Greetings from Solaria

[Bloom]

Bloom really hoped that Stella was right. She’d hate to see her friend set herself up for a major fall, especially now. But it really did make sense. Her parents were throwing her a princess ball, and whatever her father had to announce had to be good, and he was all happy and glowy lately.

“Wait until I tell Tecna that she’s rubbing off on you,” Bloom laughed in return. “This is so exciting! But two weeks? That’s such a long time to wait!”

[Stella]

At Bloom's exclamation that two weeks was a long wait, Stella's eyes practically bugged out of her head before she quickly reminded herself that her best friend, bless her heart, had yet to truly experience life as a princess. Had yet to understand just exactly how hard it could be. Had yet to see just how much preparation went into getting ready for a ball. In any event, Bloom was going to be in for the surprise of her life, that was for sure. Sure, balls always looked so beautiful and everyone always seemed so glamorous, but that was only because it was the result of hard, serious work.

Walking over to her vanity, Stella picked up her brush and combed her hair as she said over her shoulder, "We'll have to start hitting up the boutiques today, Bloom. I want to make sure that we get one of a kind dresses. Could you imagine the scandal if I showed up in a dress that someone else has already been seen in?"

[Bloom]

“It would be a blunder to be remembered for a hundred years,” Bloom deadpanned. The dull expression didn’t last long, though, before the giddy smile returned. A day of dress shopping with her best friend? She was so there! And all for a real princess ball!

“This is so exciting!” she suddenly exclaimed, clapping her hands. “I have to call Sky!”

It was a knee-jerk reaction still. Whenever something happened, either good or bad, she wanted to call him and tell him. Before she could even think about it she had dialled the number. Holding the phone to her ear, then she thought about it. She couldn’t just call him whenever she wanted anymore. He wouldn’t care that she was going to get to play princess, and she didn’t have to tell him where she was going to be in case he was looking for her. She didn’t have to check in. He didn’t care.

Unfortunately the phone had already rung twice before she clicked into all this. Looking up at Stella in horror, Bloom quickly snapped the phone shut.

“It going to show up on his caller ID!” she said, looking completely miserable. Who invented caller ID anyways? How was anyone supposed to nervously call their crush anymore and hang up when they lost their nerve? And prank calls? Forget about it! And everyone knew that the real way to screen your calls was to let the answering machine get it and listen to the message before deciding whether to pick up or not.

It was a stupid invention.

[Sky]

Sitting in his dorm at Red Fountain, Sky drummed his fingers against his desk in boredom. Not that he should be complaining. Between the options of being bored or having his life consumed by drama, he would gladly choose the former. But still...there had to be something he could do. Something that he could just kick back and relax to. Something that-

Having sunk against his chair, the flimsy piece of furniture resting precariously on its back legs, Sky gave a startled cry when his phone rang - a cry that upset his balance and sent him sprawling to the ground. With a groan, Sky rubbed the back of his head, already feeling a bump beginning to form there from where his skull had collided against the thinly carpeted floor.

Lying motionless on the ground for a few moments, Sky debated not answering - moving at the moment seemed particularly painful - before he finally hoisted himself up into a seated position. Reaching for his phone - who knew, perhaps it would be W or Bishop getting a group together to go out on the town or something - Sky began to pick up when the call abruptly ended.

"Well that was strange; I wonder who it was..."

Flipping the phone open to check, Sky frowned. Not one of the guys. Bloom. But why was she calling?

Probably because you told her that you still wanted to be friends. Friends do call each other, moron.

Which was why he was going to call her back. Because that was the friendly thing to do, right?

Dialing Bloom's number, Sky cleared his throat as he waited for her to pick up. Finally, at the sound of a very familiar voice, Sky said with forced cheer and ease, "Hey there, Bloom! I just got your call; what's up?"

[Bloom]

When the phone suddenly rang in her hands, Bloom dropped it as if it had just bitten her. Tentatively she picked it up and snapped it open to read the screen, hoping there was a chance that it was somebody – anybody – else.

It was Sky.

Jumping up to her feet, she shifted from foot to foot with a panicked expression, holding the phone out at arm’s length like it would bite her again.

“WhaddoIdo?” she asked aloud, looking over at Stella.

Traditionally you answer it.

Pressing the green button, Bloom held the phone gingerly to her ear.

“H-hello?” she greeted, mentally kicking herself. “Oh, hey Sky!” she continued, her voice overly perky and totally... unconvincing. “I was just calling to say, uh... hi, so... uh... hi.”

Giving Stella a very clear “I am a moron, kill me now” look, Bloom mouthed the words help me to her friend.

[Stella]

Waltzing over to Bloom's side, Stella quickly snatched the phone out of her friend's hand and pressed it to her ear as she flopped back down on her bed. "Yeah, hi, Sky? Stella here. So here's the thing; I just found out that I'm having my Princess Ball in two weeks and since you're the prince of Eraklyon and all, I thought I'd give you a ring and invite you over the phone." Pausing when Sky asked her a question, Stella rolled her eyes before answering, "Yes, I know that normally invitations are sent out by mail but the times are changing and now for young royals like us, it's all the rage to do this over the phone. It shows...that we're friendly and not stodgy; you know, it's never too soon to start working on those...erm...diplomatic relations!" Stella improvised. "After all, Solaria and Eraklyon are two very powerful realms and as we're both future rulers, I figure we ought to form a semblance of a friendship, even if I do think you're a lying, cheating wretch." Pausing, Stella then finished sweetly, "I kid, of course."

"Anyhow, since I didn't have your number handy, I just asked Bloom, sweetheart that she is, to call for me. You don't mind, do you?" Pausing for his answer, Stella gave a firm nod of her head as she said, "Good. I didn't think so. Bye now!"

Snapping the phone shut, Stella turned her attention back to Bloom as she said with a sigh, "We really have got to work on you not getting so flustered when you talk to that boy!"

[Bloom]

Stella to the rescue! Not only did she take the phone from Bloom before the flustered redhead could embarrass herself more, but she had the perfect story all ready to cover for her. Awesome did not begin to cover it.

Oh, but now Sky was going to the Princess Ball. This could either be a bad thing, or a very, very good one. Stella had invited him and only him, and she hadn’t told him he could bring a date. If the spell wasn’t broken by then, Bloom just knew that she could break it on that night. There would be music and dancing and they would be dressed up and the atmosphere would just be too perfect. And if the spell was broken by then, then it would be even better.

Her face red as a beet, Bloom fell back to the mattress and covered her face with her hands.

“I know, I know, I’m pathetic,” she sighed. “Thanks, Stella. I’ve made an idiot out of myself so many times since I’ve been back that I’m running out of fingers to count them on.”

[Stella]

"No big," Stella replied breezily as she pulled her legs up against her chest, wrapping her slender arms around her knees. "As a matter of fact, you're probably lucky to be 'pathetic' - and by that I don't mean like a loser or anything but like adorably awkward. I bet most guys find it endearing. It's that whole complex about their needing to rescue a damsel in distress."

Pushing her hair back over her shoulders, Stella continued with a mischievous smile, "And now that Sky has officially been invited to my party, let me guess - you want to look your extra best. You won't have to worry about that, of course. You can leave it up to your favorite fashionista, me, to make you look you look tres chic. Although I don't think you ought to give Sky the time of day after the way he's treated you, it doesn't hurt to make him regret what he's missing out on, does it?" At this, Stella laughed mirthfully. "Because even though that Chris he's dating right now or whatever is cute, she's got nothing on you." Reaching up to pull lightly at a lock of Bloom's red locks, she added, "You've got hair any girl would absolutely kill for. And don't even get me started on your eyes." With a pretend sad sigh, Stella finished, "Unfortunately for me, I got stuck with boring old brown ones."

[Bloom]

Bloom thought about telling Stella about Christine being a witch; she almost told her, but she stopped herself. She felt guilty enough for how she was acting about Sky considering what Stella was going through with Brandon and she didn’t need to add more problems to Stella’s plate. She knew her best friend would insist on helping, and she was already spread thin enough.

“Is that what it is? That Sky prefers the weak, helpless damsel that cries at the drop of a hat and always needs the big strong hero to save her, whereas I’m the one that often ends up saving him?”

If there was any truth to it then she wasn’t the only pathetic one. Sighing in frustration, Bloom crossed her arms in a huff, but her put out expression couldn’t withstand Stella’s next attack. I would be perfect. Stella would make sure she looked better than she ever had, there was no doubt. And once the spell was broken and her and Sky were together again, then she could explain it all to her friend and everything would be like it was. Fairytales had to have happy endings. They just had to.

The put out expression reduced to only a subtle pout, that soon vanished as well as Stella made with the compliments. Her cheeks tinting pink, Bloom smiled, self consciously running a hand over her hair.

“And you’ve got the body that every girl envies more than anything, especially since you can eat anything you want, and tonnes of it, and not gain a single ounce... which reminds me...”

She’d made up and delivered gift packages of chocolates to the other girls, but the largest portion of her accidental stash was saved for Stella.

“You know those incidents of making an idiot out of myself that I mentioned?” she asked, smiling a little sheepishly. “Well, one of them involved knocking over an entire display of chocolates which were then deemed un-sellable and are now in my possession.”

[Stella]

“Is that what it is? That Sky prefers the weak, helpless damsel that cries at the drop of a hat and always needs the big strong hero to save her, whereas I’m the one that often ends up saving him?”

"Afraid so, sweetie," Stella said with a sympathetic nod of her head. "I mean, really, think about it. When was Sky really all gaga over you? When you first came to Alfea and everything was so new and you needed help adjusting. But now that you're Ms. Kick-butt, I bet you anything that he feels...what's that word? Emasculated? So now he's ditched you and gone on to the next helpless female." A scornful look crossing her face, Stella added, "I can't believe there was actually a time when I thought Sky was perfect for you. Now I see you deserve someone sooo much better." With a sigh, Stella shook her head. "Too bad I don't have an older brother; because wouldn't it be amazing if I did and you two fell in love and we got to be real sisters? Although, that would mean that I wouldn't be next in line to be ruler of Solaria, which would be a total bummer..."

Waving her hand, Stella continued as she popped a chocolate into her mouth, "In any event, to summarize: you're amazing, Bloom, and Sky officially became the stupidest guy to have ever lived when he let you go. His loss, not yours."

[Bloom]

Bloom didn’t want to think about it, but the more Stella talked, the harder that was. What if it was true? What if he had been so easy to spell because she had started to make him feel useless and, well, emasculated, because she didn’t need him to save her? Had he just been looking for a reason to dump her?

Biting her lip, Bloom swallowed hard and forced a smile to her face. “Or maybe a younger brother? But not too young because of that whole maturity gap thing, but young enough that you’d still be next in line,” she said, trying and failing to force some levity into her voice. “Thanks, Stel, but from what I heard I was a real jerk at the time too. It’s just so confusing.”

She couldn’t bring herself to hate him or blame him. How can you hate someone you love so much? Besides, she’d rather smooth things out now if she could. If her and Sky got back together, she didn’t want weirdness between him and Stella.

When, not ‘if’.

“Anyway, I think you mentioned something about shopping?”

[Stella]

Her smile brightening at the mention of shopping, Stella nodded her head emphatically. "Lucky for us, today is a beautiful day and we have nothing to fill it with besides hitting up all those little boutiques in town. Surely there's bound to be something fit for two princesses like us."

Grinning, Stella leapt out of bed as she asked with delicately lifted brows, "So, what say you, Bloom? Are we ready to shop 'til we drop - err, after I get ready, of course," Stella added as she glanced down with a sheepish smile at her pajamas. "I can fix that in a jiffy with just a bit of magic, though." Holding her hand dramatically over her head, Stella closed her eyes, envisioning her green-striped dress. Soon, her body began to sparkle until poof, she was ready to go. Hunting down her purse, Stella remarked with a lilting laugh, "But don't expect getting ready for my ball to be that easy, Bloom. I only did that little trick just now so that we can get out of here as quickly as possible - but everyone knows that if you want to look your best, you've got to do it the old-fashioned way. Facials. Hairdressers. Tailors. And so on and so on."

Flicking her bangs out of her face, Stella smiled. "All right then, I'm ready to go. You?"

[Bloom]

Shopping. Facials. Hairdressors. Tailors.

Bloom was beginning to see how Stella considered two weeks to be short notice.

“When you put it that way, it sounds like we have no time to loose!” se said, shaking off her earlier funk. A whole day of shopping and girly things with her best friend? No way this day wasn’t going to be major fun. “Just let me grab my shoes and purse and we’re outie!”

Climbing off the bed, she suddenly made a face.

“And remind me to leave the slang to Musa.”