Author's Note: Back wit anotha one!
McSgwizzle: Yeeeeah the breakup was bound to happen, especially when you have parents like Big Daddy and Mama Cosma. They somethin' else entirely. Honestly, I've always had a soft spot for Juandissimo too; I just hate how they turned him extremely obsessive on the show, though he's not the only character they ruined **coughCosmocough**
And bruh...if only you knew the drama that is to come when Juan and Wanda get closer (Muhahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaahahahaha!)
In the dim of his room, Cosmo sat in fetal position against his bedpost, staring at diamond ring in his hand.
Cosmo never felt so miserable in the past three weeks than he had in his entire seventeen years of life. When Spike questioned why he suddenly ended his relationship with Wanda, Cosmo explained how his mother basically beat him into submission. While in the hospital, Mama Cosma threatened to do a lot worse if he did not comply in breaking up with Wanda, and by the amount of pain he already endured, it was a risk he had to take. He cursed himself for breaking her heart in to a million pieces; he swore that they would try to make it work no matter the obstacles, and yet he wasn't man enough to keep his word.
He randomly thought to grab the ring in the guilt of his heartache, and he searched his closet for the suicide note that he saved, followed by the box that held the diamond. The ring was an heirloom left by his late father. In the suicide note that he found as a child, his father left him that ring as it was passed down from his great-grandfather, and his father requested that he save said ring for that special woman in his life. This brought Cosmo to tears because he had ruined any chance of proposing to Wanda with that ring in the future, and in his mind, he might never find anyone as special as Wanda.
Mama Cosma hadn't been as hostile towards him when he confirmed with her that he and Wanda were officially done. In fact, she literally jumped for joy, excited that he had 'finally' come to his senses. While Cosmo spiraled further into depression, Mama Cosma would dismiss it as 'teenage hormones' and pushed him to get out of the house or invite Spike over more often. He wasn't sure if she was just oblivious to why he was so miserable in the first place, or if she knew and didn't care.
Cosmo wiped his eyes of fresh tears as he heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?" Cosmo spoke, attempting to hide the upset in his voice.
"It's Spike."
"Oh…come in."
As Spike entered the room, he searched for the light switch and flipped the lights on, causing Cosmo to squint from the brightness. "Dude, why are you sitting in the dark like a vampire?" Spike joked, closing the door behind him.
Cosmo didn't respond, continuing to stare towards the ring.
Taking that Cosmo wasn't in the mood for jokes, Spike proceeded to hover towards the bed, sitting next to Cosmo's feet as he took notice of the sparkling object in his hand. "What's with the ring?"
With a groan, Cosmo felt more tears brimming in his eyes. "…I'll never find someone like Wanda again…"
Spike wondered if Cosmo would ever stop feeling sorry for himself; after all, he was the one to break things off. Sitting around moping about it wasn't going to bring her back. "I know what'll cheer ya up!"
Cosmo lifted his chin from his knees as Spike flew over to the gaming console in front of the TV. "Why don't we play video games?" Spike encouraged, grabbing one of the controllers. "That could take your mind off things."
"I don't wanna."
Spike turned to Cosmo with a raised eyebrow. "Um…okay…" he placed the controller back on the ground. "…do you wanna talk about anything?"
"No…"
Spike let out a sigh of slight frustration. "Then why'd ya ask me to come over?"
Cosmo flinched from the impatience in Spike's tone. He lowered his gaze, curling his knees further towards his chest. "…I'm sorry." Cosmo used his sleeve to wipe his eyes as more tears threatened to fall. "…I'm just...sad."
Spike's impatience quickly switched to empathy, scratching his head from how awkward he felt. He had to remind himself that despite Cosmo putting himself in the situation he was in, he still suffered from a broken heart. He didn't have quite the understanding, seeing as how he'd never felt towards another fairy the way Cosmo felt towards Wanda and vice versa, but it wasn't hard for him to feel Cosmo's pain.
"How about this, then." Spike hovered closer to the bed, keeping his expression calm. "How about we just…go skating together? We don't have to talk, we can just skate. Who knows, maybe it could help clear your mind and my mind. What do ya say?"
Cosmo stared towards Spike as if considering his suggestion. He honestly didn't feel like moving let alone going for a skate, though the idea of getting some fresh air didn't seem like a terrible idea.
Without a word, Cosmo rested the ring on the corner of his nightstand as he scooted off the side of his bed, flying passed Spike towards his closet. Spike observed as Cosmo took out a pair of black chucks and dug into his back pocket for a wand to poof his shoes on. After closing the door to his closet, Cosmo flew back over to his nigh stand where he grabbed his cellphone and house keys.
"I'll take that as a 'yes.'" Spike sprung from his seat on the bed and followed Cosmo out of the bedroom into the hallway.
Staring at the sharp object in her hand, Wanda battled with her itch to cut and her will not to surrender to it.
Wanda managed three weeks without her blade, but despite promising the nurse she would seek guidance from the counselors, she didn't feel comfortable expressing her deepest secrets with a total stranger. If it weren't for her rekindled bond with Susie, and her new friendships with Alewandro and Juandissimo, she probably wouldn't have lasted three days. Yet today she found herself in the girl's bathroom after school, struggling to silence the voices screaming in her head.
Because of her breakup with Cosmo and for her 'staying on their good side,' Big Daddy and Little Mamma ungrounded her and gave her back phone and TV privileges. They even acknowledged how she accomplished raising her lowest A and maintain a solid 4.0, though they never bothered to ask how she managed the stress that came with it. She read somewhere that snapping her wrist with a rubber band could help ease the need to cut, and that seemed to work for about a week. After that, she found herself in situations such as these, where she contemplated giving in to the razor calling her name.
Nothing particularly upsetting happened that day…
Not unless you count Cosmo waving 'hello' as he passed her in the halls.
She came to realize how triggering just hearing Cosmo's name was. Every time she saw him, every time she heard him, every time she thought of him, her mind would spiral into a tornado of negative thoughts. When Susie wasn't with Alewandro, she would try to take Wanda's mind off the matter somehow. But when Wanda was alone, she couldn't find many options as a means of distraction.
"Wanda?" Wanda could hear Susie calling for her as the creek of the entrance caught her attention. "You in here?"
"Yeah." Wanda replied, twirling the blade in her fingers.
Susie closed the door and hovered to the third bathroom stall next to the window. She pressed against the door of the stall, somewhat surprised to find it unlocked, and opened the stall to find Wanda sitting on the toilet, falling into protective mode.
"Wanda, what are you doing?!" Susie exclaimed, swiftly swiping the blade from Wanda's hands. "I thought you were passed this?!"
Wanda crossed her arms, deciding not to argue. She lowered her head to her boots as her eyes glossed with tears. When she had her talk with Susie, Susie apologized repeatedly for leaving Wanda hanging and for getting so caught up in her own life that she disregarded the feelings of her best friend. Susie wanted to make it up to her, but in Wanda's eyes, the fact that she was so understanding gave her the sense of a lifted burden.
Susie's demeanor quickly switched to that of compassion; she had to take into consideration that Wanda was still a bit fragile from the breakup. She had to remind herself to be more mindful, not necessarily of what she said, but how she said it.
After floating to a nearby trashcan to discard the blade, Susie floated back towards Wanda, out stretching her arms as a request for a hug. Wanda lifted her eyes to meet hers, and after wiping her eyes, she rose from her seat on the thrown and accepted Susie's embrace. She rested a cheek on Susie's shoulder as she felt Susie's arms squeeze her gently, wrapping her arms underneath Susie's armpits and drawing her close.
"It'll be okay, Wanda." Susie whispered, rubbing Wanda's back as her shoulder grew damp with her tears. "…just give it time."
Strolling through the empty corridors, Blonda casually typed her response to Sapphire's text on her phone, thinking about what outfits she and the triplets could shop for at the mall.
As far as she was concerned, her life couldn't be any more perfect.
She had not one but two guys competing for her affection, and she teased the idea of dating more than one guy. Sure, she liked Luther enough. But Treveston? Luther stimulated her physically, but Treveston stimulated her mentally as well. She loved when he flirted with her, and the fact that they had a lot in common helped with more intelligent conversations, more intellectually exciting than talking about football or whatever.
Her best friends were literally the best; she could talk to them about anything, and they never judged her no matter how trivial the subject matter. She could be 100% herself around them, and they accepted her in every Blonda fashion, shape, or form. They could go shopping, flirt with random guys, go partying, or get mani-pedis, and they would have a blast every single time. In fact, she called them sisters more than her actual sister.
Her parents were the absolute greatest, especially her mother. Just like her best friends, she could go to her mother for anything in the world, and she would give her the best advice. In fact, her mother was also her best friend. Little Mamma was the first to encourage Blonda to pursue her dreams to become an actress, and she was one of the few to stick by her side. So far, her mother enrolled her in after school acting classes since football season ended, and she assisted in editing her demo reel of plays she's participated in since middle school. She wouldn't be the person she was if it weren't for her mother praising and encouraging her talents, and she wouldn't know what she'd ever do without her.
Putting her phone in her skirt pocket, she flew passed the double doors of the Library when she noticed Juandissimo sitting against a locker, vacantly staring towards the ground. He was still quite the mystery to her; some days, she'd see him engage in active conversation, being sociable and what not. Other days, she'd see him just like this, staring off into space. It wasn't abnormal behavior for him to everyone else, everyone except Blonda that is. He didn't act like most guys, and it puzzled her. So much so, that in the spare time she just so happened to have, she decided to say 'hi', have a nice little chat.
She floated towards him as she twirled the curl of her ponytail, carelessly floating as if to take her time. "Hey, J." Blonda greeted casually, catching his attention. "By yourself again, I see?"
Juandissimo turned towards her as she hovered next to him, taking her seat on the ground beside him. "Not exactly" came his dull reply. "Just waiting on Juanita to finish her paper so we can walk home."
"Fascinating." Blonda responded sarcastically, reaching into her purse for lip gloss. As she uncapped the applicator and brushed her lips with cherry blossom, she observed Juandissimo from her peripheral. She could be wrong, but the look in his eyes seemed...drab. "You alright? Seem kinda tired."
"Si." Juandissimo shrugged. "I am fine."
She continued to watch him as she arched her eyebrow. She knew he was lying; she would know, considering she was an experienced actress. "You are such a total puzzle." Blonda chuckled as she put her gloss back in her purse.
The confusion expressed through his eyes. "…¿Qué?"
Blonda turned to him with a grin. "You're quick to ask anyone else how they are, how they're feeling, if they wanna talk about what's bothering them, whatever…but the moment any one of those questions turns to you, especially when it's clear as day that something's wrong, you're so surface level."
Juandissimo lowered her gaze, twiddling with the strap on his backpack. "I guess…I do not necessarily want other people to worry."
"Why?" Blonda probed. "What could possibly be so terrible that other people can't know?"
"It is not necessarily that other people cannot know." Juandissimo explained. "It is just…I do not want them to."
"…Again, why?"
"Why do you want to know so badly?"
"Hello? Because I'm nosy?" Blonda tittered. "Plus, I'm actually really curious about this 'secret' of yours."
"It is not a se-" Juandissimo paused, thinking about his words, before he sighed in defeat. "Okay fine..."
As Blonda gave her undivided attention, Juandissimo continued to fretfully fidget with his backpack strap. He really didn't want to say what was heavy on his mind, but after the ordeal with Wanda, he guessed there really wasn't much stopping him. "…The reason I'm waiting on Juanita…is so we can go together to visit our mother's grave."
"…What?" Blonda had absolutely no clue what he was saying. "Wait…but, that woman I always saw Juanita go up to-"
"Is Alewandro's mother." Juandissimo clarified. "And my aunt."
"…Seriously?!" Blonda shrieked, unsure of how to react. "But how-"
"My father is serving life in Abracatraz." Juandissimo further explained "…for slitting my mother's throat."
Her jaw practically dropped to the floor; Blonda couldn't believe what she was hearing. She almost wished he were making it up. She had known him for all of five months and she never would have guessed that Juandissimo had gone through something so…disturbing.
He noticed how stunned she seemed, and averted his eyes, feeling absolutely humiliated. "…I guess I said too much…"
"…Are you kidding?" Blonda responded, completely mystified. "I literally have sooooooo many questions!"
He crossed his arms, keeping his eyes towards the ground in attempts to subdue the awkwardness he felt. "…Do you mind…not telling anyone else?"
Blonda stared at him for a moment before answering. "Even if I wanted to, no one would believe a word that came out of my mouth! Besides," Blonda retrieved her phone from her pocket upon receipt of a new text message. "it's not my business to tell."
Juandissimo and Blonda both turned to the entrance to the Library as the double doors opened and noticed Juanita with both hands on the straps of her backpack. Juanita approached the pair and Juandissimo stood up from his seat on the ground with Blonda quickly following suit.
"Finished my paper." Juanita spoke with a shy grin, hovering in front of her brother. "Kind of sucks but, I guess it will be okay."
"Tal vez." Juandissimo teasingly ruffled his sister's hair, making her giggle.
Blonda watched their interaction, pondering how Juanita was handling the loss of her mother at her age. She knew if she were three years younger, she'd be a total wreck if her mother was suddenly taken from her. "Hey, Juanita." Blonda addressed with a friendly wave.
"Hey." Juanita smiled bashfully. "How are you?"
"Good, I think." Blonda replied, though she honestly wasn't sure.
"We should get going." Juandissimo draped an arm around Juanita, drawing her next to him. He turned to Blonda, through his backpack over his shoulder. "See you tomorrow?"
Blonda paused as if unsure of a response before replying "Yeah, sure. See you tomorrow."
As Juandissimo and Juanita passed her in the opposite direction, Blonda turned around and observed as they left. It wasn't the first time she had anyone reveal secrets to her; it was the first time anyone had revealed that kind of secret. Normally she'd forget about it after a few minutes, especially if it was trivial enough not to warrant her attention. But this she would probably never forget even if she tried.
After paying for their respective lunches, Cosmo and Spike floated through the crowd of the cafeteria, searching for a table. Besides Luther being…well…Luther, Cosmo was having a pretty decent day. It didn't take as much effort to pay attention in class or care about his schoolwork, and, for a while, his mind wasn't plagued with thoughts he couldn't silence.
Until he spotted her swirly pink hair.
Spike stopped mid-air as he noticed Cosmo staring towards a specific table in the cafeteria: a table with Wanda sitting next to Susie with Alewandro and Juandissimo sitting across from them. Spike, regrettably, noticed the instant regret in Cosmo's eyes, and, also regrettably, felt the need to be the voice of reason.
"Dude, ignore them." Spike suggested, yanking Cosmo's sleeve. "C'mon…let's go sit."
"But…" Cosmo whimpered, stared as Susie took out her phone to show Wanda a picture of some kind. "…m-maybe I could just say 'hi?'"
Spike assumed Cosmo's core innocence contributed to his insanity of doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, but after at least three times, he expected Cosmo to learn his lesson when it came to any interactions with his ex. "Dude, seriously, that would not be a great ide-"
Cosmo ignored him and floated towards the quartet, and with an exasperated sigh, Spike followed.
As Susie placed her phone beside her tray, she happened to look up to see Cosmo approaching them, her smile quickly flattening into a straight line. She nudged Wanda in the arm which Wanda proceeded to ask what was wrong. She turned her attention to the direction of Susie's glare, feeling her heart plunge into her stomach the moment shaggy green hair hovered in her line of sight. It wasn't long before Alewandro and Juandissimo grew curious and turned around, creasing their brow as they glowered in the direction of the scrawny fairy behind them.
Cosmo could feel his arms tremble as the spotlight was all on him. His body froze as Spike hovered next to him with a side-eye, not accustomed to this much attention.
"Isn't there somewhere else you should be?" Susie asked, though it was more like a statement, as Wanda averted her eyes. "Like, I dunno, not here?"
Cosmo gulped, switching his eyes between Susie's scowl, Wanda's discomfort, and the Magnificos' menace. "Um…" Cosmo attempted to mask the quiver in his voice. "…I-I just wanted to say hi-"
"Maybe she was not clear, pendejo." Alewandro threatened in Susie's defense as he stood from his seat and hovered close to Cosmo's face, Juandissimo quickly following suit. "That means get lost."
Cosmo's eyes darted back and forth as the two brothers crossed their arms against their puffed chests, feeling his tremor travel through his legs. These guys were not Luther, but they were just as intimidating.
"C'mon, dude." Spike tugged Cosmo's sleeve once more. "Let's go." He realized Cosmo wasn't listening, so he put more emphasis in his tone. "Now."
With a final glance towards Wanda, Cosmo remembered how to fly and reluctantly trailed behind Spike to an abandoned table on the other side of the cafeteria.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the cafeteria, Blonda could be seen socializing with the Gemstone Triplets over outfits for the upcoming 'Senior Night' that weekend.
"We should totally wear those matching mini dresses with the ruffle trim!" Ruby exclaimed, flipping through pages in a fashion magazine. "Or these!" she pointed to a model wearing a spaghetti strap lace mini dress. "These would look super chic!"
"No way!" Sapphire turned the page of the magazine to another model posing in a skin-tight cotton floral min dress with puff sleeves. "That dress would turn everyone's heads!"
"If we're gonna go puff on the sleeves, why not rock 'off the shoulder?'" Amethyst interjected, learning over the table to point towards the model on the next page in the mini dress she mentioned. "Those would look so good on us!"
"Ladies, we're going to a club, not the red carpet!" Blonda interposed, flipping to the next page of the magazine. "I say we go form fitting and strapless!"
The girls observed the model wearing a strapless black silk dress, snug around her curves and just below the lady bits. The triplets gawked with collective ooooooooohs as Blonda felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Wondering who could be calling her during this time, she took out her phone and read "Mamma" flashing on her caller ID. She pressed the answer button and placed the phone to her ear with a perky "Hey, mamma!"
"Oh hello, my little sunflower!" Little Mamma greeted on the other end. "I would have waited until after school, but this news is too good to wait!"
"News?" Blonda stared towards her friends staring at her. "What news?"
"I have a special little surprise!" Little Mamma announced. "I managed to pull a few strings to land you a meeting this Thursday with a potential talent agent in Fairywood!"
Blonda's jaw dropped. "Oh my GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWSH!" Her shrieks made the triplets glance at each other, pondering what has Blonda so excited. "REALLY?! HOW?!"
"Connections, my dear!" Little Mamma boasted. "A skill you'll learn eventually if you want to make it in Fairywood!
Blonda cupped her hand over her mouth; she was so excited, and she just couldn't hide it.
"We'll go shopping for an outfit to wear after school." Little Mamma continued. "And you can invite the girls if you want!"
"They would be so down for that!" Blonda exclaimed, shaking her free arm in excitement. "You're the best, mamma! Thank you so much!"
"Anything for my little star!" Little Mamma replied. "I'll see you when you get home!"
"Okay!" Blonda pursed her lips in an air kiss before hanging up the call.
After Blonda put her phone away, Ruby spoke what the other girls thought. "Uh…what was that?!"
"Girls!" Blonda shrieked, exposing her pearly whites. "You'll never guess what I found out!"
Cosmo floated through the halls with his eyes towards his shoes. Students were putting away books in their lockers, some leaving in groups to walk home. Spike had a Chemistry paper to finish, and Cosmo wasn't interested in sticking around just to be bored to death in the Library, so he decided to walk home by himself. He needed the time to think anyway.
Even though Spike warned him otherwise, Cosmo, in some way, still wanted Wanda to be in his life. He still cared about her to the point where he'd rather have her partially in his life than not at all. Part of him, however, knew that probably wouldn't be possible. Wanda could barely stand to look at him let alone talk to him.
They wouldn't have to be best friends; his mother wouldn't allow that anyhow. But, maybe, they could be acquaintances. Distant enough to maintain personal space, yet cordial enough to have small conversations. Kind of like a long-distance friendship. It was a far-fetched dream, but it could happen…right?
Just as he was about to turn the corner to hover to the double doors, he once again found himself staring at a familiar pink swirl as she gathered her belongings and reattached the lock to her locker. He could hear Spike's voice in his head reminding him that it would be in his best interest to just leave Wanda alone. He could also hear another voice in his head questioning what could possibly go wrong with just saying 'hi.' Besides, Wanda was alone, so there was nothing and no one to stop him. Not even common sense.
Taking his chances, Cosmo slowly advanced to Wanda just as she tossed her backpack over her shoulders to leave. She paused, staring at him in discontent. He paused, staring at her in hesitancy. It turned into a stare down with both fairies on either side of the intersection, both unsure of what to do next.
Cosmo, in his Cosmo fashion, approached with a small smile he could muster. She didn't run from him, so he took this as a good sign. Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance to at least be civil. "…Hi." He waved timidly, making sure not to fly too close into her personal space. "…how are you?"
Wanda's discontent slowly turned to disdain, shaking her head in distrust. "You don't get to pretend to care after you dump me like trash!" Wanda spat, throwing Cosmo for a loop. He'd never seen her so angry, especially towards him.
"Wanda…" Cosmo didn't know what to say other than "…I'm…I'm sorry."
"You don't get to be sorry!"
His eyes grew wide in heartache. "…b-but-"
"Just leave me alone!"
Before Cosmo could respond, Wanda hurried passed him down the hall and shoved through the double doors in her flea. Cosmo lowered his head, feeling fresh tears press against his eyes. He should have expected that type of reaction considering everything that happened, but the venom in her voice still cut through to the core.
The Wanda he loved was officially gone, and it was all his fault.