Chapter 5
"Zachariah!" A voice screamed as soon as we entered the park. I looked around in confusion and saw a short woman striding rapidly towards us. "You're wasting time with your noise-making group again! And that sweet boy Liam!"
"Sorry mom." Zach said sheepishly "We're showing Lexa around." He gestured to me.
"Is that the new girl? She looks lovely! Hello darling!" She was talking to me like I was toddler.
"Hello..?" I replied, saying it like a question.
"Well I have to get back to work! Oh and take her boating, the weather is perfect." And just like that, she was gone. There was an awkward moment is silence which I interrupted.
"Your name is Zachariah?"
"I really wish it wasn't." he muttered. "Let's just go see the damn animals."
We went to the zoo and his mood got better as everyone fooled around and forgot about the whole confrontation. "I know how it feels to have a suck-ish name." I told him.
"What is it?"
"Alexandra." I said sourly.
"It's not so bad. It's just not you though." he replied.
"Tell me about it."
"Hey are you guys complaining about your names? Because it sucks being compared to somebody from One Direction." Liam scowled.
"Well at least your name isn't in Twilight." Jasper added.
Then Scarlett came, told us to stop whining and insisted that we go boating like Zach's mom suggested. I frowned. I wasn't particularly good at boating. Even after voicing my concerns, they dragged me unwillingly to the lake. A chill went down my spine when I saw the boat we were supposed to sit in. All the way to our watery graves. OK, maybe I was being a little too dramatic. But still. A boat full of teenagers is never a good idea. It screams DANGER.
We got in and I was calmed by the systematic way Liam and Jasper were rowing. We were all chatting amicably about our shared love of Bon Jovi when Zach stood up and started dancing around a pretend stage. The boat started rocking and I held onto the side. Everyone else was smiling, calm. And then he lost his balance and fell into the water. He didn't re-appear for some time.
"Oh my god. He's dead!" I yelled, practically sobbing.
Jasper glared at me and Liam looked concerned at my words. Then we saw Zach's mop-like head come out of the water. Liam pulled him in and to my surprise, they cracked up.
"Lexa thought you died." Liam said, wheezing. "Thank god it was just like last time though."
"Wait. This has happened before?" I asked frostily.
"Why do you think his mom told us to go boating? She wants to see if his luck is really that bad." Scarlett told me, smiling wryly.
"You...." I started, unable to get words. "Ahh!" I said inchorently, and started splashing water all over the boys who didn't tell me this kind of thing was normal. They sat still for a minute, unable to comprehend that I had just drenched them. After that, it was war. Halfway through, it actually became fun and we collapsed, laughing and exhausted.
When we reached dry land, I was shivering. It was a sunny day, but the winds were still going strong. Somebody looked at us and asked if our boat had overturned. Jasper seemed to like that story so he said that it had, and we had lost the youngest member of our group. The poor tourist looked horrified and before she could call 911, we made a hasty retreat. Liam went to the car and pulled out extra clothes that he threw at the guys. I raised an eyebrow.
"Just in case." he explained. "But I don't have any for you girls. It's a good thing Scarlett lives nearby."
We started to get in, but he coughed. And gave us an apologetic look.
"Great. We have to walk." Scarlett said. She looked at my puzzled expression and explained "He doesn't want his car to get wet and stink." I gave my best you're-kidding-me look. He mouthed an apology and threw me a jacket. I put it on, glaring. But I wasn't really mad. I knew how much that car meant to him.
Scarlett and I started walking silently. I clutched the jacket closer. We really didn't have to walk that far. After ten minutes we were walking up stairs and standing in front of a flat. She pulled a chain on her neck forward and pulled a key from it. She unlocked the door and we stepped in. I could tell straight away that she lived alone from the plain... emptiness of the place.
There was a fold out couch that must be her bed at night. A few chairs. Cupboards. Photo frames, which had photos of her. There was one of her and. Avril Lavigne. She was her guitarist at a concert? I was impressed. To get a gig with someone famous was a big deal.
But the picture in which she looked truly happy in, was with her and a young girl, with the same long blonde hair. Her sister? I looked away and my eyes fell on a piece of beauty.
A record player stood in the corner. I was magnetically pulled towards it. I sighed in longing. An iPod I could keep, but there was no chance my parents would not notice if I hauled in a gramophone. There were a few records strewn around and I had just looked at a few of them when she came back in the room.
"Here. These were the closest to your size I could find." I was strangely offended. Maybe because it reminded me of the differences in the two of us. She was small, thin and pretty. I was normal sized, what people called "healthy" and with boring looks. I took the clothes and walked into her bathroom. After I changed into the jean shorts and blue top, I walked out to see her holding something in her hand. I was going to ask her what it was when my eyes were drawn to something on her hand.
A lot of scars, a few crisscrossing, but horrifically pale. They were clearly self inflicted.
I had reached her in a few strides and had grabbed that hand. I felt like screaming.
"These are from a long time ago." she whispered, reassuring me. My eyes fell on the knife she always carried with her. Did she...?
"Not with that knife. I just carry it for protection." Her eyes looked sad. Obviously remembering something.
"Don't do it again." I told her.
"I won't." she promised and then was suddenly defensive "But what do you know about pain? About falling so low in life that you just want that pain to be replaced with another?"
"I know a little more than you think I do." And there had been a time like that. A time when I was friendless, my parents didn't care and I just felt like a loser.
The memory of my own blood flowing away with water flashed before my eyes. As soon as I thought about it, I regretted it.
I dropped her hand, and even though it was the tiniest part of me, I seemed to understand her.
The moment disappeared when my phone rang, playing Giving Up The Gun. My obsession with Vampire Weekend was still strong. I picked up and Liam said "Hey. I was thinking we should go to the museum now. It's get late and your probably want to get home before your parents notice you're in a different pair of clothes than the ones you had on in the morning."
"Yeah. Good thinking. We'll meet you in ten minutes." I was glad that he had thought of that. The questions my parents would ask would be... terrifying. I looked at Scarlett and her face seemed to ask 'How did he get your number?'
"He asked for it after we left the diner." I said shrugging, and then turned to walk down the stairs. After a second of shocked frustration, she followed me. I sighed. Perhaps she would always hate me. But you know what? I didn't care. The guys were slowly becoming my family too, and she would just have to learn to share.
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What did you think? :D I'd love to know! Vote, Comment and Fan.
On a serious note, I'd just like to say that whatever happens in your life, inflicting pain on yourself is not the answer. You could talk about it to someone. I'm there to listen too.
P.S- Can anyone make banners? You'll get a dedication and a... cookie? ^_^
