Boo-yahhh.

OKAY. I POSTED.
Happy, Anna? Haha.

So really, I don't have anything special to post, just some scrap writing that I've been doing because this story is sticking in my brain, eating it for every meal.

The only problem is that, while I get the general idea of the plot, I don't get how everything goes down and how badly things get twisted. Originally, the idea was pretty basic and low-key, with him just "going away."

And then, I pretended that he had to send her away AFTER they'd fallen all over each other (CHEESE, oh thy name thou beholdeth), and got the most recent thing that was posted on my blog - the prom night situation when he came back.

But what if she hated him... Because he'd forced her to go away until he was ready for her to come back (for reasons yet still unknown)? What if he showed up at some majorly important event with the intention of stealing her away, but she hated him enough for killing her inner self in the first place that she was trying to avoid him?

What if she was graduating?

SO, HENCE, another version of some wickedly weird part of my yet-way-not-unwritten Talon story. It most likely won't stick, and it shows how cruel cheerleaders are, but for now, I like it better than the "throw-herself-all-over-him" version of prom. Forget prom.


It was still cold, even for May, but the smile on everyone’s faces stayed put through Marie’s cheesy valedictorian speech. Figiting and whispering to each other, the entire group couldn’t contain their excitement. Nothing could bring us down today.

That’s why, when Mr. Rameriez finally stepped up to the microphone and yelled his presentation of the class of 2007, it chilled me to look up and see Talon’s face in the crowd, smiling grimly up at me, hands in pockets.

What was he doing back from Buletta so early?

Cecilia noticed me staring at him, and leaned over slightly towards me. “Hey, isn’t that the Taylor kid you were dating before Christmas break?”

I swallowed. “Yeah, but I didn’t think he’d be coming back until I was in college.”

Sam had obviously noticed, too – the stressed and urgent look on his face as he shoved through the crowd was apparent.

“Move, move, move, move, move- Ana! Tal…” I coughed pointedly as his eyes slid over to Cee, who was listening intently. “Taylor,” he corrected slowly “is back, and I think he may want to talk to you.”

Of course he would. The future lordship of Aremeda didn’t travel to this dimension just to watch someone graduate. And the feelings between us made me a little more than convinced of that.

“I know, and I’m going to.”

“But should you?” Colin interjected, his contact-sheltered eyes looking an unnatural shade of green. “He kind of completely betrayed you back there.”

“And since when has my brother been any of your loving business, Colin?” Isa said, bounding up beside him, excited that she’d graduated at all.

Sam looked warily at them all, his eyes landing on mine with amusement. He was the only person who hadn’t ever been to Belasara, the dimension that my whole life, for almost seven months, had revolved around.

But then I’d lost all connection with it by will and force of some demented kind of love, as Talon called it, and was sent back to this one, full time, meaning no dreams of the world at all – memories being the only way I had access to Belasara.

So I’d been sent back with Talon’s sister, Isa, my personal advisor, Madrid, and Talon’s two best friends, Colin and Jeremy. Jeremy was out on the conversation, but was frantically motioning over at Talon from beside Madrid, trying to get my attention.

The two of them had kind of gotten close, to say it in the more-than-just-business manner. Not that Talon had ever counted on that relationship making it.

“I still say that he’s betrayed you.” Colin threw in, shrugging.

“He did it because of love, Colin.” Isa spat.

“Maybe we should let Ana chose for once…?” Sam suggested innocently.

I sighed. “Alright, guys, I’ll stay away, but if he comes to talk to me, I’m not going to try and run away or anything.”

Jeremy and Madrid walked over in time to hear my decision.

“Right, because you so elegantly managed to stay away from him last time.” Madrid added for her own benefit.

I blushed furiously. “That’s none of your business, and it’s been a long time. He left me here without my wanting to, and I really would like not to be mad on graduation.”

“This makes graduation seem so lame.” Sam noticed dryly.

Jeremy shook his head. “Trust me, I’d trade the whole situation for a nice, humanly normal, graduation.”

I groaned. “Okay, quit it. Pretend to be carefree and graduating.”

Everyone mumbled something about how none of this was really real in the first place anyway and then scattered nearby.

It was hard to ignore the fact that Talon was there, and that he knew I’d seen him.

His eyes followed me as I talked to people I hadn’t talked to in months, congratulating them on something that I really didn’t even care about right now.

“Your mom wants a picture of us together for the scrapbook again.” Sam said, nauseated. “She obviously doesn’t know that going down there to take the picture could get you into some hard places.”

I shrugged. “I guess we have to… That stupid scrapbook.”

In first grade, when I’d met Sam and we’d discovered that boys and girls really weren’t as gross as we thought, my mom had started a scrapbook for when I moved away, full of pictures of me year-by-year. A whole section was reserved for pictures of Sam and I at the end of every year, and since this was practically it anyway, she’d loaded her camera with shots of every smile or look I made during graduation.

“Hey, mom.” I said, loudly enough for Talon to raise his eyebrow and stop approaching.

“Hey, sweetheart!” Mom exclaimed, racing up to hug me, her red hair thrown back into a crazy bun, her blue eyes turned red. “Oh, I’m so proud of you, I just wanted you to know that. I even cried a little, but really, what kind of mother doesn’t?”

Sam grimaced, and whispered “mine” into my ear, but I couldn’t smile at the joke. I felt like death had finally come to get me or something.

“Okay, you two get together in your hats and gowns… You both have grown up so much that it hurts my heart!”

“So what makes your Mom think that I need to remember wearing a ‘gown?’” Sam put his arm around me, not only to pose, but almost like he was trying to protect me, and we smiled like we supposedly meant it.

Mom noticed, and sighed dramatically. “Oh, come on! You two are graduating! How exciting is that?!”

Sam poked me, and I straightened up and smiled a little bit more. Sam followed suit for the picture.

“Better,” Mom crooned, snapping at least three consecutive shots. “You both will thank me for this in thirty years.”

I smiled weakly, dropping the pose, and broke off from Sam. “Hey, come on, let’s go mingle.”

“Mingle? Sure, if by ‘mingle’ you mean avoid a certain boyfriend that you hate beyond all belief.”

“Not that I’d ever admit it, but pretty much. Let’s go.”

I hauled Sam through the horde of people, trying my best to seek out the one group that could keep Talon busy enough to leave me alone. They were hard to handle and vicious at times, but I was certain that he wouldn’t see it that way.

“Hi, Lindsay.”

Lindsay Chapel, head cheerleader of the world, if it was possible, looked me straight in the eye, and pouted. “Who are you?”

“Ana, remember? The same Ana that tried to be friends with you in middle school and…”

“…and I told her to go blow the football team!” A smile dawned on Lindsay’s face as her clique laughed with her. “Congrats on graduating, Annie!” she said cheesily.

“Yeah, you too. But…” I lowered my voice and winked. “Okay, look, you can’t tell him I told you, but that really hot guy over there?” I pointed to Talon, who was looking at me quizzically. “He’s my cousin.”

A murmur went throughout the group, though it had nothing to do with the fact that we looked nothing alike.

“He said he’d love to take you guys on a date sometime, and just for kicks, his cellphone number is…”

They were already pulling out their phones, taking in the seven digits that I knew connected straight to his pocket.

I watched him as the first cheerleader called. He almost seemed smug, but when he looked at the caller ID, he didn’t have to search hard to find my face, confusion and annoyance scrawled across it, the phone frozen in his hand.

Barracaded by over-obsessive girls, he was lost.

Sam met me back over by the gate. “Smooth one, Densen. You got him other girls to latch on to.”

I snorted. “Unfortunately not.”


I think I like her better. Her attitude kicks... Butt. :)

TELLMEWHATYOUTHINK. :)