Topic: {Just Another Day} (Avalee/Axel)

[purpleraincloud]

Avalee, as always was on her way to the bar. The warm summer air swirled her hair up and around her face. Her hair was as it always was; curly and blond. She wore a very loose, thin tshirt. And black shorts. On her feet were gladiator sandals. Her face showed her mood; relaxed and happy. It had been a while since she was walking down this cobblestone road. But it felt like home. She grabbed the familiar doornob. It was the door to The Hog's Head. This place held memories. Too many, perhaps. But tonight was to be simple. Drinks alone at a pub. Avalee felt that the building was more an old friend than a building. A small wave of anxiety crashed in her stomach. She pushed it to the back of her mind.

She swung open the door and relit the smile on her face. She walked in, confident. She was a different person now.

[Sky]

A hooded figure sat alone at a table in the back. He sat hunched over his untouched firewhiskey, staring into the amber colored liquid. Beneath that ragged black coat was a man with a troubled past. And now it was his time to start over. It was time to be the person he was meant to be. Better choices were going to be needed to make this life of his a good one.

 He pushed the firewhiskey away. This would be his first good choice. He didn't need this alcohol, this...emotion numbing potion. He needed to feel again. He needed to let reality course through his veins once again, because quite frankly, Axel had started to forget what reality was.

He spent his days alone, drinking away his sorrows and his thoughts, letting them all be washed away by those few ounces of amber. Then he would stumble home and go to sleep. He had a recurring dream almost every night. It was her. The girl with the beautiful blond hair and perfect smile. Axel had made himself forget about her while he was conscious, but in his dreams, there was no pushing her away. He couldn't get her out of his dreams. He loved her. He never stopped loving her. He only wished that things had been different. That the dramatic scenes of the past didn't occur.

Axel stood up, little strands of dark red hair falling down over his sky blue eyes. He pulled the hood down so as not to be noticed. He was a nobody and be a nobody. He started for the door but when he looked away, he didn't notice that somebody was coming in. He ran into the girl.

 "I'm sorry." Axel said, looking down, his cheeks red. He looked up and felt his heart do what felt like a somersault. "It's you." He whispered. He bit his lip and stepped around her and stepped swiftly outside.

[purpleraincloud]

Avalee was numb for a moment. She froze. Had she really seen that face? That face she had known so well. The face with the blue eyes, framed by red hair. Yes. It was him. It was defiantly him. It was Axel.

She snapped back into action. Avalee spun around quickly and grabbed him by the arm. "It's me." She said softly. Her hands went up and pushed off his hood and placed her hands on his cheeks. "And it's you." She whispered. Avalee had no idea how she felt towards him anymore and was altogether confused at this point. But he was not going to blow her off and run away like he did all last year when he saw her. This spring and summer Avalee had changed. And She wasn't going to let him walk away this time.

[Sky]

Axel had looked quite a bit different. He had purple shadows under his eyes. He had lost a little bit of weight. But the big change was that his eyes didn't seem to have that familiar light in them. That glow. He looked like a scared little boy.

  "Just let me go." He said softly. "I'm not the same." But he didn't want her to let him go. He wanted Avalee to hold him. Those hands that cupped his cheeks were the most affection he had had in a long time.

[purpleraincloud]

She didn't let go. She was far too stuborn for that now. "No. Come here. She took a step backwards, back into the bar. She tilted his chin up to get a good look at his face. He had obviously been through something. Her eyebrows pushed together.

"What happened?" She asked, starting him in the eyes.

[Sky]

"Nothing." Axel said quickly. "Don't worry about me." He stared into her eyes for a moment and then avoided her gaze, looking at the ground. He knew what the problem was, but he wouldn't tell her. This was all because of him. He put himself in this mess. He would be the one to deal with it.

[purpleraincloud]

Avalee smiled a worried smile. "You know that's not going to happen." She pulled him closer. "I'm here to worry. And to help." She nodded, super zen and calm for the striking situation. "Always." She whispered this last word.

Enough time had past. It was time now. Avalee was a different girl now. So much had changed. She wanted to tell him everything, but right now she needed to help him.

[Sky]

A single tear had fallen from Axel's cheek. He would never want anyone to see him cry. But maybe he just needed to.

 "Avalee, I'm so...I'm so sorry! I'm sorry if I ever, ever hurt you. Please just know that, okay?"

[purpleraincloud]

Avalee smiled as her own eyes began to fill up with tears. "Oh..." She wiped the tear away from his cheek, and hugged him. He was warm, familiar. She knew she had been in these arms before.

"It's fine, Axel." It was true, he had hurt her. Badly. Very badly. But it was fine now. She had made it fine on her own. This was just icing on the cake.

[Sky]

"Avalee, I need you to know something else...." Axel gently have her a push away from him, so that he could look her in the eyes, even though her arms around him felt simply amazing.

"I've loved you. Ever since the day we first met. I never stopped. Ever. Never ever. You always had a place here," Axel brought his hand to his heart and then let it drop. "I never forgot the way your hair frizzes up when its warm out, or how anxious you got when you had a big test or a new group of students to deal with. I never forgot that glimmer in your eyes when you smiled. And most of all, I never forgot how much you mean to me."


 Axel bit his lip and looked down. He didn't mean to ramble on like this. He really didn't even think he would be here in this very moment, confessing all of this to her. But it needed to be done.

"Avalee, I don't care how long its been. I love you. And I always will."

[purpleraincloud]

Tears began to flow as soon as the word 'Loved' passed through those gorgeous lips of his. She smiled lightly as he spoke. The more he said the happier she got. A fondness shone in her eyes. The kind of fondness that only the people in the relationship could ever begin to understand. Through all the sh!t with Alice. How badly she had f****d it all up with Phoenix and Seth... None of it mattered. In the moment it was simply her and Axel. The pub disappeared. The people disappeared. Memories went away. All that was Axel: his mouth, his eyes, his beautifully expressive face.

"Avalee, I don't care how long its been. I love you. And I always will."

Tears finally spilled over at this moment. This summer. Everything. It was all. Wow. Almost too much to take. She stood there for a few seconds. Her mouth was slightly open in shock. A blush graced her cheeks. Tears rolled down slowly. She then, getting up on her tip-toes, kissed him softly on the mouth. It was a soft kiss. The kind that was not born out of passion or lust as other kisses had been. No, this kiss was love and tenderness. Happiness and adoration.

She took a step back and said in a quiet, high voice, "Me too." It was simple and not nearly as profound or eloquent as anything he said. But it was true.

[Sky]

No. He didn't mean to make her cry. Axel wanted to wipe the tears away, but they were flowing so fast, he didn't even know if he could get them all. By then, more would fall. He couldn't think. He shouldn't have said anything. He shouldn't have----.


And she kissed him. Oh, she kissed him. There was nothing like that kiss. Her lips were soft and warm, where as Alice's were cold, almost like ice. He considered for just a short moment to kiss Avalee back, but then she stepped back. And Axel thought he felt his heart beat again for the first time in a long time when he heard her say "me too."

 He merely smiled and brushed away the hair from her eyes, just looking into her eyes and smiling. He had missed her so much, it almost hurt.

 

[purpleraincloud]

She pulled him closer. She needed him so much closer. "I missed you." She whispered into his chest. These were arms. This was a real hug. It was so nice. She eventually had to break it off. She pulled back and looked him in the eyes. A smile spread across her face.

"Come here. I have so much to tell you." She took his hands and pulled him towards the bar.

[Sky]

"I missed you too. More than you will ever know." Axel said softly into her hair, planting a tender kiss a top her head. Before he knew it, he was being whisked away towards the bar.

"Woah!" He said as he was tugged.

[purpleraincloud]

Avalee laughed a loud, nervous laugh. She pulled him hard. Way too over-excited. She jumped onto a stool and almost fell over as she pulled him onto the stool beside her. She just looked at him. Her heart racing. He always did this to her. He could make her feel like this...only him. She leaned forward and kissed him again on the lips.