Chapter 4) A Day at the Mall
A/N: This one is from Vee's POV again, and something a little more cheerful than the last one wound up turning out. Hope you like it!
I really like Camilla's car. The back seats are nice and roomy, there's lots of space, and it's not too cramped or crowded. Well, unless lots of people are all piled in at once, but that's probably the same in every car.
Today though, there aren't lots of people. Today, Camilla's only passengers are me and Luz, and all three of us are singing along to one of Camilla's CDs…
"Hey, you with the pretty face
Welcome to the human race!
A celebration, Mr. Blue Sky's up there waitin'
And today is the day we've waited for
Oh~!
Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us why
You had to hide away for so long~…"
Luz and Camilla really get into it like always. This one is a favourite of theirs. Luz even mimes playing a guitar during the long solo with a huge grin on her face. Meanwhile I mostly just hum along, since I don't know all the words. Still, it's fun, and just a little bit silly. Perfect for us, really.
The journey passes by pretty fast, and soon enough we're pulling up outside the mall, and me and Luz are saying bye to Camilla as we get out.
"I'll be back to pick you both up at four, but call me if you need me to come sooner, OK?"
"Don't worry Mom, we'll be fine!" says Luz cheerfully as she gives Camilla a quick hug. "Have fun with Eda!"
"I will. And you two have fun as well."
"We will," I reply, giving Camilla a hug of my own before she gets back in her car and drives off to meet with Miss Clawthorne to do… honestly, I'm not really sure what. Miss Clawthorne said something about a 'big idea that needs a second opinion' and she practically begged Camilla to join her.
I like Miss Clawthorne, but I hope she doesn't get Camilla into any trouble. If even half of what Luz has told me is true, Camilla could be getting roped into anything from redecorating a living room to robbing a bank. And somehow both of those could wind up being dangerous.
"So Vee, what d'you wanna do first?"
Luz's question brings me back to the present, and I smile at her. "Didn't you say you wanted a haircut? We could do that first?"
Luz rolls her eyes at me. "Well yeah, but that's what I wanna do. What about you?"
I think for a moment. The bookstore is always nice and calm, or there's the arcade, or maybe…
"I do need a warmer jacket," I muse aloud.
"Great!" Luz replies. "Let's go, then!"
I follow after her as she leads the way inside, through the big revolving doors and past the crowds of people rushing all around us. I walk a little faster to keep pace with her, not wanting to get separated.
Luz was the one who suggested a day out together, just the two of us. Between my time practicing with the Netball Team and her time spent helping out in the Boiling Isles and attending Hexside again, we haven't really had much time together this past month. It's been a bit lonely, if I'm being honest. I still haven't really managed to clear things up with Miles or Alex or Masha, so when Luz and the others are busy in the Demon Realm, I don't really have anyone to hang out with.
I'm… still not ready to go back there, so I don't join them when Luz goes there. She's super understanding about it, never tries to push me into going along with her, but still…
So when Luz asked if I was free on Saturday and if I wanted to have a, to quote her directly: 'Sister-Day', I said yes right away.
And here we are, making our way towards the escalator leading up to the next floor and heading into the big, second-hand clothes store that quickly became a favourite of everyone's when they were staying with us.
It's certainly become a favourite of mine recently as well, ever since I started wearing real clothes more often instead of just manifesting them with my shapeshifting. Real coats and jackets are a lot warmer than what I can make, and with the colder weather coming in, it really makes a world of difference.
I'm not fully cold-blooded, but I'm not fully warm-blooded either. The cold makes me feel a little more tired than usual though. So while my current jacket is great, something a bit thicker would be nice.
…
…
…
Of course I wind up trying on more than just a few jackets, and of course Luz winds up joining in as well, the two of us picking out stuff for each other more than for ourselves after a while.
Luz will wear just about anything if she thinks it looks interesting enough, but she likes purple a lot, so a lot of what I choose for her to try is in various shades of lilac and lavender, while Luz is able to track down all kinds of sweaters and jackets and other items in all different shades of yellow and orange for me. They've wound up becoming my favourite colours.
After a little time, Luz starts picking out really odd-looking stuff for me, so I start picking out silly items for her to try on as well. We're both laughing at each other and how we look, especially when Luz tries on the most hideously ugly skirt I can find that comes down way past her feet. She then gets me back by having me wear a shirt with a collar so high it almost covers my face.
"You look like a fluffy vampire!" she snorts.
I pull the collar up as high as it can go and hiss at her with my arms raised. "Give me your blood!" I say in my best worst impression of a creature of the night I can manage. I barely get halfway through my sentence though before I'm almost falling over from laughing so hard.
Our phones are full of pictures of each other looking ridiculous by the time we finally settle on a few things we actually want.
So, in addition to a dark yellow jacket with sleeves that are a little too long, I also have a pair of faded jeans and a black t-shirt with little orange patterns on it all bundled up in my arms. Luz wound up choosing a purple hoodie with stars on it, as well as some sort of fancy-looking ruffled shirt.
We're making our way towards the line to pay, still giggling a little to ourselves, when I see something out of the corner of my eye that makes me stop dead in my tracks.
Luz bumps into me, and follows my gaze to see what I'm looking at.
It's a hat and scarf set, patterned purple and black. On the hat is a little emblem of a UFO, and on the scarf is stitched the words 'COSMIC FRONTIER', in the same font as the original series, complete with stars in the letters.
I look at Luz, and she looks at me, then we both look back at the set, hanging there on the rack.
Camilla's birthday is coming up soon…
…
…
…
I'm sat in the food court at a table outside one of the cafés, sipping at a cup of hot chocolate while I wait for Luz. The hairdresser's was looking a bit too crowded for me, so I decided to grab us both a spot and wait for Luz to finish getting her hair done.
As I set down my cup, my head starts to throb a little, and I realise that I feel a bit hungry. Not food-hungry, though. Magic-hungry. I guess I must have forgotten to eat some this morning with how excited I was.
I can almost hear Camilla telling me I shouldn't forget something like that. 'You need to treat it like taking medicine and keep to a routine', as she reminds me.
Not to worry, though. I have something for that.
I glance around to make sure no-one's looking before I pull out the deck of Hexes Hold'em cards I keep in my bag, grabbing three from the pack.
When the rest of the gang were staying with us, they were really understanding and let me eat some of their spells whenever I needed to. But since Luz can't cast magic the same way, we needed to come up with something else.
I don't really like eating magic from Stringbean, or any other Palisman if I can help it. It reminds me way too much of what I used to do back… back there.
Miss Clawthorne was the one who suggested the cards, after I explained how I got by before, and she gave us quite a few boxes of card packs, and she keeps delivering more every time she visits. By now, every room in the house has a few packs stashed away someplace, so I'm never too far away from some magic. And for those times when I feel lightheaded while I'm out, I keep a pack or two with me as well. So does Luz and Camilla, just in case.
As I bite into the card and inhale the magic inside, the dull ache in my head starts to fade away, and I feel more awake.
As I'm finishing off my third card, I hear someone laugh.
"Mommy, that girl's eating paper!"
Shoot. Guess I wasn't being as discreet as I thought I was.
"Don't stare at them, dear! It's rude!" I hear the kid's mother say. I spot them at a table across from me, and I see the woman shoot me a look that makes me sink a little lower in my seat.
Well, that's what I get for being so forgetful I suppose.
"I'm back~!" I hear Luz sing-song, and I spot her weaving though the other customers as she makes her way towards me.
"What d'you think?" she asks as she takes her seat, tilting her head this way and that to show off her new style. It's not as short as she used to have it back when I first met her, but it's definitely not long any more. It's also quite messy-looking.
Fluffy, I realise. Fluffy like me and Camilla.
"You look great!" I say. "It suits you!"
It really does.
…
…
…
"Nooo!" Luz exclaims dramatically, her wail of defeat making me feel quite smug.
"Sorry Luz, but this is my game," I say confidently, twirling my game paddle on my finger. "I'm the Air Hockey Queen."
Luz straightens up, and I see her eyes light up with that competitive fire of hers.
"Well then, how 'bout we play a game that I'm the master of?"
I raise an eyebrow at her and shoot her a smirk. "What's that?"
Luz leads me further into the arcade, where it gets louder and more crowded. Tucked away at the back of the place is a pair of old-looking machines with big arrows on the platforms in front of them.
"OK, what is that?" I ask, genuinely puzzled. I never come this deep into the arcade, so I've never seen these ones before.
"This, dear sister, is DDR!" Luz announces with a flourish. "A time-honoured exercise in showing off your rhythm and your moves!"
I give Luz a look. "You can dance?"
"Hey!" she gasps in mock offence. "I happen to be a great dancer!"
"Camilla showed me the video of you knocking down the entire set of that school play you were in."
Luz tried out for a lot of school plays when she was younger apparently, and Camilla has videos of all of them. That particular one is one that makes me laugh the most, where Luz somehow manages to take down not just the background set, but the ropes, curtains and lights all at the same time.
Luz pouts. "That was Third Grade. Let me show you what I can do now."
I shrug and join Luz on the machines, taking position on the pad next to hers as she puts in the coins and starts choosing something from a bunch of lists.
Music starts playing, a song I don't recognise, and the screen shows a bunch of arrows rising up towards the top.
I quickly figure out what I'm supposed to do, and me and Luz are soon stepping and jumping in time with the song and the figures on the screens.
Turns out Luz wasn't kidding, she is pretty good at this game. Her score just keeps going up and up as she manages to hit each beat almost perfectly.
I, meanwhile, almost slip and fall over so often that I barely manage to hit half of the arrows in time.
And then, right at the end, I actually do slip, and I tumble right into Luz and we both fall over.
"Your sabotage is all for naught!" she cheers. "For I have already claimed victory!"
Yeah, she has. It's not even close.
We're both laughing a little as we get up, but I stop as I realise that we've wound up with an audience. There's a lot of people around now, a few laughing at us, and others crowding in, I guess to have their turn at the game.
I feel boxed in, and suddenly everything is a bit too loud, a bit too bright.
I wanna leave.
A hand grabs at my wrist and tugs me along, leading me away from the mass of other people and back out into the less-crowded plaza of the mall.
I don't understand how Luz could ever have believed she wasn't able to help anyone. I didn't even have to say anything, she just led me out as soon as I started to feel overwhelmed, because she just noticed it and immediately made it better.
"Thanks," I say with a smile, and she smiles back.
"Bookstore?" she offers, as if she's reading my mind.
"Yup," I reply.
…
…
…
We don't wind up getting anything from the bookstore, but we do spend a good half-hour in there browsing, Luz looking at some Azura merchandise they have on display while I check out the books on Earth History. A lot of it fascinates me, and it's one of my favourite subjects at school, even if I don't always get the best grades in it.
My stomach rumbles as we leave, and I'm pretty sure I hear Luz's do the same. Seems we're both hungry. Normal-hungry this time.
"Come on, let's get some lunch." Luz leads the way towards the elevators that lead up to the food court on the top floor, pressing the button to call one while I lag a little behind.
I'd have preferred the escalator, but I guess those are on the other side of this floor, and looking quite packed from what I can see.
No big deal. It's just a few seconds. It's fine.
It's fine.
I'm fine.
The door opens. I let out a little sigh of relief when I see that it's empty.
The door closes behind us, and the elevator lurches upwards.
Just a few seconds. That's all it takes, and it's just me and Luz in here, so it's not even that cramped. It's fine.
The elevator jolts to a stop. See, we're already here. We can get out, and go get something to eat, and then take the escalator back down when we're done, or the stairs. It's fine.
There's a beep from the side of the elevator, coming from the control panel. One of the buttons is lit up. Maybe someone called the elevator? No problem, we'll just get out and let them have it. It's fine.
"Uh-oh," I hear Luz mutter to herself as she presses a button on the panel, over and over again, the sound making my skin crawl and my ears hurt and I'm imagining all kinds of-
No. No! I'm fine! Everything is fine. I'm just in an elevator. Luz is here with me. That door is going to open any second now, and I can get out. I'm not trapped. I'm not there. I'll never be there again. I'm free. I'm safe. I'm fine…
The lights go out.
It's dark.
I can't see.
I can't see anything!
I hear something move. Footsteps, coming closer, coming towards me. No, please, no, no no no-
My back hits the wall, and I feel the cold metal against my skin. There's no way out, I can't get away. I'm trapped.
They're getting closer. They'll be here soon. I have to get away but I can't. I can't leave my cage. They'll find me. They'll catch me. They're gonna get me, they're coming for me right now-
I can't stand up anymore. My legs don't work. I'm falling, I'm on the floor of the cell, the tiny cold horrible prison that I'll always be trapped in forever.
I can hear them. I can hear their voice. They're here! They're here for me! Oh please, not again! Not again! Please please please not again! No more! I can't take it anymore!
I can't breathe! It hurts! I'm being crushed, everything is closing in around me, I know it is even if I can't see it! And my wrists! Those horrible things are on my wrists again!
Get off me! Get off of me! I pull and tug and claw at them but they won't come off no matter what I do! They hurt! They hurt so much, but I can't get them off!
Something touches me, grabs at my arms, stops me from moving. Oh no, they're mad! They saw me try to break the things on my wrists, and now they're gonna punish me for it. I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'll be good, I promise, please don't hurt me! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm-
"Vee!"
Vee?
That's my name, isn't it?
Not number five.
They didn't call me number five. They called me Vee. My name. Vee.
"Vee, can you hear me?"
Yes, I can hear you. I try to say that, but I can't. It hurts, and I'm starting to feel sick, dizzy.
The person holding my wrists brings them towards themselves, but they're gentle. They don't yank me, they don't hold me too tight, they just pull my hands forward and place them on their chest.
"Copy me, OK? Can you do that? Copy what I do."
I feel their chest rise and fall, slowly. I need to do that?
Right, I can do that. I can do what I'm told.
Breathe… that's right, I need to breathe slowly, like they are. In and out. In and out. In and out…
The pain in my chest fades away, slowly but surely. I breathe properly, like I'm supposed to. In and out, just like normal.
I realise I've screwed my eyes shut tight, so I open them back up.
Luz is looking at me. It's Luz, not a guard, not the warden… Luz. My sister, Luz, holding my arms and smiling at me and rubbing little circles against my skin with her thumbs, the light from her phone chasing away the dark.
I'm not back there again. I'm with Luz.
I'm safe.
I'm… I'm…
I'm falling into Luz, wrapping my arms around her and holding on for dear life.
I'm crying, sobbing into her shoulder. Crying because I'm so relieved I'm not back there after all. Crying because it hurt so much, still hurts, my chest and my wrists where I clawed at them to pry off imaginary shackles.
I'm crying because it felt real, and awful, and I was so scared, so scared…
"It's OK," Luz says, shushing me gently, holding me and running a hand through my hair. "It's gonna be OK."
Is it, though?
A few seconds in a dark room and I fell to pieces.
That's not 'OK'.
No, I'm not OK.
I'm not OK at all.
And that's what makes me cry the most.
…
…
…
The fire department are able to get us out after a little while, and I'm back outside, back in the open. I'm sitting on one of the benches outside the mall with Luz right next to me. She hasn't let go of my hand the whole time, even when they were wrapping bandages around my arms where I scratched myself.
Camilla's car is pulling up by the entrance, and she's out and running over to us before her door even has time to close behind her. Miss Clawthorne isn't with her. I guess she had to leave her behind to come and pick us up.
Guilt gnaws at me when I realise I just spoiled Camilla's day.
I spoiled Luz's day as well, now that I think about it.
My voice isn't really working too well at the moment, so all I can do is nod and let Luz fill Camilla in on what happened. I guess the fireman who called her didn't explain very much.
Camilla hugs me, but I don't hug her back. I just kind of sit there, too tired to even lift my arms. She doesn't say anything about it though, just plants a kiss on my forehead and pulls me and Luz up to our feet and towards the car
As soon as we're in the backseats, Luz grabs my hand again, squeezes it a little. It helps. It makes me feel a little better.
Not much better, but it's something.
The stereo is off. No music or singing this time. We just sit in silence as we make our way back home.
I don't like it. It's a tense quiet, like no-one wants to be the one to speak first because that'll mean something is wrong.
Something wrong…
…
"I'm sorry." My voice is small, hoarse. I don't think they heard me-
The car swerves suddenly, and Camilla slams on the breaks and kills the engine, stopping by the side of the road.
She turns in her seat to face me.
She heard me.
"Vee, don't you for one second think that you have to apologise for anything. Understand?"
I swallow, trying to get my voice to work a bit better, to not sound so scratchy and worn out from all the crying I did earlier. "I overreacted and made you all worry…"
Because I did overreact, didn't I? It was just a jammed elevator, we weren't even stuck in there for more than twenty minutes. It shouldn't have set me off like that. I should have been able to just wait with Luz without scratching my arms until they became red and raw, without flying into a stupid panic over it and thinking about stuff from the past…
"What's wrong with me?"
I only realise a second later that I said that out loud, when I feel Luz's grip on my hand and I see Camilla's expression shift.
"Mija," Camilla says, reaching up and cupping my face with her hand. "There's nothing wrong with you."
"Then why am I like this?" I say, and my voice catches, a sob building up in my throat.
Dang it, haven't I cried enough?
"Vee, sweetheart. It's OK to not be OK."
"Huh?" I don't understand what Camilla means by that.
"You went through something awful, Vee. Something no child should ever have to go through. You need to give yourself time to get better."
My eyes are stinging again. "I though I was getting better…"
"You are, sweetheart. You're a strong girl. But you need to be patient with yourself."
"I don't want to be patient," I huff, blinking back my tears. "I want to stop feeling like this."
Camilla smiles a little at me. It's a sad smile, but it still has that warmth to it that all her smiles do.
"Then let's just take it one day at a time. And remember, you can talk to us whenever you need to."
"That's right," I hear Luz say beside me. She sounds a little upset too.
I wipe the tears from my eyes with my free hand and squeeze's Luz's with my other. No more tears. I've had enough for today.
"Can we play some music?" I ask.
It's another song I don't know all the words to, so I can't sing along, but that's fine. I still hum while Luz and Camilla follow every word.
…
…
…
I don't usually turn in this early, but I guess today left me wiped out.
"Buenas noches, Mama!" Luz calls down the stairs as she walks into our bedroom after finishing brushing her teeth.
"Duerma bien!" Camilla calls back.
I see Luz reach towards the door.
"Wait-"
Luz stops, and I mentally slap myself. I'm being silly now. We sleep with the door closed all the time. I don't need to ask for it to be left open tonight-
"Do you want me to leave the door open?"
I should just say no, tell her I'm fine, that I don't want to bother her with something so stupid…
"Yes please."
Dang it.
Luz leaves the door open and clambers into her bunk underneath mine.
She doesn't complain. She doesn't even bring it up.
"Thank-you."
"No problem," Luz mumbles, sounding like she's also pretty close to falling asleep.
I'm so tired…
…
… but I don't doze off. I'm staring up at the ceiling and I just can't fall asleep, no matter how much I want to.
I don't have nightmares very often. I'm a really heavy sleeper. But when I do have them, they're bad.
Will I have them tonight? Will I be back there when I close my eyes?
Something brushes against my head, and I roll over to see purple fur and a little ears flicking about.
Stringbean's eyes are closed and she's already totally out for the count. I can feel her little purr-like snores though my pillow.
She's just like Luz. She always knows when someone needs cheering up.
I give Stringbean a gentle little poke on top of her head with my finger, and I let my eyes drift shut.
…
I don't have any nightmares that night.
[Yeah, I lied.]
Hello again everyone, and if you're someone who's just found this anthology and binged all four parts in one go, hello to you as well! I'm Not Scot.
My respect for the likes of Suzanne Collins and other authors who write entire novels in first person POV present-tense grows with each additional chapter of this fic that I write. I like how it lets me get into the heads of the characters, but it is a bit more challenging to write than what I'm used to.
Maybe I just need more practice. Guess I'm just gonna have to write even more chapters for this one to improve my skill.
Liked it? Hated it? Let me know in the reviews if you fancy. I'm definitely gonna keep this going for a while longer at least, so let me know what you think so far.
For now though, I myself am in need of a good night's sleep, so I shall now take my leave
Until next time,
Not Scot.
P.S: Yes, I did take the 'Noceda Family singing Mr Blue Sky' bit from MoringMark.
P.P.S: I promise I am still working on the next chapter of 'RWBY Re:Mixed'. It'll be done before the end of the month, I swear.