Mutual Understanding

Pom had a problem.

Ever since the 6th grade they had been friends with the Jadelyn Sheperion. But recently they were starting to feel like they wanted to be more than that. …Well, maybe? Thinking back they did remember times when they thought the younger Jade was pretty or cute… but Gods it was never to the degree it was now. It must have truly started somewhere between 7th grade and now as Jade had really grown up and Pom had been unable to get the high elf out of their head since. Her long silky raven locks, her beautifully piercing green eyes, her distinguished beauty mark, her soft pink lips, her perfect slender elven figur-

Pom grabbed the nearest pillow on their bed, shoved their face into it and groaned loudly. This was so fucking unfair. Hot people were so unfair and probably should be illegal, because this all SUCKED. And they hadn’t even gotten to the worst part yet. They were absolutely whipped for this stunning girl and Jade probably didn’t even like them back. It would make sense - that’s how things like this would always go. Of course any teen would have a crush on Jade, she was gorgeous, smart, talented, rich - basically the whole package. But if everyone loved Jade, that meant Pom wasn’t special… and why would someone so extraordinary settle for someone so lame?

So here Pom was, wallowing on their bed, about their bombshell of a best friend who probably didn’t return their feelings in the slightest.

And they had invited her over a sleepover today.

Y’know. Like a fucking moron.

The young tiefling sighed and peeled themselves off the mattress. Oh well, several hours too late to worry about it now, they might as well get everything ready to make sure they and Jade at least had a fun time tonight. 

...

Hours later, there was the sound of the doorbell ringing throughout the apartment followed by their dad calling out “Pommy! Your friend is here!” They emerged from their room into the hall wearing their Saffron Slick t-shirt, black sweatpants and gym socks. Pom walked through the living room to the front door where their dad and Jade were standing. The heiress was wearing a green sleeveless turtleneck sweater, a black skirt, stockings with her signature heeled boots and had a duffle bag slung over her shoulder. 

Over dressed as usual. The two seemed to be in some sort of conversation as Pom walked up.

“Honestly, it is always so lovely to have you over, Jade.” He said before noticing Pom approach.

Pom smiled at their dad and turned to wave at their friend. 

“Heya Jadey, come on in.” they greeted.

“Yes! Yes! Come in, make yourself at home!” Krystopher followed up.

Jade gave a polite smile and walked over to the couch where she set down her things. Krystopher remained in the doorway looking over the teens.

“I hope you two don’t mind, but I have some potion brewing work to do in the shop downstairs. So it’ll just be you two for most of the night.”

“No worries dad.”

“Oh, that’s not a problem at all Mr. Wulfram.”

The man nodded in understanding. “If something goes wrong don’t hesitate to call me. Oh! And feel free to order yourselves a pizza. Just don’t go too crazy.” He finished with a chuckle.

Pom gave their dad the okay sign and he smiled, turning to head out the door.

“Alright y’all have fun!”

“Have fun with your plants dad!”

And with that the door shut behind him and the two were left alone. Pom flopped down onto the couch and crossed their legs.

“So, how’d you convince your folks to let you come to a sleepover?”

Jade winced and sat daintily on the other side of the couch. Pffffft so princess like.

“Well… I wouldn’t call it convincing. It was more that I didn’t tell them… and they still think I’m at home…”

Pom raised their eyebrows at this, “Dead ass? But won’t you get in trouble?”

“If they find out? Most likely. But I have James covering for me and I’ll probably leave a bit earlier in the morning so they don’t become suspicious.”

“You think they won’t notice you’re gone?”

Jade’s face contorted with resentment, “They don’t care about me enough to check in on me most days. As long as I show up to meals and do my work, they feel all is right.”

There was a silence between them as Jade seemed to stew with certain thoughts and Pom looked at her sympathetically. They hated seeing the heiress like this and realized mentioning her parents was probably a bad move. Good job dip shit you’ve already made her upset in the first, what? Five minutes? Absolute moron. Pom cleared their throat in an attempt to change the subject.

“So… you eaten yet? Because I can start ordering that pizza right now.”

Jade snapped out of her daze and turned to the tiefling, “Oh. No I haven’t, that sounds like a good idea.”

Pom pulled out their crystal and opened up the delivery app, “You have a preference for the type?”

The high elf hummed, “I am not one to usually eat these kinds of foods, so I will leave the choice to up to your expertise.”

“Heh, alright. Hawiian with hot sauce it is.”

“Hawiian? What does that entail?”

“It’s pizza with ham, bacon and pineapple.”

Jade balked at what she had just heard, “Pineapple? Why would you put fruit on something that’s a savory dish?? That sounds horrid!”

Pom snorted at their friend’s response, “Okay but tomato is also a fruit and that’s one of the main things on all pizzas.”

“No listen here, the tomato on pizza has been modified to match the savory taste but with this it sounds like it is just sweet pineapple on a pizza.”

“Sweet and savory honestly taste good together. All that opposites attract type mumbo jumbo.”

“... I think you are using that proverb in the wrong context.”

“Eh, probably.” Pom said with a shrug.

They continued, “Y’know what? I know the perfect way to settle this. If I win a cup in Mario Kart, then I’m right and we order Hawiian. If you win, you’re right and we’ll order something else.”

Jade stared at the tiefling for a moment before assuredly getting up and haughtily responding “Very well, if those are your terms, then I hope you are prepared to lose.” 

Pom looked at her incredulously, “Wait seriously?? Jadey no offense but you suck ass at Mario Kart.”

“I am aware of my lack of skill. However, you are very much in the wrong and I believe my determination to prove this shall make up for my shortcomings.”

“Pfffft if you say so Princess~”

…

Jade lost spectacularly.

At several points in the cup she was going the completely wrong way and it took her at least a minute to register. Her face would flush with embarrassment as she realized and turned around - Pom snickering and shooting her adoring looks. They ended up eating hawiian pizza in Pom’s room, Jade making a point at the start to look as displeased as possible. She grimaced as she took small delicate bites of the pizza but over time seemed to forget to keep up her act, looking like she was enjoying it. 

Like a cute spoiled princess... 

Pom then bit down hard on their tongue.

What the fuck was that?! You shouldn’t be thinking those things moron.

After dinner Pom recommended they watch a movie and she offered to let Jade pick since they had gotten to choose the pizza. The high elf changed into her white nightgown, the tiefling just removing their bra from their existing outfit and the two sat on the latter’s bed trying to select a movie off the TV. Jade ended up choosing some artsy elvish film with a name Pom couldn’t even pronounce.

“Are you sure this will be quite alright?” the heiress asked them.

“Prolly. I’ve been brushing up on my Elvish so I’ll be able to understand it. And who knows?” Pom grinned “If you like it, then I may like it too!”

They did not end up liking it at all. The Elvish was too complex for them to completely understand and Pom just silently gave up halfway through. Now they was sitting in their bed with Jade next to them, the lights turned off and the screen being the only thing illuminating the room. With no interest in the movie, their eyes started to wander and they found them resting on Jade most of the time. The TV’s light faintly illuminated the girl’s perfect face - even when doing something as mundane as watching a movie she was stunning. The two were also sitting so close and Pom’s arm itched with the urge to wrap around Jade’s shoulders. They wanted to pull her close so badly, to feel the heiress cuddled up against them as they sat here alone together. Instead, they crossed their arms and dug their nails deep into themselves as a form of self punishment. 

She’s never going to like you back. You’re acting like such a freak right now. Stop thinking about that sort of stuff.

Eventually, the movie ended and the two sat in silence. They let the credits wash over them until the very end where the screen just glowed black. Moments passed and Pom turned their head to look at Jade only to find the girl was staring directly at them. Pom felt their mouth go dry and noticed Jade’s eyes breaking contact for a second, her face going through a variety of emotions. Finally, Jade looked back at them and crawled closer to Pom, placing a hand on their thigh.

WHAT. GODS!? LORD!? HELLO???

Pom felt their eyes widen and their breath hitch - Jade was so incredibly close, their faces almost touching and the heiress’ gorgeous green eyes looking directly into theirs. Then, after what felt like an eternity, Jade closed the gap capturing Pom’s lips in hers. Time seemed to fully stop, Pom’s senses filling with Jade. The soft plush feeling of her lips against theirs, the sweet smell of honey and the electric heat their skin felt under Jade’s touch. Their head was spinning, they didn’t know what to do, their brain refused to work. So Pom went with their instincts, kissing her back, wrapping their arms around her waist and pulling the shorter girl in closer. Jade poked her tongue lightly against Pom’s lips causing the other to part them slightly, granting Jade entrance. When their tongues met, Pom emitted a groan.

Neither girl knew how much time passed and neither really cared, but eventually the two broke apart, panting for air. Jade bashfully looked to the side, her face and tips of her pointed ears a deep shade of pink.

“I… hah Pom list-” she started before Pom interrupted her by pulling her into another kiss. Jade made a squeak of surprise but then mewled as she melted against their lips.

And so they kissed again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Until, they stopped for air once more, Jade resting her forehead against Poms - both of them taking in shallow breaths. At some point between whenever they had started and now, Jade had fully stradled Pom’s lap and cupped the other’s face to tilt it up to her level. Finally, the heiress let go and pulled away, her friend reluctantly letting go of her waist. Pom kept their eyes on Jade as she awkwardly sat at the other end of the bed, the other girl looking away and nervously twirling one of her strands of hair on her finger. 

...Cute… But I should probably say something.

“Well…hah that certainly was uh…. Wow.”

Nevermind, upstairs brain clearly isn’t working still. Just shut up.

Jade let out a breathy yet pained chuckle and finally looked up at them. The girl’s face showed a sort of suffering.

“I’m… Pom I’m so deeply deeply sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

Pom reached out their hand to Jade’s shoulder to comfort her “Hey! Jadey don’t worry about it…” They paused, racking their brain for something more to say.

“I… actually really enjoyed that… It felt good… Really good.”

“... I... enjoyed it as well…”

Pom felt like they had been mentally hit by a truck. Jade enjoyed it as well? Did that mean she liked them back? Or was she just attracted to them in a physical sense? They felt the urge to ask for clarification but then the other girl continued

“...but… I- We can’t do that again.”

Pom blinked “Huh!? Why not?”

“Because… I can’t be with someone like you. I can’t be with anyone of my own choosing, my parents have a plan for me after all.” Jade explained, her voice cracking towards the end.

Pom’s brain tried desperately to process the information it had been given and when they finally realized their heart sank. It didn’t matter. Love or lust Jade felt, none of it mattered - this wasn’t her decision to make. Pom still felt some inklings of that urge but they squashed them themself immediately. Knowing that the perfect girl they was so severely in love with loved them back, but even then they couldn’t be together? Pom wouldn’t be able to take that agony. They didn’t want to know anymore.

Pom didn’t know what to do. They didn’t want this to be it - for this night to be on repeat in their head forever. But at the same time, they didn’t want Jade to jeopardize her relationship with her parents and maybe even her future just for them. This was so unfair. This should be illegal. This all SUCKED.

They sat in a pained silence together, neither one able to look the other in the eye. But then Pom thought of something.

“What if we aren’t together officially then?”

Jade looked back up at them baffled, “What?”

“Like… We just don’t tell anyone and don’t act on what we want in public but behind closed doors we’re allowed to do what we want. And once the time comes for us to part ways or we just get bored then… it never happened.”

Pom uncomfortably scratched the back of their neck “A mutual understanding of sorts I guess? If it’d be okay with you of course.”

Jade wordlessly stared at them for what felt like an eternity, before finally responding with “I think… I- Yes I think I would be okay with that.”

All Pom did was nod somberly. Slowly they turned and looked at the alarm clock on their bedside table - 11 PM.

“It’s late”, they said scooting back up the bed, “we should get some sleep.”

Pom pulled back the covers, getting under them. Next to them was an empty space, which they patted while looking at Jade. The heiress gave them a bittersweet look and slowly crawled next to them. Jade gently wrapped arms around Pom and buried her face in their chest. Pom froze up at the show of affection and then felt the high elf shake against them. They let out a pained sigh, pulled the blanket over their friend and then wrapped one arm around her while using the other to soothingly pet her hair. 

… I love you, Jade. I’m so sorry.

That night the two of them fell asleep in eachothers arms.