~ Chapter One ~
"I want it! I want it! Give it to me! I want it! C'mon, Neko-chan~!"
Jessica shook her head firmly, her arms wrapped tightly around the girl's waist in a firm grip.
"You can't have it! What if you press it and the whole school comes in here? What if it sets off a fire alarm?"
"I don't think black ones set off an alarm! Even if it did, I don't care! Just let me have it!"
Saffron struggled against her friend's grip, her eyes settled on the prize ahead. It sat on the wall a few feet in front of her, glimmering and just begging to be pressed. In perfectly scripted words above, it read – Erik.
"Damn fan-girls." Jessica sighed.
Tia – Saffron's best friend and closest companion – eyed the thing thoughtfully. She wasn't sure why someone would place such a thing in so obvious a place, but what was wrong with touching it? It was true that such an action could cause only trouble – but wasn't trouble entertaining? Like games…
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It all started with a button.
The button itself was not the type you would find in just any store, vehicle, device, or otherwise technological contraption. In fact, this button appeared anything but ordinary. The fact that it was big, black, and quite intimidating didn't seem ominous, but more of temptingly mysterious.
In fact, it might be wise to retell how the button was discovered.
A piercing sound broke through the morning, echoing through the halls of the high school. It was the cry of the bell, announcing the change in classes. Teenagers burst through the silent hallway, rushing in swarms to their next locations.
"I can't believe that we missed the bus!" One girl smiled, seemingly unfazed by this fact, though slightly amused.
"I'd say the bus missed us." Another retorted.
"I don't think a bus holds grudges, Tia."
The halls were overly-crowded, making it near impossible to do anything but walk slowly. It was difficult to just keep from being shoved. The sea of heads bobbed up and down, making their way toward the last classes of the day.
Tia nodded, "No, but the driver does! He must have good memory…"
The first girl – Saffron – blinked a few times, as though recalling the memory.
"I don't think I would forget having my bus ruined by a lion and two bags of cotton balls."
"It was all a part of the cosplay!" Tia insisted, her tone hinting that this wasn't the first time she had used this excuse.
Saffron was quite used to this, and if nothing else, it was actually normal. While she preferred Pocky, books, and anime, Tia was obsessed with all-of-the-above plus gaming.
"You never told me how you got the zoo to lend you the lion."
Tia smiled, "The zoo's manager was quite helpful once I showed him some certain photos."
"That was nice of him."
"…"
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The gym wasn't too full, and by the time they were both dressed and ready, their friends were already out on the polished floor. Saffron smiled brightly, grabbing Tia's hand and dragging her along.
"Neko-chan~! How are you today?"
Jessica turned around at the sound of her friend's voice, her eyes wide with curiosity. She smiled softly upon seeing the two girls. It was a usual sight – Safer dragging Tia. Tia seemed completely bored, her free hand reaching up to gently nudge her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She waved slightly toward Jessica (commonly dubbed as 'Neko-chan' by Saffron).
"Hey! You are both on time."
This seemed an utterly innocent statement, though on this certain occasion, it was unusual. Tia and Saffron were commonly late, their latest being ten minutes before the class ended (a situation involving Keebler Elves and a giant ball of fudge which shall not be explained for the safety of viewers' eyes).
"Blame the bus driver for the school. He skipped our street, so we ran here. It turned out that Saffron's alarm clock was an hour ahead, so we got here considerably early today."
Jessica blinked, "Hold on. The bus driver…hey, didn't that lion-"
Saffron nodded enthusiastically.
"He needed it surgically removed."
Jessica's eyes widened, and she shuddered visibly. It was right about then that a crowd of girls a little ways away began whispering heatedly. Tia was oblivious, but Safer turned to look. It turned-out that the teacher was late (the reason being an unfortunate incident in the girls' bathroom).
"I'll be right back."
Tia watched as her friend ran-off. She sighed, though the moment was opportune to take out her music. She dug in her pocket, fishing out the I-pod.
"So, I heard that your brother just joined the school."
"Yeah."
Jessica paused, furrowing her brow. She smiled after a moment.
"Ah, the poor souls of the Freshman. I still clearly remember our first year."
Tia nodded, "That was the same year I beat the Online Tournament for Amateur Gamers. I got fifty bucks out of that."
"Hey, did you hear about the new game from Ja-"
"NEKO-CHAN~! TIA!"
The two girls jerked at the shrieking, their heads snapping up. Didn't Saffron just leave? What was it now? Tia ran toward the sound of her voice, locating her on the far side of the gym (behind some bleachers). Safer's eyes were lit with complete awe, her fingers twitching at her sides.
"It's…so…pretty!"
Tia and Jessica turned to look, pausing on the sight of something dark on the wall. Something black. Something large. Something quite similar to a…button?
Tia could see the look on the girl's face, connected to the same expression she herself wore while she was playing the X-box…
Saffron was about ten years-old when it happened. It was Tia's birthday, and they were picking out movies. Tia was quite a fan of classics, though Saffron was much more involved with romantic movies. So they settled together on a decision.
The Phantom of the Opera.
It was quite a good choice, according to Tia's mother. So they sat and watched. The cloaked figure was enchanting to Saffron, dark and mysterious. It was far more interesting than most of the books she had read. This creature – this man – was something new. Something different.
It's true to say that this 'Phantom' was only a mere work of fiction, but saying such a thing to Saffron was near dangerous. She never looked back after that – obsessing over the books and spending her time watching and memorizing each and every part of the movie. Such was the life of a dedicated fan girl.
Tia wasn't near as transfixed on this, though she was quite a fan herself. She loved reading about it, and she completely adored everything about it – within an inch of believing in it like Safer did.
So, as she watched her friend stare at the button with a glazed look in her eyes, it made her wonder.
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"Tia, press it!"
"Don't press it!"
Jessica shook her head urgently, "You don't know what will happen!"
It was quite a moment of thinking on her part.
Press the button… Don't press the button…
After a moment of thinking, and watching Jessica wrestle around with Safer, she lifted her hand. And pushed. Hard.
Jessica gasped, a look of dread in her eyes. For all she knew, she might be stuck in detention with them.
"YAY!" Safer grinned.
I apologize for the shortness of this chapter. I promise that the coming chapters will be longer, as well as better than this one. I wasn't quite sure how to introduce the characters, and I was quite tired. So, here is the first chapter. Forgive me if it displeases you in any way.
Please stick around...and REVIEW!
Whitewolfffy~