How Things Changed Forever.. PART - II

CH 49: Enjoy your jail-time, love.

Except for a few minor annoyances, everything went pretty smoothly after the beyblade mishap. Tyson and Cassie had restored their charm on stage effortlessly, distracting the crowd while Royson prepped for the second part. Hillary couldn't help but admire how naturally they carried the energy of the event forward, like nothing had gone wrong at all.

Royson had asked Aarushi to join him on stage for two songs, voicing the female vocals. It wasn't a major role—just a few lines in the second chorus and the bridge—but it meant the world to Aarushi, who had never performed in front of such a massive crowd. She'd looked a bit like a tense at first, gripping the mic too tightly, but by the time the music swelled, her voice steadied. She sang beautifully. Confidently.

Half an hour later, the event finally concluded and Tyson stepped forward to deliver the vote of thanks, Hillary felt an overwhelming urge to cry out in relief.

Not because it had gone badly—to be honest, almost everything had turned out better than expected. But after all the planning, the stress, the Beyblade interruption, and everything else that came crashing down on her, she was done. Just done.

Don't get her wrong, she loved organizing events like these. Loved leading the club, watching it turn into something bigger than herself. But after everything today, yesterday night, and the fight that had broken out the day before that, Hillary knew one thing for sure—she needed to work a lot on the internal workings of the club before she took up another event like this.

But she could worry about it later. Right now, all she wanted to do was sleep.

To curl up under her sheets and let the exhaustion blur everything else out. Wash away the fact that there were gaps in her memory. Or the fact that she could have died yesterday.

The volunteers moved quickly once the crowd cleared out. Somehow, no one needed extra supervision now. Everyone just wanted to go home.

She made sure to personally thank each VIP guest who had supported the fundraiser. Most of them complimented her on how well everything had been handled. Hillary nodded politely, suppressing the urge to say, You have no idea what happened behind he scenes...

By the time she walked back toward the school gates, her legs felt like lead. Her parents were waiting there, talking with Tyson and Grandpa Granger. The warm glow of the streetlight made everything seem softer, quieter, as if the world had finally slowed down.

"There you are!" her dad called, grinning. His arm was still bandaged and cradled to his chest, but he looked relaxed. "Ready to leave?"

Hillary just nodded and slid into the backseat. Tyson and his grandfather followed right after her.

Unlike usual, her mother was in the driver's seat tonight. Her dad settled in beside her, careful not to bump his injured hand. It felt a little off-routine—but her mother was just as good a driver as her father. Definitely more cautious.

The car pulled away smoothly, and soon, everyone was deep in conversation. Her dad launched into a dramatic retelling of the incident with his hand, playing it up just a little. Grandpa Granger kept interjecting with indignant remarks like, "If it were me, I'd have taught that guy a real lesson!" or "Back in my day, we didn't let cowards run off!"

They all laughed. Hillary smiled too. Just a little.

Then Tyson started recounting what had happened on stage during the beyblade attack. He spoke with his usual energy, hands moving animatedly as he described how he kept the crowd calm and distracted.

Her dad looked genuinely impressed, even her mom turned slightly to look at him in the rearview mirror, nodding appreciatively.

They dropped Tyson and Grandpa Granger off at the dojo a little while later. Her parents tried to coax them into coming over for dinner, but the old man waved it off, "You'll feed us too well, and then I'll never want to leave!" he boomed. They all laughed again. It was easy. Familiar.