Simple Parts (from fanfiction.net)

Chapter Five- Just Can't Sleep

Simple Parts

Chapter Five- Just Can't Sleep

Sleep the city lights are lonely
Wake with the stars that came before me
Dream a dream a dream a dream
Will you dream a dream for me
I lay awake in my bed with the stars to comfort for me

QFRB

Alice's room looked like something out of a magazine or movie. It was bright and airy. The base and crown moldings were white, the walls a lovely baby blue, and all the furniture was white French Provincial and looked suited for a princess. The full canopy bed matched the color scheme further with a duvet only a shade darker than the walls and gauzy white hangings that were matched at the window in the room. A white throw blanket with a pattern of little blue birds was draped over the baseboard. On the bedside table there was delicate lamp, white, and a pair of black framed glasses. There was a writing desk to the left of the door with a tablet computer sitting on top along with a fancy calligraphy set. On the back of the chair was a Cheerio letterman jacket, and a red Cheerio backpack was in the chair. The top of the vanity was scattered with various makeups, creams, cleansers and a few medication bottles. To the right of the door stood a large white bird cage. Inside, seven little blue birds were flitting around, chirping and singing and building nests in three hamster balls that had been suspended around the cage. There was no bookshelf. Instead floating shelves had been installed around the room like a border. A few of the shelves held well loved books, bindings so cracked from being bent back that the tittles were obscured. Others held little trinkets. A few were dedicated to little porcelain dolls. The majority held awards, trophies, medals, and (both Quinn and Rachel noted) two shiny tiaras.

Alice noticed their gazes as she passed them to fall onto her bed. "Junior Prom and Homecoming," she informed them without arrogance or pride, just a bored sort of acknowledgement. "Pass me my bag and tablet, would you?"

Quinn was closer to the desk so ended up following the order. Alice took the items and patted the spot beside her. Quinn climbed onto the bed carefully and sat beside the girl, smoothing her dress a little more carefully than she usually would to prolong not having to look up and see what Rachel was doing.

"Are you going to go out for Senior Prom Queen?" she asked as a further distraction.

Alice replied as she dug through her bag, pulling another, far more battered, tablet out. "Yeah, but I won't win. There's this new girl, Lené, she's pretty much the nicest girl on the planet. She's beautiful and blonde and, get this, she windsurfs. How badass is that? Everyone loves her. Hell, I'll probably vote for her." A silence stretched between them while Alice fiddled with the two computers.

Rachel moved after a minute of not being acknowledged and found herself standing in front of the birdcage, watching the little blue birds fly from perch to perch and steal bits of grass from each other. "What kind of birds are these?" She didn't notice the way Quinn's eyes tracked every movement she made.

"Cordon Bleu Finches. The one with the red cheeks is Sounder, the rest of them don't have names cause they're too hard to tell apart."

"They're pretty."

"Yeah, fucking expensive too. That's a six hundred dollar investment you're looking at. Took me forever to save it up." Alice patted the bed on her other side. "Come sit down."

Rachel did as bid. "You bought them yourself?"

"My parents are kind of anti-pet. We had a cat when I was younger, she was the devil. She died a while ago, lived nearly twenty years, which just further proves she was an evil spirit or something, 'cause that's just unnatural. But yeah, I wanted birds and they said I could jolly well save up my allowance and buy them myself. So I did."