Chapter 4: The Boy on the Roof

I didn't see him for the rest of the night. Actually, I'm not sure exactly what happened after I had ran off, but I believe it probably involved more drinking, dancing and embarrassingly drunken conversations. The only real thing I remember was being slouched in the bathroom, spewing my guts out to the point of tears, my head pounding and my whole body shaking. After I could bring up no more, I collapsed onto the tiles, and, feeling a sickening drowsiness overcome me, fell asleep.

I'm not certain how long I slept for, but I was awoken by a continuous pounding on the door.

"Annabel? Annabel are you in there? Mona left a few hours ago and she wanted me to tell you that Chuck said it's fine if you sleep over. She'll come get you before school tomorrow." A girl's voice informed me from the hallway.

I groaned, rubbing my kinked neck, wishing I was anywhere else but here. The buzz and drunkness had gone, but it was replaced by a nauseous feeling in my gut and an awful sense of "I'm going to be so screwed in the morning".

"Annabel? Hold on I'm coming in."

No. Oh god no I didn't want to smile for another Rodeoian and introduce myself and give my opinion on this loathsome town and wake up in this god for saken house tomorrow morning. And so, as any logical person with a fucking mental problem would do, I scrambled to my feet and climbed out the window.

"Shit." I muttered as I wobbled out onto the ledge, wondering why the hell I was doing this. This night had seemed to have taken a drastic turn. I got my footing and crawled onto the roof, continuously mumbling "Shit shit shit shit..." under my breath as I began to realise that this was possibly the most stupid idea I had ever had, and believe me I've had some real shockers.

The moon was bright and full, bathing the night in a creamy pale glow. My head was spinning and I felt so sick and the one and only thought I could comprehend was that I wanted to be anywhere but here. I wanted to leave this stupid house, this stupid town, this stupid country, this stupid world. And then I stopped, freezing mid-crawl when I saw the silhouette. Hooded in the dark, sitting not too far away from me, gazing at the star-filled horizon and smoking a cigarette.

"What are you doing up here?" I croaked, caught in escape like an inept James Bond.

The figure turned to me, and all I could make out in the night was a head of black hair, nose ring, and a pair of luminous, shimmering, glowing emerald green eyes.

"I could ask you the same question."

The silhouette replied. I watched them blow out a hazy cloud of smoke that caught on the wind and drifted into the cool night air.

"I'm trying to run away." I answered, not sure really why I was talking to this stranger. The words just sort of fell out of my mouth.

"I can see that." He chuckled, taking another long inhale of nicotine. I watched him, he watched me.

"Do you want one?"

"What?" I asked dumbly.

"A cigarette."

You could have probably guessed that I don't smoke. I considered the offer for a few seconds.

"Well, I've already broken nearly all of my morals tonight so go big or go home I guess."

I sighed before inching towards him, taking the cigarette from his outstretched hand.

I sat myself next to him, letting him lean and light the roll between my lips, his hair brushing my cheek and his skin smelling of metal, smoke and lilacs.

I took a breath and immediately coughed awfully, the disgusting taste of it filling my throat. How the hell did anyone find this appealing?

"You gotta breath it out too." He told me, demonstrating by letting out a hazy trail of smoke.

I nodded and tried again, which didn't lead to coughing but still left that bitter sensation in my mouth.

We sat there for a while, not speaking, just staring out at the vast horizon that was embroided with the tops of little houses that belong to little people. I felt this immense gratefulness of not having to make conversation.

"I know who you are. You're the new girl everyone's talking about."

The boy said, emerald eyes not on me, but on some point in the far distance.

"Yeah. That's me." I said, exhausted with this whole thing.

"How do you like our town?"

And I snapped. Everything just came boiling to the top and I couldn't stop the uncontrollable frustration that I had held in the entire night from exploding out of me.

"That's fucking it. You wanna know? You wanna know what I think of this sad excuse of a town? I hate it. I hate everything about it. I hate that the coffee sucks and you have no otters and that everyone knows everyone's business and I hate the stupid beach with pebbles that stick in your feet and I hate the refinery smog and when someone new moves here you can't fucking shut up about it! I hate Rodeo! I hate it and I would rather be on a ship sinking into the fires of hell than in this godforsaken town!"

I yelled into the summer breeze, my flailing hands causing me to burn the side of my wrist on the butt of the cigarette.

"Shit!" I cursed, watching the skin turn a deep red, sighing when I realised the pain wasn't that distressing and brought the stick to my lips again.

The stuff was kinda calming at least.

Silence cut through the air, and I didn't meet his gaze as I let out the smoke into the darkness, watching in fascination as it curled around in a silvery patterned fog before drifting into the backyard.

"I know it sucks. But you gotta remember that you've only got a few more years, and then you can leave. Believe me, I'm counting down the days."

I glanced over to him through my hair. He turned to me and smiled sympathetically before taking another long drag and blowing out the fumes.

"Then again, I'd make the most of it. You're stuck here, so why not make it fun? Create some memories, seize that day and all that."

I snorted and chuckled hollowly, shaking my head darkly.

"This town, this life, this world, is just some cruel, sick, joke."

I was beginning to feel the usual depression overcoming me, like a wet, heavy, cold blanket.

"Then you might as well laugh."

I looked at him. He looked at me. Those glowing eyes struck me to the core, a small smile gracing his lips.

"Alright mister wise guy, I'll remember to laugh. But when I get put in a fucking straightjacket I'm blaming you."

He laughed, revealing a crooked front tooth. He had a nice smile, it touched his eyes and spread across his face in a kinda charming way.

"Where would you go? If you could go anywhere I guess." I heard his quiet voice after a long while of silence. His tone was low and meandering, as if we were both caught in the same hazy daydream.

"Italy. I'd go to Italy and eat pizza until I was so fat that I couldn't fit on an airplane to go anywhere else."

He grinned, chuckling at my ridiculous, slightly tipsy answer.

"I would go to Oakland."

"But that's only a few hours away." I reminded him, a bit puzzled.

"I know, but I like it there. You can go to the beach, a nice beach I mean, and get burritos and watch movies at the cinema and skateboard and see bands and do anything you want really. I just love California, y'know?"

"I like it too, but I'd like to be as far away from home as possible." I whispered, my voice cracking slightly. His head snapped up to mine.

"Family stuff?"

"You could say that." I allowed, avoiding his probing gaze.

"I get it." He nodded slowly, eyes becoming downcast. I know that he didn't get it, that there was no way he got it because I barely understood what the hell was happening in my life myself, but it felt better to know that I wasn't the only one with screwed up home-problems.

We fell into silence again. But the silence wasn't awkward or one that was so excruciating that it needed to be broken. It was sorta peaceful. The stars were so bright and the air smelt like summer and for some reason I didn't feel as depressed as I had before.

"The sky is so beautiful. It's so vast and infinite. I think the world would be a different place if everyone looked at the night sky."

"Why?" I heard his quiet question, face cast upwards to the midnight blue void filled with silver fireflies.

"Because it just helps you to remember how insignificant we all are."

He looked at me for a long while with an expression I couldn't read, hypnotic eyes burning into mine. After a deep inhale of his cigarette, a slight grin spread across his face as I heard him begin to sing in a soft, melodic voice.

"Picture yourself in a boat on a river, tangerine seas and marmalade skies..."

I smiled, gazing up at the endless glittering atmosphere as I sung back.

"Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly. A girl with kaleidoscope eyes..."

I saw his smile broaden in the corner of my eye, gaze studying the constellations above us.

"Cellophane flowers of yellow and green, towering over your head. Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes, and she's gone." We both sang together, a peaceful lightness tainting our voices.

"Lucy in the sky with diamonds. Lucy in the sky with diamonds. Lucy in the sky with diamonds."

Our whispered harmonies were overpowered by a loud thumping indoors (most likely coming from the bedroom) and an even louder muttering by the bathroom's open window of "I told you, I don't know where she went! I don't know she was just here and..."

The stranger glanced to me. I tapped out the cigarette quickly, cursing under my breath.

"I better go. Thanks for bumming me a smoke." I muttered, beginning to slide my way down the roof.

"I would have thought that you didn't smoke?" He called after me in a hushed voice.

"I don't. I learnt that phrase from an old Woody Allen movie."

I heard his chuckle as I began to wobble towards the drainpipe, when all of a sudden the thought struck me:

How the hell was I supposed to get home?

"Hey, do you know how to get to Coral Drive from here?"

I asked, turning back to him.

"Go down the street, turn left and go until you get to the 80 highway, and then follow Seascape Circuit onto Sandpoint Drive and you're there."

I considered these directions for a moment.

"Is it too far to walk?"

He raised his eyebrows a little in disbelief, shaking his head.

"It would take about 30 minutes. But I think my real concern would be for a slightly intoxicated girl to be wondering around a town she just moved to at 3 in the morning."

I sighed, frustrated.

"Well that's my only option."

"Nope," he said, popping the "p",

"come with me."

After shimmying down the drainpipe awkwardly, we walked around to the front of the trashed, party-stricken house. I could make him out a bit clearer in the dim lights of the burnt out front-yard. A slight build decked in black jeans, a long sleeved-shirt worn under a white tee and a pair of beat up converses.

We reached the side of the fence and he disappeared momentarily behind a rosebush before re-emerging with a busted looking bike.

"No way." I immediately stated as he wheeled the thing out to the street, crossing my arms in defiance.

"I don't really think you have a choice sweetheart." He smirked, and immediately the pet name grated in my ears, causing my jaw to clench. Sweetheart. That word. That voice. I suppressed the countless flashbacks that accompanied the seemingly harmless two syllables, the bruises and tears and blood. I swallowed it all back, telling myself to get a grip before fixing him with a glare.

"Don't call me that." I said quietly, dropping my eyes to my shoes.

"What? Sweetheart?"

"Yeah."

"Sorry sweetheart." He joked, probably thinking that it was just another case of a girl rejecting a flirty remark.

"Please don't call me that." My voice was low, beginning to shake from the tears that were starting to tighten my throat as I grasped my sides hard.

His head snapped up at my tone, and his eyes widened in a realisation that I had never thought he, or anyone, could experience.

"Oh shit. God, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I'm such a prick fuck I'm sorry." He ran a hand through his hair as he studied me with apologetic, but somehow understanding emerald orbs. I shrugged to say it was nothing and sighed heavily, looking up at the sky to stop my eyes from watering.

"Was there someone who called you that, y'know, someone who hurt you?"

I didn't respond for a while, shifting my feet before nodding silently.

This was strange. I had never discussed any of this with anyone. Not with my friends in New York, not with my Mom, not with Mona or therapists or anyone, and I was talking about it to a stranger.

"It's really nothing." I gave a pathetic, hopefully reassuring smile, wishing that we could just drop the conversation.

He furrowed his eyebrows slightly in concern, but gave me a slight smirk as he said:

"Now get on."

"Nope." I answered, popping the "p".

"It's completely safe. You just gotta trust me."

"Why would I trust you? I don't even know you." I huffed, crossing my arms in a more annoyed manner than a self-conscious one this time.

'Because, the simple fact my doubtful acquaintance, is that there is no way to know you can trust me. But if we can weigh up your options a bit, you can come to the conclusion that getting lost alone in early-morning Rodeo with a hangover, no money and no way of getting home sounds a bit more life-threatening then getting on a bike with a guy that not only let you bum a smoke, but also knows "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" which as you probably know is by the Beatles. And in my book at least, anyone who likes the Beatles is a friend of mine. So, what are you gonna pick?"

I couldn't help but crack a smile at his ridiculous but pretty persuasive argument, sighing as I took a few steps towards him and the bike

"How the hell do I get on?"

"On the handle bars. Just keep your legs up and stay balanced."

He said, grinning in triumph as I managed to perch myself up in front of him.

He grabbed a baseball cap from off the side of the handle, pulling it backwards on his head like a typical teenage boy.

"Alright. Now hold on!"

And he pushed onto the street, and we were off.

I squealed and gripped the handlebars, feeling the cool rush of air blow on my face and through my hair. He laughed a bit, turning sharply on a street corner, causing me to scream in fright

He cracked up again.

"Asshole!" I had to laugh in relief when we didn't tip over.

"Scaredy cat!" He retorted.

The street lights flew past in a blur of yellow, the only noises echoing in the still, suburban neighbourhoods the occasional dog bark or car horn. The quiet houses with their sleeping inhabitants, a few dark-hooded passerby-ers, a couple distant yells and voices. The refineries were lit up like christmas trees, the red and gold flickering lights illuminating the horizon. I could smell the sea on the warm breeze.

The sound of pedalling, and the soft pants on the back of my neck as I felt him rise onto his legs to pedal us faster seemed so vivd for some reason. I closed my eyes for the briefest second, trying to remember the last time I felt so alive. God I felt so alive....

"Sometimes though, you have to admit, it has a certain beauty to it."

He whispered, his face brushing against my hair.

"I have to say you're right." I smiled, and he exhaled sharply as he spun down a street, speeding across the highway and catching onto the road again.

"What house is it?"

He asked as the fading sign of Coral Drive came into view.

"The blue one at the very end."

He slowed down and we cruised down the street in silence, watching the shadows of cats dart by and a drunk looking guy stumble into someone's backyard.

He braked out the front of my house, steadying the bike and helping me off the handlebars. My eyes found my shoes again, thinking about what to say.

"Well, guess who didn't die." He smiled, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"You got lucky." I smirked, crossing my arms as I always do.

"So, I'll see you at school tomorrow then?"

"Yeah, but you'll see me there today first." I reminded him, beginning to meander towards my front door. He rolled his eyes, grinning.

"Yeah, yeah. Very smart. But, hey, wait. I wanna give you something. A sort of "Welcome to Hell" gift."

He rummaged around in his jean pocket for a bit before he finally presented me with a lighter and a box of cigarettes.

I raised my eyebrows in question.

"Y'know, so you don't have to bum smokes off the next stranger on a roof you see."

"I think once was more than enough for me, but thank you."

We both stood in silence for a while longer. The sky was beginning to lighten slightly into a deep grey, and I took a deep breath.

"September 1st." I could almost feel the change of fall in those few moments, a certain crispness merging into the air and the carefree warmth of the last three months fading away on the last whisper of a summer breeze.

"The start of misery." He sighed.

"The start of something new." I smiled, watching him watch me before walking up the path to the front door.

"Hey, you never told me your name!" He called after me, beginning to mount his bike.

"It's Annabel." I turned after unlocking the door. I could only make out his smile in the darkness.

"Annabel. Huh. That name means "joy" y'know."

"I know. Suits me right?" I laughed sarcastically, unlocking the door and opening it into the silent hallway. He chuckled, putting his feet onto the pedals.

"And who are you?"

He looked back at me, those emeralds glowing in the early-morning light.

"I'm Billie."

And then he gave me one more smile before he pushed onto the street, and disappeared.

A/N Alright that's enough from me right now. Sorry that was so long. Anyway, until the next update, au revoir.