Dye And Die

chapter one

 " Oliver?" I jump up as my mom walks into my dark room, illuminated by purple LED's. She waits for me to take my earphones out. I quickly pause ' Combat Baby' By Metric, ripping the wireless buds out and looking at her patiently. 

"I want you to go and greet our new neighbors, they moved in today. I went over while you and Takumi were at the mall, but they have a daughter your age, I want you to go over and meet them all." My mom claps her hands, and I sigh. Mom crosses her arms over her broad chest, waiting. 

" Okay mom." I say respectfully, and she grins before walking out. I love my mom, i'm not going to upset her today. Although, why the hell am I going over at 10 PM? Shrugging it off, I stand up and glance in my mirror. I had already showered about an hour ago, dressed in grey, plaid pajama bottoms and a ' SuperBad' shirt. I run a hand through my jaw lengthed hair before giving up and shoving spare clear framed glasses on, since I took my contacts out hours ago. Deciding that it isnt really a big deal, I jog out the door in a rush. 

The air is cold, and I rub my arms with a frown. I look for cars before crossing the wide, jagged street. Reaching the doorstep to the neighbors, I hit the doorbell and stand back. The old neighbors who used to live here, the Smith's, had moved to Canada. After about a solid minute of waiting, the door slams open. Standing there is a girl. She's fucking beautiful. Her hair is dyed a neon pink, bold eyeliner drawn upon her face. 

"Hey." She greets tiredly. My eyes snap back up to meet her.

"Hi. I'm Oliver. I live across the street." I respond, and she nods.

" Your Mom must be the crazy lady who came over with muffins earlier?" She raises a brow, and I laugh awkwardly. 

" Yeah, that's her." Our laughing stops. I clear my throat, and the girl realizes something.

" I'm Aiko, by the way." She adds, and I nod, making sure I remember that. 

" Are you doing anything right now?" I ask, and Aiko raises a brow.

"No. Why?" She asks. I shift awkwardly. 

" Do you wanna come somewhere with me?" I question, and she stares at me before nodding.

"Get a jacket, it's cold." I say, and she dissapears back into the house. About a minute later she emerges with a jacket on. I nod, motioning for her to follow me. We cross the street, coming up to my jeep. I get in, and she catches on before getting in the passanger side. Once I start up the car, ' More Than A Woman' By the Bee Gees immediately blasts. I jump, reaching over and turning it down. I quickly pull away from the house so my parents don't hear. 

"Where exactly are we going?" Aiko asks, and I grin. 

" The best place in this town."

***

After about 20 minutes of driving and small talk, we arrive at the WestTown Beach. Aiko looks confused. 

" This is it?" She asks when I park. I laugh, running a hand through my hair. 

"Not quite." I mutter, getting out and walking to open her door. She looks concerned, and I roll my eyes before grabbing her hand and leading her across the sand. Once we get to the familiar hill, I turn to her.

" I hope you keep up." I smirk before jumping up on the stone hill. I wait for Aiko at the top. Once she gets up, she hits me on the shoulder.

" What the fuck are we doing." She states. following me down another hill. I just laugh. We weave in and out of many hills, before finally reaching my goal. Aiko grabs onto my arm, her frown the opposite of my wide smile. I duck into the stone/concrete cave. This is ' Stoner Hill'. My friends and I found the cave in sixth grade, six years ago. Since then this has been the spot where we come daily. Atleast one of us is always here. Inside, the walls are covered with tapestrys and tye died sheets. There's a stack of couch cusions in the back. Once I reach the group, the familiar smell of smoke greets me. Nirvana plays quietly from an old CD player, and my group sits around a small fire. My best friends. First, there's Jamie. I've known him the longest. We met at the park when we were two, and have been through hell together. We've lives together, kissed, gotten into fights, nearly died, and have thousands of stories to tell. Next, theres Sam. Jamies boyfriend. I've only known him for about a year, but he's still one of my closest friends. Sam graduated last year, but he hasn't gone to college yet. Moving on, there's Kim. The only girl in our group, thus far. She's insane, to put it lightly. Shes' been arrested, alongside all of us, she's the one who created our house-egging tradition, the one with a fake ID, and has a new partner every week.Lastly, Tyler. Kim's ex-boyfriend. They broke up freshman year, but they stayed friends and eventually just fit in with us.

" OLLIE!" Kim shouts, shutting off the music. " Finally, kid. We said 11." Sam adds. 

" Hey. I brought Aiko. New neighbor." I say pulling her to sit next to me. Everyone kindly greets her, glad to have someone new in the group. We all sit in silence before Kim speaks up.

" So, LavaGirl, what's your favorite band?" Kim asks. Aiko hums.

" Uhhh, Pearl Jam? The Doors?" She responds, and Kim smirks. 

" I like her." She says before reaching over and pulling a CD from her bag. She pops it into the cd player, and ' Last Kiss' By Pearl Jam plays quietly. Aiko grins. 

"Hey, I gotta get going. Working a 10 hour shift tomorrow." Sam stands, grabbing his bag. Jamie groans.

" Baaabee." He cries, and Sam pouts. 

" I'll pick you up after I get out. Scottman's is having 80's movie night. Love you." He ruffles his hair before ducking out of the cave.

" So, you want a cig?"