FicWad

Not much to say. Thanks for the reviews! Oh and thanks to Pheonee who's going to start beta-reading this next chapter instead of this one because of my impatience. You rock! The only quick note I have to say is that I'm basing Archie and Atlanta's whole relationship off the word, 'Fairytale'. And it will be recalled in a later chapter. Why? You'll have to stick with me to find out. And a little warning, Atlanta might appear to be out of character, but that's intended. Also just a warning that this chapter is rated T for a reason. But not without a reason. Thank you and on with the update. -Nuuoa Eclaire

"Fine! I'll give you my crossbow... if you give me my heart back!" -Atlanta

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In a perfect fairytale when someone tells you that they love you, you think of an indescribable joy. The prince takes the princesses hands after saving her from the fire-breathing beast. The princess has been in love with the handsome prince from first sight and a welling of tenderness takes hold, and then tears form and she cries out, 'Me too'. But if you haven't noticed this isn't some happily ever after sort of thing.

Dead loved ones, heartache, an evil god, a destructive beast, and no magic fairy dust to make it all better.

And Atlanta could've been wrong, but she didn't think the princesses' hands were calloused. She didn't think the prince had purple hair. And she defiantly didn't believe she had fallen in love at first sight.

"You what?" Atlanta couldn't comprehend the words that had just left his mouth. Sure, in the past week or two she had felt something that was... different. But was that love? Did she love Archie! It didn't make sense. Why now? Why did he have to tell her when her friend was dead and a deadly threat was rising out of the ashes?

Archie's strong face began to disintegrate. He pushed himself away from her to stop the pain that he had inflicted on her by grasping her to tight. Atlanta could feel his steady gaze on her; she guessed he had somewhat lost himself in the jealous rage that had consumed him. She sank to her knees and further cut her knees on the sharp glass-like rocks. Archie wasn't turning away. She felt like crying all over again. She barely even noticed that Jay had left.

'Is he waiting for an answer?' she trembled inside with her own conflicting emotions. Things like, 'I love you too!' and 'Get away from me!' struggling in an unrelenting spell. She bit her lower lip and then stopped, remembering Theresa's old habit and chewed the inside of her lip. She shut her eyes tight and waited to be yelled at for not loving him back. 'But you do. NO I DON'T!' Bt what Archie did next surprised her.

All she could hear was a cold padding of golden metal against hard stone. 'He's going to hit me!' Atlanta shook. And for once she didn't have the speed to move or the spark to stop it. For once she was letting her guard down. She felt open and bare under Archie's dark steel blue eyes. She winced even without a blow being delivered, expecting a crush of bones, but when she opened her eyes she saw a warm pale hand and a sad smile.

"Come on. Don't tell me you were actually scared?" his sarcasm was forced. It was easily noticeable by the way he could barely maintain eye contact. But he held on, and their eyes together created the illusion of moon skimming dark water.
"No. I thought you were going to hit me." she whispered still remaining on the ground; she didn't care about being weak anymore. She just wanted something to make the pain go away. 'Make the pain go away.'

Archie looked purely shocked and reached forward for Atlanta, cupping her face in his hands. She cringed as he spoke, "You t-thought I would hit you?" Atlanta felt she had been the one who dealt the blow at his hurt words. 'Theresa's dead. Khalil, my Fluffy is gone. Archie's hurt because I didn't reply. Make the pain go away!'

A look of pure concern crossed Archie's face again.
"I didn't... hurt you did I?"
"Not really." She stood up in a daze. Archie rose up with her and stared into her glazed over twilight eyes. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
"Atlanta?"
And then she pushed him over onto his back and rested on top of him.

"A-Atlanta" he stuttered in shock and confusion. Then the shock increased as she pressed her lips roughly against his. He grunted gruffly in surprise. And she began to cry softly. 'Make the pain go away.'

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Jay walked in a daze through dark ominous darkness. Everything felt more like a dream then the dream world did. The events of the past felt so blurry and far away that what could've happened a minute ago seemed like an eternity. He was detached from this world; Jay knew that more then ever. But he was waiting fearfully for something, in aimless wandering; he was the one being stalked.

His brown hair fell in hunks over his dead looking chocolate eyes. He slumped down to the hard floor as another pain stabbed at his heart. 'Theresa.' He felt like wailing for her. But she was gone. Or was she?

As he had tried to explain to Atlanta, how long ago was that, he could sometimes see Theresa's smiling face haunted by screams. He could... feel her behind him breathing down his neck and then... see was gone as soo as he turned around. Gone just like before.

'Jay'

He shot up and stumbled forward, his heart beating faster with every passing second of silence. She was here again to haunt him. Or was it her? He felt to dead for this!

He raced forward barely noticing passing pillars of beautifully carved and etched dark topaz stone as he proceeded towards the voice. Or was he going away from it? And a shimmer almost like the dust of the dream world swirled in dull faded glittery colors before him. He panted finally breathing in some air.

The dust dance in a furious vortex before his eyes, picking up the pebbles as it went. And as it consumed him too, and brought cuts and bruises to his face and arms, pummeling him to the ground. He felt dizzy and numb but then everything topped and she was there. In the dim lighting the figure looked even more pale and ghostly then before.

Soft lighting of pale red gently cascaded down the side of the woman's face, her hair looked luscious and angelic, but her face was out of place. She wore a sad, sad face of heart wrenching loneliness. Like velvet stone carved by tears. An invisible smile touched her lips as she flowed delicately on the thin air, gathering under transparent feet. See through green eyes shone only with tears.
'Jay.'

Jay felt something rise up in his throat as he stumbled forward once more and like something had possessed him, he moved towards the young woman's haunting voice and met her in a sad gaze, feet rising as he did so. One last lonely smile was shown until she kissed him gently on the lips, barely even touching him as she fell slightly through his warm body.

Cold coursed through his body as the kiss became more ravenous. A food lost for so long that tasted like sweet honey. Frozen snow. Forbidden fruit. He felt could eat her up; as of she could be absorbed into his body. Then he realized it was like that completely.

She was being sucked into him like a gust of piercing chilly arctic air. It felt like a dead breath of life that seeped amongst him. He shivered uncontrollably as she pulled away and faded amongst the shadowed walls once more. Jay fell to his knees and all that could be heard was the thudding of his heart.

The ghostly image stuck in his head. Carved in forever. He was still cold as he at last realized the events that had happened. Was it real? Or was it a fraction of his imagination? But it felt so real. Then it came to Jay slowly. He looked at his hands not sure if he would be able to see the dark topaz ground beneath him.

Because in the end... nothing was real anymore.

Bright faded to dull. Black mixed in with white and gray. Death mingled with life.

Images of the past sneaking in to haunt you.

"Theresa."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

It felt so strange, Atlanta's body on top of his. Her soft fiery hair flowed through his fingers and her lips were smooth and tasted of cinnamon and watermelon. And her skin. It was so soft and firm at the same time. And she was touching him. She was kissing him.

It wasn't what he had imagined their first kiss to be like. He imagined a warm sunrise and a soft peck upon the lips was all that was needed. The thrill that consumed him was inevitable, but he didn't want the thrill to be there. And for the weirdest reason he didn't want her like this. But why? Isn't this what he wanted? To hold Atlanta and kiss her with a ravenous passion? No.

She kept pushing her lips harder and harder against his. She groaned out huskily and let her breath mingle with his. And salt mixed in with her now invading tongue. And then the true answer to his question came to him. This wasn't what he wanted. He wanted this to be real and he wanted her love. And this wasn't real.

He gently pushed Atlanta off of him... still a bit reluctantly. A look of hurt crossed her face, he wanted to reach out and take it all away.
"What's wrong? Was it terrible? You don't want me?" she said with more hurt beaded into her voice. Archie looked embarrassed and rubbed the back of his purple hair when he recalled the wonderfully terrible event, 'Stupid hormones.'
"No," he started awkwardly recalling the brush of her lips and taste in his mouth, "it was great... but I want you to want this. Not as... tell me what's wrong." He finished with a different sentence.

Atlanta stared at him for a long time feeling a heat rise in her face again. She looked thought about the kissing and hated how it made her feel even more butterflies in her stomach. She hated him for it. But before she could utter another word a cry pierced the air and it shook the walls and made the cave tremble like it would shudder and crumble to the ground.
"Do you fell that Atlanta?"
"Of course idiot." She snarled and started for the exit before he grabbed her arm to stop her. Her heart did another summersault.
"Wait."

"Get your weapon out Archie!" she demanded wishing she could break free from the man she loved. 'Loved?' Then she saw him wear a sheepish grin.
"I left my whip when I went looking for you. Stupid I know. Can I borrow your crossbow? I know you have your bolos." She broke free from his grasp and held his gaze for a while before at last she let her heart pour out in confusing rage.
"Fine! I'll give you my crossbow..." she started loudly and then her voice became a whisper, "If you give me my heart back!" Ending in a yell at the end she stormed out leaving Archie there to gawk in a smile filled with pain. Then he raced after her into the awaiting doom that huskily filled the air.
"Atlanta wait!

No this couldn't be a Fairytale. The good guys didn't die in those. She wasn't getting saved from a dragon... and she wasn't going to fall in love. Never going to fall in love.

Besides Fairytales always ended in 'Happily Ever After'.

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Bet that was unexpected. It's getting a little dark for a little while. Can't blame me can you? Don't hate me! Humor will come! Did you think that, that was Theresa? Wasn't that A/A first kiss weird? And stay tuned for 'The Wrath of the Beast'! Remember rate and review. -Nuuoa Eclaire