Generation Two - Chapter Nine

Somewhere further down a word is greyed out and doesn't show up - it's supposed to say apparently, but it just shows a white block. Until I can figure out how to fix this, just put in Apparently yourselves while you're reading :)

"I haven't seen you in ages, Eb! We've got to hang out again sometime!" I had always gotten on well with Danielle, but she had some annoying tendencies! For one, I hated it when she called me Eb. It made me sound like an old frustrated guy who's constantly angry at everything and kicks his mailbox.

Also, she was in the habit of exaggerating things. She hadn't seen me in ages? Hardly, she'd only been over four days ago. Add to that our nearly daily phone calls... No, it really wasn't as bad as she made it out to be. I didn't mind, though. Not completely. We really were getting along, and I wanted to be friends with her. Coping with her habits wasn't all bad once you got used to them.

A few months after Mom's funeral we refurnished her room. The room was bigger and lighter, it had loads of windows which all had an amazing view, and, well, I wanted it. We painted the walls in my favourite colour - spiceberry red, and bought matching sheets for my new bed. I moved my trophy next to it together with my old lamp and bedside table, and even considered moving Ted in. I liked him on the kitchen table, but his bowl took up a lot of space which sometimes got in the way of dinner plates.

Later that week I received a phone call from an unknown number. Curious, I answered. "Hello?"

"Yes, hello, am I speaking with Ebony, the daughter of Catherine Blackwood?" It was so strange hearing my Mom's full name, and hearing it from a stranger.

"Yes, who is this?" Could he be another man? Was this where I found out that Max wasn't my father at all, but some other guy who had only just worked up the courage to tell me? Mom had cheated on Dad once that we knew of, who knew how often she had slept with other men before or even after that.

Lost in thought, I didn't catch his name "... Town Hall. I am supposed to bring these news to your mother, but my records show that she is deceased." Wow, wasn't he a sympathetic man! "You are her daughter, yes?"

I was beginning to feel like I was repeating myself. "Yes, I am. You have something to tell me?"

"I am afraid I have. Don Lothario has died last night of old age. I am sorry for your loss."

"My-" The sympathetic man hang up before I had a chance to reply. Don was dead. The man my Mom had cheated with. The man who had destroyed our happy family. Mom had obviously seen something in him, but I had no kind thoughts for him. It was weird to know, but it wouldn't change anything. There had never been much of a relationship to speak of between us, and I had never wanted there to be one.

One relationship that had been improving a lot lately was the one between Caelan and me. We weren't fighting any more, and sometimes we even bought each other presents. Nothing big, only small things, like this book he had bought for me. It was about chess strategies and complicated moves, which I absolutely loved. It was a fairly difficult read, nothing for beginners, but I had a pretty good understanding of chess by then and had always been a very quick learner, so it was no problem for me.

I had actually started to miss Danielle, and since I had some time in the mornings before work now I invited her over.

"So Connor said to me" she started "that he still sometimes wonders where his girly toy pony went when we were kids! Can you believe it? Do you even remember that ugly thing?" Boy, did I! I was the one who had nicked it! I wasn't about to tell her, though, even though she probably didn't care whether I had burned it or not.

"Why does he still remember that? That pony must have meant a lot to him!" We burst into laughter, imagining little eight year old Connor crying over a white and pink stuffed pony.

"Yeah, he used to cuddle it at night. You'd think I have another sister, not a brother!" For a moment I considered giving it back to him after all those years, but then I tried to think where I had put it, and I had no idea. So that thought died pretty quickly.

Caelan still trained me sometimes, when he wasn't writing. However, by that point I was so fit we were pretty much equals. The treadmill didn't look it, but it was definitely worn out. Scratches covered every surface, and every now and again it made this weird squeeky noise which made us believe that it wouldn't survive much longer.

To do me and the machine a favour, I was jogging more and more often. I couldn't see Caelan doing it and often thought that he'd probably get lost, but I enjoyed it. It took me a while every time, but I had even started jogging to work some mornings. If I left early enough, I made it on time, although that was learned by trial and error. I had been half an hour late the first time I jogged in, but my boss considered it over time and loved my enthusiasm to stay in shape, so he let me off easy.

I had tried the waters and asked my boss about the possibility of a referral to Brooklyn Hights, too. A few nights before I asked him I had done some research online, and had taken a look at the city. My fear had been that it would be too industrialised. It sounded like a huge city with skyscrapers everywhere and some lovely parks, but not much nature otherwise. Parks were fine, but I preferred something that wasn't man made, something away from the noise and the chaos.

It turned out I had been wrong. According to the website and pictures, there were some lovely jogging paths, some of them leading up to quiet, hidden-away fishing spots and lakes. The majority of the living seemed to be in the city, but there were some quiet neighbourhoods, too. It looked lovely, actually, and I felt myself getting all excited when my boss told me that a referral would be possible.

I still wasn't sure, though. Riverview had been my home all my life, and I had no good reasons to leave. It sure looked like a nice place, though... I wanted to talk this over with my friends and Caelan before making a decision.

I was finally able to make some time for them again. Health-wise I was pretty much where I needed to be for my job, so I could get away with working out a little less every day. I invested that time into Danielle, Tess and, of course, Leon, and invited them over in the mornings before I had to leave for work.

It was amazing, being able to spend so much time with him. He didn't seem to mind that I wasn't ready for sex yet, and was happy holding me and kissing me. I wasn't sure why I wasn't ready. I wanted him, but something was holding me back. The idea that it was the house was ridiculous, and I didn't believe it one bit, but I honestly had nothing better, either. It wasn't too bad, really. Since I had never done it I couldn't miss it. I wanted to, yes, but I wasn't feeling desperate. Instead of having sex we spent our time together getting to know each other more, and we had fun in different ways.

For example, Leon really loved our slip and slide. I wasn't sure if he had ever been over without using it, but that was fine with me. Caelan hardly ever used it these days, and I didn't use it as much any more as I used to, either. This way, it still got some attention, and I did usually use it with Leon.

"You look really hot, all wet and half naked" he teased with his cheeky grin.

"Oh yeah? So do you!" It wasn't the best response, but maybe I was just bad at these things? He pulled me into a hug, rubbing his wet skin against mine and I'll admit, it did feel good. Again I wanted more, but something was holding me back. Maybe I had simply waited so long to have sex with him that I was too nervous now? Whatever it was, it was stopping me. And it was most definitely not this stupid theory of the house being cursed through my Mom's actions.

"You look a little tense. Turn around." Obediently, I did as he asked, and moaned a little when he started massaging my aching shoulders. Leon was really good at this. He had some muscles in his arms and had strong hands which he knew how to control perfectly, so he always knew just how much pressure he had to apply where. It was like magic, the only thing that worked against my sore body.

As the sun was slowly setting, and it was getting dark outside we decided to sit down. We had no garden furniture whatsoever, so the smooth surface of the grass had to do. I had started to get cold over the last few hours and had changed back into my clothes, whereas Leon was still dressed in nothing but his shorts. No complaints from me there.

"Leon, I wanted to talk to you about something." I wasn't too sure how to start this, so I dove right in. "Have you ever thought about moving?" It was a beautiful night, and the atmosphere felt right, so I thought it was now or never.

Apparently, my words came across all wrong though, and he sighed. "Look, I know, I don't want to be still living with my parents either, but it's impossible to get a job here and -" I thought it best to interrupt him and correct myself.

"No, that's not what I meant. I just sometimes get the feeling that you don't want to stay here, so I was wondering." Which was entirely true. He was right, as well. The job market really was rubbish in Riverview. It was a small town with only few jobs that didn't require experienced people, which made it hard for people like Leon and me to find something. I had been lucky, and I often wondered if I only got the job because of Mom's reputation as an athlete and the fact that my Dad was currently in charge. It didn't matter for Caelan since he was self-employed, but for Leon? It wasn't easy.

He sighed again, but this time he sounded less annoyed. "I was thinking about leaving, Ebony. There are more opportunities elsewhere, but we would never get to see each other. I don't want to leave if it means losing contact with you." Never had I been so moved by someone's words. I was honoured and touched that he stayed for me, but at the same time I didn't want him to stay because of me. There really were better opportunities in other places, and I didn't want him to ruin his future because I was here.

"Well..." I began, carefully thinking over my next words. "I have been thinking, too. About moving, I mean."

That earned me a surprised look. "You have? Why?"

"I'm not sure." Technically, that wasn't a lie. I could hardly tell him that some crazy theory had started this thought process. "But I was thinking that, maybe, we could move together? We don't have to stay living together once we're there! We can get our own places, you and I, but we would be in the same town or city." The more I was talking about this the more excited I was getting. Maybe I could even commission my wood cabin paradise?

It was getting late, and we were tired, so we went inside. Leon was staying over that night, and he promised to think about it and let me know in the morning how he felt.

I woke up to the smell of waffles that morning. Quickly, without even changing out of my pj's, I went downstairs, praying that Caelan hadn't touched the stove yet. I found Leon cooking away in the kitchen, and was glad to see that he knew what he was doing. It looked like he was, anyway.

"Good morning, beautiful!" He greeted me, and flashed me a smile.

"Good morning. You're cooking?" Leon nodded, not taking his eyes of the dough. Some waffles were cooking already, and it smelled amazing.

"I prepared you a little something, just to get your hunger going." I looked at the table where I spotted some toast with jam, and sat down. Even that tasted good. Damn, he was good a this! "What do you think?"

"It's delicious!"

"No, I mean about me making you breakfast. If we were to move together, and if I stayed living with you, I could do this more often, maybe. So what do you think? Can you stand my cooking?"

"I haven't tasted actual cooking yet, making toast isn't exactly difficult..." He gave me a playful frown and rolled his eyes. "But it's nice, thank you. I like it." It was nice waking up and finding Leon in his underwear in my kitchen. I could just get used to this!

"Then my answer is yes. Don't worry, I have other reasons, too" he laughed when he saw my face. "I would love to move some place else with you."

And just like that, I was convinced.
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I'm sorry about moving them guys, I hope you don't mind! It's just, I downloaded Brooklyn Hights last week and it's too beautiful not to move them :3 I'm unsure whether they should stay living together once they're there, though, or whether Leon and Tess should get their own space, so I'll put it to a vote :)


I'm sorry, and thank you :3

Wishes fulfilled

Read a book about logic
Become friends with someone
Pillow fight with Danielle
Improve Athletic Skill
Give gift to Caelan
Earn a raise
Invite Leon over
Kiss Leon
Invite Danielle over
Go Fishing