#aethermooon

Despicable.

  A wave broke nearby, barely missing two people as a golden eyed girl glared at her date as he laid on the sand, completely shocked at her actions. She moved her hair out of her eyes before the boy began to try and get up.

  "What was that for? I did nothing wrong, did I?"

  The girl remained quiet as anger welled up within her breast, as exhaled sharply as she narrowed her eyes. Who was this boy to try to feel her up on a friendly outing together? He's despicable for this. I won't forgive this one, that I won't. The boy glared as he stood up, his height slightly over her own. As he reached out his hand, the girl slapped it and jumped back in one swift movement, her hair settling as the boy frowned.

  "Elizabeth...I have feelings for you. Are you going to ignore my feelings? One of the most popul-"

"And I care why? Why do you think just because you are popular in the school means you can do what you want? Furthermore, I don't give a damn about if you have feelings about me or not, it gives you no right to attempt what you just tried to do. Have you no morals? Or is it that you don't respect women?"

"What are you talking about? Of course I respect women."

  Elizabeth's glare intensified as she fought back the urge to slap him with all her will, as the boy grinned and walked over and wrapped his arms around her, as she stood in disbelief in what was happening. As she felt his hands slide lower, she kneed the boy in the crotch as he slapped her, only to get kicked in the chest, knocking him down.

  "I'll get you back at school!"

"Regardless I don't care because you don't understand anything, do you?"

  Another wave broke; the boy froze in fear as Elizabeth turned around and stormed off, not caring if he and the school turned on her. Why should she care anyways? It's not like interaction with the likes of these people have ever done me good. All I need are my friends and family. That's all. All one needs..

  "So how are you going to get home? We are at least 15 miles away from the city. We can either have a good time, or I can leave you here."

  Elizabeth stayed silent as she listened to the boy walk up, as anger began to build up as a possibility dawned on her. Something that should not be true...

  "Well, no answer? I can always leave you behind. Or better yet, you may need some convincing."

"Stay the hell away from me, you lowlife."

  Turning around, she sidestepped the boy lunging at her to grab his left arm. In one practiced motion, she held it behind his back, forcing the back of his hand to touch the nape of his neck, as he yelled out in pain before breaking down into tears.

  "Look, I'm sorry! I'll take you home! No more funny business! I swear!"

"Why should I believe you? Now keep in mind I have given you many a chance to end this little date perfectly, yet you insist on ruining it by thinking you can have your way."

"Please...let me go..I promise to be good.."

  Elizabeth watched as the boy stopped resisting, frowning as she began to get angry. Watch. The minute I let this one go, he's going to sit there and leave me stranded here like the lowlife he is. Please don't do what I know you are going to do.

  "Ok. I want to go home now; it's late."

  Letting the boy's arm free, she watched with no surprise as the boy scrambled to get up and run over to his car, as she shielded her eyes to the glare of headlights as the car screeched off, and after a few moments, she heard the motor of the car fade away in the distance, as a sea breeze forced her to close her jacket as she pulled out her cellphone. The crescent moon and star phone charm dangled in the air as she entered a number. Faint violin music played before a tired female voice answered.

  "Oi."

"How was it? You let him get anywhere?"

"Of course not. He even tried to force himself on me. The nerve of some lowlifes…I wanted to give him a chance.."

"Give them an inch and they will go a mile."

"He tried to run a marathon with that inch."

"So what was the whole date? Did you guys go to that festival that's in town?"

"No, we changed plans. We went to that beach near that hiking path me and you went to that one summer."

"That far? So you set yourself up to be stranded."

"Basically so."

"Do you want a ride?"

"No..I'm going to ask my dad to come get me…I just wanted to talk to someone I know that's sensible and would understand."

"Alright Liza. Call me when you get home safely."

"Bye Lilth."

  Hanging up, Elizabeth looked out towards the ocean as she listened to the ocean while she watched the waning gibbous in the night sky, as she closed her eyes as she took a deep breath, removing her glasses. Placing them in the sand next to her, she laid back to look straight up into the sky. It's been so long since I was able to just…think like this. I...want forget all of this. That whole conspiracy theory. Elizabeth stood up, shedding excess layers of clothing until she was down to her undergarments. Leaving everything behind, she placed everything in a neat pile before turning towards the ocean, walking towards the high tide. Too many people...he's not even my father. My actual father may have died…huh.

  "Idiot."

"So what do you plan on doing now?"

"I don't know...life is so boring in a way. No offense to my other friends but she was really kinda of a driving force to go to school."

"But she had treated you badly many times before this time."

"Still, no matter how badly she treats me, I still hold the same feelings for her."

"You're an idiot, you know that?"

"So what? I seen you act worse around guys you used to like."

"And? I moved on."

"After several months. It's only been about a month, so I have every right."

"But you haven't even gone with the girl."

"You know...nevermind."

"What?"

  The bell rang, as Leon got up and walked off, leaving Liz behind. You know...maybe I don't like to admit it, but even though I complain...I don't feel like I will get over her until I make peace with her. Leon walked through the school's massive courtyard, to sit down in the shade of a tree at the top of a mini hill. Looking at the sky, he watched the clouds go by. Sighing, he looked around, and happened to see someone that made his heart stop, the feeling of being punched in the gut overtook him as he quickly looked by her, acting like he didn't notice her as he closed his eyes as he steadied his nerves. Just like that, the bell rang as he laughed softly to himself as he stood up, knowing the rest of his day was going to be boring.

  After the last bell of the day rung, Leon walked out of the school as Liz waited for him by the street-corner, already dressed in her work uniform, with the familiar shoulder pack that contained her clothes held in one hand, as he walked up to her.

  "You forgot your hat. Manager is going to be slightly ticked about that."

"Who cares? I'm on cleanup duty anyways. Let's go."

  They began walking, as he suddenly forgot that he had left his backpack in his French class. Calculating how long it will take, he gave Liz his bag containing his clothes.

  "Look, I forgot my school bag in my class. I'm going to get it and catch back up. If I don't catch up, put this bag in your locker."

"You owe me."

"Whatever."

  Leon yelled 'thanks' as he ran full speed back to school, people jumping out of the way as he rounded a corner to get into the school gate, crashing into a girl, falling to the ground. Getting up, he froze with a blank look on his face as he saw who he knocked down.

  "Dammit Leon, first you stop speaking to me and now you knock me down without apologizing. Watch where you're going."

"Sorry."

  Running off, he felt scared as he reached his teacher's classroom as he saw him walking out the door, holding his bag.

  "Ah, Leon. I was just about to drive your backpack to you. You saved me a trip."

"Thanks Mr. Gray."

"No problem. Try to at least do your homework to improve your grade."

"I can only try. Thanks."

  Turning around, Leon began to run full speed to catch up with Liz, as he left the school, passing the girl, catching a glimpse of a stare. Ignoring it to the best of his ability, he ran down the street as he saw Liz further down the street, the distance between them closing rapidly. Slowing down, a breeze blew a paper into his face as he ripped it up; as he grumbled. Stupid litterers...

  "You shouldn't litter; it's bad for the planet."

"One soda can won't do any harm."

  Looking at the sidewalk pavement, he sighed deeply, as he looked up to see Liz turned to him, waiting for him.

  Finishing mopping the floors as the entire staff prepared to close the coffee shop for the night, Leon looked around as he sat at a table, leaning back in a chair.

  "It's just my imagination..."

"A sort of empty concentration.."

"Really now. You ruin things you know that right?"

"Comes from the guy with the horrible singing voice."

"Whatever Liz."

"Come on; it's time to go."

"Want me to walk you to the bus?"

"No, I'm ok. You going to be ok?"

"Yeah. Later Leon. Be safe."

"Yeah. Safe. Goes to you."

Leon put away the mopping supplies before grabbing his stuff out of Liz's locker and his own locker. Walking out the door, he waved to his manager Phil before walking to the bus stop a little ways from the next street over. Looking up, he frowned as his heart beat sped up as he recalled the days events as he looked at the Waning Gibbous phase of the moon. I really do need to get over this...you know? Life is too short to waste dwelling in the past... Seeing the bus stop at the light, Leon broke into a run, running across the street to try and make it to the bus stop before the light turned green. Getting on the bus, Leon sat in the back as he looked at the passing town as he rode the bus home, as the japanese song played in his head again. Tanoshiku shiteru koto omou to samishiku natte... This is truly....

In a plain, messy room on the second floor of a house, a loud sporadic beeping of a digital alarm clock echoed in the room, as Leon stirred in a mass of covers from slumber. As he sat up, he scratched his matted hair as he pressed the snooze on his alarm that read 4:30 on the side of his mattress that laid on the floor. Grumbling, he laid back down on his bed and began to stare up at the ceiling, tired from the trip with his mother out of the valley. After what seemed like an eternity (in reality only ten minutes had passed), the buzzing resumed, as he hit the snooze once again with his foot. Really now...it only seems like it has been only 2 hours...why am I so tired? I don't even feel like going to school today. It's all a bunch of useless classes anyways. The boy closed his eyes, only to open them to sunlight. Freezing, he quickly jumped out of bed, jumping over an open violin case as he grabbed his towel to quickly take a shower, as the alarm clock read 6:59.

The boy stepped off the metropolitan bus that dropped him off a couple blocks from his school as he began to jog towards his school, his messenger bag jostling slightly as he kept up an average pace. Taking out his cell phone, he checked the time to find it to be 7:38, as he silenced his phone as he noticed he had gotten a text message from his mother, saying he had forgotten his books for the classes today. Noticing his bag was a lot lighter than normal, he shrugged as he reduced his pace to that of a stroll (people complained to him that his jog speed was the same speed as his stroll speed; he didn't really care, it got him around) as he looked around at the suburban area that surrounded his high school, Vesper High. Yawning, he glanced around before he began to rub his eyes, flicking away gunk that lined his eyes when he woke up that had gotten on his hand. Bumping into someone, he looked at the person to find it was someone from his first period class. What was this person's name...I think it was Aaron or Eric....I'm going to go with Aaron.

  "Hello Leon. Morning. Sorry about that."

"Oh. Yeah. Whatever Aaron."

"My name is Eric."

  The tall black haired, brown eyed teen looked at Leon, before frowning. Great. Made him angry. Might as well go with the bad with names excuse. Scratching his badly combed hair (he had 5 minutes to get dressed; he wasn't even sure he tied his shoes), he gave an apologetic look.

  "I apologize Eric. I'm bad with names. I figured you knew that."

"Really? Is that why you can remember the names of random people that don't even know you?"

"Comes from helping out teachers with grading all the time."

"Don't you mean kissing thei-"

  Leon ignored this, walking away as he checked the time on his cell phone. Great. I just wasted 5 minutes of my life. Now I'm going to be late if I don't hurry up. Putting away his cell phone, he sped up to break into an even paced jog, as he heard the first bell at 7:50 to start heading to classes. Running across the street to save time, he narrowly missed being hit by a passing car as he ignored the honks as he ran into the side gate of the school. Without going to his locker, he barely managed to get inside his classroom as the tardy bell rang, as he walked to his seat, slightly out of breath as he watched his philosophy teacher stand up to begin his lesson. Exhaling through his nose, Leon looked around the room, looking at people from the perspective of his seat in the back of the room. Taking out a pen and paper for notes, he scarcely wrote down notes as he settled his eyes on the wall in front of the classroom as the chorus of a song of a popular Japanese idol echoed in his memory, bringing back memories of a girl he once knew and once regarded as dear to him. Due to mistakes on his behalf, he messed up all chances of going out with her, and keeping a friendship. Letting his pen fall to the desk, he took off his glasses as he rubbed his eyes as he held back a yawn. How stupid of me...that song saddens me...hoshizora miage wat..

  "Leon. Who is that quote from?"

"Huh?"

"Not paying attention? That's fine by me. Extr-

"No, no. I didn't hear the rest of the quote."

"Really? Then part of the quote will suffice if you were really listening."

"Go on."

"They went out and happened to things."

"Leonardo da Vinci."

"Explain this quote."

"Um...simply put, if you don't go out and do something with your life, nothing good will ever come from you waiting."

"Is this always the case?"

"Not all the time. Sometimes it is necessary for you to wait, since rushing into certain things can lead to disastrous results."

"Next time try to fully pay attention. Anyways, class, for the next.."

  Leon stopped listening as he stared at his philosophy teacher, Mr. O as he liked to call him, since he really didn't know what his actual last name was. Wondering back into his thoughts, he gritted his teeth as he half closed his eyes, as the song came back to his memory. Gripping his pen tighter, he relaxed his grip as he began to twirl it amongst his fingers; the year of practice while taking tests helped him hone this skill to distract his thoughts, even for a moment. I don't know why the mentioning of her name is like a punch to the gut to me...I guess I never really got over her, even though its been a month. Leon checked the clock as he sighed, as he looked back at the teacher, who was writing down the quote from Da Vinci he just had to quote. It read, "It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things." Da Vinci really had strange thoughts. Well...I guess that was normal if you don't over think things. I do love her.. Leon blinked as the bell rung to go to homeroom, as he sat in his desk as everyone got up to leave. The very fact he thought this scared him. Clapping his face with his hands, he put away his stuff as he walked out of the class, waving to his teacher as he walked fast down the hallway, weaving skilfully between people, not once bumping into anyone as he walked into his home room. Sitting at an empty table, he put his head down as he watched the class interact, watching the people of higher social standings talk about the party that happened on Monday, people of the lower social standings talking about various things like movies, books, video games, new cell phones, etc. Someone around him began playing the Panic at the Disco! song But It's better if you do, as he softly hummed the song. Isn't this...exactly where you like me, it's exactly where you like me ya'know.. I guess it's been awhile since I actually listened to music...since afterall, it seems everything reminds me of her...

  "So Leon, you still talking to that girl?"

  Leon looked up to see a black haired, hazel eyed girl sitting down in front of him, her hands clasped as her chin rested on her hands, as she waited for his response. Taking his sweet time to respond, he looked her over, seeing she came to school in a dark mahogany dress with a oddly matching vest over it, as she frowned at him as she saw that he was taking his time.

  "What is it to you?"

"Well I thought we were close."

"We are."

"Then why haven't you told me anything since that day? Did she re-"

"Shut up. Ok? Obviously I don't want to speak of it if I haven't already, Liz."

"So I'm right?"

Sad hazel eyes looked through a car window at the mountains silhouetted by the night sky as the car stayed still in traffic, as the events of the past few weeks replayed within his head as the owner of the peculiar eyes closed them to listen to the honking of traffic. A sudden lurch caused the teenage boy to open his eyes and grumble as he rubbed his forehead from hitting the dashboard.

"I suppose its not the time to tell you I told you so."

"I supposed correctly."

The hazel eyed teen stared at the person driving the car with a slightly annoyed look. She had been telling him to stop riding without a seat belt on, but he assured her that the cops would not pull her over for such a trivial thing. Accidents were always rare with her, even in the worst conditions. Grey eyes looked back at him, as he looked away. Sometimes the difference between the two of them was unsettling to him. They both had strange eye shades, but while he had black hair with a sort of light brown complexion, she had brown hair with a peach complexion. People often stared at him when he called him mother, but he was alright with the stares. What actually irritated him was when people asked if he was adopted, to actually voice what was said. The car began to move as traffic began to pick up, as a faint melody began playing in his head. Looking out the window, he flinched when a hand touched his hair, as he felt a wave of calm overtake him.

  "Life isn't about who you meet. It's really how you live it."

"Maybe. It is hard to deal with. I never really dealt with things like this before."

"Stop thinking about it and focus on school. It will be all over soon enough anyways."

"A rock and a hard place."

"What are you talking about?"

"That's basically what you are putting me in."

"Well, I suppose you can say that but I want you to know that I had no intention of ever putting you in this situation. Life deals its hand, and it can be good or bad. Just give everyone a good poker face."

"I never heard anyone compare life to a card game."

"When life is how it is now, the strangest of comparisons can make the greatest of sense. Its just like if you are hungry. It makes everything taste better."

"School food is that exception."

"I doubt that; the food never really changed from when I attended that school. Regardless it tasted good."

"Then I suspect you have no palette."

"Then I guess what you and your brother eat every night is a tasteless waste of time on my behalf."

"Don't guilt trip me like that. That's underhanded and shady."

  As the car exited the highway located in the mountains, a vast city located in the valley glittered in the night, as a sense a depression creeped its way back into the boy's mind. Half closing his eyes, he played of the depression by yawning, as he glanced at the car's stereo, thanking it was approaching midnight. Shifting his body so his mother could not see his face and his expression, his thoughts wondered to replay the events of the last couple of weeks, finding out he really was not what you would call human...well in the loosest sense you could say he was a human, but after that discussion him and his mother had gone through, he had to let this sit in. Things that happened within his life started to make a lot more sense but drove him into this deep depression that began to form in his mind mentally and threatened to overwhelm him as he thought further into it. As the car turned down a city street, the boy stifled a gasp as a fresh memory flashed in his head; a girl sat with him at a bus stop, both listening to music, both ignorant to the world around them. Clenching his fist, he didn't flinch as a hand awoke him from this dream; apparently he had fallen asleep.

  "Wake up dear...we're home and you need to get ready for school. Try not to dwell on the past. There's a saying.."

"There's other fish in the sea."

  The boy got out of the car as he smiled weakly, as he walked up the driveway to his home, as a stern looking older boy yawned as he approached the doorway.

"Why are you guys late? I ate my fill Leon; the rest is put up."

Leon stared the grey eyed older sibling down as they held their gaze. Footsteps walking up made them both avert their gaze to their mother, who looked tired.

  "Fredrick, Leon, get out of the doorway and go to bed. You both have school and I have to get ready for the district manger visit in the morning."

"Yo, move it then Leon. Distracting me."

Fredrick ran into the home as he took the flight of stairs 3 at a time, as Leon strolled in, heading for the bathroom before going to bed.

"Leon."

  Hearing his name, he froze. Turning his head, his mother's back was to him, as she locked the door. Hearing a slight sigh, he turned his head to avoid eye contact with his mother.

"Please do not mention this to your brother. Or anyone else for all that matter."

"I will only be seen as crazy. And besides...something like this won't bother me for long. So don't even try to say if I need someone, because I have this. Goodnight mom, and good luck."

This is a little novel I do in my spare time to keep my mind busy. It's about a boy who finds out he's in a conspiracy theory from the government regarding an alternate dimension. But before anything else, here's a little background story and character introduction(characters will be introduced more and more as time goes on.) But I have a few pages of material already done, which I will update daily. Once I hit that limit, I will update on a weekly status.