Fate
People’s laughter reaches my ears, and the overwhelming smell of Funnel Cake hits my nose. The waves in the distance crash against the beach. People run down the streets, holding sparklers. People jump from the clouds, landing right in the middle of the street. Water flows everywhere, from on the ground to high into the sky. I duck down just as another water stream comes my way, hitting the back of my head and getting my shirt and hair wet.
“Oh, come on!” I grumble, blasting the kids at the bottom of the building.
They squeal and scamper away, laughing the whole time. I scowl and continue watching the parade from above. The sun slowly slides below the horizon, and dozens of torches and candles light up and people start clumping around the bonfires. Others take their candles and form circles, inside where Water, Earth, and Air dance together. I turn my head away for a second when suddenly something shoves me from behind and I fall over the edge of the building.
***
Asher
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡevqEIApmr1
The door creaks open loudly as I sneak out, and I wince. Everyone else in the room doesn’t react. Most of them are already black-out drunk anyway, even though the parade started only an hour ago. The sun is setting right as I make it to the main road. Kids run down the street, holding sparklers and laughing like there is no care in the world. One kid nearly runs into me, dropping his sparkler in a nearby puddle of water. I pick it up for him and relight it, but he runs away to his mother as soon as he sees I'm a Fire. I frown but don't say anything. It’s common for people to be scared of us. We are the most destructive, after all. I walk past a group of kids who are soaked to the bone.
One of them chatters loudly to one of his friends, “They were so right! He looks so much like a Fire!”
My eyebrows rise but the kids scamper away before I can hear anything else. I lean against a building and watch as people gather around in circles, making the Elements dance together. The sight is dazzling. Different colors explode in the sky, making the night a collision of Elements. I breathe in the smell. Tonight is one of the only times I ever see other Elements ever getting together. It’s nice.
I hear a yelp above me and a geyser of water blasts me in the back. Someone lands right on top of me, and my fire instinctively lashes out. The smell of something burning hits my nose and the person on top of me scrambles off me. The boy that fell on me was running around, his shirt on fire.
***
Fate
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdhaUcB6IvY
I fall to the ground, trying to snuff out the fire. The rolling doesn’t help much, so I blast water onto it. The fire goes out a bit more, and then the pain hits me. I grit my teeth. The guy I landed on quickly runs over and rips my shirt over my head, leaving my chest bare.
He mumbled, “Sorry, sorry!” While stomping out the rest of the fire. He looks up at me with a grimace. “Are you okay?”
My chest feels offly bare and I have never been so grateful that it was dark. I give the guy a slight nod. The burns surge with pain again and I run water over them, the water cooling them down but making the pain worse.
“Water will help for a moment, but it will just make it hurt worse,” the guy says, rubbing the back of his neck and looking down.
I mumble under my breath “This is why fire and water don’t mix” while grabbing my shirt off the ground. It was nothing more than a burnt piece of fabric now.
“Hey, I’m sorry for lighting you on fire, but your landing on me was a bit of a surprise,” he says, raising an eyebrow.
“Whatever,” I respond with a glare. I leave him standing there without another word.
I make my way to the Medical Building. Hopefully, the Air people will be able to heal my burns. I may get crap for interfering with a Fire, but they have got to be able to heal burns from all the burns people have got in the past. I’m almost down the narrow street when I hear a “Wait!”
***
Asher
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4yqo0pDNcX
I run to catch up with him, squeezing between ongoers.
“Wait!” I call out.
He keeps walking, without looking back. I catch up to him, grabbing his arm. He is still shirtless, which is pretty normal for a Water.
“Let me take you. It’s my fault, after all,” I offer.
He glances over at me. Still no words.
You’re not much of a talker, are you?
“Well, I’m Asher. So… what's your name, hotshot?” I ask, smirking a bit.
He pauses abruptly, glaring at me.
“Fate.” He says quietly.
“Excuse me?” I replied, surprised that he even said anything.
“My name is Fate.” He begins to walk again, faster this time. As we walk past a booth, the torches light up his face. His cheeks are red and his arms are tightly crossed over his bare chest.
Geez, it was just a joke.
The rest of the walk is silent. He doesn’t look at me, but he doesn’t tell me to leave either. We make it to the Building.
“You don’t have to come in with me.”
The lights from the building illuminate his back, showing the burns. They cover his right shoulder, back, and part of his chest. His back is also scraped from rolling to put the fire out. I reach out to touch his shoulder. As my hand makes contact, he jerks away, wincing. I quickly move my hand away.
“I’m the one who hurt you. I need to at least make sure you get taken care of,” I respond.
He scowls. “Why are you so nice? I thought Fire didn’t like people doing this. Fire doesn't help Water.”
Of course, he thinks of us as dangerously violent, and harmful.
I glared at him. “Do you want help or not? When you go in there, they will think you associated yourself with a Fire, and your reputation will be ruined. I was going with you to make sure you are okay and tell them It was an accident. That I lost control of my power, but if you insist you don’t want me with you, then fine. I will let you go in there and make a fool of yourself. Let them think you are fooling around with another male,” I snap, turning to walk away. Fire is known for its exotic community of relationships. I just don’t want him to be an outcast for his region.
“I don’t care if they think I was with a Fire,” he whispers.
I turned around, “What?”
He looks me in the eyes, “I don’t care about my reputation, or making a fool of myself, if you haven’t noticed. People already think of me differently. My parents are disgusted that I am their son. It doesn't matter to me.”
I wanted to ask him what he meant but held back.
“I don’t want you to get in even more trouble. Just… let me help you. It will make me feel better.” I say kicking my black boot at a rock. I look at him with a pleading look.
He scowls. “Stop looking like that! Fine, fine I’ll let you come.”
I smile at him and he opens the wooden door and walks in quickly. When we walk in there are a few patients in the small front waiting room with broken bones and other medical conditions. Fate walks to the front desk and talks to the Air like an old friend.
“Hey, Arnold. I need to see Dr. Tornado.”
The guy named Arnold gives Fate a look. “What did you do this time?”
Candles and water lights light the room. I don’t think Arnold can see Fate’s burns.
“I fell off the roof. This guy lit me up,” Fate responds in a serious tone like saying someone lit you up was normal. Arnold just rolled his eyes but nodded. He gestured for us to sit down and wait. I sit down first, not wanting the rest of the patients to get suspicious of me. Fate sits in the chair right next to me, his arm brushing mine slightly, sending chills up my arm. He’s cold.
“Do you come here a lot?” I ask, wondering how he knew the other guy's name.
He looks down at his hands.
“I guess you could say I have a bit of a reputation around here for doing things people don’t approve of.” He says smirking slightly.
I let out a snort and jabbed him in the arm. “Yeah, I can see that.”
The Doctor comes out, all the patients looking up hopefully. They all groan when they hear Fate’s name called and not theirs. Fate gets up and walks into the back, me following closely behind.
***
FATE
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9dLTHuJdM3
I follow Doctor Tornado to the back, looking behind me to make sure Asher is following. For some reason, I want him with me. Doc gives Asher a strange look that he doesn't catch, but I do. Why are people always judging Fires? They are the coolest element. We wouldn’t have light without them. People are so elementalist towards Fire. I clench my fist but don’t say anything.
“What happened here?” the doc asks after looking over my burns.
“I fell off a building and fell on top of him.” I jab my thumb in Asher's direction.
The doc lets out a “Ha! That’s a new one!” He places his hands over the burns and softly lets his Air flow over the wounds. The pain is gone almost instantly.
“There you go. Now don't do anything stupid again. I will be telling your parents.” The doc glances at Asher and a scowl crosses his face. “And you don’t go around standing under buildings. This would’ve never happened if you stayed out of the way.”
Asher stiffens and I fill with rage “Wait! Are you saying it's his fault because I fell on him?!” I ask raising my voice a notch
The doctor doesn't say anything, but his face says enough.
“Come on,” I say, grabbing Asher’s arm and leading him out.
We quickly make our way outside, the celebration still going on. I walk past all of it as quickly as possible. I turn towards home. I need to get a new shirt. Asher follows closely behind me. I don’t stop him as we make our way into the Water part of the city.
“So this is the Water district?” He asks, his eyes soaking in everything.
“Yep. I’m going home to grab another shirt.”
Asher pauses. “I shouldn’t be going with you. My family will be wondering where I am and this is for Water so-”
I cut him off, “There’s not going to be anyone there and no one is going to see you, so you’ll be fine if you want to come. If your family does need you though…" I trailed off.
“I’ll come,” He snaps, acting like he hates it, but I can tell he is excited.
I smirk at him and we continue going through the Water District. He stays close behind me, making sure he doesn't touch any water. We made it to my house without anybody seeing us.
I slowly open the front door of my little beach house, making sure my parents aren’t home. After I check the house quickly I motion for Asher to come in. He looks around soaking everything in. I don’t know what Fire houses look like, but I know they don’t look anything like Water houses. The outside of the houses and the interior are different shades of blue. The walls are covered with shells, sea art, and seaweed. The furniture is like any furniture Elements will have, but they have designs for Water. I start to walk upstairs, but I notice Asher doesn't follow me.
“You coming?” I ask raising my eyebrows at him.
He looks caught off guard, but he doesn't say anything and follows me. I walk to the end of the hallway to my bedroom. My bedroom door is a curtain of water. I open the curtain with my hands easily. I hold the curtain open for him so he can slip through without getting wet. He looks at it uneasily before stepping into the room. I follow behind, making my way to my dresser. I pull out a black T-shirt and slip it over my head. Asher is looking anywhere but at me. When he looks at me I realize I’ve been staring at him.
“Why are you being creepy?” He asks, giving me a strange look.
“I’m the creepy one? You’re the one who followed me to my district, where you don’t belong, then to my house. Then you finally have the decency not to stare at me after the two hours I didn’t have a shirt on,” I say scowling at him.
His face turns red, and his Adam's apple bobs as he swallows.
“I’m kidding," I say, trying not to look at his red face. “Don’t get so worked up… hotshot,” I say repeating what he said earlier.
He smiles slightly. Then suddenly he stands up. 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6hMV4N8MBA
“I should go.” He says, standing at the curtain of water, waiting for me to open it up for him.
“You can’t leave unless I part the waters,” I say, joking a bit, but my face is completely serious.
He glances between me and the curtain of water and me. I raise an eyebrow at him, and then without prompt, he takes a big gulp of breath and runs right through the curtain. I blink in surprise. This guy’s got guts, that could’ve hurt him. After a moment of hesitation, I run after him.
He’s standing in the frameway of the front door, facing me, by the time I catch up to him. His fire-red hair is wet, falling into his eyes. He sweeps the hair out of his face, and drops of water drip from his freckled nose. He opens the door slightly, then looks back at me.
“Bye,” He asks, giving me a half smile that looks more like a grimace. “Sorry again for causing you trouble.”
Before I say anything else, he’s gone.
This is for the best. I don’t want to care about someone the way I used to. Caring only leads to problems. I turn back into the house.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Lxa1mgFcg
***
Asher
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQDX3hvkpzH
I start to run home, but I am running out of energy fast. Water makes me tired. I make it home just in time before I pass out on the couch. I woke up the next day in my bed, and in the clothes I was wearing yesterday. I get up but fall back down. I’m still weak from running through that curtain. I lay in bed the rest of the day. Mom brings me food and checks on me now and then.
The next day I was better. I get to the town square, where all the districts meet. Everyone is welcome here. I sit at the edge of the fountain watching the water flow. I keep thinking about what Fate said to me the other day, as I watch Elements clean up the remnants from the festival. I missed the rest of the festival yesterday. After the big parade that announces the beginning of the festival, people gather around to dance and sing. The day after, people are still celebrating. I look around, trying to see if I can see Fate with his blue hair and blonde streak, but no luck. Why did I care so much? I watch some kids run around, little bursts of water following them. My eye catches on a small crowd gathering at the edge of the town square. Someone is standing in the middle, yelling something. Curiosity gets the best of me and I head over. The person in the middle is wearing dog ears and barking erratically like a dog. Suddenly the guy stops and looks right at me.
“YOU!” he yells.
I back up, holding my hands up in surrender. “I don’t think we’ve ever met?”
He glares at me before stomping over to me. “You’re the one who said I was crazy!”
“Whoever said you weren't?” I mutter.
“WHAT?! WHAT DID YOU SAY?!” He yells.
“Nothing important. But I’m pretty sure I would remember someone like you.”
“How dare you disrespect the Preacher of Truth™! How dare you disrespect the Puppy-Dog God?!” He screeches.
“The who?” I ask. This guy is crazy. “Now that just proves Air people are crazy!”
He gives me the finger and a cold glare before turning back to the people surrounding him. “We need to listen to the Puppy-Dog God otherwise the world will burn and die and…”
I walk away as fast as I can. I run a couple of streets away and buy some apples to look busy.
“Asher! Hey, what are you doing here?” He yells, grabbing my shoulder. “Where were you yesterday? I looked for you everywhere, then I went to your house, but no one answered the door.”
“I was sick. I ate some… bad funnel cake.” I lied, dodging a group of Water girls on their way to the beach.
“There’s no such thing as bad funnel cake,” he says like I’m the stupidest guy on earth. “Well, my buddies and I are going to catch fireflies later.” He waves goodbye. “And you’re coming!”
I feel a soft breeze drift through the alleyway, and it sends chills through my body. I whip around, and there stand three Air guys around my age. They look mad. I hold my hands up. “Hey, what’s with the---”
A gust of Air slams into my chest, throwing me against the brick wall. One of the guys punches me right on the nose, muttering, “Don’t disrespect an Air.”
The Air current stops pinning me against the wall, and I fall forward onto my hands and knees. Blood oozes out of my nose, dripping onto the stones. Someone shoves me down with their foot on my back, my face hitting the stones. Another Air current lifts me and slams my back against the ground. Someone stomps right on my ribs, and I grunt in pain. They kick me over and over again. Suddenly everything stops, and they all leave as the world fades away.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYlJhq7u6AI
