-Of What Cannot be Forgotten-
Summary: The memories binding them together cannot be erased, and in reminiscence, Agatha's own facade of forgetfulness begins to unravel. AU
Disclaimer: The School for Good and Evil is not mine. Otherwise the overused love triangle (square? pentagon?!) would have ended with the first book.
AN: Just to clear things up in this Alternate Universe - it's kind of like a combination of Modern AUs and just the setting of the School for Good and Evil, so it's more of a highschool setting (even though the story doesn't focus on the highschool aspect) but its history is still based on fairytales and such, like SGE. Also, none of the characters are actually part of the history, so where Tedros is the son of King Arthur in SGE, Tedros isn't really the son of an influential figure in this AU's "history", but you could assume he's a descendent. Which is confusing, since his father's name is still Arthur in this fanfiction…
She had been trying to forget.
She had been trying to forget, pushing down on the waves of regret and yearning until there was nothing left but an echoing emptiness.
She tried to forget every time she turned a corner to see him holding hands with another girl, and the way the sight would cruelly twist her heart. She tried to forget every time she passed the places that were haunted by their ghosts, and the way it reminded her of the happiness she no longer had. She tried to forget every time another dull ache resonated after a memory floated across her mind, and she clamped down on the tender looks they shared in the illusion until they were nothing more than empty eyes.
But it never worked.
Agatha couldn't forget.
Overtime, it had become easier for her. Agatha had somehow managed to fit back into her routine of normalcy. But it didn't make it any less painful when an innocent thought about him would taint her thoughts. She still couldn't stand seeing him after it was over, so the schedule she had returned to now had the unexpected twist of avoiding him. It started with missing a meeting of History club, then two, then too many until she quitted together. It meant that whenever she saw him in the hallways, instead of giving him a small twitch of a smile she would turn away before he could see her.
When it was over, Agatha tried to keep it holed up in herself, until Sophie noticed and made her tell her whatever was bothering her. After she heard the whole story, Sophie had claimed 'I knew that all along he was a dirty piece of trash!' Agatha tried to ignore the fact that Sophie used to have a terribly obsessive crush on him.
Even so, Sophie still played the caring part of the best friends. She comforted her with a soft, soothing voice, for once letting Agatha do the crying instead of herself. Her twin sister once showed up with extra comfy pillows for her "just as a present", all for her, even though Agatha knew Sophie told her she wanted one of the pillows for herself before. Then, she came home with a box full of sugary pastries, having to browse through a sweets store she wouldn't be caught dead in. Sophie eased her back into a less miserable, less self-loathing life, and was there with her every step of the way despite their sometimes tumultuous relationship together.
In the days that Agatha wanted to avoid everyone and everything, Sophie called the coven behind her back and kicked her out of the house to 'spend quality time with your friends, even though they're not as great as me… ' Hester, Anadil, and Dot then had forced Agatha to go with them to the graveyard, because that was where they felt comfortable the most. Sophie invited Kiko over, and she told Agatha stories and occasionally about History club, cautiously maneuvering around the subject of him. Eventually, Agatha even took up her cat-sitting job for Callis again, who as her neighbor, Agatha was very close to. Then one day Agatha surprised herself by actually wanting to get up and not feel depressed by dragging herself out of bed. It was gradual, but Agatha learned how to live on.
Time was no longer frozen for her, and started flowing again.
Now, stuck in the way too cramped room that couldn't give her any space for her thoughts, Agatha decided that she had nothing to do and had to distract herself. Pushing herself out of her lethargy, she glanced around her messy room. Random articles of clothing were discarded on the floor. Empty boxes of ice cream and cake were littered in every place possible but the trash can. And was that the chick flick that Sophie tried to brainwash Agatha into watching "to help make her feel better" in the corner of the closet?
Agatha could definitely go for cleaning her room.
Sighing, Agatha set about picking up her clothes and setting them in a pile for laundry, organizing the garbage strung around her room into recycling and trash, vacuuming the floor, dusting the table, and debated stomping on the chick flick with her clumps but then reluctantly deciding against it. After loading her clothes into the washing machine, taking the trash out, and unceremoniously throwing the chick flick into Sophie's room, a few hours had already passed.
"Finally," Agatha muttered under her breath as she stepped into her now clean room that fortunately no longer felt so cramped. Exhaustion finally hit her, and yawning, Agatha flung herself onto her bed.
Her bed, the only part of her room that was still untidy and unmade.
Agatha frowned. Her room wasn't really clean until she finished making the bed. But she was going to sleep in it anyways, which kind of made making the bed useless. Nonetheless, Sophie often barged into her room and if she saw a single thing out of place, which was most of the time, she would start an incessant rant about cleanliness and hygiene which somehow ended up turning into a lecture on proper etiquette, which Agatha definitely did not need to hear again. And if she went through all the trouble of cleaning up her room, what was making her bed a little more presentable to her?
Sophie also said that her bed was terribly plain and "needed a stylish touch!" She got all those new pillows for her too, wasting away now that she doesn't need to constantly hug them anymore…
Maybe if she gave her bed a makeover, she would also be internally giving herself a much needed makeover as well. Yes, Agatha was going to go for a "new look".
Coming to a decision, Agatha took her old pillow and was about to fling it across the room when a jutting object underneath it caught her eyes. A book?
Agatha's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She didn't do late night reading in her bed, and if she did, she would not put her book under something she was supposed to put her head on. Was this a prank? What kind of a idiotic prank was this?
A brief, fleeting memory flashed in her mind. A warm hand on top of hers, leaning back into each other, turning page after page… She froze, unbidden coils of emotions rising inside of her. Her heartbeat increased. Could it be…?
Slowly lifting the pillow up, she prayed it wasn't what she thought it was, but to no avail.
A picture of Tedros stared back at her, a charming smile lighting up his face.
She dropped the pillow.
The picture was stunning - the sky was a blend of warm and gentle colors, a lake behind him shimmering and the surface reflecting golden sunlight while tinted by the hues of deeper blue water, and the sun, overshadowing all, dipping below the horizon. Agatha vaguely remembered a history lesson about the Lady of the Lake, and connected the dots that he was at the historic sight of the lesson. Tedros was holding a replica of Excalibur, radiating the dignity of a prideful king.
It was taken perfectly sunset, casting Tedros into a darker silhouette, but Agatha could still make out every detail. His sun-kissed, messy locks. His sharp, defined features. His chiseled cheekbones. His bronze tan. His sky blue eyes that still shined despite the darker shadows.
The same eyes that used to make her heart flutter.
Agatha trembled, all thoughts about redecorating her bed abandoned. Quavering fingers gingerly picked up the photo album, unsure what to make of the object held in her hands.
She had tried to forget every single moment that was held within these binded pages. Agatha tried to focus on the ways the corners of the book painfully stabbed into her skin. Each breath she took was unsure, and each thought, each memory that ran across her mind only let more and more doubt seep inside of her.
She could cast the book aside, forget it ever existed, forget the dull ache resounding within her just at the sight of it, forget him…
Agatha had always tried to forget. But she never could.
Carefully, ever so carefully, Agatha lifted the cover, the stunning sunset being replaced by a newborn Tedros wrapped tight in blankets, his eyes half-lidded with drowsiness apparent in them.
"Look, do you see his mouth is halfway opened?" Guinevere pointed to Tedros' parted lips. "He was just about to yawn when I took the picture."
Agatha snorted. "You look so innocent and naive. Not so unlike now."
Tedros flushed. "Shut up!"
The book almost fell from her hands. Blocking out the guiding hands of his mother, Agatha painstakingly turned to the next page, the picture of Tedros being lulled to sleep and the warmth of Guinevere's voice vanishing. Agatha paused in the wavering uncertainty.
Why was she doing this? Why was she looking through these pictures when all they were going to do was make her miss him more? Make her wonder about the could-have-beens? When all she wanted to do was forget Tedros and their broken relationship?!
Agatha drew in another shaky breath. She promised Sophie that she was going to move on. If she couldn't get through this accursed photo album full of shattered hopes and dreams, how would she ever be able to save face? She steeled herself, and looked down to the album.
The next page showed a-still-infant Tedros soaking in a basin of water, a motherly Guinevere scrubbing him clean. One of his hands was reached towards a bubble, the picture taken mid-laugh just as his fingers met the iridescent surface. Guinevere's eyes were tender and loving, her lips only turned a bit upwards. Agatha's chest painfully clenched.
Her own mother, Vanessa has always detested her, regretting to have gave birth to her as soon as she saw Agatha. She reminded Vanessa too much of herself from before she had gotten surgery, unlike Sophie, the beautiful child from the start, with peach-colored skin and golden locks of hair. For the longest time in her life Agatha only envied Sophie and was plagued by loneliness, before they both opened up to each other. That was the first time in their lives they were more than sisters - they became best friends.
Tedros noticed Vanessa's undisguised hostility towards Agatha every time he had to come over to pick her up and one day finally asked her about it.
"Why does your mom seem to hate you so much?" Tedros asked with disgust as soon as they stepped outside of the house. "Please tell me I'm imagining things."
Agatha shrugged. "You're not. She doesn't like me because I've been a disappointment to her ever since I was born. But things have gotten better between us," Agatha tried to add in lightly.
Tedros frowned. "Disappointment? Because your beauty doesn't reach her expectations?"
Internally, Agatha cringed. She was always avoided because of her paper-pale skin, her sunken eyes, her greasy hair, her black rags, her always present scowl. Vanessa would never let her play outside with the other kids, so her skin was untanned having never been spent in sunlight. Agatha had to take on responsibilities everyone else dumped on her, and even then she tried harder, so she was always tired, and in between the time Vanessa and Sophie used the bathroom and her being busy, she couldn't always shower. When Vanessa was always taking Sophie out shopping at designer stores, Agatha was given hand me down black dresses that probably didn't count as clothing, saying they couldn't afford everything now. And her unsmiling face… was of the own happiness that had been denied to her in this cruel world.
Everyone always claimed that they didn't judge by the outside, race, religion, ethnicity, but that was a lie. The same people would whisper about her to their friends as she passed them in the hallways, chanting evil, evil, evil. She couldn't be good, not when she looked like that. Beauty was happiness.
Agatha hoped that this time it would've been different. That she could've felt ordinary without the burden of her reflection. But this was bound to happen at one time or another. Who was she kidding, thinking she could date Tedros, the most popular boy in school, without it being a joke?
Tedros saw how Agatha seemed to deflate, and was about to say something that was what Agatha thought would be an attempt to comfort her. He was probably about to break up with her. Just say, 'Sorry, Agatha. I guess we don't really work out'.
But Tedros surprised her.
"Don't be like that, Agatha. I'm the one who knows how beautiful you are the most, after all." He gave her a rare smile, one that barely anyone else ever saw, and lifted up her chin., as well as lifting her hopes. "I see it every time you smile."
Her lips began to twitch upwards.
"See? There it is again." Tedros laughed as a blush began to crawl across her face. The moment stretched between them, their smiles, and their new little secret. A feeling of gratefulness flooded Agatha.
"Also, it would help if you weren't covered in ten layers of dirt and grease half of the time."
And the moment was ruined.
Anger glinted in her eyes as Agatha lunged for Tedros. "It's not my fault if Sophie hogs the bathroom too long! I don't want to be late to class, you know."
Tedros backed away as Agatha crashed into him. He scoffed. "Yeah, as if your first period teacher would care. Professor Dovey is practically your fairy godmother."
"We don't live in a fairytale, unlike you, spoiled prince."
They both burst into heaps of laughter, Agatha shaking in Tedros' arms. Then Agatha allowed herself a true, beautiful smile when she gazed up into his eyes, and his own crooked grin. All of her doubt was chased out of her mind.
The memory had rushed through her before she could stop it. Agatha tried to ignore the longing straining her, and flipped the page.
Tedros, holding up a pretend wooden sword that looked as if it was excruciatingly hand-crafted with exquisite detail, was in the midst of waving his sword around when the picture was taken. His face was full of delight and glee, his father, Arthur, smiling proudly at his son.
Tedros always loved swords, even before he was into swordplay.
"Oh, Tedros!" A girl next to Agatha swooned as she was passing by gym. "He looks so hot when he's training…"
"I wish he would look this way…"
"Excuse me, that's my future husband right there! Don't you dare take him away from me!"
Agatha snorted. She turned, watching Tedros clutch the grip of his training sword as he moved with flawless precision, beads of sweat glistening on his shirtless back. Tedros continuously dodged out of the way of every swipe and stab of his opponent, Chaddick, before he leaned forward, sword slashing at Tedros. Chaddick grinned, but Tedros jumped back at the last second, Chaddick's sword still in mid-swipe, leaving him open. Charging forward in this moment of vulnerability, Tedros poised his sword at Chaddick's neck.
"Yield."
Chaddick grinned at him. "Alright, alright, I yield, mate."
One of Tedros' fangirls squealed. "Tedros always wins!"
"Marry me, Tedros!"
Although Agatha did not like Tedros' annoying fanclub, she had to give credit where credit was due. He was an excellent swordsman, but she wasn't as sure about him being good boyfriend material…
Shaking her head, Agatha was about to walk away before crashing into someone's hard chest.
"Hey, watch where you're going-" Agatha paused when she looked up to see Tedros. He raised an eyebrow.
"Part of my fanclub too, now?" He smirked arrogantly.
"You wish," Agatha muttered darkly, not liking his brash, idiotic I-own-the-world attitude. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to class-"
"Class? School ended an hour ago, or did you forget? What, do you need a little bit of help? Guidance? Advice?"
Agatha scoffed. "All of your stupidity must be rubbing off on me then."
Tedros glared. "That's not an excuse-"
"Now I actually have to go," Agatha cut him off. "To an after school class."
Agatha grimaced. Their first encounter wasn't exactly friendly. But their last encounter was even worse.
To distract herself from her bitter turn of thoughts, Agatha looked to the next picture. Then the next. Then the next. Each one taken from a different angle of Tedros' life, with him by childhood friends, Guinevere, Arthur, and both. Tedros with Guinevere tucking him into bed with a goodnight kiss on the forehead. Tedros surrounded by a circle of all his toys except for his wooden sword, thus making him look very unhappy. Tedros on his first day of school, backpack fitted snugly around his shoulder. Tedros with his friends, Chaddick, Nicholas, at a pool party, splashing in each other's faces. Tedros at his first sword fighting tournament, nervously fumbling with his thumbs. Tedros visiting Arthur's office at Camelot Corporations, his father gesturing widely at the bright office. Tedros, squeezed in between Arthur and Guinevere, each looking lovingly down on Tedros. The pages turned, and there was no end to any moment in the book.
But then, the pictures had stopped. There was a page with no pictures, a blank sheet, after the last picture of their whole family together, posed flawlessly with dazzling smiles but with no real emotion glowing on their faces like the ones that burned through in the others. One last picture, where everything about it screamed fake, before their facade fell apart. The delicate balance was broken. The memories wanting to wrap themselves around the pages have come to an impasse, when the sheets didn't want them anymore. When there was a time they wanted to forget.
Agatha could picture it now: Guinevere herself flipping through the photo album, the memories each hitting a chord that echoed in silence, and reaching the last of it, knowing there could be no more. Stowing away the photo album in a far away corner, where happy memories only become hurtful, knowing this could not continue on -
Sophie had come to breakfast, much, much quieter than usual.
Agatha's eyes followed her as she silently walked down the stairs, eyes solemn and downcast, unlike how they usually would vibrantly shine, the light in the emerald green pools dancing.
"Is something wrong, darling?" Vanessa asked Sophie after she grabbed a spoon and fork from the drawer, passing by her mother without a word. Normally Sophie would practically dramatically waltz through the kitchen and gush about the drama occurring in her gossip-filled world. But today, the steps she took were timid, smaller, and her lips remained sealed.
Sophie conjured up a brilliant smile that Agatha instantly knew was fake. "Nothing is wrong, Mother. Everything couldn't be better!"
Vanessa nodded, believing the excuse. "If you say so, Sophie dear. You know that I never would want to see you hurt."
Agatha was already too numb to feel the pang in her chest whenever she realized Vanessa would never feel the same about her.
As soon as Sophie devoured her food, which she never did, she practically fled back to her room and tightly shut the door. Agatha soon followed, hesitating as she paused, about to knock on her door.
"Sophie?" She softly asked. "Are you in there?"
"Not now, Agatha." Her voice sounded strained.
"You know you can talk to me about anything, right? I'm here for you if you need me."
And just like that, the door opened to reveal a red-eyed, sniffling Sophie. Agatha was ushered inside, and she sat with Sophie on her bed, offering her a pillow when she looked like she was on the verge of tears again.
"Are you ready to talk about it?"
"Yes," Sophie feverently nodded. "T-T-Tedros' father died-"
Agatha nodded, urging Sophie to continue on. She was slightly confused as to why Sophie would react so strongly to something so unconnected to herself, even if she did adore Tedros.
"He was an addict, and died of alcoholic poisoning. The believed reasons for what lead to his… downfall is that he felt betrayed by his family, and no longer loved them. Instead, he turned towards alcohol." Sophie managed to get out, before tears overwhelmed her eyes again.
Realization struck her like a thunderbolt. Sophie was reliving her own past with Stefan, a father she has grown so attached to but left her because of the lies that unraveled their family. He divorced Vanessa and remarried with Honora, leaving Sophie brokenhearted.
Agatha awkwardly wrapped her arms around Sophie while she continued to cry into her shoulder. She wondered if maybe, maybe she and Tedros were more similar than she thought they were. Agatha has been abandoned by Stefan when she was younger, and has been Vanessa had abandoned her love for Agatha ever since she has been born. If what Sophie said was true, Arthur had lost faith in his family for a long time before he died, having already abandoned Tedros, and now physically abandoning him.
Sympathy flooded her, and in that moment, Agatha wanted to reach Tedros, despite the differences they first had with one another. Soon, Agatha found that she was holding on to Sophie just as hard as she was -
Agatha stared at the blinding whiteness of the blank page, left in the wake of Arthur Pendragon's death. The meaning and significance of the photo album died here as well, withering away with their pretense of a family.
Because the photo album was made with the love of a family. That day, in that empty page, the love of that family was gone, and it left behind heavier consequences.
The main office of Camelot Corporations loomed threateningly over Agatha as she approached the building, already out of place from the fancy, modern architecture and the business suits compared to her own little black dress and a small cake in her hands. She shrank down, trying to blend in with the bushes, questioning why she thought it would be a good idea to come here. Agatha did not belong here.
The door of the main entrance flew open, and out walked Tedros, his hair disheveled and eyes struggling not to close. Agatha had to stop herself from sprinting to him with relief at all the looks she presumed the workers were giving him, but slowed herself down to be more casual.
"How was it?" Agatha asked. Tedros groaned in response, shaking his head.
"Damn him," Tedros growled, his clenched fists shaking uncontrollably. "Leaving a family that started with nothing but lies, then leaving his company without a CEO or any kind of step in?" Tedros ran a hand through his hair, tousling it even more. "They're going to push for me to graduate from high school earlier. Then, they want me to earn a Bachelor's degree in business in two years of college. After that, I'll have to take over this company that's already in shambles. I don't have a say in anything!"
A silence settled over his angry outburst. Tedros sighed wearily, bringing a hand up to his face to cover his eyes.
Agatha was stunned into silence, contemplating Tedros' current frustrations. How cruel could the world be, to make Tedros grow up so quickly? Now, a selfish part of her whispered, she would have to let him go sooner. Agatha shook her head. She shouldn't be so inconsiderate when Tedros had to sacrifice much more for something bigger than themselves?
Tedros mistook her lack of words for something else. "I'm sorry, it's just that I always had a choice you know? I just can't imagine myself up there," Tedros pointed to the top of the building. "In meetings, discussing transactions, signing papers, making the right decisions for the company. What if I'm not as good as my father was? What if I can't reach the expectations everyone wants me to reach now that my father just decided that his life wasn't worth it? What if I'm not ready?"
Agatha reached over to him, at first with uncertainty, but then with determination as the right words came to her. "You might not realize it, Tedros, but you were always ready for this. You think through the options to come with the best decision, whether it's for yourself or the company. You have your mind set and you don't let lies or distractions deceive you. You are a natural leader, and always seem ready to take on whatever challenge faces and you and can lead everyone flawlessly."
An unsuspecting smile crept up onto his face. "And will you be here for me, every step of the way?"
Agatha's throat ran dry. "Uh… yeah." Even her voice didn't sound so convinced and doubt clouded her mind. Could she see herself in the world of business with Tedros? He was a natural, and knew the rules to the game. Would she only bring him down and disappoint him? Yes, her mind said. She shouldn't be greedy - she had to let him go sooner or later, otherwise both of them will fall. Agatha's fingers subconsciously curled, as if grasping for something - something she didn't know how long she could still hold onto.
But all of her doubts temporarily subsided when Tedros glanced down to her hands and grinned. "Cake, for me? Who knew you could be so sweet, my love?"
Agatha snapped back to reality, and looked back down to the chocolate cake she picked up from her favorite bakery. Then her eyes wandered back to Tedros' smile, all of his exhaustion and frustration dispelled. She was beginning to overheat, and tried not to fidget. "Sh-shut up. You really look horrible, okay? I'm just trying to help you."
His face lit up, unknowingly warming Agatha's face as well. "Then let's dig in, shall we?"
Agatha quietly laughed and sliced the pieces of cake. Tedros' rage at his father having irreparably damaging their family, leaving a suffering company after its downfall, and reminding him of the future that wasn't in his hands was gone. Instead, there was only the boy she fell in love with.
When Arthur died, the Pendragon family struggled to keep the walls around them from crashing down. Guinevere and Tedros were forced to abandon the memories of a loving and caring Arthur, and began to pick up the pieces that had shattered in despair. The photo album had been forgotten, only able to burden their coping family.
Yet… there was hope.
Because as Agatha turned the page, life was once again breathed into the book. New meaning and new hope guided their lives, and there was a second chance after the lost, blank sheet. A year had passed between this new picture and the last. A new page and a new story had begun.
There was none of the troubling emotions lingering on his face anymore in the new picture, and there was no more emptiness left from the last page in his eyes. Tedros had light again in his life - the light of the moments he would cherish for the rest of his life.
The picture was of the History club, held by Professor Sader in room 404, all of them in the middle of a project and deeply engrossed in their work when the picture was spontaneously taken. In the center of the picture, Tedros and Agatha were animatedly talking, actually getting along with smiles lighting up their faces. Tedros was typing an essay, while Agatha was busy putting together a slideshow that went with the writing piece.
Agatha was awkward with words, unless if she was being snarky or talking about death, which really wasn't what their project was about. On the other hand, she was great at solving puzzles and fitting the different pieces together, figuratively, so she received the task of completing the slideshow, where each slide had to have the right amount and accurate content, while still forming an overall picture. Tedros, for the life of him, was not good at drawing pictures depicting symbolism (or drawing in general), or at connecting all key points together simultaneously. But Tedros going to inherit Camelot Corporations, so he was good at speeches, especially ones about persuasion. And that's when they got along, seeing each other for the first time for more than the masks they had hidden their true selves in, and that with their true selves, they could depend on each other. That was what started them.
Agatha dubiously glanced at Professor Sader. "Not to be rude Professor Sader… But are you sure you have the right person?"
Professor Sader waved off her concerns. "Agatha, I've seen your work in my Advanced World History class first hand, your previous Ancient Culture and Civilization History professor was impressed by your knowledge and ability, and you have been the first to receive full points throughout my unit on fairytales and their impact on the most powerful movements in history. Your scholarly talent would be wasted if you weren't to use it on something."
"You want me to join the History club?"
"It's an honor, Agatha. Although the name suggests something generally lackluster, it is because we cover every aspect of history and its meaning to a fine point. It's a club we take seriously, not one you can haphazardly join, and we have earned many achievements and awards from our projects in the club."
Agatha slowly nodded, was still confused. Who would ever want to include her, the outcast, in anything? And in such a prestigious honor of all things? But she found herself opening… opening to the possibilities that she can truly be part of something.
"I-" Agatha paused, not used to the feeling surging through her at the moment. Pride? Longing? Happiness? "I'll do it."
Professor Sader's smile was mysterious, as if having already known her answer from the beginning. "Meet after school on Wednesdays and Fridays, at room 404. Our times end depending on various circumstances and how much progress we make." Professor Sader made a move to leave, and Agatha did too. "I'll see you there, Agatha."
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Agatha stepped into the History club meeting room for the first time, uncertainty washing over her. What if Professor Sader made a mistake? What if they discovered she was a good for nothing illusionist that deceived Professor Sader into thinking she was actually worth something? What if - ?
"Hi, I'm Kiko! Nice to meet you!"
Agatha tried to muster up a smile and not to make her face fall into its usual scowl.
"I'm Agatha. I'm kind of new so… What do we really do here?"
Kiko's face lit up. "Oh, we do all sorts of things! There was this one time we wrote the script of a play about a history-changing night in Maidensville that begun a revolution, starting with a little-known girl named Cinderella. And I also loved the wall mural we made from the perspective of the victims of the Ice Queen!" Noticing Agatha's distraught look, Kiko soothed her. "It's okay though! These big projects are great, but we also do little, fun things as well! Like bake everything you can imagine with apples in a Snow White Assassination Attempt reimagining!"
What had Agatha just gotten herself into?
A few more students joined in the room. Agatha's eyes caught onto Tedros slipping inside. Dismayed, Agatha opened her mouth, "What are you doing-"
"It's great to know that you all have arrived," Professor Sader came in. "We can now begin. For all of you who are knew, since history should never be looked at from one single perspective, know that in all the projects we're doing you will be working with at least one other person. I already have evaluated the extent of each of your skills, and I have based the partnerships on this. I will list the pairs for our next project now." Professor Sader cleared his throat, and Agatha let the names of people she didn't know get tuned out.
"Tedros Pendragon and Agatha Woods."
Agatha wondered if it were too late to drop out now.
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"How would you like to split the work?" Agatha awkwardly tried to break the suffocating silence between them.
"I don't know," Tedros said lamely. Agatha sighed. But then he said, "Let's just both work together on the whole project until we can figure out which parts fit each of us best."
Agatha pulled out the directions sheet to reread it, feeling Tedros' eyes from across the table also trying to glance off of it. She ended up sharing it with him, a strange feeling settling in her stomach when their hands touched.
"Alright, let's just start with choosing our topic then," Tedros started typing on his computer after he finished reading the guidelines. Agatha did too. After scrolling through several websites and browsing a few images, they decided on a topic. Gradually, their tensed bodies relaxed, and their work started taking separate turns. Each of them fell into their part of the project, and Agatha realized that Professor Sader might have been right for pairing her with Tedros.
Tedros' eyes were stuck to the screen, a focused expression on his face as he comfortably started typing an outline of his essay while switching between websites for research. It was a far cry from the Tedros she would always bump into in the hallways, where they would shoot a death glare at each other and insulted the other relentlessly. It was way too different from the Tedros glistening with sweat during swordplay, poised with pride, stealing success. But it was the expression on his face the most that changed from usual - it wasn't stoic and ungiving as it is most of the time, confident and reassuring like when Tedros was with his friends, or playful and flirtatious like when his fanclub surrounded him, but concentrated with whole-hearted intent.
Agatha's mouth ran dry, a strange feeling settling itself in her stomach. It did not bode well with her. She tried to ignore it, opting to start sketching a rough draft with her pencil instead.
The meeting somehow ended without incident. And so did the next. And the next. Miraculously, it was at the History club meetings that Agatha soon realized that she was coming to understand Tedros in. In their specially selective club, Professor Sader saw in Agatha and Tedros what people couldn't find at first glance, or second, or go on without noticing or caring for most of their lives. They were brought together in an experience they thought they'd never share with anyone, something that becomes almost like an inside joke to them. Now when they passed each other in the hallways, there were no more sarcastic comments or nasty insults, instead sharing a secretive smile between them that left the other students gathered around them, ready for a showdown between the two utterly confused.
They became partners. Then confidants. Then friends. And then… a bit more.
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
"How do you deal with your fanclub all the time?" Agatha asked as she put the finishing touches on a digital collage of pictures and words, angling the a few letters just right with her mouse. Tedros didn't look up from his note cards.
"Actually, they don't bother me that much. They trail and watch me a bit during swordplay, or whisper and giggle at me when I'm in class, but other than that they don't really approach me," Tedros admitted. Agatha rolled her eyes.
"Who would've thought they would actually give me a harder time than you?"
Tedros raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yes. We first hated each other, remember?" Agatha pressed save on her picture editor, then switched tabs to her slideshow to upload the collage. "They thought I was insane or something. Then, when we didn't hate each other, they were jealous. Not that anyone would be jealous after they'd realize how annoying you are. But your fanclub was jealous of us spending so much time together."
"About that," Tedros looked up from his note cards this time. "I don't suppose their jealousy would be too much of a problem if I asked to spend more time with me this weekend?" Tedros charmingly said.
Agatha gaped at him, speechless. Was he serious? Or was this a joke? Agatha wanted to bang her head on the wall. She thought she kept her tiny, actually not-so-tiny crush on him well-hidden! Was he teasing her about it? What kind of arrogant jerk was he to actually do that?
At Agatha's lack of an answer, Tedros' confidence began to waver, his smirk fading. "Uh - I mean… You…? Only if you want to?"
Oh god. He was actually serious.
"Yes!" Agatha blurted out too quickly. "I mean, yeah, that would be nice."
This time Tedros genuinely smiled. "This Saturday then? I'll pick you up at twelve for lunch."
Everyone around them was packing up, History club, for today, had already ended. Neither of them noticed.
"Yeah," Agatha said, and just as she was about to leave, something strange came over her as she leaned to kiss Tedros' cheek.
"This Saturday," Agatha left a for once speechless Tedros behind.
They became partners. Then confidants. Then friends. And then… a lot more.
The scene faded away. The warm, Wednesday afternoon that had her brimming with elation was, of course, nothing more than a memory. Nothing more than wishful thinking. The nostalgia that curled up inside her was wilting away, leaving behind a throbbing loneliness. Agatha couldn't stand the emptiness she felt anymore. She used to be able to. But now, she couldn't forget what it was like to be embraced by another's arms - his arms.
The urge to fill the gap tearing her apart with the memory of him was too strong to resist, the sound of the wind from flapping pages echoed in the deafening silence. Agatha tore through the photo album, soaking in every memory and all the light it gave that would briefly reignite her, but would only leave her even more hollow than before.
Tedros with her at the Snow Ball dancing at the edge of the dance floor, her blue gown swishing behind her, the soft silk still not deep enough to compare to his eyes. Tedros with her at the cafeteria, taken at an unexpected moment with Tedros trying to feed her, but Agatha not falling for his attempts to be romantic. Tedros with her at Callis' home, grimacing as he backed away from Reaper while Agatha cooed and nursed the cat. Tedros with her at his old mentor, Merlin's office, Tedros wrapped up in a starry blanket that he used to always fall asleep in. Tedros with her while she was trying to figure out how Professor Dovey's wand, made from the latest technology, worked and giving her gentle encouragement. Tedros with her under a starry night with the same lake from the cover in the distance, catching her from when they crashed into each other, sweet and saltiness mingling on their lips. Each moment resonated like harmonizing notes inside of her, leaving her wanting to hear more of the tantalizing music.
More, Agatha selfishly wished. She needed more, more, more memories to make her forget the distance that separated them now.
"Can you see yourself with me, Agatha? Can you see us being together in our future?"
The silence that stretched between them was starting to tear like as flimsy piece of paper. The piece of paper that happened to be their written story.
Could she? Could she imagine herself with Tedros, by his side during relation parties and by his side when the press had their cameras shoved up into their personal lives? Was she worth it, to stand next to him, the heir of such an influential company, too different from her, a girl who wants to be ordinary?
"No."
With that, the page of their story that held them together was so easily ripped apart, hanging on by a bare thread.
Tedros' voice, a moment ago just flowing with emotions, questions, was now devoid of any.
"I see."
It was Agatha who had to end this. She had to end this before it could hurt them even more than it already has. She had to end this while she still could bear to, before she could no longer let go.
"It's over, Tedros. I'm sorry."
She frantically turned to another page, only to discover it was the last.
This time, Tedros wasn't in the picture, because he was the one to take it.
The picture was snapped when Guinevere and Agatha were sitting together on the couch, holding the same photo album she was holding now in their laps. Guinevere was in the middle of explaining something, probably an embarrassing incident about Tedros because her eyes were twinkling mischievously as she pointed to a corner of the book. Agatha was flushed red with laughter, grinning directly at the camera, maybe because she was snickering at Tedros. Right now, Agatha would have given anything to see the expression Tedros' face held when he had taken the picture.
Droplets of water splashed down onto the plastic film that separated her from the photographs. When Agatha stared at them, about to brush them away, she found small reflections of herself staring back, hot tears stinging her eyes.
Damn it. Damn it all.
She picked up the book, feeling the heavy weight of it in her hands, and imagined throwing it across the room. The book would tumble in mid air, the binding would open and break, and the pages would fly out of the book before they crumbled to ash and dust. She only gripped the book tighter, lifting her elbows. She imagined what it would feel like, the rush of it as she threw everything they had away, letting the fragile memories fall apart.
Agatha held the book above her head, and imagined.
Imagined what it would be like to forget.
"I want you to have it," Guinevere said, holding the photo album out to her.
Agatha froze. "Thank you, but-"
"No buts," Guinevere let go of the book. "You are a part of my son's life now, a part that we can't forget. Return the book when you have a new picture in it. That way your memory will last forever."
But she couldn't.
Agatha let her arms drop, collapsing onto her knees and hugging the photo album of precious memories to her chest. The tears couldn't be pushed back anymore, her body wracking with stifling sobs.
Gods, Agatha missed him so much.
She didn't care about forgetting Tedros anymore, about moving on, about learning to live in a world without him. Because she didn't want to, if that meant pretending for the rest of her life that she had no regrets and desperately trying to live a lie she had fabricated.
Agatha gripped the book tighter, as if that would bring her closer to the memories that she once would have done everything to forget.
"My favorite movie of all time - on the floor! Without a care, without any thought, without any consideration for me, and how I would feel about this! Aggie dear, don't think you can get away with-" Sophie burst in with an angry tirade, but halted at the sight of Agatha breaking down. The anger was immediately sucked out of her, instead replaced by sisterly concern.
She knelt down next to her. "What's wrong, Aggie?"
"I'm sorry, Sophie," Agatha choked out.
Sophie gave her a confused look. "Sorry?"
I'm sorry for breaking my promise to move on.
Book held to her chest, Agatha felt the weight of her decision in her hands.
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
The sun hung low in the sky, a cool breeze brushing through specks of green, budding leaves. Agatha ran past the familiar pathway, reddish light casted upon pavement. She wondered if she was too late or too early, and the club ended at a different time than usual and she would be seen wandering in this place like a fool. Part of her hoped that it would, if it meant she didn't have to face him. At least, not today.
A closed gate entered her peripheral vision, beyond that, a regal white mansion surrounded by an array of exotic, verdant plants and pools of water. From the windows she could see that the inside was dark and dim whereas they usually shined with soft light. Butterflies erupted in her stomach. Her timing was just right. She was getting closer, and Agatha couldn't tell whether that was good or bad.
Agatha's eyes darted in front of her, landing on a distant silhouette. Her legs pumped faster, and she met the piercing sky blue eyes that she had tried time and time again to forget. Her feet took smaller and smaller steps until she stopped completely, standing breathlessly before him. The sky blue eyes widened.
She almost stopped breathing. Her heart pounded in her ears, but before Agatha could wonder if she had made a mistake, she shoved the photo album into Tedros' arms. Tedros stared at her in shock, barely registering the tight grip he had on the sides of the book.
She blushed like she always did under his studying gaze, but shoved away the shyness she always maintained around him. "You should have this back," Agatha quietly said.
Tedros didn't respond, didn't acknowledge her, only held onto the photo album.
Agatha finally allowed herself to let out the breath she was holding and walked away, unsure of how to feel.
Was it over?
Was this the end?
A rush of relief and disappointment washed over her. Maybe, just maybe, now their story would have an ending that she could accept and gain closure-
"Wait!"
Agatha's head swiveled around just as Tedros' hand caught her wrist.
"You think-" Tedros glared at her, "-you think you, my ex-girlfriend, can just waltz in here, drop a book that's full of pictures of when we were still together, and just walk away like nothing ever happened between us?"
Agatha gaped at him, whatever peace she has achieved might as well have been thrown away, her temper beginning to boil. Did he really think that she wasn't affected by this too? That doing this meant nothing - nothing to her at all?
She returned the glare equally as furiously. "You think-" Agatha shot back at him with his own words, "-you think that I don't still care? That I wanted this to happen between us when it was inevitable?"
"If you really did care, then you wouldn't have broken up with me in the first place! Inevitable?" Tedros mocked her, drawing closer to her. "If something that happens between us is inevitable, we could always figure it out together!"
Would he take those words back when he took over Camelot Corporations? When he was forced to become the CEO of one of the most influential companies in the world, becoming consumed by his work, little by little, changing into someone she didn't know - until she didn't know him at all? Would he think that they could figure it out together when Agatha wasn't strong enough to support him in this new, cruel world she never wanted to be a part of? Was it really evitable that Agatha and Tedros would drift apart, and she would feel more and more trapped by the day, and eventually would try to find an escape from this new reality she wasn't ready for? And what would that lead to? The love that once kept them together would snap, and then they would both betray the promises they shared, hurting each other more and more?
And to think that for a moment, holding a photo album of memories in her room, that she let herself hope that maybe their story could change.
"Some mistakes can't be fixed, Tedros," Agatha said softly.
She knew that if she looked at Tedros again she would remember all the longing locked away inside of her, so she kept her eyes to the ground, unable to see the hurt that melted away the hardness in his eyes that left him open and vulnerable before he cast his walls up again. Agatha couldn't see the doubt that flooded him, that he always drowned in whenever he was with her. She couldn't hear the cascade of whispers in his mind: Agatha can't ever love you after she saw the poor excuse of a mistake you were beyond deceiving appearances.
The tinkling bells ringing inside his head sounded like cruel laughter. Was he the mistake she made? The mistake that couldn't be fixed? Tedros let out a humorless laugh.
"Right," he deadpanned, "because as soon as you saw me for who I really am beneath the looks, the fortune, and the legacy of my father's company, you couldn't stand to be with me anymore? Who is the mistaken one? Or rather - who is the mistake, Agatha?" His voice cut her like a sharp blade.
The words sunk into both of them, for a long moment leaving them both as still as statues, unmoving. Their shadowy silhouettes stood against the soft blue twilight, distant stars shimmering above, green dotted tree branches framing them and the light colors of spring glowing behind them as if in a painting - in a memory.
Agatha's fingers twitched before they rose with her arms to press them down on the back of Tedros' neck. She pushed herself upwards on her feet while he tilted downwards, their lips capturing together in a bittersweet kiss.
She pressed herself harder against him with purpose. Show Tedros that he's not the worthless boy he thinks of himself as. Show him that he shouldn't doubt himself anymore. Show him that he already is the embodiment of the qualities of his future title, that he exudes the leadership that will guide something powerful, something significant, something more important than a girl who can't handle that. Show him he's not a mistake. Show him he's much more than that.
Their movements were synced together, the two of them intertwined, fitted perfectly with one another. When the need for air became stronger than their need for each other, the two broke apart, one questioningly, the other with reluctance when she looked up to meet his eyes.
"I am," Agatha whispered - then louder. "I am the mistake. Or would have been. When I wouldn't be enough for you anymore, because all along I just wanted ordinary while you would become extraordinary. There wouldn't be any space for the Tedros underneath it all - the one who still drinks Merlin's hot chocolate over anything else, the one who holds his mother's hands when she remember something painful, the one who thinks I'm beautiful," she choked, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to pour out again.
"And the one that I love."
She had expected him to walk away. To shake his head in disappoint. To wonder why he ever bothered to stay. To look back on the past and stories that they shared, made up of little moments like this, that became so much more when they were captured into a photograph, and realize that none of it ever should have mattered to him. Not when whatever love he thought they shared had been nothing more than an infatuation he should have moved on from a long time ago.
But what she didn't expect was for Tedros to lift her chin up, streaks of tears escaping from the corners of her eyes, and to close the gap between them, their lips impossibly meeting once more.
This time he was trying to convince her. His hand pressed into the small of her back, his kisses leaving a scorching trail on her mouth, burning a message into her mind. The gate groaned after her weight was thrown onto it, sharply jolting her in the impact, but her pain and discomfort were soon overwhelmed by the passion from their connection. Nearby, the photo album lied, turned to a page of a random picture, forgotten by both of them.
Tedros separated from her, panting for air and staring down at her with fierce intensity.
"Dammit, Agatha." Their lips weren't melded together anymore, but that didn't mean Tedros wasn't any further away than he was before with two hands resting on either sides of the gate, trapping her. "Why are you giving up on us?"
"You don't ever need to change, because you'll always be enough for me. Hell, you're more than enough, Agatha. And it doesn't matter how much more important I am to the rest of the world, as long as the person I am with you is the most valuable to you. All this time I thought that the person I am behind all of my pretending isn't someone you could see yourself with. Am I wrong?" Hope strained in his voice that Agatha couldn't ignore. She bit her lip, asking herself if she really wanted to lie to herself and to him again.
"Yes. You were wrong. And so was I."
Tedros smiled, like the first genuine smile she saw from him in history club at a new start to the memories that wrapped around them and their lives. "Stay this time." It was a statement, but the ends were open in question, waiting for her to answer.
Agatha parted her lips, knowing that the way their story ended depended on her next words.
"I'll stay."
For the love of the Storian this is long.
I sincerely apologize for all of you whose eyes bled from reading this trash. However, I'd like to hope it's at least improved trash from my previous writing (like Written in the Stars hahaha I don't like to not think about that anymore). For all of you whose eyes are still intact, please do leave any constructive critisism in a review - hey, you can even flame if you want to, as long as it includes things I can still improve on.
So if any of my other stories were ever dedicated to other people, this one is dedicated to myself. I was tortured by cravings to type on my keyboard any kind of creative writing (well not poetry, but that's besides the point) after abandoning. I was in an impasse, giving up on half-written one-shots for various reasons until I managed to complete this. Now I'm no longer plagued with the need to write. Three cheers for writer's block!
For all of those who actually enjoyed this one-shot... more may or may not be coming on the way ;)