Imperfect Life: Arc 7

Chapter 21

Crys and Brandon were atop the roof of the Techno Corp. tower. It was a clear night out, the crescent moon illuminating the sky as the city illuminated the ground far below. Crys was seated by the edge of the rooftop, leaning her arms on the rim wall and staring down at the teeny tiny cars going to and fro. Brandon, meanwhile, sat towards the center of the rooftop on his lonesome. A slight breeze gently passed them by as they sat in peace.

"It's always so peaceful up here." Crys said warmly. She had a faint smile.

"Maybe for you." Brandon replied.

"You just don't like the climb. It's not so bad when you're up here." Crys said back, keeping her gaze towards the city below.

Brandon took a few moments before speaking up again. "It's nice seeing you like yourself again." He said warmly.

Crys frowned for a second. "I missed it..." She said, somewhat longingly. She paused for a few moments before adding anything else on. "I guess it helps when you don't have a psychopath showing up in your room every night or a stupid bully trying to start a fight every day." She said with a half-laugh at the end. Crys took a deep breath.

"I can imagine." Brandon replied. "At least the past few days have been pretty quiet."

Crys nodded a little. "At least, for now. Seinhou said he'd have another test..."

Brandon stayed quiet. He didn't know what kind of a response to give.

"But, that's not now, right?" Crys added on after a moment. She looked back at Brandon with a hopeful half-smile.

Brandon smiled back at his friend. "Yeah." He said.

Crys looked back to the city and draped an arm over the rim of the rooftop.

A few quiet moments passed.

"You know, I don't feel as worried when we're up here." Crys said.

"Why not?" Brandon asked, curious.

"We're just so far up from everything. It's like we leave all of our problems down there below us, so when we get up here, it's just us." Crys explained with a small smile.

Brandon pondered the thought. "Pretty interesting." He said. "I mean, we have had some problems here before, though."

Crys took a quick breath. "Don't remind me." She said flatly, obviously not wanting to hear anymore about it.

Another lul took hold between the two friends.

"Hey Crys, I thought of a joke." Brandon spoke up.

"Hm?" Crys replied, curious.

"How does a cactus greet someone?"

Crys tried thinking of the answer for a moment. "Hmm... I don't know."

"Alloe!" Brandon exclaimed with a smile.

Crys took a second to register the joke, then sighed and shook her head with a grin. "That was bad." She said, kindly. She enjoyed Brandon's cheesy joke.

"Bad, but good." Brandon said proudly.

"Where'd you find that one?" Crys asked.

"Didn't find it, actually. Made it up myself." Brandon replied.

"Really? Not bad, in that case." Crys said.

"I mean, I haven't seen it anywhere before, so as far as I know it's original." Brandon continued.

"I haven't heard it before, either." Crys admitted. "Hey, why don't you come join me over here?" She asked after a moment.

"I'm perfectly fine being safe and sound over here." Brandon replied.