Alice was running as fast as she could through the trees. The thick trunks were flying by in blurs, the sky was just a darkness above her. For the thousandth time since she had met Seth, she wished she was human. She wanted to be human so bad right now. The sad thing was that she only wanted to be human so she could cry.
She hand`t cried in two hundred years and had never felt the urge to cry since then. She was a vampire, time was below her. Not anymore. She felt more alive than ever when she met Seth, then he had left. He had left her to her own devices. He had left her when she couldn`t be without him. She needed him in a way she had never needed anything before, except blood, of course. She wanted to cry until she couldn`t cry any more. She wanted to curl up into a little ball and never be found again. For the first time ever, she didn`t want to exist anymore. She wanted to die.
She missed Seth so much. Everything just seemed to crash down around her.
She ran and ran until she was at the edge of the forest-- not the edge near the school, but the other side, miles and miles away. It was Friday night. Everyone back at the castle had been happy and riled up. They were excited for something, and all of their emotions had pushed Alice over the edge. That was why she ran. She didn`t think that she`d be found out here, and she wanted to be alone. She wanted to be alone forever now. What was the point of her staying alive-- or undead-- anymore. It was unnatural, wrong, and she wanted to to end.
Axel found himself pounding through the forest, his large black paws slamming into the dirt of the forest. He was running, for his own enjoyment, but he had this feeling that something was wrong. So he followed his instinct, and decided to patrol the forest as he ran. Trees and other formations were all blurry as he sped through, kicking dirt behind him. His eyes were scouting out his surroundings, his ears perked for any strange sound.
And then he came to a sudden stop. From a distance, he could see the sad girl. It was Alice, his newest friend. He stepped behind a large, thick tree and changed back into his human self, wearing a black thermal sweater and jeans. His hair was spikey. He peered around the tree and watched the girl, not letting her know he was there.
Alice had finally stopped running, leaned against a tree. She couldn`t cry because her body couldn`t produce tears, but she could scream. It was a terrible sounds, full of anguish, hate, and longing. She didn`t notice Axel. She didn`t care anymore, and she wasn`t even trying to be alert. She just wanted to be alone, she didn`t want to notice anyone else.
The vamprie collapsed onto the ground, curling into a fetal position and digging her nails into her calves.
Axel looked away as Alice screamed. Not because of the noise, but because he could she that she was hurting inside. And he knew that was the only way for her to let it out. Well, one of the only ways.
He stepped forward, then took more steps until he was beside her, his feet beside her head. He bent down and touched her arm.
"Alice. Please...don't do that." He said gently.
Alice jerked upright when Axel touched her arm. She scoted away from him. Her eyes were blacker than the night around her. She hand`t fed in a while and her anguish wasn`t helping.
"Axel, it`s not safe for you to be here." She said. She didn`t look human. Her eyes had somethign in them that made her look... dangerous, inhuman, and ancient. She had been alive over two hundred years. That was much too long for any being to be on earth. She wanted to be at rest, or once.
Axel watched as she scooted away and then he shook his head.
"Uh-uh. I'm not leaving." He said. He saw her her eyes were black, as black as her hair. Maybe even darker. That wasn't a good sign. He knew that, but he would not leave until he knew that she was okay.
And as of now, she was far from it.
Alice moved away a little further. The smell of blood, dirt, and bark was overwhelming, but she was accutely aware of the blood part.
"You have to go. I`m not going to stay here and let you be a risk to yourself." Here she was, trying to be nice to some guy she hardly knew. What had happened to being alone?
Axel stood up straight but narrowed his eyes. His body language would show just how strong willed he was.
"I told you, I am not leaving." He said, this time his tone louder and serious. "I'd rather you drink my blood if it made you feel better. I don't have much purpose here anyway." Axel smirked and crossed his arms.
"How much blood do you need?" Axel asked.
"I`m not drinking from you!" Alice exclaimed, standing up when the boy did. "I refuse to. I`m not going to put you in danger. You can`t force me to do it." She crossed her arms. Her whole body was tense and her hair was messed up. She just looked disheveled, which was odd for her.
"I`m not doing it." She repeated, but in a softer tone. She relaxed slightly. Axel looked so much like Seth. Same facial structure, same jaw, same eyes. Oh, God, they had the same eyes. Alice froze, staring into Axel`s eyes. For a moment she forgot where she was; all she could think of was Seth. His smell, she shape of his cheek under her hand, everything.
Axel rolled his eyes.
"Relax will you? I'm asking how much you need, because I can go get you a bird or rabbit, something. You'd have to fight to take my blood." He winked at her and then chuckled. But then got back to being serious.
Alice laughed crazily, spinning around like a small child.
"It is you who would have to fight for blood, Axel. I may be a tiny little thing, but I am stronger than you, nonetheless. You could only fight me off if I hadn`t had any blood for more than two months." She stepped over to the closest tree and wrapped her hands around it. Her fingers dug into the bark, making small holes. She glared at the tree like it had offended her.
Axel rolled his eyes again, mutter something about women.
"Whatever. Do you want the blood or not? Or should I just wait here while you go and catch the poor creature?" He asked nodding towards her.
Alice looked back to Axel, her eyes wild.
"I don`t want anything living. I don`t want blood. I don`t want attention. I want it all to go away. I want to die." Her eyes flashed darkly and she stepped back from the tree, pulling her fingers from the bark. Her eyes went distant and she sat down right where she was, hand in her lap.
What she had said wasn`t exactly true. She wanted Seth.
"He's not coming back." Axel said, watching her sit down. "I just got a letter from him yesterday. My Aunt's out of St. Mungo's but needs her family to take care of her, which reminds me...." He reached into his back pocket. "He sent me a letter that was meant for you." He walked over and pulled out a piece of folded notebook paper. Unraveling it, he handed it to her.
Dear Alice,
The good news is that my Mother is okay. She will be live, but needs us to take care of her. I still haven't been told what happened, but her rehabilitation process will be awhile.
The bad news is that I will not be returning to Hogwarts. My Father is having me finish my education at home so I can obtain my credits and be there for my Mother when he can't.
I'm sorry to say this. There's not a moment that goes by without me thinking about you. But we must learn to move on. Please take care.
Seth
The letter was quick and simple. Less painful. Axel didn't read it, but knew it would be rough on Alice.
Alice`s eyes snapped up to watched Axel approach her and hold out the paper. She took it slowly, but read it in a split second. She crumpled it in her hand until it was a tight ball, then shredded it. Without looking at Axel she stood up and turned, but didn`t move yet.
"I want you to do something for me Axel, and it`s really important. It`s going to be hard and dangerous, but I`m guessing you won`t have a problem with that." Her voice was monotone and scarily calm. She was going to ask Axel to kill her. It would be difficult; he would have to behead her then set her on fire. She was going to let him, of course, but she wasn`t really easy to destroy.
((By the way, don`t do it. =P ))
"What would that be?" He asked, stepping up beside her. Axel looked at her with his strong, sky blue eyes. Something dangerous? What could she possibly want? Something in her voice made Axel hesitant to say yes.
Alice slowly turned to face Axel, her dark eyes meeting his light ones.
"I want you to kill me. I don`t want to be on this earth any more. I`ve been here long enough."
((YAY!))
Axel's mouth fell open.
What?
Kill her?
"Um...no?" He said scratching his head. He didn't even know how to respond to that. "Alice, look. I know this is hard, but come on. It's just a boy." Axel took her icy hand.
"Come on. Let's take a walk and talk this through. I'm not ready for you to leave this earth yet."
Alice clenched her teeth together and stared at the ground but didn`t pull away.
"I`ve walked this earth for over two centuries, Axel. It`s unnatural, maddening, and feels wrong. I`m done. I`ve seen all I want to see. I`ve done all I want to do. There is nothing for me anymore. There is no purpose for me staying. I don`t want to be dead because of Seth. He`s a part of it, but just a small part. I`m glad I met him. I think he`s part of the reason I feel so ready to die for real. There`s nothing keeping me here anymore." She explained softly and quickly, not stopping to take a breath.
She really did want to go away now. She didn`t want to be here anymore. She was ready.
"Alice, please. You're my friend. And I don't want to see you go." Axel looked at her and tried his best to work those puppy eyes. "Sure, there's Leah. But if you leave, I have no one. I don't have a family or anything."
Alice stared up at Axel with a look a mother might give her misbehaving children.
"You barely know me. You were half drunk when we met, full of adrenaline. I don`t believe you know my full name. You don`t know when I was born. You don`t know me. You`ve only seen a part of who I am. You have Leah. She`ll be a good friend. Go to Stacey Gray or Sky Mason. They`ll be nice. Might even grow on you. Especially Stacey. She`s got an attitude she`s not afraid to use. You don`t need me, Axel."
Axel let go of her hand and grabbed her shoulders, his eyes narrowed.
"I don't know your middle name, but why, you're Alice Brokehart. You've been switched to Ravenclaw and are about two hundred years old, right? Sorry I don't know the month, day, or year. You're right. I don't know you." He let go of her shoulders and stepped back.
"But I'd like to." He said softly, ignoring the comments about the other people.
Alice softened a little. There was a familiar note in his voice that reminded her of Seth, when they had first met. She took a step forward and put her hands gently on his shoulders.
"You don`t want to know me, Axel. I`m a monster. I`ve killed hundred of people. I`m not even a living thing. My heart beats because I force it to, but I don`t need to breathe. I am already dead. You can`t care for something that`s not natural. I would know. It just never works out. Knowing me would be like knowing a rock. A cold, hard, dead rock." She whispered softly to him. She could feel heat rolling off of him, a sharp contrast to her own skin and the cool night.
Axel threw his head back and looked up at the sky. "Look, I'm not Seth. I'm not mushy-gushy. But I really don'y want you to die. There's something about you that makes me feel...I don't know. Good? Like I belong I guess." He looked back at her. "It's weird. I know we've only just met, but we've got that friendship chemistry. Please don't make me do this. I can't kill."
Alice looked at her hands for a moment then stepped away.
"Fine. I`m... sorry I asked you. Really. It was rude of me. I guess I wasn`t expecting you to care about me that much." She sat down on the hard ground and leaned against a tree, running her fingers through her hair. After a moment of silence she spoke again.
"If you could just do me a favor, and not let me get myself killed for a while, I`d appreciate it." She whispered. She felt so... stone-like. She didn`t want to move, didn`t want to talk, didn`t want to do anything. But she would stay alive for Axel.
At least until she found another way to die.
"Of course." Axel said. "And yeah, I care about you. Why shouldn't I?" He sat down on the ground beside her, looking down at the ground. He scopped up a handful of dirt and let it slowly pour out of his hands, the wind picking up and blowing the soil into the air.
Alice looked at Axel`s hands as he scooped up the dirt.
"You don`t know me. You don`t know what I can do." She sighed heavily. "I had this same conversation with Seth."
Axel wiped off his hands.
"Yeah well..., Seth is thick headed. He should have been a Hufflepuff. I don't care okay? I don't care what you can do. The point is, your a friend. And I don't want to lose a friend. Now get out of this melancholic state, will ya? You're bringing me down."
Axel realized that his words were a little rough at the end and ran his hand through his hair.
"Sorry. I know you're havin' a hard time with the break up...."
Alice looked away, clenching her teeth together again.
"Seth was not thick-headed, he cared. You should care about what I can do because I could all too easily kill you, whether you fight against me or not." Her tone was tight, not leaving room for negotioation. She was being rude, and she knew it. She just didn`t care. She didn`t care about anything now.
Axel looked at her for a moment before suddenly standing up.
"Look. I'm done trying to be the good guy here. You want Seth? Then go find him." Axel shook his head and started walking back into the thick forest.
Alice stood up and was right behind Axel in less than a second.
"Look, I`m sorry. Seth was really my only friend here, and the only friend I`ve had in a while. I guess I just... don`t know what to do now that he`s gone. It seems like everything is changing, and I can`t control any of it. I didn`t mean to say anything to hurt you, really." She was telling the truth now, and it surprised her. She didn`t know why she ran after the boy. He meant nothing to her.
Did he?
Axel kept walking. She could follow if she wanted.
"You didn't hurt me. The person who is hurting here, is you." He said without looking back. "I wish I could help you in some other way than killing you." He shoved his hands into his pockets and let his bangs fall into his eyes.
Alice jumped in front of Axel, holind her hands out in front of her.
"Look, you can`t just leave me here. You promised that you wouldn`t let me get myself killed. I can kill myself if I really wanted to, so it would be very smart to leave me out here." She crossed her arms and looked up at Axel with her bug pretty eyes. For some reason she had the urge to move his hair out of his eyes, but she knew he would freak out if she did.
Axel stopped, blinked, then sighed.
"Okay then. Come with me to the Gryffindor Common Room. It's a little chilly out here and I think it might start to rain soon." He glanced up at the darkening clouds.
"What d'ya say?"
Alice hesitated a moment, then relaxed.
"Okay." She moved next to him, but didn`t start walking yet. "It`d be quite a bit faster if we ran or something. We aren`t even on school property anymore."
"You're right. If we walk, we'll be soaked." Axel transformed into a giant wolf with thick, desheveled black hair. He looked up at her, his eyes standing out even more than normal, and nodded towards the castle. His way of saying "let's go".
Alice snorted and started running towards the castle, just a pale blur against the night.
((Blah.))
Axel pawed at the ground before running off, surely not at her speed but he would get there shortly after she arrived.
When he got to the castle entrance, he changed back into his human self, his hair a little untidy.
((Blah blah.))
By the time Axel got to the castle Alice was leaning against the stone wall of the school, smirking. Where Axel looked like he had been running, the vampire looked like she had just walked outside.
"Took you long enough. Thought you were fast." She teased, pushing off of the wall and walking towards the boy. She seemed happy now. There was no trace of the distress she had been feeling earlier that could be detected by any human.
"Oh look! She's got a humorous side." Axel teased back with a wink. He opened the large door and motioned for her to enter before him. Students' voices could be heard. They must be at dinner.
Alice smiled then nodded when he held the door open for her.
"And you`ve got a gentleman in you." She entered the main hall, but hesitated before the entryway to the Great Hall. She didn`t exactly eat, and hundreds of minds suddenly pressed in on hers.
"Um, are you hungry or not?"
Axel shook his head.
"Nah, I had a pumpkin pastie earlier. I'm fine." He was already jogging up the changing staircase, past the onlooking people in the portaits.
Alice met Axel at the top of the stairs, grinning.
"Lead the way." She bowed at the waste and waved him onward. Of course, she already knew where all of the common rooms were and how to get into them. It was hard not to when every first year was screamin git in their heads to remember it.
(Ditto.)
Axel looked to the portait of the Fat Lady and cleared his throat before saying the password.
"Welcome." The Lady said, to both Axel and Alice, before swinging open her large frame. Axel had already climbed in and waited patiently for Alice to enter the dark and empty room.
The room was a bit untidy, with pieces of crumpled up parchment and candy wrappers littering the floor. The House Elves would manage it later. The only light that entered the room was from the setting sun through the window. And there weren't any other people in there besides them because they were all at dinner or something. Axel pointed his wand at the fireplace and lit a fire to make the room a little less colder and darker. He turned to her and smiled crookedly.
"Welcome to Gryffindor."
Alice smiled and climbed in beside Axel. She looked around, absorbing everything around her.
"Cool. I haven`t been in here for a few years." She ran her hands over her arms and wandered over to on of the couches in front of the fireplace. She sat down and brought her legs to her chest. Staring into the fire, she rested her chin on her knees.
"I always liked fire best. Don`t know why. It`s the only element that can kill me. Guess that`s why I like it." She spoke aloud.
Axel sat down beside her and stared into the dancing flames.
"Fire is my element. I've been able to use it most of my life. It's weird because Seth controls water. It's like we're complete opposites. I never understood that." He held out his hand and let a tiny fireball form above his palm. He held it there for some time before letting it wither away.
"Yeah, weird." Aice replied in a monotone voice, her eyes still on the fire. Over the years she had learned that the reason a lot of people specilized in a cetain element was because one represented their personality more.
Seth was like water. He was calming, but always going. He wanted what was best for you, but he wanted to be happy. Axel, on the other hand, was as unpredictable as fire. He was calm one minute and dangerous the next. He did what he wanted.
"I can control all of the elements, but don`t use them much."
"You're pretty talented." Axel replied, looking at her. "It's hard enough to control one element, let alone all of them. Fire is really hard, even knowing it for years, because it's so unpredictable and controlling. It can take over in a second if you don't maintain control." This was why Axel had to be careful when he got into fights. He could end up doing something he regretted without purposely doing it.
Axel laid back against the couch and closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of cracking wood. He smiled to himself.
Alice turned her head so she could see Axel clearly, her cheek now pressed to her knee.
"I`ve had a long time to practice." She asnwered simply. "Fire is the most difficult element to control, but it`s not the hardest to use. Earth is the hardest, because you have to will life into things. That takes real practice." She blinked slowly.
She could hear the couch creaking, of course, but she could also hear other things. Axel`s beating heart, his blood pumping through his body, the breaths of students on the other side of the thick stone wall. She heard it all, and it was really starting to annoy her.
Axel nodded, his eyes still closed. The warmth of the fire almost made him drowsy.
"How many years have you gone to Hogwarts?" He asked, rubbing his head.
"Fourty-two years," She answered without needing to think about it. "I went to a school in France before, but they kicked me out because I was missing my classes. The old headmaster let me transfer here. I don`t have to go to classes or anything anymore, but I do sometimes. I basically just live here. I help out when I can." She shrugged, feeling blank.
((I got to go. My head hurts really bad. >.< Have a good weekend.))
Axel raised his eyebrows, opening his eyes in surprise. Fourty-two years? Axel couldn't imagine doing O.W.L's and N.E.W.T's again and again. But then she said she basically just lived in the castle. A bell rang out in the hall. Dinner was over.
"Get ready for a stampede." Axel said with a smirk. Soon, kids would be piling into the Common Room noisely and start to mess around. "We can go upstairs for more privacy if you want." He said, nodding toward the boy's dormitory. "I mean, so we can talk without having to deal with the satisfying stench of dungbombs." He let out a chuckle before sitting up straighter.
Alice laughed and rolled her eyes. Distantly she could hear students wander out of the Great Hall and towards the stairs.
"I have a feeling there will be a few other people wanting privacy," She said softly, passing over the thoughts of one random sixth year boy. "How about we got up to one of the towers? No one else will want to go up there this late." She unfolded her legs from her body and rested her feet against the floor. Hundreds of students were now ranmbling up the moving stairs.
"Lead the way." Axel said, bringing himself into a standing position and stretching. He decided to let fire remain lit for the others.
((Shazam.))
Alice smiled and stood up. Looking over her shoulder she sashayed over to the door and pushed it open for Axel.
"Did you take an astronomy class?" She asked as she stepped out into the hall.
(( X.X ))
"At my other school." Axel said once he made it into the hall. He saw students coming up the stairs, their voices echoing off the ceiling.
"Why do you ask?"
Alice shrugged, starting down the hall.
"It looks amazing up in the towers at night. You can see the stars perfectly, even without my eyesight." She looked up at Axel, ignoring the hair that fell into her eyes. He looked different, somehow. Softer, maybe.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Axel grinned and took off running toward's the towers. He didn't bother waiting because he would be the having to catch up. By the time he made it to the tower, he wasn't out of breath at all.
((Rjejerir8i457fnvn....))
Alice laughed and raced after Axel. Instead of jogging ahead of him she stayed by his side. When they finally stopped she didn`t look like she had been running at all.
"Come on." She was grinning when she pushed the heavy door to the tower open. A cool burst of air rushed past her and she breathed in deeply.
"Wow, it's breezy up here." Axel said, as he stepped through the door. He felt the wind blow his hair all around and fought to keep his bangs out of his eyes until the wind stopped and there was only cold air.
Alice pushed her hair out of her eyes, holdin gher hand up until the wind stopped.
"Yeah, I figured that with two people who can use fire we could keep warm." She lowered her hand and snapped her fingers. A three-foot long length of fire burst up on one side of the tower with dark flames. The tower was instantly warmer.
Axel made little balls of fire to hover around them. And in a strange way, it made Alice look...well...pretty. The way the orange glow appeared on her skin. He smiled, but then shook her head. He would not fall for Seth's girl.
Axel stared up at the now dark sky and saw the stars, brighter than ever. You couldn't seem them like this in the city.
A shiver ran over Alice`s skin, and she looked at Axel. He smiled and shook his head. She wondered why he did that. With a sigh she layed down on the cool stone floor, facing up. She stared up at the sky with her large eyes, tracing the celestal lines in her mind.
((Blah.))
"So which is your favorite constellation? I like Leo the lion. Must be a Gryffindor thing." Axel said, taking a seat beside her. He looked at her once he asked the question.
Alice looked over to Axel.
"I like all of them. I like everything about the night sky. It just looks so... perfect and simple. Not much to it, but it`s more complicatd than you think." She shrugged. "Why do you ask?"
Axel shrugged and leaned back, supporting himself with his hands.
"Just wondering." He replied. He was disappointed that the moon was covered by the clouds, but was happy to be here with Alice, with this warmth. The warmth wasn't from the fire though.
Alice was quiet a moment, then leaned up on her forearms.
"I love nighttime. I loved it even before I was turned into a vampire. There`s just something about that`s so... welcoming, I guess." She said softly, her eyes again on the stars.
"It makes you feel...not so alone. Yet brings a sense of wonder." Axel wondered if his family was watching over him from the sky above.
Alice nodded and slowly leaned back until she was resting against the stone again.
"When I look at the sky I know that I`m not the only thing out here. It can get pretty lonely, and I think that`s part of the reason I like the sky so much."
She brought her hand to her forehead and closed her eyes.
"I wish I had some alcohol."
"Why do you want alcohol?" Axel asked, staring at her.
((WOOT!))
Alice opened her eyes and sat up.
"It makes my powers weaker. When I have alcohol in my system I can`t read minds and I can`t hear as well. It makes me feel more human, I guess." She explained, running her fingers through her long hair.
Axel looked at her sympathetically. He took his wand out of his pocket and pointed it at the walls.
"Accio...um...aw who cares. Accio Firewhiskey!" After a short moment, a large jug of firewhiskey came zooming out of an open window. The amber colored liquid swished around in the bottle as it landed delicately between the two.
Alice laughed softly and turned around so she was facing Axel.
"You didn`t have to do that. You could get in trouble." She said, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees. She could smell the cool liquid in the bottle and it was really tempting to pop it open, but she wouldn`t. Axel had brough it up, he could decide what to do with it.
Axel grinned and pushed the bottle towards her.
"Hey, I'm no goody-two-shoes. I don't care about serving detentions. If this makes makes you happy, then I'm happy." He twisted the lid off and smelled the familiar aroma of the whiskey. "It's for you, so go ahead. Take a sip."
Alice smiled and took the bottle. Raising it to her lips, she took a long sip.
"Thanks." She said with a huge grin. "But you have to have some, too. I`m not going to drink all of this by myself."
((>.<))
"No no. I think I've had enough for the next couple of days. You can save it for later if you don't finish it." Axel stood up and started moving around the balls of fire, making some disappear.
Alice set the bottle down and watched Axel for a few moment. With a laze flick of her hand the fire she had made jumped up with golden flames, dancing wildly before turning a pretty blue color and doing something that made it look like it was folding in on itself.
Alice smiled, and turned to face the human.
Axel laughed as he watched the flames dance. Fire was so beautiful. He turned around and smiled, looking at Alice.
"Do you dance?" He asked. It was kind of funny. Who would have thought Mr. Tough guy would be a dancer? Truthfully, he wasn't amazing. He couldn't do a ton of different moves, but he could dance.
Alice giggled.
"Uh, Axel, I was born in France where there were princes and queens and everything. Of course I can." She jumped up onto her feet. "What kind of dancing? Ballet? Minuet? Waltz? Name something." She was beaming, really. Her eyes glittered in the dim lighting and she seemed, well, alive.
Axel grimaced.
"Please, for the life of me. No ballet. But other than that, you can pick I suppose. I'm not very knowledgable of a lot of dances though."
Alice smiled, her perfect teeth flashing in the moonlight.
"Well, let`s try the waltz. It`s simple and not too hard to learn." She stepped close to Axel and put one hand on his shoulder. "I hope you know what to do for this part." She teased.
Axel winked at her and put on her waist, the other taking her hand.
"Isn't this how it goes?" He asked.
Alice nodded. Axel was just the perfect hight compared to her, and they worked perfectly for dancing parteners.
"Okay, now the basics are pretty simple. Just right, up, left, back. Like a square." She explained, taking the steps as she said them.
Axel nodded once, suddenly serious, but with a slight smile on his face.
Right, up, back, then left?
No, it was right, up, left, then back. He squeezed her hand gently before starting the movements, not once looking at the ground.
Alice laughed, easily reading the confusion on his face.
"It`s just a square, Axel. After you get that you can add things like twirls, crosses, and lifts." She winked, knowing that he would probably not like the idea of lifts based off of his reaction with the square.
Axel grinned, going back before lifting Alice into the air and spinning around. He was grinning but then the grin faded and Axel let her go, stepping away.
"I...I should go." He said softly.
Alice was smiling, and laughed again as Axel lifted her, but then he stepped away.
"Wh--why?" She asked. "You don`t have to go." She wondered what she had done. Had she made him angry, uncomfortable? She didn`t understand.
Axel started making some of the flames disappear, the area getting darker as the flames died out.
"You see, I have this problem. And being here isn't going to help any." He said, looking away from her. Finally, all that was left was her flame.
Alice watched the boy. He looked like he was trying to hide something, but the firewhiskey had tuned most of his thoughts out.
"Axel, you don`t have problems. I`m not human. I think I can deal with whatever problems you have."
"No, I really don't think you can." Axel walked over to the door and pushed it open.
"I think I'm starting to fall for you, and I can't do that to Seth. Even though he pisses me off, I just can't do that to him." He pressed his head against the cold door, closing his eyes, frustrated.
Alice took a half step back. Whatever she had been expecting his "problem" to be, that definatly hadn`t been it. She scrambled to get her thoughts together.
"I-- Axel, don`t be mad at yourself." She said softly, taking a tentative step towards him. "I... I really like you, really I do. I just don`t know how much I can handle right now with... Seth having just left a few days ago. But he left. He left me to take care of his mother. While I don`t entierly blame him for that, he did let me go. We weren`t doing so well when he went, and he made it pretty clear that it was over." She spoke softly. She didn`t want Axel to go. She liked having him close to her, for some reason.
Axel held out his hand, a sign telling Alice not to come closer. At least, not yet.
"Alice..., I don't want to fall for you." He bit his lip, put down his hand and looked at her. Actually, he did. He wanted to be with her instead of Seth when they dated. He didn't know her then, he barely knew her now. But they had a stange connection.
"See, I'm terrified. I've never liked anyone like this before. I think I should go back to my dorm. Maybe it will go away."
Alice stopped, her eyes wide. It felt like someone had wrapped their hand around her stomach. Maybe it will go away. How could he say something like that?
"But I don`t want you to go." She spoke so softly that she wandered if he would hear her. She didn`t want him to go. He made her feel warm and safe.
Axel sighed, and let the door close. He decided to stay. And sat down with his head against the wall.
Alice sat down where she was, crossing her legs. Now she felt bad. Axel looked really uncomfortable now. She wanted to know what he was thinking. She picked up the firewhiskey bottle and took another drink of it.
"I`m sorry." She said, putting the bottle down.
Axel looked at her and smiled.
"Don't be sorry. I'm sorry for being awkward. It just wouldn't be right if I didn't tell you." He got up and went to sit beside her. He picked up the bottle and took a large sip himself. Then he leaned over kissed her. Quick and simple.
"I'm so sorry for doing that."
Alice just looked at Axel for a moment, her face unreadable. She looked down and took the bottle from him, setting in ont he floor. Then she leaned over to him and gently pressed her lips against his. Pulling away her eyes flickered up to his.
"Now we`re even."
Axel raised a brow and smiled at her.
"Yeah. Yeah I guess we are." He said quietly.
Alice let a grin slowly appear. She reached for his hand and picked it up. His skin was hot against hers, and she loved it. She loved the warmth.
"So, I guess you didn`t like my dance lesson." She said, trying to stir up a conversation.
"No, I loved it. But I don't think I'm a waltzing type. Maybe with more practice." He looked down at their hands, holding each other. Her hand was as cold as ice.
"I might just stay here all night so I can watch the sunrise. You in?"
((Going to bed. G'night!))
((Nighties.))
Alice smiled.
"Sure. I love sunrises. They`re calm and... I don`t know, happy, I guess." She also looked down at their hands. Her skin was pure white in comparison to his darker hands.
((Bleh.))
Axel once again took out his wand.
"Accio blankets." He said with a swish of the wand. Three red fleece blankets zoomed out of the same open window and folded neatly onto Axel's lap. He stood up and spread the one blanket down on the ground and set the other two on top.
"Might as well get comfy. It's only like eight 'o' clock."
Alice smiled.
"I guess." She agreed, standing up. She moved to the side of the tower and leaned on the short wall. A soft breeze had picked up and blew her hair around her shoulders. Her dark eyes glittered when she looked up to the moon.
"And you were a little off. It`s about ten." She added.
"Time flies when you're having fun I suppose." Axel said with a short yawn. He rubbed his eyes. He was a little tired, but not enough to go to sleep.
((Eh.))
Alice turned to looked at Axel again when he yawned. In the dark night and the soft blue light of the fire his hair looked scarlet. His skin shone with a blue radiance, too, his eyes sharp under his bangs.
"Tired?" She asked softly. She never got tired, and it sort of bugged her. She wished she could sleep like humans could, to have eight hours a night when you didn`t have to do anything.
Axel shrugged.
"Not really." He said as he covered himself up with one of the blankets. He wrapped it around his body and pulled it up to his chin.
"Are you sure?" Alice asked, pushing off of the wall and sitting beside him with her legs crossed. "You know that I don`t sleep, but humans still do. I know that. I`ve had to deal with two hundred years of people sleeping at night. I get it if you want me to shut up and let you sleep." She said, tilting her head.
Without thinking about it she whisked her hair over her shoulder and started brushing her fingers through it. She could feel the individual strands of hair with her sensitive touch, and they tickeled her hands.
"I don't want you to shut up and I don't want to sleep." Axel said, watching her play with her hair. "I want to stay up and watch the sunrise." He wrapped the blanket around him a little tighter and looked up at the sky.
"Oh." Alice said softly. She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, looking up at the sky. She didn`t know what to say now. Axel seemed kind of... closed off, like he didn`t really want her there. But he had said that he didn`t want her to shut up.
Undecisive, she didn`t say anything for a while. Finally she turned to fully face him. His whole body looked rigid, tight, like he was nervous or anxious. He didn`t smell like he was, but that could be from the alcohol. Scanning his shoulders she realized that his muscles were notted together in a way that couldn`t always be comfortable.
"Uhm, this may seem weird, but you look tense. Do you... mind if I massage your shoulders?"
((>.<))
Axel looked at her and grinned.
"Well, I mean...if you really want to." He pulled down the blanket so that is was around his waist. "We need oil." He said in a swedish accent, sarcastically.
Alice rolled her eyes but grinned. She moved so that she was behind Axel, her knees on either side of his hips. She leaned forward a little, so her lips were close to his ear.
"Excuse my cold hands. They just can`t stay warm." She whispered, alos using an accent. Hers of course was leaning more towards Vally-Girl than anything else. She smiled and rested her hands on his shoulders. His shoulders were straight and strong, she could tell that by looking at him. She moved her hands apart, closing her eyes.
She could smell him now. The scent of his blood was strong, stronger than she had smelled it before. She could tell instantly that Axel and Seth had the same blood type. Nonetheless, she knew that Axel`s blood would taste a lot different than Seth`s.
Without needed to think about what she had to do Alice started to knead Axel`s shoulders. Her strong fingers moved as if she had been massaging people`s shoulders her whole life. In truth, she had hardly ever done anything like this, but she had a cheat. Whenever she drank a person`s blood she gained some of their knowledge. She was taking a part of them, so a part of them came into her. She had drunk from many a masoos before.
((I know that it isn`t spell right, but I don`t care.))
Axel closed his eyes and layed his head back. The massage felt great. And Alice's voice in his ear gave him chills.
"You're good." Axel said. "We you a masousse*Sp* in a past life?"
((UGH!))
Alice laughed softly.
"No, but I`ve had a lot of time to work on anything I wanted." Her voice trailed off, clearly implying everything else. Two hundred years was a long time to not do thing.
((That sounds really bad.))
She continued to work the knots out of his shoulders, soon trailing down to his upper back.
"Oh, so you are sweet and innocent Alice after all." Axel said because of her comment. He laughed as she went to his upper back. His neck tingled from the cold that used to be there.
Alice laughed again, but darkly.
"Axel, Axel, Axel, you haven`t seen my bad side yet." She moved her hands so they were flat against his back and gently pushed her thumbs down in two spots. Pressure points. She smiled widely as she pushed the spots hard, moving closer to Axel.
"Trust me, there`s a lot more to see."
Axel turned his head, so that he could sort of see her.
"Oh?" He grunted as she pressed his pressure points. "Like what?"
Alice looked into Axel`s eyes, the moon making hers seem like they were glowing.
"That`s something you`re going to have to find out by yourself." Without warning-- for Axel or herself-- she leaned forward and pressed her lips hard against his.
Axel kissed her back and brought his hands to her waist.
"Is this what I was supposed to find out?" Axel asked between the kiss.
Alice smiled, her mouth close to his.
"Hell no. I`m dangerous, Axel, you just don`t believe me." She wrapped her arms around his shoulder, her fingers running into his thick hair.
((Blagh.))
"No." Axel said, smirking. "I don't. Prove it." He pushed his lips crashing back against hers.
((I just heard this song on TV go "Secret Lovvvveeerrrs.))
((Lol.))
Alice growled. It wasn`t a human-sounding growl, either, it was the sound of an animal. One moment Alice and Axel were in the center of the tower, tangled together, the next Alice was pressing Axel against the short wall that edged the whole thing. Her eyes were sharp and dangerous, alert, and her hands pinned Axel down.
"I`m not going to show you what a monster I am." She said, her lips brushing his when she spoke.
Axel was a little puzzled, but his hormones were in the way of his thoughts. Alice had wanted to die before, but now she was all over him. What about Seth? He put it in the back of his head, kissing her, bringing his lips to her neck, her collarbone.
"I'm curious." He said.
Alice leaned back a little, her eyes bright.
"About what?" She tilted her head to the side, making her black hair fall over her shoulders and into her eyes.
((Blagh.))
"I want to see this monstrous side of you." Axel said, smirking. "I don't believe for one second that you are a monster, no matter how much you tell me."
Like Seth, Axel would refuse to believe that Alice was a monster. Even if she grew fangs and stared at him with bloodthirsty red eyes, he would still never call her a monster.
Alice leaned back more until her back hit the wall and she crossed her arms. She could tell that proving it to him wouldn`t be an easy task to do.
"Well, what do you propose I do? Kill someone right in front of you? Suck the life on them and let you watch the light leave their eyes? Make you watch me attack a harmless bear and rip it into shreds with my bare hands? What is it going to take?" Her voice wasn`t kidding, she was completely serious now. Her eyes were cold and flat. She had killed many people and things before. She had given it up for a while, but she would kill again to show Axel that she meant buisiness.
Axel's mouth dropped. He blinked a few times before shaking his head.
"Sorry. I...no. I really don't need to see something else die in front of my eyes." He said coldly. He didn't mean to be that way. He was still bitter about what happened years ago.
Alice heard the note in his voice and something in her instanly dropped.
"Axel, look, I`m sorry. I didn`t mean it like that. But what else am I going to have to do to make you see what I really am?" She spoke softly in a deafeated tone. Slowly she moved so she was right in front of him. She slid her cold hands into his and stared into his eyes. He made her think of Seth, with his cautious eyes. God, the eyes were so alike.
"I know what it`s like to lose people, Axel. I`ve been through the same thing a thousand times over." She whispered now. She wanted-- needed-- him to understand this, and she didn`t know why.
"Why don't you go after Seth?" Axel said suddenly, sitting up but still holding her icy hands. "Find him and tell him how you feel. This thing between us, I mean...I like it. But just a little while ago you wanted me to kill you. How do I know you're over him. Are you over him?" It felt wrong to kiss her without knowing how she felt about him. What if it was just lust? Sure, Axel didn't mind kissing her. He liked it. Her lips were like ice cubes and he loved how they felt against his. But if she still wanted his cousin, then he needed to cut this off.
Alice looked down at their hands, her mind spinning.
"When you live as long as I do you can`t live in the past." She asnwered simply and softly. "If I lived in the past I would still be in shock over losin gmy family two hundred years ago. I could never move forward if I didn`t let things go. Seth left. He`s in the past. Earlier was like... a breakdown, if you will. I was sick of living, if this is what you call living. I`m sick of being stuck here, having to experience the same things over and over again." She met his eyes now.
"Here you came along, in the present, and made me feel different. I forgot about everything. I stopped caring about Seth, and started caring about you. You`re now, not then. You`re here and real, and I like you." She added the last past in a somewhat shy voice. That was something she hadn`t felt in a while. Wow, everything was getting messed up lately.
Axel tilted his head, smiling. She liked him? She really did? This wasn't just some act to get over Seth? Some sort of...comfort? He touched her hair, then kissed her again, pressing his lips hard against hers.
((Ghfshnsdfklasjfas.))
Alice smiled shyly, returning the kiss. He was hot against her, and she could feel everything, the rough feel of his hands in hers, his heartbeat pounding through her, his warm breath. She felt it all. For some reason it gave her the chills. She realized that she had pulled her senses back from the world so she wouldn`t be hit with every little thing everyone felt. She had just let herself relax.
"Huh." She mumbled, pulling away slightly.
Axel exhaled softly before moving beside her. He put his arm around her shoulder.
"Huh." He repeated.
Alice insictively leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder.
"It`s... quiet." She said softly. "I can`t hear anyone else."
"I hear the wind." Axel said. "And your voice." He shivered under the blanket. "You know, we can watch the sunrise inside. Want to go back to the Common Room? Everyone should be in their dorms by now anyway."
Alice moved away when he shivered.
"Sorry, I`m probably not helping." She said softly, distracted. "Yeah, we can go back downstairs if you want." She didn`t hear hardly anything. She heard herself and Axel and everything naturally occuring, but otherwise she couldn`t hear any of the other students. A wave of calmness was washing around her and it felt amazing.
Completely absorbed in her own mind she sighed heavily and happily. Quiet at last.
Axel stood up and used his wand to send everything back under his bed. He looked at Alice and took her hand. "Is this okay?" He asked, nodding towards their hands.
Alice smiled and knodded.
"Sure, just tell me if you get cold." The silence wrapped around her. She didn`t understand why everything was quiet, but she didn`t care. It wasquiet.
"Lead the way."
Axel lead her slowly down to the Common Room portrait,where the Fat Lady gave him a dirty look, and through the entrance. The fire was still going, but dying, giving off a dim lighting. Nobody was down there, all upstairs doing who knew what.
He looked at Alice and stepped close to her. Stroking her cheek.
Alice smiled and closed her eyes, leaning forward on her toes. This quiet-- the peace that she felt-- was so amazing. She thought it might come from Axel, but she really didn`t know.
"I really do like you." She whispered, reflective eyes still closed.
((----Skipping to our plot. =D Stacey, I'll let you have the honor of beginning since you like to not tell me things.----))