The Indians of Bending Creek

I could have been studying for my English test. Instead - I'm designing Indian costumes.

Jackson sat in front of me, his sun-kissed face tilted toward the floor as he drew. Those dark, ferocious eyes traced every line like a promise, itching and flowing across the paper. It was a work of art - every inch practiced and perfect. Image after image came and went - us in Indian garb, feathers, homemade bows, and posters - so many posters. Design after design appeared, took life, and was placed lovingly to the side. For my own part, I wrote. I planned and listed, gathered and engineered. Two dozen pages of notes and doodles were tossed in a haphazard stack beside where I sat cross-legged on our dormitory floor.

The air was cool, the window left open. The gauzy white curtains danced at the sides of our tall windows, blowing gently in the breeze. It was warmer today than it had been for a while, and we were both comfortable in nothing but our long-sleeved white dress shirts, even with the chillness which ruffled our papers and gently touched our skin. The sunlight was pleasant, bathing the room in yellows and whites, playing against the light coffee-coloured walls. Letting my ink-tipped pen fall to the floor with a clatter, I reached my arms above my head and linked my fingers, twisting them one way and then the other. I felt a ripple of pleasure as my spine cracked, feeling each vertebrae pull apart and then reconnect, and let a small sigh escape my lips.

The other boy glanced up, his black eyes crinkling around the edges as he grinned. "Heh. A little bit tired, Jascer?"

"Slightly." I shrugged. "Mostly just bored." the admittance caused my companion's grin to widen to a full-faced smile.

"How can you be bored?" he teased, his own jaw cracking wide in a yawn. "If we get caught with those." he shifted his eyes and pulled his chin toward my papers, "we're looking at suspension - at least."

"We could just pass them off as jokes." I said, my voice tremoring slightly and belaying my confidence.

"Yeah," Jay scoffed, rolling his narrow eyes, "that is what I call a foolproof plan. Thank you Mr. Bond."

"Alright, asshole." I grinned, climbing to my feet. Pushing up my sleeves to the elbow, I held them up in front of my face Muhammad Ali style and threw two fake jabs. "Put 'em up."

He placed one hand flat on the ground, levering himself to his feet and slowly rolling up his own sleeves. His black eyes sparkled with dimly-lit humor. "Let's take this-"

Bang. Bang. Bang.

We both whirled at the sound. I swung around the kicked the sheets beside my feet under my desk, where I could pretend they had scattered. The rest of the project, however, was in the open and plainly obvious. There was no way we had time to hide it!

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The sound of knuckles on hardwood sounded again, more forcefully this time. Jack glanced at me, and I saw the apprehension in his eyes. It didn't quite border on fear, but he was definitely concerned. Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward and wrapped my hand around the brass doorknob. The metal was cold under my skin as I tightened my grip, swallowing hard around the lump in my throat. A weight sank from my mouth to my stomach, pulling me into the floor.

Inhaling deeply, I pulled open the door to face my worst nightmare.

And it turned instantly to a dream.

"Told you I'd see you around, Scar."

I didn't quite collapse at the sight of Anne, her elegant blonde hair tangling wildly around her slim shoulders - but it was a close thing. Leaning in relief against the doorway, I gave her a small smile and raised my eyebrows.

"Yes?"

"Not even a 'nice to see you, Annabelle. How are you Annabelle. Nice weather we're having, huh, Annabelle."

I stared at her impassively, and she made a sound of amused irritation in the back of her throat. She had changed out of the short grey dress and tall socks that made up the female uniform. Her blonde hair was tied back in a hurried ponytail, a single strand hanging against her left cheek. Those wide green eyes stared up at me, dazzling and playful. Instead of the boring - if, admittedly, slightly elegant - grey uniform dress, she wore a white dress which fell to her knees. A small rose was pinned to the left shoulder, and she twirled the hem slightly as she waited for me to invite her inside.

In all honest, I wanted to do nothing more - but ... the project...

But Annabelle-Lynne...

"Come on in." I murmured, stepping out of the doorway and back into the slightly smoky room. She gave me a small nod, stepping quickly inside. I shut the door behind her, twisting the lock with two fingers.

"No escape, huh?" she asked, dropping one eyelid in a wink.

Jesus, take the wheel.

"Good afternoon, Anna." Jack said, a charming smile lighting up his otherwise dark face. Then, without pause, he turned to me and, without that smile faltering for a moment, asked: "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"Inviting ... cute girl ..." my voice edged around the garden of sarcasm, stopping to smell the flowers without actually stepping in, "... into ... our room. This is a good thing, Jack."

"Cute girl?" Annabelle looked around, raising one pointed eyebrow. "Oh, me."

"Jascer!" Jack hissed in synchrony with her. "This is important and private!

"Oh." Annabelle smiled innocently, "Are you fucking him, too, Jackson?"

The dark-eyed boy went wide-eyed, and I saw a vein appear beside his temple, pressing through his porcelain skin. His cheeks flushed pink as heat rose through his neck and jaw, staining his face a shade of cherry ocher. He looked like expensive china - light beige and sandy pink. I looked at her in shock, feeling my own eyes go as wide as Jackson's. The petite girl's face stayed serene, however, and she met the other boy's eyes evenly as rage rose through their inky depths. Tightening his fists at his side, he seethed in silence. I could almost hear the sound of his teeth grinding. When he finally found his voice, he practically spit his words like acid from between his teeth. They were drenched in venom.

Wait, they're ... My mind was thrown in turmoil as I struggled with the situation. My roommate is fucking my crush. That's low.

"Listen here, you little cun-"

"Alright!" I practically shouted, silencing Jack instantly. His dark, outraged eyes turned toward mine, and some of the furious heat faded from their blackness. Annabelle's cool face turned to regard me; weighing me, waiting for me to speak. "Alright." I repeated, lowering my voice to a practiced tone. "I don't think I know what's going on here-"

Bullshit! my inner monologue screamed, You know exactly what's going on here! Your friend is fucking your crush. As in they are sleeping together. As in - while he knows you are crushing on her, he had been throwing himself between her legs. Kill the prick!

"- but it can wait. Jack, we have work to do. Annabelle, did you come here just to disrupt us, or is there a another ... reason ... for your visit?"

She blinked slowly, owlishly. Once again, the unflustered stillness of those forest-green eyes made my heart flutter, and drove me to the point of insanity. Just when I thought she would stare forever without speaking, her pink lips parted and she said five words which knocked me - mentally - flat on my ass.

"I wanted to see you."

She probably came over to see if Jack was alone. the more cynical part of me sneered.

"But," she pressed her lips together, her eyes dropping to the papers which were scattered all over the ground, "I want in."

Oh, right. She wants - WHAT?!

"I've seen you two recently." she grinned, blinking those infuriatingly beautiful green eyes. "You're like field mice in a cat barn. Something's up, and I want in on it."

Fuck.

"It's nothing." Jackson said firmly, some of the venom back in his voice. Unfortunately, it was at the exact moment that I completely unreassuringly said, "Nothing's up."

Well that doesn't make us guilty as hell.

The tiny girl raised one curved eyebrow. I could feel the laughter in her emerald gaze.

"Alright," I sighed in defeat, feeling Jackson's black eyes fly to my own.

"No, Jay!" he hissed.

"She's in on it, man." I shrugged slightly. "Besides, she's right. We've been brutally obvious about it, and we need another person anyway. We can't do this with just the two of it. My plans would be so much easier with a third."

Beside me, Annebelle smiled innocently, knowing she held all the power.

"Fuck." Jackson muttered, lowering his eyebrows and staring down at the papers by his feet. "Fuck!" he gave the nearest stack a vicious kick, sending papers flying and scattering across the dark hardwood floor. After a moment of brooding stillness, he finally relented. "Fine." he muttered, his eyes rising to meet Annabelle's. "But let's get this very straight. You do what we say, when we say so. You do not try to do anything on your own, got it?"

"Got it!" she said happily, her voice all childish sincerity.

"Okay." I sighed, dropping onto my heels to collect my papers in a pile, "then here's the plan..."