Lauren Vespen's Story

It was true. Lauren had been missing for a few days now. So it was to everyone's surprise when she just wandered back into the school without a care in the world. It turned out nobody had really missed her, either. She fiddled with a lock of hair as she sauntered gracefully into the school house, ignoring the sounds of cans opening from the roof. Her black hair moved in the slight breeze, and she hid her hands in her jumper, which was way too big for her. As she wandered in, the sounds of what seemed to be a party drifted into earshot from her left. She shook her head and carried on towards her dorm, hoping to get some drawing time in before her roommate came and disturbed her.

She was daydreaming as she walked, of the creeks and hidden ponds that she had discovered in the woods earlier that day. In fact, she was so distracted, she walked straight into someone. The brief clash was punctuated by a small "Oh!" that slipped from her mouth, and consequently the sketch pad and her pencils all clattered noisily to the floor. She hid her embarrassment and blush in her hands, as she covered her face, before fighting the knots in her stomach to uncover her face and apologize to the boy that stood in front of her. "Sorry." She whispered, before crouching down to gather her things. She didn't voice her worries of her pencil leads all being snapped, as she didn't want to seem cold or rude to this person she just met. "Oh, go on, say something horrible to him, I dare you." A voice whispered to her in the back of her mind, but she ignored it, and swallowed down a lump in her throat. She was scared of talking to this boy, but she had to. It was the easiest way, and the most surefire way, to make friends.

"Oh no it was my mistake please let me help " he said with a smile as he crouched down to pick up the art utensils, he watched never he met someone who shared a passion for art and less to meet her here. He continued picking the stuff when he stumbled upon a drawing majestic it was beautiful he was dumbstruck and held it looking at it. " you drew this is amazing ?" He said as he looked at the girl what was her issue it didnt seemed like a girl like her would end up here like the others. He smile waiting for the response before he noticed something behind the drawing a different equally good just a bit more darker, he reached for it.

Lauren blushed again as he commented on her drawing skills. She didn't think much of her drawing skills, but obviously he did. Her eyes drifted down to the artwork. It was a drawing she had done earlier of the creek in the woods - the one with a deer drinking from the cool water. She tucked her hair behind her ears, before noticing his hand drifting towards a picture she really didn't want him to see. Before he could take it, Lauren snatched the picture and folded it carefully, not looking at the pencilled drawing. She knew what it was, though. It was a drawing of herself as an angel, and demons were tearing her wings off. They all had the face of Daniel on. She would have to burn that one later.

She looked up again at the boy. He was extremely cute. She had forgotten to answer him, and not wanting to appear rude, she replied with; "Oh, yeah. I drew them, I guess. Do you, um, draw too?" She had to force the words out, but she managed it, along with a smile to go with it.

He saw the girl take the drawing" im sorry is quite beautiful in its own way " he said as he tried to not sound like he was judging her " i do a little but im not quite as skilled as you " he said with a smile before he handed her the art utensils. He smiled and stood up " i mostly read, thats my thing i also write a little but nothing good so far" he said as he look at the girl for a smile, he put his hands on his pockets it was nice meeting someone who wasnt like the other students." So are you finding your stay here alright find your way around, it can be confusing is a big school " he said as he use his hand to scratch his head, he then blushed as he said " i could show you arounf if you want i mean, there is place i also want to explore as well as it never hurts to show someone new around make their life easier" he said as he realized he was talking way too much " of course if you rather rest is fine, maybe later " he said a little embarrassed.

Lauren smiled - but only for a split second. She appreciated the comments, but she was still shy at heart. When he mentioned reading, she blushed again. "I, um, also read a lot." The ghost of a smile appeared again, but disappeared just as quickly. She thought about his offer of showing her around the school. She thought about telling him that she already knew her way around the school already, but then thought again. He was adorably cute, and she could spend some time around him. She shrugged and nodded, before hugging her sketch pad to her chest. "Okay... That'd be nice, I guess." She smiled slightly again. "Just leave out the roof, someone was up there earlier and I think we should leave them alone." She bit her lip and looked up at him through her eyelashes.

" well i see you meet some of our classmates" he said a bit embarassed at what had happen in the party. He motion for her to follow with a wink added, he smiled " thought i hope is not always like that, the roof seems like a good place for when you want to be alone, but needs some cleaning now " he joked as they walked throught the hallways" you read too huh ? Well the library isnt as impressive as i thought it would be but is decent." He said as he showed her the library close of course as it was getting late, they continued making their way throught the seemingly empty hallways, " we also have a pool, gym and the cafeteria, but i guess when you wanna keep students busy you just let them out onto the nearby town once a week" he said as they neared the school yard the school was in a beautiful place dense forest, he paused " here is where the ranking takes place, either you fit in or dont come out, but i dont want to scare you it will be alrigjt you'll fit in just right if not I'll let you tag along crowded places make nervous so i hang out by the edge there is a small garden and a beautiful tree with nice shade. " he said as he realized he was talking to much again, he became nervous and then turn to her ," so ummm got any questions for me would you like me to take you back to your room, or w...w..we could hang out here a bit " he said as stumbled on his words.

Lauren smiled as she tucked hair behind her ear. She followed him down the hallway, listening to him joke about the roof. She laughed slightly, to seem polite. "Well, hopefully the rain will do that for us." She shrugged again. She wasn't very good at this whole socializing thing. She looked at him curiously as he mentioned the library. She had her own library back home, but she thought to herself quietly that it might be nostalgic to visit it. She looked over at the locked doors to the library as they passed, thinking longingly of home.

He continued on about the pool, gym, and cafeteria, which she had thought would be there as most schools had them. However, she nodded politely as they continued down the corridors, until they reached the outdoors and Lauren was faced with her most favourite place in the whole school - the forest. She smiled - a genuine, bright smile - before turning back to him. "It's okay - I'm quite shy too. So, um, maybe we could hang out just a little? It might, um, be cool." She flushed bright pink and dipped her gaze to her feet. "You wanna show me that tree?"

He smiled at her when she mention hanging out together, they walked together and started to head towards the garden, the sky was turning a beautiful shade of orange and yellow. He smile as they walk he look up in the sky, he saw the girl was very kind and gentle he liked her. As they arrived to the tree he sat down and smile patting the grass next to him. " here is the quietest place here beautiful for reading and even drawing there is always almost no one here so you can concentrate, by the way i been so rude i havent even introduced myself " he said as he took her hand and gently give her a kiss on it " I'm hyuset Mahler but i like when people just call me Seth " he said as he smiled trying to make her feel more comfortable " and despite me being here im just a passionate reader nothing more, im here to umm figure myself out " he said as he put his hands on his pockets again, he wasnt very good talking to no one but girls that was specially hard he hope he hadn't made a fool of himself.

The sky really was beautiful that night. Lauren looked up and couldn't help but smile to herself, just a little. She couldn't help but notice he was doing the same. He seemed really nice, and Lauren couldn't help but feel rather fond of him. They arrived at a huge tree - it must have been 200 years old - and Lauren recognized it as a willow tree, it's leaves bent over and almost brushing the ground. However, she could see the sky through it's branches, and she gladly took a seat next to the boy on the grass.

It was a little bit of a shock when he took her hand and kissed it. Lauren resisted the urge to snatch her hand back, and blushed instead. His lips were soft against the skin of her hand, and she once again tucked her hair behind her ear, before looking up at him through her eyelashes and smiling softly. He introduced himself, and told her he preferred Seth. She smiled once again, before she reached out with her hand and placed the tips of her fingers across his hand.

"I'm Lauren." She began slowly. She didn't really know how to explain her past. "I'm here for burning drugs which I helped traffic. I was forced." She said quickly. "It's...No big deal." She left out the voices. He didn't need to know about them. Not yet. He moved his hands into his pockets and she left her hands there, outstretched behind her. Perhaps... Perhaps she could forget about Daniel and finally move on.

(I need to go to bed - talk later!)

" nice to meet you is a pleasure, and hey nothing to be ashame of we all make difficult choices trust me i know " he said thinking how him being brought here even thought he was innocent would look upon his family and how little he cared. He smiled and then gently pushed her hair between her ear " you have a beautiful complexion i see why you keep your hair from your face, dont let it ever get hidden your smile is amazing" he said with a small laugh of embarrasement he just met this girl yet he was this confortable he felt a bit out of place. " beautiful night shame is going to rain tomorrow " he said as he put his head back agaisnt the willow tree his hands on his lap as he breathe in deeply " im glad i met someone here like you is like we know each other for a while " he smiled and blushed " but thats silly isnt it, nothing ever happens that way only books tell those stories " he said as his hand reach up to the sky and the moon while a couple clouds came close to block it.

Lauren found herself with a small smile on her face. She felt rather comfortable, more comfortable around him than she had been for a while. She continued to smile slightly to herself, and felt her cheeks go slightly pink when he pushed her hair behind her ear. His touch made her stomach curl into knots, and she flushed. She liked the feel of his hand on her cheek - something she had not felt for a long time. Automatically, without thinking, she touched her fingertips to his hand gently, trailing her fingers along to his. She blushed again and quickly apologized.

"I think the rain is just as beautiful as the sun." She whispered to herself, although Seth could probably hear her too. "It's amazing to draw, and think that far away water could be carried all this way to fuel such beautiful places." Lauren mirrored his action and lay her head back, too, looking up at the exquisitely coloured sky, her hair tumbling down past her shoulders to just brush past the ground. She smiled at his comments. "Yeah. It's...Strange, isn't it?" She said quietly. "Sometimes, I wish the books could be real, even for a little while." She looked up again, to the sky. The moon was rising fast, and the silver shone down onto her, making her appear even paler than she was, almost as if she was made of porcelain, and was incredibly delicate.

" i guess you are right about the rain , as long s i can see the sky i can see beuty and love " he said with a smile, he took out a small note book " water travels to share its life with us and even if the sky is gray it is not a sad moment but a rebirth of life which continues to give us strenght" he said as he wrote it down on the note book. " sorry i tend to write the beautiful experiences and words pass along by others as thatd what a book is a journey through someone else's eyes " he said as he looked at her his smile still present. " same with drawings isnt it you are conveying your emotions and your feelings throught them" he said placing his hand on hers and holding it between his" you are a very passionate person " he said as he look at her, like a dream she was beauty, compassion, and mystery, he saw the small tiny drops begin to fall and he instinctively took his jacket off and handed to her," here this should keep you from getting wet and cold " he said as the tiny drops increased.

"I've always wondered what might lay beyond the sky. Are there other worlds with a view this beautiful?" Lauren mused to herself. She listened to his words as he wrote them down in the notebook, and smiled softly. "You should write poetry." She told him quietly. "You have a talent with words." She had to agree with his next comment about drawings, so she did, with a nod of her head.

A drop of water landed on her nose, and Lauren flinched slightly. She tucked her drawing and art things under her coat, just as he took off his coat and handed it to her. "No... We both need to stay dry." She muttered, taking his coat and making a canopy over their heads on the smaller branches just above them. She curled up next to him, squeezing his hand gently. His hand was very warm, and made her stomach curl even more on the inside.

" its alright i used to spend alot of tme under the rain when i was little you could say i grew condition to it, now i dont even feel it " he said as she made the canopy, he smiled and gently held her hand as he moved his body to accomodate hers better " here its a moment i want to remember fondly " he saif with a smile as his eyes met hers his hand again on instinct move the hair from her face but this time it slowly made its way from her cheek back, leaving her skin and then setting on her hand." So if you dont mind i would like to know more about you if you are willing to share " he said as he watch for her reaction sometimes peoples past were hard to bring up, and he didnt want to upset her.

Lauren smiled a little when he explained about the rain. He moved to accommodate her, and Lauren rested her head on his shoulder, huddled under the canopy. "Me, too." She told him. He placed his hand over hers, and Lauren instead laced her fingers through his gently.

Then he asked about her past, which was a little bit on the touchy side. She bit her lip slightly, and then shrugged. "Apart from the abusive boyfriend and drugs and arson? Not much really. I was just the daughter of the Vespen's. Not really much else to tell." She bit her lip again, a little harder. "What about you?" She asked him softly. She didn't really want to intrude too much, but she felt it was polite to at least ask. She looked away slightly, looking up at the moon. "You know, I haven't felt this for a long time." She paused a little. "I haven't felt safe or wanted for a long time." She sighed, looking up still. She didn't know how he felt, but she felt like she was flying on hope and possibility. She felt... happy.

" dont focus on the bad i mean your real story about you things you think about, things you felt dreams all the beauty i see in you " he said with a small smile as he put his hand on the top of her cheek and caressed ever so gently " i am hyuset Levi mahler i was born to a unknown family who left me in the streets at age five." He said with quiet tone, " i survive for 3 years on my own until i met doctor mahler, after i tried to rob his tires " he chuckle and look at the girl " i thought i was gonna go to jail, and then out of nowhere he hugged me, he told me he knew i was in need and he open his door to his house to me " he said with a gentle sigh " mother was sweet gentle a lawyer and doctors mahler soul mate, after some years i started to study, i was able to test back into my correct grade from them on i work hard for my new family, until they had a baby on their own my youngest sister, things changed a bit i was left more on my own and i understood but then it came the whole issue with a certain drug dealer who handed me his gun i was charged with assault, but even after i was proven guilty i decided to remain here to figure who i was," he said pausing he must sound like an idiot he didnt have to be here yet he chose to remain.

Lauren listened carefully to what he said, and tried to memorize it. Sound like he had a rough past, and that saddened her a little. It especially upset her that he had been framed. She wondered if it was Daniel that had set him up. She hoped not. She knew that it would be something he would do - she just hoped he wasn't a jerk enough to have done it to Hyuset. She frowned a little in thought, before she started to think about how to tell him everything about herself.

"My full name's Lauren Paige Vespen." She began slowly, taking a deep breath. "I was born to the Vespen's, my mother Amarie and my father Markus. I played piano, guitar, and read a lot. I was a good girl. And then... I made friends. And I did a lot of bad stuff under their influence. The thing is, my parents thought my friends were real. I was diagnosed with schizophrenia when I was 11." She paused to let it sink in. "You can run away now, if you like." She bit her lip. "Then I met Daniel, and I've already explained the rest."

" Run way, but i feel more attracted to you now " he said with a smile, he pushed his body back to the tree and looked at her " your past is in, your past can still hurt you thought if you let it" he put his hand up and showed her a scarf in the from of H " you have much more to look foward to, dont let things like this define you because you are alot better than all of them." He said confident in his words almost speach like before his tone went back to normal" i have, inferiority complex, abandonment issues, and a fear of heights, but thats not gonna stop me im going to be the best i can for everyone around me, im going to love even if i could loose it, and im goimg to climb as high as i can, i dont want to be just a labeled human, i want to continuously change and redefine me" he smiled and pulled his note book out he rip a page with the drawing of a rose and hand it to her " please crumble it"he said as he put the piece of paper on her hand.

"What, even though I have voices in my head talking to me the entire time?" Lauren joked, but then changed her mind and sighed. "How does that make you more attracted to me?" She shook her head in disbelief, creasing her eyebrows. She listened to his speech, and smiled. He had a way of speaking that was definitely admirable. She gently touched his scar with her index finger, tracing it gently. She had plenty of scars of her own, but they weren't like this. She bit the inside of her cheek and listened as he defiantly told her what he hoped to be, before giving a drawing of a rose.

Crumple it? Why would Lauren want to crumple up a beautiful drawing? So she decided to do something else. She took her scissors, and carefully cut around the flower, and the petals on the inside, before folding them all up, so the paper soon began to look like a real rose - just shaded delicately and made from paper. She smiled again at the creation and balanced it on his stomach so he could see. "I think that looks much better than crumpling it up." She whispered. "We need to keep beauty for as long as we have it, enhance it even, so that the world can be that much more beautiful... Even if it is only one or two people." She shrugged again, snuggling into him. She felt a little cold.

" it is definitely better but i was trying to show you something " he said with a smile as he crumble a different paper " see imagine this is the rose " he crumbled it and the paper banish as it change for a real rose " little magic, to show you that when a nameless flower is trample is not dead its just waiting for someone to help it flourish again " he said as he put the rose gently on her hand and hugged tight " beauty is just a concept we are all beautiful some more than others " he said kissing her forehead as he smiled. "I better take you to your dorm you are going to catch a cold " he caressed her hair and kissed her forehead without knowing just acting on impulse.