Connor meets Jess

Connor could hear the roar of the wheel on the pavement, already. But where was it coming from? He went in to the COME & GO to get out of the hot humid night air. It was as if he'd walked into a meet locker.

Of course, now he didn't know what he wanted, but he walked down to the drinks selections and let his eyes wonder.

It had been a rotten summer.

1. He'd lost his girl Bree to some nerdy boy with curls.
2. Nothing seemed to satisfy him, lately. Maybe that was why he was a lone dog that walked the streets at night.
3. His parents still didn't know he existed. They were mega-financial woes, over his brother's trial.
4. Some things didn't change.

And then, he heard the slight alarm of someone coming into to the convenient store. It was a girl with her long board.

He didn't know how she could handle a huge skateboard, since she was so lanky yet small.

He sighed and almost smiled. It was like watching the circus come to town. She couldn't be from around here.

Suddenly, she was next to him reaching for a tall MONSTER drink.

"What?" Her dark eyes practically cornered him. Connor could barely breathe. After all, there was something about her natural beauty.

"Nothing." Connor barely croaked.

"You look sad." She told him.

Connor remained mute. Maybe he was. Suddenly, he decided to reach for a MONSTER drink too. She smiled.

Before he knew it, she was shaking his hand and telling him, her name was Jess.

"Uh," Connor cleared his throat. "Um..I'm Connor."

"Uh-huh." She was drinking the drink before they got to the counter.

Connor guessed, the least he could do, was to pay for her drink. He sighed as he watched her leave. He hesitated, but finally followed.

"Thanks." She said before she inhaled most of the drink.

Connor nodded. He couldn't drink that fast. The drink was so tangy, but god awful sweet.

"Want to go to a party?" She said after she crunched the can with her bare hand and tossed it the recycling bin.

"A party?" He looked at the long board she was holding.

"Um, I kind of need a ride. I guess." Her smile was open.

"Oh really?" He looked at her, wishing he was done with the drink, but he took another sip.

"Yeah, give my baby a rest." She shrugged.

"Oh." He guessed she meant the skateboard. Connor scratched the back of his head, thinking he really should think this through.

"Where?" He wanted to know.

She pressed a smile. "There's this show, at an old factory, down by the river."

Before he could let her know the true geek he was, who never took dare. "Let's go." He shrugged as if the sweet poison he'd just drank had turned him into a prince of coolness.

She smiled more, and he knew he was right where he wanted to be.

At first, he was certain he couldn't find the place. Soon enough, on the graveled road, they could hear the music's beat pulse in the dark of night.

Yeap, it was a party alright. What wasn't tore up in the abandoned building already, a few had taken to the canvass with spray cans. There was a whole lot of art going on. Connor had never seen anything, quite like it.

And there was dancing. Jess pulled him as he watched her hips sway. There was something tantalizing about her. For once, Connor wished he knew her spirit. He needed that life pulsing through him.

Yes, she was living. Something he was neglecting to do..until now.