Brain v. Brawn

With each bump and inch they grew closer to their destination, her excitement grew. She became a bit restless and was beginning to bounce more on her own than what the car was making her do.

As they came to a halt, her eyes grew wide as did her smile. She couldn't help but look at everything, trying to take it in all at once. "Whoa." She spoke shortly, the fewest words you will ever get from Isabelle Emerson. With the scattered windflowers and scratched paint on the concession stand, just stared, not speaking a word for a little bit.

Staying up right, she continued to admire her surroundings, enjoying how peaceful it was here.

However with the question of her brother, nerves swarmed her but she shook then away.

"Yes I do happen to have an older brother. I also have a younger sister. Both of them died 5 years back when we were on the way to an old drive-in theater as my birthday present. My brother was driving too fast and wasn't paying attention. He ran a red light and a car hit his and my sisters side." She explained and fell silent.

@ diamond sword

Everett breathed slowly, imagining a movie playing here while Izzy took the whole thing in. It was quite magical, really. He dreaded going home, and he was beginning to question if he was awake enough to drive back. He wondered if his parents were worried at all about where he was, or if they just assumed he would return eventually. He looked up at Izzy, who was increasingly adorable in the moonlight, and listened attentively to her answer.

He sat up in shock, biting his lip as he struggled with the right words to say. "I'm sorry," he finally managed. He didn't know how else to respond, or what to say next. Then he had an idea.

Everett turned the headlights off, but the darkness that followed only lasted for a moment. Soon the field was lit with fireflies. Everett swung open his door and stepped into the grass, walking around to open Izzy's door for her. He took her hand and began leading her to the concession stand, fireflies fading in and out of the black. "What was your brother's name?"

@ diamond sword
Izzy looked over at him, and felt bad for burdening him with all that even though he did say she could talk to him.

"Sorry is only used by someone if they wrong someone else in some way, shape, or form. You have not wronged me Everett so therefore you should not say you are sorry. But yeah," she paused,"I'm sorry too." She sighed, she wasn't even sure as to what she was sorry about. She then began thinking back to a few memories of her childhood when everything was as it should be. Back to when her parents loved her and each other.

"His name was Michael, my little sister was Alexandria. My parents had a think for longer names as you can tell." She spoke as she followed him.

She then allowed herself to look around again. The sky was filled with stars and specks of light, those being fireflies. "It's so beautiful out here Everett." She spoke in a hushed tone, as though the beauty would disappear if she spoke too loud.

They reached the concession stand and Everett released her and pulled a sharpie from his pocket. "I've not wronged you," he said softly. As they approached the wall, hundreds of words and names became clear. "But you've lost two siblings," he whispered. Everett looked into her eyes as he uncapped the sharpie. "People can be sorry for other reasons," he said finally.

He stepped up to the wall and slowly dragged the sharpie across the rough surface. In memory of Michael and Alexandria, he wrote. Everett's handwriting was long and wispy, but he managed to squeeze the meaningful words in between the numerous love notes. He stepped back and looked around him, faced with a certain untouchable humble beauty. "I know," he murmured.

"I've been too greedy to ever share this with anyone else, you know," He added, his blue eyes reflecting the lightning bugs. Everett had accidentally stumbled across the run down place when he ran out of gas on the side of the road and had decided to see where the side roads led.

@ diamond sword
Izzy listened to his words carefully and shrugged. "I suppose you are right." She finally admitted but then added,"this time." She smiled softly, knowing that usually she couldn't stand for someone else to be right and her to be wrong in anyway. For once though, she didn't mind being sort of wrong.

As his words were squeezed between other words that were written on the old concession stand she smiled a little, biting her lip just a little, not something she did often. She then looked down a moment and then back at him, smiling. Not the happy smile, or a forced one. Just a small natural smile, making her project a different kind of beauty that most never noticed and never would.

"It is truly peaceful, there is not many places around her quite like this place. I understand your need to want to keep it all to yourself." She explained as she looked at him for a moment.

She then took his hand and saw that where the cars had parked was completely covered with grass and wild flowers. She then ran towards it a bit, making him trail along. She glanced back at him, flashing him a goofy grin. Bending down she picked up two dandelions, one for her and handed the other to Everett.

"Make a wish."

Everett returned her smile, the peace he saw in her face could lighten his spirits at any time. He felt like he had known Izzy for his entire life. "I don't think there's a single place like this one anywhere," he spoke softly. Everett looked up at the dusting of stars in the sky, naming constellations in his head.

He felt her lightly take his hand and he tagged after her, grinning. Everett accepted the dandelion and studied the weed quietly. He looked into her eyes, and then back at the soft white tufts of the dandelion. If she asked, he would tell her that he wished to win the football game against the school rival next week. In reality, he wished that this night wouldn't end, and he could spend forever doing silly things with Izzy. He blew the tufts off of the dandelion and watched them float into the blackness.

Still silent, Everett sat down in the long grass and then laid down, looking up at the stars. Eventually, he spoke. "I'll bet you know a lot of constellations, Izzy," he guessed.

@ diamond sword
Gripping her own dandelion she smiled. Though she was quite practical and knew wishes didn't come true, she enjoyed pretending. Thinking for a small moment, she made her wish and blew.

She could've wished for her siblings to return and if she knew it was scientifically possible, she would have. Instead she wished for Everett to stick around. She never realized how much she missed having a friend. Actually thinking back, she had never had many friends, only her siblings.

Seeing him sit, she followed and soon was laying beside him in the wild grasses and wild flowers, looking up at the stars. The night sky was a beautiful thing and here there were no other light to distort the look of things so all the stars were shining brightly.

"Oh yes I do." She agreed with a smile. "There's Aquarius," she explained tracing it's shape in the air above her," oh and Cancer, the crab. Then oh I see Ursa Major, the great bear as well." She chirped happily. "What do you see?" She asked.

Everett lifted his hand and pointed, though he was certain there was no way for her to know what he was pointing at. "Above Ursa Major, and a bit to the right, that bright star is Polaris, which is part of the little dipper, or little bear," he said. Everett could go on for hours about what he saw in the sky. His entire life he'd been fascinated with the night, and knew a ton of constellations and the stories behind them.

"If you see the string of stars that kind of curves around the little dipper and has a box at the very end," he tried to explain, "that one's called Draco." Everett decided not to be extensive, naturally feeling like he would bore or irritate her.

Suddenly, his hand flashed up from where he lay and he snatched a firefly right out of the air. He grinned and rolled closer to her, cupping his hands around the bug as it lit and faded, lit and faded. "Did you know firefly eggs glow?" he said, as it flew away.

@ Beautiful Misery

@ diamond sword
Watching above her, she let her eyes follow to what he was talking about and nodded. "You seem to know much about the sky. It must fascinate you much as the brain fascinates me." She explained with nod. "You will one day need to tell me more of what you know of the sky. It is quite intriguing." She smiled.

Rolling on her side, she faced him, close enough to see his face lite up by the light of the moon. She then yawned a bit. She didn't realize how tired she actually was until she had laid down.

"Did you know that firefly Larvae are carnivorous and feed on snails. However adult fireflies usually live off of nectar and pollen, though some don’t feed at all." She spoke, another yawn escaping her lips as she looked at Everett.

Everett was really happy that she thought the sky was interesting, too. When he talked to her, he didn't have to worry about being smart or off-putting. A smile crawled across his lips when she came closer and told him more about fireflies. Her yawning was contagious, and a big yawn stretched his face. Everett slowly turned on his side and looked into her eyes. The grass was actually a surprisingly comfortable cushion, unless he just thought that because he could hardly stay awake.

Driving wasn't the best idea at the moment, but he knew she wanted to get home. He wasn't worried at all about his parents, because he'd done this many times before, but he wasn't sure how Izzy felt.

He took her hand and looked down, running his thumb along the veins on the back. Everett was debating whether or not to do what he was about to do, because he wasn't sure how she'd react. However, he was too tired to think about it for long. He lifted his eyes back up to hers and then closed them, leaning in and kissing her super softly.

@ diamond sword
Izzy smiled softly at him, a new vision of him being formed in her mind. For once she was admitting to herself, she was wrong. He wasn't obsessed with himself. He was only misunderstood and much different than anyone she had ever met before. She enjoyed this surprisingly, but she wasn't sure why. She was never one for much human contact.

As the time ticked her eyes were becoming heavier and heavier. She knew she should return home but she really didn't want to. Her mother was already mad, maybe she shouldn't push her luck but she didn't much care. She never did anything wrong besides back talk. However izzy never considered it that, she only ever stated facts but sometimes her mother didn't like that.

With him tracing the veins on her hand, this only made her more tired. However, she kept her eyes open and looked into Everett's. It was just now that she noticed how blue and beautiful his eyes really were. Soon though she couldn't look at them because he had closed them but soon hers was closed as well as he placed his lips on hers. She should have been a bit shocked but she wasn't. This kiss wasn't really unexpected to her. It seemed to come natural as if it was meant to happen.

Slowly she began kissing him back and she wished it would never end. For Izzy, this was her first kiss and couldn't be anymore perfect for her.

Everett kept kissing Izzy, gently and slowly. Girls often told him how good of a kisser he was, but he wasn't trying to impress this time. It was different. Izzy meant more to him than that.

He drew back, but his eyes remained closed, savoring the taste of her lips. He found himself even more relaxed and happy than he was watching westerns. Everett opened his eyes just slightly, his eyelids were too heavy to fight with. The temperature had dropped as night had set, but he was warm in his jacket. He would've said some strange fact about kissing, but his brain was busy shutting down.

She was smart. She understood how he thought, the things he said. She wasn't deterred by his intelligence and he could actually show it off. Comfortable, tired thoughts filled his head, and he was beginning to slip into sleep. But before he did, he kissed Izzy again.

@ diamond sword
Izzy felt his lips leave hers but didn't open her eyes immediately. She had never been too interested in boys, mainly because they had never been interested in her.

She enjoyed being around Everett even if it's only been a day. He didn't laugh at her for her facts or ignore her when she talked too much about something. From what she could see, he was genuinely interested in what she had to say.

When he replaced his lips back on hers, she smiled gently against them, her eyes fluttering closed again. She gently placed her hand in his hair, running her fingers through his blonde locks.

With the decrease in the temperature she shivered and gently pulled away. Looking him in the eyes, she closed her eyes again, sleep beginning to take her over. She then snuggled into him slightly, enjoying the warmth he projected.

Everett felt her lips stretch into a smile under his. Sensing her hand running through his hair, he lightly put his hand on her waist and kissed her until she pulled away.

Gently, Everett wrapped his arms around her and held her close. He considered giving his jacket to her, but he decided he preferred this option. He relaxed and his breathing slowed as his body was falling asleep. "Goodnight Izzy," he said delicately. With that, he faded away.

When Everett woke, at first he didn't remember where he was. "Oh shit," he croaked as he saw Izzy beside him. He shook her shoulder gently and sat up, looking up at the sky. The sun was just breaking the horizon. "Shit, Izzy," he said, rubbing his eyes and looking around for where his glasses had gone. He found them and shoved them on his face. She hadn't moved yet so he shook her again. "We have school," he groaned, his back aching from the lack of a mattress.

@ diamond sword
Izzy smiled a sleepy smile once more, liking the way he wrapped his arms around her. "Goodnight Everett." She spoke sleepily before fading into the darkness.

The next morning as the sun hit her face she continued sleeping peacefully. Izzy had always been a heavy sleeper so light in her ave didn't bother her. For her to wake up for school in the mornings it took a loud annoying alarm clock and it going off at least five times.

When he shook her shoulder she only mumbled and turned over, trying to stay asleep. When he shook her once more she finally opened her eyes and sat up.

With the sleep wearing off little by little she finally became aware and her eyes widened. "Oh no." She grumbled rubbing her eyes. "Well let's hurry so we aren't too late." She spoke an stood and winced a bit when she did. Some bug had bit her hand and had made a big red mark. "Well that does not look very well. But let us go now." She sighed softly and grabbed his hand pulling him towards the car. She even flashed him a small smile, remembering last night.

The sun started to crawl up the sky, and the long grasses in the field swayed in the whispering wind. Everett never wanted to leave this place once he was here. It was beautiful every hour of the day. But they had to go, he didn't want a detention. Everett hadn't been keeping track of how many times he had been tardy, but he knew that it would be really lucky if he didn't get a detention from this one.

Except maybe if they hurried, they could make it on time. He groaned as he got to his feet. When Izzy grabbed his hand, he checked out the bug bite. It looked nasty, but not too bad. He hoped it didn't hurt too much. She pulled him toward the car and he tagged along after her, returning her smile with a lopsided grin. They separated and he got in the driver's side, turning the keys and backing out of the lonely drive-in.

"Hey, there might be something for that bite in the compartment in front of you," he said. Everett kept a first aid kit in his car, but he didn't really know what was in it. He was driving way over the limit, but he knew where all the cops tended to sit and wait for speeders. He just didn't want to be late.

When he got to school he would probably get some chick to spray him with perfume because he knew he probably didn't smell that great. Hopefully nobody would notice he was wearing the same thing as yesterday. Everett's face soured as he realized he didn't have any contacts, and he would have to wear his glasses. Maybe he could manage for one day half-blind. There wasn't football practice today so he felt he didn't have to worry about his vision.

"Find anything?" He asked as he tore through the bends in the road.

@ diamond sword
As the drive-in disappeared behind them she let her eyes look out the window at the passing scenery. She then looked down at herself. Well at least it wasn't what she wore yesterday, but the clothes were usually not something she wore to school. Noticing a pony tail on her wrist, she flipped her head over and swirled her hair until it was in a messy side bun.

When he said something about the bite she nodded and began rummaging in the front compartment. Pulling out the first aid Kit she dabbed an antibiotic on it and covered it with a band-aid. "Yes I did." She spoke with a soft smile.

As she replaced the Kit back where she found it her eyes flicked to the speed gauge. Her stomach tensed and she became uneasy. "Can you slow down just a bit? Please?" She asked, whipping her nervous sweaty palms on her pants.

His driving wasn't upsetting her really but ever since the accident she didn't enjoy driving fast. Last night he wasn't going near this speed.

"Sweet," Everett said, happy that he had put the kit in the car. He glanced over at Izzy when she asked him to slow down, and immediately regretted going a single digit over the limit. Even though she hadn't really shown how nervous she was, he could tell. "Sorry," he said, letting off the gas.

He still wanted to gun it, so they could get to school on time, but he felt guilty. "Sorry Iz," he apologized again, remembering what she had told him about her brother. He glanced at her to make sure she was alright.

Everett realized they still needed their backpacks. He swerved down Izzy's street. "Go ahead, run in and get your stuff, I'll wait," he offered.