Tonight, the foxes hunt the hounds
It's all over now
Before it has begun
We've already won
We are wild
We are like young volcanoes
We are wild
Americana, exotica
Do you wanna feel a little beautiful, baby?
-Fall Out Boy, Young Volcanoes
Prologue
"I really think that you'll love it here," her mother said sweetly. The tall blonde watched as trees slid by the car as they drove through the small town. She'd never seen anything like this place. Even in the center of town, there were trees and grass and people had full lawns out in front of their houses with wooden picket fences instead of chain-linked ones.
"Doubt that," she muttered, her brilliant blue eyes losing focus. She hadn't hated the idea of moving out of Jersey but once she'd seen their destination for the first time a few weeks ago that had all changed. She'd gone with them to pick out the house and sure, it was beautiful, but it was far too big and, much like the town, far too empty.
She'd hunted around the internet for hours upon hours trying to find anything to entertain herself with once the move was complete but there was absolutely nothing in store for her here. No night clubs, no bars she could lie her way into, nothing.
There weren't even any lame things to do around. Bowling alleys had all closed up years ago. That meant no pool leagues, no darts games, just nothing. She didn't know anybody and if she was being honest, she didn't want to know anybody.
When they pulled up to the house she let out a heavy sigh as she slung the strap of her army surplus satchel bag over her shoulder and got out of the car. She hated long car rides. They'd always made her feel sick and she could hardly ever ignore it by falling asleep. She shut the door behind her and stared up at the white house as her parents began to unpack the trunk. They hadn't packed much of anything from home. Just some clothes and their valuables. The house was already furnished and yet again the girl had to wonder where all the money came from.
There had been many situations that made her question where exactly her parents had gotten their wealth from. Neither of them worked and as far as she could remember they had never struggled. They had told her that they'd inherited a large sum of money from dead relatives that she had never met and never thought it necessary to explain any further than that. Anything she ever wanted, she'd had without needing to beg.
The only things she was looking forward too here were the trees. They had moved at the perfect time to see them all at their best. It was the dead middle of October and all the trees were different colors, ranging from bright green all the way through every shade of orange and red and brown. The city had been beautiful, but in a much different way than this. Neon lights were replaced here with the gentle light of the sun shining through the rainbow of leaves. The girl grabbed her suitcase from the pavement and walked toward the house with her parents in front of her.
She was glad she had at least finished high school back in Jersey so she wouldn't be forced to meet hundreds of new people her age right away. She could try her best to not meet anybody at all if she wanted to. As they walked inside she began to climb the staircase in the entryway up to the second floor. On the landing, she turned right and into her bedroom. There was already a desk and a bed inside, an end table with a lamp and a bureau too. She dropped the suitcase at the base of the bed and let her bag fall on the mattress. The room was painted a bright baby blue that almost matched her eyes perfectly.
She pulled her wallet from the bag and headed for the door, stuffing it into the pouch of her hoodie where her phone sat. At the bottom of the stairs, she could hear her parents unpacking in their bedroom across the first floor of the house. "Gonna hit the gas station. Want anything?" She called out, but neither of them seemed to hear her. She waited another moment before she shrugged and walked out the front door, down the walkway and onto the sidewalk.
The sidewalks here weren't like the ones in the city. They were old and cracked and uneven everywhere she looked. Some were missing large chunks and the earth had grown up between them as if they were so underused that the town had decided they weren't worth fixing.
As she made it to the parking lot of the gas station she looked around quickly before dropping her vision to the pavement. It was only day one. She didn't want to be locking eyes with anyone. Especially given her more enjoyable activities when meeting new people that she found particularly attractive. She didn't need to be bringing a boy or girl home on the first night in town.
As she made it to the door and went through she felt the warm air wash through her and she shivered, not realizing how cold she'd been. She let the door close at first until she heard footsteps behind her and she caught the door before it shut in the girl's face.
She must have run to the door because the girl hadn't noticed her outside. "Thanks," the pink-haired girl smiled and pushed past her into the store.
She didn't respond, opting instead to silently admire the girl. She was on the tall side, though not quite as tall as herself. She had an hour-glass shape that made the girl jealous as she peaked at her over the top of the aisle filled with candy and pastries.
The pink-haired girl caught her looking and smiled shyly. She'd been caught staring but she didn't much care. The girl smiled back politely but returned her vision to the shelves after only a moment. She watched as the girl grabbed what she wanted and headed for the register.
The blonde reached down and grabbed a pack of gummy worms and turned to head for the register but when she did she saw the girl was already at the door. "I already paid," she whispered to the clerk and the blonde watched as his eyes seemed to glaze over for a moment before he nodded to her. The pink-haired girl left and the door shut slowly behind her and the blonde watched as she ran across the parking lot and into the woods across the street.
Her vision lingered there for several moments before she heard the clerk clear his throat impatiently. His face had returned to normal and he seemed to be waiting impatiently for her to finish gawking at the now empty space where the girl had disappeared into the treeline.
"Sorry," she sighed before she took the final few steps to the register.
"Thought I saw something."