Juniper Halls

Violet

When they reached the end of the street, the silence descended again and only Violet appeared to be uncomfortable with it. Aidan was busy staring outwards, watching for any sign of Briar no doubt and James and Fern were quietly absorbed within one another, sharing whispers of speech and half smiles.

Holly watched them. Her arms crossed against her chest, she watched them with a frown that seemed to say 'I'm not the one whose changed, you are' and Violet yearned to talk with her.

"How's school, Holly?" Violet asked. For a moment, Violet thought she saw surprise flicker across her sister's expression but she couldn't be sure.

"The usual," Holly answered.

"And helping dad out, it's not too much work is it? Your school work isn't suffering?" Violet persevered.

[Holly]

Holly rolled her eyes. “No, it’s not.” She chose to leave out the fact that she no longer did anything other than take care of the house and study, and that she often stayed up until midnight to do so, then woke at four.

Violet bit her lip, then decided to drop the subject. Holly stood silently beside her sister, looking down the street absentmindedly. Violet followed her gaze, her eyes landing on James and Fern.

“They really seem to be getting along, huh?” she asked.

Holly blinked out of her daze. “Who, James and Fern?” She looked at them, watching them whisper and share secret smiles. Her chest seemed to tighten, and she turned away. “I guess.”

Briar

As we got closer, I felt nearer to happiness than I had in days. As soon as Violet and Holly came into sight, Willow began to run. Laughing, I followed her, wishing I could drop my bag, which was slowing me down. Willow immediately launched herself upon Holly, who almost toppled backwards, and beckoned Violet into the hug.

"Come on Briar!" she urged, freeing one hand to call me in. "Join us."

I rolled my eyes, grinning. "You're cheesy, you know that?" I joined the hug none the less. I felt a strange sense of loss when we eventually broke apart.


(Sorry this is short, I don't know what people want to do here, so I'll leave your responses to you guys. Phindin, I deliberately didn't make reference to Aidan as I wasn't sure as to how he will react, so I'll leave it with ya.)

James-

The girls all started hugging and he couldn't help but smile. They seemed so happy. Soon the group was walking back towards the house, chatting animatedly.

>,< AHHH SHORT!

I'm evil I just started one. Shockingly, it's in this forum under "Juniper Halls Discussion Thead" .(How inventive am I?)

*poke poke*

Briar

It wasn't until then that I spotted Aidan. He was somehow on the outskirts of pain, on the outskirts of recent catastrophe. I hugged him wordlessly, tightly, as if clinging to a rock in the ocean. "It's good to see you," I told him as I pulled away, irritated by the fact that my tone wouldn't lift to mirror my word.

(I'll stop here in case Aidan wants to react, Phindin.) Sorry it's short.

I've been there, but it's looking pretty lonely over there...

Violet

As one, the group walked down the street, the sound of soft foot-steps intermingled with quiet chattering. Once more, James and Fern talked - after brief introductions - while Briar and Aidan shared a few words, their conversation occasionally broken by the cheery, positive voice of Willow:

"Oooh, you remember that time when we all went down to the stream and we had so much fun skipping rocks and we had that lovely picnic. Remember? Huh?" Violet smiled at her sister affectionately and nodded.

"The way I remember it, father was pretty mad when we all came home soaking wet," Violet chuckled.

"But mother wasn't," Briar said quietly.

"No," Violet agreed. "She wasn't." Violet smiled sadly as she recalled how their mother had laughed and shook her head. 'You'll all catch colds and be in bed for months!' she had joked, smiling all the while and bustling into the kitchen to fill five mugs with hot chocolate. Oh their mother had known how to bustle, how to glide from one room to the next in a blink.

"Well here we are; our house," Fern announced.

James-

They were now all back in the house and a feeling of anxiousness hung in the air. Everyone was murmering quietly in their own conversations as if waiting for someone to say something but not sure what. James walked over to a window and looked down into the yard. What was he doing here? He didn't belong. He was putting all of them in danger. And he had opened himself up too much to Fern, the last time something like this happened it ended so badly.

There was a balcony that hung off the side of the house and James managed to slide onto it unnoticed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. There was a half empty bottle of unmarked alcohal on the floor of the balcony. He sat down next to the bottle and leaned against the side of the house. He lit the cigarette then took a drink from the bottle. What was he doing here? His brother would surely find him again, he obviously wasn't doing a good job of covering his tracks. He must have figured out that James had taken money from him, well stolen to be exact and was now working with the other men he had "borrowed" money from. He was on a down hill spiral and would not pull Fern down with him. She had enough going on.

After finishing the bottle his attempts at standing failed so he stayed on the balcony, hidden from the rest of the people in the room. He pulled out another cigarette. He didn't want to face the fact that he was going to have to leave, soon. He wasn't sure if any of them would try to stop him, he could tell some of Fern's sisters didn't exactly trust him. He didn't blame them, he wouldn't trust himself either. He was a drunk and habitual gambler who couldn't get over a lost love and had a past that wouldn't stop following him.

He layed his head back against the wall and pulled out another cigarette.

Thanks dudes.

Briar

The house felt strange. Usually, our mother could be heard busteling around, maybe singing to herself as she went about her chores. I wasn't going to cry. I made sure that I stayed by Aidan's side. I wasn't sure how well my sisters would hold up, but I knew that Aidan wouldn't suddenly burst into tears, and that made him the most sensible person to stand beside. I babbled mindlessly to him, unsure of exactly what I was saying, nothing substantial I was sure. I was dimly aware of hot chocolate being made in the background.

"Sit down," I told Aidan, gesturing to a chair. It was a mark of my distraction. He hadn't needed to be invited to sit in about fourteen years, if ever. He gave me a look I couldn't quite name and then sat down at the kitchen table. I sat down beside him and began plaiting a section at the front of my hair, then got up suddenly and moved to the counter.

"I'll help." I told Violet as she poured hot milk into the saucepans. I took the cocoa powder from the press and stirred two spoons into each cup as Violet finished pouring, then helped her pass them round.

I rooted round in the biscuit tin and put some biscuits on a plate. "They're a bit stale..." I apologised as I set them on the table. Willow smiled. "Don't worry. They'll do." She took one and stuffed half of it into her mouth to illustrate her point before handing the plate round.

I'd only swallowed a mouthful when I heard the key turning in the lock. Without knowing why, I got to my feet. Holly looked nervously at the clock, and then back at the door. He wasn't due home for hours.

Suddenly, I laughed. It was my house. I had every right to be there. The laughter was hysterical by the time my father entered the room and glanced around at the group sitting at the table.