Hell Upside Down

Chapter 12

Point of view Alena 

Earlier this week, I came back from class with Blaze waiting for me in our room with a bag of supplies that helped me. Sierra pitched in a lot to help babysit while in class. He also learned to become a little more independent and stay a few hours without supervision.

As days went by, he grew at a swift pace. He used to fit in the palm of my hand, but now, he takes up my entire arm to hold him.

Sierra was excited. She was slowly warming up to me. It was Friday night, and she wanted to party. Noah and Thomas had left the confinement zone. Thomas avoided, but Noah felt terrible for getting me in trouble, so he offered to babysit Blaze for the night.

I decided to wear a black dress. It fits with the Shadow Cast theme. Our banners in front of our dorm were black with a lightning bolt. Nallia's color was green, and the Star Cast had a beautiful dark and light purple mixed on their banners.

My dress came up on my thighs when I moved. It was the perfect dress to be provocative and have fun.

Sierra also went with something provocative. The dress was black, with the top having a bigger opening, leaving almost no space for imagination. She wore bold red lipstick and multiple braids in her hair. She had a natural talent for makeup and hair. She had also braided two braids into my hair and added crystals into them. I never wanted to take them away. While I was putting my heels on, Sierra clapped her hands, catching my attention.

- "Here are the rules for Hellia's parties. No fighting." She speaks. "I don't think that applies to you as you got your ass beat the other day in Ms. Rose's class."

I roll my eyes at that embarrassing and painful memory. She points the finger at me: "No hooking up with Nero. That's one of my rules." She adds.

I hold my hands up in the air showing her that I had no attention to do that. Sierra has the cutest way of showing affection. She does it while you aren't looking, I have noticed.

- "Try not to walk back alone. It's dangerous, and people are drunk. If you can't, let me know, and I'll drive you back." She shows me her car keys. Another privilege is that the returners are allowed to have cars.

Sometimes, I hated being new. I felt left out of the many advantages that returners had.

- "I wouldn't recommend doing anything with Ash. Not that he would even acknowledge you, but Dysnomia would make your life a living hell here." She continues while finishing touches on her makeup.

While she is looking in the mirror, she doesn't notice the hurt feelings I felt with her words. She had no idea about what Ash and I had. I wasn't ready to expose that to the world. I didn't know what it meant. I didn't know what the next steps would be.

- "Is Nero your soulmate?" I ask.

She shakes her head "no" before wiping an invisible tear on her face. "His soulmate was my old roommate."

She doesn't add anything. I had always wondered why Sierra was the only Shadow Dorm not to have a roommate as a returner. I had always been scared to ask. Sierra was pretty closed off when anything came up about something personal.

Sierra and I left the room and walked towards the parking lot behind the Shadow Dorm. She drove in an old vintage car—an old light blue car with minimal space in the back of the vehicle.

- "Nero, Dysnomia, and Ash are all going to ride along." She explains while getting in the driver's seat.

I decide to go in the back to leave space for Nero and Sierra to talk. Nero arrives shortly after and presses his lips on Sierra. Her cheeks flushed. They spoke as I played on my phone, waiting for Ash and Dysnomia.

They came towards the car walking together. Ash was holding on to her hand. Dysnomia was wearing another short skirt and a shirt with a bunch of sparkles. She was wearing demon horns in her ears. I thought it was strange, but I ignored it as no one seemed bothered by it.

Dysnomia hoped in the car after Ash. She looked at me with an air of disgust. "Didn't know newbies were allowed in the blue ride."

Nero immediately took my defense. "You aren't happy; you can walk."

Dysnomia rolled her eyes while putting her hand on Ash's chest. Ash decided to ignore her while getting in the car.

Nero was picking the music that echoed in the car. The music was loud, making the glass shake. I was smashed against the window. Ash ignored me while Dysnomia was sitting on his lap. They flirted, talking in each other's ears.

Besides Ash, I was the only one who could understand my frustration. A few times, Nero looked back and smiled in a comforting way.

Since Sierra had told me about Nero's soulmate, my heart melted slightly. Why weren't they together, I wondered.

- "You're so handsome." She whispered in his ear.

I wanted to open the door and jump out of the moving car, but I couldn't. I sat in this uncomfortable situation for the longest minutes of my life.

Sierra parked in a crowded parking lot. I was the first one to get out of the car. I gasped for air. My necklace protected me from the bond we shared, but it still hurt. Like the feelings, humans felt when someone didn't like them back.

Sierra held my hand and walked me towards a little black door in a building that didn't look like anything. She knocked a few times in a distinctive pattern before the door opened. We arrived in a long hallway with multiple mirrors and LED lights on the ceilings.

Another door opened to a massive club at the end of the hallway. I could feel the air; no one was human in here. Everyone was revealed under their proper form. People let their animal features come on. Colored eyes, claws, colored skin. It was a beautiful mix.

Girls in little clothing were dancing in cages above us. I stood there, mesmerized. I had never seen anything like it.

Nero took five little cub shots and handed them to each of us in the corner of the room. We all cheered. "Here's to a new year at Hellia!" He screamed while chugging his drink.

Everyone followed, and so did I. The drink had a flowery taste mixed with some sort of honey.

My whole body started to relax instantly. I closed my eyes and started swinging with the beat of the music. I had never felt that way. When I opened my eyes again, I realized that many were staring at me.

I realized that this drink wasn't just a normal one. It revealed your inner self. Sierra glowed to her that I had never seen. Her eyes shined; her eyes reminded me of a cat. Nero also changed his appearance. He had green strands in his locks. Dysnomia had black wings on her back. They were small but beautiful. Her beauty was enhanced. She was like an angel.

The one that surprised me the most was Ash. And I understood why Dysnomia had worn fake horns. Ash had horns, devil horns. They were long enough to notice but remained discrete. His eyes were a deep red. His symbols were drawn and glowed on his skin. You could also see the mark of the moon. It spread across his body. His face and his arms. His canine was also longer, reminding me of the ones of a vampire.

Sierra gasped while looking at me. "You should look in the mirror." She said while pointing at a mirror behind me.

I turned around and gasped. You couldn't miss the connection and the similarities that Ash and I had. It was flagrant. I had marks on my face, near my eyes. They resembled the ones that native Indians had. However, the ones that shocked me the most were my eyes. They were usually grey, but they shined a bright red here, the same color of Ash's eyes.