The Dead Kings

Anger and Elocution

"There's a burning in my pride, a nervous bleeding in my brain" 

～Blue October

Upon stepping off the bus, I begin to walk directly behind the guy in front of me. Don't get me wrong; I'm not following him, we're just coincidentally walking in the same direction. As a matter of fact, I'm particularly hopeful he won't notice me. If my luck will not allow that, then maybe the a storm could stir; with dark clouds and plenty of hail, so as to cloak me. Just a thought.

As if he could here me thinking, my bus buddy turns around, raising his eyebrows at my presence; assuming, like any other person would, that there was a possibility of me stalking him. That action more or less set me off. I open my mouth to correct his unspoken speech when he abruptly says,
"Relax, I would never think to accuse you of stalking me. I was simply reflecting upon the chance of us both being headed in the same directions and whether it would be okay to ask for a name without being beaten bloody? If you're past the head biting stage, I mean."

"Nova, that's my name. And know if you keep raising your eyebrows like that your forehead's just going to wrinkle up like a prune. Seriously, you'll regret it when you're older" I reply making an effort to not whip out the pepper spray just to cause him pain.

He laughs as if what I said was actually worth the effort of it, and not, I'll admit, a poor attempt at pissing him off. "Funny. Well, since you were kind enough to ask my name, you can call me Gale."

"Thanks, Gale. Bye Gale!" I bite out as I overtake him and turn the next corner.

"Actually, I'm going that way too," he stage-whispers as he follows. "A friend of mine is getting married and asked me to get here early to help with the ceremony.I'm the best man"

"'The Ceremony?' You make it sound so formal" I mock.

"Yeah well, where we come from, a marriage like this is a pretty big thing. What about you?"

"Well we'd like to think of it as a lifelong commitment, but with the modern world revolving around divorce..."

""I meant: where are you headed?" He smirks, looking even more like a shining Adonis than before, his eyes conspiratorial as I gaze into them.

"Oh. Well, I'm headed to-" In attempting to even remember where I'm headed, I remember everything else, like why I shouldn't tell him. "As if I would ever tell you.", I huff and walk, at a breakneck pace now, flustered by the fact that I almost did tell him. What if I had? I could have been lured into a trap by a sexual predator. Albeit a good looking one, but what if he was a, a cannibal? Or a Cult leader? What if he was an organ harvester... I'd read all about it online after my sister invited me to make this treacherous voyage. Oh, good Lord he wants to cut me up and sell my organs. Maybe even while I'm still alive... Okay, breathe, don't act suspicious, just calmly walk away.

"You don't have to give me an address, or anything weird. It's just a social nicety to make small talk when travelling with other people." He pointedly states after my panicked silence.

Having just gathered the courage to tell him where to shove his deceitful social niceties, I'm surprised that I so easily blurt: "My sister's engaged and has finally decided to reveal to me the mysterious man of her dreams."

"I'm sensing you're annoyed because... Wait a second, engaged? as in engaged to be married?"

"I'm not even going to try lowering my brain capacity to your level by answering that one." I deadpan.

 "Don't you see? Engaged to be married!!!" He screams like a puppy reunited with its owner, on a not- quite- so deserted road; we were definitely getting some annoyed stares.

"Listen, Einstein, I can't deal with your minor epiphanies right now, so please go and discover the inner workings of the world elsewhere. As in, a long way away from here."

"Well I would, but we seem to be heading in coincidentally similar directions." At this, he smiles a little too creepily.

"Don't look at me like that!" I all but growl.

"Like what?" The idiot smugly covers his eyes

"Like you know something I don't..." I glance towards him suspiciously.

"Alright, I'll help you out." He sighs happily, uncovering his eyes. "Think very carefully about the conversation we just had..."

So I do, trying o connect the unknown dots to an unknown conclusion that Gale's somewhat unstable mind has latched onto.

And then it all clicks. The overbearing coincidence of two weddings in the same area. I wish with all my heart that it isn't so, knowing the truth is inescapable, and by his face, I'm guessing Gale Knows I know also. It does make the cruellest kind of sense. I've never met my sister's partner, let alone the groomsmen. Hell I didn't even know there were any groomsmen to meet.

I can't believe this. When was she going to tell me? How was she even planning to get married secretly when i'm supposed to be living in her house? Was the wedding party intending to sneak of at dawn: creep out to church and then sneak back into the house once it was all over? The mental image of my sister shimmying down a drainpipe in a painfully expensive wedding dress would have been funny, if I wasn't currently so furious!

How bloody dare she? I'm not going to stay here when I'm so obviously unwelcome! I'll go with this infuriating idiot, show my face, and then work on booking my flight home ASAP. I'll stay the night if there are no immediate flights, but then work toward more hospitable accommodation. Wouldn't want to burden my dear sister with my presence.

"Hey, are you okay? I know I'm a little annoying, but being around me for a few more days can't be that bad, can it? I'll even try to be nice to you, alright?" Gale asks worriedly after what must have been quite a lengthy amount of silence and angry faces from me.

"Don't flatter yourself! My current mood has nothing to do with you! You're more like a pathetic fly buzzing around my head!" I snap at him, desperate to hide the fact that my own sister had neglected to tell me, her only family, that she was getting married. I was also hoping I'd offended him enough to leave me alone so I could freely express my emotional turmoil.

Instead, this (over all of my snide remarks) seemed to really tick him off.

"Well, whatever it is, it doesn't give you the right to be so petty and insulting. I doubt anyone ever has or ever will be impressed by your pathetic defence mechanisms, so please try to act like a civil human being, instead of a crude little girl. In case your lower intellect can't quite comprehend what I'm saying, it requires learning some manners and actually putting them to use."

He says this in the coldest voice I've ever heard, not just from Gale, but from anyone. I'm also struck by how easily he switches from an easygoing manner, with casual English, to such a harsh one, with beautiful elocution. 

I realise I've greatly misjudged Gale, and as I wonder what my mistake will cost me, a small glimmer of regret shows itself on his face.

"Look, I didn't mean that, I actually find your sarcasm somewhat adorable. But you know I'm right, even if I didn't quite say it the right way. Whatever's upset you, you can actually talk about it. Or, if you don't want to, just say so. Either way, attacking others for trying to help is just going to make you a lot of enemies I'm guessing you don't want. I'm sorry for being an ass. If it helps, Im not usually like that anymore."

Instead of picking out the mysterious use of "any more", I say, "So I'm a special exception?" With a slightly nervous smile. When he laughs, I know that all's forgotten, on both sides, and I'm glad for the first time in a long time.

****************************************************************************

What do you guys think? Hows the tense it's written in? Is it too awkward?

What do you think of Gale?

Also, who's heard those lyrics?

Has anyone here even heard of Blue October?

Feel free to Vote &/or Comment

Shrib