This night was Friday. The 'gang' had to meet later in the day because the
Trans was crowded (Friday night rush) and Rage had to stay after school for
Physics help. By the time they were all together, Izam was in another one
of his bad moods. As the usual, Rage suggested a few rounds at Dancing,
which was quickly accepted by all.
Two hours later, they left the arcade, tired and sweaty, but happy. Emi pushed the door open first, looking up and behind her at Rage and laughing. Suddenly, she yelped and jumped back into Rage. He looked down at her, then laughed.
"A bit cold out?" he asked, then removed his vest and slipped it over Emi, who was wearing short sleeves (for the first time on 'stage'). Izam rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around Ni Na. Winter was quickly approaching in the Burning Zone, which forced Izam to ask why it even snowed in a place called the Burning Zone. They walked hurriedly to the bus stop and got on, each placing their Cred Cards in the slot at the top of the steps and choose their seats. Rage led Emi 6 rows back and sat with his back against the window. Emi fit herself in Rage's arms while Ni Na and Izam did the same. Now and then the bus would stop and people would get on. After 20 minutes of laughing, joking and teasing, they got off the bus at Emi's apartment.
Running off the bus, they ran into the apartment (with a 'hullo James' to the doorman) and into the elevator. Emi suddenly yelped, then looked frantically in her pockets.
"Oh great, what's wrong?" Izam asked, crossing his arms. Rage looked down, a bit interested about Emi's frustration.
"I-I can't." she whimpered. Izam sighed.
"Can't what?" he snapped. Ni Na slapped his arm a bit harder than intended. Emi looked up, nervous.
"I can't find my keys." she said quietly, now looking in her jeans pockets. Izam groaned while Ni Na began to ask where she would have put them. Rage blinked, then reached out to his vest Emi was still wearing and unzipped a pocket, pulling out Emi's keychain.
"You asked me to hold it, remember? You didn't want it to fall out of your pocket when you were dancing." He said, with a grin. Emi blushed and held out her hand. Rage dropped the keychain in her hand and the elevator doors opened to Emi's floor. Izam hurried out, to hide that he was laughing at Emi's clueless-ness. Emi blushed furiously, opening her apartment door and walked in. Izam followed after Rage, leaving Ni Na to close the door.
"I thought the three of you were friends, but all I ever see you do is ignore and belittle her!" Emi yelled at Izam. Izam was looking away angrily, holding "The Eye" to Ni Na's Ouija board in his hand.
Ni Na had pulled out her Ouija board soon after a short, yet insulting dialog between Izam and Emi. Rage had pulled them apart while Ni Na brought out the board to distract them.
But Izam isn't so easily distracted. As soon as the four of them placed a hand on "The Eye", someone had asked a question meant to be funny, but Izam pushed "The Eye" to Emi roughly and had pt a deep indentation in the board. Ni Na fell back, covering her mouth with one hand and gaping down at her ruined board. Izam, feeling he had no direction to go in these events, turned on Ni Na.
"This is stupid Nin! I can't believe you actually believe in this stuff!" he said, shaking his head and packing up the board. Rage was silent, staring at his two best friends and wondering what had made Izam do such a stupid thing. Izam looked to Rage for help, but Rage was closing the box, even though Izam still held the "Eye" in his hand. Insulted, Izam looked away from everyone.
"I thought the three of you were friends, but all I ever see you do is ignore and belittle her!" Emi shouted at Izam. Izam shot a withering look at Emi, but suddenly felt guilty, yet still not letting the anger leave his face. Ni Na took the Ouija board piece from Izam and silently dropped it into the box that Rage held.
"Oh Ni Na, it's not really that bad is it?" Emi asked, returning to her sweeter tone of voice. Ni Na looked at Emi with bright eyes.
"This board has been in my family for years.we've always looked to it for answers to our problems.but it only works when it is well taken care of. It will no longer work for my family." she said, wiping a tear away.
"Oh come on! That board had a ton of scratches and dents in it before and it 'worked'! Ni Na!" he got up to follow Ni Na as Emi helped the older girl up and lead her into her room. "Rage.come on, you know I didn't mean it!" Izam said, turning to his best friend. Rage sighed and scratched the back of his head.
"You know Ni Na always believed in that stuff. She's been into it since before we met, remember? You should have respected her thins a lot more than you have been lately." He said, not looking at Izam directly.
"It's your girlfriend's fault anyways!" Izam said, raising his voice. Rage snapped his head to look Izam directly in the eyes. "It's true man! Even since you've been dating her, you've been more distant from us and you're sounding like a philosopher! 'You should have respected her more', whatever!" Rage was silent.
"Whatever man. You have some things to work out between you and Ni Na. She said she was given the day off tomorrow instead of having to work, right? Why don't you send that time getting closer to her?" Rage suggested Izam watched his old friend as he got up to use the bathroom to change.
When Rage came back out, Izam was pretending to sleep and he heard Emi talking to Ni Na in her room. As Rage went to grab a blanket for himself and Izam, the door opened. Ni Na was holding her travel bag and Emi was holding Izam's.
"Ni Na is going to sleep in Walt's room. Where's Iz---oh" Emi looked at the couch and saw Izam with his eyes closed.
"I'm fine Emi. I'll see you in the morning?" she asked. Emi smiled and nodded, and Ni Na smiled back, then turned and went into Walt's room. Rage walked to Emi and gave her a tight hug. Emi laughed and looked up and Rage.
"Suppose they'll be alright? I talked to her, but she doesn't want to leave Izam, but he's making her depressed." She sighed and buried her face into Rage's chest. Rage patted Emi's head and she looked up at him again. "And it's not just recently. I kind of got out of her that it's been going on for a while.?" Rage sighed and led Emi back into her room.
"Probably has to do with me moving from the Disco Zone." He paused and looked down at Emi, who had stopped walking. "Izam is possessive, and he hates change. It has nothing to do with you Emi." He kissed Emi on her head, then jumped on her bed, laughed and waved her over. Emi smiled and lay down next to him. Rage pulled the covers around Emi and kissed her on the forehead and fell asleep with her.
Ni Na waited until everyone fell asleep before pulling out her Ouija board again. After placing "The Eye" in the center, she took off her crystal pendant necklace and placed it in the center of "The Eye". Now she leaned forward so her face was right above it and the crystal began to glow a light blue.
"Should I?" she asked. Nothing happened for a moment, then it slowly moved to 'Yes". Ni Na bit her lip nervously. She hadn't touched "The Eye" since putting the pendant out of it, but now she turned to her bag and pulled out a small pouch. In the pouch, there were two vials. Ni Na cradled them gently in her hands as she walked to Izam, who was sound asleep and snoring. Ni Na opened one vial and held it in front of Izam's mouth. Again, nothing happened for a moment, then a reddish vapor left his mouth and entered the vial. Ni Na quickly screwed the top onto toe vial, then went to Emi's room.
Ni Na smiled when she saw Rage holding his girlfriend protectively in his sleep, but she had work to do. She hated to do it, because she feared that in the end, Emi would hate her, but she needed to. Ni Na thought of this while she unscrewed the second vial and held it close to Emi's mouth. Emi's vapor came out blue and went into the vial faster than Izam's did. Now that both 'vapors' were in vials, Ni Na opened Izam's next to Emi's mouth, then did the same with Emi's to Izams.
"It is done." She said, the took her necklace off of "The Eye" and went to sleep.
Two hours later, they left the arcade, tired and sweaty, but happy. Emi pushed the door open first, looking up and behind her at Rage and laughing. Suddenly, she yelped and jumped back into Rage. He looked down at her, then laughed.
"A bit cold out?" he asked, then removed his vest and slipped it over Emi, who was wearing short sleeves (for the first time on 'stage'). Izam rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around Ni Na. Winter was quickly approaching in the Burning Zone, which forced Izam to ask why it even snowed in a place called the Burning Zone. They walked hurriedly to the bus stop and got on, each placing their Cred Cards in the slot at the top of the steps and choose their seats. Rage led Emi 6 rows back and sat with his back against the window. Emi fit herself in Rage's arms while Ni Na and Izam did the same. Now and then the bus would stop and people would get on. After 20 minutes of laughing, joking and teasing, they got off the bus at Emi's apartment.
Running off the bus, they ran into the apartment (with a 'hullo James' to the doorman) and into the elevator. Emi suddenly yelped, then looked frantically in her pockets.
"Oh great, what's wrong?" Izam asked, crossing his arms. Rage looked down, a bit interested about Emi's frustration.
"I-I can't." she whimpered. Izam sighed.
"Can't what?" he snapped. Ni Na slapped his arm a bit harder than intended. Emi looked up, nervous.
"I can't find my keys." she said quietly, now looking in her jeans pockets. Izam groaned while Ni Na began to ask where she would have put them. Rage blinked, then reached out to his vest Emi was still wearing and unzipped a pocket, pulling out Emi's keychain.
"You asked me to hold it, remember? You didn't want it to fall out of your pocket when you were dancing." He said, with a grin. Emi blushed and held out her hand. Rage dropped the keychain in her hand and the elevator doors opened to Emi's floor. Izam hurried out, to hide that he was laughing at Emi's clueless-ness. Emi blushed furiously, opening her apartment door and walked in. Izam followed after Rage, leaving Ni Na to close the door.
"I thought the three of you were friends, but all I ever see you do is ignore and belittle her!" Emi yelled at Izam. Izam was looking away angrily, holding "The Eye" to Ni Na's Ouija board in his hand.
Ni Na had pulled out her Ouija board soon after a short, yet insulting dialog between Izam and Emi. Rage had pulled them apart while Ni Na brought out the board to distract them.
But Izam isn't so easily distracted. As soon as the four of them placed a hand on "The Eye", someone had asked a question meant to be funny, but Izam pushed "The Eye" to Emi roughly and had pt a deep indentation in the board. Ni Na fell back, covering her mouth with one hand and gaping down at her ruined board. Izam, feeling he had no direction to go in these events, turned on Ni Na.
"This is stupid Nin! I can't believe you actually believe in this stuff!" he said, shaking his head and packing up the board. Rage was silent, staring at his two best friends and wondering what had made Izam do such a stupid thing. Izam looked to Rage for help, but Rage was closing the box, even though Izam still held the "Eye" in his hand. Insulted, Izam looked away from everyone.
"I thought the three of you were friends, but all I ever see you do is ignore and belittle her!" Emi shouted at Izam. Izam shot a withering look at Emi, but suddenly felt guilty, yet still not letting the anger leave his face. Ni Na took the Ouija board piece from Izam and silently dropped it into the box that Rage held.
"Oh Ni Na, it's not really that bad is it?" Emi asked, returning to her sweeter tone of voice. Ni Na looked at Emi with bright eyes.
"This board has been in my family for years.we've always looked to it for answers to our problems.but it only works when it is well taken care of. It will no longer work for my family." she said, wiping a tear away.
"Oh come on! That board had a ton of scratches and dents in it before and it 'worked'! Ni Na!" he got up to follow Ni Na as Emi helped the older girl up and lead her into her room. "Rage.come on, you know I didn't mean it!" Izam said, turning to his best friend. Rage sighed and scratched the back of his head.
"You know Ni Na always believed in that stuff. She's been into it since before we met, remember? You should have respected her thins a lot more than you have been lately." He said, not looking at Izam directly.
"It's your girlfriend's fault anyways!" Izam said, raising his voice. Rage snapped his head to look Izam directly in the eyes. "It's true man! Even since you've been dating her, you've been more distant from us and you're sounding like a philosopher! 'You should have respected her more', whatever!" Rage was silent.
"Whatever man. You have some things to work out between you and Ni Na. She said she was given the day off tomorrow instead of having to work, right? Why don't you send that time getting closer to her?" Rage suggested Izam watched his old friend as he got up to use the bathroom to change.
When Rage came back out, Izam was pretending to sleep and he heard Emi talking to Ni Na in her room. As Rage went to grab a blanket for himself and Izam, the door opened. Ni Na was holding her travel bag and Emi was holding Izam's.
"Ni Na is going to sleep in Walt's room. Where's Iz---oh" Emi looked at the couch and saw Izam with his eyes closed.
"I'm fine Emi. I'll see you in the morning?" she asked. Emi smiled and nodded, and Ni Na smiled back, then turned and went into Walt's room. Rage walked to Emi and gave her a tight hug. Emi laughed and looked up and Rage.
"Suppose they'll be alright? I talked to her, but she doesn't want to leave Izam, but he's making her depressed." She sighed and buried her face into Rage's chest. Rage patted Emi's head and she looked up at him again. "And it's not just recently. I kind of got out of her that it's been going on for a while.?" Rage sighed and led Emi back into her room.
"Probably has to do with me moving from the Disco Zone." He paused and looked down at Emi, who had stopped walking. "Izam is possessive, and he hates change. It has nothing to do with you Emi." He kissed Emi on her head, then jumped on her bed, laughed and waved her over. Emi smiled and lay down next to him. Rage pulled the covers around Emi and kissed her on the forehead and fell asleep with her.
Ni Na waited until everyone fell asleep before pulling out her Ouija board again. After placing "The Eye" in the center, she took off her crystal pendant necklace and placed it in the center of "The Eye". Now she leaned forward so her face was right above it and the crystal began to glow a light blue.
"Should I?" she asked. Nothing happened for a moment, then it slowly moved to 'Yes". Ni Na bit her lip nervously. She hadn't touched "The Eye" since putting the pendant out of it, but now she turned to her bag and pulled out a small pouch. In the pouch, there were two vials. Ni Na cradled them gently in her hands as she walked to Izam, who was sound asleep and snoring. Ni Na opened one vial and held it in front of Izam's mouth. Again, nothing happened for a moment, then a reddish vapor left his mouth and entered the vial. Ni Na quickly screwed the top onto toe vial, then went to Emi's room.
Ni Na smiled when she saw Rage holding his girlfriend protectively in his sleep, but she had work to do. She hated to do it, because she feared that in the end, Emi would hate her, but she needed to. Ni Na thought of this while she unscrewed the second vial and held it close to Emi's mouth. Emi's vapor came out blue and went into the vial faster than Izam's did. Now that both 'vapors' were in vials, Ni Na opened Izam's next to Emi's mouth, then did the same with Emi's to Izams.
"It is done." She said, the took her necklace off of "The Eye" and went to sleep.