Hase - Before Ever After

Chapter 3 - A Friendly Advice

Rose's pov

"See you later, Hawk". She said and went looking for Astoria.

Rose was confused. She would've sworn Hawk had something else to say, something that she had secretly been waiting for a long time to hear from him.

She could almost see it in his eyes as they got just so close to hers that she thought she could see right through them.

"Well, I guess it was just too good to be true, after all, he's a Snow White, he would never look at me as something more than a friend. How could I be so stupid?"

She thought to herself.

Seeing her friend lost in thought as she walked through the ballroom, Astoria went in Rose's direction and snapped her out of her self-destructive thoughts.

"Rose? Fairytale land to Rose. Are you still with us?", she said as Rose recovered her consciousness.

"Oh... Hey, Astoria! I was actually looking for you. Can we talk for a minute?" Rose asked.

"Sure! What's wrong?" Astoria asked, worriedly.

They went somewhere private so they could talk. As they got away from everyone at the ball, Rose started to explain what was bothering her.

"It's about Hawk. I... I really like him, Astoria. And for a moment I thought he liked me back, but he just makes me so confused." Rose started.

Astoria innerly set off fireworks at the confession of her friend, but kept the excitment to herself.

"He's a sweet guy and he's always there for me when I need him, but then again, isn't he like that with every other princess? I mean, he's there for literally every damsel in distress, saving a princess is like a part of his every day." Rose said with watery eyes.

Not being able to hold any longer, a single tear made its way down her cheek as she continued.

"...Do you think maybe I have just confused my feelings with the truth?" Rose asked Astoria, who could clearly see the sadness in her friend's eyes.

"Look, Rose, it is true that Hawk is like a magnet for the princesses and that they've all literally fallen for him, at some time...", as she said that, she looked at Rose to see an expression on her face that was surely telling her there's better be a 'but' after this.

"But..." she continued and chuckled as the expression on her blonde friend's face relaxed "...I've seen the way he looks at you, and if you come to think of it, he's always avoiding all the attention from the other princesses, but he's never made the slightest move to be away from you, on the contraire, he's always made it clear that he enjoys being around you. So, what I really think is that you should tell him how you feel. Who knows? Maybe you'll be surprised by what comes of it".

Astoria, of course, knew exactly what would come of it, having been aware of Hawk's feelings for Rose since she could remember.

But she didn't want to be nosy, and decided to give the two lovebirds the time to figure it all out on their own.

Rose gave her friend a reassuring smile and held her in for a tight hug.

"Thank you, Astoria. You really know just what to say." Rose said while pulling Astoria in for an embrace. "I'll go talk to Hawk right now" she said and walked away towards the ballroom.

After the pep talk with Astoria, Rose was feeling more confident.

She put herself together, brushed the tears off her face and went looking for Hawk to finally confess her feelings for him, whether he would reciprocate it or not.

But just as she got close enough to see him, she froze.

She stared wide-eyed as Hawk danced with Ambrosia Beauty while everyone gathered around them to admire the beautiful couple, tears started to blurry her vision and she felt an emptiness on her stomach she had never experienced before.