A/N OMG! SHE ACTUALLY UPDATED!!!! collective gasp. Hello, everyone, and
no, I'm not dead. I'm sorry it took me so long, but around Christmas...
things started happening, and I had to deal with stuff. Anyway, I'm back
now, and thank to good old Summer, I'll have as much time as I need! YAY!
LOVE YOU THE MOST
A bombardment of emotions attacked Ren as she walked down the familiar hall of the school. She was struggling to not just turn around and run. This place, all of the classrooms and halls, the lockers, the students... none of it was right without Louis there to give it that personality. To stir things up when it got too boring, even for Ren.
Just as she was finally ready to leave, she was presented a surprise, a cruel present, even. There, one shoulder against her locker, staring down the hall with those impatient eyes, was Larry Beal. A giggle rose in Ren's chest, but she quelled it. Everything that was happening was so much like a dream. Louis dying, Ruby and Bobby getting together, and now Larry Beal was waiting for her by her locker. It took a moment for her to realize that he must have been waiting for her every day that week.
A curiosity rose in her chest as she tried to stop more of the uncontrollable giggles from escaping. What was he doing? Did he want to say he was sorry Louis had died? If that was the case, then she had no wish to speak with him. One person after another had come to her, expressing their apologies as best they could, as though it was their fault he had died. Their fault he had killed himself.
Larry's eyes darted up suddenly and met hers for what seemed like an eternity. Something stirred in Ren that she couldn't quite place. That she wasn't sure if she wanted to.
Slowly, her long time rival straightened and strode over to her. As he neared, the tremulous giggles that wanted to escape slowly died out, leaving her feeling flighty and nervous.
"Ren..." Larry greeted in a neutral tone.
Ren carefully swallowed the lump that had risen in her throat, and nodded at him. There was a painfully awkward silence that followed, Ren glancing around, looking at anything that wasn't Larry, Larry's eyes fixed firmly on the floor at Ren's feet.
"A-about Louis..." Ren scowled slightly to herself. So he was going to apologize, just like the rest of them. "I- I wish I was nicer to him..."
Ren blinked once. She hadn't been expecting that. "I think..." She started, and it did strike her then as funny that the first person she had spoken to in a week was Larry Beale, "We all wish that."
The awkward silence fell again, but this time it was almost companionable, their eyes no longer avoiding each other.
"Do you..." Larry began, his eyes not leaving hers. "I don't really know how you're feeling right now. But, do you... uh... you know, just to get your mind off it... doyouwannadosomethinafterschoolwithme?" He asked quickly, his cheeks darkening.
Ren blinked again, and her mind slowly picked apart what he was asking. "Well... I'm not doing anything. Sure, why not?" She forced a smile. In truth, the thought of going somewhere, anywhere that wasn't home or school, was a welcome relief.
And the idea that it was Larry Beale she would be going with made it nearly intangible. Making her want it all the mare.
The classes that day crawled by slowly. Everyone was skirting around her, giving her worried looks, crooning about how sorry they were, how sweet Louis had been, how horrible she must feel. She found herself repeating 'they mean well, they mean well, they mean well...' over and over again in her head like a mantra.
Ruby was hardly even talking to her. Ren could see the looks of guilt that flashed across her face, and knew that it was the thought that she had 'stolen' Bobby Deaver from Ren right after her brother had died that kept her at bay.
It was driving her insane.
Even her teachers were acting insufferable. "Yes, Ren dear?" "Oh, Ren, are you feeling well? Do you need to go to the office?" "Ren, if you need someone to talk to..." "Ren, do you want to go to the counselor's office this period?"
She found herself looking forward more and more to the end of the day. And that made her worry.
Things around her were changing drastically. She could see it and feel it and the same time. Ruby wouldn't speak to her, Bobby Deaver was no longer even an interest point in her life, her teachers had suddenly become nervous at the sight of her...
And she had a date. With Larry Beale.
And for that, she was happy.
Her world was definitely turning upside down.
TBC
LOVE YOU THE MOST
A bombardment of emotions attacked Ren as she walked down the familiar hall of the school. She was struggling to not just turn around and run. This place, all of the classrooms and halls, the lockers, the students... none of it was right without Louis there to give it that personality. To stir things up when it got too boring, even for Ren.
Just as she was finally ready to leave, she was presented a surprise, a cruel present, even. There, one shoulder against her locker, staring down the hall with those impatient eyes, was Larry Beal. A giggle rose in Ren's chest, but she quelled it. Everything that was happening was so much like a dream. Louis dying, Ruby and Bobby getting together, and now Larry Beal was waiting for her by her locker. It took a moment for her to realize that he must have been waiting for her every day that week.
A curiosity rose in her chest as she tried to stop more of the uncontrollable giggles from escaping. What was he doing? Did he want to say he was sorry Louis had died? If that was the case, then she had no wish to speak with him. One person after another had come to her, expressing their apologies as best they could, as though it was their fault he had died. Their fault he had killed himself.
Larry's eyes darted up suddenly and met hers for what seemed like an eternity. Something stirred in Ren that she couldn't quite place. That she wasn't sure if she wanted to.
Slowly, her long time rival straightened and strode over to her. As he neared, the tremulous giggles that wanted to escape slowly died out, leaving her feeling flighty and nervous.
"Ren..." Larry greeted in a neutral tone.
Ren carefully swallowed the lump that had risen in her throat, and nodded at him. There was a painfully awkward silence that followed, Ren glancing around, looking at anything that wasn't Larry, Larry's eyes fixed firmly on the floor at Ren's feet.
"A-about Louis..." Ren scowled slightly to herself. So he was going to apologize, just like the rest of them. "I- I wish I was nicer to him..."
Ren blinked once. She hadn't been expecting that. "I think..." She started, and it did strike her then as funny that the first person she had spoken to in a week was Larry Beale, "We all wish that."
The awkward silence fell again, but this time it was almost companionable, their eyes no longer avoiding each other.
"Do you..." Larry began, his eyes not leaving hers. "I don't really know how you're feeling right now. But, do you... uh... you know, just to get your mind off it... doyouwannadosomethinafterschoolwithme?" He asked quickly, his cheeks darkening.
Ren blinked again, and her mind slowly picked apart what he was asking. "Well... I'm not doing anything. Sure, why not?" She forced a smile. In truth, the thought of going somewhere, anywhere that wasn't home or school, was a welcome relief.
And the idea that it was Larry Beale she would be going with made it nearly intangible. Making her want it all the mare.
The classes that day crawled by slowly. Everyone was skirting around her, giving her worried looks, crooning about how sorry they were, how sweet Louis had been, how horrible she must feel. She found herself repeating 'they mean well, they mean well, they mean well...' over and over again in her head like a mantra.
Ruby was hardly even talking to her. Ren could see the looks of guilt that flashed across her face, and knew that it was the thought that she had 'stolen' Bobby Deaver from Ren right after her brother had died that kept her at bay.
It was driving her insane.
Even her teachers were acting insufferable. "Yes, Ren dear?" "Oh, Ren, are you feeling well? Do you need to go to the office?" "Ren, if you need someone to talk to..." "Ren, do you want to go to the counselor's office this period?"
She found herself looking forward more and more to the end of the day. And that made her worry.
Things around her were changing drastically. She could see it and feel it and the same time. Ruby wouldn't speak to her, Bobby Deaver was no longer even an interest point in her life, her teachers had suddenly become nervous at the sight of her...
And she had a date. With Larry Beale.
And for that, she was happy.
Her world was definitely turning upside down.
TBC