#dans patterning is a bit of splashed white plus a white blanket

[vlarelythere]

their horses get along much better than danny and vlad do with each other. (also the foal is technically dan hehe since the horses are representative of their ghost halves, soooo them combining would make dan in this au..... a horse)

[plsdontfightme]

I Wrote A Thing

Hi, yes, hello. I wrote a thing for a creative writing class I took last year, and I thought I’d share it with you, the good people of tumblr. I’m hoping you might read it and tell me what you think! It would be greatly appreciated. 

Beautiful Memories

Art galleries were not on Daisy’s list of “Top Ten Places to Bring a Date,” and a small voice in the back of Alexis’s mind kept reminding her of that. She stood uncomfortably near the corner, studying a piece that looked very… something. Both the title and artist’s name were in a language she didn’t know, and, if she was being honest, the piece itself just looked like a bunch of criss crossing lines of varying shades of blue, green, and black.

She turned from the painting as she searched for her date, Matt. He’d gone to get them something to drink fifteen minutes ago, but Alexis was sure he was just looking for a chance to chat up the woman running the bar. Alexis couldn’t bring herself to be jealous, the woman was pretty, for sure, but it looked like she was about as interested in Alexis’s date as she was. Which is to say, not very. It was a blind date one of the girls from across the hall had set up. She hadn’t told Alexis what to expect, just his name, so she hadn’t dressed up very much. That was one thing she was regretting now, feeling very out of place in her simple pink and white sundress. It was a beautiful night for mid-fall, almost unseasonably warm, and she’d been hoping to do something outside. Dinner on the patio of that little Italian place she and Daisy went to whenever they could afford it, or a picnic on campus, she knew a great spot up behind the football field. She even would’ve been down for a round of mini-golf tonight, anything but a stuffy art gallery full of pretentious rich people.

Alexis moved from the piece she had been absentmindedly staring at to the one next to it. It was thinner and longer than the other and much lighter. The bright blues and reds splashed against a white and gray canvas made Alexis think she might be able to actually see something in this one. A fond memory rose from the back of her mind, causing a natural smile to grace her lips for the first time that evening.

~~~

“Come on, Daisy!”

Alexis grabbed her best friend’s hand, pulling her towards the door. The rain had finally stopped, the sky had cleared, and both girls were excited at the prospect of finding a rainbow. The fact that most of the other girls at their school thought that thirteen was too old to go chasing rainbows did nothing to deter either of the girls, both certain that her prince charming was waiting at the end.

“Wait a second, ‘Lexi,” Daisy laughed, struggling to pull on her other boot. “I can’t go out with just one boot.”

With an exaggerated huff, Alexis let go and waited for her friend to finish pulling her second bright yellow boot on. It matched her yellow rain coat, which her mother insisted she wear in case it started raining again. Alexis herself had matching red boots and coat, though her boots were patterned with ladybugs instead of the bumblebees on Daisy’s. As soon as Daisy had both boots on, Alexis had the other girl’s hand in hers again.

As they splashed through the puddles in the driveway, Daisy’s father appeared in the door. “Don’t go too far, girls,” he called after them, “and make sure you’re back by two!”

“Alright, Dad!” Daisy responded, waving over her shoulder as Alexis dragged her along. Alexis barely slowed as she also turned to wave before dragging her best friend off into one of the many adventures the two girls shared.

~~~

Alexis blinked, smiling at the memory. Daisy had never failed to make her smile in the past, and this was no exception.

Looking over her shoulder, she spotted Matt still leaning over the bar, chatting at the woman behind it. The woman looked up and spotted Alexis, sending her a slightly apologetic look as she glanced between the oblivious Matt and his “date”. Alexis just shrugged in response; it wasn’t like she was that into him anyway.  She turned back to the wall, ready to study another painting. The next piece on the wall had a bit more structure than the last, or maybe Alexis’s imagination was more active this time. It was darker than the other two, but not in an unfriendly way. It was dark reds, browns, oranges, and maybe a little purple. It reminded her of her old bedroom back when she was in high school. In fact, she thought she could see the outline of a bed off to one side, and there was stuff all over the floor. Suddenly, she wasn’t standing in an art gallery anymore; she was back in that bedroom.

~~~

They’re both supposed to be studying. They were sitting on the floor of Alexis’s bedroom, textbooks and notes mingled with the junk food wrappers spread out across the floor; mugs of now cold coco sitting dangerously close to both notes and elbows. Both girls have exams the next day and neither of them feel very prepared despite the many hours of studying they’d been putting in. Daisy’s head drooped onto her chemistry textbook while Alexis attempted to make sense of one of her practice calculus problems. Noticing her friend was falling asleep, Alexis poked her in the side.

“Wake up, sleepy head,” she whispered, barely restraining a yawn.

“No,” Daisy grumbled, burying her head into the crook of her elbow.

“Come on, it’s only-” Alexis grabbed her phone to check the time, eyes widening when she saw it. “Oh my god, it’s almost three. I guess we’re as ready as we’ll ever be, huh, 'Z?” Daisy made a noise that Alexis took to mean she agreed. “Come on, lets go to bed.”

She pulled Daisy off the floor and helped her onto the bed. They settled in and turned the lights off, but Alexis just couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned for a few minutes before Daisy told her to cut it out.

“We’re more than prepared for these exams, 'Lexi, I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Daisy consoled her. “Plus, in fifteen days we will officially be out of high school, and then we’ve got the whole summer before we have to go to college, and you’re going to be just fine there too, because I’ll be right there with you, okay? Now, can we go to sleep?”

Alexis took a deep breath. “Yeah,” she whispered. “Thanks, 'Z.”

“Anytime. Now shut up.”

~~~

Alexis smiled fondly at the painting before feeling eyes on her. She glanced around the room and saw a woman in a tight deep purple dress staring at her. It wasn’t a nice kind of stare, either. It wasn’t a “Do I know that person?” stare, or an “I wonder where she got that dress, it’s nice” stare. It was a “She’s not good enough to be here” stare. Alexis felt her smile disappear. Unfortunately, this was a stare she had encountered before, around her college campus. It was a nice school, a really nice school, and she and Daisy didn’t really fit in with all the sophisticated rich kids. She shopped at thrift stores, they wore designer flipflops. There was a definite difference in lifestyles between them. Feeling a sudden chill in the room, she wrapped her arms around herself and turned toward the next painting.

She was met with bright greens and blues, rich browns, and streaks of white. Something about the brushstrokes told Alexis that this painting was moving. Or rolling, more like. She found her smile returning as she was pulled into another memory.

~~~

It’s a joint family picnic. Alexis, her older brother Dan, Daisy, her younger sister Lila, and both sets of parents had come together for a summer afternoon, one of the last before Dan headed off to college and the girls back to high school. They had spread blankets on the ground in the shade of an oak on top of a hill just outside their town. It was a popular hiking spot, and it was the perfect day for it. Ham and cheese sandwiches had been distributed once they’d reached the top, and the kids had quickly consumed theirs. The game of tag that ensued shortly afterwords could be considered childish by some, but Lila was only nine and therefore still a child, so that made it all okay.

“Bet you can’t catch me,” Lila had challenged her older sister before taking off at a run. Daisy had chased after her for a few minutes, then circled back to the blanket to tag her best friend instead.

“Unfair!” Alexis exclaimed, brushing crumbs out of her lap as she stood. Her brother took one look at her and took off after Daisy, and the game began in earnest. It continued until Daisy tripped over her own feet and ended up rolling part way down the hill. Alexis threw herself down the hill to join her, both giggling like they were five years old again. They lay in the sun for a moment before hearing Dan start to make his way down the hill after them.

Daisy grabbed Alexis’s hand and pulled her up. “Run!” She shouted, and they did.

~~~

What had started as a small smile had broken into a flat out grin over the last few minutes, and Alexis found she didn’t care what the other people in the room thought of her anymore. She watched the painting for a few more minutes, replaying the memory in her head. She was pulled back to the present when she felt rather than heard her phone buzz with a text. She would be lying if she said few moments ago she hadn’t been hoping for an excuse to leave, but she found herself enjoying the art a bit more now. She still wouldn’t protest a game of mini-golf and maybe something to eat, but the gallery wasn’t that bad.

Pulling her phone out of her pocket, Alexis smiled at the name that popped up on her screen.

Text from: Daisy-Doll

11/11/16 6:32pm

How’s the date going??

11/11/16 6:33pm

Do you need me to give you an out?

Alexis laughed softly as she sent a text back.

Text from: 'Lexi-Love

11/11/16 6:33pm

I haven’t actually seen him in a while, he went to get drinks

11/11/16 6:34pm

We’re at an art gallery, Daisy

Text from: Daisy-Doll

11/11/16 6:35pm

On a night like tonight?

It’s gorgeous out!

Text from: 'Lexi-Love

11/11/16 6:35pm

I know!

The arts cool, I guess

It’s super modern

Text from: Daisy-Doll

11/11/16 6:36pm

Sorry.

I know how much you like dusty old stuff.

Text from: 'Lexi-Love

11/11/16 6:36pm

Hey, you like “dusty old stuff” too

~~~

“I can’t believe my Dad roped you into this. Aren’t we supposed to be doing crazy stuff over Spring Break now that we’re college students?”

Alexis laughed at her best friend’s words, setting another box of junk near the top of the stairs. “Maybe, but I don’t mind cleaning, and, to be honest, I needed to get out of the house for at least an afternoon,” she said, moving back across the now much cleaner attic space to get to where Daisy was going through another box of what looked to be old toy trains.

Daisy looked up at her sympathetically. “Dan’s girlfriend?” She asked.

Alexis nodded. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like her, but she’s very…” She trailed off, looking for the right word.

“Excitable? Peppy? Not Dan-like?” Daisy suggested, closing the box she’d been going through and labeling it.

“Yeah,” Alexis said with a sigh, taking the box Daisy held out to her, checking the label before putting it under the window on the far wall with the other antique toys and things. “This place looks good, 'Z.” She added as she looked around the room.

Daisy turned to observe their progress. “It’s better than it was,” she decided after a moment, looking unconvinced. Alexis rolled her eyes and grabbed Daisy’s hand.

“I think we deserve a break.”

Daisy laughed and allowed herself to be pulled towards the stairs. “Okay. But, we’re coming back up here after, right?”

“Sure,” Alexis agreed, “but first, lemonade.”

Shaking her head at her friend’s serious tone, Daisy smiled, adding, “I think we’ve got some cookies, too.”

Alexis’s cheerful squeal could be heard on the street below as she ran down the stairs.

~~~

Text from: Daisy-Doll

11/11/16 6:36pm

This is true.

11/11/16 6:40pm

You still there, or did your date turn out to be a serial killer?

The texts pulled Alexis out of her memories again. She seemed to be spending a lot of time lost in her own mind tonight. Looking up from her phone, she saw Matt heading back towards her, looking vaguely disappointed about his failed attempts with the woman at the bar.

Text from: 'Lexi-Love

11/11/16 6:41pm

No serial killers, just thinking

He’s coming back, I’ve gtg

Text from: Daisy-Doll

11/11/16 6:41pm

Okay, have fun!

If you need me to have a mental breakdown so you can come back and comfort me, let me know.

Alexis laughed, tucking her phone back into pocket. Again, she thought of how Daisy never failed to make her smile.

“Hey,” Matt said brightly, finally returning, but seeming to have forgotten her glass of water. “Come on, I want to show you something.” He reached to take her hand, and Alexis became unreasonably glad that this dress had pockets.

“Lead the way,” she said, forcing a smile and keeping her hands firmly in her pockets. It didn’t seem to faze him, though, as he simply looped his arm through her’s instead and lead her to a painting across the room. He was talking about the piece he was about to show her, but she wasn’t listening. Her mind kept wandering back to Daisy, and- Oh. They’d stopped in front of a painting that covered the wall almost completely. It was a square that stretched from floor to ceiling, splashed with brilliant oranges, reds, yellows, and rich light browns. It was beautiful. Though she didn’t know much about the world of art, even she could tell this was exquisite. Matt was going on about the time he’d gotten to meet the artist during his semester abroad in Italy, and Alexis was trying to pay attention to him, she really was, but she was drawn into the painting in a way she hadn’t expected.

~~~

Alexis was running. It always helped to clear her head, and it felt like everything was crashing down on her all at once. The dorm room she shared with Daisy had suddenly felt too small, and she’d just needed to get out. So, she’d changed into her running clothes as fast as possible, left a note for Daisy, and then she ran. There was no destination in mind, just a need to move that drove her further and further from the room she’d come to call home. She wasn’t even sure what she was running from, she just knew that she needed to.

Eventually, she found herself at her favorite little picnic spot up behind the football field, and she slowed down. There was a perfect view of the sunset from up here, and for a moment she got lost in the colors. Soon, though, she was brought back to the present and all her thoughts came crashing down on her again. It had all become real in the last few minutes. The fact that she was turning twenty in a few weeks; that she was in college, preparing to do the thing she was going to do for the rest of her life; that life passes in the blink of an eye. She could still remember being a kid, still felt like a kid sometimes. The idea that she’d never be nineteen again-

“You know, the whole existential crisis thing seems like more of a Dan thing than you, if I’m being honest,” Daisy spoke from behind her.

Alexis turned and gave a small laugh, unsurprised her best friend had found her. “I know,” she said quietly, “but it all just kinda hit me, you know?”

Daisy nodded. “Yeah, I know.” She grabbed Alexis’s hand and smiled. They stood in silence for a few minutes, watching the sunset, hand in hand. “Come on,” Daisy added, “they’re doing breakfast for dinner tonight in the cafeteria.”

And then Alexis was running, but this time she wasn’t alone, and she was running to something instead of away.

~~~

“Don’t you think?”

Alexis jumped a little at Matt’s question, not having expected it. “Hmm?” she responded, not wanting to say the wrong thing and make a complete fool of herself.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Matt didn’t seem bothered by having to repeat his question, he wasn’t even looking at her.

“Yeah,” Alexis agreed, the realization dawning on her slowly, “she is. I’m sorry, but I have to go.” Ignoring Matt’s confused protests, Alexis ran out of the art gallery. She needed to find her Daisy.