Rumored Nights

"Alice you came!" Ske exclaimed, throwing her arms around Alice's bag ladened frame.

That was one thing she was beginning to realize; her new friends were of the hugging sort, a fact she'd be forced to get used to.

The bag she had thrown over her shoulder was quickly in Skye's grasp as she led her into her house.

It was the usual two story carpet and wood floored house, pictures of children through the years sporactically adorning the walls in such a way that even without the haphazard pair of shoes or pile of school books it was obvious that someone called it home.

Less than ordinary places like that were something Alice considered gems of life, the catalyst in her wonder as to why people were so obsessed with difference and the pursuit of uniqueness.

So many everyday things were overlooked in day to day life, things like love.

We spent so much time looking for love, looking for 'the one' that we never realized what we had to begin with, and in that pursuit we risked losing it all.

Yes, in William's short absence her mind had filled the extra time usually spent goofing off with him to now accessing her life, her thoughts, and what made them tick.

In the light of her thoughts Alice focused back on the night at hand, and the two people that had already opened up their arms toward her, Liz and Skye.

But when Alice entered the living room where the night had been set up, there were three girls.

She didn't have to draw the breath to ask as she waved hello to Alice.

"Hi, I'm Melanie."

"I'm Alice." She waved back awkwardly.

"I hope you don't mind," Skye interrupted like a saint. "Her friends had other plans with their girlfriends so she had nothing to do and we couldn't leave her out."

Alice nodded, mustering a smile for the girl as a hint of familiarity appeared in her face.

"Don't I have a class with you?"

Melanie nodded, moving over for Skye to take back her spot on the couch. "We have History together."

Alice felt a wave of guilt wash over her at how oblivious she was at school, too wrapped up in her own life to notice anyone else's not twined with hers.

Sitting down across from Melanie she made a silent promise to herself to try and change that little detail.

"So we've got Ever After, Love Actually, Titanic, and," Skye paused from the three romances she held in her hands to flourish toward Liz. "We have XXX, for the action film, Vin Diesel lover in all of us."

Alice's lips tugged up into a smile as Ever After went into the DVD player and they all curled up onto the couch, miraculously fitting.

Halfway into the movie they had sprawled out across the room, ignoring the people on the screen for their own girlish habits.

Alice had never really done things like this, spent time doing normal teenage girl things.

Most her time had been spent around guys these past few years, from tagging along with her brother's friends to later William's.

Her and Caroline had their sister moments, shopping and staying up late talking, but those things had also been done with William.

In fact, she had hardly spent much of her free time not doing anything with William.

It was a hard thing to admit let alone think but without William here she was getting a chance to live outside of her comfort zone, to test the water of life.

It was a chance for her to grow.

And despite all of that, all of the good from it, she'd give it all up just to have William back.

She'd give it all up for a single phonecall, for one walk in the afternoon, even for one round on a videogame she knew she'd lose.

Melanie, who up until that point had been painting Alice's finger's a metallic silver, noticed not a few inches from a freshly painted nail there was now a small teardrop.

"Alice? Are you crying?"

It didn't take long from saying those few words for Alice to be surrounded by the three girls, a tissue wiping away her tears while another held her in a comforting hug.

The wave of tears hit her so quickly she was bewildered at first by the sudden splashes of water down her cheeks.

"Alice what happened?" Skye asked.

She shrugged, only managing to say the word "William."

In a calm voice Alice could only dream of managing, Melanie spoke up.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

That was the corkscrew that opened the bottle and Alice was a blur of words.

How being around William made everything seem insignifigant and, despite a small stab of sadness, being away from him hurt so much more.

It had only been a few days apart from him, but for Alice she knew it would be more.

This wasn't like Bill, and when he did something out of character she knew it would have lasting effects, and if it ever resolved would take a lot longer than just a few days.

This scary aspect hadn't brought on the tears, that with so little time alone she knew it would be much longer.

Things had changed in that afternoon, and they were changes that wouldn't let them go back to how things were.

Something would have to give.

All of this Alice explained to her friends in a jumble of hiccups and sobs that attracted her attention far more than the embarrassment did.

Lastly she explained what brought on the tears, the realization that was as terrifying as it was wonderful to explain.

She loved William.