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Description
Lulu can hear nothing but her own heart, ferociously beating irregularly against her chest from the climb up the steep mountain. The sound of if even drowns out her heavy breathing, leaving her mind completely clear of thoughts for the first time in far too long.
She slowly walks over to a small bench, so abused by weather and wind that it's almost falling apart and she reminds herself to bring things to mend it, some time. Or build a new one. Or maybe let it rot away. The last option might be the best; she built it with him, after all.
The faint taste of blood leaves her mouth as a smell of cheap shampoo and soap bars, of damp walls and cigarettes enters her nose and she's surprised it doesn't make her scream in anger and frustration. Too tired to care, she sits down, not the least bit surprised when an arm is placed around her shoulders.
"Kenny was here yesterday, you know," says a voice that sounds like fairy-tales, heartbreak and love making.
"Fuck Kenny."
"He misses you."
"Yeah? Do something about it. It's all in your hands, isn't it?"
"I never said I was perfect."
"You've been repeating that lately."
"That doesn't make it less true."
She looks up into his violet eyes, resting her cheek against his shoulder. "God, I want to punch you. Asshole."
"I wouldn't blame you if you did."
"I'm just too tired. Why is everything so... shit, I don't even know what word to use."
"It just is. Believe me, Lulu, I don't want it to be this way any more than you do, but I'm not the only one out there. I might take a greater... personal interest in some of you, but-"
"Some of us? More like one of us. And she doesn't even want you to hang around."
He smiles a twisted smile, momentarily looking down towards the town by the foot of the mountain. "Kenny happens to be a favourite of mine too, you know."
"Yeah, you're doing a great job showing that. Really. Fuck you."
"You don't realize that heartbreak sometimes can lead the way to a greater happiness."
"You're so full of bullshit!"
Despite being so tired she feels like she can barely move a finger, her fist lands on his cheekbone. Not hard, but the gesture says more than the pain she intends. Either way she knows she can't hurt this being, which makes her more angry than anything because he puts her through so much.
He keeps looking at her, barely blinking, his facial expression showing nothing but care. He doesn't even raise his hand to adjust his cracked glasses, balancing weirdly on the bridge of his long nose as tears threaten to roll down her cheeks.
"Have you taken the time to cry yet?"
"What's the point?"
"I hear it can feel good. Just like punching someone."
"I'm not going to say I'm sorry. 'Cause I'm not."
"I know."
They fall silent as the sky above them progressively grows darker and the town below them lights up with street lamps and bright windows. Lulu's royal blue eyes land on the ghetto, or what's left of it since the fire that took four of the tiny houses. There are three trailers now, that the grown-ups share while their children are left to go from friend to friend in hope of a place to spend the night. She figures she's in luck, because one of her friends lets her stay in a guest room for the time being, but that friend's house makes her feel even more like a stranger. It's too clean, just like the people living there. Never a spot on their clothes, never a fork out of place on the dinner table, and her friend's smiles are often too controlled to be real. Despite that, it's currently the easiest place to be at, because no one asks questions and they let her come and go as she pleases - the way she's used to. She thinks for a moment that there probably would be room for her in the house Vivi and Lucky shares with their brothers, and more or less permanently their boyfriends, but the seldom fading happiness would leave her with an even heavier mind.
"Hey, assface?"
"Yes, Lulu?"
"Why did you get the Sykes kids a bigass house while my parents are sharing a trailer with the Warners?"
"I didn't plan on giving them a house. I planned on giving them a three-room apartment, but Joy... changed things."
"Why did you give them somewhere to live while my parents are in a trailer after our house burned down?"
He gently brushes her blonde hair from her cheek, letting the dark ends of it tickle the back of his hand. "As much as I love Kenny, I am not the only one that takes a special interest in him. Pain does, too, and it's... easier for him to get to someone like you than it is for me. Sometimes, I am not enough."
"...And that's why you leave us on the street? You suck so much."
"Or perhaps I'm allowing people to show they care about you for a while. Is Theo not making you lunch boxes every other day? Have you not spent nights with other friends? The world might not always be as harsh as you think it to be."
"Seriously, how are you positive about anything?"
"Will you believe more in me if I make sure new houses are built on your side of the train tracks?"
"Why aren't you answering?"
"Why aren't you?"
"Fine. Yes."
He smiles a heart-warming smile and pulls her back into his arms, lifting her up despite her protests. "I can be positive because people like you exist, my dear. You make it all worthwhile, in the end."

Description
Lulu can hear nothing but her own heart, ferociously beating irregularly against her chest from the climb up the steep mountain. The sound of if even drowns out her heavy breathing, leaving her mind completely clear of thoughts for the first time in far too long.
She slowly walks over to a small bench, so abused by weather and wind that it's almost falling apart and she reminds herself to bring things to mend it, some time. Or build a new one. Or maybe let it rot away. The last option might be the best; she built it with him, after all.
The faint taste of blood leaves her mouth as a smell of cheap shampoo and soap bars, of damp walls and cigarettes enters her nose and she's surprised it doesn't make her scream in anger and frustration. Too tired to care, she sits down, not the least bit surprised when an arm is placed around her shoulders.
"Kenny was here yesterday, you know," says a voice that sounds like fairy-tales, heartbreak and love making.
"Fuck Kenny."
"He misses you."
"Yeah? Do something about it. It's all in your hands, isn't it?"
"I never said I was perfect."
"You've been repeating that lately."
"That doesn't make it less true."
She looks up into his violet eyes, resting her cheek against his shoulder. "God, I want to punch you. Asshole."
"I wouldn't blame you if you did."
"I'm just too tired. Why is everything so... shit, I don't even know what word to use."
"It just is. Believe me, Lulu, I don't want it to be this way any more than you do, but I'm not the only one out there. I might take a greater... personal interest in some of you, but-"
"Some of us? More like one of us. And she doesn't even want you to hang around."
He smiles a twisted smile, momentarily looking down towards the town by the foot of the mountain. "Kenny happens to be a favourite of mine too, you know."
"Yeah, you're doing a great job showing that. Really. Fuck you."
"You don't realize that heartbreak sometimes can lead the way to a greater happiness."
"You're so full of bullshit!"
Despite being so tired she feels like she can barely move a finger, her fist lands on his cheekbone. Not hard, but the gesture says more than the pain she intends. Either way she knows she can't hurt this being, which makes her more angry than anything because he puts her through so much.
He keeps looking at her, barely blinking, his facial expression showing nothing but care. He doesn't even raise his hand to adjust his cracked glasses, balancing weirdly on the bridge of his long nose as tears threaten to roll down her cheeks.
"Have you taken the time to cry yet?"
"What's the point?"
"I hear it can feel good. Just like punching someone."
"I'm not going to say I'm sorry. 'Cause I'm not."
"I know."
They fall silent as the sky above them progressively grows darker and the town below them lights up with street lamps and bright windows. Lulu's royal blue eyes land on the ghetto, or what's left of it since the fire that took four of the tiny houses. There are three trailers now, that the grown-ups share while their children are left to go from friend to friend in hope of a place to spend the night. She figures she's in luck, because one of her friends lets her stay in a guest room for the time being, but that friend's house makes her feel even more like a stranger. It's too clean, just like the people living there. Never a spot on their clothes, never a fork out of place on the dinner table, and her friend's smiles are often too controlled to be real. Despite that, it's currently the easiest place to be at, because no one asks questions and they let her come and go as she pleases - the way she's used to. She thinks for a moment that there probably would be room for her in the house Vivi and Lucky shares with their brothers, and more or less permanently their boyfriends, but the seldom fading happiness would leave her with an even heavier mind.
"Hey, assface?"
"Yes, Lulu?"
"Why did you get the Sykes kids a bigass house while my parents are sharing a trailer with the Warners?"
"I didn't plan on giving them a house. I planned on giving them a three-room apartment, but Joy... changed things."
"Why did you give them somewhere to live while my parents are in a trailer after our house burned down?"
He gently brushes her blonde hair from her cheek, letting the dark ends of it tickle the back of his hand. "As much as I love Kenny, I am not the only one that takes a special interest in him. Pain does, too, and it's... easier for him to get to someone like you than it is for me. Sometimes, I am not enough."
"...And that's why you leave us on the street? You suck so much."
"Or perhaps I'm allowing people to show they care about you for a while. Is Theo not making you lunch boxes every other day? Have you not spent nights with other friends? The world might not always be as harsh as you think it to be."
"Seriously, how are you positive about anything?"
"Will you believe more in me if I make sure new houses are built on your side of the train tracks?"
"Why aren't you answering?"
"Why aren't you?"
"Fine. Yes."
He smiles a heart-warming smile and pulls her back into his arms, lifting her up despite her protests. "I can be positive because people like you exist, my dear. You make it all worthwhile, in the end."