ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔩𝔢𝔰 ℜ. 𝔊𝔯𝔦𝔪𝔪

𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢'𝔰 𝔞 𝔤𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔱 𝔦𝔫 𝔪𝔶 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱

𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔱𝔴𝔦𝔯𝔩𝔰 𝔦𝔱𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔬 𝔨𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔰

𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔩𝔢𝔱 𝔪𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔤𝔢𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱,

𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱,

𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱,

𝔦𝔱 𝔢𝔵𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔡.

ℑ𝔫 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔢,

𝔦𝔫 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔠𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯,

𝔦𝔫 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔴𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔯𝔬𝔡𝔢 𝔲𝔭𝔬𝔫 𝔞 𝔭𝔲𝔩𝔰𝔢,

𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔴𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔫 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫 𝔪𝔶𝔱𝔥𝔰–

𝔰𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔰𝔞𝔠𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔱𝔩𝔢 𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔰

𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔦𝔫 𝔞𝔰 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔰

𝔩𝔢𝔣𝔱 𝔡𝔯𝔦𝔭𝔭𝔦𝔫𝔤

𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔟𝔩𝔢𝔢𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔩𝔦𝔭𝔰.

𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢'𝔰 𝔞 𝔤𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔱 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫 𝔪𝔶 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱,

𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔦𝔱𝔰 𝔳𝔬𝔦𝔠𝔢 𝔢𝔠𝔥𝔬𝔢𝔰 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫 𝔦𝔱𝔰 𝔰𝔭𝔞𝔠𝔢;

𝔡𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫 𝔦𝔱𝔰 𝔡𝔞𝔯𝔨𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰,

𝔴𝔞𝔩𝔱𝔷𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔰𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔩𝔢𝔤𝔰.

𝔄𝔫𝔡 𝔞𝔰 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔢𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔤𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔯𝔢𝔱𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔱,

𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔠𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔬𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔰𝔬 𝔳𝔦𝔟𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔱,

𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔣𝔞𝔡𝔢 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔯𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔦𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔤𝔯𝔞𝔶,

𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔳𝔬𝔦𝔠𝔢,

𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔳𝔬𝔦𝔠𝔢,

𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔳𝔬𝔦𝔠𝔢 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔞𝔤𝔢

𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔳𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔩𝔦𝔭𝔰,

𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔰𝔭𝔦𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔰 𝔟𝔩𝔢𝔢𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤

𝔱𝔬𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡 𝔞 𝔨𝔦𝔰𝔰.

𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢'𝔰 𝔞 𝔤𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔦𝔳𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔦𝔫𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢 𝔪𝔶 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱,

𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔟𝔩𝔢𝔢𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔪𝔢𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔰 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔬 𝔪𝔶 𝔳𝔢𝔦𝔫𝔰;

𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥 𝔩𝔢𝔣𝔱 𝔠𝔯𝔦𝔭𝔭𝔩𝔢𝔡 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫 𝔦𝔱𝔰 𝔫𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔢𝔰,

ℑ 𝔣𝔢𝔞𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 ℑ'𝔳𝔢 𝔤𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔦𝔫𝔰𝔞𝔫𝔢.

𝔅𝔲𝔱 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔡𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔢𝔡

𝔣𝔞𝔯 𝔟𝔢𝔶𝔬𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔢𝔰𝔬𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔠,

𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔤𝔯𝔞𝔶 𝔫𝔬𝔴 𝔰𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤,

𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔦𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔤𝔬𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔫 𝔯𝔲𝔫𝔢𝔰

𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥 𝔠𝔬𝔯𝔯𝔦𝔡𝔬𝔯𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔢𝔶𝔢,

𝔰𝔭𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔪𝔢𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔰 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔭𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔦𝔱𝔰,

𝔟𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔢𝔢𝔱𝔥

𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔟𝔦𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔦𝔫𝔢.

𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢'𝔰 𝔞 𝔤𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔱 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔰,

𝔦𝔱𝔰 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔟𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫 𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔢;

𝔱𝔴𝔦𝔯𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔬 𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔲𝔞𝔩,

𝔞 𝔭𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔱𝔬𝔪 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔟𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥,

𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔱𝔢𝔢𝔱𝔥, 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔱𝔢𝔢𝔱𝔥,

𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔱𝔢𝔢𝔱𝔥

𝔩𝔢𝔣𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔨

𝔲𝔭𝔬𝔫 𝔟𝔯𝔬𝔨𝔢𝔫 𝔣𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔥,

𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔢𝔞𝔠𝔥 𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔭 𝔲𝔭𝔬𝔫 𝔣𝔯𝔞𝔤𝔦𝔩𝔢 𝔣𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔯𝔟𝔬𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔰,

𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔳𝔬𝔦𝔠𝔢 𝔡𝔬𝔢𝔰 𝔣𝔞𝔡𝔢,

𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥 ℑ 𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔩𝔩

𝔣𝔢𝔢𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔪𝔱𝔥

Life is a lot like something

that resembles a haunted house;

it often gets darkest

in the spaces that we hide,

concealed within the secrets of the past,

of dying lives dancing within the shadows,

within memories,

within time,

always staying locked within the corners of our eyes,

just out of reach yet close enough to feel.

That midnight aura - drenched,

in romanticized regret;

faces peering from the corners

of hallways we've started to forget;

giggles dancing from the vents

like ghosts reliving what they've missed,

but these deathless lies that we sell ourselves

will be the pathway toward the graveyard,

an ever-faithless end to an existence that never ends.

Life is a lot like something

that resembles a haunted house;

it's one to keep us guessing,

even if we know what it needs to feed,

given its nature,

like the lovers we've been painting along the walls

with heartbeats buried beneath the floorboards

where the dead worship such works of art;

door to door like headstones,

each adorning a name of another broken heart

promised the world but given nothing

but a knife to stab themselves in the back.

This life is like a haunted house;

once you've entered these hallowed halls,

Chapter one:

Mon cher Kimmy tenderly played with my hair, occasionally allowing her nails to gently brush my scalp, which sent shivers down my spine; I rested my head in her lap as we sat in the backyard of our home in Gretna, Louisiana. My eyes were barely open as I watched her sing along with 'La Flor De La Canela,' softly playing on our 97' Magnavox Boombox - I always found her voice soothing in a hauntingly ethereal sort of way. The distant hum of cicadas mixed with the not-so-distant yet still soft ambient murmur of the Mississippi River added an oddly calming atmosphere to the instrumental of the song. As Kimmy continued singing along, I reached up, gently caressed her cheek, and in response, she lovingly leaned into my touch, closed her eyes, and momentarily paused to plant a soft kiss in the palm of my hand. After she opened her beautiful emerald eyes - which I always found myself getting lost in - and looked down at me, "Je t'aime."

"Yo también te amo, Shan." Kimberly responded as she leaned down and pressed her lips ever so softly to mine, her raven black hair draped down like a mourning veil concealing our kiss from the world; before she pulled away from the kiss, she traced the 'hurts' tattoo on the front of my throat with the tip of the middle finger of her free hand. At the same time, the other stayed in my hair.

I released a subtly mirthful sigh against her lips before kissing her back with the fervor of a ravenous vampyre - but suddenly, my entire body was overwhelmed by this abrupt frigidness like I had stumbled upon a ghost in a meat freezer. My eyes quickly snapped closed as I began to shiver, then I spoke against her lips, "It's so cold."

"I know my love, just make it home like you promised, okay?" Her voice echoed off into the ether, gradually disintegrating into the void that made the realm that lingered just out of reach of perception. After her voice, her form slowly faded as well, leaving me alone to float in this secluded abyss of coldness as if I were merely a solitary bit of driftwood that somehow managed to get pulled out into the Atlantic; I had no clue where the fuck I was.

But then, after what felt like an aeon of absurdist weightlessness, this dark, almost cosmic, distortion of iridescent light invaded my little abyss, and something about it seemed supernatural, perhaps even alien. But as I pondered this light, a new voice entered like an echo from the void that surrounded me; it sounded similar to that of a voice which I knew, though I knew it wasn't.

"Hey, I think I found someone over here."

My eyelids lazily fluttered open, and I was blinded forthwith by the spotlight that was being shone directly onto my face, which barely showed, because I was hardly above water; in my delirious state, I was half expecting them to toss a tombstone atop of me and let me rest with the other spirits of the sea. But the voice came again from behind the spotlight; I was obviously too weak and too out of it to respond in any meaningful way.

"Hang on just a little bit longer, we've got somebody coming to get you."

After he finished speaking, my eyelids swiftly grew heavier than boulders, and I couldn't keep them open even for the briefest of moments longer; I was back in my little abyss and welcomed by the in and out fading of that distorting and now warping iridescent light. But before I could even attempt to unscramble what the light was or meant, I was coming back around, slightly warmer, but still not entirely sure as to what was going on or why I was on this boat - though there was this one flash of a memory burning its way to the front and center in the maelstrom that surrounded the chaotic necropolis of thoughts entrapped by the confines of my skull. "H-ho-h-how am I still alive?"

"I was wondering that myself, sir. You're the only survivor we've found from the crew so far."

I looked around to find any signs of the rig, but saw nothing; tears formed as I felt this sharp panic press into my chest, flashes of the explosion playing as freeze frames on repeat in a carousel slide projector. "I should be dead." The words stumbled from my mouth as I looked over my relatively unharmed body with tears now freely streaming down my cheeks. Then, suddenly, my rescuer's words about not finding any of my fellow crew or my friends fully hit me, and one name slipped unconsciously from my lips, "Han."

"Who?"

To love me is to suffer me:

Suffer with me through love like a dream;

bearing teeth,

crucified,

this was never what it seemed..

Tainted minds cuffed to hands that only seem

to crave,

to yearn,

to touch;

what's left of that heart that still beats within your chest,

not in that metaphorical emotional sort of way,

but solely in the physical,

like fingers running through open veins.

Suffer with me through lust in its haze;

bloody teeth,

broken flesh,

we've found paradise in its flames..

Corrupted thoughts chained back to you

in fervor,

in need,

in blood;

for what's left of these hearts that still beat within our chests,

lost in lust,

not emotion;

masochistic in its opus:

the way it begs to feel the agony

with the bedroom eyes of a loaded gun.

I love you

are those final words

that we always tend to sing;

after the harmonizing of moans

we share between lips,

but if this is the last time

we are to see

or feel again.

I hope,

oh,

how I hope

that I've both filled and left you

Has To End In Tragedy, Part One: Dicesa

THE FIRST ACT, PT. 3:

"Andrew Santino Liotta!!"

"What now, Vicki?" I asked with the typical early teen sas, but that was met with a palm to the cheekbone that knocked me straight to my ass with the suddenness of a sack of bricks being dropped.

"Try that again," Vicki spoke in a tone of calm coldness.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Miller." I said, rubbing my cheek as I slowly got to my feet, "May I ask what I did wrong?"

"You were reading the wrong line, young man."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ms. Miller."

"It's okay, we'll come back to that later; there's something else we can go over right now." There was this strange look in Vicki's eyes, which, at that time, I was still somewhat innocent enough to not understand what that look meant, though I would soon learn exactly what it meant and what she wanted from me.

"Where are you going?" I asked as she pushed me back and onto the couch.

"Just to get something out of my bedroom." She said as she began the short walk to her bedroom door. "Don't you worry, that handsome little head of yours, I'll be right back." She visibly bit her lower lip before entering the room and closing the door.

"Okay, I wonder what this lesson's gonna be?" I mumbled quietly as I merely sat there, my gaze roaming the living room as I waited patiently. Suddenly, after what felt like forever to my thirteen-year-old brain, the bedroom door opened, which, for some reason, made my heart feel like it was attempting to beat its way from the prison-esque ribcage that it found itself confined in, and now I believe she could sense it in the air or maybe even taste it. As I went to turn and look toward the door, Vicki was already walking around the couch, her hand in my hair, slowly running her fingernails along my scalp, sending shivers down my spine; after that moment, I realized she had changed into an elegant crimson red and gold silk robe, then walked over and closed the curtains only window in the living room. "Umm, what's this..."

"Shusssh." Vicki placed her index finger firmly on my lips, "You want to be a serious actor when you're an adult, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am." As my lips brushed against her finger, I noticed her subtly lick her lips.

"That's what I thought, so, umm..." Vicki slowly ran her finger along my lips before straddling me, "You're going to need to learn how to fake a certain act." She paused only long enough to undo and take off her robe, revealing her beautiful, almost porcelain flesh and every inch of its mind-melting splendor, "So, my darling Drew, you're going to need to learn how to perform that act for real."

Chapter Three: Writer in The Dark

After getting back to Allendale and dropping Vin back at his house, I drove to Greta's, noticing that neither of her parents' vehicles were anywhere to be seen. I wondered if she was even home as I walked up to the front door and knocked; that thought expeditiously resolved when Greta answered the door in nothing but a bathrobe. I won't lie; she had that girl next door cuteness about her that I loved - unlike in the movies, where she'd stand depicted as some drop-dead gorgeous supermodel-esque stereotype.

"So, my rock star is leaving me with another woman?" Greta bit her lower lip as she glared at me.

"What? How..."

"Vin texted me."

I snickered with a paltry grin, tugging at the corner of my mouth, "That's what he was doing." I paused as I shook my head and looked down, "Well, I guess it wasn't a secret to begin with. That is what I was coming to tell you, babe."

"Like you were gonna tell me about dropping out?" Greta asked, seemingly suppressing a chortle of sorts.

I looked into her eyes, "I'm sorry that was kind of an impulsive decision to do it today - but that's not an excuse, and I should've waited around for you so we could've talked at the park after you got out."

Greta sighed, "It's okay, Johnny."

"Wait, are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Positive?"

Greta softly grinned as she suddenly grabbed me by the shirt, "Come here, you fucking idiot." There was a frolicsome nature to the tone of her voice as she pulled me to her and planted her lips to mine as though she felt the need to reclaim them. "Plus, I got some news today too." Departing from my lips only enough to give her space to speak.

"You did?" I wrapped my arms around her waist, playing with the belt of the bathrobe.

"They accepted my application."

"Grand Valley?"

"Nope."

"University of Michigan?"

"No."

"Michigan State?"

"Not there either."

"Umm, Wayne State?"

That one made her giggle as she subtly shook her head, "That's a nope too, babe."

"Where then?" I asked, genuinely curious as I felt her hands move up and begin playing with my hair.

"Well, my love, you haven't been the most vague about your want of migrating to L.A. for a better life. So I applied to UCLA at the beginning of the school year." She smiled happily, and before I could get a response out, she had her lips re-locked to mine.

As I reciprocated the kiss, she playfully pulled me into the house; I closed the door behind us. Then, once we were both wholly inside and without breaking the kiss, she both locked and deadbolted the door. Which, in turn, led to her pulling me deeper into the house in the direction of the bathroom; there were still no words as she slowly began to undress me, keeping us both in motion - leaving my leather jacket on the floor first.

"Take a bath with me?" Greta whispered bewitchingly against my lips, simultaneously reaching both of her hands up under my shirt almost as if playfully begging me to take it off.

"Yes," I kept my reply short, and as I took off my shirt, she was already fumbling with my belt. Then, as we made it to the threshold of the bathroom door, I kicked off my thrift store Doc Martens, and we together pushed my crimson skinny jeans and Hello Kitty boxer briefs off; now only in my socks as we entered the bathroom, I pulled on the belt of her bathrobe: untying it.

"Baby." Greta seductively giggled, allowing the robe to fall to the floor. We turned as she pressed her soft pulchritudinous body firmly to mine; my heartbeat began to flutter and quicken - which I'm perfectly sure she could feel - and before I knew it, I was sitting on the edge of the tub. I'm not even sure as to why, but this oddly was starting to seem like it was our first time again; well, then again, it had been bout two months since we'd been intimate last.

At this moment, I quickly removed my socks, tossing them across the bathroom before she stood overtop of me, leaning forward as she started the bath. While she paused there, I planted a tender kiss on the center of her chest between her breasts.

Greta looked down at me with a smile as she lowered herself onto my lap. The warmth of her velvet petals teased as they grazed the length of my now throbbing flesh, sending pleasant shivers through my entire body. "Oh, yeah, baby; you like that?"

"Of course." The words danced from my lips almost as a moan as a bit of cyprine slowly flowed from 'tween her velvet petals dripping like honey: warm and sticky down my shaft.

"In the tub," Greta said before again planting her soft lip against mine in a deep yet quick kiss, then lifting herself from my lap - the welcome warmth departing but leaving a string of sweet sap behind.

"Yes, ma'am," I said as I slid myself slowly into the tub, facing the faucet.

"Good boy." Once she was happy with the level the water was at - she turned it off and joined me, again lowering herself onto my lap, though this time, her eager velvet petals welcomed every inch of engorged flesh. The sensation shot shock waves up my spine; then I closed my eyes, lips slightly agape as my thoughts began to wander astray - but I was quickly pulled back into the moment when I felt Greta slip her tongue into my mouth.

Our tongues waltzed with each other, both swirling and sharing saliva in the process; as this was happening, I wrapped my hands around her waist, and she began to grind on me so slowly, keeping a deliberately beguiling pace.

"Baby, stop," I moaned into her mouth, gently squeezing her waist.

"What's wrong, Johnny?"

"I was about to cum; that would've been embarrassing. Plus, we don't have any protection." I raised my right hand to gesture as I took a few deep breaths.

"Don't worry about it, baby."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm on the pill, Johnathan Edward Paganini. I do wanna have your babies, but not quite yet."

"Oh, that's good to hear, Margaret Antonia Eve," I said with a loving smile, looking into her honey-brown eyes before we locked lips again - and again, I closed my eyes. But this time, instead of my thoughts wandering astray, another set of amber eyes invaded them. After we broke the kiss, I pushed the image away and spoke, "Maybe we should take this to your bedroom, babe? Probably be better for your knees."

"Mmm, yeah, probably," she looked down at the limited space between her legs and the sides of the tub. "I did kind of overestimate the space we'd have for activities."

"It's okay, baby," I said as she slightly leaned forward, looking down - so I took that moment to plant a soft, small kiss on the tip of her adorable button nose.

As Greta leaned back, my hands gingerly danced up her body and along her chest, stopping at her delicate neck. She let out a petite moan as I slowly ran the tips of my fingers along her jawline. Once she returned to her original position, she bit her lower lip in a playfully devilish way before purposely - in the most pleasurable of tortuous ways, lifting herself, knowing every sensation would shoot through my body like waves just beneath the skin.

"Okay, baby; I won't tease you anymore, I promise." A playful yet mischievous grin accompanied her stretch of a promise.

"Sure, baby girl, whatever you say," I replied with a wink, then held her hand as she fully got up and out of the tub. Swiftly following out after and picking her up, surprisingly enough, not slipping and falling flat on my ass in the process - but I didn't, and in almost a blur of what felt like mere seconds lost in the rhythm of our heartbeats, I had her in her bedroom, over top of her on the bed. Then, without even a singular utterance shared between us, we wholly relinquished ourselves to the fever of the moment. But to keep my thoughts from drifting astray yet again, I need my best to maintain my focus on Greta, yet unfortunately, I did slip a few times, and she did drift back into my head; I also almost moaned her name as Greta and myself both finished: that would've been a fucking nightmare!

After my name left Greta's lips with a moan, she reached up, placed both her hands on my face, and then pulled me down for a kiss - which, of course, I matched her lip's eager hunger. "I love you, Johnny."

"I love you too, Greta, so much." I kissed her again before slowly pulling out of her, then seeing that it was now midnight, "Join me out back for a smoke?"

"Sure, baby." Greta nodded before we left her bedroom to retrieve our things.

I retrieved my clothes, only putting back on my Hello Kitty boxer briefs, Doc Martens, and Leather Jacket, and she merely got back into her bathrobe. Then we were in the backyard, and to my surprise, sharing a cigarette.

"Have I ever told you that you look like Remington Leith?" Greta asked with a giggle before taking a drag from the Marlboro and handing it over.

"No, not that I can recall." I accepted the cigarette.

"Well, you do." Greta giggled.

"Oh, do I," I chuckled, "So, either I look older than I am, or he looks younger than he is?" I took a long drag.

"Something like that... Your voices are pretty similar, too."

"Well, hey, I'll take it; at least I'm not ugly."

After that, there was a lull in the conversation until after we put out the cigarette. But as Greta got up, I pulled her back down onto my lap and playfully opened her robe.

"Honestly, Johnny, out here?" She shook her head.

"What, it's dark, not like anyone's gonna catch us, plus making love under the moonlight is romantic, ain't it?" I said, softly rubbing her sides.

Greta giggled playfully and rolled her eyes, "I guess I'm not going to school today."

"Round two?"

"Round two."

Chapter Two: Welcome to paradise

The windows were down - so I could smoke; Vin and I were practically screaming along with Green Day's Welcome to Paradise, neither of us verily caring enough to keep in tune. As we turned and began to pull into Lili's driveway, I put out my cigarette in the portable ashtray in the cupholder, and before I even had the van in park, we could hear Lili singing the final lines of the song.

"Some call it slums, some call it nice. I want to take you through a wasteland I like to call my home!!!" Lili playfully swung her arms around as though we were her choir, so we joined her for the last two lines. "Welcome to paradise... OH, PARADISE!!!"

We were all laughing, and before I was entirely out of my seatbelt, Vin was already out of the passenger seat, in the driveway, hugging Lili; I shook my head and smirked, tossing another cigarette between my lips. "I know it's been a while - but you're never this eager when I want a hug, Vin," I said, lighting my cigarette as I stepped down and out of the van.

Vin laughed as he pulled back from his hug with Lili and turned toward me with a smile on his face, "Your hugs just aren't as good as Lili's are."

After those words hit me, my right hand flew to my chest as though his words were bullets, and a stray pierced my heart; I feigned a hurt gasp. "But, babe." I gave him my best pouty face, throwing in a few sniffles for a meager smattering of playful theatricality.

"Aww, Vin, look what you did to the poor baby," Lili said in her usual gaily sarcastic tone as she rushed over and wrapped her arms around me, which I undoubtedly reciprocated, picking her up in the process; she let out one of the most adorable bantam squeals that I've heard spill forth from between her lips, "Johnny!" She giggled.

I giggled along with Lili before blowing raspberries on her cheek.

"Eww, Johnny," Lili's giggle fit, not stopping as I put her down; she moved my jacket and began wiping her face off on my Adventure Time t-shirt. "Out here getting me all wet and shit Johnny," She long paused to keep her giggles from bursting fully into laughter, "You pervert." When she said that, even Vin couldn't keep himself from laughing too.

"Lilith!! Come on, what are you guys doing out there?"

"How long have they been waiting for us?" I asked, wiping away the tears in my eyes that my laughter had caused.

"Oh, not very long; they just called in maybe 10 minutes ago or something." Lili quickly snatched the pack of Marlboro Reds from my pocket, then ran up the driveway - into the garage, lighting herself a cigarette as she spoke with Lyo and Dex. "Yeah, yeah, don't worry - it's not like you two aren't usually awake all night anyway, especially you, Dex."

I shook my head to free myself from the gaze I found myself lost in, "Wait, and here you called me the pervert; meanwhile, Dex is out there habitually flirting with anybody 18 or older with two sets of lips." I placed the cigarette back between my lips as I began the short journey up the driveway into the garage behind Vin.

"That's a good point." Lili laughed, then turned to look at me and Vin, "Umm, are you two forgetting anything?"

Vin and I turned to look at one another, simultaneously saying the same singular word, "Fuck!" We laughed at ourselves before hurriedly walking back to the van and retrieving our gear. Once we were back in the garage and had our gear set up, my gaze locked onto Lili's laptop, "Hey guys." I waved at the webcam, in turn waving at Dex and Lyo. "So what song do you guys wanna start with?"

"Umm..." Lyo and Dex both began in unison and looked at each other quietly debating - then turned back to the cam, "Are you guys familiar with the '97 version of Shout at The Devil?" Lyo asked.

"Well, it's the most exemplary version, so yes," I answered, adjusting my grip on my mic, still puffing on my cigarette.

"Fuck yeah, it is." Lili threw in her two cents on the song.

"Okay, perfect. So, we'll start with that, and we'll go from there. Sound like a plan guy?" Dex asked this time. Then Lili, Vin, and I all nodded in agreement.

"You two are our elders, so we'll follow your lead," I said before placing my cigarette between Vin's lips. Then, without another word, we were straight into Shout at The Devil. "We shout at the Devil!"

- - -

We ended up closing our band practice with a cover of the Sad Lovers & Giants song Seven Kinds of Sin.

"So, Johnny, did you do that thing we were speaking of a couple of days ago?" Lyo playfully emphasized his question with a strum of his guitar.

I smiled and giggled, "Oh, yeah, yes; I dropped out today." I looked at Lili to see her surprised expression - this being her first time hearing about it since she lives in Grand Rapids, though stupefied I was as to why Vin hadn't texted her earlier: that's neither here nor there.

"Really? And when were you planning on telling me, Johnathan?" Lili asked, keeping her eyes glued to me as she set down her bass.

"Today, Lilith," I smirked at Lili as I started packing up my gear, "So, when do you want to go? And don't say tonight, 'cause I still have to tell Greta."

Lili's face and expression both brightened at a cursory pace before she ran over and excitedly jumped into my arms, wrapping her arms and legs around me, entirely in sight of the webcam.

"Get a room, you two." Dex's voice chimed in.

"Shut up, Dexter!" Lili and I both said, with our individually playful inflections, before almost snickering in unison.

"Next Friday," Lili whispered her answer.

Has To End In Tragedy, Part One: Dicesa

THE FIRST ACT, PT. 2:

NOVEMBER 3, 1992 | EL PASO, TEXAS

"Oh, thank fucking god! Was it good!?" I questioned as I quickly shot to my feet and began to make my way toward the rest of the crew, still waiting for Nathan, the director, to answer my question. Then the cunt walked over with his peculiar stride; I have to admit, I've hated this motherfucker so goddamned much, for so goddamned long, still not the slightest clue as to why I've continued to work with him - wait, that was a lie: I know exactly why I put up with him, both reasons.

"No, it wasn't good, Drew." Nathan feigned a tone of disappointment as he placed a hand on my shoulder: this was another reason I hated him, having to pretend to be in shock when, in all reality, I already knew how good that take was. But I've always been quite proficient at making this idiot believe whatever I wanted him to. "No, Drew, I'm only kidding, it was fucking phenomenal!" Nathan exclaimed as he grabbed my hand.

"Thanks, Nat." I forced a friendly smile for his sake and reluctantly shook his hand. Nathan then turned and mingled with the rest of the crew, and as I turned in the general direction of my trailer, I rolled my eyes, wiping him off my hand. That is when I spotted her, the main reason I put up with Nathan's shit, his twenty-six-year-old wife, Evelyn, whom I've been fucking for the past four years. Once we locked eyes, I merely gestured for her to join me in my trailer once she had the chance - of course, we didn't want to cause too much suspicion. But we shared a nod, and I got in the trailer, basically out of costume in mere heartbeats; my bare ass on the couch even quicker, eyes closed, leaned back, and relaxed. Then, to see what was playing on the radio, I reached over and flipped it on and was greeted by The Police's 'Every Breath You Take.' "I fucking love this song."

"I know it was playing the first time I sucked your dick." Evelyn's voice suddenly penetrated through the music; she simultaneously finished silently closing the door behind herself.

"That's my good girl, now lock it." I licked my lips in anticipation. "Now, get on all fours and crawl to me."

"Yes, sir."

Chapter One: Heaven Knows

March 24, 2020

"And Mr. Paganini, what do you think this means in... Are you even paying attention?" Once he noticed the solo earbud I had in (listening to Heaven Knows by The Pretty Reckless, but I'm pretty sure that's not surprising) and was trying my damnedest to be sneaky about it, Mr. Mirror, our social studies teacher at Allendale High School, answered the question all on his own, "No, you aren't... Mr. Paganini.. Johnathan..."

As I suppressed my ever-growing giddiness, I could feel him attempting to shoot daggers through me with his gaze, but I'm guessing he wasn't wholly amused by the act of me ignoring him.

"JOHNNY!!!" Kerry Mirror slammed his hand down on my desk, causing me to almost jump out of the seat. Once he was satisfied that he had gotten my attention fully, he asked his follow-up to the original question, "What could be so very important that you are ignoring today's lesson, Mr. Paganini, hmm?" He snatched the earbud from my ear, grabbing and pulling some of my messy black hair in the process.

"Oww, bitch." I mumbled what I believed was quiet to myself as I quickly seized the earbud back from his hand.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, sir." Subtly and mockingly rolling my eyes.

"Good." His gaze lowered to my notebook before he continued, "Or is this what's distracting you?" Kerry reached out to grab the notebook, but I pulled it away from his intrusive grabbers.

"What gave that away, Kerry?" I held the notebook close to myself as I gave Mr. Mirror a playful smirk.

"What are you writing poetry or something? Do you honestly find me or this class that boring?"

"Yes," I chuckled as what to me was the funniest joke dashed from my brain to my tongue, "And ostensibly, your wife thinks you are too - at least, that's what she told me last night." As the final syllable fled from between my lips, Mr. Mirror's face turned the most potent shade of red, and being an 18-year-old chaos demon, I laughed, I laughed hard at his anger.

"Get out of my classroom, you little shit."

"Oh, gladly." The words came out entangled in my fit of laughter as I began collecting the few things I had brought with me. "And as a bonus for the both of us, we'll never have to see each other again." I said as I quickly finished gathering my things, then before leaving the classroom, I stopped, "Oh, and one more thing Kerry, go fuck yourself, you utterly inconsequential meadow muffin." After those words sprung from my mouth, I took a bow and quickly made my exit from the room and down the hallway, bumping into my best friend Vincent Kenosha, whose face wore a somewhat confused yet also amused expression as he noticed me stopping at my locker.

"Early day?" Vin asked in his usual playful tone.

"Nah, I'm just done."

"Wait, what!? Are you being serious right now, Johnny, this close to graduation?" Vin grabbed my arm to spin me around and look into my eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll explain later at band practice, okay, babe?" I playfully said, knowing it would get him to smile.

Vin tried to hide the smirk that tugged at his lips, "Okay, see you later... Babe." He followed with a playful wink.

"Yup, see you then," I said as I slung my backpack over my shoulder.

Then, as Vin started to walk away, he turned back to me and gestured around him, "I learned something interesting about this school last night."

"What's that?"

"Your favorite producer and singer of that band Villain."

"Yeah, Milo Villain."

"He graduated from here, too."

I chuckled, "That's awesome - but nice try, Vin. I'm still dropping out," I replied with a smirk as I walked away and down toward the office.

"Whatever, man. See ya later."

- - -

"Johnathan Edward Paganini!! You did what?!!!" My mother, Heidi - as you could say and also see, she was far, so extraordinarily fucking far away from being thrilled at the news of me dropping out this close to graduation, but that school could go fuck itself.

"I dropped out." I pulled the pack of Marlboro Reds from the inside pocket of my leather jacket and offered my mother one as I lit my own.

"I got that part, Johnny, but why?" She pulled one from the pack.

"You know why Mom, me, Lili, Dex, and Lyo with Liam are going out to L.A. - well, Dex, Lyo, and Liam are gonna meet me and Lili there - to start our shit and hopefully get noticed by some big record execs - and wait for Vin to talk his parents into letting him fly out since he won't be 18 until September, and I can't play his guitar parts as well as he can, especially while I'm singing." I paused for a drag, "So, we'll probably be performing a substantial number of covers that don't require much, if any, rhythm guitar." I took another long drag from my cigarette as I watched her expression change and dance before it finally softened as she shook her head; a paltry yet somewhat happy smile graced her lips.

"So, my baby boy's truly doing this?" The smoke pirouetted from her lips as her pretty much rhetorical question floated from her mouth.

"Been the plan since I was 6, wanted to be just like you, Mom, but a bit more disparate, and probably more closely paralleling a young Billy Idol."

"Yeah, that has been your plan since you were a little boy, hasn't it." She said before she puffed on the cigarette, "Yeah, with that hair more like a goth Billy Idol," she giggled; I did as well - but she too looked as though deep in thought, almost lost, before she suddenly spoke again, "So if I remember correctly, Liam is your alls manager, correct?"

"Yes, that our Lil-man is."

"So, does he have any connections to some bookers or club owners or something like that?"

"Yeah, he says he knows a couple and a twosome that own a few smaller clubs around L.A. - which aren't gonna be as fun without Vin's rhythm guitar, for the obvious reason, but we gotta do what we gotta do." I took the last drag from my cigarette before putting it out; then, I saw the gears in her head begin their whirling. "And yes, before you ask, of course, Dex and Lyo, with the help of Liam, made sure we'd have a place to stay."

"Now, how would they be doing that from over in the U.K.?"

"The internet's made the world a much smaller place since you were an aspiring pop star, mother. Plus, you know, Lil-man's purported connections." I somehow managed to look down at my phone at precisely the exact moment I received a text from my beaut of a girlfriend, Margaret Eve. And the text read: 'Baby, where are you?' As I responded, telling her about how I dropped out, my mother spoke again; it was almost as if she could see the text and knew exactly who it was and why they texted me.

"You didn't tell, Greta did you?"

"You need to cease doing that shit; it's fucking scary with that clairvoyant nonsense or whatever." I playfully said, pointing at her with my zippo after lighting another cigarette.

"Oh, yeah, that's ironic coming from your mouth, sweetheart, seeing as you're the only one in this house with any books relating to the occult or any form of witchcraft." My mother cackled.

"You got me there, Mom, you got me there." I looked at the time on my phone and slowly got up, "I should probably go pick up Vin and get to Lili's place."

"Got one of those virtual band meets slash rehearsals you guys been doing in her parent's garage?"

I chuckled, "Of course, most likely gonna be the last one we'll be doing like that." I stretched my back and handed the cigarette to my mother, "So, I'm gonna get going." I said, kissing her on the cheek.

"Okay, sweetheart, see you later tonight; I love you."

"Love you too, Mom," I walked back into the house, grabbing a Monster Mule from the fridge in the kitchen before heading into the garage and out to my van, the old, reliable rust bucket - a grey and royal blue 1989 Chevrolet G20 Turtle Top van - that I inherited from my grandfather that Lili and myself would be driving from Allendale Michigan to Los Angeles in; in the ever approaching future, drawing nearer with every transient breath.

Has To End In Tragedy, Part One: Dicesa

THE FIRST ACT, PT. 1:

NOVEMBER 3 | EL PASO, TEXAS

My stare locked onto my old friend, John Davis Jr. - as he slowly entered the saloon. When he laid his eyes on me, a pure look of utter disgust washed over his weathered face; he then walked over and sat next to me. After doing so, he spat on the floor, then picked up the half-filled bottle of bourbon, taking a drink as I lit myself a cigarette and watched as he set the bottle down in front of himself.

"I'll never forgive you, Arthur," John said, droplets of bourbon from his lips hitting me in the face, almost as if a manifestation of the venom that filled his words.

"Nice to see you too, John," I spoke calmly as I motioned for the barkeep to bring me another drink.

My gaze stayed locked on John's icy stare as I puffed on my smoke, only moving my gaze slightly when I heard the barkeep place a mug of beer down on the table for me, "Thank you, sir." I said with a subtle nod in his direction.

"I'm gonna kill you for what you di..."

"Your fucking whore deserved it." I cut him off coldly before taking a drink of my beer. John then jumped up from the seat, and I calmly watched as he pulled his revolver from its holster, unlucky for him, considering I knew that he was never quite one to properly care for his weapon; so, of course, it jammed: the poor bastard. That's when I smirked, then looked him dead in the eyes, placing the mug down as the subsequent words I chose began to tumble from my lips. "You never did learn, did you, John?" I paused only long enough to strike a match to light another smoke, "Sometimes the hero doesn't get to win." As my words fully entered his head, I drew my own gun much faster and shot the son of a bitch in the throat just to hear the sound of him drowning in his own blood. After placing my revolver back into its holster, I finished my beer, got up, still puffing on my new smoke, then sighed and finished my thought as I looked down into his fading gaze, "Cause John, eventually everything has to end in tragedy." I proceeded to pour out the remnants of what remained in the bottle of bourbon onto his soon-to-be corpse, "Well, it was nice knowing you, John."

"Come on out, Arthur!!"

I suddenly burst into laughter and looked at the barkeep as I pointed toward the swinging saloon doors, "How many you see out there, sir?"

"I reckon there to be about seven or eight lawmen out there, sir. Perhaps more, but I can't quite tell."

"Thank you, sir," I said as I reached into my pocket in search of any spare bullets, and as I pulled two out, I drew and shot the barkeep in the dead center of his chest. "Yeah, I'll be right there, sheriff, don't you worry!" I reloaded the two shots, fully aware that the chances of myself making out of this alive were relatively zero. So, before making it to the doors, I holstered my weapon and raised my hands in a way, hopefully, to keep their collective guard down, at least long enough to get a full read of my situation.

"That's it with ya hands up, Arthur."

"They are, you fuck; why don't you tell your dogs to put their guns down," I said with a smirk on my face, my cigarette still hanging from my lips.

"Ya know we're gonna hang ya, right Arthur?" The Sheriff said, simultaneously motioning for his crew to lower their weapons.

"I had a feeling, you could reckon." I laughed, "But will we really get that far?" I found myself doing a quick headcount of the officers, and as it seemed, the number happened to be five shy of the barkeep's maximum estimation.

"What ya getting at Arthur?" The Sheriff's face wore a quite rightfully confused expression.

"Well, you see, the thing is..." I drew and quickly disposed of the four officers that stood before me, which included the Sheriff, but I did neglect to notice one set of small prying eyes watching from next to their father's horse across the way; my attention instead was drawn toward the beautiful blue Texas sky as I meandered my way to my horse, finally holstering my gun before my body involuntarily jolted forward and blood spewed forth from my mouth. "The fuck?!" I coughed up more blood before turning my head to look behind and see who had just shot me in the back, but when I saw who it was, I couldn't help but laugh as I proceeded to collapse to my knees, then roll onto my back. "You got me good, kid."

"Where's Pa?"

"Well, kid..." I broke out into a painful combination of laughter and a coughing fit, but I guess I deserved it; I smiled up at the boy as he now stood over me, "Well, to put it simply, he's with your mother right now, wherever she ended up."

"Ma's dead, you killed her."

"That's right, I did, and that's some history you'll never get to know." My words were preceded by a few more blood-filled coughs - but with the last bit of strength I had left, I pulled my revolver and held it out to the kid, "Here, I won't be needing this anymore." The kid didn't reply; he merely walked away, which, for once in my life, genuinely caught me by surprise. "I think I w..." My final thought was cut short by the sweet yet cold kiss of death; my glazed-over stare permanently locked onto that beautiful blue.