A/N: Omigosh guess who's baaaack? n.n;;; ehm, to tell you the truth, I don't know how far this story is going to make it, and I haven't really looked it over X my Microsoft Word was taken away, so no more spell check. I, hopefully, should be able to spell okay on my own anyway. Now, the warnings and junk...
Warning: This contains homoerotic content. There shall be guys kissing and stuff. If you don't like it XD then please, don't read it. I don't like being flamed because people are idiots. Of course, all the really hawt stuff shall be moved to a different site, which shall be put in one of the a/ns some day or another o.O so don't worry your lil heads. Flames that aren't worthless and stuff are welcomed with open arms, though n-n
Disclaimer: I only own...one character in this story XD so far. I think. Tell me if I'm wrong. The rest belong to that nice lady with the name I can't remember o.o;; oh, I'll look it up sometime...
Chapter One
Lies. He knew they were lies. Really, how could he ever be over their deaths so quickly? But he had done the report, and he had kept on going with his life, and most of all he kept telling himself that he was over the death of Johnny and Dally. Of course, just like every other lie he told himself, he didn't much believe it. Everyone else was lying to themselves, too. He knew that much. Everyone struggled to dance around those tender subjects, and get on with their lives like he was. Those grades didn't bring themselves back up on their own, you know. It was strange, though. A whole week after the deaths, money was starting to be shipped in large amounts to us. Just us, our little family. Darry didn't seem to understand why it was happening, and Soda brushed it off as charity from people whom had read about their hardships. Oh, but how could he explain the house that someone bought for us in the West-side? And what a house it was. It had to have eight bedrooms, and seven bathrooms at the very least. A den, a basement, an attic, a family room, a dining room...it was practically a castle!
Now, with much proding they had finally agreed, all of them, to live in the house. The rest of the gang was taken in, too. But things still weren't right. The money kept coming in, and even though both his brothers insisted heartily that they keep working...it seemed their bosses sent them home more and more often. To top it off, Pony himself was getting less homework than everyone else! And all the special priveledges...there was something horribly fishy about it all. He was getting more and more stressed, and snapped at any Soc that threatened to talk with him. Greasers didn't think of them as their own anymore...all except for their gang, whom lived in the luxury without complaint. How many were left besides the brothers? Two? Ponyboy blamed these newfound riches on Cherry, and then that other fellow, and then suddenly all the Socs were to blame...but really, he was just under pressure. Now he knew it was silly. Why be stressed when you were living like a king?
IT kept him from living nicely.
The large redwood grandfather clock tolled eleven times. By the tenth one his large green-gray eyes had slowly flickered opened to reveal the high ceilings of this new home. A sigh escaped his lightly parted lips, and he sat up. How many times had he woken to see these ceilings? He missed their old house...even if this comfy and overstuffed leather couch was nice to fall asleep on. With a large yawn he sat up and began to tug at the mass of bleached locks upon his head. Scruffy...and without grease. Darry said he looked better without it when his hair was nearly white and so very short...which meant, in reality, that he was not going to give any grease to Ponyboy. For some reason, he also kept his hair bleached and cut. It really ticked him off sometimes. Sliding across the deep wood floors in his blindingly white socks, he caught himself from falling on the large black show piano that had been in the house when they got there. He liked it, though he tried not to show it. When he was alone, he tentively pressed the pearly white keys and marveled at the crystal notes that echoed in those high ceilings he so despised. They weren't so bad when they made the music sound so lovely.
He was drawn out of his inspection of the instrument when It came. What was It, you may ask? That horrid feeling of something looking at you from all directions. A pulse, as if some electromagnetic wave were rippling throughout the air, gripping his very brain and mapping the very insides -- information and all -- down to every last detail. A gentle caress it was, but he hated it. He hated not having his privacy, and he hated the feel of something being able to read his mind without him wanting it to. How many times this had happened, he didn't know. But it was gone almost as soon as it came and he was left on the floor. Today he had only thrown on one of his new shirts and boxer shorts (hey, they were decent enough) and the cold hard wood made him shiver. But it was nice...he felt hot in the face, and the cool floor was a nice contrast. None of this got to last very long.
"Ponyboy?" Asked a soft voice, and he jumped from the very floor he sat on into a standing position. When he looked to see who it was, it was a figure he had never once seen before.
"Who are you?" Ponyboy asked, backing up. Was it someone who held a grudge with him...? Certainly it had to be a Soc...that clothing looked too expensive to belong to a Greaser...
"I am..." He thought for a moment -- yes, it looked like a he -- one gloved hand very carefully taking his chin and rubbing it. Those gloves looked very fancy. Chocolate brown suede that fit his shapely hands nicely with a tuft of fur at the end. All mixtures of brown, that fur. They matched his lovely suede trenchcoat with the shiny little brown buttons that looked more like polished rocks. The coat was buttoned up so the other clothing he wore was hidden, but brown cowboy boots were visible. "...you wouldn't believe me. Please, just understand that I am friendly and would not harm you." Nervously he touched the tip of his brown cowboy hat. So much brown...Ponyboy cocked his head at the strange apparel.
"I think you should get outta here. Before my brothers get home, or one of the gang..." He found himself backed against the wall, and gently began to bite his lips. This person...was strange. Almost...inhuman. Tufts of brown hair, almost red like Pony's hair had been, poked out from underneath the hat, and in the shadow of all these two orbs were visible. Strange colors for one with hair like that...but they were blue. And quite a shade, too. Bright, electric blue that caught Pony's own eyes.
"Don't worry, they'll be a while. I need to talk with you Ponyboy Curtis." He was the one that broke the eye contact. Looking down at his gloves, he wrung his hands. "I'm willing to offer you something very valuable in return for your services."
This was awfully confusing to Ponyboy as he studied this man. Now that he thought about it, this was more like a boy. Maybe eighteen? Sixteen? "I don' sell my body, if that's what you want."
At this he seemed surprised and his gaze jerked violently to catch Pony's eyes once more. "No! Not at all! You see, I've been sending the money and I bought this house for you...I wanted you to be happy." Though he was nervous again and shoved his hands in the pockets of his trenchcoat.
"You? It was you? But why...? Yer a stranger!" Intruged to the point of not being scared, he wandered closer. This being looked awfully handsome...maybe he matched Soda in looks, even.
"I may be a stranger to you, but you surely aren't a stranger to me." With a wry smile, he caught Pony's hand in his own. Warmth seeped through the soft material, and Ponyboy probably would have pulled away had those eyes not told him not to with such strength and persuasiveness. "I hope I don't sound too much like a stalker, but I've been watching you since you were a baby." Now he let go of Pony's hand, and the boy was immedietally aware that without the warmth it was cold. The whole house was cold, and his cheeks were no longer hot. It was still winter, wasn't it?
"You don' look old enough to've been watchin' me." Wandering over to the couch he had been asleep upon only moments before, he snatched up a blanket and draped it about his shoulders.
"Looks can be deceiving." he replied simply in a monotone. Those eyes were looking around in approval. "Now, about my proposition..."
"Mister, I don' even know yer name." Ponyboy shook his head and sat upon the piano bench. That was cold too, he could feel it through the blanket. Two shocking blue eyes blinked slowly.
"Oh my...I should have given you a name to call me. How very rude of me. You may address me as Ongezien...well, some people call me that. For short, Zien works." He smiled. It was a nice smile, really. Lit up his eyes so they were even brighter.
"Weird name..." Ponyboy muttered, but almost laughed. And people thought his name was weird. Worming further into his blanket, he watched Zien. "Go on. I'll tell ya if I like it or not."
The smile turned into a full out grin as he plopped down on the couch. It wasn't too far from where Pony was sitting...but he swore that the couch didn't make any noise at all. "Very good. You see, I need to stay with you here for a bit. Maybe a few weeks? At this very moment you are dreaming. Your brother, Soda, will wake you up and ask you if you're hungry. Tell him that will be taking lunch to your own quarters, because you have invited a friend over." Through all this he was smiling, and very abruptly he pulled a pocket watch from one of his pockets, then flipped it open. It was a simple gold one with something inscribed on the surface that Pony couldn't quite catch.
"Wait a second, I'm asleep?" Ponyboy asked, blinking and running his fingers through his hair. Zien looked up from his watch.
"Why, of course! You had to go waking up before I could get a hold of you, so I had to put you to sleep again. No worries, you're on the couch and unharmed." Holding the watch to his ear, he gave an adorable little frown. Then he shook the watch. For a moment Pony was silent, thinking of what to say.
"Ya said somethin' about givin' me somethin' in return for stayin' here?" It was all a little silly. Zien owned this house, so why would he need to pay for staying in it?
"Of course, of course...I can't explain it now. You're going to be woken up real soon, but I promise it's real good." Now his smile was rushed, and he quickly stood. "You don't know how long I've been trying to get to actually talk to you...it's been a pleasure, I assure you Pony. Don't be startled when you open the door, alright? It will be me, but it won't look like this." And he disappeared.
"Pony, come on Ponyboy...git up already!" Sodapop had pounced on him, and he cried out in surprise as the dream abruptly ended.
"Soda!!" he cried, blinking a bit dazedly as he tried to comprehend what had happened.
"Yeah, 's me." That same old grin lit up his brother's face, and he roughled Pony's hair lovingly. "Ya hungry, Sleeping Beauty?" And Soda only laughed when Pony took on a glare. Dally had called them that when he had first seen him after getting his hair bleached...and now, for some reason, everyone else decided to take it up. Maybe it was because Johnny wasn't around for people to call "Johnnycake" anymore. He felt a twinge in his heart.
"Uhm...I'd like ta eat lunch in my room, cuz I'm havin' a new friend over..." he mumbled without really thinking. Soda blinked at him.
"Golly, you have a new friend?" He seemed awfully surprised, and Pony felt a bit insulted.
"Is that so strange?" Pony retorted, but could not press further as the doorbell rang. The doorbell was nice...not fake and annoying like most of the one's you heard. Pony swore that bells were actually ringing somewhere in the house. Crawling off of the couch and rushing to the door, he pulled it open -- Soda right behind him. Indeed he was surprised at the figure that stood in the doorway. Younger than Pony with an incredibly innocent look in those two large chocolate brown eyes. His hair was messy and real short, a blonde color that had had the back dyed blue. With really pale skin that was marred with nothing at all, he might have even been a procelain doll.
"Good morning Mister Curtis." he said good-heartedly to Soda with a graceful bow. Now no one had ever acted like this to any of the Curtis family, and Sodapop was stunned. "I do hope that my good friend Ponyboy has already told you about the play date we have set up. Was it rude of us to make plans without consulting you first...?" Cocking his head to one side, he let his hands hang politely at his sides. For a few more moments Soda just watched him, in his adorable little blazer and dress shirt, with those slacks all ironed as if he were going to a job interview with some nice company in the city. He looked so very small and delicate...but really, he had to be around twelve or thirteen.
"Naw, not at all," Soda said, slapping him on the shoulder and leading him on in. "Don' bother with the pretty speech there, either. No one else does."
But the boy seemed confused. "Pretty speech...? Mister Curtis, I don't understand..." he was quieted as Ponyboy snatched up his arm. Small...he was smaller than Ponyboy, and even Johnny. His flesh was very soft. It seemed that he had never lost his baby skin, this boy.
"Soda, this is my friend Zien. We're gonna go play now, okay?" With that he took off, dragging poor Zien along with him as he gave his innocent little smile one last time to Soda.
"Everyone's gonna be home soon, Pony!! Don' play for too long!" Soda called, shaking his head. Pony barely caught it. He was in his room with Zien almost immedietally, and the boy seemed dazed for a moment. Then he pulled himself together.
"Hello Ponyboy. I gave you the correct information, didn't I?" he smiled, seeming pleased with himself. On Pony's bed he took a seat, sitting straight and professional like.
"Yes, yes. But I'd like to get some answers outa you, buddy." Pony paced the room, watching the closed door. What if one of the gang bounded in here and ruined their time together? These questions needed answers. "What are you?"
Zien laughed. Right out, without trying to hide it. "I should have known you would figure it out. I'm an incubus, Pony. My name, Ongezien, was given to me by a Dutch man who could see me only in his dreams...you see, he didn't really believe in me, so he couldn't see me elsewhere. It means unseen."
Pony looked at him like he was crazy for a moment. "Incubus? One of them devil things that eats souls?" This innocent looking boy that sat in front of him couldn't do anything of the sort!
"Of course I could. I'm just using this form right now because it isn't very practical to wonder around with skeletal wings, fangs, horns, and a tail. If you know what I mean." he rolled his eyes. "I can show you my real form if you want to see it. Ponyboy nodded.
"Yeah. I can't believe ya." Vaguely he noted that Zien had read his mind again, and he sighed.
Almost immedietally after Pony said it, the boy became a tall man in his late twenties with long snow-white hair and peircing silver-blue eyes. He was naked, too, but that didn't seem to matter much. Indeed, he had horns and scary wings, a snake-like tail, fangs poked out from under his rosebud colored lips, and there were also things he hadn't told Pony about. From just about below the elbow Zien's skin seemed to fall away to the very bone, and instead of hands he had strange talon-like fingers with claws as long as any switchblade. Same with his legs -- just below the knee the skin fell away to the very bone, and his feet were a lot like those of a bird. Pony yelped and scurried to the other side of the room, shaking. No Soc had ever been as scary as this.
"See? You're afraid of me. That's no good." He looked truly hurt to see Pony cowering away from him, so he turned back to the boy and moved tentitively closer until he placed a hand upon Pony's cheek. "It's the arms and legs, isn't it? And the tattered look with the wings, too?"
Ponyboy could only nod.
"I'm sorry. Let me get to the point now. It might help." Removing his hand and placing it into his pocket, his warm and innocent eyes looked elsewhere. "I have Dally and Johnny's souls saved with me, and I have their bodies. I can bring them back from the dead, and fix those wounds they died with."
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A/N: That's what I get for trying to make a cliff hanger XD God, this story...I don't know o.o tell me how I'm doing, please? T.T; Do you not like the made-up? Is he stupid? Have my skills declined since my last story? XP;; I could probably have done better...ah well. Yammer at me some, won't you? ;; it would give me something else to do. I bet Pony's speech is done all wrong . ; oh well. I can fix other stuff up later. Heck, the second chapter is only half way done so far XD;; yeah...so...you can still make a difference!! Read and Review pwease? ;-;