Okay, this is a bit longer than the rest, but I had a tonna fun writing it. Call me sappy, but I thought it was sweet, even with the lack of Smoggy goodness. ;)
In response to the note that asked what the fic had to do with Travis being called crazy (come on, you wre all thinking it!), you'll have to wait and see. I'm slow developing on this one, but I hope it'll be worth it in the end. Stay tuned and it'll unfold soon! Remember, for every five reviews (or if I just get too antsy) you get a new chapter!
*******
Monday morning, Lily found herself back in the same situation with school. Overwhelming boredom, no Travis in the seat beside her, and time that seemed to pass at an impossibly slow rate. The stretch between first period and lunch, from 8am to 12pm, seemed to take at least twice as long as normal. It was all she could to stay awake, and when the bell finally rang for lunch, she had to resist jumping out of her chair and screaming in joy. Something told her teacher wouldn't appreciate that...
She practically jogged to the cafeteria and made her way to the line, ducking in beside Robbie.
"Is it just me," she started out, grabbing a tray, "or is this the longest day EVER?"
Robbie laughed. "It is taking forever."
Lily made a face as she grabbed a sandwich from the rack, placing it beside her already selected muffin. "And this is just gross."
"You say that so often it's lost all meaning," he said sadly. "How come you never bring a lunch?"
"Pure laziness," she replied simply as they paid for their purchases.
She balanced her drink on the edge of the tray, making her way to an empty table.
"Hey, have you heard from Travis?" Robbie mentioned as they sat. "He's not here today."
"Yeah, I noticed," she replied, furrowing her brow. "And no, not a word."
"Huh," he said thoughtfully. "Wonder what's up?"
Lily just shook her head.
"Can I sit here?" Ray's voice broke in.
They looked up to see him standing with his tray, looking unsure.
Robbie looked to Lily who said, "Of course."
Ray looked around. "Hey, where's Swami? I wanted to...y'know..."
Robbie and Lily sat with waiting looks.
"Apologize," Ray sighed.
"That's better," Lily said.
"And he's not here today," Robbie added.
Ray looked up from his sandwich. "He sick?"
"We don't know?" Robbie answered.
"I didn't hurt him that bad, did I?" Ray asked quickly, looking to his friends.
"I don't think so," Lily said. "It wasn't pretty, but it wasn't that bad....unless he's avoiding you."
"Travis doesn't seem like the avoiding kind, though, does he?" remarked Robbie.
Lily took a gulp of her drink before answering. "No."
There was a period of silence before Lily threw down her half eaten muffin. "Tell you what. I'm gonna duck into the Girl's room and try calling him. Feel free to scavenge my lunch, if you can stomach that stuff."
Ray immediately snagged her untouched sandwich.
"Right," she drew out. "Be right back."
She grabbed her bag and headed to the cafeteria doors, then down the hallway a ways until she reached the nearest bathroom. She headed inside, pleased to find it empty, not full of the usual smoke and kids trying to get a cigarette in between classes. She immediately went for the last stall, shutting the door, but leaving it unlocked, leaning against it to keep it closed.
She flipped open her cell and called up Travis's mobile number, hitting 'send'.
She let it ring five times before clicking it off and trying his home number.
Again, no answer.
She sighed, staring hard at the wall, not seeing the graffiti, but thinking.
Finally she headed back to the cafeteria, with minutes left in the period.
"Well?" Robbie asked as she approached.
She paused to watch Ray engulf the last fourth of her sandwich, then sat down. "Nothing."
"Well, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, right?"Robbie said, glancing at Ray.
"Right," Ray answered, nodding. "Right?"
Lily shrugged. "I dunno."
The bell rang then, and all three looked up at the speakers before getting up.
"Well, we'll probably see him after school, right?" Ray asked before they headed off to their separate classes.
"Yeah," Robbie answered.
Lily wasn't so sure.
***
Sure enough, when they headed to the warehouse for their afternoon show, Travis was nowhere to be seen.
"Please tell me you know how to work that stuff," Ray pleaded to Robbie, who was staring into the tech booth.
"Most of it," was the reply. "Enough to run the show, but..."
"But? But's aren't good, unless they're J-Lo's," Ray said seriously.
"But," Robbie replied, looking up at him. "It's not my area of expertise. I'd really prefer to have Travis back here."
"Well, I think we're gonna have to make do without him," Lily said, shutting her cell phone yet again. "Because there's still no answer."
Collective sighs met her ears.
"Come on, guys, let's just do this," she said, feeling like sighing herself.
5, 4, 3, 2...
"This is Radio..."
"...Free..."
"Oops. Er, Roscoe!"
***
Lily adjusted her bag on her shoulder and sighed. Kicking a stone along the sidewalk as she headed for home. That show was definitely not the best they had done, but also not the worst. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing.
Robbie knew the basics of the machinery back in the booth, though not as well as Travis, and he wasn't confident in his knowledge. Ray was...well, Ray. And Shady Lane could only help so much when her mind was really in other dimensions. Dimensions where Travis was sick or hurt, or... well, truthfully, she didn't know what she was thinking. But it wasn't good, she could tell that easily.
They had gotten through the show, and she supposed that was what was important, not the quality...
Still, she couldn't get her mind off of him...
And so she altered her course, heading for Travis's house, calling to tell her Mom she'd be home late.
Upon arriving at Travis's home, she rang the doorbell, waiting for a few moments.
She glanced at the street and saw a sleek looking SUV parked in the proximity, so rang again.
After another moment, a tall man in black slacks and a pristine shirt and conservative tie appeared at the door.
"Yes?" he asked, holding the heavy door open with his foot.
"Oh, uh, hi! I'm Lily Randal," she said, mentally kicking herself. She sounded like an idiot! "Is Travis in?"
"Sorry, Lily," the man said kindly. "He went to a friend's house after school...Robbie I think he said."
Lily furrowed her brow. "Okay, thanks. Maybe I'll head over there. Could you tell him I stopped by?"
"No problem," Travis's father said, adjusting his tie. "I'm really in a rush, or I'd offer to drive you."
"No problem," she echoed. "Have a nice evening!"
"Well, you too," he said, sounding surprised by her politeness.
"Bye," she called over her shoulder as she hurried down the porch steps.
She waited until she was a few feet away before calling Robbie on her cell.
"Hello?" his voice said from the other line.
"Hey, Robbie...any word from Travis?" she asked.
"Nope," he said. "And Ray's over here, though I doubt Trav would call him."
"Hmm," she murmured, choosing to keep her newfound information to herself. "Okay. Well, he'll probably be in first period tomorrow, so I'll see you then."
"Right," Robbie said. "Later."
"Bye."
She thought over Travis's favorite spots. Mickey's, the book store, the thrift shops they loved to scour...the observation deck...
"That's it!" she cried, looking up at the sky.
It was a clear night, no cloud cover whatsoever, and Travis loved nights like this. Many times he had tried to drag her or Robbie, or Audrey, before they broke up, out to watch the stars after dark.
It was a long shot, but something told her it might be right.
***
Set on the side of a dark hill by the edge of town, the Roscoe Observation Deck rose high into the air, stuck and cemented into the ground and bolted into rock wall of the incline. It resembled a fire tower in nature, with it's height, and the crisscross of beams supporting it. At the top, the deck that gave it it's name was surrounded by thick railing, a little over waist-high. A set of switchback stairs ran under the deck, leading to a trapdoor that led to the deck itself.
Lil had stopped at home half an hour earlier, telling her mother she was going to be at Audrey's studying until late, then grabbed a flashlight and high-tailed it here. Now she took the stairs two at a time, both anxious to get out of the creepy woods and anxious to find out if Travis really was up there.
As she reached the final stretch, she turned off the flashlight, one hand tightly gripping the railing, and reached up to push open the trapdoor. It opened rather soundlessly, but clanked heavily against the wooden floor.
She cringed at the noise but climbed through.
Standing on the deck, feeling a slight attack of vertigo, she took in a deep breath. Steadied, she reached down to close the trapdoor, lest she fall through.
She had a feeling that if someone was there, they would have called out by now, but she still took out her flashlight, turning the beam on.
She shone the light around the deck, establishing a sense of space, and moved quickly away from the railing.
"Hello?" she tried.
Silence.
Then, "Lily?"
A voice, slightly hoarse, but easily identified.
She swung the beam low, against the rock wall.
"Travis!"
If he heard the relief in her voice, he did not react. He remained sitting against the wall, knees drawn up to his chest, arms locked around them. He wore the same light jacket as he did on Saturday, and his jeans were dirty, a hole torn in the right knee. He looked terrible.
"Travis, what the hell?" she asked, hurrying over to him.
He flinched as he knelt down, but didn't shield his eyes from the light.
"What're you doing up here?" he asked as she lowered the beam.
"Looking for you, and planning on asking that very question," she said, setting the flashlight down on one end, spilling light over her now as well and scooting closer to him..
Travis merely shrugged. "Did you come here by yourself? Something could have happened to you."
"As charming as the concern is," she said, slightly angry, "I'd really rather know where you were all day."
Again, a shrug. But this time he followed it up. "I was nowhere for a while. Then I came here. It got dark, and I didn't have a light, and I didn't want to try climbing down and finding my way back in the dark."
"So you were instead content to sleep up here?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "Your dad would have freaked out. I did freak out."
"Dad wouldn't have noticed," Travis shook his head. "He's got a thing tonight."
"Okay, well, still," Lily said. "It was incredibly stupid."
He actually smiled at that. "Yeah..."
She sat for a moment. "Well, I've got a light, so we can go now."
"Look at the stars, Lily," he said instead, nodding his chin upward.
It was not her first time there, yet she was a bit stunned as she gazed up. The stars seemed unusually bright, none of the light actually reaching them, but stretching out in vast points of white and yellow light.
"Wow," she said. "Twinkle, twinkle little star..."
"Stars don't actually twinkle," Travis said offhandedly. "It's because they're so far away. Some of their light gets absorbed by our atmosphere. The air moving around makes it look like it's glimmering."
Lily paused to look at him. "That's kinda depressing."
"Yeah," he said. "It is."
"I prefer to think they twinkle just 'cause," she said. "Like magic."
She was aware of him staring at her then.
"See," he said, shaking his head and grinning. "That's what I like about you."
Lily blushed. "Really?"
He chuckled a bit, wrapped an arm around her, then leaned over, kissing her lightly on the lips. "Really."
More blushing on her part, and Lily was glad that the little light from the flashlight couldn't give that away.
They stayed that way for a while, sharing warmth, watching the sky, and then, much to Travis's dismay, Lily said they should go.
And they did.
In response to the note that asked what the fic had to do with Travis being called crazy (come on, you wre all thinking it!), you'll have to wait and see. I'm slow developing on this one, but I hope it'll be worth it in the end. Stay tuned and it'll unfold soon! Remember, for every five reviews (or if I just get too antsy) you get a new chapter!
*******
Monday morning, Lily found herself back in the same situation with school. Overwhelming boredom, no Travis in the seat beside her, and time that seemed to pass at an impossibly slow rate. The stretch between first period and lunch, from 8am to 12pm, seemed to take at least twice as long as normal. It was all she could to stay awake, and when the bell finally rang for lunch, she had to resist jumping out of her chair and screaming in joy. Something told her teacher wouldn't appreciate that...
She practically jogged to the cafeteria and made her way to the line, ducking in beside Robbie.
"Is it just me," she started out, grabbing a tray, "or is this the longest day EVER?"
Robbie laughed. "It is taking forever."
Lily made a face as she grabbed a sandwich from the rack, placing it beside her already selected muffin. "And this is just gross."
"You say that so often it's lost all meaning," he said sadly. "How come you never bring a lunch?"
"Pure laziness," she replied simply as they paid for their purchases.
She balanced her drink on the edge of the tray, making her way to an empty table.
"Hey, have you heard from Travis?" Robbie mentioned as they sat. "He's not here today."
"Yeah, I noticed," she replied, furrowing her brow. "And no, not a word."
"Huh," he said thoughtfully. "Wonder what's up?"
Lily just shook her head.
"Can I sit here?" Ray's voice broke in.
They looked up to see him standing with his tray, looking unsure.
Robbie looked to Lily who said, "Of course."
Ray looked around. "Hey, where's Swami? I wanted to...y'know..."
Robbie and Lily sat with waiting looks.
"Apologize," Ray sighed.
"That's better," Lily said.
"And he's not here today," Robbie added.
Ray looked up from his sandwich. "He sick?"
"We don't know?" Robbie answered.
"I didn't hurt him that bad, did I?" Ray asked quickly, looking to his friends.
"I don't think so," Lily said. "It wasn't pretty, but it wasn't that bad....unless he's avoiding you."
"Travis doesn't seem like the avoiding kind, though, does he?" remarked Robbie.
Lily took a gulp of her drink before answering. "No."
There was a period of silence before Lily threw down her half eaten muffin. "Tell you what. I'm gonna duck into the Girl's room and try calling him. Feel free to scavenge my lunch, if you can stomach that stuff."
Ray immediately snagged her untouched sandwich.
"Right," she drew out. "Be right back."
She grabbed her bag and headed to the cafeteria doors, then down the hallway a ways until she reached the nearest bathroom. She headed inside, pleased to find it empty, not full of the usual smoke and kids trying to get a cigarette in between classes. She immediately went for the last stall, shutting the door, but leaving it unlocked, leaning against it to keep it closed.
She flipped open her cell and called up Travis's mobile number, hitting 'send'.
She let it ring five times before clicking it off and trying his home number.
Again, no answer.
She sighed, staring hard at the wall, not seeing the graffiti, but thinking.
Finally she headed back to the cafeteria, with minutes left in the period.
"Well?" Robbie asked as she approached.
She paused to watch Ray engulf the last fourth of her sandwich, then sat down. "Nothing."
"Well, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, right?"Robbie said, glancing at Ray.
"Right," Ray answered, nodding. "Right?"
Lily shrugged. "I dunno."
The bell rang then, and all three looked up at the speakers before getting up.
"Well, we'll probably see him after school, right?" Ray asked before they headed off to their separate classes.
"Yeah," Robbie answered.
Lily wasn't so sure.
***
Sure enough, when they headed to the warehouse for their afternoon show, Travis was nowhere to be seen.
"Please tell me you know how to work that stuff," Ray pleaded to Robbie, who was staring into the tech booth.
"Most of it," was the reply. "Enough to run the show, but..."
"But? But's aren't good, unless they're J-Lo's," Ray said seriously.
"But," Robbie replied, looking up at him. "It's not my area of expertise. I'd really prefer to have Travis back here."
"Well, I think we're gonna have to make do without him," Lily said, shutting her cell phone yet again. "Because there's still no answer."
Collective sighs met her ears.
"Come on, guys, let's just do this," she said, feeling like sighing herself.
5, 4, 3, 2...
"This is Radio..."
"...Free..."
"Oops. Er, Roscoe!"
***
Lily adjusted her bag on her shoulder and sighed. Kicking a stone along the sidewalk as she headed for home. That show was definitely not the best they had done, but also not the worst. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing.
Robbie knew the basics of the machinery back in the booth, though not as well as Travis, and he wasn't confident in his knowledge. Ray was...well, Ray. And Shady Lane could only help so much when her mind was really in other dimensions. Dimensions where Travis was sick or hurt, or... well, truthfully, she didn't know what she was thinking. But it wasn't good, she could tell that easily.
They had gotten through the show, and she supposed that was what was important, not the quality...
Still, she couldn't get her mind off of him...
And so she altered her course, heading for Travis's house, calling to tell her Mom she'd be home late.
Upon arriving at Travis's home, she rang the doorbell, waiting for a few moments.
She glanced at the street and saw a sleek looking SUV parked in the proximity, so rang again.
After another moment, a tall man in black slacks and a pristine shirt and conservative tie appeared at the door.
"Yes?" he asked, holding the heavy door open with his foot.
"Oh, uh, hi! I'm Lily Randal," she said, mentally kicking herself. She sounded like an idiot! "Is Travis in?"
"Sorry, Lily," the man said kindly. "He went to a friend's house after school...Robbie I think he said."
Lily furrowed her brow. "Okay, thanks. Maybe I'll head over there. Could you tell him I stopped by?"
"No problem," Travis's father said, adjusting his tie. "I'm really in a rush, or I'd offer to drive you."
"No problem," she echoed. "Have a nice evening!"
"Well, you too," he said, sounding surprised by her politeness.
"Bye," she called over her shoulder as she hurried down the porch steps.
She waited until she was a few feet away before calling Robbie on her cell.
"Hello?" his voice said from the other line.
"Hey, Robbie...any word from Travis?" she asked.
"Nope," he said. "And Ray's over here, though I doubt Trav would call him."
"Hmm," she murmured, choosing to keep her newfound information to herself. "Okay. Well, he'll probably be in first period tomorrow, so I'll see you then."
"Right," Robbie said. "Later."
"Bye."
She thought over Travis's favorite spots. Mickey's, the book store, the thrift shops they loved to scour...the observation deck...
"That's it!" she cried, looking up at the sky.
It was a clear night, no cloud cover whatsoever, and Travis loved nights like this. Many times he had tried to drag her or Robbie, or Audrey, before they broke up, out to watch the stars after dark.
It was a long shot, but something told her it might be right.
***
Set on the side of a dark hill by the edge of town, the Roscoe Observation Deck rose high into the air, stuck and cemented into the ground and bolted into rock wall of the incline. It resembled a fire tower in nature, with it's height, and the crisscross of beams supporting it. At the top, the deck that gave it it's name was surrounded by thick railing, a little over waist-high. A set of switchback stairs ran under the deck, leading to a trapdoor that led to the deck itself.
Lil had stopped at home half an hour earlier, telling her mother she was going to be at Audrey's studying until late, then grabbed a flashlight and high-tailed it here. Now she took the stairs two at a time, both anxious to get out of the creepy woods and anxious to find out if Travis really was up there.
As she reached the final stretch, she turned off the flashlight, one hand tightly gripping the railing, and reached up to push open the trapdoor. It opened rather soundlessly, but clanked heavily against the wooden floor.
She cringed at the noise but climbed through.
Standing on the deck, feeling a slight attack of vertigo, she took in a deep breath. Steadied, she reached down to close the trapdoor, lest she fall through.
She had a feeling that if someone was there, they would have called out by now, but she still took out her flashlight, turning the beam on.
She shone the light around the deck, establishing a sense of space, and moved quickly away from the railing.
"Hello?" she tried.
Silence.
Then, "Lily?"
A voice, slightly hoarse, but easily identified.
She swung the beam low, against the rock wall.
"Travis!"
If he heard the relief in her voice, he did not react. He remained sitting against the wall, knees drawn up to his chest, arms locked around them. He wore the same light jacket as he did on Saturday, and his jeans were dirty, a hole torn in the right knee. He looked terrible.
"Travis, what the hell?" she asked, hurrying over to him.
He flinched as he knelt down, but didn't shield his eyes from the light.
"What're you doing up here?" he asked as she lowered the beam.
"Looking for you, and planning on asking that very question," she said, setting the flashlight down on one end, spilling light over her now as well and scooting closer to him..
Travis merely shrugged. "Did you come here by yourself? Something could have happened to you."
"As charming as the concern is," she said, slightly angry, "I'd really rather know where you were all day."
Again, a shrug. But this time he followed it up. "I was nowhere for a while. Then I came here. It got dark, and I didn't have a light, and I didn't want to try climbing down and finding my way back in the dark."
"So you were instead content to sleep up here?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "Your dad would have freaked out. I did freak out."
"Dad wouldn't have noticed," Travis shook his head. "He's got a thing tonight."
"Okay, well, still," Lily said. "It was incredibly stupid."
He actually smiled at that. "Yeah..."
She sat for a moment. "Well, I've got a light, so we can go now."
"Look at the stars, Lily," he said instead, nodding his chin upward.
It was not her first time there, yet she was a bit stunned as she gazed up. The stars seemed unusually bright, none of the light actually reaching them, but stretching out in vast points of white and yellow light.
"Wow," she said. "Twinkle, twinkle little star..."
"Stars don't actually twinkle," Travis said offhandedly. "It's because they're so far away. Some of their light gets absorbed by our atmosphere. The air moving around makes it look like it's glimmering."
Lily paused to look at him. "That's kinda depressing."
"Yeah," he said. "It is."
"I prefer to think they twinkle just 'cause," she said. "Like magic."
She was aware of him staring at her then.
"See," he said, shaking his head and grinning. "That's what I like about you."
Lily blushed. "Really?"
He chuckled a bit, wrapped an arm around her, then leaned over, kissing her lightly on the lips. "Really."
More blushing on her part, and Lily was glad that the little light from the flashlight couldn't give that away.
They stayed that way for a while, sharing warmth, watching the sky, and then, much to Travis's dismay, Lily said they should go.
And they did.