[b][i]Chapter One: Crimson[/i][/b]

Red. She had never seen something so red in her life. Granted, it was tinged by the anger she was feeling. Anger? No. That wasn't right. She wasn't angry. She was furious. She fought the urge to peel off the layers of clothes she wore. They were stifling, but she was in public and had to worry about that stupid word "propriety." Her blood was burning, though, and the temptation was there.

Why did the man in front of her have to be so damn infuriating. She was sure he was doing it on purpose. Damn men and their damn sense of superiority. Stripping was becoming a more likely option with each passing moment. Anything to wipe the smirk off his face.

"You can’t just leave things like this," she said through clenched teeth. She wasn’t really one to care about what people thought of her, but if her voice was the volume she wanted it to be, well, they would be drawing a lot more attention. Her tense body language and the way her fingers twitched as if they would be more at home around his neck already had people staring.

The chuckle almost sent her over the edge. Almost. “Elena, you knew what this was from the beginning.”

At the sound of her name, a bit of her sanity found her once more. That’s right. She was Elena Roberts, and this was not like her at all. And by this, she was referring to the fact that he was not dead yet. Her beautiful name was great in context, but if she had to describe herself she would certainly not use “bringer of light.”

This train of thought momentarily distracted her. How would she describe herself? Rash. Selfish for sure. Quick to anger (she blamed the red hair for this). One word popped into her head and refused to disappear though she did not know what it meant.

Free.

Free from judgement? Free from oppression? Free from stress? Or just free to do what she liked? She couldn’t be sure. Free. It popped into her head again. Free from the asshole in front of her. Yes, that seemed the most likely answer.

As her mind went over these puzzles, his smirk slowly turned into a scowl. He had seen that far off look many a time and knew it meant she had forgotten he was there. A growl was beginning to form in his throat when he finally saw the anger return to her eyes in full force.

For a moment, she wondered why she was angry. It was irrational. He was absolutely right. She knew exactly what this was when they started. Perhaps it was that quote she had heard once. Something to do with anger and heartbreak.

He saw her eyes begin to wander again and had enough. If she wasn’t going to react, there was no reason to stick around.

"Elena."

The name snapped her out of her thoughts and she silently cursed whoever had released this so called ADD upon the world. Couldn’t she just be angry? What was with all the random thoughts? Anger. Right. She was angry.

He stood in front of her looking as bored as ever, and she wasn’t sure she felt about this. Oh! It finally occurred to her that he expected a response. By now, she had kind of forgotten what he said. so she tried: “I don’t know.”

This sounded silly and the confusion on his face meant that it was the wrong thing to say.

She tried again: “I just don’t understand what changed.” This seemed like a better response.

He stood there watching her, wishing he had never gotten involved. He’d forgotten how hard it could be to hold a conversation with her. A sigh left his lips unbidden. He did not have the patience for this anymore. That was what had changed. They were older, and he didn't want to deal with her. Instead of giving her any of these answers, he decided to leave, suppressing the ghost of an emotion he convinced himself didn't exist.

She watched as he turned and walked away. Her anger had left her quite a bit ago, gone as quickly as it came, and she was unsure of what she should be feeling.

In an attempt to distract herself, her eyes roamed the park that she was standing in. Back when they had been friends, this had been their favorite place to go. Kids ran away from parents and old people watched them with knowing smiles. She hated those smiles. Those smiles that had been turned on them and said “young love.”

Suddenly she felt an ache in her chest, and Elena turned to the spot he had been standing. He had left several minutes ago, but only now was his absence dawning on her. He had left her for good. He was gone. As she stared, she was surprised to find her eyes were dry. Crimson, she saw. Anger.

He had left her alone, and she was angry.