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"You want to have a what?"
"A manfight!" Manager explained a little too enthusiastically. "You know, a party where the fairy with the ugliest human date wins?"
"I don't know…" Admin sighed. "I think I'd rather just straight up tell them that they're ugly than pretend to like them."
"You're not seeing the big picture!"
"The big picture?" Admin slowly lowered her flower bulb of tea.
Manager spilled a little as she slammed hers down in excitement over her own idea. "Okay, okay, just imagine it: these sad humans thinking that they actually have a chance with a fairy. We lead them on until the big dance. Then, once they start really thinking that they're going to land us, BAM! We drop everything and announce who the ugliest humans in the room are! They run out, completely mortified and swear they'll never date us again!" Her fairy wings rang with jingle bell flavored excitement.
Admin tried to see it, but her ending was a little different; she imagined sensitive, betrayed human boys working together to find their fathers' chainsaws and RAID cans. The next dawn, one of Mexico's few fairy forests left would be evacuated and left to rot away, not even mercifully put to rest by the decomposition of worms and fungus.
"I just have a bad feeling," she admitted.
"Think of it this way," Mime chimed in. "It's another excuse to party with your favorite fae!" She went back to silently enjoying her tea beside Manager.
Admin took a minute to consider it: "...and what do you win if you bring the ugliest human?"
"A pretty sick designer fruit basket, some human's abandoned domestic rabbit, and a jackpot of fairy dust" Manager reached out the back of her hand. "You in?"
An anxious feeling still twinged Admin's mind, but she loved rabbits. She couldn't help but lay her hand on top. Mime squeed and laid hers atop both.
"May the ugliest date win!" Manager proclaimed.
Ah, human high school: hell on earth, saturated with propaganda, and the perfect grounds for Admin to find a date for the upcoming party.
This is going to be criminally easy, she thought as she carried her books down the hall. While the other fairies only emerge occasionally, I see humans every day! Now we just have to find the ugliest one.
All around Admin were boys drenched in nose burning body spray, kids who thought overpriced capitalist brands were their fashion savior, and kids who casually wore mass produced knockoffs of said brands barely flying under their radar. As she passed a large trash can, she watched a group of girls across the hallway shoot their empty cans and snack bags into it only to end up missing and smacking some other guys on the head. They merely laughed and ran off when it would have taken them a minute or so to correct themselves and put their trash in the can.
The competition was fierce to say the least.
Admin kept observing like this for about a week with no actual progress made. She told Manager that she just couldn't decide. This wasn't wrong, but the truth was Admin was dreading actually asking any of these awful people out.
That Friday afternoon, Admin had to hurry up and ask out someone, anyone. She desperately looked around the outside of her school in search of a real winner.
She saw that bunny after school the other day. It had the cutest nose, sweetest eyes, and most adorable cottontail. She NEEDED to have it and name it Caramelito.
Admin paused at the sight of a particularly grungy human. His black hair was greased to hell and back and his clothes were all purposefully torn in some way. He had an especially sad teen stache and a ripped up muscle shirt that hung loosely over him. Ah yes, a wannabe little badass, that would be worth a shot.
"Heyyy, what's your name?" Admin asked as she approached him.
"Anyone who respects me calls me Greaser." He took a hit from a small blunt and blew smoke right into her face. "What the fuck do you want, fairy?"
Admin coughed, but smiled. Ooh, Greaser would get such a high score from the other fairies. "Well, there's this BIG fairy party tomorrow at 12!"
"12 am?"
"12 pm."
"Then I'm not interested." He walked over to a parking spot usually reserved for teachers and threw on his motorcycle helmet.
"Wait! Greaser!" Admin ran over and hugged him desperately. "I…would really love it if you were there, mi amor guapo." She looked up at him with the biggest, flirtiest fairy eyes she could make.
Greaser kicked her away without hesitation and hopped atop his motorcycle. "Ew, you think I like girls? What the hell is wrong with you?"
As he drove away, only then did Admin see the rainbow flag on the back of his motorcycle. Fuck.
She hid her flushed face in her hands, mortified by that little stunt she tried to pull. She sat on a nearby bench and tried to mentally collect herself. Maybe this whole manfight thing was a bust after all…
That's when she suddenly heard rustling coming from the school dumpster and the sound of someone struggling inside. Admin used her wings to fly to the top and open it up. Inside was a scrawny, pale boy whose face was hidden behind a paper bag with two eye holes cut out. He coughed and shoved some more trash out of the way.
Admin knew this particular boy; they never hung out, but she rescued him from many lockers and many trash cans. He was often called "dork" or "loser," but his common name was…
"Kenny, are you okay?" Admin reached in and lifted him out. His lack of weight made it very easy, like lifting a marionette made of sticks from a box.
"Y-yeah, I think so." Kenny straightened himself, popping all his joints as he corrected his posture. "I just…oh god, where are my glasses?!"
Admin looked back into the dumpster. She gasped as she pulled out some broken glasses frames held together by only a few connected bits of plastic.
Kenny took them from her hands and tried his best to put them over his paper bag. "It's okay, I'll just fix them. Thanks for helping me…again."
"Here, maybe you don't have to!" Admin hummed and projected her soothing, healing aura onto Kenny. His scrapes and bruises began to fade. "There, now you should be able to see!"
Kenny removed what was left of his glasses, but merely squinted as usual. "I…don't think that worked." He put them back on and sighed. "I think my astigmatism is just part of me at this point."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"No, don't be! Y-you've done more for me than anyone. If anything…" Kenny pressed the tips of his fingers together, "I owe you a lot, for everything. I-Is there any way I could repay you?"
Against her will, Admin's mind jumped to a horrendous idea. She needed a date, Kenny needed a way to repay her, and a scrawny boy who hid his appearance under a bag was sure to win her Caramelito. Despite the deceptive nature of the party, they might even have fun!
No, that's TERRIBLE, Admin thought. I-I can't, he gets bullied enough already, I just CAN'T.
"Well?" Kenny asked to break the awkward silence.
"Um…there's…nothing! You know, we fairies don't really believe in debt anyway! We just do nice things because we're nice, let's leave it at that. Why don't you go on, bike home, and get your homework done?"
"B-but you seem stressed about something! Whatever it is, I-I can help!" Kenny held one of her hands in his sweaty palm. "I can carry your things in the hallway, I can help you cheat on all your finals, I can even do all your homework for you tonight! Please, just give me some way to make all this up to you."
Admin considered his offers, but if he really was willing to do anything…
She couldn't get her precious Caramelito out of her mind. She'd willingly murder and lose all her magic for that bunny's little face.
"Well, there's a big fairy party tomorrow and…" Admin blushed. "I need a date."
Kenny's eyes lit up. "A-date?" He nervously looked aside. "A-are you sure you're doing this for yourself?!"
"Yes!" Admin held both his hands to really seal the deal. "We're having a contest! A…beauty contest. But I need an escort or else I can't participate."
At least I'm technically not lying.
"Say no more, I-I'll be there, and I'll be the best escort I can be!"
"Perfect! It'll be tomorrow at 12 pm at the forest clearing, the one by the waterfall. The dress code isn't strictly formal, just wear a nice, fun party outfit!"
"Actually, if I'm doing this for you and I'm really your escort, then I want to pick you up! Where do you live?"
Admin's eyes widened. "Oh, um…" she gave him her address.
"Perfect, I'll be there at 10!"
"10 am?!"
"Mhm, see you then!"
As Kenny biked away, Admin already felt a twinge of regret sting her heart.
Oh my God, he thinks this is an actual date.
She teared up and looked into her palms.
What the fuck am I doing?
Admin knew the party wasn't supposed to be formal, but if Kenny really thought this was supposed to be a beauty contest, then she had to keep up the illusion for as long as possible. So instead of the nice little sky blue fae dress she planned on donning, she took the time to put herself back in her quince ball gown, complete with her precious fae jewelry, glittery makeup, and winged heels. She was dressed completely in floral pink and looked straight out of a Disney princess movie. It felt odd wearing such an elaborate gown when she wasn't the center of attention (she couldn't even wear the little tiara that went with it), but she couldn't deny how happy that dress made her, especially when its wide open back made her elegant fairy wings extra comfortable.
At 10 am on the dot, she heard the doorbell ring. "Ah, hang on!" she yelled out as she carefully brought herself down the stairs.
At the door was Kenny, but he looked dressed for a completely different occasion than her. He had on a thick, fluffy, brown coat and a red scarf much like a stereotypical pilot. He had goggles with his thick prescription lenses on over his usual paper bag.
The only occasion they would have looked natural in is if this was a Halloween costume contest.
His eyelids drew back at the sight of Admin's princess getup. "Wow! You look…gorgeous!" He held her hands excitedly. "You're going to love what I brought, come on!"
Admin wrapped an arm around his and followed him outside. "Say, where's your car?"
"A car?" Kenny laughed. "Where we're going, a car won't help!"
He turned her attention to the other side of the street. Admin gasped. There was a homemade biplane parked in the middle of the street. It was stylized to look exactly like an American plane from World War 1, only it had a cartoony, yellow and white plane symbol custom painted onto it in place of the American star.
"W-where did you-"
"Do you like it?!" Kenny ran over to the plane and hugged its large frame. "I made it myself!"
"You WHAT?!"
"Well what are we waiting for? Come on, let's get inside!"
Kenny ran over and helped Admin fit her massive dress into the back of the cockpit. He took his place in the pilot's seat and squealed enthusiastically at his own creation as he started the engine. The propellers spun to life, shaking the entire aircraft.
"Well, are you ready for takeoff?" Kenny asked, looking back at Admin.
"I-I'm ready as I'll ever be," she said, still struggling to take all this in.
"Perfect, because here! We! GO!"
Admin yelped and squeezed her eyes shut as the plane started rushing forward, picking up speed and narrowly avoiding the cars parked along that wide road. Once their speed was high enough, Kenny pulled back and successfully took off.
Once they were high enough in the air, Kenny looked back and noticed Admin covering her eyes. "What's wrong? A-are you afraid of heights?"
"No, it's not that! It's just…" Admin recoiled in her seat. "A-are you sure this thing is safe?"
"Open your eyes and see."
Admin reluctantly took a look outside the aircraft. They were now pretty high up, high enough for her to see almost her entire town. Off to the north, she saw the start of the forest that other fairies lived within. More than anything, she was amazed by how steady the plane was once they were actually in the air.
"You…you really made this?" she asked again for assurance.
"Yep, everything from the engine to the paint job was done by me in my garage! I've only made a few vehicles and devices, but…I think this one's my favorite. I call her 'La Canaria!'"
"Canaria, huh? A-and what do you mean you've only made 'a few' vehicles?!"
"Next to science, they're my passion!" Kenny took a small album from a bag in the front of the plane and handed it to her. "You can see my invention portfolio there. It's…still a big work in progress."
Admin placed the portfolio in her lap and opened it up. She was in awe at the vast amount of blueprints, concepts, and finished photographs within the album. She couldn't believe it, this boy that she hadn't given much thought made everything from a transforming truck/minivan/mech hybrid to a psylink ice cream maker that generated flavors based on your emotion. On the final page before a sea of blanks, she saw one invention in particular that caught her eye.
"What's this one?" she asked.
Kenny glanced back to see what she was talking about. "Oh, that's my current project: the litterbug. It's a little drone that hunts for plastic litter, eats it, and the bacteria inside convert the plastic into an organic fertilizer. It's actually nothing special, just a little doohickey I made for my Environmental Science class-"
"I LOVE it!" Admin fixated on the little work in progress of photos of Kenny with hand sized work-in-progress robot bugs in his palm. "Oh my god, you have NO idea how much plastic shit we have to deal with on a daily basis! With a couple of these guys, we'd be so much cleaner! I-I love it so much, you're such an amazing inventor!"
Kenny blushed heavily under his mask. "Y-You…really think so?"
"Of course!" Ooh, Admin could feel it, the lovebugs biting her all over as her demisexual attraction activated. It made her blush and shake uncontrollably, but it was such a wonderful fluttery rush. Holy shit, she really was in love with Kenny!
Admin kissed his cheek merrily, little fairy bells sounding off as she did. In surprise, Kenny accidentally jerked the plane, sending the album flying out of Admin's lap.
"SHIT!" she yelled, immediately broken out of her love spell by her sinking stomach.
"A-ah, s-sorry!" Kenny stuttered, trying to regain focus on flying the plane.
"No, I'm sorry!" Admin rushed to undo her seatbelt.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Kenny yelled. "S-STAY DOWN, I-I HAVE BACKUPS SOMEWHERE-"
But Admin was already gone. Sweat drenched his paper bag. This couldn't be! Kenny's first date ever and he somehow killed her. Oh, he knew this whole plane thing was a bad idea.
"It's okay, I got it!" Admin announced.
To Kenny's relief, Admin was flying beside him, her fairy wings swiftly beating to keep up with his aircraft. Her massive dress' ruffles flapped in the thick winds. In her arms was his precious album.
"Oh, thank God! Now please buckle in and stay there."
Admin held onto the album tight as she fit herself back into the back seat. She laughed, imagining Kenny genuinely worried about a winged fairy like her suspended in the air. He had no idea that this height was nothing compared to how high fairies had to fly from the ground in their true, tiny forms.
Manager checked her watch as she stood just outside the clearing. She groaned and kept looking around. Admin was usually the punctual type, she better not have backed out last minute!
"Look, it's a bird!" Mime cheered, pointing at the sky. "No, it's a plane!"
"Yeah yeah good one, but where the hell is Admin?" Manager swore that if she didn't show up in the next five minutes…
"Yes, it really is a plane! And look, Admin's inside!"
Manager looked up. Sure enough, there was Admin being escorted by some sort of weird, bag headed pilot human. Fairies screamed and ran aside as the biplane flew right over Manager's head and roughly landed just behind the area where fairies and their humans were gathered.
"SORRY!" Kenny yelled. He helped himself and Admin out of La Canaria.
Manager flew over and crossed her arms as she looked Admin up and down. "Wowww, way to outstage the rest of us. I thought you returned this after your quince!"
"I kept it for sentimental value!" Admin yelped as her heel sank into the less packed dirt, a horrendous reminder that heels were easily the worst shoe choice for a forest party.
"Wow, your hair's a mess!" Mime pointed out.
"Yeah, thanks for noticing." She took her heels off and handed them off to Kenny. "Can you put these in your plane? I'd rather go barefoot for this."
"Of course!" Kenny walked back over to La Canaria, leaving Admin isolated with her friends.
"So, who's your human?" Manager asked.
"Oh, that's Kenning Flugslys from my school, but everyone calls him Kenny!" Admin blushed as his name came out of her mouth. "He's an inventor, a really good one."
"Yeah yeah, wait why the hell are you blushing so much?" Manager scowled. "Don't tell me you actually LIKE this guy!"
"I- I- Uh-" Admin only blushed redder as she choked on her words.
"Oh my god, Admiiiin!" Manager facepalmed.
In the corner of her eye, Admin saw Kenny coming back. She had to change the subject, fast.
"SO, what about your humans- I-I mean dates?" Admin put her arms around Kenny's, he was so warm to the touch.
"Oh, mine's over there." Manager pointed at a human by a buffet table lined with all kinds of fruit. He was a scruffy, white teenage boy dressed from head to toe in horrendous camouflage Bass Pro Shop merch. He gave Manager a casual wave when he noticed her pointing. "His name's Hunter Ashwood, he's a tourist from the US. It was hard to pull him away from his father's fishing trip, but he caved in eventually."
Hunter was asking a few fairies where all the meat was in a thick Mississippi accented English. The only one that could understand him gagged and walked away.
"Mhm, and what about you, Mime?" Admin asked, trying to be absolutely careful in front of Kenny.
"Oh, she's the clown!"
"The what?"
Mime pointed in a different direction towards the waterfall. Sure enough, there was a teenage clown girl dressed in rainbow attire with a big red nose. Some fairies smiled as she honked it while others were desperately trying to hide from her.
"Are you…sure there was a dress code?" Kenny asked.
"There is!" Mime corrected. "It just didn't apply to humans!"
"Oh…" Kenny sighed.
Manager suddenly walked up to him and gestured for Admin to step aside. She turned Kenny around, trying to get a good look at him. Her being so close only made him sweat up a storm. Admin tensed up as she heard him breathing heavily under the mask.
"Hm, I have to hand it to you, Admin." Manager put her hands on Kenny's shoulders as if to show him off. "The bag over his face is a bit much, but once we umask him you might have a real winner here."
She and Mime laughed as they walked over to the fruit buffet. Hunter walked back over to Manager's side, looking a little scared and confused.
"I thought this was a beauty contest for fairies!" Kenny whispered.
"Well, uh," Admin nervously gripped her skirt fabric. "It…is! In the same way that dog contests are for people."
Kenny raised an eyebrow under his bag. "Then why did you dress so elegantly?"
"To make you look better, duh! Now come on, let's dance!"
Admin snatched Kenny's hands and ran over to the dance floor. Other fairies ran aside from Admin's massive ball gown, gawking at her and Kenny's extremely mismatched attire.
"B-but I don't know how to dance!" Kenny nervously admitted.
"That's okay!" Admin threw one arm around his back and used her arm to hold his hand. "I'll lead, just follow my moves."
Kenny blushed even more. "Oh! Okay!"
For the rest of the song, Admin did her best leading Kenny in a romantic dance. She wasn't used to leading these sorts of dances, but it was fun guiding and correcting Kenny in her arms as they moved to the rhythm of the fairy dance. Near the end, she picked him up and spun him around before dipping him. He yelped at the sudden movement, but smiled and laughed once the dance was over. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling them even closer together.
Admin soaked in all her adoration of the moment, wishing it could actually last.
After a while of dancing and snacking, it was time for the main event of the party. A suit clad fairy woman coincidentally named Hostess stood before the waterfall. In her arms was Admin's favorite prize: that little golden brown bunny, her Caramelito. She made her announcement with some voice amplification magic: "Aaaaalright fairies, it's time to put your humans to the test! Every fae with a date pleaaaaase stand against the lake to be judged!"
Admin took a deep breath and stayed in her place.
"Come on, what are we waiting for? Kenny took her hand and walked her over to the lakeside.
One by one, Hostess and two other fairies surveyed the participating fairies and their dates. Admin mentally begged for Hostess to skip over her, but her prayers went unheard and unanswered.
"Ooh, a mystery boy!" Hostess cheered as she approached them. "Admin, introduce your human."
"This…this is Kenny. He's, uh, cute isn't he?"
Hostess laughed. "We'll see about that, won't we. Okay Kenny, turn around."
Kenny awkwardly rotated himself.
"Perfect. Now…let's see what's under that bag!"
"U-uh, do you have to?!" Kenny pulled the bag tighter onto his face.
"Yeah, do you really have to?" Admin pulled him closer to her.
"Only for a moment, we just need to get a good look! Or else you'll be disqualified."
Admin looked down at her Caramelito. His nose wiggled so adorably, but even his sweet face and eeny weeny little bunny paws weren't worth it anymore. "Actually, you know what, that's fine! We don't need to win any-"
"No," Kenny interrupted. "I'll do it…for you!"
Kenny slowly and nervously lifted his paper bag off before the judges. The three fairies' eyes widened as he unveiled his true face. Even Admin was surprised by his appearance. His brown hair was matted, greasy, and unkept. His eyes had dark circles and noticeable bags underneath. Then there was his freckled skin which was covered in a widespread case of acne. On top of it all, his pale face was flushed cherry red and his forehead was drenched in sweat. Yet where others saw ugliness, Admin only thought he was cuter now that she had an actual face to put to his name.
"Okay Kenny, that'll do," Hostess said. "Very impressive!"
A smile reached Kenny's face as he lowered his bag. "Y-You really think so?"
"Without a doubt!"
As Hostess walked to the next contestant, Kenny excitedly held Admin's hand. "Did you hear that? She said I was impressive!"
"Mhm…" Admin said uncomfortably.
Once every fairy's human was judged, Hostess had a brief, hushed discussion with her co-hosts. Once they reached an agreement, she took center stage and cleared her throat.
"AAAALRIGHT, it looks like we have a winner! Wingroll pleaaaase!"
The crowd of fairies fluttered their wings in such a way that they all made a little jinglebell sound.
"The winner! Is! …ADMIN!"
The fairies all cheered, especially Manager and Mime. Even Kenny was squealing and holding her hands, embracing the burst of confidence within him. But Admin wasn't happy, she felt wrong, so SO wrong! Hostess and her cohosts each brought one of the prizes; one held the fairy dust, one held the fruit basket, and Hostess held the bunny that was now Caramelito.
"You see that, Admin?! We won, I-I actually managed to help win something!" Kenny mused.
Hostess put Caramelito in Admin's hands and turned back to the crowd. "EVERYONE, A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR ADMIN, FOR FINDING THE UGLIEST HUMAN YET!"
Admin mentally crashed. Almost in slow motion, she saw Kenny turn to her, confused and mortified.
"...what?" He asked quietly.
Admin shook her head, unable to respond verbally.
Beside them, Manager walked up. "Yeah, I knew Admin wouldn't have told you. This is a manfight party; whoever brought the ugliest human won."
"W-what?" Kenny frantically turned back to Admin. "I-is that…is that why you…"
Admin silently nodded and shut her eyes. She heard rapid footsteps and the sound of crying.
When she opened them, Kenny was gone. Her numb hands shook as they held Caramelito. Tears started streaming down her face. In the distance, she heard La Canaria whir to life as it prepared for takeoff.
There went her true love and it was all her fault.
When Kenny reached his room, he threw off his scarf and jacket, but hesitated with his paper bag. He lifted it before the mirror slowly. His baggy eyes were red and drenched his tears.
His little insecurities were now burning within him. Every little spot on his face stuck out like a hideous sore thumb. His eyes looked more tired than a corpse. And…god when was the last time his hair actually looked okay?
God, no wonder he was declared the ugliest human. Even a literal clown didn't score as much as him.
Kenny held his head in shame and sobbed into his sink.
Admin's sickly hands shivered as she clutched her carving knife in her hand. Chills, tears, and sweat ran down her pale body. She coughed and endured another swarm of numbness across her body, but did her best to maintain focus on her creation.
The dreaded monochromia illness was beginning to set in. Too long without some true, loving affection and she could become bedbound.
But Admin made no attempt to even ease her symptoms. The pain she put poor Kenny through weighed her heartstrings down heavily, so in her own mind, she deserved every bit of misery this sickness gave her.
Besides, even if she didn't deserve this sickness, she'd most likely never even get a word from Kenny again.
She kept carving away at the wood in her hands. This craft wouldn't fix anything, but it would at least be something to physically embody her apology.
Admin took a deep, sickly breath. She didn't want to show her face again after the party, but she couldn't live with herself unless she tried everything to make something right.
She rang the doorbell. After a minute, Kenny opened the door.
"Oh. It's you." He reached aside and handed Admin her pink heels. "You left these in my plane."
He was about to shut the door when Admin suddenly interrupted: "Wait!" She dragged over a wheelbarrow holding the fairy dust, fruit basket, and Caramelito in his cage. "I'm so sorry, you deserve these so much more than I do."
Kenny looked at her wares, but shook his head. "I don't want your prizes. You can keep them."
"B-but I need to make that up to you…"
"I don't care how cute your bunny is, it can't help how I feel! Do you have any idea what that felt like, being put onstage just to be an object of ridicule?! I'm already bullied and miserable every day of my life, but I guess I shouldn't have expected our little hangout to be any different!"
Tears flooded from Admin's eyes. "Y-You don't have to accept my apology, b-but I needed to apologize anyway. There's no excuse for what I did to you, and I also wanted to say…I…I started to feel like we had something going there. Something…really wonderful."
Kenny sighed and looked aside. "Yeah, so did I. I guess I was wrong about that too."
"Well…if you aren't going to accept the others, at least…accept this." Admin sniffled and reached into her hoodie pocket. She pulled out a little present box complete with a yellow ribbon.
As much as Kenny wanted to hurry up and end the conversation with a door slam, his curiosity always got the better of him. He slowly opened the box. Inside was a small, amateurish wood carved airplane that resembled La Canaria, paint included. Tied around the rudder was a little note stained with glittery fairy tears.
For the world's cutest pilot, smartest engineer, and sweetest smile: Dr. Flugslys
From: Admin
Kenny stared at her handwriting for a while.
"I…worked all night on it." Admin started to cry even more. "I-I know I'm not very good at crafting, but I tried b-because you deserve the whole world, Kenny!"
Kenny looked back at Admin. Only then did he notice just how…unsaturated she was, like her color was leaking from her very soul. She was one more burst of tears from falling to her knees.
Kenny walked outside towards her…and squeezed her into a gentle hug. She held on tight and sobbed into his shoulder, crying out every drop of regret within her. Once her audible crying ceased, she noticed tears coming from him as well.
"Sorry," he said. "I…it's just…nobody made me something so…personal before."
Admin still remained silent and sorrowful in his arms.
"...Admin? Are you okay?"
Kenny touched one of her hands. Ice cold. He recognized this from an Environmental Class as a potentially serious fairy ailment: monochromia. Symptoms included lack of color, lack of warmth, and absence of magic.
It hit especially hard when fairies felt a disconnect with those that they loved.
"Look, Admin, I…still really hate what you did, but…you seem to hate it too. So…um…"
Admin didn't respond.
However, since monochromia was a magic ailment, it had an extremely common cure: a true loving kiss.
Kenny removed his paper bag, slowly leaned in, and gave Admin a gentle, nervous kiss on the lips.
She quickly regained color and pulled him in passionately. Tears still streamed down her face, but she felt warm again.
Kenny struggled to catch his breath as he pulled away. "W-wow a-ah, that was, my um, that was my…first kiss you know."
"Yeah…mine too…and it worked." Admin blinked and suddenly realized. "Wait, but…I thought you hated me!"
"I don't hate you, but I'll always hate what you did. A-And I'm nowhere near ready for a romantic relationship."
"Oh…"
"But…" Kenny held one of Admin's hands. "We can call that…me returning the favor. You healed me, so I healed you, okay?"
"Okay." Admin picked the handle of her wagon back up. "So…what are we then? We're not enemies or lovers, so what do I call you?"
Kenny thought for a moment. "Friends with potential energy. Just…y-you know, as long as you never pull that again."
"Friends?" Admin smiled. "That…sounds wonderful, actually. And I promise with all my fairydust to never hurt you again." She reached out a pinky from her free hand.
Kenny smiled back and locked his pinky with hers, sealing the friendship deal.