Many people argue at what point in all the great stories, the hero they have fallen in love for faces their greatest challenge. Sometimes it's a loss, sometimes it's a battle to face, sometimes it's neither of those and it's just something nobody expected until it's actually shown in the pages they read. The great warriors that defeated mighty villains of all your favorite stories; the one time Achilles led the Greek men into Troye, or even when Harry Potter had to face the death of Sirius Black and confront the Dark Lord of the Wizarding World. Thing is, there's always that point in their stories, in which it stops being a game, and it becomes a fight for everything you believe in. That's what hardships do to people. They shape you, make you stronger. You must become stronger, or else you might not outlive them. And what's the point of having a great story if there's nobody to tell it afterwards?
Connor never thought of the death of his parents that way. He always knew that it was part of him, part of his life, even if nobody else seemed to think that way. And of course it was a hardship; definitely the hardest one he'd ever have to face in his entire life, and he knew that well. But he didn't know if there was anything else waiting for him down the line. His life, to his own perspective, was in no way near to that of great Greek heroes or saviors of the magical world.
So, instead, he enjoyed watching other people's stories. See them, understand them. And when they got to that point in which they became that one hardship their heroes had to face, those that engage the viewer or the listener the most, that's when he stuck with it the most. He imagined everything the hero was going through, trying to picture it in his own words and feelings. How could they defeat that mighty giant? Save the one in danger? Cross that mountain knowing the greatest storm was coming?
Even in Alice in Wonderland's story there was such a moment, the climax. It's basic to every children's story, because it's usually that part that teaches the kids a lesson. To Connor, it was the moment in which Alice was taken to court by the Queen of Hearts. Even if most of her story was determined by chance rather than her own acting, it was then that she stood up for herself and ended up winning.
Alexis did a great Alice, that was for certain. Connor enjoyed watching her perform during their rehearsals, even if she still wasn't talking much to him due to the late events. Now that the swimming team was on a break he didn't have anything preventing him from watching the drama club practice. He knew that he still had to be supportive of her in the school's play. The lead was a very big part, after all. At first he went alone, and when she saw him, she got a bit tense, but did her part anyway. With time she got used to him watching, and became more and more engaged with the acting even as him as her audience. And, since Lilly was already going to the rehearsals every day to coach Alexis and help Mr. Dawson in directing the kids whenever he asked for her assistance, the two friends had made it a habit to walk their way to the auditorium together every day after class. One day, Lilly and Connor walked towards the auditorium, as they talked about their boring day. School had already become a lame routine with all the holiday get-ups and stuff celebrating Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza and you name it. They had both already learned to endure that part of their academic lives.
-"And what about Ms. Ballinger's obsession with Christmas Carols?"—Lilly said, scoffing—"She sure is getting high hopes on more kids joining the voluntary choir, but I don't see that happening."
-"Well, some of them seemed interested."—Connor observed.
-"Not really... did anyone, really?"
-"Yeah, like, Troye? Well, he might not have much time, considering the auditions for that internship he wants and the contest for the Broods..."
-"Yeah, he told me he won't be able to go to choir this year."
-"I thought I saw other people... you know, I thought Oli seemed interested?"
At the mention of Oli's name, Lilly's look turned into a very uncomfortable one. She no longer walked to the bus stop with Oli like they used to before, and whenever Connor tried to hint her into telling him if things were ok between the two of them, she would change the subject right away. He hated thinking that they had gotten into a fight because of Dustin's visit, he felt like he was responsible for it. But it still made no sense, why Oli took it so hard on him, but Connor had stopped asking himself questions he knew he couldn't answer by then.
-"I wouldn't know..."—she said, brushing it off—"Ms. Ballinger sure shouldn't be the only person taking care of that, though. She' supposed to get married soon. Her fiancé sure is hot, though! His name is Josh or something, some kids have seen him going out and about in the coolest car—"
-"Lilly."—Connor said, stopping her in her tracks and placing his hands on her shoulders—"Stop doing this."
-"Huh? Doing what?"
-"Changing the subject. Avoiding talking about, well... you know."
Lilly's eye roll and subsequent sigh was evidence enough that Connor's efforts were pointless.
-"I'm fine."—she said, removing Connor's hands from her shoulders—"There's nothing to talk about, okay? If Oli wants to be an ass about everything, it's his problem..."
Lilly went back to walking, with Connor right behind her. But she wasn't done talking just yet.
-"Besides, I'm worried about you... your... your brother, he... he hasn't tried... anything, right?"
-"... No. No, he kept to his word. I haven't heard of him again."
-"... Good."—Lilly said, looking at Connor with a sad smile—"You deserve better than that."
They gave the right turn that lead directly into the auditorium's double door, and found no other than the Queen of Hearts herself, Lia. The sole sight of her made both Lilly and Connor get the goosebumps. However, they were quick to realize she wasn't alone. She was talking to some kid, someone Connor didn't recognize, though he seemed familiar for some reason. He was pale, king of tall, had two huge eye bags that made him look one hundred years old and two chubby cheeks that made him look five; it that were even possible. Lia seemed to be scolding him for some reason. He figured he had probably screwed up on something.
-"Geez. The witch found her next victim..."—Lilly said under her breath.
-"Say, who's that kid?"
-"Hmm? Oh, he must be in the play. Let's see... Oh, that's Trevor!"—she said, clearly confused by the sight.
-"The guy Alexis has a crush on?"
-"Yeah, and she's totally giving him shit right now! Well, not on my watch..."
Lilly started walking decisively to confront her, with Connor right next to her. As they got closer, the Trevor kid became aware of their presence, but Lia hadn't just yet.
-"... And don't screw it up, you hear me? Or else you'll have to deal with me."—they heard Lia say quite menacingly to the kid, who frankly looked terrified—"You know that I have just enough to mess up your pretty little life...!"
-"Well, well, well. I mean, I knew snakes were poisonous, but this is all just a new low."—Lilly said, pronouncing their arrival, crossing her arms before Lia and looking at her disapprovingly.
Lia flipped her hair, and her menacing face changed back into the fake smile Connor had learned to dislike.
-"Singh! And... Connor."—she said, dragging her words—"What a surprise."
-"Same here."—Lilly said—"Any reason why you're being a bitch to Trevor today?"
-"I have my reasons. None of which is your business, really."—Lia said, never losing her smile, as Trevor looked directly at the floor—"Just two actors worrying about the play. Not that you should know, since you're not in it."
-"I'm Mr. Dawson's assistant director and acting coach. I think I'm supposed to be involved in this little exchange of yours."
-"Well, it's over now, what a pity. We should be going inside. Long day today."
Trevor opened the double doors and walked inside, with Lia behind him. Connor could swear she looked at him with a certain despise he had only seen her give Lilly before she entered the room, and that made his fist clench, and a drop of sweat fall from his forehead.
Inside the auditorium, most of the kids were running around the stage, seemingly lost in focus and without any proper directions. That was odd, even for Mr. Dawson. And that was when Connor noticed that up onstage it wasn't the drama club teacher as he usually would be standing there trying to direct all of the kids, but instead was his quirky, nerdy history teacher, Mr. Graceffa, clapping his hands enthusiastically.
-"Come on kids, work with me here!"—he pleaded, in his high-pitched voice—"Let's try to get just one scene done, and then we can call it a day, how about that?"
-"What is he doing here?"—Connor asked, quite unimpressed.
-"Augh... Mr. Dawson is skipping another day for some personal thing he has to work on. He probably asked Mr. Graceffa to fill out for him... Look, there's the kids of film club helping out as well!"
Connor looked to the direction Lilly was pointing at, and effectively, he saw Mikey, Luke and the rest of the film club crew working on the lighting and the projectors they were going to use for the play. He waved hello at them, before sitting down on one of the auditorium seats, as Lilly headed upstage to start helping out with the rehearsal. He started looking around for Alexis, but he didn't seem to able to find her. She was probably helping out backstage or something.
Finally, the kids of the drama club seemed to heed Mr. Graceffa's instructions, after that kid Carl gave him one of Mr. Dawson's rarely used megaphones.
-"Thanks, Carl, you're such a big help!"—Mr. Graceffa had congratulated.
-"It's not the same without being yelled at..."—was Carl's reaction, as he walked back downstage with the rest of the production crew.
-"Alright, where's our lead? It's time to begin!"—Mr. Graceffa spoke on the megaphone.
-"Oh, she's on the back. Someone is already on their way to bring her here."—Said Lia, paying a little too much attention to her nails.
Lilly looked at Connor, both of them struck with worry. Something just didn't seem right.
-"Well, we're going to rehearse the Queen of Heart's trial scene! Everyone to their positions! Lia, sweetheart, come on, go towards the trial stand, remember your lines, everybody... where's the Mad Hatter?"
Whatever was taking so long for Alexis and that Trevor kid to appear, it was starting to bother Connor a bit too much. Lilly seemed quite uneasy herself. Connor called out to Mikey's attention.
-"Mikey, where the hell is Al?"
-"I have no clue! I haven't seen her for over ten minutes or so."—he said, concerned as well—"But Trevor is supposed to get her..."
-"Trevor?"
Connor's words were cut short by the opening of the theatre's double doors, and Troye entering into the auditorium, looking a bit sweaty, as if he had been running on his way there.
-"What did I miss? Am I late?"—Troye asked Connor, the second he had gotten to his bench and sat on his side.
-"Uhm... no, no it's not even started yet..."—Connor said, noticing his cheeks were feeling strangely hot for some reason.
-"Oh, thank God! I've been wanting to tag along with you to a rehearsal all week, but Mr. See takes out a lot of my time with piano practice... but today he left early! Said something about a date?"
-"Oh, yeah, Grace did tell us that she might be home late tonight. They have been going out a lot, she seems very happy with him... uh... so you didn't come here to see Lia?"
-"What? Oh... well..."—Troye suddenly seemed self-conscious at Connor's question, and he started stammering with his response—"I-I mean, sure. She's here as well, it's a win for all, I guess..."
Connor looked back at the stage, smiling to himself at Troye's words. Troye seemed to notice, and from the corner of his eye, Connor saw him redden a bit.
-"W-What!?"—Troye asked, quite defensively.
-"Oh, nothing... you just are bad a liar, man."
Troye seemed to want to retort, but he stopped before saying anything. A few minutes passed, and still no sign of Alexis or Trevor. Connor was getting genuinely worried, and Mr. Graceffa seemed to be losing his patience.
-"Where on earth could they be!? I'm pretty sure this megaphone makes my voice loud enough..."—he said, shaking the megaphone around a bit.
-"He doesn't really need the megaphone..."—Connor overheard Luke say, making most of the film club kids laugh.
Then, suddenly, Lia stepped up, cleared her throat and directed herself to Mr. Graceffa.
-"But Mr. Graceffa, on the meantime, why don't we check the camera and video equipment? I'm sure we can use some of our spare time to make sure everything's working alright..."
-"Well...? I guess you are right, Ms. Johnson! Until our lead characters arrive, how about our friends from the film crew show us if the projectors are working properly?"
The head of the film crew, a tall and skinny kid that seemed overly nervous and out of place, heeded to Mr. Graceffa's instructions.
-"S-Sure... eh... Korns, Murphy, help me out with the projector settings... eh... if somebody could please get the screen up? Okay? So... let's see if it's working..."
The projector was placed in such a way that it showed a picture on the white screen they had placed onstage. Originally, the idea was to try and recreate some of the fantastical world atmosphere in the story with visual effects. Mr. Dawson had always wanted to include the film club more in the drama club activities, it was his way of making all of the kids interact. Connor always found it rather silly, but his intentions were good, and surprisingly effective in their results. All of the kids onstage walked down to see if the projector worked properly, and the minute it turned on, it started showing images of a beautiful forest-like landscape, with plants and flowers of colors and shapes Connor had never seen in books or real life. It sure was a work of art.
-"Well, it seems to be working just fine!"—Mr. Graceffa clapped in approval.
-"But what about the cameras? Are those working? We need them for the backstage shots and the Cheshire Cat's scenes."—Lia said, as if it were an urgent matter, and Connor didn't like it one single bit.
-"Oh! Well, if that's the case... let's see if the cameras are working properly, ok?"
-"Eh... sure..."—the film club head said, giving out the instruction to change the images on the projector.
Connor looked nervously at Lilly, both of them with the same thought on their mind: Lia was up to something.
The first camera was installed at the back of the auditorium's seating benches, and it showed all of them watching the screen from the far back. The second camera was placed directly backstage, behind the red curtain, where the kids still had to put up the back scenery for the scenes of the Cheshire Cat. The third camera was all the way up on the roof, and it was placed there for making the fake stunt scenes.
And then, the fourth camera showed up onscreen. And Connor's blood froze.
Somewhere backstage, hidden behind props and a couple of cardboard trees and castle towers, Alexis and Trevor were standing close to each other. Really, really dangerously close. Alexis seemed very nervous, looking away from the camera, completely unaware of its location, as Trevor leaned in closer to her face, and the two of them started kissing. Gasps were heard all around, and Connor noticed that people were whispering things, and that Mr. Graceffa was too in shock to say anything. But then, he caught a glimpse of something at the video displaying in front of everyone, and perhaps it was just the blinding rage he felt boiling his veins, but he could swear that he saw Trevor look directly at the camera, right into the lens.
Before he realized what he was doing, and without heeding to anyone's calls towards him, he was off his seat and running directly backstage. Walking towards the far off back of the auditorium and to the left, he arrived the storage room, barging in forcefully and making some props fall down to the floor on the process. And there they were, making out, in exposure for everyone to see. Connor walked decisively towards the couple, as Alexis saw him entering, her eyes widening in shock.
-"Wait-Trevor, wait, you have to go—"
-"No! No, stay here, don't worry, trust me..."
-"No, listen to me, you have to leave, you have to leave right now—"
-"HEY! HEY! I'M TALKING TO YOU, YOU LITTLE SHIT!"
Alexis didn't have to tell Trevor twice. The pale kid pushed her off the second he turned around and saw Connor, and started backing away, scared shitless. Connor didn't listen to Alexis' questioning, and instead, struck Trevor on the face with his right fist. Trevor, who was much shorter and weaker than Connor, fell right onto the floor, in a squeal of pain. Connor didn't give him a chance to stand up, throwing himself at him, and punching him on the stomach, chest and face.
-"CONNOR! CONNOR! WHAT THE FUCK!? CONNOR, STOP! STOP!"—Alexis cried out, trying to grasp a hold of Connor, and having him push her away with every single attempt.
-"YOU... THINK... IT'S... FUNNY!?"—Connor asked between punches, beating the kid on the floor up mercilessly—"IS THIS... YOUR IDEA... OF A JOKE!?"
-"CONNOR WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING!? WE WERE JUST KISSING! WE WERE JUST KISSING CONNOR, I SWEAR! PLEASE LET HIM GO!"
-"THERE'S CAMERAS AL! THERE'S CAMERAS EVERYWHERE! THERE'S ONE RIGHT THERE!"
Connor pointed out the corner from which he knew the camera must have been placed at. And sure enough, carefully placed between an unused paper mache statue and a set of black curtains that hanged all the way up to the ceiling, was a camera, filming everything that was going on, including Connor beating up Trevor.
But that wasn't enough to make Connor care. He went back to punching Trevor all over, with Alexis' gasps and sobs coming behind him seeming voiceless at the time.
-"WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ON YOUR DEFENSE, HUH!? WHAT IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE, YOU SICK BASTARD!?"
Connor kept shouting questions at Trevor, who was nose bleeding badly, and was getting ready to give him yet another strike to the face, when the kid finally reacted.
-"I'M GAY!"—he screamed, covering his face with both hands between sobs—"I'M GAY! PLEASE, STOP HITTING ME! I'M GAY!"
And at this, Connor did stop.
"What the fuck?", he thought.
And Alexis was thinking right the same thing, because she had stopped sobbing and was now instead looking at the scene before her in utter shock.
-"... What!?"—Connor asked violently.
Trevor just kept sobbing and covering his face, but Connor didn't have the patience to deal with that.
-"TALK!"—he demanded.
-"I-I-I'm gay, alright!? I was kissing this b-boy I'm seeing and someone caught us! A-A-And they said that if I didn't do what they said, they would t-tell everyone!"
Connor let down his fist. He was puffing in rage, and looking down at Trevor like he was literal garbage. He turned around, and saw Alexis with hands over her mouth, and tears down her face, looking at the two horrified. And then, he realized it wasn't just the three of them anymore. Mr. Graceffa, along most of the kids that were onstage were now in the storage room as well. The second Mr. Graceffa saw Trevor on the floor, he let out a squeal, and ran towards the two. He ordered Connor to leave Trevor (it had been the first time Connor had seen the history teacher this angry, and it was kind of as scary as it was ridiculous), and picked him up, telling some kids to take him to the infirmary right away. He started screaming at Connor, something about how he was in such big trouble, and how this was going to have consequences.
But Connor didn't care.
He wasn't hearing Mr. Graceffa's screams, or Lilly's orders to the rest of the kids to leave the room because it wasn't any of their business, nor was he looking at Troye's look of horror on his face. He was looking at one thing and one thing only; Alexis, crying in front of everyone. And staring right back at him, with nothing but hatred on her eyes.
---
A loud, heavy thud of the front door opening violently shook up the entire house, as Alexis barged into the lounge, throwing her backpack in any direction as she kept crying, with her eyes colored red from the anger.
-"GET AWAY FROM ME!"—she yelled, stomping heavily with every step she took into Grace's house.
Directly behind her, Connor entered the house practically running. Mikey, Lilly and Troye, who had all come with them, keeping their distance.
-"Al, please! You have to hear me out! Everybody was watching! I knew the whole thing was to embarrass you, I had to do something!"
-"NO YOU DIDN'T! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!? STOP TALKING TO ME!"
From the living room, a couple of all dressed up Grace and Chester appeared, both of them ready to leave the house and go out to dinner, like Grace had told the kids they were doing that morning. She was wearing a dark red dress, which Connor remembered her mother had given to her when they visited for Thanksgiving, and she was wearing makeup for once. But the second she saw Alexis that upset, she stepped up to interfere.
-"Kids? Why are you so early from theatre? Alexis, why are you crying...?"
-"Grace, it's not really a good time..."—Mikey whispered, but he was caught off by Connor.
-"Al! Please, come talk to me! I'm sorry!"
Alexis had gone to the kitchen to drink a glass of water, but that did nothing to calm her nerves. She was now stomping right past Connor and walking upstairs to her bedroom.
-"Al, come back and talk to me! Come on, I'm your—!"
-"WHAT!? WHAT, CONNOR, YOU'RE MY WHAT!?"
Alexis had stopped in the middle of the stairs, turning her back completely and facing Connor, with her usually calm, happy green eyes now clouded with blind rage, and water running down her rosy cheeks. She seemed much more than just upset. It was as if all of the anger she had been keeping to herself for a long time had now finally exploded, and she was unable to keep it in her anymore. Grace gasped when she saw the look on Alexis' eyes, taking a hand to her chest, and Chester holding her close from behind her, looking quite concerned himself. Connor was left speechless, knowing now that he didn't realize what he was saying just a second ago.
-"WHAT ARE YOU, CONNOR!? BECAUSE I'M NOT YOUR LITTLE SISTER, REMEMBER!? THAT'S SOMETHING YOU MADE VERY CLEAR TO ME! SO DON'T COME AND TELL ME NOW, OF ALL TIMES, THAT YOU'RE MY BROTHER!"
-"Al—"
-"NO! DON'T 'AL' ME!"—she screamed, taking her hands to her head, almost wanting to rip her own hair off, and shaking her head strongly making her red beanie which she never took off dangle off of it—"I'M NOT A LITTLE GIRL ANYMORE, I DON'T NEED YOU TO FEEL SORRY FOR ME! I DON'T NEED YOU TO GO AROUND BEATING THE CRAP OUT OF EVERY SINGLE KID WHOSE OUT TO HURT ME!"
Connor didn't say anything. Of all moments, now, he would be holding on to Alexis for support at such a confrontation. Never, in all the years the two of them had known each other, had he ever thought the day in which he had to confront her would come. In fact, he was hoping it never did.
-"YOU MIGHT GET EXPELLED! HOW DO YOU THINK THAT MAKES ME FEEL!? I FEEL USELESS! POINTLESS! ALL I'VE EVER DONE IS GET YOU INTO TROUBLE, AND YOU'VE ALWAYS JUMPED RIGHT INTO IT! THAT'S NOT TAKING CARE OF ME! AND I'M NOT TAKING CARE OF YOU EITHER, AM I!? SO, TELL ME; WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DOING!?"
Grace was already shedding tears, and Mikey stared at his foster sister with his mouth agape. Connor stood still, determined not to flinch. Knowing that this outburst wasn't just about him beating up Trevor for tricking her the horrible way he had done that day.
-"... This is about Dustin's visit, isn't it?"—Connor asked, knowing that now he was going to take the consequences of that day tenfold.
Alexis burst out crying, barely managing to avoid falling on her knees in the middle of the stairs, and trying her best to avoid bawling in front of everyone. Connor knew that she hated to seem weak to the people she considered close. This was, by all means, breaking all of her taboos.
-"HE CAME LOOKING FOR YOU...!"—she screamed, holding out her arms accusingly—"HE'S BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU FOR YEARS, CONNOR, AND HE FINALLY SHOWED! AND YOU MADE HIM RAN OFF...! DO YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU DID IT!? DO YOU THINK I DIDN'T REALIZE YOU DID IT TO PROTECT ME!?"
Connor stayed silent. That was a truth he had never admitted to himself, but he had always known, deep down, that had been the real reason he had thrown out Dustin that day—he didn't want anything to separate him and Alexis. Not even his own brother.
-"I know...! I know that you've been waiting for so long... for so long to know if he was still out there!"—Alexis went on, dragging the words barely, as she kept crying—"And then he shows up one day and you throw him out like that!? HE'S YOUR FAMILY, CONNOR! YOUR BROTHER! I'M NOT, HE IS...! I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR HIM FOR YEARS! DON'T TELL ME OTHERWISE! BECAUSE I KNOW! I KNOW!"
At this point, she had start stomping heavily on the steps of the stairs, letting out all of the bad energy she had on her body. Finally, she seemed to be more calm. She was still crying, and everyone was still just staring at her, without saying anything. Connor felt unable to look her in the eye. He felt miserably ashamed.
-"... Do you even know how much I want a family, Connor?"—she asked, looking at him directly, without caring about anybody else—"It's all I've ever wanted my entire life. And ever since I met you I felt like... like I finally had something. So I just... I just don't understand... how can you push yours away...?"
Connor looked up to her to answer her question, on the verge of tears.
-"... It's not like that, Al..."
-"Yes. Yes it is."
-"No, it's different! It's more complicated, he—"
-"HE WAS TWELVE!"—Alexis screamed once again, only that she wasn't anywhere near tears this time—"HE WAS TWELVE AND HE WAS JUST A KID! BUT YOU'RE BOTH ADULTS NOW! YOU HAD A CHANCE, CONNOR! ONE CHANCE! AND YOU LET IT GO JUST LIKE THAT!? DO YOU KNOW WHAT I WOULD GIVE FOR THAT TO EVER HAPPEN TO ME!? FOR SOMEONE TO COME ONE DAY, AND TELL ME THEY ARE MY FAMILY!? DO YOU!?"
-"Al, you don't know if someday—"
-"STOP CONDESCENDING ME! I WAS ABANDONED WHEN I WAS A BABY! MY PARENTS MIGHT AS WELL BE DEAD FOR ALL ANYONE KNOWS! AND I'M THE STUPID KID WHO KEEPS THINKING THAT MAYBE SOMEDAY THEY MIGHT SHOW UP! BUT THEY WON'T! I KNOW THEY WON'T! AND THIS STUPID BEANIE—!"
Alexis grabbed the red beanie she never took off with her right hand, grasping it really hard, so much that it even made her hand appear red.
-"I'VE BEEN HOLDING ON TO THIS LIKE AN IDIOT FOR FIFTEEN YEARS! FOR NOTHING! THEY ARE NOT COMING BACK! THEY NEVER ARE!"
Alexis threw it at Connor, who caught it with both hands, leaving everyone shocked and speechless.
-"MY SAD, SAD REALITY, IS THAT THIS HOUSE AND THIS TOWN ARE THE BEST THINGS THAT HAVE EVER HAPPENED TO ME! THAT, AND YOU!"—Alexis screamed, as if the words hurt to say out loud, like knives making her bleed on her very insides—"AND NOT A DAY GOES BY IN WHICH I DON'T HATE MYSELF FOR RUINING YOUR LIFE THE WAY I HAVE...! FOR MAKING YOU STICK WITH ME FOR THIS LONG...! SO STOP! STOP DEFENDING ME! STOP LOOKING OUT FOR ME, BEFORE YOUR LIFE GETS EVEN MORE MESSED UP! I'M SICK OF IT! I'M SICK OF FEELING RESPONSIBLE, I'M SICK OF FEELING GUILTY! IT'S OVER NOW! YOU CAN LEAVE IF YOU WANT TO, I DON'T CARE! PLEASE...! JUST...! GO...!"
Alexis turned around, and without giving anybody a chance to say anything, burst directly to her room, shutting the door with might force. Connor couldn't fathom any words or thoughts. He just held the red beanie in his hands, looking at it. It looked so old and worn out. He kind of felt that exact same way at the moment.
-"Alright. What happened. Somebody, please tell me."—Grace asked, looking at the group of kids, clearly distraught from all of what had happened.
Lilly was now standing next to Connor, trying to give him a side hug, but not being really good at it. Troye was still below the main door frame, looking directly at the floor, so it was up to Mikey to put her up to speed.
-"... Someone tried to pull a prank on Alexis, and filmed her making out with this kid at drama club."
-"Oh my God, that's awful!"
-"Yeah, but Connor stopped them before it got worse. He also... eh..."
-"... I beat the kid up."—Connor confessed, still looking at the beanie—"For... for setting her up."
-"Oh, dear lord..."
Grace was rubbing her temples, and now walked in circles, muttering under her breath about how this was such a mess. It was then when Lilly spoke up.
-"I... I think I better go."—she said—"I have to go back home anyway, and it's getting late..."
-"Oh, of course sweetie, do you need me to drive you?"—Grace offered.
-"No, it's fine, really..."
-"No, I think we should drive you, Lilly. It's getting late and we're all a bit too jumpy right now. We should all put our part right now."—said Chester, with the best intention to help.
However, Grace turned towards him with a strange, sad look on her face.
-"Actually, Chester... you should probably go, too."
-"What? Why? I can help here."
-"No—no, you really don't have to. The kids are my responsibility, I am their foster mother—I have to... I have to look out for them, you understand?"
-"But you can't possibly do everything by yourself. I can help, Grace."
-"Listen, I really can't have this conversation right now! I have to make sure Alexis is doing alright, she's up there all on her own, and I—dang it, what is it at this hour?"
Grace had gotten interrupted by the sound of her ringing phone. She took it out of her clutch purse and rolled her eyes heavily when she saw the caller on the lit screen.
-"Shit. It's Mamrie. It's probably about what happened..."—she the turned towards the kids—"Kids please don't go anywhere; Lilly, I will drive you home. Troye did you come in your car or do you need a ride too?"
-"No, I came in my car; I can drive Lilly as well..."
-"That'd be great, thank you—damn it! Ok, I have to take this call, please all stay put... Hello? Mamrie? Yes, yes I'm home..."
Grace walked towards the living room looking very nervous, Chester walking right behind her, looking even more nervous and twice as worried. Connor hated to see them like this. They had ruined their date night, for starters.
Mikey let out a huge sigh, and then turned towards Connor.
-"Well, what now?"
-"... I don't know."—Connor admitted.
-"I'll tell you what now!"—Lilly said, snapping out of the blue—"We find whoever's responsible! Who would do such a thing to Alexis!? What can they possibly gain from it!?"
-"... Please, Lilly."
Everybody turned towards Troye, who had remained silent all that time. He had a resolved look on his face, and Connor met his eyes with an exchange of recognition and realization.
-"We all know who did it."—he said.
And that was true; everybody knew who had been the one to send Trevor to do the dirty work. They just didn't want to admit it.
But Lia didn't give them much trouble with it anymore, because right as they had gotten to that conclusion, Connor saw her walking towards Grace's house. Troye noticed that Connor was looking at something, and the second he saw it was her, he opened the main door, walking outside furiously. Lia stopped right when she saw him, looking quite scared and distraught at the same time. Connor, Lilly and Mikey watched from outside. Troye was now right before her, under the gray sky of that winter day in Yule.
-"What the fuck were you thinking?"—Troye asked sternly, his voice sounding evidently angry—"What were you expecting to achieve?"
-"Troye! I... I don't know what you are talking about—I was walking through the neighborhood and then I noticed your mom's car and—"
-"Lia don't lie to me. Why are you really here?"
Lia rolled her eyes and frowned, unable to look at Troye directly.
-"Fine. I came to apologize. You happy?"
-"So you really did it. It was you who made Trevor trick Alexis into kissing him."
-"It was just a stupid prank, alright!? It got out of hand! How was I supposed to know that Mr. Big Hero was going to go and beat the shit out of Moran!?"
Connor clenched his fist, looking at Lia from inside the house. He knew she could see him as well, and it was becoming annoying to have her this close.
-"What the fuck were you thinking, Lia? Tell me, please! Because I just don't understand!"
Lia scoffed, a smile forming on her face.
-"It was just a joke, for God's sake! You weren't even supposed to be there! So what if I wanted to pull a prank on Alexis!? Nobody was supposed to get hurt!"
-"You were going to humiliate her, Lia. You of all people should know what that's like."
Lia's face went pale, a lot paler than what Connor had ever seen her before. She looked like she had been pushed in the wrong buttons for the first time ever.
-"That has nothing to do with this..."—she started saying.
-"You're right. This is about you being cruel, and acting crazily towards a nice girl that only wanted to be part of the play. Only because she took the lead from you. How mature is that!?"
-"It's not! It's childish, and stupid! And I have put thought into it, and that's why I'm here to apologize to her for, but you... why are you here?"
-"Because Connor is my friend, and Alexis is his foster sister. And you made this day hell for them, that's why!"
Lia seemed to be speechless. She was left with her mouth hanging open and no words to defend herself.
-"I don't even know you anymore."—Troye said, looking at her disapprovingly—"What happened to you, Lia? You weren't like this. You were never like this..."
Lia lowered her gaze, biting her lower lip, and stayed like that for a few seconds. She then looked up at Troye again, sobbing.
-"I know, I know, this isn't like me..."—she said—"But I don't know what's wrong with me lately! And you...! You are never around anymore, and I haven't been able to talk to you and I feel like... I feel like...!"
Now it was Troye to be left speechless. He clearly wasn't expecting for her to turn the table like that. And neither was any of the people watching them from inside the house.
-"... We've grown apart, I know."—Lia said—"And I can't help but have this horrible... feeling, this sensation that... that you're..."
-"... What?"—Troye asked tentatively—"That I'm what, Lia?"
-"... That you're seeing somebody else! Or cheating on me, or moving on, or whatever—!"
Connor's throat clenched, and the second it did, Lilly's head snapped in his direction, looking fierce and clear-headed. Like she had just realized something. Connor did his best to remain still, and not give her any signs of noticing her. Mikey was just watching in silence.
-"That's ridiculous, Lia! Don't make this about us! This is about you being terrible to everyone...!"
-"But I'm right, aren't I!? There is somebody else, and you are moving on from me...!"
-"I'm not going to do this anymore..."
-"No, please, Troye! I already feel terrible, please don't make this worse...!"
-"You did this yourself!"
Troye spat, and then the two of them went quiet, puffing and staring at each other like a pair of venomous predators about to engage in a fight to the death.
And finally, Troye spoke.
-"It's over, Lia."—he said—"We're over. Go home."
There are times in every story, when the hero comes face to face with their greatest hardship. It can be a clash against a great villain, or a battle in which they have to lead a mighty army, or the overcoming of a storm that they know they can't survive.
Or the look of pure disgust on the blackest eyes of the Queen of Hearts, who has just everything, and has nothing to hold her back anymore from wearing her true colors.
And that moment was when Lia looked at Troye, and then at Connor inside the house. Like she blamed him for everything, and he knew she blamed him for it. It was only a couple of seconds, but it felt like an unbearable eternity. And he hated her as much as she hated him for every bit of the eternity in which they were crossing their eyes.
Until Lia turned around, and walked away. But she stopped first to turn back at Troye, now her ex once again, and spat venomously.
-"You know I did that girl a favor. She was head over heels for that little faggot, and he knew. He was going to lead her on and use her as a beard for the rest of High School if nobody did anything about it."
Connor felt his body freeze. And from what he could see of Troye, he could see he was going through a similar thing.
-"... Isn't that even crueler, hm?"—she asked.
And that's when Lilly exited the house and walked towards the two, standing right next to Troye, who was paler than the snow that lied on the street.
-"Bitch, leave."—she said—"Do us all a big fucking favor, and just be fucking gone."
Lia didn't have to listen to her twice. Just a twirl over her heels, and she was gone the same way she had gotten there.
The rest of the afternoon was all just numb and confusing to Connor. He heard both Lilly and Troye try and talk to him, but neither's words really got to him. He was still soaking in all of what Alexis had said.
She basically told him to disappear, the same way Lilly had told Lia. She had basically hated him much more than what he had ever hated anyone before; and he had always thought Alexis was incapable of hate.
At one point, both Troye and Lilly had to leave. Not before they both gave him a tight hug goodbye, and Troye asking him to text him if he needed anything. Connor didn't fail to notice Lilly's look of suspicion as that came down. He was left alone with Mikey, the two of them just sitting with one another on their bedroom, on their separate beds. Neither of them knew what was going to happen now. Clearly, this had become more than just a one-day problem.
Mikey eventually told Connor good night, and fell asleep on his bed. But Connor wasn't as lucky. As tossed and turned, he realized it was past midnight, and that he couldn't sleep unless he at least had some water. He descended to the first floor, to the kitchen, and did what he had to. On his way back up, he found himself with a slightly sobbing Grace, who was clothed in her sleeping pajamas.
-"... Grace?"—he asked—"What happened?"
-"Oh, Connor, sweetie... nothing, it's nothing. I talked to Mamrie, you're not getting expelled. You do have to talk to the guidance counselor about your punishment, though... I'm sorry for that..."
-"That doesn't matter—why are you crying?"
-"Oh, this? No, this isn't anything, don't worry about me... just go to bed, sweetie..."
Connor obeyed, and was about to go upstairs, when a thought occurred to him. He turned back towards Grace, and asked a question he hoped he didn't have the answer to.
-"... Where's... where's Chester?"
Grace seemed to be restraining herself from giving out an answer at first, but the sigh of defeat she let out signaled she had given up on that.
-"I asked him to go home. And... and that we were over, he and I."—she confessed, with the tiniest voice Connor had ever heard on her—"It was just too complicated—I let him distract me from taking care of you guys. It's okay. We're gonna do fine... I just... We're gonna go through this, alright?"
But Connor knew it wasn't alright.
Of all the things in the world, it was definitely not alright.
---
A/N
Okay, so three things:
1) The YOUTH video OH MY GOD, I WAS SO NERVOUS AND SCARED I THOUGHT IT WAS TOO MANY COINCIDENCES!!! But thankfully it was a SUPER COOL video and SO FUNNY oh my GOD it was GOOD!
2) Contrary to popular belief, I don't have Lia Marie Johnson. I actually really, really REALLY like her. But I needed someone to be Troye's girlfriend which nobody liked; especially for this part of the story, as you can all tell. But I think she's extremely talented, and I'm glad that the Youtube community has her. She has great potential and I love her to bits! But yeah, Algid Lia is evil. Evil and hateworthy. But she's a CHARACTER, nothing more! Not the real Lia BY ANY MEANS!
3) THIS CHAPTER TOOK FOREVEEEEEEEEER TO WRITE! I'm so tired and excited because the good parts of the story are HERE!!! And by good I mean DRAMAAAAAAAAAA
Also please don't hate me for what's to come
Becuase wow, I think you all will want to hate me so much
Until the next time, then!!!
See ya soon, you crazy lot!!!!
--Coffee