Love and Other Thoughts
An alternate ending "Loving Annabelle" fic I wrote for a contest. Basically rewrites chapters 8 and 9 of the movie. Thanks to M&M for the inspiration for this. :D
Simone’s heavy eyes flew open as she woke suddenly in a dark room. Inhaling deeply, she turned her head just enough to see Annabelle sleeping peacefully by her side, their hands intertwined on her stomach. Looking beyond her, Simone could see the clock change from 12:13 A.M. to 12:14 A.M. Slowly Simone turned fully onto her side so she would not wake Annabelle and stared at her form nestled in among the soft blue sheets. She watched as Annabelle lay unawares to the attention she was receiving, breathing steadily and deeply. A small frown spreading over her face, Simone reached out as if she wanted to stroke the younger woman’s hair. But she seemed to think better of it and so she slowly brought her trembling hand back to rest in front of her face.
Quietly taking another deep breath, both hands now resting closely in front of her face, Simone turned her back to Annabelle and gingerly slid out of bed. She tossed on a tank top and shorts, but still crossed her arms protectively in front of herself. She slowly walked from the small bed to her desk, being careful to not step on the clothes that had been carelessly strewn around her room the night before. Carefully picking up one of the pictures of Annabelle from the chaotic array, Simone ran two of her fingers lightly over the face now resting a few feet away. The smile staring back at her was mesmerizing, and Simone could not help but smile back at the photo.
Turning back to Annabelle, Simone looked long and hard before setting down the picture and returning to bed. Annabelle’s hand found hers once more, and Simone entangled their fingers as they had been. Unhurriedly, Simone drifted off to sleep.
When Simone woke again at noon, she turned her head only to find an empty bed with rustled sheets next to her. Annabelle’s dress was gone from her floor. Simone didn’t seem surprised or particularly worried about that fact, instead focusing on the red beads that were now lying within reach on the side of the pillow that Annabelle had occupied the night before. Taking the bright beads in her hands, she played with them for a few moments before closing a hand around them.
Distantly, Simone could just barely hear the dorms coming to life. Looking over at her clock once again and realizing that she was running very late, Simone quickly got up from the bed and started toward her bathroom. Before she could get there, though, she stopped once more at her desk. Smiling once more at the photos on her desk, she placed the beads on top of the picture she had been looking at the night before. Simone walked into the bathroom and gently shut the door behind her.
Annabelle sat alone at breakfast; she had not seen Simone all morning. She did not know if it was because she regretted the night before, or if she was avoiding Annabelle all together. The food was unappetizing to Annabelle, so around and around her plate it went. She was not normally one to play with her food, but the suspense of that morning was getting to her so much that she slammed her fork down in frustration, gaining a few odd looks from her classmates. Her day grew that much brighter when Kat made her way over to where she was sitting and plopped down in the seat across from her.
“So, did you finally sleep with Miss Bradley?” Kat tactlessly asked, at least having the common sense to keep her voice at a reasonable level. “I didn’t see you two at the dance last night after you made your little performance. Did you write that song for her?” Kat teased.
“Why, are you still pissed that I wouldn’t sleep with you?” Annabelle spit back.
Kat clearly was not amused by the comment. But, she made no further attempts to anger Annabelle, and moved clear across the cafeteria. Giving up on breakfast all together in favor of panning over her thoughts outside, Annabelle hastily stood and made her exit, glancing quickly at Mother Immaculata before reaching the door. Mother Immaculata curiously watched Annabelle leave, but made no motion to follow her.
After breakfast was over, Simone walked down the hallway and down the stairs, the clicking of her heels the only noise among the silence. Her clothing reflected the setting; her normal uniform of a white collared shirt and a stiff pant suit was there. But, the jacket was unbuttoned and the shirt was not as stiff as normal. And underneath, neatly concealed and barely visible, Simone wore the Buddhist prayer beads. She peered into Mother Immaculata’s room through her open door upon passing, but did not stop. Mother Immaculata looked up from her desk as Simone left the doorway.
“Simone!” Mother Immaculata shouted suddenly from her seat, but Simone either did not hear her or chose to ignore her sharp voice, because she kept walking down the hall.
She slowly wandered out into the yard in front of the school. Since it was mid morning, all the girls it seemed were traveling in the same space that she was trying to walk through, all talking away about the dance. Bits and pieces of their conversations were audible, but Simone smiled and shook her head at the sheer trivialness of what they were so excited about. The clear blue sky reached down behind them, and the sun shone brightly. Simone scanned the crowd as she walked, and finally a small, quick smile adorned her face and her eyes brightened the tiniest bit as the person she was looking for came into view. Sitting against a tree away from everyone else was Annabelle, holding a cigarette as it was normal for her to do. This time, though, the cigarette lay almost forgotten in her hand, and Annabelle was sitting cross legged staring off into space. She didn’t seem to notice that the cigarette was almost at its end, and only dropped it when it burned her finger. She let out no gasp, no indication as to the pain she had just endured, for she had just spotted Simone coming toward her from across the yard. She let a small smile that almost matched Simone’s spread across her face.
Simone took a seat next to Annabelle on the luscious green grass, and neither spoke for a few long seconds. They both watched the multitude of girls continue to gossip, all in their tiny cliques separated from each other. None of the girls seemed to notice that one of their classmates and one of their teachers were sitting off by themselves under the great oak.
“It’s almost like it’s two different worlds,” Simone commented first, breaking the silence. She continued to stare at the groups of girls as she made the statement, and Annabelle continued as well. Simone stared down for a moment, then looked over at Annabelle before continuing.
“It can’t happen again,” she said, waiting for the backlash from Annabelle that she knew would come.
“Why not?” Annabelle asked forcefully, though obviously calmer than Simone had expected. Simone looked at Annabelle, rather surprised at her reaction. Then she smiled, as she realized that it really wasn’t so strange after all. Annabelle was outgoing and blunt at times, but Simone had seen, especially the night before, that she was also patient when need be. Still, the smile disappeared from her face as she looked Annabelle directly in the eye.
“It doesn’t have to end. But it just can’t happen now. Our worlds here, they’re just too different. Even though maybe you don’t belong there,” Simone said, motioning toward the giggling groups of girls still chatting away, “it’s not time to for our worlds to collide, at least not yet.” Simone paused for several more seconds. “We’re not doing anything wrong,” Simone reiterated Annabelle’s plea, “but it will never be right here.” Simone swallowed and sniffled. She kept any and all tears inside, not wanting an entire courtyard full of girls wondering why she was crying next to Annabelle. Annabelle, on the other hand, showed no signs of tears or objections. She continued to stare at the girls in front of her, barely moving.
“I know,” she said suddenly, face still devoid of emotion. But the whisper of Annabelle’s voice told Simone all she needed to know. “I love you.” Simone didn’t seem surprised by Annabelle’s confession. Nor did she seem upset or saddened. But she still chose not to respond, and Annabelle looked over and saw that Simone was wearing her Buddhist prayer beads. Annabelle smiled, and turned back to watch the girls in front of them. They stayed that way for what seemed like forever, watching their lives unfold in front of them.
Simone’s heavy eyes flew open as she woke suddenly in a dark room. Inhaling deeply, she turned her head just enough to see Annabelle sleeping peacefully by her side, their hands intertwined on her stomach. Looking beyond her, Simone could see the clock change from 12:13 A.M. to 12:14 A.M. Slowly Simone turned fully onto her side so she would not wake Annabelle and stared at her form nestled in among the soft blue sheets. She watched as Annabelle lay unawares to the attention she was receiving, breathing steadily and deeply. A small frown spreading over her face, Simone reached out as if she wanted to stroke the younger woman’s hair. But she seemed to think better of it and so she slowly brought her trembling hand back to rest in front of her face.
Quietly taking another deep breath, both hands now resting closely in front of her face, Simone turned her back to Annabelle and gingerly slid out of bed. She tossed on a tank top and shorts, but still crossed her arms protectively in front of herself. She slowly walked from the small bed to her desk, being careful to not step on the clothes that had been carelessly strewn around her room the night before. Carefully picking up one of the pictures of Annabelle from the chaotic array, Simone ran two of her fingers lightly over the face now resting a few feet away. The smile staring back at her was mesmerizing, and Simone could not help but smile back at the photo.
Turning back to Annabelle, Simone looked long and hard before setting down the picture and returning to bed. Annabelle’s hand found hers once more, and Simone entangled their fingers as they had been. Unhurriedly, Simone drifted off to sleep.
When Simone woke again at noon, she turned her head only to find an empty bed with rustled sheets next to her. Annabelle’s dress was gone from her floor. Simone didn’t seem surprised or particularly worried about that fact, instead focusing on the red beads that were now lying within reach on the side of the pillow that Annabelle had occupied the night before. Taking the bright beads in her hands, she played with them for a few moments before closing a hand around them.
Distantly, Simone could just barely hear the dorms coming to life. Looking over at her clock once again and realizing that she was running very late, Simone quickly got up from the bed and started toward her bathroom. Before she could get there, though, she stopped once more at her desk. Smiling once more at the photos on her desk, she placed the beads on top of the picture she had been looking at the night before. Simone walked into the bathroom and gently shut the door behind her.
Annabelle sat alone at breakfast; she had not seen Simone all morning. She did not know if it was because she regretted the night before, or if she was avoiding Annabelle all together. The food was unappetizing to Annabelle, so around and around her plate it went. She was not normally one to play with her food, but the suspense of that morning was getting to her so much that she slammed her fork down in frustration, gaining a few odd looks from her classmates. Her day grew that much brighter when Kat made her way over to where she was sitting and plopped down in the seat across from her.
“So, did you finally sleep with Miss Bradley?” Kat tactlessly asked, at least having the common sense to keep her voice at a reasonable level. “I didn’t see you two at the dance last night after you made your little performance. Did you write that song for her?” Kat teased.
“Why, are you still pissed that I wouldn’t sleep with you?” Annabelle spit back.
Kat clearly was not amused by the comment. But, she made no further attempts to anger Annabelle, and moved clear across the cafeteria. Giving up on breakfast all together in favor of panning over her thoughts outside, Annabelle hastily stood and made her exit, glancing quickly at Mother Immaculata before reaching the door. Mother Immaculata curiously watched Annabelle leave, but made no motion to follow her.
After breakfast was over, Simone walked down the hallway and down the stairs, the clicking of her heels the only noise among the silence. Her clothing reflected the setting; her normal uniform of a white collared shirt and a stiff pant suit was there. But, the jacket was unbuttoned and the shirt was not as stiff as normal. And underneath, neatly concealed and barely visible, Simone wore the Buddhist prayer beads. She peered into Mother Immaculata’s room through her open door upon passing, but did not stop. Mother Immaculata looked up from her desk as Simone left the doorway.
“Simone!” Mother Immaculata shouted suddenly from her seat, but Simone either did not hear her or chose to ignore her sharp voice, because she kept walking down the hall.
She slowly wandered out into the yard in front of the school. Since it was mid morning, all the girls it seemed were traveling in the same space that she was trying to walk through, all talking away about the dance. Bits and pieces of their conversations were audible, but Simone smiled and shook her head at the sheer trivialness of what they were so excited about. The clear blue sky reached down behind them, and the sun shone brightly. Simone scanned the crowd as she walked, and finally a small, quick smile adorned her face and her eyes brightened the tiniest bit as the person she was looking for came into view. Sitting against a tree away from everyone else was Annabelle, holding a cigarette as it was normal for her to do. This time, though, the cigarette lay almost forgotten in her hand, and Annabelle was sitting cross legged staring off into space. She didn’t seem to notice that the cigarette was almost at its end, and only dropped it when it burned her finger. She let out no gasp, no indication as to the pain she had just endured, for she had just spotted Simone coming toward her from across the yard. She let a small smile that almost matched Simone’s spread across her face.
Simone took a seat next to Annabelle on the luscious green grass, and neither spoke for a few long seconds. They both watched the multitude of girls continue to gossip, all in their tiny cliques separated from each other. None of the girls seemed to notice that one of their classmates and one of their teachers were sitting off by themselves under the great oak.
“It’s almost like it’s two different worlds,” Simone commented first, breaking the silence. She continued to stare at the groups of girls as she made the statement, and Annabelle continued as well. Simone stared down for a moment, then looked over at Annabelle before continuing.
“It can’t happen again,” she said, waiting for the backlash from Annabelle that she knew would come.
“Why not?” Annabelle asked forcefully, though obviously calmer than Simone had expected. Simone looked at Annabelle, rather surprised at her reaction. Then she smiled, as she realized that it really wasn’t so strange after all. Annabelle was outgoing and blunt at times, but Simone had seen, especially the night before, that she was also patient when need be. Still, the smile disappeared from her face as she looked Annabelle directly in the eye.
“It doesn’t have to end. But it just can’t happen now. Our worlds here, they’re just too different. Even though maybe you don’t belong there,” Simone said, motioning toward the giggling groups of girls still chatting away, “it’s not time to for our worlds to collide, at least not yet.” Simone paused for several more seconds. “We’re not doing anything wrong,” Simone reiterated Annabelle’s plea, “but it will never be right here.” Simone swallowed and sniffled. She kept any and all tears inside, not wanting an entire courtyard full of girls wondering why she was crying next to Annabelle. Annabelle, on the other hand, showed no signs of tears or objections. She continued to stare at the girls in front of her, barely moving.
“I know,” she said suddenly, face still devoid of emotion. But the whisper of Annabelle’s voice told Simone all she needed to know. “I love you.” Simone didn’t seem surprised by Annabelle’s confession. Nor did she seem upset or saddened. But she still chose not to respond, and Annabelle looked over and saw that Simone was wearing her Buddhist prayer beads. Annabelle smiled, and turned back to watch the girls in front of them. They stayed that way for what seemed like forever, watching their lives unfold in front of them.