And in the dead of night, I arose. A zombie, devoid of life and purpose with tunnel vision for one thing and one thing only… EXAAAAAMMMMS!
Heya folks it's Watermalone and I am super glad to be back!
As anyone who read my last update for Silhouettes may know, today marks the start of this brand new project. Luckily, what with my extremely busy schedule, I've managed to scrounge up enough time and effort to finish my writing quota for the month and so this story is gonna be coming out rapid fire for the next five weeks!
I realize my intros are long and boring but one thing I must mention is a huge thank you to a certain writer who has agreed to collaborate with me on this project, correcting my mistakes and even pitching a few lines of his own! Here's to a good friend, an amazingly talented writer, and now my co-author, Mr. EVAunit42!
Quick synopsis if you wanted to know, this project centers around a certain concept, described in the summary you probably read (right?). More on that later, but as of now, you should know that this is an Alternate Universe (AU) story that follows Star and Marco as just people. No magic, no interdimensional travel, no (fictional) monsters. But don't let that deter you. This is more or less just for your reading pleasure and so all of these stories aren't going to be completely related, but rather one-shots like journal entries depicting certain important events in their lives.
I realize that wasn't as quick as you probably hoped for, but nonetheless, without further ado, I present a new wavefront propagation across the waters of time, yes, a brand new Ripple. Hope you all enjoy!
You guys don't even read the disclaimer... who the heck am I even telling that I don't own SVTFOE?
"NO STOP IT! YOU'RE HURTING HIM! PLEASE! STOP!"
The little girl screamed at the two boys, tears rushing down her cheeks like waterfalls, mixing the salt of fear with the the fresh raindrops that dotted her face.
But they didn't listen. Instead they continued, deafened by their own pure hatred, relentlessly assaulting the small mass that lay whimpering beneath them.
She struggled to fight back, he didn't deserve to suffer her punishment! But all her effort was in vain, a stronger pair of hands chained her to the background, the iron grip mercilessly constraining her arms.
And so the little boy continued to endure the flurry of kicks and blows to his abdomen.
Time slowed to a halt as she was forced to watch the horrifying ordeal unfold before her.
Suddenly, she collapsed to the ground, her arms searing in pain from where her captor's hands had left developing cuts and rashes.
"Ha, poor wimp's out. Let's get going Lars."
A loud grunt came in response. Lars, the largest of the three boys and clearly their leader, turned around and walked calmly away from the playground. Stopping before her hunched form, Lars turned around, swung his leg back, and kicked a mound of mud into her face, laughing, before continuing his exit.
The girl coughed and hacked, wiping feverishly at the dirt that tainted her clothing.
She remained, unmoving, for a few minutes, afraid that the gang would come back for an encore. However no one came. They were alone.
Only the soft patter of rain struck the grassy field they lay in, drenching their forms in an icy cold blanket.
Forcing her weak body up, she staggered her way over to the boy who lay no more than a yard away.
All of a sudden, lightning crackled in the distance, pressuring a yelp from her lungs. Instantly, she dropped to the ground, shivering in fear and cowering beneath her arms.
More rain fell from the sky. The storm was growing.
This was no time to be afraid, she mentally scolded herself. Inhaling deeply, she crawled towards the motionless body lying face first in the dirt.
Shakily, she grasped his shoulder and flipped his body so he no longer faced downward. She gasped upon seeing his face up close. His face was dirtied and bruised, mud littered his cheeks and his right eye was beginning to show signs of swelling. A stream of blood, as red as his hoodie, dripped from his nose.
He was definitely unconscious.
Gulping down a lump in her throat, she reached for his hands, tightly gripping them as she struggled with all her might to drag him towards the playground, in hopes of being sheltered from the rain.
She grunted and groaned in frustration, only managing to bring the two of them a couple of feet further, the slippery floor and fatigue making it increasingly difficult to keep the pair moving.
There was a flash of light followed closely by a thunderous roar in the sky, shaking the heavens above so violently it sounded as if the sky itself was falling upon them.
"AH!" The sudden jolt caused her to lose her balance and fall backwards onto the ground, releasing the injured boy's arms.
Rolling over, her lip began to tremble, her eyes watering with tears, threatening to spill over.
She couldn't do it. She couldn't do anything right. If it weren't for her, this small hero needn't have stepped in to try save her. If it weren't for her, he would be safe. If it weren't for her, those tormentors would have still been on the prowl for new prey.
Always scared.
Always clumsy.
Always interfering.
Always weak.
Always... worthless...
The girl sighed a breath. Reaching to the base of her throat she clutched a small pendant that dangled around her neck.
A little golden butterfly.
With fierce determination in her eyes, she willed herself to stand up. Once again gathering the boy's arms in her own, she gave a mighty huff, and continued hauling the limp body towards safety.
Left, right. Left, right. Left... Right... The chanting did not cease in her mind. All her remaining strength had been collected and focused onto this one task. She could do this. She had to do this.
The girl could feel the crunch of gravel beneath her feet. So close... This was the home stretch!
She was exhausted. There was little to no energy left in her body, the finish line seemingly further than it had been mere moments before. The sheer force of nature was beginning to overpower what little strength she had to continue.
Yet she trudged onwards. They were almost there! Just inches away was the underbelly of the playground. A small cove structured by wooden and metal beams, where children often sought refuge during a game of hide and seek, or from teachers during recess.
She made it. Almost instantly, she collapsed to the ground. Her mind went dark, the cool gravel soothing her aching muscles.
A small tickle on her nose woke her up. Groggily, she glanced around, hoping to find any indication of what had happened not too long ago.
Why did she feel so warm?
The small tickling sensation cascaded down to her cheek. Upon further inspection, she noticed it was a strand of red string. The pieces finally fell into place.
She sat up at once. Allowing the somewhat damp red hoodie to fall behind her. She looked around, but she was alone.
The red hoodie.. It was the one the boy wore... Wasn't it?
Picking it up cautiously, she closely examined it. While the fabric had been freely coated in rainwater and dirt, it still felt... oddly soft. Like velvet.
A loud crunch came from behind her, jolting her to attention.
"Did you sleep well?" A small voice asked.
She spun around on her heel. It was him, that boy from earlier. She eyed him curiously.
"Um.. you're staring at me." He shied away his face from her.
This didn't deter her vision from his being. It obviously wasn't that she had never seen boys before. (Even non-cootie infested ones.) There was just something... interesting about him. The way he stood there, a softness in his expression that made her feel comfortable in his presence.
"W-well... My name i-is Marco... Erm... Marco Diaz." He awkwardly stuck his hand in the gap between the two, eyes still refusing to look at her.
The girl stared at this gesture as though it was completely foreign to her. A moment too long had passed.
"O-okay well... I'll be going now... thanks miss..." He turned around.
"It's Star."
He stopped in his tracks, ears perking up upon hearing her speak for the first time.
"Huh-?"
"I said," she took a step forward, still clutching onto his hoodie, "my name is Star."
He turned to face her directly. This was the first time she had studied his face up close. He had a soft, light brown skin color. Something reminiscent of cinnamon or caramel. His dark brown hair, even ruffled and somewhat wily, had a patterned sense to it, parted one side and flowing across the front on the other. His eyes, the left a matching shade of chocolate brown, the right swollen shut and turning a dark purple hue.
"... Star...?"
Her cheeks flared a beet red. "I know it's a dumb name! I don't need you to tell me that!" She threw his hoodie onto the ground and began to stomp her way out of the small hidey hole. Until she felt his hands grab her by the arm.
"NO! That's not what I was going to say!" She huffed angrily at his attempt to stop her, wrenching her arm away painfully, remembering how they were cut and bruised from earlier.
"I was going to say it sounded cool!" She stopped.
"What..? You-"
Marco flushed red, he averted his glance, scared of her intention by that statement.
"I-I mean it sounds like a really... REALLY cool name..."
Star's eyes softened. Perhaps this boy was a bit more than what she had initially thought.
"Y-you like it?" Her heart flooded with warmth.
"Well... yeah... I mean like... I think space is so cool and like there's so many cool planets and galaxies and... well... Stars out there..." He chuckled nervously.
What a dork.
But... a friendly dork.
She felt herself smile. This earned her a grin in return from Marco.
"I wish my name was cool like yours... I just get stuck with Marco." He added distastefully under his breath.
"What's wrong with 'Marco'?" Star inquired earnestly.
"It sounds boring."
Star gleamed devilishly. "Want me to give you a better name?"
This caught Marco's attention. "Like what?"
"We could call you... Laser Unicornitron! Or... Rainbow Heartstomper! Maybe even-" She trailed off, realizing poor Marco's terrified expression.
"Or Bob?"
Marco relaxed a bit, a grin pushing its way up his cheeks.
"Maybe 'Marco' isn't too bad." They giggled simultaneously.
Star bent down to pick up his hoodie, still feeling quite guilty after so violently tossing it onto the floor. Brushing it off, she handed it back to him.
"Sorry about that by the way..." She mumbled, fiddling anxiously with her long blonde hair.
"It's... It's okay." His voice was shaky upon accepting the garment back. He patted off a small patch of mud on one of the sleeves.
Her eyes began watering again. No. It wasn't alright, everything that had happened.. was her fault. Why didn't he hate her? Like everyone else did...
At once he noticed the tears that began forming in her eyes.
"Um.. A-are you okay?"
What was wrong with him? Why did he care more about her? He was the one who got hurt, not her! He should be angry! He should be yelling and screaming and cruel and unforgiving!
And yet...
And yet... that was part one! Obviously plans to continue this have been set in motion (heck I got 4 more chapters lined up). But like I said, you gotta wait until next week to read the conclusion of this one.
On a side note, I have actually drafted up a final copy of the next chapter for Silhouettes (shameless promotion is shameless), but I realize it will be a lot longer of a story than I anticipated. So I'm still awaiting for the perfect moment to continue it. Which will most likely be after the first five weeks of this story blows over.
Oh! And as always, reviews and comments are deeply appreciated, I realize I'm not as talented as many other writers out there, but I'm thankful for each and every single bit of criticism I receive. With that said, I hope to see you all back here next week for the stellar conclusion (see what I did there?) of our humble beginning.
