Sunday September 6th, 1981

<O> Payne Residence: 8:03 PM <O>

The Troy family approached the two-story house at the end of the cul-de-sac, its blue shutters glimmering from all the lights on inside the house. Either they had a very big family or were just energy inefficient. 

The air was cool and damp from a tropical rain that blew in two days ago and ruined Aaron’s weekend plans. The grass was wet so Aaron and Eileen walked through the driveway and beside the gray Dodge caravan parked outside. The garage was closed so they might’ve had another car inside. 

Definitely a larger family, and judging from the van they probably have kids as well. I wonder if they have any that are my age. Kids my age…

“Mom…” Eileen smiled at Aaron and she approached the doorstep.

“Yes, sweetheart?” She sang with a super vapid melody, it was sickeningly sweet but more importantly…

Sweetheart? She’s trying to butter me up. She knows I’m onto her.

“You’re not going to pawn me off on some little kids are you?” Aaron eyed her suspiciously. 

“What? Of course not.” His mother assured him as she stepped onto the doormat. “They are your age.” She smiled knowingly.

“Mom!” Aaron nearly dropped the tinfoil-covered pan in his hands. The heat of the dish felt extra warm against the cold air.

“I’m not some little kid that needs to be sent on a playdate while the grownups have their talk. Besides I’d get bored with some stranger, what would we even talk about?”

Eileen rang the doorbell and flicked Aaron on the forehead. “What’d I say? We’ve been moping for a while and have done more than our fair share of grieving. It’s time to make some nicer memories.” Eileen looked down at her son and felt his apprehension.

It dawned on her how long it’d been since Aaron had gone to a non-relative’s house. He was out of practice. “You don’t need to be scared.” She encouraged.

Aaron heard the sound of someone coming down what sounded like stairs. From the noise they were making the family had carpeted stairs like him. That’s at least one thing they have in common, Aaron wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to keep a conversation about stairs going though.

“Try to be upbeat, you might find someone you like here,” Eileen said.

“I doubt it.” Aaron rolled his eyes.

“Show off your good side! After all, she seems like a nice girl.”

“SHE???” Aaron panicked right as the door swung open and the light of the house flashed him for just a moment. After his vision returned in its entirety, Aaron regarded the person who opened the door…and nearly lost his footing.

The girl who answered the door was about three inches taller than Aaron, she had vibrant nougat skin and huge emerald eyes. Her hair was a silky jet-black curtain that reached down to her lower back and was wavy like a river. 

Whatever product she was using gave her hair a slight dark green tint that matched her eyes and the fuzzy green turtleneck she wore. In the center, the sweater had a pink heart inside a purple and orange heart and her arms were decorated with dozens of brown mala beads. 

She had on a ruffled black denim skirt and black fishnet stockings. She wore a black pair of converses caked with grime. Her face was something else entirely…dark lipgloss…black mascara and freckles across her cheeks. She even had a small beauty mark on her upper lip. 

This was the first time in Aaron’s life that someone had ever left him completely speechless. Maybe it was the lighting or perhaps his teenage hormones kicking in…but looking at this girl was as close to seeing a deity as Aaron had ever gotten.

Words…say…words…don’t…stand…say…words…

Aaron was blanking. There couldn’t have been more than a couple of seconds spent between them but for Aaron it was an eternity. 

“Yooho!” He forced out. “Anybody in that noggin or are you just going to keep standing there?” 

Not those words! What the hell is wrong with me? Aaron panicked internally.

Eileen silently chastised Aaron with a glare but nothing she could’ve said or done would’ve been worse than the abuse he was already hurling at himself. The beautiful girl didn’t respond and Aaron couldn’t decide if that was good or bad. Her eyes slowly scanned the two Troys and her face made no indication of what she thought of them. 

Or at least it almost didn’t.

The girl didn’t portray any hint of emotion toward Eileen. But when her eyes traveled over Aaron her body made the tiniest motion backward as if she wanted to step away. If her silence before didn’t tell Aaron what she thought of him that little twitch did more than inform him. 

She seems like a nice girl. Aaron mocked his mother internally. Just more upbeat nonsense. I’m starting to think my mother is a hippie.

“Pyaara?” A womanly voice called from behind the girl with a thick Eastern accent. “Is someone at the door?”

The girl perked up and stepped aside allowing a taller, older version of herself to greet Aaron and his mother at the door. Her hair was black and curly like the girl's but much shorter, reaching to her shoulders, and like what could only be her daughter the woman favored green, wearing a leaf green t-shirt and blue jeans. 

“Oh! You’re here! Welcome.” The woman smiled and stepped aside to let Eileen into the house, Aaron following close behind. He swore he could feel the girl's eyes on his back but he didn’t dare turn around to confirm it.

<!> Taara Payne; a forty-two-year-old real estate agent who used her expertise to secure her family a two-story home in the town of Marvadel. She claims to have moved to the U.S. because of family issues. <!>

“Wow, your house has come together.” Eileen looked around the Payne household with genuine adoration. “Again I really like that couch of yours.” 

Taara smiled at the compliment. “Thank you! I was surprised to see you lift it by yourself…” 

Eileen chuckled nervously at the memory. She didn’t think much of her strength or how off-putting it could be to other people. There was an awkward pause between the group but Taara broke it by shifting her focus to Aaron. 

She leaned forward so she was at eye level with him. “Is this your son?” Her eyes flickered to Eileen and she seemed relieved not to be the center of the conversation anymore.

“Mhm! That’s right. This is Aaron.”

The teen’s hands instinctively went toward his pockets but he knew that was considered a sign of laziness. Not that he cared much about these people’s perception of him but his mother was drowning out here and he wasn’t cruel enough to leave her out to sink. 

“Hey there.” He nodded slightly and tried his best to give a tiny smirk. It quickly faded when Taara made the mistake of ruffling his hair and Aaron battled with his reflex to swat her away. 

Taara stood up straight and stepped between the Troys, walking behind her daughter and taking her by the shoulders. She beamed with pride that her child didn’t share judging by her stoic expression.

“Aaron. This is my daughter, Eve.”

Eve stayed silent and did not attempt to speak. Now Taara was the one chuckling awkwardly as she gently nudged her daughter on the shoulder and whispered in her ear, “Say hello, Pyaara.”

Eve slowly raised a hand in front of her chest wordlessly. Her eyes were locked on Aaron and as she made the methodical motion the room faded away for just a moment and it was just them standing in each other's presence, locked in the moment.

Eve finished raising her hand and threw up a peace sign, her face still unmoving and lifeless.

<!> Eve Payne; an enigmatic sixteen-year-old with a love for alternative fashion. Very sensitive to emotions. Claims to have moved to the U.S. for a better life. <!>

“Heya.” She said and time had frozen completely.