The days had passed and it was time for the first bookball game. Ally put behind the suspicious behaviors of Matt and Derek and focused on her image. She had practiced with her mother yesterday and felt ready. Even though it wasn't in discussion, Ally could tell her mother was focusing on something. She wondered if she knew about Donna's part in the fire, or if the matter was dropped. Ally didn't bother to ask, she decided to drop the matter herself. If she were to win, she would have to focus.
Ally didn't try to watch Matt sit alone at his table. She glanced his way once to see his eyes trained on something in the distance. She tried to meet his gaze, but nothing was there but the usual students. Then she saw Donna. Her dark hair and makeup still prominent in her appearance. Ally looked back at Matt, and a sad feeling washed over her again.
He did agree to her campaign designer, but he still seemed unhappy. She wondered what had happened between he and Donna. They had gotten close very quickly. Donna had a connection with him different from the rest of the group. At first, Ally had thought they liked each other, but then Matt had taken some interest in Molly, before she left him. Was this new sadness caused from regret? Maybe. But what would he regret. Nothing was his fault. Was it?
Ally was surprised when someone stepped in front of her. She looked up to see Derek was wearing his new black player jacket. Hyde and Cassidy were wearing their own, but Derek's had red sleeves, while the others were purple. This symbolized his lead position. "Ally," he sat down next to her. She moved a little closer to Ryder to make room for him.
"Hi Derek," Ally grinned. She couldn't help but feel butterflies flutter in her stomach a little. The girl's old feelings for him were beginning to resurface. Ally didn't know if it was good for her, but she wasn't in control of her feelings.
"I wrote up a little something for tonight," he took out a sheet of paper,"I practiced it too. It won't take much time, but I think that I should say a little more then one sentence." Ally looked down a the sheet. She could see his lovely handwriting through the back of the page. Surely he had gotten it from his mother. Only that kind of penmanship could come from her creative spirit.
"Wow," Ally was impressed,"I'm touched that you would do I read it?" Ally tried to take it from him, but he quickly took it back and folded it. She raised an eyebrow as he laughed and put it back inside his coat pocket. His blue eyes landed back on her as he matched her raised eyebrows.
"Its a surprise," Derek grinned as his eyebrows lowered. Ally's face relaxed as she gazed at him Something about his calm expressions made the butterflies come alive. It was a few moments of staring before Ally caught herself.
"Great," she adjusted her blue glasses,"I'll see you tonight then."
"You'll see my parents too," Derek leaned back,"Didn't your mom tell you? She was very excited when I told her they were coming tonight."
"No," Ally wondered if this was why her mother was distant yesterday. "She didn't. Well i'm sure they're excited for you. Lily too?" She liked Lily. She wasn't much younger, but Ally felt like she was a baby compared to them.
"I think so," Derek nodded,"Anyway, I'll see you tonight. Good luck with your speech."
"Good luck with the game," Ally said as he got up. He looked back at her and nodded before turning. Derek walked all the way to Matt's table and sat with him. He snapped in Matt's face to make him pay attention to him.
"Ally," Cassidy reached across the table and nudged her arm. "You're talking to Derek again?"
"Yeah," Ally said with a smile,"I told you about him supporting my campaign. He's even taking a little time to write his own speech."
"Oh," Hyde raised an eyebrow,"Only a little." He, Ryder, and Brandon all laughed a little.
"What?" Catherine asked Ryder.
"He's been up late for the past two night working on that," Ryder told them. Ally's cheeks began to heat up. He spent all that time for her. It was also for his own image of being involved in school activities. But it was for her campaign.
"It looks like he's supporting more then the campaign" Brandon shrugged. There was a little laugh from the table.
"You interested?" Cassidy asked.
"I don't know," Ally lied. She did know. He was always on her mind, in some place. Weather it was right in front of her mind or in the back, he was there. Ever since he had taken care of her when she hurt her foot, there was something there Ally had always longed for. A protector. "I'm going to practice my speech." She got up and left to avoid the situation she was put in.
It was time for the game to begin. Ally sat on a different side of the stand then the usual. Catherine, Ryder, and Brandon all joined her. She had to be near the stage at the end of the field, for her halftime speech. The night was awfully cold, but almost everyone from school attended. Ally spotted Matt getting up into the stands near them.
"Matt!" Ally called without thinking. He turned to where her yell came from. She waved him over and soon enough, he sat down with them.
"What are you doing?" Brandon asked quietly before Matt sat next to Ally.
"Hi!" Ally smiled brightly,"Hopefully we didn't pull you away from anyone. I thought your input on the game would be quite interesting to hear." Ally tried making up an excuse for inviting him over.
"Why would my input would be interesting?" Matt got defensive again. "I barely know what's going on half the time."
"Well you're still fun to have around," Ally acted quickly. She didn't want anyone to get suspicious. She wanted to keep a close eye on him and his sneaking around lately. "You know Ryder and Brandon?" Matt turned and nodded to the boys sitting behind them.
"Yeah I've talked to Ryder," Matt talked to Catherine,"But you and Brandon are siblings." Catherine nodded before leaning back and using Ryder as a back rest. Ally took the slight grin from Matt's face as a indication that he was just trying to make conversation. He knew everything and everyone in the group, but he knew this from afar.
Ally looked back to see her mother and father with Derek's parents up in the announcement booth. They were laughing as they kept their conversation going. The grin on Lizzie's lips made Ally think of how much Derek resembled his mother. Both in looks and manner. Lily wasn't in sight, but she was sure the young girl was around. "So," Ally turned back around,"You going to cheer the loudest after I make my speech?"
"What campaign artist would I be if I didn't cheer for the candidate?" Matt laughed a little.
"Not a good one," Ally crossed her legs as she fixed her scarf. He reached up to fix her glasses but forgot that she had put contacts in for the special occasion. She felt like a different person without glasses, but she wanted to look her best. Music blared from the speakers as the Ever After High players ran onto the field. Everyone cheered loudly. The Wonderland High team then ran, and the other side of the stadium cheered. "You should really be cheering on that side," Ally nudged Matt. He laughed a little. "Why didn't you go there?"
"I never felt like I belonged over there," Matt shrugged,"I was only there for a few weeks, but.. I don't know. I felt to sane to be there."
"But you're mother?" Ally raised an eyebrow.
Mat laughed again. "I know, she's a little off the deep. I'm more like my father. Serious and wise. Although, sometimes I'll yell in riddlish if I'm mad enough." Ally grinned at this. She liked being able to joke with Matt. It made her feel like she was with Donna.
Ever After kicked off. Over all, Wonderland had the best defense, but Ever After managed to get points. Ally cheered extra loud when Derek threw the book to Cassidy and she ran quickly down to the end zone. Derek was doing well as quarterback. He made pretty good moves to get past Wonderland defenses. Ally felt better cheering for him now that she knew that he didn't despise her and maybe liked her.
In the second quarter, Ally began to get nervous about her speech. She thought about her mother's great way of speaking in front of crowds and it kept her calm. She didn't watch the game much as she studied the stands. She hoped that many would vote for her after this. With Derek's endorsement, the sports fans would be in favor of her.
"Cassidy," Catherine gasped. The blow of the whistle made Ally look back onto the field. She was on the ground, another player from the Wonderland school was on top of her. They were fighting. One rolled over the other. The players didn't notice, they were beginning to reset. Cassidy's helmet was off rolled off as the Wonderland player pinned her down by his knees. As her face was hit with the other player's fist, Ally gasped, along with the rest of the crowd.
There was a scream of pain before a growl. Ally was afraid what would happen. Cassidy was part wolf, she had many strengths. More whistles blew as the players noticed what was happening. Before the Wonderland player could get in another strike, he was knocked off her by Hyde. He rolled around with the player, but then Hyde got up on to his feet.
Cassidy remained to lay on the ground. Hyde bent down to try and help her up. The Wonderland player took off his helmet. From here, Ally couldn't see any distinct features about the player, other than he was angered. Derek ran over to him before holding him back from lunging at Cassidy again. "This is a man's sport! Go find your own!" The player shouted as his own team members escorted him off the field.
Ally was surprised she could hear what he yelled, but the whole arena was silent. You could hear a pin drop. Derek watched the player go all the way to his side before turning to where Cassidy lay. Hyde had propped up her head and pushed her hair off her forehead. For a moment, Ally thought she was unconscious. Suddenly, he hand grabbed Hyde's and Derek's before the two lifted her to her feet. Ally noticed her own mother was down on the field as Cassidy stumbled around. Everyone clapped when Hyde and Derek got her off the field successfully.
The game reset, and Hyde was forced back onto the field. Cassidy sat with the nurse and Apple as the game continued to finish out the first half. Wonderland had tied up the score now that Cassidy had been taken out. It was an even 24 to 24. No one really cheered though. Everyone had seemed to be shocked about the previous events.
It was time. People began to cheer for the end of the half. Derek was making his way to the stage. Ally stood as the others wished her luck. She held onto their words. She needed it. Ally walked down to the stage as Derek walked up the steps to the stage's side. She stopped on the other side, out of sight. She would make her grand entrance after being introduced.
"Let's give it up for the teams that have played hard in the first half of tonight's game!" Apple stood at the podium. Ally glanced at her mother before looking at her own picture on the banners. They almost looked identical. Ally shook her head to get this out of her mind. She didn't like to think of how her mother was making her live the same life as she did. "Now to kick off the presidential race in our student body, our own star player Derek has some words he would like to say!"
Apple began to clap along with everyone else as Derek came onto the stage. He nodded at Apple as she passed him. Before getting onto the podium, Derek glanced at Ally, and winked. This brought something alive in Ally. The butterflies in her stomach.
Derek ran his fingers through his sweaty hair as the applause died down. "Thank you," he cut off the cheers as he said this into the microphone,"But I am not the one who needs your support now. Yes, I may be the quarterback in tonight's games, but there's more to our school then games. Ally White is running for this years student body president. You may ask yourself, what would you want to be changed about school? Then ask, how could I get this idea into motion? Me, just one student. Well, Ally can help with that. She will be the voice of the students. Its all for you. She is a trust worthy, strong minded, beautiful girl who has what it takes to be in office. Vote for Ally this coming election, for your voice to be heard. I know I will."
His blue eyes looked over to where Ally was standing still. She was shocked that he had put that much thought into his words. He had known what she was running for. She felt as if she didn't need to say anything more, but she had to. After a grin from Derek, Ally walked onto the stage where many people clapped. She stood up onto the podium where Derek still stood.
Suddenly she was wrapped into a tight embrace. Ally was caught off guard, but this had felt familiar. It was too quick to recognize. He stepped off the podium and stood to the side of where Ally was. Ally looked up into the crowd. She had almost forgotten they were in front of so many. She took a deep breath before putting on a smile. She had to say something.
"Hi," Ally tried to think of what to say,"Derek was quite right when he said that I'll be the voice for the students here at Ever After High. I will try my best to communicate and listen to every-" The booming noise silenced everyone.
Clouds covered the standing lights. It was completely dark. Ally held on tight to the podium as purple flames shot up from different places of the field. The fire ran around, catching the grass on a blaze. Screams echoed as Ally looked up into the stands of people. Everyone was running to take cover. The players on the field did their best to dodge the fire that bursts up into the dark sky.
Purple lightning flashes as the dark clouds circle overhead. Ally looked up to see they formed into a shape of two eyes. Everything seemed familiar. Those eyes looked like the only girl Ally didn't want to think about. Donna. She kept her eyes on the lightning and didn't even notice the fire balls shooting at the stage. When Ally noticed, it was too late.
Before the fire ball could hit, Ally was knocked to the ground. Derek held her close on the stage floor as three fireballs hit. Ally watched the podium explode and the banners catching fire. Ally gasped. She was petrified. Her body felt as if it was paralyzed. Derek still had his arms around her when another ball crashed down on the floor of the stage.
The floor began to concave. Ally could feel her and Derek's bodies slowly sliding down to the pit of fire. Ally could feel Derek picking her up before he feet hit the ground. Together, they ran up the slope and off of the stage. She felt his hand slip into hers as they ran onto the flaming field. It was the only way out. The screams weren't as loud as they were before. Ally hoped everyone was getting to safety, that her mother was safe.
Ally turned back towards the burning stage. "MOM!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Derek pulled Ally along. She started to hear a dark laugh echoing around the field.
"She'll be alright!" Derek turned her back to the field,"We have to get out of here!" Ally nodded before they started running. Ally looked up at the black sky and the lightning eyes. They were looking down at her. Suddenly she started looking around. Where could Donna be? She had to be the one causing this.
When they were in the middle of the field, that's when Ally saw her. Donna was standing in a circle of flames with her hands lifted. She was facing away from Ally and Derek. They kept getting closer. Derek didn't seem to see Donna, but Ally did. Without giving much thought, Ally jerked her hand out of Derek's and head straight for Donna.
Everything went silent in Ally's ears. All she could hear was her own heartbeat and breathing. There was nothing stopping her. Everything felt as if it were in slow motion. Derek was chasing after her, but fire made hit stop and lag behind. Ally was getting close. She jumped over the ring of fire and lunged at Donna.
She knocked Donna down onto the ground. The two girls rolled a little, but Ally pinned Donna down. Her violet eyes looked up at Ally with surprise. Ally glared down at her as Donna grinned and her body vanished in thin air.