FicWad

Somehow you’d gotten to see that life was just a hospital. An endless series of rooms with depression, small amounts of joy, and in the end death. You couldn’t believe, at the same time that someone who had only just barely turned twenty-three could already be so cynical. But you weren’t really. You wished you could give up on life now. You wished you could put your hands up and sing the ever so famous lines and seriously mean them this time. ‘I’m through with love I’ll never fall again, said ado to love. Don’t ever call again. ‘Cause I’m through with love.’ But even now… as you walk down Main Street soaked to the skin, with a rip in your favorite black dress. You know that love will never be through with you.

Dreams of a life without love wake you up in a cold sweat. Absolutely terrified that you’d die alone on some corner somewhere wishing that you’d just taken a chance, wishing you’d had the guts to try to be all that you could be. But in the end, look at you now. You were sad, lonely, broken and torn. You couldn’t drive home because your car had been toed, you couldn’t take a cab because you had left your wallet in your coat pocket inside your car and you were tired from the break in your heart that wasn’t too far in your past. All in all, you thought life couldn’t get any worse. You were wrong.

You suddenly felt yourself become one with the cement. Lovely more water. Looking around you saw another figure getting up. The figure was hoodie clad and had on black jeans that were so tight you couldn’t help but wonder how his circulation flowed to his feet. “Are you alright?” The person- you’d now identified as male- asked worriedly. “Not really.” You ground out as he put a tattooed hand out, to which you stared at for a second, obviously debating whether to take his help or not. On one hand, you didn’t really want the help of some guy who couldn’t watch where the hell he was walking and on the other, you were the one in the three inch heels. You slid your hand in his and he helped you up. Once standing you realized that he had to be like a foot smaller than you. Considering that you were six one and you were wearing heels. “Sorry about that, really.” He said softly. “Yeah well, you should learn to watch where the hell, you are going.” You said trying to walk around him. “Hey, um… did you know that you have a rip in the back of your dress?” You huffed. “Yes, as a matter of fact and thank you for pointing that…” He looked up at you and you couldn’t talk. He had these huge round eyes the colour of moss. He had a small silver hoop incasing the bottom of his two, dare you say perfect lips. “…Out.” You finished softly when he raised a perfect eyebrow. “Are you okay?” He questioned. “Not really. Honestly, I’ve had a really bad day.” You blurted out. He smiled and you realized that he also had a perfect smile behind those overly perfect lips. “Um, this is gonna sound like an intrusive question.” He warned. “Is it?” He nodded. “Why aren’t you wearing a coat in this down pour?” You sighed. “My damn car was toed and it had my damn coat in it and my damn wallet so I can’t take a freaking taxi.” Your words seemed to tumble out in a mix of misery, pathetic, and of course annoyance. “Oh, shit. That sucks.” He looked behind him then behind you and sighed. “Come on, I’ll take you home.” He said pulling car keys out of his pocket. “No.” Was your simple and reasonable answer. The man sighed again, this time in a manner that seemed to scream ‘so unreasonable’. “The way I see it is you have two choices. You can either A, let me take you home or B, walk home in the pitch black rain, freeze to death and risk getting attacked by some guy.” His logic wasn’t all that off. You couldn’t tell why but, for some reason you trusted him. Even though you did trust him there was still a part of you that was telling you to be cautious, could you have a more sensible brain? “I… I don’t even know you.” He stuck his hand out again. “Frank Iero and you are?” You eyed him for the third time. Truth be told, you were cold and until he had suggested it you hadn’t even thought about the fact that you were wearing a very small dress and it was very late. “Emma Marshel.” You introduced. He smiled and gestured for you to follow him. For some insane reason, you did.

He opened the passenger side door of a small silver car. As you went to get in he put his hoodie in your hands. You looked at him as if he were nuts. “You need it more than I do.” True. You smiled and got in making sure to buckle your seatbelt but not locking the door, just in case you needed to make a quick exit. He sat next to you. “Are you sure about this, I live kinda far.” You said. It was true; you lived on the other side of town. “It’s my pleasure.” You told him where you lived and when he turned the keys in the ignition you noticed two things. How the charm that hung on his key ring said ‘incandescent’ and how Elliott Smith’s ‘Angeles’ swelled up through the speakers. You smiled instantly. Nobody could make you feel better than Elliott. “I love him.” You whispered as to not disturb the soft breeze of Elliott’s voice. Frank looked over and smiled brightly. “Really?” You nod. “What’s your favorite?” He asked and you thought. “Well, it’s a tie.” You decided. “Between?” You thought again just to be sure you didn’t miss anything. Music was something you took really seriously. “Well… ‘Georgia’; ‘Waltz #2’; ‘Little one’ and this one. But ‘Basement on a Hill’ is my favorite album.” He smiled bigger. “Mine too. My favorite is ‘Riot Coming’.” As you passed by a street lamp you caught a better look at his amazing eyes which you now discovered were moss with a glint of burnt gold. They sparkled and you smiled at his smile. He reminded you a bit of a little boy. You were interested in him. You looked at the fingers that gripped the steering wheel and were tattooed with orange and black letters spelling out ‘Halloween’. “Why do you have Halloween tattooed on your hands?” He smiled over at you. “It’s my birthday.” A warning bell went off in your head ‘danger Will Robinson!’ You thought. No wonder he seemed perfect. He was a Scorpio. Of course he was, you weren’t blind. You could tell a Scorpio from a mile away, you could practically smell one. By this point you were an expert on them, which wasn’t good. Scorpio men always drove you crazy, and in the end you devoured them. You nodded to yourself and the stop lights changed to green.

“So other bands you like are?” He kept the conversation going. “The Cure, The Smiths, Black Flag, Casualties, Smashing Pumpkins, White Stripes, Marilyn Manson, Fiona Apple, Cat Power… I’m sure there are others too. Oh! I love Jeff Buckley.” He laughed softly, no doubt at the enthusiasm that had taken over your once quiet voice. “You’re cute.” He smiled turning onto the highway. You blushed but recovered quickly. “And you are trouble.” You pointed a finger at him.


The way you saw this situation was that in the end this couldn’t go anywhere big. You thought that the only thing to come out of this was more battle scars. But what if you were wrong? What if this opportunity was something you’d wish you’d taken when you are dying on some corner. What if this was the right turn in the hallway. Left, you’d be walking toward the corner and right, you’d be walking toward a soft bed with family around you and soft, tattooed hands holding yours as you slipped away into the next series of rooms. You smiled at the prospect. You liked Frank and could tell he liked you. You heaved a deep breath as you made your decision. You would jump head first and what ever happened here, you could at least know that you would never wonder about that small man with the sparkly eyes and warm smile. You reached over and slid your hand into his unoccupied one. He looked over to you quickly and smiled again.

“I could make you satisfied in everything you do
All your ‘secret wishes’ could right now be coming true
And be forever with my poison arms around you
No-one’s gonna fool around with us
No-one’s gonna fool around with us
So glad to meet you
Angeles.”