Her Revelation [open tag]

[Sloane Taylor]

This morning had not been productive. After being terrified out of sleep completely after that dream, Sloane had decided to clean her already neat room. She organised and reorganised her CD collection by composers, rearranged her sock and underwear drawer alphabetically according to colour, and she even sold some of her unwanted stuff on eBay. At 4pm, she was going to rock a certain fudduds910 world with gadgets and pretty clothes.

By 7 am, which was the usual time on Wednesdays that she usually goes for a run down by the beach, Sloane still had so much energy that even her brother couldn't keep up. Fifteen minutes into the run, she met him halfway back to their starting point. He told her that he was going home by her sixth lap. Sloane took a long dip in the beach where she finally calmed herself down enough to enjoy the weather since it was reported to rain late afternoon.

She only got in school by lunch time and by then she had worked up such a mean appetite. Dressed in an olive green turtleneck and jeans with the class ring chain she had kept of Nolan's under her top, Sloane had a hard time trying to act as normal as possible. Was she supposed to meet Nolan or May today? She had already blown Nolan off this morning. It had been too weird to call him after leaving abruptly last night.

Deciding not to decide on anything regarding that matter, she took her home made lunch of ham and cheese sandwish with a Granny Smith apple and a bottle of lemonade out to the quad. Sitting at the bench facing the entrance, Sloane ate her lunch in silence, contemplating the situation she had stupidly dragged herself and two innocent souls in.

[Bree Marcus]

Bree’s morning had passed in a blur. As her teachers droned on, the young socialite was busy on her blackberry working out details for the brunch and what she wanted to present there. She had blueprints, estimates and ideas for activities and classes that would be available for neighborhood children at her proposed center. She had gone to experts in this kind of thing, but had offered enough of her own input to make the idea truly hers. As for the brunch, there would be nothing missing… that was as long as people showed up for it. Meeting Cameron the day before had been serendipitous and she hoped that he would get enough of his contacts interested to make sure this would succeed.

Truly she was missing her closest friends, Sloane, May and Tyler. But she knew they were all busy with their own lives. She couldn’t expect them to keep her as the center of their lives. She knew by eschewing dating she was ensuring she would have more alone time than she really wanted. However, she was terrified of giving any male any kind of power over her, so dating was out of the question. She knew it was likely that Sloane would date her If she gave any indication of interest, but despite her fear of men, she just couldn’t fine her own sex attractive.

When the lunch bell rang, Bree was ready for a break and almost ran to her locker to grab her lunch bag. She was wearing a black Free People scooped neck, sleeveless sheath that was made up by tiny rows of ruffles that came down just far enough to ensure nothing important was revealed. The material was stretchy and clung to her slender body. Her long legs were covered by opaque black and white striped tights and she had on a pair of Steve Madden woven black leather strapped sandals that secured around her ankles. Her black mesh bag hung on her shoulder as she walked briskly outside to the quad. She intended to sit on the fountain as usual, but she was distracted by her friend Sloane sitting on a bench and took a detour to sit beside her.

Sloane seemed deep in thought so Bree waited a few moments before clearing her throat and saying quietly, “Would you rather be alone, hon? I would hate to intrude.” She began to dig in her lunch bag and pulled out a container of pasta salad that she packed to go with her turkey and muenster panini with honey mustard, baby spinach, tomatoes and black olive. She also had a blood orange and a bottle of Snapple Green Tea Metabolism. She was skinny as a rail, but she still worried about her weight.

[Sloane Taylor]

After so many thoughts ran through her head, Sloane felt her head was about to explode. She never had to worry about all this before. All she had known to be her life was love em and leave em. And it had worked flawlessly and without any hitches. True, it was an unfeeling and cold approach towards life but she was happy and to most extent, the people she had been involved with were happy too. They knew what they were getting into and they were relieved it was a no strings attached kind of deal.

Then Nolan shows up. Romantic, pretty much selfless and a no holds barred kind of guy. What was it about him that made Sloane start to...feel? It was absurd that she could ever have any feelings for someone like Nolan...a sophomore at that! She knew she had been repeating it over and over again, but the fact remained, they were way too different to be together yet she was fighting for it to remain...exclusive. She shuddered at the word. Oh what would Tyler do if he found out about this. Followed by everybody else. God...she would be the laughing stock of the school. And she actually cared! She never used to care!

Just as she was about to throw her lemonade bottle far away from her in frustration, the single most wanted voice she wanted to hear floated in the air softly. She immediately calmed down and turned to look up at Bree, her bright red hair catching the light from the sun and practically flaming up. "Hey angel, come and sit." She smiled up at her best friend and patted the seat next to her. "Haven't seen you in awhile. Been plotting your reign for queen?" She teased lightly.

Truthfully, she really missed her friend. It had only been a few days without seeing her but it felt like it had been such a long time.

[Bree Marcus]

Bree hugged Sloane as she looked like she could really use one. “I’ve missed you too. But not so much plotting as planning and I don’t think of it as part of becoming queen so much, though it might help,” she informed her best friend in a rather cryptic manner. “I figured you and Tyler were busy with your current love interests so I thought I would give you space to do your voodoo.” She was obviously amused, she might not choose to date, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t interested in her friend’s love lives.

“So… are you ready to talk about it? Or is it still at that no tell stage?” Bree asked, trying not to be pushy. She was in fact a little sad that Sloane had yet to trust her enough to tell her about Nolan. After she had allowed Sloane and Tyler into her own personal hell, she had thought they could tell each other anything, but it was apparent she had been wrong.

Popping the lid on her pasta salad, she began to nibble at the pasta spirals, tossed with broccoli florets, chunks of cheese, ham and Caesar dressing. She was thinner than she had ever been, but clever makeup and dressing disguised her almost unhealthy state of being. Sleep and food were always the first to go when she was in one of her obsessive states.

[Sloane Taylor]

The hug was a pleasant surprise and she immediately let herself get completely consumed by it, only letting go when Bree broke away. She looked to the front and took her time unscrewing the bottle of lemonade to take a sip. She gave out amused chuckles at Bree's cheeriness this afternoon. Inspite of looking a bit gaunt, she looked way happier and much more relaxed than she had been when her father was still alive.

"Love interests..." at first Sloane wanted to tell Bree immediately about the dates she had gone on and the chain around her neck. She didn't know why she held back but she did. Taking deep breaths, she turned to look at Bree. "I went out on a date with May and Nolan last night." Sloane said as casually as possible. She somehow couldn't look at Bree as she took another sip of her homemade lemonade.

"Nolan asked me to be his girlfriend last night and gave me his jacket and class ring." She paused for a moment, mostly to calm herself down, before taking the chain from under her top and pulled it over her head and laid it on the table between them. "I said yes." And all of a sudden, Sloane felt a bit squeezed. She frowned and turned to look at her best friend since kindergarten. "Why do I feel like I just made the biggest mistake?"

[Hannah Bell]

Hannah Bell walked sleepily through the halls of Gould, hoping the lunch break would help her keep her energy up. If she happened to run into Gage, she most definitely did not want him to think she was in any way down about the previous evening. In fact, her excitement over the date was the reason why she could barely sleep! She spent almost the whole night lying in her bad affectionately holding a stuffed monkey, and wishing it was someone else entirely.

However, doubts began to creep into her mind. She and Gage kissed last night, a couple times. And though the date seemed to go quite well, this was all very unfamiliar territory for Hannah. She had no idea what the next step was. If she seemed to excited, he may get bored with her or she might end up making a mistake that she may regret. But if she were too difficult or stand offish, he may lose hope and give up on her. Or worse, realize that Genny girl was his one true love and leave Hannah by the proverbial wayside!

She needed help, but she had no idea who to go to. Possibly Aly Durrand, but the senior girl may just laugh in her face. Hannah was only a sophomore, and she wasn't very close to the older girl. Bree Marcus, however, was only a grade older, and she was recently on the arm of Tyler Durnham. If that wasn't a sign she knew what she was doing with boys, then Hannah didn't know what was.

After a bit of searching, Hannah was able to locate the redhead sitting by a fence in the quad talking with Sloane Taylor. Hannah's only meeting with the girl had been decidedly awkward, not to mention it was on a day that Hannah hoped to forget entirely. However, Hannah also knew Sloane's reputation, and she may have some advice as well. She scurried across the open yard and waved at the pair as she approached.

“Hey y'all, sorry if I'm interrupting!” Hannah was about to continue when she noticed Sloane was holding out a class ring on a chain, noting that the ring seemed to come from a guy that attended Silver. That seemed to be quite contrary to the legend of Sloane Taylor, but in Hannah's case it could mean that Sloane may have some especially helpful wisdom, given her similar situation. “Bree, I was wonderin' if I could have a moment of your time. I really need some advice.” Hannah didn't really know how to casually bring up the topic, so with a blush she murmured, “About a boy...”

[Bree Marcus]

Bree listened closely and watched Sloane for every change of expression. She barely blinked when her best friend said she had a date with two people the night before, one of them being another of her best friends. She had thought if that had ever happened it would be Tyler, not May. Plus she had no idea that May like females, it kind of made her question how close they were after all.

“He asked you while you were both dating May? Wasn’t that a little insensitive? I can see why you think it might be a mistake. Boys should have some manners and sensitivity after all,” Bree made some major mistakes in her interpretation and Nolan went down in her estimation as a result.

Instead of being disabused of her illusions, Bree saw Hannah rushing towards them and smiled. “Hello Hannah, sure… Sloane is it okay? Actually you know more about guys than I do. Hannah you should get her advice too. Sit down with us,” she invited, moving her bag to the ground at her feet. She closed up her salad container and put it in the bag so that there would be room for Hannah.

[Sloane Taylor]

Of all things Sloane hoped Bree interpreted, what she said was a complete and utter mistake which Sloane wanted so badly to correct. It was hilarious how Bree could have gotten that idea but thinking about it, she knew she had phrased her sentence wrongly. She supposed to Bree's innocent thinking [despite what had happened between her and her father] Sloane couldn't have been the one at fault. It always had to be the guy.

Sloane was about to correct Bree when the sudden appearance of a very cute blonde distracted her. Inspite of her current situation, Sloane still had the indecency to check the blonde out when it became clear to her. She could never be tied down to just one person. Be it May or Nolan or any person...Sloane was just not going to stop flirting with anyone she thought was attractive.

The thought eased her up slightly and she smiled at the blonde Bree had called Hannah. Hannah...why did it sound familiar...? Sloane racked her brain and things clicked in her head and she was reminded of how they met. It was a monumental day in Sloane's life. Mostly because it was the day of the shooting, the day she met Nolan and also the day Bree's father died.

"Hannah...hey...sure come and sit. You look tired...is the boy in question the reason why?" She teased the sophomore. God...she was Nolan's age...

[Hannah Bell]

Hannah smiled with relief and took a seat on the bench next to Bree. Something about the way Sloane looked at her definitely mad her slightly uncomfortable, as if she were a sheep trapped in the gaze of a wolf. “Thank you,” she said. Though she was embarrassed asking for help, she was too confused to act on her own.

“So, I guess I'll just get right down to it,” she started, but as soon as she started thinking about Gage her heart started to flutter and she became a little more reluctant. Swallowing her fears as best as possible, she continued. “I went out on a date with a boy last night, and I really really like him. But I... I kinda don't date much.” Hannah voice got quieter as she admitted her naivete with the opposite gender. Frustration was starting to build within her as all the obstacles raced through her mind. “And to make things worse, he's got this girl for a best friend, and she's cute in a kinda dorky way, and he's on Silver's basketball team so there's totally this whole Romeo and Juliet thing that we have, and I don't even know if it'll work out but I still really like him and I just don't know what to do now!” Hannah was quite upset by the time she finished her rant, her hands clenched and flailing wildly the entire time she spoke.

She looked to Bree and Sloane, hoping they would give her all the answers and any worries in her mind could just disappear. The last thing Hannah needed was extra stress pushing her over the edge again.

[Bree Marcus]

Bree listened, wondering who this guy was that had Hannah so flustered. "I am not the best person to ask as I have only been on one date in my entire life and that was a mutual favor between friends. Maybe if I knew who it was I could give you an opinion. I have met most of the athletes on both teams..." She smiled warmly at Hannah.

She wondered a bit at Sloane's flirtation as she apparently was now dating two other people semi-seriously and seriously respectively. "As for the best friend, I wouldn't worry. Tyler is one of my best friends and we will never discover suddenly we're in love. We're always going to be just friends," she advised.

"Plus my father was on the school board and I still get the notices. It is very likely the schools will merge, as the cost to get Silver up to code is very high and the board is afraid they would have to cut too many programs to pay for the renovations. Then there will be no more rivalry with them as they won't exist. We will have to choose a new rival. Maybe John C. Fremont."