Goodbye My Almost Lover

[anna]

[WARNING & MATURE]
tag (posting order) >> Annabelle, Sodapop, Caleb [more people might be added]

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She had shredded up the invitation when she found it in her mailbox. Ripped it to little pieces, smaller and smaller until they were basically microscopic. She watched the small pieces fly away into the wind. And then she let out one piercing, enraged scream before storming into her house. Caleb's plan was working, it really was getting under her skin.

Despite this fact, Annabelle put on a brave face. She wasn't going to let Caleb know that she was really ticked off at him, though it was becoming obvious. She rarely called him, rarely saw him. Whenever around him, she would hardly say anything. It was like they were strangers once again and she absolutely hated it. She still didn't understand how he would want that horrible girl to be his wife forever and ever. She thought Caleb had better taste than that. After all, he HAD been in love with her. She always hated it when he asked her to marry him, but as of now, she was wishing for once in her life that maybe.... if she had said yes, told him that she loved him back.... they wouldn't be in this mess right now. With her barely looking at him, talking to him, even if he thoughts were always on him. For this, she was more mad at herself than him. She knew she should be letting go of him, knowing that he was truly taken but this task seemed impossible for Anna. She couldn't believe that this was really happening. When she was younger, she always thought that the two of them would marry and live happily ever after. Amber was like the evil witch that just stomped all over her happily ever after fairytale, making it a happily never after. She had to be brave, that was how she needed to feel.

The day of, the day she had been dreading, she was going to make Caleb wish that he never proposed to that thing. She was in her grandparents mansion in Mariselle because it would be easier to go to the engagement party from there. Her dress was perfect, she already had it in mind when she realized she had to go to this party. She had it flown in from Paris, tailored to fit her and only her. Certain advantages when you had wealthy parents who would rather give you money than love. She absolutely loved it, and knew she looked absolutely perfect in it. Strapless, short, the pattern on the dress was exquisite. She especially loved the front of her dress because that was the part that caught people's attention first. Her hair was done in moments. She hated waiting for the hairdressers to take hours on something that she could recreate in less than one. A strand of heirloom pearls her only jewelery. Her make-up simple and fresh, it drew attention to her natural beauty for once. One last swipe of lip gloss, a pair of killer black heels and a shot of vodka later, Anna looked perfect, and she was really going to flaunt that fact.

If Caleb had expected her not to bring a date, he was insane. If he really thought she was going to show up alone to his engagement party, he wasn't right in the head. Plus the invitation said she could drag along one guest. It wasn't that hard to choose someone. All she had to do was go through her rather long contact list, but she had someone in mind. Sodapop would play the part perfectly. Not only would he be the perfect arm candy, he would of course go with her if she asked. He wasn't someone she would actually date for a long time, someone she would like to call her boyfriend. His ego was sometimes unbearable, but he was undeniable hot. Which was a good thing. Remind Caleb of what he could of been. Try to make Caleb feel as replaced as she did when she found out about him getting married. She sat down at the table, waiting for Soda to show up. She had a bottle of vodka in front of her, a shot glass in her hand. The less sober she was, the easier this would be. Even as she drowned the bitter alcohol bit by bit, her mind strayed to the stupid engagement party. It was going to be one of the Mariselle's biggest social events of the year. Caleb tried to make things big like that. She sighed and when she heard a car horn honk outside, she just took the bottle and drank a bit too much straight out of it. This time, she didn't even taste it as it burned down her throat. Nothing was going to be bad compared to what she was going to have to deal with at this party.

She wasn't even impressed with the party at all. She just grabbed Soda's arm, claiming him as hers, and dragged him to the bar. She had ignored him all through the car ride. Her nerves had been dreadful. You could easily sense that she didn't want to be there, even though a ton of people wished to be. She snapped her fingers loudly, hitting her hand against the bar for a louder effect. She ordered vodka, straight up. Nobody drank like this, but she just really wanted to not feel anything at the moment. The bartender had looked at her like she was a bit odd. For some reason today, the more she drank, the more sober was becoming. The alcohol was not working and it was really annoying. It needed to work. Turning around, clutching her drink in its fancy glass, leaving Soda to order his own drink if he wanted one so early, she skimmed around the ballroom. Everyone was dressed formally and it more or less looked like a scene from a wedding magazine. It was every bride's dream to have this lavish of an engagement party. Caleb spared absolutely no money on this. Decorations, this and that... all probably Amber's choice. Then again, she was probably one of those people that wouldn't lift a finger over this all and when she spotted a random person running in and out, she knew she was right. A wedding planner, that's why everything was so perfect. She rolled her eyes before skimming again.

That was when she saw him, and once again she felt her knees shake. Especially today.... he just looked so handsome. Once upon a time in happy land, he had been hers. But of course, he had been taken away from her. Torn from her hands, taking her heart with him. Even if he did love someone else, she would always love him. She was just too stubborn to admit that. And when he looked at her, she quickly averted her eyes down to the ground and took a long sip out of her drink. If he thought she was going to run to him so quickly again and make a fool out of herself, that wasn't going to happen.

She clutched Soda's arm again, this time, with an impossibly strong grip.

[soda]

Soda was happy to have been invited to some engagement party, well, not directly. It was more of Anna calling him, asking him in a seductive manner and him trying to act cool and say yes. Yes, he was quite the charmer. Anyways, so he had to admit, he didn't know who's engagement party this was. Well, he could have found out, only he didn't care really. Paying attention wasn't one of his strong points. Though, he was starting to regret it. He had never been to an engagement party before. Not that he was never invited, just that he had never seen the point in celebrating one's engagement. He always thought that the actual wedding was supposed to be the party. well, why only have one night of booze when you can have two, right?

He guessed that a more formal attire would suit the evening. He just opened his closet and pulled out his tux. Nothing overly fancy, in his eyes. It looked new, because he never used it. Last time it was worn, was at a funeral. And even then, it was only on for about twenty minutes, not to take that the wrong way. He just so happened to run into an old friend and they went back to his place to catch up, innocence. Entirely. Once he had it on, he debated tie or bow. Wow, he was actually trying to make a decision that related to fashion. This meant he was going to choose the wrong one, most definitely. He went with the tie. He slid on his shoes and then stood to go out his bedroom door. He then realized that he was in complete darkness. Wow, he wasn't even noticing his vision changes now. Excellent.

He ran out the front door, going past his bike. He had burrowed his cousin's car for this occasion. If he was going to drive a car, he was going to drive a nice one: it was a Spyder. His cousin worshiped it, he sweet talked his way into getting it for the night. his talents did come in handy at times, besides, he knew how to word things with certain people. Playing things up the right way can be the key to getting what you wanted. He was well aware of that. He jumped into the car, and started her up. The engine purred quietly. He smirked, the only car he would ever willingly drive. He had a detest for things with more than two wheels. He was admittedly odd.

He pulled up outside of the address he was given. he pressed down on the horn for a few seconds and then sat back. His hands resting on the wheel. His eyes staring ahead. When she came down his unlocked the doors for her, instead of making her jump over. "You look good." He commented, checking out her ... dress. Of course, the dress. the dress was great. He pushed on the gas the second she was in, not caring if she had a seat belt on or not. Not to brag but he felt he was an excellent driver, sure he sped, and went off-roding a little too much, but hey, he was never killed. He didn't bother to start up a conversation with Anna during the car ride, she seemed pretty spacey. Whatever, she would talk to him eventually right?

He parked the car and jumped over the door. He walked over to Anna and smirked at her, "So ... this is the party? Fun, seems rich." He said with a shrug. He went along with her when she dragged him over to the bar. He gave her a questioning look when she ordered some hard booze and walked away. He laughed slightly and raised his eyebrows. "Can I have a coke? Might as well have one of us able to stand." Yes, he was making a joke about Anna's drinking. Soda trailed behind her. He caught up when she had stopped, he looked around, "well, it looks nice. Too formal though." He said with a slight smirk. He looked over at her, when she clenched into his arm with a firm grip.

"So, who's engagement are we celebrating?" He asked, glancing around. He was pathetic, sure he knew who Caleb was, he just hadn't realized it was his engagement party.

[anna]

She drowned her drink in less than two minutes. That was how nervous she was feeling. How annoyed she was. All these weird feelings were swimming around in her mind, clouding it completely. She didn't want to be here, she had no clue WHY she was here in the first place. She should of expected to not have a good time. After all, it was to celebrate HIS engagement to someone other than herself. She was ignoring Soda, he better get used to it. She wasn't feeling very talkative tonight, that was for sure. But he better dare not leave her, she needed some support. Even if it was from him. She needed some guy to whisper things in her ear, tell her that she was beautiful and such. That had been Caleb's job for a while, fulfilling her ever deprived attention.

Now it was going to be Soda's. She placed her glass back on the bar and reached over and took Soda's coke from his hands and took a small sip out of that. He could just order another one. She hadn't talked to him for a while, but when he asked a question, she had to answer it. She was surprised he had no clue who's engagement it was. It had been all over the news, everywhere she turned it was congratulating their engagement. It sickened her. She wanted to be sick every time she saw a stupid new article on them. She swallowed the last of Soda's coke, and put that back on the table too. Sighing, she kept her arm around his, possessively holding him and placed her head on his shoulder.

"It's his.... Caleb's. He's marrying some whore and..... they just need to blow everything out of proportion," she muttered.

She took the time to scan the crowd again. Even if she didn't want to talk to Caleb at all that night, it was impossible for her to do so. She was just drawn to him, mentally, physically, emotionally.... She was his, and she knew it. Annabelle was just way too stubborn. She denied she felt anything every time someone asks or brought up the subject. How much she was regretting it now. Watching the two lovebirds go about and talk with their guests, she felt a headache coming up. Her eyes looked down again, she didn't want to see them. She wanted them to all go away. As of right now, she was cursing the day she ever met Caleb. Why in the world did she have to randomly go up and hug Caleb? Why couldn't she just of left him alone? Then she wouldn't be in this situation. She would probably be at Uni with Drew and Brody and Kristin, and not caring about some idiot. Then she start to wonder why she came to this thing anyway? She should of just stayed home and ate ice cream, force Drew to come down and find some comfort from him. She just looked pathetic, and even if she wasn't alone... that was what she felt like.

She looked up at Soda and sighed. He was going to get annoyed and leave sooner or later. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him closer to him and gave him a quick kiss on his lips before releasing him. She turned around again, and ordered a Pina Colada. Something hardly strong at all. After receiving her sweet drink, she turned around to meet Soda again. Now she felt bad. She had dragged him here for the sole fact that she didn't want to endure this alone. And now he was basically left alone since she wasn't talking to him at all. She didn't feel up for it, but she knew she had to. It was Soda she was talking about. They usually had a lot to say to each other IF they weren't doing something else. Besides, he was almost, not if, as hot as Caleb was. She should just be happy that she had some arm candy. As she took another sip from her drink, something suddenly clicked in her brain. An epiphany came rushing over her.

If she made Caleb jealous, would he come back to her? Would it even work?

She took another long sip from her drink before carelessly throwing it back to the bar tender. Annabelle Grey was back in control. She smiled seductively up at Sodapop, using her appearance to its full potential. She dazzled people if she tried hard enough. She shot a look back toward Caleb, trying to see if he was looking in her general direction. He was. Reaching up, this time, she forcefully pulled Sodapop toward her. The kiss wasn't short, or passionate. It was just a kiss of lust, long, hot. He wasn't going to be leaving her any time soon. After she broke it off, she reached on her tippy toes to whisper in his ear.

"Did I tell you how hot you were tonight?"

[soda]

Soda watched her take the drink from his hands. "Uh ..." He let out. She took a sip, he reached over to grab it back but then pulled his hand back to his body. "Your welcome." He said sarcastically, he turned around and ordered another one. he drank this one in a few sips and set it down. He would be good for a while. He watched Anna for a moment, she was too edgy. He stood in silence next to her, leaning back against the counter slightly. Well, this was exciting. He was at a engagement party for some random couple, Anna wasn't paying any attention to him, and he hated the shoes he was wearing. Why did he agree to this? He put and arm around Anna's waist, not really knowing what to do with his hands at this point. He gazed out at the room blankly. This was about as exciting as a day at a fair when the ferris wheel breaks down and your stuck at the top, you can't go anywhere, no one is focused on you, and you get bored as Hell. Yay.

He raised his eyebrows and looked over at her. 'Oh. Well, when you put it like that ..." He responded. "Woah, wait. Caleb is getting married? To a whore? Is she cute?" Soda said, smiling innocently. He was regretting letting that one out, maybe Anna would let it slide. Besides, she knew what hew as like, and if she didn't, then she obviously drank way too much when he was around. She went silent again. He just looked at the ceiling and tried to stay awake. He turned, ordered a Vex, he downed it in three sips and placed it back onto the bar. He was now drinking for fun, instead of his usual, drinking to help boost the fun. The moral was that he normally was having fun, and then started drinking. But this was a slight drag.

He looked down at her when she turned and gave him a small kiss on the lips. She instantly turned and ordered a drink though. He sighed and looked back out to the room. This was flat. Soda glanced at her while she gave him a fierce look back. She looked away for only a moment and then pressed her lips to his. She pulled him in closer to her. She had the urge to laugh but the emotion was over thrown by the moment. He wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her back. What got into her? Not that he really cared, but it was curious how she went from nothing to this. He raised an eyebrow when she stopped. She then said something in his ear and his smirked. He didn't adjust for her, letting her go on her tippy toes to reach him.

"Mmm, nope, but don't be afraid to say it again." Soda said slowly. He gave her a quick but gentle kiss and said, "Finally warming up?" He rubbed her back slowly and lightly, being delicate and calm.

[anna]

ooc: CALEB! you can come in now >< and then leave ahahaa

She wanted to slap him when he asked if Amber was hot. She decided to ignore him, that was good. If she managed to ignore everything, would it turn out that everything had been just part of her imagination? Or was she just dreaming again.

She felt slightly disgusted with herself as she made out with Soda. She used people too much, it was a wonder she had any friends left at all. People had once told her THAT was what made her like a Venus Fly Trap. She attracted men with her.... wickedness.... That was the only adjective people had found to describe her attitude. She was simply irresistible. But still, she felt guilty. Here she was, kissing another guy to someone jealous. Not that her date was minding it much. She had made out with him once before while she was drunk and he was beside her at the bar. It had been a bit sloppy and it didn't go any farther, but knowing he was guy, he probably HAD wanted to. She didn't trust guys, they had lost their trust long ago. The last guy she had made out was with Caleb a couple weeks ago. She had actually kissed back until he wanted to go further. THEN he told her he was engaged. Obviously she had left in a rage. Actually, feeling wanted again by Soda was helping calm her nerves. The gentle kiss made her feel guilty all over again, but she wasn't going to change anything. She wanted Caleb back, and she was going to do anything to make that happen.

As Soda rubbed her back, she had to look up and give him a smile. She wasn't going to ignore him any longer, he deserved more than that. He deserved more than her but he was with her now. She slipped an arm through, tentatively claiming him as hers and lead him away from the bar. Might as well enjoy the party..... maybe parade Soda around as if he was her boyfriend.... She placed her head on his shoulder, she just fit perfectly there. She could imagine what they looked like as a couple. They were both extremely good looking. Both had black on, and both were extremely attractive. She hoped that Caleb would see them and be jealous. He better be. After all, if SHE got jealous over the fact that Amber was clinging onto him for dear life, then he HAD to get jealous over the fact that she was in another guy's arms. They were both completely possessive over the other. That was their nature. He got ticked off whenever she kissed another guy or started dating someone. And SHE got pissed if he had another girlfriend. Obviously, they clashed sometimes. But she wanted their bickering to happen again. At least then, he payed attention to her.

She scanned the crowd again until she found Caleb. She tugged on Soda's arm, "Come on. Let's go... congratulate the two lovebirds."

Actually, she was feeling quite calm now, and much happier. The glasses of alcohol were finally working. She wanted, no needed more. If she got drunk, THEN she wouldn't feel like crap. She tightened Soda's grip, and kept her head on his shoulder. They looked like a happy couple but what happened if they weren't a couple. Some people needed evidence to believe it. She was about a meter away from Caleb when she stopped abruptly and kissed Soda hard again. That would make any doubt in people's minds to disappear. Let them believe that Soda was taking her home tonight. She didn't care if she seemed like a slut, since she, herself, knew that it wasn't going to happen. Soda was a good kisser, and if Caleb really did marry Amber, he was going to be topping the list of potential boyfriends. Besides, he was sweet to her. He would never do what Caleb was doing. He flirted too much, but she would make him see only her.

Then she was mortified at herself for what she was doing. She was thinking about the future already. Thinking abut what would happen once Caleb married Amber. She mentally slapped herself, wincing at the fact that she was already losing hope, but she stuck her tongue in Soda's mouth. She wasn't going to let anything happen that she didn't want to happen. She broke it off from Soda and smiled up at him. Just to tell him that she liked him. Lies, all lies. She was an amazing actress. She wasn't showing anything she was really feeling inside. To him, he probably thought that she actually did like him. She resumed her old position, her head on his shoulder, her arm linked through his, and more confidently, went to Caleb.

"Congrats...." she said, her voice wavering for a second, before she masked it with a brave smile. "You haven't met my..... boyfriend," she had to say it. She didn't care what Soda said, if he denied it, she was so not going to ever kiss him, nevertheless kiss him, again. "Soda, Caleb. Caleb, Soda."