"Mending"
Cupid didn't protest when she was picked up, standing on legs that felt too wobbly. Pale hands held her firmly, allowing her to steady herself. The young goddess felt sick, and she knew she wasn't exactly a sight for sore eyes at the moment. Her pink locks were untidy and stuck up in all kinds of directions, and her normally vibrant pink eyes were gloomy, lacking their usual warmth and mirth.
Dark rings were under her eyes, and her cheeks were wet with fresh tears that hadn't yet dried. Her heart felt as if it were shattered into millions of pieces, and she couldn't bring herself to look at the girl, Raven, standing nearby. Instead, she heaved a heavy sigh and closed her eyes, wishing the pain of heartache would disappear forever and never return. Her head hung, her arms dangling uselessly by her sides, a part of her wished Rave would simply go away and let her wallow in self-pity in peace.
Raven regarded the sorrowful girl in silence, grateful that despite her obvious heartache, she was otherwise okay. She had been gone all day, missing all of her classes in the process. Everyone knew why she was nowhere to be found, and Dexter felt horrible for being the reason why she didn't show her face, even though it wasn't his fault.
Blondie was frantic with worry and on the verge of tears, and Raven found herself volunteering to find the goddess of love before anyone could say anything. Dexter suggested that he should be the one to go instead, but Raven countered back by saying that she doubted that Cupid would want to see him right now, although Raven knew that she was the last person Cupid wanted to see right now as well.
She knew Cupid resented her. Hell, she probably hated her. After all, she was the one who "stole her precious Dexter away", at least, that was how some people saw it. She knew all too well why the normally cheerful matchmaker was so down in the dumps. She wasn't blind to Cupid's crush on Dexter, but Dexter, bless his heart, had no idea that Cupid harbored romantic feelings for him.
And Dexter did nothing wrong. He was coming to Cupid for advice because he trusted her and she was one of his best friends. No one had a right to blame him for not knowing that Cupid liked him romantically, and no one should fault him for dating her instead of Cupid. It was beyond irritating to walk to her locker every morning and hearing the nasty whispers regarding her relationship with him.
"He broke her heart."
"How could he do that to poor, sweet Cupid?"
"He passed over Cupid for Raven Queen? He can do better than that."
Raven sympathized with Cupid though. After all, she was her friend and cared dearly about her wellbeing and feelings. She also knew that dealing with a broken heart must suck, and she hated how sad and hopeless she looked, so unlike how she usually was. However, she was not going to have people slander her boyfriend's name or insult her. She wasn't about to apologize or be made to feel bad for being with him.
The young witch sighed deeply, already feeling like a headache was blooming. Maybe she should have let someone else do this. There was bound to be friction between her and Cupid, but oh well. She was here, they were going to hash this mess out, and they were going to put this behind them and move on with their lives.
So, she took several deep breaths, calmed herself, and tried to strike up a conversation because clearly Cupid wasn't going to do so without being prompted.
"How do you feel?" Perhaps she should've asked something else, but they had to start somewhere. Cupid kept her gaze firmly on the ground, and she couldn't help the humorless, bitter laugh that tumbled through her chapped lips.
"I feel like complete and utter shit, but I'm sure you already knew that." Her voice was rough, no doubt from sobbing her shattered heart out, with an edge to it that one wouldn't associate with a bubbly girl like her.
Raven, however, took no offense to her jagged edges, having already anticipated it. She merely arched her eyebrow, unfazed by her hostility. Heartbreak wasn't a good look for Cupid or her attitude. Raven did something that surprised them both. Gently, she pulled Cupid into a hug, arms wrapped firmly around her.
"Do you hate me, Cupid?" Raven asked, and Cupid couldn't help but flinch from the bluntness of her question. Then again, she was always blunt and direct, so she shouldn't have been so surprised. Before she could say anything, Raven continued talking.
"I can understand if you did, actually. A lot of people could. I wouldn't wish a broken heart on my worst enemy because it hurts. It feels like someone took a knife a plunged it into your heart, leaving you to bleed out. I'm sorry that you feel like this. Dexter is too. When he found out why you were so blue, he felt incredibly guilty. He honestly had no idea that you liked him like that, but how could he know when you didn't tell him?"
"What good would it have done? He still would have chosen you," Cupid snapped, squirming and trying to get out of her grip. She didn't want to talk about this with her or anyone. None of them would understand. Raven didn't let her go; she tightened her grip, and try as she might, Cupid could not break out of her hold.
"You owed it to be him and yourself to tell him the truth and get it off yourself. Just because he chose me doesn't mean he doesn't want you in his life. He loves you, Cupid. You're such an amazing friend to him, and I can't imagine how it feels to see the person you love with someone else. But if you really love him like you say you do, you'd ultimately want him to be happy, and I know you do. You deserve to be happy too, Cupid."
And Cupid was crying, her body shaking as she sobbed. Raven's shirt was getting wet from her tears, but she couldn't care less. She held her closely, soothing rubbing her back as she let her cry.
"I wanted to hate you, but you made it so hard because you were so nice to me, and you did nothing wrong. Neither of you did. I just wished he loved me the way I love him, but I'm glad he's with you because you love him just like I loved him. Hell, you love him more than I ever could, and that makes me want to hate you even more, but I can't, and-"
"Matters of the heart can be messy sometimes. There's no need to penalize yourself for having a crush. Honestly, I was surprised that Dexter liked me. I mean, what's not to like about you? You're a goddess and sweet and beautiful, and I'm the daughter of the Evil queen who people run away from in fear because they're afraid I'll poison them or turn them into dust."
"That's not true!" Cupid finally met her gaze head on, her pretty eyes no longer dull, but shining bright with life again. "You're the amazing one. You're kindhearted, helpful, and courageous. You went against pre-written destiny so that you could right your own. You didn't let that destiny define you. You chose to define yourself and inspired others to do the same. Dexter should be thankful to have such an amazing girlfriend like you," Cupid declared, daring her to deny what she said.
"Thank you, Cupid. Dexter really is glad he has such a wonderful friend like you. He says nothing but good things about you," Raven assured her, smiling at her. Cupid smiled through her tears, wiping them away with the back of her hand; her smile was so beautiful and bright, it was if she was never sad in the first place.
"I know. I'm glad he's my friend too, and it'll take some time, but my heart will heal. I'm not going to let this ruin my friendship with either of you, I promise." Cupid hugged her, and Raven returned it, glad that everything was going to be okay.
Cupid linked their arms, and together they walked back to the school. Both had wide smiles on their faces, and Cupid's heart felt lighter than it had in what felt like forever. She'd be okay. It may take a while, but she'd get there in due time.
I hate when people make Raven and Cupid seem like enemies. They're friends, people, and there's no need to pit them against each other. Also, I hate it when people write Dexter off as a horrible person for not returning Cupid's crush when: he doesn't know that Cupid likes him, and he has a thing for Raven, two things that Cupid knows. You can't get mad at someone for not liking you when they don't even know you like them in the first place. I love these characters, but I hate when the fandom makes Dexter out to be a bastard who broke Cupid's heart, Cupid to be a jealous bitch out to ruin Dexven, and Raven a terrible friend for stealing Dexter away from poor Cupid. It's annoying, and it needs to stop.