Opening up the gate, I walked down the row of headstones with a Daisy in hand. It was a nice breezy day with a few clouds in the sky.
I didn't come here often because it was on the complete opposite side of town...but once in a while, my aunt Kristy would take me.
The Arcadia graveyard.
I got down on my knees in front of one of the stones and fixed my stitch to sit up beside me. Placing the flower down against the smooth, polished stone, I read the words engraved for maybe the thousandth time.
Sam Bernard
November 17, 2006 - August 2, 2021
A loved son, and best friend.
"I was lucky to have met you Ghost."
His parents moved away after they heard about the incident. I'm the only one who ever visits now. You would think his own parents would visit him.
The sight of how he looked that day has haunted me ever since his face was almost unrecognizable and covered in burns. I remember I begged the doctors to let me see him and they were so hesitant.
Before the house was demolished, I got a hold of some of the items that had almost been untouched by the fire and kept them in a box.
Then one day when I was visiting the empty field I found one of his necklaces he used to wear. It now hangs by my window and every so often, reflects off the sun to create a rainbow on my wall.
"Hi," I said softly, imagining him next to me. "The spring dance is in a few weeks. I wish you were here so we could go and criticize everything." I laughed and held back tears.
"I don't think I'll be going this year again, even though I have two friends now. I'm dating Krel now. I think you'd love both of them, especially Aja. I'm planning on taking her for a walk later." I rubbed my eyes.
"It's been two years and I still cry about you. I hope you're listening when I talk to you at your old place... It's easier to go there than here." I chuckled.
"You never really said it back but I love you Ghost, and I know you did too. I'll see you later." I stood up and headed back to the parking lot where my aunt was waiting. I could feel the tears evaporating as I took a deep breath.
I opened the truck door and climbed into the passenger seat.
"You ready?"
I nodded and buckled my seatbelt before clipping stitch to it.
"Hey, I'm proud of you." She said.
"For what?"
"For moving on and still cherishing him. It's not an easy thing."
I chuckled, "Kristy-"
"It's true! Now put on some music, I need to pick up groceries before we head home."
After connecting my phone to the speakers, I put on upbeat music for the drive.
~~*~~*~~
Aja and I were finally having our quality girl time as we listened to music and walked through the town. The wind was nice and it was a bit more cloudy than this morning.
I brought her a spare pair of headphones so she could hear the music I was listening to. She seemed to enjoy my choice of music thoroughly and would sometimes dance along.
"Your sound frequencies are so lively!" She swayed along. I couldn't help but smile.
I noticed a group of people begin to form across the street in front of the cafe. I recognized most of them to be students from the high school while others were adults you'd usually see around town.
I paused the music and we removed our headphones, "What's with the commotion?" She asked.
"I don't know, wanna go check it out?"
"Of course I do! It could be exciting, like someone found that super rare animal you have, a uh... Unicorn!"
"Those aren't real Aja." I laughed.
"They aren't? The internet lied to me!"
"It'll do that."
We crossed the street and the crowd had already dissipated by the time we reached the building. People were either holding a flyer or talking excitedly to each other.
Looking up at the window I saw a flyer for karaoke night at the cafe. I remembered how Douxie would host it occasionally and invite me, but I never wanted to go.
"What is 'Karah-oak'?" Aja tilted her head.
"'Karaoke' is when you sing a song in front of people."
"Can you make up your own song?"
"No, it's a song that already exists, you just need to sing off the words on a screen, but you can pick which one you sing."
"Can we do this karaoke night? It sounds lively!"
"You're more than welcome to, it's not really my thing though."
"Really? Do you not like to sing?" Aja proceeded to follow me inside.
"Oh no I love to sing, I just don't like people." I chuckled.
"But don't you like my little brother and me?"
"No, I do, I do. I just don't like to socialize I guess."
"I don't exactly understand it, but is this part of your anxiety?"
"You could say that, yeah." I sat down on a bar stool next to Aja.
"I see. Well, maybe we could all go! You don't have to participate in the... Karaoke and Krel and I could still have fun."
"Well, what if Krel doesn't want to go?"
"Then you could at least come with me so I'm not alone. I wouldn't leave you for a secton!"
"Hello ladies, what can I get for you?"
I turned my attention to Douxie who was standing on the other side of the counter.
"Oh, hi Douxie."
"Oh yes! What was that drink you said Olivia gets?" Aja turned to me.
"A strawberry banana smoothie?" I thought back to when I told her she might like Olivia's drink.
"Yes, that. I would like to try one of those please."
"Sure thing, and would you like your usual Phoenix?"
I nodded and he wrote it down before handing the paper to another worker.
"So you're Aja, right?"
"Yes, how did you know? Are you a spy?" She leaned closer.
"No, definitely not a spy." He chuckled, "Phoenix told me all about you and Krel. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"You talk about us?" Aja gasped.
I blushed and tried avoiding eye contact with both of them.
"Aww, Phoenix that's so sweet!" She cooed.
"You know, I agree with your friend about karaoke night." He changed the subject." You should come, but then again you never accepted my invites before, so who's to stop you now." He slid a flyer in front of me.
"I'll think about it." I picked up the flyer and studied it.
"If Krel wants to go, will you? Please Phoenix!"
"I'll even be working tonight so if you do decide to come, I'll be extra support for you." Douxie winked at me.
"Is the karaoke night only singing?" Aja asked.
"Nope, there will be free drinks and snacks the whole night only with paper games."
"Oh, I love earths snacks! But I don't know any songs."
"That's alright, you'll have plenty of time to learn one. Besides, karaoke is all about having fun!"
One of the employees reached over and handed Aja and me our order.
Aja took one sip of her drink and her eyes lit up.
"It's so cold, and sweet! If lively was a taste, this is exactly what it would be!"
I smiled at her enthusiasm.
"I'm glad you like it." I took a bite of my strawberry cheesecake.
"I hope you do come, Phoenix, it would be nice to see you there. Enjoy girls." Douxie smiled before going back to work.
"Thank you for this, um... "Girls" Day."
"You're welcome Aja, I just thought it would be nice to hang out." I took another bite. "You know, every Tuesday Olivia and I get some breakfast here on our way to school. You and Krel are welcome to join us."
"Of course, we'd love to! And I'm pretty sure Krel will be happy about spending more time with you." She continued sipping on her smoothie.
"What makes you say that?" I blushed.
"He seems to have an interest in you! Do you not see it? You, human girls, are so blind."
"No Aja, I did not notice." I smiled with a sarcastic tone.
~~~
"So about this karaoke thing, I'll only go if you do Phoenix." Krel said through the phone.
"What outfit should I wear? Mother gave me so many options!" Aja laughed as she dug through her closet.
"Why do you even want to change how you look, sister? Is your human form not good enough?" Krel jokingly asked.
"My human form is fine, what's so wrong with wanting to "dress" differently." Aja pulled out a blue, graphic shirt from a set of drawers.
"Speaking of human form, how come you haven't transformed?"
"There was no need to, I was here working on the daxial array while you and Phoenix were out doing your thing."
While the two siblings continued to speak, I started to think about how much Olivia would enjoy this.
"Hey, how would you guys feel about Olivia coming?" I spoke up.
"Yes, we should totally invite her!" Aja stood in front of a mirror and held an outfit in front of her.
"Would this be something she's interested in?" Krel asked.
"Oh yeah, unlike me Olivia loves the attention so she'll definitely want to go."
Suddenly my door was thrown open and the three of us jumped.
"I heard my name!" Olivia exclaimed.
Krel panicked and turned off his camera.
"Olivia! How would you like to go to a karaoke night with us?" Aja turned to the screen.
"Yes! Why didn't you ask me before?"
She and Aja squealed and I covered my ears from the sound, I could just tell krel was doing the same.
"Do you ever stop listening?" I asked her.
"I do, I just so happened to be coming upstairs though. So karaoke night? I can come right?"
"Yes, you can."
"Olivia, which outfit should I wear?" Aja held up a green dress in one hand and a black T-shirt and jeans in the other.
"Wear the shirt and pants." Olivia and I said in sync. "Jinx!" We turned to each other.
"Double jinx! You owe me two cokes!" I pointed at her.
"Fine... Hey Krel, why is your camera off?"
"Uh- it's broken?" He lied hesitantly.
"Okay... Well, are you changing into something different? I know I will be!" She twirled.
"No, my clothes are just fine."
"Oh, alright. When are we leaving?"
I looked at the time on my phone and the time listed on the flyer I had laying on my bed.
"I guess here in a few hours."
She nodded and exited my room with a skip. Krel turned his camera back on and sighed in relief.
"She should probably learn how to knock if you and Krel call so much." Aja giggled. "Now I'm going to get ready, I'll see you later Phoenix!"
"Already? You have a while Aja." I laughed.
"Yes! Okay, bye!" She hung up and it was back to only Krel and me.
"She's excited."
"Indeed she is..."
It was a solid minute with just silence and a few smiles between us. It was nice and not awkward like how you might imagine it to be.
"I'm kind of nervous about tonight." I finally spoke.
"I am too, if it makes you feel any better." He hesitated, "So... If you're not doing anything...I was wondering if you could come over."
"How come?"
"Well, I don't know honestly. I was just thinking it would be nice to see you in person." He pulled his feet up onto his chair and laid his head on his knees.
"Well, I was planning to paint my window but I can come over."
"You were? Then you don't have to, I can go over there if you want."
"I don't mind Krel, I can go if you want."
"No, it's okay. I can go over there."
"Are you sure? You don't have to."
He nodded.
"Okay... Do you want to come over now, or-"
"Can I?" He asked.
I thought for a moment, Aunt Kristy wasn't here at the moment and Olivia wouldn't mind. So I nodded, "Yeah."
"Ok, I'll see you in a minute! Bye, my princess!" He hung up with a smile on his face. That smile made its way to mine and I couldn't help but fall in love with him again.
I got up and walked over to my closet. I pulled out my old paint supplies from one of the shelves and brought them over to my windowsill.
Popping open one of the paint bottles I could tell how dried out they became. Some water should help for now but I knew I'd need to replace them eventually.
I closed out the idle game on my laptop and pulled up a picture of the Andromeda Galaxy along with some music while I waited for krel.
~~*~~*~~
I opened the door to the cafe and was greeted by more people than usual, a girl was in front of the TV singing, the lights were turned off and only neon ones filled the room.
I felt almost out of place and headed straight over to one of the empty seats by the window. Krel followed behind me and I could tell he felt just the same.
It was a bit too loud for my ears but it was manageable. Aja and Olivia had already disappeared into the excitement of the place.
"So you did come!" I looked over at Douxie who was leaning on the counter.
"Yep..." I crossed my legs.
"Hi, krel." He waved.
"Hi... Do I know you?" Krel looked up from the seat next to me.
"Not yet, but Phoenix has told me a lot about you. I'm Douxie Casperan, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"You talk about me?"
I blushed, how are they both surprised I talk about them?
"So, how do you like it?"
"Which one?" I replied.
"Both."
"It's too much." Krel and I both replied.
"That's too bad, at least those two seem to be having a good time." Douxie pointed to Aja and Olivia.
The girls were jumping up and down at the back of the crowd with bright smiles on their faces. It lightened my mood a little to see them like that.
"Hey, isn't that the Mary and Darci from school?" Krel pointed out.
Looking through the crowd I spotted them, sure enough, they would be here. For a moment I swore I made eye contact with Mary.
"Actually, a lot of kids from your school are here. It's a Saturday night and most of them like to party." Douxie shrugged.
I simply sighed and pulled out my phone to game.
"You know... Phoenix painted the Andromeda Galaxy on her window." Krel piped up.
"Really? She hasn't painted that window in ages!" Douxie laughed.
I sunk into my seat feeling embarrassed.
"Hey, the girls are on." He pointed.
We all turned out attention to the crowd and Aja and Olivia stood over them on the makeshift stage. Music started playing and they smiled at each other before singing the song they picked.
I recognized it immediately because they sang it the whole way here just to practice it. Now they finally get their spotlight. Looking at them together it almost looked like Olivia had dressed to match Aja.
"Don't wanna live as an untold story," Olivia flipped her hair as she walked around dramatically. "Rather go out in a blaze of glory! I can't hear you, I don't fear you!" She sang loud with a smile.
"I'll live now 'cause the bad die last, dodging bullets with your broken past!" Aja followed, "Well, I can't hear you, I don't fear you now..."
"Wrapped in your regret, what a waste of blood and sweat! Oh oh-oh!" They sang in sync.
"I wanna taste love and pain! Wanna feel pride and shame!" Olivia burst out with a dramatic pose.
"I don't wanna take my time! Don't wanna waste one line! I wanna live better days! Never look back and say-"
They looked at each other, "It could have been me! It could have been me, yeah!"
"Don't wanna wake up on a Monday morning. The thought of work's getting my skin crawlin'!" Olivia was practically jumping in excitement as they switched lyrics and sang in sync all over again.
"I can't fear you, I don't hear you now!"
They both paused briefly for their dramatic effect, "Wrapped in your regret, what a waste of blood and sweat! Oh oh-oh!"
"I wanna taste love and pain!"
"I wanna taste love!" Olivia looked up at Aja.
"Wanna feel pride and shame, I don't wanna take my time!"
"No!"
They held hands and sang the finale together.
"Don't wanna waste one line! I wanna live better days, never look back and say, could have been me! It could have been me! I wanna live better days! Never look back and say, It could have been me! Oh, it could have been me!"
"It could have been me!" Olivia took the last line.
They both bowed and hopped off the stage almost out of breath as they ran back over to us.
"Did you see us Phoenix!?" Olivia jumped excitedly.
"That was so lively! You should give it a try Phoenix!"
"I can't even give a presentation in class and you want me to do that?" I asked.
"You two looked like you had fun. You almost blew the roof off the building." Douxie smiled at them.
"We were that loud?" Aja looked up.
"It's an expression." I chuckled.
"Give it up for the future band of Mama Skull!"
We all turned our attention to the familiar voice on stage.
"You and me, Living in the best world! You and me, living like we're rockstars!"
We all practically winced at Mary's poor vocals.
"She's really bad." Krel blurted out.
"Very." Douxie and I agreed.
"But, if she's having fun that's all that matters."
3052 words!
I know this one took a bit, I'm so sorry 😭 the next one will definitely be released on time next week.
I hope this chapter didn't feel rushed😓
I also really wanted to draw Aja and Olivia singing but I was already running behind 😫
K, thanks byeeee!