Sweet Serendipity

Chapter Ten: Acceptance

A. Brandon

It'd been three weeks… at least that was what it felt like.

The days all seemed to blend together after being cooped up in her room for so long.

Alice had even taken to doing handstand push-ups against the wall to keep up herself occupied.

It had started out as a friendly competition between the girls on her varsity cheerleading team back at her high school. They figured handstand push-ups were only for the fittest of girls and it was a test to see who would port, who would fly, and who would tumble. After a while, it became a game of sorts... whoever could wrack up the most in an on-season would get to pick a dare the entire team had to take part in. It was a tradition everyone could participate in, it was fun, and uplifting. The dares used to range from skinny dipping in the public pool after hours, to a team 'pie in the face', or temporarily dyed blue hair. It was fun, a team initiation, and somewhat of a nice distraction from the excessive training, it made it just a little more bearable after the endless amount of conditioning everyone undertook. And recently, every time she beat her own record from the day before, it almost made her think that one day she'd get to go back to that. Back to her school, her family, her friends, her life.

But she knew that the possibility of that happening was low… very low.

After being concealed, hid away from the world, and people, and civilization, and interaction for so long… Alice had long since got over Charlotte's betrayal. She would never forgive her for it, but as far as she was concerned, the other female was the only company she had. Ever since the dream in which Alice had seen her family die at his hands, their blood drowning the color of her imagination, the Major had scarcely made an appearance in her room… and Alice could quickly feel her mind beginning to deteriorate faster. The dreams were getting worse and worse as the nights passed, and she was getting restless and paranoid. Tortures to strangers, accidents she couldn't stop. They plagued her every sleeping moment, and she knew they were happening in real life, and there was nothing she could do about it. All she could do was sit, and wait... watch... as her life passed her by, even if it was frozen on the same age. "Talk to me Charlotte, tell me about yourself." Alice called out lightly as she gazed out upon the grazing horses outside, as the sun shone and the breeze flooded in threw her open window. Alice had considered many times jumping out, just to see how far she'd get or make it before they caught her again. Maybe they'd send her to the hospital, then at least she'd have a change of view. But every time the thought even occurred, it was Peter or the Major that interrupted her thoughts by walking into the room and distracting her from her previous train of thought.

"Not much to tell Alice." Charlotte shrugged as Alice inwardly sighed. She was tired of all the vague, barely-there answers, but she knew it wasn't going to change. "But what about you? You said you were a cheerleader… you had a lot of friends, you were adopted…" Charlotte offered as Alice just shrugged and shook her head, it was a conversation they'd already had... and it never went anywhere interesting, it was just becoming a quick waste of breath now. "Or what about these dreams? Tell me about them… it might make it easier. Tell me about your family, your mom, why you are the way you are." Charlotte surprised the girl as Alice recovered from her shock before sighing as she turned her gaze from the window to stare at the impeccably beautiful woman across the room from her, Alice's head resting on her knees as she smirked slightly. She had know the subject would come up again… and she knew she had to tell Charlotte before she talked herself out of it and into another streak of silence. At least now it was something new they could discuss... and it wasn't if the world would ever know, at this rate Alice would never walk the earth again omit the confines of her bedroom.

"I don't know what you want me to tell you." she sighed as Charlotte shrugged before gracefully lowering herself down into one of the chairs just out of the reach of the sun's rays that peaked in from the window. Alice noticed all three did this… intentionally avoiding the light of the outdoors, but she never commented on it. Never really paid attention until now. It was an interesting habit Char, Peter and the Major seemed to share, like they were allergic to the sun... but that couldn't possibly be the case, why would they move to Texas if they didn't like the sun?

"Anything Alice… anything to help me understand. I'm so lost with this whole concept. Non of your condition is even natural..." Charlotte pulled her out of her own thoughts as the pale woman watched Alice weigh her odds.

"How can I trust that it's just us? How do I know you won't run off and tell them exactly what I'm saying as soon as I open up?" Alice asked wallowing back into the hurt of her own betrayal before masking her pain. It was true, Charlotte was in love with Peter, as he was with her... it was clear as day to see. And Alice didn't exactly see the two keeping things from one another to be honest.

"I figured by now you could trust me."

"This isn't some little gossip girl subject Charlotte… this is a secret I've been guarding and hiding from people my whole life. It wasn't safe for my mom, my mom's mom, even my great grandmother… it's dangerous knowledge."

"It's never gonna leave this room Alice… I promise. You gotta get it off your chest somehow." she offered as Alice sighed. She knew from experience with her over the past few weeks that Charlotte seemed to have a certain quality about her, that made you want to trust her... no need to trust her. Like everything and anything she said was solid, and trustworthy... and you couldn't possibly hate a person like that... they couldn't possibly be with malicious intent.

"Fine…" Alice finally gave in as her body unintentionally took in a deep breath as she rubbed her tired eyes. She'd been eating more, but her body still wasn't up to par, so her energy levels were substantially lower being locked up inside. "I guess it all started generations ago…" she began as Charlotte nodded, her focus solely on the girl as she told her story. "I couldn't tell you how long, but I think it's been a while." she went on as Charlotte nodded, hearing the boys come in downstairs but saying nothing as Alice continued. "It's always run in the Brandon line. It started off in the early teens. You start having simple dreams, like unloading the dishwater, the next day you're in the same clothes drying the same dishes. Or you have a dream of driving down the road, and maybe a week later you take an unexpected road trip, no rhyme or reason, and then just like that, your driving down the same road from the dream. As I got older it went from dreaming about the TV show line-ups, to seeing car crashes before they happened. From dreaming about who would play at the super bowl half time show before it was announced, to seeing a suicide the night before it happened. When it started I tried to remember what my mom had told me, what she had went through. It's freaky, supernatural… clinically and theoretically impossible, but it's true. Every girl born into the Brandon line stops aging at 17, they're still human and all, they just don't get old. The dreams come every night, and they almost always come true. Our bodies take in every possible nutrient from our food, so there's never any waste, and our cycle just stops. But somehow, one girl is always conceived… one girl to carry on the family trait."

"Did you ever get tested?"

"And tell them what? I can see the future, and I'm forever young? I can have a baby even though it's not possible, and I have an indefinite lifespan? How long to you think it would take them to lock me up for good? An hour? Two?" she asked. "No, this we've had to figure out without medical help." Alice sighed as she shifted slightly to a more comfortable position.

"How long do you normally live after you turn seventeen? How do you know you don't age?" Charlotte asked as Alice sighed, her eyes adverting back out the window as her attention became divided between the words she'd never spoke, and the question as to if she should be now.

"Eight years…"

"What?"

"Eight years." she answered again. "That was the longest one of us ever lived after they stopped aging." she stated sadly. "It was three generations back, she should have been 25 when she died."

"If they stay seventeen without changing, why did they die so young?"

"I told you Charlotte. Mentally… we just can't handle it after a while. Most of the time it's suicide…"

"I don't understand how you're so calm, aren't you the least bit scared at all?"

"Jesus Charlotte… scared? I'm fucking terrified. I mean I know it's coming, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. I know it's coming faster for me, because I've dreamt it, I've seen it already. Most times in my death, he's there…"

"Who?"

"Him."

"The Major?" Charlotte asked in surprise as Alice just nods silently, her fear still present, but repressed and accepted more now than it had been when she'd first seen it in her sleep. She didn't like it, but there was little she could do now but wait, and make small alterations as to try and stop her untimely demise. As much as it was sometimes hard to believe, despite being locked in a bedroom for weeks... she wanted to live. Alice wanted to see the world, and bungee jump, and go on a plane, and drive a fast car, and get married... there was still so much she wanted to do with her life. "Alice he won't hurt you. I know it doesn't seem like it but he cares about your safety." Charlotte tried to reassure her as Alice just scoffed and shook her head. Disbelief heavy in her system as she swallowed her irritation at the woman's lack of common sense... there's a reason he locked her up here... he'd not just going to up and let her leave.

"I know you're different Charlotte... You, Peter and him. I see it. You're eyes, your skin color… how you avoid the sunlight, and you never eat..."

"That doesn't mean anything Alice… you just described a fifth of the American population."

"I saw him Charlotte. He bites me, and you and Peter… you watch. You just stand there and watch. And you're happy."

"Alice-"

"But that's not the worst part. The worst part if I saw it so long ago and I just never pieced it together, and the more it comes in my dreams and my nightmares, the more I watch in horror as I just let it happen. It just let him bite me… and I like it Charlotte. I mean what's that supposed to tell me?" she asked in almost a panic as Charlotte tried to calm the stressed human before her.

"You know what we are Alice…"

"I can't believe it. I mean I won't believe it Charlotte. I'm barely holding onto my sanity now…"

"If your story is true, you see the future, you don't get older… why is it so hard to accept what you think I am?"

"Because… if I accept what you are, then how am I supposed to get myself through being here? How do you expect me to live here knowing what I'm going to be used for eventually?" she asked, turning back to Charlotte as suddenly the door pried open and Alice watched the Major walk into the room in all his god-like glory.

"You're going have to adapt. You know what we are now… and that's dangerous for you." the Major's voice commanded her attention as the southern drawl softened the blow of his words slightly before Alice could process exactly what he was saying. When she finally did, it struck a chord that'd never been played before, it was foreign... the feelings and emotions, the intense hatred and desperation. But she swallowed it down to finally turn to face him, despite her greatest fears, and evened out her choked voice.

"It's not like I ever leave here enough to be a threat." she answered back angrily as his emotionless eyes captured hers for a moment before his entire attention turned to Alice as he approached her, watching as she flinched back into the window seat slightly, her body acting on impulse as her nerves screamed for her to avoid any and all contact with the daunting presence that was The Major.

Silence passed through the room as he and Alice's eyes remained locked. Despite what Alice would have liked to believe… something stirred within her as her brown depths held his crimson stare. Something at the very center of her being burned for his touch, his voice, his protective hold on her. And almost as quickly as the urge had come, it had been buried with the fear and resentment that emerged every time his presence took place.

"Charlotte, Peter… leave us." he called out suddenly as Alice's eyes widened in both fear and surprise.

She'd been alone with Charlotte many a time. She made daily visits, and was one of the reasons that her sanity still remained relatively intact over her imprisonment here. They`d even gone far enough as to let her be alone with Peter, and even he was funny and charming enough, that despite her hatred for him, she preferred his presence more than solitary over the past week. But never had she been completely alone with the Major. Never had she been stuck in a room alone with him of all people, and the notion and the thought of him being so close scared her.

"Major you sur-"

"Peter… Charlotte… Out. Now."

"Major-"

"Captain… I ordered you out."

yayy, FINALLY 3 reviews at least so I can update

glad you lovely readers liked it so far.

Aprhodite - lol hehe thanks! I wanted to add in a little Alice rebellion and that scene seemed to be most like her out of all of them. glad you liked it, and I hope you enjoyed this one as well! let me know what you thought of the little AlicexCharlotte girl bonding time, and the barging in Major!

Guest - awww, thank you! and an author... haha why thank you, one of the best compliments i`ve received by far ;) glad you like it so far! let me know what you thought if this chapter! I know you liked the whole Charlotte and Alice relationship so I added that in here a little bit, but had them keep a little distance between the two still.

Wink N Nodd - thanks for the review! badass penname, by the way... and im glad you like it so far! I guess you didn`t have to wait long for an update haha. and word porn... I laughed my ass off at that! haha. let me know what you thought of this chapter!

reviews = updates!