Date Night

            With slender, pale fingers, he buttoned up a faded blue shirt, leaving the top few buttons open. He placed a silver chain around his neck, careful to fasten the clasp tightly. A flattened gem rested between his collarbones; within it, shades of red and orange danced, intertwining with one another in an endless sphere. He flashed a brilliant smile at his reflection, then smoothed back a couple dark, stray hairs. He turned away from the mirror, patting his hips for keys and his wallet.

                        “Got ‘em,” he mumbled under his breath. Turning on his heel, he strode through the bathroom door. A wickedly perfect grin played on his lips.

                        “It’s date night.”

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            She waited patiently on the bottom step of the apartment stairway, fumbling aimlessly with her long, gold chain. She leaned forward, as she already had a dozen times, scanning the street with light, grey-green eyes. Just as she began to lean back again, a generic ‘84 style Honda pulled around the corner onto her street. She bounced up, short mousy brown curls coiling around her thin shoulders.

            He rolled down the window as he pulled up to the sidewalk, where she had planted her feet to wait.

                        “Get in,” he bade her with little emotion. Her smile wavered slightly, but she opened the car door and climbed in. His smile was gleaming in the dim light, yet it wasn’t…happy. A sparse tremor shot up her back, and she was thankful to be wearing a jacket.

                        “Shall we?” he suggested, voice hanging in the air like a tolling bell. She swooned, growing noticeably light-headed. She noticed his necklace, its flaming colors illuminating the area around him. He pressed on the gas, and the car inched forward.

            Her vision grew blurry, and she became limp in the passenger seat.

            He chuckled airily, and turned off onto an old dirt road. The trees became thicker as the car rolled over the gravel. The tires crunched over the rocks, twigs snapping under the weight.

            Minutes passed, and he pulled into a driveway; at the end of the drive, he came to a calm stop, and sauntered around to the passenger side.

            He opened the door. Her still lifeless body slumped over, onto the ground with a soft thud. Her face turned up, eyes fluttering open. Her face was a mask of horror, and a tiny yelp escaped her throat.

            His eyes met hers, and they were cold, icy even. His necklace flamed, sparks shooting out as he bent over her. She covered her face and tried to squirm away as he grabbed her wrists and dragged her, flailing, into a run-down old shed a few feet away.

                        “Wait here…and I might not kill you,” he whispered in her ear. He thrusted her against the wooden wall. Dust floated away from the ceiling at the impact, covering her hair and face in a cloud of gray.

            A single tear slid down her dirty cheek.

The Tree

So today, I figure I'll switch it up a little, and make the reading not so detailed and long~

Tall, stretching,
   arms reach for the sky;
   he stands mighty and proud.
Swaying, dancing,
   his thin, crisp appendages detach one by one;
   his leaves change color, one by one.
The cool air chills his tough skin,
   turning it darker, darker, darker;
   soon his shaky limbs will be completely barren.
Full of comfort, love,
   he will be missed through the cold season;
   winter is harsh on his old, achy body.
But come spring, when the air is warm,
   the flowers will bloom, the birds will take flight,
   and his lush green branches will once again bloom with life.

Playful

Long strands of auburn curls glinted bright red in the midday sun. A few pieces separated and drifted around my face, and I tucked them, once again, behind my ear.

"Why won't they stay?" I muttered in frustration. I turned and looked at the tall and slender teenage boy sitting next to me. "They never stay.. Why do they never stay?" I blew the hair away from my face, watching the strands float back downwards. I made a sighing sound, then looked back at him. "Make them stayyyy," I complained to him in a slightly whiny voice. He smiled at my annoyance, then reached over to try to push the few strands out of my face; in doing so, only more hair came untucked from my ear, and fell into my view in the slight breeze.

I groaned in irritation, mumbling that it wasn't worth it to keep it down, etc. I began to pull the wavy curls up into a ponytail when he reached a hand over and stole the hair band that was clenched in my teeth, waiting to tie up my hair. He smiled at me in defiance, then held it up tauntingly just out of my reach.

"Hey, gimme that back!" I struggled to hold the hair up with one hand while reaching for the black elastic band. I let it fall as a small smirk played on my lips and I tackled him from the side, reaching for the hair tie.

We playfully fought over it for a few minutes, trying to pin each other until he sat on my stomach, finally keeping me down; I went completely limp, closed my eyes, and let my tongue hang out for that extra effect. He cocked his head to the side, his light blonde hair shifting slightly. I peeked and eye open and smiled at him.

"Shhhh, I'm being dead," I told him, resuming my 'dead' facial expression.

"Oh, no! Don't die, don't die!!" he mock-yelled as he poked my sides repeatedly. I squirmed and tried to get away, laughing wildly all the time.

"Okay, okay, I give in, I give in, I'm not dead anymore!" I said with a huge smile, little giggles escaping from my lips. Seeing as he still had me pinned, I just waited and stared at him for a moment. I grinned at him, once again noticing his amazingly beautiful eyes.

There was a ring of a bright, brilliant shade of gold surrounding the pupil; radiating outwards from the gold was a span of light grey blue, with flecks of silver sprinkled throughout, all within a dark, steely blue ring. 'I love his eyes...'

He was staring back at me almost as deeply as I had been staring at him, and he let me up, taking hold of my hand and pulling me close as I stood. He wrapped his arms around me; they were strong, sturdy, and they sent my heart fluttering. I laid my forehead to his chest, and he set his chin on my head. I turned my face upwards and giggled quietly, like a small girl would when she's excited. His eyes crinkled up at the corner and he kissed my forehead lightly.

"I love you," I said softly, very gingerly letting the words come out. Again, my dark auburn hair tumbled in the breeze, into my face. He brushed the hair behind my ear, and lightly tilted up my chin so we were only inches apart.

"I love you too," he breathed deeply, then closed the gap between us.

Dandelion

Miniscule specks of water hung densely in the evening air. It was sticky, like the tiny drops were clinging to my hair, my skin, making everything heavy and damp.

The soft crinkle of wet leaves rustled under my old, dirty sneakers. The underbrush had been worn away from this path long ago; it led to the highway, the one with that nifty old pizza place and the thrift store. But two blocks down and to the right was the post office. I tightly clenched my tiny cardboard box to my chest.

"She has to like her present this year.. She has to."

I softly grumbled to myself as a mosquito buzzed near my face. I swatted at it with one hand, making sure to keep a firm grip on my little box. But, as luck would have it, before my other hand made its way back to protecting the gift held at my heart, a root shot out of the ground and grabbed at my foot, catching the toe of my faded shoe and sending my flying, face first, into a nearby bush.

"Stupid root .... Popped out of freaking nowhere.. I know that thing was not there before....stinky stupid root.." I rambled aimlessly in annoyance for a moment, brushing myself off with wet and muddy hands. It was nearly a minute before I realized..

"Mom's present!"

I searched the leaf-covered ground, combing through the damp mess, trying to find it. I was crawling on the forest floor, scanning all around, when I looked up...and I saw a small raccoon pick up the box in his tiny hands. He bit at it, then scurried off, the box still sticking out of his mouth.

I scrambled to my feet, chasing after the animal, yelling curses and threats at it.

"I can't lose her present, not now; not with us like we are right now.. I have to get it back.." I thought frantically while trying and failing to keep up with the raccoon.

The plants had overgrown in this part of the trees, and they caught at my pants, slowing me down; within minutes, the creature was gone. He'd just disappeared. I listened, hoping for a rustle, any movement at all. I heard something moving up in a nearby tree. I gingerly tip-toed towards it, only to watch a blue jay take flight from one of the trees low branches.

I sighed deeply and let a solitary tear roll down my dirty cheek. I helplessly watched the bird fly through the branches. But as it took off upwards, into the sky, I noticed a small clearing.

It was bright, the lush emerald grass littered with wildflowers. I walked cautiously into the glow of the setting sun; everything had a tint of pink to it. It was beautiful. I bent down and picked up one of the dandelions. I felt so silly, even considering it.

"How could a wish on a weed come true?" I shrugged slightly, thinking, "Well, I suppose it couldn't possibly make this day worse.." I took a deep breath and blew the fluff-covered seeds into the dying light. 'I wish that I had my mom's gift back ...'

I looked around, expecting something to happen. Having that final feeling of defeat, I slunk back to the edge of the clearing and slid down a tree trunk. I lightly hit the back of my head against the tree, repeating 'why, why, why'.

A bit of movement caught my eye. I turned and looked to my left, seeing the raccoon, box still in his mouth. I stared in awe as he slowly made his way closer, stopping about ten feet away from me. He set the box down in the grass and leaves, then scurried away as quickly as his little feet would carry him.

Not believing that had just happened, I hurriedly crawled towards the box. I picked it up, turned it over a few times in my hand, then sat on my knees, holding the box once again, close to my chest.

I looked around me, then softly whispered,

"Thank you, Dandelion."

My Worst Nightmare

Red. The air smelled like red.

I sat straight up in bed, jolted awake by a crash that seemed to shake the earth itself. Screams followed, loud sobbing and animals yelping could be heard in the distance. A hellish heat engulfed my body, threatening to catch my hair, my clothes, and eat away at them with bright, consuming flames.

Allowing myself to look around and take in what surrounded me, I saw a picture taken straight from a horror film. My bed and the wall behind it were completely intact; across from me, where a wall should be, where my familiar pictures and pointless knick-knacks once sat upon a beautiful, dark cherry-wood dresser, there was empty space. All of it, gone. My door, the hallway, leading to the stairs, and to... My sister!

"Where is she!?"

Frantic, I lept from my bed, not caring that the only items of clothing I had on were an old hoodie and too-short shorts. My tousled auburn curls whipped across my face in a sudden burst of hot air as one of my windows shattered, letting in more heat and dancing embers; they looked frozen in time, darting through the air, then hanging, suspended, in my vision. I glanced to my right, toward the window, then decided it wasn't important at the moment.. I'd just leave it for later.

Focus. Jenny; I have to find her. I searched the void where the hallway used to be, then scanned across to where her room balanced precariously on only two supporting walls. The floor swayed slightly, tilting toward the empty space between us. Then I found her.

We locked eyes, and I screamed her name. She whimpered slightly, it was barely audible over the roar of the surrounding destruction. It was like she knew what was coming.

I yelled to her, "Don't move! I'm coming to get you!" I searched, hopelessly, for a way across. "Just, don't move, don't move, don't.....move..."

I trailed off when I saw. The floor split, the cieling began to cave; the look on Jenny's face shattered my heart... She squeezed her little eyes shut, and I watched her fall.

My scream echoed throughout the ruins of my once elegant house. I sank to my knees, wrapping my arms around myself, and cried.