Chapter 2.26 The Only One

Tick, tick, tick, tick

Everything was going a lot slower now. Minutes felt like hours, and when an hour finally did pass, it was just met with more dreadful waiting. Tyler honestly felt as if the clock in front of him was mocking him somehow.
The only thing he could think of was Alyssa, and whether or not she was okay.

He and Belle had just been out on a driving lesson, and when they got home, no one was downstairs and there was the sound of Maya barking and growling.
"Is that Maya?" Belle asked, "I guess she must have gotten to one of the stuffed toys." She laughed lightly.
Tyler frowned, getting a bad feeling. Even though Maya was an Alsatian, she hardly ever growled or got angry at anything. Something was wrong, very wrong. "Check on your little brother, I'll make sure your mom's okay." He went upstairs.
Confused, Belle followed him upstairs but she went into Nathaniel's room.

He wasn't so sure what to expect when he found her, but his expectations were far from what he saw. He saw Maya nuzzling up to Alyssa and pining, whereas Alyssa wasn't moving at all. He was frozen just looking at her, a million things going around his mind about what could be wrong with her.
"Alyssa?" He asked, and knelt down next to her, he honestly hoped she just fell asleep. She was complaining that she was tired earlier.

She was cold, colder than what someone who was just asleep should be. "Alyssa?" He repeated, wondering what the hell had happened. He and Belle had been out for less than two hours, how could something so bad have happened so quickly?
He was relieved by the fact that she was still breathing, and that she still had a pulse. It was slow, but she was still there. She was still breathing. He got out his phone, and dialed an ambulance.

Before going, Tyler told Belle briefly what had happened (only mentioning that something was wrong and Alyssa needed to go to hospital.) and he asked her to stay at home until the twins got home from their after school activities and then either her aunt or uncle would be able to drive them up to the hospital. He felt bad about leaving Belle on her own, but what else could he do? He couldn't let the twins come back to an empty house, but then again he couldn't just wait here while Alyssa was hardly even breathing. What else could he do but suggest that Belle waited there for a while? What else could be done?

Nothing else could be done. All that he could do was hope that Alyssa and the baby were alright. He honestly didn't understand how she could go from being perfectly fine one moment and a while later unconscious.
Tyler felt guilty. Maybe if he hadn't have gone out driving with Belle, Alyssa might have been alright. He couldn't help but feel as if he could have stopped all this from happening. He could have stopped it from happening if he was there with her.
He took a shaky breath, resting his forehead on his forearms as he tried to repress memories.

He remembered when he first met her. She was rather tipsy, probably didn't know fully what she was saying, but she was flirting with him.
"So, if we were together, what would happen if I did make you jealous?" He asked, remembering that he was trying to be as cool as he could be. It wasn't an everyday occurrence that a girl like her would talk to him. He also recalled that the line sounded a lot more smooth in his head than it did aloud.

"Then I'll do something crazy to prove you're mine." She answered simply, grinning. He remembered the slight hint of mischief behind her violet eyes.

"Like what?" He asked, amused. He honestly wanted to see what she would do, wondering what the 'something crazy' was.

Alyssa grinned, "Like this." And she wrapped her arms around his back, and kissed him.

He also remembered when he and Alyssa convinced her sister that they were together, and that Belle was his.
"See? I told you that I would cope." It was weird thinking of Alyssa not being able to cope with a baby. She was an amazing mother to Belle, Ashton, Melody and Nathaniel. She was a real life supermom, managing to keep all four of her children happy, and managing a career too (even though she paid much more attention to her children than her career). He also knew that she'd be amazing with their daughter too...

If she was alright.

He knew somewhere deep down that she would be alright, he knew that she would be fine, but there was that little voice in the back of his head that reminded him that there could be a chance that she wasn't okay, and that the last thing he said to her was about that phone call.

He wanted a future with her, he wanted her to be his forever. She was by far the best thing in his life, and she was the only one who made him so incomprehensibly happy. He loved her, and he knew that she loved him. He knew that they were (as cheesy as it may be) made for each other. She was the only one for him.
He didn't want to say goodbye to her.
"Tyler?" He heard someone call his name, and for a moment he was optimistic because it sounded like Alyssa. But it wasn't her.

It was Rosie, with the kids in tow. Rosie's and Alyssa's voice were very similar after all, they were half sisters. The only difference was that Rosie's voice was a little hoarser, deeper and mature than Alyssa's was.
Rosie walked up to him."Have they said anything?" She asked, frowning and Tyler simply shook his head in response.
"They said they'd let me know on her condition when they knew more." He sighed. It was over an hour ago that they said that, and no one had even been down into the reception area.

Rosie sighed slightly. "I think the kids are a little tired. When they get worse, I'll take them back home." She murmured, yawning.
Tyler frowned. "Is everything alright, Rosie? You look really tired." He spoke rather cautiously, knowing that Rosie already wasn't his biggest fan ever since he and Alyssa lied to her.
"I'm fine. I've just not been sleeping all too well." She responded, sharply. She sighed, "Sorry. Can you get me a coffee? I think there's a machine upstairs."
"Sure thing. Make sure the kids don't get in trouble." Tyler soon left, and Rosie say down on the chair next to Belle,

"So, Elvie tells me that you have a boyfriend." Rosie started, grinning while keeping hold of Nathaniel who keeps trying to squirm away.
"Yeah." Belle mumbled idly, more wrapped up in her own thoughts. What if something did happen to her mom? Then what? She wouldn't have a mom, and she'd have to chance of ever meeting her father. Unless, if her aunt knew something? "Do you know anything about my dad?" She asked.

Nathaniel soon scampered off over to Ashton and Melody, and Rosie looked up as she thought about it. "You're dad? I don't really know Belle. All I know is that your mom once told me it was Tyler-" Belle's eyes widened, and she pretty much blanked out the rest of what her aunt was saying. She honestly had no idea what to even think. Tyler couldn't be her dad, could he? No, he couldn't. She didn't look anything like him, and her mom kept saying that her dad was French. Belle was fairly sure Tyler wasn't French.

"I know Tyler's not my dad, Aunt Rosie." She sighed. "That and mom says I got my hair colour from my dad."
Rosie furrowed her eyebrows. "That's what I said. He and your mom lied to me quite a while ago." She summed up, and Belle realized she probably should have been listening. "I don't know anything other than that. But I do know you didn't get your hair colour from your dad. I'm fairly sure you got it from your grandmother." She smiled slightly. "Your mom still thinks your grandma was naturally blonde." Rosie laughed, leaving Belle confused.

Tyler pressed the button that made the coffee on the machine. He was going to make himself one too, based on he had no clue how long he'd be here for. In a way, he would prefer to just wait because the last thing he wanted to get was bad news.

"Look, its getting kinda late, I should get going." He murmured, standing up. He remembered that she had asked what was between them, and neither of them knew. That moment, he thought that whatever it was between him and Alyssa was all in his head.
"Wait, can you help me up?" She held her arms out. "I can't really stand up all too well with my tail." She half smiled, lifting her legs up and down a little like she actually was a mermaid.
"Fine, but only because you make a cute mermaid." He grinned at her, helping her up. He really did like her Halloween costume too. 

He remembered they were just there, staring into each other's eyes. So, he took his chance. When else was he going to get a chance again? He kissed her softly, and held her close. He knew what there was between them then was real. Of course it was real. How could it not be? What they shared was special, and what they still share is still special. She really is the only one for him.

"Mr Matthews?" A blue doctor came up to Tyler. He couldn't quite tell if she was being pleasant of seldom.
"I uh, me and Alyssa  aren't married. Is she and the baby okay?" He asked quickly, feeling dread at the response. A large part of him didn't want to know, just in case it was bad news.
"She's fine, most likely resting from her c-section. The baby's fine too. What happened to her was-" Tyler didn't hear all too much after that. He was just relieved that she was alright, and he couldn't help but grin at the thought of the fact he could still be with her.
"Which room is she in?" He asked, wanting to see her, and wanting to meet his daughter. Wow, that was weird to think. He had a daughter.
"She's upstairs, the room adjacent to the nursery." As soon as the doctor said that, he was off. Rude as it may be, he was worried about Alyssa, and hurting someone's feelings didn't exactly cross his mind. He was more focused on seeing Alyssa and meeting their daughter.

He hesitated slightly outside of her room, still finding it weird how he was a dad now. He saw Alyssa cooing and cuddling their daughter, oblivious to the fact he was stood outside of the door. She seemed mostly focused on the baby. He slowly opened the door, which managed to get her attention.

She grinned at him when he came in, almost as if her life wasn't hanging in the balance only hours ago. The room she was almost like a sauna, it was really warm in there and yet she still managed with being in warmer clothes. "Look who it is Junie." Alyssa cooed to the baby. She then smiled sheepishly "I kinda already gave her a name; Juniper." She told him, as he walked over to her.

He kissed her softly, so happy to see her again. He was more than happy. He was elated, thrilled, overjoyed. It honestly felt as if the world had been lifted off his shoulders now he knew that she was okay. She was okay, and their baby was okay.
Alyssa pulled away after a while when Juniper started to make little mewling noised. "I think someone doesn't like the attention not being on her." She grinned, cuddling the baby close.

Alyssa shuffled over in the bed slightly, once Juniper was happy again. She looked at him expectantly for a while before asking. "Don't you want to sit on here with me?"
"Am I allowed? I don't think the hospital staff are happy as it is..." He trailed off. It wasn't that he didn't want to, he just didn't want to get in trouble because of it.
She scoffed. "What's the worst that could happen? Come on." She patted the space next to herself, grinning at him,

He sat down next to her on the bed, one arm going around her and the other supporting the baby's head a little better. "So, you've called her Juniper?" He asked, raising an eyebrow,
Alyssa smiled slightly, sheepishly. "Yeah, Juniper. Like the plant." She clarified, then explained. "They wanted a name for her, and I couldn't really think of one. There was a juniper tree outside so..." She shrugged slightly.
"I think it's perfect for her." He grinned. He was a little disappointed he was left out of the naming conversation, but Juniper seemed like a pretty perfect name. He stayed quiet for a while before asking. "Do you remember what happened?" He wanted to know, based on he had found her passed out when he and Belle returned back home. That reminded him, he should probably go and tell them that Alyssa's awake now, then again, he did want a little bit longer with it being just the three of them.

Alyssa shook her head in response to his question. "I don't remember. I remember being in Juniper's room, then everything went dark and I woke up here with her in the little cot thing there." She explained, frowning lightly. "I think the doctor said it was something similar to hypothermia, but that doesn't make any sense. I can't complain about the room being warm and toasty though," She smiled slightly.
"I'm just happy you two are alright." He muttered, and kissed her on the cheek.
She smirked. "Whatever it was, it's going to take a lot more to do anything bad to me." She spoke confidently.

Chapter 2.25 Sweet Dreams                                                                                    

 Chapter 2.27 A Gift

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AN: I liked going back though all the moments Alyssa and Tyler shared. Ah, memories :3 All the dialog following the sepia/memorific photos was the speech I wrote a while ago. Only the spoken words were taken. The written words out of the speech was now time wrote.

I'm happy that I can finally use Juniper's name. If was difficult referring to her as fifth baby. I always wanted to use pro nouns but then it would give something away... *sigh*

It's been a real busy weekend this weekend. My brother left home and went to Uni yesterday which was also my birthday so... Yeah. And personal advertising as those last few poses (with the baby) were my own (and game animations). Thank you to Sunny who helped me with the kiss pose. I think it turned out pretty damn good.

Last thing, I got a comment a while ago where someone got confused between the cousins, so I made a family tree: http://www.familyecho.com/?p=PE86M&c=5pvl7bnp86&f=870423541785469144

Thanks for reading 

Chapter 2.25 Sweet Dreams

"Bonjour? Commet alez-vous, mon Belle?"

Alyssa just stared bleakly at the phone. She had heard the message so many times over and over. She could almost say it word for word (if she actually knew French, which she didn't.)

"So, that's Belle's dad?" Tyler asked, looking at the phone too. Alyssa nodded simply, not saying anything more. If it was up to her, she wouldn't have told him, but she kind of had to.

He was being his usual sweet self as always, and Alyssa was thinking about how great of a dad he was going to be. Her mind then wandered off to think about how her other children's dads haven't been around, and then she remembered the call from Matteo, and then she felt bad about keeping it from him and she remembered that relationships were supposed to be built on trust...
And then the water works started.

When he heard her crying, he stood up and asked what was wrong. It took a while before what she was blubbering on about actually made any sense, but she managed to tell him what was actually the matter.
Looking back on it, Alyssa blamed the tears on her hormones.

Alyssa nodded. "That's Belle's dad." She sighed. It was rather clear that it wasn't too much of a comfortable thing to talk about, based on Matteo was the guy she cheated on Tyler with all that time ago.
"Right." He muttered, not so sure what to say in this situation. Funnily enough, this type of thing has never actually happened before. "Has she ever asked about her dad before?" He asked.

"Once she did. It was after Damon and I had a fight. I think she overheard him saying something about her dad and got curious. Other than that, she's never really mentioned it." She sighed, honestly unsure of what to do. Would it be wrong if she never told Belle about the phone call? A part of Alyssa wanted to be enough for Belle so that her daughter would never even need to ask about her father. She frowned, "What do you think I should do? Should I tell her?"

Tyler shook his head slightly, "I honestly don't know." He sighed, glancing at the phone then back at her. "I think you should tell her because she'll probably get angry at you if she finds out and you didn't tell her."
Alyssa nodded lightly, "Yeah, I should tell her sooner or later but I just don't know how to." She sighed, and continued with. "I think I should wait a little longer before telling her about the phone call."
"Mom? Tyler? I'm home." Belle called out. The two adults nearly forgot that she finished an hour earlier than her siblings, that and Melody and Ashton were doing after school actives.

Alyssa stood in front of the phone before Belle (accompanied by Maya) came into the room. "So, I was hoping..." She trailed off, sensing that not everything was okay. "Is everything alright?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Everything's fine." Alyssa answered, smiling at Belle. "What were you hoping?"
"I was hoping that I could learn how to drive," She grinned, ignoring the bad feeling she got that something was wrong with her mom and Tyler. If her mom said that everything was fine, there was no point in pushing it and wrecking her chances of getting to drive.

"Belle..." Alyssa sighed, and Belle knew right away that meant no, She couldn't help but wonder why both her mom and Tyler were in here anyway, and why was she blocking the phone? "I don't think-"
"What your mom was going to say was that she didn't think that she should take you out driving, but I'll teach you, if you want." He smiled at her.
Belle's face lit up. "Really? Awesome! I'll be in the car." She grinned, and happily left the study.

Alyssa raised an eyebrow at him, "You interrupted me, why?" She asked.
"Because she was about to ask why it seemed like you were blocking the phone, and was going to ask why we were talking in here instead of in the main room. I thought it would be better to give her what she wanted rather than having to explain right now about the phone call."
"Oh." She murmured, then sighed. "Just be careful, okay? The last thing needed is a car crash."

Driving wasn't quite as difficult as Belle had thought it would have been. All she had to do was make sure she didn't go too fast, change the gears when she needed, keep her eyes on the road and keep her hands on the wheel.
"So, I wanted to ask you something." Belle started. She was partially glad that Tyler took her out driving because she recalled that her mom said that she knew Tyler even when she was a teenager. Belle made the connection that perhaps Tyler knew something about her dad.
He shrugged "Go ahead, but make sure to keep your eyes on the road." He said the last bit as a warning. Whatever Belle wanted to ask probably wasn't as important as not crashing the car.

"I am. I can multitask." Belle grinned, then actually got on to what she wanted to ask. "I was wondering if you knew anything about my dad. My mom said that you and her knew each other when you were teenagers, and I'm assuming she met my dad when she was around-ish that age. So, I guessed that you met him at some point, or at least heard about him. So, is there anything that you know about him?" She asked. "Mom's already told me that he was French and that her relationship with him didn't last long."

Tyler sighed, once again unsure of what to say. He doubted that he should tell her the truth of how Alyssa cheated on him with Belle's dad,. "I'm not so sure what to tell you Belle, I didn't know him personally." He looked over at her. "Do you think of your dad often?" He asked.
Belle shrugged lightly. "Sometimes. I've been thinking of it more recently though." She tried not to sound all too disappointed that he didn't know anything about her dad. It's not like he could do anything though. Clearly if she wanted to know about her dad, she would have to ask her mom.

Speaking of her mom, Alyssa was stood in the new baby's room. She had put Nathaniel down for a nap earlier, and the twins were still at their after school activities so she had some time to herself. She decided to spend it marveling at the baby's room. Her and Tyler had found out earlier that they were having a girl, although, the two of them went a little overboard getting the baby stuffed toys.

However, Alyssa disliked the fact that there was a fairy stuffed toy in the crib. Ugh, fairies. She shuddered at the thought. Tyler liked it though so the fairy teddy stayed. "You're going to be spoiled rotten, baby girl." She grinned, looking down at where her hands were.
Melancholia made herself known by saying "I think I'd have to agree. You people have a habit of spoiling your spawn and giving into all their wishes."

Alyssa turned to see who it was, and her eyes widened. Fairy. She took a few steps back, terrified. Fairies weren't good, nor were they safe to be around. She knew she had to collect herself though. Her house, her rules, her place to say who should and shouldn't be here. "I don't know how you got here, but leave." She managed to say, her eyes not leaving it.
Melancholia laughed darkly. "Aw, how cute. You think I'm going to listen to you?" Humans could be adorable sometimes. "Look, Little Lyssie, I'll only be here for ten minutes tops. You can at least calm down a bit. You look like a deer caught in headlights, sweetie." She laughed more at Alyssa's expense.

"H-How...?" Alyssa tried to ask how she knew her name, but all that was going around her head was how this fairy was probably just as nuts as the one she had met when she was little.
"How do I know your name?" Melancholia asked. "I know all about you Alyssa Matthews. Creepy as it may sound, I've been interested in your family for a while. Mostly because of what your sister did. See, your sister killed one of my close friends. I think you knew her too." She smiled. "Her name was Elli. She was a fairy too. Black wings, very gothic."

Alyssa laughed nervously, backing up towards the door, "Look, I think you have the wrong person. I have no clue what you're on about." Her eyes never left the fairy, and she held her hands up in defense just in case what she was doing would hurt her. One hand moved to the door handle, and she tried to open the door in a desperate attempt to escape, but it was locked already.
Melancholia laughed as the sparkles disappeared from her hands. "You humans are really adorable. You think I would leave the door wide open when you could just escape? There's no leaving until I unlock the door."
Alyssa was terrified right now. To the point of starting to cry scared. She hated fairies, and wanting this one in particular to go. She wished this was a dream.

She wished that at any moment, she would wake up and she would be able to tell Tyler all about the bad dream she had and he'd be there to make her feel better and tell her that it wasn't real.
She didn't want this to be real. She knew something bad was going to happen.

Alyssa was mostly just trying to get away from the fairy as she got closer. Uncomfortably close. When her back hit the wall, all Alyssa could do was watch. What else could she do? There was no way she could take on the fairy, especially not in her condition.
"Just shush, okay? And it'll all be over before you know it." Melancholia spoke almost soothingly as her hand went to Alyssa's head.
"Let..." She started, then trailed off. Her whole body felt as if it weighed the world itself, and everything started to fade and go blurry. It felt almost like tendrils of ice were coming off of the fairy's hand, and it made her head start to throb, It was as if her body was shutting down, freezing and seizing up almost, and she felt herself involuntarily starting to slide down against the wall,
"What did I say?" Melancholia whispered, and the blonde fairy was the only thing Alyssa saw,

Before it all went dark.

Melancholia snickered at her little mistake. Whoops. She watched as Alyssa went pale, very pale for someone who's supposedly alive. Perhaps it was for the best that she just got rid of the little sister of the bitch witch though. After all, that would skip majority of the steps in her plan. The poor little bitch witch might even just off herself straight away when she learns what happened to her little sister. Ha! How easy was that? Just kill the little sister, and then Rosie would be so devastated she would just kill herself.
Why hadn't she thought of that before?! Maybe she was just too nice of a person. Her greatest fault, it truly is.
Melancholia used her magic to unlock the door, and watched as the family mutt came in and went over to Alyssa and sniffed her. "Dumb mutt, she'll be gone within the hour."

Melancholia rolled her eyes as Maya started to growl at her. "That'll get you so far in life, Mutt." She grumbled sarcastically and in the short moment of silence, she could hear the front door opening.
"Alyssa?" It was a male voice, probably her boyfriend, which meant it was time for her to go. Melancholia couldn't help but be a little disappointed, She wanted to watch as it was finally the end for Alyssa.
Ah well, if she's there or not, there isn't a lot her precious family can do now. "Sweet dreams, Alyssa. I'll see you on the other side." Melancholia smirked, and vanished as quickly as she appeared in the room, just as there was the sound of someone coming upstairs.

Chapter 2.24 Hide No Seek                                                                    

    Chapter 2.26 The Only One

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AN: Ah, I'm really anxious over reactions to this chapter. 
Maya kept getting in the way of all my photos. It was as if she was thinking in her pixel brain "Aha! Carrie's shooting a scene! I wanna be in it!" Silly Maya.

I'll try and get the next chapter out as soon as possible. This is a really mean cliffhanger. It's kind of like Schrodinger's life. Unsure if Alyssa's dead or alive until next chapter. *coughs, and points towards incomplete rolls as a small clue* 

I just wanna say the chapter title has nothing to do with the Beyonce song. (♪Tattoo your name across my heart, so it will remain, not even death could make us paaaart ♫)

Chapter 2.24 Hide No Seek

Today was the day.

It was Belle's teenage birthday! She was up and awake hours before everyone else. She was just too excited to sleep! She was going to be a teenager, who can sleep when something so important is going to happen?

She just hoped that once she was a teenager, she could actually see herself in the mirror. She knew that when she was a teenager, she was going to wear her hair down instead of the usual ponytail. She wanted a change with her hairstyle.

Belle smiled at the big, purple birthday cake. It was all hers. She knew she would have to wait a while before she could have any of it though. She had to go to school first, but she wanted to go to high school on her actual birthday. Maybe they would sing to her! They did that in her school now.
Considering it though, they probably wouldn't sing. It seemed rather embarrassing for the person who had Happy Birthday being sung to them.

She had to think for a while what she would wish for. She already had so much. She had a loving family and amazing friends. Was there anything else she really needed? There was still one thing she wondered about; her dad. She knew that she didn't exactly need to meet him though, but it would still be nice to know.

She blew out her candles, wishing that she could meet all of her family. She wanted to meet her dad most of all. She recalled that her mom once mentioned her dad, and that her mom named her after what her dad used to call her mom, but that was it. That was all she knew about him. She wanted to know at least a little bit more.

Alyssa felt herself starting to tear up. Belle wasn't supposed to be in high school! Belle was her little girl, not her high school aged little girl. "Can you please stop getting older?" She asked, laughing a little to hide the fact she was actually being serious.
"It's not like I can help it Mom." Belle smiled in return. "By the way, can you teach me how to drive after school?" She asked sweetly, grinning. She wanted to be able to drive as soon as she can.

"We'll see." She answered briefly. It mostly depended on if Alyssa could come to terms with her eldest daughter being a teenager.
"Please? Please, please please?" She asked sweetly. "Everyone else will be learning how to drive." She pouted.
"We'll see." Alyssa repeated. "Definitely not if you're late for school though." She pointed out, and Belle went off to school, grumbling about not getting a yes do being able to drive.

"She kept saying 'We'll see' I mean, is that a yes or a no? It's probably a no." Belle sighed, complaining about her mom to her cousin. "It usually is always a no. Like when I wanted a pony, that was a 'we'll see'. I never got one."
"Yeah." Elvira murmured, and yawned. "It's probably what you thought it was." The bell rung, but neither of the girls made all too much of an effort to move as the hallways emptied. The two of them hadn't been in the same school since Elvie had become a teenager, catch up time was needed.
Belle frowned though. "Were you even listening?" Belle was rather hurt. How could her cousin not actually listen to her? They were finally the same age again, which was nice, but if her cousin refused to listen to her, was there any need for catching up time?

"I was listening, I was." Elvie  insisted as she yawned again, clearly tired even though it was only the third lesson of the day. "I'm just tired." She shrugged simply, but knew by the look Belle gave her that it would be questioned on.
"Is something going on? You know you can tell me if there is." Belle had a feeling that it was something more than just Elvie being tired. Her cousin was usually a good listener, it was weird for her to be all zoned out and tired.

"My mom's just being herself as usual, but she's been acting weird lately. She keeps saying how she's been having weird dreams and she's just grouchy all the time." Elvie sighed. "I'm kinda worried about her." She then noticed her cousin grinning like an idiot, and rolled her eyes. "Your boyfriend is behind me, isn't he?" She asked.
"He is." Belle grinned, and waved at him. She then shook her head, knowing it was sistas before mistas. "That doesn't matter though. You want to talk to me, and something's going on with you so talk." Belle smiled at her cousin.
Elvie shook her head. "Nah, it doesn't matter all too much. My mom's just being weird. Go talk to him, and remember, even though the halls are mostly empty, it's a public place." Elvie winked, then walked off as Axel approached her.

"Hey." Belle grinned, her arms going around Axel. She didn't know what it was, but she felt her heart race that little bit more around him now, and she knew that she could just spend all day with him, and never get tired of him. Was it because she was a teenager now? Maybe, or maybe he's just cuter as a teenager. She grinned even more to herself.
He laughed a little at the fact she wasn't in class."And I'm supposed to be the bad influence. Your first day here and you're skipping?" He smirked, and shook his head slightly. "What was up with your cousin?" He asked, intrigued.
Belle frowned slightly. "Something about my Aunt Rosie. Elvie was saying she's been acting weirdly." She sighed. "And you are a bad influence on me. I wouldn't be skipping if you weren't here to keep me from my class." She pointed out.

"I guess I should make you skipping worth it then." He opened his locker which was nearby, and handed her a birthday present. "I wasn't so sure what exactly you'd like, You know I'm not good with this sort of stuff." He smiled rather sheepishly, hoping that she'd like the earrings he had got her. He didn't know what else to get girls other than jewelry and flowers. He was glad that the woman behind the counter was helpful.
Belle grinned when she opened it, "They're perfect. They even go with what I'm wearing." She smiled at him as she wrapped her arms around him lazily, and his arms went around her waist. She kissed him softly.

He felt like yelling 'halle-freaking-lujah' when she liked them. It wasn't like she was difficult to shop for, he just wasn't all too good at it. In hind sight, he was glad he didn't yell it as it would have been a mood killer. "So you really like them then?" He honestly felt rather proud of himself. He had managed to buy something for a girl all on his own (with some help off the sales woman).
"They're perfect. Thank you." She smiled at him, and when there was the sound of footsteps around the corner, the two of them ran off for another place to hide. No way in hell was she going to class just yet! Luckily, under the stairs was a good place to hide.

They both listened out for the sound of feet going up the stairs. When the footsteps dimmed out, Belle whispered. "Where are we going to go? We can't go to class now, they'll keep us back after school." She frowned.
"Trust me." He took her hand in his, and kissed it quickly. "I know somewhere we can hide." He grinned at her, and after checking the coast was clear, he set off with her to go to the perfect hiding place.

"Are you sure no one will come in here?" Belle asked, glancing around the study room. It was perfectly empty, but there were books everywhere.
"I'm perfectly sure. All the teachers are busy teaching, and if any other students come in here, they'll feel to awkward and not want to stay." He shrugged simply, grinning.
She grinned back at him. "Very clever. Are you sure you've not done this before?"
"Who else would I do this with?" He asked in reply, looking at her.

Belle honestly could have stayed all day there with Axel. She loved it when it was just the two of them alone somewhere. He wasn't like any of the other guys, (or at least what she knew other guys could be like) he was special.
"So, what did you wish for?" He asked, smiling at her. "Did you wish for a pony again?" He smirked. "Or did you wish for a unicorn this time?" He teased, grinning.
Belle sighed, and sat up. "Promise you won't laugh if I tell you what I wished for? And no, it wasn't any type of horse this time around."

"I was only teasing, you know I wouldn't laugh. What did you wish for?" He asked, his hand going to caress her cheek, "You don't have to tell me, if you think it won't come true if you do."
She shook her head slightly. "It probably won't come true anyway." She muttered, then confessed. "I wished to be able to meet my dad." She quickly added to the end "I know it's stupid. I've never met him, and my mom hasn't seen him since... Well, since me and I just wanted one of the questions in my life to be answered. I want to meet my dad." She frowned.

"You know, whatever you want to do about this, I'll always be there for you. I'll even fly all the way out to France with you so you can meet him if that's really what you want to do." He smiled at her, holding her close to him.
She smiled at him, and shook her head. "It's fine. Whatever happens, happens. You know what I mean? I should probably just stop thinking about it." She then smiled slightly. "Besides, the wish won't come true now I've told you."

Alyssa realized that she hadn't been in the little office space for a very long time. She remembered that Belle was once small enough to fit in that little swing, and now her daughter was a teenager! A teenager! She sighed, and noticed that there was a message on the phone. She pressed the button to play the message.
"Bonjour?" It was a masculine voice, and Alyssa's eyes widened when she realized who it was. Only French guy she actually knew. It was Matteo's voice. Belle's father's voice.

"Commet alez-vous, mon Belle? Je suis très bien et..." There was then the sound of him laughing a little. "Je suis désolé, I mean, I'm sorry. I forget we don't speak the same language. I'm sorry it took me a long time to answer, I was scared. I didn't know what to do with a baby. I'm not scared now though, and I know he or she likely isn't a baby anymore. I would like to meet him or her, if it's okay? Call soon, s'il vous plait." And the message ended there. Alyssa honestly had no clue what to do. So for now, she just sat down in the chair, and replayed the message, making sure she did hear right.

Chapter 2.23 Dress Up and Happiness                                                    

    Chapter 2.25 Sweet Dreams

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AN: Hah ha! My new school planner is somewhat useful! I got the French words from there, and for those of you that don't speak it and who have to rely on their planners/google translate like me, Matteo said "Hello? How are you my beautiful? I'm very well and..." "I'm sorry. I mean I'm sorry. (English English English)... Call soon, please."
Heh, Carrie knows very basic French :3 I figured he would speak a little bit of French, I speak English a lot in my Spanish speaking exams.

For those of you that don't remember, Axel was the guy who Belle kissed on her first day of school and Elvie is her cousin (Rosie's daughter) :) I really need to get a family tree sorted out...

I'm not so sure what else to say, (other than 11 days until mu birthday! <3) Not a lot has been happening lately other than I got more in my performing arts performance, and we're going to be performing it soon and I get to make the stage look all creepy and dangerous <3 Hehe. Happy Carrie is Carrie that gets to make things creepy