A hero comes home... (Avlystein und mein Freund, ElliasGee!)

[Avlystein Hjalla]

Darren walked through the lunch room, head held high, and seemingly lost in thought. His mind seemed to be elsewhere today. His thoughts were not of bad nature... At least not today, or even so, now. For now though, his thoughts were just about what was going on today. He muttered to himself, making a checklist of times, places and events. "I have practice today after school, 'big field' from two forty-five to like... five fifteen... I was then heading directly to the 'bridge' for about two hours, and that's a fifteen minute walk between. So... That's what? seven thirty? Yes... After that, I think I'm off the hook for the rest of the night... Maybe park at home and watch a movie? Hmm..." He smiled to himself gleefully. He had now entered the 'mess line', as he had nick named it. He waited and stepped forward occasionally until it was his turn. He grabbed his lunch tray, consisting of a salad, banana, grilled chicken and a bottle of milk. He went next to the condiments station, grabbed a few packets of salt and a packet of cutlery. He began to wander about, searching for a free seat. None in particular caught his eye. He would switch up seats everyday, just to make things interesting. A few people waved to him and called out to him, he would nod and sometimes wave back. It would have become obvious at this point, to anyone new, that he had ties with almost every student in the school and could be labeled as popular. He still hadn't found a seat, and there was about twenty two minutes left of the thirty minute period. He began to grow a little restless. He then he noticed someone he hadn't seen here before. He tilted his head as he approached the table. "Is she a freshman, maybe a transfer student...? Maybe even a new teacher or visiting parent... I don't know... Let me check this out" He said within his head. He walked towards her, a little faster now, almost like he had found the courage to approach her. With his tray in hand, he cleared his throat, not only to announce his arrival, but to also give him a brief moment to collect himself. This was different to him, It generally took no effort for him to speak with even strangers, but he called out to her awkwardly anyways, "Hey, uh... You... New?" he smiled awkwardly as well. Something seemed strange and intriguing about her to him...

 

[ElliasGee]

Another day, another dollar. A lonely breeze passed through, gently rustling the leaves that once idly hung on trees. The atmosphere was still, clouds silently rolling over head, white puffy marshmallows drifting aimlessly in an endless sea of blue. The teacher’s lecture morphed into a muffled drawl that was soon drowned out in those blue skies that seemed to go on forever. It was a normal day, an average day, nothing special. Nothing ever really happened anymore. That was the beauty of life, people said.

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That drawl, that low hum, was easily able to weigh down eyelids. Pull them down like a shade right over crystalline hues. Lowlit orbs that drifted to the window, stared aimlessly into the atmosphere, glazed over with an undertone longing that so passionately desire to be out there, out in that world. Her world was painted red, making it look like a hobby and more of a color. Ten little soldiers marching in a line, shot rings out, down to nine. Senseless killing that pared on levels with that of genocide. The annihilation of man by man, a struggle for power, a struggle between ‘right and wrong’, the definition of senseless, this was the definition of war. It haunted her dreams, plagued her mind, and turned her world from blue, to a deep shade of crimson that bled the blue out. A leaking of worlds, a blending of colors, a drift into an endless sea of lead and blood, this was the passing of conscious to dream that the youth experienced. Her life was far from normal.

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Saved by the bell. Before the petite female could fully drift into sleep the shrill buzz of the bell awoke her into a fully conscious state. Eyelids immediately pulled back, forced to by the alarm, only to turn those pretty little eyes towards the idle individual in front of the room, ending his speech and unboarding his soap box of education before returning to his desk. Students shuffled to gather their things, shoving notebooks into backpacks, rustling around in a hasty fashion. Escaping the establishment was top priority, who didn’t want to get away from school as soon as possible? That place was horribly dull, and most certainly put a damper on a young and restless teen’s day.

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Andie was a little different, however, moved a little bit slower. She never rushed anything, always took her time. Even her reaction time was slow; most would pick up a pencil as soon as it was dropped, her, on the other hand, it often took her one or two minutes. But no one minded, so neither did she. Then again no one really paid any attention to the youth. She was nothing more than a wallflower. Though quite pretty she was quite quiet, and her problem with drifting off at random times caused people to often steer clear of her. It didn’t matter, not at all, what could they talk to her about, the gossip of who’s dating who or who’s sleeping with who? Andie didn’t have an interest in that, couldn’t possibly even bother with that. And so she chose not to, and once the crowd thinned out did she to join, making her way out of the room and into the corridor.

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As expected, the mess hall was packed to the brim. The chatter amongst students filled the halls with laughter and cackling, like wild hyenas waiting to take the scraps from the meals of the popular. Oh, the popular. Andie simply drifted along, like a salmon upstream, moving seamlessly through the crowd of people. There always seemed to be people underfoot, always someone moving, never any stillness. She made sure to steer clear of the food line that was for sure, too much clutter. It was like a blood clot in the artery of the cafeteria. The first empty table her gaze caught sight of was the first and last to be approached. To be honest, she was somewhat chained to the mess hall. The instructors always scolded her and said that it was dangerous to be outside let alone all by herself, and so the youth did what she was told, and just sat there, half asleep half awake as always.

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But today was different, perhaps, not like the rest. Something roused her consciousness, a soft tone that alerted the sense of hearing, a voice directed in her general direction, and oddly enough it sounded rather loud too. She never heard him approaching, too far off in her own little world to really pay attention by this point. Lazily, however, did the dreaming little princess turn her head to face the intruder. Aquamarine glazed with the slight fervor of sleep trained on him, the light blue bags of exhaust stood out against her fair skin. The corners of pink, velveteen lips turned upright, forming a slight smile before parting to let sounds form words upon phrases. Her voice was smooth, gentle, absent.

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“Hello, who are you?” Her words were a slur of English with a heavy French undertone, making it sound like the equivalent of cursive writing. She was interested, somewhat, to say the least.

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[Avlystein Hjalla]

Darren's eyes would have been the first thing the girl would have noticed, other than his voice of course. His eyes were like an explosion of an outstanding shade of blue. His hair could have been the second thing she would have noticed, although his toned arms and lean body may be the actual second thing about him that was noticeable. His hair was a slightly reddish brown. It had been toned by the sun and was oddly enough, at least for a baseball player of this school, shoulder length. It was parted off center, unkempt and slightly curly. His head was still slightly tilted, and he was oblivious of this, because of his peeked interest. His words could be anything really, because his voice had characteristics of many tones, feelings and passions. At this moment his voice rang out as intrigued, offended and seemingly awkward and off-guard. It may have seemed that he felt back against the wall, but really, he wanted to put off a more friendly tone, which he failed to do. "Uhm... I'm Pri-- Darren Halla..." Something about her made his words slip, it was odd to him, but he felt uneasily comfortable being around her, even though he had just made contact with her. "Mind if I sit and talk with you a while...?" this time he spoke French almost as if he had lived in France his entire life. He smiled warmly, hoping he could more easily coax her into speaking to him that way. He didn't wait for a response before sitting though. His pale blue boot cut jeans stretched at the knees as he sat, and he unwrinkled his shirt after sitting. He placed a handkerchief on his lap, waited and watched her a moment before he even touched his food.

 

[ElliasGee]

And as she looked at him lazily, gaze gently rolling over him, her orbs squinted some. She was starting to feel a tad bit tired, a glaze of sleep resting over her eyes. He was just doing as he pleased, uttering some words in her general direction before taking a seat. Her gaze remained trained on him, unwavering, watching every little movement he made, hearing every word that soon morphed into a hum, nothing more than a lullaby. His French was easy on the ears. She was like a hawk, however half asleep, watching its prey to the very end.

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“Yeah, I’d love you go to the pet shop with you later.” She hummed, a soft sigh escaping her lips. Clearly she was somewhere else, somewhere better. Someone was asking her to go to the pet shop, causing a dumb smile to cross her pretty little features. A hand lithely rested under her chin, supporting her head, propped up by a slender forearm. Her elbow rested on the tabletop, what unsightly manners, but she wasn’t eating anyway so why did it matter? Andie was like the typical, helpless southern bell, except she was French, and she wasn’t spoiled. She was just somewhat helpless, lost in a big world, in different worlds, all at the same time.

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[Avlystein Hjalla]

Darren no longer slouched, he suddenly straightened his posture. He looked frantic as past memories shot through his mind... "France... 1944... Alexandre... Ugh... Why are you here...? How? Wh-what?" these are the words that shot through his mind as he absently gripped her shoulder. What had triggered it though? Something about the way she acted? The slowed speech? Maybe her tiredness? She wasn't all there at that moment, maybe that was why? He seemingly awoke from stopping the immense bleeding of Alexandre. "I'm sorry Alexan--Ma'am... I'll be on my way..." Darren scurried to his feet, not even bringing his lunch, and rushed from the cafeteria. "What the Hell man, what the hell?!" He spoke to himself.

 

[ElliasGee]

"So I guess we're not going to the pet store today." Andie looked on as he scuttled out of the room, looking pale and quite sick, green around the gills. She didn't understand why the stranger had disappeared as quickly as he came, maybe he never even existed at all. Never the less a lazy yawn passed her pearly pink lips before they parted into a lackadaisical smile. Today was different just from that little encounter, just from that little splash of violet instead of red in her life. She did still want to go to the pet store, though.

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It didn't take long, though, for the skin to begin crawling up the back of her neck. Her hair stood on edge, a sense of danger. That mess of purple locks shifted as the youth's head moved, to meet the unwanted gazes of others. Apparently they had caused some sort of scene, his hasty running away at the drop of a hat, she only said one thing. Some faces held disgust, other onlookers exchanged hushed whispers, an event to be made a spectacle of. The female couldn't help but blush, redden in the cheeks with embarrassment. She certainly wasn't making a very good name for herself. Mr. Popularity had made her the star of the show, but unfortunately she had no acting lessons.

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"He had to go to the bathroom." She coughed out, quickly turning her gaze away to the entrance. Her heart was starting to pump again, like a jolt of caffeine with a shot of reality check.

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[Avlystein Hjalla]

Darren waited and paced a moment. "She's... She's not... Normal...? Ugh... Not Different, but she is, but why and how? Well, She caused a flash back... Nobody does that... So... Is it true... Maybe a relative of..... No, that was a load of crap..." He looked into the window of the cafeteria and noticed a half mob around the gal he had just met. "I have to go back in there now... Great..." Darren marched into the cafeteria and announced to the people within, "What is everyone staring at? It's not her fault I had to take a wizz..." Darren walked over to her and rubbed her shoulder. "I'll just be escorting this one to the nurse... I think she fell and hurt herself earlier..." Darren took her by the hand and nodded to her, his face expressed a scold, yet he seemed calm. He aided her in getting up from the table, and whisked her into the halls, not even he was sure where he was taking her.

 

[ElliasGee]

"Are we going to the pet store now?" Andy cooed in that lovely loopy language of hers. She peered up at him when he touched her shoulders and easily moved with him when he hurried her from her seat, pulled her to her feet, and gently glided away with her. His scolding look caused her nose to crinkle up in a slightly playful manner. It wasn't like she had done anything wrong, he is the one that got up and ran away.

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But soon enough their waltz came to a halt as the female slowed down to a stop. She stood merely a foot away, and remained linked to him, refusing to let go of his hand. Her posture was upright, but one knee bent loosely as the other remained straight. He had a good amount of height on her so she had to tilt that lovely head of hers to look up at him. She seemed to always be smiling.

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"Excuse me, who are you again?"

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[Avlystein Hjalla]

Darren stopped with the girl in hand. He hung his head for a moment, the reddish brown hair blanketing his face. He looked up and his nostrils flared. His breathing was heavy as if it were a fight or flight situation. "There's two ways this could go girlie..." Darren scolded, "Either you can help me, or this is some sort of... inconvenience to me..." Darren turned to her and pinned her to the wall, one hand still in hers and one simply pressed to the wall next to her head. He sighed and closed his eyes. "I am Darren... Darren Halla... Now does the nick name 'Tank', or Private Halla, or even Alexandre ring any bells for you?" by the time he had finished his questioning of her, he realized that he had managed to interlock fingers with her. He blushed a tad, he felt embarrassed even though he had no real reason to be. "What are you doing to me...?" He asked her before closing his eyes again.