The Masquerader and the Jester [Rascal x Female Reader]

Chapter 8: Wild Card

Chapter Song: "My Masquerade" -Delain

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After Rascal leaves, you enter your house, hoping to make it to your bedroom undetected. Unfortunately, that wasn't what ended up happening. The bedroom door was just within reach when you were confronted by your parents. As expected, Mom and Dad were pretty upset by you returning home at 9:30 at night. They proceed to give a 30-minute lecture on the importance of coming home before sundown and proper communication. Despite not being the biggest fans of smartphones, they made it clear that they would prefer a call or a text if something came up. Most of what they said ended up falling on deaf ears, however. You had simply dealt with enough for one day.

Once safely inside your bedroom, you head over to the small bookshelf in the far corner and use the book door code. By some stroke of luck, you had memorized which directions to move the books from having watched Emily do it a couple of times. Upon arriving in the Library of Legends, you enter the secret base to retrieve all your school belongings. The thought of lingering around to admire the library's nighttime atmosphere was enticing. But the drowsiness and fatigue that had built up throughout the day was too strong to ignore.

After returning to your bedroom, you grab your phone and send a text message to the other Glitter Force members, letting them know you came back safe and sound. You were brief in your explanation, choosing to leave out important details such as your insecurities, making a deal with the enemy, and how you had actually arrived home. Instead, you told them that you pushed a distracted Rascal through a magic mirror, which was where he intended to trap you. Another fabrication you chose to include was that you had escaped through an open portal that the jester had carelessly left open. On top of that, you made sure to emphasize that he didn't know where you lived, and how grateful you were for it.

All five girls immediately respond, flooding the group chat with worried and sympathetic text messages. They also weren't shy about expressing their strong disdain towards Rascal and his actions. When questions about your time with him arose, you deflected the topic by using trauma and coulrophobia as an excuse. Thankfully, that was all it took for them to stop prying any further. Not long after that, you cut the conversation short, letting them know that you needed to get some sleep. Everyone understood and wished you a good night's rest.

Since then, a week has passed and things have been calm for the most part. There were no super buffoons to fight or Shadow Realm generals trying to manifest an unhappy ending, much to everyone's relief. In the meantime, Chloe has been helping you with homework and reading assignments. Thanks to her, you were almost caught up with the rest of the class. You were also getting better acclimated to Rainbow Hills Middle School and the Library of Legends. All things considered, it was an enjoyable, stress-free week. That was until Rascal teleported into your room yesterday at midnight. His purpose for doing so was to remind you of your first training session tomorrow afternoon. Nevertheless, no amount of physical or mental discipline could've prepared you for what was to come...

Right now, you were in the midst of an all-out fight inside Rascal's indoor arena. The jester levitates overhead, wearing a cheeky grin. For the umpteenth time, you push yourself off the ground and try with all your might to strike him down. You repeatedly swing both arms at your opponent, narrowly missing him each time. Rascal dodges the oncoming attacks with ease and chuckles when your punches become more unruly. When every attempt at hitting him fails, you try delivering a swift kick to his heel to knock him off balance. He jumps out of the way and backflips in mid-air, managing to avoid another attack.

With limber movements, he uses one of his arms to grab a hold of a nearby tightrope to land on. When his boots touch the rope, you try kicking his shins. Rascal bounces on his heels and straddle-jumps high above your leg. During his descent, he twists to the side and delivers a strong kick to your ribs. You wheeze and cough up some saliva before plummeting to the ground with a hard thud. The sudden impact stirs up clouds of dust and debris, which obstructs your airway and causes you to hack up more sputum.