A/N: This one-shot has now been edited and corrected by the wonderful PrincessKanako. Thanks again for doing this for me.
Unfortunately, I don't own Lazytown. That privilege goes to the amazing Magnús Scheving.
Now onto the story. Enjoy.
Lazytown
The Park
8:25 p.m.
The night was warm and comforting, like your favorite soft blanket wrapped snugly around you. The air wasn't overly hot for being in the first week of June, but was instead a welcoming warmth. A perfect night to stay outside, and enjoy what nature kindly had to offer in entertainment. The endless sky was painted an inky black, and no visible sighting of fluffy, white clouds or a bright, yellow moon could be seen from above. An ideal night to stargaze, if one wished to participate in that particular activity.
Below the infinite, dark atmosphere was a young ten-year old girl, who was laying on her back on the crest of the hill. Her small, creamy arms were position between the grass-covered ground and her vivid, pink hair, provided a make-shift pillow to support her head as she gazed upwards to the dark heavens. The rest of her body was stretched out as far as it could go in a straight line, ankles crossed, and covered in a pretty, pink strip dress, white tights, and a pair of white and pink tennis shoes.
If night-time hadn't fallen yet, a person would be able to see her malt brown eyes as they watched dozens of bright, color stars appear in the sky, finally visible to the human eye. The arrangement of the stars seemed a little odd to the young girl. It seemed, to her, like someone just grabbed several handfuls of stars and threw them in space; where they landed would be where they were seen in the atmosphere. The stars, now rapidly doubling and tripling in number, were in various colors and levels of brightness as they hung thousands and thousands of feet above her.
The night was still early; it was just now 8:30, so Stephanie knew that not all of the stars would be visible yet. While she waited for the rest to come out, the crickets and various nocturnal animals were keeping her company and entertained by their soft chirping music and multiple sounds in the distance. As she listened, her small frame relaxed more against the soft grass while her mind drifted away from the present, returning to the past and the event that lead up to the reason why she was up so late that night.
In the two years since she had first arrived in Lazytown for the summer, she would be in her comfortable pink bed at this time of night, asleep or close to it. However, now she was two-years older since that very first visit to a small, once-quiet town, and when her Uncle Milford realized that fact, informed her that she could stay outside an extra hour or two on the condition that she wouldn't be too far from the house. Knowing her uncle was being serious, which was detected in his tone and seen on his kind, ageing face, and that he only had her best interest at heart, she quickly agreed to the condition.
Stephanie would agree to pretty much anything as long as she was granted the little bit of freedom she was now given.
The only downside for the option of staying up was that her friends here in Lazytown couldn't join her outside. Since Stephanie was the oldest by two, almost three years, she was given more opportunities and responsibilities, which her friends were still too young to have at the moment. Even though there was a small age difference in the group, Stephanie never saw it as they played together. The times when she did see the difference were rare and seen at various points, having no set pattern to follow. Tonight happened to be one of those rare and infrequent times where she saw the age difference.
Stephanie sighed in contentment, her kind eyes not once leaving the scene in front of her, while thoughts of her friends and their age differences took her away from the beauty of the glittering stars, distracting her with trivial stuff occurring in her young, innocent life.
The pink-haired child shifted her position a little, finding a more comfortable spot in the grass when more brilliant stars appeared in the blackened heavens. One of the stars in the new batch must have been what Stephanie was unconsciously waiting for, if the huge smile growing on her bubble-gum lips were anything to go by.
The first blue star, the most beautiful in her opinion, could now be seen hanging weightless in the sky, twinkling like Christmas lights on a fir green tree. Shining brightly for all the world to see and enjoy.
When asked in the past what her favorite color happened to be, she'd always answered that it was pink. And it still was from the look of her outfit, but she had another favorite color. Blue. This particular color was rated second on her list but was so close that both colors could have switch places if she would ever change her mind. This second color of hers was something her friends didn't know about and she was hoping to keep it that way. Sure, the revelation that she had a second favorite color and what it was would probably be considered trivial to her friends, but it came attached with a reason. A reason which she had no wish to tell. A reason that would affect several people here in this small, happy town.
If it was possible to read a person's mind, that gifted person would realized once he or she had begun to search Stephanie's that the blue star and her second favorite color had a connection together. That connection began with her best friend, Sportacus.
Like the colors, Stephanie would never revealed to anyone, especially Sportacus, that she had a huge crush on him since she first met him two years ago. There were many reasons why she didn't want anyone to know.
Her secret would destroy their strong friendship they had between them in a matter of seconds with only one simple sentence. There would be awkwardness, embarrassment, humiliation, and heartbreak. But most of all, rejection if he never wished for those kinds of things that she wanted. In the end, there would be nothing left of them that would be recognizable. Figuratively speaking, of course. And the strain and awkwardness would be too much for her to take and cause her to leave Lazytown forever!
Just like Robbie Rotten wanted so badly to happen.
No, Stephanie corrected herself silently, the second thing he wanted. The first would be Sportacus' departure from the town. The third most likely would be turning the citizens and the town back to laziness like he had in the past.
Oh sure, Stephanie knew that she was being dramatic when it came to the effect of what the aftermath of her secret would cause. And she had a right too. However, she wasn't going to worry…or at least try not too, that is. She was only ten, she had plenty of time for that. And who knew, maybe this schoolgirl crush was just that, a normal schoolgirl crush.
Besides, Stephanie thought, now spotting the North Star shining luminously in the midst of thousands of its fellow members, It' best to leave the drama and theater stuff to Trixie. That's her speciality, anyway.
She sighed again, the only sounds that could be heard outside at the moment was the crickets chirping loudly in the distance and her soft breathing. It really was a perfect night.
Suddenly, she shot upright, eyes glued to the sky. "Oh!" she exclaimed soft in excitement, hands unconsciously clapping together a few times to express the new emotion. There was a shooting star zooming across the blackness like a rocket. And from her point of view, it didn't seem like it would stop or slow down any time soon. The golden star was going so fast that all you saw was a streak of light above before it disappeared like a flash. If it wasn't for that streak of sparkling white light, Stephanie probably would have missed the yellow star completely.
Then Stephanie saw another shooting star. This time, the star was bluish-white and was flying to the left, however, it was going at the same pace as the first. While the mere sight of the shooting star left her awestruck and excited, she slowly found herself reciting the familiar poem she was taught by her parents when she was younger.
"Star light, star bright. First star I see tonight…"
"…I wish I may, I wish I might. Have this wish I wish tonight," a familiar voice finished for her, standing closely behind her.
Startled at hearing the unexpected voice, Stephanie jumped two feet in the air, twisted around while she shrieked the whole time. Being frightened suddenly wasn't something Stephanie enjoyed on her fun list of things to do/experience. The term she would use would be hate. There was nothing in the world she hated…or so she had thought until she was scared to death by her friends in the past.
Unfortunately, her landing wasn't a pleasant experience either. When she finally came back down to Earth, she landed so hard that it cause her to fall backwards. Luckily, two strong muscular hands gently grabbed her arms, preventing her from falling on her back.
"Sorry, Stephanie, I didn't mean to scare you," the man apologized, kneeling down on both knees in order to be at eye-level with her. He let go of her hands once he knew she wouldn't toppled over. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," she breathed, heart pounding like a drum in her chest. The rhythmic sound echoed loudly in her ears, drowning out all but the sound of her heartbeat. Slowly, the deafening beats of her heart as well as her heavy breathing returned to its normal pace.
When she had finally calmed down from the fright, her dark gaze traveled upwards to his face.
"Sportacus!" she greeted with a warm smile on her young face. "What are you still doing up? Isn't it past your bedtime, Mister?" She teased, shaking her finger at him playfully.
"Isn't it past your as well?" He returned, teasing her like she did to him.
Stephanie brushed back a strand of her hair from her face with her right hand while the other hand rested on her thigh. "Not any more, it isn't. Uncle Milford said that since I'm older now, I can stay up an hour or two longer if I wished. I decided I wanted to use that extra time by laying in the park and stargaze. What about you?" She paused for a second, a concerned expression washing onto her face. "Wait! Is someone in danger? Is that why you're out here?" She inquired, turning to look everywhere for traces of trouble.
"No. No. It's not that," he shook his head, a smile on his handsome face to let her know that everything was fine. "Everyone is all right." He sat down cross-legged in front of her, his hands resting on his spandex-covered legs. "Occasionally, I like to stay up and take a stroll around town or do a midnight run. I don't do it often, though. I decided to take a walk tonight. I had just finished and was heading back to the airship when I saw you."
"Oh," she said simply, having no idea on what else to say. There was silence between them for several moments before Stephanie broke it with her next sentence. "Will you…stay? Just for a little while. I could use the company. But, if you need to go, then that's all right too."
"No, I'll stay for a little bit," he agreed quickly, showing no hesitation. He shifted to his left, letting Stephanie have her earlier spot back.
"Thanks," Stephanie murmured gratefully, taking her spot back. Instead of lying back down to resume watching the stars, the one that were stationary and the ones that were shooting across the darkness, she stayed upright, scooting closer to Sportacus' side. She leaned against him and to make both of them more comfortable, Sportacus moved his arm to wrap around Stephanie's small waist, pulling her closer to him.
Ignoring the beauty of the stars that had once captured her attention for a minute, Stephanie looked up at Sportacus. "Sportacus?"
Sportacus lowered his head from the view in front of him, his glacial blue eyes meeting her malt brown ones with a kind smile still playing on his kissable lips. A connection soon formed between them, a silent conversation going on that only they could understand. They stared into each other eyes with so much intensity it was like they could see the other person's soul. "Yes, Stephanie?"
Stephanie blushed before glancing down. Whether it was because of the intense staring they had shared a moment ago, or embarrassment for not realizing that she knew next-to-nothing about her best friend and superhero. Perhaps it was a little bit of both.
Suddenly, she felt nervous and she didn't know why. Ever since she had known him, which had been two summers now, she had never felt this way in his presence before. She didn't even hesitate when inquiring about something that was curious to her, or requesting that he played with her and her friends. So why was she so nervous to ask him, her best friend, a simple question?
"Umm," she started, her nerves still getting the best of her. She clench her teeth for a moment before forcing herself to continue on, to ask what she needed to know, to hear. She locked eyes with his as she bravely asked, "Are we best friends, Sportacus?"
From the surprised expression on his handsome face, it was apparent to Stephanie that Sportacus wasn't expecting that particular question. He probably expected several different things, but nothing like the question she had uttered, which was why he was so taken back. As she thought about it, Stephanie couldn't remember if she ever caught Sportacus off-guard like she just did in the past. It seemed like he just knew what was going on in Lazytown, and therefore, wasn't surprised when he was told about something that other people were just hearing about. So this was probably the first time she had ever seen him surprised by something.
"Of course we are best friends, Stephanie. Why do you ask?" He questioned, surprise coating each of his words.
"Then if we are best friends, why haven't you told me more about you? I mean, I have told you about my parents, my childhood, my friends back home, and even what I like to do when I'm not in school. All I know about you is that you like sports candy, you're a slightly above-average superhero, love to play with me and the other kids, and you save people when they need help. That's all. I don't even know where you were born or where you're from."
"Stephanie," Sportacus began, taking her small hands between his larger ones. "We are best friends and will always be best friends in the future. The reason why I never told you or the others more about me is because you guys never asked me. There are some people in the world who rather I just be there for them. They are not really interested in learning anything else about their hero other than that he or she will be there to save them."
Stephanie nodded her head, accepting his answer. "I'm sorry, Sportacus. It's just never occurred to me to ask. Same with the others." She paused, hesitating for a moment before determination crossed over her flawless features. "But I'm asking now. Will you tell me more about you, so I can get to know you better?
"Okay," he agreed, his eyes lighting up like the shining stars above them. "What do you want to know?"
"How about where did you come from originally? Uncle Milford once told me that you come from an island in the North Sea."
"I come from Iceland," he replied, squeezing her hands before slowly releasing them. He positioned his hands behind him, palms facing down as he leaned against them in support, warm blue eyes never straying from her face. "All of my family is from there."
"Oh," she quietly said, realization lighting up her brown eyes. "So that's where your accent is from. Have you ever been homesick, being so far from home?"
"Occasionally I am, but all I need to do to cheer me up is think about Lazytown and how everyone needs me and I'm happy once again."
"Well, you're right," Stephanie agreed sincerely. "We do need you, but not just as a superhero that needs to save us. If it wasn't for your help, I wouldn't have made new friends when I first came here."
"You're wrong, Stephanie," Sportacus gently responded, shaking his head. "You would have made friends eventually."
"No, not with Robbie's stupid 'no playing outside and be lazy all the time' rule," she pointed out.
"True," he finally conceded. "But you did make friends here in Lazytown."
"Yeah, I did," she nodded before finally lying back down in the soft grass. Sportacus soon following after her.
They spent several minutes in a comfortable silence, until something caught Sportacus' eye. "Stepahnie, do you see that?" he asked, pointed in the north direction of the sky.
Stephanie glanced up and saw where he was pointing. "Yes, what is it?"
"That would be the Big Dipper you're seeing. It's an asterism because it is not a true constellation. And right over there is a constellation: Bootes, the herdsman."
"Where? I don't see it?"
"Right there," he said, pointing to show Stephanie where the constellation was located in the clear night sky. The moment Sportacus knew that Stephanie saw the new constellation was when he saw the happy and excited look on her kind, loving face. Happiness swelled up inside him in that moment. It always gave him great pleasure to show or teach something new to the kids and when he saw that happy expression…well, it cause a warm feeling to surge inside him.
Stephanie stared hungrily at the stars and listened attentively as Sportacus pointed out some more constellations, and even a planet or two. The long busy day she had spent with her friends finally caught up with her, and she realized she was starting to get sleepy as her eyes unwillingly close.
Sportacus looked over and grinned in amusement as Stephanie yawned like a cute little kitten. "I think it's bedtime for the both of us. Come on, I'll walk you home," he offered.
Stephanie agreed to the kind offer as she watched Sportacus jumped up from the ground and offered his large, strong hand to help her up. Once she was standing, the two of them slowly made their way to the Mayor's house in silence, just enjoying the short walk and each other company.
"Stephanie," Sportacus began once they were close to their destination a few minutes later.
"Yes, Sportacus?" Stephanie questioned with a curious tone, turning her head to look at him as they continue to slowly walk beside each other.
"You never made your wish, did you?"
Now it was Stephanie's turn to be surprise by an unexpected question. She halted in her tracks and turned to faced Sportacus, who also stopped. "Wish? What wish?"
"The wish you were supposed to make after seeing that shooting star and reciting the poem," the superhero patiently answered her.
Realization appeared in her eyes. "Oh, that wish!" She slowly shook her head sideways. "No, I never did make that wish because someone came and scared me before I could."
Sportacus knew that Stephanie was only teasing him by the tone she used and the smile on her pretty face. "Well," he continued, "why don't you make your wish now? You won't have to worry about someone scaring or distracting you with me around."
"But, Sportacus, I can't," she protested weakly. "I have to make the wish when there's a shooting star or else the wish won't come true."
Sportacus briefly glanced up at the dark heavens before switching his attention back on the young girl in front of him. "I see a shooting star. So if you hurry, you can still make your wish."
"What!" she exclaimed in surprise before glancing up into the dark atmosphere. It only took a few moments before she found it as it flew across the wide expanse sky. Stephanie closed her eyes and quickly recited the poem under her breath before making her wish. I wish that no matter what happens between Sportacus and me, that we will still be best friends forever.
After making her wish, Stephanie opened her eyes.
"Well?" he questioned her as their eyes met.
"Well, what?" Stephanie inquired, confusion lacing her voice.
"Well, what did you wished for?" he elaborated.
"Sportacus, I can't tell you what I wished for or else it won't come true. You should know that!" she replied, hoping the darkness was hiding her red cheeks as embarrassment coursed rapidly through her. Besides, she didn't want to ruin their close friendship by telling him.
Sportacus nodded his head as he replied in a mock-serious voice, "Oh, of course. My fault."
They soon arrived at the house. Sportacus walked Stephanie up to the front door, both turning to face each other.
"Goodnight, Stephanie."
"Goodnight, Sportacus."
Sportacus didn't leave the yard until he saw Stephanie make her way safely inside, shutting the door behind her. A smile rose on his face before he turned and flipped his way to his airship for a good night's sleep.
A/N: You all know what to do. Send me a little message in a review and tell me what you thought of the one-shot. Constructive criticize is welcome but no flames please.