//------------------------------// // Chapter 45 // Story: Jumper // by lollipopchica //------------------------------// Ardent’s house wasn’t hard to find after Mistral had supplied her with an address. The house was clearly that of a working middle-class family. The lawn was covered in teens and parked cars. She just hoped she wasn’t too late to grab her sister. Entering inside the home, she immediately tried to focus on the sea of bodies looking for a familiar pink face. The lights were dim, but someone had setup neon strip lights along certain fixtures casting the room in a rainbow of lowlight. The Cardigan’s Lovefool played in the background. There were bodies everywhere. Some dancing, some just vibing in place. There was a couple slumped over on the couch barely holding onto their red plastic cups, and lots of people leaning and sitting on things they probably shouldn't. One kid was attempting to plank on the tv while his friends recorded and cheered. Chrysalis didn’t exactly look party ready dressed in a ratty pair of cargo pants and cropped t-shirt, however, her appearance still didn’t warrant the looks and outright gawking people were doing. She could tell a lot of people recognized her and were probably reacting to her black sheep status in regards to the scandal that made her feel like she had to move in the first place. Ignoring them, she focused on her task. How big was this kid’s house, she thought as she searched for her sister. Moments later, she bumped into a familiar figure. If her cousin was shocked to see her, she didn’t show it. Instead she looked guilty. “Chrysalis!” She hadn’t even noticed Sonata at first. “I didn’t know you’d be here!” She blinked, taken aback by the beaming face of the youngest Dazzling. Before she could respond, Ardent had arrived to drag her away with a muttered, “It’s time, Regal’s here.” At the sound of his name Chrysalis felt the wind knocked out of her. She had hoped Mistral had been mistaken about whose party this was. “Chryssie, I can explain!” Chrysalis’ eyes narrowed as her mind worked to connect dots. Clearly, the other girl knew something. “What the fuck, Lulu?!” *-*-*-* Cadence was having a pretty good time, dancing and laughing with her old friends. When Regal showed up to greet her, her friends all traded concerned looks before trying to politely fade into the crowd and take her along. But Cadence was having none of it and wanted to talk to the boy in front of her. Cadence felt emboldened by the surprised yet pleased look on his face. She knew what she looked like in her skintight skinny jeans, stilettos and silk cami tank. Tossing her hair over her shoulder with a smirk, she slowed her movements dancing sensually to the music. Hips swaying with curves on full display, her eyes sparkled in the lowlight hazy with lust and mischief. She made quite the image of youth and sexuality. Shining Armor had broken her heart, but Regal’s attention made her feel desirable again. How I can be so lucky, Regal thought smoothly taking his place in front of the Canterlot borne beauty, his eyes belied his excitement at her presence. “I’m glad you came!” He grinned reaching out and squeezing her hips as he pulled her flush. “Me too,” she returned surprised and pleased at his actions. “Wanna get something to drink?” He leaned forward to speak in her ear over the music. Biting his lip as the smell of her perfume, the closeness of her body went straight to his groin. “I thought you’d never ask.” *-*-*-* “You knew this was Regal’s party and you invited my sister anyway?!” “It’s not what you think! We have a plan!” “We?! Who the hell are you talking about?” “Chryssie you’re not the only girl this has happened to!” “What?! Luna I-” Green eyes widened as they caught sight of Cadence and Regal pushing through the others with red plastic cups in hand. Tuning everything else out, she surged through the crowd ignoring her cousin. Laughing at something another old classmate had said, Cadence brought the spiked drink to her lips only to have it violently smacked away into some unfortunate soul nearby. The commotion was instantaneous and when everyone looked up to see who’d done the deed, they were shocked to see an angry changeling teen. “Chryssie?! What the-” “We’re leaving now!” She shouted to Cadance over the music, roughly grabbing her by the elbow. “Take your hands off of me!” The dancer struggled fruitlessly against the stronger girl. “No! I told you to stay away from him!” “You can’t tell me what to do!” “Watch me!” “What’s your problem?!” Regal seethed. Without even thinking, Chrysalis shoved the teen, before following up with a thunderous slap. “Stay away from my sister!” She watched with satisfaction as he reeled back and fell into another person hissing and groaning. Her expression hardened at the promise of retaliation in his eyes. The other boy lunged forward with a shout and made a swipe at her throat. Before he could get a good grip, her hands surged forward and a strong burst of magic leapt from her fingertips blasting him in the chest in an acidic flash of flame. Cadence screamed as the crowd cried out startled and angry as they gave the enraged teen space. No one else wanted to be on the receiving end of that, whatever the hell it was. “We’re leaving!” Chrysalis recovered as she bared her fangs before basically dragging her sister kicking and screaming into the streets. Chrysalis shoved her into the backseat of the family’s car and slammed the door shut behind her. Cadence tried to get out but found the doors were child proofed. “You’re crazy!” She screamed with hot tears trailing down her face. “You’re a fucking psycho! How could you do this? How could you embarrass me like this?” But Chrysalis wasn’t listening. It was time to lay all her cards on the table once and for all. Seeing her almost drink from the devil’s cup was terrifying. She would make Cadence understand, she had to. *-*-*-* The ride back to her cousin’s was a mix of stone cold silence and angry screaming, with each sister taking on the roles interchangeably. “He’s dangerous! You don’t know what he’s capable of!” “I trust him a hell of a lot more than I trust you!” “He’s a monster!” “You’re a monster!” “You’re an idiot!” “…” “You’re going to listen to me whether you like it or not!” A loud dinging from the car forced the eldest to pay more attention to the car itself. The gas light shone from the dash as it continued to sound loudly. With a curse, Chrysalis decided they’d need to fill up before going back or else their Dad would never let them use the car again. Especially if he had to go out of his way to fix something they could’ve easily avoided. Choosing a place a few miles away from her cousin’s neighborhood, Chrysalis easily pulled in, secured the keys and a few bills from the middle console. “Stay here, I’ll be right back! I promise everything will make more sense later.” Despite the obvious silence, Cadence’s glare was full of loathing and scathing contempt. She swallowed and quickly hurried away to pay. Chrysalis knew she’d done the right thing, she just hoped Cadence would realize that too once she told her the truth. Cadence waited until her sister went inside to pay for gas. Once she was inside talking to the cashier, she wasted no time crawling to the front. How could she? She raged to herself seething at the troglodyte behavior she’d been subjected to. Jerking her knees up, she winced and cried out in annoyance when her knee struck the underside of the glove box. She hissed in pain writhing where she sat as her knee ached terribly now. Ripping open the glove box with the intention of slamming it close in retaliation, her rage cooled instantly when her eyes took in the spare key to her family’s car. Cadence simply nodded and focused on driving back to their house. She went to hand him the key to the car. “Put that one in the glove box, I need to get the battery fixed.” She reached out and curled her fingers around the keys with a glint of resentment shining in her eyes. Looking over to the store and the girl at the counter, her expression hardened as she shuffled into the driver’s seat and started the car. Two could play this game, she thought ramping the SUV into gear before baring down on the horn. Her sister and the shopkeeper both turned to stare out the glass. With a contemptuous look, Cadence slammed her foot down on the gas. In absolute panic and disbelief, Chrysalis hurried out the store hissing expletives. Staring after the dark SUV, she glowered at the sight of her sister speeding away into the night. Fuck. Cadence shook in anger as she gave Regal a call and apologized between fits of angry cries. “Cadence, just calm down! Where are you?” “I’m fine,” she assured sniffling, “I’m fine. I stole my parent’s car and left Chryssie at a gas station.” “What...?! Okay! Okay! Well can you come back?” “Yes!” “But not to the party... Not after that. Meet me at my house?” “I can do that.” “Give me twenty minutes,” He’d said before ending the call. “Just need to sneak away for a bit.” Okay, she thought calming her nerves. Regal’s neighborhood wasn’t too far at all. She knew Chryssie wouldn’t tell, and if she did, she had no problem falling into an emotional episode. Why should she be held to a different standard than everyone else? Apparently this family didn’t punish emotional upheavals. Cadence rolled her eyes as waves of resentment washed over her. Besides, after what Chryssie did, she was sure she couldn’t cry her way out of this. Those driving lessons had certainly paid off, she thought excited to be driving herself for once but also afraid of getting pulled over. It was a good thing she didn’t have to use any of the highway or busy streets to get to Regal’s neighborhood. With a sigh, the love Alicorn leaned back in her seat, willing her nerves to calm down. Her arm throbbed terribly as she remembered the iron-like vice her sister held her in as she humiliated her in front of all of their old friends and classmates. It’d been awful. And the magic! God the magic! Their parents were going to be furious when they found out. Shaking her head as her heart rate spiked from anxiety and mortification, she couldn’t find a drop of remorse for abandoning her sister. The gas station was only about a mile and a half from their relative’s home. Her eyes flashed a malignant shade of violet as she sent a snide text to her sister via facebook. It was then that she noticed the unviewed video that had been sent from her sister a few weeks ago. “One of your best poses...” The video, she thought. She had forgotten all about it. Before she could consider her actions, her finger jammed the ‘play’ arrow. Cadence was expecting to be angry- disgusted, even. What she saw however was far worse than anything she could’ve imagined. It didn’t disappoint in the least.