WithOrWithOutE
ONE love, blood, life
Hey everyone! 
I've been around here for a while and I thought I might post something of mine.
I'm not sure if it's all that good but I started it a long time ago, and I wanted to share and see if anyone was interested in reading it. It's just something that popped into my head one day and it's evolved into crazy U2 fun from there.
This is the first and second chapter of window in the skies and It takes place in Dublin around the late 70's early 80's when U2 was just starting out. It is a bit AU too but it's mostly just the crazy imaginings of me and my friend Aids.
I owe a lot to Aids for being my inspiration in the first place when I read her story "The Edge of Reason" And I also owe her for letting me pick her brain for ideas. lol. So Aids if you're reading this then thank you for helping me out all this time!
And to everyone else I hope you enjoy!
*oh and I don't know U2 and all of this is totally false*
Window In The Skies
Chapter One
"Run! Don't look back!!" Edge shouted at me as he flew by and I groaned as I forced my over tired legs to gain speed. My whole body burned with the effort and my vision blurred as the world rushed by. I never felt so free as when I was running. Aids came up on my left, pumping her arms to keep up.
"Those slow arse's will never catch us!" She grinned at me as her hair whipped around her face.
'Now!" Edge yelled and I looked up ahead just in time to see him fly around a corner into a nearby alley way.
"Now!" I yelled over my shoulder and I slowed just enough to make the turn without breaking my neck. The alley was dark and I squinted as I slowed down to a jog. I saw the shadow of Edge stalking in front of me but nothing else. I heard Aids behind me and wondered how close they were to catching us.
Suddenly the alley broke open into a street and the street lamps helped with my sight but not much. The moon was full and the wind was biting. I shivered and was glad my Mum reminded me to bring a jacket. I skidded to a halt and peered around the street.
"Edge?" I didn't see him anywhere. The street was deserted and silent except for my own labored breathing.
"Where is everyone?" Aids jogged up to my side. She looked around nervously and I bit my lip.
"I don't know. I swear I saw Edge go this way." At least I recognized where I was so that I could lead us back to our meeting place. The breeze picked up and blew a piece of trash across the silent street. Something wasn't right. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I had to fight down my panic.
"Something's funny here." Aids said in a low whisper and I nodded silently. The best thing to do now would be to stay as quiet as possible. My eyes had adjusted to the dark of the street now and I peered into the shadows, trying to recognize any shapes. When I saw the faint outline of an arm I thought I was seeing things, but as I stared harder I knew I wasn't imagining anything and I broke out in a cold sweat. They'd found me. They'd found us.
Keeping as still as I could I moved my hand into my back pocket and gripped the handle of my dirk.
"Aids...listen to me." I whispered, keeping my eyes glued to the shadow of what I thought might be the enemy. Lurking...waiting to make his kill.
"I'm listening." Her voice was steady as a rock now and I knew she was ready for whatever they threw at us.
"Straight ahead against the wall..someone's there. I'm going to call him out so be ready."
"I'm ready"
I tightened my grip on the dirk and took a deep breath.
"You there! I see you, shit head! Come out and face me! Or are you a coward!?" I sneered and glared while on the inside I was quaking in my boots. If this didn't work we were both probably going to regret it..
The shadow shifted and a form stepped out.
"Nicely played love. You did a fair job that time...but you forgot one thing." His shinning eyes gleamed triumphantly in the moonlight and my heart stopped.
"What did I forget?" I heard Aids' quick intake of breath and I spun around, pulling my knife and holding it at the ready. It was too late. He had her with a knife at her throat and I couldn't do anything to help her.
"Shit." I cursed briefly and my captor behind me laughed.
"I guess you weren't as prepared as you thought. You didn't think we'd find you." He stepped closer and I turned towards him, thinking that I might just be able to beat him at his own game if I had him at my knife point. "I don't think that would be very smart." He must have read what I was thinking in my eyes. Damn it...now what? I looked back as Aids and saw the anger flare in her eyes as she struggled against the hold on her. If she could get free than I could turn things around for us.
"Take her to the house." The shadow man ordered the man who was holding Aids and I gritted my teeth in rage.
"No. Wait. Maybe we can talk and work something out." I was trying to buy time. The last thing I wanted to do was make a deal but we'd been practicing for this for days and I wasn't about to give up now. I just couldn't
"Talk? About what love?" He was just humoring me now and I fought against the urge to tell him to go to hell. I needed to think fast and I needed to think of something that would get his attention.
"What'll it take to let us go? Lets be reasonable." A bead of sweat trickled uncomfortably down my back and I struggled not to twitch.
He snorted at me "What would it take? hmm...what do you think G?" He asked his accomplice who still had a knife on Aids.
G shrugged "I don't know. Something worth two lives and something you'll have use of."
"Good point. hmm...I've got it! How about a little kissy?" He grinned at me and tapped his lips. I felt my stomach twist, and not all in a bad way either. I had thought about kissing him a couple thousand times before but I never thought it would be possible.
"If I do kiss you than you'll let us both go?" One important thing that I always remember is to never trust the enemy.
"You have my word. I promise." He ran a hand threw his hair in a twitch I'd seen thousands of times before over the years, and I wanted to yell and scream at him.
"I don't think that's realistic. Would they really ever let us go after a kiss? It wouldn't happen."
"Is that a no?"
I glanced back at Aids and she rolled her eyes and shook her head. I sighed in frustration and turned back.
"No. I wont. Nothing is worth that." I released my knife and threw it. It skidded to a halt by Bono's feet. "We're done. You win. Hope your happy." I was angry at myself for not being good enough to get past him and now we had to deal with his cocky attitude.
"I'm disappointed in you Red." Bono crossed his arms over his chest and looked at me in mock pity. I turned away from him and saw Aids was still being held hostage.
"Gavin the games over. Let her go." Aids struggled out of his grip and whacked him upside the head.
"Ouch! No reason to be violent. I was gentle with you." Aids moved to hit him again and he bounced away grinning. She stepped forward and glared at Bono.
"That wasn't fair. Who would ever ask for a kiss? You cheated!"
"Nothing we can do about it now. Let's just go." I said quietly. I was tired, deflated and just ready to go home and get some sleep.
"Wait. Don't you want to know who betrayed you?" Bono asked. Aids gasped in shock and stared back and forth between him and Gavin. I stared at Bono hard, trying to figure out if he might be joking.
"Do you mean that...someone told you our plans?" Gavin moved to stand next to Bono and the pair grinned at us.
"Yes. We infiltrated your group. It wasn't very hard either. A little weight in the right spot and he flopped on you in a second." They both looked extremely happy with themselves and I wanted to kick them in the shins.
I snorted. "I don't believe you. Who would turn on us?"
"Yeah who would do that?" Aids asked standing next to me and glaring.
"It was your boyfriend The Edge. He told us everything." Bono smiled smugly and Aids laughed.
"Now I know your lying! Edge would never do that..and he's not my boyfriend!" Aids said. I looked closely at Bono, trying to tell if he might be lying but my instinct told me that it was possible he wasn't and my gut twisted.
"I want to hear it from Edge before I believe anything. Where is he anyway?"
"We sent him home. Lets just say he didn't want to be here to witness your deaths. You'll have to wait until morning before you can talk to him." Bono looked down and brushed at his jacket than looked up at me through his bangs and smiled. "Since we're done here, why don't we go celebrate? Gavin's got his house free tonight." Oh that sounded like a real fun time. Go and hear Bono tell everyone how we lost about ten million times in one night. Thanks but no thanks. I checked my watch and shook my head.
"Sorry, but if I don't get home soon I wont be going anywhere for a month."
"Same for me." Aids shrugged. "Maybe next time."
Bono sighed dramatically, "oh alright, but don't forget about the gig on Friday!" He yelled at us as we started down the road.
"We wont! You've only told us everyday for the past month!!! Night Gavin! See ya Bono!"
"Bye!" Their faint voices reached us around the bend as we sped up. We were both silent at first and I knew Aids was bothered as much as I was about what Bono had said about Edge. We'd trusted him and confided in him about what we were going to do and if he'd gone and blabbed to Bono than he'd ruined our chance of finally being the victors.
The game we played was one of strength of mind. What would you do if you were faced with the enemy? It was for fun and to help get us ready in case of anything and Aids and I had never been able to beat Bono. We'd gotten Gavin and Guggi once but Bono was always the slippery one.
We glanced both ways before crossing a busy street and I felt the weight of my dagger against my back. I'd picked it up before we'd left and stuck it in my pants. They weren't real, more just props to make it more realistic. We'd never be allowed to have real knives. Not without worrying that our parents would skin us alive with them if they ever found out.
Aids still hadn't said anything and I glanced at her. She looked like she was fuming mad. If Edge had told Bono than I was mad as hell at him too but I also felt bad for the lashing he would get from Aids when she saw him. We were almost to the street corner where we parted ways and I wanted to talk about it just a little to see if she was okay.
"I'm sure Edge didn't say anything. You know how Bono is. He's probably just trying to get under your skin." I tried to sound confident and Aids snorted loudly.
"He would if Bono talked to him long enough. He's such a coward in the face of intimidation. He wouldn't last five minutes." She was about as angry as I had thought than. Not a good sign. I sighed as we stopped at our corner.
"If he did tell than we can both kill him..then Bono. I'll even hold him down for you okay? But you shouldn't be angry with anyone until we know the truth. That's how I'm looking at this."
"I want to kill Bono first. Than slowly torture Edge for information...but not until I hear it from his mouth that he told Bono."
"That's all I'm asking for. How about we settle this in the morning?"
"I wish we could settle this now. I want to go to Edge's and drag his butt out in the cold and demand he tell me everything." She scowled deeply and her eyes flashed. I bit my lip to keep from laughing at the mental image of Edge being dragged by the ear by Aids and almost couldn't hold it in.
Aids sighed and her shoulders slumped in defeat.
"I feel like I've been run over by a truck." She tiredly brushed her bangs out of her face and managed a smile. "Even if we didn't win though I still had fun. I almost peed my pants when Gavin got me though. Bastard."
"I had fun too and we'll get 'em back for everything." I grinned.
"I'll see you in the morning I guess. Goodnight." She turned and headed down her own street and when she got to the end she turned back and waved. I waved back and called out.
"See you bright and early!" As she disappeared I looked at the time and saw it was a quarter before 9. I was almost late. I cursed and sprinted the last two blocks home. I went round back to cool off a bit before going inside. I still had a little time. I stopped by our sand box, gasping and gripping my side. My cheeks stung and my nose was starting to run from the cold.
Once I'd caught my breath I stood up straight and wiped the sweat from my brow. As I did I caught a motion out of the corner of my eye and spun round, ready to scare off whatever of whoever was stalking around my backyard.
The shadows moved and I saw what and who it was, my shoulders relaxed and I breathed a little easier, though not much.
"Oh it's you. Are you trying to give me a heart attack? How long have you been hiding behind that bush waiting for me?" I quickly patted my hair and wiped my nose. Why did he always catch me off guard? It was really very irritating.
"It's not a bush. It's a tree, and I've not been here long. I was passing by." Adam was leaning against the oak tree..in my backyard..looking at me. My heart sped up and I tried not to let him see how happy I was to see him. In the moonlight I could see his silver blue eyes watching me and I felt my stomach clench and my palms start to sweat. Damn him. He always had this effect on me when I least expected it. Trying to act like I didn't care he was here to see me, I slipped my sweaty hands safely into my front pockets and stared at him.
"Passing by? Is there any reason you stopped here? Do you need something?" I spoke with a small smile and I saw a flash in his eyes at my challenge, but it was gone as quickly as it came. It was a game with the two of us. We talked like we had something more to say but neither one of us was going to be the first to do anything about it.
I watched as he pulled a small box out of his jacket and pulled out a cigarette. He'd started smoking over the summer in London and that just added to his persona of being the bad boy. Like I didn't have enough to feel uncomfortable about.
Act normal. Just act normal. I repeated this again and again as I walked over to him, watching as he lit up and inhaled deeply. His eyes narrowed and crinkled at the corners as he pulled the smoke into his lungs and I shivered. Whenever he did that I wanted to kiss that mouth and caress those crinkles.
Get a hold of yourself! I chided myself to keep it together. It wasn't my fault that Adam was just so damn adorable. I'd had a crush on him almost from the first day I'd seen him with his afghan coat and flask of coffee. Not to mention him fantastic hair. I dreamed about running my hands through it and every time I saw his smile my knees started to knock. But we were just friends and that's all we'd ever be. I got up the courage to lean up against the tree next to him and when our shoulders brushed, a little thrill ran all through me.
"Did your team win?"
"What team?" As soon as I said it I remembered and blushed. Adam smiled. "Oh..uh no but it was close. We could have won if I'd kissed Bono." A part of me wanted Adam to get jealous hearing that and ask questions but the chances were slim.
"Oh really? Why didn't you? That seems like a fair price to pay to win." He wasn't jealous at all and I burned with anger and resentment. Now I wished that I had kissed Bono just so I could have something to rub in his face. If he would even care. Why'd I have to give my heart to someone who didn't even have one?
Adam turned to look at me, taking another drag off his fag and I looked away.
"I just didn't want to kiss him. Besides Ali wouldn't have liked it and I can only deal with so much of Bono's cockiness at one time. We'll win next time." I kept my gaze carefully away from him as I spoke.
"You're right about one thing. I can't even handle one sitting of Bono's smugness. I can't imagine what it would be like if you'd given in and kissed him. Probably would have had to pay someone to chuck him into the river. I don't think Ali would have been bothered by that either. She'd thank you for taking him off her hands I'm sure."
I knew he was trying to be funny but I didn't feel like laughing so I managed a small smile and shrugged. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. He was gazing lazily up at the branches of the tree and still smoking.
Than he turned to look at me and I quickly focused forward. He stepped away from the tree and I knew it was now or never so I turned to look him in the eye for the first time that night. Close up I saw his eyes were unnaturally bright and I realized that he was probably smoking something more that just tobacco. Something else he'd picked up over the summer. I wasn't sure yet how I felt about that.
"Your parents are waiting for you." He broke eye contact shortly and I had the feeling he knew what I was thinking. He dropped his cigarette onto the ground and crushed it under his heel. Brushing a bit of ash off his sleeve he smiled at me in his cute upside down way.
"Night Red. Sorry about the game. You deserved to win." He flashed a quick grin and I smiled back. I felt better that Adam thought we deserved to win. He was probably the only one to have that opinion.
"Thanks Adam. Goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow around school." I was hoping he might talk for a little longer but all I got was a wave and than he was walking away.
I stood there watching him like a lovesick puppy. When I'd finally lost sight of him in the fog I sighed and scrubbed my hands over my face harshly. What was the matter with me? I had it bad for Adam and he probably thought of me as just a friend or maybe even worse..like a little sister. I groaned aloud at that thought and watched my breath turn into a puffy cloud in the cold night air. I buried my hands deeper in my pockets and headed inside to get warm.
Later when I was laying in bed and just about to fall asleep I thought of something. If Adam didn't like me than why was he waiting for me outside my house? Maybe he did care about me but was too shy to say anything. What if he was working up the nerve to ask me to go with him on Friday as his date?
I grinned happily in the dark and closed my eyes. Than they popped back open again when I thought of something else. What if maybe I was completely romanticizing everything and he just thought of me as a friend? Could Adam really like me like I liked him? Anything was possible wasn't it? I closed my eyes again and sighed in confusion as I drifted off to sleep, thinking about the morning when I would see Adam again.
Chapter Two
The next morning I took an extra long time getting ready and my Mum caught me smiling and flirting with myself in the mirror.
"What are you so cheerful about this morning?" She asked, leaning against the door jam. I jumped and blushed because my Mum knew that I really liked a boy..she just didn't know who it was. I would never tell her unless I wanted to be the most embarrassed I'd ever been in my life.
"Um...no reason. I'm..really excited about school today." By the look on her face I knew she didn't believe me. "I'm going be late..Bye!"
I grabbed my jacket and my books and flew out of there as fast as I could. It was another gray and cold morning with the freezing winds. I shivered and tried to sink deeper into my jacket as I walked faster.
I met Aids at our corner and when I saw her I could tell right away she'd been crying.
"What's wrong?"
She sniffed and shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it now."
"Okay..tell me when you do and I'm here for you."
She nodded and we headed down the street together. We'd only been walking for a few minutes when she stopped in her tracks.
"I can't believe this is happening!! It's not fair!!" I blinked at the level of her voice and turned to her.
"What's happening?"
"You wont believe it. It was so strange. I never ever thought..."
"Will you please tell me. What is it?"
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and spoke in a rush. "AdamcalledmelastnightandaskedmeoutforfridaybutItoldhimno." She held her breath with her eyes still closed and I frowned.
"uh...what was that?" I caught Adam's name and not much else. Whatever it was it was really bothering her though.
"I said..Adam called me last night and asked me out for Friday but I told him no." She opened her eyes and looked at me nervously. "I wouldn't feel right about it and besides I like Edge and I couldn't..I told him that someone else likes him."
My mouth dropped open in shock. "YOU TOLD HIM I LIKE HIM!!??"
"NO! I would never! I told him SOMEONE likes him. He wanted to know who it was and I said if he didn't know than he better find out." I felt the blood drain form my face and I really wished I had a chair to collapse in.
"Oh my God. He knows. He has too. Who else could he think of?"
"I don't know...lots of girls like him. It could be any one of them."
"Oh that makes me feel so much better. Let me make sure I'm hearing you right..Adam calls you last night and asks you out...than you tell him no and that someone else likes him? And why are you crying?"
"Yes, I couldn't believe it! I never thought he liked me like that and I guess he does. And I'm crying because Edge hasn't asked me to go with him yet and I don't think he will..."
"He might. There's still time and it's only Tuesday. Maybe he's waiting for the right time." She sniffed again and wiped her eyes. I patted her on the back gently and handed her a handkerchief from my pocket.
Something else occurred to me than and I felt my stomach flip.
"Wait..what time did Adam call you?"
"I don't know." She shrugged. "Around 10:30 I think..why?" I glared ahead of me and didn't speak. What a bastard. After talking to me last night Adam went home and called Aids to ask her out! He had to at least know that I liked him a little. Or maybe all boys were brainless and he had no idea what I felt. Either way it still hurt and the tears burned my eyes.
"Bastard." I mumbled under my breath and Aids gasped.
"Hey! I told you that I said no! You don't have to call me names! I could have-"
"I didn't mean you! I meant Adam. I talked to him last night."
"You did? When did he call you?" I told her everything that had happened last night in my back yard and she fumed.
"He IS a bastard! How could he do that? He must either be the meanest person or the stupidest."
"Lets not talk about it now. We both agree he's a bastard and we'll leave it at that for now. Did you decide what we're going to do with Edge when we find him?"
Aids face darkened. "No. I tried calling him but no one answered."
"That's not a surprise. Maybe he's hiding from us. He might not even show up for school."
"Edge miss school?" She smirked at me and I grinned.
"Oh of course he wouldn't. So we'll corner him and get the truth."
She nodded. "Yes, we will. And he better pray he's at least partly innocent in this."
All that day I avoided Adam like the plague. Whenever I saw him walking anywhere in my direction I went the other way. The only time I couldn't avoid him was during lunch. I walked out of my class and headed for the lunch room. I was nervous and thought about just skipping it, but I couldn't hide from him forever. I heard someone call my name and turned to look over my shoulder. Unfortunately the person they wanted wasn't me and I wasn't watching where I was going so I ran right into someone. My book and papers went flying everywhere and I groaned.
"What else?" I sighed as I bent down and started grabbing my things frantically before they blew away.
"I'm sorry. Here let me help. I wasn't watching where I was going." I looked up in surprise at the sound of Edge's soft spoken voice.
"No, it was my fault. I wasn't paying attention." I gathered up the last of my books and excepted some stray papers from Edge. I stood and smiled at him.
"Thanks." He smiled back and flinched. I noticed the bruise on his cheek and frowned.
"Oh my God. Edge, did Bono do that to you?" Edge looked uncomfortable and shifted his feet.
"Yeah. It's no big deal though. I'm fine."
"No, you're not! He hit you! I can't believe he beat you to get our plans!"
Edge looked confused "What? No..I didn't give Bono your plans."
I stared in surprise. "You didn't? Than how did he know?"
"I don't know but I didn't tell him. He punched me because we had an argument about his singing." His singing? I wasn't an expert on that sort of thing but I always thought Bono screamed a lot. It could just be the funky little amp his voice was playing out of though.
Now I was really confused. If Edge didn't tell than who did? Bono couldn't have just guessed. And the only people who knew were Aids, myself and Edge. I sighed and shook my head, deciding I would ask Ali later if she knew anything. She always kept one step ahead of Bono just in case. We were good friends before her and Bono started going out and I liked her a lot.
"Can I walk you to lunch?" Edge offered and I smiled.
"Sure." As we walked I thought about what Aids had said about Edge. "When you see Aids you might want to tell her what happened with Bono. She thinks you gave him our plans and she's really mad at you." Edge looked scared and I giggled. "It's okay! She wont hurt you. I'll take care of you." He blushed and I laughed. "Oh and I was wondering..do you have a date for Friday?"
"A date? No, I didn't even think about that, but I guess I'll need one." He smiled sheepishly.
"Yeah Larry's going with Ann and Bono and Ali are going and I just wondered if you'd asked anyone."
Edge shook his head "No I haven't...I guess I have to ask someone."
"I guess so." I smiled.
"What about you? Do you have a date?"
"No not yet, but I'm still hoping." I shrugged and Edge nodded and looked away. Than he looked back and chewed his lip nervously.
"Would you...em would you like to be my date?" I stopped in my tracks and stared.
"W-what?" Edge blushed and looked down.
"I said....would you like to be my date?" I opened and closed my mouth but no sound came out. Edge looked embarrassed now. "It's okay..just forget I asked-"
"No! I mean, wait! Yes I'll go with you." I said it in a rush and as soon as it left my mouth I started panicking. I'd only said yes because Edge had looked so upset. I hated hurting my friends and would do anything not to. Edge relaxed and smiled at me and I swallowed hard.
"I'll go with you." Oh my God I said it again! What was I doing!?
"Great." He grinned. "I'll pick you up on Friday than?"
"um...yeah sure." I inwardly groaned and started hitting myself on the head. Stupid stupid!! You were supposed to get Aids and Edge together! Not steal him for yourself!! We walked the rest of the way to the lunch room, got our hot lunches and moved to the tables. I saw our regular table and flinched. Adam was there and he was sitting next to Aids.
Oh just perfect. Bono and Ali were sitting across from them and they looked like two perfect couples. Well, how about a third couple to complete everything? I wanted to be sick. I could tell Aids was freaking out because Adam was next to her and I wanted to laugh at the trying not to look guilty expression on her face when she saw me. She had nothing to worry about...I was the one in trouble. I walked up to the table with Edge at my side.
"Is there room for us?" I asked politely and everyone looked up.
"Course there is! Always room." Bono spoke around a mouthful of food and Ali rolled her eyes and reminded him to chew with his mouth closed. "I am. I'm also talking with my mouth open." He smiled charmingly and Ali melted. I said she stayed a step ahead of him I didn't say she wasn't crazy about him.
I sat down next to Ali and Edge sat across from me and next to Adam. Bono started talking about the gig, spraying food everywhere and somehow still managing to be charming in a silly kind of way. I waited for Bono to say something about last night but he didn't. He was probably waiting for the Village meeting tonight, and I couldn't ask him about how he knew our plans either because we weren't aloud to talk about it with outsiders. And Adam and Ali weren't part of the Village so I would have to wait until later....unless Ali knew something and she could tell me after school. She was kinda like an inside spy for Aids and myself. Us girls had to stick together at all times.
I avoided eye contact with Adam and tried not to pay him any attention. Bono was still going on and I tuned out his voice after a while and instead thought about what I was going to wear on Friday. I had mentally gone through my entire closet and picked out the perfect outfit and was just getting to the shoes when a pale hand waving in front of my face broke my thoughts. I blinked back into the real world and looked around. Bono, Ali, and Adam were gone and Larry was sitting next to me now.
"You were far away." Edge remarked as he tried unsuccessfully to open his milk carton. Apparently it was Larry who had been waving his hand in my face.
"Only a few blocks away." I said casually before taking a big bit of apple. Larry's face was black and he shook his head and kept eating like I hadn't said anything. I rolled my eyes.
"I know the feeling." Edge said. He stuck his tongue out just a little as he pulled on his milk carton just right and it opened. He smiled triumphantly like he'd just landed on the moon and I held back a giggle.
"Where'd everybody go?" I glanced around.
"Didn't you hear Bono say bye? He yelled it loud enough that the people on Mars heard him." Larry grunted. I shrugged and Aids who was quiet up until now spoke up.
"Edge what happened to your face?" Her voice had a dangerous edge to it *no pun intended* and the table went silent. Edge hurriedly explained everything and I filled in the blanks. Aids frowned. "Well, if you didn't tell Bono than who did?"
"I don't think anyone did. Either he found out on his own or it was a coincidence. We should ask Ali later if she knows anything." Aids agreed and I turned to Larry. "Are you and Anne going as a couple on Friday?" he blushed and nodded. "Aren't you two just too cute." I cooed as I reached over and patted his cheek. He tried to bat my hand away but I was too quick. He settled for an angry glare instead.
"What about you? Who are you going with?" The question was directed at me and I hesitated. I didn't want to say it without the full explanation, but as soon as I said who I was going with it would blow up in my face. I looked at Edge and saw he was smiling at me. Oh great, now I have to pick one friend or the other. I was stuck between two hard places and I had to say something soon.
"uh...Edge asked me." Well that WAS the truth and I didn't say I was going with him so it wasn't AS bad. Right? Aids went pale as a sheet and stared at both of us. Larry stared back and forth and snorted.
"You..and you? You're a couple?"
"No..Edge just asked me to go with him on Friday that's all and why is it so surprising to you? Don't you think we could be a couple?" Larry looked shifty under my accusing glare.
"I didn't say that. It caught me by surprise. Do you really think you should be going out together now? Aren't you worried about how it'll effect your friendship?" Damn Larry when did you get so smart? I looked to see how Edge was taking all this and saw he was looking a little pale himself. Right..so now Edge didn't want to be with me either.
"It's just one date and we're going to have fun and still be good friends at the end of the night. Aren't we Edge?"
He nodded "Yes. It's just one night Larry. We know what we're doing." I sighed in relief. So that was figured out..wait since when was I actually going on this date? I wanted to tell Edge the truth about everything as soon as I could. Aids..shit. I looked at her and saw the hurt and tears in her eyes. She pushed her food away and stood up hastily.
"Aids wait!" I yelled after her as she ran from the room. I got up and glared at Larry.
"Now look what you've done! It's none of your business who I do or don't go out with. And because Edge and I are good friends, if we wanted to be something more I would think that you, being our friend too, would be happy for us!" I picked up my books and hurried out to catch Aids, leaving an awkward silence behind me.
I would appreciate comments of any kind. I'm anxious to know what you all think of this!
I've been around here for a while and I thought I might post something of mine.
I'm not sure if it's all that good but I started it a long time ago, and I wanted to share and see if anyone was interested in reading it. It's just something that popped into my head one day and it's evolved into crazy U2 fun from there.
This is the first and second chapter of window in the skies and It takes place in Dublin around the late 70's early 80's when U2 was just starting out. It is a bit AU too but it's mostly just the crazy imaginings of me and my friend Aids.
I owe a lot to Aids for being my inspiration in the first place when I read her story "The Edge of Reason" And I also owe her for letting me pick her brain for ideas. lol. So Aids if you're reading this then thank you for helping me out all this time!
And to everyone else I hope you enjoy!
*oh and I don't know U2 and all of this is totally false*
Window In The Skies
Chapter One
"Run! Don't look back!!" Edge shouted at me as he flew by and I groaned as I forced my over tired legs to gain speed. My whole body burned with the effort and my vision blurred as the world rushed by. I never felt so free as when I was running. Aids came up on my left, pumping her arms to keep up.
"Those slow arse's will never catch us!" She grinned at me as her hair whipped around her face.
'Now!" Edge yelled and I looked up ahead just in time to see him fly around a corner into a nearby alley way.
"Now!" I yelled over my shoulder and I slowed just enough to make the turn without breaking my neck. The alley was dark and I squinted as I slowed down to a jog. I saw the shadow of Edge stalking in front of me but nothing else. I heard Aids behind me and wondered how close they were to catching us.
Suddenly the alley broke open into a street and the street lamps helped with my sight but not much. The moon was full and the wind was biting. I shivered and was glad my Mum reminded me to bring a jacket. I skidded to a halt and peered around the street.
"Edge?" I didn't see him anywhere. The street was deserted and silent except for my own labored breathing.
"Where is everyone?" Aids jogged up to my side. She looked around nervously and I bit my lip.
"I don't know. I swear I saw Edge go this way." At least I recognized where I was so that I could lead us back to our meeting place. The breeze picked up and blew a piece of trash across the silent street. Something wasn't right. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I had to fight down my panic.
"Something's funny here." Aids said in a low whisper and I nodded silently. The best thing to do now would be to stay as quiet as possible. My eyes had adjusted to the dark of the street now and I peered into the shadows, trying to recognize any shapes. When I saw the faint outline of an arm I thought I was seeing things, but as I stared harder I knew I wasn't imagining anything and I broke out in a cold sweat. They'd found me. They'd found us.
Keeping as still as I could I moved my hand into my back pocket and gripped the handle of my dirk.
"Aids...listen to me." I whispered, keeping my eyes glued to the shadow of what I thought might be the enemy. Lurking...waiting to make his kill.
"I'm listening." Her voice was steady as a rock now and I knew she was ready for whatever they threw at us.
"Straight ahead against the wall..someone's there. I'm going to call him out so be ready."
"I'm ready"
I tightened my grip on the dirk and took a deep breath.
"You there! I see you, shit head! Come out and face me! Or are you a coward!?" I sneered and glared while on the inside I was quaking in my boots. If this didn't work we were both probably going to regret it..
The shadow shifted and a form stepped out.
"Nicely played love. You did a fair job that time...but you forgot one thing." His shinning eyes gleamed triumphantly in the moonlight and my heart stopped.
"What did I forget?" I heard Aids' quick intake of breath and I spun around, pulling my knife and holding it at the ready. It was too late. He had her with a knife at her throat and I couldn't do anything to help her.
"Shit." I cursed briefly and my captor behind me laughed.
"I guess you weren't as prepared as you thought. You didn't think we'd find you." He stepped closer and I turned towards him, thinking that I might just be able to beat him at his own game if I had him at my knife point. "I don't think that would be very smart." He must have read what I was thinking in my eyes. Damn it...now what? I looked back as Aids and saw the anger flare in her eyes as she struggled against the hold on her. If she could get free than I could turn things around for us.
"Take her to the house." The shadow man ordered the man who was holding Aids and I gritted my teeth in rage.
"No. Wait. Maybe we can talk and work something out." I was trying to buy time. The last thing I wanted to do was make a deal but we'd been practicing for this for days and I wasn't about to give up now. I just couldn't
"Talk? About what love?" He was just humoring me now and I fought against the urge to tell him to go to hell. I needed to think fast and I needed to think of something that would get his attention.
"What'll it take to let us go? Lets be reasonable." A bead of sweat trickled uncomfortably down my back and I struggled not to twitch.
He snorted at me "What would it take? hmm...what do you think G?" He asked his accomplice who still had a knife on Aids.
G shrugged "I don't know. Something worth two lives and something you'll have use of."
"Good point. hmm...I've got it! How about a little kissy?" He grinned at me and tapped his lips. I felt my stomach twist, and not all in a bad way either. I had thought about kissing him a couple thousand times before but I never thought it would be possible.
"If I do kiss you than you'll let us both go?" One important thing that I always remember is to never trust the enemy.
"You have my word. I promise." He ran a hand threw his hair in a twitch I'd seen thousands of times before over the years, and I wanted to yell and scream at him.
"I don't think that's realistic. Would they really ever let us go after a kiss? It wouldn't happen."
"Is that a no?"
I glanced back at Aids and she rolled her eyes and shook her head. I sighed in frustration and turned back.
"No. I wont. Nothing is worth that." I released my knife and threw it. It skidded to a halt by Bono's feet. "We're done. You win. Hope your happy." I was angry at myself for not being good enough to get past him and now we had to deal with his cocky attitude.
"I'm disappointed in you Red." Bono crossed his arms over his chest and looked at me in mock pity. I turned away from him and saw Aids was still being held hostage.
"Gavin the games over. Let her go." Aids struggled out of his grip and whacked him upside the head.
"Ouch! No reason to be violent. I was gentle with you." Aids moved to hit him again and he bounced away grinning. She stepped forward and glared at Bono.
"That wasn't fair. Who would ever ask for a kiss? You cheated!"
"Nothing we can do about it now. Let's just go." I said quietly. I was tired, deflated and just ready to go home and get some sleep.
"Wait. Don't you want to know who betrayed you?" Bono asked. Aids gasped in shock and stared back and forth between him and Gavin. I stared at Bono hard, trying to figure out if he might be joking.
"Do you mean that...someone told you our plans?" Gavin moved to stand next to Bono and the pair grinned at us.
"Yes. We infiltrated your group. It wasn't very hard either. A little weight in the right spot and he flopped on you in a second." They both looked extremely happy with themselves and I wanted to kick them in the shins.
I snorted. "I don't believe you. Who would turn on us?"
"Yeah who would do that?" Aids asked standing next to me and glaring.
"It was your boyfriend The Edge. He told us everything." Bono smiled smugly and Aids laughed.
"Now I know your lying! Edge would never do that..and he's not my boyfriend!" Aids said. I looked closely at Bono, trying to tell if he might be lying but my instinct told me that it was possible he wasn't and my gut twisted.
"I want to hear it from Edge before I believe anything. Where is he anyway?"
"We sent him home. Lets just say he didn't want to be here to witness your deaths. You'll have to wait until morning before you can talk to him." Bono looked down and brushed at his jacket than looked up at me through his bangs and smiled. "Since we're done here, why don't we go celebrate? Gavin's got his house free tonight." Oh that sounded like a real fun time. Go and hear Bono tell everyone how we lost about ten million times in one night. Thanks but no thanks. I checked my watch and shook my head.
"Sorry, but if I don't get home soon I wont be going anywhere for a month."
"Same for me." Aids shrugged. "Maybe next time."
Bono sighed dramatically, "oh alright, but don't forget about the gig on Friday!" He yelled at us as we started down the road.
"We wont! You've only told us everyday for the past month!!! Night Gavin! See ya Bono!"
"Bye!" Their faint voices reached us around the bend as we sped up. We were both silent at first and I knew Aids was bothered as much as I was about what Bono had said about Edge. We'd trusted him and confided in him about what we were going to do and if he'd gone and blabbed to Bono than he'd ruined our chance of finally being the victors.
The game we played was one of strength of mind. What would you do if you were faced with the enemy? It was for fun and to help get us ready in case of anything and Aids and I had never been able to beat Bono. We'd gotten Gavin and Guggi once but Bono was always the slippery one.
We glanced both ways before crossing a busy street and I felt the weight of my dagger against my back. I'd picked it up before we'd left and stuck it in my pants. They weren't real, more just props to make it more realistic. We'd never be allowed to have real knives. Not without worrying that our parents would skin us alive with them if they ever found out.
Aids still hadn't said anything and I glanced at her. She looked like she was fuming mad. If Edge had told Bono than I was mad as hell at him too but I also felt bad for the lashing he would get from Aids when she saw him. We were almost to the street corner where we parted ways and I wanted to talk about it just a little to see if she was okay.
"I'm sure Edge didn't say anything. You know how Bono is. He's probably just trying to get under your skin." I tried to sound confident and Aids snorted loudly.
"He would if Bono talked to him long enough. He's such a coward in the face of intimidation. He wouldn't last five minutes." She was about as angry as I had thought than. Not a good sign. I sighed as we stopped at our corner.
"If he did tell than we can both kill him..then Bono. I'll even hold him down for you okay? But you shouldn't be angry with anyone until we know the truth. That's how I'm looking at this."
"I want to kill Bono first. Than slowly torture Edge for information...but not until I hear it from his mouth that he told Bono."
"That's all I'm asking for. How about we settle this in the morning?"
"I wish we could settle this now. I want to go to Edge's and drag his butt out in the cold and demand he tell me everything." She scowled deeply and her eyes flashed. I bit my lip to keep from laughing at the mental image of Edge being dragged by the ear by Aids and almost couldn't hold it in.
Aids sighed and her shoulders slumped in defeat.
"I feel like I've been run over by a truck." She tiredly brushed her bangs out of her face and managed a smile. "Even if we didn't win though I still had fun. I almost peed my pants when Gavin got me though. Bastard."
"I had fun too and we'll get 'em back for everything." I grinned.
"I'll see you in the morning I guess. Goodnight." She turned and headed down her own street and when she got to the end she turned back and waved. I waved back and called out.
"See you bright and early!" As she disappeared I looked at the time and saw it was a quarter before 9. I was almost late. I cursed and sprinted the last two blocks home. I went round back to cool off a bit before going inside. I still had a little time. I stopped by our sand box, gasping and gripping my side. My cheeks stung and my nose was starting to run from the cold.
Once I'd caught my breath I stood up straight and wiped the sweat from my brow. As I did I caught a motion out of the corner of my eye and spun round, ready to scare off whatever of whoever was stalking around my backyard.
The shadows moved and I saw what and who it was, my shoulders relaxed and I breathed a little easier, though not much.
"Oh it's you. Are you trying to give me a heart attack? How long have you been hiding behind that bush waiting for me?" I quickly patted my hair and wiped my nose. Why did he always catch me off guard? It was really very irritating.
"It's not a bush. It's a tree, and I've not been here long. I was passing by." Adam was leaning against the oak tree..in my backyard..looking at me. My heart sped up and I tried not to let him see how happy I was to see him. In the moonlight I could see his silver blue eyes watching me and I felt my stomach clench and my palms start to sweat. Damn him. He always had this effect on me when I least expected it. Trying to act like I didn't care he was here to see me, I slipped my sweaty hands safely into my front pockets and stared at him.
"Passing by? Is there any reason you stopped here? Do you need something?" I spoke with a small smile and I saw a flash in his eyes at my challenge, but it was gone as quickly as it came. It was a game with the two of us. We talked like we had something more to say but neither one of us was going to be the first to do anything about it.
I watched as he pulled a small box out of his jacket and pulled out a cigarette. He'd started smoking over the summer in London and that just added to his persona of being the bad boy. Like I didn't have enough to feel uncomfortable about.
Act normal. Just act normal. I repeated this again and again as I walked over to him, watching as he lit up and inhaled deeply. His eyes narrowed and crinkled at the corners as he pulled the smoke into his lungs and I shivered. Whenever he did that I wanted to kiss that mouth and caress those crinkles.
Get a hold of yourself! I chided myself to keep it together. It wasn't my fault that Adam was just so damn adorable. I'd had a crush on him almost from the first day I'd seen him with his afghan coat and flask of coffee. Not to mention him fantastic hair. I dreamed about running my hands through it and every time I saw his smile my knees started to knock. But we were just friends and that's all we'd ever be. I got up the courage to lean up against the tree next to him and when our shoulders brushed, a little thrill ran all through me.
"Did your team win?"
"What team?" As soon as I said it I remembered and blushed. Adam smiled. "Oh..uh no but it was close. We could have won if I'd kissed Bono." A part of me wanted Adam to get jealous hearing that and ask questions but the chances were slim.
"Oh really? Why didn't you? That seems like a fair price to pay to win." He wasn't jealous at all and I burned with anger and resentment. Now I wished that I had kissed Bono just so I could have something to rub in his face. If he would even care. Why'd I have to give my heart to someone who didn't even have one?
Adam turned to look at me, taking another drag off his fag and I looked away.
"I just didn't want to kiss him. Besides Ali wouldn't have liked it and I can only deal with so much of Bono's cockiness at one time. We'll win next time." I kept my gaze carefully away from him as I spoke.
"You're right about one thing. I can't even handle one sitting of Bono's smugness. I can't imagine what it would be like if you'd given in and kissed him. Probably would have had to pay someone to chuck him into the river. I don't think Ali would have been bothered by that either. She'd thank you for taking him off her hands I'm sure."
I knew he was trying to be funny but I didn't feel like laughing so I managed a small smile and shrugged. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. He was gazing lazily up at the branches of the tree and still smoking.
Than he turned to look at me and I quickly focused forward. He stepped away from the tree and I knew it was now or never so I turned to look him in the eye for the first time that night. Close up I saw his eyes were unnaturally bright and I realized that he was probably smoking something more that just tobacco. Something else he'd picked up over the summer. I wasn't sure yet how I felt about that.
"Your parents are waiting for you." He broke eye contact shortly and I had the feeling he knew what I was thinking. He dropped his cigarette onto the ground and crushed it under his heel. Brushing a bit of ash off his sleeve he smiled at me in his cute upside down way.
"Night Red. Sorry about the game. You deserved to win." He flashed a quick grin and I smiled back. I felt better that Adam thought we deserved to win. He was probably the only one to have that opinion.
"Thanks Adam. Goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow around school." I was hoping he might talk for a little longer but all I got was a wave and than he was walking away.
I stood there watching him like a lovesick puppy. When I'd finally lost sight of him in the fog I sighed and scrubbed my hands over my face harshly. What was the matter with me? I had it bad for Adam and he probably thought of me as just a friend or maybe even worse..like a little sister. I groaned aloud at that thought and watched my breath turn into a puffy cloud in the cold night air. I buried my hands deeper in my pockets and headed inside to get warm.
Later when I was laying in bed and just about to fall asleep I thought of something. If Adam didn't like me than why was he waiting for me outside my house? Maybe he did care about me but was too shy to say anything. What if he was working up the nerve to ask me to go with him on Friday as his date?
I grinned happily in the dark and closed my eyes. Than they popped back open again when I thought of something else. What if maybe I was completely romanticizing everything and he just thought of me as a friend? Could Adam really like me like I liked him? Anything was possible wasn't it? I closed my eyes again and sighed in confusion as I drifted off to sleep, thinking about the morning when I would see Adam again.
Chapter Two
The next morning I took an extra long time getting ready and my Mum caught me smiling and flirting with myself in the mirror.
"What are you so cheerful about this morning?" She asked, leaning against the door jam. I jumped and blushed because my Mum knew that I really liked a boy..she just didn't know who it was. I would never tell her unless I wanted to be the most embarrassed I'd ever been in my life.
"Um...no reason. I'm..really excited about school today." By the look on her face I knew she didn't believe me. "I'm going be late..Bye!"
I grabbed my jacket and my books and flew out of there as fast as I could. It was another gray and cold morning with the freezing winds. I shivered and tried to sink deeper into my jacket as I walked faster.
I met Aids at our corner and when I saw her I could tell right away she'd been crying.
"What's wrong?"
She sniffed and shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it now."
"Okay..tell me when you do and I'm here for you."
She nodded and we headed down the street together. We'd only been walking for a few minutes when she stopped in her tracks.
"I can't believe this is happening!! It's not fair!!" I blinked at the level of her voice and turned to her.
"What's happening?"
"You wont believe it. It was so strange. I never ever thought..."
"Will you please tell me. What is it?"
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and spoke in a rush. "AdamcalledmelastnightandaskedmeoutforfridaybutItoldhimno." She held her breath with her eyes still closed and I frowned.
"uh...what was that?" I caught Adam's name and not much else. Whatever it was it was really bothering her though.
"I said..Adam called me last night and asked me out for Friday but I told him no." She opened her eyes and looked at me nervously. "I wouldn't feel right about it and besides I like Edge and I couldn't..I told him that someone else likes him."
My mouth dropped open in shock. "YOU TOLD HIM I LIKE HIM!!??"
"NO! I would never! I told him SOMEONE likes him. He wanted to know who it was and I said if he didn't know than he better find out." I felt the blood drain form my face and I really wished I had a chair to collapse in.
"Oh my God. He knows. He has too. Who else could he think of?"
"I don't know...lots of girls like him. It could be any one of them."
"Oh that makes me feel so much better. Let me make sure I'm hearing you right..Adam calls you last night and asks you out...than you tell him no and that someone else likes him? And why are you crying?"
"Yes, I couldn't believe it! I never thought he liked me like that and I guess he does. And I'm crying because Edge hasn't asked me to go with him yet and I don't think he will..."
"He might. There's still time and it's only Tuesday. Maybe he's waiting for the right time." She sniffed again and wiped her eyes. I patted her on the back gently and handed her a handkerchief from my pocket.
Something else occurred to me than and I felt my stomach flip.
"Wait..what time did Adam call you?"
"I don't know." She shrugged. "Around 10:30 I think..why?" I glared ahead of me and didn't speak. What a bastard. After talking to me last night Adam went home and called Aids to ask her out! He had to at least know that I liked him a little. Or maybe all boys were brainless and he had no idea what I felt. Either way it still hurt and the tears burned my eyes.
"Bastard." I mumbled under my breath and Aids gasped.
"Hey! I told you that I said no! You don't have to call me names! I could have-"
"I didn't mean you! I meant Adam. I talked to him last night."
"You did? When did he call you?" I told her everything that had happened last night in my back yard and she fumed.
"He IS a bastard! How could he do that? He must either be the meanest person or the stupidest."
"Lets not talk about it now. We both agree he's a bastard and we'll leave it at that for now. Did you decide what we're going to do with Edge when we find him?"
Aids face darkened. "No. I tried calling him but no one answered."
"That's not a surprise. Maybe he's hiding from us. He might not even show up for school."
"Edge miss school?" She smirked at me and I grinned.
"Oh of course he wouldn't. So we'll corner him and get the truth."
She nodded. "Yes, we will. And he better pray he's at least partly innocent in this."
All that day I avoided Adam like the plague. Whenever I saw him walking anywhere in my direction I went the other way. The only time I couldn't avoid him was during lunch. I walked out of my class and headed for the lunch room. I was nervous and thought about just skipping it, but I couldn't hide from him forever. I heard someone call my name and turned to look over my shoulder. Unfortunately the person they wanted wasn't me and I wasn't watching where I was going so I ran right into someone. My book and papers went flying everywhere and I groaned.
"What else?" I sighed as I bent down and started grabbing my things frantically before they blew away.
"I'm sorry. Here let me help. I wasn't watching where I was going." I looked up in surprise at the sound of Edge's soft spoken voice.
"No, it was my fault. I wasn't paying attention." I gathered up the last of my books and excepted some stray papers from Edge. I stood and smiled at him.
"Thanks." He smiled back and flinched. I noticed the bruise on his cheek and frowned.
"Oh my God. Edge, did Bono do that to you?" Edge looked uncomfortable and shifted his feet.
"Yeah. It's no big deal though. I'm fine."
"No, you're not! He hit you! I can't believe he beat you to get our plans!"
Edge looked confused "What? No..I didn't give Bono your plans."
I stared in surprise. "You didn't? Than how did he know?"
"I don't know but I didn't tell him. He punched me because we had an argument about his singing." His singing? I wasn't an expert on that sort of thing but I always thought Bono screamed a lot. It could just be the funky little amp his voice was playing out of though.
Now I was really confused. If Edge didn't tell than who did? Bono couldn't have just guessed. And the only people who knew were Aids, myself and Edge. I sighed and shook my head, deciding I would ask Ali later if she knew anything. She always kept one step ahead of Bono just in case. We were good friends before her and Bono started going out and I liked her a lot.
"Can I walk you to lunch?" Edge offered and I smiled.
"Sure." As we walked I thought about what Aids had said about Edge. "When you see Aids you might want to tell her what happened with Bono. She thinks you gave him our plans and she's really mad at you." Edge looked scared and I giggled. "It's okay! She wont hurt you. I'll take care of you." He blushed and I laughed. "Oh and I was wondering..do you have a date for Friday?"
"A date? No, I didn't even think about that, but I guess I'll need one." He smiled sheepishly.
"Yeah Larry's going with Ann and Bono and Ali are going and I just wondered if you'd asked anyone."
Edge shook his head "No I haven't...I guess I have to ask someone."
"I guess so." I smiled.
"What about you? Do you have a date?"
"No not yet, but I'm still hoping." I shrugged and Edge nodded and looked away. Than he looked back and chewed his lip nervously.
"Would you...em would you like to be my date?" I stopped in my tracks and stared.
"W-what?" Edge blushed and looked down.
"I said....would you like to be my date?" I opened and closed my mouth but no sound came out. Edge looked embarrassed now. "It's okay..just forget I asked-"
"No! I mean, wait! Yes I'll go with you." I said it in a rush and as soon as it left my mouth I started panicking. I'd only said yes because Edge had looked so upset. I hated hurting my friends and would do anything not to. Edge relaxed and smiled at me and I swallowed hard.
"I'll go with you." Oh my God I said it again! What was I doing!?
"Great." He grinned. "I'll pick you up on Friday than?"
"um...yeah sure." I inwardly groaned and started hitting myself on the head. Stupid stupid!! You were supposed to get Aids and Edge together! Not steal him for yourself!! We walked the rest of the way to the lunch room, got our hot lunches and moved to the tables. I saw our regular table and flinched. Adam was there and he was sitting next to Aids.
Oh just perfect. Bono and Ali were sitting across from them and they looked like two perfect couples. Well, how about a third couple to complete everything? I wanted to be sick. I could tell Aids was freaking out because Adam was next to her and I wanted to laugh at the trying not to look guilty expression on her face when she saw me. She had nothing to worry about...I was the one in trouble. I walked up to the table with Edge at my side.
"Is there room for us?" I asked politely and everyone looked up.
"Course there is! Always room." Bono spoke around a mouthful of food and Ali rolled her eyes and reminded him to chew with his mouth closed. "I am. I'm also talking with my mouth open." He smiled charmingly and Ali melted. I said she stayed a step ahead of him I didn't say she wasn't crazy about him.
I sat down next to Ali and Edge sat across from me and next to Adam. Bono started talking about the gig, spraying food everywhere and somehow still managing to be charming in a silly kind of way. I waited for Bono to say something about last night but he didn't. He was probably waiting for the Village meeting tonight, and I couldn't ask him about how he knew our plans either because we weren't aloud to talk about it with outsiders. And Adam and Ali weren't part of the Village so I would have to wait until later....unless Ali knew something and she could tell me after school. She was kinda like an inside spy for Aids and myself. Us girls had to stick together at all times.
I avoided eye contact with Adam and tried not to pay him any attention. Bono was still going on and I tuned out his voice after a while and instead thought about what I was going to wear on Friday. I had mentally gone through my entire closet and picked out the perfect outfit and was just getting to the shoes when a pale hand waving in front of my face broke my thoughts. I blinked back into the real world and looked around. Bono, Ali, and Adam were gone and Larry was sitting next to me now.
"You were far away." Edge remarked as he tried unsuccessfully to open his milk carton. Apparently it was Larry who had been waving his hand in my face.
"Only a few blocks away." I said casually before taking a big bit of apple. Larry's face was black and he shook his head and kept eating like I hadn't said anything. I rolled my eyes.
"I know the feeling." Edge said. He stuck his tongue out just a little as he pulled on his milk carton just right and it opened. He smiled triumphantly like he'd just landed on the moon and I held back a giggle.
"Where'd everybody go?" I glanced around.
"Didn't you hear Bono say bye? He yelled it loud enough that the people on Mars heard him." Larry grunted. I shrugged and Aids who was quiet up until now spoke up.
"Edge what happened to your face?" Her voice had a dangerous edge to it *no pun intended* and the table went silent. Edge hurriedly explained everything and I filled in the blanks. Aids frowned. "Well, if you didn't tell Bono than who did?"
"I don't think anyone did. Either he found out on his own or it was a coincidence. We should ask Ali later if she knows anything." Aids agreed and I turned to Larry. "Are you and Anne going as a couple on Friday?" he blushed and nodded. "Aren't you two just too cute." I cooed as I reached over and patted his cheek. He tried to bat my hand away but I was too quick. He settled for an angry glare instead.
"What about you? Who are you going with?" The question was directed at me and I hesitated. I didn't want to say it without the full explanation, but as soon as I said who I was going with it would blow up in my face. I looked at Edge and saw he was smiling at me. Oh great, now I have to pick one friend or the other. I was stuck between two hard places and I had to say something soon.
"uh...Edge asked me." Well that WAS the truth and I didn't say I was going with him so it wasn't AS bad. Right? Aids went pale as a sheet and stared at both of us. Larry stared back and forth and snorted.
"You..and you? You're a couple?"
"No..Edge just asked me to go with him on Friday that's all and why is it so surprising to you? Don't you think we could be a couple?" Larry looked shifty under my accusing glare.
"I didn't say that. It caught me by surprise. Do you really think you should be going out together now? Aren't you worried about how it'll effect your friendship?" Damn Larry when did you get so smart? I looked to see how Edge was taking all this and saw he was looking a little pale himself. Right..so now Edge didn't want to be with me either.
"It's just one date and we're going to have fun and still be good friends at the end of the night. Aren't we Edge?"
He nodded "Yes. It's just one night Larry. We know what we're doing." I sighed in relief. So that was figured out..wait since when was I actually going on this date? I wanted to tell Edge the truth about everything as soon as I could. Aids..shit. I looked at her and saw the hurt and tears in her eyes. She pushed her food away and stood up hastily.
"Aids wait!" I yelled after her as she ran from the room. I got up and glared at Larry.
"Now look what you've done! It's none of your business who I do or don't go out with. And because Edge and I are good friends, if we wanted to be something more I would think that you, being our friend too, would be happy for us!" I picked up my books and hurried out to catch Aids, leaving an awkward silence behind me.
I would appreciate comments of any kind. I'm anxious to know what you all think of this!
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i like it 
..and some very innocent drug use..uh..if that can be innocent. lol. It's not that bad. I promise. 
I really like it! your writing style is easy to read, that's good!
I really like this story! 
unedited for me too, thanks! 
