eep. that sure took a while. hope you guys are still with me. this fic's more of an experiment for me, so we'll see how itturns out.
grandpiano: oooh. poetic beat. hehe. thankyou! forbidden love? mm. i'm not sure if itll exactli be love, 'cause i dont usualli hav the whole love thing in my fics. like, i usualli stik with liking a lot. it took me a while to figure out who u were. haha. & i cheked ur bio and all & read the first chap of ur fic (& still need to review -smaks self) it was wiked, btw. and i willl review. and, psh, the review isnt shitti at all.
Under the stars: yeah, ficathon's are fun. they force me to write under deadlines.
mishiema: haha. cath izzz confusing. dont blame you. mm, as for whether this is going to be good or not, i hav nooo idea. i've got the basic plot all noted down but as for how i fill it out... well...
Dmitri Cassidi: yep, there's definiteli gonna be more.
tempestreigns: yeah, kerb is the brit version. i looked it up as soon as u mentioned it. hehe.
BleedingAir: yoyo, billy. hows it goin in daclubbbb?? ur sick, uknow that? getting ur jollies. penguin poo like you makes me sick. -gives "the hand"
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.her ashes
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Night
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Continuation?
-
A firework tore the sky in half.
She counted the different colours ––red, blue, green; it was like a rainbow. At night, though? Rainbows weren't meant to come at night, so she instantly disliked it.
"I see the window wasn't exciting enough for you," a voice spoke to her from behind.
She made no move to show acknowledgment. White, slender hands tightened a bit on the banister, and a light grin played at the edge of her lips; amusement, maybe?
After she didn't speak, he moved until he was beside her, then let his hands fall to the banisters. A light breeze cut through the air, ruffling some of her curls.
"It's a pretty view," he commented.
Another firework shot into the sky. The blast caught him off guard, but he didn't show it.
"New Years Eve," she said, and indicated the spray of now dissipating colours. "They always start the fireworks far too early. But it adds to their enjoyment, so I guess…"
"Did you come here on your own?" he asked, curious.
"The host of the party," she replied, not in answer to his question, but as a means of conversation. "Isn't actually at the party. Rather silly, I think ––he is at times, at least."
He moved along to the subject change, forgot his earlier question. "You know him?"
"Relatively well."
Stain offered a nod of acknowledgment, then looked out to the sky. This time, the firework didn't catch him off guard. It broke through in a multitude of colourful sparks.
"The colours," he tried to count them, but found he could not; there were far too many; "they're a bit of an eyesore."
He had hit on something, sparked a reaction. She eased out a smile. "I thought that, too."
Cracks dithered over ice.
"I like the ones that have one colour," she carried on. "To me they seem a lot more…" she searched for a word. "Jubilant? No, that's a silly word to use." She had a nail file in between her fingers. She twisted it round, rubbed it against the banister.
"I think I get what you mean." He watched the file as it cut marble. The scraping sound emitted was barely audible.
A few moments of silence ensued, then she suddenly spoke up. "Why have you followed me out here, Stain?"
Wait to be blunt. He was caught off guard for a moment, but the answer came easily; it had never been used but had always lingered, waited. She was the first to ever ask.
"Whenever I go somewhere new," he answered. "I always make sure to meet one new person. Make a new friend." He turned around, leaned against the banister so that he was facing her. "Because you never know when you might meet them again."
A firework broke out behind him.
"That's…" she smiled a little, "cute."
"It is?"
"It is." The file raked across marble. By now, there was a mark on its before smooth exterior. She looked at it, as if noticing what she had been doing for the first time.
"I guess you're the one who stained it this time," Stain suddenly said.
For some reason, that made her laugh.
Stain shifted a bit, looked to his watch, then sighed. "I better go, then."
A firework whistled into the sky. Crack. "Stay 'til midnight," she said. "That's when they'll start the real fireworks."
"Nah," he returned, then shoved his hands into his pockets. "Can't risk making my fairy godmother mad, else she might turn me into a pumpkin."
Although it was a lame attempt at a joke, she still laughed. Her voice rang over the fireworks. "I guess it's goodbye, then." She was still looking to the stars and the sky was calm for a moment, empty.
He lingered by the doorway to the balcony. "We'll meet again," were his words. "Only if we're meant to." Then turned, left through the door.
Crack.
It was nearly midnight.
-
Darkness swathed the room. Light blared out from his laptop and made him its centre point. Stain dragged another block into the area, then listened. Behind him, the door slid open and he knew that her fingers would be fumbling for the light.
"Don't put it on."
"It's bad for your eyesight." She was talking about the computer, and the darkness. It was like that with the television, too.
He let out a sigh, made sure she heard it.
Lein laughed and something hit the back of his head. But the laugh was strained. He didn't flinch from the pillow ––he knew that that was what it had been –– and switched off the sound. The screen was now just a mass of colours.
"How's your day been?" Why did he ask?
"Shit." The bed creaked at her slumping onto the bed. A moment later, it creaked again ––probably from her ascension. "I just felt like, I don't know…" Curtains rustled as she fixed them and she ranted for a moment about something he only half listened to.
"I don't get it," he offered, still fiddling with the mouse; maybe it had frozen, which was why there were so many colours.
"I don't know how to explain," she was rambling now, trying to find the right words. It was nearly two am, and he toned her out, an art he had perfected by now. Not until two hands slid under his shirt from behind did his attention snap back to reality. She ran her fingers over the muscles, gently, lightly, but in a way that made his skin burn.
Lips pressed at the back of his neck and he turned in his seat, pulled her down and kissed her. The positioning was a bit awkward so he pushed her down a bit so that they were sprawled on the floor, then pulled off his shirt and carried on where they had left off.
Up on the wall, the clock struck two am.
-
"Hello?"
Rain beat outside of the phone-box, smashed against glass and blurred the outside. She leaned back a bit, waited.
The voice on the other end was muffled with static. "Lucifer Crydon speaking. How may I help you?"
"Crydon," she breathed into the phone. Outside, thunder rumbled. It made her shudder. "It's pouring down, and you didn't show up."
There was a short silence.
"Crydon!" she practically screeched. "I'm paying for this fucking call."
"I'm in Italy," was the sudden reply. "I told you."
"You didn't."
"Yes, I did."
Anger mounted. "No, you didn't," she bit out, exasperated. "I was in a good mood. You're breaking my fucking mood."
"Well I can't exactly pick you up whilst I'm in Italy, can I, darling?" his voice was sharp, contrite. "You're being unreasonable."
She took in a deep breath. "Don't break my fucking mood."
"You need to calm down, Airy. Call someone to pick you up, and I'll pay you back later."
The line cut off.
Eire looked to the glass. Rain fell in tumults, pounded against its flesh. She dialled another number.
-
It was 3am and the phone rang. By now, Lein was asleep. She didn't usually last long, not when she'd had one of her "days". That was every day recently. He dragged himself to the phone, picked it up.
"Fuck my dog's balls," Flick. "I've got some fuck-tastic news."
"You don't have a dog," Stain dryly replied.
There was a banging sound on the other end as he hit the phone against the counter. Stain waited, then Flick answered. "Morning, Stain."
"I'd class 3 am as night."
"But I," a short smack of the phone, some static, and then; "would class it as morning. Because I'm awake. Now you made me forget why I phoned."
A glance was shot over his shoulder. Still fast asleep. Good. If she woke up, there would be hell to pay in the morning.
"Oh, now I remember. I hate being touched, but it's going to be an awfully sunny day today. Fucking beautiful." Flick hesitated, probably having forgotten where he was going with this. "Oh, right, anyway. As I was saying, we messed up really bad yesterday at the party. But, luckily, I managed to get us another gig. Today. At the park. I'll ring you later with the time but I was so fucking excited I thought I'd ring you now. Which is why I rang you now." He hesitated again, then hit the phone again. A few moments passed before he spoke back into it. "Still there, bitch?"
"Yeah," he yawned. "I'm sleepy, so hurry with it, man."
"That's all!" Flick hung up. Stain looked behind again at Lein and she was mumbling in her sleep. What she was mumbling, though, was hard to make out. He moved to the window, where the curtains were all bunched up. She had made a mess of them, and he smoothed them out, did them up, and took a moment to look through the glass.
Outside, a storm was breaking.
-
It was six am and light peeked through a gap in the curtains. Unable to fall back asleep he slipped out from the covers and dressed himself, then left the room. Lein was sat in the kitchen, a newspaper propped in hand and an untouched bowl of cereal sat before her.
Looking at it made him want cereal, so he made to the drawers and searched for the box.
"No need," her voice suddenly broke through. "You can have mine."
He looked over his shoulder at her. "It's okay. I can find it." Then resumed with his searching.
"No, seriously, have mine," there was no argument in her tone. "I'm not eating it and I won't waste food."
He knew what was expected next. Closing the drawer, softly, he made to the table and sat before her. Inwardly, he sighed. "Why?"
She pushed the newspaper under his nose and, although he didn't have his reading glasses, he could make out the blaring headline.
TAXI DRIVER BRUTALLY MURDERED
"It was around about four am last night," Lein said, then paused and pushed away her plate. "Since he's dead, he can't eat, which means I shouldn't eat either ––in respect for the dead. So you can have my food, because it's wrong to waste food." There was a warning in her voice: one that he had, by now, grown accustomed to.
"Okay." He took it and wolfed it down, all the while peering at the clock. Flick hadn't specified a time, so he wasn't sure how to work his schedule for the day. Spooning some cereal, he turned his attention to Lein. Not that there was any need; she was watching him like a hawk. "We've got a gig in the park today. Flick called earlier."
"Earlier?" she seemed to consider. "While I was asleep, you mean?"
"Yeah."
"Oh." Lein leaned back in her seat, cast her gaze to the clock. "Did he give you a specific time?"
"Yeah," he lied, and left it at that.
She watched him, awaiting elaboration. There was none. After realising he'd say no more on the subject she sifted out of her seat, shot him one last glance, then made to the door. "Let me know when I have to get ready. I'm going with you this time."
She left and Stain spooned some more cereal, sifted it into his mouth. It was a big soggy ––damp from sitting in milk for so long. Nearby, a phone began to ring and he answered it. It was Flick.
"Hello?"
"Today. 12 o clock, midday. Be there, or be squ-are."
Before he could reply, Flick had already hung up. Midday it was, then.
-
White sun burnt down at the back of their necks. Stain could feel the skin redden and he tapped his microphone once, twice. The sound filtered through the park and onlookers waited, shouted out, patiently.
"I'd like to thank everyone who's shown up today and, before I say anymore, happy New Year!" Shouts from the crowd. He continued. "Today, my band and I are going to perform some of our newest songs to you. We're called Her Ashes with Rix on drums, Flick on bass, Ex on guitar and me, Stain, lead vocals!" More shouting. Adrenaline pulsed as they waited, patiently.
And then it began.
-
"You were good." The voice caught him off guard, made his stomach leap suddenly. Stain pivoted. She had an ice cream in hand and was casually coiffed in a white button down shirt and skirt. For some reason, the casualness just didn't suit her.
"Good?" Stain repeated, no longer caught off guard. She took a lick of her ice cream. "We sucked."
She offered a half hearted shrug, then took another lick of her ice cream.
"But," he was desperate to change the subject. "I didn't expect to be seeing you again so soon."
"It's a small world," she offered, then shot her gaze over the hoards of people milling about. "I'm with my best friend: Marigold." She offered no more and resumed with her ice cream.
"Oh." The sky, a crystal blue, loomed overhead. "Where is she?"
"Somewhere. Hey," there was a bin nearby and she dropped the ice cream into it, the continued. "Are you waiting for someone?"
"Yeah, my girlfriend's meant to meet me here," he replied. The way that she had so casually tossed the ice cream into the bin was something he hadn't seen in a long while.
"When?"
He shrugged. "About ten to fifteen minutes."
"So you can spare some time?"
"…maybe."
"Good." A smile was shot his way and she seemed suddenly hyped up, bursting with adrenaline. The sudden mood change caught him off guard. Wind swept past them and ruffled her curls. "Let's go, then."
She turned around, ready to leave.
Stain creased his forehead, confused. "Go where?"
"Wherever I lead you."
"Well…" He took a step forward, considered. If he was meant to end up there he would, right?
A voice broke out behind them. "I've got your ice-cream." Lein slipped it into his hand. Half had melted and was dripping down the side so he tipped it over to lick it off the cone.
"Thanks," he offered and she draped her spare arm over his waist, possessively.
Her gaze fell on Eire who was stood facing them, passively. The temporary rush of adrenaline had subsided and it was as if the sudden hype had never been there to begin with. The sun blared down from overhead and he could feel his skin begin to burn. For January, it was incredibly hot.
There was some sort of tension in the air and Stain bit into the ice-cream, desperate to finish it as soon as possible. Ice temporarily shot through his head and chilled him. It hurt. "This is my girlfriend: Lein," he told Eire.
She nodded, a genial smile gracing the corners of her lips. The cat-like eyes glittered under the blaring sun. "I'm Eire," she said, and her fingers were fiddling with the cuffs of her shirt. "Your boyfriend and I met at the party yesterday."
"I've never met anyone called Eire before," stated Lein, half in wonderment. Both hands were on her ice-cream now and Stain marvelled at the way she managed to eat every bit, even though it had half melted, without a drop tipping to the floor.
"Not many people have," Eire paused, seemed to consider something, then unbuttoned the shirt cuff. "Well, I'd better go find Marigold. You come to the park often?"
The question was aimed at Lein. She answered immediately, the ice-cream nearly completely gone. It tasted disgusting ––Stain now understood why Eire had tossed it. But with Lein there, he had no chance of doing so himself. "Fairly often. It's near our flat."
"You live together?" Now she was fiddling with the cuff of her other arm.
Lein's expression brightened. "Since September. I'm doing a degree in History and Social Science. The uni's pretty near our flat, too, which is why we picked it; it offers pretty good access."
Stain nibbled at the cone, the ice-cream now gone.
"That's useful," Eire paused for a moment, then said, "Well, I'd better be leaving now. It was nice meeting you, Lein."
"Pleasure's all mine." They shot each other brief smiles and then Eire walked off, into the trees. When she had gone, Lein suddenly rounded on him. He'd finished eating the ice cream. "She was nice." She sounded relatively chip.
"Yeah," he replied.
"I liked her," she was speaking more to herself than anything else.
Only because she let you talk about yourself. "I thought you would," he lied. "Which is why I was talking to her ––to introduce you guys."
"That's sweet of you," Lein chirped, then cast her gaze over the trees. Birds were singing incessantly overhead and it was obviously annoying her. Not him, though. "I'm sick of all your guy friends. They bore me. Now let's get back to the crowds; I want to buy something." She giggled and the hype was a bit unnerving, then walked off, back into the direction of the crowds.
Stain followed.
-
It was night and Lein was asleep. He watched her breathing. Inhale, exhale. The covers moved with her form, creased. Looking at her like this, for some reason, offered him some form of relief.
Wind from the open window cascaded in. He let it breeze through, ruffle his hair. It felt fresh, slightly damp from yesterday's rain. It was funny, because the day had been insanely hot. So why was the air still cold?
Tap.
Stain looked up, ears alert. Had he just been imagining it, or…
Tap…
It was from the window. He hurried there, not bothering to be too quiet. Lein was out cold; there was no chance of her getting up after those sleeping pills. Outside the view was relatively obscured and a single street lamp lit the path, bathing it a dull amber. He could make out a feminine figure.
She waved. "Come on, Stain!"
Immediately, he recognised the voice. "Eire?" Eyes shot to the clock behind him. Half past twelve. "It's past midnight."
She let out a sigh, juggled the pebbles in her hands a bit. So that was what had been making the tapping noise… "I feel like such a cliché," she suddenly stated, looking at the pebbles. "But it was all I could think of. Now hurry down. It's rude to leave a lady waiting in the cold like this."
He wanted to tell her it was relatively warm but, judging by her tone of voice, he knew it wasn't wise to leave her waiting for too long. And why did he go down? Curiosity, he reasoned with himself.
Lein would never know.
-
i'll tri updating faster next time, but right now cath's my main prioriti. hehe.