a forest of thorns,

readytorattlethestars replied to your post: home is where the heart is | @self-para

ABSOLUTELY STUNNINGLY SOB-WORTHY. ; ; ffffffff I wish I got to see Ronnie around DPP :( but but but asdfjkl;asdfjkl; lovely, lovely ending

  Throughout the few months she had spent at Walter Preparatory Academy, she had grown as a person, not only found shelter in its four walls, she had... Almost found herself. Yes, it sounded sappy and poetic, but it was the truth; Walter Prep had opened Ronnie’s eyes to a whole world she had never expected to care for, a whole world beyond her clouded, pretentious vision. This school wasn’t just a school. This school wasn’t just a safe haven. It was home. And Ronnie, for the second time, was being forced to leave her home once again.

  It was hard for her to move her feet at first, it felt as if the most violent of gravitational pulls had her by the ankles and just wouldn’t let go. Her arms became slightly limp and she almost lost the grip on her bag, but she held herself steady, perhaps she had changed, but one factor was still the same – never show weakness. The Epcottian smiled quietly to herself. Despite her bodily actions, Ronnie’s mind was especially calm, for what had been a painful buzz had now subsided into a gentle hum – nothing no longer nagging at the back of her mind, no anxiety bubbling in her stomach for fear of Maleficent being injured, no quickened heart beat. Nothing.

  She stared down at her feet, willing for them to move, but nothing seemed to work. She simply did not want to leave. Her eyes travelled upwards once more, seeing the group of students clustered around the departure gate, every single one of them showing some form of emotion; but what was it that Ronnie recognized? What was it that made Ronnie finally move forward? The laughter. The light, tinkling sound that the girl had grown to fall in love with over the past few months, the sound that seemed to fill her every step in Walter, the sound that seemed to occupy even the darkest of times – the laughter her friends radiated seemed to give her the strength to just... Move.

  And so she did. Ronnie moved, she moved past the gate, she moved onto the plane, she moved  her seat; and she sat down. She did up her seatbelt, she pushed her feet under her feet, she rested her arms on her armrest, and she closed her eyes. That was all she seemed able to do – close her eyes. Close her eyes and wait for the ding, wait for the jolt that would snatch Walter away from her forever... But there was one more thing she had to do. Opening her eyes only slightly, she took a glance outside, watching the tarmac with sad eyes and a smile. She mouthed a gentle goodbye, before finally drifting off into her own personal paradise.

  Jade woke Ronnie, with a loud bang, none the less. The girl had clearly dropped something and, before Ronnie knew it, she had a smile on her face. How could they do that? How could they make her smile, without even trying? Without even knowing? That’s what friendship was, perhaps, that ignorant bliss. But Ronnie could stay ignorant no longer, for the light was flashing and the intercom was buzzing with the sound of the captain’s voice.

  They had landed.

  And the war was over.

  Touching down in their world wasn’t just a normal flight home, touching down in their world meant so much more. It meant no more running, or hiding, or crying. No more hoarse throats from screaming or burning cheeks from the salty tears – the landing meant everything, and from then, everything blurred.

  It was only when Ronnie was stood in the airport, a trolley holding her bags being pushed along by her own two hands, that she had noticed her incredible urge to... Cry. Sob uncontrollably, even. She glanced around the airport, it’s pristine floors and walls glistening, as if war had never dared touch it – and she caught the eyes of many, many students.

  First, Ronnie felt her eyes land on a Hallowmanian and her two, eccentric parents. Because Halley Skellington was right there, perhaps a metre away from Ronnie, already with her family. All Ronnie could do was flash her a smile, anything longer seemed to ache. Halley Skellington was... Someone Ronnie wouldn’t forget. She was one of the most genuine people to ever walk the face of the Earth, or perhaps any other planet, and the dark haired girl would never forget the kindness the lighter haired girl had shown her through her Walter stay. Halley and Ronnie had been friends, perhaps not best friends, but friends. They seemed to almost be opposites, but Ronnie admired how Halley could be so beautifully kind, yet still be able to stand up for herself whenever it was needed. From their friendship, Ronnie would take this away – to be more like Halley Skellington. Because Halley was one of the strongest people Ronnie had ever had the pleasure of meeting.

  Not far away, was Effie Zelinski... And boy, would Ronnie miss that girl. She’d miss her laugh, their shared love of froyo, the way their conversations flowed, she’d miss Effie more than Effie could ever know. Throughout the entire journey, Effie always seemed to be right there with a shoulder to cry on, or a bright smile to give. Effie was almost like Ronnie’s ray of sunshine on a cloudy day, no matter how bad things would become, lil’ Effie Zelinski was always there! She smiled to herself, remembering the one time where she had tried to pluck up the courage to call Effie, “Evelyn”, but was almost genuinely afraid she would be hit with a tree branch – so she didn’t dare. Ronnie sniffled, pinching the bridge of her nose and shaking her head – no. No tears...

  Looking up once more, she noticed Chase Rider, looking as cool as ever... Okay, slight joke. She laughed quietly, smiling at the boy and turning away. Oh, Chase, the fact he could always put a smile on Ronnie’s face was utterly ridiculous. Their random and often crazy conversations about speedo’s and other things that had no relation to any situation was what made Chase stand out to Ronnie, among the sea of other guys who seemed to “love themselves”, but Chase was different. And so was Cody Radcliffe, possibly one of the few people who would ever put up with the amount of crap Ronnie would throw at him. She loved him, in a very sisterly way (which is kind of weird because he and Melody have a thing and Ronnie and Melody look the same), and saw him as more of a stupid, younger brother than anything else. She was sure that, if Mel ended up being with him, Ronnie would not refrain herself from calling him Cow Patty. Ever.

  But hey, maybe she should keep the nicknames close to home? Since both Oliver and Aaron were now her family. Even before the revelation, though, Ronnie loved them both. She laughed at their jokes, laughed at their “cusband” antics, laughed at their everything, really. And even though Aaron had become slightly distant, she still cared none the less. Now, especially. Family stuck together, through everything, and Ronnie was more than happy to know she had two incredible guys like these as her cousins. She couldn’t ask for better family, and that’s a fact.

  Now she was almost a mess, trying to hold back the tears, trying to look for her Mother for their final goodbye, trying not to laugh while remembering the memories – it almost drained Ronnie physically. But she continued, her eyes scanning the crowd, recognizing more faces immediately... And these were truly the ones she would never, ever forget.

  When her eyes landed on Christopher Charming, a tear sneaked down her cheek. He was possibly her best friend, or something close. If needed, Ronnie would have trusted Chris with her life, she would have bet every penny she owned that Chris would be there. That he’d keep a secret. That he’d live up to his second name and be one of the perfect friends you could ever ask for. Ronnie would bet it all on Chris. Because he wasn’t even just a friend anymore, he was a brother, he wasn’t just “one of those bromance boys”, he was the Chrissy to her Ron. They were the duo that could share all their secrets, and know the other would never breathe a word. They were the duo that could eat themselves into food coma’s, without Chris mentioning how that isn’t “ladylike” and Ronnie mentioning how he wasn’t “charming” enough – because he was. Christopher Charming was absolutely perfect. The odd thing, though? The Epcottian girl would have never dated him. Perhaps it was because of their friendship, or their closeness, but their was just something that would never have fitted – and Ronnie would never have it any other way. Christopher Charming was her perfect guy best friend... And she would miss him, she’d miss reciting Team Rocket’s speech, she’d miss the food coma’s, she’d miss him being Batman, she’d even miss his blonde-ness. She’d miss Chris, not as a friend, but as a whole.

  It was a mistake to continue doing this to herself, but she did, because when Ronnie’s eyes landed on a certain boy – she knew she was close to tears. She knew she was ready to sob any moment, but didn’t, she simply made sure to smile at him as brightly as he could – just so maybe... Just maybe, he’d remember her. Vince Zelinski was the first person that Ronnie wanted to be remembered by. Over the months, she’d become so used to his hockey speak, the dreams they shared of the Hogwarts castle and the feasts in the hall – that when it was torn out from underneath her she couldn’t quite understand. She’d seen him with Isabella, she understood he had chosen her – and Ronnie was happy for him. She was hurting inside, but that wasn’t the point... At all. Vince had been one of the best friends that Ronnie could have begged for, could have pleaded for, could have crawled through glass for – and she got him. Of course, she’d always harbour feelings for him, deep down somewhere there would always be the longing, but she was lucky to even have him as a friend. She was lucky that, whenever she was upset, he’d always be there with his sweet compliments and smile to cheer her up. Just like Effie, he’d always be there. So, for the first time with any of her friends, she lingered for a while, making sure to let him know with her smile – “I’ll miss you”. And she would... A large part of her would miss the wonderful, absolutely crazy but perfect Vince Zelinski, and a large part of her would move on, too.

  And she knew just who would help her move on. Who would be there with the sappy films, the tubs of ice-cream, the bottomless packet of skittles – none other than her best friend. No, not best friend, sister. The girl who had been through hell and back with Ronnie, the girl who would get drunk and blab all her secrets, yet still be just as perfect. Miss Jade Goldsworthy. Ronnie would never, in a million years find any words to describe Jade down a T. Even if she scoured the dictionary, nothing would come close to describing the firework that is Jade. Nothing would come close to her feisty personality. Her tender smile. Her dazzling words of wisdom. Her incredibly hilarious drunk antics. Ronnie often thought to herself – “why me?” Why did she get the lucky pick, to have Jade as her best friend? Why didn’t Jade pick someone who, at the beginning, was much less bitchier? Much less hard work? Much more fun? Ronnie could never find the answers, all Ronnie would ever get from Jade is laughter, jokes and so much best friend-y stuff you’d need twenty pairs of hands to count it all. Ronnie loved Jade, Ronnie would kill any boy who dared hurt Jade, Ronnie would kill any person who dare hurt Jade – and she was sure the feelings were returned. And the revelation they were cousins, of course, only caused to further increase their bond. Ronnie found Jade’s face in the crowd, and yet another tear slipped down her cheek, to which Jade replied with a smile. How could Ronnie do this? Face the world without Jade Goldsworthy? The answer to this, was a mystery.

  Eventually, Ronnie turned back to her cart, her hands had been gripping the bar so tight her whole hand had become slightly blue in colour. She didn’t know what to do anymore, everything she cared about was slipping through her fingers, and she was too weak to hold on tighter. She was too weak to just... Ask them to stay. She didn’t want to leave Walter, she didn’t want to be a fin owning guppy and leave Maleficent, she wanted to be Ronnie.

  “Veronica?”

  Ronnie’s head snapped up, her eyes red and puffy from the tears that had finally managed to fall, burning her cheeks with their acidic trails. The sight before her stunned her she could hardly breathe, her legs failed her and she was now using the cart to support her whole body weight.

  “M-Mom?” She stammered, so gently the words came out as a mere whisper. The green-skinned, swan like woman before her outstretched her arms, stepping forward and cradling the young Epcottian gently, singing soft lullabies to calm her down. Ronnie was now in almost silent hysterics, her body shaking violently with her sobs. “I-I don’t want to leave you, Mom... P-Please...” She was pleading, Veronica James was pleading. She was pleading with every ounce of existence she had left, for her Mother not to leave her. She just wanted one thing, one damn thing, to hold on to. And this was it. Her throat became hoarse and her breathing became shallow, but she didn’t give up. She continually sobbed, her Mother running a hand along her hair gently.

  “You’re coming home, Veronica. With me.” And for the first time in what seemed like hours, Veronica gently tore her head away, and looked up at her Mother – she noted the tears in her eyes, the slight shake in her voice, and she noted how this was the first time either of them had shown any real emotion towards each other.

  “I love you.” Veronica whispered, shaking her head gently as a grin broke across her face, tears of joy erasing the lines the acidic tears had left.

  “I love you too...” Maleficent paused, smiling, “Ronnie.”

  Gently resting in her mother’s arms again, Ronnie closed her eyes, whispering softly, so no one could hear...