Hot Potato

Summary: James puts his foot in his mouth when he says something that makes Vivian mad. Now with Sofia out of school sick, Amber has to play the mediator between her brother and friend so they can forgive and forget.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Sofia the First!" :)

A/N: First of all, yes, this is super random. Lol. Oh, and apparently I'm motivated to write since I'm finished with work until Wednesday, and I decided to go ahead and release those two promised stories back to back: one tonight, and hopefully one tomorrow. :D I know. I'm ambitious. :P Let's see how this works.

"Oh, Sofia, why did you have to be sick today?" Amber asked herself forlornly as she watched the scene in front of her.

"But Vivian, I didn't mean it!" James defended with a distraught look. "You knew what I meant!"

"No, obviously I didn't, James," Vivian replied as she maintained her icy glare on him, her arms folded.

The blonde princess sighed and raked her hands through her hair. This had been going on for the last ten minutes. What started all of it?

*Earlier*

"Hi, you guys," Vivian greeted cheerfully as she approached the Enchancian twins. Her smile faded a bit as she noticed someone was missing. "Where's Sofia?"

James shrugged. "She fell into a pond when on a trip with our Aunt Tilly, and now she's caught a cold."

"Is that it?" the dark-haired girl wondered, realizing that most people usually braved school with colds if they weren't too terrible.

"She also sprained her ankle when she fell," Amber summarized, sighing. "So of course, Baileywick and Dad both insisted she stay home."

The other princess blinked at the explanation. "Wow. How did she manage to do that?"

"This is Sofia we're talking about, Vivian." The blonde girl giggled. "How does she manage to do many things?"

Vivian smiled. "Aw, that's too bad though. I was hoping she and Clover would come visit me at my new castle again this weekend. Crackle will be disappointed, but I guess it's best to wait until Sofia's feeling better." She walked with the siblings toward the entrance of the school. "Did you guys do that homework for Ms. Flora?"

"Eh," James responded, shrugging. "Most of it…and then Rex stole it and used it as a chew toy."

"So now my brilliant brother is inclined to use the old 'my dog ate my homework' excuse…" Amber rolled her eyes.

"Hey, at least it wasn't another griffin this time!" He laughed and then glanced toward Vivian. "So, Vivian, what's up with this new dress?"

She blinked, glancing down at the more intricate pink dress she'd been wearing lately. It wasn't as casual as her former one, but she still felt rather comfortable in it. "You like it?"

"It's kind of…weird…and not that…pretty?" He laughed nervously when he saw the girl's expression change. "I, uh, that is…"

Amber gaped at her brother. 'What are you doing, James?' she asked mentally, realizing he couldn't hear her.

"Well," Vivian began, folding her arms and frowning at the boy, "I guess I know not to come to you for fashion advice in the future."

And that's how it started…

*Currently*

"I didn't mean it's not nice, Vivian," James defended, trying to soften the glare the girl had directed at him. Apparently it wasn't working.

"You said it wasn't 'pretty,' James. I think that's saying basically the same thing, right?" She unfolded her arms and placed them on her hips. "So what are you saying? I have bad taste in clothing?"

"No! I just…like the other dress better."

"I didn't ask you for your opinion, and if I want to wear this dress, then I'll wear it."

James sighed in exasperation, realizing he wasn't going to be let off the hook. "Fine! If you want to wear the dress then wear it! Sorry I said anything! Girls!"

Vivian's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

Amber frowned. She couldn't take their arguing anymore. It was like watching a game of hot potato, with a barrage of back-and-forth arguments. She stood up and quickly moved between them, grabbing James's arm and pulling him away from the other princess. "Look, Vivian, I'm sure James didn't mean what he said. You and I both know he says things without thinking."

"Yeah!" James agreed with a sheepish grin. "Dad says I always talk too much anyway."

Vivian huffed. "I would have to agree with him." She turned away, dropping her head slightly.

Amber nudged the boy, who gave his sister an exasperated look. She nodded toward the other girl discretely, and the look she gave her brother told him she didn't have the patience to deal with these antics anymore.

"Fine," he whispered to her, "but this one isn't just my fault."

"It pretty much is," Amber retaliated quietly, smirking when he pouted.

James gathered up his pride and sighed, marching over to Vivian and slowing slightly when he became nervous. "Uh, Vivian?"

The girl turned slowly, her arms still folded and a look of hurt replacing the annoyed one she previously wore.

"I, uh… I'm sorry. I guess I just…don't like change." He shrugged uncertainly and absently rubbed one of his arms. "You look nice whatever you wear."

This made Vivian smile, her anger forgotten. "James… You're forgiven. And I'm sorry I lost my temper." She laughed shyly. "I seem to do that more often these days… Not so shy anymore, huh?"

He grinned before laughing in surprise as she hugged him. "That's a good thing," he told her with a playful wink.

Amber rolled her eyes at their interaction. "Well, I'm glad you two are friends again. Now can we get inside before we're late?" She yawned and turned, making her way up toward the front doors.

"Milady," James remarked lightheartedly as he held out his arm to her.

Vivian just smiled, took his offered arm, and followed him inside for the school day.

The end

A/N: Well, look at that. :p Turns out Amber can be a problem-solver too when she wants. ;) I also happen to like Vivian and James bonding as friends, so I may add more elements of their friendship in my future stories. :D We shall see! I'm off to work on "Heroic." I'll have it up as soon as I can. Later! ~AquaTurquoise