Fire Will Rain // Xavier Thorpe

2.

It's about 7pm and I am cooped up in my dorm room drawing and listening to music. I finish a few more pictures for my wall and sit them next to my sketchbook in a pile to hang up tomorrow. Now, I flip to a fresh page and begin sketching a base for a face. I hum along to my music, lost in my art. Then it hits me. I'm drawing Xavier. I face palm and my cheeks flush red. Unfortunately, I can't get the pretty boy out of my head, as much as I wish I could.

I take my headphones off and place them on my desk, before getting up and stretching. I put on some slip-on shoes and a comfy jacket. I then pick up my phone and open my door. I am so sick of being alone that I decide to break my isolation rules and head to see my favorite person. I peek behind my door and see the hall is empty. There is no dorm master in sight, so I make my way down to my old room. I knock three times.

"Come in!" A familiar voice chirps from behind the wooden door.

I turn the handle and push the door open to find myself staring at one of the most terrifying things I've ever seen. My old room is split in half, two opposing sides meeting at the middle. One side looks the same as always, as if a rainbow has vomited on it, and the other looks like a gothic hell. I see that Wednesday has removed Enid's colorful window stain and my mouth drops a little in disbelief. I cannot believe the new girl has gotten away with it! When I was Enid's dormmate, if I ever laid a hand on her window with the intent of removing her colorful stain, she would pounce on me, claws and all.

Enid comes up to me and hugs me, "hey Alice!"

"Hi!" I say, hugging her back.

"Are u even permitted to be here?" Wednesday says, looking up from her typewriter.

"Probably not," I say. I look over at Wednesday's desk and see a black dahlia; Miss Thornhill has obviously made her rounds. Suddenly, a hand surfaces from the pots soil and begins to crawl towards me.

"Woah!" I jump back a little.

"Oh, don't be scared, that's just Thing," Enid smiles. I look at the hand confused. It looks like it's held together with stitches, but there's definitely no arm attached.

"Oh, uh, nice to meet you," I say, putting out my hand. Thing crawls closer to me and shakes my hand firmly. I knew Wednesday was weird, but I did not think 'decapitated, sentient hand as a pet' weird.

"How are you two getting along? I see the room is very... separate," I say.

"There's no need to worry, I'll be gone by tomorrow," Wednesday says, clicking away on her typewriter.

"How? You just got here," I ask.

"It's already been arranged," Wednesday says.

"Yeah, she's getting Tyler Galpin to give her a ride tomorrow at the Harvest Festival," Enid chimes in.

"Good for you, Wednesday," I say genuinely, sitting down on a rug, "I forgot about the festival. I'm definitely not going. I don't want to."

"It's mandatory Alice, you have to go," Enid says. She sits down next to me and begins to braid my hair.

"What! No fair," I pout.

"Why were you suspended?" Wednesday stops typing and stares down at me.

"That was out of the blue," I chuckle nervously under Wednesday's intense stare, "I guess I can tell you, everyone at this school pretty much already knows. I got into an accident because of my ability a few months ago and someone ended up dying. The police didn't realize I had anything to do with it, but the school did. I got suspended and put on some very restrictive rules. So, yeah, that's it," I mumble a bit towards the end.

"Your power is pyrokinesis, correct?"

"How did you know?" I ask, eyes wide with shock.

"Your clothes are slightly singed, and you smell faintly of smoke; it is hard to miss," Wednesday says, turning back to her typewriter.

"Oh... okay," I say. Was I really that readable? At least the girl didn't pressure me any more about my situation. If she asked me who had died I probably would've burned down Ophelia Hall due to the intensity of my grief.

Enid finished off my braids, "I heard you were talking to Xavier today," the girl teases.

Of course she did. She did have a blog and knew almost everything happening at the school.

"Yes, I did. But we still aren't friends," I say sternly.

"Oh, come on! You used to be so close!" Enid frowns.

"That was last term. I can't be friends with him anymore, Enid. I just can't," I sigh.

Enid knows more about the incident than anyone else, except me of course. She knows that I don't want to hurt anyone else, which is the reason I push everyone away. It took weeks for her to convince me that I wouldn't hurt her and that we could still be friends. I can't say no to her, but I can to Xavier; I am going to keep my distance. Enid doesn't exactly know the whole truth and I don't want her to yet. So, for now, I'm sticking to protecting everyone from my past.

I take my phone out of my pocket and look at the time. It's almost lights out. I sigh and get up from the rug.

"Well, I'm gonna go back to my dorm before I get caught by the House Master. I'll see you two tomorrow at the festival," I say, turning to leave.

"Okay, see you, Alice!" Enid smiles sadly.

I walk out the door and back to my dorm. I can't help but feel disappointed. If only I could still be Enid's roommate, if only the incident had never happened. I sigh, walking into my room and collapsing on my bed.

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𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗥'𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘

This was a bit of a backstory chapter, but there's definitely more behind Alice's past that you'll find out later. Don't worry though, Xavier will be in the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed!



-crimsonplanets

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