The Emotional Effect
Summary: Lucy is not your typical 17 year old girl. Her stunning good looks are overwhelmed by her over analytical brain that makes her brutally honest and abrasive on her best days. Enter then a hotheaded delinquent whose every action stems from raw emotion with little forethought. Are they the perfect pair or a fiery mess that will devour all?
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"Emotional ties are ephemeral and undependable." -Dr. Temperance Brennan "Bones"
"Love is a chemical process which causes delusion. An intellectually rigorous person would never get married." -Dr. Temperance Brennan "Bones"
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- Chapter One -
With Diamonds in the Sky
Alone, a young boy of nine sat on a swing. The park was near empty with the dwindling hour and the sky aglow with a splash of colors from a painter's brush - orange, red, and pinks that swirled on a distant canvas that hung above green tree tops as the hazy ball of light vanished beyond. His feet dragged in the chunks of bark as he lazily swung. A mother's sharp cry pierced the air, he flinched. Two children playing on the clustered toys before him rushed towards her laughing and squealing as they pushed each other to reach her first. He watched from behind rosy bangs, his chest constricting. He sighed softly and dropped his gaze when the mother glanced at him worriedly but did nothing about her fleeting concern as she ushered her own children away.
He kicked a hunk of bark with his sneaker. His hands gripping the chains tightened, a note in his right hand crumbled. Autumn wind whispered through the park trees, chilled with the warnings of approaching night. Soon it would get cold. He shivered, realizing he forgot a jacket and his thin Charzard flaming t-shirt wouldn't be enough.
"Hey you," a small voice rang out behind him.
Jerking with surprise the young boy turned to the voice. There he found a small girl no more than a year younger than him. She peered curiously at him with large chocolate eyes, so impossibly innocent and big with her chin tucked into the collar of her cream winter coat. He stopped swinging. Freeing himself from those captivating warm eyes, he took in the rest of her and fought the tug of his lips. Her gold spindled hair was braided neatly back, white fuzzy ear muffs covering her ears and matching mittens. With her cream down coat she looked like a puffed up marshmallow.
She tilted her head, the motion not going far with her oversized coat. Laughter burst from his lips and filled the silent park. He leaned forward, left hand seizing his stomach. Her brows pinched with confusion but her lips also tugged up, his smile and laughter contagious.
"Y-You...Phhht." He shook his head, brushing the tears from his eyes. Never would he admit that some of them were left over from his previous gloomy mood. "You look... like a-a... mar-marshmallow."
Her eyes widened, then examined herself before smiling. "I do, but at least I am warm."
His laugher slowly died. With the sun almost completely set and her small comment he noticed how he was constantly shivering. He faced forward on the swing, both hands in his lap. The paper crumbled.
"What do you want?"
She moved silently to sit in the swing next to him and pushed off. A swinging marshmallow... He shook his head and smiled, forcing himself not to watch the swinging marshmallow.
"Nothing," with her soft retort his head came up, "Nothing from you."
He frowned, confused by her words.
"Then why are you here?"
She closed her eyes, giving a huge kick that had the chains groaning, and answered with a question of her own, "Why are you here?"
"I-I... uh... I was just..." he sputtered, the paper crumbled more. Then he realized something. "Hey! I asked first!"
"You did."
He gawked at the girl when she offered no clarification as she swung, staring above at the sky that was giving way to shadows and stars. Man, this girl is weird. A huff escaped him and he found himself sneaking peeks every few seconds. Not that she was paying him any attention. It was like she was off in her own world, her bright brown eyes a glow with thoughts. Not wanting to push the girl away, the first person to enter the gloomy two yard radius that had clung to him all day, he started to swing with her.
They fell into a surprisingly comfortable silence.
Or so he thought until minutes later her voice startled him, "It is not going to read itself if you stare at it."
The boy blinked, realizing he had stopped swinging and was indeed staring at the crumbled paper in his right hand. His gut churned with warring emotions. Tilting his head he found her still swinging, staring at the stars. He swallowed. Then slowly, meticulously he un-crumbled the paper and smoothed it out on his leg. The back was to him and he closed his eyes as he turned it around.
"Igneel Dragneel... 345 W Sunnyside St. Drakston, California." He flinched, opening his eyes and tensed seeing as she stood in front of him, leaning over to read the paper upside-down. How had he not heard her move? She let out a whistle, her rosy cheeks puffy out. "That sure is far from upper New York. Who is he?"
"My father," he murmured, blushing and averting his eyes to the paper.
The address written plainly in sprawling curving handwriting had been given to him by the nice police lady who recently started helping out at the orphanage. After finding a hidden picture of his mother an supposed father in an old photo book he'd brought with him in that box, he decided he might as well look for his father if he was going to have to move anyways.
She hummed to herself as she straightened. "Are you going there?"
"I... I don't know." He hung his head further. "He doesn't even know I exist... and... and it costs lots of money and stuff. And even if Miss Sally said she'd help... what if he... he doesn't want me?"
He looked up seeking comfort from the unknown girl, only to see that she was looking up at the stars once more. His shoulders sagged, head dropping down. What did his troubles matter to this girl? She didn't know him. Judging by her down coat and fuzzy ear muffs she knew nothing of his woes. She had loving parents. She knew the pleasures of money. She didn't have to worry about the orphanage closing. She had everything...
"My mother died four days ago."
The young boy gasped, shocked that the girl would just come out and say it. How could she say it so... casually? Surely she should be sad, right? Her voice should griever and she should be tearing up. But there wasn't any of that. Instead she stared unemotionally up at the winking stars, eyes bright with thoughts and wonder.
"I'm... sorry?" Usually that was what one said when someone's loved one died, but he wasn't sure in this case.
When his mother died he'd been too young to understand, little older than an infant. He'd lived with his mother's parents for a few years until they too died in a car accident. He remembered crying for them. He remembered the fear of the unknown as child services took him to the orphanage with a backpack and a box. Then the pain dampened with time and he gained many friends that helped him forget the ache. But that had taken years... How could this girl be so calm and serene about her mother's death?
She shook her head. "Everyone dies someday. It is the rule of life. There will be an end for every beginning..." Her voice trailed off and she bit her lip. A strained expression briefly winkled her brow and made her lips twitch, but disappeared swiftly with a forced smile. "At least that is what she said. She said that while she may be gone I still have the memories we made together; it is with those memories she lives on inside me. Instead of crying I should cherish them and know that with death she cannot hurt anymore, and that the pain I feel is merely a chemical endued attachment that... that will fade with time."
"Ahhh..." He reached up, brushing a single tear from her cheek. Her brown eyes met his, startled, having not realized she'd been tearing up. "You're weird. You shouldn't force yourself not to feel sad or hurt. Just because it's some chemical thingy doesn't make the pain feel any less real. "
Her lower lip trembled and she clamped it between her teeth again trying to stop the quaking. "Y-You think?
"Yeah!" He nodded and flashed her a huge face splitting smile.
She blinked. Then, without warning, she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist and knocking him backwards off the swing. His back hit the bark and he grunted. Both their legs were tangled up in the swing and neither noticed nor cared as she sobbed into Charzard's face. Stunned, and just a wee bit embarrassed as his cheeks flushed, he hesitantly returned her embrace.
He lifted his head, kicking their legs free from the swing and slowly sat up with her clinging tightly to him. Crap, crap, crap! What am I supposed to do now? His eyes frantically searched the empty park as he held the girl to him and reached up to stop the swings seat from knocking him upside the head. I didn't mean for her to cry now! He gently rubbed her back. Man, she's getting my shirt all snotty and wet...
But what could he do? At nine his usual interaction with girls was pulling their hair, pranks, and stealing their dolls so he could blow them up with minor fireworks he jacked from the orphanage storage unite out back. He made them cry and let the other girls or the grownups deal with the tears. This was so far beyond him.
And yet...
He couldn't bring himself to shove this girl off him and run away like crazy Mother Aida was hot on his tail with a rolling pin to paddle his ass. Not only was she warming him from the cold but... He wasn't sure, but there was something about how she looked at her mother's death that didn't sit right with him. It was so... grown up and detached. Was that really how her mother wanted her to view death?
"I... I'm sorry..." She sniffled, pulling away and wiping her face with her mittens. "Papa says tears are a waist of energy... energy I could spend improving myself."
I get it... I think, he mused as he straightened her fuzzy white ear muffs on her head.
"I guess, if you keep crying and mope around then that's when it is a bad thing," he offered, leaning back on his hands and looked away from her, a faint pink dusting on his cheeks. "But you can't help how you feel and ignoring it... I think... won't make it go away. How else you supposed to move on to-to cherish those happy memories?"
She pulled her mitten away from her face and stared at him for a few long seconds that had him blushing harder.
"You know, that actually sounded smart."
"Well of course- HEY!" a strangled cry escaped him as he glared at her. "You sayin' you thought I was stupid or something?"
"I did not say that, but it does seem silly to not wear a coat right now," with that said she gave him her own heartwarming smile.
He gapped like a fish. Realizing how stupid he looked as she giggled, covering her mouth with her hand, he crossed his arms and legs, glaring to the side. "W-Whatever."
Her giggles increased.
"Geez. Shut up already!"
Sighing, she shifted and sat back onto her legs. He watched from the corner of his vision as she unzipped her coat a little and drew out a silky red scarf. Curious he turned his head as she gently tugged the scarf free. She held the material within her hands, staring at it for a few heart beats. There was a sad and yet content smile on her lips. She looked up, holding his dark gaze.
"This was my Mama's," she whispered, "She used to wear it a lot to family gatherings."
"Ah... that's cool?"
She snorted and rolled her eyes before leaning over and wrapped it around his neck. His eyes widened with her proxy and the motion. Her hands trailed to one end and spread out the silky material. "See, there's a dragon on it. The great fire salamander." He could see it. Woven skillfully within the crimson silk was an ebony dragon spewing orange and yellow flames. "Mama said he is supposed to protect the wearer, especially when he rests over the heart like so..." She set the end of the scarf over his heart.
"You're giving t-this... to me?"
Her smile grew as she nodded. He felt the silky material beneath his fingers. At first stunned by getting any gift at all from a girl let alone a stranger. And secondly, he was struck by the quality of the scarf. It wasn't some cheep trinket. Not only did it have personal value to the girl but the boy could tell it was old and... and it had to have cost a fortune! It also looked wicked cool. Being a boy, especially a nine year old boy who'd rather play in mud all day, he didn't get the hype with clothes. But even he knew that scarves and silk in general were considered 'girly'. All the same this scarf didn't seem manly or girly. It was just simply cool.
"W-Why?" he asked, finding his mouth dry and swallowing difficult. He forced himself to look up at her. "Why would you give me something like this?"
Zipping her coat back up, she glanced through her lashes, her warm brown eyes glinted in the parks lamp lights. "You are going on an adventure to see your father, no? With so many uncertainties I feel like you need the great salamander to protect you more than I ever would."
"I didn't say I was going though..."
She rose, offering her hand and helping him to his feet. "Well. Now you have to."
"I do?"
She nodded, becoming serious. "I know you're afraid but you can't allow fear to hold you back - like crying when sad or hurt. If you do that the great salamander will get restless and angry. You do not want that, do you?" She patted the dragon emblem over his heart and he shook his head.
He couldn't help the lingering doubt. "But... what if he doesn't want me? What if-"
Her blonde brows rose and she cut him off countering, "If he does not either make him want you or find others who will. The great salamander will not be happy until you are happy." Sighing, her smile grew, head tilting up to the stars. "Besides, you will never know unless you try, right?"
He nodded slowly.
With a shake of her head she peeked back at him. "Thank you for comforting me, but I should head back. Virgo and the others are probably worried."
She started to turn to leave but before she got a step away he grabbed her arm. "W-Wait! What's your name?"
She turned back, examining him. Then a mischievous glint appeared in her warm brown eyes. "Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes, and she's gone. Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies and everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers that grow so incredibly high. I am she, and I'm in the sky with diamonds." Then she stepped forward, her lips pressing into his cheek. His mind froze and in spite of the chill, his blood boiled.
"Bye-bye, Pinky. Do not lose your head in the clouds or you will be like me."
With a Cheshire smile and blushing cheeks she slipped away, disappearing just as quickly and quietly as she had snuck up on him. Long after he lost sight of her golden hair and marshmallow get up, he stood there under the winking diamonds and dim lamp lights, fingers touching where her warm lips had been. Her mother's crimson scarf wrapped snuggly around his neck fluttered in the faint breeze that made him shiver. He wrapped his arms around himself, frowning.
"Man, I don't get girls at all..."
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The crunch of tires of a 1967 "Eleanor" Mustang painted black with crimson racing stripes down the center rumbled to a stop at the side of the road at the crest of the hill just before the city's limits. With the engine running, the twin headlights were pale searchlights stretching out into the cool misty air. A young man stepped out and surveyed the tranquil setting for a few seconds.
Shaking his head, he closed the door. He leaned against his car, pulling out a package of cigarettes from his jeans. Lazily he slip one out with his mouth and with the hand holding the pack cupped around the end to shield from the breeze as he lit the death stick in one fluid motion with his lighter. In the spark of flame his onyx eyes glinted and revealed his spiky pink hair dampening with dew from the wet airs. He flipped the lighter closed. Shoving both lighter and pack back in his jean pockets he took a deep breath. Then he sighed, pulling the cigarette away with two fingers.
"So this is Magnolia, Washington, huh?" He stuffed one hand into the front pocket of his red hoodie, the diagonal words Salamander ablaze in flames appeared on his back with the headlights of a passing car.
It wasn't a small city by any means. Not when it was but a thirty-five minute drive in light traffic to Seattle proper. But having grown up in the bustling cities of Drakston, L.A., and those other massive cities Magnolia looked like a quaint little village. One he was so going to enjoy tearing up.
Even so, he couldn't lose himself in the fun and forget the real reason he was there.
He flicked the building ash from his cigarette. Images swirled in his mind. Dusk giving into night. The chill of Autumn. Golden hair and warm brown eyes.
Nine years. It had taken him nine years. But here he was, so close to finally knowing her - the girl who gave him his name sake and the courage to face the unknown head on. It was all thanks to her. The girl who haunted his dreams with kaleidoscope eyes that glowed as if they were the sun as she stared up at the diamond filled heavens.
His Lucy, forever in the sky with diamonds.
With one last drag he flicked the blunt cigarette onto the road as another car passed. He tugged at the white scarf around his neck and opened his mustang's door. A smirk appeared on his lips as he hummed the old Beatles song. Soon his head would be in the clouds with her.
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I really don't need to start a new story but this idea wouldn't leave me. It's sort of Fox's TV series Bone's meets Fairy Tail meets Gangs where Temperance is played by Lucy and Booth is played by Natsu. Only he's not such a good guy and they aren't exactly solving murders. I still need to hammer out the main plot but I wanted to see how many people were interested by this. Should I continue it? Review and let me know!