all the wrong reasons .

[james alexander hale]

IMAGE COMING SOON!!!!!!

_{this post is tagged for evelyn keely garland. it is complete and came
to be 418 words. impressive, huh? the lyrics found in this post are from the song
to be determined. this post template was created by the one and only luna, who does
not appreciate stealing. additional notes: jem is actually cooperating!!!}

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It had been a week since the birthday party for Vidette, Stella, and Evelyn, and since then, Jem had been utterly miserable. He had been right to assume that Evelyn Garland’s reappearance in this town would be nothing but trouble. After all, that was what always seemed to occur whenever she was around. Still, Jem had never expected this. He hadn’t expected her to ruin his relationship with Shayne. Maybe it wasn’t really right to blame her for all of this, but it wouldn’t be right to let her off the hook either. That night he had told her that he never wanted to see her again. He had meant it at the time, and there was a part of him that still did. It would be better when she left and was gone. Nothing was going to ever be fixed, though. He and Shayne were through and they couldn’t go back from that. She hadn’t trusted him, hadn’t believe him. Trust and honesty were two of the biggest things to Jem. They were the thing that really mattered. Without them, relationships were meaningless. Shayne not trusting him was enough for the man to harden his heart to her, and now that he was there there was just no going back.

Today Jem had had to work a double shift. It was eight o’clock and he was exhausted both physically and mentally. However, he found himself here in the store, searching through the aisles, phone glued to his ear as he searched for the things that his little sister needed at the last minute. “What did you say it looks like again?” he asked. He was glad that his little sister had started acting more like herself lately, but tonight it was turning out to be an inconvenience for him. Jem was a nice guy, though, and he knew that he’d do just about anything for Britt. So he was here, searching for the items she needed for her project. He scanned the choices in front of him, but everything he was looking at just looked the same. “I can’t tell the difference between any of these,” he explained to her. It was then that she recommended that he take pictures so she could tell him exactly. He sighed. “Alright, hold on.” It was when he stepped backwards that he found himself running into someone. He turned quickly to apologize to whomever it was that he had run into and froze. It was Evelyn. This was just great.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[/blockquote]

[evelyn keely garland]

There was so much going on in Evelyn Garland’s life, and she had no idea why she was still in Arietta to begin with. The brunette had been told by the one person she truly cared about, that he never wanted to see her again. It had been enough to send her back to Stella’s and start throwing everything in her suitcase. She was a mess, and for the past week she had done nothing but go back and forth between the desire to stay or go. If Jem never wanted to see her again, then she had no reason to be in this town at all. It wasn’t like Evie hadn’t seen Stella since then, but she had plans in the air with Vidette and Kaler. That part of the birthday party had gone somewhat well, but it was hardly like her to leave things half finished. So she sat on Stella’s couch watching sappy ass movies that made her even worse tan what she already was. Today though, today was enough that she had to get out of the house. One week after the party, and nothing. Evie had not heard a damn thing from Jem at all, but she wanted something to do, and ironically the brunette knew how to crochet. It was a weird talent that she had, but she did. So she was off to buy yarn.

When she got to the store, it was nothing out of the ordinary. Evie had not seen someone that she knew at all, but she was trying to find where the supplies were. She wandered around aimlessly, and then all of a sudden she felt a body collide with her own. It wasn’t hard, but it was enough to catch her off guard. Evie was the kind of person to go off at a moments notice, but that was when she caught a glimpse of the one man that made her heart stop. She was staring up into the green eyes that belonged to none other than James Hale. The man she had been desperately trying to avoid, but the words were caught in her throat. She had no words to express how she did not want to see him, because she knew he blamed her for everything that went wrong with Shayne. It wasn’t even like she did anything, except kiss him whenever she could see, but that was something that was in the past. She tried to pull something other than shame onto her face, but it wasn’t working. Finally finding her voice all she pull was a simple “Sorry, I really shouldn’t be here.” She couldn’t even meet his eyes, one glance in them and she would be stuck. Evie started to turn, but she couldn’t really bring herself to take the steps to leave. She just stood with her back to him, hoping that he wouldn’t snap at her again. Because Evie was having a very hard time keeping her emotions in check, and if he yelled at her again she didn’t know what she would do.

[james alexander hale]

IMAGE COMING SOON!!!!!!

_{this post is tagged for evelyn keely garland. it is complete and came
to be 263 words. impressive, huh? the lyrics found in this post are from the song
to be determined. this post template was created by the one and only luna, who does
not appreciate stealing. additional notes: jem is actually cooperating!!!}

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Sorry, I really shouldn’t be here.” Jem honestly didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t been planning for this meeting to happen and he had hoped that it wouldn’t come. Evie turned like she was going to walk away, but then she didn’t move, and Jem honestly wished that she would just leave. He could hear Britt on his cell phone, her voice raised and yelling to ask what had happened. Jem slowly raised the phone back to his ear. “Chill, Britt. I’m getting it.” Jem decided to go the approach of acting like nothing was wrong, acting like she wasn’t standing there just feet from him. So he turned back to the items his sister was trying to get him to get for her and took the pictures. He returned the phone to his ear. “Did you get them?” There was a good bit of silence as Britt went through the pictures that he had just sent her. “The third one,” she said. Jem nodded, though she couldn’t see him. “Alright, is there anything else you need?” he asked her. She told him no. “Okay, I should be there… eventually.” Britt just laughed and told him to hurry before they hung up. His little sister was just about one of the most impatient people he had ever known in his life. And by the time he got there she would be asking him what had taken him so long. Because Jem couldn’t possibly get there fast enough for her. But that was just Britt, and he was used to it by now.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[/blockquote]

[evelyn keely garland]

Her feet were glued to where she was facing away from James, but for the life of her she could not bring herself to move. She tried to lift her foot up, but nothing. Something was keeping her there and try as she might she was powerless to move. Evie knew that he had no desire to see her, who would after what he blamed her for. He blamed her for everything that had gone wrong in his relationship with her sister’s best friend. Though she may have instigated some of it, she had did not intentionally set out to hurt him in the least. He was the last person in the world that she had wanted to hurt, which happened to be the reason that she was currently debating on whether she should leave town or stay. As much as she wanted to bounce out, she could not do it. Not when things were so broken with her and Jem; this was not how they were supposed to be. She knew that and maybe that was why she had stood there with her feet glued to where her back was too him as he spoke to whomever was on the other end of the phone. Whenever he hung up the phone she was able to turn her head around and look into those eyes. Somehow her eyes had met him and the voice that had been clenched in her throat made a small appearance. “Jem, I am sorry. You were never supposed to get hurt; I know it doesn’t make it better, but I am sorry. Whether you believe me or not.” Her eyes were glazed with the tears that were trying to get out, but she really wanted to know if he had heard her say that she loved him as she ran away from him at her party or not.

[james alexander hale]

IMAGE COMING SOON!!!!!!

_{this post is tagged for evelyn keely garland. it is complete and came
to be 300 words. impressive, huh? the lyrics found in this post are from the song
to be determined. this post template was created by the one and only luna, who does
not appreciate stealing. additional notes: jem is actually cooperating!!!}

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Jem saw her move from the corner of his eye as he got the items that Britt needed for her project. He turned to see her eyes holding his. “Jem, I am sorry. You were never supposed to get hurt; I know it doesn’t make it better, but I am sorry. Whether you believe me or not.” The tears in her eyes surprised him. It was definitely not something he was expecting. He also hadn’t expected an apology from her, and he didn’t think he could even remember the last time he had heard any sort of apology from Evelyn. It just wasn’t something she did. That wasn’t lost on him, but it just wasn’t enough. “Yeah, well guess what? I did get hurt.” He tried very hard to mask the pain in his voice, tried to keep it hidden. It was only achieved with a great deal of effort. “And you’re right. It doesn’t make it better.” It was harsh and maybe even mean of him to say. But he meant it fully. No amount of her apologizing was going to make it better. He honestly didn’t know if anything could make it better. But he did know that Shayne and Evie were two people that he just didn’t want to see or deal with right now. Because he honestly didn’t know how to deal with it. Evie wasn’t completely innocent in all of this, and though she hadn’t been solely responsible for what had happened, she had played a part in it. She had set out to prove that his relationships with Shayne wasn’t as strong as he thought it was, and she had succeeded, and he couldn’t help but hate her for that. It was going to take so much more than an apology to change that.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[/blockquote]

[evelyn keely garland]

Evelyn knew that her words would not be enough, but she wanted them to be. More than anything she wanted whatever semblance of a relationship that she had with James Hale to go back to what it had been. He was the only thing keeping her in this town, that and the simple conversation with Stella whenever she had been packing her things. It was seeing the hurt in his green eyes that made it a very hard for her not to keep the tears from her eyes. She knew how badly she had hurt him, and she hoped that he understood how much it took to apologize to him. Evie Garland was not one to apologize or cry, and yet here she was about to do both. Her words had been lost on him, because his angry words were falling on her ears again. “Yeah, well guess what? I did get hurt.” She knew that he had gotten hurt and that it was hard for her to keep back the hurt that she was feeling as he yelled at her. “And you’re right it doesn’t make it better.” His words cut her deep in her heart, and a tear slid down her cheek. “I know you did, and I am trying to make this better.” Her words would fall on deaf ears, but that was not even the part that hurt her the most. She looked into his green eyes and knew that no matter what she said it was hardly going to do anything. She may not have actually done anything but she was not blameless. She looked at him trying to find the words, but nothing came to mind to make any of this better. The tears that were brimming her eyes started to fall as she spoke softly. “You don’t make this easy. Telling a girl that you never want to see her again, and you are the only reason I came back. Jem, I love you. I always have.” She wanted to touch him, but she knew better than to do that. She wasn’t sure how he was going to take that kind of news, but it was there. She had always loved him and that was not going to change.

[james alexander hale]

IMAGE COMING SOON!!!!!!

_{this post is tagged for evelyn keely garland. it is complete and came
to be 334 words. impressive, huh? the lyrics found in this post are from the song
to be determined. this post template was created by the one and only luna, who does
not appreciate stealing. additional notes: jem is actually cooperating!!!}

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“I know you did, and I am trying to make this better.” Jem just shook his head. None of this was easy. Being here with Evie and knowing that she was the one that had destroyed his relationship. She had always been such a good friend, and he had cared deeply for her, but at the moment he just couldn’t feel those things towards her. He couldn’t feel anything but the hate and the pain. “But that’s just the thing, Ev. I don’t think there’s anything you can do to make it better.” It wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but that was how it was. Because how he felt right now wasn’t something he could just move on from so easily. He honestly didn’t know if he and Evelyn could ever be friends again after this. But he was being honest with her. He was telling her how it was up front, not sugar coating or trying to act otherwise. This was how it was, whether she liked it or not. “You don’t make this easy. Telling a girl that you never want to see her again, and you are the only reason I came back. Jem, I love you. I always have.” There was a part of Jem that had always known this, though it was not something he had put thought into or consciously acknowledged. Her saying it now he was even more sure of it. “I’m sorry, Evelyn. But I can’t do this.” It was too painful and he was barely keeping it together as it was. This wasn’t something that was an easy fix. He didn’t even know if it was a fix at all. The young man had so much pain and hurt inside him that he just didn’t know how to deal with, but he did know that he just couldn’t say things were going to be okay if he didn’t think they were going to be. That wasn’t Jem. And this was just how things were.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[/blockquote]

[evelyn keely garland]

Evie knew that Jem blamed her for everything that happened with him and Shayne. She knew that on some level she was to blame, but she knew that she did not deserve what he was passing on her. The brunette was doing everything that she knew how to do to fix anything, because the worst idea in her entire life was to lose him entirely. Yes she deserved some of the blame that he was placing on her, but not all of it. Evie was staring at him trying to salvage something. The tears that were brimming her eyes slid down her cheek softly as she could barely keep herself together. Saying that there was nothing she could do was almost like admitting that he really did want her gone from his life, stripped forever to never return. It was not like Evie was asking him to move on and forget what happened, that was far from what she wanted. She knew that he would be hurt for a long time, that was how he was. She was crying in an aisle at a store confessing her feelings that have long since been a secret. “I’m sorry, Evelyn. But I can’t do this.” She stared at him in disbelief; he can’t do this to her again. “I know you are hurt, Jem. I understand that, and I think part of the reason you can’t do this with me is because it is easier to blame me than anyone else. I know I caused some of the hurt, but you can’t keep blaming me for everything. I didn’t do all of this!” She was trying to hold herself together, but this was above all emotion that she had shared before in her life. Jem was the only person that could make her feel like this. Completely broken and helpless, and she hated that he was pushing her completely away from him. It was enough to crush a girl.

[james alexander hale]

IMAGE COMING SOON!!!!!!

_{this post is tagged for evelyn keely garland. it is complete and came
to be 302 words. impressive, huh? the lyrics found in this post are from the song
to be determined. this post template was created by the one and only luna, who does
not appreciate stealing. additional notes: jem is actually cooperating!!!}

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Seeing Evie fall to pieces did not give Jem any sort of pleasure, but at the same time he did not have the urge to comfort her like he might normally have had. He just couldn’t get past what he felt. He honestly didn’t know how to. The last time he had felt like this had been when Mykayla had broke things off with them. That had hurt so much, but eventually he had been able to move on from it. And eventually, Jem knew he would move on from this. The wall that he had built up and the coldness in his voice and actions would leave and he would be Jem again. But it wasn’t something that could just be fixed. It wasn’t something that was going to go away so quickly. “I know you are hurt, Jem. I understand that, and I think part of the reason you can’t do this with me is because it is easier to blame me than anyone else. I know I caused some of the hurt, but you can’t keep blaming me for everything. I didn’t do all of this!” Jem just closed his eyes, using enormous restraint and calling forth all that he had there. “I know,” he said softly. “But I can’t help how I feel, Ev. And right now, I can’t feel those things for you.” He shook his head. “I just… I can’t.” There was a touch of pain in his voice. He couldn’t take much more of this. It was trying and he was doing everything he could to keep all of that stuff underneath the surface. He did not want to break down in the middle of a store isle like Evelyn was. It was the man in him. He just wouldn’t allow himself to do that.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[/blockquote]