I don't own MR or any Disney songs mentioned
Fang
"Lupo?" I spoke her name quietly, knocking on her door a couple times to get her attention. The noise echoed down the hallway, but she refused to respond to me. Sighing, I grabbed the doorknob to barge my way in and make her eat ice cream and watch movies with me, when I realized something. The door was locked.
"Alright, if you don't open this door, I'm going to start singing a Disney song. And when I start singing this Disney song instead of using my angelic voice I'm going to sing so horribly out of tune your ears are going to bleed. I'll give you three seconds," I said cheerfully, rocking back and forth on my feet as I cleared my throat. I don't know if she actually expected me to count down or not, but I decided I'd just wait a few moments and then burst out into song.
"Alright, have it your way," I muttered and shrugged to the door that seemed to glare at me.
Do you wanna build a snowman,
Or ride our bikes around the hall?
I think some company is overdue
I've started-
"First of all," Lupo interrupted, yanking the door open with such force I thought it would come off its hinges. "that is not the first verse. Second of all, you sound like a dying cat continuously being run over by a train."
As Lupo spoke, putting a gory image in my mind, I pushed past her into her room and sat down on the bed on what I guessed was Iggy's side since the sheets were nicely tucked in. "And third of all, get out." The feisty wolf-girl growled, and had I not been clinically insane I might have done just that.
"Nah. Come on, me and you need to have some heart to heart. I brought ice cream, and there are rom-com movies peeking out of every crack in every room so we'll find one to cry over together," I added as Lupo sighed to herself and sat back down on the rumpled sheets on her side of the bed.
"Fang, I don't do the whole 'eat a tub of ice cream and sob over hot guys in movies' thing. Can you please get out so I can cry and keep my dignity?" Lupo asked, her eyes pleading with me as her tear-stained face struggled to keep its composure. I could tell she was broken beyond repair just looking at her, but I didn't want to leave her alone. I'd rather risk stepping on a broken shard of glass than just leave her to try and re-assemble herself.
"Listen Lupo, you're my friend whether you like it or not. And because of that I'm not just going to leave you to cry and hug a pillow for the rest of the night. You can talk to me, you can trust me. I'm never going to betray you in any way, and I know that's hard to believe considering you have to deal with that bastard you're in love with, but you have to because me, and Max, and Ari, we're all you've got right now."
For a long moment Lupo just stared at me, her lip quivering as she struggled to hold back her tears. Her shoulders shaking with the silent sobs that threatened to overtake her. I set the ice cream down on the nightstand along with the spoons and watched her cautiously, waiting for her to yell at me to get out. Of course I wouldn't listen, and she'd probably pummel me like she was about to do with Nudge, but I wouldn't mind.
Finally, she made a move towards me that caused me to cringe in fear because I was expecting to gain a black eye in the next few moments or a broken bone. Which is why I was so surprised when her arms secured themselves around my waist and she buried her face in my chest, the last of her restraint crumbling to pieces as she began to sob into my shirt.
"Shh, I've got you, I'm gonna take care of you," I whispered in her ear, pulling her onto my lap and holding her in my arms. She was like a child in a way, with her thoughtless actions and short temper that drained into tears. It almost made me think about my problems, and how depressed I was, but I quickly pushed those thoughts into a vault and sealed them away for another time and place. Right now this was about Lupo. I needed to be able to take her pain away, now throw my own onto her pile.
"I'm… s- so… mad," Lupo stuttered out, sniffling as she held me tighter.
"I know. Don't worry, well get him back. I promise you we're going to make him pay." I assured, pressing my lips against the top of her head. "It's-" I stopped myself, refraining from saying it's okay, because it wasn't. It never will be okay. It's a stupid thing to say in situations like this and I wouldn't dare shove that kind of lie onto Lupo. It wasn't fair to her.
"You'll be okay," I decided was a valid thing to say. Sure the girl in my arms had been through hell and back, but so had I. And if I could make it she definitely could. Everybody here was stronger than me by a landslide. They were all more mentally prepared and emotionally stable. It was easier for them. Even for Lupo, though it didn't seem like that.
"You say that like it's the truth," she spoke bitterly, looking up to me with her golden eyes glinting with tears. Inside of her irises swirled a world of sorrow, pain, depression, and even deeper down the happiness she craved. The strength she wanted- no, needed back.
"It is. If I can get my crap together and still come out smiling then I'm for sure you will. You might just be the toughest chick around."
"Really? Even more than your precious Ring Master?" I almost fell back off the bed as Lupo spoke those words like a plague. She sounded so vicious and resentful I almost had to question how her and Max could be best friends.
"D- don't say th- that. Max doesn't tr- treat me like an animal." I stuttered out, genuinely shocked by her words. I wasn't exactly angry with her though; we all had our moments when Max became an irritation, and I guess right now Max seemed to be living the high life compared to Lupo.
"Of course not," Lupo scoffed, shaking her head and looking down at the bed sheets. She tried to pull out of our embrace but I held her right where she was. Lupo looked up at me and glared, but it didn't quite work the magic she wanted it to because I didn't let her go. Seeing as she wouldn't get anywhere, Lupo let out a breath of air and rested her forehead on my chest. "Sorry I guess, I'm just… jealous. She's living on a throne while I'm stuck at the bottom of the pyramid."
"The bottom of the pyramid is where the best people go," I said seriously, running my fingers through her hair to soothe her. "It's where the strongest and the loyal belong. And Max most definitely isn't on the throne; that would be me." I added jokingly, and could just see the corners of Lupo's mouth turn up in a smile.
"And I don't see why you need to be jealous of Max. I'm a horrible boyfriend. And she's childless too, ya know. I guess in a way karma came back for us with that. I don't know how but-"
"What?" Lupo snapped, effectively pouncing off of me. "What do you mean childless! She's pregnant!"
"Oh… Iggy didn't tell you?"
"He was too busy with his slut to tell me anything." Lupo growled, and I watched her golden eyes tremble with fury.
"Loops, calm down, don't-"
"Don't you dare tell me to calm down, Fang. You've never been cheated on before. You don't know how I feel, and you won't ever know how I feel because the only person stupid enough to love Max is you." Lupo spat and I stumbled back off the bed in hurt. I knew Lupo didn't mean it. I knew she was just angry, but at the same time I felt like I was losing a battle. I was going down in flames. She was ripping me apart and she hadn't even laid a finger on me. My insecurities were drowning me.
"So I'm stupid, huh?" I asked quietly, and immediately watched as her anger faded into something like regret. "Well, I'm sorry you're stuck being around me. I must be like the dirt on your shoe, huh?" I growled, getting to my feet. "I'll just leave. Deal with your screwed-up life on your own."
"No. Fang wait!" Lupo exclaimed, dashing off the bed to catch up with me. She grabbed my arm and held me in place, a pleading look in her eyes. "I… um, can we just watch that rom-com? And eat the ice cream?" She asked, and I instantly felt my anger slip away. How could I stay angry at any of my friends? Especially Lupo, who had just been thrown aside by Iggy. Lupo, the one who had felt more pain than all of us, probably. For a long moment I watched her look at me with tears in her eyes, begging me to stay mentally as she squeezed my arm.
I felt my scowl fade into a smile and I nodded, deciding I'd forget about her calling me stupid. It wasn't like it was actually a big deal anyways. I've been called way worse by people I thought were my friends. "Alright, let's get this tear-fest started."
"Fang, are you actually… crying?" Lupo asked, turning to me with amusement in her eyes as I openly sobbed my heart out.
"P- poor Ange- Angelica!" I exclaimed, pressing my face into a pillow as a hideous sound escaped my throat. In all honesty I was a sucker for these kind of movies, not that I would ever tell anybody that, but I was also over-exaggerating my sadness a little to make Lupo happy. I wanted to see her smile again. It had been two hours too long since I had last seen it.
"H- her br- brother's dying!" I turned to look at her, feeling the waterfalls falling down my face as my lip trembled. "I thought this was supposed to be a comedy," I shrieked, yes, shrieked, you read that right.
"Okay first of all, it's her dad that's dying; her brother's doing a mission in one of those Stan countries, and-"
"SHUT UP!" I yelled, turning back to the screen. "She's gonna confess her love to Joey and break up with Fred!"
"I think we're watching a Soap Opera, Fang." Lupo muttered, chuckling at me as I inched closer to the screen.
"Joey, I… I-"
"Don't say it Angelica. Don't. It wouldn't be fair to Fred,"
"WE DON'T CARE ABOUT FRED, JOEY! FOR GOD'S SAKES JUST LET HER LOVE YOU!" I shouted, squeezing the pillow in my arms tighter as Lupo laughed until she cried. It was nice to see new kinds of tears on her face. Tears of joy instead of tears of sorrow.
"But I don't love Fred, I love you,"
"YESSSSS! IT IS HAPPENING! MY BABY IS GETTING WITH THE HOT GUY INSTEAD OF FOUR EYES!"
"Um… Fang?
"yeah?"
"I think we need to turn it off." Lupo spoke up in amusement, and I regally threw my pillow at her before turning back to the television screen.
"Yes my preciouses, kiss. Love each other. Make babies." I said, and literally reached out to pet the screen; which I succeeded in, causing Lupo to laugh harder than she ever had before.
"Fang this… isn't… h- healthy," she got out in between fits of laughter, and I slowly turned to her with a straight face.
"No, Angelica's father isn't healthy," I spoke solemnly right before we both burst out into laughter. It was nice for the both of us to get our mind off things and have a laugh while we were stuck in a world between reality and fantasy. Somewhere where no one else could interfere. Not even Max or Iggy could ruin this. Not Jeb or any other whitecoats out there. This was our moment, our friendship soaring its flag as high as possible. This was us intertwining with each other and really understanding that we weren't just on the same team, we were on the same level.
As our laughter began to die down Lupo rested her head on my shoulder, squeezing between my arm and side to snuggle close to me. I smiled to myself, glad to forget about all the painful stuff. When I looked at Lupo I just saw a sister who was fun to be around. Who I cared about. I didn't see my dead unborn child, I didn't see hate, I didn't see a quiet longing to be loved. I just saw Lupo. It was nice. My own little break from life.
"I'm sorry," she spoke quietly, coming out of nowhere with the apology that brought her once happy face back to sorrow.
"What? Why?" I asked, looking down at the girl before me. It was incredible. She was completely and utterly vulnerable right here with me, willingly telling me her feelings and thoughts and trusting me with them. It was almost as if she wasn't just telling me her secrets, but I actually was her secret.
"I shouldn't have snapped at you. It was wrong of me. You, you're such an amazing person, Fang. Your kind, caring, handsome, intelligent. You're this bundle of joy I don't think I could survive without. I feel awful for getting so angry. I didn't mean it, I hope you know that. I just… first I lost my baby, and now I've lost Iggy, and I just… I don't know. I thought Christmas was when you gained something, not when you lost it." Lupo explained, tears streaming down her face.
"Hey, look at me, Sweetheart," I spoke up, tilting her chin up and swiping the tears away with my thumbs as I held her face in my hands. "You did gain something. You gained me, didn't you? We've officially leveled up to besties for the resties so that was a gain. And, and my present to you! I almost forgot, that'll be a gain! And… and Iggy has stupid hair anyways and who likes guys with stupid hair, right?" I added jokingly, causing a watery smile to cross over her face.
"Yeah… Fang?" Lupo said after a moment.
"Yes?" I asked, looking down at the girl sitting in front of me. She seemed unsure of her next words, like she felt they were wrong. Like she shouldn't say them.
"I'm still in love with him. Is that a bad thing?" Lupo looked up at me curiously, hurt shining in her eyes brighter than the sun itself.
"No, it's not. Love is a beautiful and tragic thing. This is just the tragic part. I bet he feels horrible. You guys are totally broken right now, but a little duct tape and TLC will fix you right up," I said and even though my tone was light, my intent was serious. "I don't know why Igford did such an idiotic thing. Maybe he was just feeling neglected; not that that makes it right of course," I added quickly so she wouldn't think I was defending him. I watched as her cheeks heated up at the mention of 'neglect', and realized that was some of the reason they broke up the first time.
"Are you saying I should just forgive and forget?" Lupo asked, and although she sounded slightly angered, she also sounded hopeful. At that moment I realized how much she was leaning on me, not just physically, but emotionally. She would take my advice and follow it wholeheartedly.
"No. I'm going to tell you something I learned a year before I met Max. I had this girlfriend that I was madly in love with. Looking back I kinda cringe at how clingy and lovey I was, but I just thought she was the one. Her name was Tessa. About six months into our relationship we decided to go clubbing, and yes we got the fake ID's and everything. I drove us home dead drunk, and managed to get about ten miles before I drove both of us over a bridge. I don't know how I got out; maybe my window was down or something, but I never got to her in time. She died because of my drunk driving. My Dad never really hit me hard before that night. I came home sobbing and what did he do? He slapped me a few times, threw a few punches, and grounded me. Never said a thing about it again."
"I bet you regret it every day, don't you?" Lupo asked quietly, entwining our fingers together and squeezing my hand tightly for reassurance. She's felt the pain of loss. She understood. Lupo knew just what I needed.
"Actually I don't, which brings me to the point of my speech. I can't let something I did consume me and make myself suffer for the rest of my life. Sometimes you just have to know what you did- in this case what someone did to you- accept that it happened, and move on. It's easier said than done, believe me, I know, but it gets better. I know it'll be hard for you to trust him again, and that's something he'll have to earn back. Along with your love and cheerfulness and all that good stuff, but sometimes the worst punishment for someone is being forgiven. I'm not saying that just so you do forgive him right off the bat, but- well, I just think you shouldn't dwell on the fact that he did this. Punish him and be done with it, I guess is what I'm trying to say, because if you hold this over his head he'll be going through hell for the rest of his life. Most girls don't understand this, but a good fifty percent of the male population cheats because they can't help themselves, and then seriously regret it. When they say sorry, they mean it. When they say it's a one time thing; they mean it. Now, there are those jerks who are basic sex addicts and get bored with the same person easily, but Iggy's not one of those people," I explained watching as Lupo soaked in every word and clicked them all together in an attempt to make sense of my monologue.
"I get it. I guess you're right." Lupo sighed and leaned in on me even more than before if that was possible, and I laid back, pulling her with me so we could stare up at the ceiling together.
"I know I'm right," I chuckled as she rested her head on my chest once more. I reached for the remote and flipped the television onto the comedy channel so we could watch stand-up together and laugh till we cried. "Why don't you get some rest? I'll stick around to whisper cheesy inspirational lines into your ear while you sleep,"
Lupo laughed and closed her eyes as I pulled a blanket over us. "Whatever you say, Prince. Just don't molest me or something because then I'd have to kill you and eat your soul."
"Well I don't have a soul,"
"Then I would eat your heart," Lupo countered and I smirked.
"It's black. Like my soul would be. If I had one," I said and she just glanced up at me to roll her eyes before slowly drifting to sleep to the sound of a comedian and my faithful words of encouragement.
"If you can dream it, you can do it," I whispered in Lupo's ear, causing her to sigh.
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."
"Be yourself."
"It's what's on the inside that-" I started, and was promptly smacked in the face with a pillow.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS LANG OR FUPO OR WHATEVER YOU SHIPPERS CALL IT! IT DOES NOT EXIST. THEY ARE JUST FRIENDS
With that being said I'm super excited because 1) I got 10 reviews and 2) this story is almost at six hundred reviews.
PLEASE LET ME GET 10 REVIEWS AGAIN
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IMPORTANT P.S. Go read Me and God Love Her one of my favorite stories by MPHknows. She's an amazing author.
