mk, I have a lot to say about this song. FIRST, I think he's conveying the indescribable longing to desperately love and be loved by God and all of creation, to basically drown in the feeling we can't have (cuz earthly love is imperfect, therefore never satisfying).
and yes, it's a black screen, don't freak out. also, insignificant detail: it's looped for an hour
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A navy blue parka, a heart-covered pajama set peeking beneath the massive coat, and muddy bunny slippers complete the look. That insistent frog from earlier is still lodged in Adrian's throat. He swallows hard, trying to keep the bad dream from making him do things he would regret. Like testing how she feels in his arms, how her hair smells, stupid, adolescent things like that.
Daffodil makes her way to the stool he rigidly sits on. He stiffens tighter till his face goes a little red. Or is that a different reason? The bunny slippers stop in a straight line in front of the feet of the stool. She looks up at his tightened expression, one of hesitancy on her own.
"Are you oka-" she begins, but he reaches for her hood, yanking it over her hair and tugging the strings till her nose is all that's visible; it peaks through the crinkled circle of bunched up hood. Adrian slides off the stool, settling against her, his head falling on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry for lying to you," he mumbles.
Daffy pulls her hood open, smiling. "That must've been one heck of a nightmare."
He blinks hard, swallowing once more. A few answers float in and out of his mind, but none of them stick, so he remains silent.
Daffy sneaks her lips against his ear, giving a peck.
"I'm here for waffles, remember?" she asks, trying to distract him from her scandalous actions. Hopefully he didn't notice.
...
Syrupy plates and scrunched napkins adorn the table, a stack of sweet n' low packets in the middle of it all. Daffy's tongue sticks out of the corner of her mouth as her eyes zero in on the sugar tower. A shaky hand brings another packet to the top, ever so gently placing it on the swaying stack.
"Whew," she sighs, pulling back to see it still standing.
Adrian gulps, knowing how this is going to end. Cautiously, his packet draws near the top. The silence thickens in the air along with the tension. Breaths coming to a stop, the grains of sugar shift in the packet as it connects with the top of the tower.
His adam's apple bobs up and down as the moments drag along; Daffy's gaze drifts past the sugar and onto Adrian's face, coming to stop on his eyes. They are slightly crossed with his intense focus, his lip turning white with how hard he's biting it. It makes her bite her own lip as she soaks in the hazel hue of his eyes.
A sad yearning pulls on her heart and she lets out a soft sigh.
The sugar tower crashes to the table, packets spreading out in every direction with a defeated shkuff sound.
Adrian throws his hands up, a high pitched yelp aimed at her.
"Ah! That was on purpose!" he screeches. "You cheater!"
His voice takes her by surprise. "What? That wasn't on purpose!"
"It totally was! Just like how you always come here every day to see me. That kind of on purpose."
"What?" Daffy stills, her hands bunching up her pajamas in their grip. He wasn't supposed to know that. That's classified information; her dirty little secret that she was trying to ignore, to bury, to let rot in her forgotten memories till her last dying breath. The waffles were a side thing, a coverup. Sure, she loves waffles, but... love... she loves...
Wait, why is love even in this section? Why did it even pop into her head? That's ridiculous. She can't... love...
Waffles.
Of course, it's waffles, she's thinking of. Who doesn't love waffles?
"I mean... I mean, I thought you knew that I knew..." Adrian pushes his eyebrows together, eyes fleeting to his lap.
Cheeks going hot, Daffy retreats further into the corner of the seat, her parka gathering behind her into an uncomfortable lump against her back.
Waffles. It's just waffles that fill the space of her heart. Nothing else will fit. Waffles are taking up the entire vicinity; there's no vacancy. None whatsoever.
"Um, you should already know... I'm addicted to... waffles." She presses her lips together.
"I know," Adrian stands, rounding the table and sliding into the seat beside her. "You can't get enough of them."
Daffy gulps, forgetting how to manage her tongue as it sits awkwardly in her mouth. She bites it to keep it still, ignoring Adrian's staring gaze.
"And, um, this place makes the best waffles, that's all." She shrugs, conveniently looking out the window, past their reflections into the husky, blue shades of dawn.
"Do they?" he whispers close to her ear. The hairs on her neck stand up and she pulls in a breath.
"Yes." The attempt was to sound sure and firm. The outcome is quite different: "Ye-yes...?"
Darn it.
Losing her commitment to what's left of her pride, she turns from the window, face coming within inches of Adrian's.
The air becomes too thick to inhale so they just stare breathlessly, too scared to say anything, too scared to move.
Adrian is the first to smile, surprising her with his sudden confidence, he must've stolen from her. There is none left for her.
"I'm 100% positive you come here for more than waffles." He grins.
"No... Waffles are the only thing I love-" she slaps her mouth, eyes going wide.
"Lo-love?" Now even Adrian falters, his so-called confidence fleeting like the non-existent air in this diner. "Uh-uh, I uh," his words go round in his smile, cheeks turning crimson with his ears.
"Okay, so what?" Daffy puffs. "You're my waffles, so what?" She crosses her arms, turning her smoking face back to the window. She glares at her reflection, wondering when the dream will end and she can start her routine all over again. When will she wake up so she can order waffles from the sworn bachelor she's completely and hopelessly in love with, whom she loves more than waffles, and herself, and her mother? When will this incredible dream end? The thought settles into her chest, burning a hole at the bottom.
It's time to wake up, Daffy.
She glances down at her arms, waiting for the images to fade and her leaky and cracked ceiling to come into view. She waits for the warmth of sitting beside Adrian to fade into her blankets and pillows; she waits for the tears to surface, because this is all too good to be true. Something's going to happen. Somehow, somewhere, all of this dream-like reality is going to leap into flames and disintegrate in her grasp. She can't have this. He already turned her down, so why is there still hope?
Something lands on her shoulder and she flinches. Turning, her nose comes into contact with a flurry of silver hair. It has grown an inch or two, coffee brown hues now pushing away the silver tips.
What?
Adrian huffs, his breaths grazing her hand.
"You like me as much as waffles?"
A little giggle sounds beside her, but a single tear dribbles off her face to fall into her lap. The tear soaks into a pink heart on her pj's, turning it red.
"This is real?" Daffy utters, her voice already sounding soggy as if she just finished a three hour crying session.
Adrian looks up, alarm quickly pulling his features in different directions.
"What's wrong?"
"Um-" she titters, swiping at the little drops clinging to her cheek. "You-um, I'm not dreaming. This isn't a dream. My waffles likes me back." Remains of a tear gather in her eyelashes as she laughs with surprise. Or maybe because of the achy jump of her heart.
Adrian stares at the little drops on her dewy lashes, gaze turning to the softest thing in the whole world, like pudding or Kimmy's heart. He leans towards her, kissing the very tip of her nose. The chill of her face greets his lips, giving the feeling of the first taste of a popsicle on the longest day of summer.
"I'm sorry I took so long... Your waffles likes you back, Daffy."
============Nov-25-21============
Pub, Apr-24-22
repub, Jul-24-22
so, i wonder how many chapters are left.
lol you thoughtthat since i am the writer, Iw ould know how long this flippen novellaaa would be?
ha!
you
thought
wrong