Introduction: Work on this chapter took significantly longer than I would have liked. Various circumstances such as work, school and Thanksgiving prevented me from being able to write as often as I would have liked. The end of the chapter was also a struggle due to time constraints; but overall, I feel that this is a more diverse and interesting chapter than that of the first. Enjoy.
II
After it became apparent that the ironclad brace that Kyu firmly held onto Alfred's hand was never going to tarnish, the antisocial young adult, desperate to break free from the confines that held him, sought refuge in the only way he saw fit: by letting his body fall limp into oblivion; playing dead. In Alfred's mind, perhaps Kyu would not want to risk her exposure by having a body drag itself toward an already tense situation. A brief moment of a euphoric sense crawled into him as Kyu stopped moving forward. Apparently, she did notice the sudden weight gain in the cargo she had been carrying.
The fairy turned around and groaned, "Good hell, you are the whiniest adult that I have ever met! On your feet!" and with a snap of her fingers, a sudden force gently wrapped itself around Alfred and forced him to stand up straight, proper, and attentive. Alfred was giving death wails and shrieks on the inside, but on the outside of his conscious he was calm and quiet. To the surrounding crowd, it must have looked as though he stood himself up.
Was this how a normal person stood? When standing, Alfred always positioned himself slightly slouched over. It wasn't out of some sort of dire medical condition, such as being a hunchback or anything regarding that nature; he simply stood as if there was a backpack on his back, even though he hadn't worn one in years. It felt good standing upright. He noticed how much taller he was. Was Kyu really that short? She was a fairy, so it seemed natural for her to be shorter. But if she was a fairy, why wasn't she five inches tall? That seemed to be a conversation that needed to be had at another more appropriate time.
He was no longer standing against his will, and found himself wondering if the love fairy still had control of his body; and so Alfred raised both of his arms and jumped at the same time. It worked!
"Yes, you still have control of your own body, you dumb-dumb," Kyu sarcastically remarked.
For a brief moment, Alfred considered playing dead once again, but he figured that it would be futile, as Kyu would surely rise him up once more. The two were now close enough to the girls that Alfred could clearly understand the words the girls were saying to one another; but he came to the conclusion that what they were saying to one another didn't really matter, as he was busy examining the two girls in question. If he was going to approach the two, he would rather speak to the one that he found more attractive.
He realized in full how harsh that would sound if he voiced his opinion to Kyu, but realistically Alfred doubted that he would have anything in common with a complete stranger, let alone a girl. He still didn't know how he was going to meet one of these girls. His stomach churned at the realization that very soon he was going to be having a conversation with someone that he did not want to speak to. Perhaps, if the female was attractive, he wouldn't feel as nervous. Surely, that would comfort him; and if it didn't work, then he was most sure that talking to the more attractive person would generate the opposite effect that he had hoped for.
Either way, he was positive this wouldn't end well for him.
There wasn't much to see between the two girls regarding their personal appearances, as one had her back turned to Alfred and Kyu, while simultaneously blocking the second girl from their view. This made Alfred feel more anxious. He wanted to be able to get an initial first impression from how the two girls dressed, but was only able to see the back side of one of them. From behind the girl that he could see, he was able to gather that she was an employee at the salon as she was wearing an all-black uniform similar to the other workers in the salon. Her hair was extravagantly long; even in a ponytail it reached toward her bottom.
The second girl was obviously out of view due to the long haired one. The two were engaged in a heated argument that Alfred cared little for. Why should he care? The one that wasn't employed at the parlor used needlessly foul language that made others in the area squint and shudder. The employee, tried to calm her down, but the other girl simply had had enough and after interjecting that the hair-mistress was a prostitute of some nature, the two separated unscathed physically. (Although Alfred was sure that both would feel some form of emotional damage from such a heated exchange)
Alfred held onto a look of surprised confusion on his face. What was he to do now? Chase after one of them? What would be the point of that? Surely, neither one of the girls had any desire to speak to him now. Surely neither one of the girls had a desire to speak to him before the sissy fight. He turned around to go fish somewhere else in the sea. Kyu wasn't going to have that though.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she hissed through her teeth.
Alfred spoke bluntly, "I'm going to fish somewhere else." He realized after the words had escaped his mouth how stupid his sentence was. He didn't care though; by this point he was feeling demoralized; again.
"Why would you go look somewhere else? This is a golden opportunity! Both of those stupid bitches are mad, and you could easily get one of their phone numbers! Go! Choose one of them!" From behind him, Kyu pushed Alfred forward.
What was the point in resisting a magical fairy that could physically manipulate his actions? Reluctantly, Alfred began to walk after the girl that wasn't an employee at the mall. In his mind, she was the one worth pursuing, as the other girl was still at work, and more than likely had appointments with customers that she had to fill. When Kyu asked why Alfred was going after the other girl, he explained his reasoning. To his surprise, she actually agreed with his points. Maybe he was catching on?
The other girl was about a hundred feet away from Alfred and Kyu. She had begun to go down some escalators to the first floor of the mall. From this distance, Alfred was able to speculate that the girl had bright red hair. The two pursued her quickly, but nonchalantly.
After a quick trip down the moving stairs, the pair struggled to find the girl with the red hair in the crowded mall. Kyu flew slightly to see over the many faces that surrounded them. "Over there!" she exclaimed, pointing toward an exit. "She's heading toward the parking garage," the fairy said as she gently dragged Alfred behind herself.
The young man kept his pace close to the fairy's as he did not want to annoy her further than she currently was. Her voice, while gentle started to sound strained. "Perhaps she is hungry," Alfred thought. That reflection just raised further questions he had on whether or not she actually did eat. She was a living creature, so Alfred came to the conclusion that she more than likely did. (But what she ate was a completely different subject)
Moments later, they found that they were in the parking garage. It was a large concrete expanse that held a draft from the warm September winds outside. To the right, a large opening stood tall as the entrance; and to the left were numerous parking spots both empty and filled that went on for hundreds of feet. The room held an echo for even the smallest of sounds and when he breathed in, Alfred could smell the stench of fresh cigarettes.
He followed his nose along a sidewalk near the wall, and just a couple feet away from where he was stood the girl with the scarlet hair. She was a thin girl in a red and white plaid Lolita dress, and she appeared to be no older than Alfred was. It became clear to him as he approached her that her head was actually comprised of a faded red with hints of other colors such as bright blond teasing at her bangs. Her haircut was made into many layers and the back of her head was a darker crimson that reached down toward her mid back. Decorated on her body were numerous black ribbons and bows that complimented other features of hers such as her white high heels. At her breast, she wore a large bow that was burgundy and black. She didn't look as Alfred had suspected she would, and he wasn't entirely sure if he was attracted to how she looked. But she did look unique. She had a persona that reminded him of a character that one would find inside of an anime.
As Alfred stepped closer and closer toward her, he felt the familiar stinging of fear grip itself around his throat. He swallowed heavily as Kyu sweetly rang in advice on his behalf, "Before you speak to her, I need you to know that confidence is the most important key aspect in this conversation. She's not going to have any of your bitching or bullshit. So remember, be brilliant."
Before Alfred could ask Kyu how she knew what he needed to say or that confidence was important, he was standing right in front of the red haired girl. She was leaning against a wall while texting and smoking; and after noticing the awkward man approaching her, she met eyes with him. Her eyes were that of a crimson red as dark as anything Alfred had ever seen. A passion burned deep inside of them, although Alfred was unsure of what kind of ardor that might be.
"Who the fuck are you?" the girl with the cartoon red hair coldly asked as she breathed out cigarette fumes directly into Alfred's face. Her voice was sharp and shrill and she enunciated very well; she didn't speak in a soft or sweet manner like Kyu at all. This surprised Alfred, as he had hoped that his first encounter with a girl would be with someone more appropriate or ladylike.
The love fairy's words of advice consistently rang deep in the back of his mind. He needed to be confident and brilliant. But how was he going to do that? He didn't know anything about how to properly socialize with a complete stranger. Perhaps if he pretended to be one of the cool guys in a movie he could get out of this situation without being humiliated. The only problem with that scenario was that Alfred's mind had gone into a complete blank and he could not remember any movies with men that would be deemed "cool."
Images of Leonardo DiCaprio's character from James Cameron's film, Titanic, rushed its way into the center of his mind. He felt ridiculous that at his hour of need, his intellect and memory could only conjure up a character from a sappy 90's drama that his mother made him repeatedly watch as a child. But he did remember thinking that the character, Jack, was formidable. What would he have done? Alfred knew immediately.
The young man chose to ignore the rudeness of the red haired brat, and quickly thought of a suave reply to her question. "I'm your smoking buddy," he said the words coolly and without concluding to any sort of consequences. He added, "Can I bum a butt off of you?" and to his surprise, as he held his hand out to the girl, she coyly handed him a single cigarette. "This is actually working!" he excitedly thought to himself while trying to keep a calm demeanor on the outside.
Kyu muttered some curse word of joy and relief. Alfred ignored her as he put the cigarette into his mouth; the girl lit it for him with a silver lighter that she had pulled out of a black leather purse. The small metallic object had a picture of a pink panda bear smoking marijuana on it. He breathed in the menthol smoke. It was a familiar smell and taste. This wasn't his first time smoking, as he had done it plenty of times in the past while at the bar to calm his social anxiety. But he hadn't smoked in a year and he began to feel light headed. The taste was foul and made his tongue feel curdled. Despite his body screaming at him for inhaling literal poison, Alfred kept a straight face.
"I guess I could use a smoking buddy," the girl said while looking at her phone. "But you didn't answer my question," she continued, "who the fuck are you?" She took a small puff off of her cancer stick and looked directly at Alfred. Her voice this time was slightly friendlier as if she was actually curious now; her face was impossible to read for Alfred.
What was she thinking? Did she really care who he was, or was she simply trying to find a way to get rid of him. Alfred came to the conclusion that she couldn't have been trying to get rid of him as she did give him the cigarette after all.
He felt as though her eyes were piercing into his soul. They were such a magnificent rose red. "I'm Alfred," he said bluntly as he held his hand out to shake hers. She took it. Her hands were soft around the edges but felt surprisingly callused. "What's your name?" he awkwardly asked. He had made it this far, but did not know what to say, or how to say it. Small talk was never an advantage for him; but he figured that the basic point of a conversation would be to getting to know simple information about one another.
"It's Audrey," the girl said as she released his hand and looked back down toward her phone. "Why do you look familiar?" she asked in a monotonous tone, her eyes never leaving the small screen. She didn't actually sound curious, but at least she was showing enough interest to ask questions in return.
Alfred was taken aback. Where would Audrey have recognized him from? He had most definitely never seen her before. Could it be from the bar? She looked like the type of girl that would frequent drinking establishments. He turned to Kyu, a look of bewilderment on his face. Kyu shrugged back, equally confused. Some help she was turning out to be.
Audrey began to speak, and the familiar sense of terror and embarrassment struck Alfred once again. "Oh, aren't you that guy that was crying about his balls or something earlier?" she turned her head to him, a huge smile on her face. She breathed out more smoke, this time she breathed it to the side away from the young man's face.
"Fuck" was the only word that Alfred could think of. How humiliating this was! To have his would be courtship remember him only for the public humiliation that he had felt only moments earlier. He wanted to turn around and walk away from the situation, never to see Audrey again, but Kyu's words of encouragement continued to play in an endless loop at the back of his mind. "I need to be brilliant," he told himself. But being brilliant would require copious amounts of actual experience in a social environment. Alfred did not have this; and he knewthat he did not have this.
It had only been a second, but it felt as though he stood there for an hour: dumbstruck and confounded. Kyu gestured toward Audrey in a clear sign to have Alfred say something. Whilst staring at the pink haired pixie he spoke out calmly, "Yeah, my magical love fairy that follows me around kicked me in the balls because I insulted her."
Before Alfred had a moment to think about what he had said, he heard Audrey snort and cough.
She was laughing!
Relief flooded into his mind. His simple truth must have caught the girl off guard because she laughed for a decent amount of time. Alfred was unsure what to do, and so he simply smoked his cigarette while leaning up against the wall. Is that what Leonardo DiCaprio would have done? He noticed Audrey was looking at him and smiling.
She leaned in slightly toward him, "Are you tripping?" she asked quietly. She seemed genuinely curious this time.
Kyu's eyes widened. "Say yes!" she exclaimed in her high pitched voice.
Say yes to using drugs when he was clearly sober? What a ridiculous thing to consider. Was Kyu on acid? Why would she advise him to agree to that? Alfred did not feel high, save for the small buzz that he had received from the cigarette. (But that had mostly worn off) He did not look high either; his pupils were hardly dilated and his speech was intact.
He didn't understand why Kyu would want him to agree to being intoxicated, but he knew that she was the love fairy, and that he was the human that was very much in need of some help. He put his trust into Kyu, as she was the one that had gotten him this far.
"I might be," he said with a small smile. Kyu gently pushed him closer to the girl so that he was leaning in close to her in a manner similar to what she was doing to him. He was now just inches away from her face.
"Would you be impressed if I was?" He asked as he felt a warm tingling sensation hug itself throughout his bosom. Was this what flirting felt like?
Audrey seemed pleased with his answer as her smile had grown. "Fuck yes!" she exclaimed. She sounded relieved; "I was hoping that you would be cool." She began to rummage through her little black purse; after a brief moment she pulled out a pen and paper.
Alfred smiled on the inside; he had seen enough movies to know where this was going. Kyu did a small dance of joy off to the side. As Audrey finished writing down on the paper, a black Camaro drove up to side of the curb and parked next to them. Was this her ride? She was leaving?
She gave the paper to the man, "That's my phone number," she began as she walked toward the car. "Text me if you want to get high, or something later." She opened the car door, "I don't normally give my number out, but you are cute; and if you're my new smoking buddy then we might as well smoke something good." She playfully waved goodbye to him, and shut the door to the car.
Alfred squinted his eyes together to try and get a better look at who was driving the vehicle, but the windows were dim and the automobile sped off quickly leaving behind a thin trail of smoke. Kyu and the young hermit were left alone. He tossed the half smoked cigarette onto the ground now that the girl had left. He pressed his foot onto the butt to put it out; he didn't like smoking anymore, and had taken it only as a socializing gesture.
The fairy finished her silly dancing and playfully punched Alfred on the shoulder. "Look at Mr. Cupid over here!" she joked.
The two laughed together. Alfred felt tremendous. Was it really that simple to get a girl's phone number? He felt as if he had been raving about nonexistent problems. He smiled to himself. Maybe he could get used to talking to people.
"Does he really exist?" Alfred asked with a grin still on his face. He had legitimately always been curious to whether there was any truth behind the Roman legends of gods and goddesses.
"Does who exist? Cupid?" Kyu replied with a snort. "Absolutely," her smile quickly turned into a frown. "But he's a fat piece of shit and I hate him."
"Interesting," Alfred thought to himself. That seemed like a topic worthy of pursuit: Kyu's hatred toward an old mythological being. He wanted to question the fairy further about an ancient deity, but she was quick to change the topic back to the subject at hand.
"Let's not talk about old gods. Let's talk about how you just got a girl's phone number!" she winked at him. "You totally have to call her!" She took his hand and shook it excitedly like a child would to their mother when begging for candy at the store.
Alfred wanted to call Audrey. The thought of hanging out with a girl had seemed impossible just this morning. But now he was here, with a phone number to a complete stranger. And yet, he felt nothing but hesitation toward calling her.
Thoughts: Despite some struggles in my personal life, I am pleased with how most of this chapter turned out. I look forward to hearing feedback from all of you. Leave reviews, as they help immensely!
Until next time,
TFP
