Author`s Note :
I have a rather bad writer`s block since I`ve finished chapter 10 but I didn`t wanna let you wait for the next chapter any longer, so don`t be surprised if this one`s a bit,uh,illogical or confusing.Hope chapter 12 ( likely to be the last one) is gonna turn out better. >_<
Chapter 11 :
„Because that`s what you are.Worthless!“
„No,I`m not!“
She was surrounded by darkness,a black sky without any
stars,plain and cold ground,a large shadow hushing around her.
„Worthless and unimportant and a pain in the neck!“
„Shut up!“
„Nobody likes you here anyway.Why can`t you just
dissappear and never come back!?“
The dark voice got angrier and louder.It sounded so
menacing,had so much hatred in it.She couldn`t remember exactly whose voice it
was but it was a familiar one,one that brought back painful memories.There was
a loud thunder,followed by a flash of light.For a moment she could see the
person,a tall young man with short black hair and small grey eyes,a scornful and mean expression on his striking face.
„Go away,now!“
To her surprise,there were no tears in her eyes,just a
sudden courage,a feeling that made her feel like no one could ever hurt her
again,no matter what he did,no matter what he said.
„No,YOU go away!“
„What!?“
„Yes,YOU!I don`t belive what you`re saying,it`s nothing
but a bunch of junk for me!“
She didn`t know why she gave him this answer.Maybe it was
the tone in which he yelled at her,maybe it was her getting finally fed up with people threatening her like that.
There was silence.
„I won`t leave,if you have a problem with me then
fine!Lemme in peace,not my problem.I won`t change for anybody! I know that I`m
not perfect but I`ll stay the way I am! Face the fact!“
She waited for a response,most likely a furious and
thundering one but the silence didn`t vanish.She looked above her and saw a ray
of light shining through the dark sky,it was small at first but then got bigger
and several lights followed until she could see the bright blue heaven, no
single cloud on it.Suddenly she heard steps behind her und turned around,ready
to fight whoever was there,but instead just stared in the dark blue eyes of a
young man who took her gently in his arms.
„I love you.“ he said softly.
It was still night when Dolphy opened her eyes and shook her head to clear her thoughts.She was confused.What was that weird stuff she`d just dreamed about?Oh,yes,she remembered the events of the last weeks,she`d run away during a storm and was found by...She looked even more confused when she felt an arm being wrapped around her.She slowly turned her head only to see the boy she had just dreamed of lying next to her.Yes,she had brought him into this cave but why was she leaning on him now?Had they spent the whole night like this?It was really weird,she couldn`t explain how and when she`d gotten in this position.The only thing she remembered was that she was freezing and then all of a sudden the coldness vanished and it was very warm and comfortable.Her looks drifted back to Jim,who was still sleeping peacefully.She had firmly planned to stay stubborn and to not forgive him for what he said but...something deep in her heart assured her that he hadn`t lied when he told her that he had said those mean things just in order to protect her.The longer she thought about it the more she became convinced that he was telling the truth.Why else should he have followed her all the way to the ocean,and especially during a heavy storm?No,it was all Carren`s fault,not Jim`s,he was too much of a nice guy to do something that mean on purpose.
Dolphy was sleepy,drifting back to sleep wouldn`t have been such a bad idea,but for whatever reason she couldn`t take her eyes off of Jim.She loved to see him sleeping.He always looked so innocent,so at ease.She remembered the night after Jim was attacked at Crescentia.How she sat at his bed and kissed his forehead.Now she was watching him again,how his chest rised slightly as he took in small amounts of air,how he moved a bit now and then to bring himself in a more comfortable position.She leaned closer towards him and hesitantly gave him a kiss on his cheek.He didn`t seem to notice and she went on to press her lips softly on his neck.He winced slightly,maybe he was ticklish?Dolphy smiled,then closed her eyes and gently kissed his chest.She wrapped her arm around his waist and held him tightly,pressing his body against hers.
„I love you.“ she whispered.
Jim turned around in his sleep,his right arm brushing the empty space next to him.Empty?He opened his eyes in an instant to search the cave for Dolphy.He heard Morph`s giggles coming from outside and decided it would be the best to follow them.The sun was just rising and its rays of light made the ocean glitter and shine brightly,like it was filled with thousands of tiny diamonds.He found Dolphy sitting on the ground and gazing at the horizon.
„Pretty,isn`t it?“ he asked hesitantly to get her attention.
She looked at him and gave him a smile.
„Yeah,it really is.“
She patted the sand next to her.
„Wanna sit down?“
„Uh,sure.“
There was an awkward silence between the two teenagers.Dolphy stroked Morph`s belly what made him squeal in delight.Jim had to smile.
„I didn`t know it was lilac.“
„Huh?“
„The ocean.“ meant Dolphy and pointed at it.
„What else colour should it have?“ asked Jim dumbfounded.
„You`ve never been on Earth,huh?“
„No...is that the planet you`re coming from?“
„Yes.Over 70% of its surface is covered with water,there are huge oceans which are thousands of metres deep.“
„And they`re not lilac?“
Dolphy shook her head.
„No,the water shines in all possible variations of blue and turquoise,that`s why Earth is also called the Blue Planet.And I like the creatures which are living there,especially the dolphins.Wish I could dive as long as they can do.“
Jim didn`t seem to understand what she was talking about.
„Why,you mean that you can`t breath under water on your home planet?“
„No,of course not!Do I look like a fish!?“ meant Dolphy sarcastically.
„Come on,I`m gonna show ya!“ meant Jim excitedly and started to pull of his boots.
„What!?“
„Let`s go swimming.“
Dolphy started to shake her head energetically.
„Noooo.No,no,no,no,no!First of all,it`s autumn and the water`s cold and I bet we`re gonna get ill if we jump in it now and by the way a bathing-suit isn`t part of my survival-equipment and-„
„The ocean on this planet never gets colder than 70°F (20°C) and you can try swimming all dressed since it`s a sunny day and your clothes will dry soon afterwards.“
While Dolphy had her mouth opened and seemed to search for another reason Jim smirked at her and looked her deep in the eyes.
„Come on,it`ll be fun!“
„It`s unfair to gimme that puppy-look,ya know?“
„That`s why I`m doing it.“ he grinned.
She sighed and finally gave in.It wasn`t such a bad idea after all.So she pulled of her boots and socks and shot a suspicious look at her jeans.
„I hope for you that these won`t took much time to dry ´cause otherwise I-uh,Jim?“
She stared at him as he took of his shirt,first blushing slightly then getting miffed.
„Hey,what about ´You can try swimming all dressed since it`s a sunny day and your clothes will dry soon` ?“ she asked,folding her arms in front of her.
„Oh,you can take of your shirt,too,if ya want."
As soon as the words had left his mouth Jim regretted it and bit on his lower lip.Damn,why did he say that!?What kind of stupid joke was that!?He wanted to sound funny,haha,great job,Jimmy.
„She`s gonna kill me for this.“ he thought and looked cautiously back at Dolphy.
To his surprise she was in quite a good mood and grinned mischievously at him.
„Yeah,yeah,like I would do ya that favour.“
She started running towards the ocean and yelled :
„The last one has to clean the cave!“
„Woa,look,a dolphin!“
„Where?“
Dolphy stopped and gazed at the ocean as suddenly Jim ran past her.
„Hehe,I`m gonna be first!“ laughed Jim.
„No,ya won`t!“ yelled Dolphy and dashed off after him.
When they were waist-deep in the water she jumped at him and both landed with a loud splash in the ocean.Dolphy instinctively swam back to the surface and searched her surroundings for Jim.After she didn`t see any sign of him she panicked.
„Jim?JIM!?“Damn,where are you!?“
Suddenly somebody grabbed her on the shoulders and dived her under water.She quickly stretched her head in the air again and shot a mean look at Jim,who was grinning at her in a playful way.
„Say,are you completely insane!?I thought you drowned,you-„
„Wait,wait,wait,didn`t I tell you that you can breath underwater on this planet?“
„No,you didn`t!“ yelled Dolphy furiously. „Uh,stop,gimme a break...You wanna tell me that I can breath...under water...this water?“
She took some of it in her hands and splashed it at Jim.
„Yes,that`s what I`m trying to make you understand.“
„Woa,cool,but there`s still a little problem.I can`t see under water ´cause that damn salt is burning in my eyes.“
„Salt!?There`s SALT in your oceans?Weird...“ meant Jim dumbfounded.
„Lemme summarize this.We can dive as long as we want and there`s no stupid salt and the water has a comfortable temperature all the time?“
Jim nodded and Dolphy grinned from one ear to the other one.
„Then for what are we waiting!?“
With that she grabbed him by the arm and both dived into the depths of the ocean.
Underwater Dolphy was introduced to a whole new world,a world she`d never known existed. On the one hand it reminded her on the coral reefs on Earth,on the other hand what she saw here was totally different.She and Jim had dived quite deep but instead of getting darker the brightness of the water increased.After her eyes had adjusted to the light Dolphy stared at a huge amount of what seemed to be corals and underwater plants.No doubt,they were the reason for the brightness.Most of them were shining in a variety of gold and and silver,others glittered like crystals and some of them looked so smooth and transparent that Dolphy was sure they had to be made of glass.But how could a living being ( at least she guessed that it was a living being ) constist of glass?Only one way to find out.She swam nearer towards the coral and touched it carefully.To her surprise it felt very soft and reminded her a lot on the protoplasm Morph consisted of.She played with the corals for a little while until she felt Jim`s hand on her arm.She stared at him and followed him after he had given her a sign and swam in front of her.
„What`s the next surprise?The extraterrestrial version of Atlantis?“ thought Dolphy sarcastically.
She was so deep in thoughts that she almost swam against Jim who had suddenly stopped.He put his finger on his lips and pointed with his other hand at the distance.Dolphy gazed in the same direction but couldn`t make out anything except of a lot of water.She shot him a questioning look as if to say „Do ya wanna fool me again?“ and Jim put his index finger on his ear.
„Okay,guess I shall be quiet and listen to the nothing here.“
Dolphy did as Jim had shown her and at the moment she wanted to drag him back to the surface and ask what`s going on she heard a deep and soft sound in the distance.It didn`t last long until the source of the noise was in sight.A single animal approached the two teenagers slowly,getting bigger and bigger as the space between them decreased.Jim grinned at Dolphy who was in a state mixed of shock and excitement.That animal was at least 60 feet long.It seemed to be a combination of dragon and whale,with lots of tiny scales glittering in a dark blue,long flippers and compared to these small wings that looked like leather,coloured in an almost transparent blue.The head at the end of the long neck of the creature was shaped in an oval form and its big dark eyes gazed at the two humans with immense curiousness.Dolphy was pondering about touching the animal and if it would be a good or bad idea since she didn`t know if it was dangerous or whatnot but then she saw Jim swimming directly towards it and stroking the creature`s forehead.Dolphy smiled and joined him,grinning widely as she put her hand on its head and let her fingers glide along its neck.The animal seemed to enjoy it for it didn`t move an inch and began to make sounds that reminded Dolphy on the purring of a cat.She didn`t know how long they had stayed with the creature,time was completely unimportant at this place,problems and worries seemed to be extinguished by the peace and beauty that surrounded them.When the dragon-whale had enough and dissappeared in the infinity of the ocean the two teenagers decided to swim back at the surface.As soon as they had reached it Dolphy started to squeal in delight.
„Woa,that was-that was-so-cool!I wanna have a pet like that for christmas!Heh,my Mom`s gonna love this!“ she laughed. „Geez,such a gorgeous thing,uh,by the way,what was it?“
„It`s a Dracinus ,cool creature,huh?“ smiled Jim.
„Dracinus ,so that`s what it`s called.“ repeated Dolphy fascinated. „How did you know it wasn`t dangerous?I mean,that thing could have killed us with a single move of its flipper.“
„Nah,those are even friendlier than the Orci Galactici and one of the most peace loving creatures of the whole etherium.Heh,they`re not more dangerous than Morph.“
„Oh,I bet Morphie isn`t as innocent as he pretends to be.“ meant Dolphy and shot a suspicious look at the coast where the little shapeshifter was waiting for them.Jim just snickered as he imagined Morph being a furious killing-machine.
„Yeah,we shouldn`t turn our backs on him,who knows what he`s planning right now...“ he meant with mocked seriousness.
After they had gone back to the beach they were greeted by an overenthusiastic Morph who was fed up with being alone and glad that he had finally gotten some company again.Seeing the pink blob flying straightly towards her Dolphy jumped behind Jim and begged for her life which resulted in Jim almost collapsing of laughing and Morph staring at them with a very confused expression on his face.The two humans lay down on the warm sand and gazed at the sky,observing the few white and slightly pink clouds that were slowly moving by.Morph joined them and cuddled beneath Jim`s neck where he soon drifted off to sleep.
„Dolphy?“ asked Jim hesitantly.
„Yes?“ said Dolphy without removing her eyes from the sky.
„You know...we can`t stay here forever.“
Dolphy was aware of what he was talking about and sighed.
„Why?“ she asked matter-of-factly.
„Believe me,I`d prefer to be on this place rather than at the academy,too,but we have no choice.We just can`t drop out of school and-„
„Jim,did you really think I`d run away and never come back?“
He looked blankly in her direction and forced himself to find some words.
„Uhm,no...No,of course not!“ he answered after blowing some strands of hair out of his face.
„Then why did you follow me?“ asked Dolphy with a raised eyebrow.
„I,uh,I thought-that...uhm-„
While he was trying to remember how to talk Dolphy grinned very amused at him and laid her hand on his arm.
„Ya don`t have to answer...Just wanted to see your reaction.“
She winked at him and sat up.
„I did never plan to flee from the academy and leave everything behind me forever.All I needed was some time alone,without you-know-who.“
Jim nodded and started to stroke Morph who lay next to him on the sand.
„So you know that we have to go back now?“
A sudden nervousness grabbed Dolphy and she shot him an angry yet upset glare,as if to punish him for saying something unbelievably terrible.
„What!?Now?Why?!“ she yelled furiously.
Morph was woken up by her loud outburst and let out a frightened shriek,flying behind Jim who had raised himself from the ground and was now on eye-level with her.
„School continues on Monday so-„
„Right!But it`s only Saturday today!“ interrupted Dolphy promptly.
„And what do you think shall we eat till we return?We can`t stay here till tomorrow without any food or water.“
„I`ve got a bottle of purp soda and some cookies and a sandwich in my backpack.“ retorted Dolphy proudly until she remembered that she had slept on her bag and imagined in which state the sandwhich would be by now.
„Yeah,great,but the longer you run away from your fears the more difficult it will be for you to face them.“ said Jim calmly.
„I don`t run away from anything!“
„So we`ll go back?“ he asked expectantly.
She realized that Jim had tricked her and sighed in defeat.He was right,escaping from the reality wouldn`t help her in any way.
„I guess there`ll be some not-so-good problems waiting for us but as long as we`re together you don`t have to fear them.“ said Jim comfortingly.
He laid an arm around her and added in a whispering tone :
„I won`t let you down.“
Trusting his words more than anything else she`d ever heard before she relaxed and rested her head on his shoulder.Both of them were quiet and listened to the soft noises of the ocean,the waves coming nearer to the beach and returning to where they did come from.As they reached the warm sand it seemed like they would stay there forever,like they`d never been a part of the deep sea.But then they wandered back to the infinite world of the ocean where they originated from and belonged.After a while a question broke the silence.
„So,when do we have to go?“
„Dunno.“ responded Jim. „I don`t wanna run into Carren so I guess it would be a great advantage for us to come back when it`s already dark outside and everybody`s in their rooms.“
Dolphy agreed and continued gazing at the horizon,feeling like she was dreaming.Time seemed to stop,just like during their play with the Dracinus,and suddenly she realized that the sun was just setting and bathing the water in a warm orange light before it dissappeared behind the spot where the ocean ended and the sky began.The last bits of brightness around them started to fade so the teenagers had to accept that it was high time to leave.After Dolphy had gotten her backpack out of the cave the three friends,including Morph,made their way back home.She had never been so glad that Jim was by her side.She would have never admitted it but she was really scared.What would happen when Carren found out what was going on?What would he do?She trembled as she thought about the incident on Crescentia but quickly managed to suppress it.Suddenly her dream of the night before came back into her mind.It was scary but she had found the strenght to face the darkness,to face her fears.And that`s what she was going to do the next time she was confronted by Carren.He was nothing but a bragging idiot,he didn`t have the power to destroy the bond between Jim and her,he never had and he would never have.As the were walking she grabbed Jim`s hand and squeezed it softly.He returned this gesture and gave her a loving smile.She remembered his words from earlier this day :
To be continued...