Darling, I Want to Destroy You

Three

Not too far away, a boy was being chased by the cops. He pumped his arms and legs as fast as he possibly could, really wishing that he could have super speed like the Flash or Quicksilver. But no, this was real life, where people didn't get superpowers from being struck by lightning and Magneto couldn't be his father. It sucked, but it was what had to happen.

He'd been running for a good mile and a half already, and for not being much of a runner, he honestly thought he'd been doing pretty well. Except now he was low on breath and stamina and he could hear a siren in the distance. In a moment of panic, he jumped the nearest fence and landed in a very overgrown lawn. The house itself was on the dilapidated side, but there was a rose trellis against the side that led up to what he hoped was an open window. Without giving a second thought to whether he was now breaking and entering, he scurried up the flower-bare trellis and hoisted himself up.

The window was a bit smaller than he'd anticipated, but he managed to wriggle through without breaking or twisting anything. He didn't even bother to take a look at his new surroundings, all too hasty to whip the bag of beef jerky he'd just stolen from his pants.

"Alone at last," he sighed with a smile, ripping open the coveted baggie of tough and overly salted meat and taking a big whiff. He'd hardly pulled out a piece when there was a loud thud, a sharp pain in his skull, and he was passed out on the floor.

Dosie stood above him for a long moment, a biology textbook bigger than she was in hand. She nudged the boy in the side with her bare foot, just making sure he wouldn't be getting up any time soon. She frantically glanced around the room for something to tie the dark-haired stranger up with before setting down the colossal book, finally settling for a ball of yarn she'd been planning making a blanket with. It wasn't strong, but it was all she had.

She'd seen too many movies in her time in the attic, and it came in handy now. She couldn't begin to count how many involved some sort of kidnapping or crime plot in which a girl like her was the victim. It was a common trope, but oh well. This time the roles had been reversed, since she'd managed to knock him out with a book and all. So without further adieu, she was hastily shoving him into her desk chair and winding yards of yarn around him. Who knew if it would hold, but at least it was something.

- - -

He woke up to the feeling of confinement and a throbbing in his head too strong to simply ignore. It took a groan and a few dozen blinks to clear his vision, and even then he wasn't quite sure what he was looking at.

A tiny girl stood before him, clad in frayed denim shorts and a homemade cutoff covered in tiny pastel unicorns. Her stormy grey eyes were filled with either curiosity or fear, though which he couldn't confidently say. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her hair, the soft blue braid that hung to her knees like a colorful rope. She was pale enough to be made of porcelain, and he felt like if he so much as breathed too heavily in her presence, she would shatter. She was almost otherworldly, looking like something out of a David Bowie song.

"Why do you want to hurt me?"

She met his eyes when she spoke, a completely normal gesture that sent a chill down his spine. Her voice was quiet, soft enough to make one think she was in a library or a cemetery. The charcoal eyes locking his own gaze in place gave off a sense that hadn't seen enough in life, and yet at the same time, too much. There was both wisdom and innocence in her gaze, and maybe that was what kept him from giving a snarky reply.

"Hurt- why would- what?" He furrowed his brow in confusion, having not expected the question. "Listen, you're the one that tied me up, stormcloud. I was just tryin' to find a place to eat my- wait where'd you put my jerky?"

She crossed her arms over her chest and tried (and failed) to look threatening. "You shouldn't worry yourself with that right now. You can get your food back later. Now, you can answer some questions, or I call the police. Deal?"

He groaned in a very exaggerated manner. "Fine. I'll answer your little questions, blue jean."

Dosie tried not to sigh. "First things first, my name is Theodosia-"

"Bless you."

She held back an eye roll. "-not any of those nicknames. Secondly, who are you and why the hell are you here?"

"I'm Atticus Raptis, nice to meet ya." He tried to toss his hair and wink, but instead only managed to make it look like his eye decided to awkwardly twitch at an inopportune moment. "And I'm always drawn to pretty people like you."

Her eyes actually did roll now. "I'm harboring a criminal right now, aren't I?"

Atticus just stared for a long moment. "...I take it cheesy pick up lines aren't going to flatter you?"

"Just answer the question, Atticus."

He groaned loudly, tilting back his head so his face was parallel to the ceiling. "Fine. I'm not a serious criminal in any sense, I just stole some food. Guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do, right?" He wasn't met with an answer, so he kept rambling instead. "Okay. My family doesn't have much money, and I have younger siblings to take care of. So I stole some food, how bad is that, really?"

Dosie sighed and sat down on desk. "Alright, I won't call the cops on ya. But you have to help me out with something, okay?"

He raised an eyebrow at her and tried to scoot the chair forward, almost causing it to tip over. "I thought I just had to answer some questions. Never said anything about favors."

"And I never said anything about letting you go, hun." She smiled sweetly, clasping her hands in her lap. "Now, there's a very real possibility that I'm about to win tickets to Paris, I can explain later if you want. You're going to take me to pick them up, and I'll let you off without a hitch. I'll even let you in on them if ya want. So whataya say?"

All he could do was sigh. "I'm not getting much of a choice in the matter, am I?" When he wasn't met with anything, he sighed louder. "Fine. I'll take you to get the tickets."

Dosie let out a squeal and immediately rushed to the chair. "Oh thank you thankyouthankyou!" She hugged him maybe a little too tight with a laugh. "You won't regret this, I promise." She let go and ran back to her computer to email Jenka the good news, only to accidentally knock over Atticus in the process.

As he writhed around on the floor in a sad attempt to get free, she scribbled down the address her friend had sent and typed up a message of her own: Made up my mind. Be there soon. - D