A/N:I'm such a fucking nerd that I took notes of the dates in the game and which days were which, so in that sense it's canon to the game. So, that makes this chapter the 11th of Autumn, Saturday, Mistel's birthday. Not sure why I felt the need to tell you that, but anyway...
TW: There is dialogue about molestation and thought I should let you know. This story will be dark at times, and this theme will come up in later chapters, as well. There's also slight violence. This whole chapter is pretty sad, actually, and kind of makes me feel sick to my stomach to read, let alone write.
Chapter Ten
Rose ran up the steps to Iris's apartment, turning around to see it empty. She knew that Iris had a date with Fritz last night, and figured she was probably still asleep. She thought Mistel wasn't there, as this was around the time when he took his morning walks. She was just itching to get out of her current dress, finding it to be rather tight and uncomfortable. She walked over to Iris's dresser where she had left her farm dress and slipped out of her damp thong, which was the least favorite piece of clothing she owned. She tried to pull the dress over her head, but the high neckline got caught below her chin, and she was blinded by the dress as she struggled to get it past her jaw.
"I've only just woken up, and already this is my best birthday yet." She heard Mistel's teasing voice and froze. She was completely naked, and to make matters worse she was blinded. Her face flushed from both anger and embarrassment. She tried to pull the dress back over herself, but it was stuck, and wouldn't budge.
"You perv! Go away!" she yelled, still trying to wiggling the dress back on.
"I'd like to look for just one more second, I need to memorize this moment for later use. Plus, I'd prefer this to any other gift." She heard the blond chuckle.
"Brother, go back to your room this instant! I swear I will box your ears if you don't, no matter if it's your birthday or not!" Rose heard Iris harshly yell from her bedroom. Mistel huffed loudly, and she listened as his footsteps walked toward his room.
"Uh, Iris, could you give me a little help?" Rose called, still struggling to get the dress over her head. She could heard the springs of the bed creak as Iris stood, walking to where she was standing. Rose lifted her arms as Iris yanked the dress over her head. She didn't feel uncomfortable being naked around Iris, they had been friends long enough now that they often changed in front of one another. She would often admire Iris's body whenever they did. Rose thought Iris's body much more womanly than hers, her breasts being much larger and more full, her body having more of an hourglass shape to it. Although Iris knew Rose enjoyed the company of both sexes, she didn't mind being gawked at, she took it as a compliment. When Rose had first moved to Oak Tree town she had developed a little crush on her, but quickly realized that they would be better off as just friends, and knew that Iris was straight anyway. Not even two weeks later she found herself infatuated with Klaus instead.
Rose quickly threw her farm dress over her head, finally being able to see, and cast her eyes to Iris. She looked absolutely stunning, wearing an elegant lace nightgown, her long blonde hair cascading around her body. Rose looked to Iris's purple eyes, which were red and puffy, indicating she hadn't slept much or at all last night.
"Iris, are you alright?" she asked softy. She had never seen Iris look so miserable before, it was unlike her. When Iris had told Rose that her parents had died she had said so nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal, so she had figured that Iris wasn't a very sensitive person. She couldn't fathom what could have happened to make her have such a look.
Iris sighed, walking back to her bedroom and gesturing for her to follow. Iris sat on her bed, patting the spot next to her. She remained silent as Rose sat, looking to her hands and sliding the ring on her finger up and down her knuckle. Rose had never seen her look so solemn, she was usually giddy and charming. She noticed her ring had a pink diamond as its gem, and was surprised that Fritz was able to get a hold of one.
"Did your date go well?" Rose wondered, "Fritz must really love you for him to make you a ring with a pink diamond as its gem."
"He really does..." Iris trailed. She pried her eyes from the ring, her purple eyes glistening as she looked intensely into Rose's. "Rose...may I talk to you about something?"
"Of course, anything," she said comfortingly.
"Mistel, go for your morning stroll, I'm going to talk about Fritz," Iris yelled slightly. Rose listened as Mistel ran from his bedroom, down the steps, and out the door all in under sixty seconds.
She gave Iris's hand a little squeeze. "Please, Iris, tell me what's troubling you. What happened last night?"
"It started out fine," Iris began, her eyes fixated on her bed, "He made me dinner, it was surprisingly delicious, and we chatted and laughed. It was truly wonderful. He even told me he was in love with me, and gave me this ring...But then we started to fool around, and one thing led to another again. He told me he wanted to touch me this time...so I let him." She paused, heat slowly rising up her face. "Then after he did...I wept."
"What? Why? Was he that bad?"
Iris looked back into her eyes, and she saw tears rimmed around her eyelashes, just begging to fall at any moment. "No, not at all," she fiercely insisted, "He was surprising great. It's just...last time I was touched, it... It was without my consent." Rose felt her chest clench, and tightened her grip on Iris's hand.
"I'm so sorry, Iris," she whispered, "Why did you let him do it, then?"
"In the moment I had wanted him to, but once it was over... I thought about what had happened to me, and I started to weep uncontrollably. I've been trying to forget about it...but I suppose it's not a memory one can easily repress." Rose silently stared at Iris as tears starting to roll down her face. She didn't know what to say. She felt terrible that someone would do that to her friend, and knew from her own experiences that it was one of the worst things that could happen to someone.
"I just know he thinks I hate him," Iris muttered miserably.
"Did you tell him why you were upset?"
"No... I was too embarrassed. I didn't want him to pity me."
"You should tell him," Rose said softly, "He loves you, and he's probably crying his heart out right now, wondering what he did wrong."
"Are you sure? Do you really think he'll understand, and not pity me?"
"I'm positive. If you want, I'll go get him."
"Alright," Iris sighed, "...but, would you stay with me?"
Rose felt the color drain from her face. "Uh, well, don't you think you should talk to him alone?"
"...I suppose." Iris looked down to her hand again, twirling her ring around her finger.
She knew she was being slightly insensitive, and that Iris would do that kindness for her if she asked. "You can talk to him in your room while I stand in the apartment, if you'd like."
Iris looked back up at her and gave her a feigned smile, her eyes sparkling as she hoarsely said, "Thank you, that would do just fine."
"I'll be right back, just try to calm down while I'm gone."
Iris slowly nodded her head as Rose stood, sprinting to the stairs and running down them, skipping every other step. She wanted them to sort this out as soon as possible. She just knew that Fritz was in hysterics, and probably had been crying his eyes out all night. She couldn't blame Iris for not telling him, although thought that if one is willing to be physically intimate with someone that they should be comfortable being mentally intimate, as well. She knew she was being slightly hypocritical because she had yet to confess to Klaus what had happened to her, but she really hadn't had an opportunity to do so. It wasn't exactly a thing you tell someone on the first date.
Promptly opening the door and closing it behind her, she froze, shocked at the scene which was unfolding a few yards away. Klaus was standing just beyond his doorway, a look so terrifyingly enraged on his face as he shouted at Mistel, who was mischievously smiling and looking at him as if they were just having an amusing conversation. Rose was too far away to hear what Klaus was yelling, but knew it must have been about Mistel catching her while she was changing. Of course he had went to tell Klaus, Mistel loved nothing more than to cause trouble.
She started to walk her way toward them, intending to shoo Mistel and scold him, and to try to calm Klaus down. Rose heard Mistel laugh and watched as Klaus grabbed him, roughly lifting him by the bow around his neck until they were at eye level. Mistel no longer looked amused, his face twisting into a horrified look as his hands grasped around Klaus's, writhing in an attempt to free himself. Rose's eyes widened in shock, and she started to sprint, shouting, "Hey! Put him down."
Not even glancing in her direction, Klaus harshly threw Mistel to the ground. The blond gaped at him in silent stupor, his back upon the hard ground, looking like he feared if he rose he would surely receive a hard blow to the face. Klaus glared down at him, making Mistel appear even smaller than usual, growling, "If I ever hear you say such crude words about her again I will murder you with my own hands. You're lucky she came, otherwise I would have strangled you."
Now only a foot away, Rose looked to Klaus, fiercely insisting, "Calm down."
Klaus tightly closed his eyes while pinching the bridge of his nose, letting out a loud sigh. After a moment he lifted his other arm, pointing a finger toward the opposite side of town. "Leave, before I change my mind."
Mistel quickly scrambled to his feet, glared at Klaus for a second, then huffed and walked away with his hands clenched at his sides. After a moment Klaus turned to her while crossing his arms, his face twisting into a displeased look as he stated, "You really should be more mindful of where you undress."
"You're joking, right? You have to be fucking kidding me," she shouted slightly, leaning her body toward him and narrowing her eyes.
"No, I'm not. You need to put more thought into where you take your clothes off, and who you do it around."
Her mind clouded with anger, she lifted a hand and slapped him as hard as she could across his face. Klaus gaped at her with wide eyes as she poked a finger into his chest, furiously hissing, "Don't ever talk to me like that again, or I will murder you." She turned on her heel to leave, but Klaus put his hands to her shoulders and spun her around.
"I'm so sorry. Please, forgive me?" His shocked face turned into a solemn one, and his eyes searched her face frantically.
"Forgive you? If I do that then you'll just do it again! What kind of fool do you take me for?" She glared at him again and shrugged her shoulders out from his grasp.
He winced at her words. "I'm sorry. Please, come inside and talk to me."
"You can apologize until you're blue in the face, it won't make one difference. I can't come inside, I have something more important to do. Perhaps I'll come later, or tomorrow, or the day after that. Maybe I'll just leave you waiting for a couple of days, I don't know, but I can't now." She quickly turned around and left, leaving a very angry looking Klaus behind. By now she knew him well enough to know that he wasn't angry with her, but with himself. Good, maybe now he'll think before he speaks, she thought to herself miserably, walking up the steps. She cursed the day for giving her such a wonderful start to a terrible middle, and she couldn't fathom it getting better anytime soon.
The whole way to Fritz's house she kept her eyes to the ground, fearing that if she was forced to look someone in the eyes and speak to them that she would surely burst into tears. She looked once to her hand, seeing that it had turned slightly red. In the moment she had forgotten that she had grown stronger since she started farming, and hoped she didn't hurt him too much. As her adrenaline faded she started to feel embarrassed at how quickly she snapped on him. Although she knew he was wrong, she thought that she should have been the calm one in that situation, and that she needed to control her anger sometimes. She would have to go see him after she was done with this and her farm chores, otherwise she was afraid he would drink himself blind.
Walking onto Fritz's farm she was surprised to see it empty, as he usually watered his crops around this time. She started to feel queasy as she made her way to his door. She really didn't want to do this, the only reason she had volunteered to get him was so a seemingly good relationship wouldn't end in such an awful way. With trembling hands she knocked twice on his door, and when he didn't immediately answer she promptly turned the doorknob and walked into his house. Fritz was sitting at his table with his hands on his face, and as soon as Rose closed the door he jumped, his face quickly turning from startled to angry as he realized it wasn't who he wanted it to be.
"Why are you here?" he asked, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles. He didn't look very good, his eyes red and his already pale skin a color that resembled a fresh sheet of snow.
"I'm here to take you to see Iris," she replied simply.
"Why would she wanna see me? She hates me," he muttered miserably.
"No she doesn't," she said softly.
"Yes she does!" Fritz shouted, looking at her so intensely she could have sworn she saw fire in his eyes.
Rose sighed loudly and sat down opposite of him. "Don't be an idiot, why would she want to see you if she hated you?"
Fritz put his elbows on the table and his palms to his eyes, harshly rubbing them. "What did I do wrong?" he groaned, ignoring her.
"You didn't do anything wrong, but you will if you don't come with me."
"Is she okay? Did somethin' happen to her?" he quietly asked, moving his hands up to his head and nervously pulling on his red locks. She wasn't sure how to answer that, and all his movements were starting to make her feel even sicker.
"You...just need to come with me. You have to talk to her yourself."
He pounded a fist on the table, surprising Rose and making her jump. "Somethin' happened to her, didn't it? Rose, ya gotta tell me!"
"You need to calm down! I can't tell you, it's not my business to tell."
"Shit," he groaned, running his hands down his face, "Can you at least tell me if she's okay?"
"She'll be a little better if you talk to her," she replied, giving him a feigned smile. He started to loudly tap his fingertips on the tabletop. She grabbed one of his hands, partially to get his full attention and to stop his pestering movements. "You must be mature about this, Fritz," she fiercely insisted.
"I can be plenty mature!" he shouted, snatching his hand away. He sighed loudly, then lowered his voice to say, "...I've grown more mature, since I started dating her." Rose frowned, noticing he couldn't even say her name. She could tell he didn't mean only physically, but mentally, as well. Fritz's face turned mournful, and in that moment he looked like he had aged in mere seconds.
"Come on, let's get going. Iris has waited long enough." Rose stood, roughly snatching his hand and pulling him from his seat, dragging him to his door and out it. She started to sprint, but Fritz pulled his hand out from under her grasp. She looked behind her to see him walking, his eyes cast to the ground while he rubbed his hands nervously. He looked like he might vomit, his face turning a muted shade of green, and she slowed to match his pace. "Fritz, everything is going to be fine."
He slowly nodded his head, but still wouldn't look her in the eyes. They silently walked to the antique shop, but right before they reached the door they both stopped in their tracks. Mistel was standing right outside it, and when he saw them his face twisted in disgust, looking as if this was his worse birthday yet.
"Why are you with him?" Mistel spat, glaring at them both equally.
Rose felt herself flush in embarrassment and anger. She looked to Fritz to see his face completely red, his facial expression resembling how she felt. She had never seen him look so uncomfortable and pissed before. "We're here to see Iris, obviously," she growled.
Mistel's face turned a little red, too, and he looked to his feet as he softly said, "She's inside... Can you two be quick about it, though? I need to open soon."
Rose grabbed him by the bow around his neck, and his eyes widened in shock. "We'll be as long as we need to be," she muttered between clenched teeth. Releasing him, she put a hand to his chest and harshly pushed him away and out of their way to the door.
"You and your boyfriend are both insane!" Mistel yelled after them as they went through the door. Closing it behind her, she could hear him shouting, "Fuck this birthday! Fuck this day!" She felt herself flush again, realizing how much of a scene they all must have been making. She started to make her way up the stairs, but stopped halfway once she noticed Fritz wasn't following her. She turned her head to see him hesitatingly standing at the bottom of the staircase, his head hung low as the heat stayed in his face.
"Are ya sure...everything's going to be fine?" he whispered.
Once again, Rose wasn't sure how to answer that. She didn't know if everything was going to be fine, she had only told him that to get him here. She fixated her eyes on the railing and whispered back, "You'll feel much better after you talk." He sighed, but started to follow her nonetheless. As soon as she reached the apartment she noticed it smelt of fresh cigarettes, and figured Iris had tried chain smoking to calm herself. Without even turning around she said, "Wait here, I'll be right back." She felt her heart sink into her stomach as she walked into Iris's room, seeing that she had hardly moved an inch, and had indeed been smoking a lot, the candle on her nightstand filled with butts. Iris refused to look at her, her eyes on her sheets.
She sank to her knees and grabbed both of Iris's hands, asking her, "Are you going to be okay?"
"I'm...not sure," Iris whispered, "Do you really think he's going to stay with me after all of this?"
"Iris, you should see him, he's a wreck. He thinks you're going to leave him or something."
Iris looked into her eyes, squeezing her hands as she said, "Bring him in, then. I can handle him if he's like that."
Rose nodded her head and stood, walking out the room to see Fritz wringing his wrists, his eyes glistening as he asked, "Is she alright?"
She nodded her head again, afraid that if she opened her mouth her voice would come out in squeaks. She gestured for him to go in the room and went to stand at the far wall, letting out a little sigh once she leaned against it. She watched as Fritz stood in the doorway, gaping with a shocked look sprawled across his face. "Baby...? Are you alright?" he squeaked, walking into the room.
Rose wished in that moment that she was anywhere else in the world, so uncomfortable and anxious that she felt her hands shaking. She stopped herself from running out of there with the thought that Iris would do the exact thing for her without a single complaint. She heard Iris speak, but couldn't make out what she was saying as she kept her voice low. She couldn't help but to listen as Fritz loudly choked, "W-what?" Iris spoke again, then a moment later Fritz walked out of the room, shouting, "Who?" He paced back and forth, his hands pulling on his hair in an attempt to yank it out.
Iris came from the room, calmly insisting, "It's no one you know, love."
Fritz stopped pacing, then threw his arms around Iris, tightly embracing her. "I'm so sorry that happened to you..." he nearly whispered.
Iris's eyes widened in shock for a moment, then she gave a small smile, looking slightly down at him while petting his hair. "Thank you... That's really the only thing you can say in this situation," she spoke softly. Fritz leaned his head against her chest and sighed.
Rose felt her face flare as Iris looked to her, mouthing 'thank you', and gesturing that she could leave. She gave Iris a feigned smile before running from the scene, down the steps and out the door, easily beating Mistel's record of sixty seconds. Closing the door behind her, she sharply inhaled, holding the breath in for eight seconds and slowly exhaling through her nose. She gave a little jump and put her hand to her chest, startled at seeing Mistel next to her.
"Where's Fritz?"
"He's still inside," she replied. She was right, her voice did come out in squeaks.
"Did he hurt Iris?" he furiously hissed.
"No! Of course not! It's just...someone hurt her in the past."
"Oh, I see," he sighed, casting his eyes to the ground.
"You knew?!"
"Of course, she tells me everything," he replied simply, looking back into her eyes, "I just...didn't know what was happening today. I asked her not to speak to me about Fritz." Mistel growled his name as if it tasted bitter on his tongue.
"You should probably close shop for today, I think they should probably be alone for awhile. Have a good time on your birthday and don't worry about work."
"I think it may be a little too late for that... Besides, why do you care? Aren't you angry with me?" Mistel frowned, looking to his feet again.
"Yes, I'm pissed at you, but Iris is more important. Please, take care of her, you only have each other."
"Yes, of course, we always do," he paused, "...By the way, it seems your boyfriend is waiting for you."
She felt her pulse quicken as she turned to see Klaus standing below the stairs, staring straight into her eyes. She looked to her feet as she slowly made her way toward him. She didn't want to talk to anyone else today, let alone him, and a ball formed in her throat as she approached him.
"Is everything alright? It seems half the town is in an uproar this morning," he said as she kept her eyes to the ground.
"...Yes," she squeaked, "I needed to help Iris and Fritz with a problem, is all." She felt her eyes full with water.
He grabbed her chin, lifting her eyes to meet his, searching her face. "Then why does it appear like you're going to cry at any moment?"
She fixated her eyes on a spot above his eyebrows as she felt a tear drip down her face. After a moment he put his hands on either side of her face, leaning down to press his forehead to hers and softly asking, "Please, Rose, tell me what happened. What has you so down?"
"I just...need to go home," she choked, a sob racking through her body.
"Come inside and talk to me. How can you do anything in this state?"
"I'm busy, I need to go to work and so do you!" she insisted, tears steadily falling from her eyes. He released her, and as she turned to leave he called, "Please, Rose, wait!" She wiped her arm across her face, but it was no use. The sobs racked through her uncontrollably now, and she knew it wasn't going to stop anytime soon. She wasn't sure how she was going to be able to go on for the rest of the day like this. She knew she would have to go see Klaus tonight. At this point she wasn't sure how far anyone was willing to take anything, and she feared for his life.