Chapter 14: The Night

The evening air was bitter cold as the teen carefully opened their bedroom window and slipped out into the dark of the night. They checked their watch as they ran to catch the bus at the nearest bus stop. They quickly climbed on and tossed their cash into the dispenser before taking a seat near the front. The ride wasn't long before the bus had reached the teens' destination. As they climbed off, setting foot on a deserted dirt road, the bus took off back to the city, its tail lights being one of the few sources of light in the dark neighborhood.

The teen walked on up the dirt road, pulling their jacket tighter around them as the cold wind licked their face. Further outside the city, on the edge of the plains and farmland, it was far colder. It was dead quiet, only the sound of chirping crickets in the stretch of fields filled the air. It didn't dawn on the wanderer just how dangerous and stupid this late night venture was, until they continued to look around. They were on high alert as anything or anyone could pop out and attack them. They quickened their pace toward a nearby street sign. The light from a nearby house dimly illuminated the white lettering on the green sign.

"Henry Dr." and "Othello Rd."

Relieved that they were on the right trail, the teen looked up the road and beamed. A single light illuminated the porch of a pale yellow farmhouse, a beat-up RV, and metal barn-like structure beside it, fading into the darkness stretching beyond. The teen ran up and looked around for any sign of the significant other's bedroom. There was a single light on in one of the upstairs windows.

The teen looked around, but couldn't find a ladder or a way to climb up to the second floor from the outside. It was then that they spotted a large oak tree. They hustled over to the tree and jumped, managing to grab a low hanging branch and hoist themselves up.

Branch by branch they scaled the length of the tree until they were perpendicular to the roof of the second floor. Carefully, they leaped from the branch to the landing without losing their balance. Finding their footing, they sneaked to get a better look into the lit bedroom. They smiled and knocked gently on the window pane.

The other teen in the bedroom jumped at the sudden noise and looked to the window for the source of the knocking. They approached the window and quickly opened it.

"Trini?" Skull asked in surprise. "What are you doing here? What are you doing on my roof?" he questioned.

"I'm sorry, Skull, but I just had to come see you." Trini reasoned, carefully climbing in through the window frame into the punk's bedroom. It wasn't quite what she had imagined, but the décor still definitely exuded his influence. Two of his walls were painted black, the wall against the window and the wall his headboard was pushed against were a pinkish purple. There were clothes piled into what could arguably be described as a decent-sized mountain at the foot of his bed, spilling onto the floor. Trini spotted not only a piano keyboard, but a worn, cherry electric guitar on a stand plugged into an amp, a full drum set in the corner, and a coffin-shaped guitar case slightly open, revealing what seemed to be either another guitar or a bass guitar. Seemed he was more of a music lover than she realized. All in all the room wasn't over the top punk, but certainly had a look that suited Eugene Skullovitch perfectly.

"Actually, I was plannin' on sneakin' over to your place tonight…" Skull said as he quickly pulled her into a hug. Though she instantly returned the hug, she was surprised by this reaction to her sneaking over to his house so late. "I am so sorry, I hurt you, Trini," Skull apologized, taking a breath, "The things I said, what I said about you and Richie-" Skull choked, his guilt flowing freely. Trini squeezed him gently in her embrace and shushed him tenderly.

"It's okay." She assured, "It's okay."

"No, it's not…" Skull responded, continuing to hold her in his arms, "What I said, the way I acted…" he paused, stroking her hair. He shook his head, disgusted with himself, "It wasn't okay." Trini said nothing, pressing herself against him. She could hear his heart beating steadily as her ear pressed near his chest.

"But I shouldn't have tried to force you and Billy to make up like that." Trini admitted. Skull chuckled.

"Nah, I get why you did it." He replied with a sigh, "You have the kindest heart of anyone I have ever met, Trini Kwan." He said giving her a quick squeeze before letting her go to look into her eyes. "Say, uh," he said taking her hands, "Wanna go for a walk with me?" he offered. Trini gave a soft smile and nodded.

"Sure, but, where?" she asked. "It's the middle of the night."

"There's a small lake not far from the house. It's…really nice at night." Skull explained. "We can sneak out the back, just keep quiet, 'kay?" he said as grabbed his grey wool duster coat off a hook on the back of his bedroom door and threw it on over his shoulders. He picked up his black riding boots slumped by his nightstand before he carefully opened the door and tiptoed into the hallway. He turned to her and made a silent 'shush' gesture. Silently, the two made their way down the hallway, down the flight of stairs, through the kitchen, and out the backdoor. It was then that Skull put on his boots and led her off the back porch into the night.

As they made their way down a dirt road toward the lake, Skull took Trini's hand and led her toward the body of water. The boy had been right about the lake looking "nice at night", however, this was a great understatement. The way the moon light shone on the lake, the way the light glistened off the gentle peaks of the waves manipulated by the wind, was an incredible, captivating sight. The tall dry grass swayed gently, adding a rustling to the chorus of crickets surrounding them.

"Skull," Trini started as they walked around along the lake shore, "I came over to talk to you…Is it, true, your note you gave me? That you applied for the ambassadorship for me?" she asked. Skull looked at her confused a moment. He blinked before suddenly realizing what she was talking about.

"Oh, the gum wrapper. Yeah." He replied, "I thought, I don't know, what if they take both of us?" Skull suggested, Trini sighed in defeat. "I mean, when I found out you applied to join the 'It's A Small World' Peace Club" Trini gave him a tired look at the various names he gave the Teen Youth Committee, but allowed him to continue, "I wanted to take the chance that maybe we could go together. I mean, isn't that what the UN peace teen like? You know, some diversity? They pick a pretty smart girl, and uh, you know, a cool, punk me." Skull reasoned, "Call it uh, fresh perspective." He paused. "I uh, did use that word right, right?" he confirmed, "Perspective?"

"Yes you did, but Skull…I don't…" Trini didn't know what to say. She didn't want to crush his dreams of being selected to go to the Summit in Switzerland, but he couldn't really believe his idea could work, could he?

"I know I'm not smart, or brilliant like you and your pals, but I didn't think it would hurt to try." He clarified. Trini nodded, feeling she understood. "I mean, the entire panel can't be made up of all smart pretty people, right? Gotta have someone real on their, you know? Why not?"

"I don't think that's how it works, but…it's not the craziest idea." Trini said thinking on his idea. It wasn't necessarily a wrong or wild idea about the Committee structure, but she knew they did seem to prefer student who weren't just smart, but showed they cared for the planet, and presented themselves a certain way in front of adult political figures, and other important people. True, someone like Skull could provide unique ideas to achieve peace, but numerous other factors were working against him suggesting the strong chance he wouldn't be awarded the ambassadorship.

"Let's just…sit a minute." Trini insisted motioning that she wanted to sit at the lake shore. As they sat down, Skull wrapped part of his coat around her and kept her close. He planted a kiss on her head as she snuggled in close against him, as they both enjoyed the enchanting sight before them. They sat in silence for a long time, just taking in one another's company in the serenity and tranquility of the night.

After some time, the air turned frigid as the wind picked up. Trini began to shiver, cuddling closer into Skull. The boy couldn't help but shiver at the bitter cold, too.

"We should get back inside before we become popsicles." Skull suggested, shifting to get back onto his feet.

"Good idea." Trini agreed, getting to her feet, but refused to pull out from beneath Skull's coat. They shuffled quickly back into the house, retracing their steps back up to Skull's bedroom. Skull let out a sigh of relief from the warmth as he shut and locked his bedroom door. He shimmied off his coat and hung it back on the door hook.

"Hoo. So much better in here." He noted, already feeling comfortable with the temperature.

"You don't mind if I spend the night do you?" Trini asked, "I don't really want to go back outside alone in the dark." She begged.

"'Course I don't mind." Skull easily answered. "Honestly, you never have to leave if you don't want to." Trini kicked off her white sneakers and took off her yellow sweat jacket. He crossed the room and sat down at his keyboard. As he turned it on, he turned the volume low so as not to disturb his sleeping parents down the hall. "Well, seeing as you are gracing me with your presence tonight, miss," he joked in a posh accent, she giggled, sitting down on the edge of his bed, "I, master Skullovitch, shall entertain you with my musical stylings…if you have any requests?" he asked, sitting up, and shaking out his hands. Trini thought about it for a moment.

"Hmm…do you know how to play that one song, it was one of the closing songs they played at that classical music performance at the park?" Trini asked. She never learned the song title, but hoped Skull knew the piece. He thought hard a moment, clearly wracking his brain for an answer.

"…Closing song?" he wondered as he searched his memory for the tune. His eyes popped wide as it struck him. "Oh!" he exclaimed, "What was it called…that uh, Rachmaninoff piece?," he realized as he hummed the tune for confirmation. Trini's face lit up as he sang it.

"Yeah! That's it!" Trini answered excitedly.

"I know the tune fairly well…I might be able to play it by ear…just bare with me a sec." He informed as he searched the keys for a starting point, allowing his fingers to rest just above the keys. As he began to play, it was as if his fingers were gliding, dancing along the keys effortlessly. The tune was so beautiful. Just like when he first played for her, she was so enamored with Skull's talent. The soft tune enveloped her and she found herself walking over to stand just over his shoulder.

Trini gently draped her arms on his shoulders and leaned over his shoulder to continue listening to the music. Skull blushed and gave a chuckle as he felt her lean against him. He gave a few very brief pauses as he played, searching for the notes in his head while his fingers worked. As he wound down the song, she gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. Skull brought his hand to hers, draped over his collarbone.

"That was beautiful." Trini complimented. Skull smiled.

"Yeah, you are." He replied coolly, making Trini giggle from his flattery. He turned his head and tenderly pressed his lips to hers. As they continued their shared kiss, he brought a hand to her cheek, holding her face to his, the kiss growing ever more passionate. He turned around in his chair and stood, never breaking contact and holding her close.

As they held each other, kissing more fervently, they instinctually moved to lay down on his bed, beneath the thick, fleece, zebra-print throw blanket. Before they continued further, Skull broke their kiss and turned off the bedside table lamp illuminating the room, the only source of light now coming from the moon light peeking through the slits of the window blinds.

~~~

Trini stirred from her sleep, realizing she was still comfortably wrapped by Skull's arm. She recounted the events of the night before. Her face turned red, but she was unable to suppress a satisfied smile. How she wanted to keep herself pressed against him, holding his body to hers. She could have easily stayed there curled up in his bed with him all day. She glanced at the glowing, red numbers on the clock and rolled over, planting a kiss on his sleeping lips. His eyes still shut, his mouth curved into a smile as he let out a low hum of content.

"Good morning." She whispered.

"'Morning." He replied, his blue eyes slowly opening to gaze at her. His eyes fluttered back shut as he chuckled, embarrassedly recalling last night's events.

"We should get up." Trini suggested. Skull groaned softly in his chest.

"Why?" he replied groggily.

"It's 6:30." Trini told him. "We still have to get to school." She explained.

"Ugh…do we have to?" he whined rolling onto his side to face her.

"I'm afraid so." She replied. The punk took a moment, his face tightening as he thought about it.

"Hmm…NOPE." he protested suddenly wrapping his arms around her and pinning her against him.

"Skull!" she yelped in surprise.

"You're staying right here with me." Skull insisted, a teasing grin spreading on his face. She sighed. "No school today."

"Skull, no. Last night was fun-"

"HEH, yeah it was," he replied cockily.

"But we have to go, we have tests, and homework to turn in-" she reasoned.

"Oh yeah, you're really convincing me with that…" he replied, his response oozing sarcasm as he began to kiss her neck.

"Skull, we would get in BIG trouble for skipping class. I'm sure I'm already in enough trouble for sneaking over here last night." Trini argued, not really fighting his hold on her. "I don't even know how I'm going to explain to my parents where I spent the night…I can't lie and tell them I was at Kimberly's." she trailed off talking to herself.

"You just say, 'mom, dad, I snuck out, BUT it was to spend the night with a handsome, fantastic, and sexy piano man'." He joked. Trini let out an annoyed sigh, making Skull laugh. She squeaked in surprise as he quickly straddled over top of her and looked down at her exposed body before quickly capturing her lips. She smiled as they parted, before patting his cheek.

"We need to get up." She said matter-of-factly, wriggling her way out of bed to retrieve her clothes from the floor. He hung his head and let out a defeated sigh.

"Fine." He mumbled. As he pushed the covers away, he raised an eyebrow as he spotted Trini's shirt and carefully snatched it before she had a chance to notice. Skull tucked it under one of the sheets while he put on a clean pair of grey boxer briefs and a pair of green cargo pants. As Trini finished putting on her underwear and jeans, she scanned the room unable to find her shirt.

"Skull, have you seen my shirt?" she asked.

"Uh, no, nope, haven't seen it." He lied, putting on his own black and white camo thermal and tying a skull and crossbones bandana on around his neck. Trini sighed impatiently immediately knowing he'd done something with it.

"Skull, where did you put it?" she asked sternly.

"Put what?" he asked innocently, crossing back over to the shirt's hiding place.

"My shirt." She clarified, growing continually frustrated with his antics.

"Shirt? Like, uh," he pulled out the white and yellow peasant top and held it up teasingly, "like this shirt?" he asked. She went to make a grab for it, but he playfully kept it just out of her reach. He teased her as she continued to try to jump for it and wrestle it out of his hands until she knew how to get him to understand she wasn't in the mood to play around.

"Eugene Andrew Skullovitch, you give me back my shirt right now." She demanded. His jaw dropped, his eyes widened. He paused in shock, allowing her to take back her property.

"Using my middle name, that's a low blow, Trini…Trini…" he tried to come back at her with her own middle name, but realized he didn't know it, "Trini, what's your middle name?" he asked. Her seriousness melted as she pulled on her shirt over her head.

"I don't have one." She replied, going for her yellow jacket.

"I-don't-have-one." Skull repeated, "No offense, babe, but that's kinda a weird middle name." he said, "Is that like, a traditional Vietnamese name?" he asked in full seriousness. Trini shook her head with a laugh and put on her sneakers.

"Just finish getting dressed, Eugene Andrew," she teased, "We're going to be late-"

There was suddenly a knock on the bedroom door, turning the teens into full panic mode.

"Eugene," his mom's voice came from the other side as she tried to open the door. "Why is this door locked?" she demanded.

"I'm naked, ma!" Skull yelled. There was a pause and the teens shared a frightened look. Trini looked to the window considering maybe getting down the way she came up the night before.

"Okay." Mrs. Skullovitch answered, "Breakfast is ready whenever you're ready to come down." She said starting to walk away. Trini and Skull both let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, and tell your girlfriend she's welcome to join us if she's hungry."

His mom's words felt like a hammer being swung at a pane of glass, shattering loudly in Skull's chest. The two just stared at one another awkwardly. Quickly they moved to gather the rest of their things, Skull throwing on his black beret. They headed out of the room and down the stairs for breakfast and relay damage control.

"I'm dead." Skull whispered to himself as they rounded into the kitchen.

"Good morning, kids." Mrs. Skullovitch announced as they walked in uncomfortably. Neither teen could tell if her tone was angry, passive aggressive, or genuinely welcoming. Skull's dad, wearing only a pair of ragged blue jeans, and an olive military vest looked up from his coffee and newspaper. He smiled up at the teens as they made their way to the table. Trini was amazed at just how much Skull looked like his dad.

"Hey there." He greeted. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Drew, this here's my wife Vicky. You're Trini right?" Mr. Skullovitch said, extending his hand. Trini shook it, but was briefly confused as to how he knew her name. Perhaps Skull told his parents about her, but judging from Skull's red face, this was not the case. "You know son, I've been wantin' to help you install soundproofing in your bedroom…you know, for your…music." He said as he scratched his short, scraggily brown, peppered beard and returned to reading the paper. Skull groaned, resting his head on the kitchen table.

"Dad…" he groaned embarrassed. Trini's face turned bright red. The Skullovitch's were less than subtle letting the kids know that they had heard her and Skull's 'activities' last night. Trini didn't think they were that loud, but…

"Anyway, we're happy to have you over for breakfast, Trini." Mrs. Skullovitch said, happily placing a plate of eggo waffles, scrambled eggs, as well as a fork in front of Trini. "Eugene! Head off the table." She snapped. He perked his head right up as his mom gave him his own plate of food, though less gentle than she had given to Trini.

"I'm so sorry, for any intrusion, Mr. and Mrs. Skullovtich." Trini apologized. Mrs. Skullovitch chuckled.

"Call me Vicky." Skull's mom replied, "Forget about it, hon. You're not the first girl Eugene's smuggled into the house."

"Ma!" Skull yelled.

"What?" Vicky asked, not feeling she'd crossed a line, "At least she's pretty AND from what I hear, she's one of the brightest girls at your school. I heard so at the last open house." Vicky explained. Skull buried his face in his hands. "Not like that Sharkie girl. I always hoped you'd do better."

"I'm in a nightmare." Skull mumbled. Trini said nothing and ate while Vicky continued embarrassing her son further.

"You know for the longest time, Drew and I thought Eugene was spending FAR too much time with his friend Farkas, more time than normal friends do—" Vicky told before Drew piped up.

"They're just friends, babe." Skull's dad said dryly, clearly they've had this talk more than once. Skull leaned his head back in his chair desperately wishing the ceiling would collapse on top of him.

"Well, regardless-" before Vicky could continue, Drew set his paper down to take a drink of coffee.

"So, Trini," he spoke, "How long have you and Skull been dating?" he asked straight forward.

"Oh, well," she said looking over at Skull, "we've only been seeing each other a few months, but we've been friends since freshman year." Skull's agony dissipated at this. 'Friends?' She had actually considered him a friend throughout high school? He couldn't help smiling at this. "Unfortunately, I've applied for an ambassadorship in Switzerland, and if I get accepted, I don't think I could really do long distance." She explained. Drew nodded in understanding.

"Now, what kind of ambassadorship is this?" Vicky asked finally getting her own cup of coffee and sitting across from Trini at the table. Trini explained the purpose of the Teen Youth Committee and the purpose of the Peace Summit.

As she talked more with Skull's parents, Trini could see traits Skull had that he'd gotten from them. As she'd noticed before, Skull was the spitting image of his dad, yet somehow when Skull made certain expressions he looked like his mom. His brash manner of speaking and signature laugh also clearly came from his mom. His parents were incredibly eccentric in appearance, but much like Skull, they both seemed like wonderful people despite their tough exterior.

They continued asking Trini about herself before Trini started asking about the Skullovitch's hobbies, what they did for work, and so on until time came for them to leave.

"Here, I'll drop you two off before I have to run errands." Vicky offered.

"We were just gonna take the bus, ma-"

"Bah! I'm drivin'." She insisted, taking the keys to the Buick and leading the way out the front door. She stopped, giving her husband a kiss on the cheek as he finished his coffee.

"Pleasure to meet you, Trini." Drew said with a kind smile.

"You too, Mr. Sk-Drew." She corrected herself. He gave her a nod.

"Gene-man," he said, grabbing his son's wrist, "You fight for that one. You hear me?" he said in a stern, hushed tone. Skull nodded.

"Yeah, dad." He replied. "I'd do anything for her." His dad gave him a soft smile, letting him go.

The entire car ride, Vicky continued making Skull wish he was dead. She was telling Trini all the embarrassing stories about her son she could think of until they finally pulled up to school. For Skull's sake, Trini did her best not to laugh too hard at his expense as she listened to his mom's stories.

"So, as his dad took a bite of the fish, but he spit it out as his mouth was full of carpet fibers that were stuck to the fish." Vicky said laughing, "Eugene played innocent until FINALLY he confessed he'd dropped the filet on the carpet and just put it back on the plate like nothing'd happened." Trini giggled. Skull held his head back, staring at the ceiling of the car, trying to will himself out of existence.

"Well, thank you for breakfast and the ride, Vicky." Trini thanked with a laugh as Skull quickly opened the car door to escape into the school. School was better than another humiliating moment with his mom.

"Of course. And you're welcome over to our house whenever you'd like, hon." Vicky assured. Trini slid out and shut the door behind her. "MAKE GOOD CHOICES, EUGENE!" his mom shouted, a few nearby students laughed at this. Skull a turned back to the car to give his mom a look that shouted, 'Seriously, mom?!' With the loud squealing of tires, the car peeled out, his mom cackling, as she drove out of sight.

"Mom…" he groaned shaking his head.

"You okay?" Trini confirmed, holding back a laugh.

"Yeah, I'd better find Bulky and you gotta get to your color squad." He joked. She frowned turning to leave. He quickly took her hand, "Wait." He stopped her. Trini turned back, "Thanks for last night." Skull said, blush crossing his cheeks. "And, about what my mom said, you not being the first girl at the house," he began, "the only girl I've had over was Sharkie, and her and I have never been a thing." He explained. Trini gave a nod.

"I understand." She reassured him. She squeezed his hand and gave him a smile before she headed into the building.

"Can we…you know, hang out again soon?" Skull asked. She looked back at him.

"Of course!" she answered, going through the double doors. Trini realized though, before she met up with her friends, she needed to head to the office. She had to call her parents and tell them she was safe at school and try to explain where she'd gone that night, though omitting the part where she slept with a boy.

She giggled in spite of herself. What a night it was. They gave themselves over, holding nothing back, spur of the moment passion. If she were chosen for the ambassadorship, it will have been one amazing night she would cherish, knowing the unlikelihood she and Skull would ever share a moment like that again. But if she weren't selected, if she stayed, she enjoyed the idea of being able to experience that expression of shared love time and time again in the coming future.

Everything was up in the air, but within the next few days, everything would quickly fall to the ground, laying out everyone's plans that would affect the next year, affect the rest of their lives.