Sweet Escape (sidebar to Princess Ball)

[Bloom]

It had been difficult, but somehow she had managed to push her way through the crowds to the balcony without falling down once. Sure, she was used to high heels, but they were usually in the form of platforms or big chunky heels. These stiletto-ish ones so weren’t made for walking.

Breathing out the breath she had been unknowingly holding once she reached her sanctuary, Bloom walked over to one corner of the balcony and leaned against the railing. Solaria was beautiful, no doubt about that. No wonder Stella loved her home realm so much. The greens and the blues seemed so much brighter, and the air much warmer here. Soon enough, though, Bloom found herself missing Earth. The leaves would be changing by now if they hadn’t already started falling. Autumn was always her favourite time of year.

Sighing deeply, she had just propped her chin on her hand to gaze forlornly out across the land when a sudden click echoed loudly through the still air. Turning abruptly, her eyes widened in surprise to see Sky standing by the door. There were those butterflies again, though they were the size of ravens by now. Maybe even seagulls. This was her chance. If she was going to try to break the spell, she couldn’t ask for a better moment.

“Guess I’m not the only one who needed to escape,” she said, smiling nervously.

[Sky]

At the sound of Bloom's voice, Sky turned to face her, his surprise clearly evident by his expression. Recovering after mentally reminding himself that he already knew that Bloom was going to be present, Sky then strolled forward as casually as possible. But even though he wanted to play things cool, Sky suspected that he wouldn't be able to keep up the unfazed facade for long. Being around Bloom, knowing that her memory still hadn't been restored, was just too awkward. He still didn't really know what to say to her or just how he was supposed to act around her. It wasn't as though he could treat her with the ease they had once been accustomed to - doing that would only get him into trouble, he knew. Would only serve to remind his head and heart that once again, he was a confused mess. Bloom, Christine. Christine, Bloom.

The wise thing to do would be to make a quick exit, to steer clear of Bloom, but it was too late for that now. And so, swallowing hard, Sky forced a smile as he replied, his gaze focused on some point beyond Bloom's shoulder, "Escape? Oh no, not me. It was just getting a little bit crowded in there - I just needed to get a breath of fresh air, you know? As a matter of fact, I think I'll go ahead and go back inside in a second."

[Bloom]

Try as she might, Bloom couldn’t hide the hurt his comment caused. He couldn’t even stand to be around her anymore. Holding her hands to her stomach as if they could stop the queasy feeling in it, she forced a smile and nodded.

“I know how you feel,” she said quietly. She wanted to grab him and force him to stay there and talk to her... and it was possible that it very well might come to that. First she had to try different methods before completely tossing her pride away.

“Wait, can I try something first? Stella is determined to make a princess out of me yet,” she continued, her words a little quicker than intended, stumbling over each other to keep him from leaving. Walking forward to stand in front of him, she adopted a polite voice with which she said, “Good evening, Prince Sky,” before she dipped down into a perfectly executed curtsy.

Before she could get too excited about finally pulling it off, though, she tried to stand back up. It was a disaster. Somehow managing to trip over her own feet, she began to tumble forward with only one thought in her mind.

Smooth. Very smooth.

[Sky]

If there was one thing Bloom wasn't, it was graceful. He didn't mean to suggest that she was some type of lumbering cow (because she certainly wasn't), but she was just...clumsy. It wasn't a bad thing by any means - in fact, it had been one of the things that had made her so endearing to him when he had first met her. She had been so unlike any other girl he had known - so without those cool, regal airs and the hoity-toighty attitudes that he had been surrounded by his whole life.

A few months ago, though, Sky thought that Bloom had finally morphed into one of those princesses. The kind that walked around with their noses in the air, the kind that spoke in disdainful tones - the kind that could execute a flawless curtsy. But even though many things had changed between him and Bloom, Sky had to admit, he truly was glad to know that she was still herself - her real self. The universe certainly could use more princesses like her.

And so, as Bloom stumbled forward, Sky instinctively reached out to catch her. Successfully breaking her fall, he stood with his arms wrapped around her body for a brief moment before he released her and took a step back. With a slightly nervous laugh, he ran his hand over the back of his head as he said lightly, "If I didn't know better, I'd say that we were going back in time. Didn't this same thing happen a couple weeks ago? Perhaps you ought to wear more comfortable shoes."

He was referring to the incident at the candy shop in Magix, of course, where Bloom had lost her balance and taken a tumble.

[Bloom]

Bloom was running out of fingers to count the number of times she’d made a fool of herself in front of someone lately. Could she seriously be any more clumsy? Stella would be so disappointed. She might have been able to make Bloom look like a princess in two short weeks, but it was going to take much longer to get the grace and poise required down pat.

This time, though, was a much more pleasant embarrassment than the others. This one didn’t end with her in a pile on the floor; instead it ended with her in Sky’s arms. If this was her reward, maybe she should be even more clumsy more often.

For a lingering moment she was able to relish the feel of his strong arms around her; to enjoy the warmth of his embrace, but all too soon he was stepping back. At least he wasn’t leaving. In fact he was actually making a joke about it.

Somehow Bloom managed to bite her tongue to hold back what she really wanted to say. That she really wished that they could go back in time, back to a time when they were happy before everything had gotten so screwed up. Somehow she held back, instead tipping her head up to stick her nose up in the air.

“As if! What a dreadful suggestion! Fashion over function, dahling,” she replied, waving her hands about in her best Stella impression.

[Sky]

Bloom's impression of who else but Stella was so dead-on that Sky had to laugh - a pleasant sound that seemed to cause the tension between them to immediately dissipate into the warm air. And so, with a small grin tugging at the corners of his lips, he then replied as his stance visibly relaxed, "Whatever was I thinking? First thing a guy should know about women is that shoes are never meant to serve a practical purpose, right?"

Moving farther away from the doors, Sky leaned against the balcony railing as he shot Bloom an amused look - a look that was probably so convincingly nonchalant that she would never guess what was really going on inside his mind. That, internally, a stab of bittersweet sadness was shooting through his chest as he finally really looked at her for the first time that evening. She looked beautiful in that dress with the light shining on her just right - perhaps the most beautiful he had ever seen her. But it wasn't his place to tell her that anymore - not even as her friend.

Because right now, he and Bloom - their relationship was undefinable. They weren't a couple, weren't really friends...they were just in-between. He supposed most couples experienced the same thing, the uncertainty about where they stood, when they split up, but that knowledge didn't make things any easier for Sky. Not when part of him just wanted to act the way he used to around her - not when a part of him said that it would be so easy to do so. And yet, there was the other part, the part that reminded him that he knew that it couldn't be that way anymore.

His laughter fading and his expression falling, Sky quickly averted his eyes from Bloom. Try as he might, it wasn't going to be that simple to just be friends with her. Not after everything they had once shared.

Perhaps it really was best to just cut his ties with her before he ruined things for him and Christine. Because despite whatever old emotions he might imagine were surfacing for Bloom, in reality, his heart now belonged entirely to Christine...

...didn't it?

[Bloom]

Sky’s laugh had to be the most wonderful sound she had ever heard. God, how she missed hearing is laugh and seeing him smile. They used to be so happy together that she had taken it all for granted. She hadn’t cherished his smile and his laugh as much as she should have because there would always be more. There would always be more happy moments.

Or so she had thought.

“It’s so not fair. Guys have it easy,” she said, grinning at him in return. Following him over to the railing, she leaned against it as well, making sure to leave a comfortable amount of space between them so as not to freak him out. Comfortable for him, at least. For her, the more space the less comfortable it was.

Settling herself against the railing, when she looked over at him again she was surprised and disappointed to see he was no longer looking at her, and that his joyful mood had vanished. This wasn’t working. She couldn’t smooth everything over with some jokes and laughter.

They really needed to talk.

“Sky... what are we doing?” she asked tenatively.

[Sky]

And there it was. That questioning tone. That look on her face. That reminder that this suspended state of semi-friendship couldn't go on forever - that they needed to talk.

He should have known better than to have thought that they could just continue avoiding the subject indefinitely, but Sky had to admit that he had had his hopes. Maybe it was the mark of a coward, but Sky wasn't sure if he was ready for this. Actually, he knew that he wasn't ready for this. How could he be when he was such a torn up mess inside?

Bloom wanted to talk, though, and Sky knew that no matter what he was feeling at that moment, he was going to have to do so - for her sake. None of what had happened to their relationship had been her fault; she deserved answers and closure and if that meant that he was going to have to endure whatever discomfort it was bound to cause him, then that was just the way it was going to have to be.

Taking a deep breath, Sky was silent as he attempted to gather his wits about him. For the briefest moment, the temptation to play dumb, to act as though he didn't know what she was talking about, passed over him before he shook his head. He wasn't a kid anymore; as uncomfortable as the situation might be, he was going to deal with it like a man.

Finally returning his gaze back to her face, Sky locked eyes with her as he answered quietly, truthfully, "We're just trying to find a way to deal with and adjust to everything that has changed in our lives. I think that's all we can do, Bloom."

[Bloom]

The second the words passed her lips, Bloom wished she could take them back. They could just go on pretending, having their moments here and there.

And then he would return home to Christine.

No, they had to talk. She had to try. The spell was probably getting deeper every moment. If she was going to break him free of that witch’s clutches, she had to stop pretending and jump in. He needed her, and she had to suck it up and help him.

Whether he realized he needed her or not.

“No, it’s not,” she stated resolutely. “I don’t want to adjust to the changes. I want to fix them.”

[Sky]

"Don't say that, Bloom," Sky pleaded, his fragile restraint beginning to crack. "What's done is done. Yes, there are some things I wish hadn't happened - some things I might even change - but doing that would have its own repercussions. And...and for as much as things didn't turn out the way I thought they were going to, I can't complain about everything that's happened."

Pausing, Sky ducked his head down as he grasped the railing tightly between his fists. This was ten times harder than how he had even imagined it was going to be.

"Don't you see? I can't - we can't - go back to the way things were." A pause. "Not not. Not ever. Things are too different; I have Christine to think about now." Another pause. "Bloom, I'll always care about you - not even she can change that - but, she's the one who is in my life. I can't wrong her again. She doesn't deserve that, certainly not from me."

[Bloom]

With each word, Bloom felt another piece of her heart shatter. They had broken up and he couldn’t complain? She had apparently turned into some snobby bitch and he couldn’t complain? It had all been because of a spell, a spell that, had it not happened, they would still be together and he couldn’t complain? Did she really mean that little to him?

Turning away from him so he wouldn’t see the tears already threatening to fall, she angrily tried to blink them back. Christine. It was all Christine. It was all her fault. Yes, she did deserve that. She deserved all of that and more.

“What, and I deserved to have my life stolen from me?” Bloom asked bitterly. “If... someone hadn’t spelled me, hadn’t changed me, we would still be together now! You can’t deny that.”

She couldn’t look at him. It hurt too much.

[Sky]

"No, of course you don't deserve that, Bloom," Sky replied anxiously as he vaguely wished that he had chosen to wear a suit instead of his uniform - that way, he would have had pockets and somewhere to put his hands instead of leaving them dangling awkwardly by his sides. "That's not what I meant at all. You know I loved you, but god, what am I supposed to say? What can I say? What can I do? I don't want to hurt you like this but I'd only be doing that if I lied to you and said that I didn't feel what I feel for Christine. I can't just forget her and go back to my life with you as though none of this ever happened."

Falling silent for a moment, Sky then said beseechingly as he placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him, simultaneously trying to ignore the shiver that ran through his body upon the slight contact with her skin, "Look at me, Bloom, please. Don't you think that if I could make this all better that I would? But it's complicated and so I can't. I just can't. I don't know how to."

[Bloom]

Loved. Past tense. She had to wonder if it would hurt less if he had never loved her at all, or at least claimed not to. If that was the case, she could go on believing he was just under some powerful spell. But the more he spoke, the raw emotion in his voice, made it harder and harder to hang onto that belief. It still made the most sense to her, more sense than anything else, but what kind of witchcraft could be so seemless?

Feel. Present tense. Less significant, but he was probably just trying to cushion the blow. It didn’t help. Already the tears were streaking down her cheeks.

She didn’t protest when he turned her to face him, but she kept her eyes lowered. His touch could still make her shiver.

“Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t love me anymore,” she said quietly, finally meeting his eyes with her own tear filled ones. “Tell me that you didn’t feel anything when we kissed. Tell me...”

Her tone was getting desperate now, a plea for the opposite of what she asked. Stepping even closer to him, she brought her face close to his. “Tell me you don’t want to kiss me again.”

[Sky]

"Don't," Sky pleaded again, this time his voice barely above a whisper. "Please, don't, Bloom..."

As she moved closer to him with those pained, mournful eyes, though, Sky helplessly reached out to comfort her, but his hands stopped short of actually grazing her skin. Instead, they moved restlessly in the air, so close to her face that he could almost feel her breath, and yet, not touching.

But as the tears began to roll down her cheeks, Sky's restraint broke and he gently took her face between his palms, his thumbs moving back and forth to wipe away the wetness. Leaning forward to rest his forehead against hers, Sky squeezed his eyes shut. He never wanted to hurt her like this. He just wanted her to be happy...but he couldn't provide her that anymore.

He knew what he had to do.

Feeling as though his heart was being sliced to pieces by her pleas, Sky pulled away slightly, just enough to be able to look down into her eyes. Then, in a choked voice, he whispered brokenly, never once breaking her gaze, "I don't want to kiss you."

Releasing her, Sky turned away and walked toward the balcony doors. It was painful, perhaps one of the most painful experiences of his life, but it had to be done if either of them were going to ever move on. Bloom was his past. He had to let her go. He had to.

[Bloom]

His touch was so soft and gentle... almost loving. Almost. She wanted to close her eyes and let the world drift away, but she was determined to hold his gaze. He was so close, his forehead resting against his, his breath warm against her lips. She could close the distance, kiss him herself, but she wanted him to be the one to take that step.

But he didn’t.

She was sure he could hear her heart audible shatter, or maybe it was just the gasp of breath she tried to take. No matter how much it hurt, though, she had to fight for him. She couldn’t let it end like this.

“Sky, wait!” she called, rushing over and grabbing his arm to stop him from leaving. “Remember how happy we were? We never argued or even got on each other’s nerves! It was neither of us that really ended it. Someone interfered and ruined everything. We deserve another shot. We owe it to ourselves to find out if we were right back then, that we are meant to be.”

Manoeuvring herself between him and the door, her breath came out shaky, as did her words, but she stood strong. The last words came out clear, though, although much quieter. He would remember what she was referring to.

“Wishes can come true.”