Alice, Bella and friends.

Alice

"merde" i muttered under my breath, grateful that my headphones were on, I could hear him, but he didn't need to know that. I was just a few yards away from the girls bathroom, where I could hide until class ended if I needed to.

"Alice!" he called again. It tore my heart into peices to ignore him.


Random

"So tell me about Alice?" I asked.

"She's...for lack of a better word insane. She gets scared very easily when it comes to stuff like this. I'd bet she loves him too and's just too afraid to admit it."

"Hm..." She's a lot like me. Afraid to get hurt, maybe I could talk to her.

Ronan --

"Alice!" I said, hoping not to disturb the classes around me. Finally, it became to much, and I ran forward, raeching to grab her shoulder.

Right as I went to stop her, she slipped into the girls bathroom.

Sadly, I think that was one of the most graceful motions Alice had ever made.

I waited, debating whetehr or not I shoudl follow her.

Bella --

I sighed loudly, and Random pulled me down into a sitting position in front of one of the heaters. He pulled me close to him, and I curled up, feeling comfortable despite the odd wave of depression that had crashed over me.

This always happened when my friends got depressed. I seemed to just soak it up, becoming nearly as bad as they were, if not worse on occasion.

"Random?" I said softly, trying to change to a less depressing subject.

"Yes Bella?" he asked, looking down at me.

"Why're you being so nice?"

Random

"I-Uh....fuck...I like you?"


"You what?"

"I like you...a lot."



Alice

Ronan had almost caught me. Which means he'd be walking into the bathroom soon. Panic raced through me and I did the only thing I could think to do. I put my feet on the toilet and stood on it, but crouched down so he wouldn't see me over the top.

**BTW, this is the girls bathroom next to Mr. O's room, and the heater right there too. So Bella and Random are nearby *wink***

Ronan --

After a moment, I gave up and walked into the girls bathroom.

Wow was it clean.

I blinked a few times.

Smelled good too.

"Alice?" I said, walking down the row of stalls. I could barely make out her body, standing on a toilet, in the third stall. "Dear, please come down off of that toilet and talk to me?"

Bella --

I blinked a few times, unsure of exactly what to say, or how to react.

"You do...?" I questioned, trying to make sure i heard him right. "You, the guy who could get almost any girl and flirts with all of them, likes me?"

I had to be misunderstanding him. Either that or it was a joke. I shrugged inwardly -- I would laugh it off either way.

Random

"Well...actually... I think thats why I like you, everyone else is always throwing themselves at me, and its disgusting and annoying. You're the first one who didn't do that...I'm sort of a half stalker."

Alice

fuck, merde, damnit. I knew I'd have to do this eventually. But I didn't want to. I didn't want to lie and say I didn't love him and that I was afraid of hurting him.

I didn't want to tell him to go away either.

The lock started to giggle, he was opening it!

When the door swang open I reached foward to push it shut and of course, I lost my balence and fell.

Bella --

I surpressed a giggle, and stared at him.

"But...you flirt back..."

"I'm a guy! That's like a natural reaction or something!" he exclaimed, touching my cheek lightly.

Ronan --

"Oh my God are you okay?" I exclaimed, rushing forward to help Alice to her feet. "Dammnit," I murmured, hearing someone walk into the bathroom.

The girls bathroom.

Damnit!

"Act natural," I said, grinning and standing on the toilet so the person who had entered wouldn't see that there were 2 people in the large stall, one of whom was obviously a guy.

Alice

Natural at this point was exactly what I wanted to do. Flushing the toilet and walking out of the stall. I washed my hands and fled. As soon as I was in the hall I burst into a run. Nearly knocking Random over.

"Oh hey, sorry bout that," I apologized trying to go around.

He moved in front of me every direction.

"Get out of my way please!" I begged/demanded.


Random

"Talk to Ronan."

"I...I can't!"

"Yes you can, got some spell stopping you?"

"Not really...."

"Then talk to him."

**TIME LAPSE -- TWO DAYS LATER**

Ronan--

I stayyed home sick for a day, feeling utterly depressed. If Alice wasn't talking to me, I had no reason to be there.

The next day mom forced me to school.

Bella--

I felt like shit.

I had just realized that I was lying to all of my friends. None of them knew what I truly thought of them, and that made me feel pretty bitchy.

Alice

I had gone to school on Wendsday, but I was sent home after I threw up.

I hadn't thrown up since the fifth grade and only then because I was sick. I wasn't sick. Just...hating myself.

Could that make me puke?

So now it was Thursday, I was lying on the couch watching a movie, and forgetting who I was. Right now I was Fanny Brice chasing Nickey Arnsteine.

Ronan --

Go figure, the one day I decided to come to school, Alice disappeared.

Bella was doing everything she could to make me feel better, regardless of how upset she was.

Bella --

After talking to Ronan for about 15 minutes straight, and promising to try and talk to Alice for him if he didn't get there first, I felt even worse.

As I said before, my friends being depressed was a curse on my part.

Silently, I curled up in the alcove at the far end of the hallway that held my locker.

Alice

I expected Bella to come over to my house after school and give me my homework. I also knew that she would try to talk to me about Ronan.

She of all people should know that you can't tell me anyting and expect it to get through to me.

Not really excited about that I popped a couple tylenol and hoped it'd put me to sleep.


Random

I walked down to Bella's locker and noticed that she wasn't there. I had half a mind to turn around and look somewhere else but I had some weird feeling that she was here. Almost like I could breathe her.

I'm just her half stalker!

Bella --

I heard footsteps approaching, and curled into an even smaller ball, hoping to remain unnoticed.

"Bella?" Random asked, his shadow falling over me.
I ignored him.

It was almost like that little kids line "I can't see you, so you can't see me."

Only I was more of hte opinion that if I dind't look long enough he's disappear.

I should've known him better than that.

Random

"Bella what's wrong?" I asked sitting down next to her, and pulled her into my arms, just because I didn't think she'd fight.


Alice

The tylenol didn't work, except I didn't feel sick anymore.

Bella

"I don't know. I just feel like crap," I replied, curling up against him. He was warm. "I think it's got something to do with everyone elses depression."

"How so?"

"Well, they're all my friends, so for them to be so upset just kind of upsets me too," I sighed.

Random

"I'd bet it doesn't make it any easier on them." I commented.

"Huh?"

"I see how your friends act, if one of you are depressed it depresses the lot of you. A vicious cycle."