Della liked these moments. Which was a rarity for her. The moments in between the day. Lunch time for most. For her it was a good time to go hide in the yard and read or draw or something. It was the only time of the day that she doesn't have to be Della Carper, the sad, lonely, ruined girl without any actual life of her own.
Today, she's sketching the tree she's sitting under. It's a tradition of hers. She sketches this tree every season, four times a year, just to see if there are any changes in anything. That's what her life has come to. Watching a tree grow and change. Turns out a tree changes more than anything else in this town. This spring it was bigger and the boughs stretch almost touching the schools tin covered roof.
She was so focused on the contours of the shadows in the bark and the lines of the leaves that she doesn't notice the soft footsteps crushing the grass as they made their way towards her and stop next to her.
"Is this spot taken?"
She startles and drops her sketch pad, she blinks up and stares, unsure if this person was actually willingly talking to her.
"Um - no?" Who was this guy?
He smiles lightly and sits down, leans against the tree too. "Thanks." He pulls out a shiny red apple and bites into it.
She's staring at him. She has never seen him before - never seen anyone with a face like his before - her eyes slide down - there was absolutely no doubt about it. He was stunning. Her fingers itch to pick her sketch pad back up and - just fill it up with his jaw line alone.
"Lunch." He explains, thinking she's staring at his meager apple.
"Oh. Um - not one for food?" She doesn't know why she doesn't just stand up and leave. This is a trick right? It has to be. Nobody sits with the town freak.
Then a small trickle of small hope that maybe this guy wasn't playing a joke or a prank on her, maybe he hasn't heard about her - and the exaggerated story about her lack of sanity.
"I didn't have time to pack one. I just got in." He explains politely.
"Yah? I didn't think I've ever seen you around here, and - everyone sees everyone around here." She shrugs and picks up her pad. Maybe she should stop reading into this.
"Just got in this morning actually. Nice town though, quiet, comfortable." He bites his apple, eyes scanning the empty yard as a soft breeze rustles his pushed back hair that looks soft enough to stuff a pillow with.
Della swallows and tears her eyes away from staring at how the sun casts a stunning green sheen over his eyes. "Why would you willingly come here?" She mutters, not really expecting an answer.
"Like I said. It's quiet. I could use the quiet." He looks at her now and Della decides it's time to go.
"Yah, well - um - welcome to Wikerhaven, where the fun never ends. If you like bible studies and book club meetings anyway. See ya." And she stands, so ready to make a hasty escape.
"Wait."
Like an idiot, she stops.
"Um - I am new here - I don't really know this town; would you mind showing me around?"
This is a trick. It has to be. Nobody this pretty would ever - but maybe he really hasn't heard about her unfortunate past.
Maybe -
No.
"Yah, um - I'm not really one to show you local hang out spots or whatever. There's this girl, Amber - she's the girl for that. You should go ask her." Della smiles, forced and dry, now she just has to make her escape.
"I've met her."
She knew this was too real to be true.
"Something tells me I'd rather have you show me around though." He looks at her kindly, lips pulling into a soft smile.
No.
No, that's the trap isn't it? He's met Amber - she's probably already brainwashed him and this was just some elaborate scheme to get her hopes up and publicly humiliate her so that people can have something to talk about again. She's not going to let that happen. No matter how cute this boy was.
"Yah sorry, my uncle's expecting me after school - sorry." And she uses every ounce of will power she can to not bolt like a crazy person, heart in her ears at the thought of narrowly missing a trap of horrid ends.
See how those bored jerks like this.
~
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She dropped something as she practically ran away from him. Varian sighs and picks up the sliver of shiny metal. A bracelet - he looks closer at it, his eye brows raising in surprise. A rune was etched into the one charm that hung from the chain. It surprised him - a lot. Most people didn't really look into runes, this could just be a coincidence it doesn't have to be anything else.
The rune just happens to mean protection. That's all. He's sure she doesn't know that. But maybe she would want this back anyway, and besides - there was something about her, her big dark eyes just scream - sadness.
He knows that feeling. He loathes it - he's been suppressing it for years. Maybe this was the time to finally get rid of it.
His hand clutches around the piece of jewelry as he makes up his mind.
Maybe that sad looking girl was going to be the one to help him out with that.
~
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Della wishes she could go somewhere - anywhere else but here. Unfortunately, she doesn't know where to go - she's to terrified to go anyway and she's broke as a bad joke so - that wasn't going to help any.
She was just too afraid to do the things she needed to so she could actually leave. Become a person she doesn't have the energy to become.
She just wishes there was somewhere she could hide in and never come out.
"Hey~ Hey miss!"
Her heart skips in surprise as she turns around, shocked that someone was actually running towards her for a moment and that someone was that pretty boy from before and - wait, this was all a prank - there was no way -
"Hold on a moment." He slows to a stop in front of her, his hair slightly askew as he rolls his shoulders back and lets out a breath. "Here, you dropped this." He opens the outstretched fist to her.
Her charm bracelet glitters in his palm. "Oh, thanks - so much." And she means it.
"No problem." He smiles and watches her clip it back on. "Special gift from someone?" He wonders out loud.
Della sighs and clasps her wrist. "Used to be my mother's back when she was in high school, she always said I'd get it when I was her age -"
"Used to be?"
And there it was - she snaps her eyes up and expects judgment, curiosity, pity even - her breath stutters when she finds understanding.
Who is this guy?
"U-um - she's - she's dead." She turns away, pushing back her soft auburn waves. That's it - don't elaborate, don't - just in case he - he doesn't know - everything yet.
Maybe she had a chance, just one, to actually make a friend - someone who knows nothing about anything yet, and when he finds out maybe it won't matter if he already knows her.
All those other people knew you too - and they still turned on you.
She squashes that thought down.
"I'm sorry. " He says, and it doesn't sound like any of the other times people say that to her. It sounds like he knows what she's feeling, like he can genuinely understand.
"S'fine. Whatever." She sniffs, shrugging it off. "I'm Della by the way." Just start over without worrying for once.
He looks up at her, his bright green eyes crinkle at the edges as his smiles. "Varian. Nice to meet you." He holds out a hand.
She smiles a bit back, the facial movement actually feeling weird on her face, like she's cracking a cement mask that's been slathered and dried on in place of her real face. "You too." And she lets him take her hand. It's warm, his hand, soft and large - it feels like she could be really safe if something like his hand could wrap her up completely.
"So - seems the town has changed a bit - I don't know where anything is anymore. Mind showing me around after all?" He asks, hand rubbing at his neck.
She stops. "I thought you said you just got here?" Weird.
He stops now too, his eyes flit to hers and he gives her a small smile. "That might be a tiny fib. I have been here - years ago - hardly remember it really but - I do know things have changed."
Been here before and left? Why the hell would anyone come back if they actually left.
Whatever. "Yah - I guess I could show you around, I don't really hang out in the 'it' spots but I do know all the alone spots I hang out in. Alone." Della shrugs nonchalantly.
"Sounds perfect." He smiles a tad bit more than before. "Tell you the truth - I like quite. Trust me, it's the whole reason I'm here."
She tilts her head in slight interest, which is saying something since she isn't really interested in much anymore. "Yah? Well, then you've definitely come to the right place. C'mon, I'll show you the wall."
"Wall?"
"The Wall." She almost giggles, almost as she leads him down the bare street. "It's where all the roses grow around here."
He follows and she can't help but feel slightly excited.
Maybe she could finally have a friend in this miserable town.
"You just here for a vacation?" She wonders out load, although, who would come here for a vacation and go to school - it really doesn't make sense.
"No, I think - " He stops and she suddenly feels his eyes on her, she turns slightly in confusion. "I think I'll stick around a while."
She lets the foreign feeling of a smile crack her cement mask a little more. "Cool."
~
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Varian decides he might like it here more than he thought before. His plan was to come back here, go to school, spend some quality time with himself and just live a quiet peaceful existence for as long as he could before something horrible inevitably happens to him.
Well - maybe he's just being pessimistic. It's ok. Nobody knows him here; they don't remember the cursed family he came from. He's ok. It'll all be ok. Nothing more to think about. Everything will be better now, it'll be so much better now.
He just spends the day with a nice, although sad, girl. And it was pleasantly normal.
It'll all be -
He stops, the growing smile on his face fades as he pushes the heavy door to his house open. A heavy, dark, aura weighs down on him instantly. He feels a familiar chill go up his arms and his heart drops to his toes.
No. He panics internally, no, no, no - it can't be, come on, I -
His heart speeds up instantly and he feels the tension tighten his shoulders. He left because of this - come on - please don't be here, please, just give me -
He stops short, hand clutching the frame of the entrance to the living room. He lets out a defeated breath and almost feels like ripping something apart.
Inside the room, on the sleek leather bound coach was an equally sleek leather wearing six-foot-tall walking talking massive ego and with a heaping dose of jack ass, arms draped over the coach like he owns it, feet crossed comfortably on top of the antique coffee table and just - there.
Completely, totally, solidly - there.
Varian can see the exact moment that he feels his presence. He lets his head fall back against the couch, his black bangs fall away from those terrifying eyes as they blink up at him, a misleadingly lazy smirk stretching at the corner of his mouth.
No. Please just - no.
"Well," The bane of his existence drawls, "Hello there, baby brother. Miss me?"
And he could just scream.