The Flames in Their Dead Hearts...

Vibes and Pidgeons...?

As I lay on Marko's shoulder, I hear the song "Love Bites,"  By Def Leppard play. They are one of my favorite bands. I could listen to them and Twisted Sister all day and night.

"Amber, wanna see my birds? They are pretty chill if they like you," Marko says with a childish grin plastered on his face. Both of us are zooted out of our minds, and just vibing. This place is pretty groovy if I say so myself.

"You got birds? Damn, that's pretty cool! What species?" 

"Pigeons, my sweet Amber, pigeons," He replied. He got up and offered his hand. I took it and he led me to a little corner near the stair entrance. There, you could see two pigeons chillin' out.

Marko held out his arm, and one of the birds hopped on. "Wanna hold her?" he asked. His voice was quieter, which I am assuming that he tries not to scare them away.

"I- sure...And how exactly do I do that?" I laughed, raising my eyebrows. 

"Just hold out your elbow like this." 

He grabbed my arm gently and made it into an L shape. I blushed slightly at the gesture. The bird hopped from his arm to mine. She was surprisingly light, and her head bobbed around a bit. You could hear her cooing as Marko softly pet her neck. I was a little nervous since I had a bad experience with birds before... Damn seagulls. 

--16 years ago...(3rd POV)--

"Mom look at the birds!" 3-year-old Amber yelled. She was pointing up at the sky, with a little box of fries in her hand. You could hear the seagulls squawking and flying above. 

"Why don't you try to give them some of your fries? They like those," Her mom replied.

Little Amber grabbed a small handful of her fries and held them up towards the sky. The overgrown sea rats started to fly down towards her with almost unnatural speed. They nipped at her hands, trying to devour the small handful of fries. 

"MOM! DAD! THEY ARE ATTACKING ME!!" Amber screeched. She dropped her fries and ran to her parents, the birds from hell still pecking at the fries that were now all on the floor. 

"Sweetheart! Are you ok? Are you hurt? Let me see your hands," Her mom said, obviously worried about her daughter. 

Amber had tears in her eyes, looking down at her hands, which were now covered in little scratches. 

"Hey, Bugsy," her dad kneeled. "How about, after we get off the ferry, we can get some ice cream. How does that sound?" 

Amber nodded, and you could see a little smile growing on her face.

--End of Flashback, Amber POV--

"You good? You zoned out on me for a sec there, too much weed?" Marko asked.

I nodded and told him about the seagull attack. He laughed a bit.

"You're telling me, you got attacked by seagulls? I mean, it doesn't surprise me, but that's... an interesting story." Marko smirked. He took back the pigeon and set her on a little perch. 

You could hear the roar of a motorcycle from outside the cave. Seems like Dwayne is back with the pizza. 

"Hell yeah, I'm starving!" I say as I walk back to the fountain. Dwayne walked in, and the wafting smell of pizza filled the cave. I run over to him, and he hands me a box.