Rocket To The Moon.

“Hero, wake up.”
An angelic voice echoed through my half-asleep brain as my eyes struggled to open.
“Come on, Hero. You’ll be late for school.”
I identified the voice as Rocket’s. And then I wondered why in the world he would be concerned about whether or not I was at school on time.
“Hero, just get your lazy ass our of bed already!”
His voice, now less angelic than it was impatient, no longer sounded as distant. My vision slowly came into focus, and the image of Rocket standing above my bed, ready to jump, gradually made itself clearer. I attempted to shield myself with a cushion when I realized what he was about to do.
“Rocket! No!” I shrieked, but it was too late. With as much force as possible, he jumped on me.
The force knocked my breath out of my lungs, as he landed on his back, crashing down on me.
“You awake now?” he asked, grinning.
“Unfortunately…yes.” I replied, gasping for air.
“Okay, good, now get up!”
I did as I was told, and limped over to the wardrobe to choose my clothes. I undertook the regular daily routine that you’re not interested in reading about; showering, hair-doing, eating. I’ll skip the details so you don’t end up falling asleep. One hour later, I hopped into the passenger seat of Rocket’s car.
“Can I turn the radio on?” I asked hopefully.
“I guess so.” he shrugged. I punched the air with victory, and started searching through the radio stations to find something good. After twenty minutes os switching between radio stations, we started to approach the school. I expected him to turn straight into the parking lot, which is why I became completely and utterly confused when he kept on driving.
“Rocket…you just drove straight past the school.” I pointed out.
“I know.” he replied.
“Well…what the hell are you doing?” I asked.
“We’re not going to school today.” he said.
“Then where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“But what if my parents find out?”
“They already know.”
“Huh?”
“They think you’ve been under too much stress over the past few days with all the shit that’s been going on, so we thought you should take a day off.” he explained.
“So they agreed to this?”
He nodded.
“But what about the school?”
“They called in sick for both of us.”
“Can you please tell me where we’re going?” I pleaded.
He shook his head and smirked, “Nope.”
We drove for an hour and a half. I was having a great time raving by myself to whatever came on the radio, but then Rocket made me turn it off when I got a little too excited and started screaming the lyrics to a random song by Muse with the volume turned up full blast. I quietened down after that and just started playing on my Gameboy instead. The length of the journey was worrying me. I could tell for definite that we’d left our town. I couldn’t think of where he would be taking me that’s this far away after pulling me out of school on a faked sick-day. But I knew that Rocket was very stubborn, and would not answer me, no matter how many times I asked him, so I waited patiently to find out. I smiled in delight as we drove through the entrance of a Six Flags theme park.
“You’re taking me to an amusement park!?” I asked excitedly.
“Good idea?” he asked.
“Amazing idea!” I replied “This is a million times better than school!”
“Good. We’ll have an awesome time.” he promised, backing the car up into a free parking space and turning off the engine.
“Is it possible NOT to have a good time at an amusement park?” I asked.
“Maybe,” he said “You could die on a malfunctioning roller coaster.”
“But at least it wouldn’t be a boring death. I’d much prefer to spend my last moments soaring through a loop on a roller coaster than rotting away in some dreary old people’s home.” I said.
“That’s a very blunt outlook.” Rocket commented.
“But it’s true, and you know it.” I said.
He shrugged, “I guess you’re right.”
“Why are we just sitting here talking!?” I questioned, realizing that we were wasting valuable roller coaster time, “Come on! Let’s go!”
I practically dragged him through the front entrance and shoved him over to the entry kiosk to buy tickets, and once he had done so I hauled him swiftly over to the first ride. The fact that he had taken me there on a school day made it so much better, due to the fact that there were literally no queues whatsoever. I grabbed a map from a nearby stand and unfolded it in front of Rocket and myself.
“What should we go on first?” I asked.
“You decide. I don’t want to choose anything that will scare you.” he replied, almost tauntingly. I placed my hands on my hips and smirked at him.
“A little known fact about me, Voldemort, is that I am a secret roller coaster enthusiast. And I’m afraid the word ‘scare’ is not one that appears in my vocabulary whilst I am in this type of environment.” I explained confidently.
“Well, you seem pretty sure.” he said “So how about…this one!” he pointed to a random coaster on the map, and I read the description.
“Ah, the world’s tallest and fastest standing coaster? Six inversions at 65 miles per hour. Bring it on!” I started to run in the direction of the ride, giggling uncontrollably. Even Rocket had a hard time keeping up with me.
“Are you hyperactive already?” he asked disbelievingly.
“Apparently so!” I replied.
“But we haven’t even been on any rides yet!” he protested. I shrugged, and made my way swiftly to the boarding platform where I immediately placed myself right at the front of the roller coaster.
“This looks really fun.” I pointed out.
“You sure you’re not scared?” Rocket asked teasingly.
“Far from it. You know, I’m really glad that those guys decided I needed a day off. I can’t believe how awesome this is! Whilst everyone I know is stuck in school…I’m at an amusement park. It’s like every teenager’s dream.” I said.
“You have your Mom to thank.” he said “It was her idea.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I replied, as the roller coaster began to take off. The chain lift cranked us slowly up the steep hill and further towards the drop at the other side. When we eventually reached the top, the ride stopped allowing us to momentarily hang over the edge facing the vertical drop before us.
“You scared now?” Rocket shouted over the screams of the other riders.
“Nope!” I replied, just before we plummeted down the drop. Roller coasters make me hyper…it’s a fact. It’s almost as if they act as some kind of drug to me, therefore I wasn’t surprised when Rocket suggested we chill out for a little while before going on the next ride. It was a highly sensible suggestion.
We meandered round the theme park, hand in hand, observing the people present and the scenery. Because most people were at school, the park was considerably empty apart from a couple of older teenagers who were apparently doing the same thing as us and bunking off school, a couple of groups of university students, and a class of German kids on a school trip. After we had been walking for about ten minutes Rocket stopped and started to laugh quietly to himself.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Looks like the Titanic didn’t sink after all.” he pointed to a woman who was, how can a put this nicely, a LOT larger than life. She was stuffing her face with cheese-fries whilst simultaneously attempting to flirt with one of the ride assistants, who looked completely mortified.
“Rocket!” I hissed, trying to stop myself from laughing “Leave her alone! That’s horrible.”
“I think she actually just made a pass at that guy!” Rocket said, clearly amused by all of this “Does she honestly think that’ll work? I mean, she has the sex appeal of a zamboni!”
This time, I did burst out laughing. And though I doubted that the woman could be used to smooth out ice-skating rinks, I could definitely see where he was coming from.
“Come on, dude. Lets go now, before she sees us.” I suggested.
“No! I wanna see what happens!” Rocket protested.
Unfortunately for Rocket, it all ended about four minutes later when the ride operator switched shifts with a female, so Zamboni Woman gave up.
“Satisfied?” I asked, smirking.
“Yep. That was funny, you gotta admit.” he pointed out.
“I guess so. I’m just happy that you’re enjoying yourself for once.” I said. And it was true. This must have been good for him, because he hadn’t laughed this much in years.
“You’re sweet.” he said, kissing me lightly on the forehead, “Come on, lets go.”
We went on a few more roller coasters and laughed at a few more people. I ended up having a fluent conversation with one of the German students whilst Rocket stared at us like we’d just landed from another planet, and I also spent almost $10 on candy in the gift shop. All too soon, that amazing day started drawing to a close. We walked slowly through the park, arm in arm, laughing hysterically and pointing out random crap. I offered him some candy, but he declined, so I forcefully shoved some into his mouth. He almost choked, but it was funny anyway. By the time we reached the car to go home, my stomach ached from laughing too much.
“Today has been absolutely amazing.” I commented.
“You’re welcome.” Rocket replied.
“I never knew that you, of all people, could be so much fun.” I teased.
“I try.” he shrugged “Hey, there’s no rule that says we have to leave the parking lot yet. Lets just stay here for a while.”
He was right. The amusement park was now closed, but the parking lot didn’t close. We could have stayed there all night if we wanted to. I shuffled towards him and played my head delicately on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around me. This was a position that was familiar to both of us, but neither were bored of it.
“You know,” I began “You’ve changed so much. You’re a completely different person to the one I met four years ago, but I have to say, I really like this change. It’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me, and to you.”
“Thanks.” he replied.
“See, a year ago you wouldn’t even have dreamed of thanking me for anything.” I said.
“Yeah, that kinda sucked, I’m sorry.” he replied sheepishly.
“You wouldn’t have apologized either.” I pointed out.
“Alright, alright, I get the idea.” he said.
“And, nothing bad has happened yet.” I smirked.
“It’s too soon to be out of the danger zone in that department.” he warned “I still have a bad feeling.”
“Well, nothing happened today when I was being thrown around upside down at hundreds of feet above the ground.” I pointed out.
“Can we just drop this now?” he asked.
“Sure.” I replied.
“What do you want for your birthday?” he asked.
“Huh?”
“Your birthday is soon. What do you want?”
“You actually remembered my birthday!?” I asked, delighted.
“December 31st.” he replied casually.
I couldn’t reply, I could only smile. You know that warm fuzzy feeling that everyone writes about in books? Well I had that.
“So what do you want?” he repeated.
“It’s not soon…it’s not for another two months.” I pointed out “And I don’t want you to get me anything.”
“Bullshit. Just tell me what you want for your birthday.”
“I don’t know yet.” I answered truthfully.
“What about Christmas then?” he asked.
“Rocket!” I punched him lightly on the arm and laughed, “If you ask me closer to the time, I’ll try and think of something.” I promised.
“But now you’re making it sound like a duty.” he said.
“You’re making it seem like one.” I replied “I’m going to try and surprise you anyway.”
“You’re getting me a Christmas present?” he asked quietly.
“Of course I am, silly!” I replied. He smiled warmly.
“Let’s go home now.” he said, starting the car engine. I climbed back over to my own seat to give him room to drive, and fell asleep in the car soon after we set off.

I woke up conveniently just as Rocket pulled up into our driveway. We walked inside, and noticed immediately that the house was oddly silent. Everyone was home…we could tell because everyone’s coats and shoes were still by thr front door. But usually you would have been able to hear the sound of the TV or some music playing. Rocket appeared to have read my mind when he said:
“Maybe everyone’s in the garden?”
“Yeah.” I agreed “That seems logical.”
But he was wrong. I realized this when I walked into the kitchen, and found Madison sitting at the kitchen table, crying.
“Madison, what’s wrong!?” I asked, rushing to her side and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“It’s nothing, Hero…we’ve just run into a bit of a problem. Go up to your room, and we’ll talk to you about it later if necessary.” she said, her voice thick with emotion.
“It doesn’t look like nothing.” I said “Should I be worried?”
“No, no, the last thing I want to do is worry you. Just be calm, and, um, could you send Rocket down here please?” she asked.
“Is this to do with Rocket?”
“Just send him down. I’ll talk to you later.” her voice was distorted by heavy sobs. I knew that whetever it was, it must be bad. With my heart heavy with worry, I went upstairs to find Rocket. He was in our bedroom, flicking through the channels on the TV.
“Rocket, I just found Madison crying in the kitchen.” I said.
“What? Why?” he asked, turning the TV off.
“I don’t know…she wouldn’t tell me.” I sais solemnly “But she said that she wants to talk to you.”
“Does it look serious?” he asked.
I nodded.
With some reluctancy, he left the room and made his way downstairs, and I waited.

*Rocket’s POV*
I went into the kitchen, and sure enough, Madison was there crying her eyes out. It made me kinda sad to see her like this. I mean, all this time I’ve just viewed her as someone who is trying to take over the position of my Mom, and it hasn’t worked at all, but I still kinda like her for trying. I stood awkwardly in the doorway and cleared my throat loudly so that she would notice me.
“Umm…Hero said you wanted to talk to me?” I said.
She nodded “Ah, yes, sit down please.”. She grabbed a handkerchief, blew her nose, and attempted to calm herself so that she could speak clearly.
“Rocket, you’re probably not aware of this…but you have an Aunt.” she said.
Nope. Wasn’t aware of that.
“Your Mom had a sister, who has spent the last twenty years living in England, so you’ve never met her.” she explained “But now…she has found out about you, and she wants to…to…” Madison broke down crying again, unable to speak, but because this information seemed very important I tried my hardest to prompt her to keep speaking.
“She wants to what?” I asked.
“She wants to claim custody of you.” she said “For the past couple of weeks, we’ve been at war with her arguing over who gets legal ownership of you. But, because she is your blood relative, we are losing the battle.”
“What?” my whole body suddenly felt numb, as the crashing realization hit me like a ton of bricks.
“Rocket, you won’t be living with us anymore.” Madison choked out. I stared at her, refusing to believe what I was hearing.
“But…she lives in America now, right?” I asked frantically.
She shook her head.
“So, I have to move to…to England!?”
Instead of nodding, she just started to cry harder. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get any more information from her, and arguing with her right now would just make her feel worse, so I gave up. But all I knew was that I was moving. I was being taken away from this place. Away from Hero.