FOREVER

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I didn't scream when she fell and I don't know why. Perhaps I was still waking up or perhaps I was just used to all of the antics. Either way, I did not scream but rather gasped and darted to the window. My hands gripped the rail, making tiny squeaking sounds on the smooth paint, and I leaned outside. It took a few moments and some serious squinting for me to finally adjust to the darkness but finally my vision cleared and I could see Alice standing at the base of the tree, looking up at me. She waved for me to come down and I almost shouted down at her but remembered Charlie was in the house. Alice must have noticed my hesitation for she smiled and pointed towards the back door. I nodded and she started walking away. As soon as she disappeared around the house I turned to race down the stairs, only to notice that my shoes were off. They weren't far, just a few feet from my bed but I couldn't remember taking them off. Maybe Charlie had at some point. I sat back down on my bed and as I began to lace up my sneakers, I felt a strange feeling creep over me.

Memories of Alice growling and grabbing my wrist were suddenly thrown into view. The feeling sent a shiver up my spine and I quickly straightened to make it go away. Alice wasn't a cruel person and I knew that. Or I knew that as of now. But, there was definitely something different, something more primal about her. And that was...intimidating to say the least. If we were going with my previous theory I was about to go gallivanting off with a vampire into the woods. I was the B horror movie slut that everyone loved to scream at for being an idiot. I knew it, and I was going to head out that door anyway. The allure of answers was all too appealing... especially since I'd been feeling so ignored lately in my questioning. I stepped lightly down the stairs, my ears tuned to any noise coming from upstairs. Thankfully there was none and I grabbed my jacket off of the kitchen chair before heading outside. Rather than waiting in the shadows to jump out and scare me like I half-expected, Alice was standing in plain sight when I came out. She smiled nervously at me and I returned it before shutting the door behind me.

"Is that jacket going to be enough?" she asked softly as I turned to her. I looked down at my windbreaker and shrugged.

"I'm fine right now."

Alice nodded with wide eyes and shoved her hands in the pockets of her own jacket. "Well...let's get a move on then. My car's just through this path here." She motioned with her hand and began walking. I followed with a quickened pace and was able to catch up with her easily. Though we were walking side by side, we weren't really walking together. Alice was very clearly off in her own head and I was completely absorbed in my own thoughts. This whole ordeal seemed a bit off to me. Sort of like I was in a dream but I knew I was dreaming or something. I didn't even know how to put all of this into words so I just walked, listening to our feet crunch beneath us.

Before too long the small path we were walking down opened up and revealed to us a stretch of highway. I looked behind me as we came upon it, wondering how I had never known of this path just behind my house. Perhaps it had been made since I'd last been here. It made sense, as it had been years. Either way I'd definitely have to explore said path more thoroughly later. A small tinkling of metal brought my attention back forward and I looked back just in time to see headlights flash in front of me. Had the headlights of this car not flashed I probably would have walked smack dab into the thing. It was a sleek black that blended perfectly with the evening. I tried to make out the subtle silver making of the car but it was too dark.

A hand was placed on the small of my back and I jumped as Alice quickly pulled away. "S-sorry," I gasped as I quickly worked at calming myself down. Alice shook it off and motioned to the car.

"Let's just get in. It's, you know, cold out."

I nodded and felt my way around to the passenger side. The door opened silently and I slid in, noting the comfort of the seats. This car was mega nice. The dashboard lights were on and I knew that one glance to the steering wheel would let me know just how nice the car was. Even as I slowly began to peek over there, a part of me didn't want to look. I knew it was because of my own slight jealousy but I couldn't help it. Chicks and cars or something.... Ah, an Infinite, not too shabby of a car at all. I scoffed to myself as Alice slid into the driver's seat and sat cross-legged. She glanced at me and ran a hand through her short hair to scratch the back of her neck.