CNC 24; Watermelon 6
Author: Marina
Story: The Worldwalkers
Challenges: Cookies n’ Cream 24 (play), Watermelon 6 (never a dull moment with you)
Toppings/Extras: Caramel, Milkshake (Gideon, Gin, Danny, and Nora are all blatantly hijacked from Casey)
Word Count: 1,192
Rating: G (brief mentions of past trauma though)
Summary: Gideon’s new friends ambush him with water guns.
Notes: For the weekly prompt, more of Kaylee’s generation. Gideon and Kaylee are fifteen, Danny is sixteen, and Nora is fourteen. Brief background - Gideon lived with his mother until about six weeks before this. He pressed charges against her after she seriously injured him, and his stepmother took him in.
Gideon Marshall opened the door of his stepmother’s beachfront condo to find three water guns pointed in his face. With a yelp, he took a step back.
Kaylee Dakamar lowered hers with a delighted laugh. “Oh my God, your face,” she managed, around the giggles.
Gideon folded his arms and looked between his three visitors warily. The second was Kaylee’s cousin, Danny Miller, which did not surprise him at all. The third, her sister Nora, did a little. It was less her actual presence than the water gun in her hands. “Good morning?” he tried.
Danny offered him the water gun in his hands. “Arm yourself and come out with us.”
“Okay?” Gideon carefully took the toy, glancing uncertainly between it and Danny. “Don’t you need one?”
“Mine’s in the car,” said Danny easily. “Hurry up, day’s a-wasting!” He promptly turned and hopped back down the stairs to the boardwalk known as the Strand.
“Is there a reason for this?” Gideon asked the girls, who still waited expectantly on the porch with their own water guns held in ready position-not in his face, but as if they were prepared to aim them at the slightest provocation. Even though they were only toys, it still made him a little nervous. Nora just looked amused, but Kaylee had a gleam in her eye he instinctively found unnerving.
“Yes,” said Kaylee. “It’s a hot day so water gun fights are appropriate. We decided you needed to be involved.”
“More like Kaylee decided and Danny thought it would be funny,” Nora added, with a sly smirk in Kaylee’s direction.
“And you don’t?” Gideon asked dryly, feeling a bit rueful about the fact that everything he had said to them so far that day had been a question.
She shrugged. “Yeah, but Kay, more than you. We do this every so often and she always gets ridiculously excited about it.”
“We’ll see who’s laughing when this is over,” Kaylee said loftily. “Warning: it’s going to be me. And my partner. But mostly me.”
Gideon decided that he was probably better off not getting in the middle of this. Still, part of him felt intrigued, and that part grew every moment. He always felt that way around this family-torn between his gut reaction to run away and his odd desire to be part of their shenanigans, the way they wanted him to be. Even after more than a month of knowing them, he still had no idea why they had so readily adopted him into their group. Not that he could find it in him to complain.
“Yeah, sure,” said Nora, in total unconcern.
Kaylee turned to Gideon. “C’mon, let’s go.”
“I, um…” He glanced behind him into the condo. “I should ask Gin.”
She grinned widely and poked her head into the hallway. “Gin, Gideon can come out and have a water fight with us, right?” she called.
He heard his stepmother laugh from within the living room. “Of course he can, especially if the three of you stay for lunch after!”
“Deal!” Kaylee straightened and looked at Gideon. “All settled.”
“Thanks,” he said, unable to help smiling.
“No problem.” She skipped down the steps to the Strand. Nora followed, her gun casually resting against her shoulder.
Gideon carefully shut the door behind him and trailed after them. So this is what having friends is like, he thought, not for the first time. He felt overwhelmed by it in the best possible way.
Down on the walk, they met up with Danny again. All the water guns were on the large side, but his was the largest, hanging from a strap slung across his body. Gideon eyed Kaylee, half expecting her to cry foul, but she did not. “Me and Gideon versus you and Nora?” she asked instead.
Danny and Nora exchanged a glance, then nodded their approval. “Two minutes to spread out as usual?” Danny asked.
“Right. Boundaries?”
“Let’s say we can go on the Strand up to the quarter-mile mark, and the same distance on the beach.”
“Losers buy ice cream?”
“That’s fair.”
“Wait,” said Gideon, glancing between them. The conversation had moved too fast for him to keep up. “Losers? How do you decide who loses?”
“It’s the team that gets hypothermia first,” said Danny, smiling. Without waiting for Gideon to reply, he and Nora turned and jogged down to the beach.
Gideon turned incredulously to Kaylee. “Seriously?”
She snorted. “No, of course not. We either run out of water, get too wet to function, or call some sort of cease fire, in which case the team that starts it is the one that surrenders.” With a ferocious grin, she added, “But that’s never my team.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You seem awfully certain of that.”
“If I go down, it’s in a blaze of glory,” she said dramatically. “But that doesn’t happen a lot, either. I’m very good at this.”
“It might today. I’ve never done this before.”
“It’s not hard.”
Gideon rolled his eyes. “I’m just saying. You could have picked one of them instead and been sure of your victory.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Kaylee asked. “If I’d teamed up with Danny we’d have destroyed you and Nora, and Nora and I always work together well. I like winning, but I want it to mean something.” She smirked at him. “Besides, you’re so tall I can use you as a human shield if I need to.”
“So glad to be useful,” he replied, deadpan.
“I thought you’d be.” She patted his arm. “Seriously, though, you’ll be great. Just point and squeeze the trigger.”
He made a face at her. “I did figure out that much, thanks.”
She smiled widely. “Come on, our two minutes is almost up.” With that, she began to trot off toward one of the concrete benches that lined the Strand.
Gideon watched her go, a thought nagging at the back of his mind. There was something unusual about the way she behaved. It took him a moment to realize what exactly that was, but when he did, it startled him. For the first time since her kidnapping, he had seen Kaylee act like the cheerful, carefree girl she had been when she had first transferred to his school. Certainly she had plenty of enthusiasm most of the time, but there was always a shadow over her expression, or a hint of hesitance in her movements. Not that he blamed her for that, knowing even a little of what she had been through.
But it seemed she still could be honestly happy, even after that horror. At least sometimes. Right then, she looked it.
Gideon wondered if that meant he might get to that point, too, someday. He hoped so. If anything could help him manage it, it would be living with Gin and having these strong-minded, yet caring people as his friends. All of it still seemed too good to be real, and he doubted he would ever get used to it. Maybe it’s better that way, he thought.
A little smile crept onto his face as he ran to catch up with Kaylee.
Story: The Worldwalkers
Challenges: Cookies n’ Cream 24 (play), Watermelon 6 (never a dull moment with you)
Toppings/Extras: Caramel, Milkshake (Gideon, Gin, Danny, and Nora are all blatantly hijacked from Casey)
Word Count: 1,192
Rating: G (brief mentions of past trauma though)
Summary: Gideon’s new friends ambush him with water guns.
Notes: For the weekly prompt, more of Kaylee’s generation. Gideon and Kaylee are fifteen, Danny is sixteen, and Nora is fourteen. Brief background - Gideon lived with his mother until about six weeks before this. He pressed charges against her after she seriously injured him, and his stepmother took him in.
Gideon Marshall opened the door of his stepmother’s beachfront condo to find three water guns pointed in his face. With a yelp, he took a step back.
Kaylee Dakamar lowered hers with a delighted laugh. “Oh my God, your face,” she managed, around the giggles.
Gideon folded his arms and looked between his three visitors warily. The second was Kaylee’s cousin, Danny Miller, which did not surprise him at all. The third, her sister Nora, did a little. It was less her actual presence than the water gun in her hands. “Good morning?” he tried.
Danny offered him the water gun in his hands. “Arm yourself and come out with us.”
“Okay?” Gideon carefully took the toy, glancing uncertainly between it and Danny. “Don’t you need one?”
“Mine’s in the car,” said Danny easily. “Hurry up, day’s a-wasting!” He promptly turned and hopped back down the stairs to the boardwalk known as the Strand.
“Is there a reason for this?” Gideon asked the girls, who still waited expectantly on the porch with their own water guns held in ready position-not in his face, but as if they were prepared to aim them at the slightest provocation. Even though they were only toys, it still made him a little nervous. Nora just looked amused, but Kaylee had a gleam in her eye he instinctively found unnerving.
“Yes,” said Kaylee. “It’s a hot day so water gun fights are appropriate. We decided you needed to be involved.”
“More like Kaylee decided and Danny thought it would be funny,” Nora added, with a sly smirk in Kaylee’s direction.
“And you don’t?” Gideon asked dryly, feeling a bit rueful about the fact that everything he had said to them so far that day had been a question.
She shrugged. “Yeah, but Kay, more than you. We do this every so often and she always gets ridiculously excited about it.”
“We’ll see who’s laughing when this is over,” Kaylee said loftily. “Warning: it’s going to be me. And my partner. But mostly me.”
Gideon decided that he was probably better off not getting in the middle of this. Still, part of him felt intrigued, and that part grew every moment. He always felt that way around this family-torn between his gut reaction to run away and his odd desire to be part of their shenanigans, the way they wanted him to be. Even after more than a month of knowing them, he still had no idea why they had so readily adopted him into their group. Not that he could find it in him to complain.
“Yeah, sure,” said Nora, in total unconcern.
Kaylee turned to Gideon. “C’mon, let’s go.”
“I, um…” He glanced behind him into the condo. “I should ask Gin.”
She grinned widely and poked her head into the hallway. “Gin, Gideon can come out and have a water fight with us, right?” she called.
He heard his stepmother laugh from within the living room. “Of course he can, especially if the three of you stay for lunch after!”
“Deal!” Kaylee straightened and looked at Gideon. “All settled.”
“Thanks,” he said, unable to help smiling.
“No problem.” She skipped down the steps to the Strand. Nora followed, her gun casually resting against her shoulder.
Gideon carefully shut the door behind him and trailed after them. So this is what having friends is like, he thought, not for the first time. He felt overwhelmed by it in the best possible way.
Down on the walk, they met up with Danny again. All the water guns were on the large side, but his was the largest, hanging from a strap slung across his body. Gideon eyed Kaylee, half expecting her to cry foul, but she did not. “Me and Gideon versus you and Nora?” she asked instead.
Danny and Nora exchanged a glance, then nodded their approval. “Two minutes to spread out as usual?” Danny asked.
“Right. Boundaries?”
“Let’s say we can go on the Strand up to the quarter-mile mark, and the same distance on the beach.”
“Losers buy ice cream?”
“That’s fair.”
“Wait,” said Gideon, glancing between them. The conversation had moved too fast for him to keep up. “Losers? How do you decide who loses?”
“It’s the team that gets hypothermia first,” said Danny, smiling. Without waiting for Gideon to reply, he and Nora turned and jogged down to the beach.
Gideon turned incredulously to Kaylee. “Seriously?”
She snorted. “No, of course not. We either run out of water, get too wet to function, or call some sort of cease fire, in which case the team that starts it is the one that surrenders.” With a ferocious grin, she added, “But that’s never my team.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You seem awfully certain of that.”
“If I go down, it’s in a blaze of glory,” she said dramatically. “But that doesn’t happen a lot, either. I’m very good at this.”
“It might today. I’ve never done this before.”
“It’s not hard.”
Gideon rolled his eyes. “I’m just saying. You could have picked one of them instead and been sure of your victory.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Kaylee asked. “If I’d teamed up with Danny we’d have destroyed you and Nora, and Nora and I always work together well. I like winning, but I want it to mean something.” She smirked at him. “Besides, you’re so tall I can use you as a human shield if I need to.”
“So glad to be useful,” he replied, deadpan.
“I thought you’d be.” She patted his arm. “Seriously, though, you’ll be great. Just point and squeeze the trigger.”
He made a face at her. “I did figure out that much, thanks.”
She smiled widely. “Come on, our two minutes is almost up.” With that, she began to trot off toward one of the concrete benches that lined the Strand.
Gideon watched her go, a thought nagging at the back of his mind. There was something unusual about the way she behaved. It took him a moment to realize what exactly that was, but when he did, it startled him. For the first time since her kidnapping, he had seen Kaylee act like the cheerful, carefree girl she had been when she had first transferred to his school. Certainly she had plenty of enthusiasm most of the time, but there was always a shadow over her expression, or a hint of hesitance in her movements. Not that he blamed her for that, knowing even a little of what she had been through.
But it seemed she still could be honestly happy, even after that horror. At least sometimes. Right then, she looked it.
Gideon wondered if that meant he might get to that point, too, someday. He hoped so. If anything could help him manage it, it would be living with Gin and having these strong-minded, yet caring people as his friends. All of it still seemed too good to be real, and he doubted he would ever get used to it. Maybe it’s better that way, he thought.
A little smile crept onto his face as he ran to catch up with Kaylee.