TRAFFIC IS PERFECTLY STILL,, arte

[NELL DOE DALE]

IT'S HOW IT'S ALWAYS BEEN

* WHEN YOU'RE OLDER ,

YOU WILL UNDERSTAND

Nell was attempting not to make a count-down. She wouldn’t tick off the mere week until she would be flying back to New York. No, she simply refused to think about it. And with this came escapism. She was continuing to live just like any other teenager. Well, she was no longer a teenager, was she? Being eighteen now, she figured that she could be tried as an adult now. Not that that hadn’t already been her grandfather’s plan. And she wished she could turn back time, just so she could recapture a childhood that was never hers, just so she had a chance at being that kid or that teenager, and not as a girl who’d always been forced to take on the role of adult. Simply because all of the adults in her life let her down.

Despite the things she was now forced to think about, she was on her way to Arte’s, iPod hooked up to her radio so she could obnoxiously sing along to The Kooks and play drums on the steering wheel. "True or false it may be, well she's still out to get me..." She caught some people looking over at her, and when she pulled a Night at the Roxbury, head bobbing motion until they either gave her the finger or drove away. Yes, despite it all, she was still singing and dancing and happy. Because who knows, it may be the last chance she could do so. I’d miss you, Gwen, she thought as she tapped the steering wheel, smiling goofily. Over the months she’s had it, she’d grown attached to her car. Not to say that she wouldn’t rather have a sexy Mustang , but like with everything else, she wasn’t changing. She could get a better apartment, but if she’ll end up in prison…what would be the point?

She pulled up to Arte’s house and leaned over her seats to fish out her duffel bag from the back. Settling it on her lap, Nell sat out in the car for a few moments, her fingers moving along the keyboard of her phone to text her friend that she had arrived. After experiencing quite a few, the Earth girl had grown to enjoy sleepovers. They were something she’d never experienced in her childhood, and she tried not to think about everything she’d missed out on. Instead, she focused on the fact that she could do whatever she wanted now, had the freedom to. Limited freedom about to be stolen away. Nell sometimes couldn’t help the paths that her brain chose to take, sometimes, and regretfully it would be her downfall.

Pushing open the door with her iPod now in her pocket and locking up her car, she smiled a bit. Unlike her downtown apartment, she didn’t have to worry so much about Gwen being broken into. If things were better for her, she could have bought a nice house and started a family and lived happily in suburbia. But her prospects were dim enough that she only observed the houses for what they were worth, happy families and secrets and shelter from the world. Nell practically bounced up to the door, rocking on her heels as she knocked in a rhythmic announcement.

[arte]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 375px; height: 440px; background-image: url(http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff414/breeBURTON/FACE%20CLAIMS/CHRISTINA%20PERRI/artemis.jpg); -moz-border-radius: 250px; border-radius: 30px 30px 30px 30px; border: 0px solid #414141;] HEART BEATS FAST , COLORS AND PROMISES even during the best of days, the wind girl's room looked just like that, a wind girl's room. her mother had a habit of asking if a tornado had ran through her room, and yet despite the playful teasing, a messy room made artemis happy. nonetheless, with a unhappy sigh escaping her mouth as she glanced around her room, she wondered why she allowed it to get to this point all the time. in a stupid spur of the moment, she had offered her good friend nell a sleepover pass, which meant a couple good hours of cleaning to make her room presentable. after all, arte did not want to come off as a slob. with each object that arte picked from the floor of her room, a million minutes seemed to pass by. five minutes seemed to be five thousand and she cursed herself for having the patience of her mother. she was the type of person to have to be in a cleaning mood to actually get the cleaning done. glancing at the clock and watching the time dwindle down, artemis resorted to her last hope. picking up the remote, she pressed the on button and within moments music was playing from her stereo. it was amazing the power a simple melody had over arte and minutes later, the feeling of cleaning seemed to appear less destroying and more appealing. a few hours passed before arte felt the familiar vibrate of her cellphone in her pocket. taking it out and glancing at it, she read the text for nell announcing her arrival. with a quick jump in her step, she quickly hung up the rest of her clothes in the closest, throwing the dirty ones in her hamper. "artemis, nell is here. would you like me to let her in?" the familiar voice of her mother came calling. with a smile as the sleepover butterflies entered arte's stomach, she opened her bedroom door. "yes please mom! i'll be down in a second." she replied, taking one more glance at her now clean room. turning the stereo off, arte bounded down the stairs, nell standing in the doorway. instantly a smile fell onto arte's lips and she ran up to her bestie, grasping her in a tight hug. "well aren't i glad to see you. boredom was beginning to get to me." she stated, a simple laugh following the words. "i hope you're ready for one hell of a night." she added, her eyebrows raising in the process. WORDS four one nine. TAGGED miss nell. CLOTHES vintage relaxation. NOTES time to break out the slumber-party!

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[NELL DOE DALE]

IT'S HOW IT'S ALWAYS BEEN

* WHEN YOU'RE OLDER ,

YOU WILL UNDERSTAND

Nell shifted from one leg to the other, almost dancing in her excitement until the door opened, revealing Arte’s mother. ”Heya, Ms. Marcotte,” she greeted cheerfully. Some people have told her that they felt awkward whenever going to someone’s house, feeling like an interloper, but she loved it. It was interesting to see how other people lived, and when it came to Arte’s house, it was just so warm and exciting. It made Nell wonder that if she had had sleepovers back when she lived with her mother if anyone could tell how tense it was? Would people be able to sense that there was something off about the mother-daughter duo, even without noticing bruises and welts and cuts that didn’t really look like they could have been caused by biking accident. Their house—if one could call it that—had been poorly furnished and not very large, but Nell didn’t want to think about the past like that, especially when she was in such a welcoming place.

She waggled her fingers in greeting when she saw Arte approach, and laughed as she was grasped into a hug. ”Why yes, I am here to valiantly save you from the boredom that has claimed you,” Nell said dramatically. She smiled as she said, ”Tried to get here as quickly as possible because my Nelly senses were tingling.” It was lucky that the middle-class residences weren’t too far away from downtown, though it was still a bit of a drive. Visiting her father took a longer drive, but Maple Hollow wasn’t exactly a metropolis, and therefore it didn’t take hours to get from one place to the other. Nell did wish sometimes as she drove through the middle class area that she could live in one of the houses, but she wasn’t going to pay much mind to a future that was so blurry. Because in the end, she might just be disappointed—it was her own form of optimism.

Stepping further into the house and waiting for Arte’s lead—because even though she was comfortable, she was still polite—Nell responded, ”Oh man, I am so ready. Hopefully your neighbors don't call the police when we're wilding out.” Even though the girl had trouble with the law, she was nowhere near serious when she said that. She motioned to her duffel bag, and said, ”Got the goods.” The goods meant some magazines and CDs and her array of nail polish in various assorted colors. She wasn’t really a girly-girl, but she was still a girl and she found that she liked painting her toenails the colors of the rainbow. ”So what do you want to do first?” What was on Nell’s mind was food, of course, but she was very acquiesecent to the needs of others. And it was Arte’s place—her house, her rules.