“Ella?!” He inquired over the howling wind. Flynn was pretty sure he never heard that name before, but it hardly mattered now. They were going to freeze if they kept walking around trying to get somewhere much longer. Once they met in the middle of the path he mustered her very briefly. No time to lose.
Maybe he had been wrong, she seemed to need help much more than he did - yet. “Okay. It’s going to be fine.” He reassured her hastily. “We should find a wind-protected spot where we can wait until the storm ends.” He didn’t even bother to mention that he didn’t think of bringing his own phone along. Otherwise she could bet he would’ve used it.
He looked up and around. Nothing but white, thick snowflakes and.. Flynn hesitated and squinted at the glimpse he got at a group of trees not too far away from them. Still, they would have to walk there and the layer of snow around them did nothing but continue on raising. He looked back at Ella with a determined expression and took a hold of her hand. No time for discussions.
“Follow me.”
God, this was nuts! She didn’t know this man and was blindly putting faith in him? For all she knows, he could be a serial killer or something. But she pushed that assumption aside, wanting to believe that he was a good person who was also just trapped in this storm like her. Hopefully he is.
Ella nodded as she heard his words, her thought process mostly on them trying to get someplace safe and warm. She didn’t think about asking him about the possibility of having a phone, just wanting to get out of the snow. Besides, would there even be any service out there? Probably little to none. She wasn’t sure.
She didn’t questioned him taking her hand, though it did surprise her for a second. She knew that she had to stay close to him so that they wouldn’t get separated while out there, that if they stick together they could both survive this instead of freezing to death out there. The brunette stayed closed, nodding to let him know that she was going to follow him.
Celia smiled and nodded a thank you as the girl stepped away. She stepped closer to the bookshelf, snagging the book that had caught her eye and placed it on the stack that now seemed to be teetering a little bit. “Um,” She began, glancing at the top of the stack. Really, she wasn’t that far from the front of the store, but she didn’t want to risk dropping them and making a scene. And hey, the girl offered. “If you don’t mind just grabbing one or two…I was just going to get a basket now actually.”
“I don’t mind at all! Besides, it’s always nice to meet a fellow booklover.” It was true, since she didn’t really know a lot of people at school who loved books. Ella was sure that there were some people there who loved to read; She just hadn’t met them yet. She grabbed three books from the pile, making a mental note to grab the book she was interested in later. “Oh, I’m Ella, by the way! It’s nice to meet you.”
Hercules knew that Ella was probably getting a little ahead of herself. He experienced enough of people’s dark sides over the years to know that one friendly conversation didn’t always show you everything. By the same token though, one nasty mishap didn’t either. And this encounter, far from being a nasty mishap, had yet to show him anything but a kind girl. So, yes, maybe it was a bit forward. Hercules didn’t mind. He nodded along as Ella rambled a bit. When she was done, he replied in earnest, “That’s alright by me.” Hercules chuckled at the description of Ella’s friend. “Sounds familiar alright. Suppose it’s a talent given to make-up for the clumsiness.”
Ella’s words sounded a lot like mantras Hercules told himself. He wanted for nothing more than to be a good person, a hero even. There were deep, personal reasons for that. To hear something similar from Ella was grand. “Very true. Your mother must be very wise.” Ella’s reaction to hearing he had been in town for longer than she thought was priceless. He grinned in response. “Yes, I’d agree.” Hercules then nodded and grabbed as many of the bags as he could, leaving some of the smaller things for Ella to grab herself. It was then he remembered his manners and shuffled all of them over to one hand so he could offer her his free one to help her get up off the ground. “Just lead the way, Ella.”
“I’m really sorry,” she said, a sheepish smile appearing on her face. “I get ahead of myself sometimes; I didn’t mean to. But, I am working on it!” Was she also failing at it? Indeed she was. Ella couldn’t help being kind to other people and hoping for a friendship to happen, though. She honestly values having friends, since she didn’t really have a family. Friends, in her eyes, helps make up for it and fills her with the happiness and love she doesn’t really feel with the Tremaines.
Hearing Hercules’ words brought a small yet sad smile to her face as her hand gently reached up to touch the locket that was hanging on a light red ribbon that was hanging around her neck. “Yeah… She was,” she said though the words were a bit quiet as she thought about her mother. While some of her memories of the woman were a bit blurry, she does remember most of them, especially her laugh. Ella quickly pulled herself away from her thoughts, not wanting the man before her to see her upset and reminiscing about her mother. She grabbed the remaining bags, smiling as she took his hand and got up off the ground. Once she was back up, she let go so that she could grab her keys from her pocket. “Thank you. It’s right this way,” she said, nodding her head a little in the direction of where her car was parked as she began to lead the way.
Ah, trying to butter her up. That was cute–and, on the rare occasion, it worked. Like now, when Zella’s scowl twisted into a little smirk and her dark blue eyes sparkled. Oh, yes, she was strong. She knew it and Cindy knew it too. She didn’t comment though–didn’t give Cindy the satisfaction of that.
Not like Zella would say thank you for the compliment anyways.
Instead, Zella’s eyes tracked Cindy’s movements. Of course, she knew the girl’s locker wasn’t anywhere near hers–had made sure of it at the beginning of the year. After all, this was her year. Her’s and Ana’s. She didn’t need the spotlight shared with anyone else.
“Fancy yourself a thief now, Cindy? I didn’t think you had it in you.” Zella chuckled.
“I promised to take notes and to receive and turn in a girl’s homework assignments,” she corrected, deciding to also grab May’s literature book. “She’s been sick the past few days and she asked me to help her out a bit. I couldn’t say no, since she’s helped me out before.”
Saturday’s were Patty and their mother’s day out together. It was a day meant for the two of them solely, a tradition that had been happening for as long as patty could remember. It was their time to be together without having to worry about being scolded or told what they were doing was far too girlish for boys. Patty cherished these days even now despite having been away from their father for so many years now. This weekend they’d made their way to Chapter Three, their other wanting a new cookbook she’d seen on the telly. Patty, not needing anything on this trip, perused the shelves idly as their mother searched for her book.
They were reaching towards a book who’s spine had intrigued them when another voice, one that didn’t belong to their mother, sounded near them. Turning a bewildered gaze towards the owner of the voice, Patty shook their head as they brought the book to their chest. “N-N-No… I-I w-w-wasn’t t-t-talking to a-a-a-anyone.”
“Oh! I’m really sorry. Guess my head was in the clouds or something; It tends to happen.” She smiled a friendly smile at the person before her, feeling a bit sheepish at assuming that someone spoke to her. Ella wasn’t sure if she’s ever seen them before, but then again she has been a bit busy recently and had even forgotten her best friend’s name. It’ll probably come back to her soon. “I’m Ella. It’s nice to meet you.”
Belle had perhaps been one of the loveliest people Deb and Flo had met since moving to Swynlake, so when they had learned she owned a bookstore they had to visit. Deb had a vast collection of books already of course, her own personal library, but they visited more for the ambiance of the store. it was cosy and warm, Deb could curl up in a chair and chat to Belle about books. It was a nice was to be sociable without getting too overwhelmed.
Today, though, Deb and Flo meandered through the aisles to see if there were any books here that they could add to their collection already. Deb chatted with her friend as they walked, about this and that, as the two always talked.
Then down one aisle there was another girl, but that never stopped Deb. “Sorry, I actually wasn’t” Deb laughed softly, gesturing to Flo, whom she knew this girl couldn’t see “I was talking to Flo. I understand why you thought that, though.”
Ella wasn’t sure who the girl was talking about, not seeing anyone there. She was certain that she probably looked confused but she smiled at the girl anyway. She didn’t understand, but that didn’t mean she was going to be rude to the girl. It was always to be kind, after all. “Oh! My mistake. I’m really sorry about that.”
She wasn’t sure what to say, wasn’t sure if the girl before her knew that she couldn’t see Flo or not. Ella just wasn’t sure what to do or what not to do. “It’s nice to meet you both,” she said, wasn’t sure if adding the ‘both’ in the sentence was good or not. “I’m Ella, Ella Ashbourne.”
Well, wasn’t Ellie lucky enough to have met a complete sweetheart! Which the ginger was completely grateful for because she was heavily exhausted. She was trying her best not to show it, but it became hard when one’s skin was as pale as a ghost and her own words were sounding heavy and slow. She just felt so tired. It was almost as if all her energy was being drained right out of her without so much of choice in the matter. She wanted to crawl into bed, shut off the lights and forget the world in its entirety.
But that meant that she would be giving her cancer the win and she couldn’t do that. She had a life to live! Even if it was severely limited she still had it and she couldn’t waste it! “Thank you! I really completely appreciate it, but it’s very nice to meet you Ella.” She placed a pleasant and vibrant smile on her lips. (As vibrant as she could get it) “We practically have the same name if you think about it! Ella, Ellie, Ellie, Ella.” She chimed musically before laughing a bit. “Oh, but yes. Being a graceful dizzy is not my forte. Being graceful all together I think hardly works into my vocabulary actually.”
Ella noticed that something was a bit off about the girl. She noticed her pale skin, her slow words that seemed to be heavy with lead or something. She tried to have energy and the brunette could tell that it was draining her. But, she wasn’t going to comment on that. She was going to help the girl as much as she possibly could. She knew right there that Ellie could use a little light in her life, and that’s exactly what she was going to be; Something positive and good and helpful.
Ella also laughed with the ginger, a kind and happy smile on her face. “It must be fate or something! I’m happy that we’re getting to meet each other. Oh, I know what you mean. I’m such a klutz when I’m not careful.”
Originally all Flynn wanted was a quick trip to the supermarket before he would head back home. He didn’t know why he decided to take a shortcut that day. A path through the forest which was usually a faster way back to the house. It was also a rather nice one to look at around the season.
Now though this was quickly changing around. The first hint was that the sky got considerably darker - well, and whiter. He pulled on his coat to wrap it more tightly around his body as the temperature dropped and made him slow down considerably. For just a moment he halted and waited. Hoping that this was just a gust that would quickly be over.
Turns out he was wrong. He squinted against the wind now blowing right into his face. Soon it was not just that, but it was also starting to snow. The thick flakes flew in the wind and seemed to multiply as they blocked his vision off. He stepped forward, or into the direction where he thought forward was. Flynn knew from experience that this was a bad idea, but he still thought that he might just be able to make it into safety before the storm got worse.
He didn’t. Instead he looked around helplessly. He needed a hideout until it the storm would slow down. With how things were though, he just stepped around in the snow aimlessly. All the while trying to keep his hands warm and shielding his face from the cold air cutting into his skin and making his eyes tear up. He spotted a shade in the distance. At least it wasn’t pure white, so maybe it was something, or someone. When it started to move around though his hopes dropped that he’d found his shelter.
“Hello?!” He shouted over the howling wind. This someone didn’t look like they were doing any better than himself, so he hesitantly started walking towards them. “Who is there?!”
Despite the season beginning to turn a bit colder soon, Ella couldn’t missed out on going into the forest and taking pictures of the scenery. It usually helps fill her with peace and calm. Plus, the natural beauty of the earth is so refreshing to see and to be a part of after spending too long in such a concrete and plaster and brick place. Who wouldn’t want to spend time away from reality for awhile?
At first, Ella didn’t really heed the grey sky and the possibilities of what could happen; All she cared about of taking photos of the flora and fauna that surrounded her. It wasn’t until she noticed the snowflakes when she began to worry a bit. She took a few more photos before putting her camera into her small camera case that was tied around her wrist. She reached into her coat pocket to grab her phone, only to find that it wasn’t there.
“Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no…” she muttered to herself, the snow falling faster and harder now. She wasn’t sure when she lost her phone, what time it was, or how far away from town she was now.
The young brunette girl was lost.
She wasn’t sure what to do. She didn’t have a phone to call someone, she only had half a bottle full of water and the few snacks she brought with her were almost gone, and she usually relied on her phone’s Map system to help her. Groaning, she began to walk back in the direction she came from, wrapping her arms around her to try to keep her as warm as possible and keeping her head low to try to not get the snow in her eyes.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been walking when she heard someone call out. Ella looked up and saw the figure, squinting her eyes a little. She didn’t recognized his voice but at that point, she was pretty desperate on finding someone, anyone, who’d be willing to help her. “E-Ella! Ella Ashbourne!” she called out as she began to walk towards the figure, shivering and teeth chattering. “I-I lost my phone a-and have been trying to find my w-way back to town. I don’t k-know what to do.”
