How to Steal a Happy Ending

~ Interlude: the robin ~

Red was the color of Vince's hair.

I used to think it was red like cherry skins or the rustling feathers of a robin. Or red like a field of poppies dancing to the wind.

I'd forgotten that red was also the color of hospital crosses, fire engines and stop signs.

Red was the color of danger.

But could you truly blame me?

A robin pecked at my window and asked to be let in with a sideway tilt of its fragile head. I was young, naive and too enthralled to ask where it came from. Too eager to open the latch, for fear it would fly away.

~-~ two years ago ~-~

"So then, the bottom of the bag burst open and all the shit fell out." He made a whooshing gesture with his hands to emphasize the fact that all the shit had indeed fallen out.

I smiled at him and nodded enthusiastically. Listening to Vince talk was like deep sea diving; your nose is squished under the snorkel, your ears are plugged and you can't hear a thing. But at least you have nice view.

"Me and Tyler didn't want to pick it up all over again so we tossed it around the yard. You know, so that it looked like a hurricane hit." He raised and lowered his eyebrows as he laughed heartily. I took another sip of my smoothie to avoid having to laugh as well.

"Hurricanes in Iowa," I stated with a bit more sarcasm than I had intended. Sometimes stupidity is cute, but definitely not after a 30 minute play by play on how he cleaned up his room.

He chuckled into his hamburger, perfectly oblivious to the tone of my reply. Vince took another big bite of that greasy monstrosity of a meal.Suddenly, his eyes light up and he snapped back to face me. "Oh, wait! Did I tell you about Connor? He gets these crazy new wheels and then decides that he's gonna drive it around town. And then..."

I listened mutely to same exact story he'd told me at lunch. Of course, I didn't mention this to him. That would be rude. And I'm pretty sure he'd feel bad. I just gave him another smile and wiped the mayonnaise off the corner of his mouth. I let out a breathy laugh as he blew me a kiss in return.

Attention customers, if you happen to spot a human shaped puddle on the floor, kindly scrape it up and post it to a Mrs. Heathrow at 103, Willow Drive. Thank you and have a good day.

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A/N: I know this started out a bit more...abstract than the chapters usually are but what can I say I'm in poetic mood today. (Shameless insert: I've completed one set of poetry Dear Boy, recently and I'd love if you guys checked it out--it's okay if don't tho ^_^ )

~Dedicated to brokenpencil21 for these two wonderful banners~