The Burning Question
An Earhbound fanfiction written by iguy2002/Ian
The battle was finally over.
After the long and dangerous journey across the planet, it was over. The battle against Giygas had been won, and The Chosen Four somehow made it back to Saturn Valley. Poo decided to return to Dalaam, and Jeff wanted to stay with his dad in Saturn Valley. Ness said goodbye to everybody, but then Paula asked,
"Ness, would you escort me home?"
Ness couldn't possibly refuse. After all, this was his last chance to tell Paula about the way he felt about her.
"Sure, I'll take you home. Hang on, we'll teleport."
"Actually, do you mind if we could walk there, and maybe stay at a hotel?
Once again, Ness couldn't refuse. Ness grabbed her hand as he started walking her home. The Mr. Saturns were upset to see him go, but he reassured them and said that he would be back again someday.
Ness walked Paula all the way to Threed. It was getting late, so they decided to stay at a hotel for the night.
That night, Ness just couldn't stop thinking about her. Her long, beautiful hair, and her pink dress. It was just everything about her.
Ness took a deep sigh. If only he could just tell her, but he was too nervous. Too scared. What if she didn't feel the same way about him? What if she would refuse to be friends with him? What if she insulted him, ignored him for as long as he lived?
Ness shuddered at these thoughts. He knew that nobody could ever replace Paula.
Ever.
He decided to tell her tomorrow, right before she left. He would have to summon all of the courage that he had. He thought that he could manage to do that.
And with that, he finally drifted off to sleep.
The next morning...
Ness and Paula had arrived at the Polestar Preschool. Paula had to say her good byes to her friend.
"Ness... Thank you for escorting me home.
... There was something I wanted to tell you, but I've forgotten it. I'm sure I'll remember by the time I see you again. Well, I guess this is it...
"Paula, wait."
"Good-bye. Uh... so long... see ya... bye.
"Wait! Paula! NO-"
It was too late. The door was slammed shut.
Ness just wanted to curl up into a ball and cry. But, he knew that he couldn't do that. He didn't want to go in after her, for that would just be rude and unruly.
Ness went home, talked to his mom, his sister, and looked through the photo album of all of the picture taken of his journey. He then called his dad, when he reminded him of something very important.
His birthday was in a week!
He must've forgotten because of all of this heavy stress that was laid on him with the task of saving the world.
He realized that THIS could be the opportunity to tell Paula about his love for her.
...The only problem was, he didn't know what the right moment would be. He couldn't JUST invite her over. It would be too obvious.
He decided to get this thought out of his mind and just play it by ear.
One week later...
It was finally Ness's birthday. He had invited a few of his friends from school over, and the other three of The Chosen Four. Everybody talked, messed around, and played a bit. Jeff and Poo were really taking a liking to Ness's Super Nintendo. Poo didn't really get the chance to play many video games for he had a kingdom to look over.
After opening gifts, Ness got a new baseball bat from Jeff, a mysterious (yet precious) stone that Poo brought all the way from Dalaam, and (in Ness's opinion)the best gift of all, a game about Ness's journeys from Paula. The game was called Earthbound. It already had a lot of sales.
Ness was flattered by all of the presents, and he thanked all of his friends.
Hours later...
Everybody had left, except for Paula, Jeff, and Poo. Jeff and Poo were playing Contra III- The Alien Wars on the SNES. Ness and Paula were just chatting together.
"This is it." Ness thought to himself. "My final chance with Paula. What should I do? Wait... I got it!"
"Hey Paula, you want go to the top of the hill? You know, the one where the meteorite used to be?"
"Sure!" She replied. Ness was relieved. "Why don't we ask Jeff and Poo if they wanna come?"
That relief had gone away very quickly. This could ruin the whole idea of a private moment. But, he had to ask.
"Hey Jeff, Poo, you want to go to the top of the meteorite hill with me and Paula?
Jeff, barely listening to what Ness said at all, said "Nah, we're fine."
Ness's heart leaped with joy. This was his last chance, at least for a while. He had to get this off of his chest.
Jeff and Poo had gotten the third game over in a row.
"GOD DANGIT!" Jeff exclaimed. "THIS IS ONLY THE SECOND LEVEL!"
"Maybe we should've gone with Ness and Paula..." Poo said.
"Wait..." Jeff said suspiciously. "So if we didn't go with them, then does that mean that it is JUST the two of them on top of the hill?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
Jeff looked at Poo. And then he realized.
The two of them burst through the door. They needed to see this.
"Wait!" Jeff shouted. "We can't just go barging in! We have to spy on them!"
"Hmm... How about behind those two bushes?"
"Perfect!"
They climbed up the hill and sneakily went behind the two bushes.
Ness and Paula were looking at the sunset. It was only a matter of minutes until the colors in the sky disappeared, to be replaced by the stars and the moon's glimmering shine.
"It sure is beautiful tonight, huh Ness?"
Ness was slightly sweating.
"Yeah, it sure is."
Ness slowly reached for Paula's hand, as he then finally grabbed it. Just the feeling of it was refreshing, delightful. It felt magnificent.
"Well, here I go." Ness said to himself in his mind.
"Paula?" Ness said quietly. His face was a light red.
"Yes?" She responded.
"There is something I want to tell you..." Ness took his hat off as he took a big gulp in his throat. He was on the brink of collapsing in fear and anxiety.
"You see, ever since I first met you, I've... I've..."
Paula looked at him strangely.
"I've been in love with you."
Paula was astonished at this.
"You see, it's everything about you. You're kind, pretty, smart, funny... I would do anything for you, no matter what. No one can ever replace you. I just... I can't even describe how I feel, it's just-"
"Ness." Paula said softly. "Calm down."
"S-sorry." Ness said awkwardly. "But, I've had a question for you. It's a short, but burning question that I've had for a long time. The question is: Do you feel the same about me?"
There was a pause before Paula spoke.
"Well, Ness... I've known you for months now, and ever since I met you, I have thought that you are really cute." Paula said this with a smile. She was messing with his hands while doing so.
Ness was burning up. His face was literally as red as a tomato. It looked as if he were about to die.
"And I have thought that you're really brave, especially after all that you have been through. I know that you were better at handling situations at Jeff. Don't tell him I said that though."
Jeff was angry behind the bushes, but he couldn't just lash out yet. He would get vengeance at one point. Poo was stifling laughter at Paula saying this.
"But Paula." Ness said. "What's the answer to the question?"
"Well why don't you take this as an answer."
Paula jumped on Ness as she held her lips against his while they fell to the ground. Neither of them cared about falling. They just embraced the moment.
What was only about ten seconds felt like an eternity to Ness. It was like paradise. He cared about nothing else except for this moment. All of his worries left him. He didn't need to worry about this question any more, for it had been answered.
When the two finally got off of the ground, Jeff and Poo unveiled themselves. Poo was laughing at the whole act.
Jeff shouted "HEY! SO WHAT ARE THE WEDDING PLANS?"
Both Ness and Paula were embarrassed. Soon this embarrassment was replaced by anger. Paula fiercely said "PK FIRE!"
Jeff and Poo had never ran faster in their lives. Well, except for when they teleport, but that's a different situation.
Ness and Paula both laughed at the sight of them fleeing, as they leaned in for another kiss.
Later that night...
Jeff and Poo had already left the party. Ness escorted Paula home, just like before. But this time, it wasn't as nerve-racking. This time, it was happier, more relaxed and less tense as they walked together hand-in-hand.
When the two of them had arrived at the preschool, the door opened as Mr. and Mrs. Polestar were waiting to greet Paula.
"Bye Ness. See you later." Paula said sweetly.
She finally kissed Ness one more time as she walked through the door.
Mrs. Polestar was delightfully surprised to see this, while Mr. Polestar was about to have a heart attack at this sight. Ness thanked the two parents for letting Paula come over for the night, as he then walked back home. He didn't feel like teleporting, he just wanted to walk. And later that night, as he was in bed, he could still feel her lips against his.