Every You, Every Me- The Face You See
Scott wiped the foggy mirror but instantly regretted it as he caught his reflection. He wasn't avoiding his reflection because he looked back, or had a big zit or anything. He couldn't look at his reflection because every time he did all he saw was his parents. He had his mom's eyes, and hair, and even though he had never really thought they looked alike like, he saw his dad's face instead of his own. Scott glared at his reflection for a minute and then finally tore his eyes away and began to get dressed. Scott had kept trying to push his feelings back, to avoid them, but in the middle of the night, they always came to haunt him. He fumbled with his zipper as he had begun to replay last night's dream. Instead of Elaine haunting his dreams he now had his parents, and if he could choose, he knew he would much rather have Elaine. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy seeing his parents, it was that every time he saw them, or thought of them, he felt a pang of guilt. Despite what anyone might say, Scott knew it was his fault they were dead. They had gotten on that plane to come and see him. If he hadn't been selfish, if he hadn't just let them stay where they were instead of begging them to come visit, they would still be alive. They would still be alive, and Scott never would have been forced to go and live with Elaine… and Landon. But at the back of Scott's mind he secretly thought he had deserved what he got. He deserved to be put through hell for killing his own parents. A knock on the door yanked Scott away from his thoughts. He looked at his reflection one last time and saw a tear had slipped down his face. He wiped it away quickly, yanked the door open and barreled over a shocked David. Scott didn't worry about it, and instead hurried as quickly as he could to breakfast.
Shelby rubbed her eyes as she and Angela made their way down to breakfast. It had been another sleepless night with Walt haunting her dreams. She was already a little on edge and wasn't sure if she could take anymore of Angela. It wasn't that Angela was a bad person, Shelby liked her, but she was just so perfect. There was not one hair out of place, her face was flawless, and didn't need any make-up, and her bright blue eyes brightened up her face, and every other aspect of her was perfect. Shelby was watching her out of the corner of her eye when she heard someone calling her name behind her.
"Shelby," a very masculine voice called out. "Shelby, wait please."
Shelby's spirits soared at the thought of seeing Scott, but the more she thought about she realized that wasn't Scott, the voice was all wrong, and Scott would already be at breakfast, eating. She turned around and came face to face with Aubrey. He looked over at Angela and smiled a greeting, and then turned back to Shelby. "I really need to talk to you."
Shelby turned to look at Angela. "Go on ahead, I'll be there in a minute."
Aubrey smiled again at Angela who was now turning to walk off. "Look Shelby, I just wanted you to know I am really sorry about the way I acted yesterday. I was way out of line and…"
But Shelby cut him off. "You don't need to apologize Aubrey, I understand. Everyone has their bad days, and yesterday was just yours. It's okay, really," she emphasized, trying to reassure him.
Aubrey shook his head. "Yeah, it definitely wasn't the best day of my life."
"Most days here usually aren't," Shelby confided in him, and the decided to change the subject; talking about her feelings wasn't exactly Shelby's favorite thing. "So what's up with you and Angie?"
Aubrey's eyes widened and he looked at his spotless shoes. "Why? Did she say something?"
Shelby laughed inwardly. "Well, only that you're oh so dreamy," she said batting her eyelashes in mock infatuation. She thought this whole thing was stupid, but it was a nice distraction from her own conflicting thoughts. "And that she thinks you're 'really cool'."
Aubrey looked back up at Shelby, smiling. "She said that?"
"And a lot more mushy stuff that made me want to barf. So, come on. I've given you some info, give me some."
"Well, I mean… She's really pretty."
"Yeah, to the point I want to barf, but thanks for bringing that up," Shelby joked.
"Yeah," Aubrey said, and his eyes sort of misted over. "And she listens you know, I mean really listens. And, she doesn't judge you or anything. And she cares, I mean you can just tell that she cares about what you have to say, you know."
Shelby was taken aback by Aubrey. "Yeah… So, do you think anything is going to happen?"
"I don't know," Aubrey said, and started walking, Shelby right by his side. "Well, it's not in my nature to be too aggressive about these things. I mean, I like to take my courting slow."
Shelby laughed out loud and Aubrey just stared at her bewildered. "I'm sorry," Shelby said still laughing. "It's just that, you said courting. I mean, you don't normally hear that these days."
Aubrey looked at her and shook his head. "Well, most would argue that I'm not exactly your normal average Joe," he said looking down, frowning.
"No, I didn't mean it as a bad thing. I meant…" Shelby tried to search for the word. "I meant that it was really sweet you know. Endearing, if you will."
Aubrey looked back up at her, the smile had returned. "Well, you know, I always that I was a little endearing myself," he said in mock cockiness.
Shelby laughed again, she liked how easily her words came out when she was around him, maybe being with Scott was helping her to open up more.
Scott was watching Angela very closely. It had started out subconsciously, but he had eventually realized it, and still could not seem to tear his eyes away. It wasn't because she was beautiful that he was staring, although she was incredibly good looking. No, it was because of how calculated everything she did seemed to be, and how much he was dying for a distraction. After Daisy's outbreak he had began to wonder more about Angela. She did indeed seem to make sure everything she was doing was seamlessly perfect. For instance, right now she was smiling politely at David and his jokes, but whenever he would turn away her face would fall. It seemed to Scott that Daisy probably was right, that Angela was probably just being phony. If there was one thing Scott despised, it was fake people. They never turned out to be any good; Landon was a perfect example of that.
"Scott?" A female voice asked from behind him. The voice startled him so much that he finally managed to turn away from Angela, and his eyes instead fixed themselves on the more pleasant sight of Shelby.
"Shelby," he said smiling brightly at her. "I didn't even see you come in."
"Uh huh," Shelby said, looking at him expectantly.
"What?" Scott asked befuddled.
"Umm, do you want me to sit next to you, or am I supposed to be another table in solitude?"
"Oh, right," Scott said surveying the table arrangements. He was on the very end of the table, and he was, so to speak, completely surrounded. There was only one available seat, and that was at the end of the table. No, wait, Aubrey had just taken that seat. "How about we go get our own table?" Scott coaxed and sat down at a table secluded by a large potted plant.
"What are you thinking about?" Shelby asked Scott.
"Nothing," Scott replied quickly. Now that there was no Angela to distract him, his thoughts had drifted back to his parents.
"Scott," Shelby said staring at him from over her orange juice. "I'm not an idiot, I see you when you think no one is looking, and I know something is wrong."
"Well you don't know much then," Scott said bitterly; she of all people should understand his need to avoid what was wrong.
"Scott, it's me, Shelby. I'm not Peter or Sophie, I'm not forcing you to talk about your feelings… All I'm saying is that I'm here, if you want to talk about it, I'm here, and I always will be. And, I know that you don't want to talk about it right now, but you know as well as I do that it will eventually all come out."
"Oh, this coming from Miss Let's-Pretend-I'm-Something-I'm-Not," Scott bit back.
Shelby looked down at her bacon. "You're right," she said finally, looking back up at him. "I just, I don't want to see you in pain, that's all."
Shelby's words hit Scott like a ton of bricks; he shouldn't have been so mean to her. "Shelby, it's not you… It's just that I miss them, but I'm not ready to talk about it… I need to sort out my feelings first. Okay?"
"Of course," Shelby said. She scooted her chair closer to Scott, and then put her arms around him. "But when you do want to talk about it, I'll always be here."
"I know you will Shel, and I'll always be here for you too," he said, and then he looked into Shelby's clear blue eyes. Those comforting eyes had got him through many hard times. Shelby smiled at him, and wrapped her arms around him, and Scott felt a weight lifted off his shoulders; here, in Shelby's arms he was protected, from everything.
"I'll always be here," she whispered in his ear.
Spend all your time waiting for that second chance,
For a break that would make it okay.
There's always some reason to feel not good enough,
And it's hard at the end of the day.
I need some distraction oh beautiful release.
Author's Note: Hey guys, thanks for all the awesome and helpful reviews. Oh, yeah, and I do not own that song, and it is by Sarah McLachlan, you may recognize it from the episode, Babe in Arms, but I thought it fit well here. Anyway, just as a note, I posted chapter three before I read all the reviews, because I wanted to post it you know, since it has been a while. Anyway, so yes, I agree that I made Shelby too friendly with Angela in the beginning, I am going to try to go through and fix that a little in the following chapters (you see, I already had the first six chapters before I posted the very first one, so…. Yeah). I think the reason I had her becoming close to her quickly is because Shelby sees something in her, subconsciously if you will, that is quite familiar to Shelby because she used to be the same way. In chapter five you will see what I mean as her and Angela have a little confrontation. And also, the reason I had her telling Daisy to back off was because Daisy pushed her somewhat in the beginning to be herself, and Shelby knows how much that sucks… so yeah. That's why I wrote it that way, but I am glad you pointed it out to me so I can try and mend it a little. I'm really sorry, and if I mess up on Shelby again just tell me, because she is a really hard character for me to write… so yeah. Once again thanks for all your great and really helpful reviews. I appreciate them more than you know.
Scott wiped the foggy mirror but instantly regretted it as he caught his reflection. He wasn't avoiding his reflection because he looked back, or had a big zit or anything. He couldn't look at his reflection because every time he did all he saw was his parents. He had his mom's eyes, and hair, and even though he had never really thought they looked alike like, he saw his dad's face instead of his own. Scott glared at his reflection for a minute and then finally tore his eyes away and began to get dressed. Scott had kept trying to push his feelings back, to avoid them, but in the middle of the night, they always came to haunt him. He fumbled with his zipper as he had begun to replay last night's dream. Instead of Elaine haunting his dreams he now had his parents, and if he could choose, he knew he would much rather have Elaine. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy seeing his parents, it was that every time he saw them, or thought of them, he felt a pang of guilt. Despite what anyone might say, Scott knew it was his fault they were dead. They had gotten on that plane to come and see him. If he hadn't been selfish, if he hadn't just let them stay where they were instead of begging them to come visit, they would still be alive. They would still be alive, and Scott never would have been forced to go and live with Elaine… and Landon. But at the back of Scott's mind he secretly thought he had deserved what he got. He deserved to be put through hell for killing his own parents. A knock on the door yanked Scott away from his thoughts. He looked at his reflection one last time and saw a tear had slipped down his face. He wiped it away quickly, yanked the door open and barreled over a shocked David. Scott didn't worry about it, and instead hurried as quickly as he could to breakfast.
Shelby rubbed her eyes as she and Angela made their way down to breakfast. It had been another sleepless night with Walt haunting her dreams. She was already a little on edge and wasn't sure if she could take anymore of Angela. It wasn't that Angela was a bad person, Shelby liked her, but she was just so perfect. There was not one hair out of place, her face was flawless, and didn't need any make-up, and her bright blue eyes brightened up her face, and every other aspect of her was perfect. Shelby was watching her out of the corner of her eye when she heard someone calling her name behind her.
"Shelby," a very masculine voice called out. "Shelby, wait please."
Shelby's spirits soared at the thought of seeing Scott, but the more she thought about she realized that wasn't Scott, the voice was all wrong, and Scott would already be at breakfast, eating. She turned around and came face to face with Aubrey. He looked over at Angela and smiled a greeting, and then turned back to Shelby. "I really need to talk to you."
Shelby turned to look at Angela. "Go on ahead, I'll be there in a minute."
Aubrey smiled again at Angela who was now turning to walk off. "Look Shelby, I just wanted you to know I am really sorry about the way I acted yesterday. I was way out of line and…"
But Shelby cut him off. "You don't need to apologize Aubrey, I understand. Everyone has their bad days, and yesterday was just yours. It's okay, really," she emphasized, trying to reassure him.
Aubrey shook his head. "Yeah, it definitely wasn't the best day of my life."
"Most days here usually aren't," Shelby confided in him, and the decided to change the subject; talking about her feelings wasn't exactly Shelby's favorite thing. "So what's up with you and Angie?"
Aubrey's eyes widened and he looked at his spotless shoes. "Why? Did she say something?"
Shelby laughed inwardly. "Well, only that you're oh so dreamy," she said batting her eyelashes in mock infatuation. She thought this whole thing was stupid, but it was a nice distraction from her own conflicting thoughts. "And that she thinks you're 'really cool'."
Aubrey looked back up at Shelby, smiling. "She said that?"
"And a lot more mushy stuff that made me want to barf. So, come on. I've given you some info, give me some."
"Well, I mean… She's really pretty."
"Yeah, to the point I want to barf, but thanks for bringing that up," Shelby joked.
"Yeah," Aubrey said, and his eyes sort of misted over. "And she listens you know, I mean really listens. And, she doesn't judge you or anything. And she cares, I mean you can just tell that she cares about what you have to say, you know."
Shelby was taken aback by Aubrey. "Yeah… So, do you think anything is going to happen?"
"I don't know," Aubrey said, and started walking, Shelby right by his side. "Well, it's not in my nature to be too aggressive about these things. I mean, I like to take my courting slow."
Shelby laughed out loud and Aubrey just stared at her bewildered. "I'm sorry," Shelby said still laughing. "It's just that, you said courting. I mean, you don't normally hear that these days."
Aubrey looked at her and shook his head. "Well, most would argue that I'm not exactly your normal average Joe," he said looking down, frowning.
"No, I didn't mean it as a bad thing. I meant…" Shelby tried to search for the word. "I meant that it was really sweet you know. Endearing, if you will."
Aubrey looked back up at her, the smile had returned. "Well, you know, I always that I was a little endearing myself," he said in mock cockiness.
Shelby laughed again, she liked how easily her words came out when she was around him, maybe being with Scott was helping her to open up more.
Scott was watching Angela very closely. It had started out subconsciously, but he had eventually realized it, and still could not seem to tear his eyes away. It wasn't because she was beautiful that he was staring, although she was incredibly good looking. No, it was because of how calculated everything she did seemed to be, and how much he was dying for a distraction. After Daisy's outbreak he had began to wonder more about Angela. She did indeed seem to make sure everything she was doing was seamlessly perfect. For instance, right now she was smiling politely at David and his jokes, but whenever he would turn away her face would fall. It seemed to Scott that Daisy probably was right, that Angela was probably just being phony. If there was one thing Scott despised, it was fake people. They never turned out to be any good; Landon was a perfect example of that.
"Scott?" A female voice asked from behind him. The voice startled him so much that he finally managed to turn away from Angela, and his eyes instead fixed themselves on the more pleasant sight of Shelby.
"Shelby," he said smiling brightly at her. "I didn't even see you come in."
"Uh huh," Shelby said, looking at him expectantly.
"What?" Scott asked befuddled.
"Umm, do you want me to sit next to you, or am I supposed to be another table in solitude?"
"Oh, right," Scott said surveying the table arrangements. He was on the very end of the table, and he was, so to speak, completely surrounded. There was only one available seat, and that was at the end of the table. No, wait, Aubrey had just taken that seat. "How about we go get our own table?" Scott coaxed and sat down at a table secluded by a large potted plant.
"What are you thinking about?" Shelby asked Scott.
"Nothing," Scott replied quickly. Now that there was no Angela to distract him, his thoughts had drifted back to his parents.
"Scott," Shelby said staring at him from over her orange juice. "I'm not an idiot, I see you when you think no one is looking, and I know something is wrong."
"Well you don't know much then," Scott said bitterly; she of all people should understand his need to avoid what was wrong.
"Scott, it's me, Shelby. I'm not Peter or Sophie, I'm not forcing you to talk about your feelings… All I'm saying is that I'm here, if you want to talk about it, I'm here, and I always will be. And, I know that you don't want to talk about it right now, but you know as well as I do that it will eventually all come out."
"Oh, this coming from Miss Let's-Pretend-I'm-Something-I'm-Not," Scott bit back.
Shelby looked down at her bacon. "You're right," she said finally, looking back up at him. "I just, I don't want to see you in pain, that's all."
Shelby's words hit Scott like a ton of bricks; he shouldn't have been so mean to her. "Shelby, it's not you… It's just that I miss them, but I'm not ready to talk about it… I need to sort out my feelings first. Okay?"
"Of course," Shelby said. She scooted her chair closer to Scott, and then put her arms around him. "But when you do want to talk about it, I'll always be here."
"I know you will Shel, and I'll always be here for you too," he said, and then he looked into Shelby's clear blue eyes. Those comforting eyes had got him through many hard times. Shelby smiled at him, and wrapped her arms around him, and Scott felt a weight lifted off his shoulders; here, in Shelby's arms he was protected, from everything.
"I'll always be here," she whispered in his ear.
Spend all your time waiting for that second chance,
For a break that would make it okay.
There's always some reason to feel not good enough,
And it's hard at the end of the day.
I need some distraction oh beautiful release.
Author's Note: Hey guys, thanks for all the awesome and helpful reviews. Oh, yeah, and I do not own that song, and it is by Sarah McLachlan, you may recognize it from the episode, Babe in Arms, but I thought it fit well here. Anyway, just as a note, I posted chapter three before I read all the reviews, because I wanted to post it you know, since it has been a while. Anyway, so yes, I agree that I made Shelby too friendly with Angela in the beginning, I am going to try to go through and fix that a little in the following chapters (you see, I already had the first six chapters before I posted the very first one, so…. Yeah). I think the reason I had her becoming close to her quickly is because Shelby sees something in her, subconsciously if you will, that is quite familiar to Shelby because she used to be the same way. In chapter five you will see what I mean as her and Angela have a little confrontation. And also, the reason I had her telling Daisy to back off was because Daisy pushed her somewhat in the beginning to be herself, and Shelby knows how much that sucks… so yeah. That's why I wrote it that way, but I am glad you pointed it out to me so I can try and mend it a little. I'm really sorry, and if I mess up on Shelby again just tell me, because she is a really hard character for me to write… so yeah. Once again thanks for all your great and really helpful reviews. I appreciate them more than you know.