A/N: I'm so glad about all the reviews I have had for My Light In The Dark so far. I am happy that you all like the story.
"….For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
In the sepulcher there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea."
Alfred stares at the paper, "what was that about? This made no sense." He hands to paper back to Arthur who had unknowingly been staring at him in awe. Arthur blinks and then takes back the paper. What is happening to you Arthur? Focus.
"Well if you were to ever use your brain, which, I am pretty sure if you did, then you could do more than just play (American) Football. But this poem Annabel Lee is a love poem." He looks at Alfred who blinks. Arthur could tell that the American was sobering up now.
"A love poem? That's retarded." The teen laughs and lies back on the bed, "I personally don't like poetry. Could you explain what you think the poem means?" He looks over at a now annoyed Arthur. The Brit exhales deeply and tosses the paper at Alfred, "what I personally think it is about it his late wife Virginia. But since you're not interested in this stuff then I guess I won't tell you the story."
Now peaked by curiosity, Alfred scrambles over and lays himself across Arthurs' lap, "tell me tell me tell meee, I wanna hear the story." He looks down at him, chuckles slightly, and nods. "Virginia Clem was Edgar Allan Poe's cousin. At the time he was 27 and she was 13…."
Arthur opens his eyes to a pitch black room. Where am I and what time is it? He rolls onto his back and sits up, rubbing the back of his head. Something next to him stirs on the bed. "Who's there?" he whispers timidly and feels across the bed until his hand comes into contact with someone else's hand.
Am I still at Alfred's house? Good grief, what happened earlier? Arthur lies back on the bed and thinks about what happened before him and Alfred fell asleep.
Arthur and Alfred lay on the bed as Arthur continues telling the American the story of Virginia Clem and Edgar Allan Poe. After 10 minutes Alfreds' mother comes into the room announcing that dinner is ready and they should hurry downstairs before it gets cold. They get up and Alfred helps Arthur down the stairs and to the dining room table.
"If you don't mind me asking Arthur, but what happened to your leg?" He looks up at Ms. Jones while they eat their steak and potatoes. Arthur looks down at his plate and quickly answers, "I fell off a tree at school. Alfred tried to catch me but he tripped and couldn't." She looks at her son and the British teen suspiciously but then smiles and continues eating. The rest of dinner was silent except for the occasional talk about class.
After dinner Alfred had to take a shower so Arthur stayed downstairs and helped with the dishes. "I appreciate your help dear, your mother must be very happy to have you as a son." She smiles at him and continues rinsing plates. Arthur sighs and smiles back at her, "my mum is a very kind woman, just like you. I can't help but to think about how lucky Alfred is to have a mother so much like you. He must be very grateful."
Aria Jones looks at Arthur in surprise, "I wish Alfred would feel that way. He hasn't been himself lately. I've been finding him in my ex-husband's liquor cabinet and out with that Football team of his. I do not think they are very good influences on him. You are the first friend I have met that I feel will be a great influence on my son." She gives him a sweet motherly smile. Arthur looks down at the dish water.
"Would you rather Alfred has all his friends or just has me as a friend?"
"What do you mean Arthur?" She puts her hand on his shoulder.
"I mean none of the kids at school like me. No one is friends with the gay student Ms. Jones." He sighs as a lone tear falls down his cheek. "It's nothing new though, it has always been like this. Even back in England, no one was friends with the No Body."
She grabs Arthur and pulls him into a light hug, "if I had any way in what my son did then I would rather him be friends with you." Arthur blinks and hugs Ms. Jones back.
After their talk, they continued washing the dishes until Alfred came into the kitchen only in his pants and with a damp towel around his shoulders. "Yo, Artie I think we should finish explicating that first poem before you head home tonight." He smiles and leads Arthur upstairs before he has a chance to respond.
When they finally get into the bedroom and Alfred sits Arthur down on the bed he finally has time to speak. "What in the bloody hell Alfred? You could have given me time to answer. And my name is Arthur not Artie. How many times to I have to tell you that?" He stares at Alfred red-faced and slightly puffed hair.
Alfred laughs. Arthur couldn't believe it. Alfred was laughing while he was mad at the limey. "I just can't take ya seriously Arthur. But I guess that's what friends do. They yell and laugh at each other." The American smiles at him. Arthur couldn't believe what he had said.
"Friends? Since when did you think of me as a friend Jones?" He crosses his arms and gives Alfred a waiting look. The taller teen shrugs and lies down on the bed, "I guess ever since we started working on the project earlier. I always thought you were just one of those asshole fags. But as it turns out, you're really cool." Alfred smiles at the ceiling, "could you finish tellin' me 'bout Poe and his wife?"
Arthur shrugs and lies down next to Alfred, "sure. So as I was saying, when Virginia's family found out about the affair between her and Edgar they took her away from him which made him sink into a depression and he turned into a drunk…" and that is how their night went until they passed out next to each other on the bed.
Oh… Arthur takes a deep breath and rolls onto his side. I hope mum isn't too worried. With that last thought he falls into a dreamless sleep.
A/N: This is pretty much one of those flashback-ish chapters I guess. But I like it. Let me know how you guys like it.