chronicmusicnerd

Anyway, chapter 8 of 11 minutes after death is done!

Heres a sneak peek for all you freaks out there (especially you, fleoshc)

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“Neil, breakfast!”

His mother’s voice echoed up the stairwell into Neil’s room. He had waited in the silence, watching his clock, until it was past eight in the morning. His father was gone to work. Any hard-working man will go for a six-day week. The only day off is Sunday, for God, his father had told him once. He preferred it this way; anything to see Mr. Perry as little as possible.

Slowly, Neil got out of the previous day’s clothes, changing into new ones. He felt his feet carry him through the halls to the washroom, where he methodically brushed his teeth. He ran water over his hands and waited for it to dry on its own before going downstairs. 

He was sure his mother could hear him making his way down the stairs, but he tried to avoid the creaks anyway. He ran his hands over the wood of the stairway railings. It was cold and smooth, like a stone bust or morgue patient. Eventually, he could stall no longer, and stepped out of the stairwell into the bright light of his downstairs. 

It was like walking into a whole other house. His mother loved bright colours, and she made it known in all the decor and design of the house. Even the bathrooms were full of colour, and the only place without it was his father’s study. 

His mother beamed at him as he sat down at the kitchen table. 

“Neil, I’m so glad you’re finally up. I was thinking you would have slept in further, considering your late night yesterday.”

The truth is, he would have, if he hadn’t suffered through the fire. If he could sleep peacefully at home for once, he would lie in his bed for days. 

His mother set down a plate for him, covered in scrambled eggs, bacon, and buttered toast. Neil’s non-existent appetite would have to struggle through this one. He watched his hand reach forward and grab a piece of toast, bringing it up to his mouth. It tasted—and felt—like sawdust. He set down the toast.

“So, Neil, how was your semester so far?” His mother asked while frying up her own eggs and bacon.

“It was… interesting.” Golden hair and reserved smiles filled his imagination. 

“Interesting, huh?”

***

Please go read it my mental health took a hit for this one... and mind the new tags!!!!!!!

Heres a short excerpt for anyone interested!

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“Tonight was fun.” Todd said at last, after their laughter died out. He sat up and looked at nothing in particular. “I had a lot of fun with you.”

Neil sat up, too, facing Todd. “I’m glad. Y’know, I think you’d make a great Hermia if you really tried.”

The final daylight was fading fast, hardly brushing Todd’s hair now. It was dark enough that nobody from the school would see. 

“Oh, ha-ha. I meant it. I had fun.”

Neil reached out to touch Todd’s hair. The ends were still golden with sunlight and they felt like silk.

“Yeah, I know. I’m just teasing.”

Neil felt a hand on his thigh. 

“We should head back soon. Hager’s gonna make his rounds, and even if you can afford to be late, we aren’t all doing evening rehearsals.”

Neil stared at Todd’s lips. He wondered what they’d taste like.

“Probably, yeah. We have time, though. A few minutes.”

He watched his hand reach out to cup Todd’s face. Todd smiled into it, moving closer. 

“Y’know, Neil, there’s still light out…”

He pulled Todd closer.

“Nobody’s watching.”

***

Terrible awful cliffhanger, I know >.<

If that's cute or interesting or epic, please hop on ao3 and give it a read! It's always nice to know when people go out and read your work :)

The fic name is 11 Minutes After Death by chronicmusicnerd on ao3, and here's a little excerpt from the chapter :0 (Without spoilers ofc)

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As he and Todd sat there, Neil eating his dinner and Todd reading a book, the moon began to rise and it lit their dorm through the open window. Neil began to feel a tangible tension in the room, with the moonlight casting a blue glow over his skin. He was sure it lit Todd the same way. He was willing to bet that the light would make Todd’s hair glow a silvery-golden colour, like some princess from a fairytale. 

He refrained from turning around, because he knew if he saw Todd in the moonlight, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from staring. Minutes continued to pass, and as the amount of food on his plate began to diminish, Neil began to think. About Todd, of course. 

He hadn’t ever really been interested in romance. The idea of settling down forever with some woman never appealed to him. He didn’t know what kind of person he would even want to date, anyway. Looks weren’t the matter to him, but he had also never found anyone ‘attractive,’ either. 

I guess, until now. Neil turned around in his chair and looked at Todd, really looked at Todd. He was nose-deep into his book, his moonlit hair swept out of his eyes, and he just looked so soft. He got so caught up in looking at him that he didn’t process when Todd said, still in his book,

“I can feel you staring, Neil.”

***

After 3 months of theatre and 10 shows, I finally got back to 11 Minutes After Death, and ch. 5 is longer (and cuter imo) and it's finallyyy on ao3.

I'll be putting in my personal favourite excerpt from the end of the chapter, so if you aren't a fan of 'spoilers' (it doesn't spoil much but) than I encourage you to go read the whole thing hehehe

Anywho, here's the excerpt from Ch. 5 - Poetry

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“You know what my dad called me when I was little?”

Todd’s voice shook Neil out of his stupor, and Neil shook his head no.

“‘Five ninety-eight.’ That’s what all the chemicals in the human body would be worth if you bottled them up raw and sold them. He said that was all I’d ever be worth unless I worked everyday to be worth more. ‘Five ninety-eight.’”

“Todd, that’s-”

“When I was little, I thought all parents automatically loved their kids. That’s what my teachers told me. That’s what I read in the books they gave me. That’s what I believed. My parents might’ve loved my brother, but they didn’t love me.”

Neil grappled for something, anything to say, but came up with nothing. He stared helplessly at Todd, who just sighed. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I said that.”

“Todd, don’t be sorry, none of it was your fault. That’s on your dad.”

“I know, but sometimes the rational part of me doesn’t win against the irrational part of me.”

“You’re worth a lot more than you think. And even if no one else says it, you matter.”

Todd smiled. “Thanks, Neil.”

Finally, the silence between them was comfortable. Neil scootched in closer to Todd, who had started to blow hot air into his hands. Todd gratefully nestled into Neil’s shoulder and Neil took his hands into his own to warm them up. 

“You matter a lot.”

He started tracing the letters into Todd’s palm.

“You’ll always matter, no matter what.”

Todd began to giggle. “As you’ve said.”

“No, I’m serious. You matter. To a lot of people. I want you to understand that.”

“Well, go on, tell me. To whom do I matter?” Todd asked playfully.

Neil blushed and turned away, glad the darkness concealed the pink in his cheeks. He kept Todd’s hands in his own.

“To me.”

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