I'm sorry I...wait, what? [savvy]

[Gavin]

Gavin wasn't entirely sure what he was doing here. He was here to apologize to a girl he didn't like for something he said over two months ago that wasn't even all that bad. Yeah...it didn't make sense in his mind either. Aisling had heard something about something being wrong with Savannah, automatically assumed it was Gavin's fault for no reason, and was forcing him to go to her house and make amends. It would be 'good for him,' she said. Whatever.

He knocked on her door lightly, strongly hoping no one was home. He waited a few short moments and, when no one seemed to be coming, he turned to leave. Before he even got off the porch, however, the door opened behind him. Goddammit.

He turned around reluctantly to see an older woman who must've been Savannah's mom standing in the doorway. She looked extremely sad and worried.

"I, um, came to see Savannah," he mumbled, startled by her melancholy appearence. He'd expected anyone related to Savannah to be cheerful and bubbly like her. "Is this a bad time...?"

[Savannah]

Savannah's mother wasn't surprised to see someone at the door. Savannah was popular and had a lot of friends, and tons had been by in the last week to see her. Isabelle, Savannah's mom, had turned them all away, thinking that she needed time alone for a while before she'd even want to think about seeing visitors. But maybe... maybe it was time for her to start seeing people. Just little by little at least. Savannah had been so bubbly and friendly, it seemed almost obvious that it would take interaction with her friends to make her feel better.

"Hello," Isabelle greeted the young man. "It's not a great time, but come in," she said, trying to smile. After he'd come in and the door was shut, she continued. "I'm not sure what you've heard, but if you're planning on speaking with her, I think you should have a little more understanding..."

She walked over to the sitting room, asking the boy to follow her, before sitting on the couch. "Go ahead and have a seat," she said, pointing to a chair. "Oh, I've forgotten my manners... I'm Isabelle, Savannah's mom. You are?"

[Gavin]

Gavin bemusedly followed Savannah's mom into the house. What did she mean, she didn't know what he'd heard? He hadn't heard anything. What was he supposed to have heard about, he wondered? Well, he was probably about to find out, he thought as he followed Savannah's mom inside and took the seat she offered.

"Oh, um, I'm Gavin," he replied, feeling almost shy talking to this woman. He wondered if Savannah had ever told her mom about him, and all the jerkish things he had said to her. He hoped not. "Nice to meet you."

[Savannah]

"You too, Gavin. It's nice of you to come visit Savannah like this, I think she needs her friends right now."

Isabelle sat quietly for a moment, trying to think of what to say next. It wasn't easy, telling someone something so personal. She'd certainly never met this boy before, and how could she know for certain he wouldn't go telling the whole group of people he and Savannah knew? Of course, they'd all find out sooner or later, but if it was up to this boy to tell them, who knows what he'd spread along.

But she needed to trust someone. And this boy seemed nice enough. In fact, he was nice enough to come visit her when he knew Savannah was in trouble, so that ought to count for something. Even so though, it wouldn't hurt to talk with him.

"Gavin, this is hard to tell you... The reason Savannah hasn't been around lately is because she was... kidnapped... a few months ago." The words sounded stiff and foreign, it was something she hated saying, something she hated thinking about. But the truth was it had happened, and it was going to be effecting her family for the rest of their lives.

"I need you to understand how this has effected her, and why she's going to act the way she will when you go to see her. I also need you to understand how bad it would be for her if you were to go telling people about what happened..."

[Gavin]

...Wait.

Wait.

What? Did she just say kidnapped? What? What the hell was she talking about? He stared at Savannah's mom blankly as she continued to talk, his blank stare not clueing her into the fact that this was so not the reason he was here. Oh god, what had Aisling gotten him into?

He was a little too shocked to react intelligently. All he could think to say was, in a flat voice, "I...won't tell anyone..." It wasn't like he had anyone to tell. Except maybe Aisling. Except not, because she would probably just push him even deeper into this situation he didn't want to be in.

[Savannah]

Isabelle watched him carefully. After a few seconds of studying, she decided he was being truthful, and continued.

"As you can imagine, she's been through hell and back. She was so badly beaten that she's still on bed rest... Gavin, I really need you to be patient with her... I know this must have come as a shock for you, but she really needs your support right now."

Isabelle had a tear in her eye, but it didn't fall. Thinking about her poor, innocent daughter made her feel like she was in just as much pain as Savannah. But maybe things would start to look up. Hopefully she was right in thinking that Savannah needed her friends right now, and that it would start to help her heal.

"If... if you're ready, I can take you up to her now..."

[Gavin]

Gavin was starting to get a little freaked out. There was one problem with Savannah's mom's theory that Savannah needed the support of her friends: Gavin wasn't her friend. The last person Savannah probably wanted to see (besides of course whoever kidnapped her) was some guy who used to be mean to her.

"I-I don't..." he said weakly, intending to continue with 'think this is such a good idea,' but Savannah's mom was looking at him tearfully with so much sadness and hope that his words trailed off into nothing.

He followed her wordlessly to Savannah's room, having no idea what to expect.

[Savannah]

Isabelle and Gavin went up the stairs to where Savannah's room was. "Wait out here for a moment, please," she told him, walking into her daughter's room and closing the door behind her.

Inside, she went to Savannah's side and sat on a rocking chair. "Hi honey," she said, in a soothing voice, brushing some hair out of Savannah's face. "I, I thought you might like to see a friend today," she said lightly.

---

She and Savannah talked for a few minutes before Isabelle opened the door again. "She wants to see you," she said with a slight smile, her heart brimming with hope and happiness. "I'll just leave you two alone, when you're done visiting, just come back downstairs."

She looked back at Savannah who was lying in bed, "I love you sweetie, don't move around too much." Then she went downstairs, hoping that things would work out right.

[Gavin]

"She does?" Gavin asked stupidly when Savannah's mom told him Savannah wanted to see him. Why in the world would she want to see him? Savannah's mom didn't seem to hear him, and told him she would leave them alone for a while before leaving Gavin standing nervously outside Savannah's bedroom.

After a moment of mental preparation, he cautiously stepped through the door. Right away he could see some of what her mom had told him about. She was lying in bed, and was covered in bruises and bandages. "Savannah...?" he murmered with uncertainty.

[Savannah]

Savannah turned her neck and looked at her visitor. "Gavin," she said quietly, her eyes closing for a moment as she smiled. "It's nice of you to drop by."

She opened her eyes again. "You can come sit if you want," she offered. She was happy that he had decided to stop over, even if it wasn't who she had expected.

In the weeks after she'd been rescued, she'd been in almost a comatose like state. She didn't move, didn't talk, didn't feel, just like she'd been for the last two months while she'd been captured. But recently, she'd been coming out of her shell. She'd decided she wasn't going to let this ruin her life. While she was still afraid of the slightest noise, and while she still woke up several times during the night screaming, she had already started to forgive the world for dealing her the card she'd been dealt.

[Gavin]

She sounded awfully normal for someone who had been kidnapped at beaten, Gavin couldn't help but think as he slowly walked over and sat down, clearly uncomfortable. "Um. Hi," he said, at a totaly loss of anything else to say. It was almost scary how normal she sounded. "Your mom told me...what happened."

[Savannah]

Savannah shut her eyes again, her face taking a somewhat pained expression. Even though she'd decided to forgive, it didn't mean she had forgotten. Thinking about the experience brought back painful memories.

Her eyes opened again. "It didn't scare you away?" she asked softly, trying to make it into a joke. Before the ordeal, she had been an extremely happy and bubbly girl. She wasn't stupid though, and knew that Gavin didn't like her. Of course, that hadn't stopped her from talking to him--she knew he'd had a troubled past, and she'd tried hard to be friends. Of course, just because she knew why he didn't like her didn't make it hurt any less when he was mean. It was often that she'd gone away crying after she'd talked to him. But Savannah was a loving girl, and forgave easily.

But knowing that Gavin didn't like her, and that he was still here, really meant something to her.

[Gavin]

"Um, I guess I was a little scared," Gavin admitted, looking her in the eyes. He could see the pain behind them. "I know...what that kind of thing can do to a person. The way your mom sounded, I wasn't expecting you to be, um, handling it I guess, as well as you seem to be." Before coming in here, for all Gavin had known Savannah would be a catatonic vegetable. He didn't think he'd be able to stand seeing someone like that, especially someone who used to be so happy and outgoing. But Savannah seemed...not okay, but like she definitely would be okay with time.

[Savannah]

"You know, I think me acting like this scares her more than when I was afraid... not saying that I'm not afraid, because I am. I still scream at night, I still make my mom sleep with me... but, I'm trying to let go."

Savannah knew it was weird that she wasn't as frightened as she was before, but she was glad. The way she looked at life, she had already lost two months worrying, what was the point doing it for anymore? She shouldn't let the evil people steal anymore of her life away.

"It just doesn't make sense to me to just sit around, not wanting to live life anymore. While, while I was there, I felt like it was all over. I felt like there wasn't anything left, and I just gave up... I, I never want to feel that way again. So, I figure the best way around that, is to stay positive."

[Gavin]

Gavin offered Savannah a small smile. It was a little forced, even though it was good to know she wanted to try and stay positive. However, he knew from experience that staying positive was a lot easier said than done. Well, it was for him anyways. He wanted to be optimistic but he was just so bad at it. It was like he couldn't help but dwell on all the terrible things he wished so badly he could just move on from. Then again, Aisling could do it, so maybe Savannah could too.

"You're right," he told her, because he knew. "It is better to stay positive...but it's harder, too."