The bell rang loudly throughout the hallways of Canterlot High, and for most students, they knew exactly what that meant; lunchtime. Immediately, doors burst open all over the place, and a veritable flood of boys and girls began to stream out of their respective classes. Within moments, they'd all managed to hook up with their various friends and cliques, and those who weren't heading immediately for the cafeteria instead stayed to get their things sorted out at their lockers. In time, the halls became less and less crowded, and at last, it was possible to actually hear oneself think without the hustle and bustle of it all. One such remaining student was a young teenage girl, whose long brown hair was tied back into a ponytail and who wore a distinct red hoodie. After putting her books aside in her locker, she turned, ready to head off to lunch, and it was here that she stopped dead in her tracks.

For there, walking down the hallways was one of Canterlot High's more infamous students. Wearing a memorable and mostly-purple attire, bearing copious amounts of puffy orange hair and walking along as if she owned the place, was none other than Adagio Dazzle. Though appearing as a girl, she was, in truth, a Siren from another world, although for most, she was simply one of three who had attempted to take over the school, and by extension the world not long ago. As such, many gave her a wide berth, choosing instead to focus on other things. That is, except for the aforementioned girl by her locker, who simply couldn't take her eyes off the Siren. As Adagio walked past her, she paused for a moment, turning to see the way the girl was looking at her with her mouth hanging open. After a few minutes of silence, the older girl put on a slight smirk.

"Well...good to know someone appreciates a good thing when they see it."

And then, for just a brief moment, Adagio gave a quick wink to the girl, before heading back off down the hallways. To this, the girl simply stood there, transfixed by what had just happened, and only began to move normally after Adagio was no longer in view. Shaking her head, she realised that she was being stared at by a lot of her fellow students and so coughed nervously as she turned to finish off what she was doing at her locker. When that was done, she closed it, instead choosing to walk off to the cafeteria. Thankfully, it didn't take her long to get there, and soon she was doing her best to make her way through the mass of students all trying to get their respective meals. After she finally managed to get a plate of food for herself and get it onto a tray, she now had a similarly-difficult task; finding a place to sit in all of this.

It took a while, but she eventually spotted a table with a free space, far off on the other side of the room. Making her way over, she noted that the free seat was right next to another student, a boy, with short brown hair and wearing a simple blue shirt, who was currently too busy eating his own sandwich to notice her. Taking a seat, the girl started to tuck into her own meal, though it was only in a half-hearted manner, as her mind was instead focussed on what happened back in the halls. The memory of Adagio and what she’d said to her repeated themselves over and over in her mind. So much so that she failed to notice that she was being watched, as the boy beside her finally spoke up.

"Well...somebody looks happy today."

The girl turned to him, looking slightly embarrassed about having gone into daydream-mode like that, and let out a nervous cough.

"Yeah...well...I guess I'm just in a good mood today," she replied bluntly.

To that, the boy gained a look of curiosity.

"Wanna talk about it?"

The girl raised an eyebrow.

"What? Just talk about it? Just like that?"

The boy gave out a brief chuckle.

"Well, I guess I like some conversation during my meals."

The girl nodded, acknowledging that point, perhaps even sharing it to a degree.

"Fair enough. What's your name?"

Hearing that question, the boy put on a smile and offered a hand.

"It's Jay."

Looking at the hand, the girl put on a smile of her own before taking it and giving it a good shake.

"Cupcake. Cupcake Slash."

Nodding at that, Jay let go of her hand before getting right down to business.

"So, Cupcake, what's new in your world?"

To that, Cupcake began to look around, almost nervous about the prospect of saying what she wanted to say.

"Okay, you promise you're not gonna tell anyone about this?"

Jay looked somewhat confused at that, looking around in a similar manner before nodding, silently agreeing to those terms. Seeing that, Cupcake let out a long sigh before starting to explain herself.

"Okay...well...the thing is...I kinda...have this person I sorta look up to. I think she's awesome, but...I'm not sure if anyone else would really...approve of me liking her."

And that was something that caught Jay's interest immediately, as he gave her his full attention now.

"Oh? Who is it?"

Yet again, Cupcake looked around, making absolutely sure that nobody else was listening.

"Okay. It's...Adagio."

To that, Jay looked somewhat taken aback.

"Adagio? As in...Adagio Dazzle? The leader of the Sirens?"

Cupcake nodded, looking away from him for a moment.

"I know! I know she tried taking over the world and stuff, and yeah that would have sucked for the rest of us, but...I can't help it!

Finally, she turned to look at him in earnest again, now bearing a far more enthusiastic look than before.

"It’s just...how can I not like her?! She's so...confident! So...so sure of herself! She walks into a room and it's like she's the best thing in it!"

Jay nodded at that.

"Good point. She does have a real sense of independence about her. I can understand how you might idolise her."

However, Cupcake began to look confused as she kept her eyes on him.

"Wait...you're not mad? I mean...I know I like her, but...she kinda has a bad rep at this school."

To that, Jay started to look somewhat guilty, taking a moment to look over his shoulder before looking back to Cupcake.

"Well...if I’m being honest, I kinda...sorta...you know..."

But he didn't have the chance to finish, as Cupcake immediately broke out into a massive smile, grabbed hold of him by the shoulders and looked right onto his eyes.

"Oh my gosh! You like her too?!"

Still somewhat nervous as being handled this way, Jay fumbled a bit before getting out a coherent sentence.

"Well...yeah. I mean, like you said, what's not to like? She's strong-willed, she has a real strength of character, she...she..."

But Cupcake, hearing him speak, simply raised an eyebrow.

"You think she's hot, don't you?"

Immediately, Jay looked down, somewhat ashamed.

"...Yes."

However, as Cupcake finally released him, she gave him a quick pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. I mean...I’ve kinda thought about her like that myself."

Hearing that, Jay looked up, looking a little surprised.

"Really?"

Cupcake placed her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes.

"Sure. I mean...just look at her."

Jay considered that before nodding.

"Hmmm...good point."

Looking away from him, Cupcake gained a look that gave the distinct impression that she was daydreaming again.

"She's so awesome! I mean...she's beautiful, sexy, turns heads everywhere. I mean...how can I not look up to that?"

Jay looked to her, thinking over her words.

"Well...I'm sure you can have those qualities. I mean...not that you don’t already…I mean…you know..."

Turning to him, Cupcake raised an eyebrow before putting on a small smile.

"Thanks. You're sweet. A bit of a goof, but still, sweet."

Jay looked away, seeming somewhat nervous.

"Believe me, I'm trying my hardest to not sound like I’m actually attempting to flirt with you right now."

To that, Cupcake chuckled.

"Trust me...I don’t think anyone would ever accuse you of flirting."

Looking to her, Jay looked both relieved and a little uncertain.

"Thanks...I think?"

But, ignoring him for the time being, Cupcake looked instead to her fellow students, all of whom were still busy with their lunches.

"I just wish the rest of these guys would appreciate her a bit more. I mean sure she tried to mind control them, but, you know, that's no reason to hate her, right?"

Jay nodded.

"Indeed. They should like her more...if only because she's so..."

"Sexy?" Cupcake finished.

"Well...yeah, okay."

The two turned, looking at each other, and for a brief moment, there was understanding, as all pretence was completely dropped. They moved closer, looking far more enthusiastic than before, and simply began to gush to their hearts content.

"She's so great!" Cupcake blurted.

"The way she moves!" Jay added.

"The way she sang! Which, by the way, totally sucks that she and the other two can't do that anymore, thank you very much, Rainbooms!" Cupcake continued.

"And that smirk she has sometimes? It just...argh it stays in your head! But in a good way!"

They both opened their mouths, ready to no doubt deliver yet more mutual admiration of the Siren, only to be halted when they both heard an "ahem" coming from behind them. They knew that sound well, for it was not the sound of someone trying to clear their throat, but rather someone trying to gain someone else’s attention. They looked to each other, and for a moment, they had a silent-yet-shared instinct as to who it was they would see when they turned. Gulping, they finally did turn, and when they’d finished doing so, they found that their instincts had been right on the money, as there, standing before them with a hand on her hip, was Adagio herself. The Siren looked to them with that smirk that Jay had so openly admitted to liking, and looked the two over before letting out a dry chuckle and speaking up at last.

"Oh, don't mind me. You carry on. I do so enjoy hearing what my fans have to say about me."

Slowly, the two looked back to each other, looking utterly mortified that their mutual gushing had been witnessed like this.

"I don't suppose you have a bag I can put on my head after this, do you?" Cupcake asked.

Reaching around behind himself, Jay, to her surprise, actually produced just that, a paper bag with holes pre-cut in it for eyes.

"I never leave the house without one."

Author's Notes:

Cupcake Slash belongs to WubcakeVA, who very kindly allowed me to use her for this story.