Chapter 14
Highschool Hysterics
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The Boat Graveyard, the oil tanker base
December 5th, 2008, Friday
5:12 PM…
Finding the remains of Alice's original foxbot had been much harder than Alessa had been expecting it to be. She'd have gotten to it sooner, but with what'd happened about a week ago with Alice being kidnapped, no one could exactly blame her for having let it slip her mind. Fortunately, the foxbot's remains had been picked up by a kid that'd taken it all to his house although when his parents had found out, they'd made him throw the remains into the garbage. Thankfully, one of her drones had found the foxbot's memory core before the trash could be collected, and retrieved it, leaving the rest to be disposed of without complaint. The outer shell didn't matter, especially with how easily it'd been smashed apart with a single baseball bat swing. As such, only its memory core did. The rest could be improved upon, she had the technological know-how.
Actually making said improvements without the resources was the challenge, but that she already had a handle on too as she glanced towards her computer array, one of the many screens showing the progress being made by… ugh, Stronkchonk the Third, as Alice had named her Tau Constructor Drone. Still, it was doing good after she, Taylor, and Alice had been able to move the drone to the quarry alongside a number of spider bots without anyone else being the wiser. That and it'd given them time to just relax after school just an hour or so ago now, something that Alessa could tell Alice needed. With what Taylor had said about the Bitches Three the other day, about how they'd been making fun of what'd happened to the goth, Alessa was honestly impressed that Alice hadn't blown up on them the first chance she had.
"I get why Taylor wanted to bury those three in a swarm." Alice grumbled from her usual perch in what was effectively her recliner by this point. So despite being in the middle of rebuilding her exoskeletal suit since she didn't need to run simulations with her enhanced strength in mind to know she'd rip it apart the first punch she threw, Alessa had more than enough presence of mind to listen intently to her best friend.
"Yeah, can't exactly blame her either after seeing the footage for myself." Alessa grunted back, having her own less than kind things in mind for the Bitches Three, but that whole shitshow just made her decision for what came next that much simpler. "Those three are going to regret ever being born before we're done with them."
Alice flipped over in her seat and shot Alessa a grin before leaning back with a contented sigh. "Heh, good. Seriously though Alessa, what kinda fucked up do you have to be to make fun of someone being kidnapped, drugged, and…" She trailed off, her face going pale, paler than usual in her case, at the same time Alice's blue eyes became distant and unfocused.
Taylor, having been reading a book on the lawnchair Alice had dragged into the workshop some time ago, noticed what was happening at the same time Alessa did. "Hey, Alice?"
Alessa, upon hearing Taylor's concerned tone, immediately pushed away from her work in progress, hurried to her friend's side, and gently cupped Alice's face between her oil and grease stained hands. "Hey, Alice, come on. You're safe here." Alice shuddered, her breath far too quick as she visibly trembled. Taylor, having since rushed over, her emotional state apparent with how agitated the bugs in the tanker's hold became, her book forgotten, gently grasped one of Alice's hands in hers, hoping to help bring her back by giving her something else to focus on. Alessa simply ran a hand through her friend's shiny black locks all while she continued to softly speak, Taylor gently squeezing Alice's hand at the same time, "You're here with me in the tanker, deep in my workshop, Alice. Taylor and I are here, no one else. They can't hurt you, I promise."
It took only a few moments, but it felt like a Hell of a lot longer. Eventually though, Alice took a shaky, steadying breath before lunging forward, Alessa's arms wrapping around her immediately. Before Taylor could quietly slink away, Alice blindly reached out and grasped that same hand, keeping the bug controller rooted to the spot. "Sh-shit… I-I don't know what just h-happened. I just felt like I was… drowning."
"It was a panic attack." Alessa softly said, a quiet nod from Taylor quick to follow.
"M-me?! Having a panic attack?!" Alice exclaimed, clearly taken aback by the mere idea. "I barely remember anything about that night!"
"Maybe not consciously," Alessa solemnly replied as she brushed a stray lock of hair back into place, "but the mind's like a steel trap, Alice. Your subconscious remembers enough to have you respond to the event, tricking your conscious mind into thinking you're still in danger. Believe me, I know from experience." Taylor, for her part, couldn't help but be a bit envious despite how much Alice and Alessa had already done for her since it'd been a long time since someone had comforted her like Alessa was doing for Alice at that moment. She just as quickly shook the thought off though, shoving the pulse of shame down deep so she could do with it later since Alice needed them now.
"...You talking about that whole… thing with your mom?" Alice hesitantly asked, a puzzled look appearing on Taylor's face even after Alessa sighed but nodded her head.
"Y-yeah… yeah I am." Alessa slowly let her hands fall from her friend's face, but she didn't move away. She simply straightened up so she wasn't in an awkward half-standing half kneeling position before putting a hand on Taylor's shoulder, silencing the obvious question. "Long story… but my mom, Maria Dawson, she… wasn't a good woman. She didn't start out that way, she… was good, me and my dad loved her with everything we had, but… something happened and she… changed. She became… hard to live with."
That was putting it mildly.
The lack of reaction from Alice made it clear to Taylor this wasn't news to her. Even so, she shivered at the insinuations Alessa had laid out without really getting into any specific details just yet. She didn't have to wait long though as Alessa moved back to her workbench, leaned against the edge of it, and let out another heavy sigh as she looked down to her right hand. "Maria… I can't even think about her without feeling like my chest is gonna explode from the amount of sheer fucking rage I feel for what she did to my dad and I." She closed her hands around the edge of the metallic workbench to the point her fingers left grooves behind when she forced her fingers to relax. She only sighed again, crossing her arms over her chest before forcing herself to keep going. "For the first seven… no wait, eight years of my life, forgot I had a birthday recently, everything was fine. Then… my mom's sister, my aunt Melissa, was caught in the middle of a bank robbery in Boston while she was on a business trip, and she didn't make it. The current Butcher at the time and his fucked up crew made sure of that."
"Oh god." Taylor quietly exclaimed, knowing exactly who and what the Butcher was, what their gang was all about. She'd seen enough PHO horror stories to know all too well what the Butcher alone was capable of. Everywhere the Teeth went, the Butcher at its head, a trail of blood and death followed, without exception because the only thing they believed in was that 'Might makes right.' As such, anyone who didn't survive an encounter, ran, or hid themselves were considered unworthy to live.
Alessa, for her part, nodded her head only to lean into Alice's embrace when the goth got up from her chair before wrapping her arms around her from the side. Taking comfort from Alice's mere presence, she simply breathed in and out in a slow, steady rhythm, the racing of her heart slowing not long after. The worst part of her story was yet to come, but at least now it felt like she could actually get through it. "...After the funeral, she was withdrawn, depressed, and just… quiet, everything you'd expect after something like that. But… while I don't know what exactly changed or when it happened, I remember far too well what followed once things started to get bad. Fights started happening, verbal at first, harsh words being thrown around. She was hurting, me and dad understood that, thought we could help her through it. Except… it didn't help. Nothing we did helped."
"S-so what happened?" Taylor quietly asked at the same time Alice pulled back though she kept a hand on Alessa's upper arm, having a bad feeling she already knew the answer.
"...Eighteen months. That's how long it took before me and dad had had enough. Before that though… things slowly escalated. Harsh words became things being thrown around. Objects being thrown became things being thrown at us. It didn't help that she couldn't hold down a job anymore, so the financial strain only made things that much worse. But… eventually it all came to a head when Maria decided to lock me out of the house shortly after my eighth birthday. That would've been bad enough on its own in this shithole of a city, but it was the middle of fucking winter. By the time dad came home from work, finishing up the last of his repairwork for the day, I was half dead on the porch from hypothermia."
"Jesus." Taylor exhaled, her earlier horror having become mixed with disgust since she couldn't comprehend it. Taylor thought of her dad, withdrawn in his grief. He never hurt her. Not like this, but for a moment she wondered if it would've been easier if he had instead of leaving her alone in silence. "H-how could your own mother… do something like that?"
"Simple answer? Maria had some serious screws loose." Alice softly stated without a trace of snark or sass, a solemn, sorrowful look on her face as she rubbed slow, soothing circles against the small of Alessa's back.
Alessa shakily nodded her head before wiping at her eyes with the back of her arm as she leaned into her friend's side again. "Y-yeah…but needless to say, Maria was arrested for negligence and abuse, and I wound up in the hospital for almost a month because by the time dad came home that night… my lips were blue, my skin raw with frostbite, and my breath was so thin it was like smoke. But… even after all of that, I still love that psycho bitch, and that makes it worse because if I could only hate her, I wouldn't feel so… fucked up about it all. Instead… I miss her, the person she used to be, but then I get pissed off because I can't just bring myself to hate her, and… it becomes a whole fucked up cycle."
With a disgusted shake of her head, Alessa spun away, gently pushed past Alice, and leaned on the edge of her workbench, head bowed. Before either of them knew what she was doing, Alessa had picked up a wrench, one not conjured up by World's Maker but rather one she'd scavenged during her Time to Cook binge, and threw it with such force across the tanker's machine bay that it wound up piercing the deck plating. She grimaced when she saw Alice and Taylor jump at the sudden, near deafening clang, and gave them an apologetic look. "S-sorry…"
"No," Taylor gently said with a shake of her head, "I… get it." A tilt of Alessa and Alice's respective heads was all it took for the bug girl to keep going. "...Alice… she got pretty close to the truth, the day she… pointed out why I don't have a cellphone like any other kid our age." She swallowed then, her eyes misting with unshed tears, but she pushed forward, hands shaking a little until she shoved her volatile emotions into her swarm. They knew the moment it did because Taylor's trembling immediately stopped, and the tears just as quickly dried up, her voice… unnaturally calmer and more even when she began to speak again. "My mom, Annette, Annette Rose Hebert, I got most of my looks from her. She was the best too. I know most kids always say that about their parents, but that doesn't make it any less true."
Alice and Alessa didn't say a word even if they silently agreed that it was a little unnerving, seeing how… still Taylor had become. "She was a physical presence. All gentleness and warmth. Her silent, quiet disapproval. Her brilliance. She was introverted like me, but she still brought life and light to every room she entered. She was an English professor, teaching at the local college three days a week. She's the reason why I love to read as much as I do."
"What happened, Taylor?" Alessa gently coaxed, and almost immediately wanted to take the words back when the girl's control slipped and she sniffled.
Before she could do anything though, Taylor scrubbed at her face with her hands before taking a steadying breath. "...It was a car accident. Just… something that happened, no rhyme, no reason, but… I was texting her. She was driving when she… started to answer." She wrapped her arms tightly around herself then, unable to meet their gazes any longer as she bowed her head. "It's… my fault she's gone. That my dad… is so distant, emotionally dead. I know it doesn't make sense, that I wasn't the one behind the wheel, but I can't stop hearing the chime of that text tone in my head like it's a gunshot I fired myself…"
There was no hesitation, no thought. One moment they were standing in front of her, the next, Taylor found herself being hugged on both sides, squarely hemmed in by both Alice and Alessa. It took her several long seconds to put two and two together, to comprehend the sudden warmth enveloping her. When it did click though, the tears that followed, while full of shame and pain, were also… grateful, thankful that they were there to keep her from shattering completely. Taylor didn't have it in her to complain in the slightest when Alice's grasp became a bit too tight for comfort. Alessa's hold though was anchoring, bracing, comforting, a symbol of her holding all of this together, holding them together rather. So it was that in the cold belly of a dead ship, three broken girls held each other together.
Needless to say, working on anything Forge related was out of the question.
As such, it didn't take much for Alessa to shut everything down for the rest of the night, leaving the wrench buried partially through the wall, a wall that thankfully separated the machine bay from a nearby stairwell rather than the ocean outside the hull. The silent agreement to follow her out was still heard loud and clear, so it was Alice and Taylor made their slow way out of the oil tanker, back onto the beach, and into Brockton Bay proper just as the sun started to fully set. Most of the trip back to Alice's house was done in silence, but eventually, Taylor broke the silence, her voice barely above a whisper. "I-I don't… want to go home tonight."
"Well, good thing we've got room then, Skitter-bug." Alice softly said, a hint of her usual snark and sass having returned. As for why, neither of them needed to ask, not after everything Taylor had shared with them both. Alessa couldn't blame her for not wanting to stay in a house with a dad that was emotionally deadened, bereft of a mother that had, quite frankly, sounded like an incredible woman even if Taylor's opinion was no doubt biased in Annette's favor. Regardless, Alessa wasn't the only one that smiled a little when Taylor breathed out a sigh of relief in response. "We could just make it a whole thing, call it a sleepover. We can watch movies all night, share scary stories or something silly like that, and eat junk food and ice cream the whole time until we can't anymore."
"Sounds like a plan to me." Alessa replied, smiling a little more strongly at the proposal.
"I… can't remember the last time I…" Taylor didn't finish the thought, but she didn't have to either.
"Well, like Alice said, it's a good thing Aunt B's got the room." Alessa replied, making it abundantly clear it wasn't even a question for her. "Just ignore Alice's snoring if you can."
"Hey, I don't snore!" Alice retorted, hands on her hips as she glared half heartedly down towards Alessa.
"The sound of sawing logs would beg to differ." Alessa shot back with a smirk.
Taylor, for her part, had to bite her tongue to stop from giggling at the exchange, but inside, she was feeling so much better. Oh the pain and guilt was very much still present and accounted for, but it had quickly been buried under the realization that things were… better than they'd been in a long time. She couldn't have imagined having people like Alice and Alessa just… swooping into her life as they had, yet here they were, making her feet… normal, accepted, and like she actually mattered to someone.
It was a good feeling.
When they got back, they found Belinda in the living room, watching something on TV as she did a crossword on her phone. It was Alice that was the first to greet the older woman, "Hey Aunt B, brought Taylor home. Can we keep her?"
Taylor snorted while Alessa just shook her head with a smirk on her face. Belinda also rolled her eyes even as she gave Alice an amused glare. "You can't keep Taylor like a pet, Alice."
"Well damn, ruin my entire weekend why don't ya." Alice snarked before moving to the kitchen. "So, who wants to eat junk food and chill with Netflix?"
It didn't take long for the three of them to be situated in the living room while Belinda quietly moved to the kitchen without a fight. If anything, the older woman could only smile softly when they weren't looking her way, sensing that something important had changed between them. Trauma bonding was hardly a new concept to the retired nurse, but while it broke her heart to know with certainty something terrible had happened to Taylor, outside of the bullying she only knew bits and pieces about so far, it also made her happy to see that Taylor, Alessa, and her niece had become closer than ever. So she did what she always did whenever someone needed some comfort food and the quiet reassurance that they weren't alone in this fucked up world of theirs. She put an extra plate of snacks on the living room table, and quietly let them be with a soft smile on her face.
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The Watson House, the guest bedroom
December 6th, Saturday
10:10 AM…
Waking up between Alice and Alessa wasn't something Taylor had expected would've happened to her this weekend, yet that's exactly what occurred. Not that she was complaining, reluctant to move lest she accidentally wake up her new friends. Friends… a word she hadn't thought she'd ever get to use again, not after everything Emma had done since Taylor had returned from summer camp a year and a half ago now. She pushed that thought aside though in favor of just… letting herself exist, to revel in this moment.
Unfortunately, it didn't last because Taylor really needed to pee.
So it was with great reluctance that she had to force her way out from under the comfy blankets and the two girls on either side before trying to carefully get outta bed so she could sneak to the bathroom. The only problem was that Alice mumbled something in her sleep before blindly reaching out for Taylor, no doubt annoyed by the lack of warmth she'd suddenly taken away. She very nearly laid back down, but nature's call wouldn't be ignored. By the time she came back, Alice had sat up, her admittedly beautiful, jet black hair a frizzled mess, and a half asleep look on her face. "Ugh… no, no more ice cream."
Taylor giggled softly at that before saying, "I think we're all done with ice cream after last night."
"Taylor?" Alice blinked blearily until she rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands. "Ugh… how is it that you look fresh as a daisy, and I feel like I got run over by a truck?"
"Probably because you were the last to pass out last night." Alessa grumbled, her eyes still closed until she pushed herself up into a sitting position. When she glanced towards Taylor though, the redhead glared half heartedly and muttered, "Gotta say though, I have to agree. You, Ms. Hebert, suck."
Taylor 'coughed' off to the side in an effort to hide her laughter. It was a half hearted attempt at best, but it didn't take away from the warmth in her chest. The rest of the morning was just as enjoyable as last night had been in Taylor's opinion. Belinda was happy to give the three of them the living room again although not before making sure all of them were well fed.
Alice was sprawled on the couch in her pajamas, channel-surfing, while Taylor perched nearby, half-lost in a paperback she'd snagged from Belinda's shelf. Alessa, meanwhile, was hunched over her phone, thumb flicking across the screen with the kind of intensity most people reserved for high scores in Tetris.
"Whatcha doing, babe?" Alice asked without looking up. "You've been glued to that thing for twenty minutes already. Planning to grow roots?"
"Making money," Alessa replied absently, eyes never leaving the glowing screen.
Taylor blinked owlishly. "On your phone?"
Alessa smirked faintly, finally glancing up. "Yeah. It's called the stock market. Boring, rigged, and basically designed so the rich stay richer. But when you can calculate a dozen variables at once and cross-check trends in your head faster than any algorithm on Wall Street…" She trailed off, thumb tapping one last time before she set the phone down on the table. "…it's not rigged against me."
Alice sat up, suspicious. "Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Are you telling me you just, what, bought and sold something already?"
"Three somethings," Alessa corrected, taking a sip of her juice like it was nothing. "Scrap metal companies in the Midwest. One's about to see a short spike because of a shipping delay on the West Coast. I'll cash out before lunch."
Taylor stared. "How much did you make?"
Alessa checked, shrugged, and rattled off a number that made Alice choke on her soda.
"That's rent money," Alice sputtered.
Alessa just grinned, smug but tired. "That's breakfast money. Give me a week and I'll have enough to buy out half the Boardwalk. Give me a month, and I'll be the richest kid our age on this side of the world."
Taylor gaped at her, caught somewhere between awe and disbelief, while Alice leaned back with a groan. "Great. My best friend's a walking Wall Street machine. I'm doomed."
"Correction," Alessa said, leaning back into the couch with a lazy smile. "We're doomed, but at least we'll be rich." Taylor could only gawk at what she'd just seen Alessa do, on her phone no less. She distantly noted a similarly gobsmacked look on Alice's face, but they recovered quickly. That didn't stop Taylor from realizing that her life was weird now, but she wouldn't trade it for anything so long as Alice and Alessa were at her side.
Eventually, much to Taylor's surprise, Belinda agreed to take them to see Alessa's dad who was still at the hospital. While they'd grown close after last night's emotionally charged chat, Taylor hadn't been expecting to be introduced to the man that had, quite literally, saved Alessa's life from freezing to death. Still, she did her best to push her surprise to the side in favor of taking the gift for what it was, knowing that Alessa wouldn't have had her come along if she didn't already trust her immensely. So it was with that warming thought in mind that Taylor followed the three of them into Brockton Bay General Hospital.
Richard was already propped up when they arrived, a fairly large, hard cover book in hand, and a pair of simple, wirerim glasses sliding down his nose. The moment Alice barged in with her usual flair, he closed the book he'd been reading with a smile that still hadn't lost its warmth despite the lines of pain etched into his face.
"Dad," Alessa said softly, cane tapping the floor as she led Taylor forward, "this is Taylor."
Taylor froze for a heartbeat, unsure how to introduce herself to a man who'd survived hellfire, shrapnel, and before that, a woman that had nearly killed their own daughter. But Richard's eyes softened the moment he looked at her, and his voice, rough but steady, broke the ice. "So," he said, glancing between Alice and Alessa with exaggerated suspicion, "you're brave enough to spend time with these two troublemakers, huh?"
Alice smirked and Alessa groaned, but Taylor… Taylor smiled. A real one, small and tentative, but real. "Someone's gotta keep them out of trouble," she replied before she could stop herself.
Richard chuckled, a low, warm sound, and for Taylor it was like hearing something she hadn't realized she'd been missing. A dad being a dad. They didn't stay long, but when they left, Taylor lingered a half step behind, eyes stinging just a little. She wouldn't say it out loud, not yet, but for the first time in a long time, she felt like maybe she had a place with people who cared.
When they left, it wasn't long before Belinda dropped them at the curb once they reached the Boardwalk with a wry look. "Behave," she warned, though the twitch at the corner of her mouth made it clear she didn't expect much. "And don't bankrupt me if you find a candy shop."
"We make no promises," Alice declared with regal flair, tugging Taylor along before Alessa could add her own retort. The Boardwalk was, per usual despite the deepening cold as winter fast approached, bustling, a patchwork of cheap souvenirs, fried food stands, and little shops that clung to life along the water. Normally Taylor would've shrunk into her hoodie, eyes down, praying not to be noticed, but here, with Alice at one side and Alessa at the other, she let herself just… exist.
They tried funnel cake first. Alice promptly got powdered sugar all over her black shirt, and Alessa nearly doubled over laughing when she smeared more on her cheek "by accident." Taylor laughed too, soft at first, then freer, until people turned their heads to see who was making such a joyful noise in Brockton Bay of all places.
She didn't care. Not this time.
Alice dragged them into a thrift shop next, insisting she could "absolutely pull off" a leopard-print scarf. Alessa rolled her eyes, muttered something about goths and fashion crimes, and Taylor had to duck behind a rack of coats to hide her grin.
By the time the sun dipped lower, the three of them sat on a bench with paper cups of greasy boardwalk fries between them, the salt on their fingers and sea breeze in their hair. Taylor glanced sideways at them both, heart aching but lighter than it had been in what felt like years. Maybe Winslow was still hell. Maybe her house was still empty. Maybe the Bay itself was still rotting. But here, on this bench, eating fries with the first real friends she'd had in forever, Taylor thought… maybe things could get better.
Eventually though, Alice flicked a fry at Alessa's head, missing by an inch. "So, Wall Street," she drawled, "how many funnel cakes do we gotta buy before you day-trade us into early retirement?"
Alessa smirked, plucking the fry off the bench. "Give me until Wednesday. You'll be swimming in funnel cakes."
Taylor snorted into her soda, the sound bubbling out of her before she could stop it. The look Alice gave her, triumphant and smug, only made her laugh harder. For a fleeting moment, Taylor thought maybe this was what normal teenage weekends were supposed to feel like.
Soon enough though, the three of them wound up making their way to the oil tanker again. While the mood was too light to really focus on anything, progress was still progress, and Taylor wasn't the only one that saw the way Alessa's hands twitched on occasion. She'd heard enough stories, mostly on PHO boards, about Tinkers before they got lost in a Tinker Fugue to see that, in that way at least, Alessa wasn't all that different despite her repeated claims that she wasn't a Parahuman at all. Taylor believed her, there was way too much weirdness surrounding her and her abilities not to take the redhead at her word, but the similarities between a normal Tinker, such as that term applied when it came to anything Cape related, and Alessa, were still notable. And while there wasn't much either her or Alice could really do to help with the actual building, that didn't stop them from lending a hand anyway.
"You realize," Taylor began as she helped hold a piece of what looked like a piece for a metallic knee joint in place while Alessa bolted it down with quick, methodical movements, "that Armsmaster isn't going to be happy there's another power armored hero running around."
"Hmm, why?" Alice wondered, genuinely curious only for Alessa to scoff without looking up from what she was doing.
"Because while it's well hidden for the most part," Alessa began as she moved onto another part of the exoskeletal armor she was making adjustments to to far better handle her enhanced strength, "Armsmaster's pride is about as big as his ego, meaning people like me who use power armor will make him less than pleased, especially if I end up doing the job better than him."
"And of course, because you're so damn smart, and even more obsessed with caution as Skitter-bug here," Taylor blushed, but tellingly didn't deny the charge either, "I don't doubt for a moment you'll do way better than Beardmaster."
"Which means I'll inevitably get on his shit list." Alessa finished, before giving Taylor a pointed look. "That's not the reason why I don't trust the PRT, although that certainly doesn't help matters. As for the actual reason why, however, that part you'll have to wait until certain information comes to light in the next couple weeks or so." Soon after that less than ominous remark though, Alessa tightened the last bolt with a satisfied click before leaning back, wiping her hands on a rag. "That's enough for today," she decided, tone softer than usual. "No point pushing it if our heads aren't in it."
Alice flopped into her recliner with exaggerated relief. "Finally, the genius sees reason."
Taylor just smiled faintly, brushing a smear of grease off her sleeve. "You know… this isn't how I pictured spending a Saturday."
"Better?" Alessa asked.
Taylor hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. Better."
The three of them shared a quiet grin before packing it in for the night. The tanker would still be there tomorrow.
The next morning saw the girls gathered around Belinda's kitchen table again, and to nobody's surprise, Alessa was sitting at the table with her PDA propped up against a half-empty glass of orange juice, stylus flicking furiously across the screen as streams of numbers and schematics danced in neat little lines. Her jaw was set in a pout that looked far too childish on someone capable of designing weapons of mass destruction before breakfast.
Alice, still in her pajamas, leaned against the doorway with her arms crossed and a knowing smirk. "You're supposed to be Forge-free today, genius."
"This isn't Forge related," Alessa muttered without looking up. "This is… theoretical efficiency modeling."
Taylor, perched at the counter with a bowl of cereal, raised a brow. "That sounds a lot like Forge work to me, Alessa."
Alessa glanced up at them both, scowling. "It's math, Taylor. Math can't be banned."
Alice strode over, plucked the PDA out from under Alessa's hands, and held it triumphantly overhead. "Then go do math on paper like a normal human being. No screens, no tankers, no drones."
Alessa made a strangled noise, half growl, half groan, but Taylor couldn't help giggling at the sheer injustice on her face. Alice dropped the PDA on the couch and flopped down beside it with a satisfied sigh. "There. Crisis averted. Now we can all be normal teenagers for once."
"Define normal," Taylor said, though she was smiling too.
"Movie marathon, ice cream for lunch, and maybe some actual sun if we can drag Little-Miss-Engineer outside." Alice shot Alessa a pointed look.
Alessa, still sulking, muttered into her juice. "…Tyrant."
Alice's grin widened. "You love me."
Unfortunately for Alice, Belinda had other ideas that made themselves known when the older woman handed Alice a short list and some cash. "Milk, bread, eggs. That's it. If you come back with candy, I'll know."
Alice, of course, grinned like a shark. "What if the candy's on sale?"
"Then it still costs money." Belinda gave her a look that had shut down rowdier patients back in her nursing days. "Don't push me, missy."
Five minutes later, the three of them were trudging down the grocery aisles, Alice loudly narrating every terrible purchase she wanted to make. "Family-sized marshmallows? Necessary. Five pounds of gummy worms? Vital. Oh! Seasonal gingerbread mix! Aunt B would love this."
"She'll love strangling you with it, you mean," Alessa muttered, plucking the box out of Alice's hands and putting it back on the shelf.
Taylor trailed behind them, equal parts horrified and amused. She couldn't remember the last time she'd done something this… ordinary. Just walking a grocery aisle with friends, bickering like siblings. It was stupid and small and all the more wonderful for it.
When they finally got to the register, Alice slipped a candy bar onto the conveyor belt under the milk. Alessa didn't even look, just said, "Put it back."
"Ugh, tyrants, the both of you." Alice huffed but obeyed.
Taylor bit her lip to hide her smile because this felt normal.
She truly felt normal.
Sunday came and went with little more than warmth and laughter. Alice enforced her "Forge-Free" decree with the iron will of a dictator, keeping Alessa's PDA out of reach and dragging both her and Taylor out into the sunlight for another, more fun grocery run, a short walk by the Boardwalk, and an all-day movie marathon. For Taylor, it was almost surreal because she had a whole day where no one sneered, no one shoved, no one made her feel small. For once, she wasn't a target, or an outcast. She was just… Taylor, with friends who wanted her around. By the time night fell, and she reluctantly made her way home, she felt lighter than she had in what felt like years. Monday might've been waiting, Winslow and all, but at least she wasn't facing it alone anymore.
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The Watson House, the kitchen
December 8th, Monday
6:47 AM…
"Ugh… Mondays are evil!" Alice groaned as she slumped into her usual chair at the kitchen, with Rusty hopping onto the back of her chair. She perked up a little, and reached up to scratch behind the one eyed tabby's good ear, earning a purr of appreciation in response. "Heh, at least you're in good spirits. Hey, where's Alessa anyway?" Alice asked at the same time Aunt B put some delicious food in front of her.
She might've noticed the mischievous smirk on her aunt's weathered face if Alice hadn't leaned down to inhale the mouth watering scent wafting up into her nose. Instead, she was completely caught off guard when Alessa, cane perched on one shoulder with one hand, a napkin full of ice in the other, snuck up right behind her best friend. Alice leaned up just in time to shriek when Alessa pressed the ice cubes against the back of her neck, earning quite the shrill shriek as Alice nearly fell out of her chair at the same time Rusty hurried away with an annoyed hiss when the goth started flailing about. "Alessa!"
"Consider that payback long overdue." Alessa chuckled as she let the ice cubes go, where they fell beneath Alice's shirt and down her back. One of them got stuck on her bra strap for a few seconds until her twisting and flailing about knocked it loose where it clattered on the floor, joining the others already there.
"Urgh… gotta say, you definitely got me good." Alice grumbled before giving Alessa a cheeky grin that promised retribution. "But that just means you've declared war, babe."
"Don't even think about it." Belinda cut in before Alessa could retort, drawing both girls' attention her way in an instant as she sat down between them moments later. "The last prank war you two had was nightmareish enough. I'm pretty sure I'm still vacuuming up glitter years later."
"Ugh, fine Aunt B, no prank wars in the house." Alice grumbled before playfully adding. "Anywhere else is fair game though."
"Heh, bring it on, goth queen." Alessa retorted, feeling particularly cheerful as she sipped at her juice before digging into her own plate of food.
The warmth of breakfast didn't last long once they stepped through Winslow's front doors some time later after a thankfully uneventful bus ride to school. The familiar stench of unwashed halls, mold, and cheap floor wax rushed in to smother it. Alice groaned dramatically, tugging her hoodie tighter around her shoulders. "Back in the pit. Kill me now."
Taylor ducked her head, instinctively bracing for the stares and whispers that always followed her, but this time Alessa and Alice flanked her without hesitation. The looks still came, but they didn't bite quite as deep when she wasn't walking alone. Not that that stopped some of their fellow students from making faces as Alessa walked with her cane ever in hand while among mixed company, or making snide remarks under their breath, something that'd been no doubt started by the Trio over the weekend.
While they didn't have many classes together, meaning Taylor wasn't without her two new friends during those times, the day's usual class load still kinda blurred together in the normal haze of droning teachers and half-asleep students. It helped that the Trio largely kept to themselves, although part of that was thanks to the fact that they didn't have many classes where they were all in one room together. Even so, Taylor kept her bugs moving at the edges of her awareness, catching stray threads of gossip as they drifted between cliques, most of it recycled trash, but with a sharper edge of curiosity this morning. Something was brewing, something she knew involved whatever Alessa had hinted at over the weekend.
Even so, Taylor found it easy to push her curiosity aside in favor of enjoying those few classes that she had with her two new friends. Alice spent most of math doodling snarky cartoons in the margins of her notes, passing one to Taylor that made her choke back a laugh. Alessa, for her part, breezed through her assignments in record time, then started quietly scrawling fragments of schematics in the margins of her paper, her pencil tapping in a steady rhythm that spoke of ideas trying to claw their way free.
By mid-morning, the Trio, once they reunited in the halls as they always did, were already in rare form, strutting down the hall like they owned it, their laughter echoing sharp against the lockers. Emma's smirk was razor-thin, Madison hung on her every word, and Sophia leaned against the lockers with the lazy confidence of someone who thought she was untouchable. They didn't even look at Taylor, not directly. Why bother, when they thought they still owned the board?
But Taylor saw Alice's eyes narrow, and she caught the way Alessa muttered under her breath, cane tapping the floor just a little harder than necessary. Their time was coming, although Taylor wasn't sure exactly how she knew that with any certainty. Just that she knew it down in her bones that Alessa had come up with a plan over the weekend, and if she was right, Taylor was sure it'd be a sight to remember once Alessa implemented it even if a part of her was afraid of the fallout since there was no question the Trio would retaliate, somehow. For the time being though, the morning dragged, as Mondays always did.
And then, at last, the lunch bell rang.
It wasn't long before the three of them slipped into the far corner of the cafeteria, the table Taylor had long ago claimed as her safe zone. It was tucked just out of sight, half-shadowed by the ancient vending machines and the hum of flickering lights. For Taylor, it had always been a place to vanish. Now, with Alice stretched out like she owned the whole bench and Alessa quietly unpacking her lunch with her cane leaned against the table. It felt less like hiding and more like holding ground.
They'd barely started eating when the noise of the cafeteria shifted. It wasn't obvious at first, just a few kids huddling over a phone, another leaning across the table to whisper too quickly, too eagerly. Then more and more. The buzz spread like wildfire, laughter mixing with sharp gasps, shouts of surprise, and the scrape of chairs as heads turned, eyes darting toward the center of the room.
Towards the Trio.
Emma's smile faltered, confusion creeping in as Madison leaned closer, trying to whisper reassurance. Sophia straightened in her seat, jaw tightening, scanning the room like she could cow everyone back into submission with a single glare, but the whispers kept rolling, ripples of disbelief and ugly amusement. Much to Taylor's amazement and shocked surprise, the Trio seemed completely on the back foot, and she knew then beyond a shadow of a doubt that Alessa's plan had just been implemented. A delayed data drop, an info dump on some public forum? Whatever it was, it was clear Alessa had ensured it'd reach as many people as possible, and the timing was no coincidence either. And at their corner table, Taylor's fork hovered halfway to her mouth, her chest tight.
"What's… happening?" she asked softly, almost terrified of the answer yet also exhilarated despite her worries about how the Trio would react once the shock wore off.
Regardless of her unspoken concerns, Alice grinned like a wolf, propping her chin on her fist. "Ohhh, I think karma just clocked in for work."
Alessa didn't say a word, but the glint in her eyes as she leaned back in her chair said enough. The first cracks had formed, and everyone was watching.
Mr. Gladly rushed into the cafeteria first, hands raised like he could shoo the whispers away. "Alright, everyone calm down—"
"Calm down?!" Julia Henson from the cheer squad shot to her feet, her phone clutched white-knuckled in her hand. "They called me pathetic for not making regionals — I thought we were friends, Emma!"
Two tables over, Brian Washington, tall, quiet, one of the basketball starters, glared openly at Sophia, holding up his own screen. "So this is what you really think of us? 'Dead weight on the court'? You've been laughing at us the whole time." Sophia's face tightened, but before she could spit back, another voice cut in — thinner, hurt more than angry.
"They said I smelled like garbage because my mom works sanitation." Julia Park, one of Madison's usual tagalongs, stood frozen with tears in her eyes. "I thought you were just teasing me, Madison. I thought…"
Madison went pale, her mouth opening and closing, but no words came.
Principal Blackwell finally stormed in, trying to project authority as she snapped, "This is clearly some kind of doctored prank—"
"No, it's not!" another student snapped, shoving a phone in her direction. "These are our texts. Look at the timestamps! This is real!"
The cafeteria erupted in a dozen overlapping voices, students confronting the Trio, others muttering angrily to each other. The pedestal Emma, Sophia, and Madison had balanced on for years was crumbling beneath them, piece by piece.
At the corner table, Taylor sat frozen, heart pounding. For the first time in what felt like forever, it wasn't her. It wasn't her humiliation being passed around on glowing screens.
Alice smirked, sharp and satisfied. "About time."
And Alessa, calm and quiet as ever, just watched the chaos unfold, the faintest glimmer of a smile on her lips.
It spread like wildfire, each new voice rising from a different corner of the cafeteria.
From the band kids' table, Kevin Holt slammed his clarinet case shut, glaring across the room. "'Band geeks who should just shut up and practice until their lips bleed' — that's what you wrote? Real nice, Madison."
By the theater kids, Lisa Tran stood on her chair, her voice trembling with fury. "They said we 'prance around pretending to matter because no one will ever love us off the stage. That some of us would be better off getting into porn.' You think that's funny, Emma?!"
The chess club wasn't spared either. Josh Patel shoved his glasses up his nose, his voice cutting like a blade: "Calling us 'walking calculators with zero social skills'? Half of you begged us for homework help!"
The art kids had their say, the athletes, even the AV club. Every table had someone holding up a phone, waving their own receipts, their own betrayal.
Emma naturally tried to laugh it off at first, tossing her hair with a brittle smile. "Come on, it's just a joke—"
"No it's not!" Julia Henson snapped, red-eyed but furious. "You meant every word."
Sophia tried intimidation, rising to her feet with a glare that had silenced hallways before. But the sheer volume of voices, the tidal wave of outrage, drowned her out. So Sophia did the only thing she knew how to do when she shot to her feet, the scrape of her chair cutting through the cafeteria noise. "This is bullshit!" she barked, her glare snapping toward the far corner. "And I bet I know who's behind it."
Her eyes locked on Alessa.
The shift was instant. Whispers rippled through the crowd, all eyes following Sophia as she stormed across the cafeteria. Taylor froze, blood draining from her face, while Alice half-rose from her seat with a look that promised murder if Sophia got too close. Alessa, by contrast, didn't flinch. She just sat there, cane propped against her chair, her hand resting lightly on the handle as if she might need to steady herself.
"Don't," Taylor whispered, panic rising in her throat.
Sophia sneered, towering over their table. "You think you can play games with me, gimp?! Hide behind your pity act, and your—"
Alessa's gaze flicked up, cool and sharper than any blade.
"Careful, Hess." Her voice was soft, but it cut like glass. "Pick your next move real carefully because right now? Everyone's watching."
And they were. Phones out, eyes wide, whispers building again. Sophia had walked herself into a trap because attacking Alessa here wouldn't look like dominance. It'd look like she was about to beat down a limping girl who'd never raised a hand against her. So it was that history was made because for the first time in her life, Sophia hesitated.
Alice, smirking like a shark who'd smelled blood in the water, leaned in just enough to be heard. "What's the matter, Hessy? Lose your nerve when your prey isn't cornered?"
Sophia's hand twitched, her whole body vibrating with fury, but she could feel everyone's eyes on her. If she swung now, she wouldn't look like the predator, she'd look like the thug she really was, which was exactly the point. Alessa had laid out her trap to perfection, disarming even the so-called hero without ever swinging a fist. The silence stretched, the pressure mounting until finally, with a wordless snarl, Sophia spat on the floor and stormed back to her table, her mask cracking worse than Emma's had moments before.
Madison crumpled under the weight of it all, hands trembling, whispering, "I didn't mean it, I was just… I was just going along—" but no one listened. Not anymore.
Even the teachers' attempts to call order failed. Blackwell's barked commands vanished under the roar of dozens of students finally realizing the queens of Winslow weren't just bullies, they were traitors to everyone. At the back, Taylor sat rooted in her seat, wide-eyed as the cafeteria turned on the Trio. Not for her sake, never hers, but rather for their own. And Alessa? She just watched, calm and unshaken, cane resting against her chair.
Checkmate, her faint smile seemed to say.
The rising tide of outrage hit a sudden crest when a soft voice carried across the room.
"…That's me." Marcus Alvarez stood from the band kids' table, his phone clutched loosely in one hand. A clarinet case hung from his shoulder, as it always did, but the easy, friendly smile he usually wore was gone. "They said I was a 'pathetic little puppy, good for homework but too stupid to ever matter.'" His voice wavered, but he pushed on, eyes locked on Emma and Madison. "I thought you were my friends."
A hush fell over the cafeteria. Everyone knew Marcus. He was the kid who helped with math homework without asking for anything in return. The one who covered for people who forgot their books. The one who laughed at bad jokes just to make someone feel better.
And the Trio had torn him apart behind his back, too.
Emma opened her mouth, but for once, nothing came out. Even Sophia's glare faltered under the weight of a hundred stares.
Julia Henson muttered darkly, "If they'll do that to Marcus, they'll do it to anyone."
Phones buzzed louder, whispers turned sharper, and the cafeteria's tide shifted from outrage to disgust.
Emma surged to her feet, her smile stretched too wide, voice pitched too sweet. "Marcus, you know I'd never say that about you. You must've… misunderstood. Those texts are taken out of context—"
But Marcus just stared at her, hurt written plain across his face. "I trusted you."
The whisper rolled through the cafeteria like a chill. Three words had never sounded so damning than 'I trusted you.'
Emma's smile flickered, her mask wobbling for a split second before she forced it back into place. But it was too late because the room had seen it.
Alice leaned close to Taylor, voice low and satisfied. "And there it is folks. The mask's finally slipping, just like you said it would, babe." Alessa didn't respond save to shoot Alice a quick smirk, too intent on watching with sharp, unreadable eyes as she thought back to their last encounter. The brittle edges under Emma's polished surface, the echoes of a brokenness she knew all too well. And now, with the truth dragged into the light, Emma wasn't just cracking in private. She was shattering in real time.
Sophia slammed her hand on the table to drown it out, her glare promising violence, Madison's eyes welled with tears as she whispered denials, but no one was listening anymore because unfortunately for them, the cafeteria had seen behind the curtain. Where Emma's smile had splintered and Sophia's fury had backfired, Madison all but folded in on herself. Tears welled in her eyes as she stood, voice trembling so badly half the cafeteria had to lean in to hear her.
"I-I didn't mean it," she stammered, clutching her phone to her chest like it might shield her. "I was just… I was just going along! I didn't think they'd take it seriously—"
"Bullshit!" someone shouted from the AV club's table, slapping their phone down so the group chat logs glowed for everyone to see. 'He's only useful for test answers, otherwise he's dead weight.' Madison's name stamped clear above the message.
Madison flinched like she'd been struck, shaking her head. "I didn't mean it, I swear, I just— I just wanted them to like me!" Her gaze flicked wildly between Emma and Sophia, but neither came to her rescue. Emma was locked in a silent battle to keep her composure, and Sophia looked ready to snap the cafeteria table in half. The silence that followed was worse than shouting. The disgust in the students' eyes, the sharp whispers cutting into the still air — coward, fake, liar. Madison sank back into her seat, sobbing softly now, her pleas unraveling into incoherent apologies no one believed.
From their corner table, Alice snorted. "Pathetic. All that crap, and her excuse is peer pressure? Puh-lease." Taylor didn't smile, didn't gloat, but for the first time in a long time, she didn't feel small under Madison's wide, tearful eyes. Alessa only leaned back in her chair, calm as stone, watching the Trio's empire collapse piece by piece. And all it'd taken was a handful of text messages, and the ones Alessa had mass shared with the entire student body weren't even the juicy ones.
The cafeteria was still buzzing, a sea of phones raised like torches, when Principal Blackwell's voice finally cut in. "That's enough!" She stormed toward the center of the room, heels clicking hard against the linoleum. "These so-called screenshots are clearly part of some elaborate prank. You will all return to your seats and stop this nonsense immediately."
Her words rang hollow against the sheer weight of evidence lighting up every table.
"This isn't a prank!" Julia Henson snapped, holding her phone aloft for everyone to see. "These are our messages! Time-stamped! My number's right there!"
"Mine too!" Josh Patel added, waving his phone, his voice sharp.
"And mine!" Lisa Tran shouted from the back.
One by one, more students raised their voices, their proof, their outrage.
Blackwell froze for half a second, just enough for it to show, before she forced her expression back into stern disapproval. "You're all being manipulated by lies. I won't tolerate this kind of disruption in my school."
Alice leaned closer to Taylor and muttered in a sing-song, her grin palpable, "Oh, she's definitely screwed. They're not buying it."
Taylor nodded faintly, watching as the tide of students rose higher and higher, drowning out their principal's brittle authority.
And Alessa, watching with sharp eyes, thought quietly to herself: This is only the first crack. Wait until the real bombs hit.
The din didn't die down even as Blackwell barked herself hoarse trying to claw back control. That ship, as far as Taylor was concerned, had already set sail and subsequently been set ablaze. Phones still glowed in every corner, whispers still flared into shouts. The Trio sat stiff in the middle of it all: Emma pale and brittle, Madison crumpled and weeping, and Sophia radiating fury with no safe outlet. Their kingdom of poisoned whispers had turned on them in a single afternoon, and there was no taking it back.
The bell finally shrieked overhead, a metallic wail that barely pierced the noise.
Students surged to their feet, not scattering so much as carrying the storm with them, phones out, voices sharp, gossip already spilling toward the halls. Taylor watched it all with wide eyes, her tray forgotten. For once, she wasn't shrinking into the corner — she was watching her tormentors drown in the same poison they'd spread.
Alice stretched, smirking like a cat in a sunbeam. "Round one goes to us."
Alessa rose more slowly, cane tapping against the floor as she straightened. Her expression was calm, but the faint curve of her lips betrayed her satisfaction. "And that was just the opening volley." Taylor swallowed, heart thudding as she rose to join them. Despite her worry, despite her anxiety, and all the hurt, the pain, she couldn't help but feel excited, hopeful. For the first time in a year and a half, she didn't dread walking back into the halls because this time, she wasn't walking alone.
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Total Word Count, 9,481 = 900 CP
No rolls
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End Notes: Haven't had a 10k chapter in quite a while. Sure, I didn't quite break 10k this time, but I still got pretty close. That aside, it seems The Bitches Three have had the tables flipped quite spectacularly on them in a single afternoon. The fallout chapter is going to be delicious too, but oh boy THIS was fucking satisfying as all Hell since, as many of you will likely agree, the Trio had this coming for a LONG time. Before that though, trauma sharing and bonding galore happened between our three heroines, with Alessa finally spilling the exact details of WHY Maria isn't around anymore. Alice might've already known, but the support and emotional comfort she offered despite her own recent, unexpected panic attack from her own recent trauma, was just as strong now as it was then. I just hope I did alright on this one. As ever though, take care, stay safe, and I'll see you all again soon.