[OKAY PEOPLE. This is my first story that I had the guts to publish. I really don't care if you hate it or love it, all I ask is that you don't judge me too harshly. I wrote this on my phone in a notepad app, not on my computer, so it's short. I get it, people like huge, long, complicated stories. Well, that's not my thing, so tough luck. Uh, yeah, that's really all I need to say, right? Oh yeah, I don't own JtHM or anything by Jhonen Vasquez, even if it would be awesome. I tried to keep the violence and whatnot to a minimum, but that's kind of difficult for me. Hope you enjoy, I guess.]
Cherries and Blood
It wasn't a very abnormal night, honestly just another summer evening out on the streets. Walking, in a matter of seconds I was already a street away from home. Some preppy kids sat outside of a pizza place, pointing and laughing.
"Hey! Look guys, a skeleton!" One girl shouted, pointing at me. I stopped dead in my tracks, my Irken-issue boots crunching on the pavement. The three buckles jingled sharply, clinking against each other. They weren't mine; I got them from a friend who I couldn't remember the name of at the moment. The group kept laughing, making fun of my sickly, twig-like appearance. My skin was whiter than ashes, and my eyes were ringed from lack of sleep and were a dull grey when I was angry, or upset, but a nice green when I was happy... which was rarely. Smiling, I lifted my leg up and smashed my boot into her face, listening happily as she shrieked. I felt her nose break against my foot as the jocky guys who were flocking her jumped up. I took off at a sprint into the nearest park as they thundered behind me. My head was down and I was laughing like a maniac, my blue and black hair streaming out behind me. I jumped up and hit a long picnic table at a run, the wood creaking under my feet from age. I reached the end while the jocks went around the table, and practically flew into the woods, losing the jocks easily in the maze of thick brush and tall trees. I crouched down, knees cracking loudly and heart racing with adrenaline. I listened as they decided to ditch the forest and help their whore.
There was a loud thud about ten yards to my right, making me jump up quickly. I figured that the jocks were back and took off in the opposite direction. Suddenly I smacked into something and fell backwards, head throbbing. I looked up into a pair of dark brown eyes before I blacked out. I came to and immediately panicked. Realizing that I was hanging from a wall by my arms, I calmed down. I didn't want to pop my shoulders out of place, and I didn't want to cut myself against the metal. I was in a bleak room, plain wooden walls and floors. I relaxed, my heart rate going back to normal. There were footsteps above me followed by muffled screaming. My eyes went wide, almost black with fear. I stared at the stairs, listening as someone descended slowly. The first thing that came into view was a pair of clawed boots, then skeletal legs, then a thin, bony structure. I unconsciously made the connection between this mysterious guy's body structure and my own; we had almost the same bodies, save for the gender. His face and head came into view, dark brown eyes and fair skin, with messy black hair that stuck out at odd angles. He was smiling.
"Hello." I said, trying to seem like I wasn't as scared as I was. He looked up, surprised.
"Uhm, yes. Hello." He mumbled, his voice harsh and grainy. He frowned, seeming troubled.
"Everything okay?" I asked out of habit, forgetting that I was chained to a wall. He frowned again, sitting down on a crate.
"Well, you see, there are these voices. And they all tell me different things, and it's so confusing an-" he began but cut himself off, jumping up and running at me with a knife. I screwed my eyes shut as a fiery sensation shot through my stomach. I let out a choked scream, blood dripping out of my mouth thickly. He pulled the knife out, and my stomach healed back up.
"Uhm, c-could you wipe up this blood?" I sputtered, licking the blood off my lips and looking at the blood on my chin. His eyes went wide and he ran his hand over my bloody stomach, otherwise unharmed. He reached up and wiped the blood away with a gloved hand, watching me carefully.
"You aren't real, are you?" He accused, jabbing a finger at me.
"I'm real!" I said, feeling my organs heal up. The way he stood, I could see his whole body. He was sickly, but I could see that he was strong. He was muttering to himself and pacing, and for some reason I wanted to hug him, but I also wanted to get the fuck out of here. Suddenly he stopped, walked over and undid the metal clasps, letting me drop to the ground.
"I always welcome hallucinations with open arms, you know." He said, crossing his arms in front of him. I didn't know what made me do what I did, but I shot forwards and hugged him tightly. I felt a searing pain in my stomach again before the warm, tickly feeling of my skin weaving together took over my body. I pulled away, blood running down my chin. His eyes looked clouded, and suddenly he grabbed the back of my head, holding me in place as he licked all of the blood out of my mouth. My eyes were wide in shock, and his were half closed. He pulled away, his lips red with blood.
"Maybe you aren't a hallucination..." he mumbled, still holding the back of my head with his claw-like fingers. He let go suddenly and for some reason I could taste cherries. He wiped his mouth off angrily, a low growl escaping his lips. I backed away, hitting the wall behind us. "Just go." He hissed, his hands shaking and his body twitching. I blinked, and he reached out and grabbed my arm. He pointed towards the stairs, and then shoved me forwards. I used the momentum to sprint up the stairs and up onto the next floor. I realized I had been in a basement, and as I reached the door I felt a hand on my shoulder. I spun around. "Wait." He said, grabbing my hand instead of my shoulder. "Who are you?" He asked, frowning.
"My name's Hyacinth." I said, nervous.
"I'm Johnny," he said, "but call me Nny." He smiled, a crooked smile, but it made my heart flip nonetheless.
"Well, Nny, I guess I'll be off." I said, feeling squeamish. He grabbed my shoulder.
"It's late. Stay here, you shouldn't be on the streets at night, there's worse people than me out there." He said, with a pleading look in his eyes. I hesitated, and then nodded. No one was expecting me home, my parents were away without me and my sister was somewhere whoring it up.
"I'll stay." I said quietly, looking down awkwardly. He smiled, leading me by the hand to a bedroom down the hall. "But don't you sleep here?" I asked, looking at the neatly-made bed in the empty room. He shook his head.
"I don't sleep." He said, dropping my hand. He walked over to the bed, pulling back the black covers and gesturing to the bed. I crawled in, suddenly realizing how tired I really was. He smiled, pulling the covers up over me again and sitting on the edge of the bed. He leaned down next to my ear.
"Nny?" I asked tentatively, feeling his breath on my ear.
"Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetops, when the boughs shake, your cradle will rock," he sang, his rough voice giving the song an eerie quality, but a surprisingly attractive one at the same time. "When the boughs break, your cradle will fall, and down will come baby, cradle and all." He ended the song with a low hiss before practically melting into the shadows. I was shaking, scared and in love at the same time. I dropped into sleep.
I was woken up by a pair of arms wrapped around me tightly. Nny was sitting, holding me. He leaned over me.
"You're awake." He said, brushing a piece of hair out of my face. I nodded, shifting out of his grip.
"I should go." I said, fairly afraid of him. He looked sad for a moment, and then got up.
"Fair enough..." he sighed, crossing his arms as I pretty much darted out of the house, pausing after the door closed. House 777. I slowly stalked off down a road, navigating myself back to the park. It took longer than I expected, and the sun was above me by the time I got there. I jumped the stream easily, crossing through the shadows of the trees. I sat down on an old heap of a junked car, thinking about the night before. Before I knew it, the sun was low in the sky and the forest was a golden brown. There were voices behind me. I recognized them as the jocks from the other night.
"That bitch is going to fucking die!" One guy said.
"Are you sure she's over here?" Another called, followed by the sound of a large stick snapping. Suddenly they were surrounding me. They held me against the metal, jagged glass stabbing into my back and arms, only to be pushed back out by healing skin. One of them brought the stick down on my ribs, snapping them easily. They too patched themselves together. Fists rained down on my face, a few shards of glass and metal found their way across my arms, leaving only blood in their path. Then my clothes started being ripped. My foot found its way free and I kicked someone in the face. Then there was a stinging in my throat as blood poured out of the gash. They had let my arms go. I realized this was my way out, so I held my hands over the healing cut and made noises, like I was choking, before collapsing in blood. They ran away, scared that they had killed someone. I stood up, laughing
insanely. That had hurt so much, and I didn't know how much more I would've been able to take. I stalked my way out of the opposite end of the woods, making my way towards my friend's house. I got to the abnormally green door, knocking once sharply. She answered, a purple eye peering out of the doorway.
"Ah! Cinthy!" She squealed, darting out and hugging me. I hugged her, laughing and she pulled away covered in blood. She beckoned me in and I followed, shutting the door behind me. Her tan skin and brown hair flickered away, revealing her green skin and black antennae, her eyes now large purple orbs. "So what's up?" She asked, plopping down on an overstuffed couch. A puppy rocketed into the room, jumping up on my leg before flickering into a cute robot. I picked the SIR unit up, patting her head.
"Hi there sparrow!" I said happily, sitting on the arm of the couch. "Well, Kitty... I met a guy." I said, putting the robot on the couch.
"No... way..." her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She jumped up and hugged me. "Tell me all about him!" She shrieked, almost crushing me.
"Well..." I said, thinking. "He's a skeleton like me... and he's got this messy black hair, and golden-brown eyes... and he tastes like cherries." I said, reliving the night before.
"Oooh, lip contact? Cinthy finally kissed someone!" She squealed, jumping up and hugging me. I pushed her off and let a very fake glare burn its way to her eyes. She laughed.
"Actually… I think I'm going to go back there later. He seemed… lonely." I sighed, quickly covering it up with a laugh. "Listen to me, I sound so stupid." I said, annoyed.
"No, you sound like you're in love." She said dreamily, holding her hands to where her alien heart was located. (Her stomach, for those of you not knowledgeable about Irken anatomy.)
That was exactly two years ago to the date. I have it written down. That day Johnny asked me to be his girlfriend. A weird question, you might say, coming from a homicidal maniac. But who was I to say no? I agreed, and somehow, we made it through this crazy life together. Die-ary, I have to go, my wedding awaits! Blood-red gowns… the color of cherries.
I dropped the pen into my die-ary, sighing. Keeping a progressive diary, or die-ary as Nny called it, wasn't easy. It was his idea; I think he was scared that I wouldn't remember every day of our hectic life. I turned, bumping into Kitty. She was holding out a bright red dress.
"Come on, Cinthy. It's time to get your dress on, and then your hair, and your makeup, and then… well, and then you get married, of course." She smiled.
"Kitty?" I asked, biting my lip, "Remember two years ago, when I first told you about Nny?" She nodded enthusiastically. "I'm sorry I ever doubted that I was in love." I said, hugging her. A few hours later, I stood in front of the blood-stained altar. Johnny's eyes glistened with tears.
"I do."