A Guy, A Lyre, and a Park Bench -Chapter 7-

"Hold still."

>"I'm trying. Sheesh aren't we in a grumpy mood?"

"What? No, I'm not grumpy. Besides, you chose this position in the first place."

>"Yeah yeah, just get it over with. I'm doing this for YOU, remember?"

"Me? You're the one who asked if we could do this in the first place!"

>"I wanted to experiment a little. Sue me."

"Uh-huh."

>"Fiiine. Holding still. Do your thing."

"Thanks. Just... yeah, like that."

>"Hurry it up, my leg is going to cramp like this."

"You'll be like that for maybe a good minute or two."

>"Woah really? That quick?"

"Yup."

>"Impressive. How do I look?"

>Looking up from the pad in front of you, you eye Lyra.

>She's standing on the kitchen table on one hoof, balancing a bowl of small oranges with another.

"Graceful as ever."

>"Aw shuddup."

>Finishing the final touches on the sketch, you dust it off and hand it to Lyra.

>She bounds from the table and stretches a bit before taking it from you.

"What do you think?"

>"Why's my mane look like that?"

"You were upside down."

>"Oh, pffft duh. Forgot about that."

>She laughs, but then shakes her head about quickly.

"You alright?"

>"Yeah, head rush. Wow, that kinda smarts actually."

>Shrugging, you place the pad on the table and walk over to the blender.

"Smoothie?"

>"You know my answer."

"So, what, a no then?"

>Lyra punches you in the arm and giggles.

>"I'd love one. You know that, stupid."

>While the smoothie mixes, you carry on with the small talk.

"How's practice coming along by the way?"

>Lyra shrugs.

>"Meh. Our drummer has been flaking on us for, like, a week."

"Sucks."

>"Royaly."

>You pour two drinks, handing one to Lyra, and the two of you head out to the front porch.

>The sun was setting and the sky was a deep orange and purple.

>The two of you sit on the steps of the porch, sipping at your frozen drinks.

>"So, excited?"

"Hm?"

>"Tomorrow? Our dinner date."

"Oh. Yeah, totally."

>You don't show it, but you are genuinely excited.

>You hadn't really been on a date in a while, and you were happy to have one be with Lyra.

>You liked her, that was for sure.

>Maybe it was the snarky attitude or the aloof nature she had.

>Hell, maybe it was because she was mint green.

>Either way, you looked forward to dinner with her.

>"Good! I am too. I mean, not super excited or anything, but you know, excited."

"Haha, I get it."

>She grins and sips more of her drink before her ears perk up.

>"Oh, how was the movie yesterday?"

>You choke a bit on your smoothie.

>Coughing, you speak up.

"Wha?"

>"The movie. Was it any good? I know Bon-Bon was going on and on about how much fun she had with you."

"She-... she did?"

>Lyra brings a hoof to her mouth, pondering.

>"Eeeeh, she wasn't bo0uncing off the walls or anything. I asked her if she had fun and said-"

>Lyra's face goes completely neutral and her voice become monotone.

>"Yup. Fun."

>She reverts back to her usual self.

>"You know, Bon-Bon speak and all that."

>You give a small laugh.

"Yeah, it was pretty good. We had fun."

>"I bet."

>She raises her eyebrows up at you while sipping the straw in her drink.

>That was... ominous.'

"What?"

>"Nothin, nothin... so, you two do anything after the movie?"

>You can feel yourself blush ever so slightly, but Lyra doesn't seem to notice.

>You had almost forgotten about how Bon-Bon had kissed you when you both got home last night.

>There had been no warning prior, she just... did it.

>And now she was acting like her normal self. As if it had never happened.

>It was all very confusing.

"What do you mean?"

>"You know, stuff. Did you grab a bite to eat, or did you both just come home?"

"Oh. Oh, yeah we just came straight home. It was raining pretty hard."

>"Oh, duh. That makes sense. Sorry, I was asleep by the time you two got home."

"Speaking of which, where is Bon-Bon? I thought her shift ended an hour ago?"

>"Nah, she works late sometimes. Hard worker, that one."

"Huh. How late is she usually out?"

>"Depends. Sometimes she stay till near midnight."

"That late making candy?"

>"The girl's got dedication, I'll give her that."

>You both nod, and drink more smoothie.

>After a few minutes, Lyra stretches and gets up from the porch steps.

>"Welp, I'm off to bed. Come shake me like mad if anything happens in the middle of the night."

"Anything good or anything bad?"

>"I would hope you wouldn't shake me awake for free kittens, if that's what you're asking. G'night."

"Night."

>She walks back inside and you finish up your smoothie.

>Huh.

>Well it WAS getting late. Maybe you should head to bed as well.

>As you cross the hall of the house, you stop by the TV.

>Bon-Bon would be home later. Maybe you could do something to cheer her up from work.

>Flipping on the TV, you skim channels until you get to the thriller station.

>Finding a decent looking title, you click the little red button on the remote to record it.

>Then you grab a sticky note, and write a small message to it.

>"Recorded a thriller for you. I heard you like thrillers. Here's a thriller. Enjoy."

>You promptly stick it to the outside of the front door.

>There.

>That's a good deed for the day.

>With that, you head to your bedroom and get ready for sleep.

 

The Next Night

 

>"You're fidgeting."

"I am not."

>"See your leg? It's fidgeting. Therefore, you are fidgeting."

"I am not my leg."

>Bon-Bon rolls her eyes.

>"It's just dinner. You're fidgeting over dinner."

"What? I'm a bit nervous, so what?"

>She smirks.

>You were waiting for Lyra to come into the living room so the two of you could go to dinner.

>You stand up in front of Bon-Bon.

"How do I look?"

>She stares at you.

>Her expression... well, expressionless.

>"Adequate."

"Oh, wow thanks. That makes me feel more confident."

>Bon-Bon smirks.

>"You look fine lover boy. She'll love you for this, trust me."

"Ha, sure."

>"Do you doubt me?"

"Meh, it's just dinner. I just want to make a good impression, you know?"

>She nods.

>"Here, sit with me."

>She motions you over to the table and sits across from you.

"What?"

>"Pretend I'm Lyra."

"What?"

>"It's like acting. Just say things you'd say during your date."

"What is this, a warm up?"

>"Yup."

"Wow. You're too kind."

>You sit there like an idiot for a second without saying a word.

>"Smooth, Anon. Smooth."

"Oh come on, you're not Lyra. It'd be easier to just... I don't know, say things about you I guess."

>Her ears perk up at this.

>"That works. Whatever makes you comfortable."

"Oh... yeah, okay."

>more silence.

"Uhm... I really like your... mane?"

>Deadpan stare's all day everyday.

>"Really? That's it?"

"Uhm..."

>You think.

>This might be as good a time as any you suppose.

"Well, I-... do you like me?"

>"What?"

"You kissed me. Two nights ago? At the door?"

>"What door?"

"The front door."

>"What front door?"

"OUR front door."

>Bon-Bon looks at you, then smirks.

>"No idea what you're talking about."

"What."

>She shrugs.

"Now you're just messing with me."

>"Why should you care? You like Lyra, right?"

"Well... yeah, I guess."

>"So why do you want me to like you?"

"I asked if you liked me, not that I WANTED you to like me."

>"Twisting words."

>She's grinning now as she twists your arm, metaphorically.

"Fine, just tell me why you kissed me then. If you don't like me or anything, then why'd you do that?"

>She's silent, and glances at the table.

>"I never said*mumble*

"What?"

>"I-... I never said that I didn't like-"

>LYRA: "Sorry for the wait, this dress was a bitch to get on."

>You and Bon-Bon turn to see that Lyra has come out of her room finally.

>She's wearing a small dress that matches her hair, and she beams when she sees you.

>LYRA: "Alright, tiger, ready?"

>You give a glance to Bon-Bon.

>She nods.

"Uh... yeah. Yeah! Let's go."

>You stand and Lyra trots over to you.

>But not before giving Bon-Bon a look.

>A look that Bon-Bon returns to Lyra.

"Guys?"

>LYRA: "Hm?"

>BON: "Yup?"

"Uh..."

>They look like they always do, the competitive glare in their eyes completely gone.

"..nothing I guess. Ready?"

>"LYRA: "Mmhmm!"

>She walks to your side and the two of you leave, waving to Bon-Bon as you do so.

 

At the Restaurant.

 

>"I have no idea what any of this is."

"Hm?"

>"The stuff on the menu, I-... what the heck is a 'fettucini' anyway?"

"Noodles."

>"I thought that was spaghetti?"

"That's also noodles."

>...

>"Is everything here noodles?"

"It's pasta, isn't it?"

>"Yeah, but... okay, point taken."

>This was fun.

>The two of you have been having a good night so far.

>Plenty of talking, lots of jokes about some of the other diners, and best of all?

>Lasagna.

>Sure, there was no meat in it, but dammit you were a sucker for cheese.

>The night rolls by, and eventually the two of you get stuffed.

>"Oh god... all that spaghetti..."

"Too much?"

>"It was just... it was SO good, Anon. So good."

>You throw a thumbs up to the cook back in the kitchen.

>The red pony gives a wink, then walks back goes through the kitchen doors.

>That guy was great at making spaghetti.

"So, ready to head back?"

>"Sure. Oh, actually, can we make one stop along the way?"

"Yeah, that's cool. Where to?"

>You'll just have to follow me."

>You raise an eyebrow in curiosity, but decide to take her word for it.

>You drop some bits onto the table, and the two of you leave the restaurant.

>Lyra leads, taking you through a darkly lit Ponyville, the only light coming from the occasional street lamp and the moon.

"Where are we going?"

>"The park!"

>Well... okay then.

>You finally arrive, and the two of you take a seat on the bench that's there.

"Okay, why did we come here?"

>"Just to watch."

"Watch?"

>She nods upward, and you follow her gaze.

>It's at this time that you notice a few shooting stars in the distance.

"Oh... wow."

>"I know right?"

"That's pretty. Just... wow."

>Lyra giggles.

>The two of you stare up into the sky for a while, before Lyra finally speaks up.

>"I know what she did, by the way."

"What?

>"Bon-Bon. I know what she did."

"What do you me-"

>Oh.

>OH.

>You blush and try to come up with an excuse, but Lyra just smiles and shakes her head.

>"It's cool, really."

"...really?"

>"Yeah. She likes you. She's just too stubborn to admit it to you."

"How do you know this?"

>"Dude, she told me. She's one of my best friends after all."

"Oh."

>"Yup. So, I told her I'd help her out."

"Help her out? With what?"

>"You. I suggested she ask you to the movies."

>"Wow. I... hahaha."

>Lyra's ears perk up.

>"What's so funny?"

"I just- it's funny! Here I thought you had a crush on me, what with you agreeing to a date and all, and you've been helping Bon-Bon try to warm up to me. It's kinda funny, is all."

>You smile.

>You genuinely thought this whole situation was silly. But, hey, now you knew Bon-Bon has a thing for you.

>Lyra smirks.

>"Yeah, about that. She and I made a bet."

"A... a bet?"

>"Yup. See who you fall for first."

>What?

>You give another small laugh.

"Not really a bet when one of you doesn't have a thing for me, don't you think?"

>"You think I don't like you?"

"Well ye-"

>It is at this precise moment that you realize that Lyra is inches form your face.

>With her eyes closed.

"What are you-"

>Lyra opens her eyes and rolls them, sighing.

>"Just shut up and kiss me already.

>Her hooves grab your face, and suddenly you're pulled into a kiss.

>Things were going to get a lot more complicated around here.

 

~END~