Gods & Monsters (Desert Children #3)

JE VEUX TON AMOUR

"Please Phoenix? I want to make it up to you." Ghoul said.

He was trying to convince me to hang out with a few trusted friends at a bonfire. I had honestly had enough of partying for the rest of my life after that experience with Toxic. I tried to politely tell him that I was not interested in going and showing my face.

"If you go to the party, you'll look badass. Like the fight didn't even affect you." He told me.

Ghoul was right. It might be weird if I didn't show up. The Killjoys gossiped like middle school girls. Caring what other people thought wasn't like me, but I seemed to be doing it a lot lately. I guess sometimes it's just how you have to survive in a world where you're the wife of a Fabulous Killjoy. The Fabulous Killjoys were some of the first Killjoys that existed. Everyone looked up to them for guidance. 'She's not an original Killjoy', some said. 'How could she be part of their clan?' they said. The only way to get past rude people was to ignore them. I did this regularly, trying to pretend that I was never hurt by their words.
I was worried about the bad looks I would get at the party as we drove to Show Pony's hang out. When I got out of the car, all eyes turned to me. I held my breath. Then, they all went back to their conversations. I breathed a sigh of relief. In the distance I could see Cola running up to us. I hadn't seen him in a long time.

"Phoenix! What you did the other night was amazing." He said breathlessly.

"Uhhh...thanks." I replied and laughed shyly. He followed me all the way to the cooler with the drinks. He wanted to know about how it felt in the heat of the moment. He even made the punching gestures which made me giggle.

"You're like a hero now." Cola said and smiled.

"I don't feel like one." I replied.

"Everyone is talking about it. Can't you hear them? You belong with the Fabulous Four. They see you as a celebrity."

I grabbed a drink and popped off the top. The cold liquid sloshed down my throat, cooling me down. Cola was still staring at me smiling. I gave him a weird look in return.

"What?" I asked.

"You don't see it." He said.

"See what?" I asked.

"Butterflies never get to see their wings. They don't realize how truly spectacular they really are." Cola grinned.

I couldn't see what he meant. I was just Phoenix. I wanted to fit in, not stand out. The world was watching my every move. People were around me trying to get my attention. Their eyes met mine as they smiled. I wanted to disappear. I panicked, pushing through the crowd of people with my drink in hand. I had to find Ghoul to stay grounded.

"Have you seen Ghoul?" I asked a girl with short, blue hair.

Instead of answering me, she began to ask me questions about the fight. I didn't want to talk about it. I ignored her and shook my head. Ghoul was nowhere to be found. I felt lost. Suddenly, a loud bang sounded. My head whipped around. People didn't seem phased but I felt like something was wrong. I was losing my grip. I ran right into Cola.

"Phoenix, is there something wrong?" He asked me.

"I need to find Ghoul. I don't feel all that well. It must be the heat." I said quietly.

Cola frowned. "Hey, maybe you need to take a seat. Follow me."

Cola took me to a quiet place where I sat on an old lawn chair. He pulled another one next to me and began to spill his life story. I listened closely, feeling myself calm down. He was from Texas where one of the bombs hit. He lost his mother and her girlfriend May. Cola was surprised he lived. He didn't know how to go on even though he knew it was what his mother and step-mom would want. He traveled for days on nothing but water and cans of dog food. He slowly began to run out of food and gas for the car he was using. One day, he saw a man coasting down the road on rollerblades. The man, Show Pony, invited him to come along. He barely made it to the hideout where Dr. D and Show Pony resided. Cola didn't know anything about the city until he was told by Dr. D what was going on.

"Sometimes I miss the days where I traveled alone. It was quiet and I had the road in front of me to keep me going. I had to keep traveling no matter what happened. Even if shit gets bad we have to keep traveling. We need to see what's on the other side of the rainbow." He said. "You know?"

I nodded. "I didn't see a future until I met Ghoul. But we just have to keep on traveling."

I saw Ghoul approaching us and smiled. Cola was right. We had to keep on traveling. Even if we go through bumps in the road or barren land, there is always more ahead. I remembered when Cola kissed me and how he must have felt when I pushed him away. But he kept on moving. Cola truly was a good guy. Cola was gazing out at the crowd of people. He suddenly got up from where he was sitting, a look of confusion on his face. I looked in his direction a little too late. There was a bang as he jumped in front of me. He fell to the ground, blood coming from his chest. I pulled him into my arms and Ghoul was there pressing something to his chest to stop the bleeding.

"Phoenix." Cola said quietly, looking up at me. "Is she still there?"

"Who? Who did this?" I asked.

His eyes fluttered shut before I could get an answer.

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I'm so so sorry for taking so long. I totally forgot I had this part saved in my Google Docs. There is way too much going on right now omg. I hope you all forgive me.