the fall of red

dismissed

Chloe awoke the next morning and instinctively glanced over at the spot where Red had been sleeping, only to find it empty.

"Oh, you're up," Red said with a smile as she picked up her bag from the ground. It took a few moments for the realization to sink in, and then Red suddenly remembered leaving her bag in the corridor the previous night. Confused, she wondered why she was now holding it.

"Oh," Red muttered, dropping the bag to the floor.

"Yeah, 'oh' is right. What were you thinking, Red? Why did you leave your bag there last night?! I only took it because I happened to come across it. What if I hadn't seen it? What if I hadn't walked through that area at all?! Then what!" Chloe exclaimed, her frustration evident as she quickly got out of bed, not even bothering to take a moment to fully collect herself.

"I had to blow off some steam, okay? Uma got on my nerves and I had to retaliate," Red said with unwavering confidence, but Chloe was taken aback by her words.

"No, it's not okay! None of this is okay, Red! If you have a problem with someone here, you can't just act out! This isn't Wonderland, where you can just retaliate by destroying things when anyone bothers you!" Chloe exclaimed, letting out a heavy sigh as she flopped onto her mattress.

"I'm sorry. I'm still trying to adjust to everything here, and I let my frustrations get the best of me. I understand that now," Red admitted, but Chloe's frustration only grew.

"No, Red, you don't understand. You don't understand any of this, but I can't expect you to." Chloe sighed rubbing her temples trying to calm herself.

"I'm not just angry at you, okay? I'm angry at myself for being too self-absorbed in my studies to notice that you needed something," Chloe said, running a hand over her face before walking over to Red and pulling her into a hug.

Red hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to respond. She wasn't one to give or receive hugs often, but as she held onto Chloe, she never wanted to let go. At that moment, she wished it could last forever. Something about the way Chloe pulled her in tighter made Red forget everything the way Chloe's hair brushed her face giving her a whiff of the coconut aroma from her hair.

"Promise me you won't do anything like that again, Red," Chloe practically begged.

"I'll try, I promise I'll try, Blue," Red replied. Chloe smiled letting go of Red completely and threw her bag at her.

"I'll be a few minutes; I just need to get ready," Chloe said before Red nodded and sat down on Chloe's bed.

After a few minutes, Chloe was ready, and both girls made their way to chemistry when a loud voice came over the speakers.

"Will Princess Red please come to my office," it was Uma, and she sounded furious.

"Good luck, Red," Chloe sent a sympathetic smile to her friend before kissing her cheek and jogging away.

It took Red 10 minutes to get to Uma's office. Usually, it'd just take a minute or two from where she was in the school, but eight minutes of Red's time walking to the office was spent standing in the same place. Chloe kissed her. Well, her cheek, but Red couldn't bear to move from the place it happened. She was stunned, but she didn't hate the feeling. This was amazing. Chloe's gentle kiss on Red's cheek sent a rush of warmth through her body. As she pondered the sensation, Red couldn't help but dwell on the tender touch of Chloe's lips against her skin. The feeling of her heart simultaneously melting and quickening at the touch was an indescribable blend of euphoria and pure bliss.

When Red arrived at the office, she was surprised to see a group of pirates cleaning the spray-painted walls and collecting pieces of glass and pottery from the ground. Despite the chaotic scene, Red couldn't help but smile as she thought about the kiss she shared with Chloe just ten minutes ago.