Sweet Dreams

Chapter Sixteen: Love

 "Everybody!" Cherry shouted from outside the doors. "Wake up, wake up! I have exciting news, wake up! Come on!" She squealed and giggled. I sluggishly woke up, not realizing at all that I even slept. I groaned quietly and tiredly made my way over to the door of my room, opened it, and found Cherry clapping her hands together with a huge smile on her face. Cassidy was beside her, looking happy but slightly bashful.

Luna kicked down her door just for the dramatic effect, and there was a lot of scratching sounds and a bit of arguing before the twins opened theirs. If I remember correctly, Harou looked a bit glassy eyed and Hati looked wide awake.

"I have wonderful news!" Cherry announced. "Cassidy and I are now dating! Isn't that great?!" Cherry squealed and giggled again before she hugged Cassidy, who blushed a bit and smiled a little more.

"Woo, good for you!" Luna clapped.

"Wait, what?" Harou said. "You're- you two- no! You can't!" Cherry hesitated for a second before she looked at Harou and responded.

"Oh dear, why not?" She asked.

"Because love is scary! It can be very very bad, 'specially if you love a very very bad person! And she," Harou pointed at Cassidy and glared at her. "Is a very very VERY bad person! I don't want her breaking Cherry's heart! She's like a mom to me!"

"Let them have their fun, Harou." Hati said. "Look, if anything actually bad happens to Cherry then Cassidy will definitely pay the price for it one way or another. But if not, then this could be wonderful! Really Harou, Lavender was the best thing that ever happened to me. It feels so good to know that somebody who you love very much loves you just as much. Having somebody to love is thrilling and beautiful, it gives you a reason to wake up in the morning and stay happy." Hati sighed happily and allowed his golden eyes to wander for a second before he rested them on his brother. "Don't you want that for Cherry?"

"I mean..." Harou kept her glare on Cassidy. If looks could kill, she'd be twice as dead, especially considering that Harou, who was visually the oldest, with his fangs and slit pupils and sharp claws, looked pretty intimidating already. "Fine. You two can date or whatever, have fun."

"Last time I checked, we didn't need your permission." Cassidy stuck her nose into the air. "But thank you, Harou."

"Well, good job, you two!" I said. "It doesn't surprise me that girls like you managed to find good partners! Like Luna said, I'm happy for you." I bit my lip and started to wish I was them. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't attracted to Cherry and Cassidy or anything. But as Hati said, it feels so good to be loved by somebody who you love too. I wished that somebody who I loved would love me back.

Luna seemed ecstatic that the two got together, and Hati was awfully excited. However it was easy to tell that Harou wasn't entirely comfortable with it, and I was honestly too focused on Luna to care.

As we made more progress to the castle that day, our entire walk was littered with constant flirting from Cassidy and Cherry, and by the time I heard their 100th "no, I love YOU more!" I was about ready to snap.

"Wish somebody would talk to me like that." Luna mumbled and glanced at me as Cassidy and Cherry continued their chatting. I blushed as a million thoughts started running through my mind. Did she mean anything by looking at me when she said that?! Could she have been subconsciously flirting with me? Was she trying to hint that she knew I liked her but she wanted me to actually show it? Immediately I rushed to the worst conclusions possible, which apparently showed on my face because I heard Luna chuckle.

One of the parts I remember the best about that walk in particular was Harou's grumbling whenever Cassidy and Cherry started to flirt with each other. I wasn't listening that closely but from where I was, it sounded like he was saying the strangest things. The main thing I remember him angrily spitting under his breath was "She's a hinnyminny ginnymuffin, that's what she is." And I think it was that line that caused me and Luna to burst into giggles. Harou must not have realized until then that we were listening, but once he did he blushed and bit his tongue.