chapter seven | hauntings

The laughing pair entered the cafeteria, which they both agreed was even uglier than the ones that the humans had; Levana's eyes found Marnie and a genie girl eating together, and she'd assumed that Dylan was still in his dorm, probably relaxing his mind with calculous, or something.

While in the line, someone's arm branched between she and Natalie, grabbing a cookie from the shelf. Levana furrowed her brows, turning to face the mysterious person, before almost dropping her tray on the ground.

She almost hadn't recognized him, because the eighteen year old in front of her had dyed his hair, whether it be to erase the genetic hair color he'd gotten from his father, or to just straight up hide his identity, she was unaware.

But as soon as their eyes met, she knew exactly who was in front of her.

In front of her stood a very awkward Ethan Dalloway, looking more handsome than she'd ever seen him. His lips moved, but her hearing had vanished; she just stood there, staring into his oceanic eyes with nothing but pain. He could see it easily, having known her better than his own name his entire life.

Ethan sent an apologetic look to her, before saying bye to she and Natalie.

The troll guided her friend over to their table, flinching slightly when Levana practically slammed her tray onto the table; the girl could hear the Sinister Sisters snicker from the table over, flicking her wrist slightly before three black mambas appeared on the girls trays. She couldn't care less if she were to get in trouble, a feeling of pride kissing her veins as the girls screamed.

Ethan was seated a few tables away, frowning at how Levana had just used her magic. Until he'd fucked her over, she'd never even think about hurting anyone - no matter how much they deserved it; she was like her ditzy mother in that way, and it was something he'd always admired.

"Yo, did you see that chick? She's so hot.. I think she's even got the sisters beat."

Ethan rolled his eyes at the guy's words, flipping his cookie between his fingers as he replied. "That's Levana, for you; she's always had the eyes of every guy in the room."

"You know her? Dude, you've gotta introduce me!" The brunette, Jaxon, exclaimed; he'd become Ethan's best friend since he'd returned to Halloweentown, but wasn't given any information on the blond's relationship with Levana.

He shrugged, "I used to know her... We kinda grew apart."

...

She was locked in the bathroom of their dorm, hyperventilating as Natalie sat against the opposite side of the door with a witches glass. Everywhere she looked now, she saw him; the memories of what they once were haunted her mind, and the ghost of him would be one that she would never be able to escape from.

Then again, she didn't think she wanted to escape from it, at least not yet. She remembered his letter, how apologetic and truly guilty he felt; the young witch knew that what he had done was horrendous, but as the time passed she'd just felt more and more lost without him by her side.

Maybe it was time to forgive him?

Natalie's heart clenched for her friend, and she knew that the best thing to do for her right now would be to swallow her pride and go find Dylan. So, she did, and when the sound of the door shutting reached Levana's ears, she cast a soundproofing spell on the bathroom before letting out one of the most vocal ripping screams she'd experienced in a while. It wasn't a sorrowful scream, it was one of pure frustration.

The rose was clutched in her hands, the thorns pressed almost fully into her palms as crimson liquid seeped from her skin and onto the ground. She wanted to grab the witches glass from outside the door, to call Ethan and ask him to come cheer her up - but she wasn't even sure that he'd answer..

He didn't for the months that she'd been in the thick of healing, so why would he now?

It'd been a year and a half, and the rose had never changed in a negative way. It'd grown brighter over time, but had never dulled in color even once; the door opened again, and she silently removed the soundproofing spell as Dylan's voice reached her ears.

"Vana?" He asked, his tone gentle as he knocked lightly on the door. "Hey, it's me.. Natalie told me what happened. Come on out, please?"

Wordlessly, the girl opened the door, staining the handle with blood as she revealed her broken state to her best friend. Dylan understood why Natalie had found him, eyes widening and chest tightening as he analyzed what just seeing Ethan had done to her; when his eyes landed on the rose, and the blood pouring from the multiple thorn wounds in her hands, he ushered her into a bone crushing hug.

Natalie gently plucked the rose from her friend's grasp, placing it in the vase as Dylan and Levana swayed side to side; the girl muttered into his shoulder, her voice hoarse as she tried to conjure up a sentence - but with her mind racing at a million thoughts a second, she was practically speaking Gibberish.

All while the blue eyed teen stood outside of the dorm, listening to her incoherent words through the door. He'd went to apologize, ducking behind a corner when Natalie returned with Dylan; he knew they wouldn't have let him speak to her, especially while she was in this state.

So, with a defeated sigh, he turned on his heel, leaving a note and a white rose taped to the door.

Natalie had better hearing than her friends, due to the scale of her ears compared to theirs; she'd heard the tape being pressed against the door, and quickly made an excuse to go investigate.

"Dylan, I'm gonna go get her some ice scream; stay here, okay?"

The brunette just nodded, guiding his friend toward her bed and sitting her down so she could steady her breathing; the pink haired troll walked through the door, closing it silently and turning to face the note.

She immediately recognized the handwriting, and the rose simply gave it away. Swiftly, she removed the note from the door and went to find their former friend.

...

"Ethan." She stated, her tone stern as she grasped his attention; he'd been in the courtyard, hanging out with Jaxon (who Natalie wasn't very fond of). The girl stuck the note outward, sending him an angered look. "This is not happening. Not right now."

"Nat, I just wanted to apologize."

"You already did that, Dalloway. In your first letter you'd left her." She reminded, waving the note and rose around to add onto her point, "Vana cannot handle this right now. She cannot handle you right now. Not after all this time."

Ethan sighed, lowering his head as Jaxon piped up from beside him. "Vana? As in the hot chick from the cafeteria?"

The dark haired warlock simply nodded, not wanting to go into that story with his friend; to be brutally honest, he never wanted to go into that story again. He knew that cutting off contact would hurt them both, but he also knew that it needed to be done; when she was ready to talk to him again, if that were to ever happen, then she would contact him on her own volition.

But seeing her for the first time in almost two years brought everything back. Every memory, every emotion, every regret... He felt as if he needed to apologize in person, as if that would make everything he'd done okay.

"I just-"

"Miss her?" Natalie finished, "Yeah, that was expected from both of you. Ethan, you went and fucked up one of the most beautiful things I've ever witnessed just for your dad's approval. It's gonna take a lot more than a piece of paper and a rose to heal that."

"I know, but I don't want to ambush her with a reunion."

"Then don't." Natalie shrugged, placing the note and rose into his hand, "If she wants to reunite and make amends, then she will. You just have to let her do it on her own terms."

He took a deep breath, looking at the white rose as the sound of her crying in his witches glass echoed through his skull; all his life, he'd been a coward. But when it came to Levana Sylver? He'd always felt invincible. He felt like he needed to protect her, and he never believed it was possible for him to hurt her in such a severe way.

"Okay, Natalie." The teen nodded, before his glossy eyes finally met hers. "I'll wait, but I promise you that I will never stop waiting. Not for her."

"Good." The troll nodded, checking her watch, "I need to go get her ice scream. I'll see you around, Ethan."

He nodded, waving bye as his former friend began to shrink in the distance; Jaxon patted his shoulder, smiling at his friend.

"Please tell me you nailed her."

"Not even close... You remember that incident a while back? The one with my dad?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well..."