Misguided Roses

~Disclaimer: I own none of them, I'm just playing with them, and I'll be returning them when I get through. I also stake no claim to any episodes that I use for the Flashbacks. They belong to the writers and FFC. I do however own Alex Wallace, his father and his secretary Connie, as well as anyone Scott knew when he was at home with his father. I also made up a few people in the middle of this story, you'll see why.~
~There are also a few lines that I have taken from one of my other favorite shows, BTVS. I thought that Joss's words would fit better in this type of subtext. I am not changing the words in any way shape or form. They will also be returned when I'm done.~

~I've decided that if you want a song list, you're going to have to e-mail me for it, seeing as though I can never seen to remember to put it up with my stories.

Memories are still in Italics, with * before and after them

For my Beta, I haven't forgotten you, I've just not had the time to write…lol E-mail me. ~Illusia

"The eyes are the window to ones soul." ~Unknown.

Daisy looked around the ballroom before realizing that Scott, Shelby, and Brittany had disappeared. Looking around the room, she noticed Peter standing off to the side with Sophie. Touching Ezra's arm, she stood and walked confidently over to the two counselors. "What happened with Brittany?" She asked steadily. Everyone had gotten used to the fact that Daisy didn't beat around the bush when it came to anything. She said it like she saw it, and that was that. She watched them exchange looks and she crossed her arms. "You gonna answer me or do you want me to guess?" She blinked a few times before Peter finally looked her in the eyes.

"You're going to have to ask them." He said shortly, knowing all too well that Daisy wasn't going to accept that. He watched as she ran a hand through her hair and pursed her lips together. "Daisy-"

"Forget I asked." Daisy pushed herself away from the table she was leaning on and frowned. "Just forget it." Her feet hit the floor with scary accurate rhythm as she took herself back to the table and put her hand on Ezra's arm, trying to calm herself. Ezra looked up and smiled at her. She nodded and Ezra stood up and walked with her out to the lobby. Alex walked past them into the ballroom and Daisy shuttered.

He had never seen her act like this before. Daisy had never allowed anyone to see her hurt, and for some odd reason, he felt oddly happy that he was the first to see it. "You okay?" He asked her gently, rubbing his hands up and down her arms.

She didn't trust her voice enough to speak, so Daisy just shook her head. She wasn't sure what she wanted to tell him right then, but she needed him to be with her. Leaning into him, Daisy allowed Ezra to pull her close. "I have a bad feeling about this." She finally said. "And I can't find Shelby." She let her voice drop and she locked eyes with him.

Shelby stumbled into the elevator and pushed the button for the second floor. As the doors closed, Shelby allowed herself time to try to pull herself together. She ran her hands over her face, ruining her make-up and making her cheek sting even worse. Now she hated herself more than ever. She hated the fact that she actually trusted Alex, and the fact that she practically dropped Scott in Brittany's lap so she could attempt to recover her past. That was the one thing that Peter had warned her about over and over, and she hadn't gotten it until now.

The elevator dinged and Shelby slammed her eyes open and her hand instinctively lifted to her cheek in a vain attempt to cover the rapidly growing bruise she probably had there. She passed two businessmen and a seven-year-old girl on her way to her room. All the while wondering how she was going to explain her cheek to Scott. She knew Brittany would understand, or at least not ask as many questions. Slowly she raised her hand to the door and tapped a few times, and then she immediately buried her head in her hands and wiped the rest of the tears from her eyes. As the door squeaked open, she prayed she wouldn't be looking up into Scott's eyes.

Turning at the sound of her name, Daisy looked directly into Alex's eyes. "Daisy," he said again, this time a little softer. He tried to cover the shame that he knew would probably shine through his eyes as he approached her and Ezra. "Could you do something for me?" His voice wavered, and he knew that she wouldn't buy the excuse that he was trying to makeup on such short notice.

"Depends." She placed the palm of her left hand on her hip and reached behind her with her other hand to hold onto Ezra. After a moment she shook her head. "What the hell could you possibly need me to do?" In the back of her mind she already could tell that it had something to do with Shelby. If he hurt her… she told herself mentally, squeezing Ezra's hand a little harder than anyone would think she could.

"You can't ask why-" he started just to get cut off by Daisy shaking her head at him.

"Just tell me what it is you want?" She snapped harshly.

Alex took a deep breath and looked at Ezra. The boy hadn't said much, and Alex knew better than to try to strike up some sort of conversation with the only person making sure that Daisy didn't rip his head off and throw it across the room. "Go find Shelby-" was all he would get out before Daisy dropped her hold on Ezra and raced to the stairs.

I know it's short, but I wanted to get a part out before you guys though that I forgot about you. And this time I'm gonna leave you guys with a teaser. Review if you want to read the next part

On the next Higher Ground:

"Why don't you let him make that choice?" Daisy's green eyes watched as Shelby slid into her Nike's and turned to the door. "Go girl, seek happy nights to happy days."

"You've been spending way too much time with Ezra." Shelby laughed on her way out the door.

They were kissing again, as they were meant to. He wanted her so much. He needed her.

"Oh God, you feel-" Shelby whispered into his shirt.

In that moment, he knew he had a choice to make. He chose for her, not himself. He said, "You have to get back upstairs."

She began to walk backwards, away from him. "You're right. This is me... Going. This is me going upstairs to bed."

For the first time in all of her 17 years, Shelby had hope of heaven.