Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Once upon a time - 

“No, absolutely not. What am I writing, a fairy tale?”

It was a dark and stormy night -

“Killer first line, Dani, definitely not cliche at all.”

So, one day, there was this little goopy lad -

“That’s the worst possible way I could start this.”

Dantoinette sighed, burying her head in her hands. She had been sitting at her computer for the past hour, watching the cursor in her word document blink over and over, waiting for something profound to come to her head.  Do something creative , her therapist had said. Build something up instead of tearing it down.

She probably should’ve gone into gardening. Something like that.

Dani groaned, turning around in her swivel chair, and in a single, deliberate movement, crossed her apartment and grabbed a soda from her mini fridge. She opened the can with a hiss, ignoring the fact that the fizz was bubbling over and spilling onto her hands, and chugged the can without taking a breath. She then crushed it in her fist, tossed it into the nearby trash can, and moved over to the rat cage propped on her bedside table.

Ah, dear, sweet Johannsen. So blind to the trials and tribulations of everyday life. How wonderful, she thought, how delightfully simple it must be, to be a rat.

She did not have that luxury.

See, that was some profound shit! Why couldn’t she write that down, tell a story about the life experience of rodents! That’s some real untapped potential!

And that’s when it hit her.

How could she have not seen it before? Pretty much every story in the world has been told at this point, there’s no way to get anything original or profound in your writing. No way, at least, if you aren’t writing what you know.

She jumped back into her chair, turned to her laptop, and began frantically typing, nearly breaking some of the keys.

Dantoinette was already not looking forward to staying in the small town of Patchwork. Then she found out that she would be living in a convenience store.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“What’s wrong, Dani?”

“I want you to take a good, hard look at the building in front of us, and then ask me that question again.”

Dantoinette and her little brother, Danthony, were standing on the sidewalk of an extraordinarily quiet street, quiet enough that their conversation could be clearly overheard by any passersby, of which there were luckily none, given that it was close to midnight. A single red suitcase and a cage with a large rat in it sat beside them. Dani was staring at a certain building directly across the street from them with enough anger in her gaze that it appeared as though she were trying to light the place on fire with her mind. Danthony, on his sister’s request. The building, illuminated by the dim light of the streetlamps, appeared to be a quaint-looking convenience store, with an inexpensive looking sign over the door that read “Val’s Stop n Shop”.

“...W-what’s wrong?” Danthony asked, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

Dani responded with a swift and hard punch to his arm. “You’re impossible.”

“ Ow! ”

She rolled her eyes and began to approach the store, dragging her suitcase behind her, with her brother following in her wake. When she reached the door, she noticed the sign on the door was flipped to “Closed”, though the lights were still on. Finding this to be insufficient means of stopping her, she clenched her fist and knocked as hard as she could, with Danthony wincing with every sound. The two stood there waiting for a very long time, until Dani, bored out of her mind, resorted to observing her surroundings.

The wind rustled through the leaves of the tall oaks that surrounded the village. The hissing call of cicadas echoed throughout the night. Somewhere, someone was playing some smooth jazz over the radio.

Patchwork was a very different town from what she was used to. She was far more comfortable with silver skyscrapers piercing the sky, with the hustle and bustle of urban life. But this? This was downright adorable, and every little thing she noticed did nothing but remind her of how little she truly wanted to be here. But as her father insisted, she wouldn’t get better unless she tried . She had to resist the urge to gag at the memory. She didn’t like arguing with family, but when they looked down on her like that, she couldn’t help but get snippy.

Her train of thought was broken by the sound of a bell, and she snapped her gaze forward as the door in front of her opened to reveal a surprised looking man with dark skin and even darker hair, donning a flamboyant pink shirt with a clumsily added heart-shaped patch on the breast pocket. His eyebrows shot up when he caught a glimpse of who was visiting.

“Oh! That was today, huh?” he asked no one in particular.

After an excruciating silence, Dani responded with a matter-of-fact “Yyyyup. Desmond Valentine, right?”

“That’s me. Most people call me Val, though.” He opens the door and motions for the two siblings to enter the store. Stepping into the brightly lit interior, Dantoinette looked around at the shelves and registers with disdain as the man spoke.

“Your dad called to set this whole thing up, but I guess I forgot exactly when the whole thing would be happening. You staying here, I mean. Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine,” Dani said dismissively. “So, do you have an apartment I’m staying in or something?”

Val stopped in his tracks, turning around to face her. “Y-yeah, I have an apartment. That’s not where you’re staying, though. You’ll be staying here, in the attic.”

Dani’s eye twitched.

“It’s really not as bad as it seems,” Val insisted, a bright but nervous smile on his face. “About a week ago, I brought up some furniture and made it nice and cozy! You’ll love it!”
Dani closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “That’s… fine.” she growled.

Val’s smile grew wider somehow. “Great! Let’s get you all set up.” And with that, he turned and raced up the stairs. Dantoinette blinked, off-put by the man’s energy. She looked over her shoulder at Danthony, who was looking through the candy aisle. Once he noticed, he put the candy back on the rack and giggled coyly. Dani sighed, exasperated, and trudged her way up the stairs after Val.

The attic was, admittedly, much nicer than she had envisioned. The carpeted floor was as clean as could be, there was a comfortable looking queen-sized bed positioned in the corner, alongside a number of desks and cabinets that could be used for storage, a couple of windows overlooked the street, and, thankfully, there was a door that led to a full bathroom. Dani breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that she wouldn’t have to enter the store whenever she had to do her business. This relief did not go unnoticed by Val.

“See? I told you it was nice. I call it an attic, but it’s really a full apartment that I don’t really use. It just came with the building, so I mostly used it for storage. A little bit of cleaning, and now it’s perfectly livable.”

Dantoinette walked over to one of the nearby tables and placed the rat cage she was carrying on it. She knelt next to it and stuck her finger through one of the gaps, lovingly petting Johannsen, her pet rat, on the head. He squeaked affectionately. Noticing that Danthony and Val were watching her, however she quickly got up and assumed a casual smirk.

“Thanks, dude. I really appreciate you letting me stay here.”

“Of course! Your dad and I go way back, but I won’t bore you with those stories. What I am curious about, to be honest, is why you decided to come here in the first place. You’re from New York, right? A small town like Patchwork seems… well, a little out of your wheelhouse, to be blunt.”

Dani went deathly still. She was hoping that question would never be asked. She was about to explain that she didn’t want to talk about it, but the words got caught in her throat. Not wanting to talk about something implies that there’s something wrong, which there wasn’t . Explaining the real reason she was there would reveal that she was seeing a therapist, implying that something was wrong with her, which there wasn’t . Instead, Dani took a deep breath, and lied through her teeth.

“I’m writing a book about a small town. I figured it would be good research to actually stay in one, to figure out what it’s actually like, y’know?”

Shit. Why was that the first thing she came up with? Danthony arched his eyebrow at her, but said nothing, and Val, not noticing this, lit up with delight.

“Oooh, I didn’t know you were a writer! I’d love to see what kind of stuff you make sometime, if that’s okay with you, of course.”

And there it was, now she was stuck. She had to write a damn book. Great. Fucking wonderful. Danthony gave Dani a look that asked a very clear question. Since when were you writing a book? Dani shot a glare back that said, drop it. And just like that, the subject was abandoned.

“Well,” Danthony said, “I should probably start driving back home. You alright, Dani?”

The girl looked back at him crossly. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Danthony raised his hands defensively. “Look, I was just asking if you needed help unpacking or something.”

Dani let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Yeah, I’m fine, dude. You can head out if you need to.

Her brother turned to Val. “Would it be okay for you to make me some coffee for the road, or is that too much to ask?”

“No worries, I’ll get right on it,” Val said, and descended the stairs. Danthony turned to his sister, took a step forward, and wrapped her into a hug. Dani smiled, ruffling his hair a bit before letting go.

“I’ll be sure to visit,” Danthony said. “Good luck on that book!” he winked teasingly.

Dani rolled her eyes, but chuckled nonetheless. With that, Danthony disappeared down the stairs, leaving Dani alone in her new room. She suddenly yawned, and decided to leave unpacking and whatnot for the next day. She flopped down onto the bed, not even bothering to get under the covers, and fell asleep within minutes.

Dantoinette had been staring at the ceiling of her room for the past three hours. It was really quite riveting, and an astonishingly good use of her time.

She had woken up that morning somehow tangled in her sheets, and though she was fully awake, she for one reason or another could not bring herself to roll out of bed and start the day. This was a consistent problem, and she figured this was probably something she should bring up to her therapist at some point, instead of constantly readdressing the same old issues and never moving forward. She also figured she should write this down, so as to remind herself to talk about this. Nonetheless, she did not do this. She continued to stare at the ceiling.

She turned her head, with herculean effort, toward the analog clock hanging on the wall. It took her a while to read it, but eventually she figured out that it was about 1:30 in the afternoon. Yeah, this was definitely pushing it, she should really be doing something by now. Groaning, she rolled out of bed.

When she descended the staircase and entered the convenience store, she was shocked to find it bustling with people, and this gave her pause just long enough for Val to notice her, his eyes lighting up. He turned to a bulky, bespectacled, worried looking man operating the register.

“Run the ship for me, will ya, Dan?”

“U-um, okay!” the man replied.

Dani slowly but surely made her way to Val, bobbing and weaving between customers before finally making it to the front desk, Val standing in front of it with a bright smile on his face.

“Good to see you’re awake, sleepyhead! I wanted to show you around town, get you used to the place. I know being in a new environment can be kinda disorienting,” he said.

Dani really wasn’t interested in doing anything of substance today, and she didn’t really see the point in getting a tour of a town that’s so small that it barely even exists, but she decided it would be better to do something with what little energy she had. Playing video games could only eat up so much of her time.

She ran a hand through her hair, attempting to get it in a more presentable state. “Yeah, sure, I don’t see why not,” she said.

Val smiled.

To be perfectly honest, Dantoinette didn’t exactly pay much attention to the tour, She was mostly just hoping to get outside and scope out the vibe of this place. That said, what little she did absorb didn’t make her any more excited to stay here. When asked about what the people were like here, Val just stood silently for a long while before responding, “Odd.” This did not inspire confidence. The town’s name was Patchwork, named after 1) the family of farmers that founded the settlement, and 2) the fact that the area was an absolute clusterfuck of geography. The place was hilly, and yet it managed to get flat enough to have a beach to the north and a massive wheat farm to the west, which was where the place got most of its money. That, and pirates. Weird.

On the final stretch of the tour, they were walking down a street with a massive, imposing hill to their left. The hill was fenced off with a tall, iron gate, and an impressive-looking house stood on top of it. Dani’s first instinct was to assume it was some kind of estate, which means she wanted to stay the hell away from it. Rich people pissed her off.

…She noticed that Val was getting kinda quiet, and jerked her head away from the house to notice that he was getting further away, so absorbed in his speech about the wonderful people she would find here that he didn’t notice that Dani had stopped moving. She tried to catch up, but bumped her shoulder on a boy in a red baseball cap. 

…Then another.

Then another.

Soon enough, there was a veritable horde of snot nosed brats blocking her path, walking in the opposite direction. Fearing for a moment that she would get lost in the sea of people, she called out to Val.

“Hey, Val! Wait up, I’m getting lost in the crowd here!”

Val turned to look at her. “...What crowd?”

Dani blinked. As if by magic, the crowd had entirely disappeared. She looked down at her hands, horrified. She knew for a fact that she had seen, that she had felt those people. There was no way they could have just disappeared like that. What the hell was going on?

Her train of thought was broken by the sound of snickering. Val and Dani turned their heads toward the source, which happened to be a boy in a red baseball cap. Go figure.

“What’s wrong, new girl?” he sneered. “ Scared? ”

Dani’s confusion and fear was quickly replaced with anger. She clenched her fists threateningly. “I dare you to ask me that again.”

Clearly desperate to deescalate the situation, Val stepped authoritatively in front of her. “Buzz off, Crimson. You’re interrupting the tour.”

The boy - Crimson, his name apparently was - placed his hand on his chest in mock offense.

“Well, I never! Interrupting a tour? How dreadfully irresponsible of me, I am ever so sorry…” 

Crimson marched up to Val and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“ ...Friend. ”

Dantoinette felt as if the very air pressure had shifted, and it suddenly became rather difficult to breath, as the edges of her vision became tinted with red. Then, as swiftly as it had arrived, the threatening aura and the pressure in the air dissipated. Val blinked for a couple moments, as if to recalibrate his brain.

“Y-yeah! We’re friends!” Val said, almost too cheerfully.

“Good.” Crimson squeezed his shoulder supportively and turned around to enter the estate’s gate. Before he closed the door behind him, he turned to look at Dantoinette. “Oh, and new girl? Keep your eyes open. Things are gonna get mighty interesting around here.”

And with that, the gate shut with a metallic clang , and Crimson began to trudge up the path toward the mansion. Dani turned to observe Val’s expression, so as to read the situation, and was surprised to find it vacant, as if he weren’t there at all.

“Uuuh… dude? You alright?” she asked.

Val blinked again, and he turned to look at her. “Y-yeah, I’m fine.” He looked around, as if suddenly aware of where he was. “Well, that’s about the end of the tour! Any questions?”

Dani arched an eyebrow, and gestured toward the mansion at the top of the hill. “Who lives up there?” she asked.

“Oh, that’s just… Well, we aren’t really sure what their last names are. Most of them are kinda reclusive, to be honest. Except for Crimson.” His eyes suddenly became bright with adoration. “He’s the coolest.”

“Really? Because you acted like he was a bit of a nuisance, earlier.”

“...No? I don’t remember doing that at all. Are you doing alright, Dani?”

And there was that question again. Every single day, it seemed, there was someone new looking down on her, asking her if she was doing alright, as though she couldn’t handle her own emotions.

Clearly you can’t,  the voice in her head hissed. You’re in therapy for a reason…

She told the voice to shut up.

“ I’m fine, ” she growled. “Perfectly fine.

Dantoinette finished the chapter, and after saving the document, she slammed her laptop shut with a bit too much force than was necessary. She couldn’t help but feel a bit raw. Writing out her own experiences and thoughts demanded a certain level of emotional honesty, and that kind of bullshit was just exhausting. But it didn’t matter. Beyond this stupid novel that she had tricked herself into having to do, she now had a goal.

There was something weird going on in this town, and she was going to figure out what.

Chapter Text

“So… you’re writing a novel.”

“Right on the money, doc.”

“And you’ve had this ambition since… when, exactly?”

“Couple nights ago.”

“Mhmm…”

Dantoinette’s current therapy session was progressing rather oddly when compared to many of her others, particularly because she had something to say this time. The therapist, Folk raised his eyebrows, which was not unwarranted, as Dani was well aware that what she was saying was patently inane. She was never a writer, and Folk knew this perfectly well, but if he found anything strange about the situation, he kept his mouth shut, and smiled like he always did.

“That’s great! It’s good you’ve finally found a hobby that you enjoy.”

“...Yeah.”

Dani tries to swallow the bile rising in her throat. She hated when people made assumptions about the way her life was. Did she enjoy it? It had been a very long time since she had truly enjoyed anything. Folk always spat out his simple-minded platitudes about “finding something for herself,” or “creating instead of destroying,” and “always being kind,” or whatever. She knew he was probably right, but the condescension she felt whenever she heard it caused her to wretch.

If Folk had found her noncommittal answer disconcerting in the slightest, it was not apparent on his face. He continued to look at her with that sickening, understanding grin as he continued to speak.

“I’m not sure exactly what you’re writing, and to be perfectly honest, I’d prefer not to pry into it, I’m sure that kinda stuff gets rather personal. One thing I think could help would be visiting your neighbors in that town you just moved to. What was it again…?”

“Patchwork,” Dani mumbled.

“Oh!” Folk replied.

Dani raised an eyebrow. “You’re familiar?”

“...You could say that. But that’s besides the point. I’m sure there are plenty of nice people you could meet, who could help break out of your shell. Now, I know that sort of thing can seem daunting, so let’s put that through the lens of something productive. What if you went around interviewing the townspeople, getting some of their perspectives on life, so that you can integrate it into your novel?”

Dani had to resist the urge to gag. Of course , it was all about breaking her out of her shell . Fuck that shit with a big, splintery log.

“...Yeah, I guess I could do that.”

BITCH WHY THE FUCK DID YOU SAY YES

“Great! Think of it as a bit of homework. You go out there, get some people’s perspectives, and be sure to write down how you feel about it all. I think we can attack some of your issues if we have some honest thoughts from you.”

“...Sure.”

“Okay, I think that’s about all the time we have for you today. I’ll see you in a couple weeks!”

“Okay, bye.”

The video call ended, and Dantoinette slammed her laptop shut with a beleaguered sigh. Dozens of unspoken thoughts swimmed through her mind, sentences blending into one another.

I hate homework, and I hate being honest.

I don’t want to talk to any of these people.

I don’t even want to write a damn book.

Dani sighed for what felt like the thousandth time. If she had well and truly gotten herself into this mess, the least she could do was commit to it. She grabbed a pen from her desk and turned to descend the stairs to Val’s convenience store. Maybe she’d find a notebook or something there.

Here’s hoping she didn’t have to deal with that Crimson asshole again.

That Crimson asshole was the first thing she saw when she got down the stairs, chatting up Val like they were old friends. Fan-fucking-tastic.

Twirling her pen in between her fingers in an attempt to alleviate the anger pounding in her head, she stormed past the register, hoping that Crimson and Val were so engrossed in their conversation that they wouldn’t notice her.

“G’morning, Dani! Where are you off to in such a hurry?” Val called.

Of course it couldn’t be that simple.

She tried her best to look as relaxed as usual, but for one reason or another, she couldn’t really pull it off.

“I’m just… going on a walk,” she lied.

“That’s good, it’ll help you get yourself familiar with the area,” Val replied, as charming and peppy as ever. He gestured to Crimson. “Before you go, my friend wanted to apologize for his behavior when meeting you yesterday. I’m not sure what the issue was, but apparently you two got off on the wrong foot…?”

“Yeah,” Crimson grinned sheepishly. “I feel like I might have been a little rude when we first met, and I am… ever so sorry about that. Hopefully we can put that behind us and be friends in the future…”

At the word friends , Dani’s blood ran cold. She did not like the way he said that word in the slightest. Her mind flashed back to the day prior, where Crimson had put his hand on Val’s shoulder, and it felt like the very nature of the world shifted. That kid had done something to Val, she was sure of it…

Time seemed to move in slow motion, as Crimson extended his arm for a handshake. Dani’s heart rate spiked, and the entire world seemed to fade away… it was just him… and her… She had no idea why, but something primal, something deep in her soul was telling her to shake his hand. She reached out her right arm, preparing to take Crimson’s hand in hers…

No.

As if by instinct, she clenched her fist.

NO.

In a single, deft movement, she shifted her entire body’s weight, sending her fist flying into Crimson’s face. She could feel his nose crack under the force of her punch. With a stumble, she followed through, sending Crimson, tumbling down to the ground, clenching his face in trembling hands.

The sound of her heart pounding in her ears slowly faded, and Dani was left in crushing silence, save for the sound of her own heaving breaths. She blinked, and was suddenly hyper-aware of her surroundings. Everyone in the store had stopped and turned to see what all the commotion was.

They were all looking at her.

“Dani…” Val said, jolting her out of her train of thought. His voice trailed off, as if he had no idea what to say. His eyes were a combination of fear, shock, and… something that looked like pity, which did nothing but make Dani’s blood boil even hotter. She turned to Crimson, still on the ground, expecting him to do or say something creepy, anything that would justify what she had just done.

He… he looked afraid.

He was afraid of her.

Before she knew it, she had turned and ran out of the store.

Dani did not realize that she had been wandering the town for several hours, given that her head was so overwhelmed with thoughts that it became difficult to fixate on any one idea. She tried to note different landmarks in the town, familiarize herself with the area, but every time she attempted to memorize a specific store or location, the information left her mind as easily as it had entered.

She really should have gotten that notepad.

She didn’t notice how much time had passed until the sun was already low in the sky. Congratulations, Dani , she thought. You’ve successfully wasted an entire day. Bully for you. She supposed she should probably go back to Val’s store and apologize. Not to Crimson, mind you, she still didn’t trust him as far as she could throw him, which was likely rather far. That said, that shame bubbling in her stomach made her sick, and while the thought of apologizing was vomit-inducing, she decided to swallow her pride and just fucking do it, already .

On her way back to the store, she passed by a small house that stood right next door to it. On any other day, she might not have paid it any notice, but on this particular day, it appeared as though some sort of gathering was occurring within it. The muffled sound of boyish laughter and revelry bled through the walls.

The voice of her therapist shot through her mind. Dani did have to meet with her neighbors and other such townsfolk before her next session. She supposed now wouldn’t be the worst time. She ignored the voice telling her she was running away from her problems and marched up to the front door, giving it a firm knock before she could instinctively back out.

After a few moments, the door opened, and Dani immediately regretted every choice in her life that led her to this moment. The person she saw was a man, likely around her age, early 20s, with a can of hard seltzer clutched in his hand, clearly working on a slight buzz. His shaggy blond hair was tied into an unkempt ponytail, and he looked as though he hadn’t taken off his cyan hoodie in several days. Peering over the man’s shoulder, she could see similar college boys partying behind him.

This was a frat house.

Welp. Too late to back out now.

“Uh… hey.” The man at the door said. Dani realized that this is the part where she explains herself.

“‘Sup. I’m Dantoinette, I just moved in next door.”

“...The convenience store?” the man asked.

“That’s right. I figured I should head around the place, introduce myself, that sorta thing. Also…” Dani added before she could stop herself.

“Also?”

“...I’m writing a novel, and I wanna interview people, get their perspectives.”

The man blinked, and Dani tried to hide her own embarrassment. This is stupid , her subconscious whispered to her. She told her subconscious to shut up.

Instead of being weirded out like she expected, however, the man smiled warmly and opened the door for her. “The name’s Alabaster, but you can just call me Al. Come on in.”

Dani didn’t need to be told twice.

Dani was having a miserable time.

This wasn’t the fault of any frat boys, to be honest. On the contrary, they were downright lovely, considering the circumstances. Alabaster turned out to be delightful, constantly regaling her with tales of his little sister, who he seemed to love with all his heart, and the seeming head of this frat, who went only by the name Sword Goku, was welcoming to this new arrival, and was willing to give Dani some practical advice about the town of Patchwork now that she was interested in listening. All in all, it seemed like the sort of place that her brother Danthony would really enjoy.

No, she was miserable because she was currently speaking to the most bland, uninteresting, Literally-Just-A-Guy person imaginable. She was speaking to Bing.

Bing had been dogging her heels for what felt like the entire night, and it seemed as though he was chatting her up in the interest of getting into her pants. He wasn’t being disrespectful or boorish about it, but there was only so much flirting you could take before it began to grate on your nerves.

“Anyways, my cousin Google-”

Dani decided to put an end to this before he could launch into yet another diatribe.

“Stop.”

“...I’m sorry?” he asked, a light blush dusting his face.

“Just stop. I’m not gonna date you, buddy.”

Bing blinked. “That’s… not what I want? I just wanted to make a new friend.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Truth be told, I’m a pretty lonely guy, and… well, I kinda figured you’d be lonely too, given that you’re new here and all… sorry.”

Dani’s heart stopped. Of course, she thought. Another situation you’ve completely misread. Fucking moron. She tried her hardest to force the guilt back into her subconscious, but the insults she recited to herself every night couldn’t help but leak through.

Inept.

Asshole.

Unfeeling.

Worthless.

Worthless, worthless, WORTHLESS-

“Um… Dani? Are you doing alright?” Bing asked.

And there it was yet again. That fucking pity that everyone in her life seemed to feel for her. Her father, suggesting to her that she see a therapist, implying that she was weak . Her brother, looking at her with those sad eyes everytime she got angry. Her therapist, trying to help her, as though she even fucking needed it. It all pissed her the fuck off.

She clenched her fists, growled, and prepared to talk Bing that she was fine, that she was strong, that she could handle herself just fine-

“Alright guys,” Sword Goku called. “The tournament’s about to start!”

And there was her way to prove it.

She was told when she entered that every time this particular group of friends gathered, the main event of the night was a tournament of hit platform fighting game Super Dream Turbo Chronicles: The Ultimate Edition . Her eyes lit up at the mention of it. This was her game, the game she had spent so many years of her life playing to hone her skills. She actually got pretty popular in her local competitive scene before her own personal hang ups (such as failing out of high school) forced her to retire prematurely. It was a shame, really, because she really had a good chance of going pro.

But that didn’t matter now. What mattered now was beating these college boys’ faces in. Metaphorically, of course. She had done enough face beating for one day.

The tournament was a fucking cakewalk. She burned through most of the competitors like a hot knife through butter. The only thing that took her aback was how well the college boys had taken losing to her. Every single one took the loss in stride with their heads held high and smiles on their faces. She respected that, at the very least. Nevertheless, this left her at finals… facing Bing. She had to be perfectly honest, she was not ready to face Bing again after her last fuck up.

And yet, here she was. Sitting with him on the shabby, stained couch in the frat house living room. She clutched her controller in her hands, as both she and Bing pointedly avoided each other’s gazes, all while Dani continued to internally berate herself as the game began.

In this crucial moment, Dani found it difficult to focus.

What the hell was she doing?

The two characters on screen danced around one another, trading blows. This is stupid, you’re being stupid. Dani’s character delivered a powerful attack on Bing’s, sending him flying offstage. Maybe I wouldn’t be acting stupid if I weren’t such a piece of shit. She jumped offstage and began to pursue him, aiming to net the final kill that would win her the tournament. Why am I even acting like this? I’m strong. I’m capable. I can take down any obstacle that comes my way. I can WIN .

I ALWAYS WIN.

Bing’s character dodged out of the way of Dani’s attack and delivered a spike that sent her careening into the blast zone. Game, set, match.

SNAP

Dani looked down to find that she had broken her controller in half. 

The sound of her heart pounding in her ears slowly faded, and Dani was left in crushing silence, save for the sound of her own heaving breaths. She blinked, and was suddenly hyper-aware of her surroundings. Everyone was looking at her. She turned to Bing, the pit in her stomach growing with every passing moment.

He… he looked afraid.

He was afraid of her.

Before she knew it, she muttered some excuse about needing some air and made her way upstairs to the third floor balcony.

It was quiet. This was what she needed right now. A moment of fresh air, alone with her thoughts… Well, a moment alone with her thoughts was probably the last thing she needed, but she needed to escape that situation any way she could. Her subconscious whispered to her that she was yet again running from her problems. She told it to buzz off. More reasons to feel like shit was the last thing she needed.

Maybe she should’ve accepted a drink. Dulling her senses sounded pretty good right about now.

A sinister chuckle cut through the horizon, and suddenly Dani noticed a flash of red on the roof of Val’s convenience store. She squinted toward the middle distance. It was difficult, but if she focused really hard, she could barely see a figure watching her… a figure wearing a stupid hat.

Suddenly, all thoughts of the night’s events disappeared from her mind. She took a split second to judge the distance between the balcony of the frat house and the roof of the convenience store. She figured she could make the leap. She took two long strides backwards, and then broke into a sprint and leapt! She could see Crimson’s face clearly now, and she saw as the fear in his eyes changed to delight as OH NO THE GROUND-

Dani woke to the sound of several voices. Her vision was blurry, the lights of the street lamps bleeding in with the bright lights of the convenience store.

“What did you say happened again?”

Val. That was Val.

“I dunno,” she heard Bing say, his voice trembling with panic. “She was having a bit of a bad night, she went up to the balcony, and when I went to check on her, she just… jumped off.”

The top of her head suddenly pulsed with pain, and it began to feel wet. Blood. She was bleeding.

“Well, that’s less than ideal.”

It only came to her attention that she had said that out loud when every head suddenly jerked around to look at her. Bing, Val, Alabaster, Sword Goku, and all the rest of the frat were suddenly staring at her, dumbfounded.

Before she could say anything, Val knelt at her side and held her as though she were a broken doll. “Are you okay? Do you think anything’s broken?”

Dani scowled and slapped Val’s hands away, the motion sending a jolt of pain up and down her entire body. “I’m fine,” she growled, despite herself.

No one looked particularly convinced by that statement, and it only took a couple moments of thought to figure out why. After a very bad day, Dani had seemingly thrown herself from a third story balcony. She knew what this looked like, and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to explain herself without looking crazy. Crimson already had Val in his pocket, or so Dani presumed. Who knew how many more he had taken?

“Are you sure?” Bing asked. “Do we need to call an ambulance or…?”

“ No. ” Dani barked. “I just… I think I need some rest.”

And with that, despite the pain in her bones, she got up and returned to the convenience store, leaving everyone dumbfounded in her wake.

Hey, she thought morbidly. At least I have an interesting new chapter for my novel.