The Past is Only the Future with the Lights On

My eyes were beckoning for me to wake up. Light from the opened windows had been shining through my eyelids for the last ten minutes or so, and I could hear my grandma's faint voice in the other room, but I was far too comfortable to actually get up.

That was until I heard my grandma's now closer voice and I could actually understand what she was saying.

"Don't be afraid, Frank. Just tickle her or something. If I do recall, she used to be extremely ticklish on her stomach," a smile was evident in her voice and my eyes immediately shot open, just in time to see her walking towards the kitchen.

"It's about time." I fixed my stare on Frank's smirking face, finally realizing why I was so comfortable; I was practically sprawled across him on the couch.

"Oh, sorry for keeping you here," I smiled sheepishly, rubbing my eyes as I sat up and leaned against the back of the couch.

"It's fine. I fell asleep down here, too. Only I stayed up long enough to see the ending of the movie," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I have a good reason for falling asleep, too," I said, raising a defensive finger at him.
"Which is. . .? And don't say because you were tired," Frank added almost knowingly, raising his eyebrows at me.

"That wasn't my reason," I shook my head. "It was actually because, half way through the movie, I remembered something someone told me about it. . .and didn't feel the need to watch it anymore."

This only caused Frank to laugh. "What did they tell you?"

"Nu-uh. You'll only laugh again if I tell you."

"I won't, I promise," he said, drawing an 'X' with his finger over his chest.

"Okay. . .Well, someone told me Superman dies in this one and, as stupid as it may sound, I didn't want to see one of my hero's die," I shrugged, not making eye contact with Frank as my eyes averted all over the living room.

"That's not stupid," Frank's sincere voice said, causing me to reluctantly look at him. "But, if you had stayed up, you'd have found out that he comes back to life."

I smiled uneasily at him before he continued.

"And if you’re here really did die, I'd always be here for ya, Kelly," Frank smiled, draping his arm over my shoulders.

"Thanks, Frank. I'm gonna hold you to that though, you know?" I raised an eyebrow at him.
He just grinned and stood up, brushing off his pants before walking towards the door.

"Ya might want to get ready. Mikey and Dahlia will be here in about thirty minutes," Frank smirked, opening the front door.

"What? Why?" I asked, looking at the clock above the fireplace to see that it was barely eight o'clock in the morning.

"You would have known this, too, if you weren't so lazy," he smirked at me, confusing me more and more with each word that fell from his perfect lips. "Your grandma and I were talking and she thought you would like some help picking out and actually painting your room." Without another word, he walked right out of my house, leaving me bewildered and utterly confused.

Paint? I think my grandma and I had talked about that once. And she had made plans for me and my friends to do it without my consent?

I guess I should actually get ready then, instead of laying around, thinking.

---Hardware Store; 8:57 a.m.---

"Do you know what color or colors you want, Kelly?" Mikey asked me as him, Frank, Dahlia and I walked down the paint aisle of the large hardware store.

"I was thinking hot pink walls with a Bubble Gum pink trim," I said, my eyes scanning the various colors on the paint chips.

"Are you serious?" came Dahlia's baffled response.

I laughed and shook my head, my hand reaching out to grab a lime green paint chip.
"Hell no," I smiled, hearing her let out a sigh of relief.

"How about this one?" I turned my head to the side to see Frank holding up a paint chip with a nice shade of dark purple on it.

"Frank, that's perfect. Thank you," I said, grabbing the card from him as I gave him a sideways hug.

"That was quick," Mikey said. "You done Kelly?"

"Almost. I'll be done quicker if you get me two cans of this," I hinted at him, smiling as I held up the paint chip with the color I wanted; the color Frank picked out for me.

He sighed and took the card form me before walking off with Frank.

I walked the couple aisles down until cans and cans of spray paint sat in front of me.

I began picking out various colors and dropping them in the basket Dahlia was pushing behind me.

"Spray paint?" she asked, scrunching her forehead in confusion.

"Ya. . .you'll see," I promised her, putting the final can in the basket. I looked over the colors I had picked out, smiling in satisfaction at my green, red, blue, yellow, orange, and glow-in-the-dark cans I'd chosen.