First it was the sound of rain. He could swear he could hear it crystal clear, hitting the back windows of the car. He could still feel the leather seat below him, soft and cold to the touch. It was dark, and there were more noises in the atmosphere. He could hear strong rumbling sounds, like a pounding hammer, only ten thousand times larger. He wasn't sure if it was somewhere close or far away, but it was always there.
Then, there was also a song. He had trouble remembering the lyrics, but the melody he remembered well. There was a guitar, a keyboard and drums. The bass was the hardest part to remember, it always had been. He never had an ear for music, if he was being honest, ever since he was little. Sure he could catch a rhythm and recognize songs or genres, but when it came to decomposing a song, he was pretty useless.
... Coming out... just fine... I want it all...
... How... like this... only a...
No, the lyrics were too foggy. But there were more sounds. There always were. Words. Words of hatred, launched from one end of the front row to the other. Two sides clashing like a storm and a volcano. Nobody's a winner, but nobody gives up either. And one last sound: the sound that he had come to associate with fear. A large, prolonged noise, coming closer from further ahead, into the light...
And then, he heard his name called out in the silence.
Connor...! Connor...! Wake up, Connor!
Eyes open. There was no high pitched sound coming closer. There was no song. There were no screams, but there was rain. Connor looked to his left, and saw that it was raining heavily against the bus window. Then, he turned his head to his right, and saw that Alexis had been shaking him awake. She looked the same as she had been before he had fallen asleep; a brown coat a bit too big for her small size, jeans, sneakers and a red wool beanie that she never took off, no matter what were the circumstances. She shook her head and sighed in relief, thankful that he was already up.
-"Finally!"-she said, giggling-"I have been trying to wake you up forever. You really are the heaviest sleeper..."
-"Well, you're no different, Al."-Connor said, lifting his head from the armrest in which he had dozed off on, and taking a look around the proximate seats around him-"So in the end, nobody got on, huh?"
-"Well..."-Alexis said, lowering her voice a little-"There's some guy in the back..."
Connor turned around on his seat and saw what Alexis meant. There was a guy sitting in the farthest back, with a hooded jacket, black pants and large white headphones on. In comparison to Connor's worn out jeans and blue hoodie, the mystery person seemed like he was dressed for a photoshoot. It was hard to tell out his face, but other than him there weren't any more people on the ride.
-"He got in when we were passing Chicago. He's made it this far, so I think he's heading the same way as us."
Connor nodded, once again getting back in the correct position on his seat, taking a big yawn and extending his arms.
-"So, are we in Wisconsin yet?"-he asked, looking towards Alexis.
-"Oh, we've been there since about two hours ago."-she said-"Actually we're almost at the place. That's why... I woke you up..."
Alexis's gaze fell to the ground, and Connor immediately scooted closer to the younger girl, wrapping one of his arms around her shoulders.
-"Hey..."-Connor whispered in sympathy, with a sweet smile-"It's going to be ok. We're going to be ok. We'll get by it, like we've always had. Alright?"
Alexis looked up at Connor, hesitant.
-"... I know we'll be fine. I just get so nervous... when it's a new place..."
-"There's nothing to be nervous about. I got your back. Promise?"
Connor extended his right pinky towards Alexis, who took it in hers.
-"Promise."-she said with a grin.
The two shook their little fingers like they were shaking hands, the way they always did. Alexis suddenly looked towards the window and perched up, standing next to the window in the little space Connor had for his legs, looking outside.
-"What is it Al?"-Connor asked.
-"We're here, Con! Look!"
Connor kneeled on the bus seat, and then mimicked the young girl. Outside, asides from rain and fog, there was a bus stop and gas station that read "Welcome to Yule Town, Wisconsin."
-"This is it!"-Alexis said, as the bus stopped in front of the station and she turned towards Connor with a smile-"We're here!"
-"Hahaha... slow down, Al, I know we're here. We should probably get down now. Too bad we don't have any umbrellas..."
Connor and Alexis got out of their seats, picked their two small carry on-bags and backpacks, walked towards the exit, said goodbye to the driver (his name was Bob) and exited the bus. Immediately the two of them felt the cold winds and the chilling sensation of the rain drop into their bones. It didn't seem like august autumn weather at all. Luckily there were some benches with a sunroof on, so they headed there and sat, already drenched from the water.
-"Dang! Fucking rain..."-said Connor, who had gotten himself soaked up-"These are my only pair of shoes, too... damn now they're all wet..."
-"Look."-Alexis said-"There's the guy. He's getting off, too."
Connor looked at the direction Alexis pointed out, and saw the guy that had been sleeping at the back of the bus. Now that he saw him well, he could tell he had curly brown hair, darker than his, but was way skinnier and a bit taller. He was also very pale. Kind of fitted in with the grey skies and freezing rain. The guy had a red umbrella, and as soon as he got down from the bus, he met with a girl that was at the gas station. The two of them hugged, and then chatted for a bit. Before they left, the guy looked towards Connor's direction.
The two of them shared nothing more than five seconds of looking at each other, and then the guy was gone. He got into a car, probably the girl's, which was pumping up gas from one of the diesel containers.
-"Looks about your age."-Alexis observed-"I wonder if we'll go to school with him?"
-"Well... it's a pretty small town."-Connor said-"I think there's only one high school."
Connor looked around the station, searching. People were supposed to pick them up soon. Minutes passed, and the two of them remained seated with no signs of life.
-"I wonder where they are at?"-Alexis said-"Maybe... we arrived early?"
-"No."-Connor said, checking his silver wristwatch-"They're late."
Connor stood up and extended his hand towards Alexis.
-"Come on up. I'm hungry."-he said-"There ought to be something at the gas station."
The two of them picked up their bags, and ran through the rain towards the gas station. There was a mini market, and once inside they were greeted with the spiteful look of a young woman who seemed in between "over it" and "I need the cash." Connor nodded his head her way, as if saying hello, and then he and Alexis started walking around looking for something to eat. Weird as it was to see a seventeen year old boy and a fifteen year old girl walking around in the middle of a mini market with carry-on bags, drenched in rainwater, the two couldn't care any less. There was also no one to see them, so that helped, too. At the cashier, Alexis saw something that caught her eye.
-"Ow!"-she said, taking a bar of some sort of candy and showing it to Connor-"These are my favorite! Can I have one, Con? Please?"
-"Gee... I don't know I don't have much money, and that looks pricey..."-Connor said with a frown.
-"Pleaaaaaase Con, it's the last time I ask you for anything! I swear!"
-"Augh... fine. Put it on the counter."
The girl at the other side of the counter who still seemed extremely pissed, and a lot more interested in her chewing gum than in her customers, looked at Connor and Alexis coldly before talking.
-"You two aren't from around here, aren't you?"-she asked.
-"Eh... no."-Connor said-"Could you please just... tell me the price?"
After some brief moments of consideration, and the sound of the front door opening again, the girl took her calculator and did some additions. She then told Connor that all in all was $14.99.
-"What!? That much...?"-Connor asked.
-"That candy bar alone is about five bucks."
Connor took a look at his nearly empty wallet. He had about seven dollars, and that was counting the cents. Alexis looked a bit guilty, and Connor felt bad for not being able to buy it to her.
-"I'll pay."
They turned around and found themselves with the same boy from the bus. He was completely dry, except for the occasional droplets of water on his jacket. He had his wallet in his hand and a very neutral expression. Connor wasn't sure why he had noticed, but his eyes were really blue.
-"I have to pay for my gas anyway."-said the boy, getting in front of the cashier and giving her a 50 dollar bill.
The girl didn't seem amused, but she did the transaction anyways. Not once did the guy look at Connor, while Connor didn't take his eyes off him. He felt extremely offended, and wanted to tell him to fuck off. But he was paying for Alexis's candy, so instead he just clenched his jaw and remained silent. After paying, the boy gave Alexis the bag of our stuff.
-"Here you go."-he said, giving her a warm smile.
He was making his way off the store, when Alexis called him out.
-"T-Thanks!"-she said, and he stopped on his feet to look at her-"Thank you, sir."
-"No problem."-he said, and Connor noticed a strange accent he didn't recognize.
After he was out, they saw him getting back into the car, as it got turned on and drove away into the rain. Connor gave his thanks to the cashier, and then they left the mini market. The rain was stopping, but it was still very damp and cold.
-"... That was nice of him."-Alexis said.
-"... Yeah, whatever."-Connor replied, frustrated.
-"... Look I know you don't like when people do that, but... it isn't a bad thing, you know?"
-"... I just hate people pitying on me."
Alexis seemed like she wanted to respond something to that, but she didn't have the time to find the words. Because right there, a small, old white car arrived at the station and parked by the bus stop. From the driver's seat, a tall, thin, blonde woman got down, trying to cover herself from the rain with what seemed to be a newspaper and holding to her handbag with her right arm. She looked around the bus stop, and when she saw nobody, headed towards the gas station.
-"... That's her."-Alexis said, shyly, and Connor nodded.
The woman spotted them looking at her from afar, and then walked in their direction. She was wearing a white jacket with black pants and high heels; just out from the office, apparently. When she reached Connor and Alexis, they saw that she had big brown eyes and was breathing heavily, probably from the cold. She seemed to be just as nervous as them, if not more. But still, she managed to give them a smile.
-"Connor! Alexis!"-she said-"I'm sorry I'm late to pick you up."
The two of them weren't sure of what to say, so they just glanced at her awkwardly. Connor could feel Alexis getting behind him, a bit intimidated. She used to do that often when she was scared. The woman stammered with her words for a bit, and then said.
-"We... we spoke on the phone. My name is Grace. Grace Helbig. I'm your new foster mother."
---
The drive in Grace's car was silent, to say the least. No three passengers seemed comfortable enough to say anything, and it was clear that there was a lot of work to be done in this soon to be household. Connor and Alexis were both sitting on the back, not saying anything to Grace or to each other. Grace, who was driving, kept looking back at them in the rearview mirror. She seemed genuinely concerned about the situation, but didn't seem to know how to manage it. To Connor, she seemed a bit... lost.
-"I know you'll love it here in Yule. The weather is not always this bad."-Grace said, trying to break the silence-"I... I work at the local newspaper, the Psycho Babble. I know it doesn't sound quite serious, but we do our best to cover everything that's going on around..."
Connor saw all the houses they went by. They didn't all look the same like they did in movies or anything, but it sure was still quite monotone anyway. He could see the lines of evergreens surrounding the town, and he felt the sensation of getting closer to the mountains every time. He wondered if there was a lake nearby.
-"... Look! This is the high school you'll be attending."
Connor saw a large white building through the window. It read "St. Yule High", but there wasn't much else to it. He thought he had seen some sort of emblem but he wasn't sure.
-"This year you are a freshman, aren't you Alexis?"-Grace asked.
-"Y... Yes..."-Alexis said, barely audibly.
-"Really? That's so good! How old are you?"
-"... Fifteen..."
-"Oh you are just Mikey's age!"-Grace said, quite excitedly.
Connor couldn't help but feel bad at his lack of participation in the chat, so he proceeded to ask.
-"Who's Mikey?"
-"Oh! True, how silly of me... Well his name is Michael, but everyone calls him Mikey."-Grace said-"He's going to be your new brother. He just turned fifteen this year, too."
-"... Is he a foster kid, too?"-Connor asked, a bit coldly.
-"He... he was."-Grace said-"Until I adopted him."
Alexis suddenly got anxious. Connor didn't have to see her to know that. She had always wanted to be adopted, but no families that had sheltered them so far had shown any interest in that.
-"I can't wait for you guys to meet."-Grace said-"I know you'll get along so well..."
After a few more minutes of silent driving, they arrived at a two story wooden house.
-"We're here!"-Grace said-"Come on, the rain is stopping, we should be good."
Grace got off the car and headed towards the main door, fiddling with her keys to get it open. Alexis turned towards Connor.
-"Well... Guess it's time to get it..."-she said.
-"Hey"-Connor said, once again linking their pinky fingers-", we are ok. She seems nice... and the place does too. We'll be fine."
Alexis nodded, and then lounged herself over Connor, giving him a tight hug. He was shocked at first, but then hugged her back. The two of them got off the car and picked their bags, just as Grace got herself to open the front door.
-"Oh, good!"-Grace said-"Come on kids, get in before you catch a cold... Mikey! Are you home? Mikey come down there's someone I'd like you to meet!"
Alexis got in first, and Connor followed her in, taking a moment to see the front of the house, and the backyard behind the white wooden fence that stretched out for a couple of feet away. There was a small wooden dog house, but it was empty. In fact, it seemed deserted. He thought it was weird, but let it slide and just entered the house.
The entrance was cozy, and most of the lights were off. There was a staircase that led to the second floor in front of him, to his left he could see the living room and to his right a corridor he assumed led to the bathroom and kitchen. Alexis was walking through the lobby, looking at old pictures that must've been Grace's. Grace, on the other hand, was climbing up the stairs.
-"Mikey! Mikey? Where could he be...? "
Then, the sound of a ringing phone could be heard from the living room and from upstairs.
-"Shit."-Grace murmured, and then turned towards Connor and Alexis-"I'll be right down to help you with your bags, don't worry about them. I'll help you settle in and everything, just give me a couple of minutes. I need to take this call."
Grace was gone into the second floor, and the phone stopped ringing. Connor wasn't planning on moving or anything either, but he hated being told what to do. Even if it was just to be told to wait.
-"Con... come here, look."-Alexis said.
Connor went towards Alexis's voice. She was in the living room, watching the pictures hanged on the walls. There was one in particular she was observing intently, and as Connor got closer, he saw it was of a family. In it was Grace with a man that was holding her hand, the two of them laughing, sitting down in some sort of park. With them was a brown and white dog of a breed whose name Connor wasn't quite sure of.
-"This must be her husband..."-Alexis said-"I wonder where he is at?"
-"Well, she does have a wedding ring... I've seen it. But there's no other car in the house and I don't see anyone else around... besides she hasn't mentioned him once."
-"I don't remember anyone telling us she was married?"
-"They didn't... I think she isn't..."
-"That's so... strange..."
Connor's attention was drawn to the dog in the picture. It seemed pretty friendly, and he saw it wore a dog collar with the name tag "Goose" on it.
-"... This must be the dog."
-"What dog?"
-"I saw a dog house in the backyard. But there aren't any dogs here... I don't hear any, at least..."
The conversation of the two was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and steps heading into the house. They turned around and saw a boy who wasn't as tall as Connor but who was still taller than Alexis, with a backpack and a raincoat on. When he saw them, he left his backpack on the floor and headed into the living room. He wore large squared glasses, and had pretty messy blonde curly hair. He seemed to be Alexis's age, only she looks way small for her age, while he looked more like a regular fifteen year old.
-"... Hi."-said the boy.
-"... Hello."-said Alexis.
The boy stalled for a bit, but then walked towards Connor and Alexis, extending his hand.
-"My name is Michael, but you can call me Mikey, everyone does..."-he said shyly.
-"Connor."-Connor said, without showing any intention of shaking Mikey's hand, which the latter seemed to feel a bit intimidated by-"And this is..."
Alexis walked towards Mikey and shook his hand, a lot more inviting than Connor.
-"I'm Alexis."-she said, smiling softly.
-"Ok... welcome to Yule."-Mikey said-"You're just in time for the start of classes this week."
-"You don't say..."-Connor said, averting his gaze around the room.
They soon heard the sound of Grace talking on the phone, coming down the stairs.
-"No, I told you already, I got this... No, I don't need help. I said no! I don't have time for this! I have to go introduce the kids... "
Grace appeared in the living room, looking a bit stressed, with a wireless phone in her hand. Upon seeing that everyone was already there, she smiled.
-"Oh, Mikey, you're home!"
-"Hey Grace."-Mikey said, smiling widely at her.
-"Were you at Luke's?"
-"Yeah... he wanted to show me his new Xbox games..."
-"Well... I see you've all met already! That's so good! Tell you guys what; let's take your bags upstairs, to your rooms, and then we'll have some pizza for dinner, how about that?"
Everyone's faces lit up at the sound of pizza, even Connor's. They took all the bags upstairs, and Grace told them that since there were only three bedrooms in the house and one was hers, Connor would be sharing rooms with Mikey while Alexis would have a room of her own, news that didn't fail to excite her, as it was a first. Connor didn't mind sharing at all, because being a foster kid this was a common situation. There had been times he had even shared rooms with girls, so this was definitely an improvement.
To his surprise, there was already a bed ready for him in Mikey's room. It was big enough for him, and he had a wardrobe and a nightstand all for himself. It was a lot more than what he got in other places. The room in itself was wooden, like the rest of the house, but had a blue tapestry with some strange checkered design. There was also a green carpet and, much to his amazement, a plant just next to the window. His bed was the closest to the window and the plant, whilst Mikey's was right by the door. They also had their own bathroom. Now that was definitely an improvement over the previous place.
-"We didn't know what kind of sheets you'd like."-Mikey said, when the two of them were alone in the room-"So we just got you plain white ones."
-"They're alright."-Connor said-"I'm not really picky with sheets."
Mikey nodded.
-"So, I'll let you get settled in."-he told Connor-"Unless you need any help...?"
-"No, I don't need your help."-Connor said without looking at Mikey directly-"I'm fine on my own."
-"Ok... so I'll be downstairs. You know, if you need anything, just let me know..."
Mikey left the room, and Connor was left alone. He knew he had to unpack and everything, so he decided to get right to it. He didn't have much clothes. Never been the type of person to care for those things, so it really didn't bother him that he only owned one button up shirt (blue, one that Alexis had picked for him), or that he only owned two pairs of worn out jeans or that most of his underwear was older than what it should be. Unsurprisingly, the wardrobe proved to be a tad too big for his humble selection of clothing. It didn't really take him that long to get ready, and in the end he turned out to have even more space than he needed after all. Without giving it any thought whatsoever, he grabbed a change of clothes and took a long, hot shower, letting the steam warm him up after the prolonged exposure to the rain and the cold.
After he was done, he just laid on his bed (getting it wet in the process), giving out a big breath of exhaustion. With his hand he searched in his right pocket, and took out the picture that he always carried with him. He was just seven years old when that picture was taken, the same year as the accident. He was in middle. To his left, he saw his bigger sister Nicola and his bigger brother Dustin, who were ten and twelve back then. To his right his baby brother Brandon, who was six. And standing behind the four smiling children were his parents, smiling as well. This picture was all that he had left of them, and he had hold tight to it since he started being alone.
Connor hugged the picture to his chest, and then told himself.
-"It's just another house, Connor, like all the others."-he whispered-"No attachments. You'll be gone in a couple of months at most. Like always."
Before putting the picture away in his jeans, he kissed it with soft lips. Never had anyone seen this little ritual of his. Not even Alexis. It was all he had left. It was all he could truly call his.
-"... Nothing has changed."-he said finally, putting the picture away.
He then got up and left the room to head downstairs, the only thought on his mind being that he had to go through this town just like any other one he had so far.
You may be as well wondering what is going on inside Connor's thoughts. Well, being frank, there's a lot more than what meets the eye. And there's plenty of reasons for that, too...
It was very hard getting to know Connor. Not many people got the chance to talk to him properly, especially those that were his age. He had his own way of thinking in regards to his peers, and because of that, he much preferred to go about on his own. Because the few times he had done otherwise, he had been hurt in more than one way, and Alexis had, too.
He had already promised himself he wouldn't let any of them be hurt again. So he had managed to keep up a system. He had to remain at bay, and stick to Alexis. Avoid problems, avoid making attachments, because people never stayed for long in his life.
He had to be this silent passer. A wallflower. Invisible, distant. Once somebody so warm, those who might have known him in the past would amazed to see how the young man had become so cold blooded.