#punkwriting

Corey stood on the train platform, scratching at her wrist.

The subway was about to come any minute, and she needed to get to work. Art wasn’t going to draw itself, you know.

She leaned forward a little, looking into the darkness of the underground for any signs of the train, still not showing up. She huffed, leaning back and looking at her surroundings.

There weren’t that many people in the dirty, dimly lit station, just a guy playing guitar for tips and an old woman with a nasty grimace gracing her features. Corey ignored them as a tall, lanky man walked down into the station, a pair of sunglasses perched on his stoic and narrow face.

He was handsome, to say the least, and she couldn’t help but feel a slight draw to him. His eyes flicked to her gaze over the edge of his glasses and Corey looked away, scowling and pretending that she wasn’t caught staring. She could feel his eyes on her still, looking in his direction as he averted his gaze too. She smirked.

Got ya.

She went back to searching hopelessly for the train in the dark, not noticing the man walk up behind her. He cleared his throat and she turned to look at him, her interest piqued.

"Hi." He said simply, his smooth voice higher than she expected.

"Hi." She said back, turning her body to face him. He suddenly looked nervous, and Corey couldn’t help but think it was kinda cute. "I-I… I was wondering… If maybe-"

The train cut him off, the metal cars of the subway whirring by at blinding speeds. Corey couldn’t hear the man’s questions over the sound of squeaking metal and the wind, his voice being drowned out by the noise. The train stopped after it seemed like he stopped talking, his expression one of nervousness.

Corey looked at the train and back at the man, giving him an apologetic smile. “Listen, I gotta go, this is my train…” She trialled off awkwardly, stepping backwards off the train platform and into the train. The doors tried closing in front of her, but just before the did the man thrust them back open.

"Is your name Corey?" He blurted out.

Corey’s heart practically stopped. She looked down at her wrist, reading her tattoo for the millionth time.

Mikey Way.

"It is if your name is Mikey." She said plainly, not looking up. She could see him nod on the edges of her vision, and she looked up again at him. By now he was beaming, and Corey’s eyes widened.

"Hi." He said again, practically giggling by now. Okay, scratch what she said before, he was pretty cute.

Frank’s fingers drummed on his thigh, his knee bouncing up and down. He was beyond nervous, he was terrified actually, and the anxiety was starting to get to him.

His clock was almost done counting. His mom and friends all knew, which was why he was forced into his nicest pair of skinny jeans and a button down shirt. Frank wasn’t really sure how nice he could actually look with eyeliner and skunk hair, but there was no time to make himself look more presentable.

He looked down at the small timer on his wrist, only a minute left. He had no idea how he was supposed to meet his soulmate during homeroom, where everyone was sitting quietly while the teacher took attendance, but he knew how weird the stories of meeting soul mates could be. His own mom and dad met in the parking lot of a strip mall. (Seriously, how romantic.)

He looked down again, thirty seconds left. He glanced nervously at Bob and Ray, whom were all smiles and excitement as they gave him thumbs-up. How could they be so excited at a time like this? This was the rest of his life they were talking about!

Twenty seconds left, and there were no unfamiliar faces. Frank sighed, sliding down in his chair and frowning. What if he didn’t like them? What if they didn’t like Frank? Oh god, he thought, his pulse doubling in speed, what if he didn’t have a soul mate?

When the timer hit fifteen seconds the principal walked in, a shadow standing in the door frame as the man stood in the center of the classroom and cleared his throat.

"Everyone, today is very, very exciting. We have a new student at our school, who will be in your homeroom. I expect to see all of you treating him with kindness and open arms, and I hope all of you show him respect and direct him around our wonderful school."

The shadow in the doorframe stepped into the room slowly, Frank’s jaw dropping. He was gorgeous. He might not have been to other people, with his greasy black hair and girly hazel eyes, but Frank couldn’t help but think he was absolutely beautiful. So beautiful in fact, that when they made eye contact with each other neither of them noticed their timers hit zero.

Their was a chorus of “Hi” and the students went back to talking and doing whatever. Frank’s heart was going a million miles per minute, his brain going haywire. This was his soul mate. His true love.

Frank actually didn’t mind.

The boy looked down at his wrist, his eyes widening as he snapped his head back up to smile sheepishly at Frank. Oh god he was cute too. Frank stood up, walking towards him as the other boy did the same, both of them meeting in the middle.

"You’re my soul mate." The boy said bluntly, a goofy grin on his face as he pulled Frank into a bone crushing hug. "I’m Gerard, and it’s so amazing to meet you."

Punk walked through the street, biting down hard on her lip as she walked to school.

It was a miracle that the orphanage had let her walk to school by herself today instead of taking the bus, but that was only because of the special occasion: She was supposed to meet her soulmate today.

Of course, her social worker had let her borrow one of her old dresses that didn’t fit, a black and white striped skater and her best pair of combat boots. She clutched her backpack tightly as it hung off of one shoulder, her eyes glancing continuously to her watch. It was so close, thirty seconds to be exact.

She looked around the busy street corner, the bustle of Bedford Avenue strong even in the early New York morning. The light on the other side of the street lot up with a little green man, the throng of people on the corner dispersing and colliding with the group opposite of them in the street.

Punk walked with the mesh of business men and parents and their children and tourists getting an early start to their day. She looked down at her clock, realizing she’s just burned another twenty seconds off her clock.

Ten. She looked around, seeing if she could guess who it was.

Nine. Eight. Seven. Where was he? Who was going to be the person who changed her life forever?

Six. Five. Four. Punk stopped in the street, spinning around while she looked as people pushed past her.

Three. Her pulse was racing, her heart beating frantically against her chest as she spun around even faster.

Two. A suit-clad business man bumped into her, sending her spinning towards the ground.

One. She could already picture her head colliding fatally with the asphalt below.

Zero.

She felt a pair of arms wrap around her, pulling her forward and into someone else. She opened her eyes, her breath hitching as she realized she was pressed against the chest of a boy. A really tall boy actually.

Punk clutched the front of his tank top, black and white striped like a prison uniform. She looked down, biting her lip as she got a glimpse of his heavy looking black boots and sinfully tight black jeans. “Hi. You must be my soulmate?”

She held her breath, slowly letting herself look up and gasp. Staring directly down at her was the boy’s face, with pale white skin and spiked black hair that looked like he was struck by lightning. He was thin and wiry like a corpse, and his face was thin and sunken in like he hadn’t had a meal in days. She couldn’t see his eyes, covered by a pair of plain black sunglasses, but by inspection she suddenly realized he was blind.

She would never go for anyone like him, in a million years. And yet, he seemed perfect.

A car horn honked, and suddenly two more followed suit, and Punk looked down the street to see a long line of cabs, cars and buses all honking at them to get out of the middle of the street. They’d held up the whole intersection upon their meeting.

She looked back up at the boy, at a total loss for words. He, on the other hand, seemed totally calm. He looked back down at her, still wrapped up in his tight embrace, and he grinned.

"I’ve got time before school. How about you get breakfast with me?"

Punk looked back to the honking cars and the beautiful blind boy standing with his thin arms wrapped around her. She certainly didn’t want to stand in the street any longer, because any moment now the cabs would probably just run them over, and right now she’s just met her true love. She let a small smile stretch into her features, nodding slowly.

Lithium sat in a booth in the dining area of their home, taking some time to herself.

It'd been hectic lately, with her newborns always finding ways to keep her busy and her husband being out on supply runs or other jobs. It was times like these where she was glad that she could get time to herself, just to sit and relax and not have to think of anything.

Suddenly there was a jingling of the bell above the doorway and a flash of bright red, and she was momentarily met with the smiling face of Punk sitting across from her in the booth. 

"Hey Lith."

The woman smiled back. "Hey Punk."

The girl sat forward, bouncing in her seat as she leaned on her elbows and beamed at her. "I wanna do something fun."

The woman raised her eyebrows in curiosity and smirked. "What exactly would that be?"

Punk sat back, a coy smile playing at her lips. She loved messing with people. "Oh, it's nothing really. Just something small." She held out her hand, still grinning as she pretended to be more interested in her fingernails than the conversation. "I bet hit wouldn't even interest you."

The woman smirked back, leaning into the booth behind her. "Okay Red, cut it out."

The girl flicked her eyes at the woman, a devilish grin on her face. "I wanna have another bike race, since we never got to see who won the last time."

Lith's smirk became a full on smile, and she got up from the booth. "Let's go, right now."

"You're on." The girl challenged, running towards the door and standing in it as she looked back at Lith. "But you know I'm gonna beat you."

"In your dreams you little shit."

~*~

The two were out on the desert street, both of them perched on top of their bikes as their engines revved. The heat seemed to make he race even more intense, as the sun beat down on them in a clear royal blue sky. They could see the desert stretch on for miles, a desert mountain range sitting carefully on the horizon. It was the perfect day for a bike race.

The teenager revved her engine, leaning forwards and flicking her gaze towards the blue-haired woman. No way was she letting her win.

Lith looked back at Punk, revving her engine also in response. "Same rules apply?"

"Same rules apply." The girl nodded, pulling out her Drac gun. She raised in the air, not even bothering to count off as she shot into the sky, letting her bike zoom forward next to Lith's. They both started out keeping pace with each other, until soon they were both trying to pull ahead. Punk hit a few buttons, forcing her bike to go faster as Lith's bike roared down the street next to hers. The two were both pushing their bikes to the limit, but they didn't care if it meant taking the other down.

By now, as dust flew out behind both their vehicles and the wind whipped their hair back they were going full speed, their bikes just hanging on as the cactus came into view in the distance. Lith turned her head to see if Punk had pulled ahead, but was shocked to see Punk wasn't there, but about five feet ahead of her. She let out a growl, the engine practically screaming as she pushed her bike to the max. She was edging closer and closer to Punk, the finish line coming closer and closer. Suddenly a flash of green passed her and she realized they'd already crossed it.

Both skidded their bikes to a stop, staring at each other from opposite sides of the road as the engines rumbled and the smell of gasoline and rubber filled the air. A coy smile spread across Punk's face, and she let out a laugh. "Does this mean I won?..."

Lith rolled her eyes, smirking at the girl. "Yes... You won."

Punk let out a a triumphant "Yeah!" and fist pumped into the air. Lith let her celebrate a little bit before kicking up the stand on her bike and rolling it slowly on the turf. "Okay, okay, you won. Let's get back, shall we?"

"Yeah. Let's get back."

Both of them smiled at each other, revving up their motorcycles and heading back to the diner.