32She calls me from the cold, just when I was low, feeling short of stable - Fuel
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Two years later
"Jezebel! I got in! I fucking got in!"
"Mark, watch your language! We have new people here!" Gabrielle shouted from the kitchen while Jezebel ran down the stairs to the door way where Mark was standing holding a letter.
"Lemme see! Lemme see!" She reached the doorway and grabbed the letter off Mark, and scanned it quickly, "sweet! See. I told you you could do it," she remarked cheekily, poking her tongue out at him. He pulled a face back out at her. "Heh, all you've gotta do now is tell UCAS that's where you're going and then you'll get the stuff from uni. Wow. can't believe you're gonna be leaving us."
Mark's face was one of happiness, though his smile was tinged with sadness. He'd spent the best years of his life living with these people. Although the first one was hard for everyone, involving the court case against his mother and Dr Marsh, the heart-ache of the investigation; and the eventual joy of Gabrielle becoming his legal guardian. Though after the case, living with Mark proved difficult for the entire house, he had a hard time relaxing and opening up, eventually becoming hyperactive; but the second year more than made up for it. His mother and the doctor were safely locked up in prison, and he realised she couldn't hurt him anymore. He completely settled down and opened up. He used the grades he got in his A-levels to apply for university, two years later than planned, but this was something he had dreamed of, even if the reason was different from the first. He had wanted to go to university to get away from his mother; now, he wanted to make something of himself.
"Well, not really, I'm gonna visit and come back for summer and everything. And you've heard of a thing called telephones, haven't you?" Mark teased her, "anyway, it's only March and uni's not gonna start until September. We've got ages yet."
"Even so, it's not going to be the same," Jezebel sighed at the memories she had. She shouldn't believe that the recluse who ended up as a heap on her door step was the same person who stood in front of her now. He had become a lot healthier, filled out in all the right places, his hair became stronger, reaching just passed his shoulders; and he had a constant smile on his face. At twenty years old, he was finally happy.
"Yeah I know. But nice to know I'm going to be missed."
"Narcissist."
Over the year, the relationship between Jezebel and Mark became that of brother and sister, and they were almost inseparable. This was different to before. If they needed their own space they'd stay apart, if they wanted to do things together, then they would. There were no uncomfortable feelings, and no clinginess.
At the beginning of the second year, the house took in a new girl, Phoenix, brought in by Tammy, and everyone took an instant like to her. Mark and Jezebel were the ones who made her feel most welcome. They worked together as a team to help her come to terms with her past, and settle in eventually. Gabrielle was very appreciative of this help, but was more amazed at the closeness of the two's relationship.
And soon they would be separated. Gabrielle knew this was going to happen, but for once, she didn't know how the pair would take it. Although Jezebel was the mother of the group, Mark became her older brother in personal circumstances; if she had any problem with anything, it was Mark she went to. Gabrielle was surprised that nothing more came out of it, but now she was rather glad at this, it would have only made the separation worse in the long term.
"So only six months left, we should make the most of it. After this who knows how much time we're gonna get together."
"Don't say that."
"Why not?"
"Just." she couldn't end her sentence, instead smiling to stem her emotions, "congratulations dude." She hugged him suddenly, holding him tight.
"I'm gonna miss you too, Jez," his six foot five frame held the comparatively tiny five foot two girl close to him. He looked down at her, he realised that he knew very little about her past. He wanted to know why she never had to dye her hair even though it was an unnatural colour of red, why her eyes changed to, again, unnatural colours according to her moods; he wanted to know why she was in the house in the first place. Gabrielle saw this in him, and she knew Jezebel would open up, but it would only happen in separation, but she didn't know if it would bring them closer or pull the apart.
"Okay I'll introduce you properly to the others now," Gabrielle walked into the hallway where Jezebel and Mark were, with a young girl following behind, she was as tall as Jezebel, with wavy black hair to the middle of her back, and wearing a dark purple, gothic style, dress. Mark let go of the small girl and both turned to face the new one. "This is Mark and Jezebel, you two, this is Satana."
"Satana?"
The girl didn't look up, just mumbling something about it being best not to ask.
Mark didn't know what to make of this Satana, possibly because she reminded him of himself when he first met Jezebel.
"If you have any problems it's usually these two who you go to. People only really come to me for their problems if they really can't tell anyone else," Jezebel smirked at this remark. "I'll take you to the other four, I think they're here, we've got so many its hard to keep track."
Gabrielle walked off up the stairs with Satana following, still keeping her head down. Once out of ear shot, Mark asked, "what do you think?"
Jezebel kept her gaze up the stairs, with a frown on her face as if she had a deja-vu, "It's Mark two," she said, her voice quivering trying her hardest to suppress a giggle.
"Whatever." Mark smiled down at her.
"We're never gonna get rid of you, just as you're gonna be going we've got someone else just like you!" the giggle was now a laugh and becoming a lot more difficult to suppress.
"What do you want, me here or at uni? Make up your mind."
"I don't have to, you go and we've got Mark number two to take your place!" Mark playfully pushed her away, which only made her burst into laughter, "you push me cause it's true," she poked her tongue at him and ran off to the living room to watch television. He gave her the finger as she ran.
He couldn't help but wonder if their relationship would out live the separation, 'but,' he figured, 'we've got six months to make it stronger, and what we've been through.' he smiled to himself, 'everything should be fine, even if there is a Mark two.' He giggled to himself at the thought.
"Watcha laughing at?" Jezebel shouted to him.
"Nothing."
"Then stop it and come watch TV with me like a normal person."
"Normal?! Dare you insult me?!" He shouted running into the living room.
Gabrielle could hear everything from upstairs as she introduced Alex, David, Tammy and Phoenix to the new housemate, hoping that Satana couldn't hear what the two downstairs were saying, worried that they would offend her. Although, with that last batch of comments thrown at each other, she was now satisfied that their relationship was too good to throw away, and Mark and Jezebel would make it survive anything.
******** End
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That's it! I'm done with this story! No more! Seriously dudes I've been writing this for a year now. If you're interested in Jezebel, her back story can be found here: and as soon as I can get up the time and ideas, I'll put her main story up here for you all to read and find out stuff about her. Aren't you people lucky? Now read and review and tell me what you think.
Seran