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Lol, another story [UPDATED AND LONGGGG. <3] |
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Preface:
To be edited, of course.
There was a stillness in the room, like a suffocating blackness that seemed to press on my chest, making it hard to breathe. I tried to calm down, attmepting to slow my still quickly beating heart. There was a scuffle and I turned to see two orbs, tow bright bottle green eyes a few inches from my face. It was so dark, I couldn't tell who they belonged to, but all I knew in those few seconds was that the sweet aroma of strawberries was nearly overwhelming. The figure turned and ran off into the darkness. I caught a glimps of raven hair shining in the moonlight.
"Hey! Wait a moment! I--.." I ran towards the other, trying to see if they would know the way out, and that possibly wasn't very rational...Next thing I knew, the ground was coming up to meet me very fast.
Chapter one, no..it's not even done yet..XD;
AIRUKUHS helping me add WHUMPH. I wish it would rain...I love rain.
I peered into the rearview mirror from the back seat, lofting a brow at my father and scowling in a crabby way. I'm glad he saw this time, I was sick of the awkward silence that was hovoring in the hatchback.
"Matt, it's going to be fine. I've bought a nice, old house that's in really good condition. It's going to be like starting all over; New school, new home, new friends--"
"I don't want new friends." I cut in, glaring into the mirror for a moment before veering my eyes away, back to the repetitive, bleak scenery outside of the fogged-up window. I didn't want to move. I didn't want to start over. But, something inside of me, deep inside, actually thought it was a good idea. Really, who gave me that for a consious?
"Matthew," My father never called me by my full name anymore. "You can't be like that. If your mother was here..." He stopped, noticing the change in my expression. I didn't like to talk about my mother anymore. Not after the accident.
"She's not here, so just get over it." I liked arguing with my dad; it gave me something to go when I was bored. Don't get me wrong, I love my dad, but sometimes I gotta act like a 'normal' teenager for once, so says him. I jerked my head slightly, moving the hair from my eyes in one easy sweep. That was an art I had perfected over the years, being able to move my hair without my hands. It was actually amusing sometimes.
"Fine, Matt. I'd just like you to lighten up a little." Silence again. I decided to kill the time by counting the fence posts that ran along the side of the road, holding in the endless ammounts of farmland and empty fields. By the time we reached the next intersection, I had counted 186.
"How much longer?" I asked, a hint of anxiousness in my voice.
"Well, judging by the clock and the map..." He trailed off for a moment, flipping open his cellphone to check the time. "About twenty minutes or so." I could make it that much longer.
"So," I attempted to make friendly small talk, laying off the sarcasm for now. "What's this place like?"
"You've been here before, but you were young, so I don't think you'd remember.." My father smiled a little, recollecting the good old days. "The population isn't big, so it will be a change from the big city, but everyone knows everyone. There are no secrets in Black River." He grinned, winking in a 'trying to be secretive' way. I smirked, but inside I wondered what he meant. Pushing it aside, I tried to focus on something else. "What's so special about this place?"
"They say it's haunted, with vampires and werewolves and the like. I highy doubt that, but it's always interesting to go somewhere that's kind of essentric, right?"
"Yeah. Sounds cool." I spoke smoothly, trying to mask my slight enthusiasm. It seemed like forever before we passed the cheery, faded sign that had 'Welcome to Black River, Oregon! Enjoy your stay!' written acrossed it. I declared that moment to be the beginning of my new life.
The town wasn't as bad as I expected. Sure, the sun was all but visible and it started to drizzle as we pulled into the main part of town, but that seemed to add to the mystery of it all. We passed a building, Black River High. My new school. My institution that I'd be spending the next four years at. Prison. I decided I'd have to make these four years the fasted possible. Then I could get out of here and get myself a new life elsewhere. Out of Black River.
"We're here!" My dad excaimed cheerfully, pulling up into a long drive. As we came up over the slight hill, I gawked at the sight. It was huge! And I'm not exaggerating. It was as big as our condo, but with that feeling, the feeling of an actual home, but also a slight sense of foreboding that gave me goosebumps on my arms. It excited me, really. When my father finally stopped the car, I literally jumped out, just to get a better look at the place.
"You like it? It could use a little fixing up here and there, and it wasn't that expensive." My dad cut the engine, hopping out to go unload the back of the car.
"Like it? No, no no. I love it!" I'd always wanted to live in a house like that, I'm not really quite sure why, but old houses like these seemed to be teeming with life, even if they were abandoned.
"Well, the sooner we unload the car, the sooner we can get in." My dad chuckled, sounding slightly amused at my reaction to the place. As we pulled boxes and bags from the car, I realized how little stuff I had. All together, I had only a few bags. The majority of which was notebooks, books and art stuff. Only two bags held my clothes. I thought I had more than that. My dads cell rang and he stepped away to answer it. After a few minutes he looked to me and then smiled slightly, sighing.
"Well, one of the relators called, I have to go sign the final papers for the house. The building is right down the road, so I won't be long. You think you can get most of the stuff in the house by then?"
"Yeah, of course." I nodded, giving an afirmative thumbs-up. He grinned, getting back into the car, pulling out, and driving down the road, away from me. I looked at all the boxes and gave a loud, exasperated sigh. Bending over, I lifted a box marked 'Kitchen' in my dads scribbly hand writing and hauled it up to the door. I had barely pushed on the door when it swung open with a loud, long squeak. It made me cringe slightly. "He's going to have to fix that.." I muttered to myself while I continued to lug the boxes and bags in, setting them in the hallway. I pushed the boxes into the living room, which happened to be bigger than my old bedroom back in San Diego. I finished rather quickly, maybe it was all my excitement, and decided to explore. To my surprise, the electricity worked, so I flipped on the hall light and the one in the living room, wandering around in there for a while before exiting and mianderin down the hall to a door at the end. Pulling it open, I was greeted by a staircase that led down into sheer darkness. There was no way I was going down there alone. No way. Continuting on my expedition, I turned, looking at a rather peculiar door. Gripping the handle, I opened it to reveal a dark hallway. I flipped on the light switch and headed on in.
The oldness of this certain hallway was actually a bit creepy, personally. It was like going back in time. Somethings were untouched, covored in the dust of many decades. Somethings were tipped over, as if intentionally. Every once in a while, my eyes would spot something that looked like a smeared foot print in the dusty floor. I stopped in front of a book shelf. Picture frames sat upon it, old, old photos of grim-looking middle aged folk stood in fancy attire. No smiles. No one smiled in pictures back then. I never quite understood that.
Continuing on, I coughed into my hand. It was rather chilly in this end of the house, I thought the heat was on already or something. I'm surprised the roof wasn't leaking or something. It was pouring outside, I could hear the steady beat of the rainfall on the rooftop, two stories up. I shuddered, a little freaked out. The pictures' eyes seemed to follow me as I kept walking, my feet seeming rather loud as I walked along. I was surpirded I hadn't tripped yet. I'm so clumsy, and I certainly didn't get that trait from my dad.
A loud screeching caused me to stop. Suddenly, a white blur ran past me, howling and hissing. A cat. I gripped one of the tables along the wall, one hand over my heart. It was beating a mile a minute, ready to flutter straight out of my chest. Flipping my hair out of my eyes, I dismissed the cat as a stray and kept going. That is, until the lights flickered off. I yelled. Loud. I'm not a fan of the dark, really. Especially the kind of dark that comes with a house you've been in for ten minutes. The kind of dark that seems to suffocate you. I turned, now lost in the emptiness. My dad wasn't home, I knew that for sure. So, I ran. I ran down the hall, taking turns and getting my self utterly lost and no where closer to a source of light than I was before. I hate big houses, I thought, stopping for a second. I found a door. Salvation! I grinned, pulling it open. I felt dismayed when I realized it was merely a small den with a few bookshelves and a small window that let some light through. At least it was light, no matter how small it was. The room was small, all right. Tiny, actually. There was a stillness in the room, like a suffocating blackness that seemed to press on my chest, making it hard to breathe. I tried to calm down, attmepting to slow my still quickening heart rate. I remembered how to exhale, doing so quickly so I wouldn't end up dying. A scuffling startled me, making me jump a few inches from the ground. I looked over my shoulder to see two bright green, large orbs floating in the darkness behind me, a few inches lower than my own eyes. They glowed--like a cats. Gulping, I turned. Just as I had turned to face the figure, It turned running off. I caught a glimpse of dark, blue-black hair and what sounded like a small whimper. This sparked my own curiousity and I followed into the darkness, calling out.
"Hey! Wait a moment! I--.." Next thing I knew, the ground was coming up to meet me very fast.
I awoke to my father, shaking me, talking in a worried tone.
"Matt? Hey, Matt! Matthew, you okay?"
"...D-dad!" I was overcome with joy when I could focus on him. To tell the truth, I thought I wasn't going to see him again.
"What where you doing?" He asked, helping me up.
"I...went to look around and the lights went out, I got lost and tripped." I remembered the two eyes, but decided to keep that private. He might start to think I'm even more insane than he already does.
"You're so clumsy. I'm having an electrician come out tomorrow to take a look at everything. You have nasty bump on the back of your head." He felt a around gently. I winced, cringing away. "So how fast were you running?" He joked, laughing to himself. "C'mon. Let's get some ice and then we can eat. I got some chinese take-out while I was gone." I gave a slight scoff. I didn't know Black River had a Chinese place. My dad helped me stand and walk down the hall. There was still some feeling left that the pictures were watching me. I wondered...who turned out the lights? Who's eyes were those and what were they doing in my house? I didn't think I'd ever get an answer. It was the dark, I thought. Playing games with me. But they seemed so lively. So bright and-- My dads voice broke into my thoughts as he sat some sweet and sour chicken in front of me.
"Eat up. You can sleep down here tonight if you so choose. School starts tomorrow, so I hope you can get enough shut-eye." School. The thought made me groan, causing my dad to chuckle and nearly choke on his food.
"You're not the new kid from San Diego with the weird haircut." I mummbled, glowering in his direction.
"Since when do you care what other kids think?" He asked, obviously interested in my sudden need for acceptance.
"Well, I-I don't." I stammered. My dad smirked a little, continuing to eat in peace.
The night was as good as the afternoon. The heavy wind seemed to shake the house a little, and I watched as the rain came down in heavy sheets acrossed the ground, hitting the window in relaxing beats. I love the rain; it helps me sleep, and it smells wonderful. I've always had a facination with water, ever since I was young. I relaxed on the old sofa, kicking off my shoes and laying back. Next thing I knew, it was six o'clock AM.
Rolling off the couch, I stummbled around, digging through bags looking for clothes. Satisfied with a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, I left to the bathroom to change and wash my face. Before I had pulled off my current shirt, I noticed something. A silver-white hair. Short, like that of a cats'. Looking closely, I saw at least twenty scattered around on my shirt. I wasn't that fond of cats. Rather, they weren't to fond of me. Sighing, I pulled the shirt up and over my head, and pulled the clean one on. It said 'D.E.A.D' acrossed the back and had a white bleeding heart on the front. My favorite shirt.
I didn't even bother to brush my hair, I smoothed out the front and left the back as it was, spiky. Beadhead. Scrubbing all the dirt from yesterday off my face, I was drying my face when I noticed the water. It was relatively dark...almost a rusty brown-red. Turning it off, I exited the bathroom in search of my shoes. I was a little agrivated when I saw that they weren't in the spot I had left them last night. A door closed, my dad leaving for work at the hospital. Sighing in an exasperated tone, I searched and searched for my shoes. I was getting kind of ticked now, seeing as I had spent thrity minutes looking for the blasted things. I walked down the hall, still looking. Coming upon the door that had caused me so much trouble last night, I took a breath before opening the door. There, in the middle of the hall, sat my shoes. This is getting really weird, I thought, rushing in and grabbing my shoes. I ran out just as fast and shut the door.
By the time I was out of my house, walking down the road to school, the rain had subsided some only to a small drizzle. I came up on the building. It was huge, and for some reason, lacked that familiar institutional feel. No metal detectors, no unfriendly windows, none of that. I saw a few kids out front, waiting for the door to open. Adjusting my shoulder bag, I walked up, also waiting. They talked amongst themselves for a while before turning to me. "So you're Matthew Kane?" The boy was burly, tall with blonde-brown hair that hung to his shoulders in a messy way. Behind him were a few other boys, around the same age and two girls.
"Um, just call me Matt. How'd you know?" I tried to keep a cool face, but my shyness was starting to creep up. More so since the boy was taller than I, much more intimidating.
"I'm Cameron. There are no secrets in Black River." He grinned, snickering. His face grew stern again and his eyes bore into mine. "So, you're from Cali, eh? What's it like down there?"
"Bright." I answered simply. He nodded, and then introduced me to the rest of the gang. As he spoke their names, I forgot them instantaneously. I waved sheepishly, smiling some. The bell rang and we all herded inside. Cameron turned to me, directing me to the main office.
"I'll meet you after first hour and show you around." He promised and ran off down the hall. I had a feeling he and I would be sticking together for a while. Making my way down to the office, I stepped into the cozy room, a little surprised. It didn't feel like an office, didn't really look like one. I stepped up to the desk. The lady behind the counter looked at me, waiting for me to speak.
"Matthew Kane.." I was going to keep talking, but she whirled around in her chair, searching through papers and clicking on her computer. She finally turned back to me, handing me several papers.
"Here's your class schedual and a map for the school. All your main classes are down in this wing and art, govenment science and gym are here." I nodded, thanking her. As I walked out of the room, I felt someone staring at me. Looking over my shoulder, My eyes met with those of a girl, sitting on a chair near the womans desk. She had dark hair that swept over one eye. Thats what made me stare for a moment. Those eyes, her green orbs, edged with hazel. Shining. Like a cats. She looked away quickly, looking down. I was wondering why she was wearing a hat. Shaking it off, I left the office.
I was surprised I had made it to my first class with a few minutes to spare. I took a seat in the back, playing with my pencil in a nervous way. A loud voice made me look up, nearly falling out of my seat.
"Move kid, this is my spot." A tall boy, about seventeen was looking down at me. There must have been a hint of fear in my eyes, because he laughed, his voice full of malice. I heard Camerons voice two seats down; the chair next to him was empty.
"Just move, Matt." I obliged, hopping out of my seat to sit near my friend.
"Who's that?" I asked, lofting a brow in the boys direction.
"Brian Rogers. Don't get in his way. You won't make it out alive." He cautioned, obvious mock fright in his voice. Glancing at Brian, I knew he would be my enemy from this day forward.
Class flew by fast, we were lectured on class rules and materials we need; history book, pencil, same old, same old. Cameron led me to math, and I groaned at the sight of Brian, lingering outside the door. He was standing, talking to his friends and laughin in an obnoxious way. He stopped a few kids, taunting them, but eventually letting them pass. A girl, the same one I had saw earlier in the office, headed for the door. Brian snickered, holding his arm acrossed the frame and preventing her from getting in.
"Where do you think you're going?" I waited for her to speak, but she merely looked at him, not opening her mouth a bit. "What's up with you? Cat got your tongue?" His friends snickered. She still didn't talk. She simply ducked under his arm, walking into class. I blinked, almost smiling. Brian scoffed, uttering curses. I walked into class with no problem, to my surprise, and took a seat in the back again. I looked over, seeing the girl sitting there, looking down at the desk. Her eyes flickered towards me and widened. She seemed to scoot away, sitting as far away from me as the desk would allow. Class started then, the teacher walking ing swiftly.
"Hello Students, My name is Mr. Trendum and I'm your new math teacher. I'm sorry to say Mrs. Adams moved on," A chorus of groans followed that. "But I assure you, we're going to have a lot of fun in this class." He grinned in a molevolent way, his beady eyes darting around to look on students. As class rolled on, he asked a few math questions so he could practice our names. He called out 'Cross'. I looked around for any kid seeming to be the said person. No one looked up. Mr. Trendum looked at the seating chart and then set his gaze on the girl sitting next to me. "Miss Cross? Answer the question." She looked up, looking at him with her wide eyes. "Miss Cross, I asked a question. Answer it." I could tell he was getting agrivated at her silence. He strode up to her, leaning down to meet her gaze. "Answer the question." His voice was hard, gaze narrowing. She simply tilted her head a little, as if mocking him in a silent way.
"She doens't talk, sir." Someone said outloud. Giggles errupted, but they were silenced as Mr. Trendum spoke again.
"And why is that? Cat got your tongue?" He suppressed a grin. "Miss Cross, Answer the question." He pulled himself upright, glowering down at her. Still no answer. "Fine, a good write up will teach you. And take off your hat." He nearly yelled, walking quickly back to his desk.
"The hat doesn't come off." The same voice as before called out. Mr. Trendum said nothing further and continued questioning. When I last glanced back at her, her cheek was lifted. Was she smiling?
The next class went by fast. The girl wasn't in my class this time and neither was Brian, to a relief. Lunch sped up quickly and Cameron escorted me to the caffeteria. We moved through the line like beatles and then sat at our table, talking about each others pasttimes, pets, but we managed to stay off of 'parents' for now. I looked around the lunch room. Ever table seemed to be a clique; Popular kids all sat up near each other, the nerds, the geeks, the jocks, then there was us. We all, especially Cameron and I, looked a little too much of one or the other too be accepted in any group. Cameron said he liked it this way. Looking over his shoulder, I saw the girl again, sitting at a table by herself. She had no lunch in front of her, only a carton of milk. I didn't know I was staring until Cameron asked me what I was gawking at.
"What?" I blinked, looking at him. He turned, looking at the direction of my stare.
"What are you staring at? You look like you've just seen the woman of your dreams walk into the lunch room." He snickered.
"Who's that girl, there?" I pointed towards the dark haired girl. He looked and then laughed a little.
"Juniper Cross. She's kind of strange." Juniper Cross. The name seemed odd, but beautiful none the less. "Why? First day here and you're planning to ask someone out?" He smirked and looked at me.
"No, no. Nothing like that. Why is she sitting alone?"
"She doesn't have anyone to sit with." A girl at our table, who's name was Mary, said, looking up. "She doesn't talk, wears that hat all the time. And those eyes of her's, " she shivered, giving emphasis. "She's strange."
"Why doesn't she talk?" I continued to ask questions, looking at her every so often.
"Why all the sudden intrest?"
"I just want to know, that's all. So is she mute or something?"
"No, not mute. She just doesn't talk. I've never even seen her eat. Just milk." Mary shrugged some.
"We have our theorys, of course." Cameron continued.
"Like?" I irked, lofting a brow.
"Well..." He thought for a moment. "That's she's a vampire." He waved his fingers, making an 'woooh' noise. I scoffed. "And," he continued, " That she's just too shy for her own good. I mean, she's a straight A student as far as I'm conserned, just never talks and wears that hat. Her fathers a great doctor, thought. He's a good man." He shrugged, sitting back in his chair. " I just say don't bother with her. Only think I ever got out of her was a squeak. I don't even think it was her."
"James had fallen out of his chair when you were trying to talk to her." Mary reminded. A boy at our table looked up, James, I assumed.
"I gotta run guys, I'll see you tomorrow." I left quickly, running down the road. I need a car, I thought, all of the kids have one but me. It wan't a far walk from my house to the school. Just a block or two. Ahead of me, I saw a figure, dark, short. Wearing a faded blue hat. Like June's. I couldn't help but smile ever so slightly. I slowed my pace to a very slow walk, making sure I was a good twenty yards behind her at all times. What frightened me, was that she stopped. Right in front of my place. I watched her turn, looking up at the old home as if with anguish. She looked at me, her eyes widening in a frightful way, and continued on her way. Almost faster.
Walking into my new home, I was greeted warmly by my father. He had done some painting, I smelled the fumes now, even thought the house was airing out. "Hey Matt! Can you bring me the hammer? I need to fix this panel in the wall here." I grabbed the tool, handing it to him as I passed.
"I'm going to go find myself a bedroom."
"Don't get lost." He warned jokingly. I smiled a little, laughing slightly. I pulled myself up the three flights of stairs, actually finding the place to be quite nice now that warm sunlight was shining through. To my surprise, there was a bed in the room I had found. It was large, a four poster bed at one wall with a door,I presumed it was the balcony, at the other side. It was huge, in my standards. Bigger than my room in San Diego, which was pretty big in the first place.
Setting my bags on the floor, I muttered, a smile playing at the corners of my mouth, " I think this is going to be a beautiful friendship..." Somehow while I was laying on my bed, I fell asleep.
To my surprise, I drempt. I haven't dreamed for a long time, since my mom death, but I wasn't surprised it was about June. She was sitting, holding a white cat in her arms and sitting on a porch. My porch? I was running towards her and she looked at me, and her eyes...They weren't her pretty green eyes that I knew. They were dark, almost black, hazy.
Then I woke up. It must have been a few hours since I had fallen asleep, since it was raining and dark, of course. Rolling off of my bed, I pushed open the door and stummbled down the stair cases. I was surpirised to see my dad wrapping up food to put it away. When he saw me, he sighed exasperatedly.
"So now you wake up?" He pulled the plastic wrap off and set the still-warm-food in front of me. "I thought you ODed or something. You've been sleeping a lot, eh?" He quirked a brow, smirking.
"Maybe it's the move..." I muttered, shoving mashed potatoes into my mouth, ignoring him.
 fauney · Tue Apr 17, 2007 @ 04:15am · 4 Comments |
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