Announcements: Cutting Costs (2024) » January 2024 Copyfraud Attack » Finding Universes to Join (and making yours more visible!) » Guide To Universes On RPG » Member Shoutout Thread » Starter Locations & Prompts for Newcomers » RPG Chat — the official app » Frequently Asked Questions » Suggestions & Requests: THE MASTER THREAD »

Latest Discussions: Adapa Adapa's for adapa » To the Rich Men North of Richmond » Shake Senora » Good Morning RPG! » Ramblings of a Madman: American History Unkempt » Site Revitalization » Map Making Resources » Lost Poetry » Wishes » Ring of Invisibility » Seeking Roleplayer for Rumple/Mr. Gold from Once Upon a Time » Some political parody for these trying times » What dinosaur are you? » So, I have an Etsy » Train Poetry I » Joker » D&D Alignment Chart: How To Get A Theorem Named After You » Dungeon23 : Creative Challenge » Returning User - Is it dead? » Twelve Days of Christmas »

Players Wanted: Long-term fantasy roleplay partners wanted » Serious Anime Crossover Roleplay (semi-literate) » Looking for a long term partner! » JoJo or Mha roleplay » Seeking long-term rp partners for MxM » [MxF] Ruining Beauty / Beauty x Bastard » Minecraft Rp Help Wanted » CALL FOR WITNESSES: The Public v Zosimos » Social Immortal: A Vampire Only Soiree [The Multiverse] » XENOMORPH EDM TOUR Feat. Synthe Gridd: Get Your Tickets! » Aishna: Tower of Desire » Looking for fellow RPGers/Characters » looking for a RP partner (ABO/BL) » Looking for a long term roleplay partner » Explore the World of Boruto with Our Roleplaying Group on FB » More Jedi, Sith, and Imperials needed! » Role-player's Wanted » OSR Armchair Warrior looking for Kin » Friday the 13th Fun, Anyone? » Writers Wanted! »

0
followers
follow

Jamie Chapman

"And all of the mothers raise their babies to stay away from me."

0 · 4,034 views · located in Booth Lane College

a character in “Skins: Secrets Out”, originally authored by partially-stars, as played by RolePlayGateway

Description

Image

introverted || passionate || reserved || caring || protective

[ the storm || of mice and men ]

was i your knight in shining armour?
the apple of your eye?
or just a step, a fucking step, for you to climb?







Image
Image
Full Name:
James Daniel Chapman
Nicknames:
Jamie
Age:
18
Sexual Orientation:
Bisexual
Occupation:
Works at the local animal shelter
Religion:
Agnostic
Heritage:
3/4 English, 1/4 French (his mother was half French.)
Ethnicity:
Caucasian
Birth Day:
11th November
Birth Sign:
Scorpio
Home Town:
Manchester
Languages:
English, somewhat fluent in French
School Year:
12
Character Role:
FC: Oliver Sykes







Image

determined || secretive || musical || hates confrontation || nostalgic

[ emergency || paramore ]

sometimes quiet is violent.






Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Family Members:
Father: Thomas Chapman
Mother: Marie Kendall
Academic Career:
Jamie was a great student for his GCSEs, back when his home life was still somewhat studying. He received mostly B's, earning a C in math and an A in both music and French. However, shortly after his GCSE's is when his life went to hell, and his grades quickly dropped. He's averaging an A in music, but his grades swing wildly from B's to scraping a D in both French and psychology.
Future Plans:
Finally achieve happiness and stability.
Personality:
If you were to ask anyone about Jamie Chapman, the first word that they'd say would be quiet. He's not exactly one to go around talking to strangers or babbling for ages about whatever he did at the weekend- he much prefers to sit and listen. Many assume that, because of this, he has nothing to say- but he's rather the opposite. Jamie is a very passionate person. When you get him talking about something he really cares about, you can see exactly how intense he can be. While he's not the type of activist to go break animals out of labs or do anything destructive, he will be found at rallies, chanting with everyone else and ensuring that his voice is heard. When people say that all vegans are obsessive and try to force their beliefs onto others, they will be pointed to the quiet, reserved Jamie as a reminder that, no, that's not how they work. The majority of the time, he's quite chilled. He's the one laughing at the jokes as opposed to telling them, but that's something he's never minded. He's incredibly loyal and protective- almost overly so. He stays sober on nights out just so he knows that everybody can get home safely and that there's somebody to look after his drunken friends. On the nights that he's not there to do so, his mind will be occupied by them, wondering if they're safe.

However, perhaps wondering is the wrong word. In fact, if he's not there, it's only because something of huge importance came up that he couldn't avoid. And as soon as his mind is free, he'll be panicking, convinced that something is bad is going to happen to them. He'll be constantly texting them and will more than likely call them at least once. If he doesn't get a response, he'll panic, often leading to a full on panic attack. Panic attacks are only the tip of the iceberg of his problems. He's got major depressive disorder and panic disorder, both of which are undiagnosed. Because they are undiagnosed, the only medication he has is the alcohol stash under his bed. He swings from not touching alcohol for days to getting blackout drunk three nights a week. When he's sober, he occasionally suffers from suicidal thoughts, depending on how his mood is. His inability and unwillingness to talk about his problems doesn't help either. His relationship with his parents worsens it. His father was the only one to take Jamie's problems even somewhat seriously, and now he's out of the question. His mother refuses to acknowledge that he has a problem. Jamie learned years ago that talking to her won't get him anywhere. That only leaves his friends, and even just thinking about talking to them causes him to panic. The only time he really appears to be truly alive is on stage or playing music, and even his friends have remarked that he's a different person. He's not anxious. He doesn't hate himself. For however long that is, he can just be himself, minus the mental disorders.

Fears:
Due to his panic disorder, jumpscares have quite a strong effect on him. He's terrified of being alone and of forever being unhappy and depressed. He has an extreme hatred for heights as well.
Quirks:
Jamie usually has his sleeves pulled over his hands, and is constantly adjusting them. He stammers when anxious, which often only just worsens the problem. Whenever he's thinking about playing the piano, he does the action without thinking about it.
Hobbies:
He plays the piano and the guitar, although he's far better at the piano. Whenever he's not drunk or doing schoolwork, he's playing music, channelling his soul into them to distract himself. They're the only hobbies he's managed to keep up through his depression, although he used to play basketball.
Passions:
Jamie's quite passionate about animal rights and is a vegan for that reason. Music, however, has to be his biggest passion. It's the one thing that he's never lost passion for, even through his depression.
Bad Habits:
Drinking to deal with his problems, not talking about his problems and nail biting.
Guilty Pleasures:
Romcoms- on his sober evenings when he's alone in the house, he's been known to put one on and watch it in an attempt to feel better.
Likes:
Romcoms, metal music, rock music, his band, playing music, his friends, concerts, driving fast, feeling in control of himself, good days
Dislikes:
Heights, animal cruelty, cruelty in general, bad days, losing control, his mental health, his mother, panic attacks





Image

dependent || addictive personality || anxious || chilled || stubborn

[ far too young to die || panic! at the disco ]

and all of their mothers raise their babies
to stay away from me







Image
Image
Face Claim :
Oliver Sykes
Height:
6'0"
Weight / Build :
Jamie is quite slim- not to the point of his health being at risk, but he is underweight. His frame was on the narrow side to begin with, so he's now quite slim.
Hair Colour:
Dark brown
Eye Colour:
Dark, warm brown
Other:
He has a number of tattoos already, despite the fact that he's only just old enough to have them. He has a semi colon on the small of his back- he knows this isn't exactly original, but he loves the idea. He also has "not the absence of fear, but the strength to face it" above his heart, and two stars and a flying silhouette on his right bicep as a subtle Peter Pan reference.







Image

loving || loyal || cautious || lonely || depressed

[ golden || fall out boy ]

to die, i think, would be an awfully big adventure







Image
Image
Image

History:
Jamie's childhood was perfectly normal, even though he was living with a recovering addict. His depression and anxiety weren't exactly evident as a child and so he was happy. His mother and his father loved each other very much and they loved him just as much. He got everything he needed and was never spoiled- but was never left wanting of anything. However, that changed as he hit his teens.

His depression started with self-image issues. His self-image swung from thinking he was too fat and needed to lose weight to not being strong or big enough. As time went on, it worsened into major depressive disorder. He started self-harming at fourteen, unable to find another way to handle it. His mother found out after almost two years, when he accidentally went too deep and ended up having to be brought to the emergency room. She freaked out, searching for any other explanation other than her son having a mental disorder. Even when his father said that he thought that Jamie should go to even just one psychiatrist appointment, she refused to listen to him. She proceeded to bring it up to manipulate Jamie and generally make him feel bad. That only worsened his panic disorder. His friends and music were his only salvation, keeping him somewhat sane. However, his crush on Bella didn't help, just confusing him and often making him more distressed.

His parents had been fighting a lot before his father relapsed, but that seemed to be the last straw. The only reason they didn't straight out divorce was because Marie was worried that doing so would lead to the worsening of both Jamie and her husband, finally starting to consider that her son wasn't just a moody teenager. It was hard to tell, however, as he was either asleep or at school during that particular time. She instead started to work longer hours at work and spending as little time in the house as possible, leaving Jamie to look after his relapsed father. The relapse was quite a major one, and he refused to go back to counselling.

It was around this time that Bella's boyfriend started becoming suspicious of Jamie. He manipulated Jamie into staying away, leaving Jamie with only one close friend. This, combined with his mother's behaviour and his father's relapse and refusal to recover, meant that Jamie's mental disorders continued to deteriorate. He discovered the appeal of alcohol but then discovered it's after effects, leading to his fluctuating relationship with alcohol. His unmedicated depression continued to deteriorate, his urges to relapse into self harm developing into suicidal thoughts and his sleep pattern starting to vary widely. His panic disorder deteriorated as well, leading to Jamie having panic attacks over what he considered to be small things.

Over the summer, he had to look after his father all day, everyday. A chest infection followed by a severe throat infection meant he had to go on vocal rest for fear of damaging his voice. Being unable to speak made things a lot harder and didn't help his depression. He reached one of his lowest points over the summer, where he was actually on the bridge, ready to climb over. He didn't want to do it at home, where his father could find him. But he made himself walk away and go home and get pissed and forget what he'd been considering. He just wants to get out of the house and go somewhere where he can recover in peace or even just get help without his mother interfering.

So begins...

Jamie Chapman's Story

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Arabella Swift Character Portrait: Jamie Chapman Character Portrait: Ellie Wallace Character Portrait: Nate Carlile Character Portrait: Skylar Grocott Character Portrait: Alex Robinson
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image
Image


Jamie grinned at Sky. "Thanks- yeah, my old band kinda fell apart, so it's good to have something to jump straight back into. Music is just such a huge part of my life that it's weird to imagine doing anything but playing music," he said, shrugging a little. He'd been playing music for as long as he could remember, and he never wanted to let it go. "And sure, come along! Don't mind Alex trying to sell you merch, he designed one of the crewnecks and thinks he's god's gift to mankind ever since," he said, grinning over at him. He appeared to be trying to placate Ellie, though, so Jamie dropped it.

He sat back down in the circle beside Bella, refilling his cup as Nate realised the absence of his clothes. Jamie didn't have to think too hard about who the culprit could be. He stared at Ellie across the fire, who caught his eye and shrugged. This whole situation was messier than anyone but Ellie and Nate knew, and they weren't telling. Well, Nate probably would with some pressing, but Ellie wasn't. Ellie was just going to cause as much havoc as possible and enjoy every second of it.

"Watch you don't flash anyone, Nate honey, nobody really wants to see that," Ellie called, her voice coated in an insincere sweetness. Everything she did seemed to be to antagonise Nate, and she didn't seem to have any problems with that.


Image
Image


"So, Bella, truth or dare?" Ellie asked, leaning in a bit, her smile still on her face. She was honestly starting to wish she'd never come- between Sky's bloody perfection and Nate's 'oh woe is me' act when it came to her, she was feeling vaguely sickened. She should have gone out instead. Or even just hung out at the house with Alex. But here she was- so if she had to be here, she may as well have some fun.

And Bella daring to say that she was making Nate feel bad. Nate had made Ellie look weak, which is the one thing she wasn't. Nate had always seen Ellie as somebody weak, somebody who needed protecting. She was going to show him that she didn't need protecting, that she could stand on her own two feet. She didn't need him defending her. She didn't need anybody or anything. Well, apparently there were a few things she did need, but she was going to cut one of them off before long. Her doctor had said that going cold turkey was absolutely not an option, not after this long. And then he'd had the balls to say that he didn't think she was ready for another reduced dose.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Arabella Swift Character Portrait: Jamie Chapman Character Portrait: Ellie Wallace Character Portrait: Nate Carlile Character Portrait: Skylar Grocott Character Portrait: Alex Robinson
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Image
Image

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _
Arabella didn't even want to look at Ellie, she couldn't believe how caught up in herself she was. She seemed to have seriously no idea what she was putting him through, well that or she did and she didn't for the life of herself care. She thought about it for a while and tried to imagine her and Jamie being in the same situation but she just couldn't- they wouldn't get into this kind of thing if Jamie punched a guy who was bothering her at a gig, she'd just be god damn grateful he'd helped her and maybe Jamie wouldn't swing a punch so quickly, he wasn't as impulsive as Nate but still it was all so ridiculous and petty.

She sighed as Ellie asked her and raised her shoulders in a shrug. "Truth I suppose," She shrugged sipping from her drink casually, crossing her legs in front of her. Bella was normally a person to say dare but she didn't fancy swimming and if she had to do anything similar to what Nate had done someone was likely to see the fresh scar on her stomach and even worse, old ones on her legs and it so wasn't worth it and if Ellie was giving out the dares it was bound to be something brutal especially since she'd confronted her.

"Come on then, Arabella Swift being a completely open book- bound by the law of truth or dare to answer one honest question, what's it gonna be?" She laughed looking up at them all expectantly. She could guess they'd go for something awkward like a question about her feelings for Jamie or something embarrassing like who her first kiss was but she'd rather that then her do any kind of dare and it go wrong.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Image
Image

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
"That's amazing, I'd do anything to be artistic like that or even just have a passion about something but I haven't been so fortunate- yet, there's still time I guess," Sky laughed gently as they conversed. "Aha oh really?" She shrugged lightly with a lip gloss smile.

When Nate re joined the group she looked at him before laughing lightly. "I can't believe you really did that," She laughed out loud as she thought about it properly and shook her head. "You're insane. You'll get sick," She pointed out but the boy just shrugged at her and took a long mouthful from his drink. Sky did the same because she felt under pressure to keep up with the others and to drink at their pace even though she wasn't at all used to drinking like this.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Image
Image

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _
"Then why did you make me do it Els? Because I'm not embarrassed either," He laughed, rolling his eyes at her. He grabbed his clothes from the trunk of the car and then got changed behind it. He pulled on some dark skinny jeans and a Guns 'N Roses t-shirt, it was quite a casual outfit by Nate's standard but he didn't look anymore comfortable for it. He ran his hand through his hair to try and get the worst of the water out of it and squeezed the ends of it slightly but groaned at his failure to dry it out anymore than enough to stop it dripping.

He went back and sat close to the fire to try and warm himself through again because he was shivering and slightly pale for his dare. He didn't show much interest in the game after that and he lit up a straight Marlboro light and tucked it between his lips, he didn't want to get screwed up intoxicated tonight- he just wanted to relax which wasn't likely to happen with Ellie around but it'd be easier if he wasn't totally shit faced either.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Arabella Swift Character Portrait: Jamie Chapman Character Portrait: Ellie Wallace Character Portrait: Nate Carlile
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image
Image


Ellie grinned as Bella called truth. She didn't even have to think that hard to come up with something that would shift the drama entirely away from her and Nate and that would end up being the story people actually spoke about.

"How do you really feel about Jamie? The full, unabridged truth," she asked, leaning her chin on her hand. Everybody knew how things went the other way around- even Sky probably knew about it by this point. Everybody at school and their grandmothers knew. Nate had probably briefed her on it as well. It was pretty important to understanding the dynamic of the group. She glanced over at Jamie, who had turned a strange pale green. Part of her worried that she'd done the wrong thing- but at the same time, she wanted to see how this would work out. And it would be memorable, if nothing else. Her treatment of Nate would be nothing in comparison.


Image
Image


He could practically see the mischief in Ellie's expression. He knew the question wasn't intentionally malicious, that it was probably only meant to draw the attention away from her- but he really wished that she'd asked something... that wasn't that. Something ridiculous, ideally, but literally anything else would have been better than that. He took a long drink out of his drink, wishing the there was a hell of a lot more vodka in it. Enough to knock him out until this was all over, ideally.

(ahh, sorry this is so short!)

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Arabella Swift Character Portrait: Jamie Chapman Character Portrait: Ellie Wallace Character Portrait: Nate Carlile
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Image
Image

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _
Any colour in Arabella's pastel white skin quickly drained and she swallowed looking away from them all. She couldn't believe Ellie would ask her that, that was a conversation should be having with Jamie, one to one in private when they were ready- this shouldn't be dragged up in a boozy game of truth or dare.

She felt sick.

She was trying to think of a way out of answering, she could kick off but that'd cause too much drama for her liking or she could run away but that wasn't fair on Jamie not by any means. She should have told him before, when she was at his, at the hospital, at the gig- months ago, she would have chosen any of those times over now- Christ, she'd even rather telling him whilst she was bleeding out in her bedroom whilst on the phone then telling him now, at least then it wouldn't have been public.

She opened her mouth and closed it again. Her breath caught in her throat and she swallowed it out of fear, if she continued to hold it she'd just panic.

What if he hated her for it?

What if it all went wrong?

What if he ditched her?

What if they all laughed?


A long time passed idly with awkward silence and Bella looked at Ellie pleadingly. She bit her lip, swigged an obscene amount of Vodka which had been so mixed so little with coke it might as well be pure and then she looked up, she caught Jamie's eye for a second but was too anxious to hold it, so she spoke to the cup in her hand and locked her eyes on that.

"I feel, I honestly feel like the complications, implications, details, meanings, consequences and depth of my feelings towards Jamie are a personal matter that only matter to the two of us. I think everyone basically thinks they've worked it out anyway and if you have an ounce of social understanding you're probably right but I seem to recall Ellie, telling you to worry about your own relationships and not mine," The response was incredibly defensive and in truth it gave it all away- even Jamie who she tended to convince to trust her every word as it was would probably see through her now. They all could probably see her natural instinct to panic had at first halted her breathing but now quickened it and the hand holding her cup seemed to quiver a little but her facial expression was strong and unwavering as she stared into the cup. She wanted to look at Jamie, see his reaction- pray he hadn't taken it the wrong way and that he understood but she couldn't. She wasn't so brave.

"I left my filters in the truck. I'm going to go grab them now," She mumbled quickly getting up and leaving an empty cup on the ground behind her, along with her jumper which she'd taken off a while ago after the fire had started to heat up and she walked off to the truck. She was burrowing through the glove box for a long while afterwards before she found her box of roll-ups, she didn't usually smoke a lot of cigarettes but she'd found it to be good at calming her anxieties and she really didn't want to have a panic attack right now because by a pond, in the middle of the woods, surrounded by alcohol and weed- she didn't want to be in a mind set that would be damaging or destructive. She needed to keep it together. She sat on the bonnet and pulled one knee up to her chest resting her head on it before she sparked up the cigarette and took a drag, leaning back on the window screen to look up at the sky as she tried to gather herself again.

{I'm sorry. I got so carried away with writing this post, I just find Bella so easy to write and don't worry about anything being short, I do the same sometimes when I'm struggling or think a character isn't too relevant for a moment.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Image
Image

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sky looked really surprised and taken a back by the question and she looked at Nate for confirmation and she whispered; "are they?" and he nodded to her gravely with a mildly gormless expression and she muttered 'Oh' before withdrawing into herself. The next five minutes were horrible, Bella look like she might scream in distress or cry and recognising the signs from her own experience with her Mother being a woman who suffered from an anxiety disorder- she felt terrible for Bella when she noticed the shakes that took a hold of her body but she wasn't close enough to realise it'd effected her breathing as well.

She was about to pipe up and tell Bella not to answer and that no body could expect her to like this but then Bella stopped drinking what Sky thought was an insane amount of drink to take in one go and explained, very defensively but she explained o her side and Sky sighed gently- she'd been suspicious before from the girl's sneaking glances all the while but it was crystal now that the dark haired girl clearly liked him. She thought about trying to comfort her or talk to her but Bella didn't seem to be the kind of girl who appreciated sympathy and she figured the only one that could put her out of this kind of misery was Jamie so she was a prisoner to her spot on the ground and she didn't move, speak or react and by this time Bella had excused herself to walk away and get her cigarettes, so that to she nodded.

She felt awkward after that and she exhaled looking down at the fire. "That was intense," She breathed trying to break the ice but failing quite badly. "Sorry," She added quickly when she caught up with herself.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Image
Image

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _
Nathaniel sighed. Was Ellie out for Bella's blood as well now or something? Surely it must be apparent by now that the feeling was pretty neutral but a delicate subject for them both? Had she really asked? He winced slightly at the dig she made towards Ellie at the end and he bit his tongue. After Jamie, Nate was probably the best friend Ellie had here so he felt the need to speak up when she started to go.

"Bell-"

"It's fine, I need my filters," She replied without looking back and she continued to wander off.

He sighed and looked at Ellie, shooting her the cruellest of glares. This was too far. Ellie could rip into him all she liked he- he deserved it, he was such a let down he deserved everything he got but Bella hadn't done anything and even if they didn't know the details she clearly had a lot of shit going on without Ellie drama considering her school attendance records and ever changing moods and attitude. She'd also gone from being the over achieving rock queen of their school until they came back from the summer. So something had to be going on, he couldn't be the only person to work that out but he figured Jamie would know all and be looking after her and the situation. That's why he never asked but he didn't understand why Ellie had to ask that in such a way.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Arabella Swift Character Portrait: Jamie Chapman Character Portrait: Ellie Wallace Character Portrait: Nate Carlile Character Portrait: Skylar Grocott Character Portrait: Alex Robinson
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image
Image


Bella's words felt like an ice cube down his back. He didn't know how to take that. He'd just been so fucking wrapped up in trying to keep his act together that he hadn't been able to read her messages, and even now, through the haze of alcohol, everything was blurred and starting to scare him. He needed to get away from here. He needed to get away and breathe. And with all of this toxicity in the air, that wasn't going to happen.

He put his drink down on the ground and stood up, brushing himself down. "I- uh- need to go gather my thoughts. I'll be back before long so- so don't have too much fun without me, okay?" He didn't want to walk, that wasn't enough. Part of him knew that driving was stupid- but he wouldn't be going far. Just driving somewhere else. He'd be fine.

He dug his keys out of his pocket and climbed into the car, starting the engine. He took a moment to reconsider- but around that fire, he felt like he couldn't think. He needed to go somewhere, somewhere away from Ellie's destruction and all of the tension and the confusion. He pulled away, setting his phone in the cup holder beside him.


Image
Image


For fuck's sake. All she wanted to do was have a little fun, and everybody had to take it personally. As Jamie strode off to sulk, she got to her feet. "I'm going for a walk. You're all a bunch of party-poopers," she said, stalking into the woods. But deep down, this all felt a little too familiar in a way she didn't want to admit. She was pushing them away, just like she pushed everyone away. And it brought her right back to her pre-rehab days, when all she'd done was destroy herself and her relationships. And honestly, she wanted to destroy something. But this time, they wouldn't be as willing to welcome her back when she fucked up. She'd ruined all of this, just like she ruined everything.

And it was all fucking Nathaniel fucking Carlile's fault. Why the hell was he the one who had broken her? He'd made her feel weak, and not in a good way. She sat down heavily on a rock and sighed. Sometimes she just wished she'd kept herself to herself. But now it was too late for that.



Image
Image


Ellie was... destructive, this evening. He'd seen her drunk before, so it wasn't the vodka. Had she come tonight with the intention to ruin as many relationships as possible? Because now you could almost feel the tension in the air. He looked up and knew that he should follow her- but also knew he should try and explain.

"I'm really sorry," he said. "I don't know what it is- I'd blame the alcohol, but it never made her like this before. Is there.... Was there a fight I don't know about?" She'd struck him as the type of person that would be- there was so many unspoken secrets with her. She was a master at avoiding topics she didn't want to talk about- but she never started anything like this over it. God knows, she would have broken up with him by now. This was a different Ellie, one he hadn't known about.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Arabella Swift Character Portrait: Jamie Chapman Character Portrait: Ellie Wallace Character Portrait: Nate Carlile Character Portrait: Skylar Grocott Character Portrait: Alex Robinson
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

b e l l a

Image

Immediately after she knew she shouldn't have reacted to the question, just bullshitted and said something about him just being her best friend and lied but she couldn't keep pretending she was okay with the dishonesty and Ellie's manipulation of everybody. Jamie was the person she needed more than anyone, he always had been since they first became friends- she'd never relied on her Mother, nor her father or a sibling; the only long term relationship or friendship she'd ever maintained was Jamie and now he was climbing into his car drunk and she wanted to stop him, more than anything she wanted to stop him but she blamed herself and didn't want to make things worse by talking to him but she couldn't let him.

She was still sat on the truck and finally her voice betrayed her and struggling to look up she called over to him from where he sat in the car next to hers.

"Jamie please, please don't drive," She croaked anxiously. "We're all drunk and there's too much out here, trees, rocks- it's dark. Please don't risk that," She mumbled pushing herself off the bonnet and standing up, still leaning as she tried not to let the raging rush of her emotions overwhelm her. The weak side of her just felt like bursting into tears after everything last week, her exhaustion physically and emotionally, her desperation, her physical pain- it was just too much. It was all so intense she could feel the atmosphere prickling against her skin like a thousand tiny needles. "I know this is a lot. And the atmosphere has gone to shit and everyone's breaking down but Ellie's gone off on a walk. We can all calm down now but please, don't take that risk if not for your own sake, for mine and for music- whatever it is that will convince you to think twice,"





n a t h a n i e l

Image

Nate sighed harshly and looked at Alex and stiffly nodded. "Yeah. There was," He mumbled.
"There are two people I truly care about in this world- my Mum and Ellie. No offence to anyone, they're just the people I've relied on and been there to rely on for since day one. You know without the romance, she was basically what Bella is to Jamie, to me. And I was raised to look after women- my Mum's old fashioned, she's always taught me to be a gentleman you know the shit so I've always been protective of people," He admitted all of this with a certain amount of ease but not pride, he used to be proud to say he'd been raised right and knew how to look after people and be a genuine guy but since Ellie happened, he'd felt ashamed of it. Like he was wrong to be that way but he took a sip from his drink and then continued.

"But at that gig- your gig, some guy started trying it on with Ellie and Bella was being weird- I think she felt sick or something but this guy- he wouldn't leave Ellie alone and I felt responsible y'know, like I had to look after them and he pissed me off, he was in arsehole you just can't be like that with girls you don't know- fuck that, any girl. It's just not right and basically, I had a bit of liquid courage going on and I punched him. Ellie being the proud independent stubborn son of a bitch she is was offended, thought I'd make her look weak and that I was taking the piss. I don't know- I still can't pretend I understand why she's angry at me about caring for her and looking out for her but she was and now she wants to ruin me, probably Sky too since we've been hanging out," He sighed miserably and looked over at Alex apologetically, he felt awful for the guy. He'd truly got a bit fucked over getting dragged into all of this Ellie drama in such a way.

"And Bella. I don't know why she went for her but everybody knows how her and Jamie are- it's written all over them. She knew what she was doing when she asked that truth," He sighed and looked like a guy who was broken, in truth he had been ever since that gig. He'd felt terrible from the very moment he caught Ellie's eye- full of disgust, after he'd thrown the punch. He knew he'd fucked up but he couldn't take all of the drama anymore. "I can't fight with her like this. She doesn't care about me anymore- if she ever did when we were friends but I care about her too much to let her do this to herself and to everyone else around her. I'm not fighting with her but I'm not going to not stick up for them, they haven't done anything wrong here. It's just me," He explained everything and speaking about left it a hollow pit in his stomach that only got worse with every breath.


s k y l a r
Image

[font=Times New Roman] Skylar's heart broke a little bit for every single person that from their now broken circle in that moment. She could see how much Bella was struggling- Jamie too and Ellie, she wasn't a bad person it wasn't as obvious why but Ellie was clearly hurting because of something too which is what drove her to sneak off whilst Nate was engrossed in telling the story of the argument and Alex was busy listening. She got up and followed after Ellie, she didn't except the best reaction but sometimes it was easier to talk to a stranger.

"Hey, Ellie?" She called softly when she caught up, standing in front of her looking small and actually slightly scared but still hopeful. "I know we're not friends or anything and I suppose you've got a pretty bad impression of me because I'm with Nate but I like you y'know and I want to help. So go on, tell me. I'm a stranger- I can't judge you, I've got no one tell and no interest in gossip. So just tell me how he hurt you so bad because trust me Ellie, I've heard a lot about you and he adores you- even now," She mumbled lightly.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Arabella Swift Character Portrait: Jamie Chapman Character Portrait: Ellie Wallace Character Portrait: Nate Carlile Character Portrait: Skylar Grocott Character Portrait: Alex Robinson
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image
Image


He sighed as Bella spoke to him. He knew that everything would be fine if he stayed, that they'd manage somehow- but he knew that if his head was just a little clearer, he'd be able to do what he always did. Pull everyone else together, make them laugh a little, distract them from what had happened. He just needed a clear head, and he wasn't going to get that here.

"Bella, I just need... I just need to clear my head. I'll only be gone ten, fifteen minutes. I promise. I won't go far and I won't drive fast. Don't you worry about me- I can hold my liquor a hell of a lot better than you'd think," he said, grinning a little. He just wished that it wasn't because he was used to drinking until he blacked out. He started the engine. "I'll be fine. Fifteen minutes, tops. Promise," he said, before reversing out and heading back out onto the road.

He turned on the stereo, turning it back up to the full. The music blasting around him was as grounding as is it ever was, and he could already feel his thoughts starting to clear. He'd be fine. They'd all be fine- once Ellie stopped trying to destroy everything around her. Ellie was an enigma to everybody. He'd thought that he'd known her- but recently, she'd been showing another side, and he was realising that he didn't know anything.

And Bella. What the hell did she mean by what she'd said? Did she feel the same? Or was it all just a big, complicated mess? He'd been too busy trying to keep it together to try and read her- and besides, she hadn't been in school, so he hadn't even been getting signals from her. They needed to talk. Everyone needed to talk.

Suddenly, the glare of another car's headlights drew him out of his reverie, and he looked up. There was a deer right in front of his car- and unless he swerved, he'd hit it. But he'd end up hitting the other car instead, and that was worse. So he did the option that seemed to cause the least damage. He swerved the car straight towards the barrier and the trees.

The car slammed straight into the barrier, throwing him forward- but his seatbelt tried to pull him back, and the casualty was his shoulder or his collarbone or something in that general region. All he was aware of was a crack and then intense pain. But the car didn't stop moving, it went straight through the barrier and started tumbling, throwing him and his broken bone around. He blacked out before the car had even stopped moving.


Image
Image


Ellie looked up, ready to verbally attack whoever approached- but she held her tongue when it was Sky. Of all people, she hadn't expected her. Fuck's sake, that girl was just too perfect. Ellie sighed at her question. "It's... It's complicated and it's messy, and..." But she needed to tell somebody. She couldn't just keep this all bottled up- so far, that had only brought destruction.

"Sky- anything I tell you, you don't tell anyone else. I'm serious. Under any circumstances," She said, moving over on her boulder a bit and patting the spot beside her. Jesus, if she was going to talk about this, she'd need somebody right beside her.

"I... I used to be a junk- an addict. Heroin and all sorts of crazy, stupid shit. Like, if you think I'm destructive now, you should have seen me back then. I tried every kind of drug going. I wasn't happy- but the thing about heroin is that it's crazy addictive. And I ended up OD'ing, and ended up in rehab. And back then, I just felt so fucking weak," she said. She stubbornly wiped her eyes with the heel of her palm. She wasn't going to cry. Not after all of this.

"And I've just been building myself up since then, trying not to go back- and I'm clean, I'm still clean except for alcohol, but I just... I just hate feeling weak. And Nate treats me like I'm a fucking porcelain foll. No matter how many times I tell him I can stand on my own two feet, that I want to stand on my own two feet, he doesn't listen. And I know he's only trying to help but he just doesn't listen. He just keeps doing the same thing and he treats me like I'm weak and... I know he doesn't mean to do it but I just hate it so much." And there she was, in tears. She laughed a little bit.

"There goes my stone cold bitch facade, huh?" She remarked. "And- I know everyone wants to help but I just don't want to let anyone in, so I just push everyone away and destroy every relationship I can as soon as they get too close. Nate never asked questions, but I just... couldn't any more." She'd been expecting some massive weight to lift off of her shoulders, but nothing. She was still scared and still angry.


Image
Image


Alex listened to Nate speak and realised exactly how little he knew about Ellie. He hadn't known any of this- she was an expert at changing the conversation away from things she didn't want to think or talk about.

"I think... I think there's more to Ellie than any of us really know. God knows, that girl wouldn't tell you what's on her shopping list. There's something about her, something that I don't think either of us know. And she's not planning on telling any of us, that's for sure. And I'm not excusing her actions I just... I think we need to try and figure out why the hell she was acting the way she was, if nothing else," he said. He hadn't wanted to get that deep with Ellie- but if she was going to keep being so destructive, then he needed to know something. He needed some answers.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Arabella Swift Character Portrait: Jamie Chapman Character Portrait: Ellie Wallace Character Portrait: Nate Carlile Character Portrait: Skylar Grocott Character Portrait: Alex Robinson
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

b e l l a

Image

She stared him straight in the eyes as he spoke, her dark ones harshly on his- not in accusing way but like everything with Bella, it was an intense stare and the most primary emotion within it was total fear. "Jamie," She pleaded quietly. "No you can't so I'm begging you Jamie, don't," She begged him gently but she could see his mind was set and though it left her feeling sick and her gut twisted with anxiety. She was powerless to stop him. He'd go no matter what she said. She wouldn't even nod to him though. She just turned around and tried to lie to herself.

He's not drunk

He'll be fine.

It's okay.

She didn't believe herself and she quivered with unease, she went to sit on the truck but stopped. This was ridiculous isolating herself just because of her emotions for Jamie. She should apologise to Ellie and sit back down with everyone, knock back some drinks- have fun but Jamie, he'd sent a chill from the top of her shoulder blades to the tip of her spine and her whole body shuddered. Although being a heavy drinker from time to time herself, drunkenness had already been something that frightened her when she wasn't intoxicated enough to not see past it- and the story of an intoxicated youth, slightly emotional at a party taking off in a car and winding up hurt was just so sickeningly cliché.

"For fuck's sake Jamie," She whispered to herself. She made her way back to the group and picked up the bottle of the vodka, pouring a large quarter full into her cup before she sat on her knees and tossed it back down her neck in a manner that scorched her throat painfully but she turned her head, closing her eyes slightly as she swallowed it back but the attempt at relief was in vanity because the second her eyes opened again all she could think about was Jamie in that car.

How could she let him go?

She needed to know he was okay but the car had only just gotten out of sight and she knew she was being completely paranoid about it all. He'd be fine- this was Jamie she was talking about he was the most rational person she'd ever befriended, which maybe wasn't saying much because considering who she was but Jamie was sensible. He'd be ok.

She prayed so at least.

"You two okay?" She asked gently. "I'm so sorry for what I said. It's just, it's obvious I guess- my feelings for Jamie aren't as black and white as being best friends and it's hard to accept or talk about but I'm sorry you guys had to get caught up in it," She spoke to Alex, Nate and Skylar directly with an expression of shame. "He'll be back soon. I'll talk to him, straighten this out," She promised quietly.





n a t h a n i e l

Image

"Oh I know that. It's so obvious with Ellie she had secrets but I never asked- I respect her, she knows every skeleton in my closet by name and identification pin but I don't know her past and I'm okay with that, if that's something she needs to keep to herself or settle her ends with. I'll never pry or think she owes me that knowledge. I know somethings troubled her once upon a time ago but if she needs me, she knows I'm here- even now, so there's obviously something. I just always hoped she'd tell me in her own time I guess," Nate shrugged helplessly, he looked up at Bella and shook his head.

"No, shut up Bells- it's cool. You didn't really do anything. We did all know though. Don't apologise, we'd all have done the same I reckon," He told her calmly- maybe normally he'd have told her she shouldn't have kicked off so much, that everyone was close enough to deal with the truth maturely but Bella wasn't the big deal here. It was Ellie. That was his priority and main concern.

He looked up at Alex. "I think it's time we talked this out- what do you think?" He asked, second guessing himself as always.


s k y l a r
Image

She sat besides her as Ellie tapped the space and she fell into it cautiously. "Ellie, anything you tell me in confidence- stays here on this log. I won't say a word. You have my word and in my family, that stands for something," She assured her gently.

Skylar's eyes widened a lot in surprise, she wasn't sure what caught her off guard more- her story or that she'd actually opened up to her. The more Ellie explained, the worse Sky felt for her but she didn't let on to any sympathy it was clear that was the last thing Ellie wanted from anybody.


"Ellie, honestly- I seriously fucking admire you for what you've just done, not only pulling through it but for telling me. That's actually kind of amazing to be honest and to think I couldn't even choke up the confidence to tell you guys in Paris, I was climbing towards the peak of a modelling career," She mumbled genuinely sounding ashamed of herself for it and she wasn't sure what she was more ashamed about, hiding the truth or the actual career she'd pursued. She'd wanted to be intelligent and do a career that helped people and had fallen into the trap of posing for cameras but someone like Ellie, who could fight through so much and still be strong enough to put her trust in a complete stranger- Skylar couldn't think of someone she'd want to be more like. In five minutes Ellie had probably changed Sky's whole impression of her- except the bad ass part, Sky still thought Ellie was really bad ass. "Honestly, I didn't think you were much of a bitch anyway. You're good at dramatics but you're a shit actress y'know- it was pretty clear you weren't messing," Skylar teased gently laughing lightly giving the other girl a small smile.

"If you want to know what I think. I think you should have told Nate the real reason to why you felt so offended by what he did- not necessarily tell him everything, no body could expect that of you but just tell him you couldn't handle people thinking you were weak. He really cares about you Ellie- he kept talking about you as if he'd forgotten about the argument and then looked kind of depressed afterwards and wouldn't talk for a while, don't throw that away- give him a chance to change, talk to him," She encouraged softly.

"A good friend goes miles you know. Back home, I didn't have any real friends- I had friends but they were there purely for social status climbing, finance, gifts, gossip and to sabotage. I would have killed to have something like you and Nate do. He'll understand," She mumbled gently.

"I know you think he never listened to you before but he would now. In the car he was asking me for advice- if he should talk to you or wait for you to talk to him, he never told me what happened between you guys but he misses you like hell," She told her with a small laugh.

"It's adorable," She joked.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Arabella Swift Character Portrait: Jamie Chapman Character Portrait: Ellie Wallace Character Portrait: Nate Carlile Character Portrait: Skylar Grocott Character Portrait: Alex Robinson
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image
Image


How long had he been out? As he started coming around again, all he was really aware of was the incredible pain coursing through the body. He didn't know where he hurt the most. Bella had been right- this had been a bad idea. Bella. He needed to call her.

"Can you hear me, love?" Somebody asked from across the car. He nodded a little, groaning a little. "You're going to be fine, sweetheart, the ambulance is on its way," they said. God, just even breathing hurt. Every time he inhaled or exhaled, it felt like somebody was stabbing him in the lung. He started coughing, and for a moment was afraid that he wouldn't stop. But eventually he caught his breath.

"My phone," he managed to force out. "Your phone? It's here, love," the woman said. He was aware enough to know now that it was a woman, and she was surprisingly calm considering how busted up he probably looked. "Call Bella, let me talk to her," he forced out again, but then had to cough. The woman hesitated. "Bella, you said?" She asked once he'd stopped coughing. "Yeah," he replied, and a few seconds later, the phone was put to his ear. It was still working, then.

"Bella? Bella, I fucked up," he said, inhaling a little too deeply and wincing. "You were right, this was a bad idea, I'm sorry," he managed to say, before he had to give in to a coughing fit. He just hoped that she wouldn't hate him, that she would understand somewhat.


Image
Image


Not only was Sky pretty, she also happened to be nice as fuck as well. She didn't seem to pity Ellie- or if she did, she had the decency to not show it. Ellie listened to her advice, wiping her eyes every so often. "Sky, how the fuck are you so bloody perfect? Like you're pretty, you're nice, you're successful... Do you snore? Or pick your nose? Because I can't find a single fault with you, and it's really fucking annoying," Ellie said, laughing a little.

"I think you're right. Me being mad at Nate hasn't done anybody any good, and I fucking hate myself for ruining this evening. Never let yourself become destructive, Sky, it will ruin your life. You'll want to destroy everything good because you feel like it'll all just go wrong anyway," she said. "But please, don't leave me alone with Nate, because I'll end up crying again or slapping him or do something stupid." She got to her feet, wiping her trousers to dislodge any dirt.

"C'mon, then, let's go squash my pride."


Image
Image


"Bella, if this is anyone's fault, it's Ellie's. You were completely in the right. That's something that should stay between you and Jamie. From what I've heard, it's been a dramatic few weeks," he said, laughing a little.

"And Nate, I think this is a discussion that just you and Ellie need to have. She doesn't have any grudge against me, and I think she'll only close up if she feels like she's outnumbered. And besides, if you two used to be best friends, then I don't think you'll need me as backup. But I'll still be nearby if you need me," he said, grinning a little and nudging Nate. "Now, go seek her out and talk to her. As far as I know, she's only armed with her fists, so you should be safe enough."

He patted his pockets as a phone started ringing, frowning. "Is that either of you?" He asked as he found his phone.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Arabella Swift Character Portrait: Jamie Chapman Character Portrait: Ellie Wallace Character Portrait: Nate Carlile Character Portrait: Skylar Grocott Character Portrait: Alex Robinson
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

b e l l a

Image

Bella smiled weakly at Alex and nodded. "Yeah, I guess it is and you're right about that. I only did one day of school and there were enough episodes to last me the year," She laughed rolling her eyes at the thought, she was joking around to try and reassure her subconscious everything would be okay but she couldn't shake the feeling of terror and the haunting burden of the ominous atmosphere. "Thanks though Alex, nice to know I didn't fuck up to royally," She shrugged running her hand through her cropped hair biting her lip with tension. She was worrying and she couldn't quite help it or hide it.

"Go get her tiger," She chimed to Nate jokingly leaning over to land a friendly punch on his arms to which he rolled his eyes. Upon the questioning of the ringing phone, Bella quickly realised it was her by the 'Adventure Time' ring tone. She might be one of the supposed 'tough' girls at school but she was still a sucker for shows like that, she didn't even care if they were on the Kids section of Netflix. She scrambled through her pockets to find it, praying it'd be Jamie telling her he was on his way back and she saw his name on her phone screen and with a trembling hand swiped to answer the call and began pacing away from the group to have the conversation more privately.

"Jamie?" She breathed anxiously. "Are you okay? I've been wo-"

She heard the tone of his voice and her heart stopped beating and fell into the darkest pits of her stomach where it sat swallowing her like it had the gravitational field of a supermassive black hole.

"You should be sorry, you absolute knob head," She whimpered her voice trembling with tears because even without his explanation she'd worked it out- his breathing was wrong, his voice was wrong- his words they didn't sound like him. They sounded like Bella when she called him after she fucked up. What was with it with the two of them and only ever calling each other because they were hurt.

"Are you okay? Where are you? I'm coming now. What's happened J?" Tears fell down her cheeks because she already knew the truth and the reality of the situation, she just couldn't face it. She disguised her voice and shouted to Alex.

"Jamie got lost, I'm going to go pick him up now. Might be a while if his car's packed in," She lied to protect Jamie because she knew he wouldn't want the fuss of everyone being there but no way would she not go after him now to be there for him. Whatever had happened was bad and he was hurt, she could tell by how his voice strained with agony. She ran to her truck and climbed in, too rushed to put her seatbelt on but still a considerate driver as she reversed out of the camp and made her way back on to the main road turning in the direction she'd watched Jamie go off in.





n a t h a n i e l

Image

He tried to chuckle lightly at the conversation but he felt sick with anxiety but he swallowed back his fear and his pride and nodded. "I'll go now," He told Alex before giving Bella a reassuring smile to remind her no body was pissed because he knew how paranoid and insecure she got about these things- she confided in him once at school when she was a bit worse for the drink but she didn't seem to remember telling him, so he never told anyone else or brought it up.

"It'll be you Bell. My phone's in my car," He told her before wandering off to track down Ellie.


s k y l a r
Image

Skylar laughed at Ellie shaking her head softly. "I do snore and I have a terrible habit of sleep talking, walking and god knows what else. I'm not perfect Ellie, I just fucked up enough times to know what's right to do now. I've learnt a lot of lessons to get where I am and none of them were particularly nice. Well, you've only known me five minutes- does my ability to constantly chatter not grind on you a bit?" She asked with a small snicker of a laugh and she sighed delicately. "I won't Ellie but you won't again either, you've got friends here and if you want you can count me in that- they'll keep you on the straight and narrow," She assured gently.

"And I won't but maybe giving him a quick punch wouldn't be so bad an idea," She suggested jokingly. "No don't punch him- he might get upset that you messed up his hair," She bounced onto her feet and smiled at Ellie assuringly. "It'll be fine, let's go," She chuckled.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Arabella Swift Character Portrait: Jamie Chapman Character Portrait: Ellie Wallace Character Portrait: Nate Carlile Character Portrait: Skylar Grocott Character Portrait: Alex Robinson
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image
Image


"I don't know where I am, Bella, I went off the road-" he started, but then had to cough again. He could hear him yelling to somebody- probably Nate or Alex. The line went dead as she hung up. "She's hung up," he said, and the woman took the phone from his ear. "Good timing, I can see the paramedics coming now. You're going to be fine, love," she said. Then the paramedics were there, one sitting behind him and holding his neck and the other shining a light into his eyes and talking to him.

"What's your name, son?" The one shining the light into his eyes asked. "Jamie," he replied, coughing again. "Jamie. Jamie, you're going to be fine. I'm just going to give you something for the pain, okay?" The man said, and Jamie nodded as much as he could. It had to be morphine, because it dulled the pain to an incredible extent. Breathing still hurt, and any movement sent pain coursing through him, but it wasn't as bad as it had been.

It also had the added effect of dulling his awareness. He was able to answer the paramedic's questions, but everything else seemed to be in snapshots. One second, he was sitting in the car, the next, they had him out of it and strapped to a board, carrying him back up to the road. Would Bella follow them to the hospital if they were gone before she arrived? But she'd been drinking as well- or had she? She'd definitely been smoking, anyway. But she had to be more sober than he'd been, right? No, she'd be fine. She had to be.


Image
Image


Ellie just nodded at Sky's comment about not being destructive again, but couldn't find it in herself to say anything. Ellie had had these great friends all this time- and even when Jamie and Bella were fawning all over each other and Nate was being a pain in the ass, she knew that they'd listen to her and help her out. But yet, she'd still ended up trying to ruin the group, ruin all of her friends, ruin everything good. It was built into her code to be destructive, and she hadn't managed to get rid of that particular flaw. And god knows, she'd tried.

As she headed back towards the campsite, she heard another engine start up and leave. Probably Bella, running after Jamie. Maybe it was better that this was kept to as few people as possible though- she'd hopefully be less likely to close up and go all spitfire on them all.


Image
Image


Alex looked up as Bella started talking to Jamie. Even though she said that he'd just gotten lost, there was something in her expression that said that that wasn't all that was happening. But he didn't ask, and instead got to his feet and followed Nate into the forest to find Ellie- and Sky, because presumably that was where the other girl had disappeared to.

"Oi, Nate, wait up!" He called, jogging a little to catch up to him. "I think something's happened to Jamie- either his car broke down or he got lost or something. Bella looked pretty unhappy leaving," he muttered. He just hoped that it was something like Jamie's car breaking down or him realising that he was too drunk to drive- he was praying that it was nothing else. Jamie was a talented musician and an incredible friend, and he couldn't have had any bad karma following him.

They encountered Ellie before too long, who rubbed her palms on her jeans. "So... we need to talk," she said to Nate. Alex glanced at Sky and pointed back towards the campsite, indicating that he thought they should leave her alone.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Arabella Swift Character Portrait: Jamie Chapman Character Portrait: Ellie Wallace Character Portrait: Nate Carlile Character Portrait: Skylar Grocott Character Portrait: Alex Robinson
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

b e l l a

Image

As hypocritical as it might be, Bella didn't think twice about driving intoxicated she just needed to be with Jamie again, she was terrified for him and thinking about the possibility of him being hurt and alone made her eyes sting with salty tears of fears. She wasn't angry at him but why couldn't he have listened to her? She should have been with him. She should have done more to make him stop. Her knuckles gripped the wheel and were white like snow on rooftops but her fear made her alert and though she'd been drinking, she'd only actually drank two drinks but on her hollow stomach they'd take their effect eventually but she could hold her drink and she hoped like hell now she'd be fine for the mean time.

She had to be.

She drove faster than she would have had she been sober or maybe that was just the pressure of anxiety forcing her foot on the accelerator.

She hadn't meant to hang up on the phone, it'd been an accident whilst she was getting in the car but shaking with one hand she forced it into the hands free set and tried to call the number again. Maybe he'd be able to answer, tell her where he was so she could find him.

She turned onto the main road and drove maybe a quarter of a mile before she the lights flashing and her stomach churned with horror. She pulled up but the ambulance was already turning away and she rammed her hand against the glove box in frustration and a small cry escaped her as she buried her head in her hands. How could this have happened to them? What kind of state was he in? She noticed the lady not far from Jamie's car and she got out to go talk to her. Maybe she knew how he was. Maybe she could tell her something.

Bella climbed out the car still in a state and she rushed over to her, struggling in her disorderly fashion. "Excuse me, did you see him? Did you call the ambulance?" Her questions weren't well explained but she was too panicked, too worried- her breaths were catching in her throat to the point where she wandered if she was still breathing. Jamie was probably the only person who knew about her anxiety and the only one who'd ever been able to calm her down and he was the one person she couldn't talk to right now. She knew she needed to pull it together but that was easier said then done. "Is he okay?"





n a t h a n i e l

Image

"I'm sure he's alright. And if he's got a problem, Bella will fix it. They'll be alright if they're together and if they need us they'll call," He reassured calmly and he believed it to. There probably wasn't a lot that either Bella or Jamie hadn't been through at some point but they always seemed to come out on top and unscathed. They were both pretty resilient from what Nate could see and he'd always admired that but maybe he didn't see the whole picture.

Nate looked up at Ellie and nodded gently in agreement. "Yeah, we do," He agreed gently. "I was going to grab some things out of the car, mind giving me a hand since you're probably stronger than me," He tried to joke but it was kind of weak, he was nervous for a reason he didn't quite understand and he knew his excuse was a crap one but he'd never been a good liar.


s k y l a r
Image

Skylar smiled gently when she saw Ellie and Nate talking, they'd be okay- she knew it and it brought genuine joy to heart to know things would start improving for them from this point onwards. As long as they were both honest now, she couldn't see how things could go wrong- especially when she knew both sides of the story. She sat down with Alex considering everyone else had left and she sighed lightly.

"I'll tell you one thing, even with all the drama this is probably still the best party I've ever been to- if it even counts," She chuckled lightly. "That's a bit sad really isn't it?" She shrugged picking up the two bottles in the middle and pouring herself and very weak vodka and coke. She stretched her arms out a bit in front of her like a small child reaching out for the mobile above their cradle but she just wanted to loosen up the tension in her muscles a bit. "So, you in college?" She knew it was probably a bit of a casual and awkward conversation to have but she wasn't one for silence and she wasn't going to talk about anybody else's business so she guessed small talk had to be the way forward till Ellie and Nate were done talking.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Arabella Swift Character Portrait: Jamie Chapman Character Portrait: Ellie Wallace Character Portrait: Nate Carlile Character Portrait: Skylar Grocott Character Portrait: Alex Robinson
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image
Image


They were loading him into the ambulance, and Bella still wasn't there. He didn't even know where his phone was to see if she was okay. He also didn't really have the brain capacity to worry about it too much- the constant movement sent pain coursing through his body, and now the paramedics were hooking up various monitors to him and still talking away to him. He just really wanted Bella to be there- but then it was too late and they were leaving.

The woman looked up as someone approached. A young girl, perhaps the same age as the injured boy. Judging by how upset she was, this was the Bella he'd wanted to speak to. "Yeah, I called the ambulance. He went off the road trying not to hit me or a deer that jumped out in front of him," she explained. "He's pretty busted up- his shoulder was definitely dislocated, and the paramedics reckoned he had a few broken ribs as well. He was bleeding from somewhere as well, but I didn't get a good look at it. I still have his phone, actually, can I give it to you?" She held out the phone- the screen was almost shattered, but somehow still working. She looked the girl up and down- she didn't appear to be in any fit state to drive. "Do you want me to drive you into the hospital?" She asked.


Image
Image


She smiled a little at his comment and accompanied him over to the car. "Your clothes are in Sky's bag, by the way. It was stupid and immature, but I just wanted to... I don't even know," she admitted, running a hand through her hair. The words were right there on the tip of her tongue, and she had to force them out. "I'm sorry. For that stupid fucking prank and for everything," she admitted, running her palms along her jeans. Would he ask questions? Would he want to know why she hated feeling weak?

As they got to the car, she forced a bit of a grin. "So, what exactly did you want to get?" She asked, wishing that she didn't have to have this discussion. She just wished that they could erase the last few hours from their memory and move on, forgetting that any of this had ever happened. But that couldn't happen. She needed to be honest, to tell the full truth- and it was just so hard to get out.


Image
Image


Alex mixed himself a drink, slightly stronger than Sky's, and laughed at her comment. "It wasn't bad until Ellie decided that she needed to destroy all of her personal relationships," he remarked, laughing. "But I'm guessing you haven't been to very many parties, then," he added.

He shook his head. "Nope, I'm working more or less full time. I'm lucky in that there are a few bands that always hire me when they're looking for a studio or touring guitarist or both, and there's also a studio in London that hire me pretty regularly. I also have a YouTube channel that earns me some revenue as well," he said. "Turns out there are ways to make a living in music, even if you're not in a band full time," he remarked, grinning at her. "I'm lucky in that I get to do what I love as a job."

"What about you?" He asked. "Are you finished school?"

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Arabella Swift Character Portrait: Jamie Chapman Character Portrait: Ellie Wallace Character Portrait: Nate Carlile Character Portrait: Skylar Grocott Character Portrait: Alex Robinson
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

b e l l a

Image

She took the phone in her hand running her finger over the cracks with a slight quiver. She was struck with horror and fear by what had happened, she didn't know how to react and god knows she wasn't sober enough to think. She looked at the woman was surprised by her kind offer- considering the situation. An overly skinny tattooed, black haired and intoxicated girl who smelt vaguely of smoke running over in tears, she hadn't expected any kind of sympathy or understanding from the other woman. Her hand was hovering over her mouth as she tried to calm herself down. He was hurt but it didn't sound like anything irreparable from what the woman said but every injury she'd listened had burnt into her mind with guilt of how she was technically responsible.

The camp out?
Her idea.

The booze?
She contributed.

The drama and tension?
Her mistake.

And she didn't stop him from leaving.

It weighed on her conscience like the sky was on her shoulders. "Would you really do that? Thank you. Thank you so much. I'd take myself but I can't. I've drank, I'd be fuc-, damned if I did," She mumbled rubbing her eyes with her hands to try and pull herself back together. "Thank you," She repeated quietly. She took a moment and turned her head trying to tranquilize the frenzy in her mind and she took a long deep breath.

"I'm Bella, I'm his- I don't know, I'm his best friend or something," She sighed, she'd finally managed to control her tears and she wiped them back and forced herself to calm. She'd be no good to anyone forget Jamie like this.

The story though, what happened it was so fucking Jamie- protecting an animal. Had the situation not been so dire, it's the kind of thing that'd make her fondly roll her eyes at his dedication and commitment. Bella was the same with animals and she cared for them but never to the same extent. She replayed what the woman had said in her head trying to focus on the things that could give her hope and relief- dislocated not fractured, broken but not definitely- bleeding but breathing. She was having to consciously stop herself from getting caught up in the scary things about it, she needed to be strong and calm somehow. She had to.





n a t h a n i e l

Image

He looked at her sincerely for a long moment, he wasn't questioning her apology but he was simply questioning himself on if he deserved the apology and if he should ask for answers or leave everything be. He chuckled rolling his eyes a little when she explained; "I don't blame you," He replied gently with a shrug as she told him where his clothes were. "But if you wanted to see what I've got going on you only had to ask," He told her with a wink- he was very clearly joking and he knew Ellie would get that, he just wanted to keep the conversation as light and old school as how they were when their relationship was at it's norm.

"It's okay. I'm sorry for causing a scene at the gig, kind of funny actually- I was probably the only dude there without tattoo's snake bites and a scene hairstyle but I was the one to physically make a scene," He was thinking out loud and rambling so he stopped himself. "But hey, I know you and you don't like talking and you know me and I'm shit at it, so can we just clean slate, move along, forget about it and hug it or whatever the fuck people do now days," He asked calmly offering a small smile as he rolled his eyes at his own stupidity.

He passed her the first bag of sleeping bags and pillows for the tent and then grabbed the other himself. "Just the shit needed so that this lazy arsehole can still get 10 hours kip," He chided pointing to himself with his thumb.


s k y l a r
Image

"Wow, that's pretty awesome to be honest. I'm glad that's working out for you," She told him with a positive smile being her overly friendly but genuine self now everyone was kind of relaxing again. "Sounds like you've got it all sorted really. I'm at college part time studying Physics- it's what I want to do at University and the rest of the time I do the modelling shit to keep the family happy," She shrugged looking slightly bored at the thought of modelling. It was clear she had no real passion or interest for it but she liked being able to earn her own money independently and keep up her Mother's reputation, she liked impressing her and living up to their expectations but she just didn't want to as much anymore as she had before when she was growing up.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Arabella Swift Character Portrait: Jamie Chapman Character Portrait: Ellie Wallace Character Portrait: Nate Carlile Character Portrait: Skylar Grocott Character Portrait: Alex Robinson
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image
Image


Before long, he was in the hospital, being wheeled into some room. Somebody was yelling about x-rays and scans, and then somebody else was talking to him. It was all suddenly a little too much, and right there and then, he wanted Bella more than anything. But then he was being whisked away for scans and tests and x-rays and he didn't know what else- but Bella wasn't there.

The woman nodded. "I guessed- as soon as he came around, he wanted to call you. Come on, then, Bella. Let's not make either of you wait any longer." She headed over to her car and climbed in. She got the impression that "best friend" was putting it lightly. This strange, tattooed, incredibly skinny girl seemed worried about her friend, and it wasn't right to let her drive. Not when she had been drinking and was also probably emotionally fragile.


Image
Image


She laughed at his comments, wrapping her arms around herself. "Nate, honey, I've already seen everything you've got," she said, lowering her voice so that there was no risk of the others hearing. "And I was going to ask for a hug before you handed me what looks like an entire double duvet set, covers and all," she said teasingly, grinning at him. But she still needed to tell him why she'd reacted like that, and she couldn't just keep it all in any longer.

"Real talk, though, Nate, I might... There's a chance that I could turn on you like that again. You know that I do have destructive tendencies from time to time, and..." She sighed, clutching the bag of pillows. "When you treat me like a porcelain doll, you make me feel weak. And I've gone through a lot of shit that's made me feel weak, so when you do that, I just have to lash out. I hate feeling weak more than anything, Nate, and I think that's what fuels my destructive tendencies. So if I start acting like that again, just... I dunno, let me beat you in an arm-wrestle or something," she said, shrugging and forcing a bit of a grin. "Just don't let me cut everyone I care about off again, okay?"


Image
Image


He raised an eyebrow as she told him what he was studying. "A model studying physics? Just shows you don't always have to choose between brains and beauty, doesn't it?" He said, grinning at her. "Still, that's really awesome. I hope you get there- imagine if you became a famous physicist! You could be all like "Oh yeah, I paid for my university degree by modelling. Talk about busting stereotypes!" He said, taking a mouthful out of his drink and glancing at Ellie and Nate. They both already looked a lot happier, and it wasn't hard to tell that they really were good friends. He believed Nate when he said that there wasn't anything romantic between them- it seemed purely platonic, and he was happy to see them getting along again. It was better than the awful tension there had been for a while there.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Arabella Swift Character Portrait: Jamie Chapman Character Portrait: Ellie Wallace Character Portrait: Nate Carlile Character Portrait: Skylar Grocott Character Portrait: Alex Robinson
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

b e l l a

Image

Bella nodded to her quietly and she looked at her truck, it was in the hard shoulder so it was out he way. She'd get a lift here in the morning and pick it up again but she couldn't worry about that right now. She had to get herself to Jamie, that was so much more important than anything else was to her.

Once they were in the car, she looked over at women and with a genuine expression of sincerity. "Thank you so much, honestly you have no idea how much I appreciate this. Once I've seen him, I'll give you some fuel money or something but thank you," She told her with a broken voice as she looked out the window at the wreckage from the crash. It made her feel sick with worry to think Jamie had been amongst all of that crushed metal and broken glass. She really needed to pull herself together but anxiety made her spin and with all the waves of emotion overwhelming her, she couldn't drown her demons at all.

The drive felt like hours but they couldn't have been that long, Bella kept repeating her gratitude and thankfulness at every opportunity promising to pay the woman for her time and the fuel. Yet once they arrived she was rushing straight inside to try and find him. She stood at the reception desk and spoke to the woman with a quivering voice; "I need to find Jamie Chapman, he was brought in by an ambulance," She explained weakly. "I'm his...sister," She lied remembering they probably wouldn't let her in to see him if she wasn't family.





n a t h a n i e l

Image

"You say that like it's a bad thing," He scoffed smiling lightly at her. He was so relieved to be laughing around with her like they used to- it was so natural for both of them and it felt right to be laughing with her instead of laughing at each other as part of some kind of high school revenge game. "You hugs? You do realise to most people that's a gesture considered to be friendly or affectionate? I guess we'll just have to leave it as an IOU on your part," He shrugged jokingly but as her expression changed, his did to listen to her and he stopped joking around to be serious because he could see she was trying to be.

He listened to her and nodded. "Of course El," He told her gently in all sincerity but now he'd given her his word, he couldn't let their moods be dampened by everything else that had happened so being the guy he was he tried to pick up the mood. "I'm not letting you do that again you're my partner in crime, I need you around to keep me sober, in all seriousness I know it's impossible to get addicted to pot but I really think I'm testing that fact," Carrying the pile of things he had in one hand, he put the other around her shoulders for a moment as a brief make do hug. "I'm really glad we're ok y'know- it was pretty shit not having you around,"


s k y l a r
Image

She laughed and smiled gently at him nodding before knocking back some of her drink. "Yeah I couldn't I? Or picking up a noble peace prize for establishing successful nuclear fusion that can be industrialized and in my acceptance speech being like; "Oh and please, check out my blog and my interview with W magazine on my fall wardrobe must haves," She laughed softly at the ridiculousness of the idea and grinned gently at the other guy. "Thanks though, I love it though- I mean it's challenging but that's the beauty of it really. What's the point in anything if it's easy right?" She shrugged gently.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Arabella Swift Character Portrait: Jamie Chapman Character Portrait: Ellie Wallace Character Portrait: Nate Carlile
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image
Image


God, he hated being in the hospital. Shitty food and pain aside, it brought back memories of that particular incident when he was sixteen. The fact that his parents were back to arguing outside the door didn't help. While he'd been in surgery or getting tests or at some point when he'd been out, the doctors had discovered the scarring on his arms and legs. When that had been combined with the apparent liver damage, they'd sat down and told his parents about it. The only good thing that had come from it was that his dad was sober pretty much all the time.

His dad blamed his mom, his mom blamed his dad, and Jamie just hated himself. He'd been lucky- he'd gotten away with a dislocated shoulder, broken ribs, a number of cuts on his body, and only a little internal bleeding. But being unable to drink, unable to play music, unable to do anything except count the number of tiles on the ceiling didn't help. Even the psychiatrist who appeared every so often didn't help much. Apparently it was Jamie's problem, but he didn't want to spill his guts with his parents constantly just outside the door and visitors walking in. He just wanted to go home and deal with this all in peace.


Image
Image


When Ellie opened her eyes, it took her a minute to get her bearings. She was in some stranger's apartment. She'd met him at a club the night before. She sat up, but her head spun precariously. She felt lightheaded and weak- and not in a hangover kinda way. She managed to climb out of bed and reclaim her clothes, finding her purse and her phone. It was four days since the accident- four days since she'd last had any methadone. Shit.

She pulled her clothes back on, not caring that she was making it obvious that she hadn't been home the night before. And as she shoved her phone back into her bag, a mark on her arm caught her attention. Tiny- like a needle. There was a few of them, and they looked hauntingly familiar. No. No.

She suddenly felt sick as everything fell into place. It explained why the last few days had been a blur- why she hadn't been aware of her withdrawal until now. She'd fucked everything up again. She'd nearly killed Jamie and now she'd fucking relapsed. As she left the apartment, she realised that she didn't have a clue where she was. She just started walking, praying that she'd come to a bus stop. Fortunately for her, there was one barely two hundred metres down the street.

She sat down on the bench, pulling her phone out of her bag and trying to wake it. The screen stayed black- and it was at that point that Ellie completely lost it, bursting into tears. She'd fucked up, she'd ruined everything.

"Hey, are you okay?" A female voice asked. Ellie looked up, wiping her eyes. It was a girl, maybe a year or two younger than her. "Not really- my phone's dead and everything's gone wrong and..." she stopped herself. The girl sat down beside her. "Do you want to call somebody?" She asked gently. Bella probably wanted Ellie's bones to grind her bread right now, Jamie couldn't drive anyway, Alex probably didn't want anything to do with her... But did Nate hate her? If he did, it was probably the least out of the group.

"Yeah, can I use your phone?" Ellie asked. The girl nodded, unlocking it then handing it over. Ellie didn't know why or how she knew Nate's number off by heart, but she did. She dialled out the number, praying that he'd answer.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Arabella Swift Character Portrait: Jamie Chapman Character Portrait: Ellie Wallace Character Portrait: Nate Carlile
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

b e l l a

Image


To: Jamie
Can I come see you today? I'm worrying myself out of mind and plus I think they'll let me now


Bella paused at the door, her dark eyes almost black with misery and exhaustion. She hadn't slept since Jamie's crash and she hadn't been home either. She'd slept at the hospital a couple of times but once Jamie's parents arrived and everybody realised she was lying about being his family, they didn't let her back in. How many days had it been? She tried to count it on her fingers but she had no idea, she didn't know how many days she'd been away from home- going from hospital to trying to sleep in cars in the car park to wandering the town all night and not sleeping at all. It had to stop.

She took a deep breath and opened the door, within seconds of stepping inside and shutting the door she witnessed a foul screech of her name.

"Bella is that you?" Anna's voice cut through Bella look glass and she visibly trembled, with all Bella's attitude, spunk and bravery- she'd never have enough to truly face up to her Mother. She couldn't do it, she looked in her eyes and wanted nothing more but to curl up and sob or on the worst days, she'd rather just die but there was too much Bella needed to do now to let her Mother force her around.

"Yes,"

"Where have you been? Do you have any idea how worried I was? You haven't done any of your chores, you haven't been to school, no one has seen you, some lad came around asking where his truck was- have you even showered? You look like absolute shit," Anna appeared in the hallway staring at her daughter with pure disgust and once she was close enough, Bella felt it.

The disappointment, the disgust, the anger, the outrage- she felt it in the fresh bruise forming on her cheek after knuckles struck flesh. Bella looked at her without tears only sourness in her eyes.

"I'm not staying. I'm showering, I'm getting my clothes and I'm going back to the hospital. I need to see Jamie," Before she could be stopped or before she could chicken out, Bella bolted up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door behind her- having a look on the door not only meant Anna could lock her in but it meant Bella could lock her out, even if it was just for a while. Running on borrowed time, Bella slipped into the en suite and jumped into the shower as soon as she'd stripped despite the water being icy cold. For a long moment she just stood there thinking, watching the remains of her black make-up drip down the funnel, she couldn't stop thinking about what happened to him and how responsible she felt for his pain. She even cried a little as she stood there but soon she started rubbing the shampoo into her hair and began to hurry. Once she was clean, she was aware of a sharp numbing pain in her stomach- it'd been constant for a while now, when had she last ate? She couldn't remember but she knew she'd throw up if she tried, not even by intention. She looked at her reflection and sighed, why couldn't she look like Ellie or Sky? Or any other girl from her school. She was never usually one to dwell on her appearance but since she'd started losing weight she'd become very self conscious. She stared at the scales on the floor and found herself stepping onto it with her eyes closed, she didn't want to look and when she opened her eyes she could have bawled in horror.

That number.

It was smaller than the radius of the mood ring she used to wear as a child.

She sighed and began towel drying her hair as she walked into her bedroom and dressed in the first bits of clothing she found which turned out to be her shredded black jeans and a vintage nirvana shirt that fell slightly short of her prominent hip bones. She bit her lip and forced on her black vans and began stuffing her clothes into her bag alongside her phone charger, her iPod and any money she had saved up. She wasn't running away but she was going to spend as much time as she could at the hospital helping or anywhere that wasn't home. So she packed everything into her black backpack, pulled on her leather jacket and then climbed out her window so there was no risk of her Mother stopping her on the way out.

Once out the house, she started the short walk into the main city and the hospital. When she arrived, she pleaded with the receptionist but she wouldn't give in, so when she turned a blind eye, Bella snuck upstairs into the ward and looked around to try and find him. Her cheek was still stained red but she wasn't bothered about who noticed, she just wanted to talk to him and see he was okay.





n a t h a n i e l

Image

Nate's life had gone back to how it always had been before he was smoking a lot less though. Everything felt a bit more relaxed now he wasn't head to head with Ellie but then there was Jamie. He felt so bad for him but he didn't think there was anyone to blame. He'd text him a couple of times to wish him well but considering Bella hadn't even managed to get in to the hospital to go see him, he hadn't tried. Bella deserved to be the first one to get to see him again. Nate could imagine she wasn't exactly being easy on herself about it so he was trying to keep himself out of the way for a while until things levelled out a bit more for them all. He'd been worrying about Ellie though, he hadn't heard from her for a day or so but he figured she was probably just being Ellie so he hadn't done anything about it yet.

He was sat on the fence of his Grandfather's field when his phone began vibrating in his pocket. He had a joint in his hand but at least it wasn't a blunt and it was his first since the party. He was staying at his Grandfather's farm house to celebrate the man's 80th but he wasn't far from home, it was only on the outskirts of town. He quite liked it here, it was calm and relaxed- he had nothing but good memories here and it was just such a therapeutic and beautiful place to be.

As he looked at the name on his phone, he could remember bringing Ellie here once as a young teenager- the family had decided it was a good to play lacrosse with all the relatives and he'd practically begged her to come be his moral support for the day. He laughed gently at the memory and answered the phone.

"Hey Els, how are you?" He asked instantaneously to putting the phone to his ear.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Arabella Swift Character Portrait: Jamie Chapman Character Portrait: Ellie Wallace Character Portrait: Nate Carlile
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image
Image


His phone buzzed on the little table beside him, and he winced as he reached over for it. The pain was better than it had been, but every movement still hurt. The fact that he only really had the use of one arm made things worse as well. He smiled a little as he saw the text from Bella.

please do. room 112, first floor. the nurse that's on the wards here will probably cast a blind eye if you look really worried and scared.

Apparently Bella had lied to try and see him that night, and they'd only found out when his parents turned up. They hadn't even intended to get her kicked out, but when they'd let it slip that they weren't actually related, they'd kicked her out and had refused to let her back in. It was so stereotypically Bella that it was almost funny. He really appreciated the gesture, and just wanted to see her again. Especially now that he was lucid- he wouldn't have wanted her to see him when they had him so dosed up on painkillers that he was basically sleeping all the time. That had made things look much worse than they actually were- a lot of the pain had even been from the surgery.


Image
Image


She'd momentarily stopped crying while she'd waited for him to answer- but as soon as she heard his voice, she was in tears again.

"Nate, I fucked up. I really fucked up this time," she sobbed, wrapping her free arm around her chest. "Can you come get me? I'm... I'm at the King's Road bus stop," she said, reading the name from the map to her left. "I just... Everybody hates me, don't they? Jamie and Bella and Alex and you and Sky..." She just really wanted her best friend right now. No, not wanted- needed. She was sitting in a fucking bus stop in the same dress she'd worn to the club whenever the hell she'd gone. Did she even have any spare clothes? Or had she just been wearing this for the past four days? She didn't even know. She just wanted to go home and forget this ever happened. "Please don't hate me, Nate, please, just come get me, I just want to go home," she sobbed.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Arabella Swift Character Portrait: Jamie Chapman Character Portrait: Ellie Wallace Character Portrait: Nate Carlile
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

b e l l a

Image

To: Jamie
I'm on my way. This is the perfect opportunity to put that drama a-level into practice hey? ;)


Bella hung her head down and exaggerated her emotions for a long while after she'd red Jamie's text and rushed upstairs to the room Jamie had indicated. She hesitated at the door once she found his room and gazed in through the window, she didn't know what state he'd be in- what'd he'd look like and she didn't want him to see her reaction if it was upsetting. She looked at him and sighed softly. She'd probably never seen him so injured or hurt but she could see him and he was breathing and awake, he'd get better. She hadn't realised how lonely she'd been until she saw him and now she could finally talk to him again and be there for him through something that'd be really hard both of them but he'd done the same for her. He'd practically carried her in himself when she needed him and she'd never hesitate to do the same for him, in fact she'd sooner die than let him down when he needed her.

She checked around herself and then pushed the door and let herself in and instantly put on a brave face. She wouldn't be upset in front of him, she'd do everything she could to cheer him up instead so she poked her head around the door like a weasel and grinned gently at him. "Hey," She greeted letting herself in and shutting the door behind so none of the staff would realise she wasn't his family. She walked in and sat down in the visitor's chair, part of her just wanted to hug him and not let go again because last time she let him leave, he ended up here but she wasn't blinded by her emotions so much she couldn't see how much a hug like that would hurt him. "The staff in here are really bitchy you know? Did you parents tell you about how they dragged me out of here? I had to do like a mission impossible to get in here today," She told him softly.





n a t h a n i e l

Image

His whole expression and bubble of calamity came crashing done the second he heard the tone behind her voice. "Of course Ellie, it'll be okay. I'm at my Grandfather's so I'll be ten minutes but I'm coming. Do you need me to bring anything with me?" He asked already running inside to get his coat and leave. The celebrations for his Grandfather had been the previous day, so he wouldn't be running out on his birthday but he felt the need to briskly explain and he held the phone away for a moment and he knelt by his grandfather's chair to talk to him.

"Pops? You remember, Ellie right?"

"Your girlfriend sure,"

"No Pops, just my friend. But yeah she's a girl so you could call her that I guess. I think she's got herself a bit lost and I'm just gonna go pick her up. I'll make sure she's alright then I'll come back for dinner. Is that okay?" His grandfather had always been the kindest man Nate knew, he was the man Nate tried to be and so the man just nodded smiling.

"Bring her tea. She's good fun that girl but you go, go on," Nate smiled gently at him and voiced his appreciation before making off to get in the car, scribbling down the address on his palm with the pen he always kept in his coat.

"I'm coming Ellie, I'm leaving now,"