Getaway

[16] We Untouchable

As her heart caves in like an avalanche inside her chest, Leya heaves her breath. The rain pours down. But she knows it's just the world. It's just another night. Having managed to escape the ship and the cameras and the crowd of fans turned paparazzi people, she stands on a street not too far from her house.

Knowing the back door key will be under the tin watering can on the steps, Leya heads up the path to her house and crawls round the side.

---

"Phoenix, what have I done?" Raven weeps into his hands, the seven colours of his makeup running down his tattooed wrists and then arms, and then onto the white sheets.

"Look, there is nothing we can do right now, Raves," Phoenix stares rigidly ahead, holding perfect composure in his lips - as if him remaining perfect would eventually make everything else okay.

"I think I'm in love with her, Phoenix... I'm in love with a thirteen year old girl," Raven shakes his head in disgust at himself and in disbelief at the harsh cruelty of the world. Just then the lights go out on the ship, and it shakes violently for a moment. Raven screams, and Phoenix leaps off the bed, still holding Raven's hand.

"What in the fuckery was that?!" Phoenix's eyes grow wide.

---

A bright shadow casting light throws itself out across the garden. Must have come from the living room, Leya thinks, fearing her mum must have heard something.

She freezes, palms cold and wet on the paving slabs. The light goes out, but then her phone rings. "Shit" she thinks, about to mute it. But then, she sees the caller ID. It's Jayla. Wincing, water now pouring out of the grey gutter and dripping down onto her, she answers.

Managing a quiet "Hello?" Her voice sounds shaky.

Jayla is with Blu as they sail the ship to a secret location far away from the land. It's dark, foggy and raining and the ship's navigation is failing them. In the distance thunder rumbles. A single lightning bolt streaks the midnight sky.

"Oh my god, what was that?!" On hearing the storm, Leya gasps. But then the line goes quiet. Beeeeep. A tear chokes her up, and with that, she gets up, out the rain, runs to the backdoor, and lets herself in. To hell with secrecy. Slam. It shuts loudly behind her.

"I'm hooooome!" Breaking into her sadness, Leya yells, as she hears two sets of footsteps thumping across the landing and down the stairs towards her. Never has this girl been more happy to see her family mad at her. Before they can get cross, they hug her soaking, trembling solid body tight.

"We thought we'd lost you," her mum runs a hand through Leya's wet, straggly dyed hair that hours ago shone perfectly under stage lights. A couple of leaves from the garden tumble out of it with some rain water and drip onto the mat. "I was so worried."

"Pah," her brother snorts and laughs, heading straight back up to his room.

Leya decides to follow suite, and runs up to hers.

Surprisingly her mum doesn't attempt to stop her in any way. So Leya goes straight to the windows, to find they are all locked. Running to the bathroom, trying to crank them open, she notices the same: all locked. Defeated, she flops down on her bed, staring at the glow in the dark stars on her ceiling. Suddenly feeling as if life was all a game. The world was all too small. This was it. She was imprisoned. Back to the same house. The same people, and as normal, life would go on. Realising how uncomfortable she is, she gets up and changes out of her wet clothes, throwing them in a heap on the floor.

The next time she would see Raven it would be on the news, she just knew it. That picture of her and him in an embrace on the ship. She could see her mum running towards her screaming. She didn't want to know. Pulling her Pikachu Nintendo backpack closer, she closed her eyes and shut out the world. She really didn't want to be a part of it any more.

---

"How are we feeling tonight, Cardiff?!!" In full on gothic attire, with candy coloured pastel lighting clashing down on him, Raven beams a totally synthetic smile at the crowd. It's the best he's got tonight.

A large cheer runs across the whole room, as sweat and bodies press together. For this show, they decide to run a bar. Blu is working the lights and sound in the wing backstage. Jayla stands behind the counter, pouring and mixing drinks into tumbler glasses for the hyper fans who smash and jam into each other. The girls almost deafen her with their screaming of Raven and Phoenix's names and yelling out the lyrics. They sound like five year olds singing nursery rhymes, tunelessly but with a passion that could light the whole world.

"That'll be £2.00 please," Jayla calls loudly into the left ear of the girl with brown hair who she thinks is called Bryony. Brown hair Bryony quickly begins scrabbling in her side bag and slings two pound coins across the wooden polished surface.

"Woo!" Bryony and her friends cheer. Aspen and Sapphire can be made out, moshing violently at the back as the pumping thump beat of Dreamer Boy fizzes the ship about like an E-number sugary fist pumping energy drink. Not really taking her duties seriously, Jayla starts chugging down Pina Colada straight out the bottle, "I GOT A BOTTLE FULL OF POISON, CAN'T STOP MEEEE," Jayla lets herself dance to the music like mad. It's her favourite song, so she begins to yell, "You won't get us to come down, mother... fuck the POLICE!" Laughing, she chokes a bit on the pineapple alcohol. But just then something jolts.

Boom. Shooop. The sound cuts out. The lights go out. The party shuts down. Oh shit, did her and Blu not fix the electricity properly after the storm yesterday? What if there's another storm? As if in slow motion, Jayla drops her Pina Colada bottle to the floor and it spills all over her New Rocks. She doesn't care. Fans are screaming, some excited, some nervous, some curious. Is this supposed to be happening? Raven and Phoenix can no longer be heard as their microphones have been cut out, but Jayla can imagine them cursing and tripping over the wires on stage trying to figure out what has just happened.

Then three bright torch beams flood across the room from the back door.

What. The. Fuck.

Oh my god, no.

As if out of nowhere, Aspen and Sapphire link with Jayla, tugging her by the elbow as they run across the room, pushing and shoving their forceful way through the bustling crowd. Three men in uniform speak out.

"Raphael Rodrigo," and everyone is silent, "come forward in the name of the law, we are here to arrest you-"

Jayla screams, cutting them off, "No!"

For a second, Aspen and Sapphire look at her, but carry on running, Jayla tries to force herself out of their grip as they drag her with them. "Noooo!" She keeps screaming and coughing. Her voice breaks and stutters, stop-start choking, like a growl. But the crowd are all screaming and bawling different indecipherable things. Most terrified... some angry, others crying. No one can be made out, except the police, who hold a megaphone.

Before the door is shut and her and her friends race up the stairs to the bedrooms - out the corner of her eye she sees the flash of the silver handcuffs under the torch light as they are put around Raven's wrists, behind his back. Phoenix is standing beside him. Loyal to the death. Is he crying. Oh my god. Phoenix. Crying. No...

Bam. And they are alone. "Sorry," whispers into the cold night.

Sorry is all her friends can say.