"But not curious enough to come up to ask us?" Jae retorts.
He rubs his arm, brows furrowed. "It's not like we see someone from Purple every day!"
I stared at the dark-haired kid in surprise. "She's still human. What's your name?" He relaxes slightly at my forgiving tone.
"Ashton."
"Okay, Ashton. Why don't we go somewhere more cozy, like a restaurant or something, and then we can talk?" I look to Jae, hoping she would be okay with my sudden suggestion. "We can get Adrian along the way."
I shrug at Candy's suggestion. I don't know this kid, but I'm a little suspicious of him; he followed us all day and now Candy wants to have a chat with him? I mean, I suppose it's okay, but I don't want to trust him so easily. I guess we should make at least one friend, but what is it about this kid that I just don't seem to like? I try to ignore it as I follow Ashton and Candy out of the skydiving area and head to the hotel to pick up Adrian.
Before we enter the hotel, I pull Jae aside, keeping Ashton in sight. I didn't want to shun the poor kid, in case he was just truly curious, however if he wasn't able to be trusted I didn't want him to know where our room was.
"Listen, you stay with Ashton in front of the hotel's window. I'll let the front desk girl know to make sure you're okay, and to make sure she doesn't tell Ashton anything if he comes looking for us later. Don't worry, I'm stupid, but not that stupid," I whisper, eyes flickering to Ashton every now and then. Jae nods, still tense, probably from the idea of being alone with the kid again. I
slap
her back in encouragement and run into the hotel to get Adrian.
"Listen, you stay with Ashton in front of the hotel's window. I'll let the front desk girl know to make sure you're okay, and to make sure she doesn't tell Ashton anything if he comes looking for us later." I hesitate, wondering if Candy is positive that this is a good idea. I worry that Ashton and I got off on the wrong foot and that this situation will only make it worse, but I agree with Candy's suggestion anyway.
"Don't worry, I'm stupid, but not that stupid," She whispers, smirking at me with a tone of contagious confidence, causing me to nod back at her. She walks away and I turn back to return to Ashton.
The silence drills into my mind as I desperately wrack my brain for a topic. Ashton beats me to it.
"How long have you lived in Purple? Or were you born there?"
I blink my eyes, trying to remember how many days we actually spent in Purple.
"I didn't live in Purple." I whisper, the memories flashing through my mind, as if the experience was traumatizing enough to shoot bullets in my head with each image.
"I planned on living there, I was born in Yellow."
"What happened? How long did you stay?"
I look up to the sky, feeling something tugging at the corner of my eye.
"One night, I think."
He sighed, almost as if he was disappointed.
"So you didn't like it?"
"I didn't say that."
"So you want to live there?"
"I didn't say that either."
"Can you just explain your whole story so I don't have to ask so many questions?"
"Hey," I smiled to the front desk girl, who was still here for some reason. It had been hours, so I assumed her shift would've changed. "Listen, see that guy outside, next to my friend? If he ever comes asking about us, pretend you don't know us. Oh, and please make sure my friend is safe until I get back. Can you do that for me? Pretty please?"
My red-headed friend pretended to think about it. "Of course, Candy. I'll keep watch of your gal for you!"
When I got to our room, I rapped the door, yelling to Adrian, "It's me, Candy! We're in a hurry, let's go!" Adrian whipped the door open, with a slightly terrified face. "Oh, good, you're ready. Let's go before Jae dies!" I grabbed his arm and pulled him with me back to the front entrance.
Ashton blinks his eyes as he listened to me tell the story for the first time ever, causing me to make a few revelations. When I finished, he nodded.
"So, why did you leave Jade in purple?"
I shrug, not actually sure of the reasoning myself.
"He told us to. I think he was concerned about our safety."
"Why couldn't Jade come along?"
I start to feel a certain type of guilt. I had tried to talk with him when he told us to leave Purple, but Jade left before explaining anything. My heart swells as I feel a pit forming in my stomach.
"I-"
"We're back!" Candy exclaimed as she and Adrian strolled out of the door, causing me to clear my throat and straighten my posture, realizing I had relaxed into somewhat of a slouched and depressed position.
"Ashton, this is Adrian, Adrian, Ashton." I introduce the two to each other and look at Candy.
"What's our next plan of action?"
i can't believe i refrained from opening this until i was ready to respond and this is what you said
"What's our next plan of action?" Jae asked.
good question! we cry. kill jade. fuck purple.
anyways
I scratched my chin. We had already done the most thrilling thing, in my opinion, in Red. I figured relaxing time was over.
"Time to bulk up, I guess. There must be some martial arts teacher or some weaponry guy somewhere in this city. We can't go back to Purple without at least some skills." I turned to face Ashton. "You wouldn't happen to know someone, would you?"
ashton puffs his chest out as his demeanor suddenly becomes super different
"hello everybody from now on u can call me sensei"
Ashton perks up as if he wasn't listening at first, shrugging his shoulders.
"My dad makes me practice hand-to-hand combat just for fun. It's seen more as a competitive sport rather than used for defense or attack, though."
I look over at Candy, eyeing her as I silently hope she agrees with me on this situation.
"Do you think it'll be sufficient either way?" I ask Ashton, who's nervously scratching the back of his neck.
"Probably. We could try a few moves and see if you think they'll work."
i chop him in half and reveal to everyone i am the true master
"Probably. We could try a few moves and see if you think they'll work."
I nod my head in agreement. We moved towards the side of the hotel, where less people were and where a patch of soft grass was. Ashton beats adrian up and accidentally kills him i mean
Ashton looks back and forth between the three of us. "Who wants to go first?"
I step up to the boy, mildly unprepared. "Give it your all," I smirked and bent my knees a bit. Taking a deep breath, I swing my right arm towards his head, only for Ashton to grab my wrist and slam my entire body into the grass - all in one swift quick moment. I groaned as the impact of the ground sent pains through my back. That's gonna leave a bruise.
"u rlly snatched my weave shweechie"
I gasp in amazement but also shocked concern for Candy as I could almost feel the impact of her back hitting the ground with immense force. I wince as Candy forces herself up, coughing a bit and breathing heavily, as Ashton didn't even break a sweat. On the one hand, I definitely wanted to learn that, but on the other hand, I don't know if I could bring myself to do it to another person, much less practice it with my friends. Am I really ready to fight someone? I turn to Adrian expectantly.
Adrian returns Jae's stare with a terrified expression. She shrugs and prepares herself. I watch as Jae hesitantly walks up to Ashton. Jae tries to kick Ashton's side, but he dodges and swiftly grabs Jae's arm, twisting it behind her back. I could see he could've gone farther, but his body was forced to stop so that Jae wouldn't get hurt.
"Is that good enough?" he says, letting go of her arm.
Jae and I exchange impressed glances. "Teach us."
Ashton raises one eyebrow, proud of himself for impressing us as he straightens himself back up, letting me go. He claps his hands conclusively and adjusts his standing position, holding his arms art ever so slightly to give off a bit of a leading energy.
"Alright, so first things first, we need to start with the most important thing; stance. Your opponent can and will use every opportunity to knock you off your feet and get you at a disadvantage, so what you need to do is hold your ground."
He straightens his feet and then moves his left foot backward, holding up his fists in a defensive position.
"Whichever hand is your dominant, use that foot to step back. This will also give you more initial power in your swing."
suddenl i am a master and beat him up and win purple
We followed Ashton's lead as he taught us the things he learned. Ashton explained the best moves, how to breathe, and strategic methods. By the end of the session, my arms had grown sore, but I felt productive. I felt better than I had been feeling in awhile - it was like I had a purpose now. A goal that's not so selfish.
I passed around a water bottle to everyone. We had thrown ourselves on the grass. "Look, Jae! The sky!" The sun was setting behind huddling clouds, emitting its rays just enough to see each other's faces. Everything seemed more red.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM red sunsets:)
I look up at the sky and smile as my eyes fell upon the red glow that fell upon the area around us. Breathing heavily, I turn my head to Candy and give her a gentle smile, realizing all that we've accomplished. And yet, we've only just begun. Ashton stood back up and sighed at us.
"Well, what's next?" He muttered, looking at us expectantly. I sit up, feeling too exhausted to continue as I look over at Candy.
"Get a full night's rest and set off for Orange, I guess?"
