/ * at this moment

[alexander wyatt.]

All of the hard work that Alexander had put into trying to convince December that there was no hope in the world for him, that this was just the way he was and that was that, seemed like such a waste. Every flying moment that he stood in front of her and helped her get through this more than difficult time was proving that he had been so far from wrong the entire time. Later when they were bound to argue again, Alexander was sure to allow this little fact to frustrate him. Frustration wasn't an emotion to get confused with regret though, because regretting anything that he was doing was the last thing that he was going to do. Alexander as more than happy to be able to help December out in any way, shape or form that he could and so far, he seemed to be doing an alright job. It was proven by even the smallest of smiles that she shot in his direction. It was for those that he was truly thankful for, because he knew that if he was capable of getting even the smallest smile or weakest laugh out of her at a time like this, then he must have been doing something righ. What was going to frustrate him was that there was no way he would ever be able to shove that arrogant, cold side of his at her anymore. There was no way that he was going to be able to hide anything anymore. This wasn't to say that he wasn't going to try anymore, though. It was just that one little glance at seeing him like this and he was more than positive that December would never in a million years let it go. Why would she? She had done nothing but tried to get him to admit that he wasn't a bad guy and she seemed fully convinced that that side of him was nothing but some sort of mask that he put up to keep people away for whatever reasons he had. That was before she even saw this kind, gentle side of him. Alexander couldn't begin to imagine what she would be like now that he had given her more than just a little taste of his tenderness.

It was true. No matter how well they were getting along now or how well they got along as the hours of the night dragged on, the two of them were going to have their argument in just a matter of time. This situation just wasn't something that either one of their stubborn attitudes would be able to handle without any sort of bickering. Just the very thought of waking up the next morning was causing a certain anxiety to rise up within Alexander. She was going to have to go home eventually and that alone wasn't going to be an easy thing for him to let her do. Maybe at any other moment it may have seemed like Alexander would be able to scoop her up in his car and take her straight home, but after December realized that he really did care about her to be going through this trouble, it had to have been more than obvious it wasn't going to be that easy for him. There wasn't a chance in hell that she was going to get him to agree completely with taking her back home. It just wasn't that easy and it wouldn't be no matter how many days passed. He couldn't even begin to imagine what he would do if he were the one to drive her home and he found her again the next day hurt even more than he found her that night. He couldn't begin to put together in his mind how horrible he would feel and how much he would blame himself for it. If anything, he was supposed to keep her locked up in his house no matter how much she didn't want it. Except it would sound a lot less violent and illegal than that. But, as Alexander sat in front of the beautiful girl, his eyes glued on her in a not so creepy fashion and he listened to her words and spoke his own, what was happening at that very moment was the only thing that he was focused on. What was bothering her then was what was important and what he did to try and fix it was what he had to be worrying about. When they got to that argument, then he would worry, then he would get frustrated. But, not now.

The way Alexander phrased his words had obviously scared her even in the slightest by the way that her eyes widened slightly when she heard them flowing through his lips. It was why he quickly finished what he was saying, feeling somewhat bad for having phrased it and spoken it the way that he did. He knew that she was going to refuse his offer, he could just feel it in his gut. Plus, it was December, that alone should have been enough to convince him of that. There were people who walked around offering others things in hopes they would deny and the person could keep what they had, but grasp that boost they got by their action of offering in the first place. But, that wasn't Alexander. He wasn't going to breathe a sigh of relief if she denied and he didn't when she thanked him, but refused to go forth with it. It may have seemed selfish to her, but he wouldn't have thought of her that way if she had just accepted. If anything, that evening he wanted her to be selfish. "December, it's no big deal. I don't care. Just go; take the bed."

Finally he got her to agree and it seemed like Alexander was quite on the roll that evening with getting her to do that. They were moments that he recorded in his mind and stored them for safe keeping; agreement between the two usually didn't happen often, you know. What really wasn't expected though, was her suggestion for them to share the bed. Alexander couldn't help but smirk slightly at her words, allowing it to turn into a soft laugh as he paused in thought for a short moment. It didn't seem right for him to accept, even if it was his bed, but this could potentially be a nice play on words in the future. "Oh, yes. I slept with December Van Buren. Just a few nights ago, actually.". I kid, I kid. "Um, yeah. Okay, then."

[/color] He finally responded, lifting himself up suddenly and for the second time that night extending a hand out to her. "Not perverted or sexual. Got it."[/color]

Walking around to the opposite side of the bed that December was approaching, Alexander too finally pulled down the covers that he hadn't bothered to pull down before and slipped in by her side, a gap between the two of them that he could have easily found reason to complain about. He brought one of his hands up to those curls of his and ran his fingers through them casually, allowing his hand to halt behind his head and bringing the other hand to rest on top of his stomach lightly as he stared up at the ceiling as well. Alexander didn't even feel her head turning to gaze over at him and those chocolate brown eyes of his simply remained glued ahead, but his concentration on the incredible wall broke completely once he heard her speak. He allowed his head to turn and look over in her direction until he heard her very last word and that's when he forced himself to look away from her. As his mind tried to analyze her words, it seemed like he was taking far too long to do it. Every time that he wanted to open his mouth to say something, he didn't and felt like it could come off the wrong way. Finally though, he composed his thoughts and he threw the words up at the ceiling, his voice soft. "You of all people don't see it.."[/color] The statement probably didn't make much sense to her, but to him it obviously did. December was the closest thing that the guy had to a friend, if she didn't see this side of him ever, it really showed that nobody ever did. He wasn't sure if she should get used to it or not, but he wasn't going to go around saying that out loud. It was strange that even though he was giving his words some thought and not just spilling things out the very second he thought of them, when they finally came out and he heard them himself, they seemed so strange coming from his mouth. December wasn't the only one who was trying to get used to him this way, he was still in the process of doing it himself. "I guess it just.. kicked in. Kind of hard to act like I don't care when I'm nothing but worried."[/color]

C L O S E D F O R, december van buren // kari <3
M U S I C , lost by coldplay
S T A T U S , completee!
W O R D C O U N T , 1,559 without the coding.
N O T E S , kicking off where we left it ;]
C L O T H I N G , right here.

[/blockquote][/color][/justify][/size][/font]

[december van buren]

Even though December knew it would be very easy for Alex to throw her out of his room, she had a feeling he wouldn't. Her feeling was proven right when he told her to take the bed. The young woman was less surprised by his kind action than she would have been a few hours earlier. She'd already experienced emotions from him that she had never thought he would push in her direction. The somewhat cold and closed off Alex didn't seem to be in the room with her and she couldn't help but wonder where he'd gone. While it was true that that Alex seemed to be more of a mask than anything, there was no denying that it was the personality that seemed to be his default for a long time. It wasn't going to go away entirely. Not even under these circumstances. Especially when December planned on being as stubborn as she was. Because, let's face it, had she ever made anything easy on the boy before? No, not really. As kind as the gesture was, she just didn't have it in her to accept it. Some could argue that Ember was a strange girl. She just liked to think that she was unique. Most other people would have just been grateful that he'd offered something like and taken it with a thanks. But she didn't. And wouldn't. Maybe it was just a need to be stubborn or maybe it was just an oddly placed sense of morality. Whatever it was, he wasn't going to get her to move unless he agreed to her terms. As sexual and presumptuous as they sounded. Believe it or not, she was just trying to be nice back to him. With everything he'd done for her tonight, she wanted to give a little back. It was only fair.

Dark chocolate eyes were set in a heavy defiance as he told her once again to take the bed. His voice held traces of annoyance and she almost smiled at the familiarity of it. Almost. She layed out her terms of agreement and amusement shot through he at the look in his eyes and the way he spoke with a little less certainty than before. She finally did give him a small smile, more of a smirk really, when he pulled her up. His words causing it to grace her lips before she even realized it. If you took a step back and looked at the situation, this would have been funny had you taken out the way she'd gotten there. December Van Buren and Alexander Wyatt in bed together. Who knew? Certainly neither of them, that was for sure. As many times as he'd made the suggestion, they'd both known it wasn't going to happen. Part of her wondered if he merely flirted with her out of instinct anymore. It was more than obvious that he wasn't going to win her over with his so-called charm. But that didn't change the fact that she'd been the one to initiate this. There was a chance that she would regret making the offer later, but something told her she didn't need to worry about it. This Alex wasn't the type of person to do something like that. Now if only the more dominant side of him would completely forget that this ever happened. Wishful thinking, probably. Even so, she wasn't going to worry about it right now. For one, she was still far too tired. For another, she was too busy wondering how long Alex planned on being nice to her before he completely stopped.

They moved to the bed, and December couldn't help but feel slightly awkward at it. She knew he wouldn't try anything funny, but even so. The space between them was very small. A fact that the young woman couldn't help but notice. And she was sure that he would notice it, too. She spoke, trying to lighten the mood somewhat before letting her self drift off to sleep once more. The silence fell over them once again and in the moments that it took him to answer, she found herself eying him out of the corner of her eye. She had to wonder what he was thinking. Whether he was going to tell her not to get used to it, or to say that he'd had some sort of epiphany. The former was a much more likely option. As sad as it was, December didn't expect this moment of kindness and gentle ease to last. As much as she wanted it to and hoped that it would, she couldn't bring herself to be hopeful of it. Bad things happened when you expected the best from other people. They often let you down in the worst ways possible. This, young Ember knew from experience. She didn't want to be disappointed or let down, so she prepared herself for the inevitable. It was only a matter of time before he reverted back to his old self. Honestly, it wasn't that bad. Alex wasn't a terrible person, even on his most predictable of days. But December wouldn't deny that she really liked him like this. Even if she would never admit it to his face. Or at least, not without some coaxing. Still, it would be a shame to see it go.

Finally, the silence was broken as Alex spoke once again. His words confused her and she turned on her side to face him, eyes alight with question. "Me of all people?" She asked in a low voice. The young woman wouldn't pretend to know what the heck he'd meant by that. From what she understood, she wasn't exactly one of his favorite people to begin with. Why would she be 'of all people' in any way? Maybe Alex had hidden a few more things from her than she'd thought. He had been surprising her left and right all night, why not now as well? Her dark gaze studied him intently as he kept his eyes to the ceiling. There had to be something that he wasn't telling her. Part of her wanted to find out what it was and her question had been an attempt to find out what it was. But then she knew it probably wouldn't be so easy if he didn't want her to know. She knew how frustrating he could be when his mind was made up. Apparently, Alex wasn't finished speaking and his next statement only served to confuse her further. If he didn't stop doing that sometime soon, her head was likely to explode from it all. Who knew Alex Wyatt could be such a complicated creature? Still, she couldn't help the small smile that crept up on her features. "You worried about me." It wasn't a question, but her tone was almost disbelieving as if she couldn't quite fathom why he would say such a thing. Quite a few things came to her mind to say in response. Things like 'You don't need to worry about me.' or 'Why would you worry?' However, she resorted to something a little different instead. "I'm kind of glad... that you cared enough to be worried. I mean... not a lot of people do. And they wouldn't have... been so nice... like you were. I don't know why you were, but... I really appreciate it." There. That had been a lot harder to say than she'd thought. Now that it was over, she merely had to wait for his reaction. She found herself a little more nervous than she should have been. It was a good thing he didn't know how he was playing with her emotions tonight. She'd never hear the end of it.

STATUS: finished!
TAGGED: alexander wyatt / steff bby!
WORD COUNT: 1341
OUTFIT: right hurr
NOTES: i told you this would be terrible!

[alexander wyatt.]

Alexander couldn't even think about kicking December out of his bedroom or his house or leaving her alone that night in any way at all. The way he was worrying about her that evening and how things had been going so far, it wouldn't have even mattered if December's attitude suddenly took a change of its own and she started yelling at him for whatever reason. No matter what happened, even if somewhere along tonight they found a reason to argue (which it was only a matter of time before they did, I mean, come on. It's December and Alexander) he just couldn't see himself throwing her out. He couldn't help but find himself hoping and praying that she didn't do the smallest thing to tick him off; for himself to not say something stupid and tick himself off. It didn't take much to set off Alexander's short temper and you didn't need to know him for that long to realize that. So, of all people, December had most certainly learned that by now. If you looked at him close enough at certain points you might have been able to tell that he was holding himself back from saying certain things, that he was confused about his own actions. The way that he was taking more time to respond to her words was proof enough that he wasn't just spitting things out like he usually did. Alexander had been known to be the kind of person to act purely on impulse. First thing he thought about saying, he said it and most of the time.. That wasn't exactly the best thing for him. That night with December was different. For the first time he wasn't trying to find ways to set her off and get her angry with him. No matter how cute it was when she got frustrated with him.

When Alexander had extended his hand out to her to help her up from the ground after accepting to her terms, he couldn't help but allow a small grin to tug at his lips the second he saw her small one do exactly the same. It was this process that had been happening quite since he first saw her. Every time that he somehow managed to get even the smallest of smiles out of her, he couldn't help but smile even in the slightest himself. It made him feel... for a lack of a better word: accomplished. If someone could get the ends of her lips to move upward even ever so slightly when she was going through this much pain, confusion and whatever else she was feeling, then he must have been doing something right. At least, that was what Alexander liked to believe. He wasn't going to say that he wasn't surprised when she told him that they could both share the bed. That was something that he would never expect to hear coming from her. Whether they were just sleeping or not. As they pulled the covers down and slipped in together at either side of the bed, it couldn't have been more obvious that the two of them felt rather uneasy doing it. Even Alexander. It was just a position that he had never expected to be in with December and while it may not have been that big of a deal if Alexander wasn't such a pervert and constantly offering something more than this and they weren't always upset with one another, the truth of it was was that Alexander was a pervert and they always were upset with one another so this was a bit of a deal.

As December spoke to him, Alexander did the best he could to keep his eyes glued at the ceiling and he was succeeding. The grasp that he had had on his words and thinking twice before speaking had slipped away from him for a moment because before he could help himself he was saying exactly how he felt out loud and that hadn't been the intention at all. Alexander didn't just go around spilling things to people no matter what the situation. One little slip up like he had just done and she was surely going to ask questions. So, it was no surprise when he heard her words repeating his own. That was when he turned his head over to face her, but he couldn't bring himself to speak right away. His eyes gazed over her face for a few moments, taking in the details he could in that dark room. He forced himself to look away from her again. It was a strange sensation for the guy. He was always the one who was capable of holding a gaze no matter what the conversation and the more the night went on, the less he seemed to be capable of doing it. December was breaking down his walls more than she probably even realized. "Yeah."

He muttered softly. It almost seemed like he was going to leave it at that, but he surely wouldn't. "You've... You've done a lot for me.. Whether you realize it or not."

[/color] Sighing softly, his eyes closed for a few short seconds before he opened them again and completed his words. "If anyone doesn't deserve the shit I give them.. It's you."[/color]

What was Alexander doing? If he kept this up, there was no way in hell that he would ever be able to live it down. He wasn't going to be able to just snap back to his usual ways with December giving him shit about this. His eyelids had come over his eyes again, not because he was tired, but more because he was still trying to sort out exactly what he was thinking. His eyes opened immediately as he heard her repeating what he had said once again and his head turned over to look at her. ".. Yeah."[/color] Clearing his throat slightly, he shrugged a bit. "Yeah.. I uh.. I did."[/color] Why was it so uncomfortable for him to admit something like that? Not even he was sure. It was a good thing that he had worried about her. It showed that there was at least somebody out there that he cared about more than he expressed sometimes and it showed that he had a heart.. somewhere deep down. This time around though, he didn't look away and advert his eyes back over to the ceiling. Instead, he forced himself to keep his eyes on her as she spoke to him and it wasn't hard to see that she was having a bit of a difficult time to get out what she was trying to say. "You know.. That's not true.. You have so many people in your life who would have cared, who would have done a better job than me." Alexander wasn't just saying that either, he truly meant it. There was no doubt in his mind that December had a lot of people in her life that cared about her and would have been there to help her in a heartbeat if they had realized her situation or had been in Alexander's shoes. There was no doubt in his mind that they would have done a job a dozen times better than what he had done. Because all he had really given December was a place to stay for the night, at least that's all he really realized he had done for her. There was so much that he couldn't do that a closer friend of hers could have offered. "By the way.. I.."[/color] Suddenly, Alexander was more than a little tempted to blurt out a 'nevermind' and when she pushed it, bring out his stubborn self again and refuse to answer. It took him longer than it should have to keep going with what he was saying. "Even if I suck at showing it sometimes... all the time.."[/color] Correcting himself already. At least he was being honest with himself. "I do.. You know.. care."[/color] He couldn't do it anymore. Breaking that eye contact again, he only dared continue after. "I do care, Ember."[/color] Nicknames were rare coming from Alexander's lips, but this time, the words came out easier and clearer since he didn't have to look at her straight up while he did it. What a great night to act like a worthless loser, Wyatt.

M U S I C , feeling good by michael bublé
S T A T U S , completee!
W O R D C O U N T , 1,432 without the coding.
N O T E S , sorry this took forever <3
C L O T H I N G , right here.

[/blockquote][/color][/justify][/size][/font]

[december van buren]

December Van Buren would be the last person to ever expect that she would share a bed with Alexander Wyatt. Maybe they were just sleeping, but it was still very odd. And it was something she wasn't sure she would ever tell anyone. The way people were these days, they'd twist her words around until it seemed like they were having crazy sex every night. Then again, this entire night probably wouldn't be mentioned to anyone else. After all, she would have to explain why she was there in the first place. That was just something she didn't want to do. No one needed to know what went on between her and her father. The only reason Alex knew was because he had happened upon her at the right moment. By this point, she'd pretty much given up wondering why he'd been the one to find her. Maybe fate had some twisted sense of humor to bring them together on that night. Or maybe it had been nature's way of showing her a softer side to the young man. Because, she had to admit, it was nice to see him like this. Even if she wasn't sure that it would last. It was a side she'd always known had existed, but he'd always refused to give to her. No matter how hard she'd pushed or fought, he just seemed incapable of letting up. And tonight, she hadn't even tried. Hadn't even thought she would see him. Yet, here he was, making sure she was alright in a time that she needed it. Even though she would never admit it, it was true. Sometimes even December needed help, though she didn't really know how to ask for it. Maybe it would get easier with time. She just didn't know.

This might have even been her own way of admitting that she needed help. By letting Alex take care of her the way he had, she was showing weakness. As much as that pained her most of the time, she couldn't help but like it in some sense. Everyone deserved to be taken care of every once in a while, right? Even December. She may have been stubborn and independent, but she was still a scared little girl who had a very serious problem. There would probably come a time when she needed even more help than just a place to stay overnight. It chilled her to think about, but the possibility was still there. She always wondered if one day, her father would get so violent that she might not live to tell the tale. Mostly, she tried to keep from that train of thought. Otherwise, she would be scared out of her wits every day. She didn't want that. She didn't want to be paralyzed by fear, flinching at every little creak in the floor. Quite frankly, she was tired of all the fear and the secrets and the pain. She just wanted it to go away. But, she wasn't naive enough to think that it would. Not as long as Marcus Van Buren had this much sway over her life. Which seemed like it would last forever. December was counting on her eighteenth birthday to come so she could finally be free. But would she really be free? Even if she was no longer legally bound to be under his roof, her father had a way of getting what he wanted. And if he wanted to keep her under his control, she would be very hard pressed to find a way out of it. She was more or less trapped.

December wasn't going to let that get to her, though. She couldn't. Otherwise she would be a completely different person. Something she didn't want at all. She liked who she was. She liked being a 'the glass is half full' kind of person. If she let it, her entire situation could have her closed off and withdrawn, sheltered from the rest of the world. Maybe it was just her immense stubbornness, but she wasn't going to let that happen. What was the point in living if you were depressed all of the time? There was no reason going around spoiling all of the good things in life just because she had this one terrible secret. She wanted to enjoy the good times. And the good times that resulted from the bad times. Such as this one. Alex would never really know how thankful she was to him for what he'd done for her. And as she laid next to him and watched him in the dim light of the night with curious eyes, she wondered what he was thinking. Her first guess would have been something perverted were it not for the way the conversation was going. If she squinted enough, she could see the make up of a serious expression on his face. This was strange. But then, how the night was going, not as surprising as it would have been on any other day. She listened intently for his answer, wondering why he would have said such a thing. December didn't look away from him as he spoke, entranced by his words, no matter how much he stumbled over them. "I have?" She asked, barely above a whisper. She didn't see how she'd done anything but annoy him. Sure, she'd shouted at him to stop being such an idiot, but she'd hadn't actually thought that it had gotten through to him. Maybe she'd been wrong.

She frowned slightly at his next words, wondering if he only meant them because of what he'd just discovered, or if he really did regret giving her such a hard time. All of this confusion and exerting events was starting to wear on her once again. She felt her eyes droop slightly, but she fought to keep them open so she could see where this conversation led. It was pretty much a life changing event. She didn't want to fall asleep in the middle of it. What he said next took the frown from her face and replaced it with a small, satisfied smile. "Well, thank you for worrying about me. I know it probably wasn't easy." She found the strength to give a small laugh at her comment before falling silent again. In the semi-darkness, she saw him turn to her and her eyes were glued to his as he spoke again. December studied him for a moment as the words sank in. She slowly shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I mean, there are people who care about me, I suppose. But... I don't think they would have done a better job. You... you made me feel safe. Which... isn't really easy... in times like this." She paused, averting her gaze to the sheets for a moment as she tried not to blush from her statement. She hardly thought he would be able to see in in the darkness, but she wondered if he would be able to feel it. So, she simply focused on keeping the heat from her face for a few seconds.

After a moment, she could feel her eyes drooping once again, and she wondered if their conversation was over and if she could finally let sleep overtake her once again. Her question was answered as he broke the silence one more time. She moved her dark eyes back to him. It seemed like there was something he wanted to say, but was having considerable trouble getting out. She simply sat in silence, waiting for him to finish, almost afraid to know the rest. After a while, he was finally done and even though he wasn't looking at her anymore, she continued to stare back at him, repeating what he said over and over in her mind. "I do care, Ember." He'd called her Ember. She didn't miss that. And he'd said that he cared. About her. A strange emotion nudged itself between her confusion and exhaustion. An emotion she wasn't used to feeling, especially not towards him. Something soft and touching. She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again. She didn't know what to say, or how to respond to that. Finally, she managed to find her voice, as small as it was. "I care, too." It came out as a whisper, but in the quite room with the limited space between them, she knew he heard it. Well, the young girl had been right about one thing. This was a life changing conversation. Whether it had started out that way or not, there was no going back now.

STATUS: finished!
TAGGED: alexander wyatt / steff bby!
WORD COUNT: 1486
OUTFIT: right hurr
NOTES: so, i'm pretty much in love with them. XDD

[alexander wyatt.]

Out of all the people in the world, nobody would ever think that Alexander actually felt like sharing a bed with December Van Buren actually felt wrong that evening. They could both recall countless times that he had snuck the subject of doing more than just hanging out under the covers together, but it didn't take long for his suggestions to purely be said just to bother her. Alexander had always found some sort of sick joy at poking December's buttons. The way she rolled her eyes at him whenever he said something that she thought was completely stupid or when he acted like the pervert he was was enough to get him grinning. Not because he wanted her to be miserable, but more because she was pretty damn cute whenever she was frustrated with him. But, that night, it just didn't feel right to be laying there just inches away from her. It wasn't that the young man minded in the least, because he didn't, but he also wasn't pulling any sort of ideas from it. He wasn't going to turn around, tear his eyes away from the ceiling and start putting the moves on December just because she was right there. Not a single thought of that even fluttered in his thoughts, which was probably the exact opposite of what she could have thought he was thinking about. December had every reason to believe that Alexander was some horrible guy because that was exactly the person that he played out to be every night. So, it wouldn't be any sort of huge surprise if somewhere in her mind she thought he was throwing this way out of proportion and letting his mind wander into inappropriate places.

Despite the fact that December was letting Alexander help her out and allowing herself to open up to him in this way, the last way that he was seeing her was as weak. Just like he had mentioned to her moments after cleaning up her bloody lip, he really did think she was strong. Strong for putting up with all of the bullshit her father had thrown in her direction, strong for even having the nerve to keep going back home knowing that it could happen all over again, strong for just everything. It would never stop frustrating him how much she didn't deserve this. Nobody in the world deserved to have to put up with something, or someone, like this. Especially not December. Ever since he had first spoken to her, she had done nothing wrong to him. Yes, the two of them had their ridiculous fights, but that was always just something that was part of their relationship. Their fights was something that just worked for the two of them. Because they would blow over in a matter of seconds, minutes or hours and then they would snap right back to normal. He had seen and was still seeing a side of her that he couldn't complain about. He liked that she was as strong as he saw her to be, he liked that she was independent, that she hadn't given in to him like other girls all of those times he had tried his charm on her, believe it or not he even liked that she was just as stubborn as he was. Most of the time, anyway.

Alexander had already realized it, but later the fact that this moment came out of something so horrible was sure to really hit him. How was it that he could be finding December on the side of the road beat up, bruised and hurt and in just a matter of time he was under the covers of a warm bed with her having a conversation like the one they were having? It didn't make any sense to him and for the first time in the world, he didn't even care about it making sense or not. As he spoke, muttering and repeating words like he was incapable of speaking properly, he didn't have the nerve to look over at December most of the time. That wasn't something that Alexander was used to. He was usually the one who was the best at keeping eye contact and constantly wanted it in a conversation because he felt like the person could really believe his words and he could somehow read whatever they were thinking. It wasn't that he didn't mean anything that he was saying, actually it was quite the opposite. He meant it too much, if that was even possible. The words coming out of his mouth were so real and so pure that it sounded foreign to him. He couldn't remember the last time he had said anything like this to anyone and he certainly wasn't used to being so honest with a person. It wasn't the easiest thing to get back in the rhythm of doing. Hearing her soft words, his head began to tilt over in her direction, but stopped all of a sudden. He didn't look at her face and merely nodded before looking back up. His lips opened suddenly and he had honestly planned on elaborating before he stopped himself. He couldn't bring himself to tell her just how much her words at that party she had followed him to had stuck with him. What was the point? How much longer would this lack of drinking even last? It was only a matter of time before something triggered him to go pour himself a glass of his favorite poison and she would find out one way or another and just be even more disappointed. If she never knew it had stopped in the first place, it wouldn't be a problem later on.

If Alexander had been looking at her and caught her eyes drooping even in the slightest, he would have stopped talking immediately and have let her drift off into sleep. His head only turned when he heard that small laugh come to his ears, their eyes meeting even in the darkness that dropped upon them. He couldn't help but feel... warm by her words. A small smile tugged at the corners of his pink lips. "I'm really glad you believe that, December.... That was the plan."

He felt more than satisfied at the fact that he had actually made her feel safe that night. Finally he had been capable of doing something right and Alexander was definitely proud of himself for it. The main thought he had running through his head that night was what he could do in order to make her feel safe and comfortable, what he could do to make her relax when she needed it the most and apparently, he had been doing a good job at doing most of that.

He was stumbling over his words a lot more than he would have liked that night. It made him feel so vulnerable and weak whenever he couldn't get his thoughts out properly. Scratch that, it made him uncomfortable when he had to get his thoughts out at all. He was going from zero to sixty in just a matter of hours. One moment he wouldn't let you know a damn thing about what was running through his mind and the next minute, he was telling you more than you even needed to know. Even just telling December that he cared about her was proven to be harder than he thought it would be. But, once he finally stuttered through it, repeating it once again clearly wasn't that hard. If she couldn't tell that he was truly being honest with her at that moment by the way that his words flowed out and the way he had shortened her name (which he never did) then he wasn't sure what he could do to prove it to her. He hadn't expected her to say anything to it, which was exactly why his eyes had slowly closed and those brown orbs disappeared. They stayed closed even as he heard her soft whisper once more and the smallest of grins appeared. It was something that December had already proven to him; that she cared. She barely even needed to have said it out loud, but it was a nice thing to hear anyway. It wasn't something that Alexander heard frequently, if at all, so having it out in the air like that was a new, refreshing experience. Especially coming from December's mouth. "I'm glad you do."

[/color] He whispered back gently.

M U S I C , montana by the gipsy kings
S T A T U S , completee!
W O R D C O U N T , 1,450 without the coding.
N O T E S , this is the worst post i have ever written.
C L O T H I N G , right here.

[/blockquote][/color][/justify][/size][/font]

[december van buren]

Even as December fought to keep herself awake, she pondered the night's events and how they could have gone in a completely different direction. All in all, she was glad that Alex, or what might turn out to actually be Alex's nicer twin brother, had found her on that road. Aside from the fact that someone dangerous may have found her if he hadn't, it was allowing her to see something she'd never been shown before. And whether Alex realized it or not, it was only proving to strengthen her affection for him. Truthfully it was starting to get a little confusing, they way she felt about him. A riddle she just didn't have the energy to try and figure out at the moment. Maybe the next day when she wasn't so exhausted from everything that had happened. But for now, she simply eyed him in the darkness, hoping that she could catch everything he said. This moment in time was the kind that didn't come along all too often, especially not between them. So, she wanted to make sure that she received everything she could from it. She had already come to terms with the fact that her companion probably wasn't going to be treating her the same in the morning, after the initial shock of seeing her like this had worn off. She didn't see why he would. It was just the way they were, constantly being at each other's throats, fighting over the silliest of things, but always managing to end it with a smile. As much as December loved seeing this side of Alex, she wasn't going to expect it to be there forever. She was an optimistic girl, but there was only so far she would go with it. She wasn't naive. Even though quite a few people thought she was. Maybe she was a better actress than she'd thought.

As Alex spoke, Ember couldn't help but hear the sincerity in his voice. It was new, different, and... good. She had to imagine that he expected her to never let him live this entire night down. While it was true that she would probably poke fun at a couple of things, what had happened was too personal for her to be able to take too lightly. If he woke up the next morning and started acting as if none of this happened, she wouldn't lie and say that it wouldn't affect her, but she wasn't going to give him hell for what he'd done for her. Believe it or not, she was more grateful than he would ever know and she wasn't going to repay him for being completely hateful about it all. She watched him nod in the half-light, wondering vaguely if it was just a trick of her mind. After a few moments, she decided that that had been his answer as he didn't speak any more on it. How, though? How had she affected him so? And what did it mean? She found herself wishing he'd elaborated more on it all. Just so she could make sense of something that night. Was he merely talking about his drinking, or did he have a double meaning in his words? Ember began to realize that she needed to know where she stood in his life, and what it meant for their relationship. Before this, she'd been content with the way they were. They had was what very close to a pattern, a pattern that she'd come to find comfort in. But now, now she didn't know what to expect.

December kept her gaze on Alex as their conversation progressed. She did have to look away as she revealed to him how he'd made her feel safe. Even if it was strange and foreign to say to him, it didn't make it any less true. By now she didn't see the point in hiding anything from him. He already knew her best kept secret. Anything else pretty much paled in comparison. When he answered her however, she pushed her eyes back to his figure. She couldn't help the small, but warm smile that erupted on her face. He was still surprising her. He really needed some sort of award for this. "Well, that was a good plan to have." She said quietly. She had to admit that it was nice that he wanted to make her feel safe. December had never really thought about that side of him before, you know, the protective side. He'd never really had reason to aim it at her, but now that he had, she wasn't complaining. Pretty much everything he'd done for her tonight was going to stick in her memory. She would never be able to forget the way he so gently handled her or did everything he could to make sure she was alright. Something like that just couldn't be forgotten. Not even if she wanted to, which she really didn't. Times like this were very, very rare for the young woman. She would probably end up turning to this night when she needed a mental escape from everything. Alex had provided her with a lot more than just a place to stay for the night and she could only hope that he understood this.

Her whisper must have reached Alex's ears as she thought she saw him smile in the darkness. She moved her gaze to the bed once again, feeling her eye lids growing heavier by the second. She could force them to stay open no longer and they slid closed over her chocolate orbs, letting her bask in the peaceful blackness. Her breathing began to even out as she fought to stay conscious, just in case he said anything else. Finally, he did say something back, in a whisper no louder than the one she'd used. Using what remained of her strength, she managed a reply. "I'm glad... you're glad." After that, it became impossible for her to hold on any longer and she felt herself slip into a more relaxed sleep than she would have thought possible on this night. She didn't know how much later it was when she finally opened her eyes again, but the sun coming in through the window told her that the night had passed. December blinked and her eyes fell on the figure of Alex sleeping beside her. In that moment, the events of the night before came rushing back to her in one giant wave. Sitting up slowly, she winced at the pain in her ribs that resulted from the effort. Great. Ember pushed the covers aside and slowly rose from the bed, trying not to wake Alex in the process. She moved to the mirror, frowning at the image looking back at her. Absently, she ran her hands through her hair to try and detangle it slightly. Surveying the bruising on her face, she gave a light sigh. She was going to have to use the last bit of her make up to cover all of this up. But first she needed a shower. Badly. Turning to the bed once again, she debated on whether or not waking Alex up would be a good idea. Instead, she decided against it and began to give herself the grand tour of his room. Maybe he would wake before the end of it. Either that or she would be forced to wander aimlessly through his house, and no one wanted that.

STATUS: finished!
TAGGED: alexander wyatt / steff bby!
WORD COUNT: 1284
OUTFIT: right hurr
NOTES: i told you it would be bad and short!! DX

[alexander wyatt.]

If December were to ask Alexander right then and there if the next morning those sweet words would still be pouring out of his mouth at the pace they were that night, he wouldn't know how to answer her. Truth was, he really didn't know if he was going to be like this tomorrow morning. If they would still be having these more than great moments or if they would return right back to their bickering like they always did. Quite frankly, the latter seemed to be the one that were to most likely happen. It was just what the two of them were used to at this point, it was what they had grown to do and knew well. The arguing with one another might as well have been a part of their daily routine. Like brushing their teeth or eating dinner. It just happened. As much as Alexander wanted to believe that he was going to be able to pull this off for a while, he knew that it was going to be easier said than done. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world for him to be kind of December that evening. Seeing her hurt was a slap in the face for him. It was a way of him to be able to wake up and realize just how much he did care about her. Of course, he had already known that, but it was then that those protective feelings really came and took charge. He wanted more than anything for her to just feel safe and the best she could under the given circumstances. Even though a few hours of sleep wouldn't change that.. Who knew what a brand new day could bring on. His caring actions could disappear just as quickly as they came forward. Only time would tell at this point.

Alexander didn't know when the last time that he listened this closely to what someone had to say was. Normally he would shut out nearly everything people said. It was his opinion that mattered and that was all. In his mind at least, because obviously that was the furthest thing from true. If anything, his opinion mattered the least. But, tonight he found himself alert to her words, the tone of them and the way she said them, her facial expressions when he could see them clearly. December Van Buren was about the hardest person in the world to be able to read. It was impossible to know exactly what was running through her mind at any given moment. She was like some sort of mystery that Alexander was still trying to unfold. No matter how much he talked to her or how closely he listened, he was never going to figure her out completely. Even now that she was letting him in on such a huge part of her life, he was more than positive that there was more to her that he didn't know about than just this. It was actually rather sad to think about. All this time that the two had known each other and Alexander couldn't look back to any other moment that they had had a deep conversation such at the one they were having then. Every memory that he tried to pick apart for December included her and him bickering about God could only remember what. It was almost as if all that time had been completely wasted. All that time that he could have been using to get to know her better right down the drain.

It felt like the greatest accomplishment in the world to hear December say that he of all people had made her feel safe. First try and everything. "I'm glad I didn't disappoint or anything."

He added slowly when she told him it was a good plan to have. He almost added something along the lines of, 'not sure how long that would last', but stopped himself before anything stupid came out of his mouth. He was doing far too well to go and screw anything up now. Believe it or not though, Alexander really did have a protective side of him. Before his personality took a total flip, it was a side of him that people normally saw. He was constantly in defensive mode when it came to his friends and even as a young kid he was always wanting to make sure that everything in his family was running smoothly and everyone was in tip top shape. It was the first time in forever that this side of him had shown through. Not just this kind side, but the protective side. It was nice to see at this time. It was just that extra proof that he did care about December. He cared about her enough to knock down his own cold wall that he usually held up and act differently. It wasn't like he was changing himself, it was just an old side of him shining through. he didn't know what December thought of it though. How happy she really was to see him behave like this or if she already was preparing herself for his cocky and arrogant attitude that would appear in just a matter of time. It was rather heartbreaking, really. You couldn't expect much from Alexander.

He was trying so hard to clear his mind completely of the near future. The time that he would surely have to take her home and be even more worried about her. There was just no path that he could take in order to avoid all of that and Alexander wasn't dumb enough to believe that there was. One thing was for sure though, if he ever heard about this happening, saw any signs of it or anything, he wasn't going to stand around and let it keep happening. No. There was no way in hell that he could bare to see December like this again. It was hard to describe just how he felt when he saw her so hurt or how heavy his chest felt when he had cupped her bruised face in his hand and spoken to her firmly, trying to get her to listen. It wasn't just this overwhelming feeling of worry and sadness.. No, it was more than that. His mind just couldn't come to terms with it quite yet and he wasn't sure he wanted it to. When those last words came through her mind, he could somehow feel that she had finally slipped into a deep sleep. It didn't take him long for his own eyes to close completely and for him to sleep away from consciousness as well. His sleep was rather steady, but surprisingly more comfortable than usual. Sleeping together in the same bed with someone didn't happen like this usually. It was calming. Knowing that someone was right there by his side. It may have seemed corny and ridiculous, which was exactly the reason why you would never heard that coming from his mouth.

Alexander wasn't quite sure just how long he had been sleeping, but he was defiantly out of it. He didn't even feel December gently slide out of the bed. It wasn't but just a few minutes later that his body suddenly shifted in the bed and a small yawn escaped from him. Slowly his eyes opened and the first thing he noticed was that the girl that had fallen asleep next to him the night before wasn't there. It caused him to jump slightly and a split moment later he was sitting up on the bed and breathing a sigh of relief that she was merely looking around his room. He wasn't sure what exactly he was expecting. It wasn't like someone was going to sneak in his house and grab her, but he wasn't thinking very clearly. Bringing his right hand up, he shoved it through his curls. After sleeping on them, they only seemed to be curlier. "What are you up to?"

[/color] He asked her curiously, raising his fragile eyebrows slightly. So far, that cold attitude hadn't snapped back into him. It was a good start. Maybe he was getting somewhere with this. Maybe not. Maybe. "You sleep alright?"[/color] He was resisting asking her a dozen questions. Two was good enough to begin with, he didn't want to pour anything on her.

M U S I C , watching george lopez with my mom c:
S T A T U S , completee!
W O R D C O U N T , 1,421 without the coding.
N O T E S , ily. <3
C L O T H I N G , right here.

[/blockquote][/color][/justify][/size][/font]

[december van buren]

As December fell involuntarily into sleep, she almost expected to have those dreams again, but luckily for her, she either didn't, or just didn't remember. Either way, she was able to sleep pretty peacefully. She did have to wonder if she'd said anything. The young woman had the tendency to talk in her sleep when she was excited or nervous or just generally stressed. She had no idea how long this had been going on as she couldn't hear herself in her sleep. She'd really only found out about it the first time she'd slept over at a friend's house. The girl had woken her up, telling her to shut up so she could get some sleep. Ever since then, December had always felt self-conscious when she fell asleep in the same room as another person. She never knew if she would be talking and if she did talk, she never knew what it was she would be saying. So far, she'd been lucky enough in life to not spill any dark secrets to anyone, and she was very thankful for that. Though, she supposed she didn't really have to worry about spilling her secrets to Alex since he was already privy to them. Well, to the worst one, anyway. Truthfully, December had never really planned on telling Alex, or anyone for that matter, about this problem. She'd never really wondered what his reaction would be, but she had to admit that it was different than she would have guessed. He was a lot more... protective, than she would have imagined. Honestly, the young woman had always felt weak for having this problem in the first place. She still couldn't help but wonder if Alex thought that she was weak for this. After all, with the display she'd given him, the crying and the nightmares, it wouldn't be all that hard to believe that he'd feel this way.

Then again, December had always had a hard time figuring Alex out. Well, mostly. There were things about him that she could see clearly even when he didn't show them. Such as the fact that he really was a good person, and that he really did care about people other than himself. But, it had always been a challenge to figure out what he thought when it came to her. The young man was a frustrating creature. It was times like this, times when he was being so confusing, that she wished she could just read his mind. Just so she could understand what was going on in there. Did he like as much as he said he did, or was she just another annoying girl that he could bicker with? December had to admit that she cared for him a lot more than she had originally thought she would. Because, deep down, this was the guy he had the potential to be every day. She wondered, if she tried hard enough, if she could turn this into his default personality. She just hoped it didn't take her getting abused and running out into the street at night every time for him to get like this. It seemed like it would get old really fast. In fact, she hoped that something like this would never happen again. However, living with her father, she knew this wouldn't be the last time he laid his hands on her. not when she was there at his disposal to let out all of his frustrations on. Still, maybe it wouldn't be so bad anymore. Now that she had someone who knew what was going on. Someone she might even be able to talk to about it. She wasn't expecting Alex to want to put up with her after every incident, but maybe he would lend and ear every once in a while when things began to pile up. That in itself would be a huge help.

As she roamed around the room, eying all of his belongings, her gaze lingered on his desk for a moment. She couldn't help but have the urge to turn on the monitor of his computer, just to see what she would find. This would be wrong of her to do, and she wouldn't actually go through with it, but she still couldn't help but wonder what he did with it. he half expected his wallpaper to be a picture of some half naked woman in a sexy pose. The thought caused her to smile to herself, and she ignored the sting in her cut lip as she did so. She caught sight of some papers lying about on the desk and she was about to investigate when she heard a rustling from the bed. Turning back to it, she saw Alex sitting straight up and for a split second, she caught something in his eye. Something she couldn't quite make out. Had it been fear? She pushed the question from her mind as he spoke. She shrugged, glancing back at the computer before looking to him again. "Not much. Just looking around. Your room is... cleaner than I thought it would be." Her smile widened slightly and she moved closer to the bed once again. Her statement hadn't been a complete lie. Not that she thought about Alex's room very often. But, he was a guy and guys tended to have very messy rooms. It was just the way things worked in the world. She did wonder if her comment would provoke the old, sarcastic Alex to come out of hiding. She wouldn't lie and say that she wasn't expecting him to return with the new day. In fact, she was almost surprised that he hadn't surfaced yet. Then again, Alex had only been awake for a total of thirty seconds. She had to give the boy some time to pretend that he was irritated with life.

She sat down on the end of the bed, cross legged and placed her hands in her lap, her back perfectly straight. If there was one thing about being as rich as she was, manners and proper posture were hammered into your brain from almost the time you were born. December was no exception. She listened to his next question and nodded slowly when it was finished. "The second time I did." She gave a small laugh. "What about you?" This question was actually more along the lines of 'I didn't wake you up with my useless babbling, did I?' But she had a feeling that this question would only bring on more questions from his side. And she didn't really feel like explaining herself. Her gaze moved from his to the side table as she wondered whether or not she should say what she planned on saying next. She knew before she even opened her mouth that it would spark a debate. She just hoped she'd gotten enough sleep the night before to deal with it. "Listen, thanks for everything you did last night. I mean, you didn't have to and I appreciate it. But I... I should probably go home now. I'll be in enough trouble for staying out all night." She tried to give a small laugh, but it sounded as fake as it was. She could only wonder what the boy's response would be and she just hoped he wouldn't be too hard to deal with. But knowing Alex, this was probably hoping for too much.

STATUS: finished!
TAGGED: alexander wyatt / steff bby!
WORD COUNT: 1275
OUTFIT: right hurr
NOTES: omg, short as heck againnn. sorryyyy.

[alexander wyatt.]

Whether or not the very first thing that these two kids were to say to each other was a compliment or an insult, warm or harsh, there was no way that the two of them could hide or push to the side everything that had just happened. Every fight that they would surely have in the future was always going to be a little bit different because of everything that the two of them had spoken about, what December had gone through and how Alexander had been there for her. There were some things in life that people just couldn't ignore and their first heart to heart was certainly one of them. Alexander's usual impossible to deal with attitude would surely come sprouting back in a matter of seconds, minutes or hours, but there was no way that he was going to be able to act like he had never done anything to help or or said anything to make her smile. He wouldn't be able to take back saying that he did truly care about her; not that he would want to anyway. They could like the change or they could completely hate it, but either way, everything snapping back to the way it used to be was something they had to stop thinking about. Even if December and Alexander managed to hide it on their faces or in their words, whatever they were thinking and keeping to themselves, this was always going to be buried around there somewhere. Or right there at the surface. For Alexander it would most defiantly be at the surface. As good as he was at faking it sometimes, he really sucked at pushing things out of his mind. He may have been good at acting like things never happened occasionally, but that didn't mean he forgot about them. If you could take a trip inside his mind and thoughts for twenty-four hours, there was no doubt that many people would be surprised.

It could even be seen as a bit humorous if one really thought about it. Alexander and December both viewed one another to be so painfully confusing. They both had their list, whether it be short or long, of little things they had discovered about one another. Things that they really had to dig for and piece together in between their arguing and frustrations. They spent all of this time hiding things from one another and making it all this huge mystery when they had just proven that they were more than capable of sitting down and actually having a conversation. It was sad how it took something like this to get Alexander to snap out of it for a good while. It may have seemed to her like the only reason he was saying the things he was saying was simply to get a smile on her face. Make her feel a little more welcome and a little more comfortable in his home. Sure, he wanted her to be comfortable. Of course he did or else he wouldn't have even been bothering. But, while the words he uttered to her were truly kind and welcoming, it didn't mean that he hadn't meant them. That was the furthest thing from the truth. If it had occurred to Alexander that there was a possibility December thought this was all some sort of pity act and he was purely trying to make her feel better, he would have confronted her about it in a heartbeat. He didn't want it to take December getting hurt for him to get some common sense into him. He did have a heart, even if it was a bit hard to notice that sometimes. December of all people really shouldn't have gotten the crap that she got from him. Most of the time he was the one who started the arguments and whenever she did, she had a good reason to. Ever since the first day they met when he had gone up to her purely to try and get a good night together out of her, he had been an ass. Day after day after day he had given this girl a hard time and yet there she was in his room after sleeping over at his house. A situation he was still surprised about and would be for quite some time. She had never left him no matter how annoying he was, so why would he be leaving her when she needed someone the most?

When Alexander's eyes found her and his heart rate went back to normal from that sudden burst of anxiety that ran through him, he couldn't feel much more relieved than he did. When December said to him that she had been merely looking around, he couldn't help but feel a bit tense about it. He knew that she hadn't turned on the monitor of his computer, that much was obvious. He knew exactly what she would see if she had pressed that little button though. A word document that he had saved periodically and that he had been working on the entire day before he had gone out to buy some cigarettes and found her. A document he had never bothered to close out of. Just the thought of her eyes barely skimming over his writing made him uncomfortable. It took a lot to make Alexander uncomfortable, but his writing was just something that he liked to keep to himself for the most part. It was something he needed to get over and something that he didn't quite understand. But, sharing his writing just wasn't something he wanted to deal with with anyone currently. He couldn't help but let out a soft laugh at her words. "I'm full of surprises, December. You should have realized this by now."

Shooting a grin in her direction as she walked over to the edge of the bed and sat down he leaned back on his hands, propping himself up to keep an eye on her.

His grin only widened at the next response to his question. "Good to hear."

[/color] Nodding slowly, he shrugged his shoulders randomly. "I actually can't complain. Better than I thought I would."[/color] When December's eyes broke away from his chocolate brown ones, he couldn't help but look away as well. It didn't take long for his head to snap back in her direction. The second she was speaking, he was listening. "Seriously, no more thanking me, alright? It's no big deal."[/color] It may have been stupid of him to simply expect another thanks from her, but he had anyway. That kind expression and grin that had grown smaller disappeared one hundred and ten percent when what she said triggered in his mind. The laugh he heard coming from her didn't help either. This was exactly the moment that he had feared the night before. "Yeah.."[/color] Grabbing the edge of his covers, he threw them back and pulled his legs out to the side of the bed, feet pressing against the ground. "I don't think so."[/color] Did December really think it was going to be this easy? Hopefully not and for her own sake, she sure as hell better have been prepared. "So your asshole of a father can just do this all over again?"[/color] Kindness was completely gone. Anyone could tell that Alexander was clearly upset. Just her bringing it up was enough to get him like this. Pulling himself up, he turned around to face her. "No. Fuck no."[/color] Shaking his head, his eyes didn't leave her own. He wasn't screwing around. "I'm not taking you back there so I can find you even more hurt in a few hours."[/color]

M U S I C , closer by kings of leon.
S T A T U S , completee!
W O R D C O U N T , 1,309 without the coding.
N O T E S , short posts ftmfw. except for shit posts, which is this one.
C L O T H I N G , right here.

[/blockquote][/color][/justify][/size][/font]

[december van buren]

There was no doubt in December Van Buren's mind that things between her and Alex would no doubt be different. How different, she wasn't sure. Something like this, something akin to life-changing circumstances, wasn't something that could be ignored. Especially not when it had happened so unexpectedly. For as long as Ember had known Alex, he'd always been the guy she knew she'd never take seriously. After all, from the first few moments of their relationship, he'd been hitting on her. That was something she'd come to expect, along with his arrogant and irritating attitude. But, somehow she'd managed to see something other than that. It had merely been a hunch for a long time, until he'd all but confirmed it on numerous occasions. It turned out that mister Wyatt wasn't who he made himself out to be. To be perfectly honest, December felt bad for him. She didn't know why he felt he needed to live the charade that he had formulated. It certainly wasn't any better than the alternative. Not from what December had seen of it. She actually preferred this person to the one she saw daily. It wasn't to say that she hated him or anything. After all, she'd put up with him for quite a while. That had to say something, right? She'd grown accustomed to the way things worked between them. She could always count on things going a certain way and she had been comforted by it. However, now she wasn't so sure if she would feel the same way if everything went back to how it used to be. After experiencing this side of the young man, she didn't want it to disappear, never to resurface again. As much comfort as he brought her with his constant annoying nature, she just wouldn't appreciate it as much after this.

Maybe this meant that what they'd gone through was a bad thing in the long run. For December, at least. If Alex was going to act is if none of this every happened, the girl didn't know how she would react. It would feel as if something was missing, something vital. And honestly, she didn't want to have to deal with that. There was always the chance that Alex had been changed by the night's events as well. Maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't pretend that it had never happened and that they could just go back to the way things were. There was no way to know right at the moment, and she could only hope for things to get a little better. After all, he was the only one who knew her secret now. It would be nice to have someone to confide in every once in a while. It was made clear that they were capable of having conversation without their voices being raised. She just prayed that it didn't take something like this to make it so. In any case, she wondered how long it would take them before they were arguing once more today. The night had passed, but had the kindness he'd shown her passed along with it? She eyed him almost warily, taking in his expressions with more intensity that she really ever had. She didn't want the conversation to turn hostile, though she knew it would. She wasn't stupid enough to think that it wouldn't. Even if everything wasn't going to be exactly the same as it was before, it didn't mean they were going to stop their bickering altogether. It was just who they were.

December watched his expression lighten as she spoke. She gave him a grin at his comment. "You're right. Silly me." The curly-haired boy certainly was full of surprises. She would give him that. The entire night before, he'd been surprising her left and right and he kept it coming as long as he remained gentle. Perhaps December had sparked something in him that had laid dormant for a very long time. Now that she'd started the fire, maybe it would continue to burn, growing larger and larger until it was no longer just a small flame. Wouldn't it be nice to have him be like this all the time? But, Ember knew better than to wish for that. No matter how nice it would be. She didn't take her gaze from him, wanting the moment to have as much of an effect at it could. It was possible that he was giving her more to cling to when she needed lighter times in her memory to keep her sane. Her warm smile widened slightly at his 'good to hear'. Just because she was almost expecting him to be nice to her, it didn't make it any less nice to hear. It felt good to know that he cared, even in the smallest of comments such as that one. "Well, that's good." She said as he told her that he had slept well. She wasn't conceited enough to think that the reason he'd had, was because she'd been there. It was his room, after all. People always tended to sleep the best in familiar places. December couldn't say that his room was familiar to her as this was the first time she'd ever visited it, but maybe the familiar thing to her had been the boy sleeping merely inches from her.

Ember expected him to wave off her thanks. He'd done it every other time she'd said the words, why would he stop now? Still, she felt like she'd needed to say them. He'd done a lot for her and it was only right to be grateful. She shook her head slowly at his response before tensing up about what she said next. She watched his features lose their relaxed happiness and her heart fell. She knew what was coming next. Or at least, the emotions that would be coming next. She couldn't help but miss the easy atmosphere they'd had. Oh well. Her hand absently played with a hem in her jeans, but her eyes remained on Alex's figure as he shifted. His tone was cold, unpleasant. A complete one-eighty from how it had been merely seconds before. December tried not to cringe at it and kept her ground. He didn't think so? What was that supposed to mean? She felt the spike of irritation before she could stop it and her brow furrowed slightly. She flinched slightly as he spoke again, the anger in his voice was evident in every single syllable. When he turned back to her, spitting out his refusal, the look in December's eyes turned to fiercely defiant. Alex wasn't her father, he didn't have the right to tell her no. Not for something like this. She supposed she did understand why he didn't want to. If she had been him and he had been her, she probably would have reacted the same way. Sending someone back to the lion's den like that wasn't exactly what she'd do. It was wrong, and she knew it. But there was simply no other way.

His last statement struck a chord with her heart and her expression wavered slightly. She pushed her eyes from his, unable to hold his gaze any longer. Along with her annoyance and anger, she felt the sadness creep up on her, nestling itself nicely in her heart. "Alex..." She paused, not sure what she wanted to say. And when she finally spoke again, her voice was firm. She forced herself to look him in the eye once more. "Look, I know you don't want to take me back there. I don't want to go back there. You have no idea how much I don't want to. I'm tired of everything. But I have to. You don't understand. I have to. You can't keep me here. Not that I'm saying I would mind staying her or anything, but you just can't. You don't know him, or how he operates. He gets what he wants and I have to deal with that. And you can't just tell me no. I really don't want to walk all the - " December hadn't exactly planned on stopping in the middle of her sentence, but it was proving impossible to keep talking when her lips were being occupied by someone else's.

STATUS: finished!
TAGGED: alexander wyatt / steff bby!
WORD COUNT: 1456
OUTFIT: right hurr
NOTES: lolll. i fail!

[alexander wyatt.]

If December had known why Alexander acted the way he did, then she would have had to fill him in. It couldn't be more clear that the Alexander he had been showing her the past several hours was one that was a hell of a lot more lovable. When was it not easier to like someone who was being nothing but warm and gentle? This side of him was one that should be shown all the time to everyone, then maybe he wouldn't be in the position with alcohol that he was then, he would have people to truly care about and people that truly cared about him in return. In his mind, it was easier to not get attached to people than it was to get too close and for them to suddenly have to leave. Be it death or be it because they were moving to a different state. It didn't matter what the situation was. But, he couldn't miss anyone if he didn't let anyone get too close to him or he didn't allow himself to get too close to anyone else. It seemed like the most logical thing in the world, but something was nudging at him that if he was ever asked to explain his behavior out loud, it would sound completely ridiculous. It was nothing short of ridiculous. The very thought of this night changing him for good, even just toward December made him nervous. The thought of the two of them getting closer and letting her really into his life made him feel far too vulnerable for his liking and Alexander didn't do an ounce of vulnerable or weak. Which would be the only way he would feel if he was ever forced to explain just how he felt about the past few years or his actions. Maybe December had been able to pick out a few things here and there, maybe she hadn't, whether or not she did wasn't the point, though. If she was smart enough and stubborn enough to figure it out on her own, then alright. But, Alexander sure as hell didn't want to have to talk about his feelings. No thank you.

It was easy for him to listen to how she felt, though. It came so naturally to him to be able to listen to what she had to say and try to make her feel a little bit better about it, but he wasn't so sure how easy it would feel if he was the one doing the talking. It was a miracle that she had let him in on as much as she had. There were so many ways that she could have hidden this story, even with the proof of what happened right in front of him, but she hadn't. He didn't think that December would ever realize just how much he appreciated that. This had to have been a really hard thing for her to talk about, there was no doubt about it, but she had anyway. To him. Of all people. It was a position he never thought he would be in, but he was glad he was in it instead of anyone else. Who knew? Maybe this was exactly what he needed to get himself back on track. Mind you, he wasn't happy that this had happened to December. But him finding her instead of anyone else and her opening up to him was something he was happy about. Maybe this was big enough to snap him back to reality. To make him realize that he can actually have the chance to be there for someone more than just this once. If anyone could get through to him, Alexander wouldn't be surprised if it was Ember. If this wasn't it, it was only a matter of time before something she said or did solved him. Because the truth of it was, if December couldn't fix this guy, nobody could. There was nobody else out there who was as stubborn as the two of them or as determined as she had proved herself to be when it came to something she cared about. There was a reason that December had wandered into his life and it wasn't just for him to have a beautiful girl to constantly argue with.

When the girl had thanked him again for what he did, Alexander honestly didn't want a thank you. He would have had to have been completely mental to simply leave her by the side of the road and drive by like he didn't see her. Or to not have helped her at all. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the thanks, because he certainly did. As December pushed on with her words and that easy air around them rapidly began to vanish, Alexander's mood dropped quite a bit. It showed by the new expression that had taken over on his face. It wasn't so much that he was mad at December, but that he was just mad about the entire situation in the first place. This was exactly the time that he had been trying to push out of his thoughts since they first talked and began getting somewhere with their words. There was no doubt in his mind that this was going to be the most unpleasant conversation of the past while they had spent together. All signs of grinning and smiles had disappeared completely from the two of them and it really was rather upsetting. There was no way to tell when that warm atmosphere would come back or if that was even the very last of it that the two of them would ever see.

Alexander didn't want to get frustrated. Whenever he got frustrated it was hard for him to get rid of it and December knew that. The last thing he wanted was to argue with her, especially now, but it seemed like there was now way of avoiding it. When he finally turned to face her again, standing a foot away from the edge of the bed, he could tell how the look in her eyes had changed, how her expression had also taken a turn. How could he take her back knowing that her father was going to be there? The guy who had put all of these bruises upon her and caused her to cry the way that she did. The very thought of Alexander contributing to her getting hurt again tore him up more than she could ever imagine. His irritated words had come to a dead halt and the next thing he was listening to was simply his name coming from her. "Listen to me. If I take you back there and he does this again.. which he will.. Then I'll just be part of the problem, December."

He had managed to add a few more words before she continued with her own firm voice. His words could have been considered normal, but the way his voice had risen slightly wasn't helping. It was crystal clear that he was upset. He tried hard to listen closely to what she was saying, but the girl just wouldn't stop talking. Every time that he opened his mouth to sneak in a comment, he just ended up closing it again as she kept speaking. He wouldn't be able to admit that she was quite right about a lot of what she was saying. It didn't take long for him to get annoyed that he couldn't say anything to go against her words, so he just stopped thinking completely about his actions. Needless to say as he leaned forward on the edge of the bed, brought both of his hands gently to either side of her face and pressed his lips to her own, he hadn't exactly been thinking. At all.

It had been the perfect way to get her to stop talking. But, it probably wouldn't do the situation any good. The kiss had lasted a mere few seconds, but it would have been a miracle if didn't cause any damage. It was only when he pulled away slowly that he realized just exactly what he had done. This wasn't some random girl that would have appreciated the gesture. This was December and he was fucked. "Well, that got you to shut up."

[/color] So much for staying nice. The words came out slightly under his breath, but in that empty room anyone could have heard them. Especially with the small distance that he was still from her. Alexander knew that what he had done was wrong and he wouldn't blame her if she got up and walked right out of there, but even knowing that, it didn't exactly trigger in his mind to pull his hands from her face and for him to back away.

M U S I C , just a shock by maylene & the sons of disaster.
S T A T U S , completee!
W O R D C O U N T , 1,506 without the coding.
N O T E S , lolol. i love thisss.
C L O T H I N G , right here.

[/blockquote][/color][/justify][/size][/font]

[december van buren]

December wondered, somewhere in the back of her mind, what it would have been like had Alex not found her on the side of the road. Would she just have wandered the streets until someone else came along and picked her up? She didn't even want to know who that someone else would be. In the light of the morning, it didn't make very much sense to her, why she'd decided to run out into the night. She'd merely been trying to get away, that much was for sure. But she could have gone to a friend's house. She'd put herself in danger and she knew it was stupid. But still, if she hadn't done so, Alex wouldn't have found her. And she wouldn't have been able to share such a rare moment with him. In retrospect, maybe her rash decision had actually been a good thing. Now that this had happened, she had been opened up to a completely different side of the young man. Even though December had never wanted someone to know this secret, she couldn't help but feel like it had brought them even a little bit closer. She'd thought that whoever found out would look at her with pity, maybe even disgust. But so far, Alex had done neither of these things. Maybe she just had to give him time to get over the initial shock before he realized that he needed to be doing these actions. But now that he had shown her that he did care about her, she wondered what kind of emotions this news did stir in him. Anger, obviously. Then again, it was easy to get mad when you found out that someone was abusing a female. Especially if that someone was their father.

Alex's next words almost shocked her. Of course he would blame himself if he took her back. To him, it probably seemed like he was just shoving her at the man, clearing the way for him to hurt her anymore. December had been afraid of this. And she wondered how far he would go to keep her there. Then again, she wondered how hard she would fight to go home. She didn't want to go, after all. She would have much rather stayed in this room until she died. Going back home meant that she was just setting herself up for more incidents like this. But, what choice did she have? She was legally obligated to go, anyway. Either way, she didn't feel like Alex was 'part of the problem'. It wasn't his fault that he had to take her back. It was just the way it was. By the time she'd started her little rant, she had hoped that he would just get so frustrated with her that he would agree to take her back just to get her to stop talking. But then he went and surprised her again. Apparently he had a different way to handle it. It didn't last long, but the impact was strong. The way his hands felt on her face, how his lips moved against hers. She hadn't been expecting it at all, and she didn't know what to think of it. Ember had never thought that this would happen. But that seemed to be happening a lot lately. He pulled away slightly, but he kept his hands on her face and she could still feel his breath on her skin as he exhaled. Dark chocolate eyes caught his for a moment, a look of complete and utter confusion in them.

Had this really just happened? Had Alexander Wyatt just kissed December Van Buren? The moment replayed over and over in her head as she was struck momentarily dumb. She even found herself wanting to do it again. She pushed the thought out of her mind. He couldn't have done this just because he wanted to. He'd only done it to shut her up, right? His voice was quiet, but she heard it perfectly in the small space between them. Finally, she found the strength to pull away completely. December made her way off of the bed and looked back to him, still too speechless to form any proper words. She opened her mouth and then closed it again. A glare was aimed in his direction for a few seconds before it evaporated into a frown. Looking away from him, she began to move without really knowing that she'd started. She wrenched open his bedroom door and crossed the threshold. Using her vague memory of the night before, she navigated her way down the stairs and to the front door. She pulled that open, too, the cool morning air hitting her skin and clearing her mind just a bit. She then made her way to his car and leaned against it, hoping he would get the message and come out, too. Otherwise she'd be standing out here a long time.

STATUS: finished!
TAGGED: alexander wyatt / steff bby!
WORD COUNT: 848
OUTFIT: right hurr
NOTES: well, this is sort of mini! i fail. lol.

[alexander wyatt.]

Alexander had been doing such a great job at thinking twice before he said anything and before he made any kind of actions. For the first time in a long time it finally seemed like he was making some sort of progress; like he was actually getting somewhere and making someone happy. It seemed to come more naturally around December, almost as if he didn't have to work hard at it. It was part of the reason why he thought that maybe he could keep this more gentle personality around her. It was hard to explain, but she just had a different effect on him than anyone else did. Alexander wasn't quite sure if that was a good or bad thing, but so far it had proven to not be so bad. A brand new day could mean a dozen of different things though. He could keep this streak at thinking twice before doing something stupid or just go right ahead and do something stupid anyway. While that morning had started off alright, they both knew it was only going to last for so long and Alexander just had to be the one to prove that all good things come to an end. If he would have just thought before pressing his lips against her own, then their argument would have continued at a steady rate and maybe have vanished at one point or another. But instead, he went and added to that list of things that neither one of them would be able to shrug off and act like they never happened. It was more than obvious that Alexander Wyatt was incapable of not doing anything stupid. Because this was most certainly stupid and he had gone and done it anyway. Just as December and himself were finally getting along.

Alexander had wanted her to stop talking, but maybe in the back of his mind he had truly wanted to do it. And not because that was the only thing he ever really wanted to get from a girl either. It was impossible to really figure out just how he felt for this girl anymore. Maybe she was changing him in more ways than one. What had he expected from her? For her to be happy about this and completely forget about what they were talking about? For it to bring on that relaxing atmosphere they had been in moments before? Of course not. He knew better than that. As his lips were lingering just centimeters from her own, his eyes opened to gaze into her own surprised ones. That small moment that they spent so close to each other in that silence seemed surreal. Even with his words, that expression that had crossed his face was quite the opposite. That kiss that he had meant to just be a way to get her to stop talking was messing up his mind and making him far more nervous than he had meant it to. It may not have shown completely and one hundred percent by looking at him, but it was almost as if he was just as surprised as her. Before he could really gather his thoughts together, her skin was slipping away from his hands and his warm breath was hitting nothing but the air in front of him. "December.."

It was all he could manage to say as he watched her turn her body, get up off the bed and walk out his bedroom door.

This couldn't be happening. What had he just done? Sure, Alexander was an idiot, but this was just tipping the scales of idiocy. Suddenly, he began taking long strides out of his bedroom, grabbing his keys from his desk before doing so and darting after her down the stairs. When she had opened the front door, he had been just a short distance away from her. Closing it behind him, Alexander called out after her. "December, please."

[/color] He stopped. Staring at her leaning against his car he looked down at the ground below him and let out a long, frustrated sigh before looking back up at her. "I'm sorry, alright? I shouldn't have done that."[/color] By adding the alright at the end of his apology almost made it sound like he was just trying to get her to calm down about it. Almost as if his old personality was beginning to shine right back through. There was a silence between the two of them as he thought silently to himself. He didn't say a thing to her as he walked forward and gently nudged her aside and unlocked her door before taking a few steps back and looking at her straight in the eye without moving a muscle. It was clear this wasn't easy for him in the least.

M U S I C , i won't apologize by selena gomez & the scene.
S T A T U S , completee!
W O R D C O U N T , 805 without the coding.
N O T E S , hahaha. even our mini-threads aren't mini. xD we're cool.
C L O T H I N G , right here.

[/blockquote][/color][/justify][/size][/font]

[december van buren]

It didn't seem possible, the fact that December had just walked out on Alex after he'd kissed her. How many times had she declined his advances? Or how many times had she laughed at him when he'd tried to hit on her? Before now, she wouldn't have thought such an action possible. Though, she found herself slightly disappointed by the fact that he'd merely done it so she would stop spilling the half hysterical words from her mouth. She had no reason to be disappointed, right? After all, this was Alex. She didn't have those kinds of feelings for Alex. not Alex. She knew that it would mean nothing but trouble if she ever actually did have those feelings. But, she couldn't deny how... intense those three seconds had been. And her mind wouldn't leave it alone. Even as she tried to glare at him, tried to hate him for doing what he'd just done, she wasn't in control of her emotions. Leaving his room was possibly her way of trying to escape what had just occurred. She'd already gone through enough, the girl could only process so much at one time. She needed some time to think over everything. Staying in his room, under his gaze wasn't going to help anything. That was for sure. And so she'd fled, through a house she didn't even know. It was a good thing it wasn't as large as her own home, or she probably would have gotten lost. Then again, she was surprised she hadn't gotten lost the way it was. It was proving harder and harder to string fully formed thoughts together as she kept going back to that moment. No, no. This was stupid. She needed to pull herself together.

Ember didn't even hear him call her name when she left, too focused on trying to push the moment out of her mind. She somehow made the journey to the front door, pulling it open and managing to make it to his car. He appeared in the doorway merely seconds afterward, and she moved her gaze from him, not wanting to cause herself any more confusion. He spoke her name once again, but she forced her eyes to stay where they were. She wondered just what he was going to say. Did he regret what he'd done? Did he wish he could take it back? Or was he angry with her for the way she'd responded? It was so frustrating, not being able to read this kid's mind. When he spoke again, she felt her heart drop slightly. She knew he was right. He shouldn't have done that. Not like that. But the fact that he was sorry was almost... saddening. She mulled it over in her head. Was she sorry that it happened? As he moved to unlock the door, gently moving her aside, she couldn't get that question to stop resounding through her head. She didn't know the answer and, quite frankly, she was afraid to find out what it was. After he unlocked the door, it was clear that he wasn't moving any further and December finally moved her gaze back to his. Underneath of that stare, she found her voice to be miles away. She wanted to say something, to let him know that she didn't hate him, and to ask a million questions about why he'd done it and what he thought. But she merely stood there staring at him, the silence starting to hurt her ears.

It wasn't like she didn't try. She even opened her mouth to speak, taking in a breath, but no words came. Feeling like a complete idiot, she turned away from him, opening the car door enough to not hit him in the face and slid inside. She didn't know why, but her heart was beating ten times faster than normal and she had to struggle to keep her breathing under control. This was going to be the death of her. Alex finally slid in on the driver's side and started the car. Still, she sat in silence, trying to make sense of everything that had happened since the last time she sat in this position. She didn't dare look at him, keeping her eyes on the scenery as he began to back out of the driveway and drove towards her house. Or at least, that's where she hoped he was going. When they pulled up in front of it, she noticed that her father's car was not there. Ember couldn't help the relief that flooded through her at the sight. A few moments went by and she realized she was supposed to get out of the car. She moved her head towards the boy in the driver's seat and was finally able to speak. "I don't regret it." She said in a low voice before opening the door and getting out of the car. She closed it behind her and began to walk towards her house. Well, that had certainly been an interesting experience.

STATUS: finished!
TAGGED: alexander wyatt / steff bby!
WORD COUNT: 875
OUTFIT: right hurr
NOTES: ikr! go us! whoop whoop!

[alexander wyatt.]

When Alexander spoke to her and he didn't get so much as a mutter out of her mouth, he couldn't help but feel anxious. He had every reason in the world to think that she was beyond upset about what he had just done. After all, she had been rejecting him time and time again, even if he hadn't been completely serious about it all those times (though he wouldn't have minded if she had just given in). When his eyes caught her mouth opening, he finally thought that he was about to get something out of her. A question, some sort of harsh comment, some sign of frustration or anger. But instead he got a load of nothing. When December turned her back to him he looked back down to the ground, only looking up and walking over to the drivers side of the car when he heard the door close behind her. At this point he had no choice but to drive her home. She had been right. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't hoard her in his house forever. He didn't know what to do but drive her home. Putting the key into the ignition, he began to drive down that familiar road to her house. The only thing that was running through his head was the condition that he had seen her in the very moment that he had laid eyes on her the night before. What if he found her like that again in just a matter of hours? His teeth clenched together at the thought of it. It would be his fault. That's all he could think about. By taking her home, he was letting it happen again and yet he didn't even turn the car around. The one time that he should have been the most stubborn he decided not to. Silently, he urged himself to stop the car, to turn around and take her back to his house and tell her to forget about it. That he simply wasn't going to let her go back there. His right hand clutched the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were turning a nice shade of white.

They drove in complete silence and even as he parked the car just outside her gorgeous home, they still said nothing to one another and sat there quietly. His eyes stayed glued to the view in front of him. His hand released from the wheel slightly, holding onto it more lightly and his head turned over to her when she finally broke the silence that he didn't bother to. Those few words caused a burst of confusion to go running through his body. Didn't regret him finding her? Didn't regret going over to his house? Didn't regret that he got the nerve to kiss her like he did? What didn't she regret? He was so busy trying to figure it out by himself instead of just asking her that by the time it hit him to open his mouth and say something she had already gotten out and closed the door. His eyes watched over her until she walked into her house and he couldn't see her any longer. Alexander stayed there for a few moments, staring blankly ahead in deep thought before he finally turned his car and began driving in the direction in had come from. He needed a cigarette.

M U S I C , kiss & tell by selena gomez & the scene.
S T A T U S , completee!
W O R D C O U N T , 580 without the coding.
N O T E S , THE END.
C L O T H I N G , right here.