Art Swing (1x1 remade. Spartan x minus)

[minus infinity]

(It's okay, it happens.)



Fiona sighed as she looked out the window. The storm clouds that had brought the snow yesterday were fading away, moving on somewhere else after only a day. She watched with dissapointment as the gray and white clouds lazily moved off, revealing a bright blue morning sky. The sun was shining on the dirty mounds of melting snow that had somehow managed to stay throughout the night, but their lives wouldn't last much longer. She could only hope it would snow again soon, it was winter after all.
The thought cheered her up a little, just enough to pull herself off of her windowsill and get dressed into burgandy leggings, a black shirt and a long black sweater.
Wait, was that a businessman she saw outside, heading straight towards Dead Park?

 

[spartan309]

(Alright! Let's get this moving after... 19 days... Sorry.)

Footsteps could be head heading towards the park from the crushing snow. Nicholas head this and at first thought it may be Fiona, but the steps were deeper and louder, unlike a women of Fiona's stature. He closed his sketch book and looked off in the distant to see a man who looked ready for a huge work day at the office. Why was he here? "Explain your reasoning for approaching Dead Park. What is your purpose?" Nicholas said, looking at the man with his pale eyes.  

[minus infinity]

(I get the feeling I'm wrong with calling this guy a 'business spokesperson' and things like that ... but for now I guess we can just roll with it. He's a business guy. xD So yeah.)


Didn't you see the sign? We're turning this old park into a business district.
The man fished a fancy looking business card from his expensive jacket that read Rufus Martin: Business spokesperson. Even the card itself almost felt like it was made in an expensive way, it's text slightly raised as though carefully sewed on rather than typed. And it looked like his company was planning to make the old Dead Park just as expensive, exclusive and economical. The man looked behind Nicholas to look with unhidden disgust at the worn condition of the park - it was worse than he was told it was going to be.
Doesn't anybody ever visit this old park anymore?

Meanwhile, Fiona had thrown on her boots and was breaking out in a run towards Dead Park, dark brown hair flying out behind her wildly.

We'll start renovating on Monday.
As this man spoke a vein seemed to bulge in his temple like it was ready to break out of his head. He was balding and so the motion was all too visible; it almost looked like he would rather be anywhere else but here judging by his demeanor. He was about to open his mouth again to speak when the snow suddenly crunched nearby to signal Fiona's arrival. She was by the oddly malicious looking sign but had close enough to hear the word 'Monday' ... wait, today was Friday! Feeling almost as frozen as the snow beneath her feet, Fiona somehow managed to close the distance between herself and the two males. Rufus eyed her briefly, as though to ask where she had come from - but Fiona didn't look at him (she might turn to stone if she did), her eyes flickered from the swing to the slide to Nicholas and back again. They had to go to school today. Would a school day deter the time they had left to enjoy Dead Park before it ... died?

 

[spartan309]

Nicholas fell silent. Dead park closing? This was his safe haven, his home away from home. And it was going to be destroyed. If he could cry, he would, you could see it in his eyes how upset and sad he was. He looked up and saw Fiona looking sad as well. This was there park, the park they went to all the time. Nicholas spent had spent has entire life at Dead Park. He doesn't want to lose the only thing that brings him and his mother together. Then there was school. He wasn't gonna move. He didn't care about school anymore. He wanted to stay until the day it dies, the dead parks funeral.

 

[minus infinity]

It was like the last bit of the neutral demeanor businessmen were required to have faded when Rufus noticed Nicholas wasn't about to leave Dead Park, ever. (He didn't pay much attention to Fiona, whose eyes flickered around as though looking for a way out.) There would be no compromise, Dead Park would become a business district whether these two liked it or not. The older, balding man stared at the two teenagers as though silently challenging them to a staring contest, his almost piercing gaze going right through Fiona and making her close her eyes. When she finally opened them Rufus was still there (this wasn't a nightmare?) and Nicholas hadn't moved an inch. She saw a few classmates at the bus stop a street away.
We need to go to school.She said it to both remind herself and try and persuade Nicholas to come to school. Although she couldn't be entirely sure, he was a good student - always on time, with close to no absenses. Would today be different?
We ... have to go now.
Rufus gave the young lady a look of disdain, not because they had to go to school but because they still weren't leaving. If you were going to leave, than why don't you? Dead Park would still be around when they got home ... at least for those last couple of days.

Intimidated by the looming businessman infront of them, Fiona gave Nicholas' arm a very gentle tug; the gesture just meant 'come on, we need to go.' Her eyes were cast down on her feet, wanting to look at neither Rufus nor Nicholas for fear she might turn to stone.

 

[spartan309]

Nicholas' muscles tensed up when Fiona gave his arm a tug. He was stiff as a rock, not moving an inch. His eyes were staring down to a little above his feet, his eyes a pale blue haze of sadness and hatred. "I'm am staying till the life of Dead Park is taken from my hands." Nicholas replied, a firm grip of the chains of the swing. "My life is meaningless without Dead Park. Dead Park holds all of my memories of family, friendship, and fun. If I lose that, then I have no reason for living." Nicholas uttered,still looking down to his feet.  

[spartan309]

(Bump)  

[minus infinity]

Nicholas was finally showing emotion.
Fiona looked at her friend, her hand still on his arm but not tugging anymore. He was showing emotion. He was showing emotion. He was --
It was sadness and hatred. Sadness at the death of this old park and hatred towards this balding, babbling businessman. She wanted to get away from the businessman, and even though she could see hatred sparking in Nicholas' eyes towards the other man it was becoming obvious he wasn't going to go anywhere. Not even to school? Fiona, for some reason or another, still had trouble wrapping her mind around that - it was true that Nicholas would'nt let Dead Park die
(even if it meant his own death)
But he was a good student. She didn't remember the last time he had been absent. Well, yes she did ... after ....
We have to go to school.
When does it start? You've been saying that for the last five minutes.
Seven twenty.
It's seven fifteen.

 

[spartan309]

"You are welcome to stay Fiona, but knowledge is key to live so please go to school and learn. My place is here at Dead Park until the fated day comes and takes my memories away." Nicholas said to her, the monotone voice of his feeling warm, but also cold as well.  

[minus infinity]

Fiona hung her head briefly when the full realization that Nicholas really wasn't going anywhere hit her, almost ashamed that she too wasn't defending Dead Park in favor of going to school. So in a way his telling her that she should go to school relieved her, but she still felt like she shouldn't be leaving him. She had less than five minutes to decide, and either way she would be late to school ... so ... ?
She briefly remembered yesterday at school; their two hugs and the sudden spark that had passed between them like an unexpected bolt of lightning. It had been so wonderful ...
With a small sigh, Fiona gave Nicholas a hug before running off to go to school.

 

[spartan309]

The hug was warm, something Nicholas really needed. He watched her walk to school, the same hazy eyes that was full of sadness and hate, now having a hint of happiness. Nicholas took out his sketchbook and started to work on some new drawings, having the whole day to himself to draw in Dead Park.

(I feel really bad for Nicholas right now. It must suck to have all this happen to him. You wanna time skip to after school?)  

[minus infinity]

(-cringes- The poor guy.

Yes, timeskip - I'm starting my post with timeskip in action.)


Fiona had barely made it through all of her classes, not unlike yesterday - but for a whole different reason. Yesterday it had been giddiness to be seeing snow after such a long time and the sudden spark that had passed between herself and Nicholas, and now it was sadness for the imminent death of Dead Park and the gloominess of her friend. She'd even been asked during the class she shared with him if she knew where he was, and even though she was very much aware of where he was she shook her head. She knew he didn't really like drawing attention to himself. But now there would be attention on his haven, Dead Park - soon it would be a bustling, busy business district. She could nearly tear up thinking about it, and Nicholas was no doubt worse off than she was. Dead Park was the only physical memory left he had of his mother ...
A sudden, morbid thought went through her and she thought she might have to ask to go to the nurse as class reached the last five minutes before being let out. Was his mother buried at Dead Park? Surely her spirit was, but ... ?
Fiona put her head down on her desk and began to cry for sadness for her best friend and his dead mother.

Rufus was gone, thank goodness, when Fiona approached Dead Park after school. The sign was still there, and so was Nicholas, but Rufus was gone. Not for long, but at least he was gone for the time being. She wouldn't get close enough to perturb her friend, who was no doubt drawing on the swing, so she perched atop the slide as she had done the other night and many years before. She crossed her legs, looked up at the sky. If Dead Park had to die, would they?

 

[spartan309]

Through the entire school day that Nicholas missed, he drew a total or four pictures. The first two were scrapped and were ripped out of his sketchbook, the art, though still looking really good, not speaking to him correctly. They were supposed to be of Dead Park, half dead, and half alive, but whenever he drew it, the entire picture would just look gloomy with no split between emotions. The drawings were currently near the slide, wrapped around the ladder, a tad wet from the snow. The other two were of his mother and Fiona, both sketches of how they were when he was little. You could take a photo and compare the pictures and they would be almost identical. He looked and saw that Fiona had returned and was on the slide. "Welcome back from you day of education." He said, unable to read the emotions in his eyes due to all the mixed feelings that were brewing around with the Park, his mother, and all the memories he had.  

[minus infinity]

Hi Nicholas, Fiona said softly in greeting to her friend. ... um, Mrs Z was wondering ... where you were today, There. She had said it. She hadn't told her teacher where her friend was and wouldn't tell her friend she hadn't told anyone where he was - or the fate of Dead Park. She couldn't have. It would have been akin to betraying him and their history here. Well, at least Rufus was gone.
Since she was on top of the slide, Fiona knew that Nicholas was drawing but couldn't possibly know what it was he was drawing. If she knew, she thought, what would she do? What might she say? What might Nicholas do or say? Fiona uncrossed her legs and brought them to her chest, thinking about how when they were little they really couldn't have cared less that the other was watching what they were drawing (or scribbling.) Well, things had changed over time. Eleven years had certainly changed her appearance, even though Fiona still sort of looked the same - long dark brown hair, dual colored eyes, porcelain skin and a quirky personality. Nicholas ... those same eleven years had just about brought him premature death.
Fiona rode down the slide and approached Nicholas, sitting down just where she had the other night beside him, her bag in her lap.

 

[spartan309]

Nicholas remained silent when she said that one of the teachers was wondering where he was. He didn't care anymore. Memories were what he only cared about. It was silent for a few minutes... rriiiiippp!!! Another drawing was released from Nicholas' sketchbook, flung away and left to sway lightly until it landed where the other two drawings of the "too gloomy" Dead Park drawings he deemed as failures. This picture was actually very interesting. It was a drawing of him when he was only four. He was sad, his eyes glazed and his smile nonexistent. It looked exactly like him when he was four, the only problem, was he never looked liked that until... that day....