*A/N: Happy Holidays! The next few days I'll be uploading a bit more frequently, so consider it my Christmas present to you all! Thank you everyone for reading this story, I appreciate you more than you know!
XII - You Need to Calm Down (Chloe's POV)
Every year Auradon Prep hosts two family days, one in the fall between Thanksgiving and Christmas break, and the other in the summer, close to the end of the school year. The one in the fall is sort of like showing our family the projects we were working on. All of the sports teams held a scrimmage that day, too. All the families of the students got to come together and enjoy seeing each other after months of being away.
I tried not to let it show, but I was worried for Red. This was her first family day, and it would be the first time her mom would be back in Auradon since she was nice and sweet. I knew Red was anxious about it, but I didn't know how to help. My parents didn't know about anything that had happened, especially that I had gotten detention.
It was around ten o'clock on Saturday morning. Naturally, Red was still sleeping peacefully in my arms. Family day started at eleven, so as much as I wanted to linger in bed cuddling with her, we didn't have the time for that today. I came to a compromise, I'd give myself just five more minutes to enjoy this.
I stroke her hair as she sleeps, watching her chest rise and fall with each breath she takes. I'd never felt this way before about another person. If she were anyone else, I wouldn't even think about telling my parents about her this soon. I was ready to tell my family about her. It had only been a few weeks since she'd officially been my girlfriend, but I knew it was time. I was tired of hiding her. She deserved to be shown off, she deserved so much more than being kept a secret. She had given herself to me entirely, and it was time that at least our families knew about it.
"Red, baby it's time to get up," I said, nudging her awake.
"No," she said, still half asleep, tightening her arms around me.
"Baby girl, as much as I love being in bed with you, our families will be here in less than two hours," I said, and sure enough, that statement got her 's awake now, sitting up to face me, her expression not entirely pleased with my words. "How did you sleep, love?"
"I always sleep well when I'm with you," she said. I was her comfort, whenever she was upset I was the one she wanted, no one else. Everything about this girl made me go feral, the fact that I could have her heart, her mind, her body. I saw parts of her that no one else ever would. She was mine, and she always would be. In fact, there were still marks from the last time we had sex on her neck, chest, belly, and thighs. Thankfully, most of them would be hidden under her clothes, except the ones on her neck, of course.
"Fuck, you're so beautiful, you know that? My marks make you even prettier, baby," I told her, fighting my urge to ravage her before we had to pretend to be perfect for our families.
"You're the only one who thinks that. I'm such a bad influence on you, look at you swearing all the time now," she said, rolling her eyes. She leans in to whisper to me, "But I do love your marks all over me."
"Then everyone else is wrong," I said, smiling at her. I grab onto her hips, pulling her onto my lap, pressing a hungry kiss to her lips, morning breath be damned.
"I love you," she said, pulling away from me.
"I love you, more."
"Impossible."
A knock on the door interrupted us, and I felt myself growing irritated with the person on the other side of the door without even knowing who it was. I got up to go see who would possibly be bothering me right now.
"Yes?" I said, opening the door to find my brother standing there. "You're an hour too early."
"I was just making sure you were actually up and not…preoccupied," Chad said.
"Well, I'm awake and we were just about to get ready, so everything will be fine," I said, closing the door on my brother—I had all day to see him.
Red and I both get ready for the day, working together in easy silence. It didn't matter what she wore or even what she looked like, I would always find her breathtaking. She wore her favorite pair of ripped black jeans and a rose-patterned long sleeve top. Today she kept her red waves of hair down, falling down her back. She was putting the finishing touches on her makeup in front of the bathroom mirror when I slid my hands around her waist, resting my head on her shoulder. She stops in her tracks, setting down her signature red lipstick and putting her hands on mine, leaning back into me.
"Are you worried about today?" she asked.
"No," I said almost instantly. "Red, I know we've been enjoying just being us, but I'm ready to tell my parents about us." I brace myself, waiting for any change in her, to see how she would react to my proposition.
"Okay," she said. "I said I wanted to be yours, and I'm ready for other people to know, too." She smiled, and I could tell I was, too.
"Thank you, baby," I said. It's not that I was expecting her to be against it, I just didn't want to do it unless she was ready.
"Oh, one more thing," Red said, turning back to her red lipstick. She quickly applies the color to her lips before her attention is on me again. She takes me by surprise, grabbing my waist and pulling me close to her. Red pulls down my dress near my breasts, tenderly planting a kiss to my right breast. When she pulls away she leaves behind a red lipstick print from where her lips were.
"I thought if I had your marks all over me I should give you some of my own," she whispered, her voice sultry.
"Fuck, Red," I said, nearly rolling my eyes back in pleasure just on her words alone. I take her throat in my right hand, making her look at me, "I'd take your marks all over me any day, princess."
We're interrupted again by another knock on the door. I draw in a breath to compose myself before opening the door. Red follows behind me, wanting to see who was pestering us again. When I opened the door, I was nearly shocked at the daunting figure towering over me. The Queen of Hearts, Red's mother, stood there in front of me, and I was sure I'd had a look of fear plastered over my face.
"Oh, my girls!" she exclaimed, quickly scooping us into a hug. "I've missed you both so much! How has school been going?" I move out of the doorframe and Bridget enters our room, sitting on the couch while we all catch up.
"Chloe, I hear you were named captain of the Swords and Shields team? I'm so proud of you, you've worked so hard for this," Bridget said.
"Yeah, some of the team was surprised a junior was named captain, but so far everyone's been taking it really well. Coach said he thinks I have a shot at a scholarship to Auradon University for it. Are you going to watch the scrimmage later?" I said, and I noticed how Red instantly glanced over to me. I hadn't told her that I might get a scholarship for AU, yet. I know she'll want to talk about it later.
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Bridget exclaimed. "You know, dear, I was talking to Red's art teacher, Rapunzel, and she was so impressed with her work she put it on display today! I've seen a few of her pieces already and they are just gorgeous. Maybe you both could go to college together, wouldn't that be lovely? Of course I'm watching the match today, you're practically my second daughter, Chloe. I wouldn't miss it." It was my turn to take a glance at Red. She hadn't told me her art would be displayed for family day, and now I wanted to go see it. I wanted to go see it because her art was generally kept private, she rarely showed me what she was working on, and I was the closest person to her.
"Why don't we go see Red's art?" I proposed. Red's face paled, she didn't expect me to ask to see her work. Why wouldn't I want to see her work? She was always my biggest cheerleader, so I needed to be hers, too.
"Of course! Your family is already there, too, Chloe. Let's go, my darlings," Bridget said, getting up and walking out of our dorm room. Red and I follow her lead, though we know where the art classroom is by heart. I take Red's hand in mine before saying anything.
"Why didn't you tell me about this?" I asked quietly.
"I didn't think it was a big deal. And besides I figured you would be too caught up with your scrimmage today and I didn't want to stress you out about going to just see some pictures on a wall when you've got a big match ahead of you," she said, almost as if she were ashamed. I stop us in our tracks.
"Red," I started, my voice firm. "Listen to me, nothing you do will ever be 'not a big deal.' I don't care about my match later, if I want to spend time with you, that's what I'll do. You're my girlfriend, not the Swords and Shields team." The hallway around us was starting to empty, only a few stragglers were left, but they quickly fell into their appropriate rooms.
"But Chloe you're the captain, you have to be there—" she started before I took her throat in my hand, backing her up against the wall.
"The match can wait," I said, finality in my voice. "You are important to me, and so is anything you do. You want me to see your art, I'll drop everything and run to see it. You want to have sex, we have sex. Anything you want, Red, all you have to do is say what you want, and it's yours." By the last sentence my voice was low and deep, and Red knew I wasn't lying. She knew that I meant what I said. Every time she wanted something, I gave it to her. She wanted sex? I fucked her until she couldn't remember her own name. Food? She told me what she wanted and I got it for her. Time with me? Whatever I was working on at that moment could wait. She was my priority.
"Okay," she said quietly. I wondered if I had scared her, but she placed a quick, feather-light kiss to my lips before whispering "I love you."
"I love you more," I answered, removing my hand from her throat and taking her hand again. We walked together into the art classroom that Red called her home-away-from-home-away-from-home. I'd only been in this room a few times, and never for extended periods of time, but I could tell immediately that all of the work plastered on the walls around us belonged to Red. I gazed around the room with wonder, unsure of where to start. Most of her art centered around Wonderland, her home, of course. She didn't really have much experience with Auradon yet.
We started at a charcoal drawing of dice that looked as if you could pick them up from the paper and play with them. Then next to it a canvas that held an oil painting of a white rose, dripping with red, and whether the red was intended to be blood or paint I couldn't tell. On a table sat some of her sculpted projects. A pair of vibrantly colored mushrooms made of sculpting clay caught my eye. Next to them sat a clock with the numbers all scattered around, the glass taken out of it. Inside the clock was decorated like a diorama of what I can only imagine was her room back in Wonderland.
As I moved through the room, I felt like I was seeing a more vulnerable part of Red that I hadn't seen before. I thought I had seen everything she had to bare to me, but her art was different. It was like I stepped into the deepest, darkest parts of her—the parts that I had only seen scars from, her childhood. The last piece of art in the room was another oil painting, but this time it wasn't quite as light and vibrant. Instead, it was of a large castle, burning. The flames raged down the center of the castle, and on one side was an adult woman, walking the castle grounds below the flames as if nothing odd were happening. On the other side of the castle was a small, red-haired child, hiding in the trees surrounding the castle. I never imagined my heart could shatter more for Red and her childhood, and yet it felt as if all the broken pieces themselves had broken, too.
I knew what the painting meant, and I hated that I knew. Red and I were the only people who would know the real meaning behind this painting. It showed Red hiding from her mother, as the home she lived in was chaos, yet her mother was the sole reason for the chaos. Before I knew it, Red was beside me, her hand on my shoulder.
"It's okay now," she said so quietly only I could hear.
"But it never should've been that way," I said to her.
"I know," she said. "But it was, and now I have to move on from that, and sometimes that's really hard. But I have you, and you make it easier."
"Good," I said, scanning her face for any reaction. "I want to make things easier for you."
"You do. You make my life easier just by being in it," Red said. I wanted to take away all her hurt, but I knew I couldn't. Nothing would be able to change that. Instead, I just had to make everything after her childhood feel great.
"Are you ready?" I asked her, my voice low.
"Yeah, I'm ready," she said, smiling. I saw my parents from across the room. I made a face to Red before bounding over to them.
"Mom!" I said, throwing my arms around her in a hug.
"Chloe," she said, her voice always calm. "How's my girl?"
"Good, really good," I said. I turn my attention to my dad, who's looking at Red's art, astounded.
"There's my little girl," he says when he sees me, taking me into his arms. "Captain of the Swords and Shields team, I'm proud of you. But I'm just wondering why you never told us?"
Shit, I'd completely forgotten to tell my parents that coach had made me captain. "Well, uh, it was just a lot that was happening all at the same time. I got a little overwhelmed, that's it."
"Well, your mother and I are proud of you," he said. It was at that moment that Red and her mother were at my side.
"Are we ready for lunch?" Bridget asked, her arm wrapped around her daughter affectionately.
"Always," my dad said, making me cringe and roll my eyes. I figured this would probably be the best time to tell our parents about us. We all walk together to the main ballroom where there's always an array of foods. There's a variety of food because we have so many different cultures in Auradon.
Lots of food overwhelmed Red, there were too many choices to make, too many new textures and flavors. Don't even get started about portion size. Instead she walks beside me, holding an empty plate, and as I put food on my plate, I put foods she likes on hers.
The silence while we eat is beginning to feel heavy, like a crushing weight. I grab Red's hand under the table, squeezing it gently, and she looks over at me, giving me a small nod—she's ready, but suddenly I'm not so sure I am.
I take a drink of my water before I start talking.
"Mom, Dad," I started, trying to be brave. My entire family and the Queen of Hearts were sitting right in front of me. "So, there's been a lot more going on lately." Shit, that didn't come out the way I wanted it to.
"Sweetie, are you okay?" my mom asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm actually really happy right now. There's something Red and I wanted to tell you," I said.
"Girls, what's going on?" my dad asks, and I can see worry start creeping on his face.
"Red and I are dating," I blurted out. "As in, she's my girlfriend." Our parents exchange glances at each other, and I wonder if I need to brace for the storm.
"That's it?" my dad asked, raising an eyebrow. "Neither of you are pregnant? No failing grades? You haven't been suspended or expelled?"
Red and I give each other questioning looks before I answer for the both of us, "No, no, and no."
"Oh, that's wonderful dear," Bridget says. "I'm so happy you two finally got together. You know, Chloe, your mother and I were waiting to see how long it would take for this to happen."
"What?" Red said, speaking up for the first time the conversation started.
"You knew?" Chloe asked.
"Chloe, of course we knew. You never were really into boyfriends, and you only ever had pictures of girls in your room. We could only put the pieces together," My mom said, always gentle and kind. I drop my head down, staring at my lap. For some reason I feel ashamed. I tried so hard to hide this part of me and yet it was so easy for my parents to figure it out without me even saying anything. I felt like I was wrong for liking girls my entire life, yet here I am, telling my parents about my girlfriend and they don't even care that I'm dating a girl.
"I'm so happy you girls finally realized how you feel about each other. You deserve to be happy together," my mom said, and I looked up at her, seeing nothing but her love for me.
"Did you think we would be upset with you?" my dad asked, concern evident on his face.
"Maybe a little," I said, chewing my lip in nervousness. "I mean, I'm telling you that I'm not normal, that I'm not like everyone else. Wouldn't that upset you guys?"
"Chloe, no," my mom said. "We don't want everyone else, we want you. And if dating girls, if dating Red makes you happy, then that's what we want."
"Besides, Wonderland isn't like Auradon, we're used to all kinds of relationships, this isn't new to me, and I'm perfectly happy with you girls together," Bridget said with a smile.
The rest of lunch went just as it had before. In fact, it was like nothing had happened. I was amazed, it's not that I expected it to go badly, just maybe not as smooth as it did. As the afternoon dragged on, it grew closer and closer to my Swords and Shields match.
"We're going to head to the field so we can get good seats," my dad said, giving me a hug. It was almost like he knew exactly what I was thinking of. Everyone leaves toward the field, except for Red. Instead she follows me back to our dorm, grabbing my hand no later than our parents turning their back to walk away. Minutes later, we're back in our dorm, anxiously waiting for my match to start in an hour.