Chapter 6: Phoenix Ashes

Chase's POV:

Gil stormed off to his room, leaving me to deal with this brown haired girl. I didn't know what to say, and I was about to leave when she spoke.

"I wish they wouldn't say such things to each other," she whispered.

"Why? It's not our problem anyway," he says.

"Then why did you stop him from hitting her? He would've, you know it," she says, looking intently at me.

"I had to do something," I say. "That was normal."

"Exactly. That's what a genuine human being does. Not someone who's completely cold to the world," she says.

"What do you mean by that? I didn't say I was cold to the world!"

She cocks her head to the side. "But you did say it wasn't your problem didn't you? You couldn't have said that and still do what you did if you yourself weren't troubled."

"You're reading too much into this. It's nothing. Gill's my friend after all."

"I'm Jill," the girl says, holding out a hand.

"Chase," I respond. "So, what are you here for?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, is it cooking, is it the art, or just a nice trip?"

She thinks for a moment, then shrugs, smiling. "I'm here for getting away from…" she stops short.

"What is it?" For a moment, I see through her small smile, see the tears welling in her eyes before she bats her eyes a couple times and says. "For the films I guess!"

"Want to go see one sometime?" I ask, out of the blue.

She looks taken aback by it too. "Sure," she says, smiling incredulously. "I love the classics though, you might get bored."

"No, I love the classics. Here, I'll give you my number," I say, pulling out a pen.

"I don't have any paper," she says.

"That's fine," I say, taking her arm. "We'll pretend to be those juvenile kids from back in the old days."

She blushes. Did I just make a girl blush? No way, that was not possible. I didn't even know Jill. Nevertheless, I scrawled my number on her arm and waved goodbye to her, stirred by my thumping heart. Was I falling for Jill?

Jill's POV:

Ok, that was odd. I glanced at the number on my arm. I went back into Maya's room to tell her that I'd be going to sort out my books and stuff for next week. Then I went back to my room and saw Skye perched on my bed reading my old diary.

I almost screamed, but he glanced at me and in a matter of seconds, he had his hand over my mouth, and closed the door behind me.

"Did you forget about me already?" he asks, smirking.

I calm down and he takes his hand away. I snatch my diary away from him, holding it against my chest.

"So who is this Rock fellow?" he asks.

My eyes widen. "Don't you know it's rude to read other people's things?"

He smirks at me. "I know he was a playboy, he was probably just toying around with me. And everyone knew him and Lumina were going to go out. I would be collateral damage if I got in the way of their relationship."

I go beet red, remembering how I'd been hung up over a guy who didn't even like me. I refuse to look at Skye, sitting there mocking me. Suddenly I'm crying then, in the memory of all the things Rock had said to me, and yet how he'd still chosen her over me. It was inevitable. After all, I had moved to Mineral town shortly after, so it wouldn't have worked out anyway. It still got me down sometimes though.

"Hey, wait…are you…crying?" Skye asks, and I hear the laugh in his voice.

I look up at him, the tears silently rolling down. "So what if I am? Of course you can't understand. Have you ever loved anyone but yourself? You steal things from others don't you? Why? Why are you even here? You can have whatever it is that you want from me, just leave me alone." I try and back out of the door and walk into my bookcase. Something falls on my head and I wince.

Skye is on his knees holding my head.

"I'm sorry," he says. "It was rude of me. I didn't mean to hurt you, beautiful."

"Talk is cheap," I say. "I learned that from Rock."

"See, that's good! You learn things from going out into the world and living life. It's normal to be sad about it sometimes, I suppose, but look, you're all…better now!"

I wipe my tears and look at him. "What the heck are you saying?"

He starts laughing. "I have no idea. I've never been good at cheering people up. I don't really…talk to people that often."

I nod. "You're talking to me," I say. "Why are you by the way?"

"I was going to tease you about your new crush," he says, smirking.

"Huh?" I ask, dumb-founded.

"You know, Mr. Cream-hair."

"Chase? Oh no, it's not like that. Honestly I don't even know why he asked me. OH NO WHAT TIME IS IT?"

He blinks. "6:45. Why?"

"I HAVE TO GO IF I WANT TO CATCH THE MOVIE! I'VE NEVER SEEN THIS ONE; IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE REALLY GOOD!" I squeal, grabbing my bag. "Eww, but I can't go like this! HOLD ON, DON'T MOVE, OR I'LL GET FREAKED OUT!"

I run into my bathroom and change clothes. My hair remains tied up, but with a ribbon this time. I'm wearing a yellow skirt, and a lace white shirt with cream coloured flats.

"Where are you going?" he asks, laughing.

"The theatre across the street!" I say.

"But it'll be late by the time you get back, are you sure you want to go?"

"If you're so concerned about me losing my way then just come along," I say, taking his hand.

"You want me to come?" he asks.

"Sure, if that's what floats your boat. You're paying for your own ticket though, I still don't understand euros."

We cross the street and buy tickets then sit in the dark, empty theatre.

He laughs. "Why are you holding my hand?"

"What?" I ask, and then look down. I'm still holding it. I hope the darkness of the theatre hides my blush. "Sorry."

He laughs again. "You don't have to apologize!"

"Shh," I say, staring intently at the screen. I watch as the characters come to life. Dancing, singing, finding happiness, having it be torn away from them.

I start crying halfway through the film, as the wife gives birth to her baby, but dies due to complications.

"Why are you crying so much? Didn't you know this was going to happen?"

I look at Skye, still crying. "It's so hard to grow up without one parent, especially since the baby looks so much like her mother. The father probably won't be able to look at her without seeing her mother and it'll be painful for both of them. The child will grow up waiting for her to come back, up until the moment where she can understand that she's gone and that she's never going to come back. And then she'll have to cope with being lied to until she can understand that they didn't mean any harm. Then that kid will probably go looking for her mom in things that her mom used to like. They'll go back to the farm that her mom worked at just to see if her mom is still…connected there. But after a while she'll realize it's useless, and her dad will tell her that she needs to stop looking for something that wasn't there In the first place. Then she'll end up somewhere far away so that her dad won't have to see her. She'll have to deal with not being wanted, and have to grow strong at a young age. Then, who knows what she'll do?"

Skye stares intently at me. "When did your father die?"

"I-I never said that he…"

"You seem to know everything that's going to happen to this girl," he says. "Your story isn't about her is it? It was your father who died."

"No, I've…I've seen this movie before."

"Really? I distinctly remember you telling me you'd never seen it."

I keep crying. "I don't like to talk about it."

"Not even now?"

"Especially not now. You don't even know me."

He chuckles and I resume, watching the film. He knows now, there's no avoiding it, but that doesn't mean I have to tell him everything.

"I guess you don't remember," he whispers, so softly that I know I wasn't meant to hear it.

I look at him, and he watches the film. He looks like he's thinking about something, remembering something. I know that look. I've had it for years. Remembering things is easy when you're in a place like this. It's dark except for a bunch of images on a screen. They remind you of things so easily, that's why films are the greatest. I'd probably be the worst film critic in the world. Every emotion they show in the movie can be tied back to something in my past so easily.

Memories can be such wonderfully taunting things sometimes.

I remember when I was a freshman, when my mother decided to put me in this school. I was one of those lost, lonely girls. I'd lost so much, and had just begun to realize that my father would never walk through the door again. I'd tried to keep my head up every day, but my smile was losing all integrity. I was trudging on even though a little part of me would break off day by day. My mother couldn't stand watching that, since all she saw in me was my dad. I was sent away, to this place.

The movie has a happy ending. The girl, even after losing her mother, tells her dad that she's missed him, and he promises her that he'll stay with her forever, holding onto what was left of his wife. I cry then, because that will never happen for me. My mother will never think that I am what's left of dad. I am his daughter, but I'd failed as a farmer anyway. I bow my head in silence as I cry, and feel Skye put his hand on my back.

"It's alright," he says. "You can tell me."

"Why?"

"Because you've got to tell someone right? I mean, if you keep it all bottled up you'll end up hurting yourself."

"How would you know?"

He smiles sadly at me and I lift my head. "Why do you think I'm a thief?"

I shrug. "I heard you were a kleptomaniac," I say.

He gives me an uncomprehending look and I laugh. "It means that you can't help stealing. I think it's a disease or something."

"Did Luna tell you that?" he asks, scowling.

I laugh again. "So why do you do it then?"

"So you want to know about me huh?"

I blush. The lights turn on and he can see it. He starts smirking. "Sure."

"Well, if you catch me, I'll tell you everything you want to know okay?"

Where had I heard that before?

It was from back when I was living on the farm…but where did I hear it?

He stands up and stretches. "Hungry?"

"A little, I say, standing. "Know any good places?"

"Of course I do," he says. "I'm a thief after all, and you have to know all your escape route options."

"So where are we going?" I ask.

"There's a little place close by. I don't want to go too far, it's almost 9:30."

"Oh please, I thought you said you were a thief, don't you stay up all night?"

"Hey, I was thinking of you! Aren't you jet-lagged or something?"

I shrug. "Maybe, but that doesn't mean I'm not giving up on adventures."

He smiles. We start walking to the restaurant.

Skye is…nice. Despite what Luna said about him, I find myself enjoying spending time with him. I don't like him, but he's like a really good friend. I feel like I've met him before, like I shared some personal secret with him that I can't remember. I shrug it off though. If I'd met someone this special, I'm sure I'd have remembered.

"Skye. I never thought I'd see you in a place like this, with a girl," someone says.

We were walking home (I think, I really am terrible with directions).

"What's the matter Skye, surprised to see me?" the voice calls.

I turn around to see another silver-haired boy with dark grey eyes staring at us with a smirk on his face. There is something way different about the two of them though, not just the eyes. This silver boy seems darker, more intense; he makes Skye look like a little boy.

"What are you doing here?" Skye asks.

"Introduce your big brother to your girlfriend Skye!"

"She's just a friend," he says. "And if she met you she'd never speak to me again."

"What's that supposed to mean little brother?"

"Don't call me that," he says. "Don't call me anything. Why are you here?"

"Dad sent me. He wanted me to give you this," he says, flicking a card his way. Skye catches it with ease.

"Is that all?"

"Yea, I guess so. But I'll be staying in Paris for a while, just to make sure. Dad's worried."

"He should mind his own business. Since when was he so interested in my life anyway?"

"Since you started-"

"Goodbye brother," Skye says coldly.

His brother only laughs. "You can't run from us Skye. We're your family, no matter how much you hate us."

Skye hadn't spoken to me all the time we walked back. As we arrived at my door I unlocked it and walked in. When he didn't follow I stuck my head out the door to see him walking away.

"Hey!" I hiss.

"Huh?" he asks, turning around.

"Come back here!"

"Why are you whispering?" he asks.

"It's like 10, people are asleep. Come on hurry up!"

He trots back to my room. "What is it?" he asks.

"Now what's the big idea? You take me out and don't even say bye to me?"

He smirks. "This wasn't a date."

I blush. "I didn't mean it like that! I'm not stupid of course it's not a date! I just mean, we went…into the outside realm so you could at least…"

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry alright?"

"Are you?"

"Huh?"

"Are you alright?"

"Why do you care?" he asks, without sounding harsh.

I can't think of anything to say to make him stay. "Do you still want to hear my story?"

He remains looking at the ground. "Does it mean I have to tell you mine?"

I nod.

"Ok."