Alex Gaskarth

Alex’s dreams were flooded with images and adventures with C. His eyes were firmly shut when she walked back into his vision. His breathing was low and his scarcely clad body was sprawled across this mattress when she finally returned. Even in his dreams he didn’t know her name; however his imagination allowed him to create his own image of her. Her brunette locks hung around her stomach. Her eyes were a deep chocolate and almost mirrored his own. However, her eyes sparkled in a way that his never could. They glistened in even the dullest lighting and outlined by the thick dark eyelashes that encased them. Her skin was pale which highlighted her entrancing features even more. Her lips were a pale rose, not too broad and not too thin. Whenever her beautiful eyes set on Alex her lips would pull into a smile which touched her high cheekbones. This was the only greeting Alex would ever receive from the beautiful girl. Not that it mattered. Alex was grateful for simply being in the presence of such a royal.

As always when the girl glanced in his direction she sent him a wonderful grin. He mimicked her actions. As he approached he made sure not to put a foot out of place. He almost felt like his heavy footsteps would shatter the area that surrounded the elegant figure. When he got close enough he finally took a seat on the space next to her making sure to get as close as he could. The brilliant white shirt she adorned was sizes too big for her, hanging from one of her shoulders. The skin of her shoulder taunted him. He lifted his hand towards it, just getting close enough to brush away the smooth curls that hung over her collar bone before she pulled herself backwards. He didn’t dare to disturb her again. Instead he simply ran his eyes over her, making sure to take in every little detail.

Alex could never get close enough to touch her. He could never even get close enough to feel the radiation of body heat. He would never want to put the girl into a situation she didn’t want to be in so he was content sitting by her side. Eventually his eyes snapped open with a sharp breath and he was alone again. He held the breath for a long moment before exhaling shakily. He tilted his head, examining his empty room from different angles. The shelves remained the same they had the night before. The window was closed, the curtain shut. The bed sheets were draped over his lower half and the door remained sealed. It was these simple things which he needed to confirm that what he had experienced was yet another dream.

He went limp. His head rolled back onto the pillow and he stared at the ceiling as he usually would when in thought. Quick images flashed through his head of the girl he longed to know. This caused a sensation to run over his body, however most prominent in his chest. The feeling gripping at his chest was one of disappointment. He didn’t even know if the girl in his dreams existed; even if she did she certainly couldn’t be the one so infatuated with him. He was almost resentful at the fact he only saw her in his dreams. The hate he felt towards his own imagination was indescribable. The feeling of being constantly taunted with the beautiful person to a point of addiction drove him wild with jealousy. All he wanted was to spend just another moment with her. A moment in which he knew would be his last so he could bid her farewell. He felt guilty leaving the girl every night without as much as a goodbye. He feared how she felt for him despite the fact that this girl was virtually a fictional character. He often fretted over whether this girl thought he was arrogant for just leaving her without warning.

Alex shut his eyes yet again, letting a sigh escape his parted lips before he closed them once more. His teeth bit the inside of his cheek before he reopened his eyes and propped himself up on his elbows. He zeroed in on the large closet doors at the foot of his bed. Sitting up he stretched his arms and pulled his legs over the side of the mattress, allowing his feet to hit the cold floor and the sheets to glide off his slender figure. He dragged himself in the direction of the hinged material. His tired state meant he didn’t quite function properly. He ripped out the closest items of necessary clothing he could find before slumping towards the direction of his bathroom. Emerging from the steamy room in a more awake state he almost glided down the stairs before taking his regular place at his dining table. Alex wasn’t sat to eat. He was sat to scribble the words echoing through his mind onto a page. After taking his seat he quickly glanced along the length of the table. Snatching up a pen and taking the nearest plain sheet he began to jot down his ideas.

Every so often Alex would write down a phrase before stopping and frowning. He’d compare it to other line above the newest addition to the page before shaking his head in disapproval. “Ridiculous” he would think before scratching the ink across it. Alexander stopped to think about the inspiration behind the words streaming from his fingertips but was cut off by a high pitched shrill. He turned his head in the direction of the front door and remembered what he’d been waiting for, another link to the girl. He dropped the pen, pushing his hands against the table and lifting himself into an upright position. What had become part of his daily routine took place and he leaned against the arm of his sofa, carefully opening the light green envelope. After opening the card his eyes flew to the dark words. As he did a smile warmed his face. However when reaching what should have been the last word his face fell to a heavy frown. Something wasn’t quite right about the message in this card. There was more after the word ‘C’. Not a lot more. Not even a word, but there was more.

11:56

What the numbers written in front of him could have possibly meant Alex didn’t know. What was so significant about 11:56 he had no idea. The tiny difference to the card left him utterly confused and strangely, he was absolutely reluctant to let it rest. He stood, leaned against the arm for a good few minutes just staring at the number at the bottom of the page. He couldn’t decipher what they stood for or how they related to him. He began to grow anxious, paranoid even as to what four little numbers meant. His lack of knowledge made him long for the answer to what he thought was a riddle. Each message had been exactly the same. Exactly the same since they began almost four months ago and nothing he considered to be drastic had taken place and given the author reason to change them. No average person would be able to guess why this simple change bothered Alex so much. Nor would it affect someone quite like it did him but the thoughts running through the head of the lyricist lead him to no suitable conclusions.

When he arrived at a venue? No. When he appeared on a TV channel? He didn’t think so. None of the ideas he had thought up gave him a satisfying answer and it aggravated him. Normally after a night of dreaming about the girl and receiving the luxurious gifts he wouldn’t spend much more time thinking about the girl. He’d ponder over small things but he would never be caught in deep thought over her. However today was different. He couldn’t stop thinking about what those four numbers meant. It wasn’t just a case of him not wanting to, he was incapable of letting go of the subject.