# Ending 1.5 Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Plan
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The sound of my alarm tears through my sleep, although this time I’m thankful for being wrested out of whatever anxiety-induced stress-dream I was having. I quickly shut it off and crawl out of bed, hoping Fang isn’t too stirred by the disturbance. Twenty minutes later, I’m ready to leave, but I check on Fang first. She rolls onto her back and looks at me standing over her.
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“Hey, uh…” I mumble. She reaches out and places a hand on my chest.
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“Don’t worry. I’m… I’m feeling alright,” she whispers. I place my hand on hers, letting out a long breath.
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“Promise you’ll stay alright.”
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“I promise, Anon.” I lean over and kiss her hand, and I see a small smile touch her face.
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“Text me if you need me. Call me if it’s important.” She nods, and with that I leave the apartment and shut the door behind me. A bout of panic immediately roots me to the floor. Calm down, calm down. I have to trust her, at least with this. If I can’t do that, then what’s the fucking point of any of this?
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I make it the rest of the way to school, and outside of collecting some extra work for the two of us, the day progresses normally until lunch. I spot Naser idly picking at his food next to Naomi and walk over to them. Before I can announce myself, Naser spots me and shoots out of his chair.
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“Anon! Please tell me you have good news,” he yells over the clamor of the cafeteria.
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“Uh, yeah. Listen, I need to talk to you.” I cock my head in a direction away from his current table, and away from Naomi. He nods and I take him to a quieter section of the room, where the tables are sparsely populated.
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“How’s Fang? Please tell me they’re okay.”
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“They’re… feeling a bit better, yeah. But I- we need your help with something.”
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“Anything, Anon.”
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“Okay…” I take a breath and ready my thoughts. I need to be careful with my wording here. “Fang took something from your dad, and it needs to be returned without him knowing. What I’m thinking is that I bring it to you tomorrow morning, and either before school starts or during homeroom, you bring it to your house and put it where it belongs. Okay?” Naser soaks in this information and mulls it over for a moment.
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“What’s the catch?” Guess it did sound too simple, didn’t it?
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“I, uh… don’t exactly know all the details just yet. I’m going to ask later tonight. But this is really important. Are you with me?” Don’t ask what it is, don’t ask what it is…
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“Alright.” Thank fuck. “Can you be here by six-thirty? I’d rather not skip homeroom if I don’t have to.”
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“Yeah, yeah, no problem. Thank you Naser, you’re a lifesaver.” We split off and I get some food down my throat. Phase one, complete. When Fang tells me how she stole the gun, I’ll relay that to Naser tomorrow morning and he’ll put it back the way it was. It’s gonna suck to drop that on him out of nowhere, and he seems to be expecting nothing even close to that, but I don’t exactly have a choice.
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Last stop, Jingo’s class. Raptor Jesus must be smiling on me today, as it’s a free period. Before Mr. Jingo can clock out of the period, I walk up to his desk.
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“How can I help you, Mr. Mous?”
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“I have a favor to ask. Can I… borrow one of those acoustic guitars?” The teacher chuckles.
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“It’s a free period, you don’t have to ask.”
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“No, no, I mean, for the day. The whole day. Maybe two.” Ah shit, that’s pushing it.
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“Hmm. What for?”
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“It’s for Fang, they, uh…” I trail off, trying to find some phrase that makes sense.
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“Right, I heard. A real shame, I know there’s talent within them. Go ahead, have it back by Thursday. Don’t break it or you’ll have to pay for it.” By the time I finish thanking him, he’s put his headphones on and closed his eyes. Mission accomplished. Now I just need to get home.
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The school day ends and I depart, guitar in hand. The paranoia of someone potentially nicking my gift for Fang disappears when I finally enter my apartment.
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“Fang?” I call out into the room.
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“Hey,” Fang responds.
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“You doing alright?”
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“I guess.”
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“I got you something.” Picking up the guitar, I give it a slow strum from the kitchen. I swear I can hear Fang gasp, and I walk into the living room proper. Still lying in bed, Fang’s eyes light up and I sit down, handing it over to her. “Borrowed it from Jingo. It’s good for a couple days. Maybe you can bring some stuff from home later.” Anything to keep your mind occupied.
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“Wow, Anon, I....” She sighs morosely, smile fading as she looks over the guitar.
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“Don’t worry. It’s just me here, and we’ve got all night.” I reassure her with a hand on her back, and she plucks at the strings a few times. Back and forth she goes, twisting the pegs and strumming the strings, until she’s finally satisfied with the tune she wants.
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Three sharp knocks echo throughout the apartment. Fang and I look at each other, and we both shrug. Begrudgingly leaving her side, I go to answer the door. Naser better not be ‘taking the initiative’ with our plan or anything like that. I open the door and am greeted by the sight of an off-grey pterodon on the other side.
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The dinosaur before me is a veritable titan, easily dwarfing me by half a foot and a hundred pounds at least, sporting a scowl that could stop a T-Rex’s heart.
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“You have something that belongs to me. Hand it over and I might reconsider putting you in a jail cell.” Barely restrained rage is in his deep, gruff voice, and his final two words carry throughout the rest of the apartment. I can’t speak, only nodding and taking a couple of steps back.
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As I turn around, Fang comes out from behind the corner and points the gun at her father.
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Everything freezes. Fang grits her teeth and Ripley’s scowl deepens, but they remain silent. Her finger is on the trigger, but he’s not budging.
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“Fang, don’t-” I start.
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“Shut up.” She spits with pure hatred, causing every threat detector I have to flare at once. “Go. Away.”
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One second. I’m too far to stop her.
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Two seconds. She’d probably shoot if I tried.
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Three seconds. We were so close. Please, don’t…
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Something in his mind yields and he quickly ducks away from the doorway. Fang slowly lowers the revolver, breathing heavily, and returns to the bed. I look back towards the now-empty doorway, still shaking, then follow Fang. I reach out to touch her shoulder. Her eyes flick towards me, and I recoil in fear. It’s those eyes again…
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She looks back at the gun in her lap, staring at it intensely. Her brow loosens and determined rage is slowly replaced with horror.
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“Fang…?”
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“I was ready…” she mutters. “I was ready to kill him. I… I wanted to.” She shudders violently.
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“He’s… he’s gone now-”
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“Just like I wanted to kill Naomi. Just like the others. Just like… just like…” Fang looks at her hands and starts to hyperventilate, and I throw caution to the wind, sitting next to her.
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“Oh God I was going to kill myself. I was going to kill myself. I was going to kill myself just like I was going to kill dad and Naomi and the others and- and- and-!” I place a hand on the gun and hers slam down on top of mine, sending a jolt through my entire body. “I- I- I was…” A shaky moan passes her lips and a tear falls from her eye.
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“Fang, let go.” She stifles a scream but doesn’t budge.
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“I was going to kill myself. I was going to die with everyone else, and-!”
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“Fang!” I shout, pulling her attention to me. Her eyes are wide with existential terror. The fear of death. “You’re still alive. You’re here. We can put this behind us right now. Let. Go.” Her only movement is the heaving of her chest. Seconds pass as she stares into my eyes, and her breathing slows. Her hands raise an inch and I swipe the weapon away behind me. I place my hands on her shoulders and breathe a sigh of relief.
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“I’m gonna go give this back, okay?” I say. She nods lightly, still shell-shocked. Grabbing the gun, I exit the apartment and look for Ripley. Partway down a stairwell, I spot him leaning against a wall, motionless. I steel myself and walk to his side, wordlessly offering the firearm to him. He gently takes it into his hands and presses a tab on the side, causing the cylinder to fall open. Six primed cartridges sat in their chambers, ready to fulfill their purpose.
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One of the most intimidating people I’ve ever met trembles as he closes the cylinder and stuffs the gun into his belt.
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“What was she planning?” he asks, haunted by dread.
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“It’s… probably for the best that I don’t-”
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“Tell me.”
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“She… wanted to kill Naomi.” Omission of truth is still a lie, isn’t it?
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“You knew?”
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“I stopped her.” This gives him ample pause. “Look, I need to go back to her.” He doesn’t stop me as I turn away and hop up the stairwell. Fang is still sitting on the bed, fresh streaks of scarlet adorning her arms. I pull her into a tight hug, but she doesn’t budge.
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“Fang?” I whisper.
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“I… I can’t go back. I can’t face him after that. How can I?” I open my mouth, but words fail me. The empty platitudes and simplistic reassurances that served me these past few days fail to break through the shock. “I’m going to be kicked out, or disowned, or arrested, or.. or...” Say something. Anything. Fang hunches over, her neck and arms hanging limp.
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“It’s over,” she whispers. “My life is over. My one chance, and I fucked it.”
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“No. It’s not over.”
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“It is. He’ll come back in a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a week, and throw me in a jail cell or an asylum, like I deserve.”
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“Fang, you’re not crazy-”
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“You don’t understand.” She looks at her hands, fingertips smudged with fresh blood. “I felt… different. I saw myself doing those things, and I didn’t feel nervous or afraid. Like I… like I finally had control. I had control, and I was going to show everyone what that meant. I was ready.”
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“I do understand. I saw it yesterday morning. I looked into your eyes and watched the real you win out. You stayed with me when you thought you had to go. You just need to do that again.” Slowly, her head turns to me, meeting my gaze. “I’m here. You’re here. And I’m not going to let anyone break us apart. Okay?”
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Her expression softens, and she returns my embrace, burying her head into my shoulder.
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Tried as I might, I couldn’t get Fang to pick up the guitar again that night. We settled for cuddling, eating, and more cuddling, trying to keep our minds off of the last two days. Eventually, we drift off to sleep together.
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The harsh screech of my alarm wakes me yet again. I slap the table a few times, grasping for my phone and shutting it off. I take a look and there’s a new message from… Naser? Oh, fuck.
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‘Are you ready? I’ll be on my way in a few minutes,’ the text reads. Shit, I was supposed to set my alarm earlier. Not that it matters now. I guess I’ll explain it to him when I get there. I shift to get up, but a pair of arms hold me back.
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“Don’t go…” Fang groans. I roll my head over and meet her pleading amber eyes. “I don’t want to be alone if he comes back.” I guess Naser will just have to deal with it. I settle back down and Fang snuggles against my arm. I look back over and write a quick reply.
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‘Sorry. Change of plans. Will talk later.’ Setting my phone to silent, I resign myself to more sleep. Well deserved, if I say so myself.
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A string of on-and-off buzzing rouses me from sleep. I lazily grab my phone, looking at the blank screen. Another buzz, but I don’t feel or see anything. Fang stirs, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her wildly vibrating phone. Grunting, she swipes the accept icon and puts it to her earhole.
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“Hey, Trish,” she yawns into the phone. “What’s up… yeah I kinda just woke up… what… you’ve gotta be fucking kidding me… no, I can take care of it… I know… I just need some time, okay… yeah… alright, bye...” She hangs up and lets out a long groan. “Fuck…”
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“What’s wrong?” I ask.
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“Principal Spears is on my ass. If I don’t get a doctor’s note or show up by Friday, I’ll be truant and get reported to my parents and the school district.” Fucking hell, can a single thing go right this week?
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“What are you thinking?” She sinks into the pillow, racking her brain. With a frustrated sigh, she answers.
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“I go in on Friday. Don’t want to deal with any more bullshit or put more eyes on me, so I go with it and try to keep my claws to myself. Anyone asks, I just… had a bad week.”
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“Alright, guess we’ll have to work with that. That’s a couple days from now though, anything you wanna do in the meantime?” She shrugs, hugging my arm and resting her snout against my shoulder.
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The rest of the day passes as smoothly as it can for the two of us. Fang’s guitar playing helped towards putting us at ease, even if her fingers were raw by the end of it. We go to sleep a bit less rattled than the last time, and the future doesn’t seem that dim. Two days and two weeks, and there was one less thing to worry about. One day at a time, though. Tomorrow, I have some favors to ask.