~Butters' P.O.V~
"… And that's why you won't be able to get shot with me around. Do you understand?" Thank God, Kenneth finally stops yapping on about how I can't be shot at a time like this, and to be honest, for the most part I haven't been paying attention. I just want the muffled noise in the background to disappear.
"…"
"Leopold? Did you hear me?"
"What? Oh, er, yes, of course. Of course I did." Kenneth shakes his head at me the way a mother would shake their head at a small child misbehaving.
"You know, if this is how you're always going to act when I speak to you, then there is going to be some serious trouble down the road."
"Ooh, I'm so scared."
"You should be." I glare at Kenneth. He returns the glare with equal venom.
"Wait, so do I actually have to go to school?" I stop just when we get to the school and quickly hide behind a tree, because the last thing I want right now is for that maniac of a teacher to see me.
"Yes, Leopold, you do." Kenneth stays standing in the open, looking at me casually.
"This is so unfair. I bet… I bet if Craig was my fairy he wouldn't make me do this."
"If Craig was your fairy he wouldn't even be here. He would still be busy hacking up coffee, which he seems to drink a lot now, because of only one puff of smoke."
"What was that, Kenneth?" We both jump slightly and look up to see Craig and Tweek in a tree… drinking coffee.
"You heard me, you wimp."
"If I recall, Kenneth, you only had one puff as well, and yet you were on the ground gasping for air."
"That was Ruby, stupid. You remember Ruby, your sister?"
"I prefer not to."
"Well, I'd prefer-
"What does Ruby have to do with this?" I ask slyly, not really wanting to interrupt their petty little argument. Kenneth and Craig look at me, as if they forgot I'm standing here. I think they forgot about Tweek as well.
"You see, Leopold, Craig and Ruby had some unfortunate events happen when they died, and now they refuse to speak to each other, like the little mindless children they are." Kenneth tells me.
"Oy! Don't tell your human false information! I did try to speak to her at first, but she blanked me. And now she seems to disappear whenever I'm around. How is that my fault?"
"She was around last night!"
"Well… Well she sure didn't act like she even knew I was there!"
"That doesn't change the fact that…" I sigh, once again tuning out Kenneth's voice.
~Damien's P.O.V~
So I'm still brooding over spending money on such an expensive knife, when Phillip begins to stir. I curse, frantically picking up the dagger and looking around for a hiding place. He'll be able to see me if I don't hide quickly.
I silently stay behind him as he stands up and yawns. I'm not the type to panic, but I'm panicking big time. As he walks to the wardrobe and starts looking for clothes to wear, I take the chance of having his back turned to me and dive behind the desk. I notice many papers and books that were originally on the desk are on the floor where I am. Something must have happened last night.
I notice a large book that says 'Types of Fairies'. After flicking through a couple of pages, I realize it has a description of every single type of fairy there is. I find 'Death' fairy. It says: The 'Death' fairy. The purpose of a 'Death' fairy is to complete a person's death. They grant the person 'permission' to die and then let the soul reaper take the soul away.
I scowl at the page. I hate the fact that humans know so much about us. I decide to look through and find the jobs for fairies that I know in particular.
Craig's job says: The 'Emotion' fairy. A fairy that manipulates a human's emotions to either get information out of them or to get what it desires. The emotions are usually sadness, grief, or fear. The emotion manipulation is never for the human's benefit.
Sadly true. Craig is a fairly selfish person.
Kenneth's job says: The 'Healing' fairy. A fairy that allows humans to heal from sickness or injury. The fairy may also do the healing themselves. It may work on humans and fairies.
So Kenneth basically has two jobs. He can both heal, and grant 'permission' to heal. The lucky bastard. I can only permit death, not actually do it.
Kyle's job says: The 'Intelligence' fairy. A fairy that has only one purpose; to learn as much as possible. The fairy will use the information it learns for the benefit of all fairies. This job is one of the most important jobs a fairy can have.
Well, at least Kyle has an excuse for being such a smartass. It's his job.
Craig's sister… what's her name again? I've never even bothered to ask. Her job says: The 'Time Travel' fairy. It has the same purpose as the 'Intelligence' fairy, except the fairy uses time travel instead of research to gain information. This fairy is a much more private and rare fairy compared to other fairies. Like the 'Intelligence' fairy, it is one of the most important jobs a fairy can have.
I hear Phillip rummaging around the front of the desk and shut the book quickly, coming back to my senses. I see his hand snaking around the desk, feeling on the floor for a lost item. I notice his watch on the floor next to me, and immediately pick it up and put it next to his hand. He feels it and grasps it, pulling it away. I sigh in relief.
"HUH!?" I hear Phillip exclaim in surprise. I peek around the side of the desk and see Phillip holding two black watches, staring at the little black chain that's connected to both of them. My mouth drops open, and I feel around my front pocket for my own watch. As suspected, it isn't there. Damn it all, it must have slipped out when I tumbled over the desk, and now that thing has both of the watches. I really hope that he doesn't put two and two together and figure out that I'm here.
"Damien must have been here…" I hold my head up, cursing heaven with my eyes. "Oh Lord, I'm going to be so late!" Phillip quickly grabs his things and runs out. I silently wait until I hear the door downstairs slam, before getting up and dusting myself off. I feel absolutely horrible, all because he has my watch. Since the watch is black (symbolizing hatred and evil), Phillip has unintentionally taken those feelings away from me. And regarding the other chains that bind us together… well, I don't know how to love, or feel loyal to someone. So that means, right now, I feel nothing, absolutely nothing for that human.
Originally, that's what I would have wanted, since I have no desire to have a human to worry about. But ever since yesterday, when he wouldn't stop following me because he wanted to be with me, I've wanted to hate him. Now I cannot.
I cannot feel anything for him. So I need to get that watch back.
~Butters' P.O.V~
I lightly continue banging my head against the bark of the tree in front of me, Tweek standing beside me looking like a ghost. I had to help him down from the tree because Craig was too busy arguing with Kenneth. Kenneth and Craig's arguing is so irritating that I can say it's almost literally sucked the life out of us.
"Help me, Leopold…" Tweek says, holding his hand out pleadingly. I look at him pityingly. He can't last much longer, and neither can I. Need. New. Conversation.
"Say… Tweek, you know how watches' colors symbolize special things between a human and fairy?" Tweek looks surprised at the change of subject.
"Huh? Oh, yes, I do know."
"What do you and Craig's watches' dark blue color symbolize?"
"Oh, um, trust."
"I see. So you two trust each other very much?"
"Yes."
"That's… interesting." I suddenly notice Phillip very far away from us, running towards the school, and look at Kenneth and Craig.
"Kenneth," I say impatiently, pulling on his bright orange sleeve. He doesn't answer and keeps talking to Craig. I tug on his sleeve harder. "Kenneth," He still doesn't answer. "KENNETH!" I scream right into his ear. He finally turns around, frowning. I blush because of all the children in front of the school house staring at me. I cough and clear my throat.
"Phillip's coming. I would highly suggest that you two don't let him see yourselves. And when I mean not let him see, I mean invisibility, not human form."
"Already done, Leopold. I don't take let myself be seen very often." Kenneth tells me, smiling reassuringly.
"I can say the same." Craig says, looking relieved he and Kenneth's argument is over.
Phillip reaches me, panting. "Am I late?" He asks. I don't understand. How is he alive? According to Kenneth, his fairy had every intention to kill him.
"If you were, would I be standing out here?" Phillip's expression turns sour.
"Well I don't know. With you, there's no predicting what…" His mouth drops open when he looks behind Tweek and I. Oh no, I hope he can't…
"OH GOD! THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!" Phillip slowly backs away, looking frightened. Tweek and I look at each other, not sure what to do. Tweek notices the other children starting to look in our direction, and walks up to Phillip.
"Phillip, please be quiet. If we're caught with our fairies, you know what will happen." He tells Phillip, covering his mouth. Phillip slowly nods.
"Oh, aren't we stupid? He'll be able to see us no matter what since he has a watch as well." Kenneth remarks, sounding slightly irritated. I notice Phillip and Craig eying each other, and remember what Craig did to him yesterday.
"Craig, I have a request." Craig averts his eyes from my step brother to me.
"What is it?"
"Could you please apologize for what you did to my step brother yesterday?"
"Step brother?"
"Yes, step brother. Can you please do it?" After receiving a nod of approval from Kenneth (I suppose because Craig feels he shouldn't listen to me unless Kenneth allows it), Craig jumps down from the tree and walks towards a quivering Phillip, plastering a fake smile on his face on the way.
"I sincerely apologize for what I did to you yesterday. It was merely to protect my human from you revealing my presence with him." Both Phillip and Tweek look taken aback.
The teacher suddenly appears and rings his stupid little bell, signalling the start of school.
"Come, Tweek." Craig says, taking Tweek's hand and walking away from us without so much as a nod goodbye. Kenneth suddenly puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me away a few metres from where we were standing. He looks frantic, protective.
"Calm down, Kenny. I was only going to invite him somewhere." Kyle tells him, smirking in disbelief.
"I wasn't taking any chances. Where do you plan to invite him?"
"Cartman," Kyle points at Eric, who's standing with Stanley not far away. "Doesn't want to go to school today. And he hasn't had breakfast either. Would you care to come with us to the village?"
"…Why?" I ask.
"Because you're interesting. So are you coming or not?"
"Um… I'll come if it pleases you so." I really don't want to go, but it's ten times better than seeing that teacher once again. I doubt even Satan himself would live up to his standards.
"Wonderful! Come then." Kyle takes my hand and starts dragging me away with him. I look at Kenneth worriedly, but he just waves to me.
"I'll catch up, Leopold." It's not as if I want you to catch up, you fool. "I need to speak to someone first. Kyle, keep an eye on my human!"
"Will do!" Kyle shouts back. Phillip, who's been watching in shock the whole time, suddenly runs up and grabs my arm, trying to stop me from going off with Kyle.
"Leopold, please, please don't do this."
"Phillip, calm down. It's just Kyle."
"It doesn't matter who he is! He's a fairy!"
"A positive one. He won't do anything to me. Now let go."
"If you won't listen to reason, I'm coming with you."
"By all means."
~Damien's P.O.V~
"Damien, come here." I stop stalking through the trees and turn to see the oldest fairy in the forest. He doesn't look happy. Damn, I knew I should've just flied my way to the school to catch up with Phillip.
"What is it, old man?" The old fairy slowly walks up to me. I narrow my eyes when I see Craig's sister standing behind him, holding a piece of paper. The old man holds his hand out, and the girl gives him the piece of paper. She's almost like his little assistant.
"Damien Thorn, I have been informed that you have been caught trying to assassinate your own human. The penalty for that, as you know, is community service for one month."
"What? You've got to be joking! Craig's sister, whatever your name is, you little shit! You told on me?!" She holds a hand up in defense, smiling innocently.
"Sorry, Damien. I didn't want you to harm Phillip any further."
"I haven't even touched him! I chose not to touch him! Why should I be punished?"
"I know how stubborn you are, Damien. You're going to try it again. Community service would keep you busy."
"I'll do anything but community service."
"I know you would never do community service, Damien. Which is why I'm going to give you a small penalty. Every time you try to harm or kill your human, your punishment is to be in your human form for one full day."
I laugh. "What, are you going to make me stay in human form?"
"Yes, I am. Ruby." Ruby nods obediently and grabs my arm, and before I can pull away; she clasps a thick golden bracelet around my wrist. I feel my heart sink when it clicks shut loudly. I lash out at her, but she backs away quickly, smiling happily. The little bitch. My wings immediately disappear. It doesn't take a genius to guess that my eyes have turned brown as well.
"As of now, Damien, you appear to be a normal human. You must stay like this for twenty four hours, and if you are caught trying to hurt Phillip Pirrup again, another twenty four hours. Ruby will be in possession of the key to that bracelet."
"Damn you!" I lunge at Ruby, trying to get the key, but she flies up into the air, barely above my height. She holds the key just out of my reach, taunting me. I scoff at her and stomp away. I refuse to lose my temper over such a ridiculous thing. Damn, now I really do have no choice but to walk to catch up with Phillip.
As I get close to the school, I see Craig walking towards Phillip, a fake smile on his face. I hide behind a tree, glaring. What is he doing?
"I sincerely apologize for what I did to you yesterday. It was merely to protect my human from you revealing my presence with him." My mouth drops open in shock. Craig actually apologized to someone… has he gone mad?
I hear the faint ringing of a bell, and guess that school is starting.
"Come, Tweek." Craig says, taking Tweek's hand and walking away from Kenneth, Phillip, and another boy I would assume to be Kenneth's human. I notice Kyle sneaking up behind Kenneth's human, and just as he's about to put his hand on the human's shoulder, Kenneth instantly puts his arm around his human and pulls him away a few metres.
"Calm down, Kenny. I was only going to invite him somewhere." Kyle tells Kenneth, smirking in disbelief.
"I wasn't taking any chances. Where do you plan to invite him?"
"Cartman," Kyle points at who I would assume to be his human, who I can see is standing with another boy not far away. "Doesn't want to go to school today. And he hasn't had breakfast either. Would you care to come with us to the village?"
"…Why?"
"Because you're interesting. So are you coming or not?"
"Um… I'll come if it pleases you so." Kenneth glances behind his left shoulder and sees me by chance. He smirks at me, and I scowl at him.
"Wonderful! Come then." Kyle exclaims happily, takes Kenneth's human's hand and starts dragging him away. Kenneth waves to his human.
"I'll catch up, Leopold. I need to speak to someone first. Kyle, keep an eye on my human!" I notice a threatening edge to Kenneth's voice regarding his human.
"Will do!" Kyle shouts back. I frown in confusion as Phillip suddenly runs up to Kenneth's human and grabs his arm desperately.
"Leopold, please, please don't do this." Kenneth taps my shoulder from behind. I flinch and glare, having forgotten all about him already. I turn back around to watch Phillip.
"Phillip, calm down. It's just Kyle."
"It doesn't matter who he is! He's a fairy!"
"A positive one. He won't do anything to me. Now let go."
"If you won't listen to reason, I'm coming with you." Oh, crap. I don't want to go to the fucking village. Everyone will be able to see what I'm doing. Say no, say no, say no…
"By all means." NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOO! I sink to my knees, banging my fist on the ground and cursing. Kenneth watches me, clearly trying not to laugh.
"Well, I can see you didn't succeed in killing that human of yours. What happened?"
"Why do I have to tell you?"
"You don't. I was just asking."
"I just… couldn't do it."
"Damien Thorn couldn't kill someone? That sure is a surprise. Why couldn't you?" I glare and hold my arm up, pointing to the red chain coming from my wrist.
"Why do you think? Because of this fucking thing! No matter what I do, part of me will not be able to kill that person. At least not directly."
"But I thought people like you don't know how to love."
"I don't. But that won't stop that part of my heart from trying!"
"So what do you plan to do now? Are you going to continue to try to kill him?"
"First of all, I want my watch back. He fucking took it."
"Heh, I was wondering why he had two watches. I don't think anybody else noticed."
"Kenneth, I don't care." Kenneth sticks his tongue out. "Oh, really mature. Now, take me to the village."
"Aw, doesn't little Damien know the way?" Kenneth teases.
"I do know. But…" I gesture to my human form. "I can't fly right now."
"What, am I supposed to carry you?"
"Yes. Now let us go."
When we finally land on the ground, I push Kenneth away.
"God, could you have flown any slower?"
"Well, it's not exactly that simple while having a passenger!" Kenneth snaps at me.
"Well, you no longer have one." I turn and walk away, following the chains to where Phillip is. Kenneth decides to follow me.
"Why are you coming?"
"Have you forgotten that my human is with yours? And to be honest, I'm not completely against what you're doing."
"Huh?" I stop walking and stare at Kenneth in surprise.
"I mean, I don't particularly like your human, and you're a threat to mine, so wouldn't it be for the best if you both died?"
"I see. So you're using me for your benefit."
"Frankly, yes."
"The good thing about you, McCormick, is that you're always honest."
"Heh, I thought you liked it when people lie. You're from the deepest depths of hell, after all."
"I like lying. I don't like it when people lie to me." I suddenly change my mind about getting the watch back. Now that I think about it, it would be much simpler to kill Phillip if I don't feel anything for him. "Change in plan. I need some poison." I say to Kenneth as I walk into a shop where there's an apothecary. Kenneth hesitantly follows.
"What's wrong? Odor too strong for you?" I smirk at Kenneth's weakness.
"No… I just have some bad memories of this place. And why are we here in the first place?"
"To buy some poison, you fool. I said so." I walk up to the counter where the apothecary is sitting, sniffing some sort of dried up plant. Kenneth visibly cringes at the man. Honestly, I almost do as well. He looks like an old witch, but male.
"Sir, I want you to give me the strongest poison you have."
"Huh? What does a child want with poison?"
"To poison someone. So get off your ass and give it to me."
"Hmm, are you a fairy? I'll give it to you if you're a fairy."
"Why wouldn't you just give it to a human?"
"Because fairies need it for their jobs. You could be using it for a crime."
"Well, you're in luck. I am a fairy."
…
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Show me some proof." Oh, shit. I can't grow my wings or anything.
"Um, I cannot. I'm stuck in my human form due to this bracelet. But this person is a fairy. Can you not see his wings? Sell it to him."
"I can't see anyone."
"Kenneth." I hiss. Kenneth sighs and shows himself. The apothecary sees him and nods approvingly.
"He's a fairy alright. What kind of poison do you need?"
"A quick, strong one. It needs to be fast." The man nods and rummages through his drawers.
"Liquid or solid?"
"Liquid." The man finds what he's looking for and pulls out a tiny little bottle of black liquid.
"After consumed, the victim will die within three minutes."
"How much?" I ask reluctantly.
"Five guineas."
"FIVE GUINEAS!?" – "FIVE GUINEAS!?" Kenneth and I both scream.
"Yes, five guineas."
"You could buy food for a month with that kind of money!" I yell at him. How ridiculous he is to make it so expensive!
"It's funny because five guineas is only worth about ten US dollars in modern times. Or about five pounds in England." Ruby says, smirking. "Times really do change. Too think one stupid guinea in these times is worth like a hundred dollars to you guys, when in reality, it's so little."
"YOU!" I point at Ruby accusingly. "You followed me!"
"Calm down, dude, it ain't like I'm a stalker or something. I just wanted to make sure you didn't kill Phillip."
"I barely understood a word you just said, but I don't care! I'll buy this poison, even if it costs me a thousand guineas."
"Which is only… well actually that's a lot." Ruby tilts her head, thinking to herself carefully. Kenneth sighs at her. I turn around and unenthusiastically take out five guinea coins. God, I have only a bunch of lousy shillings now.
"There you go, boy. Be careful with it." I ignore the man and trudge out of the shop, cursing when I feel the rain pour down on me. Ruby and Kenneth both follow me closely. Damn, it isn't going to be easy to sneak that poison in Phillip's drink without Ruby seeing.
~Kenny's P.O.V~
I'm still laughing by the time we get to the restaurant. Ruby had to leave because an 'Authority' fairy found her and said that she needed to spend one day doing community service for traveling time without permission (in other words, not for work), yesterday, when she went to the 1990s to buy some water. So she gets to spend the rest of the afternoon picking up rubbish in the outskirts of town. Once Damien and I enter the fancy place, I immediately search for Leopold with my eyes. Once I spot where he's sitting, I give Damien a 'nice knowing you' wave and walk over to him. I take care to make sure I'm in my human form, or else there could be some trouble. I casually sit next to Leopold, who glares at me.
"It's nice to see you too, Leopold."
"Don't call him that, Kenny!" I look at Kyle, an eyebrow raised. "We've come up with a nickname for him."
"And what would that be?"
"Butters!"
"Butters? Where did that come from?" I look at Leopold for answers, but he shrugs.
"I don't know how they thought of this either." He says, taking a sip of tea.
"Come on, Kenny! You have got to admit it suits him."
"I believe his given name suits him. I have no interest in petty nicknames." Kyle looks down, disappointed. I feel guilty, but still, it was my own personal opinion. And he has no right to name my human as if he's some kind of animal. The lights in the room suddenly dim, and some random puppet show starts at the stage, on the other side of the room.
"Butters, let's go see! Can we? Can we, please?" Phillip begs him, obviously wanting to get as far away from us fairies as possible.
"Alright." I stare in surprise as Leopold slowly gets up and goes with Phillip closer to the stage. Kyle and I then both notice Stan eying the stage. Eric sighs, finishing his cup of tea.
"You can go if you want. You too, Kyle. I'll be fine with Kenneth over here." Stan and Kyle both happily nod and go off to the stage as well. Come on, what's so entertaining about puppets?
"Kenny," I frown at Eric calling me by that name, even though I barely know him. "I know you love Butters and all that, but you need to give him some air. He knows how to think for himself." He says, gesturing to a waiter, who pours him another cup of tea.
"What gives you the right to meddle in my affairs? It doesn't concern you!"
"As you wish, I'll be quiet." Eric and I both look at Damien, who has appeared out of nowhere and is opening the bottle of poison. Eric doesn't seem very confused about what's happening, but not very pleased either.
"Why are you poisoning Pip?"
"Eric, it would be better if you didn't ask. Just ignore him." I warn, stealing Leopold's tea and taking a sip of it. Damien finally gets the bottle open and pours the poison in Phillip's tea. I notice him hesitate slightly before he does it, but other than that, he has no problems or interruptions. It seems that Phillip may actually die today. Damien takes his attention from the tea to Eric.
"One word about this to anyone, and you're next." With that, Damien quickly flees to somewhere else in the restuarant, out of sight.
The other four come back from the stage, looking happy. Except Leopold, since he didn't want to go in the first place. I think he just wanted to get away from me for a few minutes. It isn't fair. Why me, of all the fairies, do I have to get such a human? Why does he have to be so cold? Why do I have to be so soft? Why can't I just-
"Did you drink my tea?" Leopold asks, an angry edge to his voice.
"Yes. And you know what the best part was? The indirect kiss." Leopold fumes, but I smile triumphantly to myself, sipping my own tea that's been sitting in front of me all this time. I watch Phillip, who picks up his cup of tea as well. Eric is watching him as well. Just before Phillip is able to bring the cup to his lips, Eric throws his own cup of tea all over Phillip, making him drop the poisoned cup of tea and allowing it to seep into the white carpet.
"CARTMAN!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Kyle asks frantically.
"It doesn't matter. We're leaving." Eric stands up, grabs his coat, and starts to leave, Stan in tow. Kyle quickly apologizes to Phillip and runs after them.
"How interesting." I comment, looking at Damien, who is sitting at another table, looking shell-shocked. I feel someone tap me on the shoulder and turn around. A waiter is standing there, glowering at me.
"The bill?" He points to his open hand.
~Damien's P.O.V~
I don't believe it. Eric Cartman, who I've heard is one of the most ruthless, cruelest, evil children in England, just saved my human's life. I don't understand, why would he do that for someone he doesn't even seem to like!? It's preposterous. Forget the watch, I need to make my leave now, before Phillip sees me. But as I turn around, I crash straight into a waiter, who is, or was, carrying a large tray of desserts. With a lot of whipped cream, I might add.
Everyone in the restaurant stares at me as I get up, and to my dismay, Phillip notices me. I really wish I could hate him as much as I want to right now. Without thinking and just wanting to get out of Phillip's gaze, I run outside.
"Damien! Wait, please don't go!" I hear his voice call after me. Damn, I'm so weak from being in this form; it's even affected my stamina. Phillip soon catches up and grasps onto my sleeve to stop me. We both stand there in the rain, just huffing and staring at each other for a few moments. Phillip suddenly smiles.
"You were in my room this morning, weren't you? You forgot your watch." He takes out my watch and gives it to me, smiling almost sadly. It pisses me off.
"I… I told you I never wanted to see you again. Are you deaf?" I snap at him. Phillip looks hurt, which makes me feel hurt too, dammit.
"I know that. I just wanted to return this. I'll stay out of your way now. F-Farewell!" Phillip gives me a small wave and walks away, leaving me standing there alone in the rain. I feel so frustrated with myself, that it takes all my strength not smash my watch then and there.
~Kenny's P.O.V~
"That sure was eventful." I say to no one in particular. Leopold scoffs beside me. I'm the one who ended up having to pay the bill for that restaurant, but it seems to be Leopold in the foul mood right now.
"Yes, it was wonderful."
"Come on, don't be so sour. You got to spend some time with me."
"I couldn't imagine a better day."
"Aw, are you grumpy because I stole your tea, and your first kiss indirectly?"
"No…"
"Come on, don't be shy! You actually thought it was sweet, didn't you?"
"No, no I didn't." I laugh and take Leopold's hand. He flinches and looks at me.
"What are you doing?"
"Do I need an excuse to hold my human's hand?"
"Maybe you should. Besides, I've had my first kiss already." I gasp and let go of Leopold's hand as if it's on fire. He looks amused at my horrified face.
"Kenneth, calm down, I was joking." I sigh in relief, holding a hand to my heart.
"Don't do that to me, Leopold. I just about had a heart attack."
"Mmhm. Say Kenneth, what would happen if one of our watches was smashed?"
"Why do you ask so suddenly?"
"Because Phillip had a fit and tried to smash our watches last night, but I managed to stop him. I was wondering what would happen if he succeeded."
"Well, the bond that we have with the watches would be lost. In our case, the light and innocence between us would perish, never to be seen again. We'd most likely end up like Phillip and Damien."
"Where has Phillip gone off to anyway?" Leopold asks slyly.
"God knows. He's most likely off somewhere crying to himself." I hold Leopold's hand again, though this time much more gently. "Leopold, we're not like those two. We're going to end up much happier than they are, so don't worry about them."
"…" Leopold stares at the ground we're walking on, refusing to look at me. He looks deep in thought.
As we reach Leopold's home, I urgently give in to my loneliness and put my arms around him. He merely stands there, frozen in shock, as if he hasn't had this done to him in a long time. Before long, he weakly pushes me away, a bitter smile on his face.
"Kenneth, you don't deserve to have someone such as me."