Track 04
“You’re that-… you’re the-… the one who-” I stumbled over my words as recognition crossed his face too. He opened his mouth then gritted his teeth with slight fear. He marched over to me, snatched my wrist, and threw the bag he held on the counter. The smell of deep-fried foods briefly touched my nostrils.
“Come with me for a sec.” he commanded.
“Huh? Wha?” I looked confusedly from his hand on my wrist to the woman at the front desk who did nothing as he led me away. But instead of leading me out of the store, he went behind the counter. The woman had her eyes closed in an unreadable manor as she waved and smiled her goodbyes. I gawked at her while being yanked through a door. Before anything made sense, I was pulled down a hall and soon into a room…a bedroom to be specific. He let go of me.
“Sit.”
I wasn’t about to disobey him, knowing what he could do given the right reasons. I sat on the floor on top of my legs with my hands on my lap and a very shut mouth. He lifted one muff off his ear and pushed it back just behind his lobe. Then he closed the door and turned to me. They were dark eyes indeed.
He sighed and shut them. One hand rose and streamed back and forth through his already scattered hair. The next moment he was walking over to the bedside and grabbing another phone. He pulled out the one from his sweater pocket, unplugged the red wire from its head, and tossed it on the bed before plugging the cord into the new device. I had shimmied counter-clockwise on the spot to watch him. He re-approached me and flopped down, cross-legged on the floor across from me.
“Listen,”
Listening.
“You can’t just-… ” – he sighed and ruffled his hair some more – “okay, I don’t know what you were going to say out there in front of my mom, but I can’t have you talking about that incident when she’s around. As far as she knows, I wasn’t there, or fighting, or injured…This is a taboo topic. Got it?”
My mouth fell wider than wide open as I looked at him and pointed towards the door. “muh-…muh-…muh-”
Mother! I was trying to say Mother! That woman!? His mother? So did she know I was talking about her son this whole time? Even when I….called him….slightly attractive. My face went red. Redder than red. I did say those words, didn’t I? I’m really stupid enough to say those words, aren’t I?
“Got it?” he repeated, turning his intimidation meter up several notches. I nodded, still dazed. That meant this music store was his house, didn’t it? Which meant this punk-style room was his room. My head was spinning now.
“Wait but, does that mean you do all that slashing/stabbing, soul-sword-stuff without your mothers consent?! Does she not know about it at all?!”
“SSSSSSHHHHH. Shut up! You don’t know anything so shut up. Of course she knows I’m a sell-soul. It’s just that…she… she worries so…” his voice died down. “aagghh!” then shot back up, “why am I telling you this?! I don’t even know you! What are you doing here? How’d you find me?”
That’s true, what am I lecturing him for? Why did I come?
“You’re right, I’m sorry, I came here to thank you, but here I am stressing you out… I’m sorry. And also thank you, for saving my life.”
He began to get all flustered when he saw me bowing. “I-…I didn’t do it for you, I just, beat up a guy that was pissing me off. So you don’t have to-… I should be thanking you, I underestimated them. They might’ve killed me if you didn’t help.” His voice dipped down to a whisper this time. It gave me chills, because I also might’ve been killed if it weren’t for him.
“Thank you” we said together, gawked at each other in shock, and immediately turned away in search of a distraction. He scrolled hurriedly through his playlist on his phone and I looked around his room. It worked; his room was filled to the brim with distractions; band posters, music-making tech, and instruments. It was insane. There were a series of guitars cliqued together in a corner near his bed, a double keyboard in a spot suitable for a desk, and massive rack of old CD mix tapes. His room was practically the mini version of the shop outside.
Like me, Axel also managed to distract himself with the melodies on his phone. You brought me in here, take responsibility, I thought.
“So… what type of music do you listen to?” I may have recognized a few logos and stuff in his room, but I still had no idea what kind of music it was. I was guessing rock, but I could have been wrong.
He seemed stunned by my question. “…a bit of everything.” He finally said, then looked away.
“How about right now?”
“???”
“What are you listening to right now?”
“…it’s a new band that no one really knows called Unpainted Sky…” he seemed to be holding himself back from answering my questions, but he was clearly passionate about this stuff. I wanted to hear about the music he sold half his soul to.
“Can I listen?”
Again he went speechless and gawked at me. After a long awkward moment (on my part), I witnessed the birth of the most adorable, sparkly-eyed, joyous smile I’d ever seen on any human being in my entire life. He looked like a child on his way to an amusement park for the first time; a cartoon version of that. To see such a strong-willed and determined person, show such childlike happiness; the sight made me blush. I made sure to pocket that image. He wasn’t just slightly attractive anymore.
“S-sure! Okay, you can listen, if you want. Are you sure you want to hear this one? Or should I show you an even better one? Oh, I feel like you might like this one…Wait, this one!”
I couldn’t help myself, I let out a giggle. “You’re a lot more…childish than I thought.” He looked up then, and glared at me. After seeing how happy he was capable of being, this expression came across as more of a pout than anything else. I doubted I would have thought this moments ago.
He opened his mouth to say something-
A click and a whoosh later, and I heard the tattooed woman’s voice emerge from behind me. “I know riiighht?!? Isn’t he the cutest thing? You’d never expect it though, would ya?” I spun to see a similar expression of pure happiness on the face of the woman I spoke to before…
“Mom! Get out! How long have you been there?” Axel exploded.
“Not long, not long, don’t worry, I have better things to do than eavesdrop on my son. Need I remind you I have a store to run~” she sang that last part, tilting her head back like a pretend rock star while Axel shoved on her back. Many strands of her hair blanketed his face. I couldn’t help but think she could be a real rock star with her looks.
“Then go run it!” he complained.
Seeing them like this, it was hard not to notice the resemblance, but it was much harder referring to her as his mother. If anything she came across as the older sister type.
“It’s closing time.” She answered. “Plus I just wanted to know if my widdle son and his widdle fwiend wanted some dinnaaa. Which I have right here-aaah” In one quick motion she twirled and put a hand heavily on Axel’s head and pushed him down, around her, and out the door. As he stumbled away she reached to the side and picked up some plates of food resting on something I could not see, so it seemed like an act of magic.
Next, she strolled in casually and put two plates by my side. She gave me a pleasant little smile that made me feel nervous and frantic. Since I came into this building as a store, I forgot to have the required manners for entering someone’s household.
“Ah! This must have been your share; you don’t have to do that for me, really. I could just eat when I get home.” In actuality, I was far past starving; my stomach was silently dying in its final hours. I hadn’t eaten since…since…? When was the last time I ate food? I mean like real food, not the potato chips I had a few hours ago. It would’ve been before the terrorist attack yesterday… so like, 24+ hours ago.
“My share? Hahaha, you couldn’t take food from me if you fought me for it. We always buy extras, don’t worry. Besides, I’m not letting you walk home at this hour. It’s too dark out. You’re my hostage now.” She winked at me.
That word choice was too frighteningly coincidental for my liking. I tried to laugh.
“I still wouldn’t want to impose.”
“You don’t have a choice~” she sang. She was already on her way out of the room so I couldn’t dispute.
“Uh, well then, thank you for your hospitality.”
On her way out the door she turned back and smiled again. It was the smile I was beginning to fear, in the short time I’ve made acquaintance. The smile with her eyes closed and a strong sense of subtle, all-knowing power. I watched Axel glare at her the whole way out. When she was gone, he re-entered his room and shut the door. Then he stood there, facing the door.
“um-”
He held out an arm with a ‘one second’- finger on display. Moments later, there was a knock. He opened the door just enough for his mother’s hand to snake in, holding a home phone that kind of resembled a mic. “In case you need to call your parents or guardians and tell them a nice music store lady has taken you captive.”
Axel took the phone and proceeded to slam the door as his mother snakily dodged the brutal threat of a closing door. From behind the door I heard her laugh “you’re a thousand years too young to nail me Axel. Aha ha ha!”
He grumbled and tossed me the phone on his way back to his spot. I fumbled in catching it and laid it down beside me to play it cool. I really wish, she didn’t have to think about my parents. I eyed the home phone, letting all the anxiety it caused me, to build. Should I pretend to call them? Or maybe call a friend and pretend they’re my parents? Wait, what friend? Who do I think I am? I lost my last friend weeks ago. I mentally gave myself an uppercut. Then at the corner of my eye I noticed Axel staring me down.
I felt myself blush before I even peeked at him. He looked up, pretending he didn’t notice anything, and picked up his plate and chopsticks.
“Since my mom brought the food I guess we have no choice but to eat first. I’ll still show you the songs though.”
I watched him with a stunned expression. He was indirectly telling me I didn’t have to explain. I picked up my plate and started eating as well. Oh yeah, that’s right, I’m starving.
“Hey, you know my name already, but what’s yours?”
I covered my mouth and force-gulped some un-chewed food. “I’m Reiz-…… you can call me Rei”
“mmm.” He ate some more. “So, how did you find yourself in a hijacking?” his voice was lowered so I did the same – even though my answer was probably safe enough not to.
“I was looking for a job at that crappy community center, believe it or not. The one time I go there, it gets hijacked.”
“Pfft, how unlucky can you get, haha” His eyes were closed when he laughed so I was free to revel at his beauty as much as I wanted. It was an immensely attractive smile.
His adorability level was up there with puppies and penguins.
‘So how did someone so childlike end up as a sell-soul?’ In my opinion, this was a far more interesting topic, but I didn’t ask the question. Somehow, it seemed like the kind of question you weren’t supposed to ask. Instead, I continued ranting about my crumby luck. It kept him laughing anyway.