Sally Smirk.

Chapter Eleven

Sally woke up the next morning, careful to not wake Rayne. Oddly, she didn't have any nightmares as she usually did. She crept into the closet where she chose a pink dress with matching heels, to please her parents. When she walked out, Rayne was sitting upright, his eyes barely open. "Good morning." He said, yawning. She stared at him for a moment, before realizing what she was doing and quickly turned away.

He stepped out of bed and looked out the window. "I'm gonna go, before your parents see me and... Jump to conclusions. I'll be back to pick you up in fifteen minutes. Okay?"

She nodded as he stood on the windowsill and climbed down the trellis, waving goodbye.

She reached to her shoulder, to pet Jinxx before realizing he wasn't there.

Just after she had curled her hair and prepared herself for school, her mother rapped on the door before rudely barging in.

"Rayne asked if he could drive you to school. Hurry up." She slammed the door and left.

"Well alrighty then." She said as she clomped down the stairs, clutching the handrail, afraid she would slip in her heels."

She stepped out into the front porch, and found Rayne sitting in a rocking chair. "Told you I'd be back." He smiled. He opened the door and watched her as she climbed into the passenger seat. "Do you want to change first?" She nodded and he drove in the direction of the old abandoned house.

He unlocked the door and let her inside. When she returned, she was wearing her favorite, black and white striped shirt and high tops. "Thank you for letting me change." She said. He smiled at the sight of her happy again. "Oh, anytime."

At school, he couldn't take his eyes off of her as Mrs. Tualle taught her lesson. Because Sally no longer had her sketchbook, she was forced to actually take notes. She turned to him and mouthed the words, "I hate this." He smiled and nodded in agreement. "Me too."

After being released from that class, the pair strolled leisurely to art. Where they were greeted by Mr. Simmons. "Good to see you again, there are little surprises waiting for you at your desks." He beamed. Sure enough, sitting on each of their desks in the supply closet were cupcakes! Chocolate cupcakes frosted with white icing. "They're not drugged or anything are they?" Rayne laughed. "Not any of the ones he gives me. You however have to see for yourself." They laughed as they ate their cupcakes and drew on the numerous sketchpads.

"Do you ever just want to not exist?" Rayne asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Just, fade from existence. Not die, just not have to go to school. Or do anything anyone ever makes you do." He stared at the back of his hands.

"That would be... Actually really great." She said, realizing the splendor of freedom.

He contemplated asking her to run away with him. Would her parents miss her? Would people find them? What if he asked, and she was so horrified that she didn't want to talk to him anymore? But he was willing to take the chance.

"S-Sally?"

"Yes?"

He lowered his voice to a whisper. "I think I can make that happen."

She knitted her brows, 'what's he getting at?' She thought. She dreamed of the day she didn't have to deal with all of the people, and strange looks.

"This is going to sound crazy, but I've got it planned out. We fake our deaths. We can live in our own house, and I can fix it up!" He grinned and reached for her hand. Hopefully she didn't think he was too crazy.

He had always had a wild fantasy of running away. His mother would be heartbroken, but she would get over it eventually. But his father, wouldn't care at all. He had left when he was seven. He left no note, nowhere saying where he was going. His things were packed and there was no trace of him. He was all his mother had left. He had a sister, but she died during birth.

He proceeded to look up at her with longing, as she seemed to stare into space.

"Let's do it." She smiled. He jumped up and down with joy.

"You'll do it? Are you sure? We can't go out much, and if we do we'll have to look different, and have different names-"

"I said I want to do it. I don't like it here. I like your idea." She thought of living in a house with her only friends Rayne and Jinxx. She loved the idea of not having to deal with strange looks, people wouldn't think there was anything wrong with her, having the life she always dreamed of!

"Great. Meet me at the cemetery at six. We'll talk about it then." He squeezed her hand and turned back to his sketchbook. He had been drawing a horrific scene. A young couple in a car wreck. Both of them unconscious, shattered glass, and an ambulance with rushing medics in the background.

Sally peered over his shoulder at his work before returning to her own. This was yet another gruesome piece of artwork. A girl wearing a gas mask. There were crumbled buildings, planes overhead and fires throughout the broken city, zeppelins dotted the sky above as well. Both of them had very dark imaginations.

After class was dismissed, they thanked Mr. Simmons for the cupcakes and headed to lunch. Sally had still not gotten used to having Rayne sit with her. She had sat in a tree in the courtyard by herself for years! But for the past few days Rayne had encouraged her to sit out in the schoolyard, with the other kids, but keep her distance. He had a hidden fear of heights, but he still wanted to be with Sally.

He spread out a blanket near the fence. On the other side was an abandoned hospital. It had been shut down only three years ago, due to a fire.

"Rayne, why did you choose me to share the house with?" Her curiosity had gotten the better of her. After he asked her to fake her own death, she needed some answers.

He blushed, his heart began to race, and he began to shake ever so slightly. "Well... Remember I told you I didn't have any other friends?" She nodded. "I didn't have any where I lived before. Everywhere I moved to, people were afraid of me, and I couldn't stay there anymore." He paused and scanned the schoolyard. Boys and girls sat gathered in large groups close to each other. All of them on cell phones or iPads. Making sure none of them were paying any attention to himself and Sally. "So... I figured that if I found someone who wasn't afraid of me, I might as well take advantage of it while I still can."

Sally noticed how nervous he was.

"So what made you stick around?" He asked, his mouth full of Doritos.

"Well, you sort of stuck to me the first day. You came to my house. I didn't want you at first, but then I realized maybe we were good for each other." She thought about what he had just told her. "And... I know how you feel."

He smiled at her, a silent understanding between the two. "But that first day you were here, other kids seemed to want to talk to you."

He furrowed his brow. "That was the first three hours of my first day. Nobody knew me, or who I was. But they don't talk to me anymore." He frowned and stared at the grass in front of him.

In an effort to cheer him up, she took his hand. "But you don't have to when you're dead." She grinned. She knew it sounded entirely macabre and disturbing, but he seemed to catch on.

He smiled and locked his hand around hers.