What You Did in the Dark

Oliver surprised her when he was the one to knock on her front door on Thursday afternoon.

"Care for a walk?" He beamed.

Aleria smiled while letting him in, noticing that Tom wasn't with him, but disappeared to her room to put on a sweater anyway. She told her mom that she was going on a walk with Oliver (to which her mother winked and told her to 'have fun') and walked side by side with him out the door.

They chatted lightly on the walk to the park. When they got there, they both took a swing and swayed gently through the breeze.

"Do you ever wonder what it's like to fly?" Oliver suddenly asked.

"I used to," Aleria admitted, "when I was little. I never really gave it much thought since I started middle school."

Oliver grinned. "I bet I could show you."

She was confused as he got up out of his swing to walk behind her. Then she was swinging forwards, his large hands gently pushing on her back. She giggled when she went higher.

Oliver found her giggle absolutely adorable, and pushed her harder, sending her higher, illiciting more of the soft laugh from Aleria. He stopped pushing her to watch her glide through the air. A big smile was set on her lips, and he couldn't help but smile back knowing that he was the cause of it.

When she got down, she took Oliver by the hand and whispered, "I want you to meet someone."

Oliver's stomach twisted at the thought of meeting someone new, but he wasn't concentrated on that because Aleria was holding his hand. Since he didn't want her to let go, he followed her and had to turn his head when she interlocked their fingers so she wouldn't catch his goofy grin.

They walked behind the trees and past a lake, which Oliver never noticed when he was there, and he was shocked to find that there was actually a small graveyard behind the area.

Aleria led him past several gravestones before stopping at one with a gathering of dead roses on it. She brushed the top with her hand and revealed a name: Marylin Young.

"This is Mary, Oliver."

Aleria knew she had to keep the tears back this time. Every time she visited her best friend, she would let them flow shamelessly and endlessly. This time, though, she had to be strong. She didn't want to make Oliver uncomfortable by crying. So she fought with every fiber in her being to keep the tears back.

Oliver looked sadly down at the gravestone. Beneath that stone, resting in a coffin, laid the body of a girl that once made Aleria happy. And now she's dead.

"She would've been your friend too, Oliver," Aleria stated, temporarily taking his attention off of what was in front of them. "I know you guys would get along. She would've loved you. And Tom."

Oliver nodded. He noticed that tears were gleaming from the waterlines of Aleria's eyes and reluctantly took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Aleria smiled and stood up. Oliver stood up with her, in order to keep their hands together, and pulled her into a tight hug, holding the pretty girl to his chest and nuzzling his face into her hair.

"Let's go home," she muffled against his shoulder.



Sitting on his bed, Oliver explained that Tom was at a friend's house and he'd be back later. Aleria didn't mind this. Everytime Oliver glanced at her, she felt the need to hide her blushing face or scream into one of Oliver's pillows. She wasn't used to crushes. But she had no idea having one could feel this good.

"What do you want to be when you're older?" Aleria suddenly asked. She was so far intrigued that she and Oliver had the same kind of life style, and though he couldn't really see the beauty in himself, Aleria thought he was an amazing person. Sure, she'd only known him for less than a week, but she felt as if she'd known him for a long time.

The question, though, caught Oliver off guard. "I don't know, actually..." he admitted, "I've...always taken interest in music and art. I don't exactly know what I could do in those fields though."

Aleria smiled. "You could be a singer," she listed, "or a guitar player, or a drummer, or a bassist, or you could play any kind of instrument. You could paint and sell your artwork. Or you could do murals."

Oliver merely simpered. "I think music would be more my style. I don't know about singing, though...I can't really do it."

"Well have you tried?"

"Yes. I'm not that good. I like the idea of being a musician though. I'll sleep on it."

Aleria smiled at him.

"So what about you?" He wondered.

"What?"

"What do you want to do when you're older?"

Aleria had to stop and consider this for a moment. She hadn't thought this far in her life, mainly because she always thought she would end it before she could find a fitting career. She did like music, but she had no talent with instruments, and she couldn't picture herself singing. She liked art, but what good would that do her? She didn't paint, so she couldn't sell paintings, she only drew. She didn't know what type of jobs she could get by drawing except maybe a tattoo artist--but if the pain in itself freaked her out, she couldn't deal with inflicting it on someone else.

"I dunno. I like art. That's it."

"What kind of art?" He interrogated. Oliver was interested in this girl's future. He wanted to know what she could do.

"Drawing. Sketching."

"Hmm...what about graphic designing?"