Lionblaze has a Shadow

Part 16: Briarlight

"These magazine quizzes are getting ridiculous," Hollyleaf said, annoyed. "Listen to this garbage! 'To save your life, would you rather screw Tigerstar or Tigerheart?' I mean for crying out loud I think doing it with either of them would shorten my life, not prolong it."

Lionblaze laughed at her irritation.

"Stupid lousy rubbish," Hollyleaf mumbled. Lionblaze noticed she kept reading the magazine anyway. He sat there in silence, thinking about how grateful he was that Hollyleaf wasn't angry at him or Jayfeather anymore.

"Now it's asking me if id rather fuck Longtail or-"

"Just shut up!" Lionblaze cried. "Just shut the goddamn magazine."

Hollyleaf slapped it shut in annoyance. "That was a complete waste of three dollars," she grumbled.

"I'll bet."

Knock knock knock

Lionblaze sighed. "I'll get it," he said as he got off the couch. Yawning, he opened the door. Heatherpaw stood there, smiling expectantly at him.

"Hello," she said. Lionblaze scratched his ear absentmindedly. "Hello," he grunted, wishing Hollyleaf had answered the door so he could hide in his room and pretend he wasn't home.

"Want to go for lunch with me?" she asked.

"Where?" Lionblaze sighed.

"Let's go get hamburgers," Heatherpaw said excitedly.

"I can't. I'm allergic to hamburgers," Lionblaze said.

"Cough Cough BullshitCough Cough" Hollyleaf fake coughed from the other room. Lionblaze made a mental note to say something rash to her later.

"How can you be allergic to hamburgers?" Heatherpaw snapped. "It's all you ever fucking eat."

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Lionblaze said, his voice monotone. "Fine lets go."

Heatherpaw squealed excitedly and grabbed his hand. Lionblaze tried not to roll his eyes. "Are we going to McCat?" Lionblaze asked.

"I was thinking Fantastic Burger," Heatherpaw replied.

"Okay, cool," Lionblaze dug around his pockets in attempts to find a cigarette. When his hand fumbled across one he pulled it out gently so not to break it. When he was in the process of lighting it, he took a step forward and nearly fell backwards. Looking behind him, he realized Heatherpaw held tight to his hand, but stood a few feet back.

"Is there a reason you nearly ripped my arm out of it's socket?" Lionblaze asked.

"I don't like you smoking," she huffed. "Put it out or I'm going to stomp on it."

"Well I didn't particularly enjoy you snorting cocaine but I dealt with it," Lionblaze flicked his lighter again. Heatherpaw smacked it out of his hands and kicked it across the sidewalk. Lionblaze turned his head slowly to stare at her.

"What's your problem," Lionblaze asked quietly. Heatherpaw angrily crossed her arms.

"My problem is you!" she cried. "All I've done is try to make this relationship work, but you seem determined to throw it away!"

"You've been trying to help have you? Okay, let's be honest. First off, you get addicted to cocaine. Second, you flat out tell me you like it more then me. Thirdly, you dump me and don't even bother telling me why. Fourth, you don't speak to me for nearly a whole year. And last but not least, you randomly show up on my doorstep and force me to take you back. Did you ever once think of my feelings? That maybe I don't want to be with someone who hurt me so badly?" Lionblaze said, throwing his arms up in exasperation. "I mean for crying out loud, you didn't even ask me if I wanted to be with you."

"You freaking jerk," Heatherpaw said under her breath as she pushed past him. Lionblaze was just starting to think if he'd been a little to harsh, when she turned around.

"As if I give a damn you smoke!" she screamed. "I hope your lungs rot out of your fucking chest!" then she turned and stomped away. Lionblaze lit the smoke anyway. Well I hope her nose burns every time you fucking breathe. Lionblaze was confused why he didn't even feel the slightest pang of resentment or sadness. Probably cause I never loved her to begin with, he thought. Lionblaze decided there was no point in going back home when he was already in sight of Fantastic Burger. I will smoke my smoke and eat a hamburger by myself and I don't give a damn what anyone thinks, he thought, proudly making his way to the restaurant.

"Hi can I please get one hamburger," Lionblaze asked.

"Would you like to larger size your meal?" The pimply teen rolled his eyes and spoke with such fake enthusiasm it made Lionblaze uncomfortable.

"Um, I didn't want a meal. Just the sandwich," Lionblaze explained.

"And what would you like to drink with your meal?" the kid droned.

"I don't want the mea-"

"Would you like to add a pie to your meal for an extra dollar fifty?" the kid said.

"I didn't order the fucking me-"

"Ten fifty for your meal please," the kid held out his hand. Lionblaze glared mutinously at him and forked over the money. Just as Lionblaze was about to walk away to find a place to sit, the kid purposefully cleared his throat, then jingled a jar that was meant for tips. Lionblaze walked back over and fished though his pockets. The kid smiled greedily, then frowned as Lionblaze stuffed a bunch of used tissues into the jar. "That's what I think of you," Lionblaze said in satisfaction. "Something for people to smear their snot on."

The kid visibly flinched and Lionblaze walked over to his table, grinning at the way his comeback had came to him in an instant. Usually he thought of a perfect comeback hours after the moment had happened. After about eight minutes, Lionblaze heard the sounds of footsteps approaching. He looked up and nearly choked. It was the girl from yesterday, when he and Jayfeather had embarresingly walked through the drive thru with a frying pan full of half cooked meat.

"Hi," he said at last. She smiled at him, then set his food down. "Hello," she replied. "I hope you enjoy your meal."

Lionblaze shoved a fry into his mouth. "Oh I will," he said. "Thank you..." he paused to read her name tag. "Briarlight."

Briarlight smiled at him then turned to walk away. Lionblaze admired her beauty, in awe that she still looked stunning even in a uniform. Lionblaze took his time eating his fries, hoping Briarlight would come talk to him again.

To his surprise, she did.

"Is everything okay?" she asked. Lionblaze shrugged and took a sip of his drink. "It could be better."

Briarlights face fell. "What's the problem?"

"Nothing, but I'd probably enjoy it more if you were sitting with me."

"Well then why don't you ask?"

Briarlights bluntness took Lionblaze off guard. "Well maybe you'd say no."

"I bet id say yes."

"Do you want to... sit down?" Lionblaze asked awkwardly. Briarlight jokingly shrugged her shoulders . "I guess," she teased. Lionblaze stared across at her, and she stared back. Lionblaze snapped back to reality first, shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts. "Aren't you supposed to be working?" he asked.

"No, I'm done now," she said. Lionblaze nodded, feeling to awkward to say anything.

"So.. Do you live on your own?" Briarlight asked.

"I live with my sister and two of our cousins," Lionblaze said, wincing at how lame that sounded. "What about you?"

"I live on my own," Briarlight said sadly. "I wish I could live with my brother and sister. You're very lucky."

"Yeah right. Hollyleafs like the queen of bitches and Jayfeathers attractions are way out of wack. I do love them though," he admitted. "Despite their problematic qualities, they're actually quite amazing people."

"Hollyleaf ... you know, I've heard that name before... and by the way, you never told me yours."

"Lionblaze."

"That's a cute name," she smiled. Weird feelings were beginning to crawl through Lionblaze, and he wished they'd go away. They were different feelings though. Lionblaze was starting to wonder if he'd forgotten the last time a girl had sparked any kind of feeling in him.

"Would you like to come over tonight, if you're not busy?" Lionblaze asked suddenly. "Jayfeather and Hollyleaf are home, so it won't be boring."

It was a wonderful sight, the way Briarlights faces slowly lit up.

"I'd love to," she whispered. Lionblaze grinned, shoving his last bite of the hamburger into his mouth. "Awesome. Do you want to come now or do you have stuff you need to do?"

"I can come with you now," she said.

Later

"Hey, Hollyleaf, I'd like you to meet my friend Briarlight."

Hollyleaf looked up to see who Lionblaze was talking about. "Hey," she said. "Are you guys going out?"

"No!" Lionblazes face turned red, embarrassed by Hollyleaf and her tendency to not think about what she says before she says it. Hollyleaf just shrugged, and turned her attention back to the TV. Lionblaze led her away, and hastily tried to apologize. "Sorry about that," he said. "I told you she'd be rude."

Briarlight just giggled, not embarrassed at all. "She's fine," she smiled. Lionblaze found Jayfeather sitting on his bed painting his toenails. "Hi Jayfeather," Lionblaze awkwardly cleared his throat. Jayfeather looked up. "Hi," he said. "Are you the one Lionblaze was making balloon noises at?"

Lionblaze nearly attacked him. "WHAT THE HELL is everyones issue today?" Lionblaze cried, stomping out of the room. He could hear Jayfeather laugh from the other room. Lionblaze slumped down onto one of the chairs in the kitchen and held his head in his hands.

I swear, everyone goes out of their way to make me sound like an idiot.

"Hey, Lionblaze?"

Lionblaze heard Briarlights voice a few feet away.

"You can leave if you want," Lionblaze groaned. "Everyone in the house is retarded."

Briarlight giggled. "I like your brother and sister," she admitted. "And I like you."

"I like you too."

"Then stop being silly," Lionblaze heard the squeak of a chair shuffling closer to him. He could feel Briarlights hand rest on his shoulder, making him tense up. "You can be yourself around me, Lionblaze."

Lionblaze looked up at her. "Thanks," he said. "You have no idea how much I appreciate you saying that."

Thanks for reading ! Please revieeew ?