Slipping Through My Fingers (Open)

[Jacelynn Heron]

What the fuck was the matter with her? Was she stupid? Delusional maybe? Hell if she knew. It didn't matter anymore. She was sick and tired of moping around, getting told off by her mother, and dwelling on things that were never going to happen. She'd gone soft over the past few months and she was no longer going to be that girl. She wasn't going to keep crying over a guy that knew how to play the game and simply out-played her. She wasn't going to keep regretting hurting another guy in the process when they both knew she didn't do relationships. She was flat out done with it all. Why the fuck should she care anyway? Wasn't college all about having fun? Experiencing things?

Jacelynn pushed her way through the swarming crowd of drunken sluts dancing or having sex on the floor, she couldn't tell which and strutted towards the bar. She was going to drink, dance and hook up with whoever was willing. And whoever didn't have blonde hair. This redhead was on a mission to go back to her old ways and say fuck feelings, she was going to have fun and look good doing it.

But she needed alcohol. Bad.

After ordering a rum and coke, she sat at the bar and watched everyone dancing. There were so many people that were thrashing their bodies around with the music. Men and women everywhere, all different. Yet she kept seeing one face, one color of hair and one impeccably frustrating male in each and every one of them. How particularly frustrating this was. She continued sipping at her drink, and instead focused on the lights. Memories kept flooding back and she frowned. What the actual hell was wrong with her?

Finally after getting irritated enough and buzzed enough for now, she slipped off the barstool and headed into the crowd to dance.

[Alessandro Ricci]

Clubs weren't usually Aless's speed. He normally preferred something a little more...less loud, sexual and overall bright. But that wasn't the point. He wanted to have a little fun, to live outside of his comfort zone, which was all around him. At one point, he had brought home this beautiful girl to his mother and father and...well, suffice to say, it didn't work out. Which was unfortunate, because she was quite a jewel...or he thought she was. Honestly, he didn't really notice she was gone.

With the loud music blaring in his ear, he sat down on the stool, his tall frame and muscular body getting most of the attention from the female population. How could he let it come to this? Letting women flirt with him sexual just to be out of his comfort zone? Why couldn't he have just gone for a walk in the dark like his mother had suggested? Innocently, he fended off the women and got the lightest beer at the bar. Hopefully this wouldn't make him drunk...right?

Aless lumped over the bar, trying to hide his presence from anyone else who would notice him. But it was definitely hard. Finally, he heard a voice he hadn't heard in a while. Or more than a while. There Jace was, looking pissed and ready to pound someone in, but still beautiful as ever. He raised his hand in a hello, unsure if he saw her or not. He lumped himself over the bar again, eyes roaming the scarred area, wanting nothing more than to disappear into his stool. Uncharacteristically, he took a swig of his beer. What more would you want? he wondered idly. Again, uncharacteristically, he got up and moved through the dance floor, jerking this way and that, towering over even the tallest of guys. Men moved out of his jerking arms, but he found that women liked grinding on his body. Oh lord...

[Jacelynn Heron]

Jacelynn often lost herself when she was dancing with a crowd of people around her. There was never any singling people out at a club, or it was rare. Bodies upon bodies moving together, it was easy to blend in and hide from wandering eyes and glares and judging looks. All of which Jacelynn was more than used to. Everyone judged her for her looks, for her personality, for every decision she made. Nothing she did was right by anyone and right now, she didn't give a fuck what anyone thought.

The music changed and she had to readjust to the new tempo, as well as the people around her did. She threw her hands in the air and moved around, wiggling and shimmying because that's just what club dancing was. Sure, it looked weird and she probably stuck out like a sore thumb with her clothing style and firetruck hair color, but she wasn't going to let that bug her anymore. She didn't need to impress anyone and she wasn't about to go back to that. Impressing people had never been her strong suit anyway. Just as she glanced up, her eyes caught a tall, looming figure being grinded up on all sides by plenty of women. In fact, if it was anyone else, she'd say he had gotten quite lucky.

But Alessandro looked extremely uncomfortable and she found herself feeling that same crushing guilt she always felt just when thinking about him, let alone seeing him. He was still gorgeous, modelesque and those muscles...well it was easy to see why so many girls were trying to capture his attention. At one point, that had been her. She frowned briefly before shaking the thought from her mind and slipping through the crowd to save him. Poor guy looked stiff as a board and like he definitely didn't belong in the club scene.

Upon reaching him, she gave the grinding girls a cold look and they dispersed with a few comments that she ignored without much effort. Skanky bitches didn't deserve her attention anyway. "Sorry, didn't mean to bug you, just seemed like you needed saving from all of the leeches," She said over the music a little awkwardly.

[Alessandro Ricci]

Aless was still stiff and frankly, her presence was unwelcomed. After all of this time, he still had to have feelings for her, what luck! He grabbed the top of her arm gently and pulled her out into the chilly air, ignoring the fact that goosebumps raised on his arms. "Why did you do it?" he asked, trying to sound manly and indifferent at the fact that she broke his heart. A part of him just wanted to go home before he drank anymore alcohol and before anger took hold, which was very, very rare for him.

"You know," Aless gritted through his teeth, "I really liked you and I told you what I wanted. I wanted a commitment and you told me that you didn't do relationships and yet, you still dragged me on and on. My mama liked you and my papa adored you, but you dragged on their son in false pretenses and lies and..." Oh lord, what a woman he was being. He was a man, he's supposed to be a man, to act like a man and sound like a man. Aless finally noticed that her hair was red. "What did you do?" he asked, taking a piece of her hair in his fingers.

[Jacelynn Heron]

Jacelynn wasn't expecting much of a reaction from him when she said what she had. In fact, she half expected him to ignore her because that would have been easier. And deserved. Instead his hand clamped down on her arm and she was pulled on through the crowd and outside into the cool air. Her whole body tensed at the change in temperature and she pulled her arm away from him defiantly. Who did he think he was dragging her around like that? She wasn't a child. Besides, this was definitely not the Alessandro that she knew and that she had cared for several months ago.

And the question made it all clear. He was angry with her still. Just as she was still angry with herself. And with a certain blonde. If he wanted someone to blame, he could blame the blonde. Why did she do it? Didn't he know? What did he want her to do, string him along longer? It wasn't fair to him and it wasn't fair to her. They'd both be miserable if she had just clamped down on those feelings she had for Carter and just stayed with Les like her mother wanted. She'd have never been happy, not that it was much of a change nowadays. But still. He had to understand that.

She didn't get a chance to answer before he continued. And with each and every word he spoke, she grew more and more irritated. How dare he tell her everything that she did wrong. Didn't she get that enough as it was? God what was it with everyone! Jace's jaw clenched and her nostrils flared. What was with him? Since when had he turned into such a jerk? He didn't know her. He didn't know her reasoning behind anything and he never would understand even if she did tell him! His fingers took a strand of her hair and she slapped his hand away because she simply couldn't take it anymore.

"Don't! Who the hell do you think you are? Telling me how horrible I am for breaking your heart and leading you on? Fuck that. You don't know what happened. You don't know why I am this way and you don't know me. Your mother hated me, Les. I heard her talking to you, hello, super freaky hearing right here! I already have one mother that thinks I'm a slut that doesn't deserve anything more than selling myself for sex, I don't need another one!" Her face was burning now, just as red as her hair and she clutched her torso to keep in all of the other emotions.

She hugged herself tighter and shook her head, "I did you a favor. I let you off the hook from ending up with someone that is irreparable. I'm broken and no one is going to be able to fix that." Jace's eyes dropped from his down to the ground and she sighed. "And I changed my hair color because I wanted to do something different, are you going to yell at me for that, too?" She asked coldly.

[Alessandro Ricci]

No, she didn't do Les a favor and he shouldn't have been yelling at her. Fear and shame buried itself deep in the pit of his stomach. He took a step away from her, surprised at himself. He tugged her out into the cold while she was only wearing a dress that barely...good Jesus, he never noticed that dress on her. He rubbed his arms and pulled off his jacket to put it around her shoulders. "Look," he said, staring off into the distance. "I'm sorry about what Mama said. But do you remember when you first met my parents and that promise I made to you?" He remembered it clearly. "I promised you that I wouldn't let my parents stand in our way of a relationship and I was good to that promise. But..." Les's voice was calmer now. He wasn't yelling or tugging the poor girl into cold weather, even if she had his jacket. Her legs sprawled out from under that tight black dress and he found himself losing his train of thought.

"But," he said more firmly, planting his eyes on hers, "I was also promising you and me that I wouldn't let anyone else stand in our way of a relationship and I allowed you to push me away. I probably shouldn't have pushed you so close to a relationship so fast, but damnit." Les pulled his hand through his hair with pent up anger and frustration. That dress wasn't helping. "Damnit, you are beautiful, you don't deserve to be treated like trash. I want to treat you right. I want to be the one to help you when you've fallen and congratulate you on your successes and...I want to be the one you have in your life. Not those other guys or whoever, me." Les put his hands on her shoulders lightly so that if she wanted to back away, she could without feeling trapped and he kissed the top of her head lightly. Without much resistance, he pulled her into a hug, keeping it light, almost to the point of hovering.

"Jace..." Les didn't know what else to say. He was literally spent. His energy was divided in more ways than one and... well, yeah, it took energy not to say something about that wonderfully small dress. "I don't have anything else to say."

[Jacelynn Heron]

Jace cringed when he put his jacket around her. She expected something different, but she wasn't quite sure what. However, she did forget how painfully polite he was. It almost made her want to scream. Why did he have to be so nice to her when she didn't deserve any of it? It was her fault things didn't work out with them. She was the problem. His parents didn't like her and that was perfectly fine, she was used to parents not understanding or appreciating her. It was typical. Everyone missed that nerdy, geeky girl that was naive and stupid. That ridiculous thirteen year old that she'd been. If her ability had been anything different, maybe she would still be that girl. But the crux of the matter was that she wasn't. She was who she was and no one could change her.

"You can't keep all of the promises you make, Les. Especially when someone like me is involved. You're mom was right. You deserve someone better than me because I can't offer you what you want. I can't do relationships," And he was cut from the relationship cloth as a certain blonde boy had put it to her once. She frowned at the memory and folded her arms tighter in front of her. He kept going and she just shook her head. She didn't believe what he was saying. She did deserve to be treated like trash because that's exactly what she was. That's what she'd grown up to be ever since she decided who she wanted to be. Her mother made sure of that.

She shook her head again, "Stop. Just stop. You can't! Okay? Don't you get it? You and I aren't cut out for each other. You're a great guy, I'm a fucked up nutcase. You want the whole package deal of a wife and kids and dog. I can't do that because I don't know how! I'm not a relationship girl. I can't be one because I don't have the ability to care so much about one person. I'm selfish and I'm not good for you." Her throat tightened up and she forcefully pushed back the tears that tried falling. She wasn't going to keep crying. She wasn't this girl. She wasn't the girl he thought she was or thought she was capable of being.

Jace took a deep breath and found herself leaning into his hug. It'd been so long since she was just hugged. She didn't know why everything had to be so complicated. "I-I'm sorry, I just don't want to keep hurting you..."

[Alessandro Ricci]

Les swallowed his anger, but she was hugging him back. She leaned into his hug and she knew that was a step for her. "You...aren't a fucked up nutcase. You hurt me yes," he said truthfully, "but now I want to give it another try." He stepped back, his hands on the tops of her arms, looking down at her. Did he want to give it another try? Was this really something he wanted or was he only saying it because of her dress? No! Les wasn't that kind of guy. He shook his head to remove the dirty thoughts of her and him kissing and focused on the task at hand.

How was he going to convince her that she was right for him? How could he convince her that she didn't deserve to be treated like trash? He supposed someone who was used to it wouldn't find any other way to be treated, but he would never treat her like trash. Was it this Carter guy that had her so high strung and... Who was that Carter guy? He remembered vaguely about her talking about him and he felt an urge of jealousy when she talked about him, but also more protectiveness. Les knew that she could take care of herself, but still, seriously...what was wrong with him?

Les pulled away from her completely, rubbing his arms against the cold. He turned his head to the club door that thumped with the bass and music flowed out thickly. "Jacelynn," he said roughly, pushing his hands into the pockets of his pants, "I still like you. I don't want to hurt anymore. I don't want to move as fast as we did before either. Look, don't be sorry, don't bring up that you keep hurting me. Just move on. Move on from that and we can still where that gets us. How does that sound?" Les turned towards her again, giving her a sweet smile.

[Carter Chevalier]

Who was that Carter guy?

Typical of the non-powered simpleton not to know the name of a Chevalier when he heard it.

Carter was the type to frequent the clubs around Pilot Ridge. It was one of the things that really intertwined his life with Jacelynn's all those months ago. As fate would have had it, it seemed, it was bound to happen again. Looking to relinquish some tension and pent up energy, the older twin strolled the streets of the club district. Despite the early signs of inebriation, he would walk perfectly. He'd been through worse a buzz before in his life; it took a lot to take him down to the level of an infrequently drunk teenager.

But as he walked - alone, though he'd just been grinning at his phone - he glanced up to see a familiar shade of red in his sight lines.

Making his way down the path, he didn't overtly look at them. Instead he moved with the intention to breeze past her and whoever it was she was with. But as he passed he brushed his fingertips across the small of her back lightly, taking another step or so before he stopped and turned on his heel to glance at her. "It still suits you, love." Carter announced, offering her the hint of an intrigued smile. The same expression he shared when she knew he wanted her. Procuring his ID from his wallet, he idly passed it to the nearby bouncer. "There'll be a drink at the bar waiting for you," He started, finally bothering to toss a glance at who she was with, "When you're done."

[Jacelynn Heron]

Give it another try...was he that intent on getting hurt again? She could kick him in the shin if he wanted to feel pain! The whole thing was just becoming too much for her and she was going to bolt any second now. She couldn't do this. She didn't want to. She didn't want to keep trying with someone that she didn't want to keep hurting. Her head just shook back and forth mechanically, and her world was spinning. It needed to stop or she was going to pass out any second.

He wanted her to move on. She wanted herself to move on. But she couldn't when her thoughts were so consumed. He was just too addicting. Jacelynn didn't even care if he was hers completely. All she had been wanting lately was to be near him. She couldn't even say they were like they had once been and that was something that she missed. These other confusing, ridiculous feelings could be pushed back. She just wanted to be near him. Jace couldn't tell Alessandro this though, it wasn't fair to him for her to go on and on about how this one man in her life has turned it upside down and made her act like a crazy infatuated girl. "Les...I..." but that's all she could get out.

It was all she could get out because that was when she saw a flash of familiar blonde hair, felt fingers trail across her lower back that sent a delicious electricity through her body and heard his voice. She shivered and her throat went dry, a lump forming to keep her from talking. He was really there and he was talking to her in that way. She wanted to scream or cry or something! But she couldn't. And she wouldn't. Not in front of him and not again. She collected herself again and her eyes followed him. Jace glanced at Les and bit her lip, she didn't even know what to say. He'd complimented her...and wanted to drink with her? Was she really going to get sucked in?

More than likely, the answer would be yes...