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matt colekay d9a [arx]
Retired Staff

2,440 POSTS

Pronouns: she/her
last seen Jun 20, 2024 14:12:54 GMT -5

literally so gay, doing so many crimes

|Brick| By Boring |Brick| [Tom] May 23, 2013 22:19:33 GMT -5

Post by matt colekay d9a [arx] on May 23, 2013 22:19:33 GMT -5

Hey girl I’m waiting on ya, I’m waiting on ya
Come on and let me sneak you out
And have a celebration, a celebration
The music up, the windows down

I don't know exactly how I found it, but I did. A few drug deals, a few personal requests from the people I met from work, a few shady alleyways, a few drunken walks through town, a few short conversations, a few questions, and I ended up here. Tempus Opera House. I've walked by it a few times, heard about it from some of the people I get high with, but I never thought anything of it. A bunch of singing teenagers thinking they can somehow make their way by putting on stupid plays or dancing or singing or whatever it is they do. Turns out my sister was there all along. The idea of it intrigues me. My sister? Naveen Anila Casovnik? The shy little girl who talked almost never? I couldn't believe it. But I watched one day while some people left flowers at the door or little cards with their blessings. I asked them what they were doing, who it was all for, and the replied simply by telling me that both the actor and the actress here had died in the Games. I watched for full day once, waiting for something to happen. I picked up the condolence letters and read each of them. You could tell only the rich people actually came here, leaving letters with gold edges and scrawling cursive. And they cared about my sister? I threw out all the flowers and letters in a nearby garbage can when no one was looking. Screw them, they didn't know her.

But that was ages ago. Or at least it seems like ages ago. And now the talk is the Keeni twins and I see no letters or flowers being left at the door. They never really cared or they would be leaving notes and flowers and visiting her grave everyday. I've thought about going inside a few times, just to have a look around, but I have never been able to get past the doors. This place where she lived for two years, this place that she ran away to when she left home, it feels like a place of worship or something. I don't feel like I deserve to step inside. (Especially when I'm stumbling around in the street, drunk or high off my ass.) I feel ... dirty. She was always helping me clean up for dinner when we were younger. She would give me a bath and tell me to stay out of trouble for an hour and I would go and mess up my hair and my clothes and scrape up my knees and she would have to help me get clean all over again for bed. My big sister was more of a mom to me than the whore that lives in my house ever was, that's for sure. So I guess my dirtiness comes from her not making me shower everyday, right? (I lie. I shower twice a day, everyday.) But I still feel like if I walk through the doors I will tarnish the part of her that she wanted to keep hidden from me. The singing, twirling, dress-up side of her.

I suppose I always knew she could sing. She was always humming something, always sang to Jay when he was sick, always sang in her room at night when we were really little. That was probably the first hint that she was gone that morning I woke up and she was gone. I came downstairs and there was no humming. No whistling. (No breakfast ...) Needless to say that day has faded in my mind. Now the more recent ones where we are sometimes playing tag in my dreams or she decides to walk with me through the woods after I smoke a joint are the memories that prick my thoughts, making me smile and then shake my head at the door to Tempus. I sigh then and walk back up the street the way I came. I'd much rather stare at a gravestone than destroy the best two years of her life. I walk along to the outskirts of town, a path that must be hundred times more beaten down now that I visit everyday. I walk among the old stones first, reading over names that have now become familiar to me. I walk until the stones turn from worn and weathered to new and sharp, the letters in the names easy to read out of the etched stone. And then I stop in front of the stone with the most familiar name carved into shiny rock. Naveen Casovnik. And the words beneath a complete insult really. Because this is not what the people who love her remember her as. Tribute of the 62nd Hunger Games. They may as well have added, "Decapitated by Wednesdae Drummond." or "Crazy girl who sewed her lips shut and shouted insanity into empty air."

But that's not why I come here everyday, to scoff at how the Capitol and pretty much everyone here in Six remembers her. Just another tribute. I come here to remember her humming in the kitchen every morning. I come here to remember her jumping from her window because she thought she could fly. I come here to remember her playing tag in the snow with me. I come here to remember her sharing a popsicle with me on a summer day. I come here to remember her for who she really was, not who she became when her name was called. I stand for a moment, just staring, before I lean back against the gravestone and pull a joint from my pocket, flicking my lighter a few times before it catches, and pull a long drag, letting myself drift away into the sunset.

Let’s go crazy, crazy, crazy ’til we see the sun
I know we only met but let’s pretend it’s love
And never, never, never stop for anyone
Tonight let’s get some and live while we’re young

"I run on the road, long before I dance under the lights."

Dana Lheureux D9F [Tom]
Moderator

5,171 POSTS
Pronouns: He/Him
last seen Jun 20, 2024 20:22:58 GMT -5

OowoO

|Brick| By Boring |Brick| [Tom] May 25, 2013 18:34:50 GMT -5

Post by Dana Lheureux D9F [Tom] on May 25, 2013 18:34:50 GMT -5

Description/writing, Speaking , Thinking, Hears

I've seen the world, lit it up
As my stage now
Channeling angels in a new age now
Hot summer days, rock n roll
The way you play for me at your show
And all the ways I got to know
Your pretty face and electric soul

A Year. A year since Navy had died. A year since Theo had died. 8 months since Rio has seen Xana. 6 months since Rio has seen Gwynn. 5 months since Rio has seen Cod. 4 months since Rio has seen Merc. 12 months of no plays. 2 months since Rio has been home. Rio had begun a life living in the Tempus opera house. His parents haven't gone looking for him. No one has. He was the only person keeping Tempus clean and running.

Rich and old people still came by putting Flowers and cards by both Theo and Navy's doors. Rio still hasn't touched anything in those two rooms. Last time he was in there was when Navy left that first day into what Rio calls hell now. The rich always told Rio it was a pity that they had lost their best actor and actress. Rio always put on a smile just to make the rich feel better, but it never made him feel better. The old would always try to help Rio out, but Rio always made them go away or keep their things they gave to him.

Tempus was crumbling still from loss and despair. Rio was the last column holding Tempus up. He was always the one trying to keep everyone together, but through all the arguments and tearing that went on, Rio was left alone. His two biggest fears had unfolded right before his eyes. One, losing the love of his life. Two, being alone with no one left.

Rio may be the only thing keeping Tempus up and at least ready to go at anytime, but he was already broken inside and out. Rio hasn't let any emotions out killing him on the inside. His anorexic problem was getting much worse since Navy has been gone. Rio probably has lost almost 1/4 of his weight. His shirts are much baggier than they used to be. Rio hasn't touched food for about a month now.

Rio's stomach growled quite loudly while he cleaned the stage of all dust. He had decided to at least eat something to stop the painful growling. Rio made his way towards the kitchen. The kitchen where Theo always made dinner. The kitchen where Navy always made something sweet. The kitchen where Cod would make sandwiches for lunch. The kitchen where Rio made breakfast sometimes, but never had a bite of it. Rio almost broke down crying, but he couldn't. He couldn't because he had company here still placing cards and flowers like normal. He looked through the cupboard finding an apple and taking a giant bite out of it. He leaned his small and weak figure against the counter of the kitchen.

That's when the memories came back. The memories of the Golden days.

Navy twirled as they got better for the show. She was only twirling because she was showing off her lovely dress that she was wearing. Rio chuckled as she grabbed his hands and twirled with their hands entwined in a circle. Rio then slipped and fell backwards with Navy falling on top of him. They both landed with a crash. Rio moaned in pain, but then Navy laughed. Rio couldn't hold a laugh in for long and everyone knew it and so he laughed with her. They both got up as Navy left to head for the stage.

~~~

Rio had already gotten ready in his outfit. He headed to backstage where Navy, Theo, and all of Tempus was. Theo was being his normal and shy self. Merc was having a full blown conversation with Cod, but Cod was obviously somewhere else, which was very much normal for him right before a play. Navy was listening to Gwynn talk about some book she read. Xana was in the corner fixing her hair and just being normal Xana.

As soon as Rio had gotten there, everyone marched out onto stage and the singing had begun, well for everyone besides Rio, he couldn't really sing well at the time. After the show, they all grabbed hands and bowed.

Who knew that would be their last performance before they would lose two of their best members. Rio began panicking. He dropped the finished apple on the ground and walked out into the hall. He marched to Navy's room and outside there was nothing. The cards and flowers all gone. Rio's heart raised for a moment, before his heart fell after he saw a path of petals and fallen cards. He picked all of them up as he walked. Once he saw the dumpster, he climbed in and grabbed every single card and flower and put them back in front of Navy's door.

Rio went back to his room where he had about a million flowers in from many rich and old people who gave him them. He grabbed a bouquet and left Tempus.

Rio marched through the long and narrow path that he walked almost everyday. He passed every stone until he reached the stone with the name that he had known for awhile, Theseus Rhodium. One of Tempus' best actors. One of Rio's best friends. Rio pulled out half the bouquet and placed the flowers upon the ground in front of the stone. Rio kneeled for a second, before getting up and making his way down another path of stones.

Rio turned left and right. Left and Right. Left and Right. He kept turning down different paths, until he was about 5 yards away from it. His destination. The stone that held his love. He would have walked closer if he hadn't had noticed a boy. A boy younger than him that had similar features like her. Rio rose an eyebrow as the boy smoked something with a terrible smell. Rio walked closer and closer, until he was close enough to get a better look. Rio shook his head and ignored the guy as he did what he normally did. He placed the bouquet in front of the stone. He then kissed the stone and stood up. The guy definitely now noticed him. Rio sighed as he turned to look at the guy.

"W-Who are you? And... And why are you here?"

That's when it clicked. He had features like her and was leaning against her stone. Rio's eyes widened in surprise. He knew who it was. It was one of Naveen Casovnik's relatives. Rio frowned at the ground feeling embarrassed now.

"Sorry... I just realized you must be one of N-Navy's relatives. I'm Riordan, but you can call me Rio. I-I knew Navy... very well. We were friends.... I am sorry for your lost..."

Rio held his hand out as he frowned at the boy who was smoking something awful.

Last Edit: May 25, 2013 18:40:06 GMT -5 by Dana Lheureux D9F [Tom]

Made by d10 🌼 duchess duchannes [dars]

matt colekay d9a [arx]
Retired Staff

2,440 POSTS

Pronouns: she/her
last seen Jun 20, 2024 14:12:54 GMT -5

literally so gay, doing so many crimes

|Brick| By Boring |Brick| [Tom] May 27, 2013 21:45:45 GMT -5

Post by matt colekay d9a [arx] on May 27, 2013 21:45:45 GMT -5

Hey girl I’m waiting on ya, I’m waiting on ya
Come on and let me sneak you out
And have a celebration, a celebration
The music up, the windows down

My mom always told me to count when I got upset about something.

One.

One of the most vivid memories I have of my sister was when we were younger and it was snowing outside. It had to have been the first snowflakes we had seen since last winter. (And as everyone knows, that's a long wait for a 6 year old.) I shot up out of bed at the sight of white and ran to the window. Jay was right behind me, pushing to get a look, our heavy breathing fogging up the glass as we pressed our faces to the glass to stare out over the district. It sparkled so clean and new and I remember Jay looking up to me and asking how everything got so clean so fast. "Snow does that. It likes to hide things - like messes." Jay laughed as we both scrambled away from the window to change into clothes. "It should show up when Mom tells us to clean then!" I threw my shirt at him before hustling out of the room in my underwear and screaming over my shoulder that I was going to beat him downstairs. He tackled me before I could get to the steps and we wrestled rambunctiously for awhile in front of our parent's bedroom door before continuing on our journey downstairs. But something stopped me from descending. I looked back down the hall, staring at my sister's closed door, flowers and pictures on the outside. I stopped because I heard something - something so out of place for such a happy moment. Downstairs, Jay was surely jumping up and down, declaring he was the winner and I was the loser. But I was too busy focused on the sound coming from behind her door.

Two.

I just walked right in, the door creaking a little on its hinges. And there she was, sitting at her window - crying. I tiptoed the rest of the way into the room, watching silently as she sobbed, staring out her window into the white. She was still in her pajamas, the blanket ripped from her bed and pulled over her shoulders. I couldn't see her face, but her shoulders and body were shaking, and her reflection in the window revealed tear stained cheeks. When I finally stepped on a squeaky floorboard she turned, standing, terror in her eyes. Like she was afraid of me, her little brother. But then the fear faded as she seemed to really see me for the first time. She wiped her eyes quickly, turning away from me and back to the window, sucking in deep breaths. "What's wrong, Navy? Why are you crying?" She shook her head at the window, not turning to look at me for what seemed like minutes and not just a few seconds. "I'm not - crying." I watched for another while, staring at my feet, staring around the room, looking everywhere. But when she still didn't turn back to me after a minute, I walked over to her, turned her toward me and hugged her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." She laughed and then pushed me away, racing out of the room before I even realized she was beating me at my own game. "Hey!"

Three.

I think we were outside all day that day. We caught snowflakes on our tongues, built forts and snowmen (and women ... Navy insisted there had to be girls, too.) We made snow angels all over the District, up and down the streets, and of course had snow ball fights. I even remember finishing the day off with hot chocolate mustaches. It had been the perfect day. But ... I never figured out why she was crying.

Four.

I take another long drag from my joint and smile, tapping on the gravestone behind me and pointing to the at the sky. "No snow today, sis. Just the sun and some clouds." I puff smoke into the air, letting myself drift even further away before beginning to point out the shapes of the clouds to her. Rabbits, boats, fat guys, the number 8, snowmen, and lots of girls. (A bit weird, but I am explaining what they look like to her ...) That's when I suddenly heard a voice from the other side of the gravestone. I rolled over quick and peeked around the edge of the glistening stone to see a boy, probably my age, a bouquet of flowers at his feet. I look up at him from my hiding spot as he speaks. "W-Who are you? And... And why are you here?" I take in his words, thinking hard on how to answer. But as I keep thinking, I find that I have already forgotten why I am here.

"Sorry... I just realized you must be one of N-Navy's relatives. I'm Riordan, but you can call me Rio. I-I knew Navy... very well. We were friends.... I am sorry for your loss..." And then it all comes rushing back to me and the bit of bliss I had from the drugs fades almost instantly. I press my forehead against the stone as my head begins to ache as the memories flood back and the ever nagging voice in my head says once again, "She's dead." and I push myself off the ground, putting the joint back to my lips and shoving my hands in my pockets. Nodding and mumbling a response over the obstruction at my lips. "Hey." I say giving him a nod, and grabbing the joint from my lips and twirling it in my fingers. "Yeah, I'm Kalyan. Uh," I gesture to her headstone and chuckle before sitting on the top of it. "Her brother." I reach into my pocket then and pull out another joint, pressing it into his hand and clasping it shut for him. "I'd rather not talk about sad things," I say, searching through my pockets for my lighter, pulling it ou and waving it in the air when I finally do find it. "So, let me light that for you, you take a few deep puffs, and then we can talk, alright?"

"I run on the road, long before I dance under the lights."

Dana Lheureux D9F [Tom]
Moderator

5,171 POSTS
Pronouns: He/Him
last seen Jun 20, 2024 20:22:58 GMT -5

OowoO

|Brick| By Boring |Brick| [Tom] Jun 9, 2013 23:52:53 GMT -5

Post by Dana Lheureux D9F [Tom] on Jun 9, 2013 23:52:53 GMT -5

Description/writing, Speaking , Thinking, Hears

There's a time in everyone's life when they are offered something they know is bad. Today was that day for Rio. Rio stared at the smelly boy as he put his head to the stone that held her name. The name he missed more than his dead dog. More than his dead friend. More than his own dead relative. He missed her so much that he had even thought about just grabbing the rope from the stage and tying a noose out of it, but Rio promised her. He promised her that he would live for her. Rio still remembers the day before she left.

Rio had made his way to the Opera house just for a last time visit. Just in case if he was reaped. Rio marched through the Opera house until he reached his room. He walked in and the scent of him filled his nose. He always loved the room that held him steady and happy to be there. He edged toward his drawers and played with the handle for awhile as he wanted to kill time.

The door turned and Rio had watched as the knob of the door turned until it was open. The doorway had a girl in it who held a smile on her face. She had been happy all day for no reason, like she always was, well to them at least. No one ever really knew what went on in Navy's head. Navy had talked to Rio that day in such a happy and nice tone. Rio and Navy just stood there in silence enjoying each other's company. They didn't speak, they didn't touch, they just stood there in silence smiling. She was the reason he was smiling and she didn't even know he had fallen for her.

The memory fades a bit now that Rio realizes that he never told her he loved her. His eyes grew teary from the fact he never did. Rio had never told her that he loved her. Rio straightened up as the other male had now made his way to facing him. The boy was taller than Rio, by quite a bit. The boy had blonde hair that made the boy look different from Navy even if he is her brother that hair makes Rio think differently. His eyes were a blue that was almost like the blue of the sky.

Rio stared at the boy who had blonde hair and blue eyes. He was definitely Navy's brother. The facial features were the same according to Rio. Rio heard the boys voice speak in a awkward tone. "Hey." Hey. That's all he could say. Rio glared for a second in a blind fury for no apparent reason. Hey was all he said and it made him miss Navy much more than needed. The boy who smelled had made him sad. He wanted to tell the boy to go away, but he was not going to do that.

Rio frowned as the boy spoke again to him. "Yeah, I'm Kalyan. Uh," Rio raised an eyebrow as Kalyan gestured to the headstone. Kalyan continued, "Her brother." Rio's face fell. This boy probably was having the toughest time out of everyone. He had to live with her. Watch her grow. Watch her come and go. Watch her leave and die in the games. The boy had it worse than Rio, even if Rio didn't want to admit it the boy did.

Rio felt the boy put something in his hands. Rio looked down and saw a joint. Rio knew what it was. There was a time in everyone's life when they do something bad. They cut or they smoke or they drink. This was the day goodie two shoes Rio did something bad for once. Rio smiled as the boy said something that he wasn't paying attention to. Rio watched as the boy light up the joint for Rio. Rio put it to his lips and sucked in and blew out almost like a pro. Rio did end up coughing from the nasty taste though.

Something inside him though just relaxed. He doesn't know how but it did. He smiled as he did it again and again, until the joint was done. He threw it to the ground and smashed it. Rio stared at the boy who had just introduced him to drugs. He smiled right away. The boy though then began to get blurry and even more blurry. Rio blinked and once he did he saw who he was missing tons. Naveen Casovnik.

His eyes widened in surprise. He felt himself beginning to cry. He cried for about 30 seconds or so, until he wrapped his arms around her. He wasn't going to let her go. EVER. He never wanted to leave her. His arms stayed wrapped around her for a while now. He pulled away blushing almost instantly. She looked at him with a questioning look that Rio loved already.

That's when he crashed his lips into hers. He moved them swiftly and sloppily from being high and sad. It felt like his dreams had come true and he can live and breathe again without having that weight on him. The weight that held him down to her death. Rio pulled away and his voice a bit flushed and sad said, "Naveen Casovnik, I love you and will forever."

Then the world fell. It fell hard. Just like Rio. Rio hit the ground with his head first and his feet last. His body felt heavy and like he couldn't get up. His stomach ached from loss of food. His eyes hovered to stay open. He stared up at Naveen and then he blinked. He had hugged and kissed her brother. He had hallucinated just like Navy had. He stared at Navy's brother trying to keep focusing on something else other than the heaviness of his eyes.

He smiled and said in a aching voice to Kalyan, "Help me..." That's when Rio's eyelids fell downward clouding him in darkness. The darkness of inside swallowed Rio up. He had fell unconscious. The bouquet falling out of his grasp onto the stone pavement next to Navy's grave. Blood spilled out of Rio's head. Rio is not dead though. He still was alive, but bleeding. Rio had fallen like he had fallen for Navy, he fell hard and that's how life was. fallen and broken. Riordan Einfallen. The boy who fell hard.

Last Edit: Jun 10, 2013 0:03:44 GMT -5 by Dana Lheureux D9F [Tom]

Made by d10 🌼 duchess duchannes [dars]

matt colekay d9a [arx]
Retired Staff

2,440 POSTS

Pronouns: she/her
last seen Jun 20, 2024 14:12:54 GMT -5

literally so gay, doing so many crimes

|Brick| By Boring |Brick| [Tom] Jun 13, 2013 16:31:52 GMT -5

Post by matt colekay d9a [arx] on Jun 13, 2013 16:31:52 GMT -5

Hey girl I’m waiting on ya, I’m waiting on ya
Come on and let me sneak you out
And have a celebration, a celebration
The music up, the windows down

I flick my thumb against the spark wheel and the flame dances to life in front of me. I smirk over the the joint dangling from my lips and sit back when he has put his own against his lips and breathes in. "There," I say, sitting back on the gravestone again. "Now we can talk." I took a really long drag and closed my eyes, letting myself drift back into the state of haze and beauty where nothing hurt too much. Maybe it's a bit disrespectful, getting high in a graveyard. But how else am I supposed to talk to her? It hurts too much to talk to her without the drugs because I know that she isn't there. Her soul is off in the stars, not in the ground, confined by some casket. She flew as far away as she could the day she died - she said she was going to. And I was angry. I knew it was selfish of me, to be angry at my sister we was so far gone that giving up seemed like the only answer. I know she didn't want me angry at her, I knew she had apologized a thousand times, but I was still angry. She left me us once and now she had the audacity to do it again? It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to me. It wasn't fair of me but I didn't care. She should've came home. And not to the place she ran away to, this - Opera House - of hers, but home. Home to me and Jay ... and I suppose Mom. But she didn't. She quit. She gave up, kneeled down in front a sword and asked for death. She fucking gave up ...

I take a long drag again, pushing the memory of the day I woke up and she wasn't anywhere to be found and then pushing the other memory watching her die on TV, destroying her room because I was so out of control, not being strong for Jay. I need to be stronger for him. I regret all that. It was stupid to blame her for all my problems. It wasn't her fault that life at home was so difficult that she ran away. And it definitely wasn't her fault that her name got pulled out of a giant glass bowl with hundreds of other names inside.

I turn my head back to the Rio kid and laugh as he coughs a bit. "You'll get used to it. Just take it easy." I reach out and pat his shoulder a few times, pulling the joint out of my mouth and tilting my head back and laughing some more. I can remember when she caught me with this stuff. That was certainly a fun day to say the least. "I don't like it if that counts for anything, but don't you dare drag Jay into it, got that?" I had thought about throwing it out the window that day and never touching it again because disappointment from the only motherly figure and person who seemed to care about me stings like alcohol in a cut. But then she wasn't there one day to look at me with that disappointment and disgust and everything felt so wrong and was so damn hard that without it I couldn't even manage to move. It was just too good to put down, to perfect to not have. And now the money supply is more strained than ever. And I know it's my fault, but I can't help myself. I need the drugs. It's the only way I can fly amongst the stars with her.

I blink to find the boy in front of me crushing the end of the joint into the ground. I attempt to stand up but when my head swims I sit back down. (Yep, I can manage this right from this headstone, thank you very much.) I point my finger at him, trying at a scolding tone but only finding one filled with chuckles. "Hey, I said go slow man. Maybe you should sit down." I say, patting the space (though there really is none) on the headstone right next to me. And before I can even register what exactly is going on, I am in a really awkward hug. Now I have had plenty of awkward hugs and usually I can handle the tiny bit of awkwardness, but this hug is way out there. I nearly fall backwards off the headstone as he sort of falls into me, tears in his eyes. "Ah, come on now. I didn't give you that so you could go and cry all over me. It's alright man, come on, you're fine." I sort off go for the bro hug back, though it's still awkward because all I know of this boy is his name and that he knew my sister. I guess that's reason enough for a hug, isn't it?

When he finally let's go of me, I push him back a little helping him to stand, grabbing his shirt when he nearly tips backwards. "Okay, there you go. You better now?" I pat his chest and flatten his shirt where I fisted it, smiling a little because I hadn't actually gotten high with someone in a really long time. I had forgotten how much fun it was. I shake my head a with a little laugh and start to bring my joint back to my lips, but before I can, I am getting kissed. This time I have to drop the good stuff in my hand in order to catch the headstone before tipping completely over backwards and smashing into the ground. I'm too stunned to do much of anything and by the time he pulls away, I realize I just let him kiss me. LET HIM. (~~I didn't even get to prove how fucking good I am at kissing, damn it!~~) I slap my hand over my mouth and wipe at the spit the sits, like all over my face? Has this kid even kissed anyone before? ~~I swear if that is what I am like when I am kissing girls I'm going to kill myself.~~

"Rio, buddy, I do not swing that way. I'm like really sorry if I gave you that impre-" But he cuts me off before I can finish what probably would have been a half hour monologue about how much I like girls. "Naveen Casovnik, I love you and will forever." And then he is falling, just tipping right over backwards, his head colliding with the ground. "Ah, roaring hell!" I say, pushing myself off the stone and making my way over to the boy on the ground, his eyes closed, blood on the ground beneath. "Fuck. Shit!" I poke at him with my foot, but I know there really is no hope that he is still conscious. I grab the bouquet of flowers at his hand and put them at Navy's grave because it doesn't seem right to leave something so god damned beautiful just lying in the middle of nowhere. (I guess that's what getting high does to you.) I wrap my arm around his waist and throw his lifeless arm around over shoulder and somehow I manage to stumble back to the opera house and crash through the doors without even thinking about contaminating the brilliance of Navy's last memories. I sort of drag/throw him into one of the chairs, seeing that he looks ... less fucked up than before? ... before I take the time to take it all in. It's beautiful. The red curtains, the huge stage ... It's all so perfect. I can see why she ran away here. I take a seat next to my new unconscious acquaintance and my inside sort of twist. I don't know what to do, I don't know what to think. The kid kissed me. He thought I was my sister (damn drugs make me look like a girl ... great.) He loved my sister. Not like I love my sister, that strong sibling bond, that is what held us together. But what this kid, Riordan, is talking about is love. The mushy kind with tons and tons of feelings and touching and long dreamy stares deep into the other's eyes. Am I supposed to be grateful she found someone? Or am I supposed to punch him in the face?

I give a deep sigh and press my head into the back of the chair in front of me. Could this day get any more confusing? I glance to my right, looking at the boy who just kissed me and laugh a little. His head is rolled in an awkward way, but he looks like he will be okay in a little bit. Like he just needs a rest. Like he has been fighting pain for far too long. I sit back in my seat then, throwing my feet up and folding my hands on my stomach. This will be over soon. He will wake up and I can go home and I can forget all this. Maybe he won't remember anything and I can just explain it to him and skip the whole hugging and kissing thing. My eyes begin to flutter as my thoughts start to turn into prettier things again. Clouds in the sky, stars twinkling at night. And I swear I can hear Navy singing me to sleep ...