i.

The dark town of Santa Carla had always been my home, and though I originally described it as dark, it was possibly the brightest city I had ever been to. Santa Carla was a place filled to the brim with tourist attractions, bright lights strung everywhere, and colorful characters from every part of the world.

Yet, the town seemed to hold some of the darkest people. Santa Carla was a place where you should be home or in public eye before dark or something would snatch you up, and even the bright lights of the board walk couldn't help you at points.

It was easy to take people in a place like Santa Carla where runaways seemed to always find their place. Nobody would know where they went, nobody would care, and nobody would question the new stains on the building down the street or the old flooring of the boardwalk. You simply made your way past and left as soon as you could.

Santa Carla wasn't supposed to be a home. It was a place filled with people constantly traveling and moving through, but it was the only place I had ever truly known. I knew the quickest ways home, the best places to hide, and places that held their doors open after hours for people who couldn't get home in time. Years of living in the city made me an expert on the place, and I used it to my advantage.

Every night, I closed down my small flower shop one hour before the board walk closed, I walked to my motorcycle chained to the pole outside, and I followed an exact route that lasted two minutes to my house. Then, I walked into the old building, locked all the doors, kept the windows tight shut, and went about my business, making sure to never leave the house unless absolutely necessary. In Santa Carla, you can never be sure.

My life had been pretty normal up until I met them. I had just graduated high school. I was running my flower shop on my own as my mother had retired quickly after I had taken over. The murder rates hadn't increased suddenly or decreased and put people in false hope. The only exciting thing that had happened was my newly dyed hair and my lilac finally blooming fully.

I was sorting through random bunches of flowers, trying to pick the correct ones for a bouquet labeled 'Santa Carla Sunset' that had been ordered over the phone earlier that night, when I heard a familiar voice call my name. "Evangeline," she dragged out teasingly.

I gasped loudly and turned to see my best friend standing beside the counter, a grin spread across her face. "Marigold," I squealed, placing the flowers on the counter before reaching over and pulling her into my arms happily. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!"

The blonde giggled happily and pulled away, still holding my hands. My heart jumped a bit at the gesture. Marigold and I had dated once upon a time, though it wasn't for very long, but we weren't right for each other. She was always gone and traveling, and I preferred my life here. We were still best of friends, though, really, it was more than friends. There were just no labels to hold onto. We could love each other as we pleased, but we weren't committed, and though I wasn't the biggest fan of it, I still got her, so I lived with it. "I was only gone for a week, Eva, and look what you do while I'm gone!" She gestured towards my newly dyed hair.

I had recently gotten my hip-length naturally curly red hair peroxide bleached at the bottom so it faded from auburn to white beautifully. I was in love with it. "What? Do you not like it?"

Marigold giggled again and grabbed my face, pulling me in for a soft kiss. "I love it."

I grinned and thanked her before pulling away, picking my flowers back up again. My high-waisted skirt flowed around me as I walked swiftly, grabbing a nice vase for the flowers I held in my hand and placing them in gingerly. "So," I spoke as I filled the vase with water and plant food, "where'd you go this time?"

I worked as I listened to her rave about a place in Nevada filled with scantily clad women and beautiful men that 'didn't even compare to the ones in Santa Carla.' I watered and fed plants sitting around, I rearranged bouquets, and when there was nothing left to do, I sat sifting through the radio stations for anything good.

I paused as I reached an all-too-familiar song. More specifically, it was me and Marigold's song, a soft song called Suddenly by Billy Ocean. I paused for a second as the beginning chords began, tempted to change to station, only to feel Marigold's incredibly warm hands touch my shoulder. How much I hated how warm her hands were. Mine were cold, almost too cold, so cold people would ask me if I was okay if they touched my hands, and when I touched her hands, I felt like they might melt the ice of my hands.

I turned a bit and watched as she grabbed my hand. I complied and turned, meeting her stance half-way. I wrapped my arms around her neck, and she wrapped her arms around my waist. I closed my eyes for a second and leaned into her as we danced around the shop, not worried about who would see us. It wouldn't be the weirdest thing to see. I sang along to the song, smiling as she joined in on some parts, spinning me around in circles and pulling me back. It felt like when we first got together. It had played when I lost my first kiss to her, something so cheesy, yet something I would think about forever.

In that moment, I thought of everything I loved and hated about the girl in front of me. I loved her hair, the shoulder-length golden locks that always looked flawless. I loved her brown eyes that shined like pools of honey when the light shined just right. I loved her short skirts and combat boots that she always wore. I loved how carefree she was compared to me. I loved how big and red her lips were. I loved how she always seemed to be blushing lightly. I loved how she could recite almost every word from Grease and how she liked to call me her Sandy. I loved how she always seemed to brighten my days just by walking in.

I hated how warm she always was, like she was the sun. I hated how she always seemed right on the edge of put-together but just not quite there yet. I hated how she would disappear for days at a time without even saying goodbye. I hated her dumb shirts that always sat at an awkward angle on her. I hated how she didn't think twice about my feelings when she talked about our relationship. I hated how she didn't know how head-over-heels I was for her but never acted on it too much because I didn't want to constrain her. I hated how she was everything I wasn't and could never be.

We weren't meant for each other. It was an inevitable thought, but it was a thought I didn't want to think about it. It meant I would have to accept that one day whatever we had would come to an end when I found the person meant for me. It meant that, through all this love I had given her, all the hardships I had been through, none of it would matter. We weren't right for each other, and we both knew it, but damn if we weren't going to enjoy every second that we were together.

The song came to its final note almost suddenly, and Marigold and I sat standing in the middle of the room for a second, just taking each other in, before I pulled away. I was always the one pulling away, it seemed.

"It's been forever since they played that song," Marigold mumbled, her cheery voice dropping for a second.

I smiled. "I heard it on the radio the other day, the first day you had left for Nevada."

Marigold smiled and pulled herself up onto the counter, sitting and swinging her legs. "Damn, I always miss it, don't I?"

I shrugged. "It's whatever."

I turned and made my way behind the counter, leaning on my hand as I stared out into the crowd of people bumbling around. It had been a slow night, but people had still come in for small things. Boys would come in for single flowers for their girls for the night, a parent had come in hoping for a bouquet for his daughters, and a few came in asking for the usual bunch of funeral flowers to place on graves. Though not as many had come, I still needed to keep it open. How else was I supposed to live?

Marigold hummed and played with the petals of a cluster of daisies as I continued to stare. That's when I saw him for the first time. He was leaning against a brick wall, and he looked as if he had been studying my shop for quite some time. I figured he was probably grossed out by Marigold and I's dancing. I was used to it.

The boy seemed to be around the age of nineteen with curly blonde hair cut short in the front and long in the back. He was clad in a small white crop top, a jacket covered in tapestries and patches, dirty blue jeans, and a pair of beat-up leather boots. He was staring around with a smirk, but a cold, analytical look on his face. He was looking for something, I just didn't know what.

Then, his eyes locked with mine, and I was frozen. Either, it was fear, shock, or lust, I'm not completely sure, but I couldn't take my eyes off of him. He seemed caught off guard at first, but he quickly regained his composure, his face falling into a soft smirk. I watched as he slowly raised a hand and sent me a wave, curling each of his fingers easily.

I felt like I couldn't look away from him until I felt Marigold's warm hands snap me out of it. I quickly looked away, turning to the concerned girl. She sent me a worried look. "Hey, are you okay? I've been trying to get your attention for the past minute."

"Uh, yeah," I mumbled, stealing a look at him from the corner of my eye. He was watching my every movement easily. "Just got caught up in thinking."

Marigold seemed to ease up at that and smiled her blinding smile, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. "Well, I was thinking that tomorrow, we could maybe go out on the board walk? It's your day off, and I haven't gone with you in months."

I looked at her pouty lips and sighed, knowing I couldn't say no to her. "I guess. You know how much I hate those fast rides, though." She always made me ride at least one of them any time we went. I would have just preferred a day at home, but I would do just about anything for the girl in front of me.

Marigold nodded eagerly and lunged forward, kissing me harshly before letting go and getting off the counter. She clambered to her feet easily and jumped happily. "I'll meet you here tomorrow at seven!"

I smiled at her and nodded, watching her until she disappeared into the crowd. Then, I turned back to the boy. He was watching me again, but this time, a hard expression was set on his face. I sighed and gave him another glance before looking at the time. I decided to close up. There wasn't going to be anymore business tonight, so there was no point in staying. So, I made sure everything was in place, grabbed the money from the register, walked outside and unhooked my bike, and left. I sent a quick fleeting look over to where the boy was only to see that he had disappeared.

I didn't understand what drew me to him so much, and it annoyed me beyond belief. I rolled my eyes and sighed before revving my engine and taking off into the night, ready for a good night's sleep for the hell that would be tomorrow.