Love is Madness

15: Here's to Losing your M i ñ d

15: Here's to Losing your M ï ñ ð

Sunset at the beach.

Lissa tipped her head back and let her hair hang loose down her spine, her arms outstretched. She closed her eyes and breathed in the empty silence between the song change.

Then she touched the two rockets in her hands into the fire to set them alight as the music started back up with a jolt. She stood still, letting them spout dazzling sparks into the gathering darkness.

She was captivated by the fireworks. They cast coloured lights on the faces of her friends, red-white-green-blue, making their skins take on an otherworldly feeling, she felt invincible.

The pounding beat of the music ignited her pulse, some pop rock song, and she opened her mouth and yelled out with the lyrics. All around her people were dancing, laughing, loving, living, and she felt a curious sense of peace in the midst of the chaos.  

As if amongst all the noise and ongoings, time had stilled for her and her fireworks.

Like she was wrapped up in her own madness.

What else could she do, with Mikhael safe but sleeping like he was dead?

Then Cat barged in, grabbing the dying down rockets, tossing them aside, and the spell broke. Barefoot and heeless for once in a blue moon, having burned off her inebriation, she pulled Lissa in to dance, music emanating from her very being, 

-with the boom box blaring as we're falling in love-

her hands dry and cool on Lissa's shoulders. Lissa felt a surge of affection for her friend, because she'd been right about the beach and Mikhael and getting her head straight. (And for digging out a clean top that didn't have Mikhael's blood all over it; one for her and one for him.) In that moment, Lissa stopped minding about Cat taking (a very miniscule) interest in Jared. Because she'd never once looked sideways at Mikhael, never once considered him, for all her flaws and quirks. 

-when the sun's going down, we'll be raising our cups, singing-

They were joined by their other friends, purple-haired (insanely clever but politically incorrect) Niamh, pixie like (tiny and happy and loving) Taya, proclaimed hippy (and stoned and sad and carefree) Alice. They danced recklessly, with wild abandon, unstable in the shifting sand. No one cared. No one cared that they were lost and mad, deserted in some tiny beach town, half of them running from something, reclusive; the other half dirt poor and moneyless; or dangerous and criminal; beach bums or desperate to escape their godforsaken town forever, isolated, sad, in a strange and dreamlike limbo. No one cared.

Surrounded by people, Lissa felt the calmness return. 

-here's to nev-ver growing up-

The song wound down. Cat stopped dancing and considered her. Her dark eyes gleamed in the firelight, the red-blue-green fireworks glanced off the elegant little diamond earrings she always wore. With a mischievous grin, Cat pulled her away from the main group, and went to sit up on some random truck's roof.

"Come on up here, chica." she called and smacked the metal.

Lissa laughed at her mad friend and hoisted herself up next to her. "Que, what is it?" she said, and crossed her legs underneath herself.

"You sorted yo' head yet, my darling?"

Lissa stared up at the fireworks and shrugged with one shoulder. She still felt funny, a lingering oddness in her veins, behind her eyes, urging her to do- what? Something?

Something mad, something bad.

"Não. No, not really. We're still a mess," she replied, and she wasn't sure who she was referring to. "Still a smoking hot mess." Lissa said, half smiled and brushed sand off her feet.