This is my first ever Fan fic, and I honestly never thought I would be sharing it. Writing is very personal to me, and I usually keep it close to my chest, but, in this instance, I decided to give it a shot. To people that have already read it, I'm continually updating and editing small parts of it, so stick around and see whatever gets changed; i've finally gotten the hang of the site and now all the changes i've been making in the document manager are in the story. To new people, thanks for reading, and any criticism/praise/hate mail/hugs is/are accepted with open arms. More specifically, if you have any questions that I didn't address in the text, I will answer them. More often than not they're going to be answered in later chapters, but sometimes I simply forget things. I hope you enjoy it; I know i've had a blast writing it.
P.S. I've decided to start a series of stories and iv'e started to write the next part concurrently with this one. It doesn't have a name yet, but it take place 4 years before this one. This story starts in media res with the series, and there will be at least two more, one set before and one set afterwards. I'm not sure what i'm going to do with the one set after Slanted and Enchanted, but expect that one to be written much later than this one considering i'm doing the prologue first. So that should be coming soon, and I hope you enjoy it, faceless reader. My given timeline to finishing this epic is the end of the semester and I hope I can stick to it. Again, I go to a highly competitive school and work part time so finding time to write has been difficult. Hopefully I can get it done in a reasonable time frame!
Update: So... chapter 10 is well on it's way to be done. I have about a third of the chapter done but it's been a slow process. I know what I want to do but it's hard to translate that to paper and make it interesting, my dear reader. Please leave reviews so I know what to improve upon and if you have any suggestions that you think I should consider writing about and it fits into the story I just might write it in. A large part of chapter nine came as a result of my roommate and myself brainstorming about what would be a compelling diverging plot twist; needless to say, feedback is important and appreciated. Thanks for reading and I would love to know who these thousand some-odd hits are so share with me!
Now that Chapter 10 is complete, i've decided what exactly will happen with this whole thing. There are only two chapters left in Slanted and Enchanted, but the story doesn't just end there. This saga will be done in three parts, this one being the second in the timeline, the first one in the series. I've started to write Part 2: Awareness is the Option, which will be set six years in the past. If you, the reader, has been noticing, i've been eluding to a few events that happened six years ago and those things will be examined and you will be able to see the characters develop into how they are now. The tone will be much lighter and characters will be based more around themselves in the classic lore, and, considering their age, this one will be rated T and with less instances of relations and things of that nature. There will be romance, there will be conflict and heartbreak but it won't be as heavy as it was in the first part. Overall, it's going to be a fun journey and, by request, I can send you a sneak peak of the first chapter which is under way now, but won't be released until Slanted and Enchanted is complete.
Chapter 1- Lip service
"When did it become acceptable for tenured professors to just not show up at times? I feel like I'm just paying lip service to the same old problems at this point, but it's something that needs to be addressed. I'm not going to show up if you aren't, that does not make sense."
Simon sighed, "I hate to see you this angry, but you can't really do much in this situation."
"Well, how many times this year have you showed up to class, prepared to learn, to have the professor not be there? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills or something does this not happen to anyone else?"
"It hasn't happened to me yet, but it did twice last year. Lab days both times, they were a mess if you can believe it." Simon said in between deep drags. "Just try not to worry about it."
"It's hard not to, the last time he wasn't here content covered that day was on the test. I hadn't expected it, and, after re reading the material, it was an abstract concept that needed to be explained." Theodore stopped in the quad and searched his pockets. "Mind if I get one of those?"
"Of course." Simon grabbed a cigarette for himself and his brother, they continued walking in silence.
It was the end of the first semester of their junior year at University. The wind breathed through the trees in a lamenting manor. It was 4 o'clock, and the sun was beginning its daily decedent into the West. The wind was howling the saddest song they had every heard. In and out, it breathed and flowed wit the motion of the earth. It was snowing lightly.
It was a fifteen minute walk to their studio apartment on 3rd street, so the two brothers opted to take the bus instead. The three of them shared a three room flat, a far cry from when they were children. It seemed like that had more space than they actually did; there was never enough for all the people that crashed there frequently. Alvin hadn't been sleeping there for a few days, leaving the other two much more room than usual. They had become accustomed to the space. The bus had started to shake uncontrollably on the broken ground. The two stood in the aisle, jerking forward and backward with the movement of the bus. It was like the ocean.
"Has Alvin been at the girl's place these last few nights?" Theodore fell forward and recollected himself quickly. His bad almost flew open, but he was fast to catch it. They had gone through the motions of the bus before and it was bound to happen.
"I was talking to Jeanette and she said he hasn't been. She was worried, but I'm sure he was at the house. They were doing some stuff with the pledges so he had to be there, but I'm not sure why he slept there though." Simon was looking out the window, waiting for their stop. "Haven't you spoken to Ellie recently? I'm sure she would know."
"She's been off campus working on an experiment for her thesis." They arrive at their stop and started to move to the front of the bus. "I've tried not to bother her considering how much work she has to do." They stepped off into the blistering cold. It had started to snow since they got on the bus.
"She would probably be glad to hear from you." Simon said as he pulled out a piece of gum. His phone fell out of his pocket and hit the ground hard. "Really?"
Simon tended to his phone as Theodore grabbed for his. "You're right Simon; I'll give her a call." The phone rings a few times and goes to voicemail, Theodore hangs up without leaving a message.
"No answer?"
"No, but she'll get back to me sometime. Anyway, she'll be here tomorrow." He trailed off at the end. It was difficult for Theodore to be without contact with her for such a long time. Two weeks she was away, working into all hours of the night. They had talked a few days ago, but she was too tired for conversation. They passed through the small patch of forest leading to their apartment.
"Are you ready for tonight?" A voice called for them from the other end of the forest, the way of the apartment.
Simon squinted and strained to see who it was, but he couldn't tell. Light footsteps came close to them until the mysterious person's visage was recognizable.
"Brittney, how are you doing?" Theodore greeted her.
"It's good, just bombed a test but it should be alright. It's not for my major anyway." Brittney caught up with the two and started to walk with them. "Are you two headed back to your place?"
"Yeah, time to relax before the big event tonight." Simon finally got his phone to turn on again.
"Mind if I come with?" Brittney was between the two of them now.
"Of course not, it's basically your house, too." Theodore said, he got a phone call, "Hey, I have to take this, go on ahead." Brittney and Simon walked ahead and Theodore stayed in the woods to take the call.
"Hey Ellie, it's nice to hear from you again!
"The feeling is mutual, I was in a lecture. How are you?"
Theodore began to walk again, trying to get back to the apartment before the chill gets to him. "I'm fine, just missing you."
"I miss you too." There was a silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Nothing needed to be said. "Hey, isn't that party tonight?"
"Yeah, it should be a great time. Alvin knows how to throw a gala event. He's been a complete ghost as of late, hopefully preparing for a great night."
"I wish I could be there! If I didn't have to finish the last of the testing tonight I would leave early." Eleanor began to start running, "I got to go, I'm going to be late! I love you!"
"Love you too, later."
Theodore had arrived at the apartment and unlocked the door. He was overcome by the smell of incense and 80's music. Brittney put on The Smith's The Queen is Dead. An immaculate album, it saved rock in the 80's.
"Hey man, was that Ellie?" Simon said as he poured himself a drink. Tomato Juice with wheatgrass, an odd combination but it was his favorite.
"Yeah, returning my call. Thank God she's going to be back soon." Theodore went to his room and started changing from his sweats to his casual clothes.
"How's she doing?" Brittney asked, "We talked for about an hour a few days ago but she seemed so stressed."
"She seems very chill now. She has one more night of testing and she'll be done." Theodore comes back out, "How's this?"
Brittney examined him, "Oh that's hot, and I'm glad she's doing better. I worry about her sometimes."
Theodore laughed, and so did Simon and Brittney. She changed the record to the Velvet Underground and Nico, After Hours. It's was four thirty, still no word from Alvin, and Jeanette was talking to a professor about a paper. She was bad about turning things in on time, but she was still maintaining stellar grades, something Alvin and Theodore were highly jealous of. She would be done around 5, so until then, they decided to stay at the apartment until then. Jeanette probably didn't know where they were, but they were confidant in her skills of deduction. She met with them slightly earlier than expected and they started to make preparations for tonight.
"Are we going to need any money for the cover?" Jeanette asked as she grabbed her purse from the living room.
"I would hope not, Alvin is running the entire thing." Simon asserted.
"We can't be sure, sometimes things get crazy. We might not be on the list." Brittney came out of the bedroom after changing, "It's not hard for these things to happen."
"That's true, is there any way we can get in contact with Alvin to make sure we're in?" Theodore rolled a cigarette and put it away for later.
"His phone is off; it's going straight to voicemail." Brittney said, she grabbed the cigarette Theodore just rolled. He chimed in, trying to get her to give it back, but she went ahead and lit it. "I'm worried about him, he should have gotten back to us by now."
It had stopped snowing and the wind had calmed, but it was colder than before. Simon broke the moment's silence, "There's no need to worry; we just need to go grab some cash from an ATM. I can grab it and you guys can pay me back later."
"Sounds good, but I don't particularly want to leave the nice warm apartment." Theodore laid down on the couch he was sitting on and got comfortable.
Brittney chimed in, "I agree, I'm not going out again until it's necessary."
Simon looked distressed at their response, but who could blame them? It had gotten colder and temperatures continued to fall. Jeanette then looked to Simon.
"I'll go with you, it's not that cold," She walked over to him, and he immediately brightened up. "Let's go Simon; we'll see you two later."
The two left and Theodore and Brittney consigned themselves to their own personal projects. Theodore started to edit tracks he had recorded the day previous with his band Vapours, and Brittney decided to clean the kitchen. It's not usually a good sign when she starts to clean, it means something is on her mind. There was a silence lingering in the air.
"Theo?" Brittney asked Theodore while she washed the few dishes used for lunch that day.
Theodore came into the kitchen, "Yeah?" He and Brittney were friends but they didn't talk that much so this was odd.
"Alvin has been so, distant, lately. Is there anything wrong with him?"
"I'm not sure. Honestly, I haven't seen much of him this week and I've been so stressed out with my philosophy thesis that I haven't been paying much attention to anything gone on outside myself and Ellie."
"We broke up like 5 months ago; I hope that isn't what's bothering him. I haven't even seen any other guys since then; I've kinda been a ghost. I don't go anywhere, I just do schoolwork. My GPA skyrocketed this semester!" They both laughed at this. Another silence ensued. "I just don't think it was the best decision on my part. How has he been since the split?"
Theodore put down his headphones "Brittney," He stood up, "I'm not going to do recon for you. The best way to figure this out is to talk to him in person. Trust me, it's for the best." He walked to her and put his hand on her shoulder, "I think he would like that too." Theodore walked back to the living room and continued to mix tracks. She pondered his words for a while and continued to clean.
"Hey Theo?"
He looked at her with a calm smile, "Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"It's no problem."
Jeanette and Simon showed back up at the apartment after quite a bit of time. Simon had the money, and they tried to call Alvin one more time.
"Still nothing," Jeanette hung up her cell phone and went back into the living room.
"We'll just go, I'm sure we'll be fine." Simon said as he got up. The others followed suit and started to leave. As soon as they did, they noticed that Brittney was still getting ready.
"You literally had 5 hours to get ready, how can you possibly not be ready yet?" Jeanette said as she came back into the apartment to get Brittney.
"I'm sorry; Guys I don't know if I should go out tonight."
Theodore and Simon came back in, "You said it yourself, you've been a ghost this semester and now it's almost over. Come with us." Theodore came to the bathroom where they were getting ready.
"Tonight means a great deal to Alvin. He needs to throw a good party in order to have a successful rush. Being there will be big; we're kind of well known around here." Simon was comforting her. Jeanette smiled at Simon and Brittney did the same. They started to leave the apartment to Alvin's party. Alvin was in charge of rush for next semester and rushing started this week unofficially. He threw this party as a way of recruiting and he wanted the rest of them to be there as a way of showing how he can throw a good party. They were still very well known across campus for their music even though they hadn't played together for a couple of years and they were notorious for going to only the best parties on campus. They weren't sure how their reputation cam about; it was coincidental that they just happened to always be at the best parties. After walking for a while, they arrived at the house and the party was already going insane.
The house was only meant for roughly 50 people to live in it, but there were at least 200 people in and outside the house. The music was loud and the drinks were plentiful; it seemed to be going well. They approached the door; a sophomore for one of Jeanette's classes was working security.
"Hey Jonathan, how's the party going?" Jeanette said as they approached the door. She stumbled a bit, but this wasn't out of the ordinary for her.
He looked miles away, but responded, "Hey Jeanette, Theo, Simon, Brittney. You guys are on the list so go ahead in," They moved towards the door and felt the embrace of heat from the crowd. "Oh wait; can I see some ID's?" He lunged forward in an attempt to stop them from getting any further.
They were all of age for the first time in a long time, so this wasn't much of a problem. Jonathan told them, "You need an X to get drinks and to prove that you're here legitimately."
He gave Brittney and X and she looked at it, "I'm surprised you guys are carding," she said.
"Yeah, we're being careful this year," He looked away and tended to some new people coming to the door. They entered the large common area first where there was a large group of people dancing. Brittney joined in first and started dancing with the large group. Jeanette and Simon spirited away almost immediately, leaving Theodore to his own devices. He thought he heard a voice calling for him from the next room.
He wandered the crowd for a while until he got to the dining room. People were playing Civil War; it was an intense game. The music got a little louder in there even though the DJ was in the next area. Theodore turned around to leave when someone jumped on his back; someone very light. Theodore noticed the drink in his and decided to let him down softly.
"Theo! It's good to see you." It was Alvin; he hugged his little brother as they usually had. Alvin was with a woman Theodore had never seen before. He wasn't exactly with her; a better phrase would be she was following him.
"Alvin, it's been quite a while since you disappeared!"
"Yeah man, it's been crazy here. Doing pledge activities with the little guys and setting up this party has taken up all of my free time this last week. I've had time for that, school, and that's it." Theodore smiled at his brother. He missed him for the week he was gone. Alvin doesn't know how much they worry about him when he disappears. "Want a drink or something?"
"Sure," Alvin and Theodore approached the bartender and Theodore asked him, "What kind of beer do you have?"
"All kinds, but I need to see the right mark," The bartender replied. They showed him their X's. "Fantastic Gents, what will you have?"
Theodore ordered as Alvin started to look away. The woman pestered him to go dance with her. They disappeared before Theodore turned around.
"That Alvin, always running off, right?" A woman had approached Theodore from across the room. He had seen her before but he couldn't quite put a name to the face. She was shorter, maybe 5'3" and blonde. She was gorgeous, and she was talking to him.
From across the house, Brittney had continued to dance with nobody in particular. She had been asked to dance many times, but she seemed not to care. She was waiting for one man that night. She made her way through the smoking hot crowd to the dinner room where Theodore was. The woman that had talked to him earlier was still talking to him. He seemed distant, but she was so close to him he could feel her heat. Brittney knew Theodore obviously wasn't interested, but he continued to make small talk and drink his drink with no haste. Brittney made her way over to a table where she found Simon and Jeanette after their long absence playing a game of Beirut. They were a dangerous deceptive pair when it came to Beirut; they were far better than they appeared.
The night slowly continued on, Theodore was bored to tears until he got in on a game of flip cup, and Brittney kept pestering him about the woman Alvin was with.
"She didn't say her name, and I barely caught her face."
"Did you recognize her?"
"No, she seemed a little younger than us, maybe a freshman or something." Brittney looked disheartened from this, perhaps a little disgusted. "But, I'm not sure of course." Simon and Jeanette had disappeared again, they might have gone back the girl's place but they left without saying anything.
"I'm going to go find him, I'll see you later." Brittney ran off, looking for Alvin most anywhere. Theodore was about to leave at this point. The whole night had been a bust. It was fun, but all he could think about all night was Eleanor. He had another drink, played some Beirut and waited for Brittney and Alvin so they could leave.
Brittney had started to search the house over for any sign of Alvin, searching all parts of the house except for the second floor, where all of the rooms are. She ran up the flight of stairs quickly and looked for Alvin. Nobody lurked in the hallways upstairs. She was about to turn the last corner when she spot him from down the hallway walking out of a room.
"Alvin!" she yelled, "Where have you been all night? I've wanted to talk to you."
"I've been around, what do you need?"
"Well," she looked away from him, "I realized that, that I made a mistake. I shouldn't have broken up with you over the summer. We belong together; you know that."
"Brittney, I don't know what to say-"As Alvin said this, a door behind him opened. The woman he was with earlier came out of the room.
"Who's there Alvin?"
"One second, Emily." Alvin turned to her, and then to Brittney, "I'm sorry. I have to go. I'll be back around the apartment tomorrow; we'll talk then."
Brittney fought the tears until she left the second floor. The room began to fade out for Brittney. This was too surreal; she didn't know how to react at this point. Theodore saw her stumble back downstairs in a daze. She hadn't had much that night, so he was confused. She broke down and started to cry; Theodore grabbed her quickly and covered her from judging eyes.
"Brittney, what's going on?"
"He's with that slut! I just can't get over it. I'm so furious right now." She wasn't furious, she was forlorn. He could see the pain that emanated from the core of her anger. She was shaking in the cold.
"Let's get out of here, where's your coat? I'll go grab it."
"It's at the coat check."
Theodore ran back into the house and grabbed her coat.
"Theo, what happened to Brittney?" Alvin found him from across the room and ran to him.
"We're leaving, she's upset but I know it's not your fault."
"You're damn right it's not my fault, she dumped me, and you saw how I was for months afterwards."
"I know, but, for now it's best if I take her home for now so she can chill out."
Alvin looked out the window. He could see Brittney waiting in the cold, "Thanks, Theo."
"Don't' worry about," he started to leave with her coat, "you both deserve to be happy and I'll help you in whatever way I can." Theodore ran out of the house and met back up with Brittney.
"You have a smoke?"
"Yeah," he ruffled through his pockets and found his pack. He pulled out two and they lit up. They walked in silence for a while to Brittney's apartment.
"Ellie's lucky to have you, Theo. You just treat everyone so well."
"I'm lucky to have her too."
"It works with you two and I'm so happy that you have that but I'm jealous. I just wish I could have that too." She calmed down and was able to stop shaking. Maybe she wasn't cold anymore but that most likely wasn't the case. She had what alcoholics call a moment of clarity, "that's all I've ever wanted with Alvin, but I've just been so stubborn and determined to get to the top. I should have worked with him to get there or just given up on a dream of fame. I'm happy without the constant touring and the insufferable hours. Why couldn't I have realized this earlier?" She started to tear up; Theodore put his arm around her and started to comfort her.
"I wasn't just you. You both are the most stubborn people I know, and I'm sure you two will be back together. Alvin was just so hurt by the break up; he needs some time to heal." They got to her apartment.
"Thank you Theo. We never really talked before tonight even though we've known each other for so long. I regret that; you're very smart, you know that?"
"I'm not all that," he laughed quietly, "you're my friend; it's what friends do." She walked inside; Simon and Jeanette were already asleep. He turned back and started to leave. Brittney quickly jumped at him and gave him a hug.
"I hope you and Ellie are always happy together," she broke off the hug and walked inside.
Theodore walked home in the cold in silence thinking about what she said. That's all he wanted in life, to be happy with Eleanor. The apartment was a distance away; it started to get warmer as he walked.
When he arrived home, it was 2 am. The house was surprisingly quiet. Without anyone there, the house seemed half of what it should be. He put on a record and he started to mix the tracks he had been working on before the party. Time passed, and the thought about Eleanor the entire time. He wished nothing more than to see her. It was a little past 3 and he decided to have a cigarette then go to sleep. He heard the door slowly open.
"Simon?"
"Hmm, I sure hope not." It was a woman's voice.
"Ellie…" He ran up to embrace her, "How did you-"before he could finish his sentence she interrupted him with a kiss. Their separation had brought on a passion only known by longing. The kiss seemed to last four hours; their bodies communicating the last two weeks of sorrow and longing. In one moment, all ill feelings were gone in Theodore; he was once again complete.
"Brittney told me about how you took care of her tonight. Thank you so much." They were talking in between breaths.
"Think nothing of it." She stopped and buried her head in his chest.
"It's not though, thank you for stepping in while I was gone." Eleanor took off her coat. She hadn't been in the door more than 30 seconds before they embraced again, "I'm so tired, let's get to bed. I'll tell you all about my trip in the morning."