Walk Away ((Eden))

[Autumn Leeves S5]

She had two days. Two days until she had to return to Hogwarts. Two days to enjoy the singing she was able to do at Dazzle. Two days to maintain that friendship she had with Eden. Two days. Two days weren't enough. Autumn Leeves stood in the restroom at Dazzle, looking at herself in the mirror as she pulled her hair back again with her diamond barrette. After her first performance at Dazzle, she had started to dress more accordingly. Wearing black evening gowns with elbow length gloves and heels she wouldn't be caught dead in otherwise. Each night Amanda said she looked 'drop dead gorgeous' and each night Autumn would say that she should know, they were her clothes. Taking a deep breath, Autumn pushed open the restroom door and looked at the bar as Amanda pocketed some money before heading to the stage to announce her, again. Autumn climbed up, and by now the band knew her songs, but tonight it was different. A different song that she had wanted to sing for a while now, but hadn't ever had the courage to – considering what it held behind its words. Autumn turned and smiled at Benny as he asked if they were playing something new. Her nerves must have been showing clearly if he had to ask, "Yeah, 'Someone To Watch Over Me.'" Benny raised an eyebrow but smiled anyway and started to play as she turned back to the microphone. The music filled her senses, and even though normally her mind would go to a different place; tonight it didn't. She was looking for Eden, but with a quick sweep of the club she noticed he wasn't there. Amanda watched her intently from the bar, and Autumn felt her heart sink drastically as she began singing; the sadness giving the song that much more power.

"There's somebody I'm longin' to see, I hope that he turns out to be, someone who'll…watch over me," her voice was different tonight, and everyone could tell. George even shut up to listen to her sing, something he hadn't done since her first performance. Autumn's eyes remained open, staring intently on the door to the club – hoping with all of her heart that it would swing open. She really was longing to see him. No such luck. "I'm a little lamb, who's lost in the wood, I know I could, always be good, to the one who'll…watch over me," she had torn her eyes away from the door briefly to look at the couples moving to the dance floor. There had been quite a few new clients at Dazzle since her performances started, and she shuddered to think of what would happen when she returned to Hogwarts in two days time. The split second it took for her to look away from that forsaken door, it took Amanda to look toward it as it opened with Eden…and a date. Amanda closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to hurry over to Eden before Autumn saw him, "Won't you tell him please to put on some speed, follow my lead, oh how I ne--…" Her eyes had landed on Eden and his date and her voice had just been knocked out of her. Amanda, along with everyone else at Dazzle, noticed drastically when her singing stopped. After all, it was as if they were torn out of Heaven. "Oh, Lord," she whispered loud enough for Eden to hear.

And then, the date of Eden – the forsaken date! – had the audacity and the dimwittedness to speak up, loudly, for all to hear; "Why'd you stop? It was pretty good!" She giggled and flipped her hair as Autumn blinked away tears and hurried off the stage, rushing past Eden, Amanda, and the ditz; barely hearing George say to the girl as she left; "Do you ruin everything everywhere you go? Or is tonight a one night only special? Jeeze!" There were murmurs of agreement from the crowd; for they all knew of Autumn's feelings for Eden… it was all apparent. Amanda looked at Eden, starting to say something wise, but being cut off by him shrugging the girl off and heading after Autumn. The girl whined and pouted and Amanda, for the first time, wished they served alcohol at Dazzle just so she could make this girl so drunk she wouldn't be able to walk. Instead, she turned and headed to the bar – offering the girl a lemonade. Outside, Autumn had walked pretty far. It was a cool night, not cold because they were still in San Francisco, but cool enough to give her goosebumps. Her red hair blew around her in a frenzy and she had her arms crossed over her chest as she walked with speed toward Amanda's apartment.

She was well aware of approaching footsteps behind her, but she didn't care. She didn't want to talk to anyone. It was probably Amanda anyway. Tears escaped her green eyes as she walked even faster, trying to get away from her cousin. Her heart felt like it had been ripped from her chest and stomped on by Eden's expensive shoes. It felt like he was dancing with it, laughing as it spun out of his grasps and into the wall. It felt like he had stuffed it into his trumpet and blazed into it with every ounce of energy he had. But worst of all it felt like he had broken it. Autumn choked back a sob as she crossed the street, nearly getting hit by a taxi but hardly noticing it. What was the point now? She had been willing to put her heart on the line and all it got her was a broken, shattered, dream. If her heart and will were destroyed, what was the point of living? She knew she was being melodramatic, but that was just how Autumn was – and she didn't plan on changing it for anyone's convenience. She had… had… dare she say it? Fallen in love with Eden Xavior Gothar. Yes, she had. Autumn was starting to cross the street again, nearly walking in front of another taxi, when someone grabbed her by the arm and spun her around. Through her tears she recognised the one person she had longed to see only moments before but no longer wanted to see again. "Go away," she said weakly, tearing her arm from his grasps with a sob. "I don't want to talk to you."

[Eden Gothar R6]

Eden tossed and turned in his bed, anyone walking up the stairs (with the exception of Matt who would have been used to it by now) would have rushed over to Eden and shook him awake, for fear he was having some sort of seizure. Eden had kicked off the covers by now, and for as cool as Matt kept the house you would have thought Eden was in a sauna. Finally Eden’s eyes flashed open and his body shot straight up. As he sat there he began to shiver, goosebumps appearing all over his skin to the point where he had to reach down for the blankets and pull them up around him. When his body temperature had evened out Eden was still shaking in exhaustion. He hadn’t had a dream in a while now. It wasn’t just any dream though, because Eden didn’t dream. Not like normal people. Eden never dreamt unless he was dreaming something that was going to happen. Yes, going to happen. In Eden’s dreams he saw things in the future. Unlike normal people who dreamed of purple penguins and grandmother’s squeezing your cheeks. No, Eden never dreamed real fictional dreams. That was the frightening part. Anything, and everything, that Eden dreamed would come to pass sooner or later, and most often it was sooner. Things he dreamed always seemed to play out within the day, or hour after the dream was dreamt. Eden hadn’t had a dream all summer, in fact he hadn’t had a dream since he dreamed of Peeves hovering over the door down to the dungeons with a bucket of water, and that had been all the way back a couple months before school had even been out. It had struck him when he least expected it. Eden looked over at his alarm clock when he had finally gotten a grip on himself and gotten his body to stop shaking. It was late, almost 6:30. Eden should have been at Dazzle half and hour ago. He had laid down for a nap at around three, assuming he would be up with plenty of time to wash off and get cleaned up for the evening. And now he was late, oh so late. What was worse was that he was a mess from his dream so he couldn’t even think about just pulling on his suit and leaving. He’d have to shower and clean himself up, not to mention gather his thoughts. He stood from his bed and, unsteadily, headed into the bathroom, stepping out of his boxers as he entered the bathroom, turning on the water and immersing his head under it.

Eden stood under the water for a while, letting it run over his face and body; his eyes closed. Every few minutes he would wipe his face so he could take a breath but for a while he just stood there, trying to wash off all of his thoughts. Eventually, the waterfall of emotions and thoughts had evaporated till it was only a small trickle of them, a small trickle that Eden could decipher. He wasn’t scared, because it wasn’t a particularly frightening dream, well with the exception of the car. How had it started? It had started with a trolley, of course a trolley, no even before that it started with…what colour was it? Red? Green? No…no it must have been a blue…but not a navy blue, a light blue; a baby blue zoot suit. Eden had only one of those; he was surprised it hadn’t popped out quicker. But that was the most confusing part of the dream. Usually Eden’s dreams came in directly. They were like watching a muggle movie; you saw all of the details in a movie like format. It was like watching the event unfolding in front of you. Then later when it happened it was more like déjà vu. This dream however, had come in sporadically. It had come in miscellaneous parts and Eden was having a hell of a time trying to piece them together into something sensible. First there was the suit, then the trolley, and then there was another colour, at first Eden thought it was a tan, but as he thought about it, the colour became clearer, it was a blonde, blonde hair. Along with the hair was a scent, it made Eden sick to his stomach; some sort of perfume. Eden groaned and rubbed his eyes, grabbing the shampoo to wash his hair as he continued to think. After the smell, that disgusting smell, there was Dazzle, he saw it clearly, the front doors at least. Then there was the cold, just a small chill. Which was strange, it was like the chill you would get outside at night, but Eden would have no reason to be outside unless he was going home, and in that case he would have his coat. After the chill was the car. That came in more clearly then the rest because it was a loud, headache giving horn honk that told Eden it was a car. There was another car but that one didn’t honk, it just drove past. Sometime after that, there was the part that stuck with Eden the clearest. It was a kiss, but more then a kiss it was a feeling. It was feeling that sent a good sort of shiver up his spine and made him want to close his eyes and let his breath out slowly in a pleased sort of sigh. It was a good feeling, which led Eden to believe this dream was not going to turn out to be of a bad situation. The part that bothered Eden was the way it had come in spurts, as if his mind wasn’t sure of it, or as if…his mind was trying to deny it.

Finally, once Eden had worked himself through the dream and just decided to leave it be, he finished washing and turned off the shower, reaching for a towel that was hanging on the rack nearby. He dried off and left the bathroom, heading to get dressed. It didn’t take him long over all to finish getting ready. By the time he was lacing up his shoes - which were white tonight - the alarm clock read 7:00 PM. Eden was frustrated now with his lateness, he was an hour and a half late, for on a decent night he would have been there by 5:30 PM. Tonight was just going to be a not so hot night, Eden could feel it. As he hurried towards the door he scooped up his wallet - attaching it to its respective silver chain – his silver pocket watch –which also had its on chain – and then finally right before hurrying down the stairs he grabbed white derby hat. He was rushing down the steps of the apartment and out onto the streets in record time. “Oh God.” Of course, much to Eden’s dismay, the trolley car he had needed to catch had just moved on past his stop. Eden sighed heavily and then took off running after the thing. It wasn’t too hard, seeing as Eden was in rather good shape, for him to catch up to it. He grabbed onto one of the side bars, jumped, and hoisted himself onto the car, an action that reminded him instantly of Autumn. He smiled softly thinking of the girl that he’d known for only two weeks. Despite the short amount of time however, Autumn had managed to effortlessly plant herself in Eden’s heart. She was an amazing girl that was for sure, and she had a beautiful voice, not to mention she was probably the best friend Eden had ever had. She had done so much for Dazzle that Eden knew he’d always owe her something; he just couldn’t think of a way to make it up to her, he’d have to soon. Dazzle meant so much to Eden, that Autumn’s ability to bring the club back to life had been almost like she had brought him back to life. It was wonderful. A wonderful feeling. Ugh, feelings, Eden didn’t even want to think of feelings. That would only remind him of the dream, that crazy hectic dream. Almost as quickly as the memory of feelings had struck Eden so did the nasty smell he remembered so well. He scrunched his nose up and glanced shortly beside him. His eyes caught a flash of blonde and Eden found a familiar lump building up in his throat. Eden took a deep breath to push the lump away as he turned to his side slightly and reached to tap the girl on the shoulder. She turned around, a near grin on her awkwardly perfect face. “Yes?” She nearly squeaked, as if she had been waiting for him to say something to her. Before Eden had time to think it was the right decision to make, he croaked an unnaturally quite, “You have plans this evening?”

Eden could swear his ears would fall off his this girl talked any more. He was really regretting asking her to join him at Dazzle, but in the moment he had felt as if it was something he had to do. He didn’t really know why, it was just another one of those darn feelings that he felt. Man, was Eden beginning to hate feelings. Then again, it was that wonderful feeling that had gotten him into this whole mess. Eden really did want to feel that, however he came around to it. And if putting up with this girl was the only way to get to that point well…first he’d want to punch himself in the face, but afterward he might have been a bit happier. All he could do was sincerely hope that that feeling wasn’t nearly involved with being around the girl much longer, or he really would have to hurt someone. Eden walked up to the front doors of his club, the girl that he’d just picked up but hadn’t bothered to learn the name of was practically latched onto him in a way that Eden really didn’t feel was proper for a first date, especially this first-date-that-wasn’t. As Eden pushed open the door and stepped in he smiled a soft smile as the voice he loved so much came at him soothingly, easing the tension that the blonde had been piling onto him. But when Eden had finally let the doors shut behind him and fully stepped into the club, the voice –Autumn’s of course - was not there anymore. At first Eden suspected that perhaps Autumn had somehow forgotten the words, but when his eyes met hers he knew that wasn’t the case. Again, a hard, choking lump built up in Eden’s throat. Accompanying it was a feeling of complete and utter loss in the centre of his chest. Was it in the centre? Or was it slightly to the left. Eden couldn’t be sure because either way it was a suffocating feeling.

Before Eden could turn and smack his hands to her mouth to muffle the obnoxious sound, the blonde standing next to Eden had said something that was obviously, completely not a good thing to say. Even Eden could tell that, though he wasn’t quite sure, he knew he had done something wrong. Soon enough Autumn had rushed off the stage and past Eden, right out the front doors, too fast even for him to stop her. Eden didn’t even give Amanda time to speak as he practically pushed away from the girl he’d entered with and run out the front doors after Autumn. In those few moments she’d already gotten a decent head start on him, and Eden had run for a ways until he found himself with difficulties breathing. This wasn’t something that had ever happened before, I already explained that Eden was rather fit didn’t I? So finding himself unable to breath steadily, Eden was forced to slow to a hustled walk. He was gaining on her, slowly, and Eden found himself wondering how she was going so fast in those heels. He followed her like that for a bit until he saw her walking nearly straight through an intersection. An intersection that was busy. An intersection that was not green for pedestrians. Eden took a deep breath and began to run again, by the time he was in the street Autumn was only an arms length away, and he would have reached out for her if he hadn’t been in the middle of leaping forward to avoid a taxi cap. The car had halted to a screech only a centimetre away from Eden, so close that Eden’s hand was on it, as if trying to push it away from him the way a person does when they’re about to be hit by a car. The driver, clearly anger, punched his horn and Eden groaned. There was that car. He waved and apologized before running off again, because there was Autumn crossing another street again, or about to at least. This time, Eden ran so fast he caught up and grabbed her arm just in time to pull her out of the way of a taxi that just barely missed her. He couldn’t imagine what would have happened if he hadn’t gotten her. Autumn didn’t seem to notice though, and when Eden greeted her with a breathless, “Autumn…” she pulled away from him and told him to go away, that she didn’t want to see him. Eden swallowed hard, trying to push down the steadily growing lump from his throat. “Come on…” He placed a hand on Autumn’s back and led her out of the street, no matter how reluctant she was being, and once they were on the other side Eden began pulling of his jacket. “Running off without a coat isn’t safe for your health, it’s chilly, and besides, what did I tell you about walking around this city by yourself. Day time is one thing, but night time, Autumn? Please…if something was to happen to you…” Eden didn't know what he’d do.

[Autumn Leeves S5]

She didn't want to hear it. Not from his mouth. She didn't want to hear her name because she knew that the moment it came out, she would break and Autumn didn't want to break. She had successfully torn her arm away from his hand and was about to step back out into the street, more than ready to walk away, but he seemed to anticipate that. She felt his hand on her back, the warmth of it shocking against her bare skin, and he began to lead her out of the street. They were going in the direction she had wanted to go originally and while she would have much rather had gone without him, she didn’t fight him on it. She pouted, though, and sent him steely glares out of the corner of her eyes. Once they had crossed the street successfully, Autumn lurched away from his touch and stood opposite him, looking up at him with that glare still in her emerald green eyes. She listened to him go on about how she shouldn't be out at night, and when he trailed off, Autumn raised her eyebrows, the tears that were in her eyes only moments before no longer there; "What? If something were to happen to me then what? Dazzle would fail? Burn to the ground until there were nothing but memories and ghosts of the past?" Her words came out like venom; they spat themselves at Eden's feet as she stared at him. "Gee, Eden, what a pity." She shook her head and turned on her heel, hurrying away from him again.

Autumn didn't get very far, though, before her heel (which was a 3 inch stiletto) broke off in a crack on the sidewalk. She cursed under her breath as she knelt down slightly to take off her shoes and carry them in her hands. Now she was walking through San Francisco, without a coat, shoes, and at night. She knew she wasn't being very intelligent but she honestly didn't care at this moment. She just wanted to get away. Away. Walk away. Autumn chanted that over and over to herself as she was aware of Eden's approaching footsteps again. She tried to walk faster but it never seemed fast enough. She could hear Eden calling out to her. Autumn hadn't even been paying attention to her surroundings and when she noticed the turn off to Amanda's apartment had been about two blocks ago, she swore again and then turned sharply to head back in the opposite direction. Except when she had turned, her heel had dug into some broken glass on the sidewalk and she let out a strangled cry as her knee buckled in pain. She opened her eyes to look down at her foot and groaned when she saw the blood. Eden was close again and Autumn snapped her head up before looking back down to reach for the glass that was sticking out of her heel. She pulled it out slowly, gasping as it tugged out painfully, before throwing it aside and standing up straight again. Eden was in front of her now, "What part of 'go away' do you not understand?" she asked as she started to limp back in the direction she had just came. Now that she had successfully put a hole through her heel, there was no chance of her getting a head start on Eden. He was walking at a leisurely pace beside her.

She turned left sharply, ignoring Eden as he continued to talk, and headed toward the front entrance to the apartment complex. She punched in the key code and then opened the door, trying to slam it shut on Eden but the door caught and hissed to a close behind him. Autumn headed up the stairs to the second floor, trying not to get blood on the steps. She headed down the hallway toward the apartment and then opened it after fumbling for a minute. The door swung open and the light from the nightlight on the wall illuminated the entrance area. She turned, disheartened to see that Eden was still there, "Look, I d-sssst…" she hissed and looked down at her foot, "Oh…goodness… well, you've followed me all the way here you might as well come in." Autumn eyed Eden, feeling like she was being defeated, before walking into the apartment and heading into her bedroom; leaving Eden out in the living room. She closed the door behind her and hopped over with one foot to her vanity table, taking out her first aid kit and cleaning the cut before wrapping gauze around it tight. She then stood and undressed, pulling on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before unclipping her hair and letting it fall naturally around her shoulders. She sighed and sat on her bed then, trying to calm her nerves. Autumn wasn't sure what to do. Eden either wasn't quite sure what he had done wrong, which was understandable, or he just honestly didn't care about her, and that was hard to believe. Autumn closed her eyes to more tears and ran her fingers through her hair before standing from the bed and opening her door.

Eden had sat down and he had his head in his hands. He looked so…pathetic, vulnerable, upset. Autumn closed the door behind her as she stepped out into the living room, heading over to sit down beside him on the couch. He looked up and Autumn stared at him, silent, and then said in a tone that she would have liked to have left in her bedroom, "Your date won't be happy that you ran out after a meaningless singer."

[Eden Gothar R6]

Eden just stood there, a completely blank stare on his face as Autumn ran away from him; again. This time she had parting words though, and they stung. She had gone on in a way that suggested that Eden would only be upset that Dazzle would die if Autumn was lost. What Eden had wanted to say, but was unable to bring himself to say, was that he would be nothing without Autumn. Deep down inside every fibre of Eden’s being had grown to need the girl, and yet when he was looking in her eyes he couldn’t voice the feelings. It was frightening. The way Eden felt for Autumn was the way you feel when you want to just hand your heart over to someone. But Eden was afraid, so very afraid, of handing his heart away. Handing his heart away to a girl, even if it was Autumn. Eden didn’t want to put himself out there only to be crushed. Eden lived his life in a glamorous and romantic way, and to have someone crush that would be a tragedy. To have someone, some girl, set Eden so far back that he couldn’t be the Eden he’d always known would be just plain wrong. Eden wasn’t sure if he was willing to risk that, and therefore he was afraid. There was no doubt Autumn had always made him nervous, but not in the way you normal thing of when you think of nervous. Eden never stuttered or got awkward, the nerves he felt when he was around Autumn were a different sort. They were the type of nerves that made him want to be as wonderful as possible so she would enjoy herself. Eden had always loved, from the first time he’d been around her, to make Autumn smile and laugh. Her laugh was almost as beautiful as her singing. And her smile just made Eden grin, and grinning was not something Eden normally did.

Eventually Eden got a hold on his emotions and he turned and hurried off after Autumn. He had pulled his jacket off by the time that he caught up to her, which wasn’t until after she had hurt her foot. Eden frowned as he stood in front of Autumn, moving to look at her foot, but once again her words caught him off guard. “The away part.” He shot back at her, frowning more still as she limped on past him. “Come on Autumn…” Eden sighed and when Autumn didn’t say anything to him he groaned and put his jacket over her shoulders, though she made no notice of it. “If you’re going to ignore me at least ignore me in a warm jacket.” He turned to walk sideways, looking at her, anxiously glancing down at her foot periodically. “Autumn, please talk to me…look at me? Just for a second just stop and look at me? Ok fine if you wont look at me at least let me look at your foot? God Autumn!” Eden through his hands up in the air in frustration. Never had he been around a girl so infuriating and yet so tolerable. Eden was agitated beyond belief at Autumn, but he wouldn’t leave her side until he had no choice, and at this moment he surely had a choice. “Autumn, for Christ’s-sake, just stop walking on your foot! Let me give you a piggyback ride or something? Please?” Of course Autumn continued to ignore Eden the entire way back to the apartment. He never stopped though, the whole walk was filled with lots of ‘what’s wrong?’ and ‘talk to me Autumn’ and ‘don’t walk on that foot!’. But none of the words that came out of Eden’s mouth were to any avail. Eden followed Autumn into the apartment building, and when she began up the stairs he walked close behind her, keeping a hand up just a short ways from her back to catch her if she fell, knowing her balance was sure to be off seeing as she only had one good foot. Eden had gone quite once they entered the building, all of his attention focused on making sure she got up the stairs all right, and so he wasn’t surprised when she turned around in her doorway, looking bothered that he was still there. He looked at her sadly and when she invited him in he followed her in until she wandered off into her bedroom and shut the door. Eden stood outside it, leaning against the wall for a while, listening in case she needed him. Of course, she didn’t call.

Eventually Eden felt silly for standing at the door of someone who so obviously didn’t want him and so he made his way to the couch, sitting down. He looked around the room for a few moments before that familiar lump built back up in his throat and he looked down at the floor. Soon enough his face found itself buried in his hands and Eden’s mind was lost in thought. This hadn’t turned out the way he had planned; he just wasn’t seeing the light at the end of this tunnel. Eden sighed. He had no idea what could be wrong with Autumn. One minute she was fine and then all the sudden she just flew off the handle. She wouldn’t talk to him; she wouldn’t even look at him. That was so unlike the Autumn he thought he knew. Eden didn’t hear when the door reopened, nor did he notice when the couch moved as Autumn sat down. All he noticed was her voice, that wonderful voice. “Date, hah. I don’t even have a clue who she is. She was on the trolley and all thanks to that darn dr- I just asked her along because she kept staring at me and I didn’t know what else to do. I don’t even remember he name, though she told me a million and one times on the walk to Dazzle.” Eden looked up with a frown, a horse whisper managing to come out as he moved his mouth once more. “Oh Autumn…is that what’s the matter? Her? That girl? You think she means more then you?” Eden’s frown deepened and as his thoughts grew more passionate his voice seemed to come back to him. “And please, meaningless singer? I don’t know what meaningless singer you think I’ve run out after, the only person I’ve run out after lately has been the greatest singer I’ve met in all my life. She’s a girl that’s nearly changed my life. I doubt she knows that, but there you have it. I’m sure that ‘date-that-wasn’t’ would understand if I told her that that ‘meaningless singer’ was actually one of the greatest people I know. Not to mention my best friend.” Eden looked at Autumn for a while before turning his head away, seeming to deflate. “But you obviously didn’t know that.”

[Autumn Leeves S5]

Autumn was sitting in the corner of the couch, her knees brought up to touch the back of it, her eyes never leaving Eden. She had laid his jacket over the back of the couch, suddenly feeling a rush of gratefulness. She was being extremely melodramatic, but something inside Autumn had been crushed and she thought that had warranted her the right to be upset and a little melodramatic. After she had spoken, Eden didn't look up. He spoke about how he didn't really know the girl, he had just picked her up on the trolley, he couldn't even remember her name. Autumn ran her fingers through her hair, closing her eyes against the sudden shame that washed over her. It was actually a mixture of shame and relief. Shame for her actions because she was acting foolish and relief because the idea that Eden was…interested in that girl made Autumn's stomach churn. She opened her eyes when Eden spoke up again. He had looked up and his eyes held realisation in them. Her heart sped up slightly as he asked if that was what the problem was and Autumn would have liked to jump up and down screaming, but instead she merely nodded her head slightly. Yes, that had been the problem. She had felt betrayed, she had felt heartbroken, and she had felt meaningless. Autumn watched Eden intently, hoping he would completely understand now, but when he spoke again….she saw that he didn't. She felt the wind get knocked out of her with his last line and when he looked away. Autumn looked at Eden, a mixture of emotions overwhelming her. The biggest of which was anger, "No, Eden, you're wrong," she stared at him a moment before standing from the couch and walking into the connected kitchen. She needed something to drink. "I am fully aware that I'm your best friend, trust me." Her voice held bitterness and resentment as she poured some juice into a glass.

She took a drink of the juice and then took a deep breath before setting the glass on the counter. Her back was to Eden and in the living room still, which was a good thing because she needed to gather her emotions. Or maybe she didn't. Autumn was always gathering her emotions. She was always calming herself down. She was always keeping her feelings behind locked doors and Autumn was getting tired of it. So, finishing off her juice, she rinsed the glass of in the sink, and then turned to look at Eden. Every negative emotion left her. Every anger thread, every betrayal bit, every single negative emotion just melted away from her as she looked at him. She took a deep breath again and made her way back into the living room, sitting down beside him; closer than she had been before, "Okay, um, alright – you want to know what's wrong?" Eden looked at her and Autumn let out a short breath before turning on the couch so she was facing him, her legs crossed. "Let's look at this…let's look at this hypothetically shall we? Okay, um, alright – hypothetically let's say you showing up with that girl did, in fact, bother me. That it made me feel like I wasn't anything. Because hypothetically she was a hideous looking girl who, quite honestly, could do without a date and some serious fashion help. And because hypothetically it frustrated me because you had to go out and find a girl to take on a date when there are plenty of other girls you could date right…so to speak…right in front of you." She bit her lip and peered at him, hoping maybe he'll see it – maybe he'll understand now.

Autumn watched Eden intently, her hope balancing on a string. "And for that matter, let's say hypothetically that I have been struggling for two weeks over these thoughts, these thoughts that just keep going in circles. Hypothetically ever since that kiss, let's say, and ever since that day at lunch – hypothetically I can't get my mind off you. And hypothetically it's driving me absolutely crazy!" Autumn closed her eyes and let her head fall into her hands. She didn't know where she was going with this. She didn't know why she even began it. She should have just kept everything locked up inside her. Autumn was good at that, she had been doing it for years, Eden shouldn't change that. But there was something burning inside her that just wasn't going to let her keep quiet about these things anyway. And then as if that final thought had set something off inside her, Autumn looked up at Eden, "Maybe hypothetically I love you, or am in love with you, or maybe it's not even that. Or maybe hypothetically you showing up with another girl just really hurt because it was…it was like..like… I'm not… I'm… ugh!" Autumn nearly growled with frustration just as the front door opened and in stepped Amanda, carrying a box of leftover food from Dazzle. She took one look at the scene before her and then stepped back out, closing the door behind her. Autumn turned to look at Eden but the door opened again and Amanda hurried over to the fridge, set the food inside, and then hurried back out – mouthing an 'I'm sorry!' in Autumn's direction.

The door clicked shut and Autumn closed her eyes, feeling deflated and defeated. She bowed her head and whispered, "And hypothetically it's like everyone can see it but you, the one who matters most." Tears fell from her closed eyelids and she moved her hand to wipe them away, sniffling slightly before speaking in a wavering voice, "But it doesn't matter, because all of it's hypothetically anyway. And even if it were real, it's completely impossible for anything to come of it because I'm going back to the UK in two days and I'm just being a foolish school girl like I've tried not to be for years. So, let's just… forget I said anything and… just… go our separate ways now."

[Eden Gothar R6]

Eden knew that Autumn was looking at him but he couldn’t bring himself to look back at her. He didn’t need to soon enough however, because she had gotten up and walked away from him. He could still hear her plainly though, and he could read her tone easily enough. It didn’t help him be any less confused. He had thought that telling Autumn she was his best friend would make her less upset with him but for some reason it had seemed to only make the situation worse. He frowned deeply and mumbled, mostly to himself, “If it’s so bad that you are, you don’t have to be my best friend. I can just go.” But the minute he said it he knew it wasn’t true. Eden would not be able to tear himself up from that couch, nor out of that apartment until after everything with Autumn was fixed. And even if he could manage to leave, upon leaving Autumn would still be his best friend, even if she hated him. He just knew that, without even having to rationalize it he knew it. It was so obvious to him once he had vocalised the thoughts, but he wasn’t sure why. Why did Autumn mean so much to him? Was it because of Dazzle? Because of what she had done for the place? No. That was only one of the many great things Autumn had done in Eden’s life. Autumn had somehow made Eden feel even more complete then San Francisco did. She could make him smile at any time of the day, and she could make him grin, which was not something easily done. Had Eden allowed himself to, he would have come upon the realization that that completeness he felt was love. But Eden wouldn’t let himself know that, not yet at least.

Eden stayed seated on the couch but soon enough his face came out of his hands. He sat up a bit, clasping his hands together, staring down at them as Autumn did whatever she was doing in the kitchen. He had not had it in him to look up at her again after what he had said, though he was nearly positive he was the only one to hear it. From the distance between them Autumn would not have heard his mumble. When Autumn came back, Eden took a deep breath but he couldn’t look up just yet. She was closer now, and when she spoke her voice was different from what it had been before. It pulled Eden into looking over at her. When Autumn asked if he wanted to know what was wrong Eden simply nodded in a weak way, his mouth wasn’t working properly though. And then, he listened. Autumn told him they would look at it hypothetically, and again Eden managed a nod of understanding before she went on again. Eden’s mind managed to click onto the idea that it was in fact the girl that had bothered Autumn. He had suspected it but it hadn’t been affirmed, and when Autumn went one step further to insult the girl Eden even smiled lightly at the honesty of the statement. Eden’s mind also seemed to dwell on the idea of ‘right in front of you’. It occurred to him for a moment that maybe Autumn was being more literal then people normally were when they used that, but he just let it sit as Autumn went on again.

Eden watched as Autumn went on, every word igniting a small spark of understanding in Eden’s eyes. He was getting it, slowly but surely he was getting it. Finally Autumn’s head fell to rest in her hands and Eden turned a bit. He moved a hand to smooth back Autumn’s hair but by the time he did Autumn had looked up again and she was speaking again. Her next words made Eden’s hand pause in mid-air. He found himself with no breath, and no thoughts. Eden was sure he would remain paused there forever until his mind actually did take in the recognition that the door opened. Eden however, could not take his eyes off of Autumn. He continued to stare at her, though he heard the door close, open again, and then close once more, signalling that Amanda had run in and back out or something of the like. Autumn’s head bowed once more and her words came out in a whisper as she went on. When she finally finished Eden’s heart was pounding and his chest hurt, his heart physically hurt. Without one more moment to think, or to push the feeling away, and in a split second of rational clarity, Eden moved his hand to Autumn’s chin and tilted her face up so that he could look her in the eye. The moment his met hers it was obvious to him the truth of what he’d been feeling over the last two weeks. And, as his heart skipped a beat, Eden leaned in and kissed Autumn.

It came rushing in; the feeling. The one from the dream. It was as if the feeling was rushing straight out of Autumn’s body and into Eden as their lips touched. Eden’s eyes had closed, as nearly all eyes do naturally when a kiss occurred, and he felt as if the room were spinning. Not the kind of spinning that happens when you’re dizzy, but the kind of spinning that happens when you feel so light that the room could move underneath your feet. Eden held the kiss out for as long as he could, the soft, sweet, tender and slow kiss that he had secretly wanted since that first night he’d met Autumn. That passionate, fulfilling, wonderful kiss that he’d been refusing himself every time he looked at her. He let it go until it melted away on it’s own, and when it finally did Eden didn’t move away from Autumn, nor did he open his eyes. He rested his forehead on hers and he took a deep breath, letting that brilliant feeling flood through him in the aftermath of the kiss. Finally Eden caught his breath and he whispered. “Non-hypothetically, I love you too. And I’m in love with you too. And non-hypeothetically, you’re not a foolish school girl, and I really think we could make this work, even if it is long distance, if you really want it like I’m positive I really want it. And non-hypothetically, please tell me you were being non-hypothetical too so that I don’t have to ever take any of that back.”

[Autumn Leeves S5]

Autumn was taking slow, steady breaths to try and calm herself down. She didn't know what had possessed her to say all of that, but she knew she shouldn't be too surprised because she was always saying things in the heat of the moment. Autumn's head felt light, as if it would just lift her up and float her right out of the room to the sky. She suddenly found herself wishing it could do that. She felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her and Eden's silence wasn't helping her either. She breathed in deeply and was just about to say to forget everything, once more, when she felt his hand under her chin, and Eden lifted her face to look at him. Autumn tried to avoid those eyes, but she knew it was pointless. His eyes had sucked her in that day at lunch and she couldn't ever find her way back to the surface. Just when she was about to apologise, her words were muffled by his lips. His lips were on hers, kissing her. Instead of her kissing him this time, he was kissing her. And it was most definitely deliberate with the way he had paused to look at her before actually going in for the kiss. Autumn wasn't thinking about all of this, though, when he was kissing her because she was apparently kissing him back. She would be quite stupid not to. She didn't do anything with her hands, though, because this was just a simple kiss; an amazing one, but a simple one at the same time. It occurred to Autumn that this kiss could very well be the last one she had with Eden because it could be a prelude to a "you're right it won't work" and so Autumn, with a newly found enthusiasm, poured nearly all of her entire soul into that kiss. That magnificent, tender, kiss.

It was one of those kisses that didn't end because of either of them realising how extremely dumb it was to kiss. It wasn't an abrupt ending, it was one that just ended itself. It folded into itself and melted away, shying away as if it were a timid school girl who had just gotten caught staring at her long lived crush. Autumn let out a small breath when Eden's lips parted from hers and she felt a shiver run down her spine as his forehead rested against hers. Her hands were clasped together in her lap and for the first time that night, they were perfectly still. They weren't fluttering around as if they had to do something or else they'd fall off. She had been nervous or only seconds before, but now she was calm and relaxed. Eden hadn't lost his ability to completely calm her, even in uncertain situations such as these. Autumn sat perfectly still and when Eden spoke, she felt her breath be caught in her throat. Her eyes fluttered open and she pulled back slightly to be able to look at him without having to cross her eyes as he finished talking. She didn't respond immediately, because Autumn was the type of person to look at things rationally. He said he was perfectly willing to do the whole long distance relationship thing, and Autumn wanted to believe him, but… but what? There was no but, not for this. Autumn looked at him, knowing she probably wasn't helping him with her long stretch of silence. Outside there was a thump, and Autumn's eyes flickered away from Eden to the door momentarily. After a moment, she figured Amanda was waiting outside the door for them to be done with whatever they were doing and had grown bored. Autumn bit her lip and looked at Eden again and smiled softly before tucking a strand of her red hair behind her ear and looking down at her hands, "Non-hypothetically," Autumn spoke in a soft tone and lifted her gaze to him again, "I was being completely non-hypothetical."

There was a loud squeal from outside, and Autumn turned her gaze to the door to see the edge of an extendable ear disappear underneath the crack of the door. Autumn's eyes widened slightly and she stood up from the couch, grabbed Eden's hand and pulled him up as well, "C'mon," she said as she headed toward her room, "You can come in, Amanda, we're still talking, though so stay out of my room!" Autumn opened the door to her room and held it open for Eden to step through just as Amanda hurried and opened the door, trying to reach Autumn before she slipped inside and closed the door. She wasn't fast enough though, because Autumn was locking it by the time her cousin got to the door frame. She let out a small sigh and looked down at the crack as a flesh coloured string started to slide under, "I mean it, Amanda!" The ear slipped out, there was a grumble, and Autumn turned to look at Eden suddenly aware that he might have seen that or he might think it odd that she had just dragged him into her room. She took a tentative step toward him and smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, she's so nosey. And I'm sorry… for locking you in…you didn't want to leave did you? I mean, 'cos if you did then…" She turned to unlock the door but Eden stopped her and she smiled softly, "Getting back to what we were saying, I was being absolutely one hundred percent non-hypothetical. And now….does that mean… does that mean that we're…?" She took another step closer to him and looked up at him, "Together?"

[Eden Gothar R6]

Though it was true that Eden knew very little about kisses, he knew for a fact that his and Autumn’s second kiss had ended far too soon. It wasn’t anyone’s fault; not Autumn’s and not Eden’s, because neither of them had ended the kiss. The kiss had simply just slowed to it’s own stop, but Eden was rather unsatisfied by the ending. He let it go though for the moment because there were more pressing matters on hand. As he rested his forehead on hers, he began to speak about how he was being completely non-hypothetical. At some point throughout what he was saying Autumn pulled away from him. It wasn’t the kind of pulling away a person did when they wanted to be away from another person. Instead, it was the kind of pulling away that was used when you wanted to be able to see someone in a better way. Eden had no issues with her pulling away because she never went far from him. Even as she moved she was still incredibly close, closer then she’d ever been to him before, even when they had danced together. As Eden spoke his eyes were on her nearly all of the time. The only time they had moved away from her where when they glanced down into her lap at her hands, which were clasped neatly. Eden smiled a soft smile and moved one of his hands to cover her clasped ones before he continued speaking. He found himself saying things that he never thought he’d actually say. In honesty, he found himself admitting things to himself that he had never even thought of before. It was as if that kiss had brought on a moment of brilliant clarity. Finally all of the things that Eden had been denying to himself were coming out strong. Why exactly Eden had hidden it from himself was an easy question to answer. He had been afraid. Who wouldn’t be afraid of putting your heart on the line? But now Eden was doing it; he was putting his heart in Autumn’s hands under the hopes that she wouldn’t break it. By the time he finished speaking his heart was racing, but he tried his best to look as calm and collected as possible.

This was easier said then done of course. If it weren’t for the silence that was making him incredibly nervous, the random thump surely threw him off. He jumped slightly and his eyes darted over to the door, but nothing happened. He assumed someone within the apartment complex had dropped something, even though the more logical answer was that Amanda was eavesdropping. By the time Eden looked back at Autumn she was looking at him, biting her lip in a way that made her look incredibly cute. Finally Eden was able to admit to himself all the attractive things he saw in Autumn that had been nothing more then him noticing beauty in a friend before. Now Eden was perfectly capable of admitting that not only did Autumn had an amazing voice and an amazing personality, but she was also stunningly beautiful. Eden couldn’t remember ever being so attracted to a girl before. Eden let his hand move away from Autumn’s as she lifted a hand to push her hair behind her ear, speaking softly, not looking at him. Eden was half expecting her to tell him that she had in fact been being foolish and that everything she’d said had been said in a moment of irrationality and that she hadn’t been thinking clearly. He expected her to change her mind. But she didn’t. Eden found himself grinning in the way that only Autumn could make him grin; she was being non-hypothetical too. At exactly that moment there was another rather distracting noise, so distracting that Eden couldn’t respond to what Autumn had said. Eden once again looked over at the door, but again there was no one bursting in randomly and so Eden looked back at Autumn, confused. Autumn seemed to read Eden’s confusion because she pulled him up from the couch and led him off towards the room she had gone into earlier. Eden chuckled as Autumn called to Amanda, and then as soon as he was inside her room he began to laugh as Autumn told Amanda to stay out of the room. Eden shook his head with a smile. “It would be just like Amanda to snoop.”

Eden shrugged with a smile on his face as Autumn began to apologize. She was always apologizing, always felt like she had something to apologize for. Eden shook his head as Autumn asked if he wanted to leave, but that didn’t seem to stop her because she moved to unlock the door. Before she could however Eden grabbed the hand heading towards the door and pulled it back. “I don’t want to go.” Eden stood there silently as Autumn spoke to him, getting their conversation back on track. When she took a step closer to him, looking up at him, Eden reached out his hands and took hers, pulling her even closer to him. “I think that that’s exactly what that means…but, because I’m a fan of old fashioned official things…” Eden chuckled and swung his and Autumn’s hands back and forth playfully for a moment. “Autumn, will you be my girlfriend? I promise that I’ll write you when you go back to school. You’ll get so sick of getting letters. And as soon as you’re back in San Francisco we’ll see each other again, and hey, maybe even over breaks and things but…” Eden stopped swinging their hands and squeezed them gently, looking into Autumn’s eyes. “Will you please be my girlfriend?” Eden waited for her answer, his heart racing, and after they had calmed down from the rush of emotions and Autumn had agreed Eden was absolutely thrilled. Despite his thrill however, he was growing tired of standing, and tired in general, so he looked around the room. There was a bed not too far off and Eden smiled and nodded his head in that direction. As Autumn made her way to it Eden undid his tie and pulled it off, setting it on top of her dresser along with all of his chains and his wallet and things. When he had successfully undecorated himself, and un-tucked his shirt as a matter of comfortability, he made his way over to Autumn’s bed, climbing onto it next to her and pulling her into his arms. It felt so right to have her there. He sat with her quietly for a while before whispering. “Are you tired? I should probably be going and letting you get some rest…”