Stars Forever Falling

Chapter 19: Aftermath

After the exhausting events of the night, the morning crept in without a warning. Ven and Ritz had come inside to rest, and despite the many rooms to choose from, the two of them decided to relax on a different set of couches that were available. They sat there woozy for a while, chatting between themselves before Veneer lowered his head, curling up and drifting off. Ritz finally breathed a sigh of relief. 'What a night.' He thought as he ran his sticky fingers through his loose hair.

He didn't allow himself to rest just yet. Now that Veneer was settled in one spot, he had another problem to resolve. He needed to find out where his cousin had ended up. He personally couldn't care less where Velvet was, as long as she had kept his cousin out of any danger. The challenges he faced with Veneer's situation made him worry more. He stood up, grabbed his phone from his pocket, and quietly snuck away to start his search. Narrowly avoiding other sleeping party goers as he left the room to walk into a hall. He dialled Orchid's number, waiting just a few seconds before a familiar cracker advert jingle scared him out of his skin, coming from the room he had just left. He raced back inside to find the source of the noise to shut it up. Groans of displeasure came from some as he bent down to pick up Orchid's phone that had been abandoned by the far side wall on the floor. Shutting it off, he gulped. If she didn't have her phone, locating her was going to be a lot harder than he thought.

He began searching. Checking the many guest rooms, bathrooms, spa, gym, and so on. But to no avail. He only hoped that she didn't leave the Rage Dome, as that meant she was out there somewhere, probably unsafe. This worry came from the fact that when clicking her phone on, he saw hundreds of missed calls and text messages from both Lozza and Midori, her friends. They were supposed to be picking her up from the party. She told him she had lied to her Dad about staying with them, so he assumed they were involved in her rebellion directly. He wanted to conduct his own search of the Rage Dome before he called them to alert them that she wasn't there. She clearly wasn't with them.

The morning air inside grew cold and crisp, and he was still shirtless. If she wasn't in the penthouse, then she might have wondered down into the main RD stadium itself, so he headed towards his master bedroom to grab a make do shirt before he went down to search. He didn't alert the security or sleeping guests just yet, as he didn't want to cause a panic. He worried most of all what his uncle would say if he was to find out. Reaching into his pocket for his bedroom key, he quickly realised that Velvet had stolen it yesterday evening. He groaned and tried the door handle just to try his luck. It opened.

"What the -" He sighed, realising that Velvet must have left it unlocked after she and Orchid had left. Keeping his hand on the door handle, he pushed his way in, the morning light behind him, beaming into the dark room. He half expected to see a random couple sleeping in his bed regretfully due to the lock's neglect, and so his eyes wondered there first.

His eyes widened. There she was. Peacefully sleeping under the covers. Next to Velvet.

He quickly jumped out of the room, swinging the door shut, but being careful not to slam it. He stood there with his hand stuck on the handle and his other over his open mouth. Trying to process what he had just seen. "I've gotta' do another take cause' I think I'm seeing things." He said to himself out loud as he slowly set the door ajar and peaked in. Yup. They were real, and he couldn't blame his lack of sleep. He jumped back out again, covering his face with his hands and bending over, silently screaming into them.

He trudged back to the living area, feeling defeated. Weakly texting her friends to let them know she was alright. He didn't have the energy to process his discovery. The Night had taken it out of him, and this was his final straw. His battery was drained, and so he collapsed on the sofa next to Veneer and passed out.

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~The Next Day~

"Mmmm....Uuuuuuuuughhh..." Velvet groaned as she groggily opened her eyes, blinking like a frog as she tried to focus her blurry vision. Her head was pounding, and her body felt stiff and bruised. She felt the morning air bite at her naked body under the covers, covering her in goosebumps. She tugged at the quilt to constrict it around herself but found some resistance. Frustrated in her sleepy state as to why the cover was stuck, she flopped herself over on her other side with little effort. Then she came face to face with the girl from last night. She had to hold in her surprise as she scooted back in retreat from the sleeping rageon, but as a result, she fell out of the bed and onto the plush carpeted floor with a thud.