A/N: so I wasn't too happy with the turn out of the last chapter. I know that it's been slow, but if you don't like the chapter, could you tell me so I can make sure that the ones to come are to your liking? The feed-back is the best, and I haven't gotten much. That's all really. Hopefully this is what you've all been waiting for.
The Fierce Words of Anger
Vee
Evie takes us to the gazebo once we've finished laughing. She finds it with such ease, knowing exactly where we are. The gazebo is white, matching the bridge into the maze. It looks like an oversized gothic birdcage of sorts, but looks great all the same.
She hangs onto the wall using the gaps in the weaved wood as foot holes. She climbs up til she's sitting on the roof, then laughs and exclaims as Nate and I slowly make our way up to join her.
There we watch the sunset.
'This is one of my favourite places in the world,' Evie says with a sigh, her eyes glued on the pinks streaming along the sky.
'I wish I had a place like this,' Nate says suddenly, 'Everywhere I have is always shared,' he says it bitterly, but not regretfully. Evie glances over at me.
'Yeah, I'd like a place like this,' I mumble. At this, Evie laughs loudly.
'Sorry, Missy but you cannot say that you don't have a place like this. All of Pemberly is like this!'
I blush looking down.
'Oh.' I play with the hem of my dress before slowly taking a look at Nate, he's smiling at me.
'So, how did Davida impress you guys in Sydney?' Evie asks. I smack my hand to my forehand as Nate looks at me confusedly.
'Your name's Davida?' he asks, I nod and mumble into my hands.
'Wait you didn't tell him. Oh, come on. You have to tell him your whole name!'
My head shoots up as I send a glare at Evie.
'Oh, you wouldn't,' I scowl.
'I think you'd be surprised if I didn't.' I groan into my hands as she turns back to Nate.
'Her name is Davida Geraldine Winifred Darcy. But she much prefers to be called Davida Darcy,' Evie laughs at my face.
'Is that all? That's not that bad,' Nate says.
'It would if the kids at school started calling you Darth Vada.'
Nate chuckles but stops at my face.
'Want to hear mine? Nathaniel John Edmund Fergusson Bennet.'
Evie and I both stare at him for a while, and then we all start laughing. Not ordinary type of laughing. Falling over, losing control, stomach hurting, tears streaming kind of laughing. We stop once I almost fall off the roof.
'So anyway, what was she really like?' Evie asks.
'Do you really want to know?' Nate asks dramatically. Evie nods seriously. Nate glances at me, and grins as he tells her: 'The first time I met her, she didn't even dance a single dance, even though we played a variety of music and practically everyone else was making a fool of themselves.'
I sigh.
'I don't really go well with meeting new people. I tend to judge to quickly.' I say. Nate glances back at me, his eyes twinkling.
'Maybe you should practice, after all, you have to do a lot of meeting considering you are in a different country and everything.'
'Maybe that's why I went on exchange Nate,' I say, staring him boldly in the eye, 'To practice.'
After a while he glances away, so we just sit and watch the sunset again.
'Vida?' I hear Jacinta call, 'Greg's on the phone.'
So I scramble down the gazebo as quickly and only take a quick look back at Nate and Evie before running out of the maze.
Nate
We sit in silence for a while, until the sun finally slips behind the horizon and a light darkness engulfs us.
'So, do you know why Vida moved down to Melbourne?'
Evie gives me a look.
'Call her Vee. Vida is what my dad calls her. It weird having someone around my age call her it too.'
I laugh.
'Yeah, she told me a bit on the way down here. Apparently she saved her friend from heartbreak by moving down. The guy apparently lived in Sydney,' she sighs. My head snaps up immediately, my gut dropping.
'Did she mention which friend it was?'
'Yes, the girl she's living with, Cate Bingsley.'
I sigh, and rub my head in my hands. How could she do that?
'Did she say why?'
'She thought that the guy didn't like her as much as she liked him. She thought that it would end up a short summer fling.'
Anger wells inside me and I breath deeply so I don't take it out on Evie. How horrible could one girl be? To think that my brother…
'I'd better get back,' I say, ignoring Evie's look of confusion. 'Chris and Jacinta could be waiting on me.'
Evie nods, wiping the confused look off her face. 'Yeah, I'll walk you down.'
And on the way back through the maze, all I can think of is how vicious one girl could be.
Vee
'You did what?' I ask, my voice breaks and I tense, my head straight looking fiercely at Evie. A whole entire week and she hasn't mentioned anything?
'We talked about Cate, and how you saved her from heartbreak,' she says dramatically, not noticing my reaction.
'Shit! What am I going to do?' I recall saying goodbye to Nate that night, his reply cold and harsh. I hadn't seen him since then. It was almost as if he was… 'Oh no, no no no!'
'What is it? What happened?' Evie says, so sincere, coming over and taking my hands.
'The guy she broke up with is Nate's brother. He hates me,' I fall onto her shoulder, despair running through me. I glance out the window and see the rain pouring down.
'Oh, babe, I'm sorry. You have to do something though. We leave tomorrow, and you're never going to forgive yourself if you don't tell him why you did it.'
And so I leave, Evie dropping me off at Jacinta's house, where she tells me that Nate's somewhere near the lake.
I run quickly and silently. I swear under my breath as the rain pelts down harder. I keep running, my summer dress hanging heavily, my bare feet spotted with mud. I see a tree up ahead, huge and strong. I hide under its comforting leaves.
It doesn't help much, it seems as the drops of water find their way through the leaves and land thickly on my head. I shiver and hug my soaking cardigan closer to my body. I look at the sky, amazed that it can be raining, yet still look so happy. In England it just looks dreary all the time.
A single stray of sunlight escapes the clouds and hits the tree; I follow it, looking behind me.
There, I see sitting on a ledge, is Nate. His back is leaning against a branch, and his face is in the light. He's looking at me straight in the eye. My eyes widen, I've found him.
I shiver again, not being able to help it. He sighs and gets up running his hand through his hair. Then he swings down the tree with ease before jumping the last branch. He lands almost by my side, and I give a slight jump.
He looks down at me and I realise how close we are. His stare is almost too intense; his eyes seeping into mine. But I keep his stare, my eyes softening as I become used to his violent search. He frowns as his eyes flicker from one of mine to the other. The rain has stopped in my ears, and something disrupts his study. A raindrop falls between us, catching his eye as it falls to the floor.
He shakes his head as if clearing all thoughts.
'Come on, let's go up,' he says
Nate
She delicately lifts her hands and places a gentle finger on my forehead, as though trying to smooth out the frown that's been placed there.
Having her this close to me is making me feel sick. The ground seems to be moving up and down, like I'm on a boat, and breathing isn't so easy. What's happening to me?
'What's wrong?' she asks, her concern showing as she frowns as well.
She's so close I can feel her breath on my cheek.
'Nate?' she whispers, looking me straight in the eye. Without thinking, I lower my lips to hers.
It's so light and delicate, almost like a touch instead of a kiss. And for one fragile moment, I feel at peace. For one fragile moment, I feel content.
I can't think, I can barely feel, and yet, I haven't felt this good since I met her. It hits the climax though, rising to a point where I think I might burst.
Then it all comes crashing down.
Grace, James and who this is. I tear my lips away from her and take a step back from her. Wanting the distance… craving it.
She looks a little dazed, but then, I feel a little dazed.
'I… you, can't,' I stutter. Her frown returns, this time deeper.
'What?' she whispers.
'Arg!' I throw up my hands in frustration, why does she always have to make me so confused? Suddenly she bursts.
'I need to tell you something!'
I look at her. The way she fiddles her hands in her lap, as though she's agitated with herself.
'You have no idea do you? Just being down here knowing you're next door again, has driven me almost insane. I wanted to see you, sure. I came all this way, past the lake and everything, just to see you. I can't take it anymore. Sure, I've denied it, considering you're family, not to mention you're friends. Let alone the fact that I'm only in Australia for the next couple of months. But I can't deny it any longer.'
'I don't understand,' I say, my face contorting into different expressions as she speaks. She sighs, looking at her hands that play with the hem of her soaked dress. She looks up at me, regret filling her eyes.
'I love you,' she says simply. I take a step back, and almost fall down the tree. This action seems to make her even more tense if it were possible.
Immediately my face hardens as I realise the accusations she's placed on me.
'I am sorry if I have caused you any...' I pause, trying to think of the right word, 'agony. I was unaware of it.'
My voice is bitter, harsh in beating her away. But instead of reducing her to feeling raw, instead it just makes her eyes flash with anger.
'Is that all you have to say?' she asks with as much force as me.
'Yes,' I say taking a step towards her. She scoffs.
'Rejecting me then?' It's hardly a question, but a statement. I scoff right back at her.
'I'm sure that you're denial of loving me with help you to overcome that love.'
Her eyes stare intensely in mine, hatred written all over her face.
'Can I at least know why?' she asks almost glowering at me.
'Can I at least know why you told me that you liked after you tried to deny it for so long considering my-' she cuts me off when I try to continue.
'Oh come on,' she says turning away from me, the anger still in her voice. Her head snaps back to face mine. 'Like no one else denies it at first.'
'I don't,' the lie spits from me before I can stop it.
'Yes, you just tell them straight away that you like them, do you?' her voice is mocking me.
'Yes, but I may prepare a better speech that yours first.'
She scowls.
'I have other reasons not to like you, you know,' I say as she turns away from me once again.
'What?' She leans against the trunk I did before, her head stubbornly not looking at me.
'You split up Cate and James, do you deny that?' As she faces me once again, her eyes have softened.
'No,' she whispers.
'Why? They were so happy together.'
She stares back out at the rain.
'I though it was just a summer fling.'
I can't get control of my anger anymore.
'A summer fling?' I explode. 'He's been in love with her for years!'
I try to see you expression, but she only looks away from me. She doesn't say anything.
Vee
'And what about Grace,' he asks, his voice still hard. Accusing.
Anger rocks my body.
'What about her?' I spit, still staring determinedly at the rain.
'What about the pain you've caused her?'
My head rolls over and over. Her pain? I stand up suddenly and take a very big step towards him.
'Her pain?' I snap at him, my voice a deathly whisper. 'Is she the one who gets woken up at night, wondering how in the earth she almost let Greg-' I slap my hand over my mouth as the familiar prickle of tears poke at my eyes. I look away from him for a moment, recovering.
'Her pain has been very great has it?' I ask, sarcasm replacing my tears. Nate stares at me for a moment.
'You can treat her with sarcasm after you've reduced her to poverty?'
I can see in his eyes that he'll never believe me.
'So this is what you think of me. This image of me you've painted. Do you think I rejoiced in the fact that you were the son of the biggest gossip? Did you think I liked the fact that I had fallen in love with someone who willingly went out with Grace?'
He stares at me for a while and I wonder if I went a bit too far.
'From the first moment I met you, I thought you were proud and arrogant and you're superior hold over others disgusted me. This made me realise that you would be the last person in the world I would willingly go out with.'
Nate
Her mouth opens a little and she just stares at me, her face almost melting as the rain falls on her face.
'I'm sorry for taking up so much of you're time,' she whispers her voice no longer fierce, then jumps from the platform.
Vee
The ground comes too heavily. It makes the lump in my throat rise faster. So I run. Not caring if he sees. As fast as I can, into the rain, heavy droplets crying for me. With me.
I stop, my back falling on the hard back of the tree. His absence almost blows me over, his words running around and around in circles. I fall to my knees and let a single sob escape. Then I get up, and walk home, thinking all the while.
