"Blatharwan clordy mosend," Cupcake mumbled in her sleep.

"OH MY GOD!" Willia shrieked.

"What's she dreaming about?" I asked.

"ERASE THIS FROM MY HEAD, PLEASE!" She went on with the yelling clutching her temples with her hands.

Ever read a book with way too many unanswered questions sitting with a friend who has read it seventeen times? That's what it felt like to be friends with Willia.

"Willia, you're gonna wake them up!" Reyna whisper-shouted, furrowing her brows to show that she was not joking.

"I'll try," Willia sighed.

We were in the van. Adam was driving, Jax and Cleo were in the front seat beside him. Willia, Yara, Brittney, Nick, Reyna, Cupcake and I were back. There were two seats made for four people on either side of the van, facing each other. Cupcake was in my lap, while Reyna was in an asleep Nick's right in front of me. Yara and Brittney were sitting beside me, and Willia sat beside Nick. Our bags occupied the rest of the seats.

Cupcake had fallen asleep in my lap. Currently, her head was resting on my shoulder, her hand clutching my shirt, and her legs dangling on the side, kicking Yara in the calf occasionally, and my arms were wrapped around her, one on her waist and the other on her thigh.

Was my heart on overdrive? Yes, absolutely yes.

My Cupcake looked like an angel when she slept. Her mouth formed a little "o", and she kept mumbling things and clutching me tighter, making my heart go haywire, more than it already was.

"You look so creepy and cute at the same time," Yara chuckled.

"Me?" I asked.

"Staring at her with that smile stuck to your face. I ship you two so hard,"

"Why do you all like to do that?"

"They're fanatics," Adam commented, earning a slap on the back of his head from Yara.

"Ow! Hey, don't hit the driver!"

"I won't let my ship crash, don't worry, Mr Driver," She winked and grinned at Adam from the rear mirror.

"You're so weird," He shook his head and chuckled.

"So I've heard," She shrugged.

"Please wake her up," Willia's plead broke them out of their banter.

"What is she seeing that's so distressing to you?!" I asked.

"You already know, apparently,"

"What?"

"Oh, you don't know the reason. But you've seen what I'm seeing right now,"

See? She will never tell you straight away.

"What the hell are you talking about, woman?!"

Before she could say anything further, Cupcake sat up in my lap with a start.

"You alright?" I smiled at her clueless face.

"Yeah, I'm good. I'm good." She said before snapping her head towards Willia.

And then they were in a staring contest.

"Lemme guess, you're conversing in your heads; again," I sighed.

"Hey! Con call!" Reyna said, and Willia looked at Argenta, asking for permission.

When my Cupcake nodded, Reyna grinned happily but frowned the very next second.

"Woah!" She said.

"This is so not fair!" I groaned.

"You were the first one to see it, so you better shut up," Willia said.

"I don't even know what you're talking about," I replied.

A few seconds later, Cupcake closed her eyes and nodded.

"Guys, I have to tell you something," She said.

I kicked Nick's legs so he wouldn't miss anything.

"NO, MOM! I'LL BE GOOD, PLEASE DON'T TAKE MY COOKIES AWAY!" He yelled, waking up.

Idiot

I facepalmed and held back a smile while his cheeks went red.

"And he wakes up with a sugar rush," Reyna chuckled.

"As I was saying," Cupcake chuckled too, "I have to tell y'all something."

"So, do you want to do this here, or should we make a stop somewhere?" Adam asked.

"Stop somewhere secluded,"

After a few minutes of deadly silence in the car, Adam stopped the van in an open field.

As soon as the van stopped, Cupcake clutched my hand in nervousness.

"It'll be alright," I whispered in her ear as everyone got out, and she nodded.

Once we were all seated on the grassy field, Cupcake cleared her throat.

"Sooo," she trailed off.

"Oh dear god, please don't do this. The suspense is killing me," Cleo whined.

"Shut up," I smacked him upside the head.

"Ok, so," Cupcake exhaled, "I have an alter ego."

Silence

"Guys?"

Silence

"WHAHATHDAWERINTHEHOWDICOULHAPP-" Our voices jumbled together.

"One by one, please?" Cupcake said.

"They're just giving useless reactions. Go on," Willia said.

"Okii. My dad works in a lab, and when I was younger, I used to accompany him there sometimes. One day, I went there to surprise him. He hadn't come home for a few days, and I decided that I'd go there and play with him. At that time, he and his team were working on some tonic that could enhance human performance. It was supposed to increase and decrease specified hormones and enzymes in the body to serve different purposes. They had prepared the first prototype and were going to test it that day. I was excited, just like everyone else there. But, unlike them, I wanted to get a closer look at that rat. So I ran up to the testing equipment until I was only a few metres away from it. The system malfunctioned.

Before the needle could touch the rat, a worker tried to turn the machine off, but it was just my luck that he tripped, and the machine fell on me. And I got injected with the serum." She closed her eyes and sighed.

"I immediately blacked out. The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital. Everything seemed alright with me, so the doctors sent me home. A few years later, I had gone to ride my bike in the park. On my way there, I saw two tall, buffy, and scary men trying to grab my friend, Mindy, and take her into their vehicle. She was struggling in their grip. So, I called my dad and ran over to her to help. I wasn't strong at the time, so when one of those guys started hitting me, I couldn't fight back. The last thing I remembered was being kicked in my abdomen.

I woke up a few hours later in my room. Dad was on the chair beside my bed, waiting for me to wake up. My head was pounding, and all of my muscles ached like I had a lactic surge in my body,"

I sat there and watched her as her voice broke and a single tear ran down her pink cheek.

"I asked my dad about everything," She continued, "he said that the two men were severely injured. He explained what happened to me and told me he'd find a cure for this." She paused for a second and looked at the sky as if trying to stop her tears before continuing.

"I had sent them to the hospital. A thirteen-year-old beat up two people in their thirties, bad enough for their condition to be critical. That was the day I became afraid of her. I decided that I would never let her win over me. But, whenever I am angry or scared beyond wits or in immense pain, she comes out. She's evil and dangerous and would hurt anyone and everyone. She doesn't know friends or family. She's just made of hatred." Her voice was laced with poison and fear as she spoke the last words.

There was silence for a few seconds after she finished. 

So that's why she was so evil when we were in the simulation!

It must've been hard to live like that. With the constant fear of hurting the people you love the most, of losing yourself. Remaining calm even when you're angry so that your alter ego doesn't come out. To suppress all your negative emotions. Damn, Cupcake, I used to think you were strong before.

"Have you ever been able to stop her?" Adam asked, breaking the prevailing silence.

Almost instantly, Cupcake's eyes snapped to me.

"No, I haven't," she said, never breaking eye contact with me, "but he did," she nodded in my direction, and eight pairs of eyes started staring at me.

"I don't know how I did it," I shrugged, remembering the time when I had screamed out her name when she was about to kill that woman with the wrench.

"Did you give her a name?" Cleo broke the silence.

"Tarnisha,"

"Because she's the tarnish to your silver," I commented, and she nodded, her eyes never leaving mine.

"So, did your father find a way to cure it?" Jax asked.

"It can't be cured," Willia answered, before pausing for a second, "I hate my power sometimes!"

"So, you have to live with her for the rest of your life?" Brittney exclaimed dimly, with her eyebrows raised.

Cupcake slightly nodded with her head bent down.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Nick asked her.

"I wasn't ready," Cupcake answered, and we all nodded.

"Also, trust issuuuuues," Reyna sang from beside my Cupcake, causing her to chuckle.

"Also, trust issues," Cupcake agreed with a smile on her face and her eyes focussed on her fidgeting hands.

"Hey, don't worry," I said as I grabbed her hands in mine, "we love you, even though you are an evil sadist who kills for pleasure on the inside,"

I saw her beautiful smile widen as she chuckled and looked up to meet my eyes.

For a moment, the sound of the others' laughter became background noise for me and gravity vapourised out of existence. The only thing holding me to the ground was her. My cute little sadist.

"She can change," Willia's voice pulled me out of the trance.

"What?" Cupcake looked at her.

"She can change. You can make her less evil."

"How?"

"Now that is something I can not tell,"

"Ugh, I hate your rules," Cupcake tilted her head back as if screaming at the sky.

"I hate them too, but they're necessary,"

"they're necessary," Nick imitated her, earning a playful slap from Brittney on his arm.

"Come on, now. We have to get home," Cupcake said as she got up and dusted off her pants.

"Hey, we'll figure it out, Cupcake," I shouted to her retreating footsteps as she walked towards the van.

My words made her feet freeze, and she looked at the ground.

"I hope so, pretty face," Her feeble voice reached our ears.

A/N:

Hey, lovely people!!! I'm back!

First things first, we have crossed 1K views! A huge thank you to each and every one of you who is reading this book <3<3

Thank you sooo much for your support and love. It means the world to me<3<3

Y'all are da besttt.

Also, tell me what what you think of tarnisha.

See ya next Friday!