A Synonym for Chill [COMPLETE]

24. Courage cannot erase our fear

[Falner's POV]

I walked into the living room, surprised to see Dallas up and walking around. He approached a girl dressed as Donna Noble from Doctor Who, and I could clearly hear him ask " You got any Mountain Dew Red?" She shook her head, and he let out a sigh, sprinting off. I noticed Christine sitting on a couch, her head tilted back and her eyes closed. A large, fuzzy, white monster was passed out next to her. I sat down and put my head in my hands, internally cursing. Why did I call Eli a loser?! He was only trying to help! I then looked up at Christine, who had opened her eyes and was staring at me.

"Hey." She said softly.

"Yo," I replied, giving her a small, awkward smile. "So, uh, where's your date?" I immediately regretted my decision to ask as her face fell.

"He's having make-up sex with Tempest. So, my night's pretty awesome." She said, her voice leaking with false enthusiasm by the end. I put a hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry..." I murmured. She shook her head, giving me the tiniest of smiles.

"Don't be. I-I mean, I dumped him." She replied.

"It looks like normal Mountain Dew? But red?" Dallas called, not receiving a response from anyone in the room. I raised my eyebrow, then focused my attention back to Christine.

"You dumped Jade? Why? Sorry, you don't have to..." I started but trailed off after she shook her head and pat my shoulder.

"I'm not Juliet. And, he's kind of a jerk, so-!" She was cut off by Dallas suddenly screaming at the top of his lungs.

"SERIOUSLY, WHERE THE FUCK CAN I GET SOME MOUNTAIN DEW RED?!"

Christine and I stared at him with shock. He let out a groan that sounded suspiciously like pain, running out of the room. I couldn't help but start laughing, Christine joining in after a moment.

"Popular people are meeeeeeessssed uuuup." She giggled. I nodded slightly.

"Word," I replied, internally cringing at how outdated I sounded. She gave me a slightly incredulous look.

"I mean, you're one of them." She reasoned. I tilted my head.

"What? No, I'm not." I replied, confused. She laughed slightly, shaking her head.

"Hello, the girl who's been pucking her way through the cast of Midsummer." She quipped.

"I'm not..." I trailed off for a moment as her words sank in, then let out a snort-laugh. "Pucking?" I asked. She beamed, giggling slightly.

"You like that? Just made it up. Boo-yeah!" She chirped. I was stunned into silence. That, and I didn't have the ever-present voice of Jason Tam in my head helping me out this time. She looked at me, slightly confused. "What?" She asked. I swallowed, let out a soft breath, then spoke.

"It's just... I don't know what I'm supposed to say right now." I admitted. She gave me a gentle smile and took my hand in hers.

"Say whatever's on your mind." She suggested.

I nodded, taking a deep breath, opening my mouth...and letting out an almost unearthly screech. I clapped my hands over my mouth after I had finished, my face turning red in embarrassment. Christine looked at me, then let out a similar screech. I felt adrenaline and excitement run through my veins as I let out another screech, not unlike a Godzilla monster, Christine matching said screech almost exactly. The fuzzy white monster passed out next to us suddenly let out a scream-screech of their own, making Christine and I let out a real scream of fright. The monster passed out again, and I burst out laughing, Christine hot on my heels.

"It's kinda killer to sit and chat with you." She said, both of us reeling ourselves in and regaining some composure.

"Really?" I asked excitedly. She nodded.

"It's true! It's pretty killer to sit and chat with you." She replied. I smiled.

"It's pretty killer for me, too," I said. We then giggled and spoke in unison.

"Woo hoo! It's pretty killer to hang and talk with you. I'm glad that we both agree!" Then, in a burst of pure courage, I said the words that I had wanted to say since freshman year.

"Christine...Christine...Christine, will you go out with me?" I asked. Her expression faltered as she looked from her hands to me.

"Falner, I...I can't." She murmured. I felt like someone just shot me in the heart.

"I...thought we were..." I couldn't finish my sentence. She took my hands and squeezed them gently.

"We're friends. We'll always be friends. But... I don't think I should go out with anyone until I know who I am. I know that's not what you wanted to... I'm sorry." She stood up and hurried out of the room, almost tripping on the skirt of her dress. I let out an audible groan, then stiffened as I heard Dallas walk in. He imitated a bomb dropping and crashed down next to me.

"Got any Mountain Dew Red?" He asked. I balled my hands into fists and glared at him.

"Okay, this whole no-drinking-while-squipping thing? Would it have killed you to give me a warning?" I snapped. Dallas stiffened, his eyes glazing over. I felt fear run through my body.

"...Dallas?" I asked. He stood up, and when he spoke, my blood froze.

"Warning. Warning. Warning." He repeated the words over and over in an eerie monotone, walking out of the room. "Okay, that's weird." I reasoned. I then felt hands on my shoulder and stiffened again.

"Hello, Falner." My Squip purred. I stood up and turned to glare at him, crossing my arms.

"Oh, about time!" I said coldly. He shrugged slightly.

"My absence was not ideal, but it was necessary," He replied. "One moment while I review the data from this evening." His eyes blinked a rainbow of colors before returning to neon blue. His face was paler than before, and I could clearly discern fear in his eyes. "Oh my..." He whispered. I bit my lip.

"It's bad, right?" I asked.

"We need to get you home." He said. I tilted my head.

"What?"

Before I could even object, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer to him.

" Now. " He growled. I flushed red and nodded slightly, sprinting to the front door and running out. My head was spinning. What the hell was going on? Why couldn't I get Eli's shell-shocked, heartbroken face out of my mind? I tried to push the thoughts away, stumbling forward and almost faceplanting into the pavement. I felt my Squip's hand on my spine and instantly straightened, my vision turning slightly glassy. I had no idea how, but I managed to get home without my dad even realizing, going into my room and finally regaining control of myself.

My body felt like jelly and I collapsed to the floor, my vision going dark.