bellefly
"Don't cause a scene. Please." She ignored him. Of course she did. Why would she ever pay attention to anything he had to say? It's not like he knew how this went. Like, for example, her standing up, making a loud dramatic scene, getting into a fight and getting them both banned from the tavern. Every time. Without fail. Leaving them forced to find somewhere else to sleep and drink.
Nope. Never fucking happened.
"Amara."
He watched as she stood up. "Amara," he hissed again, more firmly this time. She pushed the chair back with her thighs as she went, her green eyes glaring, head cocked to the side. The sound of the wood scraping against wood made several people glance over. The bartender smirked, amusement glittering his features.
It was too bad, Zak thought wistfully, that he was on the end of Amara's hostility. He wasn't half bad looking.
He sighed. Less than five minutes, he decided, to finish off his drink.
He watched as Amara whipped out her daggers, faster than a lightning bird's wings. He quirked a brow. Better make that two, he noted.
Her eyes were best described as sunny. A soft, beautiful never ending glow in the darkness of the world. She was everything no one could ever hope to be. Her hair was a cascading glow of light, dropping down, over her shoulders, glinting. Her mouth curved, teeth flashing. She was the warmest greeting you'd ever get. I pushed myself closer to her orbit, dared to hope her rays were enough to melt the darkness of the universe, and she gave me the true meaning of having been sun-kissed, I don't ever think I'll feel the darkness again, as long as she's here, with me.
"Why don't you just go ahead and demonstrate for me then? Since you're so obviously talented." The guy said, flashing a bit of a cocky smirk. He stepped back, giving the girl a look from under the overgrown strands he seemed to call hair, and you could tell the girl was debating if it was some sort of trick or not by the confidence he showed.
The guy raised an eyebrow at her. "You aren't scared, are you? I mean, if you can try out for the team, then you can definitely shoot a single hoop without missing, yeah?"
She seemed to size him up for a moment before shaking her head slowly, that confident cold look slowly returning. But when she reached for the ball, you wondered if she had sweaty hands from the way she had to quickly move to grab it before it slid out, and away from her. You were pretty sure she was blushing, even though she was struggling to catch it, and the guy next to her laughed. It sounded sick though, distorted and wrong, laced with the cruel edge to it, like he thought women were something weak.
You didn't really know what to think about that.
He obviously considered this was going to be an easy win. No girls on the team, you remember him saying. Guys only. And yeah, that seemed... really unfair to you. You found yourself almost rooting for this girl in your mind.
The girl appeared to remember this too, what the man had said, and she turned to give him a harsh look, one that immediately cut off his laughter. You could tell that pleased the girl, as she turned back to the hoop, facing it with what she probably thought was a calm expression.
She looked nervous.
The girl licked her lips, cocked her head, appeared to be calculating the distance, the wind, the force she would need to throw it. She was a solider sizing up what had to be the most important enemy she had faced so far, having to make sure she didn't miss, couldn't miss, and you found your hands clenching in anticipation.
She probably wanted this... /badly/. And - jeez, it sounded, /weird/ honestly, to think that this could be the girl's dream. Wanting to play basketball on a lousy team in the middle of nowhere. But staring at her, and thinking about the alternative - embarrassing herself in front of a team of basketball players, wanting to play so badly, and then missing the shot and going home and never being allowed to come back and try again...
God, it was really kind of harsh.
She bounced the basket ball, it slapping against the cold ground beneath her, and she took another breath, the man beside her snapping that they don't have all day, that they wanted to get back to the game.
The girl bit down on her lower lip, stared at the hoop, nodded once, and then the ball was out of her hands, sailing across the sky, towards the hoop.
For one split second, you swore you were in a movie. The way how everyone had quieted, watching the ball slide around the rim of the hoop, fast, (too fast?) and it was miraculously slowing down, and you couldn't look back at the girl and the guy to see their reactions, because you were too busy having your own.
Was she going to score? Was she going to miss?
Dreams crushed or created?
You felt your breath leave your lungs, felt the hair stand up on your arms, swore as it felt like everything paused.
You watched the ball drop, biting down hard on your lip, completely and utterly in disbelief, staring at where the ball had fallen, sitting against the cold cracked floor harmlessly.
"Damn," You murmur, before slowly shaking your head.
Everyone else seems to agree.
She grabbed one of the many magazines in the waiting room, grimacing when she realized half of them were about 'sexy tips for your partner!' She instantly slapped them back down on the table beside her, looking up with slight shock as she saw the therapist enter the room. She felt a light blush cross her cheeks, and glanced away, clearing her throat.
"Hey.." She muttered awkwardly.
I watched in horror as the crowd filled the street with hatred, carrying huge picket signs that showed all of their non support for those of us who needed it desperately. I felt awful as I saw the people in the middle getting pushed over and insulted.
I felt a sharp stab in my heart.
Everyone should be treated equally! I couldn't believe this... I felt the tears prick my eyes as I watched one of the people get punched.
This was... sickening.
Wings.. So soft, so warm and comforting.. "Erik?" "I'm here.. You're safe now.. Don't worry." She snuggled deeper into the wings, knowing her guardian would protect her, and that she would always be safe with him. "Thank you."
One step.. It is so much harder than it looks when you know you're stepping towards someone you hate so much. When all of those thoughts flow through your brain, and they step closer, then you know the war has begun without you even saying anything. They know it too, maybe that's what causes the automatic hate.