He had poured his heart and soul into it, his entire being, until he had nothing left to give...and when he had presented his humble offering, she had consequently ripped out his heart and stomped on it. And yet he still continued to burn for her. His Cecily, his love, his light, his...not his. Never would be. Never could be. Beneath her.
He tried to hold back the tears, he really did. He knew he shouldn't cry, he'd heard what they all whispered behind his back, and more often than not, said to his face. He'd heard the names they called him. William the "bloody awful" poet, the appellation that had somehow followed him across the Atlantic when he and his mother had moved four years ago...crybaby, wimp, wuss, nerd...
She was supposed to understand, make it right. The poem he had written expressing his feelings for her had taken months to perfect, to polish and shine until it was anywhere near suitable for such an exquisite being. It was meant to touch her soul, to show the depth of his feelings, his love for her. It was supposed...
She wasn't supposed to laugh at him, to utter that final and utter rejection. Beneath...
He had turned and fled. Out of the lunchroom and down the hall, he ran as fast as he could, fighting the tears that threatened to escape. They mustn't see him cry. He wouldn't give them that satisfaction. He paid no attention to where he ran, as long as it got him far away from Cecily and her disdain, and all those curious, mocking stares in the lunchroom...
His legs finally began to tire and he slowed down. And then realized with a small jolt that he was in the part of town his mother had repeatedly told him to stay out of. And he was also now missing his last class of the day; he would most likely face some sort of in-school suspension for having skipped class. Not to mention the fact that the teasing he normally endured would be bumped up a few notches--or ten, once everyone heard about what had transpired in the lunchroom. A solitary tear slid down his cheek.
Silently William prayed for something, anything to end his misery. For the earth to split open and swallow him whole, for a fortuitiously placed bolt of lightning...a shooting star, that was it. Much more romantic and just as effective. Perhaps Cecily would feel for him then, in light of his unfortunate demise...No, she'd most likely dance on his grave, the bitch. Sighing, trying to focus his mind on anything but the painful subject of his lost love, (never really yours, his mind whispered cruelly) he looked about trying to get a better idea as to exactly where he had run off to...
Lost. In the bad part of town, he was lost. In a nasty, dank little alley. And the sunlight was slowly fading. He half-sat, half-fell onto a nearby crate, absent-mindedly hoping that it wasn't too horribly dirty. And there he finally broke down, sobbing for all he was worth.
It took him a while to realize that the sun had finally completed its descent, and the sky had been dark for quite some time. The alley was even darker now, if that was possible. There was a streetlamp nearby, but its weak light barely reached the edges of the darkness that had enveloped William. He shivered unconciously, trying to rid himself of the unpleasant feeling that was settling in the pit of his stomach. He hated the dark. He hated being lost. Just as tears threatened to fall, he heard the most beautiful sound in the world. And it was calling to him. He sniffed, hastily drying his eyes with the back of his hand.
"See how he cries, our poor, broken boy. Doesn't even see the gift before him, watching, waiting..."
William's eyes wandered, searching for the voice's source. And there she stood, at mouth of the alley. William's eyes met hers, and he was forever lost. A dark angel, a black goddess...and there she stood, watching him. Only him.
She redefined beauty; she was unlike anyone or anything he had ever seen in the nearly sixteen years he had been alive. Jet-black hair, the palest skin, blood red lips and nails...Eyes you could spend an eternity lost in. And William suddenly found himself wishing he had that eternity to spend, right that second. It was overwhelming. A woman more beautiful than words could ever hope to describe, with the low, sultry voice of a wicked angel...and she was looking at him like she wanted nothing more than to swallow him whole.
William paled, then adjusted his glasses, hoping the familiar movement would calm his nerves. It didn't. And the strange woman was coming closer...He jerked backwards, almost tumbling off the crate he sat on. He caught himself and quickly stood, all the while slowly backing away. He wanted nothing more than to know this black beauty better(oh, just to know her name, the poet within him cried out), but deep down he knew that he could never deserve such an honor. He never could, never would deserve her, he was beneath...
He was quite sure that this was exactly the sort of woman his mother had been warning him about when she mentioned this part of town. A siren, that's what this beautiful stranger was. Alluring and dangerous, leading men to their deaths. But he refused to let himself be taken, regardless of how beautiful, exotic, and deliciously tempting she was.
"Stay right where you are, m-mother's warned me against women like you." Silently he berated himself for stuttering. Great way to make a firm statement, he thought bitterly. That'll definitely be enough to get her to leave you alone.
Completely ignoring him, she drew even closer, smiling. He tried again. "Look, I...I don't have anything you could possibly want...Not even money, look, I left my wallet back at school, must've dropped it when--"
"Don't need money. Your wealth lies here," she pointed to his heart, "and here," she indicated his head with an upward sweep of her index finger. "Spirit, and imagination. You walk in worlds that others can't begin to imagine."
William was momentarily stunned by this declaration. How was it that Cecily, who had been the love and light of his life for the last 4 years didn't understand him at all, had no idea what William was really like, and this strange woman had summed up his entire existence in two short sentences? Entranced, he found himself agreeing with her.
"Yes! That's exactly..."What on earth was he saying? Agreeing with her? What happened to trying to escape? "I-I need to go home, I should've been home hours ago, mum'll be worried..." He gasped aloud as she closed the distance between them, lifting her hand to place it gently against his chest.
"I see what you want," she purred seductively. "Something glowing and," she deftly popped open the top two buttons of his shirt and snaked her hand inside, gently caressing him, "glistening. Something..." She looked directly into his eyes and her wandering hand crept lower...William's eyes widened in shock, wondering just how low she was planning on letting that hand of hers go..."Effulgent."
Effulgent? "Effulgent," he breathed reverently. Just when he thought she couldn't be any more perfect... And good Lord, what was her hand doing there? Her hand had slipped low enough so that she could cup him through his trousers, and she gave him a slight squeeze, elicititing a low, almost inaudible moan from William.
"Do you want it?" Her steady gaze cut straight to his soul, and he was helpless under it. In a singular moment of clarity, he came to the realization that he had never wanted anything more in his life. Dry-mouthed and weak-kneed, he made the declaration that would forever change his life.