After The Wedding.

[Adele Smith]

Since her one night stand with Hadan, Adele had tried to avoid this side of Brightstone Village. But of course, she couldn't avoid the village completely, she lived here. But this side of it made her regret a lot of things, and it brought back a lot of memories which had been great at the time, but now she hated thinking about them.

Adele went and sat on the very bench where she had met Hadan, only a few days ago. It wasn't a bench where she particularly wanted to sit, but she needed to think things over. She didn't want to lie to Riley, but she didn't want him to hurt Hadan, and more importantly, she didn't want to ruin the start to their wonderful married life. She knew that Riley had cheated in the past, but she also knew that he had tried his best to stop now they were married, revealing her affair would just throw it back in his face. Adele put her head in her hands as she thought about this. "ERRGGHH." She let out loudly. She didn't know what to do.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

As she walked around outside,Cyndi realized that even though she was outside and appeared to be shopping, she really wasn't. She had gone into a few stores but really she was outside trying to just enjoy the day. She didn't usually like staying around Brightstone because the students usually frequented the area and sometimes she did like to be around people who were closer to her age, but today it had been alright so far. Fairly quiet in fact, at least until she heard a loud noise that sounded almost like a yell.

Glancing over at one of the benches where the sound seemed to be coming from, Cyndi was surprised to see who it was that was making the noise. It was the wife of her now ex- roommate. Their relationship was cordial at best and Cyndi froze for a moment as she considered whether or not to go over to Adele. It looked as if she needed help with something but Cyndi wasn't sure whether her advice would be welcomed or accepted in any way. They weren't so close that Cyndi could be sure of how she would be welcomed at all. Deciding to not think about it any longer and simply allow whatever was going to happen to happen, Cyndi stepped towards Adele. "Uh...hi Adele" she said, a smile on her face. "Are you alright?" She crossed her arms, waiting to see if Adele would welcome or shun her company.

 

[Adele Smith]

Adele was almost relieved to hear a familiar voice that wasn't Riley's. She looked up to match the voice with the face. Realising that it was Cyndi, Adele wasn't sure what good she could do, as the 2 only just got along. But needing some female company, Adele smiled weakly at her presence, as she sat up again. Letting out a sigh of relief, Adele spoke. "Oh...Cyndi, sit down." Adele said, not really sure what else to say.

She loved Riley with all her heart, and in hindsight, she really regretted her night with Hadan. She didn't understand why she had done it, and she didn't know how the heck she was going to explain it to anyone, especially Riley. She couldn't tell Cyndi before Riley, that wouldn't be fair. She was stuck. "No I'm not alright, but it's nothing anyone can really help me with, so it's probably best if you try and avoid that subject." Adele said, in reply to Cyndi's question. She was trying to be as polite to Cyndi as possible. At times like these, Adele struggled to remain friendly to those who had once been her enemies. And Adele and Cyndi didn't exactly see eye-to-eye, not even now.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi's eyebrow raised at the greeting that Adele gave her. It was almost as if she were relieved that it was her and not someone else. Stepping over, Cyndi sat down gingerly on the seat and waited. She never really knew what to say to Adele because other than Riley and Lowan, she didn't really have much in common with the girl. Not that she knew of anyway. They rarely talked, and when they did it was usually to speak about one of the guys or to argue. Thankfully, they hadn't been doing much of the latter.

After hearing Adele speak again, Cyndi was more confused than ever. It sounded as if Adele was giving her a more pleasant version of the mind your own business that usually came out of her mouth. "Um...ok" she said slowly and then added, "So why'd you have me sit down?" To Cyndi, the question was asked because she was wondering what Adele did want to talk about if she didn't want to discuss what was bothering her. She didn't realize that the question could sound rude or even as if she were trying to pick a fight until after the words were out. That happened to Cyndi often enough, where she said something she didn't quite think through. Unable to take the words back, she waited for Adele's reply.

 

[Adele Smith]

Adele left the conversation in dead silence for a couple of seconds after Cyndi had finished speaking. She wasn't ignoring Cyndi, she just needed time to think. She didn't want to tell Cyndi of her wrong doing, but she needed someone to just talk to, and Cyndi had come along at just the right time. Trying to cover what she had done up, Adele told Cyndi in a twisted story. "Say you had a 2 friends who don't get along...one of them, you always hang around with, and the other, you only met recently, but one day, you ditch your closer friend, to go with the new one...how do you tell the 'closer friend' that you had infact been with their enemy?" Adele asked. She knew it sounded stupid, and wasn't much like the situation that she was in. But it had common ground, and that would do for Adele. Maybe Cyndi could help her a little. Or at the very least, cheer her up.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi looked away from Adele because it was obvious that the girl was trying to think of what to say and she figured staring at her wasn't going to help. Instead, she watched the cracks in the sidewalk, following a particularly long one to see where it ended. She didn't get very far though because Adele began speaking and Cyndi's eyes slowly lifted up to hers so she could listen. Her forehead creased as she listened, trying to read in between the lines of what Adele was saying. She thought that Adele was going to complain about some newlywed problem she was having with Riley, but that didn't seem to be the case at all. It seemed to be something entirely different though Cyndi couldn't be sure at all with the minimal amount of details she had been given.

As she thought of some advice to give to Adele, Cyndi bit her lower lip. After a moment, she began speaking slowly, still thinking through what she wanted to say as she was saying it. "Well, I'm not sure but I think if it were me, I would probably tell my closer friend that I hung out with their enemy and even though they weren't friends with each other, it should still be ok for me to hang out with that person because I liked them both in different ways." She thought over what she'd just said and figured that it sounded like pretty ok advice. "And if it turned out that I hung out with the enemy and hated them too, I would probably apologize to my friend and tell him that now I know why they're enemies" she finished with a smirk on her face.

 

[Adele Smith]

For once in her life, Adele was actually listening to someone's advice. She wasn't sure how she would tell Riley what she had done, but it couldn't be as bad as she was imagining. After all, Riley had cheated in the past too with many girls, with Adele it was just one boy. But Adele felt bad because she knew that Riley had been trying to become more loyal towards her recently, and now all that hard work had been wasted.

Adele thought for a moment as she wondered whether to tell Cyndi the truth or not. Could she really open up to her before Riley? Surely that was a bad idea, especially seeing as Cyndi was one of Riley's closest friends. "Well Cyndi, I don't know if I can tell you what's going on, but I do know that this 'new friend' is most certainly an enemy now. And that person is probably going to be in a similar position to me right now..." Adele said, revealing a little more about her dilemma. Adele didn't exactly see eye-to-eye with Cyndi, but Riley's trust in her, was seeming like enough for Adele to start revealing the whole story, bit by bit, in her own time.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi looked down towards the ground as she listened to Adele speak. She still couldn't get an idea of what she was referring to but she knew that it certainly had to do with her and, more likely than not, Riley. She knew she would have to tread carefully when it came to what she said because it could end up backfiring terribly. The relationship she had with Adele was precarious enough as it was and she definitely did not want to get in their business because she would choose Riley if it came down to choosing a side. She knew him better after all.
"Honesty is usually the best policy...even if it is sometimes the hardest thing to do" she said softly.

 

[Adele Smith]

The minute Adele heard the word Honesty she knew exactly what followed. And Cyndi was right, she did need to tell Riley the truth, or it would just cause her even more trouble when he finds out from someone else. Adele looked up at Cyndi, the first tear rolling down her eye. This was unusual for Adele, she didn't usually express her emotion through tears, she was tough. Only true love could break Adele, and it already had done. When her brother Tyson died, she had cried for days, and now the tears were back because she had cheated on Riley.

Adele looked Cyndi in the eyes, ready to tell her straight, but the tears over-came her. After a couple of seconds of composing herself, Adele wanted to reveal the whole truth, but she knew she wouldn't be able to do that right now. So Adele chose the words that her mouth chose to speak, and went ahead. "Cyndi, I hope you're getting the picture, because I wouldn't be surprised if you and most other people hated me for the rest of your life...I really wouldn't." Adele said, unable to look at Cyndi for any longer, and turning back, placing her head back in her her hands.

Out of Character:

Woah, mad. Adele has a good heart.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

When Adele began crying, Cyndi had no idea what to do. She didn't cry very often herself (other than at weddings) but when she did she preferred to be alone. She hated when people told her not to cry and tried to comfort her, so she did none of those things with Adele. Instead, she took out a tissue and handed it over silently.

As she considered Adele's words, Cyndi tried to figure out what the girl was speaking about. Something to do with an enemy and someone close to her and something she regretted. It was all very confusing, so she stopped thinking about that and instead considered what would make someone cry as Adele was. Only two things came to her mind- death and love. She knew it couldn't be a death because Adele didn't seem the murdering type and if it was simply that someone in her family had died, there would be no reason for Cyndi or anyone else to hate her. That only left Riley. "I don't hate you Adele..." she began because she didn't. Adele wasn't her favorite person in the world and probably never would be, but the truce they'd shared had made her sort of come to understand the younger girl a bit more. "but please, I- I don't think you should be telling me. Talk to Riley... he's your husband and he'll understand..." she trailed off, not wanting to voice her own suspicions.

Out of Character:

 

[Adele Smith]

Adele hadn't expected any comfort from Cyndi and was quite glad that she hadn't tried to make her feel better. The last thing she needed right now was someone giving her a hug. After all, a hug wasn't going to change anything, and neither could Cyndi. The only thing Adele could do right now was listen, and hoping that the advice that she had taken on board was the right advice.

Adele considered this, before remembering that Cyndi was actually a Professor, and was likely t know how to give good advice. This comforted Adele a bit, but the second Cyndi mentioned Riley's name, she could feel the tears ready to break free from her eyes once again. Adele held them back, preparing herself to reply to Cyndi's advice. "It's not that simple Cyndi, but you're right, Riley will understand." She said, wiping away the final few tears, then looking up at Cyndi and shooting her the best smile that she could, giving how she was feeling right now. "Anyway, enough about me how are you?" She asked, realising that this conversation had been rather self-centred from Adele's point of view so far.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi simply listened as Adele spoke again. Every time the woman began to speak, Cyndi braced herself for Adele's usual spitfire comments, but just as before, Adele seemed to be in the mood to listen to Cyndi, even if it was just for the moment. It was a pleasant change. She allowed Adele to change the subject, and thought that perhaps doing so would help Adele feel a little bit better. Surely when she had left her house in the morning, it was not to go cry on some park bench.

"Things are good. My apartment is kind of- no, really -quiet now without you guys there" she began with a small chuckle. The silence was deafening sometimes, so much so that Cyndi had begun to really become a tv addict, simply because she left the television on most of the day so there would be some background noise. At least she had Cameron and some of her other friends to help get her out of the house or she might have spent most of her time watching what muggles called soap operas. "And, I'm in line for a promotion at the school..." she added casually. She kept the topics nice and light even though she also had some bad things going on too. One of her very best friends was missing and part of Cyndi's recent dislike of silence was that it left her with plenty of time to think and worry about her friend.

 

[Adele Smith]

Adele allowed a little giggle to escape from her mouth when Cyndi mentioned that her apartment was quiet now that Riley and herself no longer lived there. "Oh well I'm sure we could always send Lowan over to fill the noise gap for you if you wish..." Adele joked. It was true that her and Riley couldn't usually go 5 Minutes without talking or laughing...or kissing for that matter. But the good news was that this topic was already cheering Adele up a little. Thinking about the good times between her and Riley had made Adele realise that she was not to worry, she could tell Riley the truth, and Adele was sure that he'd soon come around.

Adele was delighted for Cyndi when she told her about possibly getting a promotion. Good News was exactly what Adele needed to hear right now, so she couldn't help but smile with joy as she looked up at Cyndi. "You go girl, that's great...And I bet you get the promotion to." Adele told her happily.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi chuckled as she listened to Adele's solution. Lowan surely would get rid of any silence because it seemed he was following in the footsteps of his mum and dad with all of his babbling. "I'll be sure to send you an owl if the silence gets that bad" she kidded back. It had been a while since she'd taken care of Lowan and she knew she would probably take Adele up on her offer before the school year began. She smiled at Adele's compliment and crossed her fingers. "I sure hope so. It would be soo awesome if I did" she said, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice. It seemed to be cheering Adele up, so she didn't bother to keep the smile off of her face.

 

[Adele Smith]

Adele smiled as she listened to Cyndi. "Well don't leave it too long ey?" Adele giggled. She was glad that Cyndi had always been willing to look after Lowan, and Adele liked having that knowledge. She would definitely come in handy when it came to telling Riley about what she had done. She didn't want Lowan to be involved in any of that. Adele knew that Lowan came first. Whatever was happening between her and Riley, Lowan had to be considered first.

"Well good luck to you Cyndi." Adele said, with a genuine smile on her face. "Listen thanks, I think those tears are pretty much gone now." She said, whether Cyndi knew it or not, she had been useful to Adele today. Just by having a nice old chat, Adele had come to know that she needed to face-up to the truth and tell Riley. "I hope I haven't been too much of a bore for you." She said with a little laugh, as she stood up from the bench.