Resurrection of Hope: Chapter Five
Title: Resurrection of Hope
Author: cherimorton
Disclaimer: I own the entire universe. At least, in my mind. In reality, I own nothing.
A/N: I think I may be spoiling you all with frequent updates, so I'm gonna start posting twice a week instead of four times :)
Amy and Lauri wanted to go dancing. Charli definitely did not, and Ville had never been much of a dancer, so the two of them sent Lauri and Amy away in the limo and Charli and Ville decided to take a stroll back to the hotel. They didn't realize the distance, and after six blocks, Charli's shoes had come off and Ville's jacket was slung across his arm. They walked in step, Ville asking questions about Amy, where she came from, how they met, etc. Charli filled in his blanks, happily, knowing they were not talking about her, since she remembered the promise she'd made to Ville about telling him her story. He did finally get one answer though, about her... “departure” from college.
"Oh," she said, as if it were no big deal, "I just got caught spearheading the effort to get the obnoxious Chem 1 teacher's car on top of the science building. When the Dean got me in his office to find out what was going on, I sweet talked him into another chance," she said with a wicked grin, "then, just for shits and giggles, snuck into his office and rearranged it to be the exact opposite of how he had it set up. I, of course, got caught and removed from the premises. They allowed me time to get packed, but I said, 'Keep the stuff. I'll get more.' and drove away. I know they had a blast cleaning up that disaster area; I was too busy causing disruption to clean or organize anything, much less attend classes or turn in homework," she finished, grinning up at him, mischief evident in her dark eyes. "And you never went back, to another college?" Ville asked through his laughter. He could picture Charli rounding up a crew of kids ready to unleash hell on the school. "Oh, no," she said, waving her arm, "school was not for me. I abhorred sitting in class listening to a Ben Stein wannabe lecture me on the Franco- American War. I'd read about it when I was 12; I knew the basics."
"You didn't think that maybe it would set a bad example for those who look up to you?"
"'Those who look up to me'? Ville, I'm 5'4; no one looks up to me," she said smiling, "I was 19; I wasn't thinking with a mature head. I just wanted to live life to the fullest, thoroughly enjoy myself, you know? I didn't want to be the 'good girl', it was never my style. My dad is just now getting to the point that his knees are back to round- shaped, instead of floor shaped... he used to be on his knees praying to God every five minutes to a) keep me safe, and b) knock some sense into my crazy ass."
"But... you believe in God?" Ville asked, remembering her pointed avoidance of God's name.
"Ha, no. Well, I guess I believe he exists, but I don't worship the idea. Why would I want to sacrifice anything to a man who was so selfish that he smote a follower for touching his box?" she answered.
"His box?" Ville asked, confused.
"The Ark of the Covenant. I can't remember the dude's name, but he was cleaning the Ark, or moving it, and he accidently touched the surface with his bare hand. This 'God' struck him down. Worshipping that would make me paranoid to no end, and I really don't need to be paranoid. I would miss stuff," she said to him. The cool night air picked up, and Ville saw her shiver, barely covered by her dress. As much as he loved seeing her fair skin under the street lamps, he draped his jacket over her. She smiled at him gratefully, and opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by her phone. She'd changed the ringtone, and it was something Ville didn't recognize, but the tune made him chuckle anyway. His light grin was replaced with a frown the instant that he saw Charli's face. It had gone pale, as he'd seen it turn before, only this time, there was frustration and fear as well. She didn't answer it, just pushed "ignore" and returned it to her bag. She looked at him and smiled nervously, again, the same as she did the last time. But this time, Ville wanted an answer.
They'd arrived at the hotel, and got on the elevator. Pushing the correct floor, Ville turned to her expectantly. "Ville..." she started, looking down at the floor. "No, wait," he said, interrupting her. She looked up at him, midnight eyes worried, silently begging him not to ask.
"You said you would tell me. It's only fair," he said, becoming mildly frustrated.
"But... it's... complicated," she finished finally. The elevator dinged, announcing their floor, and Charli moved to the door. Ville reached for her arm, pulling her around to face him.
"No," he said slightly angry, "I've let it go twice now, and now you need to tell me. Charli, I need to know what's going on! It's killing me to see you scared and not know why. Don't close me out now."
Charli looked at her arm, where Ville's hand was still gripping firmly, then back to him, fear in her eyes fresh, and tears filling the lids. She said softly, "Let me go, Ville."
Ville was shocked at the venom in her voice and dropped her arm instantly. She turned and ran from him, disappearing down the hallway and eventually into her room.
He didn't know what to do; what had just happened? The fear in her eyes... he'd caused that fear. The way she said his name this time was nothing like the soft cheerful voice he was used to; it was cold, hard, hateful. Numb, he walked down the hallway to her door and knocked. "Charli? Charli, please... I'm sorry... I..." he said to the still door.
"Go away!" she called from the other side, "Just. Leave. Me. Alone."
A cold shiver went up his spine as he turned and walked away. By the time he got to his door and opened it, he was angry again. "If she wants to act like a petulant child, I won't stop her. But I won't be shut out anymore. I told her my entire life under the idea, stupid as it was, that she was going to tell me about her! She even said she was going to tell me!" he thought, pacing angrily around his room. Stopping at the window and looking out over the city, he felt his heart break; even though he knew it could happen, even with Charli, it still felt like it was ripped from his chest, opening his insides, lungs exposed, as he lay bleeding on the floor.
********************************************************************
He didn't see Charli for a week, but he knew she was still staying at the hotel. He occasionally saw Amy returning from unknown places, and felt her guilty and pitiful glances at his back. She wouldn't make eye contact with him, and when she said her quiet hello in the elevator on Wednesday, she wouldn't say anything about Charli's whereabouts, but asked how he was doing.
"How do I look, Amy? I'm pissed off. I'm hurt. But most of all, I don't understand any of this. I don't know why she's not talking to me. I don't know why she ran from me, and there are only two people on this planet that can shed some light on me, and one seems to have fallen off the face of the Earth while the other is pointedly avoiding putting me out of my misery. How am I?" he snarled at her as he exited the elevator and slammed his door behind him, leaving Amy hurting for him.
The band noticed that Ville had returned to his sour demeanor, and, if possible, was even more melancholy and moody. They didn't know that he'd fallen for Charli; they knew he'd met her, but as they all had their own ways of spending free time, none of the other band mates had met her. They noticed his light- hearted mood the day he'd actually met her, and for the week after meeting her, even though he didn't see her much. Mige was the most confused.
"It's this girl? Ville, again?" Mige asked, disbelieving, "I thought that's why you didn't go out anymore, so you didn't have to worry about meeting someone?"
Ville sighed, "Yeah, I know. I guess I'll just never come out of my room again at all. You will have to bring everything to me. For that matter, let's just pack up this shit and take it to Helsinki. At least I'll have my own bed and more space to move around in."
"We're not going anywhere, and you will show up here every morning, like a regular job," Seppo interjected, trying to bully Ville into something other than sadness. Ville just looked at him. Everyone- Mige, Linde, Burton, Seppo, Silke, and Matt- looked back at him, not knowing how to fix what had gone wrong.
Ville retreated back to his room, as usual, every night. He lay on his bed, barely registering the TV some nights; other nights he tried to sketch. He busied his mind, and it worked for a few minutes the first night, then a few more the second night, and gradually it got easier. Until Friday.
Ville had come in, as usual, right after Matt released them for the day. However, this night, it was raining. Ville dropped his bag on the floor, sighing, shoulders drooping, and shivered as he sat on the edge of his bed. He wasn't angry anymore. He wasn't... anything. He was getting back to just existing; no hope, no feeling; just numbness. But he hated it now. He knew how life could be, fun and spontaneous, and just happy. He now despised just existing. But he didn't know how else to be. He was alone, and he didn't want to be with anyone, except one person- a short, funny redhead who had changed her mind about him. He gritted his teeth and stood up from the bed to change into his pajamas, grabbing a book and settling in to read.
Half an hour later, he slammed his book closed, frustrated. It had been 30 minutes and he'd read an entire word. One word.
He got off the bed and paced in front of his window, snarling at the floor, hand reaching to the back of his head and rubbing his neck. He glanced out the window and defeatedly stopped, leaning against it and pressing his forehead to the wet glass as the rare LA rain beat against it.
A soft knock was heard at the door. Ville didn't register it at first, thinking vaguely that maybe it was someone at his door, but not really caring enough to see who it was. The knock came again, this time harder and slightly more urgent. Sighing again, he turned from the window and walked to the door, yanking it open with a grumpy "What!"
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I love hearing things, good and bad, please!.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Author: cherimorton
Disclaimer: I own the entire universe. At least, in my mind. In reality, I own nothing.
A/N: I think I may be spoiling you all with frequent updates, so I'm gonna start posting twice a week instead of four times :)
Amy and Lauri wanted to go dancing. Charli definitely did not, and Ville had never been much of a dancer, so the two of them sent Lauri and Amy away in the limo and Charli and Ville decided to take a stroll back to the hotel. They didn't realize the distance, and after six blocks, Charli's shoes had come off and Ville's jacket was slung across his arm. They walked in step, Ville asking questions about Amy, where she came from, how they met, etc. Charli filled in his blanks, happily, knowing they were not talking about her, since she remembered the promise she'd made to Ville about telling him her story. He did finally get one answer though, about her... “departure” from college.
"Oh," she said, as if it were no big deal, "I just got caught spearheading the effort to get the obnoxious Chem 1 teacher's car on top of the science building. When the Dean got me in his office to find out what was going on, I sweet talked him into another chance," she said with a wicked grin, "then, just for shits and giggles, snuck into his office and rearranged it to be the exact opposite of how he had it set up. I, of course, got caught and removed from the premises. They allowed me time to get packed, but I said, 'Keep the stuff. I'll get more.' and drove away. I know they had a blast cleaning up that disaster area; I was too busy causing disruption to clean or organize anything, much less attend classes or turn in homework," she finished, grinning up at him, mischief evident in her dark eyes. "And you never went back, to another college?" Ville asked through his laughter. He could picture Charli rounding up a crew of kids ready to unleash hell on the school. "Oh, no," she said, waving her arm, "school was not for me. I abhorred sitting in class listening to a Ben Stein wannabe lecture me on the Franco- American War. I'd read about it when I was 12; I knew the basics."
"You didn't think that maybe it would set a bad example for those who look up to you?"
"'Those who look up to me'? Ville, I'm 5'4; no one looks up to me," she said smiling, "I was 19; I wasn't thinking with a mature head. I just wanted to live life to the fullest, thoroughly enjoy myself, you know? I didn't want to be the 'good girl', it was never my style. My dad is just now getting to the point that his knees are back to round- shaped, instead of floor shaped... he used to be on his knees praying to God every five minutes to a) keep me safe, and b) knock some sense into my crazy ass."
"But... you believe in God?" Ville asked, remembering her pointed avoidance of God's name.
"Ha, no. Well, I guess I believe he exists, but I don't worship the idea. Why would I want to sacrifice anything to a man who was so selfish that he smote a follower for touching his box?" she answered.
"His box?" Ville asked, confused.
"The Ark of the Covenant. I can't remember the dude's name, but he was cleaning the Ark, or moving it, and he accidently touched the surface with his bare hand. This 'God' struck him down. Worshipping that would make me paranoid to no end, and I really don't need to be paranoid. I would miss stuff," she said to him. The cool night air picked up, and Ville saw her shiver, barely covered by her dress. As much as he loved seeing her fair skin under the street lamps, he draped his jacket over her. She smiled at him gratefully, and opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by her phone. She'd changed the ringtone, and it was something Ville didn't recognize, but the tune made him chuckle anyway. His light grin was replaced with a frown the instant that he saw Charli's face. It had gone pale, as he'd seen it turn before, only this time, there was frustration and fear as well. She didn't answer it, just pushed "ignore" and returned it to her bag. She looked at him and smiled nervously, again, the same as she did the last time. But this time, Ville wanted an answer.
They'd arrived at the hotel, and got on the elevator. Pushing the correct floor, Ville turned to her expectantly. "Ville..." she started, looking down at the floor. "No, wait," he said, interrupting her. She looked up at him, midnight eyes worried, silently begging him not to ask.
"You said you would tell me. It's only fair," he said, becoming mildly frustrated.
"But... it's... complicated," she finished finally. The elevator dinged, announcing their floor, and Charli moved to the door. Ville reached for her arm, pulling her around to face him.
"No," he said slightly angry, "I've let it go twice now, and now you need to tell me. Charli, I need to know what's going on! It's killing me to see you scared and not know why. Don't close me out now."
Charli looked at her arm, where Ville's hand was still gripping firmly, then back to him, fear in her eyes fresh, and tears filling the lids. She said softly, "Let me go, Ville."
Ville was shocked at the venom in her voice and dropped her arm instantly. She turned and ran from him, disappearing down the hallway and eventually into her room.
He didn't know what to do; what had just happened? The fear in her eyes... he'd caused that fear. The way she said his name this time was nothing like the soft cheerful voice he was used to; it was cold, hard, hateful. Numb, he walked down the hallway to her door and knocked. "Charli? Charli, please... I'm sorry... I..." he said to the still door.
"Go away!" she called from the other side, "Just. Leave. Me. Alone."
A cold shiver went up his spine as he turned and walked away. By the time he got to his door and opened it, he was angry again. "If she wants to act like a petulant child, I won't stop her. But I won't be shut out anymore. I told her my entire life under the idea, stupid as it was, that she was going to tell me about her! She even said she was going to tell me!" he thought, pacing angrily around his room. Stopping at the window and looking out over the city, he felt his heart break; even though he knew it could happen, even with Charli, it still felt like it was ripped from his chest, opening his insides, lungs exposed, as he lay bleeding on the floor.
********************************************************************
He didn't see Charli for a week, but he knew she was still staying at the hotel. He occasionally saw Amy returning from unknown places, and felt her guilty and pitiful glances at his back. She wouldn't make eye contact with him, and when she said her quiet hello in the elevator on Wednesday, she wouldn't say anything about Charli's whereabouts, but asked how he was doing.
"How do I look, Amy? I'm pissed off. I'm hurt. But most of all, I don't understand any of this. I don't know why she's not talking to me. I don't know why she ran from me, and there are only two people on this planet that can shed some light on me, and one seems to have fallen off the face of the Earth while the other is pointedly avoiding putting me out of my misery. How am I?" he snarled at her as he exited the elevator and slammed his door behind him, leaving Amy hurting for him.
The band noticed that Ville had returned to his sour demeanor, and, if possible, was even more melancholy and moody. They didn't know that he'd fallen for Charli; they knew he'd met her, but as they all had their own ways of spending free time, none of the other band mates had met her. They noticed his light- hearted mood the day he'd actually met her, and for the week after meeting her, even though he didn't see her much. Mige was the most confused.
"It's this girl? Ville, again?" Mige asked, disbelieving, "I thought that's why you didn't go out anymore, so you didn't have to worry about meeting someone?"
Ville sighed, "Yeah, I know. I guess I'll just never come out of my room again at all. You will have to bring everything to me. For that matter, let's just pack up this shit and take it to Helsinki. At least I'll have my own bed and more space to move around in."
"We're not going anywhere, and you will show up here every morning, like a regular job," Seppo interjected, trying to bully Ville into something other than sadness. Ville just looked at him. Everyone- Mige, Linde, Burton, Seppo, Silke, and Matt- looked back at him, not knowing how to fix what had gone wrong.
Ville retreated back to his room, as usual, every night. He lay on his bed, barely registering the TV some nights; other nights he tried to sketch. He busied his mind, and it worked for a few minutes the first night, then a few more the second night, and gradually it got easier. Until Friday.
Ville had come in, as usual, right after Matt released them for the day. However, this night, it was raining. Ville dropped his bag on the floor, sighing, shoulders drooping, and shivered as he sat on the edge of his bed. He wasn't angry anymore. He wasn't... anything. He was getting back to just existing; no hope, no feeling; just numbness. But he hated it now. He knew how life could be, fun and spontaneous, and just happy. He now despised just existing. But he didn't know how else to be. He was alone, and he didn't want to be with anyone, except one person- a short, funny redhead who had changed her mind about him. He gritted his teeth and stood up from the bed to change into his pajamas, grabbing a book and settling in to read.
Half an hour later, he slammed his book closed, frustrated. It had been 30 minutes and he'd read an entire word. One word.
He got off the bed and paced in front of his window, snarling at the floor, hand reaching to the back of his head and rubbing his neck. He glanced out the window and defeatedly stopped, leaning against it and pressing his forehead to the wet glass as the rare LA rain beat against it.
A soft knock was heard at the door. Ville didn't register it at first, thinking vaguely that maybe it was someone at his door, but not really caring enough to see who it was. The knock came again, this time harder and slightly more urgent. Sighing again, he turned from the window and walked to the door, yanking it open with a grumpy "What!"
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I love hearing things, good and bad, please!.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four