THE REDHEAD LED THE GROUP INTO HER OFFICE as Cordelia sat in the girl's chair, making herself at home. Madison rolled her eyes, sitting at one of the two chairs at the end of the desk. Before the detectives could make their way into the office, the actress noticed the photo frame that sat in its usual spot on Corey's desk.
The frame held a photo of Corey and Madison backstage with Stevie at a charity event. Both younger witches were captured holding hands as they looked at each other with large smiles. Stevie stood with her arm around Madison's lower back as she watched the girls with a smirk. None of them paid any attention to the camera.
Corey loved the photo for all the reasons that someone would go about hating it. It was candid. It captured the exact relationship that the three had in one single photograph. Madison's eyes grew wide. She quickly kicked her toes against the side of the desk, causing the picture frame to tip over onto the desk.
"Shit," Corey mumbled. She quickly grabbed the frame that laid face down against the desk and tossed it into the top drawer. She took a step back as the detectives walked in. The men looked at the four girls in front of them, confused etched into their faces at the scene that had begun to deescalate.
"I'd like to ask once again what this is all about," Cordelia sat up straight. Her head tilted to the side slightly as the detectives closed both sets of French doors that led into Corey's office. Instead of answering, one of the men— Detective Stiles— stood by the doors while the other— Detective Sanchez— leaned against Corey's desk. His head turned to meet Madison at eye level.
Cordelia looked up at Corey, one brow arching upward. The redhead leaned her hip against the opposite side of the desk with her arms crossed over her chest. Her angry eyes focused on the detective who didn't seem to understand personal space. There was only a foot between his judgmental gaze and Madison's anxious, panicked, twitching lip.
"When a movie star like you shows up at a sorority house," Madison swallowed hard as he leaned in closer. She smiled unintentionally, a stress response ingrained in her from a young age as an audition coping mechanism. The detective attempted to do whatever he could to make the blonde break.
"People are gonna pay attention to where you go and with who." Zoe looked between Madison and Corey, her brows flicking upward in concern. She was completely unsure of the information that was considered 'public knowledge' amongst the room.
"Lot of people saw you go into a back room with some of the guys on the bus." Madison rolled her jaw. Her gaze shifted to focus on Corey for a moment as she swallowed hard. The redhead's nose twitched as she tried her hardest to not show any sign of her knowledge on situation in question.
"What does that have to do with the bus flipping?" Zoe leaned forward as she spoke up. Madison turned her head to look at the brunette, raising her brows in what one could only assume to be the blonde's attempt at a threatening maneuver. Corey shifted her weight uncomfortably.
"These are teenaged girls." Both girls returned their attention to the headmistress seated in front of them as soon as they heard her voice. Corey wanted to roll her eyes; she knew Cordelia was exaggerating for effect. She also knew that the image that she chose to portray made it seem like Madison was immature, a choice made by her manager to cater to a younger audience. It was public knowledge that she was 21, both within her 'criminal' documentation and the industry.
Though, it wasn't much of a criminal record to begin with. Her mother claimed she was a 'problem child'. Rehab became her only solace, her home away from the chaos that Madison's mother brought with every step she took. "How could they possibly do that? This all seems so silly." Zoe looked to Madison briefly, letting Cordelia attempt to handle the situation.
"I'm just looking for someone who had a motive to hurt those guys," Madison tucked a hand in between her crossed legs, using her thighs to keep herself from fidgeting. "Who could've screwed with the breaks or the steering column. Maybe whatever happened in that room was upsetting." Detective Sanchez kept his eyes on Madison as he spoke, his hands not leaving the sides of Corey's desk. Corey scoffed as she shook her head.
"You really think a girl who obviously only weighs a hundred pounds soaking wet managed to meddle with a tour bus? Mind you, she can't even change a tire on her own. You really think she has the body strength to do any damage to a bus that size?" Corey rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "You're barking up the wrong tree, detective." She stood up straight from her resting position against the edge of her desk.
"Hey!" Madison squeaked in offense. The redhead could feel her phone vibrating in her back pocket but chose to ignore it. She assumed it was her manager or her producer contacting her in an attempt to get an ETA on the next album and that wasn't something important to her at the moment. What was important, however, was making sure the situation in her office wouldn't escalate unnecessarily.
"Shouldn't we have a lawyer here or something?" Zoe asked. Her eyes scanned the accumulation of people in front of her.
"We're just talking," the detective shrugged. His eyes landed on Corey who mirrored his demeanor across the desk. He returned his attention to Zoe who sat directly next to the redhead. "Did you know any of those boys? Had you met them before?"
"No." Madison piped up. She looked between the detective and Zoe as she shook her head. "We barely spoke to them that night." She looked back to the detective before continuing. "They took me in the back room to get me high, but I said no." Madison looked at him with large doe eyes. She didn't want to talk about what had happened, but she also knew that there was nothing that connected the coven, or herself, to the bus flip.
"She's sober." Zoe added with a proud nod. Of course she is, Corey held in the groan she so badly wanted to let out. Madison wasn't the image she'd been portrayed as over the years.
"Except vodka," Madison looked to Zoe with a half-assed smirk before turning back to the detective. Corey quickly cleared her throat, shaking the frustrated tone from her core. Madison had a party-girl image to protect. In fact, to her, any image was better than the world knowing that the only thing she was ever guilty of was being her authentic self behind closed doors.
"Uh, Madison has a wicked sense of humor." Corey sighed. She shook her head slightly as she bit back the angry growl that threatened to bubble up. "But in fact, she's come a long way with her addiction issues." She cleared her throat once more as she looked back at Madison with an empathetic gaze. "We're very proud of her." Corey gave the girl a small smile, her head tilted ever so slightly.
It hurt the redhead to have to blatantly lie about her girlfriend. The only addiction the blonde had was nonconforming; her 'lifestyle' went against her mother's beliefs, against what the industry saw as profitable, so it stayed buried. Her short stints in rehab or reform facilities directly correlated with public relation nightmares. It was the same reason why, once she turned 19, the visits forced on her by her mother had stopped.
"Can I ask you why you visited one of the survivors in the hospital?" Detective Sanchez immediately turned his attention to Zoe. The girl's jaw dropped at the question. Madison's breath caught in her throat as she turned to look at the brunette, her lip quivering as her gaze quickly moved to Corey. The redhead clenched her jaw, closing her eyes. She knew that Zoe taking care of things without being noticed was far too good to be true.
Detective Stiles finally moved away from the door, pulling a photo of Zoe from the day before out of the blue folder in his hands. He held the photograph in front of Zoe for her to look at, making the brunette more anxious than she already was. Cordelia retained her composure, sitting tall with her hands folded on top of the desk in front of her.
"Um... I felt bad for him." Zoe looked down at her feet as she spoke, her eyes flicking up to the detective as she finished her sentence. Corey's eyes shot open as she exhaled sharply. Madison focused on the desk in front of her, realizing that things were about to take a turn for the worse.
"Zoe," Corey warned, her face stern as she tilted her head. The brunette continued to ramble and Madison looked up at her with pleading eyes.
"We-we just met him the night before." Madison nodded slowly, looking back up at the detective and forcing a smirk. "He seemed nice." Zoe talked with her hands, nodding as well.
"Zoe, seriously," Corey added, talking through her teeth. "Shut up." Again, the brunette ignored her.
"He died right after you left." The brunette's jaw dropped again and she sat completely still, not knowing what to say next. "The doctors can't quite figure out how, but when we checked you out, we noticed that another boy you knew died in the exact same way right before you got here." She took in a shaky breath, her eyes locked on the man who continued to lean into Madison's personal bubble. The blonde's eyes moved back and forth quickly, trying to piece things together on her own. "A boy named Charles Taylor." Cordelia looked between the two girls in front of her, Zoe whimpering as she tried to breathe while Madison's eyes locked on Corey.
"They gang-raped her, and they got what they deserved!" Zoe broke out into tears as Madison's head snapped in her direction. The look of pure betrayal was evident on the blonde as she rolled her jaw and scoffed.
"Zoe, shut the fuck up." Corey snapped. Her eyes filled with the flicker of an angry flame as she glared at the young witch. Cordelia looked up at her with a concerned brow as Madison scoffed.
"How did you flip the bus? Was it the wheels? It was the wheels." Detective Sanchez spoke louder to compensate for Zoe's sobbing.
"I have no idea what she's talking about." Madison tried to diffuse the situation as best as she could but she couldn't get the detective to believe her after Zoe's breakdown. "I... Nobody raped me." Zoe shot up from her seat and Corey instinctively moved forward, placing a hand on the brunette's shoulder.
"She's clearly lost her mind." Madison's icy glare immediately returned to Zoe, causing the girl to huff and stutter, moving her hands as she tried to think of the words to say.
"Zoe, you need to sit down and shut up," Corey spoke through clenched teeth, her eyes just as angry as Madison's.
"Madison did it." Zoe's arm lurched outward so she could point directly at the blonde who remained seated. Corey's hand dropped from Zoe's shoulder before immediately latching to her own brow. She quickly pulled her hand down her face with a shake of her head.
"She can move things with her mind. An-and Corey can conjure fire. And I killed that asshole in the hospital! I have powers, too. We're witches." Zoe clenched her fists to her side, leaning forward with her shoulders squared as she spat through her tears. The detective shook his head, blinking rapidly.
"I'm sorry, Detective." Cordelia shot up from her seat, keeping her hands folded in front of her. "Zoe has clearly suffered some kind of mental break." The headmistress made her way around the side of the desk but didn't get far before Zoe began yelling again.
"No!" The brunette yelled out, stomping her foot. "No, enough lying. It's over!" She turned back to the detective, her hands clasped together as she begged. "Everyone here is a witch. I'm so sorry. Please don't send us to jail." Zoe began to cry again. Madison exhaled sharply through her nose, closing her eyes to keep herself from throwing the brunette against a wall telekinetically.
"Nobody's going to jail." Fiona pushed one of the French doors to Corey's office open before standing just inside the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. The scent of alcohol wafted across the room as she entered, causing Corey's nose to twitch involuntarily. "Girls. Will you leave us, please?" Zoe ran out of the room and Madison stood slowly, shaking her head. "Corey, you too." Fiona pointed a finger at the redhead before nodding her head in the direction of the open door behind her.
"Right," Corey nodded, taking her leave as soon as she was requested to do so.
"Are you in charge here?" Detective Sanchez took a step away from the desk, making his way towards Fiona.
"I'm Fiona Goode. I'm in charge everywhere." The Supreme spoke with an air of elegance as Corey closed the door behind her, trying to catch up to Madison and Zoe while still trying to hear what was being said within her own office.
"We're gonna have to take both of those girls in for questioning. We'll try to keep this quiet, but," Detective Sanchez paused for a moment before continuing his sentence. "That Madison girl..." Corey scoffed, shaking her head as she moved down the hall, quickly finding her way up the stairs and in the general direction of the wing reserved for the younger witches.
"Maddie," Corey called out. She followed the blonde down the hall. "Wait." Madison shook her head, turning on her heels to face the taller girl.
"You knew," the blonde's lip quivered as she stood up taller, craning her neck to look up at the redhead. "She told you, didn't she?" Her attention turned to Zoe as she pointed a finger at the brunette, her eyes narrowed as all trust in the other girl immediately faded away. "She obviously can't keep her mouth shut and cracks under pressure."
"No," Corey sighed, looking down at her feet as she shook her head.
"Then how did you—" Before she could even finish her sentence, it clicked. "You used your divination on me?" Madison scoffed, raising her voice as she shook her head. "You're absolutely unbelievable." She crossed her arms over her chest as she shook her head once more, choosing to look anywhere around the hallway instead of directly at her girlfriend. "For all I know, you've used your music magic on me, too."
"Don't talk about it so loudly," Corey hissed. She stepped forward with an outreached hand. Before her fingers could touch Madison's shoulder, the blonde pulled away, the anger clearly evident on her face. "I don't have the greatest control over it, Maddie," Corey sighed. Her shoulders fell slowly as she exhaled. "I truly didn't overstep on purpose, it's not like I can just turn it off. I've had it for six months and I still haven't figured out how this new power works." She paused, swallowing hard as she shook her head. "And you know I would never use that compulsion on you."
"That's exactly my point, you've had six months to figure it out," Madison rolled her eyes. She turned away from the redhead to leave her in the hallway alone. "And you," the blonde called out. She followed Zoe into their shared bedroom. "You're such a god damn idiot. I can't believe you told them everything. I'm supposed to be cleaning up my act. When this gets out, I'm screwed."
"Who cares? This is murder. Like, multiple murders." Zoe folded into herself as she yelled back at the blonde, clenching her fists in frustration.
"They're not gonna find any evidence that we messed with the bus because we didn't mess with the bus! What did you do to that shit-dick in the hospital, though?" Madison stomped into her corner of their shared room, though the two hadn't spent a night in it simultaneously yet, as Corey made her way inside. The redhead's phone vibrated in her back pocket for what felt like the 400th time. She reluctantly removed it from her pocket as she spoke.
"Look, Zoe, I appreciate what you did. I truly do. You didn't have to go out of your way to help, but you also did the exact opposite of what I said. What do you think don't get caught means?" Corey's freehand moved from the back of her hair to her side as it dropped in frustration. "Also, what the fuck did you think I meant when I told you to stop talking because it sure as shit didn't seem like you understood what I said."
The redhead looked down at her phone; the name Trinity Pine scrolled across her screen. She held her breath for a moment, blinking rapidly. "Shit," she muttered. Before she could answer her phone, the bedroom door in front of her flew open. She immediately braced herself for the wrath of the Supreme.
"Idiots," Fiona groaned. She flicked her wrist to send the three girls backwards. Zoe and Madison were quickly airborne and hit the walls behind them with a loud thud as Corey skidded backwards, her feet firmly planted against the hardwood floors as she protected herself. Zoe landed safely in her bed as Madison crashed against a bookshelf before hitting the floor.
"Will you stop throwing them already?" Corey looked to her feet for a moment, willing herself to come to a stop before she looked back up at Fiona. The Supreme rolled her eyes at the redhead before continuing, her attention on Zoe who was quickly moving to sit herself up on her bed.
"Have you any idea what's going on out there?" Fiona's attention quickly turned to Madison on the other side of the room with a point of her finger. "Now, I forgave your ham-handed mass murder business with the bus... Over exuberance of youth and all that," again, she turned to Zoe, the anger in her voice evident.
"But if you haven't got the goddamn brains to know that when strangers come asking questions, we close ranks," she raised her voice, taking a threatening step towards the brunette. "Then I fear our line is truly at an end." Fiona shook her head as she looked up at the ceiling, running her tongue over her teeth as Zoe spoke up.
"But they knew so much already." The brunette spoke in a whimper, as if the only way she could speak was through her own tears.
"They didn't know shit, Zoe," Corey clenched her fist, shaking her head.
"I couldn't toast a piece of bread with the heat they were putting on you." The Supreme stomped forward, closing the distance until she was equally apart from both Zoe and Corey. "You are soft. You're emotional. You care what people think. And you," Fiona's attention turned to Corey. "You're in over your head if you think you can protect her," the Supreme's finger pointed to Madison again, her eyes focused on the redhead in front of her, "from the things that go bump in the night." She paused, letting her jaw lock for a moment as she looked the redhead up and down.
"I would've thought your mother taught you better than that." Corey rolled her jaw, crossing her arms over her chest as her nose twitched at the Supreme's words. While she wanted to be angry, Fiona was right. Madison crossed her arms over her chest, crumbling into herself as she looked at Corey with sad eyes. She took in a shaky breath as Fiona started speaking again.
"Now, if there's one thing you learn before leaving this place, it's that we, even the weakest among us," her pointed finger quickly moved to Zoe, one brow arched upwards, "are better than the best of them." Madison's arms dropped to her sides as she took in an angry breath, preparing to speak before promptly being cut off by Zoe.
"Are we gonna get arrested?" The brunette asked, taking the bottom hem of her sweater and twirling it between her fingers.
"You are missing the point." Fiona emphasized her words with her hands, looking directly at Zoe as she spoke.
"Which is?" Madison shook her head, waiting for an answer.
"The point is..." Fiona's eyes watered with frustration as she turned to look at Madison once more. "In this whole wide wicked world, the only thing you have to be afraid of... is me." The Supreme's gaze bounced between Madison and Zoe as she spoke, finally looking at Corey as she finished her sentence. She sent one last glare in Zoe's direction before walking out of the room, stomping down the hallway. Corey quickly followed her, letting out a harsh sigh as she stopped in the doorway. She turned to look between Madison and Zoe before speaking one last time.
"Class starts in an hour, I expect you both to be there." There was nothing but authority in the redhead's tone as she spoke. She quickly turned on her heels, leaving the two alone in their shared bedroom.