Cotillion was everything I never dreamed of.
Handsome, white-teeth suitors, coordinated dancing, beautiful white gowns twirling beneath silver chandeliers... All the girls were excited-except me. Ten minutes to show time and while everyone else was preparing to assemble in the ballroom, I was in the hallway outside the restrooms, having a mini-panic attack.
I bent at the waist, trying to breathe through a cocoon of silk and tulle. The circlets around my wrist were shackles, the diamonds at my neck, a noose.
Ethan was the reaper.
"You look like Princess Swan."
Lucas. That window, with the light spilling through-it had just opened a little bit wider. Luke was all suited up for the evening, fresh from the shower with his beard trimmed and his dark hair pulled back in a man-bun. Tonight his eyes held an usual shine, as though he'd spied some heavenly aurora and now walked with its light in his soul. Between his hands were a large bouquet of long-stemmed roses, the kind they gave to beauty queens.
I laughed, following up with a sad-face frown. "You're just saying that cuz of the tiara. And this... obnoxious dress." I spread my hands helplessly at the puffy fabric. While the other girls had fawned over the endless material, the whole thing made me feel like a giant marshmallow that had been barfed up by the Michelin Man.
"I'm saying it because you look nice." Luke cleared his throat. "These are for you."
I smiled and took the flowers, careful to avoid the thorns as I sank my nose in the petals. They still smelled like the garden they were pulled from-fresh and wild. And alive.
"You look like her, y'know."
I un-glued myself from the flowers, wide-eyed. "What?"
"Your mom. She was... stunning, like you. Sorry. I know you don't like to hear about Paris--"
"No! I mean, you can talk about her. I'm interested." I'm ready.
It was more clear than ever that Marie had run my mother out of town. Now I understood why Paris had stayed away all these years--she was trying to protect me, to shield me from Marie's all-seeing gaze. For as long as I could remember, I had resented Paris for her sacrifice-and my family let me. They thought it was easier to let me grow up hating her, believing she was the bad guy who had abandoned her family and her pack-because the real bad guy was much worse.
Because my mother would never hurt me in the ways Catherine would.
Lucas smiled, mystified by what he saw. "Something happen to you? You look..." He reached out, tapping one of several curls that had rebelliously slipped loose. "Different."
"Yeah? I feel different." I gripped my arms, goosebumps growing beneath my fingertips. "I found something--or maybe it found me, I'm not really sure which. But it doesn't matter, because it makes me feel, I dunno, like I can do anything--like nothing's impossible. It's... inspiring, I guess." And scary as hell. The true feeling-I didn't know how to explain it. But I could sum it up in one word.
Tidus.
I hadn't spoken his name in a solid week, for fear I'd slip up and really mean it when I did. All this time he had stayed away, visiting only in my dreams. I knew he didn't mean to hurt me, but his silence betrayed him.
"Now you sound like her too." Lucas cupped my cheek in his hand. "Your dad would be proud of you, kid. So am I. What you're doing tonight--it's about more than just dancing with the Alpha, or looking good for your grandparents. It's about being a light for those who are in the dark. Tonight, you're giving the pack something to believe in too. This isn't one of those impossible things, you got this."
I dabbed beneath my eyes, clearing my throat at the sudden lump. "Thanks, Luke. I'm really glad you're here." When I hugged him it was with a tight grip, not wishing for my father, only him.
Luke escorted me to the ballroom, arm-in-arm like the father of the bride. Inside, a finely dressed audience had gathered on the fringes of the room, leaving the floor free for the performance. I was just in time-the dancers were moving into place, forming a beautifully ornate circle layered by bell-shaped skirts and tuxedos the color of pearls.
I said good-bye to Luke, rushing to take my place. Addy squeezed my elbow as I passed her and her partner-another Prince Charming, biting his lips at her cleavage. I smiled in reassurance, but when Addy only raised her eyebrows in return I knew something was wrong. I didn't solve the puzzle until I had taken my place, alone, at the center of the circle.
Where was Ethan?
His scent would've been strangled in this cloud of cologne and perfume, but my Wolf would've detected if he were close. I glanced about, nervous with indecision--should I stay or should I go? If Ethan didn't show then Luke's encouragement was all for nothing. I would have fallen flat on my face before even taking my first step. Already, I could hear murmurs of discord among the other dancers and the audience-all confirming the ugly truth-the Alpha had stood up his date.
He had turned his back on me.
I sighed, prepared to leave the floor with the dignity I had left. I gathered my dress in both hands and turned-stopping short with a gasp. As the crowd fell silent, my voice was found. "Ti... You're here." And dapper as ever, no less. His white tuxedo was spotless, no ichor to be seen. His dirty-blonde hair was perfectly arranged, minus any flecks of gore, and his pale, smooth face was devoid of enemy brain matter. He was not the Vampire the crowd expected.
But he was everything to me.
Tidus smiled, heedless of the growing whispers, the cold stares, the heated cries of outrage. "May I have this dance?"
"Always." Smiling, I took his hand, and all that was heard for the next four minutes was Magic by Coldplay.
Where my mind had been wiped blank of the steps, my legs recalled them with ease. Caught fast in Tidus' cold embrace, my mind was taken over by a blissful fog as my body functioned on auto-pilot. The more we danced, the less I thought about tonight's consequences-the repercussions for dancing with the Vampire who had crashed the Garou's most beloved ceremony.
I only thought of Tidus.
The music stopped-the dance was over. I shrieked with laughter as Tidus gave me a quick dip. He set me upright, but made no move to let me go.
I grinned. "Now, I'm in trouble."
"But you're not alone... Not ever."
Because I believed him, I slipped the final nail in our coffin.
We kissed.
Five seconds...
Ten seconds...
Fifteen...
Twenty...
Our lips parted. Eyes closed, he pressed his forehead to mine.
I squeezed his hand. "You'd better go--these guys get pretty hungry when they're mad. But I'm glad you came." I needed this.
Tidus sent his wary gaze across the room, to the well-dressed men and women who would sully their clothes with his ichor in an instant if he made the wrong move. "I hate to leave you like this..." The nearest dancers had all backed away, leaving us in a wide ring of space.
"I'll be okay. Cross my heart, and--well, maybe not that last part." I squeezed his hand one more time, then stepped away.
"Call me."
"1-800-VAMPIRE, right?"
He smiled. I blinked. And he was gone. There was nothing left of Tidus but the breeze he left behind. And the silence.
I was deafened by the quiet, surprise and resentment coming at me from all sides. Those had been the happiest four minutes I could remember-but when I looked to my best friend, even Addy was sorry for me in a way she'd never been.
"Um..." I faltered, stricken by the hate that had seeped it's way into the ballroom, poisoning the strength of my resolve like an evil toxin. "I'm sorry for making this night about me. That wasn't my intention." My voice carried across the ballroom, reaching those I couldn't see but could feel more than if they'd been standing right before me. "And to my friends, and my family--to all of you... I'm sorry if I let you down."
But I wasn't sorry it happened.
I took my dress in my hands-and was off. I cut a straight path through the ballroom, the crowd parting like the Red Sea. The loudest noise was the sound of my heels striking the shiny wooden floor. No one dared to stop me. I may have been a traitor, but I was still a Noble.
By the time I stepped outside, into the cold night air, I was guilt-free and smiling again. I paused on the Fairway steps, closing my eyes to savor the final moments before Tidus hadn't said good-bye. They were perfect.
He was perfect.
A buzzing noise interrupted, vibrating soundly against my skin.
Tongue between my teeth, I stuck my hand down the front of my dress, pulling out my cell phone to read the incoming text.
Meet me at the gazebo.
Twenty minutes later, I was doing just that. Behind Ethan's four-story brick home, was an all-white, castle-like pavilion in the family backyard. Twisting stairs led from the larger patio below to a smaller turret above, which was lined with four rows of tiny glass squares. Electric waves of blue and green were thrown from the pool, reflecting brightly in the windows. I could still see myself behind those glass panes, sneaking my first kiss. Ethan had made me feel like a princess.
As I crossed the midnight-colored grass, headed for the dark figure waiting inside the gazebo, tiny lights lit up the darkness like white fireflies. Fairy lights were strung throughout the gazebo. Now that they were alive, I could see Ethan clearly. His white tuxedo was missing the jacket. His shirt collar was unbuttoned to the chest, shirtsleeves rolled, the Windsor knot undone and the tie hanging loose about his neck. I climbed the steps to the gazebo, approaching a handsome devil who looked more dejected than if he had just lost his horns.
"I thought you ditched me, but you're all dressed up. What happened tonight?" I had expected him to be angry with me, if not about the dance then surely about our conversation at the bar. Instead, Ethan appeared... lonely.
"I was there, at the Fairway. I was on my way to the ballroom. I left the dressing room... and then your boyfriend stopped me." His face hardened, dark as the shadows that covered the moon.
"What?"
"Tidus. He used his Glamour on me, kept me away from the dance. He said something about you setting an example for the Revenant and now it was his turn to make an impression with the Garou... Mission accomplished, I'd say."
"Ethan, I promise, I didn't plan this. I didn't know he was coming--I don't even know how Ti knew the dance. Anyway, he and I are just friends---"
"You danced with him. You kissed him..." Ethan was sick with misery. I'd broken his heart...
<<No, you broke him.>>
She was right. "God, I'm so sorry, E." I caught him off guard when I took his hand; he stared down at our fingers, stunned to see them intertwined. "If I hurt you tonight--or any other night--I apologize. Ever since we broke up, I've been so focused on how much pain I was in, how it hurt me. I didn't stop to think about your feelings because I'm selfish. All I cared about was me. I admit it, I'm an evil person--"
"No, you're not. You're beautiful, Naomi." He let go of my hand, tucking a curl behind my ear." I need to know. Your magic--how far are you willing to go to get it? What would you sacrifice?"
That's easy, give me something harder. "Anything."I looked down at my hands-and saw fire on the mountain. "I'd do anything to have my magic." Anything.
Ethan's smile was tinged with a sadness I didn't quite understand. "I thought you'd say that, Little Wolf." Before I could object, he wrapped me in his arms, securing me with a fierce kiss. When he pulled back, a part of me longed to stay connected. A part of me that wasn't Wolf.
"I'm sorry, too."
I stared at Ethan, amazed by the love in his whisper, the sorrow in his gaze. A single tear ran down his cheek. I wanted to wipe away his pain, to tell him he'd paid enough for his sins-but I never got the chance. For the briefest of seconds his eyes were pure gold and my heart was split in two.
But the real pain was in my stomach.
I looked down, astonished to see the red flower in blossom across my dress, blooming until its petals were falling to the ground. Ethan had run me through; the dagger in his hand was red to the tip. My blood splashed from the blade in slow drips, but it ran like rivers from the ugly gash. I opened my mouth-to beg his forgiveness-but an internal fire licked me from the inside, paralyzing as it spread from the wound. The pearl-handled knife in his hand wasn't just any blade-it was made from silver.
The weapon slipped from his fingers. It hit the ground, the clatter reverberating in my very soul. I didn't register what Ethan had done to me, just that it had killed him to do it.
My strength evaporated; Ethan caught me. He held me steady, heedless of the blood on his clothes and hands. I called to my Wolf but she was already gone, silenced by our kryptonite.
My soul was empty.
"You're okay, you're okay. It's all gonna be okay--Jesus, what have I done?"
My only response was to gasp and gurgle, clutching at Ethan's shirt. Blood and bile crept up the back of my throat, spilling from my lips like a chunky soup. I choked...
"I'll bring you back. I swear to god I'll bring you back."
But in an instant I had lost all my heat, the natural fever marking the sign of the Wolf. I was cold through and through, and though I wanted to believe Ethan, already I had forgotten what it felt to be warm.
Lost, in a tundra of pain and fright. As each organ shut down, as the feeling left my limbs, as my mind began to wither and fade, there was a name that sustained me like extra heartbeats.
Tidus, I'm leaving--but I don't want to go! Help me, please, where are you? As my breathing slowed against my will, my eyes wandered, wildly, fruitlessly, searching the world in vain.
"No--no, don't go yet. Look at me. Hey, look at me." His fingers were slicked with my blood. His thumb grazed my cheek back and forth like clockwork, drawing my half-lidded gaze back to his. "There you are..." Ethan's smile wobbled, caught in the earthquake. "You're not going anywhere, you hear me? I'm gonna bring you back. You're my whole goddamn world, Naomi Elizabeth Noble. You're everything to me... I love you."
Yahtzee. He stopped my heart.
The famous fade-out started at the corners of my vision, burning up the edges like an old photograph. The last thing I saw was Claudia's face peering malevolently over Ethan's shoulder, watching with satisfaction as death consumed me.
Yep. That's right. Ethan just KILLED the girl he loves... </3
#foreshadowing #didyouseeitcoming #whatnextjadaWHATNEXT
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