Remembering the dead ((Alina))

[Bonnie R. Bennett]

I NEED ANOTHER STORY. SOMETHING TO GET OFF MY CHEST.
I'M GONNA GIVE ALL MY SECRETS AWAY.
TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR. SOMETHING THAT WAS LIKE THOSE YEARS.
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525949 minutes, 8766 hours, 365 days. 1 year. It had been 1 year ago today that grams had passed away and left her all on her own. Of course she wasn’t really all on her own, but some days that was how it felt. The only witch in a sea of mystical creatures. But today, none of that was important. Her cell phone lay forgotten on her bed back at home and she was on her own for the day. No boyfriend to tag along and try to cheer her up, No depressed friends who were wrapped up in their own problems, and certainly no egotistical vampires who seemed to like nothing better than to bug her. Instead she knelt in the cool lush greenery of the cemetery with silent tears trickling down her cheeks as she let memory after memory of her grams play through her mind. It was almost too much, but she wanted to remember the good times. Wanted to keep them fresh in her mind so she’d never forget.

A racking sob escaped her throat as she laid the white lilies next to the headstone reading ‘Sheila Bennett’. She could hear someone mumbling quietly and it took her several seconds to realize that the sound was coming from herself and that the words were ‘Why her…Why…' repeated over and over. But slowly a sense of calm seemed to filter over her until the sobs slowed and finally stopped altogether. It was almost like she could feel her Grams surrounding her with her arms, calming her with soft words. But it was just in her head.

An hour had passed as she sat at the grave rambling on like Grams could actually hear her. Spilling her heart to the empty cemetery and confessing her problems to herself. When at last she could find nothing more to say she just sat there quietly listening to the quiet sounds of nature around her. That was when she heard the soft footsteps and the chime like voice of a child. Of course she wouldn’t be the only person visiting the graveyard. Lots of people came every day to pay their respects to the dead. She had been lucky to get her bit of silence in the graveyard all by herself for as long as she had. She raised her hands to her face and quickly scrubbed at the tear tracks till her face was dry. She didn’t stand up, or try to hide, because she had nothing to be ashamed of, and she had just as much of a right to be here as anyone else.

She absently picked up a leaf that lay forgotten on the ground and began to pull it apart as the footsteps grew closer until 2 figures walked around a large stone statue of an angel. It was a girl only a few years older than her and a little boy who was still young enough to be considered a toddler. At first she didn’t recognize the girl, but as she studied the face it began to click into place. Alina Carter had been a few years ahead of her in school, and had helped her cope with some of the harsher realities of her past. Unfortunately when the older girl had graduated they had lost touch. Alina had practically dropped off the face of the earth, and Bonnie hadn’t seen her again… until now.

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tagged: Alina Carter
words: 570
outfit: OUTFIT HERE
notes: Here you go hun, Sorry it's kind of scatterbrained. I fail at making starting posts

THIS TEMPLATE WAS MADE BY RACHIZZLE OF CAUTION 2.0. THE LYRICS ARE CREDITED TO ONE REPUBLIC. DON'T REMOVE THESE CREDS. THANKS FOR USING!

[/blockquote]

[Alina Renee Carter]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px crimson solid; border-bottom: 10px crimson solid;] won't you please save me (WORDS) 984 (TAGGED) Bonnie (Outfit) Click! While most people might think the idea of visiting someone's grave who they've never met to be a rather odd one, coming to visit the Mystic Falls cemetery once a month was almost second nature to Alina. Granted, it was true that she'd never technically met her mother as the woman had passed on only two hours after bringing her into this world but she felt as though she had a thousand times over. Whenever she had been sick throughout her childhood, her father would tell her stories of things that he and Diana had done together before Alina was born; adventures that they'd gone on as he liked to call them. Through all of those tales, the younger girl had learned almost everything there was to know about her mother without every having actually met her and it was because of this that she felt such a close connection with Diana's spirit. For her, it wasn't weird or awkward as most might think, but instead oddly comforting in a way she wouldn't trade for the world. Of course, the fact that her father had been bringing her into town multiple times a year for as long as she could remember probably helped some as well but Alina had never even considered that to factor into the time she spent seated before the familiar headstone on which her mother's name and dates of life were carved in an ornate script she could copy perfectly even with her eyes closed. This time was different for her though, but not at all in a bad way. Since her son's birth three years earlier, Ali had decided that she wanted to wait until he was old enough to know what a cemetery was before opting to bring him there; not to mention it was a rather personal place for her already. Still, she'd realized while watching her son grow from an infant into the thriving toddler that it wasn't right to keep his heritage away from him. Doing so would only lead to questions later on and she wasn't sure she'd know how to answer them when Aidan was older. It's better that he learns about her now, she told herself silently as the two of them slowly made their way through the maze of tombstones and monuments that comprised the majority of Mystic Falls' only cemetery, her son's hand held firmly in her own so that he didn't go wandering off and get himself into some sort of trouble. After all, he'll accept it better now while he's younger than he will in three or four years when he's old enough to question anything and everything that comes out of my mouth. Not wanting to think of the future right then though, as she had more than enough on her plate already, Alina shook her head once to clear out the flitting notions. As if he'd known that she was seeking a distraction just then, she could only smile softly at her son when Aidan asked, "Are we almost there, Mommy? I wanna see Gramma." Though it pained her to know that neither of them would really ever be able to see Diana Carter, she was also happy that he was even showing interest at this point. "Almost sweetheart," she replied before sweeping him up into her arms in a smooth motion that had come from years of practice. "She's just on the other side of that big tree over there. Can you see it?" Pointing to an old oak that had been there for as long as she could remember, Alina sighed as she remembered her father once telling her that she could always find Mommy if she could see the tree. "I see it Mommy!" Aidan told her excitedly, his voice raising up another octave as he began squirming in an attempt to get down. Rolling her eyes in amusement as she placed him on the ground again, a scowl quickly overcame her expression as he took off across the cemetery before she'd had a chance to envelop his hand with her own to ensure he wouldn't stray from her side. Hurrying after the toddler in an attempt to snatch him before he bothered anyone, Alina quickly adopted her motherly tone that let her son know she meant business. "Aidan Robert Carter, you get your butt back here right this instant!" she called firmly, attempting to remain relatively quiet and failing miserably. Instantly becoming worried that he was going to get himself into trouble, Alina broke into a run and caught up with him as he rounded a large statue of an angel being used for a grave marker. Snagging him by his belt loop, she jerked him back so she could get a grip on him before lifting her son up into her arms again and popping him once on the bottom for good measure. "I told you not to go running off where I can't see you," she scolded firmly, not having hit him hard enough to elicit more than a small whimper. "Now keep close to me or you'll have corner time when we get home, got it?" His jerky nods allowed Ali to relax a bit as it was obvious he'd gotten the message now and so she set him down on the ground once again; taking care this time to make sure she had a firm hold on his hand before letting him go. It was only when she straightened up once again she she realized she had an audience of sorts. Surprised to see that it was Bonnie, she waved politely while complimenting the gesture with a warm smile as she and Aidan made their way over to where her old friend was seated. "Bonnie?" she questioned after having closed the distance between them. "It's been forever since we talked. How have you been?" Sorry for the horrendous wait lovie! >.<

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics from My Dark Side

[Bonnie R. Bennett]

I NEED ANOTHER STORY. SOMETHING TO GET OFF MY CHEST.
I'M GONNA GIVE ALL MY SECRETS AWAY.
TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR. SOMETHING THAT WAS LIKE THOSE YEARS.
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Bonnie had several minutes of listening to the voices grow closer before a small toddler sprinted around the large stone angel that shielded her grans grave from most of the cemetery. She was however surprised to see Alina chasing after the child. Granted she had heard around town that Alina had been pregnant, and was still living out in the countryside with her highschool boyfriend, but with all of the rumors that circled in the small town of mystic falls, you never knew which ones to believe. But apparently, this one had been true, or at least partially. She was still kneeling next to the grave with the remains of the leaf in his fingers when Alina caught the child and scolded him for running away.

At first she wasn’t sure if her old friend would even notice her, let alone remember her from the quiet, awkward teen she had been in her younger days. After all is had been quite a while since she had seen the older girl and she did seem to have her hands full with the most adorable toddles that Bonnie had ever seen. But she was pleasantly surprised when Alina looked up and instantly recognized her. She returned the wave and smiled as she pushed off the ground to her feet and brushed the dirt and grass shreds off of her pants. “Hey Alina.” She smiled again glad to have something to distract her from the sad events at her feet.

“It has been a really long time. Things are…” She debated for a moment on what to say. Things were definitely not okay, and hadn’t been for quite a while, but she didn’t want to burden her old friend with all of her troubles after they had finally rekindled their friendship. She tried to smile, but it came out only half hearted. “things are alright.” For a moment it seemed like they stood in awkward silence while Bonnie tried to think of what to say. “How about for you? It seemed like things have been pretty good.” She offered a friendly smile to the little boy.

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tagged: Alina Carter
words: 353
outfit: OUTFIT HERE
notes: I am soooo sorry that this is so short. My muse didn't want to cooperate on this post. =(

THIS TEMPLATE WAS MADE BY RACHIZZLE OF CAUTION 2.0. THE LYRICS ARE CREDITED TO ONE REPUBLIC. DON'T REMOVE THESE CREDS. THANKS FOR USING!

[/blockquote]

[Alina Renee Carter]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px crimson solid; border-bottom: 10px crimson solid;] won't you please save me (WORDS) 896 (TAGGED) Bonnie (Outfit) Click! Cemeteries were a sacred place, everyone knew that. Of course, there were those that viewed the resting places of those who had passed on as nothing more than something to vandalize but Mystic Falls seemed to have been rather lucky in the regard that not many of the headstones and other various markers had been defiled in any way. If anything, the small town in the middle of nowhere Virginia had always taken quite a large amount of pride where the upkeep of the local graveyard was concerned - taking care to ensure that the grass was always mowed and the area around each of the grave markers were kept trimmed so that all could be read no matter how big or small they might be. Unfortunately, the mere size of it could allow for one's getting lost if they weren't extremely careful. It wasn't exactly humongous like those in larger cities (thank heavens) but you couldn't see from one side of the fenced cemetary to the other unless you had beyond normal vision which was more than enough to worry any young mother; especially one with a toddler old enough to walk without any significant issue but still too young to understand the dangers of wandering off as Alina was. She loved her son to death but Aidan still didn't like following directions, much the same way she hadn't according to her father when she'd been his age. It was because of this reason more than any other that Ali reprimanded her son so firmly when she finally caught up to Aidan's quick paced, yet still quite short legs which gave her the ultimate advantage when it came to catching up with him. Still, she had never been one to rely much on physical punishment so a single smack on the butt complimented with a firm verbal redirection was good enough for her as well as him as it was what he'd been raised on thus far in his young life. Hoping that neither she nor Aidan had disturbed anyone else who might have decided to visit their deceased loved ones on such a lovely day as this one, Alina looked around before letting out a sigh of relief as it appeared only one person was in this area of the cemetary. It wasn't until she looked more closely at the figure kneeling before a smaller marker that she recognized Bonnie, however, and quickly figured that it would be rude not to go say hello at the very least to her friend. I just hope that she remembers me, she thought to herself as she waved politely, looking for signs of recognition in the other girl's features. After all, it's been years since we last saw each other, let alone hung out. Any worries she might have had were immediately put to rest when Bonnie returned the wave and smiled though, and she wasted no time in making her way across the short distance which separated them - moving slowly so that her son could keep up by her side. It didn't take a genius to pick up on the fact that Bonnie wasn't as happy as she remembered and one look at the tombstone which Bonnie had been kneeling in front of quickly told her why. Offering the younger girl a warm smile which was meant to be both comforting an apologetic when she stumbled over her words, Alina nodded to show that she understood completely. "Trust me when I say I know what you mean," she replied softly, nodding towards the marker behind Bonnie. "I'm really sorry about your Gran. I wasn't close to her or anything but she was always good to me. When did she pass?" No longer able to dismiss her son's pulling on fabric of her jeans, Lina knelt down just long enough to pick Aidan up and settle him on her hip as he was used to; smiling when Bonnie waved at him before remembering that she hadn't yet seen Aidan since his birth three years earlier. "I've been okay for the most part," she said after a minute, figuring out what was okay to say and what topics she might want to avoid given that she and Bonnie hadn't really talked or anything of that nature in so long. "Working at the Grill is a killer as always but the tips are decent and Liam and I are hoping to finally tie the knot next summer if we can save up enough which will be good for all of us; especially little Aidan here." Nudging her son with the arm currently looped around his waist to hold him in place, Alina gave him a reassuring nod to show him it was okay to talk if he wanted to. "Aidan, this is one of my friends Bonnie. Can you say 'Hi, Bonnie'? She doesn't bite, I promise." Offering her one of the biggest grins even Ali had ever seen, the bright-eyed toddler lowered his gaze slightly in an obvious sign of shyness before looking back up at her. "Hi Bonnie," he said quietly before burying his head in the crook of her shoulder. "Sorry," she said with an apologetic smile, "he tends to be a little shy and nervous around people he doesn't know. But yeah, how's school going? You're a senior this year, right?." No worries love, you're fine

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics from My Dark Side

[Bonnie R. Bennett]

I NEED ANOTHER STORY. SOMETHING TO GET OFF MY CHEST.
I'M GONNA GIVE ALL MY SECRETS AWAY.
TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR. SOMETHING THAT WAS LIKE THOSE YEARS.
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It took everything in Bonnie not to start crying when Alina gave her sympathy for her gran and asked about her passing. It wasn't that Bonnie didn't want it; it was that for whatever reason sympathy would make anyone want to cry. She took a few deep breaths, before managing to find her voice. "Yeah, she uh... she passed away a year ago. Today actually." Her eyes welled up, but she swallowed the tears back and pasted on a sad looking smile. Then she tried to change the subject to hopefully curve the threat of tears, by smiling lightly to the little boy clinging to Alina's leg and giving him a little wave. Luckily Bonnie had always been good with children, and granted she was not in the best mood it wasn't hard to distract herself with the adorable toddler.

She lifted her gaze back up to Alina's face when her old friend started speaking smiling to hear that life had been good to Alina and her soon to be family. "Wow! That’s wonderful. I'm glad you two are still together. You always did make a really cute couple." She smiled a little more warmly. “And I know what you mean. I’ve been trying to find a job, but it seems like there’s nowhere in this town hiring at the moment.” When Alina started to introduce the toddler to her and coax him into saying hi, Bonnie didn't think she could smile any bigger. But his tiny 'Hi bonnie' was absolutely adorable. She chuckled lightly, "Hello there Aiden. You’re quite a cutie." Her gaze flicked back to Alina. "Oh it's alright, I know how kids are. I'm sure he'll grow out of it." She smiled at the toddler again thinking of how much he looked like his mom.

"Yea, I'm a senior this year. And things have been good at school. A little on the hectic side, but that’s senior year for you. I'm just excited to have it over with! Then on to college.” For a moment she wondered if Alina regretted not going to college and instead staying home and having a son, but a cursory glance at Alina’s face would let anyone know that she didn’t regret it at all. It may have been unexpected but she loved her son a lot. It healed a little something in Bonnie’s heart to see such love on the face of one of her friends, even if she hadn’t spoken to her in quite awhile. “So how is everyone? You’re Dad? And Matt? I haven’t seen either of them around town in a long time.” She smiled just trying to make small talk and catch up on her life.

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tagged: Alina Carter
words: 449
outfit: OUTFIT HERE
notes: Enjoy my dear, sorry that it's kind of short. =]

THIS TEMPLATE WAS MADE BY RACHIZZLE OF CAUTION 2.0. THE LYRICS ARE CREDITED TO ONE REPUBLIC. DON'T REMOVE THESE CREDS. THANKS FOR USING!

[/blockquote]

[Alina Renee Carter]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px crimson solid; border-bottom: 10px crimson solid;] won't you please save me (WORDS) 801 (TAGGED) Bonnie (Outfit) Click! While Alina would have gladly given an arm and a leg for even a single day with her mom, she had to admit that it was easier for her to deal with her loss than most people. Not in the sense of having lost something that was close to her - as she'd practically learned who her mother was through her father talking about the woman who had sacrificed her life to bring her into this world - but in the fact that she'd only been a few hours old when her mom had died and therefore didn't remember her in the slightest. Because of this, she had never gotten the chance to form a legitimate bond and therefore had never truly felt her death as a loss. Obviously, she had regrets about not having a mother in her life but she had never lost anyone whom she'd known for years on end and so couldn't really even begin to understand how Bonnie had felt when her Gran was first lost to her; or even now for that matter - after a full year had passed. Still, she could only imagine and so her condolences were both genuine and heartfelt as she offered them to the younger girl. Her heart only broke that much more at hearing that Bonnie's loss was still fairly new as far as deaths were concerned and she could really only offer an apologetic look in response to the information she'd just been given to process. It took her a minute to find her voice again but, once she had, it was tinged with sadness when she spoke. "God, Bonnie, I am so sorry to hear that," she said quietly, knowing that her friend had to be feeling the loss even more acutely today than usual given that it was the one-year anniversary of her grandmother's passing. "I may not have known her very well but your Gran never had any ill will towards anyone. Heck, I'm pretty sure she would have let me crash there had my dad and I ever really fought. She was an amazing woman, no doubt about it." Some might have thought Alina was just spewing crap to help Bonnie feel better but anyone who tried to say as much obviously knew nothing of the woman who had been willing to take on the responsibility of a child long after she should have had to. As her father had told her time and time again once she'd spilled the beans to him about having gotten herself pregnant, 'any girl is capable of being a mother but it takes a real woman to be a mom so which one are you going to be?' Luckily, Alina had managed to live up to her dad's expectations so far; even if she didn't personally think so. Unable to hold back a smile as she spoke of the latest developments in her and Liam's relationships, it only grew in magnitude when Bonnie seemed happy for her and said that they looked good together. "Thanks," she said as a slight blush filled her cheeks at the thought, "but Liam has always been the better looking of the two of us. Still, I think little Aidan here is going to give even him a run for his money when he gets older." Nodding as the conversation slowly turned to job hunting, Ali couldn't agree with Bonnie more. "Exactly, it's horrible. I mean, I don't have a Doctorate or anything but my grades in high school weren't bad and I only just managed to snag my waitressing job at the Grill." It took a little coaxing for Alina to get Aidan to say 'hi' but, when he finally spoke up, the expression that lit up Bonnie's face more than made up for it. Good. With everything she must be dealing with emotionally, I'm sure she could use a little more happiness in her life. Shifting Aidan slightly so that he was better positioned on her hip, she grinned at Bonnie's comment. "Oh, I don't doubt it. You should hear him when it's just Liam or I. I swear, he doesn't know how to stop talking unless there's someone else around that he doesn't know very well." Glad to hear that the younger girl did indeed seem to be doing well despite everything, Alina offered her a broadened grin in response. "That's great to hear!" she replied, meaning it with everything she had. "It's good to know that you're doing well for yourself. My dad's doing well and Matt's been helping him out with the farm work in return for a room since I moved in with Liam after Aidan was born. What about your friends though, Elena and Caroline? They doing as well as you are?" Quality over quantity. It was great!

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics from My Dark Side