‹ Prequel: Promise Me The Stars
Status: This story is on hold right now as i'm in the process of editing the prequel Promise Me The Stars. Check it out for better chapters!

Rocks Painted Gold

Mountain of Doom.

Forest stared at Uncle…Auntie?

“So…” Shadow trailed off, he had been the only one that hadn’t lost his voice, “You’re a…”

“Drag queen? Yes, yes I am. And you’re not Forest, so…who are you?” the man (woman?), asked Shadow.

“I’m Shadow.” he stated uncertainly as Forest’s uncle stepped into the room.

“U…what should I call you?” Forest sighed in defeat and asked his Uncle.

“You can call me Aunt Maggie when I’m dressed like this!” Uncle declared.

“Jesus.” Shadow groaned, rubbing his eyes with his palms and falling back by Kylie, who still had her hands over her mouth in shock.

“So who are your friends Forest?” Aunt Maggie asked.

“Uh, that’s Shadow and Kylie.” Forest said, pausing but pointing them out nonetheless.

"So you're my nephew's little friends?!" Uncle, Aunt Maggie gushed. Forest just couldn't get used to this at all.

"Yeah, and you're Forest's Uncle slash Aunt." Shadow stated as he sat up again.

"Right! Now, I see that you've already eaten and that's great. Let me go change and we'll catch up." Uncle, Forest couldn’t call him anything else but Uncle, yelled before running upstairs, his heels echoing through the house.

“Holy…fucking shit.” Shadow said before he started laughing.

“Shut it!” Forest hissed, looking at Kylie as she started giggling lightly. Forest watched as she looked at Shadow and they started laughing together.

“Guys…” Forest said, a laugh escaping. He couldn’t look at people laughing so hard without laughing himself.

“I can’t believe your Uncle is a fucking tranny Forest.” Shadow said, giggling like mad as he covered his eyes with his arm.

“Shut up! He’ll hear you!” Forest groaned.

“You mean she’ll hear you.” Kylie said before her and Shadow started laughing harder.

“Seriously? Stop acting like three year olds.” Forest said, looking down at the bowl next to him before grabbing his fork and chucking it at Shadow.

“Ow bitch!” Shadow howled, sitting up from the floor and glaring at Forest.

“Well, stop laughing.” Forest stated, a smug smirk on his lips.

"But it's just so...." Shadow stopped, looking for the right word, "Fucking funny!"

"Well it's also rude!" Forest yelled.

"Forest is right Shadow, laughing at Forest's...Uncle," Kylie snorted and went into another fit of giggles, "Did you see how he just pranced out of the room?"

"You two are hopeless, go clean the kitchen." Forest sternly ordered, pointing towards the kitchen.

"But..." Shadow started but Forest butted in.

"No buts, you're being disrespectful and I order you to go clean my kitchen. And that includes washing ALL the dishes." Forest said, pointing his chin up with his eyes closed.

"You were laughing too." Shadow mumbled, grabbing all the bowls and heading for the kitchen.

"Not for long." he called as they both trudged to the kitchen.

Forest listened as he heard banging around going on in the other room accompanied by giggles from Kylie every now and then.

"Idiots." Forest said, starting to gather all the pictures that were scattered around the carpeted floor.

He stopped as he looked at a few and smiled, his mother smiling brightly back at him from various locations. A park with Forest and Hazel smiling brightly from swings next to each other, Christmas when they were nine with her sitting on the floor around all the ripped wrapping paper. Forest wondered who had taken all the pictures, he didn't remember anyone else besides them being together at special moments like that. But he actually didn't pay much attention to anything besides his mother and sister back then.

"Where are your friends?" Forest looked up and spotted his Uncle standing in the doorway, his long hair pulled back into a ponytail and he was wearing a white button down shirt and black slacks.

"In the kitchen cleaning up after themselves." Forest mumbled, setting the stack of Polaroids into the shoe box they had been taken out of.

"Seems like just yesterday those were taken." Uncle said quietly, leaning against the door jam with his arms crossed.

"Yeah," Forest said, laughing lightly as he looked at another stack of pictures from when they were a year or so older then the last bunch.

"Uncle," Forest said, looking up at the man, "Why weren't you ever there?"

Uncle laughed before pushing off the door and walking over. He sighed as he sunk down onto the floor next to Forest and took a stack of pictures from when they were much younger, around four or five.

"I took most of the ones that your mother are in. Well at least the ones until you were about six."

"What happened after that?" Forest asked, looking up at his Uncle who was at least half a foot taller then him.

"Shipped out to Massachusetts for work. I was an architect back then, make amazing buildings just from the ideas in my mind, and they wanted me to design this stadium out there for baseball or something. I met someone and settled down in a little place south of Boston, thought I was settling for life but my partner wasn't on the same page as me. We broke up and I retired from drawing buildings and just started going around the world as...well whatever I could do in that state or place." Uncle said, flipping through all the old photos.

"So you were gone all the time because you were heartbroken?" Forest asked.

"That, and I was sick of being predictable in my actions. So I just took off around the world because I didn't want to deal with the same people everyday for the rest of my life. There was always three people I wouldn't mind seeing for the rest of my life though." Uncle smiled and ruffled Forest's hair around messily.

"Two now." Forest mumbled, looking down.

"Three, doesn't matter if she's gone, she's still here in our hearts, still with us everyday, and she still lingers in this house it seems." Uncle looked around the house and took a deep breath, inhaling the air that his mother seemed to linger in.

"You know, breathing like that after saying that my mother lingers in the house is actually kind of weird." Forest commented.

"She's my sister, I can do whatever I want." Uncle stated, crossing his arms and sticking his tongue out at him.

"And you say you're an adult." Forest sighed, standing up and heading for the kitchen after not being able to hear anything from the duo that had resided in that room.

The kitchen smelled of cleaner and the counters sparkled, the dishwasher was running and there were a few pans drying on a towel that sat on the counter next to the sink.

"I should invite you and your friends over more often." Uncle commented, peeking into the kitchen over Forest's shoulder.

"I bet it was Kylie, I doubt Shadow can clean like this." Forest sighed and headed for the window to peer into the backyard.

"You sound wary of the Shadow kid." Uncle stated, sitting on a stool that was tucked beneath the island counter.

"I've been stuck with him for nearly my whole teenage and adult life, I've become quite weary of him." Forest sighed and leaned against the counter, watching as Shadow and Kylie played around in the grass that spanned out over most of the large backyard.

They were laughing and running around, tagging each other and running away, a clear sign they were playing tag.

"So he's that Shadow after all." Uncle said, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Yeah..." Forest trailed off, "It's scary really, having him out here like this. Makes me think something crazy is going to happen to make my life a living hell."

"Well, the world works in strange ways Forest. Like me, I feel like a girl sometimes, yet i'm stuck here in this body. Getting judged for what I do and why I do it. I can't help it, it's what I want to do and it earns me a living."

"What do you do Uncle?" Forest asked, glancing over at his Uncle while he leaned on the counter.

"I work at a theater singing, dancing mostly." Forest couldn't help but laugh and shake his head at his uncle.

"Sorry, it's just...I remember you as a kid and I would have never guessed that this is how you'd turn out." Forest smiled and laughed at his beaming uncle.

"You never turn out as expected when you're younger so I understand." Uncle said, "Wow, I can see myself in the reflection of the counter. Haven't been able to see that since your mother was here."

"Guess women pay more attention to detail."

"That's what i'm lacking!" Uncle exclaimed making Forest laugh.

"It's so nice here!" Kylie yelled, running into the house. She stopped when she saw Forest and his uncle in the kitchen.

"Sorry," she said quietly, blushing like mad, "Didn't mean to interrupt you."

"It's fine, you did wonderfully cleaning this kitchen." Uncle said smiling brightly.

"Oh, thanks. I just cleaned it, Shadow just wanted to shove everything under the sink." Kylie rolled her eyes and glanced back at a panting Shadow had wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"I hate being weak." Shadow croaked, slipping past her and moving Forest to the side so he could get to the sink.

"You're like a fat kid that has to lose all his weight." Forest commented, which earned half a glass of water thrown on him.

"Call me a fat kid, one more time." Shadow growled, getting an inch from Forest's soaked face. Forest shook his water dripping hair and opened the drawer that used to hold wash rags. The drawer still did and he pulled out a red one before rubbing his head vigorously.

"Well i'm just saying that's what it seems like." Forest shrugged nonchalantly and walked over to sit at a stool by uncle.

"Quit calling me a fat kid!" Shadow yelled, grabbing a roll of paper towels and chucking them at Forest's head.

"Stop throwing things at me!" Forest hollered, ducking right before the absorbent paper hit him in the face.

Forest glanced at Kylie who was deep in a conversation with his uncle and whatever they were talking about seemed much more important then the childish fight that Shadow and Forest were having.

"Then stop calling me a fat kid!" Shadow stated, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

"I only said it once." Forest rolled his eyes and his wet hair made him realize how thirsty he was, "I wonder if Uncle has any juice." he said to himself before standing and heading for the fridge.

"Well once is too many times to be calling me a fat kid, because I am far from a fat kid, i'm a skinny man! A strong skinny man!" Shadow stated to a half listening Forest.

Forest glanced at him once while he passed the blue haired smurf, and rolled his eyes at the look on his face. He grabbed a glass out of the cupboard and looked at the contents inside the yellowing pitcher, he sniffed it and his lip curled.

"Uncle, what the hell is in this?" Forest asked, pushing the pitcher towards Shadow when he leaned to take a sniff.

"Shit," Shadow groaned, turning to lean in the sink.

"Oh that," Uncle paused his conversation to look at the pitcher and cocked his head to the side.

"I think that's...well I don't know what it is, I made it long ago."

"Well that just brightens my day." Forest stated sarcastically, placing his glass on the counter, grabbing Shadow's head and pulling it out of the sink so he could pour the liquid down the drain. He ran the sink until there was no trace of it left and then threw the pitcher into the sink to rot for all he cared. He grabbed the glass and filled it with cold water, chugging it down in one standing.

"So do you all want to go sight seeing or something before we get down to business on what you came here for?" Uncle asked, looking up at the two men standing next to the sink.

"I could go for some sight seeing." Kylie said sheepishly. Shadow and Forest shared a look before shrugging.

"Let's go sight seeing then." Kylie cheered and they all headed for the door to reminisce on memories of a time long gone.


I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest, looking out the window as we traveled up through the mountains on the infamous Pikes Peak cog railway. Kylie, Forest, and Maverix were sitting in the seat across from me, their faces nearly glued to the windows as they looked out at the breathtaking views Colorado provided.

So far we had been all over the west side of Colorado Springs, meaning we had explored Manitou Springs and climbed around in Garden of the Gods. Went to the candy store and the penny arcade in Manitou, saw some insane hippies doing lord knows what. And now we were on the Cog Railway, and after that I think we were going to attempt the incline. Which was a million railroad ties in the form of steps up the side of a mountain. Never heard of any of these, Google them. Really, they’re all pretty cool.

“Shadow!” Kylie said, jumping up and grabbing my arm, “Come look at the view with us.”

I sighed and followed her across the aisle of the train car to where they were all gazing at the immaculate view. Kylie sat on the seat again, her face peering curiously out the window, and went back to looking at the trees and hills. I pressed my forearm against the window above her head and leaned in to look out at the world. I was so lost in my own thoughts I didn’t realize Kylie had taken my hand and she was looking up at me with a smile on her face.

“Thank you, for bringing me with you.” She said. I smiled and squeezed her hand, going back to peering out the window a moment after she did.

My thoughts scattered again, thinking about the dreams I was having, what the man had said in those dreams. It was all so confusing and I had a weird, knotted feeling in my stomach that it was all too real. I woke up most nights panting like a dog, my body feeling even weaker then any other time, my sanity was the weakest of all. But after a while I wasn’t feeling too weak, and I noticed that Forest looked a little green around the gills after we ran through the Garden hiding from his uncle. And surprisingly I wasn’t having a heart attack after it.

“Shadow?” I snapped out and looked at Forest and Kylie, noticing that everyone that had been on the train was slowly filing off.

“We get to walk around for a little while, come on.” Forest stated, walking towards the front leaving me with Kylie. I took a deep breath, my lungs stinging from the dense air up this far in the mountains, and followed her out.

“You seem so distracted all of a sudden.” Kylie commented, holding my hand in hers as we walked around on the summit of whatever mountain it was we’re on.

“I’m just thinking about things, it‘s weird being back here after seeing it in the mind of Forest for so long.” I said, shrugging the subject off.

When in reality I was thinking about the impending doom that swelled in my stomach and rose up into my lungs and heart. There was no way I could ignore the nagging feeling that something horribly wrong and twisted was going to happen soon. Very, very soon.
♠ ♠ ♠
Uncle Maverix is...Aunt Maggie? xD

So here's the next chapter and I didn't have to write for a few days because I finished it before! YAY for writing breaks!!

So i'm thinking i'll wrap this story up around chapter 20 or maybe before. Don't know if there's going to be a sequel or not. But if there is it'll be something awesome i'm sure haha.

Thanks to
sins-97

And sins....no...he's just a drag queen.....