SUNNY DAYS THAT I THOUGHT WOULD NEVER END (open!)

[GRACE ALEXIA ZARIAN]

It was more of an escape, really, going to the beach - not that Gracie really needed an escape. In fact, if anything, she hated to be alone, loved to be with people and having a good time - loved to see everyone happy, nearby, and safe. But today, for whatever the reason, had dragged on like night would never come; sweltering heat, boredom to accompany it, and thoughts running through her head that refused to leave but she couldn't really say to anyone out loud, either. And so, possibly for the first time in years, she had deliberately cut herself off from the rest of world to brood over them herself.

By now, it was nearly nine o'clock at night. At least in the direction she was looking, the shore was void except for herself - not surprising, considering that it looked at any minute like it was about to rain. They weren't the dark, angry clouds that implied a monsoon of a storm; were that the case, she'd have been too afraid of encountering thunder to have even considered leaving the house. Instead, the forecast predicted rain showers, possibly light, possibly not - the perfect conclusion for an overly day.

Originally, Gracie had assumed that the conclusion of her day was when she'd fallen asleep around seven. She hadn't been feeling very well, and that with a mixture of a weather and nothing better to do thrown into the equation, bed was obviously the outcome. At around eight thirty, however, she'd woken up and been unable to fall back asleep; though she couldn't recall having an actual nightmare, it seemed that whatever she had dreamed about had triggered the onslaught of concepts in her mind that she had previously been able to keep at bay, if barely. Grace preferred not to think about things that upset her, and therefore had become an expert long ago at repressing them - especially thoughts of her mother.

It wasn't that she didn't like to think of her - in fact, in a lot of ways, her mother was the best woman Gracie had ever known. however, in this context, it was less than pleasant, and it was a topic that she'd been considering even before she got pregnant, but was emphasized moreso when she did. Even now, at three months along and not showing at all because of the rather loose white halter she wore (clearly, she hadn't actually planned for the rain very well), it weighed on her mind, so much so that when she'd woken up, she'd almost immediately crept out of bed for a midnight stroll.

As confidant as she seemed about the whole ordeal, if she was being honest with herself, she was bloody terrified. Suppose she were to do something wrong, and the baby be born disfigured - or worse, not at all? Suppose she seized and it became mentally retarded from the lack of oxygen, even in those few minutes? Or suppose it was born fine and healthy - but she was so horrible a mother, it might not as well have been? These were all somewhat normal, expected fears, but they all took second to her biggest: what if, at some point during the baby's childhood, she, herself, died? Though she feared death, that wasn't her biggest problem with it - it was for the kid's sake that it horrified her so much she might as well be paralyzed.

The trauma of Gracie's own mother's death, even seven years after the fact, was one that had never disappeared. It wasn't as if she'd been murdered before her eyes or she'd found her head beneath a tree, but the way she died didn't matter much. The family had been close, and her mother had been like her best friend the woman she could tell everything to. Then, one day, completely out of the blue, she was just gone. There had been no warning, no way to prepare; a truck had lost control and smashed into her, and within seconds, she was dead. Along with that death came Grace's first seizure and the most pain that she'd felt in her life - both before and since. There had even been times when Gracie - sweet, innocent, cheerful Gracie - had wished she'd never been born, if only to avoid the loss.

Could she afford to put a child through that? It wasn't that she thought she would die - especially with Hayden around, it seemed impossible. But on the off chance that something were to happen, her kid would be left without a mother, and if they were half as close as Gracie and her own mother were (which she hoped they would be), it would be one of the worst things that could happen, especially if the outcome involved seizures. That was a fate that she wouldn't wish on anyone in the world - constantly having to be careful and watch out, never able to just look the other way and do whatever she wanted. And with all of these considerations going through her head, this was where she now found herself, barefoot with her shoes in her hand, the entire bottoms of the legs of jeans wet, walking along so that she was technically on the sand but whenever the waves lapped in, they covered her feet.

lyrics, creed.
words, lots, just not the novel kara would've written. xD
notes, you don't have to write this much, or you can write more if you want - i'll adjust my posts to whoever is posting.

[HAYDEN EMILE AIRES]

hayden had never expected that he'd be so attracted to a student that he'd bend rules for and make moves on her. then he met grace zarian and his expectations had changed. he had never expected that his relationship with her would be more than a few casual dates. then he had a few dates and wanted a few more. he'd never expected to have children, let alone with one of his students. he had never expected that she'd become such a big part of his life. fate had had her way with them, though, and decided to throw the two together in a way he could have never expected. not that he was complaining. he didn't mind most of their situation, and what he did mind he was making the best of. he was growing used to it all. so used to it, that when her petite figure was removed from her side of his bed, he could feel the stillness she left behind. he could hear the silence of his tuscany home without the patter of her restless feet, without the urgency of her breathing. he couldn't sleep with the pressure that seemed to build up in her absence.

he crawled out of bed and explored his, making sure that his ears hadn't just been decieving him. while searching, he noted that his ears had, in fact, been correct in hearing nothing but their own quiet ringing, he also noticed that on the other side of the glass windows, a storm was brewing in the distance. nothing too bad, he could tell by the quiet whispers of wind that slapped against the walls of his house, instead of large bellows of wind. the thick gray clouds would bring rain, though, and he knew where to find her. they may have only been together unofficially for a few months, but grace had been a trusting sort who would share her secrets with anyone, really, but hayden figured he knew more than others. he knew that when it rained, her favorite place to be located was along the shoreline. ho wondered if, perhaps, he should let her be by herself for the evening - after all, she hadn't woken him and asked him to join her - but decided he'd rather her be annoyed by his presence and safe than to be left alone.

he dressed quickly, without much thought or preparation, without much grace or care. he didn't even bother with a pair of socks, as he slipped his feet into a pair of vans sneakers before heading out of the back door. he was thankful for the short distance between his house and the beach, seeing as he hated the silence of being alone. he was thankful that his hypothesis had been correct, seeing the petite figure that left his bed empty out on the sand, the waves licking at her calves. he half smiled, taking a seat in the sand. he was there if she needed him, but for now he was happy with observing.

he couldn't possibly understand what grace was thinking or feeling in that moment, in their situation. he had never really had a father, simply a sperm donor who left before hayden was really old enough to think of him as anything more. he had never heard from him, had never really thought of him, until an invitation arrived to the reading of his will. he still didn't think much of the man, not even when he used the fortune he was left to buy his tuscany home, or any of his belongings. his mother had been his only parent and that was all he had ever needed. alas, though, his mother had passed away, too. before he'd even graduated college. without her he was along, on his own. there was no one to write home to, no one to announce this pregnancy to. for grace, though, there was. he was afraid they'd take the news in a manner far from joyous, though. they would see that they were losing a daughter and a sister, rather than gaining a grand-daughter or a niece. he was afraid that she was focusing too much on loss, as well.

he didn't want to be her anchor, keeping her weighed down here in italy, away from her family. he didn't want their daughter to be that anchor, either. he didn't know what he wanted, but he knew that those things were not on that list. he ran his hand through his hair and used his feet to pry off his sneakers, letting his toes dig their way into the sand. he was waiting. waiting for her to sense him, waiting for her to speak, waiting for the storm.

notes not that great. our first thread. love love love.
word count not a novel :P
outfit here
listening to apologies by grace potter and the nocturnals.

[GRACE ALEXIA ZARIAN]

When the first drop of rain hit her, Gracie wrinkled her nose and looked up, as if she could somehow see the drops falling from the sky - a sky which had grown darker without her even realizing it. Momentarily distracted from her otherwise dark thoughts, she glanced out over the sea. Sure enough, if she looked closely at the receding waves, she could see a raindrop fall into the water or the almost-liquid sand. From the size of them, she feared for the briefest moment that perhaps she'd anticipated incorrectly and there really would be a thunder storm - but, on closer inspection, it had only seemed big because of the impression it had left, and the fear blew over.

After the first drop there came more, as tends to happen when it rains. Gracie tilted her chin back and let them cover her face for several moments until it was actually hard enough to be considered raining, though far from pouring. It happened to be at this moment that she looked down and realized that her shirt was, in fact, white - a color that tended to disagree with the rain. However, there was no one else out there (to her knowledge so far) and she wore a white camisole and bra underneath, so she supposed there was no real issue, even if someone were to come along (which had become even less likely with the addition of the falling water).

She set her shoes down and waded out a little farther into water, not bothering to pull up her pant legs because the rain would soak them, anyway. She stopped when she got up to her waist, not because she was being drenched but because, in all honesty, she still had a horrible fear of the ocean and even thinking about what could be crawling around near her toes was enough to give her the chills. She remained there a moment longer until a wave threatened to send her tumbling, at which point she promptly (and very maturely) stuck her tongue out at the water, blushed even though (she thought) there was no one there to see it, and turned around, making her way back out of it.

It was at this point, of course, that she saw Hayden, and literally stopped in her tracks, her bright blue eyes widening slightly in shock. How long has he been here? she wondered, her cheeks turning so red that she might as well have been a beacon for a plane. For a moment, she closed her eyes, then opened them again as if expecting him to be gone - and when that didn't happen, she blinked twice, utterly dumbfounded. Like a junior high student, she immediately began scraping through her brain, trying to figure out if she'd done anything embarassing while there. To her memory, she hadn't twirled around or actually fallen over, so she supposed she was safe.

Though he wasn't exactly close, he wasn't far away, either - so, though she momentarily entertained the idea that it wasn't him but rather someone who looked like him, she quickly abandoned it. She would recognize him anywhere, even through the rain - there was no one else in the world who look quite like him, though she couldn't explain why. Gracie ducked her head and picked up her shoes, the heat of her face threatening to evaporate the cold air falling on it, and made her way towards him.

lyrics, creed.
words, not as many as before xD
notes, they so cyoot..

[HAYDEN EMILE AIRES]

his mind had wandered, but his eyes had stayed fixed on her. he barely noticed as the first drops and their followers threw themselves from the clouds and to the open waters and the surrounding earth. he only noticed that grace had, tilting her face to the sky, throwing herself at the mercy of the downpour. there was something pure about grace that he couldn't quite put his finger on, but couldn't help but be highly attracted to. most people might see her as naive, but hayden knew that she choice to see the good in everything and everything. she didn't choose to dwell and she didn't focus on herself or her troubles. he could fall in love with a girl for a character like that.

it didn't take her long to notice him, but by the time she had he was already fighting back laughter and she, he could tell, was hoping that the rain would draw attention away from her tinted cheeks. he brought his hand to his mouth, trying to disguise his laughter as a short fit of coughing. his facial hair scratching and tickled the palm of his hands and the sensitive skin between each finger. he sobered up as quickly as his eyes met hers, but his grin never faltered. you've been predicting for days, he spoke clearly over the sound of crashing waves and falling drops. and yet here you are, unprepared for it. by that he meant, of course, her white blouse, which was becoming more and more transparent with every drop of rain. he stood, tugging the gray shirt over his head. it was damp yes, and would no doubt add weight to her and cling tight to the curves of her waist, but it would at least leave more to the imagination. he handed it to her, balled between both of his hands.

his grin remained plastered to his unshaven face as she took the shirt from him and pulled it over her head. her wet hair stayed tucked into the neck of the shirt and appeared pasted to her cheeks. hayden was never one to show more affection than a gentleman would - a door hold, his hand at the small of her back were more his style than a hand hold or a kiss given just for the hell of it - but in that moment he didn't mind much. he reached his hand out, snaking around her neck to free the ends of her blonde locks. he used both of his hands to push the hair away from her face and tuck it behind each ear. hey there, beautiful, he chuckled, greeting her as if by pushing her hair back he had uncovered her face and recognized her for the first time. a lot on your mind tonight? these words were more serious, curious.

it was rare for hayden to fall asleep with a woman in his bed and wake up without. it was rare for grace to leave anyone without an explanation, a goodbye, and apology. it was fairly obvious why hayden would be concerned for the woman carrying his child. a chill ran through hayden, covering his torso and bare calves in goose flesh. he really didn't want grace out in this sort of weather for long.


notes really not that great.
word count definitely not a novel.
outfit it's up there.
listening to everything by lifehouse.

[GRACE ALEXIA ZARIAN]

As soon as she spotted him laughing - and cleverly attempting to disguise it as a cough - her cheeks blushed so red they were nearly purple. She met his eyes, about ready to die from embarassment, but his grin managed to calm her down a bit. However, as soon as he commented, the blush returned on impulse. It wasn't hard to get that response out of her, but for some reason, she always found her cheeks flushed around Hayden a little more than usual - or maybe a lot more, and it both intrigued and humiliated her.

Instead of replying, she accepted his shirt, immediately feeling guilty but unable to completely regret her decision to do so. She didn't want to fight with him, which she knew would happen if she tried to give it back. She liked the idea, for some other weird reason that was surely different than the one that made her blush, of wearing it. And, despite the guilt over thinking so selfishly, seeing him shirtless warmed her from the inside out - a fact that she would never admit unless directly asked about it, as the notion seemed ridiculous to a person with so little romantic experience as her.

She was surprised when he suddenly reached out, removing the hair that she hadn't even noticed was trapped beneath the shirt and then pushing the rest behind her ears. Though it was far from a bad thing, it was rather unexpected of him; he didn't tend to be the kind of person to do such a thing. Hey, beautiful. She ducked her head again, attempting to explain to her beating-too-fast heart that it was nothing to get so excited over - she was just being silly now. After all, she was already pregnant - a few words shouldn't be able to have such an effect on her.

When he continued speaking, asking her if there was a lot on her mind, the warm feeling disappeared in an instant. She seemed to deflate, and a shadow passed over her face - or at least, as close to a shadow as it could get when dealing with Gracie. "Yeah," she murmured, keeping her eyes stationed on her toes. "A lot on my mind." Against her will, the thoughts returned, and this time there wasn't anything like the first rain drop to distract her from them. It was sad, she supposed - if her mother were alive, she would love Hayden, she was certain of it; and her father and brother would follow her lead. As it was now, there was no way to predict how they would respond.

lyrics, creed.
words, i don't count, too lazy. xD
notes, i wish i was standing in front of shirtless ian somerhalder. xD