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As an aspiring arsonist, Brooke had immediately been enamored by the girl who could create fire out of thin air. They had first met in the girls bathroom, where she was trying to start a fire. Most people thought that Brooke was crazy, but Sophia admired her fiery passion and gave her a few pointers. This was the beginning of a beautiful partnership. Soon after, the two of them were paired up for a group project. They exchanged numbers and begun to hang out after school.
Their friendship blossomed. Sophia began to join Brooke on her fire starting attempts. Brooke began to pick up on some of her new friend’s quirks; she could touch flames without getting burned and she was very knowledgeable about anything fire related. Sophia seemed so mysterious, which made her very interesting, but Brooke couldn’t help feeling like she was hiding something. She was a puzzle that Brooke was dying to solve. She began to consume her thoughts in perfectly normal, platonic ways. Her feelings for the other girl began to spread like wildfire. She tried to keep them tucked away, but they were threatening to explode.
Before meeting Brooke, Sophia’s only friends were from the roller rama. They all knew about her special abilities. She had always been discouraged from telling others her secret, but she felt much safer around Brooke. Besides, she knew how much the other girl would love her fire powers. Telling her arson loving best friend that she could create fire at will was a lot easier than working up the courage to tell her dad that she was a lesbian. Predictably, this new information caused Brooke to fall even more in love with her. Sophia had someone who loved her, weird super powers and all. Brooke had someone who could start fires easily. It was a match made in hell.
Brooke may have fell first but Sophia fell just as hard. Everyone knew that they were in love with each other except themselves. Their respective friend groups teased them relentlessly. Sophia could not sit at the Brooke’s table for five minutes without hearing the dating allegations. She thought they were annoying, however she had to admit that it was cute to see Brooke get all flustered. Her cheeks turned bright red whenever Trevor asked if she had asked Sophia out yet. Meanwhile, Sophia’s phone was bombarded with texts from Hannah and Daniel, many of which were quite suggestive.
Contrary to popular belief, they weren’t dating, but they sure acted like it. Brooke found every excuse possible to hold onto Sophia’s hand or sit in her lap. Sophia went out of her way to buy Brooke a whole bouquet of roses for Valentine’s Day. She claimed that she did this because they were best friends. Needless to say, that was a lie. The sparks that they felt when they were together were more powerful than any fire they’ve ever been able to create. The feeling was exhilarating. Neither one of them really knew what to do about it.
Their confession wasn’t some grand gesture or declaration of love. They were doing their homework at their usual table at Miss Retro’s Throwback Diner, (well, trying to do their homework. They spent most of their time staring at each other.) The silence between them was comfortable, not awkward. Despite that, Brooke asked, “Is this a date?”
Sophia thought long and hard before answering, “Yeah, if you’re into it.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
“Okay!”
Brooke was indeed into it. This first date evolved into many; a good amount of them involving fire in some way. Neither of them had really been in a serious relationship before. It was nice, even though their friends would not leave them alone about it. Both of them felt like they’d found someone who truly understood. The bond between pyromaniacs was an unbreakable one.
Every student at Hatchetfield High was looking forward to homecoming. Brooke and Sophia were no exception. The two of them bought matching outfits to wear. Brooke was in her sparkly dress and Sophia wore a matching suit. They were one of the best dressed couples at the dance. The dance itself was enjoyable. Everyone got to dance and laugh with their friends. Sophia and Brooke had a great time at the dance, but it wasn’t what they came for.
The couple waited until every last student, teacher, and police officer filed out of the building. Then they rushed to the place where they first met. Brooke had dreamed of burning down Hatchetfield High ever since her freshman year, and thanks to her amazing girlfriend, that dream would finally become a reality. Sophia grabbed onto her girlfriend’s hand. It made her feel even warmer than usual. She let go of Brooke’s hand and rubbed her own hands together. They caught fire within seconds.
Brooke struck one of her matches. It caught on fire and she stared at it, memorized. There was no feeling in the world quite like the joy of starting your own fire. The bliss was unique, although it felt a little bit like being with Sophia. Their fires started out small, but the flames combined together and rapidly spread. Brooke and Sophia didn’t bother to shut the bathroom door, so the fire eventually left the room. The two of them cheered as it set off the fire alarms.
“Did we do this?” Brooke was in disbelief.
“Yeah babe, we did this.” They looked at their handy work with stars burning in their eyes.
“It’s beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful.”
“That’s stupid, Sophia.”
“But it’s true.”
This was their most successful fire yet. Brooke had longed to set a building ablaze, yet she had never been able to. Sophia had always been pressured into hiding her powers, so she had never been given the chance to commit arson on this scale. Naturally, it was the perfect moment for the two of them to have their first kiss. Sophia shoved Brooke against the nearest locker and kissed her with the most fire she could summon. Sparks literally flew. Sparks became raging fires. The fire was everywhere. Fire flooded the hallways. It covered the classrooms. It might’ve even been enough to burn down the building.
It was going to burn down the building. It hurt Brooke’s soul to even think this, but it was dangerous. Her dream had come true; she was happy about that. The flames were spreading at top speed and they were awfully close to her skin. She had been fascinated by fire ever since she was a young child, so she shouldn’t have felt so scared. Thankfully, she had her girlfriend by her side. Sophia could tell something was wrong.
“You good?” Her voice was filled with concern.
It was too late. Brooke’s dress had already caught fire. She tried to tell herself that it wasn’t a big deal. This was her idea. She had wanted to start a fire in the girls bathroom. She had been the one who wanted to burn the school down. She was going to be fine. She was fine. She was fine. She was fine. She just hadn’t considered her own safety. Her own safety didn’t really matter anyway. Her hands started shaking uncontrollably. Her breathing became unsteady. The flames touched legs and her ankles. Her skin burned. Her world was going to go up in flames, but this time she didn’t want it to.
“Brooke, look at me.” She met Sophia’s gaze reluctantly. “What are five things you can see?” As the oldest kid at the arena, Sophia knew a thing or two about helping people with panic attacks.
“You,” she started, her voice quivering with panic. “The fire. The lockers. Miss Mulberry’s classroom. The staircase.”
“You’re doing so good. How about four things you can touch?”
Brooke didn’t answer. There was only one thing she wanted to touch. She wrapped her arms around Sophia and gave her a hug. Sophia hated to leave Brooke in a such a state, but she had to go get the fire extinguisher. She sprayed her girlfriend with it until she was cleared of flames.
“I’m sorry about that,” Brooke said, slightly embarrassed.
“It’s okay to be scared. You know that, right?” Sophia didn’t a response. “Can I tell you something? I’m scared too. We all get scared sometimes, it’s a part of being human.”
“But I’m not supposed to be afraid of fires, I’m supposed to start them.”
“Fire is dangerous. Your fear was perfectly normal. Do you feel better now?”
“Yeah. It was scary, but it also felt kinda nice.”
“We should probably put the fire out now.”
“No! It’s our masterpiece! Let’s leave and watch this place burn to the ground!”
The two of them drove away. The Hatchetfield fire department found the burning school eventually. They never figured out the cause of that fire. Now, all the students at Hatchetfield High had to go to Sycamore. Fucking timber wolves.
Sophia took Brooke home. Brooke, being the stubborn person that she was, insisted that she was fine. Sophia did not buy that and insisted on treating her burns. For someone who was immune to burns, she was awfully good at treating them. She also gave Brooke some painkillers to help her feel better. Brooke’s body ached everywhere. Despite this, she was grateful that she got to come into such close contact with fire. And, Sophia really liked taking care of her. Tonight had been the best and the scariest night of both arsonist’s lives. Thankfully they had each other. Those who start fires together stick together.