Back wit anotha one!
Hope your holidays were fully of merry and good times :)
We just gonna get right into it.
Rose lowered herself to kick a few autumn leaves sprinkled along the stone paths of campus. Hands grasped over the strands of her backpack, she hummed a simple tune to herself. Another day listening to boring lectures, another day drowning in homework. It's not that she hated school, she loved it. Just…not on days she'd rather sit in her pajamas and watch cartoons with a cold bowl of cereal which always sounded more appealing than learning.
Sitting alone on a bench not too far from Taurus Hall, Rose spotted her favorite spikey blue-haired fairy reading a book. Her heart suddenly fluttered from the sight of him, giddiness swimming in her stomach. Over the last four weeks, coming in contact with Spike triggered the same feeling as shivering underneath a heated blanket. His presence warmed her soul, goosebumps rising in her skin. She tried her best to hide it, but she hadn't felt like this about someone in the longest time…a familiarly unfamiliar sensation.
Maybe she should go say 'hi.'
Skimming through text he obligately didn't want to read, his earbuds filled the double kicks of 'Empire of the Crown' in his ears. He once presumed he majored in a bunch of math, yet with all the endless amount of required reading he'd been given so far, he wondered if he really majored in reading until his eyes bled. Math was more his niche than reading; give him equations to solve, and he'd be content for hours. Reading? Might as well ask him to watch paint dry.
A tug of his earbud diverted his attention, looking up to see those lovely teal eyes smiling down at him. She gestured with a coy wave as he took out his bud, and all he could do was smile back. "Well, well, look who we have here." Spike greeted teasingly, closing his textbook. "What brings you my way, madam?"
"Pretending to study, I see?" Rose asked with a sly smile.
Spike pretended to be offended. "How do you know I'm not actually studying?"
"Oh, please." Rose mocked in a half-joking way. "You're way too smart to study."
"Ha, I wish." Spike chuckled. "All jokes aside, where ya headed?"
"Nowhere important." Rose replied, tucking a lose strand of hair behind her ear. She looked back and forth between him and his backpack taking up the extra space on the bench. "…mind if I sit?"
He humbly responded by moving his backpack to the other side of him. "You know you don't have to ask."
She thanked him with a warm smile as she took her seat, removing her own backpack to lean back against the wooden backrest. "So whatcha reading?"
He re-opened his textbook to the page where he left off, leaving his earbuds draped over his shoulder. "Just something for my History of Magic class."
"Ah." She nodded in understanding. "Cool."
"…as a blizzard." Spike scoffed, making Rose giggle at such a lame joke.
"Do you ever not have jokes?" Rose mockingly asked.
Spike glanced to Rose, his lips curved in a side smile. "You didn't know? I have a whole damn arsenal in my back pocket."
Sarcastically rolling her eyes, Rose watched Spike turn back to his textbook. She loved how he always gave her a reason to laugh. He didn't seem so anxious around her anymore; he acted more…confident. Perhaps he had gotten just as comfortable with her as she had with him.
Brief silence befell the two as Spike rested his chin in his palm. If there was any excuse to not die of boredom reading some stupid book, talking to Rose was always a good one, so when he felt her eyes staring at him, he veered his eyes back to her as he playfully asked "…what? Something on my face?"
Rose used a gentle finger to trace along his jawline, her voice as soft as her touch. "…just how cute you are..."
Cobalt-blue held the tender gaze of her teal, suddenly unable to look away. Never did he ever expect to hear those words from a woman so beautiful as a wave of strong desire washed over him, urging him to lean closer to her. Never did she think she'd soften by the mere existence of a man so charming, wishing the distance between them disappeared. Their bodies subconsciously grew nearer, Rose tilting her head as a sign to come closer, and Spike took this cue to lean in, closing his eyes as the gentle of their lips meshed.
As soon as they closed the gap between them, Spike swiftly pulled away, blinking rapidly.
…He just had his first kiss.
"…Spike?"
He met her curious stare, trying his best to hide the embarrassment threatening to blush his cheeks. "…Um…I-I gotta go."
He scrambled to gather his belongings as Rose continued to question him with her eyes, wondering if she did something wrong, and in pulling his wand out of his back pocket, he disappeared in a cloud of blue.
. . . . . .
With his knees curled to his chest, Spike sat on his bed, stuck in his thoughts. He cursed himself for being so weak, running away like a coward. He probably looked really stupid to her…sure, it seemed like she wanted to kiss him, but did she really? Did he cross a boundary he wasn't supposed to cross? He couldn't really tell by the quizzical look in her eye. Then again, he couldn't tell a lot of things; he hauled-ass so fast that anything hardly registered in his head.
…how could ever look at her the same again?
How could she ever look at him the same?
Unlocking the door, Cosmo flew into the room, closing the door as he greeted Spike. When no response came, Cosmo floated further in the room to see Spike on his bed, bothered by something. "…Hey, Spike." He called out once more, waiting for Spike to acknowledge him before he asked "You okay?"
Yet Spike simply lowered his eyes to his sheets in shame, drawing his knees closer to him. "Don't worry about it…"
Not accepting his answer, Cosmo huffed as he folded his arms. He never considered Spike to be an open book, but as his best friend, he somewhat expected Spike to feel he can talk to him about anything. Sure, he may not always understand or may not have any real advice, but he could at least try to listen. Spike never liked when Cosmo kept anything from him, so how did he expect Cosmo to feel when he did the same thing he hated anyone doing to him?
When Spike glanced back to his best friend, he sighed at the sight of Cosmo's small pout of his lip. "…you're not gonna leave me alone, are you?" he asked as a statement.
"Not until you tell me what's wrong." Cosmo stated, firm in his stance.
Spike wondered why he even asked. "…so…question."
Cosmo perked up with his arms by his sides. "Yeah?"
Spike paused, figuring how to ask what was whirling through his mind. "…how did you know…you wanted to date Wanda?"
"Wait, you wanna date Wanda?!"
"…no…um…" Spike clarified before he nervously cleared his throat. "…I'm asking for a friend."
"You have another friend who wants to date Wanda?!"
"Cosmo, just answer the question please…" Spike grumbled as he palmed his face impatiently. Sometimes Cosmo took things a little too literally.
"Hmm…" Cosmo momentarily scrunched his brow in thought. "…I think…I wanted to date Wanda when I realized she was my other half."
"Other half?" Spike questioned, not fully understanding. "Like, how?"
"Well, when Wanda's not with me, I feel kind of…empty…like something's missing." Cosmo explained. "…but when I'm around her, it normally doesn't matter if I'm in a good mood or not because she always fills the void, and when I realized only Wanda made me feel that way, I knew she was my other half."
Hearing that led Spike to consider if the same applied to how he felt about Rose; in the past, he has felt a bit of a void. Could have been a result of his mother depriving him of her love, leaving him in the dust when he was seven. Point being, something always felt like it was missing, and he could never pinpoint exactly what that was. Once he met Rose, her whole aura felt like the missing piece to his puzzle, and no other girl ever made him feel that way, not even those silly crushes he'd have on random girls when he was younger.
When he and Rose kissed, though a brief moment in time, felt as if such a moment lasted longer than forever. Almost as if everything around him, space and time, froze in place, and everything outside of her existence disappeared. His heart practically skipped a beat, and his stomach squirmed as if he were ticklish from inside. Could that have been what Cosmo was talking about? He's heard many times how he and Wanda met and how their relationship became what it is…some of the same things happening to him happened to Cosmo…so…
Did this mean Rose was his other half?
"…Spike?"
"Hmm?"
"Did I answer your question?"
His mind reeled with so many thoughts, he almost forgot Cosmo was still hovering before him. "Uh…yeah, bro. You did."
"Yay!" Cosmo gleamed, proud he managed to be more helpful than hurtful. "Now, if you'll excuse me; I gotta get ready to slave my life away at work. Again."
While Cosmo flew to his drawer to change into his work uniform, Spike returned to his thoughts. There was no denying it now…Rose was one of the first things he'd think about in the morning, and one of the last things on his mind before he'd fall asleep. He could truly be himself around her, and she could always make him smile. It was crazy to him how one fairy did this to him, and what was crazier was how it happened in just three months.
And what about Rose? Did she feel the same way? If so…what were the signs? Maybe it was in the kiss…if she didn't want it to happen, she would have pushed him away, yet she leaned closer, almost as if she longed for him to kiss her. And if that was the case…
He had to come to a realization he couldn't ignore any longer.
Floating through the evergreen shrubs and plush branches of the Enchanted Forest, Thornton and Rose drank the frosties bought from the student union. After Spike's disappearance, she called Thornton and asked him to take a walk with her because she wanted a second opinion from someone guaranteed to be upfront with her. Throughout their friendship, they found they could always turn to each other for anything, whether just to vent or to solicit honest advice. Seeing as how Thornton just so happened to be free in her hour of need, she came to him, knowing he'd speak more from hard evidence than bias.
"Do you think I did something wrong?" Rose asked as Thornton took another sip of blue-raspberry through his straw. "He ran away so fast…"
"Nah, like I keep tellin' you, he has crush on you." Thornton assured, Rose drinking her own strawberry-melon flavored ice. "And like I keep tellin' you, miss ma'am," Thornton pointed, tapping Rose on the side of her head. "you're crushin' on 'em too."
Rose averted her eyes. She expected nothing but the truth but Thornton, yet the truth seemed all too real coming from him.
"Y'all just need to stop playin' these games." Thornton continued. "Even Coz can see how much y'all feelin' each other."
"I mean…" Rose hesitantly met his stare. "…you're not wrong."
"Okay so what's the holdup?"
"…I don't want to go through what I went through with Zimmerman…"
Thornton knew all too well who Zimmerman was, instantly reminded of all the pain and suffering his best friend endured dating that creep.
On one hand Thornton understood Rose's anticipation. Loving someone again after going through what she went through wouldn't be easy. Giving love another chance after experiencing all the wrong examples of what love is, if he had that experience, he wouldn't dare expose his heart to that kind of peril again. On another hand, he's had multiple chances to get to know Spike over the last few months. They share many of their classes, so they're always working on their homework together. Considering other instances of hanging out alone, with Cosmo, or with the group, Thornton had a pretty good grasp of Spike's morals and personality.
"You think Spike's like Zimmerman?"
"From what I've seen so far, no…" Rose admitted. "But you remember why I fell in love with Zimmerman in the first place…he was so nice…so funny…in the beginning…" she lowered her gaze once more. "…a lot like Spike…"
"I get why you wouldn't trust it, but I can attest that Spike is no Zimmerman." Thornton ensured. "Otherwise, I doubt he'd have a best friend like Cosmo. You think someone like Cosmo would associate with someone like Zimmerman?"
"Cosmo can be kind of gullible, sometimes." Rose mentioned. "But, if you put it like that, I don't think Wanda would let Cosmo stick around someone like him."
"Do you trust Spike?"
Rose turned to her best friend, considering some other more personal details of her life that Spike has respected and kept in confidence. "I do."
"So you don't even hafta question it, then."
Maybe she didn't. Perhaps Spike entering her life was meant to show her that not all men are pure, vindictive devils and that good men still existed. She'd known him for all of almost four months, talking almost every day. So far, no reason has he ever given her to distrust him, nor had he given her any proof of impure intentions.
Taking everything into consideration, Rose knew questioning only delayed the inevitable.
He was floating in a void...running on empty...surrounded by darkness...silence so loud...the drum of his heart hardly pumped blood through his veins…lungs suffocating...
He couldn't breathe...couldn't see past the black clouds...floating in a void...slowly...freely...
No noise...no sound…deaf...the world around him was silent...no other souls around me...alone...so alone...every sense in in body fell numb...he couldn't feel anything…couldn't see anything…
…until a tiny speckle of light appeared…
Swimming in the abyss…he waded towards the light…hoping for some kind of answer to where he was…or where he thought he was…or what was going on…Shimmers grew wider…floating closer…eyes burning in the presence of such a potent glow…darkness slowly faded around him…black fading into white…
Air sucked into his aching lungs like a vacuum…mind spinning…Nothing below, nothing above, nothing beside him…he was but a dot in a world of white…he turned to his left and to his right…lost in unfamiliar surroundings…
…until he saw her.
A familiar angel, always near...soft, lilac eyes…silk, golden brown skin…long flowing black waves…porcelain smile melting the ice surrounding his heart…He reached out to her…a longing hand stretched towards her…but her wings floated farther away…fading away…
…until blood coated his vision…
…her blood…
…lilac orbs frosted in a deathly grey…mouth agape as a river of red pooled down her lips…red tears gushing from the slash on her neck…her body drenched in the same substance that once sustained her life…
…he looked down to see the same substance painted in his palms-
Ringing shocked his senses into reality, vibrating on his desk. Juandissimo inhaled a quivering breath, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead as he read Cupid's caller ID across his phone. He lifted himself off his sheets into a sitting position, rubbing restless sleep from his eyes, and he managed to control his breathing before he took his phone to answer the unexpected call in a sullen groan. "…yes?"
"Juan!" Cupid excitedly greeted, Juandissimo's ear not prepared for such glee. "Come open your door, pretty please."
"…why?"
"I'm standing outside." Cupid replied, Juandissimo scooting to where his legs hung off the bedside. "I have something I wanna ask you!"
He kept his eyes closed as he held his forehead in hand propped on his knee. "…why can you not just text or something?"
"Just come open the door!" Cupid playfully complained; Juandissimo could hear the lip pout through the phone. "Pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaassssse?"
Juandissimo released a heavy groan. After that weird dream, maybe him interrupting his nap was a good thing. "...fine…hold on…"
"Thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuu! You so niiiiiiiiiiiiiccceeeeee!"
Ending the call, Juandissimo set his phone back on his desk as he forced himself off his bed. He hovered to his door through the subtle darkness of early evening in his room, and he turned the knob and unhooked the deadbolt before opening the door.
As expected, Cupid stood before him, and unexpectedly to Cupid, his eyes were graced with the view of bare chest pecs and washboard abs, biceps bulging through his chestnut skin. The sight of a shirtless man in gym shorts hypnotized him in a teasing way. Oh, the things he would do to such a hunk of a bod-
"What was it you wanted to ask…"
"What?" Cupid shook the daze out of his head. "Oh yeah." Clearing his throat, Cupid began with a friendly smirk. "Get dressed." He lowkey didn't want him to. "I want you to come meet my girl-friends at the student union."
Juandissimo's expression turned perplexed. The last thing he wanted was anything to do with being social. "Why?"
"I think you could use a little pick-me up!" Cupid replied. "Plus, I already told the girls I was bringing someone."
"…Why can you not take someone else?"
"Because you are that someone else, and I'm not leaving until you agree to come with me."
For the weeks Juandissimo had known Cupid, that statement was definitely true. Cupid's tenacity was his blessing and his curse. "...fine…" Juandissimo sighed, too tired to refute. "…give me a minute…"
"You da beeeessssst, Juan!" Cupid thanked as Juandissimo turned away to his drawer for a shirt. "And wear something cute; we're going out for drinks later."
Juandissimo shot an irritated glare. "…Seriously?!"
"Yes! Now chop, chop!" Cupid rushed with a wave of his hand. "I'm already running late!"
. . . . . .
A few other groups of students mingled throughout the food court area of the student union, chatting about random gossip or working on homework over a bite to eat. Entering through one of the automated double door entrances, Cupid dragged Juandissimo by the hand through the crowd, scanning the tables for where he was to meet his girl-friends. Passed the area of restaurants and fast-food shops, Cupid spotted Blonda and the Gemstone triplets over by the corner next to the giant glass windows, seated at a round table in their own conversation.
Just as Cupid was about to head over to their table, his flight was halted with a tug of someone holding him back, turning to see the hesitancy in Juandissimo's eyes. "Juan, what's wrong?"
"…are those the 'girl-friends' you were referring to?" Juandissimo quietly asked, motioning to the four girls he wasn't emotionally prepared to be around.
"Uh, yeah?" Cupid raised a brow. "What, you know them or something?"
"Um…" Juandissimo cautious gaze turned to Cupid. "…you can say that."
"Oh great! I don't have to do any introductions!" Cupid beamed, oblivious to Juandissimo's reluctance to approach as he dragged Juandissimo towards the table despite his resistance. "Now c'mon! Don't wanna keep them waiting, do you, silly?!"
Blonda looked over Ruby's shoulder at a picture Ruby felt was funny enough to share while Sapphire and Amethyst conversed about arbitrary new Pop songs coming out. When she looked up from Ruby's screen, Blonda's semi good mood soon turned sour when her eyes stumbled upon an unfortunately familiar face next to Cupid. Out of all the people Cupid could have invited, it just had to be him…
Noticing Blonda's change in facial expression, Ruby saw Cupid waving towards them, and she nudged Sapphire's shoulder to get her sister's attention, directing them towards the unwanted guest. "Unbelievable…" she muttered under her breath, both she and her sisters matching Blonda's unforgiving glare.
"Hey, ladies!" Cupid greeted, pulling Juandissimo to hover beside him. "Juan tells you know each other!" His enthusiastic smile faded in the realization of their creased brows and crossed arms. "…what with you guys?!"
"He needs to go." Amethyst frankly stated, lilac eyes stabbing deeper daggers into Juandissimo's ego. "Send him back to the hellhole he came from."
All four of their scowls of disdain made their spitefulness towards him crystal clear, sinking in the weight of their anger, and he wasn't one to overstay his welcome. Jerking his hand from Cupid's grip, Juandissimo attempted to leave, but Cupid regained his hold, still confused about all the animosity between the five fairies he considered his friends. "Juan, don't go!"
"Let him go." Blonda spat, making sure the dismay in Juandissimo's eyes were on her as she spat "No one wants him here."
This is exactly why he shouldn't have come; if he'd known Cupid was meeting the four fairies he had no doubt absolutely despised his guts, he'd find some way to talk himself out of it. Coming face to face with the girl he once felt so connected, he felt so distant from her as if she were a stranger. He never wanted to hurt Blonda, but could she really blame him for doing what he did? She wanted more than he had to give, even she had to realize that.
Yet instead, she shunned him for not being good enough, her victim mentality painting him as the villain, and now her army of gemstones fueled just as much if not more hatred his way. Since Cupid seemed pretty friendly with them, he wouldn't be surprised if Cupid turned on him as well. Cupid didn't really strike him as the gullible type, but he an inkling he could potentially be easily persuaded.
At this point, he didn't know which was worse…dreaming nightmares, or living them.
Wishing nothing more than to disappear, Juandissimo pushed Cupid's hand away, and before Cupid could stop him, he beelined away from the table and out the same doors they came in. Cupid turned back to the four girls in front of him, a look of disappointment etched in his brow. "I wanted him here!"
"It's four against one, Cupid." Sapphire noted. "Besides…you wouldn't wanna be around him either after you hear what he did to Blonda."
Cupid glanced over to Blonda who soon averted her eyes in shame. "What did he do that was so bad?"
"Tuh…" Ruby was no stranger to how Blonda was ultimately betrayed by someone she trusted with her life. "Wait 'til you hear the story we have…"
Crickets chirped in the light of a full moon as shimmers of stars sprinkled against the dark sky above. Sitting underneath the glow of a lamppost, Rose idlily sat against the wooden backrest of the bench, crossing one leg over the other dangling off as she texted a response to another one of her and Thornton's inside jokes.
Hours passed before she heard a word from Spike. After what happened earlier that day, she assumed Spike wouldn't want anything to do with her. But when he texted her to meet him at the same bench as before, she could only assume what Spike wanted to discuss. Part of her worried he'd tell her off, call her easy, call her sleazy…something along those lines. Part of her knew he'd never do that, but she couldn't erase that scenario from her mind.
Putting her phone away in her purse, she saw Spike floating towards her, unsure if he was happy to see her judging by the nervousness in his face. He stopped beside the bench, veering his eyes towards the ground before staring back at her, sensing her unease.
Hands slightly tucked in the front pocket of his skinny jeans, he approached with a simple. "…hey."
She stood from her seat, timidly tucking her hands behind her back. "…hey."
Once she hovered just a couple feet in front of him, he forced himself to make eye contact with her shy gaze. "…I-I'm sorry." Spike apologized. "…for leaving you hangin'."
"No, I'm sorry." Rose apologized, placing the tips of her fingers over her heart. "I…may have come on too strong."
"No, you didn't…" Spike assured. "…I-I just…never…did anything like that before."
Rose looked away briefly. "…you mean, kiss someone?"
"…yeah…" Spike shamefully admitted. Geez, he such a puss. "…I never really…felt like I wanted to do that with anyone before."
"…I understand." Rose sincerely empathized. "…I-I haven't…wanted to do that with anyone in a long time."
Spike nervously scratched the side of his head, letting out a small chuckle. "I uh…I don't normally do stuff like this…"
"It's okay." Rose grinned faintly. "I get it."
Clearing the frog in his throat, Spike held his arm with one hand, anticipating the aftermath of taking the biggest leap of his life. "…do you…I mean…would you…wanna go see a movie, maybe?"
Rose tried to hide her soul screaming with excitement. "Is…this your way of asking me on a date?"
"…a-a date? Um…" he felt his cheeks heat up. "…if that's what you want."
"Well, in that case…" her grin grew into a friendly smile. "…I'd love to see a movie with you."
Spike returned his own shy smile. Whelp, that was easy. "Sweet. Um...you mind if we take your car? I'm lacking in the wheels department at the moment…"
Rose couldn't help but giggle at how cute he was. "Sure, we can take my car." She extended a hand to take his out of his pocket. "But only if you agree to pay for my ticket."
Spike scoffed. "Deal."
"…and for my popcorn."
"Sure."
"…and my drink."
"Aight, chillout." Spike laughed, cupping his other hand over hers with a genuine smile. "I got you."
She peered into his eyes glowing in the light, and she used her free hand to palm his cheek. He didn't stop her lips from brushing his, this time lingering in the sweet tingle of affection before their lips pushed apart. Fireworks sparked in their hearts, lighting their souls in a fire no water could tame. For a moment, their eyes locked, and for a moment…
Everything felt so right.
AN: Spike and Rose are cute or whatevah.