Chapter Text
“Fuck you, Chloe.” Red screamed as she threw the blue fabric down to the floor in front of the princess. Chloe bawled her fist, her hand twitching as she bit her tongue. The two stood in silence for a moment, Red’s chest rising and falling rapidly.
“Oh, nothing to say?” Red fumed, letting out a laugh as she leaned her weight onto her dresser.
“Isn't that ironic? You sure had a hell of a lot to say to all of the boys on your phone.” Chloe stood tall, taking Red's words like they meant nothing, which only fueled Red’s anger.
“This is just like you.” Red groaned, smirking to herself. Fuck, she looked stupid. She had let Chloe do this to her, again. Her nails dug into the wood, chipping off some of the cheap paint. She took a deep breath before turning around to face Chloe again. God, she wanted to smack that stupid look off of her face.
“I don't remember cheating on you.” Chloe pleaded. Red’s eye twitched, if she had been anyone else this would have been something she would laugh at. She scoffed, almost astonished by her excuse.
“The messages are right here.” She replied, throwing her phone at Chloe. Surely enough, paragraphs all sent to one boy were shown, Chloe’s contact included in the photo.
Red and Chloe had been on and off for almost a year, and throughout that year Chloe was at fault for all of the breakups. Whether it was love bombing, or her going back to the same ex, she was always the one dealing the blows. Red had thought she could fix their relationship this time, just to find out Chloe had been texting that man behind her back again.
Chloe picked up the phone, staring at the messages. “Okay.” Was all she said in response. Red shut her eyes, ignoring the burning feeling of her nails digging into her knees.
“Is that all you're gonna say?”
“Can I go now?”
Red stared at Chloe dumbfounded. “Fine, fucking go. But don't come back this time. This time, you leave me the hell alone. This time, when you miss me, I won't let you back in.” Chloe stared blankly before grabbing her bag and jacket, making her way out of Red’s room.
Red watched her leave, and for once, Red stood tall. She ignored the wobbling of her knees, and the way her vision spun, and how her mind reeled. She ignored the tears threatening to fall and the blood dripping from her hand. She took a shaky breath before walking out of her room.
“Red?” Bridget called out, her tone gentle and welcoming. Red turned to look at her mother, she hadn't expected her to be in the kitchen.
“Hey.” Red forced out, slightly leaning on the counter for support. The queen stood in silence, deciding to leave Red alone, allowing her the space she thought her daughter preferred.
Red grabbed a bottle of water before returning to her room, unsure of what to do now that she had just wasted a year of her life.
-
It had been a few months since the breakup. Red was doing better. Not good, but she didn’t feel like the life was sucked out of her anymore. Chloe had texted her a few times, but nothing had come out of it. Since then, she and Hazel, Chloe’s teammate, had gotten rather close.
“Hey,” Hazel said gently, taking a seat beside Red on the bed.
“Hey Hazel, how was practice?”
Hazel rolled her eyes, “Just Chloe pushing me around like usual.”
Red’s heart dropped at the name, but she swallowed the feeling. “Oh, sorry.” Hazel frowned, not wanting Red to get upset.
“Why don’t we go out tonight? Max said he misses you.” She smiled wide, standing up. Red nodded, smiling back. A smile that made something in Hazel’s stomach turn.
-
“Fuck!” Red laughed, as she missed the last hoop. The group was at an arcade, Red and Max competing to see who could make the most hoops in three minutes. Hazel smiled, pulling Max into a gentle headlock from behind.
“Careful with the hat!” Hazel rolled her eyes, and let him go, holding her hands in the eye as if she were surrendering.
Red smiled at the sight, her cheeks slightly warm.
-
“Hey, Red,” Hazel spoke gently, almost as if everything around her would break if she used the wrong tone. Red hummed in response and looked up at her from her desk.
“Okay, listen to me for a second.”
“I like you a lot, like, more than a friend; and I know after your relationship with Chloe you’re probably not ready to jump into a new one and that’s fine but I just-“ Red dropped her phone, the sound of it hitting the ground echoing through the room.
“Hazel, I don’t know.”
Hazel nodded, sitting down beside her. “I’m not saying I don’t like you back or that it’s not possible, I’m just unsure of how this,” Red said, motioning between them with her finger.
“Would work.”
“Are you sure?” Red hesitated to answer, unsure of what to think.
“We can go slow.”
-
It had been three months of the two talking romantically. In Red’s mind, everything was going perfectly. She was almost ready to ask Hazel to be her girlfriend. She had even stepped out of her comfort zone to go to the Sword and Shield matches to watch Hazel spar.
Currently, she was sitting on a bench at Hazel’s practice, patiently waiting for her to leave the changing rooms. She practically acted like Hazel’s girlfriend, surely putting a label on it wouldn’t change anything.
Ten minutes passed.
Then thirty.
Then forty five.
The forty sixth minute was Reds last straw. She was slightly irritated, and slightly worried. Hazel was very punctual. She was never a second late to their dates.
Red pushed her way through the crowd, opening the door to the locker room.
It was quiet, empty. Open lockers and some left behind sports equipment on the benches and floor. She walked through the room carefully until she heard a voice from the left corner of the locker room.
“Chloe, this isn’t right.”
“When have you ever cared for what’s right?”
Red’s heart dropped. She clutched her stomach, one hand over her mouth to muffle her gasp, though the attempt was sloppy.
“Fuck, what was that-“ Hazel shoved Chloe off of her, quickly rushing to find the source of the sound.
“Oh shit,”
“Red, Red it’s not what it looks like.”
Red took steps back as Hazel got closer, her vision blurring from the tears she was holding back.
This wasn’t how this was supposed to go.
This wasn’t in the plan.
Red turned around, rushing out of the locker room and into the crowd.
She couldn’t go back to their dorm, she couldn’t face Pink like this.
She found herself at Luis’ dorm. He was kind, caring, everything you’d want in a friend. She knocked loudly, unsure if he’d answer.
The door opened, Luis stood peeking his head out, obviously shirtless.
“Red?” His brows furrowed.
-
“Who did this?” He asked as he slipped his hoodie back on.
“It’s a long story.”
“Just name them.”
“I found Hazel with Chloe, Luis.”
He sighed, slamming his hands onto the desk, startling Red. “Sorry,”
“Do you wanna stay here tonight with Max and I or will that worry Pink?”
“Pink will worry.”
“Let me walk you to your dorm.”
“Okay.”
“Okay, Red.”
-
Red was conflicted, and lost in her thoughts on the walk back. Hazel and Red weren’t dating, but they were at least exclusive? She thought, at least. Was she even allowed to be upset over this?
She thanked Luis for the company, and unlocked her door.
The room was empty, dark, and seemed oddly dull without Pink’s presence. She threw her shoes off and changed into some red and black plaid pants and a red hoodie.
Red stumbled into bed, laying flat on her back and just stared.
She stared at the ceiling.
And then she started crying.
She opened her phone, not expecting the tons of messages from Hazel.
‘Red’
‘Red please answer’
‘It wasn’t what it looked like’
‘Can we talk’
‘Text me back’
‘Please Red just one more chance’
There was also one from Pink, who was just letting her know she’d be having a sleepover tonight.
She choked on her tears, leaning up to take a deep breath. She stayed there for a moment, just taking deep breaths.
-
The pain never really went away. The betrayal from Hazel. Getting cheated on by Chloe. She hadn’t been able to talk to or look at anyone romantically since. But she had made up her mind about something. She was sure about one thing, and one thing only.
Nobody was to be trusted.
She would do anything to protect her heart.
-
Red walked into the library, unaware of the company following behind her.
She didn’t notice Hazel behind her until she was in a far corner in the library.
“Red,” The girl froze, her breath catching. She stood still, frozen, and unsure of what move to make next.
“Red, please, it’s not what you think.”
“What was it then Hazel?”
“She cornered me, I didn’t want her.”
Red was once again conflicted. She sounded so genuine, so hurt. But Chloe once sounded the same, the same when she was the reason Red could barely eat for weeks, and when her showers would burn her skin.
“I’m sorry Hazel, I can’t.”