Persona

by Amy Lunderman

  ***

  And just like he thought, no one likes the idea, including the new kids but especially Lucas. That boy has been all over the bonfire since he could walk. It’s how he got so popular with the other kids their age.

  But it’s just one more thing that Liam doesn’t like about him.

  “Dude, seriously. You check out for like months, and now you come back here making demands. It’s a little harsh don’t you think?”

  Liam zeroes in on Lucas, and he feels his eyes change as they become clearer from his persona. He has been looking for a reason to pummel the boy, and now is becoming the perfect opportunity.

  Liam has many things he would like to vent about, and Lucas’s face is a great outlet.

  But William and Gianna are already all over that, and he doesn’t even have to waste the energy of getting upset.

  Gianna is practically spitting at the boy as she snarls at him. “Dude? Remember who you are addressing mutt. He’s in charge, so we follow his rules; got it?”

  “It doesn’t matter how long Li was gone for Lucas.” Will interrupts Lucas before he can start yelling at Gianna, who is smiling over his unease. “Besides, he is right about the smoke signal. All we need is for the cops to show up here with questions and guns.”

  Williams admissions, calms the others at the table and Liam has a sense that things were run well in his absence. Of course, his father wouldn’t let it be anything but.

  It is nice to know his friends have his back. And that means a lot to him as of late.

  “Regardless, I want the bonfires to cease right away. That means the one this week is canceled. So I suggest that you all take point and spread the word around.”

  They all grumble in acceptance, while Will and Gia just nod at him in approval. Knowing that they have some semblance of safety makes his feel a little better, and figures it’s probably best to keep this meeting minor.

  “Alright guys, that’s it for now. Just remember that we’re the ones the others look up too; so please be on your best behavior. I’ll report back if we have any updates.”

  There is more grumbling, and now the sound of chairs being pushed back across the hardwood floor overpowers them. He stays in his head chair, while the others quickly flee from the room and he wonders if he made the right choice is keeping them all in touch about things. After all they are just kids.

  But then again, so is he and so are Moira and hers. And look at how much they have been through.

  As they are all leaving the room, Gianna looks like she might stay behind, as she is only slowly rising from her chair. But William gives her a look, which makes her glare and leave without a word.

  His friend remains seated and gives him a curious expression, one that makes Liam wonder what the heck is on his mind.

  He doesn’t have to wait long, because it’s apparent that it is making William anxious waiting; so he gets out with it.

  “Even though we don’t have the bonfire, we can still intermingle with the ‘fugitives’ right?”

  Under different circumstances, Liam might have laughed at his friends none too subtle attempt to come off as casual. But things are different, and the only thing Liam heard was ‘fugitive’ and Moira is the one that came to mind.

  So in his messed up head, he heard his friend asking his permission to hit on the girl he has fallen for; and that is unacceptable. Before he can stop himself, he is on his feet in the next heart beat growling at William, as his persona rolls over him like a wave.

  Then in the next heartbeat, he has the mind to realize that his friend meant Raven. He should have known better too, he did see them all over each other the day before. Will’s hands raise outward in defeat, obviously taking it as ‘no they cannot’.

  “Whoa.” Will says quietly.

  This makes Liam feel even guiltier than anything he has done lately. He sits back in the chair, as his persona fades and he waves his own hands at Will.

  “Sorry man, my bad. Of course you can hang out still with them, no worries.”

  William remains quiet though, like he doesn’t really believe him. Making Liam realizes that he isn’t even close to be over the whole Moira thing.

  “Li, what happened to you when you were away? Don’t try to be slick and say nothing either.”

  Liam has to look away and finds himself reaching up to kneed at tensed muscles that have been at the base of his neck since he went to New York. It’s no fault but his own; he is the one to get himself in this situation.

  “Too much to even get into right now, and if it wasn’t, I’m definitely am not in the mood to have a chick flick moment over it either.”

  Will snorts out a laugh over the ‘chick flick moment’ comment and leans across the table to him and narrows his eyes.

  “It may be a lot, but dude, I see the way you look at her. It’s obvious there is something there, right?”

  Glancing back at Will, he doesn’t even bother stopping the growl that slips through his clenched jaw.

  “Didn’t I just say I don’t want to get into it?” Liam says a little to huskily almost like a growl itself.

  Will leans back with a sigh, but doesn’t even look the least bit afraid of Liam’s attempt at dominance. Instead, he fixes him with a serious look, one that Liam can’t really make out.

  He knows he’s been away for a while, but when did his goofball friend start acting like an adult.

  “You did and I’m done. I’m just trying to figure out what has my brother from another mother, not acting like himself.”

  The seriousness of the moment slips, when Will grins over his own little funny comment. This makes Liam chuckle and glance away from him. He really wants to make light of the situation, but he just can’t and who knows if he ever can.

  He does feel like a chick sometimes, what guy ever worries this much?

  “I know Will, but I just can’t, no disrespect.” Liam says in a rush, while he slides his chair back and gets to his feet.

  And he wonders he if he ever will and has the decency to recognize, that no, he probably won’t. It is so wrong, that he feels so territorial over a girl that isn’t even his.

  ***

  Broom in hand preparing to sweep out a smelly horse stall, Moira can’t believe she got tricked into helping with the chores this morning. The excellent trickery skills belong to the ever too nice Daisy, who was the one to barge into Moira’s room earlier this morning. If it was anyone else, Moira would’ve had to send them screaming from the room by yelling at them for disturbing her.

  But as it was, it was Daisy, and she could never turn her away. Not even if she wanted to anyways, the girl has some series mind control abilities without even having actual ones. It’s a thing that Moira wishes she herself were capable of.

  Then of course, Ray was with her too and no one can turn away the two of them when they are together. They are like shinning summer angels both with light blonde hair and blue eyes; even their skin is all pale bronze colors. She would really dislike them just for the fact of their beauty, but there too nice to even try to hate them.

  They must have made it their goal to get her out of her funk, because they were laying the helpful bit a little too thickly. As a complimentary bribe, they did come in barring coffee and that is always nice. The thing that really got her out of bed though, was the fact that she wouldn’t be trekking outside too early alone; Raven got conned too.

  And the best part was that Moira got to join Daisy and Ray when they went to wake her up. It was priceless to see the other girl wake up all confused to what was going on.

  So together, the four of them now freshly dressed and fed made the short trip to one of the many barns that are on the property. Moira should have guessed that as the newest residence of the ranch, that they’d get the crappiest job; pun definitely intended.

  Finding herself at the entrance of the horse barn, Moira believes that she is really over dressed in her clean jeans and green tee, which she found in the dresser in her room. To h
er credit though, she did quickly pull her hair up into a tight knot; no way is she going to get the things that await her inside in her hair.

  Seeing the barn, Raven instantly began cussing and tried to turn tail and run for the house. Ray didn’t let her get too far though, and physically brought her inside.

  Moira couldn’t keep herself from laughing, even though she didn’t like this idea any more than her. Daisy went about chiding Raven, like she was a small child that wasn’t acting like she should. And most surprising, Raven actually listened to her; miracles never cease to amaze.

  Ray went right into telling them what the jobs were for them, with the help of a new comer, in the form of an older greying man in dusty coveralls. While they, he and Ray, takes the horses outside for a walk in the coral. It’s the job of the girls to clean out the stalls before they return.

  Now facing the most disgusting stall she has ever seen, she seriously regrets getting out of bed this morning. Apparently so does Raven, because she can hear the girl gagging from the stall next to hers. Not Daisy though, she is actually whistling some sort of tune, that Moira has the feeling will be stuck in her head later.

  Stalling for far too long, she takes a step into the stall and goes right into sweeping what’s inside out of her way. It was decided before she even took one step, which she would so not even think about what she’s walking into; make it less gag worthy.

  It works too, and it’s not long before she is at the back of the stall and starts to push everything out into a pile.

  Clearly Raven didn’t think of the not thinking about it tactic, or whistling like Daisy, and instead she pokes her head out of her stall at Moira when she clears the threshold. She has to try and not laugh at the other girl, as she really looks a little green around the gills. But Moira knows there is work to do, and this has been the best distraction that she could have asked for.

  There are twelve stalls in the barn, and there are only three of them. So it was pretty much decided that they would each clean out four of them, and she already has one down. After pushing the stalls contents into the middle of the barn with Daisy’s first pile, Moira goes right for the next stall on the other side of the one she just vacated.

  She is just clearing a path for herself, when Raven’s voice cuts through the quiet barn giving her and Daisy no choice but to hear her.

  “So Will and I really hit it off yesterday.”

  “It’s Will now is it?” Daisy calls from further down in one of the stalls, and makes Moira snort out a laugh.

  “Yes, it’s Will. And Will, invited me to a bonfire party tomorrow night.” Raven calls back a little too proud of herself.

  “That sounds very serious Rave, you must be thrilled.” Daisy says with a laugh.

  “For your information, it is serious. And he was nice enough to invite you lot to come with us too.”

  At this point Moira is just about finished with her second stall, and needs to just clear it out and into the middle of the barn. As she does this, Daisy is approaching in her direction with broom in hand and a smile on her face.

  She is shaking her head, and with an eye roll she indicates that Raven is right behind Moira. Turning, she finds that sure enough, the other girl is leaning against her broom just waiting for their response. This makes Moira laugh now, as she goes back to moving her pile into the growing one.

  “That is nice Raven, and you can count Ray and me in on the fun.” Daisy calls out as she heads for a stall across the way.

  That leaves Moira alone near the obvious party vixen, and instead of saying that she too would join them, she decides to remain quiet. She is focused on what is right in front of her and not thinking about other things that will make her upset. So she really doesn’t have the strength to think about an invitation to something she would never have attended in the first place.

  She isn’t exactly the partying type and with others her age no less. Ignoring Raven’s eyes on her, Moira heads to the stall beside Daisy’s across the way. The whole walk that is only about a few yards in length, she can’t get something out of her head that had finally found a way to creep inside.

  It’s no surprise that it’s all about Marty. And even more so about getting him back and what would happen if she never saw him again.

  She feels like the worst scum in the universe for turning him away and running into the arms of someone else. She would take it all back if she could, and honestly, that is her plan for when she can rescue him.

  Moving on automatic, she is too focused on sweeping that she doesn’t hear anyone coming over, until Raven is right behind her tapping her shoulder. For which Moira stumbles away from her turning around with a gasping breath. Her persona rushes through her quickly, feeling like roaring waves falling over a waterfall.

  Her hair rises into auburn curls and her eyes sharpen as she lifts the broom between them, and is preparing to swing.

  Before she has enough control to stop herself, Raven squeaks jumping back as her hair and eyes go obsidian under her persona.

  “Moira, holy crap, it’s just me!” Raven yells nervously as she eases further out of the stall.

  Gasping for breath, and with tears forming in her eyes, Moira lowers the broom to the floor. It’s barely up straight when she just lets it drop to the floor, as it’s too heavy to grasp in her now shaking fingers.

  Raven is taking a hesitant step back into the stall by the time Daisy is at her side, and together they watch her like she is something breakable.

  Honestly, she feels a little broken; and here she thought she was coping rather well.

  ***

  “Are you alright there lady? Because you should know you’re a little jumpy.” Raven asks cautiously.

  Looking between them, while feeling her persona fade back into herself like a bad dream, Moira realizes maybe she should just be honest with them. Clearly keeping everything she has been feeling inside hasn’t helped at all.

  “Sorry Raven, you just surprised me is all. I was thinking about how strange it is to not have Marty here with us now.”

  Now Raven and Daisy share a look together, and one that is very easy for Moira to interpret. They are obviously worried about him too.

  “There is nothing we can do right now though. And besides, Marty wouldn’t want us to wallow over him. I know you must think going to a party is stupid, but I think we need it.” Raven says with an edge to her voice.

  Moira can’t believe what she just heard, and here she thought they understood where she was coming from; clearly not. Daisy looks between them and seems like she wants to say something, but Moira doesn’t even give her the chance.

  “Are you serious right now? You do realize that Marty was taken by Fletcher, and is most likely being tortured at this very moment for information. And it’s all my fault! So how can I just act like everything is fine, when it so is not!”

  By the time she finishes, she is more out of breath than before when Raven startled her. Even more so, she can feel her persona wanting to pour out of her, like the tears that are cascading down her cheeks.

  She has the urge to run from the room and to just keep running until her legs don’t hold her up anymore.

  She is seriously thinking about it too, when Daisy rushes over to her and pulls her into her arms holding her tightly. Moira clings to her, like she is a life preserver that is holding her afloat and spies Raven over her shoulder. Raven looks just as upset as she feels now and ha tears running out of her wide alarmed eyes.

  “Oh sweety, you can’t beat yourself up about that.” Daisy tells her softy, with no intention of letting her go anytime soon. “Marty is a big boy, and one of the bravest I’ve ever met; he’ll be fine you’ll see.”

  Moira feels herself relax a little bit, as she watches Raven approach them looking rather guilty now.

  “I’m so sorry Moira, I swear it. I just think we need to make the best out of a pretty shitty situation.”

  “It is pretty shitty.” She tells her friend with a sha
ky laugh, realizing they are having a moment in the shittiest place possible; pun intended.

  Raven rushes at her and Daisy and wraps her arms around the both of them, and Moira allows herself to relax for the first time in twenty-four hours. Not completely though, because there are still things that will never let her rest.

  She keeps it to herself that she had kissed Marty days ago, and turned him down only to go about kissing Liam and getting caught by him; it hurts enough with just her knowing it.

  “Can I get in on that action?” Ray asks interrupting them.

  They separate smiling, and find Ray leaning against the entrance of the stall, grinning like a fool.

  “Sorry mister, no boys allowed.” Daisy tells him sweetly.

  He instantly pouts, which make her bounce over to him and place a light kiss on his cheek. Before she can bounce away, he latches onto her and pulls her into his side and holds her close.

  “Yeah mister, no boys unless your tall dark and of the farmer variety.” Raven says in a mockingly sweet voice.

  As Ray and Daisy remain locked into each other, Raven seems to stick close to Moira and honestly, she is alright with that. She has no clue why she snapped like she did, but then again maybe she does.

  Her persona has been making her regular missed emotions run on super drive, and she figured she’d lose it sooner or later. With Raven at her side, she feels oddly grounded; looks like friends do come in handy.

  “Seriously Raven, you already have another thing for someone here?” Ray asks in chagrin, as he narrows his eyes at her.

  Raven scoffs and places her hands on her hips, which makes Moira have to cover her mouth to hide her snort of laughter.

  “It’s not a ‘thing’ they are in LOVE!” Daisy says to Ray full of emotion, that makes the laugh slip between Moira’s clenched hands.

  “Shut you too, and Moira, I hear you laughing! And I could be, you guys don’t know.” Raven gushes out with taking her hands off of her hips long enough to point fingers at her friends.

  “Oh I don’t know Rave, there have been a few-” Ray starts with a smirk, but Daisy cuts him off with a smack to his shoulders.