Knives Out

Lilly was the typical scatterbrain in school, which meant not a lot of people spoke to her or wanted to. She was delirious and pretended she was a butterfly sometimes, flapping her arms carelessly through the air with a goofy smile on her face as she "flew" to her next class. Occasionally someone would put an end to her enthusiasm whether it meant she was tripped purposely and Lilly punched the persuer in the face afterwards, or the teacher told her to, "stop acting like a fricken three-year-old and get to class".

All Lilly ever wanted, desired for, was a jolt of energy. She longed for the rush that never ended- the rush that every adolescent was so urgent to have at every moment. Lilly lacked genuine happiness and that was why she faked it so much, why she did so many unexplained things. It was so that she could try to find the push and anxiety that was waiting to be praised... but Lilly never had any luck at discovering it yet.

Her only friend in school had been another lunatic who went by the name of Tracey. She was considered, by everyone in the school, to be the most stupid kid ever. Many jocks claimed that her brain was made out of the licorice that she devoured every lunch and that her heart was composed of Sour Patch Kids, considering her attitude towards most people. Then the popular girls commented on her hair color, saying that it was already blonde enough for her sense of common knowledge.

Together, Lilly and Tracey were the most hated teenagers throughout the entire school, and neither of them cared. Lilly, most of the time, never even acknowledged that she was acquainted with Tracey until the blonde asked her to go to parties with her every week.

"Lilly-poo!, you're coming to that party with all of the hunks, right?" asked the sleazy girl who had kicked a milk carton over just then. Lilly wiped her sweaty fingers on her eyelids to obtain some of the dark, powdery substance that coated them and then reached over to smudge it onto the blonde's cheeks, clumsily. If a bystander had seen what had just happened, they would have concluded that Lilly was either high or drunk for the random acts she did.

"I don't think I will tonight, love." she began, as she swung her arms dramatically with each step she took towards her car. "I'm planning on just getting home to find a tree to sleep in- you know- to act like a bat?"

"But you aren't a bat, silly! You're a human- duh!"

As if Lilly was clueless and the words that Tracey said had turned her whole perspective on life, she screamed at the top of her lungs, not caring about the looks of disgust heading in her direction, and then began cackling in laughter.

"If you come at six, I'll stay until ten. Don't be late, love!"

The dark-brunetted girl strode to her beat down car, if that's what you could call it, and drove away blasting Depeche Mode, a band you'd never think she'd like to listen to.

That night, wearing the red silken dress she had bought once to only sneak into a 21-and-up bar, Lilly was being dragged to an alleyway by her "friend" Tracey, who was also very scantily clad in clothing. The music they heard up ahead was sketchy and psychedelic, one could even say, and it filled both girls with a robust amusement.

With their arrival, Lilly had been immensely dissapointed by the majority of normal-looking people, those of who she couldn't find herself having any fun with ever. Tracey, however, already began chattering away with a guy twice her size and giggling as if she was drunk. Perhaps, thought Lilly, that it was the sugar high that always seemed eminant upon the girl.

Lilly avoided making eye contact with anyone except for the two men DJ-ing just a few yards away from her. They weren't staring at anyone else either, so it didn't bother Lilly if she happened to be stalking them, almost.

Her arms had grown cold with the autumn night dawning in on her so suddenly and the regret of not bringing a coat of some sort bothered her endlessly. If only she hadn't listened to the perpetually stupid girl that had begged her to come. Lilly wouldn't have been this bored ever in her life to where she felt like actually crumbling to the ground to be apart of it, to be stepped on.

And that is when one of the two men finally stared up and leered over at the awkwardly standing girl in the street light's absent heat. It caught Lilly by surprise and she actually found herself jumping from the fright instead of not even reacting at all. She thought that it had felt good, the sudden jolt of realization, the jolt that meant she wasn't in a haze anymore, that what she was living in was no more a fog. Even if it was just a stare, that was ever so proceeding on, it had gained such a positive response, but Lilly wasn't willing to accept that fact already.

So when the man walked over, noticably barefoot and wearing a shaggy cloth around his head, Lilly turned her back on him and crossed her shivering arms.

"Not having fun, are you?" his voice resonated into the air and faded away with the loud air conditioning to the flat behind them. For a guy that looked completely out of it, he did sound intriguingly amused.

"Well obviously I am not. These people are lame... and so are you."

Lilly was very eager to just walk away and back to her house, but the stare he had when she turned to look at him again had paralyzed her in spot. He looked like he was enjoying a joke that no one else had gotten the point of... and it made Lilly mad.

"You can't judge me that quickly, lady."

"Sure I can," she yawned. "If you're not my type, you're not anybody."

"Well, you're my type, so I guess it equals out." the young man, began giggling and then outstretched his hand to the lanky girl. The glossed-look in his green eyes made him look slightly more attractive in the dim lighting, more demanding even.

"I'm Andrew, and I would like you to be my friend."

"Well, Andrew, I am not going to be your friend... but I do go by the name of Lilly, if you're wondering-"

"-I was."

The smile on his face had turned cheeky and he made his hand fit into her limp one that had stayed at her side and brought it up to shake enthusiastically, which had even made Lilly roll her eyes with fascination and humor.

When he let go, Lilly muttered a "good bye" and began walking back down the alleyway. The music had gotten much slower and it only fit in with the mysterious mood because when Lilly turned to look back, Andrew was still watching her like a hawk and the smile had vanished into a straight line.