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Jun 18, 2010 19:05:31 GMT -5
Post by Amayasama on Jun 18, 2010 19:05:31 GMT -5
x.x Oh my god I understand parents can be disbelieving of their child and a first pet but really? XD Una talks, reacts, and looks just like a person...>> Gotta slap some sense into those two...
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Jun 19, 2010 2:02:58 GMT -5
Post by whisperer on Jun 19, 2010 2:02:58 GMT -5
@ezza: Thank you! And don't worry, I'll be sure to keep the updates coming @a2i: Who knows? Maybe they... they... okay, I'm too tired to think up a funny one-liner. How's about this one: Maybe they need glasses as thick as their skulls? Annnyway, I have to meet the deadline, so I can get a proof copy of this story from CreateSpace. Everyone who "won" NaNoWriMo last year got a code that would let them get a free copy, but they have to use it by June 30th. And me, being the ultimate procrastinator, didn't really do much until the Spring. And it's coming back to haunt me DX @ama: Not really sure what good that'd do, what with Una's tiny hands and all. (FUN FACT: I'm so tired right now, that I originally typed "hands" as "ahdns") Thanks for reading, all of you. ________________________ Una knew it, and I knew it. It was a load of crap. But arguing with the two could be compared with trying to talk sense into a brick wall. "Thank you." I said between gritted teeth, still very upset over their verbal treatment of Una, and began to take my leave. But before I could even pivot my body, Una herself spoke up. "What do I have to do to prove to you two that I'm not an animal?!" she cried in desperation. My father kept a blank face without a hint of emotion in it. "C'mon..." I urged to Una. "Let's just go." I said quietly enough so that only she could hear. She looked immensely hurt, and annoyed. I turned away from my parents, not bothering even a parting glance. I was offended by them, and felt for Una. It must not be very good, when your second meeting with another person is met by denials of your own character. And what were they even going on about? What made her not a person? Shaking their accusations from my mind, I stroked a thumb down Una's back, in an attempt to calm her down. As I reached the top of the stairs, she looked up at me, but this time her face was filled with tears. "I just don't understand..." she muttered. "They're... very arrogant." She didn't say another word. I walked through the hallway, no lights were shining save for the low sun sending in a dull yellow tinge throughout. As I entered my room, the same yellow broke through my window and shined down on myself and Una. "But don't listen to a word of it. Like I said, you're better than them." She continued her downcast stare. I furthered my concerned look, but still gently placed her down on the windowsill. "C'mon. Forget about 'em. Look, we still got away with this, didn't we?" I asked, holding up her new bed. She lifted her head up to see, and lightened her face a little. "Thanks, Aiden." she said with only half a smile. "You're right." "How's that?" "They're jerks. Not to insult your parents, or anything." "Oh, don't worry. They're not much of parents anyway." "I have to ask. How did someone who came from such awful people end up being so nice?" My cheeks burned with a blush. I still wasn't very used to compliments, even from Una. "I'd have to say that I never really spend much time with them. I mean, they're always at work, or something." "So, you're normally by yourself?" she perked up, seeming to have put past what happened only minutes ago. "Yeah." "Aiden... what was it like before you found me, for you?" Oh, man. This was going to be a long one. "It wasn't very nice." I began honestly. "As a matter of fact, it was downright awful." "Tell me about it." she pressured, curious. "At home, I was almost continuously alone. And when my parents actually were here, well, you've seen what they're like. Not much fun to be around them." Her eyes just narrowed. "And aside from home, there was school." I thought for a second. "You know what school is, right?" "Yeah. A place where you go for learning." "Good. I just didn't know how much you yourself learned from that dream. But anyway, I was basically just ignored by everyone, and that Chad guy loved to bully me around." "I'm really sorry about that." she said. "I'm over it. I mean, you're here now." I replied with another smile. A smile she instead returned with a worried expression. "But what are we going to do from here? Stay here? Because, Aiden, I really don't want to spend another moment with these people." she stated. "I'm going to try and figure out where you're from. But other than that?" I began, before falling down onto my bed, and letting out a sigh. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to conjure up an answer for her. "I don't know. I mean, where else could we go? They kinda have me pinned here, since they're the ones with the food and all." She didn't seem convinced. "There must be somewhere we could go!" "I can't think of anywhere." I responded, turning my gaze down, as I couldn't look at her in my own self-disappointment. "Aiden? Look up." I did as I was told, and met her eyes. Those same amethyst eyes. Those haunting, and yet beautiful, eerie and surreal, yet comforting, eyes. "We'll stay. But if they try to pull anything, we have to go." I could only agree. "Let's give them a trial-phase of you. I know that they can't be as awful as they like to put up, and sooner or later, they'll take a liking to you." She gave a very small smile, and added, "I sure hope so. Now, what about dinner?" It had been too long of a time since we both last ate. It actually looked like it was a reoccurring theme that neither of us would eat until we both were starving. I took Una up in my hand, and went downstairs into the kitchen. The hallways along the way were no longer lightened by a dull from the sun, it having gone down too far to illuminate the area. Instead of relying on them, I had to use the house lights to make sure I knew where I was going. Normally, I'd stumble about in the dark to make sure my parents didn't have anything to complain about once the electric bill came along. But now, there was no chance that I wasn't going to be one hundred percent safe, with Una in tow. Luckily for us, the trip to the kitchen did not yield a meeting with them; the two likely went out for dinner. I didn't mind, even though I knew before I reached the refrigerator, that it'd be filled with nothing new. They never made much of a habit of keeping a whole lot in there. As a matter of fact, they rather made a habit out of keeping it as bare as possible, without it being empty. If there was enough food and drink to last another day, it wasn't worth it to make a trip to the store. This way, they figure, they wouldn't end up wasting any money on excess food that would end up not being eaten. And, on the subject of saving money, they never really bought anything that was quite exactly what I'd call quality. They instead bought the cheapest knock-off brands they could find, all for the sake of saving a buck. But I had to wonder, if they're saving so much money on food, and working so much, where did all that money go? They certainly weren't spending it on furniture, as the entire house was very modestly furnished. And by "modestly", I mean poorly. I'd actually be a little embarrassed to let anyone into my home, as there was no more than a table here, a chair there, and a TV there. Which made me think about how lucky I was that Una couldn't compare my house to others she'd seen. In fact, if she saw someone else's house at this point, she'd probably think they were millionaires or something. Maybe they were spending all the money on restaurants. I mean, they sure went out a lot, probably because they sure didn't want to be the ones to be eating what crud they stocked the house with. Forcing the negativity out of my mind, I placed Una down on the table, and asked, "What do you want for dinner?" "I trust you." she said, leaving the decision up to me. I turned to the refrigerator, with a mock grin. I opened it, revealing all but a jar of pickles, and some sliced turkey. Since there wasn't much of a selection, I took both. I then went over to the counter, and grabbed the loaf of bread. "Oh, great..." I muttered, holding it in front of my face. "They ate all the good ones." All that remained was the top and bottom piece. I took out both, and pulled out a plate from the cupboard above. I then set the slices of bread down on the plate, and placed four slices of turkey on them. Lastly, I pulled off a corner of the sandwich for Una, got a pickle, and put everything away. Once I finishing my work, I took the plate over to Una, and set it down in front of my chair, then sat down. "This is for you." I said, motioning towards the piece of the sandwich, and a bit of pickle I then broke off. "Enjoy." I finished with a smile. Over dinner, we talked about what she might be, why my parents were morons, and what the heck those people from my CD were saying. And then we wondered what normal people talk about. Una suggested that they talk about the economy, which we settled on must be the case, since neither of us were normal, and neither of us knew anything about the economy. After a surprisingly not awkward dinner, I put the plates away in the sink, and was about to go back to Una, until I heard some shuffling outside the door. "That's probably my parents..." I said, not looking forward to another encounter with them. To prove my assumption right, my mother came bustling through the threshold, holding her purse in hand. "I can't believe I let you talk me into going to that place." My father was the next one in, coming through with, surprisingly, a black eye. "What? The guys are great there!" "That fat one gave you a black eye!" They were both facing each other in front of the kitchen. I wasn't even sure if they saw either Una or I. "First off, he's not fat. Second, he gave me a black eye because I said he looked like Santa. I deserved it, honey!" he carried on in an annoyed tone, as if this were the most perfectly normal thing in the world to happen. Una and I exchanged a confused glance. "Don, I can't believe you! You-" she stopped in mid-sentence. In her peripheral vision, she must have seen us. She immediately snapped her look into my direction, before shouting, "What're you doing here?!" "I live here." I replied flatly. Next thing I knew, my dad joined in the verbal fray against me. "She means what're you doing in the kitchen, smart aleck!" "Eating. With her." I said, motioning towards the table with Una on it. "Oh, ew!" cried out my mother. "Why is she on the table?!" "Because we don't have enough phone books for her to sit on a chair." At this, my father took a stride towards me, getting in my face. "One more comment like that-" he said, with a finger only an inch from my face. "Forget that!" cried my mother. "Get her off the table!" "Do I get a say in this?" Una asked. Ignoring what she had said, my father began to reach in her direction. As if by reflex, my hand snapped on his arm, and pulled it backwards. He turned to face me, with an incredulous look. "I'll get her." I said, but not before I myself got into his face. I placed my hand down on the table beside Una, palm up. "Let's go." I said in a much calmer tone, and a small smile on my face. She returned the smile, and stepped on, then sat down. "Bye!" she called in a near-mocking tone, towards my parents. My parents, who were left both with looks of disbelief of what had happened. ________________________ Don't you hate it when all that's left of the bread are the top and bottom pieces?! 90% of the time, they're mushed into something that doesn't even look like bread, and 90% of them is crust! And that, ladies and gentlemen, is whisper's rant o' the morning. Like the awkward skip to when Aiden finished making dinner, to once they finished? Yeah, there was going to be a whole scene in there, but for posterity's sake, it's been scrapped. I think I hate and like Aiden's dad - Don's the name! - more every time we see him. At first, he's revealing that he has very abusive friendships. Then he tries to grab Una. Baby steps, Don, baby steps.
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Jun 19, 2010 2:13:14 GMT -5
Post by whisperer on Jun 19, 2010 2:13:14 GMT -5
Just a short one:
____________________
I never disobeyed them, I never got in their face, I never was sarcastic towards them, and I certainly never before laid a finger on them. So the past few minutes had been very alien to them. And to me, as well. Although, to be perfectly honest, I was now curling Una up in my hands and leaving the premises with only one real reason behind my actions: to get the heck outta there. What was I thinking?! Sure, protecting Una was very important to me, but the smart comments definitely weren't necessary. Oh, man. They're right behind me, I can just feel it. They're gonna- "Aiden! Jeez!" I stopped in mid-stride, thinking I was walking too fast, and jostling her. "Calm down! I can hear your heartbeat!" Could she really? I took one hand out from under her, and placed it onto my chest. Jeez, it was going crazy. I set the hand back down under her, and took a deep breath. Held it in. And let it out. That's what all those aerobic conditioners tell you to do, right? "Sorry. I'm just not used to... yeah." I tried to explain to her. Luckily, she seemed to understand. "Even if you're not used to it, you sure had me fooled! You handled them like a pro, Aiden!" she said, beaming up to me. I grinned at her, and returned to my walk up the stairs. "I just really don't want anyone touching you, especially if they're my parents." I replied to her, before thinking about what I'd said. "That didn't sound too over-protective, did it?" "A little." she said with a teasing smile. "But I don't want anyone else near me, either. Unless they're as gentle as you." I felt proud of this. Here I was, holding someone who in all rights, should be deathly afraid of me. And yet, I had her trust. Sure, there were the moments like after we came back from the Toy Store for the first time, and when she woke up from her dream... but, I knew that she trusted me. And I'd never do anything to go back on that trust, or make myself not worthy of it. As long as she was with me, she was safe.
And here we were, in my room again. Una looked beat. Heck, I was beat. A whole lot of emotions had been spinning through both our heads today, and it was a tiring experience. Anger, desperation, confusion, annoyance, and fear. But that was over now. All that was left for the day was to go to bed, preferably early. Preferably now. "You ready to go to bed?" I asked her. "I was just about to ask." she said, slower than her normal speech. The drowse was getting to her as well. "Alright. G'night, Una." "Wait a sec! C'mere." she said before motioning towards her. Confused, I leaned inward until she stopped motioning, and I was close to her. She brushed her left hand against my nose. "G'night." I blushed deeply and set her down in her bed. It felt a little strange, to be putting another person to sleep, even if I'd done it before. But only with her. It wasn't like I had anyone else. But I still went through with it, and went on over to my closet, grabbing my pajamas. I peered over to Una, making sure she wasn't looking. She was already, somehow, fast asleep. I swiftly changed into my pajamas, and laid down on my bed. Looking back to Una a second time, I smiled softly and flicked off the light. ________________________
Something tells me Aiden's about to have a dream...
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Jun 19, 2010 13:48:23 GMT -5
Post by aspired2inspire on Jun 19, 2010 13:48:23 GMT -5
Ooh! More dreams! ;D
(and I think you called Una 'Zea' somewhere in the update...)
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Jun 19, 2010 21:44:14 GMT -5
Post by Amayasama on Jun 19, 2010 21:44:14 GMT -5
XD HAha true Una wouldn't be able to slap much sense into them but I can! *pose* ;D And if I was Aiden I'd totally take all the money I could find and ditch to live in the woods for a while until my folks flippin' grew up some >>
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Jun 20, 2010 1:34:52 GMT -5
Post by whisperer on Jun 20, 2010 1:34:52 GMT -5
@a2i: Thanks for letting me know! I gotta start looking more carefully through these things >__> @ama: Going to the woods might actually be a good idea... _______________
There were birds singing. A warm breeze lapped over me, and. Below me was a good fifty feet, but I wasn't afraid. No, I was the opposite. Very relaxed, calm, and content. I looked to my right, and saw Una. We smiled briefly at each other, before looking back to the distance. There wasn't anything to see, but it didn't seem right to do anything else, and ruin the serenity of the moment. I slowly wrapped an arm around one of her fingers, and laid my head against it.
Una lowered the hand I was sitting closer to the ground, near the outside of the figure-eight. She tilted her hand down until it was at a deep enough angle for me to slide off. After I did, I landed on the pedestal. I turned around to face Una, but she was gone. In her place was the great tree.
A dog barking outside woke me up. I sat up slowly, and tried to shake the fog from my head. Unlike the last times, where I shot up, scared out of my mind. It was actually nice this time around. I sort of missed it. "Ugh." I'm not much of a morning person. But I tried my best to change my mood, and looked towards Una's windowsill. She had her head in her armpit. She was an odd one, that's for sure. "Need another bath?" She snapped her head out of its position, with a face full of blush. "Err, yeah. You don't mind, do you?" "Not at all." I said with a reassuring smile. I then turned away from her, walked over to my closet, and pulled out a change of clothes for myself. It was then that I realized it. "Uh oh." "What?" questioned Una. "You don't have any clean clothes..." I said, looking up in embarrassment. How could I forget? "Not any 'street' clothes, or whatever he called them. But what about the elegant thing?" "There's... that, yeah. I guess there's no reason to not wear it..." I began. "And who knows, maybe it'll finally impress my parents." And I thought back to their faces when they first saw her. They sure got over seeing a palm-sized girl quickly... But I pushed the thought out of my mind. "Who knows." she repeated. She herself looked lost in thought. After a moment's pause, I took the dress in one hand, and placed the other next to her. "Ready?" "Yep." said replied, and walked onto my hand.
I peeked out from behind my door, looking for any signs of my parents being up. When I had left my room, the clock read 7:21, so I was pretty sure that they'd be asleep. They normally slept in until 9:00 or so. With the coast appearing to be clear, I took my leave of my room, and went over to the bathroom. Once I was in, I turned the water on, but at a low level, to make it come out slowly, but most importantly, quietly. The plug on top of the spout was already pulled up, so that the water would collect in the tub, rather than go down the drain. Within a few minutes, enough water was in the bottom of the tub, and the bottles were places within Una's reach. "Alright, everything's where it needs to be." I told her, as I set her down in the dry side of the tub, along with her dress. "If you need anything, just call for me." "Got it." With that, I took my leave of the bathroom, and leaned against the door as I did the first time. Here comes the boring part. I began to lowly whistle tunelessly, until I was interrupted by the sound of my parents' bedroom door opening. "Craap." I said under my breath. Around the corner came my shambling father. "Move." he said. Woah. Déjà vu. Only difference this time, is that he wasn't wearing anything aside from underwear. So, it might a bit of a family habit, but at least I don't have a stomach covered in gray hairs. It looked like a worn steel-wool pad. "Can't. Una's taking a bath." He stared blankly. "You're telling me that that... whatever she is, is in my shower?" "Well, yeah. How else is she supposed to get clean?" "She's in my shower?" "I could write it down on a piece of paper, if you'd rather read it." Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. My brain screamed at me for making yet another smart remark towards him, but I kept my face steady. I wouldn't let him see how nervous I was. He, on the other hand, did not have the stoic face that I did. His was more of a sequel to the look of disbelief from last night. And I gotta say, the new one was definitely better. This time, his jaw was more slacked, and his eyebrows were up and down. The production team really stepped it up. "Uh-you-..." he stammered. He was more nervous than I was! "Whatever. Just tell her to hurry up." "Well, as soon as she's done, I'm going next." I said, testing the limits. "Whatever." he repeated, and went back to his room.
I stood there, amazed with myself. I just managed to tell my parents off, once again. And my confidence was at an all-time high. I stuffed my hands into my pockets, leaned back against the door again, and looked at the ceiling. How far could I take them? Were they always this... easy? Or did having Una around just give me an edge? And why the heck did I never try anything before? Ah, forget it. As long as this kept up, I could actually manage to get them to back off. I'm not so sure about being able to convince them to consider Una a person, but them leaving us alone is good enough for now. And then I remembered something. Sure, she had her dress for today, but what about tomorrow? She'd need clean clothes for then. Looking at the door and giving it a wondering look, I concluded that she'd be in there long enough that I could put her clothes in the washing machine before she was done.
I left my post in front of the door to grab her small collection of clothing, and just a few of my own articles of clothing. Just washing her little clothes alone would surely be a waste. After collecting an armful of both her and my own clothing, and went over to the closet in the hallway outside of my room. Inside was the washing machine. "Sure hope this thing doesn't shrink her clothes..." I said to myself. I already knew it didn't do anything to my own clothing, but I'd never used it with hers before. But I had faith that it'd work out. Besides, I really didn't want to handwash any clothes. I placed the pile of clothing in, then grabbed the bottle of detergent on a shelf in the closet. I undid the lid, and was hit the the face with the strong smell of the blue liquid. "Whew." I voiced, still drawn back by the odor as I poured a capful, then dripped it down into the washing machine. I screwed the cap back on, closed the lid of the machine, and pressed a few buttons. It whirred to life, and started shaking slightly. Happy with myself at finishing this chore, I turned back to the bathroom.
"Aiden! Hey!" I just barely heard through the door. She must be done. But I had to be sure, unless I wouldn't be very polite. "You done, Una?" I said through the door. "Yep!" Boy, she has great timing. Given the clear, I rotated the handle to open the door. And there she was, standing at the bottom of the tub, looking clean and crisp. But it wasn't that she was clean that got me. It was the dress she was wearing. Now, I wasn't expecting much from a freebie at the Toy Store meant for dolls. But she looked positively striking. Well, in the dress' defense, it was labeled as "elegant". The color was teal, and it waved itself down to in between her shins, and her ankles. I was drawing my eyes up, until I was caught in-between. "Looks good, huh?" "It does! It really does." She grinned up at me. "Wanna know something?" Was she offering a secret? And what secrets could she even have? Curious, I answered, "Yes." "I..." she paused, trying to build up for dramatic effect. "don't like it." I let out a small laugh, before regaining myself. "And why's that? Not enough foliage?" "Foliwha?" she asked, confused. Now there was something I'd missed. Good thing to know she wasn't all-knowing, not quite yet. "Plants, leaves. That sort of thing." "Oh. Hey!" she cried. "Sorry!" I returned, still smiling though. She gave a mock look of insult. "You're not being very nice." Considering this to be an invitation to play, I lowered myself down to her level, with my lower half on one side of the tub, and the upper half in the tub. It felt uncomfortable, sure, but that wasn't important. "I could be a whole lot less nice." I said, trying my best to have an intimidating pose. She burst out laughing. Clearly, it wasn't working. "I'm sorry, Aiden, but you're not scary." she said once her giggles died down. I gave a disappointed look, and pulled myself backwards, feeling relief around my middle at the pressure being taken off. "And it hurt so much to do, too." "Well, it could be just because I know you too well. I mean, if not, you might be scary. But, since I do, you're just not." "Note taken: next hand-sized person I meet, I'll try to scare the living daylights out of them first thing." "That might not be the greatest idea, Aiden..." she said, growing a worried expression. "I'm kidding! I thought you said you knew me?" I teased. "Aw. It didn't seem like something you'd actually do, anyway." "I doubt it." I agreed. "But anyway, I need my shower now. I was thinking about leaving you in my room while I'm taking it." "Fine by me. As long as your parents don't come by." "They shouldn't. My mom's asleep, and I think my dad's back to sleep as well." "Well then, in that case, I'll be waiting in your room."
Okay, so Una was in my room. And my parents - as far as I knew - were in theirs. But that didn't stop me from rushing my shower. I didn't know for certain when they'd wake up, and if either of them would want to go by my room, for whatever reason. But when my dad reached for Una last night, without asking her, it worried me. It worried me a whole lot. All it did for me was show that they care even less about her opinion than I originally thought. They ignored her for the most part when she spoke, as if they were denying that she had the ability to do so. And when they saw her on the table, they freaked. So what if she was on the table? It's not like she was getting a whole lot of marks on it. She didn't even have shoes to scuff up on it. And then they were fully willing to just grab her whenever they deemed necessary? In all honesty, I probably would have placed her on a chair if it was considered as taboo as they made it appear. But that was last night. Today, I'd start doing that. I'm sure she wouldn't mind, and she'd probably be willing, if it kept them from complaining about something.
Having finally finished with my shower, I stepped out and dried myself off. Now I was starting to have second thoughts about rushing it. I didn't hear anything come from my room, which told me that they weren't trying to bother her. Maybe I was just being paranoid. Then again, I also didn't hear anything from their room, which told me that they were both just still asleep. Ahh, forget it. I threw on my clothing - a regular blue t-shirt and jeans - then stepped out of the bathroom. I looked to my left, towards my parents' room, and saw nothing. I also heard and felt nothing. They were probably still asleep. I looked to my right, and saw my room at the end of the hallway, door closed like I had left it. Everything felt in place.
I half-walked, half-staggered to the door, surprised my how the morning sleepies still had me. Opening the door, I scanned the room, and found Una right where I had left her - on the shelf with my miniatures. I'd figured that, due to how much she seemed to like the one, that she'd have fun being around all of them. And it looked like she had. She had her back turned to me, showing that she didn't hear me come in. And she was sitting cross-legged in front of one, but I couldn't see quite what she was doing from here. I slowly, quietly, went over to her, and found that she was just staring at it. Not doing anything, but observing it; taking in all its details. It was another elf one, with its clothing a stereotypical suit of odds and ends found around a forest, long ears, and it was gripping a bow. Of course, that was only what I could pick up. From her perspective, it must have looked much more impressive. "You okay?" I asked quietly, not wanting to startle her. "Yeah..." she said as if she were still in wonderment. She then turned to face me and finished with, "I'm okay." _______________
So, now we see what Una tried to show him the last time. Also, FORESHADOWING SYMBOLISM GALORE
Not to mention the comparison of Don's hairy gut to a steel-wool pad, probably my favorite personal analogy ever :D
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Jun 20, 2010 1:47:30 GMT -5
Post by whisperer on Jun 20, 2010 1:47:30 GMT -5
"So, you ready for breakfast, then?" "Yes! I'm totally ready for breakfast!" she said, hopping to her feet as she finished her statement. "Hungry, I take it?" I asked, as I placed my hand on the shelf. She walked onto it, and answered, "Definitely." I was also pretty hungry, after having another sub-par dinner. I took Una with me, and left my room. Once I left it, I took another glance around, watching for my parents. And once again, I saw no one. With the coast still clear, I went downstairs and entered the kitchen. "Here." I said, as I placed Una down on the chair. "I'm really sorry and all, but I just don't want another problem." She raised a hand to quiet me. "Don't even worry about it." "Great. So, what do you want for breakfast?" "What else is there, other than toast?" "Uhh..." I mumbled, not knowing the answer to that question myself. I went over to the cupboard to check, discovering that all that was left was a box of low-grade cereal. "There's cereal." "I'm up for anything new." she responded, indicating that she wanted to try it. 'Well, it's her funeral.' I thought to myself. One of these days, it'd be nice to have some food that didn't taste like it was taken out from a trashcan. But, I'm just being pessimistic. Sure, the food wasn't top-notch, but at least I had some. But there was one problem. How was Una going to eat cereal, when each piece of it was the size of a jawbreaker to her? The only suitable answer seemed to be that I'd have to crush them up a bit. After getting the last caviar dish from the other cupboard, I got a small handful of cereal, and ground it up over the dish. The sound was sharp and crackling, a sound that must've taken Una by surprise. "What was that?" she asked. "I'm just breaking down the cereal for you, so you can eat it." I said over my shoulder.
And another problem. There was a dish small enough for her, and everything she'd eaten previously was finger food. Well, except the peanut butter. But how would she eat cereal with her hands? Or, where could I find a tiny little spoon? "Uhh, Una?" "Yeah?" "Do you have any ideas of how you're going to eat this?" "Not really." "Gaah." I moaned in exasperation. I took a shooting glance in every direction, trying my best to search for something she could use. I set the dishes down on the table, to free my hands as I rummaged throughout several other cupboards. And I found nothing. Turning back once again to what I was sure was going to be a disappointed Una, I was surprised by what I saw. She sat there, with an empty bowl, and a smile on her face. "You used your hands, huh?" "Yep!" "... How'd you even get to it? It's on the table!" She only beamed innocently up to me. "Y'know, I wasn't done with it. There was going to be milk." "Oh! Sorry." "Well, it's your loss." I said as I went over to the refrigerator and pulled out the carton of milk.
Sitting next to Una now, I decided I'd try to tease her a bit more. "Oh, boy," I began. "This is going to taste so much better with milk." "I said sorry!" "Yep!" I said as I opened the carton, and turned it so the milk would pour out. "I sure do love mil-" and stopped in mid-sentence due to a grisly sight. The milk was in fact, not pouring out. It oozed out in a morbid fashion, and emitted a rank stench. "Oh, oh, oh!" I cried out in disgust, quickly flipping it so none of the ancient curd would actually end up on my cereal. Una, on the other hand, took this as a great time to get payback. She howled with laughter, and just barely managed to speak in between it. "I guess that's not milk, huh?" "It's..." I slowly started, still grossed out. "It's milk, alright. Just very old milk." "So, old milk isn't good?" "Old milk is definitely not good." Una was about to reply, but was cut off by the sound of thunder. Or, rather, my dad walking down the stairs. She paled a little, but regained herself quickly. In only a few seconds, he was in the kitchen. At least he was dressed this time. He looked at me, sneered, and then looked around as if he was searching for something. He rested his wandering eyes on Una, noticed that she was on the chair, and said, "Good."
Ignoring his comment, I decided to take the time to mention our food problem. "Dad, we're runnin' low on food." I said, trying my hardest to stay conversational. "So?" "So, I was wondering if you could go out and buy some today?" "No." It might be that his head wasn't right from just waking up. It also could be because he was dumb. But for whatever reason, he didn't want to seem to want to go out and buy food. "Fine. How's about I take the money, and go get it myself?" "You think I'm going to trust you with my money?" he asked, although it seemed more of a rhetorical question above anything else. "Just give me like twenty to get a sane amount of food." I pleaded. "Twenty?! What do you need twenty for?" "Food!" I snapped. "Jeez, what do you do with all the free space in the cupboards? Store whatever pieces of a soul you have left?" He looked more annoyed than angry. "Fine. Whatever. But I want the change, and the receipt." he finished.
Did I just win? I think I just won. I just won. And I couldn't believe it. "Thank you." I said as a twenty dollar bill was slapped into my hand. "I'm serious." he said, referring to the receipt and change. "Sure." I replied to him. I then changed my expression to a less stern one as I looked over to Una. There's no chance that I was going to ask her if she wanted to come along while my father was here. He'd probably just lecture me about taking her outside. But I did my best to ask with my eyes, and to my surprise, she nodded her head. With that, I did the action of placing my hand within her level, something that was becoming more and more routine for me every time. But the one thing I probably wouldn't get used to was the slight tingle that ran up my arm every time she stepped on my hand. It felt like she had a small amount of static electricity in her. "C'mon." she said, waiting to to go outside, and snapping me out of my concentration. I left the kitchen and my father, into the living room, and up the stairs.
After crossing the hallway, and was in my own room, and looking throughout my closet for another hoodie. It took a while to find one, since I didn't have that many, and the rest were left dirty. I placed Una down on the bed, and she immediately sat, with a patient look on her face. I pulled the hoodie onto myself, and picked her back up. With that done, I went back down the stairs, and had a thought near the last step. If my father saw me now, he'd still know that I was planning on taking Una out of the house. I looked at her, and she once again nodded, knowing what I was going to ask already. I pulled out the hood to give her space, and set her down on my shoulder. "Watch out." I warned, as I pulled the hood back over my head. With her safely hidden, I finished going down the stairs, and entered the living room, where I stood in front of the door. "Ready when you are." I said to the girl. "Anytime." As I was about to leave the house, I heard a voice from behind me. "You goin', then?" my father asked. I looked backwards, but carefully as to not shake Una off her place. "Yeah." "Where's... that girl?" "She's in my room." I lied, but curious as to why he'd want to know. But he left it at that, and walked up the stairs, leaving me. Taking the opportunity, I left out through the door.
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Jun 20, 2010 22:42:28 GMT -5
Post by Amayasama on Jun 20, 2010 22:42:28 GMT -5
o.o Oh my golly gosh is he going to go try find Una and take her away? xD I also like how you described Aiden's dad's belly...x.x Even if I shiver at the thought
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Jun 21, 2010 0:44:49 GMT -5
Post by whisperer on Jun 21, 2010 0:44:49 GMT -5
Let's give him the benefit of the doubt, and just say he was curious.
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The air was crisp, and the sidewalk was littered by leaves fallen from the surrounding trees. "Woah." Una exclaimed, most likely taken aback by the natural beauty of the normally dull streets. I myself was too, but I still had a job to do. I really did only want the money to buy food, because we really did need it. And there wasn't much else to spend the money on, in my case. At least Una had some clothes and a bed. But I guess she could use some shoes. Shaking the idea off of me, I decided to save something like that as a gift idea for another time. I took my first step forward away from the house, already feeling like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Which wasn't surprising, as the quicker I left the atmosphere of that place, the better I'd feel. I took off to my left, towards the grocery store. Although, it'd be a while from here. But I wasn't about to complain about the longer trip, since it would just leave me with more time out of the house.
When I walked into the same street that I was knocked out on, I remembered once again that I had not seen Chad for a good amount of time. Of course, this was definitely a good thing, but it made me a little paranoid. He couldn't possibly be in a good mood. As a matter of fact, I thought that he'd be downright furious, and hunting me. And yet, I didn't hear about him at all. He never came to my house, and I didn't see him the second time I went to the Toy Store. But then again, maybe this just meant that things were finally looking up. One good thing leads to another, right?
After a good twenty or so minutes of walking, I was at the grocery store. The lighted sign above it read, "D VE'S FOOD N S UF " Its actual name was "Dave's Food 'N' Stuff", but the lights were outdated, and had burnt out long ago. Every time someone was asked when they'd fix it, a worker would snappily respond, "You want to do it?" as if it were too hard of a job to replace light bulbs. But it was always said in good spirits, and was pretty much an in-joke for the town.
Stepping through the opening the automatic door made by clunkily shifting out of the way, I was met by the smells of fresh food. Sure, everything about the building itself was old, but at least they prided themselves on having good food. Una also took notice of the aroma, especially since it was a new experience for her. "That smells nice." she said after a few whiffs. "It does, doesn't it?" I responded. I snapped my mouth shut, hoping the security camera didn't catch me talking to her. Or much worse, her herself. But from as far as I could tell by the slight pressure she caused on my neck, she was far enough back to be completely covered. To my left were several stacks of crates, meant to be carried around by customers for something to carry around their purchases in. I grabbed one, and went towards the northernmost part of the store, as I knew that was were they kept the fruits. Fruit was something Una hadn't tried yet, and I myself hadn't had in a while. Along the way, I walked past many tempting things: there was the sweets section, and the Pastry Bar, in particular. But I knew that most of these things were fairly expensive, and I wouldn't be able to buy them without taking a good amount of money out of the modest twenty dollars I had.
I was soon past them, and at the part of the store for fruit. Along the shelves were hordes of colors, all brought on by the many different kinds of fruits. Yellow and green bananas, purple grapes, and orange... oranges. Not a very creatively named fruit. Although its name was dull, I didn't think its taste was, so I picked up one and put it in the crate. Next was a banana, and a handful of grapes. I figured that'd be enough for now. So, I went off again, this time to a more eastern part of the store. Over there was the milk, and other diary products. I wasn't a big fan of chunky milk that smelt like death, so I wanted to get a new carton.
After getting the milk and fruit, I started to wonder about what I'd get next. I turned around from the shelve with the milk on it, to look around for some ideas. Right in front of me was the ice cream. Yeah! I'm sure Una would love some ice cream. Not to mention, myself. I picked out a small carton of the chocolate kind, and started to think about how great it was to not have to worry about what nasty stuff my parents would pick out. As a matter of fact, I was worrying about them a whole lot less lately. The more I thought about it, the less intimidating they seemed.
I looked into the crate, and thought about what I'd bought. It was probably enough for now, since twenty dollars didn't exactly go far. I went to the southern part of the store, where the cashiers were. "Hi there! You all done for the day?" asked the girl behind the cash register. She looked young, about my age, and had blue highlights. Funky. "Yeah, I-" "Wait a second..." she began, and then started to scrutinize me. "Uhh?" I said, leaning backwards slightly. I wasn't so used to this sort of thing. Wait! Did she see Una? My heartbeat picked up even quicker than it already was. "Yeah! You're that Aiden kid, right?" she finally asked. Whew. Was that all? Wait - "How do you know my name?" I asked. "I go to school with you. Y'know, two seats behind you in Statistics?" "Oh. Yeah." I lied. "What about it?" "Everyone's been wondering where you are. Especially Chad." Crap. "Yeah, you should look as scared as you do. He's been pissed. Said somethin' about getting cheap shot'd by a fairy. I don't think he even went to school today, because he needed to blow off some steam or somethin'." Crap. "Crap." Woah. I just thought, and said the same thing. "Wait. Why're you here then? Are you skipping, too?" "Yep! So, you want me to actually ring your stuff up now, or what?" "Oh! Yeah, yeah." I said, startled by the realization of where I was. I put the crate down on the counter, and looked behind me. I was expecting there to be a line, but there was only one little old lady behind me. "Sorry about that." I said to her. "Shut up." she replied, surprisingly conversationally. I probably wasn't as shocked as I should have been. "Sixteen dollars and eighty seven cents." the girl stated, making me look back to her. "Here." I said, reaching down into my pocket, and pulling out the twenty dollar bill for her. She put it into the cash register, pressed a few buttons, and said, "Three dollars and thirteen cents is your change. Have a nice day." I took the change and was about to thank her, before she started speaking again. She leaned in closer to me, and whispered, "That whole "have a nice day" thing is just a job policy. I actually think you're going to have a pretty bad day." "Gee, thanks." I responded after an awkward pause. She snapped back up, and cheerily replied, "No problem!" before turning to the old lady behind me.
'Well, that was weird.' I thought to myself. I now know that Chad's prowling the streets. Not to mention that Una also knows this, and was clenching onto my hair in fear. It might have hurt a bit, but I decided to let it go. If it gives her some comfort, I might as well let her do it. Once I exited the building, I took a look around the area, to see if Chad was anywhere near. Luckily, a look-over found nothing, and I deemed at least the immediate area of the grocery store to be Chad-free. Taking caution to the wind, I went off into the direction of my house. My stride was a quick one, and I could feel Una grabbing on even tighter, but the sooner I got home, the better. Even if I would be left with my parents, I knew that was much better off with them. And also, they could provide protection from him. Not necessarily because they wanted to keep me safe, but because they wouldn't want him breaking in. He might damage the doors.
"It's alright. Go." Una said into my ear, which I assumed meant that she was fine with my sudden hurry. I kept my pace going, until I reached an intersection at the street near the grocery store. The light was red, and I couldn't see a car in sight. Yet, my conscience simply would not let me go ahead. My brain, however, screamed at me to run as fast as I could, so I instead looked around some more for any sign of Chad. There were none. And I started to think that I was possibly overreacting. I mean, how long could he have been outside to 'blow off some steam', whatever that meant? For all I knew, he was only gone for a few minutes, and then went back to school. The light switched green. Ever the good guy, I still looked both ways before crossing. And, ever the dead town, there were still no cars in sight. I hobbled off the corned and strode over to the other side, this time with my pace little slower and calm. When I truly thought about it, I was confident that I wouldn't run into Chad.
I reached the other sidewalk, and began walking down it. There was a quiet all around me - not a car driving, not a bird singing, and not a person speaking. As a matter of fact, the only sound I could hear was Una's faint breaths. And it was calming. Normally, the hush would have made me paranoid, but all it did now was relieve my previous tension. And what wasn't there to be relaxed about? The weather was unseasonably warm, and yet not unbearable in my hoodie. The sky was only marred by a few number of clouds, and the few trees were wearing coats of brown, yellow, red, and even green. A deep breath worked its way into my lungs, and dispersed in a calming sigh. I could even feel Una let out her own chestful of air, and the tension on the back of my hair caused by her pulling on it had relieved a little.
I looked ahead of me, and still saw nothing but another upcoming intersection. I again waited at the traffic light, despite once again, there being no cars within sight. It wasn't as odd as it may have seemed, since it was about midday. Or, so the sun that was fairly directly above my head indicated. Everyone was most likely at their jobs, or school. As I came across an office-type building, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, that its mirrored walls could show a reflection. I looked over to it, and saw the opposite of me in a darker tint. The leaves seemed less vibrant, and the sky was dark.
But that wasn't the only thing I saw. I saw something that made me panic much more than I had a right to, with someone trusting in me for their own safety riding on my shoulder. And yet it still managed to cause my throat tighten, my pores immediately want to emit wetness, and my muscles lose any relaxation they had. I saw the reflection of an alleyway to my right, I saw the one leaning against a house at the end of that alleyway, I saw the look of shock on their face, I saw the look of shock turn into something much deeper and angrier. I saw Chad. ____________________
Okay, uh... in the next update, there'll be a... pretty... gross scene in it. Not in a "haha, ew" sort of way, but a "*gag*" sort of way. I'll give proper warnings and provide a PG-rated summary at the end of it, to protect the innocent. I'm thinking pretty hard about how I want it to be written, since, as it stands, it's not very nice.
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Jun 21, 2010 1:10:02 GMT -5
Post by whisperer on Jun 21, 2010 1:10:02 GMT -5
WARNING: This post contains gore. At the end of this post is a summary, in case you want to know what happens, but don't want to know the details. Honestly, I'm kinda going for shock factor in this bit.
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Once his eyes were laid on me, he took into a running position, and bolted in my direction, a crazed look on his face the entire time. The bag I had been carrying containing my earlier purchases was now dropped onto the ground. I myself couldn't take my eyes off of the reflection, as it was bad enough without seeing the real thing. And I had to reflect on my own luck. I had spent the past several minutes convincing myself that just this wouldn't happen. It was irony - it was fate, it seemed, that Chad get even. And there he was, racing towards me with only barbaric thoughts in mind. Everything seemed to come to an incomplete halt, slowed down by a rush of pure adrenaline. Una felt my tension, and grasped the hair on my neck tighter than she'd ever done previously, understanding that we were in a bad situation based purely on instinct.
My mind raced for a solution, a way to help. I couldn't fight him off. I couldn't run, with Una on me. And there was no chance that any help could arrive in time. By the time I finished a cry for help, he'd be on me. My mind drifted its attention from solutions to thoughts of injury. Thoughts of damage, hurt, and others. But none of them were solely on me - Una was in this too. Despite being an innocent third party, she'd assuredly get hurt or worse if I were to fall from my feet. The momentum alone could kill her. I could only feel fear, worry, and anxiety all meshed into one emotion. I could see my own face in the reflection, and I took my gaze off Chad for a fraction of a second to look at it. It was a horrible twisted expression, an unrecognizable one. I looked back at Chad, to see him directly at the dashed yellow line in the center of the street. How long had it been since I'd seen him? Three? Four seconds? And yet my brain was on overdrive.
Just as he had crossed the line, there was a sound that made him dart his face over his shoulder. The sound belonged to a car horn, and was followed by a sharp screech. His face had only a second to switch into surprise. He couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it. I still hadn't taken my eyes off the window, still seeing his now horrified look in the reflection. A car rushed into my view. A car rushed into him. He had a second to react, and spent it disbelieving. His frame lurched over the hood of the vehicle, and a dark stream of liquid erupted from his mouth. My ears were filled with the sound of an unbelievably loud series of cracks and snaps. I wanted to vomit. He did. The car itself had come to an all-too-late stop, sending his body forward from the impact. He landed a good eight or so feet away, still drooling his lifeblood and vomiting his stomach's contents. Both were now steadily pumping from his head in a sickening fashion. The only thing more disgusting was the smell. It was a revolting scent of death, as if I could smell his life ending. And indeed, the light was leaving his unmoving eyes. His jaw with opened and closed slowly, mechanically, and every time it opened, the red stream increased in intensity.
It happened so quickly, and yet so slowly. Every detail of the past few seconds were burned into my memory, repeating over and over again. And as much as I should have felt relieved that he was now officially out of my life - there was no cheering from me. My knees quaked, along with my stomach. I dropped from my standing position, to on my hands and knees. I felt Una fall from her position behind my neck, but I couldn't bring my hand high enough to reach her. She fell from my shoulder, and into the palm of my hand I automatically left open only inches from the ground. I couldn't bring it any higher, and dropped it to the ground. I couldn't keep myself up. All the energy had been burnt out of me, scared out of me. It was the only time I had seen anything like that. My neck trembled with every slight movement it took to get myself to look at the real thing, not the reflection. The car was nowhere to be seen, even though I hadn't heard it pull away. All I could focus on was the dying person in front of me. But, he wasn't dying anymore. His face, his lack of movement, and his blood and vomit littering the ground showed only death in him.
I heard a scream. Una, now hiding behind the limb of my arm, was staring fearfully at the corpse. Her lips bumbled, muttering something, but not finding the words to express her thoughts. And this time, it wasn't because she didn't know them, it was because there were none. I wanted to comfort her, to forget about the horrible experience that had just happened, and yet I couldn't move. I was stiff, and I felt my body perspiring. A bead of sweat that had been working its way down my face finally came to an end at my chin, and fell off. The sudden drop startled Una, making her scream once more. I opened my mouth to apologize, and yet all that came out was an uninterpretable sound. She never took her eyes off the body, and I never took my eyes off of her. We were paralyzed.
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SUMMARY: Chad runs towards them, but is hit, and killed, by a car before he could cross the street. Aiden falls to his knees, Una slips out of his hood, but he catches her, and sets her on the ground, since he doesn't have the strength to do anything else.
Gah, I just wrote multiple reasonings I had for writing this, but they're more excuses than anything else. I almost feel guilty for doing it, even if Chad was a bully. It's just, someone gave me the idea of "killing off" a character, since I was kinda pushing for ideas at that point. The number one person to kill off seemed to be Chad. And the symbolism, between the reflection, seeing Chad and everything getting darker due to the tinted window, and how Aiden didn't actually face his problem, but it got "solved" anyway, and how Una and Aiden's link is going to change...
I think I read too much into my own crap.
RIP, Chad. You're actually making me feel awkward about this, you figment of my imagination.
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Jun 21, 2010 2:11:29 GMT -5
Post by whisperer on Jun 21, 2010 2:11:29 GMT -5
She was the first to speak. "Wh-Wh-Wh-" she started, still struggling to find her voice. "What?" was all she was able to get out. But I understood her question. What happened? Was I to explain a car crash? What is that? Was I to explain death to her? I thought hard to find an answer for her, and found none. Instead, I lifted up a trembling hand. After a long moment of forcing my body to steady, I finally managed to keep it still. I then reached forward for her. She made no movement, or attempt to take her eyes of what she'd already surveyed far too much. My fingers worked around her frame, and only then did she even realize that I was. For the first time, she looked at something else, she looked at me. Her eyes were filled with tears, and contorted in a face I didn't want to recognize. "It's... okay. I-It's okay." I whispered to her, not only to her, but to myself. I was still in a shock. I saw a person die. Maybe it wasn't exactly a great person, but still, it was a person. I stared into the distance, not wanting to look at Una, or Chad's body. I then breathed out a deep breath that I hadn't noticed I was holding in, and breathed in just as deeply in return.
The smell had only worsened. The rank stench lingered in the surrounding area, and I soon realized that I needed to get out of here. There was no logical reason to stay. I shakily took my free hand, and rotated the bag still next to me to its right side. I slipped all the groceries into it, although eating was far from my mind at the moment. After finishing the task of refilling the bag, I steadily looped my hand around the handle, and lifted myself off the ground. Una was still in my other hand, staring in horror still at the body. "Una, look away." I said in the firmest tone I could manage, although it still was weak. She did so, and looked back towards me. Tears were steadily dripping down her face, and she looked up at me, her expression not changed from the earlier one. But I still couldn't find any other words to say to her, and decided to just place her back into her spot behind my neck, and take off home.
But before I could even begin any of those processes, I was snapped back to reality when I heard a high shrill of a voice. "What on Earth happened?!" screamed a woman from the opposite sidewalk. I darted my gaze towards her, very much so interrupted. Was I supposed to explain? But she must've understood, as the blood left her face, which she then covered with both hands. She lifted her gaze from the cadaver towards me. She looked like she was about to ask a question, before her eyes went off of me, and looked at a spot near me. Her face only continued in its horror, but there was a slight look on wonder in it as well. And then I realized it. She was looking at Una! I snapped my own head towards her, the girl in my hands. She was still focused on me, and her face was now fully scared. I quickly set her behind my neck and lifted up the hoodie, and walked away as quickly as my legs would carry me. But, as fate would have it, due to my previous experience, my whole body was numb, and my gait was awkward and slow.
The woman had run across the street, and was now standing directly in front of me. "Hold it! What happened to him?" she questioned. She must have not seen Una. Maybe she just was looking at me. I drifted my head upwards to look at her, to discover that this was not the case. She looked exactly like what I'd imagine the older version of Chad to look like, if Chad were a girl. Oh, please don't tell me she's his mother. "There-" I began, before realizing that my throat was riddled with phlegm from when it had closed on me. I cleared my throat in a probably too-loud-for-Una fashion, and finished with, "was a car accident." Her face paled even worse, and her head went down in defeat. "Did you call an ambulance? Where'd the... the car go?! Where - where - how could-" her words were slurring worse and worse with every words she said, until they stopped coming out of her mouth. "Chad!" she cried out, looking towards his unmoving form once more. She started to pivot around, hyperventilating, as if she were unsure of what to do. "Miss - go inside. Please, go inside, and I'll make the call." I said, with my own words surprising me. I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, but it didn't seem right to just leave this woman like this. She didn't say anything, but she went briskly back into her house, and left the door open.
When she was out of view, I whispered to Una. "Una, I'm so sorry, but I have to do this. It won't take long." "S-sure." she wearily replied. With that done, I walked with uncertainty into the house. I could see that Chad's mother was sitting on the couch, crying. I shot a sad look over at her. It must be horrible for her. But that wasn't what I was here for. I walked down the hallway, until I came across the phone, and dialed 911. After a few of the most nerve-wracking drills I've ever heard in my life, a woman picked up. "911, what is your emergency?" I gulped. "There's been a hit-and-run on Filmore street." "I'll send the paramedics over immediately. Anything else I should know?" "... No. No, that's it." I hung up the phone, and thought again of the woman.
I heard her bawling in the next room, shouting incoherent sentences. Except for one that I could realize what she was saying. "First Randy, and now -!" I wasn't snooping, but anyone could have realized that there was nothing to indicate another person lived here. Chad didn't have a father figure. It was just him and his mother.
My first thought was to wait until help arrived. But realization brought on a whole new tendril of panic to drill into my brain. I had to get out of there before the police arrived. They'd search me - they do searches, right? They'd talk to me. I just know they'd see Una. I looked into the room Chad's mother was in. She hadn't moved from her spot; she was still sitting in a chair, her face in a pillow. "Miss, I'm extremely, extremely sorry for your loss, but I have to leave. Sorry." She didn't respond, or do anything to indicate she even heard me. Feeling bad about doing so, I left the building. Once I did, I immediately looked to the right, to avoid looking at the scene again, and held my breath so I couldn't smell anything. "Hold your breath for about fifteen seconds." I said to Una, making sure she'd do the same.
The rest of the walk home was a robotic movement, with no thoughts in my head but intentions of getting home, no sounds in my ears but my heartbeat reverberating through my whole body, no smells in my nose but the one of death, and no visions except the look of his face and the blood pouring out of it. I wanted all of them gone, and I wanted them gone as soon as possible. I fumbled my hand around the door handle, which only increased my anxiety.
Once the door was open, I stumbled into it, but caught myself with a sudden burst of adrenaline brought on by a need to keep myself balanced. "You okay, Una?" I asked her, trying to take my mind off what had happened earlier. "As okay as I could be." she replied in an all-too unconvincing voice. It was then that I noticed my parents in the living room. The TV was on, but they were staring at me, with what appeared to be concerned looks. Before they could say anything, I dropped the bag containing the groceries onto the table. "Aiden... are you okay?" my mother asked, the tone of her voice proving to actually be concerned. "No. No, not at all." I said while stepping further into the house, and rubbing my elbows. But before I could reach the steps up to the second floor, my father stopped me. "Tell us, Aiden. What's wrong? You look awful." I really, really wasn't used to this. "There was... an accident." "That's awful! What happened?" "I'll tell you later, but right now, I need to lie down." I responded truthfully. "Fine. Go, then."
After going up the stairs, and walking across the hallway into my room, I immediately reached for Una behind my neck, and gently put my hand around her. I then pulled her out, and placed her down onto the windowsill. She stepped backwards a few steps, and fell down onto her bed. I followed suit with my own. "What are we going to do, Aiden?" I heard Una ask. "I... don't know. Jeez, what if they think I somehow did it? Or what if that lady tells them about you?" "Don't think like that! Please? I really just want to try and stay away from any more bad thoughts." she complained. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right." I agreed. I then tried to figure out a plan, aside from what I'd have to deal with involving my parents. Speaking of my parents, that was definitely something I'd never seen from them, in a long time. They were actually worried. Any other time, and they'd have asked "What took you so long?" or something like that. But I soon snapped out of that thought. It may have been a refreshing change of pace for them, but it also really should not be on the top of my mind. "Well, I'm pretty sure neither of us are hungry." "Definitely not." she said, while making a disgusted face and rubbing her stomach. "Maybe we should just rest, and try to forget about it." "You think that'll actually happen?" she asked skeptically. "I dunno. I'd like to thi-" "Aiden!" I heard a yell from downstairs call. "Get down here and bring her with you!" it finished. I knew the whole 'caring thing' couldn't possibly have lasted long. "C'mon, we might as well go." I told Una, who was already getting off the bed with a groan and ready to be picked up. I did just that, and took my time going downstairs into the living room. I really wasn't in a rush to be yelled at, especially after what had happened earlier.
"Yeah?" I asked. Instead of saying anything, they simultaneously pointed towards the TV instead, slowly, with true scared looks on their faces. I turned around to see it, and held Una up a bit so she could see as well. It was the news. "-and yes, we have confirmed that the boy who died in a fatal car accident was indeed Chad Const of Filmore street." said the newslady, who just so happened to once again be Diane. "Regarding this tragic happening, we have Dale with more." What? More? And yet, they switched cameras, and there was Dale. "Thank you, Diane." he commented towards the camera. "Ms. Const, mother of Chad, has stated that she has a suspect in eye. She goes on to say that this suspect is not alone, but is in the company of a - quote - 'fairy'." The blood drained from my face. I almost collapsed. "Sit down, Aiden." said my father. I did. "The police are chalking it up to post-traumatic stress, however." Then why embarrass the lady like that? Why - Is it funny? Does Dale get his kicks from that? Oh, forget it, the point still stands that the public now knows about Una. The public now knows about Una, Whether they'll believe her or not, they know about her. "Ms. Const describes the suspect as a tall teenager, with blue eyes and medium-length dark hair." Any blood that might have been left in my face had now indefinitely left. "Back to you, Diane." "Thank you, Dale." Diane said once the cameras went back to the studio. "And, Inkbridge Community, is Diane, signing off." the feed faded to black, and was soon replaced by some commercial advertising a law firm.
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Looking over this, then taking out some really terrible parts is really showing me how much I've matured since I wrote this. Jeez.
Sorry for leaving you with the gigantic updates, but I kinda wanted to get past this part as quickly as possible, and really pushed myself to finish it in a day. Is it obvious?
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Jun 21, 2010 15:12:15 GMT -5
Post by Amayasama on Jun 21, 2010 15:12:15 GMT -5
o.o I can see why you wanted to get by this part XD I would be the same way...and I so called something bad happening to Chad right there >>
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Jun 22, 2010 2:45:22 GMT -5
Post by whisperer on Jun 22, 2010 2:45:22 GMT -5
Yeaaaah <_<
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My father shut off the television, and looked at me. His expression was unreadable, as was my mother's. They both just stared for about a full minute, before my father spoke up. "That was you and Una, wasn't it?" "Y-yeah." Although it wasn't me who said that. Surprisingly, Una herself took the liberty of answering his question. Both my parents just kept silent for a bit, then looked at each other, as if they were conversing to each other through their eyes. Once again, simultaneously, they looked towards Una and me. That is a creepy habit of theirs. Sure, they're normally pretty awful, but they definitely were alike. Then again, that's probably why they got married. "How are you two feeling?" I was taken aback by the question. "I'm shaken. Really shaken." "Same here." said Una. Another pause. "How's about you just go to your room, and try to get some sleep? And don't worry about the lady; I'm sure the police won't take her seriously." "Whatever." my dad said flatly. "It's a load of crap, anyway." He then stood up, along with my mom. "Goodnight, kid." "Goodnight?" I asked rather than responded. I looked over to the clock on the wall, to notice that it was actually 11:34. "Huh." And then I heard something else that surprised me. "Goodnight, Una." came from my mother. "Oh - by the way, Aiden. I put your clothes in the dryer for you. It's done now."
My parents were now upstairs, probably brushing their teeth or whatever to get ready for bed. I held Una out at an arm's length in front of me, to see that she looked more relaxed. "How're you doing, Una?" "Better. But how're you going to handle all this tomorrow?" "Don't worry about it." I said, running a thumb down her arm. "I'll figure something out." She looked convinced, and even curled a bit at the contact. "You ready to go to sleep?" "I could use some rest." And with that, I went up the stairs, but stopped in the hallway. "I'll just grab the stuff from the dryer." 'What's a dryer?" she asked. I gave a small laugh, and said, "I missed this. The whole 'asking questions' thing?" She returned with a little smile. "It dries clothing after you put it in the washer." I said while pointing at the washer. "So you washed my clothes?" she asked with a strange look. "Yeah. That okay?" "It's just... I could've made my own." she grinned. I didn't respond verbally, but instead just laughed with her. Once that was done, I grabbed all the clothing from the dryer and took it with me into my room.
After carelessly tossing the pile of clothing into my closet, I placed Una in her bed. 'I'll take care of the clothing tomorrow.' I thought to myself as I pulled out a my pajamas from the closet. I then headed towards the bathroom, and chuckled a bit at the thought of how, despite all this tension, I was still thinking about Una's privacy. After changing into them, I went back to my room.
Una didn't go straight to sleep, like she normally did. Instead, she was sitting upright. I went over to her windowsill, and rested my head in my folded arms on it. "You sure you're okay?" "I just... need some sleep. That's all." she said before turning downcast. I unfolded my arms, and reached with my left hand toward her. She didn't budge. I then took one of her hands in between two fingers, causing her to look back up at me. "Everything will be fine. I promise." I took a breath. "We'll find your home."
And that was the problem. That was always the problem. Not that there were moments where she feared me, not that my parents weren't accepting of her, not even that she saw death. She didn't have a home. She clearly didn't belong here, and I couldn't just keep her in a place where literally everything wasn't right for her. It was uninviting, scary, and just not right for her. This wasn't her home, and she couldn't stay here. We both knew it, just neither of us wanted to admit it, until now.
"I'm really sorry." Una said, with tears starting to swell in her eyes. She set her free hand on top of my finger, and started crying. Just seeing them caused my eyes to water as well. "I know, Una." The tears were now rivulets falling down my cheeks. "I know." There were no sobs between us, just soundless tears.
After several minutes of this, I finally found the strength to pull away. I bit my bottom lip, and gave a nod to Una, who returned it. Having done that, I laid down on my bed, and turned off the lamp. "Una?" I said to the girl across the room. "Hmm?" I barely managed to hear her say. "Sleep well." I turned over onto my side, and fell asleep. _____________________
Ah, the real problem is addressed. I feel sorrier and sorrier for the two with every update.
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Jun 22, 2010 4:13:39 GMT -5
Post by whisperer on Jun 22, 2010 4:13:39 GMT -5
I was awakened by a tapping on my door. "Huh?" I moaned. Still not much of a morning person. "Aiden?" my mother called from behind my door. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm making breakfast for everyone today." Really? I would have said that out loud, but I didn't want to end up jinxing this very special occasion. She hardly ever actually cooked anything. Much less, for the whole family. I then turned to look towards Una. She was still asleep. Figuring I'd let her sleep for a few more minutes, I went over to my closet and picked out whatever my hands grabbed first. I took my clothing with me into the bathroom, and changed into them. Turning around once I finished dressing myself, I couldn't help but look at myself in the mirror. "At least my bruises are gone now." I comment towards myself, referring to the time Chad's buddies beat me down. I shuddered at the thought of Chad once again. Sure, he was a jerk and all, but I don't think he really deserved to die.
Forcefully pushing the thought out of my head, I left the bathroom and returned to my room. Surprisingly, it was not as quiet as I had left it. I heard little moans coming from Una. I rushed over to her bed to see her little frame tossing and turning about in the bed. I gently stroked her back with my middle finger. She pushed it away, and continued moaning and struggling. "Una? You're having a nightmare! C'mon, wake up!" I said as I poked her in an attempt to awaken her. She finally responded to me, but it was in a shrill scream, followed by her bolting awake. But instead of continuing her panic, she was surprisingly calm after that, albeit still trying to catch her breath. "Una?" I began. "Are you okay?" She looked slowly up to me, and just gazed for a bit. This made me very, very anxious. "Una? You there?" She continued to just stare. What happened?! She's just as unresponsive as when I first met her! Did she just somehow forget all that she learned from me? Can she still talk? Can sh- "Oh! Sorry, Aiden! I'm fine. I just had a really weird dream." "Gaaah. Una, you really had me really worried there." I tried to scold, but my tone only came across as too worryful. But she still looked up to me with eyes that showed she was sorry. And I couldn't stay upset with her. No, not that face. But she did seem rather relaxed for someone who just woke up screaming. "What was it about?" I asked, curious. She looked hesitant, then responded, "It-" "Aiden! Una! Come on!" my father yelled from downstairs. We both jumped at the sound. They were really adamant about us eating breakfast with them, weren't they? "Yeah... my mom made breakfast, and she wants us down there." "Just get me some clothes, and I'll be ready." I looked down at what she was wearing, and wondered how good of an idea it was to let her sleep in a dress. Do girls do that?
I ignored that thought for now, and grabbed a top and bottom for her from the pile of clothing in the closet. It took a little searching, since it was still, well, a pile. "I'll just turn around. You trust me, right?" I asked. "Of course!" she responded as she grabbed the clothing from my hand. Doing as I had said, I turned my back to her her, and waited. After a few seconds, she informed be that she was done, and I turned back to her. "So, you ready for breakfast, then?" "I'm a little worried about your mom, but yeah."
In a moment's notice, we were both downstairs. The living room was filled with the aroma of pancakes, which had wafted over from the kitchen. As I walked in, I noticed first my father sitting on the table with a newspaper in his hands. He noticed my staring, and looked up from his seat to me. I was surprised to find that he had a smile on his clean-shaven face. "Good morning." "Uhh?" I muttered, giving him a strange look. But not as strange as his smile. I tried my best to smile back at him, and responded with, "'Morning." With our exchange over, my mom looked over at her shoulder to me. She too had a smile on her face. "Just sit down, Aiden. I'll get yours and Una's done in a bit." This is weird. Very, very weird. I sat down as I was told, and was about to reach over to place Una on a seat of her own before being interrupted by my father. "She's fine on the table." he said, while never breaking his smile. Yeah, this is definitely weird. I kept up my confused face, and placed her within arm's reach of me. In case they're planning something, I didn't want her too far away. And then I noticed that, there on the table, was a little tiny plate. My parents set up a plate for her? My father seemed to notice this, and gave a deep chuckle. "Y'know, we're not gonna eat her, or anything. And that plate was yours when you were little." It was Una's turn to let out a strange sound of her own. "Uhh?" We flashed each other wondering looks, before looking up at my mother.
"All done!" she said too happily for herself. She placed two pancakes on one plate, and two on the other, and went over to the table, setting one down in front of me, and one in front of herself. It's poisoned. That's it, that's gotta be it. Once again, my father chuckled and commented, "It's not poisoned, y'know." Yes it is. And since when could he read my mind? "Aiden," my mother began, her tone taking a serious turn. "We've been talking. Ever since you left yesterday." Now I was getting some answers. "Did it have anything to do with why you two have been so nice lately?" I asked with a raised brow. My parents looked at each other with guilty faces, before my mother continued. "Yes. You see, we were talking about how we treat you." Like crud? "Like crap." my father finished. Well, I was close. "It's not really fair that we leave you all on your own, then come home angry and tired." Man, did they have an epiphany or something? "So, we've decided that we were going to try to change that. Now, this was before... the accident yesterday, so we're not just being like this because of that." my father explained. I really didn't know what to say. They were legitimately trying to be better parents. With nothing better to say, I just said, "Oh. Thanks." Una, on the other hand, was a bit more outspoken. "And what about me?" she demanded.
My parents once again looked at each other with guilty faces, but this time it was for a bit longer. So long, in fact, Una and I had time to exchange anxious looks. After the awkward pause, they looked back to us. They both opened their mouths, but closed them shortly afterward. My mother nudged my father with her elbow, and then motioned towards us two, as if she were condemning him to the punishment of letting us know what the verdict was. After what had to be hours, he finally spoke up. "Yeah. She's a person." Una, who at first, looked happy, quickly changed her mood to suspicious. "And why's that?" she asked. "It's the way we saw you standing up for Aiden the other day." my father answered. "That, and the way he stood up for you. It just took some thinking to realize that." my mother continued. Una looked very proud of herself for a moment, then looked up to me with a smile. I looked back down and returned it. "So," my father said, breaking our moment. "That means we're okay with it." What? "Okay with what?" I asked. "Y'know, the whole... thing you two got going on. We're okay with it." I was still horribly confused. What was he talking abo- Oh, jeez. Realization hitting me square in the face, my cheeks now searing hot, I gave an embarrassed look to first my father. He returned with a dismissing wave. I then gave it to my mother. She shrugged. I finally gave it down to Una, who was too busy scratching her head to see me. "Wha-?" she questioned. "Una - they-" I started, but became too embarrassed to tell her. I instead looked up to my father, and finished with, "You think we're..." But I couldn't finish the accusation. "Lovers. Boyfriend and girlfriend. A couple. What, you don't know what to call it?" he responded with a sudden tone of sarcasm. Una didn't change her stance of firmly scratching her head. Thank goodness she had no clue what we were talking about. "Dad-" I began, until I realized that I really had no idea what to say. Plus, it didn't really help to have the person you're talking to have an amused look on their face. And then I really thought about it. Were we? What?! No, no, no. I mean - what do I mean? Well, it'd be rude of me. She doesn't even know what love is, I mean, I'd just feel like I was manipulating her if she loved me. Well, not that I don't think she loves me. I mean, just not like that. Or? This was officially too confusing. My father must've used his newfound mind-reading skill on me, because he let out a third chuckle, but this one a bit longer and more amused. "Whatever, kid. Just eat your food before you run away."
I had actually forgotten why we were there. Which was weird, because the smell was still rather strong. I decided to test if it was still as warm as it was odorous, and hovered my left hand above it. Surprisingly, it still had a good amount of heat left. I thought that it'd be cold by now, after all that talking we just did. But after being proved wrong, I cut off a bit for Una, and began to eat mine. I was a little unsettled to find that it, in fact, tasted good. My mom knew how to cook? My expression had apparently let on more than I thought it must have, because my mother then spoke up. "I'll bet you didn't know I could cook, huh?" "No, I really didn't." I half-joked/half-admitted. After a light laugh, she said, "Well, I'm going to be cooking a bit more now. Your dad's going to be cooking, too." "'The fifties are over! Meh! I'm a woman, not a cook! Meh!"" my dad responded in a mocking tone. "That's what she was saying to me." I gave a surprised laugh. It all seemed unreal. First, my parents tell me that they realize what they've done all this time was wrong, then they start cooking, and now they're actually joking around? It just all seemed to good to happen in only a day. Especially after a day like yesterday. But I quickly put that thought out of my mind, since I was still eating, and really didn't want to kill my appetite. To help me take my mind off of it, Una starting speaking. "This really is good!" she exclaimed. My mother smiled down at her, and said,"I'm glad you like it."
After a strangely pleasant breakfast, I took both my and Una's plates up, and dropped them into the sink. "Oh - there's a catch, Aiden." Saw that one coming. I didn't answer her, but just turned my head and looked at her. "You have to wash the dishes." she explained. That's all? No hot wax? No being yelled at? "Yeah, I knew it." I said, and began the task of washing my plate first. Although, when I was about halfway done, my mother had walked over, carrying both her and my father's dishes, and dropped them into the sink. Not hard enough to break them, of course, but hard enough to make a wave splash over me. I took a quick step to attempt to dodge it. It worked, sure, but not all that well. I still got a little wet. "Very funny, mom." I commented. "I thought so."
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So, Aiden's parents finally make some realizations. Also, in classic parent fashion, they embarrass the crap out of their kid. And this might seem like a bad place to stop, but that's only because of what's up next.
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Jun 22, 2010 10:30:08 GMT -5
Post by Ezzabezza on Jun 22, 2010 10:30:08 GMT -5
i love this story!!! ;D ;D And i know EXACTLY how Aiden feels it's REALLY embarresing when your parents say stuff like that infront of your crush PLEASE KEEP GOING!!
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Jun 22, 2010 13:33:23 GMT -5
Post by aspired2inspire on Jun 22, 2010 13:33:23 GMT -5
*cheers* They're nice now! And they finally see Una as a person! And they can read minds! Wait.....is that last one actually a good thing?
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Jun 22, 2010 16:07:44 GMT -5
Post by Amayasama on Jun 22, 2010 16:07:44 GMT -5
XD Oh jeez...why do dad's always think they're boys are having some sort of hidden agenda? Good chap, gave me a little laugh x3
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Jun 23, 2010 0:51:27 GMT -5
Post by whisperer on Jun 23, 2010 0:51:27 GMT -5
Thank you all for the comments! I really appreciate that you're all still here after so long.
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With teasing me done and over with, she left along with my father. Probably to go watch television, or something. There was an awkward silence without them around, so I turned back to Una. "You wanna-" "Yeah." Figuring she knew what I had meant, I first dried my hand with a paper towel, then lifted her off the table, and set her down on the counter. This way, it'd be easy to talk to her, and that'd make the task less boring. "Your parents..." Una started to say as I was washing another dish. "Yeah, I've got no clue." I said, then finished washing the dish. I placed it into the drying rack, and started on another one. "I just hope this whole 'being nice' thing lasts. It's been pretty good so far." "Oh, that-" she said, sounding as if she was cut off. "That's good and all, but..." "But what?" "What was your father talking about? Lubbers, or whatever he was saying?" At the sound of her throwing the word, I had to let out a laugh. Which I really shouldn't have done, as I almost had dropped the plate I was washing. But I had caught it, set it in the drying rack, and started on the next one. "Lovers, he said." "What're lovers?" At this, I set the dish back into the sink, and reflected back on what I had thought about earlier. What am I going to tell her? "People who love each other." "What is love?"
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Baby don't hurt me... don't hurt me... no more...
Anyone??? DX
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"It's, uh." Seriously, what could I tell her? It's not like I had much experience in this field myself.
I placed a hand on the back of my neck to try and calm some of my own nervousness, but realized that it was still wet and I had inadvertently gotten my neck wet. After doing a bit of a dance to try and make sure it wouldn't trickle down my back, I grabbed a paper towel and managed to stop it there. I looked down to Una, who looked less than impressed, but still had an intent look on her face. She wanted to know. "I don't really know. I don't think anyone does." "Don't you know at least a little about it?" she pressed on. "It's... when someone likes a person more than normal." Oh, give the man a medal. What a speech. Encore! I mean, how could that leave any confusion? How well spoken. How eloquent. The peanut gallery in my head was really treating me roughly today. "That's all?" Una asked with a small tilt of her head. She didn't quite exactly look convinced. "Well, that's about as well as I can explain it." I admitted. "Really?" "Well, it's not like I know everything. I'm not some fountain of wisdom over here." I stated, trying to defend myself, and doing so a bit overzealously by waving my hands to prove a point. But I can only imagine what point it actually proved. That I look like an idiot when I wave my hands? "No, that's not what I meant!" she cried, getting up from her sitting position, and dashing towards me. She grabbed a hand onto my shirt, in a movement that definitely shocked me. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that I was the one supporting her at this point, I'd have backed away in surprise. "I just meant that it was weird that you're acting like this because he called us lovers. If that's what love is, then why aren't we?" My cheeks were now burning. "It's just - I - Well," I stuttered, trying to grasp even an idea of what I should say to her. "Una, lovers are a bit more than that. It's hard to explain - especially for me." She looked about as confused as I had expected her to be. "Then what else is there?" she asked, still not releasing the grip she had on my shirt. I looked high up to the ceiling, mostly to advert myself from Una's eye contact.
Once looked back down at her, I noticed that her expression was one of hurt. And why shouldn't she be? As far as she knew, I was implying that I didn't like her more than normal. Which I did! I really did. But did I love her? That was a question that I needed to answer, and it was a question that I need to answer right about now. What the heck. I did love her. And trying to deny that would be idiotic. "Love, really is, Una..." I began, making sure to have her attention. "Is something you really can't put into words." Boy, I started sounding like some cliché drama club dropout. "And to know that you love a person is when you can feel it. It's like a feeling of happiness, but deeper. I don't know, Una, it's just really hard to explain." "Is it when you can feel a weight in your chest?" she asked. I looked at her, surprised. "Because you know you want to be around that person? And when you feel sad that you're not around them?" "That's it. Una, that's it." "Then I definitely love you." The first time I heard those words come out of someone's mouth, and directed towards me. "Do you feel taken advantage of, though?" I asked. She looked confused. "I'm pretty sure I know what 'taken advantage of' means. And I wouldn't' say so." "But, " I began. "I was the first person you met. The person to tell you everything you know. Don't you think it was kinda cheating that you ended up loving me?" Okay, I'm officially an idiot. I finally get someone to say that they love me, then I try to chase her off. "Aiden." she stated seriously. Then broke off into a short laugh. "Trust me, I love you." And, yet again, that was it. I stared down at the little girl. Little only in size, of course. She always had such a big personality, which is strange, as in some way, shape, or form, it had to have derived from me. Maybe she was what I should have been. Maybe. 'Say something, you idiot!' my inner dialogue yelled at me. "I love you too!" I said, probably too quickly. "I love how you changed everything. Without you, I'd still be that kid with nothing going for him. You're... really everything to me."
She smiled, and began to speak. "I-" *KnockKnockKnockKnock* It was the door. Someone was rapidly beating on it, obviously very impatient to get inside. "I'll get it! Keep doing the dishes, Aiden!" my mother called from upstairs. Her voice was followed by the sound of her scurrying down the stairs. I don't know quite how to explain it, but I had a strange feeling in my gut. A strange feeling that told me to get out of view from the door in the living room. "C'mon," I whispered to Una. "Back up just a bit, over here." I motioned to the counter to the left, where it was blocked from view from the doorway. She did as she was told. After a short pause, the front door was opened. From here I could just make out what the following voices were saying. "Can I help you?" asked my mother. "Officer Cormack. I'm here to investigate a report made." "What report?" "Is there a young male in here?" he said, ignoring her. "Why do you ask?" answered my mother with an annoyed tone. If there was one thing I knew about her, it was that she hated when someone didn't answer her questions. "An anonymous tip has led us at the station to believe that something unnatural is going on here. With your son, I mean." My mother paused for a moment, which I'm sure the officer caught. "What do you mean?" "I need to speak with him." he said, sounding deeply serious. "And hiding him would be an obstruction of justice." "He's inside." my mother said. She didn't really have much else of a choice. "May I come in, then?" A sound of something hitting the door came out. "Absolutely not, unless you have a search warrant." Thank you, mom! If this guy got in - I don't want to know what he'd do. What if he found Una? What if he really believed that she had something to do with the accident? And on top of all of that, how would he react to seeing her? Either as a criminal, or as something unnatural, neither of which were very pleasant. With these paranoid thoughts running through my head, I slipped my hand around Una, but kept her standing on the table. I just wanted to protect her. She wrapped her arms around my fingers, and huddled into my grip.
"Funny you should say that." Officer Cormack said, in an unnervingly cocky tone. "Because I do." I heard the faint sound of paper rustling, followed by a sigh from my mother. "Fine. Come in." A half-stifled laugh sounded out. "Exactly what is the search warrant for? 'Fairy'?" asked my mother in amusement. He let out an annoyed grunt. "Just tell me where he is." At this point, my heart was pounding. Don't tell him. Don't tell him, mom. "In the kitchen." I quickly shuffled in front of Una. He was coming in here, definitely. For a split second, I had the idea to run. And the next second, before I could act on that idea, I heard his footsteps starting towards the kitchen. Cops are trained to tackle, right? There's no way I'd risk anything, but stayed in front of Una. It seemed like there was nothing left to do but wait. "Aiden?" Una pipped. "Yeah?" I whispered as quietly as I could. "I'm scared." she said, although her tone didn't imply an immediate fear. "Me too." "This is just like that nightmare I had." she quickly informed me, getting the sentence out as soon as I had finished mine. "What happened after this?" I asked in a hush. It was then that Officer Cormack entered the kitchen.
I finally got a proper look at him. His face was gaunt, and overall, he looked too small for the deep voice that belonged to him. He was dressed in what I figured to be the regulation uniform for a police officer. "You know why I'm here, right?" My throat was caught. I couldn't say anything at all, much less, answer him. "I'll take that as a yes." He then took a seat at the table, while I quickly shifted around to keep covering Una. "I know what you're hiding. Or who, I should say." He's a police officer. What's he going to do? I started to sweat, thinking about the possibilities. Is he going to throw me in jail? Is he going to take Una? No. No, no, he's not going to even look at her. I took a step back, ready to bolt out of there. He anticipated this, and leaned forward. "Aiden, that's not a fairy. You have no idea what you're dealing with, and you certainly don't have the means to take care of it." His emphasis worried me greatly. That, and the fact that he seemed to know what Una was. Could I trust him? Even if he did know, that didn't make him trustworthy.
I had to make a decision, for Una's sake. Either run away to keep her assuredly safe, or risk it, and possibly find out more about her. And then I had an obvious thought. "Turn around. If you here me running, you can get up and tase me or whatever, but turn around." He chuckled deeply, but surprisingly did. I looked behind my back. Una was huddled, looking rather frightened. Her hands were up to her face, as if she were blocking a bright light. And yet, despite this, there was a glint in her eyes that told me that she was glad to see me. "Una? What do you want to do?" I whispered. She darted her eyes every which way with every blink, and looked to be deep in panicked thought. "No matter what, I won't let anyone hurt you." I added, trying to calm her, however effective it might have been. She finally rested her eyes on mine. "I-I want to hear what he has to say." she said, her voice growing firmer with every word. I nodded in agreement. I looked back to the man.
"Alright. Turn around again." He did so, and looked up at me with impatience in his eyes. "Don't even think about touching her." I said as sternly as I could, as I reached behind me and brought Una out. He just marveled at her. As he was interested, Una must have felt more and more uncomfortable, because she was shuffling back further into my hand. He saw this as well, blinked, and now looked up at me. I myself wasn't very comfortable with how calm he was being. Especially in comparison to how much I was unnerved. "Sit down." he advised flatly. I did as such, but kept Una very close to me. "You know she's not a fairy, I trust?" I almost went slackjawed at the question. "Y-yeah." I replied awkwardly. He blinked again, and was looking off in no direction. After a short moment, he was looking back at me. "She doesn't exist." At this, I once again nearly went slackjaw. Here he was, trying to convince me that someone sitting in my hands didn't exist. I could feel the heat radiating from her body, and yet she didn't exist? "At least, that's what I'm going to tell people." he finished. "So, she's a secret?" I asked dumbly. "Yes." "Well, I already was trying to have that." "You haven't been doing a great job." I blushed ashamedly, and took my turn to look away. "Look here. Do you want to know what she is?" I turned my head back to him, and thought. But before I could answer, Una herself was talking. "Yes!" she cried out as she tried to pull herself out of my hands. I let her go, and in an instant, she was out in the open. "How would you know? Who are you? And what am I?!" she demanded. He took the time to chuckle. "Do you really want to know?" "Do you think I ever don't want to?" At this point, she looked back to me. I was a little startled to see the desperate look on her face. "Aiden, I'm always wondering where I came from. How I came into being. And why I'm so small! Why I'm not normal!" she cried out.
Officer Cormack, who had kept silent up until this point in Una's tirade, finally spoke up. "First off, what's your name?" he asked curiously, looking at me. "Aiden Check." I answered, unsure of why he'd want to know. "Aiden? Aiden Chick?" the man asked. "Check! Like as in checkers?" I quickly rebutted. Chick was an old nickname of mine. And yes, it was a bully who came up with it. "Aiden Check." he corrected himself. "And you're Una, right?" Her eyes went wide. "How'd you know that?!" "This is gonna be hard. See, Una-" He paused, and looked away for about a second before looking back. "Maybe it'll be easier to explain where you came from."
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All this was a pain to edit from the rough draft! It's drastically different from the first go around.
Also, many questions are about to be answered... In case you didn't already figure that one out. :v
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Jun 23, 2010 1:40:44 GMT -5
Post by whisperer on Jun 23, 2010 1:40:44 GMT -5
"You came from the tree, right? In the middle of The Cyclon?" "Um. Yes, I remember there being a tree." replied Una. "But Cyclon?" I asked. "That's what that clearing is called." "And I thought Zela was weird." I said a bit offhandedly. "At least Cyclon makes sense." he rebutted. "So, I take it neither of you two understand the properties of that tree?" We stared at each other, then looked at him, both shaking our heads no. "It's not from around here. It's just not. There's really no other way to explain it." "That... doesn't help. Where is it from, then? Europe?" I questioned. He looked at me like I just said something stupid. "... Space?" I tested. "Close, but no cigar. It's from another dimension." I started coughing, and had lost my breath. Another dimension? Is this guy crazy? "So, uh," began Zela. "What's a dimension?" "A universe. A parallel one, in this case." "Now we're bridging sci-fi." I stated, "Aren't we though?" asked the man in a fascinated voice. "It's amazing. Years and years ago, a race was running low on their planet's resources. And, with no others within their technology's reach, they began work on a project to tear a hole in the inter-dimensional rift." I could do no more than stare. The man who I once thought to be sane, was now a certifiable crack-pot. Or, at least, so it seemed. "Why're you telling me this? And what does this have to do with Una?" "It's because of Una that I'm telling you this. She is a product of a different dimension. Don't you get it?!" he asked, raising his voice a bit in exasperation. "I figure that if you already have her, then you might as well know as much as I do." And then it hit me. "How do you know all this?" "You want to know the funny part? It's common knowledge." Now, I was really confused. "When that planet broke the boundaries between dimensions, everyone became involved. In fact, there's talk of making towns where the different dimensions' people could live together." "That didn't answer my question." I pointed out. I was getting a little desperate for information, no matter how quickly this man was pouring it out.
"I worked for the people who did it. Sure, I was just a janitor," he admitted, "but I still knew more than the average person." "Wait..." I started, backing away slowly and guarding Una again. "If you worked for them, does that mean you're not human? Are you from this dimension?" "Yes." he said with a big grin. "Well, yes, I mean, to being from this dimension. You want to know whose planet's resources were running low?" It dawned on me. "Earth?" "That's right." he said, still flashing his grin. "How... how long ago was this?" I asked. I was originally going to ask how they were able to do this, but I figured that I wouldn't be nearly smart enough to keep up. That, and, a janitor probably didn't know a whole lot about the process. "Like I said, we started years and years ago. Of course, it wasn't until just a few months ago that we managed to do it. We've been finding more and more different dimensions since then." "Well, why doesn't the public know? And why are you here, instead of there? And-" "One question at a time! I promise that I'll answer all of them, but try to stay calm, kid!" I took a deep breath, and relaxed into my chair. I also pulled my hands back, that I didn't even notice were still in front of Una. She had been awfully quiet. He waited until I was as calm as I could be, before starting to talk again. "The public doesn't know. Yet. This is true." he admitted. "But they're going to know, soon enough. It's not like we're just going to have completely different species walking around Earth without everyone know what's going on." I nodded. "Good point." "The reason it's taking so long, is because some of our big heads have been crossing dimensions to have peace talks. So far, they've all been fine and well. It seems that everyone is happy to meet new life." Now, I was envisioning in my head one of those classic movie moments when a martian and a human are shaking hands. "But wait - how can they even talk to each other?" I asked. "I'm going to go out of a limb here, and say Una here couldn't speak when you first met her." "No." Una herself answered. "Tell me - how did she learn, anyway?" he questioned. "She just... learned from me, really quickly. She was getting pretty fluent, until she put her hand on my head, and had some sort of dream, and she could fully speak English afterward." It was even less believable when I said it out loud, I noticed. "That's how they all do it, I'll bet." he replied, implying that he himself didn't know how it had worked. "I'll bet that they have her people being translators, or something." "But, you still didn't answer Aiden's other question!" Una pointed out. "Oh? Which one? I've forgotten, with all the ones he's been asking me." he teased. "Why don't you work for them anymore?" "Oh! That one. Yeah, that's an embarrassing story." I said, then went back to his nervous habit of looking away, this time rubbing the back of his neck. This, I had to know. "What happened?" "You won't believe it - a new guy replaced me." "... A new guy... replaced the janitor?" "I know, right? Apparently, he cleaned better. Or something."
After a short laugh from Una and I, she herself asked a question. "So, what're you doing here, then?" "Just keeping an eye on the portal we have in the area. The tree in The Cyclon, I mean." he responded. "And I guess working for the police is a good way to do that, huh?" I asked. "Yep." he replied, tapping the table in unison. "But, before you showed up, it's been pretty boring." I thought about what I should ask next. "When was The Cyclon even made?" "Earlier this week, actually. They're still making portals. Those lights on the news? Yeah, that was it. And I take it those other lights were you using the portal yourself?" "I guess so. But, wait - that means that you must've been fired only a few days ago!" "Yeah. Funny how that works, huh?" "Isn't there some sort of training you have to do? Or something?" "I answer phone calls, Aiden. It's not exactly something that requires experience or training." he answered with a joking tone.
"So, the tree is a portal, then?" I asked, changing the subject. "Yep." he repeated. "How does it work?" "Well..." he paused for a bit, searching for the way to answer. "It's actually not a tree. It's just a disguise." I wanted to make a comment on how well it was working, but decided against using sarcasm in a moment like this. "How'd it even get placed there? Why here?" "There's an easy one. It's because it's in the middle of a dense forest, next to a town no one's heard of." If I cared about Inkbridge, I might have been insulted. "But, yeah. This is only one of many. I couldn't begin to tell you where the rest are, but I will say that there's a good thirty-some around the world." "And I found one..." I said as more of a comment to myself. "Yeah. No one was counting on that. Thing is, they do keep track of when they're used. So, I'm very surprised that they're not hunting you down." At this, I felt a pang of panic once again. "Why would they be after me? I didn't know anything!" "Calm down, Aiden. If they're not here yet, they won't be." He then looked as if he had a thought. "Were you the one who even started it up?" "I don't think so. Maybe? How would I even start it?" "A human, or something else that's been recorded into the portal's database, has to touch the pedestal near it." Una perked up. "P-pedestal?" she whimpered out. "Yes. Pedestal." I looked over at Una, and took notice to how she was acting. "We've had some dreams, I think, about the pedestal. I do remember it, though. But, it was just a plain-looking thing. It didn't seem all that special." I mentioned. "If you're saying that, then you definitely didn't touch it. So, that leaves you, Una." She jumped again. "Tell me, do you remember touching a pedestal on your side of the portal?" She nodded. "In my dream, someone put me on it. But after that, the only thing I can remember is waking up inside the tree."
He looked confused for a second, and rubbed his chin. "I don't know then. Maybe you had a bad reaction to it. Maybe someone forced you into it. All I know is that it couldn't have been Aiden." I looked down at Una, looking a bit guilty. "Now it's time I start asking questions." said the man. I looked back up at him, and said, "Anything." "How have you been taking care of her? I see she's wearing clothing, and she doesn't look like she's been underfed." "Yeah." I said, with a blush that surprised myself. "I got some clothes from the Toy Store, and I just gave her some food to try." "Toy Store, huh? Pretty clever. And how has she been digesting the food?" "Uh. Well?" "Right. What about sleeping arrangements?" Before I could answer, Una spoke up. "He bought me a bed from the Toy Store." "Makes sense." he said, now looking at her. "And could you explain a bit more about how you can speak so fluently?" "It's just as Aiden described it. He said a word, and I knew it." "That really says something about your species. It's amazing really." he trailed off. He now seemed deep in thought. Looking back towards me, he said, "Just imagine it, Aiden. She's just one of many. There's six known dimensions so far. Six! And the number's growing!" I had to admit, I was fascinated as well.
"But what do we do from here? I mean, I now feel guilty knowing that I more or less kidnapped Una. And the government, or whatever, would probably go nuts if I tried to return her." His mood crashed and burned. "Yeah. About that. First off, do you want to return her?" I didn't know how to answer that. I faced Una, who was already looking at me. "Do you want to go home?" "Aiden," she began. "You've been really nice to me - and I did mean what I said earlier." she stated, giving an uncomfortable look to Officer Cormack. "But I would really like to go home. To see my own people." "Yeah." I said simply, forcing a smile to her. She bit her lip. "Sorry to break that up, but I need to tell you two something. Aiden was right, earlier. They could trace it back to you, if you use the portal. As a matter of fact, I'm sure they would." "But what about when Una used it? Why didn't they do anything then?" "They might've, been from the other side of it. I'm sure that they tried a search, since the portal being used means that someone from their side was over here." He scratched the back of his head. "But maybe her people said no one was missing. Maybe Una here was an outcast. I honestly couldn't tell you, Aiden."
I was out of things to say. I kept my mouth shut, and felt defeated. "Well, they're wrong!" Una shouted. "I'm here! And I don't belong here!" "I understand that." replied the man. "Isn't there anything you could do?" "Aha! It's about time you asked that." he said victoriously. He then reached into some compartment on his belt, and pulled out a cell phone. "I have the room number of the laboratory. That, and a lot of other things." he admitted. "And what're you going to do with it?" I asked. "I could use it to call them." That's a risk. What if they're not exactly thrilled about the idea of some random kid holding onto a girl from another dimension. I could have inadvertently caused an international incident. Err, interdimensional incident. "I know what you're thinking. You're worried, right?" "Is it that obvious?" "Well, you'd have to be crazy to not be. But, thing is, they'd have to consider you. If worst comes to worse, you could use Una as a bargaining chip." "What do you mean by that?" asked Una, sounding uneasy. "Not that he actually would, but he could hurt you. And if he did, this could make the other dimensions very upset. It's all been peaceful so far, and if humans are the ones to cause unrest... Well, it'd be bad news for us."
"I'm really not thrilled about that. Couldn't I just say, 'Hey, I have someone from a different dimension, could I take her back?' or something like that?" "I'm not sure how they'd react to someone from the outside knowing about the whole project. But if you want to, you could give it a shot." It'd be worth it. It's not like they would just outright kill me. Right? "Make the call." I said with as much confidence as I could muster.
"Alright..." he replied, typing the numbers into the phone. "Just know, you're doing the talking." "What?!" "Shh, it's ringing. Here ya go." he said as he shoved it into my face. "What - you-" I stammered out. I then heard the ringing stop. "How did you get this number?" came a voice on the other line. Hello to you, too. "That doesn't really matter." I began, putting up as big of a tough guy façade as soon as I could. "Okay, uhh... Aiden Check, I take it?" "How-?" "Tracking the cellphone by location, checking the residents of the house you're in, and just a guess. Your voice doesn't sound like an adult's." Hello to you, too. "Well. Yeah." "Don't be too shocked. But, you do have about fifteen seconds to convince me to not hang up." So far, no death threats. That's gotta be good, right? "Uh. I've got someone here you might be interested in." There was a pause. "Well, go on." the man on the other line pushed. "I have someone from the other side of The Cyclon." Another pause, this one longer. "What are your demands?" "Demands?" There was a sigh this time. "What do you want from us, to have her back safely? Surely, you understand the importance of the child." "Huh?" "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. Una? The Inthian girl, the first Inthian born after contact with humanity? She was given a human name, to represent the bond between our two cultures." This guy is terrible at keeping secrets. "Oh! No, no, no! I was just called because I wanted to get permission to return her." "Yourself?" He said with uncertainty. "Yeah. I was hoping so." "You? Some... kid from some town, who has no knowledge of foreign policies, wants to cross dimensions?" "In my defense, it sounded a whole lot less stupid in my head." "Hold on a second." It was silent for much longer than a second. I was starting to think that he wasn't going to answer, until I heard the phone being picked up. "Here's the crazy part. Other dimensions have been looking for more foreign ambassadors. And the last ones have been complained about. Too stoic, too trained." "So, what you're saying is..." "That we're interested in having you work for us. As long as you're not boring."
Working for them? "What would I do?" I asked, curious about the prospect. "You'd basically go portal-to-portal, dimension-to-dimension, representing D1." "D1?" "Dimension 1. Our dimension." "Got it. But, how would I do that?" "You'd have meetings with leaders from other dimensions." I paused. I was already nervous as it is talking to people, much less, completely different species. I doubt that the rest of them would look as unintimidating as Una's did. "That's the correct response, Aiden." said the man, taking notice of my quietness. "You should be worried." "First off, it's kinda unnerving to hear someone call me by my name when I don't know theirs." I heard a laugh come from him. "Fair enough. I'm Dr. Ethan." "Your title, followed by your first name?" "You guessed it. You spend the years I did in schooling, and you're not too keen on anyone not calling you Dr." It was my turn to laugh. A laugh that soon turned into a nervous one. I was about to accept a job, apparently, that entailed me - a regular person - going to different dimensions, to speak with leaders? People of high repute? Different social status, different species? I'd probably get myself killed!
"This is a bit unreal. How am I supposed to do this?" I asked, revealing my uncertainty. "Don't worry too much. It's not like you're going to be alone. As a matter of fact, we have plenty of people chomping at the bit for an opportunity like this. So, you'd be part of a team, and would likely just stand in a corner looking pretty while the more experienced people do the talking." "That's a little reassuring." I admitted. "Although, I'm not too sure about the looking pretty part." "That's fine." he said, once again in a humorous voice. "But what do you say?" I wish I could say that I thought about it. That it was a hard decision to make. But, in reality, why wouldn't I take it? It's not like there's a whole lot here for me. And the positives! Una would be home where she wants to be, and I'd end up as some sort of ambassador for my dimension? Especially when I didn't even know, thirty minutes ago, that there even were other dimensions? The idea both terrified, and thrilled me. But what about Una? Yes, she'd be with her kind, but I'd miss her. I'd miss her a lot. I became a learning figure for her, and she even taught me some things. But was I willing to leave her? Was this even my decision to make? She wanted to go home. And I wanted what she wanted.
"Absolutely." I breathed into the receiver, as a slight pull of regret reached me. "Great to hear. We'll meet at The Cyclon, as soon as possible." "Err, when's that?" "Right now would be nice. You spend decades working on a project, and you get a little impatient with other things." "Sounds..." I paused, trying to find the right word. I didn't. "Yeah. I'll, I'll leave now." "Alright then. I'll send for someone to pick you up, and get you ready." I didn't respond, and instead, just hung up the phone slowly. After waiting for a moment, I looked towards Officer Cormack and Una.
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Oh, man. I remember the headrush I had while writing this. Up until this point, I had no clue at all what Una was, or where she came from. But when I started writing, it just all made sense.
Ladies and gentlemen, we're nearing the end. And by that, I mean, I think this'll be done by tomorrow. Hard to believe, huh? I know I'm going to miss this sort of thing. But we still got more to go through!
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Jun 23, 2010 11:09:17 GMT -5
Post by ezzabezza on Jun 23, 2010 11:09:17 GMT -5
i cant believe he is giving una up so easily!!!! FIGHT FOR THE PERSON YOU LOVE AIDEN!!!! cant wait for tomorrows update! it's been great so far! ;D ;D
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