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When Roses Grow Black Chapter 35 We stepped off of the bus and found the others sitting in a circle in front of us. The moment we stepped off the bus, conversation stopped and three pairs of eyes landed on us. I couldn't help but feel as if I were intruding on a private conversation. Something I wasn't meant to hear. Howie looked at me with sympathy shining in his puppy dog brown eyes, "Are you all right?" The sincerity in his voice melted my heart and I smiled warmly at him as I nodded my head slowly. Nick joined their little circle, but didn't seem to fit in with the trio. He was the only one not looking to me for answers of my breakdown. He seemed to be lost in his own little world trying to rationalize all that had happened without help. Brian gently pulled on my shirt and shook me from my thoughts. We both slowly sat down, filling in the rest of the circle. "Well," Kevin broke the awkward silence that seemed to over take us. Silence soon filled the air again and I couldn't take it any more, "So what about this log cabin that you found, Kevin? Where is it? And what happened last night?" Everyone shifted nervously in their seats at the mention of the night before. I knew my side of the story, but from this reaction, theirs must have been similar. I looked to Kevin, hoping he would take charge and begin. He sighed before starting and rolled his eyes. I presumed that he had to begin the conversations a lot by his annoyance of me looking to him. At first I thought he wasn't going to, but he proved me wrong, "As I told Brian, I saw a log cabin up in the woods. I thought that maybe there would be people or something there that could help us. After I told the fellas I was going, I set out. It turned out to be further than I expected, and when I got there it was locked and almost nightfall. Needless to say, I was pretty P.O.'ed. I had just wasted my entire day." "I turned around to head back to the bus when I heard arguing. I ran towards the noise until suddenly, it stopped. I then came across Vance, and there lying at his feet was Howie, completely out cold," Kevin's words stopped there. I stopped hearing Kevin telling the story and I began seeing it in my mind's eye. There was Kevin standing defiantly in front of Vance who seemed to be twice his size. Howie lay in between the two completely helpless in any further attacks which may harm his already battered body. I felt anger rush through me and smiled when I heard Kevin begin taking up Howie's fight. "What are you doing here, Vance? You should just go back to hell where you and your kind belong," Kevin spit in his face. Vance showed mock hurt before smiling evilly and replying. "Been there, done that. Now I want my Rose back," he said as he pulled out a bag of pinkish-red powder. I recognized it as the same powder he had used on me, and felt fear grip my heart. I saw Kevin stare idiotically at it thinking the powder wouldn't effect him. "Now, Guardian, I suggest we give our Princess a little scare, don't you?" Vance blew the powder into Kevin's face. I watched as the eldest Backstreet Boy was turned into a temporary slave of the Shadow Kingdom. "I have knocked out each Guardian. It is your job to find them, and bring them back to the Princess to show her I mean business," with the clap of a hand he was gone, and Kevin continued on with his mission. "WHOA!" I yelled as I jumped up from my spot. Everyone jumped in surprise to my outburst, but I paid no attention. "What the hell was that?!?!" "What was what?" AJ asked as he looked around us for anything unusual. "I didn't just hear that story from Kevin, I saw it happen as he told us!!" I screech while grabbing the sides of my head and my jaw dropped. Nothing like this ever happened to me before, and I was scared. A smug smile slowly formed on Kevin's face. His eyes danced with knowledge unknown to the rest of us. He probably knew exactly what was happening, but just wasn't about to tell. I could already see the type of role he was going to be playing in my life for the rest of the time being. He was going to guide me through this as he obtained more information about our shared pasts and help me make the right decisions. He would be the ultimate father figure. Although sometimes grouchy and easily annoyed, he would show affection and direct our sail to safety. "It's the magic in you that courses through your veins and in your blood," he said as his emerald eyes shined bright and proud. I slowly brought my hands down by my sides and took my seat once again as all attention was turned from me to him. "Why don't we remember any of this? We lived then too, right?" AJ voiced his thoughts and frustrations. Kevin looked over to AJ and smiled almost mockingly, "Are you going to let me finish if I tell you with out interruptions?" The others nodded but I held back. I was partly afraid to find out the truth. I wasn't sure I wanted to know. A fear of something isn't easy to get over. Sometimes conquering it costs too much blood and tears. Ignorance is bliss, I was once told. I learned very quickly just how true that was. No matter how I felt at the moment, I was out voted and I awaited Kevin to continue. "Rose? Do you want to hear this? Or would you rather continue to hear the stories of last night?" Kevin asked me as the guys threw around puzzled looks. "Um...," I scratched the back of my head nervously hoping someone would jump in and persuade me to go one way or another. I was never comfortable making decisions on my own. Especially when it would concern others beside myself. "You can't run from it forever," Howie voiced and I let out a sigh. "Can we figure out last night first, please?" I asked as I pleaded with my eyes for the others to agree. I need the support of others in order to do anything, and this was definitely one of those times. Slowly, each shook their head in agreement and I felt relief run through my body as I was able to relax a little more. As we sat for the next few hours sharing our stories, and I was amazed to see how similar they all were. It seemed that Vance used the same type of powder on each of us. Howie faced off with Vance, who got the better of him. Nick slid down a huge cliff-like hill, and was knocked out by Vance at the bottom. AJ got crushed my an imaginary tree, and Brian was just knocked out from behind. "I don't get it! Why play all of these cat and mouse games?!" I asked as I paced around, frustrated. "I don't know," Kevin answered honestly. A smile crept onto Brian's face, which soon crept to Nick's too. "What?" I asked the two friends as I stopped pacing. "Nothing," Nick said quickly wiping the smile off his face. "It's just that, Kevin is finally in the dark just as much as us on that one," Brian beamed and I smacked him playfully in the arm. He was right though, Kevin was just as much in the dark as us. I smiled knowing that too, I guess it just felt good to be equal again. But could we all ever be equal? In society's eyes, never in a million years unless I became famous. In each other's eyes? Probably not. There would always be one person who seemed to have a higher role than someone else. In reality? Does it even really matter? Does Brian's God pick people out and say they are better? I seriously hope not. In the end it doesn't matter what role in life you played, just the person you came out to be. I looked down at my attire and frowned. It was time to get changed into some of my own clothing. "Um, you guys know where my bag is?" I asked as I slowly stood up. Nick stood up next to me and chuckled. "What?" I asked defensively. "You’re so small!" he cooed as he measured where I stood compared to him. I quickly hit his hand away, I was fuming. I always had a problem with my height and people always saying the dumbest stuff never helped me get over it. "So what?! What does it matter if I'm four eleven!?!? Huh?! Height has nothing to do with who I am!!!" I yelled and my voice and octave. Nick looked shocked, to say the least. His eyes were wide and his mouth was just hanging there. Kevin, AJ, and Howie all had similar looks on their faces and were awaiting for Nick's temper to explode. "Being short is a good thing. I think it's cute." I calmed down at his word and felt kinda bad. Yet, not bad enough to apologize. I had taken enough shit in my lifetime for my height that I wasn't taking any more of it. "Oh, okay." "Come on, your bag is in here," Nick motioned for me to follow him into the bus. We stopped at his bunk and he pulled out my backpack from a drawer beside it. "Thank you," I stated calmly, and opened it up to look for something to wear and my brush. Then, suddenly, I remembered one of the most important things. The necklace!Next: Chapter 36 |