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Feelings are gross.
That’s what Charming lived by, they were confusing and hard to deal with, he detested having feelings for others. Especially if it was for someone you weren’t supposed to fall for. His parents had planned it out perfectly; fall in love for someone who was of nobility, preferably the princess of the Stillwaiting kingdom. He didn’t harbor feelings for her, or any other princess he met, much to his family’s dismay. He decided that feelings weren’t for him, why else would he not fall for the woman of nobility he had met.
He quickly found his reason. Forest Evergreen. Resident of the nearby town; Lalaloopsyland, he wasn’t anyone of importance, he lived in the forest, carving wood and collecting tree sap. He was amazing; tall, soft spoken and encouraging. He gave amazing advice and was genuinely great to be around.
Charming wanted him.
But that would break his golden rule, not to mention the utter disappointment it would bring his family, not that they weren’t always disappointed in him, but this would take the cake. Feelings came with downsides, what if he didn’t like him back, he got lucky with being his friend (an assumption he made), being his boyfriend would be pushing it. He hated worrying. Instead, he chose to keep his feelings on the inside, keeping the relationship platonical. It was for the best, or that's what he thought.
Today wasn’t any different, it had become a habit to leave royal business to Cinder and come visit Forest. Another positive thing about Forest was that he was an amazing host, it was hard for Charming to leave, seeing as his hospitality and kindness was overwhelming. He was educated on many different subjects, and Charming made an effort to listen to his rambling, today’s rambles included a lesson on woodwork, whittling a block of wood with a sharp knife. He was free to join, but he didn’t indulge; his fabric was far too delicate for this certain type of work, he chose to watch, instead. Forest’s hands work with precision and care.
“You have to make small marks, if not, there’s a high chance of messing up. You need patience,” he explained, Charming nodded, far too invested in his work. All of his creations were flawless, he was flawless. He gulped, trying to convince himself to stop thinking about that. That’s when he felt something land on his shoulder.
A butterfly.
Shit.
Charming had experiences with butterflies before, and they weren’t pretty. They were symbols of love in Lalaloopsyland, they followed those who were in love and wouldn’t leave, he read that they’d calm down if you confessed, but he suddenly forgot how to read after that. One thing he refused to forget is that they come in swarms.
Click
Click
Click
Speak of the Devil! Charming shooed away the butterfly, loudly clearing his throat. “I-I’ll be right back!” He didn’t stay to hear Forest’s response, he dashed away into the forest. He learned this from previous experiences, his master plan was to run into the woods and loop around some trees, after that he’d lose the butterflies and be able to continue with his daily wares for a solid… hour. A small price to pay for your crush not to find out your secret affections for them.
He made it deeper into the forest, zipping around every tree he saw, trying to lose these winged ants. He’d done this various times before, what could go wrong? A lot, actually!
He wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings, leading to an uprooted… root, he unknowingly ran into it and tripped. Even more unluckily for him, there was a hill, he rolled down it, finally stopping at the bottom. He felt sick, everything ached, it was a miracle his stitching didn’t come undone. “Dammit…” he groaned, picking himself up.
He looked around, trying to recognize his surroundings. He and Forest had passed through the forest before, but they never came to this area. He managed to stand, his new objective was to get back, seeing as the butterflies were nowhere to be seen.
Click
Click
Click
“Fuck!” He loudly exclaimed, whipping around (despite the pain) to face these overrated insects. There they were, the whole swarm, just flying there. He clenched his fists, “Why can’t you leave me alone? Huh?” He stepped backwards, “Please! Can you just go!”
The swarm hovered in silence.
Charming stepped back, once again losing his footing and slipping. He held in a scream, “Go!”
“Why would they do that?”
Huh.
He heard footsteps coming towards him. A hand extended to him, he looked up, being greeted with a smile. “Come on, you look like hell.”
He hesitated, but took the stranger’s hand, standing up with her help. Now he was able to get a good view of this Good Samaritan. She had dark skin and magenta hair, what made her unique was her antennas… and eyes… and wings. She smiled at him, “My name is Mona, you must be Mr. Handsome.”
“Y-yes, well, I haven’t been addressed by that before.”
“I see I see. Come on, walk with me,” She started walking away from him, the butterflies following, he didn’t really have a choice. So he followed.
•••
“So, I see you’ve fallen victim to love.”
“What? No.”
“Charming, you’re being followed by butterflies, you really can’t lie out of this situation.” She made a point, he sighed, “Fine, yes, I have a silly crush, ok?”
“Glad to see you’re not in denial, why haven’t you confessed yet?”
“That’s… that’s none of your concern.”
Mona raised an eyebrow, “Listen, Royal Disaster, I just wanna help, maybe put a stop to your bug problem.”
Charming sighed, “Ok… I’m just scared? Y’know,” He crossed his arms, “I really like this guy, and he likes me too, but as a friend. And I don’t want to ruin our friendship because… what if he doesn’t like me back?” Mona nodded, about to share some advice, but he kept going. “Like he’s really cool, he’s amazing, and he has so many more friends who are… so much better than me.”
“He can have literally anyone! All his other friends are cool and have their own quirks and are so likeable, and then there’s me. Just some… some blond boy who has powerful parents,” He kicked a stick, “Not to mention those parents suck ass… I don’t know how they’d react if I were dating some guy who isn’t royalty! They’d probably hate me, but they already dislike me so it doesn’t matter… I don’t even care about what they think anymore, I just want him!”
Mona gave him a minute to calm down, seeing he wasn’t about to continue his little rant, she began. “I can't help you with your daddy issues, but I can give you some relationship advice,” she stopped in her tracks, turning to face him, “There's nothing that you should be scared of, even if he doesn’t return your feelings, if he’s really a good guy, he’d stay friends with you. You’ll hurt yourself more keeping your feelings inside than telling him how you feel.”
She smiled at him, “If you need more advice, just ask anyone in town where Mona lives. I gotta go now, you should head back too.”
Charming raised an eyebrow, he had way too many questions, but only one came out. “How did you find me?”
Mona shrugged, “The butterflies led me,” and with that, she and the butterflies ran off. Charming was left in the forest, feeling slightly less sore. His best course of action was to head back, so he turned on his heel and began to head back towards Forest’s house.
•••
“Took you long enough.” Forest greeted him as he came out the trees. Charming frowned, “You waited for me?” Forest giggled, beckoning him closer, “Why wouldn’t I? Come on, you look like hell, let’s get you a cup of water and you can tell me about your… adventure.”
Charming sighed and smirked, following Forest to the door. Forest noticed something land on his shoulder. He shooed it off without a thought, ignoring the other butterflies that followed him to the door.