Good evening, readers! I am back once again with a new chapter! Just where is this rabbit hole leading us? There's going to be some intense moments here, but also some moments of conquering obstacles and triumphs. We're getting toward the end here, and it's going to be something completely unexpected. But, we will cross that bridge when we get there! So with that said, please enjoy!
Night rolled his eyes, groaning as Rosemary wiggled her brows.
"So, what are we going to do for the after party, huh?" She giggled.
Night suddenly got a message, looking at his phone. He craned his head a bit, his gaze meeting with Wildfire's as he nodded. "Hey. I'll be back. Got to take a piss." He said, shoving the phone in his pocket.
"Don't be long! I'll be waiting!" Rosemary smiled.
Night hurriedly made his way down the hall, heading toward the side entrance. Meanwhile, Arsenik stood around, furrowing a brow when he couldn't find Ambrosia. "Hey." Wildfire called, nodding her head towards the gym doors. "She went to 'powder her nose.'" She chuckled.
"Ah, I see. Thank you for informing me, Wildfire." Arsenik nodded.
"Say... maybe you and I could dance a little? Won't kill her if we go for one song." She suggested.
"I do feel badly you don't have a date, Wildfire... but I retrieved these drinks, and I very well can't dance if I am holding them whilst waiting for her to return-" Arsenik stopped when Wildfire took one of them, throwing it back in one gulp like it was a shot. She then tossed the cup, smirking when it landed in the garbage.
"There. Problem solved." She smirked.
Arsenik sighed. "I suppose you cannot take no for an answer. Very well. As soon as Ambrosia returns, however, I am going to retrieve a new drink for her and resume dancing with her."
"Fine by me." Wildfire shrugged as Arsenik finished his drink, placing the cup in the trash before he began to dance with her.
Ambrosia bit her lip, glancing to the side fearfully when she felt her back press against the building. "Thunder, please, don't-" She gasped, whimpering when his hand shot out to curl around her throat.
"My brother is worthless. Seems like the only thing convincing him otherwise is you. Thankfully, someone gave me the idea to give you the same treatment I give him. Maybe he'll understand how weak he is when he sees what I reduced a Phoenix like you to. Even his choices in women are pathetic." He said, Ambrosia not able to respond as his hand tightened around her throat. Just then, Night came up from behind him.
"Get off of her!" He shouted, grabbing Thunder's shoulder. Ambrosia fell to the ground in a heap, gasping for air as her vision blurred the fight ensuing before her. She whimpered, however, when she saw Thunder finally rear his fist back, knocking Night out cold.
"Looks like your little hero's down for the count. Now, where was I?" Thunder chuckled, cracking his knuckles as he approached Ambrosia.
Rosemary was getting some snacks for herself, munching away when she heard low giggling near her. She turned, noticing some girls snickering at her. "Hey, what's so funny?" She asked.
"She's not just fat, but stupid too." One girl laughed.
"You actually think that Night likes you? He only took you to appeal to your cousin. He wants nothing to do with you!"
"Hey, that's not true!" Rosemary shouted. "Night thinks I'm amazing."
The girls burst out in laughter. "Are you dense? He has a thing for Ambrosia, not you!"
"You're lying!" Rosemary began to become upset.
"Hm... notice he's still gone, and so is she?" One of the girls motioned to the dance floor, smirking.
"That's-... Ambrosia would never hurt me like that!"
"Maybe she finally figured out you're good for nothing." Another girl said, the group laughing as Rosemary's bottom lip began to tremble.
As Chase sighed to himself, he glanced over, noticing some commotion going on by the snack table. He rose a brow, blinking when he saw Rosemary moving away from the group of girls quickly in tears. He straightened up, his back separating from the wall as he followed her. Once in the hallway, he followed the sound of her sobbing, frowning upon seeing her hugging her knees, hiding her face.
"What happened? Are you okay?" He asked.
"Does it LOOK like I'm okay?!" She snapped. "Just go away and leave me alone!"
"Hey... come on, don't listen to those stupid girls. I'm sure whatever they said isn't true." He said.
"You're wrong." She said bitterly. "Ambrosia stole MY date. I'll never, ever forgive her! I can't believe she would hurt me like this!"
"Woah, hang on a second. Ambrosia would never do that." Chase replied.
"Well, Night's gone and so is she, so what else could be going on, huh?!" Rosemary exclaimed.
Chase looked up, narrowing his eyes. "I don't know, but I'm going to find out."
"Don't bother. Even if it wasn't Ambrosia... I get it, okay?" Rosemary wept.
"Get what?" Chase asked.
"Stop being so stupid!" She shouted. "I know that I'm fat and ugly, okay?! No guy is ever going to want me! I always make excuses hoping that someday it'll be true, but it won't! Ambrosia and Jasmine are pretty and I'm hideous!"
Chase narrowed his eyes, pursing his lip for a second as he reached out, taking her hand. "Now you listen to me." He said with a serious tone, Rosemary looking up in surprise. "I get the same deal all the time too. I'm too short, I've got too many freckles, this, that, whatever. But you know what? At the end of the day, they're the ugly ones. Everything they say is ugly. Rosemary, I think you're probably really nice deep down, but you never get a chance to be because everyone else is mean to you. You may not like me, but I think you're really funny, and smart too... a lot smarter than me." He looked down for a moment. "And... if they don't appreciate you, then-... then they're the losers, because-... because they're just missing out on someone as great as you."
Rosemary had fallen silent, staring at Chase for several moments. He half expected her to beat him upside his head, but surprisingly, she didn't. Her tear-stained face slowly formed into a soft smile, sniffling a bit as she wiped her moist cheeks with the back of her hand. "You mean that?" She asked quietly.
"Well, yeah. Yeah, I do." He nodded.
She sat up a bit straighter, looking at him for a moment. "Maybe... you're not so bad, either." She glanced to the side. "And... maybe I have been a bit harsh. B- But it's not my fault! I was just... testing you. Yeah, it was all a test. And you passed." She crossed her arms. "But I'm still keeping an eye out on you. One slip up, and it's all over, pal."
Chase chuckled lightly. "I'll try to be careful. And if I screw up, I'll totally make up for it."
Rosemary nodded, pursing her lip. "So... I guess we're dating now, huh?"
"Uh, dating? You want to date me? I'll definitely date you, if you want." Chase replied.
"Yeah. Like I said, one slip up, and you're done for." Rosemary said.
"Yes, I have a girlfriend!" He fist pumped the air, hopping to his feet to jump in the air. "I promise, I'll be the best boyfriend ever!"
"You better be. You can start by helping me up and escorting me back inside to dance." Rosemary said.
"Roger that!" He beamed, taking her hands to help her to her feet, holding her hand as they made their way back inside the gym.
Kara smiled, sticking close to Viktor. They had taken a short break to get some snacks. "Are you having fun?"
"Hm? Oh, yes." He smiled. "And you?"
"Yeah..." Kara munched on a cracker. "Viktor, are you okay? You seem distracted."
"Forgive me, I... was just admiring the general splendor. The scenic backdrop you helped is beautiful. Although... I suppose I can't be surprised." He said.
Kara put a gentle arm around him, sighing contently. "I guess I just have a lot of inspiration." She shrugged. Viktor cleared his throat, quietly nibbling on a cracker. "Hey, come on, you don't have to be nervous. It's just me."
"You have no idea..." Viktor replied, his eyes wandering around the room.
Ambrosia began to see spots, Thunder's face being clouded by them as her hands helplessly tried to pry his hand away from her throat. Night groaned, coming to as he sat up. He looked over, hissing as he quietly got to his feet. He saw that Ambrosia was being strangled, grabbing his phone and limping to the other side of the building. "Come on, someone's got to have his number... got it." He said to himself, pressing the button to make a call.
Wind nodded his head a bit to hard rock blasting in his headphones, reclined in his room. It was a bit disheveled, not that he really cared. His music was interrupted when he was alerted of an incoming call, blinking before rolling his eyes. "Not in my contacts, not interested." He said, swiping the red button to hang up.
Night swore under his breath. "Damn it, don't hang up on me." He called again, gritting his teeth.
Wind stared at his phone flatly, growling lowly as his thumb firmly hit the answer button. "Who are you and what the fuck do you want?"
"Wind. You've got to get to the school, and fast. I'm not kidding-"
"Night? You've got twenty seconds to give me a damn good reason that you're wasting my time, or I'm going to go up there and beat the shit out of you." Wind snapped.
"Look, I don't know how this happened, and trust me, you're the LAST person I want to call. Your brother is here, and he's got Ambrosia. I tried to fend him off, but he's about ready to break Ambrosia's neck- hello? Damn that son of a-" He hissed, shoving his phone in his pocket.
Meanwhile, Wildfire chuckled as she danced with Arsenik, surprised that he was actually relaxing a bit. "See? I'm not so bad, am I?"
"In what sense of the word are you questioning, Wildfire?" Arsenik rose a brow, and she laughed.
"Come on. I know a part of you likes it. Maybe if we hang out more, you could rub off on me and make me a goodie two shoes, or I could rub off on you and help you live a little. Or... we could just rub off on each other and call it a day." Wildfire shrugged.
Arsenik stared at her flatly. "Why must you always be so crass?"
"Why can't you just accept me for who I am?" Wildfire asked.
"I do accept who you are. It doesn't mean I enjoy it." He said, and Wildfire scowled then.
"You know what, Arsenik? Maybe I don't 'enjoy' who you are either. You're shallow. But you know what? I didn't care about that. Maybe if you actually put some damn effort into someone other than that wall flower, I could be less edgy. You only like Ambrosia because she's pretty. Her personality is so flat that even a sheet of paper is more interesting. But, you keep pushing me away, Arsenik. Maybe then we'll both be happy." She turned, noticing Brooks was taking a break from dancing. Before she could get to her, however, she felt Arsenik take her hand, and she yanked it away from him. "No. Screw off. You're just going to apologize to make yourself feel better."
Arsenik sighed. "Wildfire, no. I'm being immature. I know... that you've always felt very strongly for me, and for multiple reasons. I do have many fond memories from our childhood. It's just disappointing to see you lash out at others. Ambrosia... she doesn't deserve ill-treatment-"
"No. Keep living in your little fantasy world. Let me know how that works for you. You're the one who's 'disappointing.' After this school year is over, I'm going places. Who knows? Maybe I'll even cross the horizon, disappear into the sun or something. Maybe I'll end up six feet under. Wherever I end up, though, I'm leaving all of you behind." Arsenik furrowed his brows, quiet as she spoke. He did not realize just how much pain Wildfire had in her fierce heart until this moment. "You were a dream, Arsenik. My dream. But it's time for me to wake up." She said, turning to walk away from him.
Night was about to reenter the school when he heard tires screeching, Wind nearly crashing into the fence as he slammed on his breaks, the car nearly going into a tail spin as he threw the gear into park. He flew out of the car, Thunder whirling around as he dropped Ambrosia to the ground.
"Well look who it is? My little brother's having a tantrum over his toothpick." Thunder laughed as Wind stormed up to him, growling as he tackled Thunder to the ground. Thunder hissed, kicking his stomach to get him off. Wind was on a rampage, however, snarling as he hopped back up, shoving Thunder back before sucker punching him once, twice, three times. He grabbed his shoulders, yanking him up only to slam him against the ground repeatedly, before yanking him up one final time. Thunder gave him a cold stare as blood ran down his face, not even having a chance to defend himself.
"You can do whatever you want to me. I get that I'm shit on the bottom your shoe to you. I don't give a fuck about that. But if you ever even look at her again, lay one finger on her again, even speak her name, I will end your miserable life." He growled before shoving him back once more, knocking him out. He then got to his feet, catching his breath as his exhalations were visible upon the air. "Von Ignoramus." He glanced over at Night. "Get him out of here."
Night scoffed. "For once, you're suggesting something good." He went over, hoisting Thunder up to drag him away.
"Asshole." Wind muttered under his breath. He then turned to Ambrosia, approaching her. "Hey. Come on, it's safe now." He said as he crouched down, offering his hand. She took it, and he sighed as he tried to dust her off, seeing the bruises already forming on her neck. "Damn you Ambrosia, I told you to stay away from me. I told you not to get involved. Now get back inside before you freeze."
"It's alright now, Wind. I'm alright now, because of you." She smiled. "And for what it's worth..." She smiled, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek "... I know I have someone who is always looking out for me." She said before going to the doors. She glanced back at him once before slipping inside, and he sighed with relief when she disappeared from sight, shaking his head.
Meanwhile, Night returned to the building after moving Thunder away from school grounds. He hurried inside, approaching Wildfire. "It's done." He curled his lip. "She had the shit beat out of her, and so did I. I hope you're happy."
"Good. Now piss off." Wildfire shot a look at him. "Go patch up your pretty boy face." She said before biting her lip, looking around. She sighed then, finally spotting who she was looking for. "Viktor." She approached him, Kara smiling and waving as she approached. "I need to talk to you for a second. Kara, you mind?"
"Uh, no, that's fine. Is everything okay?" Kara asked.
"Yeah. Viktor, come on. You really need to hear this, otherwise-"
"Viktor." Arsenik approached hurriedly. "I'm going to look for Ambrosia. She's been gone for far too long and I'm beginning to worry."
Kara frowned. "Does she have her phone on her? Maybe Jasmine or Rosemary know where she is? Here, let me help you look."
"No, stay here. This is my fault, I should have not allowed her to leave my side. I will look for her." Arsenik said before hurrying out of the gym.
Kara furrowed her brows, exchanging a worried expression with Viktor. "Screw this, I'm not staying in here."
"K- Kara, perhaps we should do what Arsenik said." Viktor took her hand.
"Viktor, Ambrosia's our friend. I'm not just going to stand around here when she's missing." Kara replied.
"No, thank you... I wanted to have her be brought home, but she insists on staying so as to not 'ruin everyone's night.' I swear, she refuses to listen to me. I always tell her not to wander on her own." Jasmine said as Kara hugged her.
Just then, Chase and Arsenik entered the gym, each assisting Ambrosia. Rosemary followed them inside, having given Ambrosia a scarf to wear around her neck while it healed.
"Ambrosia!" Kara exclaimed, she and Viktor approaching her.
"Do not fret. I am alright." She said, smiling lightly. "Wind came to my aid as well as Arsenik and Chase."
"Sit her here." Arsenik said, Chase helping her as gently as possible. "Thank you, Chase... for your assistance."
"You're welcome." He cleared his throat, eyeing Arsenik warily.
"Ambrosia, please forgive me for neglecting you." Arsenik said, a lump in his throat. "If tragedy had befallen you... I could never live with myself." He said, squeezing her hand gently.
"Please don't feel badly, Arsenik... it was my mistake. You see, I had gone outside because Wildfire had told me that Wind had come to see me. In my haste, I-"
"Wait a minute. Wildfire said that Wind was waiting outside? But Thunder was the one that was there." Chase pursed his lip in thought.
"Chase actually has a point." Arsenik straightened up, glancing around as he tried to spot Wildfire. When he didn't see her, he began to put two and two together, feeling sick to his stomach. "I will get to the bottom of this." He stressed.
Just then, Barium went up to the podium, many of the students unaware of what happened to Ambrosia. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen." He chuckled when Bonnie joined his side, giggling. "It's time to announce the results of the Winter King and Queen polls." He moved over, Bonnie beaming as he allowed her to finish the announcement.
"The named King and Queen will come up to the stage to get their crowns and say something super nice to one another! It's so cute!" She winked. Barium opened the envelope, handing it to her to read. "So the Winter King and Queen are... Viktor and Kara!"
Amidst all the chaos, Kara did a double take, blinking. "Woah, what the hell?"
"Kara, please do not worry about me. Both of you, go receive your crowns!" Ambrosia said excitedly.
"Ambrosia, after what just happened, it's not really a great time to celebrate-"
"I insist. I have plenty of eyes watching me now. You and Viktor deserve it." She smiled.
"Kara. Come, let's not keep everyone waiting." Viktor said, ushering her in front. She felt a mix of emotions as she made her way to the front. As Viktor followed behind her, Wildfire tried to get his attention, swearing under her breath when he didn't see he As they reached the podium, she bit her lip.
"Shit." She swore under her breath. This was going to be painful to watch.
Oh dear, what could Wildfire be referring to? Is this going to be another "Carrie" story? Perhaps, perhaps not. I don't like to make carbon copies of things in my writing, but rather, take something I like and make something new from it.
Personally, both proms I went to were not the most enjoyable. For my senior prom, my date bailed on me two weeks before the event, and no one else wanted to go with me. I ended up being the fifth wheel. It was the cherry on my unpleasant school experience cake. The fact of the matter is, I cannot change the past, no one can. Bear that in mind as I prepare to conclude this story. It is also why I was not as much in the spotlight in this character. If this is my past, and I am stuck here, I cannot grow or develop. However, the other characters brought in are not stuck here. They were not a part of my past. They are from their own world where they can develop and grow, as well as the relationships between them. While that part of me will remain where it is, they can move on from it. This is a small hint of what is to come.
With that said, thank you for reading, and see you next time!