Chapter 11.
Ollie.
The night air was cool and satisfying, making up for the deadly heat from the daytime. I trudged back towards the diner having calmed down from my earlier outburst. I limped slightly on my ankle but the pain wasn't too hard to ignore.
I held my knuckle tightly, staring down at the deep gash from my battle with the cash register. The bleeding had stopped a few hours ago but the cut still throbbed mildly. I pushed it to the back of my mind and carried on walking, craning my neck to look at the expanse of stars scattering the sky above me, twinkling elegantly.
When I saw the light of the diner up ahead, I halted and stared in through the window, seeing Jade chatting with Nicole. Theo was nowhere to be seen so I guessed he was off sleeping somewhere. I didn't blame him, he had a pretty nasty injury. My face softened as I watched the two girls. Nicole's face was hidden as only her back was facing me, but that didn't matter as long as I knew she was there.
Not wanting to go inside straight away, I circled the building, trying to find any way up onto the roof. I know it sounds stupid but there's something relieving about being up high above everything else. You can usually see for miles and it always seems to be more peaceful because no one ever goes up there.
Finding a drainpipe, I gripped it tightly and shook it, seeing if it would come loose whilst I was on my way up. When I was sure it was sturdy enough I shuffled up onto the roof and perched on the edge, scanning the horizon like a hawk. My legs hung over the side and swung back and forth slowly as I closed my eyes, listening keenly to the sounds of the night.
Snapping my eyes back open I narrowed them and glared down at my hands, trying to work out why I could control fire. Maybe I'd find out when we found the guy who wrote the letter.
My fingers clicked on my right hand and a flame ignited, dancing over my fingertips, glowing brightly and strongly. Clenching my fist around it, I watched as wisps of smoke began to penetrate the gaps in my fingers, escaping the darkness and floating up into the sky.
It must've been about an hour later when I heard the sound of feet crunching across the cracked, dehydrated ground, heading around the building towards where I was sat. Pulling my legs up I rolled onto my stomach, peeking my head over the edge and watching the floor.
Her face was illuminated angelically in the light from the full moon, making her look pale and innocent. My heart began to beat a little faster beneath my chest, my cheeks burning ever so slightly. Her eyes narrowed and she looked up suddenly, smiling as she saw me watching her. "Too slow, Chase. How did you get up there?"
"I learnt how to blast off like a rocket. Could be useful in the future." I smirked and sat up, knowing my cover was broken.
"Funny." She smiled softly and brushed her long, caramel hair over one shoulder, spotting the drainpipe. "You used that?".
I rested back on the edge of the roof, one knee bent and my hands resting on my stomach. "A fire starter never reveals his secret."
"Wait, isn't that supposed to be magician?" She shook her head and raised both eyebrows.
"Nicole Paver, do I look like a magician to you?" My head fell to the side to look at her, copying her facial expression.
Nicole grabbed the drainpipe and hopped up so all her weight was on it before making steady progress up towards me.
Teasingly, I rolled onto my stomach, resting my elbows on the edge of the roof and looking down at her. "Almost there." I reached my hand down, lifting it back up as she tried to make a grab for it. "Just a few more metres." I repeated the action, laughing as she got more and more frustrated.
When she eventually reached the roof she slapped my cheek lightly. "You're a real dick at times, you know that?"
"Mhmm...I've been told once or twice." I folded my legs up and picked up a loose piece of stone from the roof and tossed it from hand to hand.
Nicole sat down beside me. "I thought you weren't coming back..." She whispered and looked at me, her eyes shining in the moonlight. "I'm glad you did."
"I guess I was just angry." I glanced down at the gash on my knuckle, poking at the torn flesh. "That's from the stupid cash register."
"Don't worry." She teased. "I'm sure you can beat it next time."
"Very funny. Almost made me smile." I mumbled and looked at her, rolling my eyes.
"About that, how come you never do smile?" Her fingers poked my cheeks, pulling them up into a grin.
I groaned and tried to push her hands away, watching her pout as I made her stop.
"Oh yeah, I forgot. Smiling would ruin the bad boy image, wouldn't it?" She flicked the stud in my ear.
"Come on, leave off!" I shuffled away from her so she couldn't touch me anymore. "I've not got any reason to smile so what's the point?"
"It could lighten up your face by...I don't know, forty seven percent."
"Great guess there, really helpful." I wrung my hands together, a ball of flame appearing in my palm.
She flashed a dimpled smile and looked at my hands in awe, her gentle eyes widening as she saw. "What else can you do with it?"
I shrugged and stretched my hands out so the palms were facing each other, a long column of flame widening between my hands, raging powerfully.
Then I pressed my hands together and closed my eyes in concentration before thrusting them out. A majestic eagle burst from my hands, every feather defined spectacularly, leaving behind a flash of light from its wings as they beat together, flickering rhythmically and crackling like logs on a blaze.
The eagle soared into the sky, lighting it up. The flaming bird dived back down, rocketing towards my hands. It made contact with my skin and vanished as if through a portal, making me gasp in surprise and sway slightly from the effort of creating the bird.
"Woah..." Nicole grabbed my shoulders to steady me and laid me down on the floor.
I looked up at her through blurred vision, my head throbbing. "'Wasn't expecting that..." I muttered, spiking my hair up at the front.
Nicole lifted my head up and rested it on her lap, flattening my hair back down again with a smirk on her face. "That was amazing!" She complimented me.
I closed my eyes and let a smile cross my face, relaxing slowly with my head against her knee.
"Is that...is that a smile?" She asked and looked down at me, one hand running through my hair. "You shouldn't have used that much energy...it's affected your head."
I shrugged slightly, letting the smile stay on my face despite the weird pulling feeling on my facial muscles. "It's alright. It impressed you..."
She was silent for a long time. "A smile suits you. Brightens your face up. It makes you look much better."
"You're saying I usually look bad?"
She laughed and shook her head. "No, didn't you see the way Jade took to you?"
"Unfortunately." I replied and opened my eyes again, blinking up at her.
She giggled and rested back on her hands, looking up at the moon. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
"You said you used to watch stars with your dad. Teach me some constellations." I asked her, watching her face as she stared up at the sky.
"Can you sit up?" I nodded and shuffled to a sitting position, resting right next to her.
She pointed up to the stars, pointing out a well known star structure, "Big Dipper." Nicole smiled and grabbed my hand, lifting it up so I was pointing too.
"I've seen that one." I nodded and followed the direction of my finger to look at it more closely.
"That one's Orion." She shifted my hand. "You usually spot him by his belt first. It's three stars in a row."
"Three stars in a row." I repeated. "Got it."
"That one up there, that's Hercules. You've heard of him right? Greek. Hero." She directed my hand to another cluster of stars which, in my honest opinion, looked no different to any of the others. Of course, I wasn't going to let her know that.
"Yeah..." I found that I wasn't even looking at the stars anymore. I was captivated by the way her eyes seemed to light up in the enjoyment of being reminded of home, reflecting each speck of light from the sky. Her quiet laugh that broke the comfortable silence, making my heart beat double time. The touch of her warm hand against my wrist as she directed my finger. I was sure she could feel the rapid pulse pounding through my veins.
She turned to look at me, her gentle eyes staring into the depths of my own. Her free hand rested against my cheek, her thumb moving back and forth slowly.
A sudden heat flared across my cheeks, my skin flushing slightly at her touch.
When she spoke, her voice was nothing more than a confident, easy whisper. "You look cute when you blush.". I was aware of her leaning forwards, but when her lips pressed against mine my mind went blank. Completely blank.
My hands hung limply by my sides until my thoughts caught up with themselves. That's when they moved forwards and wrapped around her waist loosely, pulling her closer to me.
Nicole pulled away first. She blinked up at me, her own cheeks as red as an apple. "Hey..."
I cleared my throat, scratching the back of my neck awkwardly. "Yeah, hey...". My eyes averted down to the floor, boring into the ground.
A new wave of warmth spread through my body and my hands ignited into blazing flames, forming different shapes and figures.
Nicole laughed and watched closely. "Can you do another eagle?" She paused, "Without hurting yourself, of course. Just once more."
I nodded and splayed my hands, the great eagle burst forth from my skin and soared into the sky, swirling and twirling, spinning and diving in a dance of infinite power and grace.
As the eagle disappeared, Nicole moved onto her knees, a wide grin plastered on her face. "Can you show me again?"
"You said that the last time." I rolled my eyes, that unfamiliar smile crossing my face again.
"Please Ollie...it's so beautiful." Her chin rested on my shoulder and she pursed her lips, blowing into my ear before giggling at my reaction.
I rubbed the tickling sensation out of my ear, turning back to her. "Alright then. One more time. Just for you." I smirked and held out my hand, another flash filling the air as the eagle circled us.
I heard a creaking sound and turned suddenly, the bird dissolving into the air, falling apart slowly.
"What's that?" I asked, looking at Nicole, my eyebrows furrowing.
"I don't know, maybe it's nothing?" But she didn't sound too sure.
I shrugged, looking back over my shoulder again as a pale hand reached up over the edge of the roof, scrabbling for a good grip. "What the heck?"
Theo's boyish face appeared over the ledge, eyeing us curiously. Then a crash sounded out and he winced, looking back down at the drainpipe which was now laying on the floor. "Uh...sorry guys."
He walked over and sat beside us, still looking at me, "You came back then?"
"Obviously." Again, I got a look from Nicole, which automatically sent me into silence. I didn't want to anger her and I knew Theo had done nothing wrong so he didn't deserve to be snapped at.
We spoke for a while before an awkward silence rested upon the group, making us all feel uncomfortable.
"Ollie? Can I ask you something?" Theo asked. This put me on guard instantly. I felt my body tense, my eyes widen a little, the tiny blonde hairs on my arms sticking upright.
"It depends what it is." My hands gripped the edges of my knee-length shorts, giving me something to distract myself from the both of them.
"Why don't you want to go back home?"
And that started a whole conversation of 'Lets-make-Ollie-feel-as-uncomfortable-as-possible-without-making-him-snap.' I hated every second of it. In Nicole's presence I found myself giving off too much information that I would normally never tell anyone.
I couldn't help it. My mouth just kept spilling out the words that my mind was trying to keep under locks. Stuff like: information about my mum, my dad, even the fact that I'd spent the last couple of weeks living in a forest. That's when I tried to stop.
I clenched my jaw, aware that Nicole's fingers were linked with mine. My eyes closed tightly, trying to hide myself away from the both of them despite being sat between them.
I didn't want to be here. I didn't want to be back in California. I didn't want to be anywhere. What's the point in staying somewhere you don't belong?
Relaxing again, I pulled the knife out of my pocket and flicked it open, sliding my thumb along the flat of the blade, calming myself from the anger that was building up inside my head.
Clearly understanding the fact that I didn't want to talk anymore, Theo jumped down from the roof, landing on the floor like a cat. He apologised for interrupting us and walked away, his usual smile stuck on his face.
The knife sent a chill through my spine suddenly. As I looked down at my hand I saw a puddle of blood growing from my palm, crimson liquid dripping from my hand, dribbling down my fingers like raindrops.
Cursing, I dropped the knife and climbed to my feet, kicking off again. I shook the blood from my hand and lashed out at one of the extraction fans on the roof. The metallic ringing noise resounded through the air. Any noise in the slightest was beginning to irritate me now. I'd given too much away about myself...
I felt a pair of arms slide around my waist and pull me into a hug, something I'd not experienced in years. Nicole looked up at me in a way that no one had ever looked at me before. Her intense brown eyes were soft and deep.
She sat down on the floor, pulling me down next to her, one hand running through my hair in a calming rhythm. Her lips pressed against my temple and I felt all the fear, nervousness and tension drain from my body.
My breathing became less ragged as I leant against her. Closing my eyes, I was transported into pure darkness. Not unnerving, vulnerable darkness, but the safe one where it felt like someone was protecting me.
All of a sudden I didn't feel so abandoned any more. Not as reserved and isolated. I was beginning to feel like I had when I was a kid; happier, more content and comfortable with myself and my mind.
All because of one person: Nicole.
For the first time in my life, I'd found someone I was happy to call...well, a friend. I'd never had a proper friend before. I was always the fiery one in my school classes, the boy that got sent to the principal's office four times a week. I guess I was kind of popular, but I think I used to intimidate the younger kids.
Darkness began to fill my mind as I realised how exhausted I was. I could feel my consciousness ebbing away. The last thing I felt was Nicole's fingers stroking through my hair in the way my mother never had. Slumber swallowed me whole and I sank into a deep, peaceful sleep from which I never wanted to wake.
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Sorry I've not updated in a while. I've been too busy preparing for Christmas and the end of the school year.
I'm going to try and get up to speed with my other stories as well but I've got quite a lot of homework.
Hope you all had a great Christmas if you celebrate it!