ii. Reese.

How it started – how had this all started? It'd all been purely by accident, I was sure. And I'd never been meaning to cause any trouble, much less be in any trouble…
But that's not how it had turned out.

Now…I was in pain. I was shut up in a tiny box, the rest of the world seeming miles away.

But suddenly…it came to me. Or maybe it was just one of those moments, my favorite fantasies. Things to keep me from going mad…
Back…

-*-

Idly tucking my much chewed on pencil back behind my ear, I eyed the guitar on the floor beside me, thinking about a few more chords, a little bit of an accompaniment for something half-lyrical I'd written earlier. I'd been in the hallway for the past few hours, watching the world go by, making note of certain people, but still remaining silent…

You've got two ears and one mouth for a reason – listen more, speak less.

I'd always been more of a listener, or a watcher, whichever you felt like calling me. There wasn't much that I could say that wouldn't be overlooked, mainly because my voice didn't stick out much in the volume department –
If you could hear me over the fairly loud din of everyday life, the only thing that you'd notice was a very heavy Canadian accent. 'About' ended up 'aboot,' and so forth.

But right now, I was more or less thinking about the goings on, the fact that I'd been here for a little more than six hours, and already I'd seen more than I'd wanted to…
That was when he'd stopped, looked down, and sneered at me.

"Can't you be a road block somewhere else?"

I didn't say anything then, just – watched him. Studied the way his eyes looked like a glacier had slipped across them, chilling the already frigid blue. The way that somewhere, under all that attitude, there was something…
A little more…vulnerable, perhaps?
No…
A little less cold, though. Definitely.

"If it means anything, people have been passing me all day, so I'm not in anyone's way…" The words were calm, quiet alto accent lilting, and I merely smiled, brushing my hair out of my face.
He seemed like the type to anger easily, which I'm sure wasn't a good thing.
But…it was always the people like that who'd interested me.

But he'd said nothing more, just started down the hall, not happy that I hadn't got into a huff about things.
And meanwhile…I just went back to my guitar, the creative process slowed for a moment.
A few riffs…

Yeah, I was going to go in on Ruby Tuesday again – that was my song. Mine. Everyone said I was the kind of girl who just drifted, hung on dreams…

"She would never say where she came from…and yesterday don't matter if it's gone…"

He'd looked back then, and I could have sworn I'd seen interest in that face.

-*-

I had. I'd seen interest, and more than anything – more than anyone had ever ventured to see.
Of course, at the time, I didn't know that, but…

I'd learn.

And in the blackness…I hummed, quietly before a tiny whisper of song escaped…

"While the sun is bright, or in the darkest night…no one knows…she comes and goes…"