Intro
Hi there! I'm Ash, and this is where I'm going to be posting some pieces of writing that either need to be in the forums, or that would be too hard to post in a project (read, that I'm too lazy to put in a project xD)
I hope this is the right use of the forums, I couldn't figure out if these kinds of threads are allowed or not- so, here's hoping?
I'm totally going to keep up with this and not forget/abandon it. totally. I have gotten used to the forums from SWC though, so I should-
Anyway, enough rambling, here's the writing:

Table of Contents

Betelgeuse Marcher Plot, The https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/post/6104370/
Crow Diorite, Immortal https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/post/6429239/
Josebeth Christmas, A https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/post/6447433/

The Betelgeuse Marcher Plot
Note, this story can also be found here if you'd rather read it in project format.

Chapter One
  “This is all your fault!” Nadie announces. “I don't know why I trusted you to help in the first place.”
  I'm caught off guard for a second, which frankly is unlike me. But this, too, is unlike Nadie. From what I know of her, at least, she's always been sweet and the last to point fingers. But, stress does weird things to people. And this is a stressful situation if I ever knew one.
  Not, that I'm, you know, stressed. I mean it's stressing for her. Not me.
  Totally not.
  “How is it my fault? Everything was fine until you showed up, trying to get help for a planet no one even thought there was life on,” I snap.
  “I come from Earth, not Neptune.” She rolls her eyes.
  “FYI everyone knows there's life on Neptune.”
  “Omg.”
  “What?”
  “We're trapped in a /literal alien spaceship/ and you want to correct me on slightly outdated facts? Really?”
  And there it is.
  The truth I've been trying so hard to ignore.
  Trying so hard to pretend we were in our own ship, or maybe that this was all a VA game. But it's not. It's real. It's real, and I don't know how we're going to get out of this mess.
  “You're the one who's always obsessing over facts. Just thought I'd help.” I know I'm being too harsh on Nadie, but I can't help it. Nothing is working the way it's supposed to, and in a weird way I can't help but blame her.
  Which is unfair. It's not her fault, no more than it is mine.
  Actually, no, it probably is mine.
  But who's pointing fingers?
  “Look,” Nadie says. “I know you and I can make a good team when we want to. So we can either keep bickering, or we can get our act together and find a way out of here.”
  “As tempting as it is to keep arguing with you until we rot in here…” I say, only half joking. “You're not wrong. Truce?” I hold out my hand.
  Her two different colored eyes meet mine, and though my vision is blurred (more on that later) I can see the determination set there.
  “Truce.” She says, shaking my hand. "Now… how are we gonna do this?

Chapter Two
  The how, evidently, was going to be our problem. Nadie and I had been sitting there for… what was it? 5 minutes? An hour? It's kind of hard to tell without windows. Though I mean, even if we had windows all we'd be able to see would be the blackness of space.
  Sometimes I envy people who have actual days. But that's beside the point.
  “Look around,” Nadie says for what feels like the hundredth time. “Is there anything we can use to get out?”
  My patience finally runs out. “I am looking! I've been looking this whole time! There's nothing here, and even if there was I couldn't see it because they took my gosh darn contacts!”
  I catch a fuzzy glimpse of my reflection in the overly polished metallic floor as I say that. My hair is still as neon as ever, if disheveled. My eyes, however, are the pale blue they are naturally instead of the vivid teal/purple gradient I'd grown used to. I miss my contacts.
  In case you're wondering why the heck the aliens took them, they're not /just/ contacts. Well, they are, but probably not like you're used to. With them, I could zoom my sight in or out at will, get the stats on anyone or anything I looked at, and see things in ultra violet. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. It'd be hard to be without them, even if my eyesight didn't stink as much as it does.
I take a breath. “I’m sorry. I’m just… I’m really frazzled right now.” Frazzled doesn’t begin to describe it, but it’s as much as I’m willing to admit.
“You? Frazzled? Never. The great Zip Charter never gets frazzled, because she can get out of anything.” Nadie smiles.
I smile back, finding the rare compliment oddly comforting. “Only if she has the almost-as-great-but-mostly-just-obnoxious Nadie June at her side.”
“She does.”
“So let’s blow this pop stand already!”
“Consider the pop stand blown.”

Chapter Three
Don’t you love when you and the most annoying person in your life decide to cooperate and get all pep talk-y -again- and you /still/ can’t find a way out of the gosh darn alien holding room?
Yeah, me either.
Yet guess what situation I’m in right now?
“Maybe it would help if we think about /why/ the aliens captured us,” Nadie says.
“Because they’re evil,” I say. “Duh.”
“No.”
“They’re not?” I raise an eyebrow.
“No. Well, they probably are. But there’s more going on here. Think about it,” she’s speaking in that straight forward way of hers, the one I’ve come to realize she uses to disassociate herself from the facts. She needs to learn to face reality, in my opinion, but at least it keeps her calm.
“They know we’re trying to save Earth,” Nadie continues. “And I have a feeling they don’t want us to do that. What clan did you say this was?”
“The Betelgeuse Marchers.”
“Their star is on the verge of going supernova, is it not?”
“Yeah. It’s been all over the news. But what does that have to do with anything?”
She sighs, impatient that I’m not getting there as fast as she did. “It means the clan will have to move locations, unless they want to be fried to a crisp. From what I’ve heard, there’s not many stars available these days, right?”
“Yeah. There was a new law put in to effect to preserve nebulas, which is keeping realtors from snatching up new stars. I still don’t see where this is going though.”
“If life on Earth causes its own end, well…”
“…There’s free real estate,” I finish, realization finally dawning on me.
Our eyes meet, and I imagine there’s matching looks of horror on our faces. If we don’t get out of here…
Earth is doomed.

Chapter Four
“Now that we’ve had that oh-so-comforting realization,” Nadie says. “We /really/ need to get out of here. What if they help the destruction along? What if we’re too late? Zip, what if we can’t do this?” Her voice has that slight quiver to it, like she’s trying to keep it from shaking.
“We can,” I say. “And if we can’t, maybe someone else will.”
“Someone else? Who? We’re the only ones who know. Most people think Earthlings are a myth! Even you did! My parents are there, Zip. My friends. Everyone and everything I’ve ever known. My whole life is on that planet. And if we can’t save it…” Her voice, always on the higher end, is now full on shrill.
Woah. Okay. Little miss sunshine /isn’t/ always positive. In other circumstances, I might have been smug, but not now. Not with Nadie sitting there with her arms wrapped around herself, gasping.
I need to say something comforting. What’s comforting? I don’t do comforting!
Nadie’s breathing is now quick and sharp, and she’s started mumbling to herself.
“What was that?”
“I’m telling… telling myself not… to pass out,” she answers, breathless.
Is it really that bad?
Yeah, I answer myself. Yeah, it’s that bad.
I sit next to her. I take her hand, which is clammy. “It’s gonna be okay, Nadie. We’re going to do this. Just take deep breaths, there you go.”
I keep going on, trying my best to be comforting. Eventually, her breathing starts slowly steadying.
We’re silent for awhile, before she finally says something, he voice still shaky. “Do you really think we can do it, Zip?”
No. No I do not.
“Yes. Of course we can.”
She nods. “I trust you.”
Wait what-
I thought she said this was all my fault? I thought she said she shouldn’t have trusted me in the first place? I thought…
“We should try to sleep,” she decides, interrupting my thoughts. “Things always look better in the morning.”
And then, before I can really say anything else, she’s already asleep. I, however, remain awake for awhile longer, her words repaying in my head.
/I trust you./

Chapter Five
Haha. Gotcha. That whole thing was a dream. Nadie doesn’t exist. She never came to get help for her dying planet. We never got captured. And I’m currently getting ready to head to my next class at Orion University.
You didn’t seriously fall for that?
Of course it’s real! Jeez.
Real, and finally going my way. Minus the fact that Nadie is screaming in my ear.
“Chill it!” I shout over my shoulder.
“But you’re driving too fast! Do you even have your permit?”
I scoff. “Says the one who’s never driven a manual space vehicle. Yes, I have my permit.”
Yeah, sorry, I should probably back it up a bit.
It’s honestly pretty much a blur at this point, so I’m not even going to try to describe how we managed it. But we, being the awesome people we are, managed to escape from the Betelgeuse Marchers’ ship.
There was a chase sequence.
It was epic.
We’re currently racing through space on a Star Treader 800 we stole from the aliens. I’ve got my contacts back, and my headset, though that’s broken. We’re free, and we’re going to save Earth. What could be better?
“I take it back!” Nadie shouts. “Put that pedal to the metal! They’re gaining on us!”
Oh yeah. I kinda forgot to mention. When you escape from and alien ship and steal their star scooter?
They’re probably going to chase you.
So, having them /not/ be on our tail?
That. That’s what could be better.
“It’s time for those aliens to eat. My. Stardust. I’m about to put the ‘Zip’ in ‘zipping away’.” I scan the dash, looking for the bright red button that I know all the newer Star Treader models have. Annnd there. The fabled Lightyear Blast button. Rumor had it that it could take you up to a lightyear away in under 5 minutes. I’d always wanted to try it, but hadn’t been able to afford a new star scooter.
Now it’s time to live a little. I hit the button.
Oh.
My.
Galaxies.
This. Is. Wicked.
I let out a whoop of delight, but never hear it. We broke the sound barrier, oh jeez-
Nadie’s arms tighten around my waist, and I have a feeling she’s not loving this nearly as much as I am.
We race through the stars, leaving the Betelgeuse Marchers long behind.
Eventually, the scooter peters to a stop. Shame. I could have done that forever.
“That. Was. Terrifying,” Nadie announces.
“Are you kidding? That was freaking awesome!” I turn around to face her. Her eyes are wide and one of her braids is coming undone. “Woah. Your hair is a mess.”
“Yours isn’t any better!”
“At least I’m not a chicken!”
“Better than being reckless!”
“Hey, I’m the one who got us out of there.”
“You’re lucky we didn’t die in the process!”
“Nothing was going to happen.”
“It could have.”
“You worry too much.”
“One of us has to.”
“That’s boring.”
“But safer.”
“You need to live a little.”
“What does that even- never mind. This is ridiculous!” Nadie throws her hands up. “Why do we always do this?”
I shrug. “Honestly, I don’t know.”
“Anyway… now what do we do?”
“Now we save your home.”
“How?”
“We’ll figure that out later. Ready to save Earth…bestie?” I throw the last word in on impulse, trying it out. When, I wonder, did this annoying girl become my best friend? I watch her, and if I’m being honest I’m afraid she’ll deny it. But she doesn’t.
Her eyes light up and she hugs me. “I’m ready!”
“Woah, woah.” I squirm out her hug. “Not a hugger.”
“Yeah, you’re gonna have to be.” She grins.
“Not happening.” I grin back.
Somehow, some way, we’re going to be the unlikely duo that saves Earth.
At least, you better hope we are.

A Josebeth Christmas
This is a story about my OCs, Josephina and Annabeth. I’m afraid it randomly changes POVs occasionally, bare with me xD Jo was originally for Harry Potter roleplays, and Annabeth, Kotlc, so I guess you could call this a crossover of sorts, though not really. (Note, there are no spoilers for either fandom) If you’d like a better idea of Annabeth’s story, feel free to check this out.
Word Count: 2,614

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

“I really don’t want to go to this party,” Jo admitted, looking over at Annabeth, who was sitting on the air mattress they’d set up, flipping through one of Jo’s books.
“Then don’t.” Annabeth shrugged, as if it were simple.
It wasn’t.
The party in question was a Christmas party being hosted by Cassandra Grant, who lived a few houses down. She hosted one every year, and while they were never extravagant, they were always unique and fun. Jo had been to every one before this, and had always greatly looked forward to them.
Until now.
“It’s not that simple,” Jo said, sighing. “Have you been oblivious to the conversation lately?”
“Kinda. Not really any of my business, is it?”
“Since when does that stop you?” Jo shook her head. “Whatever. My mom is making me go. She says this is my chance to fix things with Cass.”
Annabeth looked up. “Do you want to fix things with Cass?”
“I…” She wanted to say yes. That was the right thing to say, wasn’t it? But the thing was, she didn’t know. Did she really want to be friends with someone like Cass anymore? Could it ever be a healthy relationship again?
“Tell me again, what exactly did this Cassandra girl do to you?” Annabeth asked, resuming flipping through the book.
“You want the full version or the abridged?”
“Whatever. I’ve got nothing but time these days.”
“She was my best friend before I went to Hogwarts. Like, my best friend. It seemed like a miracle when we both got Hogwarts letters. We made all these plans, we were so excited…
“Before we knew it, we were at Hogwarts. She got sorted into Hufflepuff. And I… got put in Slytherin.”
Jo turned to the window, reliving the memory. For a minute, she just set there, watching the light dance on the curtains, before she finally continued.
“I guess she believed what we’d been told about Slytherins. …Because she didn’t want anything to do with me after that.”
There was silence for a minute, before Annabeth eventually voiced her opinion. “She sounds like a jerk.”
“I guess, yeah.”
“She does. Just, to treat y- I mean, to treat someone like that, just because they’re in Slytherin?” There was an unreadable look on Annabeth’s face, as if she’d started to say something else then thought better of it.
“Rich coming from the girl who’s making jabs at me 24/7,” Jo said, though she was smiling slightly.
“That’s different, I’m your mortal rival. It’s my job.” Annabeth grinned.
“Oh, you-“ Jo picked her pillow up and threw it at her.
“Hey! What was that for?”
“Nothing. But you’re my mortal rival, so.”
“I see how it is.” Annabeth threw the pillow back.
That, of course, prompted a full on pillow fight. It lasted awhile, both girls laughing and shrieking when they got hit. Eventually, they fell back on their beds, their laughter petering out as they tried to catch their breath.
Jo glanced over at Annabeth, her hair coming loose from her braid. “Why did I tell you all that?”
“Don’t know. Generally speaking, it’s not the best idea to trust your nemesis with these things.”
“You wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“You know I wouldn’t.”
For mortal rivals, they were being awfully friendly.
•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

“So… I guess I'm going to that party later today whether I like it or not,” Jo said with a sigh.
“Yup. Meanwhile, I'll be here, doing nothing,” Annabeth said.
“Yeah. I mean… unless you want to come with?”
“You want me. To go to a Christmas party. With you? Annabeth asked, evidently not sure if she'd heard that correctly.
”Not like that.“ Jo made a face. ”I just mean, otherwise you have nothing to do, and I'll have no one to talk to. It'd make the night slightly more tolerable if you were there.“
”Oh, you can tolerate me more so than your ex best friend?“ Annabeth raised an eyebrow. ”This is serious.“
”So, will you come, or not?“ Jo asked. ”Because if you're going to be annoying about it, you can stay here.“
”Oh, I'll come, Renny. I'll come.“
•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

”Problem,“ Annabeth said later that day while they were starting to get ready. ”I don't know that I have anything to wear. How fancy is this party, anyway?“
”Not super super fancy but not casual either. I might have something,“ Jo answered and started rooting through her closest, finally pulling out a dress and handing it to Annabeth. ”Try this.“
”Where did you get this?“ Annabeth asked, looking down at the dress. It was a shimmery silver blue and she thought it looked like liquid moonlight.
”I, uh… got it for something at Hogwarts. Wear it or don't, I don't care,“ Jo said, trying to act indifferent.
”No, I'll wear it, I… thanks.“
“Don’t mention it,” Jo said. “Like, seriously, don’t mention it. I don’t need the reminder that I was being generous towards you of all people.”
Annabeth just rolled her eyes. “Way to ruin a kind act, Renny. But whatever, I won’t mention it.”
“Good,” Jo said, and went back to rummaging around in her closest, trying to find something for herself.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

”Are you done in there yet, O'Sand?“ Jo asked, directing it towards the bathroom door. ”I need the mirror, I'm not sure I got my braid right.“
”Almost, be patient for once, would you?“ Annabeth called back, coming out a minute later.
Jo's jaw could have hit the floor.
The dress fit Annabeth perfectly and the color made her eyes seem even bluer. She'd paired it with some knee high boots, which Jo wouldn't have thought to do, but she pulled it off. Her usually loose auburn hair was pulled into a bun at the base of her neck with a sparkling clip. And she-
”Why are you just staring at me like that? I thought you oh so desperately needed the mirror?“ She demanded.
”I- No reason. And yeah. I do. One sec, then we'll leave." Jo rushed into the bathroom, not wanting Annabeth to notice the slight flush that had blossomed on her cheeks.
•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Jo came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, and Annabeth had pretty much the same reaction that Jo had had for her. Just… Jo looked really pretty dressed up like that. Not that Annabeth cared, obviously, since she completely hated her, but, you know, she could acknowledge it.
Jo was wearing a deep green long sleeved, velvety dress with a black ribbon going around her waist. She’d paired it with black leggings and a silver chain necklace. Her hair was braided, like it normally was, but she’d done it more elaborately and weaved silver ribbons throughout it. It looked really nice.
But Annabeth did. Not. Care.
“Why are you just standing there staring at me?” Jo demanded, much in the way Annabeth had. Neither of them made the connection, however.
“I’m not staring at you,” Annabeth denied. “You’re just in front of me.”
“Yeah, yeah, right.”
“Anyway,” Annabeth said, looking Jo’s outfit over again. “Did you realize you’re dressed in the Slytherin colors?”
Jo looked down and fiddled with her necklace. “I did, yeah. Why, does it look bad?”
“No!” Annabeth blurted out. “I- I mean, it doesn’t look bad, no. It just seemed kind, I don’t know, bold, to wear your house colors when we’re going to the house of the person who ditched you because of it.”
“I know,” Jo said. “That was kind of the point, actually. She wanted nothing to do with me because I’m in Slytherin? She ghosted me? Well guess what. I’m still proud. She can’t take that away from me. And she’s about to learn that.”
Jo had a confidence radiating off of her that Annabeth hadn’t seen the entire time they’d discussed going to Cass’s party. It was nice, in a way, seeing that flame lighting back up in her eyes.
“That’s the spirit,” she said, feeling the need to encourage this even though she wasn’t supposed to support Jo. “You ready to head out?”
“I am.” Jo nodded. “Let’s do this.”
And with that, both girls left the house.
•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

“So,” Annabeth said when they got to Cass’s house. “This is the home of the infamous Cassandra.”
It wasn’t anything overly special, but it was a nice house, all in all. It was two stories and painted in a pale blue that had faded slightly from the sun. It was pretty obvious just from the outside of the house that the Grants were more than willing to go above and beyond when it came to decorating.
There were string lights hanging… well, basically anywhere that it was possible to hang string lights. Light up, plastic icicles hung from the porch overhang. Fake candy canes lined the sidewalk, there was an animatronic Santa figure sitting in a sleigh pulled by multiple reindeer, and someone had taken the time to write “Welcome to Cassandra’s Christmas party!” In the snow in elaborate cursive. Finally, Christmas tunes were playing from an unseen speaker.
It was quite the sight.
“Dang…” Annabeth muttered, looking the place over. All the stuff was honestly a bit overwhelming. “These people really go all out when it comes to party decor, don’t they?”
“Heh, yeah,” Jo agreed. “You should see the place during Halloween. Last year they had, like, all these grave stones with funny sayings, a moving Frankenstein, the works.”
“Cool… but um, what’s Frankenstein? And come to think of it, what’s Halloween?”
Jo blinked. “You don’t know?”
“Um, no? Should I?”
Jo sighed and rolled her eyes. “Elves.”
“What? I can’t help it we don’t have stuff like this in the Lost Cities!”
“Yeah, yeah, but still.”
It was Annabeth’s turn to roll her eyes. “Really, though, what Halloween? I hate to admit it, but I’m kind of curious.”
“It’s a human holiday where people like… dress up, and trick or treat to get candy, and it’s all spooky. You know, stuff like that.”
“Right… and what’s the point?”
“It’s… fun?”
“If it’s anything like this-“ Annabeth gestured to the Grant’s overdone house. “Then it sounds like too much work.”
“Most people don’t go this crazy,” Jo explained. “Or, when they do, it at least doesn’t feel so overwhelming. The Grants are just… they’re the Grants.”
“Gotcha.” Annabeth nodded. “Anyway… are we going in, or are we just going to stand out her freezing?”
“We’re going in. Come on.” Jo started walking up the sides, gesturing for Annabeth to follow her.
They walked up the front steps and got to the door and Jo pressed the doorbell, carful not to disturb the huge wreath that was hanging from the door. The doorbell chimed loudly, and Annabeth just managed to control the urge to cover her ears. The door swung open.
“Please don’t be Cass,” Jo thought. “Whoever opens the door, please don’t be Cass. Let me get through the night without having to talk to her.”
But alas, her luck was such that, of course, it was Cass that answered the door. She was wearing a red, faux fur trimmed dress and had her dirty blonde hair pulled back by a sparkling clip.
“Josephina.”
“Cassandra.”
“Can’t say I was expecting to see you here.”
“Can’t say I was expecting to come.”
“And yet here you are.”
“Here I am.” Jo nodded.
Annabeth looked between the two, clearly sensing the tension. Jo would have been surprised if she couldn’t, because it was so thick she would have sworn it could be cut by a knife. She should have been used to it, because there was always tension between her and Annabeth, but somehow this was different. Worse.
That’s when Cass decided to pay attention to Annabeth, looking her up and down. “And who’s this?”
“That’s Annabeth.”
“She doesn’t go to Hogwarts, does she?”
“No, I don’t,” Annabeth started. “I’m a-“
Jo elbowed her, cutting her off. “She goes to a foreign school.”
Annabeth shot her a look, mouthing “Why?” Jo just shook her head. Cass didn’t need to know she was an elf, not yet at least.
“I see,” was all Cass chose to say. “Well, come in.”
So then, the girls wordlessly entered the Grant’s house.
•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

A bit latter, Annabeth pushed the door shut, glaring at it. She couldn’t believe what Cass had just said. It was clearly a jab against both Slytherins and foreign wizards. Or, more specifically, a jab against her and Jo. Well, not that she was actually a foreign witch, but Cass, according to Jo, didn’t need to know that.
“The nerve of that little-“
“She’s just Cass being Cass.”
“But she-“
“I don’t care.”
“But-“
“I said I don’t care.”
“But I do,” Annabeth wanted to argue. Wait, what? No she didn’t. She didn’t care about Renny at all, what was she thinking? Still, though, she pulled Jo away from the door, onto an out of the way corner of the porch. She just wanted some space, they both needed it. There were way too many people in that house.
Unbeknownst to Annabeth, however, was the fact the out of the way corners of porches are the perfect place to hang some mistletoe…

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

“That’s mistletoe, isn’t it?” Annabeth asked suddenly, looking up, un unreadable expression on her face. Jo looked up as well to see what was, without a doubt, mistletoe hanging above them.
Oh shoot. Oh shoot shoot shoot.
She should jump away. She wasn’t jumping away.
Why wasn’t she jumping away?
Instead, she just stood there, staring at Annabeth as a few loose snowflakes blew onto the porch, almost making the moment feel unreal. It may have been freezing outside, but Annabeth’s breath was still warm on Jo’s cheek. Oh man, was she close…
Too close.
They were rivals. They hated each other.
Annabeth’s hair really did look nice fixed like that. A lock had broken free from her bun, and Jo just stopped herself from reaching up to brush it behind her ear.
They were rivals.
How had she never noticed the little gold flecks in Annabeth’s eyes? And from here, she could probably count every lash.
They were rivals.
Jo leaned in closer.
They were rivals.
They. Were. Rivals.
They were… kissing??
It was a moment before Jo pulled away, blinking. Annabeth was staring at her, her face flushing from more than just the cold. Her expression was rapidly rotating between shocked, confusion and… was she thrilled?
“Did… did we just…?”
“…I… I think we did.”
The two just stared at each other. Jo finally brushed the loose stand of hair behind Annabeth’s ear.
“I didn’t think I’d ever see the day you’d kiss your biggest rival,” Annabeth said, breaking the silence at last.
“Me either,” Jo admitted. “But I’m about to do it again.”
She leaned back towards Annabeth, both of their eyes closing. And then…
“What are you doing?”
Jo’s eyes popped open and both girls jumped away from each other. Her heart pounded as she scrambled to get away from Annabeth, turning to see who’d come onto the porch.
Cassandra.
“I, uh, hello Cass,” Jo said, hoping she could blame her flaming cheeks on the cold.
Cass just looked between Jo and Annabeth, the mistletoe hanging between them, and finally back at Jo.
“Were you… were you two kissing?” She lowered her voice on the last word, obviously shocked.
“I, um…”
If Jo’s cheeks weren’t on fire before, they definitely were now. But that was nothing next to Annabeth, who’s entire face was even brighter than her hair. They looked at each other, neither knowing what to say.
“You were!” Cass clapped a hand to her mouth. “Oh my God.”

To be continued…

OH MY G O D S ASH T H I S

The Betelgeuse March Plot (Slightly Shorter Version)

Word Count: 2,000
I trimmed this version slightly, in order to enter it in the SWC writing competition

  “This is all your fault!” Nadie announces. “I don't know why I trusted you to help in the first place.”
  I'm caught off guard for a second, which is unlike me. But this, too, is unlike Nadie. From what I know of her, at least, she's always been sweet and the last to point fingers. But, stress does weird things to people. And this is a stressful situation if I ever knew one.
  Not, that I'm, you know, stressed. I mean it's stressing for her. Not me.
  Totally not.
  “How is it my fault? Everything was fine until you showed up, trying to get help for a planet no one even thought there was life on,” I snap.
  “I come from Earth, not Neptune.” She rolls her eyes.
  “FYI everyone knows there's life on Neptune.”
  “Omg.”
  “What?”
  “We're trapped in a /literal alien spaceship/ and you want to correct me on slightly outdated facts? Really?”
  And there it is.
  The truth I've been trying so hard to ignore.
  Trying so hard to pretend we were in our own ship, or maybe that this was all a VA game. But it's not. It's real. It's real, and I don't know how we're going to get out of this mess.
  “You're the one who's always obsessing over facts. Just thought I'd help.” I know I'm being too harsh on Nadie, but I can't help it. Nothing is working the way it's supposed to, and in a weird way I can't help but blame her.
  Which is unfair. It's not her fault, no more than it is mine.
  Actually, no, it probably is mine.
  But who's pointing fingers?
  “Look,” Nadie says. “I know we can make a good team when we want to. So we can either keep bickering, or we can get our act together and find a way out of here.”
  “As tempting as it is to keep arguing with you until we rot in here…” I say, only half joking. “You're not wrong. Truce?” I hold out my hand.
  Her two different colored eyes meet mine, and though my vision is blurred (more on that later) I can see the determination set there.
  “Truce.” She shakes my hand. “Now… how are we gonna do this?

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

  The how, evidently, was going to be our problem. Nadie and I had been sitting there for… what was it? 5 minutes? An hour? It's hard to tell without windows. Though even if we had windows all we'd be able to see would be the blackness of space.
  Sometimes I envy people who have actual days. But that's beside the point.
  ”Look around,“ Nadie says for what feels like the hundredth time. ”Is there anything we can use to get out?“
  My patience finally runs out. ”I am looking! I've been looking this whole time! There's nothing here, and even if there was I couldn't see it because they took my gosh darn contacts!"
  I catch a fuzzy glimpse of my reflection in the overly polished metallic floor as I say that. My hair is still as neon as ever, if disheveled. My eyes, however, are the pale blue they are naturally instead of the vivid teal/purple gradient I'd grown used to. I miss my contacts.
  In case you're wondering why the heck the aliens took them, they're not /just/ contacts. Well, they are, but probably not like you're used to. With them, I could zoom my sight in or out at will, get the stats on anyone or anything I looked at, and see things in ultra violet. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. It'd be hard to be without them, even if my eyesight didn't stink as much as it does.
I take a breath. “I’m sorry. I’m just… I’m really frazzled right now.” Frazzled doesn’t begin to describe it, but it’s as much as I’m willing to admit.
“You? Frazzled? Never. The great Zip Charter never gets frazzled, because she can get out of anything.” Nadie smiles.
I smile back, finding the rare compliment oddly comforting. “Only if she has the almost-as-great-but-mostly-just-obnoxious Nadie June at her side.”
“She does.”
“So let’s blow this pop stand already!”
“Consider the pop stand blown.”

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

Don’t you love when you and the most annoying person in your life decide to cooperate and get all pep talk-y -again- and you /still/ can’t find a way out of the gosh darn alien holding room?
Yeah, me either.
Yet guess what situation I’m in right now?
“Maybe it would help if we think about /why/ the aliens captured us,” Nadie says.
“Because they’re evil. Duh.”
“No.”
“They’re not?” I raise an eyebrow.
“No. Well, they probably are. But there’s more going on here. Think about it,” she’s speaking in that straight forward way of hers, the one I’ve come to realize she uses to disassociate herself from the facts. She needs to learn to face reality, in my opinion, but at least it keeps her calm.
“They know we’re trying to save Earth,” Nadie continues. “And I have a feeling they don’t want us to do that. What clan did you say this was?”
“The Betelgeuse Marchers.”
“Their star is on the verge of going supernova, is it not?”
“Yeah. It’s been all over the news. But what does that have to do with anything?”
She sighs, impatient that I’m not getting there as fast as she did. “It means the clan will have to move locations, unless they want to be fried to a crisp. From what I’ve heard, there’s not many stars available these days, right?”
“Yeah. There was a new law put in to effect to preserve nebulas, which is keeping realtors from snatching up new stars. I still don’t see where this is going though.”
“If life on Earth causes its own end, well…”
“…There’s free real estate,” I finish, realization finally dawning on me.
Our eyes meet, matching looks of horror on our faces. If we don’t get out of here…
Earth is doomed.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

“Now that we’ve had that oh-so-comforting realization,” Nadie says. “We /really/ need to get out of here. What if they help the destruction along? What if we’re too late? Zip, what if we can’t do this?” Her voice has that slight quiver to it, like she’s trying to keep it from shaking.
“We can,” I say. “And if we can’t, maybe someone else will.”
“Someone else? Who? We’re the only ones who know. Most people think Earthlings are a myth! Even you did! My parents are there, Zip. My friends. Everyone and everything I’ve ever known. My whole life is on that planet. And if we can’t save it…” Her voice, always on the higher end, is now full on shrill.
Woah. Okay. Little miss sunshine /isn’t/ always positive. In other circumstances, I might have been smug, but not now. Not with Nadie sitting there with her arms wrapped around herself, gasping.
I need to say something comforting. What’s comforting? I don’t do comforting!
Nadie’s breathing is now quick and sharp, and she’s started mumbling to herself.
“What was that?”
“I’m telling… telling myself not… to pass out,” she answers, breathless.
Is it really that bad?
Yeah, I answer myself. Yeah, it’s that bad.
I sit next to her. I take her hand, which is clammy. “It’s gonna be okay, Nadie. We’re going to do this. Just take deep breaths, there you go.”
I keep going on, trying my best to be comforting. Eventually, her breathing starts slowly steadying.
We’re silent for awhile, before she says something, he voice still shaky. “Do you really think we can do it, Zip?”
No. No I do not.
“Yes. Of course we can.”
She nods. “I trust you.”
Wait what-
I thought she said this was all my fault? I thought she said she shouldn’t have trusted me in the first place? I thought…
“We should try to sleep,” she decides, interrupting my thoughts. “Things always look better in the morning.”
And then, before I can really say anything else, she’s already asleep. I, however, remain awake for awhile longer, her words replaying in my head.
/I trust you./

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

Haha. Gotcha. That whole thing was a dream. Nadie doesn’t exist. She never came to get help for her dying planet. We never got captured. I’m currently getting ready to head to my next class at Orion University.
You didn’t seriously fall for that?
Of course it’s real! Jeez.
Real, and finally going my way. Minus the fact that Nadie is screaming in my ear.
“Chill it!” I shout over my shoulder.
“But you’re driving too fast! Do you even have your permit?”
I scoff. “Says the one who’s never driven a manual space vehicle. Yes, I have my permit.”
Yeah, sorry, I should probably back it up a bit.
It’s honestly pretty much a blur at this point, so I’m not even going to try to describe how we managed it. But we, being the awesome people we are, managed to escape from the Betelgeuse Marchers’ ship.
There was a chase sequence.
It was epic.
We’re currently racing through space on a Star Treader 800 we stole from the aliens. I’ve got my contacts back, and my headset, though that’s broken. We’re free, and we’re going to save Earth. What could be better?
“I take it back!” Nadie shouts. “Put that pedal to the metal! They’re gaining on us!”
Oh yeah. I kinda forgot to mention. When you escape from an alien ship and steal their star scooter?
They’re probably going to chase you.
So, having them /not/ be on our tail?
That. That’s what could be better.
“It’s time for those aliens to eat. My. Stardust. I’m about to put the ‘Zip’ in ‘zipping away’.” I scan the dash, looking for the bright red button that all the newer Star Treader models have. Annnd there. The fabled Lightyear Blast button. Rumor had it that it could take you a lightyear away in under 5 minutes. I’d always wanted to try it, but hadn’t been able to afford a new scooter.
Now it’s time to live a little. I hit the button.
Oh.
My.
Galaxies.
This. Is. Wicked.
I let out a whoop of delight, but never hear it. We broke the sound barrier, oh jeez-
Nadie’s arms tighten around my waist; I have a feeling she’s not loving this nearly as much as I am.
We race through the stars, leaving the Betelgeuse Marchers long behind.
Eventually, the scooter peters to a stop. Shame. I could have done that forever.
“That. Was. Terrifying,” Nadie announces.
“Are you kidding? That was freaking awesome!” I turn around to face her. Her eyes are wide, one of her braids coming undone. “Woah. Your hair is a mess.”
“Yours isn’t any better!”
“At least I’m not a chicken!”
“Better than being reckless!”
“Hey, I’m the one who got us out of there.”
“You’re lucky we didn’t die in the process!”
“Nothing was going to happen.”
“It could have.”
“You worry too much.”
“One of us has to.”
“That’s boring.”
“But safer.”
“You need to live a little.”
“What does that even- never mind. This is ridiculous!” Nadie throws her hands up. “Why do we always do this?”
I shrug. “Honestly, I don’t know.”
“Anyway… now what do we do?”
“Now we save your home.”
“How?”
“We’ll figure that out later. Ready to save Earth…bestie?” I throw the last word in on impulse, trying it out. When, I wonder, did this annoying girl become my best friend? I watch her, and if I’m being honest I’m afraid she’ll deny it. But she doesn’t.
Her eyes light up and she hugs me. “I’m ready!”
“Woah, woah.” I squirm out her hug. “Not a hugger.”
“Yeah, you’re gonna have to be.” She grins.
“Not happening.” I grin back.
Somehow, we’re going to be the unlikely duo that saves Earth.
At least, you better hope we are.