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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Dec 11, 2012 12:05:43 GMT -5
A smile on her face, Nell nodded her head at her friend's words. They had come to the cliffs to hang out. She had told the group that she liked being up high, and it was the perfect place to go without being seen, even better when the wind wasn't blowing. "You can go, I'll stay here for a little bit," she told them when they said that they had to get going. She had work later, but that wasn't for a while. She could do with a little free time. The girl rarely got it between school and work and volunteering. Plus she had other hobbies and extracurricular activities and a social life, so her schedule tended to be jammed pack. It was a good thing that junior year had been looking good for her so far.
Nell pulled the scarf up over her nose, the red one that Jacob had saved from falling into the lake two months earlier. She didn't have many clothes because she didn't shop for them often. Her belief had always been that if she didn't have anything she needed to buy, why go out and get more clothes? If she had a band shirt or a certain colored pants she needed, she was willing to go out. It helped in saving her money, money that she could spend on things like food and whatever caught her eye in infomercials. So she wasn't completely frugal, she was still very good with her money.
So her entire outfit consisted of clothes she had bought long ago, from her pea coat to the boots on her feet that she dangled off the cliffs edge. She didn't fear a lot and heights were something she actually enjoyed. Especially when she was throwing rocks down below to see which ones would give the bigger splash. And okay, she also wanted to freak out the kids below without hitting them, so whenever they would look around from their perch near the lake, under where she sat, she would scoot back and look at them. One of these days, Nell was waiting for some kid to take off their clothes and take a dip in the frigid water. Of course, she would stop them, but all the same she wondered how no one had done that yet.
She didn't mind being alone for the time being, but she knew eventually she would have to go and find someone to hang out with. Or get ready for work, whichever happened first, the time or the loneliness. Usually loneliness came first.
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Post by AMBER SAVANNAH JAMES AMBROSE on Dec 11, 2012 15:34:13 GMT -5
Ace glanced around, the cool wind air had chilled him a little. He wasn’t used to this amount of cold, sure where he was in the US was cold but this, this was pretty frigid. It didn’t help that he had worn a leather jacket that was getting too thin for use, or that his jeans were so worn down there was a hole at his butt he hoped that his jacket covered. He wished he had more money, but most of it had gone to looking for a new place to stay, and paying for his current hotel room. He really needed to get a new dorm, or something, but at the moment there were a lot of new elementals and most of them had taken up the dorms. So Ace was a bit stuck on housing issues. He had nowhere to go and nothing that could be done. If anything he could have stayed with a friend, but after being away for so long, that just seemed really awkward.
Ace had loved the cliffs once, he loved the loneliness to them, the cool howl as the wind scraped across the rocky face echoing melancholy cries of loneliness. Sometimes though the cries of the wind were drowned out by the partying of the students. There had been a fair amount of parties here that were more than enough fun for him. Sometimes they were better than a house party down at the Hollow. He didn’t mind the company, nor did he mind the loneliness. Right now he was searching for neither, but simply following where his feet took him. He walked on forward his sneakers crunching on the stiff frozen grass. His steps quiet but crisp and clear at the same time.
The wind whipped at his hair, playing with each strand from under his beanie. He sighed and stuffed them back under the black hat. He wished he had more money, maybe he could get a decent haircut, or a better hat. But alas, his funds only went so far. He eventually reached the top, passing by some people on their way down. He didn’t pay them any mind and simply kept walking until he reached the plateau. He paused as he glanced at the figure sitting on the edge. It glanced down and Ace could hear the splash of something hitting the water. He frowned, the figure looked so familiar, and yet so odd. It felt like he knew her, maybe he did, maybe he didn’t. But he had the queerest feeling that the girl, he could tell that much, was someone he had known. HE cleared his throat, “You might want to be careful.”
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Dec 12, 2012 13:41:22 GMT -5
"Oh, I'm fine, I've done this--"
Her immediate answer stalled when she tilted her head back to look at who had spoken. At first, she hadn't recognized his voice. It had been a long time. Months. She didn't know what happened to him or where he went, she was completely clueless. But it had clicked moments later, and with astounding clarity. And in that moment she didn't know exactly what she felt. Heartbreak. She cared about him and then one day -- poof -- he was gone. Just like that, like people tended to do with her. On the other hand, she was glad to see him back. She was glad to see his face and hear him speak, and she was glad that he hadn't disappeared forever. The mixture of emotions took a moment to actually sift through, as her eyes softened and she exhaled through her nose. Could she be mad at him? Maybe not, but she could be hurt.
And that might have been the outstanding emotion. A breeze rolled by and she tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear. "Hey Ace," she said softly. If he had left with a word as to where he had gone, she would have run up to him and given him a hug, asked him how his time had been spent. But she was uncertain as she sat there with a rock in her fingers. She rolled it around, feeling the smoothness hewn from all the winds. So she did want to hug him, and she decided that maybe it would be best. Smiling, she stood up -- shakily at first -- before walking over to throw her arms around his neck, murmuring, "I missed you." It may have not been as enthusiastic as it would have been otherwise, but it was her method. She didn't want to get too close. A forgiving person, it did not come so easily when someone leaves her behind. It was possibly the worst thing someone could do to her -- abandon her.
She pulled back, standing a few steps away from the Water elemental. Another breeze, and she kept her hands near her face to prevent her hair from whipping into her vision. Even up in a bun, her bangs got out of control. "Where were you?" The question didn't come out angry or demanding. Not even curious. Just simple and plain because of course she wanted to know where he had gone off to and why he was suddenly back here. She was reminded of her father, his return to her life and how much she hated him for it. She still had bitterness, it would never go away, but she had gotten past a lot of it. At least this was not her father, an eleven year absence. His disappearance had brought on something very bad. But still, as close as she had been to Ace, it still hurt bad. Sometimes she realized the price of getting herself attached to easily.
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Post by AMBER SAVANNAH JAMES AMBROSE on Dec 24, 2012 23:14:23 GMT -5
Ace watched her seeing her expression change. He wished he could have told her, he wished he could have said where he was going. He left a note, though it wasn’t right to not call her. He had lost his cell phone, and with it all the numbers of his old friends. Ace was never one who could remember a number off the top of his head. He tried to a few times, and always got the wrong number.
“Hey.” He said smiling at the girl. He watched her as she stood and then hugged him. He hugged her back tightly, “Same here Nell.” It felt so weird saying her name after so long. “Nell,” he mumbled just to get the sound rolling off his tongue again, “I forgot how that sounds like, as sad as that is.” He smiled and gently let her go as she pulled away. He ran a hand through his hair the chilly wind embracing him where Nell's warmth had gone. He took a deep breath, and looked her in the eyes.
“At home... My mom... was diagnosed with cancer. We got to it early enough to treat it thankfully. But at the time I couldn’t just leave my family. That’s why I left so abruptly... And I couldn’t call because I lost your number, and my phone had all my friends numbers and.. Oh my God... is that an engagement ring on your finger?!” He said catching sight of the shiny band of metal. With curiosity and giant brown eyes he took her hand and lifted it as if it were something so fragile a simple wind would break it into pieces. “You got engaged?” He asked looking up with happy eyes.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Dec 25, 2012 13:34:20 GMT -5
Nell didn't know how else to express her conflicting emotions, and decided that an embrace was all she could do. She smiled when he hugged her back though, said her name and told her he almost forgot how it sounded. That was another knife in the wound, another bruise to her. It hurt, like it was that easy to just leave. Everyone's always leaving, at least that's what the world seemed determined to prove to her. She didn't want to become jaded or cynical, to believe in those kinds of things, but Ace had been one person she thought would never leave. He had become stable in her life, someone she never questioned.
Her eyes softened, shoulders sagging. Cancer. His mother was all right now, but... She shifted, moving to scratch her arm. "Oh," she murmured under her breath as he spoke, as he explained that he'd lost her number and a bunch of things that made sense to fall out of touch because of. It was hard enough for her to be angry, but when he gave explanations like that, she couldn't find it in her. She just hated the fact that she would have to get used to people fading in and out of her life. She blinked when he took her hand abruptly then, speaking of her being engaged. "Married," she said with a crooked smile. "Josh and I got married in October. I'm Nell Dale, now." And she was happier than she had ever been, when she didn't think that was all possible. "You missed the wedding," she told him, stating the obvious. All of their friends had been there, except for Ace.
"You could have written or something," she said like a petulant child. Though he may not have been able to write to the school, he knew her address, unless he forgot that too. "I mean, I didn't know anything about what happened. You could have..." She stopped before she could finish the rest of that sentence, say it out loud. Nell didn't want to acknowledge that as a possibility. "I guess you're back in school now," she opted for instead. It felt like safer ground. She didn't like to talk about her feelings, she didn't like to tell people when it felt like she'd been betrayed in some way. And now, she shouldn't feel that way. She knew she would forgive and forget like she always did, but these kinds of things affected her deeper than anyone would ever know.
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Post by AMBER SAVANNAH JAMES AMBROSE on Jan 16, 2013 0:50:11 GMT -5
“Yeah...” He said the silence as awkward and thick as it seemed. He watched her for a moment, and thought he saw a puppy who’d been abandoned and then recently found by the owner. She looked hurt, and sad. But as he watched her he knew it was because of him. At least this pain was because of him. But all that dropped when she revealed the big news, like his jaw. “I... You... Married?” HE said his eyes as wide as dinner plates with big brown cakes in them. “No!” HE shouted in disbelief. “Nell Doe Dale.” He smiled at her and then pulled her into the tightest, biggest bear hug in the world. “Wow.” He finally said as he separated himself from her. “I don’t know what to say. Congrats. Name your first kid after me... Um or something.” He gave her a sheepish smile. It faltered however as she told him the obvious. “I... I’m sorry...” He looked down at the ground, and tried to recover, “It’s okay, I probably would have made a big fiasco with Josh’s dad or something, our personalities don’t exactly mesh.”
“Yeah...” He agreed. “It’s my fault Nell. “ He didn’t say that to blame her, or mock her or tell her that sarcastically. HE genuinely knew that it was his fault. “I’m sorry I couldn’t wear a superman tux to your wedding, or cook you a celebratory Ace sandwich. “ He said remembering the time he ended up hungover at her place. “I’m really sorry, and I don’t think all my sorries could really fill the time I missed.” He paused and glanced up at her, his superman wind knocked out of him, he let himself become what he had been the past few weeks. He let the facade of happiness and joy at being back drop, and he slouched down into the Ace that was worrying over his mother, the Ace that had spent a lot of his college fund to find her doctors, and get her treatments. The Ace that had left all his friends, and for months on end, the only companion he had was the one in the mirror. “I... yeah.” He said as she switched topics, but he had more to say, so he didn’t elaborate on much more about school.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Jan 16, 2013 12:03:12 GMT -5
Nell wanted to believe it'd been expected for her and Josh to get married. Perhaps not so quick, but it wasn't like everyone understood what they had been through and what brought them to the point they were at now. To those who might say the didn't know each other well enough to take this kind of leap, she could argue that their relationship had already been tested and tried in ways some couples would never experience. And all they wanted now was peace with each other and a happy life.
So it shouldn't have been that surprising, she figured, especially not for a close friend of the two. "You knew it was gonna happen, vato," she said after he repeated her name, humor creeping into her voice. She was too quick to forgive, but she didn't want bad blood between a friend who'd been with her for so long. She snorted when he told her to name their kids after him...maybe. Kids. It was an entirely strange subject for her. "Yeah, I'll think about it," she told him. He talked about causing a fiasco, and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as the wind blew it in front of her face. "Josh would have still wanted you," she said with certainty, but she didn't want him to feel any more guilty than he might have already.
So when he went on about the tux and making sandwiches, she hit him lightly in the arm, a friendly tap. Nell said, "We've got pictures, you didn't miss out completely on the big Dale soiree." Her smile broadened. Of course she didn't want him to get all beat up about it, even though it hurt not to have one of their good friends at the wedding. He'd needed to be there for his mother, and because of that, she couldn't hold it against him. "Just make sure to stop by sometime, okay? And then, to complete your apology, you can make me one of your sandwiches. That's when I'll forgive you. Just don't beat yourself up about it." On the subject of school, he just gave a short little answer, not much elaboration on classes or anything. She nodded, a hand shoved in one of her pockets to keep warm. "Maybe we'll see each other in class. I decided on a pysch major." She didn't know what she would be doing with that degree, but she took it one step at a time. It was hard enough for her to settle.
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