Biker Mice From Mars - Somewhere I Belong

Stay In My Arms If You Dare

That seemed to alarm Vinnie, and his movements became a bit more compelling.
After positioning himself in front of her and being a little less delicate, he took her head in a tight grip and forced her to look up.
"Look at me, Charley."
As always, his maddening raw voice did the trick.
Still gasping for air, Charley raised her eyes, bracing herself for another wave of that agonizing pain the moment she would look into his ruby-red eyes.
When her gaze eventually met his, her face twisted and she started to cry even harder, all because seeing the agony she was feeling reflected in his eyes broke her heart, for it only made it more real.
Even more tangible, and that while it was already consuming her.
God, what did he do to deserve such misery?
All he ever wanted was freedom, and yet, all he got was a cage made of despair.
"I... I'm so... so..."
I'm so sorry.

All she wanted was to tell him how sorry she was for him.
But there was simply no breath left for her to speak.
Vinnie shook his head almost invisibly, as if he was trying to keep his emotions away, or maybe it was just because he wanted her to stop talking.
To use the little air she had left to breathe before she might pass out.
Even now, he was taking care of her, and that while it was supposed to be the other way around.
She was supposed to comfort him after reliving a few of his darkest memories, and yet, here she was.
Having the biggest mental breakdown she had ever experienced.
Again, she tried to tell him how sorry she was, but he rested a finger on her lips to stop her.
"Close your eyes."

Charley immediately shook her head in both fear and some sort of childish denial, knowing perfectly well what was waiting for her if she would do what she was told.
"No."
There was no way in hell that she would go back to that.
She would never close her eyes, ever again.
She would never sleep, ever again.
Sleep was overrated, nightmares even more.
Vinnie bit his lower lip as his gaze roamed her face, but then the left corner of his mouth curled up as he slightly shook his head, by the looks of things amused by her stubbornness.
"Just do it, Charley-girl. Trust me."
And, strangely enough, she did.
Even after everything that had happened to her after meeting him, and that included this insane Mind Walk, she still trusted him.

And thus, after giving him one last pleading look, she closed her eyes, her entire body quivering in fear of what was about to happen.
However, at the same time that she closed her eyes, Vinnie leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss on her dry lips.
What she didn't notice was that while he was doing that, one of his antennas brushed her forehead.
It was then that the strangest thing happened.
The all-consuming pain decreased rapidly, and so was the anxiety.
Everything, actually.
The fear.
The anger.
The heartache.
Everything.
Like a wound that healed, until there was only an abrasion left.
Still poignant, but bearable.

Even more so, the images he had shown her, the ones she feared her brain would force upon her the moment she would close her eyes, didn't come.
She simply couldn't envision them, not even when she tried, although she wasn't sure why she would do such a stupid thing in the first place.
And just like that, her breathing slowed down, and so did her heart.
Finally, she was able to breathe again and her eyes flew open.
"There", Vinnie smiled lovingly as he wiped the wild bangs of her auburn-colored hair out of her heated face.
"Welcome back, sweetheart."
Charley stared at him, her lower lip still slightly trembling as the stream of tears finally came to an end, but she was still highly confused.
"What... what happened?"

A shadow flickered across Vinnie's face, making him look so sad all of a sudden.
"I'm sorry you had to see all that. But it was the only way. You needed to feel my pain. Only then can you fully understand why I am who I am. Above all, you need to know what you're getting yourself into. That seems only fair..."
"But... it's just... I can't remember it, or well, not really. I mean, it's still there, but at the same, it isn't... It's like I can't reach it, or something", Charley babbled like some sort of idiot, and her cheeks started to burn when she realized how crazy, if not dangerously deranged, she was sounding right now.
But this was just...
Well, she had no idea what this was.
She was completely lost.
Grateful that it was over, yes.
But lost.