The Ferry [*ON HOLD*]

Chapter 1

Author's Note: This was originally posted in two parts but is now one post. Enjoy :)

I felt the familiar conflict of emotions as I daydreamed about my best friend, Eric Tinder: the guilt of allowing him to star in romantic fantasies when we weren't an item, the pleasure I took in imagining the scenes, the hope that one day they would turn into reality, the dread that they never would.

Today we were standing on the bridge spanning the river which separated the high street from the park, watching the river flow below us. Eric casually put his arm around my back and I rested my head on his shoulder in quiet contentment.

The water was so see-through, even though its surface was reflective. I could see the plants beneath the water, the long leaves rippling as though in a breeze. I could stare into that water while time slid by, caught up in thoughts of escape and different worlds.

"Aren't you just the little dreamer?" Eric murmured affectionately.

"Yeah," I mumbled, smiling. I lifted my head and looked at him.

He leant in and our mouths met, my eyes closing...

Something vibrated, interrupting my reverie. I opened my eyes and pulled my phone out of my pocket. A text. From my network provider. Now that was just annoying.

Seeing that it was past midday, I got up and went to investigate what was happening with lunch. I found my mum cooking pasta in the kitchen.

"Hello stranger," she said, referring to the fact that I was always upstairs in my room.

"Hi Mum. Anything I can help with?"

"Could you grate me some cheese, honey?"

I obliged. I wasn't the perfect son but I tried to balance out my laziness and lack of sociability by doing things to help my parents out.

"D'you know what you're wearing tonight?"

"Just stuff," I replied. "Shirt, jeans." It had been Juliana Tier's eighteenth this week and tonight she was celebrating it at home where we could all watch an 18, with a group of friends from the Herd. Apparently we would all be allowed a bit of alcohol, but under her parents' supervision.

Mum nodded, turning off the hob. I held the colander over the sink while she tipped the saucepan. The bolognese was done so all that was left was to serve it up. I called my dad, who had been studying documents sent to him by various Councillors to read before the Council meeting at the end of the month. He came down and we ate together, chatting about various national sports competitions which we were interested in as a family. As ever in this kind of situation, where I felt the warmth in our family's bond, the Thought came to my mind. I was almost tempted to open my mouth and just tell my parents the Thing. But as much as I felt silly for fearing that the Thing could tear us apart, something still told me to be wary. To remember that my dad was proud of being the Herd's Tain and expected me to follow in his footsteps. To remember my mother's dreams for the future of our family. To remember that I was currently the last member of the Whitstag bloodline.

Sometimes I found my name, Tainson, a frightening thing.

*

In the evening, Mum dropped me off at Juliana's house. Juliana answered it and the other people who were already there, sitting in the living room, were Darrien, her boyfriend, and Mia, her fifteen-year-old sister.

"Tainy!" greeted Mia excitedly. I suspected she had a crush on me. Unfortunately, the Thing meant I would never fancy her back, despite her sweet personality and pretty features. Sometimes I had wondered if, in the event of the Thing receiving a bad reaction from my parents, I should ask Mia to become my girlfriend.

Juliana and Mia's father was Italian, and they were beautiful brunettes with olive-green eyes and rich tanned skin. Darrien's mother was Polish and he was a natural blond, tall, thin and blue-eyed. But not blue-eyed like Eric: Darrien's eyes were light blue, like a cloudless sky diluted. Eric's were sapphire blue. My favourite shade of blue.

"Hi, Mia," I said with a friendly smile. "Hi Darrien."

"Hey Tainson," Darrien replied, disinterested. Darrien was an alright guy, but better friends with boys who were good at sport. I was crap at sport.

"Would you like a drink, Tainson?" Juliana asked. I saw that Darrien was holding a can of beer and that the drink nearest Mia on the coffee table was orange squash.

"Um, just squash."

"Sure? There's beer or Bucks Fizz if you want some."

"That's all right." Although her parents were here and keeping an eye on things, I still felt uncomfortable about drinking because I wasn't yet 18. I only drank when I was at one of my family's house.

The other guests were Debbie, a girl with curly black hair and brown eyes, Murphy, a boy whose parents were from South Africa with brown hair, tanned skin and blue eyes (though again, not like Eric's) and Terry, Darrien's best friend, an auburn-haired, green-eyed guy.

Juliana was a tomboy while Debbie and Mia were girly girls; Darrien and Terry were the footie lads; Murphy was a quiet, boffin type who I didn't really know much about despite having known him for as long as I could remember; me... well, I didn't know how the others perceived me but I was a bookworm who loved classical music and enjoyed school, especially English Lit. We had all grown up together, all of us wereharts. We made forests greener, orchards more bountiful, spring more beautiful. There was something in our auras which cleansed the soil and the antlers of a stag could be used as protection charms. This was because stags kept dark spirits at bay, not only forest-poisoners but nightmare-bringers and crop-killers. We secretly made locations with the right climate more habitable places. It was something we were happy to do without recognition, which brought us a bit of inner serenity.

The night was fun, save for the fact that the 18 Juliana chose to watch was terrifying. Luckily, Murphy, who was sitting beside me, didn't judge me for hiding my eyes several times, even though I was the Tain's son and supposed to lead the Herd at some point in the future. Mia hid her face in my shoulder, which she was welcome to do, except that she also clutched my arm a bit too tightly. For dinner we had pizza that Juliana had ordered and I was amazed by how much Darrien, Terry, Mia and Murphy ate. Together we polished off three large pizzas and Juliana, Debbie and Mia had only had the equivalent of one.

After the film, it was sadly time to go home - only Debbie was allowed to stay for the sleepover. Darrien, who had been affectionate with Juliana throughout the entire film, gave her a long snog to say goodbye, and while Mia, Debbie and Murphy were disgusted, Terry encouraged him, saying "Get in there, mate!" For my part, I averted my eyes to be polite but didn't actually mind seeing people kissing. I thought it was sweet.

I accidentally caught Murphy's gaze while this was going on - we were waiting for our own parents to arrive (he was 16 and I couldn't drive) - and for some reason he blushed. Maybe he was more embarrassed than disgusted.

My mum arrived and I got into the car. I thought of Darrien and Juliana's shameless public display of affection and once more the Thought came to mind. But I still didn't tell her the Thing.

***