Ah, yes! Another story! I know...I have too many to keep up with.

This will be written like Betcha Just Might Swallow Your Tongue...with the multiple POVs.

Keep in mind this is 1930's 1920's time period.

Visualize the look of things from back then.

Read On!

Heaven help me for the way I am~ Criminal

Chapter 1

"Come one, come all to the greatest show on Earth! View the exotic oddities of the human race! Step right up folks! This is one show you won't want to miss!"

Can't he come up with something else? I couldn't tell you how many times my ears have been assaulted with that booming voice over-pronouncing every other word. I could recite it in my sleep.

I stand up as the curtain opens. Bright stage lights glare in my eyes, half blinding me. I can hear the rumble of the people who paid ten cents to see the "…exotic oddities of the human race!" I smooth my hair and step out into the spotlight.

It's show time.

"Lookey here, folks, The Ice Man of Antarctica! Skin and hair camouflaged to match the snow! Isn't he something?!"

I spread my arms and turn to show the crowd my white skin. I can hear some ladies giggling at my bare upper torso. I resist the urge to roll my eyes. People are so gullible.

I run my fingers through my snowy-white hair and shake it to show them it is not a wig. The audience stares at me wide eyed, waiting for what I'm going to amaze them with next.

I flip up to stand on my hands and navigate around the stage. The crowd claps, begging for more tricks. I can feel the blood rushing to my head from being upside down.

"Would you look at that talent, folks?"

I handspring back onto my feet and do a quick back flip to the approval of the crowd. I flip and cartwheel across the stage until I am back to where I was first standing. I hold my arms out in a "ta-da!" pose and put on a big fake smile. The curtain slowly closes to hide me from view.

"The Ice Man of Antarctica! Only one of the many human oddities we have to show you!"

I let my facial muscles slump back down to a frown.

I can hear the crowd clapping for more.

I walk off stage passing Axel; also know as, The Fire Cannibal. I don't know where they get these names from. Axel isn't made out of fire…so it really isn't cannibalism. I've never even been to Antarctica either! I grew up in Chicago. It's all lies. The Ringmaster makes up ridiculous stories and names to attract people.

"How's the crowd?" asks Axel checking his fire batons.

"Not enough brains to fill a thimble," I reply bitterly.

"Ha! I could've told you that, Riku!" laughs Axel, "Could you do me a favor and go check in on the twins for me? They went and holed up in their room. I think something went wrong in their act."

"Sure," I answer regretfully. The twins are weird. I mean, everyone here is weird, but they are weirder. Axel was the one that brought them into the show. I don't know where in the world he found them. Most of the freaks steer clear of them. They're just a little unnerving.

"He can't be burned! He lives off a diet of pure fire! I give you, The Fire Cannibal! Watch him tame the untamable element!"

I snort at that introduction. I'm the tannest man in the world if Axel only eats fire.

I make my way around the various props and other freaks lounging backstage. I wave at a few of the freaks and stagehands I know. I don't feel self conscious about walking around without a shirt and only wearing ridiculous baggy blue pants like I use to be. Everyone else has to wear a stupid costume too.

The Ringmaster makes us dress funny because "It adds to our exotic reputations."

I don't argue with it. I don't have anywhere else to go if I get kicked out of the freak show. So I just swallow my pride and wear my stupid costume.

"Hey, Xigbar, do you know what happened to the twins?" I ask a man leaning back in a chair smoking a cigarette and polishing a pistol.

He looks up at me with his remaining eye and thinks for a second before blowing smoke out of his mouth in a smooth line, "Something went wrong with their act."

"Do you know what went wrong?" I ask feeling uncomfortable around him. Xigbar, also know as, The One-Eyed Bandit, is wanted in 5 different states for shooting various people. He has the best aim in the world. He can shoot a target the size of a deck of cards from 300 feet away. And he can shoot a hole in a coin when it's thrown up in the air. I'm not sure what his real name is. He joined the freak show to elude capture. Nobody is sure how he lost his eye, no one has the guts to ask. There's a lot about him we don't know, but he's a good guy from what I've seen.

"No clue. They locked themselves in there," replies Xigbar pointing his thumb at the dressing room door.

"Great," I sigh walking over to the bright red door. I knock on the door lightly. I can hear muffled voices behind the door go silent. I listen for a minute before knocking again.

"Who is it?" I hear two voices say in synch with each other.

"It's Riku. Axel wanted me to see if you guys are okay," I shout through the door.

"We're fine," comes the muffled reply.

"I'm not giving up that easy! Open the door!" I say smirking a little. I can hear scurrying in the room before the door is unlocked. Sora, the brown haired twin, pokes his head out keeping the door mostly closed and smiles at me pleasantly.

"We're fine," he says making his smile somehow wider.

I'm not convinced, "Let me see Roxas."

"He's sleeping," replies Sora quickly.

"You're a terrible liar," I reply pushing the door open. The dressing rooms are usually very small with only a make up counter, a costume rack, and a small cot for the freak to sleep on. The twin's room has two cots crammed in here. They don't have many personal items. Just clothes and random pictures they've hung up on the wall.

I see what went wrong instantly. Roxas is sitting on the make up counter chair clutching his bleeding forearm. Blood is running off his arm in a steady stream.

"Sora cut too deep," whimpers Roxas.

The twins have a very strange connection to each other. I don't know how it works exactly, but if one twin falls out of a tree the other twin will get the bruise. Or if one twin is angry the other twin will become enraged to match his brother's feelings. Their act involves one of the twins dragging a knife across his arm and the opposite twin holding up the same arm with a fresh bleeding cut. The twin with the knife holds up his unhurt arm. The crowd usually goes wild over this trying to figure out the trick.

But there is no trick.

The twins are just weird, even among freaks.

"Let me see it," I say pulling Roxas' hand away from the cut. Roxas' arm is littered with numerous healing cuts and scars. I can barely see any unharmed skin. I'm sure Sora's arm looks the same. They switch roles every few acts. They both heal quicker than normal, but it still sucks to get your arm sliced open three times a day.

This cut is a particularly nasty one. It cut completely through his skin down to the next layer of red tissue.

"God damn it, Sora. Why don't you just cut his whole arm off next time?" I say grabbing my handkerchief out of my pocket and pressing it into the cut.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean too," says Sora shrilly.

"We're probably going to have to have a doctor patch him up," I say shaking my head.

"No! Then the Ringmaster will find out! We can't get into anymore trouble with him" shrieks Roxas mimicking his brother's frantic composure.

"See a doctor or bleed to death. It's your choice," I reply standing up. I want to go nap before the next show. I don't have time to deal with Axel's problems.

"It'll heal. We don't need to see a doctor. But thanks for the help," says Roxas clutching the handkerchief around his arm nervously. Sora slumps down on a cot and rubs his forearm where the cut on Roxas is.

"No problem," I say walking out of the room. I checked on the weird twins, I did a favor now I am owed a favor. That's the rules of show business. It's always good to have a few favors saved up just in case of an emergency.

"Find out what went wrong?" asks Xigbar when I walk past him.

"Sure did," I reply walking past him. I don't feel like gossiping. Word spreads fast around here. I need to get some fresh air out of the freak house.

I navigate my way to the backstage exit. I should've grabbed a shirt or coat to cover my skin but I can't do anything about it now. The smell of cotton candy and fried foods hit my nose as soon as I open the door. I can hear the screams of people riding the Bullwhip and the bray of horses in the animal house. I enjoy the feeling of the night air ignoring the stares directed at me. I'm use to being stared at. I was born with white hair and skin as white as paper. I can't go out in the sun for more than five minutes without getting a nasty sunburn. I don't know exactly what went wrong with me, but I guess it all happened for a reason.

I can't say I like being in the show with the other freaks, but I fit in perfectly here. I can't complain.

"Mommy! Look at him!"

I see a little girl tugging on her mother's hand and pointing enthusiastically at me. I walk faster to get away from them. I'm use to being stared at, but that doesn't mean I like it.

"Pointing is rude, honey," replies the girls mother looking at me with distaste. The mother pulls the little girl away with a sweep of her skirts.

I fight back the self-pity I'm feeling. I can't let myself dwell on that sort of stuff.

"Hey, Riku!"

I turn around to see Kairi smiling at me still wearing her stage costume. It's a form fitting pink suit thing. Kairi, also known as, The Girl Made of Rubber is really flexible. She can wrap herself up like a pretzel. It's painful just watching her act.

"How's it going?" I reply putting my hands in my pockets.

"The crowd was fantastic today. They loved me," replies Kairi smiling with self-adoration.

My day was great, thanks for asking.

"Good to hear," I mutter walking around a group of normal teenagers. I learned my lesson to stay as far away as possible from people my age. They can be a real pain.

"Why are you so grumpy? Cheer up, Riku!" chirps Kairi perkily. Kairi is a real sweet girl, but I just don't feel like dealing with her abundance of energy at the moment.

"I'm not grumpy," I mutter crossing my arms.

"That…totally proved your grumpiness to be true!" laughs Kairi.

I feel my face twist into a frown. I turn down a road that heads back to the freak show building. My walk has been ruined by Kairi. I might as well take a nap and wait for the next show.

I walk in through the back door that's only used by people in the show. Kairi follows after me like a lost puppy, "Aw come on, Riku, I was just joking!"

"I'm going to go to my room," I say walking towards the back of the building where the dressing rooms are.

"Fine! Go be grumpy! See if I care," pouts Kairi putting her hands on her hips.

"Oh man, somebody call the papers! The Man from Antarctica is in a chilly mood!" yells Demyx, The Fishboy. He had webbed hands and feet. His skin is even scaly looking. He swims around in a giant glass pool for his act.

And Demyx is not funny.

The group of freaks playing cards erupts into fits of laughter. I glare at them before wrenching my door open and slamming it shut behind me. I can still hear them laughing from inside my room.

I hate when people laugh at me.

My room is slightly more cluttered with my possessions than the twins room. I have old posters from past seasons advertising my act hung on the walls. Clothes and books are piled against the walls. I have a few things that use to belong to my mother when I lived in Chicago hidden away in a suitcase. I like my room. It's not much, but it's enough for me.

I lie down on my cot and cover my head with the pillow to block out any sound. My skin is almost the same shade of white as my sheets.

If I ever do get around to going to Antarctic I will blend right in. No polar bear is going to be eating me.

Although, I'll probably never leave this carnival. I have nowhere else to go. Who would want someone that looks like me?

I'm just a freak.

I was born a freak.

And I will die a freak.

Until then, I'm going to live the life of a freak.

I was looking through stories and they all...seemed...um...same old same old.

So I decided to write something offbeat!

Hopefully my idea hasn't been written already.

Review? Give me some good freak ideas! What characters do you want in the story?