Shifting Rose

“Rosie! Where you at girl?!” Milaya looked around, her pitch-black hair bouncing around as she moved her head.

“She’s not here.” A red head walked through the pink and silver beads in the left doorway.

Milaya’s blue eyes searched, though she was no longer moving around as wildly. “Are you sure Lina?”

“Yeah. She hasn’t come back from her shift yet.” Lina walked over to the fridge and took out orange juice.

“And how do I know you’re not her?” Milaya questioned.

The red-haired girl rolled her eyes. “And why would she be me?”

“Yeah. You’re right. She doesn’t have your legendary attitude.” Milaya smiled.

“Oh, shut up Mil.” Lina put the orange juice back just as the door opened.

Milaya turned around to see the short bubble gum girl walking in.

“Rosie!! You’re here!” Mil ran towards her and hugged her.

Rosie smiled slightly. “Do you need something Mil?” She questioned.

“I am dragging you with me to go shopping.” Mil laughed as Rose tried to sink out of the dorm room. “It’s not THAT bad going shopping with me.”

“Actually, it is,” Rosie smiled.

Rosie weaved around Mil and went through the beads to the room on the other side. She came back out wearing a white shirt and white skirt, with pink elbow high gloves and tights.

“Aww. My best friend is dressing like a teddy bear today.” Mil fawned over Rosie’s outfit while Lina started coughing like a mad woman.

“Yeah, yeah, sure. If we don’t hurry up, this teddy bear won’t be able to make her next shift.” Rosie walked out the door.

“Is she ok? She doesn’t seem that happy today.” Lina looked out the still open door to the hallway.

“Today is just not a good day for her. Don’t worry. I’ll deal with it.” Mil walked out.

When the two girls got far enough away, Mil turned towards her.

“Do you really have to do that TODAY!!” Mil went crazy and the wind picked up.

“I have to. Listen, I know you don’t want me to do this anymore, but I will be in a lot more trouble with my dad if I don’t.” Rosie looked down.

Mil sighed. “Fine. If you get caught though, I will report him. There is enough proof under your gloves to get him put away for a while.”

“Thank you.” Rosie smiled relieved and went to the alley behind the Hengrieve Bank.

She thought of the bank teller she had seen just two weeks before. She had memorized her schedule and her looks perfectly. Just for this moment. Her skin began to shift, like scales continuously moving, until she became a woman with long blonde hair and mysterious teal eyes. Her suit was a dark blue. The same the woman was wearing the first time she had seen her.

“Camryn! You’re not supposed to be here today!” A guy behind the counter said as he was drowned in a line of customers.

“I was told to come in because there were a lot of people here today. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.” She walked behind and got started.

Every time she pulled money out; she took about twenty dollars more and set in her pocket. At the end of the day, she had around two thousand dollars in her pockets and was leaving the building. A hero, one who she recognized, walked in and she knew there was no chance she would be able to successfully complete this, and her dad was going to really kill her this time. She carefully avoided touching him and drawing his attention. She left the building but felt someone watching her. She took out her phone and texted Mil to meet her at her house. No secret code, just to meet at Mil’s house before going over to her own.

“And who are you?” A male voice questioned which made her jump.

“Um. I’m Camryn. I work at the bank.” Rosie slightly smiled.

“I know. I’ve seen you there before. You have never walked in this direction before.” He smiled.

He knows something. Rosie thought. “I am going to a friend’s house. I haven’t seen her in a while.

“Mind if I walk you? It is pretty dangerous for an uptown girl like yourself to head into a part of town like this.”

“I’ll be fine. I can handle myself. Thank you for the offer though.” She smiled and walked faster to get away from him.

He disappeared, though she knew he would never leave that quickly. Just like he would never leave until her shift was over at Stardollars. She went into an alley to cut into Mil’s neighborhood and transformed again. The scales shifted once more, back to her regular clothes, bubble gum hair, and black eyes. Rosie entered the alley door to the building and left through the front door, heading over to Mil’s house.

She knocked on the door. “Mil, it’s me.”

Milaya opened the door and was not too happy.

“Listen. I know you aren’t happy, but I have no choice. Plus, it is only once every two months. Unless he is really stressed.” Rosie awkwardly smiled.

Mil sighed at her best friend once again. “Alright. Let’s go.”

The pair left for Rosie’s house. They took alley short cuts to avoid being caught by gangs. Though the gangs know better than to mess with residents of this community, the new members won’t think of it as much. Mil and Rosie walk together, because at first glance, the new members might think of Rosie as easy prey, but that is quite the opposite. She is the hardest to hunt in the community. That is all thanks to her skills and the pain resistance she gained after almost twenty years of abuse from her father. They made it to the house pretty quick, and when she entered, she saw the gang her father had trained up the most, and the hero who was following her not too long ago, under cover as a member.

“Well, you’re finally here,” Her father said and all of the members looked at her. “Where is it?”

Rosie tossed the money on the table and looked at the floor. No matter how many times she was used to it, she hated being watched. She hated attention. The hero was watching her. His eyes widened a bit as he realized that Rosie was the girl he was talking to on his way to the meeting, but they quickly shifted back.

“You finally did something useful for once Rainy.” He smiled looking at the money. “If any of you want to have your way with her then go ahead.”

He waved his hand toward her and left with the money. While the older members and the hero stayed still, some of the new members stepped towards her. The oldest of the gang members put a hand on the hero’s shoulder to stop him from doing something.

Rosie heard him whisper, “Don’t Ezra. They will learn what happens when they mess with her. She may not seem like she can do anything but be innocent, but that is definitely not the case.”

She continued to stare at the ground, while they towered over her. That was until the first of the three tried to grab her arm. She grabbed his hand and bent down, kicking his leg and making him go flying over her and into the wall next to the door. The second attacked and she dodged a punch to the face, grabbing his hand and twisting it. Her leg went straight up and straight down on the back of his neck, and a crack was heard. The third backed away, though one of the senior members grabbed him and slammed him into the floor.

“This is what happens when you mess with your senior.” He snarled.

Rosie faced the floor again. She was trying not to smile. Though they were so close to her father, they all treated her like their sister. They never hurt her like her father did. They don’t usually lose their cool and do things they could never get away with like her brothers. And they would never leave her alone with people like her family, like her mom did.

Not much later, while she was still standing there, a big group had left. Only the hero, Ezra, and a few others remained. The leader of the seniors walked to her and stood in front of her. He knew better than to try and get her to look at him.

“Do you want me to take you and Mil back to school?” He asked.

The door swung open. “Yes, please Jackson.” Mil looked at him with a pleading face and Rosie chuckled.

“She just doesn’t want to walk.” Rosie smiled and looked up just a bit.

All she saw was the hero looking at her up and down. There was worry in his eyes. It wasn’t until she looked back down that she saw her glove was ripped, revealing the scars she always tried to hide. The leader noticed this, grabbed her hand, and pulled her out the door before Ezra could say anything. They drove to their college and went into the dorm. Everything was fine. That was until her next shift.

“Your total is $4.65,” Rosie said to the customer in the hood.

She was relieved that Ezra wasn’t here. Especially since he saw her scars. She counted five dollars and gave the person their change.

“Thanks, my Rose.” She heard and she almost choked on nothing.

“Desmond shut up. I should have known when the newbie didn’t come to watch me it would be you.” She shifted her eyes to see her oldest brother’s best friend, who is a senior member of the group.

“What do you mean?” He questioned her.

“One of the newbies. I don’t know how new he is though. He is in here every day I have work until my shift ends. He just kinda keeps an eye on me.” She shifted under his gaze. “You are holding up the line. My break is soon. I will talk then.”

She was hoping he would have left before her break. He didn’t though. He was set on finding out more about this member who had been watching her. She went over and sat in front of him.

“So. About this newbie.” He stared directly into her eyes.

Other than Mil, Lina, Jackson, and him, no one could get Rosie to look them in the eye for longer than two seconds.

“The one Jackson had to hold back when the other new members challenged me.” She tilted her head a bit. “Ezra, I think his name was.”

“Oh. That dumb kid. I’m not shocked.” Desmond texted someone and continued. “Seems like I will have to talk to him about this when I get back to the house.”

“It is fine, Des. I’m sure he doesn’t mean anything by it.” She smiled faintly.

“Mhm. We’ll see about that. See you soon Rose.” He got up and kissed her on the head.

She got back to her shift and closed up the store. When she left, she saw a group of newbies outside.

“Need something boys?” She asked in a small voice.

“Oh. It’s Rainy! Boss wanted us to take you somewhere.” One of them walked toward her.

She stepped back. “Anywhere my father wants me to go, I decide that it is not good for my health.”

A gas spread around her, and she fell into another newbie’s arms.

“You don’t have a choice,” He responded.

When she woke up, she was in a freezing cold white room.

“H-he-help,” She muttered. Rule 1- Never fall asleep near new members. She thought.

She slowly dragged her body towards the side of the freezer.

Where was the button again?

She looked for the button Jackson had installed after the last time she was put in. She found it in the corner and had just enough energy to press it with her whole body, then she slumped and was no longer conscious. The room of seniors was quiet, with the sound of an alarm not waking a single one. Ezra, who was walking around the house investigating, however, heard it and instantly went in.

“Hey. What is that alarm?” He asked and everyone woke up, finally hearing it.

“THE FREEZER!!! Where is Rosie!?” Jackson yelled.

“Wait. What is going on?” He asked.

“All you need to know is that the freezer is the place Boss and his new members put Rosie to watch her suffer.” Desmond growled.

All of them ran to the door and swung it open. Just as they thought, right by the button, Rosie was sitting limp. She was much paler than she usually was, and her skin was turning blue and purple shades.

“I’m killing those newbies.” Jackson turned and walked away.

“I am sure YOU are capable of getting her where she needs to go.” Desmond faced Ezra.

He nodded his head and picked her up. “Of course.”

Ezra ran out. He clicked the button on his ring and his hero suit was on in a second. He flew through the sky at lightning speed and was at the hospital in no time. His older sister, who was a doctor there, was the first to see them and got Rosie to a room. The next morning, when Ezra went to check on her, she was gone. His sister came in and saw him.

“Her roommate Lina is my friend and coworker. She took her back to their dorm when her shift ended.” She watched him as he was processing.

“She’s not supposed to be allowed to leave at least until tomorrow morning!” He looked at her.

“It’s fine. Lina is very skilled. She said that she is fine with dealing with this by herself.” She walked over to clean up the room. “Plus, if her father found out she was in the hospital, it wouldn’t really end well for her. One thing that everyone knows about Rosie is the way her father treats her. And for the most part, nobody was ever told. Most of us found out either by seeing her after it happened, or seeing it happen.”

“How long has this been going on?” Ezra questioned.

“Well. It was when her mom died, so her whole life.” She looked around and he was gone.

The next week, a group of heroes entered the college campus. Ezra being one of them. Mil and Rosie were sitting on the roof of the main entrance building since their first class didn’t start for a while.

“I don’t have any idea of where to go,” The oldest hero said to the group. “Oh. Look up there. Maybe those two girls could help.”

Ezra looked up and Rosie was staring at him. He mouthed ’I’m sorry’ to her and her eyes widened. She looked over and said something to Mil.

“That pink girl is the one,” Ezra said.

It was only then that he realized the two girls had disappeared.

“We can’t let her get away!” Another hero yelled and ran into the building.

Mil was trying to calm Rosie down. The fact that she was going to get caught and would have to face her father terrified her. Her body kept shifting into partially different people. The door swung open to reveal Ezra. Mil ignored him and continued to try and help Rosie.

“Milaya, let me help her. Please.” The more Ezra talked, the more energy the tornado like winds that filled the room gained.

The other heroes showed up not long after his third failed attempt. One grabbed Milaya and dragged her away from Rosie. The wind picked up even more as she tried to escape his grasp.

“S-stop.” Rosie’s voice was carried over the wind and the wind stopped.

“If you take me, I walk myself.” Milaya glared at the hero holding her and he let her go.

Ezra walked up and bent down in front of Rosie. He put a hand on hers, which was shaking. Rosie looked at him and a tear fell. She closed her eyes and her breathing evened out. He put one arm under her knees and one behind her back and picked her up. She slept the whole time, even when they got to the police station. She was curled up on a chair in the staff sitting room. The two cops watched her through sad yet loving eyes. Jackson and Desmond, however, were really angry.

“You said that if we helped you, she would stay out of this. This seems to be the opposite.” Jackson glared at the two.

“You know Eli and I would never drag her into this if she was in danger or was going to have any consequences,” one said.

Eli chimed in, “And if I remember correctly, you two had put her in more danger by not taking our places before our dad let new people join.”

“If you two wouldn’t have left, then that wouldn’t have been a problem now, would it Axel?” Jackson glared at him.

“I think all of you should be quiet.” Desmond started.

“Unless you want to wake her up that is,” Mil said right after.

Rosie shifted in her seat. The two cops got off of the edges of the chair and sat on the table right in front of her. She slowly opened her eyes and automatically shot her head down when she saw two people she didn’t really recognize. Her brothers frowned.

Axel put a hand on her head. “Don’t be scared. We would never hurt you.”

She looked up and saw the pink-haired boy with blue eyes, and the red-haired boy with black ones. It made sense who they were now. She launched towards them and the three of them hugged. Ezra and the other heroes entered the room and Eli picked Rosie up, putting her back on the chair.

“It has been a while since I saw you two.” Ezra shook hands with Axel and Eli. He briefly glanced at Rosie before sitting down on the couch across from her.

All of them noticed that her head was down now. Axel and Eli kneeled in front of her so all she could see was them.

“Rosie, you’re not in trouble. Nothing will happen to you, or the senior gang members. I promise.” Axel smiled.

After she stayed quiet for a while, the brothers told everyone except Mil and Ezra to leave. Once they did, Rosie told everything. She knew Ezra was fine, and loved Mil so much, so she decided she would speak this time. Her father got put in prison, and the newbies got sent there too. She didn’t have to because of the circumstances that made her do it, but she said that if they gave her community service, it would be better than not doing anything to repent for her actions. She was glad they agreed because she loves helping people, even if she can’t look them in the eye while doing it.