oh the summer nights--*open

[siena elizabeth montgomery]

o u t f i t

siena was sitting in the corner of the coffee shop, alone. ever since abby went missing siena had been alone a lot. she didn't have many friends, and she was starting to notice. she wasn't the type to always be alone. she liked people and being with people. and right now she was miserable. she wanted her best friend back.

[lee]

damien headed into the coffee bean with the intention of simply grabbing some caffeine to fight of the residual effects of last night’s party… well, maybe the last few nights; he hadn’t exactly been keen on allowing himself time to recuperate. unlike siena, damien had barely had a moment to himself since abigail’s disappearance, and he planned to keep it that way. the more time he had to himself, the more he got to thinking, and the last thing he wanted to do was to get lost in his thoughts because his mind was a dark place at the moment.

he knew that his impulsive behavior was only serving to make the rest of the town suspicious of him, but if there was any solid evidence, he would be behind bars right now. the only visits he’d taken to the local station were as a result of things he’d actually done, and all of that was cleared away with a quick phone call anyway. why everyone jumped to the conclusion that the way he was acting made him look guilty was beyond him. after all, his girlfriend had just gone missing; how was he supposed to act? but she wasn’t his girlfriend, was she? she’d left him. abigail had been the first person to outwardly reject him, and everyone knew it.

when he saw abigail’s best friend sitting in the corner, he felt obligated to talk to her. why, he didn’t know. maybe it had something to do with what happened after she’d left him or maybe it was just because they had both been very close to the girl and shared that. hell, maybe he was just looking for some company. in any case, he walked over to siena’s table, pulling off his sun glasses. “hey,” he greeted, a slight smile pulling at his features.

[siena elizabeth montgomery]

siena jumped a little and looked up at damien. she hadn't really talked to him much since the incident between the two of them. she felt guilty and regretted it. sure, damien was handsome, but he was her best friends ex-boyfriend. she crossed a very big line.

"hey damien," she said with a smile. they had been semi-friends before hand. still, she felt weird being around him. if abby ever knew, she would've never forgiven siena.

[lee]

damien could understand awkwardness between the two of them after everything, but he really saw it as just another thing. lately, he’d been doing so much he wouldn’t normally have done, and it all meshed together into a blend of someone else’s consciousness. though he should, he rarely felt guilty over having done any of it. sure, siena was abigail’s best friend, but abigail had been the one who cut ties with him, so he could hardly be blamed for moving on (and that was what he had decided to call it regardless of whether or not it was the truth).

”how have you been?” the boy questioned, unsure as to whether or not his concern was sincere. they’d been friends once, right? he supposed it wasn’t really necessary for him to let everything that was going on hinder that.

[siena elizabeth montgomery]

siena knew damien had kinda fallen down once abigail left him. he was just like an empty hollow shell. he used to be fun and care about things. now he just didn't.

"i've been okay." siena said with a small smile. it was weird being with him now. abby usually kept the conversations going.

"how've you been? i've heard some things." she said with uncertainty of how he would react. everyone thought he had something to do with the disappearance. siena had know him for a long time now, and she knew as many anger issues as he had, he wouldn't have hurt abby.

[lee]

damien nodded as she said that she was alright. he didn’t know if he should believe her or if she was just saying that, but there wasn’t really anything he could do about it either way, so he would just have to let it slide, right? it wasn’t like he could go out and find abigail to try and make everything ok… there were cops out there who were supposed to be doing that very thing, and he’d be damned if he was going to get in their way. he knew that his father could easily get him out of trouble for getting into fights with drunken idiots at school, but if they were convinced he had something to do with the disappearance, there was nothing that could save him.

damien was not the sort who’d survive in prison.

the boy took a seat, though he knew he hadn’t been invited to. he was so tired of being accused of something he could never have done. sure, he wasn’t the poster boy for good behavior, but he sure as hell wasn’t a killer. so she dumped him, abigail would probably have changed her mind eventually. ”what sort of things have you heard?” he asked, looking over at her. she hadn’t exactly accused him yet, so he knew that he should have been holding the annoyance, but he couldn’t seem to help himself.

[siena elizabeth montgomery]

yeah, it was weird sitting next to him, being in his presence, but still siena loved everyone. she was a sweetheart, just like abby. the only difference between the two was siena was much more reserved.

"hey, i didn't accuse you of anything , damien." she said softly and sincerely. she took his hand and said, "i know you wouldn't do anything to abby. okay?" she said hoping he believed her because she meant it. maybe it was the fact that siena tried to see the good in everyone that she believed damien wouldnt hurt abby. yet she did believe he wouldnt hurt anyone.

"people are talking about you, tiff, and jack. i can't believe anyone in richmond would hurt abby. everyone loved her. it's just weir thinking someone we know could do that." she said, scaring herself a little. siena didn't like thinking about it. as soon as she snapped herself out of it she put a smile back on her face.

[lee]

damien relaxed a bit, now knowing he’d overreacted. he knew people were talking… some didn’t even try to hide it. it was reassuring to know that siena didn’t believe them, but he always had thought that she was a bit naïve when it came to the nature of other people. he would never have hurt abigail, that much was true, but he’d certainly hurt people since. when he was completely honest (which, to tell the truth, was rare), he could admit to himself that he was a bit worried that this investigation would turn towards him. surely, they could have no evidence, but if the police didn’t find anything soon, he knew that people would be out for blood. his was as good as anyone’s.

”i’m sorry,” he apologized, glancing down at the table. ”i know i shouldn’t be taking it out on you, but i've heard people talking, too.” there were a few people in town he wasn’t too sure about, but damien tended to trust less than the average person. still, he and his friends were the ones on the block now, and he just couldn’t believe it either. giving her hand a light squeeze, he continued, ”this is so crazy. why would anyone do something like this?”

damien hated the way siena managed to keep smiling through all of this. sometimes it was ok to just be pissed off about something. he may have been abusing that privilege, but no one was going to find him walking around with a big goofy smile on his face while they held him responsible for something he didn’t even know enough about to be of any help. he’d never been the sort to just take what was dished out idly.

[siena elizabeth montgomery]

siena knew her smiling and acting like nothing was wrong was a little more then frustrating for most people, but she didn't like being sad and crying. it didn't accomplish anything. so she stuck it out and always had a smile on.

"maybe it was someone we don't know. a passerby." she said with a shrug, slightly hoping that was the case. she didn't want to believe anyone she knew could be responsible for this.

siena's smile faded and she looked down at the table. she hadn't really talked about abby much since she went missing. she didn't want to talk to kendall about it because he didn't really know abby.

"do you think she's okay?" siena asked quietly.

[lee]

”maybe,” the boy agreed, lifting a shoulder in a slight shrug. damien thought it best to avoid telling siena what the police said: that most kidnappings or murders were committed by someone close to the victims. sure, there was a chance she’d been out somewhere and some lunatic just grabbed her – hopefully for a ransom, but where was the note? all he knew was that he didn’t want to let himself think about all of the possibilities… especially not when he was with someone like siena, who obviously wanted to keep only the best scenarios in mind.

her question was a good one, though. did he think that she was alright? he supposed that with every day, he lost a little more hope, but that was mostly just because he didn’t like feeling helpless like this. there wasn’t a thing he could do to find the girl, and that was what really angered him. ”i think,” the boy started gently, looking over at siena, ”that i don’t want to waste my time thinking that she’s dead until there’s some proof, you know? i don’t care what they say. until someone can prove to me that she’s not alive, i'm just going to assume she is.” hopefully that was the right thing to say.

[siena elizabeth montgomery]

siena smiled a little and looked up at him with a thankful look on her face. people kept telling siena that abby was dead. it wasn't something she wanted to believe. abby was a strong, bright, athletic girl, it was hard to believe she'd be so careless as to get kidnapped, plus there was no trace of her any where. if someone tried to take her she would have fought. something was just funny.

"thanks damien," she said with a quick smile. it made her feel better knowing at least one other person in the town believed that abby was alive.

"you're a good guy, even if people don't think so. don't listen them." she said and squeezed his hand. it was alright that they held hands, wasn't it? they were friends after all. she tried not to think about it. she needed someone else to believe and at that moment damien was the only person she had.

[lee]

”thanks,” damien said with a small smile, though he didn’t really believe it himself. it didn’t really matter, though… he wasn’t really that preoccupied with being a good guy. that was his life before, but it wasn’t as fun and held way too many expectations and responsibilities. he didn’t want people thinking he was some sort of a killer or anything, but he wasn’t that boy next door either. i mean, jack sinclair was his best friend… it was only a matter of time before the lifestyle latched on to damien’s personality too.

”look, you don’t need anyone to tell you what to believe. right now, just keep doing what you’re doing to keep it together. when we find something out, well… we can just deal with that then, alright? everything else is just noise.” why he felt so protective of her feelings at the moment, he couldn’t know, but it was nice to know that at least one person in this godforsaken town wasn’t pointing the blame on him. if the only thing he needed to do in return was to say that he didn’t think abigail was dead, he’d say it.

[siena elizabeth montgomery]

"okay." siena said with a smile. it was nice seeing him again. she missed hanging out with him, jack, and abby. she didn't miss tiffany all that much. they talked on occasion but tiffany didn't even seem to care.

"so uhm, about what happened between us..." she said quietly. she didn't want anyone to ever know what happened. it was a poor choice on her part. she'd been a little drunk, but in her mind that was no excuse.

she didn't know what to say though. so she sat there and hoped damien would say something. she hadn't talked to him since it happened. she wanted to clear the air.

[lee]

damien smiled and laughed softly. he didn’t mean to laugh at her, but he’d sort of seen it coming. after all, siena wasn’t really like the other girls he saw. well, they hadn’t dated, of course… they’d only had one night together. still, he knew that this was the sort of thing that would bother a girl like her, and with abigail missing now, she probably felt even worse about it. the thing about damien was that his reputation preceded him, so he didn’t really need to go around town bragging about ‘conquests’ or even fights he’d gotten into. he had been a one-woman man for so long that no one really seemed to care about what he did.

in any case, the last thing he wanted was for people to find out he’d had a one-night stand with his exes best friend when they already suspected him of kidnapping her (and whatever else they were thinking… he didn’t care to find out any more). ”don’t worry about it,” he said, shaking his head. he was fairly sure that she also didn’t want it getting out, and since they were the only ones that knew, there really was nothing to worry about. ”we’re friends, right?” he asked for safe measure. who knew? maybe she wasn’t looking to shut him up about what happened. it was better to just be sure.

[siena elizabeth montgomery]

siena felt awful about what happened. it'd been a moment of weakness, for both of them and she didn't pride herself on it. she was normally the level-headed controlled one. she regretted what happened and hated that she regretted it. she liked damien a lot, but as a friend. she was so worried it was going to ruin what they'd had for ten years.

"of course," she said with a smile and gave him a kiss on the cheek, just like old times. she knew things would never actually be normal again, but she was gonna try damn hard.

"i just feel so bad. with abby, and i just feel like i, i dont know, like i betrayed her and hurt you too." she said and looked at him for a response. she knew she probably sounded ridiculous, but she wanted to talk about it. with abby missing, she needed to get things out or she felt like she was going to explode.