Chapter 1: Red and Blue. {1/3}

Say hey!

Hear the sound of the falling rain
Coming down like an Armageddon flame (Hey)
The shame, the ones who died without a name

Hear the dogs howling out of key
To a hymn called "Faith and Misery" (Hey)
And bleed, the company lost the war today

I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
On holiday

Hear the drum pounding out of time
Another protester has crossed the line (Hey)
To find the money's on the other side

Can I get another amen? (Amen)
There's a flag wrapped around a score of men (Hey)
A gag, a plastic bag on a monument

I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
On holiday

The ginger boy was distracted by the song on his headphones, which he was absorbing the lyrics while chilling on his bed. Or at least he was, until he felt someone touching his legs. He opened his eyes and saw his aunt.

"Are you ready to go?" His aunt asked him.

Kyle just nodded in response before standing up from his bed. He did really wanna go to this barbecue, but it was obvious that his aunt wanted him to go, so he decided to attend for her sake. Though, he didn't dressed on for it as he was wearing the same outfit of yesterday.

He followed his aunt down the stairs. But didn't saw his uncle. "Where's uncle Leto?" He asked in curiosity.

"He's taking care of some things at the Diner, he'll join us later." His aunt explained.

"Okay..."

The two of them then left the house in order to go the neighbors house. The Pryce's home was partially painted blue,but it wasn't finished yet. They got into the front door fairly quickly, his aunt didn't waste time and knocked on the door. Suddenly, a man around the same age as his uncle Leto with Strawberry blond hair answers the door.

"Isabella, you're here a little earlier." The man told his aunt.

"Came to see if you needed any help for the preparation." His aunt replied before she stood behind Kyle and put her hands on his shoulders. "William, this is my nephew, Kyle." She introduced him to the man. "Kyle, this is our neighbor, William Price." She introduced him to the neighbor.

"Hello..." Kyle awkwardly greeted him.

"Hello, is great to meet you." Mr. Price gladly replied. "Come on in." He invited the two in.

The inside of the house was nice, though the inside of his aunt's house was nicer. Walking inside, he could smell something cooking but he couldn't figure it out what it was.

"Leto will join us once he's done at the diner." His aunt informed Mr. Price.

"Joyce is shopping for groceries and she'll join us soon as well." He also informed to her.

Kyle just stood there awkwardly, not exactly knowing what he should do.

"Dad!" Suddenly, they heard someone yelling on the kitchen. Which causes to run there right away. Both him and his aunt followed behind him. On the kitchen, there was something burning on a pan, which Mr. Price quickly put up the fire.

"Oh my, I guess I forgot to lower the fire." He commented jokingly.

Inside the kitchen, there were two girls there, around the same age as Kyle. One of them had the same hair strawberry blond hair as Mr. Price, so he assumed that it was his daughter, Chloe. The other girl had auburn brown hair in a ponytail.

"Max and Chloe, trying to learn William's special recipes?" His aunt asked them jokingly.

"Our wish, Dad would never share them with anyone." The girl named Chloe replied in a jovial tone.

Kyle just stood there besides his aunt, observing everything. Until the two noticed his presence. "Max and Chloe, this my nephew, Kyle Burnside." His aunt introduced him to them. "Kyle, this William's daughter, Chloe Price and her friend, Max Caulfield."

"Hello..." He awkwardly waved at the two.

"Kyle will be living next door with Leto and Isabella from now on, so you girls be nice to him." Mr. Price told the girls.

"Okay." Chloe replied to her father. "If this is your first day here," She suddenly grabbed a camera that was in the counter and pulled Max and then him close to her. "Say cheese!" She then took a photo of the three of them. AAAHH! My eyes! The flash surprised Kyle and blinded him for a bit.

"Come on, Chloe, you have warn someone before taking a photo of them." Mr. Price jokingly lectured his daughter as Kyle rubbed his eyes, before grabbing the camera and checking the Polaroid with his aunt. "This is a keeper." He commented.

"One hundred percent." His aunt commented in return.

"Not until I see it first! You know the rules, Dad!" Chloe replied enthusiastically before grabbing the photo before giggling when she saw it. "Look at your faces!" She showed the photo to both Kyle and Max, revealing his confused face and her surprised face. "This one is definitely going to the family album."

Kyle was just confused and he looked at Max for some guidance. "Get used to it." She whispered to him.

What's that supposed to mean? He was very confused.

"Now, let's see what kind of mess you made here." His aunt spoke before going to check whatever just burned. "Max and Chloe, would two do me the big favor of keeping this cutie company while we prepare things."

"Mission accepted." Chloe accepted his aunt's request. "His red hair will actually be perfect for it."

Wait...

Kyle was basically dragged to the backyard by the girls. And made him put on a bandana and gave him a plastic sword. Apparently, because they wanted him to play pirate with them.

"You think you come here and invade my ship, you filthy scoundrel!" Chloe, who was wearing a pirate hat, yelled at him.

Kyle who was standing the awkwardly, didn't know how to reply. "Umm... I-it's a free sea, I... Go wherever I want to go..."

Max, who was standing on top of Chloe's makeshift ship, laughed on how awkwardly he spoke his line. Chloe had to hold herself to not laugh alongside her.

"Oh no you don't!" Chloe replied before swinging the plastic sword slowly at him. Kyle deflected clumsily before swinging at her as well. Both kept trading slow attacks at one another, though Kyle did in a incredible clumsy fashion. His clumsiness led Chloe to easily hit his arm with the toy sword.

"Am I supposed to play dead?" He asked Chloe after the toy sword hit him.

"No," Chloe then stabbed him with the sword. "Now you do."

"Aaaahhhh!" He dramatically collapsed into the ground. "Aaaasshhhh!"

Both girls burst into laughter at his dramatic death.

"You seem to be having fun." Suddenly, Chloe's father appeared on the backyard. "Would pirates like to have pause to drink some lemonade?" He asked them.

"Yes!" Both Max and Chloe replied in perfect synchronization before making their way inside. Kyle just stood up from the ground and followed them inside.

Once he was inside however, he noticed that the kitchen was quite messy. But he saw a the jar of lemonade and some cups on the dinner table. Kyle went there to join Max and Chloe, who were drinking from the cups. Max handed him a cup completely full. Need some more sugar. He thought but didn't say it. Looking around as he drank, he noticed something. "Where's my aunt?" Aunt Isabella was nowhere to be seen.

"Your uncle called and ask her to pick him up." Mr. Price told him. "Apparently, his car broke on the way here."

Again? His car also broke up when he went to pick Kyle up.

"Need any help in the kitchen?" Chloe asked him.

"Nah, Isabella and I already prepared most of it." He denied before grabbing his camera again. "Alright, pirate trio, line up." He told the three as they were still wearing their pirates costumes.

"Come on." Chloe wrapped her arms around Kyle and Max's necks and pulled them close.

"Alright, say... Arsh!" Mr. Price instructed them.

"Arsh!" Max and Chloe did as he said but Kyle really didn't want to do it.

Chloe instantly went to check the photo. "Now, this is what I call, a pirate crew." Mr. Price told his daughter as he showed her the photo.

Before Chloe could reply however, the phone started to ring. Kyle just ignored and finished his drink before feeling a need to use the bathroom. "Umm... Where's the bathroom?" He asked Max.

"Upstairs." She told him while pointing up.

He put the cup the down and made his way upstairs. You know, this is awkward. That crossed his mind as he climbed the stairs. I wasn't expecting to actually enjoy it. Soon he reached the top of the stairs and went to the bathroom. Max and Chloe are cool, I never got along with someone so quickly, not even back home. I had friends but, it usually took me long to get along with them. But, were they really my friends? He used the toiled to pee. They bailed on me pretty quickly when... Dark thoughts came on his mind as he finished using the bathroom. He moved to the sink to wash his hand. Before looking at the mirror. I... should be dead... Why am I still alive?

The ginger boy stared at the mirror for a bit. Until he heard steps coming from outside of the door. He moves his head to check and saw Max and Chloe running towards a room. Kyle was curious and decided to follow them to see what they were doing.

"Already, time for an experiment." Chloe spoke to Max as he entered the room.

"Hey," Kyle called their attention. "What is going on?"

"My dad went to get my mom, which means we have the house for ourselves and I decided to use the opportunity to do an experiment." Chloe explained as she grabbed her dolls.

Kyle looked at Max with a face that basically said, what is she talking about? He got his answer some other way however. Chloe tied three plastic dolls together on the floor of the room, with a firework in the middle of them. Chloe giggles as she hands both Max and Kyle safety goggles, which worries him.

"Ready?" She asked the two.

"F-for what?" Kyle asked.

"You'll see." Chloe replies to him, with a somewhat evil grim as she tries to get the lighter started.

"I bet your mom is gonna notice a hole in the floor." Max commented as Chloe tried to light the firework.

Chloe stops working the lighter and turns to Max, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Trust in science, Max. Even when science means blowing shit up."

Kyle instantly didn't like what he was hearing.

Chloe starts the lighter and lights the fuse tied to the dolls. She and Max laugh and bump into each other while scrambling away. They then, grabbed Kyle and pulled him to hide behind Chloe's bed, peering over the top at their experiment. The fuse burns out but nothing happens at first. Then it explodes, and charred doll parts fly across the room as Max and Chloe duck. Max gets up and takes off her goggles; and Chloe laughs happily and jumps onto her bed, taking off her glasses as well.

"Tell me that wasn't the coolest thing you've ever seen!" She tell the two of them.

It was kind of weak. Kyle thought but decided not to say.

"You're insane. That explosion was massive." Max complained.

" You say that like it's a bad thing." Chloe spoke in return.

"Pretty sure your mom would think so." Max pointed out.

"She told me to get rid of my old junk, she just didn't specify how." She then came down from the bed.

"She told you that five days ago." Max pointed out. "And I'm pretty sure that she didn't mean it like that."

Kyle didn't really pay much attention to their conversation, instead, he was much more interested in Chloe's room. Wow, this beats both my old room and my new room. He thought as her room was pretty lively. I'm probably not even gonna redecorate my new one, considering that most of my stuff back home got destroyed.

"Hey, earth to Kyle.." Suddenly, his attention is called to his left. "Are you perhaps distracted by my room's awesomeness?"

Kyle just looked at her stoically in response. But after a minute or two. "It is pretty awesome."

"I knew it." She said humorously. "But your admiration will be cut short, we must go back to the ship, Firebird."

"Firebird?" Kyle did not want that to be his nickname. "I get the fire, but how am I a bird?"

"Try to figure it out yourself," Chloe was quick to challenge him. "Now, follow me." She left the room after saying that.

Max just lifted her shoulders at him. "Get used to it, she's gonna call you Firebird from now on."

"But why a bird? I know the fire is because of my hair but how am I a bird?" He asked Max in confusion.

"I have no idea and I'm honestly curious now." She replied to the ginger boy. Then she signaled him to follow her.

The freckled boy followed the girl with the ponytail downstairs to meet Chloe, although, Kyle had a question. "Is she gonna blow something else?"

"I hope not." Max replied as they reached the end of the stairs. Both the brunette and the ginger boy saw the strawberry blond girl looking for something in the living room. "What are you looking for?"

"My talisman, we gonna need for the great pirate battle." She spoke as she searched. "Don't just stand there, help me!"

"Umm... What exactly does it look like?" He asked her as he was clueless.

"Like a talisman." Chloe bluntly replied to Kyle. "You'll know when you see it."

Kyle and Max then stared at one another for second, before Max lifted her shoulders and moved to help Chloe search for the talisman. Unfortunately, thirty minutes passed by and there was still no sign of it.

"Dad must have put it in the Attic." Chloe deduced.

"Why would he do that?" Kyle asked in confusion.

"Maybe to instigate a treasure hunt?" Max proposed.

"Max, go see if you can find it, Firebird, follow me." She wasn't joking about the Firebird.

Max decided to do what Chloe said and Kyle decided to follow her outside. Going back to the backyard, Chole quickly climbed on top of the improvised ship. Kyle then tried to do the same. But... "Yarr, ye must ask permission before settin' foot er peg on another's captain's boat!" She spoke with her pirate's voice.

Kyle just stare at her for a second before speaking. "A... Scoundrels don't ask permission for anything you... darm sea squid." He awkwardly tried to imitate her pirate voice.

But all that accomplished, was for Chloe to burst into laughter. "That was the dorkiest pirate accent I ever heard... HAHAHAHA!"

Kyle didn't know whether to feel insulted or amused because hers was ten times more dorky.

Chloe laughed a bit more before speaking. "I was worried that you were going to turned out to be a jerk, but you're actually cool."

"What?" Kyle asked.

"When I heard that you were going to start to live next door, I was worried that you were going to be a jerk or maybe a bully, which would be bad since I live next to you." She explained, and Kyle could understand what she meant.

"I see..." As someone who had a lot of bad experiences with bullies, he could understand her worry.

"Though, you probably think that I'm loser because of the whole pirate thing." Chloe spoke with a bit of certainty in her voice.

"No..." He denied. "It was actually fun, and I wouldn't mind doing it again." Kyle actually enjoyed her company.

"Nah, sorry, I don't think I'm gonna repeat it after today." Chloe told him with a sign of sadness in her voice.

"Why not?" He decided to ask.

"Well..." She looked back at the house, before she looked at him. "Truth is... Max will be moving away and this is kind of, our thing, if that makes any sense." Chloe told him sadly.

"Oh..." Oh man, and I was starting to like Max... He thought sadly. "It's a shame, Max is cool." He replied.

"She's the coolest, but please don't say a word." She requested him. "She doesn't know that I know it, and I really don't wanna ruin it by getting all sad about it." Chloe came down from the improvised boat. "Consider this as a, secret goodbye party for her."

"Okay..." It's really nice of her to do something like this... Not of my friends did any goodbye party for me or even spoke to me when... "But seriously, why Firebird?"

She rolled her eyes in response. "Because there was a Firebird on your skateboard that was the same color as your hair."

"Firebi-... You mean a Phoenix?" Kyle's skateboard has a image of a Phoenix on it, he honestly would have preferred a dragon , but it was too expensive.

"Firebird sounds cooler." She explained.

"No, it doesn't." Kyle had to say it.

"Well you're nickname is going to be Firebird, so deal with it." Chole stated.

"Okay... But-" Kyle tried to speak again but it was interrupted by someone calling them.

"Hey!" He heard a voice coming from a window above. It was Max, with the bracelet at hand. "Found it!"

"Awesome, now bring it to us!" Chloe yelled at her.

Kyle then stared at the sky for s bit, mainly to try to figure it out what time was it. Because he was wondering if where was his aunt with his uncle or Chloe's dad with her mom. That caused him to go enter the house to check the clock inside.

"Hey..." He heard Chloe speaking from behind him as she followed him inside. "What's wrong?"

Once they were both in, Kyle noticed the time. "Ummm... Don't you think that... Everyone is a little late?" He asked as he realized that it has been a while since everyone left.

"Ummm..." Chloe seemed to have taken what he said into consideration. "Now that you mentioned, mom and dad should have been back already." She pointed out.

"Where did your dad went to pick her up again?" Kyle asked.

"She went to buy groceries, but, it's not really far from here." Chloe explained.

Soon enough, they saw Max descending the stairs with the Talisman at hand. "Something wrong?" Max asked the two.

"Oh, Kyle is just wondering why everyone didn't come back yet." Chloe explained to Max.

"Your uncle's car broke right, your aunt probably took it to a mechanic to see what it is wrong." Max reassured him and it made sense.

"Yeah but, mom and dad should have come home already." This time Chloe who seemed a bit worried.

"They probably just made another stop to buy something else." Max offered the explanation, which made sense. "Though, I really hope they arrive soon, cause I'm starving."

"Yeah, me too." Kyle admitted.

"Be careful with what you guys wish for, because dad is probably going to make more than the two of you can handle." Chloe stated with a smile.

Kyle was about to ask what exactly would her father prepare. But, Max seemed to want to say something. "Umm..."

"What's up Max?" Chloe asked her best friend.

"Ummm..., I..." She seemed to want to say something. "I... Have to... Tell you something."

Kyle could tell what it was, and he decided to interject. "If it's about you moving away, she already knows." He bluntly pointed out to avoid the awkward conversation.

"What?" Max was clearly surprised.

Chloe sighed in annoyance before she spoke. "What the fuck?" She asked Kyle calmly.

"She was going to tell you anyway, I just wanted to avoid some awkwardness." Kyle replied in an apologetic tone while scratching the back of his head.

"I..." Max was clearly unsure of what to say. "H-how did you...?"

"Umm... I overheard my dad commenting about it." Chloe explained to Max. "I just... Didn't want to ruin this day by making you feel bad about it."

Max was visibly upset. "I'm so sorry, I just... Didn't know how to tell you." She admitted while she looked down .

"Well, you didn't have to." Chole place her hands on Max's shoulders. "Let's just forget about it for now and enjoy the rest day." She reassured Max with a smile. "Especially since we're welcoming Kyle into Arcadia Bay."

Kyle raised his hands. "Don't mind me..."

"Oh, we do." Chloe spoke in a joking manner. "You gonna be my neighbor from now on, so it's my personal mission to make you feel welcome." She said that while giving him a thumbs up.

Kyle looked down bit embarrassed after that. Chloe is cool... I definitely won't mind living next to her. The ginger boy thought as he looked down.

Before the trio could say anything else, they heard the front door opening. "Finally." Chloe spoke as she went to check. Max and Kyle moved alongside to check. Only to be greeted by the sight of his aunt holding a crying woman. "Mom..." The woman was apparently Chloe.

Sadly, this really enjoyable day. Had a very tragic ending.

Honest time:

I literally wasn't planning to continue this story, mainly because I lost contact with the guy that requested. I decided to continue mostly because I received a lot of PMs asking me to update.

I sadly apologize if this chapter wasn't very good. But Williams's death had a bunch of retcons and I didn't know how to proceed it,but I promise that the next chapter will be better.

As Always: Questions and Answers:

c1Rhode
Great can't wait for the next chapter

I'm glad

Interesting story so far

Good to know.

Wow interesting story What happened to him in the past?

His entire family was killed in a fire that was started by his brother's bullies.

cant wait for the next chapter keep it up

Sorry for the wait

So far so good

Good to know.

Very late where I am so I'm going to be more brief than normal haha

First nice introduction chapter can tell Kyle survived the accident that wiped out his immediate family thanks to his ability to not die

Also neat power

I'll admit I knew a Kyle so when his name is said I'll have to internally blur it haha

Looking forward to him meeting the girls

You're correct.

I needed an awesome power.

Kkkkk

I hope you enjoyed.