Chapter 4: 2. From Now On
Brandon exited out of the photo app, letting out a heavy sigh. He returned to the music app and scrolled through the songs. His finger hovered a familiar song, making his heart skip. He looked out the window as he thought to himself. He pressed on the song, allowing it to track from his earbuds into his ears. The gentle beat brought him back to his childhood, causing his eyes to fill up with tears. It was from his favorite movie. Memories of watching it with his mother filled his head as he stood up. Tears fell down his cheeks as the song continued to play, and he even started to sing to it.
"I saw the sun begin to dim
And felt that winter wind, Blow cold..."
He mumbled as he wiped away some tears.
"A man learns who is there for him
When the glitter fades and the walls won't hold."
He took another deep breath, relaxing to the beat of the music as he continued to sing.
"'Cause from then, rubble
What remains
Can only be what's true
If all was lost
There's more I gained
'Cause it led me back,
To you..."
A few more tears ran down his cheeks. Yet, he failed to see that he was now glowing a bright, fiery orange.
"From now on
These eyes will not be blinded by the lights
From now on
What's waited 'til tomorrow starts tonight
Tonight
Let this promise in me start
Like an anthem in my heart
From now on
From now on"
More tears escaped down his cheeks as he hugged himself. As the words of the song faded away, a soft beat started to play in its place. His body's glow grew even brighter as sparks flew off of his body. Finally, the beat of the song picked up, sending a strike of happiness into his overall emotion. He wiped away his tears as his eyes finally started to dry up a little. He immediately stood up, grabbing his bag and throwing it over his shoulders.
"I drank champagne with kings and queens
The politicians praised my name."
He walked towards the window.
"But those are someone else's dreams
The pitfalls of the man I became"
He unlocked the latches and opened up the window.
"For years and years
I chased their cheers
The crazy speed of always needing more
But when I stop
And see you here
I remember who all this was for!"
He shouted before climbing out of the window. He jumped down, focusing on the ground. When he looked back up, he noticed small, glowing fireballs in front of him. He gasped, putting the song on pause. He noticed they had created a trail. He raised a brow, curious to see where they were going. He unpaused his music, taking a deep breath before he started to sing again.
"And from now on
These eyes will not be blinded by the lights
From now on
What's waited 'til tomorrow starts tonight
It starts tonight!"
He dashed off after the trail of fireballs, running so fast he never had time to look back. Not that he wanted to anyways. Brandon focused on finding out where the trail leads to, he didn't care who he left behind. All he cared about was where his powers wanted him to go. He knew he could trust them.
"And let this promise in me start
Like an anthem in my heart
From now on
From now on
From now onnnnn!"
He shouted from the bottom of his heart, picking up his running speed. Maybe he should have joined track.
"And we will come back home
And we will come back home
Home, again!
And we will come back home
And we will come back home
Home, again!"
He continued to sing. Maybe he should have tried choir.
"And we will come back home
And we will come back home
Home, again!
And we will come back home
And we will come back home
Home, again!"
Maybe the talent show wasn't just for the "nerds".
"And we will come back home
And we will come back home
Home, again!
And we will come back home
And we will come back home
Home, again!"
He screamed the song loud and proud, not caring who was giving him a funny look or honked as they drove by.
"And we will come back home
And we will come back home
Home, again!"
"From now on
These eyes will not be blinded by the lights!From now on!
What's waited 'til tomorrow starts tonight!
It starts tonight!
Let these promise in me start
Like an anthem in my heart
From now on
From now on
From now on"
He was too busy singing to notice where he was heading towards. It happened to be a local cemetery, a very familiar one in fact. The fireballs started to glow even brighter as he drew closer to where he needed to be.
"And we will come back home
And we will come back home
Home, again!
And we will come back home
And we will come back home
Home, again!
And we will come back home
And we will come back home
Home, again!"
He skidded to a stop as the fireballs disappeared. He looked around to see if there were any more. His eyes landed on a familiar name on a simple headstone. His eyes widened; his heart stopped. The glowing stopped, and the tears started back up. He wiped some tears before dashing over to the grave. He stumbled onto his knees, moving his hands together to pray. "I'm so sorry," he sobbed. "I'm so sorry mom. I'm so sorry," he continued to cry. "Please forgive me..." Sparked flew off of his body again as he counted to sob. "Please mama."
~Flashback: Fourteen Years Ago~
"Please mama." A soft voice calls out, "please mama, wake up." It repeated, causing the sleeping woman to wake up. A small, tired groan slipped out of her chapped lips. Her heavy eyelids finally moved apart, revealing what seemed to be her sweet little boy. "Mama. I got something for you."
The little boy's smile managed to rub off on Lillian, causing a small smile to appear on her own lips."What did you get baby?" Lillian whispers, unable to speak any louder. Her throat was so dry.
"I got some muffins. Your favorite, blueberry." He offered the muffins to his mother. Lillian glanced at the small plate of blueberry muffins."Thank you, baby." She smiled even more, "you're so sweet. You can sit them there." She pointed to the side table before entering another coughing fit.
Brandon listened to his mother, setting them down before he grabbed a muffin for himself. He sat down on the bed next to her as he began to eat."Do you need any more medicine?" Brandon questioned with worry as he looked at his mother, "I can get the medicine lady." He offered, referring to the nurses that came and cared for Lillian throughout the day. "And how much longer do we have to be in here? I hate hospitals... They're boring." he huffed as he took a bite out of the muffin in his hand.
Lillian watches him eat, frowning a little at his question."Well, for as long as the doctors need me to stay sweetie," Lillian explained to her son. The past few months have been rough for the two. Long nights and days were now spent in the hospital as Lillian fought tooth and nail for her own life. She was diagnosed with bone cancer in her left leg; however, it was too late for any treatment to save her. The cancer had already made its way throughout her body. It weakened her a little more each day, bringing her closer, and closer to her death. Brandon was too young to understand what exactly was going on with his mother. All he understood was that she's was really, really sick. He tried his best to get the thought of her death off of his mind. Lillian did her best to helped him with that. Lillian worried about her own death as well, but she prioritized other things more. Where was Brandon to go after she died? They were out of a home, out of a paying job. The hospital did all it could to help her care for herself and her son, but Lillian knew it wasn't to last. All Lillian wanted was to see Brandon being happy, but she knew that his happiness was in danger.The one thing that made him smile the most, was watching movies with Lillian. His favorite type of movies happened to be silly musicals. Lillian enjoyed them as well. The two would spend their day singing, giggling, and laughing along to their films. They had gathered quite a long list of favorites. Anything from heartwarming Disney films, to full-on musicals brought onto the big screen. They loved them all. Brandon looked at his mother, figuring movie time was in need, "can we watch a movie? Please, mama?" He made the cutest puppy eyes as he looked at his mother.
"Of course. Let's see what is on." Lillian pointed to the tv remote. They always got lucky and found some type of movie they moved on the tv. Brandon picked up the remote after he finished his muffin. Brandon switched on the tv and started to scroll through the different channels. He searched until he found something that would occupy his short attention span. Once he found a movie that seemed to fit what he was wanting, he sat the remote back in its place. Lillian moves to hug him closer to her side, covering him up with the blanket. She kissed the top of his little head as she focused the movie. After a while, the two found themselves singing along to the movie. That wasn't a surprise.
"From now on
These eyes will not be blinded by the lights!From now on!
What's waited 'til tomorrow starts tonight!
It starts tonight!
Let these promise in me start
Like an anthem in my heart
From now on
From now on
From now on"
The two sang together, giggling at their dorkiness as they carried on. Lillian held her son close. Lillian paused for a moment as she lost her breath all of a sudden. She started to go weak, she felt it by the second. She started to shake as she looked at Brandon, tearing up. Brandon had no clue what was going on, he was too busy singing to notice his mother was in pain. Lillian opened her mouth to speak, but decided to not ruin this moment. He was so happy, very happy. That's what she always wanted to see. She wanted to see him smile and to sing his little heart out. Lillian moved to kiss the top of his head again. She grabbed for his little hand she took a deep breath, finally allowing her eyes to close as her head laid back against the pillow.
"From now on
From now on
Home, again...
From now on
From now on
Home, again..."
The song came to a slow end, bringing tears to Lillian's cheeks as she felt herself finally let go. Brandon continued to watch the movie, "I love that song." His giggled. "It's my favorite! Which song do you like mama?" He turned back to see Lillian was asleep, or at least he thought. "Mama?" He questioned, "but the movie isn't ove-" He was cut off by the heart monitor going flat. He gasped, his heart pounded. "Mama?" He shook her, "mama? Mama wake up!" He started to cry, "mama, please! The movie isn't over!" A few nurses rushed in, grabbing Brandon to move him out of the room. Brandon screamed, kicking his legs around. "MAMA!" He yelled as he sobbed, "MAMA!" He reached out for her, "PLEASE MAMA!"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone