Chapter 6

Fireworks Part 2. Damien Reyes.

Time/Area: NYC 2013, 1-2nd month, July 4th.

“Wow, Not gonna lie, this actually sucks.” I said, taking a bite out of the newly released Pizza Bagel as we turned on 14th street. It was starting to get dark out, but we had almost reached Jason’s house so I wasn’t too worried. The weather was starting to get colder and the amount of people out was

a little smaller than usual, which would’ve been strange, but a lot of people were having parties around Times Square so it was drawing a lot of New Yorkers out.

“It can't be that bad.." Jason said, eyeing the melted cheese with lust. I rolled my eyes. This was Jason's way of saying I want your food. I sighed as I tossed it to him. He gave a dumb chuckle and took a bite out of an untouched part.

"Ack!" He coughed out the bagel onto the street while making throw up motions with his hands, “You tryna kill me?”

I laughed as he threw the bagel in a nearby trash can, “Don’t tell Mr.Drake we hate it though.”

BOOM

A bright red glow filled the sky as a firework exploded under the clouds.

“Mierd- I gotta drop you off like now.” I said, breaking into a jog, “I’m going to miss a bunch of fireworks because of you!”

Jason matched my pace, “Oh right, but what’s a Mierd?”

My eyes widened as we turned on Draxon Street, “Umm, it’s uh..nothing.”

Jason glanced at me as we came to a stop in front of his huge mansion’s huge front yard..

“Sure it is.” Jason joked, looking at his door with hate.

You could hear yelling from here. It slowly got louder until you could make out some words,

“You..stop..doesn’t matter!” -Mrs.Cole

“I don’t know why the...I married you!” -Mr.Cole

Something Broke,

“That’s his Science Project Idiot!” -Mrs.Cole

“Wasn’t..Fault!” -Mr.Cole

“Ugh..I can’t wait till we leave you!”-Mrs.Cole

“WE? WE?! What..you think..he’s yours?!”-Mr.Cole

“DON’T YOU DARE.”-Mrs.Cole

I slowly looked at Jason.

Now, at school, it was often joked by the other freshmen that it was next to impossible to make Jason the rich kid angry, but I have seen the opposite just as frequently because of his parents.

In this case, the latter was portrayed through fierce yet tired green eyes,

“Hey,” I said, still feeling awkward whenever it came to these kinds of things, “Do yo-”

“No..It’s fine,” Jason sighed, “We’ll just give them a minute I guess.”

...

I don’t know how long we stood there. I just know that when Jason spoke again his parent’s fight was over and it was basically pitch black outside.

Fireworks rang all over and the lights were off in Jason’s house.

“I don’t get why they don’t just get along.” He said, picking up his backpack, “Er, thanks for waiting...I guess.”

I glared at the window, “They forgot about Jason again.” I thought to myself angrily.

“I don’t know either.” I said. I glanced up at Jason’s window on the second floor, “Want a lift up?” I asked.

He nodded, running into the front yard of the mansion. This had basically become routine by now. Jason would stay up late with me while his parents fought and forget all about him, then I would boost him up to his room so his parents wouldn't question where he had been all night. Once I reached the wall of his room, I pressed my back up against it, extending my palms outwards like a cheerleader. Jason backed up to one of the many trees in his yard and placed his back foot on the bark,

“Hey!” I called out quietly, “Since you’ve been watching that cheerleader girl you should be getting pretty good at this, right?”

“Her name is Melissa,” Jason grunted before silently mouthing a countdown,

“A-and shut up.”

3

2

1

He charged full speed at me, preparing for take off.

Once he was about a foot away, he jumped onto my hands while I pushed up full force, Jason’s form gliding upwards for a singular second before gravity finally took hold.

I walked back and watched as he caught himself on one of the higher windows. He then began to climb up onto his room’s balcony. [Yes, his room has a balcony].

I whistled from the bottom, “Nice!” I shouted from the grass.

He grinned but held up a hand to be quiet.

I waved.

He waved back.

I gave a weak thumbs up as I turned around and ran back to the sidewalk.

Buzzz

“Crap,” I said to myself, pulling out my phone.

It was Sarah.

I cleared my throat and clicked, “Answer”

“H-hi sis.”

“HI SIS???”

I winced.

“HI BRO! WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW?!”

I coughed, “I’m leaving Jason’s house now.. But i’ll be there in like..5 minut-”

“YOU BEST MAKE THAT 5 SECONDS! WHAT'D YOU DO? STOP FOR TEA AND CRUMPETS?”

I sighed, “Lo siento, Be there soon, bye.”

I hung up. I was honestly still thinking about Jason’s parents.

How could two people do that to their kid?

If they truly cared about him they wouldn’t make him choose between parents.

I let out an angry grunt, just remembering that they broke his Science Project too. He had physics in a different period than me and his classmates were kind of sucky, especially if he messed up. You see, we were wayyyy ahead of our grade in Math and Science, and some of the older kids don’t

take too well to us freshmen...especially when those freshmen are smarter than you. Aside from a bad grade, high schoolers in his class would all tease him for this.

“Maybe I could help him fix it,” I thought, reaching the Energis building. I tried not to mentally batter Jason’s parents, because it wasn’t like I was them or knew their personal issues, but still...it just...sucked I guess.

The doors slid open and I walked inside. My footsteps echoed on the white tile as I approached the front desk.

A gray haired white lady with glasses glared at me, “Can I help you young man?” She asked, clearly annoyed.

All the fireworks must’ve been getting to these desk people’s heads.

“Um yea,” I said, “Doctor Diamond wants me.”

She laughed, “Yea right. You should leave if you don’t want me to call security.”

My heart rate quickened, not quite expecting such a random threat on a mere 14 year old, “No really!” I repeated myself, “Call her, you’ll see!”

“Security,” She said, “Get him out of here please.”

Well dang.

Suddenly, two men dressed in tight Energis shirts and loose fitting shorts approached me from either side, “Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave.”

Sir?

They did realize how short I was, correct? I had been mistaken for an elementary schooler once so I should know.

It wasn’t like I was Freddy Krueger or something.

DING

The Elevator doors behind the desk opened to reveal two angry looking ladies.

A guard that had grabbed my arm froze.

My sister stepped forward, “Let go of my brother!”

The guard didn’t budge, “Listen intern, I-”

“Lest you be fired and your career as a guard ended permanently.” Doctor Diamond added.

The guard’s mouth went wide, probably contemplating if she could really do that,

“And no, I don’t know if I can do that, but I will most certainly try.” She clarified.

The guard let go.

“Come here,” Doc D motioned towards me. I jogged over there and Doc pulled me into a hug, “It’s good to see you Damien!” She said, “It’s been too long!”

I looked at my sister, who was still killing the guards with her eyes.

“Let’s go.” She sighed, turning around before sliding her card on the elevator’s key slot.

-----

“Whoaa!” I exclaimed, looking at the sky from the huge, wall sized window in Doc’s office. I pulled out my phone and took a bunch of pictures to send to Jason.

Jason.

I wished he could be here. This would help take his mind off things.

“Hey Damien,” I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to find Doctor Diamond, smiling in sympathy, “You seem sad, are you okay?”

I nodded, “Yes..Just thinking about what happened back there.” I lied.

She frowned, “Yes, I had never seen those people act that way before. I don't know why they did that. Maybe it’s because of the holiday...in any case I’m going to go get the ice cream!”

She jogged away.

I laughed as Sarah came by my side.

Blue and White Fireworks blasted into the sky.

BOOM

CRACK

“So.?” Sarah looked at me, “What’s up?”

I cocked my head, “What do you mean? You heard me and Do-”

She slapped my shoulder, “No, what’s really up. That kind of stuff happens to us all the time. Something else has you down.”

I sighed. Although I lived with my parents, my sister had always been the best at reading me. It must’ve been a sibling thing.

“Yea. It’s Jason.” I said.

She shot me a confused expression, “You guys fought? Wow. That usually only lasts two minutes before you two are all crying saying sorry.”

I glared at her, “We didn’t fight. It’s his parents.”

She slowly nodded, “Oh. Those guys.”

“Yea.” I grumbled, “It was really bad this time. I think they broke his science project.”

I clenched my fists, “It’s not fair for Jason.”

Sarah walked behind me, putting her arms around my shoulders while resting her chin on my head, “Yea, that sucks. At least you’re there for him. You’re a good friend.”

I smiled at this, “Thanks.”

“Speaking of friends,” Sarah started, pulling me onto a nearby couch, “Make any new ones?”

I smiled, “I have Jason s-”

“He doesn't count.” She groaned, annoyed, “I swear you two are like brothers… Are you so unlikable that you can’t make any other friends?!”

I paused for a bit, not wanting to admit that was the case,

“W-well,” I stuttered, stuffing my hands into my pockets, “I did meet this girl.”

Sarah froze.

The fireworks paused.

Doctor Diamond stuck her head out from the lab.

“WHAAAA?” They both said in Unison.

BOOM?

The fireworks started back up again.

I coughed, “Y-yea...Selina.”

“Oooooo Picante.” Sarah cooed.

I punched her shoulder, “Cállate” I told her.

Doc D laughed as she faded back into the lab.

I folded my arms.

“So are you friends with this girl?” Sarah asked.

“Yea.” I said flatly, directing my eyes towards the window.

“Oh c’mon!” Sarah pleaded, bringing her head to my lap like she was two, “Shareee! Then I’ll let you stay up late doing tests with us.”

I glared at her, not realizing the weight blackmail had on the soul,

“Fine.” I conceded, earning an enthusiastic noise from Sarah. I told her about how we met and how we talked at lunch. I didn’t realize I was rambling about her until I noticed my sister’s sly smile.

“Hey!” I yelled, “It’s not like that!”

Sarah laughed from my lap, “I didn’t say anything!”

“You didn’t have to!” I replied.

“Are you friends with her?”

“Yes.”

“Is she really nice?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have a massive crush on her?”

“Yes- I mean.!”

My sister broke down laughing as I pushed her off my lap,

“You’re the worst.” I muttered, bringing my knees up to my chin. Older siblings were a handful.

“Let me guess,” Sarah said, getting up and looking at me with her Know It All look,

“And don’t say anything if I'm right.”

I glared at her again as Doc D entered the room, taking a seat next to me, “I couldn’t miss this.” She explained, “Ice cream is ready by the way.”

Sarah started,

“You saw this girl and your jaw dropped.”

I stayed silent, looking at my black shoes. I refused to speak and she knew it.

“A strange feeling overcame you when she...sat next to you?”

I pondered the thought of my sister being psychic somehow while staying quiet.

A pause,

“I can hear you smiling,” I said, my eyes still glued to the floor.

Sarah laughed, “That’s not possible-”

“Yes it is!” Me and Doc said at the same time.

“You mind describing what that feeling was like?” Sarah asked, bending over towards me,

“If you answer we can move on to the tests.”

B-L-A-C-K

I gulped, “Y-you can’t do that...” I tried to think of the words to say.

“Huh, I guess you can just sit out here and eat ice cream then, Damien.” Sarah shrugged, nodding towards Doc D.

M-A-I-L

“One word answers only please..” Doc said from my left, “We don’t need another rant on this girl.”

“L-like..-” I coughed.

BOOM!

A huge firework went off across the street.

“Like fireworks.” I concluded, “Almost choking on the word as it came out.

“BRAVOO!” Doc exclaimed, getting up and walking next to my sister.

They both clapped,

“Corny, but it will suffice.” Sarah agreed,

“Now, let’s get some tests done shall we?”

I smiled as more fireworks boomed from outside, happy that this cheesy ordeal had finally ended, “Definitely.”