Chapter 7. Realization of the Impossible and Unexpected
"...I'm well aware that Ashia can lose control sometimes. And I also know that when she does, she can be excruciatingly dangerous and difficult to control. Ashia, I'm ashamed of you!" Kibosh scolded.
"Not as much as I am of you, and of myself for being your niece!" She muttered darkly. The comment was ignored.
Alder and Dash had been forced to call Kibosh and explain to him what had occurred. The green ghost was furious and exasperated, but despite his anger, Ashia's shame as she stood there in the headmasters' office was not due to his actions, but Wolfie's.
"I scared him. Not just startled him, really, truly, scared him! I've never DONE that before!"
"...Furthermore, it might be in your best interest to return home for the rest of the school year," At these words, her head snapped up and her eyes widened.
"NO!"
"You don't give me much choice," Sighed Kibosh. "Bullying is one thing, attacking is another story entirely! You could have KILLED Thatch, and who are you to say it won't happen again?"
"It won't! It won't! I promise, Uncle K!"
"And what about Thatch?"
"I'm not apologizing, if that's what you're asking!"
"Ashia..."
"He's the one who got me like that! It's his fault for pushing me so far!"
"It's true you don't anger to that extent easily. But if he did it once, he could do it again. And next time, it may not be Thatch, and they may not survive,"
"...I'm not a killer. I just... I was... I thought..."
"What? Why did you attack?"
"He... said things to me. And before that, he was... Messing with... With..."
"With?"
"...Wolfie," She hung her head in defeat.
"So you tried to kill him,"
"NO!"
"Ashia..." Her uncle sighed. "Alright. You have one more chance; but be forewarned... Your betrothed has asked that you go to stay with him until the wedding, and the only thing keeping you from that, is Scare School,"
Ashia gulped.
"Go. You have classes to attend, correct?"
"Yes, uncle," And with a sinking feeling in her stomach and an ache in her heart, she left.
"...You know, sir, Ashia and Wolfie are practically inseparable now,"
"Yeah! They're best friends!"
"...And, it might have taken hours otherwise to stop her screaming, but all it took was his stuttering her nickname, Ash, and she was back to normal in an instant,"
"That's impossible! Ashia always takes at least 30 to 60 minutes to calm down, if not longer!"
"Well it's true, sir!"
"..." Kibosh turned and stared out at the water from the office's window. "Hmm... She'd better not get TOO close with the arranged marriage at hand, but this is good. If Wolfie is able to control her better than everyone else, he might be able to talk some sense into her on the matter! I would like to have a word with him, but not now. I only came at this time because of the seriousness of the situation and of my niece's involvement. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Good. I will be leaving now..."
"..."
"Ahem!"
"Oh, right!" And the two began to sing a made up song on the spot to bid him farewell.
"What do I do? What do I say? I suppose I need to apologize, but not to Thatch! If he DID learn any lessons from that, it would render them void if I tried. Then what? What?" Ashia shook her head, but the thoughts refused to clear. With a sigh of defeat, she decided to leave it be. All she needed right now was to find him, then she worry over such things. It should come to her naturally if she meant it, right?
Ah. There. Wolfie was headed to class, just like she should have been. She figured she could handle special treatment to get him and herself out of punishment if they were late... Pretend normality wasn't nearly as important as friendship.
"WOLFIE!" She called, flying towards him in her bat form. The werewolf jumped, startled, and whirled around to face her. Other students turned their heads to watch, but weren't really interested enough to stop and check things out.
"Ashia?"
"It's Ash; look, I didn't mean to scare you, I didn't even mean to go off on Thatch! I don't know what happened..."
"..."
"I can't apologize to him, but I can to you. So... I'm sorry,"
"..." Wolfie stared at her for a long time. "...We need to get to class,"
"But..."
"Come on Ash; or you're going to get treated special!" He grinned and hurried ahead, leaving Ashia in a bit of shock. A relieved smile betrayed her happiness, and she nodded.
"Right! I don't wanna be late!" She agreed, and followed quickly. What an easy way to set things right, she was lucky to have such a cute, understanding and smart friend!
...Wait a minute, cute?
Oh no.
~~~Later~~~
"Ash, are you okay?"
"I... I don't really know, Mantha..."
"Are you feeling bad about what happened yesterday?"
"Well... That too, but... Well..." She sighed, and decided to confess; at least partly. "My "betrothed," from the arranged marriage I told you about, he wants me to go stay with him until we're married. The reason I haven't ended up doing that yet... Is because I'm enrolled here. But today... I almost got pulled out by Uncle K! I don't know what to do, I never wanted or agreed to marry the guy, and now... Now it's worse, because I... I like someone!"
"Oh, Ash!"
"I know, I know... It was stupid, but what can I do? Thatch was right; I never have any say in the matter! ANY matter!"
"That's not true! Nobody can control who they like. Hopefully, it's just a crush, and it'll pass. In the meantime... Who is it?" The last part the zombie added quickly and eagerly.
"Not telling. It might make it worse,"
"Oh, come on!"
"No," She said firmly. "Besides, even if he liked me back, which he doesn't, I CAN'T date him! I'm in an arranged marriage, Mantha, my life course has already been decide for me, and like I said before, I had no say in the matter!"
"Well, maybe it's time you let some other secrets of yours out... Obviously, you've got to much weight on your shoulders. And besides... It isn't like I don't already know who it is!"
"W-what?"
"You heard me! EVERYBODY knows! In fact, I think the only ones who DON'T notice are you two! And you know what? You're such a cute couple together!"
"S-shut up!"
"Ashia's in love!"
"I SAID SHUT UP, WOMAN!"
"Heh..."
~~~On Day of Full Moon~~~
"Ugh. Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!" Ashia screamed, glaring at the mirror. "I HATE this! I HATE IT! I wish I could just be a normal creature!"
"Normal? And why would you want that?" Monico asked, interrupting her self pity session.
"Have YOU ever tried dealing with my life?"
"What you need is a make over!" Mickey exclaimed, and both "skeletwins" clasped their bony hands together gleefully, completely ignoring that fact that Ashia was currently a "fleshie." "THAT will make you feel better!"
"Yes, let's go!" They proceeded to drag their unwilling victim away.
"GAH! THE HORROR!"
"This is going to be so fun!" Twittered the twins.
"Just... Kill me now..."
Over the course of several hours, (It being a weekend and several classes having been canceled due to an unknown slimy, sticky substance coating the walls, ceilings and floors, which had now acquired the nickname, "Spider Glue,") Mickey and Monico forced Ashia into every outfit and get up imaginable, and then some, as the skeletons decided to use the girl's moonlight weakness and fleshie appearance to their advantage. Apparently they were too shallow to care about her current appearance; that, she appreciated, but not so much the make over...
As soon as the other girls' backs were turned, debating over the use of fairy pink or sky blue lipstick, she made a break for it. Ashia managed to get all of the make up off with her friends' help, minus Wolfie because of his crazy state at the moment.
"What's with the twitching?"
"I can't... get the horror... Out of my head..."
"...Oh come on, it couldn't have been that bad!"
"This is MICKEY and MONICO we're talking about! Of COURSE it was that bad!" Ashia shuddered and took a bite of her sandwich, letting her eyes wander over to the corner, where a certain were-puppy was gnawing on a safety cone and emitting loud, playful growls... That is, until anyone got too close, at which point he snapped and snarled until they backed a good distance away.
"I'll bet you've got it so bad, you even find THAT attractive!" Mantha teased.
"What're you talking about?" Ashia blushed, which made her female friend smirk in victory.
"You're blushing!"
"Wha...? No I'm not! There must be some of Mickey and Monico's blush left behind! I'm gonna go... Wash it off..."
The famous 3-way hybrid beat a hasty retreat.
"GRRRR! What's wrong with me? I know this is wrong! I'm supposed to marry Griffinheart! I don't have any control over this situation! And I can't just stand up to Uncle K and refuse! I don't have a reason that he deems good enough, he'll never listen!" She shook her head violently, then hid her face in her hands.
"For the love of Lucifer! What's happening to me? I must still be shocked from what happened yesterday... Yes, that's it. I got jolted so bad that now I'm automatically looking for someone to lean on! I'm fine, I'm fine... It's not love,"
She touched her cheek. It was burning hot. "We're just friends..."
"Good friends..."
"But does it really have to stay that way? It isn't fair!"
"...No, it's NOT fair. Because, truth is..."
"...I am in love!"
Ashia Marie Kyrier was in love.
(No, I did NOT mean to get too sappy in this chapter, but it was hard not to under the circumstances, so cut me some slack.
K T: I noticed! And yes, Ashia can be pretty scary when she's mad... And she's not the only one, but I don't want to give away too many spoilers! ;)
Did anybody else notice that Thatch didn't directly show up in this chapter AT ALL? Anybody? Anybody? Because if you did... He's still recovering; excused from classes until he heals up a bit. Poor pompous vampire bully! XP No, actually, Thatch is my favorite character! And Wolfie, obviously. So I couldn't let him get too seriously hurt, now, could I? X3)
