Author's Note: Just a little mini-chapter. It didn't quite seem to fit at the end of the last one and I didn't like it at the beginning of the next one. So short chapter is short.

Chapter 6

Stephanie and Sportacus finally parted company for the day when the party ended. It was getting late and Stephanie still had to unpack and put her things away.

As Sportacus was doing his evening exercises he meditated on the excitement of the day. Stephanie coming back (which still sent a small thrill through him) and the party and how not even Robbie Rotten had tried making trouble. It'd been a very good day.

The clock hit 8:08 and Sportacus slid into his bed. Just as his head hit the pillow he smiled, the song Stephanie had sung playing vaguely in the back of his mind as he fell asleep.

~*~*~[Elsewhere...]~*~*~

Stephanie, whose bedtime was just a bit later now that she was into her teen years, gazed out her window. The sky was cloudless and she had a perfect view of the airship floating high above the city. She let out a sigh and laid her head on her arms as the lights in the airship went out.

She recalled the excitement of the day. Seeing Sportacus again and dancing with him for what seemed like forever at the party. But most of all she recalled Trixie's question. It had been on her mind ever since she heard it. Was she in love with Sportacus?

Truth be told, she'd never really thought about it before. Were her feelings for Sportacus really different than anyone else? Sportacus was so big and vibrant and he permeated everything he touched, how could he not take up every bit of everyone's hearts? Especially for those who got to be around him all the time. It just didn't make sense to her that anyone could possibly feel any different.

She wondered if that was being in love. Whenever she pictured being in love it had never seemed quite like that. The movies made it seem more dramatic, like the feelings were just supposed to knock you over the head. Her feelings for Sportacus had just always been there. You weren't supposed to fall in love at eight, but was is possible?

This avenue of thought seemed as though it was going to start winding around on itself and go through a lot of curves. She couldn't decide if this was reason to pursue it with more vigor or if she should seek an alternate route.

If she couldn't figure out if she was in love with Sportacus, could she determine whether or not Sportacus was in love with her?

She suddenly recalled the look in his eyes when he'd asked if the song hadn't been meant for him after all. He'd been disappointed, she was as sure of that as much as she had been about the reason Sportacus hadn't replied to her letters. And she'd been right about that.

Truth be told, she'd been thinking about Sportacus as she'd sung it. Which is why she wasn't surprised when he'd asked if it had been dedicated to him.

She'd been fantasizing about what it might be like to kiss him for so long now that she hadn't thought much about that particular part of the song. The rest of the lyrics had detailed how she felt about Sportacus so well that the small detail that she'd never actually kissed him or fallen asleep next to him seemed rather small.

Feeling rather stupid, she conceded to herself that it was a love song and perhaps that was telling.

After a moment she sat up and shut her window most of the way and drew the curtains.

Thoughts of the way she and Sportacus interacted with each other swam through her head as she went to bed that night. Why did it all suddenly seem so complicated?

Author's Note: I just wanted to get into Stephanie's head a little. Remind everyone that she IS just a teenager. It only seems like she knows all about Sportacus.

Also, leave me some reviews, dammit. Writing is a thankless job and if you're enjoying this at all you should let me know.