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A gentle knock on the door caused a startled Lemon Zest to rush over and open it. Behind stood Twilight Sparkle, all bundled up. She adjusted her glasses, offering an awkward half-smile, "Am I late? It's just that I left Crystal Prep without much explanation and honestly, I'm surprised that you even invited me over, a little nervous about meeting the girls but surprised."
Lemon just grinned and stepped back to let the other girl enter. "Nah, you're the first one. Must be freezing outside, d'you want a drink or...?" She pulled her headphones down so they rested comfortably around her neck. "I thought CHS would have something way cooler prepared for Hearthswarming than this but how could I not invite you, dude? Like Indigo likes to say, once a Shadowbolt, always a Shadowbolt."
"I'm good. And, no, not really. I was free so I thought I'd just come over," Twilight replied, removing her coat and hanging it up. "What do you have planned for tonight?" She followed Lemon into the living room and put her overnight bag down on the floor. She stood around meekly for a moment until Lemon off-handedly gestured for her to sit down, which caused her to perch nervously on one edge of the couch.
"Oh, me? I don't plan, I just host and go with the flow," Lemon laughed freely, giving Twilight two thumbs up. "I don't suppose you want to watch TV? Remotes on the couch, I'm going to make myself hot cocoa. Get the door if anyone rings." She walked over into the kitchen, humming the song that she had previously been listening to under her breath. She prided herself in making good cocoa and if she truly knew her friends as well as she thought she did, she could make some for all of them and it would still be warm when they arrived.
The house was strangely quiet, with just her and Twilight. Lemon's parents were gone for a few days on a little vacation and Lemon's older siblings both out of town for the holidays. Even if it usually wasn't the noisy madhouse her grandparents' place was when her cousins were over, home usually came along with her brother's voice for when he gamed, with her parents' chatter, with her music that she blasted from her room. Knowing that she was up for a long night, she added a little coffee to her mug. The mugs got topped with whipped cream, marshmallows and sprinkles. Nothing like a little sugar high to accompany a sleepover. It was a holiday after all and what everyone needed was to loosen up and have a good time. Lemon toyed with the idea of bringing out a bottle of wine later that night. Her sister would easily cover-up for her by the time their parents noticed. It was better to get drunk in a safe place with friends she knew than get wasted at a random bar anyway and as far as she was aware, none of them had even drunk before. It was something they had mentioned once or twice, something they said that they wanted to do together when the time was right. Nonetheless, she put the thought away. Now was just hot cocoa.
Lemon stepped out of the kitchen, carrying a tray with six steaming mugs. Just as she had predicted, the other four Shadowbolts had shown up and were now getting comfortable, lazing around the living room. The TV was on and Indigo was mindlessly surfing channels, Sugarcoat was lying upside down on the couch but quickly stood up when she saw her enter. Lemon put the tray down on the table and just as Sunny reached for one, she held up her hand. "Nuh-uh, I know who's getting what." Hot cocoa was Lemon's thing because she was extra careful what balance of ingredients she put in, knowing which one of her friends wanted something a little more sweet. Indigo's had caramel while Sunny Flare preferred peppermint and chocolate chip cookie. Twilight got vanilla (just a hunch really, Lemon hadn't spent enough time around her to fully know her drink preferences) while Sugarcoat had cinnamon, a lot of it. Usually, Lemon tried out new drink combinations with Sugarcoat because the other girl didn't hesitate to bluntly state how she felt about the flavor but this time, it was something a little more personal. Lemon picked up the last two mugs, passing one to Sour Sweet with a smile. The drink wasn't topped with marshmallows or sprinkles, rather with maple syrup and little pieces of candied fruit. Lemon sat down next to Sour Sweet, cupping her mug with two hands and took a sip. The espresso hit her and she sank into the couch, relaxed. On a cold day, all she needed was a warm drink and some good friends to watch lame movies with.
"This is great!" Twilight exclaimed, turning excitedly to Lemon. Her eyes were bright and she honestly seemed impressed. Twilight was smart but sometimes she overlooked the simplest things like simply being observant. Not everything had to be that complicated. "How did you know what I liked? Is it some psychology trick, careful stalking? You've got to tell me!"
Sugarcoat smiled into her mug before replying. flat as always, "I'm pretty sure she just memorized your Starbucks order."
"I don't drink Starbucks..."
"It was just a hunch, you look like the vanilla type," Lemon cut in, waving her hand dismissively.
"What a bore," Indigo commented. "Clearly caramel takes the win, though I wish you'd just let me dump icing sugar into this..."
"And let you lose your mind? Never." Sunny giggled. "A sugar rush is the last thing you need."
"I would have said that a sprig of mistletoe was the last thing, actually."
"Too late!" Indigo yelled, putting down her cup and standing up. "Who shall be the lucky couple tonight? Where should I put this?" She triumphantly fished out a piece of the said cursed plant from her pocket. "Close your eyes, everyone."
"...are you sure this is safe?" Twilight asked nervously.
"Oh yes, this is a thing she does every year," Sunny replied, closing her eyes. "It's good that she's hanging it here rather than at school. Every year Cinch was that close to walking-"
"It would be better if she didn't hang it at all," Sugarcoat cut in, although she smiled slightly. "But a game's a game, just close your eyes."
After an awkward couple of minutes, Indigo sat down, grinning mischievously. She slumped down on a beanbag that had been placed on the floor, a playful smirk on her lips. She took another sip of her drink, leaving behind a whipped cream mustache. "It's done!"
"Statistically-" Twilight began, only to be cut off by Indigo unmuting the TV and putting on a movie.
Lemon turned away from the movie, tuning out Sugarcoat's commentary and Indigo's enthusiastic teasing. Sour Sweet sat at the end of the couch, hugging her mug with her knees to her chest. She seemed distracted, not entirely focused on the cheesy holiday film that Sunny had asked them to put on. "You've been quiet. Don't like your drink? I could make you a new one." Lemon asked quietly.
Sour shook her head. "No, it's great. Adding the candied lemon was a nice touch but I don't see why you'd invite someone like me! All I do is ruin everything. I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... Now I've gone and hurt your stupid feelings, go ahead and kick me out!" She looked away, bringing a hand up to rub her eyes.
"Hey, all I heard is that you like my me-flavored drink and that's all that matters," Lemon replied, trying to cut the tension. She rubbed the back of her neck nervously. Sour's shoulders unhunched slightly and Lemon gave her a kind smile. Sour offered a smile back. It was there for barely a second before it disappeared and it was like nothing had ever happened. "Guys?" Lemon asked, raising her voice so that everyone else could hear her. "I'm ordering pizza, any requests?"
"Pineapple!"
"NO! Kill the traitor!"
Lemon laughed, whipping out her phone and dialing. "I'll get half with, half without, then. There's some food in the kitchen too." She could feel someone staring at her but she didn't look, choosing to ignore it. "Doubt we'll be going out tonight so let's just change and get comfy."
"Lemon?" Twilight began cautiously.
Lemon turned her head slightly, pointing at the phone she was holding up to her ear. She gestured vaguely with her free hand but Twilight just stared blankly back at her.
"Toilet's down the hall, first door on the left but I'm calling dibs," Sugarcoat said, getting up. She pulled some clothes out of her bag and left. Twilight occupied herself by sorting through her things quietly, not interacting with the others. Sunny Flare walked over to her and they talked for a moment. That took some of the weight off Lemon's shoulders since she had been so worried that Twilight would feel left out. The girls hadn't really gotten to know Twilight before, maybe that was because they hadn't bothered, or because Twilight was always in her lab. That didn't matter to Lemon, she just wanted to reach out, so that they'd have a chance to reconnect.
Indigo just grinned and whipped her shirt off, balling it up. She stretched lazily, showing off her toned body. Lemon stared at her for a moment before quickly looking away, her cheeks coloring.
"INDIGO ZAP!"
"What? I'm hot and I know it. It's not like there's anyone else here," Indigo replied, changing into pajama bottoms. "Relax, it's nothing you haven't seen before... I think. Didn't we have gym together? Man, I can't remember."
Sour grumbled to herself before picking up her bag and storming down the hall to Lemon's room. The door shut audibly and Twilight flinched.
"Sheesh, someone's all wound up," Indigo muttered, although she made no move to put on a shirt.
Lemon made a point of not looking in her direction, especially not at her abs that she was most definitely trying to show off. After a while, Sugarcoat came back and Twilight left, leaving Sunny to start talking to Indigo instead. Nobody else seemed particularly bothered by Indigo's shirtlessness, maybe they were just used to it. It might have been winter but the house was heated and there was nothing Lemon could do to make her go put on a shirt. Sure she could lower the heat but that was just mean, wasn't it?
"Pizza's coming in an hour, dudes," Lemon announced, putting her phone in her pocket and getting up to go to her room.
The door was still closed and she knocked gently. It flew openly suddenly and Sour Sweet stared back at Lemon, still dressed in her previous set of clothes. She looked up expectantly. "I just needed to get my clothes," Lemon mumbled, not missing the other girl's glare. Sour simply stepped back to let Lemon into the room just as-
"CAUGHT YOU!" Indigo shouted triumphantly, suddenly, or so it seemed, materializing at the other end of the corridor. "Now kiss." She grinned wickedly, staring at the two that were caught off guard.
Just as Sour Sweet stepped forward, Lemon stumbled back, refusing to meet anyone's eye. How had she missed that stupid plant that was taped to the stupid wall just above her stupid door?
"It's fine, I wouldn't kiss someone like me either." Hurt flared in Sour Sweet's eyes, only to be quickly replaced by anger. "I mean, who would want someone as broken as me!? All I ever do is f*ck things up. It's a miracle you even invited me here. I don't get why you pretend to care because eventually I'll just flip out at you and we'll be back at f*cking square one!" The door slammed in Lemon's face and the girl winced.
She gritted her teeth. "Not. Funny." She reached up and jumped, ripping down the plant and dropping it on the floor before turning. She stalked down the hall towards Indigo who shrank back in fear. "Why did you have to do that? She wasn't having the best time and you just made everything worse! What gives?" She demanded, stepping ever so slightly into the other girl's personal space, jabbing a finger at her.
"You could've just kissed her, you know? She was going for it, just go with the flow of the holiday and...." Indigo mumbled, trying to slip away.
"And what? Catch feelings!? It's not as simple as you think!" Lemon shouted, balling up her hands at her sides. "You don't know what it's like, to feel so bloody perverted for staring at your friends! I would be taking advantage of her!" Lemon paused, taking a step back as she registered what she had just said. "Excuse me, I need some time to think," she muttered, setting her jaw and pushing past Indigo and into the kitchen, pulling her headphones over her ears.
"You really screwed up there, Indigo," Sugarcoat commented, unimpressed.
"I'm sure it'll pass over soon, right?" Sunny tried, putting a comforting arm around the other girl. "We're friends, it'll patch up. Lemon never stays mad at for long and none of us are going to judge her and once she's calmed down, she'll probably sort things out with Sour and it'll be all good. I wouldn't go talk to her, when Sour's like that only Lemon can calm her down. I mean, at least that's what Twilight told me about friendship problems." She thought for a moment before leaning in and whispering into Indigo's ear, "Just put on a shirt, make life easier."
Indigo stared regretfully at her hands for a moment before walking over to her bag and pulling on a t-shirt. She sat down on the floor, contemplating the interesting design on the rug. Twilight walked back into the room and began messing with her things again. It was clear that she had heard the whole thing, even from behind the bathroom door. Sunny sighed before picking up her things and walking to the bathroom while Sugarcoat unpaused the movie and resumed watching.
The doorbell rang and Lemon walked out from the corridor, wearing an oversized t-shirt that clearly belonged to her older sister based on the college logo on the back. She got the door, bringing in a bag that contained square boxes. Indigo and Lemon sat in awkward silence as they ate while the other three chatted among themselves, occasionally trying to get the two to join them in conversation.
Finally, Indigo tried to break the awkwardness. "Look, I'm really sorry. I didn't know that would happen and it could have been any one of us, really."
Twilight pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose with a clean finger. "Statistics don't lie."
Lemon shrugged half-heartedly. "It's not your fault that I overreacted. You didn't know that I would respond like that. None of us meant for this to happen so let's just let it go." Lemon offered Indigo a small hopeful smile and Indigo gave her own crooked half-smile back. "I'll go talk to Sour."
Lemon got up and walked to her room door, pushing the plant behind her with her foot. She took a deep breath, before knocking gently on the door.
No response.
She turned the door handle. It was unlocked. She opened the door slightly and slipped in. A bottle of pills lay on Lemon's bedside table and Sour sat on the floor next to Lemon's bed, curled up in a ball, still in her same set of clothes. Lemon sat down next to her. She stared at the other girl for a moment, reaching out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, revealing a few freckles next to her ear. Sour was asleep.
Lemon steeled herself and gently shook the other girl's shoulder. "Hey, wake up," she said quietly. Sour Sweet looked up, tear stains marking her freckled cheeks. "Are you hungry? Pizza's here." Sour didn't respond, noticing how kindly Lemon still looked at her after her outburst, how the other girl's hand lingered on her shoulder. Lemon followed the other girl's gaze to where her hand lay and took her hand away quickly, blushing slightly. "You okay?"
Sour shook her head, looking away.
"Wanna talk about it?"
She hesitated and Lemon took both her hands and led Sour to sit on her bed next to her.
"It's stupid, I shouldn't have taken it out on you." She mumbled, staring at her hands that fidgeted in her lap. "It just hurt to see that even my friends, my f*cking friends, were scared of me! And I freaked out after because you looked so hurt and I did that! I hurt you! I hurt the only person who has ever been able to talk me out of doing stupid things. I hurt you by doing a stupid thing."
"You weren't the one, you know? I hurt you by taking that step back," Lemon replied, looking at Sour.
"Why do you keep running after me, when I screw up? Why don't you just give up? Everyone else has. The teachers, my parents, everyone!" Sour sniffled, rubbing her eyes.
"We're Shadowbolts, we don't give up. Everyone was so happy that we could meet up today. You're so worth it, you know? You're worth everything because you try and try again and you never give up on yourself or anyone else for that matter. I want to be the person to you that you are for everyone else. Why does it matter that you're different from everyone else? That's what makes you you." Lemon replied, taking Sour Sweet's hands in her again and looking into her eyes. "You're a great person and I wouldn't trade you for anything in the world." Sour Sweet smiled slightly, something that tugged on the corner of her lips but was barely there.
Sour Sweet shifted her hands slightly and Lemon dropped them and reeled back. "I'm so, so sorry, I didn't mean to... I just made things weird, didn't I? Heh, should've known that it was my turn to screw up..." Lemon muttered, looking away and rubbing the back of her neck.
Sour Sweet closed the gap between the two of them once again, this time taking Lemon's hands in hers. "You're not disgusting, you know? No matter what anyone tells you, we know that you aren't. You're one of the kindest people I know and you were ever to take advantage of anyone, you would hear it from them. You're just a teenager like any of us and guess what? You're perfect the way you are." Her gaze flickered down, then back up as she met Lemon's eyes. "You don't need to care what other people think so long you have us by your side."
Lemon's gaze faltered and her smile faded, as she remembered the last time she had been in this sort of situation. "That's not true, I need to be aware of other people or I'll just become my stupid, stuck-up, self-absorbed self again and I won't be any different from the others at school." She knew that she was just coming up with excuses but she had no idea what else to say and because she was so frightened that she'd go back to the way she was. What would her friends think of her then?
"Shut up," Sour Sweet mumbled, using one hand to turn Lemon's gaze towards her again, cupping the other girl's cheek.
"What?"
"I said, shut up. Oh never mind..." Sour Sweet closed the gap between them again, gently yet firmly pressing her lips against Lemon's.
Lemon's eyes widened in shock and she moved back. "That's not cool, you know," she grumbled, looking away. "You straight girls can mess around with each other and have fun, I don't care but leave me out of it. I'll just end up catching feelings and our friendship will be all over." She made a move to get up, saying, "Guess I better go tell Indigo that the dare's done."
"Wait!" A thin hand gripped Lemon's wrist and Sour Sweet looked pleadingly up at her. Lemon froze for a moment, giving her the chance to explain. "I didn't mean for it to be like that. I never said I was straight or anything. I just thought... You're right, I should have asked you first. I really do like you..." She paused. "In that way, you know? I just went about it all wrong and..."
"You really wanted to-?" Lemon asked cautiously, something glimmering in her eyes, just below the surface.
Sour Sweet nodded.
Lemon took a step forward, still meeting Sour's gaze. "Then, may I...?"
"You know that I'd tell you if I ever wanted to stop."
Satisfied with her answer, Lemon leaned forward and returned the favor, tilting Sour's chin up to meet her mouth. The other girl put a hand on her waist, lowering her down until they both sat on the bed. It was intoxicatingly sweet yet genuine and clumsy all at once and neither one hesitated or resisted, both slowly navigating their way around each other. Lemon traced out the other girl's freckles with her mouth, drawing constellations as she trailed her way down to her chest. She leaned forward until the other girl's back pressed against the bed. Lemon moved up suddenly, straddling Sour's waist as she kissed the other girl gently on the mouth before sitting up, pleased with herself as she smiled mischievously at the girl below her. Sour Sweet frowned slightly, before putting a hand on the back of Lemon's neck and pulling her back down.
"Lemon's been gone an awfully long time," Twilight remarked, some movies later. "It's getting quite late anyway."
"All is well since she hasn't come running out of her room with Sour chasing her with a knife," Sugarcoat replied, staring at her nails in an uninterested manner, sounding almost disappointed. "If you want to call it a night, usually we bring our sleeping bags and crash in Lemon's room."
Sunny Flare rubbed her eyes sleepily, looking away from the screen with a hopeful expression on her face. Indigo got up, stretching before walking down the hall. She knocked on the door lightly but there was no response, just absolute silence. She opened it just a crack and looked away quickly, shutting the door as quietly as she could before walking back down the hall as casually as one possibly can. Upon reaching the living room, she pointed towards the hallway with her thumb, facing the other girls. A slight blush was visible on her cheeks as she mumbled, "You do not want to go into that room."
Sugarcoat gave a knowing laugh. "We'll just camp out here tonight."