It really HAS been a while. TBH, I lost a lot of interest in MH - mainly because the shorts haven't been what they used to be and also because I have been real busy with work and school.

Lucky enough though, I was looking at some old files and amongst other things, this chapter was lying about half done. It was suppose to be a sort of "epilogue" from the last one and I had intended of making a double upload but never got around to it. I know the majority have been asking for Clawdeen, and I WILL be giving her a chapter, but not any time soon. For now, I give you this...

X

It had been one hell of a day for Clawd Wolf, who had to not only avoid his girlfriend but had to spend a good hour rejuvenating Deuce after he got the shit smacked out of him by his girlfriend. Like seriously, who knew Cleo had that much arm strength? Deuce was even able to look without his shades for almost 10 minutes.

"Women." Clawd shook his head "Just dangerous creatures, all of them!"

Thinking about how angry Cleo had gotten, Clawd started to wonder if Draculaura was starting to get upset too. Well, of course she was upset but just how much damage was she willing to do to his face... And his nuts. It was always the nice ones you had to look out for... And Draculaura was one of the nicest ghouls you could meet.

Clawd sighed before stepping into the guys locker-room, he had a free period and wasn't too keen on studying in the library - Not with the possibility of seeing his sister or any of the other people Draculaura hung around with.

"I need a break from all this stress... Maybe run around the track a few times..."

X

Cleo sighed, "What have I done?" Her whole right arm was still shaking from the impact of her slap and she could feel her palm throbbing. "What happens now if he breaks up with me? It won't be anyone's fault but my own." Gently she rubbed her right hand, starting from the tips of her fingers down to her wrist... She stopped. And stared at her wrist. She had doused her arms in the finest makeup she could find, so nobody would know. Nobody would see.

She could hear Nefera's voice ringing in her head, sneering and jiving, "Oh, how proud mother would be to see her Princess now..."

Cleo knew her older sister was just a wicked and cold bitch who got off on seeing others unhappy, but one thing Nefera wasn't was a liar. She always used the truth to crack the heart and for the past couple of weeks, she made it a daily habit to shatter Cleo's.

"How can you expect to be a Queen if you can't handle your own petty shit?"

"You know, I never understood how you to got to be the Queen Bee of Monster High... Oh yes right, you used everyone around you to climb the social ladder because your incapable of doing anything on your own."

"Oh, you're going to tell Daddy on me? Ha! Of course you are. You always need someone's help to do things for you. You're so damn spineless, so God damn weak. You don't deserve to have the title of De Nile next to your wretched name."

"You will never be good enough."

How did the Queen Bee of the school turn into this? Some blubbering child who couldn't even stand up for herself, who was hiding out in the bleachers for heavens sake!

"What happened to my courage? My strength?"

"You will never be good enough."

She hated to cry, it didn't matter what anyone said, crying was a way to show that people got to you. That you finally got knocked down a peg. But at that moment she couldn't help but allow her emotions to come spilling out; hidden behind the school on the bleachers by the track, the Queen of the Nile allowed herself to cry.

X

The best part about running away from your girlfriend was that it gave you unspeakable reflexes and agility. All the ducking, dodging, long jumps and poses Clawd had do when hiding had really done wonders for his muscles.

As he entered the track field, he sprinted into a full run - Not even noticing he ran 4 miles straight. All the pent up frustration and stress seemed to disappear into the wind every time his foot hit the hard rubber of the field.

"This is almost as great as a car ride with the window down!"

The soothing breeze, the hot sun, the fresh air- Clawd came to an abrupt stop as he sniffed the air... Fresh air? No.. It smelled like.. Channel No. 5 Perfume. He scanned the perimeter, trying to see if he could match the scent to a face. Only 3 ghouls wore that perfume - Cleo, Cupid and Catty Noir.

He sniffed the air again, trying to pinpoint the scent; the thing about perfume was that it was so strong, everywhere you went, the smell would linger about. It seemed to be all over the left side of the field, Strange... Neither of the aforementioned ghouls would be out here in the middle of the day - Not with the way the heat and sweat would mess up hairstyles and makeup.

He followed the scent to the bleachers, racking his brain as to who was there and why. "Girls like to share stuff, maybe someone else is wearing the perfume... Aww Fuck! What if Draculaura decided to borrow Cleo's? What if she's waiting for me? ... What if she vampire kung fu my nuts!?" Clawd stopped as he came right next to the bleachers. His nuts really were a special part of him... He wasn't sure if he'd appreciate them kicked in. Or worse, his hormones started acting up again and he attacked his girlfriend.

"What did I ever do to deserve all of this?" he whined, "I'm a good guy!"

Suddenly he heard a sniff and a hiccup, his ears pricked - He knew that sound... Crying. But it wasn't Draculaura, no... But it was faintly familiar. Slowly, he walked up to see a figure, hunched over and facing the opposite way of the benches.

Wait a minute... Is that Cleo?... Crying?!

He halted. Or this could be a trap. Women were stealthy creatures that liked to work in clichés. Maybe they were just waiting for him to get too close and then next thing you know, BAM! punched into another lifetime by Cleo, SHIZ! clawed to death by his own sister, AHHH! the sound he would make when Draculaura approached with a machete ready to chop off his beads...

But as Cleo sat there, sobbing, Clawd began to think that maybe this wasn't about him. "I wonder if Deuce broke up with her...", He frowned, pondering if he should interrupt. "But there's no way he would do that after that smack out... Uh... I should just leave her alone", but even as he thought that, he found himself walking up to her.

He would never admit to it, but it stung his heart to see Cleo cry. After all the years they had been a couple, he knew her inside and out and crying wasn't something she did often, much less in a public area.

After their breakup, neither of them kept contact. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time they even said hello to one another. "Should... Should I talk to her?"

Cleo hadn't noticed that she was being watched, "It really isn't my business... But even so..." Clawd bent down right in front of her and poked her in the cheek.

"If you keep crying like that, all your beauty is going to be washed away by your tears."

Cleo jumped at the sudden touch, "... Clawd?" She sniffled and furiously rubbed her eyes, trying to rid any trace of her tears.

"You're just smearing your makeup you know... No worries though, clown face suits you well."

Cleo scowled, "Shut up, dog!" she really wasn't in the mood to be pestered, but Clawd shrugged off the comment and plopped down, right next to her.

"It's not like I haven't seen you cry before anyway..."

Cleo threw him a glare and frowned "Don't you have someone else to bother? Someone who actually wants you around?... عقله ضارب."

Clawd frowned at her, So much for being nice... "جربوعة"

"طز فيك!"

"اطفح بسمّ الهاري."

Cleo felt herself smile, "... مالوش زبر."

Clawd laughed and flipped her off, "جاتك داهية."

"My, my, look at you Mr. Wolf. You remembered what I taught you?"

"Of course, all those beatings with newspapers to get it, how could I forget?

Cleo laughed, "And of course it's only the curse words you remember... It's been awhile, hasn't it Wolf?"

"Right? Almost goanna be three years since we last spoke, much less made eye contact."

"Yeah..."

"..."

An awkward silence passed by the two before Clawd cleared his throat, "Sooo.. How often do you cry under the school bleachers?"

Cleo suddenly felt like she was exposed, like her arms were washed and that he could see -Oh God! ... As calmly as she could, she folded her arms under chest. Why am I so scared?

Cleo forced a laugh, "Trust me, this isn't a regular thing. Just had a lot on my plate."

"Same old things?"

"Not even. I thought gaining popularity was the hardest part of my life, but here I am - Queen Bee - and still frustrated and upset as ever. When did my life become so complicated?

Clawd smirked, "Secret of life, my dear - Life is NEVER easy. Even when you think it is, it's not. If things are going smooth, then you're doing something wrong".

Cleo gave him a gentle smiled. Their romance wasn't as spooktacular as it had been with Deuce but their connection and friendship had been strong. Clawd was the type of guy who never judged someone before he got to know them, he never choose sides and treated everyone equally, best of all he listened to understand, not to retort. Cleo could always rely on him and felt like she could tell him anything.

And she did. She told him about how her sister was being a complete bitch, how her father was hassling her to meet up to HIS expectations and how she was failing both Clawculus and History of the Undead. She even went on about how depressed she had been feeling as of lately- Leaving some minor details out of course - up until her encounter with Deuce that morning.

"... So because of how bad your home and school life has gotten, you took your stress out on Deuce this morning, is what you're saying?"

Cleo shot Clawd a fierce glare; she had just poured her heart out to him and all he managed to do was point fingers at her?

"Is that all you have to say Clawd Wolf!?" Cleo snapped at him, "Really!?"

"What? You didn't expect me to sit here and get all misty eyed over you sob story, did you?"

Cleo gaped at him, this wasn't a side of Clawd she was used too, "You're so insensitive! Can't even pretend that you care?!", Clawd shrugged in response.

Angrily she stood up and turned on her heels, she may have been at her lowest, but she'd be damned if she'd allowed someone to kick her while she was down. She was a "De Nile" damn it! She swiftly grabbed her purse and stalked away. Clawd just rolled his eyes, "Always get the sensitive ones", he grabbed her arm and pulled her right back to where she was just sitting. She landed with a oof!

"What the HELL-!"

"Shut up and just listen, okay?"

Clawd took a deep breathe before turning to look Cleo straight in the eye, "Listen Cleo, this isn't the first time things started taking a turn for the worst for you. You suffered from much worse than this and bounced back brighter than ever. It's easy for me to say "It's goanna be okay" when I'm not the one in your shoes, but I expect much more from you."

For once, Cleo was at a lost for words. She felt her heart drop and her eyes starting to water. Clawd was the only person who told her what she needed to hear instead of what she wanted to hear.

"I can't promise when", He continued "Tomorrow, Next week, a year from now - But I can promise that it'll be okay, just you wait", Clawd reached over and wiped away her tears with his hands, "I was there for you in the past... And I can still be in the future. Just don't expect me to baby you."

There was a brief silence between the two before Cleo took his hands and held them in her own. "Thank You Clawd... For being here, for listening and always helping me get back on my feet. I know we haven't been the closest or best of buds since... back then but... I will always appreciate you." She gave his hands a squeeze before letting them go.

Another short silence followed, the two soaking in each others presence for the first time, in a long time.

"I didn't realize how much strength he gave me"

"... I kind of missed this..."

..More silence...

Clawd smirked before nudging Cleo a bit, "You still didn't answer my question. You beat your frustrations in and out of your boyfriends skull this morning."

Cleo pouted, "No, I didn't!"

"Yeah you did"

"No I didn't! I was simply... Blowing off steam!"

"It's the same thing! You can't just slap your problems away, you need to face them or they'll never get better."

Cleo scoffed, "Says the guy whose avoiding his girlfriend!"

"Hey! That is completely... It's just... Shut up."

Cleo laughed, genuine and loud, missing their old childish banters "Guess we both have problems we need to fix, don't we?"

Clawd smiled, "You have no idea..."

Unbeknownst to either monster, however, a ghost was watching the pair from a inaudible distance.

"Oh. My. Ghoul! I HAVE to blog this ASAP!"

Yay for fillers!

I think maybe continuing Abbey and then doing a Draculaura chapter would better to the story line than adding Clawdeen midway out of nowhere. I don't have any ideas for her at all and it doesn't make to add her in when there is already so much to touch on. I also have no idea if I'll be doing anything for Frankie... But I suppose we'll see, for those who want to know what's going on:

Clawd is sexual frustration, Abbey is homosexuality, Deuce is the need to be dominated and Cleo will be or rather is depression.