For Shits and Giggles (complete first draft)

Chapter 03

Checking on Flaky's well-being was the last thing on Giggles' mind. She wanted her friend to be okay, of course she did. But she knew she would be. Physically at least. They were always okay physically, but resilience wasn't one of Flaky's strengths.

Giggles just needed to be alone with Splendid, and needed to do so discreetly. She loved her boyfriend, but he could be overbearing— especially when it came to Splendid. Her and Splendid were only friends, couldn't he see that? If they wanted to be together, they would have been a long time ago. Giggles did have an enormous crush on Splendid, but that was back in college. Almost five years ago. There was no way she felt anything now. Besides, Splendid had known about her crush. How could he not have? If he didn't ask her out then, it was because the feelings weren't mutual. Sure, Splendid was a flirt. But that's all it was – flirting. There was nothing there. Nothing.

She had too many questions to respect her boyfriend's wishes.

No one had been able to tell how Giggles really felt. But somehow, Splendid could read her like a book. So for the first time in a long time, as they flew through the cool clouds, with the warm, morning sun kissing their faces, Giggles cried real tears of joy.

"Giggles?" Splendid stopped flying, hovering mid-air above the entire town. He looked down at her with obvious concern, holding her closer to his chest, "What's wrong?"

She shook her head and smiled, "Thank you."

He took a second to examine her face, her eyes specifically. It drove her crazy wondering why he always did that. Just gazed at her for seconds, sometimes minutes, at a time. When he was done, he smiled warmly and wiped her cheek with his thumb. He didn't say a word, but continued to fly. They were almost to Flaky's house. Giggles could tell by the rows and rows of perfect, suburban blocks, with pristine lawns and evenly coated fences. There were no untrimmed bushes in sight. Here, dead bodies were made to disappear instantly, the areas cleaned and sanitized before anyone would notice. Blood was scrubbed off of the sidewalks, murder scenes were polished and repainted. It was the HOA's top priority. The streets lined up evenly, and at the end of the longest road, with the biggest lawn and brightest flowers, was Flippy and Flaky's home. It was the biggest house by far, Giggles could see it from afar.

"Please fly slower," Giggles said.

He stopped again, and looked. "Why, does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt." Giggles continued. "How do you always know?"

"How do I know what?"

"How I feel. What I need to say."

He didn't talk, and looked deeply pensive. He looked deep into her eyes before finally saying something.

"I just do."

"But how?"

"How could I not?"

Giggles tried hard not to blush. That wasn't a real answer, but damn did he always know just how to make her stomach flutter. It's not like she didn't enjoy the flirting from time to time, that was always the nature of their relationship. Even before the Tree. They even shared a kiss once at one of those college parties – the ones where you get so drunk you can't remember a thing the next morning, and yet is still somehow the most unforgettable night of your life. They were both very drunk that night, and she was too embarrassed to ever bring up the kiss again. But she never forgot.

Had Happy Tree not appeared, she would sometimes wonder, how different would my love life be?

The truth was, romance for Giggles was always confusing. She felt a lot of different things, for a lot of different people, and she couldn't always differentiate between them – let alone identify those feelings where. Still, they always did end up in the same place. Bed.