Post by Kira & Lee Norris on Sept 19, 2007 19:29:58 GMT
Not more than a couple of days had passed since she'd first arrived back from the Camping Trip than Kira found herself back within the shady sylviculture of BlueBerg Forest. It was funny how the forest could so easily reflect her mood, and so give atmosphere to her inner thoughts and feelings. When she was calm, and peaceful within its trees, the forest seemed to echo quiet tranquility- a soothing omnipresence which led her into a dreamland of mellifluous beauty.
And yet when she came here in fear, or anger, the tangled branches' long, gnarled fingers twisted around each other in a ghastly embrace- one that would lead her to imagine them curling around her neck. The shadows that so often whispered comfort to her would turn against her- not to speak cruelly to her, but to ignore her completely. Their silence chilled her, and left her hurt, abandoned and bewildered.
And now... now the forest was full of uncertainty. The forest's usually calming quality left her tense and silently enraged. How could it be so silent, and cold? It had borne witness to these hateful things, and yet it seemed not to care. But it was more than that... Kira was scared... but not for herself. Lee was with her, and the forlorn expression of hopelessness that now decorated her face was more terrifying than any strange, unseen monster that may lurk amongst the dark, leafy hide of the wild shrubs and trees.
"Talk," she murmured, sitting up.
Lee stared silently at the ground, his dark brown hair an unkempt mess. His face was... pale, blanched and parched of its usual shining colour, and his misery slowly poisoning him from the inside out.
And yes, Kira had been exploring the dictionary earlier during English. She couldn't help it. Her thoughts now trekked through a world of strangely merritorious words.
"You've got to talk sometime," she said gently, turning to him.
He lay supine, staring up into the leafy canopy above. "This is the place where Madeleine and I... made it official."
"Made what official?"
"Our relationship. You know- more than 'sarcasm and punch partners.' Official."
Kira had no idea what he meant by 'sarcasm-and-punch' partners, but if it was Madeleine related, it was bad. "Then why'd you come here?"
"I wanted to. I'm sentimental like that. I'd happily lose myself in memories if the world would permit it. Or maybe... maybe just forget everything. That'd be good too."
"Don't be ridiculous!" Kira snapped, then with a pang of guilt, sighed. "And stop with the god-forsaken self-pity. You don't need to do this to yourself."
"Why'd I just walk away? Why didn't I talk to her- fight for her?"
"You blanked out," said Kira softly. "You couldn't help it. It was a shock."
"She mentioned Chloe. Madeleine said I'd be happier with her."
Madeleine. Every time Kira heard that name, she felt a rush of mingled hatred and anger, and each time, that terrible feeling of resentment grew a little stronger. To think that she'd sat with Lee and encouraged him to work on it- to give them both a chance- whilst Madeleine was more than likely happily free of any worries about their rocky relationship. She bet Madeleine was happily guiltless even now- completely unaware of the hell she'd just dragged Lee feetfirst through, before dumping him in a ditch to rot at the last moment.
Nobody did that to Lee and got away with it. And yet he still sat here, heaping blame on himself. Madeleine may've dropped him in the ditch, but Lee was the one burying himself in it.
"Chloe kissed me," Lee said suddenly, his head rolling over to look up at Kira. "Right before... and I kissed her back. It was only for a couple of seconds- my immediate reaction was to respond- but then I just snapped to my senses and told her how things were. I wouldn't do that to Madeleine."
"Because you're a decent guy," Kira said, adding harshly, "and she didn't deserve you."
"She caught me completely off-guard," Lee said softly, turning his eyes back up to look skywards. "She just came at me- out of nowhere."
"Madeleine or Chloe?"
"Both."
Kira considered this for a few moments, which served to deepen her newfound vexation with her ex-friend.
Ex-girlfriend. Ex-friend.
As far as Kira was concerned, the Norrises were a package deal. If you treated one like scum, you could most certainly hope to be treated like the germs that live on the insects which feed off scum by the other.
"You're better than her." The sullen repitition of those words was beginning to lose all meaning.
"Even if I am," he sighed, pulling himself up, "even if she's the most horrible, apathetic waste of space you tell me she is, it doesn't change how I feel. What I feel."
And another shovelful of dirt fell in his face.
"Stupid Lee," he muttered darkly.
She wished he'd stop saying that. "You're not."
"Stupid Lee," he said, with a tenacious force. "Idiotic Lee. Screwed up Lee. Bloody, bloody, me."
"Stop it! Bloody Madeleine- she's the one who did this to you."
"And rightly so," he muttered, only exacerbating her further. "I kissed Chloe back. I didn't work hard enough to keep her- to make her happy. I single-handedly killed everything we were, or ever could have hoped to be."
"Lee- "
"She was out of my league anyway," he shrugged, an empty smile spreading across his face; his following laughter hollow and hoarse. "Have you seen how pretty she is? Not pretty- beautiful, and she's Head of the Warriors. What am I?"
"You're Lee," Kira said, a little desperately, "you're smart, funny, kind and caring, wonderful Lee."
"Nerdy, goofy, inadequate, stupid Lee," he corrected her with another miserable smile. "Chloe's out of my league too. Even you are Kira."
"What?!" she cried, jumping up as though she'd been scalded. "What are you talking about?!"
"You're Head of the Spies, pretty, kind and patient to put up with all my crap," he replied, getting slowly up too. "I'm lucky to have you."
"And you'll always have me," she said fiercely. "Forget Madeleine. You don't need her. We don't need her."
"No..." he said softly, as they began the long walk home. "I suppose I don't. But I still want her."
The mound of earth beneath Kira's feet barely concealed Lee's grave. It was a shallow hole; she knew if she just kept digging she could pull him out of there- ressurected, laughing and just... just Lee again.
Happy.
The problem was: what if he crawled back in?
And yet when she came here in fear, or anger, the tangled branches' long, gnarled fingers twisted around each other in a ghastly embrace- one that would lead her to imagine them curling around her neck. The shadows that so often whispered comfort to her would turn against her- not to speak cruelly to her, but to ignore her completely. Their silence chilled her, and left her hurt, abandoned and bewildered.
And now... now the forest was full of uncertainty. The forest's usually calming quality left her tense and silently enraged. How could it be so silent, and cold? It had borne witness to these hateful things, and yet it seemed not to care. But it was more than that... Kira was scared... but not for herself. Lee was with her, and the forlorn expression of hopelessness that now decorated her face was more terrifying than any strange, unseen monster that may lurk amongst the dark, leafy hide of the wild shrubs and trees.
"Talk," she murmured, sitting up.
Lee stared silently at the ground, his dark brown hair an unkempt mess. His face was... pale, blanched and parched of its usual shining colour, and his misery slowly poisoning him from the inside out.
And yes, Kira had been exploring the dictionary earlier during English. She couldn't help it. Her thoughts now trekked through a world of strangely merritorious words.
"You've got to talk sometime," she said gently, turning to him.
He lay supine, staring up into the leafy canopy above. "This is the place where Madeleine and I... made it official."
"Made what official?"
"Our relationship. You know- more than 'sarcasm and punch partners.' Official."
Kira had no idea what he meant by 'sarcasm-and-punch' partners, but if it was Madeleine related, it was bad. "Then why'd you come here?"
"I wanted to. I'm sentimental like that. I'd happily lose myself in memories if the world would permit it. Or maybe... maybe just forget everything. That'd be good too."
"Don't be ridiculous!" Kira snapped, then with a pang of guilt, sighed. "And stop with the god-forsaken self-pity. You don't need to do this to yourself."
"Why'd I just walk away? Why didn't I talk to her- fight for her?"
"You blanked out," said Kira softly. "You couldn't help it. It was a shock."
"She mentioned Chloe. Madeleine said I'd be happier with her."
Madeleine. Every time Kira heard that name, she felt a rush of mingled hatred and anger, and each time, that terrible feeling of resentment grew a little stronger. To think that she'd sat with Lee and encouraged him to work on it- to give them both a chance- whilst Madeleine was more than likely happily free of any worries about their rocky relationship. She bet Madeleine was happily guiltless even now- completely unaware of the hell she'd just dragged Lee feetfirst through, before dumping him in a ditch to rot at the last moment.
Nobody did that to Lee and got away with it. And yet he still sat here, heaping blame on himself. Madeleine may've dropped him in the ditch, but Lee was the one burying himself in it.
"Chloe kissed me," Lee said suddenly, his head rolling over to look up at Kira. "Right before... and I kissed her back. It was only for a couple of seconds- my immediate reaction was to respond- but then I just snapped to my senses and told her how things were. I wouldn't do that to Madeleine."
"Because you're a decent guy," Kira said, adding harshly, "and she didn't deserve you."
"She caught me completely off-guard," Lee said softly, turning his eyes back up to look skywards. "She just came at me- out of nowhere."
"Madeleine or Chloe?"
"Both."
Kira considered this for a few moments, which served to deepen her newfound vexation with her ex-friend.
Ex-girlfriend. Ex-friend.
As far as Kira was concerned, the Norrises were a package deal. If you treated one like scum, you could most certainly hope to be treated like the germs that live on the insects which feed off scum by the other.
"You're better than her." The sullen repitition of those words was beginning to lose all meaning.
"Even if I am," he sighed, pulling himself up, "even if she's the most horrible, apathetic waste of space you tell me she is, it doesn't change how I feel. What I feel."
And another shovelful of dirt fell in his face.
"Stupid Lee," he muttered darkly.
She wished he'd stop saying that. "You're not."
"Stupid Lee," he said, with a tenacious force. "Idiotic Lee. Screwed up Lee. Bloody, bloody, me."
"Stop it! Bloody Madeleine- she's the one who did this to you."
"And rightly so," he muttered, only exacerbating her further. "I kissed Chloe back. I didn't work hard enough to keep her- to make her happy. I single-handedly killed everything we were, or ever could have hoped to be."
"Lee- "
"She was out of my league anyway," he shrugged, an empty smile spreading across his face; his following laughter hollow and hoarse. "Have you seen how pretty she is? Not pretty- beautiful, and she's Head of the Warriors. What am I?"
"You're Lee," Kira said, a little desperately, "you're smart, funny, kind and caring, wonderful Lee."
"Nerdy, goofy, inadequate, stupid Lee," he corrected her with another miserable smile. "Chloe's out of my league too. Even you are Kira."
"What?!" she cried, jumping up as though she'd been scalded. "What are you talking about?!"
"You're Head of the Spies, pretty, kind and patient to put up with all my crap," he replied, getting slowly up too. "I'm lucky to have you."
"And you'll always have me," she said fiercely. "Forget Madeleine. You don't need her. We don't need her."
"No..." he said softly, as they began the long walk home. "I suppose I don't. But I still want her."
The mound of earth beneath Kira's feet barely concealed Lee's grave. It was a shallow hole; she knew if she just kept digging she could pull him out of there- ressurected, laughing and just... just Lee again.
Happy.
The problem was: what if he crawled back in?
