Greenwich - Danny's Friend's House

Luke bit his lip, hesitating to say what he wanted to say. He had once counted her as a friend. He wasn't sure in the minimal time they'd seen each other in NYC, that they were back to being friends at all. So for him, he figured, it had been a date with more hope than the others had been.

He did what he'd seen so many boys do best. He stuck his hands in his pockets, half-turning to head away, and said cavalierly, "They all start off so well, don't they?"

"Apparently so. You'd know." Alexis voice wavered greatly at this and she mentally cursed herself, reaching up and putting her mask back on. "Wouldn't you?"

Luke stared at her for a moment, mindful of Carrie's enraged expression. But this was none of her business so he didn't plan on hearing anything she'd yell at him later.

"I'm unlucky that way, yes," he said honestly. Then he turned and headed down the street.

***

Carrie gnawed her lip, feeling horrible. What the hell was with this prick? She'd known Luke for two years now and he'd never been anything like this. She wavered, staring at the girl on the steps, feeling like she should go over there and hug her or something. She wrung her hands nervously, not wanting the girl to explode at her or something though.

And the girl looked mad.

Carrie swallowed and stepped forward once, saying quietly, "Thank your stars you're rid of him." Then she turned and followed after Luke.

***

So now he's seen me. How is this bad, exactly? It isn't. He'll be so disgusted, he'll never want to see me around again.

Evelyn snapped out of her reverie, blinking sleep away as she sat up. WHen she made to stand, her ankle throbbed as her heels touched the floor. She bit her lip and then took off her heels and made her way to the bathroom on the second floor.

She peeled off her mask, ran a hand through her tussled hair and ensured her mascara hadn't run. No tears. She was proud of herself. She opened up her clutch and extracted eyeshadow. She added dark shadow to her upper lids and then smudged it with her fingertips. She wiped off the red lipstick and added a coat of pale pink color, smudged some color on her cheeks and then decided she looked foreboding enough for a stoic runway model. If that stupid boy thought he'd thrown her off, he was so, so wrong.

She'd never felt better.

Evelyn gave a small laugh as the last of her buzz died and then she sauntered out of the bathroom, heading down the stairs to the ground floor and scanning the place for Alexis. She pulled out her phone as she leaned against a pillar and texted her friend to ask where she was.

Alexis wasn't sure if she was more mad or hurt. She got it, already. She was a slut, just asking to be raped. She jumped when her phone rang, and whimpered slightly, letting her mask slip away while she was alone. She reached down, grabbing her phone from her leg strap purse. She read the text quickly, swallowing back more tears as she sniffled while texting her back.

outside. She replied simply before closing her eyes tightly and going through everything that had just happened.

Evelyn read her reply and then put on her heels for one excruciating second so she oculd look aroudn the room and see that her path to the door was clear. She took them off when she located a clear way and made her way through the crowd, ignoring the wandering hands and catcalls. She saw Seth, Jake and Connor making their way past her and ducked behind a tall boy, glad she had her mask on. She could have sworn Connor glanced up as he passed her "hiding spot", but she didn't know if he saw her. Not that he'd know her.

She made it to the exit and spotted Alexis immediately. Everyone who was outside, was out back. But she didn't think Alexis might be there and risk getting caught by Jake or any of the other boys.

She was evidently right. Evelyn came down the steps and sat by her roommate, calm. "What are you doing out here?" Alexis' mask was still on.

"I needed a fresh breath of air. I felt closed in." Alexis said, her voice still a little shaky but she slowly found that mental mask again, tying it on firmly as she turned to look at Evelyn. "I want to go home." She said bluntly, putting her phone back home.

Evelyn turned her head and examined Alexis carefully, recognizing the cold tone as one she'd often used - hell, one she was using - and then reached out and hooked the white mask on the edge of a finger, sliding it up so she could see Alexis' eyes. Her eyes were red-rimmed.

There was a momentary silence. Then Evelyn found her voice again. "What happened?"

Alexis licked her lips, her lipstick fading away into a more staining pink instead of red as she stared at Evelyn. "Truthfully? ... What I expected." She said, reaching up and rubbing at her eyes, smudging her make up but at this point she didn't care if she looked like a emo Ke$ha. She hesitated, unsure if she should before explaining all that happened, her voice non-caring.

Evelyn tapped her fingers on the step beside her as she listened. Somehow, Luke's miscall and his arrival here wasn't jarring to her. She waited till Alexis finished and then heaved a slow breath, staring across the street as a straggling pedestrian. "So, that's it then." It was half a question. She had her own opinion on Luke and what Alexis should do about it, but she wanted to know exactly where Alexis stood first.

Alexis shrugged, making a face. "I don't really care all that much. If he wants to think I'm a slut and that I want to be intentionally raped, then so be it. I know who I am. And your opinion?" Alexis smirked, a faint sadness behind it.

Evelyn simply smiled and slung her arms around Alexis' shoulders, saying jovially, "That makes no sense. If you wanted to be raped, it would mean you wanted to get laid. That's the whole idea behind it, the notion of willingness." She didn't wait.

"I think...it's a good thing tonight happened the way it did."

"What?" Alexis raised her eyebrow that used to have her piercing. She bit at her bottom lip, noting the piercing hole for her lip ring. If the true Alexis was going to be back, then goddamnit, so was everything else. The combats, the piercings.

Everything.

Evelyn leaned her head against Alexis' shoulder, one hand holding the other wrist as she said almost dreamily, "After tonight, we'll never talk to them. They'll want nothing to do with us. We're whores, remember?"

"I'm done tonight, Evelyn." Alexis admitted, messing with the mask's strings. "Can't we just go home?"

Evelyn sat back, thoughtful. She placed her hand back on the high heels by her side, eyes on the road again. "I can't. I'm not done yet." She sent Alexis a sideways glance, almost a smirk but it fell apart on the way to her mouth. "You've inspired me to find my own nightmare and tell him everything I've always wanted to say. Maybe utilize the ring a bit." She lifted her fist and the cross-ring glinted in the streetlights.

"And," Evelyn hesitated, "I'm done running. If we're to be stuck with them, I'm going to enjoy myself, dammit. Those boys have given us enough heartache and I don't want to cave any more."

"Fine.. then I'm just gonna head home." Alexis said, standing up and patted her legs off from sitting on the stairs. "Or stay out here."

Evelyn glanced up at her and then down at the darkening road. Abruptly, she said, "If I could, I'd go back and erase a whole chunk out of junior year of high school. I'd never have said a thing to him in that hallway when he came strutting up telling me and Collin and Jesse not to stand around, like it was his damned hallway. He'd never have known my name then. What would you change?"

"..Meeting Joel. And Luke. And Ashlee, and Jesse, and everyone else. I wouldn't have went to Wilchester, or Ash Creek. I would have met you here then. And know no one else... then I could be normal.. and I wouldn't be hated for my mistakes." Alexis said, reaching up to rub at her eyes. She wanted to go home and to her room and just cry it out.

Evelyn's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Joel? That was a tad extreme, wasn't it? He was a genuinely sweet guy.

"Why Joel? Luke, I get...and I'd probably not have come to Ash Creek either, except that, I don't regret meeting Ashlee."

"Joel- because.. I mean.. yeah, I guess at one point I loved him, and yeah, it ended okay.. but .. on the other hand it ruined things for me with my friends." Alexis said, her mask cracking a little as she messed with her skirt.

Evelyn was too stoic to lie so she simply nodded. She'd kind of disliked that Alexis back in Ash Creek.

Evelyn tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, the big earring tickling her skin. "You know, if I'd met you in the city for the first time, we might not have gotten along..." Her eyes widened. "Luke kind of softened you up, you know? I'd have hated who you were before Luke and I hated who you were with Joel."

Alexis chuckled weakly and looked to the side, toward the direction Luke had walked off. Half of her wondered if Luke regretted meeting her, like she did. Only reason she regretted meeting Luke right then was because she was hurt... and that was probably the only reason. Luke gave her no other reason. She was giving HIM the reasons.

"I'm a hate-able person." Alexis stated quietly, as she messed with her jacket and then cleared her throat. "But I'm back. Yeah- I wish Luke was still my friend, really badly. Yeah- I don't regret having feelings for someone like Joel- Yes, I regret being the stupid idiot I was. And right now, I regret ever deciding to go to college here. I don't really know if it's been worth it."

"Because you ran into Luke and it didn't work out?" Evelyn stood up, wincing as her ankle held up her weight. She staggered and caught herself on the railing and then picked up her shoes in her free hand.

She turned to look at Alexis, expression amused. "You know, I'm gonna go back in. I'm tired of caving. No insensitive asshole is dictating me. It's no one's business what i do or what i dress like. I intend to get nicely buzzed, maybe if I feel like it, go find James and bitch slap him one last time and then go right back to partying. There are cute guys awaiting, and they don't even know my name." She smiled, more of a smirk. And then cringed. "After I get too trashed to feel my ankle."

Before Alexis could tell her she was crazy, Evelyn added, "We should do that one day. Pretend it didn't happen. Act like Ash Creek never was. We'd still meet Seth and Jake though." A funny thought struck. "Hey, if I'd never known James, I'd never have faked a relationship with the Spanish bastard. Which means you might have actually gotten with Jake. That whole pool cue move was very feisty, as he calls it." She pulled a face. "God, I hate that word."

"Whatever." Alexis rolled her eyes slightly, propping her chin in her hand. "Just make sure you have you dorm key and don't end up like me."She said, closing her eyes and inhaled deeply, wishing she was back home or in the country.

Evelyn tilted her head. "Are you sure you want to let Luke ruin your night?"