SKYFALL }} OAKLEY

[ashleigh mae sherman]

Ashleigh got back from work two hours before than the exact timing, which was a like a blessing for her for her ankle was hurting so much. She had slipped from the stairs few days ago and her ankle had swollen as a result. She had been applying ointments and keeping ice bags around it to lower the swelling and to some extend it did work but whenever had to walk around, the pain was unbearable. her boss told her that she couldn't permit her leave off until another month. she had to make it to work or she could get fired. being a columnist required a lot of reserach work, meetings and interviews so missing out a single day of work was like missing out her article in the newspaper, which was her only means of earning. being new tolos angeles, she found it too hard to manage all the expense. the bills, the rent, her daughter's & her expenses.. a lot of was hard to manage without any support. she had alwas enjoyed being independent and had been living like a big girl from ages but since she was new to new york, without a family around, life was now different. before she had her grandparents (if not parents to support her), best friend (who died two years ago) & most importantly the love of her life, her other half Oakley, who was her fiancee, but he left her too. basically everyone had left her, they let go of her like she didn't mean anything to her. Her best friend died leaving her baby behind, whom Ashleigh adopted according to her best friend's wish. Her parents kicked her out, they disowned her and her fiancee, left.. just like that.. without any explanation or reason. she had felt worthless but it was faith that gave her the strength & kept her going. religion had always been her moral support. she was always attached to it. before marriage she was never going to let anyone take away her innocence and the only person she could imagine that to ever be was, oakley. even after two years, she was still madly in love with him.

it was fate that united them once more. they met eachother at the bakery, where Ash had taken her daughter for buying her some donuts. they met, tearing into tears they hugged & talked about the old times, expressing how much they had missed each other. at first she threw a tantrum but then expressed her love and emotions towards him. she knew he needed help, she knew about his issues & didnt judge him at all. he wouldn't let her help him & yet announced that she was important to him. she didn't believe his words anymore. she asked for a proof and he said he will prove it. she invited him over for dinner and ordered them pizza because she wasn't in any state of cooking tonight. she did a bit of cleaning and dressed up her little lass katie, who was turning three soon, into a blue little dress. remember the boy at the bakery we met? Oakley? the girl looked up and spoke the guy who made you cry and then hugged you?you mean that guy? i dont like him, he made you cry. she announced and ashleigh smiled, kissing her daughter's forehead. yes that guy, he's a very close friend of mine. he's coming over for dinner. & he's a great guy, you two will get a long really well hun. I cried because I missed him. ashleigh said and combed her little baby's blond hair.

the door bell rang and the two of them looked at eachother. it's him. he's really nice, katie. you'll love him. ashleigh said, because she loved him so much. even after two years she was holding onto him & he was pushing her away. today he had to prove her that she was important to him or she might just feel worthless and fall in depression. she opened the door, a warm smile crossed her lips as she saw him. her eyes looking into his, oh she loved him. she wanted to hug him so badly but held herself back. she wouldn't, he didn't want her. hey she said. her daughter ran towards oakley and held out her hand. hello mister oakley! mom told me you're a nice person but i'll believe that only if you don't make mom cry today. said katie. katie, my dear, behave. he's a nice person. said ashleigh, running her hand through her hair. go play with your toys ashleigh said and as her daughter went away, she turned her attention back to Oakley. Shutting the door, Ashleigh slowly walked to the couch with difficulty.ouch she sighed and sat down on the couch. well, prove it. she wanted a proof.

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[oakley jameson porter]

Oakley had been really concerned about Ash going to work with her ankle all swelled up. He had seen her the other day at the bakery and he had to pretend like everything in his life was going alright. He was actually dying slowly inside, John was trying to break free. Oakley never told anyone about his multiple personality disorder. Even if he did the only person who didn't judge him and stick through it with him was Ashleigh. John had come out on a few occasions and did seem to know Ash, he did start a really bad fight once. It really hurt Ash and when Oakley did manage to skim to the surface he didn't know why she was so upset. The medication he was on right now was doing an alright job, he just wished his shrink could find out why he was so split down the middle. He didn't want John coming and ruining things now that she was back in his life, he thought he would never see her again.

Oakley walked over to the familiar streets that led to Ashleigh's house. It was quite chilly and he could see his breath all foggy and white. The streets were dimly lit with street lamps they were lightly covered with snow. The glow of red and green lights covered the houses, little reindeer light up yard ornaments decorated lawns. He forgot Christmas was approaching fast, he puffed out a big sigh and remembered he never celebrated Christmas. He was always alone on all the holidays, he had a family that hated him and no girlfriend anymore. Every year the Christmas cheer blues hit him and made him miss his old life even more. He felt horrible for pulling that trigger which changed his whole life. If only he didn't step in maybe his cousin would be alive and his father wouldn't hate him so much. His mother wasn't too pleased to have her son be a murderer. The truth was Oakley had been alone for two years and he had kinda adjusted to being a loner. The promise he made to Ash was one he intended to keep, he wasn't sure if she thought the same way but he sure hoped so. Oakley had accepted her challenge to show her how much he cared and he had brought with him all the letters he wanted to mail to her for the past two years. Each one didn't have a return address, he kept every single one and didn't mail any of them. The stack of them was wrapped up under his arm. The amount of times he had actually walked up to the local mailbox and tried to mail one letter to her was too many too count. It had been numerous occasions and his neighbors started to think he was mentally deranged.

Oakley had reached the house and rang the doorbell, he heard the pitter patter of footsteps towards the door. 'Be strong, remember you have to find yourself first before dragging her back into everything.'. He took in a huge breath and the door swung open. Oakley smiled at Ash, everytime he looked at her the pain he inflicted on her reflected back in her eyes. It hurt him deep and it was like an ache in her that would never be fully forgotten. "Hey." He replied, stepping into the house. He saw the blonde girl run up that was with Ash at his bakery the other day. He bent down to her level and he smiled warmly, "I promise I'll never make your mommy cry again, unless it's tears of happiness." Oakley shook her small hand and got back up to his normal level. He had tons of questions about Katie but he wouldn't ask them. She oddly didn't look at all like Ash at all, he assumed she was seeing someone over the past two years.. Her daughter left and Ash made her way to the couch slowly, Oakley wanted to help her to the couch but he was unsure if he was allowed to do that anymore. Oakley sat down beside her and she asked for proof. He chuckled softly, "You never waste time do you?" He smiled and handed her the bundle of over 400 letters bounded together by a small frayed rope. Oakley sat back and waited until she spoke, "I don't think you have time to read all those... but that's every letter I wanted to mail to you for the past two years... I just couldn't. Some are goodbye letters that I owe to you, some of love letters, some are really angry letters.. I just wanted you to see I went through every emotion you did." Oakley said softly, moving closer on the couch towards her, "There's one thing about every letter in this pile have in common, they all end with I love you." Oakley said looking up to meet her eyes, he really missed Ashleigh and she was the only person that understood every part of him.

notes - sorry it took so longgg!
outfit - here! (his hair isn't shaved though...)

[ashleigh mae sherman]

it had been only a few months since she moved to New York when her parents disowned her and kicked her out. her grandmother asked her to visit her in new york and she stayed there for a week. within a week of time she started to like Manhatten so much that Ashleigh decided to settle down there. Her mother wanted to travel around the world so she left Ashleigh all on her to figure out how to settle down in a new place. it was hard at first. She started off with a job of a waitress & going around giving interviews for editors, columnist and news reporter category. She was ready to fit in anything related to writing. It was her luck that she was able to find a job of her requirement, although it take her a lot of time but she was glad that she got the job. being a columnist wasn't easy. to have a column in the newspaper, was difficult. you had to work day & night to come up with something fascinating that the head would agree to roll in the newspaper. that was when the real earning was done. everytime her article was to hit the newspaper, she'd get a good amount of money. most of her earning was done over the online blogs she worked on day & night for the same company. her boss was a strict lady who hardly allowed her to take off her days from work. so she had no choice. she had to work today or she might lose her job.

luckily , one of her collegue had a car so he had dropped her at the door of her house. it was freezing cold. as it was december, there was snow everywhere. to keep her house warm, she had lit the fireplace & it kept the place warm. as he had arrived, she reached the door to greet him. being the impatience one, she decided not to wait another minute and demanded for the proof. to her surprise, he held out a pile of letters frayed by a rope. she gave the 'what's this' questioning look & he explained. she took the letters, looked at them as he went on, telling her that she wrote them to her to show her every emotion he went through. her heart had melted. it was true. he still loved him. as he said 'i love you', her facial expressions soothened, her eyes filled with tears and her heart skipped a beat. somehow, after all these years he still managed to have the same effect on her. she leaned over, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, planting soft kisses on his cheeks and neck. i love you, too.. she announced. she pulled away, her gaze resting onto his as her hands cupped his cheeks. you left without a goodbye, & i never stopped loving you. all this time i have been waiting for you, believing that you would come back to me. filling my diary all about you, how i lost my other half, how selfish it was of you to just leave.. without giving me the chance to live with whatever was wrong with you.. i didn't love your looks or perfection, i loved you for yourself.. for your flaws, the way you are. each & every bit of you.. you know we can overcome every problem if you let us try, together we're infinite.'' one would say she was good with words. what else can you expect? after all she was a writer. but it took a lot to speak words... you couldn't come up with anything unless you meant it. it was a way of expressing your feelings. until & unless you didn't feel it, you couldn't say it. that's what you used to believe, what changed that thought.. that belief? '' she questioned, tears rolling down her eyes. she raised her finger with the ring he had given her for engagement. no matter what, ill always be yours. waiting.. you hear me. the ring was a proof of her sincerity.

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[oakley jameson porter]

oakley had banished himself to a far off place from los angeles, anywhere to be away from ashleigh and all her beauty. he couldn't imagine waking up one day and running into her on the street, at their favourite coffee bar, at their favourite park, and any sheer memory of her hurt too much. oakley had accepted the fact that they were probably over the moment he had left without so much as a goodbye. he deserved to be alone, he had pushed ash away too many times and him leaving might have been the final straw. oakley wasn't expecting her to take him back, he was expecting her to kick him out of here the moment he passed over the letters. the truth was, oakley had never wanted a girl more than ashleigh but he was scared of the fact they were growing closer and closer everyday. he knew in his heart if he left then maybe the distance would help him find out what he truly wanted. the only thing that was clear during that time was the ache in his heart of how much he missed her. every cell in his body wanted to be in los angeles, everything ached for the familiarity of ashleigh's kisses and hugs.

oakley had took the long trek to her house and didn't mind the walk actually. it gave him time to think and process the fact that ash was back in his life. it was crazy how time played a key factor in his life. if she had never walked into the cake shop and he closed a minute before then he would've never seen her again. oakley was an artist and at one point he couldn't stop drawing ash's eyes in every sketch he made until the whole thing transformed into her face. he was madly in love with her but he didn't want her to know that. he just hoped that his instinct wouldn't be to bolt again. he bolted after his grandmother started to really care about him and fled here. he felt so guilty all the time for everything, he let it eat him from the inside to the out. just as oakley said 'i love you' she said it back and his heart skipped a beat and his body grew warmer at the sound of the words. he missed those words but at the same time there was something digging into his brain that made him want to cringe. he wasn't sure why his heart said one thing and his brain said another. it was probably the medication he was on, it helped but it made him kinda loopy at times. he planted a kiss on her forehead and breathed in the familiar scent of her shampoo. oakley listened carefully to everything ash said, he wanted to capture this moment in his mind. he had really awful memory and he just wanted to savor this moment.

ash was an amazing writer and she was far beyond her columnist job. her boss seemed really mean to her, making her work with an injury. all her words were beautiful, they hit his heartstrings and played a joyful tune in his ears. "ash, we are infinite. no matter what i go through i can now know we can go through it together. i no longer feel alone in this world because no matter where i go, whoever i'm talking to, whatever i'm doing. i know, you're right there in spirit picking me up whether i fall or rise. i can't imagine my life without you, all those years in highschool when i got really bad you were there for me. those letters were what kept me going, it was only a good day if i found a letter waiting for me on the kitchen table back in texas." oakley smiled meekly and then took ashleigh's hand and kissed it. he saw her ring still proud on her finger. oakley remembered saving for that ring, it took him so long but he finally did it. he had worked so hard at the old pastry shop he worked at in texas and then some overtime ontop of that. the ring was magnificent and he couldn't imagine him giving a promise ring to anyone else but her. "i-i-i was just scared ash, i know john and he has hurt you so many times... i can't even imagine the hurt you went through when i promise to be at your place that night and me not show up for weeks... and when i did i smelt like booze and late night partying." oakley looked down ashamed, he didn't want to admit that he was getting worse again. things were going good again finally. he leaned in close and rested his forehead on hers, "i'm still terrified of love but i know being in love with you was the best thing that's ever happened to me." oakley took her face in both hands and kissed her forehead once more.

notes - OMG THESE TWO ARE ADORABLE.
outfit - here! (his hair isn't shaved though...)

[ashleigh mae sherman]

time did play an important part in her life. during her worst times, he was always there for her. writing her everlasting novel type letters because they were oceans apart. with her being half british, she lived in london in the boarding school. her parents were both cheating onto eachother, without the other knowing about it. ashleigh had seen it happen when she was twelve and begged her grandparents who worked in london to take her away from her parents. she didn't tell them why she wanted to go far far away from family but lied that she was more in being a british & part of her mother's heritage than staying in america. her grandparents were pleased to hear her wish and took her abroad, got her in boarding school and there she had stayed for almost 8 years of her life, absorbing the british accent, culture and all those qualities that gave away the impression that she was from london, not american. she got herself into writing from a very young age and came across oakley who turned into her best friend within months. every morning she'd rush to find emails and letters from him that made her smile. it was through their relationship, she realized that distance made no difference between friendship if two people were willing and sincere. from friendship it grew into obsession & then into addiction and eventually into love, that one day he was at her graduation party. that was the first time they met and he had asked her out. after a few months of dating, he proposed her with a ring and that was the happiest day of her life. she didn't care what her parents would think of this. she honestly didn't give a damn to them and accepted his proposal. her grandparents were supportive and agreed to meet oakleys parents. they had been in love ever since then and together. he knew her like an open book, each and everything about her & she knew about him too. there were times his multiple personality order would get the worst of oakley but ashleigh could care less. no matter what she was going to be there for him forever and it was a promise that she made to herself when she accepted his proposal. but that wasn't the case. one day he disappeared, leaving her a note that said somethin' like 'i'm a monster and you don't deserve me'. it was heart breaking and she felt she had lost her other half, however she was able to survive but die on the inside whenever she thought of oakley. her best friend was pregnant & her boyfriend had denied to accept the baby and ran off. in a crucial time like this, when her best friend even got kicked out by her family because she was from a very extremist & religious family who thought sex before marriage was the biggest sin. it was ashleigh who gave her place to crash. it was a time for ashleigh to be strong, if not for herself then her best friend and the baby.

as ashleigh had always cherished friendship, love & nature, she was there for her best friend through thick & thin. the baby turned out to be girl whom they named katie hope, as she was their little new hope and they knew she would bring them good luck. an year later when katie started to take baby steps, they found out that her best friend had cancer and was going to die. those few months of her sickness passed by like minutes and she was gone forever.. ashleigh had watched her die, once again she was left alone but katie was there with her. ashleigh had promised to take good care of katie. her best friend had asked her to put katie up for adoption in the hands of good people & ashleigh agreed but she loved katie too much to put her up for adoption so she took the biggest decision of her life and adopted katie & told people that it was her daughter. only her grandparents knew the truth who were too busy travelling around the world, fulfilling their last dream before dying. she didn't know why she introduced katie as her own daughter to her parents but it was more like she wanted to get kicked out from her house. they wanted her to put katie for adoption because they thought ashleigh was too young to be a mother and forget about it. for ashleigh, katie was everything. she couldn't push yet another person from her life. she disobeyed her parents command and they disowned her. it was sad but she was somewhat glad. having parents like her who were deliberately cheating onto each other and didn't love each other anymore, was a big disgrace. their excuse to remain together was to keep their family united, their cause was good but it didn't matter. she returned back to britain but memories of oakley and her best friend haunted her so she moved to los angeles, a completely foreign city for her and settled down with a job of waitress at first and then the columnist job. she wanted to be a writer and this was the perfect start. in a very young age she had been through a lot & there wasn't a single day she didn't miss oakley. she did everything to contact him but never got any replies.

time played it's part once again and oakley sat infront of her. there were tears in their eyes, filled with love. she could see it. his words were ringing in her head and he planted a kiss on her hand. her heart skipped a beat. as he continued to talk, she looked into his eyes. she knew this was hard for him. she could see him hurting and she wished to take away all the pain from him for once and for all. she didn't know why but she was crying. the pain in his eyes, words were killing her. n-none of t-t-that m-m-mattered t-t-to me. You k-k-know and so d-d-o i know that you don't d-d-do t-that on purpose. John isn't under your control.. it's not like you have any choice. if you were doing any of that on purpose, i'd know about it & never love you.. but you're innocent oakley. none of it is your fault a-a-and you're not a monster. whatever happened was past & i'm sure we can make things better if you let me help y-you oakley? p-please... she could never let anyone replace him in her life. to love is to destroy and we will together, destroy whatever has gotten a hold of you.. '' she reached for his hand and held it tightly. was? but for me it is still the best thing and I cannot get myself out of it Oakley, I love you.. so much. she cupped his face in her hands. she felt his kisses onto her forehead and leaned over, hugging him tightly and crying onto his shoulder, sinking lower to his body as she broke down emotionally. d-d-d-don't push me away t-t-this t-t-time oakley, p-please.. i beg you.

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[oakley jameson porter]

oakley had reminisced many different times about that night when he first met ash. getting on the flight was the most nerve racking thing ever. the timezone difference always was really tough when the two skyped and talked for hours. he usually stayed up into the wee hours of the night and she woke up early just for the two of them to chat right before she went to school. oakley would do anything for ash and flying all those miles for her seemed looooong overdue. he had to get enough cash first and get a passport, this all took some time so he had started a fund for it a year and a half prior, applied for a passport, got a luggage set, and rented a tux for the graduation party. he had also brought with him a ring, it wasn't fancy or anything but one with white gold and one single diamond in the center. the whole trip had to be planned extensively and he had to keep it a secret from ash. inbetween the letters, emails, and skype calls he had a hard time keeping it from her. ash was her bestfriend and basically his only friend growing up. when he had stayed extra late hours at the bakery shop to pay for the ring he had to lie as to why he needed the extra cash. oakley had told her he wanted to be classically trained in pastries and deserts --which was half true but he didn't have enough for the trip and the ring PLUS the tuition for pastry school. he had to make a choice, it was either ash or his career. he had chosen ash in a heartbeat, nothing made him more sure than her sticking with him through the diagnosis of his condition. she didn't ask any questions, didn't treat him differently, and didn't even shun him away like an animal. ash was truly made for oakley, he was sure she was his soulmate.. even from the first letter she wrote him, he knew this was the start of something special. oakley went through some rough times where his split personality john would appear out of nowhere and for weeks on end. he would find himself winding up in an alleyway somewhere smelling awful. it was ash who helped him out of that deep depression, helped him make the tough decision of taking the numerous amounts of pills they had given him.

when oakley had been framed for the murder, he had bolted from texas. nobody in his family wanted anything to do with him. that's when he stayed with his second cousins for some time in alaska. he had to change his phone number several times, switch addresses, delete his email, and even his facebook. he had cut off all contact with ash, he didn't want her knowing what an awful person he was. his father sent him hate mail and tried to break him down further, oakley was starting to believe he really was a murderer. he was a pushover and did whatever people told him, even if it wasn't good for him. he tried to please everyone around him prior to pleasing himself. oakley did this for many years before discovering he had pushed himself back into a hole of darkness. he was now consumed by his guilt, john ran ramped since he couldn't afford his pills anymore. oakley finally realized that to make himself better he had to let ash in. he had shut her out for so many years and to ask her to just help him again.. he wasn't sure if he bore that right anymore. he found himself going on facebook, he had just enough to get a flight out to los angeles... he had gotten a job at the bakery and payed rent on a small apartment. slowly getting himself back on the meds was the next step. he then decided to locate ash, but she found him first in the bakery shop earlier today. it was fate, it had to be. why else would she come in the bakery shop? it was just another sign from heaven that these two are meant to be together. upon seeing each other he had noticed the sparkly ring that was still on her finger. she hadn't taken it off yet, which meant she believed in them still.

oakley's eyes started to fill up with tears but he kept them back because ash started to cry. he felt the pain of all those times he had left ash, he was burdened by all his guilt. the guilt for murdering his uncle, leaving behind his life, but most of all for leaving ash. his guilt swallowed him alive, he couldn't count the many times he wished he could just end it all for him. just end the hurt, but anytime he came remotely close to ending it all... one single thought stopped him, ash. he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger, finish tying the noose, or let the water be his escape. oakley knew he was not only taking the easy way out but he was making ash's life worse. "ash, it's not as easy as you say it is.." oakley trailed off, he loosened the grip on ash's hand and turned away. he looked back at her, his eyes burning with fresh tears. "i can't just let go of him! he's apart of me, h-h-he's in here!" oakley's voice started to rise and his pointed at his brain, knocking it back and fourth roughly. his hands were raking into his hair, the tears were falling now. he was started to crack under the immense guilt he felt up until this moment. "ash, i c-c-can't just let go, i can't let you in without him coming out. i'm falling apart ash, i can't aff--." he cut himself short, he didn't want ash knowing yet that he had financial issues with his medication. as ash grabbed his hand and assured him that their love could withstand everything he looked deeply in her eyes, his eyes now clearly of the tears. they were red and blurred from the leftover tears still. "you're the best thing that's ever happened to me too. i love you so much." oakley said squeezing her hand as she held his.

as ash leaned into his shoulder he held her for what seemed like a century, he had missed her fitting perfectly with his body. "i'm sorry ash, i shouldn't have raised my voice... i won't push you away anymore. with you, i already feel more myself already." oakley sighed into her and breathed in her scent. he missed her, he pulled away from the hug. "i'm so sorry ash, i will keep apologizing until i make things right with you. i love you and i can't deny my feelings any longer." oakley said softly, he leaned in and kissed ash. he hoped he didn't rush things but he hadn't kissed her in what seemed like a hundred years. oakley pulled away from the kiss and pulled her into another hug. "i've missed you so much." his voice verging on breaking.

notes - sjdklsajdklj
outfit - here! (his hair isn't shaved though...)