Blaze couldn't have felt happier. For once, a school day was going her way. With her mood elevated, she was able to tolerate PE a little bit more than usual. Conversely, she also kept spacing out during Advanced World History, a subject she usually could focus on. And now, she was barely paying attention in English. She couldn't help it. The thought of riding home with Shadow kept floating through her head. She could picture it now . . . Getting into his truck, chatting with him while he drove, stopping to get coffee, boba tea, or ice cream, getting out in front of his house, exchanging numbers, the eventual confession to start their relationship . . .

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING

Blaze snapped out of her trance at the sound of the bell. She hurriedly threw her English notebook and pencil case into her bag and dashed out of the classroom. She just had to get through afternoon homeroom. Then, she would get to ride home with her crush! She had planned out just about every single possibility for conversation and even texted Amy asking for some money so she could treat Shadow to a drink or snack (Amy sent her $20 through Venmo).

She quickly hurried to her locker to grab the supplies she needed for her homework. She had just zipped her bag up when she heard someone shout her name from down the hall.

"Blaze!"

Wait, is that . . . she thought. She turned around to see a flustered Shadow running towards her. His shirt was crumpled, and he had a few bruises on his forehead and cheeks.

"Blaze, thank God I found you!" he cried, trying to straighten out his shirt to no avail. He ran his hand through his quills, trying to look slightly more presentable.

"Shadow! What's wrong? What happened?" Blaze asked, worried. She had never seen someone as calm as Shadow flustered and disheveled before.

Shadow shook his head. "You'll never believe this, Blaze," he started, his voice audibly irritated and disappointed. "I've, uh . . . "

He paused, quickly glanced around to see if anyone noticed them. He leaned in close to Blaze and said in a hushed voice. "I've got detention."

A bolt of shock darted down Blaze's spine. "W-what? How? What happened? And how did you get hurt?" she frantically asked, trying to stay calm and only partly succeeding.

"Oh, these? Don't worry about 'em," he said in response to Blaze's concerned eyes falling on his bruises. "I'm not that hurt, just . . . really, really pissed off."

He took a deep breath to study himself. "Fucking, Scourge Reynolds. Fuck him. Fuck him and his bitch ass attitude. The bastard had the fucking audacity to pick a fight with me, punch me in the back of the head, for no apparent reason. HE started it, but when I hit back, I guess that means I'm just as guilty as the provocateur. Guess I'm not allowed to defend myself when I'm attacked without warning and from behind apparently."

He exhaled angrily, rubbing a tender spot on the back of his head.

"He decked me in the back of the head with no warning. Fucker sent me right into a pillar. So, I turn around and land a few well-timed ones on him to, you know, tell him not to fucking attack me again. He was dead fucking set on hurting me too. He barely said anything, and he just went for me. And even after I knocked him on the ground, he was still trying to land hits. Then, three teachers pull us off each other, we end up in the principal's office, and despite the fact I told Principal Acorn that I was only defending myself and hadn't provoked him or anything, I get after-school detention with Scourge."

"Oh my god . . ." was all Blaze could manage to say.

"Yeah . . ." Shadow trailed off. He hung his head. "But uh, yeah. I'm gonna fight for my innocence, but until then, I'm stuck in detention for about a week. So, I can't take you home today or anytime this week. I'm really sorry, Blaze."

It hadn't hit her yet, but when it did, it was like a truck. "O . . . oh . . ." she said, her excitement and happiness quickly leaving her.

"I'm so sorry, Blaze," he sympathized. "On the bright side, Scourge is in detention too, so whatever he was planning on doing won't happen to you. It should be safe to take the bus. I know that's not what you want, but, well, there's that," he offered sympathetically.

"Yeah, that's . . . that's true . . ." Blaze replied, sighing. It felt so stupid, but her entire day felt ruined. The build-up to what was supposed to be a fantastic afternoon had fallen hopelessly flat. She felt like she wanted to cry but held back the urge. She didn't want to cry in front of her crush after all.

Luckily and unluckily, the warning bell for afternoon homeroom rang, interrupting the conversation. "Shit, I gotta go," said Shadow. "I'll . . . see you around Blaze." Shadow lifted his hand in departure, turned, and walked down the hall, with his posture slumped in a defeated pose.

With the hurt, anger, and disappointment coming to a boil in Blaze's chest, she quickly shut her locker and hurried off to afternoon homeroom, hoping to distract herself from the annoyingly strong urge to cry.

"Are you sure you don't want a ride home?" Amy asked in a concerned voice.

Blaze sighed. "Yeah. It's fine. I just wanna go home."

"Are you sure? You don't wanna get boba tea or anything?"

". . . Yeah. I'm tired. Besides, I've got homework anyway." It was hard for Blaze to sound casual, and Amy picked up on it quickly.

"Aw Blaze . . . I'm so sorry," she sighed. She reached forward and took Blaze into a hug. Blaze hugged back.

"Thanks, Amy. You're the best."

Amy grinned. "You sure you don't want to ride home with us?" she asked, gesturing to Sally, Sonic, and Silver behind her. Sonic gave an encouraging and sympathetic smile and jingled his keys. Blaze smiled appreciatively but shook her head.

"You guys are so distracting. I just wanna go home, chill, and eat my feelings," she replied.

"What if . . ." Sally began, ". . . You boba tea'd your feelings?" She made finger guns towards Blaze, who rolled her eyes.

The sound of diesel engines starting gave Blaze the final excuse to leave.

"Shoot, my bus is about to leave. Gotta go, guys. Sorry, we can go get boba another time. Bye!" she quickly waved and jogged toward her bus.

"Ugh, fine!" Amy yelled back. "I'm holding you to that!"

Blaze quickly clambered onto her bus and into an empty front seat. She exhaled.

Wow, I am tired, she mused. Then, everything hit her at once. She got sad again.

Goddammit! I was so close! Of fucking course, Scourge had to be an asshole like he always is and ruin everything.

She felt tears start to come, and she quickly slumped in her bus seat and faced the window. She felt like a child, but she couldn't help it. Shadow was her beacon of light. His being at school made it more enjoyable, and the fact he saw her as a person unlike all of the other popular students at her high school made her feel wanted and special. Yeah, she had friends, and they all cared about her, and she did about them. But she knew that her chances of finding a boyfriend were slim.

People had been bullying Blaze since freshman year. It wasn't fair. She had been subject to so many rumors. The first one said she had sex with someone on the football team. The next said that she started an OnlyFans. The next said that she smoked a ton of weed every day (Blaze had never touched the stuff), the next said her family was poor and that she worked OnlyFans to support her family. None of them were at all true, and she wasn't sure why everyone was targeting her. Somehow, much of the junior and sophomore student body had the impression that Blaze was a slimy underaged sex worker who nobody liked, and despite selling her body, had never had sex with anyone because of how nasty/boring of a person she was.

The rumors were so outlandish, and many people didn't believe them at all. But all the rumors had drawn attention to Blaze and made her a punching bag for the school's elite and something to chuckle about if you were outside the circle of elites. People then went after her looks, her personality, and her interests. She hated it. She hadn't done anything except mind her own business. She couldn't understand it.

Tears flowed more freely now, and she gazed intently at the metal siding of the bus, hoping no one would see her cry.

Shadow made everything a bit better, she mused.

Shadow treated her like a human. He was one of the most popular kids at school, and he still didn't believe any of the rumors. He was mysteriously aloof a lot of the time but always managed to intervene whenever Blaze's name was mentioned. He also seemed to be pretty friendly to her as of late. Waving to her, stopping by her classes, offering homework help. He once even gave Blaze a book that he thought she would like (The Moon is a Harsh Mistress; Blaze almost fainted on the spot and read the book all within that night).

Thinking of Shadow and how kindly he had treated her made her smile and wiped some of the tears from her face.

He's just so . . . perfect . . . If we could start dating, not only would I be dating one of the cutest boys at Station Square, but maybe I could improve my standing with the in-crowd. I don't even want to be popular. I just want all this shit to stop.

Blaze sighed. Everything shouldn't be this complicated. Why is it?

Blaze threw open her front door, quickly slammed it shut, kicked her shoes off, and flopped onto the couch in her living room. Her aunt and uncle weren't home yet, so she grabbed a nearby pillow, screamed into it, and then lay still for a few minutes. She was so emotionally drained, she couldn't bring herself to do anything except lay on her couch motionless. That was until she heard a familiar sound, and her ears perked up. It was the sound of a truck engine, and it was coming down her cul-de-sac.

Could that be . . . No, no way. He'd still be in detention right now.

As the vehicle grew closer, Blaze's heart increased. The engine sounded distinctly like Shadow's truck. She quickly sat up and looked out her living room windows, which faced directly across from Shadow's driveway.

It was Shadow!

Blaze was confused. Did he manage to convince the staff that he was innocent? Is he coming to say hi?

Blaze then noticed something unusual. There was someone in the passenger seat of his truck, but Blaze couldn't make out who it was. Shadow's truck proceeded to roll past her house and into his driveway. Blaze watched the entire thing, intrigued. She heard the engine stop and saw Shadow exit the truck.

Then, Blaze's heart, which had picked up its pace since she'd seen Shadow's truck, suddenly jolted. She felt it plummet into the pit of her stomach. Her jaw fell open. She saw the passenger exit the truck and immediately saw who it was. She could recognize that blonde hair anywhere.

It was Selena.

It felt like time slowed down. This was a nightmare. Blaze couldn't believe it. Shadow had lied about detention to pick up Selena. That was the only explanation. She blinked a few times to make sure she saw right, and unfortunately, Selena's striking blonde hair never exited her vision. She watched as Shadow and Selena talked, Selena's back facing Blaze's house, and could not make out what was happening. That was, until she saw Selena lunge forward into Shadow's arms, in what was unmistakably an embrace and a kiss.

The tears rushed back in, and Blaze felt her throat tighten. She couldn't bear to watch anymore. She tore her tear-filled eyes away from the scene and ran up the stairs to her room. She threw herself onto her bed and cried herself to sleep.

⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤ END ⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤