Suburbia - Part II - On The Other Side

Welcome to Part II of Suburbia.

If you haven't read Part I, I would advise you to do so otherwise you might get confused. The Character Introductions is really not vital to your understanding of the story although it will give you some background on the characters.

In the previous part we met Andrew and his new girlfriend Juliet. Alexis, Andrew's daughter is not too chuffed with Juliet moving in such a short while after her mother walked out. Andrew has returned to work, and on his first day back has been sent to solve a murder case - let's hope it's simple.

The living room was noisy as the houses' inhabitants gathered on the couch with a tray of food and some glasses of wine for a late afternoon lunch. With a quick flick of the remote, Clarissa switched on the TV and turned it up so that everyone could hear over the background noises of people munching on cheese and biscuits and Mark's heavy sips of wine.

The news came on and with it the theme tune blurted out of the speakers. Suddenly, everyone lurched forward and grabbed some more cheese and buscuits and started chatting again.

"Guys, hush up. I want to watch this!" Clarissa half-shouted, as the newsreader began to speak.

"Clarissa are you serious?" Colin asked incredulously as he cast a questionable look at her.

"What?" She stated defiantly, folding her arms.

"Watching the news? Since when did you become an intellectual?" Clarissa laughed and hit him over the head with a cushion.

"Since when did you need to become an intellectual to watch the news? Now hush up, something could have happened." Clarissa threatened them all with a cushion and they all closed their mouths, and listened to the newsreader.

"A spokesperson has been over today listening to the days events and is going to indulge us in what has taken place. Over to you Cindy."

"Thankyou." The newsreader, Cindy, took a deep breath as the rain began to pour down behind her."Todays events have been tightly held under wraps, until just recently, when I was able to speak to Detective Superintendent Cooper, who has managed to give me some information on the grisly murder which took place here last night.

According to Mr Cooper, the woman, who has recently been identified as Tracey Watkins, was strangled to death at her office block where she intended to spend the night working late last night. As of now there are no leads as to who the murderer is, but the investigation is still going on as we speak. If we get a little closer we can see..." A blip sounded as Cindy was cut off and the previous reporter was back.

"Looks like Cindy was getting a bit enthusiastic. We have now identified Tracey Watkins and, as such, have been provided a photo, and for anyone who might have seen this woman or knew of her whereabouts during the hours leading up to her death we have a phone-in line and ask for any help you can possibly give the police to identify a killer.

On a brighter note the weather is sure to be dry and bright. David. Over to you..."

Clarissa closed her eyes in pain as her glass crumpled in her hand and sent shards of glass into her palms.

"Clarissa are you all right?" Mark enquired seriously as he saw the pain evident on her face.

"Come with me we'll get it all cleaned up." Mark held out his hand for Clarissa to take, but her face was blank and pale. "Listen Clarissa, I know you feel quite faint at the moment, but if you let me stop the bleeding, you'll feel fine." Clarissa said nothing, but stared blankly ahead.

"Clarissa, will you please listen to Mark, you're scaring us." Colin said quickly, turning away from Dana to see what was wrong.

"CLARISSA!" Dana screamed. "MARK WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET HER TO THE KITCHEN NOW!" Dana took charge and pulled Clarissa to her feet and into the kitchen.

Dana quickly rushed Clarissa, pale-faced and stiff, over to the sink and ran the cold tap as fast as it would go and shoved her hands underneath the running water. Clarissa did not move, but just stared out of the window, as Dana left to get a towel from the cupboard.

"Clarissa what's gotten into you? Why did you smash that glass?" Dana questioned as she hurriedly wrapped the towel around Clarissa's wet and bleeding hand and applied some pressure to stop the flow. When Clarissa just continued to stare out of the window, Dana splashed some water in her face to wake her up.

"Why... What are you doing?" Clarissa shrieked as the droplets of water ran down her face and neck.

"Clarissa, I am trying to find out why you crushed the glass into your hand, and almost killed yourself." Clarissa looked at Dana incredulously and pulled her hand away appplying pressure to the towel, which began to drip onto the floor.

"I didn't nearly kill myself!" Clarissa scoffed, turning away from the sink and dripping more water onto the floor.

"No you didn't." Dana laughed. "But you were bleeding rather a lot." Clarissa looked back at Dana, a worried look plagued her face and Dana was slightly disconcerted.

"Did you hear the news reporter?" Clarissa asked tentatively.

"What?"

"Did you see the news?" Clarissa asked, more strongly this time, she had a crazed, blazen look about her and her dark hair seemed to crackle with electricity.

"No, Clarissa. You know I don't watch the news... have you stopped bleeding?" Clarissa gave a little nod. "Good, let's go join the others." Dana said as Clarissa turned away once more and she strode out of the kitchen, leaving Clarissa alone with her worries.

Dana sat back down on the couch and cuddled up with Colin again.

"Is she Ok?" Karl asked as he tried to ignore the now kissing pair next to him. A loud slurp was heard, and Karl pulled a face in disgust, while Dana was detatching herself from Colins lips.

"Yes, she's fine. Just a little shaken up I think... if you just leave her, she'll be ready to come out in a few minutes." Dana added this little piece of advice as Karl seemed just about ready to run into the kitchen after Clarissa.

"Hey guys." Tom smiled as he entered the living room, he had a wild look about him, as if he had discovered something of great meaning. "Mark, come and listen, I've written a new song." Mark was the first person Tom ever allowed to listen to his music, the only one he trusted. Mark sprang to his feet.

"You've written something new?" He paused slightly before turning back to the others. "Karl you should check on Clarissa in a minute, just to make sure that she is alright."

With that, Mark turned away and followed Tom up the stairs into his room, where he would listen to Tom's new masterpiece. Tom had a knack for creating emotions in his music, a way of ensnaring all who listened, hynotising them, Mark often found himself hypnotised and longed for more music.

Clarissa left the kitchen feeling a bit dizzy and glancing up she saw Mark and Tom going up the stairs."Hey guys. Where are you going?" Tom looked around and grinned at her meaningfully. "No way. You've written something new." Clarissa knew that Mark was always the first to hear and had learned the habit of not asking to listen when she knew she wouldn't be allowed. Instead she rubbed her forehead and said "I can't wait to hear it" before heading outside into the salvation that the garden provided.

Mark nestled himself comfortably on the floor as he flicked absent-mindedly through one of Tom's discarded magazines. Tom gathered himself and headed to the corner where he picked up his guitar and strung a few chords, before he began the introductory melody.

Mark noticed a difference straight away to how Tom usually wrote music, it had a melancholy sound to it, a slower beat which seemed to caress his ears as the waves hit him.

Paul opened his mouth to sing, and once again Mark was surprised by the sound that Tom projected. It was an emotional piece, a softer more feminine piece of music and Mark found himself mesmerised.

"On the other side.

That's where we'll go together.

I'll stay by your side.

And protect you, protect you from harm.

I'll cradle you in my arms.

I'll make you feel safe."

"The guilt that surrounds us.

We open our eyes in wonder.

As we realise what we have to do.

We see what's

On the other side.

That's where we'll go together.

I'll stay by your side.

And protect you, protect you from harm.

I'll cradle you in my arms.

I'll make you feel safe."

"The memory of a warm embrace.

That gentle kiss on the lips.

It was ours. Just ours forever.

Long lost through all your trips.

You never went.

On the other side.

That's where we'll go together.

I'll stay by your side.

And protect you, protect you from harm.

I'll cradle you in my arms.

I'll make you feel safe."

"For the two of us.

Ignorance is bliss.

We didn't know what was coming.

We didn't know what we would miss.

On the other side.

That's where we'll go together.

I'll stay by your side.

And protect you, protect you from harm.

I'll cradle you in my arms.

I'll make you feel safe."

"That's what I told you.

That's what I said to make you leave.

I thought we'd be back together.

But now I see.

We'll only be.

On the other side.

That's where we'll go together.

I'll stay by your side.

And protect you, protect you from harm.

I'll cradle you in my arms.

And make you feel safe."

Mark looked on in wonder as Tom finished with a tricky little chord.

"Tom. That was amazing. I don't know how to explain it. You've done it this time, man.. You've done it. This is your hit. Your money maker." Tom smiled ecstatically as he set his guitar back down.

"Is it good?"

"Good? Are you serious? It's amazing! There's no way I could describe it. It's emotional, it's heartfelt, it's comforting, reassuring. I don't know! It's just everything music should be! I'm honoured that I am the first one to have heard it. And I know. And I am telling you, that is going to be on the radio." Tom and Mark just smiled at each other, before wrapping their arms around each other and jumping about the room in happiness.

Clarissa stepped in away from the humid air outside, her hand still wrapped in a towel and shaking tremulously from the recent loss of blood, her face pale and her bottom lip trembling slightly.

"Are you alright, Clarissa?" Karl moved cautiously off the couch eyeing her worriedly. The fire crackled in the grate and Clarissa's vision went blurry. Karl watched her stumble as she rested her forehead in one hand and tried to balance with the other. "Let's get you upstairs to bed."

Karl eased Clarissa gently onto the soft matress which she sunk into easily. He watched her as her eyes fluttered while she tried to keep herself awake. Her dark curls flowing gently around her sunkissed face, her hand delicately curled and just resting across her stomach. Karl smiled and stroked a stray curl away from Clarissa's face and watched her gentle breathing form. He squeezed her hand and, still smiling, backed out of the room as Clarissa let out a small sigh and rolled over.

Clarissa opened her eyes as she heard the door close behind Karl, she listened to the sound of his fading footsteps as he walked down the hall and into his own bedroom. She looked around her small and cluttered bedroom with a sad look on her face.

An e-mail popped up on her laptop screen and she scrambled off of her bed and stared at the address with a horrified expression on her face before clicking on the attached e-mail.

She read the e-mail over and over again, as if she were trying to imprint the memory of it onto the inside of her eyelids so she could read it forever. She tore herself away from the screen as tears welled in her eyes and she clambered back into her bed.

She lay there for a while as the tears rolled down her cheeks and onto the pillow underneath her, she thought of Tracey Watkins as she buried her face in her hands and sobbed herself into a stupour.

Clarissa finally calmed down and closed her eyes all thoughts of the e-mail; it's contents, who it was from, all swimming through her mind. As she dozed off, exhausted by her emotional outburst and tiring day, images floated through her mind, flashes of her life with her grandmother and her friends in school.

Clarissa opened her eyes wide, the smell of her grandmother's perfume wafted up her nose, as she heard the door swing open and hit the wall behind it with a loud bang, waking her up indefinitely.

"Happy Christmas, Clarissa." Her grandmother said stiffly as she bent to pick up the dirty laundry that was thrown about the floor. She shuffled about the room picking things up, banging drawers closed and just making noise until she couldn't tolerate Clarissa's ignorance any longer. "Are you going to get up of your own accord or am I going to have to pull you out of that bed?" She screeched, her voice a little more shaky than usual, she knew that Clarissa was growing old enough to defend herself and more.

"Well?" She pressed on as Clarissa continued to ignore her. Margery fussed over the dirt and dust covering the room and began to comment on random objects to get Clarissa to answer her. "I will need to get a cloth and wipe that computer screen of yours. It's filthy - Fingerprints all over it! Why do you have a poster of that loser on your wall, he's not even that attractive if you ask me. Why do you have to dump all of your clean clothes, that I have just washed, on the floor all of the time. It just means I have to do more... that's it Clarissa, get up, I'm sick of you ignoring me. If your mother were here, you know she would not let you treat me like this, I have done nothing but provide you with a decent life." Margery bit her lip hoping that Clarissa would finally listen, and fiddled with the reading glasses that were hanging from her neck.

Clarissa's eyes were still open, but in answer to all of her grandmother's questions, she just pulled the warm cover up over her face, hiding it from view. She felt the moisture of her breath on her face as she breathed into the duvet, trying to ignore her grandmother's continuous talking, tidying and fussing.

"Right that's it Clarissa! I've had enough! What would your father say? What would your mother say?"

Clarissa sat up furiously as blood rushed to her head.

"They wouldn't say anything. You have given me a decent enough place to live, I suppose. You do my laundry, you give me somewhere to sleep and give me money and food." Clarissa took a deep breath as she realised how emotionally she felt about what she was just about to tell her grandmother. "But you have never shown me any affection. You've never given me any indication that you actually care about me. You just treat me like I am a thorn in your side." Margery sighed and sat on the end of the bed.

"One of your friends is at the door. I'll get all this stuff cleaned up for you." Clarissa almost burst into tears at her grandmothers indifference, but satisfied herself with saying.

"Happy Christmas, grandmother. Send whoever it is up will you? I need to get dressed."

Clarissa turned around as the door swung open and hit the wall behind with a loud bang and just stared in shock."Tracey? What are you doing here? How did you know where I lived?" Clarissa was full of questions, but at the same time she felt her stomach drop with the feeling of disappointment that now filled her from seeing her old friend.

"Well, after you moved away, I begged my mother to move too. I had to be with my best friend. And so, here I am. Isn't it great things are going to be just like they always were." Clarissa nodded, but the feeling of disappointment had grown, it's not like she didn't like Tracey anymore... she had just moved on, made new friends. Friends with whom Tracey would not be welcome.

"And I have enrolled at your school as well, so you can introduce me to all of your new friends, and we can have fun, just like old times. Isn't this going to be great? Us together again?" Clarissa grinned uneasily and Tracey laughed at her. "Right you have to tell me everything! What's this place like? Have you met a boy yet? I hope I do! Do you have any hot friends?"

Clarissa entered the school grounds a week later, eager to see her friends again after the time apart for the christmas holidays. But for the first time ever she felt a knot of nervousness in her stomach, a small knot, but it still made her feel uneasy as she could hear Tracey's heavy footfalls behind her.

"Hey guys, where's Karl?" Clarissa said as she approached her friends most of whom were looking behind her at the new arrival.

"Library of course." Tom replied without taking his eyes off of Tracey, Mark had an air of annoyance about him as he eyed Tracey, who seemed completely at ease and very bold in character, up and down.

"Of course." Clarissa mimmicked.

"Clarissa, are you going to tell us who this is?" Dana, looked at Clarissa as she gestured with a slight nod of the head in Tracey's direction. All eyes of the group flickered at once to Tracey and then to Clarissa as if awaiting an explanation.

Clarissa nervously looked around at Tracey as the knot in her stomach tightened.

"This is - er, Tracey. She's a close friend from my old school, who has just moved here." She quickly gave the group an apologetic look as they all looked at one another with curious looks on their faces.

"Hi." Tracey introduced herself with a high pitched squealy voice, like that of a chipmunk, not taking her eyes off of Mark.

"Hi I'm Colin and this is Dana..." Dana flashed Colin a warning look and he leant back on the bench and closed his mouth.

"And I'm Tom and this is Mark." Tom emphasised Mark's name as he smirked at Tracey's interest in his blonde friend. Clarissa's face flushed as she felt guilty for Tracey and putting her in this situation, but also annoyed that Tracey was just standing and staring.

"So, we had better get to class." Dana said slowly as she eased herslef lightly off of the bench after the warning bell rang. "See you later Clarissa."

A couple of hours later and the group were all heading to the canteen for lunch, Tracey following behind, looking like a lost dog, while she watched the others chatting animatedly and throwing harmless insults at one another and laughing.

Tracey looked around the canteen and found it full of the usual cliques associated with a high school, but his group was so uniquely different, a mixture of characters and she felt that she needed to be a part of it. She didn't realise that she had to be unique herself to be able to join. But she saw the dozen other hopefuls that were also trying desperately to be included in any way that they could.

"Listen, Clarissa, I really want to be a part of this group." She cast a quick glance at Mark, which didn't go unnoticed by Clarissa who raised an eyebrow at her enstranged friend. "I can't stop looking at him, or listening to him every time he says something. I need you to talk to him for me, talk to the group. I want to be a part of it. I want to be with Mark. Please Clarissa - do this for me?" Tracey looked imploringly into the eyes of her old friend who had completely changed, it wasn't just her appearance, she had just become so calm, so friendly, so... nice.

Clarissa nervously glanced behind her and watched her friends eating, Karl kept glancing up occassionally, as he waited for Clarissa to join the table. She turned to face Tracey breathing heavily as she tried to make up her mind."I don't know, Tracey. You really aren't Mark's type. And the group never just lets random people join, something has to have happened to a member, something that bonds them."

"Please, Clarissa, just try?" Tracey was almost on her knees begging, her eyes welling with tears and her hot palms squeezing Clarissa's wrists.

"I-I'll try Tracey. But it won't be easy, and it might take them a while to decide... you might want to find somebody else to eat with today, give them some space." Tracey nodded and walked away, while Clarissa let out a deep breath as she could feel beads of sweat slowly forming from the guilt that flooded her as she watched her old friend walk away and knew there was no chance of her joining.

Clarissa sat down at the table and pretended to listen to her friends while she remained distant and didn't take anything they were saying in.

"Clarissa? Is something wrong? You're very quiet." Colin asked, leaning over Dana.

"Everythings fine - well no. It's not. Tracey wants to join the group... I know it's silly of me to even suggest it, I know she doesn't qualify, but I had to ask anyway - she's an old friend." Clarissa raised her eyebrows as she fought to hold back tears. "I just feel so bad because she really wants to, she wants Mark to notice her."

"Me?" Mark asked questionably. "What does she want with me? Tom is the one everyone fancies... maybe you have it wrong." He stated quickly and worriedly.

"Or maybe you have a new admirer." Tom said with a laugh, and quickly receiving a disgruntled look in return.

"You did tell her she's not my type didn't you?" Clarissa nodded as she adopted a motherly look on her face.

"Just out of curiosity, Mark. What is your type?" Dana leaned across the table. "You can just tell me if you want, I want to set you up with the right girl." Mark gave Dana an awkward smile and scratched his head.

"If we could get back to the original debate, rather than Mark's taste in girls..." Clarissa said forcefully as she looked around at her friends, who all had knowing smirks on their faces.

"There's no point discussing it, Clarissa. You know that the answer is no. Now let's have a good time and find out which girl we can set Mark up with." Clarissa shook her head in frustration.

"But we don't let anyone into the group who hasn't dealt with a difficult life, so unless you want to set Mark up with me which, no offense to you Mark, will never happen..."

"Erm, I don't really see the problem in letting her join the group, I mean she seems nice enough and she was friends with Clarissa before. So it's not like she is untrustworthy or anything..." Colin threw his fork down on the table in frustration.

"Yes but that was before Clarissa met us, she's changed now. I'd actually be extremely surprised if Clarissa herself wanted Tracey to join us!" Colin turned to Clarissa. "I'm sorry, Clarissa, you knew the answer before you even asked, there is just no way that Tracey can join us." Colin stood up just as the bell rang for class. The others followed suit, Clarissa only comforted by the thought that she wouldn't have to spend so much time with Tracey to feel the guilt that was tearing her stomach to shreds.

Clarissa opened her locker and began grabbing her english books and all of her study materials, before quickly locking it and turning around to head for her class when she was pounced on by Tracey.

"Well, what did they say? Am I allowed to join? What does Mark think of me?" Clarissa faced Tracey, a look of deep distress on her face.

"I'm sorry, Tracey. They don't want you to join, and like I told you, you aren't Mark's type. We can still be friends though." She finished brightly, smiling slightly at Tracey. Let's go to english, if I'm late one more time... well let's just say that the consequences won't be very nice." Tracey forced a laugh and followed Clarissa to the english class.

Mrs. Harrisson walked in through the door and silenced all of the pupils with a quick look before turning to Tracey who was stood at the front of the room.

"Oh, yes. I forgot we have a new pupil. Tracey Watkins isn't it?" Without waiting for an answer she told Tracey to go sit at the back of the room where there was a spare seat next to Christie. A spoilt brat who thought she knew everything. "Anyway, I'm sure you have all been acquainted with Tracey already, so I'll just skip formal introductions and make headway with our lesson. You all have your plays?" The class all raised a copy of Romeo and Juliet in the air. "Well you won't need them today, I have a practice exam paper for you all." The whole class groaned as Mrs. Harrisson went from desk to desk handing out leaves of paper and the question papers.

Clarissa and Tracey had just got back to Clarissa's grandmothers house, the weather remained chilly, but was still rather warm for the time of year. Clarissa trod gravely up the gravel path as thoughts of having to put up with her grandmother weighed heavily on her mind after what she had said to her earlier that morning.

Clarissa looked at the surrounding houses, the homes of her neighbours and wondered whether any of them had to face the sorts of dilemma's she had had to endure in just one day.

All thoughts escaped her mind, though, as Tracey grabbed her wrist and pulled her around to face her, Clarissa was disturbed by the furious and hurt look on Tracey's face.

"Why am I not allowed to join the group?" She cried furiously. "I only moved here so that I could be with you again! You don't even seem to appreciate that! I ask this one little thing and you just pretend to ask your friends if I can join the group, while I sit outside oblivious to the joke you are playing on me!" tears were running down Tracey's face, ruining her make-up but her frown and disappointment did not falter.

"Tracey I didn't pretend, I did..."

"Don't lie to me Clarissa! I know you didn't want me here the moment you saw me. And you definitely didn't want me to join the group!" Clarissa was frightened. Tracey had never shown this angry side of her before, if she was capable of this, what else was she capable of?

Tracey stood there breathing heavily as though she had run a marathon, waiting for Clarissa's excuse.

"It wasn't that I didn't want you to join. It was that I knew my friends wouldn't want you! Tracey the group is for the desperate, for people who have been rejected by all the other cliques. And I know, the group knows and YOU know that you are the type of person that will do well anywhere. You don't need me and you don't need the group!" Clarissa retorted angrily. She looked into her friends eyes which were wide with shock, Tracey's eyebrows were furrowed in confusion. What had Clarissa turned into?

When Clarissa saw that Tracey was finished, she turned and walked into the house slamming the door behind her.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. In the next chapter there will be another flashback, I think, showing another part of someone elses life.

I would love to see what conclusions you have come up with, any theories, just anything really. I love feedback of any kind. What did you think of the song?

Thanks again for reading, I hope you come back for the next part.