Undefined Lust

Authors Note: This is actually one of the stories I like better. But, there's always room for improvement!

Enjoy! Please Review!

Our Tale of Tragic Mirth

Romeo and Juliet was not love, it was tragedy. Hamlet and Ophelia were too quick to assume anything.

But we once sat somewhere among these epic tales.

You and I.

Me and you.

Benjamin Barker and Nellie.

It feels like so long ago that we've been so close. But it was different then wasn't it? Lucy was like you, and you were like Lucy.

And you pulled an act of betrayal. Almost like she did.

Almost.

It's not a long story really. Just like Shakespeare would have wrote it. Two people meet, they fall in love. But it's love that can not fully bloom. These two people are both stubborn, and will never admit they're wrong. And though neither of them wanted to believe it, it could be rather destructive, am I right, my darling?

Well, I like to believe so.

We stood somewhere inbetween Romeo and his darling Juliet, and Hamlet and Opheila.

Our own tale of tragic mirth.

We were those two people, playing a major role in this story, my love. Instantly recognizable as the would be dysfunctional couple. The script was not very elaborate as it gave a little glimpse of our conversations. We simply sit, talk, laugh, and we love. Just like anybody else. But fate was not kind to my character. Fate was not kind to either of the characters we were choosen to portray. And I'll never figure out the reasons why we deserved to be punished so. The near possible future snatched away from under our hands, our heaven that was so close thrown across the universe.

You were his, or my everything. But life is strange, and sometimes in the pit of your stomach, your intentions found their way to your conscience. And it's hard to ignore your conscience, my pet. But while you had let your conscience take over, never once did you take the chance to think of me. Like Lucy. I am just realizing now how much in common you were. And so you did what you thought was best.

But the best you can do is all we can ask for, right?

So you ran.

For no reason you ran.

You ran from everything you knew.

You ran from everyone you knew.

You ran from me.

You ran for a reason I could never figure out.

You ran, you ran, and you ran.

You ran like you loved.

With determination, passion.

Strength.

You ran like hell.

But like I said, that was a long time ago. After all, we had to focus on the present.

Life is for the alive, my dear, life is for the alive.

So there you stood, backed up against the wall, shaking your head 'no' at me. You didn't want to die. I could feel it. But who are you to talk? Nobody wants to die. But I believe they're simply afraid. Besides, they don't know what lies on the other side of life. But there you were, your eyes wide with fear, and mistrust, as mine lure you to me, singing a sweet melody of our possible future.

The mask of my lie covering the hatred of the truth, the fact was the only way to kill you without guilt was to dance with you. Perhaps I over reacted, but I trusted you, just like I did oh so long ago, and I couldn't believe that you lied again. You haven't changed one bit.

So we danced, a waltz, every step closer to what would have been your death, Mrs. Lovett. Sometimes I ask myself, why I didn't kill you in the end. But bid my conscience well, there was something in the way.

So I let go of you, but closed the oven door, allowing you to fall hard onto the floor, but never into the scorching heat of the fire. You cried. Of course, you're a human, what human wouldn't cry in a situation like the one I put you in? "Mr. T." You say your voice still strong despite the tears, just like it had always been. "Mr. Todd." You ask again, but my head is swarming with thoughts. It's too complicated.

I don't know what to do.

"Benjamin." You try again, and I snarl. You say the forbidden name. I look over to my Lucy's body. Her once lively face and the glow that she emitted was no longer there. She wasn't my Lucy. This was the Lucy that belonged to the streets. She was not the smiling beauty that I had left with my former name. My former life.

I look at you.

I'm almost happy you were there the day I turned back up on Fleet Street. Wouldn't it have be strange if I had opened that pie shop door to some complete stranger with eighteen kids and seventeen cats? She'd ask what I was doing there, and I'd have to tell her I left something.

And of course she'd ask me what, and I'd have to say my life. I believe by that time, I'd be well acquainted with doors previously slammed in my face. But you would know all about that would you?

But that didn't happen. You were there, just like you used to be.

Isn't it funny, that nobody's moved and nothing's change? It's like time has stopped to let me absorb my thoughts.

So you cleaned out all my bloodstains, and you housed me. And you fed me, and you kept me as close as you could to sane. But I'm sure it was quite a challenge for you. You did well. I suppose there were benefits in it for both of us. Right? You had more money, and I...could kill the Judge and Beadle. But I could see that you wanted something more. Of course now I know. Don't think for a second that the words that spilled out of your mouth changed me.

"Benny didn't deserve to die." You say moments later. Now those words might have had some effect on me. "Benny?" I ask you. "He was my best friend." You say, trying to remain calm. "I see, your lover you mean? And why didn't he deserve to die, my love? What made him different?" I ask. My voice low but direct.

"Don't you feel that certain people never deserve to die?" You shot back. I thought. "Lucy never deserved to die." I say. Quite clear, and obvious in my words. "Think deeper. She easily took away Johanna's future." You respond, for some reason determined to get to me. "Nellie. Nellie never deserved to die." I finally say. You don't respond to this. You look away, and sit sadly on the hard floor, staring at the wall.

Once you said that we all live for the day we die.

I glared at you. Why didn't I kill you?

Why?

All of a sudden I felt something I've never felt.

"Sweeney or Benjamin?" I whispered. I held my razor tight in my hand, bracing myself for your answer.

"Sweeney." You say. And I look at you dumbfounded.

"Why?" I ask, the only words willing to come out of my mouth. She shrugs. "You never need a reason to love, love." You look down this time, afraid to make eye contact with me. I should've killed you, seriously. Take away all the painful memories that you come with. You were once her. I remember.

"I loved her." I say my voice full of pain. "Why?" You asked. And I looked at you. I knew the answer, and you knew the answer. So there was no reason to answer your question verbally. "She ran away because her conscience told her something bad would have happened." You tell me. "And he married because his heart was broken." I say.

"But he never waited." You say to me. "And you did?" I ask. "I did. I waited for thirteen years, and gave up, and figured you would have done the same. Which you did. I died inside." You respond in a monotone. "So tell me, where is she now?" I ask you. "She's still waiting. Inside. She'll always be waiting." You reply, eyes flickering with sadness. "Does she know he'll never return?" I ask you. "Yes." You reply instantly, but hesitantly.

And I know that both of us understood right then and there, that fate gave us a second chance. They never deserved to die.

But they died because fate them away from each other. I want to kill you again.

But I don't. Instead, I bend down to look at you. You look so much like her.

The garish red hair and the deeply sunken eyes. But of course you look like her. You're the same person.

Almost.

You're all that's left of her. I should have my revenge on you for what she did. But perhaps she did it for our own good. I realized.

Benjamin Barker's dead. Nellie's dead. And naturally with that, Lucy's dead.

Perhaps you never lied at all. Just mingled around the truth.

Just like we all do.

Now I know I'll never be able to kill you.

So I take your chin in my hands, and I kiss you. My lips meet your full red ones that used to be so familiar. You look at me for the first time since minutes ago. And your eyes are filled with something I can not identify, but I know mine are too. I pull you up.

We'll run. Together. Maybe we won't have to face the gallows after all.

After all, we wouldn't want to put fate's kindness to waste.

You don't protest, so we run.

We run fast and hard.

We run like this is what we live for.

(Other than to die.)

We never glance back.

We run. We run. We run.

We run like the wind.

We run like we used to love.

With all that our hearts could give.

We run like hell.

And all this because...

I refuse to let us be the next Romeo and Juliet. And we can't ever return to the world of Hamlet and Ophelia.

Instead, we'll spin a new story, we will.

You and I.

Me and you.

Sweeney Todd and Eleanor Lovett.

End note: So the story actually began around the time I had to do a serious Shakespeare study in theater class. I know, scary right?

I'm not a huge Shakespeare person, I'm more of a musical theater freak. But they had us study it.

I like it a lot more now. And we did watch Hamlet with Helena Bonham Carter as well has Henry VIII.

But along the way, when I was standing up on the stage, working on my lines as Ophelia, as my friend was working on her lines as Juliet, I kind of found this common connection between all the Shakespeare love stories.

Actually if you notice, a lot of his stories either end up with everybody dying or everybody getting married.

Easiest way to end a story I suppose.

Not that Shakespeare was a simple minded person. Brilliant he was.

So, with a lot of fiddeling around, I came up with this! I hope you kind of liked the format it's in. The connection with the beginning and the ending, but most of all I hope you enjoyed it, thank you so much for reading!!

PLEASE REVIEW!

you have no idea what it means to an author when you drop a couple words their way.

thanks again!

-Becca