Buddy Holly

Chapter Six - A Car, A Torch, A Death

The demon sat there waiting on her porch, it was a little dark so he held a makeshift torch. And when my car was far out of sight. He crept in her room and stayed there for the night.

A car, a torch, a death - Twenty One Pilots

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            Alice stood outside of the school. The rain slightly hitting her in the face. She smiled at the rain and watched all of the people around her, looking for Adam. He came out of a crowd of people. He didn't have his sweatshirt with him, his eyebrow was bleeding, and his left eye was a faint purple color. A deep frown came upon Alice's face. Adam smiled at her then grabbed her arm walking away from the school quickly.

            "What happened?" Adam shook his head and pulled her along behind him.

            "Nothing. Come on." Alice watched him skeptically as they walked. Adam explained a story that he thought was funny about his day and then Alice told a story that she thought was funny. Neither of them explained that they didn't fully understand it, they just wanted to let the other one say something they enjoyed about that day. It was becoming something of a habit between the two of them. They both walked happily down the street for Adam's mom had to use him car. A single thought still tugged at Alice's attention though. Why was Adam hurt?

             "Adam, really though. What happened to you?" Adam just smiled and shook his head as he walked down the half unpaved streets.

            "Nothing, really. I'm okay." A faint growling noise caught Alice's attention quickly. She stepped forward and grabbed a hold of Adam's arm. Adam looked towards the noise to see a black dog crouching and snarling at them. It was behind a fence but it has a dog ready to attack and that was enough for Alice. She attempted to keep her heart rate down as she stared at the dog, unable to move. It barked loudly making Alice scream lightly.Adam took a step towards it and threw his hands out.

            "GO. Away!" The dog barked again and Alice took off running away from the dog. Adam turned and ran after her. The dog refused to leave the yard but continued to bark at them as they went down the street. Alice stopped running and was breathing heavily. Adam caught up to her and pulled her into an embrace. She broke down crying into his arms. Since Alice's father had left she had a problem with increasing anxiety. They stood there for a moment like unmoving statues in the cold rain. Alice couldn't control her shaking and Adam just kept a tight grip on her. He held onto her for a while until she slowly pulled away from him.

            "Thank you." Adam smiled at her then pointed towards her house.

            "You go on home. I'll see you tomorrow. Be safe, Li." Alice turned and walked away from him reluctantly. She had to go now or she would be late for work. Adam stood on the sidewalk until he saw her get to her car. She waved to him slightly then he turned and started making his way home, on his own.

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            Later that day, Alice was laying on her bed. It had been her first day of work and Adam hadn't come by like he said that he would. Maybe he had forgotten. Alice wasn't sure why she just knew that he didn't come. She had messenger up on her computer. A girl she had met at school was messaging her. Her name was Kate, they had English together. Alice hadn't really felt like talking but she thought that she should anyways.

            Kate: So have you really met anyone at school yet? - 8:22 p.m.

            Alice: Yeah, I know Adam, Blake, and James. - 8:24 p.m.

            Kate: Adam? The creepy one? - 8:24 p.m.

            Alice: He's not creepy. - 8:27 p.m.

            Kate: Really? You're the only one who thinks that. He stalked Blake for a long time. I hope you know that. - 8:27 p.m.

            Alice: I heard. - 8:33 p.m.

            Kate: Then why aren't you going to ignore him like everyone else? -8:33 p.m.

            Alice: I like to take chances. -8:40 p.m.

            Kate: Ugh. Alice, really. You should just ignore that freak. - 8:40 p.m.

            Alice: I got to go. - 8:45 p.m.

            Kate: Where are you going? - 8:45 p.m.

            Kate: Alice? -8:48 p.m.

            Kate: Did I say something????? -8:55 p.m.

            Alice muted the messages from Kate then continued to do her homework. After a while of sitting there staring at the English assignment. She decided to message Adam.

            To: Adam: Hey, I'm not in a good mood. Park? - 9:00 p.m.

            To: Alice: Hey, I have to sneak out. Sure. I'll be there. - 9:02 p.m.

            To: Adam: Great. - 9:02 p.m.

            Alice stood up and pulled on a sweat jacket from her closet then slipped over to the window. She slid it open then got out onto the roof. She walked over to the edge then carefully dropped to the ground. Alice walked the quick walk to the park and sat down on a swing. The park was illuminated by only a few streaks of moonlight which made it rather dark. A few minutes later Adam walked into the clearing and smiled at her.

            "Why the long face, beautiful?" Alice shook her head some and Adam took a seat beside of her. They sat in silence for a moment before she got off the swing and laid down in the grass. Adam did the same then scooted a little closer to her. Alice rolled onto her side and placed her head onto his chest.

            "You never answered me." Alice didn't move for a moment.

            "About why I'm upset?"

             "Yes. Shooting star by the way." Adam pointed toward the sky where there was a single strand of light racing across the sky. Alice smiled at the star. She traced the constellations into the air with her finger. Adam watched her intently with a sleepy smile.

              "Well, you didn't come by the record shop today, and... some girl was just talking bad about you." Adam placed his hand on his chest in fake shock.

               "About me?" Alice nodded getting a bit of dirt stuck in her hair. Adam pulled it out of her hair slowly then looked to her. She moved her head to look up at him as well. "Don't worry what they say about me. People talk badly all the time. It's you, I worry about." Alice shook her head some then stared at the stars a bit more before turning to face Adam fully.

             "Why do you let people talk badly about you?" Adam shrugged slightly then smiled. Alice traced over the cuts and bruises along his pale face.

             "I just never really cared what they said about me." Alice reach over and fixed some of Adams hair then looked back towards the sky.

            "Do you think that we could just run away?

            "From what?"

            "Life. Like all of the hard stuff. Just become cotton farmers somewhere. That could work." Adam threw his hands into the air making Alice smile a little more. She snuggles into his side a little more.

            "I'm cold." He puts an arm around her slightly as they lay there looking at the stars. Alice loved astrology, it was one of the things that made her happy. But being there with Adam also made her happy.

Alice couldn't say why she felt so safe around Adam. She had only known him for a two weeks, yet he was the only real friend she'd ever had. Alice didn't move as they both watched the stars. Adam felt the same way. He had been so alone for a while now that he couldn't remember the last time he had actually been happy, so instead of talking they simply gazed up to the heavens. He was so down to earth and she was so up in space.