To abbi aka fangirl: Thanks for stating your opinion in a respectful way! I usually just try to make my paragraphs semi-long because one of my biggest pet peeves in fanfiction is when the writer writes a single line of dialogue or action without any further description. But I see what you mean.
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read my story!
"You know, I can see why you like this," remarked Cinder from behind Scarlet. Cold, blustery wind buffeted their faces as they zoomed down the country lane toward the far-off skyline. Scarlet shivered, wishing she was wearing something more than a tank top and her well-worn red sweatshirt. Cinder seemed unaffected, throwing back her head with a loud whoop as Scarlet cranked the acceleration. Her pride and joy, the motorcycle was. Roaring, snarling, and pumping fumes, the vehicle was a true beauty. Not fake-beautiful like Levana or delicate-beautiful like Cress. Fierce, proud, and bold. Just like Scarlet.
As they headed toward the school, Cinder kept up a relentless stream of chatter. Pointless chatter, about who was taking who to the SnowBall and whatever. That was Scarlet's first clue that something was not all right.
"Hey, I keep meaning to ask," Scarlet said as she parked the motorcycle. The bright, almost garish red stood out among the rich kids' fancy cars painted the more desirable whites and blacks and chromes. Being able to race as fast as she could through the slower monstrosities that were cars felt like freedom. It was the perfect way to start her morning. "How's Peony? Kai told me you went to visit her yesterday."
For a fraction of a second, Cinder froze, so small of a change that someone who didn't know her as well wouldn't have noticed. Then she steamrollered on through the awkward moment, acting like nothing had happened. She didn't even acknowledge Scarlet's question.
That was the second sign.
Scarlet hurried after her friend through the halls, confused. Something seemed off with Cinder, but she couldn't tell what it was. Frowning, but deciding to ignore it for now, she went about the rest of the morning as usual.
Then at lunch, Cinder mysteriously turned deaf again when Cress asked jokingly if Pearl was mad about her part in the musical - the ugly stepsister. This caused Scarlet to say something about how similar Cinder's life was to Cinderella. "Adri's like the evil stepmother," she laughed. "Are you secretly a princess, Cinder?"
"And Pearl and Peony are the evil stepsisters!" quipped Cress.
"Except Peony's not evil," Winter interjected. They all laughed a little, but Cinder didn't even crack a smile.
"She's acting weird, isn't she," murmured Cress after the bell rang. Cress and Scarlet had P.E. in the gym, but Cinder had her engineering class in the forties wing and they parted ways in the courtyard. "Not like her to not join in on some Adri and Pearl bashing."
"I know," Scarlet said. "I hope nothing bad happened..."
But all worries about Cinder were driven from her mind after the events that took place that afternoon.
SnowBall fervor had taken over the school. Everyone was fussing about who would take who, what they would wear, who would hook up afterward. Scarlet was expecting it to be nothing special, your normal stupid school dance where someone spiked the punch and everyone just hung out with their friends the whole time. Nothing to fuss about.
Cress was dying to go, and Winter was rather excited. That left Cinder and Scarlet the odd ones out, and they couldn't kill the mood for their friends. Reluctantly, Scarlet had agreed to go. "As long as I don't have to dance," she had said decisively.
"Oh, I think you'll be surprised," Cress told her with a gleam in her eye.
The two made their way across the grounds to the gym, which was one of Scarlet's least favorite classes. She got enough physical exercise lugging equipment around on the farm, and it just seemed like a waste of time to be running and doing push-ups when most kids were barely trying. The girls slumped into the gym expecting another boring, exhausting period. Before the teacher walked in, they were already changed and sitting on the floor, ready to start their sets. They weren't expecting Ms. Hedges, the coach, to come in wearing a dark scowl instead of her usual over-peppy grin.
Upon her entrance, all the kids who had previously been messing around immediately quieted. Ms. Hedges was all enthusiastic on the outside, but she was also a stickler for discipline and everyone knew she wouldn't hesitate to hand out detentions. Her crabby demeanor only made everyone tenser.
"Unfortunately," the young woman growled, "We will be taking a slight break from our usual workout routines. This year, our principal has decided - " she cast a glare at Kai as if his father's decisions were his fault " -That all students will be properly trained in dancing proceeding our famous SnowBall."
That was one of those moments when Scarlet really wished Cinder were there. She was the only one who could've understood her feelings of dread toward dancing - well, any kind of physical contact with someone who wasn't her grandmother, actually. Cress and the kids around them looked excited about that prospect.
"Now," said Ms. Hedges with a big sigh, "We have a guest." She waved toward the entrance as a woman burst through with a dramatic flourish, skirt swishing around her perfect hips like a model. Scarlet, sitting in the back, saw the jaws of some of the boys drops as they ogled the beautiful woman before them.
She was clearly older than them, but her face was still beautiful in that preserved kind of way where they haven't aged a bit since they stopped puberty. Her thin, pale face was sculpted perfectly, with sharp edges and softness in all the right places. Long dark lashes framed a pair of luminous eyes, deep and mysterious like the black waters of the sea illuminated in moonlight. Scarlet blinked, eyes sliding back into focus as she realized she had been staring at her in a trance. Something began nagging at her - the way the woman smiled warmly, but her eyes stayed emotionless and cold...
She knew who the woman was before she told them.
"I am Ms. Jannali Blackburn," she announced. No greeting or anything, just her name. Her voice, warm and cold at the same time, sharp and velvety, sucked them into a rapt, attentive state that teachers never achieved. "You probably know my daughters, Channary - she graduated, but she still helps with the musical - and Levana. Oh, hello there, Kaito!" Scarlet saw him flush red in the background. "Yes, Kaito is very friendly with my daughter.
"Recently, I was elected president of the school board, and I am ever so grateful. I have decided that this school needs a bit of a makeover. My children have told me all about some events that go on here, and I am determined to change them for the better. Starting with the SnowBall, of course. The first decision I have made is that attendance will be mandatory." There were a few groans and moans from the shyer kids who had been looking forward to a night of relaxing, and uninterested grunts from the popular cliques who went every year.
Cress was frowning beside Scarlet, that look in her eyes that indicated that she was thinking something important. "They can't do that," she hissed in Scarlet's ear, which confused her because she thought Cress had been excited to go. "Logistically and ethically - "
"You!" Ms. Blackburn suddenly called out. To their horror, she was looking directly at them.
"M - me?" Cress squeaked.
"Yes." The woman's tone was sneering and annoyed. "I was just wondering what you have to say that's so very important. Why don't you stand up and tell us?"
This woman was no better than any mean teacher Scarlet had had. Quaking from head to toe, Cress stood up. Scarlet internally begged her friend to not say anything offensive, but of course Cress, with her firm sense of justice, had to speak up.
"Ms. Blackburn, I was just saying it doesn't make sense to make attendance mandatory since I trust you will still be expecting everyone to pay for a ticket. I understand if you want everyone to go, but you can't make them pay. It's a balance scale, isn't it? When you pay for a ticket - costing you, benefiting the school - you get to go to the dance - benefiting you, costing the school. But if you force kids to go and force them to pay, it's like you're making them pay to be punished, which is ethically wrong. That's similar to the actions of tyrants in ancient times - "
"Little girl, clearly you don't understand anything we are aiming for," sneered Ms. Blackburn. "Now don't interrupt me unless you have something worthwhile to say." Cress silently slumped onto the floor and hid her face, but Scarlet could tell she was crying.
"As I was saying, Commonwealth High needs to be reformed. So much money goes into donating to the school, surely we should be more than the typical dirty public high school?" Some kids nodded enthusiastically. Scarlet could tell this woman was used to having to persuade crowds. "So this year, I seek to push this school above and beyond the standards set by lesser schools. We will be implementing new methods to make Commonwealth High the picture of sophistication and academic excellence it deserves to be - "
Scarlet zoned out as the lady continued spewing fancy words no one but Cress understood and yapping on and on about how terrible they were right now and how great they would become with her help. She only snapped back to attention when she started talking about the ball.
"I aim to turn the SnowBall into a more formal occasion, with proper dancing and music. Everyone will be expected to bring a date, behave themselves like gentlemen and ladies..."
After quite a bit more talking, someone struck up the nerve to ask a question after what happened to Cress. It was one of Levana's friends. "Will the tradition of voting for a Snow Queen and Ice King be kept?"
"Wonderful you ask, I was just getting to that," Ms. Blackburn smiled. "Other parents on the board have raised the question about keeping that since we don't want you children to be getting any ideas about popularity and cliques and things like that." Scarlet barely kept herself from cracking up. "I, who has final veto power, have decided to stick with it. After all, those kids who take extra effort to get dressed up and dance and have fun with friends should be rewarded." She beamed at the crowd of kids huddled next to Kai. "And the ones who don't..." Her gaze focused on Cress and Scarlet. "Should be punished."
Scarlet shivered. She suspected this woman was not someone to cross.
"Now, now!" Ms. Blackburn clapped her hands like a primary school teacher while Ms. Hedges glowered from the back. "Time for our first formal dancing session! Everyone pair up! No, no," she glared at some boys who were standing together, "Boy-girl. You need to learn to have proper respect for the opposite sex."
Cress and Scarlet awkwardly stood there, looking anywhere other than at the boys looking for a partner. Cress eventually ran off with someone from Robotics Club, leaving Scarlet alone. She desperately hoped there was an odd number in the class.
Nope. Turning around, she saw Ms. Blackburn prodding the only remaining boy toward her...
Wolf.
Of course.
He was usually so quiet, she had almost forgotten he was in the same class as her. He had practically melted into the shadows while Ms. Blackburn was talking. Scarlet tried desperately to think of some way out of this situation, but she withered under Ms. Blackburn's glare. Accepting her fate, she sidled over to Wolf and stood as far from him as she could without being yelled at.
She felt tingles all across her skin at standing with him for the first time in weeks. The air between them felt charged with tension. She was aware of every tiny movement he made, of the exact shade of piercing green his eyes were, and the outdoorsy smell of him that reminded her of the farm. She could tell he wanted to say something, but he held back.
Everything seemed sped up for a few minutes in which Scarlet could hardly focus on anything except for his presence beside her. One moment Ms. Blackburn was talking, and then slow music was tinkling through the room from a speaker, and suddenly the other pairs were holding each other's hands and shoulders. And then Scarlet and Wolf were the only ones still standing there while everyone else reluctantly slow danced. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Ms. Blackburn glaring at her.
Just as she couldn't bear the pressure growing between them anymore, Wolf grabbed her hands and pulled her into the crowd of other awkwardly shuffling couples. She assumed he hadn't been paying attention either because he was as clumsy and confused as her. She could feel his gaze burning into her, while she was looking anywhere but at him. That was the thing about Wolf. He didn't shy away. He didn't hide.
Scarlet found herself aware of how much shorter and slighter she was in comparison to him. She wasn't as thin as Cress or Cinder, but compared to Wolf's broad bulk she was little more than a dainty flower. Warmth seemed to emanate from his large, comforting body and she felt herself staring at the dip of his chin, where her head would fit perfectly. She noticed a scar there, a thin, jagged white line that had been revealed when his shirt shifted.
"Er...may I?" Wolf's voice murmured softly, a rumble in her ear. He tentatively placed his hands on her waist, holding her with fingers that were Scarlet would have described as 'rough' from being beat-up after years of street fighting but also 'gentle' from the way he touched her, tentatively, like he was afraid she would push him away and punch him at any second. Like him. Big and scary on the outside, but kind and soft on the inside.
She forced herself to put her hands on his shoulders. Upon this closer contact, they fell into a sort of rhythm, swaying and stepping in sync - with him stepping on her toes only about five times a minute instead of twenty. It wasn't actually too bad. It felt kind of nice. She forced herself to look into his eyes, which were still studying her with as much intensity as before.
"Are you still mad at me?" he whispered so that no one else could hear. Normal Scarlet would've immediately shut down the conversation. But now, with his hands on her waist and his eyes practically glowing, she found she didn't really care anymore about what Levana and her friends thought. She could be friends with Wolf.
Scarlet finally acknowledged the little hole of emptiness that had ripped inside her when she pushed Wolf away, all those weeks ago. She missed him, simple as that. And now, it was filled.
"Wolf, I was never mad at you," she said. "I pushed you away because...I was afraid. I'm not as strong as you. It took me these last few weeks to realize and understand what your friendship means to me."
"I disagree," he murmured. "I think you're the strongest person I've ever met." She managed to hold his gaze, which was steady and blazing, not tentative anymore.
"Look at you, laying on the flattery," she teased, and the moment broke. She stepped a little bit closer, just to get nearer that warmth that burned from him. She sensed that he had also changed in the last few weeks. Normally, when she looked at him, she could see the other side of him hovering just beneath the surface, the violence, the anger. But now...all she saw was her Wolf.
"Scarlet!"
From a hundred yards away, the girl snapped up at the sound of her grandmother's voice. Leaping out of the stream and grabbing her shoes, Scarlet raced back toward her house, pushing her legs to pump faster. If I can just get there before she does...I can pretend I was in the garden...
No luck. Even if she had made it in time, her bare, muddy feet and sopping jeans were a dead giveaway.
Grand-mere's lips were pursed in disapproval. "Scarlet dear, you know I don't like you going out there at night. The current is especially strong at this time, and the rocks are sharp...anything could happen."
Scarlet rolled her eyes. "I think I'm capable of taking care of myself. And anyway, I needed to get out of the house. Fresh air just soothes me."
Sighing, Grand-mere gave a tiny smile that indicated her granddaughter was forgiven. "You're exactly like I was as a child."
"Crazy and proud of it!" she smirked.
"You seem unusually happy today," her grandmother said, chuckling as Scarlet immediately tried to squash her bright smile. "It's a nice change from your usual teenager grumpiness. Anything happen today? Meet a boy?"
Her face flamed as red as her hair. Grand-mere knew her too well. "What are you doing?" Scarlet asked to change the subject.
"I'm about to leave for Sector," Grand-mere explained. "Remember, I'm visiting an old friend."
"Oh yeah," Scarlet vaguely remembered something about that.
"I'll be home this weekend," she promised. "I trust you'll be fine, independent young lady you are." Grand-mere started toward the car. "Love you!" she called over her shoulder.
"Love you too," mumbled Scarlet, already halfway inside the house. She was looking forward to calling Wolf...
Her grandmother paused. "Remember, no boys in your bedroom!" she called, half-joking, half-serious.
That time, Scarlet fully turned around. "Grand-mere!" she cried, scandalized yet laughing. Her grandmother only winked as she waved one more time and climbed into the car.
She truly loved her grandmother so much. She didn't know what she would do without her.
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