Author's Notes:

A bit of a shorter chapter, but an emotional one for sure!

"Rainbow? Raaaiiiinbooow." I try to snap Rainbow back to her senses. We're at lunch now, but she's just resting her head on a hoof and rolling an apple around on the table.

"What's her deal?" Alex says with his mouth full.

"I don't know... She won't respond to me." I say as I take a drink from my cup. I put the cup down, and grab Rainbow's shoulders and turn her towards me.

"Huh? What?" Rainbow snaps back to her senses.

"Rainbow, what the fuck is wrong with you."

"What do you mean?"

"You've been depressed since homeroom. What's up with you?"

"Oh I just... feel bad for being a burden..."

I look over at Alex and Skyler, and ask to be excused for a minute. I lead Rainbow outside, behind the lunch hall. We sit down against the building together.

"What do you mean by that?" I ask as I reach my arm around Rainbow's shoulder.

"I've just been a burden to you this whole time... Ever since I came here, I've done nothing but ruin your life. When that guy started making fun of you just because of me, I felt so bad... I love y-... hanging out with you, but I don't want anyone to make fun of you because of me..." Rainbow fades off. I'm stunned by what she just said, but I can't help but think over the past few days. Sure she changed my life, and sure it was hard to watch after her but... I wouldn't trade these last few days for anything.

"C'mere." I pull her into my side, her head resting on the side of my torso. "You're one of my best friends, even if we only met about a week ago. I wouldn't trade the time you've been here for anything. Sure, at first I was weary about what life would be like with a pegasus, but... now I couldn't imagine life without you. Don't ever think you're a burden to me."

Rainbow doesn't respond verbally, but I can feel a wet spot growing on my shirt, and her shoulders are shaking with each breath. I hold her against my shirt, not saying anything, even when Alex and Skyler come out and sit next to us. The four of us just sit in silence until the bell rings for the next period.

"Time to go I guess..." I mumble as I unwrap my arm from around Rainbow. "I'll see you guys later." I say as I stand up.

"Yeah, can't be late for Trig!" Skyler yells as she jogs away with a wave. "C'ya Matt!" My heart flutters as she addresses me directly. I just wish she'd give me a chance one day.

I walk with Rainbow towards my Spanish class, but what she said lingers in the back of my mind. Did she really think that she was a burden to me?

As I take my seat in Spanish, I pull out my phone while I wait for the class to start. I open up the Instagram app and go to my profile. Ever since my name was revealed on the news, I've gained tens of thousands of followers that I don't even know. I open up the camera, and see if I can attempt to cheer Rainbow up.

"Hey Rainbow, look over here." I point to the camera on the phone.

"What are you doing?" She asks as she sees herself on the phone screen.

"Taking a selfie!" I say happily as I hit the button that takes the picture. The picture doesn't come out how I like it, so I try again. "Smile this time!" I say as I kneel down next to Rainbow and wrap my arm around her. I lift the phone above us to get a top-down view. Rainbow puts on a happy expression, and sticks her tongue out when she sees that the screen changes whenever she moves. I snap the picture of us and decide to put a description.

"Hanging out with Rainbow at school. #bestfriends"

I post the picture and show it to Rainbow once it's been uploaded.

"You like it?" I say happily as I admire the picture.

"I love it! I didn't know you could even do that!"

"Phones truly are amazing..." I trail off as the teacher walks in. I quickly stuff the phone in my pocket and sit up in my seat. We sit through class, both of us now happy and ready to finish the day.

*RIIIIING*

The final bell rings, but I stay behind for a minute while Rainbow talks to the teacher. The teacher used to be in the Air-Force, so they're both talking up a storm about flying.

I lean up against the wall while I wait, and take out my phone which is loaded up with Instagram notifications. I unlock the phone and head for the Instagram app.

"Holy shit! Four-thousand likes already?" I mumble to myself. It's amazing how much attention you can get from one news report. I decide to read the comments which, to my surprise, are all pretty positive. I notice a trend of people saying stuff like, "They're so cute together!" or "Rainbow is adorable, he's so lucky!" It makes me smile to see people actually supporting Rainbow instead of putting her down like Jack.

"Ready?" Rainbow hovers in front of me.

"Hey, you're flying again!"

"Yep, the old wing's feeling better now. Thanks again for fixing that."

"My pleasure. Now let's get outta this hell hole." I say as I point my thumb towards the door. We walk into the hallway, but I'm looking at Rainbow when I ram into someone walking past us. I look up to see Skyler looking at me, rubbing the side of her head where we made contact.

"You have a hard head Matt!" She says with a giggle.

"Oh, uh I... Sorry Sky!" I stutter. She pulls out her phone and shoves the screen in my face.

"Matt! This picture is adorable!" She yells as she waves the phone in front of me. I recognize the picture as the one I had taken just a few hours prior.

"Oh thanks Sky!" I thought it would cheer Rainbow up, and it seems to have worked."

"Where is she anyway?" Skyler says as she looks around.

"What? She was right here..." I spin around wildly until I spot Rainbow laying on top of a row of lockers. I sneak over where Rainbow is laying down, her eyes closed. I pull on her back leg which is dangling over the edge, and she falls down into my arms with a yelp.

"You could've just nudged me you know." Rainbow says as she follows me through the parking lot.

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?"

"Whatever."

"So did you like Skyler? She's pretty cool huh?"

"She's... okay I guess."

"Okay? Just okay? She's amazing Rainbow!"

"I just don't... really like her."

"What about Alex?"

"Oh, he's cool! Pretty funny if you ask me."

Why does she like Alex, yet seems to have something against Skyler when all she's been is nice towards Rainbow. Did something happen that I didn't see?

We hop into the truck and I turn the key. The ignition starts up, but I don't move at all. I just stare at Rainbow who is playing with her hooves, looking like she's thinking deeply about something.

"Wanna get some ice-cream?" I ask, trying to snap Rainbow out of her funk.

"Just you and me?" She snaps back rather quickly

"Uh, duh." I retort, slightly confused.

"Yeah! Let's go!" She suddenly perks up. What is up with her emotions today? She's like a damn rollercoaster.

We drive out of the school and onto the road that connects to the highway. We rock out to the radio on the way to the local ice-cream place downtown. I decide to try to reach out to Rainbow again as I notice that she still looks slightly bummed.

"C'mon Rainbow, what's got you down? It's not the whole burden thing still, is it?"

"It's nothing, I promise."

"No, it's not nothing. I can't be happy if you aren't. So please tell me what's up."

"Matt. Please, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

I respect her decision, but I can't stop thinking about what's got her in a bad mood. I decide it might be time to change the subject.

"You know, the fall prom dance is coming up in a few days."

"What's that? Some event?"

"Yeah, it's mainly for couples, but some people still go just to hang out with friends. I don't usually go, but we could go hang out there if you want to."

"Are you asking me to a dance?"

"In a way I suppose."

"Of course I'll go!"

"Cool. It'll be a blast if you're there with me."

We arrive at the ice cream place, only to immediately get swarmed. I ask everyone for some alone time with Rainbow, and thankfully most of them back off. I place our orders and carry our ice-cream back to the table.

"Order up!" I say with a smile as I slide Rainbow's cup across the table.

"Thanks Matt!" Rainbow is about to just dive it before I stop her.

"C'mon Rainbow. Have you never heard of a spoon?"

"Have you ever heard of hooves?" She retorts sarcastically.

"Touche. Here let me. I don't want you making a mess." I grab an extra spoon and dip it into Rainbow's ice-cream. "Here comes the airplane!" I say teasingly.

"Really?" Rainbow says with an annoyed expression, though she giggles happily as well, showing that she's just joking around too. "C'mon already."

Rainbow opens her mouth slightly and I slide the spoon in through her lips.

"It's like feeding a baby." I chuckle. "Anyone ever tell you that you're like a big kid?"

"Yeah, you on multiple occasions." Rainbow says through a mouthful of ice-cream.

My phone vibrates on the table, indicating that I got a text. I unlock the phone and open the messaging app. What I see makes my heart stop in sheer joy.

"Rainbow! Look at this!" I shove the phone in her face. On the screen is a text from Skyler with one single word...

"Prom?"