Single post in Shifting Fates

Kaname watched Mr. McMillan leave them for his car, the last one parked in the lot. She couldn’t help but think Rondrio’s parents strange. It didn’t make sense how much they trusted their son. Clearing her throat while watching the vehicle head east on the narrow road leading away from the highway, she looked back at Rondrio. The way the boy stared back at her… Something was heavy on his mind. “You don’t seriously believe the lightning thing, do you?” Looking off towards the highway, Kaname still fought with her hair. “After everything I’ve been through… I’m not even sure I believe there is a god.” After a moment, he smirked. “Oh, there is. No other way to explain why I’m puttin’ up with you.” He made her crack a smile, but that wasn’t what was on his mind. Even she could tell he was beating around the bush. But she didn’t want to force him to say whatever it was. Not right now anyway. If nothing else, she wanted him to be as calm and in control as he was yesterday at the beach. Still, he hadn’t moved from that bottom step. Was he finally keeping his distance? It was going to happen eventually. She was a walking plague. “I screwed up,” he blurted out. Her eyes widened slightly in his direction. “I screwed up what I was tryin’ to say this morning.” His left hand clenched tightly into a fist at his side while he continued. “I told you to stop runnin’, and yeah, that’s mainly because I don’t wanna die. Not yet anyway. But… when I said it, it was also because I want you to stay.” When he started walking closer and her body turned to face him completely, Kaname was shocked at being so wrong about him. “You’re a pain,” he said, which swiftly brought a frown to her face, “and you’re dangerous to my health. But after being separated from most of my friends thanks to high school and then this weird fire stuff… it’s kinda cool to be able to talk with you about it.” Kaname inhaled. A sudden siren arose somewhere not too far away that got their attention. She couldn’t make out which direction it came from, but she didn’t want it to make her forget what she was about to say. “You’re as weird as your parents.” Folding her arms across her chest, her eyes could have shot daggers at him. “The fire visions are weird, but you’re surrounded by people your age all the time who you can talk to about this! You’re not harming anyone! Nothing is stopping you from making new friends and having a somewhat normal life… except me.” Kaname scoffed and shook her head. It wasn’t like she could just go to school and have friends like an ordinary girl. They would all die, and she’d become an outcast all over again. “No sane person should want me to stick around and make their life a living hell!” “What about your living hell?!” Rondrio shouted back so loudly that she jumped. “What sane person would want you to stay like this?! I don’t want you to keep running from town to town! That’s no way to live!” Why would he get this upset over her? “You barely even know me,” she pointed out while backing away from him. “Why should you even care about anything other than staying alive?” Rondrio placed his Bible on one of the steps, quickly closed the gap between them with a brief jog and before she knew it, held her face in his hands. “Even if I die, you do not deserve to live this kind of life!” She couldn’t break her gaze from his if she wanted to. And if she was being completely honest with herself, she didn’t want to. Kaname wanted his words to be true, but she had been through this before. Her dreams always… She gasped. Her dreams! The touch of Rondrio’s hands against her cheeks. She suddenly grabbed his wrists. “I remember!”