Ethereal - Zadison

Chapter 2 - Encounter

TW: implied sexual assault

Zoe and Madison stood at the entrance to the frat house. Madison opened the door, walking in cockily. Zoe followed closely behind looking at her surroundings. The house stood, booming with music and flashing lights. It was hard to make out anything that was happening. It was packed. She couldn't recall any time that she had gone to this big of a party. In her old hometown, they had parties, sure, but they were small and humble.

"Hey, loser," Madison snapped her fingers, getting Zoe's attention. "You gonna be okay by yourself? Do you need me to babysit you or something?" "No, thanks though," Zoe said, trying not to get annoyed by the comment. "Good," Madison smirked as she got pulled away by multiple guys. Zoe spent her time walking around the party. She wanted to see what kind of people were there seeing as though she had just moved recently. Zoe glided her eyes across the crowd, accidentally stumbling into a young guy. He seemed to be about her age, blonde curly locks, and dark brown pools for eyes that could pierce through your soul. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry." He laughed awkwardly, "It's fine. I'm Kyle." "Zoe." They began talking and hit it off quite well.

"Let me guess, you have a boyfriend?" He asked as he covered his face with his hand, gritting his teeth. She smiled, "No, I don't." He lifted his fingers to see her. Before he could say anything further Zoe spoke up. "Have you seen Madison?" He wore a look of confusion across his face, "Madison?" "Yeah, Madison Montgomery. I came here with her." His mouth formed an "Oh" expression before he began glancing around. Zoe did the same before pouting worriedly. "Shit, I have to find her," she stated as she turned around to look for her blonde "friend." Kyle grabbed her wrist, making her turn around. "Can I help you? This house is pretty big." Her eyes went soft before nodding.

Zoe began searching downstairs and Kyle made his way around the other side of the house. Then it dawned on him that the last time he saw his friend, he was with a blonde that looked a lot like Madison. He sprinted upstairs to find multiple guys lined outside a door. Some had their phones out while others were zipping up their pants. Kyle pushed the frat boys aside and fought his way to the front. There on the bed sat none other than Madison Montgomery. They were all chuckling.

"What the hell, guys? Get the fuck off of her!" He yelled, chasing them off. Zoe saw the mass of boys running down the stairs, Kyle following shortly after. As they passed each other Kyle said, out of breath, "She's up there." He resumed his chase as Zoe hurried up the staircase. She turned and walked into the only room with an open door. Madison was now curled up into a ball, eyes closed. "Madison, oh my god. Hey, Madison hey. Did they give you something?" Zoe asked urgently as she pulled the covers up to cover her shivering frame. Madison opened her eyes into slits to see who was talking. She mumbled something incoherently. Zoe wore an angry expression as she began to walk away, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna let them get away with this." Madison grabbed her wrist much like Kyle had earlier. It was weaker and out of desperation. Zoe's eyes fell upon the blonde. She couldn't leave her in a state like this after what had just happened.

Meanwhile, Kyle had chased the boys back onto their frat bus. He made his way onto it himself, throwing punches at the boy who led the attack. Archie. They ended up throwing him and the bus driver out the doors. Kyle landed on his back, wincing. Archie drove the bus off with the doors to it still hanging open. A middle-aged couple walked across the street, not aware of the bus flying towards them. "Shit!" Archie yelled as he attempted to make a sharp turn, flipping the bus over. The couple backed up in time, thankfully. The frat boys weren't so lucky.

Kyle's eyes went wide as he saw the damage of what had just happened. "I gotta go check on Zoe and Madison," he thought as he made his way back through the frat house. Screams filled the air as one by one, the attendees noticed the massive bus lying on its side. Kyle walked through the door he had recently run out of.

"How is she?" He panted. Zoe sat on the bed with her left arm around Madison's back. Madison's arm was wrapped around Zoe's body like a teddy bear. "Better than earlier, I think," she responded. He nodded, sitting next to both of them towards the foot of the bed. "We should take her home," Zoe added. He agreed as he sat up off the bed. Zoe detached Madison from her as Kyle gently picked her up bridal style. The two trotted out of the abandoned frat house and into Madison's car. He placed Madison in the backseat and used his jacket to give to her as a pillow. Kyle and Zoe sat in the front seat and he drove them all home. The two made subtle conversation as Kyle apologized countless times for his fellow frat brothers.

They arrived shortly after at their location. Kyle picked a sleeping Madison up like earlier and carried her inside. The brunette followed, making sure she was okay every step of the way. He placed her down on her bed and looked at Zoe. "Thank you, Kyle, for everything," she smiled sadly. "Of course, can I maybe get your number? To, you know, check on you," he asked, attempting to be smooth as he scratched the back of his head. "He's awkward but sweet," she thought. "Yeah," she replied as he handed her his phone. "Cool," he smiled. He managed to find his way out of the maze of a house and walked home.

Zoe went over to Madison, her eyes trailing down her body. The beginning signs of bruising showed near her thigh area. She sighed. She spoke soft as to not scare her new friend, "Madison, can I change you out of those clothes?" Madison groaned again, rolling over so she could unzip her. Zoe did just that, slowly slipping off the tight dress. She went through the blonde's wardrobe, realizing nothing she had looked comfortable enough to sleep in. It was mostly full of raunchy lingerie if anything. Zoe decided to open her suitcase that sat next to her bed. She pulled out an oversized sweatshirt and some sweatpants. Madison would kill her in the morning for the outfit she threw on her but she didn't care. Her only goal was to make the older girl comfortable. This was probably due to the extreme guilt she felt for letting this happen to her.

She started with putting the white sweatshirt on her first then the pants. Zoe pulled the covers up above the girl's chest. She began to walk back to her side of the room when Madison spoke. It was so quiet most wouldn't have heard it. Zoe did. "Thank you," she whispered tiredly. She smiled, "No problem." The two fell asleep to silence and melancholy thoughts that night.

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A/N: I'm hoping to make the chapters longer. Let me know if you like this length or not. I'll work with it. I'll be playing in the AU aspect of this story soon don't worry. Again, I want to set the scene first. Also, if you're from my school- please don't read this story lmao I can't handle that. Anyways, vote/comment any ideas! <3 - Sky