PNF2 - 'Untitled'

Marie was sad. Her instant messenger, beeping, yet being ignored. Her phone, displaying the telltale signs of overuse and general wear-and-tear, yet strangely removed from it's owner in a fashion so unlike her. The screen flashed every so often, indicating yet another missed call. Her parents, noticing all of this, simply left her to it. This happened quite often.

And away from the phone, from her computer, from everything that connected her to the world at large, was a sad, broken, redheaded girl. However, the nature of her sadness is not the purpose of this tale. Nor is the eventual rescue from this self-destructive depression. Instead, it is about the girl herself, and her first - and only - admission to the boy she always wanted but never really saw.

He was always there in a heartbeat. To describe their relationship in one word, it would be close. In three, it would be "closer than anything." Give it four, and it would be "closer than siamese twins." They loved each other, in ways far beyond simple 'love', and far beyond simple 'platonic love.' It was something different - something special, a spark no one else could replicate. Of course, they couldn't tell you this regardless of what they tried. Only from our view, as an outside observer, knowing all events that have been and will come to be, can we understand this.

The night started like many a night young Thomas had come to expect. He was spending his evening the way he knew best, involving loud music, his books and the occasional message. Of course, he didn't care for his messages much - all they consisted of was chain mail, the occasional nigerian prince, and the rare nugget of true conversation he lived for.

He was slowly losing himself into his music, the rhythm pulsing through his ears, when he heard a beep. He had a new message. Normally, he wouldn't check until later when he needed to stop, but something was pulling him towards it.

He had a new email.

Years later, he would be ever-so-thankful he checked it.

[From: sunflower12@gmx.net]
[To: thomas@doofenshmirtz.com]
[Subject: I need you]

He didn't need to read the rest of the email. Without a single moment of hesitation, he was up, moving along with a force in his step that to the outside observer would look purely frightening. He didn't bother to tell his father where he was going - he simply glanced in his direction, and their eyes locked, telling his father all he needed to know. After all, in his many pursuits of Vanessa, he had this look of pure passion.

It was late. The early hours of the morning - Thomas couldn't be sure, and he didn't want to check his phone. Just in case one of the more unsavioury types that polluted his neigbourhood was present. He knew the route to "Uncle Phineas'" by heart, not that it was difficult to remember in the first place. Within roughly 15 minutes - give or take, of course - he was there, comforting Marie over yet another breakup.

"I just don't get it! What does that girl have I don't!" She had moved to the angry and self-deprecation stage, which was good. It meant he was making progress with her, and she should be okay by the hours end. That's normally how it played out, in any case. "I don't know, Marie, I can't get exactly tell you what he sees that isn't so good in you." "Yeah, well, what do you think isn't good with me?!"

To call this a question Thomas had come unprepared for would be the understatement of the century. His mind flew into overdrive, quickly trying to think of a suitable reply for this that wouldn't drop him in a whole boatload of trouble, yet he was constantly drawing blanks. He was literally struck dumb. That is, until he put his foot in his mouth and said something that was, at the time, completely unexpected.

"Absolutely nothing."

Luckily (or unluckily, depending on the viewpoint) for Thomas, Marie didn't just drop it. She continued on, soldering on - trying in vain to get Thomas to say something bad about her. He was tight-lipped, saying nothing in response to her constant aggressive questioning. He could remain silent under untold amounts of pressure, a trait he inherited from his father.

Marie then turned towards Thomas, a gleam in her eye. An evil gleam, some may be predisposed to say. "Tommmmmmy." Thomas just kept looking at her, strangely captivated. That gleam was difficult to look away from. "If you don't tell me, I'll kiss you." Thomas just cocked his head ever so slightly, the coolkid's way of saying 'Try it'. "I doubt you do t-". He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence before Marie's lips were pressed to his own, and his mind hurtled into a frenzy of actions.

"Do I kiss her back, do I hold her, do I pull her onto me dear god her lips are nice oh jesus christ what do I do." He needed to think, and fast. Marie's eyes were slowly falling - she obviously expected a more... heartfelt reaction? He couldn't guess - so he stuck by his old guns of doing the first thing he thought of. It landed him in so many problems, yet bailed him out of so many more.

He kissed back.

It was akward. A smushing of two inexperienced teenagers, exactly as it should be. But it did start of something new. Something neither of them had expected that night by any strech of the imagination. And when Tom finally - (after speaking in private with his Dad, he coudln't talk about inappropriate relationships, if he even tried it would be hypocrisy central) - announced to the world his intentions with Marie, they were stunned.

Of course, there were crtics. The ones claiming "they are cousins it is immoral deformities" were quickly silenced with a fair few points - "stepcousins", "they are 15" and "shut the hell up" all seemed to work well. People eventually shut up about it, and when they did you couldn't help but notice how well they went together.

And realistically, none of it mattered.

<3.