Chapter 3: What Happens In The Shed Stays In The Shed
Note: Hey guys! Sorry for the late update! But here's the next chapter!
"Gross Elizabeta, I don't want to hear how you 'professionally' dissected a frog!"
Alfred complained as the four teenagers walked down the hallway towards the exit of the school. The brunet giggled as she held her Biology textbooks closer to her chest,
"I'm sorry Alfred, but I just absolutely love my biology class!"
"You're just trying to gross me out. Seriously, I had that big burger for lunch and I don't want to throw it all up."
Roderick agreed with the American,
"Alfred is right, Elizabeta. Nobody wants to hear how you cut open dead animals."
Alfred added,
"It makes you sound like those serial killers. You know that they dissect animals at first but later move on to killing people, right?"
Elizabeta raised her eyebrows,
"How do you know about that?"
Roderick smirked,
"Please, all Alfred does on his laptop is watch scary documentaries about serial killers and conspiracy theories. Alfred, how on earth can you bring yourself to sleep at night after watching those videos?"
The dirty blonde boy shrugged,
"I just find it interesting."
The older boy rolled his eyes and sarcastically commented,
"Perfect! I am dating a girl who likes to dissect dead animals and my close friend is obsessed with serial killers! It is only a matter of time before I mysteriously disappear. What about you Yao? Do you also have some sick hobbies?"
For the rest of the school day the new transfer student had remained quiet even when Alfred invited him over to hang out with his friends. He stammered,
"Uh…um…I don't think so?"
"Thank goodness! I'm not the only sane person!"
Elizabeta and Alfred chuckled as the group of friends made their way towards the exit of the school. Little did they know a short boy looked at them with envy from the shadows…
"Oh Mon Dieu!"
Francis Bonnefoy shouted to himself as he hastily opened up him grey umbrella. The rain was pouring mercilessly outside the high school. Lighting and thunder crackled above the little town.
"It just had to rain today…"
The French boy muttered while noticing how quickly he was getting soaked despite having an umbrella. He might as well not use his umbrella at all. As the boy walked down the small sidewalk he noticed a short figure rummaging in a nearby bush. Curiously, Francis made his way towards the boy. He was planning on just taking a peak on what the person was doing before moving on-it was none of his business after all-until he realized it was none other than Arthur. Holding his umbrella over the other boy Francis spoke,
"And what exactly are you doing in the bushes?"
Arthur slightly jumped in his kneeling position. Turning around quickly he cursed,
"Don't sneak up on me like that!"
Francis held back a laugh,
"I just could not help myself. What are you doing? Spying on someone?"
"N…no!"
The blonde handsome boy noticed Arthur's stutter. His grin widened,
"Aw, come on! You wouldn't hide anything from your best friend now would you?"
The Brit rolled his eyes as he showed a small little bird to his friend. Francis's eyes widened-the baby bird had a broken wing and was chirping weakly. The creature was tiny with a nice shade of yellow and brown. The other boy frowned,
"Oh dear! What are you going to do?"
"Obviously I am going to take it home with me."
"Hmph."
Arthur raised one of his big eyebrows while holding the bird closer to his chest,
"What?"
"I never really thought you liked animals."
Arthur rolled his green eyes while getting up from the wet grass. His fingers gently ran through the bird's yellow feathers,
"I can assure you that I quite like them."
"I thought you would hate them since they poop all over the place and make a mess. You have always been the neat freak if I remember correctly."
Arthur was walking away from the French boy,
"Well it seems like you don't know me as well as you thought. I have been taking care of animals since I was a small boy."
Francis ran to catch up with Arthur. The two boys did not live that far apart…only about three blocks away. The French boy frowned, trying to remember the moments of their past when Arthur showed an interest to animals. He remembered the first time he saw Arthur, they were both only seven years old. The Brit would be playing near the edge of the playground while everyone else played on the swings and slides. Come to think of it Arthur did seem to be playing with something near the bushes since he was smiling. Francis asked,
"Did you play with animals back when we were young?"
"Yes."
"What kind?"
"Francis-why are you asking me these random things? I just like animals."
"Yes I understand that. I just can't believe I have not noticed that about you until now. We have been friends for so long but…I can't believe I did not notice such a small detail!"
"You are making a big deal out of nothing. So what if I like animals? What are you going to do? Buy me a kitten for my eighteenth birthday?"
"Maybe."
Arthur rolled his eyes once again. Francis frowned, he felt like an idiot. The French boy always had a habit of trying to remember what people liked and disliked. He lived to please those he deemed important to him. And as far as he knew he cared deeply for Arthur. He hated to admit but sometimes he felt a strong urge to be more than friends with him. Arthur was everything to him. He may not believe in himself but he was smart and caring for those he opened up to…which were hardly anyone besides Francis. And Francis secretly obsessed with this little attention. Francis carried on,
"What's your favorite animal?"
"I'm not telling."
"Why not?"
"Because you'll laugh and then tell the whole school about it."
Francis chuckled,
"Oh please, you'd love the attention…it's always been about you."
He whispered the last part to himself. Arthur thought for a moment before answering quietly,
"Rabbits. I like rabbits."
Arthur turned to look at Francis with his green orbs and noticed the other boy was giving him a sneer.
"I guess rabbits fit you. They're fluffy and small-ouch!"
Francis yelped as Arthur trampled on his toe when they arrived in front of his house. Bonnefoy sniffled,
"You can be so heartless you know that?"
Arthur smirked as he started to walk towards the back of his house.
"Hey! Aren't you going inside? You'll catch a cold!"
"Stop trying to babysit me! You've done that already in school! I just need to pick up something."
Arthur shouted in reply through the pouring rain. Smiling happily to himself Francis walked slowly towards his own house. Maybe he could tell his friend about his feelings not too far from now…
Resting the injured bird in one arm Arthur pulled a bronze key attached to a string around his neck. He was standing in front of a green shed a couple of yards from his house. It was almost hidden since it was surrounded with tall trees. Inserting the key into the lock the boy cranked and entered the tiny little shed. Immediately, the smell of rotten flesh entered his nose. Coughing, the boy reached out and pulled a little string in the dark, lighting the place up with a cheap ceiling lamp. Immediately, jars of unknown content can be seen lined up neatly on shelves along the cramped walls. A few spider webs could be seen decorating the corners of the room but the teenage boy did not care. In the middle of the room were a wooden table and a small stool. Everything was organized in a simple and neat manner…just the way he liked it. Closing the door behind him Arthur placed the baby bird on the table while taking a seat on the cold stool. Humming to himself he pulled a drawer to reveal multiple animal skeletons and a few scalpels.
"What should I do with you?"
He asked the tired bird. He rested the sharp edge of the scalpel against the bird's throat and gazed into the bird's eyes. The creature did not dare to move its head and Arthur could feel the bird's heart trembling under his thumb. The creature looked very frightened and was chirping desperately for the boy to let it go…yet Arthur was distracted. The feathers had such a beautiful color and was very soft. In fact, the color of the bird's feathers reminded Arthur so much about Alfred. Humming to himself Arthur held the bird up to his face and rubbed against it. The soft texture of the feathers caressed his red cheeks. Closing his eyes Arthur started to feel a bit sleepy. While the bird continued to tremble the teenage boy began to fantasize about the boy in his English class.
'Just imagine…'
He thought to himself,
'My fingers running through his soft hair. Me resting my cheek on his head…what a wonderful thought!'
His fingers began to tighten as he muttered when an image of another particular boy popped into his head,
"If only that bastard would stay away…"
That new boy was smirking back at him as his hands were stroking Alfred's perfect face. He was mocking him! His brown eyes looking down at him while smiling. It was so unfair! The British boy began to recount Yao's almost perfect features. His pearly white teeth. His slender fingers. His gentle voice. Even the way the new boy walked gave off a sense of mystique and allure to him! It was unfair! It was unfair!
"That bastard!"
The Brit shouted through gritted teeth as he squeezed his fingers more tightly than before.
"That fucking bastard! He thinks he's so bloody perfect with his perfect skin and everything!"
Snap!
"What a fucking joke!"
Opening his eyes Arthur noticed that he had broken the bird's neck. Gasping, Arthur gently spread the bird across the table before him. The bird seemed so small but with its wings stretched out it looked ten times larger. Arthur rested his head only an inch from the bird's dead face while stroking the yellow feathers,
"Oh Alfred…you wouldn't leave me for that loser would you?"
The boy's green orbs stared into the dead creature's beady black eyes. The only thing Arthur could see was his own reflection. His blonde hair was in a messy array and his eyes seemed tired and defeated. Unlike most of the animals he had been collecting he was actually considering on keeping this bird alive since it reminded himself of his crush…but as usual his emotions seemed to have gotten the better of him.
"Oh what am I saying? He's so handsome. He'd easily seduce you. It's so unfair…"
Feeling foolish Arthur stood up and opened a jar filled with black liquid. Plopping the bird right into the jar filled with toxic chemicals he tightly closed the lid shut.
"God I am such an idiot. I guess I'll just take a nap or something…"
He did not feel like himself. Usually he could be working on either skinning a dead/alive animal or taking the bones from the jars but he felt horrible. He wanted to keep that bird…but he killed it. He blamed Yao. If Yao did not move into this town that bird would have been alive. If Yao did not move into this town there would have been a better chance that Alfred would have noticed him! Closing and locking the door behind him Arthur whispered to himself in anguish when he thought about the dead bird,
"God damn it! It had the exact same colors!"