The Explosion

Chapter 3

Vivian was sure she was lost now. All that surrounded her were trees. Trees, trees, trees; she should be home by now. She should be at home, enjoying some of the delicious coffee cake she and her mum had baked together the other day, while drinking the cool, fizzy lemonade that her dad made on hot, sunny days like this one. But she was never going to be able to do that again, because her parents were dead. And she had no friends in this horrid town. She had no one anymore. She let that thought sink in for a while as she walked down the desolate footpath. At least she had one piece of good news for herself; she could see the tops of houses ahead of her, she would be home soon.

*

Lily awoke to the familiar feel of her bed and the sound of Zoe's breathing. She could feel her best friend's hand clutching hers. That's what friendship as strong as theirs does to you. You know the feel of each other's bodies'; recognising them with just a touch. You are with each other so often that even their breathing becomes familiar. You could pick out their voice in a heartbeat, the back of their head through a crowd of strangers. You can tell if they are feeling sad, angry, or happy with just a glimpse of their face. That's how close Lily and Zoe were. "You're awake," Zoe said softly, careful not to be too loud in case it hurt Lily. Lily nodded, wincing with the effort. "Don't move too much. Max says you should rest."

"Chocolate boy? Where is he?" Lily asked, suddenly panicked. Zoe laughed out loud. "Don't worry, lover girl, he's in the living room. He didn't want to leave until he knew you were okay." Lily smiled at this, so he cared about her!

"Want me to go get him?" Zoe asked, a teasing tone to her voice.

"Yes please," Lily replied, excitement and nervousness bubbling up inside of her. Zoe smiled, leant down to give her best friend a hug, and then went to the stairs. Lily's room was what used to be an attic so she had stairs instead of a door and an en suite all to herself. Lily was grateful for the life she had – even though she had gone through more than any child should have to – and knew how lucky she was in a lot of cases; her house being one. Before going down the stairs, Zoe stopped and turned around. "You're lucky, you know. If he hadn't bolted across the road to save you then-" She choked on her words and wiped away a tear. "I love you, Lil."

"I love you too, Zoe."

With that, Zoe smiled and left the room.

"Lily wants her Chocolate boy," Zoe announced as she entered the living room and swung herself onto the sofa, looking up expectantly at Max.

"What, me?" He replied, sheepishly.

"Well, I don't see anyone else here, do you? Your idiot friend left half an hour ago. Besides, I doubt she wants to see the boy who left her for dead in middle of the road," Zoe replied snarkily. Max didn't have anything to say to that so he walked silently up the two sets of stairs into Lily's bedroom and walked over to where she lay in bed.

"How are you?" Max asked shyly, not knowing what to say now that he was here.

"I'm good thanks," The girl replied, she too, looking nervous. "Thank you," she added, with a certain look in her eye that Max couldn't quite place, was it awe? Attraction? Stop it Max, he thought to himself, she probably isn't even into you, she's only nervous because she doesn't know what to say to the boy who saved her life. That thought still made him happy though, he did save her life. "What happened?" the girl asked. Max went over to her.

"May I?" He asked, she nodded so he sat down at the edge of the bed, rigid, not wanting to do or say something wrong; he also had to duck a little bit as Lily's bed was a bunk bed. He could see her eyes close up now. Well, he could when she was on top of him earlier. They were beautiful. They were blue, green and grey, but mostly blue, and they seemed to shine up at him. "Well," he started, "I was on the other side of the road when your friend started screaming so I looked up and saw you in the middle of the road with the motorbike coming your way." He looked down at Lily and she nodded for him to continue. "Your friend seemed to be handling it okay but then she was pulled back by some guy in my class. You started getting up but you weren't going to make it; the motorbike was heading straight for you so I just did what anyone would have done. I ran at you and wrapped my arms around you so you didn't get hurt from the fall."