Nighttime ~Two~

There's always a calm before the storm.

Our story starts off on a Friday night, when Eli and I are both home. We don’t fight much, and he tries to be the supportive older brother. I wonder if he knows that I’m used as an example of wrong while he is used as right.

 

I don’t think on it, because thinking on it will just cause trouble. “Hey, Mad, do you know where the orange juice is?” he calls from the kitchen.

 

I could have just given him a sarcasm free answer. I could have, but I don’t. “It’s right next to that new brand of yogurt. What’s it called? Oh yeah- Do I look Like I’m the Orange Juice Keeper. It’s really good.”

 

“You could’ve just said no,” He snips, coming into the living room where I’m relaxing on an over-sized chair.  

 

“Sorry,” I shrug, returning my gaze to my laptop.

 

“Don’t you ever get tired of being so…rude?” Eli asks, clicking his way through the guide on the TV.

 

“I do, sometimes, but then I get compared to my older brother again.” I say before I can stop myself. I feel my cheeks get pink, but I keep my eyes on the screen.

 

“What?” He asks, and I hear a pause in his clicking.

 

“Nothing,” I murmur, listening to the sound of the keys as I type another poem. That’s where I spend most of my time; on a writing site where you can publish and review others writing. Sometimes when I’m in an alcohol-induced haze, I end up publishing something way too honest.

 

“Maddy, you said something. What was it?” I know that he heard me the first time, and he wants to know if it’s true.

 

“I said, ‘I do, but then I receive comments from my lovely brother’,” I say exasperatedly, like he should’ve known that’s what I said.

 

“Yeah…right,” he says, his eyes flick to the TV, where they’ll probably remain. Sighing, I get up. I have to walk up two flights of stairs to get to my room, which is the attic.

 

It’s not too big, but I like it. I painted the walls blue and purple and had speakers installed in four corners. I spent most of my time on the window seat. The window itself arcs outward and the middle of it opens. It makes it easier to get onto the roof.

 

 I sigh as I hook my laptop up to the wires connected to the speakers. Music is almost everything to me. It can harness my emotions, and make me feel better or worse.

 

I sing along as my room blocks out everything else and fills with the sound of a piano and then little chimes.

 

“I need some sleep
It can't go on like this
I tried counting sheep
But there's one I always miss
Everyone says I'm getting down too low
Everyone says you just gotta let it go
You just gotta let it go-“

“Nice,” a voice interrupts me and I spin around, a small squeak flying from my mouth.

 

“El, what are you doing here?” I sigh. There is a teenaged boy resting on my bed, flashing his pearly white teeth.

 

“Just dropped by for a visit,” he grins, swaying to the last few seconds of the song. He stands and shimmies his way over to me as the next one begins. He mouths the words, his eyebrows raised.

 

Are you scared to lose
Are you afraid to choose
Are you afraid you’ll win
Are you scared of your own sin

Are you scared to forgive
Are you afraid to live
Are you afraid to die
Do you think you told a lie?

 

“Are you afraid, Sinner?” Ellis asks when he’s right in front of me. He and the rest of the people we run with call me Sinner, because I’m “mad as sin”, a reference to my first name.

 

“Not at all,” I grin. “Are you afraid, Insinuatis?”

 

In Latin, that translates to sneak, which is what Ellis is best at. Even if he’s caught, his sandy brown hair and light brown eyes usually compliment his devilish smile into letting him free.

 

“Never,” he grins, holding up my pocket knife. I laugh as I pat my pocket where it had previously been.

 

“So why have you magically appeared in my room?” I ask, grabbing it back and placing it where it belongs.

 

“To listen to your depressing music collection, of course.” He belts out a few notes, definitely off key and I grimace.

 

“If Eli hears you, he’ll jump to conclusions and beat you to a pulp.”

 

“Fine,” he says after glancing at the door, “I’m bored and you’re fun.”

 

I laugh as I collapse on my bed, “Why thank you.”

 

“Come on, let’s go out and wreak some more havoc. It’s what we do best, after all,” he pleads, falling onto the bed next to me, his hands in prayer position.

 

“Fine,” I agree, rolling my eyes, “But only if you promise to protect me should any big scary monsters cross our path.”

 

“You’ll be the one protecting me,” I hear him mutter and I raise an eyebrow.

 

“What was that?”

 

“Nothing, deary, nothing at all.”

 

“That’s what I thought,” I say as I pull on my black Converse. We drop onto the landing outside and climb our way to the ground. My house is relatively close to the center of the busy town.

 

We only have to walk for about five minutes before we find a Burger King. “I’m hungry,” I comment.

 

“Drive thru,” Ellis says, an excited smirk on his face. I know what that means.

 

“But we’re not driving,” I say innocently, batting my eyelashes.

 

“We can fix that...”

 

Half an hour, a bucket of paint, and cardboard behind a dumpster later, we hold up our masterpiece. We used our knives to cut windows and the outline of the car out, and then found paint and a sharpie to detail our fly ride.

 

“Ready?” he says, as we rest by the fence just outside of the parking lot. I nod and he ‘sits’ in the front, while I’m in the back. I’m in giggles by the time we reach the drive through.

 

“Welcome to Burger King, how may I help you?”

 

“Ah, we’d like two large fries, please,” Ellis says pleasantly.

 

“Drinks?”

 

“Ah, one orange soda and one Coke, please.”

 

“Will that be it?”

 

“Yes, thank you,” he laughs. The person working the window told us to drive up.

 

His face was priceless. Ellis handed him the money and he just stared with his mouth open at us. “I’m sorry, but this line’s for vehicles only.”

 

“I’m sorry, but it’s a bit impolite to stare,” I choke out.

 

He looks bewildered still and Ellis impatiently says, “I’d like my food sometime soon.”

 

“Ah...h-here, but...” the guy hands us our food and Ellis makes a squealing sound and we ‘peel out’, running as fast as we can away, making car noises. We collapse about a minute later, our laughter getting the best of us.

 

Ellis and I ditch the our cardboard car and end up on the roof of a rusty garage by the water. We live near the Ocean, and there’s always a breeze.

 

The rusty garage isn’t on the nicer side of town, and we listen to the clink of bottles and the hiss of animals mixed with the rolling waves. I stare up at the sky, plucking a fry from it’s carrier.

 

Whenever I’m with Ellis, I usually have a good time and am at peace with myself. It’s when I go home that all my hormones unbalance and I get angry and sad and just ugh. The stars are bright, as streetlights are the only thing dimming them.

 

I sigh for about the fifth time that night, and turn to face my friend .He looks at me, a lopsided grin on his face. “Got the time?” I ask.

 

He glances at his black watch that’s made for rugged situations and not finer life.

 

“It’s about one in the morning.” He says and I look back at the stars, a sinking feeling in my stomach.

 

“Happy birthday,” he murmurs, halting the loneliness that had been creeping upon me.

 

“Thanks,” I say wistfully, glancing at the waves and wishing that things wouldn’t get more and more complicated each year.

Author's Note

"And so despair leads to betrayal. And you and I are no strangers to betrayal, are we, Jack?"
-Beckett to Jack when they meet on his ship.

Reviews

[Ahmad Cox]

I really like the humor and the set up of this next chapter. Look forward to continuing forward.

[Sunny Skye]

Wow! Love it! Meybe is because i can relate to the main character in some ways but its good. I like the carboard car i thought of doing that once but we figured we'll just get yelled at so we ditched. Good job do i like it, yet i have a feeling El and Mad are going to end up together somehow. Good job! I'm going to read the next chapter! LOL

-SkyeBlanco

[♪The Girl Next Do..]

LOL!!!! I might do the car thing :P Great chapter! Can't wait for more!

[Sophie]

I'm in love with this story, and her character (insert heart here)

[Rhea752]

OH GOD, the car was priceless. great job this chapter had me laughing. i'm still grinning. keep it up!! i'd love to see what happen next :D