Funny how it's the small sticks rather than the big ones that kindle a fire to burn brighter. Little sticks in my life are hard at work kindling the fire between Ducaleon and I.
Look, I have very high hopes that there's a fire—or at least a spark—between us... I beg rationale to not go about bursting my bubbles before they're even made. I mean, I can see the signs—although, it took a lot of poking and prodding in the right direction from the various women in my life. Jia, every time Ducaleon comes into Mayhem and apparently tries flirting with me but I'm too dumb to notice; Samara, when I tell her about certain things that he has been doing recently which strike me as a little odd; and at times, even Mouse, when she's overheard my conversations with Samara. Rodent-girl likes to go sniffing in places where her nose doesn't belong. Typical.
Anywhooo... let me now elaborate on darling Ducaleon's doings and show you what I mean.
Last week, he gave me a brand-new set of mother-of-pearl paints, beautiful and simply to die for. By the looks of them, I was sure that they'd been expensive. Upon asking what the occasion was, he only said it was to thank me for nursing him to health during his physical grievance. That undertaking made a billion butterflies burst into a springtime flurry in my stomach.
Furthermore, in that same week, what started out as a small debate on whether to order pizza or microwave Mac 'n' Cheese for dinner took on a life of its own and we ended up going to a restaurant. We had the most awkward dinner ever; the staff obdurately decided that we were a couple in love and 'to increase customer satisfaction,' they treated us as such. The weird thing was that while I tried desperately to get them to stop, Ducaleon did absolutely nothing, and went so far as to ask me to 'let them be.' Initially, I'd thought that he'd said that pertaining to the staff's obstinate nature, but Samara told me after some thought that he might have said it because he didn't want them to stop considering us an amorous pair. To be truthful, the idea made my heart beat ten times faster than the average human's.
Recently, about four days ago, or something, Duke got an off-day from work and resolved that following me around would be a great use of his free-time. He watched me make pancakes, and that became the first ever breakfast together, since till then, he'd always been at work in the morning. We rode the crowded metro together to Times Square and throughout the ride, he stood with an arm braced dangerously close to my waist, consequently leading me to stand ramrod-straight because I was somewhat intimidated by the aftermath of what would happen if I fell on him. I kept imagining those scenes from romance movies where the girl and the guy take a tumble and finish off with a kiss... also, it was difficult not to notice how nice he smelled...
A'ight! Moving on.
When we reached Mayhem, Andersson let him wait out in the backroom. The whole time, I kept getting jostled and bumped against by Jia, who'd pass me whispering, 'he's staring at you,' or 'give him a smile,' or something along those lines and I begged her to quit it. Afterwards, we got takeout food and went home, whence he promptly took his share and locked himself up in his room. That's rather common for him, but it made me feel down then. Especially since we'd spent the entire day together and I was hoping for a quality mealtime among two apartment-mates.
And just yesterday, Ducaleon came home with a welted cheek and crude rags tied around his hands. Upon tenacious insistence, he let me treat him. I found the skin on his knuckles in heinous state, lacerated and bleeding, and his cheek looked like he'd taken a punch or a blow. I washed his hands with an anti-microbial fluid, fixated admiringly on how he showed no signs of pain despite the stings the medicine must've been giving him. When I asked him about the cause of his wounds, he scolded me saying it was none of my business and commanded me to get the treatment over with fast. Both of us remained quiet after that. However, as I began packing up the first-aid box, he grabbed my right hand, raised it to his mouth, and pressed a kiss to my wrist whilst I momentarily froze with my internal organs lapsing into acute malfunction. Everything after that was a buzz in my ears and a blur in front of my eyes. I can only vaguely recall him thanking me, except unfortunately, I'd been too flustered and had left before anything else could happen. Subsequently, I'd avoided him like he was the black plague personified.
The avoidance continues on till now. Even though I still am crushing on Ducaleon like crazy, the progression of things like this makes me timid and wary. I know, this is extremely hypocritical, yet I can't seem to work up the courage to watch the 'sparks' become 'flames'. He's this silent, brooding, godly creature—immaculate and flawless, mysterious, and enigmatic. Whereas I... I'm this messy, clumsy, overenthusiastic, hyper-imaginative mortal who talks way too much.
This—whatever this is—would never work out. Ever.
YOU ARE READING
Everything & Nothing
Short Storya collection of stories that lost their purpose and their endings
