Typical Siblings

          "You're going to make us late!" Rose screamed at the top of her lungs as she stood at the foot of the stairs that lead up to the second floor of the esteemed Charleston's guest house.
          Lily rolled her eyes immediately in response without much thought into how the effect was lost without Rose present in her room. "When am I ever on time!?" She shouted back eventually in question as she ran from the warm comforts of the steamed up bathroom to her adjacent peach colored bedroom. The muted sound of her frantic rush through outfit after outfit reaching its way downstairs. "It's not like the others are read either!"
          As Lily spoke Rose stomped her left two inch wedge sandal clad foot against the cherry hardwood flooring at the house's entryway. "They don't take forever and a day to get ready!" She snapped back before taking what was meant to be a deep, calming breath.
          Mint took that golden lull of silence as a sign that he should step out of his first floor bedroom to let out a growl in imitation of a grizzly bear; an act he was growing increasingly well practiced at. The noise of which caused his sister to jump a few feet in the air, at least that's how he would tell the tale later on. "Yelling at her only encourages her to move slower," he noted in a matter of fact tone as he raised his right hand up to scratch at his four day old stubble.
          Rose merely shrugged her shoulders at such nonsense as her rapid heartbeat came down to rest at its normal pace once more. A gesture that was perfectly mocked by Iris as she stood silently behind Rose. An action that caused Mint to explode into a fit of laughter. "Ugh! You two are terrible!" Rose grumbled loudly as she stomped off towards the kitchen, pushing her way past the immaculately dressed Iris without pause.
          "Us, terrible? I wouldn't go so far as to say that," Iris noted aloud with a shrug of her slender, rounded shoulders. "We're more like your average, every day sort of siblings."
          "Which is exactly why we're so terrible," Mint began with a grin. "We're not those creepy angelic sort that she dreams about," he finished up with a short lived chuckle.
          "I wonder if she bothers to factor in that fantasy families all come with bland personalities." Iris mused mostly to herself.
          "Bland? Whose bland now?" Lily inquired as she finally bounded noisily down the curved staircase looking ready to go. "Couldn't be me," she added unnecessarily since a simple glance in her direction would label her as a colorful woman - at least so far as her clothing was concerned.
          "Oh, just Rose's fantasy family," Iris replied nonchalantly as she strode towards the kitchen's entryway. "Come on Ms. Bland, you're putting us off schedule with your huffing and puffing more than our Rainbow Queen."
          "Ugh, I'm coming," Rose snapped as she set an empty glass into the kitchen's stainless steel sink.
          Meanwhile Mint stumbled back into his room to grab his suit jacket, grumbling the whole time. "Why do we have to show up together?"
          "Because as Charleston children we are to set an example for our peers and society as a whole by displaying a face of unity and blah blah blah." Lily replied in near perfect imitation of their mother, the proud and not to be crossed Daisy Charleston. At least that was the persona their mother had adopted after the four of them were born. 
          "Right, because us continuously showing up late to our own family held affairs in a great example for our guests." Mint mumbled to himself as he idly fidgeted with his khaki dress suit. An outfit he was all too familiar with, which was an unfortunate situation if you asked him about it.
          "I blame that on being the product of a reformed hippie," Lily said jokingly, making air quotation marks as she said the word reformed.
          "Regardless of the reason for our united front and tardiness we need to get a move on things to keep it all fashionable," Iris announced as she strolled back into view, daring lime green heels clicking away against the floor. Followed by a now quiet Rose who had her arms crossed over her chest.
          Grumbling in unison Lily and Mint took their well seasoned positions behind their fearless leader. The line a well established way of walking and presenting themselves to the public thanks to countless hours of practice. Only recently was there a change in formation due to Iris's recent surpassing of Mint in height; an occurrence that their mother was quite pleased to see. Iris was, after all, the best at putting on a show for the masses.
          "All hail the amazon," Mint mumbled as Iris took a hold of the brushed nickle door handle, twisting it to open their front door. All four of them silently marched on to the sunlit wrap around porch presently being used as a presentation platform, speaking podium and all. Each of their faces instantly lighting up with smiles as they stepped outside; the politician's mask as their father liked to say after a few too many bourbons on the rocks. An almost worrisome habit if not for the ease at which he denied ever using it himself and the willingness of the masses to believe him.
          "Ah, yes, here they are now. My darling children," Mrs. Charleston announced as she gestured towards them with a gracious wave of her hand. "Now that they're here I think that it is about time this carnival fundraiser started, how about y'all?" She yelled out over the crowd with a smile plastered on her polished face.
          Announcement made, Daisy waved off the crowd of high society members before swiftly turning to focus her intense attention on her darling children. Pointing at each of them in turn she gestured them over as she fixated the group with a look that spoke volumes for how she felt. For her children it was also a look that they were all too familiar with that meant they were in deep, deep trouble.

Matthias Quinn Jamenson

  An exasperated sigh escaped from the almost constantly pursed lips of Ms. Pickrell as she stared up at Quinn. “Do you ever get tired of being such a nuisance?” She asked with as much calm as she could muster, quite tired of reminding her student that he had work to do.
  Quinn thought it over, casually leaning back against one of the desks in the room; calloused hands gripping on to the edge. “Do you ever get tired of my mother’s room?” He shot back finally, lips curving up into his all to well known smirk.
Ms. Pickrell’s eyes narrowed at the reference, hands moving on to her hips as she became defensive. “Different situations Quinn,” she replied carefully, the words turning over in her head. “What her and I do doesn’t concern you and you should know well enough to behave in class unless you want to deal with her being... disappointed.” The pause before disappointed thought over well before it came out; such a well calculated hit as far as she was concerned.
Tightening his grip on the plastic top of the desk, Quinn’s smirk lost a little bit of its normal luster. “Fine, I’ll have the assignment done in time for class and I’ll even refrain from disrupting your oh so well thought out lesson plan,” he managed to say at last as he pushed himself off of the desk; standing up to his full height of 6’3. “Now, if you don’t mind ma’am, I have some excess energy to burn off ahead of time.”
With that Quinn was out the door, long strides removing himself from the room before he could even hear a response. Said strides continued to propel the youth towards the doors leading to the outside at the front of the school; black backpack bouncing against his back with each step. As he approached the door the occasional wave, hello, and head nod was given to a familiar face, but nothing more; a boy with a mission one might say. A mission that was accomplished with ease as rough hands earned through hard work making contact with the handle of one of the main doors and pushing it open with more force than intended.

Super Hero Power

          Tick. Tock. The familiar, constant movement of the library's study room's singular analog clock provided comfort for the room's only inhabitant. On a normal day that continuous, monotonous noise would go by unnoticed by the aforementioned person, but today there were no other distractions for them to focus on. Instead they were stuck waiting and hoping that their normal distraction comrade would show her face at some point, preferably sooner rather then later. Until such a time the person in the room kept their focus on that repetitious noise to keep steady, to avoid falling victim to frustration and hopelessness.
          "I'm beginning to think that your standard belief is that I won't show," a feminine voice stated from near the back entrance of the room. "At least that's the message your body tends to convey when I'm late," the owner of the voice added on as the original occupant of the room straightened up in their seat and turned to look at the new arrival.
          "Probably because your definition of late starts at a thirty minute minimum," the male that had already been in attendance pointed out. "It's not exactly the best confidence builder," he added on, his body still turned to allow him to keep his jade green eyes on the girl.
          "If you know my habits so well you should plan around them," the girl shot back, her long pale legs made short work of the room as she strode to the front of the room as she spoke. She spun around on the balls of her left foot then to face the desk that the young man was seated at.
          "I tried that once, somehow you were still thirty minutes late. Pretty sure that's your super hero power." The male commented as he turned to sit back in the chair properly. A broad smile was on his face now, the dimples on his face quite evident.
          "Shoot, you figured me out. Now to keep you quiet with my secret. I could either kill you or seduce you to keep it safe," proclaimed the twenty something year old female as she turned around again. She scooted back then to press her butt up against the edge of the desk. Raising her right leg up she half hopped, half slid into a seated position on the desk, turned to face towards her friend. Leaning down she brushed her lips against the young man's left cheek, planting a quick kiss there. "Personally I'm a face of the seduction option," she whispered, winking as she sat up straight.
          The boy's naturally tanned cheeks lit up as he felt the girl's smooth, soft lips against them. Unsure of how to respond at first he sat there dumbfounded, his left hand mindlessly rubbing his cheek. "Tease," he managed to stammer out after a little while, tilting his chin up to look at the girl better.

Just Up and Leave

          Dusk had settled over the sleepy town of Bakersville. Dulled over blues and pinks still lingered in the sky from the day's sunset. A sunset that was met by the ringing sound of glass against glass; a toast between friends to ring out the final day of summer. Tomorrow their school lives would resume, but for tonight they were free for a little while longer. Not that other obligations had failed to intrude on their time, school was merely a different sort of feeling, sort of trap in this nowhere town.
         "There has to be so much more than this," Adelaide declared from his propped up position against an ancient oak tree. To illustrate his point he swept his right arm through the air in front of him, gesturing at the world surrounding them.
         "Says who? Maybe this is what the rest of the world experiences. All of the same old woes and joys. They may differ in the exact details, but maybe it's all really the same," countered Edith as she adjusted her position against Adelaide to account for his movement.
         "Maybe, but we don't know for certain. Won't know until we get out of this nowhere town and try to experience something different, something better than all of this." Adelaide stated, his words a rush of thoughts he had been having for months. Excitement over the prospect of leaving coursed through him as he spoke, causing his legs to shake as he was unable to stay completely still. Movement that caused now empty glasses to fall over, rolling their merry way down to the edge of the rainbow zebra patterned blanket Edith and him shared. "Like tonight we could get back in my jeep and run. Be somewhere new before anyone even knows we're gone."
         "What will we do when we get there? Find the same drab jobs? Find new friends to try and fit in with?" Edith asked despite having made up her mind to go. A decision made evident by her standing up, abandoning her comfortable position nestled up against Adelaide, a look of determination on her face. Swinging her left fluorescent pink oxford Converse clad foot towards the vehicle in question.
         "Anything we want Baby Cakes. We can reinvent ourselves, choose to be whoever we feel like being. And when we're done we'll disappear into the night to become someone new." Adelaide answered, green brown eyes seemingly pulsing with vibrant energy as he spoke. He stood then, rocking back on his feet to stay in motion. Absently tugging at the bottom of his green shirt with two bears on it at chest level with one wearing a hat and a polka dot tie proclaiming that some days he felt pretty average, righting the rumbled mess that it had become due to Edith's head resting on his midsection for hours.
         "What if I don't want to be someone new every time?" Edith inquired, feeling confident of the answer already. She was addicted to the way Adelaide spoke with such enthusiasm, such exuberance when an idea gripped him. Each word was punctuated by a step towards Adelaide's '06 Jeep Cherokee which had been an early birthday present from his parents.
         "Then stay the same, do whatever makes you happy. You know I'll love you no matter what you decide to do." Responded Adelaide as he stayed rooted to the spot by the oak tree over looking the lake by his family's cabin. As thrilled as he was at the prospect of following through with one of his life ambitions with the woman he had just admitted he was in love with he was also terrified of the unknown.

The View from Below

          They hung loose on her hips, dipping down one side or another to reveal a hint of the tanned skin underneath until she noticed and pulled them up. Those devilish dark blue jean shorts with their frayed cuffs were the teasing bane of Winston's life. A near constant reminder of what he couldn't have from his lowly position as the friend, well best friend, but that did little to assist with the situation. From that position he always noticed the slips, the little hints of a world he was denied long before Penny became conscious of them, corrected them. Even those actions held an allure for him, though he wished that they didn't. After all, they had a way of entrapping him, of getting him caught in the act of staring in slack jawed appreciation.

         Aware of a look that Penelope, or Penny as she preferred, shook off more often than not she reached down to slide her right thumb through one of the belt loops on her cut off shorts and tugged them upwards to right them. Momentarily Winston frowned at this development despite knowing full well that it would happen, it always did in the end. With it came a shift of his attention; the return of his gaze to his partner in crime since elementary school's oval face. Not surprised at all by the scowl his renewed facial observation was met with. Exchanges of expressions such as that were becoming increasingly more common place.

         "You can hardly blame me for looking," Winston stated for what felt like the thousandth time. "I'm a blue blooded male and you're what we like to call a ten," he added on in way of explanation of his defense.

         Penny rolled her eyes at this declaration. "No, I'm what we like to call a 5.9, maybe a 6.9 on an extra fabulous day. Besides I can blame you all I want. We're just friends and you know better mister needs to keep it in his trousers." She countered, tilting her head down to better stare at Winston from her heightened position near the top of the slide's ladder she had paused to fix her shorts.

         "We're only just friends because you won't give me a chance," Winston grumbled quite audibly as he stood to the left side of the rickety metal slide they had discovered in an overgrown part of their favorite park, waiting for his turn on it.

         "I don't want to ruin our friendship and you know that I'm still dating Bentley," Penny grumbled right on back as she situated herself on the top of the slide, shivering as her mostly bare legs came into contact with the chilly surface of the slide. Perfect position found, Penny pulled her lavender tinted aviator goggles down over her cornflower blue eyes, taking a moment to fix her ruffled up chocolate brown hair with natural lighter brown highlights.

         "Bentley the tool," mumbled Winston under his breath as he stepped towards the bottom of the slide for a better view. "Systems are all clear for take off," he announced as he pulled out his phone from the right front pocket of his dark wash blue jeans to capture a video of the first slide launch.

         Penny frowned for a moment at hearing Winston's mumbled comment, but decided to not say anything in response as she wasn't in the mood for that argument today. "One, two, three, and blast off!" She exclaimed before beginning her rapid descent down the slide. Squealing in delight as she quickly slid down the short right Penny raised her arms up to relish in every last second.

Familiar Landscapes

          For most associates at Harkman Industries the magic hour was five pm on the dot, but this was sadly not the case for Heather Marie Thompson. Her joyful hour of release was six pm instead - if she was lucky that day. Between her own work, playing secretary for a cost effective boss, and pretending to be a cleaning fairy there wasn't enough time in a normal work period to accomplish it all. Fortunately, as cheap as her boss was, this slightly elongated shift business was acceptable so long as it didn't get out of hand and it earned her a slightly higher salary.
          Tonight was beginning to feel like one of those unlucky nights as it was nearly six and she had barely even begun to set up orders that would have to be made promptly in the morning. Setting up orders wasn't bound to take long itself, it just wasn't the only item on her list to get done before she escaped for a night in with a movie and maybe some take out. Sighing, she kept at it, bright purple nails tapping against the surface of her desk when she wasn't busy typing away. This clicking sound was joined on occasion by her singing along to whatever music she was listening to before she would catch herself and cease immediately. A habit she was attempting to break herself of for those hours she had to share the office space with other employees.
          "You have a really pretty voice when you're not mumbling and trying to hide it," Gavin Merlin Watson stated with a smile, shaking Heather out of her work flow.
          "Do not," Heather muttered as she pushed her headphones down around her neck. "Who let you in anyway?"
          "Who wouldn't let me in?" Gavin asked while he put on what he considered to be his most charming smile.
          "Anyone with half a brain sweets," Heather shot back, grinning.
          "Way to insult poor Mildred. She tries so hard you know," Gavin said, chuckling some as he spoke. "You can't fault the dear woman for being such a romantic about us. After all she's the one that matched us up with her cunning ways."
          Heather burst into a small giggle fit over that statement, shaking her head for a moment. "Is that what you told her this time?" She asked despite already being sure of the answer. "You know one of these nights she's going to catch on to your little game right?"
          "Hopefully by then some silly bee will be done keeping me locked away in the lobby like some commoner," Gavin retorted as he swiftly took a step back to avoid a smack he was certain he would receive.
          Heather pushed herself away from her desk to keep up with Gavin's movement. Reaching her target of choice she reached out to gently punch him in the chest. "Fucker," she exclaimed as her fist connected with him, smiling all the while. "You could avoid such a fate by actually waiting to come over when I've told you that I'm done. But nooo, you have to come early to be a troublemaker."
          "It's not causing trouble if they like it. Plus, if I don't come put a smile on your face you would stay here all night. I'm sure your coworkers would love to catch you fast asleep on the job the next morning," Gavin pointed out as he messed up Heather's already disastrous looking hair. "You know my trouble making way is your favorite thing about me. Definitely what caught your eye."
          "In your dreams," Heather declared as she rolled her way back to her desk, ignoring her even more problematic hair situation. "There are better traits of yours to like," she tacked on, her fingers once more quick at work on her keyboard.
          Gavin smirked as he shook his head, the curled ends of his shaggy blonde hair swaying from the movement. "Those talents aren't ones you can tell from a distance Honey Bee."
          "They are ones you can learn from a bathroom stall," Heather was quick to point out, glancing over her shoulder to stick her tongue out at Gavin. "Believe the message was something like for a good time call this number... At least until I cleaned it off."
          "Surprised it didn't say something about breaking hearts. That's how you would really know to trust those crudely written notes." Gavin stated, keeping his position of a short distance away from Heather.
          "Maybe, but it's working out so far, so I'm going to keep riding this wave until it crashed. Maybe some beach dwellers will drown," Heather announced, totaling out her current project. Clicking open the next program she forged onward. "You know you could make this go by faster by cleaning things up instead of just running your mouth."
          Gavin chuckled, leaning back against a nearby desk. "Hey now! That only almost happened once and I was an innocent, curious kid at the time, so pffft." He pointed out as he continued to laugh. Then he fell silent for a few moments as he debated being helpful or staying as just a pest.
          "I believe the curious, innocent kid excuse goes out the winder after you're eighteen hun," Heather called out as she double checked the schedule written out on her screen. Satisfied with everything on it she closed the program out, stealing a glance over at Gavin as she did so. "Such a great smart ass helper," she exclaimed as she stood up and stretched. "Means we can blow this popsicle stand if you're ready."
          "Baby, I was born ready," Gavin declared loudly as he leaped dramatically out from the cubicle area he had been cleaning. "Your curiosity should never die, regardless of age." He added on as he tossed a small bag of trash into the bin next to Heather's work station.
          "Whatever dork," Heather said as she started to pull on her teal wool pea coat. Slender fingers deftly buttoning it up to lock in the warmth. Next she snagged her gray, black, and white plaid scarf, wrapping it around her neck before stuffing it into the front of her coat. Tugging on her white owl hat with one x'ed out purple eye she grinned at her partner in crime.
          Gavin waited in silence, content to observe Heather as she prepared to leave. "Well aren't you a gorgeous, wintry sight Bee."
          Heather turned away from Gavin then, porcelain cheeks heating up to a lovely scarlet hue. "Must have me confused with someone else. I'm just your average snow bunny. Nothing more, nothing less." She managed to eventually stammer out before once again facing Gavin. Slinging her metallic purple purse over her shoulder she headed towards the exit, heels clicking away as she walked. "Come on then, I've been here long enough today," she exclaimed to shift the focus away from her.
          "Yea, yea, I'm coming Bee." Gavin murmured as he fell into step alongside her. Leaping ahead for a moment to push open the door leading to the stairs. "After you my average snow bunny Bee."
          A small smile and a shake of her head were the only indications Heather gave that she had heard him. Taking a few quick steps down she turned to look up at Gavin. "Slow much?" She asked while Gavin continued to hold the door open.
          "Had to let a few ghosts pass on by," he explained, stepping away from the door to let it slam shut. "What's our plan for the evening?" He asked as he caught up to Heather, sliding his right hand into her left one.
          "My plan was some take out Thai food and a movie for a quiet night in," Heather answered, emphasizing the word my.
          "Well, I was going to offer my gentlemanly services for the evening, but if you're going to be like that..." He began, trailing off at the end to provide Heather time to object.
          "Do these ways include paying for dinner? If so I might be able to handle your company for the evening."
          "That's the only way I roll sugar Bee," Gavin stated with a grin, squeezing Heather's hand. Letting go of the aforementioned hand he waited for Heather to unlock the door that led into the office building's central lobby.
          "Mmhm, only way indeed," Heather said with an all knowing smile. Fishing the key out of her coat pocked she unlocked the door that hindered their escape. Nudging it open enough to allow Gavin to slide his right foot into place as a door stopper she locked it back up.

Lost in the Clouds

          Cedric Sayer Davenport had a tendency to get himself lost among the clouds. This was a trait that numerous people believed he would grow out of with age when falling prey to make believe tended to disappear. A belief that his parents strongly held on to during those early years that brought them plenty of conferences and email exchanges with teachers, with the entire school. Instead his moments of being captive in his head only seemed to become worse. It came to a point where prying him away from wherever he went off to back to the present became an abandoned cause for most. For Cedric that was a long awaited and welcomed change in the behavior of the people around him.
          Staring at clouds had once cost him a relationship or two during his last official years of youth. Afterwards word finally traveled up and down the hallways of his school that he was a hopeless cause unless you preferred your boyfriend to be distant, withdrawn. These high school facts failed to travel with him when he left the small town behind for bigger and better adventures elsewhere. Out in the real world of college he became a studious recluse, a shadow hanging around long enough to leave a flickering impression. Thoughts of those years gone by now plagued his time pulled away from the living, leaving him wondering if perhaps he should have worked harder to connect to the world around him.
          "Do you ever wonder what's beyond all of this?" Rebecca Avery Dart asked for what she believed to be the thirtieth time as if continuously repeating herself would generate a response. For most this sort of constant inquiry would unhinge them enough to at least shout at her, but since Cedric had yet to do that the dear girl had gone and made a game out of it. It would end when one of them broke this exchange of noise for silence with Rebecca's bet cast rather heavily on herself being victorious.
          Cedric had been absorbed in himself for the first few times Rebecca asked, the exact amount of which he was uncertain of. At first he wasn't even aware that she had repeated herself until he had opened his mouth to reply only to be met with her inquiring yet again. That had set him up to wait patiently for her to tire of asking like many before her had. Fifteen times later Rebecca appeared to still be going strong, an act of tenacity that surprised him. "Poverty, crime, and hopelessness," he responded finally, giving into that lucky thirtieth time.
          Rebecca clapped her hands in excitement the Cedric finished with his answer, a broad smile on her face. Later on in the day she would probably congratulate herself with an ice cream treat for her victory, but for right now there was a conversation to seize a hold of. "That's around here too though," she countered while she plopped herself down on the grass in front of Cedric. "And that's not what I meant anyway. I'm talking more about beyond our daily grind, hanging out with those whims that most people don't have time for. You know, like, up there with the clouds."
          Cedric looked confused to begin with, the clapping taking him by surprise. A look that persisted on hanging around as he watched Rebecca make herself at home on the lawn area in front of his spot under the branches of a dogwood tree. "The manicured look of perfection could have fooled me," he muttered as he attempted to process the rest of what the strange girl had said. Through the years no one he knew had ever specifically asked him about the clouds and it seemed out of place now for some random person he doubted he would ever see again to do so. "All of the time," Cedric whispered at long last, stretching out his legs from the crossed position they had been in. "I'm still not sure specifically what's there or why it calls to me with such persistence as if it has something important to tell me."

The Same Old Crowd

          "Does this ever get any easier?" Bronwyn Edith Turner asked of the shrubbery planted next to the dimly lit back porch in frustration. "Or am I doomed to be stuck here forever repeating the same damn childish games with the same old crowd?" Another question born of her irked ways for the unresponsive bushes as she used the ivory railing that wrapped around the porch as support for her spinning world.
          Nearby Marcus Gerald Durrel stood quietly to the left side of the open sliding door as a mixture of loud conversations and louder still music drifted out. For now he was content to play the part of the silent observer, having learned the hard way to not speak up during one of Bronwyn's monologues months ago. That first dared interjection had left him with a bruised eye and a spot on Bronwyn's black list for a couple of weeks. From then on it had been decided his dear was not one to share her feelings with an actual person. A trait that he found strange in comparison to his other female companions. Unfortunately for his vow of silence Bronwyn's outbursts and descents into somewhere dark were beginning to become more regular, leaving Marcus stuck on high alert in his mute location.
          "I've heard another drink or two or three helps kill the nerves and makes the same old crowd bearable," said a voice that neither Bronwyn or Marcus could place as someone stepped on to the porch from the illuminated world of the kitchen. The new comer's lips were curved upwards into a smile that Marcus would swear was a permanent fixture on their face due to the level of ease at which it rested there. "At least that's what I've always been told," the stranger added as he extended his right hand to hold out an unopened bottle of Blue Moon for Bronwyn.
          Startled failed to even begin to cover Bronwyn's level of surprise over the surprise over the unrecognized voice. At this point most people knew to let her stumble away from the crowd in peace to wrestle with her inner demons. Even strangers crowded around for a good time had managed to pick up on that unspoken rule. The exception to her no one allowed nearby policy being Marcus the speechless, but he had earned his keep after he survived one of her particularly bad nights and a stint on her bad least. "Who asked you?" Bronwyn spat out eventually as she turned for a moment to snatch up the offered beer.
          At these challenge filled words Marcus tensed up, rocking forward on the balls of his feet to be ready for action. Bronwyn was unlikely to require his assistance, but he was less certain of the unknown's safety. What his comrade lacked in height advantage she more than made up for with a combination of speed and various methods of self defense. A fact he knew to have the tendency to shock some drunkards that made passes at Bronwyn on nights they went out to the city to avoid the same old college crew. Really though most people shared that very same tendency to underestimate Bronwyn.
          "You did. Unless you were expecting the plant life to rise and talk," the newcomer replied, oblivious to the growing tension in the air. As he spoke he took another step out on to the porch, leaving the light that shadowed most of his features. The step and way he talked of the plant life made it clear to Marcus that he had not been noticed yes.
          "Maybe I wasn't looking for an answer." Bronwyn pointed out, doing her best to enunciate each word while keeping a leveled tone. An act that she failed to find easy due to a mixture of intoxication and a growing level of discomfort. Despite this unease or possibly even because of it she finally turned around to face down her foe. Her eyebrows raised for a moment in stunned recognition before she managed to regain her composure.
          "What's the point in asking questions then?" The fellow pressed on, taking a mental note of that swift moment of recollection. Later on he would take longer to sort out his feelings on her remembrance and quick dismissal. He had failed to realize who he had followed on to the porch himself up until he heard questions that he had heard the same girl ask years ago, so really he couldn't find fault in receiving the same treatment.

Eye of the Storm

          The fading light of what had been a sun filled day filtered its way in Sylvia Eliana Belotti's bedroom, barely illuminating anything in it. Luckily that was exactly the way that the twenty five year old preferred it. A preference that she had set down the day that she agreed to look for a place to live with her best friend a couple of years ago. At first it was simply due to her being biased towards the night life, but had since evolved to include making her hectic schedule more tolerable. The added bonus being that her room ended up being the one with the highest noise reduction.
          Today none of that mattered though. Her normally rambunctious best friend had gone home for the holidays, leaving their small house unsettling in its silence. This was a holiday trip that coincided with Sylvia's first vacation in years. Between two full time jobs, volunteer work, and a meager social life the poor girl never let herself take a real day off. Long days that were a constant source of worry for her close friends and family. Worry that she shrugged off with the well known phrase "I'll sleep when I'm dead."
          Fortunately such worries were being put to rest this winter. At least until her vacation ended in a month and her regular life resumed; a concern for the new year. This was time she had hoped to use to catch up on various projects and books, but had since turned into time spent in unexpected territory with one of her male friends. Territory that she didn't entirely mind, just had never entertained the idea of it given where they tended to be in life on the occasions that the could hang out. Him with his long term girlfriend and her with her on and off again flings weren't exactly a matching pair. Yet her second day off had begun with him showing up on her porch at the awful hour of five am looking for a place to stay. Now, a week later, her life seemed very different. 
          "You're a lot like me," Sylvia began to say in a whisper as the two of them continued to lay in bed. Each word coming out slowly as she carefully chose them. Her dark brown eyes were locked on Trenton's face, taking in every detail in the dim light. "Our world is a storm front waiting for the perfect moment to erupt into torrential chaos," she added in way of explanation, these words coming out quicker as the ideas bounced around her head.
          "We're sitting in the eye of what promises to be an intense storm and no one else can see what's coming," Trenton interjected, finishing of Sylvia's thoughts. His light brown eyes flashing a hint of a spark of life for the first time since he had begun to stay with Sylvia.
          Sylvia, in her excitement, clenched on to her Toy Story themed bed spread. Pale hands holding herself back from bouncing up and down on her bed in triumph. Enthusiasm she feared might scare her friend despite her wholehearted belief that it was warranted. "Early warning signs that don't work."