Rhythm Of Hearts
The earthly smells of the freshly sprung spring flowers intoxicated Wallflower’s nose. Sea salts arose to whip over her and them, the cliffside winds falling up, over, then down as if in a roller coaster. Leaning, wrists on the white wooden picket, she took in the sight of the blue-green expanse endlessly rolling until it vanished at the horizon. Her heart rushed aimlessly.
“Not quite a ‘formal' location to meet, is it?” a cheery boom met, announcing a feminine presence.
Wallflower burst around, madly blushing. Fiddling her fingers together, she knew she was a tomato right now. Her white-dotted green blouse and sandals felt at odds with Sunset’s casual pants and summer-friendly black leather t-shirt. The sun’s heat compared not to the heat caused by this bright yellow phenomenon.
“Heh, nope. I tricked you. See Sunset? Still evil, haha!” Wallflower cringingly waved jazz hands.
The fiery-haired girl smirked. She indicated the black backpack she wore. “Well, would my lady like to explain?”
“W-w-well-” the green girl stuttered,”-i-if you don’t mind lunch here-”
“I know of a better place.” Sunset walked over to stand beside her at the fence.
Wallflower looked down. “I mean, if you think my idea isn’t good enough…” Her hand being gripped took her by surprise.
“No, it’s wonderful,” Sunset said, “I just think we could be a bit closer to the sand.”
This confounded. “But… we’re all the way up here, Sunset.”
“I think you’re forgetting something as usual.”
“Huh?”
“Do you trust me?” Sunset inquired, her hair blowing fiercely.
Wallflower blinked. “Uh, I think so? Um, yes, I do!|
“Then here we go!”
“Wha-”
Wallflower yelped as Sunset’s eyes flashed white. A sparkling red aura surrounded them in a bubble. They lifted into the air, somehow not falling through the numb feeling substance. Unsure of what to do, Wallflower shrieked again and clung onto Sunset for the whole ride. Over the fence, and down, down, down they went until they gently touched moist sand.
“So,” Sunset smiled as it popped out of existence, “Much place for a date, huh?”
“Baka!” Wallower flushed madly. “I-I never said that!”
“Come on now, it was pretty obvious.” A yellow finger lightly reached out to boop.
“Whyyyyyyyyy…” Wallflower groaned, the embarrassment probably killing her.
“Hey, you’re the one who wanted to be all sneaky about it.” Sunset sauntered to a shady spot below a moss growth on the rock. “Come on, help me out.”
Wallflower shook her head. “Fine…”
She quickly dashed over as Sunset kneeled, the bone-dry sand more than likely causing permanent stands. Wallflower unsheathed the red-white checkered cloth the moment the backpack unzipped. It billowed in the wind as she flapped it open and about. Walking around it on the edges sorted it out to a squarish rumple.
In quick succession, a massive platter stacked high with a couple dozen ham and cheese sandwiches, wrapped in cellophane, in the center. Two large red cups and two one-gallons of warm orange juice set beside it. And, lastly, a brick to act as a paperweight for the empty apparatus. Sunset set her legs out, facing the sun, subtly offering her outstretched hand.
Sitting next to her, she took it. Sunset knowingly toyed with her hair for a silent few minutes. Wallflower let the warm ocean breezes collide upon them. Cool cliff shadows fought for dominance. Lapping waves ate at the shore, the soft sand gritting along. An amalgamation of avians cawed, lazily riding the amusement park of the sky.
Sunset took the first sip of her beverage with her free hand before setting it aside. “So, what brings us out here today?”
“It’s…” Wallflower recalled everything she’d done. “... been a good year… time flows… since I’ve seen anyone from school.”
“Same here, Wallsy.”
“Hey!” Wallflower hit back hard on the nearest shoulder. “No one calls me that!”
“Except for your girlfriend, right?” Sunset teased, rubbing said shoulder. “Call my Sunny.”
“I never said we were!”
“But it’s implied, right?
“Ugh, you are impossible!” Wallflower punched again.
“You pack quite a punch, girl-”
Wallflower panicked, raising both hands to cup the yellow girl’s face. “OhmygoshdidIhurtyou-”
Sunset leaned back, breaking contact to heartily chuckle. “Yes, yes, I’m fine, don’t worry!”
“Why shouldn’t I be?” Wallflower moaned, expression souring. “I never got the courage to ask you out before we graduated! Now we’re here, after meeting my pure chance, having had only a morning coffee two days ago and now I don’t how I feel or how you feel or how either of us should feel-”
A hard pounding on her back cut her into a coughing fit. It took a moment to regain breathing functions. During that time, Sunset grabbed two sandwiches, tossing one onto her new-acquired girlfriend’s lap. She balled the plastic up. It was deposited into a black abyss. Sunset intentionally chewed mouth open and made a spectacle of munching for a whole other minute.
“Would you stop already?” Wallflower snapped, fingers raking her hair.
Sunset snickered. “About time you spoke up.”
The other girl huddled into a ball, sighing. “Anyway, I understand if you’re still mad-
Sunset stole her hand away from the face. “Hey, I’m not, why would I be?”
“I don’t know!” Wallflower’s voice bounded in high-pitched. “I tried to erase your existence!”
“But I almost did! Sunset rubbed her finger between Wallflowers.
“It doesn’t change that I only stopped at the last minute,” she whimpered, gazing down.
Sunset brushed frazzled hair out of the way. “Hey, look at me.”
Wallflower did so.
“Yes, you made mistakes.”
Green eyes teared.
“But everyone does.
The dam burst.
“And that’s okay.”
Wallflower broke into a silent sobbing.
“What matters is that you learned from them.”
Sunset set the fragile girl’s head down in her lap. They stayed positioned like that, biding the time by watching the tides. The day’s sunny afternoon forecast stayed the same. It seemed a day that could last forever if one wished it to. Its soothing ambiance reached far, the hypnotizing infinity of murky emerald kept them company.
Wallflower silently ate sandwich after sandwich alongside Sunset. Now and then, a greedy bastard of a seagull tried to approach for even crumbs. And each time, a crimson bolt zapping from the Equestrian girl’s fingers smoked them away. The green girl could not help but laugh at that each time. However, she had to drink juice as revealed her parched throat.
Eventually, Sunset finished her share of food. To keep busy, she rifled Wallflower’s gorgeous hair, disentangling knots. She also cleaned up the girl’s face of snot and dried tears with spit and finger grease, much to her chagrin. Of course, Sunset made sure to let her actually eat. Celestia knows how much she needed the calories for all her yard care business.
In due time, the orange juice dissipated ever so mysteriously. Sunset gently packed the garbage and platter away, Wallflower unmoving the entire time. By now, the sun had slipped past the halfway point in the sky. No words. Just them against the perfect summer day. Another not-so-nice blast hit them before Wallflower spoke once more.
“You know,” she muttered. “I regret not doing this soon.”
‘What, ask me out?” Sunset shot out.
“Noooo!” Wallflower snorted. “Just… talking to each other, sorting out our feelings.”
“But a date does help, ya know.” That earned her another forceful fist.
“I suppose… it's been so long since school.”
“Truly, it has been…”
Wallflower stared directly into those beautiful cyan eyes. “I just don’t know why.”
Sunset beamed her teeth wide. “What matters now is that we’re doing, nothing else.”
“Yeah, yeah…” Wallflower squeezed her hands, looking up that stupidly pretty face.
“So, girlfriends?”
“Yeah.”
And, so Wallflower raised herself up and kissed.
It lasted three seconds.
Sunset shot out her arms to entrap the girl in an awkward, bearing cuddle.
“Want to go meander around in the water?” Wallflower asked.
“And see you walk around?” Sunset waggled her eyebrows. “Sure thing.”
“Get out of the gutter!” Wallflower swatted Sunset’s hair.
Sunset still cracked a wicked grin. “I’ll see you in there then.”
“Yeah,” Wallflower blushed. “I’ll see you in there, too… in kale!”
They shared a laugh.