Post by Callie on Jun 21, 2010 0:42:46 GMT -5
I spread out the pictures on the cold, stone floor. Well, rock. Not really stone. I stared at them and sighed to myself. I didn't need this. Didn't need to remember Ryan and his bottomless blue eyes.
Looking at the years spread before me, I felt a sort of sense of... loss.
I could see Ryan and I splashing each other in a kiddie pool in a different world. One where the color of your skin didn't matter. Where you wouldn't be judged for being a naught. One where Ryan was still alive.
Then there was the two of us again, me commanding Ryan around and him, of course, not listening. We must've been around eight. Funny how the span of nine years can seem to be centuries.
Ryan and I again. My breath caught at this picture. I'd forgotten all about it. My big sister, Rain, must've taken it. How she captured the expressions on our faces and the gorgeous sunset at the same time was frightening. I flipped the picture over when I saw the look on my face. I'd been used to seeing it on Ryan's, but I'd never seen it on my own. It scared me, that look of pure love.
I didn't love anymore. Love made people weak, and I wouldn't let that happen to me. Not again.
But now that I'd seen the picture, I couldn't help myself. My thoughts travelled back to that day, and soon enough, I was reliving it.
The sun was setting, and Ryan and I had just arrived at our secret meeting place. The ocean gently lapped towards us, but we stayed silent for now.
After a moment, though, the silence was broken. Ryan simply hugged me and asked, "How was your day?"
"Fine," I lied, as I always did. "Yours?"
"Good," he replied - as he always did. "I missed you," he said, letting go of me.
I smiled slightly. "Well, I didn't miss you,"" I told him teasingly.
A faint smile twitched across the corners of his lips as he looked away from me and out over the ocean. "Do you ever wonder what things would be like if there was no segregation?" he asked thoughtfully, sitting down in the sand.
I flopped down beside him, staying quiet for a moment. Then he realized what he'd said - he knew I thought about it way more than him. "Yeah, I do," I said finally.
"I'm sorry." He was blushing.
"It's fine. It's just the way things are. The way they'll always be," I told him softly.
His adam's apple dance in this throat as he swallowed. "I wish I could change it. For you."
I didn't look at him. I couldn't. I knew that Ryan felt things for me he shouldn't. I couldn't deny that I felt the same way. "Don't," I said simply.
"Why not?"
"Ryan..."
"Izzy..."
I sighed, frustrated. "We can't be together, anyway."
"Because...?" he replied, raising an eyebrow and pretending he didn't understand. Being stubborn.
"They'll shun you, Ryan. Your friends."
"Then they're not really my friends, are they?"
I wanted to put my hands on his shoulders and shake him, but I didn't. "Ryan! A naught and a Cross can't be together. They'll kill us."
"Then they won't find out," he retorted, then pulled me to him and kissed me with such ferocity I thought I might collapse and lose my grip on reality.
I knew I should pull away, but instead I kissed him back like we'd die if I didn't.
He was the one to break the kiss, but then he held my hands in his and just looked at me. I returned his gaze, but I was really staring into his eyes.
They reminded me of the ocean: dark blue, beautiful, bottomless, and almost frightening in their depth. Of course, I'd never told him that, and I probably never would.
While we looked at each other. That must've been when Rain took the picture. Then she must've run. She never knew what happened next.
Sirens sounded far away from us, coming closer. We looked at each other now, but not with love. It was a paniced look and I let go of his hands.
"Tomorrow?" Ryan asked gently.
I nodded vigorously, then hugged him once more. Then I ran.
Now I was back to the present, remembering that that was when everything fell apart. Dad, Ryan, me, the Liberation Militia... they were all connected.
I heard footsteps, and I gathered the pictures up and sat on them, staring at the wall.
"Izzy?" Harlow asked gently, causing me to look up. My expression softened. Though he was older than me, I'd always thought of Harlow as the baby of the LM - the Liberation Militia. It was just hard to believe that he wanted to fight the Crosses, wanted them to hear us. He was just so gentle.
"Yeah? What did you need?"
He shrugged. "I was just... bored. Jeff and Lily are watching the entrances."
"Oh."
Harlow sat down next to me. "Are you scheming?" he asked with a grin.
I didn't return it. "Yeah."
Then we were silent. Harlow knew better than to ask about my plans.
"Have you checked to see if it'll work?" he finally asked, nodding towards the desk.
I didn't get it at first, and I glared at him before I looked over to where he was nodding. Then I smiled a bit. The magic eight ball, of course.
I went over and picked it up, then whispered to it, "Will my plan work?"
It simply answered, "the future is never certain", causing me to scoff at it.
"It doesn't know," I told Harlow, rolling my eyes.
He smirked slightly. "When does it know anything for certain?"
"When it's unimportant," I ansswered mildly. "I'm going out," I told him, putting down the eight ball and heading for the door.
"Okay," he said, following me out the door.
I walked out, leaving him inside, and wondered if I should put my plans into action now. Well, my observations, at least. I decided it was now or never, and that I probably wouldn't have time for observations. Best try and get it over with. So I slowly walked to town.
Nathan Masters.
If I was a teenage boy - the son of the governor - and I'd just gotten home, where would I be?
Anywhere away from the dad that ignored me.
I headed for the mall, a major hangout for pretty much every teenager alive, and sure enough, there he was, talking to two other Crosses, both boys. Oddly enough, he didn't seem to thrilled to be hanging out with them. Huh.
I sat down on a bench a ways away from them, keeping my head down but watching out of the corner of my eye.
After a while, they split up, and Nathan reluctantly started out of the mall. I waited until he was out of sight to start following him, using every corner and crowd to my advantage.
People might think the Liberation Militia was stupid and tactless, but they were wrong. We were just good at concealing how much we really knew.
After a while longer had passes, I'd trailed him almost all the way to his father's mansion.
I finally revealed myself. "Stop," I said firmly.
He did, and slowly turned around. "What - ?"
"Don't make a sound." I walked to him and blindfolded him, then took out a dagger and held it to his neck. "If you do, this dagger might just slip..."
OOC: And that's all I have so far... XD
Looking at the years spread before me, I felt a sort of sense of... loss.
I could see Ryan and I splashing each other in a kiddie pool in a different world. One where the color of your skin didn't matter. Where you wouldn't be judged for being a naught. One where Ryan was still alive.
Then there was the two of us again, me commanding Ryan around and him, of course, not listening. We must've been around eight. Funny how the span of nine years can seem to be centuries.
Ryan and I again. My breath caught at this picture. I'd forgotten all about it. My big sister, Rain, must've taken it. How she captured the expressions on our faces and the gorgeous sunset at the same time was frightening. I flipped the picture over when I saw the look on my face. I'd been used to seeing it on Ryan's, but I'd never seen it on my own. It scared me, that look of pure love.
I didn't love anymore. Love made people weak, and I wouldn't let that happen to me. Not again.
But now that I'd seen the picture, I couldn't help myself. My thoughts travelled back to that day, and soon enough, I was reliving it.
The sun was setting, and Ryan and I had just arrived at our secret meeting place. The ocean gently lapped towards us, but we stayed silent for now.
After a moment, though, the silence was broken. Ryan simply hugged me and asked, "How was your day?"
"Fine," I lied, as I always did. "Yours?"
"Good," he replied - as he always did. "I missed you," he said, letting go of me.
I smiled slightly. "Well, I didn't miss you,"" I told him teasingly.
A faint smile twitched across the corners of his lips as he looked away from me and out over the ocean. "Do you ever wonder what things would be like if there was no segregation?" he asked thoughtfully, sitting down in the sand.
I flopped down beside him, staying quiet for a moment. Then he realized what he'd said - he knew I thought about it way more than him. "Yeah, I do," I said finally.
"I'm sorry." He was blushing.
"It's fine. It's just the way things are. The way they'll always be," I told him softly.
His adam's apple dance in this throat as he swallowed. "I wish I could change it. For you."
I didn't look at him. I couldn't. I knew that Ryan felt things for me he shouldn't. I couldn't deny that I felt the same way. "Don't," I said simply.
"Why not?"
"Ryan..."
"Izzy..."
I sighed, frustrated. "We can't be together, anyway."
"Because...?" he replied, raising an eyebrow and pretending he didn't understand. Being stubborn.
"They'll shun you, Ryan. Your friends."
"Then they're not really my friends, are they?"
I wanted to put my hands on his shoulders and shake him, but I didn't. "Ryan! A naught and a Cross can't be together. They'll kill us."
"Then they won't find out," he retorted, then pulled me to him and kissed me with such ferocity I thought I might collapse and lose my grip on reality.
I knew I should pull away, but instead I kissed him back like we'd die if I didn't.
He was the one to break the kiss, but then he held my hands in his and just looked at me. I returned his gaze, but I was really staring into his eyes.
They reminded me of the ocean: dark blue, beautiful, bottomless, and almost frightening in their depth. Of course, I'd never told him that, and I probably never would.
While we looked at each other. That must've been when Rain took the picture. Then she must've run. She never knew what happened next.
Sirens sounded far away from us, coming closer. We looked at each other now, but not with love. It was a paniced look and I let go of his hands.
"Tomorrow?" Ryan asked gently.
I nodded vigorously, then hugged him once more. Then I ran.
Now I was back to the present, remembering that that was when everything fell apart. Dad, Ryan, me, the Liberation Militia... they were all connected.
I heard footsteps, and I gathered the pictures up and sat on them, staring at the wall.
"Izzy?" Harlow asked gently, causing me to look up. My expression softened. Though he was older than me, I'd always thought of Harlow as the baby of the LM - the Liberation Militia. It was just hard to believe that he wanted to fight the Crosses, wanted them to hear us. He was just so gentle.
"Yeah? What did you need?"
He shrugged. "I was just... bored. Jeff and Lily are watching the entrances."
"Oh."
Harlow sat down next to me. "Are you scheming?" he asked with a grin.
I didn't return it. "Yeah."
Then we were silent. Harlow knew better than to ask about my plans.
"Have you checked to see if it'll work?" he finally asked, nodding towards the desk.
I didn't get it at first, and I glared at him before I looked over to where he was nodding. Then I smiled a bit. The magic eight ball, of course.
I went over and picked it up, then whispered to it, "Will my plan work?"
It simply answered, "the future is never certain", causing me to scoff at it.
"It doesn't know," I told Harlow, rolling my eyes.
He smirked slightly. "When does it know anything for certain?"
"When it's unimportant," I ansswered mildly. "I'm going out," I told him, putting down the eight ball and heading for the door.
"Okay," he said, following me out the door.
I walked out, leaving him inside, and wondered if I should put my plans into action now. Well, my observations, at least. I decided it was now or never, and that I probably wouldn't have time for observations. Best try and get it over with. So I slowly walked to town.
Nathan Masters.
If I was a teenage boy - the son of the governor - and I'd just gotten home, where would I be?
Anywhere away from the dad that ignored me.
I headed for the mall, a major hangout for pretty much every teenager alive, and sure enough, there he was, talking to two other Crosses, both boys. Oddly enough, he didn't seem to thrilled to be hanging out with them. Huh.
I sat down on a bench a ways away from them, keeping my head down but watching out of the corner of my eye.
After a while, they split up, and Nathan reluctantly started out of the mall. I waited until he was out of sight to start following him, using every corner and crowd to my advantage.
People might think the Liberation Militia was stupid and tactless, but they were wrong. We were just good at concealing how much we really knew.
After a while longer had passes, I'd trailed him almost all the way to his father's mansion.
I finally revealed myself. "Stop," I said firmly.
He did, and slowly turned around. "What - ?"
"Don't make a sound." I walked to him and blindfolded him, then took out a dagger and held it to his neck. "If you do, this dagger might just slip..."
OOC: And that's all I have so far... XD
