How I See It

Chapter 16 - Homecoming

The music from the big building gets louder and louder as we get closer to the school. Different colors of lights flash from a distance and a red carpet gets recognized as we arrive. My heart skips a beat as North takes my hand in hers. "Ready?" I look at her and smile. "Ready." The driver opens my door and I rush to get North's door for her. As soon as she steps out of the car, I admire her one more time. She catches me staring and laughs. "It's rude to stare." I join with an awkward laugh. I take her hand and we walk towards the door of the hall.

As soon as we enter, Zander takes our picture and ask us if we're satisfied with it. We nod our heads and find a table to sit at. "They did a real good job, don't you think?" I lean closer to hear what she just said. "What? I'm sorry. The music is to loud." She laughs and nods. "I said that they did a pretty good job." I nod and look around. "It's not bad at all."

I lock my eyes to the dance floor and listen to the song. "I love this song! Do you wanna dance?" Way to break the awkwardness. "Let's do it!" She grabs my hand and basically drags me to the floor. We join the crowd and she starts to loosen up. This is not my type of style. At all. I hate dancing. "Come on! It's prom. You only get to do this one time!"

"Yeah, except if I fail the year!" She stares at me and stops dancing. "Ha ha very funny. Now come and follow my lead." She starts at an easy point and I decide to follow with that. The next thing I know, I'm loose as hell and dancing like there's no tomorrow. I've lost count of the songs that we've danced to. A slow song comes on and North takes my hand and places it on her waist. She moves closer to me and look into my eyes as we are swaying in one position. "You look really beautiful." She smiles. "You look very handsome." I let out a soft laugh. We continue to stare at each other. Eyes locked. Her face starts to get closer to mine and I copy her. Our lips are inches away from kissing. I can feel her breath on me. This is it.

"Noah!" What the actual fuck. I turn around and lock my eyes on Kylie. "What the hell, Kylie!" She's out of breath. "Noah, there's no time to explain. Just follow me and hurry!" She turns around and jogs out of the building. "I'm sorry. I'll be right back." She shakes her head. "No, it sounds serious. Please let me come with you." I can sense her need. "Okay, let's go." I take her hand and we walk faster than usual.

We end up following Kylie outside. I hear shouting up ahead and when I open the main door, I spot a guy who I've never seen before. And...

"What the fuck are you doing, Brooke!" I spot Brooke pointing a gun at the guy. Her head turns quickly and catches my sight. "You. Just what I wanted." She takes another gun out of her purse and points it to me. "Woahhh! What the hell is wrong with you!" She laughs sarcastically.

"What's wrong with me?" She continues to laugh. "How dare you ask me that!" I can see she's shaking.

I face Kylie and she faces me. "Kylie, what happened?" She struggles to get the words out. "Me and Seth wanted to get out of here but when we got outside, we saw her just standing there and looking at us." Brooke looks at her. "Shut your mouth! The only person I wanted to find me was you, Noah. You understand me. You always have. Since that day when you fell of your bicycle. The moment I saw you, I just couldn't believe how our connection would feel like that."

"What the hell are you talking about?" She stares into my eyes. "Can't you see what I'm trying to tell you! Oh, how I've begged and begged to meet you. When I heard we were moving to Hazardville, I knew that place sounded familiar. I looked up the town and I saw your picture from school. I recognized you immediately."

My head goes back into a flashback 9 years ago, in the park. "Granny why do we have to leave? I don't want to leave Noah." Brooke's grandmother grabs her hand and yanks her away. "I told you he was a toxic kid and you didn't listen to me. Come, now!"

"You, I remember you from the park. You were one if my good friends. But you're name wasn't Brooke. It was Jenny. How is that possible?"

"Noah, my grandmother is your grandmother. How have you not realized that yet? There was a picture of her in my house and you saw that picture!" I shake my head.

"I didn't recognize her. My mother told me that my grandmother left us a long time ago."

She stares at me. "Brooke, put the guns away. We can talk about this. Please, nobody needs to get hurt." "No! Don't think that I've forgiven you."
"What do you mean!" None of this makes sense. I try to wrap my head around everything she just said. "You killed him. You killed my brother that day at the park." What the fuck? "Brooke, that is not possible. That boy fell down from the jungle gym." She interups me. "No! You pushed him! You killed my brother!" I try to walk up to her but then she drops the gun pointing towards Seth and hold the one gun with both hands facing towards me.

"Brooke, I did not push your brother. I swear. You got brainwashed. I would never do something like that." "Don't tell me that I got brainwashed!" I change my sight to Seth and see him quietly dialing 911. I look back at Brooke. "Please, don't do this."
She starts to talk in a normal tone. "I need to do this. Killing the one person who was close to you wasn't enough." My heartbeat starts to rise. "Brooke, what are you talking about?"

"David? That guy? Yeah he told me how close you two were. Almost like brothers. After our conversation at his house, I took the fire iron and stabbed him at the back of his head. Directly in the skull." My eyes start to water up. "How could you do that? David wasn't my friend, but he didn't deserve to die! Not like that." The first tear exits my eye and travels down my cheek. "You set me up, didn't you? His finger in the classroom! Oh my God, you are a sick person!" She laughs. "I even tried to kill you, you dumb bitch! Your van? I guess it drove over a spike strip. And if I were you, I would've run as fast as I could." North tries to talk through her tears. "Wh-what do you mean?" Brooke looks at her. "Oh, see this thing I'm stepping on? It's the button to activate the bomb inside the school hall." Kylie gasps and North continues to cry.

Kylie finally get the words out. "Brooke, stop this madness!" "Don't come closer! I will shoot you!" Kylie takes a step forward and Brooke pulls the trigger. My body turns ice cold and my mouth goes wide open with shock. Kylie looks down at her wound and falls to the ground. Seth screams for help and rest Kylie on his lap. Brooke's eyes catch Seth's phone. "You called the cops!" She points her gun at Seth and shoots. The two shots made the music disappear in the hall and people were screaming. Brooke's attention lays with the two dead bodies. I grab her gun and she tries to resist.  Her hand moves up the air and she shoots. I still hold onto her arm and try to get the gun. Her strength leads her by pointing the gun at North and shoots. The gun shot made me look at North and her blood stained dress.

"No!" I let go of Brooke and rest North's head in my lap. My tears get more and more and makes it hard to get any word out. "I'm so sorry," I whisper. "I never meant dor this to happen. Please stay with me." She looks at me and tries to get words out. "K-k." She swallows the blood from her mouth and opens her mouth. "Kiss me." I look at her and my tears fall onto her face. I crush my lips against hers and kiss her. I lift my head back up and look deep down in her eyes. "I'm scared." She pours a tear out of her eye without movement. I rest my head against hers. "It's okay. Just stay with me." My tears doesn't calm till I sing her the lullaby in a soft, breaking voice.

'Dance in the whispering wind
Till the moon and stars breathe a sleepy sigh
Wrap your dreams in a paper moon
And gently push them towards the sky.'

I lift my head and see her eyes not blinking and heart not beating. I shake my bead and cry for a very long time. "Goodbye Noah." Brooke steps off the button and runs into the school. I close my eyes and hope that the bomb would take me to North. Seconds later a loud sound evolves and heat comes my way. My body goes up into the sky and I fall down a few meters back. My hopes and dreams with North was gone. I had never thought that this was going to happen. All I had known now, was that I was passed out and a bomb had just taken over 100 people's life's.