[David] Help

[Belle Fitzgerald]

Belle moved through the room of the club, holding her hand on tightly to her hair. How could this literally have happened? All she had been drinking was club soda. The only time she drank alcohol anymore was when she was at home with someone she trusted. Had she messed up? Did she agree to a shot that she couldn’t remember? In some sort of haze she had managed to get ahold of David. It was the middle of the night, he probably wasn’t very happy with her. But she had been able to stammer out that she had not been drinking but that something was wrong. “Come get me,” she had been able to tell him, scared of what might happened next. It didn’t take too long after that for her phone to die. Where was Lucy? She thought she was here. Wait, they had come together. “Lucy,” she felt like she was screaming out, but it came out as nothing more than a mumbled compilation of sounds instead of her actual name. “Don’t.” she said, feeling the arm of some man wrap his arm around her. She couldn’t understand everything, but she understood the implications. He had made mention of making their way back to his hotel room. She kept her eyes locked on the exit, all the while feeling him drag her farther away.

[David Julian Greyson]

David hadn't needed much more than Belle saying, help, I swear I wasn't drinking, and come get me, to climb out of bed and pull on some jeans and a jacket to go get her.  He'd managed to track her on his phone before it stopped updating, but he was pretty sure he had a good idea of where she was.  It had sounded like she was in a club or bar;  it really didn't matter, what mattered was that she needed him and that he had dropped everything and was out the door.  He was trying to decide what the fastest way to get to her was, before deciding on a cab which he rarely spent money on.  But at this time of night they'd be able to navigate the city fairly quickly.  He was nervous as he sat in the cab and tried to call her for about the fifth time but her phone must have died.  He was just going on a location he thought she was at.  As they pulled up David saw the hotel, wondering if she was still in the club.  he went inside looking around quickly, having woken up entirely. Belle wasn't anywhere in sight, and David even started looking for anyone that he thought she might have been with; Lucy, any other girls from school, Sebastian, anyone.  He did see Ian Fletcher sitting across the room entertaining a few young ladies, looking only half interested in his situation.  Right, his father owned this hotel or something.  David walked up to him, "Ian, sorry to interrupt, have you seen Belle in the last 20 or so minutes?"  It briefly occurred to David how strange that probably sounded, seeing his teacher asking for one of his friends in the middle of the night in a club.  He'd worry about Ian later.  Ian pointed him in a direction into the hotel, David heading that way.  He wasn't sure what he thought he was going to find, asking everyone in his path if they'd seen her until the persona t the desk, who realized he was alarmed, told him what floor she had headed to with some guy.  David took the stairs two at a time, not caring to wait for the elevator as it wasn't one of the higher floors.  As he came out into the hallway on that floor he saw her, with some guy who was way too handsy and she looked visibly as if she wasn't in a right state of mind.  "Anabelle?" he called out as he approached quickly.  "Hey," David said, recognizing the guy as one of his students, "Mr. Vanderbilt," he said before Tristan realized who was speaking and took his hands away from Belle.

[Belle Fitzgerald]

"Tristan," she said, pushing her hands against his body to push him away from her. "No," she said again, trying to grab onto the wall to get away from him. Where was her phone? Where was Lucy? Where the fuck was she even? Belle brought her hand up to the side of her hair, feeling frustrated that this had somehow happened. What had she done? Had she even done anything? Fuck. But Tristan was muttering something about Lucy and Ian. Were they hooking up again? Was that out in the world now? Were they just broadcasting it? "Stop," Belle said, turning her body away from him. It could have been seconds, it could have been several minutes. But she heard his voice. Belle looked up, hearing David and Tristan interacting. "David," she said lazily, though entirely eager to see him. "Something happened," she said, moving her body weight from Tristan over to David where she draped her arms over his body in order to cling to him, her safety for the moment. "...Mr. Greyson.." Tristan said as he seemed to be eyeing the situation. ".. Mr. Greyson, why are you looking for Anabelle at 2 AM?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow. Belle laid her cheek on David's shoulder, feeling like the entire world was weighing on her shoulders. Her entire body felt heavy, but her head felt light. What the hell had she been given? "He drugged my soda," she managed to say, putting the rest of her weight on his body as she held onto him.

[David Julian Greyson]

Anabelle was trying to tell him something had happened, which he was seeing was pretty clear.  She was definitely intoxicated, and this kid was trying to take advantage of the situation.  Anabelle had  latched onto him and at least he knew with him she was safer than in the arms of that asshole kid.  David didn't even like him as a student.  Tristan asked him why he was looking for Anabelle at 2 am and David eyed him, clearly judging him and countered, "Why are you trying to force her into a hotel room at 2am that she doesn't want to be in?"  David knew this looked bad for himself and Anabelle, the way she was draped over him, calling him by his first name, but this looked bad for Tristan too.  David glared at him, as if he were thinking, you keep your mouth shut and I'll keep mine shut, too.  David just wanted t get Belle out of there and get her home; whether it was her home, or his home, hell even Lucy's home, he didn't care.  She needed to sleep this off.  He honestly didn't know if she'd caved and given into her addiction or if this kid had anything to do with it, but he didn't think at this moment that it mattered.  He turned and left Tristan standing there seeing Lucy coming quickly down the hallway, Ian coming up behind her, where she hugged Belle tightly, "Are you okay?  I'm so glad I found you."  She looked at David, "David I swear she wasn't drinking, I've been with her all night, up until about an hour ago.  She said she wasn't feeling well and went to the bathroom."  She paused, glancing past David at Tristan, and Ian added, "The staff here know not to serve her."  David was checking on Belle, trying to help her back toward the elevator before he heard Lucy behind him, "You piece of shit," before hearing a thud.  David turned around, seeing Lucy had shoved Tristan against his hotel room door.  Tristan muttered, "You can't prove anything, Astor.  Who are they gonna believe, me or her?  She just got out of rehab, she's a goddam mess."  David felt angered, about to say something but stopped short when Lucy reached up and slapped his with all the might she had.  David held onto Belle, very aware that if he let go of her she might not be able to hold onto herself, but someone needed to remove Lucy from the hallway.

[Belle Fitzgerald]

Lucy didn't normally enter situations in a dramatic experience. But even in her drug endured state, she could tell that Lucy just came into the hallway with full force behind her, ....and Ian trying to catch up with her without losing his suave aesthetic. "Lucy," she said, holding onto her just as tightly as she had been holding onto David. Was Lucy okay? Had someone been drugging her too? "They're here," she said, trying to warn her. She'd killed Tiffany. Someone had killed Brian. Whoever was after them.. this had to be them. They were here. They were going to try and take her down next. Was she the weakest link? Was she the next person that they were going to target to make sure that she ended up toes up under the ground? But David was holding her again and she resorted to just laying her weight back on him. She heard a thud and was able to move her head up enough to see that Lucy had Tristan up against a wall, her tiny little frame in a state of anger. She could be ferocious when she was in attack mode. Ian had looked up at David, "Give her a moment," Ian said, giving a slight nod of his head while putting his hand up. Ian was already in management mode. He had taken his phone out, discussing tapes with his staff from the security cameras. "Tristan,.. I'll be seeing you around," he said pointedly. There seemed to be an understanding glance between the two of them. "Lucy... come on. Let's get Belle and Mr.Greyson to the car," He put his hand on Lucy's lower back, escorting her to the elevator, even though she was still yelling things in Tristan's direction. "Don't worry about it, Luc. I'll make sure it gets handled," he assured her. Belle watched as Ian moved his hand in a circular motion on Lucy's lower back. She narrowed her eyebrows, trying to look up at Ian and give him her own threat for her friend but instead found how heavy her eyelids were. "Mr. Greyson...." Ian said once they were in the elevators. "Pleasure to see you this evening," he said in a very dry, flat tone. Ian had pulled his phone out, talking to some of his security team. "Third floor. Make sure they don't vacate the premises. Get a car ready,"

[David Julian Greyson]

David watched as Ian removed Lucy from the situation, slightly wondering if they were a thing;  he'd personally never seen them speak two words to each other at school, but what did he know?  They had all managed to get everyone into the elevator; Belle had managed to place herself securely against David's side.  He had no idea what she had been talking about to Lucy.  He vaguely wondered if it had anything to do with the things he had told him about her past, just that she'd been through something.  He wasn't sure what parts of this she would remember tomorrow.  Ian had glanced at him and David responded to him saying it was a pleasure seeing him, "Likewise."  Belle was glaring at Ian who was standing with Lucy with his hand on her lower back in what was almost a comforting manner.  David didn't know the guy very well but comforting was the last word David thought he might use to describe Ian Fletcher.  As they reached the ground floor and made their way outside of the hotel, it was as Ian had requested with a car outside waiting.  David wondered what it was like to just have a car ready.  He hailed a cab, holding Belle up and then gently placed her inside a cab that had pulled up.  Lucy had come over, thanking him for being there for Belle, reminding him to make sure she hydrated, got her some food, and not to leave her by herself, even for a minute.  David paused before getting in the cab, knowing that Belle might not remember this, but he knew there was a trust factor her with Lucy that he might have just surpassed.  If Lucy trusted him with Belle, that was a step in the right direction. He needed her to be on his team.  David climbed into the cab, glancing back at Lucy, "You okay, do you need a ride home?"  She shrugged glancing slightly back at Ian and then shook her head, "No thanks, I'll get a car. See you later."  David wasn't going to ask.  Though he was sure with whatever small thing was going on in he elevator, she'd at least be fine with Ian while she waited for a car.  David sat back in his seat as the driver started off toward David's place, placing his arm around Belle, "So," he said placing a kiss against her forehead, "We go home, watch a movie, chill out?"  yeah, she'd probably pass out when they got home.  Just so long as she was home with him and he knew that was about one of the safest places she could be.

[Belle Fitzgerald]

Belle fell into David's side as they got into the cab, finally feeling like she was safe in the confinement of his arms. "Sleep," she muttered as he mentioned doing things when they got home. And honestly, she had no idea what they even accomplished doing that evening. When she woke up, it was about three o clock in the afternoon. She sat up, feeling what had to be the worst headache she had ever had in her life. She looked down at her arm, noticing the signature Ian Fletcher IV placed in her arm. So he had sent someone to David's last night. Belle took in a deep breath, putting pressure down on her arm before taking the IV out and getting rid of the needle. Belle looked down at her clothes, realizing that she was wearing one of David's shirts. He must have changed her. "David?" she called out quietly since her head was still in pain. When she stepped out of the french double doors, she stood at the back of his couch. He was leaned forward, one hand clutching to the remote in a death grip, elbow on his knee and hunched over in extreme concentration. "What is it?"

[David Julian Greyson]

David sat on his couch with such intensity, watching the TV. Breaking news; he noted, feeling his face start to become warm. Belle was still sleeping. That Tristan kid had been found dead. David wasn't one to make assumptions but he had clearly seen an exchange last night where Ian had mentioned he'd be seeing Tristan around. David was in shock. Was Belle's life like this? Belle had woken up, coming in behind him asking what was going on. David hesitated and then decided to just tell her, motioning that she should come wit down with him. "That kid Tristan from school? He turned up dead this morning in the river." The news story was showing a clip of the crime scene with investigators and policemen milling around. He felt like he needed to fill her in but he wasn't sure what all she actually remembered from last night. He handed her a glass of water and asked, "Anabelle, do you remember last night at all? Any parts of it?" He felt like he should be cushioning her for a conversation she might not want to have. He didn't want to be the one to tell her about it but he had a feeling the more she knew at this point, the better.

[Belle Fitzgerald]

Belle placed her hands on the back of the couch as she watched the news, trying to gather what was going on. But as David mentioned that Tristan was found dead, she felt dizzy all over again. "Tristan?" she asked, almost in shock. But... he was one of them. Oh, god. It was happening. Belle brought her hands up to her face, feeling like she was about to start crying. "Oh my god, oh my god." she said, ignoring the suggestion of water before she went over and sat down. "David, I have to talk to you," she said, licking her lips nervously. What was he going to do, or say? Was he going to hate her? Would he leave her? Was she going to have to walk back home to her penthouse in a t-shirt. Belle took in as deep of a breath as she possibly could. "A year ago something happened, and I think someone is after us," she said, pushing her hair behind her ear nervously. "My step dad was having an affair with a classmate. Her name was Tiffany. And we were all at a party.. we were fighting. It got physical. She was trying to hit me, and I pushed her.. But when I pushed her, she fell." Belle said, feeling the hot tears streaming down her face. "I pushed her, and she fell off the roof." she said, pausing to push the tears away. "Lucy and Ian went into this weird.. cover up mode. They started organizing everything. And I was just so scared," she said, sniffling as she took a moment to catch her breath. "I couldn't handle the guilt of what I did, and at the point of wanting to come clean it meant risking everything for Lucy, Ian, and Sebastian as well. They had all put their necks on the line to cover up for the horrible things I had done. And now I can't even take responsibility for it because I'll take them down with me," she said, leaning forward so her elbows were on her knees. "I started doing drugs just to numb everything. I didn't deserve to be happy, because Tiffany couldn't be. I didn't deserve to be living a life when she didn't. So I just wanted to pause everything, to feel numb, to make sure that nothing good came of my life." she said, too afraid to look at him. "I came back, and... right around that time, Brian died. Brian died, and I found him.. and now.. " she said, gesturing to the television. " I think someone is after us, or someone is doing this, and.. I am so scared," she said, looking at him nervously.

[David Julian Greyson]

David could see her instantly start to break down when she registered what had happened to Tristan.  He knew it was scary; it was someone from school, someone from her world.  It was becoming pretty clear she didn't remember seeing Tristan last night.  But as Belle began to explain what had happened a year prior, he needed to pause.  As he tried to grapple with all she had just told him, he needed to clarify something.  David took her hand, "Anabelle listen.  You don't remember last night, and that's okay.  But we saw Tristan last night, and he was fine.  We came back here; you were here all night.  Look, I don't know if someone is after you, but I think if you think someone is really after your and your friends, you need to all get in one place and figure this out."  David reached over to turn off the TV and then placed his arm around her, "Anabelle, I wasn't there, but what happened with Tiffany?  It was an accident.  I believe that, I believe you, I believe you wouldn't feel this much remorse if it weren't."  David didn't know how else he could help her, there was obviously so much more that she had been dealing with for over a year that he was only just beginning to be clued into.  But the fact that she had just told him she had been the cause of someone dying, and he wasn't repulsed by her in the least, but rather wanted to bring her some sort of comfort, was really putting into perspective just how much he really cared about her.  He'd rushed to her aid last night, for pete's sake.  David pulled her in close, holding her tightly.  he didn't know how to help her.  He didn't know if the law should be involved or what he was getting into, but he knew he wasn't going to leave her side during this.  As if on cue there was a knock on the door, and a muffled voice on the other side, "David?"  It was Lucy.  David got up to let her in and she hurried past him.  She was looking for Belle, and since she could plainly see her sitting on the couch she sat beside her friend, hugging her tightly, "Are you feeling okay?"  David grabbed a glass of water for Lucy, handing it to her, "I think it's good you came over, you guys need to probably talk," he added, looking at Belle.  Maybe Lucy was better for this, trying to tell Belle about last night.  It seemed just as soon as Lucy had come in and gotten settled, there was another knock at the door.  David peeked through the peep hole, only half surprised to see Ian on the other side.  He opened the door and let him in.  Apparently they were all on the same page.

[Lucille Grace Astor]

Lucy had gotten up that morning and got her things together before heading to the club to swim laps.  She needed to refresh her body after last night and a dip in the pool seemed like just the thing.  She'd finished her laps and showered, before blow drying her hair straight.  She had gone home to change and put her make up on and had a light breakfast when she turned on the TV and realized what had happened to Tristan.  No sooner had she stood in front of the TV with her hands on her hips, shaking her head, there was a guest that had come up in the elevator.  Lucy went to see who it was, the person holding a thing of chocolate covered strawberries, "Mr. Fletcher sent me to deliver these to you, and see if you were okay."  Lucy raised one eyebrow, "Oh he did? He sent you to check on me?"  The girl nodded nervously.  Lucy clicked her tongue, rolling her eyes, "Well you can tell Mr. Fletcher that next time he can come over her and check on me himself." The girl nodded once again, backing toward the elevator, "I will let him know."  Lucy held up a hand, "Wait."  She walked over and took the strawberries, reaching in and took one out before taking a bite.  She looked at the girl pointedly as if to say, you can leave now.  After she'd gone, Lucy decided she needed to go to David's and check on Belle.  Ian wouldn't be sending someone to check on her if he hadn't had everything to do with Tristan's death.  She sighed, slipping into her heels and grabbed her purse before calling for a car and heading down stairs.  When she reached David's she knocked on the door, "David," she called, knowing they were in there.  She walked right past David and straight to Belle to hug her best friend.  Lucy wasn't surprised in the least that Ian showed up after her.  Lucy stood up from where she had been sitting with Belle, perching herself on the back of the couch with her arms crossed pointedly at Ian, "So, Tristan?"  she nodded, "No need to deny it, I think all of us here know that was you. So glad you covered that up well.  Cutting off his finger tips, really?"  Yeah, Tristan was a scumbag, but to kill over that?  Lucy wanted to know, what else did he do?

[Ian Fletcher]

".. Oh my god, this woman," Ian said in annoyance, running his hand over his face and ended it in pinching the bridge of his nose. "Okay fine. Did she take the strawberries?" he asked, slightly annoyed. "Yes," the woman said. Ian looked at her with an annoyed expression, trying to convey that he wanted more information. "She seemed to enjoy them," Ian stood up from behind his desk. Good, she would be fine then. She didn't take the strawberries and throw them. She's fine. Ian needed to carry on with the rest of his day then, which consisted with making sure that every one knew their part for the rest of this. He knew that Belle and Lucy would know the drill, but as far as Mr.Greyson... he wasn't entirely sure how this guy operated. He stepped out of the hotel and made his way to the waiting car. He wasn't even sure really what part of town Mr. Greyson's apartment was in, but it wasn't in a part of New York that he had been in. Once they were inside, he looked up and down the hallway. "....Okay..." he muttered to himself, knocking on the door. Before anyone could open it, he got another alert on his phone about Tristan. He was busy typing away when the door opened that he just strolled in, finished what he was typing and then looked around. Ian took in a breath, holding it as he looked around and then looked at David pointedly. "Is this it?" he questioned, matter of factly. "This is it." he confirmed to himself before clearing his throat. He looked over at Lucy who was in a fiery form today. "I'm not denying it," he said, shrugging his shoulder as he looked at everyone else in the room. Belle was at a table laying her head on it, looking like death herself. "Uh, yeah, Lucy. I had to cut his finger tips off. The piece of shit scratched me and since I wasn't sure which fingernail would have my trusty little DNA all underneath it, I had to take matters into my own hands, now didn't I?" he questioned back just as sarcastically. "You're welcome," he said in slight annoyance toward her.

[Belle Fitzgerald]

Belle knew that in this moment, it would be the time that she lost David. She barely had him at all and now he was going to tear away everything that they had slightly built toward. Was she taking this relationship more seriously than he was? Did she just give away way too much information? But if she cared about him and he was going to be a part of her world, he needed to realize that it was going to come with some potential sacrifices and costs to his own personal life. She realized that she had just laid some heavy drama on him, but he seemed to be handling it a lot more gracefully than she would have in his position. She felt herself slightly comforted by the fact that it appeared like he was sticking by her side. What she did wasn't the greatest of all acts, but it didn't make her a monster either. A monster would have been if she had consciously decided to take someone's life. But instead, it tore away at her every day and stole any real chance of normalcy that she had away. She looked up, knowing that the sound of the person who just entered the apartment was Lucy and was relieve to see her. "Luc," she said, wrapping her arms around her tightly. "I don't remember anything from last night," she started, but it seemed like Ian was literally hot on Lucy's heels. She looked up at them, listening to their banter back and forth. "Wait, stop." Belle said quietly, trying to piece together all of this information she was getting. "You killed Tristan?" she asked in disbelief with a hoarse voice as she looked at Ian. "Belle, please... keep up. We have a lot to discuss, Ian stated before looking at David. "I wiped the tapes clean, by the way. So no one has to find out about ..." Ian stated, before gesturing between Belle and David. Belle closed her eyes tiredly, bringing her hand up to her face. "What the hell happened last night?" she asked looking around at everyone. It was starting all over again, the secrets that bonded people together. The only person missing was Sebastian.

[David Julian Greyson]

David stared at Ian in disbelief.  From the moment Belle's friends came into his apartment David had strong feeling that he he was in this now.  But to kill Tristan over, what, drugging Belle and trying to take advantage of her?  Yes, it was a terribly awful thing to do, but to kill someone over it, wasn't that a bit extreme?  David knew there was obviously more to the story, he just didn't think he wanted to know.  And then Ian and Lucy were talking about killing someone and covering it up, so nonchalant, so matter of fact like it had to be done.  It was making David feel sick.  Belle's friends were young, but they were in this other league entirely.  And here was Belle, just trying to cope with it in her own way which was obviously quite different from her friends.  Obviously someone needed to tell her about last night.  Especially since David didn't need to be worried about anyone finding out about himself and Belle, or Tristan blabbing about it.  David glanced at her, "Well, from what I gathered, and someone please correct me if I'm wrong, you and Lucy went out last night to the club at Ian's father's hotel.  Tristan put something in your drink and tried to get you to his hotel room.  You called me to come get you.  Nothing happened after that, I brought you back here and you you've been sleeping it off until about 20 minutes ago."  It really was that simple, it hadn't been Belle consciously making that decision to jeopardize her sobriety.  

[Lucille Grace Astor]

You're welcome, how smug.  Lucy was beginning to get the feeling they were way in over their heads.  Belle looked confused and tired, David looked like he might be sick.  Lucy looked at the glass of water he had handed her and then handed it back; he probably needed it more right now.  David explained to Belle the gist of what had happened the night before.  He left out the unnecessary details and that was fine, it was that she was safe that was important anyways.  Lucy just wanted to know now what they were supposed to do.  As David finished up, saying they'd come back here last night and Belle had slept, Lucy chimed in, "Yes and then apparently Ian decided to kill Tristan and that pretty much brings us all up to speed."  Lucy stood up, walking to the window and glancing down at the street.  At least no one they knew would expect them to be here.  She crossed her arms in thought, watching cars drive by and waited for someone else to say something, anything really, about what they were supposed to do now.  Lucy didn't kill anyone in any of these instances but she knew about them and that made her involved.  It was just a matter of everyone keeping their mouths shut until they had more information.