Vapiers

Alice closed her eyes and let each word sink into her skin carefully. Each word a low melody to her ears. she reached and ever-so-gently touched the scar on his collar, dragging her fingers softly across it. "Ariel Light..." she mumbled, flashbacks beginning. She saw herself with a girl, beautiful and strong, hand in hand as teens before they were torn apart and in different, far away towns. "Don't leave..." was the last sentence she remembered telling the girl, which she unconsciously had said aloud. They had been best friends before Ariel had gotten sick and moved to a town with a great doctor to keep her alive. But, Alice hadn't known that Ariel was "turned" as they would say. She suddenly locked her fingers into Rhiley's hair, her eyes opening once more. "I do know her... She had been torn away from me very few days before I was turned... Or was it a year? Time is the only thing I can't remember... But I do know her.. She was stunning... Beautiful and strong..." Alice began to speak, stopping to stare into Rhiley's eyes to see that he couldn't stare back. Her fingers still locked into his hair and the other slid to his cheek, pulling his face down to hers, his forehead against hers. "You seem about ready to cry... I must say that I'll never stop what you need... So..." Alice smiled, her voice calm as she pointed to her shoulder and continued, "Here's my shoulder to cry on! Even guys need a good cry sometimes..." Alice held Rhiley's head to her shoulder gently, stroking it softly.

Rhiley gasped softly as Alice touched the scar on his neck. He had never allowed another to touch him before Alice, not even Ariel. With Ariel though, it was from fear of being hurt, because she had hurt him many times before. He looked at the woman before him as she spoke, each word calm, just because it was her silky voice speaking it. He jumped when she locked her fingers into his hair, not expecting the sudden pain that came with the lock-age. "Yes, she said she was sick when she was younger, and that she had to leave you to get better... Her sickness was she was turned, and she feared turning you as well..." he said as his eyes closed in remembrance. A graceful smile passed his lips as she made him look at her again. "I don't cry anymore... I may seem like I need to, but I vent by talking, so I don't need to cry. I hate the way the blood stains my face, so I try not to cry if I can help it.." he says and kisses her cheek. "Thank you for listening though.." he says with a smile.

Alice lightly slipped her fingers away from his hair, her cheeks turning a rosy color as she feels his lips press against it. "I will always listen to you.." she spoke in a hushed tone, her teeth sinking into her lower lip as she grew suddenly anxious. "I-I'm sorry if that hurt.." her face fell to look at the ground while her hand took his, her voice soft and fading "I'm sorry.." She couldn't help but let a tear fall down her cheek as she remembered her friend, the separation, the fact she had left in order to not hurt her. Alice hand the tendency to cry often, although she hid it well. She knew Rhiley would be able to see right through her little lie. It was rare she cried around people and rarely was it a person she had just met. In fact, she hadn't spoken to many people much in her life. It was very surprising to the girl that she had hit it off so well with Rhiley, opening up to him more than she had opened up to her parents, and Ariel. She continued to bite her lower lip nervously as the tears began to stain her cheeks, pooling at the back of her hands as they dripped off her jaw, staining the pale white skin at her hands. The memory was killing her and she had hope Rhiley would not notice. Her breathing felt different, staggering in short breaths as she awaited his reaction to her emotions.