the beautiful dead

under your skin

frost

For the second time that week, Frost didn't know what to expect from Lily.

          Before he could ask, she'd thrown herself off the bed, crashing into everything in her wake and fluttered to the corner in the room, scratching her arms and panicking. Her cries were loud and he could hear the desperation and tears behind them. She was so frightened, although he was the one stupefied by how fast she ended at the other side of the room.

         "Get it off me! Get it off!" Her knees were giving away beneath her, but she hardly noticed, too busy clawing her own flesh.

          At the start, he wasn't fully listening to her pleas, because he was awed and fearful of the display in front of him (and not just because she was half-naked either, although he sure wasn't complaining. She looked good in pink). For a long time, he'd wanted to prove that Lily wasn't human... and now he had it all here.

          Her whole body was shimmering and glowing, like the moon within the cluster of clouds, radiating silver and gold. It made her skin lucent, as you could make out where her scars and burns were starting to heal. Her veins protruded from her flesh, cutting thorough the air like rays from the sun. Her hair, as light as it was, looked like it was made of the stars, shining so beautifully from end to roots. She was clutching strands of it in her equally glowing hands, yanking it out her scalp.

          Once she had it within her palm, the light faded from it... as it did the rest of her. She became herself again, trembling from head to toe. Her mouth hung open, ready to say something, although no words were spoken.

          Lily stared at him, horrified, then broke down again, retreating into the corner and weeping.

          What could he do? He was just as shocked as she was. He hadn't seen such a haunting display in his life before, never witnessed something so beautiful yet so terrifying.

          His original hypothesis had been correct, she wasn't human, but she'd been far from knowing it until now. If it weren't for the fact she'd looked so alarmed he would have assumed she'd been keeping it from him. She wasn't upset he'd seen a part of her she was trying to keep concealed, but a part she didn't even know existed and couldn't understand herself.

          This was a journey of discovery that they were going to have to figure out together, it seemed. He liked the sound of that, although all thoughts were erased when he returned his attention to her.

          The only faint part of her that still carried light was her hands, the cracks and veins sparkling like dust particles. She kept them under her knees, but he could tell she had no authority of keeping it out of her mind.

          When he sat down beside her, she jumped on his lap, crushing her face into his chest and breathing raggedly. Holding her tight, he kissed her hairline.

          "I'm a freak, Frost." She blubbered, shaking her hands in front of them. They'd died down a little bit, but she still had a disturbing reminder that what they'd seen was real.

          He shook his head, feeling her heartbeat thump and pump through his ribs. He felt it as if it was his own.

          "No, you're not, you're better than that."

          "I'm glowing, Frost, what more do you need to see that I'm a weirdo." She didn't phrase it as a question, but more like she was trying to convince herself.

          Hesitant, only for a second, he entwined his fingers through hers, holding them in front of their faces. If you looked properly, there was little reason to fear. All he could see was millions of little diamonds, gems, glitter bits – she was nothing to be afraid of.