all hail the cutest picture in the world.

All Hail Sawyer, the Adorable Nerd.

A Walk In the Rain

The rain is falling down just like the day we played in the rain. Only the hopeless feeling that weighs upon my shoulders makes it difficult to breathe.
Ryan's gone. To who knows where. He didn't think it was worth it to stay. He didn't think we were worth it.
It stings, to be honest. I walk down the street, my mind wandering. Did he not think we were good enough? Could he not have stayed? For the sake of our planet, if nothing else.
"What's wrong?"
I whirl in my steps, the rain sloshing beneath my shoes. Sawyer stands behind me.
"What do you think is wrong?" I continue my quick gait across the water-stained road. "Ryan's gone."
"So? We can go on without him."
"No, we can't." I turn to see him quickly closing the gap between us. I don't want him here. Not now.
"And why not?" Sawyer stuffs his hands into his pockets, an action which slightly angers me. "It's not like he added anything to our little ensemble."
I want to slap him. "How can you say that? He added everything to our little ensemble, as you put it."
"You can't just give up now, Avary. We can't."
"What do you suggest? Move on? Act like we don't care? Act like he isn't gone?"
"Well, we have to get home first."
"Um, yeah, about that... how are we supposed to get back through the time warp bubble without him?"
Sawyer lifts his shoulder into a shrug. "We'll figure out."
I slap his chest with the back of my hand. "What the heck is wrong with you, Sawyer? You should be the one stressing about this."
"I don't know. I guess I don't really care."
"About Ryan?"
"About the fact that he's gone. We can live without him. What made him so special anyway?"
I twirl a strand of amber curly hair around my finger in thought as we continue to stroll down the soppy street. "I... I don't know. He was just... Ryan. You know?"
Sawyer shrugs. "I'm a guy. I don't fangirl over cute faces."
I feel my face turn red. "That's not it and you know it."
"It's not? Remember at the beach? You and him did a LOT of talking." The evil grin overtaking Sawyer's face gives me a sinking feeling in my stomach. "All alone... on the beach... in complete solitude... with the stars blanketing the heavens... oh, and did I mention you were alone?"
I slap him again. "You can be quiet now."
"You don't like what I'm saying? No? That must be because it's true... oooh, Avary likes Ryan..."
"Shut up." He does shut up, but instead he gives me an impish grin. "Shut. Up!" I insist.
"Fine, fine. But I continue to ask: why is he so special?"
"He has... I don't know." I snap my fingers through the air in an effort to come up with the right words. "He has a spark of life. Something beneath the surface that I just want to know about."
It hits me that I'm confiding to Sawyer Bentley -- something I've never done before and never thought I'd do. This sends many awkward feelings rippling through my heart. "Anyway. Who knows if we'll be able to get back home?"
"Yeah, you're right. Thank you, Miss Logical. Now if only that imbecile Ryan would've thought through that before he just took off with two feet running."
"True enough." I fold my arms, shivering against the rainy chill. "Think we should go back?"
"Up to you, Miss Townsend." He fakes a bow, complete with tipping his invisible hat. "You're in charge here."
It strikes me what a wonderful person Sawyer is. And it almost helps me feel better. Just a bit.

In Which I Ramble About Spies, Helena Bonham-Carter, the Woes of Being Ryan, and How Sawyer Gets a Free Ride Through Life and a Puppy.

I'm trying to decide whether Dr. Flanigan's wife was a spy. This would mean I would have to utilize the fine face of Helena Bonham-Carter. Which would be fine if I actually liked Helena Bonham-Carter. She's sorta okay but in National Treasure she annoyed me.
Then again, she might be too old for Flanigan, whoever plays him. Which is kind of awkward considering I just realized he kinda sorta looks like Patrick Gates.

....Nah. That guy is WAY too old to have teenagers. Namely, Bailey and Sawyer. Unless he's a womanizer and his wife is super-young. Which would be way awkward. Nuh-uh, not going there.

...Ew.

Carry on.

I sorta was thinking his spy could cheat on him with Gesparo. And that would be awkward.

Yeah, so either way this could be insanely awkward. We'll see.

It would be helpful, though. Because then Flan would automatically know what Gesparo's plans were. Because he'd have a spy. And then the spy would defect. And he would be wonely.

That would sure as heck wreak havoc on Bailey and Sawyer's emotions.... I don't know if I can convincingly write something like that. I mean, being abandoned... having your mother defect to the dark side... it's a sad life, people.

Then again, maybe I should torture my characters more. Especially B&S. Because here we have Ryan who goes through virtual hell by losing himself, and Sawyer gets a cute little puppy. Bahaha. Something is seriously wrong here.

I want to roll on the floor laughing after writing that.

To J-Hutch, or Not To J-Hutch

...that is the question.

...and a very hard question at that.

Before the Beginning // Sawyer, the Boy with the Dreams

When he was little, he wanted to fly. I didn’t know this at the time, but we had more in common than I thought.

He’d stand in the middle of the field, green with grass up to his chest. He’d stare at the sky with wonder-filled eyes, wondering what was beyond the clouds. Was it everything it had cracked up to be? Everything he’d hoped for?

When he got old enough he became a studious scholar. The reason? He wanted to fly. Well, it was more than that. He was a dreamer at heart, and it showed. It wasn’t just flying. He’d stare at ships in bottles and wonder… where did they go? Could he captain one of those ships? Better yet, could he captain one of those ships in the sky?

He followed in his father’s footsteps. Only science. But somewhere along the way, he’d gotten so much logic engrained into his boyish head that he lost the dreamer. No, that isn’t correct. He didn’t lose the dreamy part of him. It just got buried under equations and numbers and logical statements.

Pretty soon, the dreamer boy gave up on flying altogether. And yet… he didn’t. Somewhere, buried beneath the unkempt hair, the black plastic glasses, and the trendy plaid shirt, the dreams were still there.
He just needed to find them.

The Sound of Waves

The sound of waves meets my ears as sand squishes between my toes. I dump a pile of sticks down in front of Ryan. "There. That should do it."
"Thanks." He barely glances at me as he whips out his lighter.
"Well, that's convenient." I fall to the ground next to him and sit Indian-style. "What's for dinner?"
"Why are you asking me?"
"Because you're our leader. Duh."
"Sawyer has food in his backpack. Ask him."
I send Sawyer a questioning glance.
"In answer to your question, beef jerky," he says crisply. "And we'd better give Luca a big enough portion. A growing puppy needs his nutrients."
"You lied, Sawyer." Bailey huffs, zipping up her hoodie. "I'm still not charmed."
"How could you not be won over by those puppy dog eyes?"
"I don't know, but I'm still not convinced."
"Come on, Bails. He's not that bad."
"Whatever."
I grin at the two siblings, keeping my opinion to myself. I personally find Luca quite adorable, but certain members of our party do not agree -- specifically Ryan and Bailey. I don't know what they have against fluffy golden retriever puppys. I personally think Ryan's just too grumpy to care, and I'm not really sure what Bailey's problem is, but I'm betting it's just PMS. Or a temporary case of insanity. Either way, she and Ryan are both crazy to not adore Luca.
The smell of smoke tints the air, and I pull my jacket closer around me. It's cold out here on the beach. I guess my mental picture of soaking up the sun and the sand and the waves was in error.
I can't help but laugh as Sawyer stuffs the plaid jacket around Luca, primping and preening to make sure his dog is comfortable.
He shoots me a look over his shoulder. "What?"
I smirk. "You know what, you old softie."
He shakes his head. "Despite what you think, I really am quite logical. I'm not just fluff. In fact, I am a man of science."
"Show me."
"What's the square root of a cubed number?"
"Itself," Ryan says after poking the fire with a stick to flare the embers.
I roll my eyes. "Oh, please, this is elementary."
"Don't underestimate Sawyer." Bailey raises her eyebrows. "Sawyer's brilliance far surpasses any mere mortal man."
"Really." I pop a peanut into my mouth, not impressed.
"You dare to question my intelligence?" Sawyer then launches into a stream of scientifical terms that boggle my mind and render me speechless.
"See? Like I said. Brilliant." Bailey grins.
I shake my head. "Fine. I underestimated you, Sawyer, and for that, I am sorry."
"Hmph. Don't let it happen again." But if I'm not mistaken, he has a twinkle in his eye and the hint of a smile.
"We need to pitch the tent." Ryan is all business, and I've learned my lesson about arguing with him. So we spend the next fifteen minutes setting up our campsite.
After this, I feel the need to walk to the edge of the shore and look out at the horizon as the sky turns a crisp cerulean blue. I hug myself in an effort to keep warm and let the waves lap at my toes while I consider the vast wide ocean. It's mindboggling, really.
A tickle across the top of my foot draws my attention to a small hermit crab scuttling across my feet. I scoop it up before it can escape and hold it in my hands, careful to avoid his pincers. I head back to the campsite.
"Look what I found."
"Aww, it's so cute!" Bailey runs to my side and cups her hand around my own, letting the crab run into her grasp.
"Isn't it?"
"Oh, Luca's going to have a hey day," Sawyer quips, rising to his feet. Only Ryan seems uninterested, which really isn't a big surprise. He's been moody ever since we left Emasis, and it's really starting to annoy. I want to just slap a big smile on his face and be done with it. It's not like I'm happy to be away from home, either, but do I look like I'm sulking? Not yet.

This is uncanny.

I feel like I need an entire post dedicated to this.

I've known for a while now that a golden retriever is in the story. I don't know why. He just is. So I was browsing tumblr and this picture caught my eye because of the puppy.

Then I realized.

That is Avary's green backpack. And Sawyer's plaid/flannel shirt.

I'd been browsing Pinterest a while back and found this image, which reminded me of Avary a lot. And here it is again, in this picture.

Not only that, but I also found this picture on Tumblr and decided that the Crew has to camp on the beach. It's like these two pictures were meant to go together. See the guy in the plaid? It's Sawyer.

Like I said: uncanny.

I have been really weirded out by how this novel is falling into place. Seriously.

Not only that, but I was telling Mom about how it looked like this image was taken straight from my head, and Dad overheard.

Me: "And Sawyer wears plaid."

Dad: "Uh-huh!"

Me: "Red plaid."

Dad: "Yes."

He said it like it was a fact he'd known all his life. I was kind of weirded out wondering how he knew that. Then I mentioned Avary having a green backpack, and he said he thought of green when he heard Avary too.

The weird part is, I know this novel. I know these characters. I don't know how, I just do. Their stories are already in my head. They're just waiting to get out.

Don't ask me how I know that Avary has a green backpack or Sawyer wears plaid. I just do. It's in my blood.

I think I'm realizing more and more lately that it's the story I was meant to write.