Nate woke up about the same time the pizza guy got to us (and by 'us'I mean Cat and I sat next door and waited until they got there - man, was that an unhappy driver) so neither of us worried about him getting upset his food was cold. He came downstairs and we watched old videos of All That on the VCR/DVD player. It's a wonder how such ancient technology still works.

After the last skit I take it as my cue to engage her brother in finding something else to watch when Cat announces, "It's time for dessert!" It's weird: when we were all just kids he was totally able to work the VCR into recording, but he never used more than like a third of the hours available on the tapes. Nate simply grabs the closest source of visual entertain to refocus on compulsively shuffling cards; I argue with him to buy his sister some more time.

After what feels like a short forever, she skips back over balancing three bowls of ice cream. His Funky Nut Blast is laced with what appears to be raw dough chunks. I give in to the brunet's choice, shooting Cat a curious glance as we colonize her couch.

Comfortably positioned, I find myself loosely sandwiched by the siblings. It's okay for Cat 'cause I'm used to it - she's my best friend. But… Meh, I guess it's okay for Nate since he's him and I'm used to (read: unfazed by) his quirky. So really I think nothing of it, letting the frosty treat sooth the rawness of my mouth.

Cupping a hand over my ear, "He's been super into cookie dough lately, so I've just been stuffing his Zyprexa in that. Which totally works for me since it's easier than smashing and mixing."

I cock my head at the fridge brilliance when she coos at her older brother, "How's that chocolate chip treating you?" I chuckle at the audacity of the flagrant wink she throws my way.

Pulling his head out of the bowl, he smiles like the child everybody thinks Cat is. We smile back encouragingly 'til he vehemently offers us a dough ball. I tell him we ate all our pieces and that those are all his, and that it'd be unfair for us to have anymore. I wasn't willing to play Russian Roulette like that and I didn't think Cat would appreciate it either if she got another vase to the skull.

Now that our resident nut job has been successfully drugged, the wait begins. Putting in Good Burger: The Movie, we spend more time watching him than the screen, mindful of any indication of drowsiness or sedation. Kenan's character just got Ed to sign the contract when I notice our subject's eyes glaze over.

I push Cat into action, I flank his other side; she pauses the movie and takes what he's fiddling with. We gradually coerce him to his room. Securely tucked into bed, we sigh relief: we won't have to deal with him again until tomorrow.

"Y'know, if his shuffling tic was reliable, we'd never need to do it again," the tired girl breathes lightly. "Wanna play rummy?"

Knowing how self-conscious she gets nearly every time I see him, I pull the deck away from her. "I adore Nathan. I've known him for almost as long as I've known you - before all the crazy kicked in." Shy honey browns meet my teal, I offer her a brave quirk of my lips. "I've long accepted how he is. You don't have to keep trying to hide him from me."

She scowls darkly - that's not a pretty face - and looks away. "Maybe so, but I don't want to have to accept anything! It's not fair Jade." My smile turns sad at this bit of broken record conversation. "I'm supposed to be the child. I'm supposed to be the coddled, younger sibling."

"I know, Kit. I do." I drag a hand through my hair, "But it's not like wishing it away is gonna work. You're not naïve enough to even act like you believe that."

Setting the cards on the ground, I pull the younger girl in and cradle her to the monotonous drone of the Valentines' digital clock. I close my eyes and have no idea how long we stay that way.

I'm damn near jolted out of my skin: a loud bang disturbing my repose. I'm blind.

I blink a few times to the point my eyesight returns. It's almost lost again as my senses are flooded with an angry brightness. We fell asleep. Her parents are home.

I none-too-gently shake Cat surreptitiously, trying not to draw attention from the tired-looking elders. "Mmm? Mom, Dad. You're home." I sigh inwardly, thank you, let's state the obvious. The Cap'n struggles a bit to straighten up.

As if they just realized we exist, each gestures at us without looking. A mid-range woman's timbre acknowledges, "Hi Honey, we were just going to head up to bed. Long day, you understand. Did Nathanael cause any trouble today?"

Feeling her deflate against me, I wrap my arm around her shoulders. "No, he was quiet all day. Anything exciting at work?"

This time her mustachioed father spoke, "Nothing special. Same ole stuff, went to work, did stuff, spilled coffee, picked up your mom, and now we're here. Just people can be so aggravating. They talk entirely too much."

She waves her good-bye as the duo trudges up the stairs hand-in-hand. I am not entirely sure if they know I'm here.

Considering how dysfunctional my parents were - are - with their significant others, it's surreal to watch how well Cat's parents get along. Too well to be fully-competent parents, maybe, in their own way. But who am I to judge?

A modest gust of air underscores the slam of their bedroom door. The girl who lives here jumps up entirely and pulls me outside the house. We don't lock it, though we should since it's dark.

"Cat, maybe you should put shoes on." I look up from the ground and she's tearing across the street blindly. Gammit, Cat. I give chase, but that scrawny chick is fast. I'm almost caught up when we reach our destination. Of course she completely stops running. My options: plow her over; pitch myself off-course.

She turns around to face me. Space separating our positions closing in, I can't make up my mind.

So I plow her over while pitching myself off-course.

Colliding neatly into the shorter girl, I adroitly sweep her body off the ground and twist my own to the extent we land on our sides in the messy grass just short of the plastic rim filled with wood chips. Grinning like mad, there seriously must be something wrong with us. Disengaging from one another, Cat gives her clothes a cursory sweep and skips into the pen; I follow suit. No skipping.

I watch her clambering over the play structure the way an indulgent parent might, utter awe of her ability to let go and yield to the simple, juvenile pleasures of laughing out loud. Who am I to talk? I'm right the hell here with her. I kick off into the air as soon as my butt touches the rubber strap. I close my eyes to bask in the crisp night air, silence encumbered only by footsteps and squeaky chains.

Falling back, a pressure to my shoulders catches me off guard. My swing jiggles unevenly, I writhe for a fading glimpse of white teeth and red. I fly higher and higher and I'm clamping my eyes shut to the world spinning around us.

Without warning, I startle a cry from Cat when I let go at the apex of my arc. I don't quite stick my landing, soggy bark sliding from beneath my feet. She's screaming my name in approach.

"Oh my god, Jade - don't do that! You scared the pee out of me." I look at her pointedly. "Not literally. But you know what I mean."

Sitting up at the edge of the box, I allow myself to drop out back to the grass. Cat stands and I watch her crumple to the ground just left of me. I'd think nothing of it were it not for the sharp "Ow!"

"What up with the whining?" I drawl out.

Her brows furrowed in concentration, "I stepped on something sharp."

"What?" My blood runs cold for a moment. What the chiz is sharp in a playground! "Let me see."

Rocking onto her right side, a vermillion-nailed foot swings to my face. It's not bleeding. I exhale, obviously she didn't break skin. "Looks okay… What the…?" I trace my index finger across an indentation on the sole, gripping firmly when she starts to thrash. "Seriously, stop. Don't make me do this the hard way."

Not that she listens. My inner monologue damns her tenacity. I roll her toward me onto her stomach, rotating on a knee to straddle her lower back - I use my superior mass to weigh her down. I catch her kicking feet, hugging toned calves to force them still. I scoot forward until I'm sitting on the backs of her thighs.

"Jadey, don't tickle me…" and she sounds so pathetically adorable I torn in whether I should listen. Again: not that she listens. I obligingly use more pressure examine the bottom of her foot. "It's bad isn't it?"

It's hard to see in the dim light of stars and clouds, so I reach behind me to steal her phone, open a new message, and press the whitened screen to the site. It's a rectangular dent with two adjacent circles inside. A block. I squint as I see the dark purple corner. "Jade?"

"There's gonna be a pretty bruise but it's no big deal," I reply amiably, returning the device to her back pocket. I stand with a groan. "Wanna go home and ice that chiz?"

"Nah, I don't think we'll need ice. Let's go back though. I don't wanna play anymore if I have to be careful of it."

I pull her vertical. She makes a face. I cross my arms and stare at her impatiently. What? slathered on my features.

"Carry me…!" Favoring her left side, she moans piteously. "Please?"

I roll my eyes. She knows I hate it when she talks like that. She splits my monosyllabic name in two. And again.

At the third utterance I snap, "Fine!" I lean forward to brace for the extra weight. "Just stop baby-talking! I hate that."

"I know," the little imp returns with a jump. "Thanks Jadey. Love you."

"You too, Kitty-Cat."

She snuggles into the crook of my neck. I shake my head briskly to clear my face of our hair and begin the short trek home. We've gone almost two blocks before she starts humming in my ear, "When they smash my heart into smithereens: be a bright red rose come bursting the concrete. Be a cartoon heart…"

Putting a name to the song, I smile. Singing the next line to her, "Light a fire - without a spark, light a fire - flame in my heart. We'll run wild… We'll be glowing in the dark."

Instead of continuing, Cat presses her lips to the same crook she so recently nestled into. I'm aflame with a rare blush I hope she doesn't notice, but she just lays her cheek in that spot.

Tilting forward, I jog the last two blocks, carrying my closest friend on piggyback. It's not like anyone's here to see us. Dropping her arms from around my neck, she rears up somewhat and holds her arms out like the wings of a jet plane. Touching down in front of the split-level ranch house, I spin myself around on a heel - eliciting squeals from my passenger.

Through her giggles, she manages a: "Jade, stop! I'm gonna wazz." Chiz, I almost dropped her. I do stop and fumble into the house.

In consideration of the rest of the occupants in bed, the redhead hobbles to the nearest bathroom. When she comes out, ("Hey, does this feel wet to you?") I pretend to be checking my hoodie. She swats me, unamused and flustered.

We revel in the unwonted serenity of her room. I can ignore that it's pink - in the darkness it melts into a blood red. Eventually it ends with a hushed confession. "I missed this."

"What?"

"You. Me. This calm. Freedom. We're artists, but there's only so much we can act through."

"Me too… It's lonely though, that way. On stage and completely separate from everyone else. It's nice to just forget our problems for a little while, but it's never real. You're always alone in the end."

"And the rest of the gang is cool and nice and all, but they aren't you. I mean, by now it's hard to imagine not having even one of them in our lives, but it's not the same."

"Yeah. Like, I couldn't act like this around them. They'd freak. They wouldn't understand."

We understand each other perfectly at this exact moment, at least all the ways that mattered right now. Quietude returns.

Quiet-Cat and Quiet-Jade: they might as well just not exist. As Cat and I encounter these strangers, we become unstuck in time; we fall away from ourselves and watch from afar.

"I can't imagine existing without you, Cat," I whisper - afraid to unsettle the blanket of peace enshrouding us from the rest of the world. "I'd disappear."

"I'm not going anywhere, Jade. I can't. You make me me." Tangling long fingers together against mine, "Trust me when I tell you I'm here to stay.

"We're gonna be stars together. I promise."

~~~BM~~~

AN:

Title and lyrics from "Charlie Brown" by Coldplay