Summertime

Chapter Six-Romance

It took me a while to get used to living with the Killjoys. Just the fact that I was around people now, people that I trusted, was entirely new to me. The Killjoys taught me things, like how to survive in the desert, how to aim for the face. I learned that there were more Killjoys than just the four, that there were maybe a good few hundred out there. And we would never stop fighting.

The day after I had met the Killjoys I met Dr. Death-Defying and Grace. Dr. D was the DJ for the Killjoys’ pirate radio station. The nerves and muscles in his left leg had been destroyed by a radioactive bomb set off by the Dracs, so he was in a wheel chair. He had a deep voice, which was powerful when sending messages out to the Killjoys, scruffy brown hair, and he always wore sunglasses.

Grace preferred to be called Missile Kid, after a favorite band of hers. She was a little ten year old girl, and honestly, I had no idea what she was doing out here with us. She wasn’t related by blood to any of the Killjoys, and was young enough to still be in fourth grade. Yet she was tough, and the number of Draculoids she had dusted probably rivaled mine. With super curly, poofy brown hair and tan skin she could have been Jet Star’s daughter.

There were two more girls that were also staying with the Killjoys; Absolute Zero and Danger Fate. Absolute Zero was a tall girl with brown hair and brown eyes. She was probably the smartest person I ever knew. Her special trademark weapons were little bombs made out of batteries. She was obsessed with science and technology, and was always trying out new weapons we could use against the Dracs.

The second girl, Danger Fate, had dirty blond hair and blue eyes. She was definitely the most softspoken of all the Killjoys, but only around strangers. Once we got to know each other, I discovered that she was tough as nails and a good aim with a laser gun.

I knew the first week after staying with the Killjoys that I wanted to stay permanently. Already they seemed like family to me, and I didn’t know where else I would go. Then there was also the fact that I was noticing Kobra Kid more and more.

It happened a dusty Wednesday night. We were out camping, so that Dr. D could get some peace and we could send personal transmissions out to other Killjoys. I had finished my Power Pup and was sitting on a log away from the fire, curling my hair around my finger and thinking. Thinking about what my life before I lost my memory had been like. Who was I? What was my name? Where did I come from? And how exactly did I lose my memory in the first place?

I started as someone sat next to me.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you,” Kobra Kid said.

“It’s alright. I was just thinking…” I murmured. A cold breeze blew across the desert, making me shiver. Kobra Kid scooted closer to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I smiled down at my hands in my lap.

“I hope you like it here with us,” he said softly.

“It’s wonderful. I’d never met anyone out in the desert before you guys…and I’m glad you found me before the Dracs ghosted me,” I said, snuggling against him.

“I’m glad we found you, too,” he said. Silence stretched out between us.

“Ghost…?”

“Yeah?”

He didn’t say anything, but instead touched my jaw so that I looked at him. I felt my heart somersault as we locked eyes. He was really handsome. Slowly, he pulled me closer to him. Before I knew it, his lips had found mine in the darkness.

I’d seen the kiss coming, but I was a bit surprised nonetheless. It was small and simple, only lasting for about five seconds. When we parted a cold gust of wind blew by, and I snuggled close against his warm body.

I had fallen in love with Kobra Kid.