Author note: I do not own the Last Story. Nor do I own Therius or Syrenne.
...Yes, I'm attempting to write TheriusxSyrenne fic. Why? Because I just wanted to try to see what it would be like... (sweatdrop)
Warning: Modern AU, implied TheriusxSyrenne, spoilers for several books (1984 by George Orwell mostly, but spoilers for others as well)
ALSO, I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE BOOKS MENTIONED IN THIS FANFIC. THEY ALL BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE AUTHORS/PUBLISHERS/ETC.
Constructive Criticism would be great, and I hope that you read, review and enjoy! Thanks!
Stupid Novels and Storytelling
Summary: In which Syrenne is fed up with Therius trying to recommend all sorts of books to her, and challenges his own strengths in English by forcing him to make up a story on the spot and tell it to her.
Therius' eyes widened as Syrenne slammed the book down in front of him, effectively making him stop working on his essay and to look up at her snarling face.
At times like this, he wondered why he bothered living with Syrenne and Lowell in the apartment building. It was better than the dorms at Lazulis University, yes, and it did avoid most of the constantly-partying Arts students, but Syrenne could get grumpy and violent at times...which wasn't good for either Lowell or Therius.
"What?" He spoke, obviously annoyed as his emerald eyes half-glared at Syrenne through the lens of his glasses. "I'm trying to work on an essay. If you can leave me be for at least another hour-"
"Nineteen Eighty-Four is crap."
That was what Syrenne cut in with, still glaring at him. Therius stared at her in disbelief, before his temper got the better of him.
"What makes you think Nineteen Eighty-Four is crap!? I thought it was far better than 'To Kill a Mockingbird' as you claimed was bullcrap, and better than 'Lord of the Flies' which you said was too morbid!"
"Nineteen Eighty-Four is even worse than Lord of the Flies, you dumbass!" Syrenne nearly whacked Therius at the back of his head, but he managed to duck in time as if expecting it for a year. "You didn't warn me that there were torture scenes!'
"The Party is downright merciless and cruel to anyone that goes against them. What were you expecting, sunshine and rainbows!?"
"I thought they would just be subjected to watch several hours worth of their bloody propaganda, not putting a cage of rats on their face!"
"At least the rats didn't actually eat his face!"
"Warn me next time if there's going to be something graphic like that. And the romance in it was even worse crap than the rest of the novel combined!"
Therius scowled a bit. This wasn't the first time that he and Syrenne had been in a dispute about books, of all things. The whole dispute, in fact, had been going on for an entire six months.
It all started when Syrenne was actually, for once, interested in reading something, well, interesting. This surprised Therius a little bit, because he didn't imagine the alcohol-loving apartment companion to actually be interested in reading. The other reason as of why this was surprising was that he now had the opportunity to show Syrenne why it was so awesome to be trying to major in English Literature and actually show her how awesome said literature could be. And it was a good opportunity for him to show her how awesome the English program at Lazulis University could be, by him recommending her all these classics and other great books.
...Trying to impress her with his literary analysis of things, though, and especially recommending great books, didn't seem to really impress Syrenne. Which was bad.
He wouldn't exactly say he was head-over-heels for Syrenne, but something about her made him like her. Maybe it was because she wasn't afraid to speak up about her own opinion in things. This was helpful, for if he was trying to decide whether to order takeout or to cook something for dinner.
This could also be a big pain in the neck, like it had been for the past few months in terms of recommending books to her.
Therius let out a breath, before speaking. "Look, if you want something less morbid than Nineteen Eighty-Four, perhaps the Secret Life of Bees by-"
"Shut up and stop recommending things!" Syrenne slammed a hand onto his desk, glaring at him. "Look, if you're going to try to show me how 'completely awesome' English Literature is, tell me a story and make it good enough for me to admit that the English program isn't crap."
Therius just gave her a blank stare.
"...Beg your pardon?"
For Therius, writing essays and analyzing literature was easy. Totally easy. He could do it in a heartbeat if he had to.
...As for actually creating stories, though...well, that was a bit more difficult for him to do.
However, it was not like Therius to back down from a challenge, no matter how difficult it could be.
He paused, before speaking. "How long do you want this story to be? Short? Long? How many pages' worth...?"
"Oy, I said tell me a story, not write one. Make it as long as you'd like." Syrenne sat down on a nearby chair, her legs and arms both crossed as she leaned back a little. "Go on. I'm waiting."
The other let out a breath, adjusting his glasses again, before starting. "Alright. This isn't torturous crap like Nineteen-Eighty Four. At least, I hope not..." He hesitated, before continuing. "Once upon a time, there was a kingdom. And in that kingdom was a princess."
Syrenne raised an eyebrow. "Was she a badass princess or was she like one of those submissive-wife types?"
Therius squirmed slightly, before speaking. "First, do not interrupt me so much. Second, yes, she was a 'badass princess' as you so clearly stated just now. She wasn't into dainty dances or love letters. No, she was rather into...fighting. Lots of fighting, in fact. She was the star of all debates, whether they be about the smallest things like the last piece of cake or the bigger things like whether Kingdom A or Kingdom B should fight each other or just try to compromise with each other over something. And she was especially renowned for her physical fighting skills."
Syrenne seemed to almost smile at this. "She really sounds like a badass."
Therius nodded, smiling just a little bit before continuing. "Yes, she was a badass princess indeed. She had two bodyguards, though, despite having all capabilities to defend herself, because her parents were just a tad too worried for her. Also..." He paused, before finishing his sentence. "The two bodyguards, aside from the princess' parents, were the only ones that could actually bear with a renowned temper she had as well."
Syrenne's eyes narrowed. Therius did his best to ignore it and continue telling the story to her.
"One day, there was a suitor."
Syrenne rolled her eyes.
"A suitor? Really? Don't tell me-they get married, don't they?"
Therius' eyes narrowed with impatience at her interruptions. "No. Not yet. Though her parents wanted her to, to carry on their bloodline and all of that stuff involved with political marriages. Naturally, the princess refused. Not just because she didn't feel the need to get married off to someone from some foreign kingdom, but because she suspected that this suitor was up to something so terrible that it would threaten her kingdom and everyone she knew."
Syrenne paused, pushing a lock of ginger hair out of her face, before speaking up. "Smart princess. I'd probably do the same if I were her..."
Yes, you dug up the dirt on all of the girls in highschool that tried to hit on me, Syrenne. All of them.
Therius paused, before continuing. "The suitor tried to charm her, obviously, but she didn't fall for such folly. Instead, she was able to dig up something so reputation-damaging. And that thing was that he was an absolute womanizer. He would be pretending to fall for the princess, but in reality he was making all the other ladies swoon for him."
This actually happened to Syrenne once, back in highschool. She had been aware that a boy apparently had a crush on her, but she was suspicious about that. And she had a right to be-she ended up exposing that boy's cheating ways to everyone else in the school. Ever since then, no boy could ever get close to her in any romantic sense...except for maybe Therius.
The two absolutely hated each other at first. Had it not been for Lowell's persuasion, the two would have never really been friends. They both had a tendency to fight over anything and everything. But then they found little things that they had in common.
They both went to the same highschool, and now the same university. They were living together. They both could be so completely blunt to each other. And oblivious to their own feelings about others at times, too.
And then they started to get along with each other, the more they found out they had in common...
"The suitor ran away in shame. The badass princess was triumphant, and saved her kingdom from a lot of bad. The end."
Syrenne blinked, looking up at Therius. "That's it?" She asked. "Seriously?"
Therius gave her a look. "What? You didn't give me a time limit."
Syrenne paused, before speaking again. "You know...that story you just told me. I thought it was pretty weird at first. But it was badass."
Therius nearly blushed, unused to getting compliments from her. "R-really?"
"Yeah. Really. Though I still think the English program that you're taking on is weird."
Therius lost his temper right there.
"IT'S NOT WEIRD!"
"YES IT IS!"
"NO IT ISN'T!"
As the two continued arguing, Lowell merely grinned from outside the apartment, before stopping the recording on his camera.
He was totally going to use this as blackmail to make them go on a date later.
Author note: Again, I DO NOT OWN NINETEEN EIGHTY FOUR OR ANY OF THE OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED IN THIS FIC, AND APOLOGIES FOR SPOILERS.
I hope you enjoyed this fic, and please review! Thanks for reading! XD