With the delicate jingling of glass breaking upon the floor, leaves being carried upon a light, warm breeze, gently floated past Eve. Yellow, brown, green, and red in color they twisted and turned through the air. Their dry, fragile bodies flipping and crackling as they glided past Eve and into an amber colored corridor. Her mouth hung agape in awe as the wind lightly tugged at her hair, guiding her along through the corridor.
The rhythmic patter of her footsteps echoed loudly off the thick stone walls as she strolled on down the endless amber corridor. Brushing against her on updrafts and downdrafts, the leaves left faint marks upon her which were instantly washed away by the wind. Then, appearing from nowhere, something amongst the cloud of leaves caught her eye. Gradually Eve's pace hastened as her white eyes locked themselves upon a single black leaf flying carefree amongst its brethren.
A wonderful fascination filled Eve to her brim as the black leaf danced seductively before her. Twirling and spinning, over, under, between and behind the shroud of leaves the black leaf beckoned her to the front of the pack. The corners of Eve's mouth lifted into an amused smile as she watched the playful leaf dance.
It wasn't long before her walking quickened to jogging, and then to running as she tried to catch the black leaf. Her dark hair whipping spiritedly behind her as the walls of the corridor began to melt away in a myriad of color until only the path beneath her remained. Eve let out a truly gleeful giggle as the leaves around her danced in the air wildly.
Smiling and laughing without restraint Eve passionately chased the black leaf, its drab exterior crumbling in the wind as it began to flap its wings. She looked on in wonder as a brilliant, black butterfly emerged and set sail through the air. Its large delicate wings shedding silver scales with each flap, quickly bringing life to the hundreds of leaves surrounding her.
Leaving behind drab exteriors the butterflies emerged in the hundreds, shedding silver scales of their own. These scales, the small specks that they were, shimmered like stardust in the wind. Eve's smile grew to its limit as the scales washed over her, transforming her pale skin into a dazzling canvas while her dark hair became the night sky. Soon her feet barely touched the pathway, they merely skittered across its surface for brief moments as she sprinted after the black butterfly.
As she grew closer the clouds of red, yellow, green and brown butterflies began to break away, leaving the black butterfly to soar on its own. But as the others departed Eve never relented. Her breath passing heavily from her dry mouth, she swallowed air, and pushed off the ground hard. Her smile glittered upon her face as her feet separated from the ground and, like a comet, she glided towards the butterfly.
The pathway, a discarded construct of stone, began to crumble out from beneath the two as Eve extended her arms towards the butterfly. And as the void slowly closed between Eve's open hands and the butterfly, the insect forfeited, and let Eve cage it within her fingers.
She drifted for a moment. Her hair sparkling like the cosmos and her smile shining warmly through the universe. Weightless she drifted onto her back and opened her fingers.
The butterfly sat still between her palms, dead.
Eve's smile vanished.
As gravity returned and Eve began to fall backwards into an endless void, the butterfly gently floated up, out of her reach.
Eve held out her hand to the butterfly. "Please… No…"
Eve began to stir restlessly in her bed, sleep abandoning her as her internal clock shook her awake. Her shuttered eyes gently twitched as the cold air licked at her exposed face. Twisting gently beneath her soft, warm sheets she let out a tired moan. Back and forth she rolled under her blankets until she willed herself into a seated position. Moaning gently she raised her gloved hands to her eyes and lightly rubbed them until a painful scraping forced her to stop.
She gave a light groan. 'I should've taken my contacts out last night.' Internally scolding herself as she began to wrench her eyelids open. She let out a soft, pained moan as the morning sun, crawling through the curtain's cracks, burned her bloodshot eyes. Glancing around her dorm, Eve fluttered her eyes to rid the world of its unnatural blurriness.
As her eyes widened and her senses slowly joined her in the act of waking up, Eve scooted her way up towards the head of the bed. Once she was comfortably seated, with her hips pressed against her pillows and her blankets comfortably held up against her chest a pleasant: "Mornin'," rang out from Petunia, sitting in her own bed typing at her laptop.
Eve looked over to her partner and gave her a cheerful, if not groggy; "Good morning, Petunia."
"Sleep well?" The blue haired girl replied, lifting a silver and blue can up off the floor. She stopped typing for a brief moment so she could take a swig from the can labeled 'Taurus Testosterone' and glance over Eve with her baggy eyes.
"Mhmm," Eve hummed, raising her arms high above her for a long, soothing stretch. Lowering her arms with a rejuvenated sigh Eve ran her hands over her tangled mess of inky black hair. "I had a weird dream last night. Do you want to hear it?" The faint images of leaves and butterflies still swirling through her head.
"Maybe later, I'm workin' on one of the files right now." Petunia replied. "This new file is like a Dust-damn vault."
Eve's content demeanor slowly began to fade as she sullenly pulled her glasses from a pouch near her bed. With a small sigh she smoothly swung her legs out from under her blankets, turning away from Petunia, and slid her glasses on. "So, you can't get into it?"
"Who said that?" Petunia's smirk more than audible.
"Well, I suppose I shouldn't bother you then."
Petunia's typing slowed as she glanced over to examine the suddenly saddened girl. Her eyes hanging on her seriously. "Hey, ya alright?"
"I'm fine." Eve replied quietly, her mind drowning her issues as she slid into her slippers.
"Have you tried calling your mom or dad lately?" Petunia's genial inquiry noticeably damaging Eve. "Automne was sayin' you haven't talked to them since you found out about the divorce."
"I've been busy." Eve partially lied. Over the past week Eve had had more than ample amount of time to write up a letter or give her parents a call, but whenever the idea popped into her mind she'd quickly remember something else she had been meaning to do. There was always something else to do, and with that one less thing to worry about.
Eve stared through the floor blankly, incessant worries prodding her mind. "What time is it?" She asked abruptly, standing and walking over to the closet to pull out her casual attire.
Petunia gave a soft sigh. "It's about eight."
Eve's eyelids jumped in surprise. She quickly pivoted to look back at her friend in shock, worry abandoning her. "You let me sleep in?!"
"Ty thought that after finals we could all use a break, so we get to sleep in for a few days."
"Oh," Eve whispered in genuine surprise. She looked back at her closet and stared at it intensely for a minute before turning to her dresser and back to the closet. Pursing her lips she continued to mull over a dilemma in her head before deciding to vocalize it. "Petunia, what do you think? I was going to head down to the gym to do yoga before it got too crowded, but if it's already eight I think I should probably go get breakfast."
"You can probably still go to the gym, it's probably not too crowded yet." Petunia suggested with a shrug.
"I know, but I wanted to take a shower afterwards, because I don't want to smell sweaty at breakfast. And when I go to the gym around this time to do yoga it always feels like people are staring at me." Eve complained, the memories of unwanted stares upon her body haunting her mind.
"Mmm," Petunia grunted through a mouthful of energy drink which she hastily swallowed. "Take it as a compliment. They're probably just enjoying the nice, flexible, tight-pantsed view." Her eyes running up and down Eve's thick nightgown, picturing the lean pale body beneath in her mind.
This of course not only prompted Eve to blush, but to cover her already clothed body as well. "Petunia, stop it." She snapped, her arms held tightly over her chest and crotch.
"If you want you can just practice your yoga in here. I can even help out if you want." A lusty smirk cutting apart Eve's plain nightgown.
'She always takes this too far.' Eve chided internally as she pulled her jacket, slacks, and gray dress shirt from the closet. 'This is why we never go shopping anymore.'
"No thank you, Petunia. I think I'll just have Automne accompany me to the gym. Less people stare when I'm with him." Eve said in a gentle, yet bitter, rejection. With an entirely unnoticeable head shake of disappointment she made her way back over to her mess of a bed and laid out her clothes for the day.
"Eh," The perverted hacker's response slightly muffled by her mouthful of liquid sugar. "Whatever floats your goat, he's probably already down at breakfast though. He took off a while ago without saying anything."
Eve stopped preparing her clothes to be absolutely stupefied at the idea that Automne could willingly get up before eight in the morning. "I thought you said we were allowed to sleep in today."
"Yeah, but Automne took off early today. I think he took off around six and hasn't been back since."
And that's when Eve went to absolute disbelief. "He got up at six? Where did he say he was going?"
"I dunno. I was tryna break into these files. I didn't ask and he didn't say anything." Petunia replied with an almost disinterested shrug.
'Why would Automne just take off at six in the morning without saying anything?' Eve's brain questioned as she tried to busy herself with her clothes. 'This is weird… ever since he got his cast off he's been slipping out more often.'
Eve stopped internally floundering about with unanswered questions and instead decided to walk across the room to one of their shared desks, where her Scroll sat calmly. She swiftly picked up the device and set about typing up a text message that read; "Good morning Automne"
And then she set about waiting, her mind buzzing anxiously.
Eve's footsteps lightly echoed off the drab, gray corridor walls as she walked down to breakfast. Although mid-terms had wrapped up the day before Eve would never have considered the campus to be almost entirely devoid of life. There wasn't a single other student in sight, which made it possible for Eve to stare down at her Scroll and walk absent-mindedly without the worry of bumping into anybody.
Her eyes had been stuck to the screen for nearly a half-hour, and she had not received a single reply from Automne. It had gotten so bad that she had even decided to send three follow-up texts without his reply. As a result she wallowed in shame as she stared down at her string of four text messages.
"Good morning Automne." The messages read across her mind.
"Where are you? :/"
"Would you mind helping me with something?"
"Automne?"
A light, visceral hum vibrated Eve's lips as she stared down at the device with sad eyes. How annoying she must appear to him to have texted four times in the span of thirty minutes. She loathed herself for her lack of restraint. When her brain wasn't busy flogging her for her impatience it was droning on with theory upon theory of why Automne wasn't replying.
'Maybe he's busy…Maybe he hurt himself… Maybe he's dead.' Eve's brain stalled for a second as one of the more rational ideas worked its way to the forefront of her mind. 'Or he could've just locked himself on the roof and fallen asleep… again.' Eve shook her head a bit as she continued to shuffle down the desolate hallway. 'We really need to bring a door stop up there. It's just not funny anymore.'
Eve's mind quickly set aside the concerns of rooftop trappings though as she had more pressing matters to tend to. The main one being her misplaced best friend, who was doing a very lousy job at keeping up to date with his text messages.
Eve gave a small frustrated huff as yet another pot of stew rotated its way to the front burners of her mind. 'That's another thing, when he texts me, I get right back to him, but he always makes me wait… most of the time I have to wait… sometimes… he doesn't make me wait all that often, but that doesn't excuse the times when he do-'
A familiar chill ran through Eve as she came to an intersection in the halls.
She hastily turned to glance up another plain looking corridor, her skin crawling beneath her clothes.
'It feels like… Automne is around here.' Calmly Eve stepped forward, her eyes scanning the environment around her cautiously. Chills surged up and down her body as she walked. The sound of her footsteps ringing loudly throughout the hall as her eyes crawled across closed doors lining the walls.
Suddenly, the cold chills became less random and instead pressed against her skin like an icy draft as she approached a single wooden door, the door to a broom closet.
"Automne?" She said aloud extending her hand and taking hold of the door knob. With a twist the latch retracted with a small metallic clunk and Eve pushed the door open, whereupon she was assaulted.
Whether it be the simultaneously humid yet chilling air, the gentle, visceral sound of lips sucking and smacking against each other, or the sight of Automne standing before her with arms wrapped around a brown haired girl, the abrupt assault upon her senses left Eve dazed.
It was graphic; the very way she twisted and arced her body as Automne's hands ran up her back and down over her rear wantonly. Her hands, meanwhile, clinging tightly to Automne's scarf which she used to pull him in closer to her.
Eve stared on, bewildered by what she was watching. It cut into her, the sound of their mouths rapturously sloshing together. It seemed to drag on and on without end; each sound and sight scathing Eve in indescribable ways.
A sign of grace presented itself to Eve though, for as the girl in Automne's embrace turned her head she glared out at Eve. Through squinted eyes she stared out at Eve, holding herself in Automne's embrace for a few moments longer before she pulled back and took a deep breath. "Howlite, your timing is truly impeccable." Sarcasm dryly falling from Sienaerde's mouth as Automne retracted his hands from around the brunette and took a step back.
"Eve!" Automne gasped, turning to face his dumbstruck friend. "This is- uh- I kno- wha- I can explain."
"I'll leave you to that then." Sienaerde said dryly as she released Automne and set about buttoning up and straightening her jacket. "After I leave, please wait a few minutes before going on your way." She politely ordered before leaning in towards Automne and giving him a kiss on the cheek.
Casually, she made her way to the closet doorway where Eve stood, staring. Sienaerde began to edge past Eve, but half-way through the act, stopped and leaned in towards her. "Automne tells me you value your personal space. I'd like it to remain that way." She whispered before pushing past and walking down the hall.
It was all rather still for a moment as Eve stood in the doorway her mind falling into entropy as it tried to comprehend what she had just witnessed. Unfortunately, she wasn't given much time to process the varying degrees of trauma as Automne was experiencing his own form of panic. While Eve stood there, her face twitching in confusion, Automne speed-walked over and took hold of her forearm.
He pulled her towards the center of the closet and slammed the door shut behind her, leaving them in near darkness. "Eve, I-I'm sorry that you found out this way, I swear I was going to tell you."
Eve snapped out of her confusion. Furrowing her brow she glared into Automne's silhouette. "You were going to tell me?!" Eve repeated with a trembling fury. "How long has this been going on?"
"It's just- It hasn't been long. We've just been testing things for about a week-"
"A week?!" Eve's hands balled into fists. "And you think that's long enough to start making-out with crazy girls in closets?"
"She is not crazy." Automne sternly stressed, his silhouette huffing out towards hers.
"She's been terrorizing us for months."
"I know- But I've been talking to her and she's actually really sweet and if-"
"Sweet?" Offense charring Eve's words. "If she's so sweet then why doesn't she want to be seen with you?"
"Eve that's not it." Automne's panic dripping into a hopeless plea. "We just want to make sure we're serious about things before we come out about it."
"It looked pretty serious to me." Eve snapped, crossing her arms as her hidden expression became sorrowful.
"Eve, it's-"
"No, I don't want to hear it." Eve unfurling her arms to wave him away. "I thought you trusted me."
"Eve, I-"
"And I thought… I thought you wouldn't hide things like-like this from me!" Anger and misery shaking her voice as she threw her arms through the thick air. Once her outburst was over she took a step back and stared at Automne's silhouette, her arms hugging her tightly. Standing before her in a slouch his silhouette filled her with a rage that made her eyes run over with tears. "Well?!" She shouted, trying to stifle her sniffling.
"Eve," his voice still filled with the same annoying sadness which he had no right to. "I'm sorry, I should've-"
Eve could take no more of this. Before Automne had the chance to finish she stormed past him and threw open the door. Blinded by the bright morning light she stormed off down the hall.
"Eve, wait!" Automne's words echoing off the walls.
Eve's bloodshot eyes hastily scrolled across the lines of her favorite book, taking in none of it. Occasionally she would try and focus upon what she was "reading", but it only took seconds before her mind would fall back into a fruitless internal debate.
'Automne's a jerk. How could he hide this from me?!' Eve fumed internally. 'Of all the things he's done… Why wouldn't he even tell me about her? I mean, it's not even about the fact that he's with her,but he didn't even let me know… I would've been okay with it, despite the fact that she's a horrible, vindictive, rude, mean-spirited person who doesn't deserve anyone half as nice, and funny, and sweet, and charming as him.'
A light tear of paper interrupted the perpetual silence around Eve.
Snapping back to reality she looked down at her book which she realized she was gripping far too hard. As a result a number of the pages within had been partially ripped from the binding. Eve gave a disappointed sigh and set her book down on the table before her. She crossed her arms and slouched back in her chair, her eyes staring through the plain wooden table.
'Did I overreact?' Eve's hands tightening around her upper arms. 'He should have told me about… this, sooner, but was I too… harsh?' Eve squinted hard at her book, her tensed legs curling beneath the chair. 'He seemed sorry… And he would have told me eventually… but this,how could he hide this?' She gave a small miserable sigh and crossed her ankles. 'I don't think he trusts me.'
The idea resounded through Eve's head, raising dozens of contradicting examples. The recollections of long, pleasant conversations where they would go on for hours upon hours without even thinking about stopping made her want to dismiss the idea entirely. And even though most of it seemed so trivial there were just so many moments that went beyond everything else. The memories of where he would tell her things she couldn't imagine him telling anyone else stood out to her like giant pillars. The pillars however left long shadows that filled Eve with dread as they shifted over her, for how many similar conversations could he have had with Sienaerde? How often had they laid near each other upon a rooftop, divulging their fears, secrets, and insecurities under the light of the moon?
The thought now occurred, in the form of a dark pit, that Automne could have told Sienaerde secrets which he never thought of sharing with Eve.
Eve's grip upon her arms tightened until it was painful, but just then, something ripped her attention away from her new, horrible thought.
Eve's Scroll, vibrating in her pocket, sent unpleasant tremors up her thigh and through her core.
Slowly, the dread slipped in as Eve looked down at her pocket. Her mind began to dig vast trench-ways, theories of who was texting her and what they were saying etched into the muddy walls. She made to reach into her pocket, but a thought took hold of her arm and stayed her hand.
'It could just be Automne.'
Eve retracted her hand and held it tightly against her waist as she stared at her pocket. Her eyes jittering slightly atop the misshapen fabric. She internally quarreled over her next move.
'Don't look at it, he's just going to make excuses.'
'Maybe, he wants to apologize again.'
'He always apologizes. Who knows if he really means any of it?'
'Maybe… maybe he has something to say.'
'Maybe… but I don't want to talk to him right now.'
Trembling slightly, Eve gently pinched the hem of her jacket between her fingers as she internally warred over a text she hadn't yet read.
'I can't ignore it.' A solitary, purely bipartisan thought said as Eve's eyes flicked over toward her pocket. 'It could be important.'
Before a single contrarian thought had the chance to arise and sway her Eve calmly darted her hand to her pocket and withdrew her Scroll. She set the screen to life with a light tap and leered down at the messenger's ID. Her gaze quickly softened, and even turned to a cool, confused stare as she and her Scroll failed to recognize the person texting her.
'Who is this?' Eve thought as she stared at the update of a new message from a number that she didn't even faintly recognize. Curious, she unlocked the phone and opened the new message.
"Is this Eve Howlite?" The message read in that unsettling, mysterious way that all anonymous messages are read.
Calmly, Eve typed her reply. "Yes, who is this?"
There was only a short wait before the messenger replied. "This is Sienaerde Tänzerin."
Eve stared at the text; her eyes bulging slightly from their sockets, her hands trembling beneath the weight of her Scroll, and her lungs struggling to catch the proper amount of air. It was all brought on in that kind of deer-in-the-headlights-esque reaction. And if Eve were being honest with herself, she couldn't tell what the most alarming thing about this was. All she knew for certain was that Sienaerde, the same Sienaerde who had been lustily and sloppily rubbing herself against Automne a few hours ago, was texting her.
One thing Eve was quick to learn though, that Sienaerde was quite prompt with her. So, before Eve could finish stooling over this new occurrence Sienaerde had already responded.
"Howlite, I'd like to apologize for what happened earlier." Eve's imagination filling in Sienaerde's voice as her eyes slowly scrolled over the paragraphs of text. "I'm not apologizing for the incident as a whole, rather my indecent behavior upon seeing you enter the room. I was acting upon a compulsion, and it was inappropriate. I'd also like to apologize for the passing comment I made on my way out.
"Automne speaks of you quite often, and as much as I loathe myself for stooping to that level, in a manner I saw you as a threat. I have been speaking with Automne though, and I have seen the fault in my logic. By no means did I intend, or do I wish to drive a wedge between you two." Eve's Scroll vibrated gently as a new string of texts followed.
"As for the event as a whole, I take full responsibility for what happened. I was the one who asked Automne to conceal our relationship, for the time being. I know the private nature of our relationship may appear selfish, but I was only truly doing it for his benefit. I do not care for gossip and I earnestly do not care for maintaining my social image, I was however concerned about Automne. Your teammates have never been too fond of either me, or him, so I felt it would be best to conceal our relationship until we felt confident enough to reveal ourselves. Automne genuinely trusts you, and he stressed to me on a number of occasions of how he felt guilty about hiding our relationship from you. If you feel frustrated about any of this, please, direct it at me because this is my fault."
Eve softly exhaled, her mind quieting as she read the last part of the message. "I don't know how much merit to hold to Automne's words, but he constantly says you and I would make good friends. After today's unpleasantness I'd understand if you said no, but I'd like to take you out for coffee, perhaps some time this week? Automne talks about you so often, I'm eager to see what's true and what's an exaggeration."
Eve leaned back in her chair and rested her Scroll against the table.
She sat there in silence, the scentless dry air stirring with every breath as she stared past her Scroll and into Sienaerde.
With a few hundred words Sienaerde had once again staggered Eve and left her in an emotional daze. What made the second time worse though was that Eve had reached some form of a conclusion.
She gave a soft sigh and raised her Scroll. She typed up a short message for Sienaerde, accepting her offer to meet for coffee and thanking her for the clarification. She pushed send and gave a heavy sigh.
Her body simultaneously slackened and tensed as she opened up a separate conversation. Unanswered texts lined the left side of her screen.
Her hands twitched awkwardly as she prepared to type a reply, her frightened thumbs floating a centimeter from the surface of the screen.
She took a deep breath and held back air as she tentatively set about typing. Her mind humming painfully as she searched for the right words.
Typing, and deleting. Typing and deleting. The process repeated ceaselessly until she had crafted a sentence she didn't hate.
She pressed send and cast the message out to the wind like a brown, dead leaf.
"Automne, can we talk?"
A cold breeze made Eve shiver as she sat on a plain, stone bench beneath a large oak tree. Tremors flowed through her as the time of her meeting with Automne ever so gradually approached. With a small frown on her lips she sat in silence, rubbing at creases on her clothes, and occasionally picking up and tearing apart dead leaves as her mind peacefully tore itself apart.
Originally, she thought this would be an excellent spot to talk to Automne: A simple, picturesque garden with a large, beautiful oak tree, tucked away off the beaten path. Eve probably wouldn't have even known about this place if it weren't for Automne. Fondly, she began to reminisce of how he had dragged her out of a class to spend the afternoon dozing in the shade of the tree. The memories of him telling her to snap pictures of what was an ideal, serene scene still echoed through her mind.
These memories did little to comfort her as the evening sun fell below the top of the surrounding hedges. For the past half-hour, fading sunlight had seeped through the thick branches above to form intricate, ornate shadows in the garden, but as twilight approached the garden was left almost entirely in darkness.
'It feels so… secluded now.' Eve thought to herself, eyes poring over the still garden as she pushed around dead leaves with her foot. It was unsettling how eerie the garden had become, how cold and unwelcoming it was under the guise of darkness. Suddenly, Eve's discomfort fluctuated strangely as a light rustling broke the perpetual silence that came with the night.
She silently lowered her gaze to the grass. 'Try and keep a straight face. Don't make this about you.' She took a soft breath and raised her eyes to the garden's entrance where Automne had just entered.
He stopped and stared at her from a distance. His dirty blonde hair lightly shining beneath the pale moonlight as he stood there nervously. With a somber, guilty expression he said, "Hey, Eve."
Eve twisted her lips into a miniscule smile. "Hi, Automne." She replied softly, his name pleasantly rolling from her mouth. Just by looking at him she could tell he was ready to go into some big lamentation, she could just tell. With a tiny sweet smile Eve silently cut him off before he could begin by setting her hand down beside her on the bench and telegraphing a welcoming pat.
Automne exhaled in relief, calmly walked over, and sat down beside her.
Sitting a little less than a foot away from her, he casually slouched forward, his folded hands resting in his lap. It felt strange for her to sit beside him. Mere hours ago she was internally warring over whether or not she hated him, but right now his presence was somewhat comforting. At the same time though she wanted to be as far away from him as possible, even though she was the one to arrange the meeting in the first place.
While the wind gently stirred her hair, and the plant life in the garden, Eve could feel the tension growing. The silence only perpetuated the awkwardness and discomfort that hung between them. This would not do for Eve decided some time ago that she didn't want this discomfort, all she wanted was to end this.
Eve gave a heavy sigh. "It's dark in here." Eve said quietly.
"Yeah," Automne replied casually, his dour tone still heavy. "They should put some lights in here."
"They could, but then more people would notice this place."
"Yeah… I like this garden. It makes you feel kind of lonely when you're on your own, but when you're with somebody it feels… safe."
Eve nodded her head. "If more people knew about this place I don't think it would feel the same."
"I know what you mean." Automne said softly, squeezing his hands.
Eve glanced over at him and took a small breath. "Automne," She started in a low voice, the cold and nervousness shaking her tone. "I need to apologize for earlier, I overreacted."
"Tch," Automne clicked as he shook his head. "No you didn't. I should have told you days ago. I'm sorry you had to find out this way."
Eve looked off to a corner of the garden. "It's fine," She replied, her voice cool. "Sienaerde texted me earlier, she explained everything. I understand why you didn't tell me."
"Eve, I wanted to tell you, it's just-"
"Automne," Eve forced an upbeat giggle to stomp Automne's plea. She turned to him and faked a reassuring smile. "It's fine."
Their eyes locked and caressed each other for a few moments, threatening to share their honest emotions until Eve turned away. Setting her gloved hands upon the smooth bench she looked out into black nothingness.
Her fake smile hurt her as she opened her mouth. "I-I think Sienaerde really likes you, and you two seem to get along… so, I'm happy for you." Her feet softly digging into the grass as the words left her mouth. "And…" Her eyes gradually drifted to the ground. "And if either of you ever need anything, you can always-"
Her breathing became heavy and sporadic as Automne placed his hand onto hers.
Like bullets excuses and explanations soared through her head, ricocheting off her skull and raising the heat in her face.
'His hand…' She thought as he turned her hand palm-side up and interwove his fingers with hers. 'He's… He's holding my hand.' The warmth of his fingers burning through her gloves.
Her face burned painfully as she began to gently tremble. "Au-Automne… y-you're-"
Without a word Automne leaned over and wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her into a hug. "Eve… thank you for being such a good friend." His voice cracking miserably as his warmth flowed into Eve. "I'm glad I met you. I don't know where I'd be without you... You've only ever made my life better, and I'm sorry for hurting you."
Warm tears welled in Eve's eyes and began to trickle down her cheeks. Slowly she began to raise her arm to complete the hug, but with a gentle, melancholic sigh he pulled away, hand and all.
Rubbing a hand over his face he turned away from her. "You uh," he started through a loud sniffle. "You sent me a text this morning asking for something. What uh, did you want me to help you with?"
Eve in a hot stupor blinked rapidly. Softly she replied, "I-umm I wanted to ask if you'd… come with me to the gym… so I could do yoga…" Her voice trailing off between thoughts.
"Oh… I'm sorry about that… It's a little too late to do that now, isn't it?" A guilt-ridden frown twisting Automne's mouth as he shamefully stared down at the grass.
"Automne," Eve said quickly, her mouth acting before her head. "I… I think…"
'What are you doing?! You can't say this!' Eve raved internally.
"Automne, there's umm something I need to tell you." Shaking with both anticipation and fear her soul ached and yearned to find comfort. There was no peace though, her lungs were thin and her heart painfully pounded inside as emotions rapidly welled and coursed through her. "Automne I-I think I…
'I need to tell him now, this is my best chance.'
Eve took a shallow breath and swallowed dry air, Automne's sweet smell still clinging to her. "Automne," she closed her eyes and slowly began to speak. "I feel like I'm in-"
A chilling vibration roared through the air and shook Eve's body.
Eve opened her eyes and looked down at her pocket, her Scroll vibrating loudly and wildly within. It wasn't just her Scroll though, Automne's was vibrating just as loudly.
Eve paused and glanced down at her pocket. "I umm…"
"You uh… you were going to say something?" Automne mumbled, glancing down at his pocket in confusion.
"Yeah… I uhm…" Eve hummed, the both of their Scrolls vibrating like insane massage devices. "I, uh, I think we should check on that before-"
"Right," Automne replied, nodding his head like he wasn't caught off guard. "Yeah, yeah makes sense."
"Y-yeah," She stammered in a confused mess as they both pulled their Scrolls from their pockets and turned to their screens. Eve internally sighed in relief and shame. Her internal relaxation/self-pity party would have to wait though because her Scroll, which continued to vibrate insanely, demanded her attention.
"Uhhhhh, Eve," Automne moaned in surprise as he turned his Scroll towards her. "Are you…"
"Mhmm," Eve hummed turning her Scroll towards Automne. And endless string of text messages from Petunia and Ty popping onto the screen.
Each message reading, "Urgent! Get back to the room, NOW!"
"I… I think we should go." Eve suggested in a small voice.
To which Automne nodded in agreement. "Yeah… Let's do that."
"Where the hell have you two melodramatic, slurring, stammering, self-important, pale, anime cliché, wall-flowers been?!" Petunia shouted at Automne and Eve as they entered the dorm.
Prompting Eve to respond with a simple, "What?"
"Let me guess, you two went off to talk about your feeeeelings," an insulting, long whine accompanying the word feelings. "Or some stupid bullshit like that. Seriously, why can't you two just be normal for once in your Dust-damn lives and fuck it out like every other boring, hormonal, angsty-ass teenager at this school. Like seriously I saw a pair of closet lesbians the other day who were more forthcomin' than either of you pasty, introverted nerds."
Automne and Eve stared blankly at Petunia for a good minute before simultaneously turning to Ty who was quietly sitting beside her at their base of operations.
Ty looked at them and gave a light shrug. "She's not wrong."
Eve puffed her cheeks out in frustration and shuffled over to the center of their warm, brightly illuminated room. Typically she'd pay no mind to insults, but in light of recent events these insults were a bit more scathing than usual.
Automne was also, very clearly, taking their colorful introduction with a tad less patience than normal. "Please tell us that isn't the reason you called us back here." He grumbled through his hand, which he was quite busy stroking over his face.
"No, but if you two want-"
"Save it." Automne replied, shuffling over to his bed so he could continue the rest of the conversation from a cushiony, seated position.
Eve who was relatively in the same mind-set as Automne tiredly made her way around his bed and sat down near him. That is to say she sat down at an appropriate distance from him to make it look as though nothing were wrong between the two of them. Even though there really was nothing wrong between the two of them, because they had already resolved their issues. She just wanted to make sure it appeared like everything was fine. Which it was.
For some reason though Ty must not have understood the importance of the distance between them given the way his eyes rapidly flitted back and forth, examining two. With a slightly entertained smile he began. "Are you two-"
"What's the issue?" Eve asked curtly. Cutting him off in an attempt to dispel whatever fallacious beliefs Ty had formed by ignoring them altogether.
Ty, not in the slightest bit wounded by Eve's tone, responded with a casual smile. "Well, it's not necessarily an issue, but we think we just discovered Arsenic's master plan."
Like a switch, Eve's attitude and demeanor changed. Her innards unknotted themselves and her mind sharpened at the mention of their team appointed enemy. She gave a glance to Automne, who looked just as equally surprised, and looked back at her leader. "What? How did you find it?"
"I found it after ripping open a few new files this morning." Petunia called out from behind Ty as she flicked her finger across her laptop's trackpad. "I got tired of running the same breach-formula at the files so I decided to mix it up. I ended up finding a way to almost entirely bypass security codes by applying an algorithm a chat room buddy suggested."
Ty gave an affirmative nod and sternly looked at Automne and Eve. "We've already-"
"I've already." Petunia corrected, raising a can of 'Beast' energy drink.
"She's already," he said with an eye roll, "Broken open seven new files, and about a half-dozen more are just about ready to pop. Petunia and I have been looking over the new files for the past couple hours and we think we know what Arsenic's plan is."
"Okay, well, what is it?" Automne said anxiously.
Ty gave a short sigh. "We're not positive, but Petunia and I think Arsenic is trying to take control of Vale."
Like a brick from an air balloon Automne's eyebrows dropped in frustration. "Really, you think so?" His response more than a bit sarcastic.
Ty gave a low growl. "Yes, jackass, now shut up so I can explain why."
"I thought the roaming, militaristic gang was a pretty sound explanation when you told us about it a few weeks ago. What happened since then? Did they start stealing house cats?"
"They're not a gang anymore, dumbass. According to the files we've been reading, the Council of Vale is ready to turnover and declare them our ruling military." Ty quickly turned around and swiped the laptop away from Petunia, who choked on, and almost spit out, her energy drink in infuriation. "All these conversation records we've been looking over for the past few weeks are compilations of blackmail being used against a number of Vale's Council members. They cover just about everything a rising dictator would want to know about the government he's going to overthrow." Ty growled furiously as he shoved the laptop into Automne's hands.
"Worst part is," Petunia said, "Some of the Council members turned as soon as they realized they were being blackmailed. More than half of them have agreed to work with Arsenic and the chick from the club as long as they get a nice fat paycheck in the end. The others are just going to surrender once he makes his move on the city."
Eve tried looking over Automne's shoulder at the digital blackmail, but as each revelation struck her she felt a growing compulsion to stand up. So she did, she wordlessly stood up and walked over to her right to awkwardly stand against the wall between Automne's and Ty's beds.
Ty gave a tired sigh and leaned back in his wooden chair. "One of the files we opened had dozens of plans on how The Phantom Clan could seize Vale. They're ready to strike and if they don't think they can win in a fair fight they're willing to blow apart city defenses and let the Grimm in."
"If they did that all they'd have to do is sit back and let the Grimm do their job for them." Automne grumbled, staring at the laptop intensely.
Eve stared into the floor, her insides writhing and burning with fear and anger. She glanced up at her teammates and swiftly returned her gaze to the floor. She took a deep breath, balling her hands into fists of confidence and turned her gaze back up to her leader. "Ty, I don't think we should keep this to ourselves anymore." Stepping forward she held her head high and used all her effort to keep her voice steady. "This is crazy, we can't deal with a… terrorist plot. We need to hand what we found over to the authorities so they can deal with Arsenic."
"Heh," Petunia chuckled sardonically, shaking her head as she stared down into her can of energy. "After all we've done to get this far, you just want to give up." Petunia glared over at Eve and shakily stood up. The effects of her endless hours of hacking evident in her sickly, pale appearance. With watery bloodshot eyes she looked directly at Eve, took a swig from her can, and cleared her throat. "If you want to ditch us, go ahead and stay behind, but I have worked too hard to give up now."
"Petunia, I know you've been working the hardest, but Arsenic is dangerous. We can't handle something like this." Eve stressed, sincere fear bubbling in her voice. "We need to hand this over to the police, or the Security Forces, they'll know what to do-"
"We can handle this ourselves." Petunia denied, her head lightly shaking as her cold grimace chewed away at Eve. "Besides, we couldn't hand it over to the police if we wanted to. They'd probably just shoot us on the spot since they're working with him."
"Petunia, stow it." Ty demanded, heat rising in his voice as he rose to his feet to turn and point her in the face. "I told you, I don't want to hear another word about your stupid theory."
"It's not a theory Tyrian, it's a fucking fact." Petunia slurred, hostility casually working itself into her exhausted glare. "You and I both know that a good portion of those files we looked at weren't about council members. And the Phantom Clan has been making too many payments whenever Vale PD starts snooping around."
"Petunia, what are you saying?" Eve asked, less for the sake of clarification and more for the sake of confirmation.
Petunia turned to Eve with a large, smug grin. "What I'm saying is that the Phantom Clan has Vale PD and heads of Vale's Security Forces in their pocket."
"You have no proof." Ty spat in a low voice.
Petunia whipped her head around to him and shoved her finger into his breastplate. "I do, I looked into it and your pal workin' in Vice has been taking bribes from that strip club so they can cover-up a brothel and a drug-house. Whenever he went a knockin' at The Oasis his bank account went up."
Ty smacked her hand away. "No cop would work with a bastard like Arsenic."
"Hate to break it to you Tyrian, but your buddies are working with a cop-killer just so they can make a few extra bucks on the side and keep their heads above water when Arsenic takes charge."
Every iota of their expressions dripped spite as they glared into each other. Their eyes and their hands twitched in anticipation of a conflict while Automne watched in silence and Eve stood by trying to think of a solution to their dilemma.
"Alright," Eve said tentatively. "If we can't go to the police or the Security Forces why don't we just turn over what we have to Ozpin, or-or make it go public."
"Eve, we can't go public with this." Automne said calmly, gesturing to the laptop. "It's all text, anyone can write this stuff. No court would take this seriously."
"We can't go public either." Ty's voice tepid as he stepped back from Petunia to address Eve. "If we bring it public we'll only be giving Arsenic and his Clan time to cover their tracks and destroy evidence before anything can be done."
"W-well," Eve buckling slightly as eyes shifted to her again. "There have to be some video or audio recordings of these conversations. We could use those to expose Arsenic."
"If there were recordings, they're not going to be digital." Petunia rejecting her claim this time. "They'd probably be locked away in a safe somewhere in the city. Hell, we don't even know if they'd keep them in the city. And even if we knew how to find the recordings who knows how well they'd even be guarded. It's a complete crap shoot."
"As for Ozpin," Ty started again, his arms folded as he stared at the floor. "There's nothing he could do unless we had physical proof that could tie anybody to a crime. This would all be nothing but conjecture, and if anything we'd end up looking like a bunch of idiots trying to slander Council members."
"The only solution is to take out Arsenic." Confidence boiling in Petunia's voice. "If we kill Arsenic the Phantom Clan will break apart and the rest of the roaches will scatter. What we need to do is hunt him down before he can make his next move."
"But we can't go after Arsenic." Eve pleaded, the severity of her message telegraphed through her harsh frown and the agitated waving her hands. "He's a murderer and he has an army. If we go up against him on our own we could die. We need to find another way."
"Hey guys," Automne's croak breaking the debate. His voice was calm, but unsettlingly agitated as he called for their attention. "One of these files just opened up and… take a look."
Eve looked between Ty and Petunia, curiosity and uncertainty could be seen in the both of them. It swam through their eyes and twisted their expressions as all three of them walked over to Automne's bed.
Gently, Automne passed the laptop to Eve who took it in her hands and with wide eyes stared at the screen in shock.
'My ID picture?' Eve thought to herself as she stared at a simple picture of herself looking into the camera. Beside her picture was: Her name, her height, her age, a description of her semblance, a description of her weapon, and a very in-depth description of her fighting style. That wasn't all. There was more, and all of it sent chills through her body.
"Eye color: Light purple/ Very light blue"
The listings of her profile ringing in her ears.
"Personality: Introverted, shy, polite, trusting"
"Exploitable weaknesses: Puts the well-being of others before her own. Will likely sacrifice herself to assist others. Capable of being subjected to emotional trauma/mental torture. Semblance drains her aura; semblance will weaken her and leave her vulnerable for extended periods of time… "
The list continued on.
'What is this?' Eve thought as she began to tremble. A large red box with white text next to her picture attracting and holding her gaze.
"Threat," Eve mumbled quietly as she stood there. Slowly she began to scroll up the page revealing that she wasn't the only one with a profile. Her whole team had profiles as well, along with a few classmates she recognized, and loads of other students she had seen around the school.
"Eve, what is it?" Petunia asked, concern in her voice as she stepped around behind the girl to view the laptop.
"They're…" Eve stopped to think of a proper explanation as her profile repeatedly flashed through her mind.
"Hey… I recognize people on here." Petunia said softly, her eyes scampering across profile after profile. "These are upper classmen… I think that's a Professor."
"What?" Ty said, walking over and taking the laptop from her. He quickly ran his eyes over it again and again as he scrolled through the pages. Astonishment hit his face as he came to and stopped at his profile. "Wha… How did… What the fuck is this?!" Anger rising in his voice as Eve imagined him reading over every observation the writer of his profile made.
"Those profiles cover every solitary fact about us from our schedules to our fighting styles." Automne grumbled distantly. Petunia and Ty looked down at him, doubt in their eyes as they began to steel themselves.
Eve fearfully looked at Automne, his face somber and his body weighed down by what he had just seen. She already knew what he was thinking, they all knew, but the very notion made all of them wince internally. Her breath passed heavy from her soft chapped lips as she dreaded what he was about to suggest.
He gave a loud breath and looked down at the floor. "There's a mole in Beacon Academy."
A/N: As we get closer to the end of The (Un)Forgettable Team TAPE a number of... *points up* things... will be happening. So, if you feel like freaking out about a chapter in the reviews, please by all means do so, but please be courteous to our fellow readers and try not to spoil anything for those who haven't read this far in. Or at least put a spoilers notice at the top of your review. Or if you think it has too many spoilers, send it to me in a PM. I read all my PMs.
Also, if you've come this far, please don't quit on me now. Especially you shippers out there, there's still more to come.
Thanks for reading everybody. This, that is writing, really gives me a purpose and I'm glad I'm able to share it with you. Here's to another 5,000 views (Or whatever number we're at). Also if you're enjoying the story favorite, follow, review and recommend to anybody who might like this little morsel of literature.Tune in next time for more, but until then peace out.
-CS