DISCLAIMER: The song lyrics you have been noticing are the property of the artists, not me, unless I inform you otherwise. Thank you.
A/N (DrIce says): So far from my heart and Stuck on repeat are MINE! I wrote them and I'm very proud of them.
We now continue our random battle, already in progress...
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Snow had crept up to the creature, poked it once tentatively, and then bashed it to the ground with his shield. Lying on the ground after the vicious assault, the creature faded into a round shadow again and dispersed.
Now where'd it go? Did I kill it? Snow thought to himself nervously as he looked around, waiting for another creature to pop out of the ground. "It looked like it just, dissipated, didn't it? Like a shadow..."
"Blehh." said Lina, looking at the spot where it had been. "Those eyes are freaky."
Snow nodded, slightly out of breath. "Yeah, definitely. Like predator's eyes. Lion or something…just really scary."
"Not even a lion. Lions have personalities and souls. That thing looked like it ate souls." She shuddered, thinking of what would have happened to Snow if she hadn't come.
Snow shivered with sympathy. "I hope I can protect us until you're more comfortable with your magic…"
Suddenly, Snow's backpack burst to life again with a song from his library:
"No! I won't let them take you, won't let them take you! Hell no, no, noooo I won't let them take you…"
It was as if the music player had stolen the thoughts right from Snow's head. He had been thinking something very similar. His entire face turned fire engine red, as he fumbled with the switch to try and turn off the music. After a while, it stopped on its own, without his help.
He looked sheepishly to Lina, still blushing. "It does that...ever since this morning"
"Cool. I think I would go crazy if I couldn't hear music. I like the song, too. Say Anything, right?" said Lina, looking down a bit with her ears turning red, noting the interesting song "choice" of the backpack.
"Yep, Alive with the Glory…" he said smiling, happy that she liked his music. " I just put that on yesterday, when we had electricity."
Snow reached into his backpack and brought out a bag of Pretzelz, his favorite snack. He ate a few and offered them to Lina saying, "Those soulless, heartless things…They're not from around here, are they? GOSH! Why doesn't anything make sense anymore?"
"Oooo-haven't had these in a while, thanks." Lina said, taking a few Pretzelz. "I just don't know either."
They then ate in silence for a moment, not really wanting to consider why the music player had delivered that particular message.
Trying to break the silence, but struggling to overcome the pounding of his heart, Snow said simply, "So…do we keep moving on?" shoving the leftover Pretzelz back into his backpack.
Still munching on the last of her snack Lina replied, "You're still playing leader, and it's not like I have a better idea. This whole 'no one else around' thing is spooking me. I mean, where did they all go?"
"You know what I think? I think-" Snow was cut off by another interruption from his music player:
"You're beautiful…You're beautiful…It's true!"
Fighting the lump in his throat, he tried to remember what he was going to say. Of course, the song lyrics perfectly matched what he was thinking...but he wanted to finish his sentence.
"N-never mind; let's just keep going to the school I guess."
A bit taken aback and puzzled by this latest musical outburst, Lina replied "You probably know best. I was sent to you…Somehow…"
Nodding sheepishly and almost recovered from blushing again, Snow picked up his backpack to continue on their journey. He must have forgotten to zipper it closed because the contents spilled out behind him all over the dusty sidewalk in front of Lina.
Before Snow even had a chance to react, Lina stooped next to the bag saying, "Oh man, let me help you pick all that up."
To herself, she thought: All sorts of papers and stuff? Hmmm what's this? She picked up a black spiral notebook and hid it behind her back so Snow wouldn't see it. This looks interesting…
"Thanks a lot; I forgot I brought all this junk with me. Mostly clothes and food…" Snow trailed off as he put his backpack over his shoulder, picked up his shield and said "Let's get walking now. I don't want to stay in one place too long in case the shadows come back"
"Sure" Lina said, not really paying attention to Snow. She was busy studying the notebook, which had a stylized drawing of a heart with a band-aid on it. She walked a bit behind Snow, opened the notebook, and began to read.
Looks like poetry or songs or something. Favorites? Or ones he wrote? Lina wondered, turning page after page. Each was completely filled with long poems, mostly about love and loss. One in particular caught her eye:
So Far from My HEART:
(Whispered): I don't know why I write these songs for you, cuz you'll probably never hear them...
You're so near in my eyes
but so far from my Heart
You're so, so far
I don't know where to start
I try to speak up by my words must get drowned out
I really miss you
I miss you too much
I'm just longing for some kind
of sweet human touch
I don't know where you all learned this stuff
just tryin' to follow is way too tough for me
my best isn't nearly good enough,
I never really know what to say to you
Something must have gone wrong,
when I was growing up,
I never learned what's what,
I missed so much
and its all from the pain I had
you'll never understand...
I really miss you
I miss you too much
I'm just longing for some kind
of sweet human touch
You're still so far
but they say "So far, so good",
and I if knew what to say
would I, could I, or should
I still say it?
Here's some more facts I really need to know,
they're gonna to crush my fake reality
is your heart even free?
Am I just a lost cause?
Does your very soul quake
like mine does for you,
when I hear your name?
Or see your beautiful face?
Are you sitting at home,
Just like me-- shaking inside,
not knowing what to do
like when I'm thinking of you?
When she finished reading, she was amazed at how much it affected her. My gosh, he's amazing! I should ask him who it's about. As the thought crossed her mind, she noticed some fancy calligraphy at the bottom of the page. She struggled to read it for a minute, before realizing that it spelled out her name!
"No way!" Lina exclaimed, not realizing she said it out loud. She started to turn red again, both embarrassed and extremely flattered to think that anyone would write something so beautiful for her. She wasnt sure what to think.
Snow whirled around to see what was wrong, and he spotted the black notebook open in Lina's hands, and Lina turning cherry red.
"Oh, man…Oh man, oh man. You weren't supposed to read those!" Olly Snow's legs seemed to give out beneath him and he fell to his knees on the sidewalk, head staring down defeatedly at the ground in front of him. Tears fell slowly from his face and pooled on the ground in front of him as he was wracked with sobs. "So now you know just how crazy I really am. Go ahead. Call me a freak or a stalker, or whatever. I probably deserve it, but just give me back the notebook and don't read any more. I poured out my heart into those, and no one was supposed to know!"
Keeping his head down, he thrusts up one hand to take back the notebook, but Lina didnt give it up just yet. She danced away and turned the page to read more:
Stuck on Repeat
My music won't play loud enough
To completely drown you out
You're ringin in my head
The sound from a blown out amplifier
Like everything you've said
-
I can't hear anyone but you
So keep singin for me please
You're the background music,
The chorus that keeps me alive!
-
Now I'm stuck on repeat
Spinning the track of my life
Over and over again
I wanna hit fast-forward,
So I can be with you.
That, or some time on re-wind,
To bring all my chances back again...
Closing the notebook, she called softly to him, "Olly…Olly Snow…"
Snow still refused to look up from the ground, so Lina lightly placed his notebook back in his hand. She then gently tilted his head up with her hand, so he would look her in the eyes again and get up.
What happens now? Snow thought to himself as he stood up clutching the notebook to his chest and wiping a single tear from his eye, face to face and very close to Lina...
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Co-authored by Ms. Lovett and DrIce