing my list down a little more. Mostly because the places removed, while they do have salads and such, don’t have very good vegetarian choices.

“I’ve got it! Let’s go to Atami’s,” Samantha exclaimed after something like a minute of thought, startling me out of my own train of thought.

“Yeah, that’s actually pretty great given what we’re looking for,” Wreath backed.

“Um, what’s this ‘Atami’s’ place?” Misty unsurprisingly asked.

“It’s a Japanese restaurant. I personally really like it. They serve a few different types of chicken, in the sense that they have different seasoning and such along with different sides. They do this with other meats as well. But for your interest, the have absolutely fabulous rice, steamed vegetables and mushroom, and they do have a few lesser known orders there,” I explained to her as I silently thanked Samantha for the awesome Idea. (IRL there’s a Japanese restaurant near me called Atami’s. It’s reeeeaaally good. Like holy crap, I could eat their food any day without complaints. It’s one of my favourite restaurants.)

“What do mean by ‘lesser known orders’ Cym?” Wreath questioned, obviously intrigued.

“Well, they don’t exactly have it on the menu, but they do have fruit and tofu for those who ask. I’ve never really had the guts to try tofu before, so I never bothered with it, and whenever I think about trying their fruit, I always get too wrapped up in the rice and forget to order any,” I explained, feeling all kinds of derp.

“Really? Huh, today I learned,” Wreath muttered to herself.

“Well alright, is that alright with everyone?” I asked as I got up and stretched.

“It was kind of my idea, so I’m fine with it,” Samantha said, teasing lightly.

“I kind of want to try the tofu now, so I’m up for it,” Wreath mumbled as her stomach let out a grumble backing up her thoughts. Heh, stomachs. Always making this silly.

“I trust your judgment Michael, if you think I’ll like it, then I’ll go with you,” Misty said as a very obvious blush appeared on her features. Is this like a medical thing? Her blushing all the time, because there really isn’t much else of an explanation.

“Well alright then. Give me a minute to grab my wallet and stuff and we can head out,” I stated as I walked over towards the steps, them just nodding and going back to chatting with each other as I went to go get my stuff.

We had some small conversations on the way to our dinner, mostly stuff that the girls wanted to talk about and I just kind of listened to. I chimed in when the time was right, but I’ve learned over the years that there are some conversations that you just don’t want to jump into. Most of the time I just had music running through my face (because having stuff running through the mind isn’t as funny =P) as I ran through scores of notes and lyrics so that I wouldn’t jump into a conversation without merit. It was only a 20 minute drive, so the talking and talking upon talking didn’t last forever. Or at least that’s what I thought, because they did the same thing during dinner. Meanwhile I’m just sitting here with my chopsticks and trying not to get pulled into the current conversation of relationships. Unluckily for me, I got pulled in.

“So Michael, how’s your love life?” Samantha inquired after taking a sip of water.

“One does not kiss and tell,” I replied, trying desperately to stay out of this. I’m not very secure when it comes to relationships.

“That would of course require that one kisses,” Wreath teased, knowing full well that I’ve yet to have my first kiss. Well, save for that incident with Misty. Speaking of which, why is she blushing again?

“Wait, you haven’t had your first kiss yet?” Samantha asked, immediately more interested. I, on the other hand, stayed silent with a blush myself.

“As far as I know, he’s still as clean as they come Sam,” Wreath said as she elbowed Samantha a bit in the ribs. Those two are sitting on one side of the table while Misty and I are sitting across from them.

“Mmmm. Interesting. I would’ve figure someone like you would’ve been more experienced,” Samantha smiled a bit as she spoke. Meanwhile, Misty and I are having the same idea and just kept shut and ate what little rice we had left. We shared a meal and ordered an extra side of rice, since she didn’t want to order something and not eat it all and waste my money, her words not mine, and I tend to not eat all of the steamed vegetables that are served with my entrée anyway.

“Maybe by the end of the night we can get them together Sam. I mean they’re already sharing a meal,” Wreath grinned like a madwoman, to which Samantha didn’t respond well, Misty blushed even more, and I just shook my head.

“Wreath, please don’t drink the punch tonight,” I requested.

“Why?” Wreath simply asked.

“Because you’re already acting differently than normal and the punch will more than likely be spiked,” I half-jokingly responded.

“But seriously, you’ve never had your first kiss Michael?” Samantha insisted, eating some of her steak after phrasing her question.

“I’d rather not talk about my failed relationship status Samantha. Why must you insist?” I calmly retorted.

“I’m just curious,” Samantha replied. To which I just nodded slightly in understanding. I’m curious by nature myself.

A few minutes went by, Misty asked about sherbet, which prompted me to order some. The best way for me to describe what sherbet is like is to just let you taste some. She protested but I insisted. I like sherbet a lot and it won’t go to waste. She caved, tried it, loved it, and asked for more. I obliged while Wreath and Samantha just sat back, content with the full serving of food they had for dinner. Then came the check.

“Ok, so I had the hibachi steak, and that was what, $6.99?” Samantha figured, trying to pay for her own dinner, but I wasn’t having any of that.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll pay for all of us,” I reassured, taking out my wallet.

“No no no. I’m paying for my dinner, it’s a principle Michael,” Samantha started.

“That may be so, but it’s also principle for me to offer to pay. I was raised with the general idea that the guy will generally pay for the meal,” I responded.

“That really only applies to when said guy is dating someone else, and last I checked, we’re not dating,” Samantha stubbornly replied.

“Sam, just let him do this. He’s too stubborn, besides, you can always pay for his desserts at the dance,” Wreath jumped in, partially taking my side.

“But, I can’t just… mm fine. Just this once Michael,” Samantha caved, to which I just nodded and smiled, paying for all of our food.

We went on to the dance after that, but it took us a while. While Atami’s was delicious, it was also in the exact opposite direction as the Lighthouse (for those of you I know IRL, yes. I’m using this year’s as setting). So we had maybe like 45 minutes of driving ahead of us before we got to the actual event. Samantha kept prodding me about my relationship status and history and similar things from the passenger seat, while Misty and Wreath were just chatting in the back seats. I tried my best to evade all of the questions while still being polite about it, but my patience was running thin. I mean I’m ok with people wanting to know about stuff like relationships and whatnot, but it gets really old, really fast. Luckily for all involved, Samantha quit with the barrage of questions, only to pester me to sing while driving. Which I mean I can, but I’d really rather not. Maybe if it was just her in the car, but Misty and Wreath are here too and I don’t want to put them in danger by getting distracted by singing. She insisted, and I pushed back. I told her I would later, when we got to the dance. And that was that. I focused on driving for the rest of the way while the three of them talked about god knows what. When we got there, we were greeted by my best friend Bobby.

“Hey! Michael’s here!” Bobby overly stated when I got out of the car. Bobby’s about the same height as me with thick black hair that he keeps long enough to the point where it’s just a little bit past his ears and about halfway down his forehead.

“Hey man, how’re you doing tonight?” I asked, almost mimicking the enthusiasm.

“Pretty great man, except for the fact that you’re wearing the same thing as me,” Bobby joked as he pointed out that he was wearing his Honors Chorale tux too. He’s a tenor as well, and a year younger than me. He’s one of the best, if not the best all together, male singer we have. And he plays trumpet in the Marching Band. Yeah, just an all around boss.

“Heh, oh. I feel like an idiot now,” I said rubbing the back of my head as we walked around to the other side of the car.

“It’s cool dude, no big deal,” Bobby said, lightly punching my arm.

“And I see Jane is here too,” I said, as I opened the doors to let the girls out, noticing a familiar figure approaching the Lighthouse.

“Yeah, Mom heard there was going to be brownies and went straight for them,” Bobby said, pointing towards a female figure who was making her way towards the reception area building thing. BACKSTORY: Jane is writing a comic called Artemis Academy and in said story, Bobby’s character is the biological offspring of Jane’s character because of test tubes (basically. There's more to it, but I lack the specifics). So because of this he calls her Mom.

“Why am I not surprised,” I joked as I helped Misty out of the car.

“Oh ho ho ho… Who’s this?” Bobby inquired as he saw.

“Oh right. Bobby, this is Misty. Misty, Bobby,” I quickly introduced them to each other.

“Nice to meet you Misty,” Bobby said as they shook hands.

“Likewise,” Misty shyly replied.

“Shall we get going then Michael?” Samantha asked as she nearly latched onto my arm. Weird.

“Sure thing. You coming too Bobby, or are you waiting for someone?” I asked.

“Nah, I’m coming,” Bobby said as he walked alongside us towards the Lighthouse.

So we headed into the building. Me and Bobby in our plain black Tuxedos, Samantha in a shorter, silver dress, complete with sequence and the works, Wreath in just a plain black dress, and Misty in a sky blue floor length dress with what looked to me to be the Wonderbolts insignia on a silver chain necklace. Hm, when did she get that… Anyway, we headed into the building as a group, Samantha still attached to my arm, and were assaulted by noise. Noise being loud rap music with admittedly good bass. Immediately afterward, I was glomped from behind by someone. I didn’t know exactly who it was, but given the fact that only like one person ever really glomps me, I had a good idea.

“Hey Jane, how’re you?” I asked as I stood up, the assailant still on my back.

“Good Mike. I didn’t expect to see you here.” Jane happily responded.

“Well I didn’t exactly plan to be here, but more importantly, can you let go of me so we can actually see each other while we talk?” I requested, to which she agreed and got off of me.

“So why are you here then dude?” Jane questioned as I turned around to face her. She’s a year older than me, a bit shorter than me, maybe by a couple of inches or so (I’m not good with height), has ridiculously long hair, like down to her waist long (don't ask why cause I don't know). I will admit that it's weird seeing her without her jewelry and accessories she wears, some of them being heavily spiked (like they have spikes on them, not that other thing), but it's probably because of school Prom dress code idiocy. But to be fair, her choice of a fancy black dress with lace looks pretty damn good on her.

“I got pulled in with a couple of friends who wanted me to come with them, save for Bobby.” I answered, motioning to the group.

“Ah, that makes enough sense. So who’s this over here? I can’t say I’ve seen her before,” Jane wondered, walking over towards Misty.

“Her name’s Misty. She’s new in town. I’ll explain more later, when in better company.” I answered, whispering the last part to Jane.

“Alright. So shall we dance then? This IS the Prom.” Jane said as the music changed to a good piece of progressive house.

From this point till a while later, we just enjoyed the Prom. All six of us just had some idle chatter and a couple of interesting topics as the dance went on, but nothing too worthy of noting. Bobby looked like he was having a blast, Jane as well. Meanwhile, Misty and I were both being the awkward people who are not the best when it comes to social dances. I can answer for myself, but not for her. I wonder what’s up with her, I mean you’d think a former Wonderbolt would fair alright in the limelight. Then again I could just be utterly wrong, as is a habit of mine. Samantha kept pulling me onto the dance floor over and over again for whatever reason, and Wreath… where did she even go? No, like seriously, I lost track of Wreath and I don’t know where she is. Hm. Well, she’ll be fine regardless, she knows how to handle herself. Then the first slow dance of the night started to play, and things got interesting. Partly because a portion of the people on the dance floor weren’t even dancing, so much as grinding. But mostly because I found myself in a predicament: Samantha kept pulling on my arm to go dance with her. The biggest reason this is a predicament is because I don’t want to just basically tell Samantha to go away, but I’m just not exactly… comfortable slow dancing. Ok, I’ve not been slow dancing like ever and I don’t want to just stumble over myself

“Come dance with me Michael.” Samantha slightly pleaded, trying to be seductive with her voice as she tried to get me to stand up. She wasn’t very good at either.

“I’d really rather not trip over my own two feet on the dance floor Samantha…” I kind of shyly stated as I looked away from her.

“Oh come on, I’ve seen you dance just earlier tonight, you’ll be fine.” Samantha tried to persuade me.

“Yeah, but those were crazy and silly dances that just kind of happened or were Gangnam Style. I’m not good at slow dancing, you know, since I’ve never really… well tried before…” I kind of mumbled a bit. Ok, I mumbled a lot.

“Well let me teach you then.” Samantha insisted as she pulled me up from the table.

“I’d really rather not Samantha… I really appreciate the offer, I really do, but I don’t want to impose.” I tried to and like shy out of it, or something like that. Yeah, it never has worked before though.

“Quit trying to get out of this Mike, it’s not going to work.” Wreath said as she came back to our little table with a cup of punch and a slice of cake.

“See, even Wreath understands this. Now come on, the song’s not going to wait for us!” Samantha said as she pulled me onto the dance floor against my will.

“Are you sure? I mean I really am bad at this, maybe you could dance with someone better and have a good time yourself…” I stammered as she turned to face me, causing me to look away a bit.

“Michael, I’m sure. I’ve already been mean too you enough over the years, and I want to make it up to you some how. Also, I enjoy teaching others how to dance! It’s so fulfilling to see someone dance and express themselves, as weird as that may sound,” Samantha seriously reassured me as she taught me the basics of traditional slow dances.

“Trust me, nothing really sounds weird to me anymore, just surprising,” I half-joked as she rested her head on me. She’s a little bit shorter than me, so it works, although it’s a little awkward for me given the history between us.

Either it was sheer luck, or there were a lot of requests made, but the next like 4 songs all slow songs and Samantha would not let me sit back down and let someone else dance with her. No matter how awkward and uncomfortable I kept saying I was. Also, every time I looked over towards Misty and Wreath, there was always at least 3 guys just talking with them, and if it were somewhere else, I would’ve been fine with it, but this is the Prom. I am suspicious of most everyone here. So after Samantha finally let me go, I immediately sat back down next to Misty and let my feet rest for a bit. I made a bit of small talk with her and Wreath, mostly asking about how they’re enjoying the Prom, until Wreath heard a dubstep song that she absolutely loves and left me with Misty alone at the table. It's times like these that I wish I could better blend in social situations, cause some of my only friends were off somewhere having fun while I was just staying back with Misty trying not to make a huge fool of myself.

“Have you gotten up and danced yet Misty?” I asked curiously.

"Not really, no," Misty mumbled back, her head hanging.

"Hey, let's go outside by the lakeside, alright? Some fresh air will help clear your mind and relax you a bit," I suggested, understanding that she's not in a good mood.

"Just you and me?" Misty asked, looking up at me.

"Yes. We're not supposed to, but I'll pull some strings with the administrators," I answered honestly. I'm well liked by the staff here, so I can do this kind of stuff every now and then.

"Alright then, lead the way," Misty said as we both stood and made our way to the door. We passed my principle and I explained what's going on and asked about us going to the lakeside and he let us go. He trusts me.

"Listen, I'm not going to push this issues, but I can tell something's bothering you Misty. I'd love to know what and help you in whatever way I can, but that's all your decision whether or not you want to let me in on a secret or whatever may be bothering you." I said as I took off my tux jacket for her to sit on. What, it's a nice gesture.

"Well, how long do we have?" Misty asked as she took a seat on the aforementioned jacket.

"Prom ends at Midnight, so that gives us about two hours. However, that doesn't mean we can't stay longer. I'm used to being up late so if you need to take your time, so be it. I'll listen," I responded as I looked up at the night sky. Night's the best.

"Ok. Do you mind if I just sit here for a bit?" Misty asked shyly as she hugged her knees

"Not at all. Would you like me to stay and keep you company, or would you rather I leave you to your thoughts?" I inquired so that I could best help her.

"You can go back to the dance if you want, I'll be fine. Go have fun in there," Misty replied, lightly murmuring.

"Yeah, that won't happen anytime soon. I've already told you before, Prom just isn't my thing. Especially when I'm being forced to slow dance with a girl that I cannot stand. Hell, this one of the least fun things I've ever done in my High School career," I snidely replied, to which Misty responded oddly.

"Wait, you mean you don't like Samantha.... like that?" Misty ask, looking directly at me, and I at her.

"What do you mean?" I obliviously questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean, you don't... Like her... like her..." Misty muttered, blushing lightly.

"No." I tersely replied as soon as I understood what she meant, to which she seemed to be relieved of a heavy burden or something.

"Oh, that's good to hear..." She sighed to herself. Well, mostly to herself.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" I asked even though I completely heard her the first time. Just in case she didn't want me to hear what she said.

"Oh, I was just thinking to myself," Misty more cheerfully responded.

"Alright, fair enough. So I can stay out here and not lose my hearing, right?" I joked, serious about staying here with her though.

"That's fine with me, but you need to sit here if you do," Misty said as she scooted over on the jacket and patted the area next to her, meaning she wanted me to sit there.

"Oh no, that's fine Misty, I can sit on the grass, really. I don't want to cramp you on the jacket..." I very shyly stuttered as I moved to sit on the grass nearby.

"Please Michael?" Misty pleaded as she grabbed my hand. I couldn't say no now, so I obliged and sat there next to her.

The next hour or so was just spent sitting by the lakeside, Misty still holding onto my hand. I was nervous and didn't exactly know what to do since I wanted her to feel better but I didn't want to be holding her hand. To me, that's really something that I reserve for people I'm in a relationship with , and Misty deserves better than a screw up like me. I mean just look at her, her hair alone is enough to at least interest most anyone she comes in contact with. Who else really has icy blue hair and can pull it off anyway? Hardly anybody, that's who. Given her athletic nature from being a Wonderbolt, she has a figure that most other guys would swoon over, and if that's not their fancy, then she could always impress them with her athletic skill. She's been running with the track team recently and has just been on fire. Then past all of the physical attributes comes her personality. She's sweet and kind, albeit clumsy from time to time, and is generally fun to hang around. I've yet to really have a bad time around her and I hope to keep it that way. She's a fantastic girl, even if her backstory is a bit confusing and hectic, and I don't want to see her get hurt. Even though it's more enjoyable than losing my hearing inside the hall, I couldn't just sit here forever. I needed to stand.

"Something wrong Michael?" Misty worriedly asked when I somewhat suddenly stood.

"Not really, I just need to stand for a minute or so. I have a bad tendency of being too energetic, i.e. sometimes I just can't sit still," I responded plainly.

"Alright, that makes enough sense. How much longer until Prom's over?" Misty changed the subject. Reason why? Beats me.

"Roughly an hour or so. But again, we can leave early if you want, or we can stay here for a bit after or whatever. I'm flexible with the time," I informed her.

"What about Wreath and Samantha? They rode over with us," Misty pointed out.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that little fact. Hm. Well, I could go try and find them and ask them what they'd like to do," I offered.

"That sounds awesome. Let's go see if they're about ready to go then," Misty said as she stood as well and handed me my jacket.

"Wait, so you want to go back home then?" I asked as we walked back, putting my jacket back on as we walked.

"Yeah. I mean I haven't really done anything this whole time and I'm a little tired," Misty briefly explained.

"That sounds like something I would say," I joked as we walked back up onto the porch attached to the dance hall. I thanked my principle as we passed.

"Well I guess living with you has an impact on me then Michael," Misty replied jovially as well.

"Maybe. Hey, do you want to wait out here and let me go find those two? It's bloody loud in there still," I offered.

"Nah, I'll go in with you. I'm, or I was actually, a Wonderbolt. This isn't nearly as loud as the wind when flying at high speeds," Misty declined with sound (get it?) reasoning.

"Alright, fair enough," I tersely responded as we went back into the hall.

So we then just navigated the dance floor for a while, trying to pick out Wreath and Samantha while being nearly assaulted by people, Misty more so than me. But neither of us accepted any of the invitations to dance and decided to go check at the tables and see if they were sitting down. Luckily they were, along with Bobby and Jane. I'm not sure if those two came with each other or not, but I'm really glad they're both here, since they're both really good friends to me. Maybe we can invite them over and have a little bit of an "after party", i.e. just a few of us at my house talking and laughing and such. That sounds like a good idea, let's do that.

"Heya people," I started as I pulled up two chairs to the table, letting Misty sit first.

"Where have you two been for the last hour?" Wreath asked immediately as I took my seat.

"We were just sitting outside Wreath. I was not very comfortable in here actually," Misty answered.

"Like on the lawn?" Wreath quickly added, raising an eyebrow.

"No, down by the lake. I asked the Principle if we could and he said yes," I briefly responded. She knows that the staff likes me, so she should hopefully understand.

"Well damn, why did I think of that," Samantha joked kinda. It was a joke and we all laughed, but there was something to it that made me think otherwise.

"So Michael, I don't think you've introduced me to your new friend yet," Jane started from across the table.

"Oh, right. Misty this is Jane, Jane this is Misty," I quickly introduced each other. I could go on to make a case for Jane and why Misty should befriend her, but Jane kind of does that on her own naturally.

"It's nice to meet you Misty. Where did you get your hair done like that? Whoever did it did a great job with the coloring," Jane said, shaking Misty's hand.

"Likewise. Oh, this is natural," Misty truthfully answered, to which everyone else but me was surprised. What, I know about her backstory, so I know that she's not lying.

"Hey, before we really get into this discussion, I have a suggestion to make," I started, knowing where the conversation would probably go.

"And that would be?" Wreath inquired, albeit hesitantly since she was still shocked by what Misty said. Although I doubt she actually believes it.

"How about we go ahead and leave here and go just like hang out or something at my house?" I offered, given the conversation I had earlier with Misty and the assumption that it would be much better for everyone if we just talked while not being assaulted by loud "music".

"Give me a minute man, I need to call my parents to see if it's alright with them," Bobby said as he stood up to go make a call.

"Alright, and all of you?" I said, wanting to not leave anyone else out of the decision.

"I'm starting to get a bit of a headache and my parents are both probably asleep by now, so I'm alright with that idea," Wreath answered.

"Fine with me, although if I go I might have to crash there over night," Jane responded.

"My car's still at your house and if everyone else wants to go, then I can tag along as well," Samantha said as Bobby walked back over.

"Dad said it's fine if I go with you guys and also wanted me to tell you hi Michael," Bobby informed us as he sat back down

"Cool. Does he want you back by any particular time?" I asked, wanting to cover all my bases.

"He trusts you and said I could just stay at your place for the night," Bobby answered.

"Alright, so we all are fine with just going back then?" I questioned once more, just to be sure I'm not leaving anyone out.

"Yeah, but I'm going to have to ride with you," Bobby said, with everyone else just nodding.

"As will I," Jane chimed in. Right, she doesn't have a car of her own yet, I forgot about that.

"Hm, we'll have to figure out some seating then, cause the volvo only seats four passengers," I murmured a bit as we all stood to get ready to leave.

"Well Bobby and I could always sit in the same seat," Jane offered, to which I nodded in acknowledgement.

"Alright, either of you three have a seat preference?" I asked, trying to be nice.

"I mean I wouldn't mind sitting up front myself, but if someone else wants to then they can," Misty said, very lightly blushing.

"Wreath, Samantha?" I tersely addressed them, hoping they would understand my question.

"She can have it," Wreath answered, shrugging for added effect.

"I mean I sat there on the way up here, it she'd like it on the way back then that's fine with me," Samantha complied.

"Alright then, shall we get going?" I said as I stood up, everyone else following my lead. We all pushed our chairs back in as we left, which is refreshing to see since not many people I know do this, and climbed into the car.

"The ride home was really great and totally relaxing. With Jane in the car, jokes and hilarity were always and option, i.e. she's hilarious and could make us all laugh practically at will. and with Bobby in the car, not only was I no longer the only guy, plenty of different musical artists where discovered. He's got different tastes than me in some regards, but as a whole, he has a fantastic taste in music and played some music through his iPhone. The conversations were really entertaining and just great all around. Even Misty was talking. And not like a stray topic would come up and she would say something, like she actually talked a lot. It was like this practically the whole way back. By the time we got back we had already figured out that everyone was just going to crash at my place and I had already been thinking about how to give everyone a place to sleep. I'll ask Sarah when we get back, should she be awake. Luckily for us, she was.

"You're home early, and brought home friends," Sarah began with a smile.

"Yeah, well Misty lives here, Samantha's car is still here, Wreath could practically live here given how often she comes over, and Bobby and Jane are guests that have been invited over," I smiled back as we all got out of the car.

"Alright then. When does everyone have to be home?" Sarah followed up logically as she motioned for everyone to come one in and get settled.

"Wreath can basically do whatever, as you well know," I joked, grinning like a madman.

"Yeah, that's really not a surprise," Sarah laughed a bit herself.

"But on a more serious note, Jane and Bobby are going to crash here for the night," I started, hoping she would be fine with it.

"Alright. Are their parents OK with it?" Sarah questioned, turning into the protective older sister she is.

"Jane called on the way back and she's clear and Bobby called before we left and he's clear as well," I informed as I took a seat on the hood of the volvo.

"Alright. What about that Samantha girl?" Sarah questioned cautiously. She knows about the history between Samantha and I and is a little worried about what might happen.

"I have no idea. She said she could come over and just hang out, but she didn't say anything about sleeping here or not," I answered, losing my jovial tone and becoming more serious.

"Well regardless of whether or not she is, we still need to find places for the other three to sleep, assuming that Wreath's going to stay over night," Sarah started contemplating as Samantha made her way back over to the garage, since that's where Sarah and I are still talking.

"Hey, I just called my parents and they asked if you wouldn't mind letting me sleep here tonight. They're apparently having some issues regarding water pipes or something. Is that alright?" Samantha interjected, keeping us in the loop.

"I've got no problems with it, how about you?" Sarah said and looked at me with raised eyebrows and conflicting body language. What, I've told her about my issues with Samantha all these years and she's looking out for me and trying to also be a gracious host at the same time. It's not as easy as it looks.

"I mean you're already here, so I can't see why not," I replied, to which Samantha hugged and thanked me before returning to the group.

"Make that four places for people to sleep," Sarah chuckled a bit uneasily.

"Listen, I know I don't have the best history with her, but I'm not about to just kick her out..." I started

"I know, it just makes me uneasy..." Sarah confessed, looking me dead in the face.

"Don't worry about it, I can handle myself. However, I will need your help figuring out where everyone's going to sleep," I reassured my sister, already having ideas go through my mind.

"Well Wreath and I get along well, so the two of us can share my bed. Besides, it's not like we haven't before," Sarah offered, thinking about the options herself.

"Alright. Bobby and Jane are really close, given their history as well as Jane being Bobby's section leader in Marching band, so I thought maybe those two could share a bed if they want to," I thought out loud.

"Alright, so that just leaves you and Samantha, since Misty already has her own room and everything," Sarah added.

"Well, actually, wait a minute. I may dislike her, but Samantha still deserves to sleep on a bed. Maybe she could share Misty's bed, but we might want to ask them about that first," I figured, trying to be nice about this whole ordeal.

"Alright then, let's go ask them all then," Sarah suggested, knowing that I'll find a place for myself to sleep.

"Wait a minute, we wanted to let Bobby and Jane have a bed, but we only have the two, right?" I wondered, just now realizing this little fact.

"I figured we could let them have the couch bed," Sarah shrugged.

"What couch bed?" I asked, utterly confused.

"The one you've been sleeping on for the past few weeks," Sarah commented, a little confused herself as to why I was asking.

"Wait, that thing is a couch bed?" I blurted out, astonished by this.

"Yeah, I thought that's how you'd been sleeping on it for the past few weeks. Did you not know about that?" Sarah laughed a bit at my misfortune.

"No, I didn't. I've been sleeping on that thing as if it was just a regular couch," I mumbled to myself out of frustration, feeling all kinds of stupid.

"Ha! That's hilarious..." Sarah started laughing as I mentally beat myself up over this.

"Whatever, let's just go ask everyone what they want to do about this," I muttered, wanting to stop the embarrassment as soon as possible.

"Alright, let's go do that then," Sarah agreed between laughs as we both walked into the house.

Sarah and I surveyed everyone about what they wanted to do with the situation and gave them what we had just thought of. Wreath agreed in a heartbeat, which surprised neither of us. Misty and Samantha talked between the two of them and both decided to share Misty's bed quickly, which actually did surprise me. Bobby and Jane had no qualms about their end of the situation and agreed to take the couch bed, which Sarah started to set up for them while making fun of my lack of knowledge of the feature. I went to go grab some extra sheets for the two of them as well as some pillows and made the bed for them whenever they were ready. Then we kind of just sat around the kitchen table and chatted for a bit, all seven of us. Eventually they realized that something was off with the plan for sleep arrangements.

"Wait a minute, everyone else is situated but you Michael," Wreath spoke up after taking a sip of iced tea.

"Hm? I'm sorry, I'm not sure I follow what you're saying," I responded, utterly confused since she just said this out of context. I mean we were talking about music before hand since Bobby asked Misty about what she likes to listen to.

"Sleeping arrangements. The six of us all have someplace to sleep, a bed even, and yet you don't," Wreath clarified.

"Oh. Don't worry about it Wreath, I'll figure something out," I dodged, trying to think of something to fix this situation.

"But why? I mean this is your house, you live here. You should at least have a nice place to sleep," Wreath insisted, to which the others nodded, save for Sarah who knows me.

"But I have friends over, and I don't want to leave them out. If nothing else, guests deserve a good place to sleep more than I do myself," I retorted, knowing that they'd all disagree, save for Sarah since she and I were raised on the same idea.

"That doesn't mean you should let yourself get the short end of the deal," Samantha chipped in.

"Listen, I appreciate the concern, but I'll always give way to guests before myself. It's just how I am," I stated, hoping to end the conversation and get back to the music.

"But if you do that, then you'll be giving yourself a less than optimal place to sleep," Samantha continued. Whelp, there goes ending that conversation.

"Again, I'll think of something. Even if it's lackluster," I persevered, refusing to give in.

"How about this: you come up with me and Misty and sleep with us?" Samantha offered deviously, to which Misty blushed furiously.

"No. Firstly, that bed is really only meant for two people at most, so three would be stretching it a bit. Secondly, that situation would be all kinds of awkward," I immediately declined. I still don't trust Samantha anyway, so I really don't want to even think of accepting that offer.

"Samantha, while I really do appreciate your attempt and your generosity, you really should just stop now. I've lived with this guy all his life, and I know how stubborn he can get. He won't budge on this, so you might as well just let it be," Sarah said after a few minutes of more attempts by Samantha to get me to sleep in a bed.

"But he should sleep in a bed. It's his house..." Samantha protested, still trying.

"Seriously, it's not going to get you anywhere," Sarah reaffirmed, finishing off her glass of water.

"Mm... fine. But don't do anything stupid Michael," Samantha caved with a hint of genuine concern.

So with that settled, kind of, we continued on with our conversations and just had a fun rest of the night. Bobby and I broke out the Wii and he and I played a few Sonic games while the girls watched, all the while we were all still talking. Samantha and Misty decided to check out first, heading up at around 1am, with Sarah and Wreath following about 30 minutes later. Jane was already getting ready to crash around 2 while Bobby and I finished up our game of Smash Bros. Brawl, and the two of them called it a night. I stayed up a little while longer, standing outside on the deck and looking at the stars for a bit so I could just take in this whole night. While I was not thrilled to go to Prom at first, I have to admit that the night did not actually turn out that bad. The Prom itself was rather lackluster, but as a whole this was a good night. I went back inside for a minute to grab a few things like my iPod and a blanket and the headed back outside. I went over to the little gazebo in the backyard and laid everything down before going back to the house to pickup my hammock. I set it up just behind the gazebo between two trees, hopped in, covered myself with the blanket, turned on my music and crashed nearly immediately, smiling profusely.

Author's Notes:

I FINALLY GOT IT DONE!

Sorry about the wait, I was just being lazy is all. I'm finally out for summer (and by that I mean I've been out for like practically a month now). Not only am I out for the summer, but I'm also through with High School! YES FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm excited to have finally graduated after years of torture if you could tell :P

Also, just so you guys know, Samantha is a fictional character. She's like Mack and Klark in the sense that I don't know anybody in particular who would be similar to her. However, Bobby and Jane are actual people. They're both incredibly good friends of mine who said that I could use their names in the story. If I get their permission I might just get a picture or two of them up for you as well, but I'd need to ask them first. But they really are actual people.

ANOTHER THING: I said I'd record myself singing, I'll give you all on better. Not just a recording, but a VIDEO of myself singing at Music Fest, Music Fest being an event put together by my school wherein musicians can come sign up to perform just for the hell of it. I did, and this has been the third consecutive year that I have. Now you can hear me sing horribly and see my ugliness. Regardless, I should've posted this for you guys earlier in the year, since my teacher sent me the link to it like 3 or 4 months ago. I'M A TERRIBLE PERSON :<
(The songs I sang are Aishiteru by Forest Rain and Better Than I Know Myself by Adam Lambert)

Anyway, I finally decided to just sit down and pump out this chapter for you all. You've all waited long enough and deserve it. Thank you SO much for just sticking with me throughout my stressful times as well as my fits of lazines. It means a lot to know that you're patient, since I've seen what impatience can do to people... (cough artists on tumblr leaving said site...) You are all awesome people.

I'm still able and willing to talk to you all via skype or steam or whatever, so the offer's still there should you want to talk. I'd love to hear some of your input, be it just grammatical errors you found or ideas for another chapter. I'll leave the usernames here for you

Skype: Asuya Syndori
Steam: Eathfox
League of Legends (for those of you that play): Asuya Syndori

Once again, Thank you, and I'll be brainstorming for chapter 7!
-Asuya/Michael

P.S. - To Bobby and Jane (should you be reading this) Thanks for letting me do this. You guys are seriously some of the best friends I think I might ever have. If there's anything I can do for you guys, just let me know and I'll see what I can do. <3

Misty Mountains

by Asuya

Chapter 1: As if I wasn't Stressed Out Enough Already...

Chapter 2: It's Saterday, oh Lord...

Chapter 3: Is it just me or am I crazy? Oh wait, I am Crazy.

Chapter 4: Now what? Oh right, school.

Chapter 5: Let's See If This Works...

Chapter 6: The Prom. Fun Right? Right.

Thoughts