Crimson/Silver
Disclaimer: I am not Pixelberry. Don't sue me.
Clear and Present Ice
Alan pedalled his bike through the streets, Skye holding on tightly to his shoulder behind him. Cars and buses and other vehicles zoomed past them. The wind crashed into Alan's face as he weaved deftly through the traffic.
"You sure you should be going this fast?" Skye said from behind him.
"Does the speed bother you?" Alan asked.
"No. But you'll get tired going this fast all the way." Skye said.
"No I won't." Alan said. "We should be there in about five more minutes."
Alan could see in the distance the lights, floating into the sky from a huge mansion, way bigger than Skye's. He pedalled on and entered the pathway to the gigantic area, and skidded his bike to a halt, parking it.
"We're here." Alan said as he dismounted. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Thanks." Skye said, hopping off the back of the bike's carrier.
"Good. Let me just lock it up." Alan said, locking his bike up with the wheel ring. "Alright, let's go."
The two walked in to see a huge space, crawling with people. Alan could feel the discomfort growing inside him. He was never good with crowds, and this an anomalously big one. Especially because this was inside an enclosed space, regardless of whether it was a mansion or a tiny shack. He turned to Skye beside him, who had her signature monotone expression, but he could almost feel the discomfort within her as well.
"Should we just go outside?" Alan asked.
"Let's at least find the others first." Skye said.
"Alright, let's see." Alan replied.
Alan and Skye walked around the giant lobby, eyes scanning the crowd for the rest of their friends at the theatre group. It wasn't stuffy, by any means, but it was still enough people to make Alan cringe inward. The crowd, the chatter, it all messed up his head. He hated crowds.
Come on, where are you guys, Alan thought. I want to get out of here fast
"Alan!" Alan's ears picked up Ajay's voice, and turned around in that direction. He grabbed for Skye's hand and pulled her towards Ajay, until the two were in front of the whole group.
"Sorry." Alan said as he let go of Skye's hand.
"It's okay. I didn't mind." Skye said, visibly awkward.
"We just arrived." Rory said. "Were you guys already here?"
"Yeah, for too long." Skye said.
Alan eyed the group and noticed some of them missing. "Where's Alex and Annie?"
"They're on their way." Erin said. "Their parents are driving them here."
"Alright." Alan said. "So what should we do now?"
"I say spread out and find your thing to do? This is a party, mingle!" Erin said excitedly.
Alan inwardly cringed again. Well, at least no one will sue me for going outside, he thought to himself. Before he could, however, something caught his attention.
"Excuse me, guys, I have another question. What the frak is that?" Alan asked, pointing to what seemed to be a big ice sculpture at the centre of the hall.
"Holy- What?" Ajay actually said in a similar tone to Alan.
"An ice sculpture?" Danielle said monotonously.
"Is that… Amber and Annie?" Erin said, squinting.
"You're kidding. How rich is she?" Rory asked, eyes wide.
"Like I said, two pools and a pond." Clint answered, shrugging.
"No kidding." Skye said, not even looking at the sculpture, before walking out.
Alan sighed, heading for the door. He walked out the driveway and peered into the night sky, welcoming the stars twinkling, as if winking at him. A small smile graced his lips as a gentle breeze hit his face. He walked around for some more until he was completely alone, away from the crowd. He figured this was as good a place as any to light one up, so he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He looked around again before walking a bit further to be safe, under cover of several trees, leaning behind one. Then, he brought a shiny zippo with a knife engraved in it.
Alan looked at what used to be his father's lighter. He'd used it for a long time. With practised ease, he lit up his cigarette and inhaled, before sighing and releasing a long trail of smoke in the air.
Those guys would flip if they knew.
They didn't need to know. Alan would not tell them, certainly, and he took care where he smoked. Plus, he smoked rarely, so it wasn't like-
"You smoke?" Alan heard an all too familiar monotonous voice say. It was Skye. Alan couldn't decide whether he was stupid and sloppy, or Skye was incredibly sneaky, but he didn't see her when he had taken cover here, nor had he heard her approach.
"Why are you here? And why didn't I hear you?" Alan asked, annoyance on his face, which he quickly wiped off.
"I hate crowds, remember?" Skye answered.
"Makes sense." Alan said. Skye kept looking at him expectantly, crossing her arms. "Well, I found out your deep, dark secret. Only fair you find mine. I smoke cigarettes."
"Why?" Skye asked. "You know, People say they're not good for you." She added, hints of sarcasm sharply tangible.
"Why, yes, I think I do. I have my reasons for doing it. Foremost of them being this." Alan brandished his father's lighter, showing it to her as it glinted silvery in the moonlight.
"Cool lighter." Skye said.
"Thanks. It was my dad's." Alan said.
"Oh…" Skye's monotone softened again.
"It's one of the ways I chose to connect to whatever past I have left. Even if I don't remember my parents…" Alan trailed off, shrugging. Skye looked unsure of what to say. She had millions of quips in her arsenal, but she was quite inexperienced at helping with her words.
"Also, smoking helps me focus. Or rather, unfocus. It's like zooming out of a part of the picture to look at the whole thing. Also I don't do it very often. This was my first in three weeks." Alan continued. "Do you hate it?" He found himself feeling fearful, and he didn't know why. He gets awkward around people, nervous even. But never for being himself. Especially no fear. So why now?
Do I really care that much what she thinks of me?
"No. But I still think you could use a healthier habit to connect to the past." Skye shrugged.
"Hey it was either this or knitting, and I ain't getting into that." Alan spoke with relief, his smirk returning. They were joking around again.
Skye nodded, before looking around awkwardly. Alan picked up.
"So, now that you are here, wanna be alone with me and listen to some more music?" he asked, pulling his earphones out from under his collar and offering her one. Skye flashed a small smile just for a second, before nodding and accepting the earphone, putting it in her ear. She stood beside Alan, leaning against the tree as Alan played Local Natives.
"Oooh I love these guys." Skye said. Alan didn't look, but he could swear she had a wide smile on her face as they heard the first beats of the song that they both loved.
.
.
.
Some time later, Alan and Skye rejoined the party, so to speak, taking a seat near one of the pools. They were still listening to music, Alan letting her listen to some of his favorite songs, then discovering she knows and loves most of them already. He was, dare he say, having fun with Skye. He smiled often, and he'd seen Skye smile a few times too.
Finally, after finishing the current song, Alan hit pause.
"Okay, other than having absolutely amazing taste in music, what else do you do?" Alan asked, turning to Skye.
"What do you mean?" Skye asked.
"Let's see… what does Skye Crandall do for fun at parties?" Alan asked. Skye made a skeptical face. "What? I genuinely wanna know."
"Alright, I guess I'll show you." Skye shrugged, getting and up and walking inside. Alan stumbled to follow her quick, confused. He followed Skye into the kitchen, deftly swiping a blonde girl's bag. Alan quickly caught up to her, a skeptical look on his face.
"Chill. Not stealing." Skye said monotonously, before pulling out a few bills of cash and stuffing it into the girl's bag. She then went back to the kitchen, where the girl was still talking, and put it right back. Skye then bolted from there, stopping outside the house.
"Wow that was some Robin Hood stuff." Alan said, smiling. "Had me worried for a second there."
"Yeah, that look on your face when I took the bag was hilarious." Skye said.
"Hardy har har." Alan said, smirking. "So, for fun, Skye Crandall is a noble do-gooder."
"Ugh, shut up and call up Payton Saunders. I have her number." Skye said.
"Who is Payton Saunders and why should I call her?" Alan asked, confused again.
"She's a cheerleader, but that doesn't matter! Just take the number, call her and tell her to call Frank." Skye ordered.
"Wait are you setting these two people up?" Alan asked.
"They've already been dating for a while. But right now she's in Paris." Skye said.
"Ohh okay." Alan said, getting the picture a little. He dialed up the number Skye showed him and called it.
"Bonjour. This is Payton Saunders. Whose number is this?" A very cheerful voice spoke on the phone.
"Hi, Payton. This is, uhh, an anonymous tip. You should call Frank." Alan spoke, covering up as much of his inner awkwardness as he could.
"Why did something happen? Are you his classmate?" Payton asked.
"No nothing happened, and yeah I go to Berry, but you should really call him." Alan repeated.
"Alright, I will! Thanks, random anonymous tipper!" Payton's voice crackled loudly through the phone.
"No problem." Alan said, hanging up. "Uhh I'm not good with excessive cheer." He said with a sigh.
"You did good, now let's see…" Skye said, walking back inside already.
"Wait-" Alan followed her inside, stopping by the pool, where Skye was discretely watching a big guy with a red hoodie on the phone.
"Yeah, the game was awesome. Annie totally saved our butts." Alan recognized Frank, their school's defender, number 10. "I still miss you though. Paris is one of the most romantic cities in the world!"
Alan looked at Skye, who was getting a smile creep up on her face. She looked at Alan and spoke, "Well done, partner in crime."
"How'd you know about them, anyway?" Alan asked.
"I overheard Frank talking to Caleb about how he was worried they were growing apart. Fixed." Skye replied. "Okay, I have one more thing I wanna do."
Skye said, and started walking inside. Alan followed without question as he was led up the stairs in the lobby, into the halls.
"Where are we going?" Alan asked. Skye didn't reply, but simply opened a door, leading him to a bedroom, presumably Amber's. "Should we be here?" he asked again.
"Found it!" Skye excitedly said, and Alan looked at her holding up a pair of Teddy Bears. "I knew Amber would keep a huge collection of stuffed animals."
"Um… okay what are we doing, again?" Alan asked.
"Setting up a surprise for Amber." Skye answered.
"Are you sure these people would appreciate anyone other than their person handle them?" Alan asked, gesturing to the stuffed animals.
"Wow, that's a good point. But we're gonna make Amber feel good, so… they won't mind much?" Skye said, a little unsure.
"Hmm, fair point. So what's the plan?" Alan asked.
"We're gonna set up a scene. Something creative." Skye said.
"A scene for Amber… something like the Cordonian Court?" Alan guessed.
"Huh, that'd probably be perfect." Skye said. "You just know Amber is obsessed with the Royals."
Alan and Skye look at all the stuffed animals.
"Let's see, this guy would be a good King Constantine." Alan said.
"And this can be Queen… Rosalie?" Skye asked.
"Regina. Her name was Regina." Alan corrected.
The two set up the stuffed animals on boxes as if they were thrones.
"Okay next, they have two sons. One of them just abdicated. We can put him off to the side." Alan instructed. "And this guy can be the young prince, standing dutifully."
"I'm surprised you know so much about this stuff." Skye said, her face ringing true to her words.
"My aunt was obsessed. I spent a good chunk of time watching it and accidentally paying attention." Alan shrugged. "And here are all the suitors trying to marry the Prince." He said, lining up every pink stuffed animal he could find. "I'd say that's good enough."
"We should go before anyone catches us up here." Skye said.
"Good plan. Let's go." Alan said, and the two got out of there, going back to the pool.
Once they stopped, Skye quickly spoke, "Please just don't tell anyone about this."
"Hey, I won't if you don't want me to, but those people should know the good you do." Alan said.
"The whole 'Brian's sister' thing, remember?" Skye spoke. "The whole thing would be ruined if people had to think about Brian."
"Uhh for goodness sake." Alan said, facepalming.
"People might not like me, but they can like the things I do. It's why I do tech and set design. I can contribute, and if I do it right, people forget I'm there." Skye said.
"Okay, I guess. I suppose I should just feel honored you trusted me enough to show me." Alan said with a smirk.
"Yeah yeah, I'll admit… it was pretty nice to have a partner in crime." Skye smiled.
"Well feel free to enlist my skills anytime. And my music, of course." Alan said, getting a chuckle from Skye.
"It's getting late. We should find our friends." Skye said.
"Okay then." Alan replied.
Inside the mansion, Alan noticed the crowd had grown, much to his contempt. He noticed Alex had arrived and was currently right beside Rory. The others were all more or less here, when suddenly, Amber called everyone into the foyer in her jovial voice that almost hurt Alan's ears. The statue was clearly slowly melting bit by bit.
"Attention, everyone! I hope you're all having a wonderful time at my party because I have an important announcement." Amber said.
"Eeee! So exciting." One of the cheerleaders said.
"Annie Maxwell, will you go to homecoming with me?" Amber asked Annie, who was standing close to Amber.
"Yes, I would be honored!" Annie replied almost instantly. She then went for a hug, but Amber stopped her, looking deeply at her.
"Annie… I love you!"
Annie was left stunned at Amber's sudden declaration. Alan looked at Annie, who was looking like a deer in the headlights, her eyes wide as saucers, her posture stiff. Everyone was looking at the two girls right now.
"Oh Amber…" Annie tried.
"Annie, what is it? You can tell me anything, you know that, right?" Amber said, looking genuinely worried.
"I…" Annie tried again, looking around her, noticing the crowd. Alan could very well guess what would come after. Annie suddenly grinned, and it wasn't very obvious, but Alan knew it was forced. "I love you too, Amber!"
There it is, Alan thought as Amber and Annie embraced and shared a long, passionate kiss.
Everyone around Alan was clapping, with the exception of Skye, Erin and Alex. Alan and Skye exchanged a knowing glance, while Erin spoke, "Oh my God, I can't watch this."
"Erin, what do you mean?" Alex asked beside her.
"This isn't going to end well." Erin said, her expression a mix of sad and knowing.
"How do you know? You've barely even met them." Alex said.
"Did you see that look on Annie's face? Amber really put her on the spot." Erin said.
"Maybe she really does love Amber? It's possible, right?" Alex said, hopefully.
"Well, I don't know. Maybe I am misreading everything. I wish them the best." Erin said, a resigned look making it's way on her face.
Alex took a look at Annie. Alan noticed Annie spot Alex and grin widely, and he knew she was forcing it. But, of course, it was too late to do anything about it just now. He let it go, and prayed Annie realize her mistake before it went too far.
"Yeah. So do I..." Alex trailed off.
"I'd best get going." Skye said from beside Alan.
"Yeah we have to go too. It's getting late. We all have classes." Erin agreed.
"Yeah." Alex sighed.
"I have to stay a bit longer. I promised a ride to a couple of my friends." Rory said.
"She's my ride too, so I'm staying a bit longer." Ajay said, pointing at Rory.
"And I have to wait for Annie." Alex said.
"Alright. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Alan said, giving them a small wave. "Skye, let's go."
"You don't have to leave. I could just go on my own, you know. You could stay if you wanted." Skye said.
"What makes you think I do?" Alan smirked. "Come on. Not only did I promise you a ride, I enjoy your company more than I enjoy big, socially draining parties."
Skye started stammering a bit, before speaking, "Um, okay… Thanks." She finished with a smile.
It always did make Alan's heart flutter a bit, for reasons definitely unknown to him.
The two made their way to the parking lot, where Alan unlocked his bike. Skye once again tentatively climbed behind Alan, her hands locking on to his shoulders.
"Held on?" Alan asked.
"Mm hmm." Skye simply hummed in reply.
"Alright. Let's go." Alan said, before he set off, pedalling rapidly away from the gigantic Hutchinson Mansion. The wind hit their faces once again as he rapidly zoomed through the streets. Behind him, Alan could feel Skye constantly shifting. He slowed down for a bit, puzzling Skye, but then he spoke, "You know you could just put your arms around me, right? I won't mind or anything."
Alan waited for a response, but didn't get one. Skye simply snaked her arms under his, around his torso, holding on tightly.
"Better." Alan said lightly, before resuming his normal speed.
Normally, he wouldn't care, as he's carried both boys and girls on a bike before, but something about having Skye all tight against him, pressed up against his back, made him fuzzy. He quickly dismissed these thoughts though, as he had to focus on the road. Bikes were already riskier as they had little protection against crashes, he didn't need to make it worse by being half-headed.
Before long, Alan was skidding to a halt in front of Skye's house. He felt a faraway tinge of disappointment as he felt Skye's embrace loosen, and her warmth left him.
Warmth, huh?
Shut up. He scolded himself again.
"Thanks for the ride." Skye said, awkwardly.
"Anytime, Skye-with-an-E." Alan smirked.
"I'm not living that down, am I?" Skye asked.
"Nope." Alan said. Skye chuckled a little, and Alan smiled right back.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Alan." Skye said, a small smile gracing her lips.
"Not if I see you first." Alan said, sporting the same smile.
Skye's gaze lingered on Alan for a bit, before looking down and then going inside her house. Alan could swear her eyes were sparkling, but still dismissed it as weird. He then got on his bike and pedalled ahead to his own home.
Time for some microwaved pizza and League of Legends, he thought to himself contently.
!-!-!-!-!
At this point, I'm not even gonna bother with the whole 'I'm not dead' thing. I'm virtually dying inside from the shit I've got going on. But hey! I finally started writing again. Not that anyone's reading this crap anyway.
But if anyone is reading, please review to let me know your thoughts. Makes me feel better, heheh. See y'all later!