It's Been a While

[Brielle Rose]

The fourth floor wasn't extremely far away, but Brielle rarely left her dormitory except for class. She walked quickly to the library with her head down and her arms wrapped around the books that she was carrying. For Brielle, the library was the only place that she could go without people bothering her. The small girl hated it when people bothered her. She wasn't very good at talking to people at all. She wasn't good at making friends either. Brielle didn't have any friends at Hogwarts at all. She didn't think she wanted any either. Friends meant that you had to care about people, and when you trusted and cared, you would always be betrayed. Brielle knew that to be a fact. So, she simply tried to to care.

There were two people in the whole world that Brielle Rose actually care about: Alicia and Belle. Her best friends from her childhood. She hadn't seen either of them in a long time. A week earlier, Brielle had seen a girl who looked almost exactly like Belle in one of her classes. But, Belle wasn't here. Brielle knew that neither of her friends would ever go to Hogwarts. They had told her that once, a long time ago. Belle was to go to Beauxbatons and Alicia was destined for Salem. Brielle was positive that she'd never see them again.

She walked into the library and returned the books that she had issued out on her last library trip. Brielle looked at the other students in the library. She caught someone looking back at her and quickly shifted her eyes away and moved over to a bookshelf. Brielle walked along the bookshelf, her fingertips running along the spines of the books. Brielle loved the library. She loved the solitude and the smell of old books. Books didn't try to talk to her, which was just how Brielle preferred them. She took a book of the shelves and opened it slightly. Interesting enough, she thought. She found a corner of the library and sat down in it, opening the book a little more so seh could read it.

 

[Ysobella Crow]

Belle clutched the letter in her hands, feeling tears well up in her eyes. It had been so many years since she had seen her best friends and she had been dying for some information about their new lives. She bit her lip and tried to keep the tears from overflowing. Anyone who knew Belle wouldn't be so worried when she cried, because she did cry at everything. Happy things made the tears begin to flow, anything from a happy ending of a book to a birthday card. People who didn't know her always assumed that she cried because she was upset. In a way, it annoyed Belle how her friends never seemed concerned. She didn't have friends at Hogwarts, she had been so busy in first year to have the time. Belle sniffed an rubbed her eye with her free hand.

She wasn't used to feeling so sad. Grief, that was the feeling. She hadn't felt grief like this in her lifetime. Belle made her way to the library, not at all sure why she was heading there. Books were wonderful and all, but Belle wasn't in the mood to read. What she really wanted was someone to talk to. There wasn't really anyone at the school that she could talk to. Her parents wouldn't understand. Sure, they'd try and comfort her, but trying wasn't really good enough. Belle needed someone who knew her. Somebody who could tell when she was crying from happiness or not. A tear rolled down her face, and a few people looked at her with concern clear on their faces. Belle attempted a smile, but failed miserably, and broke into a run.

Belle ran down the fourth floor corridor and into the library. What on earth was she doing here? She wanted to run and never stop. She slowed to a walk and tried to compose herself. Were people staring at her? She really hoped not. She couldn't deal with the attention. She went to her usual spot in the corner of the library, and stared at the girl who was in her space. A girl with blond curly hair. "Gabby." she hiccuped, tears now rolling freely down her face.

 

[Brielle Rose]

Brielle whispered the words on the pages as she read. She never had been able to read completely silently. It was an annoying little habit that she had, and it was not a quirk that Brielle liked. It seemed insignificant, but Brielle's primary school teachers had noticed it. She had been deemed stupid and unable to read like a normal child. That had stung a little. Brielle thought about it for a second, still staring at her book. Alicia had laughed at Brielle when she'd seen the report. It's only a teacher, it doesn't matter! You're starting to act like Velcro! Alicia had teased her. Brielle smiled at the memory. Memories... That was all she had left of her friends. She still had some tokens of their friendship. A badge made of a painted beer bottle cap, she always wore it. She kept it on her sleeve. We'll keep our hearts on our sleeves! The girls had thought themselves so intelligent when they painted the little red heats on the bottlecaps, unaware what the phrase really meant. Brielle only literally wore her heart on her sleeve.

She was shocked out of her reminiscing when she heard a voice close by. Gabby? Only two people called her that, Alicia and... "Velcro." A faint smile appeared on her face as she used the nickname. Belle Crow. Velcro. Her smile quickly disappeared when she saw the tears on Belle's face. Swallowing her surprise at seeing her old friend, Brielle abandoned any pretences that she would usually have when talking to someone. "What's in that letter?" she asked. By the look of Belle's face, there could only be one thing in that letter. Somebody had died.

 

[Ysobella Crow]

At the sound of the familiar nickname, Belle began to sob uncontrollably. "Y-you..." She couldn't even string a sentence together. She sounded a lot like Brielle in the way that she stuttered. Gabrielle Rose. The pretty girl with the pretty name and the pretty voice with the stutter. A melody began to play inside Belle's mind. Gabby, the musical one. Gabby's so uninspired. Belle had once told her friend. Pick another nickname. Alicia had ordered the blond. Her hand closed around the letter into a fist. It was a piece of paper. A horrible piece of paper. She didn't want Brielle to see what was written. Maybe if she didn't see it, it wouldn't be true. "It's about Alicia. She-" A round of hiccuping sobs stopped her from continuing. Belle threw the scrunched up letter in Brielle's general direction. She sank to her knees and mutely watched Brielle.

 

[Brielle Rose]

Brielle was extremely worried. She looked at the ball of scrunched up paper that had landed beside her knee, not daring to touch it. Sensing that Belle was watching her, she bit her lip and picked up the paper. Brielle carefully smoothed out the letter and began reading, careful to keep her face blank. She didn't want Belle to get any more upset than she already was. Death Notice. Brielle braced herself. Alicia Bennett. Brielle scanned her eyes down the page. She felt sad. But Brielle wasn't the sort to cry. She calmly looked up at Belle again, casting aside the piece of paper. "A car crash killed Alicia?" she was talking more to herself than to Belle. Her mouth twitched into an almost-smile. It was insane really. A car crash killed Alicia. That simply wasn't possible. Brielle drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms over them. She was at a loss for words. Brielle didn't have any idea what she should say to Belle, or if indeed she should say anything.