Extra's Ascent

"Fiona! Fiona!" Aldrich called out, breathless, as he sprinted down the corridor, struggling to catch up to her.

A minute later, he finally reached her.

Aldrich stepped in front of her to block her path, trying to stop her from running any further.

"Hey! I've been calling you!" he panted, catching up on the lost breath.

"Listen, I just want to talk about what happened back there… the thing is…" Aldrich stumbled over his words, his embarrassment only adding to his discomfort as he tried to figure out how best to phrase it.

"Why did you say that?!" Fiona snapped, her voice sharp and filled with disapproval.

Aldrich had expected some sort of reaction, but not this level of anger.

'Is the idea of us dating so repulsive that it makes her this angry?'

He hadn't anticipated this kind of outburst, and somehow, it made him uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, okay. When I saw her treating you like that, I just knew I had to step in. And, well… I needed a reason to do it, so I just said the first thing that came to mind," he explained, though deep down, he knew it was just an excuse.

For what? He couldn't even say.

"You don't get it, Aldrich. You've only made things worse!" Fiona muttered, trying to sidestep him and get away from the blockade.

"What don't I get? Is the idea of us dating so bad that it makes you this angry?" Aldrich's frustration began to show.

It seemed like he was the only one who saw the potential silver lining between them.

"Are you serious? You think I'm angry because you called yourself my boyfriend?" Fiona retorted, exasperated.

Aldrich, heart racing in anticipation, almost interrupted with a hopeful tone. "You're not angry because I said that?" he asked, feeling his pulse quicken.

"No. What gave you that idea?" Fiona's frustration only seemed to deepen.

Aldrich was left dumbfounded by her response.

He didn't want to get his hopes up, but his mind was still reeling.

"Then why are you angry…?"

The misunderstanding still lingered, unresolved.

"You said you were my boyfriend."

Aldrich cut her off. "I thought you said you were okay with that."

"Yes, I would be if it wasn't in front of Selina! Do you not know that she's targeting me?!" Fiona's voice rose in frustration as she tried to explain herself.

Now, Aldrich understood.

Her anger wasn't about the suggestion of them being a couple—it was about the consequences of it.

By telling Selina they were dating, he had inadvertently made himself a target in Selina's scheme.

Now she wouldn't just come after Fiona; she'd come after him too.

And in the end, he might find himself regretting what he'd said.

Aldrich's thoughts were elsewhere now.

He wasn't bothered by Selina's threat.

His mind was elsewhere, distracted by his confusion and feelings.

"Are you even listening to me?" Fiona asked, noticing the grin on his face and the distant look in his eyes.

"Yeah… yeah, I totally am," Aldrich responded, his voice drifting as his thoughts wandered.

Sigh.

Fiona let out a long, exhausted sigh as she started walking again.

"Wait. Where are you going?" Aldrich asked, catching up and grabbing her arm to stop her.

"To do whatever is necessary to stop Selina from acting out." Fiona tried to free her arm from his grasp.

Reluctantly, Aldrich let go, but not before asking, "Are you going to be okay? Do you need me to come with you? I can help."

"No. You following me will only make things worse. I need to do this alone," Fiona said firmly, her feet already in motion.

Aldrich hesitated but didn't argue.

Fiona was right—if he went with her, things would only escalate.

He couldn't deny that.

"Be careful, okay?" he called after her, concern edging his voice.

"I will!" Fiona answered without looking back.

Aldrich's mind was still in a fog, his thoughts scattered.

In the confusion, he forgot about the people still waiting for him in the cafeteria.

Instead, he hurried back to his dorm.

...

As he entered the dorm room, Aldrich froze, his face paling when he saw Saldrich sitting on his bed, arms and legs crossed, a look of disapproval written all over his face.

"Saldrich! What are you doing in the male dorm?" Aldrich asked, his unease evident.

Saldrich looked up at him, her expression hard. "I've been waiting for you, but it seems you've been too busy pissing off Selina to notice."

Aldrich knew there was no way he could explain himself fully, but he tried anyway.

"Listen, Sal, Fiona is someone I know. I can't just stand by and watch her get ganged up on."

"So your solution was to publicly piss off Selina?!" Saldrich's voice was laced with frustration.

The word publicly hung in the air like an accusation.

If Aldrich had done this in private, perhaps the fallout wouldn't have been so fearfully catastrophic.

However, it was out in the open.

"That wasn't my intention. Either way, if trying to protect my friend makes an outsider angry, then I guess that's their problem," Aldrich said with a shrug, though deep down he knew it wasn't that simple.

"ALDRICH!" She yelled, standing up, her frustration reaching its peak.

The sudden outburst nearly made Aldrich wince. "Damn," he muttered, his ears still ringing from the noise.

"You made an enemy of Selina Von Degure, publicly. Does that not bother you at all?" Saldrich stormed toward him, her anger evident in every step.

Aldrich sighed. "I know the consequences of what I did, Sal. You don't need to keep reminding me."

"You're lucky that's all I'm doing. If you only knew the trouble you've caused by trying to protect your so-called friend," Saldrich warned, her voice dripping with frustration.

"Alright, alright, enough, Sal," He brushed past her and headed to his bed, sitting down but not quite relaxing.

"Have you forgotten my words? I am your older brother Sal. It is my responsibility to look after you, not the other way around".

Saldrich feared Selina because she knew what the queen bee was capable of when someone stepped into her territory.

Aldrich didn't share that fear. And perhaps that came to be because of how well he knew Selina, inside and out.

More than anyone else, he understood the kind of power she wielded.

"You want to talk about responsibility?" Saldrich's voice trembled with emotion. "Fine, let's discuss."

"Where were you when you fell into a coma five years ago? When Dad was broken, unable to move on because of your absence? When Mom left because she couldn't handle the pressure of it all? Who do you think worked herself to the bone just to keep the family together, to cover your hospital bills?"

Saldrich's eyes were wide with raw emotion, her voice cracking under her words.

"Do you even realize what I've had to sacrifice for this family? Do you think I want to be this way? That I love being this grumpy younger sister?"

"I'm fourteen, Al! Fourteen! What I want is a normal life like the other kids, play around, have fun and not care what shenanigans my older brother is up to, but I can't have that. Why? Because I've spent my whole life taking on responsibilities I never asked for, making sacrifices just to keep things together."

She wasn't speaking out of hurt. No, perhaps she was, Aldrich couldn't tell which.

"So if you want to be an older brother I can depend on and not have to yell at all the times? Do me a favour Al, start acting dependable and not the other way around".

She summed it up and stormed out of the room.

Aldrich's mind was reeling.

Saldrich's words hit him harder than anything else had in a long time.

He'd been so caught up in his world that he hadn't fully realized the depth of the burden his sister had been carrying.