Oh hhheeeeyyyyy. I'm sorry for having been gone a while. I was dealing with some personal stuff, so I had to set this on hold. But now I'm ready to continue on! Happy to see that people have been waiting for new chapters. And also sorry for the wait. Enjoy
Okay, the plan is simple. I find Stealth elf, and tell her that some people have this wild accusation that I have a crush on her, and then ask her to tell me that I obviously don't have a crush on her and that I instead have some kind of mental disease that just happens trigger whenever I'm near her. Then we laugh it off. Boom! Everything is fixed, and we can continue on as normal. There's no chance this will end up going horribly wrong. Nope!
These were Spyro's thoughts as he flew around in the sky above the academy. Having Purposely ignored whatever Hugo had yelled after him as he flew away, he was now on the lookout for Stealth elf. Just like his entire plan in his head, he hadn't considered how he was going to exactly find Stealth elf, as there were already other students walking around, and also, she was a ninja. But continued flying around, keeping his eyes on the ground. More than once was he about to fly into a small island floating in the sky with him.
Out of sheer conviction or sheer dumb luck, he finally managed to find Stealth elf. Without even considering to think for a moment about what he was going to do, he flew down towards the ground, like a purple, winged rocket.
He barely managed to stop his fall, when he stood a few meters behind her. Stealth elf had stopped in her tracks, probably trying to guess what heavy object had just landed behind her. After brushing off the dust from the fall, he sat down, going over his plan for a second time.
...Yep, everything seems to be in order. Now I just have to say hello, ask her, and then everything will fall into place. Just say...hello.
As he was about to open his mouth, he noticed Stealth elf was slowly turning around. Suddenly, everything he had prepared to say fell apart, like a badly constructed cupboard.
Oh no, what am I doing?! This isn't going to work at all! Why did I think it was going to work! Why did I even think this was a good idea at all!? Okay, calm down Spyro. You're slick, you can get out of this one. Even if she's turning around just now, I can still make a getaway. I just have to jump over her at the exact moment she's turned around, and while she is confused, I quickly fly away and-oh she's looking at me.
"Spyro! I've been looking all over the academy for you." Stealth elf said, with a hint of concern in her voice.
"For me? Oh, you shouldn't have, heh heh..." Spyro said, waving his hand dismissively, as he felt himself slowly breaking down from an unseen weight, that was trying to crack him open like an egg.
Whether it was kindness or worry, Stealth elf decided to leave alone Spyro's weird mannerisms. For now.
"Well...I did, and I must say, you're either way better at hiding than I thought, or I have been getting sloppier."
"Hey now, I wouldn't want you to think less of yourself, so let's just say I have a certain untapped potential."
"In the heroic skill of hiding?" Stealth elf playfully commented. Spyro tried his best to figure out a comeback.
"I...wouldn't exactly put it like that but...wait, isn't that just what you do?"
"Oh, it is." She replied with crossed, and so self-assured, that Spyro knew she was going to do something to follow her words up with.
"But...there's a clear distinction between what I do, and what you do."
"Which is?" Spyro skeptically asked.
Without answering, she teleported away right in front of him. He let out a disappointed sigh, and turned around, expecting to see her. But to his surprise, she wasn't there. He looked all around him, but couldn't see her.
"I do it in style." She said from somewhere, Spyro couldn't see. He could almost imagine her mocking grin, as she continued to hide away. He in turn decided to not say a word, and in turn denying her the satisfaction. But that attempt was quickly thwarted, as in one quick turn, Spyro was suddenly faced directly with Stealth elf. He tried to hold in a scream and in his defense, it turned into a shocked gasp. But he also couldn't stop himself from landing on his back on the ground. As he looked up at her, he realized she was eating a red apple.
"Where did you get that." He struggled to ask, pointing at her hand with the apple.
She stopped eating, looked at him, and threw it over her shoulder, where it disappeared as strangely as it had appeared.
"That will remain a mystery, for all but me." She answered with a confident smile. She then walked over to Spyro, and with surprisingly little effort, lifted him up from the ground.
"You know, not that I mind scaring you off your feet, but I'm starting to get tired of lifting up from the ground."
"Why didn't you say so? After all, I'm only dramatizing to give you a little ego boost. We all deserve to have as much confidence as me." Spyro said in a comforting tone, patting her on the back. She didn't look too amused.
"Wanna test that?" She said, before disappearing again. Spyro instinctively hid under his wings, practically cowering.
"On second thought, I don't think you need a confidence boost!" Spyro said, with fear thick in his voice. Then he realized Stealth elf was standing right by his side. He couldn't help but blush a bit from embarrassment, and after he moved his wings down, Stealth padded him on the back.
"That was what I thought." She said, in the same comforting tone as Spyro. Then a quiet moment passed over them, and they started smiling at each other. A moment Spyro interrupted.
"I wanted to ask you something."
It seems that in the fooling around with Stealth elf, Spyro had forgotten all his worries from before. And now his mind had decided to use this false sense of calmness, to take charge and drive Spyro down his dumpster fire of a plan. And he too realized this, as he felt his throat twist into a knot, as he saw her looking puzzled at him.
"Ask me...what exactly."
Now, Spyro, you can do this. I just have to keep going. I have already started, so it shouldn't be so hard to continue...right.
"Well, I...I just wanted to...well I...I just want to be sure...that...you..."
Stealth elf was eyeing him once again with a concerned look. He could tell if he didn't say something concrete soon, she would.
Nope, this isn't going to work. It feels like I'm literally choking on my own words! Think Spyro, think! I just have to...come up with something else to ask, yes! Why didn't I think of that before? Okay, just ask her about homework, about house cleaning, or-
"I just wanted to ask if you would like to go out with me!"
...Am I even here or have my body decided it can do fine without me! Well, now it's all over at least. Good job.
There was a short moment of silence, where they both stared at each other. Again. This time with Spyro blushing, looking nearly as red as a fire hydrant. Stealth elf hadn't moved her expression for a few seconds, as if she was still processing what he had just said.
"...Go out like-"
"Like a walk! Yes, just a...friendly...friend...walk." Spyro awkwardly managed to pull out of his mouth.
And you just keep going, don't you?!
"Oh...of course! That makes much more sense!" She let out awkward laughter, and Spyro couldn't for the life of him figure out what was going on inside her head.
There was another long silence, and it seemed they would continue on like that for the rest of the day, but Stealth elf pulled herself together and asked;
"So...its there a time and a place, or-"
"Of course! I just have to think..." Spyro panicky answered, before trying as hard as he could to think of something in the moment.
"What about-wait I mean..uhm...how bout just, later, today. And by the thinking place. With the stones."
Even though a thousand thoughts were going through her head, she couldn't help but let out a quiet giggle.
"Sure, by the rocks. Then...I guess we just meet later."
"Yeah, I guess we do. Heh."
"Okay, I need to go bye."
Before Spyro could interject, Stealth elf had disappeared. He stood there and thought about all the times he had done the same. And as he felt the guilt wash over him, he found in the tide a realization. One he had been hiding away from all day.
"...I actually like her...don't I?"
Hello again. As you might have realized, this chapter is a bit shorter than the other two. That's because this one was mostly just to announce that I hadn't died, or more realistically, given up. I'm having exams at the time of writing this, so I can't promise to roll out another chapter soon, but trust me. I'm going to finish this. That I promise. No matter how painstaking it's going to end up. Goodbye and a have a good day.