HOME | DD

Description
It was another suffocating summer day. The humidity clung and hung over the town-like a persistent leech unwilling to leave. I stepped outside for the first time today after the heat advisory had lifted. Gazing around, there was absolutely no one in sight. It was simply unbearable to be outside at this hour as well. The sun made its usual route and was making its way to the west to retire for the night; however, the sun took its merry time going to bed. Despite the muggy weather I decided to go for a walk. With each and every step a 'splish sploosh' sound came from my flip flops from the condensation that collected at my feet. Twilight Town was always strange as long as I could remember. There were sightings of monsters, ghosts and all sorts of silly stories. I would have never believed any of them until today...

I had reached the 'usual spot' to discover that nobody was present.

"Where are they? Did they leave for ice cream without me," the thoughts quickly passed through my mind then out they went with fresh thoughts, "maybe they left for ice cream without me." I pouted at the thought. It wasn't new for the gang to leave without me on another adventure or for ice cream. Hanging out with them was a hit or a miss. It didn't bother me either way. The sun seeped its way through the small sliver of the green blanket doorway and shone brightly on the wall. It was telling me to get going. Without second thought I imagined they were buying ice cream at the shop. I darted of into the hot, barren, tan-stoned patterned streets. The heat seeped through my flip flops; it was so hot out the conduction with the contact of my flip flop and the street. I then made it a game to sprint from shadow to shadow casted from the buildings in order to get relief from shade. Bounding the corner, I came to the utter conclusion that they weren't there.

"Where could they be," I sadly pondered. By this time even the sun gave up searching because it dove behind the trees saying it's farewells to me. I took in a deep breath and exhaled as I looked to the ground sadly.

"Who cares I'm going to get some ice cream anyways," I grinned at the thought of cheering myself up. Shadows turned into shades of darkness as the sun retired for good slowly but surely. I took my time strolling along while gazing up at the beautiful sky, the wondrous shades of each color that wanted a turn to end the day. Red was the push-over and ALWAYS won. The oranges would pout but they were content. The yellows would try and try to get a turn but the oranges wouldn't compromise. The greens and blues meshed together and made a harmonic friendship. The blues would greedily seep into the indigoes and darker colors that were transforming the sky into night. The ice cream shop was always open on nights like these. I'd say this was the most popular shop in the summer time. A frigid chill was sent down my spine. My intuition told me to run for it, but instead I turned around to find a dark horrid monster lunging at me. It grew at an exponential rate and gobbled up whatever it could. Finally, I booked it down the street. With the dark creature at my heels, I knew my fate was certain. I had never seen such a creature before in my entire life, and more importantly why was it after me?

"Somebody please help me," I helplessly cried out. I sadly knew in my heart that no one could possibly hear my frantic calls for help. Luckily for me I remembered a tight passageway the cretin couldn't fit through. I darted frantically towards it, and the creature effortlessly followed me. Once I squeezed through the two buildings, I turned around to find out that the dark monster had vanished.

"Where did it go," I pondered. I looked at both ends and saw nothing. Just to be safe I waited patiently, still nothing. At this point, the sun had gone to bed and now it was my turn. It was still dim out, but I left my hiding place and started for home. New thoughts entered my mind and I took in a deep breath. The pathways that were once rich tans were turning shades of dark browns. The suffocating air from earlier was now bearable. It was damp moist air clung to me like the humidity from before, but this time it felt more refreshing. After taking another breath of the crisp cool air, something told me I was being watched. It must have been my imagination because there was no one in sight.

Night fall took the sunset's place, the and darkness took over whatever light it could greedily. The crickets chirped happily back and forth amongst themselves. The fireflies glowed, sending messages and codes to each other with their small beacon of light. Just outside of the city, in the tall grass many of the fireflies glowed in harmony. Before returning home, I strolled to the breath-taking scene. Summer nights were truly beautiful here in Twilight Town. Gazing among the thousands of stars, I felt as if life here was insignificant.

A cool breeze wrapped around me in an instant and directed my attention to the middle of the field. A young adult stood in field mesmerized by the stars just like I had. He wore a long black cloak. At the moment it looked very warm and appealing. He must have heard me because he turned his attention towards me. His rare grey eyes locked with mine and studied me intently. Without saying a word, he vanished into a dark portal of some sort. I blinked several times with disbelief; I couldn't believe he vanished in thin air. For the short time I saw him, I knew that he had: silver-blue hair, grey eyes, and had a petite figure. When I exited la-la land, I realized he had dropped his book. I rushed over to pick it up, and saw that it was in some sort of strange language. I shrugged it off and decided I needed to get home. Fortunately for me, I didn't encounter any monsters on my way home.

The lights were off when I entered through the window to my room, which meant everyone was asleep. My bedroom was located on the 2nd floor, but this wasn't a problem. There was a stone wall I'd climb up with a tight grip. Accordingly on the top of the wall, it's an easy jump to the rooftop. This was my 3rd time coming home after curfew. My step-father normally locked the door after nine o'clock on the dot. He hoped I'd get locked out; thus I would receive a punishment for disobeying him. My punishment was usually the: you're grounded for a week scenario. This time I had finally out-smarted him. I smirked, as I closed the window. I placed the book down onto my dresser and changed into my colorfully-patterned pajamas. It had been a long day and I couldn't wait to 'hit the hay' as they say. Before this happened, I snuck downstairs to brush my teeth, grab a muffin for the next morning, and throw my clothes into the washer. Easy right? WRONG! My step-dad had super-sensitive hearing, and this was why my room was upstairs. That way he would know if I tried to sneak out of the house or know my whereabouts. I clutched onto my dirty clothes and headed towards the stairs. The pitter-patter of the stairs weren't as threatening as the creaking. So far so good, I almost reached the end of the stairs when an extremely loud creak squealed out from underneath me. I clamped my eyes shut and waited for a rustling in the room downstairs. I sighed in relief after waiting a minute.

"How late are we," my step-father inquired. My eyes widened, as he turned on the lights in the living room. He raised his heavy, hairy eyebrow and shot a concerned look. His mustache reminded me of Dr. Phil, only he wasn't a talk-show host and he was annoying.

"What are you talking about? I forgot to put my dirty clothes away nothing more," I quickly commented.

"Don't lie to me young lady," he saw right through my blunt lie.

"Well it's my summer," not the right thing to say on my part.

"I know but you need your rest. You never know who or what is out there in Twilight Town," he repeated his usual lecture. I rolled my eyes with irritation and huffed. He shook his head.

"Why were you out so late?"

"I lost track of time that's all," I said while tossing my clothes into the washing machine. I turned on the cold water and poured in the laundry detergent.

"I called Hayner, Olette, and Pence's mothers and they told me they haven't seen you. Now where were you _____?" I grabbed a muffin and wrapped it up with a cover to stay fresh. I ignored him and walked to the bathroom and quickly brushed my teeth.

"Who's the boy _____? Vivi ended up calling me and told me you were with some boy on the outskirts of town. What were you doing this late at night?"

"What," I was even skeptical of this. I didn't even know his name myself. I spat out the foam of toothpaste from my mouth and knew he wouldn't give up until I said something. No matter what I said I was in deep trouble. He followed me up to my room.

"TELL ME," he barked.

"I honestly don't know," I slammed the door in his face and locked it.

"YOU'RE GOING TO BE PUNISHED BIG TIME!"

"I already counted on it Sherlock Holmes," I muttered with sarcasm. I felt restrained in this household, and my mother allowed this to happen. The book started to glow faintly. I placed the muffin down,and I traded the dresser. I picked up the strange book. I held it close to me and stumbled to my bed. My comforter wrapped me up in a warm cocoon, as I held onto the book close to my heart. Somehow I felt a warm-nurturing feeling when I had the book close to my heart.

The next morning was quiet and the hot air in my room was circulated by my fan, which made things worse. I gazed down at the wonderous book and remembered last night. After quickly taking a shower in my bathroom, I put on a comfy tank top and tan cargo shorts. With the book in one hand and the muffin in the other, I exited the window. A lot of people would say it was quite the fall, but it wasn't so bad. The morning sun hadn't quite woken up yet. The crisp cool air was refreshing, and made this hour the coolest of the whole day. I scurried across town to get to the 'Usual Spot' quickly. I tossed the green cloth aside for entry to find everyone staring at me with wide eyes.

"What's going on guys? Why are you all giving me the look?"

"We all heard a rumor that you were with some guy in the middle of the night," Hayner's eyes narrowed.They heard the rumor too. I shook my head in disbelief and took a bite of my muffin.

"Then what really happened," Pence winked and nudged me with his elbow, expecting there to be some juicy details that I wasn't willing to share. I rolled my eyes, this was unbelievable.

"Nothing happened I don't even know the guy. Who told you guys this," I defended myself after clearing my throat from my breakfast. Olette handed me her water, knowing that I might want some.

"So it was just a rumor? That's a relief," Hayner patted me on the back and smirked in his usual friendly way. Something about Hayner was off slightly. The answer was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't quite think of it. He seemed different when he heard I was with someone, almost hurt in a way.

"What's that you have there, a book," Olette asked. She remained seated and crossed one leg over the other. Today she wore similar cargo shorts and an orange tank top like I did; because we would plan out outfits the week before and try to match.

"Oh the boy dropped it, and I picked it up so I can return it," I sheepishly said, as I averted everyone's eyes. Olette giggled, she knew what was on my mind. I took another bite of my muffin.

"Sounds like you want to see him again," Pence chuckled.

"Well duh that's the point you dummy," Olette clarified for me.

"Hey want to look for him," Hayner shrugged on his pedestal of crates he sat on every day.

"That sounds like a great idea," I gleefully beamed a smile. I finished off my muffin; thus I washed it down with water. I clutched the book closer to my chest.

"Okay how about I pair up with _____-chan and Pence with Olette," Hayner usually planned and paired up for any new adventure, "we'll all meet up for ice cream before noon." Everyone agreed and set off.
Hayner grabbed my hand and darted out of the room instantly.

"Wait shouldn't I tell the others what he looks like," I realized shortly afterwards.

"Hey you two wait up! We don't know what he looks like," Olette frantically called.

"See," I turned to Hayner. I waited for the others to catch up before I said another word.

"So what's this gorgeous man look like? I'm sure he has spikey dark hair, wears a head band, a jersey and blue jeans," Pence dramatically combs through his hair with his hand.

"Since when did you read smarty pants," she teased.

"Well he has silver-blue hair that covers up his right eye, has grey eyes, and wears a black cloak."

"Oh yeah that's the Pence we all know," Hayner playfully slugged Pence's shoulder.

"Alright we'll ask around," Olette declared, "Come on Pence let's look for your stunning twin." Hayner fell silent once they left. Something definitely wasn't right.

"What's wrong," I finally questioned his saddened expression.

"It's nothing," he glumly said, and he lost all of his enthusiasm from before. He started walking away.

"Tell me," I grabbed his arm and made him face me.

"You wouldn't understand," his serious eyes penetrated mine. His answer hurt me, and we looked for the hooded figure in silence. Hours flew by and we still found no trace of the boy.

"How's your cheating girlfriend," mocking voices called to us.

"She's not my girlfriend," Hayner snapped in irritation. A blush spread across his face.

"Right," Fuu taunted.

"Hayner come on let's go," I tugged on his arm with worry.

"Listen to your girlfriend," Seifer added gasoline to the burning tension between him and Hayner.

"SHUT UP," Hayner ordered, his face buckled in anger.

"HAYNER," I screamed. He broke free of his hatred for a moment and gazed at me.
His eyes seemed distant and the gang he was quarreling with looked at me with a flabbergasted expression. Something told me they weren't looking at me, but something behind me. Was it one of those monsters? Nobody spoke a single word. The tension was killing me, and I was hesitant to find out who or what was behind me.

"Run for it," Vivi squealed and made a mad dash away from the scene. Fuu and Seifer took their leave and ran off tailing Vivi. Hayner grabbed my arm and pulled me along to get away from something. I clumsily ran behind him from my lack of balance of his forceful pulling.

"What is it," I cried out. Hayner didn't bother answering me; due to the fact that he kept running. The sweat from his hand caused my hand to slip out of his grasp. I fell to the ground, and Hayner immediately went back for me.

"HAYNER NO! GO ON WITHOUT ME!" I found out I dropped the book. It was several feet away from me. I made my way towards the book. Unfortunately, once the book was in my hands I was stared up in horror to see... TBC

Description
It was another suffocating summer day. The humidity clung and hung over the town-like a persistent leech unwilling to leave. I stepped outside for the first time today after the heat advisory had lifted. Gazing around, there was absolutely no one in sight. It was simply unbearable to be outside at this hour as well. The sun made its usual route and was making its way to the west to retire for the night; however, the sun took its merry time going to bed. Despite the muggy weather I decided to go for a walk. With each and every step a 'splish sploosh' sound came from my flip flops from the condensation that collected at my feet. Twilight Town was always strange as long as I could remember. There were sightings of monsters, ghosts and all sorts of silly stories. I would have never believed any of them until today...

I had reached the 'usual spot' to discover that nobody was present.

"Where are they? Did they leave for ice cream without me," the thoughts quickly passed through my mind then out they went with fresh thoughts, "maybe they left for ice cream without me." I pouted at the thought. It wasn't new for the gang to leave without me on another adventure or for ice cream. Hanging out with them was a hit or a miss. It didn't bother me either way. The sun seeped its way through the small sliver of the green blanket doorway and shone brightly on the wall. It was telling me to get going. Without second thought I imagined they were buying ice cream at the shop. I darted of into the hot, barren, tan-stoned patterned streets. The heat seeped through my flip flops; it was so hot out the conduction with the contact of my flip flop and the street. I then made it a game to sprint from shadow to shadow casted from the buildings in order to get relief from shade. Bounding the corner, I came to the utter conclusion that they weren't there.

"Where could they be," I sadly pondered. By this time even the sun gave up searching because it dove behind the trees saying it's farewells to me. I took in a deep breath and exhaled as I looked to the ground sadly.

"Who cares I'm going to get some ice cream anyways," I grinned at the thought of cheering myself up. Shadows turned into shades of darkness as the sun retired for good slowly but surely. I took my time strolling along while gazing up at the beautiful sky, the wondrous shades of each color that wanted a turn to end the day. Red was the push-over and ALWAYS won. The oranges would pout but they were content. The yellows would try and try to get a turn but the oranges wouldn't compromise. The greens and blues meshed together and made a harmonic friendship. The blues would greedily seep into the indigoes and darker colors that were transforming the sky into night. The ice cream shop was always open on nights like these. I'd say this was the most popular shop in the summer time. A frigid chill was sent down my spine. My intuition told me to run for it, but instead I turned around to find a dark horrid monster lunging at me. It grew at an exponential rate and gobbled up whatever it could. Finally, I booked it down the street. With the dark creature at my heels, I knew my fate was certain. I had never seen such a creature before in my entire life, and more importantly why was it after me?

"Somebody please help me," I helplessly cried out. I sadly knew in my heart that no one could possibly hear my frantic calls for help. Luckily for me I remembered a tight passageway the cretin couldn't fit through. I darted frantically towards it, and the creature effortlessly followed me. Once I squeezed through the two buildings, I turned around to find out that the dark monster had vanished.

"Where did it go," I pondered. I looked at both ends and saw nothing. Just to be safe I waited patiently, still nothing. At this point, the sun had gone to bed and now it was my turn. It was still dim out, but I left my hiding place and started for home. New thoughts entered my mind and I took in a deep breath. The pathways that were once rich tans were turning shades of dark browns. The suffocating air from earlier was now bearable. It was damp moist air clung to me like the humidity from before, but this time it felt more refreshing. After taking another breath of the crisp cool air, something told me I was being watched. It must have been my imagination because there was no one in sight.

Night fall took the sunset's place, the and darkness took over whatever light it could greedily. The crickets chirped happily back and forth amongst themselves. The fireflies glowed, sending messages and codes to each other with their small beacon of light. Just outside of the city, in the tall grass many of the fireflies glowed in harmony. Before returning home, I strolled to the breath-taking scene. Summer nights were truly beautiful here in Twilight Town. Gazing among the thousands of stars, I felt as if life here was insignificant.

A cool breeze wrapped around me in an instant and directed my attention to the middle of the field. A young adult stood in field mesmerized by the stars just like I had. He wore a long black cloak. At the moment it looked very warm and appealing. He must have heard me because he turned his attention towards me. His rare grey eyes locked with mine and studied me intently. Without saying a word, he vanished into a dark portal of some sort. I blinked several times with disbelief; I couldn't believe he vanished in thin air. For the short time I saw him, I knew that he had: silver-blue hair, grey eyes, and had a petite figure. When I exited la-la land, I realized he had dropped his book. I rushed over to pick it up, and saw that it was in some sort of strange language. I shrugged it off and decided I needed to get home. Fortunately for me, I didn't encounter any monsters on my way home.

The lights were off when I entered through the window to my room, which meant everyone was asleep. My bedroom was located on the 2nd floor, but this wasn't a problem. There was a stone wall I'd climb up with a tight grip. Accordingly on the top of the wall, it's an easy jump to the rooftop. This was my 3rd time coming home after curfew. My step-father normally locked the door after nine o'clock on the dot. He hoped I'd get locked out; thus I would receive a punishment for disobeying him. My punishment was usually the: you're grounded for a week scenario. This time I had finally out-smarted him. I smirked, as I closed the window. I placed the book down onto my dresser and changed into my colorfully-patterned pajamas. It had been a long day and I couldn't wait to 'hit the hay' as they say. Before this happened, I snuck downstairs to brush my teeth, grab a muffin for the next morning, and throw my clothes into the washer. Easy right? WRONG! My step-dad had super-sensitive hearing, and this was why my room was upstairs. That way he would know if I tried to sneak out of the house or know my whereabouts. I clutched onto my dirty clothes and headed towards the stairs. The pitter-patter of the stairs weren't as threatening as the creaking. So far so good, I almost reached the end of the stairs when an extremely loud creak squealed out from underneath me. I clamped my eyes shut and waited for a rustling in the room downstairs. I sighed in relief after waiting a minute.

"How late are we," my step-father inquired. My eyes widened, as he turned on the lights in the living room. He raised his heavy, hairy eyebrow and shot a concerned look. His mustache reminded me of Dr. Phil, only he wasn't a talk-show host and he was annoying.

"What are you talking about? I forgot to put my dirty clothes away nothing more," I quickly commented.

"Don't lie to me young lady," he saw right through my blunt lie.

"Well it's my summer," not the right thing to say on my part.

"I know but you need your rest. You never know who or what is out there in Twilight Town," he repeated his usual lecture. I rolled my eyes with irritation and huffed. He shook his head.

"Why were you out so late?"

"I lost track of time that's all," I said while tossing my clothes into the washing machine. I turned on the cold water and poured in the laundry detergent.

"I called Hayner, Olette, and Pence's mothers and they told me they haven't seen you. Now where were you _____?" I grabbed a muffin and wrapped it up with a cover to stay fresh. I ignored him and walked to the bathroom and quickly brushed my teeth.

"Who's the boy _____? Vivi ended up calling me and told me you were with some boy on the outskirts of town. What were you doing this late at night?"

"What," I was even skeptical of this. I didn't even know his name myself. I spat out the foam of toothpaste from my mouth and knew he wouldn't give up until I said something. No matter what I said I was in deep trouble. He followed me up to my room.

"TELL ME," he barked.

"I honestly don't know," I slammed the door in his face and locked it.

"YOU'RE GOING TO BE PUNISHED BIG TIME!"

"I already counted on it Sherlock Holmes," I muttered with sarcasm. I felt restrained in this household, and my mother allowed this to happen. The book started to glow faintly. I placed the muffin down,and I traded the dresser. I picked up the strange book. I held it close to me and stumbled to my bed. My comforter wrapped me up in a warm cocoon, as I held onto the book close to my heart. Somehow I felt a warm-nurturing feeling when I had the book close to my heart.

The next morning was quiet and the hot air in my room was circulated by my fan, which made things worse. I gazed down at the wonderous book and remembered last night. After quickly taking a shower in my bathroom, I put on a comfy tank top and tan cargo shorts. With the book in one hand and the muffin in the other, I exited the window. A lot of people would say it was quite the fall, but it wasn't so bad. The morning sun hadn't quite woken up yet. The crisp cool air was refreshing, and made this hour the coolest of the whole day. I scurried across town to get to the 'Usual Spot' quickly. I tossed the green cloth aside for entry to find everyone staring at me with wide eyes.

"What's going on guys? Why are you all giving me the look?"

"We all heard a rumor that you were with some guy in the middle of the night," Hayner's eyes narrowed.They heard the rumor too. I shook my head in disbelief and took a bite of my muffin.

"Then what really happened," Pence winked and nudged me with his elbow, expecting there to be some juicy details that I wasn't willing to share. I rolled my eyes, this was unbelievable.

"Nothing happened I don't even know the guy. Who told you guys this," I defended myself after clearing my throat from my breakfast. Olette handed me her water, knowing that I might want some.

"So it was just a rumor? That's a relief," Hayner patted me on the back and smirked in his usual friendly way. Something about Hayner was off slightly. The answer was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't quite think of it. He seemed different when he heard I was with someone, almost hurt in a way.

"What's that you have there, a book," Olette asked. She remained seated and crossed one leg over the other. Today she wore similar cargo shorts and an orange tank top like I did; because we would plan out outfits the week before and try to match.

"Oh the boy dropped it, and I picked it up so I can return it," I sheepishly said, as I averted everyone's eyes. Olette giggled, she knew what was on my mind. I took another bite of my muffin.

"Sounds like you want to see him again," Pence chuckled.

"Well duh that's the point you dummy," Olette clarified for me.

"Hey want to look for him," Hayner shrugged on his pedestal of crates he sat on every day.

"That sounds like a great idea," I gleefully beamed a smile. I finished off my muffin; thus I washed it down with water. I clutched the book closer to my chest.

"Okay how about I pair up with _____-chan and Pence with Olette," Hayner usually planned and paired up for any new adventure, "we'll all meet up for ice cream before noon." Everyone agreed and set off.
Hayner grabbed my hand and darted out of the room instantly.

"Wait shouldn't I tell the others what he looks like," I realized shortly afterwards.

"Hey you two wait up! We don't know what he looks like," Olette frantically called.

"See," I turned to Hayner. I waited for the others to catch up before I said another word.

"So what's this gorgeous man look like? I'm sure he has spikey dark hair, wears a head band, a jersey and blue jeans," Pence dramatically combs through his hair with his hand.

"Since when did you read smarty pants," she teased.

"Well he has silver-blue hair that covers up his right eye, has grey eyes, and wears a black cloak."

"Oh yeah that's the Pence we all know," Hayner playfully slugged Pence's shoulder.

"Alright we'll ask around," Olette declared, "Come on Pence let's look for your stunning twin." Hayner fell silent once they left. Something definitely wasn't right.

"What's wrong," I finally questioned his saddened expression.

"It's nothing," he glumly said, and he lost all of his enthusiasm from before. He started walking away.

"Tell me," I grabbed his arm and made him face me.

"You wouldn't understand," his serious eyes penetrated mine. His answer hurt me, and we looked for the hooded figure in silence. Hours flew by and we still found no trace of the boy.

"How's your cheating girlfriend," mocking voices called to us.

"She's not my girlfriend," Hayner snapped in irritation. A blush spread across his face.

"Right," Fuu taunted.

"Hayner come on let's go," I tugged on his arm with worry.

"Listen to your girlfriend," Seifer added gasoline to the burning tension between him and Hayner.

"SHUT UP," Hayner ordered, his face buckled in anger.

"HAYNER," I screamed. He broke free of his hatred for a moment and gazed at me.
His eyes seemed distant and the gang he was quarreling with looked at me with a flabbergasted expression. Something told me they weren't looking at me, but something behind me. Was it one of those monsters? Nobody spoke a single word. The tension was killing me, and I was hesitant to find out who or what was behind me.

"Run for it," Vivi squealed and made a mad dash away from the scene. Fuu and Seifer took their leave and ran off tailing Vivi. Hayner grabbed my arm and pulled me along to get away from something. I clumsily ran behind him from my lack of balance of his forceful pulling.

"What is it," I cried out. Hayner didn't bother answering me; due to the fact that he kept running. The sweat from his hand caused my hand to slip out of his grasp. I fell to the ground, and Hayner immediately went back for me.

"HAYNER NO! GO ON WITHOUT ME!" I found out I dropped the book. It was several feet away from me. I made my way towards the book. Unfortunately, once the book was in my hands I was stared up in horror to see... TBC