like i did before the storm (open)

[aurelia rose moore]

tonight was it....she was finally going to do it...

she had battled with herself all day about whether or not she dared to head outside and disobey her mother after donna left for the night, leaving her daughter in charge of cleaning up the house before she was expected to go right back upstairs and head to bed. but the temptation to go outside and see the town was strong within her as she wiped down the final dishes and moved the last of the chairs, knowing that only the sign outside remained. she bit gently down on her lip as she headed for the door, glancing around her to see if there was anyone who might spot her and convince her to stay where she was, but there was nothing. the sign was sitting right in front of her...and her mother wouldn't be back for hours....was there any real harm in going outside for just a little bit? her mother would be furious with her for having gone out, especially after she had been warned so many times about the cruel people who lived in the streets outside. it was dangerous, she insisted to her daughter, and that was why she was only allowed to help in the house for a little while at a time without socializing or having conversation with the customers.

donna was incredibly protective of her daughter.

as her fingers wrapped around the sign and picked it up off of the ground, aurelia cast one final glance around her and then did the one thing she had wanted to do for years now. she tucked the sigh inside and closed the door, locking it with the spare key her mother always hid underneath the flower pot out front before she dashed down the street, not daring to look back. she was already beginning to feel a little bad for deceiving her mother like this, but aurelia needed to do this. she needed to get out and see the things that her mother spoke about, see the town she had grown up in her entire life but never been allowed to explore. it was as if there was this other person living inside of her body that demanded this little instance of freedom despite the fact that she planned on returning within short time to avoid being caught....another person entirely who wanted to be able to say that she could die happy the following morning because she had done something reckless and dangerous.

the pace of her footsteps quickened, leading aurelia into a bit of a run despite the skirt she wore around her knees and the flip-flops that clacked on her feet. rain was beginning to fall little, but it did nothing to slow the pace that aurelia had set for herself as her footsteps carried her further and further down the road. she didn't know how long she had been running or in which direction, but soon she found herself along the banks of the river as it thrashed dangerously to and fro, the rain now picking up along with the wind. lacking a sweater or anything to shelter her from the rain, the blonde could feel her clothes and hair begin to stick to her face as she looked round her, hearing the roll of approaching thunder that threatened to bring a storm along with it. and darkness was beginning to swirl in as well...

fear was beginning to grip her as she looked around, suddenly rather lost as she couldn't make out the way she had taken in order to reach the river. in panic she hurried along the bank, losing her flip-flops in the mud along the way. but she didn't bother to stop and turn around for them. she needed to get home, now regretting her choice of coming out and venturing as far as she had without really taking the time to plan out what she was going to do and where she was going to go. oh, why had she not bothered to look at the sky outside before she left? chewing her lips nervously she folded her arms over her chest and held her jean jacket a little closer to her, trying to shake off the cold chill that she felt creeping over her skin. but it was only with the first flash of lightning that aurelia realized she was no longer alone, spotting another figure in the distance heading her way. a gasp fell from her lips as she froze, eyes wide. "who....who's there?"

word count; 834
listening to; sister act
tagged; open
wearing; this
comments; crazy and weird...but let's try this, shall we?

[/justify]

[ellie mae williams]

Ellie Mae Williams

| BELLE | BEAUTY AND THE BEAST | RESIDENT |

It’d been a fairly nice day earlier. While it may have been cloudy it was a wonderful temperature. Ellie enjoyed the darker weather as it reminded her of the winter months which just so happened to be her favorite time of the year. So after she left work for the day instead of returning home she went immediately to the river where she sat in the grass against a tree while she read one of her favorite books filled with romance and adventure. In fact she’d become so comfortable that she placed her book down on her lap and closed her eyes to rest for a moment, ultimately resulting in her dozing off.

That’s when the rain began. At first she’d forgotten where she was, lifting her hand to swat away whatever had brushed against her nose. After a few more droplets Ellie finally opened her eyes to see she was still at the river. Her car was parked a trek away and she stood up quickly hoping to make it to the comfort of her Toyota Camry before it began to storm.

Ellie wasn’t so lucky though. As soon as she stepped out from underneath the tree it began to pour. The girl hunched over, trying to shield the book in her arms against her chest as she began to run. Each time the lightning flashed in the sky she became a bit disoriented and had to pause for a moment to make sure she was heading in the right direction. Now she was regretted coming out after work. She should have waited until the sky was blue and the birds were chirping…not on the day where it’d looked like rain to begin with. Then again Ellie always had been a bit unconventional that way.

The lightning flashed again showing a figure off in the distance. At first she thought her eyes were just playing tricks on her, but when she heard the voice faintly through the booming thunder Ellie knew she wasn’t alone. Still holding her book to her chest she picked up her pace as fast as she could without getting her feet stuck in the mud. As she approached the girl she could see out of the corner of her eye off in the distance was her car and she gave a happy sigh of relief now that she’d finally found it.

Now she was in front of the other girl. The lightning and thunder began to appear more frequently making it hard to converse. It wasn’t exactly the time for pleasantries; the longer they stayed out in the cold rain was more of a chance to catch a cold. The heavy drops matted her hair against her head and the fabric of her blue dress stuck to her skin. While it was uncomfortable and Ellie wanted to get back to her car as quickly as possible, even more so now that it was in sight, she wasn’t the type of person to just run off and leave whoever this poor girl was. Especially when she looked terrified. She called out over the loud falling rain, “My car’s just over there. Do you need a ride?”