Chapter Text
She entered her home, trying to be as quiet as possible. She knew that ray had meant it when he told her to go talk to her dad, but what she didnt know was how to ask him about it. She wanted to go to her room, and text Victor to make sure she was okay, then maybe go ask him about it at dinner.
But to her surprise, he was sitting in the living room when she opened the door.
“Dad.” she said, trying not to sound too surprised. Her dad looked up from his book, his glasses glinting in the lamplight.
“Nova.” he said with a smile.
“Come, sit doen.” he said, straightening up and putting his book down. Hesitantly, she came and sat on the couch. She was a little nervous for whatever he was about to say.
Now, this may seem strange. A girl completely freaked out because her dad stayed up to see her. And that may be normal for some dads.
But not for Novas.
“I’m glad you made it home safe. How was school?” he asked, leaning forward. She fiddle witht the hem of her skirt.
“Fine.” she said hesitantly. She wasnt quite sure what to say. Her dad nodded, like he was waiting for something else.
“Good, good. Anything… strange?” he asked, innocently enough but too enquiring to be a coincidence.
“Should there be?” she asked, a newfound wash of bravery coming over her. But then, he gave her a reprimanding look.
“Nova.” he said seriously. She shrank back into her chair at his tone.
He didnt want backtalk. Just answers.
“Something strange happened,” she started hesitantly.
“With a friend of mine.”
He looked at her, his interest peaked.
“What exactly, did ray do.” he said slowly, like he sort of already knew the answer. She narrowed her eyes.
“He destroyed a painting that belonged to my friend.” she said. Her dad sighed, sitting back slowly rubbing a tired hand over his face.
“I told him not to do anything.” he mumbled. Nova looked at him then, shock in her face.
“Wait, you talked to Ray? Dad, what is going on. What has it got to do with Victor?” she asked, her patience waning. She wanted answers.
When she said Victor's name, his expression changed again, like he expected it, but he was… disappointed?
“So it's true.” he mumbled with a sigh. Nova straightened at that.
“So WHAT is true dad? What is going on?” she asked.
He sighed again, taking his glasses off.
“Ray came to me the other day.” he began, leaning forward to look her in the eyes.
“He said he saw you with a boy. Not that that in itself was overly concerning, but… he recognized him. He wanted me to know who he was.”
“Why does it matter?” she asked exasperatedly. Her father looked her in the eyes for a minute.
“Nova.” he said.
“Your friend. His last name is Barton, isn't it?” he asked. She nodded slowly, trying to read the expression on his face.
“Barton. As in, Victoria Barton.” he said. And then, the meaning dawned on her face.
Victoria Barton. The council member from Shadyside, that had been advocatin for the integration of Zombietown adn Shadyside to be included in seabrook. Her dads biggest politcal competitor.
Victoria Barton. Victor Barton.
“That- that's not-” she stuttered out. But her father just shook his head.
“Ray wanted to be sure. He found the pictures from her campaign a few years ago. Victor was in the background.”
Nova just sat there, her mouth open and her mind racing.
“He… he told me his mom was an artist.” she said quietly. Her father reached forward, taking her hand.
“She was. Vienna and Vincent Barton died in a car crash a few years ago. Victor is her nephew.” he said quietly.
Nova could feel the emotions building in her throat.
“He never told me.” she said. Her father nodded.
“I know. I figured not. That's why Ray was concerned he might be manipulating you.” he said. Nova leaned back in shock.
“He’s.. he's not manipulating me.” she said defensive. Her father gave her a pitying look.
“Nova,” he said.
“He lied to you. He moved here because of his aunts campaign against me. Its likely that the only reason he became your friend was because he was gathering information for his aunt.”
Nova could feel her eyes start to well.
“He wouldn’t… he wouldn't do that. Not to me.” she said. Her father tilted his head at her.
“Then why did he lie?” he asked.
And Nova stayed silent. Because she didnt know. There wasnt an answer to give
Why did he lie?
Her father reached forward, and grabbed her hands again.
“You will,” he said lowly.
“Ignore him. You will leave him alone, and you will go back to your old friends.”
Nova shook her head.
“I can't." she whispered, her breath shaky.
“You have to.” he said firmly.
“For me. For this family. You have to leave that boy alone.”
She went back up to her room, and sat down on her bed, numb. She ran a hand over the stuffed dog that Victor won her at the fair. She stared at the pictures of the two of them pinned above her desk.
Was it true? Was it all a lie?
Her phone dinged then, and her breath caught in her throat when she saw who it was.
Victor: thanks for everything today nov. i found out what happened with ray. i dont know what i would do without you <3. Love you!
She stared at it for a minute, trying to decide what to say.
Nova: Ofc! Love you too <3
Then, she put her phone down, and layed back on her pillows, grabbing a hold of her stuffed dog, and squeezing it tight as the tears welled in her eyes.
She cried herself to sleep that night.
—-------------------------------------------------------------
She was a coward. She had been actively ignoring him all day.
She had spent most of her day in the nurses office, feeling too sick with dread to stand. Then, when she finally did make it to class, she sat up at the front with a few other girls her age, ignoring the dark haired boy in the back.
Her heart almost broke when she saw his smile as she walked in, then his confusion and sadness when she ignored him. It was too much. She couldnt do it.
He didn't come up to her in class. Of course he didn’t. He hated confrontation more than anyone she knew. Still, he followed her after class, clearly trying to talk to her.
She ran away though, cutting through the halls and dodging him after class. She could see the hurt in his eyes, and she felt simultaneously relieved and sad when he stopped trying after the third or fourth time.
She almost had made it through the whole day, and was sprinting to the side of the building after her last class when he cornered her.
She was trying to get some air, and headed over to the quiet patch of trees that sat on the side of the school. She was pacing back and forth, trying to calm down, when a familiar figure stepped out from behind a tall tree, leaning against it.
She froze, her flight or flight response going haywire.
“I figured I would find you here.” he said quietly, looking at her. Then, when he noticed her tense posture, he added.
“And don't run away this time. You owe me at least that.”
She felt like she couldnt breath, like pulling air into her lungs was the hardest thing in the world.
“How did you know where I would be?” she finally asked. He snorted, and gave her a look.
“Come on. If you wanted to avoid someone, you would have to try a little harder for someone who knows you as well as I do.” he said. The silence that followed was deafening.
“So?” he finally asked, his tone expectant. She just stood there, trying to keep calm.
“Are you going to tell me why youve been avoiding me all day?” he asked. She kicked the ground.
“I wasnt avoiding you.” she mumbled. He scoffed.
“Spare me the bullshit Nov. you can't lie to me.” he said. She just looked at her feet, trying to decide what to say, before it all came spewing out of her mouth.
“I know about your aunt!” she blurted. His eyes widened slightly. Clearly not expecting that.
“...What exactly do you know about my aunt?” he said slowly.
“ I know that her election is why you moved here. I know that she is running against my dad.” her voice lowered.
“I know she has been taking care of you since you were 9. Since your parents died.”
Victor was silent then. Not a quiet silence. A loud, contemplative silence.
“..that’s why you're avoiding me,” he said. She scoffed.
“Of course that's why!” she exclaimed.
“Why else would I be?”
He threw his hands up, like he didnt know what she was talking about.
“Well what am i supposed to say? That yes, my parents are dead. Yes, my aunt is running a political campaign. But what does that have to do with us?” he asked, his voice getting louder.
“You know what it has to do with us! You lied to me! You told me you didnt like politics. You told me, that you werent really involved. You told me your mom was an artist!” she exclaimed. He looked at her, astounded.
“I am not involved in politics! I don't know the first thing about them, and my aunt and I barely tolerate each other. And my mom was an artist.” he said, voice going slightly wobbly at the end
“She taught me everything i know.”
Nova shook her head.
“That still doesn't explain what you wouldn't tell me. I didn't know who your aunt was, and I didn't know why you moved here! I didn't know anything.”
He ran a hand through his hair.
“I didn't tell you about my aunt, because I didn't think it mattered. And I didn't tell you about my parents because… because well shit nova. What was I supposed to say?” he said, his voice breaking.
“I don’t even believe it half the time myself. Sometimes I feel like if I just drive back home, they'll be waiting for me. I didn't know how to tell one of the most important people in the world to me that they were gone, because I can't even accept it myself.” he said quietly. She could feel the tears forming.
“I could have helped you. I could have been there. But I didn't know. You never tell me these things.” she shook her head, taking a step back.
“And now, I find out that you are the nephew of the woman who actively despises my family, and my own father is asking me to choose. How could you let me be blind for so long? How could you let it get to the point where I have to choose between you, and my family?” she asked tearfully. He looked at her then, really looked at her.
“And what would have changed Nova? If I told you?” he asked, coming closer.
“If I told you, what would have happened? Would your dad hate me less? Would it change anything?” he asked. Nova choked on her own words.
“If I had known when we met I.. I would have-”
“You would have what Nova?” he asked, his eyes welling now.
“Ignored me? Not become my friend? Are you telling me, that you wouldnt have become my friend in order to appease your dad, because now you cant decide between me and your own family? Even though they treat you like shit half the time? Even though I think you agree more with what my aunt says about integrating towns than whatever bullshit your dad is spewing?” he said.
“Don’t tell me how I should feel about my own family Victor!” she said, shoving him.
“You have no place to talk.”
He laughed, high and hysterical with no humor.
“At least I've learned to accept the criticism from my aunt. At least I know now that she will never be impressed with me, instead of working too hard for approval she'll never give, unlike some people!” he yelled.
“That’s not true Victor! If you were half the friend you claimed to be, you would know me better than that. But you don't, so you aren't." she said, her tone angry and final.
They both went silent then. The only sound was the trickle of the rain that had started down the side of the building, and her own heaving breathing.
“So is that it?” he said, a few stray tears falling down his face.
“Is that it? This, us… Is it over?”
She didnt respond. And that? It seemed to get the message across better than anything else.
“Okay then.” he said quietly, turning away. And she could see the redness of his eyes. And that nearly broke her.
She could have broken down right then, but then he stopped. Dead in his tracks, the rain still falling progressively harder.
“You know,” he said, voice thick with tears, without turning to face her.
“I thought you were different. I thought that you were someone who thought for themselves , who wasn't the same as the next person in this fake town.” he looked at her then, over his shoulder.
“But I was wrong. You're just the same as the rest. Lying to yourself, and losing everything in the process.”
Then, he turned away again, beginning to walk forward.
“Goodbye Nova.” he said quietly.
And once he was gone, she sank to her knees.
And there, under the rain, and in the mud, she cried. She sobbed, for Victor, for herself, for the damn way she ruined everything she touched, as she cried in tandem with the sky.
—----------------------------------------------
For the next year, they would barely talk. In fact, Victor would go out of his way to ignore her, and Nova would pretend he did not exist. Only a ghost of their friendship would remain.
That fall, Nova tries cheer for the first time. She makes new friends, popular girls that her family would approve of. And soon, what her father approved of would become her whole world.
Victor would feel alone, truly alone for the first time in his life. He would lament to Vera and Vargas about it, and they would make the executive decision to join him in Seabrook. This would improve his life infinitely, though the ghost of his parents, and the girl that he was in love with would still haunt him. He would never escape it, no matter how hard he tried.
They held to their word. It was the end of something so pure, young, and innocent. They grew up, and soon, they would start high school. Soon, we would see them as we do now. But right then? They were still heart broken kids, crying alone in the rain.
In the end, they never did get that summer together.