Welcome to Gaia! ::

I woke on the first day of the second semester of my junior year to find

the sky outside was gray; it looked like it could snow. Unfortunately this

dreary day was also my birthday. I crawled out of bed slowly, hoping

against hope that mom was going to let me stay home.

Not likely.

"Starla? STARLA! GET OUT OF BED!" She called from the bottom of the

stairs. I let out a groan as I walked slowly to my door and yelled back

down to her.

"Have you given Sky his Sweet Seventeen wakeup call yet?" I grumbled.

She always yelled at me to wake up first, granted however that Sky did

get moving much easier than I ever would. When I heard a snort of

laughter from down the hall, I rolled my eyes and walked back into my

room to get dressed as I obviously couldn't go to school in boxers and a

tank top. Don't get me wrong, I love my brother to death. In fact, I have

only one other real friend besides him. Her name is Kenna Lawson.

Kenna knows about me and Sky's gifts, her and the other 600 students

in our high school. Only 595 of them find it strange. The exceptions are,

obviously, Skylar, Kenna and I. The others are Skylars best friends and

the only other set of twins in our school, Kyle and Aaron Matthews.

I've known Kenna since pre-school. She was the girl you could always

count on to do the opposite of the current trend; always the girl to think

for herself. I guess that's part of what brought us together as friends.

Skylar and I have always been shy and treated like we were diseased by

the other kids. Kenna on the other hand is very outspoken and could care

less if people think she's odd. She lives for it.

The truly amazing thing about Kenna is that she believed us without

even asking for proof. I guess that shouldn't surprise me, that girl lives

for the wild, freaky and out there. After graduation next year, she's

planning to join a 'vampire coven' in New England solely to prove the

existence of vampires. People say it's a waste of intellect since at this

point she's the class valedictorian. I say she's brilliant.

My mom really doesn't approve of her, she thinks she too weird and a

bad influence on me. Ever since Kenna has delved into the world of the

vampire, she's refused to wear anything that doesn't come from Hot

Topic, Sinful, or Tripp NYC. She also won't eat Italian food because of the

garlic, go in a church because of the crosses, and must have everything

she drinks be red. She's even learned how to apply her makeup perfectly

without a mirror. You've got to admire her persistence and dedication. I

think she's fabulous.

She picks me and my brother and the Matthews' boys up for school each

morning in her black Mustang Convertible, however, I was very surprised

to see her at 6:30 holding a small wrapped gift in her hand. She came

bounding in my room just as I was walking out of my bathroom.

"You look awesome!" she shrieked looking at my black corset pixie dress

over pink and black tights. She laid the package on my bed as she ran

over to hug me. "Finally seventeen." she stated. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY! The

thing on your bed is actually for you and Sky. This is for you." she said,

pulling a long oddly shaped box from the inside pocket of her black trench

coat. She pulled her coat off and tossed it on my bed, right next to the

present that was apparently for me and my brother.

I was always impressed with the way that girl dressed. She had the kind

of style that one might see on a gothic runway. She had her hair dyed

black with streaks of violet running through it. Her vibrant sea green eyes

were outlined in sparkling black eyeliner while her lids were covered in

vibrant bright red eye shadow that matched her lipstick perfectly. She was

a modern day Morticia Addams. She was wearing a black Vampire Lestat

tank top that showed her black gemmed bat bellybutton ring. Her pants

had big wide legs with chains and straps on them and which covered her

black Chuck Taylor Converse completely. She had the kind of style that I

wanted but would never be able to have, not while at my mom's anyway.

Mom could barely tolerate the clothes I was wearing, but God forbid I take

it any further and dress like Kenna or get piercings like her.

I took the package from her and ripped open the glittering purple paper

to find a black coffin shaped Hot Topic gift box inside. I pulled the lid off

and nearly had a heart attack. Inside was a black velvet choker with an

onyx and black diamond S on it. I pulled her into a tight hug and put it on,

observing how perfect it went with my outfit. Beneath the necklace were

jet black hair extensions and beneath that was...

"MARILYN MANSON!" I squealed, pulling out 2 concert tickets. She

giggled and started putting in the hair extensions for me while I raved on

and on about how awesome the concert was sure to be. "So you know I'm

taking you, right?" I asked her after 5 minutes of nonstop fan girl talk.

"Uh...Negative." she said with a sly grin, pulling out a third ticket. I

looked at her in total confusion, forcing her to continue. "See, I thought

this would be a stellar time for you to spend some time with Kyle without

Skylar breathing down your neck. I already gave the fourth ticket to

Aaron, this way, if things get awkward, we'll all be there together." she

explained. Suddenly, all the excitement I had been feeling drained out like

water in a sink.

"Ok, Ken," I began slowly, really not wanting to hurt my best friend

especially after she had just given me the greatest birthday gifts ever.

"Look, I know your intentions are good and I really appreciate this, you

know? It's just that, well, you can't honestly believe I could take Kyle with

me and my brother never find out. He's already told me that something

bad will happen if I go out with Kyle. I trust my brother; he wouldn't lie to

me Ken." I said, whining a little since it seemed to me that my best friend

really didn't get it. She thought that Skylar was lying to me to keep Kyle

and me from going out. He didn't want to lose one of the only things that

truly belonged to him; his best friend. I could understand that, I would

probably do the same thing if Kenna had a crush on Sky.

"Star...are you that naive?" Kenna demanded incredulously. "Come on!

Skylar is telling you that so you won't move in on his best friend; not

because you are in peril if you do!" she fumed. Her sarcasm dripped all

over the word peril. She always thought that Skylar tried to control me.

She simply rolled her eyes when I didn't respond and finished up with my

hair. Kenna sighed and stood up.

"I'm starving; I'm going to go get some McDonald's. Be back in about a

half an hour. Your mom is dying to give you and Sky your gifts, so I'll get

out of here so she can. Happy Birthday again." she said as she picked her

trench coat up off of my bed, leaving her gift to Sky and me without any

further explanation. I heard her call 'goodbye' to mom as she closed the

front door. She revved the engine of her Mustang and the bass from her

Static-X CD floated up to my room as she sped away.

She just didn't seem to get it. Skylar could not be tricked or deceived.

Even if I went, he would show up anyway and ruin the whole night. To

prove my internal point, Skylar walked into the room with a rather

knowing look on his face. I ignored him for the moment, waiting for him to

speak first. To occupy myself, I picked up the gift and turned it over in my

hands watching the light play on the shimmering prisms of the blue paper.

From the corner of my eye I saw Skylar lean against the wall. I sighed,

knowing that he was waiting for me to speak.

"This is for both of us." I mumbled holding the package out. He ignored

me and walked over to sit on the edge of my bed. I looked over at him

and saw that his black hair was covering his left eye. That pretty much

meant he was trying to keep me from knowing that he was trying to 'see.'

"Your friend is trying to get you to deceive me." It was a statement, not a

question. I glared at my brother but did not answer. He pushed his hair

out of his face showing that his eyes were two different colors; the right

was icy blue but the left was metallic silver. He was seeing.

That's another strange thing about us. When we begin to see, we go

through a tiny physical change. It's more noticeable with me since I have

green eyes, but it's still eerie with Sky. My right eye turns silver and Sky's

left does. We aren't sure exactly why it only happens in one eye, we

assume it's due to the fact that the gift seems to have split with us. Our

inside joke is that we are both partially blind since neither of us can see

the whole future and what will happen. Kenna, Kyle and Aaron are the

only people who get it. Skylar glared at me as I watched his left eye

change back to blue. "Does she not understand that while I can't see bad

things that will happen to me, I can still see them very clearly for you!?"

he asked in his dark, rough voice.

"Damn it Star! I'm not an idiot, but, I guess maybe you are though. I'm

not going to stop you, I won't even try. You're a big girl, you can decide

for yourself. Go to the stupid concert if you want, it's not my job to protect

you if you're going to be too stupid to listen the first time. Just don't

expect me to be sympathetic when-," he ranted, stopping suddenly when

he realized he was about to tell me what he saw. He looked at me his pale

face pulled into a frown. "What is this anyway?" he asked, finally

acknowledging the present. I took a deep breath to keep from crying;

when he called me an idiot and stupid it really hurt.

"I don't know. Kenna just said that it was for both of us. I wanted to wait

until you were in here so we could open it together." I answered him, my

voice small and my eyes fixed on the floor. I heard him sigh impatiently

as he ripped the paper open. There was silence for about ten seconds

during which time I could hear my mom moving around down in the

kitchen. Then he laughed, and his laughter quickly turned almost mental.

"What in the hell is she thinking?" he asked as he put two DVD's and a

book on my lap. The first DVD was called 'Mystique: The Art of Prophesy."

The second was titled 'On the Outside Looking In.' The book, it turned out,

was actually about a school in Maryland. Eternal Magick Academy. It was

supposedly a school for all manner of gifted people. I opened it and

started reading, but it had to be a joke or simply a scam. There was no

way that vampires and witches existed. I sat pondering over what Kenna

was doing. It almost felt like she was mocking us, but I knew my friend

much better than that. I laid the book aside and turned to my brother.

"She always has been the kind of person to get sucked into what others

call 'fantasy.' Maybe she really believes in this stuff." I guessed. "Either

way, we've got to get downstairs. She'll be back in about 10 minutes and

you know mom is going to be freaking out wanting to give us her gifts." I

said, adjusting my dress as I stood up. Skylar stood too, shaking his head

in disbelief at my friend. He smoothed out his black Tripp pants and pulled

his black Criss Angel hoodie on over his head. That's something we both

do when we're feeling awkward; we adjust our clothing.

When we got downstairs out mother was running around like a chicken

with its head cut off. She stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed us

sitting in the living room. "Do either of you own clothes that don't look like

they were stolen from the set of an Addams' Family movie?" she asked as

she eyeballed our clothes. "Oh well, never mind." she added in a slightly

kinder tone. "Here Starla, these are yours. Sky, these are for you." she

muttered as she handed us each two boxes, one was very big while the

other was immensely tiny. We opened them to find that we each got a

new luggage set; mine was pink and Sky's was black, while the tiny box

held a small stack of gift cards to our favorite stores. We looked at her in

confusion for several seconds before Skylar finally broke the silence.

"Well, thank you mom." he said as he looked at his black luggage set.

“Um...Not quite sure how much I'm going to use this, but, uh, yeah.

Thanks anyway, I'm sure it will come in handy one day." he added with a

kind smile and a big hug. I wanted to know just what the deal was.

"Yeah, thanks mom. But what gives? You know that Sky and I are going

to college right here. I thought that was what you wanted! What's with

this?" I asked with as much patience as I possibly could. It almost seemed

like our birthday was being mocked. I gave my mom a hug but when I

looked into her face, I guess my suspicions were clear because she

looked away quickly. Just then, Kenna honked outside and Skylar got out

his cell phone to text Aaron and Kyle.

"I'll talk to you both when I get home." mom said as she handed me my

backpack. Her face, as she kissed me goodbye, was haunting. Her green

eyes looked dead and hollow. "Happy Birthday babies." she said as she

ushered us out the door. I looked at my brother and his left eye was a

shimmering blue-gray, a color that I had never seen it before.

"Something is going to happen, but I don't know what. It's fuzzy, so I'm

guessing it will affect us both." he whispered, his eye beginning to return

to its normal color. We climbed in the car and I sat in the front by Kenna.

The smile on her face faltered as she registered the looks on our faces.

"What's up?" she asked, concern coloring her tone. I told her about the

odd morning after she had left and Skylars messed up vision. Her concern

grew more pronounced with every detail I gave her. My story was finished

right as we pulled up to the Matthews' apartment at which time Kenna

honked her horn rather impatiently. I watched her closely wondering if

she knew something that I didn't. I resolved not to ask, however, due to

the look on her face.

A few minutes later, Kyle and Aaron came bounding down the steps of

their second floor apartment. The smile on Kyle's face made all of my

agitation disappear for a moment. His dark blond hair was spiked in

messy perfection; his dark blue eyes made the cold dreary day seem

warm and bright. Beside his brilliant aura, Aaron looked like a shadow; a

tinted mirror of his brother. They climbed into the backseat and Kenna,

unusually, had nothing to say to them or anyone for that matter.

We drove to the school in an awkward silence. When Kyle had wished my brother and I happy birthday, Kenna scowled and muttered under her

breath which abruptly put an end to that, and all, conversation. When we

arrived at the school the guys got out but Kenna put her hand on my

shoulder, indicating that she wanted a word. She looked down for a

moment as if trying to find the right words and when she looked back up

at me; her eyes were brimming with tears.

"Star...Oh God Star! It's my fault if it's happening, which I hope it isn't

but I think it is and if it is it's definitely all my fault!" she wailed

hysterically, her words running together, not even making sense. She

coughed and reached into her purse and pulled out a cigarette. She lit it

and wiped her eyes before she answered me. "Okay Star." she began

again. "I think your mom is going to send you to a special school and it's

entirely my fault if she does because I was the one who told her about it.

That book I gave you guys? It's all about the school and I told your mom

about it because I thought it was really cool. I swear though, I didn't tell

your mom to send you!" she explained, her eyes filling with tears again.

My breath caught in my throat and it felt as if someone had doused me in icy water. I felt nauseous and it was a few moments before I could

speak, but when I finally could, my voice was very faint. "Y-you really

think she's going to send us away?"

"Well, yeah I mean, it fits Star." she replied grimly. "Think about it. No

offense but you and Sky are total outcasts here, people try to hurt you

and Skylar has been suspended how many times for fighting? I think she's

trying to protect you; I think she wants you to finally fit in." she added in

a defeated voice.

"And you agree, don't you Kenz?" I asked, fearing her reply. She looked

at me and I wish she would have let her answering look settle the issue.

"Do you hate me now? I would understand if you do. I just hate that you

are being treated like a leper when everyone should be embracing what

you do! I mean, if everyone was as open minded as your mom and Kyle

and Aaron and me, you and Sky could do so much more for this town!"

she explained in a pleading sort of voice. She was pleading for me to

understand her point. Sadly, I did. I gave my friend a quick hug to show

her I wasn't angry.

"No Ken, I do understand. You're right, as long as Sky and I live here;

we'll always be scrutinized and never accepted." I admitted sadly. She

gave me a sympathetic smile and opened her door as I climbed out of the

passenger seat. We walked in to the school at the same time for what

seemed like the very last time.

The day passed without much incident. For once I was ignored instead of

singled out. When I would see Skylar in classes or the hallway, he looked

haunted and his eye always seemed to be that eerie shade of blue-gray.

His face was screwed up in concentration and it made him look as if he

were in severe pain. I wanted so badly to tell him about my earlier

conversation with Kenna, but I had to wait until we got home. That way, if

he freaked out no one would notice.

At the end of the day that had passed much more quickly than usual,

Kenna dropped us off at home. She gave me a very pointed look before

she drove off. It clearly said, 'Call me when you know something.' Skylar

and I walked into the house, we still had over an hour until mom would be

home so I figured this was my chance to talk to him As soon as I shut the

door, however, he rounded on me, his eyes cold and accusing.

"You know something. My vision got a little clearer after we got to

school. It isn't crystal clear yet, but it's a big improvement. You either

know or suspect more than you are telling me. So spit it out." he

demanded, his chest heaving with his anger. I sighed and gave him an

irritated look.

"If you'd given me about five hot seconds I was going to tell you what

Kenna told me." I informed him and his face suddenly looked worried

rather than angry. I took a deep breath and relayed my conversation with

Kenna to him. His face grew stonier the further into my story I went. He

scowled and cursed under his breath; apparently he was drawing the

same conclusion that Kenna and I were.

“So you mean to tell me that mom is most likely sending us to some

freak school? Just so we can fit in.” The look on his face was a little

frightening. “Has she not been able to tell that for the last seventeen

years, you and I haven’t fit in? What makes her think she’s going to be

doing us any good if she strips us away from our normal lives now?” he

fumed. I had to agree, Kenna had taken me by complete surprise with her

revelation that morning so it hadn’t quite sank in before I agreed with her.

Now that I’d had time to think it over, it seemed so stupid for us to leave

now when we only had a year and a half until graduation. What purpose

would it serve for us to have lived with the things we had for so many

years and then take us away when we were finally learning how to blend

in? It didn’t seem fair; I only hoped that Kenna was wrong.

“That is how it seems at the moment though I can’t be entirely sure. I

can’t see anything good happening to you so I am fairly sure that that is

what will happen.” I admitted with a sigh. “All we can do is pray that when

mom gets home she tells us that she’s sending us to summer camp

instead of freak school.” I added, my hopes fading.

This is great! It's an interesting idea what with the split vision and all. :3

Really the only thing I think you need to change is that when you say something like

Quote:

"Ok, Kenz." I began...

it should be "Ok, Kenz," (with a comma instead of a period)

Also I think it might help a bit if you add an extra space after each paragraph. I think that might make it a bit more legible.

Other than that, keep up the good work! Can't wait to see what happens!

The next day dawned quite the same as it had the day before; the

only difference was that I woke in a much better mood than I had on my

birthday. My father had stayed in the hotel down the street and had come

back to the house first thing in the morning. He came with two boxes

which he presented to Skylar and me over breakfast. Each of our boxes

contained seventeen birthday cards, seventeen Christmas cards and

seventeen get well cards. It was a bit much in my opinion, but it was a

sweet gesture as well. I was a bit overwhelmed as I began opening the

cards since each of them contained money.

“I figured this would help with getting you the things you need for school.

From what your mom tells me, you are covered with your clothes and

things, but I wanted to make sure you had absolutely everything,” he

explained when Skylar gave him a questioning look. “And the cards are

for all the things I’ve missed. I wanted to make it up to you.” I gave my

father a hug for the very first time, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to cram

seventeen years of thanks and love into a single hug. Hopefully I would

have the rest of my life to do that.

Kenna showed up at around 8 that morning, the way she presented

herself apparently shocked our father. She waltzed into the house wearing

a shocking hot pink and black plaid mini skirt and a black strapless corset

top. It looked like she had gone to a Lolita hairstylist and her spiked collar

sported a blood red old English K. When she smiled, I noticed that she had

glued in her fake vampire fangs and they were dazzling behind her black

lipstick. She looked at my father and gave a little smirk when she noticed

that he was gaping at her. She walked up next to him and whispered,

“Boo,” before she grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the house.

“Why didn’t you tell me how attractive he is?” she demanded when we

got in the car. “Come on! Now I know where Sky gets it,” she continued to

babble. “Girl, no offense but if you had gotten mostly your dad’s DNA I

would probably not be a straight woman. I see why your mom fell for him

so easily though. I always pictured him as a waste. I pictured a

mid-forties fat bald man who lives his life in the basement polishing his

collector’s edition Star Wars action figures. I always thought that he had

been blessed with the black hair and blue eyes like Sky without any of the

other good looks to really make him dazzle. Boy was I wrong.” She kept

up this incessant talk about my father for over fifteen miles. When we

arrived at the first store, she looked at me as she was getting out. “Sorry,

it’s just so amazing. I know you are in total shock, but I’m an outsider and

the way your family was getting along this morning was just phenomenal.

Charles really looked like he belonged there. It surprised me, that’s all.”

“Oh Kenz, it’s alright. I know you have the hots for my dad but that’s ok

too, at least he and mom aren’t back together so you won’t be crossing

boundaries. Not unless he has an issue with being labeled a *****

when people hear he is dating his daughter’s seventeen year old best

friend,” I teased. “Come on. I want to get a new outfit for the concert

tonight too. I talked to Skylar last night and he said he would ask Kyle if

he’d go with me. I just hope he didn’t threaten to kill him if he said yes,” I

told my friend, worry beginning to color my words. We walked into the

store and started grabbing clothes from every rack and taking them to the

dressing room. Within two hours, I had spent over $300 and had gotten a

whole new wardrobe.

Our next stop was the mall. We ran into Hot Topic and began getting

jewelry and makeup and hair extensions. I found a black leather trench

coat to match Kenna’s and bought that too. When I asked my friend

where she wanted to go next, she got a sly smile on her face. “Well, since

you are leaving in a couple of days and your mom said you would never

get tattoos or piercings while you lived with her, I figure it’s high time I let

you meet my artist,” she said with a mischievous grin that would put the

Grinch to shame. I laughed, she did have a point. It would just have to be

something I could hide for a couple of weeks.

We arrived a few minutes later at a small shop downtown. The neon sign

in the window read ‘Touch of Destiny Tattoos.’ “You really go here?” I

asked her, a little skeptical. Nothing about this place seemed to shout

destiny. Maybe it would be better inside. She rolled her eyes and held the

shop door open for me. I walked in and couldn’t believe my eyes. Unlike

other tattoo shops I had seen, this was really nice. Not only did they have

the body art on the walls, but they had works by Van Gogh and Picasso.

These people had taste and class. The room we walked into was

scrupulously clean, there were two couches and a fish tank and for a

moment I forgot where we were.

Within a few minutes, a small woman walked out from a back room. She

was probably in her mid twenties and completely gorgeous. A Kat Von D

of sorts. She had a Nightmare Before Christmas sleeve on her left arm

and her right arm was a sleeve of heavenly cosmic pictures. “It’s a twist

on the good versus evil argument,” she told me. I didn’t get it; The

Nightmare Before Christmas wasn’t evil. Upon further inspection of her

right arm, I noticed very ghastly demonic looking images. That’s when I

understood. People saw the dark arm and assumed it was evil and took

what looked beautiful to be the good side. They had it backwards,

obviously. I liked this girl already. “Hey Kenna!” she exclaimed when

Kenna came out of the bathroom; I hadn’t even realized she’d left. “What

can I do for you girls?” she asked, her gray eyes sparkling.

“Well, my friend here is getting ready to move in a couple of days and

we wanted to get matching tattoos, that way she will never be allowed to

forget me.” The girl looked a little skeptical at Kenna for a minute.

“Her mom and dad don’t know, do they?” she guessed correctly. “If

anyone asks, you didn’t get it here. I could lose my license if people found

out I was inking minors,” she told me seriously. “My name is Arika. Have

you ever gotten a tattoo before?” she asked. I shook my head and she

smiled brightly. “A new victim,” she announced to no one in particular.

“Well just so you know, once you get inked here you will never go

anywhere else. My work is the best in the city but people just don’t seem

to realize it yet. So, what are you guys thinking you want to get?” she

asked, serious once more.

I looked at Kenna and shrugged. I hadn’t really thought about it, but the

smile on my best friend’s face told me that she knew exactly what she

wanted. “Well, I want an elegant script S and I think it would be

appropriate for her to get a K.” I loved this idea, it was so fitting. “And I

think we should get them over our hearts, that way we will always be

close to each other,” she finished. Arika smiled at her and motioned for us

to follow her into the back.

Within an hour, Kenna and I left the shop with our tattoos and hope in

our hearts that our friendship would withstand the distance. Mine was a

heart with vampire bite marks at the bottom with the K that she had

mentioned in the middle. Hers was a green eye with an S in the center of

the pupil. She drove me back to my house and told me that she had to go

so she could prepare for the concert that night. When I walked in, neither

my brother nor my parents were home, so I went up to my room to do

some internet surfing. I signed onto my messenger knowing that Kenna

would get on so she could model outfits for me on the web cam. As soon

as I got on, I saw that I had two friends currently online. Kenna's status

was set to away with a message that read 'VAMPIN' FOR THE

CONCERT!!!!' My other friend that was online was Kyle. Immediately, a

message window popped up and Kyle, who's screen name was currently 'I

really hope she asks me!' was actually talking to me. This was strange

because I had only added him in case I needed to talk to Skylar when he

was at their house. He had never before spoken to me online.

"Hey Starla! Did you have fun shopping with Kenna today? She told me

you guys got tattoos! That's awesome; you should send me a pic." Leave

it to Kenna to tell everyone about it; we had agreed not to mention it for

fear that my mom would find out and have a heart attack. I sighed but

had to smile. I should have known better than to think that she wouldn't

tell anyone.

"Hey Kyle. Yeah, it was loads of fun and we did get tattoos but she

wasn't supposed to tell because my mom doesn't know. I will send a pic in

a while; I have to keep the bandage on for another hour or so. Anyway,

what's up??" It took him a while to respond, which to me said that he was

really thinking of what he was going to say. I tapped my fingers and

turned on Rammstein while I waited. About the middle of Du Hast, he

finally answered.

"Well, to be honest, Sky told me that you had an extra ticket to the

Manson concert tonight and that you were wanting me to go with you. I

would like to, if he's telling the truth. I know Kenna is taking Aaron and I

was really hoping that I could go with you." Now it was my turn to give a

slow answer. I took long enough to respond that he actually started typing

question marks, inquiring whether I had left or not. When my brain finally

cleared itself of confusion, I simply typed “Be right back,” so that I could

think. Skylar had actually talked to Kyle, and more than that, he hadn’t

threatened his life. That was odd, very odd. Kyle actually wanted to go

with me; there wasn’t much of a conclusion that I could draw from that,

except that he liked Manson much more than I had thought. I shook my

head in disbelief that things were actually going well. I half expected to

answer and then find out that it was Skylar just messing with me. My

guard was way up, I didn’t trust this situation; everything was too perfect

for my liking.

“Yeah, I have a ticket and I was going to ask you to go. I just figured

maybe Skylar had scared you off or something, that’s why I didn’t ask

earlier. If you want to go, just be at my house by 4. OK?”

“Absolutely! This is going to be a great night! Are you going to be on for

a while? I needed to talk to you about something else, if that’s ok,” he

asked. My suspicions rose even higher with this question. This was the

most Kyle and I had ever talked in our whole lives, why now was he

becoming a complete chatterbox?

“Yeah, I’m going to be on for another half hour or so. Why? What do you

need to talk about?” I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me.

“Is it true that you have a crush on me?” The question was so point

blank and seeing the word ‘crush’ on the screen made me feel like a four

year old or something. I was utterly embarrassed; for once I actually

hoped I was talking to Sky. “I’ve heard from a couple of people that you

do, but I wanted to hear it from you if it was true.”

“Wow….you say you’ve heard it from a couple of people but do you

forget that we only hang out with the same people? Either Kenna or

Skylar told you as I seriously doubt Aaron has a clue. Yes, I do; I have

for a very long time. But it doesn’t matter now because I am leaving in a

few days and all of this ‘crush’ stuff will be left behind.” My fingers hurt

from typing the words so hard and fast; I knew that it sounded harsh but

it was the only way that I could say it in the midst of my frustration. Once

again, it took him a while to respond and when he did; his words

screamed at me that he was hurt.

“Well, I’m glad to know how you feel about this. You just saved me a

very awkward conversation tonight; now I know better than to ask you

out since you plan to leave all of this behind when you leave. I’ll be over

at 4, if you still want me to go. Have Sky call me later. Bye Starla.” Just

like that, he was offline. I felt like such an idiot. I slammed my laptop shut

and flopped back on my bed. Just when I thought that this change was for

the best, those thoughts came back to bite me.

A few minutes later, Skylar came walking in my room. “Let me see it,”

he demanded. “Otherwise I’m going to tell mom and you will be in huge

trouble.” I knew that I already was. I didn’t let my face betray my guilt as

I looked at him as innocently as I could.

“See what?” I figured it was best if I played dumb for now. He scowled at

me and I knew he wasn’t buying into it. “What, did Kenna tell you, too?” I

asked, my agitation getting the best of me yet again. His scowl became

more pronounced and he just glared at me without answering.

“Starla, I have something to tell you.” I waited on pins and needles

waiting to hear this confession. “See, I have this…problem. When people

around me are doing stupid things that will inevitably get them into

trouble, I can see it. I know this may surprise you, but it’s true.” My skin

turned beet red and I felt my blood pressure rise. He just wanted to be

cute and talk to me like I was retarded. Well two can play that game.

“Oh really? Wow, I never knew. Thank you for telling me. Now I have a

confession for you. I do something similar but I see good things; right

now, all I can see is you lying in a casket. That could totally change if you

leave my room right…now,” I told him after a short pause. He rolled his

eyes and sat down on the end of my bed.

“Seriously Starla, Kenna didn’t tell me. I saw it as it was happening. That

must make it a bad thing otherwise I wouldn’t have seen it. You didn’t

know anything about the woman who gave it to you and yet you sat there

and let her put ink into your body. What were you thinking? Is this sort of

a version of cold feet? You know…when people get married and they get

cold feet and they go out and do all the things they know they will never

get to do once they’re married? Like bungee jumping naked and dancing

on a stripper pole at a bar. I guess that’s what provoked you to get a

tattoo with Kenna. Not saying that I blame you, I wish I could do

something like that with Kyle and Aaron but they don’t have the same

connections as Kenna does. Maybe I’ll have to settle for sneaking into a

Dungeon’s and Dragon’s convention or something,” he told me with a

laugh.

I couldn’t help but smile at my brother. Mad as he was, he could still try

to find a way to make me laugh. “Let me know if you get in; I might just

join you. Speaking of Kyle, he wants you to call him and when you do,

please tell him that I do still want him to go to the concert with me.”

Skylar looked like I had just told him I was running away or something.

“After everything that I have told you, you still intend to go? Well, I said

I wouldn’t stop you, so I won’t. Have fun, but don’t say that I didn’t warn

you,” he informed me ominously. The weight of the decision to take Kyle

pressed harder on my shoulders. For the first time, however, I took

Kenna’s view on this issue. Perhaps Sky was just messing with me to

keep me from going out with his friend. Whatever the case was, I wasn’t

about to let my downer brother ruin my night. I gave him a very pointed

look and he stood, shrugging his shoulders as he did. “As I said, don’t say

you didn’t have warning. You’d think by now you’d trust me more than

you do. You sure trusted me that time I told you not to go to school

because those cheerleaders were going to attack you after school.

Whatever, I’m going to go call him and give him your ever so sweet

message that you pick him over your own brother.” And with that, he was

gone.

I sighed and turned my computer back on. As I thought, Kenna had sent

me several instant messages demanding that I let her model for me so

she could have the perfect Manson-worthy outfit. She twirled and

catwalked and posed like the girls on Americas Next Top Model only a

gothic version. After we narrowed it down to a black lacy dress that

looked like a vampire wedding dress and a pair of tight black Tripp jeans

and a torn Marilyn Manson tank top, we decided that the jeans and tank

top were the most appropriate for the event. She gave me a big smile on

her web cam and signed off so she could fix her hair and makeup.

I turned to my own clothes that I had just bought and chose a black and

purple mini skirt with chains and lace that tied up the sides like a corset

and a matching black and purple corset halter top. I pulled on a pair of

black fishnets over purple tights and my new black shiny vinyl high heeled

knee high boots. After some minor accessorizing, my outfit was complete

with the choker Kenna had given me for my birthday and my black rubber

bracelets and leather spiked ones. I went into the bathroom to put my

hair in pig tails and add purple and black extensions to my hair before I

curled it; then it was time for my makeup. When I was done, I looked like

a model right out of Gothic Beauty. I carefully adjusted my top before I

went downstairs, that way my tattoo wouldn’t be visible if mom was home.

I got lucky; when I got downstairs, the only members of my family

present were my brother and dad. Skylar looked like he had seen a ghost

and my dad had a look on his face that sort of mirrored that. I had to

laugh, they looked more like twins than Sky and I did. “When you guys

get your eyes back in, will you tell me, please, how I look?” I asked them.

Skylar narrowed his eyes and gave a noncommittal shrug while my dad

raved that I was an absolute beauty. I sat on the couch, not able to shake

the suspicion that Skylar was scrutinizing my every move, while I waited

for Kenna. She showed up at around 3:30 and we sat in her car listening

to music until Kyle and Aaron got there. When their mom dropped them

off, I saw Skylar watching out the window as we all got ready to leave. I

sent him a very rude hand gesture as we were pulling away from the

house and I could see him scowling at me from the window.

I really didn’t care, I was determined to have a great time. I turned to

my friends and started talking as though there was nothing wrong while at

the same time, I took my cell phone out and turned it off.