Asking a Snake to Fly

Caleb leaned back against the wall, and ran a hand through his hair. He was quiet a few minutes, his eyes darting around the room. Finally, he spoke.

"Redwall is a rehabilitation clinic. You name it, they have it. Drugs, alcohol, mental illnesses, people with eating disorders... Everything." He bit his lip slightly. "With the exception of the past two weeks, I have spent the last six months there."

"Why?" Kaitlin's voice was timid. Caleb seemed so serious, she was almost afraid to speak.

"Drug addiction."

Kaitlin tensed, even though she had been expecting such an answer. Caleb must have realized it, for his face fell, and he once again stared at the ground.

"It was stupid. I was stupid. It started when I was fourteen, and just... escalated from there. I tried little things, at first. None of the hard stuff. Figured that if it was just pot, or whatever, that I wouldn't get so caught up in it. Or get addicted." He snorted. "Obviously, that was wrong."

Kaitlin swallowed. "So... so what did you end up--"

"Heroin."

His eyes blue eyes met hers, asking permission to continue. Kaitlin gave a slight nod, not exactly sure she wanted to hear the rest of his story.

"I ended up in Redwall because I had no other choice. I overdosed. Joshua found me, apparently." Caleb shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I have no memory of the event. I remember driving to the party, and honestly, the next thing I know, I'm in a hospital, and they're telling me I've just come out of a slight coma."

"It's amazing you didn't die."

The red-head nodded in agreement. "You're right. I'm extremely lucky I'm alive. Joshua told me I flat-lined in the ambulance, and the doctors told my parents they weren't sure I was going to make it. God had other plans, apparently."

"They gave me a choice. Juvenile Detention, or a rehabilitation clinic, such as Redwall. I didn't feel like going to either, but again, I had no other choice. Turned out to be the best thing for me. I've been clean almost six months now. Not an extremely long amount of time..."

"But better than a week, or so."

"I guess..."

Both teens were quiet, simply taking the time to stare at one another. Caleb's dark blue eyes were full of... worry? Kaitlin couldn't detect the emotion. Suddenly, he strode across the room, until he was hardly an inch away from her. "Do you hate me now?" Caleb's voice was so quiet, she had to strain to hear it.

"Hate you? Why would I hate you? People make mistakes."

Another snort. "Most seventeen year olds aren't former drug addicts."

"Okay, so some are worse than others. Big deal, Caleb. We all have skeletons in our closets." Caleb's face was close to hers, and it was starting to make her nervous. She backed away, only to have him step in the gap between them. "I would have been more worried if you were still on them..."

She was quickly distracted as Caleb lowered his head even closer, and in an impulse, pressed his lips against hers. Kaitlin jumped, and he pulled away quickly. Before he could open his mouth to apologize, Kaitlin closed the gap between their heads once more.

The kiss this time was short, but sweet. Caleb's eyes were wide as they pulled away. "I seriously did not expect that," he choked.

"Surprises are sometimes a good thing, no?" Kaitlin reached up and brushed a piece of blue tipped hair away from his eyes. "Your hair is tipped blue?"

Caleb let out a chuckle. "Spontaneous urge. It was dyed blue once, actually. Mom had a fit. So she compromised with me, and let me get tips. She still hates it, but whatever. I like them, and she lets me get them."

"Michael and Mom would probably let me dye my hair if I really wanted to. My father would have a fit."

"Father uptight?"

Kaitlin scowled. "That's a minor understatement. If he had it his way, I would be wearing skirts, and hats, and meeting congressmen's sons and everything."

"Speaking of uptight people, are you headed going to Shannon's party this weekend?"

"I had planned on it."

Caleb grinned. "Good! I'll pick you up then. If... you still want to hang out with me and all."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kaitlin said, acting offended. "I just kissed you. Doesn't that mean something?"

"More than you know..."

The party was smaller than Kaitlin had expected. Shannon was a popular girl; it seemed like everyone at the school was her friend. Her birthday party, however, only had a handful of people in attendance. Among the attendee were Kaitlin herself, Caleb, Joshua, Adelle, Joseph McGowen, a small girl from the junior class - Kaitlin couldn't remember her name but thought it started with an 'N', and, of course, Shannon. Kaitlin wondered just why Shannon wanted such a small gathering, but shook it off and made her way over to the small, dark-haired girl.

"Hi. I don't know if we've met. My name's - "

"Kaitlin Anderson from Las Vegas, Nevada. You moved here because your Mom married our local psychologist."

Kaitlin blinked, "Umm... yes. How'd you know that?"

"Word gets around."

"Oh... okay." Unable to think of anything else to say, Kaitlin smiled at Nailah and walked over to where Caleb was leaning against the wall and sipping a Coke. He noticed the shell-shocked look on her face and smiled.

"Had a Nailah encounter, did you?"

"Is that what you'd call it? She's rather... odd."

"Yeah; but she's nice once you get past it. It's just hard for her to relate to normal people."