"Wake up Shannon!" I groaned in annoyance. I was sick of hearing voices in my dreams. All my dreams had been based on Sadie's sixteen year old face. But mostly Aurelia crying and talking about fairy tales. And a thousand beer bottles being smashed against the wall.
"SHANNON! Get your ass up this second or I will drag you out of bed, awake, or asleep."
"I'm up," I groaned, still not moving.
"Then prove it," Aurelia ordered, growing awfully impatient. I opened my eyes and groaned at the bright light, otherwise, known as the sun.
"Stupid light. I ain't no Teletubby," I muttered to myself. I sat up on the bed and faced a well dressed Aurelia, a scowl written on her face.
"Someone's not a morning person," I said, loud and clear.
"GET UP SHANNON!" Aurelia shouted; her face a strange pink color.
"Yes, mam." I saluted like a soldier would and quickly jumped out of bed. I'm so awesome that the queen of the greatness couldn't be more awesome than me.
"One balloon, two balloons, yellow balloon, and orange balloons," I sang as I skipped into the bathroom. I shut the door behind me and smiled at the sight in front of me.
For once, I did not see a depressed teen with plain white clothing. I saw a girl with a bright smile on her face and as colorful as an ice princess.
What? Ice princesses can be colorful.
But of course, I had a flaw. Just like everyone else had. No one had all the looks and I straight out hated the people who thought they were extremely perfect.
Miranda, a girl from the adoption center, was one out of many who I envied. Perfect hair, perfect pearly white teeth, loved by all, beautiful curves, cheek bones, and skinny like a model. I used to cry every night, wishing that I was just like Miranda, with her lovely brown eyes that all the boy always melted into. And I wished I could have the courage like she had.
But I was the good girl. Although, no one knew just how bad I really am deep inside. The problem was, I was never caught. And one day I will be.
You don't know me. Miranda never knew me. No one ever knew me. I know me and that's what really counts. Now, I'm laughing because I'm in control now. I'm the queen and everyone shall watch as I sit on my golden throne filled with gummy bears.
I brushed my teeth and continued to stare at my reflection. I'm beautiful, I chanted to myself. And maybe I was and maybe I wasn't, but these were my thoughts, so back off!
My thoughts wandered back to the conversation I had with Aurelia last night. We were all broken and fragile like china dolls. And the worst part was that sometimes, we were missing an arm and a leg. Sort of like when you go to war and you got shot.
Bang, bang, bang!
As every bang goes off, so does your china doll arm and leg. The sad part is, your heart remains. One big organ that is the only thing that will stand. Yet, I hear mine break.
Crack, crack, crack.
But was it ever broken?
Deep inside, I am a very broken girl. I take care of myself, but I want to take care of my mother and baby sister. Are they worried? Are they looking for me? Are they meeting with the police right now?
Too many questions and only one brain.
"Come on Shannon," I said to myself. "Just finish brushing your teeth and waltz into the shower like a superstar would." And that's what I did. I quickly brushed my teeth and averted my gaze from the girl who was staring back at me with her crystal blue eyes.
As fast as I could manage, I hopped in the shower, making sure to wash away all my worries and the heartbreaking words I heard last night. I sighed knowing that such unpleasant words would never leave your soul. They stick like glue, but a certain type of glue that would last forever until you die.
The hot water felt good against my skin and as much as I wanted to stay in this bliss forever, I didn't want to get wrinkled like a prune. I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel as I got out.
Apparently, Aurelia left an outfit for me. Surprisingly, I had to agree with her choice. A yellow and gray sequined dress with a purple and gray striped cardigan. Aurelia even added in a purple dress, along with light tan, brown socks with brown high heels that had straps.
Personally, I thought the outfit was cute. Not lazy, skimpy, or uncomfortable. Just a plain outfit that one of your dolls would wear.
I changed into the clothes, grinning at the comfortable fabric against my skin. I put my hair in a messy bun, since it would most likely be hot outside, and added a green, bow headband that Aurelia put in the pile on purpose.
"Tada!" I screamed as I flung the door to the bathroom wide open. Aurelia laughed and clapped.
"Good job Shanny. You look ah-mazing." Aurelia squealed. Ah-mazing. Haha. GROSS!
"Did you just call me Shanny?" I asked in a perfectly sweet voice. Deep inside, I was boiling with anger. Did I say how much I hate it when people use nicknames on me?
"Come on Shan. Come play with us." Ivory, the red head, tugged on my braids with a sick smile. Her supposed boyfriend laughed at me, breaking my heart. I would cry if I could, but I promised myself that I wouldn't make any sounds.
"Don't be a goody eleven year old, Shanny," Ivory said in her annoying, high pitched voice. How could her boyfriend stand her?
"I am an eleven year old," I whispered.
"Oh, so Shanny does talk?" Ivory asked. She tugged on my braids once again, giving my head a pinching feeling. In seconds, I went from calm to seeing red.
"STOP!" I roared and pushed the girl to the ground.
Since then, I hated when someone would call me something other than my actual name. I would always throw a temper, which included my fist. Three nurses would have to hold me back and would have to put their syringe needles in my arm to put me to sleep.
"Of course Shanny," Aurelia responded, in a calm tone.
"Enough!" I growled. "Don't call me that, or else..." I trailed off, my cheeks boiling in anger.
"Oh," Aurelia said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I had no idea that you didn't like that nickname."
"I hate nicknames," I whined. A lonely tear escaped and ran down my cheek. I burst out into loud sobs, hiccuping once in a while. I was busy crying that I didn't hear the door open. Someone sat next to me and put their arm around my shoulder.
"What happened?" a familiar voice, demanded. Blake. He was here! This only reminded my of the story I head last night, making me cry harder. He pushed me closer to him and I was now facing his chest. I felt protected, making me sigh, which only sounded like another hiccup.
"Sorry," I said. "I have some bad mood swings."
Blake looked at me as if he wasn't sure if he should let me go or not. He brought me closer, his chin on the top of my head.
"I'm fine. Really, I am. You can let go of me, Blake." Slowly, he obeyed. He gently pushed me away, taking in a sharp breath. Blake closed his eyes as if he was put in a difficult situation.
"We should...get going," I stated.
"Yeah," Blake responded. "There is a lot to see in Paris."
"Of course, you would know that," I mumbled to myself. I was pretty sure he heard me though and decided to slowly shake my words off.
"Bye," Aurelia waved, her eyes wide. I guess she was troubled by my tantrum. She probably never had to deal with a bipolar teen before.
Blake took my hand and led me out the door. We were quiet when we were walking to the elevator. But when we got in...that was a different story.
"Soft music, really?" I yelled.
"Paris is fancy like that," Blake answered, calmly.
"So you're telling me that they play a sad violin song to be fancy? Wow. What a rip off."
"People like it." Psssh, whatever.
To be truthful, I never got the chance to respond to his statement.
~~~~~~
Right now, we were currently walking in Le Marais. And by we, I mean Blake and I. Luckily, he did not ditch me because I have to admit, I'm annoying when I asked way too many questions. But in my defense, I knew nothing about Paris.
Le Marais (bet you don't know anything about this name) was truly just a street. But this street was more old looking, yet better than Manhattan.
This street, in other words, is known as a shopping center. Restaurants, cafes, some places to buy clothes. This was just like one of those type of places you can take a stroll in.
"Want to go grocery shopping?" Blake asked.
"Is that supposed to be romantic?" I asked.
Blake let out a husky chuckle. "I was joking. I'm not that dumb."
"You sure about that?" I questioned, also laughing. He only rolled his eyes as we stopped at the corner of the street.
"Let's stop here."
"At a bakery?"
"I promised you some chocolate croissants, now did I?"
"Hell yeah," I said. "Let's go." We walked into the bakery, but it was I who dragged Blake to the door. The bakery was alive, crowded with a ton of happy people. A couple smiled at us when the bell to the door rang.
Acting on pure instinct, I walked up to the line and I was thankful that we were immediately sent to a cashier worker.
"Just give me everything on the menu," I said. The man behind the counter gave me a puzzled look.
"Woah dude, you don't know English." No response. Greattt. "Let me spell it out for you then. Give me e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. Everything. Got it? Good."
"You," was the only word the man could say.
"Duh. I'm not Dora the Explorer, now am I?"
"Stop that," Blake demanded under his breath. "Let me order." He started speaking French to the man and the man smiled at him. How dare he defy me? I'm better looking than Blake.
This life was totally unfair and here I was, someone who could make everything feel okay.
The man responded to whatever Blake said and Blake handed him french money. French! But I guess the name is actually Euro, whatever that means.
"How do you speak French? And how did you get Euros?" I asked.
"I've learned French when I was a teenager because I wanted to impress...never mind. And Euro is the only way to buy things, so..." He trailed off as if I should fill in the blank myself.
"Monsieur," the man said to Blake. They started another conversation, which in my case, was extremely boring. We were handed a box to which I grabbed at in delight. And in a frantic skip, I searched for a table, one in which I found by a window.
"He was a nice man," Blake stated.
"That man didn't know any English," I said, clearly irritated.
"This is Paris. Soak all the wonders in babe."
I scoffed at his cockiness. "Well, babe, if you don't mind, I would like to eat." I opened the box and almost squealed at the sight. There were twelve chocolate croissants. Cheers to treats!
"This looks delicious." My mouth was practically watering at the sight.
Blake took the box from me with a pointed gaze. He tore a piece. "Open up," he said.
"Wh—"
He forced the croissant in my mouth. I closed my mouth and started chewing pure gold. A billion flavors erupted at the taste of goodness. I moaned when I finished swallowing.
"I love this," I breathed out.
"Good," Blake said, and it looked like he genuinely meant what he said.
"Your turn." I took a whole croissant as he opened his mouth. I giggled when he instantly closed his mouth and groaned at the taste. Turns out Blake was also a sucker for chocolate.
Oh, what great news this is.
We finished the box after many giggles and feeding one another. Truly, this is the most fun I ever had. I wish I could never leave, but life does have a tendency to go on.
Blake and I walked out of the bakery and I was still smiling from what I just tried.
"We have to hurry," Blake said. "We have somewhere else to go." I quickened my pace to match his long strides. Blake was way taller than me, making it hard to keep up, but at least I managed.
We walked on the same street, eyes wondering at the scene unfolding before us. People were watching a group of dancers. The beat was dance worthy and people were laughing and clapping. Some couples were dancing to the music, spinning each other around.
Blake came to an abrupt stop. His expression fell, his blue eyes filled with sadness from what he was seeing. It hurt having to see this side of him and I knew the cause of this.
"Dance with me," I urged, or in my case, begged. Blake stared at me wide eyed, but to my surprise, he smiled. And at once, the shine in his eyes brightened.
He spun me before we swayed to the music. He twirled me, my dress spinning with me. I felt alive at the moment, as if I could just fly away from the world. Blake caught me and I giggled.
"You truly are a wonder, Shannon."
"And you are so much more than a gang leader, Blake."
Blake smiled and held on to my hand, tightly. We started walking and I smiled since everyone was having fun. For once, this type of fun included me as well.
We walked around for what seemed like ages, taking in the buildings that looked like a masterpiece. Still holding hands, Blake came to a stop under a tree.
"Yes, Blake. Trees are very educational," I said.
"No," Blake dismissed. "Look behind you." Slowly, but not like the slow motion mode, I turned around and gasped at the sight before me.
"The Eiffel Tower! Blake, look!" I screamed, jumping up and down. I knew that I was acting like a child, but I was excited. This famous building was beautiful and here I was, standing not too far away from Paris's famous building. Of course, I would be excited. This offer didn't happen to a teenage girl every day. This was one chance in a lifetime.
"Thank you, oh thank you, Blake!" I hugged him and he tensed at first but hugged me back.
"Sit down. We might be here for a long time." Blake said.
I stepped back and laughed. "Or forever," I joked. Blake smiled as I sat on the soft, green grass under the tree.
The silence between Blake and I was peaceful. I stared at the famous tower, smiling. If you told me that I would be in Paris one year ago, I would have laughed. Or hit you with my candy bar. Nah, I'm just joking. I was never allowed to eat candy at the adoption center. Ever.
"So," Blake said, cutting the silence. "Are you going to tell me why you were in hysterics when I came to your room?"
"Are you awfully curious Blake? Is the suspense killing you? Was the reason for my crying running in your mind? Are you haunted, never going to sleep at night. Wondering and wondering, trying to decipher something so truly impossible, yet so simple."
Blake stared at me as if saying with his eyes that my statement could be true.
"Very well," I said. "To be fair, you should know that I am bipolar. And my past came back to haunt me, but I won't go into any specific details."
"Oh," Blake said. "I'm sorry?"
"Are you?" I asked. My heart started beating faster. As to why—I do not know.
"We have to go," Blake said, ignoring my question. I wondered what his answer would have been. A yes? A no? Two options; a fifty-fifty percent chance.
"We should come back here, someday," I stated. I sighed, giving one last look at the old, but wonderful Eiffel Tower. I turned to Blake who was staring back at the tower.
"Yeah. Just you and me, though." That sentence made me smile. Me and him. Him and I. Here, in the city of love. Oh, what have I gotten myself into?
Blake stood up as did I. We started walking, well I had to jog to keep up with his long strides. You should know that there was no gym where I lived half my life.
"Our mission begins tomorrow," Blake announced, but mostly whispered. He would be stupid if he yelled out that we were going ninja tomorrow.
"Aw, I wanted a Netflix day with the television."
"You can have your 'Netflix day' in the morning. The party doesn't start until six in the evening."
"Fine," I agreed reluctantly. "You know, you can crush dreams in a heartbeat."
"Baby, that's my job."
Ah, isn't Blake just wonderful. Mean, yes. Stupid, yes. But, oh, so wonderful.
Well, I'll love to hear your comments. This honestly was just a filler chapter, but don't you worry! The action is soon to come. And maybe, just maybe, Blake would possibly break down his walls.
Or not.
You really shouldn't mess with a gang leader.
Until next time. Update on Tuesday folks!
See you.
-melodytabora
P.S. Dedication goes out to inqberry45 and TheLeoTiger. Please support their books. Thank you all so much! Plus, we can never have too much fantasy;)
~EDITED~