Taking a sip of her orange juice, Bronwen moved her hand in continuous slow motions up and down a sheet of paper. A stripped black and white patterned skirt on a thin model adorned the pad of paper that lay before her. Line after line, the skirt slowly started to fill with more lines until it finally took on an elegant bell shape. Staring down at her random sketch, Bronwen smiled. Maybe she should have become a designer instead of the school nerd. The phone rang. Pause. Another ring. The answering machine beeped on, and Browen, flipping her raven hair over her shoulder, strained her ears to hear the message…not that she was interested in it.
The voice of a woman, a pretty woman, probably a mezzo soprano from the intonation of her voice began to speak. "Hey Johnny! It's Claudia. I'm calling about Friday night. I found time in my busy, busy schedule, and I thought that maybe we could go out for a couple of shots. My phone number is 4-" Picking the phone up, Bronwen gently placed it back on its cradle, cutting the line. Why she was overtaken with such cruelty at the moment, she knew not, but lately, Johnny knew exactly how to rub her in the wrong way. From bragging about his exotic dates to which one he was probably going to bed, that man honestly did not know when to keep his mouth shut. The worst, is that they always ended up calling her phone line thinking it was his. Was this somehow part of his evil scheme to torture her pure and innocent heart?
Johnny chose that exact moment to walk into the kitchen, opening the fridge door in search of the milk carton.
"We're out." Bronwen mumbled from her perch near the kitchen counter. Smiling innocently, he sauntered over to her, and took possession of her glass of milk. "You're welcome."
"Anyone call for me?" he asked, now rummaging for cereal. Bronwen shrugged innocently. "'Cause I'm expecting a really important call from my agent."
"An agent?" she smiled sarcastically, raising an amused eyebrow.
"Well, more like the divorce lawyer, an old buddy of mine. We always get together once a month for a guys night out."
"Uh huh. You're guy friend wouldn't be called Claudia, would he?"
"Claudia? She called for me!" smug happiness crossing his facial features. How could she lie to that?
"Ya… something about her schedule being really busy and that a date with you seemed close to impossible. So basically to try her again in three months. Unfortunately, she did not leave her phone number, the tape in the answering machine ran out. You know Reed, he refuses to buy the more innovative ones and prefers to stick the with old one we inherited from our parents."
"Darn! Oh well, maybe next time when she calls…so what are you doing today angel cake?"
"Taking part in Reed's research again. You?"
"Same."
"One more thing before I leave you to your fibber. I would greatly appreciate it if you would cease using the pet names."
"No problem love."
"Johnny."
"Yes love?"
"Nevermind." She sighed, walking out of the kitchen. How nice it felt to have someone call her that. How…right it seemed. Perhaps he was sincere…no, not Johnny. This Claudia was a problem, or at least an impending one.
Walking into the 'lab', which pretty much consisted of the entire family room as well as entrance of the apartment, Bronwen made her way over to a chair. Peering down curiously at a bunch of papers, she blinked in total shock at what they depicted: Ben's interiors completely solid, Reed showing an incredible elasticity, Sue's were simply…strange, that was one way of putting it. All she understood was that it had to do with force fields. Sometimes Reed should pay more attention to the cleanliness of his writing, if not, how would he expect a curious creature such as she to be able to read them? Then there was Johnny. Super Nova. Her heart pounded deep in her chest. That would explain his personality, hot head, spontaneous, dare devil, vain, flirtatious… gorgeous. Shaking her head, she peered about the room for Reed only to find him behind a computer.
"So, what do you want me to do Reed?"
"If you can just step into that chamber." Bronwen turned to face the direction her brother was pointing in with his elongated arm. A small metallic box. Her blood went cold. She would have to be locked up in there, all alone in a small confined space. Had she ever told anyone of her slight case of claustrophobia?
"Sure." She nodded, her palms growing clammy as she made her way towards the confinement. Lifting her heavy feet, she stepped within the room. Her heart skipped a beat. "Everything will be fine. It'll all be over in a minute. What is a minute, if not sixty seconds?"
"Did you say something?" Reed asked, staring up from behind his PC.
"Nah! Just counting the seconds until I get out of here." She smiled weakly, as the door began to close slowly. Closing with a clang, she shuddered. She was now alone, all alone. Sitting down in a corner she closed her eyes. Cold, everything went cold. A sudden nippy wind. Huddling in her corner, she felt nauseous as the walls began closing in on her. She was going to die here if Reed did not hurry up and let her out soon. Would she die? What would her little boy do without her? Would he become an orphan once again?
"One one thousand, two one thousand…" her breathing became harsher as she felt her lungs being crushed. She would not have an asthma attack, not now! Wait, I don't suffer from asthma! Slowly, Bronwen turned her head into the wall, hoping to find some sort of escape from this hell. Instead, her slightly warm cheek came into contact with rather cold metal. Frost. Ice.
Peering down at her arm, she jumped in fright. Her once porcelain skin was now taking on a bluish tint. Her reflection in the now iced walls that acted more like mirrors than anything else, revealed additional features to this change. Lilac lips, icy blue eyes flashing brightly, pupils slowly disappearing, and her hair…slowly from the roots, her hair was becoming white. Opening her mouth to scream, nothing came out. Her body broke into spasms, and she threw up on the ground. What am I? Some sort of mutated human being? A mutant, kind of like those people from those comic books?
There were voices from the other side of the door, wherever the door was. Due to the ice covered walls, it was practically impossible to tell which was the ceiling and which was the floor. So trying to figure out where the door was, that was something completely different. The voices continued to argue. Bronwen clutched her ears in pain. Everything hurt so much! Why couldn't she just die, and stop suffering. There was an intense light, and one of the walls fell outwards to reveal Ben, Sue, Reed, and Johnny, all wearing immense heavy duty parkas. Grabbing a strand of her hair, she squinted down at it. Black as ebony. Sighing in relief, Bronwen collapsed on the cold floor. Freedom! Johhny put his gloves back on, and scooped her up into his arms. The apartment was a real sight. Snow and ice covered every inch of it. Hell, even Ben was shivering beneath his parka. What was going on? Had she done something wrong? Tightening his grasp, Johnny brought her into his room, closing the door behind them.
"W-what-t is-s g-g-going on-n?" she shuddered violently, as he began to unclothe her. Leaving her in her underwear, he stripped down to his boxers, and climbed into bed with her. Just the feel of his arm against her spread warmth to her limbs. Gently, he rolled on top of her, enveloping her in his arms. The effect was immediate. Her breathing slowed to a regular rhythm, and her skin soon became flushed with warmth. This is how things should be, her mind thought, as he tightened his arms about her. If only this closeness could last forever.
"I was worried you know." His voice whispered into her ear. Opening her eyes, she peered up into his soft eyes. "The door had frozen shut and wouldn't open. I had to melt the joints off, but even Ben couldn't do anything about it. Snow and ice started appearing out of nowhere." Closing his eyes, he opened them again after a few seconds. "We had thought you were a goner." We her mind noted. "Who would I pester if you disappeared out of our lives." Deep inside, she frowned. That was the perfect way to ruin the moment.
"I better get going." She said after an awkward period of silence.
"Why?"
"Why? Because I do not wish to be another trophy on your mantle piece. Sorry." Sitting up, he grabbed her arm.
"What are you talking about Bronny?" His questioning eyes searched her face.
"Let me put it into simple words so that you may better comprehend what I am about to tell you. I will not be one of your many whores that you can call upon whenever a whim takes you."
"Why so hostile towards me? I just save your life."
"Because.
"Because is not an answer, you of all people know that."
"Because you go after all these women, bed them, and that's it. Most of them have the body to super models, how do you expect me to compare? You've been nice to me lately, that I can handle, but to undress me, and lie practically naked next to each other…this is simply not right."
"I was keeping you warm, and I just save you life-"
"-and I thank you for it, but this closeness between us when in the meantime you're running after other women, I cannot stand that."
"You're self-centred."
"I beg your pardon?"
"You assume that the world revolves around you. You think that me being nice to you means that I have deeper motives from the heart. Well, I don't. I am just in a good mood lately, and if I'm going to be living with you for a while, I thought I might as well become friends with her." Bronwen stared down at him. He didn't love her, he just wanted to be nice so that she wouldn't hate him. He didn't love her. Slipping out of bed, Bronwen put her jeans back on as well as her wine red turtle neck. She then exited the room, and made a mad dash out of the apartment. She wanted to die. Running till her legs collapsed, she ended up at the docks. Sitting down on a bench, she cried until her soul could shed no more tears.