A Photograph of You & I

Normal P.O.V

"You're just going to waste perfectly good cereal?" Ryan asked me as I began pouring the rest of my cheerios down the drain of the sink. I wasn't very hungry.

"You're welcome to chase it down the drain." I replied with a smirk. He looked as if he were actually contemplating it but instead, he lit a cigarette and looked at me.

"I don't want you to go." I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"Ry, I've already been gone too long." I said breathlessly.

"Aina, we've had you for a whole whopping two days."

"You shouldn't have tried to surprise me." I replied icily as I made my way toward the stairs.

I took the stairs two steps at a time and made my way toward the front door, but my collision with a hard body brought me to the floor.

"Ow, fuck." I muttered under my breath as I looked up at whom I'd hit. Ville stood there with a playful smirk playing on his lips. I glared at him and took the hand he offered to help me up.

"Sorry Darling, I didn't see you there." He apologized as I inspected myself for any dirt that might be marring my clothing.

I really should have brought a change of clothes.

"It's fine."

"Where were you going?"

"Outside."

"What for?"

I looked up at this rather intrusive person and considered whether or not I should tell him. No doubt he'd want to tag along and I also had no doubt that I would allow him to.

"I don't know."

He smiled. "Well if you weren't doing anything in particular, would you mind driving me downtown so I can get some cigarettes?"

I looked myself once over. "I look like hell hit me with an ugly stick, Ville."

"Darling, you couldn't look ugly if you tried." His voice and look softened exponentially as he spoke and I felt my pulse quicken.

"Fine," I sighed. "But we're stopping at my house on the way."

"Great. I'll go steal some keys and meet you in the driveway." He said, his voice growing excited.

I smiled at him and shook my head as I walked around him and out the door. Immediately the cold air enveloped me and the hair on my arms began stand on end. I let out a shudder as my teeth began chattering and I wished I'd thought to bring a jacket with me.

"Here, Love." Ville's deep voice said from behind me as he shrugged out of his coat and wrapped it around me shoulders. I began to protest but he pressed his index finger to my lips.

"I'm fine, you're the one out here in a T-shirt." He said, pulling the jacket closer around me.

I smiled appreciatively at him and held out my hand. He knew what I implied and dropped the keys to the Lamborghini in my cold hands.

"Bammie is gonna kill you for this." I told him, opening the door to the car.

"No he's going to kill you, you're the one driving." He replied with a smirk.

I started the car and quickly sped down the driveway to avoid any chance that Bam would run out and jump in the way of the car to stop us. I would be going out of my way to prevent any disasters that could be avoided for the next few hours.

A CD that had been left in the player began to play. A quickly played intro started and played for a few seconds until the music faded slightly and a sweet, low voice began to sing.

"Again the burden of losing rests upon my shoulders. And its weight seems unbearable. Your tomb is where your heart is, I should have told her. But within me hid a secret so terrible..."

Ville quickly pressed the button to change the CD.

"Hey! I liked that." I protested but he ignored me and continued to shift through all the albums until he selected one he was satisfied with.

"Sorry, Darling."

"Who was that anyway?" I asked, stopping at the light I found myself at.

"No idea." He said nonchalantly, a lie was clearly trying to be hidden in his voice. I glanced at him suspiciously but he kept his gaze strictly forward.

"It's green." He informed me, and I began to drive again.

The remaining ride to the store was absolutely silent with the exception of the music that was playing. But even that seemed to have faded into silence.

I pulled into a convenience store and parked out front. Ville looked at me appreciatively and opened his door.

"Do you want anything?" He asked, I shook my head in response. He shrugged and got out of the car. I tried to avert my eyes as they wandered over to his retreating figure, landing curiously on his hips as they swayed.

I needed to stop thinking like this.

My cell phone rang obnoxiously in my pocket and broke my train of thought. I groaned and pulled it from my pocket and pressed the button to answer it, knowing whom it would be.

"YOU TOOK THE LAMBORGHINI!?" Bam's voice screamed from the other end of the connection.

"Ville took the keys, not me." I told him.

"Where the fuck are you?"

"The store, Ville needed cigarettes."

"Ugh, fine. Meet us at the bar."

"Us?"

"Me, Raab, Ryan, and Novak."

"Bam its not even one in the afternoon."

"Since when has that ever stopped us from drinking."

"Since...never." I conceded to defeat. "We'll be there in ten."

He hung up without saying goodbye and I did the same, slipping the device into the pocket of Ville's coat. At the same time, he opened his door and slipped into the car in one fluid move.

"Bam wants us to meet him at the bar." I told him, starting the car and waiting for another vehicle to park before I could back out.

"Mhm." He mumbled, opening up his cigarette pack and placing a stick between his lips.

I realized Bam never told me which bar to meet him at but I had a feeling as to which one it would be. I turned left and made my way there.

An Hour Later

"Chug! Chug! Chug!" The boys chanted as Bam and Novak competed with each other, each trying to finish their beers first. It was Novak who won as he slammed his mug on the table with a satisfied cheer. Bam just glared at him through narrow eyes.

It was only two thirty in the afternoon and every one of my friends was drunker than hell.

"Come on Aina, have a beer." Raab slurred, handing me his. I shook my head.

"One of us has to be sober enough to drive you all home."

"You're no fun." Raab muttered, taking a long swig of his drink.

I laughed at them all and looked at each one of their faces, committing them to memory and vowing to never forget this day.

Then I noticed one face wasn't among those I looked at.

I sat up in my chair and looked around for the missing person and found him in a dark corner, occasionally sipping an amber colored beer from a tall glass. Then I noticed the other two empty glasses on the table near him.

"Oh Ville..." I whispered as I got up and left the chaos that surrounded my other friends in favor of a quieter environment.

I walked quietly up to the booth where Ville sat and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. He turned to face me and the sight nearly broke my heart.

Tears streaked silently down his pale cheeks. His eyes were lost and dejected, slowly coming back to reality as he took the sight of me standing before him in.

"Can I sit with you?" I asked. He nodded and watched as I went around the other side of the table and took the seat opposite him.

He simply stared at me, occasionally sipping at his drink.

"Ville, what's the matter?" I asked, reaching across the table and taking one of his cold hands in mine. A fresh tear slid down his face.

"Ville?" I pressed. He got up and walked around the table, never breaking the hold our hands had on each other, and sat next to me on the bench. Carefully, he laid his head on my shoulder and wrapped his arm around my torso.

Still holding my hand.

"I don't want you to go, Aina. I've missed you so much...and now you're just going to up and leave again."

"Ville..." I said, unable to think of anything to say to ease his pain.

"Aina, I love you so much and I don't want to lose you again." There was that stabbing feeling again.

"Ville, you don't mean that. You're drunk and upset."

"Yes I do mean it. I've never meant anything more in my life." His low voice slurred slightly as he tried to pronounce his words.

"No, Ville." I denied his words again and his head shot up from my shoulder.

"Don't tell me what I do and do not mean, Aina. And don't tell me I'm drunk because I have a high tolerance for alcohol."

"If you say so."

So quickly that I almost didn't register his movements, he let go of me and stomped off, swearing loudly in Finnish.

Bam, Raab, Novak, and Dunn all looked up from where they sat and followed Ville with their eyes as he made a scene and walked out of the bar.

Then all of their eyes followed the trail from where he'd come from. And all their gazes bestowed blame on me.