Welcome to Gaia! ::

Lina sighed as she turned the key to her and Draco's apartment and angrily pushed inside. She threw her keychain on the small, cherry table in the tiny kitchen and crossed into the living room where she threw her purse before finally entering the bedroom, where she slammed and locked the door. She didn't want to talk to anyone, though she felt even worse for shutting them out. Sighing again, she threw the flowered curtains open (Draco hated them terribly) and flopped back on the king-sized bed, staring at the light blue ceiling. Her dad loved that color...Angelina felt her eyes welling with tears again. "I'm not going back to Hogwarts," she called out suddenly and didn't care how they would react.

Lina sighed and, after a while, stood slowly and walked into the living room silently. Draco and Bella looked up expectantly, but she said only, “I need jellybeans,” picked up her purse, and walked out the door. She had no idea why, jellybeans were like a comfort food for her, it was the oddest thing. They had been since she was seven. Sullenly, she trudged the three blocks to the Muggle supermarket and made her purchase, giving a false smile to the cashier as she did so.
Walking back, she realized “Aly” hadn’t been to rehearsal most of the week, and her show was the following day. She hadn’t owled to cancel, nor had she even seen the band since her first rehearsal with Blaise. A Muggle tabloid caught her eye as she stalked by and she started laughing. The vendor gave her an odd look and she grabbed the tabloid, paid the vendor, and dashed back to her apartment. When she had reached it, she was out of breath, but flopped in between Draco and Bella on the couch and thrust out the magazine, giggling.
“They think I’m missing!” She declared happily, though she wasn’t sure why this was such a good thing. “Listen to this: Aly Jordan, age fifteen and already one of the biggest sensations…blah blah blah…oh, here. She was last sighted at a rehearsal for her next concert, this Saturday night, but nobody, not even her band, has seen her since the end of the rehearsal, which was held last Monday evening. Now, America - wait, Bella, shut up, this is the best part - now Americans and British alike all wait with baited breath to see, will their pop sensation return or is she a part of the past?” Angelina burst out in laughter, tears coming to her eyes. “Oh, that’s rich,” she gasped. “This is by far the best tabloid ever printed about me.”

"We have to get back tonight," Lina decided suddenly. "My concert is tomorrow and I need to at least touch base with the band before then." Angelina thought hard for a bit, thinking how they didn't even have a song lineup yet, then jumped up out of Draco's arms and ran into her room. "Ok, this is so horrible, but I have the perfect closer! It's going to make me cry..."

Angelina paced in her room slowly, thinking over the lyrics of her song. She had the perfect song in light of recent events. As she began thinking about her father, the lyrics came tumbling from her mouth:
"So I won't give up,
No I won't break down,
Sooner than it seems,
Life turns around.
And I will be strong,
Even if it all goes wrong.
When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe,
Someone's watching over me."

"Bella," Angelina laughed through her fresh tears. "Stop cooking!" She shouted out through the door, flicked her wand to pack her things and walked into the living room. "Merlin, we're leaving soon, didn't you hear me?!"

"Bella," Angelina moaned. "I'm not hungry!" She crossed her arms firmly and sat back in her chair rather childishly. "I just had all those jellybeans, my word, I'm going to be sick!"

Angelina rolled her eyes and took a small bite, immediately changing her demeanor. "Bella, how long have you been cooking? This is really good!" Angelina cleared her plate and sat back again, this time in total content. "Wow...where did you learn to cook like that??"

Angelina looked down a bit guiltily. "Draco ate my food while I was in the Hospital Wing," she laughed. "For two days. I couldn't eat a thing...and I was being stupid, practically starving myself. Hey, Bella? You didn't see anyone in the stands that day who...who wouldn't have wanted me there, did you?" She glanced at Draco cautiously. He knew what she was getting at; they were about to see if Blaise had even been there at that game.~