"Kate." I growled, looking at all the other girls in their dresses. Kate walked over to me, smiling widely. "Why didn't you tell me every single girl had a short dress? I am the only one with a long dress! I stick out like a sore thumb!"
She giggled to herself. "Duhh! You loved that dress so much, I didn't want to tell you everyone was going to wear a short dress. Besides, you'll be the center of attention all night!" She smiled happily. Great. That is exactly what I wanted to avoid. The girls at this school already give me dirty looks. Why do I need more?
I sat down on my bed, gripping the sheets tightly. Nerves made their way through my body, putting me on edge. The feeling of something going wrong has been nagging me all day. "Did you hear?" Two girls walked past me, whispering to each other. "Some girl from town was kidnapped last night. No word on who she is. And that Tyranitar attack? All within two weeks. Crazy, right?" K-kidnapping? Tyranitar attacked us two weeks ago, so sometime in between is when the girl was kidnapped? I wonder who it was.. These two incidents can't be related, can they? Is this Team Explosion's doing? The Tyranitar attack, I can see them doing. But kidnapping? That's a little low, even for Grant. Ha, who am I kidding? This is a monster who beat me and my mother for years. I hate him.. so much.
"Hey, come on Summer! It's time to meet up with the guys and head to the cafeteria!" Solana squealed excitedly. Kate and Wendy stood by her side.
Most of the room was cleared out, besides the few stragglers who were still doing their hair. "I'll meet up with you all in a few. Go on down without me. And tell Ben to go, too. Will ya?" Kate tried to object but Wendy stopped her. They all nodded and left the room quietly. Now, the entire room was emptied, leaving me to my thoughts. It doesn't make sense. Why would Team Explosion want to kidnap a girl? There is no reason. I can understand the Tyranitar, but why the girl? Maybe the two aren't connected. I just have a really bad feeling. But I can't let that stop me from having a good time, for once in my life.
The sun began to set, casting a shadow in the room. It's been a while since I've seen the sun. All of these storms have been bringing everyone's mood down. Maybe it is a sign that everything is going to be okay. From the cracked window a slight booming sound could be heard traveling from the cafeteria. These people waste no time. I brushed trough my straight hair then took a deep breath. Regardless of the nerves coursing through my veins, I walked down the stairs into the main hall. Quick footsteps made their way to me as I stepped out of the entrance. Combusken sprinted up to me, nuzzling her head against my waist. "Hey girl." I smiled as I stroked her head. "Stay cautious. I have a feeling something is going to go wrong. Hopefully I'm not right but.. Better safe than sorry." She nodded her head running back to the stable.
Booming music could be heard from the cafeteria, colorful lights shining through the windows, dimly lighting the outline of the woods. In a way, it's rather creepy. I stood in front of the door, feeling bile in my throat. Why the hell am I so nervous? It's just a stupid dance. Is it because I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb. Or is it because every time I looked at Ben, my heart feels like it is going to explode. Probably both. Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside. The flashing lights illuminated the area, giving a strobe effect. Now I'm really going to throw up. My eyes scanned a small area, searching for my friends. This continued until I spotted Solana sitting at a table with Wendy. A little too excitedly, I walked towards the table. As I walked, I caught part of someone's conversation. "... That's all I have to do? And you promise you'll spend more time with us?" There was a slight pause. "Okay. It should be easy, considering her probably still loves me."
Brushing off what I heard, I walked to the table. Ben stood facing everyone. "Is she okay? I gotta go see her." He sounded worried. I stood behind him waving to the people he was facing. Ben turned around and smiled at me. "Hey, Summer." I opened my mouth to say something when he walked right past me towards the door. Everyone sitting down began to chuckle as he stopped in his tracks and turned around, his mouth slightly ajar. A deep blush rushed to my face as he looked me up and down. Ben walked to me, gently taking my hands in his. "You look absolutely gorgeous." He whispered, earning a smile. I thanked him, letting him pull me into a hug.
A really tall and buff guy with sleeked back black hair, Sven I think, walked to us. "Pardon me, but Ben and I are going to go put in a few song suggestions and we will be right back." I nodded, letting Ben's hand slip through mine. Almost in a daze, I watched him walk off through the crowd of dancing people. What the hell is this feeling? I've never experienced it like this before.
In a slight daze, I sat down next to Kate, looking at the table. "H-hey? Are you alright." She asked quietly, not wanting to draw attention to us.
I looked up at her, finally realizing how I feel. "I think I love Ben.." I whispered unsure. He mouth fell open, her eyes lighting up. "I'm going to tell him tonight, when the time is right." She smiled brightly giving me a warm hug. "Just keep it on the down low."
"I'm so happy for you, Sums. You really deserve this!" I nodded, feeling half a weight lift from my chest. Maybe it will all work out. I know it will. Suddenly, one of my favorite songs came on.
"I'd never gone with the wind, just let it flow. Let it take me where it wants to go. Till you opened the door, there's so much more. I'd never seen it before." Ben walked to our table, holding his hand out to me. He walked me to the middle of the dance floor, placing both hands on my waist while I draped mine around his neck. "I was trying to fly, but I couldn't find the wings. But you came along and changed everything." He held my waist close, nuzzling against the crook of my neck. I ran my fingers through his soft hair, taking in his perfections. "You lift my feet off the ground, you spin me around. You make me crazier, crazier. Feels like I'm fallin' and I am lost in your eyes. You make me crazier, crazier, crazier." We swayed to the music, neither of our grips faltering. Does he know how much this means to me? How much I crave this type of affection from him. I've been denied it my whole life and now he is making up for it.
He looked down at me, his eyes hazy as they gazed to mine. Maybe now is a good time.. to tell him. The song came to an end as I opened my mouth slightly to talk. A loud song busted out of the speakers, startling us both. Moment ruined. Instead we danced together. I'm no great dancer but holy shit, Ben is terrible. Kate and Keith joined us on the dance floor. Kate scooted close to me as we danced. "Did you tell him?" She whispered. I shook my head, a bit disappointed. "Well hop to it! We ain't got all night!" When will the right time be?
The night wore on, one song after another. Finally, another slow song came on. My absolute favorite song to date. "We were strangers, starting out on a journey. Never dreaming, what we'd have to go through. Now here we are, I'm suddenly standing, at the beginning with you." Ben wrapped his hands around me once again, smiling down at me. The beginning.. Now is the time.
"Ben.. I have to tell you something really important." He nodded his head eagerly.
We continued to move to the music. "No one told me, I was going to find you. Unexpected, what you did to my heart. When I lost hope, you were there to remind me, this is the start."
I looked up at him lovingly, leaning towards his lips. "B-Ben.. I lo-"
"Ben! It's so good to see you!" He froze instantly at the voice, slowly turning his head to the side. "It's been so long!" A girl nudged me out of the way, wrapping her arms around him. She had long brown silky hair. Almost like mine, except prettier. Her bright blue eyes dulled my brown ones. A pale complexion made my skin look like leather. Everything about her is better.
It can't be her. Please don't be her. "Molly.." A terrible weight fell in my chest. My rib tweaked slightly. "Why are you here?" Ben asked mesmerized.
She smiled, cupping his cheek. "Don't be silly! The first dance ever at the Ranger Union and you thought I would miss it!" That voice.. I've heard it before. But where? "Who is she?" Molly 'whispered'.
"Who?" Ben asked confused, still staring intently at her. He looked up at me, his face turning red. "T-That's my uhh, friend, uhh.." Friend? You're kidding me..
I cleared my throat, trying to stay strong. "Summer." I stated. Ben slapped his hand to his forehead. Idiot. I glanced to the side. Kate and Keith stared at us, completely unmoving, their mouths gaping open.
Molly smiled at me. "So you're Summer. I've heard much about you. All good things, all good things." She sighed. "Well Ben, hopefully I'll see you some other time tonight." Molly leaned up, placing a kiss on his cheek, lingering a bit too long. My blood boiled. She walked away, swaying her hips. Ben watched her go, smiling like a fool.
"In the end I wanna be standing at the beginning with you.." The song came to an end. I turned and walked to our table, crossing my arms angrily as I sat down. Ben walked over to me.
He took a seat, twiddling his thumbs. He opened his mouth to say something but I quickly cut him off. "She is very pretty.." I trailed off, feeling my throat dry up. He tried to speak again, yet I shook my head. "I need a few minutes." He sighed but nodded. Ben got up and walked towards the drink station. Kate made her way over to me, sitting down in the seat across mine. "What do I do?" I asked helplessly.
"Tell him. Let him now what you're are feeling. Do it before it is too late." She encouraged. I nodded, standing up tall. A new song began to play.
"I had your back, thought you had mine. Thought we'd be friends forever. I trusted you, if I only knew. But my heart was blind. You broke our trust, you broke our heart but you cannot break us. No turning back, you're on the run. Look what you've done."
I made my way through the dancing people, trying to spot Ben. Just I made it to the edge of the dance floor, I caught sight of Ben. A smile made it's way to my face. He stood at the drink station, a blue plastic cup in hand. I took a step towards him but stopped suddenly. Molly tapped his shoulder. He turned to her and smiled, a blush making its way across his cheeks. She rested her hands on his chest, leaning in to her. Feaar crept into my heart, my smile vanishing. "What comes around will go around, what goes up must come down." He leaned down, catching her lips in a deep kiss. "Liar liar, you're a liar. I'll never be your friend.. again." Tears welled up in my eyes. No.. He still loves her..
Without a second thought, I bolted out of the cafeteria, into the pouring rain. I stopped in the middle of the open field in front of the main building. How could I have been so stupid? I'm an idiot for thinking there could have been something between us. For the first time, in a long while, tears leaked from my eyes. I couldn't stop them. It hurts. It hurts so much. I continued to cry, covering my face with my hands. The rain poured down on me, soaking me to the core. "Why the tears, Sweetheart?" That's not Ben's voice. Jared came up behind me, resting his hands on my hips. I can't move. I feel so weak and powerless. "I saw it too. I told you he was only using you to replace her." Is that true.. it sounds perfectly possible considering what I just saw. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pressing his front side to my back. Why aren't I moving.. I don't like him. I don't like this.. "Don't let him ruin your night, Sweetheart. Just let me take care of you. You're so beautiful." Jared's lips rested on my neck, gently nibbling on the flesh. I imagined it was Ben, feeling my longing for him begin to take over. My hands clutched onto his, not wanting them to move. "Why don't we take this in my room?" He asked suggestively. He took hold of my hand and tried to lead me to the main building. Something's wrong. This isn't Ben. It's Jared. What am I even thinking? He pulled harder on my arm, causing my rib to tweak.
It brought me back to my sense. He is the one who hurt me so many times. I yanked my hand from his, glaring angrily at him. "Get out of here before I hurt you." I growled. He opened his mouth to say something but a black shadow hit him. Hands grabbed my arms and covered my mouth. I bit the hand covering my mouth. He yelped out, moving his hand away. A blood curdling scream came out of my mouth, only to be stopped halfway by a gag going around my mouth. Ropes were strung securely around my hands.
"Make sure she stays quiet." That voice.. Felix.. "Whatever you do, don't hurt her." A Houndoom circled me, growling menacingly. He had three clawed scars on his side. This is the Houndoom that almost got me when I ran away. Jared coward on the muddy ground, cringing as Felix knelt down next to him. "Tell anyone what you saw, and I'll cut your tongue off and rip your eyes out. Anyone asks, you were in your dorm room jacking off like the coward you really are. Got it, Diphit?" Felix warned dangerously low. Jared nodded, scampering off to the main building. Felix walked over to me, grasping my chin in his hand. "You look especially beautiful tonight. Question is, why are you out here, and not inside? We had a very elaborate plan of taking you. Yet you so easily walked into our arms. You see, fire is a beautiful thing. That entire cafeteria would have gone up in flames. In the chaos, we would have extracted you, then locked all of the doors and sealed every window. Everyone would have burned to death. All because you decided not to take up our offer. Lucky thing you ran out here." He smiled. "So tell me, why did you run out here?" Felix pulled the gag down. Instead of answering, I gathered up saliva in my mouth and spit at him straight in the eye. He wiped the spit away, nodding slowly. His fist collided with my ribs, making me cry out in pain. He did it once more, this time harder. My rib pounded painfully. Felix pulled the gag over onto my mouth again. "Try to cooperate." He whispered in my ear.
The two grunts behind me pushed me forward, towards the woods. Rain continued to fall from the sky, hiding my tears of pain and, dare I say it, heartbreak. I've held so much faith in Ben this entire time. Trusted him with the stories of my past. And the second he looked at Molly, he stomped them into the ground. How could I have been so stupid as to think I could trust anyone. The people before him had made it clear that trusting anyone but myself was a mistake. So why did I let my guard down with Ben? Was it because he didn't back down to me? Consoled me when I was feeling off? Told me the truth when everyone else was too afraid? Or was it because the second I saw him that first day, I knew there was something about him. Something drawing me towards him. No matter how hard I tried to deny it, there was always something making me come back for more. It's because no matter what he does to me, no matter how much he hurts me, I'm always going to love him. I just didn't realize it until now. But it is too late. He is probably with Molly, doing things I've longed to do with him for some time now. I was just to afraid to admit it. Who am I kidding? Being brave has nothing to do with being fearless. It's about accepting your fears and conquering them. But I'm not even able to do that much.
Without even realizing it, we arrived at the Team Explosion headquarters. The two grunts shoved me into the large doors, snickering. The nagging want to punch them in the face loomed over me. Felix lead us through winding hallways once more until we arrived in the same room as before. Grant stood facing a large screen, projecting images of the surrounding areas. A few generals, I presume, pointed at different locations. Felix cleared his throat, catching the attention of Grant. He turned around, his eyes lighting up. "Everyone leave, except for my children." He ordered. The room was cleared almost instantly. Grant walked to us, smiling brightly. "My beautiful daughter. You look lovely in that dress. Your hair is a bit wet and your eyes are somewhat red, though. Tell me, have you been crying? Did our plan work out?" He looked to Felix.
"Things didn't exactly go as planned. They went much smoother. She walked right into our trap without having to draw attention to us." Felix explained. Grant nodded his head.
Grant untied the gag, letting it drop the floor, my hands still tied behind my back. "Because you didn't accept our offer when we gave it to you willingly, you will now accept it by force."
I shook my head. "I'll never join you. I'd rather die." I said hoarsely.
He smiled evilly. "You join us, or someone else dies for you." What? Grant walked back to the screen to a control panel under it. He pressed a blue button and a loud churning could be heard. I looked to the side and watched as a large cage emerged from the tile floor. My eyes widened as I saw a little girl in the cage, sitting in a corner shivering. No.. Annabelle. I tried to run to the cage but Felix kicked my legs forward, causing me to fall to my knees. He slammed me to the ground by my back and held me there. "Not only will this little girl die, but we will kill every last ranger-to-be at your school. Now, what is your decision?"
Don't cry. Be brave. Accept your fears. "Okay.. I'll do it. On one condition." Grant looked to me, his eyebrow raising. "I will join Team Explosion, if you let me take Annabelle home. That's all I ask."
Grant began to shake his head. "That is too risky. How am I to know whether or not you would just run off and exploit our whereabouts?"
"Please, I have to take her home. She should have never been dragged into this. Send a grunt with me. I promise, I will come back. I don't break promises. Just let me take her home." I begged.
He thought for a while. "I will let you take her home. But just know, if you run away, I will hunt you down, killing every last person you have ever come to contact with. Is that understood?" He growled.
"Yes.."
Grant clapped his hands. "Excellent. Felix, please escort Summer to her room and make sure she changes into her new uniform. Summer, report back here when you are done so I can assign a grunt to you." We both nodded.
As we walked, Felix untied my hands. He lead me to a closed door. "Put your hand on the scanner." He said rather bored. Hesitantly, I placed my hand onto the cold surface. A green light scanned my hand and lit a green light. The door whooshed open. "Your new uniform is in the dresser by your bed. I'll wait out her while you get dressed." I walked inside the cold, plain room. Almost lifelessly, I stripped off my ruined dress, and pulled the sleek black jumper on. It formed to my body, bringing out my curves. I zipped the back up and ran my finger through my wet hair. To finish it off, I pulled on some black socks and laced up black combat boots. Rain continued to fall from the sky, pattering against the closed window.
I'm willing to except this fate, if it means I can keep people safe. I walked out of the room, past Felix. I think I know the way back to the main conference room. Finally, I arrived, walking in through the doors. Grant stood with a tall lean guy with sandy blonde hair. His green eyes popped against his tan skin. Annabelle shivered in front of him. "Annabelle!" I called out. She turned to me, tears falling from her eyes. I held my arms out as she ran to them. I hugged her tightly, trying to calm her down. "I'm so sorry. So sorry you were dragged into this. Come on, I'm taking you home." She took hold of my hand and I began to walk to the doors.
"Summer, you've forgotten a part of the deal. This is Aiden. He will be escorting you to a fro. Now be kind to him. I've given him full permission to give punishment for any acts of struggle you might cause." Grant smiled.
Anger bubbled in my chest. "Whatever. Let's go." I growled. Aiden followed behind Annabelle and I as we walked through the doors. Tears welled up in my eyes. This is how I'm going to spend the rest of my life. Obeying the orders of the one person I truly hate. Maybe this is how things were supposed to be. Maybe I was never meant to be happy. I'll just have to accept it. If being miserable will keep others safe, it is something I will have to do, no matter how much it kills me. But gods.. if only I didn't have to see him kiss her. What makes it worse is the fact that he kissed her. I took him for granted. And now, as I realize that I'll love him no matter what, he won't return those feelings. I think that is what hurts the most.
Alrighty. Hopefully everyone enjoyed. Shout out to the songs 'Crazier' by Taylor Swift, 'At the Beginning' by Richard Marx ft. Donna Lewis, and 'What Comes Around' by Nikko Lowe. Till next time -A