just maybe, i'm c r a z y ( billa )

[jenna caitrin aiken]

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Jenna still had a hard time believing she had already been a junior for two full weeks. Between everything that had happened in the past year - like Chace planting that bomb during the winter formal, or the serial killer who had kidnapped and nearly murdered she and Marissa Kent - the blond had figured that she would stop getting lucky and fate would eventually catch up with her. But it hadn't, which was why she was currently wandering the mall, trying to convince herself that she needed to do some school shopping, and being thoroughly distracted by the tantalizing smells coming from the upstairs food court. She had just eaten lunch an hour ago, but the scent of sugar and freshly baked waffle cones was something she just couldn't ignore. Sighing, Jenna raked a hand through her curls and headed for the nearest set of stairs. Her heels clicked sharply against the tile, but she didn't hear the rhythmic sound, not over the heavy bass beat thumping through her ears. She had recently fallen in love with My Chemical Romance all over again, and she'd been listening to nothing but their music practically nonstop ever since she and Skye had competed in the Battle of the Bands competition Lumini had hosted at the start of the school year.

Just thinking about the music festival reminded her of how smashingly well things had gone. She and her best friend had beat out not one, but two major artists, as well three other contenders who were students from their own school! The most satisfying moment for Jenna had probably been the look on Marissa's face when Eclipse had been announced as the winner of the "Lumini Music Festival" by a landslide. That moment had even managed to overshadow the inexplicable pang of disappointment she had felt earlier that week when she'd discovered that Bill and his twin brother had lost to TobyMac. She still didn't get why she had felt so sad and heartbroken - sure, she was disappointed on their behalf, especially when she'd seen the crestfallen look on Bill's face, but it didn't explain why her heart had melted when Bill had caught her watching and had hesitated for a split second before schooling his features into a mask of calm indifference. The Jenna Bill still knew would have said something harsh to rub in the fact that he'd lost and she hadn't, but instead, she'd given him a sympathetic smile and mouthed "You guys should have won" before turning and walking away. She'd been so busy with school work that she hadn't seen him once since then.

Clearing her thoughts with a shake of her head, she made a beeline for the small ice cream shop nestled between the pretzel shop and the pizza place. A smile lit her face when she spotted an old woman with salt and pepper hair behind the counter. "Bon matin, Mirielle." She called, greeting the woman in her native language. Jenna felt her smile widen of its own accord when Mirielle's face instantly brightened. "Oh, bon matin, ma chéri!" The French woman cried out, stopping her work to come around the counter and give her favorite customer a hug, thoroughly pleased ( as she always was ) with the blonds' mastery of the handful of French phrases she had been taught. "What can I get for you today, chéri, your usual?" Laughing softly, she kissed the old woman once on each cheek. "Oui, s'il tu plaît. You know me far too well." Mirielle smiled and patted her shoulder, chuckling quietly as she moved back behind the counter and began peering into the various tubs of ice cream in front of her. Jenna waited patiently; her usual was whatever Mirielle thought she might enjoy trying, and the old woman had yet to choose something the blond didn't like. Moments later, she was being handed a waffle cone stuffed full of butter pecan ice cream.

She took a bite and handed money across the counter, waving away Mirielle's sounds of protest. "You wouldn't let me pay last time, Mirielle, take it." The old woman frowned at her, but knew that the blond would make a fuss if she didn't charge her, so she took the money and rang up the purchase. Grinning, she blew Mirielle a kiss and sauntered out of the shop. The woman had the uncanny ability of always knowing exactly which ice cream to give Jenna - the sweet, rich butter pecan she was eating fit her light mood perfectly. Humming happily to herself, she meandered from one end of Atrium Mall's expansive food court to the other, trying to decide if she wanted to wander while she consumed her ice cream, or avoid possible mishaps and sit down. When the table less than six feet in front of her opened up, she took that as a sign to make the latter choice. Sitting down, she smoothed out the skirt of her tunic top after crossing her legs, her right foot bouncing up and down in time to the song she was listening to. She caught a flash of color out of the corner of her eye and automatically turned her head. Once Jenna saw what - or rather, who - had grabbed her attention, she immediately looked away, silently praying that Bill hadn't seen her.

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TAGGED! Billa STATUS! finished~ WORDS! eight hundred and ninty-five NOTES! Four paragraphs - that's more like it. xD LYRICS! Topsy Turvy, by Family Force 5 OUTFIT! check this bamf-ing beast out CREDIT! moi, aka Ellie or ELLIEPANTS FTW ?! of Caution 2.0. I put a lot of hard work into perfecting this layout - steal it and you can bet I'll grab a spork and hunt you down.

[William Radfield]

bATTLE of the Bands had been a total bust. Bill couldn't understand it. Back home, he and Tom were the equivalent of rock stars at their primary school. Well... they hadn't been at first. As a matter of fact, before anything else, Bill was teased for the way he dressed. Then came the talent show. After that, nobody teased him. Some kids went as far as to ask for his and Tom's autographs when they passed the twins in the hall. Now all of a sudden, he and Tom were losing to a Christian rapper. What was this? The man - Toby Mac? - shouldn't have been allowed to play at the school for the sole fact that he was Christian. But he'd been allowed to perform, and he'd kicked the twins' asses. Bill knew how it was in Germany, but over here... teenagers must be wired different. You'd think, regardless of which country you were in, the kids would be all for anarchy and against religion. .. On that note, they were also into heavier music nowadays... perhaps the song Bill slaved over for three hours, working it into perfection hadn't been heavy enough? Pretty much all of the other bands who competed were heavier, except for Asher Rinehart's band. He was actually a solo act, but he went by a stage name anyway. Even Marissa Kent and her friend Dakota Peckett were heavier than Bill and Tom. Bill had to be honest -- he never imagined someone petite and delicate as Marissa Kent would be shredding a guitar or singing anything even remotely similar to rock music.

Even so, the biggest surprise of the whole thing was Eclipse. They'd won in a landslide victory. Not a single person voted against them (all though their had been one write-in for 30 Seconds to Mars, which Bill had the creeping suspicion Mr. Thorne, the junior history teacher, submitted). Having met her in person, Bill never would've suspected Jenna Aiken would hop up on stage and sing something as powerful as "Bring Me to Life" (which totally wasn't one of the most played tracks on his iPod...). It didn't help that backing her up was the twin brother of the boy who almost single-handedly ruined her life. Bill had no idea why the thought of someone who shared Lorcan's face being on stage with Jenna bothered him -- but it did. Seeing Skyler Kanes on the drums was a bit less of a surprise. Anyone at the school who hadn't heard of Skye by now was either a fresh transfer student or lived under a rock -- everyone knew she was the sort of person who would enjoy pounding the shit out of a set of skins. As much as Bill hated to admit it, their performance had blown him away. .. And stirred up a newfangled resentment toward Aiden Furey. The reasons behind which he could fathom, but purposely chose not to. It didn't help that she had to be sympathetic toward Bill after his crushing loss, either -- a moment he was still trying to put of his mind.

That was the purpose behind this little trip to the mall. Battle of the Bands had ended two weeks ago and he needed to get over the whole ordeal. It wasn't healthy that he was still beating himself up over it. Furthermore, a trip from the mall saved him from the only other alternative Sunday afternoon plan -- brunch with Marissa. She was becoming harder and harder to put up with. The school was already abuzz with news of her latest escapade. Apparently, she'd uncovered a sort of sex scandal between principal Sorge and Skyler Kanes. Bill didn't associate with Skyler, so the way he saw it, unless Sorge tried to rape him, it was entirely not his business. Marissa thought otherwise. She kept asking him if he'd sent the picture to anyone else, and it seemed to be all she wanted to talk about. Of course, she blew it way out of proportion, claiming Kanes had nearly broken one of her ribs, the red marks on Marissa's neck hadn't yet faded, etcetera, etcetera. Bill honestly couldn't see why she felt the need to drag him into the mix -- he was just an androgynous wanna-be rockstar. Yet, for whatever reason, drama followed him wherever he went.

Speaking of drama... Jenna Aiken, one o'clock. Bill froze, slipping into panic mode. Every fiber of his being told him to run -- only, half his fibers told him to run one way, and the other half told him to the opposite way. For a few seconds, he held an internal tennis match, debating whether or not he should join the nearest line and pretend to be ordering food, or if he should occupy the empty seat adjacent Jenna. After all, he hadn't had a chance to thank and congratulate her. Then again, the reason he hadn't had the chance was because he was either with Rissa ever time she popped up (ditching Rissa to talk to Jenna was basically a suicide mission) or not man enough to face her whenever he was alone. Bill made his decision. Squeezing his eyes shut, he took one step toward the table. And another. Opened his eyes. Took another. A couple people waiting in the McDonald's line were shooting him odd looks. Rolling his eyes at them, Bill walked the rest of the way to the table and sat down before he could change his mind. Just to let Jenna know he'd only be there a short while, he sat on the edge of the seat, supporting most of his weight by propping his elbows on the table. "I never got a chance to thank you," he ground out, "for what you said... after Tom and I lost. It was nice of you." He bit his lip, then remembered there was more he meant to say. "Oh, and congratulations on your win."

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( words : ten sixteen ) ( tags : jenna ) ( outfit : remember this guy? ) ( lyrics : "misery" by maroon five ) ( notes : sorry. my muse kept crapping out bs >< )