The Mutant World [UNFINISHED]

7

"It was long before I saw you guys today," I begin, resting on my bean-bag. The rest of the group does the same in each of their own beanbag chairs.

"I was flying and decided to fall and then catch myself before I hit the trees," I continue, "But I didn't catch myself in time. I fell through the trees and might have gotten seriously hurt if the... um..."

"It's okay," Juno comforts me, putting a hand on my shoulder. I nod and look at my hands.

"A Shadow saved me," I spit out quickly, with a worried face. Tara gasps and the rest looks at me as if I have lost my mind.

"Are you sure?" Liz asks after a minute of shocked silence.

"Absolutely sure," I state, looking at my feet. A few seconds of stifled silence slowly crawl by before anyone says anything.

"Then we need to tell everyone," Milo announces, his eyes looking sternly at the ground.

"It won't matter. They won't believe us. We have no proof," I state glumly, pouting at the ground.

"A Shadow is on the loose and you don't want to tell anyone?" Nathan asks angrily, glaring at me.

"No one will believe us," Juno states sternly. Everyone gradually nods in agreement. The sharp and crisp silence fills our ears once again until Liz's kind voice pipes up.

"Let's just keep an eye out and tell everyone in this room everything from now on. Okay?" Liz suggests, with her large eyes. We all nod in agreement and I take a deep breath.

"So, that's that," I explain, feeling a tinge of awkwardness set in.

"I'm glad this isn't bothering you as much as it would bother me," Juno states, giving me a half-smile. The whole group chuckles lightly in agreement.

"Come here, hun" Liz suddenly coos before tackling me and embracing me with a large hug. I laugh out loud as Juno jumps on top of me too. Milo, Nathan, and Tara jump together and we laugh as we form a mountain of happiness. We all then spread across the floor but Juno's arm is still on top of mine. He doesn't notice, so I decide to stay still and enjoy the moment. Suddenly I feel his hand wrap around mine. I feel fuzzy and warm inside. His hand wraps tenderly around my fingers and slowly and gently strokes my fingers. Slow and soft waves of calm flows around and through me. I begin to hear the silent melodies once again, this time being emitted from the rubbing of Juno's fingers against my skin.

"This is the most interesting day ever," Liz announces, taking a banana and unwrapping it. I think it has definitely been interesting but, the Shadow situation still scares me and sends chills down my back. Juno is still holding my hand and I want to stay here like this forever. I glance out the window and can see the sun is about to set. I sit up and Juno releases my hand, causing it to grow fridged yet still tingling with a little warmth, the silent melody echoing in my chest.

"I have to go," I announce, standing.

"Yeah, same here," Juno states, standing as well.

"Alright," Tara begins, sitting up, "tomorrow at my house Alice."

I turn around and nod as I smile as I remember that I have a sleepover tomorrow. Juno walks over with me to the door and allows me to go down the ladder first. I thank him and wait for Juno to get to the ground beside me. I grow a strong urge to walk with him alone. I glance up the tree and enjoy that no one else emerges from the treehouse to leave after us. Once he touches the ground, he jogs to my side and we begin to walk. We walk slowly across the kiah field in silence.

"Are you truly happy?" Juno asks me as we cross the dirt road. I look up at him. He is slightly taller than me. I enjoy looking up at his face because when he looks down even a little his hair droops slightly.