this is how a heart breaks [will?]

[amethyst hartlet]

It was crazy how one incident could change one's opinion of somebody else. Just one little word, one action, or a combination of the two and bam, ten cherished years went down the drain. Memories forever tainted and ruined by one screw up. It was partly her fault. She never should have kissed Milo in the first place. But he had just completely lost control of himself and had been willing to risk everything just to get his fix for the night. Amy was not a whore, she wouldn't stand to be treated like one. It hurt to think Milo actually thought he could use her like that.

She'd run to the closest place she could think of. The dinky little park just outside of the festival grounds. She sat under a tree, hugging her knees to her Sighted South t-shirt clad chest and she closed her eyes, resting her forehead on her knees, wiggling her bare toes in the crisp grass. Her eyes were red from crying and her cheeks still wet from the recent tears. Her heart was still pumping, mostly terror more than anything... she'd done a lot of running though, too, so maybe that was it. Her shoulders heaved up and down as she tried to catch her breath. For a moment she openned her eyes and glanced up at the sky. It was getting dark - a storm was rolling in. It had done nothing but rain ever since they got to New York and that kind of sucked but right now it seemed appropriate to her mood. Amy rested her chin on her knees finally and stared glumly at the ground in front of her, her brown eyes dull and a sad look on her face. She was really unable to think at all for a moment, and it was a nice break from thinking things to death.

[will kellough]

Up in a tree, once more, Will found himself looking down upon the world. Again, he was clad in dark clothes - an olive-green thermal and black jeans. He almost blended into the scenery of the park that surounded him, save for his pale skin and blond hair. On top of his head was a black knit cap. The weather was warm, and he should have been sweating his ass off in the early summer weather, but he was quite comfortable.

He'd never been to New York City before and had always had this image of it being all concrete and steel, no softness. But the discovery of Central Park, amongst others, had thrilled him to death. As long as Will could find a tree to climb, all was right with the world.

He had managed to find a thick enough branch that he could put his feet up, with his back against the trunk. Between his teeth and lips was a toothpick. It had once been mint-flavored, and it had come in a bag of take-out food that he and the other guys had ordered from some Thai restaurant. But now, he had been chewing on it for so long, that it now tasted bland and wooden, but still he chewed it thoughtfully as he peered through the leaves and branches. The clouds were slowly turning from white to gray to charcoal - telltale signs of a storm. He had heard some thunder earlier, but it didn't bother him. Lightning, on the other hand, that was when Will high-tailed elsewhere.

At the trunk of his tree, towards the base, he heard some russling of grass. Will shook out of his reverie and peered down.

It was her. Amy ... the girl from Scheduled Nurse, the one he had "flirted" with a few weeks ago outside a McDonald's. It seemed like a deja vu - the last time they'd run into each other, he was up a tree. Was this becoming a trend.

He wasn't completely sure if he wanted to say anything - she looked pretty blue. But ... shouldn't he say something then? He tucked his toothpick behind his ear and peered down.

"...Hey," he said.

[amethyst hartlet]

Amy frowned slightly in confusion, lifting her head and looking around momentarily. Then an idea struck her and she tilted her head back and looked up to see Will in the tree... just like last time. "Hi..." she replied, trying to muster up a smile but it failed miserably. So she looked away again instead, attempting to dry her damp cheeks. What if he asked? She couldnt tell anyone something like that... it would get out and one or both of Amy's and Milo's reputations and possibly careers would be on the line. And if she had to tell someone it would be Locky... well... okay maybe not. He might have an anuerism. Maybe Alex... she was hoping to get away without telling anyone. Anyone she told would just be angry and Milo had already apologized.... not that she could bring herself to forgive him. She really wanted to but he'd crossed almost all the lines.

[will kellough]

She greeted him, her voice blasé. Her smile was like a match - bright for one second, then flickered out immediately. Oh, this was a problem. Will frowned slightly. This was not the cheerful girl he had an encountered a few weeks ago. Where was her cheerful nature?

"Funny running into you here," Will said with a small smile. "...Feeling like hanging out with me?" He made a small attempt at humor, trying to prod a smile out of her.

He turned and let his legs dangle over the branch. "Want to come up? The view's great from here, I promise." She didn't say anything. "Or I could come down there. Either way ... hi." Will paused. "Uh. Well ... are-are you okay? I mean, is everything okay? You look a little ... mad."

[amethyst hartlet]

Well Will certainly seemed a little more comfortable talking to her than last time. She figured that was a good thing but wasnt really in the mood for optimism. "I dunno" Amethyst replied, uncertainly at his questions. "Its just... been a tough couple of weeks." She sighed finally, resting her chin on her knees again and hugging her legs tightly to her chest. "And I really... uberly bad day today" she went on. "I am mad. And everything else at the same time." she mumbled, rubbing her head. Headaches werent any fun but she was getting one anyways.

[will kellough]

"Oh," Will said in a knowing voice. He definitely knew all about having tough weeks. With quick ease, Will shimmied down the tree trunk and landed on his feet, with the careful agility of a cat. He brushed himself off and cocked his head.

"You...you wanna talk about it, maybe?" he asked softly. Now that he was up close, he noticed how down she really did look; bordering on depressed. "Or, if not, we can go get some coffee? Or not? We can just sit here...keep each other company?"

[amethyst hartlet]

She rocked back and forth slightly, considering his offers. "No I dont really want to go anywhere... or talk about it" Amy sighed finally. "But thanks anyways..." she added sheepishly and leaned back against the tree, stretching her legs out in front of her. The safeness of her cramped position left and the gentle breeze caressed her face and her bare feet as if trying to comfort her also.

"So... how are you?" she asked glancing over at him and hoping to shift the attention away from herself and hopefully to him. She barely knew him but she thought about him often. He fascinated her though, and obviously he was cute, but his shyness made her curious as to what was behind all the timidity. And she wanted to find out... She also needed to be distracted.

[will kellough]

Will blinked, not used to rejection. Well, used to it - but not from someone he actually liked. If she didn't want to talk, however, she must have been really upset. Last time, she couldn't stop talking. "Sure. Yeah, we don't have to talk..."

He settled down next to her and curled his knees to his chest. He took the toothpick from his mouth, snapped it in half and put the pieces in his pocket. She asked how he was, and he considered this.

"I'm okay, I guess. A little overwhelmed, being in N-Y-C. I'm just a small town boy, y'know. Aren't you from New York City? I didn't know much about this place. Maybe later you can show me around?" he cocked his head innocently.

[amethyst hartlet]

Amy smiled faintly, glancing over at him as he asked if she'd show him around. "Yeah, sure..." She nodded. New York was home... that was the only good thing about it. She knew exactly where she was and felt at home... despite the crappy weather. Amy had missed New York and was glad to be back... And she'd be even more glad to show Will around. "We should definitely do that sometime," she agreed, watching as he innocently cocked his head to the side and she smiled a little wider, her fingers itching to reach out and run through his hair or touch his cheek. But she controlled herself and didn't do anything. She would talk... or show him around, or whatever... as long as it didn't involve talking about what had happened. She just wanted to calm down first.

[will kellough]

Will didn't really spend time with other girls, except his sisters, Carrie and Maggi, who, at home, were his primary caregivers. At school he was teased for being gay, simply because he only hung out with Dante and Sebastian and locked up whenever a female classmate would say one word to him. One time in the eighth grade, a girl had asked him to a Teen Canteen. Panicked, Will simply pulled the neckline of his t-shirt up to his chin, bit down on the jersey fabric, and walked in the other direction, his cheeks flushed.

In elementary school, he didn't play kiss-chase on the playground with the other girls. It was an innocent enough game - the boys chased the girls, and if the girl was tagged, the boy would get to kiss her. This terrified Will. He was much more content sitting by himself, reading books that were way ahead of his grade level and writing song lyrics.

But for some reason, when Will was with Amy, he didn't feel the urge to run away or hyperventilate or even have that queasy feeling in his stomach. He was ... comfortable.

Will glanced at Amy quickly, darting his eyes to her face then back down at his shoes. "Your cheeks are red," he observed. "...Were you crying?"

[amethyst hartlet]

So he noticed. Amy sighed a little and nodded in answer to his question. "Yeah..." she said quietly, looking down at the grass as she twirled a few blades in her fingers. "I was... Its been a tough couple of weeks for me and today was just..." she shook her head and before she realized what she was saying, it all came out. "My best friend was in a bad mood because... who knows what it was this time" she sighed "And somehow, one thing led to another and he tried to force himself on me and I've known him for like 10 years so that was really... it was just a disaster." She wiped her eye quickly. "So I'm stressed out." She finished "And really upset that he would try that..." Amethyst was trying to not name names but it wasn't hard to figure out who would possibly be her best friend.