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This is for Freak-Of-Spades December Challenge:
Theme: Halloween on Christmas. A gets kicked out of his home for a family related reason. B wants to kill himself. A finds B and tries to stop him.
MUSTs
Everything that happens in the present of the story must be set outdoors.
Must use the words: archive, pancake, mandarin, butter, phantasmagoria, pounce/d and permission.
One character must say: “It’s the floaty men, dude…they’re here to steal your soul and put it in a little star-shaped glass box…”
The story must at some point feature the re-enactment of a famous scene of a famous movie/scene from a famous movie/famous scene from a movie
NO-WAYs
No mentions of alcohol or drugs.
Nothing can happen indoors
Not allowed to start conversations with ‘I’
Dive into the Stars
His fingers were beginning to turn the same shade as the purple ribbon he had wrapped around them. I had to pin his wrist beneath my knee before I could unwrap it. Into my pocket it went before he could snatch it back for another stunt or the wind snapping over the roof drag it away over the roof, chances were he would follow.
“Tanner, sit down and stop acting like there’s anything but snow waiting for you over the edge,” I sighed at him. The day had been long and I was tired. There was nothing restful to being kicked out of your house the day before Christmas. A tiny mistake was all I made; I forgot something small and I hadn’t done all they wanted. Unreasonable was there motto. Why did I have to be here rather than waiting in my bed for Santa? Really though I’d rather be here.
“There is something more down there,” his voice was soft, drifting off with the wind.
“What?”
“Maybe treasure,” he slid towards the edge, bare feet tunneling a path through the snow. “Maybe there is a whole forgotten vault down there, one you can only fall into. One with piles of bright yellow gold, a collection of sparkling jewels, and a giant archive of forgotten books,” he trailed off, peering over the edge and gripping the ledge that hit at his knees loosely.
This was how I had found him after seeing the note he had tapped to his door claiming he had gone to dive into the sky. Tanner was lost in his mind somewhere; gone to the twisting paths and labyrinth of his mind. He would be back tomorrow. He would be back, as long as I didn’t let him take his dive, as long as I kept him out of the treasure vault.
There were patches of ice beneath the snow, I realized as I walked and slipped over to him. The wrist I caught hold of was thin and breakable. Getting kicked out might not be the worst thing, I’d move in with Tanner; see if maybe I could teach him to eat again. If I had to, I’d settle for convincing him that it too was a treasure from that vault of his. I may not be able to make my mom happy but Tanner would be happy. For him I’d work harder.
“Well, maybe there is a treasure but inside. Maybe you’ll find it walking down stairs instead of leaping off a roof,” I tugged him away an inch, a foot, two.
“Nothing is inside,” he tried to pull away. I lead him back until we stood in the middle of the roof with only steps between the stairwell that would lead to the apartments; to safety and home.
“Everything is inside.”
“No, no,” he jerked his head from side to side, dark red hair wild and slapping against his face. “You’re not, I’m not.”
“We should be,” he faced away from me, towards the edge again.
Tanner leaned back until he peered upside down into my face. “We’re not though, are we Angel-boy? The world is out here. Why should we be inside?”
“Everyone else is.”
His hair brushed my nose as he looked back at the edge. “No one else wants to find the treasure. No one else wants to find the stars. No one else wants to find the end.”
“No one else wants to turn themselves into a pancake,” I muttered, catching at his other wrist when he tried a run for the edge.
“Just slather me in butter and syrup,” he rasped. He didn’t laugh at his own joke and all I could do was hold tighter to his wrists and stare at the back of his head.
All I could hear was him breathing and the wind brushing along the building. There seemed to be no cars passing along the road beneath us. It was the time of night when most were in their bed awaiting Santa and his reindeer. That was where we should be; asleep in bed instead of chasing the dreams of wondrous phantasmagoria he was creating on his whims. This was the insanity I hated traveling with him.
He turned, his arms twisting awkwardly between us and peered up at me again. I met his eyes, wondering what he was planning next; what stunt, what hazardous misstep. Tense, I half expected him to try and knock me down whatever the pain it would cause to the wrists I held. That wasn’t his plan.
His lips brushed against mine. Once for a moment and then again, pressing forward until he had used my hands to push his back around his hips. I let him go, uncertain. Would he continue or take another leap for the ground? For a moment he stayed, lips locked against mine, barely moving with his now free hands tangled in my shirt.
It was almost a surprise when he pulled away and started to run. His feet kicked up snow with the bright mandarin orange pants sliding down his hips as he ran. A breath passed before everything caught up with me and I was running after him. I lost my footing twice, barely managing to catch myself.
Tanner was nearly to the edge when I managed to catch him, as I did what had to be the stupidest thing as I pounced on his back only inches from the edge. We went down, his stomach slamming into the edge and he gasped, raspy and harsh. I had one arm around his waist and the other hand holding onto his shoulder. I tried to haul us back but gave up, sitting in the snow and pulling him into my lap. He was shaking, whether from the cold that might finally be making itself known to his brain through the thin orange pants and thin blue t-shirt or from the fact that he had almost gone over the edge at last I didn’t know.
“Why won’t you let me see the stars?” he whispered.
“Just look up,” He hissed and I banged my head against his gently.
“It’s the treasure within them that I want,” he turned his head and nuzzled against his own shoulder. He glanced up. A snow flake, large and fluffy landed on his nose and started to collect in his hair. My own would be turning white with a collection of the flakes. “It’s the floaty men, dude…they’re here to steal your soul and put it in a little star-shaped glass box…” he intoned quietly. I raised my eyebrows at him and laughed. Tanner leaned back to peer up at me again, pressing back against my chest. “What’s this? What’s this? There’s white things in the air. What’s this? I can’t believe my eyes. I must be dreaming,” he stopped and I waited, laughing, for him to go on. The smile he gave me was soft and that half hopeful puppy-dog glance he gave me when he wanted me to pay for dinner. “Are you going to become a star with me? Please, Angel-boy?”
My laughter died off. “Tanny-baby,” I buried my face in his hair. “Let’s just go inside. Please, I swear there’s a treasure in there.”
“But no stars,” he paused and glanced up and I did too. The stars had disappeared completely beneath the clouds that had been approaching for a while now. “No treasure in the stars when you’re locked inside.”
“No stars when the sky is covered in clouds.” He ignored me.
He jerked and wiggled, trying to turn in the hold I had on him. I loosed it only a little, still wary for another movement towards the ledge that was now only inches away. Again he turned to face me, legs wrapping around my hips. “Do you need permission to go play with the stars? Just take a dive,” he kissed me again, leaning in more, lips moving slowly against mine. Once again I didn’t stop him, leaning in instead to meet him.
A tongue darted out, brushing along my mouth before slipping back into its own. His nails were long and he used them like a cats’, kneading them into my shoulders. He pulled back and looked up at the sky again.
“Maybe if you knew what I know. Maybe,” he nipped at my neck. “Just come see it with me. Do you need to hear about it first?” To stall and plan I’d listen to anything.
“Tell me.”
“There are objects so peculiar, they were not to be believed. All around, things to tantalize my brain. It's a world unlike anything I've ever seen and as hard as I try I can’t seem to describe! Like a most improbable dream, but you must believe when I tell you this: It's as real as my skull and it does exist. Here, let me show you,” his voice was soft, a rising rhythmic chant in my ear. “There is a thing called a present. The whole thing starts with a box,” he paused. “I say it’s treasure.”
Tanner tried to stand and struggled when I tried to keep us sitting. He pulled at my hair and tugged at the arms I had let slip to his waist. What was I going to do? We slid forward on the ice when I pushed to my feet. He knotted one hand in my hair and the other in my shirt.
The edge of the roof was behind him but I could see over its edge. The ground looked further away than when I had come up here. Staring at it was bad but not even Tanner was a distraction, humming happily in my ear. He thought we were going to take his dive. He kissed me, a quick peck on the lips. This was enough to bring my eyes to his for a moment. He was glowing, smiling brightly at me.
“Please let’s just go inside.”
Another quick kiss, one, two, and then a third. “No.”
He pulled me closer and I felt his legs buck slightly as they hit the ledge. Another kiss, longer than his quick pecks and I tightened my grip on him. “We’re going inside.”
A smile and a shake of his head and he stepped back onto the ledge, his hands moving onto my shoulders. “Why?”
“Because it’s safe. We won’t get hurt.”
“That’s a lie,” the smile slipped just a bit. “Besides, this won’t hurt long. Then we’ll be in the stars.”
“Please?”
“Please?” he echoed. Not mocking, he was pleading back at me.
“For tonight let’s spend it inside. The treasure will be there tomorrow.”
What else could I use to plead with him? He wanted to jump and it had never really been this hard to keep his feet on the ground. Releasing his waist with one arm, I tightened my grip on him with the other. His hair was soft and silk-like between my fingers and I pulled his head down to mine. This time I kissed him, feeling his tongue flick out along my mouth again as he wrapped his arms fully around my shoulders. There was no resistance as I pulled him down against me, leaning back until he slid off the wall and onto me. We slid, slamming into the ground with him on my lap again. We broke apart for only a moment and I gave him a shaky smile.
“Please?”
He tilted his head forward and brushed his nose along mine. It was a drawn out wait before he whispered his answer. “Okay.”
The movie part? Well, The Nightmare Before Christmas makes an appearance several times. Oh, yeah *points at Chad*. He told me to use that movie. Blame him.
