Chapter 15- Gen 1 - Lilly

~Teenage Dream~


warning:  some mild adult content

It seems like Sugar Valley, is going to save most of us, I'm not sure Mango could ever have imagined that he would be taking so many of us back to his home town with him after school finished.  But he is!!!   I always planned to move there after that one holiday I spent there with Mango and of course now Cosmic would be coming with me.  It didn't really matter to Cosmic's Dad where he ended up, and he has no other family to worry about.  Prelude and Affair are already in the process of moving to Sugar Valley.   It still feels a little strange to me thinking that Prelude is going to be part of my future, I am slowly getting use to the idea that my evil brother has changed for the better, he phones and emails me regularly and he is always nothing but nice.

Then there is Ruby, Sunny and the "baby bump"  who will also be living in Sugar Valley.  It will be nice for Cosmic to have Sunny in town, they are now best mates and I am slowly getting to like Ruby, we have been sharing a room for a while and she is not as bad as I thought, although I will always have in the back of my mind the things she has done to me in the past.

It seem the locker room see's all the action in our school - Sunny and Ruby too are now engaged.

The biggest surprise for all of us  .................. Caramel and Alpine.  Just knowing that there is a place like Sugar Valley, where the colour code does not matter, brought to the surface feeling that they have apparently always had for each other that nobody had known about.

Caramel has always been really strict about the colour code, because she did not want to get into any trouble.  It took Alpine a while to fully convince her that everything would be alright if they went to Sugar Valley with the rest of us.   It feels like we are turning into a right bunch of rebels.

Ruby's baby bump has started to show, so now we all get nervous setting up something that will get Ruby expelled from school before anyone notices she is pregnant.

We decided a fire would definately get her expelled especially if she told them she was smoking and that is how the fire started.  Jazz managed to talk Ice into starting the fire, her being a pyromaniac she jumped at the chance, especially when she heard he wanted to set Ruby up.  Ice didn't know the real reason for the fire, she just thought that Jazz wanted to get Ruby into trouble for the fun of it.

She did a pretty good job too, half of the music room burnt down - Mango really was not very happy when he found out his piano was now toast, but the music room was redecorated and the piano replaced within days of the fire so he was not down for too long.  The plan worked too, Ruby admitted to smoking in the music room and was expelled immediately. Now all we had to do is sit and wait for the baby to arrive.

The weeks and months started flying by, we are having so much fun now that Ruby is safely in Sugar Valley and we don't have to worry about the baby bump anymore and Lime is out of our lives and leaving us all alone.  She hovers occasionally but doesn't bother any of us with her evilness.  She is being unusually quiet, maybe whatever Alpine has on her scares her enough to keep us safe.

We got news that Ruby finally has had the baby.
Mango's Mom send photo's of the baby, so he got us all together.   He stood reading a note from his Mom.  Jazz got a little impatient, asking him who the Dad was.  Mango didn't know, she had not said in the note and the pictures she had sent obviously he's colourblind so he can't tell.

"She's told me to show you this one first"  she has marked a big 1 on the back of the photo.  He laid the photo on the table "Someone needs to tell me because im seeing in shades of grey remember."  

"Great!!!! - it's a red boy - now we are stuffed!!!  We still don't know who's baby it is!!"  Alpine started to whine.  "Now what are we going to do?"

"What can we do but wait till the kid grows up a bit."  Sunny said looking glum.  Jazz is now in pieces on the carpet thumping the floor, as really, Sunny and Alpine will be living in Sugar Valley where Ruby and the baby are so it doesn't make too much difference to them - Jazz is the only one of the three who doesn't plan to be there, but might have to change his plans if the baby is his.

"So what about this one? is it the same kid?  Mango asked laying another photo down on the table. "She said I'm to show you this one next."  The photo had a big 2 marked on the back.

"Oh Berry!!! she's had twins!!"  Cosmic said and started laughing.  Sunny started jumping around the room like a mental idiot, closely followed by Jazz and Alpine, we were all laughing at them, but Mango is looking slightly confused.

"It's a yellow girl"  I told Mango.  "So Sunny is the idiot!!"

Sunny is really happy, he would have been totally devastated if the babies had not been his -  in fact all three boys were happy with the outcome, Jazz and Alpine very very relieved that the babies were not theirs.  Babies - two of them!!!

"FUDGE!!!! -I've got two babies."  Sunny suddenly sat down looking totally shocked, I think the reality has only just hit him.

 We had been dancing for ages with Alpine and Caramel. They left, then Mango who had been on the computer, got up and mumbled something about being hungry then left the room.

As soon as Mango shut the door, Cosmic picked me up and swung me round, putting me down on the table, he had a wierd look in his eyes that made my stomach flip over.

Cosmic didn't say anything he just started to kiss me, a lot more intensely than he ever had before - I think I already knew where this is going.

We got a little carried away, caught up in the heat of the moment.....

and we managed to lose our clothes somehow, leaving a trail between the table and the bed.

Cosmic suddenly stopped kissing me  "You know we can wait, we don't have to do this now if you don't want to."  I told him it was fine, I really didn't want him to stop now.

We both must have drifted off to sleep.

The door slamming woke me up.  I looked up and saw Mango stood there, he looked a little uncomfortable.  Fudge!!!  I had not even given Mango coming to our room a thought.  He came in and found us asleep in just our underwear, our clothes scattered all over the floor which must have made it pretty obvious to him what me and Cosmic had been doing.

 "Oh!!!  You didn't!!!"

His face was a picture of misery, he stood there for a few minutes just looking at us, then he stormed out slamming the door really hard behind him. 

Why does he always make me feel so guilty??

"I should go after him."  I said knowing that Mango is going to be upset because of what he had seen.

"Leave him, let him calm down a little - I'll talk to him later."  he said and started kissing me again which stopped me from going after Mango, but I am not sure that Cosmic talking to him would be a very good idea, I think that might just make the situation worse.

We weren't the only ones who have been a little careless, Caramel and Alpine who are suppose to be confining their relationship to the bedrooms where the teaching staff were not likely to catch them together have a mixed berry relationship.  They got a little carried away in the locker room right in front of Lime and Ice which didn't go down too well with Lime, she kicked off at Alpine but he just walked away.

After walking in on  me and Cosmic, Mango hadn't been back to our room.  I unusually, woke up in the middle of the night and noticed Mango still had not come to bed.  It's 3am so I am wandering where he might be.   Mango must be really upset for him not to come back, I hope he is sleeping in one of the boys rooms, but decided to go looking for him just in case he is sat sulking somewhere.

I heard him before I saw him, I could hear the piano music as I went down the stairs to the second floor, really I should have known he would be in the music room playing the piano.

"Mango what are you doing down here? Do you know what time it is?"  He stopped playing the piano and stood up, at first I think he was just going to walk off and out of the music room totally ignoring me, but he stopped suddenly and spoke.

"I couldn't sleep - especially not in my bed after you two ..... *huh* ..... how could you!!??"

His bed - O-M-B!! - we did didn't we, I never even realized we had until he said. "I'm really sorry it wasn't planned it just ....... happened."  I saw him wince.

"I really can't wait till we are out of this place and I can get some distance between us!!"  He wouldn't even look at me at first.

"Please don't say that!!"  I thought he was upset at the moment and would get over it after a while.

"I'm sorry Lilly but I really can't take this, seeing you and him together, it's killing me!!  I'm not even sure I can carry on being your friend when we leave this place."  He still wasn't looking at me while he spoke so I stepped in front of him so he had no choice but to look at me.


"WHAT?! - YOU CAN'T!!"  I felt like I had just been punched in the stomach.


"You know how I feel about you - the best thing for me is once we get out of here is if I don't see you anymore - its the best thing for all of us."

He has totally stunned me.  "Mango please don't do this!!"   The last thing I wanted to happen is to lose him as a friend but I know this really cant be easy or fair for him.  "I'm sorry Lilly I don't want to - but I have to!!!"

I just stood there looking at his face - Berry!!  When did he get to be so cute?  How have I never not noticed before?  I have seen him hundreds of times without his glasses on, but I've never really "seen" him before.  I wandered for a second what it would be like to kiss him - What am I even thinking!!!  Lilly STOP IT!!!!

He stood there for a few minutes just looking at me then walked out and I heard him running up the stairs, I don't have a clue where he is going, but I know I just had to let him go, before I did something really stupid.

......................... 

Song:  Teenage Dream - Katy Perry (cough cough)

.........................

I thought I would show you toddler pictures of Ruby and Sunny's twins.
I was really pleased with the way they turned out, both a perfect mix of both Ruby and Sunny.  Twins too that was the biggest shocker for me.

Crimson Shine

Cherry Shine

------------------

Chapter 14 - Gen 1 - Lilly

~ Ironic ~


Waiting out front for Prelude to turn up, I started to get nervous again and wondered what he might surprise me with today.  A taxi pulled up and I watch Prelude getting out.   Last night after Prelude told me about his colourless son he just sat there and cried.  I've never seen Prelude cry before, my head was going, I didn't know how much more I could take in.  I told him to come after 4pm tomorrow and ran off to my room just leaving him sat there.

I never expected for one minute that he wouldn't be alone today.  He leaned into the taxi to pick something up, straight away I was shocked when I could see him holding the colourless child, he hadn't said last night that the boy was actually here in town with him.  I wasn't even 100% sure that Prelude was telling the truth until I saw the child - I still feel like Prelude is playing some kind of game with me.

"My punishment for everything I ever did to you - wouldn't you say!!"  he said as he strolled up to me  "The trouble is it's not me who is going to suffer for it, it's him."

I couldn't take my eyes off my little nephew, it is one thing seeing another colourless berry, but he is the first colourless child I have seen.  I am looking at the strangest scene, my evil brother, holding a colourless child like he is his most precious possession and smiling, something that just doesn't sit well with my memories.

"His name is Affair, Violet took Wisteria with her, she is purple, she didn't want Affair on account of him being colourless, which I suppose in a way is lucky for me because otherwise I would have lost them both."  he said

I swear I am hearing things - did he just say lucky??  Prelude even sounds like he is happy to have Affair, I expected him to be winging that Violet had dumped Affair on him and he didn't want him.  For one mad second when I first saw the child I even thought he might be wanting me to look after him after I graduate - he wouldn't would he????

"Lilly are you ok?" he asked me, I hadn't spoken I was still just staring at the child.  Affair seemed very quiet clinging to Prelude and looking at me warily, I bet the poor thing already knows what it's like to be colourless in this horrible world.

"Sorry .... I was just lost in my own thoughts for a second!!"  My heart was breaking looking at Affair knowing what he would have to go through because of his lack of colour.  I already felt like we were connected, we both would share a lot in common, especially knowing how it felt to be colourless when nobody else could fully understand it.

"And ....."

"I'm just a little surprised to see him, you never said last night he was here in town with you."

"I take him everywhere with me, I left him at the hotel with a friend I didn't want to shock you completely.   I can't trust anyone to look after him or not to hurt him when I'm not there, but I can trust Citrus, she is the only one I can trust - so she comes with me to look after Affair when I'm traveling, she has him too while I'm at work."

"Don't Mom and Dad have him for you?"  I asked more because I am curious to know if they treated Affair better than they have ever treated me.

"No way - after the way they handled things with you, they would probably only sit him in a corner and ignore him anyway, and they are still constantly screaming at each other, they are a nightmare  - I seriously don't want him in that atmosphere, not that Mulberry would beat up on him or anything, he wouldn't, he's really good with him.  I don't live with them anymore either, I have my own place."  I pinched my arm to make sure I am actually awake and not just dreaming all this - this isn't my brother, this is somebody else.

My mind went back to the cardboard monster arm, and the monster under my bed joke that he played on me for years - I half expected the real Prelude to come jumping out from behind a bush laughing any minute now.

"Who is Citrus?"  I thought maybe she might be his new girlfriend or something.

"Affair's Aunty. We call her Citrus, but her name is Elderberry.  She is Violets sister, I'm not sure you ever met her.  Besides Mulberry, El is the only one who doesn't treat him like he is some kind of horrible freak!!"  I had to laugh out loud, his face changed and he looked quite offended.

"I'm sorry but my mind is really struggling with all this - it wasn't so long ago that you were calling me those names and treating me like I was a horrible freak!!"

"I know and I meant what I said last night - I really am sorry for everything Lilly!!  I told you last night I have had a very big wake up call - and here he is."

"I'm confused - what do you want from me - I get the feeling if your son wasn't colourless you wouldn't be here - you would still be treating me like the colourless freak?"

"I can't answer that truthfully because I don't know, although I did know what I put you through was wrong before Affair was born, and I am not lying when I say we all miss you, because we do - absence makes the heart grow fonder I suppose."  I didn't say anything to him, I couldn't my head is already swimming  "I need for myself to put things right between us because I can't live with myself until I know you have forgiven me - but Affair needs you more - he needs to be around you so he knows he is not the only colourless berry like we thought you were, only you can understand what he'll go through and I don't want him having the life you had."

Affair started to get a little grizzly he needed feeding and changing so I took Prelude up to my room.  Cosmic is busy talking to Sunny so I left him to it and for some reason today I didn't feel so uncomfortable being around Prelude, probably because he has Affair with him.  Just watching him with his son makes me to start believing that he has changed and that he really does mean everything he is saying to me, but I'm really struggling to take it all in.

"He is very quiet."  I said to Prelude, other than the little grizzle downstairs I had not heard him make another sound since they arrived.

"He's very shy and very wary of people until he gets to know them, I think he already knows how people look at him and he understands what they are saying about him."

Affair is actually a pretty cute kid to say he is Preludes son!!!  "You know I think he is going to look a lot like you when he grows up - I got out your baby pictures and you were a lot like him at that age and I'm not on about his lack of colour."  he paused for a minute, he shocked me telling me they even had baby photo's of me, I didn't know any even existed - there were pictures of Prelude scattered around the  house in picture frames but there were never any of me on display.  "You both take after Mom, don't you think that's strange when me and Mulberry take after Dad."  I'm not sure if the point he was trying to make, is that the colourless thing was all Mom's fault?!

I picked Affair up off the carpet, I wandered if he realizes I am the same as him.  I started playing with Affair and I noticed Prelude was watching me closely, then I noticed his eyes following my hand.

"That ring, you weren't wearing that yesterday - is that what I think it is?"   I just nodded.

"He seems a nice enough boy but aren't you still a little too young to be getting engaged?"  he looked at me with a puzzled look on his face.

"Eerm you and Violet, I seem to remember you two getting engaged pretty early!!!!"

"Yes and look how that's turned out, that's why I know you are too young to be making decisions about the rest of your life already!!"  Oh Berry I hope he is not going to start acting like my Dad now!!!!!

"You didn't tell me what happened - did Violet leave you because you were mean or was it because of Affair?"

"A bit of both but Affair put the lid on it - she was totally devastated, I can't say I was too impressed either at first, it was a one in sixty million chance of us having a colourless child - seems I inherited the regressive gene and ended up with someone who also had it - how ironic is that!!?? "

"Is there no chance of you and Violet getting back together?"

"No, there is no point anyway, I am not planning on stopping in that town and she wouldn't leave her family or let me see Wisteria, besides she doesn't want anything to do with Affair.  I've been doing a lot of traveling around lately, trying to find a town where we can settle down where they will accept him better than where we are now, but everywhere seems the same, that's why he needs you in his life." 

Fudge - now what do I do.  Yesterday I had no intention of telling him what we planned on doing or where we are going - I wanted to disappear to a place where they would never find me.  Affair changes everything and even if I didn't want Prelude in my life, I could never live with myself letting Affair rot away in that town having an awful life when he could have a much better one in Sugar Valley.  I had to give Prelude his dues, he is trying to do something to make the childs life better, he could have been like Mom and Dad, he is trying which is more than they ever did for me.   It's quite comical really he is trying to protect his son from a person like himself.  I put Affair down and he instantly picked him up.

"Prelude, I lied to you yesterday, I wasn't going to tell you, I was just going to do a disappearing act on you."  I saw his face drop and that evil glint of his flashed across his eyes, but quickly went again.

"What??"

"See I didn't trust you, I still don't know if I can, but he changes everything."  I pointed at Affair "We aren't staying in this town, we are going to Sugar Valley with Mango and another couple from here, a mixed berry couple."

"WHAT!!???  Mixed Berries - Lilly please tell me you haven't gotten yourself into some sort of trouble!!!"

"No, in Sugar Valley there is no colour code - they don't care about colour and they definitely don't care about the lack of it either - they allow mixing, I've been there with Mango that is where he comes from, his mother is a mixed berry and I've met a colourless boy who lives there - and nobody cares - I can live there and be just a normal person and so could Affair - and he is the only reason I'm telling you about this."

"Its not possible!! - No colour code?"  he looked at me like he didn't believe a word I was saying to him.

"It's true I went there for one of the holidays - I've seen it with my own eyes, nobody gave me funny looks, there was no whispering, pointing or nasty comments, they spoke to me and treated me like I am completely normal, not one single person commented on me not having any colour."

Like magic, Mango always seems to sense when I need him, he came wandering through the door.  I asked Mango to explain to Prelude about his town, which he did in Mango style - in full detail.

I think  Prelude is struggling to take in what we have told him, he stood there for ages just staring into space and thinking.

"Sugar Valley you say?  I need to check that place out, it sounds too good to be true!!!" 

 
"Can I call you?" he asked suddenly "If I email you, are you going to read them and reply or just delete them??"  he asked with a smirk on his face. 

I suppose I had no choice now, if he moved to Sugar Valley which no doubt he will, I am never getting away from him.   He needed to start heading off back home, he has a long drive ahead of him and he had to pick Citrus us from the hotel.  I think I nearly passed out when he hugged me and kissed my forehead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I saw the purple guying coming out of the freaks room, at first I though I would just ignore him, but then I got a little curious of what he is carrying.  Another freak brat!!!  I stepped out in front of him and gave him no option but to stop.

"Cute kid!"  Like fudge is he, but you wouldn't talk to me if you really knew I thought your kid is another repulsive freak!!!  "He is yours I take it, what's his name?"

He just gave me the evilest of looks, I wander what his problem is?  "His name is Affair."

"You a friend of Lilly's?"  I asked him, but I suspect he must be a relative of her's being purple and having a freak brat with him - what is her family doing - breeding them?!

"Nosy aren't you!!  I'm her brother, not that it's any of your business" 

"So which one are you Prelude or Mulberry?"  Not that I've ever heard her talk about her brothers, I only know their names from her emails that I've been sneaking a look at.  Well she is stupid enough to leave her hotmail account permanently logged in - she's asking for it in my opinion.

"Prelude, and you are?."

Fudge, I can't tell him my real name just in case the freak has filled him in on earlier.  "Fudge, my name is, Caramel Fudge, Lilly never said she had such a cute brother." I said the first thing I could think of that might distract him away from the name I'd just given him, hopefully he won't remember it.


"Cute?!  Who are you trying to kid, you silly little girl!!!"  he snapped, and narrowed his eyes at me, oh the look, this one is mean spirited - most guys would like a comment like that!!!  "Drop the act kid, I'm not stupid, what do you want?"

"What act?"  Now he's got me floored - I'm definitely losing my touch.

"Your mouth is saying one thing but your face is saying something totally different, I can tell  you are both evil and mean spirited,  but you are not very good at it yet are you!!"  How does he know that I'm evil and mean spirited??  "And my Kid, he's not a freak and neither is my sister!!"  Fudge, can he read my mind??

"So is that it - have you finished with your interrogation?"  I just stood looking at him, wandering how hard he would be to crack, he's quite mean and frosty!!

He looked at his watch, like he can't wait to get away.  "I thought so, now I need to shoot, so if you don't mind" he said and started to walk away.

"Hopefully I'll see you again sometime."

"Highly unlikely" he snapped and started laughing, not just any laugh, an evil laugh

I can not help but smile as I am watching him walk away.

I am going to make them pay for what they did to me earlier -
and I think I know exactly how!!.

------------

Song:  Ironic - Alanis Morrisette