Once Upon An Enchanted Ball ( A Rise of Red/Glassheart Fanfic)

Chapter 12: Mini-Epilogue

"I would seriously rather spend my day doing anything else." Bridget sighs, grabbing a sponge and wringing it out with malice.

It had been weeks since the Ball and ever since that night, Chloe and Red had been avoiding their chore of cleaning up their graffiti. Turns out neither of them could get out of doing it because graffiti for 'promotional reasons' isn't a real thing, according to Fairy GodMother.

Especially since it had been a month since the Ball, the promotion seemed rather unnecessary at that point.

So, here they were, accompanied by Ella, Charming and Bridget (against her will), to clean up the graffiti from the welcome sign. How fun.

"The sooner you hush the faster we'll finish" Chloe sighs, already knee-deep in blue graffiti. "Agreed," Red chimes in from behind Chloe, tying the girl's hair back to prevent it from getting stained by her work.

Bridget huffs, more exaggerated than the ten times she had done it before. "You're only agreeing because that's your girlfriend. You sell-out" Bridget curses and both Chloe and Red can't help but giggle.

After the Ball, neither Chloe nor Red had officially put a label on their relationship for the first few weeks. But with countless kisses and more-than-flirty banter, it was easy to see the direction they were heading. And so here they were—dating and in love. Bridget, however, was beginning to hate every second of it.

"Cut them some slack, Bridget. Since when were you against young love?" Ella asked, gently taking the sponge from Bridget's hand so she wouldn't have to do any work. Bridget smiled, knowing that Ella would never make her do anything she didn't want to.

Charming, on the other hand, was less forgiving. "Yeah, if anything, we should let it flourish," the prince chimed in, handing Bridget another sponge to her dismay. "Now, get to scrubbing!" he barked, mimicking a drill sergeant.

Bridget sighed dramatically, shoving his shoulder in mock annoyance before getting back to work. This blue was definitely going to clash with the outfit she'd carefully chosen for the day.

"Can you believe those three?" Chloe questions, continuing to scrub alongside her girlfriend. It was so weird to think about yet freeing at the exact same time. Red was her girlfriend, they were dating. It was as if everything fell into place exactly how she had wanted it to.

Red smiles, "Just be glad we weren't put in a committee with those dorks." She continues to scrub with diligence, "You're the only dork I'd work with willingly anyways,"

Chloe wants to rebuttal but simply rolls her eyes instead, "Red from a couple of months ago would not have agreed with that."

"Probably not. But what does she know? She's missing out on having the best, and dorkiest girlfriend someone could ask for." Red turns her head to kiss Chloe's cheek, and it tickles the blue-haired girl enough to giggle in response.

"I guess you're right." Chloe smiles.

"Guess? I know I'm right," Red rebuttals, turning to look for the bucket of water the ring her sponge out.

Chloe and Red shared a playful exchange, both smiling at the lighthearted banter. Chloe shook her head, watching as Red reached for the bucket of water to wring out her sponge.

"You're so confident, aren't you?" Chloe teased, leaning in closer to Red as she finished with the sponge.

Red smirked, glancing over her shoulder at Chloe. "Confidence is key, Charming. You should know that by now."

Chloe rolled her eyes, but her grin widened as she leaned against the bucket, her hand casually dipping into the water. "You know, you talk a big game, but let's see how confident you are when—"

Before Red could react, Chloe flicked her fingers, sending a small splash of soapy water at Red's face. Red froze for a moment, water dripping from her cheek, and then she slowly turned to face Chloe, an incredulous look on her face.

"Oh, you did not just do that," Red said, her voice low and playful, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Chloe giggled, taking a step back. "What if I did?"

Red didn't respond with words. Instead, she grabbed her own sponge, soaking it in the soapy water before flinging it toward Chloe. The sponge hit Chloe's arm with a satisfying splat, and she gasped in mock outrage.

"You're on," Chloe shouted, grabbing her own sponge and launching it at Red, who quickly dodged, laughing all the while.

The commotion caught the attention of Bridget, Ella, and Charming, who were almost done on their side of the wall. Bridget raised an eyebrow as she watched Chloe and Red dodge and duck around each other, throwing soapy sponges like they were snowballs.

"What in the world are you two doing?" Bridget called out, trying to suppress her concern.

Charming, always eager to join in on some fun, didn't need an invitation. He grabbed a sponge from his own bucket and hurled it toward Chloe, hitting her square on the back. "I think it's a soap battle!" he declared, grinning as Chloe turned to him with mock indignation.

"That doesn't mean you join them," Bridget whined, watching as the chaos soon unfolded before her eyes.

Ella, not one to be left out, picked up her own sponge, soaking it thoroughly before tossing it at Red, who barely managed to dodge it. "You seriously need to work on that aim of yours!" Red shouted, grabbing another sponge and tossing it back at Ella.

Soon enough, the whole group was involved, flinging soapy sponges and splashing water at each other with reckless abandon. Laughter echoed through the empty doorway as they ducked behind buckets, dodged incoming sponges, and tried to catch each other off guard.

Bridget, at first hesitant to join in, found herself swept up in the fun. She grabbed a sponge and aimed it at Charming, who was busy trying to outmanoeuvre Ella. The sponge hit him square in the face, leaving him momentarily stunned as the rest of the group burst into laughter.

"Nice shot, Bridget!" Chloe called out. Bridget wasn't one for any kind of sports so to see her with such a sharp aim was incredible.

Bridget shrugged with a grin. "Guess I'm not so bad at this after all,"

The battle raged on, with no one safe from the onslaught of soapy projectiles. Red and Chloe ended up cornered together, laughing as they tried to fend off attacks from both sides. They exchanged a glance, and in a silent agreement, they both turned their sponges on Charming, who was momentarily distracted by Ella.

"Attack!" Chloe shouted, and she and Red bombarded Charming with soapy water, leaving him drenched but laughing.

Ella joined in, and soon, the four of them had Charming cornered, all laughing too hard to aim properly. Bridget, watching from a safe distance, couldn't help but laugh at the sight of her friends covered in soap suds and water, their faces bright with joy.

Eventually, the chaos died down, and the group found themselves leaning against the walls, out of breath and soaked to the bone. The walkway was a mess, with water and soap everywhere, but none of them cared. It had been worth it.

Chloe looked at Red, both of them grinning from ear to ear. "I think we made a bigger mess than we cleaned up," Chloe said, still trying to catch her breath.

Red shrugged, a playful glint in her eye. "Totally worth it."

Charming, dripping wet but smiling nonetheless, nodded in agreement. "Absolutely worth it. But... who's going to clean all this up?"

The group exchanged glances, and for a moment, it seemed like no one was going to volunteer. Then, all at once, they burst into laughter again, knowing that they'd probably end up cleaning together—just like they'd made the mess together. 

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Okay, now that's the end.

I should have other works posted by now and if you're cool you'll check it out after this :)

Farewell,

- Nabi (a.k.a Lee)