Who: Chloe and Lucy Where: The Van Warren house When: Sunday afternoon
It had already been a long day and...what time was it anyway? Lucy wanted to grab a shower and a change of clothes before seeing Kevin again. She just HAD to know how he'd made it through the night with Guardian Angel Hoff watching over him. If that hadn't been brilliant, she didn't know what was! Her spirits had been somewhat dampened by her run-in with Ash, not because he brought her down, but because she wasn't sure she'd been ready to face him. Or...if she ever would have been ready. Well, it was over and done with now and she'd said when she'd needed to say. It didn't make everything better, but she hoped he knew now that she'd never just...STOPPED caring about him. No. Never that. Letting herself into Chloe's place, she closed the door loudly and skipped inside. "Honeeeeyyyy, I'm hooooomeee!!!" Chloe sprinted in to meet her, that usually bright smile there... but looking more forced and fake than usual. Without a word, she threw her arms around Lucy, and just started rambling. "Don'tleaveagainok?IknowyouwerescaredbutIwontletanythinghappentoyou..." She was almost knocked backwards by the force of her sister's hug, but she caught her balance and wrapped her arms around Chloe just as tightly. "OhmigodIknowandImsorryanddudeItotallysawAshtodayandIdontknowwhyIdidthethingsIdidandthisallstillfreaksmeoutbutImhere..." Lucy gasped for a breath and, if it was possible, squeezed even harder before letting her sister go. "And I hate, hate, HATE seeing Kevin in that hospital room!" Chloe looked at the girl that was practically her Mini-Me, and gave a heartbreaking pout. "I know... Kevin's probably the sweetest, most gentle guy on the planet. He didn't deserve this. And Paige did it to get to ME. Do you know that feels?" She wrapped her arms around Chloe again, this time more to comfort the older girl. "I wanna kill her. I mean, I know that's awful and everything, but I do. I could. I would. Well, I would IF I could. And I just wanna make Kev all better and everything's all wrong and how did this all happen?!?!" She wanted to cry, but being with her sister made everything feel ten times better. Like they could really make it through this. Together. "Mere kinda killed her already." Chloe grumbled, "And that made it worse. She tried to kill her, and instead she left her there, and someone turned her into a vampire. And she just got more vicious than ever. She hurt Kevin, one of her buddies stabbed one of the Slayers... it's bad, Luce. But... Ash swore to me that one way or the other, they're gonna end this soon. That none of us are gonna get hurt by her again." Dropping her arms, she took a step back and nodded, a look crossing her face as she wrapped her arms around herself. "Yeah. That's what he told me too." Even if it took his last breath.... She closed her eyes and her shoulders slumped as she leaned her hip against the back of a nearby chair. "So...wait...Mere actually bit Paige?" Yeah, she knew Mere was a vampire, had even seen those fangs, but still.... "What could possibly possess her to even wanna put her mouth on that vile, skanky, bit-" She stopped before she said the word and a flush colored her cheeks. "You know what I mean. Although...Kevin did say something about Meredith taking care of her now...." "Yeah... Mere is taking it hard, that Paige is doing this stuff. She feels like its her fault." Chloe was approaching ramble-meltdown. "Which I guess it kinda sorta is, but can you blame her? I mean, even if she WASNT a vampire, and didn't have all that badness to fight off constantly, someone can only push you for so long before you finally push back, right?" "He didn't deserve this. NO ONE deserves this. And that VAMPIRE SLUT is just...OUT THERE and...GOD. The things I want to do to her. It's not right! And Mere...okay, maybe it's her fault, kinda, in a way, but...if I'd been stronger, maybe I would have pushed back too." The idea of taking on Paige, even in human form, was still intimidating to Lucy. No thanks. She'd pass. BUT. If she'd had it in her, she totally woulda gone apeshit on her!
"Ok, ok... cool it, Champ." Chloe said, unable to help herself from laughing. This was the most worked up she'd ever seen Lucy. "Just pleeeeeeease don't go running off this time? We'll make this work. You belong here, Luce. With me and Kevin." She grinned right then, in a BIG way. "And with my coffee shop. Where you can always get allll the candy and sugar you could want." Lucy opened her mouth...then closed it. Speechless? Woulda been quite the shocker. "Yeahhhh. About that!" She smiled sweetly and licked her lips, almost still able to taste the chocolate and caramel and whipped cream from the coffee she'd finally been able to finish off once Ash had disappeared into the abyss of Chloe's basement. "I kinda...already got started on that. I'm so glad we have such high metabolisms. Otherwise, I'd be as big as a HOUSE." "GOOD!" The older blonde squealed, hopping once happily. "You're gonna looooove the place. Even if your ex does frequent it more than one would expect." She knew Ash was mostly there for work reasons, but it still felt odd seeing him in such a usually-festive place. "So... just needed to know... should I bother talking to the girls? About you rejoining us? I mean... they were a little upset you left so suddenly, but we technically HAVEN'T replaced you yet..." Talk of the other girls made her cringe. Yeah. Aside from Ash, they were her number one obstacle to overcome. Even if she wasn't in the band, she didn't want them to hate her. "I dunnnoooo, Chlo. I mean, I was so super psyched to even be IN the band and I you know music is my LIFE, but...they probably hate me now and to tell you the truth, with Kevin and everything...I just...don't feel like playing much. Although...." She shrugged. "Maybe it'd be cathartic or something. That's the right word, right?" "Yeah, it's the right word." She said comfortingly, kissing Lucy on the top of the head. "Look. They don't hate you. Trust me, not one of them minces words. Sister or not, if they did, I'd have heard it. They... understand why you left. None of them are happy about HOW you did it, but if anything, they might just be afraid that because of your age, you'd be prone to taking off again." "Well. I'm not going to. I...don't think. I mean, come on. There's a lot of bad ju-ju going on around this place! But...I WANT to stay. I don't want to leave and I know just running off was...the wrong thing to do. And as bad as I feel about the girls, it doesn't even BEGIN to compare to how bad I feel about how things went with Ash. I know...I know you told me not to hurt him and I SWEAR, I didn't mean to. I'm even happy he's seeing Buffy, you know? That's...good." She wasn't lying about that. Maybe, if things had been different...but they weren't, and she'd done enough thinking and soul searching over the last couple of months to realize that she had to accept the consequences of her actions. Even if she didn't love them. "But seeing him today...I'm just worried about him." "I know, honey." Chloe sighed, not knowing what to say there. "Ash was... God, he looked like someone pulled the world out from under him when you left. It was almost as bad as when he lost his sister. Can I... give you some sisterly advice that might not be too popular with my friends?" Lucy's stomach twisted in knots when Chloe spoke about Ash. She hadn't wanted to believe it had been that bad. She'd wanted to think...what? That he'd gotten her note and just said 'Fuck her' and moved on? Maybe. No, not really, but it was better than thinking she'd crushed him. That hurt too much. "I...yeah. I mean, can I really stop you?" She managed a half-hearted smile. "Fight for him." Chloe blurted out, before she could chicken out. "Buffy's one of Gwen and Skylar's friends, and I dont want to be in the middle. But if you still love Ash, fight for him. Don't give up. If he tells YOU he doesn't want you anymore, then fine. But until you hear those words from him? If he makes you happy... fight for him." She froze, her eyes wide like a doe caught in a blinding pair of headlights. You might as well have run her over then, too. "Wh-what?" She was shaky at the idea and the fact that her sister was even saying such a thing. "I...I can't. I mean, after what I did...no. I can't. And he doesn't want me anymore, I can tell. He's with Buffy and if she makes him happy, that's all that's important. I mean, yeah, sure, I still have feelings for him. I never STOPPED having feelings for him. It was just that...it's...it freaks me out!" There. She'd said it and it was true. "He can do all these things and now he's taking on some kind of badass evil people like he can do it all himself, or that's the way he makes it sound, and what if he CAN?!? You know, THAT'S the scary part! And...and...yeah...okay. I love him. I'll always love him. Or at least a part of me will. But I have to get over him 'cause he moved on and I don't want to hurt him again and nothing's changed. And...EVERYTHING'S changed." Wow. Chloe suddenly realized that Lucy was quickly growing strong enough to challenge her throne as the Queen of Ramble. "Let me ask you one thing, Lucy. When you were talking... did he, even once, tell you he was happier now than with you? Did he even hint that he didnt want you? For that matter... use your love-radar... was there still chemistry?" "Chloe, please!" What she was saying, the points she brought up, they weren't things Lucy wanted to think about and she planted her hands over her ears as she dropped down into the seat of the chair. "I think...I think we'll always have feelings for each other. That's just the way it's going to be. Don't they say you never get over your first love? I mean, I wasn't his, but he was MINE. And...." She dragged her fingers through her hair. Coming back to LA had been an emotional rollercoaster, but it was nothing she hadn't brought on herself. "Maybe he didn't say any of those things, but...he can't trust me and I don't know if I could ever get over...what he can do. And I don't want him to feel bad about what he is, because he's AMAZING, really. But...I just think he needs someone...more on his level, you know? Strong enough to...to be what he needs." And that wasn't her. She'd gone running at the first sign of trouble. Chloe sighed, and nodded. She couldn't make her sister do anything, nor would she want to. She just wanted her to have whatever or whoever made her happy, screw everyone else. "I just love ya, Luce. I want you to have, or be with, whoever makes you happy, no matter what anyone else thinks." "I wish I could be," she said, a sad sort of smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "But I ruined that. So...anyway. I was about to change and go see Kev. Wanna come with, or are you busy?" "Please... like I'm ever too busy to go visit my brother? Or David Hasslehoff?" She snickered, bursting out into giggles finally.