Sixteen- Airborne

this is the 2nd full cycle! Ahhhh! now I can repeat characters again! Yay!

Chapter 16

Airborne

Along comes the wind

Bitter and cold

Not like the one

When you used to hold (me)

Excerpt from “Wind in the Leaves” by Brooklyn Anderson

I am so glad I'm not Ash right now. He's in the bathroom, the lights turned off, a blanket over the window, and leaning over the toilet. I have a tiny headache but nothing major at all.

Today's just going to be a boring day, filled with nothing, nothing and more... nothing. Maybe I'll go flying. I love flying. It's like, where I belong, like after all these years of feeling awkward and out of place, the air is actually where I belong.

I had a nightmare last night, I relived the storm. It's the only time it's happened, I suppose it will stop. But I already feel so guilty! And I wasn't exactly nice to her in her last conversation. Well, she wasn't exactly nice to me, either. I shouldn't have told her to go to hell, because... she died. Wherever she is, I wonder if my mom's there?

What do I care? Mom was a bad person, I'm lucky to never have known her. She drank and did drugs while she was pregnant, she went to Juvie four times before the age of fifteen. And, she was ignorant enough to get on a plane while she was pregnant? She could've cost both of our lives! But it was only hers.

Sometimes I feel like its my fault, like I caused her death, and you can always play the blame game back far enough so its not even rational anymore. I can get it back to trees for producing oxygen so she could even live in the first place. And back to Earth for forming out of asteroids sticking together. And then gravity for making those asteroids stick together. And then the Big Bang for making the universe... and that's where I stop.

But, if I had, I don't know, not fertilized the egg, she'd be alive. And my dad would be happy. Or, would he? Would mom have made him miserable? Or would she have cleaned up her act and become the wife Daddy doesn't have, and never did? Would she produce children for him? Maybe fulling functioning ones? I know I am completely normal, just ridiculously short. Wait, normal? Now I have to rethink that, don't I?

I have to stop thinking about this, it's just depressing me. Maybe I'll fly, to clear my head. I open my window. There's no screen because it fell out last year and it's still in the yard. I crouch on the sill and briefly panic that I'll forget how, but that's just a minor detail. I let go of the walls that I used to steady myself, and I jump about a foot down, I start to float, and then I think, up, and off I go, up. A smile spreads on my face as my jet black hair streams behind me. The sky is clear and blue, but in the distance I can see dark, rolling clouds. There's probably going to be another storm tonight. I wonder if Ash likes scary movies and popcorn...

So, the whole flying thing is pretty amazing. There's no wings, no “feet engines” as Ash calls them, just, flying. It's like thinking, forward and suddenly, you're walking. Except after the initial direction, it just comes naturally. Like thinking about walking doesn't happen, you don't command your legs to move, I'm just subconsciously telling the air to lift me up, or push me forward, and it does.

At the training session Nox told me that I could actually sit on air, and it would feel solid, but I could still stick my arm through. So, floating in the air, I will a “solid” piece of air to form, and I feel for it. My hand hits something, it's clear and cool, like wind is constantly swirling around and around. I sit on it and relax.

It holds me up, and I know that if I were to jump off it, I'd fall until I started flying again. So I stand up on it, and as if I were swimming, I dive. The whole shebang, Arms pointed above my head, feet together, breath held (even though I don't need to.) After free falling a few feet I swoop up, grinning.

I fly for what feels like minutes, and then I realize the sun is setting. I wonder if Ray's going to change it at all? But the clouds are taking cover, so it doesn't matter. When I land I picture the clouds moving faster because of a gust of wind, and when I open my eyes, they are inching along a lot faster.

I fly up yo my window, climb in, and close the window. I walk out of my room and into the living room. Ash sits on the couch watching TV.

“How are you feeling?” I ask, plopping down next to him.

“A lot better, thanks.” We sit in silence, watching the happy, bright, cheery, normal teenagers on the TV.

“So, I just wanted to say I'm sorry about last night, that you had to see that. I was just upset and looking for a way out, you know? But I won't be doing that again, your toilet didn't appreciate the abuse from the throw up.” He laughs awkwardly.

“No problem.” I answer. We sit in silence again, but then a boom of thunder cracks above us and rain suddenly pounds down, creating a crashing sound. Lightning flashes at the same time as another boom. “Hey, do you like scary movies?”

A few minutes later Ash sits on the couch and I sit next to him, wrapped up in many blankets and enjoying the storm while we watch some horror movie I can't remember the name of. We're just getting to the good part when the power goes out.

“Dad? Do we have any candles?” I call.

“Yeah, in the drawer to the left of the stove.” He answers from his room, he must have a flashlight or something to see with, or he's just on his laptop so he doesn't need light.

I shuffle my way into the kitchen, a blanket still wrapped around me, and search for the handle to the drawer. I whack my wrist on the counter.

“Ow!” I say.

“What'd you do that for?” Ash teases me from the other room.

“Oh, no reason, just being masochistic in here!” I retort. I find a few candles and bring them in.

“I couldn't find a lighter, can you light these?” I whisper.

“Sure.” Ash touches his finger to the wicks and they light up. I place them around the room so there's a light, golden glow. I plop back onto the couch. The candle light makes Ash's face dark and shadowy under his cheekbones. It actually makes his golden hair look like candle light.

“So...” I say.

Ten minutes later we are still silent.

I drift off to sleep.

I wake up at some point during the night. The power has come back on and the storm stopped, but it's still raining. I try to sit up but something restricts me. It's Ash. He must have fallen asleep too, because his arm is wrapped tightly around my middle. His legs fold into mine.

Oh my god this is awkward, he's spooning me. Hey, at least he's gay.

“Ash... wake up! We fell asleep, and I can't get up.” I shake his shoulder. My face is right in his. Without fully waking up, he leans forward and his lips touch mine. I jump back in surprise and I end up falling off the couch.

I'm not going to wake him up. I trudge off to my bedroom and creep under the comforter, close my eyes, and fall asleep.

Author's Note

Sorry it's so short, I was bored with it, and I have great ideas for the next few chapters! Stay tuned!
Oh, great, now I sound like a commercial on nickelodeon or something.
Just kill me now. :P

Reviews

[Sylvana]

I can tell you got bored with it, but that's okay.(: It is nice just to have a relaxed chapter with nothing crazy going on. I saw only one typo where you said "I fly up yo my window" a few lines before the first big space between paragraphs, whatever it's called. xD

[MandaBear]

I thought you did great nice and simple and i am sure the next chapter will be great as all the other have been :) great write