SILVERCHAIR imagines [requests OPEN]

in the clouds

For Gemma

time/location: late April 1996/ high school

Two weeks without seeing her again was long enough. To have just gotten back to school and get caught up with all his lessons and then have school let out for holiday seemed like the cruelest timing ever.

He wore his loose-fitting green sweater with the sleeves going past his knuckles. The silver chain from his wallet jangled as he checked his jeans' pocket again to make sure he hadn't forgotten something. It was there.

The boy cleared his throat, seeing her in his peripheral, and took a glance at himself in the window's reflection. His hair, haphazard blonde, tangled and touching his shoulders. His eyes, cloudy day blue, determined like swirling tide pools leaving behind treasures.

A smile lightened his features as he approached her. She was facing away from him, hunched over her sketchbook. It was their usual spot to meet. The brick wall of the school building, covered in climbing roses, magenta and in full bloom. She tilted her head to the side as her hand hovered over her drawing. The wide sleeve of her vintage military jacket covered up her sketch. No need to turn around to know that he was beside her.

"Is it a secret?" He asked and knelt down next to her in the grass.

She ignored his question, grinning, and looked into his eyes. "Hi, Daniel."

"Hey," he smiled, wider and brighter than before. "Whatever it was, I wish I could draw half as good as you.'

"All you need is a little practice."

"No way," he shook his head. "How do you expect me to draw? I'm hopeless. Have you seen my handwriting?"

She closed her sketchbook and slid it beneath her messenger bag.

"It must've improved some," she remarked, "with all the autographs you've signed."

He rolled his eyes and bumped his shoulder into hers. "How've ya been?"

"Oh, ya know, walking the mile between peachy and miserable on a daily basis."

Daniel's hand brushed against hers as he laughed and confessed, "That sums up my experience rather nicely, too."

She didn't get to hear him elaborate because it was almost time for class to start. The sketch still needed some finishing touches, but he was sitting right next to her and she couldn't help herself.

"Here ya go. Happy belated birthday, Daniel," she handed him the secret sketch after removing it from the binding.

He had to catch his breath before he could say anything at all. There it was. Their sunset.

Just as he remembered it, but it was even more stunning seen through her eyes. The reds and oranges, lit up and alive, just like his feelings for her, ever-growing and deepening inside of him. Daniel kissed her back then, that night as the sky was burning, and he wished to do so again. He wished so many things.

"Thank you," he bowed his head and reached into his pocket for the little box inside of it. "I have something for you, too."

She shook her head in disbelief. "For me?"

"Yeah," he scratched his chin and pushed his sleeves up. She searched his eyes, trying to decode one of the many puzzles he had stacked up in there.

Beneath the delicate paper in the box, there rested a triangular pendant on a gleaming, silver chain. She wanted to cover her entire face to hide the emotions tugging within her, yet she allowed him to see her surprise and gratitude for the sweetest, most darling gift she had ever received.

"May I?" He held the unclasped chain in his hands. She nodded and lifted up her hair as he swept the necklace around her neck and fastened it with care. His fingers lingered in her hair for a moment before he got up and extended his hand out to help her up.

She held the pendant in her fingers and inspected it at a closer angle. His lips twitched as he watched her. The bezel-set stone was lined with alternating shades of milky blue and feathery gray. On the back there was an engraving:

to Gemma
from Daniel

"It looks like a little corner of the ocean," she marveled.

"It's a blue lace agate."

"Huh?"

They both giggled as the autumn air surrounding them shifted and the other students began to gather and multiply. Most hurried inside the building, some stole glances at them, and others hugged their mates.

"My mum helped me pick it out," Daniel shrugged as his voice lilted.

"I love it," she said, though there was one word in particular she wanted to change.

Gemma didn't notice they were still holding hands.

Her hand was warm and resplendent tucked within his grasp. She felt a little dizzy in her head and a bit uneasy on her legs. It felt like a cloud had unfolded in a shimmering rush, and they were descending its puffy, white stairs.