The Silver Linings of Gold

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

The highs had always been high, and the lows low. Nothing was ever in his control, it was as if everything wilted and fell like petals from a rose. Emily. All he had thought about previously had been her, but now she rarely crossed his thoughts, Harry and her had always been distractions. No. He understood his thoughts weren't his own. He understood that the green goblin lived inside of him, and it would ruin him. It had already begun its process. He would lose. To everyone he had said he would beat. To Otto fucking Octavius, the dullard who called himself a doctor.

A slightly unhinged laugh escaped his lips, he could taste salt on them, from the free fall of his eyes.

It was as though the room spun around him, it was all a constructed reality. Why would any of this be real, and if it was, why would it happen to him? He was Norman Osborn. The mayor, the founder of Oscorp, and most of all, someone who had truly fought tooth and nail to his position. No one had ever worked as hard as him, had given up as much as he had to do what he had. He had sacrificed his son, his brain and his relationships. He had stayed awake for days at a time, just to push Oscorp to the position it was in now. 

He would never lose. Not to the Green Goblin, not to Otto Octavius, and never to Spider-Man.

The anger spilt over, and the papers across his desk flew to the left, in a flurry. He turned, the laughter still escaping his cracked lips.If it all were to end today, everything would stop. The pressure, the pain, and the protest. He was not a loser. No. No. He was not. He would never lose. Never. Not to the Green Goblin, not to Otto Octavius, and never to Spider-Man. 

It was normal to feel this way. It was normal to be angry over the lack of control that he knew, but it always begged the question, had he not made the decisions he had, would he be in a better position, would he feel maybe even an ounce of happiness. 

A knock at the thin glass door caught his attention. He hastily wiped away the tears staining his face, and looked towards the sound.

"Yes?"

"Sir, a start-up entrepreneur insists he talk with you, it's urgent."

"Ramsey, do you send every babbling fool that comes in with the brand new idea of beginning a Spider-Man theme park?"

"Well," She seemed at a loss for words. "Well, I, I think he's different, please trust me sir."

"If this is less than I expect Ramsey, your heads on the chopping block." He said in a dismissive tone.

His assistant walked out, slightly flustered in her awkward gait (R**a if you couldn't tell). Norman turned back to face the window, he knew this would not be worth his time, but why not give the hopeless a hope. 

*the hopeless a hope, you're getting weak Normie*

"Shut up" 

*Why should I honey?*

"Shut up" Norman could feel his voice rising.

*Is it because your wife's dead and your best friend hates you?*

"SHUT UP!" Screamed Norman.

Heavy footsteps could be heard from outside the room, and as the door slid open they began to reverberate into his own room.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"You know, it's common for a business-man to knock, let alone introduce himself." Norman turned around instantaneously as the door slid open, looking at the windows. He could not let this man know his true nature. He could control the goblin. It was hard he knew, and maybe it had all been a mistake, injecting himself with a prototype, but here he was. He couldn't change it, time travel was too much of a risk. Besides, he's have to see Emily again. His heart ached.  And then, he would have to leave her again, waiting for her death. He couldn't do it. He would have to learn to hold the goblin down, no matter how hard it made things sometimes. No one would 

"I don't bother myself with unnecessary manners," He paused, as if considering himself between his thick Scottish accent. "Sir." He finally finished.

"You say sir as if someone is holding you at gunpoint, I'm not forcing you to do anything. I am the one helping you, maybe you should take that into account." He said, turning.

The man was a less than impressive sight. His tattered clothes, and disheveled appearance combined with a slight green undertone of his skin. It put him at unease slightly. It reminded him of himself when everything had gone downhill. When he had lost her, when he had gained the goblin, and when Otto and him had split off. 

"Well, sir, I hear the rumor that you have two personalities."

Norman chuckled lightly, pulling his chair as he sat down. "Where did you hear that, uh." He paused, as if asking for the man's name.

"Shrek." His voice was dominant and heavy, as if he had the authority.

"Well, Shrek, why don't you sit, let us discuss this."

"You, Shrek, come into my office, and make up lies about me? Who do you think you are."

Shrek's voice sounded almost defeated. "I." He paused. "Listen, I don't care if you want to tell me the truth or not aye? I care about my revenge, and I know you can help me."

"Tell me, my dear Shrek, why would I help you get revenge? I'm a business-man darling, not a hitman." He let a chuckle escape his own mouth.

"It's about Otto Octavius."

Silence invaded the room at an alarming rate.

"He," Shrek seemed to be stumbling over his words, as if they were undone. "I." He took a breath in. "I was in a relationship with Otto Octavius. He doesn't care about me, he hurt me, he cheated on me." Said Shrek, looking away disguising tears.

"My dear, you should've known better than to enter a relationship with a snake like Otto. This isn't my problem. Get out of my office."

"No wait. Please, we green folk need to stay together." Shrek stood, and he looked Norman dead in the eye before closing his own eyes. As Norman watched, Shrek, the man with olive undertones changed to what he could only describe as the most attractive ogre he had seen in his life. His heart skipped a beat.

"See, I promise, your secret will be safe with a Greenie like me."

Norman stood, looking at Shrek, his eyes glassy with defeat. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was something he had told himself he would never see. A green person, just like him. Someone who felt exactly how he did, green. He wasn't the only one. He had another one like him, another one who looked absolutely delicious, everything about him was perfect, as if carved by the gods. No, he looked like a Greek God himself. Norman felt  both Envy, and a slight fluttering feeling in his stomach which reminded him of the feeling he had only ever felt around two people. 

Yet, he couldn't help but feel the guilt that came with it. Should he be allowed to feel this way about another, especially after all that he had done. Was he wrong for this? No. He was allowed to love Shrek. She was gone, and so was the other. He couldn't hold onto the past forever, because he knew, that if he did that he would never ever live to forgive himself for all his sins.

"I will, I will, I will help you." Norman said, his breath escaping him.

"Thank you." Shrek said as his voice turned from the sympathetic tone back to a dominant tone.

"If you tell anyone, make no mistake I will gut you, no matter what I think of you." Norman let out another laugh.

"I won't." Shrek paused, his voice sincere. "Sir."

Norman could not help but let the smile plaster his face. It was the first time he'd smiled out of joy in weeks.

"It's Norman." 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Authors Note: Hey guys, sorry for the short chapter as a beginning. My mother got really mad at me for burning the rice and sniped my dad, my brother and my hamster for defending me but the police got here before she got me so its all good. Anyways guys, I'll have a longer chapter next week, and the introduction of some ~new and important characters~ so stay tuned xx.