NaNoWriMo Novel First Chapter

Instructions

This is a story I wrote for National Novel Writing Month--Betrayal Inside Hope Under Despair. .・゜-: ✧☾Chapter 1--Undeniable future☽✧ :-゜・. /Do it now do it now do it do it before it's too late and the world explodes and stuff. Why aren't you doing it?! Deep breaths, deep breaths. Everything will be fine in the end. I'll be a hero. I hope./ “It’s not you, Craig, it’s just, well, it’s…me?” Noel Serrano didn’t exactly know how to explain her ‘intuition’, but she knew full well she couldn’t let Craig go to her party. Even though she’d already invited him. Even though they’d been friends for five months, a new record for Craig. It would break his heart to see his longest lasting friend reject him at the last moment. But it would be worth it. Every bad thing Noel had done would all pay off when the extraterrestrial beings didn’t come. At least, that’s what she kept telling herself. “I…but–you–said–” a betrayed Craig with a thoroughly hurt expression stammered. “I know–actually, I don’t, but–I promise you’ll understand,” yeah, maybe in five years! Noel looked down at her sweaty palms, guilty. “No. I get it,” Craig stood up straight, which made him look so much taller than he was in his usual slumped posture, “nothing good lasts forever, some only five months. You don’t have to act all guilty, because I see your twisted thoughts trying to form a friendship break up. Let me help you. Goodbye, Noel.” And with that, Noel’s former friend spun on his heel, not looking back, but she could probably guess his expression. Her breath got caught in her throat and she had to choke, but nothing came out. She wanted to reach out to Craig’s hand so he couldn’t get away. She wanted to look him in the eye and explain everything. But then all the timelines would be distorted, none of them with Craig still in the world. Besides, her feet were practically glued to her mom's neatly trimmed front lawn, which didn’t fail to moisten her socks and shoes. It was the hardest thing she’d ever done and this was the worst feeling she’d ever experienced. /All that fuss over a party? Kids these days are so pathetic. Go on, enjoy your birth anniversary, my little Noel./ Noel nearly spun around, but then remembered the voice in her head was Cunning, a being from another planet, who had telepathically discovered her and told her the world was in great danger and willingly decided to ‘help’ Noel. Because apparently having a wild imagination that actually turns out to be foresight puts the fate of the universe in your hands. /It’s birthDAY! And please stop calling me that! Noel internally screamed. How could Cunning intrude her mind at the darkest hour of her life?! It’s not just a party, you know. He–I said he would finally get invited to everything he could be. I promised him he wouldn’t be excluded. You have no idea how hard it is for him./ /And YOU do?/ Noel thought about that. Cunning was the one with mind-reading powers. But he was not human, he would never understand the appeal of friends. Right? What if he did, what if he had actually experienced something similar to Craig in his childhood, if he even had one? /Listen, I just thought you’d want comfort, or at least a little push. You know, so you could–ahem–cut off those loose ties./ Don’t ever refer to Craig as a loose tie! Go away!! “Woah, you good, Noel? You looked like you were having a seizure!” Marcy said in mock concern. /Why did you have me invite her again?/ Noel thought, exasperated. /You need new friends now, and she’s okay, you know, she won’t–/ /Die./ /It was a hypothetical question, alright! Besides, I wouldn’t even let Craig die if I could control it!/ /That’s exactly why you can’t be with him./ Was that a shift in Cunning’s tone? Anger? Caution? Usually he would speak to her with no change of emotion; monotonously. Noel felt a tug at the back of her mind, encouraging her to delve deeper beyond Cunning’s surface and figure him out. She would never do that, though. She’s a good person, she tells herself everyday, hoping it’s true. /What?/ /Very well. I know you won’t like this, but, well, you would do anything for a friend. But those snobby prissy girls won’t care for you, and vice versa. They won’t anchor you to the ground when you have the power to fly. It’s too risky to get attached, especially in this situation./ Noel was horrified. In what future would she be a savage, backstabbing, fake-face? Wasn’t it better to have allies? /I’ve seen it, Noel, you must accept that not everyone can survive. But think of it like this: get rid of one person to save the world, or save one person as the universe crumbles on top of everyone, including you./