*** Disclaimer - I don't know any of the cast members of Everwood or anyone who has anything to do with the show... (at least to the extent of my knowledge, course that is also extremely limited :o)) Please r/r all comments welcome, particularly flames, and suggestions. Don't be afraid to say anything, the nastier the better...(Oh! And excuse the town name spellings... I'm Canadian.:o)) -FF ***
-- Chapter 1 --
They say Everwood is a place to start over. A little place just far enough out of the way to let you lose your troubles, but still be close enough to home to be at least semi-comfortable. But what if two of these 'new beginings' were to cross? Could they blend together to enlighten two, or result in disaster?
As she traced the small circle on the lightly frosted train window, she couldn't help but sigh. She still wasn't sure if she liked the idea of coming to Colorado. She could get away from everything that was pulling her down, but she was also leaving behind all her friends, her mother. And Corey. The thought of him still drove her wild, even after the way he treated her. But it wasn't his fault, was it? Her news shocked everyone. A passenger behind her coughed loudly, scaring her out of her thoughts. She returned to her window drawings, tracing out a large bubbled C. Under that, she wrote another name, another spirit she hadn't managed to get over yet, either. Ephram.
"Earth to space cadet, come back to me!" Amy snapped her fingers in front of Ephram's face. He blinked a couple of times, then focused his big blue eyes on her.
"Sorry, just thinking." Amy motioned for him to move over, and he scooted a small way down the bench. She slowly picked out a bit of 'Heart and Soul', the one piece of music anyone could learn to play on the piano.
"Really?" She asked, smiling brightly as he began to add the accompaniment. "'bout what?"
"Some people in New York I knew." Caught in the moment, he began to open up, just a bit, unable to meet Amy's eyes as he told her about a few of the kids he hung with at home. "This one girl, she could sing just as well as you could dance." The practice room was empty, and dark. All the dancers had long since gone home, much as the rest of the schools population, including the staff. Ephram had decided to stay because simply because it was so quiet. So peaceful. Of course, it was quiet at home as well, his father was working late tonight, and Delia was at Nina's, playing with Sam. "Before she came, there was this guy, Corey. He's two years older than I am, yeah? He was the wildest guy I've met in my life. Partying every night, usually hopped up on something just to be able to make it through the day. Man, this guy musta had money trees covering every inch of his yard. His family wasn't the most priviledged ever, but they were comfortable."
"Did they know about his drug problem?" Amy asked, giving up on the song. Ephram nodded, pulling the cover of the piano down over the keys. "And they just left him to it?"
"What could they do?" He asked, resting his head on her hands, elbows on the cover. He turned slightly to glance at the clock. "He was in and out of rehab already."
"Wow." Amy followed suit with the clock-glance. 4:04.
"Yeah. Anyways. Most of us were really starting to get worried. I mean, he was losing weight like crazy, and his eyes... they were so intelligent when I first met him, but then... he was just fading, ya know." He finally managed to meet Amy's eyes, and she nodded, listening intently. "No one knew what to do with him, and I didn't want him to end up hanging in a closet somewhere, or icy in a gutter from some badly cut coccaine. Then she came. I think he loved her from the moment he saw her. And surprisingly enough, she fell for him as well. I don't know what she saw. All we saw was a walking skeleton."
"That would be scary." She rested at head on his arm briefly, wondering what she would do if she were ever faced with anything like that. In a way it was like Colin, but in so many others it wasn't. "Well? Finish the story."
"It's not really a story." Ephram said, grinning. "But yeah. He absolutely worshipped her. And slowly, he started to come off the drugs. There must've been a string of rough nights for him, but she was always by his side. Getting him to eat, keeping him in more often. I don't know if she even realized she was doing it or not. She'd just gone through her parents rough divorce, and was in about as rough a shape as he was. Minus the drugs. They were each others rehab." He paused again, lost in memory. "Mom loved Corey. She always defended him, saying he was just in the wrong spot at the wrong time. Another innocent soul that'd lost it's way. Then one day, he smacked me upside the back of my head." Ephram laughed softly to himself, nodding at that specific memory.
Amy blinked, and raised a brow. "So?" He really laughed then, turning to view her confused face.
"Sorry. No, that was how he liked to say hi to me for whatever reason. And it was the first time he'd done it in nearly a year. I turned around, and there he stood. Exactly the same as he'd been before the drugs, before the parties. He was our Corey again. Because of her."
"Yeah, well, does 'her' have a name at all? You make her out to be such a hero, but you haven't named her once." Amy glanced at the clock again. 4:22. She couldn't believe he'd been talking for nearly twenty minutes now. "And besides. From they way you talk about her, you'd think you had a crush."
"Angel. Believe it or not." He scoffed slightly. "Maybe I did."
-- Chapter 1 --
They say Everwood is a place to start over. A little place just far enough out of the way to let you lose your troubles, but still be close enough to home to be at least semi-comfortable. But what if two of these 'new beginings' were to cross? Could they blend together to enlighten two, or result in disaster?
As she traced the small circle on the lightly frosted train window, she couldn't help but sigh. She still wasn't sure if she liked the idea of coming to Colorado. She could get away from everything that was pulling her down, but she was also leaving behind all her friends, her mother. And Corey. The thought of him still drove her wild, even after the way he treated her. But it wasn't his fault, was it? Her news shocked everyone. A passenger behind her coughed loudly, scaring her out of her thoughts. She returned to her window drawings, tracing out a large bubbled C. Under that, she wrote another name, another spirit she hadn't managed to get over yet, either. Ephram.
"Earth to space cadet, come back to me!" Amy snapped her fingers in front of Ephram's face. He blinked a couple of times, then focused his big blue eyes on her.
"Sorry, just thinking." Amy motioned for him to move over, and he scooted a small way down the bench. She slowly picked out a bit of 'Heart and Soul', the one piece of music anyone could learn to play on the piano.
"Really?" She asked, smiling brightly as he began to add the accompaniment. "'bout what?"
"Some people in New York I knew." Caught in the moment, he began to open up, just a bit, unable to meet Amy's eyes as he told her about a few of the kids he hung with at home. "This one girl, she could sing just as well as you could dance." The practice room was empty, and dark. All the dancers had long since gone home, much as the rest of the schools population, including the staff. Ephram had decided to stay because simply because it was so quiet. So peaceful. Of course, it was quiet at home as well, his father was working late tonight, and Delia was at Nina's, playing with Sam. "Before she came, there was this guy, Corey. He's two years older than I am, yeah? He was the wildest guy I've met in my life. Partying every night, usually hopped up on something just to be able to make it through the day. Man, this guy musta had money trees covering every inch of his yard. His family wasn't the most priviledged ever, but they were comfortable."
"Did they know about his drug problem?" Amy asked, giving up on the song. Ephram nodded, pulling the cover of the piano down over the keys. "And they just left him to it?"
"What could they do?" He asked, resting his head on her hands, elbows on the cover. He turned slightly to glance at the clock. "He was in and out of rehab already."
"Wow." Amy followed suit with the clock-glance. 4:04.
"Yeah. Anyways. Most of us were really starting to get worried. I mean, he was losing weight like crazy, and his eyes... they were so intelligent when I first met him, but then... he was just fading, ya know." He finally managed to meet Amy's eyes, and she nodded, listening intently. "No one knew what to do with him, and I didn't want him to end up hanging in a closet somewhere, or icy in a gutter from some badly cut coccaine. Then she came. I think he loved her from the moment he saw her. And surprisingly enough, she fell for him as well. I don't know what she saw. All we saw was a walking skeleton."
"That would be scary." She rested at head on his arm briefly, wondering what she would do if she were ever faced with anything like that. In a way it was like Colin, but in so many others it wasn't. "Well? Finish the story."
"It's not really a story." Ephram said, grinning. "But yeah. He absolutely worshipped her. And slowly, he started to come off the drugs. There must've been a string of rough nights for him, but she was always by his side. Getting him to eat, keeping him in more often. I don't know if she even realized she was doing it or not. She'd just gone through her parents rough divorce, and was in about as rough a shape as he was. Minus the drugs. They were each others rehab." He paused again, lost in memory. "Mom loved Corey. She always defended him, saying he was just in the wrong spot at the wrong time. Another innocent soul that'd lost it's way. Then one day, he smacked me upside the back of my head." Ephram laughed softly to himself, nodding at that specific memory.
Amy blinked, and raised a brow. "So?" He really laughed then, turning to view her confused face.
"Sorry. No, that was how he liked to say hi to me for whatever reason. And it was the first time he'd done it in nearly a year. I turned around, and there he stood. Exactly the same as he'd been before the drugs, before the parties. He was our Corey again. Because of her."
"Yeah, well, does 'her' have a name at all? You make her out to be such a hero, but you haven't named her once." Amy glanced at the clock again. 4:22. She couldn't believe he'd been talking for nearly twenty minutes now. "And besides. From they way you talk about her, you'd think you had a crush."
"Angel. Believe it or not." He scoffed slightly. "Maybe I did."