[open]it's.not.a.{DITONNO-|-GIRL}

[Faiqa Ditonno]

Everyone knows I'm in
Over my head

Faiqa sat alone on the beach as music blared right behind her. So many people were at ALLURE tonight and all so glamorous, yet here she was all alone drinking beer. Faiqa was one that was thought of as a party-goer...and she was, just not right now. Her problems had taken over her system right now and she wasn't the lively, energetic, fun girl she was before. Faiqa stared off into the dark waters as a chilly breeze passed by. Her hair was blowing wildly but she didn't care. It was quite noisy but she was sure that the only sounds she could hear were the crashing waves and the swishing of the beer.

--- Collins was nowhere to be seen and Faiqa was thankful for that. She really wasn't in the mood for a fake bestfriend right now. A genuine friend was what she needed...or maybe even a stranger. Faiqa lifted her bottle and took a gulp. The taste was different tonight. It was more bitter than usual. The beach, the club, the beer and everything else only reflected her thoughts. The beach was dark, the club was unorganized, the beer was bitter and everything else was just off. Yup, exactly like her thoughts.

Faiqa looked up and saw the beautiful stars. She sat on the sand wearing a black bikini top and denim short shorts. Her flip flops were beside her. Faiqa buried her toes in the sand. It felt quite good. The people who were partying had gotten quite drunk since she had arrived about half an hour ago and by now, someone was probably doing something wild.

For the first time, it wasn't a Ditonno girl.

Over my head
With eight seconds left in overtime

[Derek Saporta]

ALLURE was always known for it's insane night life. The club raged on until at least 2 am everynight. But Derek wasn't really a night life kind of guy. He did stop and look at the building from across the street though. The people waiting to go inside always shocked him. A line of girls in skanky outfits and guys with more gel in their hair than possibly or humanly necessary was already forming outside. "Pathetic," he muttered rather loudly to himself. Adjusting his hat, he shook his head and turned to walk away.

Something caught his attention though. Derek's eyes were drawn to movement in the sand. Instead of leaving, he stared out at the person he'd caught sight of. The beach was dark, so he was unsure who it was, but he knew they were alone and apparently drinkng. Without taking off his shoes or rolling up the legs of his jeans, Derek walked onto the beach and headed straight over to the person in the sand. As he got closer he knew exactly who it was. The one and only Faiqa Ditonno. One of the many Prep Queens. But shouldn't she be inside ALLURE right about now.

Derek looked at his watch and stopped walking as he stood next to her. "It's weird. The infamous senior party girl prep sitting on the beach alone at night while the party rages on in ALLURE. That's usually my place." He looked down at her and let the corners of his mouth turn up. Weather or not she knew who he was was unimportant. Derek knew exactly who Faiqa was simply because she was an attention getting prep in his grade.

[Faiqa Ditonno]

Faiqa looked up, it was the Saporta guy. She knew almost everyone but could never remember their first names. A small smile fell on her face, "Sorry for taking your place" Faiqa added air quotes to your place as she gave a small chuckle. Her gaze went back to the ocean, it was getting low, very low.

Low tide was something she'd never noticed before. Thanks to her "dear" friend, she had now. Noticing that the boy was still standing, she decided to let him join her...if he would, that is.

"Join me?"

[ooc:yech. Sorry!]

[Derek Saporta]

Derek sat next to her, accepting her invitation. As he sat his eyes looked around as if he were suspicious of something. "So you're alone? I think you're in the wrong clique Faiqa. Loners really aren't that bad." He smiled at her and looked at where he assumed the water would be. It was too dark to see anything though. "By the way, it's Derek." He had assumed she wouldn't know his name. Afterall, why should the school queen know a loner's name?

His eyes began adjusting to the darkness and the water seemed to come into vew. It was further away than usual. "Low tide. You could always just walk out and let the ocean take you away. Takes impossibly long though. I've tried." He could tell something was bothering her. It was something he'd always been able to sense about people. However, drinking on the beach alone at night was usually a give away. "If you don't mind me asking, what's bothering you?"

[ooc: don't worry. as you can see mine's not amazing either.]

[Faiqa Ditonno]

Faiqa gave an embarrassed laugh. He knew that she had no clue who he was. "Derek," she repeated with a nod. As he sat down, she watched. It was just something she did. She was an observer. As Derek spoke again, Faiqa gave a shrug.

"I guess so.." she finally said after taking a minute in to think. She told him the story. She told him how Beth and Rylan betrayed her and how hurt she was, how she had developed some very hardcore enemies and how she wished she could just go back to New York and she also told him about her brother. Yes, --- --- Ditonno who died because of the attackers. As she explained all this, a sense of relief filled her body. Opening up to a stranger was much easier than someone you trusted.

But if Faiqa was so relieved...why were the tears flowing?

[Derek Saporta]

Derek nodded as she talked. For a girl who looked so put together, she was quite literally falling apart. As she continued, her story seemed to get worse. Derek found himself actually feeling bad for her. This girl had gone through, well, a whole hell of a lot. When she finished he looked over and noticed her crying.

This was not the type of girl you just hugged for the hell of it, but she was also not the type of girl you let go uncomforted. Ignoring all thoughts in his mind, Derek hugged her. Probably not the best choice, but she looked like she needed it. "That sounds like a bitch of a time actually. I'm sorry."

The weird thing was, he meant it. Here was Derek Saporta, the slightly emotionless kid, actually feeling bad for Faiqa Ditonno, prep queen. He was shocked at himself. He once again ignored his thoughts and just sort of rolled with it. Just don't make it awkward and you'll be fine. Derek laughed at his own thoughts. He was the king of awkward.

[Faiqa Ditonno]

For a few moments, Faiqa actually hugged him back. As she pulled away, she wiped the tears. "I'm sorry," she gave an apologetic yet embarrassed chuckle, "I shouldn't have told you any of this..." A half smile appeared as she took a swig of beer. She had completely forgotten to ask if Derek was okay.

"How are you?" she asked, still wiping away some tears. The just couldn't help but fall. It wasn't like she had meant to cry.

[ooc:agh, my muse has left temporarily! I'm so sorry.]

[Derek Saporta]

Derek returned her shy smile. "Hey. I've been told I'm an excellent listener. Probably better than the sand. So aren't you lucky I stopped by." He was being honest. He actually didn't mind listening. In fact he had learned about this Ditonno that he really didn't know before. It made him like understand respect her. He always found it interesting to hear the layers that hid behind people.

Her question made him shrug. He never really thought about how he felt. He usually ignored it. "I'm better than you I guess. Although that doesn't seem difficult." He didn't mean it how it had come out. It came out kind of harsh. Derek hated the almost uncomfortable silence. To deal with it, he avoided it. Laying back in the sand he folded his arms behind his head and listened to the music pumping from Allure. "Suppose I understand why you're not in there now."

[ooc: don't worry about it. i promise it's alright.]

[Faiqa Ditonno]

"Hey. I've been told I'm an excellent listener. Probably better than the sand. So aren't you lucky I stopped by." , she jsut nodded as those words came out of Derek's mouth. She was very lucky that he had, in fact, cared enough to stop by and see why Faiqa was sulking at the beach. She could tell that he was going to be one of those people she'd confide in whenever she had a problem...a friend.

As Derek answered her question she replied, "Well, I'm guessing most people are doing better than me right now." She giggled at her own words. For once, Faiqa wasn't trying to be Faiqa, superior, she was trying to be average. Derek lay down but Faiqa stayed still, hugging her knees. When he spoke those final words, Faiqa could say nothing but

"Yeah.."