Walk, Don't Run

A Taste of What You Paid For

        The sunset was so beautiful that no work of art could ever fully capture it's every detail. Almost like when you were looking at a photograph and found whatever the main focus of the photo was to be extraordinary then you finally see the real thing and realize the picture doesn't even come close to the original thing.

        The young man beside me was completely quiet; awestruck. Noticing that I was still in his slightly awkward embrace, I tried to remain as still as possible for fear I would distract him from the landscape. It was amazing compared to the black concrete we had been surrounded by for the past few hours.

        There was no way that this train would go straight to Washington, it was too far. If Washington State was my destination, then I'd have to switch trains. But once I made it to Bellevue, Washington, what was I going to say? I played the most likely to occur scenario in my head. I could vividly see myself standing on Harley's doorstep, forcing a smile and saying "Hi, I ran away. So, what's for dinner?"

        And the rest all goes downhill from there. I could call her first....if I had a phone still. I wasn't really good at hiding my emotions. Staring contests were easy as long as laughing didn't count, because its nearly impossible for me to keep a straight face no matter what the situation.

        I felt a hesitant movement behind me, causing me to turn around. It took me a moment to process the situation. The boy was trying to nonchelontley untangle us. Understandably, I pulled away from him failing miserably at my copycat attempt of being nonchelont.

        "Erm, sorry." I muttered more to myself than him as I tried to find a newly comfortable position.

        "No, wait- I erm, my arm was asleep." He spoke so rushed that it caused me to knit my eyebrows together in confusion.

        "What?" His face looked slightly tinted with what looked like pink for a moment, but it was gone so quickly I was forced to convince myself it was just my eyes playing tricks on me.

        "Nothing." He spoke abruptly and turned his head to look out the window.

        I followed his gaze, half expecting to see the beautiful landscape that was now blocked by a dark metal tunnel. His body shook slightly as he sighed and he turned around and leaned his head against the wall beside his seat. Never before had I ever wanted to know what was going on within a person's mind so badly.

        The originally orage-tinted lights of the train grew brighter followed my an echoing ding as the train lurched forward before coming to a halt. The doors opened allowing easy passage. A small group of college kids walked onto the train, the door drawing to a close behind them. The kids were laughing loudly and shoving eachother around, cleary drunk. That was obvious enough, minus the strong stench of alcohol. The boy from beside me looked towards them momentarily. His eyes darkened and a small grimance was plastered upon his face. One of the teenagers spotted him and laughed.

        "Asher?" The slurred voice came from a tall, muscular blonde boy. Out of all of his friends, he was probably the least sober of them all. The boy, Asher took a few moments before responding.

        "What?" His voice was full of venom and hatred. The fact that him and this blonde teenager had any history, was clear as day. The real question was, what was it? Not like it was any of my business, but I was only human and I couldn't help but be a little curious.

        Instead of speaking, the blonde boy grinned showing an array of perfect, snow white teeth. Still grinning, he shook his head and stumbled to the opposite side of the train cart with his friends in tow. Asher's eyes flickered to me and his hatred instantly evaporated. He was still, like he expected me to say something. Something along the lines of what was that about? But when I didn't, he leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes.

                                                                  ▲▼▲ *ASHER*▲▼▲

        I could feel the inside of me heat up at a rapid pace the second that familiar face entered my vision. Drew Grave. My eyes narrowed as I glared daggers in his direction. Drunk-ass bastard. It wasn't a surprise that his scent was so heavily coated in alcohol, I could almost taste it myself. He saw me and laughed--a creepy, malicious laugh.

        "Asher?" He slurred the beginning so it came out over stretched resulting in it sounding more like ashHHuhhrrrr. He was completely oblivious to the fact that his other wasted groupies had ditched him for the other end of the subway train where they looked half asleep.

        "What?" I seethed, looking up into his heavy lidded brown eyes. We stayed like that; our eyes locked for abnormally long moments before he grinned and made his way over to join his friends, swaying occasionaly.

        I felt naked for some reason; exposed. I felt like the whole world could see me now and see me before now. Instinctivly I attempted to cover myself and curled up on my seat, allowing my head to lean up against the wall on the side opposite to where the girl was seated. I smirked behind my favorite blue and white Detroit Lions sweatshirt.

        The day I met Drew was a day no one at my old high school would ever forget. First day of freshman year I had been sitting at a lunch table with a couple of friends when Drew and his goons walked by. Drew was laughing and making fun of people because he was the oldest in the grade which in his twisted mind, gave him some sort of social advantage. Because of his advanced level of stupidity, he was held back a year.

         I had been zoned out completely, unaware of my surroundings. My mind was focusing on something that seemed stupid now, while my eyes were locked elsewhere. Without knowing, I must have been staring in the direction Drew was walking because he had turned 180 degrees to glare at me.

        "What are you looking at?" Even in my foggy memory I could still clearly tell that his lips were curved upward in a nasty sneer. My attention had snapped to him in an instant, as had everyone else. Everyone was silent like vultures waiting for the weak to die and become an easy prey of course I wasn't going to allow that to happen.

        "I don't really know....You aren't contagious, are you?" I kept my expression blank hoping to embarass him more. A few kids looked on the verge of laughter but they were too afraid Drew was going to get back at them somehow, to actually do it. His eyes became knives as he mentally cut me open repeatedly.

        "Ha-ha real funny kid. Consider yourself lucky if I don't pound your face in." I smirked, rasing an eyebrow. A few kids looked at me sorrowfully although I didn't feel the need for any pitty.

        "Is that a threat?" I remember seeing his face transform completely, eliminating all signs of not--as he had put it--pounding my face in.

        "Listen here, kid," before I could manage to blink, he was standing inches away from me, where I sat. His towering body wasn't as intimidating as he had hoped. I stood up and pushed him forcefully. The fact that it was as easy and effortless as poking someone, humored me.

        After he recollected himself, he pushed me back with double the force. At this point, most kids probably would have pissed their pants but I just smirked. His expression as spiteful as it was, sent of a sensation of regret as my fist collided with his face. That was probably the most blood any of the onlookers had ever seen in their lifetime.

        "If I were you, I'd watch what I say from now on." The memory was foggy now, like a mirror in a steam room. Almost as if it took place in a book and I was confusing its happenings with those of my past life. The only thing that could remind me that it wasn't were the scars on my right knuckles from where the I'd broken my fist that afternoon.