Sit Still, Look Pretty · Julie And The Phantoms ·

Wilted Flower

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Alex hurried out of the rehearsal space, trying to keep up with Alba, but she weaved through the hallways better than he ever could. She'd been living here longer than he had, she knew her way around better, and she was using it to her advantage. He called out to her, letting her know he was trying to talk to her, but she ignored him.

The next corner she turned, he lost sight of her entirely. She must have poofed out. However, Alex did run into someone. Willie. He stared at Alex, concern on his face as he watched him peer around him. "Where did she go?" he asked Willie.

"Alba? Probably to her room," Willie answered, awkwardly playing with the skateboard in his hands. He'd been avoiding Alex the last few days and Alex couldn't decide if he was grateful he had or upset that he had. "Why do you care?" asked Willie, eyebrows furrowed as Alex finally made eye contact with him.

"Because I'm a decent person," he stated, stepping around Willie and attempting to walk down the hallway.

"Whatever happened, it's not your business," Willie told him, following Alex along the hallway until he stopped and turned to him.

"Do you know that he books private shows for her? That he'll let disgusting Lifers pay him to lock her in a room with them?" Alex asked, but his tone was accusatory. He already knew that Willie was well aware. He knew what Caleb was like, he had been at the Hollywood Ghost Club long enough. Just like Alba. "I don't care if it's not my business. She's upset and afraid and it's not hard to guess that no one else is going to try and comfort her."

Alex turned on his heels, continuing down the hallway. Willie sighed heavily, making Alex's shoulder tense. Why did he have to be on Caleb's side? He didn't have to be on theirs, but Caleb's? After the shit that they'd seen over the last few days, the pain he'd inflicted on them with his Marks? Alex couldn't fathom how anyone could be on Caleb's side, let alone not have an issue with what he'd been doing.

"You're going the wrong way," Willie called after him, before he was in front of Alex. "Her room is that way."

Willie guided Alex through the halls, walking him past the hallway that Alex recognized because the room he and the guys shared was on it. He didn't say much, just that it was important to remember specific things, particularly signs on the walls. Caleb had built the place like a maze so it was difficult to navigate, it was deliberate. The residents relied on him or others who were under his thumb to make sure they didn't get lost.

Apparently, it'd be easier to poof around after a little while, but Willie didn't say how long 'a little while' was.

Guiding Alex along a hallway that was very different from the one his room was on, Willie paused momentarily. The doorknobs were different from the ones along his hallway, the doors were, too. This floor looked fancier, less cheap dive motel and more five star hotel. Clearly, Caleb favored the people on this floor more than the ones on Alex's floor.

"Her room door has a bird on it," explained Willie, not moving from his spot. Songbird, that's what she was marketed as. Alex was beginning to feel even more sorry for the girl. He took a few steps away from Willie, turning back to him with a frown. "She won't be happy to see me." Willie had a frown on his face, he wouldn't even look Alex in the eye.

"You know, you don't have to be his puppet," Alex told Willie, only for Willie to laugh, but it was entirely without humor. He shook his head, but said nothing before he disappeared right before Alex's eyes.

Why did he have to fall for Caleb's little errand boy?

Knocking gently on the door with the bird pinned to it, Alex listened for any noise coming from inside. There wasn't any sound. Not movement, anyway. He didn't leave, however, and waited. When he was about to knock again, he heard the faint sound of someone sniffling. Someone was crying.