An ocean of fireflies streamed around the couple as they slowly walked their way through the clearing. Although the sight was rather romantic with the moon shining down upon them and the fireflies lighting up here and there, the couple kept to themselves with their arms crossed over their chests in awkward silence.
The park was deserted, and the eerie silence grew stronger as the two continued their way across the field toward the hill before them.
The female, around 17 had a gothic style, appearing intimidating to the human eye. She wore a simple, grey band t-shirt and regular black skinny jeans along with eyeliner covering her eyes. She didn't really need the makeup, because she already had dark circles rimming her eyes due to lack of sleep, but she insisted on wearing it anyway. A pair of black, worn converse covered her feet as she dragged herself across the open area. A spiked choker covered her neck while black and white arm warmers lined her arms, hiding the burdened secret of cuts and scars that concealed her pale forearms.
The guy, being of around 19, was not detailed in his clothing style. He wore an old-fashioned dress coat, regular black slacks that were as tight as could be, and a thin, horizontal stripped long-sleeved shirt with a letter 'Z?' strewn upon the back. His bulky steel-toed boots contained his feet and black, shaggy un-kept hair lay atop his head while large, dark circles shadowed his eyes.
Striking up a conversation the girl looked over to her companion, "so, er… how is your art collection keeping up, Nny?"
Pushing back the jet black hair away from her ear, she looked up at the starry sky above them, awaiting her answer. "I haven't drawn or painted in several weeks. My imagination has run out to nothing. And whenever I try to paint, the image turns out to be this monstrous piece of shit. I've retired to drawing comics. What about you, Madeleine? Have you persevered in your sketches, or…"
She tugged at one of her arm warmers before answering in a thick voice, "It hasn't progressed into anything. I've only recently been doodling and scribbling and it comes out…not the way I wanted. I guess I'm just loosing the technique. Oh, and you don't have to call me Madeleine. Call me Maddie."
The ground started to slope upwards as she finished her statement. "So, tell me about your comics," Madeleine huffed out once she claimed her place at the top of the hill. Johnny, having not heard this looked at her questioningly, "could you repeat that?"
"Your comics. What are they like?"
The hill continued on in a flat surface, but cut off from a cliff and a single, dead tree at the edge. The fireflies were less up here due to the altitude and the height of the hill, and the vast sky stretched out beyond their view.
Coming to a stop at the ledge, Madeleine sat down and let her legs dangle over the edge, her hands lying in her lap. Johnny came up behind her hesitantly but sat down along beside her, pulling his legs up to his chest and crossing his arms over his knees to lay his chin down and look at the large, polluted city below.
"Happy Noodle Boy? Heh… well, he's real popular with the homeless insane. But yeah, I could show him to you sometime."
Maddie half smiled. Popular for the homeless insane huh? But she pushed away this thought when Johnny interrupted her musings.
"Maddie, why do you wear those coverings on your arms? Are you cold? It's summer, but you wear them, no matter what the temperature is. It's odd."
She frowned at the sudden change of topic and she could feel the scars burning as the fabric moved slightly over the cuts. Madeleine narrowed her eyes before answering, "Why do you wear a long-sleeved shirt and a jacket?"
"I'm naturally cold. Hey, don't avoid the questions." Johnny continued to stare at the buildings that lit up the city, wondering why people tend to avoid such topics.
Maddie sighed, fingering the black and white fabric that covered her arms before pulling both sleeves completely off and showing her mangled, scarred forearms to him. Both of her pale arms were covered in fresh pink cuts, and old scars, her flesh disfigured and disturbing to see. "I don't like myself much."**
Johnny, not noticing the cuts, and still staring at the city, heard her statement and looked over to the young woman slouched beside him, her pale forearms lit from the moonlight. Johnny's breath caught in his throat as he became interested in the intricate slices lining up and down the skin, some cuts fresh, and some old and scarred. "Why the self-abuse? What reason would you possibly have to be in such mourning and sadness to slice open your own skin? What use is it?"
Johnny took one last look over the cuts before taking his eyes back to her face. Her dark blue eyes glistened with tears before she answered, "because the life I wanted wasn't what I expected. I lost my parents due to homicide and murder, and I had to live with my aunt and uncle. I had to learn to live without friendship, and a few years after my parent's death, I started to starve myself. I became anorexic. Yes, I got medical care and soon got back to my normal state, but my mental state was far from healed. So… I turned to cutting." Madeleine's eye twitched with irritation at the attention, and she quickly shoved her gloves back on, trying to clear her mind, and pushing back the tears that were forming in her eyes.
She was stronger than this. So much stronger than this; so why was she crying? She swallowed and hung her head, clutching her abdomen, willing herself to find another topic to change the current conversation. "I finally had enough of my family… so….. I ran. I ended up in this shitty town with almost no money, no job, and no way of getting back home," Maddie's voice cracked a little at the last word, and she cleared her throat before continuing. "Not that long after I got here, I wound up at YOUR HOUSE, hanging upside down, in chains. Heh. I was held hostage. You were going to kill me. Remember that?"
She sniffed and looked over to find Nny smirking and his eyes shined with evil spookiness, continuing on for her. "But you talked me out of it…," Johnny frowned with confusion once more and said, "why do you still trust me? I was going to kill you; rip you limp from LIMB. Yet, you still trust me as if I were your friend. Why?"
Maddie looked up to the stars, gritting her teeth and wondering how to explain.
Several moments passed by in silence as they both sat there, listening to the sound of cars honking and crickets chirping in the distance.
"Because if I didn't have any faith for you or me, I wouldn't be here, talking to you. I would have killed myself long ago. I trust you because it's the only thing I CAN do. And Johnny," Madeleine got up from her place on the cliff, brushing off her backside with one hand before offering the other hand to Johnny, offering him help up.
Maddie smoothed out her shirt as he gripped her hand as he got up, "Johnny, honestly, you're the closest thing I've had to a 'friend'."
Madeleine hung her head, her hair curtaining her flushed face. She was embarrassed by the harsh truth in those words and she was angry at herself for being so damn proud of herself because she finally had a friend. That wasn't the way things worked.
"So…erm… want to go get some coffee and check out a CD shop in the city?"
"It's awfully late, Maddie. Don't you people sleep?" Nny looked over her facial features, noticing a slight rosy color added to her cheeks.
"No. I've recently been diagnosed with sleep insomnia, and I don't have the care for sleeping. Pills don't work, and I'd rather not be haunted with nightmares if I do get the chance of sleep. What about you? Don't you sleep?" Madeleine looked over to Johnny who was staring off into space, but had a serious expression plastered onto his face.
"I detest sleep. I've better things to do. Sleep dissolves what certainty I have left."**
"Understandable," Madeleine said in a hushed tone.
"So," Johnny said brightly to change the subject, "how about that coffee?"
Hope you liked it. I probably wont continue unless the reviews are ok.
(**) True quote from Johnny the Homicidal Maniac.
No, I don't use OC's very often, but I did it in this story because i FELT LIKE IT. I tried to keep Johnny his normal self... but I don't know...
Review. (:
JTHM fangirl, signing off.
