Page 10 of Between Brothers

She smiled and it was a mixture of shyness and teasing warmth, “Afraid of heights?”

“If I say yes, will you go on it with me?”

“I’d like that,” she murmured. “It’s always nice to feel needed.”

I smiled and felt it, that sense when I’d first seen her, like our pieces just fit. I held out my arm and she looped hers through it. We got in line and stood silently when out of nowhere, Cell appeared at the railing and said, “Let me hold that for you so you ain’t gotta worry about it.” I thought to myself, so much for fucking off…

Hayley smiled and handed over her half eaten cotton candy and when her back was turned Cell gave me a wink and a slight nod. He was being charming today, which was good. Then again, he’d always been the master hunter. The cool, calculating one. The chameleon, the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

I swallowed hard and wrestled with my guilt, and not for the first time when it came to the thought of being with Hayley, of having a woman in our life, I wanted it so badly… Still, when it came to Cell, at what cost? How much would she have to give up?

I was alright giving up what I had for Cell, at first as club brothers, sure, but as lovers? As partners and best friends? It just was, that to be with Cell, you had to give up parts of yourself and be okay with things that put you at serious odds with your maker. I’d been alright damning myself, but was it right to do it to anyone else?

We moved forward in line and Hayley was smiling and talking gently with me.

“It feels strange seeing you guys outside of the diner, I mean, I don’t think I ever really have before, you know?”

She was making small talk, and I was doing my best to give her more than one word answers as was usually my custom when it came to speaking out loud.

“Yeah, I mean, no… I guess I never really thought about it. I’m just glad to see you. In the diner, out of it, it doesn’t matter to me.” God, I sounded like a rambling idiot.

She searched my face and I wanted so badly to ask questions of my own, to know everything about her, to immerse myself completely in who she was. I’d waited so long out of a combination of fear and a wish to protect her but I was weak, I needed this. I was tired of missing that crucial piece.

She quickly changed the subject, the faint adorable blush painting her cheeks. “So why do they call you Blue, then?”

“Well, when it came time to patch in they said I had a choice, I could either be Blue or I could be Straw.”

“Why those choices?”

“Because his last name is Barry,” Cell supplied. He’d been keeping silent pace with us as we waited and moved up the line, was smiling his good ol’ boy smile; the one that put everyone at ease and made him the life of the party.

Hayley’s brow furrowed in confusion for a moment then smoothed out with her dawning understanding.

“Oh! That’s just terrible!” she cried.

Cell and I laughed and nodded, “Most of the time road names are,” he said.

“Sometimes they’re just funny on the surface.”

“I think you picked well with Blueberry over Strawberry,” she said gravely and I had to smile.

“Thanks.”

“For sure, you ended up on top with that one,” Cell sighed, “I fuckin’ hate mine somedays.”

Hayley smiled sweetly, “Don’t always want to be known as the copper top battery?”

“At least they got one thing right,” he said, “I have the stamina to come by the name honestly.” He winked at her and she covered her mouth with her hands to stifle her shocked giggle. It was both adorable and sad. She hid her beautiful smile far too often.

“See you when you get down,” he said with a wink and we began to ascend the steps to the boarding platform.

Hayley took my hand and a thrill went through me. I glanced down at them and she asked me seriously, “Are you afraid of heights?”

I shook my head, “You?”

She rolled her lips and licked them, her tongue tinged blue by the candy and I wanted to taste it, I wanted to kiss her and find out if she was as sweet. I bet that she was. I bet she would be the sweetest thing I ever tasted.

“No, I thought you might be, though,” she said seriously.

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