A/N: That was unbelievably fast, wasn't it? Hehe just kidding. Well I did a little research and I found a play that works amazingly with the overall darkness of this story. So enjoy! :D Oh and I made a trailer for this story and put it on YouTube. It took me quite a long time to do so I hope you like it! Here's the link: /watch?vu17DYz27IU
Plzz tell me what you think of it. The link will also be on my page.
Chapter 26
Sweeney and I took our seats in the balcony. I felt like royalty to be able to afford this sort of thing. I was even more excited now than I was before, considering the play that we were going to see. It was called Dracula. I'd read the novel three times and I was thrilled that I was finally getting to see it.
I fidgeted anxiously as I waited for the curtain to rise. I toyed with my newly bought spectator glasses, twirling them around by the arm. I stole a glance at Sweeney who was sitting perfectly still, staring straight ahead. His thoughts were obviously elsewhere. I sighed. He looked rather dapper this evening with a tie instead of the usual neck rag, he wore his black jacket with matching black pants.
He didn't notice me staring at him which made me a little upset. Evidently whatever it was he was thinking about was more important than me. Sure I was used to this sort of treatment while the Judge was alive but now he wasn't the focus of Sweeney's thoughts anymore. I was dying to know what had his thoughts so consumed.
"What are ya thinkin' about, love?" I asked him, touching his hand lightly.
He jolted slightly as if he had been woken from a dream and looked over at me. "Nothing," he answered after a moment and looked away.
"Don't lie to me," I said, leaning towards him, "I know ya were broodin' over somethin'. Now tell me what it is."
I heard him give a low growl of irritation but I held my ground, giving him a stern look. His brows pulled together in concentration and he averted his eyes to the floor. "Nothing," he repeated, "Just wondering, is all…"
"Wondering what?" I asked him but then something else caught my attention. My eyes widened in disbelief and my face fell in shock.
Sweeney followed my line of vision and I felt his body tense next to mine. Mathew was on the other side of the theatre, in the opposite balcony. Not even considering what might happen, I moved to get up. Sweeney grabbed my arm and held me to my seat firmly.
"Let me go", I hissed through my teeth, giving him my best death stare.
"Are you insane?" he asked, trying to keep his voice low so the other people around us wouldn't hear our hushed argument, "You can't just walk over and kill him in public!"
I let out a low whimper of defeat for I knew he was right. There were times where I'd reminded him that before. He lifted my chin so that I was looking straight into his eyes which were painfully serious.
"I'm letting go of you now," he warned me, "Don't you dare go over there."
I nodded slowly and he released his grip on my arm. I rubbed the red spot he'd left there, uttering curses under my breath. Suddenly, all the talking around us stopped and the curtain rose. I was agravated and tense now about being in the same room with the man that I had wanted to kill for so long, so much so that I couldn't even pay attention to what was going on in the play, which made me even more agravated.
ST
I tried to enjoy the play but my brain was too busy wrapping itself around the idea that my sworn enemy was in the same room as I but I could do nothing about it. I caught a few lines of the play here and there and understood most of what was going on, having of course read the book. An eternity later, I heard the sound of applause so I began to clap as well, watching the curtain touch the stage once again.
After everyone had taken their bows, we began to file out of the theatre. Sweeney made a point of keeping his arm tightly linked with mine. Even though I was desperately searching the crowd, I still enjoyed the gesture. I looked around for Mathew's neatly slicked back hair but there were so many heads out there that resembled his. I growled involuntarily and Sweeney nudged me a bit.
"Hypocrite," I hissed at him.
"Fine," he said abruptly, pulling his arm away from mine, "Go and kill him. See what happens. I can gurantee you I won't be there to share the stand at the gallows."
I gasped at him, feeling a mixture of sadness and anger. At the moment, the anger was winning out. With no consideration, I pushed him roughly though he hardly budged.
"Go ahead then! Go!" I yelled at him.
His face held no emotion as he stared back at me as if I hadn't said anything hurtful at all. Then he turned to leave, disappearing quickly into the crowd. It was then I understood the gradure of what I had done. I called for Sweeney to come back but he was already gone. A panicky feeling pierced my stomach as I began to breathe more rapidly, trying in vain to see over the swarm of people.
With Sweeney gone, I had no control. If I found Mathew, what would happen? I could imagine myself killing him in the street and being caught in the act. Then I would be hung, no doubt, by order of the new Judge, whoever it was that had stepped up to the position. I would hang alone and miserable, thinking "Oh if I had only listened to Sweeney, none of this would be happening." Then I began to feel guilty for what I had said and how I had acted before. He had asked me out on this date to forget about everything, to be happy, to just be with him. I had messed it all up.
Finally I made it to the door and pushed it open, squeezing out between a heavy man and an extravigantly dressed woman. I felt the chilly London air on my face and hugged my black shawl tightly around me. I looked around frantically for Sweeney but I couldn't see him anywhere. I wasn't particularly worried about finding Mathew now, just appologizing to Sweeney, assuring him I wouldn't do anything stupid. Sure, it had hurt me when he said what he said but I knew deep inside that he was right. He was absolutely right.
I began to walk swiftly in the direction I hoped was Fleet Street. I was never great at directions, especially not at nighttime. Naturally, I was a bit aprehensive about being alone in London at night but I told myself this was silly and I had a deadly weapon with me at all times anyway. I had to reassure myself this over and over, trying not to glance around to much.
Soon there was no one else on the street with me and I wondered if I was walking the right way. Everything looked so dark and deserted, so unnaturally silent. I swallowed hard and picked up my pace, hearing the heels of my boots reverberate on the cobblestones and the occasional gust of freezing wind. Suddenly I felt strong hands grip grip both my upper arms and pull me into a dark alleyway. I let out a blood curtling scream and a hand clamped down on my mouth. I squeezed my eyes shut, too scared to open them.
"SHH! It's me!" Sweeney said to me in a hushed voice.
I opened my eyes immediately, blinking at him as my body absorbed the amount of relief that was washing over him. My muscles relaxed and he took his hand away from my mouth and let go of my arm. I was still breathing heavily, with my hand over my chest.
"What'r ya doin' out 'ere?!" I asked him in a sort of whisper-scream.
"You didn't think I'd really leave you here to kill him, did you?" he asked, his dark eyes revealing honesty.
After a moment of calming my nerves, I remembered why I was looking for him in the first place and threw my arms around him. He jumped at the sudden contact, obviously not understanding why he deserved a hug after scaring the living crap out of me.
"I'm so sorry," I appologized, leaning up to kiss his lips, face, neck, anywhere I could reach at the moment, "You were right. I've been a complete arse! I shoulda listened to ya in the first place, love!"
"You're not mad?" he asked, though his voice was muffled by my rapid kisses.
"O' course not," I answered between kisses, "I mean that was a pretty dick thing to say but I understand. I forgive ya. And I wanna walk home with ya, just me and you and talk of nothin' but us or nothin' at all if ya prefer that. I don't care, I just wanna make it up to ya."
"Fine," he said, trying to pry me, unsuccesfully from him.
"Thankya, love", I said, leaping up and wrapping my legs around his hips, nuzzling my face into his neck. He quickly put his arms around me so we wouldn't topple over.
"If you forgive me so much," he said, blowing my hair out of the way so he could speak, "Can you get down?"
"Oh, sorry," I said and hopped down, quickly lacing my fingers with his. And with that, we walked home, silently by his decision.
A/N: YAY! I did it! I kept you waiting a whole 'nother chapter! LOL, srry bout that. Review plzz and don't forget to check out my trailer and comment!