(A/N) hey guys! Yeah, this is trial 2 of this story (and if you read the first, you would agree it was crap). Ren, Crystle, her parents, and the purple haired girl are OC's.
The afternoon bell rings, and I smile as the local shops flip their signs to read 'open'. I take a deep breath, waiting to see if I can catch the scent of cookies in progress. This evening feels calm, and the warm breeze carries the fragrance the the many flowers here in Radiant Garden.
Calm night are the best. The kids at school would kid around with the all natural saying, 'take a chill pill', while unaware of how literal that is to me. Of course, they couldn't know. I mean, I don't just go running around the plaza freezing my surroundings, yelling about some witch's tale. Besides, it doesn't work that way. This ability is very unpredictable. You ever buy one of those mood bracelets, you know, the ones that change color with your mood? Yeah, it's like that... except that this is actually accurate.
So, like I said previously, calm nights are the best. Cause after all, stress equals ice. And if you haven't started to imagine me as some sort of freak, this'll do ya in. My dreams are also abnormal. When I sleep, I often find myself viewing the surroundings of a girl with purple hair. When they first started, I was only six. Back then, the girl I viewed looked about four. My guess was confirmed when I witnessed a woman sneaking into the children's room with a small cake, before being called for by some man in the house. These occurrences stopped by the time she turned six, and for a while, they stayed away. I dismissed them as dreams... until they started back up the year of my twelfth birthday.
Plopping down onto the nearest bench, I stare around, not sure what I'm looking for. Closing my eyes, I just enjoy the moment. Why shouldn't I? Can a girl have peace for a while, and of all times, on her birthday? Like many mothers, mine has gone crazy with plans. I'm not sure what she has decided, but I know once I step through the door, there will be no escape. Smiling, I shut my eyes and listen to the surrounding sounds. Bees buzzing, breeze sighing, and hurried footsteps. Yup. Peacefu-
Wait... footsteps. Running. Towards me. Eyes flying open, I quickly stand from my bench, looking around. Soon enough, my gaze lands on an approaching figure, and I relax. It's only him; my stumbling, immature crushIMEAN FRIEND! Yes, he's my FRIEND... I think. I laugh as I watch him charge towards the plaza. While he runs, I take in his profile. He's pretty fast, but would be faster if he didn't trip on every other step. His jet black hair is still as uncontrollable as always, his jacket are the same shade, zipper unzipped, revealing a simple blue T-shirt. He is, by no means, hot. I mean, he's not overweight, but not too skinny. He doesn't have any visible muscles, but he's not scrawny. He's just, average when it comes to looks. But his eyes are almost identical to mine; a light shade of blue, almost white. Cool. In the next moment, he stumbles, and I catch a glimpse of a black ribbon. Craning my neck to see, I spot a blue box, tied off with the ribbon from earlier. He notices where my glance has wandered, and rolls his eyes, smiling at my impatience. Straightening himself, he walks over to where I'm standing, who is currently hunched over, trying not to laugh at his crooked clothes and messy hair.
"What now Ren?" I ask teasingly.
"Excuuuuuuuuuussseee me! I didn't know I needed to schedule an appointment to say hi." he elbows me as I roll my eyes. Looking to me, he hesitates a bit, then goes on.
"You look nice today." He notes. Raising my eyebrows in disbelief, I smirk.
"I'm not sure if sweats, a hoodie, and sneakers count as 'nice'" I reply. I smile as he blushes, looking away and mumbling something 'my bad'. I wear the same thing every day. Blue and black sneakers, and black sweats with a light blue hoodie. Needless to say, we match almost everyday, even when we don't try.
"Okay then, . I guess you don't want your PRESENT!" he claims. Turning to him, I cross my arms.
"Nobody said anything like that..." I grumble, pouting. Chuckling at my childish stance, he holds out the box. Before I can grab it, a voice calls out from the side.
"Hey Crystle, you shouldn't talk to that one!" I turn to see who was speaking, but I knew that already. Two boys stand at the end of the plaza, one with bright red hair, and the other with hair of the exact opposite shade. That boy seems to stay pretty silent though. He makes no comment, as his friend goes on.
"Everyone knows he's a freak! You should move away, he might be contagious." He yells. Annoyed, I step forward.
"No one asked for your opinion Lea. As for the title of freak, I'm afraid you've beat him to it!" I backfire. Agitated, Lea walks closer to me, but is intercepted by Ren.
"What? All I'm trying to do is finish my conversation with Crystle, without having to yell from over there." Lea sneers, moving to walk around him. Protective coldness in his eyes, Ren steps into his path again.
"And all I'M trying to do is keep that from happening." Ren states. Tapping his feet impatiently against the pavement, Lea's teasing smirk is replaced by one of annoyance.
"Look man, my patience is running on a low today, so just step aside freak!" Lea threatens. I watch this from several feet away. Knowing Ren's response before he even says it, I just hope that Lea doesn't take it as an invitation. The fact that I'm standing off to the side as a bystander makes it hard to stay calm. Anger cooped up inside of me, I step forward before Ren could say anything stupid. Storming up to Lea, I lightly push a surprised Ren out of the way.
"What do you even need with me anyway? If you don't like us being friends, you don't have to hang around!" I point out crossly. His daunting persona is suddenly replaced with a cocky sneer.
I'm just trying to put as much space between you," he puts a hand on my shoulder, "and THAT." He jabs a finger towards Ren. Before he can react, I push his hands away and move forward, forcing Lea a couple steps back. His eyebrows furrow.
"Thanks, but no thanks. As I see it, Ren is not the freak here. Or do you need me to read off the leader board again?" I reply. At the moment, there's almost too much anger to hold back. Putting a hand to my head, I sigh as Lea's smirk is replaced with a look of disgust.
"Well no one asked for your opinion, Crystle!" he says with a mocking tone, shoving me back. Just because this guy looks scrawny, doesn't mean that he is. As expected, I back up a few steps (unsuccessfully trying to regain balance), and fall, scraping my palms on the pavement.
"Hey, what was that about?!" Ren demands. I press my hands onto the ground on either side of me, wincing as the scratches are touched, and try my best to calm down. But this proves useless, because all I can think about are Lea's words: freak, contagious, freak, freak. Closing my eyes and gripping my hands into fists, adding scratches onto my knuckles as well, I frown as anger dominates. I listen to the threats being thrown between the two boys, and seethe. Ren's standing up for me, and I'm seated on the pavement. I put a hand to my head in frustration and a small, sort of animal like, growl escapes my lips. In a few moments, I hear a pair of footsteps move... and fall.
"What the heck?!" Startled by the sudden change in tension, I slowly open my eyes, and gasp as I take in my surroundings. Well, so much for staying calm. Every inch of ground around me, in a ten foot diameter, has been coated with ice. And that's not even the best part! Anyone with at least one working eye, could see where the origin was: me. Glancing frantically from where he had fell, to the trail leading to me, Lea stammers as he pushes himself away from me.
"Y-you! Stay back! I should have known to leave you alone with that one!" He yells, jabbing a finger towards us. He then turns to run away, slipping as he goes. I start to climb to my feet, but a voice from behind stops me in my tracks.
"Crystle..." Ren asks cautiously. Eyes widening at the realization, I mentally curse myself. Ren had seen. My. Ice. Pushing myself up, not worrying about the stings from my hands, I immediately dash in the opposite direction, away from Ren, barely taking in his calls from behind, or taking the time to wonder how he didn't slip on the ice.
Not aware of my path, the horror of having a witness that's able to prove I'm some sort of witch rendering my mind useless, I run. The polite greeting from neighbors go unnoticed as I rush by. I start to wonder what would happen if I never stopped running. No one would follow, and Lea wouldn't be able to tease. I almost decide to do so, but something stops me. A scent, something that simple kept me from continuing my cursed train of thought. Turning, I smile as the tiny shop comes into view. Should have known. Turning, I walk to the door and push it open. The little bell that greets me never fails to lighten the mood. Soon enough, a cheerful face pops up from behind the counter.
"Hi Crystle! How's my number one cookie eater?" I chuckle as the littler girl bounces around. Worries instantly pushed to the back of mind, I shrug.
"Nothing new..." I mumble.
"What?" Kairi asks, not able to hear my first response.
"Good, Kairi. So, any new selections?" With a nod, she runs to the back room to check. Glancing around the shop, I smile as I see that nothing has changed. Before I can spot where the cookies are, Kairi comes back and pulls on my shirt sleeve.
"C'mon!" She drags me to my favorite section of the store, as I take in the pleasant smell. As always, when the cookie shelves come into view, I turn to Kairi.
"Do you ever just snag some?" I ask her, envious that she gets to help run the place. She pouts, shaking her head, and points towards the kitchen.
"Grandma says that if I want some, I have to buy them, or make them myself. And since I burn whatever I bake, and spend my allowance on flowers, no chance has come." She shrugs.
"Well if you could, what would you choose?" I ask, trying to be subtle. Immediately growing excited, she launches into the wonders of double fudge. Her little rant was so long, I forgot the beginning of it.
"Okay, okay. They DO sound good. I'll take twelve of them!" I decide. Her eyes widen, but then she smirks.
"That's a large order, but that shouldn't be a problem for you, know should it?" She teases, poking at my stomach. While she walks to the counter, I stick my hands into my pockets to grab a pile off loose change, but wince. Drawing my hands back out, I sigh at the forgotten scrapes on them. Quickly getting the munny out, I join Kairi at the counter. Expecting me, she holds out her hands.
" Three-fourty munny. Pay up!" She demands in her best bossy voice. Since she can't pull it off, we are immediately launched into laughing hysterics.