Brady shuffled through the many people to find his blonde, former-model date. She wasn't exactly hard to spot. He found Nicole quickly, and she was full of the latest Salem High gossip. She was a sponge at teenage social events, wasn't she?
"Nicole," Brady said, "I'm going to go. Philip and Chloe are seperated, and their relationship is doomed to end within the next two days. Chloe probably won't even leave home tomorrow."
"Okay." Nicole replied. Just then, Brady nodded and turned around to return to Chloe, and Nicole grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. "Wait. Where exactly are you going? And where did Chloe disappear to?"
"Oh, I'm going to drive Chloe home. And you can get one of my grandfather's drivers to bring you home in a limo. Or you could call a taxi," Brady smiled at his last remark and swirved around to return to Chloe. Nicole watched him vanish in the sea of people, and then was approached by two very teenage and very bopping teenyboppers.
"I saw you talking to my brother," the blonde girl said. "Does he happen to know where my friend Chloe is?"
"Yeah," Nicole answered. "Brady is driving Chloe home."
"Oh good," the blonde Belle sighed and rested on her date's chest.
"You're glad she's not run off and created a new identity with an alcohol problem?" her date, Shawn, asked, intentionally as a joke. Belle lifted her head and looked up at him like he was the most inappropriate creature on earth.
"Exactly how much TV do you watch, Shawn Douglas Brady?"
Chloe looked out the window at the dark, shadowy things she saw rapidly passing her by. Just like the year that Philip and her had spent together. She had not even seen Philip for an hour, and the last words he'd spoken to her were actually pretty calm. He'd not seemed as shocked as she thought he would be, in hindsight. Yet, she thought of their relationship as over. Maybe it'd just been the way Brady was talking. Maybe he'd brainwashed her. Or maybe Chloe just finally wanted to end it with Philip, if he didn't want to end it with her. Maybe it just had to end.
"I'm sorry," Brady said in a very strange voice. Chloe shifted her eyes from her window and turned to her chauffeur.
"Thank you," she replied.
"For what?" Brady inquired.
"Tell me what you're sorry for."
"I meant that it had to happen. And...that it had to happen to you. You do not deserve to be...shown off, like that. Especially when you're completely surprised to be shown off, too. It's not like no one deserves it, though. Anyone who does that to someone is the one who really deserves it." Brady had to swallow after his slight meander down philisophical lane. "And tell me what you were thanking me for."
"For not bothering me. For driving me home. For not being Philip."
Brady turned to her and nearly swirved off the road. Brady straightened out his car to be parallel over the road and tried to straighten out his mind. No, no luck. Nothing made sense. He had to ask.
"Why are you glad that I'm not Philip?"
"I don't know..." Chloe tried to drift off, change the subject, but everything taunted her. "I just...I knew, when I was standing out in the evening air by myself, or at least when I heard your footsteps, that it couldn't be Philip. I didn't want it to be Philip. If he came to try to comfort me, then I'd be sick to my stomach, try not to look at him but still feel sick. So thank you for coming out and not forcing me to talk about it like a shrink, or saying that you're sorry immediately, or yelling at me. Thanks." Chloe started tearing up then. She was actually happy at the end of such a bad evening. Amazing. She didn't have a boyfriend who was acting weird, or angry, or insanely jealous; she didn't have friends who were always there for her (even if she didn't want them to be there), but she did have another person. One Brady Black. What could he be classified as? Maybe...helper? Not really friend, not just an acquaintance, not quite a confidant...An emotional aid, maybe. That fits. Sort of.
The car lurched forward one last time and made an odd groaning noise, and then it stopped. Chloe looked out her window again at her house. She turned back to Brady.
"Thank you," she repeated, as if it had become her mantra.
She unlocked the door and started fumbling to find the handle. Brady couldn't let her go that easily, or that quickly.
"Don't mess with that door; I'll open it from outside." He hopped out of the car and raced to the passenger's side to open Chloe's door. He told her to stop playing with the handle, she retracted her hand, and Brady pulled the door open. Chloe stepped out into the darkness and felt safe with her...emotional aid. She smiled, feeling secure with her classification of one Brady Black. He was the only species in that genus.
Brady walked with Chloe up the brick walkway to her house. Chloe felt incredibly grateful for Brady's existence and prescence. She looked up at her emotional aid and found him to be looking back at her. It was like a guardian, a protector. His eyes would not let anybody hurt her. It had not always been like that. She'd never actually seen him care like that.
They reached the stoop, and Chloe said "thank you" once again. He smiled, mentioning that she'd said that numerous times. She smiled back, and leaned in toward him gently. She kissed him lightly on the lips, taking Brady by surprise but delight, and then pulled away. She looked bright when she said bye and went into her house.
Chloe watched from a window as her emotional aid left her stoop and went back to his car. She smiled and let the blinds fall back into place. Nancy walked into the living room.
"Hi, Sweetie," she greeted cheerfully. "Did you have a good time?"
Chloe thought a moment.
"Yeah... I was put on display on a huge projector screen without any clothes on, beat the living crap out of one of my foes, will officially break up with Philip before next week, and have a better relationship with my best friend's brother. All in all, I'd say it was a pretty fantastic evening," Chloe answered with a smile that went ear to ear.
"Oh I'm sorry..." Nancy said, unsure of what to say because of her daughter's tone. "But you sound so sincere, dear. Like you had a great time. You're really good at acting."
Chloe grinned smuggly.
"Who says I'm acting?" She walked around the room, trying to attain a mysterious air. "It was a fabulous couple of hours. Except for that whole being presented naked in front of everyone thing. That kind of sucks. But everything else is peachy keen." Chloe went upstairs to change her clothes.
Chloe picked out baby blue pajama bottoms and a comfy light blue turtleneck. She brushed her hair a couple times to straighten it out and slid her feet into cushy blue bunny slippers that she thought were kind of corny, yet adorable. She bounded back down the stairs and saw Craig. He laughed and then commented.
"Is that what you wore to the dance?"
Chloe rolled her eyes and smiled.
"Very funny, Craig."
"Nancy tells me that you didn't have such a great time."
"Well, she's misinformed. I told her that I had a fantastic time."
"But she said you're going to dump Philip and that you were shown nude in front of the whole school. Are you sure that you had a fantastic time?"
"Positive." Chloe plopped down on the couch and pressed on the remote. After such a strange evening, she needed some dead brain cells from television. Maybe she'd forget that being-broadcast-bare portion of the dance. Then the phone rang. Chloe sighed, turned off the television, and answered. It was Belle. Of course.
"Nicole," Brady said, "I'm going to go. Philip and Chloe are seperated, and their relationship is doomed to end within the next two days. Chloe probably won't even leave home tomorrow."
"Okay." Nicole replied. Just then, Brady nodded and turned around to return to Chloe, and Nicole grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. "Wait. Where exactly are you going? And where did Chloe disappear to?"
"Oh, I'm going to drive Chloe home. And you can get one of my grandfather's drivers to bring you home in a limo. Or you could call a taxi," Brady smiled at his last remark and swirved around to return to Chloe. Nicole watched him vanish in the sea of people, and then was approached by two very teenage and very bopping teenyboppers.
"I saw you talking to my brother," the blonde girl said. "Does he happen to know where my friend Chloe is?"
"Yeah," Nicole answered. "Brady is driving Chloe home."
"Oh good," the blonde Belle sighed and rested on her date's chest.
"You're glad she's not run off and created a new identity with an alcohol problem?" her date, Shawn, asked, intentionally as a joke. Belle lifted her head and looked up at him like he was the most inappropriate creature on earth.
"Exactly how much TV do you watch, Shawn Douglas Brady?"
Chloe looked out the window at the dark, shadowy things she saw rapidly passing her by. Just like the year that Philip and her had spent together. She had not even seen Philip for an hour, and the last words he'd spoken to her were actually pretty calm. He'd not seemed as shocked as she thought he would be, in hindsight. Yet, she thought of their relationship as over. Maybe it'd just been the way Brady was talking. Maybe he'd brainwashed her. Or maybe Chloe just finally wanted to end it with Philip, if he didn't want to end it with her. Maybe it just had to end.
"I'm sorry," Brady said in a very strange voice. Chloe shifted her eyes from her window and turned to her chauffeur.
"Thank you," she replied.
"For what?" Brady inquired.
"Tell me what you're sorry for."
"I meant that it had to happen. And...that it had to happen to you. You do not deserve to be...shown off, like that. Especially when you're completely surprised to be shown off, too. It's not like no one deserves it, though. Anyone who does that to someone is the one who really deserves it." Brady had to swallow after his slight meander down philisophical lane. "And tell me what you were thanking me for."
"For not bothering me. For driving me home. For not being Philip."
Brady turned to her and nearly swirved off the road. Brady straightened out his car to be parallel over the road and tried to straighten out his mind. No, no luck. Nothing made sense. He had to ask.
"Why are you glad that I'm not Philip?"
"I don't know..." Chloe tried to drift off, change the subject, but everything taunted her. "I just...I knew, when I was standing out in the evening air by myself, or at least when I heard your footsteps, that it couldn't be Philip. I didn't want it to be Philip. If he came to try to comfort me, then I'd be sick to my stomach, try not to look at him but still feel sick. So thank you for coming out and not forcing me to talk about it like a shrink, or saying that you're sorry immediately, or yelling at me. Thanks." Chloe started tearing up then. She was actually happy at the end of such a bad evening. Amazing. She didn't have a boyfriend who was acting weird, or angry, or insanely jealous; she didn't have friends who were always there for her (even if she didn't want them to be there), but she did have another person. One Brady Black. What could he be classified as? Maybe...helper? Not really friend, not just an acquaintance, not quite a confidant...An emotional aid, maybe. That fits. Sort of.
The car lurched forward one last time and made an odd groaning noise, and then it stopped. Chloe looked out her window again at her house. She turned back to Brady.
"Thank you," she repeated, as if it had become her mantra.
She unlocked the door and started fumbling to find the handle. Brady couldn't let her go that easily, or that quickly.
"Don't mess with that door; I'll open it from outside." He hopped out of the car and raced to the passenger's side to open Chloe's door. He told her to stop playing with the handle, she retracted her hand, and Brady pulled the door open. Chloe stepped out into the darkness and felt safe with her...emotional aid. She smiled, feeling secure with her classification of one Brady Black. He was the only species in that genus.
Brady walked with Chloe up the brick walkway to her house. Chloe felt incredibly grateful for Brady's existence and prescence. She looked up at her emotional aid and found him to be looking back at her. It was like a guardian, a protector. His eyes would not let anybody hurt her. It had not always been like that. She'd never actually seen him care like that.
They reached the stoop, and Chloe said "thank you" once again. He smiled, mentioning that she'd said that numerous times. She smiled back, and leaned in toward him gently. She kissed him lightly on the lips, taking Brady by surprise but delight, and then pulled away. She looked bright when she said bye and went into her house.
Chloe watched from a window as her emotional aid left her stoop and went back to his car. She smiled and let the blinds fall back into place. Nancy walked into the living room.
"Hi, Sweetie," she greeted cheerfully. "Did you have a good time?"
Chloe thought a moment.
"Yeah... I was put on display on a huge projector screen without any clothes on, beat the living crap out of one of my foes, will officially break up with Philip before next week, and have a better relationship with my best friend's brother. All in all, I'd say it was a pretty fantastic evening," Chloe answered with a smile that went ear to ear.
"Oh I'm sorry..." Nancy said, unsure of what to say because of her daughter's tone. "But you sound so sincere, dear. Like you had a great time. You're really good at acting."
Chloe grinned smuggly.
"Who says I'm acting?" She walked around the room, trying to attain a mysterious air. "It was a fabulous couple of hours. Except for that whole being presented naked in front of everyone thing. That kind of sucks. But everything else is peachy keen." Chloe went upstairs to change her clothes.
Chloe picked out baby blue pajama bottoms and a comfy light blue turtleneck. She brushed her hair a couple times to straighten it out and slid her feet into cushy blue bunny slippers that she thought were kind of corny, yet adorable. She bounded back down the stairs and saw Craig. He laughed and then commented.
"Is that what you wore to the dance?"
Chloe rolled her eyes and smiled.
"Very funny, Craig."
"Nancy tells me that you didn't have such a great time."
"Well, she's misinformed. I told her that I had a fantastic time."
"But she said you're going to dump Philip and that you were shown nude in front of the whole school. Are you sure that you had a fantastic time?"
"Positive." Chloe plopped down on the couch and pressed on the remote. After such a strange evening, she needed some dead brain cells from television. Maybe she'd forget that being-broadcast-bare portion of the dance. Then the phone rang. Chloe sighed, turned off the television, and answered. It was Belle. Of course.