Ethereal - Zadison

Chapter 4 - Branches in the Water

A/N: In this chapter, I plan to let you guys see Madison's POV more. I'm starting this chapter right where we left off. Let me know what you guys think after reading. I'm not the proudest of this chapter but oh well- Vote and comment! (also if you get the cavetown reference with the title ily) - Sky

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Madison had never felt so nauseous in her life. She wiped the saliva off her mouth. The first thing her mind went to was, of course, the weird "soulmate illness." No one knew what to call it. Coughing was always associated with it to the point that people were afraid of it to no end. The question going through her brain at a million miles a minute was "Who is it?" She didn't even know for a fact that she had this "illness" but deep down something told her so. The blonde wasn't the type to get sick, ever. The closest to "sick" she's ever been was that one time in high school she got so wasted at her friend's party she blacked out.

She heard the door to the bedroom open. "Fuck," she swore in her head. Zoe had walked in to possibly get some rest before her date with Kyle. Madison heard the bedsprings and relaxed. She tried to put herself together the best she could. It was just a little cough anyway, was she just exaggerating?

"Are you just always in the bathroom?" Zoe asked with one eyebrow raised. "None of your business," she said, not making eye contact with the brunette. The two lied in their beds silently for a while. Madison remained on her phone while Zoe read a book she had brought from home. She then heard Zoe's phone go off. It was quite persistent and frankly, annoying. Bing, bing, bing. Zoe giggled, reading the texts to herself.

Madison groaned, "God, can you shut up. I have a headache." Zoe got up, trying to ignore her. "Well, I won't be in your way for much longer. I have a date tonight," she smiled. Madison expressed a fake grin before speaking, "Let me guess, your puppy." "He has a name you know."

Madison watched as Zoe went through her clothes, grabbing different dresses and outfits. Zoe, being the modest girl she was, decided to take all her clothes into the bathroom to change. The blonde rolled her eyes. A few minutes went by and Madison was getting annoyed. "You know you can change out here right? I don't care." Zoe stepped out in a dress. It was simple, black, and reached down to her knees. "Since I don't really have anyone else to ask," she mumbled, looking down, "What do you think?"

Madison looked up from her iPhone to her roommate. Her eyes looked her up and down. She got this feeling in her stomach. "She's so... beautiful," she thought, "No, wait, why are you thinking that?" Madison had never thought she could be anything other than straight but the girl standing a few feet from her made her wonder. Ever since Madison had seen her, she had this weird feeling around her. She didn't exactly know what to make of it. Her eyes locked with the brunette's.

"Madison?" Zoe laughed awkwardly. Madison played her next move off nonchalantly "Cute but, you could do better." She went to her wardrobe and looked through it for a few seconds before pulling out a red dress. The blonde shoved it into her arms, "Try this." Zoe sighed, going back into the bathroom. Madison muttered under her breath, "Prude."

The person that stood before her a few moments later was unlike anything she had ever seen. "Damn, Benson," she said, biting her lip. It almost came out in a whisper she was so shocked. The dress went up pretty high and hugged her hips perfectly. It dipped in the middle, making sure to show off her collarbones. "Does it look okay? This really isn't my style." "Oh no, you're wearing that. Here I have a necklace that'd go nice with it." She grabbed a white pearl necklace from a box on her dresser. The two stood in front of Madison's full-length mirror as the blonde snaked the necklace around her neck. When it was secured she stepped to the side to see her in full form. The two made eye contact yet again before Madison spoke, "If he doesn't like you in that, he doesn't deserve you." "Thanks, Madison?" Zoe said, confused. She had never said anything nice to her, let alone compliment her. Madison nodded and looked down, walking back to her bed.

Zoe spent the next few minutes doing her makeup. She grabbed her phone and did a quick wave to Madison, something that felt odd but she did it anyway. Maybe the two were finally getting along. Madison cursed herself for being nice to her. "What the fuck was that?" she asked internally, banging her head against the bed frame. "She's going out on a date with the guy you like, and you helped her?" She fought herself in her head. Waves of jealousy overcame her. She didn't remember much of Kyle just that he had brought her home that night. Madison vaguely remembers his fluffy blonde hair and smile. It was enough for her. Except, he gave Zoe his number, not herself. She wanted to cry. Madison Montgomery definitely was not the type to cry over her love interests this early on, especially since she barely knew the guy. Then it hit her, "He's my soulmate."

Meanwhile, Kyle was helping Zoe into the passenger seat of his car. "How are you, m'lady?" He asked with his dorky way of things. "Good, thanks," she laughed. The two were planning on watching a romantic comedy at their local movie theater. This thrilled her because she loved cheesy romcoms. She also hadn't been on a proper date since Charlie. The main emotion that popped up in her brain was fear. The drive was full of awkward small talk but Zoe didn't mind.

"Is Madison okay? You know, after everything happened that night," Kyle asked to change the conversation. "Yeah, she's been doing better than I expected. I'm more worried about you, Kyle," she responded. "Me? Why me?" "Well, your friends were the ones killed, even if they did do horrible things." "Don't worry about it. They weren't really my friends, not after they did that. Sure, I miss them but..." He trailed off. The conversation ended abruptly with their arrival.

He opened the door for her and grabbed Zoe's hand to lift her out of the car. The two helped themselves to a large bucket of popcorn and some candy. They walked into the theater whose number corresponded with the one on their ticket. Kyle picked a seat slightly centered so they could have a good view.

The movie went on as Zoe and Kyle both laughed at various things. He did the "classic move" and stretched, wrapping his arm around her. She smiled. Part of her was happy to be there, the other part was wanting to be with Madison for whatever reason. The girl was one of the meanest people she's ever met and yet. Suddenly, a romantic part came on the screen. The couple in the movie were making out hardcore and it gave Kyle ideas. He looked over to Zoe and began moving in. Zoe gulped but went for it. She figured she needed something to distract herself from all the chaotic events that had been going on lately. She kissed him, but all she could picture was Madison. Her soft pinkish lips, long blonde hair, and smooth skin became of her mind. This made her deepen the kiss which threw Kyle off but he went with it. The two pulled away, faces red and flustered. He smiled sweetly, which resulted in a soft chuckle from the brunette.

"What's wrong with me?" she thought. She was on a date with the most amazing guy, and he was the last thing she could think about. She couldn't like Madison could she? Zoe had never been with a girl before. She wouldn't even know where to start. Even if she did like girls, Madison? Why Madison? Zoe pondered different thoughts for the rest of the movie. She was zoned out.

The movie ended and the two left the cinema. Kyle held her hand to which Zoe pulled away from. He was getting so many mixed signals, he didn't know what to think. They arrived at his car and he opened the door for her, yet again before sitting in his seat. "Zoe, I'm sorry if I moved too fast. I just thought-" "Kyle, don't be sorry. It's my fault. I'm just confused right now." He nodded, starting the car engine. "Do you want to maybe go out again next week? I promise, I won't-" "Sure," she smiled as she cut him off. He smiled back, loosening up his shoulders.

Zoe was sure it was just nerves and she didn't have feelings for her roommate. It didn't make any sense. Plus, she really liked Kyle. Right? Either way, she wanted to see how their relationship would go.

Meanwhile, Madison had a plan. If Kyle was her soulmate that meant he was the reason for all this. She couldn't die, not at her age, and definitely not with the possibility that she was the next supreme. "Heart murmur, my ass," she thought when she had been diagnosed months earlier. That wasn't going to stop her and certainly not this. The blonde figured that if he somehow died, she'd live. A soul for a soul. She didn't have much to go off but it was enough to motivate her. Madison assumed she'd just figure it out later if it didn't work. Plus, she'd only met him once. The less she knew of him the better. The only thing standing in her way was Zoe. They had gotten closer as ever even though it had only been a few days. Madison didn't want to hurt her, at least, not that bad. She decided to block her empathy out. Before she planned to execute her desires, she wanted to make sure she was in fact, dying. Her idea was to wait a few days and see if the cough persisted, or hell, worsened. If any other "soulmate illness" symptoms popped up she'd do it. Kyle was not going to get in her way.