Hello, hello. It's been a while! So here it is, the beginning of my VERY AU American Idiot the Musical fanfiction. Hope you enjoy it! Please review ^_^
Disclaimer: I don't own these people.
"Wait! Guys, we want to come too!" Cayce shouted as they tried to catch up with her older brother and his best friend. The boys were too fast for her 12-year-old legs to keep up with, but at least she was further up the hill than her best friend, Charli.
"This isn't fair! I hate climbing." Charli whined from halfway down the hill. The boys were heading for a tunnel they had found a few days ago; they thought it seemed creepy and abandoned, though the tracks that ran through it were frequently used by freight trains.
"C'mon, Case! I told you not to come!" Tyler shouted to his sister. He was two years older than her and, though they had always been close, he was starting to get tired of having her tag along all the time. "It's too scary for girls." he continued to taunt. Cayce clenched her fists and charged up the hill after him.
"I'm coming with you and you can't stop me! Charli, hurry up!" She yelled, getting annoyed that Charli wasn't as interested as she was.
"I don't see why you want to go! Let's go back to my house, my mom made cookies." Charli suggested hopefully. She could see by the look on Cayce's face that she wasn't giving up.
"C'mon, man, we can slow up a little for them…" suggested Tyler's best friend, Will. He didn't really want them tagging along either, but, like Charli, climbing really wasn't his thing. Tyler sighed heavily and stopped walking. Cayce finally caught up and Charli finished running up the hill, red faced and out of breath, and caught up as well.
"Is the slow poke tired?" Tyler teased. Charli folded her arms over her chest and stuck her tongue out at him, the best retaliation she had against the boy who had always bested her and his sister in verbal matches. Charli was thankful to find that the rest of the journey was on flat ground and there were no more hills to climb. They finally reached the tunnel and she immediately wanted to go home. Charli grabbed Cayce's arm and stopped walking.
"Cayce, I don't want to go over there…" she whispered as the boys headed toward the opening which was overgrown with vines and trees. The inside of the tunnel was so dark, it seemed as though a thick black curtain was hanging right at the opening. The tracks looked used, but they were old and worn. Cayce sighed.
"We didn't just come all this way to turn around…C'mon, the guys are leaving us again!" she said, hurrying to catch up and pulling Charli along by her hand. Charli whined, but followed. The boys had reached the tracks and were taking turns balancing on the rails and pushing each other off, laughing. When the girls caught up, Tyler was pulling a flashlight out of the inside of his jacket.
"Who wants to go first?" he asked with a mischievous glint in his eye. The girls should have known better, Tyler was always getting them into trouble.
"Go where?" Charli asked, a clear note of fear in her voice. That was all it took. Next thing she knew, Tyler was slapping the flashlight in her hand and pushing her toward the tunnel opening. "No! Ty, I don't wanna go! Stop!" she screamed, her voice echoing through the inside of the tunnel.
"What's the matter, Charli? Scared?" he teased.
"No! It's gross in here and I don't want to go. If I get my new shoes dirty, my mom's going to kill me!" She lied. Tyler laughed.
"Scared-y cat, scared-y cat!" he taunted. Charli whined for him to shut up, but this only made Tyler laugh more. "Prove you're not scared, then. Look, we'll stay here and count to 50 and when we're done, you can turn around and come back." he offered. Charli looked at him, judging whether or not he was actually going to stay or run away and leave her there alone.
"Promise you won't go anywhere?" She asked. Tyler grinned and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Promise. Now go!" he said, giving her one last shove toward the opening. Charli hesitated at the entrance, clutching the flashlight in her hands. She glanced behind and saw the boys egging her on and Cayce glaring at Tyler.
"This isn't funny, Ty. Why don't you go?" she said. Tyler shook his head.
"She's got to prove she's not scared. Start walking, Charli. 1.…2.….3.…4.…." he began to count. Charli looked back down the tunnel and began walking in. Her footsteps reverberated off the walls and sticks and leaves cracked beneath her feet. It was dark and her flashlight only illuminated so far ahead. She glanced behind her again to see Tyler standing at the opening, Cayce behind him, looking a little nervous herself and Will leaning against the wall. "24.…25...26.…" Tyler continued. Will tapped his arm.
"Don't you think that's enough? She's barely moving and who knows when the next train is going to come through." He offered. Tyler shook his head.
"Nah, it's only 30 seconds more, she can do it." but just as he said this, an ominous sound blasted toward them through the darkness; a train whistle. Charli stopped in her tracks, scared frozen from the loud sound. When the whistle died away, she could hear the sounds of her friends calling her back, but was unable to move. The light from the train lit up the walls and was getting closer and closer by the second. Charli found herself and started backing away when she felt a tug on her arm, jolting her back to her senses. She turned and ran after Tyler, who still had a hold of her hand, sprinting for the entrance. The train was gaining and the two stumbled out of the tunnel, falling to the ground. The train zoomed past, whistle blaring. Will had hold of Cayce's arm, keeping her from running in after her brother and they both stood over their friends, who seemed too stunned to move. Tyler was the first to sit up, pulling Charli up by the hand she was still holding.
"Shit…Charli are you ok?" he asked. Charli stood up and nodded, gripping his hand. "Good…can you let go? You're crushing my fingers…" he said, gently prying her hand off his. Charli let go and immediately threw her arms around his neck.
"Thanks for saving me." she said, letting go of him. The two stood awkwardly looking at each other until Charli's face changed from fear and appreciation to anger and she slapped his arm. "Jerk! You could have got me killed!" She shoved past him and pulled Cayce along with her, heading home. As they walked away, Charli wrapped her arms around herself and glanced back at Tyler who was getting a pat on the back from Will for being a hero while he was striking a triumphant pose. Charli couldn't help but grin, only vaguely aware of Cayce voicing her disgust that she actually hugged her brother.
The two girls headed back to Charli's house where her mom greeted them with a cookie each. Not 15 minutes later, the boys walked in. Charli's house was a sort of hub for their afternoons. Cayce and Tyler lived with foster parents who weren't exactly up for any awards and though Will's mom was nice enough, his dad made them all very uncomfortable. The boys each grabbed a cookie and sat down at the kitchen table and the four of them fell right back into the playful banter they were best at.
"OK, you guys, look at me!" Charli's mom called over the noise. Charli looked up and saw her mom standing at the end of the table holding a camera and whined.
"Aw, Mom! Not now!" she said, calling the others' attention. Her mom kept the camera to her face.
"No, I want pictures of my daughter and her friends! One day you'll look back at these and thank me. Now smile!" she said. All four sighed and leaned in, smiling. Charli's mom snapped the picture, however just before she did, Tyler pulled a chunk of his cookie off and threw it at Cayce's head, causing her to do the same. Her mom pulled out the Polaroid and shook it. She sighed when the picture finally developed. "What fond memories…" she said, sarcastically. She handed the picture to Charli who looked at it and passed it around, laughing. In the shot, Tyler was laughing, Cayce was throwing her cookie, Charli was posing and Will was stealing the rest of Cayce's cookie while she wasn't looking.
"I kind of like it, Ms. Linda." Tyler laughed. "It suits us." Linda rolled her eyes at him, used to his used-car-salesmen-like personality. She took the photo back from him and stuck it on the refrigerator door. There the picture would stay, a reminder of the bond the four shared, even if it wouldn't last.