Build Me Up, Buttercup

[Izaak Finch]

The lifeguard tower was by no means extravagant, it was not tremendous or eye-catching. The paint was beginning to flake, rails already rusted and the windows were more often than not flecked with salt. But Izaak didn’t mind, he was a buoyant young man with no real need for materialistic property. The tower, flaws and all was, and here we overlook the reality that they were really only seconds away from each other, his home away from home. If it allowed him to do what he loved to do, see the people he loved to see and provide a basis for his future family with the prosperous young woman he loved to love (speaking of whom, was right by his side), then it was great enough for Izaak Jay Finch.

How he had gotten a girl as intelligent and mind blowing and as loving as Alexis Marie to agree to marry him, Izaak would never know. It was a boggling wonder how they weren’t arguing every other minute of the day for their high count of differences though Izaak was not about to question it. They pieced together perfectly, it was all the reassurance one needed. The betrothed couple lingered together at the top of the steps that lead down to the soft sand whilst the midday sun grew hot on their backs and the sea breeze tousled with their hair, hers more so than his. There was nothing more he’d quite rather than lazing around here the entire day with Alexis but as per usual the blue-eyed man was pressed for time. He needed to pick up a few things from work before meeting Melodie further down the shore to see how she was going and the list progressed later into the day with nothing short of a million more errands to run. So with a broken sigh, Izaak pressed his lips quickly to his fiancée’s and told her that he loved her. But the temptation she was soaked with was much too strong for Izaak to deny so soon he was pressing her to him, a kiss that while oddly innocent turned a few eyes in their direction.

It was all too soon again when he finally bade Alexis goodbye and in turning back towards the tower he instantly remembered why public displays of affection were never much of a good idea on Bondi. "Oi Finchy! What happened to that room I told you to get, eh?" One of his colleagues called teasingly from the sand whilst the other wolf-whislted simultaneously. With a smile on his lips, Izaak pulled his hand from the pocket of his jeans and flipped the both of them off. “Get back to work you slackers!" He shouted back down with laughter threateningly thick in his voice.

 

[Melodie Lowe]

As Melodie stood on the path that lead to Bondi beach, she was more than a little nervous. This was to be her first trip out of St Mungo's and many had questioned whether it was a wise decision to be letting her out on her own. The young woman still struggled with the simplest of tasks, tying her shoelaces, combing her hair, even pouring her breakfast cereal in the morning. All these things, she required help to do, and there was no way of knowing if she would ever truly be able to look after herself. As far as Melodie knew, she was lucky to be alive at all. The scars on her body were beginning to fade now, it had been almost two months since that 'fateful night' as many referred to it as. It wasn't the scars on the outside Melodie had to worry about, it was those on the inside that time could not erase. Melodie tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and took a deep breath in, going to see Izaak had never been such a big deal for her, but for some reason this time it was.

As Melodie stood on the path the cold breeze licked over her body, sending her loose shirt dancing with it. She still felt insecurities being by herself, with what happened last time, it was no surprise. Her pilled cardigan covered most of her frail build, yet her elbows still jolted out seemingly covered only by skin, no fat or muscle at all. Melodie's eyes watched people playing on the beach, children building sandcastles, lovers frolicking in the water. It pained her to watch, knowing that she couldn't remember her chidhood. Did she build sandcastles with her friends? Did her father read her bedtime stories until she fell to sleep in his arms? What was her first kiss like? Who was her one true love? She often pondered these things, but had only been able to draw conclusion to the latter. Her one true love was Izaak Jay Finch, he was the only thing she remembered from her life, and she hoped he would be the one she would remember forever.

Her hazel eyes skimmed the figures scattered along the warm sand, searching for her love. She knew he was a life guard so she was drawn to the life guards tower, this place was so familiar. It was as though she had been here a million times before, she didn't as yet know why she felt this way about this particular place. Her eyes immediately hoverred on Izaak's, but her pupils began to flicker as she looked a little closer. He was kissing another woman. Not just a friendly kiss either, a proper one. Melodie felt her stomach lurch forward as she approached her blue-eyed lover. "Izaak?" she said in a questioning tone as the other woman disappeared into the distance. This was wrong. What would he be doing with her? He loved Melodie, and only Melodie. Nobody else.

((Let the carniage begin ))

 

[Izaak Finch]

Those vivid blue eyes seemed to drown out in the horizon as Izaak stared out at the waves curling and twisting and dancing into the shore. There was simply no other place his mood was better reflected in than the ocean itself; calm yet empowered as it swirled into neat barrels the surfers were quick to challenge. He never would have thought this two years ago, nor anybody that would have claimed to have known him, but engagement suited him well. Then again perhaps it had less to do with the marital status and more to do with the person he was with. What he wouldn’t give to see his school friends now and shock them with the fact that he was marrying Alexis Richarde. No one would have guessed, not even Izaak himself, especially not himself. But life certainly did always have a strange way of sorting itself out.

Recalling that he had come here for a reason other than to gaze mindlessly at the breaking waves, Izaak rifled through his head for a memory of what he had needed to grab before heading on down to find Melodie. But no sooner had he remembered then he was greeted with a questioned rendition of his name and a young woman so frail and delicate it broke his beating heart. It had been mighty brave of her to even consider coming down here but they both knew it would have to happen sometime, she couldn’t stay wrapped up in cotton wool forever. “Hey Mel! You just missed—“ Izaak greeted his friend with a lopsided grin and had been about to tell her of Alexis’ presence only moments before when he realised that she wouldn’t remember his fiancée, she had been hard pressed to remember him even. "Nevermind. I’m so glad you made it, how’ve you been?" He spoke as he drew her into his arms and greeted her with a swift kiss on the cheek, happy that after all the trauma she was finally beginning to pull through.

blah

 

[Melodie Lowe]

The cool waves crashed behind the pair without a care in the world. Oh to be free like them, Melodie often thought to herself. But right now she had more important matters to address then the glistening beauty of the waves that leapt and danced behind her. She looked at Izaak, utterly dumbfounded. How had he just finsihed kissing another woman, then greeted her as if nothing had happened. Melodie choked up as she let herself be drawn into his warm and comforting frame, even letting him press a kiss onto her pale cheek. She looked over at his shoulder as he did so, watching, eyes like a hawk on the red headed woman who had just left his arms. "Missed who?" she managed to say, almost choking on her own words. She felt her cheeks grow colder as she pulled herself from Izaak's sturdy arms. Melodie managed to shake off Izaak's question, to be honest she didn't want to talk about how she had been. Her progress was slow, and she felt ashamed even to think of how helpless she had become.

"Wh-what are you doing?" she stammered, demanding an answer of him with each miscalculated word. She couldn't have got it all wrong, they were together, as far as she knew anyway. Surely Izaak would have told her by now that she had it wrong, saved her from embarrassment. Her eyes wildly dartd backwards and forwards, followinfg those vivid blue eyes, it was if they were tantalizing, drawing her in. She had always gotten lost in his eyes and now was no exception. The waves continued to crash behind them, perhaps Melodie would have reacted differently if she had known the significance of the beach to the pair, but those memories were far from being uncovered, they were lost in her mind, waiting to be dug up. Melodie studied Izaak's lopsided grin, the one she had become so accustomed to over the past few months, she knew if it hadn't been for him sitting by her bedside each day and night she wouldn't have pulled through. If there was any person that had a reason not to live it would have been her. But she was past that now, she had moved on and was beginning to get her life back, whilst trying to avoid every obstacle that fell before her.

 

[Izaak Finch]

Of course having just been discharged from St Mungo’s, Melodie would not have been in top condition but there was something odd—no, something devastating in the croaked tones of her voice. Izaak would have hoped that his presence might have had a different effect on her, and up until now it pretty much had. "Missed who?" He opened his mouth to speak his fiancée’s name but as his azure eyes came to dart confusedly about in the searching expression in Melodie’s, Izaak quickly snapped it shut once more. Had he missed something here? Had that not been Alexis he had just kissed goodbye? And why such a demand for his answer? A hesitant hand was reached out and laid upon the young woman’s delicate shoulder, his thumb grazed across the ghostly pale skin in order to calm whatever may have his friend so damn wound up. Disorientation was a logical enough reason, Bondi was such a contrast to the white walls of the hospital after all. But still he felt there was something more and to not be able to place his finger on it was frustrating.

A sound broke from Izaak’s now open mouth; the beginning of her name, but suddenly he was under interrogation and a gaze about as assertive as he figured Mel could achieve. "Wh-what are you doing?" His lips pushed together in recoil as his hand slipped from her shoulder and instead reached up to scratch his own shoulder in anxiety. The young man almost felt guilty, yet for what reason he hadn’t a clue. “Wha-? Melodie,” Izaak started, frowning more in puzzlement than anything. "I’m here.. With you? What do you mean what am I doing?"

 

[Melodie Lowe]

As Izaak's eyes darted back and forward, Melodie searched for an answer in his expression. His hand rested on her bony shoulder and she let her eyes travel to his fingers before he drew them away from her. He seemed so unsure as he responded to her, causing her to once again question her sanity. It had become a routine for her over the past few months, she never quite knew if what she had said made sense or was even right at all. At this moment it was obvious that something she had said made no sense at all. "No" she said, shaking her head as she explained he was there with her. "What were you doing kissing her?" she said, becoming flustered by the fact that she couldn't get her words across to him. Melodie blinked as tears pricked at her eyes. She found herself looking around the beach, anything to avoid those blue eyes drilling through her.

It quickly became awkward for the pair as Melodie waited for an answer. She knew she loved him, she always had, did he really feel differently about her? Had she done something wrong? Perhaps Izaak had gotten fed up with his wife being so helpless and insane. She hadn't exactly been the easiest person to love during her recovery. But surely they would pull through it, they could get past it all. Melodie felt her pale cheeks grow warmer as she tried to pull a sentance together. "Don't you love me?" she said, cursing herself for being so blunt.

bleh.

 

[Izaak Finch]

With confusion on his mind, Izaak lulled his head to the side and gazed in bewilderment at his friend as the goodbye kiss he had shared with his fiancée was interrogated. His relationship with Alexis was something that had been brought into question a hell of a lot ever since they had moved into together, but not like this. It were almost as if Melodie was disgusted that he had dared to kiss her though above that she was clearly frustrated with herself. Could she possibly think... ? The young man gave his head a shake, small enough so that it might go by unnoticed on Melodie’s part. No, what reason would she possibly have for thinking they were more than friends? She hadn’t tried to delve into romantics with him, barely so much as hug him. It didn’t make sense, not in the least. Besides she had seen him with Alexis since her memory loss, hadn’t she? A fresh sigh tore from him, it was too hard to remember.

"Don't you love me?" He blinked those azure eyes of his once, twice, three times in surprise. A hand reached to squeeze her arm and fought for her attention to be focused back onto his gaze. “Of course I do, but she’s my fiancée Mels, we’re getting married. I think I’m allowed to kiss her, yes?” Brushing a tousled strand of hair back from her eyes, Izaak paused to stare into them. It was here that he grew tentative and awkward, careful not to shatter the fragility that was his friend. “You okay?”

 

[Melodie Lowe]

Melodie became more and more confused by the minute as she tried to think of a logical reason as to why this was all happening. Surely she couldn't be wrong? She was Izaak's wife wasn't she? But Izaak's reply led her to question her sanity entirely as she tried to piece together how she could be so wrong. In her heart she knew she was right, but now her mind was telling her she was wrong. It was all so confusing for her, it was clear now that she wasn't quite ready to be out of St Mungo's, let alone be left to look after herself. Feelings and emotions were what Melodie had struggled with the most during her recovery, but right now she was sure she was feeling anger and even embarrassment as she stood before Izaak, her cheeks red as roses. But more importantly, who was this red-head who Izaak was claiming was his fiancee? And why had Melodie never heard of her before. It seemed ludacris that losing your memory could render you so helpless.

Melodie felt so lost and confused, and if it hadn't been for th situation she was in she would have wanted nothing more than to run into Izaak's comforting arms and have him tell her it was going to be ok. But that was the last thing she wanted to do right now, she wanted to scream, or run, maybe even both. "But-but I'm your fiancee" she said in utter confusion as her eyes struggled to make eye contact with the ones before her. "No I'm not okay" she replied, her voice raised. People began to look her way, but she didn't care, she was angry, lost, confused and just wanted out of there.