Tumbling Walls

II: Someday

The screeching tires drowned all sound of Blake's horrified gasps and rapid heartbeat, her body that had become numb with fear twenty minutes ago, flew back and forth in the seat, every single one of her movements interrupted by a tremendous jolt. Her neck would snap back whenever the tall, blond boy in the drivers seat hit the gas and her nervousness did nothing but increase when he had to brake.

The rock song on the radio added a little drumbeat and bass to what she saw as the end of her very short and quite nugatory life. Had she really spent 17 years on feeding her starving bibliophilia, being the innocent victim of her mother's lectures - or uniquely maternal advice as she preferred to call it - drown her sorrows in chai latte and chocolate, watch reruns of Friends as well as open herself up for the vague hypothymia that had consumed her body little by little?

The joyous laughter that the older boy emitted somehow brought her back on track; this was just yet another one of his live-life-on-the-edge ideas. Sometimes the urge to cross the border between sanity and madness fell upon him like the frequent rain that hung over the city in terms of thick, gray clouds but the only difference here was that there was no transitions between light drizzle and heavy rain. It was always a destructive hurricane, that destroyed the remnants of the concerns he hid underneath that goofy smile. It was a cleansing storm that removed the burdens that weighed him down so he could enjoy life for once. So he could be free.

But despite the fact that this you-only-live-once life philosophy had made it's debut among her fellow teens and actually had a point to prove, there was a certain unpleasantness about living life that close to the edge; especially when the edge could let you slip right into death's cold grip.

She wondered if that scared him. If Alexander the Great - no, not the greek dude from history but her Alexander - feared the vicious never-ending sleep as much as she did. Cause dying meant leaving. And leaving meant goodbyes; a thing she had never been good at.

She highly doubted that he was fearing it though. Alex was pretty much fearless. The hurricane inside his lanky body obviously managed to wash away all his fears as well, leaving only the greatest one behind.

Blake thought of this inner storm as an expression of emotions. The hardness of the rain would depend on the intensity of your feelings. And when you were sad, your heart would let the rain be visible to your surroundings, streaming down your cheeks in terms of salty tears. You could say that we were all crying together, the reasons would be different; pretty much everything from a harsh breakup to a never-ending war in the country you claimed your home, but the cold, tiny drops of water our hearts cried out in unison would be the same. In that way, we're all equal. We're all the same.

"Alex!" She screamed as she was tossed into the triangular embrace of the seat belt for the hundredth time, not sure of why he felt the need to slam on the brakes once again. He chuckled softly, finally calming down and driving normally, showing his great skills as a driver. The skills he had simply decided to hide under a thick layer of recklessness.

"Sorry, scarfy! Seems like I got too into it" He smiled apologetically, his big blue eyes looking as sleepy as always, the mischievous sparkle making them shine even brighter than they already were, making him.. him.

"You don't say" She scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest, trying her best to look upset with him but failing miserably as one glimpse of his puppy eyes made her arms fall into her lap again, a groan escaping her soft lips.

"I hate you.." She muttered, resting her head on his broad shoulder, smiling as he did nothing but laugh, lips spilling the contagious laughter she was addicted to. That laughter, his laughter was a proof that the other side of sadness still existed; joy. The missing ingredient in her and many other teens' lives. Well it was there, but she just didn't know how to actually feel it. All she could feel was how her heart kept crying, her insides wet from all the rain. But on the outside she stayed the same. On the outside, she kept smiling.