Melissa

Commencement: A Foundation Institute RP

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_{Location: Alumni Village - Dundas Island}

Dance Monkey #4.007: Slipping Through My Fingers

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_{Interaction(s): Victoria Roth @Lord Wraith}

Previously: Somebody Else

After lunch, Aurora found herself standing on the front porch of the Roth residence in the Alumni Village, rocking back and forth on her heels nervously as she hesitated to ring the doorbell. She knew that Lorcán's mother was a kind and caring woman and had always welcomed her into their home and their lives - this week had certainly been a testament to that. Tori had allowed her to remain by his bedside even though she wasn’t blood, brought her food and made sure she was taking care of herself, had even let her stay in their guest room, all while managing her own grief and worry for her son.

So why was Aurora so nervous to ask for her help? Tori was her faculty representative for Myotis, someone she could go to for guidance as it was without the familial connection of her best friend. But this felt different, felt more personal. Maybe it was guilt eating at her that she had said yes to Chad and not the boy that she loved, even though he hadn’t even asked her. But given the circumstances, she didn’t have many other options and the clock was ticking.

Finally gathering the gumption, the redhead rang the doorbell.

“Come in,” Tori’s voice echoed through the small two-story house, “I’m just in the kitchen,” She added before Rothschild padded up to Aurora, raising his head to give her hand a lick and then continued out the door and back towards the campus.

With her invitation, the girl opened the screen door and entered, slipping off her shoes and leaving them in the entryway. She walked down the hallway towards where Tori’s voice led, passing by the many pictures hung up on the walls, family photos mostly, before entering the kitchen where Lorcán’s mother stood over the sink. Apprehensively, she fiddled with her necklace before speaking, tugging the heart shaped pendant along the chain.

“Hi, Mrs. Roth,” Aurora greeted, but corrected herself, saving the woman the hassle of doing so, “Tori,” She took a step further into the room, “Sorry to show up uninvited, I know you’ve probably seen enough of me these last few days.” The redhead’s lip curved up into a smirk and a small laugh followed, her attempt at breaking the ice.

“You’re always welcome under my roof, sweetheart,” Tori replied putting her knife down on the cutting board before smiling at Aurora, “Lorcán loves birria tacos, so I figured I’d make some to celebrate his recovery, you’re more than welcome to join us for dinner, I know how my son loves having you around, and frankly I do as well.” Tori played coy while talking to Aurora.

“You made quite the hike to come out here,” She stated before laughing at herself, “Or maybe you didn’t, I forgot who I was speaking to for a second. Either way, can I get you a drink, hun?”

The redhead relaxed her shoulders a bit, put slightly more at ease by the woman’s words of reception. But at her following comment she felt her face heat up, and although it had been a well meaning and innocent statement, it only added to the flurry of emotions racing through her mind. Anything that used that four letter word in relation to him recently made her, well, jumpy. Aurora shook her head quickly at the woman’s offer for a beverage.

“I’m okay, thank you.” She politely declined, before swallowing and getting up the courage to continue with her request, the reason why she came over in the first place. “I hate to ask you for a favor,” She paused, trying to get a read on her facial expression before proceeding, “With everything that happened this week, I wasn’t planning on going to the dance. But now…” Aurora took a shaky breath before continuing, “I have a date, but I have nothing to wear.”

“Ripley had suggested that you might have something I could borrow? I know it’s a lot to ask and you can totally say no, but my roommates already went to the mainland and I don’t have anything that’s nearly nice enough.”

Tori smiled before gesturing for Aurora to follow her upstairs.

“We’re a similar height, I think I should have some options for you,” She stated before leading the way, “I’m guessing by your body language, that your date is not someone who lives under my roof,” She commented as the pair walked up the stairs.

“Not that he spends much time here now that he lives on campus, but Aurora,” Tori continued, “Whether you and my son are friends or something else, you will always be welcomed here and always be treated as family. If mon petit prince can’t see what’s right in front of him, then that’s his loss. No one is expecting nor asking you to wait on Lorcán. You deserve to have fun and go on dates with young men who are willing to ask.”

She opened the door to the large walk-in closet before gesturing to a corner that was laden in all manner of fabrics, colours and lengths.

“There has to be something here, and if need be I’m sure we can make some alterations for a more modern look if you like one of the more retro options. I’m pretty handy with a needle myself, but I have some friends in the village that can most certainly help out.”

Aurora’s expression softened as Tori not only offered up her closet but also guessed correctly that her date was not Lorcán, a weight lifted off her shoulders that she didn’t need to explain herself as guilt ate away at her. She gratefully followed the older woman to the upper level of the house, and as she continued to speak, another word she used stuck out like a sore thumb.

Family.

It was a known fact that the redhead had no contact with her mother and her father was already absent from the time she was born, and she was shifted around from foster placements until she arrived on Dundas Island. Family wasn’t something she believed that she had, it was a concept foreign to her, so for Tori to even mention treating her as kin meant more than she probably realized or intended. It also came as a surprise to Aurora that Lorcán’s mother was so candid with her support of her pursuing someone else other than her son.

Wordlessly, she started sorting through the dresses in the corner of Tori’s closet. Ripley was right, a lot of this was a bit, well, dated, but there had to be some viable choices. Aurora popped her head back out and looked at the dark haired woman.

“So… you’re not mad I’m not going with Lorcán?” The redhead asked again, “And you’re sure you don’t mind letting me borrow something?” She sighed, leaning against the closet door, a twinge of sadness in her eyes.

“I would have gone with him if he’d asked.” Aurora stated, “I hope you know that."

“I know that,” Tori smiled, “I also know my son possesses the communication abilities of his father despite my best efforts to ensure otherwise.” She held a dress up to Aurora comparing the colour and tones against the girl’s complexion, eyes and hair.

“This could work, but I think we can do better,” She stated before shuffling through the closet more, “You are more than welcome to raid my closet at any time, sweetheart no matter what is happening between you and Lorcán, I missed out on having a daughter of my own so I relish the opportunity to live vicariously through you,” She stated, “Don’t get me wrong, would I prefer to see you going with Lorcán? Yes, of course, but as I said before, I can’t expect you to wait forever. I’m sure you’ve more than done your part and dropped the hanky at least a few times for the dense boy.” She pulled out another dress and offered it to Aurora.

“Try this one on behind the screen there,” She stated motioning towards a three-fold privacy screen beside an immaculate vanity. “As Ripley puts it, boy is a little waterlogged, and maybe, if it’s something you both still want, seeing you with someone else might light a fire under our little fire-starter.”

Tori sat in her nearby powder chair while waiting for Aurora to try the dress.

“However, if this mystery date of yours goes well and you would like to keep seeing this other gentleman, all I ask is that you be honest with Lorcán. I understand you’re under no obligation to my son, and I wouldn’t ever imply such, but I want the best for both of you.”

The redhead couldn’t help but empathize with Tori, for she’d be lying if she said she didn’t appreciate the time she spent with her. After all, she had been the closest thing she had to a maternal figure in her life since she was a tween.

She looked down at the dress as it was handed off, a sky blue color in a lightweight chiffon fabric, strapless with a sweetheart neckline. It was probably the most modern of the dresses in that closet and was by far the most simple, indeed resembling something that she would have most likely selected for herself had she gotten the opportunity to go to the mainland with her friends. With a nod, Aurora disappeared behind the screen, nimbly changing out of her street clothes and delicately slipping on the gown. Taking the opportunity while her face was hidden, the girl spoke what was on her mind.

“I think I… realized some things this week, Tori. Your son is very important to me, I actually, uh, wanted to tell him something when he woke up, but I didn’t get the chance.” She explained as she situated the dress comfortably on her body, trying to allude to the woman what her feelings were without uttering the words. “That said, I don’t foresee this date going anywhere past tomorrow night… my heart is, well, somewhere else.”

Aurora stepped out from behind the barrier, holding the dress so it didn’t fall down, “Could you help zip me up, please?” She asked with a small smile, turning to face away from her and continuing her previous thought.

“I just hope he won’t be upset with me when he finds out. I’d never want to hurt him. ”

Tori stood, gently pulling the zipper up before letting out a small gasp at the dress on Aurora.

“It’s a perfect fit.” She smiled before replying to Aurora’s other thoughts, “I’d like to think that my son knows just how important you are to him and that he wouldn’t take that lightly. And if he does get upset then, I think that’s alright too. Sometimes we need to feel loss to truly appreciate what we have or what we could still have with the time given to us. You can’t appreciate the highs without going through a few lows.”

Tori lifted Aurora’s copper locks moving them around behind the girl as she looked over her shoulder in the mirror.

“So any thoughts on how you want your hair?

As she looked at her reflection, the redhead smiled widely, beholding the dress on her. Tori was right, it fit her like a glove, accentuating her small waist and hugging her chest in all the right ways. The length of the gown was even ideal too, just grazing the floor so that when she added a pair of heels it would hit at the right place between her ankles and the tops of her feet.

The only thing that would make it more perfect was if Lorcán was her date.

But his mother’s wise words reverberated in her mind, for it was only because Aurora thought she was going to lose Lorcán did she come to realize her true feelings for him that she had harbored all along. Struggling to find the right words without revealing too much, she simply nodded in agreement, and focused her attention back on her appearance in the glass.

“I don’t know,” Aurora pursed her lips, tilting her head slightly as she tried to think, “I wear it down all the time, but I don’t want it to be in my face. Maybe I’ll pin it back? What do you think?” She questioned, but the thought made her dwell on her fading bruise, now a yellowish hue that still marred her fair skin, and she reached up to touch it, “Hopefully this will be gone by tomorrow. I’m sure my other teammates are trying to figure out how to cover theirs too.”

“If it’s not, I have a concealer that should do the trick,” Tori replied, gingerly putting a thumb over the bruise as she looked at the injury, “I do think it’ll be gone though,” She added, “I’ve had my share of experience with bruises over the years raising Lorcán. In case you haven’t noticed, he’s a little clumsy.”

Moving to a nearby dresser, Tori reached her hand through the front without opening the drawer. Her hand phased back through but re-emerged with a handful of bobby pins.

“What about half up, half down?” She asked, moving behind Aurora and holding her hair up but letting it spill down in a controlled manner, “You could frame your face with some small pieces too,”

The redhead felt a lump growing in her throat as she experienced Tori’s maternal touch. It was something she’d always dreamt about; she’d seen the movies, saw mothers with their daughters both on the mainland and on the Island, and envied the relationship they were able to have, hoping that one day she’d have that too. So in that moment, as Tori knew exactly what to do about her bruise and expertly moved her hair, she felt safe, taken care of, and savored the feeling that she had always craved and missed out on.

Aurora nodded, clearing her throat, hiding just how overcome with emotion she was.

“Yeah,” She exhaled, the smile returning to her face as she found her words again, “That sounds great.”

“Okay, so let's do that then,” Tori smiled, “We can take some pictures when we're done so you have them for tomorrow night as I’m sure you'll be getting ready with your friends,” She added, “But if you need any help I’m just a text away.” The woman smiled while putting the pins in Aurora’s hair. Turning her towards the mirror, Tori presented her work before grabbing a jewelry box and opening it towards her.

“And of course, no outfit is complete without accessories,” Tori smiled, “Obviously you don't need a necklace but we have bangles and bracelets, rings and earrings, might even be an anklet or two in here if that's your style.”

She smiled, opening another door inside the walk-in closet.

“Though that’ll depend on your shoe choice I’m sure,” Tori added clearly having as much fun as Aurora was herself.

As Lorcán’s mother rummaged around in her closet, presumably for a pair of heels, the redhead leafed through the jewelry box, shaking her head in disbelief at the woman’s kindness. She had only come here for a dress, and yet, it seemed that she would be leaving with a whole look.

“Tori, these are gorgeous,” The redhead commented, looking at the various earrings, bracelets and rings and picking out a simple gold cuff for her wrist. A signet ring tucked into the corner of the container caught her eye, her baby blues noticing the gold surface engraved with a cursive letter ‘B’. Puzzled, she took it out and examined it, trying to figure out the meaning behind the initial.

“This one’s pretty, where’s it from?” Aurora asked innocently.

“Oh,” Tori was slightly taken aback to see Aurora pick that ring up before she began fiddling with a matching one that she wore bearing an ‘L’. “That was a gift from Aiden about twenty two years ago, we had a name picked out and he got eager.” She smiled sadly, trying to cover her pain with a small chuckle.

“He wasn't able to return it and I just couldn't find myself able to part with it.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” Aurora instantly recognized the sorrow in her eyes, and quickly placed the ring back in the box, regretting taking it out in the first place even though there was no way of her knowing it was a sensitive subject. It didn’t get past her keen gaze the matching one the woman currently wore, bearing a familiar “L”, but she didn’t pry and instead pulled out a different ring. This one was a gold band, also engraved, but with an intricate design that resembled flames.

“How about this one,” The redhead set down the jewelry box on the chair and slipped the ring onto her thin ring finger. She admired it, her thoughts brought to someone specific they both knew. “Is there a story behind this one?”

“Ah,” A grin spread across Tori’s mouth as Aurora held up the new ring, “That one Aiden found while on a mission for H.E.L.P. He’s always said a woman known to her community as a witch gave it to him after he intervened and saved her from being stoned. The woman of course was a Hyperhuman like us, and while agents typically don't take gifts, the woman insisted Aiden have it. He never was one for jewelry but thought the ring suited me. Aiden likes to joke that it reminds him of the ‘fire’ of our love and how he burns for me.” Reaching a hand out, Tori looked at how it sat perfectly on Aurora's finger.

“It never fit me comfortably, about half a size off unfortunately, but it looks like it was made for you. What do you see when you look at its pattern?”

Aurora felt her smile return and grow wider as Tori told the story, hearing her loving tone as she spoke about her husband so fondly. She looked back down at the ring, examining the design once more as the light glinted off of the band, “I see…” The redhead looked up, lifting her gaze from her hand to meet the older woman’s eyes, “The campfires that Lorcán makes for me when we’re out on the beach late at night.”

“Reminds me of him.”

“Sounds like that ring is yours now then,” Tori said while her eyes twinkled mischievously. “I think I have some sapphire studs around here that would make your eyes just pop with that dress.” She added pulling out a small drawer on the jewelry box that contained numerous pairs of earrings.

“Are you more of a yellow gold girl or do you prefer white? I’m guessing yellow to go with your pendant.”

Immediately, Aurora raised her eyebrows, “Oh no, Tori, I couldn’t take this from you, seriously, you’ve already been more than generous.”

“Oh please, Aiden has gotten me so many trinkets over the years I could never possibly wear them all. I’d rather see it go to someone I care for who can give it the love it deserves.” Tori replied dismissively, refusing to take the ring back.

The redhead relented, holding up her hand once more to admire the band, the etched licks of flame seeming to dance as she wiggled her finger. She smirked, knowing that not only when she looked at the ring she’d think of him, but she’d also think of Tori and her generosity. How welcome she’d made her feel, how she’d referred to her as family.

“If you insist. I’ll take good care of it, I promise.” Aurora appreciatively expressed, before going back to Tori’s previous question. “Yes, yellow gold.” Her hand moved up to touch the heart shaped charm on the delicate chain, her smile dimming slightly, thoughts of her own mother coming to the surface. “I’ve had this since I was 8, I’ve rarely taken it off.” She explained, instinctively fiddling with the pendant as she spoke.

“A gift from your mother?” Tori asked, “You fiddle with it when you're nervous or anxious, which leads me to believe it came from someone who made you feel secure.” Tori handed Aurora a pair of earrings. “My mom was my world growing up. She left my father before I was even a year old and so it was just the two of us against the world. She gave me this charm bracelet,” She paused to point to her wrist, “I still fiddle with this little heart charm anytime I’m trying to think of exactly what she’d say in any situation.”

Aurora simply nodded in response, relinquishing her hold on her necklace to take the sapphire studs from Tori, their hue similar to the blue of her eyes, although slightly darker. She put them in her ears one by one, listening and looking at the bracelet as she did so. “It’s beautiful,” The girl complimented, “It was just me and my mom too for a while,” She hesitated, the corners of her mouth dropping slightly, “That is, until she met my step-father.”

The girl shook off the thought, not wanting to elaborate further, and stepped closer to the mirror, taking in her appearance. The jewelry brought everything together, and her smile returned once more before she looked back at Lorcán’s mother graciously.

“I can’t thank you enough, Tori. Truly.”

“If you need anything else, you’re more than welcome to it. I’m just happy to help, sweetheart.” Tori replied, “You look beautiful, your mother is a very lucky woman to have a daughter like you.”

The redhead gave the dark haired woman a sad smile before reaching out her arms and hugging her, comforted by her presence.

“And Lorcán is really lucky to have a mom like you.”

Commencement: A Foundation Institute RP

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_{Location: Myotis Dorm → Dining Hall - Pacific Royal Campus}

Dance Monkey #4.003: Somebody Else

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_{Interaction(s): Texts sent to Harper @Qia, Haven @Skai, and Rory @webboysurf}

Previously: November Rain

Aurora had teleported from the infirmary directly to her dorm room, overcome with all sorts of conflicting emotions.

Less than 24 hours ago she thought she was going to lose her best friend and somehow he had made a full recovery. It was nothing short of a miracle, and she was absolutely relieved and overjoyed that Lorcán was going to be okay. Not only that, but she had wanted to get the chance to tell him how she felt, how consumed she was by her feelings for him and how she realized that losing him would mean losing a part of herself.

But his first words when he awoke were devastating to hear. She didn’t know what she had been expecting to happen when he stirred, but it certainly wasn’t hearing him ask for Amma. Aurora wasn’t upset that it wasn’t her own name that was spoken, she could have cared less that he wasn’t asking for her specifically. Hell, he could have asked for just about anyone and she simply would have been content that he was coherent.

It was that of all the people he could have asked for, of all the names he could have said, he said hers.

The girl who he swore was no more than a friend, the girl he had explained that he was only trying to be nice to, welcoming towards. She was the first person that he thought of when he came to. The redhead for some reason thought she truly had a chance, that every fleeting glance, every moment spent together, the night in the tent and the night in his dorm were signs that she and him were destined to be more, fated to be together. Aurora had spent his hospital stay uselessly romanticizing the moments that they had, building things up in her head to be more than they truly were, only to be torn down within seconds of him opening his eyes.

Aurora felt stupid, embarrassed, ashamed that she believed Lorcán could actually love someone like her. She was a broken girl from a broken home, had nothing to offer him, and he knew it.

All she could do when she got to her dorm room, confounded with these mixed feelings, was lay down on her bed and cry; she was pretty sure she’d single handedly been keeping the tissue companies in business, after all, she'd cried more in the last 5 days than she had in her entire life.

Kelcey had come back from class to find Aurora a mess and sat there with her for as long as it had taken for the girl to calm down and the tears to stop flowing. Their other roommates returned, concerned and curious, and so the brunette suggested that she and the redhead go and get something to eat to have some space. So, they found themselves at the mess hall eating an early lunch.

As they sat at the table, Aurora picking at her plate absentmindedly, she finally got around to replying to her texts from the last few days. She’d barely touched her phone since Lorcán was admitted and seemingly all hell had broken loose in the time she’d spent disconnected. The girl shot off a few messages after getting up to speed with everything that had happened.

SENT TO HARPER BAXTER Thank you again for being there for me the other day, don’t know what I’d do without you ♥ Just saw your messages, let's definitely do something, a girl's night would be great. I can stop by later?

SENT TO HAVEN BARNES Oh my god, I heard about what happened, I’m so sorry that you had to go through that. I know we haven’t talked since the trial, but I feel absolutely terrible that I wasn’t there for you. Please forgive me ☹

SENT TO RORY TYLER Sorry for not replying the other day, really appreciate you checking in on me though. Hope you’re doing alright with everything that's happened… really glad Haven is okay. I feel awful I wasn't there for the team. Also, Lorcán’s awake and should be discharged today! You can tell everyone if they don't already know.

After sitting in silence for the majority of their meal, Kelcey addressed what she thought was the elephant in the room.

“Aurora, babes, you’ve gotta figure out what you’re doing about the dance.” She stated, and as she saw Aurora’s eyebrows immediately raise, her tone softened. “Look, I know you’ve had a really tough week, but now that Lorcán is better you should really come, and I think it’d be good for you to do something for yourself.”

The redhead was quick to shake her head.

“I don’t know, Kelce, even if I wanted to,” She paused, “Which, I don’t,” Emphasizing her wishes before continuing, “The dance is tomorrow. I don’t have a date, but more importantly I don’t have a dress. I’ve got nothing to wear.”

“I’m sure someone on campus has something you could borrow,” Kelcey insisted, looking around the dining hall with her dark brown eyes, “You know, now that I’m thinking about it, I’m pretty sure Brynn bought two dresses when we went to the mainland over the weekend, let me go and ask her,”

“Kelcey, wait,” Aurora called after her, but the brunette was already gone, booking it across the room to go and talk to one of their housemates. She sighed, pushing the food on her plate around with her fork as her roommate instigated on her behalf, a woman clearly on a mission. And when Kelcey wanted something, no one could stand in her way.

“Can I join you?” A deep voice asked, and Aurora looked up to meet the steely gaze of Chadwick Patterson who motioned to the now empty seat across from her. Surprised to see him, even more surprised he was talking to her of all people, she simply nodded. He pulled out the chair and sat down, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back casually, his large muscles taught and toned.

“Was sorry to hear about Roth, not to mention Blackjack’s had a pretty rough go recently.” Chad commented, “I’m sure it hasn’t been easy for you.”

Aurora didn’t know much about Chad other than the basics, as his reputation preceded him. He was popular, the Captain of the Water Polo team and a talented athlete. They had been in a few classes together over the years and were acquaintances at most. It certainly helped his case that he was also easy on the eyes.

“No it hasn’t,” The redhead responded, a bit taken back by his words of sympathy, “Not exactly how I pictured the beginning of my senior year.” She attempted to joke, setting down her fork and running a hand through her copper locks.

“I’m sure.” He concurred, before uncrossing his arms and leaning towards her, “Look, I know you’re probably wondering why I came over, I just couldn’t help but overhear that you don’t have a date for the dance tomorrow.”

“And as it just so happens, neither do I.”

Aurora’s brows furrowed, confusion evident on her face. How could someone like Chad not have a date to the dance? He surely had his pick, any girl would be fortunate to go with him if he had asked them.

“Would you want to go with me?”

Okay, maybe not every girl.

Her head conflicted with her heart almost instantly. Flashes of fiery orange eyes and tousled wavy sun bleached hair danced across her vision and her heart told her that if she wanted to go with someone, it’d be him. But Lorcán hadn’t asked her to the dance, had mentioned wanting to go with someone but didn’t indicate who. Especially considering that the first person he had asked for when he woke up was Amma, it was seeming more and more unlikely that he meant her, which is why her head said…

“Sure,” The redhead replied with a smile that felt a tad forced, her face growing warm with his attention pinned solely on her, “That’d be great.”

It wasn’t what she wanted, not in the slightest, but it was the logical decision. Chad had made the effort to ask her, it made sense to say yes. At least that’s what she told herself as he smirked, clearly pleased with her response to his question. He was a nice guy and seemed like he’d make a decent date, even if she wasn't in the proper headspace or mood to appreciate it.

“Rora, she said that- oh.” Kelcey started to say as she returned, but upon seeing the boy sitting there, quickly abandoned the previous topic, surprise etched on her features. “Hey Chad, didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“No problem, I was just leaving actually.” He stood, and it was only then Aurora realized how tall he actually was. ”I’ll pick you up at 8.” He winked at the redhead before acknowledging Kelcey with a nod and walked away. The brunette looked at him quizzically before quickly scrambling into the seat upon his departure and leaning across the table towards her friend.

“Am I hallucinating? I leave you alone for no less than 5 minutes, and this happens,” She tried to whisper but her excitement made it come out more as a rasp, motioning where he was previously sitting. “What the hell did I just miss?”

Still a bit flustered, Aurora’s eyes were fixed in the direction that he headed off to. “I, uh, I have a date to the dance.” She stated sheepishly, to which Kelcey’s face lit up even further.

“Chadwick Patterson asked you to the dance, no fucking way.” The brunette turned her head to glance over at him as he rejoined his teammates on the other side of the mess hall, “Rora, he’s hot. You scored.” She looked back at her roommate, a devilish glint in her eye, “Now you really need to find a dress. Brynn doesn’t have one for you to borrow, anyone else you can think of? Maybe one of your teammates?”

The redhead paused, thinking of who she could ask this late in the game, and her conversation with Ripley from the other day quickly came to mind.

You should ask Aunt Tori, it might be some sort of 80’s fit, but what’s old is new again.

“I think I have an idea.”

Commencement: A Foundation Institute RP

^{| Summer 2027}

A familiar crackle and static rang through Lorcán’s garage, indicating the end of yet another record. Aurora, having anticipated the last song on the album, didn’t hesitate to jump up from where she had been lying on the worn leather couch and rush over to the player, gingerly lifting the needle and moving the arm to rest on the side of the machine.

She and Lorcán had been cooped up all day, the only other sound as prominent as the music they were listening to was the air conditioner working overtime in the corner. The Northwestern part of Canada had been hit by a massive heatwave, the highest humidity and temperature seen in years. Heat lightning illuminated the sky in sheets, which meant no surfing was to be had, and dark clouds rolled in, threatening to pour across the Island. With not much else to do around campus during the Summer months, they found themselves doing basically nothing on an otherwise dreary Tuesday.

The redhead carefully removed the disc from the platter, slipping it back into its proper sleeve before adding it to the growing pile of albums they had made their way through. She approached the milk crate in the corner which housed most of the Roth’s LP collection and let her fingers dance over the records, examining them one by one.

“How about this one next?” She held up a colorful-looking jacket even though she didn’t recognize the band name, the art having caught her eye. “Is it any good?”

“You like don’t know that one? Brah,” Lorcán asked, taken aback, “Lady Dude, we’ve got to get you an education, that was the album that totally got me stoked about music. I can’t believe we’ve totally never listened to it before. It’s so rad.”

Picking up his Rickenbacker, Lorcán sat back down before plugging in the patch cable and adjusting a few dials. His fingers flew over the strings as he quickly tapped out a familiar riff before looking at Aurora.

“You don’t know that? Like that doesn’t ring any bells?”

The redhead raised an eyebrow at the series of notes he played, racking her brain to try and think if she’d heard it somewhere, but came up short.

“Nope, never heard it before,” She replied with a shake of her head, examining the record once again before setting it off to the side, a viable option for their next choice. The girl had an eclectic taste in music, listened to mostly everything under the sun, but often found that her repertoire and Lorcán’s differed from time to time, especially when it came to what they grew up with.

Aurora leafed through more of the assortment, perusing the titles, “Hmm…” A lot of the records she didn’t know, most of this collection having been curated from since before she and Lorcán were born. “What about…” Another record stuck out, this one with a fiery looking design that was reminiscent of a certain someone’s abilities.

“This has your name written all over it.”

“Oh you can’t go wrong with that one,” Lorcán smiled, his fingers pressing down on the strings as his thumb slapped out a beat. “You can just feel the rhythm of the music vibrating along your bones, it’s like catching a wave and just letting it take you away.” He continued to slap away at the instrument, minding his thumb around the pickup cover, all the while getting lost in the groove.

Music and surfing were two times Lorcán let it all hang out, they soothed his soul, and lowered his inhibitions and while he was always seemingly chill, it was in these moments that Aurora could truly see just how much he was enjoying himself. He wasn’t suppressing any emotions, or repressing a comment, he was losing himself in the same way some people did while drinking or dancing.

With a board beneath his feet or his bass in his hands, Lorcán was the happiest he could be, except for when he was with Aurora.

Shimmering sapphires gazed intently as the boy played the instrument, letting the rhythm whisk him to some far off place in his mind, and a smile graced her lips. There was truly nothing that Aurora loved more than watching Lorcán in his element, whether it was here in his garage or out on the beach. It always amazed her how easily he was able to pick up a tune after only hearing it once, or balance on his board in the roughest of conditions.

“We’ll put this one on for now then,” The redhead took the record out of its sleeve and placed it on the machine, gently dropping the needle on the grooves and letting it start to spin. She moved back to sit down on the couch, “How do you do it?” She asked inquisitively as she watched him, “Play like that. You always make it look so easy.”

“Practice,” Lorcán replied modestly, “Like, anyone can do this if they want to, I didn’t really have anyone for a long time, but I’ve always had music and I had this bass.” He recounted,

“As long as I’ve been big enough to reach, I’ve been playing and listening. Once you get the basics down, the rest starts to totally fall into place and then pattern recognition starts to kick in, listen,” Lorcán paused, letting the record play before turning to the instrument.

“Every song is going to follow a pattern and that pattern will correspond with a scale, so you can hear the root, the fourth, the fifth.” Lorcán placed his left hand on the neck, barely moving it while the three notes rang out.

“So you can hear how that pattern was right, but the key didn’t match,” He moved his hand again, playing the same pattern as Aurora heard the dissonance disappear and the instrument blend into the melody of the record.

“Once you train your ear, you can totally just pick up and know where to play, then you can really start to noodle,” Lorcán explained, now playing the pattern but his hand moving around more, throwing in more notes but never straying from the rhythm. He stood up, lifting the bass over his head before sitting down behind Aurora, his legs straddling her own as he placed the bass in her lap.

“Hold it like this,” He instructed while gently moving her arms into position and using his own hands over hers to help her play. “Wait for the chorus, relax and then,” Lorcán instructed before gently moving Aurora’s hands to the music, tapping her fingers with his own as they played along together, albeit a bit more delayed and clunkily than if Lorcán himself had been playing.

But that didn’t matter in that moment as they moved together, laughing as one. Eyes meeting a moment, while beads of sweat formed on both of them. Lorcán stared at Aurora’s lips, thoughts racing through his mind before he suddenly stood.

“It’s frakkin’ hot,”

Aurora had felt herself melting into him as his arms surrounded her, large hands enveloping hers as he gently pressed down her fingers on the fretboard to play the strings. She relaxed, letting the music wash over her and allowing him to lead, butterflies soaring in her stomach at the amount of contact, the warmth of his skin matching the flush that now graced her face. She could have stayed like that forever, relished in the feeling of him and didn’t want it to end, noticing the way he hesitated as his eyes dropped down to her lips.

She was tempted to close the distance between them before he moved.

“Yeah,” The redhead handed him back his bass, bashfully looking up at him from underneath her lashes. “Sure is.” She swallowed and quickly walked back over to the milk crate of records to hide her face until her blush disappeared. But as she approached the stack from a different angle, she noticed a record that was still shrink wrapped and sealed hiding in the back. Curiosity getting the better of her, she gripped onto it and removed it from the pile, and upon seeing the cover art her eyes instantly lit up.

“When did you get this?!” Aurora squealed, her bright smile growing as nimble fingers traced the familiar list of songs on the back of the LP. “This is her new album, the one I was telling you about a few weeks ago!” Her baby blues darted back to Lorcán, seeming to sparkle in her excitement.

“I’ve been dying to listen to it!”

Lorcán rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, he did his familiar wry smile, flashing a row of perfect, white teeth before tousling his hair again and answering.

“I had Cass ship it in a care package while he’s home for the summer. I was going to surprise you with it as a sort of early birthday present.” He replied. “You seemed so excited about it, that I knew I totally had to get it for you.”

Aurora’s smile only grew bigger, childlike glee radiating off of her as she raced over to Lorcán to hug him. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou!” She beamed, tilting her head to gaze up into his molten eyes. “That was so thoughtful of you,” Squeezing tightly before she let go, she quickly made her way back over to the record player to swap out what was currently playing for the album in her hands, dancing happily as she did so.

“I can’t believe you remembered!”

Lorcán was at a loss for words in that moment, his heart racing from the hug to a feeling of pride and satisfaction from getting Aurora something she wanted. Seeing her light up like that, he’d have marched into hell and back and all he did was procure a vinyl. He sunk happily into a chair, watching her dance and listened to the music, the beautiful composure of the melody bringing his thoughts right back to Aurora.

He could get lost in that smile forever.

The redhead continued to move her body, carefree and elated as the song flowed through the garage. She was sweating from the heat externally but also still feeling warm and fuzzy inside just thinking about Lorcán’s gesture. Aurora didn’t want to ever forget this feeling, the happiness he brought her, the way he heard her, saw her.

She saw him sitting there, that goofy grin plastered on his face as he watched her make an absolute fool of herself, and shook her head playfully. “Come on, Hotstuff, don’t make my dance by myself!” Aurora exclaimed, approaching the boy and tugging him out of his chair with all of her might. She intertwined their hands and forced him to move, giggling as she did so.

Lorcán laughed, letting Aurora pull him to his feet before following her lead, extending his arm for her to twirl. Unfortunately, he had two left feet when it came to moving on land and so he awkwardly swayed while trying his best to keep up with Aurora and imitate what he thought dancing ought to be.

The redhead couldn’t help but sigh amongst her laughter, beholding the boy’s sad excuse for dance moves.

“We’ve got one year until the big senior dance, don’t worry, we’ll work on it.”

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_{Location: Infirmary - Pacific Royal Campus}

Take On Me #3.054: Arcade

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_{Interaction(s): @Lord Wraith}

Previously: Blue

Cass slowly made his way back through the winding hallways to Aurora and Ripley. His feet felt like lead bricks as he struggled to find the motivation to walk down the hallway. His chest ached, and his eyes were burning, but most of all, he just felt defeated. His emotions had been ebbed away leaving only a raw, dull ache. An ache that constantly pounded at the back of his head while tears threatened to stream down his face at any moment.

It’d still be a kindness to kill him now, the death he’s going to experience is far more painful than the transformation ever would be.

They couldn’t kill Lorcán, he wouldn’t. There was no way his Aunt or Uncle could ever forgive him if he did, nor Aurora or Ripley. The loss of Bridget had devastated Tori and Aiden, they poured everything into Lorcán.

As he approached, Cass offered a weak smile before speaking to his sister.

“Hey, uh Rippers, why don’t you go and grab a snack for Aurora and I?” He asked. Ripley took one look at Cass and quietly nodded her head, knowing better than to protest as she moved down the hallway before Cass opened the door back into Lorcán’s room and held it for Aurora.

“You should, uh probably sit.” Cass suggested before doing so himself.

Aurora had returned from Amma's room only a few moments prior, their interaction and her words replaying in her mind. But the redhead saw Cass’ red eyes and knew that whatever he was going to say next wouldn’t be good.

“Okay,” She followed him back into Lorcán’s room and took a seat on the sofa across from him, placing her hands in her lap as she picked nervously at her nails. “What’d you find out, Cass?”

“That ‘doctor’ was Ellara,” He started, “That same woman from the forest, she went on about a bunch of hoodoo I didn’t really understand, something about under souls and over souls, but essentially she said Lorcán’s soul is going to be devoured,” Cass said, swallowing hard to suppress the lump in his throat.

“She said he’s as good as dead, Aurora, and that if we don’t kill him now, then his body is going to become host to something so much worse.” Cass couldn’t stop the tears at this point.

“Damnit!” He yelled, shoving his hands into his armpits as he jumped to his feet. Two small explosions were muffled by his own body as he winced in pain from the detonations under his arms. “Damn you and your wanderlust!” He cursed at Lorcán, kicking the bed.

“Why couldn’t you just stay to the beach?” Cass asked, his voice turning to a plead as he repeated the question, “Why?” Turning back to Aurora, he asked one more time, his voice becoming almost feeble.

“Why? Why did he leave us here to pick up the pieces, Aurora?” Cass continued, “Why didn’t he leave a clue, like how could this thing have attacked him and no one else? How has this never happened before?”

Aurora froze.

He's as good as dead.

She was too late.

Your tears won’t save him.

The girl didn’t move a muscle, even as the blonde boy began to create chaos around her with his words and actions, she sat on the couch completely still. Trancelike, she stared out into space, the light of hope behind her eyes slowly fading as Cass asked questions he wouldn’t get answers to. She felt numb.

Even as the inevitable tears welled up in her eyes, her body acting out of instinct, she didn’t raise her hand to wipe them away. The redhead just sat on that couch, unmoving, and let the weight of the words hang in the air.

Lorcán was going to die.

Every other thought in Aurora’s brain had quieted, her normal internal monologue utterly silent, as she tried to make sense of this information, grappling with not knowing where to go from here.

Her best friend, the boy she loved.

She was going to lose him.

And then breaking her silence, she sobbed, a guttural sound that you could almost feel the pain of. She finally moved, her palms coming up to cover her face as she broke down, her chest shaking with the vigour with which she cried.

Sitting down beside Aurora, Cass wrapped his arms around her, embracing the woman his cousin loved and letting himself mourn, the tears falling from his own eyes as the pair jointly wept.

“This…” Cass croaked, “This can’t be how it ends.”

“How what ends?” Ripley stood in the doorway, her eyes wide as she saw the pair sobbing, “Did h-h-he?” Her lips trembled as she struggled to finish the question, her eyes darting to the monitors connected to Lorcán seeing his heartbeat still active.

“W-what did you not tell me?” She asked, her knees weak, knocking together she took a cautious step forward. She braced against a wall, almost dropping the snacks as Cass wiped his eyes and raced to his sister’s side. Helping her to sit down, he took a chocolate bar and opened it, snapping it in half and handing a piece to Ripley before extending one towards Aurora.

“Eat,” He ordered, “The sugar will help with the shock.”

Aurora lifted her face from her hands to meet Cass’ gaze, shaking her head profusely. If she ate something right now it would most certainly make a reappearance shortly thereafter. Her lip quivered as she continued to cry, her previous quiet strength evaporated instantaneously. But even in her sullen state, she had half a mind to know that Ripley should not be present to witness this turmoil. She was too young.

“Cass,” She rasped, “Get her out of here.”

Clearing his throat, Cass put a steady hand on Ripley’s shoulder while nodding to Aurora.

“Ripley, can you go and get Uncle Aiden and Aunt Tori,” Cass asked, clearing his throat with a small cough. “I need to talk to them.” Ripley nodded silently, picking her things up gently before rushing out the door as Cass let out a heavy sigh.

“I think I need some air, are you going to be okay if I leave you alone with him for a few minutes?” He asked, turning back to Aurora.

The redhead sniffled but managed to nod. However, before the blonde had the chance to leave, she found the words that fueled her anguish and spoke them aloud, almost in disbelief, the ones that had been eating at her for the last few days. The ones that would seemingly now find no resolution.

“I didn’t get to tell him.”

“He knew,” Cass replied, pausing in the doorway, “He always knew.”

Left alone in the room, Aurora continued to let her tears fall, the sound of her distressed cries echoing off of the vacant walls of the suite. The beeping of Lorcán’s monitors kept cadence with her own heartbeat as she managed to stand from the couch on shaky legs and move to sit next to him on the edge of his hospital bed, Cass’ words hanging over her like a knife threatening to drop.

He always knew.

He’d hoped she’d find peace in knowing that her affection had been clear, but all it gave her was more grief and guilt.

Cautiously, she reached out her hand towards Lorcán’s, squeezing it.

He didn’t squeeze back.

His skin was colder than it normally was, not radiating warmth like it always had, and that was enough for the redhead to understand that this was real and this was truly happening. She cleared her throat, “You promised you wouldn’t leave me.” She managed to say in between gasping breaths. “I’m so mad at you, it’s not fair.”

She dissolved into another fit of cries before continuing, the silence beckoning her to speak without interruption. “I think it was always supposed to be you and me.”

“I love you. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, I’m sorry it took me until now to realize it.”

Aurora cradled his limp hand in hers before releasing her grasp, bringing her palm up to caress his face, stroking her thumb across his cheek. She’d give anything to see those sunset-colored eyes one last time. “You always talked about all of the places I could go, how I could be anywhere I wanted to in a heartbeat.”

“But the only place I ever wanted to be was where you were.”

Each word she spoke killed her just a bit more, but it was worth it to get it off her chest. Lorcán might not have been able to hear, but knowing she was finally saying those things aloud, the feelings she had kept to herself for all these years, brought her some semblance of comfort. It was likely the last opportunity she had.

She delicately pressed her lips to his temple before standing from the bed and moving back to the couch to wait for Cass to get back with Tori and Aiden. Curling up, she let her cries rock her into a restless sleep that provided no reprieve or mercy from her grief.

The door opened quietly sometime later as Cassander returned with his Aunt and Uncle. Walking into the room, Aiden put a hand to Lorcán's cold skin and watched how slowly his son's chest had begun to rise and fall. He was starting to lose the fight. Tori kissed her son softly on his forehead and then his cheek, her emotions threatening to bubble over at any second.

“Stay with him,” Tori said to Aiden, “I’ll take care of Aurora,” She motioned to Cassander to give her a hand as she wrapped Aurora in a blanket and helped Cass pick her up gingerly. The sleeping girl was nearly weightless in Cass’ strong arms as he gently carried her out the door.

“She’ll stay at our house for tonight, put her in the guest room and then you can take the couch.” Cassander only nodded in response, words were too difficult for him right now as he took one last look at Lorcán before Aiden closed the door on their way out.

Another stifled sob echoed out in the hallway, prompting Cass to hurry before he lost control of the tears welling up in the corner of his own eyes.

It was only upon emerging outside, that Cass noticed just how dark the night truly was.

Commencement: A Foundation Institute RP

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_{Location: Infirmary - Pacific Royal Campus}

Take On Me #3.050: Blue

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_{Interaction(s): The collab you've all been waiting for. @Rockette}

Previously: Think About You

“Stay with Aurora,” Cass ordered Ripley, “And shoot me a text when that ‘doctor’ leaves Lorcán,” He added before rushing away without an explanation.

Aurora watched as the blonde boy hurried down the hallway and disappeared, clearly heading somewhere specific, a man on a mission. She realized that he likely knew something that she didn’t, which was more unsettling than anything else, and made her anxious. She reached up to fiddle with her necklace nervously and glanced down at the younger girl standing next to her, taking a shaky breath.

“Hey, Rippers, I’m uh, going to go for a walk…” She conveyed honestly, sounding distant, “Can you keep watch until I get back?”

“I uh, don’t want-” Ripley began to say before looking at Aurora’s expression, “Forget I said anything, I’ve got this.” She replied, stifling a sniffle before nodding vigorously.

The redhead snapped out of her momentary daze as she heard Ripley’s uncertain reply, kneeling down to the brunette’s level and mustering a sad smile and facade, tucking a strand of the girl’s hair behind her ear.

“I know this is scary, Ripley, but you are so brave and Lorcán needs all of us right now to be strong.” She extended her little finger towards the girl, trying to listen to her own words and not be hypocritical, “I pinky promise I’ll come right back.”

“I mean, if you pinky promise,” Ripley squirmed before rushing forward and wrapping her finger around Aurora’s extended one. She gave the older girl a quick hug before pulling back.

“I’ll be right here waiting,” She smiled sadly.

Aurora nodded at her before standing up and making her way down the hallway, aiming for the Infirmary Gardens. She needed a reprieve, even if it was momentary, still processing everything that Jonas had said, plus the added weight of Cass and Ripley’s findings. She turned down another hallway, and was about to head for the double door exit but a man standing outside of a patient room caught her eye. He seemed out of place, screamed force and chaos in an environment meant to promote healing and sanctuary. Walking past, she stopped suddenly as she beheld the lithe figure behind the glass with raven hair and tattooed skin.

She knew that Amma had been taken away after the trial, but she didn’t realize that she was being kept here in the Infirmary. Aurora’s body seemed to hum, the memory of her unbridled power coursing through her veins during the trial, their short lived moment of partnership coming to the forefront of her mind. With everything else she was grappling with, she hadn’t given the girl any additional thought, never thanked her or wondered how she was handling everything, which in itself was a wrong she needed to right. She looked to the guard, gesturing to the room.

“I’m one of her teammates, from Blackjack. May I…?”

He contemplated for a moment, determining if he would allow such a visit, before stepping aside with a nod and permitting her to enter. Twisting the knob gingerly, Aurora walked into the room with an abundance of caution, clearing her throat to seemingly announce her presence.

“Hi, Amma.”

Having only just returned to her room perhaps an hour ago, Amma was not anticipating visitors or even entertaining the notion of speaking with anyone; for her waking world had been devoid of lingering nightmares or hardly contained rage in the following days since she had been sleeping in Gil’s room for the last couple of nights.

Now her body bristled in recognition, spine gone taut, posture drawn back as her hand clutched around her mobile phone, noting the many notifications gone unanswered, and met the sky blue eyes of Aurora. Her visage was usually one of beckoning dawn with her halo of copper hair spun through with gold, but a haunted look bloomed over her features, wariness weighted upon her shoulders and a certain air that bespoke of her sorrows. All of these were magnified by the bruise that faded out into pale edges upon her temple and brow.

“Hello… Aurora.” She carefully set her phone aside, arms crossed with the fabric of her white tee-shirt scooped around her scar, fingers clasped over each arm currently concealed with a nondescript black jacket to cover her fresh bandages.

“What…” She paused, head tilting down curiously as she studied her, lashes sweeping high and low. “I’ll admit. I’m surprised to see you here. So, I’ll simply ask why you’re here.”

“I, uh,” Aurora hesitated, struggling to find the words as Amma examined her keenly, feeling exposed in her current state both emotionally and physically. The redhead similarly beheld the raven haired girl’s demeanor and body language, how she seemed to straighten and retract from her, the scars that littered her visible skin and likely trailed underneath her coverings, her dark circles and sullen expression. The trial had certainly gotten the better of them both, their wounds only secondary to what she knew lay beneath the skin.

“I was walking past, on my way from Lorcán’s room.” She paused, realizing that she wasn’t sure if Amma was aware of what had happened to him. Cass said he told Blackjack, and Rory reached out to the team via text, but it was better not to assume. “He, uh, got attacked the other day in the Northern Forest, if you didn’t know,” Aurora exhaled shakily, pain evident in her voice, “He has some type of infection but they don’t know what’s wrong with him.”

“But I saw you were in here, and wanted to thank you. For what you did during the trial.” She took a step towards where she was sitting, approaching the girl warily, “We would have been dead if it weren’t for the power you gave me, and I know that it came at your detriment.”

Amma pauses, fingers clenched and balled into fists, nails spearing into the bedsheets where sudden swells of red arise, coiling through her rigid gestures, and when Aurora takes a step towards her, she flashes her eyes suddenly aglow in silver and blue, marking her where she stood. The world quaked at her toiling influence, heightened by the sudden breadths of empathy for what Aurora must’ve felt for Lorcán at that moment. For what she is uncertain she is feeling in that split second the information is spared and she can hardly navigate those emotions that strike at her heart.

“I know… I guess, I just didn’t realize how severe it was.” She breathes, arms trembling with the grip, her words understating his condition's severity.

She doesn’t want to talk about the trials, she couldn’t even confess such to Gil the first night or any other night, and she certainly doesn’t want to relive the hopelessness she felt in the last moments when she had given the lasting remainders of her power to them- so that they may yet live as she was dragged into Hell.

“As I told Haven… If I had made it out alone, it would’ve looked suspicious. Though, I suppose that doesn’t matter.” Amma carelessly lifted her palm, gesturing towards her room, marking the damage to the floors and walls, the ceiling that too bore her wrath. “Still in solitary for another day or two…”

“What-” She exhales with a sigh. “Do they know what attacked him?” It’s the first she has been made aware outside of the simple texts that had been given as of late.

Aurora noticed how Amma tensed, how she seemed to shake with a fervor reminiscent of her own. It was unexpected to see her have that type of reaction, similar to hers but also different in tone. Where the redhead’s woes manifested in anguish, tears and cries, the raven haired girl radiated anger and tenacity. But where they were alike was in the pain they both felt.

Her eyes darted around the room as Amma waved her hand, only then coming to notice the marks and destruction that marred her surroundings. Aurora would have previously been wary, alarmed, but instead she simply felt numb and unbothered, all of her energy and fear were dedicated elsewhere. Swallowing, the redhead took another step closer, testing the waters although she knew her first move towards the bed had been met with distrust.

“They don’t, unfortunately.” She replied, crossing her arms over her chest as she seemed to hug herself, hide herself. “The medics seem to think that whatever it was is not of this world, as crazy as that sounds.” The girl inclined her head to Amma, “They’re doing what they can, but,” She sniffed, trying to hold back the sadness that threatened to overtake her like a tidal wave, and spoke softly.

“It’s not looking very good right now.”

“There are many inexplicable things of this world that do not belong,” Amma mutters quietly, eyes gone far off and distant, dissociated from the unfamiliar emotions she had been victim to as of late. Unable to define the irregularity of her pulse and waspish rage that made her want to lash out, her entire body rigid and unyielding, feathering pearls of red and silver dotting the frame of her lashes, clinging to her visage that struggled to don the barrier of the creature that did not care.

“The monsters are very much real.”

Amma feels her moving closer, drawn to her sorrows, and hears the tears threatening to fall upon the delicate misery of her voice- she’s surely about to break, crumble in within the void of her heartache- and she hates her for it. Bound in the chains of her past, bound in the barbed wires of her rage and pain, unable to personify her feelings so carelessly; so easily. Mend, instead of sunder, she thinks. But how?

“Your tears won’t save him,” she whispers. “If he is to die soon then why aren’t you there now? What’s the point of coming here to thank me?”

The raven haired girl's words never ceased to send shivers up Aurora’s spine, it was in her tone, her departed gaze as she spoke. She was haunted by unseen demons, her life clouded by the shadow of a burden that was challenging to describe. Having felt her power before, it was this she knew to be true, and she was unsure if she could ever put into words the weight that bore heavy on her heart for knowing and understanding that discomfort.

This time she was the one who bristled, the directness cutting like a knife, her question striking her heart instantly. The redhead already knew that things were grim and there was nothing to be done, and yet her words still stung as if salt were poured on the open wound. What was the point? Her sadness quickly morphed into defensiveness, a bite in her following words that wasn’t there previously.

“Because you showed me a kindness I didn’t believe you to possess, and I was wrong for assuming you to be anything but,” Her brow furrowed, “It was because of you that I am able to be here with him now,” Aurora elaborated further, “It’s also because of you that he was able to find me. Not only did you lend your power to me, but also to him, and for that I am grateful.”

“I’m well aware my tears won’t save him, but it hurts when you might lose someone that you love.”

The words came out before she could stop them and she bit her tongue hard, the tang of her own blood dancing across her teeth.

“Kindness? Love?” Such bitterly stated words fell from her gnashing teeth, bone slid against the pout of her lip, tongue bathed in the fated red that filled her mouth on a shattering laugh that struggled beyond her aching ribs. “Is that what it looks like? That dejected and hopeless look in your eyes.” Amma stood up from her bed, thick lines of black and red spooled across her sheets, left in her wake as she approached Aurora.

“That haunted and drawn exhaustion I see in your face.” She breathed deep, a shuddering breath that eclipsed her reasonings, witnessing all that she was true for, the admission that filled the depths of her room and refused to abate now that they had been spoken aloud. “What is love then, if not the most painful thing I see in you, the most painful thing I saw in her.”

Aurora didn’t falter as Amma stepped closer, they were a similar height even if one had a gaze of stars and the other of stone, but nonetheless at each other's level. The French girl’s words rang of disgust and distaste, and that lit a fire in the redhead that did not get a rise often. How dare she take her woes and twist them so, take a beautiful thing and morph it into something so ugly and undesirable. As much as it hurt her to feel this way, to feel anything at all, she wouldn’t change a thing.

She did not know who this her was that she spoke of, and yet, she did not care. For if Amma had known love at one point in her life, evidenced by the venom in her voice, she should understand where Aurora was coming from.

“Emotion is not weakness, Amma, so much as you may think that it is.” She stated strongly, trying to maintain her composure. “It may hurt, but I still feel fortunate that I have someone that I care this much about, someone who makes me feel,”

“I’m sorry that you don’t.”

“Because they’re all dead.” A statement, a confession, one laced to the brim with vehemence, an unbridled fervor inspired by the words flung at her, gilded in flame like her hair and meant to scorch her with shame. But Amma only felt longing, a deeply seeded yearning that spiraled into hunger, that craved something she could not name.

“You don’t know how I feel.” Even she did not know, but she would not spare Aurora those whispers, could not for all the world that quaked at her mercy, for all the woe and pain that cantered through her life in crimson maladies and song. “The emotions that come from this- with this.” The HZEs within and without fled her palms, coiling betwixt her scarred fingers liken to snakes that spun around her wrists.

“That has cost me everything.” Amma breathes, fingers curling into her palms to snuff out the manifest of her powers, the weight of her heart suddenly burdened by a weariness she could not place. She tells herself she does not care, she tells herself this over and over, and over again. She paid the price once, she would not - could not - do it again.

“You sure about that?” The redhead challenged, her facial expression tense, lips drawn in a thin line and brow raised as she went toe to toe with the raven haired girl. Something about her current situation, the rage that she felt towards whatever had attacked Lorcán was finding its outlet now. “Not that I owe you an explanation, but you’re not the only one that’s experienced loss,”

“My powers have also cost me,” She spoke freely, unafraid and brazen as she raised her chin in quiet defiance, “They may not be destructive in the way that yours are, but they destroyed my life as I knew it.” Aurora exhaled shakily, eyes misty and heartbeat thundering in her ears as she chose to share a piece of herself with the girl, one that not many others knew, her own weight that she carried day in and day out.

“My mother had to give me up because of my abilities. My stepfather would have killed me had he found out what I possessed, what I could do,” Her voice cracked, betraying the intensity in which she spoke, a single tear rolling down her cheek even though she tried to hold it back, “The only person who ever loved me abandoned me. She could be dead for all I know, I have no clue where she is now.”

“So don’t stand there and tell me that I don’t know how you feel.”

“You’re right,” Amma rejoined with a snap of anger awash over her teeth edging into a feral smile, drawn up straight, meeting Aurora eye for eye; the sky blue of her stare the herald of a righteous figure donned in the light of love, alight in anger and defiance to the void that swirled into her own depths, the storm striking upon the fringes of her control. “You don’t owe me an explanation, just as I owe you none.”

“But you know then what it feels like, to be abandoned for all that you are. For all that you could be. Abandoned because they are afraid of what you can do. You’re just like me.”

We are monsters.
Afraid of you. Afraid of me.

“Not once, but twice. Locked away in the dark because they couldn’t control the beast any more. Given all the power in the world; made into what you fear the most. And they use you for it until it turns to ash and death in your hands. Until you no longer know where she begins, and you end." Amma watches her tears, the one of solidarity bidden to her touch where she reaches up, ghosts her fingers over Aurora’s delicate features and catches it there upon the rise of her scars, the fissure in her voice reflecting the fissure lain within her soul.

“To be so loved and wanted, to be able to cry so freely.” Amma withdraws her hand, the pads of her fingers swept over the healing bruise, a small coil of her power tracing down the line of her cheek as exhaustion once more found way to her body, sunk down deep into her bones, a terrible buzzing once more clamoring betwixt her ears.

“Take that anger and use it to find out what happened to him, Aurora. Be there for him for me – For I – “ Amma laughed, a delicate sound that betrayed the depths of her words. “Be there for those of us that cannot.”

Amma’s hostility was palpable, her cold and harsh words that detailed her misfortunes jarring, and yet her gestures were not such, her motion tender and fluid as she reached up towards Aurora’s face. And as she met that single tear, the redhead’s breath hitched, shocked by her gentleness amongst the chaos her powers wreathed. That ghost of a touch, and the words that accompanied it felt foreign coming from her lips, such a departure from prior words of suffering.

She was right, they weren’t all that different.

After all, they wanted the same thing.

Aurora simply nodded, a silent acknowledgement to her statement, words steeped in raw envy. She took a step backwards, creating distance from the raven haired girl, but not before uttering words that she thought she needed to hear.

“There are good people out there, you know. Ones who don’t abandon and aren’t afraid. It took me a while to find them, to find him,” The redhead felt another tear trail down her skin, unashamed of the sadness that bloomed in her heart for it was her greatest strength, “But he was worth the wait,”

“I know you'll be able to find that too.”

Amma doesn’t say anything, for she no longer had the words to spare, instead she allowed Aurora to step back, where she mimicked her retreat and too furthered the distance between them. A creature of light, and one of dark, both that had been cruelly undone by the world, for all that this universe owed to them, and for all that it took in retribution for powers undone. She curls both arms over her middle and gazes out from the small window her room is afforded, and in the light of the late afternoon that slants through the pane she says:

“The monsters are not supposed to win. The monsters are meant to be killed. To die.”

“But until that day comes, I’ll face the world for this role I have to play. For everything that I’ve done. And if someone is waiting for me there in the end… Well.” Amma simply laughs. “You’ll face it too.”

Aurora’s eyes glanced over to the pane, the golden rays casting dark shadows on the ground, and it was then that she realized that Amma was no more free here than she was while in the clutches of the Foundation. Her laugh, that wicked laugh, tore through her flesh and singed like flames, but it wasn’t fear that it triggered.

It was sympathy.

There were many things she wanted to say, but the redhead turned on her heel, knowing that the girl would rather perish than to entertain her pity, and headed for the door. Before she twisted the knob and exited to sit by her love’s bedside, she returned her gaze to Amma.

“For what it’s worth,” She paused, noticing her irises were the same shade of blue as hers. “I don’t think you’re a monster, Amma.”

Amma simply held her gaze; a mirror, a window, a girl who was known as beloved, a girl who could express all the things that she could not. A girl who mended, rather than sundered, a girl who suffered and was all the more beautiful for it because of what she found within her heart- the strength to love.

You accepted the script before you even read it. The only part you need play is the one you write for yourself.

For the first time in what felt like years, maybe even longer than that, Amma simply nodded in quiet acceptance as Aurora made to leave her room, watching her return to where she knew she could not- no matter how badly she wanted to.

“You’re wrong. But, thank you, Aurora.”

Commencement: A Foundation Institute RP

^{__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________}

_{Location: Myotis House - Pacific Royal Campus}

Take On Me #3.032: Something in the Orange

^{_{________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________}}

_{Interaction(s): N/A}

Previously: Daylight

It started like it always did.

The small ranch house at the end of the cul-de-sac, beige stucco exterior and red clay tile roofing baking in the dry desert heat. Peony and rose perfume which greeted her as she turned the knob, familiar walnut cabinets and a taupe tile floor underneath her bare feet. The loud open and close of the front door behind her which sent her into a panic as she raced to her childhood bedroom.

But when she opened her bedroom door, she didn’t see the bland blue walls or the glow-in-the-dark stars.

Instead, she was greeted by a sterile hallway and bright white overheads. They illuminated the area in cold washes of light, casting towering shadows that danced down the pathways as they stalked their prey. She could hear screams, her teammates, as they encountered the darkest of their fears. But Aurora couldn’t go to them, no, her feet moved of their own accord down the hall and towards a solitary room where figures without faces stood surrounding a hospital bed. A man and a woman, together, holding each other for comfort. A smaller girl and an older boy, his arm protectively wrapped around her shoulder.

And lying there between them all was Lorcán.

She could see him clear as day, everything else became blurred in the background as she beheld his eerily still form. Every slope and curve of his body, every line of his tattoos, every mark and mole and scar she knew him to have, she could see it all. His monitors beeped around her, echoing sadness and grief off of the empty walls and into the vast expanse beyond. Aurora tried to talk, tried to speak, but it was as though her voice had been taken from her, chords ripped from her throat.

She reached for him, but before she could touch him, be with him, let him know everything that she believed to be true and everything that they could be, the incessant sound ceased and went monotonous as he flatlined.

Instantly, forces began to pull her back, hands grabbing her arms and covering her mouth as they tried to tear her from that room, take her away from her love, her whole world. She fought to remain by his side, attempted to resist the powers that be and tried to make her way back towards him. Warm tears slid from her eyes down her face as she lost her footing and the salty ocean waves took her away. And just when he began to fade, she found her voice.

And Aurora screamed.
______________________________

“Rora!”

The girl’s eyes flew open and she bolted upright, her hands trembling as they fisted her bedsheets. Her cheeks felt damp and her breath came out in quick pants as she woke from her nightmare, shaking like a leaf in the wind and her throat dry and strained. She blinked rapidly, and as her vision cleared and her surroundings became apparent once more, she looked into the worried brown eyes of her roommate Kelcey, who stood beside her bed.

“Shh, you’re okay, it’s okay.” The brown haired girl tried to soothe, reaching out her hand to touch her comfortingly. But Aurora tensed and dodged her gesture, still wrapped up in the throes of her mind and fearful of whatever else approached her. “It was just a dream, Ror, just a dream.”

Two pairs of racing footsteps could be heard on the hardwood in the common area as her other roommates appeared in the open doorway, a blonde with green eyes and a curly haired girl with skin like caramel both shared worried expressions.

“What happened, what’s wrong?” The blonde, Leah, fretted, running into the girl’s bedroom absolutely panicked, eyes wide and holding a heavy looking textbook. Maddy followed, her exaggerated breathing indicating her fear and alarm as she also approached the bed.

“We heard you scream!”

Aurora swallowed and cleared her throat, preparing to articulate what had happened, but still overwhelmed and overcome with emotion, she could only manage to dissolve into tears. Her roommates looked at each other, sorrowful, and were able to piece together that it had been a nightmare that caused her loud cry. Maddy sat down on the edge of her bed gingerly so as not to startle her, Leah moved to sit in the girl’s desk chair, and Kelcey reached out her hand once more, the redhead not shying away from her grasp this time as she rubbed circles on her back.

“I’m sorry,” She finally breathed, the words coming out between gasps for air. The curly haired girl shook her head profusely as Aurora finally used her voice to apologize. “I’m so sorry, I-”

“No, Aurora, it’s okay,” Maddy interrupted to put her at ease, scooting closer to her friend. “We just got scared, is all. You’re okay, everything is fine.”

Kelcey sighed, looking at the redhead with sympathy in her gaze. “We know you’re going through a lot right now, and you never have to apologize to us.” She pulled her friend into her arms and held the redhead as she continued to cry, the anguish she felt from the nightmare still so real and palpable.

Maddy looked to Leah, seeing the book she was holding, and she raised an eyebrow. “And just what were you planning to do with that?” She asked incredulously, and all the blonde could do was shrug in response.

“I don’t know!” She replied, “Aurora could have been in danger, I grabbed the first thing I saw that was throwable.”

“Sure, like a textbook would have saved her.”

“It was better than nothing!”

Kelcey coughed intentionally, which caused the two girls to cease their small disagreement and she returned her gaze to her friend, who’s quiet cries began to slow and ebb away. “Everything is okay, you’re okay.” The brunette reassured again, the repetition of the same statement between them bringing Aurora back to reality. “Let’s go and make a cup of tea, try and relax a little bit.” She looked to Leah, who quickly stood up from the chair and hurried to their kitchen to turn on the kettle.

The redhead sniffled and nodded, taking a breath before moving to stand, following her roommates into their shared common area. They all proceeded to pile onto the couch and wait for the water to boil, turning on one of their favorite obnoxious reality shows in the meantime to help take the redhead’s mind off of the turmoil that rampaged in her mind. When the tea was ready and brewed they sat and drank.

They didn’t ask questions, didn’t pry as to what Aurora’s nightmare had been about. Kelcey, Leah, and Maddy just sat there with their friend, cups of tea in their hands as they added ridiculous commentary to the silly dating show they always enjoyed watching together. They sat there for as long as it took to finish the pot, as long as it took for the redhead to grow calm and tired once more.

Her roommates didn’t go back to sleep until she did, and when Aurora finally closed her eyes, they took turns checking in on her throughout the night until morning.

Commencement: A Foundation Institute RP

The corridor outside was unexpectedly busy, with nurses and doctors moving briskly and the murmur of hushed conversations filling the air. Harper paid it no mind as she walked aimlessly, her hand hovering over a name in her contacts, her thumb hesitating just above the screen. She took a deep breath, her heart pounding in her chest as she tried to summon the courage to make the call, to take that first step at reaching out as she had with Gil.

Just as she was about to make the call, she bumped into someone, her phone nearly slipping from her grasp. Startled, Harper looked up and saw Cass standing before her, his presence causing her heart to skip a beat. She quickly steadied herself, clutching her phone tightly. The joke she had been about to make immediately died on her lips as she took in his expression—grim and tense.

The older boy looked up, his green eyes studying Harper with a look of confusion before they lit up with familiarity.

“Hey, Baxter!” Cass called over the din of the infirmary, making several quick strides towards her, “If you’re here to see Lorcán they’ve got him quarantined right now, I just texted Tyler, surprised you got here so fast.”

He looked at her again, his eyes intently studying the new haircut noting how it brought out her cheekbones. He hadn’t noticed just how slender of a jawline she had when the long hair had shielded either side of her face.

But that wasn’t exactly a priority right now.

“Uh sorry about the trial,” Cass deflected, “Must have really sucked being trapped in there, can’t imagine having my worst fears plugged into a machine that can bring them to life.”

Harper nodded, her mind too busy racing with questions about Lorcán. She glanced down at the phone in her hand, the screen still displaying the name there: Aurora. She knew she’d wanted to- no, needed to- get into contact with her. But now, it seemed, it would be for entirely different reasons. Her eyes flicked back to Cass, her expression one of concern.

“Yeah, it was intense. And I was visiting a friend,” Harper managed, trying to brush off the reminder of her own experience. It wasn’t important now. “What do you mean they have him quarantined? What the hell happened?” Her voice was edged with unease, her eyes searching Cass’s face for answers.

“No one seems to know,” Cass replied looking down the hallway he had come from. “Couple of my teammates found him out in the Northern peninsula, nasty scratch on his arm. Medics all say it’s already severely infected, they’ve got both him and the two girls quarantined until they can rule out that it’s contagious.”

He turned back to Harper.

“Heard one of them commenting on the smell too, apparently it reeks, like a tomb.”

Harper’s breath caught in her throat. The image of Lorcán, injured and isolated, filled her mind. “Infected? Like a tomb?” she repeated, disbelief and dread mingling in her words. What did any of that even mean? “So, what are they doing for him now, other than making sure whatever it is doesn’t spread? And what can we do from out here?” Her voice wavered, the helplessness she felt seeping into her tone. She already knew the answer to that latter question. What could she even do for her friend from here? She was no doctor, yet. Not even close.

She swallowed, hesitant but needing to know.

“Does…does she know yet?”

“She?” Cass took a second before realizing Harper meant Aurora, “If she doesn’t already, she soon will. Uncle Aiden sent Ripley to get her and they’ve made sure the infirmary has her down as a caretaker so she can be here at all hours if,” He paused, “Once, he clears quarantine.”

He flexed his hands, cracking his knuckles while stifling a small reflexive flare in his palm.

“Other than that, all we can do is wait and hope the medics can do something, don’t much care for feeling this powerless. Just takes me back to a darker time in my life,” Cass replied, “But uh, if you weren’t here for Lorcán then I won’t keep you,” He stated, his eyes wandering upwards in the opposite direction.

Harper’s concern deepened, not just for Lorcán but for Cass as well. She could see the struggle in his eyes, the way he tried to mask his feelings with a brave face. “Cass, I—” she began, reaching out to him, but he cut her off, his tone shifting to something more resigned.

“I uh, imagine Gil will be happy to see you,” The words were bitter on his tongue, but Cass managed to spit them out while doing his best to control his disappointment.

His words were tinged with an edge Harper couldn’t quite place. She blinked, taken aback by the sudden shift. “Cass, I came here to see Gil, sure, but do you really think that’s important to me right now?” she asked, her voice gentle but firm. She reached out, touching his arm lightly. “Besides, I’ve already seen Gil, and he’s exhausted. Right now, what I want to know is how you’re doing. Lorcán’s your family too…I can’t imagine any of this is easy for you.”

“Frankly,” Cass started,“I don't know how I am.” He replied, “None of it has sunk in, I don't know enough about the situation to know to be worried. He could sit up any second, fall out of bed flat on his face and still want to grab his board and go surf.” Cass changed his posture, mimicking Lorcán’s laid-back slouch as he slapped his feet along the tiled floor to imitate the flip flops.

“Sup, Paddlepuss, nice wipe-out on those mushburgers.” He said, using the nickname Lorcán had given Harper when she became a lifeguard.

“I just wish I had the full story, I can't help but feel someone is missing something.”

Harper groaned and rolled her eyes, a sarcastic smile playing on her lips. “Ugh, not that nickname. It’s not my fault I’m not crazy enough to go out there against those waves. I have some sense of self-preservation, unlike him.” She could picture her sweet but absolutely crazy friend now, charging into the surf with the recklessness she knew him for, his laughter carried away by the wind. Despite her grumbling, there was a hint of admiration in her tone.

Her smile, however, faded slightly as she considered Cass’s last comment. Why had Lorcán been on the Northern peninsula at all, especially after everything they had just gone through with the trials? Was this incident related to that somehow, or had Lorcán stumbled upon something-or someone- that posed a new threat?

A shadow of concern crossed Harper’s face as she pondered the possibilities. The trials had been gruelling, testing their limits in the face of their fears. So, the thought of Lorcán facing yet another challenge unsettled her. Her mind raced with questions and scenarios, each more troubling than the last. Had he discovered something that could jeopardize their hard-won peace, or was he simply unable to stay away from danger? The uncertainty gnawed at her, making it hard to shake the feeling that something significant was unfolding where he was found.

“I wish I knew more, too,” Harper said, her voice tinged with frustration. She hated sitting by and waiting for answers, the same drive that she had with Haven during their investigation simmering beneath the surface, threatening to boil over.

But look how well that had turned out.

“Rippers is going to start blowing up my phone if I don't get back, but uh,” Cass paused, “It’s not really a priority but I’m looking forward,” He hesitated again.

“I’ll pick you up Friday, I’m still taking you to the dance so wear something nice, or don’t, I don't care,” He forced a chuckle, hiding his excitement as he tried to ensure their date was still on for the dance.

Harper’s disappointment softened as she looked at Cass, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She appreciated his effort to lighten the mood, even if he seemed to be struggling to find the right words given the situation.

“I’ll try to look my best, as always,” she replied, her voice carrying a hint of the playfulness she’d felt that night before the trials.

Harper watched him turn the corner, the hand she’d raised in a wave goodbye slowly dropping. Her smile lingered for a moment longer before fading, replaced by a more serious expression. Her eyes drifted back to the phone in her hand, the screen still displaying the name of her friend who was in God knows what kind of mental state.

How should she even begin to approach this problem? The question echoed in her mind, bringing with it the same sense of helplessness as before. She wanted to be there for Aurora, to offer support and comfort, but she didn’t even know where to start. The thought of reaching out and saying the wrong thing made her hesitate, her fingers once again hovering over the screen, unsure of what to do next.

As if the heavens had decided for her, her phone buzzed in her hand, Aurora’s name lighting up the screen with an incoming call. Harper sucked in a sharp breath, her heart leaping into her throat. She stared at the screen for a moment, her mind blank, before her hands moved on their own, answering the call on the third ring.

“Harps? I need you, please.”

Aurora’s voice was shaky, the recognition of it causing Harper’s grip on her phone to tighten, her own emotions swirling within her.

“I’m here, Aurora. And I know,” she replied, her voice steady but her heart racing. She began to move, her feet carrying her in a direction—any direction—just to avoid standing still. The weight of her emotions threatened to pull her down, to make her sink into the floor if she stood still any longer. “I’ll figure out a way to see you, alright? Just keep taking deep breaths. We’ll get through this together but…” She glanced around, her eyes darting from one indistinguishable landmark to another.

Where was she going?

^{__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________}

_{Location: Infirmary - Pacific Royal Campus}

Take On Me #3.021: Daylight

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_{Interaction(s): Cassander @Lord Wraith}

Previously: All Falls Down & By the Lives That Wove the Web

Aurora kept her knees hugged to her chest, back flush against the wall, while Harper’s comforting voice flowed through the phone. Her tears continued to fall, but more so now since she was relieved that the girl had answered her call as quickly as she did, especially given how she replied to her plea.

“You’re- you’re here?” The redhead sputtered in between heaving breaths, wiping at her nose with her sleeve. The mere thought that her friend was close soothed her, and at her response, she sat up a bit straighter. Looking around for any markers or indications of the location she was sitting in, the girl’s baby blues landed on a placard affixed next to the door she had entered through. “I’m in Stairwell B. On the 2nd floor.”

“C-can you come find me?”

Harper’s heart clenched at the sound of Aurora’s distress. She gripped her phone tighter, her voice unwavering despite the turmoil she felt. “I’m already on my way, ” she reassured, her footsteps echoing through the sterile hospital corridors. “Just hang in there, okay? I’ll be there in a minute.”

Harper moved with purpose, her mind mapping out the quickest route to Stairwell B. Her eyes flicked to the signs overhead, her pace quickening with each step. She pushed through a set of heavy double doors, the bustling sounds of the hospital fading as her focus narrowed to one goal: finding Aurora.

The sight of the stairwell sign brought a surge of determination. Harper took the stairs two at a time, her breaths coming in short, determined bursts. She reached the second floor, her eyes immediately spotting Aurora’s familiar red hair, the girl huddled against the wall, looking small and vulnerable.

Without hesitation, Harper rushed to her friend, dropping to her knees and enveloping Aurora in a tight, protective hug. “Aurora,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “I’m here. It’s okay. You’re not alone.” She held her friend close, feeling Aurora’s sobs against her chest, offering silent comfort through her embrace.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, the redhead letting all of the fear and helplessness she had felt building finally bubble over. It was cathartic to let it all out. She’d tried her best to keep it together in front of Lorcán’s parents, in front of Cass, and especially in front of Ripley, but if she had learnt anything from her years on campus, it was that she didn’t always need to be the strong one. Life had dealt her a shitty hand, and yes, the majority of the time she still tended to muscle through things on her own, but she had people to lean on now, and it meant everything to her to be supported.

Aurora’s tears began to subside, her gasping breaths and hiccups starting to lessen, and she found herself able to form sentences once more. “I need him to be okay, Harper, I can’t lose him.” She whimpered, another choking sob following her words. “They don’t know what’s wrong with him,” The girl moved to look at Harper through her overflowing eyes, “I’m so scared.”

Harper’s eyes, so stoic and guarded since the trials, softened with deep empathy as she held Aurora tighter, feeling the tremors, every ounce of her friend’s anguish, against her own chest. She could feel Aurora’s fear and pain as if it were her own, and it made her hold on even tighter as if her embrace could shield Aurora from all the hurt. If she could completely absorb some of it, and take on just a little more, she would do it in a heartbeat.

Because Aurora didn’t deserve this. Not one bit.

And Lorcán, ever so loyal and brave, definitely did not deserve to be in this state. Her mind flashed back to the memory of him snapping her out of her misery when she’d been stuck in her own mind, lost in a sea of despair. She remembered the way his voice had cut through the fog, grounding her, pulling her back to reality with the firmness of not just a leader, but a friend.

Harper had yet to pay him back for any of it, and the thought gnawed at her every being.

He needed to pull through. He just had to.

“I know,” Harper whispered to Aurora. “I know you’re scared. It’s okay to be scared.” Her words were gentle, each one carefully chosen to offer comfort and reassurance.

With a tender touch, Harper gently brushed a few stray strands of hair away from Aurora’s tear-streaked face. Her fingers moved lightly, almost reverently, as if she were handling something fragile and precious. Her precious friend. She wanted Aurora to feel her presence, to know that she was truly there for her.

“But you’re not alone in this,” she continued, her voice filled with unwavering conviction. She leaned in slightly, her eyes locking onto Aurora’s, ensuring that her friend could see the sincerity in her gaze. “I’m here for you. So is the team. We’re all here for you, and we’re going to get through this together. Whatever happens.”

“We’ll find out what’s wrong,” Harper continued, her voice filled with quiet determination. She squeezed Aurora’s shoulder gently, her touch firm yet comforting. “And Lorcán is sure to receive the best care possible. You’re not going to lose him, Aurora. I…I promise.”

The redhead continued to calm down as the company of one of her closest friends soothed her, her breathing returning to a normal pace, eyes slowly drying out. She swallowed, throat strained, and although her heartbeat remained elevated, it wasn’t racing as it previously had been. For as long as she’d known her, between her actions and her words, Harper always made Aurora feel safe. It was a quality the girl never overlooked, always appreciated, especially in this moment.

Her tremors quieted, and she leaned back from Harper’s embrace, resting her body against the wall once more. Reaching up with the sleeve of her sweatshirt, she wiped at her face to cleanse herself of the tear stains and mucus that came with such an emotional break. “You can’t promise something like that Harper,” Aurora knew her friend meant well with the statement, but the logical side of her brain understood there was no way of ensuring such a thing. “They said the infection wasn’t like anything they’d ever seen, even went so far as to say it wasn’t of this Earth. How are they supposed to care for him when they don’t understand what they’re dealing with?”

She sighed, but it came out more like a wheezing, and the girl coughed to clear out whatever remained. “He’s everything to me, Harps, and there’s a very real chance he’s not going to make it through this.”

“I don’t want to live in a world without him in it.”

Harper immediately felt a pang of regret for her impulsive words. The promise she had made was indeed fragile, fraught with the unknown, and she knew it. Still, she wanted to be the rock Aurora needed, just as her sister had been for her all those years ago. She reached out, gently squeezing Aurora’s hand, hoping to convey some measure of comfort through her touch.

“I know,” Harper said softly. “I know I can’t promise that, and I’m sorry that I did.” Her eyes met Aurora’s, blinking away the tears that had begun to form. “I just…I want to give you hope, even if it’s just a little bit.”

Aurora nodded, understanding completely that her friend only had good intentions which drove her choice of words, and had she not experienced such loss in her life before, she wouldn’t have commented on it. But the redhead was no stranger to grief, her mind instantly flicking back to the Trial and the illusion that her teammates were exiting without her. The numerous foster placements she bounced from, a suitcase that always remained packed. Her mother dropping her off in the pitch black of night and leaving her behind.

This situation may have been different from the rest, it was not of Lorcán’s own volition that he found himself at risk of departing too soon. But to Aurora, the cycle continued, no matter the means in which it occurred. The story changed, but the premise was always the same.

“No one ever stays,” She spoke out loud, more tears brimming. “And I am so tired.”

“I thought if I kept him at arm's length, if I managed to keep my feelings at bay, then I wouldn’t get hurt or disappointed when I lost him like everyone else.” She started talking and couldn’t stop, years of yearning and unresolved tension coming to a head, tears overflowing from her eyes once more even though she was under the impression she had nothing left to cry. She’d been stewing over this for days, since the night they shared in the tent, since staying over after the Trial, things finally having come into focus for her.

“But the way I feel about Lorcán is consuming, Harper, and he might die before I ever get the chance to tell him.”

Harper leaned in closer, her eyes never leaving Aurora’s face. Each word that fell from Aurora’s lips seemed to echo around them, resonating with a feeling of sorrow that Harper could almost touch. The years of buried emotions and unspoken fears were now laid bare, and Harper felt the full weight of her friend’s anguish pressing down on her own heart. Her fingers intertwined more firmly with Aurora’s, a silent vow of unwavering support and presence. As always, for her.

She had already suspected the depth of Aurora’s feelings, but hearing them articulated with such raw honesty was a revelation. The name Lorcán hung between them, heavy with unspoken history and emotion. Harper’s thoughts raced, piecing together the fragments of Aurora’s confessions, understanding now the profound impact Lorcán had on her friend’s life. An impact so big that…if the other was to lose him.

She did not, could not, dwell on that thought.

Instead, Harper’s voice was gentle but firm as she spoke, her eyes searching Aurora’s for any sign of reassurance. “I know it feels like the world is falling apart right now,” she began, her tone filled with a quiet strength. “And I can’t imagine how scared you must be. But you have to hold on to hope. Lorcán is strong, and he’s fighting with everything he has right now. Just trust in that.”

Harper’s voice softened, filled with a tender urgency. “And when Lorcán wakes up,” she said, her eyes still locked onto Aurora’s, “you’ll have the chance to tell him everything.” She could see the flicker of hope mingling with fear in Aurora’s gaze. “He needs to hear it, Aurora. He needs to know how much he means to you. You’ve carried these feelings for so long, It’s time to let them out, to share them with him. He deserves to know, and you deserve to be heard.”

Even amongst the agony she felt, to voice her deepest thoughts out loud felt freeing. Her heart was just a bit lighter having confided in Harper the secret she’d scarcely thought she’d tell and it allowed her at least some control in a moment where she previously had none. Aurora sniffled, she didn’t even want to think about how pitiful she looked right now. She gripped onto her friend’s hand tightly as she spoke, anchoring her in the present.

“He may be a fighter, but we have no clue what he’s up against.” The image of Lorcán lying in his hospital bed was at the forefront of her mind. “You didn’t see him Harps, but he looks awful. It’s bad.” She candidly stated.

The redhead took a shaky breath, “I-I slept over at his dorm the other night because I didn’t want to be alone, and he was telling me how much the Trial scared him because he thought he was going to lose me. He said everything that he went through in there was to get me back, that he didn’t know what he’d do if anything had happened to me.” She was an open book in that moment, not caring about her previous reservations, spewing words like a broken fountain much like the tears that still threatened to fall from her eyes. “I should have told him then, why didn’t I tell him then? I missed my chance.”

She hung her head shamefully, “And then in the morning, god Harps, I woke up in his arms and it felt so right, but you know what I did? I left. I teleported out of there so fast that I threw up when I got home.” Her exhale was heavy, as she continued to carry the weight of her actions. “It was so real at that moment, and it terrified me.”

“Rora… it’s okay to be scared,” Harper replied softly, her voice filled with understanding. “Love is… it’s huge, and it’s overwhelming. I can’t say I’ve felt it the way you do…but I understand fear. I understand how it can make you run, even when all you want is to stay.”

Harper’s mind flashed back to the countless moments when fear had gripped her heart. She remembered, in particular, the look in her sister’s eyes when she’d discovered Harper’s abilities. She had always thought it was hatred, but now, thinking back to their previous conversation in the motel, she realized it might have been fear. Fear of losing Harper, fear of what could happen to her. Her sister had loved her, and that love had been wrapped in fear.

But she also knew that love, no matter what form it took, was worth fighting for. That she knew for a fact. Love was a powerful force, capable of overcoming even the deepest fears. And it was probably the best thing, really the only thing, that Aurora could hold onto at this moment.

“Fear is a part of love…or at least I think they’re two sides of the same coin,” Harper continued. “I’ve been afraid too. Afraid of losing the people I love, afraid of what might happen if they knew the real me. But I’ve learned that the love we have for each other is stronger than that fear. And it’s worth facing whatever comes our way.”

The redhead slipped back into old habits for a moment, the four-letter word Harper used causing her to recoil and prepare herself to backpedal. But for once, Aurora stopped and embraced the discomfort.

Because she did love Lorcán.

What originally started as friendship had blossomed into something much more profound over the years she had known him. It was why she felt safe in his presence, the reason she trusted him inherently, the meaning behind her actions. Not just because they were best friends, but because she loved him.

The feeling had been there all along, even when she hadn’t realized what it was.

And it was that which made this situation all the more dire, the cause of her reacting in such a visceral way. The boy that she loved was in critical condition, fighting for his life down the hall, and she was at risk of losing him.

Aurora looked into Harper’s eyes and saw the recognition there, a gentle affirmation of what she was voicing and a wordless support of her current emotions. Her friend was compassionate and loyal, and it was moments like this that she was thankful she came into her life. The redhead's tears slowed and subsided as she beheld the gravity of her words.

As scared as this feeling made her, and as daunting as that four-letter word was, Lorcán was worth it. He always had been, and always would be.

“If he wakes up- when he wakes up, I’ll tell him.” Aurora declared, wiping the moisture from her cheeks.

Harper smiled, a warm, encouraging smile that lit up her face. “Good,” she said, her single word carrying a world of support and confidence.

The redhead managed a sad smile back, but the weight of her current situation dragged it down quickly, her expression morphing into something neutral once more. “Thank you,” She cleared her throat, “For being here for me.” Aurora understood that right now they were all going through it - between this and the implications from the Trial - and it meant everything that Harper had still shown up for her in her moment of need.

She looked up to the door and let out a deep sigh, “I should get back, I don’t want them to notice I’m gone for too long.” Bracing herself on the railing, she stood up and extended a hand down to Harper to help her to her feet. “I know you guys aren’t allowed to visit him, so I’ll try to keep everyone updated.”

Harper clasped Aurora’s hand, rising to her feet. “Thanks. And if you need anything, anything at all, just call me, okay?” Harper’s voice was steady, but the slight quiver in her tone betrayed her worry. “Even if it’s just to talk.”

Aurora nodded before pulling her friend in for another hug, squeezing tightly.

“I’m so lucky to have you, Harps.”

Commencement: A Foundation Institute RP

^{__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________}

_{Location: Academic Quadrangle → Infirmary - Pacific Royal Campus}

Take On Me #3.019: All Falls Down

^{_{________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________}}

_{Interaction(s): There are a ton of characters in here and they’re all played by @Lord Wraith}

Previously: Every Rose Has Its Thorn

After dropping Ripley off in the East Wing of the Quadrangle, Aurora continued on to her own class in the West Wing, keeping her head down and remaining focused on just getting through the day.

The redhead liked school, in fact, she was good at it. She applied herself, had a good work ethic that lended itself well to studying and test taking. By no means was she an overachiever, but she’d maintained an impressive grade point average since arriving at PRCU, especially considering she didn’t attend a traditional school until getting placed in the foster system. Before then, her mother taught her what she could, and the rest, Aurora read in whatever books she could get her hands on.

Walking into the assigned classroom, she took her seat in the back next to the window. Normally, she preferred to sit somewhere in the middle, at least somewhat towards the front, but today, she was attempting to remain inconspicuous. Aurora had been looking forward to the subject matter of this course, the Psychology of Language, but wasn’t exactly thrilled about the faculty. It was taught by the Dean of the Language & Linguistics department, Dr. Theron Demetrios, who didn’t exactly have the best reviews. Although he was a respected professor, demeanor wise he was often cited as aloof and cold. What also didn’t help was that he was notoriously a harsh grader.

The seats quickly filled in with other students from her major as well as the Language department, and shortly thereafter Dr. Demetrios entered the room, placing his briefcase on the desk at the front. He didn’t waste any time and started his lecture, beginning with describing the overall course structure, but Aurora tuned him out almost instantly. She thought she could do this, that getting back to normalcy and a schedule would be good for her, but that notion was quickly proving to be false.

“Ms. Mitchell,” Dr. Demetrios’ voice calling her name broke through the static in her ears, “Although the University may no longer have a dress code in place, I’d advise you to lower your hood while in my class, it’s disrespectful.”

All eyes darted in her direction, her peers turning around in their chairs and craning their necks to see what the fuss was about and Aurora froze. Hesitantly, she removed the hood of her sweatshirt, ruffling her copper hair in the process, putting her injuries from the trial on full display. Dr. Demetrios’ eyes went wide, realizing his error after putting two and two together. But it was too late to take it back, so he swallowed his tongue and simply continued going through the syllabus.

About fifteen minutes in, an unexpected knock on the door interrupted class.

“Theron,” Jim O’Neil’s voice echoed through the classroom before he stepped through the door frame. “Could y’all step outside with me for a moment.” A hush fell over the room, followed by an ‘Ooh’ muttered in a chorus as the class wrongly assumed Jim had been called to speak to Demetrios about his treatment of Aurora.

After what felt like the longest agonizing minutes of her life, Aurora looked up to see her teacher re-enter the classroom.

“Ms. Mitchell, if you could please gather your belongings and step outside, the Chancellor needs to have a word with you.”

Her thoughts raced, and Aurora prepared to go on the defensive, but hesitated as she saw nothing but sympathy and compassion on Jim’s face when she emerged into the hallway.

“It’d be best if we walk and talk,” He stated, extending a hand towards Aurora, “I can carry that for y’all if you’d like?” He offered before steering Aurora towards the infirmary.

“There's no easy way to say this Miss Mitchell, but young Mr. Roth was attacked and found unconscious in the Northern Forest. He’s been transported to the infirmary and is receiving care while under the watchful eyes of his parents, but they and I both felt it was important y’all were not only notified but brought to see him right away.”

Aurora instantly felt like the wind had been knocked out of her lungs.

Mr. Roth was attacked

It was almost as if she’d been punched in the gut, Jim’s words causing a visceral reaction.

Found unconscious

She sputtered, stuttered, trying to find any words at all. “W-What? What do you mean he was attacked?” The redhead stopped dead in her tracks, her face paling. As her brain worked overtime to decipher the other things Jim had said while she still attempted to process the news, she began to spiral. “He’s going to be okay right?” She searched Jim’s eyes and could tell that there was more he wasn’t telling her yet, could see how bad things must have been to warrant this kind of response.

“Right?”

“Miss Mitchell, it’s in both of our best interests not to lie to y’all and currently they don't know what attacked, let alone what has rendered him unconscious. He’s quarantined for the time being along with those who brought him in. But we don't have a lot of answers at the moment.” Jim replied, “I assure you, he’s getting the best care we can provide and if there was better care anywhere in the world I’d be calling in every favour I had to to get it to him.”

He straightened the Stetson upon his head.

“I do solemnly hope he’ll pull through this, but that's not a question I am able to answer at this time.”

Aurora’s mind was going a mile a minute, her pulse beginning to race faster with each word Jim spoke to her. The more he described, the worse it got, and nothing the Chancellor was saying lessened her panic.

She had to get to Lorcán. She needed to see him.

The redhead closed her eyes and willed herself to move, sensing outward for that familiar tug and pull that would bring her where she wanted to go. But everything was noise, her thoughts steeped in pure anxiety and fear, and her head still recovering from the concussion. She attempted to teleport, but reappeared only a few feet in front of Jim, gasping for air as if she was caught underneath a rip current.

“I need to go, I have to-”

Jim gently gripped Aurora by the arm, steadying the girl as he did so before helping to support her.

“Last thing Mr. Roth needs is for y’all to over exert yourself and end up in a bed a whole wing away from him. So why don't we forget the powers, and walk together.” Jim suggested firmly,

“Briskly, I might add.”

“‘Rora!” A voice called before a petite brunette started running towards the copper-haired girl, “Come quickly! It’s Leo, he’s-” Ripley froze upon seeing Jim.

“Ah, Miss Jones,” He smiled softly, “I was bringing Miss Mitchell to your Auntie and Uncle. Could y’all do me the favour and escort her the rest of the way? Prompt like.” Jim asked Ripley, “I need to go and have a word with the infirmary and ensure we’re all on the same page that visitors, outside of Miss Mitchell here, aren’t allowed due to the nature of your cousin’s case.”

“Sir, yes, Sir!” Ripley saluted smartly before grabbing Aurora’s hand, “We need to hurry! Leo has to wake up if you’re there!”

The pair rushed to the infirmary, and if Ripley hadn’t been tugging her along, Aurora would surely have drifted out to sea. The younger girl talked nearly the whole way, but the older of the two couldn’t hear over the loud ringing in her ears. How could this have happened? The Northern Forest? Lorcán never ventured to that side of the Island… at least he never had before.

Bright white hallways greeted them as they entered the medical wing and Aurora winced, the fluorescents reminiscent of where Blackjack had found themselves the other day. A metallic taste hit her tongue and it was only then she realized she had been gnawing at the inside of her cheek anxiously. Ripley pulled her towards a row of chairs where Lorcan’s mother and father were seated.

Still in a state of shock, Aurora heard the words leave her mouth before realizing she was saying them. “Mr. and Mrs. Roth, I-” She exhaled audibly, eyes darting around, searching, “Where is he?”

“He’s quarantined right now,” Victoria answered, placing an immaculately manicured hand on Aurora’s. “But you can see him through the glass on the other side of the hallway, and please Aurora, call me Tori.”

“And Aiden will be just fine for me,” Lorcán’s father replied, gesturing with an open arm for Aurora to follow. “Here, we can take a look over here.” He prompted.

The redhead peered through the window.

Lorcán lay motionless yet chaos swarmed around him. Medics circled like hawks, examining the gruesome wound on his arm and administering aid. His chest fought to rise and fall, and Aurora almost could hear the heaving breaths he struggled to take through the glass. Bile rose in the back of her throat as she fought off the immediate nausea that came over her, growing lightheaded at the sight of him in such distress. Dampness hit her cheeks, and it took her a minute to realize a few stray tears had fallen.

She sucked in a breath, quickly wiping her eyes on the sleeve of the sweatshirt she wore - Lorcán’s sweatshirt. It still smelled like him even amongst the antiseptic that coated the halls of the infirmary, citrus and smoke flooding her senses. The redhead tore her gaze away from him, looking back at Tori and Aiden and taking in their solemn expressions.

“Come, sweetheart,” Tori beckoned, “Sit here with Ripley and I.”

Aurora’s feet moved back towards the chairs, even though she felt completely and utterly numb, taking a seat beside Lorcán’s mother. Ripley’s hand reached out and met hers, and she vaguely felt pressure as the younger girl gripped her palm.

“How did Leo get attacked again?”

“All we know is that he was in the North Forest, two students from Firebird brought him in, said they found him in a clearing with Rothschild and his arm was already scratched.” Aiden explained, the wheels beginning to turn in Aurora’s head as she thought about who possibly could have been the ones to find him.

“Wait,” Tori interjected, raising her face from between her hands. “Why would Lorcán venture into the North Forest?“ She asked, her eyes darting between them, “He doesn’t surf on that side of the island.”

The redhead shook her head, in agreement with the older woman, finding her voice once more. “No, he doesn’t, and as far as I know he never has.”

As Aiden, Tori, and Ripley discussed, Aurora racked her brain for anything she could think of that could explain why he’d been there.

“It was the weirdest thing, Uncle Aiden,” Ripley piped up, “I was talking to Leo on the phone and there was just this terrible noise as the call was cut. I could hear Rothschild in the background growling,” Ripley persisted, “I just feel like those girls aren’t telling you something-”

“Mr. and Mrs. Roth?” The medic interrupted, entering the hallway from the room where they were tending to Lorcán.

“Can we see our son, doctor?” Tori rose from her seat, Aurora’s eyes not leaving the woman’s frame.

“Yes, you can go in and wait with him, we’re getting him transferred to a private room now that we’re sure he’s not contagious.” The medic answered, “Once he’s there, he’ll be allowed family and relatives during regular hours, immediate family and caretakers overnight”

“Is he going to be alright?” Aiden asked.

The medic looked up at Lorcán’s father, a heavy exhale preceding the reply, which Aurora could only assume meant that this wasn’t going to be good news.

“It’s still too soon to answer that. This infection, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen and as far as our resources go, it’s unlike any one on this Earth has ever seen.” The medic let out another sigh, “I know it’s going to sound unprofessional, Sir, but given my experience, it’s very possible it’s not from this world.”

The redhead’s baby blue eyes went wide.

Not from this world? How was that even possible?

She couldn’t hear the rest of the conversation that the medic had with Tori and Aiden for her heartbeat began to pound in her ears, a buzzing sound overtaking everything. Jim had said Lorcán was getting the best care possible, but if they didn’t even know what was wrong with him…

There was a very slim chance that he was walking out of here.

“Then we’ll just have to hope the tests turn something up.” The medic offered a sympathetic smile. “If you’ll follow me, we’ll take him to his new room.”

Lorcán’s parents quickly disappeared down the hallway and into the room where the boy was being held, and with them gone, Aurora found herself going back and thinking through everything that had been discussed. She was still wrapping her head around it all, but a comment that the younger girl said previously stuck out to her, and Aurora looked at Ripley, eyebrows raised. “Wait, when did you talk to him on the phone? Before or after you saw me?”

“Right after,” Ripley smirked, breaking her gaze away from the hall her Aunt and Uncle had gone down. “I told him to take the board wax out of his water logged ears and listen to me or he’d end up watching you dance with someone else.” She smiled sadly, “But the call dropped and then this happened,” She sniffled.

“Do you think he got hurt because I distracted him?”

“Oh, Ripley,” The redhead knelt down to the petite brunette’s level, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder and rubbing it soothingly. “No, honey. This isn’t your fault.” She reassured, looking into her sad blue-green eyes. With Cass not present yet, and Lorcán’s parents having been whisked away, Aurora swallowed her own grief to step in and take care of the younger girl. But even as she consoled Ripley, her thoughts drifted.

I just want to take you by the hand and disappear into the sunset, we could go our own way.

She should have listened to him.

Not sure what I would have done if anything had happened to you.

What was she going to do?

Guiding Ripley back to the chairs, she sat down next to the girl and placed her arm around her. “Don’t worry, he’s getting the best care possible. They’re going to take good care of him.”

“I always dreamed of coming here,” Ripley admitted, “Almost gave up hope before my powers came in. But it would kill me to not be here right now, even if it’s for something so awful.” She smiled, a small smirk forming in the corner of her mouth.

“Someone has to help keep you distracted.”

Aurora feigned deep thought for a moment before smiling back. If there was anything she knew could distract the younger girl, it was getting her talking about…

“Well, I’d just love to hear more about this conversation you and Lorcán had.” She tapped her nose playfully, attempting to lighten the mood. “Either that, or more dress ideas. What’d you call it? A revenge fit?”

“You gotta get something that puts the girls front and center,” She said pushing up against her own chest before looking down with a small sigh, “Well you know what I mean, I’m sure mine will show up eventually,”

A small tap on an adjacent wall caught their attention as Cass didn't wait to be invited to the conversation.

“That was gross,” He smirked at his adoptive sister. “I could have gone the rest of my life without hearing that sentence.”

Aurora winked at Ripley before standing up, her facial expression instantly falling as soon as her back was turned, making eye contact with Cass. They exchanged knowing glances, both completely understanding of the gravity of the situation.

“Tori and Aiden just went back to see him.” She informed the blonde boy upon his arrival, nodding in the direction they left. “They don’t know what it is, couldn’t really give much of an update.”

“Well, all of Blackjack knows now,” Cass stated taking a seat, “How’s he holding up, Rip?”

“He’s out cold, sedated I think, but they found him unconscious. The wound looks bad, Cass, real bad.”

“And still no leads on what caused it?” He asked.

“Nope, none, zilch.” Ripley replied, shaking her head, “You don't think whatever did it is still out there do you?”

“Honestly, it might be worth grabbing Uncle Aiden and Rothschild to take a look,” Cass mused, his eyes watching Lorcán on the other side of the glass as they prepared to move him.

The redhead looked between the two siblings and figured it’d be best if she offered them some space. After all, they were Lorcán’s family, and as close as she and him were, she still wasn’t blood. “Why don’t I give you guys a few minutes.” She brushed a strand of copper hair behind her ear before looking at Ripley, forcing a smile. “I’m just going to go and get some air.”

Cass stood, extending his arms while motioning for Ripley to join, the siblings embraced Aurora before releasing her.

“We'll call if there’s a change in his condition, otherwise we'll see you when you get back.” Ripley smiled.

The older girl managed a sad smile and ruffled the younger girl’s hair before placing her hand on Cass’ shoulder reassuringly. She simply nodded, no further words needing to be exchanged, before making her way over to the room that Tori and Aiden had disappeared into to be with their son. She stood in the door frame for a few long moments, her eyes memorizing Lorcán’s form as he lay there amongst the tubes and the wires.

He looked so helpless. And it killed her.

Timidly, she knocked, not wanting to bother his parents as they oversaw the medics treating Lorcán, but she didn’t want them to think she just upped and left, or even worse, couldn’t handle being there in their darkest hour. “I’m so sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt,” She took a step inside, managing to tear her eyes away from the boy in the hospital bed to meet their gaze. “I’m stepping out for a second, do either of you need anything?”

“I’ll be back though, I promise.” She indicated, but quickly followed up, not wanting to assume, “If that’s okay, of course. For me to be here with you all.”

“Of course that’s okay, sweetheart,” Tori reassured Aurora, “You can be here as much as you’d like to, Lorcán would want that.”

The redhead nodded, grateful, before exiting back to the hallway. Her legs moved before her brain could catch up, not even caring which direction she was walking in. Her breathing started to hitch, each inhale and exhale growing shallower than the last, eyes searching for some place of refuge. She found herself approaching an enclosed stairwell, and didn’t hesitate to open the door and let it slam behind her. As soon as she was alone, she let her tears fall freely, leaning back onto the wall and sliding down until she was seated on the landing.

Sobs racked the redhead’s body as she sat there, her hands shaking as she brought them to cradle her face. She shouldn’t have left the other morning, shouldn’t have run from the man who she knew would do anything for her, she should have stayed. For all she knew that could have been the last time he would hold her, and that terrified her even more than the feelings she had harbored for him for so long.

Gasping for air, she reached into her pocket and grabbed her cellphone, sliding her thumb to unlock the screen and pressing the contact she sought. The phone rang once, twice, before a voice answered on the other side.

“Harps? I need you, please.”

No pain worse than than losing someone you love.

Commencement: A Foundation Institute RP

^{| Two Days Ago}

Aurora waited until late the next day to look at herself in the mirror, to visually see the damage that the Trial had inflicted. The healers had given her something for her head in order to speed up the recovery process and assist with the pain, but since everything else was purely cosmetic, and would fade with time, she opted to let it go away on its own. She could feel the bruises that covered her skin, tender and sensitive, but had not yet taken a look at them all together.

Fearfully, she approached her bathroom, turned on the lights, and took a deep breath before stepping into frame.

Who stared back wasn’t her at all.

The redhead’s left cheekbone up to her temple and underneath her brow were stained black, purple, and blue, stretching into her hairline. Broken blood vessels peppered her jaw, residual trauma from the impact on the blast door and the invisible wall that had extended outwards.

Fingertips were imprinted into the back of her neck where Sierra had laid her vice like grip and bruises covered her arms and legs where she had hit the cold floor not once, but twice. Red seeped through the bandages on her knuckles. Her body was a walking and talking tapestry of what had exactly happened when Blackjack entered the hedge.

And yet, in the reflection, all Aurora could see was her mother.

The girl said nothing as she turned off the light and exited the bathroom, her face devoid of emotion. Returning to her bedroom, she closed the door and locked it before climbing onto her mattress and curling up underneath her comforter.

It was only then she began to sob.

^{__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________}

_{Location: Myotis House → Community Farm - Pacific Royal Campus}

Take On Me #3.003: Every Rose Has Its Thorn

^{_{________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________}}

_{Interaction(s): Ripley @Lord Wraith}

Previously: Riptide

^{| Present}

In the days following the Trial, Aurora barely left her dorm room.

Her roommates and Myotis housemates continued to fuss over her, from completing her community contribution on her behalf to bringing her back food from the dining hall so she didn’t have to make the trek. It was a testament to the House system that they rallied and showed such compassion towards her, and she couldn’t remember the last time anyone had gone to such great lengths and taken care of her that way. Well, aside from second year of University when she got the flu, Lorcán ran around campus like a madman getting all of her coursework and bringing her anything she needed for the five days she was down for the count. Then again, Lorcán always showed that amount of care.

But now that classes were in full swing, it was pertinent that she reintegrated back into campus life. Her therapist, who she had spoken with every day since the Trial, even made it a point to call her that morning to ensure she was getting ready for class like she was supposed to.

As she slipped on her shoes, Aurora glanced at her reflection in the mirror. The large bruise on her face had fully set in, stained the darkest shade of purple throughout and a yellow ring outlining the border. She wore leggings to cover the marks on her thighs and calves. On top, she wore Lorcán’s Canis sweatshirt that she had taken the morning after she stayed over, for no other reason than that the hood was large enough to cover her bruised face when it was up.

At least that’s what she kept on telling herself.

Departing her dorm, she began to make her way towards the farm. It was no secret what had happened to Blackjack over the weekend, everyone knew what they had gone through when they ran the trial. But as she walked across campus, Aurora could feel eyes pinned on every movement she made, almost as if they pried for more. Each step she took on the gravel path was tracked and even with her face shrouded by the sweatshirt’s hood she’d never felt more exposed.

“Hey,” The voice of a younger female called towards Aurora, “Hey, sorry to bother you, I was wondering if you could help me find-” She explained while running up beside her.

“Oh!” The girl exclaimed excitedly, “Aurora! I didn’t recognize you,” She beamed as Aurora looked up from under her hood, her eyes meeting those belonging to Ripley Jones, Lorcán’s cousin.

“Nice hoodie,” Ripley smirked, “I didn’t know you were in Canis,” She ribbed trying to keep the mood light, “Sorry, I can’t help myself sometimes, how are you doing?” She asked, a look of genuine concern crossing her face.

“We saw some of what happened, before we got moved back to campus, if there’s any truth to the rumours I can’t imagine going through what you had to in there.”

Aurora tried her best to muster a smile in the presence of the younger girl, popping her earbuds out of her ears so she could hear her better. She normally would have laughed at her joke, made some playful quip back, but it felt too forced. “I’m just borrowing it. Not good enough with makeup to cover this thing up.” Ripley had conveniently ended up on her non-bruised side, but no doubt noticed it when the redhead turned her head to reply.

She didn’t want to scare Lorcán’s cousin, make her fearful of this place only in her first few days, so she played things down. “I’m alright, it looks worse than it feels.”

Lie.

“Rumors are just rumors, we’re all okay.”

Lie.

“Nothing we couldn’t handle.”

Lie.

The words left a bad taste in her mouth, but she was better off not knowing the perils of what had truly occurred. Aurora inclined her head to Ripley, directing the attention away from herself. “How did your trial go? Where’d you end up?”

“It was different than what I was expecting,”Ripley replied, “Ultimately still pretty fun,” She rocked back and forth on her heels excitedly, “I was originally really hoping to be placed in Canis, kind of carry on the family tradition,” She paused, her blue-green eyes locking with Aurora’s own. “And I kind of did, just like you and Aunt Tori, I’m in Myotis!” Ripley beamed.

“And we’re both doing the farm for our community contributions!” She added, leaping forward and giving Aurora a small hug, “So I guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other.”

The redhead was slightly surprised by Ripley’s sudden embrace, but did not mind the affection, even though she tried not to wince as the younger girl unknowingly wrapped her arm around one of her more prominent bruises. “That’s really great Ripley, I’m excited for you,” She tried to sound enthused, and hopefully it came off as such, but at the very least, her intentions were genuine. The promise of getting to know another one of Lorcán’s family members better was certainly something to look forward to.

“You’ll love being in Myotis, I definitely do.” Aurora’s thoughts were brought back to her housemates who had been watching out for her over the last few days, and her heart felt warm. “I’m headed to the farm now, actually, were you on your way there? I’ll take you.” She motioned further down the path in the direction.

“Yes, please,” Ripley nodded eagerly, “I never imagined being able to get lost on the campus, but I keep getting turned around on this island.” She elaborated. “How long have you been here again? I know Leo probably said it before but I’ve forgotten embarrassingly enough. Do you go home for the summer at all?” Ripley asked while the pair walked before chiding herself.

“Sorry I’m asking so many questions, Leo - err, Lorcán has just talked about you so much I feel like we’re already best friends. I don’t mean to be a total Haven,” She joked, remembering how Lorcán had mentioned that of Blackjack’s members, Haven had a bit of a reputation for asking questions.

“You’ll get the hang of it, it’ll just take some time.” Aurora remembered how challenging it had been to navigate campus upon arriving. She was a small fish in a big pond when she first got to PRCU, she’d never been in a place that required such focus to get around before. Luckily, she had a built-in tour guide in the form of Lorcán, who grew up on the Island and knew it like the back of his hand.

Ripley’s question was innocent and well meaning, but Aurora couldn’t help but feel a twinge of self consciousness at explaining her situation. “I live here during the summer. Your cousin is stuck with me year round, unfortunately for him. ” She kept her response brief and deflected with a sad excuse for a joke, before stating the facts. “7 years, I’ve been here since I was 13.”

The redhead picked up on Ripley's comment about Lorcán talking about her, even remembered her saying something similar the other day after the ceremony. “Hopefully he’s said good things about me,” Her lips turned up, a small, soft smile appearing for the first time. “I’m honestly surprised he’s told you much about me at all.”

“Unfortunately for him,” Ripley repeated with a small giggle, “I’m sure Leo’s in dire straits about it,” She laughed, “Are you kidding me? You’re his favourite topic, even when he’s not meaning to talk about you, he’s talking about you. And he’s never said anything less than stellar about you.”

The younger girl skipped along beside Aurora, her mischievous eyes studying the older girl.

“So what do you, y’know, do?”

Aurora’s face flushed, her cheeks tingeing pink hearing about how much and how highly Lorcán spoke of her according to Ripley.

Someone you love.

His words replayed in her head from the other night, they’d been one of the key parts of their encounter that she continued to think about. She’d spent three days thinking about it. That, and waking up in his arms, having committed the feeling of his touch on her skin to memory.

Snapping back to the conversation at hand, she raised an eyebrow at the younger girl. “What do I… do?” It took her a minute, but recognition finally crossed her features. “Oh, you mean,” A laugh escaped from her lips, “I can teleport.” Aurora explained, “All I have to do is think of where I want to go and I can be there instantly.”

“I’d show you, but I’ve been advised not to by the healers while I’m recovering.” She looked around, before leaning in towards Ripley, a smirk on her face, her spark slowly returning. “I think your cousin would kill me too.”

“What about you? I don’t think Lorcán ever told me what your abilities are.”

“I was a late bloomer,” Ripley replied cheerily, “I know, it’s ironic, girls are supposed to mature faster than boys,” She added while continuing to skip along beside Aurora, “So prior to my enrollment here, I think everyone thought I was going to end up being mundane, but then, BAM!” She yelled suddenly, “Summer hit and powers! I don’t think my parents could get on the phone fast enough to Uncle Aiden.”

Ripley suddenly cartwheeled ahead of Aurora before coming to a stop.

“Thankfully, I didn’t take after the men in the family, so no risk of me doing an accidental strip tease by burning off my shirt.” She smiled while giving Aurora a small wink, “Though I warn you, some people find this a little unsettling.”

Ripley suddenly bent over backwards, making the bridge position before the girl unexpectedly split at the waist, her legs standing up straight while Ripley walked on her hands out from behind her lower half.

“Ta-da!” She exclaimed before accidentally popping her head off its neck. The brunette’s face rolled onto the ground before coming to a stop at Aurora’s feet.

“Ow.” She muttered as her torso wandered around blindly. “I’m over here!” She called before rolling her eyes.

Aurora couldn’t help but find herself laughing at Ripley’s display. Not a forced laugh or a fake laugh, but a real true belly laugh. The kind that makes you feel better, one that reminds you that there is still good out there. The younger girl had spunk and energy, it not only made complete sense that she was placed in Myotis, but also solidified her relation to Lorcán, clumsiness and all. “That’s pretty impressive, don’t think I’ve seen anything like that before.” She watched as the girl struggled to wrangle the other parts of her body. “Need some help there?”

“Just give me a second,” Ripley replied with a smile, blowing towards the ground and sending her head rolling back towards her body. A hand felt around, grabbing a hold of her hair prompting a small squeak of pain from Ripley before her body cradled her head properly and affixed it back atop her neck. Her legs kneeled down allowing her to quickly clamber back atop them.

“There we go.” She grinned back at Aurora, “I’m still getting the hang of all of this, I envy people like Leo who developed their powers so young, but then again, look who his parents are.” She shrugged,

“Super-Mom and Super-Dad if ever there was a pair, practically bigger heroes than the Foundation Force.”

“Hey, we all have to start somewhere.” The redhead reassured, starting to walk again towards the farm, the outline of the building coming into view. “Everyone struggles for the first while, it’ll take a bit to learn how to master your abilities but you have a really great support system to help you.” She pointed out, referring to the aforementioned relatives.

“Dare I say I’m a little bit envious that you got to come here so soon after your H-Gene manifested. I had my abilities for a few years before I really figured out how to use them.” Aurora remarked, trying to help the younger girl feel a bit better about her situation. It was true though - she would have given anything to have at least one person who understood what she was going through at the time her abilities emerged. Her mother was mundane, and quickly after she got her powers she entered into the Foster system, where she rarely encountered other Hyperhumans. Most of her original tricks she had to make up on the fly.

“Yeah, my parents were pretty surprised. I still don't know if they know where they came from. Presumably my Mom’s side since she's Uncle Aiden’s sister, but given how different my abilities are from his and Leo’s, there’s a chance my Dad had a latent gene or just abilities that have completely gone undetected.” Ripley rambled on.

“Leo always refers to your abilities as rad, he has such a funny way of speaking.” Ripley commented, “Do you ever have moments where you're just left there trying to piece together exactly what he just said?”

Aurora nodded in agreement, another laugh leaving her lips as Ripley seemed to voice exactly what most people were thinking. “Oh, all the time.” She stated, before reaching into her pocket to grab her cellphone. Tapping into her notes app, she held the phone out to the younger girl, revealing pages upon pages of jotted down words and their corresponding definitions.

A makeshift Lorcán dictionary.

“When I first met him he would say things and I could not for the life of me remember what everything meant. So I started writing it down.” She shook her head subtly, as if she couldn’t even believe this was something that needed to exist. “Like any other language, the more you hear it, the more you understand.”

“I’m not fluent, but I'm definitely getting there.”

“Choka, Lady Dude,” Ripley giggled, throwing a little shaka at her with her hand. “I wasn't so sure it’d be easy to make friends here after leaving my life in Crestwood Hollow behind, but I’m glad Leo met you, so I could too.” She beamed fondly before opening a gate and stepping into the farm.

“So what do we do here?”

Aurora’s heart was simply about to burst.

She didn’t have siblings, she didn’t even have a proper family, and yet in that moment she wanted to protect Ripley with the tenacity of an older sister. Something about the girl’s pure heart and vibrant spirit she wanted to bottle up and hold close to her, preventing anyone from sullying her view of the world. With a warm smile, she guided the younger girl to the back of the farm where the flower boxes sat, grabbing two watering pails on their way. Now away from prying eyes, she lowered the hood of her sweatshirt, revealing her soft copper curls.

“Well, our job is to water the plants and herbs that grow here.” She motioned towards the rose bushes, tulips, and peonies, as well as the baby’s breath and greenery. “These flowers specifically are for the Senior dance. Later this week we’ll pick the best ones and hand them off to be used for corsages, boutonnieres, and centerpieces.” Aurora explained, filling up the pails and handing one to Ripley.

The girl nodded along, listening to Aurora’s instructions before taking the pail. A mischievous smile crossed over her thin face as she locked eyes with the older girl, lips pursed like a cat who had just caught a mouse.

“So who’s lucky enough to escort your beautiful self to the dance?” Ripley asked, batting her long eyelashes at Aurora, “Anyone I know, hmm?”

The redhead bit her lip, instantly brought back to her night in the tent with Lorcán, his half asleep mention of bringing someone to the dance at the forefront of her thoughts. Did he mean her? Did he mean someone else? She still didn’t know.

“You’re very sweet, but I currently don’t have a date.” She revealed, pouring copious amounts of water over the rose bushes to make sure they were well tended to. Especially after the Rory incident the other day, she wasn’t eager to rush and find someone to go with. “I’m just planning on going with friends right now. It’ll be a great time… I still have to figure out what I’m wearing though.”

“You don’t have a date?” Ripley replied stunned as she failed to stop her watering can from pouring, only realizing after her feet began to get wet. “I can kick his ass for you, Aurora.” Ripley mimed, exaggerated outrage coming over the girl.

“Ripley, language,” The older girl chided, and yet, raised a brow inquisitively. “But whose ass are we kicking, just so we’re clear?”

“You should get a revenge fit, something in either blue to make your eyes pop, or maybe a green that accents that gorgeous hair of yours.” Ripley smiled deviously, “Make that water-logged cousin of mine rue the day he didn’t ask you to the dance.”

She shook her head again in disbelief that Lorcán hadn't asked Aurora to the dance.

“Rue, Aurora! Rue!” She repeated, her volume starting to draw a few unwanted eyes before cracking another smile, “Are you going dress shopping on the mainland?”

Aurora couldn’t help but roll her eyes playfully. Just when she thought she was safe from being questioned about her relationship with Lorcán, Ripley was seemingly joining the chorus. “Look, I don’t know what kind of nonsense Sassy Cassy has been feeding you, but your cousin and I are just friends.” She explained, keeping her voice low, unlike the younger girl. But as the words left her mouth, she questioned herself again.

Someone you love.

Were they just friends?

Letting the thought wash away, she continued to water the flowers, making sure the peonies got enough before her pail grew empty. At the mention of the mainland though, she tensed. Especially given what had just happened to Triton, as well as her experience during the trial, the redhead was hesitant about making the trip. “We’ll see, I’ll only go if the rest of my teammates do. If not, I’m sure someone has to have a dress laying around here that I can borrow.”

“You should ask Aunt Tori, it might be some sort of 80’s fit, but what’s old is new again.” Ripley offered while mirroring Aurora's actions.

“Purple would also look good on you,” The younger girl suggested, “A little black dress would knock him on his a-” She paused, smiling widely before stating. “Tush.”

The redhead hadn’t considered asking Tori, didn’t even think it was an option. She raised a brow, “You really think she would lend me something?” She inquired, not sure whether Ripley was being serious or not. Tori may have been Myotis’ Faculty Representative, but she was also Lorcán’s mother, and she didn’t want to overstep. But quickly, she shook her head, “Beggars can’t be choosers, I’ll just be happy if I end up with a dress that fits.”

Emptying what remained in her watering can on the tulips, Aurora walked over to the younger girl and took her pail from her, following suit. “There, your first community contribution is complete.” She set down the twin containers next to the flower box and put back up her hood, gesturing for Ripley to follow. “Where’s your first class? I’ll walk you.”

“Of course she would,” Ripley nodded eagerly, “Uh, my first class is History of Hyperhuman Development, I know it’s in the Quadrangle, I think it’s with a Mr. Strum?” She added scratching her head.

“I feel like it's going to be a hard class first thing in the morning,” Ripley continued, miming a sleeping pose with a small giggle.

“Can't wait to be a University student, you guys get all the fun.”

Aurora’s previous smile fell at her words, once again innocent and well meaning, but she plastered a fake one on before the younger girl could notice.

“Yeah, you could say that. Let’s get you to class, Ripley.”

Commencement: A Foundation Institute RP

^{| Four Years Ago}

On a mild Spring evening as the clock struck 1am, campus lay quiet and serene, the sound of cicadas and the whistling of the wind the only audible noise moving through the trees.

But in the depths of the Intake House, the campus speakeasy was indeed alive and vibrant, packed with University students enjoying the revelry of the weekend. Aurora had only heard rumblings before about the existence of the bar and yet, she found herself there in the mix, her best friend by her side. How they had gotten an invite, that was Lorcán’s doing. Well, not actually him, they had Ryan to thank for pulling some strings and getting the both of them in, especially since they still weren’t 19.

Aurora was drunk.

It wasn’t the first time she had drank- she and her roommates had gotten some booze before from their older Myotis peers- but she definitely didn’t have much of a tolerance to go off of. So, needless to say, she was a bit of a lightweight. You could see it on her face- her cheeks were rosy and flushed and her normally sharp blue eyes were glassy, accompanied by the relaxed and happy grin that tugged on her lips.

As the pair stood in the center of the room, enjoying the organized chaos around them, the redhead felt someone bump into her as they passed by, likely headed to the bar. She wobbled, unbalanced in her inebriated state but managed to remain upright, a few drops of her drink spilling over the edge of her cup. She giggled, looking at Lorcán next to her. “Whoops, sorry!”

Those molten eyes that were the same colour as the soda he was drinking studied the copper-haired girl intently. He had never seen her like this before, at first it had been invigorating partying alongside Aurora, watching some of her inhibition melt away as she danced to the music, finding rhythm with the pounding bass that echoed through the speakeasy.

But the night had gone on long enough and Lorcán was beginning to worry about the Aurora of tomorrow and her impending hangover.

“No worries, Lady Dude,” He replied with one of his signature smiles, brushing away his wavy, shoulder length hair from his face. “Think it might be time to quiver the boards and head for shore. Walk you home?”

Aurora jutted out her bottom lip, pouting playfully at the mention of leaving the party. They were having a good time, why would they leave now? She attempted to reason with the boy, “Nooo, Lorcán, why do you want to go home? This place is fun.” She asserted, trying to maintain her convincing facial expression before quickly dissolving into a goofy smile.

But she knew him well, well enough that even though things were a bit blurrier than normal, the look he was giving her wasn’t him asking. She took one last large sip of her drink before accepting defeat. “Okay, we can go,” The redhead raised her eyebrows, a thought coming to mind, “But what about Ryan, shouldn’t we say bye?” She quickly spun around to try and spot the similar shade of copper hair amongst the masses, but that was a bad idea, as she immediately grew dizzy. Aurora braced herself against Lorcán, her hands resting on his arms for stability. “Or we can just leave, that works too.”

“I have a feeling brah won't miss us too much,” Lorcán replied, looking towards the older redhead currently behind the bar doing her best rendition of ‘Cocktail’ while she had several male students fighting for her attention. When Ryan had invited them, Lorcán had originally been flattered but upon arriving at the party it quickly became clear to him that his invitation was more to ensure his silence. While the speakeasy was open to students, it generally wasn't open to parties of quite this volume. Ryan was certainly enjoying the privileges that came with being the Team Mentor to Eclipse, but Lorcán was feeling a little used.

“Do you, like, want my arm?” Lorcán asked Aurora, extending a denim jacket enclosed arm. “Or maybe my jacket, it’s pretty nippy with the sun down.”

Aurora nodded, setting down her half empty glass before grasping his bicep and forearm as they began to move towards the door. She held on tightly, half because she didn’t want to lose him in the crowd, and half because she was still a tad unsteady. “I’ll be fiiine, you’re like my own personal space heater after all.” The girl giggled again, thinking her overused joke was absolutely hilarious. With each step they ascended the music grew softer and the chatter dulled, until they were greeted by the cool April breeze. As they walked away from the Intake House, she inhaled the fresh air, her wavy locks rustling in the wind, before an idea popped into her brain.

“What if I were to just…” In an instant, she let go of Lorcán’s arm, teleporting back to the front door that led down to the speakeasy with a devious grin on her face. She reached for the handle slowly, baiting the boy and admittedly testing his patience with her.

Lorcán’s eyebrows rose as Aurora suddenly vanished. He stopped abruptly, spinning around on one heel, turning to face the giggling redhead while one eyebrow remained elevated.

“Hey, get back here! Don’t make me chase you, Lady Dude.” He called in his own teasing tone. Though truthfully, he was a little worried Aurora might hurt herself in her inebriated state.

“Come on, just like take my hand and then we can totally make our way back to the dorms.” Lorcán added while approaching. “Your bed must sound rad by now.” He suddenly blushed, turning as red as the flames he could create.

“I totally mean for you, not like us or me. Your bed, for you. Sleeping alone is totally rad.” He rambled on, now looking towards the sky.

“Mars is bright tonight, eh?”

Aurora considered teleporting off, but instead audibly sighed, an exaggerated indication of her agreement, before intertwining her fingers with his, “You know I don’t sleep much, Hotstuff.” She gently swung their arms back and forth, “I don’t want to think about going to sleep.” She stated as they restarted their walk back to the dorms, her head tilting upwards to look up at the sky.

“You can’t see Mars silly.” The redhead stated matter of factly, squinting up at the various stars. “I like looking at the constellations though.”

“Maybe you can't,” He teased, “But I happen to know that,” He pointed to a slightly crimson dot above the Eastern horizon, “-is Mars.”

“I've always liked Draco,” He continued, pointing towards the constellation, “But I often find myself staring at Gemini while on my board at night.”

Aurora tried to focus on where Lorcán was motioning, attempting to spot the shapes he was referring to, but everything was just a little too blurry for her to visualize. Another spark of genius came to mind as the boy mentioned surfing, and she gently changed their course, taking a few steps in the direction that would lead them to the beach. “You’re sure we can’t go sit for just a little bit? Please?” She pleaded, no doubt her avoidance of the dorms and her bed evident in her voice. The girl attempted a few more steps, but nearly tripped over her own feet as she went as far as she could go whilst in Lorcán’s grip. She let her next statement hang in the air.

“If I don’t go to sleep yet, I don’t have to dream, and he won’t be able to hurt her again.”

Aurora’s words took Lorcán aback. But he knew he couldn’t say no to her so it was simply easier to comply. The beach at least was still away from the party and the cooler air coming in off the Pacific might just be what the red-headed girl needed to sober up.

“I could totally do the beach,” He replied before leading her in the proper direction, “Might be better if we just hoofed it though.”

She frowned, looking up at him through her lashes, “You’re no fun! We could be there right now if we wanted to be,” Without hesitating, she let go of his hand and disappeared, materializing a good distance ahead of him on the path to the sand and surf. She was definitely trying her luck, but something about her buzz rid her of any reservations she might have been holding onto. A challenge danced in her eyes, “Bet you can’t catch me!” Aurora called back to him, grinning.

“Lady Dude wait-” Lorcán called but Aurora had already teleported before he could protest. Despite that, he couldn’t stop a smile from spreading over his face. She had always beat him at tag when they were younger, but he had a feeling tonight might tip in his favour. Ditching his flip-flops, the boy with long wavy hair ran after the copper-headed girl. His bare feet raced through the cool sand, before jetting forward with the air of his abilities only to meet empty air where Aurora once was.

Looking around, he spotted her again. Once again giving chase, he came up empty. Looking around, he saw Aurora waving towards him before feinting a boost and instead moving backwards in anticipation of catching her.

His strategy worked too well as Lorcán bowled Aurora over, tackling the redhead into the sand before landing on top of her. His face hovering not even inches from her own. The smell of roses and peonies wafted into Lorcán’s nostrils as his molten eyes looked down into Aurora’s shimmering sapphires. His tongue tapped his lower lip, as his jaw pointed forward before Lorcán caught himself and rolled off of Aurora.

Despite wanting that moment for so long, he wasn’t about to take advantage of her.

“Caught you.” He managed to spit out, grateful for the cover of night to hide his beet-red face.

The redhead shrieked as his strong arms caged her, her unrestrained laugh filling the air as they toppled to the ground, eyes closing as they hit the sand. Upon opening them, she met his fiery gaze above her, seeing just how close together the two of them were. Aurora looked down to Lorcán’s lips, feeling an overwhelming urge to close the distance between them, his wavy hair that fell around her face seeming to block out the rest of the world. But the second she lifted her face to meet his, the moment escaped her as the boy moved to lay by her side.

The drunk girl only giggled again, the desire to kiss him ebbing away just as quickly as it had come on. “You may have caught me this time, but we both know that I am still the record holder.”

“Uncontested champion,” Lorcán flashed a smile, despite his still racing heart. The sound of the nearby waves was always soothing, and while he didn't have any alcohol in his system, the idea of going for a swim at this hour if only to cool his flushed face was enticing.

“The swells sound tame tonight.” He muttered sitting up from the sand, his hand looking towards the water where the moonlight was reflecting, illuminating the Northern Horizon.

“I’m all amped up now, tempted to take a dip into the green room to soak my head,” He added with a playful elbow nudge.

Aurora let herself relax into the sand, looking up at the stars. They were so bright here, the lack of any nearby city meant no light pollution to detract from their glow. But at the mention of the water, she sat up as well, gazing out at the dark expanse that stretched out into nothingness. Slipping off her shoes, she dug her toes into the cool grains. “I’m a bad swimmer when sober, let’s not find out how I am after a few drinks.” She smirked, still having her wits about her even under the influence,“But I’d put my feet in, that sounds nice.”

Lorcán allowed himself a small laugh, he had seen Aurora in the water and her point was incredibly valid.

“A walk in the shallows sounds rad,” He replied before offering the girl his arm again, “What did you mean earlier when you said he won't be able to hurt her again, in reference to your dreams?” The words had been sitting at the forefront of his mind since she had spoken them but only now that the blood had stopped rushing had the courage and overwhelming curiosity prompted him to ask.

Aurora wobbled as stood back up once more, clinging on to Lorcán’s arm for stability as they approached where the waves met the shoreline. She hummed happily as she submerged her feet into the water, enjoying how refreshing it felt on her skin and kicking playfully, sending droplets back out into the ocean. The redhead didn’t even look up as she answered Lorcán, seemingly numb to the true weight of the question, her inhibitions and hesitations out the window with the alcohol in her system.

“My stepfather was not a nice man, Lorcán.” She stated, taking a breath before continuing, exhaling audibly, “He used to hit my mother, take his anger out on her.” Aurora looked up at the stars again, “I was too young to do anything to stop it.”

The temperature suddenly rose as Lorcán felt his hackles rise at Aurora's words. He had never met her, but given who Aurora was, he knew her mother was a big part of making her the extraordinary young woman he knew. The idea that anyone would intentionally hurt her got him hot under the collar.

“I can't believe people can be so cruel to each other. I find it hard to believe the mundane world is just or fair in any way.” His voice was stern, almost condescending. “I just wonder how we’re the persecuted ones sometimes. Where is your mother now?” He asked, softening his tone as his ember-like eyes looked back at Aurora.

The girl moved her hands from his bicep to instead intertwine their fingers once more as they continued to walk, the waves lapping at her ankles. She could feel his skin growing warmer, and she met his gaze with a sad smile, “It’s far from fair, but that’s the way the world works I guess.” Aurora directed her eyes out to the ocean, seemingly searching the distance, the stars blurring together in her drunkenness. “I don’t know where she is.” The redhead shrugged, digging her heels in the sand with each step she took.

“It wasn’t safe for me at home, for many reasons, but especially when my abilities manifested. Damon would have killed me if he knew I was Hyperhuman.”

Aurora looked back up at Lorcán. “So, my mom brought me to a children’s home and left me there. I never saw her again, don’t know if I ever will.” She rested her head on his arm, his temperature comforting as the breeze triggered goosebumps along her limbs. “You’re really warm.” The redhead added, seemingly voicing her stream of consciousness.

“I can’t imagine a world where I didn't know where my Mom was,” He allowed himself a small chuckle, “Though some days I wish she didn't know where I was.”

Lifting his arm, Lorcán wrapped it around Aurora, allowing himself a rare moment of boldness before enveloping her in his warmth.

“Alcohol must be wearing off if you're getting cold.” Lorcán teased before looking up at the stars. It was amazing that he could be surrounded by such awe inducing beauty and yet his eyes always found their way back to Aurora.

“I’m still hoping we can find your Mom someday, she must be pretty special to bring you into my life.” His voice was low, nearly a whisper as he spoke before those fire-like eyes turned back to the subtle ebb and flow of the midnight tide.

“Someday.” He mused again, his eyes wandering down to Aurora's left hand, before retreating back to the serene ocean scene.

The redhead leaned into Lorcán’s chest as she was tucked underneath his arm, the chill she had briefly felt instantly replaced by the heat he radiated. She closed her eyes and sighed contently, inhaling citrus and smoke, a soft smile tugging at her lips. “I’m not cold, you’re just hot.” The girl mindlessly replied before nearly losing her footing on a rock that, according to her, came out of nowhere. “Nope, still drunk.”

She opened her eyes, resting her chin on the boy’s torso as she looked up at him.“She was special. The strongest person I know.” Aurora stated, hazy visions of blonde hair and blue eyes coming to mind. “But, I’ve already come to terms with the fact that I might never see her again, who knows what happened after I left.”

“I wouldn’t be shocked if Damon had killed her by now.”

“Hard to send you to bed on that note, Lady Dude,” Lorcán tried joking to soften her words, “But we can't stay out here all night.” He gave her a quick squeeze, “Though I don't think another few minutes would hurt.” He added, gazing out at the ocean before taking a seat in the sand and gently pulling Aurora down beside him.

“I only ever need two things for a perfect night. A beautiful view, and the ocean.” He smiled, thankful Aurora once again couldn't see him blushing in the dark.

“And tonight I have both.”

The redhead, who would have less than gracefully flopped onto the sand had Lorcán not guided her down with him found herself smiling at his words and her cheeks turning rosy. She hadn’t expected him to say something like that, especially to her, but she certainly wasn’t opposed to it. She moved closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

“I want every night to be like this.”

^{__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________}

_{Location: Southern Plateau - Pacific Royal Campus}

Hope in Hell #2.046: Train Wreck

^{_{________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________}}

_{Interaction(s): Lorcán (Flashback) @Lord Wraith}

Previously: I Wanna Hold Your Hand

Aurora had forgotten what her mother’s voice sounded like.

It was sweeter than she remembered, melodic, more gentle than what her nightmares had warped it into over the years. In her dreams, her mother was always suffering. But here, the woman’s tone was warm and inviting; it was as if you could hear her smiling.

“Sweetheart, come here!”

The redhead willed herself to move as fast as her body would allow and followed the sound of her mother’s call. The shock she was in helped her in this instance rather than hindered, the numbness she felt in response allowing her to propel herself forward without her injuries inhibiting her. The dregs of Amma’s power managed to fight off any residual exhaustion she felt.

She was rejuvenated. Hopeful.

“Firecracker? Are you there?”

Firecracker. She hadn’t been called that since she was a young girl, hadn’t ever told anyone about the nickname her mother lovingly bestowed upon her. Although they weren’t exactly sure where her red hair had come from, presumably from her father’s side, Sasha taught her daughter to embrace her copper coloring. What initially had been a moniker to represent her fiery appearance quickly became so much more. Aurora was always the spark that kept Sasha going, the brightest light in her darkest hour.

And Aurora did indeed embody that spark as she chased her mother’s voice down hall after hall, stopping at nothing to find her in the labyrinth.

“~Aurora!”

She didn’t care that her body began to catch up to her brain. Didn’t care that she was growing weary, her breathing heavy. The redhead navigated each turn with agile grace as Sasha’s call echoed. She grew closer, the woman’s words growing louder and louder. She could already feel her embrace, imagine her warm golden blonde hair and striking blue eyes that held so much strength and perseverance.

Aurora turned the final corner and it wasn’t her mother who she found.

She was instead met with the sight of her teammates at the end of the hallway, battered and bruised, but alive. Calliope looked worse for wear, leaning on Banjo as a physical crutch while Rory carried Haven, her injuries more significant than the last time she saw her. Amma limped on her broken ankle, refusing to accept Katja’s help, the blonde visibly shaken and covered in a thick crimson liquid that made Aurora gag at the sight. Gil and his clones, noses bloody, stood together next to Harper, whose eyes were wide and expressionless, and Lorcán - Lorcán, alive - who clutched his chest, AR suit ripped open revealing a deep wound.

They were gathered in front of a door.

An exit.

The redhead didn’t hesitate, breaking out into a sprint to join them, relief flooding her features as realization hit her that the end was in sight. They had done it, they had survived the trial, sabotagers be damned, and they were getting out. Her mother had guided her to safety. But it wasn’t until she had made it halfway down the hall, a few yards from her friends, that she slammed face first into something unyielding. Static rang in her ears as she recoiled, her already aching head beginning to pound even worse than it had been before, black spots flooding her vision. Aurora reached up to her face and braced the point of impact, feeling something warm on her upper lip and pulled her hand away to find it covered in her own blood.

She looked in front of her, not seeing what had forced her to a stop so viciously, and reached out her other hand, coming into contact with a wall, invisible, but there nonetheless. She pressed her palm against the surface and pushed, not feeling any give in the structure that would allow her to get through to her teammates. Up ahead, she could see Katja open the door with ease, bright light from outside flooding the entire hallway. The mere sight of it was enough to make the redhead begin to panic once again.

Closing her eyes, she calmed her now racing mind and attempted to teleport to where her teammates were by using the last whisper of Amma’s power, but it wasn’t enough. Her form flickered, and she felt a weak pull, but it was to no avail. Aurora tried again, grimacing in pain, but the last bit of energy she had been holding onto flickered out, leaving her with nothing left to utilize.

“Are we all here?” Harper asked, taking stock of the group, and was met by nods and mumbled affirmation. Boots shuffled, and Blackjack began to move.

They were leaving.

They were leaving without her.

“Hey!” Aurora’s baby blues grew wide and she banged her fists up against the invisible wall, using whatever physical strength she had left to try and bring the barrier down by force. “Wait! I’m here! I’m right here!” She shouted, hoping to capture their attention before they departed.

But not one member of Blackjack turned or even flinched at the sound of her voice.

They didn’t hear her at all.

The redhead hit the partition harder as she continued to yell. “Don’t leave me here!” Her throat burned as she raised her volume even louder than the first time, attempting to fight her way through. “Please don’t leave me!” Her knuckles split, growing bloody with the amount of force she was using to try and get to the other side.

One by one, each of her teammates disappeared through the exit, leaving the horrors of the Trial behind them. Calliope and Banjo hand in hand. Rory with Haven in his arms. Amma and then Katja. Gil, his clones, and Harper. With each silhouette that vanished, Aurora grew more and more hysterical, eyes beginning to overflow with moisture, any hope she had held onto fading fast.

Lorcán brought up the back of the group and stopped in the doorframe, hesitating and turning his head to look around. Brow furrowed as if he was in deep thought.

“Lorcan!” She screamed in pure desperation, tears streaming down her face. “Lorcán, please!” The girl wailed as she watched him simply shrug before exiting the Trial, the door slamming behind him and locking into place.

He had left her there.

Her teammates had forgotten her.

She was alone.

The redhead’s fists against the wall grew weaker and weaker as she lost steam. Knowing that they weren’t coming back for her, she sank to her knees, her inconsolable cries filling the now empty hallway. For even though she was older, even though she had grown, the cycle would never cease to repeat.

No one ever stayed.

BHHS: Limitless

^{Timestamp: Between the Rally and the Game
Location: The Montoya Home
Ramón and Stella
Small FT: Rio Montoya
@Aces Away and @Melissa}

____________________________________________________________________



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Ramón threw his door open and tossed his bag to the floor next to his vanity while his clutch hit the furniture’s shiny dark wood surface, and then proceeded directly to the door on the other side of his room that led to his office. Stella had relatively free reign of his home and could follow him easily, and he wasn’t one to break routine so he simply kept moving until he’d reached the destination of the next unchecked box of his mental list. The pale aqua fabric lit up one corner of his office like woven moonlight across water, the jeweled breast line sparkling like scattered stars under the room’s intense lighting. As always with something he’d made, it was a masterpiece. He gently rolled the dress form out from its place and removed the garment from its fabric body before presenting it to his childhood best friend with a smug air.

“Go ahead, try it on, I know you’ve been waiting,” He goaded. He had to make sure everything was fine with her outfit by the time he had to leave to get back to the school for the game, or else he’d be working back and forth between both Stella and Cael’s homecoming clothes later tonight. Plus, as much as he enjoyed making his best friend wait for things just to see that angry red tint that takes over her skin, he was just as impatient to see the completed piece to his work and that included Stella being in the dress. “And be gentle or I will take my fabric shears to everything in your closet that I didn’t create.”

Stella twirled her car keys in her fingers as she followed closely behind Ramón to his room. She’d been uncharacteristically silent for the majority of their drive; the only sign she was there with him was the jingling of her lanyard as she spun it around her index finger. The blonde had been in a sour mood ever since homeroom, and it had only gotten worse as the day went on. Ethan was being a royal pain in her ass, and to make matters worse, he was completely ignoring her. Like, hello? Who just ignored their on again, off again, situationship! How rude.

But all of her woes melted away the second that she laid her eyes on her best friend’s masterpiece. Her jaw went slack as she took in the blue dress, completely left speechless. “Mo… baby you’ve outdone yourself. Holy shit.” The blonde took the fabric in her hands and marveled at the details. “I have nothing snarky to say. You really did that, bitch.” Stella walked over to Mo’s bed and placed down the gown so she could undress to try it on. She had no shame in stripping right there - there was no such thing as needing privacy for the two of them. Stepping into the dress, she delicately pulled it up over her bust, slipping her arms through the straps. She looked back to her best friend, “Can you zip me up please?”

“I know, I’m amazing, aren’t I?” Mo replied shamelessly while also preening from her compliment, checking his phone to see a confirmation text from Andre about the other boy picking his outfit up tomorrow morning before the dance. Mo’s talent was in high demand for the dance, especially amongst his friends, and they all knew it. They also knew that, as his friends, he would spend the most time on their outfits and also be willing to dance along the deadline while still providing the completed product with grace. Thus, the likes of Stella, Cael, and Andre were the last to receive their outfits as for them his final touches went to the last minute to ensure every detail be not only perfect but also eye-catching and show stopping. Stepping up to help his best friend when she’d asked, he put his phone away upon reading Dre’s confirmation and grabbed the zipper, pride flowing through his body as it closed smooth as butter and hugged every curve of his friend like a second skin.

He stepped back and took Stella in as she turned towards him, a grin that only friends like she and Cael got to see, unrestrained and childish in its happiness. She looked stunning, gorgeous, fabulous. Showstopping, just like she always was, only ever accentuated by his designs, never overtaken. And from a first glance, not a single thing needed to be altered on her dress. Ramón has known every minute change and fluctuation in Stella’s measurements since they were children and she they had both decided she was going to be his first model, and the older they got, the less and less he actually needed Stella for intermittent fittings and tailoring. Eventually, it got to the point where they only needed this: the final fitting.

That didn’t stop them from getting together in the least, of course, it just showed how well they knew each other.

“Damn bitch, you said I did that? Look in the mirror, that dress is nothing without you wearing it. You’re going to blind people with how bright you shine, babes.”

Stella could instantly feel how the dress fit her like glove before even glancing at her reflection in the mirror. No matter how many dresses Mo made for her, or outfits he curated, it still never ceased to amaze her how talented her best friend was. He had a gift, it was evident. And seeing his unbridled joy and wide smile was just the icing on the cake. She loved being able to make him feel this exuberant. Hell, if she had it her way, he’d be like this all the time. Because even when she was in a sour mood, like today, when he was happy, so was she. What was that saying… happy wife, happy life? The blonde walked over to the full length mirror in the corner of Mo’s room, stepping onto the little pedestal.

She gasped, her breath taken away.

It was truly a masterpiece. The shape of the gown, the off the shoulder sleeves and the jewel encrusted bodice hugged her in just the right ways, highlighting her figure effortlessly. The color was perfect too, just the right shade of blue to make her skin glow while complementing her hair color. “Mo…” Stella started, turning her head to look back at her best friend. “It’s perfect. Absolutely perfect.”

“Isn’t it?” He responded giddily. Mo was practically glowing under his best friend’s praise, the excitement and satisfaction of finally seeing the completed piece, and how immensely pleased Stella was being all he needed from his almost full month of work since his inception of the design. He’d started hers first, and she was the third to last to get it because while he delivered perfection to every client he had, those closest to him deserved absolute divinity.

“Alright, let me make sure everything’s as it’s supposed to be,” He said as he stepped up behind her place on the pedestal and began to do his quality checks on the gown. Once he’d confirmed the perfection of his product, he helped Stella delicately remove it and put it in a garment bag for her to keep it safe when she left. With business completed, the best friends were left with free time before the game where they’d both be returning for different reasons, Mo’s being supporting his cheerleaders and to later be Cael’s ride back here so that Mo could do his final fitting and the other Candy could sleep over. Which was perfect, because there was a new development involving a mystery letter that he needed to talk to his other best friend about.

But that was for later.

With Stella now in the comfy clothes she kept in his room and the two of them sitting on his bed while he touched up her makeup, he decided it was time to ruin the good mood.

“So, was it Ethan that had that look on your face before you saw your dress?” He asked, ripping the bandaid off as he always did. Quick with a bit of inevitable sting. “Because I was almost insulted when I got in the car and got the bitchface directed at me.”

Stella was mid-sip of water when Mo decided to declare war.

She nearly spat out the drink as the words left his lips, so much so, she had to cover up her mouth with her hand to ensure no water escaped unceremoniously. Swallowing, her facial expression softened from her normally frigid exterior, the light in her eyes flickering. “I’m sorry.” The blonde stated, first and foremost. It was a rarity for her to apologize to just anyone, but her best friend was the exception. She sighed, revealing her current thoughts, “He ignored me all fucking day. Didn’t even reply to my message this morning about the dumb coffee. Of course, the one day I go out of my way for that jackass he blows me off.” Stella shook her head, “And he just finally had the mind to text me after nearly 8 hours and all he could say was ‘it’s been a day’. Like come ON.”

“Ew,” Ramón offered with a matching disgusted expression, pushing his glasses back up his nose so he could raise it in the air in distaste. “It sounds like you need to find someone that isn’t such a little bitch, Stells, because who the fuck does he think he is to ignore you and then not grovel at your feet in apology?” Inside, Ramón was simmering for his friend. He was also upset because despite the fact that it had been with much different boundaries first set in place, Mo had set the whole situationship with Ethan and Stella up.

The girl shook her head, “It doesn’t make any sense Mo. Like, I get he and I have our moments, but everyone in this school wants to be with me. Why does he act like it's a chore?” Stella furrowed her brow, but then quickly reversed the movement since she knew her best friend would have her head if she messed up his makeup job. “It’s a shame, the sex is great, but everything else is well… meh. I like arguing with him and giving him a hard time, but that’s just my way of showing affection.”

“A chore?” The disgusted expression morphed to indignation and Ramón forced his best friend to look at him with a few stern fingers under her chin. “Stella Louise Manning, if you even so much as think that he feels that way then you need to take a step back and look at why you’re still bothering. You can have good sex without a relationship, situationship, whatever,” He said with a glare before she could correct him herself. He stared deep into her striking sky blue eyes, grounding her with his own warm earthen brown. “If he doesn’t get you, if he doesn’t respond to you properly, if he doesn’t even give you gifts that fucking fit who you are, then he doesn’t deserve any bit of you. You are a goddess gracing him with your presence and like an ignorant, godless heathen, he is turning a blind eye. You shouldn’t chase him, you should smite him.”

Ramón Montoya was the King of the Candies, the literal thread that held the drama club together, and one of the most vindictive and vicious responders to a perceived slight against him or his loved ones that Beverly Hills High has ever had the luck of not seeing, his worst reactions being restrained as his attitude was put on a leash by his family and their wariness of bad press and media. If Mo had it his way, if he could get away with it, he would give Ethan the most public humiliation of his life, and make sure there was evidence so that the boy never forgot it.

How dare someone so basic make his platonic soulmate deflate like that? Unforgivable.

Stella listened to her best friend, although her eyes seemed to glaze over as he went all Mama Bear. It was very unlike the girl to show such raw emotion, most of all let a stupid boy like Ethan Green get the best of her. She prided herself with having the grace and poise of someone twice her age without the wrinkles, what was it about this specific situation that was causing her so much discomfort? She and him had played this song and dance for nearly a year and a half. Why now was it suddenly an issue?

Maybe it was the fact graduation loomed in the distance and Stella had to figure out what the fuck she was doing with her life. Maybe it was because Katie Callaghan was favored to get the lead again this year. Maybe it was the creepy DMs she was getting that seemed to pile up by the day. Ethan Green was the straw that seemed to break the camel’s back. “I bother because I enjoy his company and he’s the only person I know who is willing to put up with my bitch ass attitude and serve it back to me tenfold. It’s fun, he’s fun.”

“Fun is fine, babe,” Ramón responded, well aware she had zoned out on him the moment he started his rant against Ethan but willing to let it slide due to her mood. “But you haven’t seemed like you’ve been having fun recently,” He thought back to the car ride in, where she seemed okay, almost defensively hopeful in a way she tried to hide behind a casual air and act of whimsy. How different she was less than half an hour later when he’d entered Belmonte’s class for Cael and Minnie’s cupcakes and some good old Candy kiki. Stella swinging between moods like Tarzan between vines was not unusual, hell it was practically a requirement of the Thespian Society to have a volatile personality regardless of where it was on the spectrum, so that alone would not normally be a problem. However, this wasn’t her being dramatic and shifting through attitude because she felt like it and she could, this was because of a boy.

Gag me with a chainsaw.

Mo took a deep breath before he said something that hurt his friend in her vulnerable state, visibly restraining himself and forcing a more neutral look onto his face when he asked the only thing he could think of that really mattered to him in the end.

“Does he make you happy?”

Stella snapped out of her funk real quick. This was getting too deep for her very shallow emotional bandwidth. Was she really having this come to god conversation today of all days?

Of course he made her happy.

Right?

“Nevermind, Mo. Let’s just drop this please.” She deflected, pursing her lips. It was rare for her to be this candid, but even she had a breaking point, and that came with the evaluation of her own needs.

Ramón's emotions vacillated between shock and worry at the way his best friend was acting. Never had a boy caused his beautiful blonde bestie such confusion and self doubt. Never had Stella sounded so small, so begging, as she did when she was unable to answer his question and requested instead his discretion. His regret at getting the two together was quickly morphing from exasperation to genuine, true remorse as he took in the state that the athletic Green boy was leaving Stella in. Mo slackened the pressure of his fingers under her chin but left them there as stabilizers and he harshly bit his tongue while he began to silently resume fixing the blonde’s makeup. He was gliding a perfect, solid line to finish the point of one eye’s wing when his bedroom door was thrown open, hitting his dresser with a solid thunk and rattling all of his possessions sitting atop it. Mo jumped in his own skin and the black line shot across Stella’s temple like it was making a run for her hairline, and the small boy hissed in rage at having been shocked into a mistake, turning a blazing glare to his doorway.

“What? Look what you made me do pendejo!”

For his part, Ramón’s older brother Rio did exactly as his little brother demanded and took a few gliding steps into his room to stand in front of the teenagers, bending down and getting in Stella’s face to stare intensely at the black streak breaking up her pale skin. He maintained a serious expression for only a moment before he broke out into an amused grin and booped the blonde lightly on the nose as if she were still the child that first befriended his baby brother, holding his hand out to intercept Mo by the face as he lunged forward in protective rage. He pushed the smaller boy back into his sitting position by his face while the younger spluttered indignantly.

“I’ve seen worse done professionally for the red carpet, hermano,” Rio finally said, releasing his brother when he stopped smacking at his forearm. “Don’t be so upset, I came up here to tell you that mamá made your favorite for dinner, and even made it early since Stell’s is here. Both of you make sure to thank her for spoiling you.”

“Excuse you?” Ramón glowered in offense, getting up to try and shove his brother out of his room. “When the hell don’t we? Don’t make us seem like ungrateful brats,” He pushed harder against Rio’s back when the actor didn’t budge, grunting when the older Montoya son slumped backwards over his little brother’s body, sending them both onto the bed in a heap beside Stella. Ramón grunted in frustration and kicked his legs wildly where they were hanging off the bed, failing to wiggle out from under his brother’s torso and dead weight. “Get off you bitch!”

“But Mónie you’re being such a drag that you’ve dragged me down with you! Now I’m stuck!” Rio put a hand to his forehead and feigned a swooning noise, somehow managing to squish his brother further into the soft mattress. He looked to his left and winked at the girl that had become his third little sister before giving Mo another moment of struggle and then finally getting off the boy, standing up while Ramón scrambled to regain composure. He laughed at the look on Mo’s face before explaining. “That was from Rosa, apparently you pissed her off this morning somehow and she didn’t get a chance to get revenge. Now get your bratty asses downstairs so mamá’s work doesn’t go to waste! Stell’s, she made your favorite too.” He closed the door behind him and his footsteps retreated down the stairs, leaving the teens alone once more.

“Have you eaten today?”

You knew that Stella was in a bad mood when she didn’t even care that eyeliner had just been smeared across her face. The blonde might have jumped a smidge when Rio burst through the door, but otherwise, her face was expressionless. No anger, no frustration, just neutral. She watched as the brothers fought playfully, a small smirk pulling at the edge of her lips. She stood up, walking over to Mo’s dresser and pulling out a makeup wipe from the pack, and got to work cleaning up the mess on her face.

Stella was an only child. She was a miracle baby, her parents having struggled to conceive for many years before she came along, so siblings weren’t in the cards for her. Sometimes she was jealous that Mo had such a big and happy family (even though she knew they could be annoying as shit sometimes), but other times she simply felt thankful that she was included as one of their own and welcomed with open arms into their home. Her heart felt warm at the thought, especially given Rio’s words that their mother had cooked her favorite.

With the rogue eyeliner removed, she threw the wipe into the trash. “I had a small lunch, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hungry. But even if I wasn’t, I’d still want your mom’s cooking.”

“She would have force fed it to you even if you didn’t,” Ramón answered, despite knowing Stella was already aware of where he got many of his overbearing habits from. He got up off of his bed and made for his door, coming up beside her where she was still standing near his dresser. As annoying as his brother had been, he could see that the intrusion had helped bring back a little bit of the natural shine that had left Stella during their attempted talk. No matter how many times Ramón tried to bring it up, it always ended this way, with the talk of Ethan brushed aside in favor of something, anything, with less meaning. Mo stared at his friend for a long moment, saying nothing as he searched her gaze for something that would make this game worth it in the end. Sighing at what he found, he tried once more despite knowing it would be in vain.

“You don’t have to answer, and I’m dropping it after this so we don’t lose our appetite, but think on this,” Ramón didn’t say please or beg, but his friends could hear the implication of the word in his tone. The ones that mattered understood how he spoke. Because when people mattered to each other, they learned each other. He thought Stella knew that just as much as Ramón did. “Does he know a single one of your favorite things? And I mean personal, favorite things, not something the whole school knows about you. Again, fun is fine, but does he deserve you?”

The look on his face told her that he didn’t want an answer even if she had one. He didn’t want to upset her or tear her down, but he also wasn’t about to let her keep her head clouded with any delusions that weren’t geared towards furthering her grandeur. No one had ever made Stella act like this before, and thus this was a new part of her that even Mo had to learn, but the fashion designer had never been one to walk on eggshells even around the most sensitive of their friends, and unless she was literally moments from a complete breakdown then he figured Stella would forgive him for continuing to be himself and not coddling her.

Eventually.

“Ramón Inigo! Estella Louise!”

“Coming, mamá!” He held Stella’s gaze for one more moment, hoping she’d take the time to read him as much as he was reading her, before finally breaking contact and opening his door. As he headed out and down the stairs he paused and added over his shoulder to his best friend, “I’ll fix that eyeliner after dinner.”

The blonde let Mo’s words reverberate in her mind. Like always, his inherent wisdom was showing and he did have a point. What did Ethan actually know about her? Sure, anyone who had a pulse at BHHS knew Stella, but only a handful truly paid attention to her quirks and habits. They weren’t technically dating, but could she consider her on again, off again beau one of those people? She sat with her wandering thoughts as she followed her best friend down the stairs to the kitchen, the promise of food a welcome distraction from her crisis. Her eyeliner was the least of her concerns, but still, she nodded.

“You better,” She attempted to jab, but her tone wasn’t cooperating. Instead, she offered her best friend a solemn smile. “Thanks, Mo.”

“Don’t thank me,” Mo responded with a grossed out expression on his face, his attitude returning now that he saw Stella was actually thinking on his words and he didn’t have to go soft. “You never thank me. You never have to, dummy,” He held his hand out to Stella so they could descend the stairs together. “You just owe me the loyalty of being your sole designer and bestie for life, I think that’s a fair trade.”