The History of Zach and Adrienne: Take 16
Who: Adrienne (narrative)
When: Tuesday: March 6, 2007
Where: During classes
What: Ten days after the fight and after Adrienne has isolated herself

The past ten days seemed to last an eternity in Adrienne's mind. The minutes passed by slowly as she isolated herself in her room to wallow in self-loathing and guilt. The incident with Rafe was a mistake, a stupid one, and it felt like it was costing her everything she had grown to cherish at the school. What was worse was the fact that other stresses were building upon her already shaky foundation causing her to tremble and sway under the weight. It was only a matter of time before she would crumble and watch with blurry eyes as the pieces of her life fell down around her. Her breakdown came during the days of her seclusion - ten days where she ate nothing but leftover cookies and drank only water. Ten days where she barely spoke to anyone face-to-face, and when she did it consisted mostly of her crying and them consoling.

She knew going back to classes was the right thing to do but that didn’t take away from the fact that it scared her to see Zach. This was the longest period of time she had gone without seeing him since she first met him, and when she realized this a small smile crept upon her face. It was just another thought that validated her feelings for Zach and his importance in her life. When did it happen? When had he worked his way into her life to the point that she couldn’t imagine not being with him? These feelings for him were unlike anything she ever felt for anyone before. She thought she was in love once back in college, but comparing then to now? Well, there was no comparison really. Her feelings for Zach were on a whole new level and now that she was about to lose it…

You really don't know what you've got until it's gone.

If she could take back what had happened with Rafe she would, in an instant. If she had to trade a part of her life to take it back, she would. She would do anything really, but life didn’t work like that. It was done and she had to face the consequences of it, no matter how painful. But it was harder than she thought and the pain in her heart represented itself in her physical form.

After ten days she was noticeably thinner especially with the semi-baggy shirt that she had chosen to wear. Her usually bright eyes were still damp and red from tears, and they lacked the happiness that normally reflected in them when she smiled. Her complexion was paler than usual as well, but the classmates that didn’t know her very well wouldn’t notice these things. Sure they talked in class and sometimes worked in groups but that was as far as their interaction would go. There was no ‘real’ relationship there other than what went on in class. So it was no surprise that they didn’t notice the way her fingers would occasionally run against the yellow-sapphire pendant that lay in the hollow of her neck, or the furtive glances she cast in Zach’s direction in the classes they shared. They probably didn’t even notice the way her eyes got a little bit watery afterward as tears threatened to emerge. Adrienne never let them fall though, choosing to bite on her tongue until it bled so that she had some other pain to focus on. She would rather do that than ever have to run out of class in tears.

Physical pain was always easiest to deal with though, to will one’s self through the ache of a cut or a broken bone. Those things could be fixed with a band-aid or a cast without a second thought, and it was often known what caused the injury in the first place. But what of the unseen pain, the ones that grow deep within a heart far from human (or supernatural) eyes? How do you go about fixing those? Some say that time heals all wounds, but in truth time only numbs you of the pain while the injury (that can cut so much deeper than any blade) remains. Adrienne hoped to make things right with Zach, to start healing the wounds that were in each of their hearts. But she was fearful that he wouldn’t want the same and that she’d have to live the rest of her life with a dull pang of lost love and guilt in her heart.

Adrienne wanted the morning to be over. She wanted to be back in her room and away from Zach so that he wouldn’t be tempted to say that things were over between them. Her own paranoia got the best of her when supernatural history finally ended and she remained plastered in her seat. She didn’t want to run into Zach outside of class and so she fiddled with her books until everyone left the room, save her. When she was sure that the coast was clear, she gathered her things and walked back to her room. She probably should have gone to get lunch but her appetite had vanished ever since she entered into this state of constant melancholy. Considering her heightened metabolism, the girl would probably disappear in a few days if she didn’t eat. Though in her current state of mind disappearing would have been perfectly okay with her and she couldn’t see anyone complaining about it.