The Fiction We Live*

[Megami†]

((Continued from: Another Day in Homeroom...))

It wasn't a very lengthy drive from Hobbsborough High School to Creekmore Park, which was where Shawn and Maggie Heartgreeder had inevitably ended up.  Since school had been reduced to nothing and eventually evacuated due to the untimely demise of Sophomore Kim Jones-Larame, the majority of the Hobbsborough students had been left with little to nothing planned for the extended afternoon none of them had planned on receiving.  They'd meandered their way around the luscious walking trail surrounding the outskirts of the park for roughly an hour or so, idly talking about their day and avoiding the tender subject of Kim's death, before inevitably deciding to head into the quaint little coffee shop situated across the street from the park.

Shawn had, of course, made a pit-stop at the redge Dodge sitting in the parking lot to retrieve his laptop.  Sure, school had been unintentionally cancelled for the next few days, but knowing the dictatorial teacher turned professor that supervised his English class, their papers would be due the day they returned, and Shawn wasn't willing to chance not having a paper to turn in.  Sighing a bit, the red-headed boy ticked away hopelessly at the keys on his laptop, every once in a while stopping to glance toward his sister who sat across the booth, her eyes fixated on the breathtaking view of the park that the little coffee shop provided.

"Order number two-hundred sixty two!" the tall raven-haired girl called from behind the counter.

Raising her hand as a signal for Shawn to remain seated, Maggie stood and wandered over to the counter before recovering the orders she and her brother had placed and slowly heading back toward the corner booth in which they were seated.  Sliding back into the seat across from her brother before handing him his drink, Maggie leaned back in the booth and closed her eyes momentarily.  The day had certainly taken its toll on her, both mentally and physically.  The announcements of Kim's death had rocked the entire high school, and although Maggie didn't personally know the girl, she felt some tinge of guilt at the fact that there would be an empty seat in her class when school returned to its session.

"So, who was that guy?" Shawn mused coyly as he continued to monotonously run his fingers over the keys of his laptop.

"What?" Maggie was burst from her thoughts as the question rang from her brother's lips, catching her quite a bit offguard.  "What guy?"

"The one that was standing with you in class earlier.  The red-headed kid.  He a friend?"

An oblivious expression made its way across the blonde-headed girl's features for a moment until the person-in-question finally clicked in her head.  Giving her brother a faint smile, she shrugged lightly, "Oh!  That's Edgar.  At least, I think that's his name.  I sort of feel bad, he's been in my class all year but I've never really talked to him until today."

"Yeah?" Shawn mused, a grin forming on his lips.  This caused a frown to pass over Maggie's features, she could tell where this was going, "Yes," she stated matter-of-factly, still giving her brother a mock cold stare, "And it's not what you're thinking."

"If it isn't what I'm thinking, then how do you know I'm thinking it?" Shawn replied cynically, causing his sister to cast him a confused glance, "... What?"

A laugh escaped her brother's lips, but all Maggie could do was look on at the red-headed boy across from her in pure bewilderment at the statement he had just made.  Of course, all he meant was that if she hadn't been thinking along the same lines he was, she wouldn't have been defending herself.  Her brother's wit, however, often flew over Maggie's head.  Or maybe she just didn't care enough to sit down and take the time to think about what was being said.  Either way, she preferred to just let the subject pass lest Shawn get the wrong idea.  How he could ever assume that Edgar, a boy she had never spoken to before that day, was more than a friend was beyond her.

Shaking her head lightly before taking a sip of her drink, Maggie's gaze once again averted itself from the bespectacled boy sitting across from her and to the park across the street.  She looked on as an elderly couple walked side-by-side, decked out in running gear.  A smile couldn't help but force its way across the blonde's lips at the adorable scene.  Unlike most people, Maggie appreciated the small things in life -- the beautiful scenery the park provided, the small bluebirds chirping away in the afternoon sun, the squirrels running freely through the sprawling parks forestry, the odd trail-walker here and there living their life obliviously to everyone and everything else around them.  In a way, she hoped days like this would go on forever.

The silence that had formed, despite the white noise created by Shawn's rapid succession of keystrokes across the laptop's keyboard, was suddenly shattered as a jubilant tune emitted from the blonde-headed girl's cell phone, startling her and causing her to jump slightly in her seat as it began ringing.  Shawn looked up momentarily as Maggie read over the name on the display and gave her brother an apologetic smile before flipping the phone open to take the call.  Perhaps if she'd known the sort of irrational and oblivious statements her best friend would proceed to rattle off to her, she wouldn't have opened the cell phone to begin with.  Perhaps if she'd known that very soon, she'd be heeding those words with the utmost of importance, perhaps she might have listened a little closer...

[Megami†]

((The following dialogue as written for Taylor is taken from the "Irrational Thoughts and Fragmented Dreams..." topic.  In no way, shape, or form am I controlling Taylor Brennan.))

The frantic and panicky voice of her best friend and confidante Taylor Brennan on the other end of the cell phone took Maggie visibly aback, causing even Shawn to shoot her a curious look as the string of high-pitched chatter echoed from the small device being held partially away from Maggie's ear.

"... Hello?"

"I have to talk to you. Where are you?"

Taylor was always, always the type of person for idle chit-chat.  He could spend hours having a phone conversation with the blonde-headed girl currently wearing a baffled expression in the booth.  So, for him to be so up-front and no-nonsense made Maggie feel a bit uneasy.

"I'm with my brother, we're at Sweet Bay."

The voice on the line, still shouting at what could almost be described a hysterical pitch, instantly rebutted her answer with one of his own, "What do you mean you're with your brother?  Maggie, listen to me, I know this sounds crazy but I had a psychic premonition..."

At that comment Maggie couldn't help but laugh audibly, and the panic and nervousness that had before filled her stomach and sent an uncomfortable sensation running up her spine evaporated almost instantaneously.  Shawn, meanwhile, had aborted any attempt at typing his paper and was now looking at his sister with a befuddled look all his own.

"Taylor... are you on drugs?" Maggie replied, another laugh escaping her lips as the words rolled from her lips.  "No I'm not on drugs. Maggie, where are you there is some serious final destination bullshit going on here and I need to talk to you. Maggie... I know I sound crazy."

Shaking her head a bit at Taylor's incessant barraging of questions, she sighed audibly and cast an apologetic glance at Shawn before responding, "I told you, I'm with Shawn.  And you're right, Taylor.  You sound insane.  This isn't a movie, Taylor.  You aren't a psychic.  You do know you aren't a psychic, don't you?"

The look on Maggie's face caused the red-headed boy across the booth from her to burst into a fit of laughter of his own before finally composing himself and dusting off the thin-rimmed glasses that adorned his rather handsome features.  Taylor was unrelenting in his efforts, however, and continued to insist that Maggie head to the Brennan household so he could speak with her.

"Yes, yes I know I'm not a psychic but something really weird is going on. Oh shit... Maggs, just get to my house when you can, I think Austin Spencer just pulled into my driveway."

"Austin Spencer?" Maggie chimed lightly, "Austin Spencer that's in my brother's class?  The one who thinks he's a playboy and acts like a complete homophobe?"

"Yes that Austin Spencer. What other Austin's do we know... he was in my dream I left a message on his cell. Just get here as soon as you can. Kay love ya, bye."

Maggie furrowed her brow as she in turn hung up the cell phone and cast a forelorn look at her older brother.  Shrugging her shoulders a bit, she inwardly debated whether or not she should proceed to Taylor's house.  Obviously, her best friend sought her out urgently, and it was only the right thing to do to at least humor him while he regaled her of psychic premonitions and movie-like fairytales.  Still, part of her didn't want to listen to Taylor's sudden bout of insanity.

"What's goin' on?" Shawn inquired in a concerned voice as he took notice of the torn look piercing his sister's features.

"Well..." Maggie mused, looking down at the table instead of at Shawn, "Would you object to going to Taylor's house for a little while?  All I got from the phone conversation was a bunch of insane babbling about weird dreams and premonitions.  I'm worried about him."

Shawn shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.  He wasn't opposed to heading over to Taylor's house for a bit.  He actually sort of liked Taylor.  He'd become rather used to him being around, what with he and Maggie becoming such good friends at whatnot.  Truth be told, Shawn was just glad to see his baby sister socializing with anyone, as she so often seemed to get lost within his shadow.  Folding up the laptop with a click, Shawn stood from his seated position and motioned for his sister to follow.

Maggie sighed once again before also rising to her feet and proceeding to follow her brother to the exit of the quaint little coffee shop and through the blazing heat of the parking lot to the red Dodge Ram sitting in solitude not far away.  Maggie had, of course, pawned Taylor's babbling and crazy-talk off on his condition.  For all she knew, he was suffering from psychosis or temporary insanity or something.  That was possible, right?  For all the explaining and attempts at brushing off Taylor's words for nothing, Maggie should've been paying a lot more attention, because very soon, she'd be heeding the words now emitting from Taylor's lips.

((Continued in: Irrational Thoughts and Fragmented Dreams...))