Every You, Every Me- Time Will Tell
Angela smiled at David's lame joke, trying to concentrate. She couldn't believe Daisy had gotten under her skin like that. The only thing Angela knew to do was to push Daisy away. That was the only to keep herself from being exposed. Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by the impatient prodding of someone's finger. She looked over and saw Aubrey smiling at her. She smiled back and motioned towards the door with her head. He nodded in agreement and together they got up from the table.
"So…" Angela started.
"So," Aubrey echoed, and then smiled. "What do you think of Horizon so far?"
"Honestly?" She asked him and he nodded. "I don't know what to think of it." Angela said looking down at her shoes and smiling; that was truth.
"Yeah, when I first came here the rest of the group was going out on some sort of a trip, so I was here all alone."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it was interesting. But, you know, they came back, and there are some times when I wish they wouldn't have," he finished, looking down in silent contemplation.
"You wish THEY wouldn't have, or do you wish that a certain someone wouldn't have?"
"I wish they wouldn't have," he said firmly. "They just constantly bicker an fight. It gets annoying after a while. I mean, they are too busy paying attention to their own inner pain, they can't see the person around them is hurting. Like for instance, Daisy's in a lot of pain over what happened with this one guy, I mean, I don't know all the details, but any idiot can see she's in pain. But no, the rest of them don't care because they are too wrapped up in their own petty problems."
Angela didn't know what to think of this. She was surprised that Aubrey actually took the time to watch people and learn about them without any hidden reasons. He was so open and honest, and so caring. So caring in fact that it bothered Angela a bit. If she didn't work fast Aubrey would be yet another person she would be forced to push away. "You know Aubrey, you are a complicated man," she said smiling at him.
"Well, Angela, I firmly believe that if women are going to be mysterious, I might as well be complicated," he said, his accent becoming thicker.
Angela simply smiled at him, then got up and left. "How's that for mysterious," she whispered under her breath.
Shelby smiled as Scott reached out for her hand with his. Everything seemed to be perfect as far as Shelby was concerned. Everything was out in the open; Scott knew everything about Shelby and Shelby knew everything about Scott. It was an honest relationship, and that was the only kind to have.
"Shelby?" Scott's voice cut through he thoughts.
"Hmm?"
"Do you ever wonder what would have happened if I had gone to live with my dad?"
Shelby stopped walking and turned to look at Scott who was looking up at the sky. "Why?"
"I mean, do you ever wonder how different things would be, if you made one little decision different. Maybe it's even just a different street you decide to take. If you had taken the other street you'd be dead now, but your not, because you chose the other road."
"What," Shelby asked confused. "What brought on Mr. Philosophical?"
"I just, sometimes I wonder about things…" Scott trailed off and looked back up at the sky which was slowly loosing it's light, as clouds began to cover the light. "You know what, forget it. I'm just tired, and when I'm tired I act stupid."
Shelby looked down at her feet, not knowing what to say. "No, you're not being stupid. I wonder sometimes too. Sometimes I even wonder what our lives would be like now if I had decided to run away with you. Who we'd be, would we still be together. Sometimes, before I make a decision, I think about it, and I wonder what the two different worlds are like, even after I make the decision."
"You know what?" Scott asked, smiling. "I think maybe Peter has been showing Sliding Doors one too many times."
Shelby glared at him, but before she could get in a good swat, he ran off. Shelby laughed and started to chase after him. She was just about to reach him when, SMACK, she ran into a solid mass that was in the form of a human. She looked up and once her dizziness had subsided she saw Aubrey looking back down at her, and instead of his normally friendly smile was a blank face and eyes that reflected the storminess of the sky. "I'm so sorry," Shelby said, and looked at Scott who was slowly making his way over to her. "I um, I didn't mean to. Scott and I were…"
Scott finally reached the two of them and helped lift Shelby off the ground. "Sorry man, Shelby and I were just messing around, it was a accident."
Aubrey turned too look at Scott with contempt. "Yeah well, Shelby tends to ACCIDENTALLY bump in to me often."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Scott asked looking at Shelby. Shelby just shrugged her shoulders; she had no clue.
"Oh nothing. It's just that, don't you ever wonder how Shelby kept herself warm while you were gone? Don't you ever wonder if she needed someone while you weren't here? I don't know… It's a little strange how you can come back and the two of you can pretend like that month never even happened."
"Are you okay Aubrey," Shelby asked. She was thoroughly confused now, she had never seen this side of Aubrey, and she wished it would go away.
"Yeah, I'm just dandy. But I'm not too sure about you," he said simply, and just walked off. Shelby just stood there, biting her lower lip. She wondered what was going on in Aubrey's mind. This whole scene would have made more sense if he had been malicious, or bitter, but the only thing that was different about him was his eyes. His once bright eyes had been devoid of any light, and that scared Shelby.
"Shelby?" Scott asked, once again interrupting her thoughts. "What was that all about?"
"I don't know," Shelby answered honestly. "But I'm a little worried about him, he's acting strange."
"Maybe you shouldn't be so clumsy," Scott said trying to lighten the mood. It worked and Shelby jumped on top of Scott, sending the both of them to the ground.
"Maybe you shouldn't be so easy to catch," she suggested raising her eyebrows, and then leaned in for a kiss.
Aubrey frowned as he looked up at the cloudy sky; normally he loved the rain, but he wasn't in the mood for it today. He just couldn't figure Shelby or Angela out. He figured maybe he could get over Shelby with Angela, but Angela was being so dodgy. And Shelby… Aubrey couldn't figure out how she could just pretend that nothing happened. He hadn't meant to be so harsh, but a month's worth of tension had built up beyond the breaking point. Couldn't anyone see that he was in pain too? Didn't anyone care that there are other people in pain beside themselves? Aubrey shook his head knowing the answer: no. He knew perfectly well how easily people could just ignore everyone else because they were too wrapped up in themselves. After all, he wouldn't be here if people weren't like that. He would be back at home, back with his sister.
Aubrey wiped away at a lonely tear that had made a trail down his face. "Ashlynn," he whispered and looked up at the sky. "Ashlynn, why did you have to leave me?"
He didn't bother to wait for any response from the sky or other objects, he just walked briskly towards the dorm. He couldn't deal with any of this right now. He just needed some time alone, some time to think and reflect on his own. It was much easier to be alone than to be surrounded by people and be lonely.
Angela signed her name, folded up the paper, and sealed it with a lipstick kiss. "Mmm," she sighed loudly so that no one could ignore her.
"You're in a good mood," Juliette stated.
"Yeah," Angela said without looking at Juliette, and instead pretending to be staring off at nothing. This always gave one the desired affect when one was pretending to be extremely gleeful about something. That was exactly what Angela planned, and it was working.
Juliette bounded across the room and hopped on to Angela's bed. "So who's the guy?"
"What?" Angela asked pretending to be shocked. "Why does it have to be a guy for me to be happy?"
"I know that look all too well," Juliette stated matter-of-factly. "And I know that that look means you are happy about a guy. So, who is it?"
Angela smiled; Juliette's voice had caught the attention of Shelby and Daisy, and both were turning to look at her. "Honestly? It's Aubrey. He's just so… amazing you know. I mean, we talked for a little while in the woods… and he's just so… deep," she said the last word very airily. And her smile faltered only for a second when she saw the look on Shelby's face.
"So if you two talked maybe you could explain why he was acting all weird," Shelby said, as she placed her hands on her hips.
Angela simply looked down, as if she had a secret she wished she could tell. She had had many years of practice where this kind of unexpected question happened. "Well, we were talking about why he ended up here, he's still a little emotional about it." Angela looked back up again and smiled. She was getting extremely good at recovering.
Shelby looked down, "oh. So, why did he get sent here?"
Angela semi-smiled at her, "I would tell you, but I promised I wouldn't. I'm really sorry Shelby, I would tell you if I could, but a promise is a promise."
Daisy 'tut-ed' and everyone tuned to look at her. She just rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and a lie is a lie."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Angela asked defensively.
"Only that you don't know jack about Aubrey besides his first name. You're so pathetic, the way you make such a big deal about every little thing, just because you want people to like you. People would like you a lot better if you were yourself."
"Like they like you?" Angela asked, her lips pursed, and her eyebrows raised.
Daisy just stared at her, shook her head and laughed- something that Angela had not expected. "I would rather people like me for me, than some false persona I've made for myself. And in any case, if you are so honest, and so real then why don't you tell us why you're here?"
"Daisy," Shelby warned. "Don't push her. This is her first day."
"Yeah, and she's already got all of you fooled. I would have thought you of all people could see past her disguise Shel. I mean, she's exactly what you used to be. Except instead of pushing everyone away, she waits until they get too close to her for her own comfort."
Shelby looked over at Angela, and Angela's heart raced. If Shelby believed what Daisy was saying then so would everyone else, and then she would be screwed. Then for once Angela Jolene Wallace would be forced to be herself, and that was the one person Angela did NOT want to be. "Look Daisy, can't you just give it a rest. Wait until she's comfortable around us. Most people, unlike yourself, can't just come out and be themselves the moment they meet someone. For most of us it takes time. She'll come around when she's ready," Shelby finished, her voice making it very clear the subject was closed for discussion. Daisy just simply shook her head and sat back down on her bed. Shelby turned away from Daisy and smiled at Angela. "Aubrey's really cute."
"Yeah I know," Angela said her smile returning.
"Don't hurt him," Shelby said and then crawled into her bed, and slipped off to sleep.
"I can't promise anything," Angela said under her breath. And as long as Aubrey didn't try to delve any deeper into the real Angela, she wouldn't.
Angela smiled at David's lame joke, trying to concentrate. She couldn't believe Daisy had gotten under her skin like that. The only thing Angela knew to do was to push Daisy away. That was the only to keep herself from being exposed. Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by the impatient prodding of someone's finger. She looked over and saw Aubrey smiling at her. She smiled back and motioned towards the door with her head. He nodded in agreement and together they got up from the table.
"So…" Angela started.
"So," Aubrey echoed, and then smiled. "What do you think of Horizon so far?"
"Honestly?" She asked him and he nodded. "I don't know what to think of it." Angela said looking down at her shoes and smiling; that was truth.
"Yeah, when I first came here the rest of the group was going out on some sort of a trip, so I was here all alone."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it was interesting. But, you know, they came back, and there are some times when I wish they wouldn't have," he finished, looking down in silent contemplation.
"You wish THEY wouldn't have, or do you wish that a certain someone wouldn't have?"
"I wish they wouldn't have," he said firmly. "They just constantly bicker an fight. It gets annoying after a while. I mean, they are too busy paying attention to their own inner pain, they can't see the person around them is hurting. Like for instance, Daisy's in a lot of pain over what happened with this one guy, I mean, I don't know all the details, but any idiot can see she's in pain. But no, the rest of them don't care because they are too wrapped up in their own petty problems."
Angela didn't know what to think of this. She was surprised that Aubrey actually took the time to watch people and learn about them without any hidden reasons. He was so open and honest, and so caring. So caring in fact that it bothered Angela a bit. If she didn't work fast Aubrey would be yet another person she would be forced to push away. "You know Aubrey, you are a complicated man," she said smiling at him.
"Well, Angela, I firmly believe that if women are going to be mysterious, I might as well be complicated," he said, his accent becoming thicker.
Angela simply smiled at him, then got up and left. "How's that for mysterious," she whispered under her breath.
Shelby smiled as Scott reached out for her hand with his. Everything seemed to be perfect as far as Shelby was concerned. Everything was out in the open; Scott knew everything about Shelby and Shelby knew everything about Scott. It was an honest relationship, and that was the only kind to have.
"Shelby?" Scott's voice cut through he thoughts.
"Hmm?"
"Do you ever wonder what would have happened if I had gone to live with my dad?"
Shelby stopped walking and turned to look at Scott who was looking up at the sky. "Why?"
"I mean, do you ever wonder how different things would be, if you made one little decision different. Maybe it's even just a different street you decide to take. If you had taken the other street you'd be dead now, but your not, because you chose the other road."
"What," Shelby asked confused. "What brought on Mr. Philosophical?"
"I just, sometimes I wonder about things…" Scott trailed off and looked back up at the sky which was slowly loosing it's light, as clouds began to cover the light. "You know what, forget it. I'm just tired, and when I'm tired I act stupid."
Shelby looked down at her feet, not knowing what to say. "No, you're not being stupid. I wonder sometimes too. Sometimes I even wonder what our lives would be like now if I had decided to run away with you. Who we'd be, would we still be together. Sometimes, before I make a decision, I think about it, and I wonder what the two different worlds are like, even after I make the decision."
"You know what?" Scott asked, smiling. "I think maybe Peter has been showing Sliding Doors one too many times."
Shelby glared at him, but before she could get in a good swat, he ran off. Shelby laughed and started to chase after him. She was just about to reach him when, SMACK, she ran into a solid mass that was in the form of a human. She looked up and once her dizziness had subsided she saw Aubrey looking back down at her, and instead of his normally friendly smile was a blank face and eyes that reflected the storminess of the sky. "I'm so sorry," Shelby said, and looked at Scott who was slowly making his way over to her. "I um, I didn't mean to. Scott and I were…"
Scott finally reached the two of them and helped lift Shelby off the ground. "Sorry man, Shelby and I were just messing around, it was a accident."
Aubrey turned too look at Scott with contempt. "Yeah well, Shelby tends to ACCIDENTALLY bump in to me often."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Scott asked looking at Shelby. Shelby just shrugged her shoulders; she had no clue.
"Oh nothing. It's just that, don't you ever wonder how Shelby kept herself warm while you were gone? Don't you ever wonder if she needed someone while you weren't here? I don't know… It's a little strange how you can come back and the two of you can pretend like that month never even happened."
"Are you okay Aubrey," Shelby asked. She was thoroughly confused now, she had never seen this side of Aubrey, and she wished it would go away.
"Yeah, I'm just dandy. But I'm not too sure about you," he said simply, and just walked off. Shelby just stood there, biting her lower lip. She wondered what was going on in Aubrey's mind. This whole scene would have made more sense if he had been malicious, or bitter, but the only thing that was different about him was his eyes. His once bright eyes had been devoid of any light, and that scared Shelby.
"Shelby?" Scott asked, once again interrupting her thoughts. "What was that all about?"
"I don't know," Shelby answered honestly. "But I'm a little worried about him, he's acting strange."
"Maybe you shouldn't be so clumsy," Scott said trying to lighten the mood. It worked and Shelby jumped on top of Scott, sending the both of them to the ground.
"Maybe you shouldn't be so easy to catch," she suggested raising her eyebrows, and then leaned in for a kiss.
Aubrey frowned as he looked up at the cloudy sky; normally he loved the rain, but he wasn't in the mood for it today. He just couldn't figure Shelby or Angela out. He figured maybe he could get over Shelby with Angela, but Angela was being so dodgy. And Shelby… Aubrey couldn't figure out how she could just pretend that nothing happened. He hadn't meant to be so harsh, but a month's worth of tension had built up beyond the breaking point. Couldn't anyone see that he was in pain too? Didn't anyone care that there are other people in pain beside themselves? Aubrey shook his head knowing the answer: no. He knew perfectly well how easily people could just ignore everyone else because they were too wrapped up in themselves. After all, he wouldn't be here if people weren't like that. He would be back at home, back with his sister.
Aubrey wiped away at a lonely tear that had made a trail down his face. "Ashlynn," he whispered and looked up at the sky. "Ashlynn, why did you have to leave me?"
He didn't bother to wait for any response from the sky or other objects, he just walked briskly towards the dorm. He couldn't deal with any of this right now. He just needed some time alone, some time to think and reflect on his own. It was much easier to be alone than to be surrounded by people and be lonely.
Angela signed her name, folded up the paper, and sealed it with a lipstick kiss. "Mmm," she sighed loudly so that no one could ignore her.
"You're in a good mood," Juliette stated.
"Yeah," Angela said without looking at Juliette, and instead pretending to be staring off at nothing. This always gave one the desired affect when one was pretending to be extremely gleeful about something. That was exactly what Angela planned, and it was working.
Juliette bounded across the room and hopped on to Angela's bed. "So who's the guy?"
"What?" Angela asked pretending to be shocked. "Why does it have to be a guy for me to be happy?"
"I know that look all too well," Juliette stated matter-of-factly. "And I know that that look means you are happy about a guy. So, who is it?"
Angela smiled; Juliette's voice had caught the attention of Shelby and Daisy, and both were turning to look at her. "Honestly? It's Aubrey. He's just so… amazing you know. I mean, we talked for a little while in the woods… and he's just so… deep," she said the last word very airily. And her smile faltered only for a second when she saw the look on Shelby's face.
"So if you two talked maybe you could explain why he was acting all weird," Shelby said, as she placed her hands on her hips.
Angela simply looked down, as if she had a secret she wished she could tell. She had had many years of practice where this kind of unexpected question happened. "Well, we were talking about why he ended up here, he's still a little emotional about it." Angela looked back up again and smiled. She was getting extremely good at recovering.
Shelby looked down, "oh. So, why did he get sent here?"
Angela semi-smiled at her, "I would tell you, but I promised I wouldn't. I'm really sorry Shelby, I would tell you if I could, but a promise is a promise."
Daisy 'tut-ed' and everyone tuned to look at her. She just rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and a lie is a lie."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Angela asked defensively.
"Only that you don't know jack about Aubrey besides his first name. You're so pathetic, the way you make such a big deal about every little thing, just because you want people to like you. People would like you a lot better if you were yourself."
"Like they like you?" Angela asked, her lips pursed, and her eyebrows raised.
Daisy just stared at her, shook her head and laughed- something that Angela had not expected. "I would rather people like me for me, than some false persona I've made for myself. And in any case, if you are so honest, and so real then why don't you tell us why you're here?"
"Daisy," Shelby warned. "Don't push her. This is her first day."
"Yeah, and she's already got all of you fooled. I would have thought you of all people could see past her disguise Shel. I mean, she's exactly what you used to be. Except instead of pushing everyone away, she waits until they get too close to her for her own comfort."
Shelby looked over at Angela, and Angela's heart raced. If Shelby believed what Daisy was saying then so would everyone else, and then she would be screwed. Then for once Angela Jolene Wallace would be forced to be herself, and that was the one person Angela did NOT want to be. "Look Daisy, can't you just give it a rest. Wait until she's comfortable around us. Most people, unlike yourself, can't just come out and be themselves the moment they meet someone. For most of us it takes time. She'll come around when she's ready," Shelby finished, her voice making it very clear the subject was closed for discussion. Daisy just simply shook her head and sat back down on her bed. Shelby turned away from Daisy and smiled at Angela. "Aubrey's really cute."
"Yeah I know," Angela said her smile returning.
"Don't hurt him," Shelby said and then crawled into her bed, and slipped off to sleep.
"I can't promise anything," Angela said under her breath. And as long as Aubrey didn't try to delve any deeper into the real Angela, she wouldn't.