Beautiful Apparation (Tony Perry FF)

twenty-three

Alysha called. I was surprised at first, but thought about it. She really doesn't have anyone else to keep her occupied. Sure she has Mike and photoshoots, but from what I could tell, her and Danielle do everything together. Even if she is using me I could care less, I need to get out of the house.

"When is Alysha getting here?" Tony asks shifting in the bed so he's facing me.

"Any minute now, we're going shopping." Not my favorite thing, but I can survive.

He chuckles, "Then you'll be gone for quite awhile."

"Is she really that bad?" I groan.

"Depends if you like shopping, which I know you don't."

Before I can respond, there's a knock on the door. Tony kisses me lightly and I get out of bed. Daryl follows me to greet this stranger he hasn't met yet. I open the door and tell her to put her hand out for Daryl to sniff so he doesn't hurt her.

She does so giggling. "I have a dog too, Frankie. Maybe next time we should go to the dog park."

"Totally," I say locking the door behind me. Daryl doesn't bark, only because Tony's there.

>>>

The drive to the outlets isn't far. I haven't been to this side of town so there's plenty to look at. All of the stores we pass in the car look super pricey but I decide to just go with it. I have some extra cash that I can blow.

After twenty minutes of searching we finally find a parking spot. We get out and search for a store to browse. I swear I probably look like a rag doll standing next to Alysha. She's Barbie material, I mean that in the best way.

"This is my favorite shop!" She pulls me into a store called Underground Necessities.

The vibe in here is very grunge. I'm surprised she wanted to come in here. I was expecting a place like Victoria's Secret to be honest. God, I need to stop assuming things about people.

Alysha and I part ways to look through everything. I find a tee that I love. It has the words, 'Resist, Rebel, Revolt!' Only 7.99 too, definitely in my range.

"That is so cute!" Alysha comes up from behind me. Her hands are full of clothes, have we been in here that long?

"Thanks, am I taking forever?"

She laughs, "No. I'm just in love with nearly everything in here. I'm gonna go pay for these then I'll help you pick out a few things, sound cool?"

I nod my head and she walks off. I browse still as she's away, finding two more tops. On her way back I notice she has a few things in her hands.

"I picked these out for you."

I observe them all as she showed them to me one by one. She explained why she chose them and what made them stand out. I didn't know skin tone was a thing I'd have to pay attention to while picking out clothing. At first I thought she was over thinking it. I proved myself wrong when I tried on everything. They were perfect for me.

I left that store seventy dollars poorer, but it was worth it. Next we get a bite to eat at a local deli. I didn't feel like pigging out so I had what Alysha had, a caesar chicken salad. We sit at a table in the front where we could see all the people who walked past.

"So," Alysha takes a sip of her water. "Danielle is coming back soon, you excited?"

I saw this coming. We ran out of things to talk about. It's like she was waiting for some type of excuse to bring her up, I didn't provide any, so she did it on her own.

"Yea, I think her staying there makes it worse. It's not her natural environment. She needs to be around us. Being in there can ruin you."

"Agreed." She takes a chunk of salad into her mouth. "I'm just scared."

Guess I'm going to play therapist for today. In my mind, I pull out my non existent notebook and pen.

"That's okay," I console. "You're not the only one. Just put that feeling aside for now. Danielle will be back to normal in no time. I swear it."

She sighs, "I sure hope so. Anyways, how's work?"

"Slow, but it doesn't bother me too much. Even when it is busy, I feel like I hardly work because I like it a lot. What about you?"

"That's cool and it's going really good. I just hate when pervs show up on the set. It ruins everything."

I've seen her shoots so I can understand why guys probably drool over her. I wonder if Mike saw her picture somewhere and was like, She needs to be mine.

"That's how nearly all guys are," I scoff.

"True. The only genuine ones I really hang out with is the guys and my photographers. Most of them are gay anyways," She laughs and I join.

She gets quiet suddenly. "I think you and Tony would've really hit it off."

I play dumb. "Tony? Perry?"

"Yes, you guys are like the same to me. I don't know. There's something about you that reminds me of him."

I feel myself sweat.

"Wish I could've met the guy." I begin to play with the bracelet he gave me.

"I forgot to mention that I love your bracelet." She holds my wrist, turning it. "Tony also liked sea turtles."

She suddenly shakes her head, letting go of my wrist. "I think we should go. I feel my phone buzzing in my pocket, has to be Mike."

I don't protest, only get up and make my way out first. The drive home is tense, for me at least. I couldn't stop thinking about what Alysha said. Tony and I could've had something if he hadn't... ugh. I need to stop thinking selfishly. Everything does happen for a reason, Tony's reason I'm still trying to figure out.

She drops me off at my house and I enter my home with high hopes Tony isn't here. I need to be alone with my thoughts. Of course that didn't last long as I hoped.

"Hey," He greets. "I see you got a bunch, let me take that for you."

"No, I got it." I walk past him into the room. After throwing the bags of clothes to the side, I let myself fall on the bed. Why is shopping so draining?

"Is something wrong?" He asks laying next to me.

That's when I realize I can bring up something that's been on my mind lately.

"What are we?"

He remains quiet.

"Tony, you and I both know this can't go on forever."

"We can make it work," He says nearly audible.

I sigh, "I'm sorry. I should have never let it get this far."

"Stop talking like that. You're the closest to life I've got. You promised me you'd never leave, remember?"

"I'm not leaving Tony," I assure. "I'm just confused as to what this is, and how long it's going to last."

I couldn't live like this forever, I do love him, it hurts to admit, but I can't help it. If I were to leave for good, try to become what he is, I'd not only be hurting my mom, but also all of my friends. I can't lose them.

"I need time alone," I whisper.

"Alone?"

"Yes, alone."

When there's no response, I know he's gone.

---

is audrey being a pain or what? god. (;

danielle will be making a comeback next chapter! ayeeee!

any predictions?

btw update on the school thing... it isn't too bad. also why i haven't updated in a bit sowwy!