Crushing on Darling Charming

Apple had to say, she was a little disappointed by the turn out.

One person. One person showed up to her Wonderland Meeting. The meeting that she planned for several weeks and had meticulously picked her outfit for. She had expected for at least a few of her friends to show up, certainly Raven and Briar at the very least. And the wonderland kids, of course. They were surely interested in Wonderland. But not one of them showed their faces. It was only Darling Charming. Daring's younger sister and the girl that sent all kinds of butterflies scattering in Apple's stomach. It didn't make sense. And Apple always made sense of things that didn't make sense.

"Thanks for coming, Darling!" Apple exclaimed, doing her best to keep a smile plastered on her face. "Is there some special interest you have in Wonderland?"

Darling tapped her fingers on the desk. Apple had this strange fixation on her face, and couldn't take her eyes off the other girl. No doubt she had magical "Charming" powers just like her brothers. Whenever Daring smiled, it sent girls swooning. Apple had experienced the same effect when Darling whipped her hair around. Her jaw had dropped to the floor and she couldn't seem to move her eyes away, mesmerized by the beautiful girl that stood in front of her. Strangely, she had never actually felt the effects when Daring smiled.

"Oh. ah you know," Darling started, her pretty pink lips twisting as she spoke. "Who isn't interested in wonderland?" She mumbled something to herself Apple couldn't hear, though she definitely caught hold of the word "secrets." Then Darling's eyes widened like she had just been caught in a compromising position. "Not that I like secrets, or have any." She pursed her lips as if to shut herself up.

Apple blinked at her, tilting her head. She didn't really understand what she was talking about, but she also wasn't really listening. She was too busy thinking about how Darling could be so pretty. Apple knew that the Charmings were famous for their, well, charm. But if Apple would be so bold to say: Darling was a lot prettier than her brothers. She was soft where they were hard, smooth where they were rough. She was elegant and precious and beautiful, and Apple was sure she had never seen anyone so perfect.

"Well, I'm happy to have your help," Apple said. She wrote down on the attendance sheet in front of her, scrawling down Darling's name as prettily as she could. Something sparked inside of Apple as she stroked her pen across the page. Actually, she was kind of happy that only Darling showed up. Now, it would give her a chance to get to know her better. Maybe, she could figure out why her stomach felt so light whenever Darling was around. "Now since it's just the two of us," Apple continued, a little tremor of excitement running up her spine. Of course, just that moment, Lizzie decided to rush in. Apple gasped, partially in surprise and partially in disappointment. Adjusting her face into a disguised smile, she clasped her hands together.

"Lizzie, I'm so glad you could make it," Apple said.

"Apple, I'm so sorry but even talking about Wonderland is difficult for me right now."

"Oh, well, that's okay Lizze," Apple said, setting down her pen. "We don't have to talk about--"

"See, today is my mother's birthday," Lizzie said, cutting Apple off. Apple could tell this was going to be hard for her friend to talk about, so she stood and strided towards her. Darling did the same, and Apple felt her goosebumps crawl over her skin as the two of them stood side by side.

"Oh, but that's wonderful," Darling said. Apple liked the way her voice sounded. It was so light and feathery, like a pretty songbird. Songbirds always seemed to like Apple. She hoped Darling would too.

"Not really," Lizzie said. She explained how she wished she could be with her mother, holding out the invitation for Apple and Darling to see. Apple held it up for both of them to see. As the Queen of Heart's message played, Apple kept stealing glances at Darling. She caught the other girl staring at her as well, so she refocused her attention on the invitation, slightly embarrassed. She didn't want Darling to know she was so fascinated she was by her.