Chase Me (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 7: Lost in the MET

My eyes sting harshly as I trod steadily along the curb, careful not to get hit by a careless cab. Death from a cab didn't seem like such a terrible idea at the moment, however. 

I struggle to keep myself from sobbing as tears threaten to burst out of my eyes.  I underestimated the sadness and jealousy that would overcome me at the sight of Paris. The girl who now toys with the boy who used to toy with me. How could I be so stupid? Stopping to say hi to her? Why didn't I just run out of the store, and spew some ridiculous excuse, instead of facing the remains of my crumbled obsession?

I bump into pedestrians, leaving with them with no sense of apology as I mindlessly rush against the current of the city. Thank god people here are rude, or else the words 'I'm sorry' would have become a subconscious response by now.

The duration of my walk was unclear to me, but I assumed that my journey from the coffee shop to wherever I am now took up quite some time. 

My black Dior glasses conceal my reddened eyes, as I search around me for asylum. Instantly, I spot the MET museum, it's grandeur silhouette illuminating in the bright daylight. I scurry along the steps, and enter the museum doors. The smell of freshly waxed floors sting my nose (eugh). I instantly make my way towards my favorite area, the fashion exhibit. Fashion never fails to make me smile. This past year, the MET gala, an annual fundraising gala held for the costume institute in the museum, was attended by celebrities covered in pure haute couture. The theme was dedicated to esteemed fashion designer Rei Kawakubo, who founded the world renowned brand Comme Des Garçons. Comme Des Garçons is known for producing some of fashion's strangest designs. Yet, no matter how odd each piece was, it never failed to communicate its ideas of love, life, loss, and joy.

As soon as I walk into the fashion exhibit, I pull back my sunglasses, and absorb around me the array of bizarre, yet astonishing pieces of art. There were dresses wrapped in on itself, conveying a sense of isolation, and lack of escape. Some looked as if they were composed merely of scrap pieces, communicating the idea of the beauty within the breakage of a whole. All in all, I was captivated by the beauty around me, yet intrigued by its unwillingness to follow the confines of fashion in what is considered "beautiful".

As my eyes wander along the exhibit, I spot a dress that catches my attention. I walk over to it and observe the intricate designs of the piece. There is a rip in the middle of the dress, unruly and uncoordinated. But as I continue to examine the dress, I begin to notice that it changes color at the appearance of the rip. On the left side of the dress, a soft white overlays the base, muddled with black spots and splatters of gray paint. However, on the right side of the dress, a chaos of colors ensue, with no objective order or purpose. It seems to me that this dress, is ripping itself in half, but no matter how hard it tries to run away from either side, it cannot achieve it because it is still metaphorically dependent on both. It wants to separate itself, yet is unable to do so, because of its tendency to hold on to the remains of its struggle.

I stare at the dress for a long time, inhaling the bitter truth that emitted from it.

"You've been staring at that dress for quite some while, you gonna buy it?"

My heart drops to the floor, and I whirl around to the sound of that deep voice. I am met with the sight of Alec, pretending to inspect the same dress I was just observing. What the hell?

His eyes then switch to me, and he smiles a friendly, yet sinister grin.

"Well?," he asks. "You gonna buy it or not? If you don't want to buy it, I'll buy it for you. I don't mind seeing whatever it is the rip in the dress will expose on your body."