Dreams of an Absolution

The Trigger (Episode 42)

The next day......

Skyler and Annie had met up around twelve in the afternoon at the Echo Valley park. Their faces had both lit up, seeing each other again, even though it's only been a day.

Skyler wore a casual white t-shirt and blue jeans, while Annie was wearing a flower dress with her cherry blossom colored hair in a bun. She had a small tulip in her hair as well.

"Wow, you look.... so pretty." Skyler uttered, staring at her in awe. She blushed and replied, "It was the only thing I found that looked decent. You on the other hand, look stunning my good sir. " Annie replied whilst giggling. Skyler chuckled from her remark as well, before reaching out his hand under the bright sunlight.

"You ready to have the best day of your life?", Skyler asked her, wearing a confident smirk. Annie smiled and took his hand instantly. "You bet I am!"

With that, the two of them went on to enjoy their day. From twelve in the afternoon to ten at night, the two went to the restaurants, the mall, and even job searching so they can each find themselves a place to work together. Surprisingly, both Annie and Skyler found themselves having a way better time than yesterday. They had even considered starting going to dance classes together. It truly was the day and night of their lives.

Though, later on that night, the tone had shifted. As much fun as he was having, Skyler was starting to notice Annie looking slightly down as the two walked together under the evening stars.

"Something wrong?", Skyler curiously asked while he walked with his hands in his pockets. Annie glanced over at him for a split second, looking surprised, before quickly turning her face away. "Yeah, I'm fine...", She replied halfheartedly.

Skyler then turned to her and gave her a glare of concern. "Okay, okay, " she responded, before continuing, "It's just....it's my power. Yeah, my power." Skyler looked at her in confusion and replied, "What about your power?"

Annie then stopped walking, and replied while looking at the ground, "It's a power that helps me boost my confidence. So I thought to myself, that if I can only be confident around you by using my power, is how we feel about each other even real?"

Before she could say another word, Skyler stood in front of her, lifted her chin up with the back his index finger and looked her in the eyes. "Listen to me. What your power is does not reflect on you as a person. You had only good intentions behind using it, so this must be how you really feel. I know what it feels like to be judged for having a weird power y'know."

Annie looked at him with a slightly shocked expression. "Wait, really?" she questioned. Sighing, Skyler put his one hand in his pocket and the other behind his neck. "Yeah. This is gonna sound really strange, but my power lets me switch powers with others. And it's via ingesting their blood. Sounds weird, I know. Please don't judge me."

Annie smiled and said, "Thank you, for uh, trying to cheer me up. It must've been tough to admit something like that." But her smile only lasted a moment before her expression switched to sadness once more. "But, that's not the only reason why I'm sad..."

Before either of them could say another word, they both saw blinking red and blue lights in the distance. It was not too long before they had noticed that the lights that were flashing were coming from two police cars. They were both parked right outside of Annie's house.

Skyler was stunned upon seeing this. "What the hell?" he said out loud. He slowly turned his head to Annie, but, she had already begun running frantically to the house. Skyler had only managed to catch a glimpse of Annie's face as she started sprinting. Distress, guilt, and sadness were the only emotions Skyler read on her face in that quick, single glare. Even one of her tears had faintly splashed onto Skyler's cheek.