Chapter One
It was a normal, summer day here in the small town of Orange Forest. The sky was blue, speckled with clouds like freckles. The wind barely blew, making the grass shiver. It was just cool enough for a T-Shirt but warm enough that you couldn’t wear anything longer.
That is just what she wore. She wore her simple T-Shirt with her jeans, which wrapped around her legs perfectly. Her black boots made her an inch or two taller, but she was already a decent height. Her blond hair was tied half up, half down.
The girl walked along the street, looking for a specimen for her art. The town didn’t have a lot of pretty areas, at least to the untrained eye. The girl found a nice alleyway, the worn-down graffiti on the brick wall, framed with lilacs and dandelions on the bottom.
She sat down on the rocky ground and looked at it. She took a picture from the perfect perspective, capturing everything she wanted. She was about to get up when she heard laughing coming her way. She knew who it was, and she did not want them to see her. She stood up slightly and walked to the corner of the ally, holding her notebook to her chest.
Thankfully, the boys passed her but nearly caught her. They threw a rock at her head and she yelped in pain, but their noise was too loud for them to hear her. They walked past when she heard all of them stop.
“Jones. What brings you here?” one of the boys said, with a slight sneer.
The boy, Jones, laughed. “You’re acting like you own the place. Do you Ribby?”
“Don’t call me that,” the boy snapped back. “It’s Pluto to you.”
“You called me Jones. Thought we were calling each other by last names,” Jones said. “What? Is your last name too girly?”
The girl heard Pluto’s friends snicker, but the girl realized that Pluto shut them up.
“You shouldn’t be here Jones. We own around here. So leave.” Pluto’s footsteps echoed as he walked to Jones. “Now.”
The girl walked forward just in time to see Jones smirk.
“I don’t think I will. I’m on my way to the ol’ store and don’t need you, thugs, getting in my way.”
All the boys growled, walking up to Jones.
The girl sighed and took a step forward, putting her notebook into her pocket.
“Jones, what are you doing messing with them?” she said. “I leave you alone for one second, and you go and get in trouble.”
The gang of boys looked at her and all backed away. Jones met her eyes and his smirk widened.
“Ceres,” he said like a sigh of relief. “Sorry. They just wouldn’t let me pass,” Jones said defensively. “Sorry M’lady,” he said sarcastically. Pluto looked at Ceres and then Jones and frowned.
Pluto said, “Ceres. Didn’t know you were with him.”
Ceres smiled. “Back off Pluto. Before I tell mother dearest.”
“Whatever,” Pluto snarled.
Ceres gave a victorious look. “Good,” she said. She hooked her arm into Jones’s. “Shall we go?” she asked.
Jones looked down at her and smiled. “Of course.”
They walked down the street, Ceres’s camera still around her neck. They took a turn and Ceres knew they were out of sight. She pulled apart from him.
“What was that for?” Jones asked. Ceres shrugged. “They were going to beat you to the pulp. No one goes on that street, so you would be left defenseless,” she explained. “I wouldn’t want to have that, no matter who you are.”
Jones nodded. He leaned against the wall and pulled out his cigarettes. He put one in his mouth and lit it. He held one out for Ceres to get one.
“No thanks. I don’t like cigarettes,” Ceres said.
Jones tilted his head. “What do you smoke?” he asked
Ceres laughed. “Not cigarettes.”
Jones relaxed on the wall for a second before Ceres finally remembered what she was going to do.
“See you around Jones,” she said, walking in the direction of the local convenience store.
Jones looked at her and acted fast. He walked and caught up with her. “Where are you going, darling?”
She glared at him. “Don’t call me darling,” she snapped. In a much softer voice, she responded, “I need to get this picture developed. So I’m going to the store.”
Jones laughed. “Snappy much.”
Ceres scoffed. “I don’t like boys like you flirting with me.”
Jones gave her a shocked expression. “It wasn’t flirting. It was me being nice.”
“That’s a rarity,” Ceres muttered. “Why are you following me?”
“I don’t have anything to do. Thought you might need a little company,” Jones replied. He took a puff out of his cigarette, blowing the smoke into Ceres’s face.
Ceres didn’t cough, which confused Jones, but he didn’t bother asking. They walked until they got into the store, where Ceres went immediately to the front desk. She grabbed a bag of chips that were under the counter and asked the clerk for the keys to the backroom. He gave her the keys after she paid for the chips.
Jones followed her after he bought his cigarettes and drink.
“What’s the picture of?” Jones asked, sitting in the extra chair.
Ceres started to prep everything, and said, “It’s off that wall I was standing by before I saved your sorry ass.” Ceres set her camera up and started developing the photo. Jones just sat by and watched her. She made two copies of the photo and set everything out.
She left her bag and camera, Jones following close behind her. Ceres told the clerk that she had two photos developing and that she would be here to collect them. The clerk nodded.
Ceres left the store, the keys to the back room still with her.
“Why’d you make two?”
Ceres rolled her eyes. “One for my wall and one to get people to ask questions. Seems to be working.”
Jones laughed. “Yup. Makes sense to me.”
Ceres kept walking, opening her bag of chips, Jones following close by. Ceres ignored him until the bag of chips was gone and then started to get annoyed. “Do you need something, Jones?”
He shrugged, “As I said, I was bored. I just want to do something.”
Ceres groaned. “Fine. Just don’t be annoying.”
“Okay,” was all Jones said. Ceres kept walking down the deserted road, Jones following right beside her. Ceres turned down random streets, and Jones did not know where she was going. They reached a bridge toward the end of town, only a few houses nearby. The grass below genty, or at least the grass that was still in this dry, desolate place. The stream underneath the bridge was tiny. The water was clear and had a few fish swimming around.
Ceres felt calm and relaxed, remembering her times as a child. Jones watched her carefully watching how her eyes went from focused to relaxed and just flowing around the terrain. Ceres walked forward, still not saying a word to Jones. She went on the bridge, leaning over the thick railing. Jones, not wanting to disrupt her, just followed her silently, wanting to see what she wanted to do.
She pulled out a silver tin from her big pockets in her cargo pants. She opens it and Jones thinks it’s just a bunch of grass rolled in parchment paper... perhaps a little too neatly. He almost laughs but doesn’t, not wanting to ruin whatever the mood is right now. She reaches the tin out to him and he politely declines, not wanting whatever that is.
Ceres pulls on out and puts it in her mouth. She puts the tin up, grabbing a lighter from her same pocket. She lit the parchment-looking thing and started to make puffs of smoke.
“What is that?” Jones finally asked.
Ceres laughed. “It’s called a joint, you dumbass.” Jones still had a confused look on his face, and Ceres rolled her eyes. “It has marijuana in it.”
Jones finally understood. He had never seen it, let alone known it was in this stupid town.
“Is that even legal?” he asked.
Ceres looked at him with an annoyed look. “No. It’s not. But I don’t think your 16-year-old ass should be smoking either. Is that even legal?”
“Yeah, but it’s legal to 18-year-olds. According to my ID, I’m 18. I don’t think even 18-year-olds are allowed to smoke that,” Jones said, confused.
Ceres laughed. “Whatever, it’s not illegal if I don’t get caught.”
Jones laughed as well. “Makes sense to me.”
Jones pulled out his fresh pack of cigarettes and pulled out one. They both sat, looking at the creek, creating a small cloud of smoke above them.
Ceres looked at the creek and saw her dad walking along the green, grassy bank. Her young self was playing in the creek, water splashing around. Her dad started yelling, making young, and old Ceres flinch. Young Pluto laughed from the background. Ceres closed her eyes and opened them to see the dried grass, just her and Jones around the creek.
Ceres looked at her watch and noticed it had been close to 2 hours since she left the store. Ceres was bored and had 6 hours to kill. Ceres turned around, leaning her back against the railing. Jones looked at her face and knew exactly what to do.
“Want to do something fun?” he asked.
Ceres looked at him. “What is it?”
Jones gave a mischievous smile. “Follow me.” He turned and went farther, past the bridge. Jones and Ceres walked on the dead grass, no trail nearby. The rocks were getting larger turning into boulders. They got to a cliff. Ceres recognized this. She came with her brother once and once with her dad. It wasn’t very large, but it was deep. They crossed a small rope bride. It looked as if it could fall at any moment, and it probably would. It didn’t matter, they still crossed it.
Ceres didn’t know where they were going, but it didn’t matter. She would never admit this out loud, but she was having a little fun. They walked and walked until Ceres started to see something in the distance.
“Is that what I think it is?” Ceres asked as they were about 1000 feet away from it. Jones looked at her and smiled. Ceres smiled back and began running. She could feel the wind blowing her hair and she felt free. She got a better look at the bright colors and the fun rides.
The Ferris wheel stood way above her, towering over her. The broken-down teacup ride sat nearby, making Ceres really happy. There was a carousel that had a couple of the animals missing, and the other ones were either covered in dirt or blood. But Ceres didn’t care. Ceres didn’t notice she was smiling like an idiot until Jones finally walked up and smiled.
“Do you like it?” Jones asked.
Ceres looked at him, still smiling. “Like it? I love it! I wished I knew about it sooner. She laughed and started looking around at the broken-down games and rides. There were a lot of booths with ripped tarps that were falling apart. There were some food stands that were either empty or had food rotting in them.
“Ceres!” Jones yelled. Ceres had wandered off and hadn’t seen where he went. “Come here!”
“Where are you?” Ceres yelled back.
“Go to the carousel!” he yelled.
Ceres went back the way she came and saw the carousel. She looked around it and saw him inside what looked like a cabinet.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
He turned around with 2 bottles in his hands. “Getting refreshments.”
“What the hell? How did you get those?” Ceres was so confused.
Jones shrugged. “I found them here when I first found them. They have never been opened, so it’s fine,” he said. “Let’s go on the Ferris Wheel.” He handed a bottle to Ceres and she smirked.
“The first person up gets the first drink,” Ceres said. She sprinted to the bottom of the ride, grabbing on the bars, swinging her up each one. Jones watched in awe as this girl who was an absolute skeleton climbed up this 80-foot wheel. She was halfway through it in a minute and Jones finally decided to climb up.
Jones ran out of breath when he got to almost the top and stopped. He assumed that Ceres was already at the top, and he was right. He looked up and saw her legs hanging down.
“Hurry up you dipshit!” she yelled down. Jones jumped up the last couple of bars with the bottle in his hand and sat down on the seat with Ceres. He was out of breath but she was perfectly breathing. She was taking small sips out of the bottle, sitting happily. “Bottoms up,” Ceres said, clinking bottles with Jones, who was still trying to catch his breath.
Jones finally caught his breath, opening his bottle with random eyes he had in his pocket. The keys belonged to his father’s Chevelle that he would take everywhere. He didn’t usually drive it except when he needed to sneak out to a random hookup in the middle of the night.
He started to take small sips. They both sat in silence drinking the rare red wine that they could only have when their parents were passed out drunk on their bed or when some of their older friends would bring them to hangouts.
“How’d you find this place?” Ceres asked, breaking the silence.
“I ran away once. This is where I hid out for the short while,” Jones explained. “I just ran and ran, trying to reach Colorado. I didn’t make it very far. I got here and gave up.”
Ceres smiled. “I love Colorado. I have to get out of this hell and move there. It’s the perfect place to get away from everything.”
Jones laughed. “Yeah. I wanted to getaway. I heard they got a bunch of hot chicks.”
“Shut up!” Ceres joked, slightly punching him.
Jones laughed and they both enjoyed each other’s company. This never happened with people like them. Nothing good ever happened to them. But for Ceres and Jones, it was happening now. They enjoyed each other. No one else really. Ceres sorta liked her mom, but only when she was home and not doing her stupid work at the courthouse. That wasn’t very often.
The sun started to go down, making the sky a beautiful rainbow effect.
They made jokes happily as if everything didn’t matter and it was all a joke.
“Oh my God. Pluto is so fucking annoying,” Jones said, the wine slightly getting to his head.
Ceres chuckled. “Yeah. I wonder why my mom named him the smallest planet. Maybe inspired by my dad.”
They laughed a big belly laugh, not even stopping to take a breath. Jones almost fell out of the chair, making them laugh even more.
Ceres’s dad was not a small person. He was big, scary, and loud, making everyone around him uncomfortable. He made Ceres uncomfortable, but she was just never home to show him. He knew he made them uncomfortable, but he didn’t change a thing.
Ceres looked down at her watch as it was nearly 5:00. It was almost completely dark. They sat up there, finishing up the bottles. By the time they both finished, it was absolutely dark outside. The moon shone on them. They both looked over the edge of the Ferris Wheel and dropped the bottles. They shattered into large pieces. They yelled loudly, cheering at the breaking of the glass.
“The last one down has to buy the other a pack of cigs,” Ceres yelled. They both jumped down, not giving a damn about falling. It was a close race, but Ceres won by a second. She cheered while Jones laughed. “You owe me some cigs,” she said.
Jones gave her a confused look. “I thought you didn’t smoke those,” Jones asked.
Ceres laughed. “But Pluto does. I can get him to do things for me with them,” she explained. It was a good plan. Her brother was stupid and didn’t need much of a reward to do anything.
Jones examined the broken glass on the ground. The green tint was mesmerizing with the moon reflecting on it. Jones looked up at the sky and whispered, “Damn.”
Ceres looked up and they were both stuck. The sky was gorgeous. The moon was large. The stars were bright.
“Do we have to go back just yet?” Jones asked, wanting to stay in this place with no cares forever.
Ceres frowned. “My picture should be done. Come on,” she said. She started walking into the empty field. Jones looked up at the sky one last time, then raced after Ceres.
They walked in silence, peaceful silence. Not the kind of awkward silence they were in before that. No. They had a silent agreement that their time would be better spent walking, enjoying the surroundings. The closer they got to the small houses, the more they knew that their night was coming to an end.
They got to the bridge and decided to stop.
They looked at the water again, this time it was black looking, all the fish were asleep, and the stream was slower, moving like tar.
They both kept walking, the night getting colder and colder. Jones noticed Ceres’s arms covered in goosebumps. She didn’t show much that she was cold, but Jones knew she was. Jones peeled off the jacket from his body, still warm from the long-sleeved tee that he had on all day. He draped it over her shoulders, shocking the girl. She looked up at him, skeptical. When it was obvious that he wasn’t going to do anything, she pulled her arms into it. She automatically felt warm and she smiled. Jones saw this but quickly looked away.
Ceres didn’t want to smell it, cause knowing Pluto, it would have smelled like bad B.O and strong men’s cologne. When Ceres couldn’t help but smell it, it smelled like a brand new car and cigarettes. Some people might have been even more disgusted by this, but this is what comfort smelled like to Ceres.
They turned the road to the gas station and went into the pretty much empty store. Ceres said hello to the worker that was there, and went to the back room. She fished the keys out of her pocket and opened the door, being careful not to get light on the back part of the room. They both got in, closing the door behind him.
Ceres coughed awkwardly before taking off the jacket. She held it out to Jones and said, “Here you go. Thank you.”
Jones smiled and took it back. “You’re welcome.”
Ceres started to get her picture, putting the camera around her neck. She put the pictures carefully in an envelope, which Jones quickly grabbed, looking at the picture. Ceres didn’t seem to be bothered by it, still picking up her mess.
There were 4 pictures, 2 of them the ones that Ceres just took. One of them was a picture of the creek. It was light out and Jones could tell there was a breeze. The grass was green and Jones could see a fish or two. The second picture was really strange. It was of a chainsaw. It was a pretty picture, just kinda random.
“These are really good,” Jones said, handing them back to her. She smiled and took them, putting them in her backpack.
“Alrighty, let’s go,” Ceres said. She walked out with Jones following. “You owe me cigarettes,” she laughed.
Jones rolled his eyes. He went up to the clerk and asked for a cheap brand of cigarettes and bought them, taking a bag of chips as well. He paid the fee and left with Ceres smiling at her reward. She put it in one of her pockets.
They walked around the streets, wandering aimlessly. Soon, Pluto and his friend came around the corner.
“Hey Ceres,” Pluto said nicely. “How are you?”
“Can it, you idiot,” Ceres snapped. “What do you want?”
“Mom wants us home by 6:00. She has something that she’s hosting,” Pluto explained. Their mom usually had parties, but it was unusual for her to have her kids there. Most of the time, she wanted them gone or locked in their rooms, not making a sound. Ceres rolled her eyes and looked down at her watch. 5:45, dammit.
“Fine,” she hissed between gritted teeth. She turned to Jones. “Thanks for the company you pussy,” she said to him.
“Anytime, you dick,” Jones said, smiling.
Ceres turned around and left. Pluto glared at Jones as soon as he saw that Ceres couldn’t see. Jones flipped him off and walked away. As soon as Ceres was able to jump into Jones’ life, she left.
