(A white background is shown)
("Accidentally In Love" by Counting Crows plays)
(It splits in half, and we see two sides: On the right, Lydia, literally shining and radiant, emanating a yellow glow. On the left, Bradley, dull and dusky, a grey glow emanating from him)
(We see both sides at the same time:
(They both wake up, Lydia excitedly getting dressed, brushing her teeth and running around talking up a storm while shoving cereal in to her mouth)
(Bradley, meanwhile, moans and grumbles, and drags his feet as he gets dressed, brushes his teeth and takes a bag with a bland sandwich in it)
(Lydia walks and talks with Amanda, gesticulating like crazy and sharing feelings and ideas. Amanda just shakes her head lovingly and smiles)
(Bradley walks and vents to Mort, who has heard it all a million times and meditates as Bradley whines)
(Lydia bids farewell to Amanda and runs off excitedly in the direction of her locker, to the left of the screen)
(Bradley sort of nods at Mort and slowly walks to the right of the screen, to get to his locker)
(The two sides clash. Lydia and Bradley, not looking for a second, crash into each other, and the halfway line disappears)
(Now on the floor, Lydia and Bradley sit back to back. Lydia smiles at the screen and waves, Bradley rolls his eyes and frowns at the screen)
(A title flashes:
Sunny and Grey
Chapter 1: A Side of Point of View With My Morning
Morning.
Sun rise.
Another day.
Whoop de freakin do.
Through drab curtains and lifeless stairs, we enter a room, devoid of laughter, joy and love. The book shelves are straight and proper, containing only a few study books.
The room is clean and tidy, but it's a tidiness that does not feel inviting.
An office space can be seen, with a small computer that looks a little old, a dinky chair, and a totally empty desk, except for one item: A small, glass snow globe.
The lights are off, reflecting the feelings of the current occupant of the small wooden bed in the middle of the room.
Covered in a barely adequate blanket, lies Bradley Nicholson. A grey boy with a greyer outlook on life.
The sun light breaks through the invisible wall of his window and tries to crack through the invisible wall of his eyes and into his soul, but he won't let it!
He turns around.
His alarm clock goes off.
He shoves the alarm clock aside and it breaks.
"Dang it."
He gets up and rubs his eyes.
He puts his glasses on.
He looks around.
"Well, world. Looks like I'm still here."
He sighs.
"Yeah, I'm about as thrilled as you are."
He gets up and, scratching his back, begins his daily routine.
He gets dressed.
Same outfit, every day.
"Maybe today it will impress Melissa.", he thinks.
"Yeah, and maybe I'll become king of the pop tart people of Alpha Centuri. Don't be deluded, Bradley!", he thought.
He looked over at his snow globe.
He picked it up.
He smiled, just for a moment.
And then he reverted to his usual mood.
He made his way downstairs, muttering about his so called "life".
He brushed his teeth.
He looked in the mirror.
"…Meh."
He took his bagged lunch and looked at the note on the fridge.
Mom and Dad were busy again.
Big shocker.
He looked outside.
People walked around smiling and laughing.
Why couldn't he?
He sighed.
"Let's get this over with.", he said, and he began his lonely, boring, depressing way to school.
Another day.
Whoop de freakin do.
Morning, but we don't have to tell the occupant of the big, comfy bed in the bright, colorful room that!
Looking around, we can see posters with motivational messages, famous actors, famous movies, and puppies and kitties!
The walls are painted in swaths of colors! Red, blue, orange, pink, purple, green and yellow are spread around all over the place, like the room was decorated by a maniac or a 14 year old girl with a ton of energy and maybe too much ice cream.
Bean bag chairs litter the place, as well as a big TV, a game system, many books about all kinds of things, a collection of stuffed animals and a work space which is filled with loads of sketches, scripts, stories, journals and poems!
The room is filled with knick knacks!
All kinds of knick knacks!
Big knacks!
Small knacks!
Weird knacks!
Cute knacks!
Most prominently, is a cactus with sunglasses that waves!
His name is Reggie!
But while the room is breathtaking and awe inspiring, the most amazing thing about it, the most interesting thing about it is the owner of said room:
LYDIA!
Lydia had jumped out of bed a few minutes ago, and was now rapidly recording her latest dream, in which she had disappeared and her lover had to find her.
She was so caught up in the dream she just HAD to write it down!
"Poor Alyson! She was gone forever, her eyes never to see again, her hair never to blow in the wind again, her mouth never to kiss her lover, Vincent, again! But Vincent, who had experienced isolation enough as a child, would save her! He and a motely band of unlikely heroes would travel in time and save her!", she said out loud as she wrote, her tongue sticking out in concentration.
She took the piece of paper and looked at it proudly.
"Movie idea number 876 is totally awesome! Woo! I'll put it away with the rest!", she declared proudly, and put it in the huge and collapsing pile of paper on her desk.
"I'd, like, totally get an academy award for that for sure!", she thought, and she went on to imagine herself in a lavish ceremony.
She had a big poofy dress with lots of curls, and she looked at the stage, where the host, who looked a lot like Amanda, presented the award and announced the winner.
"And the winner for Best Director, Actor, Writer, Dancer, and overall Coolest Person goes to… LYDIA!", she announced.
Lydia back flipped from her chair onto the stage and accepted the award.
"I, like, want to thank Amanda, my parents, Amanda, my friends, Amanda, Amanda and AMANDA!", Lydia thanked and smiled as she felt the sun shine on her from her window.
Lydia looked outside at the sun, whose bright rays were oh so inviting.
"Another beautiful, wonderful, perfect day! Who knows what I'll discover today? What adventures await me today? What magic is in store?", she said out loud.
She was so excited!
She got dressed like a jet, wearing what she wore every day.
She got her bag ready, stuffing it with all the essentials: Chocolate bars, notebooks, study books, stickers, glitter cannons, pictures of her and Amanda, chocolate bars, Commedia Del Arte masks (just in case), pop figures, mineral water, costumes for a costume change (just in case), pencils, erasers, sharpeners, lucky charms and chocolate bars.
She looked at her Cactus Reggie.
He waved at her.
She waved excitedly back.
She whooshed downstairs, nearly dropping her dad, who was reading the newspaper.
"Sorry, Dad!", she called, rushing to the bathroom.
"It's ok, sunshine!", he called, getting his balance back.
Lydia brushed her teeth quickly and messily, spraying the mirror with tooth paste.
She looked at herself and noticed the leftover toothpaste all over the bottom part of her mouth.
She raised her hands and roared at herself, pretending to be a yeti.
She then took an imaginary razor.
"Yes, I have been cultivating this beard. Isn't it simply marvelous?", she said in a rich man's voice, and she laughed haughtily.
"But alas… ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END!", she announced crazily, and with an insane laugh, "shaved".
"DIE BEARD! DIE! DIE!", she shouted, and the beard was gone.
R.I.P
Lydia took a pretend hat off her head and pretended to mourn.
"It shall be sorely missed.", she said.
She then looked at herself in the mirror, all dressed and ready to go.
She fired out finger guns at herself.
"Seize the day, Lydia!", she said to herself.
"I will, Mirror Lydia!", she replied, and looked at the shower.
"Singing appointment later, 'kay shower?", she said.
She then smelled her arm pit.
"Whew! Yep, shower appointment today no matter what!", she declared, and ran to the kitchen to eat breakfast.
As she shoved Dr. Zone-O's into her mouth, she told her parents about her day.
"So I woke up and I had this dream where, like, I had disappeared into thin air, like, now you see me, POOF! Now you don't, kind of thing, so, like, my boyfriend, Vincent, and his motely band of unlikely heroes, like, real weirdos and totally alternative went to help him, and then I woke up, and I was like, I HAVE TO WRITE THIS DOWN! So I did, and then I imagined getting an academy award from Amanda, and then I got dressed and got my bag ready, and then I waved at Reggie and brushed me teeth, I looked like a Yeti! It was SO funny, and then I shaved my toothpaste beard, I'm taking a shower today, since I'm REALLY rank, and then I ate breakfast and told you all this, I think we have something in science today, which is, like, SUPER important, and I want to ace it because my grades are totes bad, so, like, that's what I'm going to do!"
Lydia then scarfed down the rest of her cereal, washed her dish, kissed her Mom and Dad goodbye, and walked out to the front door.
She took a breath of fresh air.
A million thoughts raced through her head.
A million feelings were felt in her heart.
She was giddy with excitement.
The day ahead was going to be exceptional!
She just knew it!
"World, here I come!", she said happily, and skipped merrily to school.
Another day.
She was going to have SO much fun!
"A bagged lunch. Again. Again, Mort! AND they were both out again! I guess "Good Morning" is not trendy or something!", Bradley complained.
"I hear you, bro.", Mort said, his eyes closed, as he meditated while walking.
The two were walking down the street, Bradley grumbling and resigned to his bitterness, Mort serene and peaceful, trying in some way to make Bradley hurt less.
The sun got in Bradley's eyes, annoying him yet again.
"And it's not just that, you know! I can't look myself in the mirror anymore! I feel hideous! I'm never going to impress Melissa…", Bradley continued to vent.
"Dude, I heard that she and Milo had this whole day together. They're getting even closer. My chakra tells me they'll kiss pretty soon.", Mort delivered this news, sad to do so, but hoping that Bradley will be able to accept fate soon.
"I KNOW! I know…", he shouted, and then lowered his head in despair.
For a moment, there was silence, a silence Mort appreciated.
But it didn't last long.
"And it's not just that!", Bradley shouted, pointing upwards.
Mort sighed.
"Like I said, I looked in the mirror today, and I just couldn't look at myself! I used to think I should be adored, but no matter what, no one notices me! No one appreciates me! Heck, I'm starting to think that I'm… I'm… Average!"
Mort shook his head sadly. His friend had many issues to deal with.
A gust of wind blew and Bradley's plant arm hit him in the face.
He growled with rage, his cheeks turning as red as a tomato.
"AND THIS STUPID PLANT ARM IS GETTING ON MY NERVES!", he screamed, and he kicked a pebble.
"Owch! My little toe!", he yelped and, holding his foot, he shook his fist at the heavens.
"Why?", he shouted at the sky.
Mort put his hand on Bradley's shoulder.
"Bradley, pal, listen. All this complaining… You need to try to look on the bright side."
Bradley turned to Mort, skeptical.
"How is that going to help me get some positive attention? Some love and care? Even without Milo hogging the spotlight, I'm invisible!"
Mort kept trying.
"First of all, you know that Milo doesn't do that."
Bradley sulked.
He hated to admit it, but he was right.
"Just because it's unintentional doesn't make it any less infuriating."
"And second of all", Mort continued. "The world isn't all bad. There are positives in your life."
Bradley continued to mope.
"Yeah? Like what?", he asked.
Mort put his hand on Bradley's back.
"Like me."
Bradley felt a little bad now.
"Maybe you're right. If I have you, it can't be ALL bad."
Mort smiled.
"That's the spirit!"
Bradley still sighed, though.
When would his life improve?
"Ohmygod, you should have SEEN it, Amanda! He's trapped under the building, wheez, wheez, and then, he's like, 'I've gotta try!', so he trys to lift it, (puffs up chest), but he totally fails, (lets air out), and then, he's all like, "HELP!" "HELP!", and I was crying, tears all over my face, and my popcorn, which got soggy, which was kind of like, yuck, but then I remembered I had another bowl, so I was like, oh yeah! Anyway, such ACTING! And then, he hears Tony, my precious Tony, remind him that he has to be responsible, and then, BADA BING BADA BOOM! He lifts the ENTIRE building! SO COOL! And then he's all, "Going to stop the bad guy!", and I'm like, 'Let's do it together!", but then I remembered that it was a movie. So, yeah, I couldn't help. But still! WOWZERS! I love that movie!", Lydia ranted to Amanda, and then she started to "thwip" webs.
Amanda shook her head in humor.
"Lydia, you've seen that movie 37 times. Which is really weird since it came out just a few months ago."
Lydia rubbed her neck sheepishly.
"What can I say? It speaks to me.", she said.
Lydia then began relaying her day to Amanda, which made Amanda laugh.
"And I got this movie idea, which I'll tell you about soon, and I'm thinking of improving my waltz breakdance watusi victory dance by adding the foxtrot!", she started to dance.
"Oh, and here's my new favorite thing about you: Your eyes get literal stars in them when I mention the time you were in "Cake-splosion"!"
Amanda then did just that, out of instinct.
"See?", Lydia said.
Lydia had a mouth that could run all day. But that didn't bother Amanda. Just having a friend was nice.
"Honestly", Amanda thought, "I feel so calm these days. I'm still really worried about my future, but… I have a feeling everything is going to be all right."
She knew why.
The reason was passing her, sliding through the road on a giant slice of cheese.
"Hi, Amanda! Hi, Lydia!", Milo waved, as did Melissa and Zack.
"Hi guys!", Amanda greeted.
"Hey guys! Have a totally fabulous day!", Lydia greeted cheerfully.
"We'll try!", They replied as the cheese continued to slide down the road.
Amanda sighed.
Despite their recent… Break up, Amanda and Milo had stayed on good terms.
She was still a little distant though.
She wasn't sure how to get back to a friendship with him.
She hoped she'd find the solution soon, though.
She missed him.
Meanwhile, Lydia had finished telling her about her day.
"And I even got a week off from Drama because Corky is gone for a week!", she said, with a hint of relief.
"That's good. You could use the break.", Amanda said.
"Yeah! I feel like a new Lydia! Lydia 2.0: Better. Happier. Comes with twice the SURPRISE TICKLES!", she suddenly said, tickling Amanda, who giggled.
"Lydia! Stop…", Amanda laughed.
Lydia laughed too.
"Ooh! I just remembered! There's a BIG science project today! Are you ready for it? Are you scared? Nervous? Excited? Hyped? So-so? What?", Lydia barraged Amanda with questions.
Amanda patted Lydia's back.
"I know I am going to do great. The real question is, are you?"
Lydia stopped talking.
Woah.
She was a little unsure, actually.
Lydia was great at more artistic things.
Science? Tests? Regular school work?
Not so much.
"But that's ok! I mostly get… Ok grades? Passable?", she tried to say, but Amanda gave her a knowing look.
"Ok, so maybe my grades are a teensy weensy bit… Bad.", Lydia admitted to Amanda. "But it's going to be ok!", she said, with a thumbs up.
"I'll just work hard with whoever I get. Which, I hope, might be you?", Lydia asked.
Amanda wagged her finger.
"I don't know… I usually end up doing all the work, not that I complain."
"Not all the work!", Lydia interjected, not liking the criticism. "I brainstorm the ideas!"
"And I organize them. But if you ever want to improve your G.P.A, you need to learn how to do things differently.", Amanda said, hoping to get through to her friend. She was really worried for Lydia, and wanted to help.
Lydia wasn't sure what to do. Do things differently? She was LYDIA! It wasn't a matter of ego…
She just didn't get what was wrong with doing things from the heart.
But, looking at Amanda, she knew her friend was coming from a good place.
"I'm not sure what you mean… But I'll try."
Amanda side hugged her friend.
"That's my Lydia! Ready for any challenge!"
Lydia laughed, and she went back to enjoying her day, telling Amanda about her new movie idea.
The sun shined brightly.
Lydia felt the wind in her hair.
She was going to make this day great, no matter what!
And, with a bright smile and a bounce in her step, Lydia walked in to school, ready to face her destiny.
To Be Continued...
Yes, this is the very first Bradley X Lydia fanfiction! I have something special here, guys: This multi chapter work is one of my best, and is also my longest work. I REALLY hope that you all like it!