Before the Friendship Games: Sugarcoat

Neon Lights slowly walked up to the front door of his house and sighed heavily. He opened the door, then trudged in. "Hey, sport," a familiar voice said. Neon looked to see his father, smiling at him.

Cypress Bark was a muscular, down-to-earth man in his late 30's. His shaggy black hair followed his head movements every time he turned to look in any given direction. His bright green eyes were almost as distracting as Neon's, not that he minded. Sweat glistened off of his light brown skin and soaked through his black t-shirt, which meant that he hit the gym right after he returned.

Neon smiled faintly. If Dad's here, then... Someone crept up behind him, then embraced him from behind. Yup, Neon thought. Right on schedule...

"Hey, Neon," said an excited feminine voice. Cerulean Cascade held her son tightly as he turned around and returned her hug. Neon stared into his mother's dark blue eyes as he slowly broke the hug. The smile on her light blue face made him feel only marginally better as he noticed her dark blue hair was unkempt. Again.

"Hey," Neon said flatly.

"Rough weekend," asked Cypress.

Neon sighed heavily. "That's a fucking understatement," he said wearily. "Can we sit down and talk?"

"Of course we can," Cerulean said as the family headed to the living room. They sat in chairs and faced each other.

"So," Cypress asked. "What happened?"

Neon took a deep breath, then exhaled. He remained silent for a few moments, then told his parents everything that had happened to him over the course of the weekend, ending with his pyrrhic victory over Sugarcoat. Once his finished, he put a hand to his head and sniffled. "I feel like shit..." he said as his voice broke.

Cerulean gave her son a hug. "Neon...you didn't really mean what you said," she said.

"But it doesn't excuse what I said or what I did," Neon said, then let out another sniffle.

"No," Cypress said, "it doesn't. You should probably give her space. Some time to cool off."

"Your father's right, Neon," Agreed Cerulean. "If you were to try to talk to her, you might just make things worse."

Neon sighed. "Yeah...you're probably right," he said as he got off of the couch. "I'm glad to see you guys again, really I am. But I need some time alone."

"We understand," Cypress said as he walked towards Neon and gave him a hug.

Neon returned the hug. "I love you guys," he said, then walked up to his room. He entered, then closed the door. He took off his shoes and collapsed onto his bed. Finally alone, he broke and cried into his pillow.

Crystal Clarity returned home after a long, hard day at work. She sighed contentedly as she opened the door from the garage to the house. "I'm home," she said, and was surprised to see that nobody greeted her. She frowned. When she wasn't greeted by either her daughter or her husband, it usually meant something was wrong. Feeling slightly concerned, she walked into the kitchen. "Hello," she called out.

Sizzle walked into the kitchen, looking very upset. Crystal's concern deepened as she saw the expression on her husband's face. "I take it something's wrong?" Sizzle nodded. Her concern slowly gave way to apprehension. "Where's Sugarcoat," she asked, almost afraid to find out the answer. Sizzle wordlessly pointed in the direction of their daughter's room. Crystal gasped. The last time her husband was unable to speak and her daughter was in her room was..."Oh, god," she whispered, then made a beeline to Sugarcoat's door. She knocked on the door, then waited for a reply. After a few moments, she entered.

Sugarcoat's room was devoid of light, but the scent of sex still permeated the air. Crystal walked over to her daughter's bed to see her fast asleep. Crystal sighed heavily, then gently nudged Sugarcoat. She stirred, then opened her eyes. She put on her glasses, and almost immediately choked up. "Hey kid," Crystal said with a smile. Sugarcoat sniffled, then shot over to her mother as she burst into tears, bawling and sobbing uncontrollably. She embraced her daughter as Sugarcoat cried into her chest, running her hand through her hair and down her back repeatedly as she softly gave her words of comfort. Several minutes passed until she had no more tears left in her. She looked up at her mother. "Now," Crystal said calmly. "What happened?"

Crystal Clarity left her daughter's room, taking great pains not to slam the door behind her. She walked down the stairs and into the living room where her husband sat. She sat down next to him and sighed heavily as she put a hand to her face. "Unbelievable," she muttered under her breath. "Unbe-fucking-lievable." A tear rolled down her eye, and Sizzle took her by the hand, giving her a comforting look. "I don't care if it was the heat of the moment...what he did was beyond the pale," she said.

Sizzle frowned, then spoke up. "I haven't seen her that heartbroken since her breakup," he said.

"Don't remind me of that day, honey. It makes my blood boil just thinking about it," Crystal said angrily. "And now this," she said as she threw her arms up in the air. "How dare he..." She took a deep breath, then exhaled, calming herself slightly.

"Feel better," Sizzle asked.

"Not by much," Crystal replied, "but I suppose it's better than nothing at this point."

"I'm sure everything will work out just fine in the end," Sizzle said.

"Do you have any idea how many times I said something similar to her up there," she asked, gesturing towards Sugarcoat's room. Sizzle put a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder, causing her to sigh again. "Things like this are proof that there needs to be a change a Crystal Prep...this hyper-competitive environment is wreaking havoc on the psyche of many of the students...it's just not healthy!"

"We'll figure something out, dear. I have faith in the cause," Sizzle said.

"So do I, honey. So do I," Crystal said.