47The Ice Queen Has Landed
When I made my way to the kitchen late the next morning, I was surprised to hear two human voices, as opposed to one. At first I thought it was dad, back prematurely from the hospital, except the voice was distinctively feminine. Both were.
The last thing I needed this morning was to have Alex Meyers sitting at the kitchen table, sipping coffee with my twin sister, but there you go. That's the exact sight that greeted me. I scratched the back of my head, careful to walk around them, and magically evade their gazes.
It didn't work. "Douglas, could you drive Alex and me to the library today?" Denise inquired, tipping sugar into her steaming mug, her expression inquisitive.
I stopped at the fridge, puling out my ever-faithful strawberry milk. "It's within walking distance." I answered as I reached for a clean glass, acutely aware that Alex was watching me as well.
"We have to drop off some books we're planning to donate and they're too many to carry." My sister explained, exchanging a look with Alex that read 'what's his problem'?
I didn't need my sister taking lessons from Alex. Not today, not ever. I tried a different approach. "Why can't you drive yourself? You had no problem doing so the other night."
Denise's cheerful expression flickered. "Just drive for us Douglas."
I shrugged, emptying the contents of my glass. "Whatever." I waved a hand dismissively, "I'll drive you two."
I only agreed so she'd stop pestering me. The sooner I got away from her and Alex, the better my day would go. Denise smiled at me brightly and stood up, carrying her mug to the sink and dropping it amongst the suds. "Great. I'll go upstairs and change."
She exited the kitchen and I was left alone with Alex, who still had her eyes trained on me. Her expression turned inquisitive. "Do you share any of Denise's passions, such as her love for education?"
Now she was trying to get to know me. I didn't understand this girl. "I like art, and that's about the only subject I really enjoy. The other ones," I rinsed my glass, "bore me."
Alex lowered her gaze – I was beginning to wonder if she was capable of holding a conversation without turning the other party to stone – and I thought I saw the smallest of wistful smiles. "I see you're not as unrefined as I originally thought you were."
She was complimenting me now? Now I was positive she had issues. "You thought a lot of things that aren't true." I pulled a seat out and sat facing her, "But this isn't really the right time to discuss that."
That earned me an odd twitch. "Females naturally take a long time to get ready. You have all the time you want Douglas."
My name remained coated with same layer of ice it had been donned with the first time she spoke to me. "I think I would know my sister better than you. You only just met her the other day at Kerri's. I've known her the minute she was born."
"Then why did you sit down?" she mused, tracing her finger lazily on the table top.
I tried to glare, but somehow didn't quite pull it off, judging by Alex's amused features. She wanted to play? Okay, I'd play her stupid game. "What's my room look like?"
"I wouldn't know. I've never been inside it." Her dark eyes rolled upwards, "Ask me something logical."
"What type of art interests me?" I asked, grinning as confusion took over her face.
It lasted for the briefest of moments. "You like the bold, definite type. Something juvenile, like comic art. Maybe even manga." She leaned forward, resting her elbows lightly on the table, a curtain of black hair sweeping rakishly over determined gaze, "Did I hit home? Or do I have to run faster?"
My grin faded. "You looked in my room."
She didn't sit back, and merely shrugged. "I don't have to invade your privacy to know certain things. Some things are obvious, such as amateur art taste."
I winced. "What do you know about art?"
Alex blew strands of hair from her eyes. "I don't have to understand something to enjoy it."
Her words caressed the side of my face. "You've invaded my privacy by bringing up Jill." I said suddenly, my stomach dropping about twenty feet as soon as the name left my mouth, "Not to mention the fact that you've harassed me about the break up."
"Harassed?" She tilted her head back and laughed, a frosty laugh that seemed to reverberate around the entire room, before she stopped just as abruptly as she started, and tightened her features, "Not as much as I would have liked. You treated Jill badly. I'm merely returning the favor."
I felt a pang of anger. "I never treated Jill badly."
"Then why did she leave you? Do you think she wanted you to have sex with another girl on your anniversary?"
"I was sick on that day. I told her over the phone."
She waved my comments away dismissively. I became angrier. "How would you know what I did on that day? Based on Jill's statement? You weren't there, you didn't see anything happen. You heard one, biased side of the story – what evidence do you have?"
"If I wanted to be tried in court I would've asked." Her smirk was imminent, "Do you actually think that Jill would have placed a lover in front of her own friends?"
I was silent. Alex moved closer to me – too close, I noted. "Answer me Douglas." Her breath licked my lips. I shivered inwardly at her proximity.
Alex's hand closed over my wrist. Unlike the deathly cold touch I had expected, her hand was comfortingly warm. I erased any pleasant thoughts I currently had in her direction, and stared at her directly. "You're her friend, you tell me."
"Are you trying to avoid this?"
"Can you tell?" I replied sarcastically, plucking her fingers off my arm.
"Admit I'm right and I'll stop."
"Stop what? You're not doing anything." Her grip tightened on my wrist, yet she was still a long way off from painful.
"Douglas? Alex?" Denise's voice floated into the kitchen, "Come on, let's get going."
Alex's grasp disappeared, and I stole a glance at my arm. It was slightly red under the strain that had been applied, but other than that, she hadn't managed to leave half-moon crescents.
I realized she hadn't answered and swiveled to the chair. Alex had already left to Denise, and I stood by the kitchen table alone.
Somehow the day passed by me really quickly, and I found myself waiting in front of the library, gripping the steering wheel as I waited for my ever-dear sister and her friend to exit the library. It was around three in the afternoon when they emerged, holding each a reasonably large book tucked under their arm. Denise caught my gaze and waved, her expression grateful. Alex didn't bother with a greeting.
I leaned back onto the driver's seat as Alex and Denise climbed into the back. I was about to turn the ignition when Denise's hand closed on my shoulder lightly. "Could we take a short detour to Alex's place?"
I had already programmed myself to say no, and I did. Denise's hand didn't move. "Please Douglas? It won't take long."
I repeated my previous answer. Denise made a huffing sound, and turned to Alex for help. The black-haired girl merely arched a superior eyebrow at my sister, and turned her face down to the book splayed open on her lap.
"Please." Denise whined.
The engine roared to life. I slung a casual arm around the back of my seat and faced the girls. Alex didn't raise her head. Denise looked so hopeful it made me sick. "Fine." I said at last, "Just don't take too long or I'll leave and you can walk home."
Alex's house was –not surprisingly – not really a house, but a mansion. A pair of large wrought iron gates swung open when my sister pressed the intercom. There was a long stretch of paved road leading up to a towering ice-white building, flanked by trees on either side. As I drove the car slowly down the road, I looked out the window, having rolled down the glass, and couldn't prevent the slight hiss of jealously that escaped from my mouth.
Unfortunately, Alex heard it. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked me.
I could feel the smirk forming on her face. "It's very nice." Denise answered for me, and I felt a stab of guilt when I realized that Denise's reply was devoid of any envy.
I turned the car at the rounded pathway, stopping in front of two wooden double doors. They were painted white as well, just like the rest of the mansion. The color suited Alex perfectly.
Denise and Alex alighted, and I was about to get the hell of that place, when Alex paused at my window, looking up at me. Her eyes shone brightly, despite the cold tone she took on. "Are you afraid you might be consumed by jealously if you come in?"
I resisted the impulse to jam my foot onto the gas and run her over. "I'll pass for now."
"I'm asking you to come in." Her gaze didn't waver, and neither did her voice, "I want you to come in."
Now she being manipulative? Was there no end to her negative traits?
My hand hovered over my car keys, still placed firmly in the ignition. I preferred to think that curiosity won me over – more than anything – when I shoved the keys into my pockets and closed the car door. Denise had already made her way into the house, leaving me with Alex in front of the main doors. She held out a slim arm, palm facing upwards. "Your car keys."
"I already agreed to come in. I'm not letting you have my car."
Her smile was devious, before she plunged her hand inside of the front pants pockets. I stumbled back a little, surprised at her warm hand whisking down the front of my jeans before suddenly yanking out a small ring of keys.
If I was sleazy, I would have said her hand touching me would have felt good. Thankfully, I had more pressing things on my mind. Alex noticed my quizzical look and promptly dropped my keys into the gloved hand on a young-ish looking boy wearing a starched black suit. "The valet." She told me.
I suddenly felt poor.
I couldn't even find the right words to describe the house. It was big, vast, and had a ceiling almost as high as an opera theatre. It was crazy. I trudged behind Alex and Denise, wondering if I could whistle, or if that would break the crystal chandeliers I was walking under.
We reached an equally large room that resembled a living room, but I could only guess it was, owing that it has a wide, plasma screen television fixed on one of the white walls. "So, what is it we have to do here?" I inquired, scanning the room for a remote.
Denise sat down on the couch, placing the fat book she had carrying on what would have been a coffee table, if it hadn't been half the length of my bed. "Alex and I just need to make some photocopies of a couple of the pages from these books we loaned." My sister answered.
Who had a photocopier in their house? The Meyers, apparently. As if reading my thoughts, Alex flashed me a small smile. "Our photocopier is in the study."
I had to see it to believe it. "Show me."
Alex's smile widened, her eyes narrowed. She bent down beside my sister, who whispered something into her ear, before she straightened up, holding her own copy of the fat book in one hand.
I followed Alex though a series of winding hallways before we arrived at the supposed study, which I would've called a library. "What are you parent's jobs?" I wanted to know, tracing the finely carved design on one of the wooden doors.
"None of your concern." Alex brushed off, approaching a sleek, metallic grey machine that cranked to life when she pressed one of the numerous buttons.
I leaned on the photocopying machine as a few papers slid out. The printing was flawless, and it was in color. I blinked a couple of times, allowing for it to register. "Where's your room?" I then said.
Alex plucked the copies and sifted through them with her manicured – no surprise there – fingernails, her gaze averted downwards at the machine. "Why does it interest you?"
"I want to see if it's as immaculately decorated as the rest of this house."
"I can assure you it is."
"Are the walls ice white?"
"Whiter than virgin Antarctic snow."
"Why can't you just show me?"
The photocopying machine rumbled to a halt. "Because, it's my room, and therefore it's private. Especially," she switched off the machine and made her way towards the doors, "To guys."
Her step had increased for some strange reason, so I broke into a light jog to keep up with her. I placed myself directly in her path. Alex's expression turned annoyed. "Immaturity isn't going to help Douglas."
The way she said my name was beginning to be the only thing I liked about her. "Perseverance will." I replied sharply, "Now let's see it."
She shifted the book to her other arm. "Why so insistent?"
"Why so secretive?"
"Really," she said in a low voice, "Denise is waiting for these papers downstairs."
She attempted to brush past me but I quickly caught her upper arm. My hold was gentle, yet her face made it look like I was causing her extreme pain. She sighed and reached up to pry my hand off when I tightened my grip and she emitted a small gasp.
"It'll only take a few seconds." I whispered, tugging her towards me slowly, "My curiosity has gotten the better of me."
Alex remained impassive as our faces drew closer. It was when we were less than a couple of millimeters apart that I was able to take in her features properly. Her face was smooth and unusually flawless save for the light spray of freckles over the bridge of her nose, which she had apparently tried to cover up with make up. Her dark eyes turned out to actually be medium shade of brown, kind of a chestnut color.
"I'm not showing you my room." She told me with a biting edge.
Her eyebrows slanted inwards and I realized she was getting angry. I released her.
She twisted a handful of black hair in one hand and made her way down the spiraling staircase. I stole a glance down the hall and wondered which one was Alex's room, and why the hell wouldn't she show it to me.
Did she keep the body of an old lover inside? Was she actually an extraterrestrial and her room was her communication port? As her hips sashayed in front of me I erased the last possibility. She was a member of the opposite sex – and she knew it.
Terrance, Scott and I were gathered in front of the Dermot's twenty-seven inch Sony television when the phone beside the coffee table rang. I peeled my eyes away from the screen, remembering the plasma television from Alex's home and picked up the receiver. "Hello?" I mumbled, "This is the Dermot Residence."
"Terrance?" a female-sounding voice inquired.
My mind cleared enough to grin a little. "No, this is his friend. Who is this I'm stalking to?"
"That's none of your business." The voice replied briskly, "Pass the phone to Terrance."
Scott and Terrance were now staring at me inquisitively. I waved an arm energetically for Terrance to come over, and he did. "Terrance is in the bathroom right now." I tried.
"No he isn't." the girl on the other end snapped, "He's right next to you. I can hear him breathing."
"That isn't Terrance babe-"
"Pass the damn phone now."
I tossed the receiver to Terrance and settled on the sofa. Scott raised an eyebrow and I shrugged. I truly had no idea who the girl on the phone was, aside from the fact that she was extremely rude.
"Who was it?" Scott asked after Terrance had reclaimed his righteous seat on one of the armchairs.
"Billie." He answered nonchalantly.
The human popsicle he called a girlfriend. "What did she want?"
"Nothing." Terrance slumped into the cushions of the armchair, "Keep watching TV."
"How can you like her?" I found myself asking.
"What'th there not to like?" Scott's brother replied, his eyes falling on the phone, as if willing it to ring again, "Thith hot, available, and nice."
He was right about the first two. I was having doubts about the third. "She blew me off." I said in a monotone.
"Thith loyal too." Terrance broke into a mischievous grin, "All the better for me."
I rolled onto my side, grabbing a cushion and throwing it at Terrance. He ducked it easily, laughing. "So you're not going to be here tonight?" Scott wanted to know
Terrance shook his head. "Doeth it look like I'm going to be?"
"What are you guys going to do?" I found my voice dropping a couple of notches in politeness, "Stay up all night studying astro-physics or making models of the Milky Way galaxy?"
Terrance smile was wry. "If you're jealouth, just thay tho."
"I'm not jealous." I shot back, even though I felt a stab of envy at Terrance being able to hook up with a girl as good-looking as Billie, while I was stuck making a complete fool of myself with some frigid, ice queen called Alex who seemed to have glued herself to my sister's life.
"He's jealouth." Terrance affirmed and I threw another cushion at him.
He caught it easily. The phone rang again. Terrance and I exchanged knowing looks, and both of us dove for the phone. I managed to grab it first, owing to my distance advantage. I landed roughly on the floor and placed the receiver to my ear.
"Hello? Thith is Terrance."
"Hey." Billie's voice spilled from the ear pierce, "I just called to ask what time you want to meet me tonight."
Scott held Terrance back, who was fighting reasonably hard against his brother's grip. "How about eight?" I said into the receiver, grinning maniacally, "I'll meet you by Lavender Street."
"Lavender street?" Billie's voice was uncertain, "Isn't that the town's red light district?"
I muffled a snort into the back of my hand. Terrance's face was becoming a steady shade of bright purple. "They've got great rates on tonight at one of the one-night hotels there."
Scott howled with laughter. "Pass me Terrance." Billie then said.
I paused, and the silence only served to make Billie yell out of the ear piece. "Pass me Terrance!"
I scrambled to my feet and dove behind the sofa. Scott let go of his brother, who promptly lunged for the phone.
It was priceless.
"Are you going out tonight?" Denise asked as I entered the front door.
I shrugged out my sweater, kneeling to greet my dad's cocker spaniel. Ralph licked my hand when I reached out to pet him, and I reaffirmed why Denise liked the fact that Ralph would disappear for a couple of days without notice, before showing up on our front porch for food.
I smoothened out the chocolate brown fur and straightened up, making tracks for my bedroom. Denise looked over at me from the couch, propping the magazine she had been reading on her lap. "By the way, there's a message for you."
"Who from?"
Denise paused for dramatic effect. "Jill."
I tried to shrug it off. "Did you delete it?"
"Should have I?"
"Where's the phone?"
"I thought you didn't care about her."
"I thought you would've realized the opposite that night you wanted my bottom bunk."
Denise turned back to her magazine. "I'll delete it then."
I walked over to the answering machine and punched a finger into the red button. "I hate you sis."
Denise laughed. "God you're too easy to read."
Jill's familiar, perky voice filled the living room. I blinked, having expected to be filled with something other than cheerfulness. She was only making it harder for me to dislike her. "Hey this is Jill." The disembodied voice spoke, and I was fully aware that Denise was listening, "Douglas, if you're there, please call back. I need to talk to you. It's important. Hit me back."
There was a beep, and silence regained the living room. "You better call her back." My sister told me with a small wink.
I glared at her. She clicked her tongue at me knowingly. "The extension's already in your room."
"Thanks." I muttered.
The grey phone extension was lying in the middle of my bed. I dialed Jill's number and lay down on my bed. Jill picked up on the second ring. "Hello, this is Jill Parker speaking."
I sighed, relishing the sound of her voice before saying something. "Hey Jill. It's Douglas. You called?"
"Yes I did." She answered, "I needed to ask you something."
I felt a smile form on my face. Was she going to ask me to take her back? I wouldn't accept. Or maybe I would. –If she begged. I propped myself up on one elbow, adjusting my weight on the pillow. "What's that?"
Jill coughed lightly. "I need to pick up some things I left over at your place."
My elbow gave way. I caught the phone before it cluttered to the floor. "I don't remember you leaving anything."
"I left my silver bracelet with the rose charm on the top of your desk shelf."
I stood up and checked. There was a thin sliver of shiny metal with a small round thing attached. "I see it. Can't I just drop it off at your place?"
"I'd rather come over and pick it up."
An uneasy feeling settled in my stomach. My mouth was dry. "Jill, I-"
"Douglas, I really don't want to talk about what happened between us." She interrupted, I'm going to be there at nine. Let Denise know."
My shoulders sagged in defeat. "Sure. Whatever."
"See you." The line went dead.
I checked the clock. It was quarter to nine. I had fifteen minutes to shower. I scrambled off my bed and practically tripped on the carpet while running into the bathroom.
I was toweling my hair when the door bell rang. I stared at the mirror before answering. The same nineteen-year-old guy that I always saw looked back at me with a painfully hopeful expression. I ran a hand through my damp dark brown hair as I stumbled to the front door.
I had a minute recollection of breath before opening. Jill met my eyes briefly, her mouth slanting into a forced smile. "Hi. Can I have the bracelet?"
I felt the small bracelet shift in one of my hands. "I think it's still on top of my desk." I lied.
Jill tilted her head slightly. "Could you please go get it?"
I surreptitiously slipped the bracelet into my pants pocket. Jill watched me with a peculiar expression. Was that guilt?
An awkward silence passed. Jill cleared her throat, and tucked a few strands of blonde hair behind one ear. A lump formed in my throat at the memory of having run my hands through that same hair a few weeks ago. Now I wouldn't be able to anymore.
"Fine." She said finally, "I'll come up to your room and find it."
Denise had left the leaving room. I figured she was either in the kitchen continuing her reading in private, or she had implanted some sort of secret listening device inside my room, knowing Jill would come over.
It turned out to be neither, as Jill and I ran into Denise outside by room as she emerged from the guest bathroom, wiping her hands dry on her jogging pants. She stopped in mid-motion when she saw who stood beside me. Then her brow quirked. "I'll just be in my room…" she trailed off, shooting me a puzzling look.
I was partly glad I had bothered to fix my room a little before Jill arrived. It was still a mess, yet somehow neater than it had been before. I owed this to the fact that I had moved my school books from one side of my desk to the top of my bookshelf. "It looks the same." Jill voiced abruptly.
I watched as her gaze wandered to my bunk bed, and back to me. I knew what memories were plaguing her. She bit her lip uncertainly. "Could I please just have my bracelet back? It means a lot to me."
It must have. She always wore it when we were together. The reason it found itself in my room and not on her wrist was the time we had decided to shower together. I closed my eyes for a moment, breathing deeply.
Jill walked over to my desk and ran a hand across the top. She only came up with dust. She then tried my bedside table, sifting through the small mountain of Simpsons comics. No luck either.
The bracelet rested quietly in my pocket. "You must at least know where it is." She told me, her wide blue eyes focused directly on me in the most discerning fashion, "Otherwise you wouldn't tell me it's in your room."
I sank onto the bottom bunk of my bed. "Why'd you break up with me Jill?"
I knew I sounded pathetic, but it was something I needed to clear up badly. Jill suppressed a groan. "Douglas, after the hell our peers put us through at school, don't you think you should stop thinking about it?" She tapped the edge of my desk impatiently, "You were unfaithful, deal with it."
"But that's the problem, isn't it? I wasn't unfaithful. I didn't cheat." I replied through gritted teeth, knowing perfectly that I was heading straight for hell.
"You had sex with Melanie. Doesn't that count as cheating?"
I gripped one of the pillows. "Technically, no, because nothing happened between Melanie and I."
"Look," Jill said in a weary tone, "Just give me my bracelet. It means a lot to me. Then I can leave, and we won't have to see each other anymore."
I stood up from my bed, defiant. "That's what you want, right? You can't look at my face because I'm tainted?" My voice rose, "Explain how that's possible when I didn't fucking do anything."
Jill's eyes narrowed. "That's the thing with you males. You think us females are stupid. We know when you've been unfaithful. We know when you're lying."
I was almost up against her, yet I resisted the urge to grab her arm, or even touch her in the slightest way. I knew she would bolt. Jill's ears became a harsh shade of red. "Give me the bracelet already."
"Do you think I'm that dense?" I laughed mockingly, "Do you think that I believe that you came all the way back to my house to pick up one measly bracelet?"
"Yes." She snapped.
She was glaring at me with such potency that words left me. Sighing in disgusted defeat, I fished the bracelet from my pants pocket and handed it to her silently. Jill took it more gently that I would've expected.
"One thing that keeps me together." She whispered, slipping the bracelet on.
I led her to the front door. As we stood on the porch, she took a deep breath. "Douglas, I think it's better if we don't talk to each other anymore."
My laugh was dry. "What if we're assigned to a same group at school?"
"It never happens. They let us choose our own groups."
She raised a reluctant hand, and the moonlight caught the silver of her bracelet, reflecting the three words I hadn't noticed engraved on the bottom of the rose charm. They read qui tacet consentit.
It was most likely something in Latin, but I didn't bother asking. "Who told you I cheated on you Jill?"
"I'm sorry." She said softly, yet with a slight edge to her voice, "I need to go."
I rubbed the back of my neck as she walked down the front path. I don't know how long I stood there, just staring out at the night. Somehow I settled myself on the cold wooden floorboards and fell asleep. It was only when Denise came to get the morning newspaper that I realized I had spent the entire night outside.
"Did you just spend the entire night on the porch?" She inquired, laughter hiding behind her question.
The wooden planks creaked as I stood up, running a hand through my hair, only to find it distinctively disheveled. I waited for my head to clear, when I thought of something that could help me. I turned and gripped my sister's arm. "Where's Alex?"
"She's probably going to come over today." Denise's features became quizzical, "Why? I thought you can't stand her."
"I just need to ask her something."
Denise folded her arms across her chest, giving me a stony look which was ruined by the half-smile she wore. "I don't think asking Alex for help, especially if its about your ex-girlfriend, is a good idea." She patted my shoulder lightly, "Give it up brother. Jill and you are over. Move on. Get a life. Get a new girlfriend."
I hated it how Denise always managed to be on the same brain wave as me. "If I want Jill back, that's my problem." I told my sister, "But it's not what I want. I just want to clear my name."
"What are you going to get out of it?"
"My dignity, for one."
"You lost that the minute you fell to your knees in front of two hundred pupils and cried your eyes out."
I turned away from her and made my way back into the house. Ralph was bounding at my feet, but I took no further notice of him. "Where's dad." I inquired, hoping for a change of subject.
"He'll be coming back in two nights." Denise answered, glancing in the house, "I need to get the living room ready for Alex's arrival."
"Are you two going to be studying?"
My sister shook her head. "No. Not exactly."
I made my way to my room. Denise stayed by the door. "You know, there's always a chance that you can hook up with Alex."
I paused by my bedroom door, holding the frame. I considered saying something, then just continued to my bathroom, grabbing a towel.
And Denise said I had the strangest ideas.
A/N EEPS! After over a month and a half, I crank out chapter 3! Apologies everyone. I was studying for exams, which are coming up next week, both Mocks and IGCSE's. Also, I was preparing for the Model United Nations conference, which also kept me immensely busy. I will continue writing this story and finish it (yes I will) so don't think I'm going to discontinue it. I know that I took down The Seventh Sin, and other stories, however those will undergo editing, as I lost inspiration. (It happens.) As for Stealing Madison, I am redoing the final chapter, as even I think (after re reading) that it has to be wrapped up a little more neatly. The sequel will come up once I have reposted the new final chapter of SM. Thanks for reading!
Thanks to the following who commented:
Twinkle Star Bell, Maroon, twistedFAerieTALes, radha, xshadow, smudged lines, QuOtAtA, xxTibbyxx, aurora borealis, Anne Christy, hatedxlife, jennycraig10, sketchingaCYNiC, i-rite-gud, fallinghard, de Leon.
Replies:
Maroon - Thanks for your criticisms, and I have taken them into account, :-) For characterization, I believe, every person portrays and writes differently. If you have read my other stories, my characters develop at the pace I believe they should. I am aware that Jill and Alex seem alike, but that is because they are alike. Alex may not appear to be an ice queen at the moment, but that is because the story is told from Douglas' point of view, and even he doesn't know her that well. As the story progresses, Douglas will know more about her, and therefore, her personality will show. The break up is a bit dodgy as the readers do not know the full story yet. The reason it is disjointed, is because Douglas doesn't relish thinking or talking about it. Well it becomes apparent that he cannot ignore it anymore, then the full story will emerge. (Till then…) I greatly appreciate your comment though, as it is full of detail and can help me make this a better story to read.
radha- The full story of the break up will come up in later chapters.
Anne Christy Hahahaha. Thanks for the note. :-)
sketchingaCYNic – Dave is a friend of Douglas, and Terrance is Scott's brother. By Jane I think you mean 'Jill' who would be Douglas's ex girlfriend. I know that they are 19, yet in some schools some of the seniors are older. In my school, some of the people in my grade are turning 17, even if in sophomore year, most students are "supposed" to be 16.
i-rite-gud Read sketchingaCYNiC's response. Also, my reasons for stopping TSS are in the Author's Note.
Fallinghard Denise is a nice girl. More characters will come out in the later chapters. There have been only 3 chapters, after all.
THANKS TO EVERYONE ELSE THAT READ AND REVIEWED.