Status: Active
Maybe This Time It'll Be Happily Ever After
Maybe This Time It'll Be Happily Ever After (03)
Chapter 3
-- New Home, Old Memories
-Alex’s POV-
I had a feeling that I knew her, but I don’t know where from.
“Dude, what’s up? Why’d you stop playing?” Jack yelled into my ear.
I snapped back to reality, and then abruptly stood up and walked over to her, to introduce myself.
“Hey neighbour, I’m Alex. You must be new here.” I then mentally slapped myself for that. Great. Now she must think I’m stupid.
“Hey, I’m Carrie. And yeah as you can see I’m still moving my stuff.”
I just thought of a great comeback.
“Let me help you with that.” I said, taking the box she was carrying.
-Carrie’s POV-
OMG. He’s helping me out!?
What do I do?
Say yes. Duh. It’s so obvious you’re into him.
What?!We just met him.
So?
So? I just broke up with my fiancé.
You mean our fiancé.
*sigh* Talking to myself – first sign of insanity.
Hello, he’s staring at you.
Oh yeah, crap.
“Ahh.. Sure. That would be nice. Thanks”
Then he took my box and carried it into the house.
-Alex’s POV-
This is a really nice house. How could I not notice that?
MAYBE because there’s a hot chick in it.
Shut up.
“Nice house.”
“Yeah.” she said, sighing.
“So, wanna hang out?” I asked, trying to be polite but secretly wanting her to say yes.
She smiled at me.
Yes! That’s a good sign.
“Sure. I’d love to.”
“How about Monday next week, at around 2?”
She nodded yes.
“Cool. See you then”
She smiled at me again, as I turned to leave.
A Week Later
-Alex’s POV-
Jack, Dani, Kara, Rian, Zack and I were sitting on my lawn Monday afternoon. At exactly 2 pm, I saw Carrie walk over to us.
“Who’s that?” I heard Jack whisper to Zack.
Zack shrugged in response.
I got up and went over to where Carrie was. I met her halfway and we walked the rest of the way together.
“Why does Alex get all the good ones?” I heard Zack ask as we were approaching.
This time, Jack shrugged.
When I looked at Carrie, her electric blue eyes met mine and I was suddenly speechless. Then it hit me. SHE – the girl that moved in next door is Carrie Angela Blair.
I quickly looked away, remembering our childhood. I always used to pick on Carrie. Should I ask her if she remembers me? I didn’t know. I could though.
“Carrie?” I asked, clearing my throat.
She looked at me, eyebrows raised.
“Have we met before? You seem familiar.” I asked her.
She nodded hesitantly.
“We moved when I was younger.”
“Oh.”
“And yes, I do remember you Alex.” she said, smirking.
I smirked back at her. I was going to make a witty remark but Jack spoke up.
“Alex!”Jack said, gasping in shock. “You promised you’d never cheat on me again.” He said, mock hurt.
I turned to Carrie and she looked confused. Jack you idiot! Now she thinks I’m gay.
“Sorry Jack-O. I just can’t keep playing second fiddle to her.” I said, pointing at Dani. Then, everybody burst out laughing, except for a confused looking Carrie.
I cleared things up and introduced her to everyone.
“Carrie, these are my band mates. That’s Jack, Zack, and Rian.” I said pointing to each of them.
“That’s Jack’s girlfriend Dani and Rian’s Kara.” I continued.
“Ohhh! HAHA! Now I get it!” She said laughing.
Everybody started to laugh with her now.
“So, wanna come to band practice?” I asked smiling at her.
-Carrie’s POV-
‘Want to come to band practice?’
That just made my day. Maybe moving back here wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
“Sure Alex, I’ll be back out in 5.”
I sprinted across the lawn and ran into my house.
-Alex’s POV-
My doorbell rang. I quickly pulled the plain white V- neck over my head and answered the door. Carrie stood there wearing a purple Glamour Kills t-shirt and bright green skinny jeans.
“Hey.” She said, smiling.
“Hey yourself.” I said chuckling. “You do know your clothes don’t match right?” I asked amused.
But she could totally pull it off.
She jutted out her bottom lip and pouted.
“But I thought I could pull it off.” she whined.
WTF! Is she like a mind reader?
“Don’t worry, you can. Come on in.”
I showed her around the house, and we made our way down to the basement.
“..And we practice here. In the basement.”
“Sweet. I wish I had something as cool as a band and friends with ADD.” She said as we walked down the steps.
“Heyyyyy!” Jack yelled. “We heard that.”
I just laughed and led her into the room.
…
…
“Carrrrrrrrriiiiiieeeeeeeeee!”Jack shouted.
“Jaacccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkyyyyyyyyyy!” she mocked him
“You are officially my best friend!” Then he hug-attacked her.
“I’d love that Jacky!” she said while laughing.
“Hey! What about me?” I joke-protested. “I wanted to be your best friend!”
Everyone in the room burst into laughter.
A few more minutes of joking around and I had tears in my eyes. This is how every band practice started.
Kara looked up, trying to muffle her laughter from something Jack said.
“I think you guys should start practice or somebody’s gonna piss themselves.”
After all the jokes, we got ourselves set and decided on two songs for today. Therapy and Remembering Sunday.
-Carrie’s POV-
When Alex started to sing, I forgot about everything else. His voice was. Never had I heard a voice as pure as his. As I listened to the lyrics of his songs, I instantly knew that they were about someone he cared about. Both seemed so deep and it hit close to home. But a particular part of the lyric just killed me.
Keeping an eye on the world
So many thousands of feet off the ground
I’m over you now
I’m at home in the clouds
Towering over your head...
I couldn’t help but let out a tear at the lyric. It triggered some distant memory I thought I had learned to live with.
*Flashback*
March 12, 1996
“But daddy.” I cried. My mum wrapped her arms around me and cried too.
“Carrie, baby.*cough cough* I love you. Always remember that. And if you need me, I’ll be up in the clouds with Jesus. I’ll always keep an eye on you. Take care of yourself and your mother for me. Be strong baby, I love yo..” He closed his eyes.
“DADDY!” I screamed. Then it went black.
*End of Flashback*
-Alex’s POV-
She started tearing up during the song. We stopped playing and asked her what was wrong. But she quickly recovered and hid whatever it was she was feeling.
After band practice, all of us went upstairs, but Kara practically begged Carrie to stay with her in the basement so ‘they could get to know each other’. But, the Kara that we know would be doing more than just asking where she was from.
-Carrie’s POV-
“Hey,” Kara said. “What happened before?” She asked softly.
I sighed, knowing this would lead to more tear works.
“If you don’t mind me asking…” her sentence trailed off and I knew what she meant.
“Yeah, well I haven’t really talked about it to anybody but my mum, but –“
“Oh! It’s ok. I understand.” She interjected.
“No, it’s just that I think it might be good to get it out and to deal with it.” I decided I’d tell her everything.
“It all happened when I was seven…”
...
“..And he never opened his eyes again.” I said through sobs.
Kara looked teary eyed too.
“Oh, I’m so sorry Carrie. But I’m glad you told me. You got it off your chest. And I totally get why that song affected you so much.”
“It wasn’t so much the song, because you know they aren’t really about the same thing, but that line was just..” I trailed off
“Yeah.” Kara sighed and gave me a hug.
“Well, I think I should get going. Thanks for being a good friend Karr.”
“No problem. Walk you to the door?” She asked. I nodded and got up.
-Alex’s POV-
I heard the door close and saw Kara walk into the kitchen.
“What was that about babe?”Rian asked.
“Well, she told me something.” Kara said sighing, and hugged Rian.
“Oh! What happened?” Dani asked.
“Well,..”Kara started, unsure as if to tell us or not.
She sighed and started to retell Carrie’s story down to the last detail.
All any of us did was stare at each other with the same apologetic look on our faces.
-- New Home, Old Memories
-Alex’s POV-
I had a feeling that I knew her, but I don’t know where from.
“Dude, what’s up? Why’d you stop playing?” Jack yelled into my ear.
I snapped back to reality, and then abruptly stood up and walked over to her, to introduce myself.
“Hey neighbour, I’m Alex. You must be new here.” I then mentally slapped myself for that. Great. Now she must think I’m stupid.
“Hey, I’m Carrie. And yeah as you can see I’m still moving my stuff.”
I just thought of a great comeback.
“Let me help you with that.” I said, taking the box she was carrying.
-Carrie’s POV-
OMG. He’s helping me out!?
What do I do?
Say yes. Duh. It’s so obvious you’re into him.
What?!We just met him.
So?
So? I just broke up with my fiancé.
You mean our fiancé.
*sigh* Talking to myself – first sign of insanity.
Hello, he’s staring at you.
Oh yeah, crap.
“Ahh.. Sure. That would be nice. Thanks”
Then he took my box and carried it into the house.
-Alex’s POV-
This is a really nice house. How could I not notice that?
MAYBE because there’s a hot chick in it.
Shut up.
“Nice house.”
“Yeah.” she said, sighing.
“So, wanna hang out?” I asked, trying to be polite but secretly wanting her to say yes.
She smiled at me.
Yes! That’s a good sign.
“Sure. I’d love to.”
“How about Monday next week, at around 2?”
She nodded yes.
“Cool. See you then”
She smiled at me again, as I turned to leave.
A Week Later
-Alex’s POV-
Jack, Dani, Kara, Rian, Zack and I were sitting on my lawn Monday afternoon. At exactly 2 pm, I saw Carrie walk over to us.
“Who’s that?” I heard Jack whisper to Zack.
Zack shrugged in response.
I got up and went over to where Carrie was. I met her halfway and we walked the rest of the way together.
“Why does Alex get all the good ones?” I heard Zack ask as we were approaching.
This time, Jack shrugged.
When I looked at Carrie, her electric blue eyes met mine and I was suddenly speechless. Then it hit me. SHE – the girl that moved in next door is Carrie Angela Blair.
I quickly looked away, remembering our childhood. I always used to pick on Carrie. Should I ask her if she remembers me? I didn’t know. I could though.
“Carrie?” I asked, clearing my throat.
She looked at me, eyebrows raised.
“Have we met before? You seem familiar.” I asked her.
She nodded hesitantly.
“We moved when I was younger.”
“Oh.”
“And yes, I do remember you Alex.” she said, smirking.
I smirked back at her. I was going to make a witty remark but Jack spoke up.
“Alex!”Jack said, gasping in shock. “You promised you’d never cheat on me again.” He said, mock hurt.
I turned to Carrie and she looked confused. Jack you idiot! Now she thinks I’m gay.
“Sorry Jack-O. I just can’t keep playing second fiddle to her.” I said, pointing at Dani. Then, everybody burst out laughing, except for a confused looking Carrie.
I cleared things up and introduced her to everyone.
“Carrie, these are my band mates. That’s Jack, Zack, and Rian.” I said pointing to each of them.
“That’s Jack’s girlfriend Dani and Rian’s Kara.” I continued.
“Ohhh! HAHA! Now I get it!” She said laughing.
Everybody started to laugh with her now.
“So, wanna come to band practice?” I asked smiling at her.
-Carrie’s POV-
‘Want to come to band practice?’
That just made my day. Maybe moving back here wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
“Sure Alex, I’ll be back out in 5.”
I sprinted across the lawn and ran into my house.
-Alex’s POV-
My doorbell rang. I quickly pulled the plain white V- neck over my head and answered the door. Carrie stood there wearing a purple Glamour Kills t-shirt and bright green skinny jeans.
“Hey.” She said, smiling.
“Hey yourself.” I said chuckling. “You do know your clothes don’t match right?” I asked amused.
But she could totally pull it off.
She jutted out her bottom lip and pouted.
“But I thought I could pull it off.” she whined.
WTF! Is she like a mind reader?
“Don’t worry, you can. Come on in.”
I showed her around the house, and we made our way down to the basement.
“..And we practice here. In the basement.”
“Sweet. I wish I had something as cool as a band and friends with ADD.” She said as we walked down the steps.
“Heyyyyy!” Jack yelled. “We heard that.”
I just laughed and led her into the room.
…
…
“Carrrrrrrrriiiiiieeeeeeeeee!”Jack shouted.
“Jaacccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkyyyyyyyyyy!” she mocked him
“You are officially my best friend!” Then he hug-attacked her.
“I’d love that Jacky!” she said while laughing.
“Hey! What about me?” I joke-protested. “I wanted to be your best friend!”
Everyone in the room burst into laughter.
A few more minutes of joking around and I had tears in my eyes. This is how every band practice started.
Kara looked up, trying to muffle her laughter from something Jack said.
“I think you guys should start practice or somebody’s gonna piss themselves.”
After all the jokes, we got ourselves set and decided on two songs for today. Therapy and Remembering Sunday.
-Carrie’s POV-
When Alex started to sing, I forgot about everything else. His voice was. Never had I heard a voice as pure as his. As I listened to the lyrics of his songs, I instantly knew that they were about someone he cared about. Both seemed so deep and it hit close to home. But a particular part of the lyric just killed me.
Keeping an eye on the world
So many thousands of feet off the ground
I’m over you now
I’m at home in the clouds
Towering over your head...
I couldn’t help but let out a tear at the lyric. It triggered some distant memory I thought I had learned to live with.
*Flashback*
March 12, 1996
“But daddy.” I cried. My mum wrapped her arms around me and cried too.
“Carrie, baby.*cough cough* I love you. Always remember that. And if you need me, I’ll be up in the clouds with Jesus. I’ll always keep an eye on you. Take care of yourself and your mother for me. Be strong baby, I love yo..” He closed his eyes.
“DADDY!” I screamed. Then it went black.
*End of Flashback*
-Alex’s POV-
She started tearing up during the song. We stopped playing and asked her what was wrong. But she quickly recovered and hid whatever it was she was feeling.
After band practice, all of us went upstairs, but Kara practically begged Carrie to stay with her in the basement so ‘they could get to know each other’. But, the Kara that we know would be doing more than just asking where she was from.
-Carrie’s POV-
“Hey,” Kara said. “What happened before?” She asked softly.
I sighed, knowing this would lead to more tear works.
“If you don’t mind me asking…” her sentence trailed off and I knew what she meant.
“Yeah, well I haven’t really talked about it to anybody but my mum, but –“
“Oh! It’s ok. I understand.” She interjected.
“No, it’s just that I think it might be good to get it out and to deal with it.” I decided I’d tell her everything.
“It all happened when I was seven…”
...
“..And he never opened his eyes again.” I said through sobs.
Kara looked teary eyed too.
“Oh, I’m so sorry Carrie. But I’m glad you told me. You got it off your chest. And I totally get why that song affected you so much.”
“It wasn’t so much the song, because you know they aren’t really about the same thing, but that line was just..” I trailed off
“Yeah.” Kara sighed and gave me a hug.
“Well, I think I should get going. Thanks for being a good friend Karr.”
“No problem. Walk you to the door?” She asked. I nodded and got up.
-Alex’s POV-
I heard the door close and saw Kara walk into the kitchen.
“What was that about babe?”Rian asked.
“Well, she told me something.” Kara said sighing, and hugged Rian.
“Oh! What happened?” Dani asked.
“Well,..”Kara started, unsure as if to tell us or not.
She sighed and started to retell Carrie’s story down to the last detail.
All any of us did was stare at each other with the same apologetic look on our faces.