I'm not sure when it all happened.
For me, it just seemed like a twist of fate, or possibly a new path to a new adventure. Learning to love someone was hard for me, especially when I realized who I was crushing on.
It was my best friend.
We had been friends for years now, since we were apprentices, and I'd only ever considered him as a friend.
He's strong where I'm weak.
Could he possibly like me?
The she-cat who can't do anything right, paired up with a gorgeous tom like him?
It's impossible. It doesn't work.
It's better off if I don't ruin the relationship we already have.
In the heart of HeightClan's territory, one fine new-leaf day, Skyflower was attempting a full recovery from a gash on her left hind leg in the medicine cat's den. She had accidentally scraped herself when she took a fall and hit a few sharp rocks. It didn't do much, as surprising as it was, but it left a nasty, deep cut on her leg.
Leafdapple poked his head into the medicine cat's den, his eyes darting around, looking for Skyflower. When he finally lay his eyes on her he sighed. "So, how's the cut doing?" he asked her.
Skyflower glanced up, and her blue eyes brightened. "Leafdapple! Thank StarClan, I think I was going to die of boredom here." She shifted her body position so she could show off her injured leg. The cut was covered in cobwebs. "It doesn't really hurt anymore, but Blizzardfur told me I still needed herbs and went to get some." She raised her eyebrows. "He also told me not to have any visitors."
Leafdapple smiled, a small purr escaping his throat as he glanced at the injury. "Well, at least you're doing well, and do you really think I care on what Blizzardfur thinks?" he said, sitting down next to her.
Skyflower paused, pretending to think. "I don't think you care of what anyone really thinks, honestly," she replied, grinning cheekily. "You always do things your not supposed to do. I suppose I should kick you out right now so you won't "prevent" me from healing."
Leafdapple looked at her with a faked shocked expression. "Me? Prevent you from healing? Why would you ever think that? The worst I could do is just put you to sleep with my charming voice," he teased.
Skyflower simply snorted. "Anyway, what's up? Just here to pay me a visit or just here so that when Blizzardfur comes back you get to be injured along with me?"
"Maybe, but then again, maybe I could just be visiting my friend and checking in on her?" he purred, sitting down right next to her.
Skyflower moved her leg back into her body so she was curled up again. "Maybe this and maybe that. You're such a mystery," she replied, flicking him with her tail. "Checkup's over, Leafdapple. I'm doing fine, and I'll probably be right back outside by tomorrow. So be paitent."
Leafdapple let out a chuckle at her flick, lightly cuffing her on the ear with his paw. "Well, maybe I want to stay so I can talk with you?" he said in a teasing tone.
Skyflower gasped in mock shock at his cuff. "Don't hurt the injured, Leafdapple!" she said, laughing. "What's there to talk about? Is Jayspring okay? Last time I saw him, he seemed pretty frantic," she added rolling her crystal-blue eyes.
Leafdapple gave a small shrug. "When I saw Jayspring earlier he looked fine, still a bit paranoid, but overall, he was fine. Probably he's just worried about you?" he said, letting out a yawn as he lay down.
"He worries too much about me," Skyflower sighed. "I was just being clumsy again. He should be cool with it; he's acting as if I'm going to die." Her tail twitched.
"Well, at least he wasn't acting like me, I shiver every time I think about how sad and sappy I looked," he said with a disgusted face.
"I'm not sure I understand what you're saying." Skyflower looked confused. "You're sad and sappy for what?"
"When you came here with that injury? Don't you remember?" he asked, looking at her with a tilted head.
Skyflower blinked. "Well, to be honest, it did hurt a lot, and I couldn't even walk," she admitted. "You had to help me walk to the medicine cat's den."
"But… I was acting way different. I was acting like a kit, not a fully grown warrior..." he mumbled.
Skyflower looked stung. "You- you were upset because you were worried about me?" Her eyes darkened. "You were mad at yourself because you cared about me?"
"I was upset at myself, I should've been there to help you, before you got injured.. Y'know?" he said, "Plus, I thought you'd hate me…" he added under his breath.
"Hate you for what? Not being there at the right time? You can't prevent that, Leafdapple. Why would you think I'd hate you?" she asked, her tail twitching furiously, a sign of anguished, confused feelings.
"Because I could've helped you! I was there the same time you were, I just went off because I wanted to. Instead of being there to help you, I went off to get some food for myself," he told her, shaking his head slightly.
"Pfft, food before friends, am I right?" Skyflower poked him to show she wasn't serious. "And you couldn't have known that. And I couldn't hate you. I never could. Even… even when that… that day came, the day you pushed me away. I wanted to hate you, I wanted to hate you so badly it burned. But I couldn't." She gazed at him. "I never could."
Leafdapple let out a small purr at her comment, leaning against her. "Well, I still feel guilty about it, I still feel as if I could've made the injury less worse than it is already…" he mumbled.
Skyflower frowned. "StarClan, Leafdapple, I had no idea you were feeling this way… it's not your fault. Stop blaming yourself. Trust me, you're only going to drag yourself deeper in that hole you've made if you do." She shifted herself uncomfortably. "I fell on some rocks. How would you stop that?"
Leafdapple sighed, "I couldn't have stopped it, but I could have helped you fall on some less rocks, I don't know, I just feel bad," he said, sighing and staring at the floor beneath him.
Skyflower stared at him. "Okay, I'm going to give my honest opinion here- you honestly sound like me now. Please stop acting depressed, it's making me worry now."
Leafdapple let out a chuckle, nudging her slightly. "Alright, alright. I'll stop, maybe next time when you're injured I get injured along with you, just so I can annoy you while we're healing."
Skyflower laughed, extremely glad the mood had brightened. Suddenly, her heart began pounding twice as hard. Her blood began to rumble, nearly so loud she could barely hear herself. It was as if someone had simply turned on an unknown part of her body. Her laugh began stuttering and faint as she choked, her body turning cold and sweaty. What in the name of StarClan is happening to me?
Leafdapple turned to look at his friend, his head tilted slightly, "Skyflower? Are you alright?" he asked, nudging her slightly with a paw. "You don't look so good, do you need me to bring someone over?"
Leafdapple's nudging didn't help either; if anything, it made it worse. Skyflower forced a smile. "Nah, I'm f-f-fine." She wiggled away from his touch, hyper aware of his close presence.
"Are you sure? I mean, I could go get some water for you-"
"Y-Yes, please!" she replied quickly, basically shoving him out the den. "A-and take y-your t-time!"
He let out a small yelp when he was pushed out the den, looking behind him to stare at Skyflower with a gaze that could mean anything, and padded off.
Suddenly, all of her senses shut down, and a strange feeling- relief? Giddiness?- filled her. Skyflower sat there, her tail lashing now. Suddenly, it all dawned on her. The truth came crashing down on her, all at once; she had a crush on her best friend.
Leafdapple poked his head into the den one last time, "You sure you don't need any herbs?" he asked again, his ear twitching slightly.
Strangely enough, Skyflower had crawled in a small, dark corner of the medicine cat's den, attempting to figure out 1) what was wrong with her, 2) why she was feeling this way, and 3) trying to figure out how to calm herself. Her head jerked up. "Ah, no! I t-told you, Blizzardfur's getting s-s-some, remember?" she tittered nervously.
Leafdapple slowly padded inside the den, "Are you really feeling well? You normally would be fine, sending me off for water? Really?" he said, his tail lashing behind him lazily.
"Y-you a-asked," she muttered, heat racing through her body. Please go away, please go away-
Leafdapple stepped closer, "Well, why would you tell me to take my time? It wouldn't really be an issue if I came back quickly, correct?" he asked, taking another step.
"B-b-because?" Even to her, it sounded lame. Skyflower inwardly winced.
"Because what?" he said again, another step closer.
"I-" What do I say? Oh, because I'm experiencing first-time crushing and I don't want you near me so I can freak out?
Another step closer, and he was only a few tail-lengths away from Skyflower, his tail twitching irritably. "So? What is it?"
"BecauseIdon'tthinkit'sagoodidea," she blurted out, as fast as she could.
"You don't think what's a good idea?" he asked, sitting down in front of her.
Skyflower pressed her lips into a thin line. "I don't think it's a good idea to tell you why."
"Why? Is there something I shouldn't be knowing about?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.
"I'm feeling nauseous," Skyflower responded honestly. "It's- stopping me from thinking correctly." She shunned her face away from him.
"So, you need herbs then." he said, his tail tip twitching a tiny bit, "Not water, herbs."
"I don't need herbs," Skyflower murmured. "No herb can cure what I'm having right now." She exhaled lightly, then turned her body away from him, curling up and facing the wall.
Leafdapple walked up to her and placed a paw on her torso, "Alright then, you want me to get anything for you?" he asked, sighing heavily.
Skyflower eyes widened as she felt his paw on her. "N-not a-a-a-anything," she replied hoarsely, reverting back to stuttering instead of talking.
"I'll stay here, just to watch over you, is that ok with you?" he asked, his paw still on her torso.
"S-sure," she muttered, her tail twitching madly again.
With a nod he lay down next to her yawning a tiny bit. "Tell me if you're feeling worse, ok?"
Skyflower squirmed. "With you next to me, I feel as if I'm on fire," she whispered, so quietly she could barely catch her own words.
"Maybe you have a fever then," he teased, pressing against her softly.
Skyflower flushed heatedly, feeling his fur pressing against her body; her breathing caught. "U-u-um-"
"Wow, your fur is pretty soft, I should use you as my nest from now on," he teased again, purring softly as he snuggled closer.
Skyflower felt herself blush furiously. "L-Leafdapple, th-that c-c-came o-out wr-wrong," she whispered, coughing slightly.
"I personally don't see anything wrong with what I just said, it's a little compliment, that's all." He placed his tail around his body, sighing heavily.
Skyflower huffed. "Y-you called me fluffy, basically," she teased, fluffing out her fur to show off, her body slowly cooling down.
"I know I did," he replied, snuggling closer to her as he felt her get fluffier. "It's easy to know why I called you fluffy."
Skyflower let out a giggle. "Fluffy," she said, testing out the word, then shook her head. "No. Please keep calling me Skyflower."
"I'll keep calling you Skyflower, until I get the chance to tease you about something," he purred.
Skyflower froze. What will he do if he finds out I'm crushing on him?
Will he hate me? Leave me alone? Start gossiping about me? Skyflower felt blood rush from her face, paling at the thought.