I woke up, staring at the vast landscape of stars above me. It was nighttime and the flock was resting. I sat up. My head was throbbing. I should probably get that checked out. I stretched my wings and went over to Iggy. He was so cute, laying there all innocent. I smiled. I looked over to Nudge. She was yawning and turning over in her sleep. She bumped Max and she smiled and turned, too. These were my friends, My family, and The flock.
I jumped into the air and flapped my wings. They were still sore from yesterday's events, and my bruises against the bitter wind were almost unbearable. I dropped down.
I decided to peak into Angel's mind. I laughed. I touched her temple lightly and concentrated. She was dreaming of tea parties with Max on the beach. Gazzy was there with Nudge, Iggy, Total and I. But not Fang. Fang had left. He was gone. I let go. Maybe it was a coincidence, I mean; you can't really control your dreams. Oh well.
I sat down on the gravel of our campsite, bored. I sighed. Nothing was stopping me from flying away. I didn't think anyone would notice if I left for a few days. I dove into the air, ignoring the throbbing sensation in my wings, and took off towards the moon. I traveled North for what seemed like a few hours and let down in Covert, Washington. It was a small town, I could see, as I sat down on the curb. No one really lived there. Really, it was just a McDonalds, a Holiday Inn, and a bookstore. I sighed. It was nice, compared to the campsite the others were parked in. I got up and pushed through the doors of the Holiday Inn. There was teenager asleep at the counter. He had Izzy's haircut. I smiled and shifted into pajamas with a rocker's hair cut. That was one of my powers- Shape shifting. I rang the bell. He snapped up.
"I would like to rent a room on the end, please," I said as lazily as possible, "And don't let it be one that smells like a hooker. Please." He shifted his glasses and typed something into his computer.
"Your room is number 24. You go West and keep going until you reach the end. As far as I know, it doesn't smell like a hooker," He said calmly, "I could walk you there so you don't get lost on the way." I smiled and thought about it. What would the flock say if I let this guy walk me to my room? Nothing. No one had to know. I nodded. "Great!"
He came around the counter with my key and pushed through the doors. I laughed. He extended his arm to me. I thought about it. Okay. I wrapped my arm around his hastily. We walked slowly to the East side of the Holiday Inn. I stopped. He had said it was to the West. Oh well, he knew what he was doing.
"What's the matter?" He asked.
"Nothing," I said, continuing to walk, "You didn't make me pay you anything for the room." I said.
"Oh," he said, "I was- Distracted," He blushed. Now that I thought about it, he looked a lot like Iggy. Except he wasn't blind.
Whenever I shape shifted, my eyes always stayed the same. It was something I couldn't change. Iggy said he could always recognize me by my eyes. They were brownish red, which is unique, apparently.
"How about it's on the house," He said, "my treat." I laughed.
We got to the end and I could tell he had no idea what he was doing. I remembered Iggy. His eyes, his hair, his lips. I suddenly wanted very much to know what he was thinking.
"Hold still," I said, touching the side of this face. I concentrated. He was thinking of me and how where I touched his face tingled like electricity. He thought of the stars, and how they all seemed to stare at us from the heaven. I smiled. He thought of his dead mother and how the angels guarded her soul in heaven. And he thought how he was lost. He had no idea where the room was from here or even which way was West. I giggled. His name was Evan. He was an orphan, lost then employed by the Holiday Inn. He was 15 which was also exactly my age. His birthday was the 12th of May and he had no idea what he wanted to be when he grew up. I let go and my smile faded.
"Evan," I said, voice steady, "where do you live?" He shifted uncomfortably. "Evan." He looked at me and dug something out of his pocket. It shone in the moon. A key.
He walked me back to the door by the check-in. He shoved the key into the door and turned. It opened into a large room. The sheet looked like they had just been cleaned and a patterned red quilt lay on top. He had 3 pillows and the light in the post next to the bed was dim. It was beautiful in Hotel room standards. Then it hit me. He lived here in this Holiday Inn. My eyes started to sting.
"What's the matter?" He asked. "You don't like my house."
"You live alone, without anyone to take care of you, just like me," I whispered, "Well, except for my... friends" The first tear skidded across my cheek. He wiped it away and then looked into my eyes.
"You're crying," He said dumbly, "Heyy, how did you know my name?"
"Evan, would you like to live with us? We're orphans, too. Plus, I really like you," As soon as I said that I realized what I had said, "But, not... It's..."
"Sure, I don't have very many things. I'd have to think about it, though, and talk with my dad about it," He said.
"You don't have a dad," I stated.
"Well, actually, he's the manager of the building, but he sort of adopted me. He gave me shelter and a job," He said, "And he looks after me in a way."
"Do you go to school?" I asked.
"No," He said. He yawned.
"What time is it?" I asked hugging onto him. He looked surprised.
"Like, 3 A.m.," he said hugging back. I pulled away and sat on his bed. I patted the spot next to me. He sat down. He was a lot like Iggy. Except he had black hair instead of blonde, he wasn't blind, his eyes were hazel and blue, and he was a bit taller. I don't think the flock would see the resemblance, though, which is good.
He sat down and wrapped his arms around me. And that's how the night began.
