The Spot

The last time Frank had gone to The Spot had been the night after he and Toro had left the city. They had hopped the fence separating Battery City from Zone 1 only hours before and Gerard had insisted that they needed to go celebrate their successful escape.

“The Spot”, as it was referred to in the Rebel Culture, was a large vacant lot right on the edge of Zones 1 and 2. The Exterminators never went there because it always appeared to be on fire. In reality, the Rebels used the lot for trades and it turned into one big party. The lot was lined with bonfires on three of the four sides. With the only open side being an easily defendable route into Zone 2, there was little chance of a Raid.

Now, as he stood staring at the sun disappearing behind the wall of fire that faced the west, Frank couldn’t help wondering why they didn’t come here more often.

“What are you doing, silly?” Rhi giggled from behind him. “I thought you were going to get us something to drink.”

A smile plastered across his face as he turned to face the girl.

“I got distracted,” he shrugged. “Why can’t you get it yourself?”

“Because I was helping Odin pick out the music for tonight.”

He glanced over at Odin, a bald man with a handlebar mustache. Back in the old days, Frank was quite sure he would be referred to as one of “Hell’s Angels.” However, now he just ran the sound system that blasted rock music across the lot day and night. In the man’s hand, he distinctly saw Rhi’s copy of “Let The Dominos Fall” by Rancid.

Rhi looked rather proud of herself for the selection and he couldn’t help smiling.

This girl and waltzed into his life and stolen his heart in a matter of weeks. Admittedly, he found it difficult to read her sometimes and attempting to kindle a love connection in the middle of a war with the government wasn’t exactly easy, thus, he had yet to profess his love.

They traded a gallon of gasoline for a fifth of something homebrewed from one of the other rebel groups and soon they were rather drunk. Rancid was still blaring from the speakers, and Rhi was dancing to one of her favorite songs.

Drunkenly she swayed her hips, grabbing Frank’s hand and insisting that he twirl her. Laughing, he obliged and soon he was dancing right along with her. They giggled and had a grand time twisting to the music.

The longer they danced, the more Frank longed to tell her how he felt. It was always on the tip of his tongue, yet he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Night wore on and chances came and went. They danced on until well after most of the rebels had passed out. Eventually the record was changed to something a little softer and their dancing ceased.

They moved to the car, where they lay a blanket on the sand covered hood, and decided to stargaze. Rhi pointed out star clusters, which she referred to as constellations. Frank had never really been one for stars, but on this night they were fascinating to him. All the different clusters formed pictures, according to Rhi, but Frank couldn’t really see them.

“There’s the Big Dipper!” Rhi was saying. “And Orion. See how he is shooting a bow, Frankie?”

“Yeah, of course,” he lied.

He would tell her anything she wanted to hear, at this point. The stars didn’t hold a flicker in comparison to her.

For a moment he contemplated telling her this, but decided against it.

“My mom used to tell me the stories behind all the constellations. These people called the Greeks named them all. Apparently, they were heroes and the gods put them amongst the stars. Isn’t that cool?”

“Super cool,” he sighed unenthusiastically.

She looked over at him then, big sapphire eyes glinting in the firelight and it was the end of him. He had to tell right then exactly how he felt or he would go insane.

“Hey, Rhi,” he found his mouth saying. “What would you do if I told you I loved you?”

Her mouth opened to respond, but he didn’t give her the time.

“Because I do,” he went on. “I love you more than I can possibly bear. I know it’s stupid and we’re in the middle of a war, but I just-“

Before he knew what was going on, she had practically leapt on him and was pressing her lips to his. He pulled away from her a moment, but she wasn’t letting him go so easily.

“It’s about damn time,” she teased, pulling him in for another kiss.

Yeah, he thought to himself. They definitely needed to go to The Spot more often.