making it b e t t e r (azzurra)

[squiggle]

Zelphar ran a hand through his hair as he walked the all too familiar route to Azzurra's house. He wished that it weren't so hot, the sun was out and the heat coupled with the humidity was very oppressive. Today, he was going to do what he usually did, spend as much time with Azzurra as he could, no matter how much it pained him to see her hurting. Zelphar was going to do whatever it took to pull his friend out of this state she was in, he was not going to let her throw her life away. He had in his hand a bouquet of wild daises that he had picked himself from the field behind Grant's. No doubt they would wilt if the heat continued on like this.

He hoped that they would remind his closest friend of spring, her favourite season. Zelphar would do anything to see one of her famous smiles again, even if it was only for a second. It just wasn't fair, why did Alec have to do that to her? At that very thought Zelphar clenched his free hand into a fist. Any mention of that ass made him want to punch something. Zelphar took a few deep breaths before extending his free hand and knocking on the door twice.

[violethorses]

Azzurra barely heard the knock at the door and instead of getting up to answer it, stayed at the kitchen table, staring into her cereal as though it held all the answers to the world. She wasn't thinking of anything in particular. In fact, she felt nothing; nothing at all.

Kyrenia stared at her for a moment before getting up and opening the door. Azzurra vaguely heard Zelphar's voice mixed with her sister's near the door. She stopped staring at her cereal and stood, thinking she should greet Zelphar. She ambled down the hallway, barely seeing anything. She knew that she looked like a train wreck, but Azzurra was too tired to care. She nearly smiled at the sight of her best friend, but it came across as more of a nod. "Hello Zelphar," Azzurra said numbly.

[squiggle]

"Hey Az," said Zelphar, managing a small smile. The act was more difficult when she seemed so stoic, as if nothing in the world provided her with any sort of emotion whatsoever. "Ta da," Zelphar added, handing his friend the wild daises. She looked as if it had been a long time since she had left the house. The last time it probably had been when he had forced her to take a walk with him. They were going out today, Zelphar mentally decided.

[violethorses]

Out of the corner of her eye, Azzurra saw her sister smile. Then Kyrenia left them, heading upstairs. Azzurra forced a smile onto her face, taking the daisies from Zelphar. They were pretty, and had she been her true self, she would have put one behind her ear, but she didn't quite know what to do with them now. "Thanks, they're beautiful," Azzurra said, smelling the daisies in order to let her smile fall away.

[squiggle]

Zelphar managed to not frown, it didn't take an expert to tell that Azzurra was faking her smile. She had been his best friend in the world since they were very little, most of the time he could read her like a book. "Go upstairs and get ready," said Zelphar. "We're going out today." He made sure that his tone was firm, the only way that Azzurra was going to get any closer to recovery was if she left the house. Zelphar would be there, it wasn't like he was shoving her into downtown London by herself.

[violethorses]

Azzurra stared at her friend for a moment; it was unlike Zelphar to be ordering her around. "Alright then," she said at last, then slowly went up the stairs to her bedroom. She put the daisies on her dresser and then grabbed a pair of jeans and a nice shirt. Azzurra didn't bother with makeup and left her hair as it was; with the curls, not much really needed to be done. She grabbed a pair of flats from her closet and ambled back down the stairs. "Where are we going?" she asked Zelphar as she put on her shoes.

[squiggle]

"Out," said Zelphar with a shrug, he hadn't planned that part yet, all he knew was that they were going to go somewhere. At least Azzurra had complied, but he figured that he would have won anyways, he was just grateful that it had not taken more than a few minutes to get her out of her house. Zelphar felt his heart sink slowly, just seeing Azzurra like this pained him more than anything, what was worse was that there was relatively little he could do about it.

[violethorses]

Azzurra paused for a moment; it was very unlike Zelphar to tell her to get ready and then not have any idea as to where they were going. "Fine," she replied, feeling that something was wrong. Azzurra figured it was probably due to her own behavior; Zelphar had been acting weird around her all summer.

[squiggle]

Wherever they were going, Zelphar figured that it would be somewhere indoors as the weather outside was so miserably hot. Perhaps they could go to a restaurant, even if it was an odd time. Too late for breakfast, but too early for lunch. "I think we'll head to the mall," said Zelphar, examining the bus route as they neared a stop. It had been awhile since he had taken the bus, he normally walked or took trains. But he knew the mall was too far away to walk to, but too close for there to be a train that went there.

[violethorses]

"Alright then," Azzurra replied, letting Zelphar take over for the time being. He seemed to know what he was doing, at least more than she did. Azzurra stopped at the bus stop, already feeling overly warm from the hot weather. It was really the only bad thing about summer. But this was the first time Azzurra had been out in a while.

[squiggle]

Zelphar continued to examine the papers behind the plastic at the stop, trying to figure out when the next bus would arrive. He slid his finger down the row of times, until he found what was closest to them. "The next bus will be here in fifteen minutes," said Zelphar. "We might as well sit down whilst we're waiting." He took up a spot on the bench, leaving plenty of room for his closest friend.

[violethorses]

Azzurra nodded numbly, taking a seat next to Zelphar. The bench was warm, however, and Azzurra soon found herself to be too hot. She glanced at her wrist, hoping for a hair tie. But of course, she hadn't remembered one. Sighing slightly, she turned to look at her friend. "How have things been going for you?" Azzurra asked.

[squiggle]

Zelphar shrugged, he was not sure how to respond. He couldn't say that things were good when she was suffering so much. Azzurra was his best friend in the entire world, when she was down, he was also. Or he just got angry when there was nothing that he could do about it. "No different than usual," Zelphar finally said. It was so hot, he wished that it would rain, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

[violethorses]

Azzurra only nodded in reply, not quite knowing what to say to that. Zelphar had been over to her house a lot this summer, so Azzurra supposed she would know if something major was going on. They didn't talk a whole lot, though. She briefly checked her pockets for something to pull her hair up with, but they were empty. She hadn't even remembered her wand this time.

[squiggle]

The silence between them seemed to be a bit tense, but Zelphar wasn't paying it any mind. At almost exactly fifteen minutes, the bus pulled to a stop in front of them, and the driver opened the doors. The sweet feeling of air conditioning wafted toward them. He stood, and pulled out his billfold. It had an enchanted compartment for his wizard money, but for the most part it held his pounds. Zelphar stepped onto the bus and paid the fare for the both of them.