Chapter 1.15 - Normal?

 Despite everything that happened to the Dark family just a few days ago, from zombies dying in the back yard, kittens and a stove fire, all three were doing well. Amber was hard at work while the girls were both doing pretty well in school. Even with their quirkiness Bonnie and Cassie were getting decent grades and Bonnie was close to being on the honour roll. Amber had tried to get Bonnie to join the chess club but with little success, it seemed extra time with her classmates was not something Bonnie was the least bit interested in.

Bonnie had convinced her little sister to give chess another try. While their mother was working on her fitness in front of the TV, the two girls played together.
"Do you think one day we will move to a different house?" Cassandra asked while she tried to make sense of what was happening on the board.
"I don't know. Why?" Bonnie asked, planning the next 7 moves to take down her sister.
"I don't know, this one is just too...green." Cassandra said, idly nudging a pawn forward.
"We could always redecorate." Bonnie suggested, easily capturing the pawn Cassandra just moved.
"It will still be green. There's something about this house. No matter how much we redecorate, the entire house will feel green."
"Oh...kay." Bonnie said frowning. She didn't quite understand her sister's random lines of thought.

The next morning after the girls had left for school Amber got a phone call. It was her boss. He hadn't been in contact outside of work in a long time.
Amber took a deep breath and answered, "Hello David, how are you?"
"This isn't a personal call Amber, I have something important for you to do at work tonight. If you do it well, it means a promotion. Are you in?"
"Can I know what it is first?" Amber asked.
"I'm afraid not, all I can tell you is it's an important job I've been planning for months now. I need to know if you're in, if you're not, I can't tell you anything. But as I said, if you pull this off you will be promoted."
What the hell is this job???? Amber was intrigued. She was unable to decline such a juicy task.
"Sure. I'm in." She said.
"Great, I'll see you at work to give you the brief."

When Bonnie got home from school, her mother had already left.
That's strange, she normally doesn't leave til after I get back. Bonnie thought. She wondered what her mother was up to, she only left early when something big was happening at work.
The house was already spotless so she sat down and started the day's homework. Hopefully she would have some free time this evening once this was done. She wanted to get out of the house for a bit, a whole evening alone with her strange little sister wasn't appealing.

By the time she had finished her homework, Cassie was already driving her up the wall. She wanted to play all sorts of silly games and Bonnie just wasn't in the mood.
She grabbed her phone and did something completely out of character. She called one of her classmates.
"Hey, you got any plans tonight? I need to get out of this house, my sister is driving me crazy."
"Fae Ray Gardens? Yeah sounds good. I'll see you there."

"Yeeehah! Giddy-up boy!" Cassie shouted, completely oblivious to the fact she was about to run Gizmo over with her rocking horse.
Luckily Gizmo darted out of the way, hissing at her.
"Why wouldn't she join us Raindrop?" She moaned, "I played her stupid game, but she won't be a princess, a monster, a dinosaur...anything like that! She's stupid."
Raindrop blinked and nodded. He was yet to say a single word to her. He never spoke, but Cassie could hear his voice in her head.
You don't need her, you have me!

Cassie decided Raindrop was right. She didn't need her stupid sister when she had her best friend all the time.

"Thanks for meeting me. If I had been there one more minute I would have ended up doing a stupid teddy bear picnic or something else ridiculous." Bonnie said
"Not a problem, I always said we should hang out away from school." Ulysses replied.
Bonnie looked down, "To be honest, I thought you were just messing with me. Everyone at school thinks I'm a freak."
"Hey, don't think like that. You're just different to them. That's not a bad thing!"
"I guess...I just wish I could be like them. Wouldn't it be easier?" She asked.
"Maybe." He nodded, "But then you wouldn't be you."
Bonnie blushed, she didn't know what to say.

"I'm glad you called." Ulysses said, taking her face in his hands. "You, are beautiful."
What's happening? Bonnie thought, blood rose to her face and she turned red.
"I'm glad you answered." Was all she could think to say, and wrapped her arms around him.
Then, it happened, the thing most girls dream of, the thing Bonnie had never even thought of doing (at least with someone from school).
They kissed.
It was warm, it was both comforting and thrilling. Every part of Bonnie's body tingled, she felt electric.
Time froze, Bonnie found herself wishing this moment would never end.
Eventually they parted.
"Wow." Bonnie whispered, grinning like an idiot.
Ulysses just smiled, she was always so quiet, at school she almost seemed gloomy. He liked to see her like this. She seemed like a normal teenage girl, yet she was still Bonnie.

Bonnie's legs were trembling. She felt like she was about to faint. Everything felt so tingly, she hadn't ever had a boyfriend, she had never even dreamed of having one. It's something she had never thought of before. She didn't want to mess this up by seeming eager, but her legs were still trembling and she thought they were going to give out.
Luckily Ulysses came up with the idea of sitting and watching the stars. She was so grateful that she almost fell to the ground.
I hope he didn't notice that! She thought nervously.
The two sat on the grass, staring up at the night sky for ages. Bonnie would point out constellations she had read about.
They occasionally stared at one another, looking away sheepishly when the other caught them.
"So..." Ulysses said, catching her gaze, "There's gonna be a dance at the school soon. It's probably going to be lame, but it will be a lot less lame if you say you'll go with me."
Bonnie was stunned, DANCING!!!! I don't know how to dance!!
"Ummm....uhhh...ah." She stuttered.
"Oh," Ulysses looked away, "I'm sorry, I thought...."
"Oh no no no!" Bonnie said, grabbing his hands, "I really want to go...it's just..." she lowered her eyes, blushing and quietly said "I don't know how to dance."
Ulysses grinned, "That's fine." He leant in close, and whispered, "Neither do I."
They both burst out laughing.
"Oh my god!" Bonnie looked at her phone, "Look at the time!!!"
"What's wrong?"
"If mother gets home from work and finds out I left my sister alone all evening I will be in serious trouble." She groaned, "I'll lose my car!"
"Okay," Ulysses said, "Lets get you home. Thanks for inviting me out, it was great!"

When Bonnie got home, the house was a mess. There was water all over the place and the cats were playing in it.
"CASSANDRA!!" She screamed, "WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?"
She heard Cassandra laughing in her room, playing one of her games.
For goodness sake, this is going to take forever to sort out. 
The sink was spraying water everywhere. That was where she started, there was no point mopping up the water if the sink was going to spill it as fast as she could clean.
I'm going to kill you Cassie, just you watch!

The big job at work went well and Amber came home with a promotion. The place was spotless when she walked through the front door, even if it wasn't it wouldn't have spoiled her mood. Even the ghost playing with her chess set didn't spoil it. She finally felt like a success, her boss had trusted her with a big mission and she had really impressed him.

Amber had finally made enough money to give Bonnie the room she wanted. Her own bedroom, upstairs. She had given Bonnie the dollhouse, not because she was likely to use it but because it was the one thing in the shared bedroom that she didn't seem to completely hate.
Amber was making the final touches while Bonnie was on her way home from school. Amber hoped that Bonnie would like it, she had filled it with her favourite colours, and had left most of it quite bare so Bonnie could add whatever trinkets or artwork she wanted.

When Bonnie got home she started getting ready for the dance immediately. She had picked out her perfect dress and spent ages getting her hair just right. Always having her hair in plaits meant that nobody had ever seen her hair loose. I was thick and wavy and looked absolutely perfect.
She carefully and precisely applied her makeup. She wanted Ulysses to be stunned when he saw her. She felt butterflies in her stomach, something about Ulysses turned her into a normal teenage girl.
She was nervous and knew she would probably make a fool out of herself tonight.

Ulysses arrived to pick her up.
"Hi." She said softly, she couldn't believe this was happening.
"Wow," Ulysses said, "You look amazing, I must be the luckiest guy in the world."
Bonnie just blushed, speechless, staring at him, smiling like an idiot.
"We should probably get going," Ulysses said offering her his arm, "Your chariot awaits." He gestured to a limo that was just pulling up.
"Oh my god!" Bonnie whispered. "You got me a limo?"
"A five star ride for a five star lady." Ulysses replied smoothly, not mentioning he had used all the money he earned in his part time job to pay for it.

While Bonnie was being treated like a princess, Cassandra pretended she was one. She was also enjoying a brand new bedroom all to herself. (Well, herself and her best friend Raindrop)
"It must be time for the grand ball!" Cassandra exclaimed.
"Sir Raindrop, will you accompany me?" She asked with a small curtsey.

Prom night was the best night of Bonnie's life. Much to her surprise, her classmates loved her "new" look and voted her prom queen! She had never felt so special, she knew that this was just high school and it didn't really mean anything. Everyone in that room was probably going to end up in low-end mediocre houses living mediocre lives but they liked her! She sat on the throne on the stage.
Yes, I will rule over you tonight and bask in the glory. I have won this just like I will win everything from you all.
Eventually the prom ended, by the time it did, Bonnie and Ulysses were officially boyfriend and girlfriend. Bonnie got home just before curfew, Ulysses walked her to the front door and kissed her goodnight.
"Do you have to leave?" Bonnie whispered.
"Yes." He said, "You were amazing tonight Bonnie."
"Please stay?" She pouted.
"Not tonight Bonnie." Ulysses said. "You've had a little too much of the special punch. Just get yourself to bed. You can call me the moment you wake up."
"Okay." Bonnie said sadly. She didn't want to leave him. She just wanted him to hold her all night long.
Ulysses gave her one last kiss and turned to leave.
"Ulysses!" She whispered.
He turned around.
"I love you!" Bonnie almost shouted.
The next moment was the longest of her entire life, all kinds of scenarios rushed through her head. What if he just started laughing? What if he didn't say it back? What if he did!?
"I love you too." He said, "Goodnight Bonnie."
She stood there blissfully numb and watched him leave.

The next day, Waylon Wolff invited himself over after school. He had been watching Bonnie all day at school.
"Stop! Following! Me!" Bonnie shouted as she got to the front door.
"I saw you at the prom" He said.
"Good for you." She replied
"You were beautiful."
Oh great. A stalker. She thought. How am I going to get rid of him.

All of her attempts failed. He kept following her around the house, asking her to go out with him.
"LEAVE ME ALONE YOU STUPID DOG!" Bonnie screamed, grabbing the newspaper and hitting him on the nose with it.
I hate werewolves! She thought to herself.
Hopefully he got the message this time.

Tonight was a rare night. Amber had a night off from work. She persuaded Cassandra to play a game of chess with her.
Raindrop didn't approve of this, he would rather Cassandra play with him or pull pranks around the house.
"It's Leisure day tomorrow mother. Do you think we could go to the festival?" Cassandra asked. The festival sounded like a lot of fun.
"The festival? I guess it couldn't hurt." Amber said, glad her daughter was actually having a normal thought in her head for once.
"Yeah, there is going to be an eating contest and we can have a water balloon fight and get ice creams and face painting and play games and have our photos taken and watch fireworks and have a barbecue..."
Wow, she hasn't taken a breath in all that.
"Cassandra, calm down!" Her daughters face was going a strange colour. She seemed so excited to spend a day with the family, "We might not have time to do absolutely everything, but we will go and we will have fun."

And so the Dark family did something they had never done before. They went to the festival together.
"Look!" Cassandra shouted, "Lets go have a water fight!"
She dragged her mother and sister over to the area where they could fight each other.
"How are we going to do this, it will be two against one?" Bonnie pointed out.
"That's ok, I can take you both on!" Cassandra shouted.
"Ok, if you're sure." Amber said with a gleam in her eye.
They took their positions and the fight began. Amber and Bonnie were ruthless and emerged victorious. Cassandra was completely soaked through to the skin.
"No fair!" She whined, "It was two against one!"
"Don't say we didn't warn you!" Bonnie laughed.

Next up was the eating contest. Amber couldn't believe she had let the girls talk her into this.
"You're going down this time!" Cassandra said.
"You wish!" Bonnie replied.
Amber sighed as the plates of hotdogs arrived.
At least they're both enjoying this. She thought.

Amber didn't know how she managed it, but she managed to clear her plate before either of her daughters.
Bonnie gave up halfway through, but Cassandra carried on til every last hot dog was gone.

Bonnie tried her luck on the claw machine. She didn't win anything amazing, just a small bag of gold worth a few simoleons and some festival tickets.

Amber played the smack-a-gnome. It was quite a good stress-reliever.

Cassandra was getting a little too hot so had an ice lolly to cool down. She missed Raindrop, she knew he wouldn't have let her lose all the games. Maybe it was time to suggest going home.

The Dark girls came home with a beautiful picture to commemorate the day they were actually a normal family.