My first one-shot!! Yeah!! Actually, I wrote something similar to this in class a couple years back, and revised it to be twilight-related. Hope you guys like it!
The story of Mary Alice Brandon, the famous but mysterious young daughter of legendary directors, is a story told many times. There are all sorts of rumors circling about the strange incident in the summer that she turned sixteen. Many say that she caused the incident, or it was a set-up she came up with and hired people to help her with. None of these rumours could be further from the truth. The truth that only Mary Alice Brandon would ever really know.
A sleek black limo pulled up beside a busy street, streaming with glamorous people in the latest fashions and black sunglasses covering their celebrity identities. Tourists stood gawking up at the sides, staring at their beauty and the clothes that could easily carry thousand dollar price tags. Out of the limo came two giggling teenage girls, and then a third girl that put every other celebrity to shame.
The girl stood in a confident manner, hands on hips. Her petite and slender form almost seemed menacing as she looked up with electric blue eyes. She pushed back a stray lock of her short, spiky black hair, wrinkled up her tiny nose in an all-knowing smirk, and danced forward in dark skinny jeans, a blue baby-doll top, and dark stilettos that pulled attention to her pale feautres.
Mary Alice Brandon beamed as she surveyed her surroundings; bright lights shining on her glowing expression. She slipped her arms around her best friends and started into the store in her usual perky fashion. Her excitement had her bouncing through the buzzing room, gushing animatedly at her best friends, waving to the sales girls, and grinning at all her fellow shoppers.
The dainty silhouette flitted through the racks of costly clothing, thin arms clutching at evening hand bags, slight fingers picking up bits of expensive cloth, and heels clacking under the pixie-like teenager. A pile of the smallest sized clothing available was quickly and surely making its way into her arms as she choose chic fashions made by sophisticated designers.
One of Alice's friends, a green-eyed, blond haired beauty, stopped the shopping craze to cry out, "Ladies! What will I wear to my party tomorrow?"
The brown haired girl laughed, "Rosalie, calm down. Alice is the queen of fashion; she will know what to do."
Both girls turned to their short friend, who was searching through a pile of sleeve-less Vera Wang gowns, and snatched a satin mightnight-blue gown to fling it at her friend before looking up. When she did look up, her expression was blissful for a second until a dazed look struck her eyes. Alice's mouth hung open for a minute, her eyebrows shot up, and then a look of despair came over her. She concealed her paralyzed face with her hands and let out a tearful whimper.
"Alice? Alice, are you okay?" Rosalie asked, "Bella, what is wrong with her?" she shook her smarter friend's shoulders for an answer.
When Alice answered in a shaking voice, they contemplated her stability, "I'm fine. I just, um, need to go home and rest, I think. See you guys later."
She wandered over to pay an extraordinary amount for the clothes she had picked out. As soon as the girl handed her the reciept, Alice raced out the store in a frantic rush. The limo was waiting for her at the curb but she didn't wait for the driver to get out and take her bags away. Instead she flung them all on a black leather seat while waiting impatiently for the driver to start the car. Text messages began to come through on her phone so she turned it off while fiddling with her manicured fingernails.
The bright morning sun shone rays of gold light through the fluffy white clouds and blue sky as clear as water, Tiny drops of dew glistened on striking green grass that covered immaculate lawns. The smell of blooming summer flowers, sweet and fresh, drifted through the cool air. Migrating birds sang out in their chirping voices. The usual L.A atmosphere was as refined and picture perfect as always, but Alice didn't take her eyes away from the door of the biggest sparkling hotel in the city after she got out of her limo.
Instead she rapidly hastened to the elevator that would take her up to the penthouse. Her mind was busy pondering what had happened at Rodeo Drive that morning. Even the task of sorting through all her new clothes didn't give her the usual thrill after the vision. There was an air of reluctance about her as she put away her new clothes, and pulled out some of her out of fashion, old clothes.
Afterwards, Alice took one lengthy run-through of her closet with all her unique fashion, her eyebrows scrunching up, and her mouth turning down into a depressed scowl. It wasn't long before she fell into a fitful sleep, frown lines remaining on her pale face.
A ringing telephone that she didn't bother responding to woke Alice up the next morning. The day's events went through her head that made her want to groan and cover herself up with the cashmere blankets. Someone called out her name from the living room after tense moments. Alice sighed, carefully got up, wrapped a bright red house robe around herseld, and started into the living room.
A scowl made its way to her face as she saw her mother leafing through her report cards. Alice thought she had burned them all in the past. She didn't like being reminded of all the schools her parents had sent her to, just as much as she didn't like being reminded of her mother.
"Good morning, mother." the teenager said through her teeth.
Her mother didn't look up from her reading, "Hardly, Mary Alice. You have proven to be a disappointment once again. Your shopping has gotten out of control and I am not the only one to notice this. A journalist by the name of Veronica Skipp quite agrees with me," she slid a glossy magazine over to her daughter, who had sat across from her on the couches.
Alice crossed her legs but didn't read the article, "Is that the one who won some journalism award for writing gossip on celebrities? Well, I could give her quite the story to write if she knew I had vision of the future," her voice was dripping with sarcasm.
Mrs. Brandon tugged on her short ponytail, "Alice, this isn't healthy. I mean, look at this," she gestured wildly to the designer robe Alice was wearing, "Did you ever stop to think if you needed this, when you bought it? Or any of your clothes? I don't care if you get a vision, that doesn't matter. You have had visions since you were born, just like my mother, and it has never bothered you before. Besides, I don't see how shopping relates to seeing the future."
Alice barked out a harsh laugh, "Of course yo don't. You don't see a thing, which is the problem. I am the one who has to deal with the problem that is just getting worse. The things I see aren't lottery numbers anymore, they are violent things. Shopping seemed to be the only way to keep me busy enough to not get visions, but even that has been terminated now."
"Don't be so melodramatic. And just so you know, anything said about you reflects badly on my career. Read the article." her mother folded her hands under her chin.
Alice didn't really want to read it, but she couldn't help feel curious about what had been written about her. On one of the first pages in the magazine, there was a picture of Alice coming out of a Rodeo Drive store with a stricken expression and several shopping bags. Underneath was a long article about her.
She began to read out loud, "Mary Alice Brandon, the daughter of the famous directors Mr. And Mrs. Brandon, has apparently gone shopping crazy. A doctor studying her case admits that it might be something more then just a need for shopping, she might be going insane. In fact, when Mary Alice, known to her friends by her middle name, was confronted about her problem, she didn't seem to get the importance of the situation. What can I say? The laughing girl exclaimed in an interview. I just love everything! Friends, shopping, fashion; life is great. Also, its said life is short and sweet. Well, I try to be, too. From this quote, one can tell Alice does not take anything seriously."
Alice broke off, rolling her eyes, "From this quote, one can tell Veronica takes things too literally and doesn't bother getting the facts. I'm going to a party, good-bye mother."
She wandered into her room to leaf through her enormous wardrobe for something to wear to Rosalie's party. Settling on a short blue dress with a ruffled hem and tight bodice, she did her hair and make-up slowly and carefully and then picked out the perfect pair of shoes. Alice decided on a pair of blue wedges that went perfectly with her dress.
She checked the clock one last time to see that it was finally time to go. Her limo was waiting in its normal spot, so she didn't have to stand out in the shadowy, chilly night. The driver opened her door for her, and soon she was zooming off towards her best friend's party.
Alice scrutinized the clustered commotion at Rosalie's yearly summer party. Neither one of her best friends was in sight, but that was hardly surprising considering the amount of people that came to the party held by Rosalie's famous modelling mother. Her parties were always in the papers; gourmet snack held in crystal containers from Tiffany's, illustrious bands playing loud music, and Rosalie's spectacular house. The magnificent mansion was lit by the eerie flow of the full moon, casting a shadow over the crashing ocean waves it overlooked. The marble sparkled majestically as if it were the moon itself, a vision of the beauty to hehold in L.A.
A scent of rose perfume wafted through the air, surrounding the hotess who looked exquisite in her floor length midnight-blue dress. Rosalie was ecstatic with excitement from the party, her white teeth striking against dark red lipstick as she beamed. Beside her was the brown haired Bella in a sweet dove coloured gown. Both girls were radiating with happiness.
They squealed like agitated animals as they exchanged gossip. Their words became blaring shouts over the background noise. Only when Rosalie started to prattle on about a celebrity magazine did Alice's smile slop and she began to twirl a piece of hair around her finger. Her hands were sweating slightly as she hoped with all her being that neither of her friends would know about the article. She desperately wished Veronica Skipp's articles weren't well known, and the lady wasn't respected. It was too bad that Alice rarely ever had good luck anymore.
"Whats is about that article?" Bella demanded, "I mean, what was with you the other day at Rodeo Drive? You have been acting really weird lately."
"N-nothing is wrong. You guys know that. The reporter just hates me." Alice couldn't meet her friend's eyes.
"Alice, don't give us that. You are keeping something back and I want to know." Rosalie fumed.
Alice sighed, too a deep breath, and closed her eyes, "I can't tell you. It is too personal."
Both her friends exchanged a furious look, "We are your best friends. If you can't trust us, that obviously says something about our friendship. I have just one question, Alice. Where is the girl I once knew? The Alice that made sure she got what she wanted, but still cared about her friends? The Alice that everybody couldn't help but love? Where is my best friend?" There was a muffled sob at the end of Rosalie's speech.
Alice gazed at her friends with a guarded expression for an extended moment, "Gone." she finally murmured.
Then she smoothed back her hair with shaking hands, took one last observation of the party, and swept out into the cool night air. Alice covered her quivering lips with a hand while checking around for her limo. The car smoothly drove up to the lonely curb she anxiously stood by, and Alice pulled her hand away, glossy pink lip-gloss staining the back. She didn't acknowledge the driver when he opened the door for her. Mary Alice slid into the back seat of the car, turned lifeless eyes out the window, and didn't take anything in.
The drive back to her penthouse was deathly quiet, the only sound being light breathing in and out. It seemed as if the tnire world had been put on halt as she past by the town without seeing any human activity. It was a depressing thoght to Alice to end a despressing day of misery. There wasn't any sign of the happy-go-lucky, giggling, shopping-crazed teenager that night.
Instead, there was suddenly a strange light in her eyes, showing another terrified expression. In her mind, an intensely bright bolt of lightning was flashing down from a raging sky. There was a feeling of drenching rain soaking into her bones, and then a scream of pain from someone she couldn't see.The same vision that had been haunting Alice for nearly a month now was getting stronger and she could almost completely tell what was going to happen in the future.
While brooding over her vision, Alice deduced that something horrible was going to happen. The worst part for her was not knowing what it was.
The car stopped and she scampered out of it only to slam into the hard ground. She had tripped on her high heels that were now scratched and ruined. The intense pain of a scraped arm made Alice howl with tears, although she didn't make any move to get up. To her, the physical pain that she was now feeling equalled the emotional pain she had been going through because of her visions. So she waited, crying, on the sidewalk until rain feel softly on her already wet face. The rain immersed her brand new dress and ruined her hair. Dark streams of black eyeliner also ran down her face to the dress. Mary Alice Brandon looked a mess, and for once she didn't care.
Someone passing by on the sidewalk stopped to recognize the sobbing celebrity. Alice heard them calling someone on their cell phone but still didn't make any move to get up. Her life was falling apart and she didn't care who knew it anymore. So she let the cutrious people who wanted to see a celebrity breakdown, and reporters who wanted something to write about, take pictures of her.
All the while, the rain continued to fall heavily on the ground, raindrops clashing loudly against the earth with increasing momentum. The sound of far-off thunder roared in the air seconds before lightning struck in a blazing bolt of electricity. Alice was vaguely reminded of her vision with the lightning bolt and the rain.
Suddenly, an aging woman with a silver bob, blue tortoisesheel glasses, and long, thin, cat-like green eyes sauntered forwards, standing under a tall tree but wary to go to close to Alice, "I'm Veronica Skipp, from Celebrity Magazine," she announced, "Can I have a quote, Alice?" she lifted a pen up, poised over a blank notebook page.
Her rough twang of an accent made Alice's head spin with thoughts before settling into a familiar vision. In the vision, lightning struck a tell tree right in front of Alice's building. The tree appeared frazzled for a withheld second before a monstrous cracking noise filled the air, and then it collapsed on top of a disbelieving woman. The crowd of people gathered nearby screamed hysterically, and then the vision ended.
Without having the question what she just saw, Alice knew the tree was going to fall on Veronica. She wondered if she should do something to save the woman, but then remembered she was thinking about the lady whose writings had ruined her life. Still, Veronica didn't deserve to die for her job, and Alice could save her life.
Was she really worth saving? Alice pondered, and how would she explain that she knew the tree was going to fall? Nobody would believe the truth, and they might try to lock Alice away for her visions. Then Veronica would write more nasty things about her, as well as other innocent victims of the media. The vision was just so horrible, she argued with herself, and she couldn't let it actually come true. Not when she knew how to stop someone from death, would she ignore a vision. So which was more important; Veronica's life ruining other's lives, or other's perspectives on Alice's sanity?
Just then, a throbbing headache that normally meant her vision was about to come true, penetrated Alice's thoughts. Veronica was going to die if she didn't do anything at that second. Without thinking, Alice raced to where the journalist was standing, and shoved her as hard as she possibly could. The woman's expression was one of outrage as she landed on her back, and she opened her mouth to start yelling.
Her voice was overpowered by an ear-splitting scream of thunder, and an instantaneous burst of bright light as lightning hit the tree. Just as Alice had seen, the tree reamined for the blink of an eye and then fell where Veronica had been standing. A loud gasp came from the onlookers, who then immediately started taking pictures of the incident.
Veronica Skipp's wide eyes met Alice's electric blue ones for a second and then had the grace to look away. Alice stood up, and offered Veronica a teeny hand, which the woman took without hesitation. She brushed herself off with shaking fingers.
"Thank you. I don't know how you knew it was going to fall, but thank you. I-" she chocked on the word, "I'm sorry what what I wrote. I don't think I got all the facts but I'm not sure I want them anymore. All I know is that you saved my life, and that obviously makes you brave, not like what I wrote."
Alice blushed, "Veronica, I'm not brave at all-"
The older woman cute her off, smiling now, "No, but you are. I'm incredibly sorry about what I wrote, especially now that I see you are modest as well," her cat eyes twinkled, "I won't write about you anymore, Mary Alice. A real reporter never writes without all the facts," she pushed her glasses further up her nose, and wandered away without a backwards glance.
Alice knew it must have been extremely difficult for a hard woman like Veronica Skipp to admit she was wrong at all. In that second, she knew she had done the right thing to save the woman's life. By saving Mrs. Skipp, she had also given her a chance to change the things she wrote about, and stop slandering peoplelike she had before she saw how short life really could be. Mostly, however, Alice had forgiven the woman in her mind, when she saw that Veronica was genuinely sorry. Perhaps her friends would give her a chance for forgiveness, too.
She heard them before she saw them, "Alice! Oh, Alice! I'm so sorry. We heard from someone that you had a breakdown, and I couldn't believe we caused it. And then we came here, and saw the whole thing where you saved that woman's life-" Bella ranted.
She stopped her friend from saying more, because she knew she had to trust her friends. If the tree had hit her, she wouldn't have wanted to never get the chance to tell them, "Guys, I have something to tell you." It was time to be brave. Alice told her friends the entire story.
When she finished, they didn't stare at her as they might a mad person, but rather nodded thoughtfully. Both girls had suspected there was something off about their friend, even if they didn't expect it to be quite the extent it was.
"So that's how you were always ahead on the fashion world." Rosalie joked.
The three of them cracked up, laughing in the rain, "I'm sorry," Alice admitted when they calmed down, "I should have told you guys."
Bella shrugged, "Well, we know now. And now, you won't have to go through the vision on your own. We will be right here to help you."
Rosalie nodded, "Always."
Alice flashed her pearly white teeth in a smile as big as the sun and put her arms around her friends reassuringly. She promised them that she would always trust them from that point forward, in a sweet, altruistic tone. Three three girls stood quietly, watching the rain, and then the sun as it finally peeked through the clouds in all its glory.
So, please review! Also, please tell me if you think I should just stick to long stories, and forget the one-shots. I'm not sure how i do on one-shots. :)
-addict.to.reading