NOLA Community Theater

[GGJ5]

Community theater meets here for meetings, practices, get-togethers, etc.

And performances, though if it's a performance that requires elaborate staging, it will be relocated to the deBenedetto school's auditorium. This particular theater setup is a ground-level stage in the center of 3 sets of bleachers surrounding it. So anything requiring trapdoors, etc., needs to be in another location-- and since most other theaters have been trashed from the storms, the one from the school is the alternate. =)

[Elda Forever]

OOC: Continued from Wrights'. BIC:

Yukito Maki

He drove steadily, surprising himself by still staying at the speed limit, despite the burning under his skin. Natalie always said I drove like an old person...or someone half-dead. Yukito glanced over at Cassie, looking too small and too fragile. He saw her shoulders shaking so hard he was afraid they would break her. He knew how badly that kind of crying could hurt. One hand left the wheel and started for her shoulder, to just barely touch her and try to comfort her, but he hesitated, then drew back, his mouth clamping shut and his eyes locking to the road. If it had been him, he wouldn't want to be touched.

But Cassie was so different from him...she was cheerful and so easily seen as weak and powerless. She tried to bear the weight of things but showed how hard it wore on her. She talked to people. She hugged people easily. There were so many ways she was different from him, he didn't know if she would need someone's embrace right now. Could he give it to her? Maybe not when every nerve in his body was screaming. Maybe it would make things worse. Maybe she would sense the adrenaline coursing through his body and would take it the wrong way.

"Cassie..." he croaked, realizing with a stab a few more bruises on his face. Darkly, he wondered if all his time in America would be spend with bruises, cuts, and injuries. "Are you...he didn't..." He shouldn't ask. It was obvious the man hadn't done anything yet.

That guy. With large hands and strong arms. Yukito started to quiver, and he felt himself losing control of the wheel, ever-so-slightly waivering on the road. Instinctively, he pulled over, and they ended up in the parking lot of a large theatre.

Yukito didn't turn the car off, but he put it in park and laid his hands on his lap, staring ahead at the fuel gauge. Why was he crying? He hadn't been...not today....He blinked hard. His hands were still shaking, but he tried to hide it. "Did he...did he do that before?" he whispered, his voice sounding hollow. Get a grip, Yukito! Be there for Cassie!

[The Phantom of Paris]

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

She couldn't stop the scene from replaying over and over in her mind as she wept, each sob threatening to tear her already tattered form apart. His comments, the eyelash wish--and she used to love wishes so much!--the gleam in his eye as he realized he had conquered his prey, the harsh feel of his lips against hers and his hands on her face and neck and...

I'm damaged goods now, she realized with a start, recalling the words her mother had used to describe Cassie's cousin when she had gotten pregnant a few years back. I'm damaged, and Kagayaki won't love me anymore, no one will, because I'm damaged and broken and it's my fault.

"Cassie..." came Yukito's voice, sounding weak and defeated to Cassie's ears. "Are you...did he..."

She couldn't answer him yet, she was crying so hard, though she still had not made a sound. Her skin burned with guilt and shame--she wanted to shed it like a lizard, or else scour it with water until she felt like herself again, until she felt whole.

No one will love me now.

Dimly she realized the car had stopped moving, and she looked up to see where they were. The theatre. The irony of this location did not escape Cassie, and if possible she cried even harder, the sobs stealing the very breath from her lungs.

Yukito almost looked like he was crying too, and it dawned on Cassie how much pain he was probably in right now. "I'm sorry," she whispered, the first words she had spoken since they got in the car.

"Did he...did he do that before?"

"No," she said, her voice ragged. "But I...I sh-should have known he w-would. All those things he said, comparing me to Mom, all those little comments, all the times he looked at me..." It was so obvious now that Cassie felt physically sick. "God, I'm so stupid!" she wailed before collapsing into tears again.

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

"I'm sorry," she whispered, the first words she had spoken since they got in the car.

"Did he...did he do that before?" Yukito asked breathlessly, his hands twitching in his lap as he tried to decide between keeping the distance that he desired, and closing it the way she probably needed.

"No," she said, her voice ragged. "But I...I sh-should have known he w-would. All those things he said, comparing me to Mom, all those little comments, all the times he looked at me... God, I'm so stupid!"

He looked over sadly at her as she fell into more tears, and for a moment he saw Erin there. What would he have done if Erin had been hurt like this? He couldn't let his own fears stop him from being there with Cassie now. Yukito reached over and touched her shoulder tentatively, ready to draw back at any resistance.

Will you let me touch you, Cassie? I'm such the wrong person to be here for you. You probably don't want to be anywhere near a guy right now, and I'm one of the worst to be sympathetic. I don't know what to do...

“No...Cassie...” he pleaded with her, on the verge of breaking himself. Gosh, he could be so weak. He wished the weakness would stop tearing on the people around him, “You couldn't have known. You're too nice for that. You trust people.” He let out a slow breath, “This isn't your fault.”

“It can't be your fault...” he whispered, and it felt like words were dripping in the hot car, the day's heat refusing to let go of them and let them feel like they had a little more room, a little more air to breathe with. “If it's your fault it's mine, too....” He knew he made no sense. Yukito shook his head as if to clear his thoughts away, letting out a sigh and taking his hands away from her to hold the wheel. It offered a kind of stable comfort. “Cassie...I...I know how you feel right now. And whatever it is you're thinking you did to deserve this, it's a lie. You can't make sense of it. It was all.. him...” He glared at the dashboard then, overcome with the vision of the man's gleaming eyes, he snarled and slammed his sweaty hands against the wheel, “I'm going to kill that b******!”

Cassie didn't deserve this. Cassie was sweet enough to excuse away all her suspicions. If she saw, she would have tried to make little of it. Just like my mother does. I can't let her do that to herself. She doesn't deserve this, and she wouldn't have stopped it. He knew that. He took advantage of her.

Yukito turned to look at her face, frowning, his voice dropping until it was almost a prayer, “Cassie, you know we love you...right?” Aidousan...crap...what is he going to do? And Erin...Erin will be so upset. She'll know how to help Cassie feel better...

But does Cassie want them to know? He knew his own pride enough to know it hadn't been best to hide his father's actions from his mother. In a monumental way, it was his biggest lie. One that he carried for years. But would Cassie want to hold that in? Should she? He always felt like it was the best way, to keep it in him so it wouldn't contaminate the ones he loved most, the ones he would trust to not brush it off and forget about it. But should she? He often wondered if it was the biggest mistake he had ever made, the worst choice, the hard route.

[The Phantom of Paris]

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

Her breathing was coming in short, shallow gasps--it seemed to Cassie like she'd never get enough air. Cassie had practically grown up in and around the water, with her pool and her family's beach house on Lake Michigan, and she'd couldn't remember a time when she'd ever been scared of water, but now she felt like she was drowning, never to come back to the surface again.

She felt Yukito reach out a hand to gently touch her on the shoulder, and she froze, her struggle to get enough air into her lungs stopping mid-breath. Her eyes widened, and she dared not move a muscle. Yukito's hand on her shoulder reminded her far too much of how his hands had been, holding her and pinning her down with more strength than seemed possible, holding her so tight her shoulders still hurt, although the pain seemed dull to her, as if it was really only in her mind.

Please. Please, don't hurt me.

“No...Cassie...” Yukito said, his voice agitated and unsteady. “You couldn't have known. You're too nice for that. You trust people. This isn't your fault.”

Yes it is. How could he not understand? How could he say it wasn't Cassie's fault, when she had seen all the signs that something like this was coming and still done nothing? She was no better than Shelby, who had holed herself up in her room and pretended not to hear, because if you don't confront the problem it doesn't exist. How could I have been so blind, so stupid? How could I have sensed that our friendships were in jeopardy, but not have seen it when it was me who was the one in danger?

I pushed aside my worries because I trust people too easily. It is my fault, because I didn't do anything to try and save myself.

“It can't be your fault...” Yukito said in a weak whisper. “If it's your fault it's mine, too....”

Cassie looked up at him, still crying. "What--what do you mean?" she breathed.

“Cassie...I...I know how you feel right now. And whatever it is you're thinking you did to deserve this, it's a lie. You can't make sense of it. It was all...him...”

Cassie shook her head. "I don't understand!" she wailed, turning away. And you're wrong. It was my fault, because I made the mistake of thinking that people could be good.

Her tears were slowing now, although she couldn't stop shaking. It was almost similar to the way Cassie acted during a bad hurricane. He was a hurricane, because it was without warning, how it got so bad, so quickly. And nothing could have stopped him.


“Cassie, you know we love you...right?”

She froze again, looking at Yukito incredulously. Slowly, she nodded, the words repeating themselves over in her mind. 'You know we love you...

She burst into tears again, this time her loud sobs filling the small car. "N-No--one--will--l-l-love me--now!"

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

He had quickly taken the hint and dropped his hand from her shoulder, but he could still feel the barrier between them, that was - this time - completely one-sided on someone else's part besides his. “It can't be your fault...If it's your fault it's mine, too....”

"What--what do you mean?" Tears were still streaking down her face as she looked at him, confused. He wished he hadn't mentioned himself in the situation so personally.

"Cassie...I...I know how you feel right now. And whatever it is you're thinking you did to deserve this, it's a lie. You can't make sense of it. It was all...him...”

Cassie shook her head. "I don't understand!"

He sent a look her way. I want to tell you, maybe because I'm selfish and think it will impress you. Maybe because I hope you won't be and this will still be as huge, as ugly, as you see it. I want to tell you almost as much as I want to tell Erin.

“Cassie, you know we love you...right?” he said quietly, and she met his eyes with an incredulous expression. It was probably one of the last things she was expecting right now, especially from him. To 'love' someone was not a typical Yukito thing to do, he imagined them to think. Cold Yukito, distant Yukito. Thinks-he-is-so-much-better Yukito. He didn't want her to hear those things because she had turned into the same thing he was. Afraid. After a long, quiet moment, she nodded, but her tears started to take over again. Yukito let out a slow breath and looked ahead of him in the car, wanting to comfort her but knowing he would suck at it.

"N-No--one--will--l-l-love me--now!" she cried out suddenly, and it was his turn to look at her in disbelief.

"Are you crazy?" he said breathlessly, "Cassie, look at me. I can promise you, this won't change a thing about how Aidousan feels about you. He's crazy about you, Cassie. So this jerk comes by and tries stuff, that doesn't make you any less of a person. You are still the same pretty, smart, nice Cassie." He sighed and looked out the front windshield, wanting to bang his head against the steering wheel to let out his frustration. "Damn, Cassie. I can't tell you honestly that this won't change who you are, or effect everything from now on but...." His face darkened. "You're still good. You're still wanted, and still loved. You're scarred, not dirty."

"And I know how you feel, Cassie. I...I know..." He sent her a purposeful look, hoping she would understand what he was saying
without him directly saying it.

"I'm not just saying that."

After a long minute, he sighed again and looked away, tacking on with meaning, "My dad is a jacka**, by the way."

[The Phantom of Paris]

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

She couldn't stop crying. She couldn't think. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. Cassie just couldn't. She couldn't stop the scene that played before her on an endless repeat, she couldn't shake the feeling of first Mike's and later Yukito's hand on her shoulder, she couldn't stop blaming herself.

She couldn't do anything.

"Cassie, look at me. I can promise you, this won't change a thing about how Aidousan feels about you. He's crazy about you, Cassie. So this jerk comes by and tries stuff, that doesn't make you any less of a person.You are still the same pretty, smart, nice Cassie."

No I'm not. I can't be.

She took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to draw some air into her oxygen-starved lungs. She ached all over from the crying, from the way she had struggled to get away. I'm falling apart, from the inside out.

"I...I can't--"

"Damn, Cassie. I can't tell you honestly that this won't change who you are, or effect everything from now on but....You're still good. You're still wanted, and still loved. You're scarred, not dirty." He was getting angry, she could tell, growing frustrated with her falling apart in front of her, and that scared her. She inched away from him until she was as far away as she could be in the passenger seat of the car. "How do you know?" she wanted to ask, but the words caught in her throat as she tried her best to calm herself down.

"And I know how you feel, Cassie. I...I know...I'm not just saying that."

For the next minute, the only sound in the car was Cassie's ragged breathing, and the rustling of her clothes as she wiped some of her tears away with the back of her hand and the hem of her shirt, until Yukito said, "My dad is a jacka**, by the way."

Cassie froze, realization dawning in an instant, and slowly she turned to face him. "Oh my God, Yukito..." she whispered.

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

"And I know how you feel, Cassie. I...I know...I'm not just saying that." he said, the anger and frustration bubbling up underneath his skin. He tried not to count how long it had been, but he could still clearly remember how old he was, and what it had all been like. There was no mistaking what had happened - it was a turning point. And it had been seven years or so. And it made no difference how long it had been. He still hadn't made it very far, he felt. He was still as afraid, as weak, as vulnerable. Wasn't there anything he could do to hide that?

He looked over at her, knowing she didn't get it. People never get it. But Cassie should. She should know that if she keeps digging herself in a hole, that she'll just end up like me. "My dad is a jacka**, by the way."

Yukito could see her stiffen in realization. When she turned to him, he knew she had finally pieced it together. It felt kind of satisfying to see the surprise there - he could pretend like he had buried the signs and warnings deep enough that he almost seemed normal again. "Oh my God, Yukito..."

He frowned at her, then looked away. He didn't want 'oh my god's. He wanted her to understand why. "You can't forget things. People are hardwired masochists that way." he turned to stare out of his window. The pavement of the parking lot was gleaming in the late afternoon sun. He wondered vaguely what they should do now.

"Cassie...don't be afraid. It sucks to always be afraid. Let Aidousan help you..." he sighed, "He can't help me anymore. Even if he keeps trying. Erin...she's the only person I have right now, and she doesn't even know it." More staring out the window, more silence. "You won't want to be touched. You won't be able to stop thinking about it. You'll be surprised that you can even sleep, then realize you can't, that you spent most of the night half-awake and screaming..." he blinked hard, one of the few signs he wasn't just quietly talking about some stupid topic like what they had planned for the day or something. "Everything is gonna fall apart unless you can keep him around. That's what I believe. Because parents are there only so much...then they get tired of the cycle and lose patience in you." His lips twitched into a deeper frown.

"I'm not gonna bore you with the long story, but just understand that... you're not gonna be alone in this. If there's no hope for me, there's no hope for you, and vise versa." Yukito raised his eyes and looked at her, at last able to force the tiniest of smiles onto his face. "Cassie...you have to know we love you. And you have to know you can't shut yourself off to protect yourself. Trust me that it doesn't work. You can see it in me, and you can see it in Shelby..."His eyes widened, and he gripped the wheel fearfully as he realized, "Oh, s***! Is Shelby at the house?!"

[The Phantom of Paris]

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

Yukito's revelation had been enough to shock her tears into ceasing, and she supposed she should have been grateful for that, but all she could think of was that what Yukito must have gone through was a thousand times worse than anything that Mike had done to her. He's just my stupid mother's a** of a boyfriend, but this is Yukito's father we're talking about. His father, someone he was supposed to be able to trust!

But...I trusted Mike too. Or at least, I wanted to. Because that's who I am, isn't it? It's who I've always been.

And it would have gotten worse if Yukito hadn't been there. He wouldn't have stopped until he'd gotten what he wanted.

Thank you, Yukito.

"You can't forget things," Yukito said, turning away from her. I know that now. I know. "People
are hardwired masochists that way. Cassie...don't be afraid. It sucks to always be afraid. Let Aidousan help you...He can't help me anymore. Even if he keeps trying. Erin...she's the only person I have right now, and she doesn't even know it." But she does, Yukito. I wish you could see how much she wants you to let her in, how much she wants to help you.

You should be telling her these things, not me. You should tell her.

"You won't want to be touched," Yukito continued. Cassie nodded fervently, still shaking even though she had stopped crying. "You won't be able to stop thinking about it. You'll be surprised that you can even sleep, then realize you can't, that you spent most of the night half-awake and screaming...Everything is gonna fall apart unless you can keep him around. That's what I believe. Because parents are there only so much...then they get tired of the cycle and lose patience in you."

My parents wouldn't be around for me at all.

"My mother won't believe me if I tell her," Cassie said suddenly, as if the thought had just occurred to her. "And...Yukito, please don't tell Erin..." Tears filled her eyes again at this. "I will tell her...but I don't want to scare her. I don't want her to worry about me...but I will tell her. She's my best friend, I have to...just...not now."

"Yukito?" she had to ask. "When does it end? When will I finally feel like myself again, when will I be able to walk around and not feel like he's there looking at me all the time, watching me?"

"When will I be able to be brave again?" she added in a barely audible whisper.

"I'm not gonna bore you with the long story, but just understand that... you're not gonna be alone in this. If there's no hope for me, there's no hope for you, and vise versa. Cassie...you have to know we love you. And you have to know you can't shut yourself off to protect yourself. Trust me that it doesn't work. You can see it in me, and you can see it in Shelby..."

Shelby.

They both seemed to make the realization at the same time, and Cassie turned to Yukito, eyes wide in panic. "Oh, s***! Is Shelby at the house?!"

"Yes," Cassie said frantically. "Oh, god, we have to go back..." She froze again, remembering. "Shelby. She heard me, Yukito. She was there, and she heard what was happening, and she didn't help me. She knew what was happening and she ignored it, she let him hurt me and then she let him hurt you...and I don't want to go back..." Shaking violently, she brought her knees up under her chin and sat there, staring straight ahead at the theatre in front of them, knowing what had to be done but not knowing if she had it in her to do it.

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

"My mother won't believe me if I tell her," Cassie said suddenly, as if the thought had just occurred to her.

"And...Yukito, please don't tell Erin..." Tears filled her eyes again at this. "I will tell her...but I don't want to scare her. I don't want her to worry about me...but I will tell her. She's my best friend, I have to...just...not now."

He met her eyes evenly. "You have to tell them." It wasn't an order. It was a fact. She couldn't bury it like he did. His eyes softened and he looked away. "But I don't think it's my place to tell her before you do. You still need to do it."

"Yukito? When does it end? When will I finally feel like myself again, when will I be able to walk around and not feel like he's there looking at me all the time, watching me?" Then she added in the lightest of breaths, "When will I be able to be brave again?"

Yukito stiffened, not meeting her eyes and not certain of what answer she needed right now. "In some ways, it'll all go back to normal. In other ways, you'll always be different. But you're going to be okay...I promise." His voice was gentle with her, trying to comfort her with his honest words since he could hold her like he could hold Erin. "I'm not gonna bore you with the long story, but just understand that... you're not gonna be alone in this. If there's no hope for me, there's no hope for you, and vise versa. Cassie...you have to know we love you. And you have to know you can't shut yourself off to protect yourself. Trust me that it doesn't work. You can see it in me, and you can see it in Shelby..."

A sudden lightning bolt of thought struck the two occupants of the car, and Cassie stared back at him, expression fearful like his was.

"Oh, s***! Is Shelby at the house?!"

"Yes," Cassie said frantically, and he felt like a huge lump was dropped into his gut. "Oh, god, we have to go back..." He nodded, put the Volvo into gear, and Cassie added "Shelby. She heard me, Yukito. She was there, and she heard what was happening, and she didn't help me. She knew what was happening and she ignored it, she let him hurt me and then she let him hurt you...and I don't want to go back..." He had frozen in place, his face darkened with this new information. For one long, terrible instant, he didn't want to go back. He wanted to intentionally leave her there. Let her deal with the monster she would have let her sister be attacked by. Yukito worked his jaw, sending little stings up his bruised cheek. He could taste blood in his mouth, but it wasn't too bad. Physical wounds would
heal. The mental wounds of being not only attacked but abandoned by your loved ones......he knew those didn't fade with time.

No....this is Shelby. Weak, impressionable, shy Shelby. Who doesn't want to be hurt and who thinks she doesn't need anybody even as she's broken on the floor.

Yukito let out a sigh, "I have to go back for her. I don't think he'll still be there, but I want you to stay in the car and keep it locked." His face was stony as he drove back to the Wrights', now a place as infested with danger as if they were leaping back into a chasm with only death at the bottom, precariously balancing on the hope that he was gone. Yukito looked over at Cassie, his face firmly set. "I'll come back. I just need to make sure she's okay. Are you gonna be alright here?" It wasn't a question of if she would see him or not. It was if she felt safe in the security of his car, or if she would feel the walls closing in as soon as the reality set in. He left the keys in the ignition.

[The Phantom of Paris]

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

You have to tell them." Yukito told her, making eye contact. I know. I know I do. I just...I'm not sure if I can. "But I don't think it's my place to tell her before you do. You still need to do it."

Cassie gave a brief little nod, trying to figure out just how Yukito expected her to tell her friends. How will they react? Will they freak out like Yukito did, or will they be mad at me for not telling them sooner? Will they ever trust me to be honest with them again, when I couldn't be honest with them about this? Will telling them cause more problems than not telling them?

What if I can't do it?

"Yukito? When does it end?" she found herself asking before she could stop herself. "When will I finally feel like myself again, when will I be able to walk around and not feel like he's there looking at me all the time, watching me? When will I be able to be brave again?"

"In some ways, it'll all go back to normal. In
other ways, you'll always be different. But you're going to beokay...I promise. I'm not gonna bore you with the long story, but just understand that... you're not gonna be alone in this. If there's no hope for me, there's no hope for you, and vise versa. Cassie...you
have to know we love you. And you have to know you can't shut yourself off to protect yourself. Trust me that it doesn't work. You can see it in me, and you can see it in Shelby...Oh, s***! Is Shelby at the house?!"

Cassie nodded, panic seizing her for a moment before she remembered her sister's betrayal. That look on her face as the two of them watched Yukito and Mike struggle in front of them...the look that told her that her sister had ignored her frightened cries in favor of her anime and her lies. She knew that she had to go back, that she had to protect Shelby. But she didn't protect me...she didn't even care. I don't care if it's supposed to be the other way around, the older sister protecting and taking care of the younger, but...she could have helped me, and she didn't.

She let him hurt me, and she let me cry, all alone.

"I have to go back for her," Yukito said finally. Cassie nodded. "I know." "I don't think he'll
still be there, but I want you to stay in the car and keep it locked." She nodded again, still shaking as they drove back to the place she had formerly considered home. It'll be just as scary during the day as it is at night now.

"I'll come back. I just need to make sure she's okay. Are you gonna be alright here?"

Cassie looked up at the house fearfully, noting the absence of Mike's car in the driveway. She couldn't suppress a shudder as she gazed at the building that had stopped feeling like home the moment her dad had left, wondering how she could ever bring herself to go back there. "I guess so," she murmured. "Yukito? Be--be careful."

Once Yukito was gone, she undid her seat belt and slipped out of her seat, choosing instead to sit on the floor in a huddle as she hugged her knees to her chest, wanting to hide not only from the m, ominous prison before her eyes, but from the house itself--and from her shame, her embarrassment, her fear.

"Yukito!"

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

He could see how nervous she was. He knew the feeling. But how could he leave Shelby behind? His fingers quivered as the mental image flashed through his mind of that creep cornering Shelby, thinking herself ignored and immune as usual. God, I hope she's alright...

They stopped near Cassie's house, and he opened the door, slipping out as he spoke to her, "I'll come back. I just need to make sure she's okay. Are you gonna be alright here?"


Cassie looked up towards her house, a fear-filled look in her eyes. "I guess so,"

He felt suddenly sick to his stomach, despite the rush of adrenaline still thrumming through his system. He felt frustration, panic, and concern boiling beneath the skin, and he was using that fuel to stay in control of the situation. To at least let Cassie believe it was all going to be okay, that there was still hope. He set his jaw and started to slam the door shut, even if he was afraid that the man would still be there. What could he do then? What if he was with Shelby right now? What could they do?

"Yukito?" he froze, looking down at her, "Be--be careful."

A moment passed with no movement from Yukito. Then he smiled down at her. "Of course. I'm always careful." The joke was his parting remark, slamming the door and starting for the enormous front steps. Just before he entered, the front door still hanging strangely open to the empty foyer, he reached up to inspect his bruises by feel. He'd had a few good hits to his face, but he could still see. What would probably be worst was his back. But he was still able to fight back, whatever happened. He passed through the foyer in silence. He realized for the
first time how creepy a large house could be, even in the daytime, when it was quiet and you didn't know who was inside.

Yukito knew which room was Shelby's, even though he had only been at Cassie's house a handful of times. Even if Cassie hadn't pointed it out, he would have known because this door seemed forever shut. Keeping people out. Yukito reached for the knob, trying to turn it. He wasn't sure whether to panic or feel relief at the door being locked. It could mean two entirely different scenarios. But either way, he still felt a lump in his throat that he made himself ignore. He jiggled the knob loudly, calling through, "Shelby? Open the door."

[The Phantom of Paris]

OOC: Okay, so I'm just gonna assume that I'm only going to be posting as Shelby for the next few posts...if that's wrong, just let me know. But it would be weird writing as both when Cassie has no one to RP to at the moment...so yeah. BIC:

Shelby Wright

Arms wrapped tightly around her bent knees, Shelby sat with her back against the locked door, staring straight ahead. Her expression was blank, her eyes dry--she had not shed a single tear since the night her mother's affair had been revealed. She had cried herself to sleep that night, but since then had not cried. Shelby didn't really know why, and she knew that if there was ever a time where she should be crying, this was it.

But no tears came. She wasn't shaking or sobbing, as Cassie had been--she'd looked out the window and seen her sister break down as soon as she'd stepped into Yukito's car and sped away. She felt nothing. It was as if she was suspended from her ceiling, looking down on her numb form from above. She saw a girl sitting against a door in a black DeathNote T-shirt that hung on her too-thin frame, deep circles under her eyes and almost translucent skin. Her curly red hair lay in tangles across her shoulders and she clasped her thin wrists so tight it looked like they would snap in half.

Who was this girl? Not Shelby. Shelby was the girl who burst into song on a regular basis and wore purple braces with pride, who loved her big sister and never forgot to do things like eat or brush her hair. Shelby never holed herself up in her room to watch anime for hours at a time, not moving once. Shelby talked to people. Shelby didn't have conversations with a boy named Alphonse Elric in her head. Shelby would never dream of skipping school. Shelby was happy and healthy. This other girl looked like a concentration camp victim. Who was this person?

If I'm not Shelby, then who am I?

She didn't even react when she felt a hand on the other side of the door, and heard the knob rattling. "Shelby? Open the door." It was Yukito. Why did he want to see Shelby? Shelby wasn't here, she couldn't be. Shelby would have helped her sister. Shelby would have saved her. This girl had done nothing.

She couldn't open the door. To open it would be having to face what she had done. Her door was a barrier, a portal. The one thing that separated her own little world from the real one. To open it would mean she would have to face what had happened. Her betrayal to her sister, her shame. She couldn't.

But she found herself reaching up to unlock the door, scooting over across the floor until she was facing it, leaning against her bed. Her blank expression did not change. She didn't say a word as the door swung open.

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

He slammed his fist at the door, asking to be let in. What an ironic thing for him to ask for. He never let people in. Family... friends... people that he cared about. They all said that he needed to open up, to trust more. Erin had said it like he took some sort of sick pleasure out of wallowing in his own grievances. Maybe she was right. Maybe he always asked for the worst possible scenario to come his way.

Shelby unlocked the door but didn't take the effort to greet him in any sort of way, looking as distant and closed off as ever. He pushed it open to find her nearby, no readable expression on her face. One quick look around the room assured him they were the only ones inside, but he still only stepped just within the doorway, turning on Shelby immediately.

"Shelby," he said in a tone he found surprising in himself. He sounded like he was here to reprimand her in some way. But he could feel the real anger bubbling beneath the surface, softened and restrained for the moment by the knowledge that he still didn't feel safe, and safety always took priority when there was someone else involved. "What the hell do you think you're trying to pull?" He pointed to his face, one bruise deepening in color and the blood still drying. His eyes flashed but his face was calm and serious. "Look at me. I don't think you need me to tell you that Cassie and I got off easy today. What the hell are you trying to pull? You can not like me all you want, you can hate me, even, I'm cool with that. But you left her. What. The. Hell."

[The Phantom of Paris]

Shelby Wright

Yukito had fought him. He'd attacked Mike and fought him to try and save Cassie. Shelby had seen it, briefly when she'd gone downstairs before fleeing to her sanctuary once again, but it took seeing the bruises on his face for it to really sink into her brain. He'd fought for her sister when she hadn't. Why had he done that? Was he really that stupid? Shelby wasn't stupid. The girl that she saw as she looked on at the strange scene wasn't stupid either. At least, she didn't think so. She was just too quiet. Too quiet, and too thin, and too afraid.

"Shelby," Yukito said, his tone dangerous. Why was he calling her Shelby? She wasn't Shelby. She wasn't here. She hadn't been for months. Had she? No, of course she hadn't. She couldn't have been. Could she?

Who am I? What have I become?

"What the hell do you think you're trying to pull?" She didn't respond. Why was he asking her? He thought he was talking to Shelby. Couldn't he realize that she wasn't her? If I can, why can't you?

Yukito pointed to his face. She winced inwardly, but her expression stayed vacant, blank and numb like the rest of her. "Look at me. I don't think you need me to tell you that Cassie and I got off easy today. What the hell are you trying to pull?"

Again, Shelby stayed quiet. I'm not trying to pull anything. Am I, Alphonse?

But for the first time, Al didn't respond.

Alphonse?


"You can not like me all you want, you can hate me, even, I'm cool with that. But you left her.
What. The. Hell."

Slowly, Shelby looked up at him. At first, she just gazed blankly into his dark, angry eyes, not saying a word. When she finally opened her mouth, no sound came out. Whoever I am, I can't talk. Finally, she was able to choke out, "You...would've done...the same thing."

"No he wouldn't have, Shelby."

Alphonse. Why did you leave?

"Why did you leave her?"

I'm not Shelby.

"That's for sure." This wasn't right. Alphonse never got angry. "The Shelby I know wouldn't have done that. You left her. So I'm leaving you."

What?

"You think you can survive so well on your own, so be it."

And Alphonse was gone. Once again, Shelby was alone.

"You would have."