When Angela stepped onto the bus, she expected to be taunted. What happened was worse. Everyone grew silent. They watched as she walked to the back of the bus. They stared as she sat, and looked out to them. She pinpointed a female in the seat in front of her. "What�s going on?" Angela asked. The girl seemed shocked, taking a while to answer.
"That boy you yelled at, when everyone got off the bus he wasn�t with us. Everyone�s afraid of you now. Please don�t hurt me too," the girl said, then proceeded to duck behind the seat. Everyone else did the same. Suddenly, Angela felt like more of an outcast. As least before they spoke to her, now they all feared her. Angela looked out into the bus. All she saw was the brown seats and the legs hanging from them.
"I�m not going to hurt anyone. The boy is alright, I didn�t touch him." A few courageous heads poked out, only to retreat again when they saw her upset face. Even the driver looked afraid. "I�m not what you think I am. If I have any magical �powers� at all, they�re for good. I can�t harm anyone more than you people can."
The heads poked out, and this time they actually stayed out. She still received skeptical looks from the majority of the people on the bus. "How do we know you�re not evil?" a courageous boy asked. Angela stood up and looked at him. He retreated behind the seat. Angela resisted the urge to smack him.
"Trust me, I would of gotten rid of all of you the first day you called me a freak," Angela stated, and sat back down. She looked out the window, and saw the Maker of Dreams in the reflection. Quickly she turned around and saw no one. She had a feeling that she was going to have a long talk with him.
The bus stopped, and Angela reluctantly got up. She trailed behind the other students to go into the building. Instead of walking into the high school, though, Angela stepped through the gates and into a large white room. The Room of Dreams, home to the Maker.
Angela noticed chains on the walls. Chains that looked as if they were made for holding humans in place. It made her think, and most of all it made her worry.
"Weird," she muttered. The Maker walked up to her, his head shaking. "I know I shouldn�t of talked to him, but I tried everything! I tried everything, you have to believe me. He would of killed himself and you told me to protect him."
"Angela, don�t worry. I�m proud you tried everything. You just need a special tool if you plan on talking to him. Don�t beat yourself up over it. You�re only human." Angela smiled as he put another charm on her necklace. "This will protect you. Your secret can�t be let out, Angela. No one must know. No one. It�s for your own good." Angela felt small. "This charm will have the others deaf to your voice."
"What about the boy? He saw me! I�m afraid he�ll tell others�"
The Maker cut her off. "Don�t worry. He now knows that he can�t say anything. A warning about the charm. While others cannot hear you, they can still feel you. Don�t touch anyone, it�ll freak them out."
Angela smiled, mischief forming in the back of her mind. Although it would be fun, she had to ignore it. "You knew about the charm, it�s only for your protection. You endangered the program and yourself. I told you, Angela, no one must know."
Angela suddenly grew worried about everything. He was so demanding. "So for tonight, no one will be able to know you�re there. Not even Taylor. Tomorrow you can go back to your normal routine." The Maker tapped her forehead and sent her back to school.
Angela arrived in Taylor�s house, smiling. The day had gone well, despite the fact she wouldn�t be able to tell Taylor all about it. Maybe tomorrow. Angela let her smile fade as Taylor walked in the room and look around. She stood in front of him, but he walked right through her. The feeling was weird, but for some reason it wasn�t foreign.
Angela silently followed Taylor out of the room. The look on his face was enough to tear her apart. It was a look of despair. His new friend wasn�t there. The hesitation caused her to lose sight of him. She mindlessly wandered through the house, looking for him. Eventually she found him in the kitchen, with Zac. "Uh oh," she said, then covered her mouth. It took her a bit to realize that no one heard her.
Zac was sitting at the table, trying his best to concentrate on his work and ignore Taylor. From the look on his face, it wasn�t happening. And from the look, Angela noticed a pang of grief. His brother had hurt him, emotionally, which was more than he needed.
It seemed that all the boys were emotionally upset. Isaac tried to hide it, as did Zac. Taylor was more open, taking it out on his brothers and on himself. Zac didn�t want to think about it.
"Hey Zac, I have to apologize for yelling at you yesterday. I wasn�t quite myself." Zac nodded, but didn�t say anything. "To tell you the truth I haven�t been myself at all lately. It�s the studio work or something. Too much, too little, ya know?" Taylor didn�t like it that his brother hadn�t said anything.
"Yeah."
Zac�s solitary word almost enraged Taylor, and he watched silently as his little brother walked out of the room. "I just can�t win!" Taylor said. Angela walked over to comfort him, but didn�t get anywhere. It was going to be hard to get used to not being noticed, and it was going to be even harder to get back into the old rhythm of things.
Angela watched as Taylor sighed. He wanted to get his brother back, but he couldn�t. Not now. He had a feeling that Zac wasn�t going to forgive him easily. Taylor was going to have to bug it out of him. Angela followed Taylor out of the kitchen. He found Zac in the living room.
"That�s it? Yeah? No, �that�s okay� or anything? I�m friggin trying to apologize here." Angela held her breath, wondering if she shouldn�t step in and calm him. Zac kept his focus on the television. "Hey, say something!" Taylor was getting pissed. Angela waved her hand over his face, calming a bit. Zac looked up to Taylor.
"Sorry Taylor. I thought you wanted me out of your life. You said all I did was cause you problems." Taylor let out a breath, trying his best to keep him his mouth shut. "Go away, Tay." It was obvious that Zac was stretching the nickname to it�s limit. Almost mocking him�
Angela took a seat on the couch to study Zac. He was the reason Taylor was often upset. Small things he did, the way he talked. It made Taylor uneasy.
Angela noticed that Zac had an autumn breeze in his voice. She loved that, but this was a pissy kid she was sitting next to. Pissy moods with sensual voices were common for later October children. She loved it, the showing of two emotions at once. It was beautiful.
Zac was one of those people you had to love, but ended up loving to hate. He was rude and obnoxious, his caramel eyes naturally glossy. He had a smile that was too precious to be his. He was in need of braces, desperately. His gapped teeth were adorable, too adorable for his age. His hair was thick and too long. He�d look better with it cut off.
Taylor took Angela�s silent advice and walked out of the room. She followed him upstairs to his room. He sat down. "Angela, where are you?" he asked. Angela sat next to him and calmed him. Maybe he would recognize the feeling. It was most likely that he wouldn�t.
She sighed and laid back, letting her eyes fall on him. He was clearly upset that his brother wasn�t forgiving him, but then again he�s been nasty. Angela liked the way Taylor looked when he was angry, but hated that he had to be angry. His anger always ended in depression. And tonight she had no way of stopping him if he did something irrational. She silently hoped that he wouldn�t.
Angela watched as Taylor walked out of the room again. "I�m sorry," she whispered. It hurt her to not let him know she was there, and it hurt her even more that she couldn�t do a thing about it.
Angela closed her eyes. She was so tired. Why did she have to be tired? She had other things to do. Look after Taylor, look out for the family. She didn�t fall asleep immediately, but in time, drifted into a peaceful sleep.
Angela opened her eyes to find herself still in Taylor�s bed. He wasn�t in there, so she got up and walked out of the room. Angela searched the house again for him, but didn�t find him.
She searched twice, and inevitably found him sitting outside. He was looking at the stars. She went to open the door, but her hand went right through it. "Oh cool!" she said, and walked through the door.
Angela took a seat next to Taylor. He was spaced out, his hair loose and his eyes glistening. He enjoyed the night sky, much like she did. But she enjoyed it for a different reason. Her father had spent hours awake with Angela to gaze at stars.
Taylor looked a bit like her father, before he fell ill. She studied how he was illuminated in the pale moonlight. It was a good look for him. Angela smiled. "Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?" she quoted. Taylor stopped and walked inside. "Guess not."