Doo doo doo. Howdy! I'm baa-aack! So by the power invested in me I will
continue writing this fic. . . I am determined to finish it, so do your
part and keep inspiring me by reviewing! //cough//
~*~*~*~*~*
Response to reviews:
AllNightDreamer: Yup, I had to go on holiday, but never fear! I'm back now! I agree with you, my chapters should be longer, but I have Lazy Writer Syndrome. Watch out! It's contagious. But yeah, I'll try to keep my chapters at least over 1000 words.
Kit: Look, I hurried up with the next chapter! Yay! This took me two hours to write, I think, which is quite good going for me. Yay.
Kyrillia: Yup, I know I'm mean, giving you a little teaser then buggering off for eight days. So, to make up for it, you all get cookies! //hands them out//
Tashilover: Don't worry, I have taken pity on the poor schmo-he gets a date this chapter. Hurrah! It's the Goth idea- so everyone who suggested/backed up the idea- well done! Extra cookies for you and feel proud!
Karina of Darkness: Many bad things. And yes, I will be making my characters getting mixed up about who's who. It's gonna be fun. . .
Randomblossom: I do know what those twin-fans are like with those switch blades. . . so I continue to post knowing that if I don't my life is in peril. Now if that's not a motivational factor I don't know what is. ¬_¬ And my ideas? In my brain. My twisted, strange brain. Yessum.
Megami no Inazumi: "boil in my own imagination?" That's a cool image. One I may use in the near future whilst waiting for a fic, drawing or similar. I like to steal things. ^_^
Nissi Nirvani: Mia is a nice girl. Actually, she's the grown-up version of my friend, er, Mia. She pestered me silly into writing her into this fic, (because she's as mad on the Twins as I am) and after baking me cookies and twisting my arm behind my back I said 'okay! You're in the damn fic!' And there you go.
Thank you to everyone else who reviewed the other chapters I haven't responded to! You guys are the greatest!!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Disclaimer: You've read it five times, and it hasn't changed: I don't own the characters from the matrix, otherwise I'd be living it up in my palace made of gold in Europe somewhere. Um.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The thing about life is, that, for the most part, it is a balance. It may not be a fair balance, and it may not be a regular thing, but usually what comes around manages to go around. So, what goes up must come down. But by saying that, it is fair to conclude that what goes down has got to get higher at some point.
One was down. He had fourteen measly days to find a date. Fourteen days. How was he supposed to find someone and persuade them to go to dinner with him, his Twin and his boss, in fourteen days? The line-up was pretty off putting as it was. Try as he might, he couldn't think of a way around the problem. Each scheme that flew around his head was wilder and more unworkable than the last. He could. . . persuade a hobo, (female, preferably) and tell her she would get a free meal if she went on the date. He could. . . pay for a hooker and ask the girl to play along. He could. . . not turn up to the dinner. Or turn up without a partner. The latter two would undoubtedly cause the most pain. The Menovingian never did cope well with the failure of his cohorts.
Just as everything looked it's worst, just as One started to wander aimlessly around the streets as day turned into night and contemplate about going back to The Source and start over, everything changed, quite suddenly.
It began with a tap on his shoulder.
He wheeled round, spinning lithely on one foot and dropping to a fighting stance, unsure of what was to follow.
All he noticed first was black hair- and lots of it. Then he noticed a face, studded with piercings and plastered in make-up. If you could call it that, anyway. One had seen make-up on the women he had met at various parties as they giggled and clung to the Merovingian's arm. It was delicate, and softly outlined the lips, eyes, or gave a slightly rosy look to the cheeks. But this! It was unlike anything he had seen before. Black screamed around both of the eyes and was painted cruelly over lips. It clashed, One thought, rather horribly with the lightness of the skin, even though it was in no way as pale as his own. The studs embedded in the eyebrow were kind of freaking him out, too. He stared at the girl, who stared back at him. For a while, neither spoke. Then finally, she opened her black mouth, and said:
"Fucking Hell."
It wasn't what One had expected. A 'Hello' maybe, or even 'hand over your wallet' (which would have been very foolish and unfortunate for the Goth- the last person who had tried to rob One had had his wrist snapped in half) but- 'fucking hell'. . . he didn't know what to do with that. Was it a new form of greeting? Should he swear back at her? For the moment he was content to step a few paces back and eye her suspiciously.
"You. . . You're one of them, aren't you? A real one. Fucking hell. . ." She trailed off into obscenities again, and this time One had to respond.
"Err," He said, confused. "One. . . what?"
"A vampire, man. I've never seen a real one before. But I always knew you existed, I've believed in your kind for ages, you know? I was always defending you, and shit. I mean, you're real, aren't you? I always knew."
One decided then and then that whatever came out of this girl's mouth didn't make sense. But then it hit him- vampires. He had seen movies- trashy, old b-movies- that had vampires in. They were creatures that could turn into bats and suck the blood of people, or something. He was pretty sure he wasn't one. So why did she think he was? Ah. Realisation hit him again. The skin. In all of the movies, they had pale skin. Also the fact that he had wheeled round into a fighting stance when she had touched him didn't help his 'completely normal and innocent' image.
She was staring at him, her eyes mixed with awe and admiration.
"Um. . . " One said, not sure of what to say. "You think I'm. . . a vampire?" He didn't know whether to be offended or proud.
"Yeah, course I do." She answered. " I can feel it. It's all this weird sixth-sense shit, isn't it? You just know. . . but seriously. . . I'm. . . honoured! You know I'd do anything for you, right? I mean, you're like my saviour, man. I mean-"
"Wait." One cut in, and to his surprise she shut up completely. "You'd do anything? Seriously?" He had had a brainwave- and it was turning into a plan. . .maybe he might just be able to pull this off. . .
"Fuck me, of course I'd do anything. I fucking worship you, man."
"Really."
"Yes. Totally."
"Then. . ." One sighed. It was now or never. " I don't suppose. . .you'd like to go on a. . . date or something?"
The question hung in the air awkwardly. One held his breath.
"A. . .date?" The Goth clasped her hands to her mouth. She looked shocked. One sighed. He knew she'd say no. He was stupid for even trying. He was- wait. She was smiling. It was a manic, kind of scary smile, but it was there. And she was nodding, which was also a good sign.
"Fucking hell! I mean, you and me?" She was hyperventilating. And her smile was growing wider, if that was possible. "Of course! Fucking hell! Wait. . .this is. . . fucked up. You'd seriously want to go on a date with me? I'm. . .like nothing, compared to you. You're a vampire man, a real fucking vampire!"
One couldn't bare to correct her, she seemed so happy at the thought of him being of blood-sucking nature. As she fanned her face with black-taloned hands, he found himself smiling. She was pretty, in a . . . black sort of way, and he although he was sure The Merovingian wouldn't approve it was nice to have someone be so. . . offensive. She looked young, perhaps too young, but he didn't mind.
"When do you want to. . . y'know? Go out?" The Goth said, breaking his chain of thoughts.
"Oh, anytime." He said, deciding to play it casual. "Whatever's good for you."
"Really?" She seemed a little taken aback. "'Cos there's this new dive just opened up. Real cool. I would really like to go. It's all that underground scene, you know? Totally the shit. Unless. . . you don't want to?" She looked up at him, biting her nail.
One wasn't really listening. He had a date, and one that worshipped him at that. In your pasty face, Two!
"Sure, sure." He said absently. She gave a little squeak of delight.
"It's uh, on Thursday. Is that okay?"
Thursday, One thought. That's two day's time. Perfect.
"Yeah."
She rummaged wildly in her backpack and scribbled down her number.
"Here you go." She sad hurriedly. "Call me, whenever, okay? Please."
One nodded. He turned to leave, putting the paper in his pocket, when she called out to him.
"Hey! Wait! I don't know your name!"
He briefly thought about making one up, but as she thought he was a vampire, a normal, human name wasn't exactly necessary.
"One." He said simply.
"One?" She repeated. There was a pause. Then: "Cool."
He nodded, before turning and leaving her there alone, on the sidewalk, at eleven-twenty at night. It was just when he reached the next corner that he realised he didn't know her name. But he didn't care. He had her number, and more importantly, he had a date. He was going to show that bastard Two who knew more about dating.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Three days was up. That had been the rule. Two hovered over the hotel phone. He should just pick up the receiver and call her. It wasn't hard. Just punch in the numbers and lift the phone to your ear. . .
But something was stopping him, and he didn't know what. For the fifteenth time he folded out the paper which Mia had drunkenly scrawled over and stared at it blankly. It was just a series of numbers that would put him in contact with her. That was all. He lifted the receiver only to plonk it down again. This is bloody hopeless, he thought. He folded up the paper and put it in his pocket.
He sighed. Why was he so. . .apprehensive? It wasn't fear stopping him- Two knew about fear- it was more primal and tense. This was more of a. . . feeling, somewhere in his stomach. Nervousness? Maybe that was it. It was something he had never encountered before, and he didn't like it.
He heard a rap on the door and the scrape of a key. It was One. And about fucking time too- it was getting on for twelve o'clock. As his Twin strode across and sank down on the sofa, Two realised something was different. One was smiling. Two regarded him suspiciously. One hardly ever smiled- and when he did it was usually about the explosions and beatings he had just handed out on various jobs.
"What are you so happy about?" Two asked bluntly.
"Nothing." His Twin said simply.
"Oh, don't you give me that 'Nothing' crap. I know it's something."
"Well, yeah, it is."
"Well what, then?"
". . .Let's just say you're not the only one who can get a date."
There was silence for a while. Two's jaw hung open. One enjoyed the dumbfounded expression on his brother's face- savoured every minute of it. If he had had a camera, he would have probably taken a picture.
"You?" Two said, finally finding his voice, though it was high and riddled with disbelief. "With. . . who? How?"
"Ah, just some girl who couldn't take her eyes off me." One yawned, stretching. "You know, when you've got the gift, you've got the gift."
Two's expression changed suddenly. He scowled.
"I don't believe you." He sneered. " You haven't got any proof."
"I don't need proof. You know it's true."
Damn. He was right. Two always knew when One was lying because he was hopeless at it. And right now, he was telling the truth. Two would have bet two million dollars on it.
One decided to change the subject.
"Have you phoned your girl yet?" He asked innocently, knowing full well that Two hadn't.
"I was. . . just about to." Two said.
"Well, at midnight I would guess she'd be pretty pissed off if you woke her up."
Fuck, Two thought. The bastard was right. Have I really spent two hours by the phone, picking it up and putting it down again?
"How long have you been here?" One asked, reading his thoughts and deciding to grill his sibling a bit more. "Let me guess: One hour? Two? Three?"
". . . Shut up." Two sulked.
"You're not. . .scared are you? Of phoning her?" Teasing, teasing. Oh, it was so fun.
"I said shut up. I'm not scared. And I've only been here an hour." It was a blatant lie, and One picked up on it straight away.
"Liar."
"Okay, so it's two. Are you happy now? I'm. . . just a little freaked out, is all. The only person I've phoned is. . ."
"The boss. I know."
"And, like what am I gonna say? 'Hello, girl I met three days ago, it's that scary guy from The Lounge, d'you wanna meet up tomorrow?"' He spat the words out as if they were rancid.
"Well, yeah." One said, patting his Twin on the shoulder. "Except I wouldn't call yourself 'The Scary Guy'. That would look a little. . .weird."
Two nodded.
"Hey. . ." He said, turning to face One. "I don't suppose, you could do it? I mean, we have the same voice and everything. Right?"
One shrugged. "Sure. But not tonight. Tomorrow. Not so late."
"But I've broken the three-day rule! I've-"
"Forget about the bloody three day rule. It's just a stupid fucking rule from a fucking magazine. Okay?"
Two nodded, though One could tell he wasn't thoroughly convinced.
"Now shut up and go to sleep. Okay? And for God's sake, there's a chocolate mint on your pillow. Don't fucking sleep on it."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ta-daa! There you go. I went for the Goth idea- so to everyone who suggested it: thank you and big hugs! And don't worry, there will be another Goth for added enjoyment. I've just realised something- all my stories seem to have at least one character that swears a lot. Weird. Anyway. I'm back from France now, and I'm on my summer vacation! Yay! To all who read this, you get a muffin. //hands them over//
Love,
~*Eddie*~
~*~*~*~*~*
Response to reviews:
AllNightDreamer: Yup, I had to go on holiday, but never fear! I'm back now! I agree with you, my chapters should be longer, but I have Lazy Writer Syndrome. Watch out! It's contagious. But yeah, I'll try to keep my chapters at least over 1000 words.
Kit: Look, I hurried up with the next chapter! Yay! This took me two hours to write, I think, which is quite good going for me. Yay.
Kyrillia: Yup, I know I'm mean, giving you a little teaser then buggering off for eight days. So, to make up for it, you all get cookies! //hands them out//
Tashilover: Don't worry, I have taken pity on the poor schmo-he gets a date this chapter. Hurrah! It's the Goth idea- so everyone who suggested/backed up the idea- well done! Extra cookies for you and feel proud!
Karina of Darkness: Many bad things. And yes, I will be making my characters getting mixed up about who's who. It's gonna be fun. . .
Randomblossom: I do know what those twin-fans are like with those switch blades. . . so I continue to post knowing that if I don't my life is in peril. Now if that's not a motivational factor I don't know what is. ¬_¬ And my ideas? In my brain. My twisted, strange brain. Yessum.
Megami no Inazumi: "boil in my own imagination?" That's a cool image. One I may use in the near future whilst waiting for a fic, drawing or similar. I like to steal things. ^_^
Nissi Nirvani: Mia is a nice girl. Actually, she's the grown-up version of my friend, er, Mia. She pestered me silly into writing her into this fic, (because she's as mad on the Twins as I am) and after baking me cookies and twisting my arm behind my back I said 'okay! You're in the damn fic!' And there you go.
Thank you to everyone else who reviewed the other chapters I haven't responded to! You guys are the greatest!!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Disclaimer: You've read it five times, and it hasn't changed: I don't own the characters from the matrix, otherwise I'd be living it up in my palace made of gold in Europe somewhere. Um.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The thing about life is, that, for the most part, it is a balance. It may not be a fair balance, and it may not be a regular thing, but usually what comes around manages to go around. So, what goes up must come down. But by saying that, it is fair to conclude that what goes down has got to get higher at some point.
One was down. He had fourteen measly days to find a date. Fourteen days. How was he supposed to find someone and persuade them to go to dinner with him, his Twin and his boss, in fourteen days? The line-up was pretty off putting as it was. Try as he might, he couldn't think of a way around the problem. Each scheme that flew around his head was wilder and more unworkable than the last. He could. . . persuade a hobo, (female, preferably) and tell her she would get a free meal if she went on the date. He could. . . pay for a hooker and ask the girl to play along. He could. . . not turn up to the dinner. Or turn up without a partner. The latter two would undoubtedly cause the most pain. The Menovingian never did cope well with the failure of his cohorts.
Just as everything looked it's worst, just as One started to wander aimlessly around the streets as day turned into night and contemplate about going back to The Source and start over, everything changed, quite suddenly.
It began with a tap on his shoulder.
He wheeled round, spinning lithely on one foot and dropping to a fighting stance, unsure of what was to follow.
All he noticed first was black hair- and lots of it. Then he noticed a face, studded with piercings and plastered in make-up. If you could call it that, anyway. One had seen make-up on the women he had met at various parties as they giggled and clung to the Merovingian's arm. It was delicate, and softly outlined the lips, eyes, or gave a slightly rosy look to the cheeks. But this! It was unlike anything he had seen before. Black screamed around both of the eyes and was painted cruelly over lips. It clashed, One thought, rather horribly with the lightness of the skin, even though it was in no way as pale as his own. The studs embedded in the eyebrow were kind of freaking him out, too. He stared at the girl, who stared back at him. For a while, neither spoke. Then finally, she opened her black mouth, and said:
"Fucking Hell."
It wasn't what One had expected. A 'Hello' maybe, or even 'hand over your wallet' (which would have been very foolish and unfortunate for the Goth- the last person who had tried to rob One had had his wrist snapped in half) but- 'fucking hell'. . . he didn't know what to do with that. Was it a new form of greeting? Should he swear back at her? For the moment he was content to step a few paces back and eye her suspiciously.
"You. . . You're one of them, aren't you? A real one. Fucking hell. . ." She trailed off into obscenities again, and this time One had to respond.
"Err," He said, confused. "One. . . what?"
"A vampire, man. I've never seen a real one before. But I always knew you existed, I've believed in your kind for ages, you know? I was always defending you, and shit. I mean, you're real, aren't you? I always knew."
One decided then and then that whatever came out of this girl's mouth didn't make sense. But then it hit him- vampires. He had seen movies- trashy, old b-movies- that had vampires in. They were creatures that could turn into bats and suck the blood of people, or something. He was pretty sure he wasn't one. So why did she think he was? Ah. Realisation hit him again. The skin. In all of the movies, they had pale skin. Also the fact that he had wheeled round into a fighting stance when she had touched him didn't help his 'completely normal and innocent' image.
She was staring at him, her eyes mixed with awe and admiration.
"Um. . . " One said, not sure of what to say. "You think I'm. . . a vampire?" He didn't know whether to be offended or proud.
"Yeah, course I do." She answered. " I can feel it. It's all this weird sixth-sense shit, isn't it? You just know. . . but seriously. . . I'm. . . honoured! You know I'd do anything for you, right? I mean, you're like my saviour, man. I mean-"
"Wait." One cut in, and to his surprise she shut up completely. "You'd do anything? Seriously?" He had had a brainwave- and it was turning into a plan. . .maybe he might just be able to pull this off. . .
"Fuck me, of course I'd do anything. I fucking worship you, man."
"Really."
"Yes. Totally."
"Then. . ." One sighed. It was now or never. " I don't suppose. . .you'd like to go on a. . . date or something?"
The question hung in the air awkwardly. One held his breath.
"A. . .date?" The Goth clasped her hands to her mouth. She looked shocked. One sighed. He knew she'd say no. He was stupid for even trying. He was- wait. She was smiling. It was a manic, kind of scary smile, but it was there. And she was nodding, which was also a good sign.
"Fucking hell! I mean, you and me?" She was hyperventilating. And her smile was growing wider, if that was possible. "Of course! Fucking hell! Wait. . .this is. . . fucked up. You'd seriously want to go on a date with me? I'm. . .like nothing, compared to you. You're a vampire man, a real fucking vampire!"
One couldn't bare to correct her, she seemed so happy at the thought of him being of blood-sucking nature. As she fanned her face with black-taloned hands, he found himself smiling. She was pretty, in a . . . black sort of way, and he although he was sure The Merovingian wouldn't approve it was nice to have someone be so. . . offensive. She looked young, perhaps too young, but he didn't mind.
"When do you want to. . . y'know? Go out?" The Goth said, breaking his chain of thoughts.
"Oh, anytime." He said, deciding to play it casual. "Whatever's good for you."
"Really?" She seemed a little taken aback. "'Cos there's this new dive just opened up. Real cool. I would really like to go. It's all that underground scene, you know? Totally the shit. Unless. . . you don't want to?" She looked up at him, biting her nail.
One wasn't really listening. He had a date, and one that worshipped him at that. In your pasty face, Two!
"Sure, sure." He said absently. She gave a little squeak of delight.
"It's uh, on Thursday. Is that okay?"
Thursday, One thought. That's two day's time. Perfect.
"Yeah."
She rummaged wildly in her backpack and scribbled down her number.
"Here you go." She sad hurriedly. "Call me, whenever, okay? Please."
One nodded. He turned to leave, putting the paper in his pocket, when she called out to him.
"Hey! Wait! I don't know your name!"
He briefly thought about making one up, but as she thought he was a vampire, a normal, human name wasn't exactly necessary.
"One." He said simply.
"One?" She repeated. There was a pause. Then: "Cool."
He nodded, before turning and leaving her there alone, on the sidewalk, at eleven-twenty at night. It was just when he reached the next corner that he realised he didn't know her name. But he didn't care. He had her number, and more importantly, he had a date. He was going to show that bastard Two who knew more about dating.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Three days was up. That had been the rule. Two hovered over the hotel phone. He should just pick up the receiver and call her. It wasn't hard. Just punch in the numbers and lift the phone to your ear. . .
But something was stopping him, and he didn't know what. For the fifteenth time he folded out the paper which Mia had drunkenly scrawled over and stared at it blankly. It was just a series of numbers that would put him in contact with her. That was all. He lifted the receiver only to plonk it down again. This is bloody hopeless, he thought. He folded up the paper and put it in his pocket.
He sighed. Why was he so. . .apprehensive? It wasn't fear stopping him- Two knew about fear- it was more primal and tense. This was more of a. . . feeling, somewhere in his stomach. Nervousness? Maybe that was it. It was something he had never encountered before, and he didn't like it.
He heard a rap on the door and the scrape of a key. It was One. And about fucking time too- it was getting on for twelve o'clock. As his Twin strode across and sank down on the sofa, Two realised something was different. One was smiling. Two regarded him suspiciously. One hardly ever smiled- and when he did it was usually about the explosions and beatings he had just handed out on various jobs.
"What are you so happy about?" Two asked bluntly.
"Nothing." His Twin said simply.
"Oh, don't you give me that 'Nothing' crap. I know it's something."
"Well, yeah, it is."
"Well what, then?"
". . .Let's just say you're not the only one who can get a date."
There was silence for a while. Two's jaw hung open. One enjoyed the dumbfounded expression on his brother's face- savoured every minute of it. If he had had a camera, he would have probably taken a picture.
"You?" Two said, finally finding his voice, though it was high and riddled with disbelief. "With. . . who? How?"
"Ah, just some girl who couldn't take her eyes off me." One yawned, stretching. "You know, when you've got the gift, you've got the gift."
Two's expression changed suddenly. He scowled.
"I don't believe you." He sneered. " You haven't got any proof."
"I don't need proof. You know it's true."
Damn. He was right. Two always knew when One was lying because he was hopeless at it. And right now, he was telling the truth. Two would have bet two million dollars on it.
One decided to change the subject.
"Have you phoned your girl yet?" He asked innocently, knowing full well that Two hadn't.
"I was. . . just about to." Two said.
"Well, at midnight I would guess she'd be pretty pissed off if you woke her up."
Fuck, Two thought. The bastard was right. Have I really spent two hours by the phone, picking it up and putting it down again?
"How long have you been here?" One asked, reading his thoughts and deciding to grill his sibling a bit more. "Let me guess: One hour? Two? Three?"
". . . Shut up." Two sulked.
"You're not. . .scared are you? Of phoning her?" Teasing, teasing. Oh, it was so fun.
"I said shut up. I'm not scared. And I've only been here an hour." It was a blatant lie, and One picked up on it straight away.
"Liar."
"Okay, so it's two. Are you happy now? I'm. . . just a little freaked out, is all. The only person I've phoned is. . ."
"The boss. I know."
"And, like what am I gonna say? 'Hello, girl I met three days ago, it's that scary guy from The Lounge, d'you wanna meet up tomorrow?"' He spat the words out as if they were rancid.
"Well, yeah." One said, patting his Twin on the shoulder. "Except I wouldn't call yourself 'The Scary Guy'. That would look a little. . .weird."
Two nodded.
"Hey. . ." He said, turning to face One. "I don't suppose, you could do it? I mean, we have the same voice and everything. Right?"
One shrugged. "Sure. But not tonight. Tomorrow. Not so late."
"But I've broken the three-day rule! I've-"
"Forget about the bloody three day rule. It's just a stupid fucking rule from a fucking magazine. Okay?"
Two nodded, though One could tell he wasn't thoroughly convinced.
"Now shut up and go to sleep. Okay? And for God's sake, there's a chocolate mint on your pillow. Don't fucking sleep on it."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ta-daa! There you go. I went for the Goth idea- so to everyone who suggested it: thank you and big hugs! And don't worry, there will be another Goth for added enjoyment. I've just realised something- all my stories seem to have at least one character that swears a lot. Weird. Anyway. I'm back from France now, and I'm on my summer vacation! Yay! To all who read this, you get a muffin. //hands them over//
Love,
~*Eddie*~