Neomythology - Runaway

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He was tall and thin, with pale white skin. His eyes were as black as his slicked back hair, and the ring through his lip could have been the mark of an artist if he lived in a city. He didn't live in a city though, and new wave wouldn't be watered down enough to hit his small town for a few more years. In those days, it was just the mark of a freak.

Her soft ivory skin smelled like warm grass in the springtime, and she always left her red hair slightly damp in the morning to let the curls take shape naturally.

He fell in love at first sight, and she fell in love with his work. She started to stay late after school, watching his hands work the clay in the art room as he told her all about his plans to move to the city after graduation.

“You should come too,” he said. “You would love it. Culture, art, food, anything you could possibly imagine wanting would be within walking distance.”

“It sounds crowded and dirty,” she replied with a laugh. “And dangerous, and loud, and cold and impersonal. I don't know what I would even do there!”

He shrugged, looking away before muttering softly, “You don't even know what you want to do here.”

If she heard him, she pretended she didn't.

The Monday before graduation, he said he had a surprise for her. She asked what it was, and he laughed.

“I already told you. It's a surprise.”

He held the door open for her to get in his car and started driving.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“To the city. Where did you think?”

She stared at him. The trip to the city would take seven hours, and they did technically have school the next day.

“Are you serious?”

“I promise you'll love it,” he said. “Can you just relax for a minute? We're taking tomorrow off. Is that such a big deal?”

She thought about it for a minute and decided that no, it really wasn't a big deal.

The sky was pitch black when the streets turned dangerous, and the lights the city installed were faded and dim. He noticed her fear, and reached across her body to lock the car door.

“Relax,” he said. “We're almost there.”

“That's all you have to say?”

He shrugged and turned the radio up. “Don't make eye contact.”

He had wanted to show her the apartment he leased to move into after graduation. It was small and dirty and she had no problem telling him how much she hated it. He laughed.

“You're sulking,” he said. “You're just tired from the drive. It will look better in the morning. I'll sleep on the couch, you take the bed.”

“I'm not sulking,” she replied. “It really is small and dirty. Sleep in your own bed. If you're a gentleman you'll let me sleep on the couch.”

So he let her sleep on the couch, and when they woke up the apartment was the same as it was the previous night, just a bit brighter.

“I'll take you out for breakfast,” he said.

“I'm not hungry.”

“Do you want to see the neighborhood?”

“No. I don't want to get shot.”

“What do you want to do then?”

“I want to go home.”

“I'm not stopping you.” He motioned toward the door and grinned. “Those three locks aren't there to keep you in. You can leave if you want.”

“Fine,” she said. “Give me your keys.”

“No. I need my car. I'm not going back until graduation. You can wait, or go catch a train upstate.”

She didn't know where the trains were, and even though she was convinced she wasn't sulking, she didn't want to ask.

“I already told you,” she said with annoyance. “I don't want to get shot.”

He shrugged. “I'm going shopping. I don't have any soap or towels. I'll buy you a towel if you want one.”

“Whatever. You're really messed up, you know that?”

“I was wondering how long it would take for you to notice.”

The little store on the corner sold little tomato plants growing in little pots. They didn't look particularly healthy, but she picked one up and handed it to him.

“You should buy this,” she said. “There needs to be something worth keeping alive in your ugly apartment.”

She said it with such a straight face that it took a moment for his mind to register the words, and for the first time in his life he didn't have a response. He bought the plant.

They found a place that sold discount art supplies and when they got back to the apartment he asked if he could draw her. She called him a psycho but didn't say no.

They tried to make tacos, but they weren't quite sure what to do with the spices, so they added enough cheese to mask the flavor.

“Disgusting,” she said, but ate it anyway. By that point, she was starving.

There wasn't much else to do besides talk, so they talked. He told her about his plans to stay in the city, and she told him that she wanted to get a job at the library.

“They have libraries here, you know,” he said. “They even have schools to teach you how to be a better librarian. Do you even know how to be a librarian?”

“I'm sure the library has a book about it.”

It was a bit cold that night, so they shared a blanket as they talked on the couch, and she didn't even notice when she began to fall asleep on his shoulder.

A pounding on the door woke them up the next morning, and two men in blue uniforms slammed his face into the wall when he opened it.

They asked her if she was all right. She said she was fine. They told her she had to go home, and she frowned.

“Graduation isn't for another three days,” she said.

The two officers exchanged a glance. The older one let go of the boy and faced her instead.

“You're seventeen years old. Your mother is in hysterics. I can give you a good lecture and drop you off at home, or I can charge your little boyfriend with kidnapping a minor. You seem like a smart enough girl, so I'll let you decide.”

“He's not my boyfriend,” she said. “Let's go.”

The younger officer released his grip and the boy felt his heart breaking as she started to walk away. When she got to the door, she paused and turned around.

It was only an impulse, but it was the most natural one she’d ever had. She let her fingernails scratch his scalp as she ran her hands through his hair, and she kissed him so deeply he nearly stopped breathing.

“Don't let that plant die,” she said. “I'll be back. I promise.”

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♥

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