Five Lies

Lose Yourself

As soon as Uri had uttered those words, everyone in the studio fell silent. She loosened her hold on me and I pulled away from her, gasping for air. Was I supposed to take what she said seriously? There seemed to be something quite off about her. She smelled of aged ambrosia. I didn’t know what that was about. But I wasn’t looking to find out. I hunted wolves. That was it.

“Why is everyone looking at me as if I have the black plague? She is a mutt, isn’t she?” Uri questioned leaning in to sniff my hair. A mutt? Was she implying that I was a dog? Or worse, a wolf? And if so, how did she know about them? More importantly, what exactly was she? I was certain that she wasn’t a wolf but she set me on edge as soon as she emerged through that door.

“Whoa there Nellie! Personal… Space.” I stated separating myself from her. She lifted an eyebrow at me.

“Hahaaa, Uri!! You’re… you are a funny one!” Crouton said nudging Nadaddy and giving in to nervous laughter.

“Say huh? What the fun is going on here?” I asked standing up and crossing my arms, my eyes boring holes into Croutons skull.

“Uri… She’s one of those jokesters. You know, one of those crazy kids that likes to prank people! You just got punked!” Nadaddy stated, making his way over to Uri to sling an arm around her shoulders. She shrugged him off and gave him a look that implied she thought he was a crazy man.

“Whaaat? I’m not a fucking comedian!” She laid down the law on that one, going a whole octave above normal.

“Look! Uri was kidding. Can we just leave it at that?” Fatty asked with annoyance laced in his voice. Jeez! What crawled up his butt and died? No need to get snippy about a little sentence.

“Anywaaay, moving on… So, where are you from Phoenix?” Lakia asked me, shifting the conversation over to something that actually made sense.

“Atlanta, Georgia.” I answered her with a smile attached. She was the only one who had kept calm throughout that whole ordeal. Whatever that was about…

“Really? So did the guys. So, were you friends before back in Georgia?” She questioned.

“Yeah, we used to play together… No… I don’t know why I just said that…” I answered, confusing myself even further. Why the hell had I said that we used to play together back in Georgia? Before she had said something, I didn’t even know they had originated from where I grew up. That made no sense!

“Oookay Ladies!! Go find Zanadu… NOW!” Soul Glow led the two girls to the door and shoved them out, slamming the door in their faces before Uri could argue. Soul Glow turned around, clapping his hands together, giving everyone an impatient smile. Something in his eyes had changed. They were no longer his original brown color, but electrified silver. Interesting…

“Crouton! Why don’t you take Phoenix here out for some fresh air? We could all use a little break? Am I right? Right.” Soul Glow practically demanded. Before either of us could protest, a small blonde headed boy burst through the door and attached himself to Soul Glow’s leg.

“Daaaaady!!” He shouted with glee. Say what? Daddy? Soul Glow Activatur was a… daddy? That’s too fuckin’ cute! And yet he was a kid in himself? Huh. Go figure that one out.

“Caaash! Hey there, Boy! Was Zanadu keeping you captive again?” He said with a joyful grin and slight giggle, falling on one knee and picking the kid up. The blonde boy hugged his father’s neck and refused to let him go. I went over to them both. His eyes matched that of Lakia’s… Wait…hold my shit, it’s about to get serious up in here!

“You uh… have a son?” I asked him smirking. He looked at me and grinned.

“Sure do. Hey Cash, say hello to Daddy’s friend.” Soul Glow said leaning his forehead against the top of Cash’s head. Cash let go of Soul Glow Activatur’s neck and reached out for me to take him. Soul Glow handed him off to me and I took the toddler into my arms and rested him on my hip. I was glad he wasn’t a baby. Everyone used to think that I pinched babies because every time I held one, they would cry and scream. I was magnificent with toddlers though… and oddly enough, dogs.

As soon as I took him into my arms his eyes grew wide as he stared intensely into my own hazel green ones. I watched as the mossy green color morphed to a shiny silver, just like the shade his father’s had grown a few seconds previously. For some reason I found that I couldn’t break the eye contact with this child. His eyes snapped back to the original color he had started with and he giggled, embracing me. I was free of his entrancing gaze.

“Yay! I love you, Auntie Phoenix!” He said with a soft humming deep in his chest. How did this young little fellow know my name? And why did he just call me Auntie? Soul Glow took him back and set him down on the ground after that.

“Go play Cash! Go find mommy.” Soul Glow urged him through the doorway and he screamed with joy and jetted out the door. The little guy was fast for being so young.

“He’s cute. How old is he?” I asked Soul Glow. He turned around to face me again.

“He’s five. Little booger is what he is! I love him to death though.” He told me with a sincere smile.

“So, let me guess. Lakia is Mommy?” I asked catching him totally off guard. I loved doing that to him. He does this thing where his faces twists and he gets all flustered. It’s really quite adorable. I could see why Lakia was drawn to him.

“Well… Yeah. How did you…?” He started but Crouton came up behind me and placed a hand on the small of my back to lead me out the door. He took me out back. It was dark and since they had their studio out on the edge of the forest, the moon and stars provided us with light instead of the headlights and lamp posts of the city. It was actually quite breathtaking. Of course I had always found beauty in the dark of night.

“Care to walk with me?” Crouton questioned and I slid my arm in his, letting him lead me into the forest. I didn’t mind. I trusted him though I had only just met him a month ago… or so that was how things appeared. There was still a part of me that thought I had known him once upon a time. But the logical side of me was yelling at me and telling me I was nuts. Perhaps it was a Family Force 5 photo that I had glanced at once that made him seem so familiar to me. But I couldn’t help but feeling like there was something more to it than that.

“So how come Cash is up so late?” I asked him, staring into the darkness of the path before, watching the light of the stars reflect off the various shapes of the forest. Crouton chuckled.

“He’s a rather rambunctious little bugger. He’ll fall asleep sometime soon.” Crouton answered. I turned just in time to see the moonlight dancing riveting minuets across his features. It was weird, but he was more beautiful in the moonlight. It was almost like he belonged in its glow.

“You know, you look quite ravishing in the light the moon has provided for us.” Crouton voiced what I didn’t have the courage to say, but about me instead. I stared down at the ground and I could feel my face heating. If it had been daylight, I’m sure he would have seen me blush.

“You’re a riot, you know that Mr. Crouton?” I questioned him.

“Mmm. Man, you got me on that one. I thought I was leading the next revolution… Kind of disappointed now actually.” He stated. I giggled at his silliness and shoved him. He laughed and before I knew what was happening, I found myself up against a tree. Crouton was so close that I could feel him pressing himself up against me. His lips turned up into a sly, playful smile as he leaned in to rest his forehead on mine.

My breath caught in my throat when his eyes beamed silver. I found that Cash’s gaze was not the only thing I could get lost in.