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simtopi9: Flashback
Adrian stared up at the window he knew belonged to Willow's dorm. The pebble he tossed up there rattled lightly against the glass before bouncing back down into the bushes. He wasn't sure why he was here tonight. He had come by on his way home and thought about her. He hadn't gotten a chance to talk to her in the past few days. During classes, she looked listless and withdrawn and he was worried.
Well look at this, Gabriel thought as he stepped through the dormitory front doors. It was the cliched scene with the romantic lead throwing rocks at the girl's window to get her attention. If he hadn't been in a bad mood himself lately, he'd find this all simply adorable.
Gabriel: If you're looking for Willow she's not here. And you know, it's kinda more effective if you knock.
Adrian: Heh... yeah I know. It's late and I didn't want to bug anyone.
Gabriel: Let me guess, you're Adrian, right?
Adrian: Yeah... have we met before?
Gabriel: Briefly at the Tri-Var party. I'm Gabriel.
Adrian: Right. Jasmine's cousin.
Gabriel: Bingo.
Gabriel: Willow had a late class... but it looks like she's home now.
He kicked himself a little for keeping tabs on Willow's schedule. Despite sharing the same dormitory, even he hadn't really spoken to her in days. She wouldn't eat in the dining hall with everyone else. She stayed in her room and kept the door shut. This was probably the first time since the night they kissed that they actually made eye contact.
Willow: Adrian...hi. What are you doing here?
She sounded genuinely surprised.
Adrian: Hey, Willow. I hadn't seen you around except for classes so I thought I'd come by.
Gabriel: Well it looks like you two are good here. You crazy kids have yourself a terrific evening.
He didn't look at her again as he turned around and walked back into the dorm. Willow didn't miss the sarcasm in his voice, even if Adrian seemed to. She wanted to run after him right now but she stopped herself. What would she say to him?
Adrian: You know, you ran off during the game and I hadn't spoken to you since. I don't know what I could have done, but I hope we're still friends.
From the smile on his face, she knew he was joking. She looked at him, trying to find a way to smile back at him, but couldn't.
Instead, she turned away, as tears came to her eyes. The past few days, she had been caught up thinking about Miss Cordial and how she died. She bore her sadness alone because she didn't think anyone, even her best friends, would understand her. But right now, she couldn't help it.
Adrian: Willow, seriously, what's wrong?
His voice was gentle. Why did he have to be so nice?
Everything she held in broke free in that instant. Before she knew it, she was crying and he was holding her close to comfort her.
Adrian: Feeling a little better?
Willow: A little... sorry about that.
Adrian: It's okay. It's not like I haven't cried on your shoulder before. I'm just returning the favour.
Willow felt like she had been sobbing like a baby against him all night, even though it couldn't have been more than a few minutes. She did miss Adrian's company. Being so busy with term papers and assignments made it hard to keep in touch with him. She remembered what it was like when they were best friends in highschool.
They had spent pretty much every free time during school hours with eachother. It started when she'd help him out with his homework, but after a while, they were comfortable enough with each other to hang around more often. Willow eventually learned to settle well into her school, and a lot of that was because of Adrian's friendship.
Still, in her young mind, she did wish there could be more between them. She never thought Adrian saw her that way, though. She was such a geek, and he was the cutest boy in school.
Of course, she wasn't the only one who thought so. And she wasn't the only girl who held his attention.
She was still Adrian's best friend. A friend, was all she felt she'd ever be.
She wanted him to look at her like he looked at that girl. She wanted to know what it was like to hold his hand like that. But despite it all, she stayed his friend for months through all of his good times...
... and his bad times.
Both of them remembered that day in the schoolyard, while Willow sat with Adrian in the snow.
Adrian never forgot that he had a friend in Willow when things had been at his lowest. She never forgot that the first thing he did was turn to her and confide in her. It meant so much to Willow and she never wanted anything more to come between them that would change that. Even if it meant she'd never get to hold his hand.
Adrian: So come on, tell me. What's on your mind?
Willow: I was just thinking of us in highschool.
Adrian: And that's been depressing you these last couple of days?
Willow couldn't help but laugh a little. She took a deep breath and decided to tell him about Miss Cordial.
Of course, she left the part out of Miss Cordial... and herself... being witches, but that wasn't relevant anyway. Adrian sat and listened to her as she talked about her childhood, how she was prone to irrationally wander and her parents worried so much that they accepted Miss Cordial's help. She told him about how she learned she died that other day. They said it was a suicide but Willow couldn't accept it.
Adrian: I'm really sorry to hear that, Willow. I had no idea.
Willow: Well, it's hard to admit that I've been seeing a shrink all my life because I'm so screwed up.
Adrian: For what it's worth I don't think you're screwed up.
Willow: Thank you. Miss Cordial helped me out a lot. She was more than a mentor, she was a friend. I just don't believe it how she died.
Adrian: Sometimes even our closest friends hide secrets, Willow. Maybe she just hid her problems really well.
She thought of what he said for a little while. Secrets, she thought. He was right, they all had them. She was quiet for a minute. Adrian waited patiently for her to say what was on her mind.
Willow: Do you remember me telling you that I've been having nightmares? They've been stronger lately.
Adrian: I remember.
Willow: Well, it's not just a dream. I have nightmares of something that actually happened. It was the first Friday after my first day of school...
Willow was a little scared, which surprised her a little considering her tendencies to run off in the middle of the night when she was a kid. But this time, she was aware of what was going on, and she was out here of her own free will.
Marie: Don't worry so much Willow. We do this all the time... find some run down old building or warehouse to break into and have ourselves a party.
Carrie: If you're too chicken shit to go, you can just run on home, you know.
Marie: Come on, Carrie, you don't have to act like an asshole.
Carrie: Whatever bitch. Don't be such a buzzkill.
Willow: Are you sure this place is safe? It looks like it stuff can fall on our heads any minute.
She could hear Carrie giggling behind her, but she decided not to turn around to call her on it.
Carrie: Totally safe. They're renovating these tenements for condos so of course they do all that structural check stuff first. And besides, homeless people have been hanging out here for years, no one's ever been killed yet.
Carrie: See, check it out. Safe. I think the room we want is up ahead.
Henry: Or we can just hang out here. This place is pretty cool.
Marie: Dude, you have no idea what's been on that couch.
Carrie: We're not hanging out out here!
Carrie's voice was sharp and reprimanding, surprising her friends.
Carrie: The party is in that room, remember?
Carrie: Go on Willow. We're right behind you.
Marie: Carrie...
Willow: But this place is empty...
Willow felt flat against the cold, dirty concrete. She heard Carrie giggling and the grinding noise of a bolt sliding tightly into place.
The kids ran out before Willow was even on her feet.
She banged against the metal door hoping it would budge, but it was locked tight. She could hear their voices, their laughter fade away.
Carrie: Oh Em Gee, that was sooo funny! I can't wait to see her face when she gets back to school.
Marie: I'm not sure about this Carrie. We might be going too far. What if it really isn't safe?
Carrie: Give it a rest, I said it was safe, didn't I. If some bum doesn't find her, then I know for a fact that contractors will be here in the morning. Someone will find her.
At first Willow panicked. The room was small, damp and dark. There was an awful smell in the air as if someone, or several people rather, had been using this as a restroom. She yelled out as loudly as she could, hoping someone could hear her.
But no one did. Willow slid down the wall and pulled her knees up to herself wondering what she got herself into this time. She was even too upset to cry.
She didn't know how long she had been sitting there when the fire broke out. A wire must have shorted out or something. It was the only way she could have explained it. She didn't realize it until she could feel the heat through the door and smoke above her.
Only then did Willow really begin to panic. It wasn't about her parents finding out she had snuck out of the house, or being trapped in a urine soaked room, it was about her life now.
It was fortunate for her that Carrie and Henry chose to stop where they did to go over their "victory" again.
It was a place by the Old Market Cafe where kids hung out after school for various sordid pastimes.
It was one of those hangouts that Rowan frequented often with his friends.
He overheard those preppy wannabe bad-kid brats talking about Willow and what they did.
At first he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had to listen closely until they mentioned Willow's name again.
Willow was lucky that Henry gave it up so quickly. Rowan could have beat this kid until every bone in his face was shattered but all he knew was he had to get to his sister.
She had passed out from the smoke. She didn't know how long she was out for, but all she could remember was how hard it was to breathe. It was easy to succumb to the darkness, and to just lie there against the still cool floor and sleep...
Get up Willow.
The voice was sharp, like an ice cold wind hitting her face.
Get up, now!
"Mr. Wesley?"
It was the first thing she thought of saying. She didn't know why... she could barely remember who that was.
Rowan: Willow! Come on, we gotta get out of here.
Willow: Rowan, what's going on?
Rowan: The place is on fucking fire, Willow, that's what's going on. Come on, get with it, we gotta go.
Rowan and Willow looked at the door. The heat was nearly intense and the smoke was thick. But they managed to get out.
Adrian: That's pretty crazy. I knew those girls were jerks but I didn't realize they did that to you. Why didn't you tell anyone?
Willow: It doesn't matter. They never bothered me again. I guess I "passed" their horrible little initiation.
Adrian: It's still awful. No wonder you have nightmares.
Willow: Miss Cordial helped me a lot after that. I'm not sure what I'm going to do now.
Willow: I'm sorry to bother you with all of this. I'm sure this wasn't what you came here to hear... listening to me commiserate about my life.
Adrian: Don't be sorry.
Adrian: This is what friends do for eachother.
Willow: I know. Thank you.
Adrian: I'll always be around okay?
She held him close before he left for the night. It felt good to be in his arms, if only for a little bit. She just wanted to forget about everything, leave school, run off and find a quiet place somewhere. Maybe even with him.
She didn't tell him everything about that night though. She and Rowan did make it out alive, obviously, but it wasn't as easy as just running out of there.
They had run out of that room as fast as they could. Rowan told her to cover her head and just keep running. She tried to do just that.
But all the junk and debris that was littered around the place had soon caught fire. The fire raged higher and hotter, trapping Rowan. If he jumped through, he'd no doubt burn.
Rowan: It's too hot, Willow! Just go!
Willow: I'm not going to leave you here!
Rowan: For fuck's sake, GO!
But she didn't. She didn't know what to do. There wasn't a phone booth for several blocks with which she could call in an emergency.
Willow didn't need to. She felt the energy tingling at the back of her neck, much more potent than the heat of the flames.
She watched in disbelief as Miss Cordial literally appeared out of thin air behind her.
Kimberly: Well, Willow, what are you going to do about this situation?
Willow was dumbfounded at what she just told her.
Willow: My brother is in trouble! What do you expect me to do? We need to help him!
Kimberly: First of all, you're going to calm down, Willow. You can't help your brother if you're running around like a headless chicken. Pull yourself together.
Willow: But what am I supposed to do???
Kimberly: You do what you have to, Willow. Now think fast, we don't have all night.
In that instant, Willow didn't think. It was as if Miss Cordial had suddenly given her permission to finally open up... to harness some force from the very air around her if only it could help Rowan.
The magic coursed through every pore and every vein. It fired through her limbs and from her fingertips. Whatever this was felt incredible. But the main thought in her mind was to save her brother.
Rowan couldn't believe what he was seeing.
There wasn't a cloud in the sky but rain fell fast and hard.
It took only a second and the fire was just gone. Every last flame.
Willow: Rowan are you okay?
Rowan: Holy shit, Willow. What just happened?
Willow: I don't know but let's just go now okay?
Kimberly: Not too bad for your first time out.
Willow: Miss Cordial? What happened?
Kimberly: First of all, I did tell you not to come here tonight, didn't I?
Willow: I'm sorry, I just didn't know this would happen.
Kimberly: Well you nearly got yourself and your brother killed. Lucky for you I wouldn't have let that happen either way.
Willow: What are you? What am I..?
Kimberly: You, little Miss Marlen, are a witch. Just like me. This is something I knew about you a long time ago which is why I chose to work with you.
Willow: A witch? There's such a thing?
She was astounded and amazed. And secretly she was a little happy. She never knew anything like this could be possible. Everything that happened that night suddenly seemed to shift to the back of her mind.
Rowan: Wait a fucking minute. You're telling me that my little sister is a witch? That's horseshit.
Kimberly: Watch your mouth, young man and show some respect. You have no idea how gifted Willow is.
Rowan: Come fucking on. Magic? Witchcraft?
Kimberly: What did you just see, Rowan? You would have been fried to a crisp if Willow hadn't done what she did.
Kimberly: You're an obnoxious little boy, Rowan, but you have an important task too which you're already doing a shitty job of. You need to protect Willow, Rowan. If you do nothing else in your pathetic life, you must keep Willow safe.
It was nearly a decade ago that all this happened. Though it would take several more years for Willow to actually start practicing magic in earnest, that night was the first night that it had awakened in her.
Willow sat outside for a long time after Adrian left, trying to put her thoughts in order. She had gotten by so long trying to learn as much as she could every day. Even little insignificant bits of information was something to learn, and she lived for it it seemed. Her magic was all a part of that. Just something to study.
Something Rowan told her at the field seemed to echo again now. Maybe she should be saving kittens or babies. Maybe she should be doing something important with her magic instead of learning about it. Why else would I have this gift? If there was any way she could live up to Miss Cordial's memory maybe this would be one of them.
She went back into the dorm, determined to get some sleep. Maybe tonight she'll dream of something else. She should just be able to leave it all behind her. It should just be all a harmless memory. Yet maybe she was ignoring that somehow there was another layer to her story. One that remained hidden below, unknown to her. What if that was why the dreams still haunted her.
Clara: So, how did it go?
Kimberly: Your insane plan worked, Clara. I thought for sure I'd have to bail them out.
Clara: You need to listen to me more often. I'm not all just looks, you know.
Kimberly: Well, I'm sure you're dying to tell me all about it.
It wasn't hard. She desperately wanted to be part of the cool crowd. All little girls do.
Marie: Maybe I better check up on her.. just to make sure she's okay.
Carrie: Fine, but you're being a loser. Catch up with us at the Market.
My first order of business was to send Marie Stanford home all week long with a bad stomach flu.
Secondly, I'd give her friends the idea to bring Willow here. Carrie thinks it's her idea, she's that egotistic. But it was really me that put it there.
I love the glamour spell. I always have so much fun with it.
Then, one, two, three...
Kablammo!
Clara: But really, Kim darling, answer me one thing: Is Willow Marlen really worth all this trouble? Most witches don't have to be scared into discovering their talents.
Kimberly: We don't have the luxury of just waiting around to see if she becomes a witch. And frankly, you wouldn't be asking that if you were true to the Coven.
Clara: Are you doubting my loyalties?
Kimberly: I wouldn't dream of it, Clara dear. After all, if you betrayed us, you know I'd have to kill you.
Clara smiled, a dark and wicked smile as she spoke under her breath so that Kimberly wouldn't hear.
Clara: Not if I get you first.
next » [ chapter 10: out of place ]
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Brenna is played by Aynsley Kessler, created by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
quellasims @ ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif){kind=small}
pixel_trade
Marie is played by Tinsley by katu @ pixel_trade
lilacbloom for creating the awesome Belladonna Highschool, as well as Simsurbania for the lot which I've demolished for this story. Don't worry, it's currently in the process of being re-renovated for young urban hipsters. :Dnotes:
I've actually slightly edited this chapter with two more screenshots and it's accompanying dialogue. It doesn't alter the story at all, it's just extra details.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-12 05:09 pm (UTC):( I feel so bad for Gabriel. I am officially Team Gabriel. lol. I don't know why, I just am. Although it was very cute how Adrian was standing, looking up at Willow's window.. Aww!!! lol
Great chapater!
no subject
Date: 2009-08-13 03:04 am (UTC)LOL Team Gabriel... I guess I'd join a team, but if I told you which one I'm on, it'd sort of be a spoiler, haha.
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Date: 2009-08-13 03:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-12 06:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-13 03:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-12 08:28 pm (UTC)I feel sorry for Gabriel, he feels jealous about Willow and Adrian. I hope things go right for him.
So Willow's therapist is the evil twin? Hm, I feel some betrayal.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-13 03:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-13 02:29 pm (UTC)I was admiring your screenshooting, because its gorgeous, btw, awesome job!! and got hooked with the story while at it. I'll have to read back a bit to understand the characters better, but it looks amazing. :)
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Date: 2009-08-13 11:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-14 02:48 am (UTC)And you do it amazingly well! ;)
When reading sim stories, I'm drawn to the pictures, tbh, I just can't avoid it. Not like the text/written part doesn't count, of course, but I just enjoy the visual experience on a good sim-story the most. :)
no subject
Date: 2009-08-15 07:48 am (UTC)I'm so glad to see Rowan being so protective of Willow, that was so sweet! Like, even if he was pretty much a thug, he still loved his baby sister, lol.
Enjoyed the update a lot, as usual! :)
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Date: 2009-08-16 03:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-18 03:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-18 03:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-18 02:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-18 02:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-22 10:06 am (UTC)I love your new chapter this is great XD
no subject
Date: 2009-08-22 01:52 pm (UTC)