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╔══════════════╗ The devils right there, right there in the details ╚══════════════╝
There were many, unspoken 'day before school' rituals that took place during said time. Some cried themselves to sleep while listening to their favorite slow jam album. Others spent the entire night slowly picking out their outfits for the next day, making sure that they looked perfect enough to turn heads.
Rainbow Larsen had already cried herself to sleep the night before while listening to Lana Del Rey and her younger brother, Benjamin, had spent his earlier hours struggling to find an outfit that could 'snatch a man'. So as the sun began to set, signaling the end of a peaceful day, the half-siblings were left with one option; practicing.
The woods surrounding them produced nothing but nature-filled silence. Rainbow blocked out these sounds with the help of her earphones and filled her head with the sound of Lana's sweet voice instead. Her focus was centered around the grey and black soccer ball that bobbled up and down with the help of her scraped up knees and newly bought black cleats. Rainbow was determined to not only drop jaws during practice tomorrow morning, but she was determined to land a spot at the top of the ladder of Beacon Hills High soccer team, team captain.
Benjamin Larsen wasn't in high school yet, something that Rainbow detested in a way. The pre-teen had a few years to go before he could attend Beacon Hills High School officially but, that didn't stop him from sneaking in to see his sister and watch the lacrosse team play when he had the chance. His goal was to be team captain one day and bring the Cyclones to victory, just like Jackson Whittemore. He didn't particularly like the older boy, he just admired his specially crafted jawline and his undeniable skill. So he too practiced, alongside his older sister, but for a different sport. His arms moved swiftly as he practiced continuously, the sound of Dr. Dre blasting through his eardrums hyping him up to the max. The more the two practiced, the later it got but none of them seemed to notice or even care.
Soon the sun wasn't visible in the slightest and there were no steaks of golden sunlight peaking through the thin tree branches in the woods. It wasn't long before Rainbow's knees started to give out on her and Benjamin's biceps to cramp up, giving the two no choice but to stop their separate practices. The oldest Larsen sibling gathered her things before she helped her younger brother with his store-bought lacrosse equipment. As they made their way out of the woods, Rainbow released her curls from the bun it had been placed in prior to the start of her practice and shook them so they didn't look like a mess. Benjamin filled the silence with his hope for tomorrow and his older sister listened in with no complaints to offer.
"My coach says that I've been getting better and if I do well this season, he'll put in a good word for me to Coach Finstock." Benjamin scratched the nape of his neck, a habit of his, as he continued to talk, smiling from ear to ear as if he had just heard the best news of his entire life.
Rainbow was impressed, but not shocked. She tucked strands of her curly brown hair behind her ear as she continued to walk alongside her brother. "That's good Ben. You'll already be a household name before you even step foot onto that field. Jackson Whittemore won't know what to do."
Benjamin let out a loud laugh, his eyes shutting tight. "Damn right." She loved seeing her brother get excited over lacrosse, or anything for that matter. His innocence was prevailing and sometimes Rainbow wished she still had hers. Benjamin was cut off short when flashlights were seen about a yard away, making both siblings stop in their tracks. Rainbow knew all too well that they weren't aloud in this part of the woods so without thinking, she took hold of her brother's collar and hid them both behind the nearest tree.
Timidly poking her head out from behind her hiding spot, Rainbow glanced ahead, trying to get a better look at who was holding the flashlight. Beside her, she heard her brother whisper a number of questions her way but she only answered one as she returned to her place.
"It's the sheriff. There's dogs and officers, I think they're looking for something but..." Rainbow's answer slowly trailed off as the sound of shouting and dogs barking hit her ears.
"Oh god," Benjamin mumbled, throwing his head up against the tree behind him as his face scrunched up. "We're gonna go to kid jail. Dad is going to kill-"
"Ben, shut up." Rainbow placed her open palm over her brother's mouth, letting out a breath of relief when he didn't resort to licking it. Benjamin removed his sister's hand and stood by her side, watching the sheriff converse with a boy that looked to be Rainbow's age.
The sheriff lifted his flashlight up, pointing it in front of him and calling a kid by the name of 'Scott'. Rainbow saw a figure crouch down in a position similar to hers. The figure, who she assumed was Scott, reached into his pocket and pulled out a small item that he brought up to his face. As he took in a long deep breath, his flustered brown eyes somehow met Rainbow's own, which were narrowed in confusion.
"Bow, come on we have to go." Benjamin tugged on his sister's black hoodie, already headed in the other direction.
Rainbow didn't object, turning around completely without looking back at Scott. They continued towards Rainbow's parked car with their belongings weighing them down, Benjamin more than his sister. The elder sibling made her way over to her brother in an attempt to help him with his items, oblivious to what was coming towards her. Without any warning, she was swept off her feet by a seemingly invisible force, landing oddly on her right shoulder. It took a few seconds for the shock to wear off and the pain hit her once she closed her eyes.
Benjamin watched everything play in front of him as if it were in slow motion. His mind was screaming for him to react, to do something, but his body had no intentions of going anywhere. He watched on as his older sister clutched her shoulder, groaning in pain while her back arched. A few seconds went by before he finally picked his feet up and made his way over to his fallen sibling. He made the mistake of placing his hand on his sister's injury and winced when she did. The preteen mumbled about four apologies under his breath while he helped her up.
"What the hell was that?" Rainbow looked in the direction of where her unseen attacker had ran off, though she saw nothing but trees and darkness, making her frown as she clutched her sprained shoulder tightly to reduce the pain. She knew there would be a large bruise there in the morning but that wasn't on her mind at the moment; she was focused solely on whatever had knocked her down.
"It could've been a deer or a teenager on way too many drugs but I don't want to stand around and find out," Benjamin muttered, his dark brown eyes scanning the forest intently. Without looking, his hand found Rainbow's and they silently retreated back to the safety of her car.
As she drove home, Rainbow couldn't help but wonder if the police had been looking for whatever hit her. She knew it couldn't have been a deer; she had been hit by one before and the pain didn't come near to the amount that she was in when she was writhing around on the hard dry grass. She also knew that deer didn't have piercing red eyes and a smell of burned flesh.
