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Chapter Twelve

With folded arms and a face littered with skepticism, Tess watched the hoards of adolescents filter in and out of the church. It would seem that within the last few minutes, her peers, had found companionship through the means of intoxication; unsurprisingly they were using alcohol to cheat on their newfound loneliness, but she knew that once the alcohol dissipated, loneliness will soon find them again. However, Tess knew that she could not be hypocritical, for similarly she was drawn to all the wrong things: seeking comfort in any form of drug, which would numb the pain, settling her into nothingness; a kind of non-being, and she had accepted it. It didn't make her the most interesting person, but she did't want to be interesting. What she really wanted was to forget, to be left alone. Although, on the other hand, on some occasions when she drank she would scream, get lost in dysphoria. Neither of the behaviors coincided with each other, but she never once cared. Uneasy, Tess glanced her eyes over the excitable teens, shaking her head humorously, when her brother, Luke and Jason emerged from the darkness, arms laden with boxes of various beverages. Tess' eyes narrowed and she cringed internally, when the sound of a shattered window pain filled the silence. Immaturely, cheers followed. She had never been a religious person, feeling as though every God had abandoned her a long time ago, ignoring her pleas and cries. But, guilt seeped throughout her body, watching her peers desecrate and violate the sacred chapel; however it would seem that alcohol had now become the new anesthesia by which they would endure their new lives. Feeling a presence beside her, Tess turned her head to the side, similarly Grizz stood with pursed lips, twitching them from left to right, as he too watched the proceedings with furrowed eyebrows. 

"Music is one of Satan's most attractive agencies to ensnare souls; but, when turned to a good account, it is a blessing," Tess turned her head back towards the church, hearing the drunken hysteria emerge from the wooden doors; blaring music had now started and filled up the night around them, the sound reverberating through the stain-glass windows, "when abused, it leads the unconsecrated to pride, vanity, and folly." With a throaty chuckle, Grizz laughed, using one of his hands to maneuver some stray hairs from his fringe. However the wind, ruffled his hair in response and he exhaled annoyingly. Thrusting his hand into his pocket, he ruffled through the material, in an attempt to try and pursue a hair band. Without breaking her gaze from the teens in front of her, Tess gripped a band from her wrist and tugged it off, presenting it between two fingers she rolled her wrist and waved her arm in front of Grizz. Admiringly, Grizz flickered his gaze, dropping his head to admire the blonde beside him, before he clasped the band between her outstretched fingers. 

"Drinking is such a necessity to human life," Grizz stated, whilst collecting his brunette hair between his hands, bringing it together in a small bun atop his head,  "it's got to the point, where people cannot fathom an individual who gets little enjoyment out of it and would rather do other things". Contemplating his own words, Grizz watched his friends in the distance, uncaring and now intoxicated. Being subjected to stereotypes, the pressure was there, to go and join them. That was what was expected of him. That was normal. But, there's no such thing as normal. There is no definition of normal. Normal is subjective. Hence why, he believed that you can't and shouldn't force yourself to be normal and stop wanting what you truly want. Why make your life miserable? It was for this idealism, which lead him to seek sanctuary in the acres of woodland, albeit he had to travel a distance to reach it, but it was always worth it. His own sanctuary. Where he could be himself. Finding peace and poetry underneath the emerald canopies. For him, trees had always been the most penetrating of preachers; he revered their strength, when they stood alone. He could relate to that loneliness; not like a hermit, who would hide themselves away, but like great, solitary men, who he would read and listen to in the realm of his bedroom. Trees are sanctuaries: his sanctuary, where he would waste countless hours of silent solitude. People had gotten used to living a botched-up life - to be anxious, insecure, hateful, jealous, and in various states of unpleasantness through the day - slowly humanity has begun to accept this as normal. Suddenly, Grizz was brought back from his inner ramblings, shaking his head of the thoughts, before he was caught to deep into his own subconscious and abstract thought. Once again,  he found his gaze drawn, like many times before, to the blonde next to him; the person who could always bring him back to ground. He had always found so much strength in her, for she had been through more pain and anguish, then he will ever know. But, to him that's what gave his beauty an edge. She gave him both strength and made him weak at the same time; that only affirmed his belief that she wasn't only just the one, she was the only one. Stepping ahead of her with a genuine smile upon his face, he turned around to face her, his arm outstretched and his palm reaching towards her. Only seeing the smile gracing his face, caused her own lips to gather at the corners, lifting into her cheeks.