Hey guy's!!!! I am SO sorry for the incredibly long wait! I've been really busy with class's and other fun things, so please bear with me as I am trying to get the chapters out as soon as possible for you guys, so please be patent. =) Thank you SO much to my reviewers! You guys give me so much inspiration to continue. =) This one isn't revised just yet, so please try to bear with the spelling/grammar mistakes... The revised one will be here as soon as possible, I just wanted to get this one out to you guy so you didn't have to wait so long. :)
"You hold the answers deep within your own mind.
Consciously, you've forgotten it.
That's the way the human mind works.
Whenever something is too unpleasant, to shameful for us
to entertain, we reject it.
We erase it from our memories.
But the imprint is always there."
(Can't wash it all away)
(Can't Wish it all away)
(Can't hope it all away)
(Can't cry it all away)
The pain that grips you
The fear that binds you
Releases life in me
In our mutual
Shame we hide our eyes
To blind them from the truth
That finds a way from who we are
Please don't be afraid
When the darkness fades away.
~Evanescence.
King Julien ran as fast as his legs would possibly dare to carry him. Acknowledging he had made a mistake, was not something he did often, let alone one that was so grave he had blocked it out of his memory entirely. He had thought by doing so, by pretending the event hadn't occurred, in addition it would somehow erase the pain. If something had never even happened, then how could it hurt...?
Little had the lemur King known, the pain of such a tragedy never really goes away forever. Grief makes it's home somewhere deep within the mind and heart... Forgotten by the self conscience, but the imprint still remains. The emotions still there, lie dormant until the thought is resurfaced. Even years later.
The lemur turned a sharp corner, tripped, and fell right on top of something soft and fury. Julien heard a frightened scream, and seconds later he was shoved onto the ground.
"Ge-Get away from me!" A female's voice stammered. He noted she sounded terrified.
"Julien?"
He stood up planning to give whoever had 'tripped him' a piece of his mind, and a lecture of how he was the King, and that was frowned upon... That is until he realized exactly who it was.
"Marlene!"
Julien jumped back to get a better look at her... The otter was curled against the wall, her paws clutched the brick as if for some sort of security. She reminded him much of a scared, lonely little puppy who had just lost it's mother. She looked so... sad.
Julien cocked his head to the side.
"Eh, Marlene... Why are you holding onto the wall oh so tightly, as if you it were real...?"
He asked, puzzled.
Marlene wasn't able to meet his gaze. She simply released the wall, looked away, and sniffed in what Julien was sure was some great sadness, he just couldn't place the reason for the emotion.
"Eh, okay you don't have to answer that, even though I am the King... Have you seen a small black-ish looking little lemur pass by here, by any chance? She looks like a lemur, of course...like me...only a little taller than that annoying little Mort..."
Julien paused, noticed Marlene didn't appear to be listening. She was almost entirely facing the wall, and her head was down in some sort of unknown misery.
"It is vary rude to not be paying attention to the King, especially when he is saying something that is of vary much importance!"
He stomped his foot in annoyance, glared down at her.
"Since when is anything you have to say important, Julien?"
Marlene replied in a dead, monotone voice. She simply stared off in the distance at something that Julien wasn't even sure was there. The otter's eyes, once cheery and full of life, held nothing but pure emptiness.
What on earth had gotten her so down?
"Heey, Marlene! It would be nice to be able to looook into those pretty little otter eyes of yours!"
Julien waved a paw in front of her face, in hopes of finally grasping her attention.
"Hellooo? Anybody in there?" He lightly tapped her forehead.
"Julien, just stop it! Okay?"
Marlene looked up just to catch the shocked look that had flashed upon the lemurs face. She knew he wasn't used to being yelled at in such a manner, (at least no by her) and a pang of guilt hit her stomach.
Julien blinked awkwardly.
Marlene sighed.
"I-I'm sorry..it's just...."
She couldn't finish. She bit her lip and turned away, desperately trying to hold back another wave of hysterical tears.
"Just...what? What in Madagascar, could be oh so wrong that you would actually be feeling the need to yell at your King?"
He tried to appear offended, but his eyes told Marlene that somewhere deep inside those crazy yellow circles, was a heart, and her sudden outburst had hurt it. She knew that Julien wasn't quit sure how to handle such a situation, and he was doing the best he could, even if his antics were a bit odd. Besides, Julien had no way of knowing the emotional trauma she was going through..or the great depth of the pain she felt.
"Sk-Skipper...he...they..I...."
Marlene stumbled over the words, unsure even of how to begin to explain the horrid events that had just taken place. Inside she felt lost... It all still felt like a dream.
"Skipper...what?"
Julien asked, cocked his head to the side.
"He-He's...gone."
She whispered, turning away from him to hide the tears. She felt as if they would never come to an end.
"Gone? What are you to be meaning..."
"Gone....de-dead!"
Marlene forced herself to say the word she had tried so hard to reject out of her mind completely.
"They took him away..."
She didn't look up to see the lemur King's reaction to this, though judging from the unusual silence, she could tell it had come as disturbing news, if anything, even for him.
For several minutes, all that could be heard was Marlene's quiet sobs, echoing off the walls of the sewer. After a period of time, the otter felt a gentle hand on her back. It moved in circular motions in what she guessed was Julien's way of attempting to offer her some sort of comfort. She looked up, surprised to come face to face with his concerned expression. Was that actual...sympathy she saw in his eyes?
"Eh...it will be okay, Marlene...you'll see him again one of the days, and then you and the little flightless bird can shake your booty's with the sky spirits, and live happily ever after!"
Julien lifted her chin with a single finger so that she was forced to look directly into his eyes, and smiled reassuringly.
Marlene was unsure of what to say at first, not used to the kinder side of the lemur King. The one that rarely showed, or so it seemed.
"You really...believe that?" She sniffed.
"But of course, silly otter. If this was all we had for a party, and nothing to look forward too after de big light at the end of the tunnel, don't you think it would be a pretty lame party?"
He asked, the same awkward smile still on his face.
"Now, if you will excuse me, I have a little black lemur to be rescuing..."
Julien patted her on the head, though before he could run off, Marlene grabbed his arm and pulled him into a friendly embrace.
"Julien? Thank you." She whispered.
The sudden action had taken him by surprise, nevertheless it didn't take him long to return the hug.
They each pulled away seconds later, and Marlene watched him disappear into one of the many tunnels of the sewer.
"Wait... Where are you going?! Rescue who, again?!"
She stood up, and yelled after him, but it he was too far gone. She bawled her paws into fists and growled in frustration.
Suddenly, Marlene felt a pair of flippers grasp her shoulders and she let out a yelp. Her aching heart dared to believe for a split second that they may belong to Skipper. Her face fell slightly when she whipped around to face Kowalski. She looked passed him to see Private and Maurice following not too far behind.
"Marlene! I can't believe it, we found you! We finally found you!"
Private exclaimed, ecstatic. He ran to her, rapped his flippers around her middle and squeezed tightly.
"Pr-Private! Ca-Can't breathe.."
"Oh, sorry!" The excited young penguin immediately let go, and Marlene gasped for air.
"Private, Kowalski! I'm-I'm..happy to see you too!"
She stammered, desperately trying to muster up whatever enthusiasm she could. Of course, apart of Marlene was genuinely happy to see them again, though it was almost an impossible task to fake a smile after what she had been through. She hoped they wouldn't notice that her eyes were bloodshot, or the matted fur beneath them that would indicate she had been crying.
"And Maurice...your....not a giant anymore. Do you still want to kill us?"
She asked, eyed him wearily.
The short lemur walked alongside Private, and looked at Marlene with nothing short of sympathy in his yellow eyes.
"Listen, I'm...really sorry about that. I really don't know what came over me... I honestly don't even remember anything!"
He exclaimed, pleading her to believe him.
Marlene looked at him, her own eyes hollow. The vibrant life they once held had vanished.
"It-It doesn't matter...."
Fresh tears filled her eyes for what felt like the millionth time that night. She dreaded delivering the tragic news her heart longed to just erase, believe what it wanted... Nonetheless, Marlene's mind knew better, and the half of her, what little of it was left, clung to the sanity that told her she would be committing a cruel crime if she were to lie to the Penguins left behind, Skipper's soon-to-be former troops, forever.
Private noticed the liquid in her eyes at once, and his expression fell into worry.
"Marlene... What's wrong?"
One look at her face and Kowalski, too, could tell something wasn't right. He had come up with a few theories already, in his head, of what could possibly be troubling the otter, but he thought better of it not to speak until she had first shared.
Marlene took a deep breath and turned away, unable to bear the broken faces she knew they would soon enough wear, after they had learned the devastating news she was about to tell them.
"It's Skipper... He... He's go-gone..."
Her voice broke, and she covered her face with her paws so they could no longer see her cry.
Maurice shifted awkwardly. He stared at the ground, guilt consumed his insides. He felt terrible about what he was told he did, though he was honestly unable to remember anything about the event.
Private had walked over to Marlene the moment she began to sob, raped his flippers around her, and held her close. Presently though, the otter's face lie buried within the warm features of Privates shoulder, and, in turn, his face was buried in her soft her, each grieving for their lost loved one.
Marlene wanted so badly to simply cry the pain away, but no-matter how hard she cried, the immerse pain only seemed to grow as memories of Skipper began to replay in her mind.
Marlene eyed Skipper wearily. Somehow, he hadn't felt himself today. His odd behavior had been going on for at least a week, and she knew the other's had noticed the change in the leader penguin, especially Private.
Marlene could tell it seemed to have effected him the most by the constant worry in the young ones eyes, though try as she may to press the other's for some kind of information, no one seemed to wish to talk about it, and it had been driving her nuts ever since.
"Skipper, are you sure everything's fine?" She asked, dreading the asher she knew would be a lie.
He fidgeted for a moment or so, an unusual act for the leader who always appeared to have it together.
"Why ye-yes Marlene, everything's fine.. Why-Why would you ask a silly thing like that? everything's just peachy!"
Skipper said, faking enthusiasm. There came the old familiar lopsided grin that told Marlene he had something to hide.
"Well for one...your stuttering. You never stutter unless something is wrong."
Marlene stated simply, placing her hands on her hips, she shot him a skeptical look.
Skipper looked around the dimly lit room of the HQ. His eyes wondered over to the four concrete bunks that were built in to the wall, to make sure the other four penguins were still sound asleep. Much to his relief, they were. The atmosphere seemed oddly dearly on the chilly October morning, giving Marlene a strange chill.
She couldn't place weather or not the feeling was motivated by the cloudy weather itself, or something deeper. Nonetheless, she knew something was terribly wrong, everything inside her seemed to scream that something horrible was about to happen, though she had no idea what it could be.
Aside from Skipper's recent bizarre behavior, and the other's unspoken concern, nothing too out of the ordinary had taken place that week, yet Marlene found herself wanting to cry for a reason unknown.
Skipper looked into her eyes, his own welled with moisture.
Seeing the tears in her friend's eyes had scared Marlene, because it made her heart leap in excitement. Though it was not a good kind of excitement, it was the kind you get if you know deep down that something is dangerously wrong.
"Ma-Marlene...I have to tell you something.... I..."
Skipper paused to take a deep breath, and Marlene tried her best to prepare herself for the worst.
Again, Skipper's gaze fell back upon his sleeping troops. Each lost in their own world of peaceful slumber. He watched little Private flop onto his belly and hug his pillow tightly. Inside, Skipper's heart was breaking, Marlene could tell this just by the look on his face, and it was killing her to be left in the dark.
"Could we...step outside for a minute?"
He asked, his tone suddenly grave and solemn, sending another shiver down Marlene's spine. It seemed to to bring a deeper realization that whatever Skipper was about to say, was serious.
"Sure."
She nodded, and silently followed him out the secret metal door of the Penguins HQ, only Marlene no longer considered it to be secret, as everyone, including King Julien seemed to know that it was there.
Skipper closed the door behind them ever so gently, as not to wake the other's, though he had not yet turned to face Marlene. Instead, he leaned against one of the many brick wall's of the sewer, with his head held low.
"Skipper...?"
Marlene could feel her heart beat anxiously against her chest.
What on earth could possibly be wrong?
"Follow me, Marlene."
Skipper instructed, though his voice lacked it's usual authority.
Marlene held her tongue for now, suppressing the endless questions that longed to burst from her lips. Instead, she obediently followed him up a rusty ladder attached to the brick wall. It led to a manhole, in which Skipper opened, and motioned for her to clime through. Marlene pulled herself up without much difficulty, and hopped onto the pavement of a lonely sidewalk of New York's Central Park Zoo.
She took a moment to survey her surroundings, and noticed they were in a secluded area of the zoo where no other animal exhibits could be seen. To her right, stood a huge oak tree, underneath it, a small patch of grass.
Skipper led her over to the tree, sat down, and let himself fall against it's trunk. Marlene followed hesitantly, took a seat beside him.
"Okay, I can't stand it anymore! What's going on?"
She exclaimed, no longer able to take the uneasy silence that had fallen from the moment Skipper last spoke.
Marlene crossed her arms and glared at Skipper in such a way that demanded an explanation.
He took a deep breath, looked her directly in the eye.
"I knew you were going to ask that sooner or later, but I wanted to wait for the right moment to tell you."
Marlene eyed him carefully. The suspense seemed to be eating her alive.
She leaped up, unable to sit still for s second longer.
"What are you talking about, Skipper? I'm really not in the mood for your little mind games right now, Just tell me!"
Marlene hadn't meant to sound harsh, but his tone and the way he was talking was really beginning to scare her.
"Actually, Marlene the reason I didn't want to say this in front of the other's, is because I brought you here....because....."
Skipper paused, seeming to be having a bit of trouble forcing the words out of his beak.
"Yes?"
Marlene urged him to continue.
"Since there's no easy way to say this, I'm just going to be straight forward with you, Marlene....I brought you here.....to say goodbye."
The otter's fragile heart immediately jumped in alarm, and her face fell into that of a mixture of shocked horror.
"Go-Goodbye....? What? No! There is no way... Why?"
Marlene looked at him, desperate for answers to the questions that had been racing through her mind all this time.
"What does that even mean? Ar-Are you leaving the zoo? Did something go bad on one of your little missions or something, and now you have to evacuate, or something like that?! Did Dr. Blowhead or whatever his name is send some sort of spy here, and that's why your leaving?"
The questions seemed to flow from her mouth involuntarily as Marlene's mind struggled to process the information just put into it.
"It's Dr. Blowhole, and no, surprisingly enough, this has nothing to do with him. Marlene...I know you don't know this but...I....have a wife."
Marlene tried to appear sympathetic, and hide the wave of disappointment that had washed over her once she had learned he had a wife. At that time, it had made her feel like a complete idiot for having a crush on him. She had just recently been transmitted to the Central Park Zoo, yet she had felt an unexplained connection with Skipper from the moment they met.
Oddly enough, King Julien had become her first friend then, though as time went on, she realized she had found a better friend in Skipper, who had warmed up to her only after realizing she was not a spy working for Dr. Blowhole... whoever he was.
Marlene silently listened as Skipper opened his beak to continue.
"Well....used too......she-she died a week ago."
Marlene mentally kicked herself, instantly feeling guilty for the slightest amount of happiness that erupted somewhere deep within her many emotions. She hated herself for her inability to control her feelings, yet at the same time she genuinely felt bad for him...
Despite her own tragic love life, she knew her pain would most likely never compare to what Skipper must have been going through after suffering the death of a female he was so obviously madly in love with.
Marlene had thought then that he would never feel the same about her, and had wished she had met Skipper long before his former wife.
"Oh, Skipper... I'm so sorry. What happened?"
He shifted uncomfortably, avoiding her curious eyes.
"It's....too terrible to speak of...a mission went sour...and...."
Skipper shuddered, shook his head in an attempt to rid his mind of the all too recent memory.
"I blame myself for her death...."
He drew in a breath, looked into her eyes.
"Marlene....I'm leaving."
Marlene could tell this was probably the hardest thing Skipper had ever had to admit, and her heart ached for him, now loosing all sense of the relief she had felt earlier. She had hated herself a little more for even feeling the emotion itself with every ticking second.
"Whe-When are you coming back?"
She stammered, terrified of the answer.
Marlene tried again after a few moments of silence.
Skipper sighed. Finally, he stood up, put a gentle flipper on her left shoulder.
"I'm afraid I won't be coming back, Marlene..."
The news had hit her like a ton of bricks. She could feel everything within her scream to rewind time, and pretend the event had never even took place.
"No-Not coming back... What...."
Skipper silenced her, moved his flipper to the otter's lips to shush her.
"I don't expect you to understand what I'm about to do....goodbye Marlene, thank you for being such a good friend."
He began waddling in a direction that Marlene had recognized, to her utter horror, to be the alligator exhibit. It seemed something had finally clicked within her brain, and she had finally put the pieces of the puzzle together.
Skipper was going to kill himself.
Marlene's eyes had widened to saucers and in seconds she had ran in front of him, with his shoulder's in her grip, her creamy eyes pleading for him to listen to what she had to say.
"Skipper, wait! What about your troops? What about Private, Rico, and Kowalski?! Your practically a father to poor little Private! If you leave, they'll be all alone! Your obviously not thinking straight right now, just DON'T GO IN THERE!"
Marlene hadn't meant to scream, but it was all she could have done to keep him from making the biggest mistake of his life...or the end of it.
Skipper looked taken aback at her sudden out burst. He stumbled a few feet back, let out a gasp, staring at something directly behind her in what looked like shock, but could have been a mixture of anything really.
"Private!"
Marlene whipped around to face the shorter, younger penguin. Privates eyes had been blood shot, and he seemed to be clutching onto a blanket in search of some sort of comfort.
He stared at the two in confusion and question.
"So-So Sorry, Skippa... I didn't mean to interrupt."
Privates gaze dropped to the ground in shame, fearing he had done something to upset his leader.
"Private...I..."
Marlene attempted, though stopped when Skipper sent her a look, and stepped aside to give them a little space.
Skipper glanced at her, and cleared his throat, trying to put on the best act he could so that Private did not become suspicious.
"What's the matter, soldier?"
He asked, his voice returning to it's usual military tone.
"I-I had a nightmare....."
Private shuffled his feet, keeping his eyes on the ground, too ashamed to look into the icy blue eyes of his leader.
Skipper arched an eyebrow.
"Another one? But I haven't let you watch any horror movies in weeks...Unless Rico smuggled them in while I had my back turned... I swear, that little pyro-maniac can't seem to keep his flippers off those things!"
He exclaimed, suddenly upset that one of his troops would disobey an order.
"He'll be on maintenance duty for a week..."
Skipper murmured, glaring at the ground as if it were Rico himself.
"No, don't blame Rico Skippa, he didn't smuggle in any movies... Besides, the nightmare wasn't about a movie... It was about...."
He hesitated, struggling to continue.
"About..?"
Skipper urged him on, anxious to hear about whatever was bothering his young recruit.
"About....you."
Skipper's eyes widened a bit in surprise.
"Go on..."
Private too a deep breath, before continuing.
"Well....no-not saying this would ever happen in real life, but in the dream....after Lo-Lola's death...you kind of....well....you ki-killed yourself...and all of us were forced to do nothing but watch you do it.....it's like we couldn't move, or do anything to save you!"
By this point, tears were poring down both sides of his face. As Marlene watched the scene unfold from a few feet away, she had instantly caught the immense amount of guilt in Skipper's eyes after hearing Privates horrifying dream. Little had he known how frighteningly close the image in his mind compared to reality. Marlene could only be grateful that Private had not noticed the same.
"Calm down Private....it was just a dream. It doesn't mean it's going to happen... Okay?"
Skipper said, keeping his voice steady, he faked the best smile he possibly could.
Private looked at him tearfully, still trembling from the effects of his nightmare.
"Are-Are you sure, Skippa?"
He swallowed, placed a gentle flipper on the younger penguins back.
"I'm not going anywhere Private,,,, I promise."
Skipper smiled warmly, glancing back at Marlene, a silent message that he promised her the same.
Skipper's voice seemed to echo the words almost audibly as the memory played out on Marlene's brain as if it were a movie, and she were watching her life on a screen. She and Skipper had been through so much together... How could she ever be able to except the fact that he was gone forever? She glanced down at the penguin she was currently holding, and tightened her grip a bit. Marlene felt for Private... He was far too young to lose the only parental figure he had ever known.
Kowalski stood only a few feet away, his head down, shedding silent tears. Maurice stood a little to his right, his own head down in shame and remorse.
No one said anything for quit some time, until Kowalski heard a distant sound. Even though he could not make out exactly what it was, or where it came from, with all that had happened, he wasn't taking anymore chances. He walked up to Marlene, cleared his throat, and put a gentle flipper on her shoulder.
"We should....probably get out of here."
Kowalski said carefully, only wishing he could take the obvious pain in his friends eyes.
Marlene slowly let go of Private and shook her head.
"This isn't over... Whoever did this won't get away with it."
She growled, a mixture of hatred, anger, and revenge burned in her eyes.
Rita stood over Skipper, the knife now firmly clutched within her paws. Volcom did not stand far behind, he wanted to keep an eye on her.
~~~~~~~~Rita's POV~~~~~~~~
It was easy to tell what he was doing... He wanted me close enough to his side so that I couldn't escape. He wanted to keep me under his control. Volcom didn't trust me... At least not completely, and with good reason, I must admit. He had no idea what I was capable of... And neither did I, fully.
I stood with my head down to hide the unshed tears that had somehow managed to find their way into my eyes once again. I shook my head, closed my eyes as tightly as I could, tried to ready for myself for the task I knew must be completed. Unable to look into the weak and frightened eyes of the penguin, I finally raised the knife.... I couldn't hold this off any longer...
"Go on...that's it... That's my girl! Do it Rita...make daddy proud!" The weasel cheered from behind.
I gripped the knife a little tighter, gritted my teeth at the fake title... Volcom was no more a father to me than a mass murderer.
Finally though, I brought the weapon down as hard as I could, but before it could reach Skipper's flesh, or even the feathers on his chest, I opened my eyes, whipped around, and flung the knife at the ceiling as hard as I possibly could. I glanced up with just enough time to see it wedged in a crack of a manhole before turning my eyes on Volcom.
"Not today Volcom."
I growled out, and right in this moment is when the metal lit of the manhole above us gave way from the sudden infliction, and fell. It collided with Volcom's head just as I had planned, knocking him unconscious.
"That won't hold him for long... Come on... I've gotta' get you otta' here."
I stared at the spot where Volcom now lay beneath the fallen lid of the manhole, but only for a few seconds, we were loosing time.
I turned and ran to Skipper, knelt down beside him, looked into his suspicious eyes.
"Wha-what are you..."
"Don't worry, I'm a friend."
I replied, reading his thoughts from the expression he held on his face.
I touched his chest, ran a single hand across his wounds. Just as I had suspected, They were deep, and apart of me feared for his vary life.
I could see him winch.
"Here, hold my hand. It helps."
Skipper seemed to eye me for a moment or so, so I reached out and grabbed his flipper, held it gently.
I moved my hand along his chest where the crimson color of blood was already beginning to turn black as it dried.
"I'm gonna warn you, this part kinda stings..."
I could hear Skipper groan in complaint as my hand lit up, and so did his chest... He squeezed the one holding his flipper hard enough that it probably would have hurt if he weren't so weak from all the blood ha had lost.
"I know, I'm sorry... But look, your rib is now back in place!"
I removed my paw, pulled a huge wad of gauze seemingly out of thin air, and began rapping his visible wounds as fast as I possibly could.
"I'm sorry if it hurts, I'm kind of in a hurry."
I said hastily.
Skipper stared at me in the same manner as the other's had when I handed Kowalski that black bag of supplies.
I rolled my eyes and let out a sigh. I knew I would have to explain myself eventually, but now was not the time or place for a number of different reasons. For one, it was too risky...
"Look, it's a long story. I can do things that...well that normal animals, or mammals, whatever you wanna call them, can't..."
I attempted, hoping he wouldn't press the subject. We needed to move.
"So I've noticed....but that still doesn't explain--"
"A lot. I know... But we don't have time for that, or we're both going to wind up dead if we don't get out of here soon and I'm way to young to die dude!"
Skipper's face fell at that, and I knew I had hit a sensitive spot.. But I didn't know the reason behind it. I guess I knew I probably shouldn't, but my natural curiosity wouldn't allow me not to ask him about it.
I gave him a look and he seemed to read my thoughts.
"Dying...doesn't seem so bad..."
Hmm... Guess I didn't need to ask after all.
I noted Skipper's voice seemed grave and meaningless... So different from the brave, overly confidant penguin I had met back at the zoo. It was almost as if Volcom had ripped the life right out of him...
My eyes widened a bit at his statement.
"Well that's....morbid."
I said flatly.
Skipper looked up at me, his eyes filled with a pain I wasn't sure I had ever seen before. It was the kind that you somehow wished you could take from him....or at least help carry his burden, but you knew no-matter how hard you wanted, you couldn't...
It took me a moment or so to realize I couldn't even remember the last time I had even felt feelings like this... I'm pretty sure that's just because I was living with Volcom. I can't imagine how life with that weasel could have a positive effect on anyone.
"If everything's taken from you...what is there to live for? Your buddy Volcom probably has friends who have already...."
Skipper couldn't finish, but even if he could have, I wouldn't have let him.
"Hey...don't talk like that. Yes, Volcom has friends, but your girlfriends smart... She seems pretty independent. She'll be fine. So will your friends. Stop worrying so much, okay? And start looking at the glass...half full."
I grinned a little as I waved my hand through the air. A bright pink motor scooter appeared a few feet in front of us.
I smirked as Skipper's mouth dropped to the ground.
"What? Now it's against the law for a girl like me to like pink? Sheesh...stereotypes."
