The Cheap Bouquet

Tony had never been happier than the mornings he awoke next to Annabella. Just staring at her expressionless face until she awoke was amusing. She was beyond beautiful but never would she believe that. She had been through too much, and it wasn't hard for Tony to realize that. But she wouldn't tell him anything. Over the past few weeks, he had learned to let her bring the subject up, instead of him doing it himself. Although this wasn't much help, for she had always avoided the subject of her past as much as she could. She seemed to constantly live in the present, forgetting what had happened before high school. That's as far back as she would talk about.

"Can we watch the Goblet Of Fire?" Annabella had been at Tony's for a few weeks now. She hadn't made any effort at all to sleep around with guys for a place to stay. She liked it here, it was slowly becoming her home. She had her movies here, XBox, CDs and most of her clothes.

Tony nodded. "Sure," he answered. He never minded Anna being here. If anything, he liked it. Anna was nice company. The two of them had gotten closer than friends, but not close enough to be anything more than that. They always slept in the same bed, because Tony would never make Anna sleep anywhere else, and Anna would never let him.

Annabella smiled, and inserted the disc. The Goblet of Fire was always her favorite Harry Potter movie. She knew every word from start to finish. And yet, she never got tired of watching it.

She sat next to Tony on the sofa and laid her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her into his lap, kissing her neck sweetly. She smiled, as the movie began.

Tony hadn't really paid any attention, he was much too busy staring at Annabella. It was about halfway through the movie, that Anna had slowly drifted off into sleep.

"Bells," he whispered against her cheek. "Bella, why don't you go upstairs," he suggested, his eyes locked on hers.

She yawned, and nodded. She stood up, and held her hand out to Tony. "Cuddle with me," she whined, sticking out her lower lip childishly.

He smiled and took her hand, letting her lead him up the stairs. Even after they had gotten under the blankets, and were cuddled together, Tony still hadn't let go of her hand. He loved her touch. And, as insane as it sounds, Tony truly loved her. He saw something in her that he had never seen in another girl before.

"I don't mind it, I don't mind if you're overrated. Or if you're staring at the edge of the world."

Tony reached across the bed, and quickly grabbed Annabella's cell phone before it could wake her. Across the locked screen, a text from Emmeline appeared.

I'll be there in ten

Tony didn't want to wake Annabella up, she looked so peaceful and content. She wasn't hurting when she was sleeping. But Tony knew he was going to have to.

He sighed. "Bella," he whispered, kissing her jawline, "Bella, your friend will be here in a few minutes." He felt a sudden remorse as her still tired eyes fluttered open.

She groaned, and buried her face in his side. Annabella wrapped her arms around his torso tighter, and smiled softly as a there was a knock on the door.

"I'll be ready in a second. Emme's not too hard to keep entertained." She stood up, and stretched her arms above her head, her stomach revealed at the bottom of her shirt. More tattoos were revealed, and Tony made a mental note to ask her about them later as he trudged down the stairs.

He opened the door, and gave the girl a small smile. "Emme, right?"

"The bitch who stole my best friend, right?" She walked inside and into the living room, taking a seat on the sofa.

"I'm sorry, it wasn't supposed to be like that." Tony stood against the wall awkwardly.

"I was just fucking with you," she scoffed. Her dark hair was just longer than her shoulders, and was really choppy. Dyed an unnatural shade of black, all except for the purple streak in her bangs. Her eyeliner was thick, and she was wearing leather jeans, combat boots, and a loose fitting tank top with the sides cut out, but tied at the bottom. Due to her shirt, Tony could clearly see her tattoo covered stomach. She also had a small tattoo by the corner of her left eye. It took the shape of a star, but somewhat resembled a triangle. She had a ring in her nose, and one on her anti-eyebrow

"Can I ask you something?" Tony crossed his arms over his chest, and stared at Emmeline.

She nodded once. "Sure," she gestured with her hands towards the open space, "Go for it."

"What was Annabella like in high school?" His voice was somewhat hesitant, but he was determined to help Bella with the silent battle inside her. But, in order to help her, he needed to know what the battle was about.

Emmeline sighed. "She was a normal kid, really. But then all of the sudden she got really depressed, and she started hanging out with us. We were doing heroin, and ecstasy. She started, too, but she doesn't like ecstasy, she prefers prescribed shit. And that's how that started. We started sleeping around, just waiting for high school to end. None of us finished, though, we dropped out our junior year." She shrugged.

"Why was she depressed, though? Do you know?" Tony was surprised to find out all of these things. He knew that she had dropped out, but nothing more.

"I don't really think that's my business to talk a about," Emmeline said, her voice careful and resistant.

Just then, Anna walked down the stairs. She sighed, and sat next to Emmeline. She whispered something in her ear, before giving her a sincerely apologetic smile. Emmeline nodded, and smiled back.

"It's alright, babe," she said, "just text me later. Tell me how you feel and, please, don't do anything stupid." She glared lightly at her, before pulling her into a tight hug. Emmeline stood up, and stopped when she came face to face with Tony. "Watch her, please," she pleaded, her voice just above a whisper.

Tony wanted to ask her why he needed to 'watch her', but just nodded in response. He decided that it was best not to question Emmeline. Even for a girl, she was intimidating. But, in this small moment, she looked scared.

She walked back outside in silence. Tony stated at Annabella for a moment, before walking over to her. He sat next to her, and waited for her to speak. It was obvious that she wanted to.

"Sorry about her, she's kind of..." she struggled for the right words, "different, I guess. She worries too much."

"What were you supposed to do with her today? You canceled, right?"

Anna nodded. "Yeah, well," she sighed, "We were just going to get shitfaced. It's annual," she answered, biting her lip. She stared at her hands while she spoke.

"Why today, though?" Tony wanted to find out more, but didn't want to seem pushy.

Annabella shook her head quickly. "Just, keep me distracted today."

Tony sighed, and stood up. He grabbed two XBox controllers, and handed Annabella one.

They laughed and played video games until late at night. They ate a few times in between games, but neither of them thought about anything but each other. It was exactly what Annabella had wanted. They started drinking not to long after 10 PM, and soon forgot what the day had held. It was Annabella's idea to mosh in the living room to Blink-182, resulting in a broken XBox controller.

All in all, though, Tony kept to his commitment. he kept Anna distracted until she had passed out and he had to carry her upstairs. On this particular night, though, Tony didn't shy away from Anna. He cuddled her, and she didn't mind. It was a turning point for Anna; she didn't mind that he was close to her, or the fact that his arms were wrapped tightly around her waist. It was perfect.