Lost in Technicolor

Emerson McClair

 "He's still staring," Damien growled at Petra, as he picked apart his sandwich, finding himself hardly hungry. He flicked a piece of leafy lettuce at Erik.

Petra rolled her green eyes and turned around quickly, letting her long hair flow out around herself, to catch the man with the golden rimmed glasses staring toward their table with a blank stare. However, he quickly returned his eyes to his book as if nothing had happened, although Damien could see the red rushing his hollow cheeks.

She turned back to Damien, laughing. "He's staring at you idiot! Not me!"

Damien bit his lip, irritated to be wrong, "Yes, well him and everyone else in this damn building!" He shifted his gaze onto Erik frustratedly, who was poking at the piece of lettuce now laying on the table top with his fork, "Why couldn't we have just returned to your apartment and avoided all of this?"

"Because Damien, the world does not revolve around you!" Erik snapped looking up angrily and slamming his mug down on the table hard. How long would he remain angry? It was beginning to get on Damien's last nerve.

"It easily could," Damien growled beneath his breath, furiously.

"Oh, and would that finally make you happy?" Erik countered him.

"No!" Damien restrained a scream, sending an aching pain along the sides of his throat. "Why do you think that I've kept myself from doing so all of these years? I have nothing to live for! Why do I keep myself from making everyone else's life as much as a living hell as mine is?"

Erik laughed at him as if it were some joke! "Are you fucking serious?" He managed. "You've done exactly that! You have made everyone's lives living hells! You-"

"That isn't quite true though is it," Petra burst in as if angry herself. Damien only scoffed, however. He didn't need her support or protection. It was all falling into place, beautifully.

"Trust me, Petra," Erik snapped as he picked up his steaming mug once more, "you are his one and only exception."

"What about his family!" She hissed at him. "What about m-"

"Oh, and are you including Drake and Jade into that category?" Erik interrupted her.

"I-" Petra began once more, her face turning a bright shade of red.

"Darling," Damien muttered, sleepily with a yawn. He was wide awake, "He's right and frankly I don't give a damn anymore."

That put a frown on Erik's face, just as Damien had predicted. Like anyone who still had a beating heart, pity was the weakest defense for hatred. Damien slowly lifted a hand to his mouth as to not bring attention to himself so that he could cover the smile that was quickly curling around his face as he watched Erik's frown sink into his face.

"I suppose that you can't put all of the world's hatred on just one man," Erik sighed to himself as he wiped away his frown with a hand. "Although it could solve many problems."

"Hmm," Damien sighed, letting his hand slip away from his mouth also. "Good point."

However, that didn't seem to entertain Erik in the slightest. He merely shook his head as if confused about Damien's intentions, muttering through a sly smile, "Your man is staring this way again."

With a half hearted smile, Damien allowed his eyes to quickly slip onto the man who was sitting hardly five feet from him. He looked familiar in some way, but Damien couldn't put a finger on who it was.