The Vibe House - The Stalker

Elldog Smelldog

Finally, Ellie was home. The day had seemed to drag on longer than she would've liked, and after the somewhat concerning incidents she had just witnessed, she was certainly ready to unwind. Without hesitation, she swiftly took off her blazer and tie, sprinted up the stairs into her bedroom and flung herself onto her bed, who's sheets seemed far more comfy than she had remembered. She peeled back her enormous world map displayed on her wall to uncover her poster of Leonardo DiCaprio. It was a small poster, yet it's size didn't matter to her whatsoever. The poster was evidently very much loved, as displayed by the many bright-red kiss marks peppered across it. She laid back on her pillow with a sigh, and stared into Leo's iridescent eyes, who seemed to stare back with a sense of empathy and understanding that only he could express. It's near impossible to convey in words the immense consolation she experienced simply by gazing into those orbs of his. All of her concerns and anxieties seemed to be drowned by his mere existence, as she wandered by the banks of his lagoon of splendor and contentment.

However, her brief moment of bliss was cut short by a rustling outside. Resentfully, she arose from her bed, and, annoyed by the sudden interruption, threw her curtains open. It was now 5 o'clock, and whilst it was by no means late, it was undoubtably dark, especially for 5 o'clock. Suspiciously, her eyes studied the garden, looking for even the smallest movement to link back to the source of the rustling. In another brief moment of peace, perhaps prompted by Leo's presence, albeit in paper form, she admired her back garden. The patches of grass provided much needed colour to the landscape. Each leaf looked as though it had been meticulously crafted by a masterful artist, and was now on display at nature's gallery for the rest of the garden to admire. A small figure darted out of view. The flowers swa- wait a second... Ellie's eyebrows shot up in alarm. The small figure had disappeared before she could get a good look at it, and where exactly it had gone was uncertain. She further studied the garden, scouring for the little silhouette, yet secretly hoping, praying, begging that it could not be found, though once again, she was rudely interrupted by a frantic banging at her front door. Startled, she gingerly (haha) crept down her staircase, her eyes fixed on the front door, trying her best to make out the figure that stood at the other side through the semi-transparent glass windows. She held her breath, closed her eyes and braced herself for whoever, or whatever, could be behind the door, which seemed to her an insufficient barrier between her and the potential threat lurking outside.  Warily, she felt her hand tremble its way to the door handle, gently yet forcefully gripping it, and after a deep breath, yanked it wide open.
"Lucy?" she cried in surprise. And there she was, Lucy Bryan herself, with tears in her eyes.
"That stupid spackhead," spluttered Lucy, clearly in distress. Ellie knew all too well who she was referring to, the boy with the untidy brown mane of hair who had done Lucy such a great injustice. She welcomed her friend in and politely ordered her to make herself feel at home.

Lucy was clearly in a great deal of pain. The love of her life had been caught cheating with another woman, and not just any woman, a much older woman. Lucy wondered how he ever felt his actions were acceptable, and whether he even stopped to consider them at all. Her heart ached for him, yet she knew she was not ready to accept his inadequate apology. But most of all, she was completely overcome by a hatred for Emma Dobson, the woman who had been the perpetrator of so much heartbreak that Lucy couldn't stand to even think of her.

Lucy sat at the kitchen table with her head in her hands as Ellie observed a single tear slowly trickle down Lucy's wrist, as if it were competing in a competition for the world's most loneliest tear, with no opponents. Ellie perched herself on the leather barstool and swung herself around to face her best friend.
"You don't need him," she said, though it was more of a whisper. It had only been a minute since Lucy had entered the house, though the look of despair they shared with each other confirmed that they both felt like hours had passed. The echoes of the incident seemed to hang over them, reverberating around the kitchen walls, lingering inside their minds. Lucy was lost for words. She attempted to speak up, though only weak mumbles could escape her mouth, which for Ellie, were enough to grasp exactly what Lucy had meant to say.
"I know," replied Ellie with an understanding only she could express. She felt like Lucy's equivalent of her Leo DiCaprio poster. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Lucy shook her head. They sat there in near silence. Eternities could pass by in an instant, and neither of them would notice nor care. All that mattered at that very moment was the deep level of understanding between them both.

The evening grew darker and darker, until the sun hadn't the strength to shine any longer, and called upon its friend, the moon, to take over. And though everything outside seemed dark, the Reddish house was in a much brighter mood than before. The two friends sat opposite each other in Ellie's brightly lit bedroom, each of them clutching their phones, embracing the soothing distraction provided by Buzzfeed quizzes.
"Here's one," chuckled Ellie. "Which Starbucks Frappuccino matches your personality?" she interrogated in a joking manner. Lucy laughed, and continued scrolling. It seemed as though they had lost interest in taking the quizzes, and simply found more enjoyment in mocking the ridiculous titles given to them. Only a limited amount of enjoyment could be reaped from finding out your spirit animal is a dolphin, or discovering your personality matches that of a sourdough bun, yet still the pair managed to squeeze every last drop of humour from them. But as they giggled at "What Your Zodiac Sign Says About Your Soulmate," they failed to hear the strange shuffling noises coming from the shadowy garden.