Kyle & Lucy — Chapter 7 [Rewrite] 🐱😈 · 4:49pm Apr 8th, 2023
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
The Grave of Blunders.
A dried-up geyser field that was home to all the unwanted artifacts and trinkets of the outer lands, resting below the lush, swirling cliffs of Sunview Bluffs near one of the far corners of Prairie Plaza. A fenced-in junkyard where anyone could throw all their worries away. Literally. I occasionally witnessed newcomers to the Bay take their first steps toward a fresh start by joyously tossing away old or fancy belongings over the arched overhang. Said belongings ranged from broken clocks to bendy telescopes, to all sorts of confusing, gear-turning relics.
Whenever I needed to clear my head, I poked around in the vibrant landfill. There, I always found a strange sense of comfort—of belonging—among the mountainous piles of rejected rubbish. There was no panic in their hearts, only metal or plastic.
Once my vicious claws finally sunk back to their normal nubs, I sat on my milk crate seat around the makeshift awning I threw together out of a ducky-patterned shower curtain. I was folding white construction paper into crinkled flowers for my love—Jenny O. Mega. A foxy wolf who beautified this undeserving world with her kind heart and gorgeous style. Her bold brown eyes made me feel seen. The idea of her flowing buttermilk fur stranded my heart in a sea of coziness. News of her charitable work—like supporting chickens who wish to cross roads without being questioned—had me falling for her more with each passing day; she was so beautiful, it hurt. Out of everything I surrounded myself with in that junkyard, it was her presence that kept my spirits high.
Granted, it was a poster of her that I taped to a crate across from my tree stump table, but a boy can dream, right? Besides, it was my only escape; that sharp pain wasn’t keen on leaving me be.
“There you are, kitty!”
Faster than I could process, I yanked my hood over my head.
“You are a fast one,” Lucy huffed, staggering toward a chubby blue beanbag chair near the corner of the awning. “I didn’t get a chance to—AH!”
The demon was flailing and sinking into the lumpy cushion’s puckered grasp. I leapt off my seat and yanked her free before it could swallow her whole.
“Thank you,” she sighed, moving to collapse on the stump table. “How do you guys sit in those things?”
“I don’t sit in that one.” I signed.
“Why do you have it here then?”
“I’m afraid to go near it.”
“Oh. Fair point.”
I sat back down, tugging the strings of my hoodie until my face was hidden away.
“Hey, what’s wrong, kitty?”
I hung my head, turning my back on her.
“Oh, my gosh! You, um… have that raccoon’s scissors in your back.”
That explained where the sharp pain came from; classic Randy. I pulled the blade out, setting it aside.
“You don’t break easy, do you?” Lucy asked.
I shrugged.
Two things struck me after that gesture: immediate regret and a wooden tea tray. Then a vase, then an entire set of collector’s item dishes, then a window, then a grandfather clock. I kind of lost track after that.
“You are amazing, Kyle!” the girl exclaimed.
“I guess…” I signed, picking bits of splinters, glass and ceramics out of my coat and fur.
“Aww, don’t be like that. You’d make an excellent villain!”
Tears began to grow from the corners of my eyes as I buried my face in my lap.
“What, you don’t want that?”
I shook my head.
“Why not? Most demons would kill for your talents.”
I tugged at my ears. “I hate it! It makes me feel like… a monster.”
“Let’s not get too excited now. ‘Monster’ is my job description, thank you. You seem more like a 'rogue with a mysterious past' type. Either way, what you did to those guys was insane!”
“Yeah. Insane.”
“So, that scar Randy mentioned. You did that?”
I nodded, shame weighing down on my neck.
“How did it happen?”
I figured Lucy deserved to know; it was best to give her an idea of what she was dealing with and a chance to abandon ship.
I could still remember every detail. The wild ringing of the school’s bell, the squeaky metal of the playground equipment working double-time, the outrageous summer plans I overheard the other kids boast about having soon—the usual vibes. I was sitting at one of the stone lunch tables at the edge of the playground, jotting down crazy ideas for sunny-themed dessert ideas for the bakery when I heard loud clapping and tiny screams. Suddenly, a sky-blue damselfly with glittery rainbow wings swooped toward me with pleading magenta eyes, shriveling her thin shape into a tiny ladybug between my paws. It was my classmate Xena—a multi-fly—an insect of many forms.
“Those wings are mine!” was all I heard before Randy rammed into me like I was nothing. Holding that thrashing maniac back made it difficult to stay delicate with the bug. I was only trying to slap his grabby mitts away. It all happened so fast…
I tried to tell him it was an accident, that I wasn’t the real monster… but maybe I was. Maybe Vyle was who I truly am and I was the annoying half; his sickness. All I wanted was to be the good others said the world needed. Xena came to me for warmth and protection. Instead, I had potentially made her afraid of turning to anyone for help again. I never knew where she flapped off to after that brief scuffle and the frightened look in her eyes was still etched in my memory.
My stomach was in knots when telling this story, making it harder to look my companion in the face. Part of me wanted to sink into my hoodie and never come out.
“Poor baby.”
Then, a familiar toasty feeling leaned me into a tender cuddle.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Lucy cooed, patting my back. “If those guys won’t take such a great offer, I’ll do it myself.”
She slid Gram’s glossy coupon onto my lap, stroking my ears and planting stinging smooches on my forehead. The warmth of her soft embrace brought my worries to a standstill.
“Don’t worry,” she continued. “It’s okay. Like father says, ‘You can’t take an amulet without cracking a few heads’. No, that’s not it. You get what I mean though, right?”
“Nope.”
“Well, I’m jealous! Are you sure you don’t want to be partners in crime?”
“I don’t know.”
That “crime” part still didn’t sit well with me.
Lucy slid a dirty white bucket next to me and sat. “I need one if I’m hoping to master this whole villainess thing. Pawns are hard to find. A simple hench-mammal would be nice, but no. My evil acts are ‘too childish’ or ‘not torture material’. Like, glitter can be torturous, right? It makes sense!”
The demon wiggled a pink balloon from her hair and hurled it at my head, an explosion of red glitter with bits of edible confetti staining my face and raining down in a mushroom cloud of bedazzled wonderment.
“I added confetti for flair,” she said, twirling a roll of stickers around a finger. “The stickers are my calling cards. Is it too much? Ugh, it’s too much!”
“It’s cute.” I signed, dusting myself clean.
“I don’t want 'cute' though. I want creepy! The rules don’t include cuteness!”
“Rules?”
The pouting girl revealed a heavy, rust-red book labeled “The Nether Regions’ Guide to True Villainy.” A swarm of black widows flooded from the flaked hardcover and ran off as Lucy furiously flipped through the endless pages of rules, tips and soft suggestions.
“Let’s see,” she uttered, skimming through the devilishly curved text. “Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s soul, thou shall not use up all the hot lava, thou shall not mess with Ouija boards unless thou wish to deal with C-list investigators… no, I don’t see it. The only act of cute I see is ‘execute’, but I haven’t reached that point in my studies yet.”
“You have your lessons.” I replied.
“I guess so. There are times when I wonder if I’m being foolish with them. I have to follow the proper rules, or forever be stuck in the Ankle-Biter level.”
“Doesn’t sound so bad.”
“No one’s afraid of anyone at that level! I just want to make my father proud of me, but I can’t do scary the right way! Seeing everyone in terror today should’ve made me feel strong—powerful even—but something was… off. I must have scared them the wrong way. I don’t know anymore.”
Lucy reached into one of her black and white socks and slipped out a thin strip of vibrant, happy stickers that curled around her fingers.
“Kyle?”
“Yes?”
“Do you think I’m weird?”
“Yes.”
“Oh…”
My company’s head hung low, her wavy hair draped over her quivering eyes. I peeled a sticker of a smiling sun off the roll and stuck it to the devil’s forehead.
“Weirdness makes you a bright light.” I signed, nudging her shoulder.
Soon, a tickled grin creeped across the goof's face. She plucked a cute watermelon sticker and poked it onto my nose. “You’re a sweet melon,” she giggled. “The sweetest.”
“There is nothing wrong with being sweet.”
“Ha! You are one silly ball of fluff.”
“I try.”
“That’s all I’ve been doing.”
“Keep trying. You’ll think of something crazy.”
Lucy pat my head. “Thank you. Partners?”
“Friends.”
“Friends… hmm. It’s no pawn, but I’ll take it!”
My official friend celebrated our new status with a strong hug. I caught a whiff of what smelled like charred cherry pie in her pink strands as she nuzzled my cheek with a happy hum. Our tender connection was then blessed by the faint tunes of a Donald McMichael album that echoed from the senior center a block away from the landfill. The canine’s angelic voice led Lucy to sway us both along to the mellow melodies. My tail wagged once her hums kept rhythm.
“Classic.” She sighed, ruffling the fur on my head.
“You know McMichael?” I asked.
“Do I know him? If his music isn’t playing at my funeral, I’m leaving the casket! The only legend that can top a legend is—”
“Mikey Johnston?”
“I love Mikey Johnston!”
The numbing sensation returned. However, the chilling removal of my senses that normally came with it was instead replaced with a growing tension of my lips that stretched from ear to ear. Any speck of doubt I had on that girl was wiped out. This couldn’t be real, I thought. It had to be some oddly specific demon trick of Lucy’s, but the next thing I knew, I was playing patty-cake to the beat with her. Every second we spent dancing, drumming over junk, and lip-syncing into old toilet brushes, I cherished dearly. At long last, someone who didn’t tease me for my jamming skills or hurt themselves trying to keep up. No disrespect to anyone, but I was fortunate in finally making the acquaintance of someone who had rhythm. Such energy, such tempo, such flair in her noodle arms—it was beautiful.
In the middle of our loud and wild spasms, Lucy paused as something fell from her dress with a light clink.
“Oops!” she snatched it with a chuckle. “Forgot to say, those goons left this behind. I must have burned a real hole into this, didn’t I?”
Pinched between the demon’s fingers was my money pouch. I claimed the bag, counting the remaining change from the outside.
Two… three… four. Exact amount.
“It’s okay.” I smiled.
Opportunity was calling us. This thrilling, momentous occasion of our newfound friendship had to be topped with something more special than a simple hug—though hugs are a close second. It had to be something unique, something pure, something…
Frosty.
Awww, they're so nice to each other
Yay, glad to see the pace picking up. I'm enjoying this allt, it's a sweet tale of differences and the understanding behind it. The setting is very magical, and the characters are absolutely vibrant. I'm very curious hoe all this will work out for our heroes in the long run. Thank you for sharing this with me, I had oodles of fun reading.
You are a very good writer. This is such a nice little tale, I hope it can blossom into the world and bring others happiness to read it.
5723591
Tysm, I hope it's somewhat entertaining for others :3
I like this later part. It's taking a more somber but really interesting turn. I'm liking it.
Awww, a insightful yet heartfelt chapter. I find it really cool, that you can write so fluidly and in detail, and I'm here scared of going over 1k.
5731783
Oof, don't be scared, lol
It can be as long as it needs to be if it's needed to tell the story.
5731785
Such wise words