Silent nights {Open}

[Andy]

It seemed lately that the only time she could relax was late at night, after school and homework, after the sun went down and the stars came up, shining and twinkling in the sky. After the streetlights turned on, illuminating the path through the park, and after all but the couples, and other people like her were gone from the tranquil scene. Only when nothing but the sound of the leaves whispering to each other in their strange, earthy language broke the silence and stillness of the night. Yes, in the dark, silent nights her imagination could run wild, take her to far off places of daring sword fights and valiant warriors, lands of magic and dragons, of war and peace; night was when she truly felt alive.

With her usual attire of slightly ripped jeans and multi-layered tank-tops covered her slim figure, although a new addition included a jean jacket, held tightly around her body. Her strangely coloured, almost grey hair whipped in the wind from beneath her baseball cap, and her running shoes made soft padding noises as they hit the ground. Her watch, when she held it up to see the time, told her that it was well after midnight, but since it was Friday night, or rather, now Saturday morning, she didn't much care about the time. She would have all of tomorrow to sleep, if she felt the need.

[Zac Scott]

Zac walked down the abandoned street, noticing that all the shops had closed up. Looking at his watch, the biscuit that he shoved into his mouth fell out. 12:00! What the hell is wrong with this town?! There’s no way to tell how time passes around here! That frustrated Zac. He had been living here his whole life, but he still couldn’t tell how the time passed so fast around here. It was as if this small town, in the middle of nowhere, had a accelerated universe, separate from the rest of the world. A smug feeling washed over Zac, he wouldn’t have it any other way. This was, after all, the place he had grown up, the place he had learned to walk, talk, flirt, not to mention, a all around good guy.

He had to hurry however, as he came back to reality, he knew his parents would worry, and he didn’t want them to. Too bad he had left his cell phone in his room. Truth be told, he couldn’t find his cell phone. He hadn’t cleaned his room in weeks, and it was almost like a junk yard in there. Whatever you could find, you used it, and that’s exactly what Zac did. He didn’t allow the maids into his room, as it contained a lot of his personal items in there, things he didn’t share with anyone but himself.

He turned the corner, and somehow ended up in the park. It didnt matter to him, it was after all, closer to home. He walke d a bit further, and then noticed a girl walking down the footpath, her shoes making a slight sound as they connected with the surface. She was headed his way. On second thought, the she might as well have been a he. Getting closer, Zac noticed that it was in fact a She, and decided to walk her home. He was a ladies man after all. But how would he tell her that he wanted to walk her home? He waited to get closer before saying anything.

[Andy]

Putting her hands in her pockets Andy continued to walk silently down the path, glancing at the tall trees that had started to appear. The park was aptly named, for all of the beautiful Rowan trees it housed, and if she could remember, it had been one of her favorite places to hang out before the crash. It was a great place, because it held sort of mixed feelings for her. It was so calm and relaxing, but it also was so full of life, with the birds in the trees and the small animals that skittered around in the leaves.

It was so quiet tonight that even in her deep thoughts she heard the faint sound of another person on the path. The steady foot-falls were just slightly set farther apart than hers, indicating that it was either a boy, or a girl with very long legs. She doubted it would be a girl, since most of them were either with their boyfriends or something, or having sleepover and doing each other's nails. Actually, she didn't even know what 'normal' girls did on sleepovers, since she either had never been invited, or she had never wanted to go.

So now with the fact that it was a guy out f the way, there were loads of possibilities that her mind skipped around, the most common ones being that he could be a kidnapper/rapist, he could just be some guy who happened to be walking down the path, or he could be someone she knew from school. There were other ideas, of course, but most of them were just her mind skipping to ludicrous ideas, like that he was an FBI agent come to take her away, or that it was her father. See? That would never happen, so she excluded those ideas.

As much as it would interrupt her thinking time, Andy decided to see who it was, and maybe talk for a bit. It wasn't like she couldn't think later. So she slowed down a bit, just a bit, so he would be able to catch up with her without having to walk faster. If he wanted to talk, that would be a perfect opportunity, right? And if he was a kidnapper she could kick his ass. So she wasn't worried.

[Zac Scott]

Zac had been to the park countless times before, and noticed that since his childhood, the trees had grown up quite a bit. They used to be as tall as he was now, but now they’d grown, towering over him. It was a sight to behold, as it brought back many memories of him. He had made his first friend here, Sam Kumar. He was a Indian, and he had moved long ago, and Zac had lost contact with him. It dampened his spirit’s a bit, but it had been a while, but still, that was his first friend. Zac smiled as he thought about what a guy Sam must have been now. He was a good kid when we were younger, he must be the star at the school he goes to know.

Bringing his mind back into the present, he noticed that he was closer to the girl. He also noticed, for the first time ever, how poorly light the entire park seemed to be. What could the girl have been thinking about him? Was he a rapist preying on young women currently walking the streets lonely at this time? Or was he a police officer wondering what girls like her were doing out at this time. In either case, it was best to be careful. He decided that when they did get close enough to talk, he would clear up everything and reassure her that he was a just a regular boy that possibly went to the same school as her.

As they got even closer, Zac noticed that the girl had grey-ish hair, covered by a hat. She was a tomboy, he could tell off the bat. A couple of layers of tank tops covered her skinny body, but she had a fair bit of muscle. Her blue eyes completed the package. In Zac’s mind, she was simply beautiful. He had seen a lot of beautiful girls in his life before, but never a pretty tomboy. Then a thought clicked into his mind, How much of a tomboy is she? Enough to…turn me down if I propose anything? She looks like she flies straight. Hopefully she is

He stopped when he wasn’t that far from her, and smiled. “Hey there.” He wondered what she was doing out so late, so he asked a question on that as well. “Whatcha doing out so late?” IT wasn’t much, but it was all he could think of. It was after all, midnight, and saying something wrong could cause him to get his ass kicked, so he didn’t want to risk that possibility.

[Andy]

“Hey there.”

Andy hadn't, despite the whole noticing of the new arrival, actually looked at the boy. She must have been off in her own little world or some such thing, because all she had noticed were his footsteps. Then again, it was pretty dark out, so she could have maybe just overlooked him. Whatever, it didn't matter because he was now standing in front of her, and had just spoken. Taking her first good look at him, she noticed he looked older than her, but she couldn't tell by how much. When he spoke to her, he had stopped walking, so Andy did as well. He didn't look like a kidnapper or rapist, and if he was she could still beat his ass.

“Whatcha doing out so late?”

She could ask him the same question. It was very late, and not many people went out. Especially this late in the year, when the evenings tended to cool down quite a bit. That was why she was wearing her jacket, which hung loosely over her upper body. It was just ever-so-slightly too big for her, in a way that was noticeable, but it still looked good. The sleeves were just long enough for her to hide her hands in, warming them up after the cold wind blew ice into her blood.

"Taking a walk."

A simple reply, but she didn't feel she needed to elaborate. It was a simple question, so that answer should suffice. If he, however, had wanted a big elaborate response, he could have asked a different question. She was about to tell him that when she came to the decision to introduce herself. so she held out her right hand to shake as she spoke.

"I'm Andy, who're you?"

She knew some people, okay, lots of people, thought that Andy was a strange name for a girl, but she didn't really care. It wasn't her real name, just a nickname. But it was better than Andrea, that was for sure.

[Zac Scott]

He was still smiling faintly as he got closer, just close enough so they could talk and not be too close. He confirmed one thing however, she was really pretty, and he could have sworn his mouth almost fell open when he saw her. Tomboys were never this pretty when he was young. Well, he still was young, but he never saw a tomboy as pretty as her. Hell, she might not have even been a tomboy, just a girl that might have been cold and decided to wear all of this to keep herself warm. One thing troubled him, what if she thought he was ugly? He lowered his head, just a bit, so she could still see his icy blue eyes, but not that she could see many details.

She appeared to be younger than him, but not by much. Maybe because it was of that cute look she had going on. Zac had to swallow his throw up as he thought about that. He had never called a girl cute before, let alone think that about one. They were either hot, or not. Even if they were not, he’d still treat them as if they were hot. He could never hurt one’s feelings, that wasn’t one of his talents. He would have killed himself if he ever did hurt someone’s feeling because he wanted to. He would never do that in real life, only in his dreams.

Shrugging off the countless thoughts, he heard her simple answer. Taking a walk, huh? At this time? Oh come on now, did she think Zac was stupid? It was obvious she didn’t want to tell him anything about herself, at least, not yet. Zac giggled like a schoolgirl mentally, then as he was about to reply, she introduced herself. He noticed her upraised hand, and got closer to shake it. “I’m Zac Scott.” He smiled again, hoping to warm her up. “And you do know you’re beautiful, right? Don’t take wrong or anything, I‘m not a rapist or anything. I‘m just telling you the truth, and if it makes you feel better, I go to the same school as you. We take first period together. By the way, Andy‘s a …unique name for a girl. Let me guess your first name….is it Andrea?” He knew he was rambling, so he apologized to her for talking a lot. He tended to do that sometimes, mostly when he was nervous. It was all her move now.

[Andy]

“I’m Zac Scott.”“And you do know you’re beautiful, right? Don’t take wrong or anything, I‘m not a rapist or anything. I‘m just telling you the truth, and if it makes you feel better, I go to the same school as you. We take first period together. By the way, Andy‘s a …unique name for a girl. Let me guess your first name….is it Andrea?”

Andy smiled back when he smiled at her, and brought her hand back from the shake as he continued to speak, telling her she was beautiful, that he wasn't a rapist, and that he went to the same school as her. He then guessed her name and she held back a frown. She hated her name. It was so... girly. Whenever the teacher called her name in class in elementary all the girls had laughed at her; the name was so unfitting to her completely boyish looks.

When she was younger she so hated her name she had created her nickname, Andy, and she'd made all the teachers call her that instead. With the new nickname, her short haircut, and tomboyish clothes it was no surprise that most people seemed to think she was a boy. She didn't mind it though. They seemed to... respect her more when she wasn't a little girl named Andrea.

"My name is Andy, and you'd do well to remember that."

She didn't say it meanly or coldly, but she sort of had a thing about her name, and it tended to spark her more than other things. She had been so busy thinking about the whole name thing, she had forgotten whatever else he had said. It had been something about going to school together, right?

[Zac Scott]

“I understand completely, Andy. So what brings you here?” Zac raised a eyebrow, “Seriously.” He knew that she wasn’t here just for a walk. Not in a place like this, or well, not at night at least. The perfect time for a walk in this park when it was either sun down or sun up, because the sun hit the trees just perfectly, and made the entire park glow up, giving it a peaceful look, and thus passing it on to you. Zac knew from experience, he always came here during sundown, even if he was supposed to be somewhere else. It was one thing he wouldn’t trade in for anything. It was one of his only gateways away from this mentally retarded world.

He scanned her up and down quickly, quick enough that she wouldn’t notice, at least. She didn’t have much of a figure, but her stunning beauty made up for that. It didn’t matter, Zac was all about the personality. Or well, for this girl, her personality and looks. A thought hit his mind just then. Andrea was her real name, he could tell. The only reason she didn’t like it was because, well, she was a tomboy, and wanted a boy-ish name as possible. Maybe to stop feeling like a little girly girl, or possibly because she didn’t like guys. Hopefully it wasn’t the latter.

He still wondered what she thought about him. Maybe she thought he was a nerd, he had to change that. “I play football by the way. I was the star wide receiver. What about you, play any sports?” He said, making weird gestures with his hands, to indicate that he was asking “What about you?” through his hands. She looked like a sports girl, and hopefully she would like him, or like him more, if she knew that he was the star wide receiver that almost everyone in the country wanted. Note, wanted. He stopped now, the attention was getting to his head, that wasn’t something he wanted.

[Andy]

“I understand completely, Andy. So what brings you here?”“Seriously.”

... Didn't he just ask her that? And she had replied. She was taking a walk, was it that hard to believe? What, did he want some big elaborate response or something? Or maybe a sarcastic comment? She chose the latter.

"Right, because I wasn't taking a walk at all. I was actually planning on flying to the moon, and coming back in time for breakfast.

She rolled her eyes lightly and motioned to a nearby bench. She was alright with taking walks, but she didn't like standing for a long time, and if this was going to be a conversation, she wanted to sit down. She walked over to the bench and sat down on it, patting the part beside her to tell him he could sit down too.

"Is it really that hard to believe I just wanted to come for a walk? There's less people at this time of night, and it makes for good thinking time. You know?"

“I play football by the way. I was the star wide receiver. What about you, play any sports?”

A football jock. Great.

"Yeah, I play sports. Mostly soccer and football, but I also play hockey and basketball."

She waited for his reply as she turned her gaze to a nearby tree, it's fall foliage waving gently in the wind. This park was so beautiful, regardless of what time it was.

[Zac Scott]

Zac couldn’t help but smile as he heard her sarcastic comment. Smart and sassy, he liked that. Nothing made a girl more unique than her using sarcasm, and that was apparently what this girl did. Who was she, and why did he never notice her before?! He hated himself for that. Maybe she was thinking that since they were all alone now, he could land her without harming his reputation at school. Hopefully she didn’t. “Can I tag along? I always wanted to go the moon,” Zac said, keeping his smile tucked safely in, “only if we can be back before breakfast.”

He noticed as she slightly motioned to a nearby bench, and then going over to sit on it. Maybe she was interested, it was too hard to tell. He wanted to know, badly. Then, he knew he was in heaven when she patted the open spot next to her. Zac smiled, and walked over and sat down. Hearing his next words made him think, “Well, yeah, it kind of is. I mean, I’m always here during sundown and sunup, but never at night. So, sorry if I offended you in some way.” And then lightly punching her on the arm, he added, “But suck it up. You’re a big girl now.”

Then what really made his day was that she said she played sports too. Perfect, they would get along like a house and fire, which really wasn’t a safe thing, but it worked nonetheless. “I think I’m in love.” Zac said, smiling. He was telling the truth, but twisted it to make it seem like a joke so she wouldn’t get freaked out and run away.

[Andy]

“Can I tag along? I always wanted to go the moon,”“only if we can be back before breakfast.”

Andy nodded seriously when he said that, holding back the smile and laughter that this comment had spurred. She told him,

"Of course we'll be back by breakfast. We can't miss breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day, you know."

She smiled lightly and let out a small laugh, brushing some hair from her face as the wind picked up again. The only downside of hanging around the park at night was that it got pretty cold around this time of year, and Andy felt shivers running up and down her spine as the wind got inside her jacket.

“Well, yeah, it kind of is. I mean, I’m always here during sundown and sunup, but never at night. So, sorry if I offended you in some way.”“But suck it up. You’re a big girl now.”

Andy laughed when he added the last part, punching her shoulder lightly in a way that reminded her of someone she'd known before, before the crash... But she couldn't remember. d**n this amnesia to hell. It was so annoying not being able to remember anything about herself!

“I think I’m in love.”

She smiled lightly, noting the joking tone in his voice.

"I get that reaction a lot. It must be my amazing conversational skills."

She was joking of course. Actually, to be quite honest she didn't know if she was joking or not. Not being able to remember what happened any later than a month ago made her wonder, had anyone ever said that to her before? But she pulled herself from her thoughts, which had been getting far too serious for the joking around they had been doing. Some people would think it would be odd that people who had just met about a minute ago could be so comfortable around each other, but Andy was just the sort of person who easily made friends.

[Zac Scott]

He noticed that she nodded rather seriously, obviously stifling a laugh or a smile. She knew she wanted to smile, or laugh, and Zac would have killed if she didn’t. “Yeah, I can’t miss eating my Fruit Loops. I’ll throw you overboard and just come back if we’re late.” He winked at her as he said that. Hopefully she didn’t have anything against winks, as she did with her name.

He noticed that the wind picked up, and Andy’s response to it was by brushing the hair that had angelically covered her face. He savored that 2 second moment, replaying it over and over mentally. He slid over, getting a little closer. He added a comment, just in case she had something against that too, “hopefully my body heat can help against this wind somehow.” He smiled, it was a good line, he thought.

“You got a point. They are quite wonderful.” He said, holding back a smile. He looked towards the sky and saw there was only but a single star, directly above them. Well, not exactly, but it appeared that way. “Beautiful,” He whispered, then looked over at her, “As are you.” Hopefully she didn’t hear him, but even if she did, why was he scared? It was only a compliment afterall.

[Andy]

Along with being a person who very easily made friends, she was pretty smart too, although in some cases she could be completely, and I mean completely, oblivious. When he moved closer to her, she didn't get it for what it was, and just smiled lightly, replying,

"Cool, if you moved a little more to the right you'd block the wind completely."

See what I mean? Completely oblivious. And that comment she made was actually serious. It was almost like she had a blonde moment whenever anyone mentioned anything about them liking her. Probably some deep, psychological fear of something or other. Or maybe she was just weird like that.

Her eyes followed his to the start in the sky, nearly right above them. Naturally, it wasn't directly above them, because it was more than a few hundred light-years away, but it looked beautiful, as Zac commented. She nodded slightly and turned back to him, smiling at his comment of how she was beautiful too. It was a nice complement; her mother had said it all the time. Or had she? Oh.. she couldn't remember...

"Thanks,"

She replied, glancing over at the trees thoughtfully.

"Oh, you said something earlier about going to the same school as me, right?"

Everyone could be random sometimes, and she'd been thinking about that a bit, considering she hadn't really payed attention when he'd said it.

[Zac Scott]

She smiled lightly as he moved closer to her, hopefully that was a good sign. He moved even closer when she commented about the wind. Okay then, maybe she didn’t know that he was trying to make a move, or maybe she was just naturally comfortable around guys like him, considering she was a tomboy. Zac didn’t care, he just wanted to be closer to her. He got so close he could feel her body heat over the chilly wind blowing.

He saw from the corner of her eye that she followed his gaze, and she had heard his comment. He could tell, as she had nodded. d**n it, she wasn’t supposed to hear it. But it didn’t matter now, apparently, she smiled, and that was a good sign. Even though you’re messing up, you’re doing good, Zac, Zac thought to himself with a smile. He didn’t care, maybe he should be a idiot more often.

“Yeah, funny I never noticed you before.” Zac said, with a eyebrow raised. really, how could I miss her?!, he asked himself, visualizing himself slapping his own forehead. He saw that before she asked him that question about going to the same school, she had looked at the trees. “I used to climb them, when they were only about 10 feet tall…and I was about …3 feet.” Zac smiled triumphantly.

[Andy]

Andy nodded understandingly when he told her he had never seen her around before. Well, she honestly didn't know if she had seen him, or anyone else for that matter, since she simply couldn't remember. It was so annoying.

She heard his comment about climbing the trees when he was younger, or rather smaller, and she laughed lightly. She looked over at the trees thoughtfully, and for a moment her vision clouded over, as her mind immersed her in a faraway memory.

She pulled on her father's hand, practically dragging him down the small path through the park, to a grove of trees near the middle. They weren't very tall, or rather not as tall as they would eventually be, and last time she had come here she had figured out how to climb them.

Letting go of her dad's hand she ran up to the nearest tree, her little legs taking three steps for every one that her father took. She was very young, probably only about four or five, and her hair was still it's strange grayish colour. It was short, and she was wearing a small blue dress, and she looked very much so like a little girl.

She pulled her body onto the lowest branch, then stood up, holding onto the trunk for support. She smiled at her dad, who she now stood even with, then she reached for the next one. Her father took her hand in his to make sure she didn't fall, because if she did it would hurt, and she would cry.

But she knew he wouldn't let go.

Andy blinked a few times, coming out of the strange memory. Her face showed a slightly puzzled look for a moment, before she put her usual gentle smile back on and looked back at Zac, trying to remember what he had said. Oh yes, climbing trees.

"That's quite an accomplishment Zac. You deserve a gold star for that one."

Her voice had a joking tone to it, but her eyes didn't show the same emotion. For some reason the memory had made her sad... although she couldn't for the life of her remember why.