╳ ┆HOLLOW

             ‘tell me ALL that you know, first.’

                                   darkcorncrs

                              ❛ get down !! ❜

             the girl’s voice is no more than a HISS, a hand grabbing the woman’s wrist &              jerking her behind the dumpster.  she couldn’t have this woman get killed by              the creeps sweeping the street for her. max glanced at her.    ugh, she even              l o o k e d nice. fingers curled around the edges of the dumpster, lips pressed              together.         ERASERS had swarmed the street just   m o m e n t s   earlier. 

                                                   ❛ okay.                                          i THINK they’re gone. ❜

                             ❛ uh !! ❜

             a yelp of surprise is muffled by the urgency in the other girls voice;    karen              in no way   approved    of random strangers grabbing her off the street,              but there were always exceptions.  the hand that had ripped her mace from              her purse relaxed,   eyes darting from behind the dumpster in search of an             enemy she could not see.

        mary jane is already well aware of trailing footsteps,           mace in one hand, grip on her purse tight.   but she’s           thankful for the blonde nonetheless,    offering  her  a         soft  smile.  her  voice  is  casual,  as  if catching up            with an old friend.

       ❛  I KNOW!i couldn’t believe it either, when i heard.   ❜ 

        not new to the experience,   karen picks up on the conversation           quickly.      face focused on the red-head beside her, a constant           shifting of her eyes and reaching of her ears to check the status           of the man.  her voice raises.

darkcorncrs ( ♥ ) liked for a starter!

eyes widening as he felt someone bump into his shoulder – or rather, felt himself bump into someone else, steve stopped in his tracks and immediately turned around, a look of concern on his face.

❝   – sorry. sorry. i didn’t see you there. i wasn’t watching        where i was going, i guess.  my fault.  are you  alright?  ❞

the contact drew not only herself out of her own mind, but her papers out of her hand.  shoulder hurt more than it ought to,      but the slight pain was ignored for favor of retrieving the fallen items.

❝   crap———   ❞

head turns over to face them, hair hanging in her face as a deep sigh sounded.                  karen could hear the tick of her watch practically screaming at her.

the question was something she surely expected, but now had a diffucult time finding the APPROPRIATE response for.  grabbing the glass of water beside  her,  sharon took a quick sip  while her mind tried to  formulate  a quick retort  that would  NOT  raise any red flags.  hearing the glass clink against the wooden table, the blonde offered yet another smile as her lips parted to speak.

                   ❝ you owe me nothing, promise. let’s just say i have                            some friends in pretty high places & they owe me                            huge. you can repay me one way, letting me know                            where one gets a decent burger around here. ❞

the  gratefulness that spread across karen’s features knew no  bounds, touching her eyes to the upturned corners of her mouth.            a mouth which opened to protest,     and to assure that she would do anything to repay this kindness, but snapped shut a moment later.  a burger would have to do, for it was not like the blonde had all that much to offer.

   Karen, the printer shredded the page again. I am about to lose the last ounce of my chill.

HER FINGERS HOVER in the air, catching particles of dust, ruffling the fabric of her blouse.  matt stops with his tie undone to swing over his top button, thumb stayed.  the little strings pulling her smile have his own curling despite himself. 

‘      here. 

hands dropped to his sides, matt presents himself for assistance.  

‘      would you at least help me get it straight? might save         me some embarrassment.

SHE WAS HARDLY one to deny helping others, chin tilting in a nod, a soft noise of compliance following soon after.        deft movements carried her fingers to his neck, eyes focusing on the task with intent.

  ‘      you’re lucky to have me you know——— now you’re not          gonna go walking around lookin’ like a doofus all day .

and with a tug and a light pat, feet place distance between them once more.

        ❝It – it sounds incredible! How does he see? Is the mask see-through           just on the eyes? I feel like there are a lot of problematic things with his           vigilante attire? Is he protected or is it just, like, a sweatshirt? What is           his hospital bill like? Does he have medical training himself? These           questions keep me up at night.❞

       ❝ You know, I never even considered how he saw ?  I think            I just assumed the mask was see through.  But maybe he has            some sort of super power that makes him tougher——— like          metal skin . ❞

i. you have hair that is spun like silk on a hazy summer day and a complexion that is covered in stars and nebulas.  each freckle is a sign of your growth.  you will spill a dark box wine on your carpet like rain — purposeful, deliberate — and you will watch the liquid sink into the fabric and wish you could sink away with it.  you pretend the cheap alcohol hides the stench, and it does, but you can never truly pretend that that stain was forged from something so innocent, so simple.  no matter what you do, his imprint will stay burned on your living room floor forever.  you will pour the rest of the bottle down your throat and curl up on the kitchen tile away from the mess you think you made.  maybe you should move .

ii. there is a ringing in your ears from the barrel of a gun, but not the gun that's weight is only days old and that you can still feel in your sweaty palms.  your soul is dirty and your voice betrays the galaxy that is collapsing around you.  so much blood — you will touch your eyes and see your stained hands.  you will start to wonder what self-preservation really means and how far people are allowed to go in the name of self-defense.  blue orbs fade to gray and are highlighted by the red veins of weariness.  there is nothing inside your bones, there hasn't been for a long time.  you are hollow like a bird, but god forbid you try to fly .

iii. when he smiles at you, you will smile back.  white teeth will flash and he will not see them, but you begin to believe that he knows it is there, bright, on your face anyways.  there is a certain tug inside your body that you cannot explain every time you say you are alright when you are far from being so.  stay vague instead, tip-toe around what you mean and twist the rag of poison till you are believable.  try not to drip any on your dress.  you will tell yourself that he has no clue, because, hell, he hardly KNOWS you past the cadence of your voice and the sound of your heels breaking the earth.  you will see no reason why you cannot betray his trust.  what could he possibly know about not having a soul ?

iv.  you will try to move forward from your past —  this is why you came here, this is why you could still dream —  but the past is consistent.  it will catch up to you when you think it is finally gone.  you will not be able to run from yourself, and though this is something you cannot change, you are going to work on your agility anyways.  you will make new bonds.  you will finally associate with different faces and they will CARE.  but it will not matter in the end how hard you will try or are trying, because everything has a way of finding it’s course back to the earth no matter how many years it has spent pretending it belongs in space.  not even your dreams are safe anymore .

‘      very funny, karen.    

the backs of his fingers, the flat space just between joint and nail, climb up his lapel so that he can slip a thumb into his tie knot and  work it loose.  

‘     is it really that bad? 

she answers with an upturn of her lips, hand reaching out to try and  halt the process before  it  is past  the point of  immediate resolution .

‘     no, no, you’re fine .  i’m just pullin’ your leg .

a brief pause .

darkcorncrs

‘     how’s my tie?