Flowers Are Forever

Elise needs to get through eighth grade with a smile on her face, no matter how much everyone else hurts her. She's been so far successful but when a girl comes to her door on a warm summer night, everything changes. Elise is then introduced to a world of danger, monsters, and living in a constant state of fear.  Thalia   Daughter Of Nemesis  01:49, June 7, 2010 (UTC)

Chapter One
Elise pulled on her toque in preparation for the day. She shoved her feet into her new flats and waited for her mum. While she waited, she played with the tie-ups. It passed the time. Finally, her mother came down the stairs, pulling on her sweatshirt. It was a cool morning, even in the midst of May. Elise clambered into the back of her mother's old van. Her two younger siblings sat in front of her.

The ride to school was always slow and boring. Especially listening to two small children squealing and screaming. Elise sat quietly in the back, listening to her iPod and playing with her toque. Her favourite, as of late, song came on and made her smile. She watched as they pulled up to the elementary school and Christopher and Hayden, her two younger brothers, climbed out and raced each other to school.

"Elise," Mrs Lauderelle looked her daughter in the eye through the rear-view mirror. "I know this is hard for you."

"What do you mean?" Elise avoided eye contact, twiddling her thumbs nervously.

"School... Boys... I mean, all the other girls in your class must've already dated someone, right?"

The teen glared out the window. "Yeah, so?"

"So don't you feel left out just because all the boys think you're weird?"

"Not really. There'll be plenty other boys later in my life, you know."

"Elise... As you know, I got my first boyfriend when I was your age. And I've read that-"

"Oh you and your stupid parenting magazines! Just let me live, okay?"

The rest of the ride was silent. Elise felt even worse than before, like she could burst into tears at any moment. She dared not, however. This morning, she'd woken up extra early and taken an extra long time on her makeup, making sure that her eyelids were a smoky reddish-violet. Elise willed herself to listen to the music, identify the beat, take in the lyrics and soak them up, unlike she usually did.

"Here you go, dear." Mrs Lauderelle spoke up, pulling up next to the middle school. "Have a nice day, love you."

"Love you too, mum." Elise murmured, stepping out of the van and towards the school.

The young brunette pulled at her toque, knowing that she'd probably need to take it off later that day. She reached into her hoodie pocket, checking for the hair-ties she'd need for PE today. She shouldered her bag, pulling it higher and went straight to her locker. Zane, Elise's best friend since sixth grade, fell into step with her. He tugged playfully at her toque like he did every morning she wore one.

"Elise, why do you insist on wearing these things?" Zane wondered, fixing his jacket.

"Because I'm cold in the mornings, mmkay?" She stuck her tongue out at him, looking over her painted nails. They were currently painted pink.

"Flimsy excuse, my dear."

"Pfft! Whatever, I don't care."

The two walked to class together, splitting when they got to the Science hall. The two were the same age,same grade, but had different teachers. Sitting in her desk, Elise pulled out her notebook and grabbed her pen. Soon, her teacher would walk in and start going off about their new term. She tapped her pen on the edge of her desk pointlessly. Slipping a piece of gum into her mouth, the young girl chewed.

Slowly, the day passed and went onto lunch. Elise met Zane and enjoyed a humour-filled lunch with him. After school, she couldn't find her friend and decided to walk home alone. It was a slow walk, each step hurting because of fitness training in PE earlier. Once home, she helped her mum prepare dinner and finally sat down to it with Chris and Hayden.

Mid-chew, the doorbell rang. Mrs Lauderelle got up and answered the door. There was some hushed murmurs before Elise was called down. In the front door way, a girl with short and unruly black hair and bright blue eyes stood. She wore a leather jacket and black skinny jeans.

"Elise, can I talk to you alone?" The girl asked, gesturing to the dusky outdoors. Warmth pulsed inside the house.

"Sure," Elise stepped awkwardly outside, folding her arms across her chest.

"Do you know your father?"

"Uhh, yeah. Why?"

"Hmm... You need to come with me... Like, now."

"What why? Who are you?"

"My name is Thalia. I'll explain on the way. You need to hurry."