Forever (Original)

Forever [19: Dark-Eyed Dreamers - They were a Dangerous Pair.]

Forever: Dark-Eyed Dreamers - They Were a Dangerous Pair

Two months had passed in the town of Auburn, Maine, and a thick blanket of snow now covered the grounds. A group of students, most of them wearing maroon Edward Little hoodies and sweats, were engaged in a very violent snowball fight behind the library.

Maria hit the ground and packed snow into a lopsided sphere as one was launched over her head and hurled her weapon as hard as she could at Vincent. He attempted to jump out of the snowball’s path, but was still grazed on the shoulder.

Two months, and the group had nearly forgotten about Nigel and the boys and girls from Saint Dominic’s. Two months, and Maria hadn’t heard from Nigel once. Two months, and life had almost returned to its normal routine.

Will stood at a distance, watching all of his old friends together and having fun without him. He missed it all so much. It was only a year ago when he was the one Maria paired off with when they went into teams. Biting his lip, he held back his tears. He was very tempted to run to them and tell them all how very much he loved them all. To tell them what had happened after his death. All he wanted was to be with his best friends again.

“Come on, Will,” Serena said softly. She took his hand in her own, and squeezed comfortingly.

He roughly pulled away from her and turned around. He hesitated before walking away. Walking away from his closest friends – from his sister. It was a truly heartbreaking moment for him and he absolutely hated Nigel for being the one keeping him away from her.

~x~

Across the floor of her room lay a tangled mess of arms, legs, and sleeping bags. Jane, Kirsten, Vincent, Noah, Alex, Brook, Seth, Cadan, Mark, and the newest additions to their group of friends, Jennifer and Leah were all sleeping the night at Maria’s house.

Only hours before the house was full of screaming and violence. It was very hard to believe that twelve very loud and fierce teenagers could all sleep under the same roof, more or less in the same room.

Though if you were to look into the window, you’d see one girl sitting on the other side of the glass, watching the snow falling outside. The streetlamp just beyond the sidewalk was her only source of light, though it was dim.

At her side lay a leather-bound diary and a pen.

As Maria let her thoughts take over, she shut her eyes. It didn’t help that the images in her head were of people she didn’t want to see. Will with sweat dripping down his cheeks, Nigel flashing her his award-winning grin, Ivory glaring harshly.

When Maria opened her eyes, rather extraordinary sight fell before her eyes. Lights of all colors decorated the fence, the roof, and everything in between. Some flashed, and some didn’t. One had a small electric music box that played Jingle Bells.

“Like it?” Will asked. “I helped my mom do the fence!”

“It’s so pretty!” Maria exclaimed. She looked up at the house, feeling a bit envious. Her mom wouldn’t even be home for Christmas. She had to stay with her grandparents for the next three weeks.

Will looked over at his best friend. He watched her for a moment as she stared at his house with a blank expression. Without thinking, he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

She blinked again.

The water was calm. Two clear lines led up from the lake and were strung through fishing lines that were duct-taped firmly to the inner rim of Will’s small rowboat.