#Chapter 18: Ooops, I'm so sorry...
Rapunzel's POV
I stroked three swipes of dark yellow with a paintbrush to highlight sheen's of a woman's hair, careful not to foreshadow the golden base of her scalp. I then heard my ringtone echoing across my art studio, giving me a reminder that today, Oh! Today's Beth's birthday! Oh God, how could I forget!
I shuffled away my painting tools. Too much in a hurry, I didn't bother to think about what to wear and just picked something that looked cute. I grabbed my purse and my car keys and well on my way driving out of my house. I stopped at a good bookstore to buy books Beth favored to buy for so long: Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, and The Hunger Games.
Afterwards, I sped to her house as quickly as possible, nearly going past the illegal speed. I felt awful for remembering at the last minute. Beth's probably asleep at this hour as well. But I had to give her a gift no matter what. I prayed that no one else bought her the same gift. That'd make me look worse!
The silhouette of her house was as dark as a shadow, but was still there. As the car lights of my vehicle approached closer, I could see the familiar picket fence guarding her home. Her porch. Her car. And another car.
...I don't remember Beth having more than one car. Did she got a new one as a gift for her birthday? Why did she not tell me?!
Though, when I was just three feet away, the mysterious car's navy color was visible. It itched my brain and sparked a memory. The way the sheen stretched as my car lights neared... The Clarkson brand printed at the front...
It seemed to have just arrived as well. The door clicked open and out came Beth wearing this awesome dress that totally complements her eyes and pale skin. I then supposed that that wasn't her new car, judging from how she was smiling at the driver with lip movement that might've been a 'thank you'. My eyes caught on a few strands of silver hair sticking out of the window and darkened against the car's yellow lights.
When I thought of silver hair, I thought of Jack.
That Clarkson car wasn't just any car, it's Jack's car!
He was giving Beth an eagerly wide smile to which the blonde return with a sweet one
Looking at them like this, I couldn't feel my grip on the wheel. Something's not right. The two were close and were very good friends, but seeing them sharing grins like that made me want to keep them FAR away from the other. I bit my lip so hard I might as well be chewing it. From how Jack and Beth was dressed, the two just went on a DATE.
Looking back at my present for Beth, then to the girl herself, I felt a little lonely. Was that how one felt when they're betrayed?
I searched the stars for a mirth of an answer, the same ones of the night of the very promise Beth and I entangled our little fingers on. They seemed to only twinkle more brightly above the two, Jack and Beth. Not even the heavens were with me.
Beth finally noticed the extra flash of lights and looked at my direction. Her eyes squinted, before enlarging to worried saucers. Jack had on the same look
I gritted my teeth and stormed out of my car.
My best friend made a lovely promise and broke it ugly
"R-R-Rapunzel?! Um, uh, what are you doing here?" Beth stuttered uncontrollably.
"I'm here to give you your present before it's too late! Since you're my BEST FRIEND!" I spat. Beth's oh so preciously bought gift was thrown to her arms and I made sure that the pressure threw her back. But as Beth caught them and her feet became clumsy, Jack held her arms for support.
Beth looked up at him with widened eyes, then at me.
"Wait, Rapunzel! You're mis-!"
"JUST SHUT UP!" I roared. I reentered my car and darted off. It didn't slip past me how Jack's grip was firm over her limbs. My lips trembled and I slid a hand across an eye socket to wipe tears, but still focused on the road ahead.
'Why would you do this to me, Beth? I...thought we're...best friends,' mourned as I drove.
My feet carried me out of the car, not bothering to lock it. It'd be safe with the tight security anyway. I ignored all the maids and butlers I passed by and went to my room before clicking the lock. I cried my eyes dry overnight
Beth's POV
'What have I done...?'
I stood on the asphalt road like a soldier. But soldiers didn't have tears pounding their eye sockets. I heard the tap of water against paper. I looked down my bag and covered my mouth. It was the three books I had always wanted to have. Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, and The Hunger Games. The small leaks of tears turned to streams
"Beth..? I'm...I'm so sorry..." Jack whispered, reaching out a hand to touch my shoulder.
I swatted it off. "Leave."
"What?"
"I..don't feel very well. I want you to leave. Now."
"Beth I-"
"LEAVE NOW!"
My voice hardened till it was equal to a growl. Jack reluctantly nodded and got into his car before running the wheels out of the neighborhood.
My legs felt heavy as I slowly walked to my door, tucking a house key each family member had into the lock and spun it. I went inside to see all the lights unlit. Everyone else was already asleep, so I made the softest footsteps I could and tried my best to muffle my crying.
I went in my room and locked the door and sat down my bed in slumped shoulders. I wiped the tears that blurred my eyes and my sight met my full-body mirror. I saw myself in my dress, and I had to admit that I did adore the blue shade. I shook my head and felt terrible for ever thinking of it that way. I stole Rapunzel's dress. And the night I'd spent with Jack should've been hers. I didn't know how I had managed to take all of that away from her. If this dress really did end up in the depths of a garbage bin, this wouldn't have happened. Rapunzel and I would both be in my room right now, reading the books together till dawn.
The pain of someone you cared and trust, to suddenly stab you behind your back, it felt like you were being lied to all this time. You foolishly thought you had a friend when you never truly had anyone to begin with. If that's what Rapunzel was thinking, and if I alone felt so much hurt, then I couldn't imagine the emotional roller coaster she's going through
I used to never have any close relationships. Especially with boys. Not until Tadashi and Hiro came into my life, had everything change to ninety degrees. I even made friends with their gang, and never in my wildest imagination that I ever became a part of The Big Eight. But even after all that, I never had a 'best friends' or a 'crush'
But now that I knew, I was feeling it. It hurt. It stung. Like glass shards trying to slice my rib cage apart. I laid on my bed before closing my eyes, soaking the pillow sheet with tears. I couldn't stop thinking over the hurt look on Rapunzel's face when she saw me.
Next morning...Rapunzel's POV
"Miss Rapunzel, wake up."
There was the rapping of the door and the soft calling of my favorite maid. I lifted my head and my hair sprang out like tentacles. My eye sockets were plummy and I had the feeling of an axe stuck to my brain. I felt awful
"Go away. Headache."
"But, miss, there's someone waiting for you in the parlor."
I shot up. "Who?"
"A blonde girl. Perhaps a friend of yours milady."
'Dang it! It's gotta be Beth! What does she want now?'
Groaning, I got on my feet to take a shower. I chose a baggy white shirt and pair of jeans before taking a step out of my bedroom and descended downstairs.
I went into the guest room, and there I saw her. In her white tee and black jeans, her posture stiffed when she saw me, fingers snug in her palms. She was trembling, but her eyes kept a 'we need to talk' kind of look behind her spectacles.
I rolled my eyes and permitted my maids to proceed with chores. With a finger, I beckoned Beth to the garden where there would be no more than two souls. Me and her.
"So, what now? You're here to tell me how you're oh so sorry that after everything you said, you freaking STABBED ME BEHIND MY BACK?! Don't lie to me, I saw how you two were looking at each other! How could you!" I growled. Beth touched her chest with her chin like a child being scowled.
"I'm...sorry, Punzie. I-I..I'm sorry to make you jealous. I didn't know that you liked him that much. But that was a fault and I should've been more aware."
"It was a misunderstanding. Jack just wanted to celebrate my birthday. He even went so far as to lie about the blue dress I wore yesterday. I told him to give it to you, but he's as stubborn as a mule. In the end, he finally managed to force me into hanging out with him. I ranted how that my birthday was nothing to celebrate about, 'cause I'm only getting older and that's all there is to it. I'm such an idiot..."
I raised my brows. She thought her birthday was nothing to celebrate about? I thought her parents always celebrated it with her
Beth's crying slowly strengthened to sobs, before she muffled them as I wrapped my arms around her. I didn't know what was going on with Beth and Jack, but I knew well that she wouldn't lie in this kind of situation. And looking at her now, I was a little lost of why I was so agitated in the first place.
"I'm sorry too, Beth. I...I thought that you liked him. Maybe I should've thought of it as a casual hangout between best friends. Don't know why I was so jealous. You're forgiven!" I chirped. Her sob slowly calmed down, but she was still facing down.
"You what?"
"You're forgiven, Beth."
She fell silent, but her tears still kept flowing. Then there was a creak of a smile, and she stretched out her arms to wrap them around, but stopped like she was hesitating, still feeling a little guilty. I rolled my eyes and hugged her myself. She was caught off guard by my action, but returned the embrace.
"Thank you Rapunzel."
"You're welcome," I said gently before releasing myself. Beth wiped more of her tears that wouldn't stop falling
"Aww, come on! Quit crying!" I said cheerfully. I never knew that forgiving someone could lift so much weight out of my shoulders.
"Crud. Guess what I'd done yesterday kept you crying all night. Your eyes are real red." Beth said
"It's okay! It's actually healthy to pour out tears sometimes," I said as I curved a smile. Beth returned with her own
"Come on! We gotta arrange a hangout. I'll call the girls right now," I said, immediately typing away messages to Anna and Merida
"Sure. We both need some chill time," Beth agreed. I led her back into the parlor
"So, did you like my present?" I asked.
Beth's face lit up. "Yeah! Ugh, I don't deserve you! Thank you so much Punzie!"
"You're welcome."
We chatted throughout our waiting for Anna and Merida. We were talking about some good upcoming movies when a familiar sports car stopped it wheels at the front of the mansion. Out of the vehicle stepped out Anna and Merida
"Heya guys! Woah, what's with the red eyes?" Merida asked with a pointing hand.
"Just had a girl to girl talk about painful times. We were crying as we thought about it," Punzie said. The two girls took the clever move of not questioning and simply nodded, knowing it was best that they didn't bring up anything to ruin the moment
"Alright then! Let's go shopping!"
"Okay, let's go shopping guys!" Anna exclaimed. The rest of the girls cheered along before heading to my car.
Beth's POV
We voyaged to different shops and restaurants. I bought a nice pair of black and white Adidas, a dream catcher necklace, light touches of make-up, and a tumblr tee. I looked down my single bag of my shopping in satisfaction. Then I turned my gaze to the rest. No less than three bags fat and buldging with clothes. I smiled in fond exasperation
We returned to Punzie's car to return to her mansion. Rapunzel rested her head on my shoulders, Merida slept on hers, and Anna's as the last. We were like a set of dominoes with all the weight shifted to me. I shook my head before looking out the window and let myself stray in thought
'I'm glad that I have Rapunzel and my friends. I don't want to lose them anymore. I don't know what to do if they're not around. They've became a part of my happiness. I should stay away from Jack. That way, there won't be any more misunderstandings between me and Rap. It's because of him that I narrowly lost her,' I thought. A smile crept it way to stretch my lips
Meanwhile...
Jack hadn't went put of his room for the entire day. Not for breakfast. Not for lunch. He never stood from his desk chair. He was typing on his computer. His hands would glide around the keys, pause, and rapidly press the backspace button, before slumping onto the back of his hair. The man took a deep inhale before sulking at a wall. He shook his head.
'No. I can't have Beth be disappointed in me. She's everything to me. The only girl that I'm interested with' he reflected as he looked up the ceiling
Meanwhile, Anna just arrived home with five full bags of shopping hanging under her arms. She noticed Jack's strange behavior. Consumed with curiosity, she opened his door a slit, and saw him sitting on his chair with a head tilted back. He looked like a desperate man.
"Wow bro, you look miserable. Something happened?" she asked, scanning his room. It looked like the aftermath of a plane crash
Jack jumped from his seat. He was too shocked than angry that Anna had entered his room without knocking.
"Ah, I can't tell! It's my problem sis. Stay out of it," Jack said firmly.
"Alright, alright. But hey, if you need me, I'll be in my room," Anna said. Jack nodded. The blonde exited his room and entered hers
She closed her door, took a breath, and laughed uncontrollably. It was too obvious that Jack was having girl problems. He matched all the symptoms. And what other girl could it be other than Beth?
Back to Jack...
He kept scratching his scalp. His eyes found their way to his radio. A break wouldn't hurt. He spun a wheel and stopped when the speakers sounded a song that he took interest in
I can read your mind and I know your story, I see what you're going through
Don't surrender 'cause you can win, In this thing called love
The melody of the song drowned his ears in a calming melody. Jack closed his eyes and nodded his head along the rhythm
When you want it the most there's no easy way out
When you're ready to go and your heart's left in doubt
Don't give up on your faith
Love comes to those who believe it
And that's the way it is
Jack grinned widely. His mind was clear and relaxed again. He went back to his laptop, finishing his project that he hoped no one would find out
T.D.S POV
I finished cleaning my room and went to the kitchen to find a bowl of ramen I cooked beforehand. A lid still topped over to trap in steam, so it should still be warm. I turned on my phone to watch some action movies on Netflix as I eat.
Right before the noodles could reach my lips, the loud beeping of an alarm sounded to warn me of a cyber attack. I groaned and dropped my chopsticks and went back to the computer screens
It was worse than I thought. The screens fizzed and blinked to either a blank screen or a black screen with green code raining down the bottom. The speed was more than enough for me to worry. Then a window of a File Explorer opened on it's own and rapidly opened up every important data I tried so very hard to protect. I quickly jumped to my seat and typed like there's no for tomorrow. I activated SIGMA and began inserting formulas, blocking all the ports so the data won't go anywhere. After that was done, I finished off the demonic virus
I heaved a sigh when it was all over. Now I could get back to my ramen and Netflix. I watched movies all night, but I wasn't paying attention. I kept thinking back on how the virus attacks kept increading each week. Two weeks ago, there were twice attacks. Last week were for or five. Wednesday hadn't even arrived this week and there were already three attacks. The strangest thing that boggled my mind was that it was all done by a single person
'What does she actually want?' I thought in frustration. I sipped my noodles as I watch the main actor kicking the enemy right at the private part