Don't Judge A Flower By Its Color

Chapter Six

I pulled the front of the black flopper hat over my cherry hot face. The young pharmacists at the counter had their wide eyes on us as we walked through the drug store. One man's scrunched grimace screamed all their judgemental thoughts aloud.

Oceana didn't seem to notice or care. She carried the plastic basket around as if it were part of her fashion statement while throwing in the occasional items. There sat chapstick, mint gum, eyeliner, natural eyeshadow palette, and red nail polish.

She searched through the endless amount of foundation. Her eyebrows knitted together as she judged me then the glass bottles.

I felt quite uncomfortable with the staring. Sure, Dr. Manor's vistors did it everytime they came but that was different then this. They weren't concerned about how I looked.

"Oceana," I stuttered out.

She rolled her eyes and sat a container of porcelin liquid in the basket. She turned to where the pharmacists were then made a scary face before ushering us towards the cashiers.

"I never thought you'd be such a big hit," she teased while we hopped into a line full of older ladies, "guess it's not surprising. You do have a baby face."

Baby face?

I blinked at her in slight confusion. It didn't make sense. Just a little while ago the beauty magazine said I was more round faced. Was that only a nicer explaination for baby face?

Self-consciousness quickly begun to rule over my thoughts. Did the long cream cardigan contrast the black dress? Was it too early in the seasom to wear summer clothes?

"We really should be getting back," I said while hugging myself tight, "Dr. Mary can only keep Dr. Manor busy for so long."

At least under the roof of the mansion, we didn't have to worry about thousands of eyes on us.

Oceana's shoulders went tense. She was about to scold me until she saw how close my shaken form stood next to hers. We were only three inches apart.

She sighed, "why don't you go wait outside while I purcahse these few things?"

I didn't wait for her to say it twice.

The outside weather greeted my presence with a cool bruse of springs winds. The usual golden circle in the sky was hidden behind a massive grey cloud. It looked like a rain shower was a ninety percent chance in our future.

It'll be good for the flowers to get some water. The pot of lillies beside the exit looked near the verge of death. The owner must have forgotten to take the time to rehydrate them.

I leaned on to the brick store wall and watched the cars on the street zoom past. It still was amazing that Oceana got us here but it wasn't surprising.

She had determination and she knew how to get Dr. Mary to do whatever she wanted. When Dr. Mary handed us the keys to her silver Audi with a two hour limit it didn't take me by shock. It rather made me worry about her safety.

If the doctor discovered we disobeyed his orders he would be stricken with rage.

I couldn't convince Oceana to ditch the idea of leaving for a while though. After she witnessed Dr. Manor's actions, she hadn't been the same since. Her bright outlook seemed to have become dull.

I wish there were a way to wipe that moment clean from her memory. She didn't need to be haunted by my nightmares. She had dreams she should've been chasing.

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound of leafs with news of threat. Not even fifteen minutes later, a loud rush of police sirens came from the northern side. An ambulance joined the rings.

I sat up from my spot and glanced towards the direction where the accident was occuring.

It wouldn't hurt to see what is happening...

It only took that one thought for me to ditch the hat and combat boots.

The maple tree bended at will when it sensed me coming forward. I climbed up it's rough branches in hopes to catch a better view. The tree tried it's hardest to stretch a bit taller.

Ahead, three blocks or so, the roads were blocked off. Officers in neon yellow vests waved automobiles to the left while stretchers went back and forth carrying injured innocents.

"It's a panic down there," I mummbled feeling an ache twist in my stomach.

"Indeed it is." A voice from below replied with less concern.

Underneath the tree's larger shadow stood a six foot man. His dark locks ruffled and trench coat burnt at the end. He appeared to be more disheveled than the last time we met.

Did he have something to do with the chaos?

I quickly shook the question away. It wasn't fair to assume he might have been. He was a hero and heroes didn't purposely cause damage.

"Dark Shadow," I greeted with a nod.

"Hello, Madam Nature." He chuckled glancing up with a wicked smirk, "I wasn't expecting to see you until- WHAT THE F*CK IS THAT?"

I tilted my head unsure how to respond to him. What was he cursing about? The harsh language didn't sound exactly right off his tongue.

He pointed to his right cheekbone, "who hurt you?"

Oh, that.

I tried to give him a soft smile. It was nice to see he was worried- even if we didn't know each other quite well. No one with such a heart could have given Dr. Mary that fake mission.

"It's nothing."

"Don't say it's nothing," he grumbled, "don't you dare protect that sick bastard!"

"Dark-" He sent me a dark glare.

"Who hurt you?"

I stared into those emerald eyes for awhile trying to find the courage inside to lie. Somehow it felt unfair to give him the "ran into a door" excuse. We may have not know each other well but whatever this was I wanted it to work.

"It's kind of a long story."

"Well I have got a lot of spare time." He shrugged obviously not going to let this go until he got an answer.

"But what about the rain?" I wondered aloud.

There came a loud snort in response. Oceana walked out from the pharmacy entrance with two plastic bags thrown over her left shoulder. She sized up Dark Shadow before standing beside him.

He rose an eyebrow at her strong presence. He seemed about ready to ask her who she was but Oceana cut him off.

"We can head over to Barney's," she suggested than shot a look to Dark Shadow, "I assume you'll be needing a ride."

When the startled hero didn't give an answer, she took that as a yes and headed to the car.

"Come on Madam Nature," she called, "we don't have all day."