CHAPTER 16
THE DARKNESS

IT was the night Coraline had been waiting for since the start of the year. An evening almost as important as prom, but tonight was only the beginning. She had on her new purple dress, her makeup was just the way she wanted it, and she even had her mom curl her hair. However, her hair nowadays hardly held a ringlet, so it decided to hang in loose waves. As she slipped on a pair of ankle boots and a jacket, she turned around in the mirror.

Tonight is your night, she told herself. Make it worth it.

When Michael showed up on her doorstep in an all black suit and red eyeshadow in the corners of his eyes, Francesca's own eyes almost rolled to the back of her head. Even Miriam came with him, despite not enjoying the idea of Michael going to a public school dance. The two guardians took dozens of pictures of their kids together, but made sure to stand as far apart as possible. Michael and Coraline, on the other hand, stayed as close as they could.

Michael had leaned down to her ear as Francesca took one last photo. "You look really pretty," he whispered, straightening his back. "This ball would be nothing without Coraline Rose Avery."

Coraline bit her lip and allowed him to lead her to Miriam's car. Francesca really didn't want the "Satanist Mama" (as she called her) driving her daughter to the most public school setting to date, but she really didn't have the strength to argue with Coraline anymore. Nevertheless, as she watched Michael hold the door open of his guardian's Subaru Leone for Coraline, Francesca felt a spike of worry. Something was wrong. Something was going to go very wrong. She could just feel it.

But she said nothing. Francesca saw her daughter wave from the window as the car drove away.

"There's so many people here," Michael muttered as Miriam pulled into the high school parking lot. He sat in the backseat with Coraline, holding her hand tightly as she leaned her weight on him.

Coraline sent a smile his way. "That's how school dances work. You're prepared. No one is gonna say anything."

Michael's lips curled as ideas began to brew in his head, ideas he'd never speak of out loud. Miriam came to a screeching stop near the entrance, turning around to look between Michael and Coraline. "I'll meet you two back here at ten o'clock, okay? Ten o'clock sharp. And then, we'll go home and pretend this never happened."

"Miriam," Michael called through gritted teeth, "we get it."

"Okay, okay," she sighed, eyes darting to Coraline for a second longer. "Be safe."

Michael nodded, opening his door. "Always am."

Coraline waited as Michael came around on the other side and opened her door. As she sat there in complete silence with Miriam, the older woman's dark lips pursed, and she pointed a stern finger at her. The moment Michael opened her door caused Coraline to jump. She composed herself though, whispering to Miriam, "Thank you for the ride," before leaving with Michael.

The sun was just about to set as they made their way towards the entrance. People were raking their eyes over Michael, basically ogling him, as they hardly recognized his appearance. The string lights hanging around the poles highlighted the sharp angles of Michael's face. His black suit wasn't too big and fit in all the right places. He even had on a pointed shoe, something her dad would wear. Coraline grinned big and laced her arm through his, knowing that she had made the right choice.

Eloise stepped out of nowhere with the biggest smile on her face, waving her arms around excitedly. Her hair was pulled back into a pretty ponytail, and she wore a pastel pink dress that looked like it was designed for only her. Greg walked forward, sticking his hands in his grey dress pants. Judging from pink tie he wore, Coraline assumed that Eloise and Greg had actually come together. Billy, on the hand, seemed to go stag, and he wore a vintage blue suit, probably given to him from his dad. It was so weird not to see him in a hoodie.

"You look beautiful, Cora!" Eloise squealed, bringing her friend into an immediate hug.

Coraline thanked her and giggled. "So are you two here ..." Her voice trailed off, pointing to Eloise and Greg. Both of them blushed a bright red.

"Well, I guess so," Eloise shrugged. "We had no one else to go with, and I knew Greg couldn't resist my charm."

Greg rolled his eyes, but didn't argue. Billy was feeling the fabric of Michael's suit, causing the blonde boy to raise a brow. "This outfit is bomb, man," Billy muttered.

Coraline smacked Billy's hand away. "Hey, hey, no touching the merchandise." She then laid out a hand. "What about you, Billy? No date?"

"I'm taking my chances tonight," Billy replied, bobbing his head so his curls bounced. "There has to be some single honey tonight who wants to dance with me. Just watch."

"And I'm sure we'll all be watching," Michael mumbled, earning a laugh from everyone, even Greg.

Coraline hummed a chuckle under her breath and looked over her shoulder. She saw Amalia Beaumont, rolling her eyes at a comment probably made by her sister as they stepped out of the same car together. Despite the fight that went down, Coraline assumed the sisters had to play nice for tonight, just to appease their parents. Amalia's blonde hair looked beautiful in waves and her blue dress matched her eyes perfectly. Blue was Amalia's favorite color. It always suited her.

The two girls' caught each other staring, and both sent a wave in their directions. It felt good to consider Amalia a friend again.

Coraline turned back to her club members, tightening her hold on Michael's arm. "Well, I think it's time to make our debut," she said, gesturing for Billy to lead. With a quick glance in Michael's direction, she found him staring. "Don't be nervous."

As Michael's eyes circled at all the bad people around him, he realized that he wasn't nervous. Not one bit.

•••

Believe it or not, Coraline was fond of the multitude of 2000s songs that the DJ was playing tonight. She almost forgot how powerful it felt to sing, "Sweet Caroline," with your classmates, or even Lady Gaga's iconic song, "Just Dance." She felt like a kid again, attending her first school dance.

Coraline tried to involve Michael in as much stuff as she could that night. He didn't seem to budge though, making her believe something was going on as she made her rounds. Despite not running for Winter Ball Princess, she needed to make herself known again amongst the student body. Becoming student of the month was the ultimate booster in her school's social hierarchy. She wished she had known that sooner, but maybe being labeled a psychopath built character.

The decorating committee did a good job. They held the ball in the gym, and everyone tried their best to ignore the smell of dirty socks. Fake snow and snowmen covered various corners of the gymnasium, while blue lights shined down on them. Coraline had never seen snow before and always wondered what it really looked like. This fake snow could never do the real thing justice.

Coraline and Michael walked up to the punch bowl, hoping to wash down the lukewarm lasagna that was served for dinner. Coraline bent down and sniffed the punch bowl. Michael tilted his head and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Checking if it's spiked," she replied, grabbing two solo cups and pouring punch into them. "You know, seeing if someone poured alcohol in it already? Surprisingly, no one has, but the night is still young." She handed Michael a cup full of punch and knocked hers against his own. "Drink up."

Michael leaned back and took a large gulp of the drink. It was so sweet. Sweet like candy. Sweet like Coraline's lip gloss. But this was a sweet he didn't like, and he found that it didn't wash down the lasagna at all.

As Coraline finished her punch in one sip, she immediately recognized "Hungry Heart" by Bruce Springsteen blasting from the DJ's speakers. Coraline flailed her arms around, taking the cup from Michael's hand and exclaiming, "Oh, it's our song, Michael! We have to dance!"

"I – I –" Michael swallowed hard as Coraline dragged him to the center of dancing couples. "I don't think I can do this in front of everyone, Coraline."

She tsked, "Of course, you can!" Whirling him around, she had to hold him up as they finally stood face to face. They were in the middle of the dance floor, a bright, blue light shining on them. Coraline noticed how frozen Michael looked, and she almost found it funny how a boy so tall could feel so small. People were staring at them. (Why wouldn't they?) Coraline scoffed as Michael stood in front of her, as stiff as a board.

"You don't like this song?" She asked, loud enough over the music.

"I just ..." Michael shook his head. "You know I can't dance."

Coraline smiled softly, "Then we can just slow dance."

Now, that he could do. Slow dancing was easy, even if it looked ridiculous to do it during a happy song. Coraline pulled him close, resting her face on his chest. Michael followed her instructions perfectly, laying his right hand in her left and placing a hand on her waist. The hormonal teenager inside of him caused his hand to twist around her hip, pulling her in tighter. The invisible threads were out again, wrapping them together and causing an electric shock. Bruce Springsteen's voice echoed through Coraline's ears, but all she could hear was Michael's heartbeat.

Everybody's got a hungry heart! Everybody's got a hungry heart!

Maybe Bruce Springsteen was right. Everyone did have a hungry heart, one that yearned for things that were no good for them. In Coraline's case, it was her Satanist neighbor, who everyone told her to stay away from. For an addict, they yearned for their drug of choice. For someone like, let's say – Heather Beaumont, she yearned for more power. Every single person in this world was hungry for something. They all had hungry hearts, and Coraline's wanted Michael Langdon.

Lay down your money and you play your part! Everybody's got a hungry heart!

"You want to get out of here?" Michael whispered in Coraline's ear, disrupting her train of thought. She wrinkled her nose in confusion. "I saw a gazebo near the entrance of the school earlier. Maybe I'll be able to finally dance better with no people around."

Coraline chuckled loudly, following him to the exit of the school. She made sure to tell her friends where she was going before she left, realizing that Amalia currently sat at her table, talking to Eloise. Greg had scowled at Coraline, earning a glare back.

As Coraline ushered Michael down the empty halls of the school, the DJ's voice reverberated across the wall, calling all students to the gym so they could announce Winter Ball Princess. Michael kept his hand with Coraline's, moving her forward as they walked. She pointed to wherever her student of the month portrait was posted, which caused Michael to smile at her accomplishments. They both liked to win.

Once they were outside, Coraline's eyes widened at the gazebo Michael was referring to. It was situated amongst the willows guarding the perimeter of the school parking lot. Various fake flowers were entwined with strings lights around the marquee, creating a heavenly atmosphere. Coraline sprinted forward, hopping up on the white floorboard. Her dress fluffed up from under her, but she didn't care as she reached up to pick up a fake flower and put it in her hair.

When she looked back to Michael, she noticed he was hesitating to follow her. Suddenly, her smile began to vanish. She gestured for him to come forward, watching the way he swallowed hard before meeting her under the yellow lights of the marquee. Coraline decided to ignore it. Out of sight. Out of mind. This was her night.

"You didn't bring me out here to dance, did you?" She smirked, standing on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his lips. Michael placed a hand on her cheek, but kept the other firmly at his side, forming in a fist. Coraline realized how flat his mouth felt, like he didn't enjoy kissing her, even though she knew he did. She leaned away and raised her brow. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing. I swear." Michael shook his head, as if he was trying to convince himself. He looked to his feet with shame.

Coraline opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't find the words. She grabbed Michael's hand and squeezed it. "Well, I can't hear the music anyways, so there's no reason for us to be dancing out here. Let's go back inside."

She walked forward and started to pull on his hand, but he didn't move. Looking over her shoulder, Coraline flipped her hair to the side. She yanked on his hand again. His grip was set. "Michael, quit playing around," she laughed nervously. "Let's go."

He finally lifted his eyes. They were wide and blue – oh, so blue. "Coraline," he whispered, "we can't go back in the school."

"Why?!" Coraline asked, her tone rising sharply.

Without a hint of regret, Michael turned his head to the school. Across from them was a large window that gave the viewer direct access to the gym. Coraline stared at Michael for a minute longer, watching his mouth curl and his fist clench, before turning to the window.

Chaos. All she saw was chaos. Screams began to erupt from the inside – familiar screams. The screams of students; the screams of faculty. The lights inside were moving around wildly. Windows shattered and sent glass fragments everywhere. Coraline opened her mouth, but didn't say a word. She watched a table suddenly fly across the window and crush a group of people. Blood spewed out, coating the shutter ahead of her.

Coraline shook her head. This couldn't be. No, it couldn't.

But it was before her very eyes. This was her vision. One that she didn't know she could stop.

She didn't even bother to acknowledge Michael's presence as she walked forward, entering the parking lot once again. She wanted to release a string of words, but nothing emerged. Her chest heaved with exhaustion at the sight of chaos. She could hardly run in her ankle boots. Her vision was going blurry, and she blinked away the tears.

"Coraline," Michael called, clenching his fist even tighter. If he let go, then his focus would break. "Coraline, come back!"

She shook her head, barely hearing him. Coraline stumbled forward and picked up speed. Flames began to emerge from the gym floor, causing her to stagger back, and she watched the scene with horror. Eloise, Greg, Billy, Amalia – they were all in there, burning alive. Everything felt so constricted, and she wondered if it was from the tightness of her dress. Coraline couldn't breathe.

Michael clutched her arm then, pulling her back. The grip was gentle, yet firm. Soft fingers caressed the goosebumps that had raised on her skin. Coraline stood there and watched the lights dim to a bright red with each shriek. Even with the destruction Michael was causing now, Coraline was roped in, and felt the need to hold his hand. Her heart beat rapidly as he hissed, "Coraline Rose."

She finally turned. Two black eyes stared back at her, but vanished immediately.

"Michael, make it stop," Coraline pled, not bothering to rip her arm away. The threads connected them and they made her feel alive. He just needed to stop this and everything could be okay again. They could be okay again.

Michael shook his head firmly. Coraline looked to his left hand, watching as he flexed it in and out.

"I'm telling you right now: stop it." Her mouth wobbled, releasing tears that she had desperately tried to keep in. Her sobs were ugly and weak, but she noticed they made him react the same way. Sadness engulfed Michael's face as she begged him, "Michael, please. Stop what you're doing. My friends are in there. Do you hear me? Innocent lives are in there –"

"But they all hurt you. They're getting what they deserve." His jaw tensed as he tried to suck in the tears. "This is only the beginning, Coraline. With your visions predicting the future and my power ... we could take down every bad person by ending the world."

Coraline's mouth dropped. He was kidding. He had to be kidding. This wasn't the boy with the sunshine hair and beautiful eyes.

"You lied to me. You were keeping this from me the whole time," she spat. The parking lot lights flickered above their heads. "Make it fucking stop, Michael!"

And then, silence. Lights burst from inside the school. Coraline gasped and looked over her shoulder. The gymnasium was dark. Her eyes shifted to the school's entrance, realizing that a huge group was piling through the doors. Every single student that was still alive ran through like bulldozers, destroying anything and everything in their way. At the front and center was Amalia Beaumont, holding her hands out in front of her, as if she was keeping the school from collapsing.

Coraline swallowed hard, turning back to Michael with wide eyes. His expression was different now. He released his grip on Coraline and looked to his hands with shock. He sniffled loudly, as if he couldn't believe what he'd done. He was powered by the Devil — he had to be, whatever that meant. Coraline blinked, looking at his hands, until their stares met again.

"I'm ... I'm sorry, Coraline," he whispered.

She didn't know what to say. She didn't know if she could say anything. They stood in the middle of the parking lot as students moved like a flood around them. Coraline sucked in a sob and rubbed at her nose. She shook her head, unable to speak.

"I just ..." Michael's expression went blank. Teenagers shrieked as they ran past. "I have these feelings and powers I'm learning to control. But I can't. I don't want bad people to hurt the ones I love. I don't want them to hurt you anymore, Coraline." He had been looking at his hands, but finally, he lifted his chin. "I don't want to be like this. I want to be a good person. And I know that you can help me."

Help? Coraline's mind swam with a million different questions. What does he mean by, help him? She couldn't do anything. She couldn't even help herself. With a shake of her head, Coraline felt the pressure invade her stomach. She instinctively began to step backward, causing Michael to grab her hand.

"No, no, don't go," he pleaded, voice cracking. Tears ran down his cheeks, mixing with the red eyeshadow on the inner corner and staining his face. "I knew this would happen. I was always afraid it would happen." He shook his head violently. It sounded like he was muttering to himself, rather than speaking to her. "I'm afraid of me ... hurting you."

His grip wasn't tight. He would never handle her that way. Coraline easily slipped her hand from his, running it down her face. Mascara tears tainted her eyes. What could she say? What could she do? She had these suspicions about him weeks ago, but she did nothing because she cared about this sunshine boy and he cared for her. She had pushed away the red flags for so long, and now she had to finally face them. Michael Langdon did so much for her, but this wasn't what she wanted.

Coraline had been naïve. Maybe her hungry heart should've listened to everyone in the first place.

"I can't – I don't know what to do, Michael. I can't fix you." Her lip quivered as she continued to back away. He tried stepping forward, but she held up a hand, pointing a stern finger in his direction. "You always seemed like you were attracted to darkness, but maybe ..." Her voice cut to a whisper. "Maybe you are the darkness."

"But – but –" Michael sniffled and rubbed at his eyes. He shook his head, trying to convince himself that this wasn't happening. "But you're the only light I've ever known, Coraline. You were the first person to treat me like a real person. You always understood me. You've never been afraid of me."

Coraline's eyes went wide. "I am now."

Another step backward. Then another. And then another. Michael reached out, but didn't take a chance to follow her. "No, no – don't go, Coraline." His sobs were the only sound that could be heard over the yelling of scared teenagers. "Please, Coraline. Please, don't leave me alone. You were helping me."

But she was running now. A gasp filled the air as soon as she heard Michael's last sentence, causing her feet to move at an unmeasurable fast pace. The wind pulled at her hair, drying her cheeks within seconds. She ran with the chaotic mob that had left the school, pushing through them to get lost within their ranks. She looked over her shoulder and saw Amalia still holding up the school and waiting for law enforcement.

Sliding her eyes to the left, Coraline saw Michael standing there, shoulders hunched, defeated. Her eyes welled up with tears again. Why couldn't she have prevented this vision? This shouldn't have happened. None of this should have ever happened: meeting him, killing the criminals, going to the Winter Ball ... none of it.

The second she blinked, Michael had disappeared.

•••

Heather Beaumont only had her Winter Ball Princess crown on for a short moment, before the chaos had started in the school gymnasium. She was one of the first victims, being crushed to death with a flying speaker. Nine other students didn't survive either, and the school almost collapsed in on itself. Luckily, Eloise, Greg, and Billy survived. School and midterm exams were canceled, leading students right into winter break. A vigil was held for the victims days after the destruction.

As soon as Coraline got home the night of the dance, she pressed her back against the door and locked it. Francesca ran from the living room. She had stayed up all night, due to the gnawing feeling in her stomach, and when she saw her daughter's facial expression, she knew it had been true. Francesca engulfed her daughter in a tight hug, pressing kisses to the top of her head. Coraline didn't have to explain a word, nor did she want to.

She convinced her mother to take them to her dad's house. Francesca was bitter and almost refused, but when she saw the pleading look in Coraline's eyes, they packed their bags and headed straight out. Coraline didn't know what was going to happen with Michael, but she knew they weren't safe. If Michael was some kind of Chosen One, he may have the ability to find them wherever they went. He could easily find them with the Devil on his side.

But he never did.

Coraline and Francesca stayed with Jacob Avery for two, long weeks, and nothing came from Michael. Jacob had never been happier to be with his daughter again, but all Coraline wanted was a safe house. She refused to leave her room most of the time, in fear she'd see the woman Jacob left them for.

A day before winter break ended, Francesca finally decided it was time to return home, despite Coraline's fear. They packed their bags back into her mother's cherry-red Camaro and drove the short distance home. Coraline hesitated walking out of the car as they pulled up to the house, scared that Michael would see her from his front porch. She wasn't sure when she would be ready to talk to him, but surely not now.

She finally stepped out of the car, slamming the passenger door shut. Coraline looked over the hood of the car at Michael's house and found herself shivering at the silence. She walked closer to the sidewalk, noticing that Miriam's car wasn't in the driveway. The neon lawn chair was gone from the porch. The shades were opened, allowing anyone to look inside. As Francesca took their bags out of her trunk, Coraline walked across the street.

The house was empty. There wasn't a person in sight. Coraline would never see him again. As much as his act of rebellion terrified her, she knew there was no way she could ignore him for the rest of her life. The threads were too strong. Their connection was too tight. But that would never happen now. California was Satanist-free again.

Michael Langdon had vanished without a trace.

END OF ACT I

•••

A/N: THIS CHAPTER WAS A LOT AND VERY LONG BUT I COULDN'T BREAK IT OFF!!!! SORRY, BUT I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THESE DEPRESSION HOURS

Act II is coming up, Laid Ease,,,,,,,, Lemme just say now: NONE OF Y'ALL ARE READY. I WILL DELIVER ON WHAT Y'ALL WANT, I PROMISE

If it's any conciliation,,,,,,I thought this was so funny