A/N: Why am I posting this? This is an old, old, old, old little story. Um...
to tell the truth, I don't like it too much... I think it could be made a lot
better, especially if it had been written by one of those people who's
really good at writing things like this. But....oh well. So I'd really
appreciate it if all of you could be so kind as to critique this and tell
me if it's too mushy/stupid/not-worthy-of-ff.net. And lastly, all I have
left to say is please don't judge me by how this story is...and with that
said, I'm out!
I woke up suddenly to the quiet sound of rain softly pattering against the house. I glanced over at my clock. 11:22. It felt good to finally not have to see the sunrise on a Saturday. And it definitely felt good to be able to sleep in.
I staggered out of bed and into the shower. Ten minutes later, I was clean, awake, dressed, and ready to go. I headed downstairs, and found a neatly folded-over note on the clean kitchen table. I unfolded it and read:
Rachel:
I took Jordan and Sara out to the mall. I would have woken you
up, but you looked like you needed the sleep. We'll be back some
time tonight. There are some leftovers in the fridge if you get
hungry.
Love,
Mom
I smiled to myself. Mom had never been the sentimental type. It had been nice of her to leave a note. For some reason, it made me feel more normal. And these days, I valued any chance at normality I could have.
The day was turning out good. I opened the fridge, pulled out the orange juice and poured myself some. As I raised the glass to my lips, I happened to glance over towards the calendar. I stared at the date, the cup halfway to my mouth.
No. It couldn't be.
I set the cup back down on the counter with almost-shaking fingers. The date. How could I have forgotten what today was?
All of a sudden I wasn't thirsty. And my good mood had evaporated along with my thirst.
I calmly poured my orange juice out into the sink and rinsed out the cup. It felt as if my body was on automatic mode. My mind was buzzing with thoughts.
In three quick steps, I bounded over to the calendar and focused once more on the date. I slowly raised my finger and touched the number. To anyone else, it wouldn't have been a special day. But to me, and to my friends Cassie, Jake, Marco, Ax, and Tobias, it was a unique date. One that none of us would ever forget.
It was the day we had received our morphing powers. The day that we had been burdened with a curse.
This was the anniversary of the day that Elfangor had landed and passed on powers to us, placing five kids in control of the future of Earth. It was the day that we had changed from being kids to being warriors. Two years ago, on this day, our lives had changed. And I wasn't sure if it was for the better or for the worse.
I ran up to my room, and hurriedly stripped off my clothes until I was left shivering in my morphing outfit. I concentrated and quickly feather patterns spread around my body. I was becoming a bald eagle.
I flew out of my window, towards Cassie's barn, trying to glide through the rain drops. On the way, I passed Marco's house. With my excellent eyes, I could see him staring blankly out the window, for once a serious expression on his face. Yes, he was definitely aware of the date.
Soon I was approaching the barn. I prepared myself to fly in, but a sight stopped me. Cassie and Jake were there, sitting in the barn on bales of hay, talking quietly. I thought I saw the glimmer of a tear on Cassie's cheek, and her hands were enclosed in Jake's.
There was no way I was going to interrupt that.
I flew on, towards the forest. I knew subconsciously where I was headed.
Tobias wasn't by his tree, so I soared towards Ax's scoop. Ax looked like he was doing some sort of Andalite ritual. I didn't want to interrupt this either, so I checked quickly to see if Tobias was there. Seeing that he wasn't, I flew away, undetected.
For a little while I flew around aimlessly, annoyance growing in me. How many different places could Tobias be?
Than it hit me. I turned sharply and rocketed towards the only other place that Tobias could be.
In a few minutes I had arrived. I was at the construction site. The place where it had all started.
There he was. A human teenage boy with dirty blonde hair and a wistful expression in his eyes, staring at a tree. It seemed that he wasn't even aware of what he was doing, unaware that rain was falling and drenching him; he was lost in his own world.
I quietly landed behind him and demorphed. For a moment, I simply observed him. He stood there, lost in his thoughts. A teenage boy who had experienced far more than anyone his age should have. My fists clenched, but as I watched him, my anger slowly fell away.
I cared for him. I had never fully addressed just how much I did, but it was still there. I had, and always would have, soft spot in my heart when it came to him.
Silently, I crossed the distance until I was standing behind him. Slowly I raised an arm and placed it on his shoulder.
"Tobias."
He turned around slowly, and I almost melted when I saw his eyes. Eyes that had held hurt, sorrow, pain, suffering.
He didn't say anything. Neither did I. For a little while, the only sound was the rain falling onto the ground.
Then he spoke. In a low tone, he said, "I thought I should be human. You know, since he was. For a while, anyway."
Suddenly I realized. To him, today was more than just the two-year anniversary of the day that we had received our powers. It was also the anniversary of the day that he had been forced to stand here, helpless, and watch the father he never knew die.
Stupid! How could I have forgotten that?
"I'm sorry," I said. The words sounded empty.
He looked away. "Yeah. Me too."
It was quiet again. I didn't know what to do. It was funny, ironic even. Me, Xena, the reckless, crazy one who always knows what to do. I wasn't scared by Yeerks, I wasn't confused by Visser 3 or the Ellimist; no, in the end it was just a teenage boy who could do all this to me.
But he was more than "just a boy." He was Tobias.
"Tobias..." I couldn't form the words. I didn't even know what words I was trying to form.
I wanted to comfort him. I wanted to help him, to let him know that I was here for him, but I didn't know how. The words wouldn't come out.
I don't know how long we stood there, slightly shivering in the rain, both of us absorbed in our own thoughts. As a matter of fact, it was Marco's voice that broke the silence.
"It's kinda chilly, isn't it?"
Tobias and I both turned around to see him grinning at us. Behind him were Cassie, Jake, and Ax in human morph.
Marco kept grinning toothily at us. "We thought you might want our company." He sidled up next to me. "And I know that you want my company, Xena."
I laughed and pushed him away. "Sorry to burst your bubble, Marco, but not all wishes come true."
For the rest of the day, we hung out together in the rain, actually having a good time, despite the fact that Tobias and Ax had to demorph every two hours. There was Cassie and Jake getting all romantic but trying to hide it, Marco seeing them trying to hide it and making jokes exposing them to the rest of us, Ax spurting off random facts and looking generally clueless, and me and Tobias joining in occasionally with the conversation.
After a while, I saw Tobias look away from everyone, appearing to be lost in his own thoughts. I quietly moved over next to him.
"It'll be okay, Tobias."
He looked at me and slowly smiled. In that moment, I knew that he knew. He knew what I was feeling, and that I would always stay by his side. He knew. And he felt the same.
"Yeah." He was quiet. "Rachel?" He asked, sounding for that one instance like a lost, confused, little kid. And in a sense, he was. So was I.
"Yes, Tobias, I'll stay."
The rain fell down heavier, and amidst the coldness and wetness, I felt a warm hand reach for mine, and clasp over it.
I woke up suddenly to the quiet sound of rain softly pattering against the house. I glanced over at my clock. 11:22. It felt good to finally not have to see the sunrise on a Saturday. And it definitely felt good to be able to sleep in.
I staggered out of bed and into the shower. Ten minutes later, I was clean, awake, dressed, and ready to go. I headed downstairs, and found a neatly folded-over note on the clean kitchen table. I unfolded it and read:
Rachel:
I took Jordan and Sara out to the mall. I would have woken you
up, but you looked like you needed the sleep. We'll be back some
time tonight. There are some leftovers in the fridge if you get
hungry.
Love,
Mom
I smiled to myself. Mom had never been the sentimental type. It had been nice of her to leave a note. For some reason, it made me feel more normal. And these days, I valued any chance at normality I could have.
The day was turning out good. I opened the fridge, pulled out the orange juice and poured myself some. As I raised the glass to my lips, I happened to glance over towards the calendar. I stared at the date, the cup halfway to my mouth.
No. It couldn't be.
I set the cup back down on the counter with almost-shaking fingers. The date. How could I have forgotten what today was?
All of a sudden I wasn't thirsty. And my good mood had evaporated along with my thirst.
I calmly poured my orange juice out into the sink and rinsed out the cup. It felt as if my body was on automatic mode. My mind was buzzing with thoughts.
In three quick steps, I bounded over to the calendar and focused once more on the date. I slowly raised my finger and touched the number. To anyone else, it wouldn't have been a special day. But to me, and to my friends Cassie, Jake, Marco, Ax, and Tobias, it was a unique date. One that none of us would ever forget.
It was the day we had received our morphing powers. The day that we had been burdened with a curse.
This was the anniversary of the day that Elfangor had landed and passed on powers to us, placing five kids in control of the future of Earth. It was the day that we had changed from being kids to being warriors. Two years ago, on this day, our lives had changed. And I wasn't sure if it was for the better or for the worse.
I ran up to my room, and hurriedly stripped off my clothes until I was left shivering in my morphing outfit. I concentrated and quickly feather patterns spread around my body. I was becoming a bald eagle.
I flew out of my window, towards Cassie's barn, trying to glide through the rain drops. On the way, I passed Marco's house. With my excellent eyes, I could see him staring blankly out the window, for once a serious expression on his face. Yes, he was definitely aware of the date.
Soon I was approaching the barn. I prepared myself to fly in, but a sight stopped me. Cassie and Jake were there, sitting in the barn on bales of hay, talking quietly. I thought I saw the glimmer of a tear on Cassie's cheek, and her hands were enclosed in Jake's.
There was no way I was going to interrupt that.
I flew on, towards the forest. I knew subconsciously where I was headed.
Tobias wasn't by his tree, so I soared towards Ax's scoop. Ax looked like he was doing some sort of Andalite ritual. I didn't want to interrupt this either, so I checked quickly to see if Tobias was there. Seeing that he wasn't, I flew away, undetected.
For a little while I flew around aimlessly, annoyance growing in me. How many different places could Tobias be?
Than it hit me. I turned sharply and rocketed towards the only other place that Tobias could be.
In a few minutes I had arrived. I was at the construction site. The place where it had all started.
There he was. A human teenage boy with dirty blonde hair and a wistful expression in his eyes, staring at a tree. It seemed that he wasn't even aware of what he was doing, unaware that rain was falling and drenching him; he was lost in his own world.
I quietly landed behind him and demorphed. For a moment, I simply observed him. He stood there, lost in his thoughts. A teenage boy who had experienced far more than anyone his age should have. My fists clenched, but as I watched him, my anger slowly fell away.
I cared for him. I had never fully addressed just how much I did, but it was still there. I had, and always would have, soft spot in my heart when it came to him.
Silently, I crossed the distance until I was standing behind him. Slowly I raised an arm and placed it on his shoulder.
"Tobias."
He turned around slowly, and I almost melted when I saw his eyes. Eyes that had held hurt, sorrow, pain, suffering.
He didn't say anything. Neither did I. For a little while, the only sound was the rain falling onto the ground.
Then he spoke. In a low tone, he said, "I thought I should be human. You know, since he was. For a while, anyway."
Suddenly I realized. To him, today was more than just the two-year anniversary of the day that we had received our powers. It was also the anniversary of the day that he had been forced to stand here, helpless, and watch the father he never knew die.
Stupid! How could I have forgotten that?
"I'm sorry," I said. The words sounded empty.
He looked away. "Yeah. Me too."
It was quiet again. I didn't know what to do. It was funny, ironic even. Me, Xena, the reckless, crazy one who always knows what to do. I wasn't scared by Yeerks, I wasn't confused by Visser 3 or the Ellimist; no, in the end it was just a teenage boy who could do all this to me.
But he was more than "just a boy." He was Tobias.
"Tobias..." I couldn't form the words. I didn't even know what words I was trying to form.
I wanted to comfort him. I wanted to help him, to let him know that I was here for him, but I didn't know how. The words wouldn't come out.
I don't know how long we stood there, slightly shivering in the rain, both of us absorbed in our own thoughts. As a matter of fact, it was Marco's voice that broke the silence.
"It's kinda chilly, isn't it?"
Tobias and I both turned around to see him grinning at us. Behind him were Cassie, Jake, and Ax in human morph.
Marco kept grinning toothily at us. "We thought you might want our company." He sidled up next to me. "And I know that you want my company, Xena."
I laughed and pushed him away. "Sorry to burst your bubble, Marco, but not all wishes come true."
For the rest of the day, we hung out together in the rain, actually having a good time, despite the fact that Tobias and Ax had to demorph every two hours. There was Cassie and Jake getting all romantic but trying to hide it, Marco seeing them trying to hide it and making jokes exposing them to the rest of us, Ax spurting off random facts and looking generally clueless, and me and Tobias joining in occasionally with the conversation.
After a while, I saw Tobias look away from everyone, appearing to be lost in his own thoughts. I quietly moved over next to him.
"It'll be okay, Tobias."
He looked at me and slowly smiled. In that moment, I knew that he knew. He knew what I was feeling, and that I would always stay by his side. He knew. And he felt the same.
"Yeah." He was quiet. "Rachel?" He asked, sounding for that one instance like a lost, confused, little kid. And in a sense, he was. So was I.
"Yes, Tobias, I'll stay."
The rain fell down heavier, and amidst the coldness and wetness, I felt a warm hand reach for mine, and clasp over it.