Don’t know if there’s much point beating about the bush. Roxy and I broke up some time ago, and things went really, really sour between us. Roxy moved out a few days ago and has blocked me on just about everywhere. It’s pretty safe to say at this point that EtV won’t be continued.
We got a bunch of messages asking about the next chapter, and Act VII. I’m really sorry to deliver this disappointing news. It’s better for both of us to be apart and that takes precedence over a fanfiction, as sad as it is for its followers.
If you’re keen, I might put up a small summary of the things we had planned for the rest of the fic on here and/or on Ao3. Reply/reblog or send an ask if that’s something you’re interested in.
Sorry again. I hope you enjoyed the story while it lasted.
Pearl leaned back against the wall, relieved at some privacy. She carefully rolled up the leg of her trousers so she could assess the damage to her knee.
It wasn’t really telling. All she knew that it looked... normal? Did all knees look this wonky all the time? She couldn’t quite tell. But she was in pain, and it hurt more if she tried to move.
She sighed.
The candle next to her flickered again, and this time, there was no gust of wind. Pearl frowned, and then noticed to her dismay that the wick had nearly burned down; the candle was about to die, and Greg hadn’t left another one.
Well, she still had her lighter. And her phone. It was okay.
Greg padded to the edge of the neighbourhood, the next door flat appeared dark, too. His face fell as he realised the spot where the neighbours usually kept their car was vacant.
His fears were confirmed as he knocked the door, his knuckles stung as he received no answer.
"Dang. Guess I gotta make it to the other house nearby." He glanced over his shoulder and sighed as he realised he had to walk around the culdesac to get there. "Hold on, Pearl."
Back in the basement, the candle went out with a soft hiss, leaving Pearl in the dark.
She was fairly sure she’d never been in any place this dark before. She could see absolutely nothing. Her fingers were clutched around the lighter, and she fumbled in the dark.
“Ouch!”
The flame had licked her hand. “Fuck,” Pearl hissed. Well, at least she could see now. Somewhat.
Her finger was hurting, her knee was hurting. “This just keeps getting better,” she muttered to herself.
It had been a few minutes since Greg left. Pearl tried to move her leg once more – maybe she could get herself back up the stairs, where it wasn’t so suspiciously quiet and dark.
She nearly shrieked when a large shadow crossed the lighter’s flicker. Fuck, what was that? She looked around frantically, and in her panic dropped the lighter. It snapped shut, leaving her completely in the dark.
“Oh no, no no no...”
She fumbled around, found it with her fingertips, but then managed to push it away, out of reach.
She sat still for a moment, and then remembered she still had her phone. Surely that should last her until Greg came back.
It was on 2%, which was less than she’d hoped for.
Greg speedwalked to the edge of the road and slumped his shoulders as he realised the lights at his destination were off, too. As were all the ones he could now see in the distance. "That ain't good." The wind had blown his candle, too, and the lack of streetlights made it more spooky than usual. He swallowed and turned back in defeat. They'd just have to wait this out.
Pearl had barely managed to get a text out to Amethyst when her phone buzzed and shut down.
She let it slide out of her fingers, unable to hold back her tears anymore. Greg wasn’t back, and who was to say he was going to come back at all? What if he’d been hit by a car, and she was just going to rot down here? What if he decided she was too much, and had retreated to his van?
And what if her leg was actually broken, and she would have to go back into hospital? What if she wouldn’t be able to walk ever again? Would anyone even care? Would she be able to go to university? Or maybe whatever threw that shadow earlier was going to kill her here and now, and then she wouldn’t have to worry about any of that ever again –
She sobbed into her good knee, hoping and praying that at least maybe Greg would be back soon.
Greg paced back, looking around as he tried to remember to retrace his steps. This part of the neighbourhood was damningly alien to him. As he reached the door, he looked at his candle and frowned. How would he get to the basement without light? Pearl had the lighter, after all.
He sighed and turned back to the neighbourhood again, looking for a door to knock on for assistance.
A small noise got Pearl’s attention. Something was rustling, and it sounded like it was close.
She remembered the shadow passing the light earlier, and shivered.
It’s nothing, it’s nothing, there’s nothing here.
She sat, frozen, trying to stifle her sobs as she heard her heart beat in her ears and listened intently for the noise she’d just heard.
Greg had managed to attain a small flashlight from a house on the opposing street and was making his way back, rummaging his pockets for keys.
His throat went dry as he reached the front door. He'd left them on the table inside. A small, annoyed scream escaped him.
Pearl meanwhile was still holding her breath as the rustling happened again. It sounded closer this time. Her heart sped up, and she could barely choke back her sobs.
I’m gonna die down here.
And then,
Nobody’s even gonna notice or care. Everyone hates me anyway.
Greg tried to pound on the door but sighed in defeat as he realised that Pearl was hardly in a position to help him, anyway.
He took a few steps and looked around at the fence that obstructed his access to the garden. The back door might've been left unlocked, they often did so to allow Lion access into the house whenever he went into the shared garden.
Pearl could barely hear the pounding on the door over her sobs. Her shaking fingers found her phone, and she barely managed to press the power button, breathing a soft sigh of relief when it started up.
But it only stayed on for about five seconds before showing the low battery alarm and shutting down again, sending Pearl into another round of sobs.
Greg climbed over the fence, hissing as parts of it pricked at his skin and clothes. Crashing on the garden on the other side felt disorienting and painful as his thud echoed in the night. He dusted himself off and tried to find his way to the back door.
Which was also locked. He pulled his palms into fists and growled at the night sky before pausing as he swore he heard a faint cry.
"Pearl? You there?"
That, Pearl heard.
“Greg!” He was back, he hadn’t abandoned her –
He didn’t sound like he was in the house, though. “Wh-where are you?”
There was no point hiding the fact she was crying.
"In the back yard. You're... Oh yeah! The basement!" He tried to come closer to where he heard her voice. "It's got that little window that hooks up to the garden. It's open!" He tapped at the glass. "I got locked out. Of all nights to happen, huh?"
“Fuck.” Pearl leaned back. “Well, at least you’re here. I’m completely in the dark. I lost the lighter and my phone ran out of battery.”
"Oh Jesus, and here I thought I left you all safe. Alright, I'm gonna climb in through the window. I think it should be safe."
“Are you sure?” Pearl’s voice was shaky. “We can’t really deal with both of us being injured.”
"We can bond in the ER together." He said as he opened the window further and peered in, grimacing. The drop looked bigger from his position, and he swore he saw something at the bottom, but the lighting obscured his vision too much.
“Be careful, Greg!” Pearl shrieked as an almighty crash told her Greg had gone through the window.
A couple seconds passed. "Ouch..." he groaned, but Greg picked himself up. "Nothing like a paint bucket to break your fall. I'm okay. Now where's your lighter gone?"
“I... just out of reach... over there.” Pearl pointed. “Do you have your phone?”
"It doesn't emit a lot of light." He held out his brick phone. "Oh, I think I got it here. Nearly crunched it." He lit it up and held it to his candle and looked at Pearl. "Now what got you so riled up?"
Pearl looked away, trying to hide from the sudden light. “S...sorry,” she said, “it was just... really dark and kind of spooky and I’m in pain. It’s... it’s okay, though.”
It all seemed silly now, now that Greg was here and there was light.
He sat down bedside her. "Entire neighbourhood is down. Looks like it won't matter until it gets fixed. Do you want me to call someone for your leg?"
Pearl sighed. “It’s done this before. It’s usually okay after a while. Though I guess some ice might be nice. Do you think Rose keeps a freezer down here?”
"She does indeed." He gathered himself up and went to the freezer, tucked in the corner. "An ice pack, coming right up!"
Pearl almost smiled. Her tears were still drying on her cheeks. “I bet this wasn’t what you had in mind when you said you wanted to spend time with me,” she joked, half-heartedly.
"Yeah, well, at least you're not running away from me." He handed her the pack. "I don't bite, you know."
Pearl took the ice pack and rested it on her knee, sighing with immediate relief. “That’s a bit better,” she said. “Um, yeah. Uh. Sorry about that.”
"What's the deal with that? You know that we can just be friends, right?"
Pearl’s shoulders slumped. “I guess I just feel... awkward,” she said. “I mean, with Rose, and everything.” She gave a short laugh, embarrassed. “It doesn’t help that Rose has apparently told you all about me, and yet I know barely anything about you. But I guess that’s just cus I never asked.”
"I'm an open book, I'm sure you can. But it's okay if you don't care, I get that it's difficult." He sighed. "If anything, Rose just tends to tell me things when I ask her how her day's been and sometimes I need a lil context for that. I'm sorry things went the way they did between you two."
“It’s just all... weird now,” Pearl said. “I mean, she’s still my teacher, right? And we’re not, like, in a relationship, but it’s weird to think that we... could be. Like, after I finish school.” She hesitated. “I’m not all that sure I want to be.”
"Well. That's up to you two to figure out. I'm just worried about her still being able to work, that stuff from before made her so stressed. Rose was really struggling." His voice was soft, forlorn for a second. "You're still young, too. There's so much that you're going learn and grow between now and her age. It's easy to love Rose, I mean, I know I do. But you probably wanna make sure you really consider it all."
“Yeah, I guess. I’ve got my exams and stuff as well. I shouldn’t really be making my relationships a priority at this point.” Pearl’s shoulders slumped.
"Sounds like that's difficult for you." Greg sat down beside her, lighting another candle. "Do you get scared of being alone, like, if you're not dating someone?"
“I guess. And scared if I’m interested in someone, that they’re going to leave.” She sighed. “And scared that they’ll love someone else more than me. Like... Rose. With you. I guess that’s why I was avoiding you.”
"Rose never loved me more than you, Pearl." Greg found the courage to lightly touch her shoulder. "Just differently. Circumstances were tough on you both, too."
“That’s... good to know, I guess. Although I regret causing her so much stress.” Pearl sighed. “I can’t believe I nearly got her fired. That wasn’t okay.”
"No, it really wasn't. I mean, it's a complex thing. She messed up by overstepping her boundaries as a teacher, too, and that was her responsibility. It's just a miracle she's been able to keep her job." Greg sighed. "If it's worth anything, she said she's never going to date another student again."
“Well, that’s... good, I guess.” Pearl frowned. “I don’t know how to feel about that. I mean, it’s her dumb tendency to get too close to students that got us into this in the first place. But also... I really don’t know where I’d be if she hadn’t gotten involved. I might not even be around anymore.”
"I'm sure she knows how grateful you are. She just wanted you to be okay. I don't think she's ever going to stop trying to help people, but I think her learning from this is important, too."
“Yeah.” Pearl sighed. “Well, anyway. I know like nothing about you. How did you meet her?”
"I was busking back when I was living in my truck. She found me and we hit it off, and I got a place to crash at." Greg smiled, a look of warm gratitude in his eyes, illuminated by candlelight. "First truly healthy relationship I ever had."
“You were... homeless,” Pearl said softly. “I guess that explains why you moved in so quickly. She’s... she’s amazing, isn’t she.”
"I kept telling her to trust me a little less! Who knows what I could've been? Sometimes I get the feeling she trusts too much." Greg looked at her. "Too easily, yanno?"
“Yeah, I suppose. I feel like I manipulated her a lot, even though I probably didn’t mean it. I’m glad she’s so trusting, though. There’s not a lot of people like that.”
Pearl tried to move. “Ugh, my leg is still really sore. I kind of want to get out of this basement, though.”
"I can still help you up these stairs if you'll let me carry you." He offered, looking at the swelling on her leg. "Doesn't look like I can get you out otherwise without calling emergency services."
“...I don’t want that, for all sorts of reasons.” Pearl swallowed. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
"Only if you're totally comfortable. I know we're not really friends, and that's okay, too. I just want to make sure you don't sleep in a grimy basement floor." He got up and looked at the candles. "I'll need light. Can you hold them?"
“I can try.” Pearl took one of the candles. “Maybe just one of them. Should we, uh, put out the others? Just in case whatever’s in here knocks them over and starts a fire or something.”
He tentatively put his arm around her torso, and then slid the other one as her body lifted off the floor. He tried to keep his touches conservative, mindful. "Got the candle?"
“Yeah, I got it.” Pearl was cradling it, careful not to let the wax spill. “This will be an adventure,” she said weakly. “Right, let’s get upstairs.”
Greg groaned as he pushed up with his legs and lifted Pearl up and took a few steps. "Good thing you're so light, huh?"
"Heh, yeah," Pearl said, smiling uneasily. "Think we can make it?"
"Should do. I just gotta make sure I keep all weight shifted on my front so we don't fall over backwards, but you're pretty secure." He began to wobble a bit from the strain as they slowly neared the midway point.
Pearl felt the wobble and held on to Greg tighter. "You sure this is a good idea?"
"We don't have much other choice," he replied. "I'm not leaving ya down there."
Pearl fell silent, clinging on for dear life. Not far now.
It was as if Greg could read her mind. "Just a couple more steps." He then took a sharp breath as his legs lurched and he caught himself before falling back. He stood still for a second, eyes wide, illuminated by candlelight.
Pearl let out a small shriek, then breathed heavily as Greg readjusted. "We ok?"
Greg nodded, feeling Pearl's terror as her fragile body breathed heavily. He began to hum gently as he steadied himself and took a cautious step up. Three left.
The humming was strangely calming. Pearl felt herself relaxing a little. We’re okay. It’s gonna be ok.
He was slower now, still humming as he brought her up, and soon only one step was left. "I'm going to put you down on the floor. I don't want to take risks. You okay with that?"
"Yeah, that's fine. Ready." Pearl gave him a nod.
He placed her down and breathed a sigh of relief, carefully stepping over her and opening the door. He leaned over. "Doing good?"
"Yeah, I think so." Pearl sat up, tried to move her leg. It was not as painful as it had been before. "Might be able to walk, if you help me."
"Sure. Can you get up on your own now?" he asked, bending down to offer support.
"Maybe." Pearl heaved, shifted her weight, tried to find something to hold on to.
"You can put your hand here." He gestured to his shoulder. "I'll support you."
Pearl grabbed his shoulder and somehow managed to hoist herself up onto her feet.
Well, foot. She tried putting weight onto her bad leg, still holding on to Greg's shoulder.
"Ouch."
He grabbed the candle, illuminating the corridor. "We just need to make it to the living room and you can sit on the sofa." The house was still pitch black. "Still sure you don't want me to call someone?"
"No, it'll be fine," Pearl said. "It's already better than it was." She shuffled along. "Reckon the electricity will be back soon?"
"God knows. I just hope it's at least before Rose comes back."
"Still, that could be weeks," Pearl said. "Do you know what she's up to, exactly? Is she still in hospital? I haven't heard much."
"No idea. I've got a real bad feeling about it all, though." He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yeah, tell me about it. Aurora is still really freaked out about the whole thing."
"Oh, she's the one who bonked the principal?" he asked as they made it to the living room.
Pearl laughed. "Well, yeah. Though they're an official item now."
"Oh! Good for them." Greg pulled the throw off of the sofa and made a space for Pearl. "Do you think we should elevate it?"
Pearl moved her leg up onto the sofa. "Might be a good idea. It's still sore." She then glanced at Greg before quickly looking away. "Thank you," she said softly.
Greg gave a tired shrug as he fetched a few cushions to stack. "Just making sure you're okay. "
"I'll be fine." Pearl gave a sigh. "Uh, so, what now? We can't really... watch things or make food while the electricity is gone."
"Hm. Guess we could always have some cereal. That milk is gonna need to be used up quick if there ain't any refrigeration." Greg paused and then nearly stumbled backwards as the lights flickered twice and suddenly came back on. He winced from the sudden brightness. "Hey! Wouldya look at that?"
Pearl let out a surprised gasp, and then a relieved laugh. "Well, there we go," she said. "Let's hope it lasts."
Greg looked down at her leg. "Ooh man, yeah lemme get ice for that." He looked around the room. "I think you also wanted to charge your phone, yeah?"
"Please! Is there a charger down here?" Pearl sat slightly more upright. "Or I could see if I can make it up the stairs to get my charger from my room."
"I wouldn't move too much until we've iced that." Greg handed over a charger and a plug. "You don't wanna make it any worse."
"Ah, thanks." Pearl plugged in her dead phone. "I think it feels better already. You know, sometimes I think I'm just overly dramatic."
"Naw, I heard you scream and from what Rose said, it sounds like a reoccurring kind of injury. Happened to my leg after I broke it, it's been a while since it's been bad but I remember it. You should take it easy." He padded over to the kitchen. "I'll make us some tea."
"Thank you." Pearl sat and felt like she could breathe again now that the light was back on.
Another thing was different. She didn't feel the compulsive need to be alone in her room, away from Greg.
Huh.
"Did you say you had some boardgames or something?" she called out to Greg in the kitchen.
As the line clicked, the lights flickered again. As if on cue, Pearl's phone buzzed, warning her that she only had 5% battery left.
"Oh boy," she said, more to herself, and got her charger. She plugged it in and then awkwardly sat on the floor next to the plug, since she wasn't really going to abandon her phone.
Hope Rose is okay.
She decided to text Amethyst.
Hey, you up to much?
Amethyst took a couple of minutes to respond.
Ya, just finished up looking over notes. I'm free now, tho
Awesome! Proud of you! Do you want to call? The lights over here keep flickering and I'm a bit spooked, wouldn't mind some company.
Aw, yea, sure. I'm here for you. Just lemme know when.
About now, if that's okay?
Amethyst called her then, "Hey," she said as Pearl picked up. "You'll never guess where I've actually been all day."
"Hey! So, where have you been all day? At home, studying, by any chance?"
"Well, I spent half of it at school. Lazuli ran some English revision session thing she emailed me about, and no one else showed up. It was actually... really good? I was even sober for it. She's caught me high before."
"Oh hey, that's really good! Was it productive? Who knew Lazuli had it in her to be actually helpful," Pearl said, laughing, slightly embarrassed - since it was a studying session she'd missed, and in fact, hadn't even known about.
"Yeah! It was insane! She even rapped at me in iambic parameter, which was weird as hell but surprisingly... helpful? Anyway, I was real surprised you didn't show up."
"Yeah, I... must've missed the email," Pearl said, putting the phone on speaker and navigating to the email app. "Wait, I can't even see if I got it at all. Could be in spam? I don't know." Her phone flashed another warning at her as the lights went out. Pearl gasped, but a split second later, the lights came on again. "Oh god. The lights are doing the thing again. There isn't gonna be actual demons here, is there? Also, my phone is running low on battery, so that's fun."
"NOOO! You said! What's happening over there? Is Quartz's place haunted?"
"I don't know." Pearl shuddered. "I hope not. Like, I don't really... believe in ghosts and all that supernatural shit. And this didn't happen yesterday."
"Huh. Maybe something is up with your lightbulb. Get that guy you're living with to take a look if he's good with that kinda stuff?"
Pearl hesitated for a long moment.
"Uh. I haven't... really talked to Greg yet. It's kinda really awkward."
"What? But, dude! You live with him. He's okay. Quartz likes him so he's got to be safe and everything, right?"
Pearl's shoulders slumped. "I guess," she said. "It's just... weird, ya know? I mean, me and Rose used to be... dating, I guess."
"So? That doesn't mean you can't try and get along. I get along with Quartz, don't I? And we... did things, I guess?"
"Well, yeah, but she's your teacher! Our teacher. I don't know. Ugh." Pearl sighed. "Are you suggesting I should go talk to him about my superstitions?"
"Or ask him to look at the fuse box. Dude, how are you planning to survive living at uni?"
"Well, hopefully by not sharing a place with someone who's involved with someone I got history with."
"Hm. You never know. But seriously. Just go talk to him. The man looks like a living teddy bear."
"Hmpf. Maybe later. What are you up to now?"
"Oh, just chilling out now I'm done studying. And talking to you, obviously," Amethyst said. "Really looking forward to that party that's coming up, been feeling like a total recluse."
"Oh yeah! It'll be great! Have you heard much from everyone?"
"Nothing more than the group chat. I'll have to try and pay Ruby back since they're gonna get us that pizza."
"Oh, pizza sounds nice. That reminds me, I should think about dinner quite soon."
"That's a good idea. You've been eating enough, right?"
"Yeah," Pearl said. It wasn't even a lie. "I've been making sure I don't fall into old patterns again."
"Oh, P! You're doing good, you've been looking better recently, too. We should meet up soon."
"Please," Pearl said. "Are you around tomorrow?"
"Should be, after the exam?"
"Yeah, deffo! Though I might want to see Lazuli at some point as well," Amethyst replied. "You could tag along and get lunch after?"
"Yeah, that sounds good! I should probably go, though. I'll text you?"
"Sure thing!" Amethyst seemed jubilant at the prospect. "It would be nice to go with you somewhere a little more classy at some point."
"Oh... that can be arranged." Pearl smiled. "I'll have a look and pick a place. See you tomorrow!"
"Alright! See ya!"
Pearl hung up, and checked her phone: 4% - it was charging, but the phone call had drained more battery than could be regained in this short a time.
She sighed and put down the phone. Probably time to do something that didn't require her phone. Hey, hadn't Rose mentioned something about books?
Pearl had a look at the shelves, examining Rose's extensive collection of books - not just school books and non-fiction, but a load of fiction as well. Heavy books. Pearl frowned, reached out to grab one of the books.
And then, the lights went out.
Pearl gasped, froze in place for several seconds, expecting the light to go back on, like it had before.
It didn't.
"Okay," she said, "well, shit. Uh."
Her phone was emitting a small amount of light, so Pearl went towards it, and saw that it wasn't charging anymore. So it was all the electricity, not just the lights.
And her best bet was that the entire house was affected, not just her room.
Meanwhile, Greg had been preparing himself dinner in the kitchen below. Soup was simmering in the hob in a small soup pan. He made a noise of surprise as the lights all switched off, noticing that the gas in the oven was still lighting the room. He glanced out of the window but couldn't see if the neighbours had also been affected.
He clumsily waded to the staircase, tripping over a chair. "Pearl?"
Pearl heard. "Fuck!" she whispered under her breath.
Well, this wasn't really how she would have wanted to encounter Greg.
She opened the door to the corridor, carefully made her way to the stairs. "I'm here," she said. "You ok?"
"Yeah, I was just making sure you weren't too freaked out! Power outage, huh? I can go and check if the block is affected."
Pearl clutched her phone, hesitant to use it for light since the battery was so low. "Yeah, sounds like a plan," she said. "Uh, Rose said you know where the fuse box is? I can, er, check that out?"
"The basement." Greg swallowed, awkward. "It's down there. I, uh, should do it..." There was an odd pang of anxiety in his voice.
Pearl picked up on it. "I can do it," she said, "I've got my phone. Do you know if there's any torches or candles around?"
"Uh, I can look. I think Rose keeps scented ones in her bedroom." Greg rubbed his chin. "Oh yeah! she got them out when-" He looked at Pearl, pausing as his eyes widened.
Pearl caught his drift, and her shoulders slumped a little bit. “Well, I guess if they’re good enough for that, they’re good enough for lighting the house during an outage,” she said, trying not to let her bitterness bleed into her voice. “You can get those if you want, I’ll try to find the switchboard in the basement.”
"I have no idea where she keeps the matches. You don't happen to smoke, do ya?" He scratched his head. "If you had a light, it would be ideal."
Pearl glanced at him, feeling caught out. “I... should have a lighter here somewhere,” she muttered, and then handed it over. Her zippo. “I want it back, though,” she said. “Uh, good luck?”
"Oh, bad girl." Greg chucked. "Thanks, I'll join ya when I get the candles going."
Pearl turned wordlessly and tried to navigate her way through the dark house. She didn’t dare touch her phone in case she needed it more later.
She felt her way around the hallway, and ran into a solid mass. “Ow! Shit!”
Greg heard the cursing as he waded to Rose's room, hands carefully outstretched to guide him. "You okay?" He yelled, hoping to be heard.
“Yeah, I’m good, just ran into a... thing,” she called back. It looked like a small cabinet, positioned just next to a door.
“Oh, I guess I found it,” Pearl muttered to herself as she opened the door to face an impossibly even darker basement.
She felt her way forward, felt for a handrail on the stairs.
Greg shuffled around the room, opening shelves beside the bed. He closed his eyes, muttering. "Think... Universe, think. Where were they when she tied you u- Oh!" He glanced beside him, and opened a small cabinet door, with an array of familiar candles inside. "Gotcha!"
Just then there was an almighty crash as Pearl tripped and fell down the last remaining steps.
“Fuck!”
Okay, her knee had been a bit sore after she ran into the cabinet. But now it was really hurting, and Pearl wasn’t sure she was going to be able to move.
Greg didn't quite hear it as he lit the candle, allowing a sharp yelp as the flame hit his thumb. But, he was successful in his venture, the warm glow licking his face.
"I'm coming! Got the candles!" He yelled as he made his way to the stairs.
“Careful on the stairs,” Pearl called out, shifting. “Ow. Fuck.”
He heard Pearl's cursing this time, but frowned as he slowed down. He glanced to the bottom of the stairwell. "Hey, you alright there, Pearl?"
“Uh, I may have fallen down the stairs,” she said through her teeth. “My knee fucking hurts.”
Greg treaded down, carefully peering over her. He gave a little gasp. "Oh geeze, oh man, are you gonna need to go to see someone? Here, can you hold a candle?"
Pearl was grateful for the light. She took the candle from Greg and put it down next to her. “Just don’t stumble over it,” she said. “Uh.” She touched her knee, pulled a face, and tried to move it. “Ow, ow, ow,” she said, but found that it was not impossible. “On the plus side, I don’t think anything’s broken.”
"Alright." Greg nodded. "Do you want me to take a look?"
Pearl turned her face. “No, it should be okay, but thanks. Uh, you could find the fusebox?”
"Sure thing. I think I can see it over there." He tried to make it over, holding his own candle out. "I'll see if any of the switches are down."
“Okay.” Pearl held her knee. “Ugh, I hope I haven’t busted my knee again.”
"Me too. It was real bad last time, right?" Greg opened the box and glanced inside, frowning. "That's not good."
Pearl looked at him. “Did Rose... tell you about all that?” She then frowned. “What’s up with the fusebox?”
"Well, yeah, I asked. I was interested in her relationship with you." Greg shrugged as he turned around. "None of the switches are down like I thought they'd be. It might be a bigger problem we might need to wait out." He fiddled with the switches. "Nope. Shit."
Pearl watched, frowned. "You sure you're not breaking anything over there?"
She wasn't quite sure how to feel about the fact that Rose and Greg had talked about her. About their relationship.
"Yeah, this is how I usually do it. I think it might be better if we got upstairs and I went to check out the rest of the street."
"Okay. Well." Pearl tried to move her leg, grimaced. "I don't know if I'll be able to move. I, uh, I can stay here while you check what's going on outside?"
"You sure? I could try calling an ambulance, too."
“No!” Pearl said reflexively. “I – I mean,” she hastily added, “I’m sure it’s okay, I’ll be fine, this is more important.”
"I don't want to leave you here all alone, Pearl." Greg rubbed at his neck. "Not in the basement."
Pearl found her shoulders slumping a bit. “You don’t need to be worried about me.”
"Yeah? Well I am. Do you really want to be stuck down here with barely any light?"
Pearl sighed. “I’ll be okay! I’m sure it’s just a temporary thing. And there’s candles here, and you could, I don’t know, leave the lighter just in case? We need to know what’s going on, surely that’s more important than me being in the basement.”
"Alright." Greg swallowed. "If you're sure."
“Yeah I’m sure. I’ve still got my phone as well.” Pearl finally looked at him and tried to give him a reassuring smile. “It’s fine, go on.”
Greg carried himself to the stairs, nervously looking over his candle. "Text me if anything goes wrong, okay?"
“Sure.” Pearl was fairly sure she didn’t have his number, but she probably wouldn’t need it. “It’s fine.”
"Alrighty." He began to ascend, "I'll see you in ten and let you know if there's any news."
“Okay! Uh, have fun!” She didn’t really know why she said that.
A gust of air came from the door to the basement as Greg left, and the candle next to Pearl flickered.
Greg swiftly made it out of the house, grabbing a brown jacket and closing the door after giving the direction of the basement a small look. "Hope you'll be okay, bud." She had to be, right?
Pairing: Yellow Pearl/Yellow Diamond, Rose Quartz/Pearl, Rose/Greg
Rating: Mature
Warnings/Tags: none for this chapter
CHAPTER 23: Stir Crazy
In the middle of the night, Aurora’s phone rang.
It did so silently, without even the vibrations, the light barely enough to wake up anyone.
In due time, it stopped. Then, a few minutes later, it rung again. Again, to no avail.
Finally, a text.
Aurora, this is Azure. Marigold is in hospital. Please call me when you get this.
Aurora awoke around half six that morning, and turned to face her phone. She noticed the text and glanced at the message overlayed on her lock screen.
Her throat seized, a deep, uncomfortable pit evolving in her belly. It took her a few reads to process before she picked up the phone and rang the number it had come from, her hand trembling.
The line clicked.
"Aurora?" Azure's voice on the other side sounded like she had been crying.
"Hey. It's been a while." Aurora heard her own voice crack, unable to control it. She felt as if her body were five feet away from her consciousness. Her phone barely registered in her hand.
Throat dry, she wasn't entirely sure what to even say. "I. I got your text."
"Oh. Yeah." Azure swallowed. "Yeah. Marigold and Rose are both in hospital. I'm waiting to hear what actually happened... as far as I'm aware, they're both okay. I mean, going to be okay. But still..." She fell silent.
Aurora consciously knew she should've breathed a sigh of relief, but the anxiety didn't leave. "I see. I'm glad to hear that they're... safe, at least. I didn't expect something to happen this soon..."
"Me neither." Azure sighed. "I just... I wanted you to know. I know you and Marigold are close, and I felt you'd want to know of any developments. I'm sorry you had to wake up to this."
"No, I'm glad. I'm glad told me. Thank you." Aurora still felt disassociated, her head spinning. "Are you alright?"
"I'll be alright once they are home safe." Azure's voice hardened a little. "Are you? If you need any emotional support, I can let Blue know to look after you."
"No, I know she's very busy these days." Aurora sighed, "I just want to hear Marigold's voice right now more than anything."
“...I understand.” Azure sighed. “You can feel free to call her, though I don’t know if she’ll be awake or able to answer your call. She hasn’t answered mine, though that could be for a number of reasons.”
Aurora slumped at this. "Oh. I see. I suppose I'll just have to wait. You'll keep me updated, won't you?"
“Of course, Aurora. Are you doing okay... apart from all this?”
“That’s good to hear. I’m sorry, again, for making you wake up to this.” Azure sighed again. “I’ll call you if there’s any developments.”
"Alright, thank you. I hope you have a good day."
“You too.”
And with that, Azure hung up.
Aurora felt her cheeks become wet, and took a hitched breath as she placed her phone away. It was going to be a long day.
It wasn’t until much later, less than an hour had passed, that Aurora’s phone rang again.
Marigold.
Aurora had been watching a makeup tutorial video on how to cover up a blotchy red face when she felt the phone in her hand vibrate. The second she saw the name, she swiped.
She swiped the wrong way and hung up as her fingers twitched. "Fuck!"
Marigold, thousands of miles away, stared at the phone. Had Aurora just hung up on her?
She couldn't bring herself to call again immediately.
And so, Aurora did. "Come on, come on..." She nervously found her call log and returned the phone call.
"Oh!" Marigold uttered a sound of surprise, and answered the phone. "Hello? Aurora?"
"Marigold! Oh, God, your voice! Are you okay?"
"Oh, Rori. You already heard?"
"Azure messaged me. You should call her, too, if you haven't already. She sounded rough."
Marigold fell silent for a long moment.
"I... don't know if I want to do that yet."
"Oh. Well. What... what happened?"
Again, silence. Then, Marigold cleared her throat.
"Rose and I did something incredibly stupid and we both got hurt. But it's okay, we will be out in a few days. I needed some stitches, but I'll be just fine soon enough."
Aurora sat for a bit, mouth agape. "Did... did you find that woman? Did she do something to you?"
"Yes. And sort of. Not really."
"Can you... tell me what happened?"
Marigold sighed. "I... can try," she said. "Basically, she's been seen at this casino. Rose got a little drunk over dinner and suggested we go check it out. Without any preparation or kit. And Roxy was there. Of course she was."
"Oh. Oh gosh." Aurora found herself touching her face. "You're both safe?"
"We're in hospital. She, uh, kind of shot at us."
Aurora's blood ran cold. "She what?"
Marigold belatedly realised how that sounded. "No! That didn't come out right. She didn't shoot at us, but a glass panel behind us. Like, she didn't mean to kill us, I'm sure."
Aurora's expression shifted several times. "She did... what?" she repeated, processing.
"She, uh. Shot at a window, instead of us. Well, a glass panel. Part of a fountain display, not going to lie, it was really corny and I hated it from the moment I walked in here. So, all in all, not a huge loss." Marigold laughed nervously.
Aurora sat in silence for a bit. "She... you sounded like you knew you were going to be safe when you left."
Marigold heard the tremble in Aurora’s voice. Her heart clenched. “Aurora... look, I didn’t quite know what was or wasn’t going to happen. I said what I thought would reassure you.”
Aurora frowned. "So you... lied to me?"
“No!” Marigold bristled at the accusation. “No. I just... maybe said some things that weren’t necessarily entirely true...” Oh. “Um.”
Aurora closed her eyes, trying to control her tone. "It doesn't matter. You're safe, both of you? Can you come home?"
“We’re safe, yeah. And... I don’t know.” Marigold grimaced. “I haven’t talked to Azure yet.”
"You should. She deserves to hear that you're okay."
There was only silence from the other end of the line.
"Marigold... Your guilt is showing." Aurora teased, but her voice still sounded rough. "Please. It isn't safe. Come back."
Marigold let a few seconds pass, then cleared her throat. “I... don’t know if I can do that,” she said. “I’ll have to... we’ll have to figure out how to go from here. Aurora... Rori, I’m so sorry.”
Aurora sighed. "Figures. Oh well. Maybe a bad time to ask, but have you considered the statement the staff requested? About the homophobia?"
“Oh.” Marigold had, in fact, entirely forgotten about that. “No, I haven’t. I’ll put it on my to do list.”
"Please. If it's not too much. People are noticing your disappearance."
There are so many good reasons to just throw the towel and go home.
“I’ll definitely give it some thought. I... will let you know what’s happening.” Marigold sighed. “I should get going now.”
"Alright. I'll see you... later?"
“Maybe.” Marigold felt like there were words stuck in her throat. “I... uh. See you around.”
"Yeah. See you. I miss you a lot."
Marigold hung up with a sigh.
It was getting light outside, and in the other bed in the dim hospital room, Rose finally stirred, slowly regaining consciousness.
Marigold glanced to her side, distress enveloping her every time she gazed upon the cuts littering Rose. They both now sported a few stitches and tape, covering welts from the glass. "Hey, you waking up alright there?"
Rose blinked, registering the unfamiliar room, the pain from her wounds, and Marigold’s voice.
She groaned. “Fuck. I’m still alive, aren’t I?”
"It seems to be that way. Unless this is hell." Marigold chuckled bitterly. "We're both safe, just cosmetic damage. The doctors got most of the glass out while we were asleep."
“Oh. Oh.” Rose got up slowly, rubbed her forehead. “Fuck. Roxy got away, didn’t she? Fuck. Marigold, what were we thinking?”
"I'll be honest, I have no idea. That entire day is nearly blocked out of my mind," Marigold replied, quiet. Her fingers twirled. "Oh, I feel so embarrassed by all this. I've caused so much mess already, and now she knows we're tracking her, too."
Rose sat up in her bed, thinking.
“You’ve already called Azure, right?”
Marigold didn't reply. She only turned her head, slowly, grimacing and met Rose's eyes.
Rose raised her eyebrows in utter disbelief.
“You haven’t? Marigold!”
"Listen. I. I feel so much shame over all of this."
Rose could only just stop herself from rolling her eyes. “Yeah, well, get over it. We fucked up, and now we have to confess to Azure. I would be surprised if she hadn’t already tried to get through to us.”
Marigold laughed weakly, and held her phone up, showing it to Rose. "Read it and weep."
Rose narrowed her eyes.
(5) Missed calls from Azure.
“Give me that.” She snatched Marigold’s phone out of her hands. “I’ll call her, then.”
"Wait, no, hold on!" Marigold grabbed for it. "I'll do it. She'll think it's weird if it's you."
“So do it, then.” Rose gave her her phone, along with a steely glare. “No more procrastinating.”
Marigold dialled. "Alright. I can't believe I just faced a near death experience and you're making my strain myself. Rude and uncalled for."
“Yeah, well, you’re not the only one. Get on it. And put it on speaker, will you?”
The phone rang, and for a long moment, it seemed like maybe Azure wasn’t going to answer after all.
But then the line clicked. “Marigold! Thank god, finally! Are you okay?”
"Yes, I'm sorry it took so long to get a hold of us. Rose is here too, she's awake now, you're on speakerphone."
“Rose! Thank god. Are you okay? Are you both okay? Are you traumatised? Are you hurt?”
Marigold took a deep breath. "We had some damage. Roxy shot up this water feature, totally unnecessary, that was made out of glass and that's what hit us. We're both due to leave as soon as the police get done with investigating us. We might, um, need a lawyer, I don't think the, uh, casino is too pleased."
Azure let out a groan. “Okay, well, I’ll get that sorted. In the meantime, why don’t you tell me what happened? From the beginning.”
"Alright, so. After the call with you, we got stressed out, so we went out for dinner. And then, um, one of us was a bit intoxicated and we thought it was a good idea to go to the casino."
Azure was speechless for a moment.
“For clarification,” Rose piped up, “the intoxicated one was me. I’m sorry.”
“Okay.” Azure’s voice sounded a bit shaky. “Okay. You... did take your kit with you, right?”
"Um. Well, you see. We intended only to go out for dinner." Marigold swallowed.
“I... see.” Azure sighed. “So then what happened?”
"And then... Um. The casino. Just happened."
“Can you clarify?”
“We only wanted to scout it out,” Rose said. “We just wanted to have a look around. We didn’t expect her to be there. Except... she was.”
"I mostly just wanted to leave,” Marigold said. “I can't remember much of it."
“You were stuck at the slots for half an hour,” Rose threw in, glancing at Marigold.
"I have a problem, okay?"
“You told me you used to have a problem,” Rose said sharply.
“Okay, okay, that’s enough of that,” Azure interjected. “So then what happened?”
"I can barely remember. The fire alarm went off at some point, though." Marigold rubbed at her forehead.
Rose swallowed. “We spotted her, and tried to catch her out. But she created a disturbance... and she shot at us, and got away.”
"I. It's not like that." Marigold waved her hands, "I don't think she wanted to shoot us directly. She looked scared."
“She shot at you? Allah!” Azure sounded like she was about to faint. “Marigold, Rose, are you okay? You must be traumatised!”
Marigold was quiet for a second. "She didn't shoot at us. Just in our direction. She didn't intend to kill us. She just wanted to run."
Rose snorted. “Marigold still wants to believe the best in her. I’m not buying it. She aimed badly.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Azure said, “the point is that you could’ve gotten seriously injured – or worse! And it’s only through luck that you didn’t! What was I thinking, sending you both... you should come home.”
"No!" Marigold exclaimed, shame bleeding into her voice. "That's not necessary. We came all this way and found her, I'm sure she was just terrified. I'm sure we can also figure this out. I owe it to Claire."
Azure sighed. “Okay, if you’re that desperate to stay. What do you think, Rose?”
“Well,” Rose said, “we got so close this once. I still want to take her down. I’m sure we can do it. If... if we’re not stupid about it this time.”
Marigold sighed in relief. It seemed the mission was still on. "I refuse to fail, Azure. You know that. Has there been any news or other sightings while we were out?"
“No sightings. But the police aren’t best pleased, as I’m sure you can imagine. They want you out of their hair.” Azure sighed. “Whatever happens next, you need to lay low for a while.”
“Oh, and what’s the plan for that?”
Marigold looked away. "Indeed. I refuse to stay here for much longer."
"Well, you still have the rooms in the hotel. Stay there for now, and I'll figure something out," Azure said. "I have a few things planned - you'll actually meet my lawyer properly soon. You know, the one who brought you your kit?"
"She really doesn't want to be involved," Rose said, apprehensive.
"Yeah, but she has to be now. You're in some legal trouble from the casino, and she also needs to help you out with the language, and generally look after you a bit."
"We don't need to be babysat just because we got shot towards." Marigold huffed, crossing her arms. "I don't want to feel like a liability like that."
"I assure you, it isn't like that. Although, after the stunt you just pulled, I can see why you'd get that impression." Azure gave a dark chuckle. "She's my representative and will be acting as a third member of your party. She doesn't want to be involved, but she has personal stakes in this as well. You see, her and Marina are good friends."
"Oh. It would explain why she didn't want to touch this." Marigold nodded, and then sighed again. "Alright. What's going to happen to us, then? I take it that plans have changed a little now that we've bumped into Roxy."
"Just a little. I am not clear yet on the actual proceedings. You're not involved with Interpol anymore, at least for the moment. And I have half a mind to send you on a spa day, since you've gone through what sounds like quite a traumatic experience."
"You can't be serious," Rose said.
Marigold gave a cheeky smirk. "Oh, I've not been to one in years. I couldn't imagine what the ones around here are like."
"I am quite serious, Rose," Azure said. "There's one that has excellent reviews just down the road from your hotel - in the exact opposite direction of the casino. I might see if I can organise some counselling sessions as well for the two of you - you must be absolutely rattled."
Marigold gritted her teeth. "That won't be necessary. There wasn't anything traumatic about bumping into an old friend."
"I don't really think I want to even start processing any of this just yet," Rose said, her voice cold. "I function better when I'm firmly in denial. I'll do the breaking down and therapy bit when I'm back home, thank you very much."
"As you wish." Azure sighed again. "I'll leave you be for now. Zephyrine will be there in a few hours. Catch up with your folks at home if you want, get some rest, don't leave the room until you've heard from me or Zephyrine."
"A few hours?" Marigold groaned. "Can either of you hurry it up and get us out of here fast? I don't like being all cooped up."
"Well, deal with it. It's out of my hands. Don't do anything stupid."
"I mean, we did only just get here," Rose said. "I don't know what sort of injuries you've sustained, but I think I wouldn't mind being looked at by a doctor before I just up and leave."
"Yes, that too, of course," Azure said. "Well! I have to go now. Keep me in the loop - although I have other sources as well, and I'll know if you do anything."
Marigold looked at the ground miserably. "Alright. We'll see you later, then. Or talk later, I guess. Miss you."
“Miss you too. Well, bye for now.” The line clicked.
Rose sighed.
“Well, I guess we now know for sure that our little excursion to the casino was a terrible idea,” she said.
And then, she added, “I should call home. Don’t know whether Azure has let Greg or Pearl know about anything, but from the radio silence I’ve had, I’m guessing no.”
Marigold stayed quiet for a second before nodding. "Alright. I might head to the bathroom and see if I can find anyone to let us out soon, it should give you some privacy."
Rose gave her a wry smile. “Thank you,” she said.
She waited until Marigold had left the room, then took her phone and dialled Greg.
Greg picked up after a tone. His voice sounded somewhat relieved. "Rose! Oh god, it's good to hear from ya! I thought you'd gone missing when you didn't check in. Having a good trip?"
Rose swallowed.
“Well, I suppose so,” she said. “I guess the good news is that we found Roxy. ...the bad news is that we’re in hospital now, but only with some minor injuries. Expecting to be discharged later today.”
Greg paused for a brief second. "Holy balls! How did you land yourself there? Are you okay?"
“Yeah, we’re fine. It’s all just gotten...” Rose sighed, wishing she’d filled in Greg a little more before leaving. “A bit more complicated than expected,” she finally said. “I had hoped this would be over quickly, but I might be here for a while. Try not to worry too much, though – I’m sure it will all be okay.”
"A-Alright, my love, I'll just uh, sit tight, I guess. Lemme know when you're out, alright?" He seemed to be trying to calm himself down more than her. "It's a shame I can't join you in all this dangerous magical destiny stuff. It sounds... exciting? Terrifying? Just... make it back okay, okay?"
“Of course.” Rose smiled, her heart aching a little. Greg had such a sweet, unassuming way of dealing with things. “I’ll keep you in the loop. How’s everything going at home? Have you had the chance to bond with Pearl yet?”
A weary sigh. "No. I think she's, uh, left me alone. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was actively avoiding me!" A little laugh, he wasn't taking it too badly, at least. "I'm sure she's bound to come round, I mean, she can't escape me forever, right? You know how teenage girls can get, I'll give her the space to come to me first. I still don't really know why she always seems to be... mad at me, but she's got to have more going on beneath the surface, so I can't judge."
Rose’s shoulders slumped a little at that. It would be so, so lovely if Pearl and Greg could get on. But Pearl... even after all her growth, her therapy, her recovery, she still had so many complicated feelings. And Greg, well, poor Greg was certainly not going to be in Pearl’s good books, exactly.
“Give her time,” Rose said. “I’ll give her a call separately in a moment. She’s probably feeling awkward because of, well. Our history.”
"I figured. Hey, it's okay, I think she just needs to find out that I'm not a threat. I just want to be friends, and I know my intentions are good. And she'll get that in her own time."
Rose smiled. “You’re a good person, Greg,” she said. “I’m sure everything will work out.”
"Me, too. I mean, at least with whatever's going on there you've got the security of knowing we're all safe over here and that it's not going to change."
“Yeah,” Rose said softly. “Look after yourself, okay? I should go. It’s nice to hear your voice, though.”
"Yeah. Same here. Do keep Pearl updated too, unless ya want me to...?" He seemed awkward about the idea as his voice trailed off.
"No, that's okay, I'll call her myself. I know it's a bit awkward at the moment, so I'll handle it." Rose's voice was warm. "I need to go now. I love you."
"Love ya. All the best to the rest of your mission," Greg replied before hanging up, leaving Rose in her silence.
Rose stared at her phone for a little while, then gave a small sigh.
Marigold hadn't returned yet. Rose found Pearl's number in her contacts and dialled.
Pearl picked up after a couple of rings. "Hi! Are you okay? Rori sent me a couple of weird texts about you."
"Oh. Did she now? Well, yeah. I'm okay. We... got injured, and we're in hospital, but nothing is serious and we're leaving this afternoon."
Pearl gave a little gasp. "Oh! I mean... I'm glad you're getting out soon. Can you tell me what happened, or?"
Rose hesitated. "I'd rather not go into too much detail," she said, "but I'm sure you can gather that we found Roxy, and it wasn't exactly a happy reunion."
"Oh. God. Honestly, I'm glad I've never met this woman and probably never will. She sounds like the epitome of bad news."
"Yeah, she kind of is." Rose sighed. "How's everything going at home?"
"Ugh. Awkward, to be honest. Your Greg seems to enjoy trying to breathe down my neck."
"Is he doing that?" Rose frowned. "I talked to him earlier, and he just seemed to be keen to get to know you. He likes making friends, and he's curious about you."
"I'm good," Pearl replied through gritted teeth. "I think I'm more comfortable with it all when you're around to mediate."
"There isn't much to mediate, is there?" Rose said gently. "He's not done anything to warrant that and neither have you, or is there something I don't know about?"
"No, no, nothing like that." Pearl seemed a little flustered. "I don't think you'll quite get my frustration since you're infatuated with him. But I'm fine just sort of doing my own thing and cohabiting this place without really being close if that's okay."
"Well, you're living with him now, and it's nice and civil to talk to the people you're living with," Rose said. "You could at least give him a chance."
"Fine." Pearl paused for a second before giving a slight yelp down the phone line.
Rose started. "You okay there?"
"I don't need this Stranger Things bullshit!" Pearl yelled away from the phone microphone. She gave an annoyed sigh. "The lights have been a bit dodgy, that's the worst flickering we've had yet, though."
Rose frowned. "That doesn't sound good," she said. "Don't get eaten by a demogorgon. ...and call me if it gets worse. It's my house, after all."
"Yeah, I will. Whereabouts would I need to go to check it? Ah, whatever, Greg will have it covered, right?"
"The fuse box is downstairs, near the boiler. I showed Greg the other day, it should be okay." Hopefully.
"Alright. I'll try to chill about it. Oh yeah, my last exam is next week. Then it's all over! I'm free!"
"Yeah! Do you feel prepared?"
"As I'll ever be." Pearl revealed more with a nervous laugh. "Oh, that reminds me, I'll need to call Amy about it. God knows if she's even aware that it's on."
"How's she been doing?" Rose asked. "Have you been able to help her a bit?"
"English isn't really my strong suit, so I'm kind of trying to look out for myself first on this one. She's better at it than me but you know how Amy gets about exams."
"Hmm, that's fair enough." Rose sighed. "I feel bad for leaving in the middle of exam season. There's students who might need my help."
"The biology papers passed before you left, Rose. I can ask around and see if I can tutor students in the year below, though."
"I would appreciate that. There's some younger years that have their exams later on."
"Oh god, yeah. I think I can pull out my old notes for it." Pearl replied. "They're at home, though. Yikes."
"Oh. Not ideal, I understand." Rose frowned. "Actually, I use the spare bedroom as a study too sometimes, so there should be some books and worksheets there that might help you out."
"Oh! Now that's true, I'll see if anyone's around at school and if they're interested." Pearl replied. "Any other news on your end? Still can't believe you're out there with Diamond of all people."
"I know, right?" Rose cast a glance at the door, waiting for Marigold to come back. "But yeah, that is petty much it. Had a bit of a rough time the night we got here, but it worked out okay."
"Do you think you'll be able to give me all the scoop later? When you come back?" Pearl asked cheekily.
Rose gave a small chuckle. “Of course,” she said. “I think Marigold has a similar sort of arrangement with Aurora. We just shouldn’t talk too much about what’s going on at the moment, cus it’s a matter of international security. Or something.”
"Oh, oof. That sounds like an adventure already. Does Diamond snore? Are you sharing a bed? How much milk does she put in her coffee?"
"Pearl!" Rose said, laughing. "We have separate rooms, and I'm sure your sister could answer those questions better than me."
"Oh." Pearl stuttered, surprised. "Very true. Do you have any idea when you'll be back yet?"
Rose hesitated.
"I'm not sure," she said. "Soon, I hope."
"Me too. It's weird without you. Going into school feels so... oddly empty now."
"I didn't realise you were still going into school a lot. Are you going to a lot of revision sessions?"
"Only for exams. Sometimes I pass by when I'm out. I can't believe I'll be gone soon. I wonder if we're gonna hang out after I go to uni."
"Well, if you want to, then my door will always be open to you. And you have my number." Rose paused for a long moment. "And... I won't be your teacher anymore."
Pearl didn't reply for a bit. "That'll be strange. Will I turn into... a friend, instead of your pupil? Is that how it works? Is it even appropriate?"
Rose couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, Pearl. As if we haven’t passed that point a long time ago.”
"No, but it's weird! I-"
The door swung open and Marigold triumphantly made her entrance. "I managed to complain to the manager of this place and get us out!"
“Oh, god. Hang on a second, Pearl.” Rose dropped her hand holding the phone and stared at Marigold. “I thought we were leaving that up to Azure.”
"Azure isn't being quick enough. I'm going stir crazy." Marigold huffed before stepping back. "Oh! You're on the phone."
“Yeah. Sorry. Gimme two seconds.” Rose put the phone to her ear again. “Pearl? Sorry about that. I should probably go now.”
"I heard. I hope you can enjoy even some of this trip. I've always wanted to go to Italy. Anyway! I'll see you later, okay?"
“Yeah! Good luck with your exams, and let me know how tutoring goes if you decide to do it! It was nice to talk to you.”
"Yeah, sure!" Pearl's voice turned sombre. "I can't wait to see you again. Bye!"
Rose hung up the phone and then looked at Marigold.
"Alright," she said, "let's get out of here, then."
“Okay.” Rose set down her bag after coming back from the toilet on the train. “Can you tell me where we’re going now?”
She could guess, really; they were on the Eurostar, and there were only a few destinations that made sense at this point.
“Are you taking me to Paris, Roxy? This is a weird time for a big romantic gesture, but I still appreciate it.”
Roxy gave her a cheeky grin, the kind that used to dazzle Rose just a few months back. "Listen, I know it's been a few rough weeks for you recently, and that I haven't been the best girlfriend to you. So I'm doing something nice for once, alright? It's going to be a chill weekend, you're going to feel revived and then maaaybe get back to work?"
Rose smiled and sat down next to her, leaning into Roxy. “I’ve always wanted to go to Paris, secretly,” she said, “and you’re the first one to take me. It’s sweet.”
Roxy nuzzled her back. "Yeah, well, don't get too used to it. I have a reputation to uphold. But... I think this will be nice. The accommodation is super and we'll be able to do everything there."
“So... what’s on the schedule? Sightseeing? Wine tasting? Did you scout out some nice restaurants? It’ll be nice to have some good food for once.” Rose gave Roxy a peck on the cheek. “It’ll also be good to spend some time with you. You’ve not been around as much as I would’ve liked the past few weeks.”
Roxy tensed up a little, frowning. "Ah, well... it's not quite... that. But no, I've not given you as much attention as I'd like to. I've been busy with... my flatmate and you've just been so reluctant to want anyone for company. But we've got each other now!"
Rose gave a hesitant smile. “Yeah, it sounds nice. It feels like it’s been ages since we actually spent time together.” She leaned in to Roxy, closing her eyes.
Roxy watched her, and then ran a hand through her pink locks. They were longer, softer than her own. “Well, everyone’s going to know we’re together, too. Can’t believe I convinced you to match with me. I don’t think I’ve ever managed to get another gir... someone else to do that.”
Rose gave a chuckle. “I like it,” she said, “and I’ve wanted to dye my hair for ages. You still think it suits me, right?”
“Um, well, pink doesn’t work on everyone.” Roxy clicked her tongue, and then gave a sly smile. “But it certainly does on you. If you want, we could even make the carpet match the drapes.”
Rose blushed deeply. “I’m not so sure about that, Rox. But, uh. I’m open to it if it would make you happy, I guess.”
“Hmm?” Roxy’s touches became more firm, her fingers untangling curls before tugging her, just sharply enough to draw a shocked breath from Rose. “And here I was utterly convinced you liked a little pain down there. But, no, I do suppose you’re quite sensitive to bleach. Oh well. There’s been a new trend of chicks dying their armpits online. Mostly tumblr folk, though, you know I don’t mix with them.”
“I’ve never been on tumblr so I wouldn’t know.” Rose shrugged. “So when do we get to Paris?”
"In a couple of hours." Roxy seemed a little tense for a second. "And you're really not missing out. Just crazy teenager bitches thinking they can outdo the feminism we've been building for decades, and somehow only to include men. They're all insane."
“Yeah, sounds like it’s better not to get mixed up with that,” Rose agreed. “The entire thing is too political for me. I have bigger worries, you know.”
"You do! Like picking out which Rosé will go with the dinner we're having tonight." Roxy pecked her cheek before pulling out a chunky portable DVD player. "And look at what the cat dragged in, too. I brought some films, just for the trip."
Rose rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “I mean, that, and my dad dying of cancer,” she said, “but films are important too. What should we watch?”
"Oh, shit. Sorry." Roxy said, but was preoccupied by looking through her bag. "Hmmm. Inception. Stuart Little... how did that get there? Avatar... That film was so unmemorable for something so big."
“It was pretty impressive in the cinemas,” Rose said, “well, at least visually. We can start there and see how far we get?”
"Alright, I can strap myself in for this snoozefest." Roxy seemed visibly disappointed, but didn't say any more.
Rose read her body language perfectly. She shrunk in on herself. Why even bring it if it’s obviously the wrong choice?
She busied herself with putting on the movie and let out a soft sigh.
Roxy read into the sigh and put her arm back and Rose, less intimate. "Is there a problem?"
Rose cast her a glance. “No, it’s fine. Let’s just watch the movie.”
Roxy gently tossed her arms up into a shrug. "Whatever, babe." And pressed play.
Most of the train ride passed with them watching the movie in an awkward silence. Rose barely even dared to look at Roxy.
Well fuck me if this is the way this weekend is gonna go.
Their silence was broken about twenty minutes before the journey ended, as Roxy got herself up. "Gonna take a leak and get some grub. Want anything?"
“Some tea would be nice, I guess,” Rose said. “Aren’t we eating when we get there?”
"I suppose, but that's not likely to happen for a couple of hours. We need to catch another couple of trains when we get to Paris, unless you want to eat at the station." There was a sort of scoff in her voice.
Always eating, this one.
“Oh. Are... we not staying in the city?” Rose didn’t miss Roxy’s tone.
"Not exactly. It's kind of a surprise."
Rose raised an eyebrow. “Taking me to Paris isn’t enough of a surprise?”
"It is in Paris." It was Roxy's turn to look a little sheepish. "Just trust me, yeah? It's going to be nice."
Rose softened a little. “Okay. I trust you. Do I need to wear a blindfold or something?”
"That won't be necessary. I'm sure you'll be able to tell soon enough, anyway."
“Alright then. You just lead the way when we get there. And... I wouldn’t mind getting something to eat.”
"Of course you wouldn't. Want something sweet? Crisps?"
“Actually, I was more thinking like a sandwich.” Rose blushed a little. “But... maybe I just won’t have anything. We can eat when we get there.”
"Probably a good idea anyway!" Roxy was already making her way down the train cart before turning on her heel. "Were you the one who likes milk and no sugar, or black and sugar?"
“...both milk and sugar. If that’s okay.” Rose looked down, feeling guilty. “Maybe just milk this time.”
"I mean, dairy is just more calories." Roxy looked her up and down. "Just sayin'.”
Rose frowned. “Well, I don’t like my tea black. Oh, you know what, never mind. We still have water. I’ll be fine.”
"Awh," Roxy pouted before turning again. "Well, if you're sure."
Rose didn’t answer. She rummaged in her bag until she found the water bottle; by the time she’d pulled it out, Roxy was gone.
Roxy returned just as the train conductor announced that they were nearly in Paris. She carried an armful of snacks, including a cheese crossiant in her mouth. She placed the array on the table. "The queue was a mile long and I ended up going a bit overboard."
“Well, we’re nearly there. Do you want me to take some of these in my bag?” Rose offered, reaching out for the snacks.
"Alright, just make sure I see some of them." Roxy teased as she sat down. "Oh! Look, you can already see the city from here." She went through her bag and pulled out some sheets of paper. "Next train is in ten. We'll need to run to wherever this platform is."
“Oh boy. Okay.” Rose gathered her stuff. “Let’s try not to lose each other. I’m sure this station will be packed.”
"Okay." Roxy outstretched her hand as the train pulled to stop, the other passengers began to gather themselves up. "Follow me, yeah?"
Rose held on to Roxy’s hand as they made their way through the busy station. The train Roxy led them to was about to leave, so Rose didn’t have time to check where it was going. They jumped on, and the doors closed behind them.
The announcement was in French, and there was only one word that Rose understood.
Disneyland. Oh god please don’t tell me... it might just be a coincidence. Surely she wouldn’t.
Meanwhile, Roxy began to grow more and more excited. "I've always wanted to go, but never had the time, you know." She pulled out a disposable camera, "I know it's a bit old school and that we can't take naughty pics, but I also brought this. First trip selfie?"
Rose let Roxy drag her into the selfie and put on a smile. Please tell me you haven’t.
They drew closer, the sound of children clamouring was getting louder. A group of what appeared to be excited school children had settled in the seats around them. "Ugh. Forgot there would be kids around." Roxy muttered.
Rose watched in growing horror.
Finally, she couldn’t keep it in anymore. “We’re not going to Disneyland, are we?”
"Winner winner, chicken dinner! Surprise!" Roxy clapped her hand as the train stopped. "We're here!"
Rose froze for a solid few seconds.
This is a dream. This can’t be real. This is wrong.
But she didn’t wake up, and nothing changed. She clenched her teeth.
“Wow,” she said. “Uh. I... I don’t know what to say.”
"Isn't it great?" Roxy roughly grabbed onto Rose's arm, practically trembling with excitement. "Apparently they serve a lot of booze here, too, so it should be really swell!" The train stopped, the noise outside could be heard through the open train window. "You can start thanking me now."
Rose looked away. “Thanks,” she muttered. As the noise grew, Rose grew close to tears.
This is going to be horrible.
Roxy clocked in to her tone. She paused for a few moments, frowning. "Hey, what's the matter? You okay?"
Rose sighed, the tension going out of her shoulders for a moment. “I... just didn’t expect to have to deal with... crowds and loud noises and children.”
"Awh, shoot! I mean, honey, you're planning to work at a school. You might as well get used to it."
Rose shot her an impenetrable look.
“It’s kind of different when I’m supposed to be on holiday,” she said. “Whatever. Let’s go. What’s the plan?”
Roxy turned still. People started to get out of the train carriage, leaving them alone. She then curled her lip. "You can go home right now if you don't want to spend time with me. I thought we were trying to work on trusting each other."
Rose’s chest tightened. “Which is why I asked you what the plan was. Look, this isn’t... about me not wanting to spend time with you.”
Roxy's expression shifted into a dark glare. She took out her wallet and pulled a few notes. "Well, go have yourself a time somewhere else, sweetie. I'm gonna hit up fucking Disneyland because I paid for a cool holiday for both of us and frankly, I can do it alone."
“Roxy, no!” Rose immediately shrunk back to Roxy’s side, her expression meek. “I’m sorry, okay? I... I’m excited about this. I am. Don’t abandon me here, please.”
Roxy gave her a little more of her glare and then forced a smile, as if nothing had happened. "Alright, sweetie. I'm glad we could figure this out. I love you so much." She grabbed at Rose's hand. "Let's go!"
Rose let herself be dragged along by Roxy through the crowd of excited children, feeling nothing but dread.
This is like the exact opposite of what I needed.
Roxy seemed to be absolutely unaware, chatting eagerly as they approached the entrance. "The food here is super special. It's a bit tacky but I'm sure they've got lots of protein options in case you want to stay away from carbs."
Rose looked around, uneasy. “Are we staying at a hotel here?”
"Yep! Disney's Hotel New York. It's a bit further away than the Disney hotel itself, but only about a ten minute walk." She gave a cheeky grin. "Empire state club room."
“That sounds... great,” Rose said. She felt like she needed a drink. “Are we going there first, then?”
"Yeah, just need to check in and dump all of our shit." Roxy nodded, walking past some children and shooting them a dangerous glare.
“Okay. Let’s do that, then.” At least a hotel room promised some respite from the children, and maybe Rose would be able to convince Roxy not to go out today in favour of a nap and some cuddles.
"I can't wait to check out the park. I've always wanted to laugh at how bad the character suits are, apparently the actors need to stay in character too." Roxy chuckled, pulling her blackberry phone out as it buzzed and biting her lip in a sultry way as she glanced at the message.
Rose ignored Roxy’s phone. Roxy had a busy social life, was constantly getting messages. “That sounds fun,” she said absent-mindedly. “Can we rest for a bit when we get to the hotel?”
Roxy was quiet as she texted back, tongue sticking out in concentration, seemingly not even listening to Rose. She then glanced up. "What was that?"
Rose already regretted asking. “Nothing, never mind. You know where we’re going, right?”
"Uh, yeah. What do you take me for?" Roxy looked back at her phone. "Unless you wanna get food first?"
“Food might be nice.” Rose started to relax a tiny little bit.
"Alright, I'm also sure there's stuff closer to the hotel?" Roxy looked at her phone again. "Hold on, I'll see if I can find the map screenshot I downloaded."
She scrolled through her gallery, past a few of her own nudes. "Oh shit, better turn that brightness down."
Rose got an eyeful of those pictures and immediately blushed. “Hey, I haven’t seen those. They look nice. Were you saving them for me?”
"Uh, yeah." Roxy's eyes darted left to right. "I guess I ruined the surprise there. Oh! Found it! We're just a couple of minutes away. Can you manage until then?"
“Of course, I’m not that desperate for food.” Rose gave Roxy a small smile. Things were okay... weren’t they?
"Oh good. Then we'll slip bags away and go get food?" Roxy finally put her phone away.
“Sounds good.” Rose hesitantly reached out for Roxy’s hand.
After checking in, the two made their way into the hotel suite. All aspects seemed incredibly family oriented in the decor, ranging from garish colours to more adorned spaces. Roxy opened the doors and ran for the bed, "Haha! Check this place out!"
Rose came in after her, the colours and decor already feeling overwhelming. She set down her bag and looked around. "Yes, it looks really cute," she said. For a five year old.
"Isn't it just?" Roxy looked starry eyed. "Oh, it's everything I hoped for us! Ooo, look at that view, you can actually see a lot of the park!"
Rose joined her by the window. "Wow, yeah, you can," she said, trying to sound enthusiastic. Down there she could see rollercoasters, shops, more bright colours... people. Children. Everywhere.
"Fantastic," she said, trying not to let sarcasm bleed into her voice.
Roxy clocked the tone. "Is something the matter? Are you alright? Hungry?"
"... yeah. Tired from travelling, I guess. Some food might be nice." Rose sat down on the bed, which at least felt comfortable and soft. She wanted to sink down into it and sleep until it was time to go home.
"Alright. There's some places around, I can go and scout out some things while you nap, if you want?" Roxy said, starting to take out her luggage. "I've got some friends who live in Paris to meet up with at some point just in case you're not feeling up to going outside."
"Oh, actually, I would love to see Paris, if you're going into the city... but a nap might be nice as well." Please, I want to see Paris... get me out of Disneyland, please.
"Ah, well, I'll have to arrange it first and we want to stay mostly at the park, anyway?" Roxy tilted her head up from the closet where she was stacking her clothes. Something in her tone spoke that she didn't want Rose to be involved with going into the capital.
Rose caught on, her heart twisting. "Please can I come? I've always wanted to see the city. It's so romantic as well, we could get dinner at a nice place there? And if you've got friends here I'd love to meet them. Please can we go together?"
Roxy suddenly looked suspiciously uncomfortable. She didn't look Rose in the eyes, despite the forced pleasantness of her tone. "I'll see what I can do. How about you catch that nap while I see about food? I'll find a place that does something nice and low carb for you, yeah?"
"Yeah, sure." Rose's shoulders slumped, and she began taking off her jacket. "Do you know when you'll be back?"
"Not too long, feel free to rest as long as you need to. If you want, you can even sleep and lemme know when you wake up so we can meet up at the park?" Roxy got her makeup bag and pulled out a few bits.
"Maybe... but maybe food first." Rose, personally, wanted to avoid going into the park for as long as possible. "We could, uh, chill for today and go in... maybe tomorrow?" she suggested timidly.
"Oh man, but I paid a lot for all the days." Roxy pouted behind her mascara wand. "How about... I get us some food and you can sleep after while I hit the park? Or you could just sleep and avoid the calories. Might help!" Her tone was barely just joking.
"Maybe. I don't know." Rose was exhausted. "I'll take a nap and see how I feel."
"Alright, well! I'll be a phone call away. Kisses!" Roxy's lips were glossy and glittery, leaving a sticky mark on Rose's cheek.
Rose waited until the door had closed behind Roxy, then gave in to the urge to wipe the lipgloss from her cheek. She sighed and slowly unpacked her bag, changed into her pyjamas, but not without looking at her belly, feeling disgusted. Roxy was right. Maybe she should just skip lunch. And maybe dinner too.
She'd slimmed down a little in the past few months, but not enough. Never enough.
She sighed once again, wrapped herself in blankets and tried to fall asleep.
--
It was their last day at the park. Roxy had been sifting through her desired rides, seemingly blind to Rose's increasing contempt and frustration. She fidgeted at her set of bedazzled Mickey Mouse ears as she spied a map. "Just a couple left! How about ‘Small World’? Cl- My old ex and I always chatted about going there to make out, it's a staple of the Disneyland experience."
Rose avoided Roxy's eyes. "Sure. Last one?" The thought of having to once again live up to Roxy's ex made her feel sick.
"Yeah, I'm getting pretty tired of all this." Roxy began walking towards the direction of the queue. The timer display noted that the wait would be approximately fifty minutes. "Oh, hey, not too bad!" Roxy exclaimed, pointing at it.
"Oh. Fantastic." It had gotten increasingly difficult to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. Rose looked around and was put off by how many small children there were. "Are you sure about this?"
"Uh, yeah?" Roxy narrowed her eyes. Her tone passive aggressive. "Is there a problem?" Her voice was dangerously loud.
"No, no. Of course not." Rose shrugged it off, as usual. "Let's do it."
Roxy smiled, but something in her eyes still seemed to be burning. "Excellent! Can't wait, I've heard this one is incredibly catchy."
"Cool." Rose forced a smile. "Can I get one of those slushies before we join the queue?"
"Uh... I think we've had enough of that today." Roxy gave Rose's belly a little pat, her tone condescending. Members of the queue turned to look. "We could fill up on food after?"
"Okay." Rose turned away from Roxy a bit. "Let's go then."
The queue was long, full of children, and looked like it moved very slowly. Rose couldn't think of what to say to fill up the time they had, so she stood in silence.
Roxy took her phone out to text, and did so for about the wait time. As they approached the entrance, she turned to Rose. "You okay?"
Rose didn't look. "Yeah, I'm okay." She couldn't help sounding bitter. "Having the best time of my life, in fact."
Roxy frowned. "I don't appreciate your tone. What is wrong?"
Rose looked at her, a comical grin on her face. "Nothing is wrong! Everything is great! I just said I'm having the best time!" Her voice rose a bit.
"Jesus! What is the matter with you?"Roxy hissed, looking around. "Chill! What's the problem, I know you're messing with me."
"What's the-" Rose snorted, laughed bitterly. "What isn't the problem!! I haven't been enjoying any of this! Not that you would care!"
"Um? I paid for your fat ass to have a vacation in the happiest place on Earth? Why are you not enjoying yourself?"
"The happiest place on earth, my ass. Maybe if you're five." Rose was seething. She stopped, though, as it was their turn to go on the ride.
They entered the boat and were engulfed by a tunnel. The boat they were in moved slowly, and in the tunnel, small figurines in picturesque settings started singing and dancing in slow, robotic motions.
"Seriously?! We waited in line for an hour, for this?" Rose hissed.
A loud 'shhh' emanated from the boat behind them. Roxy swallowed, her cheeks red even in the dim lights. "Stop it! You're being embarrassing! And fucking ungrateful, you brat!"
"Ungrateful? I never asked for this!" Rose did not pipe down. Actually, she got louder with every word. "Maybe I'd be more grateful if you'd actually asked! Or considered my feelings or wishes, ever! But no! We get fucking Disneyland, with an obligation to go on the side. I hate noise! I hate kids! I hate rollercoasters! I hate all of this!"
"You haven't said a peep about that until now!" Roxy somehow grew louder than Rose, nearly standing up. "You're so fucking blind if you can't see how ungrateful you're being, and it's appalling! And now you're causing drama and ruining this bloody trip! Do you know how long I've looked forward to this? Over twenty fucking years! Twenty years, I've wanted to go to Disneyland, with my dad, with Claire, and I chose to do it with you because you're the most important person to me!"
“Am I really? Because wow, that’s big news to me! I’ve really just gotten the impression that the only person you really care about is yourself! I wanted none of this! I didn’t want to go to fucking Disneyland, I didn’t want to go on this ride, and I sure as hell didn’t want to live off food from Disneyland when we’re in Paris. I thought I made myself clear that I wanted to go into the city! But no, you snuck off while I was asleep and didn’t even bring me anything! I don’t want to be here, Roxy!”
“You never said anything about being unhappy, though! Do you expect me to read your fucking mind?” Roxy hissed, but a deep blush seemed to have formed over her cheeks as her visit to the city was mentioned. She suddenly turned as she heard a child crying from the boat behind her, and realised that all other attendants had been staring at the confrontation, wide eyed. “Listen, you fat twat. Do you want to break up right now? Because I’m happy to leave this ride single if you’re going to be this ungrateful and shitty to me. But good luck finding someone, anyone else that’ll drag you to Paris, all expenses paid.”
Rose drew back, tears gathering in her eyes. Her lips trembled, and she continued, whispering. “I just... I was hoping for something quiet. And nice. And to spend time with you, and maybe talk about stuff, you know I’m going through a lot right now, with my dad and everything. I just wanted to rest a bit. And that’s not really possible here. Is it?”
“I mean, I figured it would be a good distraction. We’ve even got the hotel room for privacy, but you’ve been bloody mum about all your feelings since we got here, frankly.” Roxy rolled her eyes. “You’re acting like I don’t care about any of your family shit, and I really, really do. I’m here for you and I love you and I’m, like, listening? Who else has been here for you, huh? Your mom? Friends? Absolutely fucking no one.”
“Well, you kind of... get upset with me if I mention it or if I talk to anyone else about it. I don’t have anyone else to talk to and if I try to talk to you, you just tell me to stop being such a baby!” Rose found herself crying, unable to control her volume anymore. “And you never listen to me when I tell you what I want! You had a million chances to give me what I want this trip! And you squandered each and every one of them because you wanted to go to Disneyland! And because apparently listening to me is too much of a fucking chore!”
Roxy shot her a hard glare and sat down, face displaying deep upset. "Have fun finding your way back to England."
The ride had ended. The child behind them was still crying. Other people were giving them looks ranging from pity to outrage.
Rose just wanted to cease existing in that moment. She didn’t even bother answering Roxy, just turned around and ran for it, making her way back to the hotel room while crying.
If this is what she wants, she can have it. I don’t care. I’m going home.
When she reached the hotel room, she tried to pack, but found herself unable to in the midst of her emotional turmoil, blinded by her tears.
Roxy was staying behind, still within the park. She glanced into her wallet, considering where Rose had gone off to. The direction of the hotel.
No bother. Rose could do what she wanted, and it was likely going to be self harming in some way. All according to plan. Roxy would just have to avoid the fallout and swoop in at a convenient moment to save her. A few hours would do. Maybe a day of ghosting... Hm...
Roxy smirked for a brief second, already wondering how she'd post up this event as an entry on her account.
Her eyes briefly widened. The account was still open on a tab on her laptop.
"Fuck."
In the meantime, Rose ended up blindly throwing stuff into her suitcase. Once she was a little distracted by packing, she found that her tears had died down. She could think a little more clearly again.
“Right.” She stood in the chaotic hotel room, looking like a mess, talking to herself. “I need to figure out what train I can take.”
Her eyes fell onto Roxy’s laptop. It looked like it was still on. Rose approached it – knowing that Roxy would flip out if she knew Rose had even thought about touching it.
But then, she didn’t really care about what Roxy thought right now. She opened it up. The internet browser was opened on a LiveJournal.
I shouldn’t.
She skimmed a few sentences, then looked away. She couldn’t help looking at Roxy’s username, though.
Might have a look at that later. I wonder why she’s never told me about this.
She chased the thoughts away and opened a new tab to have a look at trains.
Roxy was sprinting towards the hotel, earning strange looks as she practically flew past families of park goers. She pressed past the hotel doors, heart beating loudly in her chest.
If Rose had a look through her LiveJournal, it would all be over.
Rose had been looking for trains on a French website. Her French was only barely good enough to figure out what she was doing, and she had finally found a suitable train when Roxy burst through the door.
Rose immediately jumped away from the laptop.
Roxy was staring at her, wide eyed. After a pregnant pause, she cleared her throat and straightened her posture, but her voice was still uncharacteristically shaky. "What are you doing?"
Rose shrunk into herself. "I was just looking up trains to go home," she said.
"That's all?" Roxy's gaze was unblinking.
"Y...yeah... I was so upset. I... I want to go home, Roxy."
Roxy looked at the laptop and let out a deep breath. She approached Rose. "You sure? We can still figure things out. I'll take you to Paris, yeah?"
"Please don't feel like you have to." Rose looked down. "I don't know, it wouldn't mean as much if you're only doing it because I got mad at you."
"Nah." Roxy smoothly stepped closer. "It's the least I could do after you had such a shit time. We could hit a restaurant or something on our way back?"
"Oh... please." Rose found herself caving, her anger dissipating. "That... would be nice."
"Yeah?" Roxy offered a small smile, rubbing gently on her arm with the light tips of her fingers. "I'm sorry about that fight, I'm such an idiot. I really should just die sometimes."
"No... no, you don't deserve that." Rose sighed. "I... started packing," she said. "I mean, we're going home tomorrow anyway. We could have a nice evening out in Paris."
"You've got that website up, pass me the laptop and I'll get us some tickets." Roxy's touches reached Rose's neck. "I'm starting to see your collarbones. Good work."
"Huh, despite all the Disneyland food?" Rose gave a weak chuckle as she leaned into Roxy's touches. "Well, it wasn't particularly good, so maybe that's why. I haven't eaten that much."
"Sounds like you're on a good track. You look sexy."
"Oh, do I, now?" Rose smiled at Roxy and leaned in, pressing a soft kiss onto the corner of Roxy's mouth. "I suppose we could stay here for a little while longer before we go out."
Roxy returned the smirk as she closed the laptop. "I suppose we could."
Wow! What? We haven’t published since April? Oh my!
So sorry about that friends, life was horribly all-encompassing for a hot minute there. Things are starting to settle down after our move so now hopefully we will get back into the swing of things and start publishing regularly again!!
And what’s that it’s Saturday the day after tomorrow? We’ll take that!
Watch out for an intermission, publishing this Saturday, 10pm UK time!
Hey friend! Thanks so much for reaching out! In all honesty, we kinda lost track of time since it is an incredibly busy time for us - Roxy is finishing their final film for uni, and we’re moving across the country in about two weeks, and it’s all just been a bit of a hectic time.
The next chapter is, in fact, already written - we always try to stay a few chapters ahead of publishing to allow for editing and of course the wonderful illustrations and animations to be made.
At the moment, we just have a few things that are a bit more high priority than writing EtV, so while we definitely aren’t done and won’t stop writing and publishing, we’re taking a small hiatus. I meant to write a post about it a while ago but it kinda got lost among all the other stuff. Sorry about that!
Anyway, we’re currently expecting the hiatus to end by the end of the month. June 1st is a Saturday so for now we’ll aim for that. Cus by then uni will be over, we’ll have settled in our new place, and things should just be a lot calmer.
Really sorry to have left you on a cliffhanger! If you’re desperate to read more, you can find us on Patreon where we’ve published the next chapter already!
Just to warn you, though, it’s an intermission - a flashback chapter, so you won’t get the resolution to the cliffhanger. Sorry!
Roxy looked different, and yet the same; her hair had greyed, but it was still dyed pink at the front. She was still beautiful, but her eyes were colder than Rose ever remembered them being before.
A few endless moments passed. The faucet was still running. Rose was frozen in shock, finding herself unable to move or speak.
She only spoke one word, grave and shocked. Roxy had at times been dramatic, frantic, panicked. But this seemed more genuine than ever before.
One word. "...You."
Her voice was more throaty than before, lungs ashed by smoke.
It was as if she were speaking to an apparition.
It was enough to shake Rose out of her shocked state. She fought for her composure.
"I bet you never thought you'd see me again," she said, her voice quivering, betraying her shock.
"Are you here alone?" It was as if Roxy saw entirely through her. Her face fixed on the ground for a second, brow furrowing. Calculating.
Rose's eyes widened.
She was between Roxy and the exit, she realised. She had her, in almost an ideal position.
And no backup.
"Yeah," she lied. "I'm... uh. We have some unfinished business."
It came out kind of squeaky, and didn't sound nearly as intimidating as Rose had hoped it would. She was trembling, hoping Roxy wouldn't notice.
It was immediate.
Roxy charged into her, with enough force to push her over. Her eyes scrunched closed.
Rose tensed up, but in an odd moment of fast thinking, wrapped her arms around Roxy and held her close.
"I'm not letting you get away," she whispered, "not this time. Not again."
Roxy gave a scream and dug her foot directly into Rose's shin. "Get off me, you fucking cow!"
Rose yelped in pain and let go of Roxy. "No, stop - don't -"
She needed to get to Marigold, who was probably still stuck at the slots. Fuck.
Roxy sprinted out, fast, eyes wide with fear. Rose would be behind her soon, and she knew it.
Meanwhile, Marigold was staring at a pile of coins slotting out of the machine. She saw Rose coming, and turned, grinning. "First time I've won a slot machine in years! Look at that!"
Rose reached Marigold. "She's here," she said, not bothering to keep quiet. "Come on, come on!"
She saw Roxy, running from the bathroom, and without thinking launched herself at her. "We need to corner her!"
"But!! My slots!!" Marigold frantically started shoving money into her pockets. "We don't even have our gear! Rose!" She saw Rose running away. "ROSE! We aren't ready to confront her!"
"Who cares about your slots! She's here now, we don't have time! Come on!" Rose found herself out of breath. Bystanders were already starting to freak out, which was unsurprising given Roxy's reputation.
Cut her off by the exit.
Suddenly, a shrill bell began to ring, loud and impossible to ignore. The room began to rain water, harsh.
Someone had pulled the fire alarm.
People immediately began to panic more and to rush towards the exit. The room suddenly turned into a crowd, loud and busy. Roxy seemed to have disappeared into it.
"Shit!"
Rose stopped, caught her breath. It was impossible to spot Roxy in the commotion. "Marigold, where are you?"
A hand gripped hers, Marigold looked soaked, hair dripping wet. "I'm here. Come on, let's not get lost. I think I saw her going upstairs. The fire alarm is a diversion."
"Let's go upstairs, then." Rose held on to Marigold's hand. "We can't let her get away. This might be our only chance. Fuck, we're not ready."
"Well, we're just going to have to try hard to get her while we have the chance. Or Azure is going to kill us." Marigold scaled up the stairs in a stride she was sure Azure herself would be proud of.
Rose followed. "That is, if Roxy doesn't kill us first."
Marigold heaved as she made it to the top. "Looks like it's private rooms and booths up here. I don't take it that you saw which one she went into?"
"No, you were the one who saw her going up here in the first place," Rose said, keeping her voice down. "Where do we start?"
"With the fire alarms on, everyone's leaving the building. We're just going to have to storm the place and check each one."
"Oh boy." Rose took a deep breath. "Let's stick together. We can't get separated."
The upper floor was already more sparse than the chaos on the bottom floor. Marigold let go of Rose's hand. "You're right, but we'd cover more ground if we seperated. God knows where Roxy is now. We need to be quick."
"No! How will we know if something happens? We don't have Azure's equipment. We can't get separated." Rose crept up to the first door. It creaked as she opened it, but the room was empty. "Clear," she whispered.
Marigold nodded. "Alright." They moved to the next door. She pressed herself close. No noise.
As the door opened, the half-lit room revealed two people hastily getting dressed as the fire alarm blared above them. Neither of them were Roxy. "Clear," Rose said as the two strangers hurried past them towards the exit.
Marigold suppressed a laugh. "It's like a bloody shooter drill at school."
"Isn't it just." Rose moved on to the next door, which turned out to be empty as well. "Fuck, is there an exit up here? What if she's not here anymore?"
Marigold frowned. "There's just two more on this side, which is where I saw her go off to. We'll give up and get out if she's not here."
"Okay. Wait, I hear something." Voices coming from the other side of the door they were approaching.
And just as they came closer, the door burst open. Girls were talking loudly in Italian, and didn't seem at all surprised to see them as they quickly rushed past them.
"You think she's- Oh! Roxy! Hello!" Marigold looked like a deer in headlights. "You look well!"
"...Marigold? What on earth? Never mind." Roxy was standing at the back of the room, face determined and gun in her hands pointed at her own skull. "If you don't leave me alone, I'm afraid you're going to have to go empty handed. It's me you want, isn't it?"
Rose's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't. You love yourself too much to actually go through with this."
Roxy gave a cruel laugh. "Sweetie. You know I hate myself." She lowered the gun and snapped her fingers, "But you're right. I'm not quite suicidal, not just yet. Girls!"
Two larger women stepped out from behind Marigold and Rose and grabbed them. Roxy dashed past, nodding to them before sprinting to the staircase.
Rose managed to wrestle herself out of the woman's grasp. "Marigold!" she called. "Are you okay?"
The woman who'd been holding Rose legged it, but Marigold was still trapped. She gave a harsh grunt before glancing up at her captor. "Wait... I'm sure I've seen you before."
"Shut the fuck up before I snap your neck."
Rose panicked. "Let go of her!" she hissed before attacking the woman, trying her hardest to pry Marigold from her.
Two seemed like a match that was too great. The woman ended up falling to the ground with a yelp, taking Marigold with her, but releasing her from her grasp.
Marigold bounced back onto her feet, backed into Rose. "Oh! Thank you for helping me. We need to catch up with Roxy."
"Yeah, no time to waste. C'mon." Rose went ahead down the stairs and saw Roxy making her way through the casino.
"Roxy! Stop!"
Most of the casino had emptied at this point, the water making the floor slippery. Marigold nearly fell over as she made it to the foot of the stairs. "Roxanne! We're not here to hurt you! Come on! We just want you to be safe!"
This prompted Roxy to turn, face puzzled, before stopping for a second. "It's no use, Mari! I don't want to go back! You should turn around before you get hurt. This isn't your world."
Rose didn't stop even though the slippery floor caused her to crash into several tables.
"We got some unfinished business," she said, "and we're not letting you get away."
Roxy waved the gun at her. "Don't make me hurt you again, Rose. Leave me and this place alone. Go home, you don't belong here."
"Yeah I'm going home, and you're coming with me," Rose said. She didn't dare come closer, eyes nervously on the gun. "Careful with that, love, you could injure someone."
Roxy jumped over a table, picking up a fat stack of chips next to a roulette wheel and throwing them at Rose's face, one by one. "Why can't you people just learn to move the fuck on? What is this even about? Azure's nosy little detective? How did you people even find me?"
"You should've covered your tracks better," Rose said. Now that Roxy wasn't waving the gun around anymore, she felt bolder. She dodged the chips as she got closer to Roxy, aiming to back her into a corner.
Roxy gritted her teeth and climbed off the table, still throwing the poker chips at Rose. "You need to back off! I don't want to shoot either of you. Go home!"
"We came all this way, we're not just going to leave," Rose said. "We-"
Just then, she failed to miss one of Roxy's poker chips, which hit her square in the face.
Roxy took this distraction as an opportunity to run off, sprinting as fast as she could to get to the casino entrance.
She ground to a still as Marigold appeared in front of her, standing in front of the water feature with the glass. She groaned in frustration, her exit was a few feet away "Should've known to try to not outrun a nig-"
"Save it." Marigold hissed, stepping closer. "I know you're not interested in hurting me now. You're too much of a baby."
"Doesn't mean I won't defend myself."
"What are you even doing? Running off to some lawless place? Pretending like we never existed? You're a bloody teacher, Roxy. You don't need to do any of this. You have a life back home. Azure misses you. I miss you. None of us want you hurt."
"Then why did you bring Rose? How did you even find her?" Roxy took a step back, realising she was being cornered.
“She hired me,” Rose said sharply. “You made the recommendation, remember? The last good thing you did for me.”
We’ve got her.
Roxy felt her back hit the wall, her eyes desperately looking to the exit behind the mass of water and glass in front of her. She swallowed.
Marigold caught that desperate look. "It doesn't need to be nasty, Roxy. We don't have to be horrible to each other."
Roxy dug into her pocket and pulled out her gun. "This is your last warning."
Outside, sirens could be heard.
“The cops are here,” Rose said. “You’ve already lost, Roxy. Why don’t you put down the gun?”
Roxy growled, and shot.
Marigold immidiately ducked down, eyes wide at the noise. But it wasn't the gun that made a crash. She suddenly felt wet and cold and in pain, her body aching as something forced her to the floor. She scrunched her eyes tight, everything stinging and loud. The floor rumbled, blood pounded in her ears. She wondered if she'd been shot.
She realised what had happened when she opened her eyes again. Her hand was covered in small cuts, her midsection felt oddly vacant in places. Roxy had shot the glass panel behind them, and it had shattered and fallen directly atop the two.
Her mind spun. She saw Rose next to her and tilted her head to see Roxy jogging out of the casino.
Rose heard the shot, and her ears immediately rung. She felt a sharp pain and fell to her knees.
This is it. I’m dying here and now. I’m so sorry, Greg... Pearl...
The world went black around her.
Marigold watched Rose close her eyes. Had the bullet gone through her? Was she dead? Marigold wanted to crawl over but found her eyes bulging at the shards of glass scattered over the floor, and then at her own hand, recognising a gush of blood streaming from somewhere. She began to hyperventilate. Aurora. Aurora wouldn't know how she'd died. Aurora, lost and alone. Aurora, abandoned by her again.
She found her eyes closing. People. Officers, yelling in loud Italian were coming closer, beckoned by the gunshot.
On this fateful day of 4/13 (merry homestuckmas!) we will finally update Educating the Victim with the stunning conclusion to the cruel cliffhanger, the eagerly awaited chapter “Hunt”.
The illustrations, and animations, are under a cut since they are quite spoilery! Read more - at your own risk!
A few redrawn illustrations from Act 3! Wow, this seems so long ago now! To think that these two are off adventuring in Italy together now... (whoops, spoiler alert for anyone who hasn’t read that far yet!)
New chapter going up next weekend!! We’re very excited!!
Oh, if you don’t read EtV on Ao3: We won’t be updating tomorrow since Ronnie has his final film due and will be concentrating on that. Also we have a lot of life things going on (nothing bad, we’re just going to move quite soon!) and it’s just a lot. We’re aiming to update on April 13, and if that changes, we’ll let you know!
In the mean time, please enjoy these fantastic redrawn cover pictures!!
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