((Too late last time and too early this time lmao. Good thing you didn't do it yesterday because I'm laaatteee~~))
These are just random scenes that I had written about a year ago and edited today since I haven't gotten to actual writing lately.
Firsts Kiss (Tori's PoV)
The homecoming dance is supposed to be a night full of fun and free of burdens. It was supposed to be flashing lights, lilting laughter, sparkling jewelry, and immaculate attire. It was supposed to be devoid of worry and anxiety, a time to be yourself and have fun.
For me, though? It was a nightmare I couldn't escape. I was shoved to the sidelines, outcast for just being myself by everyone in this damn school as they flocked to the one person that could either destroy your life or lift you towards the top of the food chain—but never stand on top, as that was her throne. I resented how easy it was for her to get people to respect her, how effortlessly she made it look. I hated how she got all the attention and admiration, how she used fear to control those so willing to lick the ground she prowled on. She was a heartless bully that happened to tolerate my existence when we were alone.
But mio Dio, did she look breathtaking.
Theresa Hunt, a model already at only fifteen years old, could wear nearly anything and still be stunning. But tonight, she outdid herself while simultaneously keeping it simple. She had pulled half of her golden blonde locks up and left the majority of it loose, spilling over her exposed shoulders and back in silky waves. The white dress clung to her torso but flowed freely past her hips and kissed the floor as she strode about. While she walked, I could see glimpses of her gloriously tanned skin, calling attention to the narrow panel of fabric that draped between her legs as opposed to a typical skirt. I could see the matching white stilettos that wrapped around her feet, making my dancer's heart flutter happily at the sight of her walking so effortlessly in them.
I was so absorbed in my staring, my practical drooling, that I didn't notice the girls beside me until I was shoved to the side. "She isn't interested in someone like you," one of them sneered while I stumbled. A flicker of disapproval and frustration passed over her face when I didn't fall over, but it passed within a second. They're the ones that bullied me in the bathroom that day—the day she came and rescued me. Lip gloss popped and an intake of breath was heard, but no words had a chance to leave the girl's lips, as she was scrambling away. My brows furrowed and I frowned in confusion, my own mouth opening to ask myself a question–
Hey, is that spice?
A strong and unforgiving grasp clamped over my wrist and yanked me back. It was all I could do to not fall over again while I fought to get my feet back where they belonged. Marble floor passed beneath me, then a threshold, then more marble and darkness. A different darkness, not like the kind in the gym where there were dim lights meant for the dance. An empty classroom. I didn't dare raise my gaze.
She grabbed my other wrist and slammed me against the wall, pinning me with her own body and holding my hands captive on either side of my head. I yelped in surprise, and my cheeks became stained with a deep red instantaneously. The proximity, the feeling of her inside my personal bubbled, combined with the strange look in her eyes was overwhelming me, but I didn't fight her. I couldn't fight her, not when my mind was warring with my heart and body.
For the first time since I dared to go after her, dared to try and tame that fire that roared through her veins and fueled every blow she dealt, her gold eyes were devoid of the usual ice and hate. She allowed her face to be exposed to the world, no longer hidden by a silly mask. I saw her. I saw the swirling emotions darkening those warm eyes; I saw the softened features that melted my heart. I saw what I had looked for this entire time, longed for, and it took my breath away. Real. This was real, not just a hope I foolishly had. She was real.
"T-Tessa?" I stuttered, looking up at her from where she loomed. Our faces remained mere inches apart, and I found myself wanting to close that gap. My cheeks burned, and I was sure my entire face was red from the heat that scorched my skin. "W-What are you–?"
She leaned forward until our noses brushed, foreheads pressed together. "Tori," she breathed, eyes closing. So broken—she sounded so broken, so devoid of affection. Just hearing my name tumble from her lips like that, hearing the crack in her voice at the end…
I didn't dare move. Didn't dare disturb the fragile being before me, lest she shatters completely.
My tongue flicked out to wet my lips as my eyes darted down to hers. So close. Those plush lips were so close to mine. I just barely managed to drag my gaze back up to her eyes, but what I saw made my heart stop dead.
They were open and studying me.
I didn't even know how it was possible, but my blush deepened at being caught. She smirked slightly at that but didn't say anything or move. Waiting, I realized. She was waiting for me to tell her what I wanted. What she wanted didn't matter; this was my decision.
I let out a shaky breath through trembling lips, the single syllable barely even a whisper. "Tess…"
She moved, her head tilting to get a better angle, and captured my lips. A small noise escaped me, but that didn't stop me from melting into her and winding my fingers through her flawless hair. She tasted like spice, and her lips were indeed soft, just like how she kissed me. I savored the moment and the taste of her, greedily pulling her as close as I could with my back against the wall.
Just as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Tessa pulled away from me, leaving me feeling cold and alone. That mask was back up again, that awful ice frosting over that beautiful and molten gold. I could see a hint of my red lipstick on her lips, which made me reach up and press my fingers tenderly over mine.
Real.
I stood alone for an eternity, repeating that word, even if my broken bully had long since fled the scene.
Real.
We Meet Again: (Tess PoV)
Coming back here…
It broke my heart all over again.
It's been four years since the death of the love of my life. Four years since my heart cracked in two and could never be repaired.
Four years since I saw the pure pain and fear in my Tori's eyes.
I choked on a sob as I walked through the front door, running my fingers over the dark wood as I passed. The hardwood floors were dusty but still had that look to them that suggested they've been properly cared for in the past. Sheets were thrown over the old furniture. I rubbed at my chest and thought about the times we spent curled up together, watching movies, and messing around.
It was agony, coming back here. But I owed it to her to come back—to remember her.
I passed the living room and instead headed to her room. Just walking through the hall brought back memories. Gods, there were so many memories here.
This hall was where we kinda-sorta confessed to each other–we had gotten a little closer and more touchy-feely than normal. This hall was where we had our first kiss—well, the first kiss where I didn't run away like a coward–and then many more after it. This hall was where I'd chase her down, both of us laughing and squealing like little girls. It was through this hall where she dragged me through the house while I was half delirious from the beating I took. This hall was where I stood practically half-naked while I waited for her to wash my clothes—at her insistence—and she was all red and refused to look at me.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and pushed open the door that led to her room.
It was still the same, like she had just gone out for a bite and planned to come back within a few minutes. The large, king-sized bed with the dark canopy—because she couldn't sleep unless it was totally dark—was the same. The entire wall that made up her bookshelf and remained filled to the brim with books was the same. The painting easel with an unfinished painting perched on it was the same. The expensive stereo she bought when she had gotten a B on her math test was right where it was before. I huffed a small laugh. Drama queen.
My amusement died down, however, when my gaze found her desk. Her pride and joy; it contained everything that made her who she was. It was the desk we built together, sitting on the floor, joking and laughing our asses off and making out as opposed to actually putting it together. It took us nearly two hours to get it done.
At that moment, almost everything inside of me fell apart.
I braced my palms on the old desk that held all of her little nerdy things. Her history books and research papers. Her thousands of pens due to her constantly losing them. The scattered sketches of half-finished thoughts. The math homework that I was forced to help her with—and ended up getting a full score on. The extra pairs of glasses. The dance routines that we never got to try out. The original songs that we wrote together but never got to sing. In my slow scan, I found a photo album simply labeled, Tesoro. I slowly sat down in the cushiony roller chair and flipped through it.
Hundreds of pictures of us greeted me. Some were ones that I took of her that I thought—and still thought— to be beautiful. I remembered how she had blushed and denied it when I said as much. Ah—there sat my particular favorite of her: her back was to me as she gazed at the sunset. She had always been fascinated with the sunset, and I wanted to capture that. She hadn't even known I took the picture until I told her. In a few of them, which looked like selfies, she was kissing my cheek while I was laughing. Others containing us both usually involved touch—kissing, hugs, leaning on each other, using each other as pillows, wrapping our arms around the other's neck, the like. A few of them showed us in a dance studio, and I laughed slightly at how I looked far less graceful than I did now. I wonder what she'd say about my skill now…
The more I flipped through the photo album, the more my heart cracked open and the more the tears threatened to spill. I blinked them away or wiped my eyes every time before they could fall. I won't cry, I told myself. Don't cry.
I heard the soft footsteps but didn't register it, too engrossed in the photos and the struggle to contain the dam that was my eyes.
"Tesoro?"
I lost it completely. That voice. That name.
It wasn't possible.
Slim arms wrapped around my neck from behind the chair. A petite chin rested on my shoulder. The familiar scent of lavender invaded my senses, suffocating my resolve.
Tears streamed down my cheeks. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back. If it was a dream, I didn't care. I wanted to stay in this dream forever.
Soft lips lightly pressed against my neck, and I let a sob escape. There it went. The dam burst.
The person slipped away but didn't go far as they spun my chair around. I could feel them kneel down in front of me as their hands gently ran up and down my legs. I allowed myself to open my eyes, and…
And there she was, smiling up at me with that adorable little smile of hers that showed her single dimple. Her raven black hair fell over her shoulders, even while it was pulled up in a high ponytail. Those large hazel eyes were still as bright as ever as they peered up at me, their own tears threatening to fall. Her olive skin was just as smooth and healthy as I remembered it. She still had that delicate dancer's body that I always loved, her petite frame hiding the immense kindness and compassion she held within that enormous heart of hers. The only difference was the lack of glasses, but I didn't pay much attention to it as I stared at her, tears streaming silently down my face. "Tori," I breathed, unbelieving.
Her smile brightened and she stood up to her full height, holding out her arms slightly. "I'm back," she whispered.
I lurched up and locked her in an inescapable hug, my face buried in the crook of her neck. Sobs racked through my body, but that was the last thing on my mind right now. "You're alive. You're alive." I repeated the phrase as I held her, forcing myself to believe that this was real and not a sick dream.
She gripped me with equal ferocity, tangling her fingers in my hair like she always did. She murmured some soothing words in Italian, and I relaxed against her body, though tears still soaked the side of her neck.
Eventually, after gods know how long, Tori pulled back and gripped my face in her delicate hands, wiping away the tears staining my cheeks with a small smile. "I'm okay. I'm back, and I'm okay. Just a coma." She pressed our foreheads together, still whispering reassurance. "Just a coma. I'm alive and okay."
"You better be fucking okay, you asshole," I mumbled, and her bark of laughter sliced through the silence like a perfectly placed knife. We pulled back, both of us scanning the other to see how well four years had done for us. It wasn't hard to see the delight in her eyes even before she met my gaze.
"You're doing better." All I could do was nod and roll up my sleeve to show her the white feather tattoo on my left forearm, a small black area adorning the bottom of the feather. It took a few tries, but I found the right words to explain. "I fell back into how I used to be after everything happened, but I pulled myself together because I refused to let myself undo everything you did for me. It was hard." That admission would've been worse had it not been to Tori. "Like, really fuckin' hard, but I managed. And then this girl showed up and… I dunno, it was weird. She was a trainwreck too, and we kinda became friends? I don't even really know how it happened, just that three years later, she's my best friend and I'm better than I've ever been because of her." Waiting for Tori to process everything nearly killed me, as I expected her to be upset that I hadn't waited for her, hadn't helped myself like I promised to.
I wasn't expecting a bright smile. "You got better." Tori laughed softly and lightly grasped my tattooed arm, her fingers gentle as they ran up and down the self-inflicted scars. "I know that everything that's been done to you can't ever be undone without erasing everything that you are. I also know that the damage it's done can't be reversed. Just the fact that you are here, right now, actually crying, tells me everything I need to know." Her eyes remained on the scars she tenderly stroked, then lifted to meet mine. "You kept your promise, Tesoro. You helped yourself by giving yourself to someone that can help you. It's okay to not know how to do it on your own. I'm still proud of you. So, so proud of you."
This time, as I raised my eyes to the ceiling and blinked away the tears, it wasn't because of the memories. Tori used her grip on me to pull herself closer and wrap me up in a tight embrace. Her voice was muffled by my shoulder when she spoke. "While I hope you moved on, I also want you to know that I have no plans to be gone from your life completely. It nearly killed me to never see you."
A laugh bubbled up and popped the air of seriousness. "So it's official? We're broken up?"
"I'd hope my supposed death was official enough—unless you fancy dating a dead girl."
We both fell into a familiar fit of laughter, and I held onto Tori just a bit tighter as I murmured hoarsely, "Thank you." Thank you for being my first love. Thank you for being stubborn enough to see past my false personas. Thank you for being yourself. Thank you for loving me when no one else would.
Tori smiled and lightly grasped my wrists, fingers digging into my pulse points and scars. "Thank you for being here."
