-Lily 1992-
When those detentions turned from one to four. Well everyone seemed to blame themselves and each other. Anger was festering. Yet when seemingly we would all split apart we all got together. Sharing lunches, talking about hopes.
And thankfully your mother seemed to forgive me. Everything was calm. And on one rainy afternoon it happened. Hermione and Naomi, an unlikely pair I know, were trying to break open Mrs. Krabappel's drawer.
"What are you doing?" Penelope asks them. Obviously on the line of lecturing.
"Yesterday, Mrs. Krabappel took my game lad and she locked it up in here, so I'm getting it back," Hermione says and Penelope looks at Naomi.
"6 packs of my cigarettes have went in here," Naomi says desperately trying to pull it open, "besides I like breaking stuff."
"That's vandalism," Penelope says crossing her arms as it pops open. Naomi pulls her cigarettes out from the top and pockets them quickly.
"Yeah!" Sierra says looking at us marching over with the others, "Holy crap! Krabappel's been hoarding our stuff for decades." Sierra passes Fred his drumsticks. "Ooh!" People grab the confiscated things from the drawer left and right.
"What's that?" I ask as Penelope pulls out a box. It was white. Neat and medieval looking. And there it was Y/n, Gryphons and Gargoyles. The game that destroys lives.
"I've heard of this game before," Penelope says cautiously. Her mood changes to very strict in seconds. She holds it to her chest. "We shouldn't play it, it doesn't belong to us anyway."
"Gryphons and Gargoyles," FP says as he pulls it away from her, "Thought this was an urban legend."
"I heard some kids have been playing it Seaside," Fred says looking to us all like it was something impressive.
"I heard one of them had a heart attack and died," Hermione says and Naomi scoffs loudly. My heart beats loudly. it couldn't of been the game right?
"In that case, we definitely have to play it, right?" Alice says smirking at the group. We all slowly seem to get on the same page. Besides Naomi.
"I've heard this game is a loser role playing game that literally will bore us to death," Naomi says pulling back, "so let's not."
"Come on Naom," Fred says taking her hand. A pit of jealousy filling my stomach, "it's not like there is anything better to do." Naomi was very adamant about not playing this game. She always said it was because it was something for losers. But I think it was because it made her uneasy. I think in some level she knew about the game or at least knew we shouldn't have played it.
"'An ancient evil, long forgotten to this world, has awoken,'" Penelope reads as all of us sit in a circle around the game, a thick manual in her hands, "'His name, the Gargoyle King. Defeat him and receive the supreme reward.'"
"Okay, but how do we beat him?" FP asks impatiently.
"It looks like the person with the manual, that'd be me, is the Game Master," Penelope says reading from yhr book, "I will guide you through quests and you complete them until you ascend to the next level. But first, pick your characters."
"I pick 'The Sorceress.'" Alice says picking up the card, "Maybe I can make all you nerds disappear."
"I pick, 'The Thief'" Hermione says, "I've always wanted to be free of moral reasoning." Hermione holds the card close to her face. Thief like her little boyfriend.
"Well, as the voice of the people, I choose 'The Siren'" Sierra says proudly of her stance.
"'Deadeye'" FP says reading the card her grabs, "Sick!"
"Fred, we all know you are 'The Radiant Knight," Penelope says and I quickly move in.
"Brace and righteous," I say, "it's perfect for you."
"'Clinging to the ideals of hope, justice, and righteousness," Fred reads out, "I don't know, it seems kinda-"
"Boring." Alice says barely looking at him.
"Perfect for you." Hermione and I say. I glare at Hermione as she says it. Didn't she already have a boyfriend.
"Lame." Naomi groans leaning back, "this all is so lame!"
"Pick your character already Naomi," Alice groans. Naomi reaches and grabs the one closet to her.
"High Elf," She says to them, "great maybe I'll join in Alice with making people disappear. Better yet I'll make myself disappear."
"Half Orc," David says as he pulls a card towards him, "'barbarians that live in uneasy balance, fighting in some seasons and trading in others."
"Perfect for you," Hermione says looking at him, "a barbarian." David rolls his eyes.
"And the seasons is sleeping with each Bonnet sister," Naomi scoffs loudly then looks to me, "Lily you're the only one left."
"And it seems she's left with," Fred pauses as he reaches for the card revealing my fate. "The Princess."
"How fitting," Alice says.
"Now, pay attention," Penelope says forcing Naomi to calm down, "'Welcome, brave adventurers, to Eldervair, realm of Gryphons and Gargoyles.' Lady Smith, please pick your quest card." Alice reaches for a quest card to start.
"'Free the souls of the undead,'" she reads out not really caring about the situation.
"'You are standing at the top of Necromancer's Alley," Penelope reads dramatically.
That's how it begins, The maddening obsession, with the roll of a dice. But once you get past that first roll even the most skeptical join the obsession.
"You approach a well at the center of Arcana Maze. The hedges grow behind you, sealing off the exit," Penelope says dramatically as all of us stress slightly.
"I'm gonna toss my Gildite coin," FP says, "Please be heads. Please be heads." He flips it and we all lean in to see. It landed on heads.
"A geyser bursts up depositing The Scroll of Elders in your hand," Penelope says as we all celebrate happily.
"Nicely done, Squire Pendleton," Hermione says high fiving FP. Naomi claps his back.
"Good job," She says, "finally you aren't useless."
"He's not useless," I say to Naomi, "good going FP."
"Is it too late to start another round?" Hermione asks.
"Not at all," Penelope says, "Might I suggest we kick things up a notch, Take the game off the board."
"You mean, like, run around school with Featherhead down the hall?" Fred asks in disbelief.
"- He takes a nap after lunch," Alice says.
"I'm in," Hermione says.
"Trust me, you're going to love it, uh, there is this quest, 'The Wedding Stone,' that requires pairs," Penelope says. We exchange looks with who we believe we should pair with. Naomi looks at me then David. Linking her arm with me instead of him. "So, Squire Pendleton.
Madam H. Sir Fredrick, Elven Naomi. Sir David And Princess Lilith. I hid a gemstone from Thornhill in this building. First pair to find it and show it to Sierra and Alice gets to keep it.." We partner up and rush out the door. I look at David as we go to the music room. He searches everywhere for it. While I stay back.
"I thought you were going to tell her," I say crossing my arms, "I thought you were going to help me talk to her."
"What?" He asks standing up. I look over his features. His h/c and cloudy blue eyes. He looks to me with slight anger. "You were supposed to tell her!"
"Why did I have to do it alone?" I ask him crossing my arms over my chest.
"She won't even give me a second glance," He huffs, "she still talks to you. That's why I didn't tell her."
"Your thought process is severely fucked," I huff as I turn from him. He snatched my wrist pulling me back towards him.
"This is your fault," He groans his nails digging into my skin, "her and I were good. You could have said some other bullshit secret and we would have been fine!"
"Let go of me," I demand. He complies but looks on angrily. That's the last time I ever thought anything good about your father. That little stunt.
-y/n 2018-
"So what did mom do?" I ask Lily. She reaches into her purse and pulls out a small notebook giving it to me. My hands trace around the worn cover. As I turn to the first page I see my mothers soft hand writing.
"Page 46," She tells me, "warning it's- it's a big thing." I turn to the page taking a deep breath.
-Naomi 1992-
Fred and I dig through the blue and gold. My heart heavy. But after what David did I have to move. And move fast. Fred looks to me and flashes his big dopy smile. "You okay Naomi?" He asks and I nod sitting down.
"I'm just having a lot of fun here," I say softly, "it's hard to go home. I don't have much there. So coming her and finally having fun- feeling like a kid again. It's hard to leave."
"I understand," He says sitting in front of me placing his hand on my thigh. I look down at his hand then back up to his big brown eyes. "I love my dad. I hate seeing him in pain. Sometimes, I- I just can't handle it. But Sir Fredrick doesn't have a sick dad. So I pretend that I'm here with you guys. That I'm here with you Naomi. And- well and Then I'm free again." His eyes stare down at my lips. The black lipstick covering the soft pink. I feel myself move forward. As I connect my lips with his I feel slightly guilty. But I had to. His kiss was passionate, obviously full of emotion. Tears well in my eyes thinking about the reason for this. He pulls away clearly startled. "Naomi did I do something wrong?" He was concerned for me. I whisper slightly as I start to cry. "Naomi talk to me what's wrong." I collapse into his shoulder. Sobbing loudly. "Naomi?" I pull back and look at him sadly.
"I'm pregnant," I whimper looking at the ground, "I ruined my life Fred."
"Who's the father?" He asks concerned. I take a deep breath. I wanted to tell her. I wanted to pretend.
"That's the thing," I say honestly not wanting to lie anymore, "I wanted you to sleep with me so I could say it was yours. Give this kid a chance. With you it had a chance."
"Who's is it?" He asks cautiously.
"It's David's," I say sadly, "but he can't raise a baby. He can barely take care of himself."
"Is this why you stopped smoking?" He asks and I nod, "I haven't seen you do it- the last time I saw you even touch a pack was when you broke into the desk."
"The pack had a pregnancy test in it," I admit looking down, "I wanted to swipe them before Krababble saw it." Fred pulls me into a hug.
"Naom," He says as his warm arms wrap around me, "I'll always be there for you." He pulls back and smiles at me. "And now I'll be there for the little guy."
"I can't be a mom Fred," I panic, "I'm broke, So is my family. We barely can support ourselves."
"David's family has money," Fred says and I shake my head no.
"I'm not telling him," I say to him sternly, "I don't want him anywhere near me or the baby. I don't trust him."
"Why?" Fred asks carefully.
"He hits girls," I say to him, "I didn't know that until recently. He's never hit me. But that Vixen, Mindy you know her?"
"Yeah," He says trying not to look like he was ready to rip apart David at this very second.
"When she came to school with all those bruises while they were dating and said they were from a girl on the south side it was him," I say sadly, "what if he does the same to my baby? To me? Or what about Lily?"
"Have you talked to your mom?" He asks and I shake my head no.
"No one except you knows," I say as I wipe my eyes, "I was really hoping I'd be able to get you to believe it was yours. But i could do it. I'm sorry i even thought about it."
"Hey hey hey breathe," Fred says calmly, "I know it was out of last resort. Trust me. I'll be fine. And so will you. I got you okay?"
"Okay," I say, "don't tell anyone anything."
"I won't," He says, "i promise." I smile leaning into him. He kisses me again. This one as passionate and soft. I didn't know if it would happen again. But I knew that I enjoyed it.
-Y/n 2018-
"Oh my god," I say in disbelief at the words.
"I saw your mom and Fred kiss in the blue and gold that night," Lily admits, "we fought a lot about this. Of course I didn't know that she was planning to do a baby daddy switch a Roo. Or that she was even pregnant at the time. Of course Fred stuck to his promise. He was actually Delilah's god father."
"He kept his word," I say softly, "extended it to me even."
"Yeah," Lily says, "obviously with me being in love with Fred didn't help. And your father's true nature was revealed."
-lily 1992-
He stopped hanging out with us shortly after. But the rest of us got deeper into this game. Sneaking into the school to play alone and unbothered after our detentions ended. Dubbing ourselves the midnight club. Abandoning the board to dress up and play out quests in the real world. We all became inseparable. Some more than others, like Alice and FP and Fred And Hermione. Much to my dismay at least. But on the other hand Lily and I stuck together. Both of us hurt by the others actions, neither of us knowing what to do Other than stick to the other.
One night while marching through the school doing quests. It felt off. We kept hearing noises. Feeling like we were being watched. The nerves forcing me to cling on to your mother almost the whole night. It got especially bad towards the end.
"What was that? Do you guys hear that?" Fred asks stopping us all. Soft noises were echoing through the halls. Fear in all of us. If we got caught- imagine the consequences.
"Its nothing," Naomi says sure of the statement, "absolutely nothing." Naomi loved to be seen as fearless despite to connotation with it.
"No listen Naomi," Hermione says softly. We all stay quiet in an attempt to convince her the sounds were real. As we stay silent down the hall we could hear soft footsteps. Her eyes go wide. Who the bell would be in the school at such a time besides us? Fred and FP lead us through the hall turning the corner with out plastic and styrofoam weapons held high.
"Surrender!" FP yells to the group before us as we yell. It takes a second but Naomi laughs with realisation.
"Its just you losers," She snorts. Before us were Hiram Lodge, Tom Keller, Marty Mantle, Darryl Doiley, and David. Definitely no one to worry about.
"Hermione?" Hiram asks looking at her through the group.
"- Hiram?" Hermione responds looking at the dorkiest he's ever looked.
"- Sierra?" Tom asks looking to his girl as she wears her siren costume.
"- Tommy?" She asks looking at the absolute most hilariously bad costume.
"Are you guys playing G&G, too?" We all ask simultaneously. We all had thought we were special. That we were the only ones who would play the game and understand. To which we kinda were.
"Have been for about a week now," Hiram admits to us all still watching us with fake weapons raised. Our group drops ours.
"Darryl Doiley found it in the restricted section of the library," Tom says looking over to him, "and David said it was actually pretty fun."
"Relinquish your Game Master duties," Darryl says forcefully.
"Make me, heathen," Penelope says as harshly as the little fireball could get.
"And just when I thought this couldn't get any lamer," Naomi huffs.
Instead of fighting, We joined forces. Started playing a bigger game. And then the line between Gryphons and Gargoyles and real life became blurred in a dangerous way. Your mother and I shared one thing in common back then. We worried about how involved with this game we all were getting. For starters none of us really went home anymore, yes we bonded. But we all lost a bit of ourselves to the game. And that problem only grew when went to school the next day. Bright and early we found these strange invitations in our lockers.
Your mother and I were by each other. We opened our lockers together to grab our things for class. She saw the envelope first.
"What the hell is this?" She asks harshly examining the outside. I find mine as she traces the neat letters of her name.
"Open it and maybe you'll see," I tease her as I tear open mine. She follows suit pulling the note card out. It looked like it was older. Most likely purposely so.
""Members of the Midnight Club, come to the detention room tonight. Rise to the challenge. And ascend to the next level of the game. Eagerly yours, the Gargoyle King.'" Naomi reads out a pit in my stomach grows.
"I don't like that," I say, "I don't have a good feeling about this." She shrugs.
"Its probably something stupid Darryl or Penelope set up," She says pushing it into her bag, "I bet it'll be as lame as this shit already was." I look on at her still uneasy. She places her hands on my shoulders. "I swear to you as your fearless big sister. I will never let anything happen to you. Besides. Maybe just maybe Freddie boy will be open to the idea of protecting the princess." My face heats up. On one side she was messing around with Fred and I didn't want her stupid sloppy seconds. On the other hand. Fred freakin Andrews.
"Fine," I say to her, "lets go tonight."
If only i would have went with my gut feeling.