Something that is easily acquired—cheap or abundant.
____________________
There are—
But two things in this world,
That are entirely free.
One—
Smiles.
And to my knowledge,
They are not abundant.
Neither are they easily acquired.
Two—
Love.
And to my knowledge,
It is hatred that is abundant.
And perhaps this is why the world is in chaos—
The fact that people are blinded by the wrong things.
Not by Love,
But by wealth and riches.
Was this what we were made to be?
Known as greedy men who cannot see?
Then shall we—
Without Love,
Walk to the ledge;
And let greedy wealth shove
Blind man off Love’s edge?
_______________________
Brave Love Chapter 12: A Dime a Dozen
[Xander]
There is a ticking sound when I go,
I don’t know when it started—
But heart I know,
It was when we parted.
Tick, Tick…
Pass me a knife, quick—
Wither why
I do not die
I know not why.
Tick, Tick…
I know what makes me sick;
What but my own existence
With Life’s constant persistence?
But I know how,
What was abundant then;
I do not have now—
Was his smile when
I furrowed my brow.
Tick, Tick…
Oh, but what now?
Now—
Pieces of heart I refuse to pick
“And miles and miles to go before I sleep?”
But surely that sound;
Ticking, counting—
Crying, haunting—
Be the bomb in my chest;
To replace the heart that has left?
And without his smile,
I’ll leave the mile—
And stop to think
About the brink
I come upon—
While Chip was gone.
And then perhaps, I think—as the rocks and crashing waves sweep beneath my feet—about his scent and warmth and love and his smile; his smile being my last thought at the edge.
For as his smile surfaces, I step away—
And sit at the ledge.
Knowing yet I’d live for something, perhaps.
And I sit.
And as I sit, I see the void of ground and the sky of abyss;
Knowing that there was something amiss.
And so—
I sit, and see
A certain darkness;
A lifeless winter
Without snow but with ice—
To seal my price.
They say the price of Life is Death—
But have they ever wondered
That perhaps,
The price of Death is Life?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Strange.
“Xandie?” Giselle asked as she turned to me with a tilt of her head.
“Yeah?”
“What is it that you love ‘bout Chocolate Chip?”
My heart stopped, and I waited for an answer to come to my mind.
But nothing did.
For my mind was filled with nothing—
And my heart, everything.
“Xandie?”
“Yeah?”
“What isit?”
Strange
I did not know.
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t think you should need a reason to love someone, right?”
And all I could think about after that was the little Angel who mended the broken lighthouse to guide my ship to his shores.
Oh—
And his lips, of course.
Small, yet;
Soft,
And tentative,
And sweet…
As sweet as strawberries.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
[Loki]
[A/N: Actors don’t usually watch their own movies :3 But I just wanted to have fun]
There is…
A crowd—no, a horde of screaming fangirls outside the cinema. Oh, excuse me.
They sound like elephants. But the fact that they are squealing about this smirking twat in front of me, is the real problem here.
You see—He’s that new actor in town. Tom Fiddleston. Fiddle indeed.
Frustratingly appealing; yes. Oh but look at him now—all popular and dandy. And here he is buying popcorn to watch his own movie.
I guess there’s no helping it.
It’s what fame does to people.
They turn nasty.
“Good evening,” He came up to my lane, casual look and all (but still incredibly good-looking), asking for a ticket to his movie. “Oh, and a combo A, to go with that.”
He smiled—insistently charming, slipping his wallet out of his back pocket.
I gave Tom a stiff glance, then proceeded to show him the remaining seats available for the next screening time of his movie.
“Here are the remaining seats available. I recommend this one over here,” I highlighted the best possible choice for the customer. Fortunately for him, it was early—and the seats were yet to be occupied.
Well, not for long—since those screaming fangirls are here.
“Ah…well—don’t want to be a bother. I’ll take a seat on the far right, is that alright? It would be hard to allocate seats later if it’s an odd number.”
I blinked.
“Well, um…yes. Of course—okay…” It took me quite a while to recover, as I moved my mouse to click on the seat Tom was pointing at. Still slightly confused, I proceeded to prepare a box of mixed popcorn and a medium-sized coke.
When I handed over the combo, Tom seemed impressed by my efficiency.
“That was quite fast, uh—” He glanced at my nametag, and his smile widened. “Loki.”
“Um…really? What—okay.”
What?
“Good job. Well, you have a nice day. I’ll be back later for more popcorn. Movie starts at eleven, right?” He confirmed as I printed the ticket and slid it across the counter.
“Yeah.”
“Great. Thanks,” Tom smiled—much like a frustratingly charming prince— “Oh, nice name by the way.”
And proceeded to the lounge.
I paused.
Then found my gaze following his back, and then I snapped out of it.
He was…
Too nice.
I’m not used to nice people.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Is that…
“Babe, let’s watch horror! I saw the trailer for this one and it’s friggin’ scary. You’ll love it—come on!”
“U-Um…I…I’d like something calming…and, um, happy—if you don’t mind…”
“But that’s no fun! Anyway, I’m younger. You should let me choose,” The loud blonde stuck his tongue out, and I was sure he was over twenty.
This guy needs salvation.
I coughed deliberately, eyeing the two men (or boys) in front of my counter. “Anything I can help you with?”
The smaller of the two turned apologetically to me, bowing his head as he said a couple of ‘sorry’s—before he noticed that I was, indeed, his brother.
“L-Loki? What…I thought you…you said you got a job in the city!” Chip panicked, confused. “Did you get fired? Why didn’t you tell Rose?”
Oh darn. Long story. Lazy me.
“Yes, yes. Don’t tell her. Be nice, and I’ll get you a Churro—oh wait. I don’t have to.”
My gaze rested on the other blonde beside my brother. Who, as I have heard, calls him ‘babe’.
Chip followed my gaze, and I was glad to see his face blanch.
Oooo darn. Boyfriend without telling Rose? He’s dead.
“I-I, this…he’s not my—”
“Babe, who’s this?” The tall guy nudged Chip in the ribs, giving him a toothy smile.
This guy…needs more salvation than I thought.
Chip jumped, as if startled. He must have forgotten that the dude was actually there beside him. “O-Oh! Um, Jett, this is my older brother—Loki. Loki, this is…um…my co-worker—”
“Boyfriend! I’m Jett. Nice to meet you bro-in-law,” Jett winked, and held out his hand.
I took it, feeling internally disgusted by his friendliness and utter nonsense.
Brother-in-law? No. Ew.
Just—no.
I turned to Chip with a raised brow. “Boyfriend huh?”
His hands were up in a jiffy and he was quick to defend himself with a helpless expression. “No! I-I mean…only for a day…I guess…”
“Fine. Movie date?”
“U-Un…”
“Babe, tell him we wanna watch the horror one at half-past seven. Popcorn must be salty. Oh, and coke.”
“Okay, um—”
“Yeah I heard you,” I rolled my eyes at Jett. Apparently he thinks I speak alien or something.
Rude.
I proceeded to prepare a box of salty popcorn (Chip’s not going to like that) and two cokes because no way in hell were they going to share one.
When I placed the food on the counter and recited the price of the combo, Jett cut me quickly. “Wait—why are there two cokes? Hey I’m the one paying here.”
I shrugged.
“Two people, two cokes. Deal with it,” There was a hiss in my tone—but it didn’t scare him off.
It works every time on other people.
This guy is tougher than he looks.
I glanced at Chip, catching him with a pout.
“What?”
My brother lowered his head.
“No Churros…?”
I huffed. “Now that I have something else to blackmail you with, I don’t have to bribe you to keep my job from Rose do I?”
Chip’s lips parted. “E-Eh? Is that something a brother should say?”
“Yes. Here are your tickets. Go,” I slid the tickets over the counter quickly, shooing them away.
“Aw…” My brother responded sadly, shoulders drooping as he grabbed the popcorn. He took a whiff and grimaced.
He prefers sweet popcorn.
“Fine. Just one,” I growled, turning behind to grab a pair of tongs and a paper bag.
Chip’s eyes lit up.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After handing Chip one Churro, I watched as he skipped towards the ticket-entrance, leaving Jett lagging behind (see what I did there?).
But before the annoying blonde dude left the counter, he gave me a one-over. His smile faded a little—turning into a smirk.
Then he winked.
Forget salvation.
He’s a mewling quim.
“Jett! Come on, it’s almost time,” Chip waved him over, and Jett began to make his way towards his date.
Just as they turned around, I caught sight of something on the back of Chip’s shirt. It was in yellow paint.
M-I-N-E…?
Wow…kinky.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
[Chip]
The Churro in the paper bag felt warm in my hand, and I was extremely satisfied despite the fact that Jett didn’t ask for my opinion about what we were going to watch—or what sort of popcorn I liked.
We entered movie theatre number six, and found our seats under dim lighting. To my surprise, the seats were less than a quarter filled; with the audience scattered across the cinema.
I figured that perhaps most of them were late to the movie. It wasn’t uncommon, after all.
.
But then the advertisements began—and still, the movie theatre was quite deserted. In fact, Jett and I were the only ones in our row.
I was beginning to panic.
W-Was the movie going to be that bad?
Was it too scary for someone with a normal heart like me?
Was it normal to have barely a quarter of the seats filled when screening horror movies?
Uwa, t-this isn’t good for the heart at all…
I resorted to clutching my Churro, hoping that its sweet scent would calm me.
Unfortunately, the advertisements ended all too fast—and my poor heart wasn’t even prepared for this.
I braced myself for jump-scares and eerie music and horrifying images; sinking into my seat as the movie began in dull color.
.
For some reason, I wondered how I actually managed to pull through my first horror movie—
And then I remembered that my first was with Xander.
I remember it being my idea.
I remember him smirking and asking whether I could handle it.
I insisted that I could.
I remembered being so, so frightened—
And yet,
I remembered something reassuring;
Something warm.
Turning to Jett, I was about to ask whether I could hide under his jacket when I saw how happy and concentrated he was on the movie. The way his eyes lit up at the mention of the supernatural; the way his smile widened when something appeared behind the protagonist.
I felt awkward.
It would be wrong, and mean of me to ruin the movie for him.
And so I nibbled on my warm Churro—
Hoping that the cinnamon would drown my fear.
—Then I remembered that I lived alone.
And that made everything worse.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was the point in the movie when you could tell something was coming.
That’s what they always do in horror movies.
The protagonist is alone, somewhere in the dark—
It’s awfully silent—
They ask, stupidly—
Who’s there?
Oh no.
No…of course there’s no one there, of course not, I mean—OF COURSE THERE’S SOMETHING THERE DON’T GO THERE YOU DUMMY WHY CAN’T YOU JUST STAY IN YOUR ROOM—
There was a shriek, and a scream—
And I couldn’t look.
Well, not that I was looking in the first place.
I stared at my empty paper bag, then reached for the ice-cold coke on my right.
Jett was laughing as some eerie music played and the protagonist screamed and screamed and then—
It was silent again.
O-Okay, I guess I can look now—
OH NO, just when you’re about to look it always happens and that thing appears behind again and…uwa…I give up.
.
By the time the movie had ended, I couldn’t even hold the coke properly. My fingers were frozen, and my heart was exhausted from beating at an abnormal speed for slightly more than two hours.
It was a nightmare.
I don’t recall the previous time being so scary.
Why…?
Why does it feel…different?
We exited the cinema—Jett said something, but I couldn’t quite catch it.
I realized that something was amiss;
And it was that strange warmth.
I couldn’t remember what it was,
But then;
I didn’t forget that it was his hand.
It was Xander’s hand—
Holding onto mine,
Telling me that it was alright to look.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Babe, did you see her face when she screamed? So funny!”
“Oh—oh! That part when the ghost popped up was sooo good. Aw, you should have seen it!”
I nodded, laughing sheepishly as I tried to get on Jett’s level of happiness and excitement.
“It was nice I guess…”
“Oo, glad you liked it. Let’s do something else now!” Jett rubbed his hands in anticipation as he looked towards me for my opinion.
I recoiled. “Um…I don’t have any ideas…”
All I knew was that I didn’t want to be alone now.
I’d probably g-get paranoid.
We passed the ticket counter, and I scanned the scene to say goodbye to Loki.
But he wasn’t there.
I fidgeted uncomfortably, sighing.
My companion walked ahead, leaving me lagging behind.
I hurried to catch up.
“Right—babe, you didn’t have much popcorn…why though? Were you full from just a Churro?” Jett asked, ruffling my hair.
I was about to respond when all of a sudden—as we were descending on the escalator—Jett leaned down in a quick motion.
In a second, his face was less than an inch away;
Less than a centimeter;
Then there was no distance.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
[Xander]
“Mr. Jaxon?”
“…Mr. Jaxon?”
My head snapped up.
I smiled stiffly, sitting up. “My bad. Thinking.”
My secretary smiled like a devil. “About me?”
“No?” I raised a brow to prove my point.
“Aw…” She whined, leaning over my work desk. “You’re no fun.”
“Mm.”
“At least flirt back…”
“Mm.”
“I mean—you’re single right?”
“Nn.”
“Then why do you reject every female—or male—staff who drop you hints?” She crossed her arms.
“Not interested.”
“Or maybe you’re just dense?”
“Mm…maybe,” My gaze turned to the file under her arm. “Got something for me?”
“More proposals to look through I guess,” She rolled her eyes, placing the file on my desk.
“Fuck no.”
“Ooh, aggressive,” My secretary wriggled her brows.
I pretended to laugh, then gave a straight face. “You can leave.”
She left with a roll of her eyes, muttering something like ‘thanks’ under her breath.
.
I sighed, glancing at my mobile.
10:02 p.m.
Calling me back to work at 8 o’clock at night is just playing dirty.
So much for holidays.
I wonder what’s Angel doing…?
Did he notice the little thing I wrote on his shirt?
What’s this?
I miss him already.
I wonder—
If he misses me too.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
[Chip]
“Damn, babe—your lips are really soft!”
?
What…
Just…
“Can I do that again?”
No…
No.
No—
No…?
Why…not?
“Babe? You okay? You’re kinda pale,” Jett leaned closer, and I pulled back instinctively.
He blinked at my reaction.
“I-I’m sorry…um…I…I feel faint…”
“What? Why? Did you hyperventilate? Is it a headache?” Jett asked quickly, snaking his arm around my waist.
I jumped, wriggling out of his grasp. “N-No, I…um, I can walk…”
No—
You can run.
You want to run.
“No…you don’t seem fine. How ‘bout this—you stay at my place for the night. It’s pretty close. Just a street away, if you don’t mind,” Jett kept his gaze on me, and for some reason, there was a gleam of excitement in his eyes.
My entire body felt as if I had taken a trip into the sewers.
The back of my throat was twisted and sour.
I felt sticky—
Green—
And disgusted.
My lips felt as if they were burning from some sort of disease I couldn’t wait to tear off.
“You don’t have to worry babe. You’re mine for a day right?” Jett laughed—and I felt the disgust rise to the vortex of my throat. “I’ll take good care of you.”
I felt horrible.
I felt as if I was the meanest,
Ugliest person on Earth.
What did Jett do wrong?
Nothing.
He was just…showing affection to the one he likes.
That’s all.
Yet—why was I being such a…
Such a…
“I-I’m sorry…I think I…need to go home…”
Jett paused. His shoulders drooped slightly.
“Aw. Okay.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
As soon as Jett dropped me off at home, I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Oh no…I’m alone.
I gulped, fishing out my keys to open my door. Switching on every light in the household as quickly as I could and not looking in any mirror—or shiny surface for the matter—I cleaned up, changed into a long-sleeved shirt and boxers, and hid under the covers.
It began to feel a little stuffy as time passed, and the lack of ventilation was making my head spin.
Ensuring that my feet were well under the covers, I poked my head out of the covers—burying into the pillow.
Oh, I’m such a wimp.
Just then, there was a soft pattering on my window; and I realized that it was drizzling.
And all of a sudden, it was pouring.
There was a flash of light—
Then a roll of thunder that was heart-attack-worthy.
I practically flinched from the sound, pulling my covers tighter around my body.
Despite everything that happened today—
The images of the horror movie drifted in and out of my mind; prevalent.
Yet another roar of thunder filled my poor ears, and my heart failed to calm down one bit.
I wish he was here.
To hold my hand again—
No.
No I don’t—
What am I thinking?
He’s not…
I’m not—
“You’re my honeybunch, sugar plum, pumpy—”
I almost squeaked when I heard the sudden singing; before realizing that it was actually my ringtone.
Then I realized that phone calls were also a part of horror movies.
Oh dear heavens why was I born with such a weak mind…?
For a couple of seconds, I decided to ignore the call—proceeding to hide under my blanket. But it kept going on and on and I was beginning to get scared.
With a burst of mental strength, I reached for my mobile at the bedside table, glancing at the bright screen.
Xander
It was strange—how, all of a sudden, my heart was filled with such relief.
It was strange—how, all of a sudden, nothing seemed to matter anymore.
And it was strange—
How I could still remember the warmth of his hands on that chilly autumn day;
How it held onto mine.
And how, without words—
It told me that everything was going to be alright.
“X-Xander?”
“…Angel? What’s wrong? Your voice sounds weaker than usual, is everything alright?” His voice filled with instant concern and worry. I could hear background noises of him closing a door.
I gulped. “Oh…um, n-no, I…I just…watched a horror movie…just now…and um, well—I can’t stop thinking about it…”
There was a pause on the other side of the phone, and Xander laughed. “Want me to go—wait, shit, I can’t. I have to be here for Giselle.”
“O-Oh, it’s okay, really…”
“Why don’t you come over? I’ll come out in a sec,” I could hear a smile in his voice. It was gentle; reassuring.
There was another bolt of lightning, followed by the crack of thunderous roars.
“Well…we could play some card games. To make you forget about those scary little details,” He laughed low.
I felt my cheeks heat up slightly—partly due to the fact that I was an adult acting like a child, and partly due to Xander’s voice.
“I-I’m so sorry…to trouble you…oh, but you called me…? Was there anything you needed?” I recalled, searching my mind for any possible reason.
“Oh—that,” Xander cleared his throat. “Just wanted to thank you. Again. For helping with the painting and all.”
I fiddled with the hem of my shirt, sliding over to the edge of the bed to get on my feet.
“Ah, no, no you don’t have to thank me…I was just—”
“And I wanted to hear your voice.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Weeeee :D
I’m sorry if I surprised you there :’)
Oh well. I gotta do what I gotta do >:D
Next week: Xander and Chip…and Cards against Humanity? X’DDD
-Dead Cuppiecake who stayed up late to write ;__;