Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, nor am I associated with Port Charles or ABC in any way, shape or form. I am simply borrowing the characters for entertainment purposes.
Title: The City of Angels
Summary/Couples: I'm going to try the Jack and Alison thing, integrated with the romance of Alison and Rafe, so bear with me if you're not a fan of Jack and Alison together. Constructive criticism is welcome. Enjoy. This story takes place after Jack and Alison kiss for the time at his loft.
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It was dark and the air was mucky, the type that hangs on you after a thunderstorm. Small rocks crunched under Alison's shoes as she took in her surroundings, the sound of her own heart pounding noisily in her chest and the taste of panic in her throat were two of the most overwhelming feelings she'd ever experienced. Her breathing was heavy as she panted, her pace quickening as her legs carried her deeper into the cold, pitch black forest. Who knew where the Avatar was, and if it was lurking somewhere nearby? She had to find a way out. It was an area she was clearly unfamiliar with, and she opened her mouth to call for help when no sound came out, but a quiet whimper. She kept trying to push sound out, but only the gusts of wind and the howl of a distant wolf responded. She soon was able to detect voices. The voices of her friends, her family and their warnings about getting involved with Rafe, bounced off the trees, forming an eerie choir of ghostly tones. All the hurt he'd ever caused her all came out at once, filling the atmosphere with a sad, depressing aura, brewing into a wave of tears and anger. It was as if something was trying to remind her of the fact that even ex-angels could break hearts. And through all the emotional turmoil, there had been one person, for her, always.
Jack Ramsey.
Jack's face remained in the back of her head reassuringly, as she stumbled deeper through the dark marsh, the barn coming into view. She ran to the familiar landmark in the unmarked territory and briskly went inside. She slammed the door behind her, falling against the wooden plank that shielded her from the outside. But when she turned around, the faces starring back at her were just as unkind as those on the outside. Rafe and Livvie stood front and center with the rest of the town as their backdrop. Smirks played on their mouths, as they stared her down, their eyes unfriendly and foreign, burning holes into her like sunlight to a vampire. Her eyes jumped around the crowd, scanning the faces of the townspeople, her friends, Lucy, Jamal, her grandmother. All their expressions matched: disappointment. That she hadn't heeded their warnings and gone about her way, working to win back Rafe, despite the fact that he didn't remember the strong and passionate love they shared, just a few short months ago.
And now, there he stood. With his golden, shaggy hair, and her former best friend on his arm, his eyes locked on her. However, his expression was different. Was it sorrow? Guilt? Compassion? Rafe had always been sympathetic, and a person who usually understood the things one was going through. Was he as confused as she? Did he feel the same magnetic pull toward her that she felt toward him?
She tried to call to him, but her voice refused to oblige. But Rafe seemed to have heard her cry, and shook his head.
"It's no use, Alison. Don't waste your energy. It's out of your hands, now," he said, before he tightly shut his eyes as Livvie pressed her lips to his temple, and pulled him even closer toward her. Alison cringed, the thought of the two nearly enough to make her ill. So close she could feel the bile rising in her throat. She opened the door behind her and fled, running as fast as she could, wanting more than anything to be away from the barn. It had been a place of such love and wonderful memories. Now, it was little more than a pile of ruins of what once was, and exactly what it was: an old, beat-up, red barn. She longed for those memories to be more than memories, and to be truths. But it seemed as if her luck had run out when Rafe woke her up from her aneurysm after escaping murder charges, bringing her back to the harsh, real world.
She ran deep into the woods, taking random steps and various turns, taking her into unknown land. Anything to get away from the truth about her former love. Tears soon began streaming down her face, all the pent up anger and sadness forcing its way out after being held deep inside for so long. She needed to get away, run for the hope of better times. Times when she knew happiness and love, not hatred and pain. She ran through the swampy grass, and around the large oak and maple trees, until the earth poked a branch out and snagged her ankle, causing her to fall. She panted on the ground, not able to find the urge to get up, but just to cry. But in front of her line of vision, a hand appeared. She stared at the hand, a hand belonging to a male. She looked up, only to fall into the pools of pacific blue eyes, belonging to none other than Jack. She looked at him for a few more moments, before setting her hand in his, and letting him help her up. She stood to his level, and let him take her in his arms, taking a breath of what seemed like the sweetest air ever inhaled. Jack was her rock, her anchor. And he was here now.
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T.B.C.