Shun

Alice and I walked back downstairs, and into the living room. "So, what to do now?" Alice looked at me and shrugged her shoulders. "Dunno. I don't really want to cook tonight…..Wanna go out to eat, or order in?" I told her, "Sure. Why not?" Alice flipped through a phonebook, and found a few restaurants near us. "Hmmm. How about Italian? Or Chinese?" I sat down on the couch and said, "It doesn't matter to me. So, you pick." She looked at the page, weighting her options, before finally saying, "Well, I've been wanting some lasagna for a while now. So, I guess it's Italian."

I nodded my head, half listening, and half zoning out for some reason. Maybe I was bored still. Alice poked me on the shoulder, bringing me out of my thoughts. "You coming or not?" She had her purse draped over her shoulder, and car keys in hand. "Oh! Yeah. Let me just put my shoes on and grab a jacket." She rolled her eyes at me and I clumsily tried putting on a shoe and my jacket at the same time. "You're not wonder boy. You know that, right? You're human just like everyone else."

I glared at her, and finally got the two items on. It was my turn to drive, so I climbed in the driver's seat. It wasn't difficult to find the restaurant, since it was the only building with a huge red sign that said Polly's Authentic Italian Cuisine. We pulled into the parking lot, which had a fairly large crowd.

They must be pretty good. Alice adjusted some loose hairs on her head as we walked into the building. Standing behind the podium, was a guy that looked oddly like Dan. "This way to your table." He sure doesn't have Dan's obnoxious voice, or his manners. So, this is definitely not Dan. He placed me and Alice at a booth, and brought us a menu, and asked what we wanted to drink. Both of us ordered a glass of water, which was brought out to us along with a basket of breadsticks. Alice took one and said, "They have the best breadsticks in town. In fact, they are the best Italian Eatery in town."

I thought they were the only one…. I tried one of the breadsticks, and had to admit they were pretty good, for bread. We glanced over the menu, but I already knew what Alice was going to get. The Dan look-alike then walked over to us with a notepad in hand. "Are we ready to order?" Just as I though, Alice ordered their lasagna, and I just ordered a plate of spaghetti since I wasn't big on Italian. I took a sip of my water, then observed the building. It was a mixture of reds and browns with plants hanging from the ceiling, and fake vines stapled on the wall.

If you focused over the sound of pots and pans clanking in the kitchen, you could hear Italian music playing over the speakers. "Shun? You're being awfully quiet." Alice's voice startled me, and I smiled at her. "I was just looking around." She nodded her head and took another breadstick. Our waiter then came to our table with two plates in hand. He placed Alice's order down first, then mine. "Enjoy." Alice cut off a corner of the lasagna, and put it in her mouth. "God, I love their lasagna. Here, you should try some."

I waved my hand, turning down her offer. I placed my napkin on the table, and stood up. "Where ya going, Shun?" I looked at her and said, "I'm just going to the bathroom. I think I got something stuck in my eye." I pretended to try and rub something out. "Ah. Well, ok." I hate to use that as an excuse, but I need to get some fresh air. I went through the doors we came through, and felt the cool night air hit my skin.

The air wasn't as fresh as I though, cause somebody was a few feet down from me smoking a cigarette. Ew. How can anyone do that? I walked a little further down, to where I couldn't smell the smoke. Shame I can't stay out here too long. It feels nice. I stood out there for a few more minutes, before heading back in the restaurant. Alice had finished her meal, and I glanced at my half eaten spaghetti. "You get whatever was in your eye out?"

I looked at her and wondered what she was talking about, before remembering the little lie I told her to get out of the restaurant. "Oh, uh, yeah. It was just a piece of dust I guess." I sat down back in my seat. "You gunna eat anymore?" I looked back at my plate, and told her, "Not right now. I'll see if I can take it home."

Dan's total opposite walked over to our booth, and handed us a check. I asked him if I could get a to-go box, and he quickly returned with one. I slid the food into the box, and closed the tabs. After we paid for our meal, we stepped outside. I looked up at the sky, that was clear a minute ago, and now was full of dark clouds. Even with it being nighttime, these clouds make it even darker out here. Alice must of noticed them as well, cause she said, "Looks like there's gunna be a big storm come through. We better hurry home. I don't like driving in the rain."

We pulled out of the parking lot, and drove back towards the house. There were darker rain clouds in the direction we were heading. It's probably raining at the house right now. I then saw a little wet drop of water fall on the windshield, which was followed by another, and another, and another. Soon, the entire windshield was being covered with rain. Alice made a whining noise and tightened her seatbelt. "Don't worry. It'll be ok." I brightened the headlights, and turned the wipers on high. The rain was coming down so hard, that I could only see a few feet in front of me.

I better slow down. I reduced the car's speed, making sure that I wasn't going too slow. I glanced back at Alice, who was spazing out still. I can't blame her for being scared. This storm is pretty bad. It took us another twenty minutes, but we finally arrived back to the house, safe and sound. I handed my jacket to Alice so she wouldn't get as wet from the rain. "But Shun, what about you?" I told her I wouldn't be bothered if I got a little wet.

She didn't say anything else, and threw the jacket over her head, then darted for the door. I got out of the car and followed behind her. We walked back in the house, which for some reason we left on freezing cold. I looked at Alice, who was just a little wet, but my jacket looked like it came out of the washing machine. I on the other hand, looked like I swam through a lake. The two of us were getting chills, and I quickly ran to the thermostat and turned the heat up. It wasn't much, but it made a noticeable difference.

Since I was still dripping wet, unlike Alice, I took off my shirt and tossed it on my soaked jacket. Alice looked at me and said, "Quit showing off." I rolled my eyes and said, "Whatever." My teeth were slightly chattering, and I had my arms wrapped around me to try and get warm. "I'm gunna go get into something warmer….And dryer." I ran upstairs into me room, and just pulled a dirty shirt and pair of pants. I don't care what I have on, I want to get warm dammit. I was still shivering a little, but not as bad as I was a few minutes ago.

Where the hell did this storm come from? I stepped off the last few stairs, when there was a vroom like sound, and the power cut off. I couldn't see anything around me, but the house was lit up when a flash a lightning cut through the sky. I the heard Alice scream. "Shun! Where are you!" I couldn't tell if she was in the living room, the kitchen, or the den. "I think I'm in the living room! Where are you!"

We had to yell due to the howling winds outside. "I'm in the kitchen!" I felt around furniture with my hands, and found the doorway to the kitchen. Just as if on cue, another flash of lightning flashed, and I saw Alice sitting where two cabinets came together to make a corner. I ran over and knelt beside her. "Alice, I'm here." I could hear her crying. Damn, I knew she wasn't a big fan of storms, but I didn't think it was this bad. "You want to try and make your way up to the room?" I could tell she was shaking her head back and forth. "No!" I jerked back a little and sat next to her, bringing her close to me for comfort. This is going to be horrible night.

Shun

I opened my eyes, and saw I was still in the kitchen, and Alice was leaned against me sleeping. She must of calmed down or cried herself to sleep last night. I could tell it wasn't dark outside anymore, and there want any sounds of wind or rain wailing. I got up slowly, and picked Alice up. She only made a small noise as I placed her on the couch in the living room, and covered her up with a quilt that was placed on the back of the couch. I opened the door and stepped outside.

It felt freezing cold, and the sky was covered in light gray clouds. There was no more rain, but the front yard was covered with puddles. There were also several fallen trees scattered around the house, but luckily nothing was damaged. Not even our cars. I stepped back inside, where it was warm, and checked the light switches for power. Dammit. Power is still out.

I turned and saw Alice was sitting up on the couch. I walked over to her and rubbed her back. "Shun?" She was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Hey, babe. You ok?" She nodded, but still looked like a frightened little kid. "I'm gunna go check the rooms for any water damage. I'll be right back."

I left out of the living room, and checked all the closets, bathrooms, and bedrooms for any leaking spots in the ceiling. Ok, this one's clean too. Not a single room had a leak in it. I went back to the living room, and saw Alice was still on the couch, but looking out a window that was ten feet away from her.

There was then a knock at the door. I've got an idea who this is. I opened the door, and Uncle Fredrick was standing there. "Hey guys. I saw on the news last night that huge storm that was heading your way, and I came to see if you two were ok." He looked at me, and then Alice. "I'm fine except from the lack of sleep. It's her I'm worried about."

He walked over to Alice, and patted her on the back. "She's never really handled bad storms very well. She'll be back to normal in about an hour. Just give her some time to calm down." I nodded and thanked him for his concern, and he left without closing the door behind him.

wow. longest chapter yet! :o lol. without the noth down here, it was 2,005 words. XP lol. aw. i rans outa sunflower seeds. -.-'' lol. well, same old same old. no upload friday unless i cant get to sleep. possibly a late, late, LATE upload saturday. and same for sunday. busy busy busy. well, read, review, and other things. ~Copperpelt~