Real Skies?

"Look Alex, this is what a real sky looks like."

Two high pitched giggles rang out into the empty halls, cheering up the depressing wallpaper. Tracing the crayon drawings on those walls, leads to a room with maroon curtains accompanied by the whirring of mechanical and steam-powered appliances.

Scattered through out the floor are pages, action figures and various other knick-knacks, each with their own story. At the center of the room is a big carpet - It resembles a dart board with shades of red and white along with some occasional grey stains of spilled chocolate milk. On the carpet sat the source of the squeaky laughter - Two tiny figures, huddled around a set of sketched pictures.

One of them, a girl with dark navy hair, is carefully cradling the worn out pieces of ancient memories. The white shirt she's wearing is a few sizes too big and her hushed tone of voice circles the cozy room. Her big wide pupils swarm with a mix of awe and wonder as she gently traces the creases of the wrinkled pages.

"Jeez Naoh! You're hogging all of them! Let me see!"

The squeal came from another little girl, pushing against her side. She has her arm slung around the other's neck and her dark blonde hair keeps swishing across her cheek. A worn-out black jacket flows down her back and pools around the both of them. Her face is covered with hints of dirt and mud - A testament to her latest conquests as the local "Peace Protector". A term she claimed for herself; Keeping the peace, one bully at a time!

Two kids tangled in a bundle of curiosity and daydreams - That's Alex and Naoh.

The constant whine of the restless girl accompanied with her unruly movement, made Naoh finally relent the treasured portraits. 
"Okay okay," she grumbled whilst gently holding out the pictures out to her excited buddy. "Here, these are the ones I've been talking about-"

With a rough swipe, she snatches the pictures and starts scanning over them with great vigor. Naoh just sighs at the rough handling of the pictures but when she sees Alex's genuine enthusiasm, a small smile breaks onto her face.
The pictures are a series of monochrome sketches, each depicting a different scenery with the backdrop of the...sky - A subject of fascination in the current times. 

Alex tries to make sense of the pictures - Left a bit baffled, she jabs at the the 'sky' portion of the picture with her little index and looks up at Noah.
"Is it all just black and white?" she asks in a tone of genuine confusion and wonder. Naoh beams at the opportunity to elaborate and started speaking in a gleeful tone.
"No no, it is because the picture is a sketch."

"Huh? Skies have different colors?"
Alex sat back and stared at her bestie with genuine intrigue, but it soon turned to annoyance as she recognized those lines of playful arrogance that mark Naoh's face, whenever 'skies' is mentioned. The young girl swiped under her nose and her smile grew more smug as she started speaking in her 'Sky Expert' tone.

"Since you wanna know so much," she declares, making no effort to hide her snark from the short-fused Alex. "I will put in a way that you're pea brain can understand." 
Alex's eye brows twitch in response and she wonders if her friend always had such a punch-able face.

Noah clears her throat, laying out the black and white drawings on the carpet. With a dramatic flourish she begins her dialogue in a slightly louder tone.
"A Long Long time ago, the world that we are used to now, was vastly different." 

Alex had heard this exact same start to Noah's monologues countless times, yet she always listens to them without interruption. She knows how passionate her friend is about the subject of 'skies', something which she doesn't quite understand but still feels drawn to - The skies almost seem like another part of Naoh and she wants to understand both of them - To be close with the skies, means being close to Naoh.

"There were countless relics and artifacts, which were a testament to the era's technological advancement. The society was different and there were numerous more cultures than the world of today." she gestures wildly to convey the impact following her words. Alex's eyes follow the storyteller's hands as they move along her words and finally land on the old papers with a resounding THUD! Alex stares at Noah, who pauses for a brief moment before exclaiming in a tone of unbridled passion.

"Back when the skies were just within our reach...yet no one could claim them!"

Those dark pupils of genuine awe stare down at Alex, who can't help but feel an ember of contentment blanket her soul. Being able to see Naoh so bubbly - She could never get tired of this. Naoh scoops up the pictures and holds out one that crudely depicts a flurry of white dots scattered across a night sky. "Every night, these things called 'stars' would visit the sky." 

The slight tremble in her voice revealed a glimpse of someone who longed for the forbidden skies and sitting opposite to her was a girl who was happy just being close to the dreamer. Alex can only nod along, not wanting to disrupt this bubble of peace that they've created - Or maybe she doesn't know what to say at the moment - This is Noah's moment after all and she is fine with being the spectator....as always.

"It was so many colors Alex!" she blurts out, almost as if she remembered what proceeded the talk of the skies this time. "From the somber ashy clouds to the serine red, dipping under the never ending horizons."
Her own mention of the 'clouds', seem to trigger another point of obsession as she starts getting more giddy. "Oooh! And I also heard that clouds were like fluffy pillows! People could fall asleep on them if they could ever climb them."

Alex is way out of her element but she doesn't feel a hint of panic - She knows Naoh will always find a way to drag Alex into her torrent of impossible aspirations - Always trying to show her a glimpse of what she sees in those rumored skies. Alex is always there for these moment...yet she is always left just a bit short.

Why?

To Naoh, the skies hold her own escape from reality - When she imagines them she can lose herself to the wild fantasies....but to Alex?
The skies are just an extension of Naoh - When she imagines them, only the memories of Naoh pop up. That's an escape in itself but without Naoh, the skies hold no connection to Alex - That's the reality which is becoming clear to Alex and it always leaves her feeling a bit conflicted....is she just pretending to care?

Naoh cycles through the pictures and each view just riles her up further. She makes sure to swipe the pictures across Alex's face, not knowing if she is able to see them - Her heart has gone into the dreamer frenzy which leaves her feeling restless and eager.

"The sky was always the same," the dreamer remarks with an unnatural tone of confidence. She clumsily spreads out the pictures on the carpet, highlighting the difference in drawing styles and settings. "yet it seemed so different each time you would seek it out."  

Alex glances over the pictures, before her eyes meet back up to Naoh's and she knows that look - The look of barely contained excitement that is on track for an explosion.
And it does.

Noah throws her hands in the air and does a little jump accompanied by a yelp of pure joy. 
"SO so so...COOL!" she chokes out - Pure exhilaration has a way of jumbling up the mind.
With a sudden burst of movement, she sits up - Her face mere inches away from her friend. Just as the heat starts to travel up Alex's neck in the form of a reddish hue, Naoh pulls away with a determined look.

"I wanna try drawing a few of these myself!" Noah declares as she collects the scattered pages and whips around, her back facing Alex.

And there she goes again.

Naoh looks onto her daydreams and Alex looks onto her - Just her.

The distant skies always had a way of whisking away Naoh and Alex can't ever hold onto her - Not when she sees the genuine bliss in those eyes. The vast skies which give so much life to Noah...are so unforgiving to Alex.
Sometimes she does envy them.

With a silent look of exhaustion, Alex plops down flat onto the carpet. She grab a stray piece of paper and a broken crayon from the floor, making random doodles - Her eyes keep wandering off to Noah who's sitting right in front of her, immersed in her own world.

This is how it always goes.
 Naoh is pulled away by her aspirations and Alex can only watch....but today something shifts inside the young girl. Maybe its the odd serenity of the cluttered space or perhaps its the swarm of unresolved emotions, that's pushing her to attempt something. Something she never fully considered before.

 After scratching a few lines on the wrinkled paper, her eyes slowly leave from Naoh's back and settle onto her paper. The blandness of the white surface, making her thoughts drift until they leave her mind....through her mouth.

"Say...Naoh," Alex calls out, her eyes not leaving her scribbles and her tone carrying a hint of forced nonchalance. The girl engrossed in her fantasies, doesn't even turn around as she responds "Hmmm?"

"Can I ask you something stupid?"
Alex asks, the nonchalance in her voice, slowly crumbling. Her hand has paused on the random doodles. The tone of her voice isn't registered by Naoh - She has a habit of spacing out when it comes to drawing. Without even stopping her sketching notion, she responds in her chirpy voice. "Yeah Sure~"

Alex's palm falls flat on her paper. She slowly looks back up at Noah, the latter still facing away and sorting the sketches for her own reference. She hesitates for a few seconds - The paper under her hand starts crunching up, as she unknowingly balls her fist.
Then she finally opens her mouth with a quiver.

"When you...grow up,"

The hum of the home appliances along with the room's messy ambience, seems to mellow out for just a moment - The odd silence, waiting for Alex to continue-

"Will you get married?"