[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/190616/9d4f427f8d427edbc7abce3e14563dcd.png[/img][/center]
[center][sub][url=https://youtu.be/jLNrvmXboj8]Let Me Down Slowly[/url][/sub][/center]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ahyNQ1m.png[/img][/center]

[sub][right][@Aviaire][@Allycat][@BeastofDestiny][@Jun][/right][/sub]

Arm in arm, Ollivander and Elizabeth walked into the community center auditorium. This room that had once been a source of joy was now utterly tainted. Elizabeth's warm memories of watching her brothers on stage during an elementary school play, the occasional "free movie nights", the display of art from artists around the city... shattered. This would be with her for the rest of eternity. When she thought of this place, her mind would go to this moment in time. Always. Oh, how she wished she could forget, but she knew all too well that those pesky negative memories knew exactly how to superglue themselves to the deep recesses of your mind. 

Her legs slowed as they moved through the entrance and for a moment she thought she might collapse. Resisting her bodies temptation to freeze or flee, she gripped tighter onto Ollivander and leaned into him for support. If she couldn't get herself to the front row seat, surely her dear neighbor and friend would get her there. He had pulled her through worse before... right? 

Elizabeth's eyes darted around the room, searching for familiar faces. On stage, a majority of the Emerald City police force sat in an arrangement of chairs and a young political administrative assistant organized note cards on the podium. The curtain at the back of the stage rustled from time to time, indicating that more people were back stage. She imagined that the Turners were a few of those people. Much of the press was already in the auditorium, set up as close to the front row as they could get so that they would be in view of whoever would be answering their dreadful questions. They were camera ready, reading over their notes, holding recorders and microphones. It made her feel sick, so she eventually averted her gaze and found her bed-headed friend Elliot sitting up front. Crap! She had told him to come early and then took longer getting inside herself. She was an awful frie-

[i]Who is that?[/i] A dark haired girl was speaking to him, though Elizabeth could only see the back of her and not her face. Short hair, petite frame... 

A shot of adrenaline rushed through Elizabeth's body and she released herself from Ollivander, legs suddenly finding their ground. [color=SteelBlue]"Lily?"[/color] The name gently escaped her lips as she took off from her neighbor's side and made a beeline for Elliot and the woman speaking to him. If she hadn't gone into tunnel vision, she might have noticed reporters turning their heads toward her; looking quickly from Elizabeth and then back to the girl that she was staring at. 

Out of impulse, Elizabeth grabbed the girls shoulders and swiveled her around so that they were face to face, beginning to force her into a bear hug. [color=SteelBlue]"Lily! You're-"[/color] She cut herself off as soon as she locked eyes with this woman who was very clearly not Lillian Turner. Her stomach knotted and she recoiled away, taking a few steps back from this stranger. [color=SteelBlue]"Oh God, I..."[/color] Her face flushed with embarrassment, suddenly feeling a room full of eyes on her. She glanced to Elliot for help, though she was unsure what he was supposed to do in that moment. [color=SteelBlue]"I'm s-ssooo sorry... I..."[/color] She shook her head, finding it unbearable to speak another word. Elizabeth didn't even know what to say to her. Instead of trying to explain, she glued her eyes to the ground and plopped herself down in the seat next to Elliot, her cheeks redder than her auburn hair.

[i]I'm going completely insane...[/i]

It took every ounce of strength she had left not to burst into tears. If she had her way she would have curled into the fetal position and retreated into Lily's orange, over sized hoodie. What a grand idea it was to wear this attention grabbing outfit, looking like she hadn't slept for a month, and audibly saying the name of a girl everyone else knew was dead. [i]Such a fool...[/i] 

Just then she felt a hand on her shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze. She tensed and looked up from the floor, meeting eyes with Kei; the Cosy Bear's busboy. She gave him a halfhearted smile accompanied with a small nod, as if to say that she was thankful that he was here, but she still found herself unable to work up the courage to speak. It was nice of Kei to attend, even though Elizabeth had told him to enjoy his day off. They even paid him for the full day and made sure that he knew that he wasn't required to attend even if the restaurant did close. [i]"Such a sweet kid..."[/i] Elizabeth had not expected him to attend, but she supposed it was in support of her and her family. Plus, he had met Lily many times in the cafe; she had made various surprise visits and often enjoyed their chocolate malted milkshakes. Lily had never said much about him, but it didn't surprise Elizabeth that Lily might have made some sort of impression on Kei. She just had that affect on people.