Red, White and Green: A (Horror) Love Story

The Walls Are Growing

(POV of Fourteen) (Swear Warning)

One wasn't lying when she said this was a once-in-a-lifetime event. Lots of Numberblocks and Alphablocks, but especially Alphablocks, both crowded within the decorated walls of Seventeen's museum. It's busier than usual, but just spacious enough for me to be able to skate around with freedom. I'm not taking the skateboard off anytime soon. One hums and bounces behind me. Without a care in the world, she waves exclusively to the other Numberblocks, such as that quiet Seventeen.

Seventeen painted messily, returning the friendly wave as we passed by. More and more of his coming strokes fell well off the page, but he paid no mind to it. Fifteen suddenly materialized behind him, particle by particle, which startled me and Eleven. Red paint materialized on her cheeks as well as Seventeen's. That paint absolutely was not his doing. A pair of green, slimy handcuffs materializes around their wrists. I look away before their predicament gets worse.

It seems like One didn't look away, though. She waved at them normally, but raised no questions or any visible concern at Fifteen appearing. Yes, Fifteen is good at hiding, but I know for a fact that the three of us watched her assemble like a cloud of dust coming together.  Is there not a single place in Numberland that doesn't feel off?

Maybe the weird feelings are just from me. It's only the familiar art gallery with new pieces. But no matter what I'm looking at, I can't stop seeing it... Her face, her beautiful face of pretty... My eyes, they can't stop seeing her face. The walls, the ceiling, the floors, the next hallway... A picture of her still dominates my vision. Her differently sized eyes and beautiful soccer... no, football, uniform.

It is true that I love her. Yes, it is true. It is true. It's true.

I rubbed my eyes and rainbow eyebrows, and upon opening my gaze again her face was still all around. Ack! I'm so in love, but I know it's not me  who's making up these images! Can One fucking stop hanging pictures of Eleven everywhere

I need to get back to why we're here. Briefly holding my helmet over my eyes, I roll into a hallway exclusively adorned with human portraits.

We have to see these humans for who they are at all, right? The numberdudes at the Christmas concert saw them, but even then, no one knows what goes on with humans except for the fact that they control us. I've got a clear picture of them now, the gross things they are. But even the portraits tell me little more than how a human views themself. From staring at these pictures for one second each, I got nothing.

Hey, wait! Are they causing One to act strange now, too? She's stopped hopping like she was a mere minute ago. Thankfully, no more pictures of Eleven, but that doesn't mean good things for her, it seems. Now, she simply slides across the floor, feet dragged as if she's a weight tugged by an invisible string. Then, she pauses. She's completely motionless. She barely even seems alive. I try to get her attention.

"Hey One!"

"Why, hello! Pretty art, huh?"

How mocking of her, I thought as she snapped to face me me, legs firmly planted where they were before and painfully contorted with the rest of her twisted body. I take a real close look and realize she, too, is beginning to form painted cheeks that are somehow even redder than she already is.

"Please stop that..." I weakly ask.

"Stop what? Oh, hey! It's the Alphablocks."

Did she only just see them? They're hard to miss, especially for One, who's shorter than all of them. Either way, she was right. A and E were walking together when they stopped in front of a painting of a small, young-looking human. The painting's eyes stare back at them, glowing a light pink.

Then, A holds E's hand.

"We should have babies like that someday. A lot of them!" A says out of the blue.

I shouldn't have hoped they'd be normal. Who looks at a painting of a child and immediately has that reaction?

"Let's do it!" E jeers. He yells into his megaphone and a few other Alphablocks run near him. These Alphablocks are B, I, R, T, and...

NOPE! I am NOT looking in that direction again. I grab One and Eleven and skate to another part of the museum as fast as possible. No, the Alphablocks are very obviously not normal here. I risk holding Eleven in a romantically-provoking manner by doing this, but I'm willing to take that risk to avoid witnessing what is about to go down with the Alphablocks.

I'm able to skate to the other end of the museum and all the way to the entrance near the pattern wall before hearing anything. Thank the What-iffer. On the other hand, my physical contact with Eleven has caught the attention of both of us. We take a few seconds to let go. It's just... So hard to do so when your lover's hand is warm and soft and comforting, and you need this comfort when you're in a stressed out situation. I miss her touch already. I miss it.

If you repeat something enough, it'll eventually become true.

This is disgusting, bros! I shake myself vigorously, grossed out and frustrated. I gotta snap out of this quickly, dude. My thoughts are getting worse and worse by the minute.

This presumably human controller loves couples, no doubt about it. They've made One completely lose it at this point. Who would they pair with One...? I looked upon some of the human artworks. Some of them feature what I can only assume is a female human and a male human together. Sometimes, they kiss. Or do things that would take our world off the air if I described them. It's not an educated guess, but I decide to take a wild shot and see how One acts around Two.

"I was wondering, One...?"

"Yes?" She glowed. Something small and green appeared on her Numberling.

"I just wanted to ask how Two was, that's all."

"Oh! Glad you mentioned that!" She bounced, hitting the ceiling. She looked as if she forgot something, then dashed away immediately. Absolutely no regard was made to her hitting her head on the ceiling.

Just as fast, she comes back with Two, blushing.

"I love Two." One says, unprompted and in a tonally distracting manner. "I'm also straight."

Congrats, One?

"I wonder if I'm straight." Two says. "I think so."

I don't have many braincells, but even I can recognize that them announcing those things is out of character. One, too, is getting paired beyond her control. Two seems to have a head full of air himself, though, that's normal for him. They're racing to become a couple like the coupled humans in the paintings.

That doesn't help me out, though. One and Two are close friends. Them being paired together could have reasons that don't apply to me and Eleven. I struggle to think more, as my fourteen braincell bros are all tuckered out. I feel an off-track Eleven snatch my hand, with both ominous and reassuring intent.

It's so easy to say i love her, I almost don't have to try at all.

"I love..."

I stop myself. Barely.