An Epic of Time Wasted

~~~ Bella's pov ~~~

After my shower I threw on a robe and made a beeline for Val's house, fearing I was already pushing it on time. I slid open the back patio door and gave a quick wave to Matt as he sipped on a beer and read over a magazine in the kitchen.

" Oh great your here! Honestly I was kinda worried about you." Val blurted out excitedly once I made it to her room. I hopped up on her bed while I watched her finish up her makeup.

" why would you be worried?" I asked her, like I had no idea. When in all actuality I knew exactly why she felt that way with my earlier strangeness. She applied the last coat of mascara before she turned slightly on her vanity stool to look at me.

" I don't know.... It's just when I came over earlier you just seemed freaked out, that's all. Is everything okay?" She said meekly in an attempt to not make me feel like a total psycho.

" of course, I'm fine. It's just that dream I had freaked me out for a minute" I smiled. I could see the relief In Her face as she smiled back and got up to get something from her closet. The reality was in fact that I was still uneasy about that dream. I've had a ton of nightmares in my day, but this was different and I just couldn't put my finger on it. While Val was in her closet I grabbed her cellphone off the night stand and googled cemeteries close by. My heart raced as the results popped up and sure enough there was a cemetery about two miles away.

" I hope you like the dress I got you. I saw it in the window of this little antique dress shop the other day, and I just had to get it for you" she yelled from her closet as I heard plastic being rustled around. She emerged from the closet as she stood before me and pulled the dress from its garment bag. My eyes went wide and my mouth went dry as I stared at the long flowing midnight black dress before me. The satin material as well as the lacy arms and neck. I closed my eyes and opened them slowly hoping maybe I was just seeing things. But to my dismay nothing changed, the same dress stayed dangled before me.

" Oh god, I'm sorry. I thought you'd like it. I've got tons of other dresses you can wear" Val panicked as her face fell. I felt horrible, I didn't want to hurt her feelings.

" No, no Val I love it! Seriously!" I rambled out in an attempt to get her to believe me. Her face lit back up at my response and after that she did my hair and make up.

" You look absolutely gorgeous Bella. It's amazing, that dress fits you like a glove, almost like it was made just for you" she beamed as I looked at myself In her full length mirror. I ran my hands along the dress and it felt exactly as I remembered it in the dream.

" Thanks Val, you look beautiful too" I smiled as she stood behind me at the mirror.

Once we arrived at the awards show I felt like I was in a dream. It was all so surreal, I never in a million years would have thought I would ever be at something like this. We walked into the building as cameras flashed and fans screamed trying anything to get anyone's attention. We filed in and searched for our seats. Which wasn't to hard to do once we saw Johnny's bright green Mohawk and jimmy towering next to him. I rolled my eyes when I saw the petite blonde on Jimmy's arm. I waved to Lacey, Johnny and zacky as i noticed that Brian wasn't there as we took our seats. A few minutes later I felt someone sit down next to me, I slightly turned my head seeing it was Brian and he was eyeing me up and down with the most odd expression ever. I decided to just ignore him, I had more important stuff to worry about at the time. I kept waiting for Michelle to join us, but she never showed. Which I can't say that I blame her and I was slightly releaved. I can only take one trauma a night.

The ceremony flew by and to be honest I don't remember a good ninety percent of it either. My mind stayed fixated on every single detail of the dream, I felt obsessed like I couldn't concentrate on anything else. Everyone headed to the after party and I caught a cab against everyone's wishes. But I had something I needed to do. Once home I didn't even change, I grabbed my sketch book and began drawing the cemetery in exact detail from memory. As soon as I finished I ripped it from my pad and left my house and began walking. I decided instead of looking up the directions of the actual cemetery I saw on google, I was going to just let my body guide me like it did in the dream. My heart pounded viciously as I trekked through the woods and ended up at the very tall rusted iron gate. I pushed it open and walked inside as I pulled my drawing out infront of me. My eyes watered as I compared the two and every last detail was exact. Even the angel statue illuminated by moonlight. I walked further until I was standing before the statue. I looked down and noticed the one and only thing that was missing, the two head stones. All that lay at the feet of the angel was a vacant plot. I peered around the grounds scattered with graves and found it quite disturbing that there was even any empty land like this still left. I walked around looking at all the different names and dates of the deceased and I didn't see one date past 1890. Instead of flowers or trinkets, the graves were over ran with weeds and tangled vines. To be honest it looked as though no living soul has been here in many years.

~~~ Brian's pov ~~~

after the show we all headed to the after party and as out of character as it is for me, I just wasn't in the mood. I couldn't shake the chill that ran down my spine when I saw Bella in that dress tonight. It was just way too weird that she would be wearing the very same dress she did in my dream. After nursing one beer to try and appease everyone, I made up an excuse and headed out.

" I can't believe I'm doing this" I said to myself as I sped down the street and headed straight for Saint Valentine cemetery, the very same cemetery from my dream. I had actually never set foot in there before, but I have seen many pictures of it over the years. It was a cemetery back from the 1800's that they built to accommodate all the casualties from a plaque that wiped out thousands. I remember when I was younger there was an urban legend about that place, and more specificly about the angel statue that stood in the center. All the kids used to say that she was just a regular woman from the city who's husband and kids died from the plague. She was so devistated by her loss that the day her husband and kids were buried, she layed down beside their graves and refused to leave. After a week she was dead, they say she died of a broken heart. But in truth it was more than likely from starvation and no shelter. But legend has it that the remaing towns people erected that very statue on the spot where she died and that every night at midnight the statue cries tears of blood. I shuttered as I remembered all those stories, it still creeped me out to this day even though I would never admit it to anyone. I parked my car right outside the woods and grabbed my flashlight from the passenger seat and then made my way cautiously down the path until I stood before the dreaded gate I never imagined I would cross. I made my way carefully throw the graveyard, trying my best not to disturb anything. I heard branches break, making me stop dead in my tracks as I flashed my light around. And that's when I saw the black silk swirling In the cool breeze. It was Bella standing before the statue, the vision almost haunting. I made my way over hoping not to scare her.

" Bella" I said quietly. She didn't budge, she just stayed put exactly where she was. When I made it closer I reached out my hand and gently placed it on her shoulder.

" Brian, why are you here" she calmly said not at all moving her position, it seemed as if she was in a deep trance. My heart raced as I turned her to face me and as soon as she did I fell back to the ground when I saw the blood that trickled down her cheeks.

" Bella!" I screamed as terror racked my body. With that she took in a deep breath and grabbed her chest. She looked normal again, no sign of the blood or the emotionless stare.

" Brian! What happened?! Why are you here?" She cried out as her eyes welled up. I could tell she had no idea what just happened and that I'm sure the look of terror on my face didn't help. I jumped up from the ground and grabbed her into my arms. Her body trembled as we stood there, I removed my jacket and wrapped her in it as I walked her back to my car. We didn't speak the whole ride back, I honestly didn't know what to say and I was still freaked out myself.

" Thanks for the ride" she mumbled once I pulled into Val's driveway. She got out and shut the door without so much as a glance in my direction. I didn't like the idea of leaving her alone but at the same time I didn't want to make it worse. And I figured Matt and Val would probably be home soon and check in on her. I knew I couldn't tell anyone about this because they would probably think I was full of shit. But I knew something strange was going on and I was going to get to the bottom of it.

Notes