Status: Active
Rocket To The Moon.
15.
Seeing as I had already found out about Rocket’s drawings, he didn’t bother doing that in secret anymore.
I sat on my bed and watched him dragging the pencil swiftly and lightly across the paper, with a look of hard concentration on his face.
“Whatcha drawing?” I asked.
“Stuff” he replied, still staring intently at the paper.
“What kind of stuff?”
“Arty stuff”
“That was specific”
“I know”
I rolled my eyes.
“How come I never knew you could draw so well?” I asked.
“Never told you” he muttered.
“But why not?”
“Didn’t want to”
“Why not?”
“Why do you keep asking questions?”
“…why not?”
He let out a frustrated sigh and continued with his drawing.
“But what ARE you drawing?”
“If you ask one more question I’ll break your face” he growled.
“Okay…but can I still talk to you?” I asked.
“That was a question” he stated.
“Dammit. You’re so awkward sometimes”
“I know” he shrugged.
“You’re mean”
“You’re stupid”
“I’m not stupid”
“I know”
“Then why’d you say it?”
“That was a question”
“DAMN!”
“You asked two questions. Now pass me your face so I can break it twice”
“How the fuck am I supposed to pass you my face?”
“Find a way” he ordered.
I sighed and rolled over on my bed so that I was laying on my back. I picked up the remote control from my bedside table and flipped on the television.
“Turn it off” Rocket said.
“I don’t want to” I said.
“Turn it off” he repeated.
“I don’t want to”
“Turn it off”
“I don’t want to”
“Turn it off”
“I don’t want to”
“Turn it off”
“I don’t want to”
“I don’t want to”
“Turn it off”
“I don’t want to”
“Turn it off”
“I don’t want to”
“Turn it off”
“I don’t want to”
“Turn it the fuck off!” Rocket threw down his sketchbook and jumped down off his bed, advancing towards me. He reached out his hand for the remote control, but I snatched it away from him.
“You’ll have to catch me if you want it!” I smirked. He started to run, and I dodged out of his way just in time and sprinted towards the door. He followed.
I launched myself downstairs and ran through into the kitchen, where I did a James Bond-style roll over the kitchen table and hid behind the refrigerator. Unfortunately, he found me. He tried to corner me, but I deceived him by making out that I was about to go one way, then changing direction suddenly and sliding past him. I proceeded to run into the living room before realising I had hit a dead end. I only had a few nanoseconds to contemplate the situation before Rocket forcefully rugby tackled me onto the couch. He was now sitting on top of me, and despite the fact that I was holding the remote way above my head, he still reached it easily. He grabbed it out of my hand and held it above his head victoriously.
“I win” he stated.I folded my arms and pouted like a stubborn child.
“Kids, you be careful” my Mom warned as she casually passed through the living room and observed us with a confused expression.
“You tell that to Rocket!” I said, indicating to the boy sitting on top of me, twirling the remote around in his hand. My Mom shook her head and left the room.
“You can get off now” I said.
“No. I think I’ll stay here” he said.
“Dude! You’re heavy!” I complained.
“And you’re comfy” he replied.
“Get off” I said.
“No” he said.
"Please?"
"No"
“If you don’t get off, I’ll scream!” I warned.
“Hero, don’t scream” my Mother meandered back into the room “You’ll disturb your Father”
“Mom, are you actually going anywhere, or are you just wandering around aimlessly?” I asked.
“Wandering aimlessly can be relaxing” she insisted, before disappearing again.
“Rocket, for the last time, please get off of me!” I demanded.
“Make me” he said. I tried to push him off, but it didn’t work.
“Come on! This isn’t funny! I can’t breathe!” I said that it wasn’t funny, but I was trying so hard to stifle my laughter.
“Hmm…should I get off of Hero?” Rocket thought aloud, obviously trying to wind me up.
“Yes, I think you should!” I said.
“You’d make an excellent couch you know, maybe you should consider it as a future career” he said.
“Quit joking around!” I complained. I felt another surge of happiness and excitement rip through me. I never thought that I would have to tell Rocket, of all people, to quit joking around. He was obviously in a good mood, even though he was trying not to show it, so I decided to try and use this to my advantage in an experiment. I was going to make him admit that he was my friend.
“Rocket, why won’t you get off of me?” I asked.
“I told you, you’re comfy” he replied nonchalantly.
“Then what were you talking about all those times when you said I was small, bony and skinny, huh?” I asked.
“You must have gotten fat than” he stated.
“You’re such an asshole!” I tried to give him one last shove, but it didn’t work. I hadn’t really expected it to work though.
“Why do you want me to get off so much?” he asked.
“Because you’re heavy” I replied.
“You’ll manage”
“Am I really THAT comfy?”
“No”
“Well then why are you sitting on me!?”
He shrugged.
“Rocket, can I ask you something?” I said.
“Haven’t you asked me enough questions today?”
“This is kinda serious”
“I don’t believe you”
“Well, could you at least give me the chance to ask?”
“Sure. Go ahead”
I tried to make eye contact with him, but he refused to meet my gaze as always.
I took a deep breath, bracing myself for his answer; “Rocket, what am I to you?”
“Huh?”
“I mean…I’m not your sister, obviously, but we live together. And we’re known each other for so long now…what does that even make us?”
“Well, do you like me?” he asked.
“What?”
“It’s a simple question. You either like me, or you dislike me” Rocket seemed worryingly casual about this, as if he didn’t care at all about what my answer was going to be.
“Well, of course I like you” I replied cautiously.
“Then, in that case, we’re friends” he stated.
“YEEESSS! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!”
I tried to remain cool, but on the inside, I was freaking out. I decided to test him.
“But sometimes…I kinda dislike you”
“Why?”
“Well, you can be a real asshole sometimes”
“I’m not gonna argue with that”
“And…at times like these when you sit on me, it makes it really quite difficult for me to like you…”
He rolled his eyes, and finally, stood up. The area of my stomach on which he had been sitting felt very cold.
“Happy now?” he asked.
“Very” I replied, switching myself into a seated position so he didn’t have the chance to sit back on my stomach.
“Do you still dislike me?” he questioned.
“Why do you care?”He opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again. Rocket was speechless. I felt oddly satisfied.
“Never mind” I said, flicking on the TV downstairs instead of upstairs. I settled on a channel that was playing Family Guy, and curled up on the couch. I expected Rocket to leave once I had started watching TV, but he didn’t, he just stood there. I tried to concentrate on the television, but him being there was distracting and confusing me.
“Can I help you?” I asked, looking up at him.
He shook his head.
“Is there a reason as to why you’re just stood there?”
He shook his head again.
“Are you going to continue standing there?”
He thought for a moment, and surprisingly, shook his head. He then took a seat on the couch next to me. Now, our couch isn’t particularly large, and because I was curled up I was taking up slightly more room than I would have done if I were to be sitting normally. That’s why, when Rocket sat down, the side of his body brushed past mine and rested against me once he had seated himself. My stomach did back-flips and I’m pretty sure my cheeks had turned crimson again, but he felt so warm, and the part of my arm that was pressed against his seemed to buzz and spark, and it was like nothing I’d ever felt before. It felt nice. I had an urge to consciously press myself further against him and rest my head on his chest, but I didn’t do that because I was wary of how long Rocket’s patience would hold out for. I mean, it was already a miracle that he was sitting this close to me, so I just made the most of what I had. And I’m pretty sure I felt him laughing at various points during the TV show. He definitely wasn’t the guy he used to be, but at that moment in time I had no idea why he was changing, I just knew that I liked it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two weeks passed quickly, with no eventful occurrences taking place. Mine and Rocket’s relationship stayed pretty much the same for those two weeks - we had much more interaction with each other than usual, but it was still tense and uncertain. The band, minus Luke, were on the lookout for a new bass player, and weren’t getting very far at all. They had put up advertisements and asked various people and held auditions, but got no luck. I even tried to help them by going into the city centre and handing out flyers, but that didn’t help either.
After what seemed like hardly any time at all, I found myself waiting for Gracie to arrive on the Friday she had told me she would be there. My parents had immediately warmed to the idea of her staying for the weekend, and had set up the living room as a bedroom with no hesitation whatsoever. She told me that she would be there at 6pm. It was 6.03, and Gracie hates turning up late, so I knew she would be there at any moment. As if on que, the doorbell rang.I ran to open it and found myself being engulfed in Gracie’s arms.
“HERO!!! I MISSED YOU!” she screamed, giving me a kiss on the forehead and squeezing me so tightly, that I could hardly breathe.
“Gracie…can’t…breathe…” I gasped.
“Sorry” she let go “So, how is everyone?”
“Find out for yourself…HEY! EVERYONE! GRACIE’S HERE!” I called into the house. It wasn’t long before the sound of approaching footsteps grew louder, and Mom, Dad, Madison and Trevor were all stood at the front door. Gracie gave them each a hug.
“I missed you guys!” she said.
“It’s very good to see you, Gracie” my Dad replied.
“How have you been, sweetie?” Madison asked.
“Okay, I guess” she replied “It was a little boring at first without Hero, but I soon got used to it. How about you?”
“We’re having the time of our lives in California” my Mom replied with a smile “You really should join us more often”
“I will” Gracie nodded “As often as I can manage”
Gracie and I decided that we were going to relive that night one year ago when we had the horror movie marathon. After setting up the living room as out own private cinema and buying our own weight in junk food, we were about to settle down to watch the first film. We passed Rocket on the landing.
“Hello, Rocket” Gracie said, giving him a wave. He grunted in response.
“How are you?” she asked.
He looked at her wearily and rolled his eyes.
“Rocket, Gracie is asking you a question” I said, quite sternly, trying to prompt him to respond.
“I’m fine” he muttered, before disappearing into the bedroom.
“Well, he hasn’t changed at all” Gracie said.
If only she knew.
I sat on my bed and watched him dragging the pencil swiftly and lightly across the paper, with a look of hard concentration on his face.
“Whatcha drawing?” I asked.
“Stuff” he replied, still staring intently at the paper.
“What kind of stuff?”
“Arty stuff”
“That was specific”
“I know”
I rolled my eyes.
“How come I never knew you could draw so well?” I asked.
“Never told you” he muttered.
“But why not?”
“Didn’t want to”
“Why not?”
“Why do you keep asking questions?”
“…why not?”
He let out a frustrated sigh and continued with his drawing.
“But what ARE you drawing?”
“If you ask one more question I’ll break your face” he growled.
“Okay…but can I still talk to you?” I asked.
“That was a question” he stated.
“Dammit. You’re so awkward sometimes”
“I know” he shrugged.
“You’re mean”
“You’re stupid”
“I’m not stupid”
“I know”
“Then why’d you say it?”
“That was a question”
“DAMN!”
“You asked two questions. Now pass me your face so I can break it twice”
“How the fuck am I supposed to pass you my face?”
“Find a way” he ordered.
I sighed and rolled over on my bed so that I was laying on my back. I picked up the remote control from my bedside table and flipped on the television.
“Turn it off” Rocket said.
“I don’t want to” I said.
“Turn it off” he repeated.
“I don’t want to”
“Turn it off”
“I don’t want to”
“Turn it off”
“I don’t want to”
“Turn it off”
“I don’t want to”
“I don’t want to”
“Turn it off”
“I don’t want to”
“Turn it off”
“I don’t want to”
“Turn it off”
“I don’t want to”
“Turn it the fuck off!” Rocket threw down his sketchbook and jumped down off his bed, advancing towards me. He reached out his hand for the remote control, but I snatched it away from him.
“You’ll have to catch me if you want it!” I smirked. He started to run, and I dodged out of his way just in time and sprinted towards the door. He followed.
I launched myself downstairs and ran through into the kitchen, where I did a James Bond-style roll over the kitchen table and hid behind the refrigerator. Unfortunately, he found me. He tried to corner me, but I deceived him by making out that I was about to go one way, then changing direction suddenly and sliding past him. I proceeded to run into the living room before realising I had hit a dead end. I only had a few nanoseconds to contemplate the situation before Rocket forcefully rugby tackled me onto the couch. He was now sitting on top of me, and despite the fact that I was holding the remote way above my head, he still reached it easily. He grabbed it out of my hand and held it above his head victoriously.
“I win” he stated.I folded my arms and pouted like a stubborn child.
“Kids, you be careful” my Mom warned as she casually passed through the living room and observed us with a confused expression.
“You tell that to Rocket!” I said, indicating to the boy sitting on top of me, twirling the remote around in his hand. My Mom shook her head and left the room.
“You can get off now” I said.
“No. I think I’ll stay here” he said.
“Dude! You’re heavy!” I complained.
“And you’re comfy” he replied.
“Get off” I said.
“No” he said.
"Please?"
"No"
“If you don’t get off, I’ll scream!” I warned.
“Hero, don’t scream” my Mother meandered back into the room “You’ll disturb your Father”
“Mom, are you actually going anywhere, or are you just wandering around aimlessly?” I asked.
“Wandering aimlessly can be relaxing” she insisted, before disappearing again.
“Rocket, for the last time, please get off of me!” I demanded.
“Make me” he said. I tried to push him off, but it didn’t work.
“Come on! This isn’t funny! I can’t breathe!” I said that it wasn’t funny, but I was trying so hard to stifle my laughter.
“Hmm…should I get off of Hero?” Rocket thought aloud, obviously trying to wind me up.
“Yes, I think you should!” I said.
“You’d make an excellent couch you know, maybe you should consider it as a future career” he said.
“Quit joking around!” I complained. I felt another surge of happiness and excitement rip through me. I never thought that I would have to tell Rocket, of all people, to quit joking around. He was obviously in a good mood, even though he was trying not to show it, so I decided to try and use this to my advantage in an experiment. I was going to make him admit that he was my friend.
“Rocket, why won’t you get off of me?” I asked.
“I told you, you’re comfy” he replied nonchalantly.
“Then what were you talking about all those times when you said I was small, bony and skinny, huh?” I asked.
“You must have gotten fat than” he stated.
“You’re such an asshole!” I tried to give him one last shove, but it didn’t work. I hadn’t really expected it to work though.
“Why do you want me to get off so much?” he asked.
“Because you’re heavy” I replied.
“You’ll manage”
“Am I really THAT comfy?”
“No”
“Well then why are you sitting on me!?”
He shrugged.
“Rocket, can I ask you something?” I said.
“Haven’t you asked me enough questions today?”
“This is kinda serious”
“I don’t believe you”
“Well, could you at least give me the chance to ask?”
“Sure. Go ahead”
I tried to make eye contact with him, but he refused to meet my gaze as always.
I took a deep breath, bracing myself for his answer; “Rocket, what am I to you?”
“Huh?”
“I mean…I’m not your sister, obviously, but we live together. And we’re known each other for so long now…what does that even make us?”
“Well, do you like me?” he asked.
“What?”
“It’s a simple question. You either like me, or you dislike me” Rocket seemed worryingly casual about this, as if he didn’t care at all about what my answer was going to be.
“Well, of course I like you” I replied cautiously.
“Then, in that case, we’re friends” he stated.
“YEEESSS! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!”
I tried to remain cool, but on the inside, I was freaking out. I decided to test him.
“But sometimes…I kinda dislike you”
“Why?”
“Well, you can be a real asshole sometimes”
“I’m not gonna argue with that”
“And…at times like these when you sit on me, it makes it really quite difficult for me to like you…”
He rolled his eyes, and finally, stood up. The area of my stomach on which he had been sitting felt very cold.
“Happy now?” he asked.
“Very” I replied, switching myself into a seated position so he didn’t have the chance to sit back on my stomach.
“Do you still dislike me?” he questioned.
“Why do you care?”He opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again. Rocket was speechless. I felt oddly satisfied.
“Never mind” I said, flicking on the TV downstairs instead of upstairs. I settled on a channel that was playing Family Guy, and curled up on the couch. I expected Rocket to leave once I had started watching TV, but he didn’t, he just stood there. I tried to concentrate on the television, but him being there was distracting and confusing me.
“Can I help you?” I asked, looking up at him.
He shook his head.
“Is there a reason as to why you’re just stood there?”
He shook his head again.
“Are you going to continue standing there?”
He thought for a moment, and surprisingly, shook his head. He then took a seat on the couch next to me. Now, our couch isn’t particularly large, and because I was curled up I was taking up slightly more room than I would have done if I were to be sitting normally. That’s why, when Rocket sat down, the side of his body brushed past mine and rested against me once he had seated himself. My stomach did back-flips and I’m pretty sure my cheeks had turned crimson again, but he felt so warm, and the part of my arm that was pressed against his seemed to buzz and spark, and it was like nothing I’d ever felt before. It felt nice. I had an urge to consciously press myself further against him and rest my head on his chest, but I didn’t do that because I was wary of how long Rocket’s patience would hold out for. I mean, it was already a miracle that he was sitting this close to me, so I just made the most of what I had. And I’m pretty sure I felt him laughing at various points during the TV show. He definitely wasn’t the guy he used to be, but at that moment in time I had no idea why he was changing, I just knew that I liked it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two weeks passed quickly, with no eventful occurrences taking place. Mine and Rocket’s relationship stayed pretty much the same for those two weeks - we had much more interaction with each other than usual, but it was still tense and uncertain. The band, minus Luke, were on the lookout for a new bass player, and weren’t getting very far at all. They had put up advertisements and asked various people and held auditions, but got no luck. I even tried to help them by going into the city centre and handing out flyers, but that didn’t help either.
After what seemed like hardly any time at all, I found myself waiting for Gracie to arrive on the Friday she had told me she would be there. My parents had immediately warmed to the idea of her staying for the weekend, and had set up the living room as a bedroom with no hesitation whatsoever. She told me that she would be there at 6pm. It was 6.03, and Gracie hates turning up late, so I knew she would be there at any moment. As if on que, the doorbell rang.I ran to open it and found myself being engulfed in Gracie’s arms.
“HERO!!! I MISSED YOU!” she screamed, giving me a kiss on the forehead and squeezing me so tightly, that I could hardly breathe.
“Gracie…can’t…breathe…” I gasped.
“Sorry” she let go “So, how is everyone?”
“Find out for yourself…HEY! EVERYONE! GRACIE’S HERE!” I called into the house. It wasn’t long before the sound of approaching footsteps grew louder, and Mom, Dad, Madison and Trevor were all stood at the front door. Gracie gave them each a hug.
“I missed you guys!” she said.
“It’s very good to see you, Gracie” my Dad replied.
“How have you been, sweetie?” Madison asked.
“Okay, I guess” she replied “It was a little boring at first without Hero, but I soon got used to it. How about you?”
“We’re having the time of our lives in California” my Mom replied with a smile “You really should join us more often”
“I will” Gracie nodded “As often as I can manage”
Gracie and I decided that we were going to relive that night one year ago when we had the horror movie marathon. After setting up the living room as out own private cinema and buying our own weight in junk food, we were about to settle down to watch the first film. We passed Rocket on the landing.
“Hello, Rocket” Gracie said, giving him a wave. He grunted in response.
“How are you?” she asked.
He looked at her wearily and rolled his eyes.
“Rocket, Gracie is asking you a question” I said, quite sternly, trying to prompt him to respond.
“I’m fine” he muttered, before disappearing into the bedroom.
“Well, he hasn’t changed at all” Gracie said.
If only she knew.
♠ ♠ ♠
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