Xanthippeia knew the questions were coming so she was ready to spin some elaborate story to the extraordinary event in the past forty hours. But now looking at her two best friends, the people that aside from her family she trusted more than anything, she considered telling the truth about what happened or rather what she's been hallucinating happened.
"Xan, can we ask what the fuck happened that day? Like how on earth did you fall into a crater and the incident with the ambulance, the way the paramedics painted it, it sounds insane." Carey voiced out, no longer able to hold her burning questions.
"Yeah um, a lot happened that day."
"Do you remember anything, you know with your concussion?"
"Yeah."
"So how exactly did you end up in a crater?" Quinton asked.
Now it was time to start spinning something that was as close to the truth as possible to spare their feelings.
"I think it was a meteor," Carey said absent-mindedly.
"Care, don't be stupid if it was a meteor then the scientists would have found a sample of space rock." Quinton scoffed.
"Who said they didn't you know-it-all asshole?"
"Um, guys." Xan interrupted their argument.
"Oh sorry, Xan but it's very weird you know."
"I know but I'm sure I'm not the first person to get stuck in a crater."
"Yeah, but how?"
"Okay look you guys I remember after breakfast with Q going to school. I don't know why but I was just so angry and not normal pissed off angry but like to the point where my body started shaking. I must have had a seizure or something and passed out."
"But you've had seizures before."
"Must be something new, don't worry my mom is already going out of her mind investigating the cause."
There was a moment of silence between the friends and Xanthippeia hope like hell her brief explanation was sinking into their brains otherwise she was without options.
"Xan we thought you were dead," Quinton said softly, suddenly turning the atmosphere into a sombre one.
"I—"
"And you were like really hot."
"Quinton don't be a pervert!" Carey slapped his arm and he glared at her. Xan giggled at their little exchange.
"I didn't mean it like that God. I just meant your skin was literally burning up. Look." He said and extended his hand out to her. Xan examined the slightly burnt flesh of his palm that was covered with translucent gauze and scrunched up her face.
"What happened to you Q?"
"You did, kind of. I got burned when I touched you in that crater."
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Q. I didn't mean to burn you." She felt the tears in her eyes threatening to spill at the thought of harming her friend.
"It's okay. Doc says it will heal fast but I'm honestly just glad you're alive."
"Yeah, Xan you really scared us. I don't know what I would've done without you in my life." Carey said wiping a stray tear from her porcelain cheek.
"Hey, I'm okay and alive now. You guys have nothing to worry about." She reached her hands out to hold onto both of their hands in an affectionate gesture.
"What really confuses me is why and how you would take off like that?" Quinton said breaking the silence.
"When?"
"In the ambulance, the paramedics said you ran off in the middle of the road." Xanthippeia had momentarily blanked and hoped they would too about that particularly strange part. Guess luck was not on her side.
"I was very disoriented and I freaked out, they were about to put a needle in my arm. You guys know I fucking hate those things." She blinked between them trying to see if they bought it
"But they were just doing their jobs Xan. The one dude said you nearly choked him to death and—"
"That's ridiculous I'm like 4'11 and I'm pretty sure he was like 6 feet tall, how can I lift a fully grown man?" Xan tried to shrug off.
The truth was that was a question she wanted to know herself. Just the other day she dropped her phone under the couch and had trouble pushing it a couple of inches so it seemed virtually impossible for her to have lifted a man with one hand. It was as ludicrous of thought as the floating water from earlier.
"Xan are you sure there's nothing weird happening here?"
"I'm sure."
"Really, so you didn't get bit by like a radioactive spider and get superpowers or some shit like that?" Carey asked and the three of them burst out laughing.
"I'm surprised you know about that Care," Xan commented.
"Yeah well I was hanging out with Mason this summer and he filled my head with like all the Spider-Man movies. He's obsessed." She rolled her eyes.
It went silent for a while as the friends looked at each other and Xan couldn't be more relieved. This was the first normal moment she's had since that fateful night. Speaking of normal…
"Hey Q, are you seriously dating Jessica or did I hallucinate that?" Xan asked cautiously.
"Oh, you remember that huh? Man, I really hoped you wouldn't." he laid back on the chair groaning.
"No such luck." She shrugged.
"Oh, you're in trouble." Carey snickered, pointing her finger at him.
"Hey, you too goldilocks, from what I remember Q told me you knew too." Xan pointed at her and she blushed.
"Okay listen Xan it's true but it just happened."
"When did this happen?"
"Um…after the party. She said she felt really bad about what happened to you."
"And you just believed her? She was a part of it, Quinton." Xanthippeia started to feel irritation cloud her just thinking about that night.
"No, she wasn't. She said she told Courtney to not push it but Courtney turned on her."
"And that's supposed to make it okay?"
"No it's not and I scolded her hard about it. I never meant for it to happen but a week after school ended we kind of started talking and we hit it off. By the time the party happened we were together but both too afraid to tell our friends."
"I'm sorry but I just don't see it. I mean it's Jessica, she's been a bitch since freshman year."
"Trust me Xan I was stumped too when I found out. I mean you guys are so different." Carey said.
"I considered that but it works. I really like her you guys."
"So never mind all the fucked up things she's done to us, to me?" Xan crossed her arms.
"That was all Courtney."
"That's bullshit, she's just as culpable! It's not like she sat in the fucking sidelines."
"Okay, Xan geez I get it! But come on she's sorry."
"Funny because all summer I've never heard an apology from her."
Xanthippeia could admit that she was being a little difficult but she couldn't help her snarky attitude thinking of all the humiliating things those two she-devils have done to her since she arrived at that stupid school. All in the name of some stupid jealousy. She really did want to be happy for her best friend but she couldn't look past her disdain, at least without the proper actions to rectify things that have to happen first.
"So she's your girlfriend now?"
"We're seeing each other but I want to be official soon."
"Huh-uh." Xan rolled her eyes.
"And I'd like you to be cool with it. I mean Carey is."
"That's because she knew beforehand unlike me. She had time to marinate with the situation. You didn't give me the chance."
"I'm sorry Xan, I really am for not telling you before but I was afraid of your reaction."
"Whatever."
Honestly, with everything going on in her head she really didn't have the capacity to hold a grudge over something so futile. So she decided then that she would look past this and try and be civil since Jessica is making her friend happy.
"Okay listen Quinton I'm not saying I will be nice but---"
She stopped herself speaking when she felt a lump in her throat.
Xanthippeia's eyes shut and when she opened them again everything was frozen in time. Her friends, the leaves in the tree, the air around her all seemed to be stuck except her. She looked around in fear that she was having another hallucination. That proved to be true when she looked up at the sky and saw the world begin to change
The clouds slowly started to gather together and twist violently and eventually blacked everything around her out except a glowing orb.
But that's not what struck her as odd. It was the fact that as soon as she looked down on her lap her hands started to glow then her eyes followed after. This sensation felt similar to the moment when she saw Luna in a vision but this time it was not her little sister. But rather she saw the orb grow bigger until it took on the form of an enormous door or what is it a gate of some kind? It didn't look like anything she had seen before but it was clearly built of ancient stone. Upon closer inspection, where she sat was a field of green alone with a purple clear sky. Through the gate, she could see into a different world of large mountains and blue clouds.
"Portal of Fama." A voice said in the distance Xanthippeia whipped around in an effort to locate it.
"Hello, is someone there?" she asked into the void but as quick as this vision appeared she blinked, losing her concentration and everything around her unfroze once again. She gasped as she saw the confused expressions on her friends' faces in front of her instead of the green land.
"Xan, are you okay?" Carey placed her hand on Xanthippeia's shoulder.
"Portal…it's a portal…Fama!" she stuttered disoriented trying to figure out that the mysterious voice meant those words.
"What?!" she looked around in confusion.
"Xan what are you talking about?" Quinton asked reached to hold her hands.
Right then she realized she was making nonsensical ramblings. She blinked and looked at her friends.
"Did you guys hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"The voice…it said---"
"Xan I think you need to go back inside and out of the sun."
"Sun, what sun? It's cloudy—wait where did the clouds go?" she looked up frantically at the now clear blue sky.
Whatever had just happened only Xanthippeia had seen clearly. This fact only made her realize now that perhaps all these things that were happening were not just hallucinations anymore. Maybe they were real and for a purpose, she could not tell yet but if that were true she felt more than desperate for an explanation why it was happening to her.
Xanthippeia was walking on autopilot as her thoughts raged on with question after question as her friends helped her into the house and sat her on the couch in the TV room.
"Hey, kids, done already?"
"Yeah Mr C we just needed to get out of the sun, I don't think it's good for Xan," Carey said as she put a bottle of water onto her numb friends' lap.
"Sweetheart, are you alright," Mateo asked his daughter full of concern.
She took a few seconds to gather herself as her fathers' voice pierced through her brain.
"Yes daddy I'm fine please they're just exaggerating."
"Girl please you were like hallucinating back there."
"You were hallucinating sweetheart? Are you having some effects of the concussion?"
"No daddy I don't have a concussion and stop talking about it."
"Don't worry your mother's out with Luna and she'll be back with some medication to make you feel better."
"Thank god." She said sarcastically, laying back on the couch.
Mateo looked at his daughter and cleared his throat.
"Um, kids I think it might be time to give Xan some rest right?"
"Dad I don't need—"
"No he's right Xan, we came to check on you and now we can go." Quinton picked up his bag.
"But you guys—"
"We'll see you tomorrow at school right?" Carey asked gathering her stuff too.
Xan didn't actually want them to go now because she was scared of having another episode of whatever was going on with her. But she had to let them go.
"Yeah I'll be there, hopefully, I can drive my own car." She said glancing over at her dad who nodded.
"Okay well Xan, I'll call you later tonight."
"What's happening tonight?"
"Nothing I just wanna call my best friend."
"Alright losers bye." She sat up walking her friends out.
As soon as her friends left Xan turned around to see her father giving her a sceptical look.
"What?"
"Your mother is going to want to know how you were today so what do I say to her?"
"Tell her I'm fine."
"I don't lie to my wife honey."
"Daddy please I am fine, so I may have gotten a little bit of heatstroke but I'm good."
"Do you promise me?" he asked.
Xan looked down at her feet. She didn't enjoy the feeling of not being completely honest with her father. Her relationship with her parents has always been very solid, yes there has been some childish angst but nothing that lasted long and harboured any resentment. She could always go to them for any problem. In her house, everyone was encouraged to talk about their feelings and communicate so it really made her feel uneasy that she wasn't able to express her concerns to her parents.
"Daddy there is nothing physically wrong with me."
"Physically, so there is something wrong with you?"
"I don't know. I think I might have hallucinated some things."
"Things like what?"
"I can't tell you that right now daddy, I still need to figure it out by myself."
"But you will come to us if you need to right?"
"Of course I will."
"Good now with regards to you driving… I will need you to be very careful so if you feel funny you pull over and call us alright?"
"Okay, I guess that's fair."
"Good now come and give me a hug."
In her fathers' arms, Xanthippeia felt safe. She didn't feel like a freak of nature. She felt like her old self again, it's been a while since she had this feeling of contentment.
They hugged longer than usual and then she went upstairs to numb her mind with watching some Rick and Morty. Anything would be better than thinking about the fact that some supernatural things were occurring in her life.