© 2026 Zoe Taylor
Madison slid down a couple of stairs until she was sitting next to Aria. “I don’t think we’re even yet,” she said.
“Oh?” Aria asked. “You want something more?”
Madison snorted. “No. Yes. I don’t know. This,” she said, waving a frantic hand to indicate herself, the stairwell, the storm, everything.
“This isn’t enough to make up for me not screaming when I walked in on you in the girls’ bathroom. That was a ‘lol meet cute’ BS Disney moment. This is real. This is you seeing the Madison that hasn’t freaking existed since I was a freshman, and used to pray to God nobody heard me crying in the east wing stairwell, where the acoustics made my sobs sound like a tragic French opera..."
Mom: omg Lewis are you ok???
Lewis: Yeah. I’m sitting with my friends watching the storm.
Lewis: We had emergency dinner delivered lasagna in a dominator van lol
Mom: Oh thank God I was so worried
Mom: Did u hear about the tornado in Centerville?
“Oh my God,” Aria whispered, looking at her phone.
“What?” Madison asked, not the usual catty brat, but just as on edge as Aria felt when she first came in. Aria looked up from her phone.
“My mom just texted me. There was an EF 3 that hit Centerville.”
Madison flinched her eyes shut tightly for a moment. “I fucking hate storms. God damit.”
“We’re okay,” the senior RA said, placing her hand on Madison’s shoulder. “It’s starting to let up now. If we get a siren we can move into the shelter under the common room.”
“Yeah, okay,” Madison sighed. “Still not going to sleep for the next two days.”
Aria stayed quiet. Part of her actually wanted to try and comfort Madison, but, after everything Madison had put her through, why should she stick her neck out? It was good medicine for a bratty girl. No, no it wasn’t. Come on Aria, you’re better than that. Don’t sink to her level.
“Well, hey,” Aria said, and Madison slowly looked up at her, shooting her a guarded stare, “At least we got a great meal out of it right?”
“Yeah, whatever,” Madison sighed, stood, and walked away. She pushed the elevator button, and when it refused to respond, she slammed a fist against it and stormed into the stairwell.
“... Sorry,” Aria said.
“Forget about it,” Elaine said. “She’s just being Madison.”
“Are... you sure she’s going to be okay?” Aria asked. “Yeah I know, she’s a bitch, but... Well? I’m not. But I don’t want to make it worse either.”
Kris shrugged her shoulders. “If you want to go after her, I’m not stopping you. Power’s out anyway so it’s not like we can actually boot up the beige box until they get it working again.”
Aria glanced between Kris, Vanessa, and Elaine. She sighed. “God damit. I’ll be right back.”
“She’ll bite your head off,” Elaine commented casually, but she smiled as she said it.
“If that’s what she needs to do to feel better,” Aria answered, “I won’t take it personally.” She pushed through the fire door, only the amber glow of the emergency lights illuminating the stairwell. Madison was sitting on the landing just above where the stairs turned and opened to the storm cellar access, out of sight, her hoodie drawn over her head and her knees drawn to her chest.
Aria descended the stairs, her loafers squeaking and squelching with every step. Madison glared as she approached, and buried her face in her knees.
“Don’t fucking say it,” she said bitterly. “Don’t even fucking say it. I don’t want to hear it. Not from you. Not now,” Madison said, biting back a sob.
Aria just sat down two steps below her, giving her some space, and the high ground. She stared down at the wall below them.
“I worked so hard, for so fucking long to get where I am, and one FUCKING STORM is all it takes to send me spiraling, and of course you of all FUCKING people have to be here to see it,” she hissed. “It’s karma. It’s motherfucking karma.” She raised her head, though Aria didn’t see it. “Well say something god damit!”
Aria slowly looked up at her. “You told me not to say ‘it’. I didn’t know what ‘it’ was, so... I decided I should just keep my mouth shut and let you yell - at the storm, at me, at Clarity Prep,” she rolled her shoulders. “Whatever you needed. I couldn’t just... leave you.”
“What’s it going to cost me?” Madison demanded. “A date? You want to brag to all your buddies in the boys’ dorm how you totally made out with Madison Fox in the stairwell during the storm? Go ahead. I don’t give a fuck. Not like they’ll believe you anyway.”
“Um...” Aria said, turning to look up at Madison. “I have two friends in this entire school. At least, I think they’re friends. I don’t honestly know yet. And they’re both upstairs, in your common room. And I’d never make something like that up about you or anyone. I know you think everything’s transactional, but I really did feel bad. I know how it feels to spiral, remember? I’m the fucking dipshit who stuck her hand in a big ass wad of nasty gum and then ran into the girls’ bathroom by mistake.”
She’d called herself ‘her’ in front of Madison. She actually said ‘her’. She didn’t just cross the Rubicon, she was swimming laps.
“If you want to make this a transaction,” she said, pressing forward asit was too late to take it back now, “Then, consider this us being even for you not screaming that day and getting me in trouble for an honest to God blow out mistake.”
Madison stared at Aria for a long, long moment, and then she started to laugh. “Yeah that was pretty fucking nasty. What the hell were you even doing groping around under your desk like that anyway?” she asked softly, her own mask faltering for a moment.
“I found a note the other day, from some old students. I got it in my head that if I looked elsewhere I might find more. I got a reality check, really fast.”
Madison raised a hand, using the sleeve of her hoodie to wipe away her tears. “Did you find what you were looking for at least? Besides some nasty ass gum.”
“Yeah. I think I did,” Aria said quietly, turning to face forward again.
Madison slid down a couple of stairs until she was sitting next to Aria. “I don’t think we’re even yet,” she said.
“Oh?” Aria asked. “You want something more?”
Madison snorted. “No. Yes. I don’t know. This,” she said, waving a frantic hand to indicate herself, the stairwell, the storm, everything.
“This isn’t enough to make up for me not screaming when I walked in on you in the girls’ bathroom. That was a ‘lol meet cute’ bullshit disney moment. This is real. This is you seeing the Madison that hasn’t fucking existed since I was a freshman, and used to pray to God nobody heard me crying in the east wing stairwell, where the acoustics made my sobs sound like a tragic French opera. Ask for something. Anything. I don’t care what it is. I’ll make out with you here and now. I’ll even go out on a date if that’s what you want. Just. I need something to make us square.”
Aria looked down at her hands, and then back up at Madison. Her tear stained cheeks glistened in the amber light.
“There is something I want, but I’m not going to make you give it to me. I’m sorry. I’m just... I’m not that kind of person. Maybe that’s who you want to be, who this place wants me to be, but I believe in death of the author.” She reached up her hand and lightly squeezed Madison’s. “If you want to give me something, then, tell me you’re going to be okay.”
Madison actually blushed, even in the amber light, her glistening cheeks glowed red and she looked away. Aria started to stand. Madison’s hand shot out and grabbed her hand, pulling her back down.
“Okay,” Madison said, “I’ll be fine. But before you go, I have to know what you wanted to ask. I mean that’s so fucking vague it’s going to drive me crazy not knowing.”
“But if I tell you, then it sounds like I’m asking for it,” Aria answered, still holding Madison’s hand, albeit with the sleeve of Madison’s hoodie as a barrier between their palms, she could still feel Madison’s fingers gripping her, keeping her from leaving.
“No it isn’t,” Madison said. “It’s you telling the stairway what you would ask Madison Fox, if you could ask her for anything in the world, and a girl in a Clarity hoodie just happens to be listening. What was it?”
Aria blushed now. “Don’t laugh.”
“No promises, Chambers,” Madison shot back, adding, “But... if I do laugh it won’t be at you.”
“I wanted to hear Madison call me Aria, just once, here, while no one else is listening.
Madison blinked a couple of times. “That... That’s it?”
“Yup,” Aria said. “That’s it. Like I said, I’m not asking. I’m just... telling the stairwell.
Madison reached her free hand up and pulled back her hoodie. “If you say so, Aria.”
She leaned over, not to kiss Aria. A kiss would be a violation of their new found sacred trust, their truce. She did lean her head on Aria’s shoulder though. “Thank you for coming to check on me. I... Nobody ever checks on me. You’re lucky you have actual, real friends waiting for you up there. I have a fucking entourage because it’s just... It’s safer that way. My one and only ride or die friend is lucky enough to be off campus visiting her parents during this shit so I can’t even confide in her.”
“Well,” Aria said softly. “If you ever need to get away from the entourage and just breathe, the acoustics in the catwalks above the theater are so much better than any stairwell.”
That time, Madison did laugh a little. She squeezed Aria’s hand again before finally letting it go, and they just sat in silence, letting their body heat warm each other for a full five minutes of pure, blissful silence. Suddenly the groan of an HVAC finding itself prodded awake like a sleeping dragon echoed in the stairwell. Madison pulled away and ran both sleeves over her cheeks to ensure any last traces of saltwater were mopped away.
“Tell Elaine that fucking cable had better be out of our common room by morning. It’s bad enough she stinks up our whole floor soldering that crap,” she said, her cynical, grumpy crocodile mask returning. She cracked just the tiniest smile as she and Aria looked at each other. “See you in AP Gov Monday, Aria.”
They parted ways there, Aria heading back to the common room while Madison continued up to her floor. She pushed the door open. Kris had her hand hovering inches from the door, and retracted it with a surprised laugh.
“Jeez there you are. I was beginning to think she shoved you down the stairs. All good?” she asked.
Aria smiled thoughtfully and nodded. “Yeah, all good.”