Orion and Harriet

Chapter one Orion

The bus engines made the the windows buzz shaking her as she rested her head against the glass. Orion hugged her backpack close to her chest. She unzipped it and went through what she had one more time. Two shirts, a green sweater, a pair of socks, underwear, shorts,water bottle, hair brush, toothbrush and toothpaste, phone charger, an old baseball cap, laptop and charger, her pack of tarot cards, a few basic dried plants and crystals, matches, and her wallet with all her savings. It was only two hundred and sixty eight dollars but she would have to make it last until she got to New Jersey from Oregon. The cold October air made Orion shiver. She untied the flannel from her waist and put it on over her shirt. It was eleven hours before her stop in Nevada. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, untangled her headphones, and put on a playlist. She took the scrunchie off her wrist and pulled her mess of red curls into a bun. She closed her eyes as the music played softly and tried to get some sleep.

  Her night was restless. All she could think of was the fight with her parents.
"How dare you do something so reckless!" her father boomed.
"Exposing our kind to them! Do you even understand what could happen if you got caught?" her mother shrieked.
"Times are different! Humans have changed! They are more open to us now. I'm being safe I swear. I'm not stupid!" Orion cried.
" No. With what you are doing I think you are incredibly stupid." her father scoffed.
" It's not like I'm selling anything life changing. Just small things. Luck charms, tarot card readings, astronomy reads. Nothing huge."
" Orion Lily Anne Westford you are making money off of breaking the law!" her father screamed. Her mother began to pace back and forth hyperventilating.
"Old laws that shouldn't exist anymore! What good are they doing anyway? Huh? All they do is keep us in the past and forced to hide ourselves away and keep humans from rescores they can use for good!" tears began to build in Orion's eyes.
"Oh Gods you sound just like my sister." her mother sighed.
"What did Juniper even do that was so bad? All she did was try to help!" Orion whimpered.
"Don't you dare try to defend that maniac!" screamed her mother.
"All she did was try to blend our worlds together. The humans are ready." argued Orion.
" Humans can't even accept each other! They kill each other for being different. Skin color, religion, politics, sexuatily. Do you really think for one damn second that they wouldn't kill you for having powers! Just a few hundred years ago you would have been burned alive for having red hair Orion, let alone your magic! What makes you think that humans aren't violent anymore? What changed them?" screamed her father. Orion burst into tears.
"It's a whole new world out there! If you would only open your fucking minds!" she sobbed.
"How dare you speak to us with that language!" yelled her mother. She struck Orion across the face. Orion fell to the floor and held her face. Her cheek burned. She was silent. She stood up and walked to her room. She didn't slam the door, she closed it softly. She collapsed onto her bed. Her laptop dinged. A new order form. An ask for a astrology reading. She shut her computer, it can wait. She heard a knock on her door. "Come in." Her mother walked in.
"Sweet heart. I'm sorry for yelling at you. We just know what's best. I know you are too young to ever understand what is going on. I know you want to show off your magic, but you just can't. It's not safe. We have to hide. It's what we have done for thousands of years."
"Ok."
"That's my girl."

   That was yesterday. The bus stopped and picked up more passengers. Teenagers mostly. Were they runaways to? Who knew, Orion sure wasn't gonna ask them. She checked her phone, 1:15 am. 1:15 am and her parents had no idea where she was. Good.

A boy quitely shuffled down the walk way of the bus. His skin was a dark tan and his brown hair hung in his face. His lower lip was busted. His clothes were huge and bagged around his wiry frame. His hands gripped around the straps of his backpack so tight his knuckles turned white.
His eyes darted around looking for somewhere to sit. Orion moved her bag to the floor and waved the boy over smiling. He sat down next to her and held his bag in his lap tightly. He brushed the hair out of his face revealing a large black eye. As Orion looked at him she noticed more bruises on his arms. The two of them sat in silence for a while before Orion couldn't take it.
"My name is Orion."
"Marco, I like your pins." He pointed to the pins on her backpack.
"Oh thanks. I like your shirt."
"It's a band. Panic! At The Disco."
"My friend Camden listens to them. She always said I would like them." 
"You should listen to them. My boyfriend got me in to them." he smiled warmly and played the hem of his shirt.
"Aw that's so sweet."
"Yeah he's great. I miss him. Oh um he's not dead we just had to break up for now or at least keep away from each other until we're safe. His parents found out and then they told mine." Marco bit the inside of his cheek. "And my family aren't the most supportive people in the world."  he sighed deeply and fell silent. Orion reached out and held his hand tightly.
"Are you ok?"
"I am now. I'm getting the hell out of here." he sat up straight.
"Where are you going now?"
"California."
"You have friends or family out there?"
"No, but going there made the most sense to me."
"So you're gonna be alone."
"No, David is gonna meet me out there. He's just finishing one more months work. Once he's paid for the month he's gonna take all his savings and leave to. Who knows what we are gonna do after that. It doesn't matter really, just as long as we are together." Marco smiled and looked down at his phone. His lock screen was a photo of a boy in front of an empty playground. He was tall with dark curly hair, green eyes ,and pale skin. He had on the same shirt Marco was wearing but it fit him perfectly. His jacket had a rainbow pin on the front pocket. His hands where in the shape of a heart in front of his chest, his nails were painted black, and he was grinning ear to ear. Marco caught Orion staring. "Yep that's David."
"How long have you been together?" she smiled.
"Two and a half years. We were in the same math class sophomore year, I was already bad at math so having him sitting next to me being distracting didn't help me much. He passed tests with ease and I struggled with everything so I worked up the courage to ask him for help. Next thing you knew we were hanging out everyday. Few months later we were on our first incredibly awkward date. He took me to Starbucks and spilled his latte all over me, we have been dating ever since." Marco looked at his phone again, a red tint building on his cheeks.
"You two seem very happy." Orion smiled.
"Yep. Hiding him was hell though. We told our friends of course and they were excited for us. Not telling my family is what sucked. Once they found out they..." Marco's voice faded out.
"Coming out sucks. I'm bi." Orion looked at Marco and squeezed his hand again.
"Oh, is that why your running away to? Did your parents-"
Orion cut him off.
"Oh no no no! If anything that is the only difference my parents were accepting of."
"Then why are you leaving? If you don't mind me asking."
"Let's just say, me and my parents have drastically different world views."