Precious Words

Description. Describing... another chapter to my theoretical story.

The war started with a quiet girl by the name of Dawn. Or perhaps it started with a Starling? One should never know. The power of knowledge is too much to bear. All that matters is that in the end, the Wallflowers and the Chaos Bringers rose to power. To be of one side, you must either desire peace, no matter what it takes, or power.

Knowledge is power, many do say. The Keepers control the scrolls of the future. Targets are painted upon their backs... Therefore, they have chosen daresay, back up files. They have chosen unique children to trust this information to, should anything happen to them. The children are meant to be kept secret, but they often rise out of the ashes, revealing their true power in times of duress. Hence, the attacks of the CBs on anything and everything.

To be able to see and recognize true power in anyone is an even more valuable gift. These people can be exploited for their abilities. They will be used to hunt, to find, to see.

Brook silently looks on as Charlie and Arian chat amiably in her front lawn. Chatting isn't the right word, Brook thinks to herself. More like Charlie talks Arian's ear off, and Arian is tortured into listening.

Brook turns away, allowing her mind to return to what she had been thinking. A strange thing had happened that day at school, and she was determined to remember it all. Every single detail. She fears if she forgets even one thing, she won't remember it correctly.

At school, she was sitting in the back of the classroom writing in her notebook. She wasn't sure what exactly was being written, but she knew it was random thoughts. Like jewels. She wondered what it would be like to think like her sister, or maybe Rhea. She looked up at the sound of nothing. Everybody within the classroom was clamoring, each fighting to yell over the other, wanting to be heard. Brook didn't mind not being heard. She doesn't have to be. She firmly believes that words are precious and shouldn't be wasted. They are like jewels. Precious jewels she would rather keep locked away in her heart. Her vault.

The sound of nothing was new to her. She saw a ghost enter the classroom, a textbook tucked under his arm and a pencil behind his ear. His dark eyes surveyed the room, looking at each and every single student, careful to look away when they noticed his piercing gaze. His eyes met Brook's and flickered. The barest trace of a smile tugged at his lips and he made his way over to her.

Brook's heart hammered, but she managed to keep her walls up, despite this boy's looks. 

"Mind if I sit here?" he asked, his voice gravelly and rough. Brook stared at him, unsure of how to answer.

The boy shrugged and moved to go somewhere else, but she spoke. "It's fine."

The boy seemed relieved and took a seat next to her. He glanced at her, then back down to his desk, "Mason."

"Brook."

They didn't say anything else for the rest of the period, but Brook's heart was fluttering. She sighs, looking back out the window at Charlie and Arian. She wonders what it would be like to be as easygoing as Charlie. She sighs, resting her chin on the couch cushion. Someday.

The very next day came and went. Brook didn't see Mason in class, nor during lunch. Her hopes deflated, but she wouldn't let something so trivial as a boy ruin her day. She went to put her tray away, turning to return to her friends, only to bump into the boy. Mason. 

She tripped over an empty milk carton, stumbling into him. Mason caught her, seemingly unsurprised of her lack of grace. He lists his head, studying her, "Hello there."

Brook stiffens, immediately regaining her balance and stares him down.

"A thank you would be nice," he shrugs, stepping around her. 

Brook silently fumes, furious at his arrogance. If only I had known he would be rude. She takes a steadying breath and storms away. She can feel his eyes on the back of her neck, sending shivers down her spine. Tears well up in her eyes, It's nothing important. It's not like that time in kindergarten...

She scrubs her face dry, avoiding another huge embarrassing moment like the one that had traumatized her years ago. Milk in her hair, stains on her pretty blue shirt, the stench of rotten milk...

Brook trembles at the memory before ducking into a nearby bathroom. People were staring at her. They must have. How could they have not noticed her trip and fall into Mason's arms? She grips her hair, tugging at her scalp incessantly. If anybody saw, she would be so embarrassed.

The bathroom door creaks open, "Brook?" a tentative voice calls out. Brook's heart lurched, a trembling part of her hoped it would be Mason. Unfortunately, it was only Charlie. "Brookie? Are you okay? That guy looked really scary..." Charlie comes around the corner, face to face with Brook's tearstreaked face. "Aww, don't cry," she rushes over and embraces her within her arms. 

Brook squeezes her eyes shut, ashamed for crying in front of her sister. 

"I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who saw," Charlie reassures her. "I was literally coming up behind you to put my tray away and then--" Charlie trails off. "Anyway, he gave you super puppy-dog eyes after you ran."

"I didn't run," Brook curls in on herself, crossing her arms.

"Oh, so that was walking super fast? If that's so, then Rhea's super good at it. And Arian," Charlie adds thoughtfully. "He always walks super fast whenever I see him."

Brook sighs, "He's just afraid of you, you know."

"He is? How? I'm amazing!"

Brook shakes her head with a small smile. "You always scare people away. It's what you do."

"Pfft. And what do you do? Lure them to you with your lyrical siren voice that you vowed to never use after you lured somebody to their death in a volcano?"

"That was just a dream," Brook argues, wiping her tears away.

"So? Don't you know that I believe dreams are real? I mean-- painting the sun for crying out loud! That could be real!" Charlie scolds her. 

Brook dries her eyes, "It could," she agrees. Anything could be real.

Author's Note

HELLO, thank you for viewing. It means a lot to me. :)