Static Shock (Dalton Rapattoni)

Forget The Lies

Chapter Thirteen 

Do I have any reason to be afraid?

That one phrase circled Kiera's mind like a song stuck on repeat. Alex seemed genuinely concerned that she would lose her. Her eyes haunted Kiera every time she blinked. The pain and confusion that was caused by her. Alex had always been there for her. Always. And this was how she was treating her girlfriend? It wasn't right. 

But whenever she was with Dalton, she felt alive again. Kiera felt like she could tell him anything. She was able to act like a child and never worry in Dalton's presence. God, today she ran up to him and hugged him like it was her last dying wish.She hugged him like she hadn't been avoiding him for weeks... 

They hadn't spoke much, but that was Kiera's own fault. She chose to distance herself for Alex's sake. But the days began to feel empty without Dalton in them. Sure, she stayed on Twitter and looked at his tweets but it wasn't the same. She would avoid his calls. Even this morning she ignored his text.  But today, seeing him in her shop; her workplace, she was so happy. Everything had been grey but the moment Kiera saw his eyes, his beautiful green eyes; the world was bright again.  

"Damn it!" Kiera slammed her hand up against the wall. "This isn't right!" She said, voice cracking as she cradled her hand close to her chest. She turned her back to the brick wall and slid down, clumsily sitting on the cold cement. Her shift was over and she went out back to think before walking home. 

The things she was thinking was hazardous... Poison to her relationship with Alex. But she couldn't help it. Her heart beat just a little bit faster at the mention of his name or leaped at the sound of his laugh. Whenever his eyes would meet her's butterflies would riot in her stomach. 

Why couldn't she get that bleached blonde boy out of her head? This was going beyond some dumb celebrity crush. "You don't," She whispered to herself, "You don't l-lo- like him. Not like that... You love Alex." 

She trembled, despite the words she uttered to herself Kiera didn't believe it. She was helpless to all of this. [Hamilton anyone? CX] Even staying away from him couldn't suppress these feelings, they were just stronger when they eventually saw each other again. 

Slowly Kiera's breathing calmed down and she rose to her feet with a grimace. Her eyes scanned her knuckles, pink and red spread over the aching flesh. Hesitantly, she placed her hands inside her hoodie. The red-headed girl walked around the building and down the sidewalk.  Just like everyday, the streets were buzzing with life. 

A soft tune reached her ears. The voice carried an emotion so strong that it caused Kiera to pause. The man was tan, his oak-colored hair fell in waves around his shoulders. Dark green eyes peered back at her as he strummed on his guitar. Despite the sad lyrics, it brought a smile to her face. With her left hand, she fished out a few crumpled bills, her tip, and set them inside the guitar case. 

The man's lips turned up into a smile and he nodded slightly. Kiera nodded back before continuing her journey home. 

***

"Kiera? You're home later than usual." 

Kiera shut the door behind her as Serena's face appeared before her. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Small incident at work; nothing huge just a meeting about a terrible employee and how to go about it." 

Serena nodded, "Mm, I see." 

Kiera walked into the living room, sitting herself down on the white leather couches. They were older than she was and she hated them. The soft green walls and these couches didn't seem right.