forum Dancing Under the Stars (o/o)

Started June 12, 2019 by @Vuclan-is-tired

tune

"See? There she is." Marcus said to Riverpaw, who smiled and nodded. "Hey!" Danielle called, waving back. As much as Riverpaw tried not to, a small part of her had somewhat expected Charlie to bail on them. It wasn't that she thought the girl was that kind of person, but…she barely knew Riverpaw, let alone her friends, so why did she even consider hanging out with them? It confused her greatly but, regardless, she wasn't complaining much.

Charlie walked to their group and offered a kind smile. "Thanks for offering me the option to hang out." She smiled a little at Riverpaw. Part of her throughout the day made her wonder whether or not it was a joke that the four of them were pulling- she knew that those kinds of thoughts were irrational, but she couldn't help but fear it. She blew out a breath through her teeth and sighed.

"Of course." Neil said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his dark red jacket. "River said you protected her from the Sinister Four this morning, so it's the least we can do for helping out our girl." He, Marcus, and Danielle turned to walk down the path that led off-campus. Riverpaw looked up at Charlie and gave a little smile. "Hi."

"Sinister four?" She asks curiously. "Ah, the idiots." She shakes her head before looking down. "Got it." She chuckles, "So where to?" She asks as she tilts her head to the side before looking at the two of them. Charlie smiled warmly at Riverpaw. "Hello. How are you?" Her eyes are gentle, kind.

"Silver Flower, the second-best bakery in town. Another friend's mom owns it." Neil answered over his shoulder. "Only rivaled by The Golden Carousel." Marcus added, a bit of annoyance in his voice. Riverpaw walked alongside Charlie, the other three in front of them. "I-I'm fine. How are you?"

"Sounds delicious." Charlie replies softly, her eyes shutting happily. "I've never been." She rubs the back of her head. "But sounds like there's a rivalry going on." She laughs before looking towards Riverpaw. "I'm better, now at least." She sighed. She looked away.

"Good." Riverpaw looked ahead, watching Danielle's ears flop about to distract herself. "Actually," Danielle called over her shoulder, "it's less of a rivalry and more so a bunch of borderline pompous jerks flaunting the fact that they have a recommendation score that's like, half a star higher than Silver Flower."
"And only because the daughter of the owner is friends with the family that owns some company who are totally biased," Neil said.

Charlie smiled a little. "I don't usually have sweets. Gotta keep in shape if I want to get into the Olympics." She hummed a little before glancing at Riverpaw. "You okay? You seem a bit flushed." She chuckles quietly. She looks at the others and laughs softly. "I probably couldn't tell the difference. Sweets taste the same to me." She shrugged hopelessly.

"Hm? Oh, uh, I'm fine." Her voice shook a little, which made her clear her throat in hopes that Charlie didn't take notice.
"Trust us, there's a difference," Neil said. "We can go to the Carousel, too, if you wanna see."

Charlie glanced at the other and stopped, placing her hands gently on Riverpaws forehead. "Are you sure?" She asks kindly. "You're a bit warm." She gently pulls away. "Tell me if it gets worse and I can take you home, okay?" She looks up and slowly pulls away. "As for visiting both, that would be fun. I'd really enjoy that."

"O-okay." Riverpaw squeaked. She held Charlie's gaze for a moment before looking ahead again, swallowing a lump in her throat. She still couldn't begin to think of why the other girl would be so concerned with her, even if she did consider the two of them to be friends. If anything, she was already starting to worry that it'd become a bother to Charlie.

They reached the bakery's corner within the next minute or so; there were a few people at the tables outside, a couple of which Danielle seemed to know and waved at. The light-colored outside of the building had a few posters of the sweets available, and there was a display window showing off a pretty cake and a set of matching cupcakes. The inside walls were dark gray and donned neat, hand-drawn line art of cupcakes and sweets done in black and white, the tables and chairs were white and seafoam green, and there was a bar at the wall behind the door, labeled niches full of cookies, cupcakes, macarons, and a few other small treats sitting behind it. The front counter, connected to the bar and across from the door, had glass casing that held some pie and small cake slices inside, and the wall behind it had a menu above some cake pops and candy displays.

Charlie suddenly looked a little uncomfortable. She pulled her hood up, trying to keep her face down. She didn't like being stared at or even waved to. It made her uncomfortable, even if they weren't doing it towards her. She glances at the food and her mouth waters. She shook her head. It had been ages since she had sugar, and she was on a strict diet. She knew she needed to be careful here. Maybe something simple but yummy.

There was a yelp that caught the brief attention of a few people close to the kitchen door, then some giggling, and a tall, purple-haired girl came out of the room, flour splotching her apron. She dusted herself off and wiped her hands on a small towel hanging from one of the garment's pockets, then she finally turned to the front counter and smiled. "Hey! How's my favorite group?" She happily greeted them, leaning over to hug Danielle. "Fine. Surviving, I guess." Neil shrugged, and the girl chuckled. She went to the register and glanced at each of them, somewhat overlooking the hooded person behind them. "You guys havin' the usual?"
"Yes, please." Danielle chirped. Marcus glanced behind him and nudged the bunny, who looked up at Charlie and grinned. "Oh, yeah! Ell, this is our new buddy, Charlie. She's cool."
"Oh?" The girl examined the newcomer and tilted her head a little. She pulled out a laminated paper from under the counter and slid it towards Charlie. "Well, nice to meet ya. And welcome! I'm Eleena. First-timers get a free treat with their order, so take a look around and let me know what you might like."
Riverpaw looked up at Charlie and smiled encouragingly.