Magical Girl Who Is Just Pretending - A-side
this story is an answer to the prompt "Magical Girl Who Is Just Pretending" based on Fletcher's song "Pretending"
you toss and turn for what feels like hours, trying to fall asleep
when you do, your dreams are interrupted by an unfamiliar woman's voice pushing through them, as though she's cutting her way into your subconscious
she appears before you, and even though her face shifts slightly every time you look at it, you recognize her as the Goddess, she who grants power to magical girls
"do me proud out there" she whispers to you, and then you wake up in a cold sweat
you get up to get a drink of water and notice in the mirror that your brown hair has become a brilliant blue before falling back into a dreamless sleep
the night after the vision, you feel the unfamiliar urge to hunt and destroy the monsters that haunt the dark corners of your city
standing in the empty street in front of your home, you transform into a magical girl for the first time, a wave of emotions welling up in your heart and pouring out as magic
you feel the power move through your whole body in a warm wave from your heart outwards that leaves your hands tingling a bit
you run down the street, the speed feeling effortless to you, in search of monsters
you hear a sound behind you and whirl around to see the street filled with monsters, all heading towards you
more emotions well up: fear, confusion, and anger
your new powers don't seem to help you here and you freeze up
you hear a thud beside you and turn to see the blurry form of another magical girl through your tear-filled eyes
she puts her hands together, palms facing out, and sends a scarlet beam of light at the oncoming monsters, scattering them
you wipe the tears from your eyes, and as you get a clearer look at her beam, you realize what your power is: you create portals.
you draw a circle in the air with and then another, and your new friend's beam is redirected through two glowing portals in the air towards a monster that was trying to sneak up on the two of you from the side
One, two, three, four
with the monsters banished, you learn that your new red-haired friend is named Sarah
you and her both became magical girls last night, both sparked into magical flame by the same vision of the Goddess in your dreams
her sense of humor is infectious and you're both laughing when you split off to go home
We're talking small, like, "How you been?"
Like, "How's your mom and all your friends?"
We're catching up about all the bullshit trending
weeks pass and you and Sarah fight together every night, her face cracking into a smile whenever she sees you in the darkness
tonight, the two of you are crouching behind a dumpster, waiting for monsters to pass so you can sneak up behind them
there's not much space and you're pressed close against her
she giggles and says something about how cozy you'd be to cuddle with while not hiding from monsters
you giggle too, but no matter how much you want to say something, you can't quite get the words right, and you worry that it's worse to say the right thing in the wrong words than to never say it at all
your thoughts are rudely interrupted by the sound of monsters, and you ready your portals, the magic glowing the same blue as your hair
You crack a joke 'bout kissin' me
'Bout going there, 'bout lovin' me
I laugh it off as if that shit wouldn't wreck me
As if I'm not what you're waiting for
Like I'm not in your ending
Yeah, for now, we'll both keep on pretending
Ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah
Ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah
Ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah (yeah, for now)
Ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah (we'll both keep on pretending)
after a long night of fighting monsters together, you walk home with her
you both live in roughly the same part of town, but her place is further away from the scene of tonight's fights than yours
she says "goodnight!" and you look away so she doesn't see that you're blushing as red as her hair and her magic beams
"goodnight!" you reply, wanting more than anything to say "I love you" too, but you're too scared to
monsters don't scare you at all anymore, but those three words do
You drop me off, your windows down
I'm lookin' in, you're lookin' out
I say goodnight as if my heart isn't wrenchin'
I'll say it now (I'll say it now), "You're everything (you're everything)
Turn back around, and never leave"
I type it out as if that's the text I'm sending
as you lay in bed, tired but not sleepy, you keep thinking of her and of her beautiful smile and of her freckles that only appear when she's transformed into a magical girl
as you toss and turn, something deep in the back of your mind wishes you were falling asleep with her
you're scared of what she'd say about you thinking that and if she'd like that too, or if it'd ruin the partnership you have
As if I'm not what you're waiting for
Like I'm not in your ending
Yeah, for now, we'll both keep on pretending
Ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah
Ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah
Ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah (yeah, for now)
Ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah (we'll both keep on pretending)
Ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah (keep on pretending)
Ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah (keep on pretending)
Ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah (keep on pretend, yeah, for now)
Ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah (we'll both keep on pretending)
you see her again the next night, but you're too anxious to tell her that you love her and potentially ruin what you have going on
so you keep on pretending that nothing is happening, that you're just friends whose magical girl powers are perfectly suited for each other
As if I'm not what you're waiting for
Like I'm not in your ending
Yeah, for now, we'll both keep on
Yeah, for now, we'll both keep on
Yeah, for now, we'll both keep on
Yeah, for now, we'll both keep on
Yeah, for now, we'll both keep on pretending
Ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah
Ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah
Ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah (yeah, for now)
Ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah (we'll both keep on pretending, now)
Ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah (keep on pretending, pretending)
Ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah (keep on pretend, pretending)
Ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah (keep on pretending, yeah, for now)
Ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah-ah (we'll both keep on pretending)
for now, you'll keep on pretending.
FIN.
thank you to my friend Izzy for introducing me to Fletcher's music.
I really hope that this isn't a complete misinterpretation of the song.