Won't Turn Out Right

There were five of them and I hardly knew them at all. They wolf-whistled, cat-called, lived life to the fullest. Half-full. Not half-empty. I never really cared much for liars. Does that make me a hippo-poto-crite? I guess that's not a very fair question. Fair for whom? Let me get back to you on that.

The ringmaster still has my peanuts, and tomorrow I'll get them back. I'll step on him with my giant foot and squish him into a mushy bloody pulp. Won't he be sorry for being mean to me? All I want is my peanuts.

I found one of the demons going through my underwear drawer. Do you think he ate some of my bras? Sunburn gives me nightmares. The tent glares in seven ways. Wrath, lust, gluttony, sloth, envy, pride, greed. Must have been Asmodeus. He's never been very nice to me.

My skull is on fire. Drown to ease the pain. Death bat, death bat, death bat. There's a lily in the valley. Pink and white stargazer. Thank you Hera. Thank you Juno. Whoever you are. Wherever you are.

I AM NOT AN ELEPHANT!

I could never make a good pot roast.

Amiblushing? Well? Am I?

Le son, le son. Je vous aime, je vous adore. La morse a ecoute- Oh la la. Vous avez besion de sourire! Votre sourire pour la mer. Ah, la mer. Qu'on voit danser le long des golfes claires. La mer.

Where we can breathe dreams like air. An unfamiliar sky. Scarcely created grass. Ashen fantastic figures gliding through amorphous treeeeeees. Hello, Gatz. BANG!

Terra firma. Terra firma.

"And in the darkness it was clear this was her home for life. He turned to her and whispered, 'Darling, where'd you hide my knife?'"

I awoke with a jolt. I had that falling sensation... and for good reason. I was dropped onto the ground by a man with black hair and piercings on his nose.

"Morning, cupcake. Sleep well?" I groaned in response, realizing that my mouth was taped shut. I blinked a couple of times, trying to focus on a single object. He sat down in front of me with his legs crossed. He stared me in the eyes until I finally blinked again. He looked at me smugly and I could imagine a smile behind his blue bandana. "I win." I growled and glared at him.

I finally took in my surroundings, and almost let the tears fall when I realized I was in my parents' room. The only things left were their bed, bare and stripped of the covers, and an old analogue clock on the wall. I let my forehead meet the floor defeated. My hair created a shield around my face.

"My name is Vengeance." I ignored him. "Jimmy gave this shit to his girlfriend." I looked up in fury and glared at him. He laughed. "You're like a fucking glaring machine! Sorry, cupcake, but they stuck me in charge of watching you just so you don't run away." He wagged a finger in my face. "That was not very nice, by the way.... Although," He leaned down to whisper in my ear, holding his hand up to his mouth. "It was kind of funny when you chucked the fucking vase at Johnny's head. He's still passed out!" He chuckled and I raised an eyebrow. He put a chin up to his hand in thought. "Hold on. Can I try something?" It was obviously rhetorical since I couldn't talk, and I rolled my eyes as he giggled and smiled. "Real quick." He reached out and held my nose. I started to panic.

What the hell is he doing?

I panicked and flailed around. I tried to let out screams, but it was rather hard to do with both my air passages blocked. He wouldn't let go. I was suffocating. I tried to struggle away, and finally he released me. I took in lots of ragged deep breaths through my nose. I glared at him with every fiber of my being, and he laughed again.

"Sorry. Couldn't help myself." I let out a deep growl and tried to flail my taped legs at him. He held them down, though. "Oh, stop it. It wasn't that bad." I looked at him in disbelief. It was silent.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

I glanced at the clock and watched as the second hand moved but the minute hand didn't. I've never seen a clock do that before... It was broken.

I looked back at Vengeance. He was playing with a button on his shirt, squinting and narrowing his eyes as if he was in deep thought. I attempted to frown behind the tape, and sighed.

Oh, I'm so depressed.

He looked at me when I sighed, almost disappointedly, putting his hands on his hips. "Don't get all mopey on me, cupcake. You've still got a long way to go." I looked at him confused, and he smiled. "Matt likes you." I stared blankly at him. Very blankly. He rolled his eyes keeping the smile. "Don't make me regret this." He reached over and ripped the tape off my mouth. I held my frown, but twitched in pain a little.

"I don't even know how to respond to that." Vengeance chuckled.

"Well, he hasn't killed you yet." Obviously. "That's got to mean something." Oh, obviously.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I shook my head in disbelief but never pulled my eyes away. I didn't understand what he meant. "I'm being held prisoner, douche bag-" He pointed at me.

"Name calling. Not nice. Don't make me put the tape back on-"

"You do realize you called my name stupid, right?" He suddenly waved his hand about.

"He's just a very complex individual. And, don't think I didn't notice you and Syn, either." He said pointing at me again. I stared like a deer in headlights.

"You are such an odd little man. Did you replace your brains with Twinkies or did you eat them all before you got the chance, fatty?" He pulled a roll of duct tape out from behind him again, and I groaned. "No, no. Come on. I'll be good. Don't pull out the tape." We held eye contact and he finally nodded.

"Okay." It was silent again as he put the tape behind him again. "Apologize."

"No."

"I'm not fat."

"Did you're mommy tell you that?"

"Apologize."

"I'm sorry."

"You're kind of a bitch, cupcake."

"I'm hungry." He shrugged.

"Oh well." I looked at him.

"What do you mean, 'oh well'? I haven't eaten since the morning you guys got here." I could tell he was smirking.

"Yesterday." I bit my lip.

"It's only been one day?" He nodded, his eyes glinting. I put my head back down. "Feels like forever." He laid down next to me, looking up at the ceiling.

"Maybe you'll eat later, cupcake." I sighed, and did the same.

"Now I actually want to eat a cupcake. Asshole. You're making me hungry." He laughed at me, and it was silent again. "So did they get into our safe?"

"Yup. You had a lot in there!"

"Fabulous." I sighed. "I want to go home." I mumbled quietly enough for him to hear. He smiled to humor me.

"You are home." I glanced around, noticing how hollow this room had become.

"This isn't my home anymore."

I need a hug.