Three Words to Remember
One
“Alex, stop. Get up. C’mon, Al, you’re making a scene. Don’t do this.”
He sat back on his heels. “But…you said… And- and I- …you promised… I – I - I can’t. How?”
It didn’t matter. She was already lost to him. Alex let the small baby blue box slip out of his fingers, so that it fell face down next to his knee.
From that moment, Alex felt just as cold and hard as the contents of the velvet box.
Canadian autumns weren’t all that different from those of his childhood in Maryland. Alex missed the ocean, though, and he knew that Sebastian, his only friend at the moment, did too.
Still, Kingston was a welcome change for him. Knowing absolutely no one had its advantages. There was no pity, no disappointment, and no expectations. So far, no one had even recognized him.
Truth be told, Alex sometimes had trouble recognizing himself. His brown waves were cropped short; shorter than they’d been since he was in grade school. A permanent frown slashed across his face, replacing the customary Gaskarth smirk. There was no more music in his head, and Alex had no idea where his guitar was. Baz was the only thing that got him out of the house and into the fresh air, apart from his classes.
The laughter in his deep brown eyes had died at the precise moment that his heart did, which was something that Alex did not need a mirror to find out.
Alex was a robot, and he knew it.
He got up, fed Baz, went to class, came home, walked Baz, studied, went to bed. Occasionally, Alex would remember to eat something, normally around the time his mother called.
The old Alex would have been horrified at how routine his existence had become. But now, he couldn’t bring himself to care. It made absolutely no difference to him now, when all of his energy was being focussed on a single thought:
Please come home.
_________________________________________________________________________
Michaela D’Agostino was bored and a little more than pissed off. She lay on her bed, brown waves spread out around her like a corona, staring at the ceiling and waiting for her phone to ring.
As time wore on, Michaela began to realize that Arkadiusz, or Eric as he preferred to be called, was not going to text her with a plan for the night.
Sighing resignedly and hazel eyes bright with tears, she got up off the bed and walked over to the mirror. While putting her hair up, Michaela noticed how sallow her skin looked. It was the way she had looked since the funeral.
Michaela stepped back from the mirror and grabbed her favourite turquoise hoodie from the hook. She hoped that Tatiana’s offer still stood, especially now that she had gone to see Colin.
Whatever, thought Michaela. Even if it becomes a coitus interruptus situation, it’s better than listening to Parker bitch about Anders’ latest implement of torture all night.
* * *
“You two are actually the biggest nerds I have ever met in my life,”
Tatiana shrugged slightly, making a non-committal noise in the back of her throat. Colin didn’t even tear his eyes away from the screen for long enough to acknowledge Michaela had spoken.
“You’re honestly playing Call of Duty the one night none of us has any crazy labs, cruelly assigned seminars or surprise family visits?!” Mikey asked, flopping down onto the couch next to Tatiana.
Colin spared her a glance this time. “Yes,” he grumbled. “And she’s fucking kicking my ass again. Keeps knifing me!”
Michaela sat silent for a moment, and waited for the current session to be over. As soon as Colin started to groan in defeat and before Tatiana could call a re-match, she grabbed a controller and turned off the console.
“Get up!” she yelled. “We’re going out, even if it’s just to the JDUC again!”
Not even Tatiana, who was mostly immune to Mikey’s outbursts, could refuse this demand. She ushered them up the stairs and out the door so quickly that no one had time to register the man standing on the sidewalk.
Colin, naturally, was the one to crash into him. “Sorry, man,” he mumbled, stepping back and nearly tripping over a large golden retriever, who yelped.
“Ooh, poor baby!” Mikey gushed, rubbing the dog’s ears. The man pulled on the dog’s leash, effectively dragging him away from Michaela.
“Not a problem, Colin. I gotta go. Later,” the man said robotically. He seemed anxious to get moving, but his dog was keen to stay right where he was. “Baz, let’s go!” He said, exasperated.
There was something in his walk that was intensely familiar to Michaela, and was unable to move as he started to walk away.
She would have stood there all night, had Tatiana not pulled her earlobe slightly. “Earth to Mikey! We’re going out, remember?” she called. Michaela’s eyes focused, but she still didn’t move. “Hey, what’s up?”
Michaela looked down. “Oh nothing… I just… I feel like…I know him,”
He sat back on his heels. “But…you said… And- and I- …you promised… I – I - I can’t. How?”
It didn’t matter. She was already lost to him. Alex let the small baby blue box slip out of his fingers, so that it fell face down next to his knee.
From that moment, Alex felt just as cold and hard as the contents of the velvet box.
Canadian autumns weren’t all that different from those of his childhood in Maryland. Alex missed the ocean, though, and he knew that Sebastian, his only friend at the moment, did too.
Still, Kingston was a welcome change for him. Knowing absolutely no one had its advantages. There was no pity, no disappointment, and no expectations. So far, no one had even recognized him.
Truth be told, Alex sometimes had trouble recognizing himself. His brown waves were cropped short; shorter than they’d been since he was in grade school. A permanent frown slashed across his face, replacing the customary Gaskarth smirk. There was no more music in his head, and Alex had no idea where his guitar was. Baz was the only thing that got him out of the house and into the fresh air, apart from his classes.
The laughter in his deep brown eyes had died at the precise moment that his heart did, which was something that Alex did not need a mirror to find out.
Alex was a robot, and he knew it.
He got up, fed Baz, went to class, came home, walked Baz, studied, went to bed. Occasionally, Alex would remember to eat something, normally around the time his mother called.
The old Alex would have been horrified at how routine his existence had become. But now, he couldn’t bring himself to care. It made absolutely no difference to him now, when all of his energy was being focussed on a single thought:
Please come home.
_________________________________________________________________________
Michaela D’Agostino was bored and a little more than pissed off. She lay on her bed, brown waves spread out around her like a corona, staring at the ceiling and waiting for her phone to ring.
As time wore on, Michaela began to realize that Arkadiusz, or Eric as he preferred to be called, was not going to text her with a plan for the night.
Sighing resignedly and hazel eyes bright with tears, she got up off the bed and walked over to the mirror. While putting her hair up, Michaela noticed how sallow her skin looked. It was the way she had looked since the funeral.
Michaela stepped back from the mirror and grabbed her favourite turquoise hoodie from the hook. She hoped that Tatiana’s offer still stood, especially now that she had gone to see Colin.
Whatever, thought Michaela. Even if it becomes a coitus interruptus situation, it’s better than listening to Parker bitch about Anders’ latest implement of torture all night.
* * *
“You two are actually the biggest nerds I have ever met in my life,”
Tatiana shrugged slightly, making a non-committal noise in the back of her throat. Colin didn’t even tear his eyes away from the screen for long enough to acknowledge Michaela had spoken.
“You’re honestly playing Call of Duty the one night none of us has any crazy labs, cruelly assigned seminars or surprise family visits?!” Mikey asked, flopping down onto the couch next to Tatiana.
Colin spared her a glance this time. “Yes,” he grumbled. “And she’s fucking kicking my ass again. Keeps knifing me!”
Michaela sat silent for a moment, and waited for the current session to be over. As soon as Colin started to groan in defeat and before Tatiana could call a re-match, she grabbed a controller and turned off the console.
“Get up!” she yelled. “We’re going out, even if it’s just to the JDUC again!”
Not even Tatiana, who was mostly immune to Mikey’s outbursts, could refuse this demand. She ushered them up the stairs and out the door so quickly that no one had time to register the man standing on the sidewalk.
Colin, naturally, was the one to crash into him. “Sorry, man,” he mumbled, stepping back and nearly tripping over a large golden retriever, who yelped.
“Ooh, poor baby!” Mikey gushed, rubbing the dog’s ears. The man pulled on the dog’s leash, effectively dragging him away from Michaela.
“Not a problem, Colin. I gotta go. Later,” the man said robotically. He seemed anxious to get moving, but his dog was keen to stay right where he was. “Baz, let’s go!” He said, exasperated.
There was something in his walk that was intensely familiar to Michaela, and was unable to move as he started to walk away.
She would have stood there all night, had Tatiana not pulled her earlobe slightly. “Earth to Mikey! We’re going out, remember?” she called. Michaela’s eyes focused, but she still didn’t move. “Hey, what’s up?”
Michaela looked down. “Oh nothing… I just… I feel like…I know him,”