[Rin]Accidental Marriage[Davey]

[Rin128564]

The smell of food traveled up to the attic and after a while of sulking she finally decided to come down though she was still pretty upset. She walked into the living room and sat down on the couch and began to flip through channels while Alex was in the kitchen making breakfast, she was too far lost in her thoughts that she didn't bother to go check on him and ask for help. Really whenever it was her birthday she was a very different person...she wasn't that nice girls anymore. In fact if Brandy or Helen wanted to miss with her on this day they would certainly regret it.

 

[Davey Word Hunter]

It was a bit of a surprise when Alex heard the TV turn on while he was fixing breakfast, since Sofia rarely took the time to watch TV. That told Alex that Sofia had come down from the attic. Either that, or Bo had learned how to use the remote control for the TV, which was highly unlikely. Once he had finished cooking, he set the table for the two of them. He had thought about serving her in the living room, but it would have been too awkward for him to hold her plate and work his crutches at the same time. Instead he went into the living room and cheerfully said, "Breakfast is ready! I fixed scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast."  

[Rin128564]

So far Sofia was just glad that Alex had yet to mention her birthday as if nothing really happened and that was the way she wanted it to stay. If staying locked up in the room all day meant avoiding any more 'mishaps' then she would do so. For now she nodded and stood up, following him into the kitchen where she sat, thanked him for the meal and began to eat in silence. There was nothing to really say and she wasn't in the greatest mood to talk about why she had just left his parents standing at the door wondering what she was up to though she was sure Alex made up some they did was a very sweet and wonderful thing, she just wished they didn't.

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[Davey Word Hunter]

Even though there was rarely any talking during meals, except when Debra was there, on this occasion the silence was particularly oppressive. Sofia was clearly upset about something, but Alex still didn't have a clue as to why, although he felt that it was safe to say that she wasn't mad at him. After a while he thought of a way that he could start a conversation without pressuring Sofia into talking. "Is there something that you would like to talk about?" he politely inquired. That should indicate that he knew that something was wrong, and if Sofia wanted to talk about it, then he had given her the opening to begin. If she didn't want to talk, though, she could easily decline.  

[Rin128564]

Sofia shrugged as she ate her meal, not really in the mood for talking but just a moment after shrugging she did say something. "I hope you can tell your parents that I appreciate the gift though they really didn't have to do it...The card was enough..." Though she didn't mean it the way she said it..it almost sounded as if she didn't need the gift card they gave her, as if she really was expecting to get something far better from her own parents though that was certainly not going to happen...depending if they even remembered what today was. What she meant was that the card was enough to show her that they acknowledged her birthday and that they CARED but since Alex didn't know her birthday issue there was that possibility that he would take offense to what she said. Since she wasn't thinking much about it, she simply went back to eating. It didn't' help that her tone was also a rather uncaring tone..rather than a sincere tone.

((OOC: Time to start some unintentional drama biggrin woot! Here's hoping he doesn't get up set muahahaha twisted  

[Davey Word Hunter]

Alex didn't know how to react to either Sofia's words or her tone. It really wasn't like her to act this way. Something was definitely bothering her, and it probably had something to do with her birthday. As much as he wanted to think otherwise, it hadn't sounded as if she appreciated the gift that his parents had given to her. Sure, it wasn't anything close to the things that her parents would give her, but it had been a significant purchase for his parents, and he had understood their reason for giving it to her, aside from it being her birthday. "My parents are like that," he replied, "Always going out of their way to make sure that we feel special and appreciated. I'm sure that your parents will do the same before the day is over." Alex knew that his last remark wasn't true the moment that he had said it, but it was too late to take it back, and it probably also came across as sarcastic.  

[Rin128564]

This weren't going exactly as planned and rather than having a peaceful day it had quickly gone completely upside down in her point of view. She looked at Alex and set down her forth rather harshly and abruptly, "No Alex, I assure you they wont, in fact I bet half a million dollars that they have no clue what today even is. God knows how your parents even knew about it because no one is ever suppose to ******** speak of it." She shoved the plate away and got up, simply walking out of the kitchen...more so storming out. Perhaps what was more surprising other than that fact that she rose her voice was that she actually cussed, and that had to be the first time he ever heard her do so. Whenever it came to her parents she truly acted very differently. Sofia had gone to the room, shut it rather loudly and the apartment soon became quiet though Bo soon began to bark as he ran after Sofia but was shut out and so he sat there barking at the door as if asking her to open it. Truthfully she didn't bother to lock it, but he was a dog and couldn't open the door.
 

[Davey Word Hunter]

Sofia's outburst had left Alex feeling even more surprised, but he was beginning to understand why Sofia was so upset. Thanks to the brief exposure to Sofia's parents that he had experienced, Alex could easily believe that they will have forgotten entirely about her birthday. Furthermore, Sofia's reaction indicated that they had done so on a regular basis in the past. With the benefit of hindsight, Alex realized that perhaps it had been a mistake on his part to mention her parents. As for how his parents had known about her birthday, most likely his mother had gone to the home of Sofia's parents and had asked. It was exactly the kind of thing that her mother would do. That would also explain about how his parents had known to get a gift card for art supplies. After he finished eating, he cleaned up, washed the dishes, and then returned to the living room. He wanted to talk things out with Sofia, but didn't know how to start without making things worse. When he saw how Bo was sitting in front of the bedroom door, he went to the dog, patted him on the head, and very quietly asked, "Is she always like this on her birthday?" If Bo was capable of speech, he might have said 'yes', but as it was, Bo didn't say a thing.  

[Rin128564]

Bo looked at Alex and tilted his head as if trying to figure out what Alex had just asked him. His attention was then put on the door that slowly began to open. There was no sign of Sofia how ever so Bo stood up and pushed the cracked door open far enough for him to squeeze through and he trotted over to the open closet where Sofia sat folding clothes. He laid down with his head on his lap as she continued to fold clothes as if he had been there the whole time. It seemed that it was his way to try and comfort her. Sofia looked down at him and saw his tail drooping and his ears flat on his head. Sighing heavily she rubbed his back and tried to convince him she was okay even though she was still pretty upset.
 

[Davey Word Hunter]

Alex still wasn't certain about what to say to Sofia, and so he decided that perhaps it would be best to give her some space for now. He then went to the sofa, intending to watch TV, since the football games would be starting soon. It seemed that he had barely had the chance to sit down when the doorbell rang. Because he didn't want Sofia to be disturbed, he went to answer the door as quickly as he could. Alex doubted that his parents had returned, and it was even more doubtful that Sofia's parents had come to visit. Come to think of it, he couldn't remember if her parents had ever come to Sofia and his apartment. Most likely it was Debra, unless Helen had chosen to make another appearance, which was the last thing that Alex and Sofia needed at the moment. Fortunately it was Debra. "Good morning! I'm not here too early, am I?" Debra said cheerfully. "Not at all!" Alex replied while letting her in, "In fact, I'm glad that you came. Sofia is in kind of a bad mood today, and I'm hoping that perhaps you can help me cheer her up." "She is? Why is that?" Debra asked. "Actually, I'll let Sofia explain, and it's probably a good idea if you don't say anything until she brings it up. Let's just say that she kind of got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Alex informed her. It might have been accurate for him to say that Sofia had gotten up on the wrong side of the calendar, referring to her birthday that day, but that would have required him to give to Debra the explanation that he was trying to avoid. Debra then held up the large photo album that she was carrying and stated, "Since it's Sunday, I brought my photo album so that you and Sofia can look at it. Ordinarily my grandmother doesn't let me go anywhere on Sunday, but I think that she thinks that I'm less likely to do something that I shouldn't when I'm here than even when I'm home." Even though looking at Debra's photos was likely to cut into the football game, Alex nodded and said, "Great! I'm looking forward to seeing your baby pictures." And then, just in case Sophia hadn't noticed already, he called out, "Sofia! Debra's here!"  

[Rin128564]

When she heard that Debra was here she just prayed to God that she didn't know about her birthday either, the last thing she wanted right now was someone else to say 'happy birthday'. Nonetheless she wouldn't sit around with a sour taste in her mouth and so she went out with Bo and greeted her friend with a smile, unaware that Alex had told her that she was in a bad mood. "Good morning Debra, what's that?" She said as she looked over to see the photo album in Alex's hand.

"Oh! You brought your photo album, I can't wait to see," She chuckled and sat down next to Alex...truly as if nothing had happened and began to flip through the pages, smiling at the baby pictures and occasionally going "Aw". It was nice to see many pictures filled with Debra together with her parents. What she would give to experience that at least once.
 

[Davey Word Hunter]

Following Alex's advice and Sofia's lead, Debra acted as if there was nothing wrong there in her friends' apartment. Anyway she was feeling a bit apprehensive as it was. The photo album was going to reveal much about Debra's past, and there was certain to be questions asked. There had been a time when Debra had thought that her parents had been excessively camera-happy, but now those photos were among the very few things that Debra had left of her family. It seemed that there wasn't a single page in the album where there wasn't at least one of her parents or one of her brothers in the photo. Additionally, all of the photos were neatly labeled with the date that the photo was taken, the location, and the activity as appropriate. In one photo of note, obviously taken when Debra and her brothers had been children, their family was wearing formal clothing and standing in front of a large white building. Around the time when Debra had been seven, a boy who looked to be about the same age as her had started to appear in many of the photos, and it was clear that he wasn't a member of the family. In another photo that might catch Sofia and Alex's attention, Debra was standing next to her father. She was dressed in a long, modest white dress while her father was wearing a white jumpsuit of some kind. In other photos taken that day, Debra was wearing a different and colorful dress, while her father, her family members, and the boy were dressed in formal clothing, and in some of them, Debra's hair was noticeably wet. Debra and the boy appeared together in photos of birthday parties, dressed up in Halloween costumes, sitting together during what appeared to be Thanksgiving dinners, and in numerous other occasions.

There was a photo of Debra and the boy standing in front of an outdoor Nativity scene, and that was followed by a group photo of Debra's family and what must have been the boy's family in front of another large religious-looking building. Various photos taken around Christmas were present, in addition to the one of the Nativity scene. In a few, Debra and the boy were seen on a small stage of some kind, where they appeared to be taking part in a Nativity play. Going from the scenery and the baby cradle on stage, Debra was playing the part of Mary while the boy was playing the part of Joseph. A glance at the dates for the photos will indicate that Debra had been eleven at the time. Towards the end of the photo album, the boy abruptly stopped appearing in the photos. While the photos had not offered any real explanation for who he was, it was pretty clear he had meant something to Debra. Perhaps Sofia and Alex might have noticed the occasional smile of fond remembrance as Debra looked at the photos with them. The photo album itself ended shortly after that because there hadn't been any new photos taken since the accident that had stolen Debra's family from her. There certainly wouldn't be any photos of Debra's Goth look. Debra's grandmother would never allow that because to permit such photos to be taken would suggest that her grandmother had come to accept the Goth look, which was something that her grandmother will never do.  

[Rin128564]

Sofia had asked an occasional question whenever they came to a picture that needed some explanations but other than that it was pretty easy to figure out what was going on. In all honesty Sofia didn't know what 'family' really even was since she never saw one before and since she didn't watch movies she couldn't see what the 'typical' family was like. She didn't have any friends growing up so she couldn't go and visit and see how their families were like. Even when she and Aeron became friends she still wasn't allowed to go and visit only because he refused to let her come to his house when his parents were there. His parents were accepting of his homosexual 'ways' and so if he brought her to his house they would try and convince him to try and go out with her and that would only cause a huge fight to break out and he wasn't sure if that would drive Sofia away and therefore he would lose one of the little friends he had. So, Sofia was pretty clueless as to what a family did and what it even felt to be around a mother, father and siblings. Looking at these pictures it looked as if it was nice, though no doubt it wasn't always happy, but to be able to capture moments such as these was good, not once could someone point a camera at Sofia and capture a happy family moment because she was either with her nanny or some maids/butlers. If ever she was with her parents it would only be one and they would be far too busy to even pay attention to her. A small smile had crept on her face as she flipped through the pages though she honestly felt sorrow growing as well because she knew that Debra had lost her family. Sofia never lost her family...but then again she didn't have one to begin with so she felt some of the same pains Debra felt. Sighing softly she looked away from the photo album once she was done.

Looking up at her friend she asked, "Who was that boy in the photos? A friend and if you don't mind me asking, what happened to him?" She truly was curious but she didn't want to sit here and talk anymore. The moment Debra told her and answered her question Sofia would probably get up and excuse herself so she could be alone in the attic again. Perhaps it was the feeling of being unloved for so long that always caught up with her on this day. This was the first time she had ever gotten a gift that held care and meaning behind it. What kind of life was she living before she got stuck with Alex?
 

[Davey Word Hunter]

"That's Paul," Debra replied, "I don't remember if I mentioned this before, but for a while I lived in another state. Paul was my neighbor, and we were... friends. When my family and I moved back here, Paul and I kind of lost touch with each other. But hey, that kind of thing happens all of the time. No big deal." At the present time, it seemed that Sofia was Debra's only friend, with Alex being an acquaintance through association, and taking into consideration Debra's aspiration to become the most hated girl in their high school, for her to admit that a boy was her friend was quite a concession that hinted that perhaps the word 'friend' was an understatement. Of the many memories that she had of Paul, the clearest was of the day when her family had moved away from their happy home next to Paul and his family. They had been thirteen years old at the time, barely old enough to begin to understand where a close friendship like theirs might lead. Paul's parents had allowed him to stay home from school so that he could give her one final goodbye before she left. They had stood together in silence for what had seemed to be an eternity. There had been so much that Debra had wanted to say, but no time to say anything, and besides, the lump in her throat kept her from talking. Paul had probably felt the same way, but he had been to proud to let it show. Finally she had hugged like like she intended to never let go while confessing that he was the best friend that she had ever had and that she was going to miss him. Paul had returned the hug and insisted that he would miss her too. When it was finally time to go, Debra had dared to give him a kiss on the cheek. As her mother had led her to the car, she had sworn that she would never forget him, and he had done the same. Debra had watched him from the car for as long as she could while the car was driving away, and when she lost sight of Paul after the car had turned at a corner, she had broken down and had wept like a baby. At the time she had thought that it had been the worst day of her life. Of course she had been completely ignorant of the tragedy that was yet to come. As Debra thought about the past, she considered how long it had been since she had even spoken Paul's name. Did he think about her? Did he still remember her? Was he still her friend, or had he found someone else to be his best friend? Another girl, perhaps?  

[Rin128564]

"Oh, I see, and have you not tried visiting him?" Sofia asked as she looked at Debra and began to wonder what she was do if she was in that situation. No doubt Sofia would do whatever she could to go visit her best friend but taking into consideration of her families death, she was sure that Debra had little time to actually think of going to visit let alone how she would do such a thing. If anything Sofia wouldn't mind helping Debra go visit him. AFter all, she had the time and money to do so and she figured that if Debra did have the desire to visit her friend then Sofia would give out her offer.