( anything can happen if you will it to )

[sunstreaming]

The night is nothing short of blistering. Heat environs the car's two passengers even as the air conditioner whirs on tirelessly. Anabelle can feel each individual bead of sweat inching down her neck and along her spine, the fabric of her dress damp and well on its way to soaked. The bare skin of her arms presses against the old leather seat and a

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[filmstarbeauty]

From a distance it might look like Blair Waldorf was having a bit of an angry feet. Sure she was stamping her feet, but anger was absent from it. What it was, was her attempt to keep sand out from under her flipflops to mixed results.

Dressed from the summer, as it perrenially was here, she adjusted her cute sunhat in an effort to keep it from blowing away. "Serena!" she shouted knowing that shouting was reserved for cab drivers and people stuck in traffic, but this was an exception. Best friends were an exception. "Serena, why didn't you tell me, I would have come with instead of wandering down by myself like some vagrant."

[sunstreaming]

This is the second time Anabelle has been mistaken for someone named Serena. At first, she simply doesn't hear- her ears haven't had a lifetime to to adjust and recognize that name the way they do her own. When she finally realizes it's her that's being called, Anabelle turns to face Blair, an apologetic smile on her face.

"Sorry, I'm not her. I must really look like her, though, huh?"

[filmstarbeauty]

Giving the girl a dubious looking over, Blair can see how she made a mistake before. Not that she was about to give herself any credit for confusing her bestie with a stranger.

Wrinkling her nose, she frowned slightly. "You're not that Ilse girl are you?" she asked, in a tone slightly more accusatory than she meant it to. "I mean, yeah you do look a lot like S, except the hair is different."

[sunstreaming]

Ilse? Anabelle frowns, wondering if there's yet another girl on this island who looks like her.

"No," she says, managing another smile. "I'm Anabelle."

[filmstarbeauty]

"As in 'we loved with a love that is more than love'? You're not a..." Blair broke off mid-thought. There were a lot of things that were confusing about this place but being confronted by a poem was definitely a new one.

Shaking her head she fixed on her best socialite smile. "Nevermind. I'm Blair and yes, there are two more girls who look sneakingly like you."

[sunstreaming]

It's impossible to go through life with a name like Anabelle Leigh and never have heard of the poem. The differences aren't limited to spelling. Annabel Lee lived and loved up until her death, while Anabelle Leigh didn't begin to do so until after. She shakes her head at the suggestion, feeling no need to really elaborate. "No, no. I'm definitely not." She waits before adding, with a smile, "But it's nice to meet you, anyhow."

[filmstarbeauty]

Exhaling Blair felt a little bit more relaxed. At least poems were strictly off limits. For now.

"Oh, good. Sorry for asking, it's a thing." What sort of thing that was, Blair didn't feel like dwelling on. "Nice to meet you as well. You're new, yes? Or is that just a wild guess on my part."

[sunstreaming]

"If so, it was a good one," she laughs. "I've been here a grand total of...I wanna say four hours?"

[filmstarbeauty]

Blair's eyebrows lifted at that. So here was someone who was new without being so irritatingly so. That was a plus side. She liked to get them while they were fresh.

"Can I skip the tour and just say 'welcome'? Or would that be too much?"

[sunstreaming]

"Absolutely." Anabelle holds her hands up in a nondescript gesture, one of those that can either mean 'feel free' or 'don't worry' or even 'halt!' depending on their use. "I already had about two tours, but thank you for the welcome."

[filmstarbeauty]

Playing show and tell got boring fast especially when everyone and their brother had the same things to show and tell. Where was the fun in that?

"Good, I mean I'm not totally opposed to playing welcome wagon. It just gets redundant."

[sunstreaming]

"I can imagine so," she says, although it isn't exactly true. There's a lot to take in, and she might have to hear it one or two more times before the essentials sink in. "You sound like you've been here long enough to greet more than a few people."

[filmstarbeauty]

"I've been here for almost a year and a half. More than a few is an understatement."

As much as Blair loathed to admit it, this was slowly becoming more of a reality than New York seemed to be.

[sunstreaming]

"A year," Anabelle echoes, a slight expression of shock on her face. It's hard to imagine that she might be here that long, not that it's an entirely bad thing. Maybe the memories of home are still too fresh in her mind. "That's a lotta time."