Seventeen Forever

Alone Forever

My bed seemed particularly soft as I admired my ceiling from it. Light poured in through my window, illuminating the dust in the air. Since Conelly destroyed our Endless keys, our trio wasn't really a trio anymore. All of us tried to make new keys, but none worked. Emily had even cried a bit on our last try. Since then, she'd more or less been a ghost, outside of running with Nira's group at school. James still texted me once in a while. He was lonely without Emily to talk to on the computer.

A knocking came from the front door. My grandmother's house was eerily silent as I went down the stairs. I opened the door and found James.

"Hey, Kaileigh." He did a tiny wave with his hand.

"Wanna go to the mall?"

"I don't really get hanging out at the mall." I replied.

"It's better than not leaving your house all day," he said. I pondered for a bit, and decided he was right. I shrugged and we started walking. The sidewalks of Dubuque still had puddles on them from the last storm. James was making an effort to jump through all of them, skipping between several.

"You are in a good mood," I joked.

"Well, yeah! I haven't gotten to see you outside of school in a while!" James cheered.

"Yeah, I guess I just haven't felt like talking since what happened." I sank into my shirt a little.

"You know Endless didn't make us friends, right?" James said, jumping into another puddle.

"It just seems like we did all of our bonding there," I said quietly.

"That's not true. What about the drives to Bethune?" James noted.

"That was still about Endless, though," I pointed out.

"How about the concert with Emily? She talked a lot about that after you two got back."

"Was it really that exciting for her?" I asked, a little curious.

"Yeah, she told me all about it in a voice chat. She seemed excited about it."

"Huh." I shrugged a little.

"Also there was the time you let us sleep over!" James noted.

"You didn't have to help us, or let us wear your clothes." I finally took a pause and thought about all of it.

"Maybe you have a point, James." I gave him a soft smile before jumping into a puddle and soaking the bottom of his pants. We both began laughing loudly as the mall grew near.

"I know a cool store near the entrance!" James said, as the humid outside air was replaced with the AC of the mall. He dragged me by the arm to a store called 'Games Galore' which appeared to be full of puzzles and board games. He grabbed a game that was called 'Dragon Panic'.

"I didn't know you liked board games, too," I said as I observed the game.

"All games are games, and they are more fun with friends!" He cheered.

"Well this one seems a little high level for me, I'm more of a Monopoly, or Life skill level," I noted. He put the game back and ran over to another corner where a small contraption was. I walked over and noticed it was some kind of track that was looping marbles around.

"What kind of stuff do you want to do?" James asked, not looking away from the marbles.

"I doubt there's a water park in this mall," I noted.

"There is a Tilt-A-Whirl!" James said.

"Actually, that does sound fun." Quickly he was dragging me again, this time down the hall to a cheap looking arcade.

"How are we going to pay?" I asked him as he produced a wallet.

"Money," he replied before paying.

"Where did you get that?" I asked, but did not get an answer. The Tilt-A-Whirl was a ride that spun in a circle, and then the cars could also spin separately. I had a vague memory of riding one at a fair with my parents when I was much younger. The ride started and our car swung to the right. James allowed himself to slide into me.

"Ow!" I laughed at him as he was forced away. This repeated for the duration of the ride before we got off laughing. We re-entered the mall and passed a clothing store. Suddenly I realized James was no longer at my side and instead peering into the clothing shop.

"I think that outfit is for girls," I noted the mannequin he was eyeing.

"I think it's pretty," James notes.

"Okay, let's try it on, then," I said.

"I don't think I'm allowed to try on girl clothes, because I'm a boy," he said.

"Who's gonna stop us?" I smiled as we entered the store. I had James pick some things he liked out, and I matched up the sizes against him. We went to the changing stalls and he went in, but quickly returned wearing a pink tank top and capris.

"That's definitely a 10/10!" I cheered jokingly. After a few outfits I noticed him eyeing a certain part of the store.

"You want a skirt?" I asked him.

"I don't know," he said quietly. I walked over and picked one, throwing it to him.

"Do it," I smiled. He went into the changing stall and returned in the skirt.

"Well, isn't this a sight?" I turned to see Nira and friends behind us, including Emily.

"You two make a cute couple." James backed into the changing stall.

"You're both weirdos."

"Come on, he's just trying on clothes," I said.

"Guys don't wear girls' clothes," Nira laughed. I turned and James was gone. I didn't even hear him run off. The girl turned away laughing. I locked eyes angrily with a silent Emily. She turned and walked away with her friends.

Meanwhile, in Bethune...

"I just don't understand," Todd said to his concerned partner, Gwen.

"I keep having these flashes of some kind of weird world, and Reggie."

"Reggie is gone," Gwen said, hugging him. He was holding an old art project he'd held onto, a key made of clay. The door suddenly knocked. Todd opened it to find Esther, his old friend.

"What did you need, Todd?" She asked.

"Do you still have that little flute you made when we were kids?" He asked.

"Why do you ask?" she inquires.

"Do you remember that place we made up? Back when we were kids?" He asks.

"Endless Island?" She noted, remembering her recent run in with those two girls. She fumbled through her bag for the flute, and pulled the piece of paper out of it.

"With this key create a door..." Todd read.

"To take us to your righteous shores. To give us fun-"

"Wait!" Suddenly, Conelly was in the hallway.

"Do not finish the spell."

"Spell?" Esther and Todd asked.

"Do you know what happened to Reggie, Conelly?" Todd asked.

"Oh. You want to listen to me now, after all this time?" she asked angrily.

To Be Continued In: Fading Memories Forever