Elysian

Oliver, or Oli as he is more affectionately known as, has always liked Remy. She is a fun girl that can hang with the best of them. But she is also compulsively needy and insecure. He has seen the fractures in her soul whenever she speaks. Harsh words shield her from others and getting hurt, it only they had shielded her from the wrecking ball that is Yale Beckett.

Oli and Yale have been best friends for years, growing up on the wrong side of the tracks, where they were not inundated with the best of life. They learned the hard way they had to work to get out, to make it somewhere in life. Not many people realise this but Oli is actually rather smart. At the top of all of his classes. He makes it seem effortless, but he actually enjoys studying, enjoys being smart, something that money simply cannot buy.

Remy and Oli are the only ones in their small group consisting of four, Remy, Oli, Yale and Stomper, to make it to school on time so to shield each other from the stares and vicious onslaught they receive from the ‘popular rich’ kids so they have started a tradition of driving to school together.

Oli, unlike Yale, is not a fighter. He believes in peace and love. However, he is not stupid enough to think that everyone is like him, and as such been involved in many a fight in the past. But unlike Yale and Stomper, Remy’s twin brother, he has never really enjoyed himself when partaking.

Remy is waiting for Oli in her front yard, past the dilapidated house that is falling to pieces before his eyes. Remy and Stomper pooled their money last year and bought a car together. Stomper however refuses to let Remy use it in the mornings instead needing it to get to school at unreasonable hours. As Remy steps into Oli’s car, in a skirt that is much too short, he sees what colour panties she is wearing, red. It does not surprise him.

Remy is red to Oli, she is hurt and anger.

“Hey,” He greets the sullen girl. Remy is never chipper, don’t get Oli wrong, but she is usually more energetic than today, where she appears to be moving so slowly that she is actually moving backwards.

Remy’s face is smothered in make-up, her blue eyes surrounded by harsh black liner and her ever present red lipstick, today however her eyeliner is more even pronounced and he knows exactly why, Yale.

Yale is often the cause of Remy’s problems and Oli cannot understand what Remy sees in Yale, he treats her pretty terribly, using her only when he needs her. But then Oli also knows that Remy is broken, broken beyond repair and probably believes she deserves nothing more than hate and hurt.

Oli knows all about Yale and Remy’s relationship, he even knows how Remy lost her virginity to Yale in a passionate moment she mistook for love in the backseat of Yale’s car. He knows whilst Yale cares for Remy he does not love her. And despite the fact that Remy believes she loves Yale he knows she does not. Oli isn’t sure Remy is capable of anything more than mistaking infatuation of something more, something real.

“Nothing much,” Remy says settling into her seat as Oli starts the car and drives away leaving the bad part of town behind them. Oli knows exactly what happened last night but he does not expect Remy to share it with him, it will be like pulling teeth, him and Remy have a rather superficial relationship.

Hell Remy has a superficial relationship with everyone, the girl is messed up.

Oli goes about lighting a cigarette, he puts it to his lips and takes a long drag. The smoke wraps around his lungs causing permanent damage, but Oli truly doesn’t care. The cigarette tastes too good to care. Remy takes the cigarette from Oli’s mouth, in a move of familiarity, and puts it to her red lips. She stains the cigarette like she stains everything she touches, but Oli doesn’t really mind. She looks good with it hanging from her mouth.

“How’s Yale?” Oli asks intently staring at Remy for a second, he notices how she twitches her mouth slightly at their friend’s name. He wants Remy to tell him something meaningful, something that will heal her, but like always he is left disappointed with her monotone answer.
“Don’t know, don’t care”

“What happened?”

“Daria” Remy whispers handing the cigarette back to Oli,

He accepts it easily and stares at the red stain for a moment, paused at a red light. He considers getting another but he doesn’t. He wouldn’t dare waste a cigarette this good, so he stains his lips the same colour as Remy’s. He wonders momentarily how she does not get in more trouble at school for wearing so much heavy make-up.

“She’s not that bad,”

“She’s the fucking antichrist,” Oli laughs unexpectedly startling Remy into a smile. She like’s Oli’s laugh, it like so else in life, is genuine. Oli is the most genuine person Remy knows and she honestly appreciates that about him.

“People say that about you”

“I’m not that bad am I?” Remy asks a look of pure innocence on her face. It looks almost strange on her. Oli knows he shouldn’t but he can’t help but get turned on a little. Remy is a good looking girl, the real and only reason Yale was drawn to her in the first place, with her ample cleavage and short skirts she is the wet dream of most of the boys at their shared high school.

“No you aren’t,” Oli replies honestly, hoping she understands that he does not believe her tough girl act, that he sees the scared little girl inside. He wouldn’t dare outright tell her this because she would go nuts, but he hopes he understands nonetheless.
She doesn’t.

“You coming to mine tonight?” Oli asks looking away from Remy and concentrating on the road,
“Wouldn’t miss it,”

“Good,” Oli replies finishing the cigarette and wiping Remy’s red stain from his lips. Remy wonders if she is that easy to remove as well, if she fell off the earth would anyone really miss her?

She hopes so, but fears not.

Remy arrives that night to Oli’s house with Stomper, or Peter the name he was given at birth but has since rejected. Oli is throwing this entire party for the kids on the wrong side of the tracks because his parents are out of town for the night and are completely unsuspecting of their troublesome teen.

Stomper is not in a good mood Remy has noticed, and she knows better than to try to talk to him and figure out what is wrong. Stomper has major anger issues and Remy usually gets stuck with the brunt of his misplaced anger, mostly because he knows she will never leave them. Never desert him like their mother did all those years ago leaving them with a man who is a monster in his own right. Remy shakes away the thought, she does not, NOT want to think of her mother, not here, not ever.

Remy loves Stomper, adores him some days but she is also the tiniest bit scared of him, he is a loose cannon and she never knows what quite to expect from him. Stomper manages to both love and hate his little sister by three minutes. Remy is hard to love and Stomper knows that better than anyone else.

Remy, like usual, is wearing less clothes than anyone else at the party, if it weren’t for her tights she might flash everyone, that is Remy though. She knows she doesn’t have a shining personality, or a dazzling smile, nor the brightest brain. What she does have is a body that boys will drool for, and dammit she will make them drool. Remy knows she is nothing special but she can trick people into thinking something different.

Stomper disappears before Remy can say goodbye, she is used to it though. Stomper doesn’t talk much but when he does it is usually important… Or because he is high. He is neither important nor high tonight and as such is planning on getting pretty wasted and hooking up with a girl whose name he won’t remember in the morning.

Standing alone Remy seeks out a familiar and friendly face, Oli. “Yale here yet?” She asks, Remy is wearing her shortest dress, a black peter pan collar dress with big yellow sunflowers across the material. She has pared it with red tights, she doesn’t care if it doesn’t match, Remy is not a slave to fashion preferring gunge chic clothes. She just wants to make Yale a little bit jealous on all that he is missing out on.

“You always wear something red,” Oli tells her profoundly like he has discovered something new about her, Remy smirks,

“Keen observational eye,” Remy smiles at him once before getting lost in the crowd, she was not aware Oli knew this many people. Oli walks after her wondering what she has planned for tonight, Remy always makes a scene when Yale dumps her.

“He’s bringing her, Daria, just so you know,” Oli calls, Remy pauses and turns to find him right behind her. Remy looks as cool and composed as ever but Oli notices the small twitch of her left eye at the mention of Daria’s name,

“Why is she invited?”

“Yale likes her” And that is enough for Oli, it is not enough for Remy however,
“Did you forget or something?” Remy asks angrily, this is the Remy Oli knows. The girl who is always spewing hateful things with her spiteful tongue, “Did you forget about how she and her little boyfriend got you suspended?”

“I moved on,” Daria had not, technically, been an active participant in getting Oli suspended, but she was rather just along for the ride when her boyfriend planted pot in Oli’s locker, not only was he suspended but he was also sent to NA for teens by his parents.

Daria was a different girl back then, one that stood by as injustices were committed, since her dad’s death she has become a shell of her former self. And Oli thinks she has been through enough without really having paid for her past mistakes.

To Oli everybody has a past they are not proud of, and as long as she treats Yale right, she is fine by him. Remy thinks quite differently, not only did Daria steal Yale but she also made her life a misery, no she doesn’t deserve her forgiveness just her rage and hate.

“God her dad dies and suddenly she is a saint!” Remy growls exasperated, if she were Oli she would never forgive the meek girl. Remy still hasn’t forgiven her for standing by as her friends tortured her all through grade school up till year eight when she came back reinvented, hanging with all the wrong people.

“Maybe she has changed,” Oli offers completely unhelpfully, Remy does not want to hear this, she wants to hate Daria. Maybe even enjoys it a little.

“People don’t just change Oli,” Remy says bitterly, trust her she knows. Remy and Stomper’s childhood was wasted on waiting for people to change, it just doesn’t happen. People are who they are and nothing will ever change that. They can hide behind their pretty smiles and dead fathers but inside they are still rotten and evil like the rest of us.

“Do you hate her because she is with Yale, or because she reminds you of what you once were?” Oli asks ever the philosophical one in the group. Glycerine by Bush plays in the background and Remy sighs, suddenly exhausted by fighting a losing battle, whether that is here now or with Daria over Yale she is not sure

“Yale will come back, he always does.” Only this time Remy is not so sure.