(private) even the sun sets in paradise

Subject: (private) even the sun sets in paradise Wed May 01, 2013 8:53 pm

Zander hadn't been sure about much when he'd decided to pack up his things and leave Camp Half-Blood, but one of the things he had been sure about was that he was going to get to California one way or another. It was on the other side of the country, over 2000 miles away - he wasn't sure what more he could want. His passport had expired three years ago and his mother was adamant about not renewing it. "You aren't leaving the country." She had said and Zander left it alone after that. It wasn't as though he had many choices with a passport anyway. Maybe Canada, and that would have been nice, but he could live without seeing Canada for a few more years.

She had been mad when he came home and told her he left behind Camp Half-Blood and his training and wasn't going back to school either. She had told him he was on his own until he came to his senses. She let him stay at the house, but didn't talk to him. He didn't hold it against her - if he was a father, how would he react if his kid came home and dropped a bomb like that on him? Zander worked in his home town for a few weeks to save up some more money and then he took to the road. It wasn't until he was out of the state of New York that he realized she was silently depositing money in his bank account every week.

Precisely 61 days and $967 since leaving Camp Half-Blood, he had reached his destination. It was 6:34 PM when he passed the first "Welcome to San Diego" sign. After a night of driving, it was a welcome sight. Accomplishing goals after working at them for a long time was incredibly satisfying, especially for a kid with ADHD. The arrow on his gas metre in his car getting dangerously close to E, Zander pulled into the first gas station he saw.
It was 65°, the temperature dropping in coordinance with the sun. The occasional breeze gusted through and Zander pulled on his sweater because of it. He pumped his gas and then went inside to pay, buying a bag of Fritos as well. There was a small pang in his chest when he saw Arizona Green Tea and he quickly looked away.

He was about to get in his car and continue to drive until he found a motel when he noticed the lone pay phone stall 50 metres away. His car door was open but he hesitated. It had been so long since he'd held a proper conversation, he had barely thought about it because it was such a refreshing change of pace; but every so often, he couldn't help but think about that one voice which he wouldn't mind listening to all day long. He shut his car door. Stepped away. Hesitated again. Tossed his keys up. Once. Twice. Then he leisurely made his way back inside, exchanged a twenty dollar bill for twenty one dollar coins. It was too much, but he could always use the coins somewhere else.

Zander's palms began to sweat as he walked to the payphone. It was a crazy idea, she probably never wanted to see his face again, much less hear him pathetically stammer and mumble at her. And long distance calls were expensive. One dollar per minute, he could use the money for something much more practical. But this was so much more worth it, he knew it, even if she did hang up immediately, it would be worth it just to hear her say "Hello?" after not seeing or talking to her for over two months.

He glanced at his watch. 6:54, almost 10 in New York. Curfew was 11, so he hoped she was still up. He pushed in five dollar coins - five minutes - and his hand hovered over the number pad. He swallowed and took a deep breath before punching in the number he had memorized before he left, never expecting to use it but memorizing it anyway. Someone answered on the third ring and Zander fumbled over his words, clearly flustered. "Um, uh, hi. I need to, uh, talk to Tiffany Powell? She should be in the Muses cabin."

Subject: Re: (private) even the sun sets in paradise Thu May 02, 2013 9:48 pm

Tiffany's life since Zander left camp hadn't changed much, except for the fact that she had become more social and friendly—and she had sat through a funeral for a five year old. Her little brother, the one Zander drove her to see in the hospital's, funeral had taken place almost two weeks after Zander left, and not until spending a week with her family, did Tiffany feel ready to go back to camp. She didn't attend school, she didn't practice her fighting technics, and she didn't go to dance class. She mostly sat around and felt sorry for herself, until her older brother talked her into going back to camp and attempting at normal demigod life. Tiffany agreed, of course she agreed with Damian, and wound up finding that she hadn't lost the ability to make friends. She missed Zander, but the twang of pain she got in her chest whenever she thought of him got smaller and smaller until it disappeared all together. Two whole months after the boy left, Tiffany could think about him and not feel like she would go dark again. It wasn't like she had ever felt broken hearted, just alone, and making friends really helped with that loneliness issue.

It was a random May day, after having just returned from ballet taught by one of her sisters, that Tiffany received the call.

"Tiff? It's for you," one of the other Muse children shouted, holding the phone out dramatically. Tiffany stopped untying her pointe shoe immediately and sat upright. "Is it Damian or Rose?" She shouted back. hesitant to talk to her siblings. They were always in such bad moods, and Tiffany didn't feel like getting bogged down. "Neither, it doesn't sound like your siblings. It sounds like... Tiffany, it sounds like your boyfriend."

Tiffany froze before standing up and walking with near perfect posture (out of shock) towards the phone. "I don't have a boyfriend," she muttered, blinking her eyes several times, her face remaining emotionless. "Zander left. I haven't seen anyone since." The Muse girl giggled and handed Tiffany the phone, causing her face to drop. It couldn't be...

"Hello?" she asked, hoping her voice wasn't shaking. "Is this.. Um.. Zander?" Tiffany shut her eyes and tried to get as far away from the rest of the demigods in her cabin as possible. She had a feeling she would embarrass herself on this call.

Subject: Re: (private) even the sun sets in paradise Fri May 03, 2013 3:41 pm

Zander wanted desperately to be a children's fiction novel hero. Hearing Tiffany's voice, he wanted to feel like no time had passed at all, he wanted everything to melt away and nothing to matter except this phone call. But the unfortunate truth was that two months had passed, and in the end, nothing would change after this five dollar phone call from the Shell gas station payphone booth in San Diego. The truth was, he'd still left - after everything, he'd left. He called himself a wanderer and made excuses, denying the fact that maybe he was just a runner. Because he'd loved Max and then all of a sudden he was gone. It was so easy for people to just be gone and Zander wasn't sure if he could cope with that.

"Hey," He breathed. "Hey Tofu." He leaned against the cold metal of the stall, his breath fogging up the glass he was facing. "It's... been a while." He said lamely, cringing a bit at the bland, run-of-the-mill nature of the phrase. It was what high school friends said at school reunions, when people didn't care enough to take the time to talk regularly. It was a pleasantry, was he really using pleasantries now?
He paused for a moment and pushed in some more coins because he had already wasted about four minutes. Gods, it was so much harder like this.

"I'm in, uh, San Diego." He offered, chuckling quietly, nervously to himself. "I just... saw a phone booth while I was getting gas and I thought I should... you know, say hello. I guess." He shifted uncomfortably and exhaled in a rush of air. "I'm not going to try to make excuses for myself, since leaving was a real jerk move on my part and I don't want to make you sit through me trying in vain to explain myself and my messed up head. Gods, all I can really say is I'm sorry. And I know I have no right to say this, but I really miss you." He curled his hand into a fist and rested it on the glass. "But I really hope you're happy now and that you found someone who will make you happier than I could and who has a few more brain cells than I do, which is frankly, not difficult in the least."

He took a deep breath and steeled himself for what he was about to say, possibly hating himself more than ever.
"And it's really unfair of me to say this now, but I think I love you. And you're free to hang up right now, because this is just... not fair to you and I'm so... gods, I'm so sorry."

Subject: Re: (private) even the sun sets in paradise Fri May 03, 2013 5:47 pm

Tiffany chuckled quitely, breathily, as Zander struggled at conversation, nodding along and fighting the butterflies in her stomach. She had dated the boy for less than a month, and he had left her. She had practically forgotten about him by now, and here he was, calling out of the blue, trying to talk as if he hadn't just left. "Yeah. Two months, right?" Tiffany shut her eyes and leaned against the wall. She pressed the phone closer to her face and took a deep breath, running a hand through her messy blonde hair. She didn't know how to talk to the boy anymore. She didn't know what she was supposed to say that would mend them.

"San Diego?" Tiffany repeated, taken aback. "You're on the other side of the country, Alexander." She didn't mean to use the boy's full name, but it slipped out. She still remembered how he had introduced himself to her family, as if he was trying to come off as normal with his blue hair and rebellious appearance. She smiled to herself, but quickly shook the smile as Zander started rambling explanations. It nearly broke her heart, hearing him sound so desperate to keep her happy with him. She wasn't mad. She had been frustrated at first, but never angry, and that feeling of remorse had subsided. By now she had just been confused. Hearing his voice, though? Hearing his voice made her want to be with him again, which she was pretty sure would never happen. "I have a lot more friends than before you left, but I'm not dating anyone if that's what you're implying. I haven't da—not since you left." Tiffany's stiffened muscles losened a bit, a small sigh escaping her lips and she shut her eyes tighter. She could hear Zander breathing on the other end, and it was almost as if there wasn't an entire country between them, but, merely, a few inches.

Tiffany winced at Zander's words. They were powerful, Tiff knew of how important they were, and they cut like knives. "I haven't seen you in two months," she tried to explain, frantically attempting to keep herself from falling, from getting hurt. "You just left, Zander, and nothing was even wrong. You just... left." Tiffany opened her eyes and found that several of the kids in her cabin were staring at her. Turning to face away from everyone else, Tiffany held the reciever closer to her mouth. "I thought I loved you, before you left. And I haven't ever liked anyone the way I liked you, but I don't know anymore. I miss you. I'm glad you made it. I miss you, a lot. I don't... I can't just love you again, though. How much is this call costing you? I don't want to hang up yet." Tiffany hugged her stomach with one hand, noticing how much weight she had lost. She hadn't been eating much. Maybe Zander's leaving had taken a toll on her after all. Brushing hair out of her face, the dancer anxiously waited for a response. "Don't apologize," she mumbled, barely above not saying anything at all. "I should be sorry. Me." Tiffany's face was flushed, extremely pale and she looked sickly. She wanted to love him, but she didn't think she could. "I'm wearing your necklace," she blurted as if it helped anything, rubbing the jewel Zander had given her along with a can of tea and a goodbye note. Gods she wanted to say she loved him, too. She just.. couldn't force herself to cope with any more loss.

Subject: Re: (private) even the sun sets in paradise Fri May 03, 2013 9:21 pm

Everything was wrong - he wasn't the fictional hero at all. A pang of guilt resounded through the cavern of his chest and he clamped his mouth shut. He waited for a moment to compose himself, swallowed the lump in his throat and laughed breezily, so much more breezily than he would have thought was possible right at that moment. This phone call was just painful. What had he been thinking? "Yeah, the other side of the country, that's right." He said easily, with a grin even though she couldn't see it. When she called him Alexander before, it had been... nice, familiar. Now it felt terribly distant and made the miles between them seem concrete. Permanent.

He waited patiently as she spoke and even though her words fractured something deep inside him, he still smiled and replied. "It's alright. I have to say I'm kind of... very disappointed, but I can't blame you." He said, with just the right amount of wistfulness in his tone to make it seem genuine. How could he even begin to explain how fragile, shatterable everything was? How quickly people could be broken or taken away? How quickly he could be broken when people were taken away? How, in the end, he left for both of them - although mostly for himself - before either of them could get too attached? How was he supposed to explain how selfish he was without making her hate him? Although, not telling her because he didn't want her to hate him was a selfish act in itself. At least everything had worked out for her. She had let go, and even though he was left to be the only one still holding on, he was glad.

"Nah, it's only 25 cents per minute. I think payphones are highly underrated." He quipped as he pushed some more dollar coins in. "Don't worry about the minutes situation, I have it under control. We only have... 12 minutes left." He said as he checked. "Unfortunately, I was grossly unprepared and had practically no quarters before calling you. I know, I'm already really ashamed. The Quarter Council of America is free to revoke my status as Always Prepared With Quarters Guy." He chattered, not even sure what he was talking about anymore. It was probably unsafe to stay on the phone for too long in an area so open to attack from all sides from any monster, but Zander didn't care.

He swallowed and briefly shut his eyes when she said she was wearing his necklace. "Yeah, sea glass is really cool. When people litter and throw glass bottles and things into the ocean, the waves smooth the glass down and then the pieces end up on a beach somewhere. So even though littering's bad, I guess it's nice that... you know, it's nice that there's something like sea glass. I probably just sounded like a girl, but I don't mind." He rambled, taking an exaggeratedly big gulp of air when he was done. He paused and then hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

"Okay, brace yourself, this is going to sound extremely cliché..." He said, scuffing the toe of his sneaker on the ground. "But could we still be friends? Because I don't know, I'm not sure what I'd do if you just hated me - although, it would be completely justified, I must admit."

(( My post was deleted so I had to retype, I'm so mAD D> ))

Subject: Re: (private) even the sun sets in paradise Sun May 05, 2013 1:24 pm

Tiffany shook her head and sighed louder than she had been expecting. She couldn't tell Zander she loved him too, because she had to put distance between them. She would fall too hard, and he would come back from California, where he had obviously needed to go. There couldn't be a magnet that drew them together. No, there needed to be a less painful wedge that drew them apart. They couldn't really be happy together, not when they both still had dreams. "I'm sorry," Tiffany replied, her voice cracking as she spoke. He was disappointed, and she couldn't say anything to make him feel better without ruining what she was trying to build up altogether. "I wish things were the same as they were two months ago... but they're not." Tiffany was trying hard not to sound sad. She felt awfully sad.

Tiffany listened to Zander joke, but it only made her sadder. He was such a lovable idiot, and she had to give him up so that he wouldn't come back. "I'd say the Quarter Council never gave you that status. You'd too spontaneous." Tiff shook her head and listened to Zander speak for a while about stones, and she smiled and nodded along before realizing that he couldn't see anything she was doing, so occasionally she threw in some listening noises. It was hard to have to force the conversation to be smooth. It was difficult. Painful.

"I don't know, you're rather detestable..." Tiffany jokingly pondered. "Zander, if we weren't friends I'd have to hitchhike across the country to come see you and make you my friend. I just... can't love you. It's better if I don't." Tiffany sunk further down until she was sitting on the floor of her cabin, clutching the phone to her ear. "I have drachmas. I'm calling you next time. I need to see you. You still have that blue hair?" Tiffany laughed, but it turned into a gasp and she was trying not to cry. She was so fragile, her emotions always unbalanced. She missed Zander, and the call was so.. awkward compared to how easy they had been. Things changed, and it hurt how hard it could hit you in the face. They were both different now.

Subject: Re: (private) even the sun sets in paradise Sun May 05, 2013 1:58 pm

"No, don't need to apologize." He chided, more annoyed with himself for making her feel guilty. Responsible. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I said anything to begin with." He said, shutting his eyes. "Although, I'm glad I did, to be honest. For closure." He said.

He breathed a sigh of relief when she said they could still be friends. "Yeah, I'd like that. Are you still short?" He asked teasingly, grinning in spite of himself. Seeing the blue-eyed girl again would probably do nothing but hurt him, but he wanted to see her again nonetheless. He trusted himself to smile and laugh, despite what he actually felt. It was funny how quickly you could learn to look happy when you were anything but.

Zander ran a hand through his hair as she mentioned it. It had already been growing out before he left Camp Half-Blood. A month later, his brown roots had become hard to ignore. He'd cut it short before he left his home town. "Nah, it's brown now. The dye was fading so I just cut my hair. I'd rather spend 10 dollars on McDonalds than on something like hair dye, you know? I guess you could say I have priorities now?" He laughed and almost immediately sobered up. "I guess things really have changed."

He squinted at the time indicator and frowned. "We have two minutes left."

Subject: Re: (private) even the sun sets in paradise Tue May 07, 2013 12:35 am

Tiffany hated the word closure, especially when it applied to Zander. They were so new, so fresh. They shouldn't have had to settle for "closure" yet. They should still be together, somewhere that made both of them happy, but of course they were only teenagers and for a multitude of reasons, they hadn't worked out, and now Tiffany was faced with the fear of falling hard and losing it big time. "I'm glad you did, too, as selfish as that is. I don't really hear it... ever." Tiff shook her head and sighed loudly, almost obnoxiously. Zander was great, and she wished she could just force herself to love him, but she was too careful to do that.

Tiffany bit her lip and nodded to herself. He didn't really want to see her, and she couldn't blame him, but she knew she had to call him. She had to try to explain things better. She had to see him again. That would be the real closure. Seeing him with the new brown hair, in his new California setting, things would feel so foreign that she could start to forget. "Oh, you're not.. blue anymore? Well, now that you mention it, I'm actually 6 feet tall now."

Tiffany took a deep breath and frowned. "Wow, okay, the clock is ticking now," she mumbled, her throat clenching. "Listen, Zander, promise me something before you go because I'm actually concerned... Promise you'll be careful? I mean, you can handle it, you're the toughest guy I know. But California isn't like camp, and I'm just worried about you."

Subject: Re: (private) even the sun sets in paradise Sat May 18, 2013 11:18 pm

Zander inhaled sharply through the nose and closed his eyes. "Tiffany Powell," His voice came out slightly strained and strangled as he inwardly struggled with how he wanted to fly over there immediately and kiss the hell out of her. Of course, taking an airplane would be the same thing as pretty much throwing half his savings out the window, but it was hard to think clearly when the girl you loved was Tiffany Powell. "I don't know how to express what I want to say in words, so I'm going to sing you a song instead. A Selena Gomez song, to be precise." He cleared his throat and then took a deep breath.

"YOU ARE BEAUTIFUUUL," He sang, hitting absolutely none of the right notes. "LIKE A DREAM COME ALIIIVE - INCREDIBLE - A SINFUUL, MIRACLEE, LYRICAAL - YOU SAVED MY LIIIFE AGAAAAAIN, AND I WANT YOU KNOW, BAAABYYY." At least he made up for what he lacked in talent with his impeccable recall of the song lyrics. "I-I LOVE YOU LIKE A LOVE SONG, BABY. I-I LOVE YOU LIKE A LOVE SONG, BABY. I-I LOVE YOU LIKE A LO --" His voice cracked unintentionally and he cleared his throat loudly to cover it up. "Alright, that's the end. I ended it on a cliff hanger. It was on purpose. To keep you in suspense. In anticipation for my next live performance." He said, clearing his throat again.

He glanced over at the time indicator and clenched his jaw. Time passed by much too quickly for his liking. "Okay, I promise, Tofu." He said lightly but earnestly. "I don't stay in one place for long any way, it's hard for the monsters to catch up." He waggled his eyebrows playfully even though she couldn't see. "You don't need to worry. Sometime soon, I'll be seeing San Diego in my rearview mirror." He said as he fished semi-desperately through his pockets, successfully finding another dollar coin and some quarters. He plunked them in and updated her on it. "Found some more change, we have a little more time. Like, maybe 1 minute and 26 - 25 seconds. Would you like to discuss the ideology of the American Revolution?"

(( RE-PEAT-PEAT-PEAT-PEAT-PEAT-PEAT-PEAT ))

Subject: Re: (private) even the sun sets in paradise Mon Jun 03, 2013 5:07 pm

Tiffany's eyes widened as Zander started singing, and to be honest, she held the phone a somewhat large distance away from her head in order to keep from losing hearing in any of her ears. The sound of his voice was refreshing, but his vocals needed a little work. "Aren't you supposed to be the son of Apollo?" Tiffany asked, laughing and shaking her head. "Would you be surprised to hear that I've heard worse?" Tiff was finding it hard not to fall for Zander again, especially as he bravely serenaded her. "Alexander West," she paused for dramatic effect, just as Zander had, "You have enlightened me with that ... awkward song."

Tiff's heartbeat quickly inside her chest as she imagined the things that could happen to someone, even someone as tough as Zander, in a city like San Diego. She probably wouldn't be worried for his safety if she hadn't lost her brother a few weeks ago, but events like that tend to change your mindset, even if for a short while. "You'll call when you're somewhere else, right?" Tiffany inquired, leaning against the wall and listening carefully, hanging onto every word Zander gave her.

"Stop spending all your money on this call," Tiffany scolded, although she was giggling to herself ever so slightly. "You're not going to be able to buy yourself any San Diego souvenirs." Tiffany paused to take a breath and let herself blush. The boy she was talking to... he really loved her. "Zander? There's one more thing.." She was going to tell him to keep his options open. That she wasn't the only girl out there, but she could tell her time was running out. The selfish part of her was slowing down her words, desperate to keep the ex-blue haired boy to herself. She hadn't had anyone as perfect as Zander before in her life, but he wasn't one to be tied down, and Tiffany? She couldn't handle much change.

((omg I actually posted))

» 'Even the sun sets in paradise' [Private to Zan]
» Just another day in Paradise
» take me down into your paradise [moon]
» Paradise: A story by Maya
» The Sun Always Sets