Chapter Six –
I could hear them all laughing down the hall, well except for David who joined me in my sanctuary. I was still getting ready for my father’s welcome home dinner. The one I didn’t want to go to. I hadn’t seen my dad yet but I didn’t want to anymore because he had already picked a fight with mum – accusing her of cheating on him (again). Dad had it in his head that mum had something going on with our neighbour Cameron. He’d come home and I’d been ready to run into the hall screaming welcome ‘home daddy’ until I heard him start screaming at mum; I love my dad but I love my mum more and because of this when he hurts her he hurts me.
I put my mascara on trying not to think too much into the afternoon’s events. I laughed at David who I could see through the mirror; Matchbox Twenty was playing as he played his invisible guitar.
“You don’t think that they’ll make us get up and dance like last time do you?” I jumped hearing David’s voice cut through my haze.
“I hope not” I laughed “that was so humiliating!”
“Yeah but I’m a pretty good dancer so it doesn’t even matter”
I smiled at the memory; David and I had taken ballroom dancing lessons together when we were little. We’d done it for a few years but when high school started we decided to quit.
“Hey! I’m an amazing dancer too!” I cried back offended.
Knock. Knock. “Come in…” I called praying and hoping it would be mum and not dad.
It was mum “Were leaving soon honey, do you want a lift with me or the Rogers?”
“Will dad be going with you?” I asked rhetorically “I’ll go with the Rogers if you’re going with dad” she looked hurt but I couldn’t help it I was too annoyed and upset.
“It’s not fair on me for you to make me choose between you and my husband”
“But who would you choose!” I said holding my head up with my lip pouted and eye brows drew in.
“You! In a heartbeat! You know that” I was being unfair on my mum so I let it drop, I did love my dad after all but like my mum, I would choose her over my dad.
“Fine. I’ll come with you”
“I’ll come too” David piped in, I smiled gratefully at him. At least I knew that no matter what happened with everyone else in the world my mum and David would always have my back.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
“Race you to the swing?” I asked raising an eyebrow at David. We ran down the street as fast as our feet could carry us and launched ourselves onto the swings, David a few beats ahead of me. I laughed as I began to push myself almost falling off the swing as I did so due to my balance being off from the run and jump.
“So you win, what do you want?” I asked, hooking my legs back and forth making myself go higher. I loved the swings, especially when I was on them with David. It had been our favourite when we were little. Of course we’d grown out of childish things like the park but for some reason whenever the park was empty and we were together we’d manage to end up back on our swings.
“Okay, you have to repeat what I say and on Monday you have to be my personal slave” David said laughing as I scowled only half-jokingly at him.
“Fine, go”
“David is the most awesome, amazing and extremely handsome guy in the world and I love him so much!” He shouted to the air looking extremely proud of himself.
I sighed “David is the most awesome, amazing and handsome guy in the world and I love him so much!”
“Uh-uh you forgot to say extremely” He laughed at me as I kicked my leg over at him making my seat sway all funny for a moment, once it was back to normal I repeated myself adding in extremely, getting it right this time. We stayed on the swings for some time after that, but after checking my phone for the tenth time I knew that we had to leave.
“C’mon, it’s late. We’d better go before mum has a panic attack and dad puts me on ‘lock down’” I muttered sarcastically shooting a sly smirk at him jumping off the swing. David mimicked my actions and we began walking.
“Felicity?”
“Hmm?” I mumbled tiredly as we began to reach the edge of the park.
“If someone, someone really close to you liked you, like really liked you… What would you say?”
“Uh, I don’t know” I was too tired now that my momentary high was gone to even comprehend what he was getting at, but I woke up a little bit when he grabbed me and turned me towards him.
“Felicity, I… I’m in love with you” And then he did what they always did after confessing their love, he kissed me. The kiss wasn’t over the top amazing and it didn’t have fireworks but it felt nice like most kisses did but when the person kissing you wasn’t the one you wanted kissing you, it didn’t seem as grand. So I did the only thing a girl can do, I rejected him and pushed him away without a second thought.
“You kissed me!” I shouted taking a small barely there step back “Why did you kiss me?”
“Felicity…”
I didn’t know what to do so I left. It wasn’t the right thing to do I know but when it clicked in my mind that David wanted to move childhood friends to the next level… to move it to high school sweet hearts that’s when my mind blanked. I didn’t run too long, just enough to avoid being caught. The element of surprise from pushing him away and running gained me enough time to make a few turns and cuts to avoid him catching me.
When I knew I was safe I turned looking around aimlessly since I had no I idea where I was now. Was my house this way? Or was it this way? I didn’t know. I was completely and utterly lost. I sighed, wrapped my arms around me and walked. I looked for street signs but this street just happened to be extremely long. Just my luck.
A voice behind me caused me to jump in fright. “Young ladies shouldn’t be walking around at this hour of the night.” I spun around to see a man standing there and in a moment I was tripping back on my own feet trying to get away “Haven’t you learnt your lesson Felicity?”
I settled down relief filling me when I saw who it was “White Hawk” I breathed a smile slipping on my face,; I wasn’t lost anymore, I didn’t have to think about what just happened with David and I didn’t have to worry about being kidnapped or mugged.
“It’s just Hawk remember” He smiled at me blue eyes glowing in the dark “Come I’ll walk you home”
Leave? Already? Couldn’t we just hang out? I didn’t want to leave.
“What if I don’t want to go home?” I asked, basically flirting, but other than the small glint in his eyes and the tip of his mouth he gave nothing away to show his returned interest.
“We’ll we can’t stay here. It’s not a safe town” Hawk said and I noticed he did this thing with his whole body, almost as if he was always on the watch for something. It gave me a sense of deja’vu but before I could place my finger on it… it was gone.
“Sure it’s safe. It’s one of the safest places you can be”
“Not anymore. Some villains have been sneaking in through the city and causing some trouble for me and the others”
A villain? No not here! This is the safest place on earth in the superhero/villain book. We had a superhero, two hero’s and a sidekick without a single villain lurking around.
“What? Villains! In our town?”
“Yes, quite a few at this stage to, I don’t know why here but they seemed to have picked this place as their own” Hawk was still doing that thing where it looked like he was waiting for an attack; I don’t know how I never noticed it before. It still gave me deja’vu making tingles run through my body as I tried to place where I’d seen someone do that before.
Just as White Hawk began to tell me something, a voice interrupted him “Yes we have, and might I add it’s a lovely little town” I spun to see a lady, no, a villain, standing in front of us. She had a black leotard on, black ripped stockings, black lace up boots and a coat hanging long with an Rr symbol stitched into the front side. Her mask was also black and her hair was a vibrant red. For a super villain she had a pretty good fashion sense.
“Hello White Hawk” He glared at her, and if possible he looked even more handsome, so fierce and so strong.
“You have no right to be in this town” White Hawk said clenching his fist ready for attack.
“Little me? But why? I have come to love this little town” She said seeming so sweet and innocent but you could see the viciousness behind her front. The conversation ended there as the villain lunged herself at Hawk. I screamed and threw myself back and out of the way as the two battled it out.
Unlucky for me I ended up scraping my elbow causing it to bleed, along with my right calf. Today wasn’t being to kind to me. By the time I checked myself over I hadn’t noticed that the villain had knocked down White Hawk and was advancing towards me. A quick look at him told me he wasn’t dead but was very much unconscious. Why? I didn’t know. Maybe she was going to kidnap him for some strange villain reasons; after all apparently there were a lot of them around here at this time.
“Who are you?” I quickly said to distract her pulling a stick to my side standing up.
“Me?” She said “I’m Ruthless Rebel”
“Well, you’re in my way” I said and rammed the stick into her gut running past her, I didn’t make it very far before I was shoved to the concrete, the villain straddling me with a knife out.
“Hawk!” I shrieked as she held me to the ground – this was no fairy tale, there was no guarantee I was going to be saved, she wasn’t just going to taunt me for a while and kidnap me. She was going to kill me. I could see it in her eyes and the way she moved.
Or maybe I am in a fairy tale… I thought as White Hawk grabbed her black hair and yanked her back. Once Ruthless Rebel was off me I was up and off the ground running, I was no use standing around and in the way, a possible target for her to get to White Hawk through me. I ran down the street hard and fast. But as I ran I thought maybe I had made a mistake. I’d seen way to many movies where the damsels in distress where trouble just waiting to happen for the hero’s, but what about when he had been knocked down, maybe I could be the one to distract the villain to save his life. With that thought I turned and started running back, not quite sure if it was the right thing to do.
But when I came back I saw White Hawk alone. Bruised and battered but safe and alone.
“White Hawk?” I called stopping short a few metres away. He turned to me looking kind of distraught.
“Felicity?” It was almost like he couldn’t believe it was me. The distraught look disappeared as a huge grin overtook his face and he started walking towards me, I returned the favour and met him halfway.
“I’d thought Ruthless Rebel had gotten you, she’s got super speed… so when she left, I thought that she’d gone after you to get through me.”
That explained his look and I was touched at how much he cared. Almost like friends. Like we were friends. But we couldn’t be friends because I didn’t even know who he really was. But I did. Didn’t I? The only thing I didn’t know was his real name. And you don’t judge a book by its cover. But did you… should you when you couldn’t look inside the book? I know White Hawk was a good person. He is a superhero. But that didn’t mean that I knew him.
“So should I walk you home now?” Hawk snapped me out of my thoughts with his arm outstretched down the street motioning me to follow him.
Still confused I nodded and began to follow him.
“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
I rolled over in my bed trying to fall asleep but I just couldn’t, sighing I lifted my head up and reached over to grab a glass of water still pondering my feelings over Phoenix.
I froze for a moment when I looked over at the window. There was a man standing there. At my open window. Just standing there. Not moving. “Mum!” I shrieked grabbing my phone and running down the hall tripping over my own feet.
“Felicity?” Mum shouted back at me alarmed opening her door as I came barrelling through landing in her arms. She held onto me like when I was a child making soothing sounds and patting my hair.
“What’s this noise? Felicity? What are you doing in here causing a racket?” My father said from where he sat on the bed, hair all messed up from sleeping and face dragged down from being so tired.
“There was a man at my window!” I said clutching onto my mum tighter.
“Go have a look Emanuel” I heard mum say, there was some ruffling, grunting and stomping as my dad left the room. It was maybe two or five minutes before my dad came back and by then I had calmed down enough to let go of mum and look at him.
“I didn’t see anything, go back to be Felicity”
I shook my head stubbornly, an encounter with a villain and then a man at my window? I don’t think so. I was staying right where I was. Safe in my mother’s arms.
“You can sleep in here tonight honey” mum said and pulled me towards her bed still patting my hair down.
In the distance I heard my dad say he’ll sleep on the couch but by now I was too tired to do anything except lay down and become oblivious to the world for a few short hours. No David, no villains, no Phoenix. No stress. No confusion. Just for a few hours.
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Hey guys! I'm a day early! I just couldnt wait to get this up though! It's been a strange week... so excited for next week! But loving the weekend and being able to relax ;)
So... What do you guys think? Let me know :)
~Rochelle Taylar Xx