This one is wicked long...
And I SHATTERED my writer's block. I have Chapter 9 planned out...just not written yet.
So...Here's Star Blanket and Luna's date.
Chapter 8 - Kissed
I don't like him, Dana spat as I fished around in my dresser for a set of more flattering clothes.
I can't back out now. He's very handsome though, isn't he
I drifted off, thinking of Star Blanket's crisp and cut dark hair and attentive eyes.
I don't care…there are better people out there.
For the first time, I wondered if Dana had a love before…before she had been guided.
Did you have someone, Dana?
Perhaps that was why she was so unwilling to go out with Star Blanket. Understandable, but illogical nonetheless.
Doesn't matter. You'll never know.
It was like a taunt. A challenge.
I exhaled, frustrated. I was trying to be friendly, to become allies with her. And all she did was push, push me out of her memories. What for?
You're just prolonging the suffering before your humans meet their inevitable eradication, I said, trying to instigate an angry reaction. Any reaction, really.
Nothing.
Giving up, I decided on a knee-length, thin-strapped heather grey dress. I grabbed it from the drawer, letting the skirt flutter behind me as I stepped into the bathroom.
I started to shed my sweater, and stopped suddenly.
Dana…I began…is there a way for you to…to give me some privacy?
I waited for a response.
Privacy!? This is my body too, you know.
I bit my lip. I can't change with an…audience.
The human emotion of embarrassment tumbled over me, too strong to brush off. I glanced into the mirror. My pale cheeks were pink and flushed.
Fine, she relented.
[xXx]
I was sitting on the edge of my bed, waiting for Star Blanket's fingers to tap on my doorway.
When's he coming? Dana asked. I could hear the muffled curiosity in her voice.
He…he didn't give a time. He just said 'tonight.' I threw a quick glance over to my wall clock. 6:30, it read.
My memory-accessing session was just a few hours ago. I remember how distraught my Seeker became after showing her my picture of "Jeff."
Do you know why she reacted so strangely? I asked, trying to pry the information from her.
Nope.
But you do know her.
Drop it. Please.
There was a strange tone to Dana's voice. Desperation.
I dropped it.
[xXx]
Star Blanket leaned into the doorway, drumming his fingers on the wall as I swept the essentials into my small purse.
"Ready?" He asked pleasantly, holding out his arm. I took it happily.
"Yes. Let's go."
We walked down the hallway with our footsteps in sync. I smiled to myself, enjoying the moment.
"So, where are we going?" I asked him.
"A pizza restaurant."
"Pizza?" I asked confused.
Pizza? I repeated the question directing it towards Dana. She didn't seem present though, in my head.
"Pizza is like a…traditional human food." He explained.
I tensed at the word human, and involuntary reflex. Star Blanket felt it, and laughed.
"Keep your mind open. The humans certainly have some amazing food."
That we do, Dana added distantly.
We walked down the remainder of the hallway in silence. Nervousness seemed to creep up on me as I wondered whether I should be making conversation. I let the silly human feeling roll off of me.
Star Blanket led me easily through the twists and turns of the hallway. I passed Red Leaves in the Wind, who smiled at me. I smiled back.
We reached the main entry door in no time. Star Blanket pushed open the glass while I stepped out, looking at the human world with awe.
I realized I had yet to step outside of the facility.
The sky was ablaze with the orange light of the drifting sun, contrasting greatly against the rows of buildings and shops that dotted the roadside. There were Souls everywhere, striding along the streets pushing grocery carts or children in their strollers. Small cars bumped along the wide roads, pulling into the driveways and parking lots of homes and stores. The landscape was spattered with trees and flowers.
I spun in a full circle, laughing, feeling the wet touch of the end-of-summer air on my skin. A humid breeze, wet and stale, blew the skirt of my dress back.
"So," Star Blanket said happily, as if he were the one to have given me this beautiful place, "What do you think?"
I turned to him and laughed a beautiful sound that fell out of my mouth and drifted into the air. "It's amazing. It really is."
I spun in a circle once more, letting my black waves of hair fan out and spin with me.
"Let's go," Star Blanket said, gesturing to the left, "It's only a few minutes more of a walk."
"Okay," I said, feeling like a child as I happily trotted behind him.
He led me down the sidewalks, bleached white from the constant sun. As we walked, I couldn't help but steal glances behind, drinking in the coziness of the brick and wood buildings against the fading sun. And in every space where the buildings parted, I could see the mountains, painted a mystical yellow by the sun's golden light. I couldn't seem to tear my eyes away from them.
How strange a sight we must have been, a handsome young man tugging along his date, who's back was turned to him, in favor of the enchanting mountains. I smiled at the thought.
Isn't it beautiful? I softly asked Dana, drinking in the small city. Like if I stared at it long enough, maybe I could hold it in my mind forever.
Dana didn't respond.
I finally turned around to face Star Blanket, who was looking, pleased, back at me.
We stopped at a small, brown-brick building. Bright lights hanging above the ruffled green awning made up for the fading glow of the sky as night spiraled in. Even with the sun losing its hold on the day, the breeze remained hot and mucky.
I followed Star Blanket up the steps and through the newly-painted door.
The second I stepped into the small shop, I could smell…something. A delicious salty-sweet aroma filled my head, making my mouth water and my stomach rumble. I suddenly realized how hungry I was. I had barely eaten anything over the few days I had been in this body.
A waitress in a green apron greeted us warmly and led us to a red-cushioned booth. I sat down, running my finger over the glossy wood and the unevenness of the colorful leather. Star Blanket slid in across from me.
"Hi there," Our waiter said brightly, "I'm Cami, and I will be your server on this fine evening." I liked the way she talked, with a sweet southern twang and a voice that radiated with happiness. She seemed like the kind of person everybody couldn't help but like. She was pretty too, thin with her blonde hair pulled into a long ponytail.
I felt Dana twist with envy.
What? I asked, bewildered.
I…I always wanted blonde hair.
Selfish humans. Always wanting what they don't have, whether they truly like it or not.
Cami provided us with two menus, faded papers coated in clear plastic. I searched the selection.
"I – I don't know what to get," I told Star Blanket, nervously. All of the foods on the pages were foreign to me. Onions? Mushrooms? Pepperoni?
Pepperoni. I laughed at the word, mouthing it. The pop of the 'p's on my lips made it enjoyable to say.
"I'll order for us," Star Blanket offered.
"Ok."
I handed my menu to him as he turned to Cami.
"Could we order our drinks and food at once, please?"
"Of course!" She exclaimed, pulling out her note pad.
"We would like two soft drinks and a medium pepperoni pizza."
Soft drinks? I wondered to myself, imaging the texture of a fuzzy blanket in my mouth. I wrinkled my nose.
"That'll be all?" Cami asked, pleasantly.
"Yes. Thank you."
Cami strode away. I took a deep breath. It was time to make small talk.
"So," I set, letting out a puff of air, "Star Blanket, how are you enjoying Earth?"
He tilted his head, pondering the question. "It's very beautiful here. The Hosts are very complex."
"I know. It's much more of a challenge to control emotions."
"Agreed. Healer Flames has told me that this is your sixth Life Term?"
"Yes," I said, smiling to myself, "I just haven't been able to settle down quite yet." Star Blanket laughed.
I don't like him.
Dana interrupted my conversation.
I drowned out Star Blanket's chattering about his former planets to speak with her.
Why?
Because…because you don't do it right.
Do what? I asked, confused.
You don't…you don't like him.
What? I happen to like him a lot, actually.
No…no. It's just – it's just wrong.
I pulled out of my head to meet eyes with Star Blanket. He was talking about his Life Term spent on the Dolphins.
Cami returned, balancing to glasses and a tray of sandwiches. She set the two cups down and hurried away, carrying the sandwiches to another table.
I poked my "soft drink" with my straw, expecting a thick, fleece-like consistency. Instead the straw split through the dark liquid cleanly, like water. I glanced at Star Blanket.
"You do like soft drinks, correct?" He asked.
"I've actually never tried one before."
He laughed. "I'm sorry, I've forgotten you've only been on Earth for a few days. Try it. It's quite delicious."
I sipped the effervescent dark cola with caution, waiting as it travelled through my straw and into my mouth.
The sweet flavor exploded once it hit my lips. I could feel the vibrations of bubbles popping on my tongue. I laughed and swallowed the drink, burning a bit as it slipped down my throat.
Star Blanket smiled. "Do you like it?"
I nodded, already taking another sip.
"It's quite delicious."
Cami reappeared, ferrying a large silver platter over her head. She happily set it down on our table.
"Enjoy the food! Just holler if you need anything," she smiled.
I eyed the "pizza." It was a soft, baked pie with a shallow crust, slathered in seasoned tomato sauce and topped with a festival of cheese. Salty circles of meat freckled the dough.
Star Blanket removed a single triangular slice from the pie and set it on a plate. I tried copied his movement.
"Ow!" I hissed, burning my finger on the hot platter. Star Blanket looked up at me.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes," I said, clutching my finger.
Carefully, avoiding the se of my stinging finger, I picked up the fork and knife, and began cutting my slice of pizza into small squares. I heard Star Blanket laugh.
"What?" I asked, confused.
"The food is meant to be eaten with your hands."
"Excuse me?" I asked. Surely humans didn't eat with their hands. How unsanitary.
I watched as Star Blanket lifted the pizza by its flour-dusted crust.
"You try it," He said pleasantly.
Haltingly, I held the pizza to my lips, trying not to let the sticky cheese drip off of the bread.
The salty taste of cheese immediately flourished in my mouth, backed by the sweetness of the tomato sauce and the mint of the basil.
"Wow," I said, amazed at the assemblage of flavors.
"It's good, isn't it?"
"Very."
[xXx]
We walked home through the blackness of the night. The lingering light that Star Blanket and I had seen was obliterated by the crush of darkness.
The air was still and quiet. We walked by the light of the smudgy lampposts that skipped along the sidewalk. The bustle of people had slowed and the roads were desolate, except for the few, lone headlights shining in the distance. The lights in the shops and apartments had dwindled to a small sprinkle of night owls.
"A beautiful night, isn't it?" He asked softly.
I looked up into the sky. Many of the stars tonight were dull, merely flickering in and out of existence in the vast black ocean.
"Indeed."
I could even see the dark outline of the distant low-lying mountains. They're enchanting aura was gone, replaced with a slightly more ominous air.
"Say," I said, gesturing to the mountains, "Do those mountains have a name?"
They're the Bull Mountains.
"The Bull Mountains," Star Blanket said.
I wasn't really listening though.
Dana! Where have you been all night?
No answer.
Dana, talk to me please.
Silence. The soundless night matched my inner thoughts. I was beginning to get frustrated.
Dana, you're being so childish about this. You refuse to talk to me simply because I made a decision you disliked.
Quiet. I could hear nothing but Star Blanket's breathing as we strode down the trail towards home.
Fine Dana. In case you've forgotten, this is my body now.
It will never be.
The words were more sinister and more menacing than any shout, any roar of any animal I'd ever heard.
We reached the facility, tall and white with rows of glass windows stretching around the building. Star Blanket and I stepped in wordlessly.
"Well," He said, "My bedroom is in the opposite direction as yours. It's best I get going."
"Oh," I said. I was hoping he'd walk me to my quarters.
He leaned in. I suddenly realized how close we were, acutely aware of his arm wrapped around my waste.
"I had a nice time, Luna," He said. I tensed, averting my eyes and staring at the floor.
"I did too."
I thought of Dana's words, wondering what it was that I was doing wrong.
Suddenly, Star Blanket closed the space between our lips.
The warmth was pleasant for a half second.
Then Dana exploded.
I was blinded as I tumbled into another memory, this one more real than any of the ones before, like I was actually living it.
I was small. A young child, standing in front of our art class.
Fifth grade. It was fifth grade.
I was presenting a Partnership Painting. My partner…he was…he was a childhood friend of mine. A very good one.
The picture sharpened even more as I accessed the details, with Dana distracted and enraged.
The Partnership Painting was a project where you painted your partner, and your partner painted you. My painting was very good. I had accurately caught the essence of the boy next to me on paper.
His name was Collin Everly. We were…neighbors, we had known each other since we were in diapers.
We stood in front of everyone, as my classmates gushed over my picture.
"Yeah," Collin said, agreeing with the compliments being thrown around the room, "Dana is the best artist ever!"
And then kissed me. Her. Dana.
He grabbed her hand and kissed Dana in front of the whole class.
And everyone laughed. Except for the two children giggling because their lips had just met.
And they never spoke of that day again.
The memory faded, and I was face-to-face with a very angry, very shocked Star Blanket. He looked at me, stunned, with a red, painful-looking handprint on his cheek. I looked down at my fingers. And it dawned on me.
I had slapped him.
Dana had slapped him. I clasped my hand over my mouth.
"I am so, so, so sorry," I whispered.
He just stared at me.
"My Host…" I said trailing off, "My Host did this. She's been resistant."
What!? Dana roared, What is wrong with you!
I could feel the anger radiating from her voice.
How could you tell him!?
I chose not to respond.
Star Blanket, still slack-jawed, wordlessly turned and strode down the hallway, towards his quarters.
I stood alone in the hallway.
I hate you.
Dana's words were crisp and matter-of-fact.
And then, out loud, I said the scariest, most human-like thing to ever leave my mouth.
"I hate you, too."
DUN DUN DUUUUNNNN.
Action coming. Chapter nine. Chapter ten. Chapter eleven. That's when secrets will be revealed...
Reviews make me smile :)