"…I can't take your hand and Underneath the surface Tell me what you got to break down the walls Got Dynamite? I can't paint this picture Underneath the surface Tell me what you got to break down the walls When the walls come crashing down Got Dynamite..! Tell me what you got to break down the walls Got Dynamite
lead you to the water
I can't make you feel what you don't feel but you know you wanna
Find out how to crack me
Log in try to hack me
there's so much you need to know
And you might feel like you're drowning
but that's what I need to let go
You just might need Dynamite
Tell me what you got to break down the walls
Kick senseless my defenses
Tell me what you're gonna do
I need you to light the fuse
Tell me what you got to break down the walls
You just might need Dynamite
just so you can hang it
I can't wait for you to understand if you just don't get it
Find out how to crack me
Log in try to hack me
there's so much you need to know
And you might feel that you're drowning but that's what I need
to let go
You just might need Dynamite
Tell me what you got to break down the walls
Kick senseless my defenses
Tell me what you're gonna do
I need you to light the fuse
Tell me what you got to break down the walls
You just might need Dynamite
I hope you're standing right in front of me
When my past lies all around me
Cause all you need …to save me …is to intervene
and make the walls come crashing down...
You just might need Dynamite
Tell me what you got to break down the walls
Kick senseless my defenses
Tell me what you're gonna do
I need you to light the fuse
Tell me what you got to break down the walls
You just might need Dynamite
Got Dynamite
Got Dynamite…"
Nory, unplugged her ear buds from her delicate, pale, soft ears. She slipped on her pajamas, and went to sleep. This wasn't for long. Her thoughts were engulfed by images of him.
When Nory was a teenager, she had a best friend. Until he drifted away, and never came back into her life. His name was Mathias. He was from Denmark, but could understand Norwegian pretty well, since his ex-best friend insulted him in the language all the time. Nory had gotten insomnia because she couldn't her mind off him. She should know better, but she couldn't stop thinking about him. She thought Mathias had forgotten about her, since he never acknowledged her existence anymore.
Or did he?
"It shouldn't matter," she mumbled to herself.
Nory turned on her cell phone, one of those expensive ones that were touch screen. She went through her Camera Roll, and the first picture hit her hard. It was a picture of them when they were 15. Mathias's arm on was on her shoulder, his gorgeous eyes glimmering. Lotte noticed that she was smiling in the picture.
She never truly smiled anymore.
Nory lost the girl inside of her when Mathias moved to America, leaving her behind. On May 17th, her birthday.
One year ago, she had graduated high school. She took the next year off, and she was also accepted to Stanford in California. She was leaving Norway in a day. She was dreading it, because he goes to Stanford. The odds are really low… it's a big school, she thought. But her thoughts reverted back to Mathias. Nory was so deep in thought; she didn't notice she was crying. She was thinking about someone who left her a year ago. It wasn't just a crush. You are in love with the man you hate so much. She thought to herself so many times that sentence.
He gave Nory trust issues. He abandoned her. She used to wear red in black in honor of him, now she wore blue and purple. She hated him so much, but she was helplessly in need of him. She missed his warm embrace. She used the hair clip he gave her the day he left.
When Nory was done thinking about Mathias, Mathias was only starting to think about her,
Does she still care about me? Mathias thought. Probably not. I forgot about her for a year, and then just left.
He still loved her. He never told her how he felt, and he was so tempted to call her. But she hates me, Mathias always reminded himself. When Mathias looked {stalked} her Facebook or Instagram, she was never smiling a real smile. They never reached her eyes. There were so many times he regretted what he did.
Around high school, he started acting like a big-shot. He called himself the King. When it was senior year, and he graduated, he didn't even invite her to come to see him in the black graduation gown. Lotte used to be sweet and shy. Now she was quiet, dull, emotionless, and monotone. And it was his entire fault.
Even in her bio on Instagram, she said "Once upon a time, I trusted someone, and they let me down. I've never trusted anyone else again. No happily-ever-after's for me."
She was emotionless, or her only emotion was monotone, or grief. But what made Mathias a bit happy was that she always had the hair clip. But- she never used it for her large, annoying curl on the left side of her head. He vaguely remembered his two friends; Lovino and Feliciano. They're brothers, and they both have curls that are similar.
For some reason, they get 'turned on' when it's tugged. So maybe that's it with Nory. Mathias tried so hard to get rid of a naked Nory in his bed, blushing and waiting for him.
"Goddamn it," he cursed. He rubbed his forehead, and went to back to his apartment to play on his Xbox 360. He needed a break from life.
-four days later-
"Ja, Emil," Nory said in annoyance at her Icelandic brother. He had called her at eight in the morning, and her brother called. Sure, it was later in the day at Norway, but it was still morning here in California. It was her third day in California, and she was still getting used to the time zone, but she had all the necessities. Tomorrow was the day Nory was moving into the gorgeous dorms. It was quite a bit of money, but she d a bit of money from scholarships from her grades and her ability in dance.
Nory didn't like to talk about it, but she was obsessed to ballet. She could dance to almost all the traditional ballads and ballet was her life. She was going to Major in Mythology, and Minor in World History and Dance. Her brother, Emil, was always bragging about how Nory was the best dancer he knew. It was annoying, but it made Nory happy to know someone actually bragged and boasted about her.
When light entered her room, Nory usually hissed at the light like a cat. She had no shame to do so, either. She was living with a friend, Katyusha, until she moved in. Thankfully, she was too kind and immediately offered Nory a place to stay, and homemade slice of banana bread made with fresh milk. She was so motherly and sweet, it was kind of hard to refuse.
"Nory~! Can you help me grab my apron? Ivan accidentally put it on the high shelf, and I can't reach! You know how much my chest hurts me…" Katyusha cried. Nory ran into the kitchen, as Katyusha was on a small stool, trying to reach the apron.
Nory was extremely short, but she was also agile. She walked on the stepping stool, and then she jumped like a cat on the counter, and she grabbed the light green apron with ease. Nory jumped off the counter, her small skirt flying up. But since Nory wasn't stupid, she had purple shorts under the purple skirt.
"Thanks, Nory," Katyusha said in a polite and sweet voice. Then, the sweet voice of Katyusha's little brother, Ivan, interrupted Nory in what she was about to say.
"Ah… I can hide from Natalia here, da?" he said. Although he was talking happily, Nory could sense the distress in his aura that was depressed and frightening. Katyusha pointed to the cupboard under the stairs, and Ivan ran inside just as Natalia entered the room.
"Where…is…he?" she demanded. Nory pointed across the street, and Natalia hissed, as she tried to find her beloved. When she left, she slammed the door; knocking down one of the pictures Katyusha had hanging over the door. Katyusha was about to burst into tears, but Nory picked it up, cleaned up the glass, and was already chanting a few minor spells to put it back together.
"W-Woah…" Katyusha said in awe. Everyone knew that Nory, Arthur, and Vladimir were obsessed with myths and magic. They even knew a few spells. And there, Katyusha had witnessed it. Next, Nory went to the cupboard under the stairs, and she pulled Ivan out of the small cupboard.
"Ah, thank you, sunflower. Eh, Katyusha, do you have vodka, da?" Ivan asked as he looked in fridge. Katyusha grabbed a large bottle of the alcohol, and Ivan smiled. "Thanks, Big Sis!"
Like that, he left.
-the next day-
"Oi, Alfred! Can you help me with this? I need another pair of hands so I can move in." Mathias yelled over to his American friend. Alfred had a large smile, and laughed. "Of course! I'm the hero; I can do anything! P.S: are you living with girls? I know that I'm bunking with you…but what about the other room?" Alfred asked.
"I think it's a pair of girls. Mei is one of them… I don't know the other one," Mathias said. Alfred nodded. Mei was dating one of his friends, Kiku. The other girl was to be met today.
An Asian girl entered with her boyfriend. "Ah, hello Alfred!" she said as she gave him a friendly hug. She waved at Mathias, and entered her dorm. Kiku was carrying two boxes, and Mei was carrying a suitcase. Mei placed a strip of tape on the large room, so Kiku wouldn't put anything on the other side.
Suddenly, the door latched open, and it was a girl. She had long, beige-blonde hair. She had a Nordic cross hair clip in her hair, and she was wearing a purple coat with a dark purple mini-skirt, and stockings that reached the bottom of her skirt. She was carrying a suitcase, a duffle bag, a laptop case, and a phone as she entered the room that was open.
"Ah, hello! I'm your roommate. I'm Mei," said the pretty Taiwanese. Nory looked at her.
"Oh, hi. I'm Nory," she said, shaking her hand as she ran back outside. "Oi, Ivan, can you bring the rest inside the living room?" Nory yelled.
The large Russian dropped all the boxes, and Katyusha placed a small basket of homemade cookies on top of it all, and Nory walked inside, saying goodbye to Katyusha and Ivan, who hugged her and left.
"…and then we never spoke again," Mathias finalized, telling Alfred the story about Nory and him. Alfred patted his back.
"You, my friend, are a complete idiot," he said.
"She called me that all the time," Mathias mused quietly.
The moment that Mathias and Alfred started to crash the living room, the said Norwegian walked inside. She let out a squeak, and covered her mouth with her hands, when she saw Mathias sitting there. She felt the tears fall down before she could stop them. She let out a sob quietly, but the two boys heard it.
"What was that—Holy crap…" Mathias murmured as he turned around.
It was Nory.
"M-Mathias…" she whimpered quietly. This was the first time she openly showed emotion in a long time. She took a few deep breaths, wiped her eyes, walked up to him… and punched him. Hard.
"What the hell… why the hell… goddamn it!" Nory said, stomping her foot as Mathias was groaning, rubbing his chest from where the impact hit.
Nory growled in irritation. "I hate you so freakin' much…Mattie…" her face softened. " I friggin' missed you," she said quietly, but then her face was contorted in anger. She kicked him in the shin, and then she attacked him in a hug.
"I hate you so much," she murmured quietly as she squeezed him half to death.
"Cough bipolar cough," Alfred said.
Nory sent him a death glare, and he backed away.
"Well…ow," Mathias said, rubbing his chest and shin. Nory had red eyes, and she was rubbing them furiously. "Hey…" he said in a soothing voice. Nory glared at him, but then put her stoic mask back on.
"I haven't shown emotion like that in a year…" she whispered in monotone.
"Well, I fixed you. And by the way, you're still short," Mathias said, but Nory just stared at him. Nory's empty eyes bore a hole through his head, and he felt a bit scared. Nory took a deep breath, and lifted her arm, and lifted her sleeve.
"I got insomnia…I cried myself to sleep every night… and you weren't there to make me feel better. You used to be… I felt so bad because my brother started studying abroad in Iceland, and I was on my own. I started to hurt myself…" she said, her monotone voice going an octave higher. Mathias looked at the scars. None of them were big or deep, but enough to hurt.
"You did that…because you felt alone?" Mathias asked quietly. Nory nodded, and walked away into her dorm, carrying another box and a backpack. Mathias sighed, and then took the rest of her stuff inside the dorm where she and Mei were staying. Mei was giggling because her boyfriend was in his cooking outfit. Nory stared at Kiku, and he stared back. Both of their dull eyes at war, until Nory cracked a small smile.
"Oh—Tak," she said, switching to her native tongue. Mathias nodded in acknowledgement, and he left her room, and walked back to Alfred.
Alfred stared at him, and then whistled. "Ya know she's pretty hot. She seems into ya~" Alfred said. Mathias looked at Alfred in confusion, but she just stared at the door.
"Nory…" he murmured.