Skeletons in My Closet (Open)

[Lilly Love]

It was almost midnight. The moon was out but was barely visible as it tried to peak through the clouds that covered the sky. It made it almost pitch black. The stars were pretty much completely invisible, maybe just one or two could actually be seen. It made the lake look so dark, like it was tar. The whole evening had a very eerie and dark feel to it so it made Live feel much more comfortable.

She sat at the edge of the lake, her toes barely touching the water as it rose and feel slowly. From far away, she didn't look to strange. Just some person enjoying the out doors at night. Of course, that was far from what was really happening. Live was not an out doors kind of person and the only reason she was at the lake was because of a phone call.

She had been sitting in her room at home, picking at a piece of a pizza and considering doing her homework when she heard the ringing of the phone. She had sighed and gotten up to get it. She walked into the kitchen and picked the phone up, placing it against her ear.

"Hello?..." Live said, almost annoyed. It was ten at night and she really didn't want to be bothered at a late hour. She would have preferred not to be bothered at all.

"Hey Lilly." A mans voice cam from the other end. It sounded vaguely similar.

"Who's this?" She said surprised and angry. No one ever called her by her real name except for teachers but they only called her home asking for her mother. Not like her mom would bother to pick up the phone or even notice it was ringing in the first place.

"It's Alex." As soon as she heard those words, Live froze. Her chest tightened her her mind swirled. She wanted to snap the phone in half but her body wouldn't move. "Lilly you there?" Live didn't respond. She couldn't respond. "Well, if you can still hear me... I got out of jail. Been clean for three months now and uh... Well, wanted to know if you wanted to get lunch sometime? Catch up?" He paused. "Lilly? Lilly are you there? Please respond. I'm trying to-" His voice was cut off. Live had ended the call and slammed the phone on the counter.

Her mind was spinning. It felt like the ground had been pulled out form underneath her and she had no idea what to do. Next thing she knew, she was rummaging through the pantry and had a bottle of vodka in her hand. She was out the door and ten minutes later at the lake. She hadn't really planed to go there, it was just where she ended up. She just had to get away.

So there she sat, her hands shaking as she took a sip of the bitter drink, her body and mind feeling like they were falling apart. Live didn't want to feel or think about anything at all. So she drank. It was what her mother did and it seemed to work for her. Why not?

[Liam Bell]

It was no secret that Liam liked a good drink. At least, it was no secret from anyone but his niece. No, he liked the fact that she thought he was completely perfect in every way. Sometimes she needed that from him; the look of a stable adult and all that.

But sometimes things were different, and he was allowed to be a little more open towards how he felt. Not physically. Hell no; he wasn't going to cry or anything like that. He'd rather drink it away. And he had wandered down to the lake on his own, wanting to get away from his place for a while. Cue the flick sound of a lighter. Liam cupped his hand around the flame and drew it towards the tip of his cigarette, drawing the smoke into his lungs before craning his neck and exhaling it into the night air.

"Rough night." He said aloud, turning his eyes to see a figure hanging around the edge of the lake. He took a quick swig from the glass bottle in his hand for good measure.

[Lilly Love]

Live had never been a big drinker. She had always seen alcohol in a bad light due to her mothers problem. She usually stayed away from the stuff just because she wanted to be as little like her mother as possible. The woman was definitely not Live's role model.

However, after the phone call from Alex she couldn't help but drink. She needed to get her mind off of everything and anything. She need not to think or feel. She just wanted to go numb. Just for one night. Just not have to feel anything at all. That would be really nice.

Live heard the guy approaching but didn't pay any attention to him till he spoke. She took a moment to take another swig of the vodka, already half way done with the bottle. Alcohol made Live feel disoriented and fuzzy. It also made her tongue looser then it normally was. There really wasn't any way to tell what would come spilling out of her mouth.

"Yeah... Why do you care?" Live snapped, her eyes staring out across the water. "No one else does..." She muttered almost silently to herself. Live normally kept her personal life very private, except when she was under the influence.

[Liam Bell]

She snapped at him, and he only grinned. In the darkness Liam doubted he saw it, but it was better than outright laughing at her tone. Her speech was a little slurred... But then again so was his. Liam watched her for a moment or two, still unsure where he should move to or if it was wise to sit beside her. So he kept standing at the water's edge for good measure.

"'Cause it doesn't look like water you're drinking." Liam replied, indicating to the bottle in her hands. Not that she would have seen the movement he made.

He yawned aloud, drawing the cigarette to his lips; "I was just talking out loud, but you answered. So I figure it's true." And he took another drag, craning his neck again to allow the smoke to trail out into the night air. "Boyfriend troubles?" He asked, taking a shot in the dark.

[Lilly Love]

"No shit Sherlock.." She grumbled taking another drink. It burned her throat and almost made her cough. Live wasn't a kind person. She was the kind of person people liked to spend much time around, if any. People either found her to be an enemy or someone to be avoided. Obviously, she didn't make many friends if any.

Live started laughing. It wasn't a good-hearted, light laugh though. It was a dark, sad, empty and hurt. The reason she was laughing was because the idea of Live even having a boyfriend were simply ridiculous. Of course there was no way for this guy to know that but the idea was so impossible Live couldn't contain herself. There was also the good amount of alcohol she had already consumed to to consider.

Once she stopped laughing Live took another drink, forcing the liquid down no matter how much she hated it. She was starting to feel just a little more numb and just wanted the feeling to increase. "If only I could say I was drinking to as simple a problem as a boyfriend." She said the word almost sing songy and lovey. She finally turned her her eyes to meet the man next to her. Live's eyes, even in the dark, were an eerie color of gray, like the color had been sucked out of them.

"Seems someone elses life isn't all dandy either." She said motioning with her head to the bottle in his hand and the cigarette. She was sort of assuming things of him but in Live's mind people didn't just come down the lake in the middle of the night to enjoy a beer alone unless something was wrong.

[Liam Bell]

A laugh came out of his mouth, rumbling through his throat at a low hum, but he stifled it soon after. Something about the way this girl said that was just funny to him. And when she coughed after taking a drink, he just grinned and watched her.

Her eyes, the colour of lifeless storm clouds after the rain would start to fall. That kind of colour that made him want to flinch, for the very idea of a storm meant that something could have been wrong with his niece. He returned her gaze with a curious one of his own, raising both eyebrows in an overly animated kind of way. So no boyfriend then. She looked young, what else was he to think in his state of mind?

"People don't always smoke when things feel like shit, y'know." Liam said, but nevertheless he pressed the bud between his lips and riffled around for his pack, offering it out to her just in case. She was already drinking, she might as well dive right into the cliche along with him. "So it's not a boyfriend. Or girlfriend. Y'never know these days." He shrugged, "So what was it? Or... Is it?" He shook his head, unsure of what the right wording was.

[Lilly Love]

Live's eyes didn't leave the man as he spoke. Event though she was well on her way to being drunk, she still knew how to glare. She wasn't the nicest person and sometimes even classified as the meanest but that's who Live was. And she really could care less what you thought about her.

She looked at the cigarrettes for a moment before sighing and reaching for one. Live still sat on the ground still but she turned her body to face the man better. She had left the house in such a hurry that she hadn't even realized what she was wearing. A baggy pair of gray sweat pants and a dark purple tank top. It wasn't something she usually wore out in public but at this point she could care less.

Normally Live would have gone off about the whole girlfriend comment but she honestly didn't even notice it at the moment. She let out a sigh and looked back down at her feet. "My mom's an depressed alcoholic who does nothing but sit around the house and drink. My dad left when I was eight never to be heard from again. After that my brother disappeared and got into drugs and some other shit. Ended up in jail. I hadn't heard from him in seven or so years and about an hour ago he calls me saying hes out and wants to get lunch."

Typically Live wouldn't have said any of this but of course the alcohol made her do things she normally wouldn't have. Like talking about her personal life with a stranger.

[Liam Bell]

Liam gave her a very quick once over as she took a cigarette. He withdrew the pack and found his lighter in his other pocket, leaning closer to light it up for her. He did notice her glaring and frankly he didn't care about it. As far as he was concerned, she had no reason to glare at him.

"Well," He began with a bemused expression to his voice. What was the best way to answer that; "That sucks." He snerked afterwards, shutting that off by bringing the bottle to his mouth and taking another swig. "And y'know what? They suck too. But-" He paused to take a drag, thinking about that and almost losing track of what he was going to say.

But he remembered. "Your brother's around, right? At least he's not, I don't know... What, dead? Or something?" Liam mused, contemplating the fact for a moment before shrugging again.

[Lilly Love]

After Live had the cigarette lighted, she brought it up to her lips and took the smoke into her lungs. She almost coughed but didn't. Somehow, the smoke felt better in her body then the alcohol did. To bad her mom wasn't a smoker then she could just steal them from her. Not like she would even notice. The woman wouldn't notice that the bottle of vodka was missing either. Her mom probably wouldn't even notice if the house burned down she was that observant.

Sucks was an under statement in Live's mind. She didn't really expect this stranger to understand what having her brother call her meant. After their dad left Alex never said a word to Live, just disappeared for days or weeks then would show up with a black eye just to leave again the next morning. Soon he stopped coming back all together. Live's mom didn't even notice of course. She didn't even realized he wasn't around until the police called. Live could remember he mom leaving the house, returning seven hours later just to say that Alex was off at some juvenile center and wouldn't be returning. In Live's mind, Alex had just abandoned his little defenseless sister in her greatest time of need. And then he thought that that seven or eight years later he could just call and see if they could go out to lunch? Not gonna happen.

"I don't care if he is dead or alive. But if he really thinks that after leaving me with my drunk of a mother when I was barely ten that he can just call me up, he's got another thing coming." Live snapped. Her words weren't terribly clear and some just blurred together to make a whole new word. It was pretty clear she didn't drink often.

[Liam Bell]

"Life..." Liam began, drawing the word out as he looked over to her. It was obvious even through the alcohol that this girl was going through something big. But he highly doubted she needed some kind of lecture, especially given the state she was in. "Sucks. Get stuck in all that kinda stuff? And you die." He shrugged, throwing his arms out in the movement. "And then they win."

Did that make any sense? He wasn't sure anymore. "And at least yours is alive. If he died, you'd never be able to just be done with it. If that's what you want, anyway." He explained. Liam had his experience when it came to brothers, though his had never done wrong by him in such a way.

"Where're you from? The school? Or do you live at home?" Because yes, he knew about that school.

[Lilly Love]

Live so far seemed to more of angry drunk. She wasn't really violent but she was clearly upset and vocalizing it. Typically she just yelled at someone or hit something, not state the actual problem. Alcohol made people do things they didn't normally do. So far for Live, that meant saying what was really on her mind.

She took another big drink. It didn't burn that much anymore. It felt almost good in a terrible way. The cigarette also made her feel more relaxed. As she finished off the last of the vodka she uneasily stood up. Her feet wobbled and it was then that she really started to feel drunk. The world seemed to tip and turn in ways it normally didn't. When she finally managed to get to her feet, she held up her bottle, looked at it for a moment then hurled it forward into the lake. The action threw off her balance and she fell onto her knees and into the water a bit. She chuckled a drunk, cold laugh.

"So let them win. What am I but shadow of what they wish I could be." It almost sounded philosophical but clearly came from a very disoriented mind. Of course, the shadow thing was real. "The school. But I live at home with Helen..." Live tried to push back onto her feet but just feel on her butt, her legs still in the water. "You? You're to old too be in school." Live didn't really pick up on the fact that he knew about the school. Besides, most people around there did. Be them metas or not.

[Liam Bell]

"Well, yeah. They're gonna win if you keep talkin' like that." Liam replied. She looked more like a fighter than someone who was willing to give up so easily. Liam figured it was just the drink talking. So beyond that he let the comment pass; maybe he'd bring it up later. He'd have to see her again first, though.

"I graduated from the school." Liam said with a smirk. He was aware that it was a secret to those who hadn't graduated from there. Most other people just thought it was some fancy private school that cost an arm and a leg to get into. Sure, some locals might have had an idea, but being that he graduated from there that should have told her that they were one in the same. "My niece goes there now. But I live in town."

Liam extended his arm to her; at least he could keep his balance. "Here, lemme help you up. Do you need a place to stay or something? I've got a spare bed you can crash in." He let out a short laugh at his own words. "I promise darling, you aren't my type."

[Lilly Love]

"Oh what do I care? None of it matters if I just end up dead anyways." Live yelled out at the water. She seemed really made but then she sort of stopped and got a real weird look on her face. "What is the meaning of life anyways?" She was clearly not taking the drink well. She had downed a whole bottle of volda, and some strong stuff too. That added to the fact that she had only ever been drunk once before, meant her state of mind was not well.

She looked at him. Live almost wanted to ask what his power was but she was feeling a bit to foggy to really care. "Oooh... How long was your sentence there?" She asked. She meant how long he went there. Some people liked Hammel. To Live it was just another sucky chapter in her life. Another place she didn't belong with more people she didn't get along with.

Live looked at his hand then let out a long sigh. Normally she would have rather stayed on the ground with her feet in the water then accept help but she was currently under the influence so that changed things. She took his hand as he helped her to her feet. She clearly wasn't extremely well balanced but she made a better effort to stay up. Live looked at him inquisitively then gave a small nod. "Oh I gotcha." She said pointing at him then letting her arm drop, her words slurring together so it sounded more like "Ohiocha." She then tried to wink but it turned out more as just an over exaggerated blink. "Blondes are you thing?" She knew what he meant, she just actually had some humor in her, somehow.

Live looked down at her feet then shrugged. "Guess so..." Typically she would have shot down any such offer but she knew she couldn't go home. Well, she could but she was terrified by the fact that the phone might ring again. Plus, this was usually the time her mother got up to eat. She really didn't want to deal with Helen at the moment.

[Liam Bell]

A whole bottle of vodka? She was bound to be throwing it all up in an hour or two, considering she was drinking it like water. That was the way kids were with alcohol, he supposed. At least he was a guy and he was older. It meant he could handle his liquor a lot better than she could. "I dunno... Keep living?" He asked, lightly toned to show that he was joking. It was kinda funny.

"Three years or so." Liam replied. It was so long ago that it was almost hard to try to remember. His time at Hammel had been average; he commended them for what they were doing because a lot of people needed a place to hide.

Liam helped her stand as best she could, grinning broadly as she pointed towards him but lost her strength. He just wanted to make sure she'd stay on her feet, so he kept an eye on her in case she fell and needed quick catching. But look, a sense of humour from her. He grinning again and chuckled at her statement; "Something like that, yeah."

He threw an arm around her waist to keep her steady as he started walking away from the lake. "By the way, m'name's Liam. Hope you don't mind dogs cause I own one." He informed, stumbling with her but trying to make the best of his steps.

[Lilly Love]

Live would hopefully not be having many repeats of that nights escapade. She really disliked drinking and drunks because of her mother. However, she had found that when you really just didn't want to feel anything or deal with anything, a good amount of alcohol could solve that problem. At least for a little bit.

Live did appreciate Hammel, at least a little. Despite the fact that the people there sucked and she still had to learn things, she was glad to have a place where she wasn't a complete freak. Plus, Live had been able to learn to control her ability there. She had stopped randomly changing forms about two years ago.

As he pulled her up onto her feet, Live made what was suppose to be a sort of angry face but just liked pouty, "I got'er my 9th grade y'r and I fail it sooo now... I gottu be here fur," She stopped to count, her brows pushing together in determination. "FIVE total y'rs." She finally exclaimed.

As he slipped his arm around Live, she reached her hand up to place it on his shoulder. She was a taller girl so she could reach, though she missed his shoulder the first time but was able to regain her awareness a bit the next time. "Live." She said with a weak half grin. "So long as doesn't pee on me." Live said sternly.