Through the Gap in the Curtains

Turn Away

Hello again! This my sequel to The Truth. You might want to read that first, but it's probably not necessary as it doesn't mention much (apart from at the beginning). There are suicidal thoughts/actions in this, just a warning. there will also be LGBTQ+ ships. If you aren't okay with those things, just a heads up. Enjoy!

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Dex raised his home crystal to the light and glittered away. In a way, he supposed, he was happy for his friends, all evenly matched up in their perfect pairs. But who did he get? Nothing. Nobody. Because that's who he was. A nothing. A nobody to Fitz's perfect eyes, perfect family, or to Keefe's sense of humor and devilish handsomeness.

Rimeshire was cold, as usual, due to his mother's icy aura of power from her Froster ability.

Dex shivered, pulling his short cape around his shoulders. He trudged through the frozen property until he came to the mansion's double doors. He pushed then open, and felt his muscles relax upon contact with the warm, homey air.

"Dex? is that you?" his mother called from the kitchen. She came around the corner from the doorway to the left of the staircase, and swept him up into her arms.

"Dex!" her warm breath tickled his neck. "This is so exciting! How was it?"

When he remained silent, she pulled away. Her smile-lined face dropped.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'll be fine, mom." he said, and with guilt wrenching his stomach, he dashed away up the stairs. He was walking down that hallway to his room when a door burst open and out poured all three triplets.

"Dex! Dex! Dex!" they shrieked, and mobbed him with a hug. He toppled over and hit the ground hard, but for the first time since the scrolls, a real smile cracked his stony face.

"Hey, guys." he said.

"So who are you marrying?" Rex asked.

"Is she pretty?" Bex chimed in.

"Tell us!" Lex begged.

"Well... I don't know who I'll be matched with yet," Dex said. "But I'll find out tomorrow., and I promise that I will tell you then, okay?"

"Okay..." they all reluctantly said, and let Dex stand up and retreat into his room.

Sighing, he flopped down on his bed and pulled off his shoes. Not bothering to do anything to get ready for bed, he crawled in and fell into a restless sleep.

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Dex's eyes flew open. Light from the rising sun was seeping into his room, bathing everything in a golden light. He rolled over and checked the clock. 7:06 am. He rolled over and got out of bed. He stretched, running his fingers through his strawberry-blonde hair, and padded over to his closet. He pulled out the cleanest cape, tunic, pants, and socks that he could find, and ditched his dirty clothe for the new ones.

He slouched over to the bathroom, and splashed water on his face. The chilly liquid woke him up a bit more, banishing the last memories of his bad dreams from the night before. Dex pulled out his toothbrush, and started going through the familiar motions of brushing his teeth.

He had dreamed of girls, made of all colours of paint, laughing around him. He had just asked one of them if they would consider being his match, and now they mocked him. He tried to tell them that no, he wanted to go on a few dates first, get to know them before he made his decision, but they wouldn't listen. Dex had kept trying, and they had kept laughing, until he woke up.

He walked downstairs, and checked the time; he still had two minutes before he usually leaped to school. Sighing, he trudged up the stairs to the Leapmaster 400.

He checked that he looked presentable, and ran a hand through his hair. You can do this.

"Foxfire!"

He appeared at the huge Leapmaster on the top floor, and pushed through the tides of students. Even though he knew that he wouldn't see Iva until lunch period, he couldn't help but look for her long braid, of a flash of her deep blue eyes.

All through Elementalism and History, he was distracted and distant. He almost even managed to kill Professor Seq in Elementalism, after failing to bottle a rouge tornado on the first try. After that, he had been shown out of the classroom, and now he wan wandering the hallways and waiting for lunch and feeling depressed. He turned a corner, and stopped, hearing a giggle in the otherwise empty corridors.

Dex peered down the green hallway, squinting, but eh didn't see anybody. Frowning, he walked closer to where he thought he had heard the noise, and heard another laugh from an empty classroom. Dex tip-toed quietly over. It was probably just a couple snogging, but...

He peered into the window.

It was Iva.

She stopped kissing the boy that she was with, and glanced up, probably hearing his gasp as he stumbled away from the door. Dex heard the doorknob turn, and there she was. Her indigo eyes shone with question as she slung her long, black braid over her shoulder.

"Dex?"

Being the flabbergasted idiot he was, out came everything.

"Iva... You were on my scroll, top ten, and I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go out with me sometime, but I see you're busy with someone else, so I'll just go now..."

He turned to leave.

"Wait!" Iva called, and he paused, looking over his shoulder. "I got you as well. But Tema Dacker asked me first, and it's going really well. I'm sorry, Dex."

"Oh. Well... if it doesn't work out, maybe call me?"

Looking sad, Iva shook her head. "Tema proposed, Dex, and I said yes."

He backed up a step.

"Wow. Well... I guess I'll see you around then. Iva."

"See you around, Dex."

He turned and walked away, a single tear forming and dropping down his cheek. He walked to the nearest bathroom, shut the stall door, and cried silently.

Who was he? A nothing. A nobody. A Dizznee, and he would always be alone. Who was he to Tema, to Fitz, to Keefe? I'm worthless, he thought. Why even go on?