An Anthology of Blacks and Reds (One-shots)

Shoelaces and Ice Cream

He jogged for longer this Sunday morning trying to forget what happened last night, that dreadful night that unleashed the harsh reality of what really was. He was trying to make himself feel better.

Actually, the only thing that could make him feel better is good bunny ice cream in mugs and a Lord of The Rings/Harry Potter movie marathon with her. The way she would always anticipate the movie's next scene with her eyes wide, calculating, and her nose scrunched up no matter how many times she's watched it. The way she'd curl up against him when she got too tired or the way she'd squeeze her eyes shut when she couldn't bear Sirius and Dumbledore's death and that Snape was the murderer. It was always spending time with her that made him feel better. She was so cute that it hurt to remember.

Each. Fucking. Time.

He gritted his teeth. Stop it, you can't dwell on her. You'll only hurt yourself more. He reminded himself, as he turned at the corner, taking in the sweet smell of dawn.

It was 5 in the morning and the sun was just rising. The calm silence and chilly darkness began to come to life. His body has been accustomed to early rising and exercising. He'd always get up for a swim in his pool and a good run from 4 to 5:30 in the morning with his earbuds on taking the same green route listening to the same damn playlist. It was a safe neighborhood by the coast he lived in. A fair row of houses both elegant and simple lined up the shore. There was a family park on the north side of town and a church just across it.

But the most painful place in this neighborhood was "Our Tree Place" as the two of them once called it. It was in a secluded area with a wooden bench and a grand oak tree entwined with another kind of tree. It was easy on the eyes, you wouldn't miss it or blink twice... Unless you had some sort of eye disorder, of course.

His memory of her held him in place as he stared at their bench-spot. She looked so pure and strong, most of all, she was beautiful in the night's light. The stars illuminated her round blue eyes, you could see the tiny spots of brown in them.
"Will you still love me in the morning?"

She was lying on his lap staring up at him. Strands of her wavy black hair were on her face. He leaned to her, tucked a strand behind her ear and stared at her in the eyes. He got mesmerized by her, easily lost in the sea of their love. Time stood still, in the wee traces of twilight.

"Of course, I will. Always." He said.
"Always?"

"Always."
And they continued to watch the stars. It was another perfect moment.

He was brought out of his reverie when a ginger bumped into him, effectively scattering her ice cream on the park's ground, knocking the wind out of him and her landing on top of him.

"Jesus. I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there."

He stared at her, bewildered, and looked at the ice cream (and was that strawberry?) that landed about 3 ft. away from his shoulder and asked her,

"Is that Jerry's?"

"You bet it is. It's my favorite: Jerry's cookies and cream." She looked at her ice cream mournfully as she finished saying this. She loved Jerry's too except her flavor was always plain vanilla, he thought.

He noticed that they were still in that position, on the ground with her still on top of him. He couldn't help but feel uncomfortable as the seconds ticked by.

"Could you please get off of me now?"

His tone came off a little bit harsher and he cursed himself mentally at this. Great, now she's going to think I'm a moody arse. Though I really shouldn't care.

She got up, offering her hand to him with a genuine smile that made her green eyes sparkle as the sun rose.

"Seems like someone got up from the wrong side of the bed today. Haha." , she said.

He looked at her hand, contemplating whether to take it or not. And for a minute, he saw her holding out her hand to him.

"Are you going to take the hand or just continue laying there like a lost puppy or ugly banana?" stifling the amusement from her face. "You look like you're about to bolt and run in reality, by the way."

He didn't know what to say. What is a girl like her doing this early here, he wondered to himself. He took her hand so as not to be rude and steadied himself up.

"If you're wondering why I'm here at this hour, it's because I have this weird craving for ice cream at strange times of the day." The ginger said as she let go of his hand and straightened her blue T-shirt, unaware that he was gaping at her like a fish.

"How did you do that? You just basically read my mind! And really? You crave for ice cream at this time of day? That's ridiculous! It's only a quarter to six." He couldn't have said it any more politely.

"What? It's not that strange. There's a convenience store at the corner of here by the park. Oh, and I didn't read your mind, genius. You said it out loud." She replied with a 'duh' look on her face, completely unfazed by what he said.

He was stumped. He wanted to get out of there. The more he looked at her face, the more he remembered her face. It was too much. Though they bore no resemblance of the sort, he knew he just had to leave. The pain was still fresh on his mind. The wound in his heart still bleeding. No.

"I'm going to go now.", he said willing the tears to not fall.

"Okay. I'm Samantha, by the way. At least, tell me your name before you go."

"It doesn't matter. We won't be bumping into each other any time soon."

He stared straight into her green eyes hard, trying to get the message across: Leave me alone now, please.

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Time stood still. That moment where the both of them were frozen, stuck in that sad, awkward time. Let go of me, Tristan. Let go. She wanted him to move on. It hurt to see him in pain, in heartbreak. Over her. She always knew that she had to leave. It was inevitable.

Looking at the frozen timeframe she created, Tristan and Samantha were standing facing each other and if one were to look from afar, they were silhouettes in the sunrise.

It was a sign. All of it was.

This is what she would have wanted to happen before she left him the night before. This is the truth to why she was taken away cruelly by the Collector. Fate never intended for May and Tristan to be together 'til the very end. He was too far away in the first place to make it last the way it did.

She unfroze time and stepped out of his world.

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"Fine, whatever. You don't have to be a meanie about it. You owe me a cookies-and-cream-with-a-strawberry-on-top ice cream by the way. I actually thought you were a nice human being." She turned her back with that as the last word and left him in his stance.

When she was nowhere to be seen already, he stared after her and said,

"I don't owe you anything."

He sat down on the ground with his knees up to his chest, bowing his head and silently wept.