Forgotten pages

When Did It Begin?

George pinned the last of their soaking garments to the clothesline,finally they were done.He turned to Elizabeth who was still kneeling in the grass,soap bubbles in her hair.Something told him to stay there in that moment,to just take in the feeling of the moment.He denied it and sat back down with her.

"So what's on the agenda today?"

"That's a good question,I have no idea."

She jumped up,landing on her feet like a cat."Why don't we pay a visit to the local delinquents?"She said as he quickly turned on her heel to face him,a smirk playing at her lips.

"Sounds like a plan,I'll show you the way."By the time he was standing she was a good distance ahead.He surged forward to catch up.

The trip was quiet,mostly Elizabeth enjoying the scenery.Luckily,the way to Ricky's was pretty straightforward,Walk to the schoolhouse and keep following the road then take a right at the big sycamore.The trip was quiet,mostly Elizabeth enjoying the scenery and basking in the sunshine.He was content with that.So when they eventually found themselves standing in front of the modest but charming building.The door opened with barely a knock and they were faced with the red-haired teen.

"Good morning George and I'm guessing you are...Elizabeth!"

She nodded and offered a handshake.He took it with enthusiasm as she kept hers firm and composed.

"So what are you two up to on this fine day?"

"We were on our way to pick up Levi and we assumed you'd be in for whatever we decide to do after."She spoke confidently,as if she already knew them well.The boy stood with his hand on his hip,side leaning on the door frame for a moment.

"You're right,I'm coming."

Their walk continued on relative silence,the only sounds being the ambient rustling of tree leaves,a starling cawing in the distance,and their own footsteps on the old pebbly road.At some point his focus was fixed on the clouds drifting lazily through the sky.Most were a perfect fluffy white while a few others held a heavy tinge of grey though it was debatable whether they'd actually get a storm or nothing at all.

The lapse in conversation was broken with the sound of a clearing throat.

"So I've heard some very interesting things about you Elizabeth."

George was immediately shot a fierce look at him before Elizabeth's own accusatory gaze was pointed in the same direction,one eyebrow cocked precariously high.

"What exactly have you heard?"Her tone was slick and cool as ice.Eyes sparking with just a tinge of humor.She kept her cold demeanor for the most part but he could see the subtle cracks in how the corner of her mouth threatened to curl upward and break her poker face.

"I heard that you were magical."

She kept the smile subdued seemingly giving up on keeping the demeanor of cold stone.There was the barely detectable change in her breathing,the telltale sign of hamon.He heard the quiet,familiar crackle and hum of golden energy.His heartbeat quickened,half from fearing he'd be enduring another unexpected overdrive half from anticipation wondering what kind of trick she would pull off.

Instead of leaping forward for some kind of mesmerizing stunt or turning around to hit him square in the chest with an overdrive like he half-expected she waited.He held his breath.She stayed silent,still pegging the redhead with that hard,confident look.Back straight,eyes glittering with mirth at some unknown feat.

Something in the moment made him unsteady,she calmly stepped directly in front of him.Now this really couldn't be good.Anxious butterflies seemed to flutter in his gut as the pebbly ground shook and shifted ominously beneath his feet.A root suddenly burst free from the earth,thick and twisting into itself.It grew,lifting George higher.In half an attempt to keep with the trick he calmly sat down like it were nothing surprising.His nails secretly dug into the tree as he clung for dear life.The root finally stopped it's ascent,stretching over the old road in a high arch.His legs still shook slightly from the sudden change in elevation but the look on Ricky's face was well worth it.His green eyes blown wide and jaw dropped.She let the tiniest of smirks grace her face as she stood there casually.