Cry for the Moon

A pale veil of light engulfed me when I awoke the next morning. The light was bright against my eyes, making them burn. Slowly, I blinked away my drowsiness as I stretched my limbs. Fatigue still plagued my body; I hadn’t slept well, but at least I’d slept… for the most part. As expected, I was still on the couch in the living room, but Mark, who’d fallen asleep on the floor, was no where to be found.

The smell of coffee wafted to me and I got up, sluggishly heading for the kitchen. The grey carpet was soft against my feet as I absentmindedly made my way around the couch, walking towards the door. As I did so, my ears began to pick up on a conversation.

"I take it Analii hasn't been sleeping well." I stopped dead in my tracks as Mark's quiet voice carried to my ears. The reply that followed was just as quiet and there was a notable reluctance.

"No," Thomas replied. "She... never does around this time of year."

"And why is that?"

"I don't know." More reluctance.

"What do you mean you don't know," Mark asked. I cringed at his harshness.Thomas' voice took on a defensive tone.

"Just because she and I are close doesn't mean I know everything about her."

"Oh, I know you don't, but you know her better than anyone else," Mark retorted.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Mark replied quickly. He immediately spoke again, driving the conversation back to its main subject: Me. "But you do know her better than anyone, right?"

"Yes," Thomas replied. It sounded as if he were speaking through gritted teeth. Mark was treading on thin ice; this was a touchy subject no matter who brought it up, or how, simply because he himself didn't know why. No one knew why and no one ever would. That was a promise sealed in blood.

"She said it was an old memory." Mark's voice was much calmer now.

"I don't know, Mark. Maybe it has to do with her family or something, or maybe it doesn't. What I do know is that she doesn't want me to know, so I'm not going to push it," Thomas explained. I could help but smile at his words.

"She doesn't talk about her family much." And smile gone.

"There isn't much to say," Thomas answered. "Her mom died when she was young and she hasn't talked to her... father or brother in years."

"Not since she started touring with you, I'm guessing," Mark spoke. Now the ice was cracking.

"It's been about that long, yes, but that doesn't matter," Thomas snapped.

"Yes, it d-"

"Morning, guys," I chimed out, entering the kitchen. Mark immediately went silent.

"Good morning, Analii," Mark smiled. I couldn't help but smirk, seeing the look on his face. He was desperately hoping I hadn't heard him. For his sake, I feigned ignorance of the conversation that he and Thomas had just been having.

"We were just talking about you," Mark continued. Yeah, I know. I could hear you.

"Oh?" I replied absentmindedly. Mark seemed convinced.

"Yes," Thomas spoke up. "We were talking about your birthday." I smiled seeing the subtle smirk on his face that clearly read 'I know you're faking it.' Mark was oblivious to this, or at least, he was pretending to be. Thomas, however, saw right through my facade, just like always. He'd been able to do that even when I first met him.

"Ah," I sighed. "Don't worry about that; I don't want anything."

"She says that every year," Thomas laughed.

"I'm not a fan of celebrating my birthday."

"But we still do," Thomas grinned at me. It reminded me, for some reason, of a kid who'd just gotten their way.

"That's because I can't talk you out of it," I replied with a laugh.

"Well," Mark chimed. "You will like what I'm giving you." I looked to Thomas to see if he had any idea of what it was. He just shrugged. Before I could ask Mark what he'd gotten me, he continued talking.

"Would you care for a cup of coffee," Mark asked.

"Sure," I answered with a yawn. Mark turned his back to Thomas and I for a moment, and then turned back to me, handing me a cup of coffee. I smiled at him as he handed it to me, his hand brushing over mine.

"Thank you," I spoke, taking a long drink. I let out a sigh, enjoying the small dose of caffeine. This would easily keep me awake for today, however, if my sleep continued to evade me, I was going to need something much stronger...

.X.

I sat on the couch, notebook in hand, staring off into the fireplace that had been lit about an hour ago. It was a quiet day; everyone was off doing something. Thomas was playing guitar, Roy was reading, Isaac was texting Koda while trying to hide from Yves, Mark was working on music, or at least, I think that's where he was, and everyone else had just... disappeared for a while. Sighing in contentment, I watched as the flames danced from side to side in a seemingly endless glowing blaze. Fire always reminded me of Christmas, a holiday that was in just a few more days, a holiday that I'd used to love more than anything...

"Hello?" a sleepy voice answered.

"Wake up, Elias," I answered. "It Christmas!"

"So," Elias grumbled. He didn't care much for holidays. "Let me sleep!" At that, my friend buried his face in the pillows. I nudged him, but there was no response. I nudged him again and again.

"Go away!" Elias yelled finally.

"Fine," I huffed, making my way to the door. I stopped at the edge, turning around before running my full speed towards Elias. He let out a loud, startled scream when I pounced on him.

"Get up, you big jerk! You can sleep when you're dead!"

I couldn't help but giggle quietly to myself at the memory. Oh, how those words had a much different meaning to me now... Why could things still be so simple, so happy?

Never mind. I knew exactly why.

"Someone's very smiley." I looked up only to take notice to Simone's brilliant red hair as she sat next to me. Smiling, I closed my notebook, tossing it haphazardly on the stand.

"Hey, Simone," I chimed quietly.

"You know a little bird let me know it's your birthday soon," the red headed singer replied.

"Oh, yeah," I started. "And who told you that?"

"Oh, you know, he's got long brown hair, brown eyes, plays guitar and you happen to have a huge crush on him." Simone let out a laugh as I elbowed her lightly, my eyes wide.

"Hush," I snapped as I looked around quickly, hoping no one had heard her.

"Oh, relax," she laughed. "You've got nothing to worry about. Everyone pretty much knows you've got a thing for him. Well, everyone but him. He's oblivious, but I'm working on that," she replied.

"What!" I shouted out, only to duck down as Roy, who was sitting at the counter, glanced up from his book, his dark eyes landing right on me. I couldn't tell if he was annoyed or not. I would almost bet Roy was secretly listening to every word of mine and Simone's conversation. I sent him a sheepish grin and he merely chuckled quietly. Yep, he was definitely listening.

"Simone," I spoke, turning back to her. "Believe me, it's NOT gonna happen with me and him."

"You can say that all you want but you know it won't change anything. Just wait, wait until you see what he got you for Christmas. And not to mention your birthday, my god." Now that caught my interest. What had he gotten me?

"What did he get? You obviously know," I spoke quietly.

"Nope," Simone laughed. "Not telling, but he did say that since you don't like celebrating your birthday, he had to get you something special. Something about trying to convince you to enjoy your birthday."

"Oh, hush," I grumbled. "He hasn't gotten me anything," I barked out quietly. Simone just smirked at me.

"Fine, if you don't believe me, ask him yourself."

"Hey, Analii?" I looked up above me hearing my name called. Mark stood at the top of the stairs, leaning against the railing with an annoyed look on his face. What could he possibly want?

"Yes, Mark," I chimed in a sing song voice, ignoring another of Simone's smirks. Mark merely smiled hearing the way I'd replied. I still couldn't believe he'd caught me singing. No one ever had before.

"Could you come here for a moment? I need your help with something."

"Why, sure," I replied as I got up. Mark turned, walking to whatever room he'd been in. When he was gone, Simone grabbed my arm, stopping me.

"Ask him what he got you. Then you won't be able to deny that he likes you!" Simone chirped.

"It's not like she can do that as it is." My head snapped to the right, my gaze zoning in on Roy, who'd just jumped into the conversation.

"Oh," I yelled. "Not you too, Roy!"

"He's right!" Simone replied, nearly yelling.

"Keep it down would you? He'll hear you."

"Fine," Simone snapped, this time much quieter. "But Roy is right!"

"How?" I questioned, arching an eyebrow at the red head. Roy had gone back to reading his book, Apparently the book was interesting enough to keep him occupied for a couple of hours, but not enough to keep him out of the conversation between Simone and I.

"What do you mean how?" Simone practically shrieked. I cringed, shushing her.

"You should've seen the way he was looking at you last night," Simone continued calmly.

"I fell asleep, so what," I replied quickly, fighting back the blush creeping onto my face. I'd almost forgotten about my falling asleep while being snuggled up to him. Much to my annoyance, Simone noticed this blush and a grin spread across her face, her blue eyes bright.

"You two looked so cute," she said finally.

"I agree," Roy chimed in. "And so did everyone else." Hearing this, my face got even more red. Before they could notice, I turned quickly, heading for the stairs.

"I'm leaving this conversation now," I spoke, making my way up the steps to see what Mark wanted. Simone let out a laugh of triumph the ended with me flipping her off. Real classy, I know, but she deserved it! When I reached the top of the stairs, I heard Simone yelled back.

"You know I'm right, Analii!"