Love the Boys

Prologue

(A/N): A couple of notes:

1.)This work is a very different sort of project for me, and I don't know how old fans will react to it or how new readers will like it, but I'm putting it out there. Let's do this!

2.) To clarify, this is an original work and not a fairy-tale retelling, as I've done in the past.

Enjoy!

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[Prologue]

All people were born to die, though I never imagined it would be more literal for someone like me. But how could I be surprised? Death had always followed me, looming over my shoulder, bony finger outstretched, keeping me just an inch away from oblivion. Along the path of my life, the unfeeling reaper had reached out, touching those around me, but never me. Then again, now that I have glimpsed the bigger picture, maybe it wasn't Death who'd shadowed me after all. Maybe it was something else.

I remember my death. I died — once — maybe more than once. Someone killed me. And why? I'd always kept to myself, thinking that was good enough, yet death was what I got in return. But before all of that, one thing I know for certain is that I kept having this dream, over and over again — a nightmare that I couldn't shake.

There were monsters in my dream. The entire town was overrun with them, dark shadowy things that had hatched from the bodies of people I used to know, and others I'd never met. The buildings had been torn apart by these beasts, were in ruin from these creatures that crawled in the dark, with sharp teeth and nails for ripping flesh. In my dream, I was walking down the street, a long way from my apartment, and the corpses of my neighbors were laying at my feet, bloody — disemboweled. Car alarms were blaring and smoke was everywhere, limiting my vision. The sweeping blacks and grays across the sky were more ominous than even my darkest paintings. Oil on canvas. Oil and blood. A sight like this might have confused others, but not me. I knew exactly what had killed my neighbors and friends.

Not even Death had done this. Love had killed them. The heart of the world had burst and rained down brimstone. I had learned this lesson before. Love destroys everything.

Call me a cynic, but I knew that the destruction was just the consequence of all the horrible things that come from the heart when it breaks open. It was like Pandora's box, full of poison and spiders. I knew this, because even seeing it for the first time, I had witnessed this before. I had felt it myself. Love was an apocalyptic force.

Despite all the chaos that surrounded me, I could see someone coming forward, walking amidst the ash and shards of a life once known. Another survivor, emerging from the smoke. He was male, around my age. I didn't know him, but there was something familiar about him nonetheless. I knew that after all the devastation, he and I were the only ones who had been strong enough to make it through. He was distant, only a shadow approaching me from the depths of my imagination, but I was steady on my path to reach him.

There was a connection between us, even without words. I didn't want to ask him what had happened or why we were there. What I wanted to know was why he was looking for me. Because he was. That's why he was there.

My shoes passed over broken glass, and unknowingly, I passed through a trail of oil which ignited in my wake. The fire was hot at my back, cutting off my retreat. I couldn't turn. I'd never been able to.

Who are you? I wondered. Are you human like me? Or are you the face of Death?

The stranger came closer. I could see his eyes — molten. He looked at me with a gaze that hated me, but I didn't know him, and so I couldn't say why. We drew closer and then... I never quite saw his face before I would wake up, feeling flushed and confused, wondering if, the next time I dreamed, I would see him again.

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(A/N): Thank you so much for checking out my story! If you liked this, please vote and leave me a supportive comment letting me know I should continue. If I get a good response, I'll try to post another chapter tomorrow!