COREY HAD FELT A PIT IN HER STOMACH EARLIER in the night, a sign that something hadn't been entirely okay with one of the members of their coven. She only grew more anxious the longer Zoe and Madison had stayed out. She hoped that the two girls would stick together, but she knew how compelling Madison could be when she wanted something.
She sat on the front porch step, a lit black cigarette in hand, when the girls finally wandered home on foot. Madison held her stilettos in one hand as she wiped her face with the other. She stumbled through the iron wrought gate with a sniffle, her eyes locked on her feet as they had been the entire walk home.
Corey's eyes scanned the actress, taking in every detail. The blonde was disheveled, her makeup having run down her face with her hair tossed around haphazardly and knotted in places Corey knew the blonde could never purposely reach on her own. Madison looked up at the academy with a sad sigh, not expecting anyone to be waiting for them to come home. When the actress's gold eyes met the redhead's green ones, she froze.
"Did you—" Madison turned to the brunette who trailed behind her. She paused slightly as Corey jumped up from her seat. Madison's angry brows targeted Zoe, the brunette's bottom lip quivering as she turned her attention to the redhead.
"N-no, I—" Zoe threw her hands up in surrender, her eyes darting quickly between the two girls. Corey furrowed her brow, her head tilted slightly as she tried to understand what was going on. When it hit her, the feeling of her stomach dropping returned. She clenched her jaw slightly, pursing her lips as she looked over to Zoe.
"Go inside," Corey said simply, her tone commanding as she nodded towards the door behind her. The newest witch nodded feverishly before quickly moving inside. Madison moved to follow her, but stopped when Corey stepped into her path. "Maddie, wait," Corey pleaded, her eyes soft as she looked down at the blonde.
"What," Madison whined. Her bottom lip instinctively moved between her teeth in an attempt to keep herself from crying. Corey sighed, reaching out to tuck a stray hair out of Madison's face.
"I may have removed the tether after what happened with Queenie at dinner," Madison massaged her hand, the memory of the sharp pain— caused by a fork piercing through tissue transferred from the human voodoo doll to the actress— now dull and brief compared to what it had been previously. "But that doesn't mean that I don't know that something happened to you tonight."
The pads of Corey's fingers brushed against Madison's jawline as the blonde closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. She felt a light spark, something she could never get used to, though she tried to ignore it; the way the blonde's brows raised slightly told her the other girl had felt the same.
"Whatever it was, we don't need to talk about it, but you don't have to come home pretending like everything is fine." She wrapped her other arm around Madison's waist and pulled her into her chest as she watched a single tear begin to roll down the blonde's cheek. Almost instinctively, the actress let herself unravel in Corey's arms.
Her body shook as her muffled sobs rang out into the redhead's chest. Corey stood there, her arms wrapped protectively around Madison— one arm around the girl's waist while her other hand found its way tangled in her already knotted hair— not saying another word. She fought the slight haze that took over her vision, what little the blonde could remember threatening to take over the musician's psyche.
While she could fight off the visuals, she felt the phantom grip on her wrists; the pulsing pain in her abdomen; the yanking of hair against her scalp; the tickle of a scream resting in the back of her throat; the weakness in her knees threatening to knock her against the ground and take the other girl down with her. She took in a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut as she forced the feeling away.
Silently, Corey guided Madison up to her room. The last thing she wanted was for the blonde to have to spend the night in her shared room with Zoe after whatever she had been through at the frat party. When Madison's tears had finally subsided, the two laid together in a mess of limbs. Corey held the smaller girl close to her chest, their legs tangled together over the blankets as she played with the blonde's hair gently.
"Thank you," Madison mumbled, looking up at the redhead who had been lazily scratching her scalp, unintentionally lulling herself to sleep.
"Hmm?" Corey hummed, having heard the other girl's voice as she began to slip in and out of consciousness, yet not entirely sure of what she had said.
"I said thank you, Cor," Madison spoke slightly louder, pressing her nose against the girl's collarbone as she nuzzled into her chest. Corey tilted her head forward, placing a sleepy kiss to the crown of Madison's head. Again came a spark, though dull compared to the one previously.
"Mmhmm," Corey hummed in response, inhaling the smell of menthol cigarettes and Chanel Nº5, which she had come to learn over time to be Madison's signature scent. "Just don't let the other girls see you being such a softy," the redhead joked, earning a pinch from pointed nails against her hip. She inhaled sharply, though the smirk on her lips only grew larger.
"Ass," Madison muttered as she rolled her eyes, not moving her head from its spot against Corey's chest. The redhead tried to hold in a laugh but Madison could tell that she was smiling, her lips still resting against the top of the blonde's head.
Corey tugged the black lace dress up her hips, slipping her arms into the see-through material of the dresses long sleeves. "Can you help me with this zipper?" She asked, reaching behind her back awkwardly as she turned her head to catch Madison staring at her.
"Going somewhere today?" The blonde asked, swallowing hard as she made her way over to Corey. Her eyes locked on the bare patch of skin that dared to show itself after the night Madison had endured. She reached out, their fingers brushing against each other as she took the zipper in her hand. She shrugged, swallowing hard as she tried to clear the increasingly dry patch that rippled through her mouth. She looked up to see Corey watching her with a quizzical expression.
"You just don't usually dress up unless you have somewhere to be, that's all," she explained herself, one hand resting firmly against the small of Corey's back as she tugged the zipper upward.
"I have a feeling we all will," the redhead sighed, turning to face the other girl once the zipper was snuggly in place. Madison placed a hand against Corey's collarbone as the girl looked her up and down briefly. The blonde wore denim shorts, a black graphic tee and a green flannel with the sleeves rolled up. "Wear something black?" She formed her sentence as a question to make it seem like she truly had a choice in the matter.
"Someone's demanding today," Madison scoffed, the sound of a news broadcast echoing up the stairs grabbing her attention. "Besides, I'm already dressed." Her hands fell to her sides as she stepped away from the taller girl, anger quickly taking over her features.
"The Louisiana campus is still in shock over the tragic bus crash last night. Nine members of the fraternity Kappa Lambda Gamma were on board."
Corey froze, the smirk that previously held its place on her features faltering slightly. She watched as Madison stormed out of the room in search of the TV with the broadcast on it.
"It was just a request, Mads," she sighed, knowing the girl would have to change before they left the academy anyway. She grabbed her hooded shawl as she followed Madison out the door of her bedroom, watching as the girl moved more frantically the further she traveled down the stairs.
"Seven of the boys died on the scene. Two were rushed to Troost Medical Center where they remain in critical condition."
The closer they moved to the breakfast nook off the corner of the kitchen, the louder the broadcast became. Although she wasn't sure of what had happened the night before, she could now easily tell that Madison and Zoe had something to do with the bus crash— as if it hadn't been somewhat obvious before. Corey secured her shawl over her shoulders as she moved, looking down at the fabric in her hands briefly as she tied it in place.
"Officials will not confirm the identities of the deceased."
The TV clicked as Madison rolled her jaw, flipping the television off as she walked past it. Corey slowed her pace as she neared the rest of the girls, her eyes not leaving Madison as she watched the blonde's shoulders relax slightly.
"Hey, I was watching that!" Nan called out in frustration as she lifted her mug off the small table in front of her. Corey walked past them, quickly making herself a cup of coffee.
"Why? It's yesterday's news." Madison took a peach from Spalding's hand and it took every fiber of Corey's being to not instinctively wrap a protective arm around the other girl. She wasn't sure what it was, but something about the butler was off-putting to her.
"They got any Greek yogurt?" Madison asked. Her request was all that it took to send Spalding away. Corey brought her mug to her lips, leaning against the cabinet behind her as Zoe stepped in front of Madison. She leaned close so that she could whisper, hoping that only Corey and Madison could hear her.
"We have to tell somebody what happened." Madison rolled her eyes, looking over to Corey as she adjusted her weight anxiously. The redhead looked at Madison, her eyes catching the blonde's pleading gaze with her lip slightly trembling. She stepped forward, a protective hand landing on the small of the other girl's back. She swallowed her mouthful of her coffee before leaning towards Zoe.
"You need to drop it, Zoe," Corey's brows turned angrily as she looked at the younger girl. "What's done is done." Madison leaned into her touch slightly, though she was weary of the company that surrounded them.
"The one I met, Kyle," Zoe paused. She looked from Corey to Madison in a pleading manner. "Madison, he tried to stop it." The blonde rolled her jaw, returning her attention to the brunette in front of her. She took a cautious step, silently telling Zoe to drop the conversation. "Okay? And he was on that bus." Nan looked up from her mug, hearing the clicking of heels enter the room.
"What are we talking about?" Fiona called out as she entered the kitchen.
"Great," Corey muttered. Her defensive stance faltered as she turned to look at the Supreme.
"The college boys?" Fiona asked. She entered the kitchen to catch a glimpse Corey's hand as it fell from Madison's back. The redhead quickly placed both hands on her mug, yanking it towards her lips in order to keep herself from saying anything else. "Taken in the prime of their lives. Such a tragedy. Almost makes you want to cry, doesn't it?" Fiona stood at the short kitchen island with the others, looking down at the fruit gathered in front of her.
"But, then, the world's not gonna miss a bunch of assholes in Ed Hardy t-shirts." Madison looked the woman up and down cautiously. Fiona gathered some fruit in her hand, picking berries at random to place into the small bowl that rest her palm.
"Who are you?" Madison leaned away from Corey, angrily eyeing Fiona as she moved closer.
"You know, I've got to hand it to you," Fiona sighed, placing the tiny bowl of berries down. "A bus flip? That's not easy." She looked up at Madison, standing slightly taller so that she was towering over the blonde. "But you were a sloppy, little witch bitch." She pointed her cigarette at the girl, glaring at her.
"Fiona," Corey warned, knowing exactly where this conversation would lead. She placed her coffee mug on the counter behind her, her angry gaze not leaving the older woman.
"Go to hell, you stupid hag," Madison spat, stomping her foot slightly. She moved to walk out of the room, still upset over the situation at hand. Fiona hadn't known what had happened or why Madison had flipped the bus in the first place. The blonde couldn't understand the hostility coming from a woman she had never met before, or how she had known that she'd done it in the first place. With the flick of her wrist, Fiona sent Madison flying across the room, her small body colliding with the wall in the dining room.
Corey felt the sympathetic numbness roll across her shoulders and down her back as Madison hit the wall. She clenched her jaw at the crunch of the impact as her body twitched involuntarily. The feeling of pins and needles seemed to echo through her nerves, a continuous reverb of Madison's bones aching from her collision with the wall.
The Supreme's eyes remained locked on Corey's face as the redhead lifted a hand in frustration. The most central point in the redhead's palm enveloped in flames that flickered upwards. Fiona smirked, making a mental note of both Corey's weakness for the blonde and her bone-chilling control over her powers.
She had never seen another witch capable of physically holding a ball of fire before but, with Stevie Nicks as her mother, Fiona knew anything was truly possible. The Supreme brought her cigarette to her lips for a moment, a slight smirk crossing her lips.
"Oh, shit," Queenie muttered, her brows raised as she tiled her head. "I didn't know Corey could do that." Madison scoffed, attempting to pick herself back up off the floor while Fiona still had her pinned telekinetically.
"Her nickname isn't Fireball solely because of the whisky," the blonde groaned, managing to slightly sit herself up with an elbow underneath her to support her weight. Corey shook her head, dropping her hand to her side as she finally broke eye contact with the Supreme, moving to Madison's side to help her stand back up.
"I thought that was just because her hair is red," Nan mumbled, shrugging as she looked down at her mug in her hands. "And because she's angry, like, all the time." Corey fought the scoff that threatened to leave her lips at the youngest witch's comment. I'm not always angry, she thought, gritting her teeth as she held Madison up. She made sure that the other girl could stand on her own after being thrown halfway across the room.
"Now, I've read all of your files," Fiona sighed, putting her cigarette out on a dinner plate in front of her.
"You broke into my office?" Corey scoffed, her eyebrows inching up her forehead as she clenched her fist, keeping the flames of her anger at bay. She felt the blonde's panicked grip grasping at the small of her back at the news. If Fiona had read their files, she already knew that the musician and the actress were seeing each other.
"Yes," Fiona groaned, rolling her eyes. "While you were busy playing house with your little toy last night," she quipped, watching as the rage flashed across Madison's face quickly. "Or are you her little toy?" Corey rolled her eyes. Fiona cleared her throat before continuing.
"Anyway, you're never going to become great women of our clan sitting around here at Hogwarts under the confused instruction of Corinna Nicks and my daughter." She moved to walk out of the kitchen as she spoke, her gaze still locked on Corey and Madison.
"Oh, bite me, Fiona." Corey groaned. She wrapped an arm around Madison's waist to keep her from lunging after the older woman. The blonde instinctively pressed herself into the redhead's side, her arm snaking behind Corey's shoulder so that her hand could latch itself in the crook of her neck. The redhead flinched slightly as Madison's sharp nails dug into the base of her neck unintentionally.
"We're going on a field trip, ladies." Fiona looked around the room, scrunching her nose at the attire of the younger witches. "Jesus, go change your clothes. Wear something," Fiona paused for emphasis as she walked out the door, "black."
"What the fuck was that about?" Madison asked, using her free hand to brush the dust off her clothes as she watched Fiona walk off.
"Who knows," Corey groaned, shaking her head. She made a mental note to call her mother for any information the white witch may have on Fiona's sudden reappearance.