"Do you really think that a two-week suspension is enough for what he did?!" Blake shouted at Glynda who stared right through her at Coco who entered her office and closed the door behind her.
"Emerald stopped a couple of kids that were drinking during the dance last night," Coco told her as she handed the paperwork to Glynda, the older woman taking them and looking them over as Blake slammed her fists on her desk.
"Glynda!" Blake yelled.
"I am not underplaying the severity of what happened last night by any means, but I feel that you are too close to the victim to think about what I've laid out as corrective action logically," Glynda repeated herself. "It is his first offense, but that's not to say that it doesn't merit punishing, and expelling him isn't going to help him overall, or the school as a whole. He will be suspended from classes for two weeks, in addition to several months of community service, several additional months of counseling, and behavioral therapy. His team has been fined extensively as well as demoted in the ranks among their peers. I have warned Vincent that if any of his other teammates, or Rowan, behave in a similar manner, that I will not hesitate to end their permit for studying abroad early."
"It has to be enough," Coco agreed. "Cause trust me… I tried for more." Blake sighed and shook her head as she looked out the window and over the school grounds.
"If he tries something like that again he'll have Yang to answer to," Blake assured them. She watched as Neela walked from the dorm to the cafeteria. "And I won't stop her."
"I won't either," Glynda offered. Blake nodded as her daughter looked frantic, rushing towards the lunchroom where she threw the doors open.
"You okay?" Ilia asked rushing her as soon as she entered, Vin a few steps behind her to allow them some room.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Neela said nodding to her. "I actually wanted to talk to Orin and thank him. I had a good night's sleep, and I really don't remember what happened all that well. A really refreshing night's sleep, actually."
"I'm sorry about Rowan," Vin added. "I know that's hardly enough."
"Well, I was kept out of harm's way, so it's not too big of a deal, but it's not your fault," Neela informed him.
"You sure you're fine?" Titus asked, grabbing her by the shoulders. Neela nodded, looking him in the eyes.
"Yeah, I promise," she told him. Titus nodded back to her.
"If anything's wrong, you tell us. Ivory ran off with Rowan last night before I could have words with him," Titus informed her. Neela made air quotes.
"Words," Neela parroted. They laughed.
"I wanted a few 'words' too," Natalia seethed.
"Hey," Orin said as he returned from the kitchen with his food and spotted Neela.
"Can we talk?" Neela asked him. Orin nodded, setting his platter down and following her out of the building to the back of the building.
"Everything okay?" He checked. She nodded and brushed her hair out of her face.
"How bad was it?" Neela questioned.
"I'm just glad I was there to keep you from getting into trouble," Orin informed her.
"I vaguely remember you telling me you were gay," Neela admitted. "You're not, are you?" He shook his head.
"No," he affirmed. Neela blushed.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I wasn't me last night." He looked her directly in the eyes.
"Like I said, I'm just glad I was there last night to make sure that nothing happened," Orin repeated.
"I don't know how to thank you," she sheepishly informed him. He smiled softly at her.
"You can thank me by getting better," he replied. "And I don't mean stronger. We need to get you back in the right headspace so that you can get back on the top of the second years." Neela smiled back.
"I'll try," she informed him.
"Things were looking up, weren't they?" Orin inquired. "What happened?"
As soon as I get out of the shower with her I will!
"I'd rather not talk about it," Neela stated.
"Dating?" Eliana questioned as she checked her hair over in the mirror and looked herself over. "Yeah, I have a date tonight actually… Hey, mom, who told you that I was dating someone?"
"Just a rumor going around Beacon," Violet replied over the scroll.
"I mean, it's a single date, not that big of a deal really," Eliana explained. Desirae shook her head before turning back to her school work, Asher entering the room and throwing down his bag of gym clothes. "I have to go, mom, she's going to be ready soon, and then I'll be leaving. I love you!"
"Love you too!" Her mother's voice came over the phone before they hung up.
"How do I look?" Eliana asked as she gave a slight twirl, her little black dress hugged her body tight, putting her best asset on full display.
"How do the girls breathe in that?" Desirae asked with a devilish grin. Eliana adjusted herself slightly and crossed her arms.
"They breathe just fine, thanks," Eliana reassured her.
"Sure," Desirae agreed with an eye roll.
"Who are you going out with?" Asher questioned.
"Fade," Eliana replied without skipping a beat, causing Asher to come to a dead stop in the middle of his routine. "I didn't feel like I did enough to thank her for getting me a meeting with Sterling, so I agreed to go on a date with her. It's harmless."
"Nothing with Fade is harmless," Asher grumbled.
"Hm?" Eliana questioned.
"Nevermind," Asher spoke up.
"Let them have their fun," Desirae insisted. "I don't think she's as bad about Eliana as she was the two of us." Eliana looked at Desirae for a long moment before Desirae simply shrugged.
"What does that mean?" Eliana inquired. Desirae leapt to her feet and joined Eliana in front of the mirror.
"It means you two are going to have fun!" Desirae exclaimed.
"Yeah," Eliana said as if deciding on having fun as an afterthought. "Yeah! Yeah, we are!"
"That's the spirit!" Desirae declared. Eliana looked herself over one last time, it was the same dress that she'd worn to the dance the year before.
It's not every dance that I can say I was the date of the most beautiful girl in school!
But it could have been if you hadn't hurt her…
Eliana inhaled deeply. If only she had just told Neela to begin with that Athena had her mom. None of this had to happen… but it was too late to change it…
"Well, well. Lucky me," Fade said entering the room from the bathroom. She wore a dress that looked like it was designer, probably more than Eliana would ever make in her life, detailed with actual Dust crystals, and flowed several feet behind her, clinging to her curves. "You left me breathless."
"You look amazing too!" Eliana replied. She meant it, to say that Fade didn't look astounding would have been a lie.
"I always look amazing!" Fade declared for them all to hear and validate her.
"Someone is feeling herself tonight!" Desirae cheered.
"More like is full of herself," Asher sighed.
"What was that?!" Fade bit.
"Nothing," he replied with a fake grin.
"That's what I thought," Fade smiled back before taking Eliana's arm. "Best we get on our way. The night is young, and the restaurant is waiting!"
"Hopefully it isn't too pricey," Eliana chuckled nervously. Fade waved her off.
"I rented the whole place out, a bistro on the top level of the city. My treat!" Fade declared happily, quite proud of herself despite the guilt that overwhelmed Eliana.
"That seems unnecessary," Eliana mentioned.
"Nonsense," Fade insisted. "I want a moment alone." Her eyes flickered with glee. "Just the two of us." They left the room and as the door closed behind them Asher moved to the closet and began tossing clothes out onto the bed.
"What are you doing?" Desirae asked.
"We have to follow them," Asher mentioned. Desirae stood up quickly and moved to him, frantically trying to stop him.
"I'm sure that she's fine!" Desirae maintained.
"You don't believe that!" Asher shouted at her. They stopped for a long moment and maintained eye contact. "She doesn't deserve to end up like this! Feeling like she needs to grovel at Fade's feet! She left this behind once before, and if we don't do something now Fade might not ever let her back out!"
"We're not stuck here!" Desirae yelled desperately.
"Aren't we?" Asher questioned. Desirae stopped. "I'm not trying to say that you can't be happy here by any means, I want you to be the same cheerful you as always, but you know that until we've graduated, there's no escaping Fade. We'd both end up back at the bottom, clawing through refuse and over other people just for enough food to get us to the next day!"
"But we should be grateful that she saved us!" Desirae continued denying her situation. Asher sighed.
"I am grateful, but you have to admit she played us," Asher asked her to question, placing a hand on her shoulder. Desirae tried to brush him off, but he was right, wasn't he?
"Then…" Desirae stumbled over her words.
"Eliana doesn't need saving," Asher pointed out as he returned to sifting through the closet.
"Why would she trap Eliana here with us?" Desirae thought as she moved to help him out.
"Because Eliana is the only thing she's come across at this point that she wants, but just won't give in," Asher concluded.
"So your dad was on the force, right?" Fade asked Eliana. Eliana nodded as she looked down at the pasta before her. The idea of squid ink infused with the noodles didn't put her off as much as the idea that it was probably something that she could never afford to eat on her own finances alone. She twirled it at the end of her fork for a moment, she could feel Fade's gaze never leaving her and she gave her a shy smile, wondering why the other girl insisted on drinking her in so unabashedly. What was the question again? Wasn't this something she mentioned before? It had been a long and uncomfortable awkward silence, she was probably just doing her best to make small talk to break it up.
"He was one of the best," Eliana noted. "There wasn't a night that he wouldn't come home from work and have some kind of crazy story for me and mom. It didn't matter if he took down one of the criminals on the most wanted list, or if he took down a smaller crime lord. He always told them in the most mesmerizing ways… and I've always wanted to be a cop ever since then. I figured getting my Huntsmen license was the best first step towards that."
"My father has always had a hand in politics!" Fade stated as if trying to one-up Eliana's story. "You can imagine how that went to make us filthy rich! I don't think it's dirty money, but I guess after it passes from one person to the next it was probably dirty at some point anyway, so it doesn't matter too much. And he spoiled me rotten with it, guilty as charged! Mom used to tell him that maybe he should slow down with his spending but… Well, after the accident that killed her, no one was there to tell him no anymore!"
"What happened to your mother?" Eliana inquired. "If you don't mind me asking."
"I don't like to talk about it," Fade shut her down. "But what does your mother do?"
"She stays at home all day," Eliana laughed. "Dad's insurance left her with enough lien that she'd never have to work another day in her life. She likes to stay busy with little craft projects, but I think she likes talking to me the most. She says that I remind her a lot of dad. It's something I like hearing!" Eliana smiled and caught Fade staring again. She blushed, looking away, playing with her pasta once more.
"Your smile is so warm," Fade noted. Eliana felt a heat wash over her.
"Just like my dad's," she chuckled. She glanced up at Fade who was blushing as well. What was this? No… Eliana recognized this look… It was familiar…
"I can see why your mother chose to fall in love with him then," Fade stated. "If you're as much like him as you say you are."
Eliana couldn't shake this feeling. Knowing this look. Feeling something this strong from an expression that she knew too well… but from where?
ALL YOU CAN DO NOW IS HURT PEOPLE!
NO! SHUT UP!
WHY DENY THE TRUTH?!
I DID WHAT I THOUGHT WAS RIGHT!
BUT YOU COULD HAVE DONE BETTER!
I WANT TO DO BETTER, BUT FIRST I NEED YOU TO SHUT UP!
"Elli, I need a moment, okay?" Alex told her, patting her on the head as he moved to the next room. Eliana looked down at her hands, noting that she wasn't a child, but instead her current self, watching as her father closed the door behind him, wanting to follow him.
"Mom," her voice echoed as if a younger version of her was also calling out simultaneously.
"What is it, Elli?" Violet asked, laying a hand gently on her shoulder.
"Dad seemed… upset…" she stated quietly. Violet smiled softly, kneeling beside her daughter.
"Your father is normally very good at not letting his work affect him at home with us. He always wants to be happy for you and me when he comes home," Violet explained. "But sometimes work is so overwhelming or serious, that he needs to think about it after he finishes. Sometimes you can't just push it away."
"Will he be happy later?" Eliana questioned.
"Just because he's serious doesn't mean he isn't happy," Violet made her aware. "It's just important that he gives a little extra focus to what he's doing now. He's still your dad and he still loves you. Sometimes you'll have to focus a little harder, but you can still be happy doing it."
"Like when I help you with dinner?" Eliana asked. Violet laughed and kissed her forehead.
"Just like that," Violet assured her.
I CAN DO BETTER! I CAN FIX THIS!
"I like you, Eliana," Fade told her. "I don't know how to say this…" Fade blushed harder, leaning across the small table.
I know this… I KNOW THIS!
Neela reached down to pull her up, but she pulled Neela down on top of her.
How had Eliana never put two and two together before as Neela was but inches away from her smiling face? How had she never taken notice of Neela's advances, never acknowledged the heat between them as their breasts pressed against each other, faces close? Neela's breath was hot on her face, and Neela trembled with anxiety, Eliana could feel her heart racing. Neela blushed. How didn't I notice? How was it possible I couldn't tell how badly you wanted me, how desperately you wanted to tell me?
"Neela?" Eliana asked looking into her eyes. "I don't want you to take this the wrong way…" Neela's breath caught in her chest. There was only the two of them, Eliana lying under her in an endless void. "I think you have beautiful eyes." Neela smiled, a knowing, comforting, warm, undoing smile that Eliana had come to know and love.
"Elli… Elli, I…" Eliana reached up and ran her finger under Neela's braids.
"You what, Neela?" Neela swallowed hard, this had to be the moment. If it wasn't now, it never would be!
This. This is the look.
"Your imperfections are what makes you amazing. In a way, that makes you the perfect… you," Neela explained. "That's what your dad would have wanted. A daughter who is open, but not so much to strangers. And is happy nonstop, except when she needs to be serious. And to be honest, that's what makes you beautiful."
A hundred times, you gave me this look.
"It's pretty good, but it could be better, don't you think?" Eliana asked. Neela gave her a puzzled look as Eliana handed her the scroll. "You take the picture, you've got longer arms than I do." Neela chuckled lining up the photo as Eliana wrapped her arm around her waist and kissed her on the cheek as she captured the moment. Eliana was unphased, glancing up at the image on the scroll before snatching it away and hugging Neela. "Now it's actually perfect!"
How many times, did you give me that look?
"Don't think of it as a reminder of failure. Think of it as our first real fight as Team NITE. Remember how it felt to lead us into battle that night. Remember the smell of the fair and the sounds…" Eliana grabbed Neela's hands and Neela glanced down at them before looking back up into Eliana's eyes. "And the sights."
Was I never serious enough to notice?
"I love you, Eliana," Neela repeated looking her in the eyes. "Your constant teasing. Jokes. Telling me that you'd find somebody else. That you just wanted me to be happy. Not understanding why I was so ashamed to see you in anything less than your clothes for the last year or so. All of it. I couldn't understand how you could be so clueless. I convinced myself that maybe… that you probably don't feel the same." The pain that Eliana had felt the night before in her chest returned.
Neela hasn't found someone else.
"What?" Eliana inquired again, gasping for air. "What? What are you saying?"
"I love you, Eliana Latherus! More than just a sister! I want to be with you! I want to grow old together! To have kids together! To stand and fight at each other's sides until the bitter end! Full of life and laughter! Where we trust each other! And love each other! To be so close to each other that we become one! That's what I mean! Like your parents loved each other! Like my parents love each other! Romantically! To be bound together until death does us part! I love you!" Neela confessed. Neela's chest heaved, out of breath as she panted, staring at Eliana who slowly realized how ignorant she'd been.
Neela's mind shifted, realizing that it hadn't been another one of her fantasies. This was it. She'd confessed. It wasn't romantic. It was awful and as much as it lifted the weight that had rested on her shoulders the entire year, telling Eliana how she really felt in light of the attempted kidnapping actually made her feel worse.
"Neela…" Eliana stammered. "Neela, I…" Eliana didn't understand. Her mind wouldn't let her as a haze had set in and she couldn't see past it. The confession rang through her ears, but it didn't make sense. Neela was supposed to come down here and let her have it. She was supposed to chew her out, not tell her that she was in love with her. "Neela, I never knew…" Eliana remembered her situation and gripped the bars again. "I didn't mean to hurt you, it wasn't supposed to happen like that!"
"They were right," Neela breathed heavily. "When they said you'd betray me…" Eliana's body felt heavy, crushed under the accusation as the realization of the totality of the pain she caused crept in. She reached for Neela who wrenched away.
Was I ever serious with you…?
"I'm serious Neela. I want us to swear that no matter what happens, that we're always going to be friends." Eliana explained. "Not even death will stop us."
I need to go back.
I need you, Neela.
I love you, Neela.
Inches from her was Fade who was trying to move in for an impromptu kiss, Eliana reaching up to cover her mouth with her fingers as she stood slowly and took a deep breath, looking down at her feet.
"Elli?" Fade asked.
"Eliana," she corrected the girl. Fade stood up as well, heat filling her again.
"Where do you think you're going?" Fade questioned.
"I wasn't…" Eliana began before cutting herself off. "I've been putting on a happy face like I always do and I haven't been addressing what's happening around me. I didn't mean to lead you on, for me, this was just another girls' night out, you know? But I can see that you thought it was something more. I'm sorry."
"You're sorry?" Fade repeated.
"I can try and pay you back but…" Eliana began before she was thrown away, everything in the room following suit as if a shockwave had crashed through the building, and Fade was the epicenter.
"It's that Neela girl isn't it!?" Fade shouted at her. Eliana nodded slowly.
"I'm sorry, Fade. I just… I didn't mean to hurt you," Eliana told her. Fade tossed her head back, laughing unnervingly as she planted Eliana to the wall with psionic tendrils.
"You didn't hurt me!" She cackled. "Nobody hurts me anymore! No one will ever again, my mother was the first and the last!"
"Fade!" Eliana grunted. "I can't be with you!" Fade's eyes darkened and her head tilted slightly as she licked her lips and looked Eliana up and down.
"Nonsense," Fade spoke calmly. "We simply cut out the tumor!" Fade's tendrils phased into Eliana's head, ripping and tearing until the room around them shifted and crashed about, transforming into a dilapidated version of the Xiao Long household. Eliana knew what she'd found.
"Fade, this is enough!" Eliana screamed frantically.
"Shut up!" Fade yelled at her. Eliana tried to use a forcefield to free herself, but it seemed as though Fade's ability was preventing her from doing so. "I want to see what this secret is that you've been keeping from us!" Eliana closed her eyes tightly as she listened to the scene play out. "You tried kidnapping a Faunus girl? Such an easy fix! And here you've been suffering!"
"Easy fix?" Eliana inquired.
"I erase this memory, along with everything else about that Neela girl, and you'll have a brand new slate! A poor, devastated child who never moved on from her father's death. And I'll be the one to put you back together," Fade explained. She walked towards Eliana. "And then we can be together."
"Fade!" Eliana shouted at her in a panic. "Don't do this!"
"You already told me that you can't leave Neela behind," Fade calmly stated, stopping inches from Eliana. "So I have to remove her."
"Fade!" Asher yelled as he threw open the doors, Fade diverting her attention to him.
"Don't try it!" Fade exclaimed. "I'll have you knocked out faster than you can possibly use your semblance."
"I know that," Asher smirked.
"Then you came to watch?" Fade pondered annoyed.
"I did," he agreed. "But she didn't." Fade looked at him confused before turning to find Desirae standing beside her and Eliana.
"I'm sorry," Desirae insisted, touching Fade's arm, the two of them hitting the floor simultaneously as Eliana was freed from the wall. Eliana's chest heaved as she regained her wits and watched Asher approach her.
"It's a good thing we came after all," Asher noted checking on the two girls on the floor.
"What is Desirae's semblance?" Eliana asked.
"She can cancel out another person's aura entirely, but it leaves them both without an aura for roughly a week or so," he detailed. "It's actually pretty dangerous for her to do." Asher shook his head as he stood back up. "Just makes me wonder if she cut any memories out of me or Desirae."
"I can't thank you two enough," Eliana repeated over and over. He waved her off. "Why didn't Fade expect Desirae to be with you?"
"I don't think I can do the story justice, but Desirae kind of sees Fade as her savior," he explained. "Desirae would never betray her. But, here we are. Desirae knew that she had to make a decision and she did so to save a life, so to speak. They'll be back on speaking terms before you know it. They're close, even if Fade seems controlling, that's just how she is." Asher looked Eliana in the eyes. "What she tried to do to you, however, is unacceptable. Arslan will hear about this."
"Yeah…" Eliana replied, still kind of out of it. To imagine Neela being wiped from her mind… she shuddered hard. She hurt Neela. She needed to make it right. Maybe it was time to make a trip back home.
Home.
Sorry about another impromptu wait, my editor/co-author was out of town last weekend. We'll get our shit together soon. Next week (so this weekend, with any luck), Chapter 31: Visit!
A big thank you to AG_Nonsuch, Helihi, Cadhla182, Carlomontie, Nliast, Y8ay8a, Sa-Dui, Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. The artwork can be found at Deviantart, you can search Silent-Celica and under my favorites tab, I have a collection for NITE.
Until next week, stay classy!