Title: Craving
Author: Fr34k3gg
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: none
Summary: Ethan loves Henrietta, but would rather not. Its so conformist.

Warnings: Swearing, Mild Sexual References

Ethan = Tall Goth, Dylan = Red Goth Logan = Kindergoth. Just so everyone knows before they start reading.

Ethan had known Henrietta for years. He couldn't remember when or how they'd met, but ever since he could remember, she'd been by his side. After a couple years of just the two of them, they'd let Dylan join them. He was an odd, shy kid, with pockmarks all over his face, and his hair looked like he'd cut it himself after getting a hold of some kitchen scissors. They'd taken pity on him and fixed him up a bit, showing him how to dress, what music to listen to, and convincing him he shouldn't give a fuck what the conformists think. A few years after that, Logan had joined. He'd come to his very first day of kindergarten wearing all black, some lipstick, and sporting an emo haircut.

Now, Ethan was in Grade 12 along with Henrietta. Dylan was only a year behind them, and Logan was starting Grade 9. Granted, Ethan, Henrietta and Dylan should have graduated by now, but only conformists went to class on a regular basis. Many years had gone by, and still the four of them loitered at the same Benny's, smoked the same brand of cigarettes, and wore the same clothes. Not much had changed, Ethan noticed. Except now every time he saw the girl who he'd known practically his whole life, he felt the oddest quiver in his stomach. He caught himself thinking about her more frequently, wondering about the smallest details of her personal life, craving to be around her at all times. But he forced himself to push those feelings and thoughts away. Love was just an idea made up by greedy men in business suits, wanting any chance to make more money. It wasn't anything that could ever end 'happily ever after'. He'd gotten first-hand experience watching his parents argue and fight, then ultimately split up. Love hadn't worked for them, so why the hell would it ever work for him? He'd spent years living by these words, and he wasn't about to let some stupid manufactured scheme take over his mind.

One day last week though, he and Henrietta had found themselves alone in her bedroom. Dylan was in detention, and Logan was grounded and had to go home right away. The littlest Goth had always had trouble saying no to authority figures, which meant he listened to his parents and got decent grades.
While alone in her room, the two became increasingly bored. Henrietta suggested they have sex. Casual and no feelings attached. Ethan agreed, hoping this might end the feelings he was having for her, so he could continue hating 'love' and every aspect of it. This only made matters worse, of course, and suddenly he felt so attached that sometimes he just wanted to confess everything to her, just to lighten the heavy crushing in his chest. But he was determined not to conform to all the stupid teenagers with their week-long 'love'.

Ethan slammed his locker shut. "Fucking conformists," he muttered angrily.

"Who?"

Ethan's heart skipped a beat as he instantly recognized the familiar voice. He turned around to face Henrietta.

"Uh…everyone," he answered finally.

"Oh, they totally are," she agreed, rolling her eyes. She started walking down the deserted hallway. Ethan followed at once.

The two of them made their way to the back of the school near the loading docks to see Dylan and Logan walking towards the same area, parallel from them. Once they arrived, they all sat in their usual spots and lit cigarettes simultaneously.

Dylan was first to say anything. "Logan and I got detention after school," he said, obviously annoyed.

"It's your fault," Logan muttered.

"What happened?" Henrietta asked, looking up from her poetry book.

"Eh, not much. A teacher caught us smoking in the hallway," Dylan said with a shrug

Logan glared. "He was going to give us a warning, and then you flicked your cigarette butt in his face."

Dylan smirked as Logan rolled his eyes.

"That's fine," Ethan said, then paused to take a short draw of his cigarette. "Me and Henrietta can just hang out alone, I guess."

Henrietta nodded once as she jotted down a quick note in her book. Ethan frowned slightly, disappointed by her apathy.

Wait a minute, what was he thinking? She shouldn't be excited, because she shouldn't feel the same way, and they shouldn't be together. Everything was perfectly fine. Better, even, that Henrietta found no interest in being alone with Ethan. Relationships only ended in pain, just like everything else that was invented to bring happiness. This was the entire reason why Ethan swore to never get in a relationship. Screw 'em and leave 'em. That's the best way to get through this hellish life in one fucking piece.

"Ethan, can you read this last line and tell me what you think?" Henrietta asked, lifting the book up and offering it to him.

Ethan nodded at once and took it from her, then looked it over. "Hmm…Maybe try 'rotting body landslide'."

"That would sound way better," Henrietta agreed, taking the book back. She scribbled out her own line, and wrote in Ethan's suggestion.

Henrietta lifted the book up so she could read it clearly for all four of them:
"I walk alone in empty streets,
bodies all around me.
Walking. Like zombies.
Sudden tremors.
Rotting body landslide."


Dylan kept his eyes on the ground and took a drag of his cigarette. "Whoa," he said finally.

Henrietta closed the book and shoved it into her bag. The bell rang inside, alerting the students that they could finally escape this conformist brainwashing facility they called 'High School'.

"Fuck," Dylan sighed, standing up and crushing his cigarette out with his bright violet shoe. "We'll meet you later at the cemetery," he said.

Logan finished his own cigarette and stood up, trailing behind Dylan into the school.

Ethan and Henrietta stood up at the same time and silently started walking off of school property.

"Where are we going?" Ethan asked, flicking his cigarette.

"We can go to my house, until those two get out of Detention… Then we'll head to the cemetery," Henrietta replied.

Ethan nodded, trying hard not to smile. They were alone together, and headed to Henrietta's bedroom. Again.

The rest of the walk was utterly silent. Once they reached Henrietta's house, she unlocked the front door and led him straight to her room. They'd never spent any time in any other part of the house. Her parents were both still at work at this hour.
Once in the bedroom, Henrietta shut the door and sat in her usual spot on the floor. Ethan sat across from her at the foot of her bed.

"I need to tell you something," Henrietta said as she lit a cigarette. She'd always been blunt, saying whatever was on her mind.

Ethan raised an eyebrow, his heart rate growing quicker. "What's that?"

"I'm pregnant," Henrietta said matter-of-factly. "Just thought you should know."

Ethan stared at her in alarm for minutes that felt like hours. Was this a joke? No, it couldn't be. The idea of Henrietta joking about something so serious was a joke in itself.

"Ethan, did you hear me?" Henrietta asked, sounding a bit irritated that it was taking him this long to respond somehow.

"P…pregnant?" he mumbled.

Henrietta nodded. "Yes. But don't worry about it, I plan to just get rid of it."

"No!" Ethan exclaimed, surprising them both. Henrietta gave him a somewhat bewildered look.

If there were any time for him to confess everything, this was it. "Henrietta…" he started. How would he go about saying this without making himself sound like a conformist asshole?
While thinking over what to say next, he failed to notice Henrietta move closer. As he finally opened his mouth to talk, he was taken aback to find her lips crushing eagerly against his own. He didn't hesitate to return the kiss, placing a hand on her back.
After a few minutes, Henrietta broke away and looked at his face. "Ethan, do you love me?" she asked.

"Love…is……conformist," he replied awkwardly.

"It's a 'yes' or 'no' question."

"….Then yes," he admitted.

Henrietta smirked and kissed him again. "Then, we're even."

"You mean--"

Henrietta nodded once. "Let's never utter the word again. We'll have an understanding."

Ethan nodded in agreement. "Right."

"Oh, and Ethan?"

"Hm?"

"I'm not really pregnant."