the fall of red

Old habits

Over the next few days, Chloe struggled to get enough sleep as she dedicated herself to catching up with her classmates. She spent every spare moment outside of class working diligently. Uma's influence on Chloe was profound, as all she could think about was putting in a tireless effort to reach her academic goals.

In contrast, Red took a completely different approach by sleeping. She even managed to doze off during class. Chloe would have been concerned about Red's behaviour if she had taken a break from her intense studying to notice.

Chloe was the only person who truly understood Red well enough to have noticed a subtle shift in her mood. However, to Red's dismay, Chloe herself hadn't picked up on the change, and this oversight only intensified Red's distress. Perhaps it was this lack of awareness that caused Red to spiral so rapidly. The one person who had always reassured her that she would never abandon her, that she would never allow Red to become like her mother, seemed to be blind to the warning signs.

Red found herself trapped in a bewildering state of mind. She had experienced periods of sadness and lethargy before, but this time it felt different. The heart-shaped wound on her wrist remained raw, a testament to the numerous times she had succumbed to her inner turmoil. Initially, her anger had been directed at her mother, but now, as the frequency of these episodes increased, the anger turned inward. She berated herself for her perceived inability to fulfil her goals and find happiness, unable to recognize the person she had become.

Red was always asleep, but it was never in her own bed. Her bed had been untouched for weeks, and Chloe's bed was now only being used by Red.

"Red, we have class, come on," Chloe shook Red's shoulder, but the girl remained unresponsive.

"Red," Chloe shook her again, but there was no response. The blue-haired girl started to worry, unable to remember the last time she saw Red awake.

"Red?" Chloe asked, getting down to Red's level.

Red hummed, moving her head to the other side, causing Chloe to sigh in relief, but her concern remained.

"We have class, Red, get up," Red made a noncommittal sound, shifting her head without opening her eyes or acknowledging Chloe's presence. She then put a finger to Chloe's mouth, silently signalling for her to be quiet. Chloe, now more concerned, grabbed Red's wrist and lowered her arm to the bed.

"Are you sick?" Chloe asked, to which Red weakly gave a thumbs up.

"Okay," Chloe said with a sigh, leaving Red alone in the room.

That day, Chloe received congratulations from her teachers for her remarkable improvement in class. Some of them speculated that her progress was due to Red's absence, while others recognized Chloe's sincere efforts to catch up with her studies.

"Charming. Where's your partner in crime today? She's not been in for the past two days," inquired the bad fairies teacher, standing beside Chloe's desk.

"She's sick and won't get out of bed," Chloe responded, her gaze fixed on her desk.

"Okay, well tell her to go to the nurse if it's that bad," the teacher sighed as she walked back to her desk.

As Red sat on Chloe's bed in the dorm, she gazed off in deep contemplation. Reflecting on her current situation, she pondered the feeling of wasting away and longed to rediscover her true self. With a resolute determination, she knew she needed to leverage her strengths. Recalling the discipline imposed by Uma, Red's mind swiftly raced through strategies to ensure that no one would dare to impose such rules on her again. In a swift moment, her thoughts had already turned towards calculating her next move to retaliate against those who sought to enforce authority over her.

That evening, Chloe made a bold decision. Instead of returning to the dorms, she remained in the library to complete her homework. Meanwhile, Red, with determination in her eyes, dressed in silence and contemplated the plan. Her mind raced, searching for the perfect strategy. The memory of her mother's anger from the previous night, just before she received the invitation to Auradon, fueled her determination.

As the opportune moment arrived, Red stealthily made her way out of the dorm, a sense of urgency propelling her forward. She embarked on a daring mission to sneak into the vicinity of Uma's office.

She walked around before placing her bag in the corner. Red shut her eyes for a moment hoping to feel still like those times she shared with Chloe but after a few seconds of feeling herself move with the earth, her eyes shot open. Red began painting on the walls nothing particular at first but as she carried on she started spray painting hearts all over which angered her more because she was thinking of her mother as she did so. Vases were then smashed causing pieces to fall to the ground scattered and crushed as Red's boots walked over them tables knocked around falling onto the floor with a big crash and picture frames got a new design added to them
and before she knew it Red was standing outside of Umas' office In a fit of rage Red grabbed the bat she had broken the vases with and smashed the window. Glass flew in the air and around Red's feet as she could do is stare at the damage caused. To say she was proud would be an understatement but as time went on she realised the mess she caused for herself.

Red frantically raced back to her dorm, her heart pounding in her chest as she left everything behind. Her feet pounded against the hard floor as she sprinted through the quiet halls, the panic rising in her chest. She desperately tried to come up with a believable alibi for her whereabouts during the time of the incident, but before she could even form a plausible excuse, she found herself back in her dorm room, breathless and trembling with fear.

With trembling hands, Red quickly changed into her pajamas and scrambled into Chloe's bed, hoping to go unnoticed by anyone who might discover her absence.

At 1 am, Chloe found herself standing in the dimly-lit, ruined corridor. A single flickering light barely illuminated the area. It was then that she noticed something out of place - Red's bag, carelessly tossed in the corner. The realization hit her like a ton of bricks - she had been completely unaware of what was happening with her friend.

In a moment of desperation, Chloe made a split-second decision. Without a second thought, she snatched Red's bag and grabbed a bat, her heart pounding in her chest. Hastily, she made her way back to her room, a sense of urgency guiding her every step.

Upon entering the room, Chloe's eyes fell upon Red, peacefully asleep in the bed. She hesitated, unsure of what to do next. Instead of waking her friend or bombarding her with questions, Chloe let out a heavy sigh as she laid the bag down and discreetly stashed the bat out of sight. Silently, she changed into her pajamas and slipped into bed next to Red, hoping to find solace and a sense of security in the quiet stillness of the night.

—///—///—///—///—///—///—///—///
that's the last chapter for tonight guyssss!
hope you're enjoying it all so far next chapter is where things start to fall into place and we get into the whole plot line of why i started this story! <3