Beautiful ➳ Neil Perry.

deux

"You gotta tell me more! You just gotta!"

Alice was walking down the hallway, textbooks in her arms, with Chris at her side. Chris couldn't keep stillㅡ Alice never talked about a boy for more than thirty seconds. And if she did, it would only ever be about her father. Alice chuckled, walking into the English classroom, followed by Chris.

"I've told you enough, Chris. What else do you want to know?"

"Everything! Anything! Just tell me more, Alice!"

"Well," Alice took a seat in her usual spot, beside the window, "I don't know a lot about him, but I'd like to see him again."

Alice felt her smile growing, hiding it away from Chris by looking outside the window. Chris was giggling, but Alice payed no attention; her mind continued to drift to the thoughts of him throughout the day. Though she didn't have a lot to say about the boy, Chris did continue to ask her questions about him throughout the day.

"If he's Knox Overstreet's friend, then he must be from Welton!"

"Yes," Alice said, "He's told me that."

"Do you plan on visiting him at all?"

"What would be my reason?"

Alice did want to see him again, but at the same time, she didn't want to look desperate. What if he didn't feel the same way? He could've lost interest in her after only sharing one conversation with her. At the end of the day, Alice decided she'd leave it all to fate.

"By the way, Chris, my father and Elsbeth are gone for the next week. They've gone to Florida. Business related things. You can come over for dinner, Chris!"

Alice was never allowed to invite any friends over to their house when Elsbeth was around. Whenever Elsbeth had to leave the town for work, Alice suddenly had the urge to invite Chris over for as long as she could possibly stay. Elsbeth had once met Chris, and disliked her "overly-kind and try-hard personality". After meeting Chris, Elsbeth never wanted to meet any of Alice's other friends.

"Really? Of course I'll come!" she almost jumped in excitement. Today, Chris seemed more energetic than usual. After breaking up with Chet, the weight on her shoulders must've been removed. "By the way, Adrienne and Jessica from Math were looking for you. They said they needed to ask you something?"

"Ah, I have PE with them this afternoon. Don't worry, I'll ask them about it then."

Jessica and Adrienne were twins from Alice's PE class. They have been friends for a long time, though they were never as close to Alice as Chris was. They had been to Alice's house only once, which had been the time Elsbeth left for Paris two years ago. Chris had also been invited to that gathering, and all the girls ever did that night was gossip and eat chocolates.

That was another thingㅡ Alice was never allowed to eat chocolate. Elsbeth hated chocolate, and banned it from being eaten in the house. You could eat anything but chocolate, or anything chocolate flavoured. Just to be safe, Alice never really ate in front of Elsbeth besides dinner. Although, Alice did eat on her own many times. Her constantly travelling parents had both advantages and disadvantages. She had that extra freedom to do as she wishes without them waiting for her at home, but she did feel that bitter loneliness at night.

Soon, the afternoon came, and it was time for Alice's PE class. Out of all the classes she had, PE had to be one of her weakest, although she wasn't too terrible. Jessica and Adrienne were waiting for Alice outside the locker room as usual, already dressed in their uniforms. Though the girls were twins, Alice could tell the difference between the two girls after knowing them for so long.

"Alice, we've been looking for you all day!" Jessica's short, curly hair bounced off her shoulders as she spoke.

"Really?" Alice tied her hair into a ponytail, "Is anything wrong?"

"Quite the opposite, actually! Do you remember Charlie Dalton? From the art gallery last Sunday!"

Alice had to think back to last week when she, Chris, Jessica and Adrienne last visited the art gallery.

"I do," she replied, "Why?"

"He's agreed to introduce us to his friends! Apparently, they're all quite handsome, too! We thought you'd be interested, so we said you'd come, too!"

"Me? You know I'm not allowed toㅡ" Alice paused, as if something suddenly popped into her head in the middle of her sentence. Her father and Elsbeth were not going to be home. She could get out of the house and come back at whatever time she wanted.

"You can't make it? That's a shameㅡ we already said you would." Jessica pouted. Before the twins could turn away disappointed, Alice put a hand on Adrienne's shoulder.

"Wait," she called out, "I'll be there."

* * *

Two hours after Chris left Alice's house, the clock struck twelve. It was midnight. It also signalled the hour Alice promised she'd meet Adrienne, Jessica, and the others at the cave by the creek. It was quite a distance to walk from Alice's house, but she didn't mind it at all. It gave her time to think to herself.

She soon came to a grassy meadow which she walked through, feeling relieved when she caught sight of the cave ahead of her. It was at least fifteen minutes past twelve when she arrived at the entrance of the cave. She paused before entering, catching her breath. She could hear the voices of her friends talking from inside of the cave. Alice waited a while, hoping to make an entrance when the time was right.

"Is she coming tonight?" she heard a male ask.

"She said she would," it was Jessica's voice, "She won't disappoint. She's very pretty."

Alice, baffled, wondered how that last comment was even relevant to his question. She entered the cave, not able to see a thing in front of her. All she could see is a fire in the centre, a number of figures surrounding it. Finally, she was close enough to recognise Jessica and Adrienne, who had cigarettes placed between their thin fingers. A little taken aback, Alice blinked, trying to figure out whether she was only seeing things or if it was for real.

Alice took a seat beside Adrienne, who shuffled over a large rock to make room for her friend. With a friendly smile forming on her face, Alice looked around the cave to capture the appearances of the unfamiliar strangers situated around the cave. The only familiar faces were of Jessica Coutts, Adrienne Coutts, and Charlie Dalton. That was until she laid her eyes on the person sitting on her leftㅡ he did look very familiar. She then realised there was no way she could have forgotten after meeting him that one night at Chris Noel's party.