°Trying to waste time.°

[Sky]

 Phoenix followed, his steps light and quick as he made his way up the steps. When they arrived on the roof, he smiled. It was the same old place that he used to go to stare at the sky and watch the stars. He sat down on the ledge, letting his legs hang over.

"I love the stars." Phoenix said with a broad grin.

[purpleraincloud]

"When I look up at them it feels like nothing's impossible. Like I'm a kid again." She actually smiled. A real smile. It felt weird on her face. She looked over at Pheonix. He had made her laugh?

She was surprised.

[Sky]

    
  "You are a kid. What are you, seventeen?" He was glad to see her smile for once. She had a pretty smile. "That there is Leo the Lion." He said, point an alignment of stars.

[purpleraincloud]

"I don't feel like a kid."

Her smile faded a bit. The stars made her happy though.

((YAY for shortness!))

[Sky]

"So...what is the ring for?" Phoenix asked curiously. "I noticed you touch it from time to time. It must be valuable to you, yes?"

[purpleraincloud]

Avalee really wasn't expecting that, of all questions. She bit her lip for a moment, thinking. Should she tell him? She felt the compulsion to lie, and just say it was her great grandfather's wedding band, and she inherited it. She could tell him her parents got divorced, and she kept the wedding band. So many falsities. One truth that felt awkward saying out loud, because Avalee herself didn't want to accept it. It was only a few short weeks ago.

She had flashbacks of her blood-stained hands. His kiss. The snarling sound Seth made as he took his own cousin's life. As he snatched away the one pure good thing in Avalee's life. All was lost. He was gone.

Those you've known
And lost, still walk behind you
All alone
They linger till they find you
Without them
The world grows dark around you
And nothing is the same until you know that they have found you

Those beatiful lyrics echoed loudly in Avalee's mind as she spoke.

"Um...my boyfriend died a few weeks ago. It was his." She spoke in a small childish voice. It was the way she felt, like a small child, lost in the world. Alone.

[Sky]

    

   Phoenix gazed at Avalee with sad eyes. How hard it must be to cope with something like that, he did not know. But he imagined it being terrible and unbelievably difficult. And then a quote came to mind.

"Love is stronger than death even though it can't stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries it can't separate people from love. It can't take away our memories either. In the end, life is stronger than death."

  He looked back up at the stars and remembered something he had wondered everytime a death occured. Was the person up in the stars, watching over their loved one? Was there something more to them than being a ball of gas?

[purpleraincloud]

Avalee looked at silent Phoenix. Had she done something wrong? Had she over shared? Again? She always screwed things up. Always. She said something stupid or did something. She sighed, the moment was good. Just before then.

"I should go." She whispered to Phoenix.

[Sky]

Phoenix looked at her and then at the ground that was hundreds of feet away. He shouldn't have said anything. He had been too nosey and asked something that was none of his business.

  "Oh..okay." He said. "I didn't mean to...I'm sorry."

[purpleraincloud]

He hadn't done anything. She had done all the wrong. She felt awful. She went out on a whim. She wanted to feel her skin against another persons. Wanted to feel warm. He had always kept her warm. Not she was cold as ice.

"You did nothing Phoenix....really....I just. It's still new. It was a fair question." She looked over at him. Her eyebrows pushed together.

"No, no I'm sorry Phoenix."

[Sky]

Phoenix put his hand on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze, then said firmly, "You should probably go home and rest. You look like you could use the sleep." He smiled a little. "Then I can put you to work helping me set up my room." He added jokingly.

[purpleraincloud]

She stayed still for a moment. Liking his hand on her shoulder. Not wanting to leave, but she stood. Avalee thought of being alone in her small faculty cottage. Of crying herself to sleep. Putting on Axel's old shirts, just to smell like him again. Another night alone, not at all the peaceful sleep she drifted into when she was safe in the warm arms of Axel. She glanced back at Phoenix. She took a few more steps but then turned around. Sleep would wait for a bit. She had a question.

"Have you ever lost anyone?" She almost whispered. Looking him straight in the eye, her eyes piercing.

[Sky]

Phoenix pulled his hand away as Avalee. He stared at her as she stood for a moment and then began to move. But then she stopped and turned around, staring at him, eye to eye. Only, hers were incredibly piercing. Almost startling.

"Have you ever lost anyone?" Her voice was close to a whisper. A sad almost whisper.

  He bit his lip and then nodded.
   
"Yes, I have." He said. "An old friend from school. He killed himself."

[purpleraincloud]

Avalee nodded then, not sure why she had asked the question. It was stupid and impulsive. She was ashamed of herself. Asking a personal question to practically a stranger. She turned then to leave. Pausing.

Her mind worked:
I wish he would stop me.
I want proof that just one person in this world gives a d@mn.

He won't stop you.
He doesn't know you.
No one cares, Avalee
So shut up and go home, or just hurl yourself off this tower, just end it all now.
Then you can be with Axel.
You belong with him

The two parts of her head fought. All this happened in one second. She couldn't move to take another step. She couldn't move.

[Sky]

Phoenix sighed, silently and to himself, and looked out across the grounds. He hoped he didn't make her feel uncomfortable. Paul was caught up in some problems and thought the only way out was to end his life.