Hey, I'm back! Not that anyone really missed me, but that's not the point. Again, I did this for my LA tutor, as an assignment about "courage". I'm certain I got sidetracked, and so this story doesn't really have anything to do with being brave, a hero, etc. I do have longer works...in the works, but I don't plan to upload them until I finish them, or at least finish a considerable number of chapters. Ew, I hate writing such a short story, but I don't really have the patience to make it any longer. Short and (sickeningly, or perhaps cryptically) sweet, right?
WARNING: A bit too much dialogue for my taste, abusing of dashes/hyphened words, a pointless load of poetic, hopelessly romantic garbage, and a cryptic, extremely lazy ending. Enjoy. :)
Unrequited, and Stolen as Well
Yes, it was back – she hated when it came back. It was a machine, the opposite of a can opener, a soda tab, if such a mechanism could be applied to a person.
The heart-closer, she'd like to call it. Yes, a heart-closer that could infiltrate her, get her airy head to feel lead-laden, pull her spirit's anxiety into her stomach, and shut her down if necessary. Under its control, she was nothing more than the board of a board game, a replaceable piece that could easily be folded up and burned, if need be.
Could she pull this off, after almost a year of cowering behind a painted, plaster mask? Doubt cackled and used its fangs to wound, then poison. Rejection would be the only thing to await her declaration.
But she had to say it eventually. No, she wouldn't mess up again. If despair was the price for her liberation, so be it.
"Hi," Her respiratory system went through a slight malfunction as he slowly turned around, unintentionally telling her – once again – that she didn't deserve such a supernatural being.
"Hey," He seemed bored, which left her better off than if he had been angry, or even annoyed. The mood was passive, meaning a positive reaction was just that much more likely. This was a pleasant surprise.
Unfortunately, it's not like she had much of a chance in the first place.
She looked down for a moment, hoping she could avoid his gaze. Temptation gripped her though, and she looked up again, their eyes connected by a nonexistent, haunting string. "There was something…I wanted to tell you…"
"Hm?" He arched an eyebrow, and his face was manipulated into a look of such innocence, such drowsy curiosity, that she lost her nerve. For the fifth time in three minutes.
"Never mind." She put on a smile, and it felt like eating plastic.
He rolled his eyes, swishing around the smoky, luscious glucose in the viridian droplets, as if he wanted her to pass out from shock. Her stomach hardened, cement right after it's poured into a concrete mold, and she took a shaky, restrained breath.
"Well, that is, um…" Her arms wrapped around his torso, and she blushed when she felt him through the thin, flimsy material. She could feel his chest tense, his lungs blown out as he gasped. Just a tiny gasp – overall, it seemed like he was unfazed. It was one of the countless aspects that made him so flawless. She let a groan hit her teeth and bounce around in her mouth. Distraction was certain, but she should have more of a hold on herself than that.
Suddenly, it felt like she was going to cry. She had been patient, she had waited, and now all of that could – no, would – disintegrate and mean nothing. Was the knowledge worth it? Most likely not, but she had to stop second-guessing herself. Eye-water evaporating, quaking air seeping out her mouth, she readied herself, and go up on tiptoe, still keeping the embrace intact.
Whispered - the following.
"I love you."
There was silence as she choked on the dust her words left behind, which were now forcing themselves into his head. The perpetual moment stretched, getting comfortable because it would stay for a while.
Silence. An awkward silence, of course. What can one say when some random, ogling girl comes up and makes one of those vile love confessions? He was not a monster. However, he could certainly be heartless. He prepared his words, ready to use them to slam her into the ground and pulverize her.
"Ah…I see. Well then," he leaned in, his face closer to hers than it had ever been. She closed her eyes, overwhelmed by his devious expression, and that gave him the opportunity to strike, to lash out. However, now was not the time to do such a thing. He would have to be patient, for if he went through this too quickly, there would be no fun in it. "Before I go on, was there anything else you wanted to say?"
"Right…um, do you…do you feel the same way?" She was now running on fumes, the enhanced air pulsating from him, and unless she managed to process something more substantial, she would lose the little ground she had gained.
Evidently, she had lost all form of self-preservation, discretion, and composure. These things would not be picked up along the way.
He hung a grin onto his face crookedly, but it was certainly an intentional thing, giving the reticent smile a wicked and succulent allure. Despite the malice that radiated from the…almost predatory smirk he gave, something warm was injected at the bottom of her throat, and the thick, mystery tonic was a pleasant remedy for her apprehension, leaving behind only a side effect of slight intoxication.
The moment was almost perfect, and so it was taken. He was a gambler, and a good one at that. Any respectable gambler would know to take the almost perfect outcome, and not wait another round for it to get better, because it won't.
Remaining space shriveling away, she was kissed.
A fire started, a dizzying, palatable fire that zipped up and down her spine, continuing to grow and wreak havoc as her limited supply of oxygen was depleted. She was completely absorbed, and certainly, he had to be as well. It was perfection – for the first time, she felt perfect, and whole, and unaware of future, past, or otherwise. The only thing that mattered was the current instant, each millisecond as it exploded into death.
For an immeasurable amount of time, there was bliss, and nothing else.
And then…
It broke, and the two of them crumbled – or at least one did, while the other managed to put himself back together again, like what had just transpired hadn't even budged him. Out of breath, they slumped, both leaning on the other so that neither would fall.
"Your first, right?" He asked lightly in her ear. She could only nod, her tongue brushing over her lips, hoping to savor the lingering musk he had left for her. The best way to avoid answering a question was to distract the interrogator, after all. The move was devious, a ploy only a cowardly rogue would make. It worked, because though the girl wasn't aware of it, he still hadn't answered her question yet.
His barely dazed expression was torn down, revealing once again his arrogant leer. Time to destroy.
"Good." He pushed them apart so that they were as they had been before, the only change being his hands, which were now upon her bony, strained shoulders. Was he implying something? She was too overcome to even acknowledge the motion.
His voice was only a murmur now; the fire was quickly dying.
"My answer is…"
It was then that he said the words she didn't want to hear.
"…No, I don't."
...I really love ending it like that. I'm a disturbed being - cryptic endings are really the only way I can stomach writing such...cheese. I originally ended by implying that the whole ordeal was a nightmare, and that (just to keep it cryptic) the person she was in love with was dead, but it was so CHEESY and AGGRAVATING that I tore it down, in the end. Anyway, thanks for reading (if you made it this far) through all the fuzzy, awkward wording and abusing of auxillary punctuation and all that. If you're disappointed that this was so short, I'm in agreement with you - it's so frustrating to leave it so short - but further exposition and plot would only spoil the story, I think. It's meant to be short, and left for questioning, don't you think? Anyway, peer pressure sucks, so I'll just cut the "I WANT REVIEWS" crap right there. Again, thanks for reading!
- RemembertheStrawberries