Zapped by an Apple | An Appledash College AU Fanfic | Human Characters

⓵⓶ 『 Released 』

Being in the same car that Pie was driving was a recipe for death. Rain clutched onto the grab handles within the hot-pink VolksWagen Beetle as it tore down the road in a frenzy. Every hair on the athletes body stood on end, and her muscles cramped under the tension as her lunatic friend screamed along to The Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani at full volume. Fae clenched her eyelids shut and tightened herself into a compact ball in the back seat. 

     Rainbow would have chosen any one of her other friends to pick her up from the hospital that afternoon. Anyone else. 

     But the only individuals from her friend group who had acquired their license were Rachel, Tiana, AJ, and somehow, Piper--though Dashie was almost certain at this point that this manifestation of chaos dubbed 'Pie' had actually just bribed (or threatened...) her way into becoming a certified driver during her final road test. Rachel and Tiana were still at school, and AJ was, well...

     AJ was still being weird.

     So Piper it was! 

     And while Rainbow was usually all for this kind of clamorous, zippy mayhem, she was not quite ready to be sent back into urgent care. She fumbled around for the volume dial and twisted it quieter. Disappointment imprinted upon Pipers maw in an exaggerated pout as she whined, "What, whyyyy?"

     "Piper this is awesome and all, but would you mind slowing down a bit?" Dashie urged, and then, growing slightly discomfited at how much she was beginning to sound like Tiana--she added, "...for Fae of course...I think Fae's scared."

     As the vehicle slowed into a still quite fast, but not as horrific pace, Fae peeked one eye open and squinted from behind long, quivering lashes. "Thanks..." she said in a shaky mumble, unravelling herself from her previously spherical pose. 

     "No problemo!" Piper recovered from her look of faint discouragement in a matter of a single second, re-adopting a peppy grin and casting a wink at the shy lass through her mirror. "Don't you worry my sweet lil' munchkins, your auntie Pie's gonna get you home in a breeze," she announced. 

     "I'm a year older than you," Fae muttered. 

     The three pulled in to a Tim Horton's drive through for a quick snack before they'd be heading back. Piper bought them all doughnuts and drinks and refused to be payed back, stating, "It's on the house," in a cool-toned voice before returning to her bubbly persona in a cheery giggle. "...you know...in celebration of Rain's return to Earthquest of course. Or should I say, pre-celebration..." she added with a smirk, referencing the big welcome-back party she had been raving on about over the past few days. 

     Rain blithely grabbed her chocolate-dipped pastry from it's paper baggy and mashed it between her teeth. The excitement she was feeling was undeniable, and she was grateful to have her friends support her through this transition back into normalcy. Well, almost-normalcy anyway. It would have been better if she could do so without the involvement of crutches and elevators--if she could just leap right back into playing soccer again without having to worry about the limitations of her lame-ass injuries. 

     'Take it slow,' the doctor had said, 'Pace yourself.'--some of the ugliest phrases known to man. Yeah, Rain would try her best regard them properly--because the reality was that if she didn't, she'd be right back where she started--but the eager athlete couldn't help but wonder just how far she could push the limits of her body without having any problems result at all.

     "Here we are, ladies!" Piper's tires screeched to a halt in front of the Earthquest residential building. Dashie and Fae exited the vehicle, both probably wanting to drop to their knees and kiss the ground in relief at their safe arrival. Their pink-haired friend rolled on in search for a parking spot while they twiddled their thumbs in waiting at the entrance. Rainbow detested the feeling of her walking-aid sticks pressed beneath her armpits. A single beep-beep chirped from the VolksWagen a few yards away, and then Piper appeared seconds later to lead the way inside.