After Elliot

19: Headstone Nostalgia

"I'm not hungry. You ready Lili?" I turn to Liam, who has a face full of hotdog at the moment. He nods, however, sets the food down, wipes his mouth, then allows me to lead him away from the pavilion. "By mom! Bye... Dad! Thanks for the money!" I tug Liam away by his pointer finger, all the way across the grounds to the Hot Topic tent. "Yay! My home!" I sigh, to myself, then rush to the tent, immediately grabbing assortments of band merch and graphic shirts.

Once we're done shopping, I have three new shirts, a new purse, and more Danger Days comic books. I slip into the changing room and substitute my american flag shirt for a Ouija board tank, the bottom of the black shirt barely covering my skull and crossbones navel piercing.

I shove my old shirt into the bag, then meet Liam outside. We leisurely make our way to the skateboarding tent, where I buy a new Zero board for seventy-three dollars. It's black, and has the words ZERO written across it in bloody letters, and a bloody skull at the end. We thank the cashier, then walk to the ramp, which is only ten yards, give or take, away. There are a couple of people already here, some doing tricks and others just hanging out.

"Have fun," Liam tells me, and I nod, "There's no way not to," then climb up the side of the ramp and to the top. Once I set my board in place, I stand on it, the wheels very close to teetering over the edge. "Here goes nothing," I murmur, before letting myself drop in and skate to the other side of the ramp. When I fly into the air, I do a simple kick flip, then come back down with elegance.

When I reach the other side, I try a lip slide across the edge of the ramp, rolling successfully to the other edge. A 180 ollie and a 360 shuvit ensue before I stop, skidding to halt in the middle of the concrete surface. "Woo!" I hear Liam cheer, along with some claps from other bystanders. "Thanks," I smile, then wave to the people who clapped. I jump off the side of the ramp, then jog over to Liam, board in hand. "That was totally awesome! How'd you learn to do that?"

"Years and years of practice, thats for sure," I reply, and he grins. His phone chimes, signaling he has a text. He pulls it out, then reads it, before repeating it back to me, "Liam, you can take your flight home now. Analise needs to spend time with her parents, and you need to give her some space. Don't worry, she'll be home in a week or so. Love, Mom and Dad." "You're leaving?" I ask nervously. "Yeah, I have to. Mom wanted me to get a plane at ten, but I stalled until two-thirty."

My stomach lurches at the thought of him leaving me alone with these people, and I cross my arms over myself. "A-are you sure?" He nods, his face also seemingly upset. "I'll go get Harriet to drive us home, then." "Drive me, to the airport. You need to stay here." My eyes widen in shock, and I take a step back, "B-But, I want to go to the airport with you-" "No, Ana, you need to stay and be social. See your old friends." "The only old friend I have here is Ryan, and he's on a date."

He runs his fingers through his unruly hair, seemingly frustrated with me, "You're staying, Analise. It'll be good for you." "Like you know," I murmur. He shoots me a glance, but doesn't say anything regarding it. "Let's just go find your mom, alright?" He pulls at my hand, trying to release it from the grasp of my other arm, and I give in, allowing him to lead me back to the pavilion, where I'm sure Harriet and Darren are still at.

Once we make it there, we see that they're still seated, answering questions with a reporter for Instant-One News. I interrupt rudely, not exactly caring about his stupid interview, telling Mother that she needs to take Liam home and then to the airport. She nods and complies, after shooting daggers into me.

I follow them to the Jeep, skateboard in hand, and Liam places a soft kiss on my lips, "Don't lose my beanie, ok?" He teases, and I let out a small laugh, letting my gaze travel downwards. "Hey," He tilts my chin up, forcing me to stare into his eyes, "I'll see you at home." I silently agree with a head nod, and he grins. He places another kiss on my lips before jumping into the car and allowing my mother to drive him away.