Unceasing brightness (Part 2)

“Neil!”

I turned around to see Hazel Light calling my name. She called my name once more before realising I had already noticed. She grinned as I approached her.

“So you came to see if I had failed spectacularly, huh?”

“Blame Luce. She refused to come here without my company.”

“Well, what about Sanya?”

“You know damn well what happens when you bring Sanya along.” I chuckled, Miss Jun had a habit of going rogue on events like this. An unfortunate case of being a bit too into hanging out with utter strangers and getting them in trouble.

“Remember that time she hopped on a bus with a bunch of hobos? Think it was the 4th of July, right?”

“Oh yeah, think we were at Lakefront park when she called? Shit, she convinced the bunch of them to parade around the whole town asking for booze. They were SO high.”

“ ‘FREEDOM OF BOOZE!’ ”

“ ‘WE DEMAND THE RIGHT TO BE FREE!’ ”

We both laughed aloud, a sense of tension that I didn’t know was there, suddenly gone.

“She is here though, right?”

“Oh yeah, she wouldn’t miss a Fair Street night unless death beckoned.”

I noticed Luke who had disappeared from my side before now coming back with the rest of the gang. Jessie, Lucia and… Alex. Why was Alex here? Whatever, I didn’t care about that right now. I was looking for her. Hazel beckoned me to come closer.

“Lily’s right behind you.” She whispered in my ears. I turned around to find her… not in fact, behind me.

“I am going to squeeze the life out of you one day, I promise.” I said exasperated. “So, where is she?”

“Well she was sitting behind during the performance but then she walked out near the end and said she wanted to get something for you.”

“Huh? And you just let her go? A girl who couldn’t even find her home on her own until very recently?” I pinched Hazel’s cheeks tight.

“Ow! Sorry, I wanted to go with her but you know how adamant she can be sometimes, right?” I did. Which was also the reason I was only pinching Hazel’s cheeks right now.

“Well, did she say why?” I asked as I let her go.

“Probably did. Couldn’t hear her over your damn piano though.” It was strange that she had left without speaking to the rest of us, or me for that matter, but I am sure she had her reasons. Well, probably. I liked to be optimistic.

“Listen Neil, you did great out there okay? Don’t-”

“Stop.” Hazel looked at me with her dark blue eyes. There was a deep sadness in those eyes and I felt like I would fall apart if I didn’t stop looking.

“Please.” She knew I didn’t need sympathy, not from her of all people.

“Okay. Let’s just go find out where Lily ran off to.” That was the plan anyway.

“Not so fast!” Lucia exclaimed and jumped on my back. The only way I was holding her up was because she was really not doing too hot physically. She looked thin, frail and almost malnourished all things considered. Her long frizzy hair, a dishevelled mess.

“How on earth do you have the energy to do all this? You look like someone just brought you back from the dead.”

“How rude! It’s the heat, okay? Makes me feral. I have all this chaotic energy in me and I just wanna explode!”

“Exploding would probably not be ideal. But since I am piggybacking you, I expect my payment in you actually taking care of yourself for once.”

“What, so you collapse the next time I try this? Not a chance in hell. Hey, stop that!” She shrieked as I set her down gently. She was wearing a loose shirt a few sizes above hers but they still did little to hide the fact that Lucia Coulson wasn’t in her best shape. Not by a long shot.

“Luce, you gotta start going on a healthy diet okay? I know it’s been hard for you, but you really ought to look after yourself.” Lucia Coulson had been ill. For a long long time. It had only been a few months since she had recovered from events of the year past. She had recently joined a rehabilitation centre. It had been a thorny road for her to get to where she was now. Someone who could go outside again. Someone who could trust again. Someone who could do something as simple as hang out with friends. 

“Yeah. Yeah. You would look so much cuter if you weren’t such a worrywart all the time." She paused for a second. 

"Isn’t that right, Lily?” Never in my life had I made an about turn so quickly. “Holy shit Neil, chill!” I heard her say from behind.

She stood before me in her blue jeans and Akira jacket. Her white denim shirt accentuated her fiery red hair. She was like a hot tempest I could never get away from.

“I think he looks cute enough, already.” She said casually. So nonchalantly. Like it was something she just believed in. Like it wasn’t something that could kill me. "Besides, he's right, you know." 

Truth was I ran head first into that tempest myself.

“Hey Luce…” I started.

“Not happening.”

“I didn’t even say anything!”

“You were going to tell me to buzz off so you could be all cutesy with your girlfriend, didn’t you.”

“Well… not just that!”

“Fuck you too, Grayson.”

I let out a very exaggerated dejected sigh.

“Now now, I think I am allowed to be a little mean when I want to be.” Oh, it worked.

“You are, but I wish you weren’t.”

“But since I am…” She said and tried to jump on my back again. I sighed again and let her. Lily laughed at our little charade. I guess that kind of made it worth it.

“If only you could be a bit more norm-” I stopped myself short. Stupid stupid me. Why would I ever say that? Maybe it was the August heat. Maybe it was the day finally catching up to me. Yeah that had to be it. Right? That was no way I had just told someone who had gone through such a traumatic time of her life that she wasn’t ‘normal’. Right?

“It’s okay. I get it.” She said and squeezed my shoulder. No. I had meant it. I was really pathetic, wasn’t I?

“You know it hasn’t been easy though. Maybe it never will.”

“Don’t say that.” I whisper. I lied. I really wished it hadn’t been her. That it would have been someone I didn’t know. I wished I had an excuse as to why I thought of her as being a burden. But I didn’t. So I lied to myself.

“Shhhh, it’s fine. Better to accept than wallow in the sorrow, ya?” She smiled. “I promise I will try to get some greens once a month.”

“Twice. And some eggs and meat.” Least I could do was tell the lie enough to make it the truth. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“Ew, no meat. Best I can do is milk.”

“Fine. But no more piggybacking without asking explicitly first. I would be a dead man if you weren’t a literal corpse.”

“It’s not that bad, come on now.” She made a face that sort of resembled a hurt expression but looked very much in jest. She used to be much better at those.

“Luce you are lighter than my piano equipment.” I deadpanned. “I can’t carry my piano equipment!”

She stuck her tongue out at me. “Whatever you say loverboy. Now shoo, go have some fun.” She then beckoned me close and whispered to me. “Don’t forget the protection okay-”

“Okay, that’s it!” I tried to grab her hand but she was already gone. Dashing and weaving around the busy crowd she disappeared from my sight. She wouldn’t be a burden if she was dead!

I jest.