Escaping Lights - A Greyson Chance Fan Fiction

Chapter 17: Afraid

"Breakfast," Maddie called while rapping at my door.

     I finished brushing my hair and quickly put on my denim vest over my striped red-and-white shirt. I walked out of my room in jeans and socks that had the American flag printed on it, in honor of the occasion. I liked printed socks. Happy Independence Day, Phoebe.

     I stepped out of my room and found Maddie wearing a blue dress with white stars. "Whoa," I cried. She rolled her eyes at me and said, "I know, I know, this is the first time you're seeing me wear something like this. But I can't help it. Mom forces me to wear this kind of stuff every fourth of July. She's very patriotic."

     It was quite a surprising look for Maddie, the girl who always wore T-shirts and jeans or baggy shorts matched with Chucks; the girl who never cared whether her clothes were in style or not. But it suited her perfectly. "You should wear dresses more often," I remarked following her upstairs.

     "I'd rather jump off a cliff," she replied, laughing.

     "Jared will like that," I said. She shot me a look with brows raised. Then I added hastily, "I mean, you wearing dresses, not jumping off a cliff."

     Her face turned neutral. "How do you know that? He doesn't even see me."

     "You don't know that either," I replied, returning her a smug look.

     "Touché," she said. "But nevertheless, he doesn't seem to be interested in girls like me. So drop it, Phoebe. I'm not changing my fashion sense for that dweeb."

     I laughed. "Dweeb?"

     "Yes. He loves science and theories more than his own mother."

     "Harsh."

     "And of course, I'm speaking figuratively." We entered through the kitchen and sat down around the table. I was amused by the decorations. The four of us had helped each other do the designs around the house the previous night. Ruthie and I cut up blue, red and white crepe paper in triangles and Maddie and Greyson hung them up around in strings. Of course, between Greyson and I, we had managed to do it in quiet interactions. I wasn't sure if his attitude would change towards me after what he did last night. Inside me, I hoped his unconscious apology was indeed sincere. But of course, he was dreaming, so I doubt he'd remember.

     "Happy Fourth of July!" voices rang out, and Meredith, Ruthie and Greyson hopped in the kitchen, twisting mini party poppers, scattering confetti in the air.

     "What a lovely way to start the day, screaming in our ears and showering us with paper," Maddie said, sarcasm evident in her voice, brushing confetti off her hair.

     Meredith laughed, and twirled over to the counter with her white dress decorated with little USA flags. "Oh yes, and what better way than to have a meal of alphabet soup?"

     "Mmmm!" Ruthie cried, skipping further in and settling herself on a chair. She wore a red dress with blue-and-white stripes near the hem. She hummed merrily to herself a song that I'd heard The Cruciform practice a couple of times. I had refused to be a part of the choir on Monday. Singing was never my thing, so I just decided to stick around to help out for Stardust.

     Greyson sat across me at the round table. He wore an Abraham Lincoln hat on his head and an unbuttoned short-sleeved denim shirt with the flag pinned at the back over his white undershirt. He avoided my eyes. Apparently, he was still mad.

     After we finished eating, we headed off in Meredith's car to the Church of the Blessed Sacrament, which was near Erin's house. Maddie, Ruthie and Greyson positioned themselves with the other Cruciform members down at the choir stand beside Erin, who played the organ, while Mer and I sat on the pew at the seventh row.