After sliding my boots onto my feet, I eagerly hopped off my bed. Today had been a good day so far. Cold and rain had been predicted, but it was turning out to be bright, sunny, and much warmer than the days past. Summer had transitioned into autumn harshly, so it was nice to have the opportunity of more comfortable weather. What was even better- Sunset was coming over. I loved that she lived right across the street. We were able to pop over to the other's house pretty much whenever we wanted. Mr. and Mrs. Glory didn't mind if I showed up unannounced. Mr. Glory liked having me over because I eagerly listened to his stories, and Mrs. Glory was always willing to challenge me to a bout of video games. In fact, last week they even told me I could go ahead and think of their house as my house too.
I hurriedly left my room. I had gone to look out one of the windows on the front side of the house. Sunset had waved back to me from behind one of the windows at her house. That was the signal that she was just about to head over. Heck, by them time I went down the stairs she would probably be in the yard already.
"Ethereal, can you come here for a moment?"
Eden's voice called to me from his room.
"I'm going downstairs to meet Sunset." I told him.
"I know, but I don't want to put this off. I swear it will only take a second."
I sighed quietly, hoping Eden wouldn't hear me. It didn't take me long after walking into his room to discover what he needed me for. He had just finished placing down a syringe with a now familiar liquid inside. A small stack of gauze pads rested nearby.
"It has already been this long, huh?" I smiled wryly.
Eden laughed quietly and nodded slightly.
"Yeah, it has. Doesn't feel like it, but if you don't take this shot soon you'll be white before we know it."
"You told me before that taking the subsequent doses won't affect me like it did the first time. You promise that that's right?" I asked cautiously.
"I promise."
"You said that you had never seen this stuff be used before, so how can you be sure?" I had to point out.
"I haven't seen anyone going through the process before, but I've read the notes of those who were the test subjects. Not a single one experienced anything like the burning sensation they went through the first time around. If it helps, picture the situation like you're rolling a boulder down a hill. It has to be pushed to the top before it can go down though, which would obviously take a lot of effort. That was the pain you went through previously. Then the boulder began rolling and you no longer had to do anything. Now it is slowing because the hill has flattened a bit, but a simple nudge is all it will take to send it bounding once more." Eden explained thoroughly.
"That does help to have it make a lot of sense."
"Good. Now get over here so you can take your shot," Eden said in a slightly teasing manner, "We also don't want to give Sunset a reason to come find you and discover something she shouldn't."
I had to agree with that statement. Eden wasn't comfortable at giving Sunset free rein at our house like her parents had allowed with me, but he was okay with her coming and going as she pleased. We really didn't need her walking in at that moment. That's why I let Eden help me pull my sweater down a bit so he could get at my shoulder. His cleaned a section of the skin with some disinfectant and the gauze before quickly but expertly giving me the shot. A band-aid covered up the point of the injection, and I was good to go. The process hadn't taken a minute.
"So, how is it going with finding out anything?" I questioned as I readjusted my jumper strap.
"I wish I could say otherwise, but it is going badly. What I said back after that one argument of ours remains true. The Company is massive in size and power- so massive that they can completely hide a project like the one you were involved in. I guess you can say my friends and I work for a good guy version of The Company. We have enough resources and connections to do things like add a fake person to the system, but if you look at both sides we're nothing compared to them. Stealing information would be hard enough without them keeping a constant watch for any movement on our part. Since they're determined to get us off their backs, any mistake that reveals us will mean disastrous things. However, if we take no risks we can't make any progress. It's a really complicated situation."
"Sounds like it. Now I'm glad you're keeping me out of it."
"Told ya. You simply keep taking your shots and worry about nothing else."
"Do you really think it could take years before I can return to being white?"
"Honestly, yes. I'd be surprised if it didn't."
"Do you have enough of this stuff to keep me green though?"
"I have enough to keep you green into adulthood. I swiped their whooole stash, which I'm sure they're happy about. That means I'll get to give you a good poke twice a year for a nice, long while to come."
"Don't act as if you enjoy it." I frowned and scoffed up at him.
"But what if I do?"
"I'm going to see if Sunset has come over yet." I rolled my eyes and began to leave the room.
Eden smirked at me as I left.
Finding Sunset was easy. She had made her way over, but she hadn't come inside. Going high back and forth on the swing was where I spotted her. She gave me a smile, but otherwise ignored me as she kept going.
"You are supposed to be over here to help me, not to play with my stuff." I jokingly reprimanded.
Sunset stuck her tongue out at me.
"Come and stop me then." she prodded, wiggling one of her feet as she reached top height coming forward to mock hitting me with it.
"I know you like jumping off the swings."
"Yeah. So?"
"Well, if you help me rake like you promise we can make a really big pile that we can jump into. We can get a lot more air if we have something cushy to land in." I prompted confidently.
Sunset frowned at me in defeat as she slowed herself enough to where she could leap off safely. I said nothing, but merely walked away victoriously to get the rakes.
I handed her a rake, and we got to work. I was actually enjoying myself thoroughly. Inside chores I didn't like too much. However, I absolutely loved cleaning up the yard. Even something as simple as experiencing the seasons had been greatly reduced living in my isolated room. There was actually a mechanical roof that could block up my yard area. It was closed whenever it snowed. Thus, I had never gotten more than a dusting of fluffy flakes on the ground during the winter. Ms. Yellow had been given the job of raking all the leaves during fall. She usually snuck in while I was sleeping or napping to do it, which meant I never got the chance to jump around in leaves before. Finally getting the chance to join in on what was apparently considered a classic autumn tradition was exciting.
Sunset, however, was not quite as happy.
"I can't believe I agreed to help you do this. I hate raking the leaves in my own yard. Why would I do it if I didn't have to?" she complained after we barely got started.
"You were the one who made the bet that the loser of our last video game session would have to help the winner with one of her chores." I reminded her with a big smile.
"I thought I could beat you for once."
"And that's why you have no one to blame but yourself." I giggled.
Sunset sighed and continued raking.
Sunset perked up after a while. She stopped complaining, and we were able to chat and laugh normally. What started out as a small pile grew into a massive one. Even then there was still much of the yard to do. Eden had promised to do the next bout of raking all by himself if we did the whole yard this time around, so there was no stopping yet. Sunset and I did take a break though when Eden opened the back door to let a certain someone out.
"Hey, Button!" I called as my not-so-much-a-puppy-anymore puppy bounded over to me.
Button padded around Sunset excitedly, sniffed her, and nuzzled against her leg as Sunset patted her head. My dog then turned all her attention to me. She was not satisfied until she was smothered with pets and hugs.
"I still can't believe how big she has gotten. It's only been a few months, after all." Sunset remarked.
"I know. Eden and I are amazed as well, although I think Eden is kinda more horrified," I laughed, "With Button being such a mutt, we weren't exactly sure how she would turn out. Eden definitely thought she would end up being a smaller dog."
"Nope!" Sunset exclaimed merrily.
"Nope, indeed. She was growing slowly, and then, BOOM, big dog." I giggled.
"She's so fluffy though."
"I'm beginning to think I should have given the name Button to Fluff and Fluff to Button. Fluff has buttons and Button is fluffy."
"If you remember that it's opposite then that actually makes it easier to remember which name belongs to who."
"Yeah, I guess that's true."
Button bounded around us as Sunset and I went back to raking. We took a quick restroom and snack break when half the yard was finished. We then made the slight mistake after completely finishing of undoing some of our work after we jumped about and scattered the leaves back into a mess when playing in one of the piles. Seeing as how playing was half the point to the work, neither of us cared. It was great fun leaping into the leaves from the swings. Sunset even forgot she had ever been annoyed at having to help me.
"So, what is your family doing for Thanksgiving?" I asked Sunset when our energy and playing winded down.
"We're going out of town to spend the weekend with some of our family in Rushing Rivers. It's also my aunt's birthday, so we'll be celebrating that as well."
"That sounds like a lot of fun."
"What about you?"
"It really is just Eden and me for our family, so Eden thought it would be nice to invite Blaze and Am over."
"I'm sure that'll be fun. You and Am get into all sort of mischief together."
"I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be my first holiday spent here."
In actuality, it was the first holiday I would celebrate ever.
Waiting until the day arrived was hard. Eden said he would give me a couple days off my classes so I could have a vacation like the kids in normal school, but I willingly kept doing the work anyway. Sunset wasn't the only one who was spending the holiday out of town. Allium, Frost, Cocoa, and Sap and his sisters were visiting family as well. Sunflower was going over to Mrs. Bright's house. Mrs. Bright was the yellow woman I saw at Amaranth's birthday party, but, even more surprisingly, she is Sunflower's aunt! I felt silly for being afraid of her that day when Sunflower introduced her properly when she brought me up to the stables when we went to ride the horses. Mrs. Bright is really nice. But anyway, with pretty much all my friends being distracted or out of town I had nothing to do but schoolwork to keep me busy. I also wanted to attend normal school next year. That meant I couldn't take a lot of vacation days if I wanted to catch up to my peers.
The morning of Thanksgiving went by incredibly fast. I think that was because Eden let me help him cook for once. He wouldn't allow me near the oven or stove like usual, but I got to cut up, stir, and mash a bunch of stuff. I couldn't believe how much food we were making! Eden, Blaze, and Amaranth always ate a lot, but I couldn't see even them devouring the amount we had prepared. That's when Eden told me having so many leftovers was a part of the fun of this holiday.
Blaze and Amaranth were due to arrive around one in the afternoon. I was somewhat worried when at 1:20 there was no sign of them. Eden wasn't concerned. Blaze apparently just had an innate ability to always be late for events like this. I was appeased until 1:30. I couldn't help but worry. Eden and I were putting the finishing touches on the food when I heard strange noises from the living room. The quick walk across the entrance of the house showed me that the source of the noise was Blaze and Amaranth! How long had they been there? Just like himself, Blaze was messing about with the fire while Amaranth watched with an impatient expression. He hated his uncle's obsession with fire.
I cleared my throat.
Blaze smiled, but he didn't take his attention away from the fire.
"Hey, Meadow." he said cheerily.
"Hello, Blaze."
"You look nice today."
"This is the dress Eden bought me for that dance way back when. This is my first chance at wearing it. You haven't even looked my way though, so how can you say I look nice?" I asked in amusement.
"You always look nice, so saying you look nice is safe compliment." he teased.
"But if I always looks nice, pointing it out isn't much of compliment, is it?" I joked back.
"You look very nice today, Meadow."
"Thank you." I rolled my eyes.
"You're welcome."
I shook my head and turned my attention away from Blaze.
"Hi, Am." I said to my friend instead.
"Hi."
Amaranth gave his response back rather quietly. I think he attempted to smile, but the slight twitches at the corners of his mouth quickly disappeared. Amaranth did look happy at all. However, I couldn't get the chance to ask him anything because Eden walked into the room.
"Blaze, you crazy idiot, get your hands out of the fire," he demanded in annoyance, "If you burn yourself again, I'm not going to bother taking you to the hospital."
"Is the food ready?" Blaze asked.
"Yes."
"Then I will do as you say. I'm starving."
Blaze mumbled when we didn't get to eat right away. Eden and I still had to get the table ready, and Amaranth went off to use the restroom. Blaze oh so generously volunteered to help set the table so we could dig in the second Amaranth came out. He was taking a while, so the three of us talked.
"How is work going?" Eden asked Blaze.
"Oh, same old same old. The boss is a monster like always. He really makes it difficult for us to get our work done. There's been no improvement with our most recent project. It'll be a miracle if we ever finish."
"That's tough."
"What is it you do?" I asked.
I just realized I had no idea what Blaze did for a living. He smiled at me mischeviously.
"I'm a super secret agent. I stalk the shadows in my quest to fight crime, protect the innocent, and look cool."
"Blaze works for an advertising company. He makes television campaigns." Eden told the real truth.
"You are such a stick in the mud!" Blaze pouted, "Couldn't you let me have my fun for a second?"
"It's not like I was believing you." I pointed out.
"You don't think I could be a secret agent?" Blaze pouted further, this time with mock disappointment.
"No way. You wouldn't be able to stalk the shadows. You're always loud."
"Very true," Blaze agreed with a laugh, "Yeah, I don't think I'd be able to be quiet enough to ever be a secret agent."
He paused and glanced towards the restroom.
"Kid! Hurry up with the peeing and get out here! I'm hungry!" Blaze called to Amaranth.
I suppressed more giggles. I could almost hear Amaranth grumbling.
Amaranth reappeared a few seconds later. There was no room to put the food on the tables, so we stuffed our plates full from all the dishes sitting on the counter before we took our seats. It was quiet for a moment or so as we dug into the meal. I tried to be somewhat careful so I didn't drop anything onto my dress. Blaze shoveled everything into his face like a maniac while Eden ate normally and Amaranth ate rather slowly. Him being so sluggish was why I wasn't able to fully enjoy myself once the conversation resumed. Eden, Blaze, and I chatted merrily and laughed a lot. Amaranth remained quiet and really only spoke when someone talked directly to him. It wasn't how he usually was at all. I wondered if he was feeling ill or anything.
I regretted putting so much food on my plate at the start. A lot of what we had made was stuff I had never eaten before- stuffing, mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, cranberry sauce. It was all delicious. I couldn't pass up trying any of it. However, my stomach was groaning at the amount I was sending it. Considering there was still dessert left, I could be dealing with quite the achy tummy if I wasn't careful. That was why I gave in, left some stuff on my plate, and didn't touch another bite. Amazingly, Eden and Blaze both got seconds. I couldn't imagine in the slightest how they could eat so much. Eventually though, their plates were cleaned. The three of us kept on talking to give us time to digest and to give Amaranth time to finish eating. It was almost reluctantly that he put forkful after forkful into his mouth. When he was done, Eden stood up to take his turn in the restroom. He said we would have pie after he came back.
Hoping that moving around some would make me digest faster, I volunteered to clean up the table.
"You should help her pick up." Blaze instructed Amaranth.
"Why don't you help her?"
Blaze frowned.
"I helped set up the table, which you missed seeing because you were in the restroom."
"Excuse me for having to go to the bathroom."
"You're excused. Now help your friend clean."
"Meadow's got it just fine."
Blaze frowned harder and looked kinda angry. He opened his mouth to say something, but I interrupted him.
"It's fine. I really don't need any help. Besides, you're our guests. We're the ones who asked you over, so you don't have to worry about doing any work." I said, hiding my dislike of the tension.
"Thank you, Meadow." Blaze sighed, forcing a small smile.
I took the plates and walked over towards the sink. I pretended not to hear what Blaze whispered to Amaranth.
"Don't be so rude. Eden and Meadow have been working hard all day to make wonderful food for us. You acting so ungrateful is not something I will tolerate."
Amaranth scoffed. I rinsed off the dishes before placing them in the dishwasher. I wondered as I took out some fresh plates if my expressions looked as unaffected as I was trying to make it. The mood had gone sour really quickly. Something was very off with Amaranth, and I didn't like it. I was slightly hurt by his sudden coldness, but mostly I was just concerned.
The room got very quiet after Blaze excused himself for a moment. The only sounds filling the air were the ones of me moving about. Amaranth was clearly in no mood to talk, and I didn't want to sit back down with nothing to do. That would have made the situation more awkward. So, I drench a cloth in hot water to wipe down the table, which was covered in some food bits. Snatching a cake knife, I slowly cut the pumpkin pie into pieces. I was setting the servings on the table when Amaranth stood.
"Hey, Meadow?" he said softly as he turned away from me.
"Hmm?"
Amaranth scratched at his head. I wondered what kind of an expression was on his face.
"You don't have to put out any pie for me. I don't want any." he mumbled.
"That's fine. Is there anything else you want? We have apple pie and pudding as well. I think there's some vanilla ice cream in the freezer too." I offered.
Amaranth shook his head.
"No. I'm just gonna go play in your study area or something." he mumbled again.
He walked away without giving me the chance to say anything else.
Eden and Blaze returned a minute after he left. Blaze frowned again when I told them where he went, but he said nothing about the matter. The three of us sat down to enjoy our pie. Eden, having no clue that there had been tension, got the conversation flowing more pleasantly again. Blaze quickly returned to his normal self, and soon the three of us were talking and laughing as before. I even completely forgot that I was so full. I downed my pie without a second thought.
It was fifteen minutes after our eating was finally finished when I decided to go check on Amaranth. Eden and Blaze barely noticed me leaving so caught in another one of their humorous arguments they were. I found Amaranth at the block station. Button was laying near him, nuzzling against his arm every so often to demand a pet.
She swung her tail and yipped at me goofily as I approached. I barely got to sit down before she rolled over to offer her stomach up for a good scratch. She was such a funny dog. I watched Amaranth as I petted her. Over and over again, he built the blocks up in no distinct shape only to push them down into the center storage rather strongly.
"Can't think of what to build?" I built up the courage to ask after a moment.
It seemed as if Amaranth wasn't going to answer me. He kept on building without saying a word.
"I just like making them fall over." he did eventually mumble again.
"I like doing that too," I pressed on, "Building big towers and watching them tumble is the best."
Amaranth nodded imperceptibly.
"Did you like the food?"
Another tiny nod.
"Um," I had no clue as to how to get Amaranth talking, "Do you want to go outside? The weather is nice today."
"You know, I came in here to be alone!" Amaranth unexpectedly snapped at me harshly.
Even Button cowered at the anger in his voice. She didn't like confrontations. She stood up and quickly trotted out of the room. I glanced warily at Amaranth. He glared down at the blocks.
"Sorry." I mumbled myself this time.
I took my leave as well.
Eden and Blaze had continued with their merry time. I slid into my seat again hoping not to draw too much notice to myself, but I guess there was no hiding how hurt I felt.
"What's wrong?" Eden asked, "I thought you went to play with Am."
I shrugged hopelessly.
"Did he act rudely towards you again?" Blaze asked perceptively.
"He snapped really angrily at me that he wanted to be alone." I admitted after a minute of hesitation.
I didn't want to get him in trouble.
"Did he now?" Blaze sighed in frustration, "Excuse me for a moment."
He went off to my study area. I swung my feet unenthusiastically. Hushed but more angry voices could be heard coming from the other corner of the house.
"I'm sorry. I should have warned you." Eden then apologized, much to my confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"Coal and Desire, Amaranth's parents, they died in that car crash on Thanksgiving. That means today is the anniversary of their death, and that is why Am is in such a foul mood. Blaze is in a somber mood as well, but he's just much better at hiding it. I had hoped bringing them over would cheer them up since you get along with the both of them so well, but it doesn't look like it worked. Blaze is probably going to come back telling us the two of them are heading home."
"I hope not. Both Am's birthday party and my party had bad things happen. I don't want my first ever holiday celebration to end the same way too."
Eden gave me a sympathetic smile.
Unfortunately, my hopes were crushed. True to Eden's prediction, Blaze returned practically pulling a stubborn Amaranth along with him. He thanked us for the good food and company profusely, but he did say that he and Amaranth were going to head home. Eden called a taxi, and a few minutes later the two of them were walking out the door. I tried to get Amaranth to say goodbye to me, but even that was useless.
That afternoon was the complete opposite of the day of Amaranth's party. Amaranth was the one who left upset, and Blaze was the one who promised that he would have him call to apologize once he calmed down. Eden and I put the kitchen back in order. He then gave me his phone, and I went to my room to wait. I didn't feel like playing, and there was nothing else for me to do. It wasn't like I could call anyone else and disturb their holiday. So, I cuddled with Button a lot. I took a nap. I flipped through the pictures on Eden's phone. I waited. And waited. And waited. Hours passed. The sky grew dark. I was about to give up when a call came through. I instantly picked it up.
"Hello?" I said eagerly.
"Uh, Meadow?"
It was Blaze.
"It's me." I confirmed.
"Did you forget to give Eden his phone back?" he chuckled.
"No. I was waiting for Am to call."
"What do you mean?"
"You said you would have Am call me to apologize, remember?"
"No, of course I remember. Amaranth said he talked to you, and that was hours ago!"
"He didn't."
"What?! That-"
I could tell Blaze was trying not to curse.
"Brat!" he settled with, "Excuse me once again."
He hung up. I sighed and set the phone on the bed. I stared out the window, bored and hurt, until another call came. It was Blaze again. He apologized that Amaranth was being so awful and asked to talk to Eden. I gave the phone to my brother, took a bath, and went downstairs to numb my mind with some television. It was clear I wasn't going to get my apology that night.
It was a rough week following that. One or two days. That's how long I thought it would take for Amaranth to perk up and return to his old self. I was in for a rough awakening. He avoided me like the plague for that whole week. No matter how many times I called him and no matter how much prompting and reprimanding Blaze did- Amaranth refused to have anything to do with me. He would play with all the others, but he wouldn't come over if I was there. I even got Allium to lie and say I was busy to trick Amaranth into seeing me, but he saw through the lie somehow and never showed up.
I went from being really upset to being really angry to being really fed up. I was going to settle the issue right away! Eden was more than willing to give me a drive over to Blaze and Amaranth's place. Blaze didn't ask any questions when I knocked on the door. He let me right in and went back to his business. I did have to pause as always when I looked around at their decoration. One would think a brown person lived here and not two red people. I knew it was mostly because Blaze only rented the place. Changing the color every time they had new tenants would have been a nightmare for the landlords. However, I also knew it was because Blaze and Amaranth weren't the type to stick to the old traditions of surrounding themselves with their color.
Mentally chastising myself for getting distracted, I walked up to Amaranth's door and knocked.
"Come in!"
It felt like such a long time since had heard his voice. I wasted no time in opening the door and heading in. Naturally, it was not me he was expecting to see. The most hilarious kind of stunned expression settled onto his face.
"M-Meadow?" he squeaked, glancing around nervously.
I laughed.
"You're already in your pajamas? It's only six."
"No. I-I've been in them all day." he practically whispered.
"You're really lucky. Eden won't let me wear my pajamas past nine."
Amaranth didn't say anything. His cheeks merely turned a darker shade of red. You know you embarrassed someone red good if their skin flushes to such an extent for their blush to be noticeable.
He bit his lip, looking down at the ground.
"I suppose you've come over here to yell at me." he said hesitantly.
"I can yell at you if you want, but that's not why I'm here."
"You have to be really angry at me though."
"I was, but I'm not anymore."
The way he looked up at me almost made me laugh again. His face was so much like Button's face after she did something wrong and pouted up at me hoping I wouldn't be angry with her. I motioned for Amaranth to come closer, and he really did move in the same hesitant but slightly hopeful manner that my dog did. I had to try hard to suppress my giggles.
"I'm sorry. I haven't meant to be so horrible."
The apology finally came out.
"It's alright." I said brightly.
"How can you not be mad? I've been a jerk to you." Amaranth asked in amazement.
"You were so understanding when I was upset. How can I not be the same way when you're hurting?"
"But that's different. You weren't being rude or anything. I was acting as if my feelings were your fault."
"Do you want me to forgive you or not?" I warned teasingly.
"I do."
"Then you're forgiven. And that's the end of the matter."
"Meadow-"
"Nope. Done. Over." I smiled.
Amaranth smiled sheepishly, but happily too.
I spun to my right and pointed a poster.
"Instead, I want you to tell me who this is. This isn't a poster that wasn't here last time. It's for a movie?" I asked.
"Yeah- it's for Midnight Thief. An ex-soldier becomes a private investigator who also steals things from bad people to help incriminate them after they've weaseled their way out of getting punished for their crimes. The lead actor is Quartz J. Prism. He's really famous and has been in a lot of movies."
"He's albino?"
"Yeah. A lot of famous actors and actresses are all white, actually."
"Hmm."
It was pretty easy for me to know why that was.
I stared at the poster for a second longer, but Amaranth tapped on my shoulder. His smile this time around reminded me a lot more of his normal self.
"As a kind of making up present, do you wanna have a look through my telescope? You've never used it before, and you'll get to see that lens you bought me in action." he offered.
"Definitely!" I accepted eagerly.
I was led outside to his balcony where his telescope was set up. Amaranth showed me how to use it and position it to see where I wanted to see. The sky was mostly just a big blank of dull blues and purples because of the setting sun, but a few stars twinkled in the sky for me to view. It was incredible getting a closer look at them. I was enjoying myself thoroughly.
"You're staring." I pointed out a few minutes later.
I had been sneaking glances away from the eyepiece to notice Amaranth had not moved his gaze away from me for one second.
"That's because I'm making sure you're not doing anything that could break the telescope. That thing is expensive!" Amaranth revealed.
"Well, how about we take a break then. I brought over some leftover pie. Why don't we go give our Thanksgiving a proper ending?" I suggested.
Amaranth looked at me in amazement before smiling again.
"I'd love that."
its a shame the Am has to be reminded of his parents death every thanks giving :(
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