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It went better than I’d anticipated. My mom may have jumped to the wrong conclusions, but she didn’t seem upset at all. This bothered me more than it should have: my mom didn’t care that, for all she knew, I’d snuck a boy into the house and done all sorts of things with him? That’s not responsible parenting, by most books. Still, I didn’t complain. Rather, I reluctantly shooed Azure out of the house so that I could clear my head.

Garrett apparently has some significance, though I can’t tell what that is. I compare the two boys without really intending to: Azure appears in dreams as my “prince charming,” which is understandable, I think. Garrett appears as a guide, then? He hasn’t done anything particularly leading, save dragging me across the school. I don’t think that counts.

I laze about for the better part of the day, trying not to be too much of a lump as I read current news on the internet, watch some political satire on the television while I eat dinner. It doesn’t really bother me that I haven’t accomplished anything but losing faith in my mother’s moral compass all day. There’s a story on about a narcoleptic boy that stays up all night in Italy, for goodness sake. If I don’t find out these obscure things, then who will tell everybody at school? My priorities are nonsensical.

A sense of uselessness falls over me as I walk up the stairs, slow as you please, and realize that this is the most exciting thing to happen after Azure left. I wonder what I’ll dream about, now. It seems to be of vital importance, now that I can remember my dreams. I’ve never been able to do that before now.

That dream of Azure the day he came… I only realize just now that that particular dream was the first one that I can remember in its entirety… ever. Why didn’t I notice something so new? I woke up and thought about the dream! Oh… what does that even mean?

I fell asleep restlessly, tossing and worrying over this revelation, wondering if there really was any significance to any of it.

It was hard to tell about much of anything in my life at this point. How had so many trivial, strange things happened in only two weeks? Was I making just far too much of a fuss over all of those things? I decided that I was, but that didn’t help to quell the frustratingly resilient quarrel in my head over the odd and the mundane.

In the morning, I woke far more rested than I should have been. I calmly remembered my dream, which was a normal one (as far as they’d been lately) of Azure. This reassured me immensely, but I tried not to think about it in any case.

I wandered down the stairs, already changed into my clothes, to eat breakfast. When I rounded the corner into the kitchen, I was not altogether surprised to find my mother pleasantly eating with Azure. They were laughing at some joke I’d missed. I intended not to disturb this moment that they were sharing, but the moment the hilarity (though I gathered that it wasn’t that funny) subsided, Azure turned to look in my direction and waved for me to join them.

Hanging my head, I ambled over to the table and sat across from Azure, next to my mom. “What’s up, guys?” I asked casually, trying not to look like I’d been up worrying half of the night.

“Azure has plans to take you out, today,” Mama answered—she sounded too pleased with this.

“Do you?”

“Only if you don’t mind my company, of course.” The blue-eyed wonder answered smoothly, but I could tell that he honestly wasn’t sure if I wanted to be out with him. There was a miniscule hint of insecurity that I was sure I wasn’t supposed to be hearing or seeing.

I smiled to try and reassure him, “Of course not; do you have anywhere in particular in mind?”

“I thought we could try something outdoors—maybe the zoo? I hear that they’ve gotten a nice, new exhibit for the elephants.”

Accepting this invitation, I acted like a good person would. Not just because I felt like I should for his sake, but also because I wanted to get out of the cramped house! Selfish, if you like, but I didn’t care.

Gathering my coat and wallet proved to be easy enough, I’d left them in plain sight on the shelf by the front door. However, getting to the newly familiar black Nissan Rogue proved to be more difficult than expected. Garrett stood leaning against it with a sour expression on his face. It lightened when he glanced at me, but I noticed when his eyes leave my face for Azure’s that it grew much, much harsher. His dark eyes glowed with a furious punctuation that I didn’t have a name for.

“Sparks,” he growled, his eyebrows falling impossibly lower.

Azure closed his eyes in irritation, “What do you want, Delaine?” his own brows furrowed, as if he were resisting the urge to castrate the boy that stood a mere twenty feet away. This made me uneasy.

“What the hell are you doing with her?”

“I don’t believe that’s your business,” Azure gritted his teeth in a rage that I’d yet to see directed at anyone but Garrett.

“That’s bull, and you know it. Where are you taking her?” Garrett hazarded a step towards us, but Azure shot him a look that could have made an atomic bomb decide it would rather go back home and crawl back into bed.

The boy beside me was already in a defensive posture, slowly edging me behind him. He remained silent, and I could see that this further enraged Garrett.

“Sparks, I’ll ask again: where the hell are you taking her?” he all but shouted. His fair skin began to flush. I glanced to Azure, but he didn’t seem to have any intention of moving.

He noticed my gaze and whispered with the skill of a ventriloquist, “Go back inside, Libby, please.” Azure’s eyes burned into mine, and I couldn’t find any reason to disobey.

“Don’t hurt him,” I requested anxiously, not nearly as subtle as he’d been. I couldn’t see any reason to worry for Azure’s safety; he seemed to have the upper hand here.

“What the hell, Sparks?” I heard behind me as I rushed back the two steps to the door and fumbled with the handle, “Don’t want the same thing to happen again? That’s pretty low of you!”

The moment I was in the entryway with the door closed, I heard an exclamation from the other party, “Delaine, I’m tired of your shit! Why the hell are you even here—to try and kidnap her again? You can bet I won’t let you do that again!” This made me shiver, but I was somehow glad not to be standing next to Azure at this particular moment.

“I just don’t get you, you bastard. What are you trying to do? Get her to fall in love with you, like some pansy?” I was listening by the door, now. I’d decided that I didn’t want to watch from a window, to see the monstrous expressions on the beautiful faces outside.

“Screw you.”

“But is that what you’re doing? I mean, crap, Sparks. That’ll end in tears. What will you do when you’re suddenly, uh, gone? What would that do to her?”

“Ugh, you’re such a dumbass, I swear to god. Delaine, we don’t have to go away. I don’t plan on leaving.”

The silence that tainted the air must have been all the more heavy from the other side of my listening spot. My mom rounded the corner from the kitchen and saw me with my ear to the door. She asked, rather surprised, “Hey, Libs, what’re you—”

“Shush!” I hissed, “Change of plans,” I added when she looked at me with some concern. I waved my hand to shoo her away, hoping that the sparse explanation would satiate her for now.

When I turned my head back to listen, there were still no words. I chanced a look through the peephole and gasped. Azure lay on his back in the lawn, barely moving for the rough breaths he seemed to be taking. Garrett was leaned back against the Rogue again; he was doubled over in exertion.

I grabbed at the knob, but stopped myself as I thought it through. If Garrett really did want to abduct me, then running out to him wasn’t the best plan… but Azure! He was just laying there, arms splayed out… He was definitely breathing, but I couldn’t help being worried. Luckily, Mama was out of sight as I slumped against the door, locking the deadbolt on the way down. I didn’t know what I could have told her, if she’d asked. Azure and some weird guy outside just had a fight, and I’m afraid that the guy might come after me. Sorry I didn’t tell you. It wouldn’t have gone over well at all. She’d have grabbed a shotgun and busted down the door… I didn’t want to think about it.

A good ten minutes later, I thought I might check outside again. Through the hole, I could see that Azure’s breathing was steadier, his arms folded over his chest. He looked more peaceful than hurt, and this was like a phoenix down to my ragged psyche.

Garrett was nowhere to be seen, for which I was thankful.

I opened the door hastily, tripping ever-so-slightly over the frame. Catching and steadying myself, I rushed out to the boy in the grass. He’d heard my scramble and inclined his head to face me as I approached. “Azure, what happened?” I cried, a touch of melodrama seeping into my voice.

“Hmm… I tried to do what you said,” he stated simply. I gaped at him, he expanded his explanation obediently. “I didn’t hurt him.”

Feeling a slap building in my hand, I tried to sooth my frustration rather than give into it, “But, Azure, why would that constitute letting him hurt you?”

He shrugged.

“Is there anything else, regarding Garrett, that I should know, Azure?”

“There are plenty of things that you should know, but I can’t tell you any of them…”

“Why can’t you?”

“I… I try, Libby,” he sat up cautiously. Whether this was to test his bearings or he was trying not to alarm me, I couldn’t be sure, “But watch…” his mouth moved strangely. I couldn’t have read his lips if I’d tried, it was all nonsense.

“You could be faking that,” I pointed out, trying to find some fault in his reasoning.
He closed his beautiful eyes sadly, “I wish I was,” when he reopened them, a question voiced itself for me, “Would you still like to go out?”

It was senseless, my irritation with Azure. He’d done nothing wrong, save not lifting a finger to help himself. Still, I was angry with his lack of answers, and I felt more like curling up in a ball than oohing and aahing at some captive animals.

“No, sorry, I’m not in the mood now,” I tried to keep it simple, not to let my bad mood infect my tone too much.

“…I understand.” He took a deep breath, “Do you want me to get you for school tomorrow?”

“I’ll walk.”

My anger redirected itself inward as I walked into the house, overly dramatic and huffy. What had Azure done to deserve that? I’d feel terrible in the morning—more so than I did now. I proceeded upstairs and curled up like I’d intended to, content to wallow miserably through the day. This much, I deserved.

Description
It went better than I’d anticipated. My mom may have jumped to the wrong conclusions, but she didn’t seem upset at all. This bothered me more than it should have: my mom didn’t care that, for all she knew, I’d snuck a boy into the house and done all sorts of things with him? That’s not responsible parenting, by most books. Still, I didn’t complain. Rather, I reluctantly shooed Azure out of the house so that I could clear my head.

Garrett apparently has some significance, though I can’t tell what that is. I compare the two boys without really intending to: Azure appears in dreams as my “prince charming,” which is understandable, I think. Garrett appears as a guide, then? He hasn’t done anything particularly leading, save dragging me across the school. I don’t think that counts.

I laze about for the better part of the day, trying not to be too much of a lump as I read current news on the internet, watch some political satire on the television while I eat dinner. It doesn’t really bother me that I haven’t accomplished anything but losing faith in my mother’s moral compass all day. There’s a story on about a narcoleptic boy that stays up all night in Italy, for goodness sake. If I don’t find out these obscure things, then who will tell everybody at school? My priorities are nonsensical.

A sense of uselessness falls over me as I walk up the stairs, slow as you please, and realize that this is the most exciting thing to happen after Azure left. I wonder what I’ll dream about, now. It seems to be of vital importance, now that I can remember my dreams. I’ve never been able to do that before now.

That dream of Azure the day he came… I only realize just now that that particular dream was the first one that I can remember in its entirety… ever. Why didn’t I notice something so new? I woke up and thought about the dream! Oh… what does that even mean?

I fell asleep restlessly, tossing and worrying over this revelation, wondering if there really was any significance to any of it.

It was hard to tell about much of anything in my life at this point. How had so many trivial, strange things happened in only two weeks? Was I making just far too much of a fuss over all of those things? I decided that I was, but that didn’t help to quell the frustratingly resilient quarrel in my head over the odd and the mundane.

In the morning, I woke far more rested than I should have been. I calmly remembered my dream, which was a normal one (as far as they’d been lately) of Azure. This reassured me immensely, but I tried not to think about it in any case.

I wandered down the stairs, already changed into my clothes, to eat breakfast. When I rounded the corner into the kitchen, I was not altogether surprised to find my mother pleasantly eating with Azure. They were laughing at some joke I’d missed. I intended not to disturb this moment that they were sharing, but the moment the hilarity (though I gathered that it wasn’t that funny) subsided, Azure turned to look in my direction and waved for me to join them.

Hanging my head, I ambled over to the table and sat across from Azure, next to my mom. “What’s up, guys?” I asked casually, trying not to look like I’d been up worrying half of the night.

“Azure has plans to take you out, today,” Mama answered—she sounded too pleased with this.

“Do you?”

“Only if you don’t mind my company, of course.” The blue-eyed wonder answered smoothly, but I could tell that he honestly wasn’t sure if I wanted to be out with him. There was a miniscule hint of insecurity that I was sure I wasn’t supposed to be hearing or seeing.

I smiled to try and reassure him, “Of course not; do you have anywhere in particular in mind?”

“I thought we could try something outdoors—maybe the zoo? I hear that they’ve gotten a nice, new exhibit for the elephants.”

Accepting this invitation, I acted like a good person would. Not just because I felt like I should for his sake, but also because I wanted to get out of the cramped house! Selfish, if you like, but I didn’t care.

Gathering my coat and wallet proved to be easy enough, I’d left them in plain sight on the shelf by the front door. However, getting to the newly familiar black Nissan Rogue proved to be more difficult than expected. Garrett stood leaning against it with a sour expression on his face. It lightened when he glanced at me, but I noticed when his eyes leave my face for Azure’s that it grew much, much harsher. His dark eyes glowed with a furious punctuation that I didn’t have a name for.

“Sparks,” he growled, his eyebrows falling impossibly lower.

Azure closed his eyes in irritation, “What do you want, Delaine?” his own brows furrowed, as if he were resisting the urge to castrate the boy that stood a mere twenty feet away. This made me uneasy.

“What the hell are you doing with her?”

“I don’t believe that’s your business,” Azure gritted his teeth in a rage that I’d yet to see directed at anyone but Garrett.

“That’s bull, and you know it. Where are you taking her?” Garrett hazarded a step towards us, but Azure shot him a look that could have made an atomic bomb decide it would rather go back home and crawl back into bed.

The boy beside me was already in a defensive posture, slowly edging me behind him. He remained silent, and I could see that this further enraged Garrett.

“Sparks, I’ll ask again: where the hell are you taking her?” he all but shouted. His fair skin began to flush. I glanced to Azure, but he didn’t seem to have any intention of moving.

He noticed my gaze and whispered with the skill of a ventriloquist, “Go back inside, Libby, please.” Azure’s eyes burned into mine, and I couldn’t find any reason to disobey.

“Don’t hurt him,” I requested anxiously, not nearly as subtle as he’d been. I couldn’t see any reason to worry for Azure’s safety; he seemed to have the upper hand here.

“What the hell, Sparks?” I heard behind me as I rushed back the two steps to the door and fumbled with the handle, “Don’t want the same thing to happen again? That’s pretty low of you!”

The moment I was in the entryway with the door closed, I heard an exclamation from the other party, “Delaine, I’m tired of your shit! Why the hell are you even here—to try and kidnap her again? You can bet I won’t let you do that again!” This made me shiver, but I was somehow glad not to be standing next to Azure at this particular moment.

“I just don’t get you, you bastard. What are you trying to do? Get her to fall in love with you, like some pansy?” I was listening by the door, now. I’d decided that I didn’t want to watch from a window, to see the monstrous expressions on the beautiful faces outside.

“Screw you.”

“But is that what you’re doing? I mean, crap, Sparks. That’ll end in tears. What will you do when you’re suddenly, uh, gone? What would that do to her?”

“Ugh, you’re such a dumbass, I swear to god. Delaine, we don’t have to go away. I don’t plan on leaving.”

The silence that tainted the air must have been all the more heavy from the other side of my listening spot. My mom rounded the corner from the kitchen and saw me with my ear to the door. She asked, rather surprised, “Hey, Libs, what’re you—”

“Shush!” I hissed, “Change of plans,” I added when she looked at me with some concern. I waved my hand to shoo her away, hoping that the sparse explanation would satiate her for now.

When I turned my head back to listen, there were still no words. I chanced a look through the peephole and gasped. Azure lay on his back in the lawn, barely moving for the rough breaths he seemed to be taking. Garrett was leaned back against the Rogue again; he was doubled over in exertion.

I grabbed at the knob, but stopped myself as I thought it through. If Garrett really did want to abduct me, then running out to him wasn’t the best plan… but Azure! He was just laying there, arms splayed out… He was definitely breathing, but I couldn’t help being worried. Luckily, Mama was out of sight as I slumped against the door, locking the deadbolt on the way down. I didn’t know what I could have told her, if she’d asked. Azure and some weird guy outside just had a fight, and I’m afraid that the guy might come after me. Sorry I didn’t tell you. It wouldn’t have gone over well at all. She’d have grabbed a shotgun and busted down the door… I didn’t want to think about it.

A good ten minutes later, I thought I might check outside again. Through the hole, I could see that Azure’s breathing was steadier, his arms folded over his chest. He looked more peaceful than hurt, and this was like a phoenix down to my ragged psyche.

Garrett was nowhere to be seen, for which I was thankful.

I opened the door hastily, tripping ever-so-slightly over the frame. Catching and steadying myself, I rushed out to the boy in the grass. He’d heard my scramble and inclined his head to face me as I approached. “Azure, what happened?” I cried, a touch of melodrama seeping into my voice.

“Hmm… I tried to do what you said,” he stated simply. I gaped at him, he expanded his explanation obediently. “I didn’t hurt him.”

Feeling a slap building in my hand, I tried to sooth my frustration rather than give into it, “But, Azure, why would that constitute letting him hurt you?”

He shrugged.

“Is there anything else, regarding Garrett, that I should know, Azure?”

“There are plenty of things that you should know, but I can’t tell you any of them…”

“Why can’t you?”

“I… I try, Libby,” he sat up cautiously. Whether this was to test his bearings or he was trying not to alarm me, I couldn’t be sure, “But watch…” his mouth moved strangely. I couldn’t have read his lips if I’d tried, it was all nonsense.

“You could be faking that,” I pointed out, trying to find some fault in his reasoning.
He closed his beautiful eyes sadly, “I wish I was,” when he reopened them, a question voiced itself for me, “Would you still like to go out?”

It was senseless, my irritation with Azure. He’d done nothing wrong, save not lifting a finger to help himself. Still, I was angry with his lack of answers, and I felt more like curling up in a ball than oohing and aahing at some captive animals.

“No, sorry, I’m not in the mood now,” I tried to keep it simple, not to let my bad mood infect my tone too much.

“…I understand.” He took a deep breath, “Do you want me to get you for school tomorrow?”

“I’ll walk.”

My anger redirected itself inward as I walked into the house, overly dramatic and huffy. What had Azure done to deserve that? I’d feel terrible in the morning—more so than I did now. I proceeded upstairs and curled up like I’d intended to, content to wallow miserably through the day. This much, I deserved.