"So let me get this straight- you didn't spend any time this weekend with Dove?"
I push my hand through my hair, aggravated. I glance away from the books I'm piling in my locker to levelly look Finn in the eyes. "I told you she asked me out last Wednesday and I haven't talked to her since."
"And you did nothing for the whole weekend?" He asked skeptically
"For crying out loud Finn! Can you leave him alone? He obviously never went out with Dove or has plans too in the future." Starling butted in.
I quickly shut my locker, grabbed Finn and steered him away from Starling. I lowered my voice so that no one would overhear what I said, "Listen buddy, if it bothers you so much, why don't you just ask her out?"
"What?" Finn exclaims really loudly, "Why would I do that? I'm the Finnster! I have the girls lining up to date me."
I take a step back and raise my eyebrow at him. 'Well can't say I didn't try'
"Is the melodrama over? I'm hungry and would like to go eat now." Seth drawled from his spot against the lockers.
*Grrrrrrrrr*
We all glanced in James direction, "Uh hehe, I'm a bit hungry too" He said whilst his cheeks turned a shade of pink.
We all burst out laughing, except for Seth who just smiled, and the remaining tension in the air quickly vanished. "All right lets go." I said.
It was nice to finally have a scene of normalcy to surround myself with, after what happened at the shelter on Friday, I was a little concerned with apparently seeing things that weren't there. I had checked Phoenix all over for cuts and injuries but had found nothing.
'But the blood had to have been Phoenix's didn't it?'
Within a few minutes we were seated at our usual table outside on the lawn and James was already halfway through demolishing his lunch, with Finn not far behind.
Seth had his usual look of disgust on his face which he wears every time we were witness to this spectacle, whilst Starling and I were trying not to laugh.
"I've lost my appetite." Seth states and pushes his lunch away from him
I lean to my right to whisper to Starling, "surprise, surprise."
"Hey Seth."
I freeze, there was no mistaking that voice. I glance up to see even James and Finn frozen with food halfway to their mouth.
I slowly manage to turn to my left and sure enough, there Piper stands at the end of our table.
"Hey Piper." Seth replies as if this was an everyday occurrence, "Was there something you needed?"
Her gaze flickers around the table and lands on me momentarily, but she quickly returns her gaze to Seth who was waiting patiently for a response.
"I actually have something for you."
I finally notice that one hand of hers is rummaging around in her satchel. She pulls something out and holds it between her hands. "I was looking through some books we could use for our communication project and I found the one you told me you really wanted to read."
Seth's eyes widen, "You don't mean.."
Piper nods and a small smile spreads across her face, "Merbian Darkness Poetry." She holds out the book towards Seth. His face is indescribable, in all my life I have never seen him smile so big.
"I can't believe this… Thanks Piper!"
She smiled gently, "Your welcome, I'll let you get back to your lunch now." She started to walk away.
"Wait!"
Piper whirled back around, at first I was shocked, had I said that? "We haven't been formerly introduced- I'm Starling." My anxiety quickly drained away when I realized it was Starling who had spoken.
"It's nice to meet you, I'm obviously Piper." She replied
Starling smiled, she could be quite charming when not aggravated by Finn. "These two are James and Finn." She said whilst gesturing to them.
"Hi." James said cheerfully, obviously having forgotten his earlier uneasiness in regard to Piper. Finn still had his mouth open from Seth's reaction, seemingly realizing this he quickly shut it and managed to spit out "Hey."
Piper nodded in their direction, a moment of silence hung over the table before Seth asked, "Do you want to sit with us?"
Piper's eyebrows shot up, disappearing beneath her side fringe. "Uh…I..I don't want to impose."
"Nah, we have plenty of room." James announced cheerfully.
"Plus it would make it easier to work on our poetry assignment together." Seth added.
Still looking unsure, Piper remained where she was standing.
"Please? It would be a major relief to not be the only girl for once." Starling voiced.
"Okay." She agreed after a brief hesitation.
She approached the table and slid into the only unoccupied space which happened to be to my left and directly across from Seth.
The conversation quickly picked up again as everyone was intrigued with why the book was so important to Seth. I however was observing Piper silently watching everyone else, she glanced to her right and locked eyes with me, "Hey." I said quietly,
"Hello again Aerrow." She replied.
"I hope we didn't guilt trip you into staying."
She shook her head "No, I was just concerned about intruding."
"Don't worry, we don't mind." I said in what I hoped was a reassuring tone.
She rewarded me with a smile before Seth pulled her into a discussion concerning their project and Finn was quick to pull me into a conversation about football. Soon enough everyone was laughing and talking and it barely felt as if Piper hadn't sat with us before.
oOoOo
For the next few weeks that was our routine, Piper sat with us every lunch and before we knew it we each had a special bond with her.
Starling finally had another girl she could talk to and they quickly became as close as sisters.
Piper was the only one Seth could talk to intelligently without receiving blank stares or having to simplify sentences, it turned out she was just as, if not more brilliant then Seth.
James found it easiest to talk to Piper whenever something was troubling him, as Piper was always quick to reassure or help him in any way possible.
And not mention Finn… As it turned out he proved he can annoy practically anyone, including Piper the most cool headed of us all. It seemed fine though with their relationship being more like brother and sister bickering.
Piper and I got along much easier, even working together at the shelter a few times whenever we had a shift on the same day. However I couldn't help but feel while she opened up to the others, she was still holding back from doing the same with me.
"Hey Aerrow- check out what we got!" I glanced up from the lunch I'd been eating to see Finn and James running up to the table with Finn proudly hoisting a football above his head.
"We were thinking Starling, James and Piper against me, you and Seth. You in?"
"Sure." I turned to look at the Piper and Starling who had stopped talking to listen to Finns announcement. "What about you?"
"I'm in." Starling declared.
Seth briefly glanced up from his book. "I'll pass."
"Fine then how about girls vs boys, what do you reckon Piper?" Starling asked
"Uhhh sure, what exactly are we playing though?" Piper questioned.
"KEEP AWAY!" Finn shouted before running off. The rest of us quickly taking off after him.
Starling managed to slip past Finn and snatch the ball from him, she quickly passed it to Piper who ducked under James grab at her and threw it back to Starling. I saw my chance and ran towards her feinting to my left before darting to the right, diving to the ground, causing me to slide right beside her and pinch the ball from her hands. I quickly flipped to my feet and cartwheeled away when she made a grab for me. "Wohoo! Go Aerrow!" Finn shouted.
Starling came for me again and I quickly threw the ball to James. Piper ran towards him, so he thrust the ball upwards and held it there above his head, confident with his height advantage she wouldn't be able to reach it. Piper didn't stop though, she only smirked and kept running at full speed towards him. 'What is she doing?' A few steps before colliding with him she jumped into the air flipped over his head and plucked the ball from his hands before landing gracefully on the ground.
I faintly heard Finn run up from behind me, "Wow, where did she learn that?" I heard the awe in his voice and knew he was impressed, I sure was.
"Hey guys- we still playing or what?"
Our heads snapped in Starlings direction to see her holding the ball and patiently waiting with Piper by her side.
Not one to be shown up Finn quickly declared, "Yeah, Piper may have some moves but that's still not gonna save you from losing!"
The rest of the game continued to amaze me. Whenever Piper had the ball hardly anyone could touch her, she managed to flip or handspring herself out of any situation, not to mention she was deadly fast.
Finn suddenly threw the ball but it overshot James reach and landed almost at the end of the grass. I glanced at Piper who was right next to me, we shared a look before making a break for the ball. We both raced towards it, matching stride for stride.
I reached to ball a step before Piper and started to scoop the ball up before Piper collided into me.
We went rolling in a tumble of limbs and came to a stop with Piper lying a few feet away from me on her stomach, while I was sprawled flat on my back. I heard chuckling from her and I couldn't help but laugh too when I realized how ridiculous we must have looked. We were still laughing as I pulled myself up into a sitting position and turned to ask if she was okay, only to have Piper's face loom suddenly in front of mine. Whilst I was sitting up, Piper had already propped herself up and was sitting with her legs to the side.
Our faces were so close I could see every fleck of orange in Piper's eyes as well as the fullness of her lips, even though I tried not to notice the latter.
The rest of the world seemed to melt away until it was just us. I couldn't tear my eyes away, nor did I want to.
I felt something unspeakable pass between us and somehow I knew she was feeling it too.
"Are you two alright?" The moment was suddenly over and the world came flooding back in. My head jerked to the side to see the others running over to us.
"Yeah we're fine." Piper reassured them whilst hoisting herself to her feet, I quickly stood too. The bell suddenly rang, cutting through the air like a knife.
Finn started to jump up and down whilst pumping his fists in the air, "Yes boys won! Yeah baby!"
I glanced down and sure enough, there in my hands I was still clutching the ball.
Starling crossed her arms "Yeah, well we'll get you next time won't we Piper?"
"Definitely." Piper answered. She glanced around and locked eyes with me, suddenly a look of regret washed over her face, she quickly broke the eye contact and turned back towards the others. "I have to run, I can't be late. I'll see you all later." With that she ran off, quickly collecting her bag from the table before disappearing into the crowd.
"Hey Aerrow, toss the ball? I have to get it back before class."
I wordlessly tossed the ball to Finn who quickly took off in the direction of the gym. Starling and James made their way towards the table whilst I stood there, trying to figure out what I'd done to elicit that look from Piper.
'It's almost like the look she gave me in English the day we were given our assignments, but what happened? It's as if every time something happens between us-'
My train of thought cut off when a glint of light from the grass caught my eye. I bent down to examine it, lying in the grass attached to a length of cord was a highly polished diamond like crystal the size of my hand. I picked it up and watched as the sun bounced off and reflected through the beautiful stone.
The second bell rang out. Realizing I was now officially late for class I quickly pocketed the crystal and ran all the way to class, grabbing my bag along the way.
oOoOo
The rain was coming down in a soft drizzle. Morgane was already on her way to pick me up but was running late due to the car refusing to start.
I stood beneath the veranda watching the rain fall quietly onto the road, the school was practically deserted but I didn't mind, it gave me a chance to think. The moment Piper and I had shared during lunch… definitely reinforced for me that I might 'like' her more than I have been trying to tell myself I do.
I really hoped though that whatever had occurred today wouldn't cause her to withdraw into herself again, I couldn't bear it if after the last few weeks she started avoiding us, or more specifically me.
'This isn't healthy, why do I feel so attached to her? Why is it she's all I can think about? Why-'
A hollow creaking distracted me from my thoughts; I glanced behind me, only to see Piper coming out the front doors. She froze once she spotted me, I thought I glimpsed a look of panic cross her face but it was gone so quickly I couldn't be sure.
"Hey." I said in hope to break the awkward tension that seemed to descend upon us.
"Hi." She slowly started to move towards me, which I took as a good sign. She stopped once she stood right beside me.
"So what are you still doing here?" I asked since I thought I'd been the only one left waiting.
She refused to make eye contact with me, "I was just looking for something I lost. What about you?"
"My aunt's picking me up, she doesn't like me walking in the rain." I explained, I noticed while she wouldn't look at me there was an undeniable expression of sadness and pain present on her face. "What did you lose?" I asked before I could consider the wiseness of doing so.
Piper finally turned to look at me, the pain written across her face was so raw, it felt physically painful just to witness it.
"My necklace. I know it sounds silly but it meant a lot to me and without it-" She cut herself off and ducked her head allowing her hair to shroud her face.
I felt a feeling wash through me that I hadn't experienced since the day I was told my parents would never be coming home. I took a step forward in order to comfort her when I felt something hard poke me in the hip. Confused, I brushed my hand alongside my pocket, only to feel something hard beneath the fabric. It suddenly hit me- the crystal!
I fished it out of my pocket and let it dangle between us by the cord it was attached to. "Is this what you were looking for?"
Piper's head snapped up, her eyes landed on the crystal and a look of relief and joy flooded her expression. She raised her hands as if to touch it but they stopped mere centimeters away from its surface "Where did you find it?" She exclaimed.
"I found it on the ground after you left at lunch, it must have come off when we collided."
She cupped hands and I let the crystal fall into them. She held it close to her chest and squeezed her eyes tightly shut. After a few moments she opened her eyes and looked at me for the first time during the whole conversation, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears "Thank you Aerrow."
Her gaze rendered me speechless and all I could do was nod soundlessly in response. I watched as she tied the cord around her neck and gazed down lovingly at the crystal before pushing it underneath her neckline.
'Well that explains why I've never seen it before.'
A dull roaring sound suddenly made itself known in my ears, startled I glanced out to the road to see it now bucketing down.
Suddenly a car pulled into the road and stopped right in front of us. The passenger door opened to reveal Morgane leaning across from the driver's seat, I could tell she was about to ask me to get in when she spotted Piper next to me. "Hello there, I'm Morgane, Aerrow's aunt."
"Morgane this is Piper." I replied whilst gesturing to her.
"It's very nice to meet you." Piper called out, raising her voice in order to be heard over the rain.
"How are you getting home Piper?" Morgane asked. My eyes widened, how did that thought not occur to me before?
"I was just going to walk."
"Don't be ridiculous! Hop on in, we'll give you a ride."
"Oh no that's alright, I can't go home until my brothers back from work anyway as we're still getting a second pair of keys cut."
I turned my body to face Piper. "We'll give you a drive, while you're waiting you can have dinner with us."
Piper turned to look at me and scrutinized me for a moment. "Okay."
She walked forward and opened the back door and slid into the back seat. I quickly walk through the rain and hop into the still open passenger seat.
The drive home Morgane bombards Piper with questions, enough to drive anyone crazy but Piper answers them all politely and before long they discover a common passion of healthy foods. And Piper persuades Morgane into letting her cook dinner in order to repay us for the lift.
"That would be lovely Piper, though you don't have to if you don't want to."
Pipers smiles, for the first time since she ran off at lunch I realise, "It would be my pleasure."
"We're here." Morgane announces.
She quickly pulls into the garage and we all get out and walk into the house. "Now I'm going to go put my stuff away, Aerrow can you show our guest to the kitchen?"
"Sure," I smile. "This way."
We start walking down the hallway when a string of barks and thudding of paws reaches our ears. Radarr rounds the corner but stills and grows silent the moment he sees Piper.
"Piper this is Radarr, Radarr this is Piper." I say making introductions. I catch a glimpse of Piper smiling from the corner of my eye and I can tell she's amused at the formal introduction.
Radarr stands still for a moment longer before barreling toward Piper and jumping up and lathering her with slobbery licks.
"Woah boy, down!" Ignoring me Radarr keeps jumping up, I grab his collar and pull him away.
Embarrassed I duck my head "Sorry, he's usually not so friendly."
Laughter reaches my ears and I glance up to see Piper trying to contain herself, it was the first time I'd ever heard her laugh and it was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard.
"Trust me, I've had far worse. Now, shall we find the kitchen? Radarr can come too if he wants."
I nod dumbly due to my lack of coherent thought and lead her to the kitchen, with Radarr trailing after her like a little puppy.
Piper whips up a magnificent dinner and unlike Morgane actually makes it taste delicious as well. I caught Radarr more than once trying to steal something off the table, something he's never tried with Morgane's healthy foods.
"That was delicious Piper, now you two can go and enjoy yourself in the lounge room whilst I clean up." Morgane declares.
I stand up, "That's okay Morgane I'll help."
Shaking her head, "We can't leave our guest by herself, no leave it to me." She says resolutely. "Or do I have to chase you out with a tea towel again?"
With that said Morgane collects the plates and disappears into the kitchen.
I turn to Piper, "Sorry about that."
Piper smiles at me reassuringly, "Don't be, being a family is nothing to be ashamed of."
Smiling, I stand and say "Come on, I'll show you the lounge."
I lead her across the hallway and into the lounge.
"Wow those are a lot of trophies."
I glance behind me to see Piper standing in front of our shelves filled with Sky Fu trophies. She turns to look at me, "Are these all yours?" she asks gesturing towards them.
"No," I shake my head, walking over to stand next to her. "Most of them are my fathers."
She bends down and squints her eyes, I realize she's trying to read the inscription. "Lightning Strike?" she asks.
I smirk "Yeah, that's what everyone called him. They said he was as fast as lightning."
"So you're following in his footsteps? I must say I'm impressed, you showed some pretty good moves today." Piper pulls away from the shelves and walked further down the wall to examine some the family photos hung there. Following her I ask, "What about you? You've got some pretty nice moves yourself."
"A friend of the family taught me. He thought it would be best that I be able to take care of myself after what happened to my parents." Wanting to comfort her I raise my hand to place it on her shoulder but she quickly moves away.
"I noticed you didn't ride your motorbike to school today, you hardly ever do that."
Surprised at the sudden turn in conversation, I tried to sort through my muddled thoughts together for an answer. "The forecast said rain so Morgane insisted on driving me."
"I suspected as much- why is that? You don't seem irresponsible, if not a little daring."
I smirked, "I didn't know I was being analyzed."
A light blush lit her cheeks, I laughed. "I'm not mad. My aunt… She doesn't like the rain much."
Tilting her head to the side Piper asks "Can I ask why?"
"My parents were rescue workers, they died whilst helping in a flood rescue effort."
I steeled myself waiting for the typical reaction of pity and stream of condolences which I had received so many times. When it remained silent I glanced up to see Piper looking at me, but not with the pity I was so used too, but with understanding. "I'm sorry Aerrow, I know what it's like to lose your parents."
I smile softly and grab her hand and guide her over to a certain part of the wall. I point at one picture in particular. "That's my parents there."
Piper steps closer in order to examine it, I watch her as she does. Somehow I know this is something I want to share with her. "People tell me I'm a lot like them. I don't know, I don't remember them much. I was five years old when it happened. The Sky Fu, it's one of the few things I remember doing with my Dad."
Piper turns to look at me. We spend a moment staring at each other, I don't know what she's thinking but her gaze causes a warm calming feeling to spread through me.
Her hand reaches down and pulls out the crystal necklace that I gave back to her.
"My mother gave me this necklace- it's all I have to remember her by now, that's why it's so precious to me."
"What about your brother? Isn't he another?"
"He's my half-brother, my mother was his as well in all the ways that matter but…"
"It's nice to have a material object left to remind you that they did exist." I finish for her.
"Exactly."
I don't know how long we stood there staring at each other but the next thing I knew our arms were wrapped around each other and I was holding her to me tightly.
She fit perfectly into my arms. Feelings of tranquility and bliss flooded through my body as if I'd finally gotten a part back of myself that I never knew I'd lost. And the one thought that kept repeating itself in my head was 'Don't let go'
I started to stroke her hair when I felt her shake her head. "No, Aerrow don't. Please don't."
I pulled away slightly but kept my hands on her shoulders.
"What's wrong?"
Still shaking her head Piper replied, "Everything. Why? Why did you have to be so wonderful?"
Not understanding I tried to calm her down "Piper…"
"Piper! Are you ready to go?"
Pulling away from me Piper turned to call back. "Yes Morgane- I'll be right there!"
Piper looked back at me, "We should forget this happened- its better this way. Goodbye Aerrow."
Before I could say anything she was gone, leaving me standing there alone, wondering once again what had just happened?