Thine Poison'd Hearts

Retribution

"Miles! Hey, Miles! Wait up!"

            Phoenix sprints up to the boy in red. Miles pauses his walk and slowly turns around. He appears unimpressed as a gasping Phoenix grips onto his knees. Miles pulls out his pocket watch for a moment. It seems Phoenix ran all the way from the school in the five minutes span of classes ending and Miles leaving. He is slightly impressed at such a feat. Obviously, he had good reason. Miles taps his foot impatiently as he waits for Phoenix to catch his breath. The panting boy begins to form sentences. They are broken but Miles can translate.

            "Thank you—for saving—" Phoenix pauses on and off; "The class trial—standing up for me—"

Miles holds up a hand to Phoenix's face. Phoenix stops talking and wipes some sweat from his forehead. Blowing his bangs out of his face, Miles places his pocket watch back into his pocket. He gives Phoenix a huff of understanding.

"No need to worry about that. You were obviously innocent so there is no point in not making that clear. I was just doing my job."

"But—it really--meant a lot—to me! I had to—say thanks!"

Miles rolls his eyes and resumes his walk. His fingers fidget around his backpack straps. Subconsciously, his eyes jolt from side to side. Probably because he knows Phoenix is still following him. He had not had a walk home this eventful in ages, so perhaps a change would be a good thing. He slows his walk down. Phoenix appears pleased by this as he sprints to match Miles's walk.

"Hey, so, my pal Larry and I are heading to the park and then heading to my house to watch some Signal Samurai. You wanna come?"

"A children's show? Absolutely not. My father will be expecting me home anyways."

Phoenix appears disheartened at this response. However, he does not give up hope. He knows the two would become friends one way or another. He cannot describe the feeling, but he knows that it is meant to be.

"Well, maybe we could skip the park and you could just come over now! I'm sure your dad wouldn't mind."

Miles ignores him and keeps his eyes on the horizon. Phoenix releases a sigh. Maybe today is not the day to try. He begins to slow his walk and drift farther and farther away. Miles continues his constant pace ahead of him. As Phoenix prepares to say goodbye, an exclaiming voice makes both boys freeze in their tracks. They both slowly turn around. Phoenix's face fills with a smile and Miles's with a grimace as another boy joins the party. He chuckles smugly as he wipes a finger across his nose.

"Phoenix! Edgey! I was wondering where you guys ran off to. I almost went to the park without you guys!"

Miles turns his back as Phoenix runs up to Larry. The two of them begin to talk and Miles continues to walk. Their voices begin to fade out as he zones out for a few moments. Larry and Phoenix notice the boy walking away. Phoenix explains that he couldn't join the two; Larry does not seem pleased by this.

"Well, geez. If he can't come with us, why don't we just go to where he's going?"

Before Phoenix can say anything, the idea sinks into his head. A smile spreads across his face. Why hadn't they thought of such an idea before? The worst thing that can happen is that his dad sends them away. From what he has heard, he doesn't sound like a bad guy. With a proud chuckle, the two boys follow Miles while working to remain hidden. The sun begins to set by the time the boys reach his house. They choose to hide behind the trashcans by the curb as they watch Miles walk inside. They laugh to themselves giddily while trying to stay quiet. Once they believe the coast is clear, they slink towards the first window. They wrap their fingers around the bottom and pull themselves upward. They are barely able to peer over and look indoors. Luckily, they have a full view of the living room. Inside they see Miles sitting at the kitchen counter while his dad sits next to him. The two boys begin to chuckle slightly as they watch the inside. Right now, this plan was so much more exciting than watching TV. But as Larry begins to laugh harder, his hand slips from the windowsill and he collapses to the ground. His hand smacks on the window as he tumbles to the ground. Phoenix feels his heart stop as he looks back into the house. As he does so, he sees Miles's father peering directly at him. Without a second thought, Phoenix sinks to the ground with Larry and curls into a ball. Suddenly, the plan is a lot scarier now; the two of them were totally busted. They are going to seriously get it for this one. Phoenix feels his heart stop as he hears the door to the outside opening. The sound of footsteps on the pavement rattle through Phoenix's ears as he holds his hands over his head to curl himself up tighter. Luckily, the two fell behind a bush so they could possibly get away with this one. But unfortunately, Phoenix forgot Larry was sitting next to him. As soon as Larry grasps back onto his surroundings, he slaps a clumsy hand onto his head and begins to talk rather loudly.