2 A Daring Request

Clay:

I never expected to actually live through today.

There was just a moment of insanity, a moment of hope that my stupid mind couldn't help but grab onto for dear life. Consumed by rage and desperation, I self-destructed.

There was a moment of weakness where I thought I would be better off dead.

But to my surprise I actually got away. I ran, even when it hurt, even when I couldn't feel my legs anymore. It had been long past sundown as I ducked between the shadows of a town I didn't recognize. My stomach growled and that sick feeling of starvation hit as it always did when I exerted myself.

My vision became hazy and every part of my body was throbbing, it took all of my focus to keep my eyes open and to stay balanced on my feet. First things first I needed food, anything to eat or I'd surely starve to death before long. Yet, the feeling of dread overtook me when I realized how screwed I really was. I had no money, no means of getting anything I needed to survive. I was too injured and exhausted to attempt to steal.

I was glad that I had learned to give up on hope a long time ago.

I gazed down at my rusty blade, filled with chips, coated in blood and dirt. This sword had been a part of me for the entirety of my life... there hasn't been an object I've hated so much. Yet, this wouldn't sell for anything, and if I got rid of it I would have no means of protecting myself. It looked like I would have to carry this thing around for the rest of my life. Which may not be for very much longer.

I looked up at the sky, a feeling coming over me that I had never experienced before. I was free to do whatever I wanted, yet in this state I couldn't do anything. My life wasted, worthless. Yet I felt overwhelming relief at the same time. I couldn't help but think that this may be the last time I see the stars.

But that's when I saw him.

Out of nowhere, as if falling out of a cloud, a boy came plummeting from the sky. I heard a huge CRASH echo through the alleyways, not far off from where I stood. As if possessed by some curious child I staggered over to see what had fallen. That small, ignorant part of me thought it may be an angel coming to rescue me. My realistic side said I was losing my mind for even having thought a boy fell from the sky.

As I turned the corner I realized that the boy really did exist, he lay on the street dressed in fine looking clothes, a material so shiny I thought it may be a jewel. Angel or not, this boy was going to be my saving grace, I could probably sell those clothes for at least a month's worth of food.

I guess I would be living for just a little bit longer.

The moment the boy opened his eyes he had a stupid dumbfounded look on his face. His shiny green eyes were wide, sparking like a sheltered child that was seeing the real world for the first time. His hair was long and golden, perfectly straight and way too well kept for him to be living anywhere around here. That and the fact that his lean, pale skin had no blemishes or dirt on it.

He was no angel, but he must have been wealthy. "Give me everything you've got, rich boy." I snarled at him, pressing my rusty blade against the skin on his neck. I waited for him to cower before me, to cry. To beg for mercy as he stripped the clothes from his back. But he didn't.

The expression he was making at me was not fear. No, his eyes were bright and his expression was soft. It was a facial expression I was unfamiliar with. No fear, anger just... something like blissful wonder.

He looked like an absolute idiot.

And that's when he said something I would have killed anybody else for saying. "Damn, you're cute." He purred.

My face suddenly felt hot as I bared my teeth at the boy. This boy must have been mentally insane. I was threatening his life but he didn't seem to care in the slightest, like life was some kind of sick joke to him. It made my stomach turn.

"I don't think you understand what's going on here..." I growled, putting on my best cold-blooded murderer face despite the warm feeling in my cheeks. "The only reason I'm not slitting your throat right here and now is because I don't want to damage those nice clothes of yours. They'd sell for a much higher price if they weren't coated in blood."

Even after my words, the boy still looked dumbfounded. "But, I don't have anything on underneath..." He muttered, in a quiet, almost shy voice. His tone made me deeply uncomfortable.

"Do you think I give a shit!?" I snapped at him again, taking a step forward to really press my blade against his neck, thinking the more force I give it the sooner this lunatic would understand that I'm mugging him for everything he owns, including the clothes on his back.

"Wow." For some reason his face lit up bright red. His eyes began to shift from side to side, like he was nervous but not in the way I was expecting. He pulled up his lips a bit, a mischievous but bashful smile taking over his face. "You're so forward, you don't even know my name yet~"

I don't think I have ever wanted to kill somebody as much as I did in this moment.