it's gremlin hours

EVERYONE KNEW HOW MUCH DESTINY MEANT TO APPLE WHITE. She would go on and on about how important it was to follow much to the dismay of many friends, one of which was Darling Charming. 

Now don't get Darling wrong she LOVED going to Ever After High, she met so many amazing people there, Apple included. However Darling did NOT want to be a damsel in distress despite being raised up as one. Her thirst for adventure was just too strong, and it kept getting stronger by the minute. Honestly, she just wanted her prayers answered.

And they were.

But not in the way she wanted.

You see Apple White is next in line to be the next Snow White, and everyone knows about the famous true love's kiss that wakes the princess up from her slumber. The prince kisses the princess end of story. But it wasn't. 

Not exactly.

This is where the problem starts because, to tell the truth, Darling was the one who kissed Apple, and amazingly enough, her kiss woke up the sleeping princess from her frozen state. 

What a great idea to not only KISS your crush, but also be the one who is destined to be with her, but life was never that simple. Everyone and I mean everyone thought Darling's oldest brother Daring was the prince told within the story, but he wasn't and now where that put him. Where does that put her? 

And to be completely honest, Darling couldn't say she cared too much about the situation, because all she cared about was what Apple thought.

Because that was all that mattered.

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Winter break was about to start and Apple was one of many going home for the holidays. However, as she packs her bags her mind starts to itch.

Uncontrollably.

And it was getting REALLY annoying.

As she packed her bags her mind kept wandering back to being kissed after being put to sleep. Now Apple isn't an idiot, she has been told for most of her life that Daring was the one, even when it felt like he wasn't. Even when they dated despite never feeling anything beyond platonic. And when her friends hesitated. HESITATED to tell her what exactly happened, it was like a final nail to the coffin.

Now no matter the times she keeps prodding over and over everyone's lips remain sealed. It was getting more and more on her nerves by the minute.

And that's not even the worse of it. Apple has a feeling of who it might be, even within the chaos she noticed the way Darling stood over her, with an odd look almost like yearning. 

Was it yearning?

Or was her mind simply playing out a false fantasy, one she's tried to bury deep inside.

She was alone in both room and mind as closed her case. In the silence, a zipper being pulled is all that can be heard. 

Her mind continued to itch.

Finally coming to a conclusion, she decided to get her answer, even if it ends up burning her.

Moving aside her luggage to reach her phone, she sent out a straightforward message out to Darling, then quickly sent it before she could delete it.

We need to talk, it's urgent. Meet me under my window.

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To say Darling was restless would be an understatement. She was in full-blown panic mode because there are too many things that could go wrong the moment she opens her mouth.

What if she confesses her love?

What if Apple rejects her?

She was scared to find out. She treaded through the fluffy snow on the ground, letting her path be fueled by her insecurities.

And now here she was standing under Apple's windows flipping through endless possibilities that could go wrong within her head. 

She waited.

And waited.

But Apple's window did not open and Darling stood there feeling lost and uncertain until she felt a light tap on her shoulder. Whipping her head around she could see was Apple before her, and smiled like she was the sun in human form.

"I didn't think you'd come," Apple said with a small smile.

"Of course I'd come you'd said it was urgent," Darling shifts on her feet uncertainly, "And...You're a dear friend to me."

Apple looks away for a moment while biting her lips, with a light pink dusting her cheeks. Darling couldn't tell if it was from the cold or not. After a few seconds, with Darling's heart nearly beating out of her chest Apple looks at her again with a look of determination written across her face. 

"It was you wasn't it?" 

Darling pauses, wondering if it was going where she thought it was.

"You kissed me, didn't you?" She stared directly into Darling as if staring right through her soul and back again as if daring her to lie, to try to hide the unspoken truth between them.

Darling's heart stops.

Then starts again.

She felt lightheaded, she didn't like where this was going because it scared her. Apple meant anything and everything, an unattainable dream for a girl bounded by destiny. She felt shame as if she has committed a horrible sin, when she has done no such thing. And all she could do in return is stare at the princess who stole her heart with fear in her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry...I've ruined everything now for you didn't I." 

"What? No, that's not why I'm asking you this." Apple then grabbed onto Darling's hands and intertwined them. "I wanted it to be you because all I see is you." Apple licks her lips before continuing, "Everything about you plagues my mind no matter how hard I try to ignore it I can't ignore how I feel about you."

Darling looks at once again no longer with fear, but with pure love, and tucks a stray hair strand behind the blonde's ear.

"So you're fine with me, and only me?" 

"I would have to be blind not to."