Twisted and Bent Into a Form

Part Eight of 'Something I Believe In – Miracle Romance'

A girl with shiny brown hair, with black frayed tips, sneaked into Mandark's room. Her shirt was black, as was her safety-pin covered skirt. One of her socks hung limply around her left ankle, her left leg adorned by black fishnet, and her right leg had the same fishnet, but it cut off at her mid-thigh. In its place was the other sock, pulled up to above the girl's knee. Her gloves were red, a great contrast to the morbidly dark clothing that adorned her.

The girl found a pair of glasses lying on the nightstand, and pilfered them. Her safety-pin earrings tinkled gently as the girl lowered her head to Mandark's level. She opened up her right palm, and hit Mandark on the head.

"What?" Mandark immediately sighed. He groped for his glasses, but the girl waved them in front of Mandark's face. Mandark grabbed at them, but the girl was too quick.

"I'm not giving you back your glasses until you tell me something," the girl scowled. Across her cheek was a long scar, pink and sinewy.

"That's great, but who are you?" Mandark asked. The girl huffed.

"I'm Susan, remember me?" Susan smiled. Mandark was drawing a blank.

"No, not really," Mandark replied honestly. "Now can I please have my glasses?"

"Not yet," Susan answered, placing the glasses behind her back. "You really don't remember me?"

"No," Mandark responded bluntly. "But to tell you the truth, it's three in the morning. I don't remember much of anything."

"You know the part of a guy's mind that they suppress because they don't want to be called a sissy?" Susan waved to Mandark. "That's me. And you, in a way…"

"My name is not Susan, it's Mandark," Mandark groaned.

"Fine. Be in denial." Susan grinned cheekily. "But it'd be nice if you listened to me for once."

"Why?" Mandark moaned. "I'm tired and I can't see. Now's not the best time for me to be listening to anyone."

"Alright," Susan shrugged. "Fine. Don't listen to me. It doesn't matter. I'm not qualified to give you advice. I only know about your entire life."

Mandark eyed Susan curiously. "Okay. What did I do today?"

Susan pretended to think about it. "You argued with Dexter, you created another worm virus that you plan to email to Dexter tomorrow, you watched 'Totally Spies' even though you find that show stupid, you mourned at Ken Jennings' loss on Jeopardy afresh, and you debated the outcome of the Scott Petersen case with Nora, but you once again failed to tell her you loved her, even though you really do."

Mandark scowled. "Stalker."

Susan gasped. "I am not a stalker. I'm part of your brain."

"You're a nutcase."

"And you aren't, boy?" Susan snapped. "You're pretty smart, but I thought you'd have figured out that Nora and you were meant to be. Obviously not. Idiot."

Mandark scowled. "Why do you think you can tell me this?"

"Well, guess what? She likes the darkness, too. An unusual coup in your world, someone else that would wear black every day if she could. And you still don't say that you love her?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"Okay, 'Mandark', I'll answer your question. I think I can tell you this because you're too stupid to even notice it. You may be an utter genius, and maybe you're smarter than genius, but when it comes to real life, you don't really know what to do. You're socially inept."

"I love her. I love her a lot more than I've ever loved anyone in my entire life."

"Why don't you just tell her that?"

Mandark blushed crimson. "Because I don't have the guts."

Susan smirked. "All right, you can have your glasses back, coward."

Mandark immediately snatched his glasses, but he heard a faint buzzing.

Mandark opened his eyes, roused by an alarm clock. He immediately looked to his nightstand. His glasses were there, untouched. Mandark looked around his room, but there was no one there. Susan was nowhere to be seen.

That was the weirdest dream I have ever had. By far.

---

In March, the Teen Issues students covered pregnancy, as Nora had feared. But everyone was clearly very uncomfortable. The air was deathly silent, and if anyone – other than the teacher – disturbed that silence, they got a sharp rebuke from their neighbor.

Nora shifted nervously in her seat. Things like this made her very uncomfortable. Nora became so fidgety that Natalie thwacked her knee with the ruler, but it had no effect.

Mandark and Dexter were similarly restless. Mandark couldn't keep his eyes on something for more than a few seconds, and Dexter was constantly moving his thumbs. Natalie was uneasy, but not to the extreme like Mandark, Dexter, Nora, and even Ellen, for that matter.

Ellen kept crossing and uncrossing her legs, while pulling at her shirt in various places.

Nora looked at the Teen Issues book.

Why do they teach this in a public classroom? Nora thought to herself. Worse still, why can't they teach this to me when I'm not sitting next to my true love?

Natalie closed her eyes. She was trying to block out the teacher's voice.

"Alright, do questions one through four on page 391 for homework," the teacher finally said, shutting her book.

Nora breathed a sigh of relief. To Nora's surprise, so did Ellen. Nora raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but didn't say anything about it until the class had ended.

"Ellen was really fidgety," Natalie mused. "And so were you three. Really twitchy, the lot of you."

Nora shook her head. "It's Teen Issues. Of course we act like we're nervous – because we talked about sex today. You know... sex."

"Very aptly put," Dexter sighed sarcastically. "That'll win the Nobel Prize for sure."

"Come on," Nora responded. "That class is kind of scary. Why do they make us take it?"

"Because the state says we have to?" Mandark offered. "I don't know."

"Oh, so you admit you don't know something," Dexter snapped.

"Yeah. One thing! It's not very important!"

"In a matter of life and death, I could ask that question and have the chance to slit your throat!"

"Don't," Nora interjected. Dexter turned to her.

"Don't what?" Dexter asked.

"You're an idiot," Mandark groaned. "She meant don't slit my throat."

"Oh! So she stands up for you."

"At least someone will."

"What are you implying?"

Nora sighed. It was no use.

---

"Nora, you seem very spacey."

Nora looked up from her math homework. "No, I'm just concentrating."

Amelie scowled. "It is that boy. You can't stop thinking about him."

"No, mom, I'm just working on factoring polynomials. It's natural to be quiet during homework," Nora explained.

"I know that, but all day, you've been walking around with that glazed look on your face," Amelie sighed. "Nora, what is it that you see in that boy?"

"His name is not 'that boy', it's Mandark," Nora corrected. His very name made Nora powerful happy, and sent a wave of love through her system.

Amelie noticed the effect his name had on her daughter, and frowned. "You're lying. All you do is think about him."

"Mom," Nora asked, "Do you know what it's like to be in love?"

"Of course," Amelie scoffed. "You really are becoming rather uncivil, Nora."

"Look, mom, I'd do anything for him," Nora said, her voice a tad airy. "He and I were meant to be."

"He's probably a gold digger," Amelie shuttered.

Nora's eyes widened. "Mom, I loved him before he knew my name. I told him I liked him!"

Nora covered her mouth.

Oh great. This is great. I said too much.

"Oh?" Amelie sneered. "You seemed to have overlooked this detail earlier."

Nora was furiously red as she tried to focus on her polynomials, but all she could think about was how stupid she had acted.

Her heart was beating a thousand miles per hour once again, like when Mandark touched her hand the first day of school, when she told Mandark she liked him, when they finally kissed that fateful day before break…

"Your face is red, Nora. Stop lying to me."

I can't tell her. She'll ruin it, just like she did in fourth grade, and then I'll never see him again… I can't let her know… I can't…

"Nora, answer me," Amelie scowled.

Nora felt a tear form in the corner of her eye.

"There is something between you two, isn't there?"
Nora snapped. "Alright, fine, mom. There is something between us. You."

Amelie was getting angry. "Nora, stop it. I did that so long ago for your own good."

"If the massive heartbreak was for my own good," Nora twitched violently.

"What?"

"You heard me! Leave me alone!"

Nora grabbed her math book and notebook and ran upstairs, on the brink of tears.

She's going to ruin my life again, Nora thought. And I won't be able to control it…

---

Nora found exactly what she was looking for – a small craft knife. Carefully she sliced open the back boarding of her poetry notebook/diary. Inside was a collection of letters and things important to her.

Inside of it was the note from Carter, a picture of the fourth grader, and a few other random objects.

Nora took out a piece of notebook paper, ripped it in half, and scrawled on it, First kiss: Friday, December 18th. It was wonderful and… it was with Mandark.

Nora skipped a line and wrote: Made out with Mandark on February 14th. Dee-Dee covered for us. It was… amazing…

Nora slipped the notebook paper in the slit on the backside of the diary. Nora took out a strip of black construction paper and covered the slot in the backboard by gluing it to the diary.

Why won't he tell me he loves me? Nora wondered to herself. It's rather obvious, but I want to know that I'm loved.

Truly, madly, deeply.

---

Mandark was still absorbed with his dream.

If that was really a part of my brain trying to speak to me… I've gone nuts. But I was dreaming, and in dreams anything can happen…

Is my subconscious trying to tell me that I should tell her I love her? Or am I really delusional?

Mandark stared blankly across his room. He had the lights shut off once more, and everything was veiled in a darkness he knew only too well.

I've never seen Nora really morbid, though. I wonder if she really is… but if she was the one that really wrote that story, there's no doubt about it…

She almost looked a bit like Susan. They had the same figure… but she had the same eyes I do, and the same lips, and the same… everything, really…

Wow, if she had to bend down to see me, she was tall

Nora… God, I miss her and I've been away from her about… two hours, at the most. My lovely, little muse…how lonely was your life before me? Is Olga right, and you're really just using me, or am I right when I think that you'd never leave my side if you could? I don't care what you think; I'll always love you…

But I'll never summon the courage to tell you.

Mandark narrowed his eyes. I hate you Susan… absolutely hate you…

---

Nora wasn't pulling any punches. She was very black, very morbid, and very leery when she came to school the next day. She sat down in Teen Issues, and was well aware that everyone was staring at her, like they had throughout the entire day.

"Are we going to a funeral?" Ellen sneered.

Natalie cocked her head. "You aren't contemplating suicide, are you?"

"Of course not," Nora sighed. She smiled and took out her notebook and a blue pen.

Dexter narrowed his eyes. "You haven't been messing around with… anything illegal, have you?"

"I find that offensive," Nora scowled.

"I think she looks great," Mandark offered. Natalie, Dexter, and Ellen looked at him.

"Thank you," Nora smiled. "It's nice to know one person likes it."

"Why are you all… dark?" Natalie asked.

Nora closed her eyes and heaved a dramatic sigh. "Let's see… where do I start… it's my parents' fault. They enjoy ruining my life."

"You're a cracked bitch," Ellen grinned smugly. "How ironic, nein?"

"Do you want to be smacked with a ruler?" Natalie snapped. Ellen shrank back into her chair.

"Anyway, I like black. It matches my hair." Nora had a huge smirk on her face. Natalie laughed for no reason.

"Strange, Nora. Really strange."

"I'm a walking Teen Issue!" Nora burst out laughing for no reason. Mandark, Natalie and Dexter laughed for no reason as well. Ellen eyed them curiously.

"You guys are weird," she groaned.

"Thank you very much," Nora giggled.

I feel good.

---

The English teacher assigned another writing project, and once again, she would read the three best. This one was to be a creative story, one made up with fanciful characters and a happy ending.

Well, we can't really ensure the happy ending, now can we? Mandark thought to himself as he smiled.

He wrote in simple quick language, to maximize the effect of his strange story, unsure of how the story was to end.

He was on his fifth page when he noticed Nora writing. She had pages sprawled everywhere, a grin on her face, and an unflinching gaze that pierced the paper.

I wonder what she's writing.

Mandark continued to write, becoming absorbed in his own characters, when he realized that the story wasn't too far from reality.

He quickly turned to the first page.

He ran. He needed to run away. His life was falling apart and he didn't want to keep living his parents' idiotic fantasies. His feet tapped the linoleum, the quick rhythm matching the pulse of his own heart…

Mandark continued to read, when he found that there was a character for every person he'd ever known in his life…

He looked over to Nora. He still pondered what she wrote, but continued his own tale.

---

Dee-Dee was a bit angry. She had emailed Nora twice; IMed her fifteen times, and called her house. Nora never answered.

Dee-Dee finally walked across the street and knocked on the door. Amelie opened it.

"Oh, hello, Dee-Dee," Amelie smiled.

She's very pretty, Dee-Dee thought.

"Is Nora there?" Dee-Dee asked.

"Oh, no; she went to the park an hour ago. She loves the swing set over there, I tell you…"

The swing set. Nora even said that she loved swings.

"Thank you, Mrs. Debussi," Dee-Dee said, and she closed the door.

Dee-Dee walked down the sidewalk, to the park, and saw Nora, all by her lonesome, swinging her cares away.

"Nora?" Dee-Dee called.

Nora planted her feet down, stopping the swing. She looked at Dee-Dee and smiled. "Hey, Dee-Dee."

Nora was still wearing black, but she was wearing a pretty dress and a small overcoat.

"Why are you here?" Dee-Dee asked curiously.

"Well, I just needed to blow some steam," Nora sighed, "and I needed to get things off my mind."

"What kind of things?"

Nora looked down at the ground.

"My parents are prying into my life. They want to make sure that I don't do anything that would humiliate the family."

"And we're along the lines of…"

"Well, anything with Mandark may be out of the question. They think he's a deranged maniac."

"Which he is," Dee-Dee pointed out. Nora frowned.

"But not to you," Dee-Dee added quickly.

Nora raised her eyes to Dee-Dee. "Exactly."

Dee-Dee frowned, and then grasped Nora's hand. "Come on. You can come to my house. Stay the night, I think you need some time out of the house."

"Thanks, Dee-Dee," Nora smiled.

---

He'd have to assume a new persona. He needed a new life, and he needed it fast. He couldn't bear to stay the way he was – on the surface, a happy, clueless guy. No, he wanted to be something more than that.

He saw a black cape on a video box in a movie store. The darkness invited him to come closer, away from the light.

He immediately understood. He could no longer pretend to live his life like an idiot. He needed to take some form of action.

He cut his hair off, so that the once shoulder-length locks were now short and sleek. He devised a plan – a plan so dark and bleak, one that many before him had attempted – a plan to one day rule the entire world.

But why, why would he want to rule the world? It was rather simple to him – he wanted to make sure no one else had to endure his anguish, the simple existence that had threatened to drive him over the edge.

Nothing stood in his way. That was, until he moved at the beginning of fifth grade, to a new school, with another genius that was vastly different from him…

This genius, which the students called Edward, was short and smart.

But this didn't perturb Mark at first. He would be, without fail, the smarter of the two. His mind, now twisted and bent into a form that truly opposed the way of life he had in fact lived, would be far superior to that of his smaller nemesis.

And no one would stop him.

DISCLAIMER: usual stuff, don't own DL or anything else.

A/N: This is the SUPER babble chapter, so if it makes no sense... well, Susan is in it.