Creative Thursday // C.C.C.WC :: Chapter One

Hi, guys!
I'm taking part in the wonderful Celia's Writing Challenge. Yay! Click here to check out the first challenge and click on the button on my sidebar to read more information about it. Seriously, this could not have come at a better time - I've been really struggling to write lately, and I just can't come up with a decent plot. Hopefully while taking part in this, I'll get some ideas :)

"Why wasn't it me?" The thought entered his head before he could stop it. He pushed it away roughly. She wasn't who she used to be. She was different now. She didn't know him anymore.
He watched her from the other side of the road, his grey eyes flashing like steel in moonlight as she walked past him, a smile plastered on her pretty face. Her cheeks were pink, her eyes sparkling and the tips of her ears were as red as her boots. She'd had boots just like those when she was... He choked on the memory, pushing it down, shoving it into the dark room he kept for memories just like that. Memories of her. They way she used to be.
He wanted to jump out at her, to shake her out of this delirious state she was in and make her remember. Remember her past, her family, him. Everything. He imagined the conversation they would have, the way she would suddenly throw her arms around him and whisper his name over and over. Not his real name, but the name known by everyone, "Crow."
He clenched his fists, his face turning red as he watched her stop and touch her pale fingers to her lips where that...boy had kissed her. Her first kiss. And it wasn't with him. He hadn't been the one to run his fingers through her soft, honey-coloured hair, to trace her perfect features or to whisper her name as he cupped her face upward to meet his, "Grace." He hadn't been the one to press against her smooth, pink lips, to feel her arms around his neck and her hair against his face. It should have been him.
Stop.
He couldn't think of her like that. She didn't know who he was. She didn't even know he existed.
Crow sagged against the brick wall behind him, watching her smooth hair swing back and forth like a pendulum as she strolled dreamily toward her house.
The sky was the same grey as his eyes, birds appearing like black ink splattered on a page. It had stopped raining but the pavements were still wet and the darkening sky promised more to come. The trees were nearly bare, red and gold leaves carpeting the ground in fiery colours, falling into soggy piles that filled the cool air with the sweet scent of rotting leaves mixed with the lingering smell of rain.
He leaned his head against the building behind him and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths as colourful patterns swirled on the back of his eyelids. Crow ran his fingers over his left hand, feeling his bruised knuckles. He opened his eyes and she was gone. Pushing off from the wall, he stretched like a cat, his black t-shirt riding up a little, showing his scar. He quickly pulled it down and stretched his neck, working out the stiffness. The cold had settled into his bones, spreading through his veins. He cracked his knuckles before pulling his hands through his already messy black hair and flipping up his hood. He needed to get back. But he couldn't get the image of that boy kissing Grace out of his head. She looked so happy.
Stop it. Remember what Rhea said. You need to focus.
Still, his thoughts kept on coming back to Grace. He bit his lip hard and clenched his hands into fists, hoping the pain would bring him back. All he ended up with was blood in his mouth and white half-moons on his palms where his nails had dug into the skin.
The thought came again.
Grace.
Without realising what he was doing, Crow had crossed the road, half running towards her house, her name a constant mantra in his brain. He was sprinting now, spinning around the corner, his heart beating fast, blood pumping... SMACK!
Pain and shock burst through him, concrete and stones digging into his back, the dampness seeping into his hoodie. His raven hair had fallen across his face, obscuring his view. Brushing it away from his eyes, he looked up. Above him stood a tall boy with broad shoulders and a tanned face. There were lines around his chocolate brown eyes from smiles and laughter, his hair swept back off his face in a curly brown mess. His calloused hand was held in front of him, a slight smirk on his thin lips.
"Scout. What are you doing here? Did you just slap me?!" Crow propped himself up on his elbows, gripping Scout's hand as he was pulled from the ground.
Scout pushed a hand through his hair, blowing a curl away from his face. "I'm sorry. I couldn't let you run to her. She can't know somebody's watching her, Crow! You know that. And Rhea sent me. She didn't trust you watching Grace on your own. Apparently, she was right not to trust you. I thought you had it under control."
Crow studied him, thinking of possible lies, excuses, to get him out of this hole. If he told the truth, Rhea would never let him watch Grace again. That couldn't happen. He needed to make sure she was okay. That she was safe.
Scout was eyeing him up, watching his face closely for any tell of a lie about to be told. Finally, Crow sighed, "I'm sorry. It won't happen again. It was a mistake."
Scout shook his head, brown curls falling into his eyes. "I knew it was a bad idea letting you-"
Crow interrupted him. "I do have it under control. That wasn't the reason I ran after her. I..." He hesitated, knowing once the lie was told, things would change. More people would be watching Grace - he wouldn't be alone with her anymore. But it was either more people with him included, or someone else. It was an easy choice, "I thought I saw someone following her. I was wrong, obviously. If there was a person going after her, they would have passed you."
Scout frowned, his thick eyebrows drawing together, wrinkles forming on his brow, "You're sure it wasn't anything?"
Crow nodded, "I'm sure." He held his breath, hoping that Scout wouldn't think anything of it. But no.
"We'd better add more people to the watch. Just to be safe."
Crow gulped, his heart wilting like a flower cut from the roots that helped it live. Disappointment flooded every cell in his body, but he knew it was coming. He licked his dry lips, tasting blood from the cut he had inflicted on himself. He should have tried to focus harder. Slowly, he bowed his head, "I think that would be appropriate."
Scout bobbed his head, biting his stubby nails - a nervous habit from years ago - before pulling his hand away from his mouth, forcing his arms to his sides, "Great. Let's get back to Rhea. Rosie's in position now." Crow glanced up the road to where her house was. Scout watched him worriedly. "Crow."
His head whipped around at the sound of his name, his gaze focusing on Scout staring at him.
"Right, yes, of course."
Scout put a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, don't worry about Grace. You know Rosie has it covered. She's great at this kind of stuff."
Crow scratched his temple, "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I'm not worried about her. Well, I am, of course, but I know Rosie's gonna be fine... It doesn't matter. Let's just go."

That was really fun :) I hope you liked it! I'm sort of going along with the theme of this story scene from a while ago because I was really interested in the characters, their back story, and what was going on all around. I'm loving writing about Crow - even I'm not sure what his background is! He surprises me more and more :} I feel like Scout is going to be fun to write as well!

Anyways, I hope you liked this. This is my Creative Thursday, and it will be for a while. Celia is planning on posting a new challenge thingy every Monday and Friday, so when she posts on a Monday, I'll link it in to my usual routine and use it for my Creative Thursday. And for the Friday one, I'll post on Saturday, so that it isn't straight after the previous chapter but I don't have to change my "Words" post schedule :)

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