Fan Fiction ❯ Aloe Plus Vera ❯ believe ( Chapter 1 )

Come on. One minute. ONE MINUTE.

Vera's drowsy, brown eyes were slipping to closure when she heard a woman's voice ask, "How 'bout you read the next two paragraphs, Vera?"

Her head shot up immediately as if she were suddenly wide awake and she refrained from clicking her pencil on her desk. "Der Mann hat ein-"

BRIIIIING.

Already out in the hallway, Vera called back, "Tschüs!"

She jogged up the steep staircase, making sure she didn't trip, and ran off on the third floor. Slowing down to a quick walk, she hugged her extra books closer to her chest. There he is. Thom. Her ears tingled each time the chains dangling from his belt loops hit his thighs, and she smiled up at the back of his head.

Not shifting her attention to click in her locker combination, Vera jumped and inhaled heavily when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned her head to the culprit while piling books into her book bag. "Oh. It's you, Ny. What was that for?!"

Nylon, a girl with short blonde hair tied in a low bun behind her neck, and light green eyes, grinned evilly at her. Chains and spiky chokers wrapped around her neck and she had several strapped bracelets curled around her arm. She wasn't much shorter than Vera, only by an inch, and she shrugged while glancing over her shoulder. "Hurry up. He's already leaving his locker."

Vera looked up and lifted her book bag over her shoulder. She slammed her locker shut and grabbed Nylon's arm, squeezing it tightly. Falling into step behind Thom, she bit her lip nervously.

"I thought you were going to talk to him." Nylon elbowed her and pointed at the boy as he walked on, oblivious because of the headphones covering his ears.

Vera slowed down. "I can't. Thom's not-"

"I know. It's not him," Nylon interrupted noticing the sad look appearing of Vera's face. Another evil grin consumed her. "But, you know... if you don't talk to him, I will!" She ran in Thom's direction.

Not taking in the words right away, Vera took off after her yelling, "Don't you dare, Ny!!!"

† † †

"Now let me get this straight," conjectured a tall boy with black hair and chocolate brown eyes. A halo hovered over his head and feathery wings sprung out from his shoulder blades, both looking more gray than white. "You took away the memory of my life, threw me into angel school, and now you're assigning me to a human?! I thought Heaven was supposed to be 'heavenly'. Where's my freedom?"

There was a long pause. Finally a voice echoed from the boom box sitting in front of him. "Aloe, you shall go to Earth..."

Aloe shut the voice out and looked around the room. It was completely empty except for him and the boom box. A boom box? They just had to be original, didn't they?

"Aloe? Are you listening?"

"Sir, yes Sir!" Aloe saluted.

The voice sighed and continued, "You must do as I say, Aloe. Switch on your invisibility shield BEFORE you land. The moment you touch ground, you will be face to face with your child and if she sees you, you will live with her on Earth until the day she dies. And she will know you exist. And she will know you are following her. And she will know-"

"I get it." Aloe crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "So when do I leave?"

"Now."

"Huh?" Before he could react, Aloe watched the floor beneath him disintegrate to nothing. He felt a jerk and then began to fall. To Earth?

† † †

"So you want to go for a walk?" Nylon asked.

The blue sky above was bristled with streaks of thin clouds, and the breeze sang with the melody of autumn. There was a layer of leaves scattered on the grass lining the school parking lot, ranging in colors from bright red, to a soft yellow.

"Eh... can't. I have a paper due tomorrow." Vera scowled as she unlocked her car and slid into the driver's seat. She waved Nylon goodbye, and started the engine. "See you later!"

The only time of the day she felt free: in the car. She allowed the windows to remain fully open letting the breeze blow the wisps of short, brown hair out her pale face. After pulling out onto the main road, she cranked up the volume on her radio and hummed along with the rock music blasting out of the speakers.

A thought struck her as she turned a corner. Talk to him? Get to know him? I can't. That would be pushing him out of my life. Forever. And Thom, well, he probably thinks I'm a loser anyway. I mean, he's probably heard every single word that's ever come out of Nylon's mouth. Just wait 'til I find out whom she likes. But, it's not that I like Thom... it's more that I like the way he looks.

Vera sighed and giggled.

What's that?

Whoa...

† † †

"Oomph."

Aloe found himself sitting, no... collapsed on a long concrete flat. He rubbed his head and looked around. A street?

He looked up and saw a car speeding towards him. Uh oh. There was a girl inside: his girl. She was staring straight at him.

She can't see me. I have my invisibility shield on. No. She can't see me.

Can she?

† † †

Oh God. Please move. I can't stop in time.

Vera slammed on the brakes but she knew she wouldn't be able to stop fast enough to avoid a collision. She began to scream as she skidded closer and closer to the boy.

Who is he? Where did he come from?

† † †

HOOONK. HOOONK.

Aloe turned his head to see an eighteen-wheeler truck rumbling down the street to his side.

"Great. My first day and I have to save her already," he muttered with annoyance.

He stood up and stuck his hand out facing the girl's car.

Stop.

† † †

Vera closed her eyes. She couldn't watch.

Suddenly she felt the car come to a gentle halt and she peeked an eye open. He was gone. Just then, an eighteen-wheeler truck zoomed by in front of her and she screamed again.

She breathed heavily, relieved that everything was okay, and wiped away tears that had collected at her eyelids.

But where did that boy go?

Vera lifted out of her seat a little to get a better view of the front of her car, but nothing was there. Ignoring the several cars honking behind her, she unbuckled her seat belt and stepped outside. She squatted to look under her car, but there was nothing there either.

Was I hallucinating?

† † †

"Going up," Aloe said dully into the speaker outside the elevator to Heaven. When he received no reply and the doors didn't open, he slammed his fist on the speaker and said a little louder, "Going up."

The speaker replied in a monotone voice. "Invalid entry."

Aloe's spine tingled. Uh oh. She had seen him. He was... trapped?

No.

There was NO way.

† † †

"You can be so annoying," Vera cooed as she ruffled the fur of her strangely thin cat.

It stared at her with big, round, green eyes and meowed softly.

Vera giggled and turned back to the computer screen. "Stress and Youth," she read aloud. That was all that had been typed on the Word Document, the rest of the page was blank. She sighed.

It had already been an hour since she had started her homework and her mind was mixed in the confusion of the 'almost-car-accident' and the fact that she couldn't think of what to write for her essay.

Vera looked out the window at the full moon barely visible through the thick clouds. Shaking away the distracting thoughts, she returned to her essay and began typing.

THUMP. MEEEOOOWWW.

Her shoulders shook as she turned her head around quickly. Vera almost screamed before the boy could cover her mouth with his hand.

"Don't be afraid. I'm your guardian angel." The boy looked at her with an annoyed expression and groaned. "I'm trapped on Earth until the day you die because you saw my face." He glanced around the bedroom and took a good look at all of her belongings. "You better be interesting because I'm not living with some boring, depressed teenager."

Vera slapped away his hand, credulously believing every word he had just said. "Who are you?"

The boy sighed. "Aloe, your guardian angel for eternity."

Eyeing him suspiciously, Vera then looked at her window. It was closed and locked. How did he get in? "Okay. Let's say you are my guardian angel. Can you prove it?"

Aloe pointed to the long, feathery wings extending from his back and then at the air over his head.

"Is that supposed to be your halo?" Vera also pointed to the air over his head. "There's nothing there."

Aloe looked up and ran over to the mirror. "What?! They took away my halo! Ugh. They're just making life on Earth a whole lot worse!" He turned his back to Vera. She was staring at him with pure curiosity and a small smile on her face. "What?"

"Can you fly?"

Is she serious? "I think that's what my wings are for." Aloe sulked and disappeared. He reappeared floating upside-down over Vera's head. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement and still staring at him. "Now what?"

"I believe you!"