A/N: Hello everyone. I'm finally back with a new story. It took me forever to figure out what to write down. And I got this idea that's COMPLETELY AU and totally different from a lot of stories for NH. It's also very new for me too. I'm not sure how much you guys will like this type of story, but I'm going to test it out. So hopefully you'll like it. It's a magical, fantasy, humorous type of story? I don't know what kind of genre that is, but it's somewhere in there. I'm just testing the waters with my writing. So hopefully it goes well and you all will like it! =) I also have another idea I'm thinking of writing, but not sure. We'll just see. Enjoy!
p.s. I have to thank my beta and best friend, Miranda, for helping me out with most of this chapter. =)
p.p.s I've researched some of the content in this story, so the "ideas" of these characters were from research, but this world I created is mine.
KILL TO BREATHE: A Nathan and Haley story.
Chapter 1.
Nathan walked down the hall of one of the local music buildings in town as he tapped his drum sticks against his leg. He was listening to some of the songs on his mp3 player as he headed towards the practice room back stage. In front of him were a couple of his band mates and his best friends dressed in their typical performance outfits. They were all wearing white suits with black ties except the lead singer who usually wore more vibrant outfits than the rest of them. Today it was a pink checkered jacket and black pants.
They were all getting ready to perform for a large studio audience. Even though they did this plenty of times before, it still made all of them very nervous. Especially Nathan who's been going through a lot more than the other three members of the band. Adding to that, they haven't been in front of an audience for the last six months.
Once it looked like they were getting closer to their destination, the band's manager, Thompson, opened the door to the practice room and led them inside. He told them that they had about fifteen minutes to relax, practice, or whatever they needed to do before they were called up to perform for the broadcast. All of the guys nodded their heads in response and watched as Thompson stepped back out into the hall and closed the door behind him.
Nathan quickly jumped on top of the red sofa against the wall, lying on his back and continued jamming to the songs on his Ipod. Being the drummer of the band, he had to make sure he didn't mess things up for them. He was an important part of the group.
He looked around him, wondering what the guys were up to and found two of them hovering over the snack table. Not only was it packed with food and drinks, there were also tiny gifts and cards from fans stacked on it as well.
The other members who were munching away were Trent and Le. Trent was the lead singer and one of the guitarists of the band. He was tall with a long pale face and long brown hair that stopped right below his chin. He usually tied half of it up in a pony tail to give off that sensitive but manly look for his fans. Something about looking sensitive yet rough made all the girls squeal for some reason. Other than just trying to look like a girly man, he was the type of guy who really took care of the rest of his band mates. He made sure all of them were in the best health and were concentrating on their music. Trent was also the jokester of the group who played a lot of pranks on the guys. Him being the ring leader and all, he was allowed to do that without risking any chance of being kicked out of the group. Unless Thompson said otherwise.
Le, on the other hand, was a lot taller than Trent, maybe a little less than a foot taller than him. He played the bass in the group since he was enhancing his skills on the guitar. He had dirty blonde hair that swept to the side and had a little bit of a mustache going on above his upper lip. He also wore a pair of black framed glasses all the time since he hated wearing contacts. Actually, he was scared of putting two transparent plastic circles in his eyes. He believed that if he ever wore contacts they'd get stuck in the back of his head if he ever fell asleep in them. It was a story his aunt scared him with once when he was younger. Le looked a lot older than the rest of the group because of his physical attributes, but he was actually the youngest one out of all of them. He was also the gullible type. Every single time Trent had played a joke on him, he would fall for it. Le has stated many times that he wasn't going to fall for the next prank, but it never turns out that way.
Nathan glanced over at the vanity mirror where his closest friend Jay stood. He was the other guitarist and sometimes the pianist of the band. As usual, Jay was admiring his good looks once again. Nathan never knew a guy could pay attention to himself more than a woman. He had short, black hair and piercing blue eyes. He was well built unlike Le and Trent who were tall and lanky. When it came to his looks, he was the more confident one. To his belief, he thought he was the most popular one out of the band. Unfortunately, he was wrong about that. People found him overly cocky which was a bit of a turn off for most fans. But others don't mind it. Besides being extremely beautiful, he was actually really charming and probably the only person anyone could trust since he was pretty good at keeping secrets.
Nathan looked away from the guys and shut his eyes, avoiding any distractions that could jinx his performance and continued listening to the music from his play list.
It wasn't even a second after he closed his eyes when something suddenly hit him in the gut, making him jolt forward in shock. While looking down to see what it was, he could hear laughter at the snack table. He wasn't surprised to see Trent cracking up and pointing at him like a child. Glancing down, he noticed that it was a small rubber football that Trent, of all people, happened to throw at him.
"Damn it, Trent!" Nathan cried out, quickly throwing the toy back at him. With his quick reflexes, Trent caught it. "I was trying to concentrate!"
"Since I'm the leader of the band I demand you to relax a little bit. You already know how to play every song. We played the whole set yesterday. We even practiced last night."
Nathan removed his earphones and wrapped them around his neck and said, "There's nothing wrong with practicing a little bit more. I have to be perfect, you know."
"People makes mistakes. It's okay if you miss a beat. They won't care," Trent managed to say as he tossed the football towards Jay in order to stop him from looking at his reflection. The ball practically whacked him on the shoulder causing him to look away from the mirror. Finally.
Picking up the toy from the floor, Jay threw it even harder towards Trent's direction. "You know that Nathan's cautious about his reputation right now. You know that what happened a couple weeks ago."
"But they're his fans. They should still appreciate him despite what the rumors and those other idiots say. They should understand that Nathan's not a bad guy."
"Yeah, Nate. The fans still love you," Le stated, brushing crumbs off his mustache.
"Just take it easy," Jay added.
Listening to their supportive words was comforting, but it still didn't relieve him of the guilt and worry he held inside. It was just a few weeks ago when everything went down. So everything was still fresh. Articles were still being written and people on the internet were still actively talking about it. It wasn't over. He was sure that it wasn't going to be completely resolved anytime soon.
He thought that once reporters announced the incident, his agency and manager would cancel all of their activities. But they didn't which made it so much harder for Nathan to step out into the public like this. One mistake on stage, a boo could be shouted out towards not only him but to the whole band. Maybe not even a boo. Something else could happen to them. A fan might throw an item towards them while they're performing a song. It could injure them and completely ruin the rest of their career. Something like that scared Nathan because he didn't want his mistakes to be a burden for the rest of his band mates.
"Fascinating!" Haley gasped, dangling her feet over the ledge of an apartment building. She grinned happily, twirling her golden hair with her index finger. She did this often. Every day actually. Instead of dancing around in circles ordered by someone whom she calls Papa, she would stop for a few hours to observe the activity of everyone surrounding her.
She sang softly to herself as she carefully pondered over what was going on across the street. A crowd of people were bouncing up and down, holding colorful flyers above their heads while they waited in front of a building. From where she sat, she could see that there was writing on the posters. It wasn't very clear for her to read, but that wasn't the problem. She couldn't understand what any of the writings meant. For years, she's yearned to apprehend the art of their language. But no one was able to teach her how to read the context of the signs she's passed.
For years, she's been invested in learning the ways of human beings since she wasn't one. She was what you would call a sylph. They were invisible, soulless spirits that lived and glided through the air. Being part of the sky, they were responsible for gathering the clouds, blowing wind, forming rain and snow, and helping the growth of plant life on Earth. It wasn't often people talked about sylphs. They barely existed in fairy tales because they were all invisible. Only ways to know they were present was to listen carefully to the wind.
Physically, sylphs had large eyes, angular faces and tall, slender bodies. Despite their charming looks and elegant movements, they were considered to be loners amongst all mythical creatures. And that was what saddened Haley the most about her life. She's lived for five hundred years, not aging at all physically, and all she's wanted to be was human. She envied their ways of living. Unlike her, they were visible to each other. They could form families and grow old together. They could even eat delicious food and listen to music of all kinds. They could feel deep emotions. And she wasn't able to do any of that because she wasn't like them . Not even a little bit.
"I'm not surprised to see you here, Haleyah," a low, seductive voice stated from behind her. Haleyah was her given name, but everyone called her Haley for short.
She turned around and found her silver haired friend standing there with her hands against her hips.
"Hey Sylvia," she greeted. "How was Jersey?" she questioned.
"Great. A little rainy," the curvaceous beauty replied, tip toeing lightly towards Haley.
"Typical Sylvia," Haley responded, turning her attention back to the crowd. Everyone was jumping up and down chanting words she's never heard. Trent! Jay! Le! Nathan! They sang the names over and over again as if it were part of a song. It seemed fun to do so Haley decided to join in as well. "Trent! Jay! Le! Nathan!"
"What in the world are you doing?" Sylvia questioned, watching as Haley mimicked the actions of the people, punching the air in the process.
"I'm chanting with them," she responded, smiling happily as she observed the crowd.
"I think you should stop chanting. You don't know what they're saying. It could be a curse or something," Sylvia advised, pulling Haley's arm back down to her side.
"That's ridiculous. They're humans not witches. They don't carry powers. I thought you knew that already."
"I did."
"Then what's the harm in copying them?"
Sylvia thought for a moment, but couldn't give her a particular answer. "I guess nothing."
Haley nodded and continued celebrating with the crowd. "I wonder what it would be like to be them."
"It would be difficult," Sylvia answered, observing her younger friend.
"It looks pretty easy to me!"
"Do you even know anything about humans?" Sylvia questioned, her arms folded across her chest.
Haley stopped punching the air and slowly turned to Sylvia with confidence. "Yes, actually. I know a lot about humans."
"How much is 'a lot'?"
"Um, I know that they each have . . . A full head of hair, a pair of eyes, a mouth -"
"Yeah, we all know that they have a face, but what else do they have, Haley?" Sylvia cut in.
"They can grow older and have children."
"You think growing old is a good thing?"
"I suppose so."
"You don't want to be like them, Haley. Trust me," Sylvia advised. "You wouldn't like it."
"What makes you think that?"
"I've lived longer than you. You don't know anything about humans."
"I've been observing them for years!"
"You've only seen them from above. Plus, you only watch what fascinates you. You haven't seen it all. So just trust me, Haley. You don't want to be like them."
"BUT-"
The silver haired beauty gave Haley a serious look before turning away. She disappeared without giving Haley a chance to respond. She hated when Sylvia did that. A few spoken words and poof, she's gone.
Despite the advice Sylvia tried to give her, it didn't stop Haley from wanting to be just like the people walking below her.
"Take a deep breath," Jay advised Nathan.
They were all waiting behind the infamous red curtain with their instruments set up and ready. The audience's loud screams and applause could be heard from the other side. It made Trent and the other guys excited about the performance except for Nathan. He was worried about what was going to happen the moment the curtains opened. It was their first real activity since his scandal broke out. He truly hoped that it wouldn't end up badly like he imagined.
Nathan held the drumsticks tightly in his hands and drew out a long breath. As he glanced up, he noticed the leader of the band approaching him with his guitar strapped around his shoulders.
"Before they open those curtains," Trent began. "I just wanted to let you know that no matter what happens today, we're still going to be a band. If one of us goes down, we all go down together. We have each others' backs, okay? " he continued, placing his hand on Nathan's shoulder.
Nathan nodded. "It'll be alright, Nate. It will be," said Trent.
"Thanks, man."
"So let's do our best today!"
"That won't be a problem."
"Now that's what I wanted to hear," Trent stated with a smile and returned to his spot up front.
Soon enough, the MC in front of the curtains was announcing the next performance.
"We know them as one of the most popular rock bands in America. They've topped the charts several times in the last two years with their latest singles. They've even stolen the hearts of many fans out there. And today marks the their first performance in six months. So let's all welcome our next guest, Stained Heart!"
A roar of applause could be heard from the audience as the lights dimmed and the red curtains opened. The hearts of every musician on that stage were racing like crazy. They could feel the adrenaline flowing through their veins. And immediately, the entrancing sound of Trent's guitar could be heard. It wasn't long until the rest of the members began to play along with him as he sang the lyrics of the first song.
Nathan's hands were so sweaty from fear that the drumsticks were going to slip through his hands. Surprisingly, he played the drums like a champion, hitting every beat of the song and feeling the music like they were the only ones in the room.
It wasn't until the end of their performance when something happened. Something out of the ordinary.
In the middle of their third song, a strange man with a hat over his long black hair managed to hop on the stage. The guys were confused, but they continued to play, ignoring the man as he jumped and danced around like a crazy fan. They were used to crazy people hopping on stage while they performed. But it wasn't until the man approached Nathan when they started to grow concerned. The man had this crooked, devilish grin on his lips as he made his way towards the drums. Nathan decided not to let it distract him and continued playing, but the man decided to play along with him. He hit the symbols and the drums like a fool, smiling to himself as if he was enjoying it. It was like he was purposely trying to mess him up, to make him look like an idiot in front of the whole nation.
Nathan's jaw clenched as he continued to play his part, his grip tightening over his drumsticks. Trent looked back at him, trying to figure out what was going on, but Nathan was in his own world. He looked like he was going to explode any second. Trent could tell from the look in his eyes. They were dark and angry.
The leader continued to watch when suddenly the strange man found the guts to slap the sticks out of Nathan's hands, causing him to stop playing. It didn't take long for Nathan to jump out of his seat, over his own drum set, and tackle the guy on stage. In an instant, Nathan was throwing punches at the man's face, making his hat fly off his head. Nathan's blood had been boiling the moment the man touched his drums. He felt like he was mocking him for what he had done. For everything that happened in his life. Nathan wasn't going to just let the man loose. He had already lost control once, and nothing was going to stop him from losing control again.
Immediately, the guys dropped their instruments to stop Nathan from hurting the guy. Security quickly jumped on stage to break up the fight. Everyone in the crowd was concerned of the brawl happening before their eyes. As if Nathan's recent scandal wasn't already damaging enough.
It created havoc in the whole studio. Security had to push and pull all off the angry fans in the audience. There was no control nor end to the madness that this man created. The worst thing about it was the fact that it was a live broadcast. The whole incident was seen by all the people who were watching the program. It could not be erased. In order to put things back into place for the next performance, they cut to commercial and played an episode of one of the network's sitcoms.
"Nathan, Nathan, stop it!" Jay advised, pulling on Nathan's collar to get him off the man.
Security dragged the dark haired stranger off the floor roughly. Nathan couldn't quite tell who the man was, his hair was covering his bloody face. He had never met him in his life.
The guy wiped his lips and spat blood out of his mouth and said, "You enjoyed that, huh? Everyone saw what you did. Now they know what kind of guy you really are."
Nathan's eyes widened and tried to swing another one at him, but Jay stopped him. "Who the hell do you think you're talking to? You don't even know me!"
"Do you even know who you are?"
The drummer didn't say a word.
"Why haven't you ass holes taken him away yet?" Thompson cried out, pushing the security guards off the stage. "Now!" He turned around towards the guys. "Guys, go back to your dressing room. We'll take care of everything.
The members hurriedly grabbed their instruments and walked off stage except for Nathan who was still standing by his drums, dumbstruck from the current incident. He knew this was coming. The performance was going so well that he figured it couldn't be that easy. It was too perfect to be true. And he was right.
"Come on, Nate, let's go," Jay advised.
Nathan nodded, breathing heavily as he watched the security guards and the man disappear from the other direction. He glanced down and noticed that one of his drumsticks had broken in half. Damnit. After taking a moment to pick up the pieces, Nathan glanced at the audience and noticed a familiar face in the crowd. He couldn't see her that well, but he knew it was her. He stopped for a moment to observe her a little further. She was looking straight at him, but suddenly she looked away and started walking deeper into the darkness. She was leaving. He didn't want her to leave. He needed to talk to her. He needed to catch up with her.
"Nathan," Jay interrupted once again, pulling Nathan out of his thoughts. "We have to go."
"Okay," he replied, looking away from the crowd for a second. But when he glanced back to see the girl in the darkness, she was already gone.
"Haley! Slow down!" Sylvia cried out, following Haley up the mountain.
"Either you've lost your ability to fly fast or you've gotten really old," Haley joked as she quickly climbed up to the very top, passing up many of her peers.
Sylvia clenched her jaw at that comment, even though she knew she was playing around, and caught up with Haley. At this rate, it wasn't really the time to be making jokes. She had to stop Haley from making the biggest mistake in her life.
It was decided an hour ago that Haley wanted to be human. She didn't want to keep wishing and wondering what it would be like to be them. So she concluded that the only way to make her dreams come true was to ask the Mighty King Paralda, also known as Papa, for permission.
"Papa!" Haley sang happily, approaching the white haired man standing calmly in the middle of the mountain top.
He glanced at her happily. "Haleyah," he smiled. It was always a joy to see her face in his presence.
Paralda seemed like he would be an ancient geezer with wrinkles and long white hair, but that wasn't the case. He looked more like a youthful man with silvery strands like Sylvia's, and his eyes were a bright blue, almost crystal-like. He's been alive for centuries and he hadn't aged a bit. Plus, he was strong. His arms were built like a God's. Well, he practically was one. Nonetheless, he was a very powerful being.
"Can I help you?" he questioned. He glanced past her shoulder and found Sylvia standing there with concern written on her face. It wasn't a surprise to him. He already knew the reason for Haley's arrival.
"Yeah, can we talk for a little bit?" Haley replied.
"Haleyah!" Sylvia stepped forward to grab her wrist before she could go any further.
"I need to talk to him," Haley replied over her shoulder.
"I'm trying to help you," she whispered. "Don't do it."
"It's my decision. Don't you want me to be happy?"
Sylvia observed the expression on her friend's face. She's seen it before, multiples times, and not once has it ever affected her until now. She felt a sudden heaviness on her chest. It wasn't a bad nor good feeling, but she knew that it meant something. Maybe it was a sign to help her realize that she should try to understand Haley's side for a moment.
Sylvia released her grip from her wrist and stepped back. "I'm just worried, that's all."
"Don't be," Haley advised.
Paralda glanced at the two women and waited patiently for Haley to walk to his side. Once she finally did, both of them vanished before Sylvia's eyes, making it impossible to bring Haley back. But they weren't very far. They actually didn't even move an inch. He casted a soundless invisible shield around them so their conversation couldn't be heard nor seen.
"So you wanted to talk to me?" he began, his arms folded across his chest.
"Yeah," she replied shyly, "I wanted to ask you about -"
"Being human," Paralda cut in.
Her eyes furrowed and she glanced at him curiously. "How did you know that?"
"I'm Papa, remember? I know what goes on in everyone's minds. You think about being human every day. Am I right?" he smiled calmly, still looking ahead of him.
Haley was shocked, but she knew she shouldn't be. Like he said, he was Papa. He had the power to understand what each and every one of them were thinking about.
"Yes, so you should know that I really really want this."
She heard him sigh heavily, his smile slowly fading. "Do you really hate being who you are?"
"No, I don't hate it. I just-," she paused, "I just feel like I would be a lot happier living down there."
Paralda slowly turned to her, finally meeting up with her bright eyes. It was always a stunning sight to see. She was the only one who made him feel terribly weak. Despite their differences in age and power, he admired Haley the most out of all the other sylphs.
"Why do you want to be human so badly?"
That was an easy question, she thought. She found herself smiling and started listing many reasons in her mind.
"Shouldn't you know?"
He chuckled for a moment and nodded. "But I want to hear it straight from you. What is so amazing about humans that make you want to be like them?"
"Everything," she smiled. "Whenever I look down at them, moving around like little ants, I can't help but think how beautiful they are. There's different colors and shapes of them. I am extremely envious when I see how free spirited and unique they are. They are able to do things I'm unable to do."
"And what's that?"
"They are allowed to form families."
"We're a family."
"But I want to make my own."
"I can make you a family."
"It's not the same." She shook her head.
Paralda nodded, trying his best not to argue with her. "What else?" he questioned.
"They can breathe the air I make. I want to understand the need for it. Why is it so important?"
Paralda observed her for a moment, thinking about her question. It was a difficult one to answer. The only way to truly understand it was to experience it. Explaining it wouldn't make any difference.
"And I want to learn how to love," she added.
Paralda stared at her hopelessly. Sylphs were born with no souls so they had no understanding of what true emotions were. When he created them, it was important that he'd leave out the two most tragic qualities any one could have. Falling in love and heart ache. That's because he didn't want it to distract or interfere with their work. If one were to experience such explosive emotions, the order of nature would collapse and it would be difficult to fix.
"There's a reason why you don't have that ability. It would be too much for you to handle."
"Please," she begged. "There's nothing more that I want than to be human."
He didn't know how to respond to that. His fears of seeing her in pain were spiraling in his mind. Sometimes he wished that he could look further in time to see what would happen, but unfortunately that wasn't possible. Haley was the most precious sylph he's created. She was unique and very important to the cycle. And to see her disappear from his sight and become human like the ones below, frightened him. But the way she was looking at him, he couldn't refuse.
"You really want to be human?"
"Yes!" she quickly replied.
"Then I'll tell you a way to be one."
"Really?"
He looked at her, searching for some kind of answer through her innocent, naïve eyes. "If that's what you really want."
"I really want it."
He nodded. "Alright then."
Haley smiled happily as she waited for him to continue.
"To be human, you have to be selfish," he finally spoke. "You have to be greedy. You must only think of yourself." He paused as he observed Haley's expression. She was grinning excitedly and he continued. "So in order to be human, you must take a soul of another. He must fall in love with you. He can't just say it and have it be done. He must feel it with everything inside of him and then profess his love to you. Do you understand that? "
"Yes," she replied excitedly. She was getting closer and closer to getting her wish.
"Do you really understand, Haleyah?"
"Yes, Papa, I do!"
"I know you really don't understand when I mean you have to only think of yourself. That's the hardest part about this whole thing, Haleyah. You can only think of yourself to do this because this is what you want."
"I can try!"
Paralda sighed deeply, feeling a bit hesitant to continue. She was naïve. She truly didn't understand when he said that she had to be selfish. There was a lot to sacrifice to be human. He already knew that. But she didn't. There was only one way to realize that.
"Despite what may happen during this, you have to complete this task. If not, there will be consequences. And I will repeat that, you must complete this task in order for it to work. I never grant wishes for immortals to be mortals. For a sylph like you to be something like a human? I never heard of such a thing. You can be put out in a second because of what you are made of. You belong here. Not there. But if you really want this, the moment you begin, your options are minimal. That's why I'm asking you to make a decision that you're sure of."
Without a second thought, she said, "I'm sure."
She didn't think twice about it nor asked what her options were. Haley really wanted this. She wanted this even without knowing what was to come out of it. After hearing those words, Paralda held out his hand towards her. It was closed, but when he opened his palm, there was a silver necklace in the middle of it.
"Wow!" Haley exclaimed, beaming at the jewel.
"You need this," Paralda spoke.
Haley gently grabbed it and observed the crystal pendant hanging on it. "What does it do?"
"It slowly takes the soul of the human you're taking it from. Once you've already taken half of the soul, the crystal becomes brighter and brighter until it's complete.."
"So once it's full, it's mine?"
"Yes. Once you have the soul, you'll automatically become human."
She smiled happily at the jewel, knowing that this tiny little item was going to help her achieve her dream. It was bittersweet for Paralda to see her this content. He was overjoyed at the fact that he was able to grant her greatest wish, but he was also saddened that she chose this over everything else. He didn't have the heart to tell her the worst part about being mortal. But he was going to keep that a secret until the very end.
Hmm, what do you think? Tell me your thoughts. =)