Rocket To The Moon.

I was about to go online for my daily scheduled Skype conversation with Gracie, when my cell phone rang.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Hey, Hero, it’s Luke” the voice on the other end made my legs turn to jelly and my stomach do front flips.

“Oh…h-hi!” I stuttered.

“I was just wondering whether you wanted to get together this weekend? Maybe go for a coffee or rent some films or something?” he asked.

My stomach increased the speed of it’s front flips.

“Really!? You mean it!? I mean…yeah, sure, I’d love to!” I replied, overjoyed.

“Awesome” he said “Is Friday alright for you?”

“Friday’s great, yeah” I didn’t actually know if Friday was alright…but I would make it alright anyway.

“Cool. Wanna just meet up after school then and see where things go from there?”

“Sounds like a plan”

“Okay. I can’t wait”

“Me neither!” I squealed, a little too enthusiastically.

“See you at school tomorrow”

“Bye, Luke!”

“Bye, Hero!”

I waited for him to hang up the phone, before screaming excitedly. My first date in California, and he was totally gorgeous. Just looking at him made me forget everything. Those beautiful, intelligent brown eyes. Everything about him was just perfect. I was so happy at that moment, absolutely nothing could ruin it.

“Who’s Luke?”

Nothing, that is, except Rocket.

“A friend I made at school today” I said.

“Sounds like he’s more than a friend” Rocket growled. And all of a sudden, I felt genuinely angry with him. I felt like I had the time he had made Madison cry, except this time I just wanted him to fuck off, leave me alone and stop asking questions.

“It’s none of your business. Leave me the fuck alone” I snapped. He stood frozen on the spot for a moment, as if he was contemplating what I had just said. Then he shrugged, and left the room. I immediately regretted snapping at him like that. The last thing I wanted to do was upset him…but knowing Rocket it probably didn’t matter. He probably didn’t give a damn about how I talked to him. The thing that really mattered at that point was the fact that I had a date with Luke. Not Rocket. I could forget Rocket.

“I can forget Rocket now. I should forget Rocket. Why can’t I forget Rocket?”

With my head once again swimming with questions, I went to bed. But sleep did not come easily. My brain was about to have a total meltdown. I tossed and turned for about half an hour before realising that there was no chance of me getting to sleep at that moment, so I got back out of bed and went out onto the balcony. The moon was absolutely huge, and it was casting a ghostly reflection out onto the ocean. There was a cool breeze, which made me shiver slightly. I heard a voice from behind me.

“Out here again?”

I didn’t need to turn around to see who it was because I recognised the voice. It was Rocket.

“Yeah” I sighed. He remained in the doorway.

“Could I talk to you for a second?” I asked. He took a step closer to me, which I assumed meant yes.

“I wanted to apologise for snapping at you earlier” I said quietly. He shrugged, and for a moment he resembled a stubborn child after just being told off by a parent, all sulky and acting as if they didn’t care. He shoved his hands in his pockets and didn’t bring his eyes up off the floor.

“You didn’t deserve it. And I’m really sorry” I finished off. He still didn’t react. I waited for a few moments.

“…so, do you forgive me?” I asked hopefully. By now I was shivering a lot in just my pyjamas. Rocket noticed.

“You’re cold” he stated.

“A little…” I replied “But you didn’t answer my question”

“Get inside” he ordered.

“I don’t want to” I said “Now answer me”

“You’ll get sick” he said.

“I won’t” I insisted.

“You will” he argued.

“I don’t care” I said.

“Well I…” he hesitated “Think you should get back inside”

“Make me”

Without warning, he advanced towards me and lifted me, but not like he did at school when we were running away from the idiots - this time he threw me over his shoulder. Rocket was tall…over 6 foot, and I was a mere 5’3, so suddenly being lifted to that height was quite terrifying at first. I gave a short, startled scream and started squirming as much as possible trying to get him to loosen his grip on me, but despite his skinny physique, he was too strong.

“Put me down!” I shrieked. Then I started laughing. My laughter surprised me, mainly because it was Rocket who was causing it. That had never happened before. And also because a couple of minutes ago I thought that there would be nothing that could make me laugh. Especially not Rocket. He threw me down onto my bed, but gently so I didn’t get hurt, and my laughs were reduced to giggles.

“Don’t do that again” I choked.

“Don’t challenge me” he replied. Though his face showed no emotion whatsoever, there was a lighter and more comical tone to his voice that I had never heard before. And even tough it was barely noticeable, I knew it was there, and it made me feel overwhelmingly happy.

“You’re so tall - it’s like being on top of a goddamn skyscraper!” I joked.

“I can’t help it” he shrugged “You look tired, get some sleep”

“I guess you’re probably right” I replied “But will you at least answer my question now?”

“What question?”

“Do you forgive me? For snapping at you?” my giggles had completely subsided by this point, and I looked at him seriously.

“Yes” he nodded “I was never mad in the first place.” And with that, he left the room. I couldn’t prevent that all too familiar fuzzy feeling from creeping into my stomach, and a content smile from spreading across my face. Even though Rocket was still the same old unemotional rock that he always had been, I felt like the two of us had bonded. He had once again done something for my benefit, and it had amused me. He had made me laugh. I curled up underneath my duvet, still smiling, letting my memories of that day float around in my head. They were welcome. I had almost completely forgotten about out encounter with those two idiots at school, because there were much more important things for me to be thinking about, such as making new friends, the date with Luke,Rocket making me laugh - it had been a pretty good day in terms of progressing with relationships. And I couldn’t help anticipating whether or not Rocket and I could actually become friends, if this carried on like this. Because I was pretty certain that he actually cared about me, otherwise he wouldn’t have done those things. I knew that he wouldn’t admit to that, and he wouldn’t show it either, but the hints were enough for me to figure it out. Sleep came easier this time, and I drifted off into a haze of pleasant dreams.

-1 Year Previously-

The damn math equations were driving me crazy.My brain felt ready to melt.

“Dad, could you help me with my homework?” I asked.

“I’m sorry, honey” my Dad said apologetically “But I’m far too busy right now. Maybe later”

“Okay” I muttered, leaving him sitting at the dining table with his mountain range of paperwork. I went to search for my Mom, who I found in the hallway, examining her hair in the mirror.

“Mom, can you help me with my homework?” I asked.

“Oh, Hero, Madison and I are about to go out. I won’t get back until late. I’m really sorry” she said sincerely. At that moment Rocket was walking casually down the stairs.“I’m sure Rocket could help you with your homework!” Mom suggested.

“Oh, no, it’s fine…” I said.

“Nonsense. He’ll help you!” Mom said.

“No he won’t…” I muttered, not loud enough for her to hear.

“Rocket, help Hero with her homework” Mom ordered. Rocket rolled his eyes and carried on walking.

“Don’t ignore me! She’s your friend, you should help her”

“She’s not my friend” Rocket said, casually holding up his hands as if denying possession of something…like a kid caught drinking alcohol by his parents.

“I think I can manage this on my own, actually…” I said, trying to sneak out of the hallway. Unfortunately, my sneaky-ninja skills must not have been up to par on that day.

“Stay here” Mom ordered “I want to talk to you both”

“Oh great…” I mumbled under my breath.

“Rocket, you’ve lived here for three years now” Mom stated “And still, the two of you hardly even speak! Why do you act like strangers?”

“She is a stranger” Rocket said “You all are”

And suddenly, this conversation became a one-on-one with Mom and Rocket. I knew that at this point, my sneaky-ninja skills probably would have worked. I was out of the equation for now, so my absence wouldn’t make any difference, but for some reason I felt the need to stay.

“I don’t understand it” Mom shook her head “Why can’t you just be friends?”

“We’ll never be friends” Rocket stated matter-of-factly, as if pointing out a really obvious detail that my Mom hadsomehow missed.

“But why not?” Mom asked.Rocket did not dignify her question with a verbal response. Instead he raised his eyebrows, looked her up and down, then turned to me. After a moments contemplation, he shook his head, as if ashamed of me. Madison appeared in the hallway a minute later wearing a smart, pastel blue dinner jacket with a pretty white dress underneath, and smelling of sweet perfume.

“Are you ready to go, Helen?” she asked my Mother.

“Yes. Come on. Bye kids!” Mom seemed relieved that she had finally found an escape route from this awkward situation. The two of them disappeared as quickly as possible.

“You’re an asshole” I said to Rocket after a few moments of silence.

“I know” he replied, before walking back upstairs and shutting himself away in his bedroom.

-End Flashback-

I was woken by a fairly loud crash. My eyes snapped open and I saw immediately that it was the office chair in front of the desk that had caused the crash. Had it fallen over? My gaze drifted up to Rocket’s bed and I saw that it was empty. On further inspection, I saw that Rocket was standing in the centre of the room with his fists tightly clenched. It was a perfectly plausible and probably that most likely conclusion that Rocket had been the one to knock - or possible kick over the chair. He was breathing heavily. He walked over to the mirror and examined the cuts on his face from the encounter with the bulky bastards at school, and after a couple of seconds of doing that, his hands clenched into fists again and he forcefully punched the lamp off the table. It fell onto the floor, but didn’t break. In one last fit of rage, Rocket banged his fist against the wall, and stood in that position for a few minutes, inhaling and exhaling deeply, possibly trying to calm down. He gave the wall one last punch, before falling back down onto his bed and staring at the ceiling for a while. By this time, I was certain that something was wrong - but I was clueless as to what to do about it.

-4 Years Ago-

Madison and Trevor had taken Rocket into the living room to have a serious conversation with him. I was waiting outside the door, listening to every word they said. I probably shouldn’t have been there…but you must have guessed by now that I am an overly-curious person. Trevor was the first person to begin speaking.

“Now, Rocket, this is going to be a very difficult conversation for you. So I just want you to be prepared for it, okay?” he said.

Silence from Rocket.

“Six months ago, you witnessed something that no child of your age should have to experience. In fact, no one at all should have to experience that” Trevor said softly. I knew immediately that he was talking about the death of Rocket’s parents. He continued; “And I know that you still must be grieving. That kind of thing takes a long time to heal. But we’re going to ask something of you, it would be greatly appreciated if you could agree. Alright?”

More silence from Rocket.

“Rocket, would you revisit the house in which you used to live with your parents?” Trevor asked.

Once again - silence.

“It’s just that, you were their only child, and it would be helpful if you could take a look at all their belongings, decide which ones you would like to keep, and which ones should be sold, and who they should be sold to. Do you think you can do that?” Trevor asked.

Surprisingly, there was more silence.

“You’re the only person who is suitable to do this kind of job. And we know that it is a very touchy subject. But would you do it, kid?” Trevor said encouragingly.

After a few moments of even more silence, Rocket finally spoke; “I don’t want to”

Now it was Madison‘s turn to speak; “But it will give you a chance to recollect some precious memories. Do you not want that?”

More silence.

“Come on, buddy! You’re a tough little guy, this should be no problem for you!” Trevor was trying his hardest to persuade Rocket to agree.

“I don’t want to” Rocket repeated.

“Rocket, sweetheart, the house needs to be sold. If you don’t do this, all of your parents belongings will just be sold of or destroyed. Is that what you really want to happen?” Madison whispered.

Silence.

“Well, I guess we can’t force the boy” Trevor said, talking to Madison now.

“I know, it’s just so sad though” Madison replied.

“Hmm” Trevor agreed “But losing your parents is the worst possible thing for a thirteen year old to go through. Making him go back there might only make things worse for him”

“I’m right here you know. I can hear you…” I heard Rocket say grimly.

“I guess you’re right” Madison said, agreeing with Trevor and ignoring Rocket completely.

“We’re sorry to have to remind you of this again, sport” Trevor said, with a very noticeable apologetic tone to his voice.

No reply.

“Are you okay, big guy?”

No reply.

“Let’s let him go now, he’s clearly uncomfortable here” Madison suggested. I heard footsteps coming towards the closed door that I was behind, so I quickly stood up and waited a bit further down the hallway to make it look as though I was just walking past, and hadn’t been listening in on the conversation. I casually walked past the door as it opened, Trevor was the first to exit.

“Hi, Trevor” I said, strolling past, attempting to look as innocent as possible.

“Hello, Hero” he replied, giving me a friendly smile.Rocket left the room after Trevor.

“Hi, Rocket” I said, with more caution in my voice than enthusiasm this time. And rather than receiving a reply of “Hello” or “Hey”, I received a forceful shoulder barge as he walked past me, and nothing else.

“Ouch! That wasn’t necessary!” I complained. He stopped half way up the stairs, rolled his eyes just to prove that he really didn’t care, then carried on walking.

-End Flashback-