A/N: After thinking about this for a while and trying several different things, I decided that the split P.O.V. chapters won't be an every-time occurance. So, I'm just going straight to Alex's account. There will be a partner chappie for this one, though. Just not the past one (Something Good.)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Alexandra and the other OC's that are applied liberally.

-Willow

"What didn't kill me, it didn't make me stronger at all."

― Ed Sheeran.

It was times like this when I wished I'd stayed in the gymnastics classes everyone's mothers made their daughters take when they were small. Maybe then, I'd have developed some flexibility and would be able to zip up this damn dress. I decided on a green dress I had discovered my mother packed , but now it seemed as though I would be back to square one if I didn't get this thing fastened. And with about ten minutes until we left, I didn't have many other options. With a grunt, I gave it a final tug before giving up.

"Uncle Victor?!" I called into the house as I emerged from my bedroom. There was no response. I went downstairs. "Victor?"

Silence.

I flew back upstairs and poked my head into Scipio's room. "Is Victor home?" I asked him.

"I don't think so," the apprentice said from in front of the mirror where he was buttoning his shirt, "Why?"

"I, uh, can't get this dress zipped." I explained, feeling a blush creep up my cheeks. This was a bit of a personal thing, and the atmosphere between him and I had been less than our usual comfortable banter. It was mutually understood that the region of "just friends" was slightly below us, although the promised land of "officially a couple" was pretty far off. Hopefully that would change, seeing as everytime I looked at him I became more aware that I was falling hard, whether I was willing or not.

Scipio shrugged at me in the reflection, "I can try, if you want."

I smiled gratefully, coming fully into the room. "Would you?"

"Of course." He said. I turned and held my hair up so it didn't get caught as he pulled the zipper up with ease.

"Thanks," I gave the dress a little swish, watching its skirt of green fabric swirl around my knees. It was simple, with thin straps and a fitted bodice, but it managed to work somehow. "Well, I have to go finish getting ready..." I pivoted on my heel and began leaving the room.

"Hey, Alexandra?"

"Yeah?" I said over my shoulder.

Scipio smiled slightly. "You look really pretty."

I was a hundred hues of red as I squeaked out a "thank you". I didn't return to my natural color until I was back in my own room putting the final touches on my hair. This, just like yesterday afternoon, was a step in the right direction. It was progress. That was all I could ask for.

{{{{{{{O}}}}}}

Scip wasn't lying when he said Serafina lived in a mansion. The Capito Estate sat on a rolling hill on the outskirts of the city, away from all the business of Venice. Its architecture heralded a family with money, and lots of it to blow on extravegant gardens and elegant fountains. The house itself was grand and sprawling, designed in the classic Venetian style, although it was obvious it wasn't any older than ten or twenty years.

As we made our way up the never-ending driveway to her front door, I could hear music pumping from inside, along with shouts of glee and laughter. My stomach did a final flip before the door clicked open.

Serafina stood in the doorway, clad in a pink minidress that displayed her... curves in a way that would have made a preacher blush. Her raspberry hair cascaded around her artfully made-up face. "Ale-e-x!" She nearly shrieked, then ambushed me into a hug smelling of high-end perfume.

"Hi, Serafina." I said, gently parting us.

Scipio cleared his throat.

The hostess smiled flirtatiously at him. "So glad you could make it. People have been asking if you were going to be here. They're all waiting for the life of the party to show up."

My palms became increasingly moist as I pondered what was being said and how much of it was fact.

"Oh, uh, haha..." The alleged 'life of the party' shifted uncomfortablly, running his hand through his hair.

"Well, come on in!" Serafina stepped aside to let Scipio and I enter.

As we came further into the house, my eyes scanned over scene before me. It was one I'd only seen in the movies; a room full of bad decisions. Teenagers were standing in groups and pairs looked out of place among the elegant design of the house. Red plastic cups littering the scene, along with bowls of snacks didn't help the cause, either. The hostess led us to a less crowded area and asked if we wanted a drink. "You mean, like, alchohol?" I questioned.

Serafina looked at me like I was crazy, making me feel a bit more at ease. "Of course not, sweetie." She laughed as if it was the most ridiculous thing she had ever been asked. She lowered her voice. "Why, do you want some?"

My eyes widened as I stuttered, "Wh-what? No!"

"Because my dad forget to lock the cellar, and I'd rather you do it here where I can keep an eye on you. You know. In case you get sick or something."

My temporary comfort of knowing this would be a sober party faded. "I'm good..." I mumbled.

Serafina shrugged and turned her attention to Scipio. "So, Scipio, quite the party, right?"

His brown eyes surveyed the room before declaring, "Yeah, it's, uh, pretty impressive," in a voice that I wouldn't exactly categorize as impressed.

"Not nearly as wild as those parties you used to throw in your dad's house. Well, before that inspector guy took you in. Remember that New Year's Eve one last year when the whole thing got shut down?"

"Nope. No memory of it." Scipio replied hastily with a nervous chuckle.

"Figures. You were absolutely-"

"Thanks, Fina. I think that will suffice."

I looked back and forth between the two of them. Serafina wore a smile, but her eyes were hostile. And it was then that I began regretting coming here. I was out of place, out of my league, and feeling like a little girl in a room full of adults who were all in a big secret. I glanced down at my green dress that now seemed like something I would wear to church. They sure all looked the part of a grown-up.

All of them except one, it seemed.

"Alexandra!" A voice from the mass called out.

I turned around to see Elisia pushing her way through the crowd right to me. She seemed to have changed from her prior extreme-casual wear into a pair of faded jeans and a sweatshirt. I looked around for an escape, only to discover I was cornered on all sides by strangers.

Elisia appeared before me in the blink of an eye. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Elisia." I said as politely as I could muster.

Serafina grinned at the unexpected interruption. "Well, I'll just leave you two to it, then!" She said before dragging an unhappy Scipio away with her.

"Can we talk later?" I craned my neck to see where she was taking him. "I'm a little bit busy."

"You're alone..." Elisia raised her eyebrow.

"Well, now I am."

She stared down at the floor. "Sorry. I just don't know anyone here, except for you..."

I took a deep breath. "No, no, don't worry. I'll hang out with you for a while."

"Awesome!"

"Oh, and, just out of curiousity," I said with faux breeziness, "Is anyone here drinking?"

"No." Elisia laughed. "Not yet, at least. And even if they do, you can just take one and then go dump it out and fill it with water."

I nodded, "Oh. Thanks for the tip."

"No problem. Always there to help a friend."

I felt awful for being so frigid to Elisia, who was clearly just being friendly. But I couldn't stop remembering how hell-bent Serafina seemed on geting back together with Scip, and I quite honestly didn't believe her when she said they had planned on a reunion the whole time. I needed to keep him close if I wanted a chance of anything evolving of our loose flirting.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the pair standing beside the table serving drinks that the catering company had set up. Serafina twirled her hair and laughed airily at everything being said. Scipio looked like he would rather be anywhere else, which gave me some reassurance.

"Are you thirsty?" I asked Elisia, desperate to get over there. "I know that I am! You know what? We should get some drinks, like, right now."

"Okay..." She said suspiciously, following me through the throng to the other side of the room.

The girl tending the drink table was turned around organizing bottles of sodas when I approached her. "Excuse me?" I said to her.

She whipped around, sending her brunette braid flying. Her eyes grew wide when she saw me, and I was pretty sure I knew why. She was the girl I'd met the day before. What was she doing working as a caterer? Wasn't she adopted by a woman with more money than she knew what to do with? "Caterina?" I asked her.

Caterina nodded coyly. "Alexandra?"

"Do you work with them?" I realised that was a stupid question when I saw she was dressed in a uniform of a khakis and a black shirt with the name of the company embroidered on it.

"Yes." She stated simply. "So... do you want something?"

"Just water." I told her.

She filled up a plastic cup with ice water and handed it to me. "Anything for you?" She said to Elisia.

While Elisia put in her request, I stepped over to where Serafina and Scip were. Before I could say anything, Serafina beat me to it with a quick remark, "Look who's back."

"Hey, Alexandra." The apprentice said, having to nearly yell to be heard over the music.

He began saying something else, but even if the stereo had gone silent, I probably would have been too distracted by the scene playing out behind him to notice.

A girl with white-blond hair emerged from a door to what I assumed was the cellar clutching a cbottle of a clear liquid I also assumed was alchohol by the way everyone around her was instantly in a better mood. They were practically cheering. The wispy blond then proceeded to pop the cap off the top and take a swig of it herself. She stumbled backwards a bit and passed it to a beefy guy in a baseball cap who did the same.

I swallowed and turned Scipio, "Uh..."

"Sera!" the girl called out, making her way over to us.

"Yes?" He said, slightly preoccupied. His eyes then settled on her, "Oh. You don't drink, do you?"

"No, and I really don't want to start now," I said in reply, my voice growing more panicking by the second.

He nodded and turned to Serafina, who was talking to the blond. "Serafina? I'm taking Alexandra outside for a minute."

"What? Why?" She protested with a glare directed right at me.

"To get some air." Scipio ignored her objections and took me by the hand.

A few minutes of weaving through dancing party guests later, we arrived back where we entered. A few other groups and couples were milling around the yards, but it was a completely different world from the chaos inside. We found a place relatively tucked away, behind one of the many shrubs that were placed around the Capito's estate. Fingers still intertwined in mine, Scip smiled apoligetically. "I'm sorry for bringing you here."

"It's okay."

I couldn't meet his eyes, maybe out of coy nervousness or maybe out of pure insecurity, because I knew what I had just done was probably casting me as an insipid little girl who couldn't handle a party. But he didn't seem upset. Not even the least bit annoyed or even confused.

In an attempt to make conversation, I tilted my head up to the sky. A white-gold moon hung between a spinkling of stars. "Full moon tonight. It's beautiful."

"It is."

I directed my gaze back at Scipio, who hadn't even looked.

My heart started pounding in my chest like a bass drum when the sheet music called for a crescendo. Which was fitting, because this was one of the moments people write songs about, the moments that make all the conflict and pain float away and leave behind the opening notes of a melody I'd heard endlessly but somehow never learned to play. One of the moments I hadn't imagined myself ever being a part of until I met the boy on the fire escape.

And that was terrifying.

I breathed in and out slowly, trying to calm the beating to its normal rate. It was no use. When I finally did let my eyes lock onto his, it only got faster. It felt like it was about to burst as Scipio ever so slowly leaned in and-

"I found them!"

The moment shattered. Before us was Serafina's wild friend, standing with her finger pointed and body wobbling. She staggered towards Scip and I. "Oh, my God. Were you guys making out?"

The amount of silence after her question was enough to send the message.

"Whatever. Everyone's loo...looking for you." She slurred.

"Lucia." Scip said, "You do understand that not everyone has to do what Serafina says all the time, right?"

"Yeah, I know." Lucia shrugged. "But it's usually hell if you don't."

"That's one thing you got right..."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Well, she told me to find you, a-a-a-nd," She gave a bubbly giggle. "I found you! Now, back in!" Lucia reached for one of each of our arms and dragged us back to the party.

You were so close.

The scene inside was no less chaotic than before, if not more. The music had been amplified, along with the spirits in the room. The blond continued holding onto us and pulled us both onto the crowded dance floor.

"I need some water." I announced in a weary voice and made my way to the refreshment table.

Caterina was still steady at her post, although looking rather anxious. She bit her lip as I approached. "Oh, hey, Alexandra. Here's your water." The waitress slid the cup toward me and smiled uneasily.

"Thanks." I said, raising it to my lips to take a big sip.

As I drank it, it slid down my throat, the liquid burning in a way water never did, at least in my experience. The aftertaste reminded me of rubbing alcohol. "Caterina..."

"Yes?"

"What's in this?"

"Pfft, what do you mean? It's water."

"I mean it tastes like acid, and now I'm dizzy."

"Really?" Caterina's voice was high and breathless, and although I barely knew her, I knew that this wasn't normal.

"Oh, hey guys!" Serafina's hand appeared on my shoulder. She looked from me to Caterina. "Everything going okay over here?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but Caterina had her words alreay prepared.

"Yes! Everything's going just fantastic!"

"No, actually, I-"

"Awesome!" Serafina said, promptly cutting me off.

"There's vodka in this!" I quickly interjected before she got a chance to dive into another monologue of hers.

All she could supply was a shrug.

Something that felt a lot like pain, but more like disappointment than anything else. Everything had been immaculate ten minutes ago. And now... "This was intentional. You..." I turned to Caterina, who held her palms up in surrender.

"It was a mistake, I swear!"

"No, it wasn't. This was intentional."

In that moment, standing there in this city that wasn't my home, among people who weren't my friends, I began to learn that being lonely while surrounded by people was miles more poisonous than being eternally solitary. I felt tears pooling in my eyes like deadweights. "You don't even know me... Why are you doing this to me?"

Serafina frowned, but a glint danced in her frosty eyes, "Oh, honey. Why are you doing this to me? Why condemn me for something I didn't even do? Don't you remember who gave you the drink in the first place?"

"Because... because..." My voice was faint as my vision began to blur. "I have to go home."

"Alexandra? Are you crying? What's going on?"

I had never been happier to see anyone than I was to see Scipio. Maybe a side-effect of a not-so-hopeless infatuation with someone was that they could instantly make an entire situation brighter.

"I need to go home." Any other time, I would have at least tried to stick around for his sake. But that night, pride wasn't exactly an issue. What did I have to lose?

My drink had already been spiked by semi-strangers, I embarrassed myself in front of essentially all my potential friends, and my first kiss had been botched by a wasted party guest. I just wanted to go home. Home home. I wanted my parents to stop fighting, and I wanted everything to go back to normal. Even something just South of normal would suffice. Not this.

As a tear finally slid down my cheek, one phrase continually looped through my mind:

I wish I had never come to Venice.

A/N: Deep breaths. In for ten, hold for three, out for ten. I swear, it took so much will power to not give you lovely people a fluffy chapter but I promise you I am nowhere near done, and neither is Alexandra. I'm planning on making this fic about 15-20 chapters, so we're not even close to the Epilogue. I'll try to be extra-speedy with the next update, so I won't leave you guys hanging for too long.

Love and other indoor sports,

Willow.