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A/N Yup, two in a row, to make up for my recent inactivity of updating..
Oh and I just realized I could enable anonymous reviewing thing so now anyone can review, which is a little bit dense of me seeing as this is already reaching the end of my story, but anyway, I have the next few ones planned out, so if all goes well, Finale will be chapter 33, 5 more to go.. gasps!! So close to the end already… Nuuuuu………
Okay, enough enough.. Chapter 29, here it is.. And just a heads up, this is a pretty long one ahead, and you guys will pretty much wanna kill me at the end of it, I so know you will.. You can already guess what's gonna happen can't you.?
Chemicals React.
"Hey!" Aaliyah chipped when she entered her best girl friend's hotel room flopping onto her bed. "So we ready for a little Cotillion brunch? Come on, tell me how excited you are, tell me bout your dress, and your shoes and your statement, I mean the big ball is tomorrow night, and you've been going on and on and on on this since we met, so come on, get it out of your system, you know want to," she prompted.
When she got no reply from her friend sitting on the edge of the bed in one of her many lavish cocktail dresses, this one was an off white number with a black ribbon under the bust and to just below her knee. Allie had donned on something less conventional, much to her grandmother's distress, teaming up a flowing black silk top that slid off one shoulder with a pair of low slung skinny jeans and black pumps. And of course with her grandmother's insistence she had over her arm a white some-shi-shi-brand bag.
Sensing no reply, she got off the bed and sat next to Kati at the edge of the bed "Hey, you okay?" Allie asked seeing her tear streaked face, eyes unfocused and the slid slightly red and swollen.
"Hey, what's on your mind?" came a voice from behind.
"Huh?" was Aaliyah's only reply as she turned around to see her boyfriend as her eyes swept across the room for a certain someone across the lavishly decorated ballroom. "Just fine European automobiles," she said giving him a coy smile.
"And since when do you think about fine European automobiles?" he asked cocking an eyebrow and Allie chuckled.
"Since about when I began being able to afford them," she replied teasingly, "It's been a very confusing time, you know, with model and color and engine power and drag to consider,"
Bradin chuckled, "Well, I have to admit, this guy won't be much help,"
"Aww.. That's too bad," she said pouting and he laughed some more. At that moment she spotted a certain blonde haired boy headed toward the exit at the back of the ballroom, pushing open the heavy set doors.
"Hey, I've something to take care of, I'll just be a sec, okay," she said distractedly with her eyes still focused on the door and she slid away from Bradin, trailing the blonde haired guy out of the room, pushing past, the small mass of people already collected there.
"Allie, hey we need to talk," the familiar voice of Christian Van der Graf said to her as she entered the hallway, pulling at her arm.
"Yea, we do, you broke up with Kati? A day before cotillion? You idiot! You know how big a deal this is for her, she's been going on and on about this whole coming out to society thing since forever, what the hell are you thinking?" Aaliyah scolded the tall blonde male in front of her in the deserted hallway without pausing to breath between sentences.
"You! I was thinking of you! You're the only thing that's been on my mind since I saw you again, the way I feel about you, and our relationship before you took off,"
"Chris, our relationship was exactly 3 dates and one very drunken night,"
"Allie-" he started but Allie cut him off.
"Emphasis on words 'very' and 'drunken' Chris!" she said before he could get another word out.
"Maybe for you but I wasn't okay? I knew exactly what was going on when I slept with you that night," he said and Allie closed her eyes exhaling.
"Chris please okay, I'm with Bradin now and you're with.." but this time she was cut off.
"Kati!"
"Yes, you're with Kati!" she said glad that they were on the same page, not knowing that he was greeting the girl behind her instead of just saying her name.
"You slept with him?" a timid voice came from behind her and Aaliyah turned around to see her best friend, hurt, disappointed and above all, shocked.
"No! I mean, yes I did, but I.. Oh my god my head hurts.. is that Merlot?" she tried to explain but none followed so she just babbled on clutching her head with one hand and grabbing the glass of wine in Kati's hands with the other and downing in it one swift movement.
As if things weren't bad enough with both Chris and Kati there staring at her, Bradin came out of the heavy set doors to find them there, "Hey, there you are, you just disappeared like tha- Whoa thirsty are we?" he asked, changing in mid-sentence as he watched his girlfriend guzzle down the glass of red wine.
"So let me get this straight Allie, while you were in love Carter-" Kati started saying and at those words Chris turned to Allie.
"Carter?" he asked dumbstruck.
"You dated Chris and slept with him?" Kati ploughed on, "Allie! You said nothing happened!" she asked voicing her outrage and Allie just closed her eyes and exhaled before opening her eyes to stare at her feet, lost of what to say or do.
"Okay.. What is.." Bradin began to ask awkwardly, his voice trailing off as he sensed the hostility in the air as she tried to explain, stumbling over the words, her mind somehow at this moment not phrasing complete sentences it was buzzing so fast.
"Kati, it was at the party.. I was.. We were.. I just had too much.. and I.." she stammered uneasily, unable to keep eye contact for very long closing her eyes here and there, looking away occasionally.
"Some mixer we have out here," another voice drawled in from behind them, cutting through Allie's stumbling explanation.
"Oh, great, just what this situation needs to complicate things further, one Carter O'Connell," Kati stated turning to look at him.
"Did you.. Man, did you sleep with her?" Chris confronted his best friend not so articulately as Allie covered her head with her hands.
"You told them?" he asked turning to look at Allie.
"I didn't.. I.." Allie started.
"You lost it to Carter?!" Kati's voice changed from outraged to amusedly shocked.
"I'm gonna go," Bradin voiced, backing away from the group.
"I'll go with you," Allie said, wanting to be able to just walk away from this situation.
"I think you should stay," he replied before turning around.
"Bradin I.." she pleaded going after him
"You should sort this out," he said unemotionally before turning around again to walk away.
"Bradin.!"
"Liyah!"
"Carter, please! I've screwed up one life already okay," and at that he let go of his grip on her elbow and she went after Bradin who was not far from the elevator at the end of the hallway while he himself had to deal with his repercussions.
"Bradin, I was a different person, I did some stupid things that-" she started saying standing in fro nt of him after he pushed the elevator button.
"Allie, I don't care what or who you did in New York, God knows I've screwed up more than anyone else," he said turning around to look at her.
"Then what's the problem?" she asked, confused.
"It's about them.." he started, "And their world,"
"It's crazy I know, that's why I left, it.. It changes you,"
"Except you didn't leave Allie, you're still as much a part of that world as they are,"
"Bradin.." she started saying looking into his eyes, "That's not true," she said apprehensively, unsure of what else to say, unsure if what she said was a lie or a statement, unsure of what the problem actually was to start with.
"It is, and your grandmother's right, you belong there," he said instead, "I don't.." he added.
"She said what?"
"Yea and I think you should listen to her, you find another escort for the ball," he continued.
It took her a moment, but when it finally came to her and she regained control over her voice box, "Are you.. Are we.. Is.. Is this us breaking up?" she asked, getting the words out right as the elevator gave out a soft 'ding' indicating it had reached that floor.
Bradin looked up at the indicator to find the light blinking and then back at Allie, "I guess so," he replied and sidestepped her entering the elevator as the door slid open.
It took her a moment but when she regained her composure and usage of her limbs, she turned around and marched back into the ballroom, eyes, scanning the crowd for her grandmother, when she finally spotted her, taking large angry strides, she made her way to across the room.
"Gramma, what the hell did you do?" Allie confronted her grandmother, hardly caring that she had been speaking to someone else at that time.
"Aaliyah, that is no way for a lady to speak," she chided gently and chuckling as the other elderly lady, sensing the hostility excused herself graciously walking away.
"And how should I speak, the way you did to Bradin about how we're from different worlds and we don't belong together?" she challenged, unable to contain the anger that shook in the core of her voice.
"Aaliyah, have you learned nothing from your mother? She married below her class and she came running right back, you don't want to do make the same mistake now do you,"
"I'm not making a mistake, I was happy, I'm in love," she explained to the elderly woman who have seemed to not grasp the concept very well.
"So was your mother, but she learned the hard way that you can't survive on love alone, I don't want you to go through what she did, Aaliyah," she went on as Aaliyah shook her head, looking away from her. "Just live the life you were born into, the life you deserve, everyone else has,"
"I'm not everyone else," she quipped and turned to walk away.
"And just so you know, James was richer than you'd ever imagined, my dad wasn't below anyone's class," Aaliyah added before walking away for good this time, and not turning back.
