shadows set the mood, innocence left the roomChapter One.She had shaken her head, tears had threatened to break free from her blue eyes. Alice had made up her mind, it was over. She had been ready to go and he had still been stuck on the starting line. Her brown hair had hung over her shoulders, the only thing that had hid her face from the brunette haired, blue eyed boy who had been beside her.
“No.”“Alice, please,” Lazarus had all but begged. He had been ready to get on his hands and knees if she had wanted. If he had had to watch her walk away it would have killed him. They had been through hell and back and she had been ready to give up? It had not been right, or fair.
“No, you don't get to do that to me. We tried, and tried, and tried. I'm tired, Lazarus, so fucking tired.” The brunette haired girl had stood up from the bed. Her arms had crossed over her chest, blue eyes had stared unseeingly at the wall.
Lazarus had felt his heart flutter in his chest, panic had come into stay.
“I love you.”“It's not enough this time. I'm ready to move on, with you, but you're not.”“What can I do to make you stay?”“Nothing.”Silence had hung in the air after that. There had been nothing left to say. Lazarus had given up, there had been nothing he could do, she had long ago made up her mind. It had been something he had loved about her, how sure Alice had been about everything. It had felt like a curse at that point and he had hated that about her. His blue eyes had turned a shade darker, pain and longing had filled them as he had watched her don her jacket and place her hand on the door handle leading out of the apartment they had once shared. She had turned to look at him once more, mouth had opened to say something but had quickly been shut as she had decided against it.
It had been a minute later that Lazarus had become the one who had stared unseeingly at the door his whole world had walked out of. She had left him, for good.
& &
Her fingers had tapped anxiously on the wooden breakfast table. What the fuck had taken her so long? Alice had sent her a text message, said she had needed to talk. She had informed the older brunette (by a year, at least) that something had happened with Lazarus. Fucking great.
“Babe? Calm down. She'll be here soon,” her boyfriend had encouraged before he had placed a comforting kiss to the top of her head.
Declan had not known Alice like Kyle had, though. He had known Lazarus better though, which, Kyle had supposed, had been something. Declan and Lazarus had been best friends, just like Alice and Kyle had been best friends. Despite the fact Lazarus and Alice had had their issues, Declan and Kyle had managed to maintain their relationship and it had successfully pulled through the many tiresome situation with Lazarus and Alice. Kyle would never be sure of how they had managed it, but they had.
“I think they're finished,” she had spoken, her tone had barely been above a whisper.
“Alice sounded like shit.”The man had nodded and had pulled a chair up to his fiancees side. He had taken her hand and had laced their fingers together. It had been coming, the engaged couple had known that much. Alice and Lazarus had been a roller coaster all their own. Always had been up and down, never had anyone known when they were going to stop or if they were ever going to stop. Apparently, they had stopped and both had gotten off. He had kissed the back of her hand before he had pulled her into a hug.
“We're armed with ice cream, horror movies, and lighters,” he informed the dark haired woman. The pair had always been prepared for the possibility that Lazalice, as they had termed them, would split up. They had gotten a few of Alice's favorite things and had stashed them away.
Kyle had given a small nod and an even smaller smile.
“Are you going to go see him?” she had asked. The woman had known that Declan had had an obligation to be there for his best friend and she had never had a problem with this.
It had been Declan's turn to nod his head. It had been a few silent moments later that the pair heard a quiet knock on the door. The man had kissed his girlfriend's forehead before he had left the apartment through the fire escape. He had known being there when Alice had shown up was not the best idea, for her or for him.
Kyle had approached the door and had muttered a prayer before her hand reached the door handle, turned it, and had opened it, revealing her broken best friend.
“It's over.”& &
That was five years ago.
“You know, I really hate pants.”“I know you do. That's why you never wear them. I think you're the only one that can pull off wearing skirts and dresses all the time,” the older of the two announced as she looked at herself in the mirror.
They were dress shopping, fucking dress shopping. Kyle hated dresses, Alice? Didn't. She practically lived in. It wasn't fair, really. What Kyle had said was true. Alice was the only female on the planet that could pull of dresses and skirts every fucking time she wore one. It didn't matter what the dress looked like. It was something the older brunette envied.
“I like that one,” Alice commented as she looked her friend over.
Kyle shook her head and laughed.
“I look like a cow.”A laugh could be heard and both girls turned to face a man that looked suspiciously like Kyle, only he had brown eyes, not blue.
“Yeah, you kind of do.” Not even a moment later the man muttered a surprised 'ouch' and rubbed at the back of the head.
“You look,” Matthew paused as he looked at his sister.
“nice,” he finished before looking down at the woman by his side.
“You do, Ky, you really do,” Elisabeth, Matthew's girlfriend of six years, spoke up with a grin.
Kyle lowered her eyes and shook her head, not believing her friend's or brother's words. She looked to Alice, an eyebrow raised.
“It's your wedding, Al. What do you think?”“I like it. It's a nice shade, too. I think we got lucky with red,” Alice said as she walked around her best friend. Yep, this dress would do nicely.
The older brunette shrugged as she ducked back into the dressing room to tear the dress off. Fucking dresses. Fucking wedding. Fucking Alice. This was all her best friend's fault. It wasn't that Kyle wasn't happy for Alice, because she was. She didn't think Alice would move on after Lazarus but the brunette had picked herself right back up, dusted herself off, and entered the world once more, the same Alice she had always been. Lazarus was a distant memory from the group. It was when Calum Oliver Paine entered the picture that everything changed. He swept Alice off her feet in a way that Kyle had never thought possible. It helped that the pair of women were able to get some background information on the man before things got too serious thanks to Matthew, who was best friends with the sandy haired man.
“Can we leave now?” Kyle asked, ready to leave the fucking dress shop.
“Yep. Let's get out of here.” Alice took the dress Kyle had tried on and took it to the front, telling the owner they'd be back later that week to do a final fitting with it.
& &
It was hours later that the four, plus Calum sat around the dinner table enjoying Chinese take out. The conversation was light considering everyone was stuffing their face. The five often got together for dinner, but tonight was different. Elisabeth and Matthew's friends, Campbell, Forest, and Madelon were coming over.
This information was making Kyle on edge considering she liked all of them but Campbell. The pair had never gotten along. Sure, in front of everyone else they acted tolerable around each other. When they were alone? Duck and cover, baby, duck and cover.
After dinner, Kyle helped Alice and Elisabeth clean up so the boys could play their little video games. The three girls often watched on as the boys played, making goofy little comments about how adorable they were here and there. It was funny to watch the boys try and mess each other up then curse when they, in fact, messed up on their own account rather then because of someone else.
Not twenty minutes later, Madelon, Forest, and Campbell knocked on the flat door and Elisabeth opened the door, moving to the side to let them in. Everyone said their hellos and soon they were sitting around the television, watching some movie called Stay Alive, with a girl who looked much like Elisabeth starring in it. They all laughed but soon the girls were hiding behind their hands or in their respective boy's chest.
Only, not everyone had a someone to hide in and Kyle found herself hiding mostly behind her fingers. Occasionally, she felt Campbell's eyes on her and she did her best not to meet that gaze. Once he'd tapped her side during a pretty suspenseful part and she had, of course, screamed like a four year old girl and hit him in the stomach soon after. Fucker. He glowered at her and crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes darting from her to the television.
“You're such a baby,” he commented once in her ear.
Kyle rolled her blue eyes and did her best to ignore him and the shiver threatening to run up and down her spine. He was such a fucking jerk, she swore. She looked over at Alice and Calum and the way the man's arm wrapped around her, as if to protect her from what was on the screen. It made her heart skip a beat as a memory of Declan ran through her mind. It hurt.
“You scared?”What kind of fucking question was that? Of course she was bloody scared! Why else would she be hiding behind her hands? Dumb ass. Ugh. Jumping, she glared as Campbell's arm somehow had wrapped around her shoulders.
“Shove off,” she tried as she moved from his arm. What made him think she wanted
him comforting her? He was mental, he must have been.
& &
The rest of the night had gone fairly smooth. Despite the fact, that after the movie, Campbell and Kyle had fought like there was no tomorrow. The rest of the group had ignored them and gone on with their evening.
“Say goodnight to Cam, Kyle,” Alice said with a grin as the evening came to a close.
Kyle muttered something in Campbell's general direction before saying goodbye to everyone else and disappearing into her room. Awesome.
It wasn't much later that Alice and Calum laid in bed, wrapped up in each other. They made small talk before Calum fell asleep. Alice slid quietly from beside her sleeping fiancé. She made her way out of the bedroom and onto the fire escape just off of the balcony. Her bottom rested on the cool metal as her feet moved back and forth over the edge. She lit a cigarette, inhaled, then exhaled. She was getting married.
Fuck.
She knew eventually that it would happen, but never did she picture herself with someone like Calum. If she were to marry anyone, she thought it would have been Lazarus. Didn't that just send a shocking pain through her heart. It was after the death of Declan that she had lost all contact with Laz. Through Declan and Kyle, she had heard this and that about Lazarus. Two years ago, that had ended with the death of Kyle's fiancé. Now, she loved Calum, she did. Still, the thought of marriage scared the shit out of her. What if she were a horrible wife? What if she were a horrible mum? Chris. Maybe it was just cold feet. Whatever it was, Alice wished it would disappear. With a sigh, she stared up at the night sky, smoke billowing above her head and disappearing with the wind.
( proud of you - 10 years )
Our wonderful staff consists of two administrators, for the time being. Meet Cayla (cherry•chapstick), and Courtney (`somethingelse.). Cayla's eighteen, and hails from Texas. Courtney, on the other hand, is sixteen and from British Columbia. They're far apart, but are pretty damn close, and often joke about sharing the same brain. This is mostly just because they can usually finish each other's sentences. Which is a little creepy. But whatever. You love them anyway. 
