Strings Attached

Chapter 1

Dee gently leads Virgil down the windy path. Their date night was cut short by rain even though the forecast said it would be sunny. A pity, really. They had been planning this night for weeks now but the weather kept getting in the way. It seemed to always rain in that town and if not rain, fog would surely obscure your vision. 

It's quite a bleak town. Not much color. Not much to do. Not many nice and friendly people who want to help you. Everyone walks through the rain with their own intentions, none of which include speaking to strangers much less helping them. A nice person in that town was a rare breed to say the least. There are few and they stick out like a sore thumb. Unlike the town itself, those people are colorful and jovial, driving off the dark and unhappy people. The town isn't used to light like that. 

Virgil struggled with finding a date. He, for the most part, blended in with the rest of the town. He mostly wore black but added pops of purple and blue plaid onto his clothing. It was...too dark even for his personality to wear all black. He had dated these dark, bleak people in the past but none of them seemed to fit. They were all lifeless, unhappy. None of them wanted to help Virgil when he had panic attacks or started talking about more personal things. All of them were turned off by it and left him without a second's notice. 

He was close to giving up on everything when he found Dee or, rather, Dee found him. He found him in an alley to be specific. Virgil was at first frightened by the man's appearance. Dee's bowler hat cast a shadow on his face, hiding most of his features except for his eyes. He had heterochromia but nothing like Virgil had ever seen before. One eye, the right, was a amber brown color. It was quite soothing compared to the left eye which was bright yellow, lined with light lime green and a black slit in the middle. A pink circle surrounded his left eye, enhancing its beauty and fright. Both eyes were magnificent and entrancing, almost hypnotizing. The left side  of his face was adorned with what almost looked like scales to match his reptilian eye. Virgil assumed there were more scale-like patches on the snake man's body underneath the suit and shrug that was Dee's usual attire. 

Virgil became fond of Dee. He seemed like the only person that actually cared about Virgil for once. He was nice and would bring him chocolates and flowers and the like. He would whisper sweet nothings into Virgil's ear and boost his crumbling confidence. He was amazing. He was perfect. Virgil felt safe with him because Dee had gone through similar things as Virgil had. He loved him. 

Virgil pulls his hood over his head as he and Dee run through the rain. Both of them were already soaked but neither of them cared. They were just happy to be with each other. Dee turns around to look at Virgil who is laughing and trying to catch up to him. Virgil had never had this much fun in his life. Dee stops and Virgil slows down his run to a pace. 

"What's wrong?" Virgil asks, stopping by Dee's side. 

"You must be tired from all that running." Dee says with a smirk. 

"No I'm fine-wwwOOOAH"

The snake man picks up Virgil gently and smiles.

"I can carry you the rest of the way."

Virgil rolls his eyes but complies. Being carried was comforting in an odd way to him. He was desperate for love and affection, being deprived of it for so long. Dee begins to walk again, shielding Virgil from the rain as much as possible. 

They come upon the downtown area where all the shops are. It's late at night so all of the stores are closed. It's much nicer at night because you can gaze at all the stores and items displayed in the windows without having to push through grey people and drown out angry grumbling. 

"We're almost there." Dee promises and a few minutes later, stops in front of a shop with puppets hanging in the window. 

"You make puppets for a living? Really?" Virgil says, half-laughing.

"And that's odd to you, Virgil? I'm just trying to bring some joy into this town just like I brought joy into your life." Dee responds as he pulls out his keys and unlocks the door. 

They walk inside and Dee flips the light switch. The lights slowly turn on and shine on all the puppets hanging on the walls. It's unsetting for Virgil. Having all these smiling faces stare down at him; their eyes seem to follow him as he walks around. Virgil tries to shake the thought out of his mind. He is NOT having puppet themed nightmares.

In the middle of the shop, there is a stage with bright, carnivalesque decorations on it. Two puppets stand on the stage striking cute poses. Unlike the rest of the puppets, these puppets were painted and lively, wearing hand sewn costumes and clothes. 

One was a prince dressed in a white shirt with gold embellishments as well as a gold crown on top of his head. A red sash ran across his chest matching the red jewels glued onto the prince's crown. He's finished off with a crest of a golden castle on each shoulder. The other puppet is a boy with curly hair. He wears glasses and overalls over a light blue t-shirt with a heart symbol on the front. A grey cat cardigan is tied around his shoulders and pink blush shines on his cheeks. 

Virgil bends down in front of the stage and smiles. These puppets are really pretty. Not that the other puppets weren't beautifully sculpted and crafted but something about those two puppets are just more lively.

"Are these puppets new?" Virgil asks, turning to look at Dee.

"Yes they are." Dee says.

Dee didn't look up at Virgil. His eyes were fixated on something on his desk. Virgil shrugs his shoulders and looks back at the display. The prince had changed positions and his red eyes were staring down at Virgil. Virgil immediately stands up and walks away from the display. Nope. Those puppets were just as creepy as the ones hanging on the walls.

Virgil trudges over to Dee, shaken by the situation he was in. He peeks over Dee's shoulder to see what he was working on. It was a puppet version of him. The details on the clothes were exact and he even included the eyeshadow Virgil wore underneath his eyes. The two eyes on the puppet were green and purple as opposed to Virgil's actual chocolate brown colored eyes. Dee is tying a black ribbon around the puppets neck to match the choker that Virgil always wears. 

"That's kinda creepy, Dee..." Virgil says as he cringes on the inside.

"It's just because I love you so much." Dee looks at Virgil. "I hate the moments we are apart and I wish you could be with me forever. I can't imagine doing anything without you, Virge. Promise me you'll stay with me forever."

Virgil smiles and rolls his eyes. "Only if you stop making weird puppets of me, then we'll talk." 

"I will, this is the only puppet I need." Dee turns back to his desk. "Now won't you be a dear and grab my needle and thread from the cellar, please?"

"Sure."

Virgil turns around and opens the door that leads to the cellar. He turns on the lights and strolls down the stairs. He runs into a cobweb at the last step and falls forward, coughing and gagging. Great, now cobweb and possibly spider is in his mouth. He stands up and wipes his tongue with his sleeve. Ew.

He wanders around, looking for anything that resembles a sewing box. Nothing. Just cobwebs and unfinished puppet parts strewn about. A pair of round broken glasses lay on the ground and Virgil picks them up. Dee doesn't wear glasses or he might not because this is his broken pair. Virgil pockets the glasses, knowing a person that can fix them. He can return them to Dee later. 

Virgil stands in the middle of the cellar and rubs his arm. He can't find a sewing kit anywhere. Virgil huffs and thinks. There was a spool of purple thread and a needle underneath Dee's desk. No wonder he couldn't find it down here. He smiles and shakes his head. He couldn't blame Dee, he forgets things more than he like to admit to.

"Dee! The needle and thread are under your desk, dummy!" Virgil says turning around before letting out a blood curdling scream.