MY HEART DON'T BEAT THE WAY IT USED TO

[ZANE SAWYER FRANKS]

Sometimes, Zane openly viewed his break up with Maddie on an apocalyptic level. He’d drink himself silly, pass out and wake up only just to do it again. He knew just as well as anyone else that it was nothing above foolish to do that to his body, but he cared very little about taking care of himself, in all honesty. Though this happened, it was a rare occasion – hence the word sometimes. Most days he would just suck it up and at least attempt to continue on with his life, like any stable guy fresh out of a bad relationship should be able to do. It wasn’t like he would never find love again. He had dealt with this kind of heartache before, so why couldn’t he now? Perhaps it was because he knew there was no chance that they were ever getting back together, or because this stung him in an entirely new way. She had legitimate feelings, not just sexual attraction, to another guy. A guy that wasn’t him. Julian fucking Moore. Ridden with jealousy, Zane often imagined scenarios that took place in the future. In these scenarios, he was a successful celebrity of sorts and Maddie and Julian were struggling to make ends meet. This fantasy also included them as obese and unhappily married. He knew it wouldn’t ever happen, but it gave him the satisfaction he needed, at least for a moment.

His room was dim. Zane rarely kept anything more than a small desk lamp at its lowest setting on, mostly due to comfort reasons. Too much light upset him. He had enough electronics lighting up the room anyways, like his television – which was on, but muted in return of his iHome playing some soft, soothing music by The Killers. He lied quietly on top of his neatly made bed, not disturbing the sheets as he idly thought. After a song or two, he decided that it was time for some air – some time away. He didn’t know exactly where he planned on going, but he felt getting out of the house was necessary for some unknown reason. He slipped a beanie on his head and some vans, not bothering to change out of the sweatshirt and jeans he had on already – sure, it was summer, but it was evening and it got chilly sometimes even in Velocity. He exited his room quietly, careful not to disturb anyone in the upstairs who may have been asleep – aka, his mother who tended to nap at this hour.

The Franks household had been quiet for about a week, of course, only after a house shaking argument between his mother and her shit-head of a boyfriend. Naturally when this occurred, Zane listened in from the upstairs hallway, his back against the furthest wall but in perfect hearing distance. Within moments he discovered that his mother was seeing someone behind Gregory’s back – but with whom? He listened closely, shutting his eyes and trying to make sense of the mindless screaming. His eyes shot open when he heard the name Eric. Eric? His heart pounded genuinely too fast for what was safe as he clued in on how long it had been going on, and what that meant. Then his mom said it. He wants to be with his family again and I want him with us, too. While Eric was by far the best of his mother’s boyfriends, Zane had a history with him – a history that he didn’t want anyone else knowing about, but certainly did not want to repeat. He couldn’t take hearing any more, and that was when he had gone back to his room. After Greg left, it was just Zane and his mom, with the exception of Anna and her boyfriend in the back house. He spent a lot of time with her, just talking, and being alone for once. It was nice. But it couldn’t last forever.

As far as he knew, it was still just he and his mother. Walking down the stairs he hummed the tune of the song he had just been listening to called Miss Atomic Bomb, which was his favorite off the record. Zane made the decision to grab a soda for his walk out and turned into the kitchen, his eyes on the tiled ground as he entered through the white archway. He looked up to the counter where they kept their soda, but in front of where it was supposed to be was none other than Eric himself, standing a foot away from his mother with their fingers laced together and resting in the air between them. He froze in place, looking at them for a moment in a sort of awkward silence, before Eric broke it.

“Zane! It’s been so long. You’ve grown so much—hey, where are ya going, Sport?”

“Don’t mind him…” he heard his mom whisper as he rushed out the door, slamming it behind him. Don’t mind him? That’s all she had to say? She wasn’t going to try and stop him? Nothing? Zane walked faster and grabbed his bike hastily, hopping on and pedaling – he didn’t know where he was going, but he wanted to get as far as he could. The wind blew angrily in his face as he raced into the dimming night, descending the neighborhoods one by one until he reached the heart of the town, the park. It was big, almost like central park. Actually, that was what they called it. He rode his bike straight into the grass and swung his legs over one side, stepping off as he let the wheels roll further and the machine fall to the ground, the pedals still turning from the speed that had been so suddenly stopped. Zane let his legs carry him to a spot on the grass where he lied down, staring up into the set sky and blooming stars. It looked beautiful, really. He wondered what this meant – was he just visiting? Or was Eric permanently back in his life? He knew it was his own fault now for not telling anyone when he had the chance, but by the time he realized that it was wrong for him to touch him in those ways he was much older. It seemed normal, at the time. There was nothing he could do now, except of course live through it. That was what he normally did.

TAGGED: Dana~
WORDS: 1072
OUTFIT: click
MUSIC: The Killers - When You Were Young
NOTES: </3

[dana bailey rune]

Things were weird to say the least in her house - her brothers just kinda stared at her, except the two year old, the mom she was sure hated her, and her dad had said maybe three words to her since she had gotten there. She missed her mom and her family in Arizona. This was a completely different place and she didn't want to be here. Finally getting bored of sitting in her room on the computer, she got dressed and walked out the door. She wasn't really sure where she was going to go - she didn't even know where anything was yet but she didn't want to be stuck in the house any longer. Everyone was acting like it was her fault that their dad had an affair and she now had to come live with them. She laughed silently, they acted like she wanted to be there. Eventually, she found herself in a park and she kept walking. She eventually found her way to the duck pond and sat on one of the benches. She wasn't really sure how long she had been sitting there but before she knew it, the sun was setting.

She stood up, going to the playground part and sat on one of the swings, pushing herself back and forth slowly. She was sure that she should have been heading home. She didn't really know the way back and it was almost dark but she didn't move from the swing. Instead she pushed herself higher, closing her eyes and tilting back. Eventually it was dark and she let her feet hit the ground, slowly but surely, bringing her to a stop. Now she knew she had to go home. She put her address into the GPS on her phone and headed towards the street, walking through a large area of grass. She looked back down at her phone, almost immediately after, tripping over something. She brought her phone down, covering her mouth when she realized it was a person, "I'm so sorry! I didn't see you!"

TAGGED: Zane
WORDS: 346
OUTFIT: here
NOTES: boo u suck

[/quote]