Rupture

Chapter 8

"Angelica!"

"Huh?" I snapped my head around, turning to look at Brynne, cross-legged on the grass in the Park across from me.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "You're always zoning off lately. What are you always thinking about?" She demanded, arms crossed on her chest.

I blushed. Xavier. Though I couldn't tell her that, if it got out who knows what would happen.

When I didn't answer she rolled her eyes, and dropped to subject, although I knew she would bring it up again soon enough.

"Do you ever think it's...strange? The way things are?" She whispered, even though we were alone in the Park.

"What do you mean?" I murmured, enjoying the feel of the sun on my back.

She growled. "It isn't obvious?" She said through gritted teeth.

"Brynne, why do you always find the ordinary so strange?" I questioned, rubbing my temples.

She raised her voice a little, dropping the whole whispering act. "Babies that stare at the ceiling all day, their eyes glazed over, barely ever moving or making a sound? Hard expressions everywhere you go? That's ordinary?!" She shrieked.

"That's how it has always been, I never said I agreed, so don't act like it's my fault!" Something inside me stirred, something I had only ever felt tinges of. This time, for the first time, it was going into full blast.

"You certainly don't seem bothered by it!" She snapped back, glaring at me. 

Now it was my turn to narrow my eyes. "I have an opinion about things." I said evenly and calmly, even though I felt like I was about to lose it.

"And what would that be?" She demanded, flipping her bright red hair over her shoulder, her hazel eyes peircing me.

She put her hands under her chin and fluttered her eyelashes. "Everything is sooo perfect, just like the government promised! I feel so happy! Even though it's not possible to feel happy, thanks to society! In fact, it's not possible to feel at all! Yay!" She said in a mock voice, her face holding a fake smile, her hazel eyes filled with what I would probably identify as anger.

I stared at her, not expecting that. Why was she cutting me down? It probably sounds normal for people to feel this way, since I was surrounded by people who felt we should be able to feel emotions.

Heck, I even thought that a little, deep inside.

Yet the rest of the world's opinion was quite different, most would very much enjoy the chance to throw people with opinions like all of us in jail, or have us killed. This really was a "merry" place.

"It's...not...my...fault!" I got out through gritted teeth, my hands curled into tight fists.

Suddenly all signs of anger disappeared from her face. Her lips curled up into an amused-like smile.

"Is Angel feeling...anger?" She questioned, her smile growing wider. She gasped dramatically and put her hands in front of her face, as if to ward me off.

That only fuled me even more. "N-no..." I insisted.

"Yes...yes, I think you are..." She trailed off, beaming at me.

"No!" I insisted, forcefully.

She crushed me to her, wrapping me in a bear hug. She squeezed me so tight I started choking.

"My Angel really does have feelings! I knew it! I knew it!" She pulled back to look at me, then stood up to do a little giddy victory dance or something.

This is...weird. I thought to myself, staring at her strangely as she skipped around.

The thing I had felt just a minute ago when we were fighting left suddenly, and I let out a laugh. If I really had been angry, it was sure hard to stay mad at Brynne.

Suddenly I saw a shadow stretch across the grass. I looked up and saw...Xavier.

I felt my eyes grow wide. "Xavier." I said.

He turned around and saw me. He gave me an easy grin.

"Hello, Angel." 

Brynne froze, looking back and forth between us. Suddenly realiazation spread across her face.

Then she grinned even wider.

"You guys know eachother." She didn't ask it, she stated it as a fact. She could tell.

"Um..." I said, unsure if I should reveal my secret.

"Yes." Xavier said at the same time, smiling down at me.

"Angel and a boy, and I didn't know..." Brynne shook her head at me, though I could see a slight smile on her face. "Naughty, naughty girl. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Uh...er-"

"She didn't want to run into the chance of having to share me, of course." Xavier put in. He grinned confidently.

I slapped Xavier jokingly.

"Flirting much?" Brynne asked excitedly, her eyes bright and shining.

"Whats...flirting?" I asked, confused.

Brynne and Xavier gave eachother a knowing look, as if they always had to explain all of these new words and concepts to me.

Which they admittedly did.

Where they figured all of these rare vocabulary words, I don't know.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to steal Angel for a...few hours." Xavier said, although he didn't sound sorry at all.

Brynne beamed. "Go right ahead. Angie actually got angry at me today, who know what will happen next? I'll let you deal with her." She teased, then quickly walked out of the Park.

"You got...angry?" Xavier questioned, sounding as amused as Brynne, if not more.

"I don't know..."

"Your friend seemed to think so." He lifted up my chin so that I would meet his gaze. He was grinning.

"Don't lie to me," he teased, "I can see right through you." 

He said it jokingly, but I wondered if he really could. See right through me, I mean. I sure didn't have him figured out yet.

"Okay...I might have gotten angry. I mean I don't know, I've never been before. Anyways, you guys seem to be enjoying it awfully much, even though it's very, very illegal," I said.

"I am enjoying it, very much," he said, chuckling.

I smiled back at him.

He found my hand with his, and took it. He led me into the forest beyond the Park, to our secret hiding place.

I ran beside him, laughing, tingling with the constant electric jolt of our skin touching.

I wonder what his lips would be like... 

Then I stopped midthought. Why had I thought that? The only people that kiss are married couples on special occasions and relatives...not teenage boys and girls.

I wondered how that had popped into my head the whole way to our hiding spot, our haven.

Was the haven in the hiding place, or was the haven in being together, alone?