Above

5

Estelle
Walking into a barn filled with people you've seen fight like savages all fancied up, is probably one of the strangest things you can ever do. Especially, when they're dancing to some cheesy song off the radio.
Luca was the first to spot me, walking over to the barn door to greet me, a plate of food in his hand.
"Hey Luca." I say.
He grins widely. "Hi Estelle, try this!" He thrusts the plate into my face. "Pizza bagel?"
I take one of them, and bite into it. "Thank you."
He gives the plate to a girl walking by. "I've had like eight." He rubs his flat stomach.
"Seems like you." I say, smiling.
He gasps. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, it seems like a very Luca thing to eat eight pizza bagels." I say.
"And It seems like a very Estelle thing of you to not eat any." He says, plucking mine out of my hand.
"Hey!" I say, hitting his arm. My eyes scan around the area, looking for one of my friends.
Luca stays quiet for a second. "Who are you looking for?" He asks.
I shrug. "No one in general, just someone familiar."
"Oh." He says. "September's here, Cirus has been hanging Leeciy for the majority of the dance."
I nod. "How's life, Luca?"
He shrugs. "I mean, it's okay. I'm adapting."
"That's great." I say, looking at him. "Any new advancements?"
"Yeah, actually." He says. "I can stick to ceilings."
I tilt my head. "How?"
"Well, some lizard's feet have suction so they can climb for food and stuff. Even though I have human fingers, I can just stick."
"That's cool." I say.
He nods. "How's the Oura konnes training?"
"Oh, I haven't started." I say. "I've only caused an earthquake as of yet."
"Yeah, I feel like everyone remembers that." He says. "Anyway, Nigel and Jackson train us." He says.
I quirk a brow. "You're getting trained, too?"
He holds up his scaly hand, his nails sharpened to claws. "Well, someone has to fight alongside you guys."
I flick a curly hair over my shoulder. "Good point."
"Hey Wallflowers." September says, approaching us.
Luca talks first. "Hey kiddo."
"Hi, September." I say.
September runs a hand though his curls. "Can I talk to you?"
I nod, turning to Luca.
Luca nods, waving me off.
"Well, lets go talk." I smile.
***
We sit on a hill, about fifty yards from the barn. Our breaths were making an appearance because of the chilly mid-October air.
He looks at me. "Are you okay?"
"What do you mean?" I ask.
He shrugs. "I've never really seen intense grief before. You just laid in your bed completely devoid of any emotion. I was scared Estelle, you scared me."
"I'm sorry." I say, softly.
"I didn't know someone could become so acquainted with the ceiling, yet you did that. Even when people would come to see you, you would just stay there, completely silent." He rambles, wringing his hands. "I guess I didn't really realize how much he meant to you."
"He's your brother." I say. "Didn't you grief?"
"I did, for a week, then I pushed through everything else." He says, looking forward. "I didn't even know him for a year, so I guess I couldn't just establish that big of a bond."
"Yeah, I guess." I say softly.
"I don't want you to ever do that again." He says. "You're the closest thing to family I have left."
"Okay." I say.
September looks at me. "When he was helping Cirus and I into the basement, he told me to look after you if anything happened to him."
"He told me a few things before he kicked the bucket." I say, trying to lighten the mood.
"I can guess what he said." September says. "I hope you keep your promises."
"I will." I say. "I don't want to let him down."
"I don't want to let him down either." He says.
I look at him, both our eyes brimming with unshed tears. "You could never let him down."
September looks up at the twilight sky. "You could die, then I'd let him down."
"I promised him I'd survive, so I'd be letting him down too." I say.
"What a coincidence." He says.
I change the subject. "I haven't heard you play much guitar."
"I dropped it." He says. "I wanted to focus more on training."
"You're in training, too?" I ask.
He takes a deep breath before talking. "As I said Estelle, can't let him down."
***
"Estelle!" A small voice says when I walk inside.
I look down at Cirus. "Hey!"
"Dance with me!" She throws her arms up, as if she were asking for a hug.
I bend dowb and hug her, only for her to jump. Now, I'm basically obligated to carry her. I twist her around so she sits on my hip.
"Let's go to the dance floor!" She says.
I walk to the dance floor, awkwardly bobbing around.
Cirus does some weird dance which makes her look like a worm thats stuck halfway in the ground.
"I would like to see the full body of whatever you're doing." I say, setting her down.
She continues her worm dance, this time, also moving her knees. "You should try it!"
"I don't know." I say.
She gives me puppy dog eyes. "Please?"
I roll my eyes. "Fine!"
She does her strange worm dance and I copy.
"What's your best dance move?" She asks loudly, probably so her sound can get over the loud speakers.
"None of them, I'm awful!" I yell over the music.
"Nobody's bad at dancing, it's a form of art, and nobody's bad at art." She says, changing into some kind of head banging move.
"I can do the wave." I say.
"Do it!" She laughs.
I flail my arms around, hoping they resemble a wave.
I guess they do because Cirus is clapping.
I bow, laughing.
It may be art, but Cirus's worm is the best dance ever.