𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 ~ 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴

~ 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙮: 𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 ~

Nothing but weird looks came from everyone in the room, and they were all looking at Astrid. It was like all the anger and judgment they aimed at Viktor had now transferred to her. Sure, the majority of them hadn't seen Astrid's dark side come out in a very long time. But nothing could've prepared them for the almost murders that took place. Viktor ran upstairs to hide from the embarrassment, and Luther just tried disassociating and acted like it didn't happen. But he couldn't shake off the suffocating feeling as his throat tightened and he begged for air.

And Astrid... where to even begin with her? Every time she caught someone watching her, they stared for a few seconds before looking at something else. Just being in the same room with the person who triggered her demons made her very uncomfortable. And after having sat in the bath of awkward silence for too long, she got up and left the room. She had no specific place she hoped to hide, but she found herself back in the theater room and started stress-eating her way through two bags of popcorn.

The food did fill part of the void inside her, but the darker shadows continued to whisper in her ears, trying to turn her back into one of them, she curled into a ball and tried covering her ears. "Stop! Leave me alone!" She pleaded, squirming on the floor like a fish out of water. "Don't hold back now, Astrid. Everyone knows who you really are!" One of them hissed. "They all think you're a monster!" Another cackled.

"No! No, I'm not!" The Shadow Girl shook her head, hands running through her hair with frustration. The darker shadows continued taunting her, saying she didn't have the guts to hurt her family and that she would always be that scared little girl too afraid to reveal her potential. Eventually, Astrid had enough and started screaming at the top of her lungs, throwing her body upwards, crashing into the snack bar, and knocking popcorn all over the ground. Her screams could shatter someone's eardrums if they even set foot in that room.

Eventually, the anger dissipated, and she slunk back onto the ground, the shadows finally settled down. As Astrid's heart pounded inside her chest, she stared up at the ceiling, she could hear the sounds of footsteps echoing down the hall, approaching the double doors. "Ast, can I come in? It's me, Sloane," The gravity girl called.  Astrid wiped her tear-filled eyes and looked in her direction. "Y-yeah... come in, but there's quite a mess," The umbrella sniffed. Sloane opened the door, assuring her it couldn't be so bad. But the second Sloane laid eyes on the scattered popcorn and the scratch marks that littered the red carpet, her eyes widened with shock.

"Well, it could be worse?" She reasoned. But the mess didn't matter to her it was her distraught and contorted girlfriend that was the top priority. Sloane sat next to her, pulling the Shadow Girl into her arms. "I'm so sorry you had to see me like that," Astrid muffled. Sloane patted her shoulders, feeling her girlfriend's tears soak her pink shirt. "It's okay, sweetheart. It wouldn't be the first time I've seen family nearly kill each other," she admitted. This made Astrid look up with questioning eyes. "Wait, really?" She asked.

"Yeah. Ben always tried to instigate stuff with Jayme and Marcus. And most of the time, it'd end up with them fighting," Sloane explained. Astrid exhaled a breath at the thought. Maybe their families weren't so different after all. "Holy shit..." Sloane chuckled, nodding her head in agreement. "That was quite a sight to see at eight in the morning," the light brunette shook her head. "So, you don't think I'm a monster?" Astrid inquired. Sloane's hand gently caressed her cheek. "You are anything but a monster to me. You are my angel," Sloane whispered. 

"You're my angel as well," Astrid said, a tiny smile forming on her face as she leaned in to kiss Sloane. They stayed that way for what felt like an eternity, as nothing but their gentle presence filled the theater. They both knew that they'd eventually have to return to the others, but at that moment, they wanted to enjoy what could be their final moments together if their plan to stop the kugelblitz had failed. Astrid snuggled her head into Sloane's chest, feeling the gentle hum of her girlfriend's heart.