k a r r i s

✖

My mother wanted nothing to do with me.

At least that's how it felt. It had been an entire week since my mom discovered me on the ice during the Willowridge and Brampcrest game, and while I should've been celebrating our miraculous win, I was being eaten alive by guilt. She didn't speak to me the entire car ride home, and when I tried to apologize, my mom refused to listen.

"Does that mean you're not coaching the hockey team anymore?" Berkley drove us to school, glancing over at me as she made a left turn.

"She didn't say no," I began. "But she didn't say yes either. She just told me not to lie anymore. She's really upset."

"I don't blame her. She was just afraid that you would get hurt," Berkley pointed out with a shrug.

Her hair fell into tousled waves and her outfit consisted of more than just jeans and a baggy shirt. My best friend seemed to be back to her normal self, and after everything she's been through, I was thrilled to see Berkley as the boss bitch she truly is.

"I like your skirt," I complemented, noticing the bright, royal blue pencil skirt that nicely hugged Berkley's body.

She looked down with a smile, "thanks! It's new. I got it when I went shopping with Natalia last week."

I sunk in my seat a little. I took another good look at my best friend sitting next to me, bopping her head along to the music percolating from the speakers. She was radiant, happy, and I wondered if the reason why Berkley was regaining her confidence, was because of Natalia. I've been so busy with my own problems that I didn't stop to think about my best friend's mental state of mind.

"So tonight for Halloween," Berkley started, a mischievous grin creeping upon her face.

"I know that look," I smirked. "I hope the only crazy plans in your head only consist of junk food and horror flicks."

"You know me well Karebear. Only, I was thinking we make our own pizzas instead of ordering it," Berkley suggested.

"Oo, I like. Tell me more," I mused.

"We can stop by Von's and grab a few pints of ice cream," she continued, her voice slowing down and her tone laced with a playful sensuosity.

"Berkley, you're turning me on," I giggled.

"And," Berkeley glanced at me with a raised brow and an impish chuckle. "And, we get my mom to make us some Pupusas."

I gasped, throwing a hand to my mouth, "you dirty girl!"

My best friend and I bursted into a fit of laughter, the sound of our happiness radiating within the car and I felt at ease. When Berkley pulled into the school parking lot four minutes later, our favorite Mayday Parade song began to trickle through the speakers. The simple strokes of the guitar strings ignited a range of emotions within the happiness spectrum. Berkley felt it too, because she looked over at me with nostalgia in her eyes.

"Warped Tour was the best day of our summer," Berkley reminisced, parking her car into an empty spot beneath a tree.

I nodded in agreement, "it was the only best day of the summer."

Of course, I didn't mean to sound so morose, but Warped Tour with my best friend and my brother was the last best day before everything went down hill.

"I promise you'll have favorite days again," Berkley told me, shutting off the engine of the car. "You'll get the closure you deserve, and your days will be much brighter."

I leaned over the middle console to hug my friend who knew exactly what to say at exactly the right time. She had all the words to comfort me at that moment, but her actions to come however, would only chip my heart.

Berkley and I hopped out of the car, and while I grabbed my bag off of the passenger side floor, she rummaged through the trunk. Closing the door, I waited for her to finish up, people watching as I leaned against the car. The majority of the Willowridge campus were head to toe in Halloween costumes. There were the funny ones, the gender bender ones, the girls who sexualized classic costumes, and of course the unique handmade outfits.

Everyone enjoyed the morning from what I could see — they took photos with one another and praised each other for their costumes. I continued to wait for Berkley, enjoying the genuine entertainment of my peers. But then, another person decided to join my morning.

"Karris!" Talia waved her arm from across the parking lot, her hand grasping onto a familiar plastic cup. She waited for a moment as a car drove passed, before jogging over to me.

I'd be rude if I said her presence brought my spirits down, but I'd also be lying if I didn't admit it. As much as I wanted to tell Talia to go away because I was bonding with my best friend, I knew better than to be an asshole.

"Hi, how are you today?" I asked, taking notice of the two Starbucks cups in each of her hands.

"I'm doing particularly well," Talia answered with a grin. "I wish I knew you were coming with Berkley. I would've gotten you something from Starbucks too."

"It's okay, thank you though," I shrugged. "I'm sure my mom would be able to smell the whipped cream on my breath and freak out over the amount of sugar that was in my body."

Then again, would she?

My mom hasn't been as anal retentive over my choice in meals for days. I mean, she wasn't throwing bags of Hot Cheetos in my lunch pail, but wasn't exactly reprimanding me for adding a spoonful of sugar into my oatmeal.

"Why didn't you dress up for Halloween?" Talia asked.

I opened my mouth to answer the question, however before I could, an excited shrill filled our ears. I turned my attention to the shriek, only to find Berkley grinning from ear to ear. She skipped merrily over to Talia, who handed her one of the caffeinated confections. I watched as the two girls gushed over each other's outfits, which I didn't find abnormal at first.

Until I noticed their skirts.

The tight, royal blue skirt that clung onto Berkley's every curve, was an exact replica of the one that hugged Talia's own body. But it wasn't their matching skirts that set me off. It was the matching red shirts they wore, and the familiar insignia on the blouse that made my stomach drop — Thing 1 and Thing 2.

My best friend decided to wear matching costumes with Talia that Halloween, and the envious monster was crawling within my skin. I stared and stared, gawking at the two pretty girls before me who were taking selfies and presenting each other in Snapchats. Our classmates strolled by, complementing the duo, to which both Berkley and Talia responded with enthusiastic jigs.

I walked away from them, making my way across the school parking lot and towards campus. The excited shrieks of Thing 1 and Thing 2 still lingered in my ears with a muffled echo as I walked to the main building. With my chin to my chest, I of course wasn't paying much attention to my surroundings. So when my body collided with a concrete chest, I wasn't surprised when I found myself sitting on the asphalt as a result.

"Ouch," I yelped, rubbing onto my right butt cheek. My glasses were hanging off of one ear, and my vision was unfocused as I darted my eyes around.

"Whoa, Karris! I'm sorry!" The voice was recognizable, yet unexpected as it filled my ears.

"Calum?" I questioned in curiosity as I adjusted my glasses. The blurry figure that loomed above me came into focus and the hockey player that was absent for a few days, was now gazing at me with guilt.

"Are you alright?" Calum brandished his arm, cueing me to take his hand as he helped me up. "That was a hard fall."

"Yea, I'm okay," I winced, continuing to rub my butt and lower back to ease the pain. "But when did you..."

The words faded as they came out of my mouth, and I finally noticed Calum for the first time that morning. He stood before me — shirtless. His chiseled body was covered in black, tribal tattoos and the handmade leaf skirt that wrapped around his hips almost completed the Halloween costume.

"The wind and sea Demigod?" I smirked, nodding to the large, homemade fishhook in Calum's right hand.

"It is I," Calum flexed his incredibly beautiful arm muscles and flashed a million dollar smile. "Maui, the greatest Demigod that ever lived. I stopped the sun, pulled islands out of the sea, and battled scary monsters."

"He's also a self-centered jackass who stole the heart of Te Fiti," Mollie approached us with a smirk plastered on her face, and an impressive dupe of a Moana costume adorning her tanned body.

"Hey!" Calum narrowed in his eyebrows as Mollie stopped in her tracks next to him. "At least I returned it... but stole someone else's heart instead."

"Oh you're smooth," Mollie giggled, standing on the tip of her toes to plant a kiss on Calum's cheek.

Even though I basically was over Calum, it still stung to see him be lovey-dovey with Mollie. I did have to admit however, that they were really cute together, and I knew that one day I could be proud of their relationship. I guessed Calum could feel the awkwardness and sense the hurt, because he quickly refocused the attention from him and Mollie, to me.

"So, why aren't you dressed up?" Calum questioned. "You seem like the type of person to be excited about Halloween."

"I really wasn't thinking about it," I told him honestly. "We had stricter dress code regulations at Brampcrest, and none of us were too creative so dressing up at school wasn't much of a priority."

"That sucks!" Calum sputtered.

I let out a laugh "it does. It does suck. I kind of wish I did dress up today."

"There's always tonight," Calum mentioned with hope. "I think there's a party tonight that you should come to. You can dress up there."

"I kind of have plans," I bit my bottom lip. Did I have plans? Was Berkley going to ditch me for Talia?

"Wait a second," Mollie pipped up, and our attention switched over to her. She had a huge smile on her face, which was spiked with a mixture of mischief and excitement. The gears in her head were spinning and I had a gut feeling that Miss Mollie Santos was up to no good.

One moment I was standing in front of the school, and the next I was being dragged across campus to a bathroom. Mollie held onto my hand with a tight grip and not once did her smirk falter. Despite my perpetual spew of questions, my pretty classmate ignored every single one of them. When Mollie pushed me into a bathroom in Corridor-D, leaving me to my thoughts, I waited impatiently for her to return after promising she'd only be three minutes.

"Mollie?" The bathroom door swung open and I peeked around the empty stalls.

"I'm back," her voice was sing-song as she sauntered into the girl's restroom with a small duffle bag in her hands.

I darted my eyes from the black bag to the incredulous smirk on Mollie, and immediately deduced what idea was swirling around in her head.

"Oh no Mollie," I shook my head. "Don't tell me this is the part where you give me a makeover, I slow-mo walk down the hall and stop everyone in their tracks!"

Mollie chuckled, "I don't know about a slow motion walk, but you're dead on about the make over. Well, more like an outfit change."

"Do you just walk around with an extra costume?" I asked, watching Mollie rest the duffle bag on top of the sink before unzipping it.

"Tegan, Jeannine, and I plan on going to the Halloween party as iconic female villains," she explained, pulling out a pink makeup bag. "I was going to change at Tegan's place which is why I have the second costume. After school, you can change back to your regular clothes."

"Why are you letting me borrow your costume? I don't really need to dress up today," I told her.

"Two reasons," she held her pointer and middle finger up. "The first reason is simple: you're part of the Willowridge family now. Halloween is a big deal for this school and I want you to have fun with us. I know that you had a rough start here, but I want you to know that you're welcome at this school."

"And the second reason,"

"Because I want to apologize to you in private,"

"Apologize?"

"Because I'm the reason why your brother and Calum never got along," Mollie revealed, and I felt my heart shoot out of my butt.

"What? Say that again," my mouth was agape as I stared in shock at Mollie. I wasn't expecting those words from her, nor was I expecting a surprising confession.

"I'm not sure to what extent you know," Mollie began. "But I'm sure you already know that Gabe and Calum were never really friends. And one of the reasons why, was because they both were after me."

"So let me get this straight. My brother wanted you. Calum wanted you, and that's why they were enemies?"

"I think it was a lot deeper than that, but it was the root of their problems,"

"Did you always want Calum?" I wasn't even sure why I asked Mollie this question. It sort of just came out.

Mollie nodded, "yea, I did. And I think your brother knew that too."

Was Gabe really that sensitive? Was he really so caught up with such simplistic notions of puppy love that he created a battle with someone like Calum who had a heart of gold? It seemed like the more I dug deeper into my brother's past, the more I learned things about him that I didn't really admire.

"I appreciate you telling me all this," I reached an arm forward to touch Mollie on the shoulder. "But if you don't mind, I'd like to drop the subject. I keep finding out all these things about Gabe and now I'm not sure what I think about him."

"Of course, let's move forward," Mollie grabbed a tube of mascara from her makeup bag and held it up. "I have twenty minutes before the first bell to fix your makeup and get you into this costume."

"Wait," I held my hand up just as Mollie approached my eyelashes with the mascara wand. "What costume exactly is in your bag?"

Mollie beamed, "Harley Quinn."

Within 20 minutes, Mollie swept some eye pigments onto my lids, enhanced my lips with a light rose lipstick, and was even able to gather my thick hair into a wig cap. She carefully placed the blonde pigtails on my head, a Harley Quinn signature, before handing me the costume and pushing me into the large stall. I slipped on the tight fitting costume, swapping my jeans and white tank top for fishnet stockings, black shorts, and an embellished choker.

"Do I have to wear the heels?" I examined the white booties and hoped that Mollie wouldn't make me wear them.

"They're kitten heels," Mollie corrected, from the other side of the stall. "But if it makes you uncomfortable, then you don't have to."

"I'm afraid I might fall," I admitted. "I don't really know how to walk in heels, even if they're only two inches high."

"I think you should go all out. This is your first time dressing up for Halloween during school hours and you might not believe me, but sometimes a good pair of shoes can really help someone's confidence blossom," Mollie expressed, each word brimming with passion.

I stared at the shoes, and I could admit that they were really cute. I guessed I never strayed from wearing anything other than a simple pair of Converse, flats, or running sneakers because I never had the confidence to strut in fancy shoes. But what if Mollie was right? What if a boost of confidence were interweaved in a pair of super cute, white booties?

"Do I look alright?" I unlatched the bathroom stall and pushed it wide open. I stood there gazing at Mollie with uncertainty, waiting for her to reply.

"Oh. My. Actual. Gosh!" Mollie's jaw dropped.

"Do I look like a baby prostitute?"

"Uh, no! The complete opposite!"

"So, a regular adult prostitute?"

"You're such a dork," Mollie laughed. She suddenly latched her arms around me and gave me a tight hug. "You're stunning Karris Villanueva. Time for you to strut your fine ass out there."

"Thank you," I smiled. It was all I could say, really. She was always so kind, and that moment in the girl's bathroom on Halloween morning showed me how beautiful her heart really was.

Mollie and I walked out of the bathroom just as the first bell rang. I took a deep breath in, and then a deep breath out. I walked with Mollie right next to me, using her as a security guard; a safety blanket. I kept my head down low because I was nervous of what my peers would think.

"Hey," Mollie linked her arm with mine. "Chin up, girl. Harley is a boss-ass bitch who runs it."

I followed Mollie's advice and lifted my chin, facing my fears of the Willowridge hallways. I kept my vision straight ahead and with another deep breath, I began to strut down the corridor with pseudo confidence — fake it till you make it, right?

"Baby girl, is that you?"

I turned my head to find Luke at his locker with a few girls in animal ears and drawn on whiskers. The tall, blue-eyed hockey player was fitted in a tan jumpsuit, and a pair of goggles rested on top of his head.

"Hey Luke," I smiled, approaching him. "Happy Halloween. Let me guess," I pursed my lips and stroked my chin, "you're a Ghostbuster."

"Bingo," Luke winked. "But forget me, look at you! I'm kind of turned on."

I cringed, "I'm flattered, thanks. But I'll see you later, don't wanna be late for class."

"See ya Karris," Luke waved before returning to flirt with the pretty girl in our class.

"Keep that confidence," Mollie told me.

So I did — I marched through the hall with a spring in my step, feeding off of the positive vibes I was receiving from my fellow peers. I only got smiles and thumbs up from them, and with each compliment, my confidence solidified. However, something or someone, was waiting to rain on my parade.

I was only a few strides away from my first class of the day when Mollie and I were graced with none other than Willowridge's top billed leading lady, Tegan Loelli. While I expected someone like Tegan to be dressed in a scantily clad costume, her perfectly sculpted dancer's body was glorified in classic Tinkerbell gear — high bun and wings too.

"Karris, you look... cute," Tegan crossed her arms above her chest with a sneer. "Your costume oddly looks very familiar."

Tegan shot Mollie a death glare. I could feel myself cower, wanting to runaway and hide. I suddenly felt uneasy and almost regret putting the costume on.

"I'm letting Karris borrow my Harley Quinn costume for the day," Mollie explained. She took a step forward, a wave of sass exuding from her. "Don't worry Tegan, I'll have it back by the party tonight."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Tegan sweetly assured, and I felt a propagandist rampage coming.

"Then what are you worried about?" Mollie asked.

Tegan switched her attention to me, "I'm worried about Karris, who even though looks absolutely adorable in this costume, is only a shell of deceit. Harley Quinn is a woman of power; a clout of feminine tenacity. Because of this, it takes a real woman to finesse such an iconic ensemble."

Apparently to Tegan, I didn't have the power or poise to wear a costume that represented a woman so strong.

"Tegan, stop," Mollie stepped in, frustration in her voice. "Karris is a sweetheart and your vendetta against her needs to stop!"

"Mollie, are you two best friends now?" Tegan raised a brow, a light chuckle escaping her lips.

"Karris is a my friend and you have no right to belittle her because of a costume," Mollie continued to defend me, and I was grateful for that, but it was time for me to defend myself.

"I'm only looking out for her," Tegan continued, but that's when I decided to step in.

I curtly turned my focus to the mean girl, stepping towards her with ire, "no, Tegan! You're only looking out for yourself because you're threatened by anyone who has the real power."

"Excuse me?" Tegan was pissed.

"You understand — you're smart enough. You spit out all these words, twisting them to make people feel like shit when in reality you're the one who feels like shit!" I was on a roll and no one was going to stop me.

"What's going on?"

"Who's yelling?"

"Damn! Is that Karris?"

From the corner of my eye I could see a few new figures appear in our little circle. Michael, Ashton, Calum, Luke, and the girls he was flirting with, all approached the scene with confusion etched on their faces.

"You kicked Berkely off of the dance team because she's more skilled than you are, and I know you wanted that scholarship too," I brought up, a sour taste on my tongue.

"I kicked your best friend off the team because she's a skank," Tegan stepped forward.

"Instead of bringing Berkley up and helping her pin the asshole who leaked private pictures, you demean her. Woman against women — and that isn't your first offense," I narrowed in my brows.

"Don't lecture me about being a woman when you—"

"Shut up!" I interrupted, causing Tegan to fumble her words and shut her mouth. "You try to make me feel bad for being a hockey coach because your prissy ankles can't keep up and you're pissed that the boys respect me for me, and not because I prance around showing off my long legs!"

"Holy shit she's roasting Tegan," Michael giggled. "I think I'm in love."

"Excuse you," Ashton sneered.

"You walk around like you're queen bee, when you're secretly threatened by everyone. Face it Tegan, if there's anyone who doesn't have the finesse to rock an iconic ensemble, it's you!" I concluded with a fiery dynamism, and pride thumping within my heart.

I took a step back as my friends and classmates all hollered with extreme shock. I didn't blame though — the majority of them knew how easily I fell into the deep shadows that is Tegan Loelli. One sentence out of her mouth and I normally wanted to melt into a puddle, but not today. Everyone had my back, but it was time to have my own.

"What's gotten into you?" Ashton threw an arm around my shoulder. "You just roasted the shit out of Tegan."

I turned my head to look at Mollie with a satisfied grin, "it was the shoes."

✖

If you didn't know, SLAPSHOT has a spin-off short called LA NOCHE DE BRUJAS which fits in between this chapter and the next one. Of course, you don't have to read it to understand the next chapter, but there will be a couple of references from the short story. You can find the spin-off on my page :)

✖

I hope you liked reading this chapter. More about Gabe has been revealed, and his hatred for Calum.  The Gabe vs. Calum battle will be revealed fully in future chapters and I cannot wait for you to read all about it -- it's juicy AF! Also, I had the best time writing Karris vs. Tegan in this chapter -- finally, she stands up for herself!