With the fire still burning away, Marilyn and I snuggled up together. Fortunately, Pogo had fallen asleep so couldn't taunt us. Once my head was resting against his chest, Marilyn began smoothing my hair back softly. A smile found it's way onto my lips as my eyes drifted shut in contentment.
However, there was a snap sound from the woods, which made me sit up, wide eyed and alert. I scanned the area but couldn't see anything through the inky blackness. I could hear Marilyn laughing, though.
"I thought you said my story didn't scare you?" He mused, eyeing me suspiciously.
Shuddering at the memory of his cleverly crafted tale of psychotic mass murder and gore, I faced him.
"It didn't scare me!" I protested defiantly, but I didn't sound anywhere near as convincing as what I had hoped.
"Sure." He chuckled.
I scowled back at him and he just pulled me back against his chest, tucking his arms around me to secure me in place. Willingly, I snuggled into him, enjoying the sense of safety and comfort I got from his embrace.
We both stayed silent for what felt like hours; I was content with watching the stars and making constellations out of them whilst Marilyn seemed to do the same as he played with my hair.
"Do you see that?" He asked all of a sudden.
"See what?" I asked in alarm, expecting some sort of dangerous beast to emerge from the woods.
"The stars are making the shape of an elephant." He told me. "A severely deformed elephant, but oh well."
"Where?"
"Right there!" Marilyn pointed up at a part of the sky.
"I can't see it." I frowned.
An elephant? All I could see were random stars.
"Well look carefully, and you will."
I concentrated on where he was pointing, and tried to connect the stars as if it was a game of dot-to-dot. I wasn't in luck, though.
"Still can't see it." I frowned deeper.
"Here." Marilyn said instructively.
After shifting us so we were both sitting up, he took my hand in both of his and extended my index finger before aiming it up at the stars.
"You see that large star? The one under the two small ones?"
"Yeah." I nodded.
"Well if you follow it to this star, right in the middle of the- are you looking?"
"Yeah I'm looking."
"OK, well follow it to this star in the middle of the cluster, right here. Now, it goes here, and then to here..." Marilyn continued, showing me which star to look at by moving my hand. "You see how it goes down now, to here?"
"The head!" I gasped in realization as I could finally see it. "So it goes up there, and then across.." I murmured as I showed Marilyn that I saw what he saw. "To call this elephant deformed is definitely an understatement."
"Haha, I know." He chuckled. "We should name that constellation."
"Deformed Dumbo." I mumbled referring to the movie about an elephant with large ears.
"That'll work." He grinned.
Instead of letting my hand go, he kept hold of it with one of his, and intertwined our fingers gently. I could feel myself blushing, and was glad that the only light was from the fire so it wouldn't get noticed.
Looking up at Marilyn, I was completely in awe; the warm glow of the fire made his features visible and breath taking. His soft smile was perfect, and I couldn't help but smile myself. Marilyn's dark brown eyes looked much lighter in this setting, and I could see the tiny parts of detail in his iris. Also, his eyes looked at me with such a warm, welcoming expression; they were full of love. I knew I was looking at him the same way, and for a moment, it was on the tip of my tongue to tell him. His gaze melted away any anxieties and worries I had about everything, and made me feel completely comfortable.
"Twiggy..?" Marilyn breathed.
"Hmm?"
"There's something I've been meaning to tell you. I wanted to wait, but I don't think I can." He confessed, looking down briefly in shyness, before making eye contact again.
"Same." I chuckled a little.
"You go first." He said, and gestured with his free hand for me to talk; I could tell he was just stalling though.
"No, no, you can." I mumbled, my heart picking up pace as nervousness rushed back to me.
"..Well.. for a while now.. well since we met it began but- are your hands shaking?" He paused.
"Kind of.. but carry on." I felt my blush grow.
"Alright.." He nodded, swallowing nervously. "Well, since we met.. I just.. erm.."
"Oh for Christ's sake!" Pogo wailed.
Our heads snapped up to see him sat there, wide awake and watching us. I felt immediately awkward since he had been watching our intimate moment.
"Manson is in love with you. There. It's not hard to say at all. Jeez! Talk about making a mountain out of a mole hill!" Pogo grumbled.
"..Oh.." I mumbled, not sure what to say since Pogo's irritated glare was on us.
"Oh?" Marilyn repeated, sounding uncertain, and rather scared.
"Yeah, oh?" Pogo asked, frowning.
Shifting awkwardly, I tried to think of what to say. I loved Marilyn too! I wanted to tell him but I felt as if I was being put on the spot. My previous feeling of ease had evaporated since Pogo shattered the tender moment.
"..You're uncomfortable!" Marilyn realized. "I-I'm sorry. Forget it was even mentioned." He stammered as he slid me off of his lap.
"Huh?" I blurted.
"Forget it. I'm gonna take a walk." He said bluntly, standing up and disappearing into the darkness within seconds, leaving my mind reeling.
"No!" I gasped, but he kept walking away.
That was not how it was meant to go! Ugh! Why did I hesitate?!
The entire time he hadn't looked my way, so I couldn't read his facial expression. Clueless, I looked up at Pogo. What just happened? A minute ago everything was all... now it's all...
"I thought you liked him too?" Pogo stated questioningly, casting worried glances in the direction Marilyn had gone.
"I.. er.." I mumbled, and nodded a little.
"Oh, OK, good! I'll go find him and bring him back. And I thought I'd be helping the situation, but I guess I made it worse, huh?" He chuckled regretfully. "Won't be long."
I wanted to tell him to stop, and not leave me alone here but it was too late since he sprinted into the fog-like blackness and disappeared. I heard him call out to Marilyn a few times and decided to follow his voice. After climbing to my feet, I edged into the dark cautiously.
"Manson!" Pogo yelled.
It sounded as if it had come to my left, so I slowly made my way over there, picking up speed with each step.
"Manson, come on!" Pogo yelled again, however he sounded further away; to the right maybe?
Turning right and walking further into the distance, I soon noticed I couldn't hear the sound of footsteps any more. The thought of being away from them in the dark horrified me, and I wrapped my arms around myself, walking much slower.
"P-Pogo?" I whimpered feebly, hoping I'd hear him reply from somewhere nearby.
Nothing.
"Pogo!" I said louder.
Still nothing. Oh God! Oh crap! No!
"Hello?" I called, panic seeping into my very core.
A snap sound of a twig was heard from somewhere ahead of me, it was pretty close. Freezing with terror, I was clueless as to what to do. If Pogo was to cause that sound, that means he would have been close enough to hear me, and would have replied. Something else was there, I was ninety five per cent sure of it. However, I was terrified, and could be going crazy.
"Pogo? Marilyn?" I whispered, only to be answered with another snap sound.
I felt warm tears fill my eyes as I began to shake with fear. What was in front of me?! Memories of Marilyn's horror story flashed through my mind, and I wanted nothing more than to hear his voice to reassure me.
Suddenly, a whole series of snaps and cracks filled the silence around where I stood, and I realized that the sound hadn't come from in front, but underneath me. However, I had realized it too late as the floor I was standing on gave way, causing me to fall with a piercing scream.
*Marilyn's POV*
"Manson, come on!" I heard Pogo yell, but I didn't respond.
I stayed in my position with my back resting against a tree; I didn't want to speak or go back to the fire. I wanted to be anywhere but here. It felt as if someone had reached their hand into my chest and was pressing down on my heart.. I hated it.
Twiggy had gotten so uncomfortable when he found out that I loved him, and I'd never felt so humiliated before in my life. Rejection coursed through me, and it hurt more than anything I'd experienced. I loved Twiggy, and he didn't feel the same. How could I face him now? I just wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole..
"There you are!" Pogo huffed, his voice right next to me.
Fuck.
"Why'd you leave?"
"Go away." I hissed, ignoring his question.
"No."
"Pogo!" I growled since I wanted to be left alone.
"You need to talk to Twiggy. You reacted too quick and assumed the worst. You're an idiot. Now go talk." He instructed.
Sighing, I realized he was right. However, Twiggy hadn't looked happy in the slightest when he had found out. I got scared and ran away; I didn't feel as if I could stay.
"..You saw how he reacted.." I murmured.
"Manson, it's Twiggy. He reacts that way to everything- wait no. He's pretty much like that all the time."
"..You're right.." I mumbled, but still felt unsure. "But still.."
"Oh for Christ's sake! He practically admitted to liking you to, so just go talk to him!" Pogo groaned.
"What?"
Hope swirled up inside my chest, replacing the dull ache of rejection. Regret soon followed through, and I scowled mentally at myself for reacting so impulsively.
"Go talk. Now."
"Alright!" I hissed, and got up before Pogo could irritate me further. "Where is he?"
"By the f- Oh. Erm. I don't know."
"What do you mean you don-" I began.
"Well," Pogo cut me off. "I left I'm by the fire and how he's not there."
Looking up and over at the small circle of light across the field, I could see that it was Twiggy-less.
"Where'd he go?" I asked.
"I told you I don't know."
"Oh.."
And with that, a girlish shriek filled the air around us, filling me with both dread and terror.
Twiggy!
Without hesitation, we sprinted in the direction the sound came from, hoping he was alright.
"Twiggs?" I called.
"M-Marilyn?" I heard his voice stammer.
He sounded quiet and... echo-y? That was rather odd.
"Where are you?" I called.
"..I-I don't know.." He called back. "The floor.. well.. it broke.."
"The floor broke?" Pogo asked loudly, sounding as confused as I was.
"Yeah.. I fell through the floor."
"How does one manage to fall through the floor?" I whispered to Pogo.
"No clue." He sighed.
"Hmm.. wait." I blurted, stopping him.
"Huh?"
"Well there's a hole in the floor somewhere. I don't particularly want to fall down it, do you?" I smirked, turning and heading back to the orange glowing area of light which had the fire in.
Grabbing a stick, I stuck the end in the flames until it started burning to create a torch. I carried it back to where Pogo was, and we were able to see the floor near our feet a lot more clearly.
"Twiggs?" I called, so I could follow the sound of his voice.
"Yeah?" Twiggy called back.
Pogo and I went the direction he spoke, looking out for a hole in the ground.
"Can you talk about something? Then we can find you." I said.
"Oh, sure.. uh.. like what?" He asked.
"Anything." I rolled my eyes.
"Oh.. OK.. er.. well.. I'm not sure.. erm.." He babbled, but it was audible and easy to follow.
"Wow... he actually fell through the floor." Pogo blurted.
We had found the hole and was looking down at Twiggy who was sat cross legged, and looking up at us sheepishly. It was kinda humorous actually, since he looked genuinely lost.
"Well..?" Pogo said expectantly, looking at Twiggy.
"Huh?"
"Are you gonna get out or what?" Pogo frowned.
"Yes, I'm sorry, I forgot I had the ability to defy gravity and float. Silly me!" Twiggy rolled his eyes.
I couldn't help but chuckle at that. Usually he'd be nervous, it was the first real confident thing he's said.
"I don't think I like your attitude." Pogo mumbled in mock offense.
Twiggy giggled, which made me smile. He was adorable.
"...So.." He said expectantly.
"What?" I asked.
"..Well.. I'm kind of.. stuck." He mumbled. "How do I get out?"
"Climb?" Pogo suggested as if it was obvious.
"He can't climb on air, you twat." I rolled my eyes.
"Oh."
Twiggy laughed but sobered quickly as he looked around himself.
"I think this place is huge.. We should check it all out at some point."
"Why not now?" Pogo beamed.
"Well it's dark and we have no way out. We'll explore it another time if we bring more stuff, like torches." I said.
"Aww." Pogo whined.
"Well we can't just dive down there right now."
"Sure we can! We'll find a way out!"
"Pogo, just no. We'll bring torches, candles and anything else we might need, for next time."
".. Yeah.. I'm not getting out of here any sooner, guys.." Twiggy complained.
"Oh, right... er.. how do we get you out?" Pogo asked.
"..Uh.."
"I might have an idea..." I mumbled, slipping off my jacket.
Twiggy wasn't that far down, so what I had planned had the ability to work...
*Twiggy's POV*
"Why so soon?" Pogo whined.
We were all sat back in the car and Marilyn was untying the knots he made with our hoodies and jackets. To get me out of the hole, he'd tied his and Pogo's sleeves together, dropped it to me where I tied my hoodie to it, then threw one end up so they can grab it and pull me up. With all the pulling going on, the knots had gotten so tight they wouldn't undo at all.
"Because we have school tomorrow." Marilyn said as if it was obvious.
"Why don't we just ditch?" Pogo asked.
"And leave Jax by herself?" Marilyn raised an eyebrow, and passed me my hoodie which I slipped on.
"Oh.. right.." Pogo remembered.
They carried on talking but I stopped paying attention; my mind went back to the fire and what Pogo had said...
"Oh for Christ's sake!" Pogo had wailed. "Manson is in love with you. There. It's not hard to say at all. Jeez! Talk about making a mountain out of a mole hill!"
At the time, I'd had a feeling that Marilyn was gonna say something like that, as unbelievable as it was. I really wanted to tell him I loved him too, and I knew it was on his mind also since he kept glancing at me nervously.
I felt the car start and we began to drive back to Marilyn's. He never stopped talking to Pogo, so I was left alone to my thoughts. How could I tell him I loved him? How do you do something like that? I'm scared to even breathe around people, let alone confess love to someone!
"So, Twiggs.." Marilyn began, turning to face me.
"Hmm?" I hummed.
"Straight to sleep or watch a movie?"
"Uh.."
Going straight to sleep would mean avoiding the awkward conversation. Watching a movie would mean I would have the chance to confess. Clueless as to what to choose, I just went with my gut and blurted whichever one sprang up.
"Watch a movie."
"Alright, awesome!" He grinned, looking down at me.
His eyes turned shy as he took my hand in his; the warmth spread through my icy fingers, feeling like relief almost instantly. Looking in his eyes, I could see his silent request of wanting to talk, so I nodded, smiling a little from the nerves that built up inside of me. Marilyn pulled me closer to him, and I sighed happily and began staring out of the window for an immeasurable period of time.
*
"OK, we're here!" Pogo eventually announced, stopping the car and getting out.
Marilyn and I did the same, and the hand that had been holding mine, moved to wrap around my waist to hold me by his side as we walked into his house. I could feel myself blushing and smiling.. I couldn't help it. Marilyn made me feel so.. so.. hell, I couldn't even find the words!
"So what movie shall it be?" Pogo asked as he kicked his shoes off so they hit the wall, rebounding and falling into the middle of the hallway.
"Erm.." Marilyn mumbled as we kicked our shoes off a lot calmer. "You told me you were tired and was going straight to sleep.."
"What? No I didn't! I'm wide awake, I wanna wa-"
"No, you're tired." Marilyn insisted.
"But I'm not tired, I want to-"
"Pogo! You're tired!" Marilyn emphasized his words as if it was code for something.
Pogo looked between Marilyn and I with a puzzled expression before his face lit up with realization.
"Oh! Right! I am tired! I forgot!" He blurted. "Well I'm off to sleep, because, well that's what tired people do, am I right?"
"Pogo-"
"Yeah, definitely tired. Shattered. Knackered. Dead on my feet." He yawned huge and stretched to add emphasis.
"Pogo-"
"Well I gotta hit the hay, as the saying goes, so don't mind me!"
"Just go to bed." Marilyn snapped.
"Night guys!"
And with that he scurried away upstairs leaving us alone and standing in a silence that soon turned awkward.
"..Sooo.." Marilyn murmured.
"Uh.." I mumbled.
He strode over to the sofa and sat down, patting the space next to him. I swallowed back a lump of fear in my throat and walked over, sitting by him. Neither of us spoke for a long time, and I sat fiddling with the edge of my hoodie. Eventually, Marilyn cleared his throat.
"..We kinda need to talk about earlier." He said quietly.
"Oh.. erm yeah.. uh.." I mumbled.
"I guess it's best to just say it myself erm.." He scratched the back of his neck nervously.
"Say what?" I asked.
"Well you know.. the stuff that Pogo said.."
"Oh right... he said that.." I mumbled nervously.
"I love you." He said simply.
"Oh, yeah.. that.."
"Alright. I mean it. It's true; I love you, a lot. I don't know how you feel about me, but you now know how I feel. I completely understand if you don't feel the same-" He babbled.
"Marilyn I-"
"I just want to know, you know, with complete honesty. Can you do that? And don't try to spare my feelings either, I just-"
"But I-" I tried to butt in again, but had no luck.
"I want to know how you feel about me. If you don't feel the same, just say that please. It's just-"
"I love you too!" I blurted loudly.
Marilyn completely stopped speaking and looked at me, his brown eyes were wide in shock.
"Y-you do?" He asked in disbelief.
"Well... yeah.." I mumbled shyly.
His entire facial expression softened from shock to complete joy; I smiled instantly seeing his smile. His brown eyes were so warm and full of love, I thought my own heart would explode!
"Twiggs.. I.." He began, but stopped.
Marilyn wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his lap so I was straddling him, in a swift movement; I let out a shocked squeak since it was unexpected.
"I love you so much.." He whispered in my ear before gripping my chin softly.
With that, he pressed his lips to mine in a soft, loving kiss which was better than I could have ever imagined.
~~~~~~~~
You're welcome.