That smile.
That laugh.
That giggle.
They haunted Francis F. Drilovsky every night, keeping him wide awake for more than three hours at a time. Every night, he tossed and turned in his bed, the laughter echoing in his ears, the smile shining in the darkness of his room. Each night, he went to bed, and they appeared every time.
At first, it wasn't frequent. It happened, oh, about once a week. It began after he turned 12. Then, as the months passed, the smile returned more than usual, the laughter ringing more in his ears as he went on with his life.
His sister, Panini, often questioned why he woke up, his eyes bloodshot, and his fiery red hair messy and unkempt. And every time, he answered that he had a nightmare about Aurora.
Aurora mK. Uno was Francis's best friend. She might have been one month older than him, but he didn't care. They had been best friends since the day they met in kindergarten, up to their time together as cadets in the Kids Next Door, and even until he became Decommissioning Officer.
They often joked about how their younger siblings were of higher rank than them - Aurora's brother, Cheren, was Supreme Leader, while his sister, Panini, was Global Commander. And every time, Aurora would ask Francis what day it was. Some would call her wrong in the head for not knowing what day it was, but Francis knew that there was a hidden meaning to her questions, a meaning Francis didn't want to contemplate.
"Numbuh 686!"
Ah yes, the wake up call.
Francis looked up from his comic book, watching as his assistant, Numbuh 843 - Sally Harper, Sonya and Lee's daughter - jogged over to him. Her blonde hair was tied up in two pigtails with two pink pompoms, and her pink sweater's sleeves nearly dragged itself in its length. A green yoyo spun on a tight string as Sally walked up to him, her black sneakers squeaking.
"Numbuh 843, can't you see I'm busy?" Francis gestured to the comic book.
Sally rolled her eyes. "Yeah right, like you're actually busy nowadays."
"What can I say?" The boy chuckled. "None of our operatives are in immediate need for decommissioning."
Sally's smile dropped off her face. "That's why I'm here, actually. You see-"
"LIKE I SAID," Francis said loudly, making Sally fall silent. "No operatives in need of decommissioning."
Sally persisted. "But-"
"No-" Francis countered.
"-what-"
"-operatives-"
"-about-"
"-to-"
"-Numbuh-"
"-DECOMMISSION."
"-1362?"
Somewhere in the world, a pin dropped, and they could hear it in the silence that occurred.
Francis sighed. He had been trying to avoid this conversation for days now, and every time, he had been successful. But Sally knew just how to make him remember. She was just that persistent.
"You know you can't avoid it for long, Francis." Sally said, doing a Walk the Dog with her yoyo. "Next week is Aurora's 13th birthday. I'll leave you alone today." And with that, the blonde walked away, leaving Francis to himself.
The Drilovsky boy looked up at the sky. Rain was starting to fall, so he gathered up his comic books and walked home, thinking,
I don't want her to forget me, but how can I?
A week had passed since Sally and Francis's conversation, and now, the whole KND had gathered in the big stadium, silent, as the Supreme Leader walked up to the table in the middle, holding a birthday cake with so many embellishments it was obvious Kirie Beatles made it.
"You didn't have to, little bro." A voice, smooth as silk, commented from the shadows as the glass-eyed boy took a seat by the table. Around the table were Numbuhs 2x5, 25, and 52 - Haylee, Artie and Harry Gilligan, Numbuh 860 - Panini, and Dillon York, Aurora's teammates.
Cheren gazed at his sister solemnly. "We had to. It IS your birthday, after all."
"..." Aurora's face emerged from the shadows. "Heh. It's a miracle you guys attended. I thought no one cared."
Haylee leaned forward to pat her hand. " We all care, Aurora. You were one of the coolest operatives since Numbuh 274, Numbuh 9 and Numbuh 1!"
"Who ironically is my dad." The blonde chuckled. "And my mother, Supreme Leader..."
Cheren whined, "They're my parents too, you know."
"Of course." Aurora leaned forward to ruffle Cheren's messy brown hair. "Oh man, Cheren, you gotta promise me you'll take care of the KND."
Panini piped up, "'Course he will! He's Numbuh 3621, Supreme Leader!"
"And you're his 'beloved' Global Commander." Aurora put air quotes around the word beloved, making Panini blush and look away, which made the Uno girl smile. "Dillon, can I..."
"Of course, Aurora." The shadowbender nodded. "I'll take care of our sector."
Aurora smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes this time. "I wish... I wish I could go to every person I've fought with and say sorry before I go...but..." She let out a low chuckle. "I guess it's too late now, isn't it?"
Her lips pursed, Aurora blew out the candles, signifying her transition into teendom. She stood up, smiling weakly, as Sally and her brother, Harvey, led her towards the Decommissioning Chamber. But before she left, she managed to hear the strangled cries coming from one of the audience members.
Leanne struggled from the grips of Lee and Mason as she wailed, " Let me go! I haven't said sorry yet!"
"You can't anymore!" Lee yelled at her. "She's getting decommissioned already!"
Aurora paused, making Sally and Harvey halt as she turned back to Leanne. Then, with a smile, she placed three fingers on her lips and held it out to her before the two Harpers ushered her into the chamber.
Leanne sunk to the ground, sobbing. "I-I didn't say s-sorry yet... F-for all the p-pranks..."
"It's gonna be alright, mate." Sheila knelt down by the sobbing shadowbender, patting her back in reassurance.
Francis's palms sweated. It was the moment of truth, and he knew it.
Aurora glided towards him, a serene smile on her face. Sally and Harvey were on either side of her, looking pretty downcast in contrast to her somewhat cheerful face.
This made Francis mad. Why wasn't she struggling like all those other operatives? Why wasn't she trying to save herself? Her memories? Didn't she care? Sally made Aurora sit down, the cuffs automatically
locking onto her wrists.
He gestured for the Harper kids to leave, which they did, nodding respectfully to both of them before retreating and closing the door.
"So..." Aurora half-whispered as Francis typed in something. "I guess it's time, isn't it, Francis Drilovsky?"
Francis replied, "No it isn't." And with that, the cuffs released Aurora, who looked at him with surprise. "Go. Now."
"I won't." She replied firmly.
Francis hissed, " WHY? Why won't you escape, like all those other operatives, who wanted to preserve their memories as KND by escaping decommissioning?"
"Because I want to have a clean slate." Aurora stated softly. "I am loyal to the KND, until I grow old and withered. You know that, Francis."
Francis gazed at her. "I-I'll miss you." He stammered, pink crossing his cheeks. "I-I don't want you to be decommissioned, Aurora. You'll f-forget me...a-and everyone else..."
"Oh Francis," Aurora smiled again, serenity gracing her features. "This might sound corny, but it's true that you'll always be right in here." She tapped her chest. "And I'll be right in here." She walked over to him and tapped his chest.
He smiled weakly. "That's so corny."
"Told ya." Aurora laughed. Francis gazed down at his hands. They were clenched into fists, tight and hard. His dreams were showing significance right now, and there was only one more thing missing.
He looked at Aurora, his green eyes blazing, before he gripped her by her shoulders and kissed her, his eyes scrunched closed and his face burning a bright red.
Aurora's eyes widened, pink gracing her cheeks as she returned the kiss, a warm feeling bubbling up in her chest. Then, she pushed him away and stepped back.
"I-I've always w-wanted to do that..." Francis admitted as Aurora sat down, the cuffs locking her wrists once more.
Aurora only gazed sadly at her wrists as the plunger neared her face. Now, it looked like she was
regretting that loyalty oath, and she bit her lip, waiting for impact.
No.
Something was missing.
Then it hit Francis.
He stopped the machine. Aurora gazed questioningly at him as he gazed at her again. "Why'd you stop it?"
"Giggle for me." Francis drew out slowly.
"What?"
"Giggle."
"Why?"
"Just do it."
"OK." Aurora shrugged before letting out a melodious giggle, the one that haunted Francis's dreams. The exact same giggle that threatened to deprive him of sleep every night.
Now, it felt complete. He resumed decommissioning.
"What's taking them so long?" Cheren asked worriedly, pacing in front of the other operatives. By now, Artie and Dillon were drunk with Purple Flurp, singing drunk songs while occasionally falling down. Panini and Haylee were slumped together, sleeping, while Harry only looked on disapprovingly. The other operatives were already fast asleep in their seats, with Leanne and Lee nodding off into sleep.
Harry looked at Cheren. "You don't think they're..."
"Francis KNOWS I'll kill him if he did that." Cheren growled darkly, his eyes flashing. "So that means they're doing something else."
Harry pointed out, "But-" Whatever he was about to say what cut short as Francis walked out, with a gossipy Aurora in tow.
"Cher-een, little brother!" Aurora trilled, making the boy wince. "I need you to carry my shopping list when we go out later, m'kay?"
Cheren groaned. "Great, now she's a big shopaholic." He led his sister out while Harry looked at Francis curiously. "Francis, what's that on your li-"
"Strawberry jelly." He said automatically before yelling, "KIDS NEXT DOOR, DISMISSED!"
He merged with the othe operatives filing out of the room, but just when the last operative went out,
Harry mumbled to himself, "Looked more like lipgloss than jelly."