[✔︎] 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 ✫ POST-DESCENDANTS TWO ⁶

✘ THIRTY FIVE: Warped Memories ✘

Heather felt happy sure but she still felt like something was missing. There was something she was forgetting and she didn't know what. She didn't pay it any mind, pulling her jacket closer to her as she opened the balcony. She sat and stared at the glittering night sky. She could see the stars. She didn't remember the last time she did. The sky's on the Isle were always cloudy and you didn't get much from them. This was different. She saw them more clearly than ever before. She saw it now and they looked pretty and beautiful.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" a voice came to her left as Heather flinched. "Sorry didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay." Heather said, smiling at her boyfriend. "I'm fine. You're fine. I should've been paying more attention."

"Super pretty." another voice said as Heather frowned. She turned to look and see if her hunch was right and it was. That voice belonged to Hanna. "Don't look at me like that Heath. I can explain."

"I don't want to hear it." Heather said, turning away from her, blinking her eyes rapidly. Why she was crying she had no idea. "Why are you here?"

"Heath." Hanna said. "It's been two weeks. Why can't you look at me?"

Right, thought Heather, the spell. Her friends all thought she was ignoring them even though she'd never been there. She loved that. It made things more difficult. She wondered if the dreams had been erased. If Quinn and Maddie remembered what she told them. But she doubted it. It was erased from Hanna's memory that she hadn't been there. That she'd never been there. Quinn and Maddie were probably the same. They had warped memories now.

"Get out." Heather said. "I can't talk to you right now. Maybe later."

Hanna nodded, exiting the balcony and leaving her be. Heather hadn't realized it would be that easy.

"Did you let her in?" Heather asked, closing her eyes and rubbing at her temples.

"She wouldn't stop bugging me." Jackson said, raising his hands up in defense.

"It's fine." Heather said more to herself than she did to Jackson. "It's fine. I'm fine. Everything's fine."

Heather took a deep breath and tried to clear her mind but it didn't work. She couldn't get it out of her head. She had to face it sooner or later but she was hoping it was later. She wasn't ready to face that right now. She wasn't ready to feel the pain again. She didn't want to relive moments they didn't know about. To relive the fear her mother instilled in her bones that she couldn't shake. Nobody would remember that and she didn't know if she would ever get over it.

She was alone in the dark and she didn't like it. Things would get better she knew that but she couldn't see the light right now. She was here in Auradon. She was happy but it still ate at her. It still took over her. She could close her eyes and it would replay over and over.

Sure she had made it seem as if she weren't afraid. That she was fine but there was no use worrying her friends. She would be fine. She just had to reach it herself. She had to find it out for herself. She needed to figure this out herself and her friends would know when she did.

She was happy here and she felt at home. She felt that things could change for the better. That one day she would see the light. One day she wouldn't be angry at her friends for something they couldn't control. But until then she would be angry and she had every right to be. She had fixed things once and it hadn't been easy. Now they didn't remember it and she'd have to do it all over again. Maybe that was the consequence Helia was talking about. Magic came with consequences but Heather still wanted to learn more of it because Helia had taught her all these spells and she didn't want that to go to waste.

It had been less than twenty four hours and she missed her. Helia was her best friend, her sister. She didn't know what she would do without her. There was still a road ahead and she didn't know where it would lead but she wanted Helia to be there to walk it with her.

But eventually she'd have to find her own wings and learn how to use them. She supposed that was now.

"You have a thing for breaking the rules huh?" Jackson asked as Heather looked at him.

"The code is more what you'd call 'guidelines' than actual rules." Heather said. "That's what my dad says. That's where I got the idea to break the rules. Rules stop you from doing things sometimes you know."

"I like that." Jackson said with a nod, before looking at her seriously. "Are you sure you're fine?"

"I am." Heather said, squeezing his hand gently. "There's nothing you have to worry about

"I love you." Jackson said after a moment as Heather let that sink in for a minute.

"I love you too." Heather said,  pressing a kiss to his cheek, pulling his beanie over his eyes. He chuckled, fixing it. She let out a sigh, resting her head on his shoulder and staring up at the stars. They seemed to be glowing extra brightly tonight.

Heather was ready for what the future held for her whether it be good or bad. She was ready for the pain, the trials but she was also ready for the positive things. Graduating, getting what she always wanted. She could get all she wanted if she set her mind to it and she was set on doing it. She could get past the dark things and focus on the light. The stars didn't hold her destiny, that was up to her. She'd have to pave that path her own way. She'd have to brave the night and find the day. She didn't need to lose hope. In this darkness the stars would finally come out and lead the way, even if she didn't know when. She was willing to wait.

Because even a little darkness was needed to see the stars,

THE END