There are times when Scarlet Greene wishes she didn't live in the suburban side of her city. When she longs for noise, the sound of anything in her neighbourhood, maybe an annoying neighbour's loud speakers, or ten kids playing and shouting nearby. Anything but the defeaning silence that's currently filling the environment of her kitchen when her best friend stops talking, waiting for her reaction after he tells her a little piece of what was apparently the life she led.

She can't believe him. Yet she does believe him. It's Han after all, but that, that woman in his story, she's in no way her.

Lost in thoughts, Scarlet cleans Han's now empty mug, she pours her untouched tea in the sink and washes hers too then makes her way out of the kitchen.

"Hey," Han grabs her elbow. "I didn't mean to ... "

"No," Scarlet smiles at him. "You did nothing wrong, just give me a few minutes okay? I need to ... a moment."

Yeah right.

As she says this, Scarlet realises that she tends to avoid facing situations, pretending like things just don't exist. Like Theo and Victor's conversation. It's hard to wrap her mind around the fact that those two could have lied to her, so maybe it's better to act like that conversation didn't happen and everything is normal. Same thing with Han's story.

Han's brows crease as he nods sympathetically.

"You wanted to see the car," Scarlet says softly but shudders at the knowledge that she's going back to look at that car, the car that nearly ended her daughter.

What if it wasn't an accident? What if someone actually put Celine in there? What ...

"Grayson can help you, you know?" Han interrupts her thoughts as they pad down the hallway and she turns to look at him with furrowed brows.

Since when does he trust Victor? She thinks and as if reading her mind, Han shrugs.

"I know that I don't really like the guy but I believe in science, if he really has that serum, why not?"

Scarlet scowls but then considers it. "I don't know Hansel," she turns back around and opens the back door.

"I know babe," Han says. "It was just a suggestion. Don't feel pressured to do anything okay? It's better for me if you don't know your past anyway."

Scarlet glares at him.

Han laughs. "Whoa! Wait. "Who did this?"

"Did what? If it's the car, I did. If you mean the doors..." One of Scarlet's shoulders tilts up in a small shrug.

"Well fuck."

Han opens the car door to take a closer look inside. No one has been here since the previous Friday. Scarlet herself is almost afraid of the car, as if it could turn around and hurt Celine again. "Come on babe," Han says, noticing her hesitation. "It's over, you can look. Hey you might also want to keep this,"

From the car, Han's hand pulls out
a neon green piece of cloth from the back seat, throwing it back without him having to actually move. The cloth has little black pandas and is folded carelessly. Celine is a panda girl, but the handkerchief doesn't belong to her. Scarlet would know.

"It's not ..."

"Aa...cheeew!" Han sneezes before Scarlet finishes her sentence. He pinches his nose with his thumb and forefinger, his mouth opening like that of a fish. In another world, he'd be looking adorable. Maybe Scarlet would've even laughed at him.

"What's wrong?" Scarlet asks.

Han's turquoise suddenly eyes widen in horror and he says, "N-fuck!" His voice comes out muffled by the fingers but Scarlet understands him all the same. "Chlo-no-nform!"

What?

No!

It's like in one long second, the whole world comes crashing down on Scarlet. "Victor," she declares.

Han's heads whips out of the car. "What?!"

                       ☆☆☆

"W-what do you think you're doing?" Scarlet protests against Han who is currently holding her hostage against his non clothed chest. With her bandage wrapped fists, she tries at pushing him back but his grip is too strong.

"Hugging you, duh!"

"Really?" She glares at him.

Only heaven knows what goes on in the man's head.

"Let me go before I throw this fucking punch at you instead of the punching bag." Scarlet growls and Han's grip on her loosens a bit. Voluntarily.

"Pfft! Like you can even move me."
Scarlet scowls. "Ugh! You're so gross. Your chest is sweaty!" she protests.

"Gross?" Bending down, Han's tongue darts out and he playfully takes a long lick at the back of her neck. "How about that for gross?" He laughs.

"What the fuck?!" Scarlet shrieks appallingly but laughing at the same time. "Eww!" She rubs the back of her neck. "What the fuck Hansel? Get the fuck away from me!" She pushes him again. How's he so strong?

Han's blue eyes stare down in hers for the longest of time before he sighs thoughtfully. "This," he says softly, almost to himself. "I'm going to miss this." He gestures with his free hand between them.

Scarlet rolls her eyes. "Drama queen."

"I'm not kidding," Han's free hand comes back around her. "So forgive me for trying to enjoy it while it lasts, tomorrow ... "

Scarlet's heart immediately skips a beat. She  knows what he means. Yet even after two weeks, her head refuses to grasp the fact that she's the woman in Han's story. She refuses to believe she can refuse to hug him, or smile at him. He might be annoying but he's Han, her Han.
She's not that kind of person. She couldn't be.

But then, if not, why would Han lie to her? Why would anyone hurt her daughter? Why? This is why she decided to call Victor that evening, and he set her up for an appointment in two weeks. Which means tomorrow, tomorrow she'll either prove Han or herself wrong. How even will she handle it all? Will she survive Victor's medicine or serum or whatever? What if it kills her? What if she ends up forgetting even the remaining little bits of memory? What if she forgets Celine?

"You're panicking," Han continues squishing her against his bare chest. "You don't need to babe, if you're scared ... " he trails off again, giving her a supportive smile.

Scarlet closes her eyes and takes a deep shuddering breath. She shakes her head a little. "Can I be alone?" she requests.

Thankfully, Han understands and nods. Even if it's hesitant. "I'll be back in one," he tips her head up, smiles a small sad smile down at her before kissing her forehead and turning to basement door.

"Hansel?" As he turns the doorknob, Scarlet calls after him. Han turns around. "I love you."

Han smiles. "I know."

After a little while Scarlet follows. As she clumbers up the stairs from the basement, she can feel it; the fear, caused by the loneliness in the house. Right now, even the cemetery must feel more homely than this humongous building she calls a home. Half the house is covered in darkness as Scarlet feels no need to turn on the lights when she's all alone. When Celine was discharged from the hospital, Scarlet took her to her mother's so is currently living with Steph. Becca is on leave. She needed to do this ... alone.

She silently pads up the stairs, each step a thought, each step a reason not to do this, yet each step is also a reason to do it. Yet, even if she had a thousand reasons not to, and the only one in favour of her decision was Celine's safety, she'd do it in a heartbeat.

Entering her room, Scarlet strips out of her sports bra, blindly tossing it somewhere on her carpeted floor, followed by her trainers and yoga pants. She reaches for her bathrobe that's resting on the bed and is about to shrug it on but changes her mind. Scarlet moves over and stands in front of her dresser mirror, in all her naked glory.
She doesn't like what she sees staring  back at her. She has never really taken the time to closely look at herself, yet she knew she looked ... okay. She's never been thin as she is right now. Her body has always been something along the lines of meduim sized. Yet not really.

Her hand stretches and her fingertips touch her collarbones. They are more pronounced than ever. It trails down to the gap between her breasts, then down to the side of her stomach; her ribcage. Right there, the long white very faint scar that she has been thinking normal all these months. It runs from the upper part of her ribcage down to the side of her waist. Now she can't help but think that maybe it has a deeper story, maybe it's not just a scar, but something more. It looks like it was a deep wound, or even big. But the scar is thin and very faint. Where did it come from? How? What could she have been doing in the past?

She then meets her eyes, she has always hated them. That's the reason for the blue eye contacts that she's always wearing.

What's the point anymore? She asks herself. Her very own existence is a lie enough. So reaching into her eyes, Scarlet blinks softly before removing the contacts. She blinks again, revealing the one thing she wishes she didn't have.

Hideous.

Her eyes are almost red, a deep brown that boarders on scarlet red. On their ends is a golden rim, shining too bright like a sun. Kids in school used to call her Bella, code for (apparently) "a vampire that sucks" and it made her hate them more.

As if detached from her own self, Scarlet's mind becomes a whirlwind of anything and everything along with unanswered questions while her body moves on its own. Sitting down on the chair beside her vanity, she opens the drawer chest and finds it; a pair of scissors. Delicately, she lets her dark blonde hair out of its messy bun and holds a long portion of it in her hands, staring at it, waiting for a second voice in her head telling her not to do this.

But for once, there comes none.

With a shaky hand, the scissors connect with her hair. And cut. Before she knows it, she cutting continuously, cutting annoyedly, cutting with unshed tears, cutting with pain and frustration. After she's done, Scarlet throws her head onto the hair covered vanity. She screams profanities, wanting to at least cry, but she can't.

What is happening with her life?

The pair of scissors slips from her hands, falling down to the floor but she doesn't care, until it hits her foot instead, somehow slicing the her ankle.

"F-uck!" Scarlet groans in pain.

She frantically gets up to run to the bathroom, her beige coloured carpet won't look as good with a blood stain. Only she doesn't make it, she screams when she sees it.

"Oh my god!" Scarlet shrieks, kicking her leg out as if to make it fall off the rest of her body. "Oh my god!" she screams again. "Oh my god, what the fuck? What is happening?" Scarlet's screams fill the air, she throws herself butt first onto the carpet. Her ankle still shining bright, there's a white light where the scissor inflicted wound should be, like a small flashlight shining from there. Scarlet continues to scream until the door to her room bursts open.

Even Han's going to run away from this.  She thinks but she's too scared to move. This isn't right, this isn't human. What is going on? What is she?

A male figure hastily walks right in. Down from the ground, Scarlet's eyes meet the figure's black converse shoes. She closes her eyes for a moment. Theo

"Scarlet!" Theo's voice thunders against the walls as he crouches down to touch her. Scarlet sits up. She thrashes until her back hits the bed. Her ankle still shining bright.

She's never wished for being crippled more. Anything, anything but this, whatever is happening.

"D-don't c-come any closer!" she screams but Theo just keeps moving, she wonders whether he's heard her. "Please get away from me," Scarlet begs the stubborn man. He keeps moving towards her, though a bit carefully. As if he's more afraid of what she might do, instead of what her leg might do.

What the fuck is wrong with men? Why are they so damn stupid?

"Can't you see?" Scarlet shrieks, trying to get her point across as she points at her extraterrestrial ankle. She doesn't want to hurt him.
God! What would happen if she did? What if ... 

"I'm burning," Scarlet croaks. "I could be dangerous Theo, please listen to me, I'm a fucking monster!"

"Monster?" Theo narrows his eyes at her as he takes a few swift steps back. Scarlet exhales in relief, thinking she's finally gotten through to him. "That was real mature," Theo comments.

A small exhausted smile touches her lips.  "Actually" Scarlet says. "Alien should be more appropriate." Her voice trembling with fear. Fear of her own self.

"No Scarlet," Theo replies gently, turning back around.

Great!

After clicking the door shut, He puts his palms up, showing her that he means no harm before reaching out with his hand. "Please let me help you." He steps in front of her. "You're not a monster Scarlet, or an Alien. Far from it." He takes her hands in his. "And you can't hurt me." He assures her.
Scarlet's eyes slide tightly shut and when they open again, Theo is sitting cross legged right in front of her.

And this ladies, is how fools die. She thinks before laughing softly.

Theo breathes a relieved sigh. "Your eyes are very beautiful, you know,"

She rolls them. From the corners of her sight, Scarlet can see the light slowly burning out.

"Besides," Theo smirks. "What are you gonna do?" He raises a thick brown eyebrow. "Throw your glittery leg at me?"

------------------------------------------------------

The light is finally here. Yay!

This last part was not really meant to exist but... *shrugs*
I had just come up with it because I needed a blurb urgently. Lmao.

Anyways, did you like it? Because for some unknown reason, I feel so proud of this chapter.

Oh and what/who do you think Scarlet was before she lost part of her memory?

Xxx