15 July 2009

Unspectacular [Chapter 2]

Ohmygoodness, I am so sorry that it has been MONTHS since I've last updated. Ohsoverysorry. >_< I am a lazy bum indeed! But, anyway, here it is. It's a bit shorter [I think], but I'm pretty much happy with the results otherwise. Okay, I'd hate to delay you from reading any longer with my unimportant rants, so... here it is:

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Awkward silence filled the air. I chewed on my lip piercing as I stared down at the table. I had no idea what to say next. I never was that good with socializing with people. Growing up in a crime-ridden part of New Jersey, I never really was allowed to play outside; I didn’t have much friends back then and even now I still have very few friends. I’m not shy; I’m just rather socially-awkward. I never was good at conversations; usually I’d wait for the other person to speak and we’d start the conversation from there.
We just sat there in silence, stuck in our own thoughts. I found myself watching Gerard fidget with his fingers; it seems to be quite a habit of his.
Gerard decided to cut through the silence. “Want some coffee? My treat.” he offered, gesturing to the counter.
I found myself unable to hold back a grin and nodded fervently. Only crazy people say no to free coffee.
We promptly stood up and walked towards the counter. “So… what kind of coffee do you like?” he asked.
“Oh, just order anything off the menu,” I said simply “I’ve pretty much ordered everything off their menu before…”
“No, seriously… just name it. I don’t really like it when people tell me to buy anything off the menu, ‘cause sometimes I end up buying something they don’t like…” he said straight-forwardly.
“Uh… okay then… uh…” I looked up at the menu “Um… a mocha frappucino then?”
He smiled at me before turning around to face the cashier and tell him our orders. After a couple of minutes of waiting, we walked back to our table, already sipping our coffee as we did so.
“So… are you still a student, Astrid?” Gerard asked.
I shook my head, my lips still at the rim of the cup.
“So you’re working?” he asked.
“Um… not really…” I answered “Just graduated from college a few months ago. Still haven’t found a job, though,” I continued sipping my coffee.
“I see…” he said.
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Are you working right now?”
“Uh, yeah. But it’s not exactly what I wanted to do…” he said “Graduated from college about two years ago with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, wanted to work in the comic-book industry and ended up working at Barnes & Noble instead.” He shook his head in resentment.
“Well, that’s not too bad…” I muttered more to myself than to him. He raised his eyebrow in response to what I just said.
I coughed a bit and rephrased what I said, “Well, you know… the comic book section is pretty good in Barnes & Noble…” I immediately started sipping my coffee to avoid furthermore questions.
He, however, just shrugged. “Yeah, you got a point, though. In fact, at some point I actually got paid with comic books instead of money,” he laughed sheepishly at himself “But in the end my mom found out about it, told me off and I had to go back to being paid with money… which, in the end, I used to buy comic books anyway.”
I laughed at how ironic that was. “That’s fucking ridiculous,” I said between giggles.
He smirked, “Well, well! Colorful vocabulary you got there, Astrid.”
“Just because I’m a girl that doesn’t mean I can’t and don’t swear,” I said, smirking back at him.
“So I guess that means that your gender doesn’t limit you from beating the crap out of someone too then?”
“Well… let’s just say that if you fuck me over, I’ll do you twice as bad…” I said with a cheerful tone.
He held his hands up mockingly, “Woah… Gotta be sure to watch my words then…”
“Naaah… I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you,” I said “You seem too nice to do that, Gerard.”
“Oh really?” he asked.
I nodded, “Yeah. If you weren’t, you would’ve probably shunned me away or ignored me when I went up to you earlier.”
“Well, it’s only polite to answer back to someone who just talked to you, right?”
“Wow... you are just the politest guy ever, aren’tcha?”
“Nah, my brother’s far more polite than me…” he said modestly and took a sip of his coffee. “And nicer, too.” He added quickly.
I finished my coffee in one last sip. “If he’s as nice as you say he is, will he treat me to coffee as well once I meet him?” I joked around, tipping my cup upside down to emphasize the point a bit.
He laughed, “Maybe, maybe…”
We went on like that for quite a while. We would exchange stories about ourselves and share a brief laughter every once in a while. So far I have learned that he was 24 years old, deathly afraid of needles, still lived with his parents and his brother, smoked, and was in a band. I was quite shocked and somewhat dubious about the last fact.
I was the kind of person who hated posers. I hated people who claim to be something when in fact they’re actually not what they claim to be. I find it moronic and plain immature. You see quite a lot of them nowadays and quite a lot of them claim to play in bands when in fact they can barely play at all. Some even carry guitar cases around with them or have drumsticks sticking out of their bags [when they can actually fit inside their fucking bags] as if it was enough proof that they played and they waved them around in front of your face to rub it in that they played the fucking instrument like a god. True musicians don’t need to shove it in your face that they play well; the music they make is a reward for them already.
Ever since the whole “rocker” thing became “in”, I became less and less trusting of people who claim to play in bands. Before I used to just flip out whenever I meet a fellow musician, but now I just tend to be rather dismissive at the idea.
“You’re in a band?” I asked, trying to make my voice sound interested rather than doubtful.
“Um, yeah… I... I guess I am…” he said. The way he answered seemed to imply that even he was as doubtful as I am.
“What kind of music do you play?” I pressed on.
“Um… most of the songs we play are pretty, uh… what do they call it…? Ummm… underground, I think they call it?”
“There is no such thing as ‘underground’ or ‘mainstream’,” I stated “It just so happens that more people like ‘mainstream music’.”
He chuckled nervously, “Well… you know what I mean…”
Silence fell once more.
My fingers drummed on the linoleum tabletop. I licked my lips nervously, hoping that one of us would just break the awkward silence. Deciding that he wasn’t going to be the one to do so, I spoke up…
“Do I intimidate you?”
He tilted his head to the side and his eyebrow shot up slightly, “Excuse me?”
“Do I intimidate you?” I repeated. I have this tendency of irritating or scaring off pretty much everyone I meet with the way I think and speak; it’d be a shame if I scare off another one.
He laughed once more, this time it sounded more like an amused laugh. “You serious?” he asked.
I nodded.
He looked down, exhaled, ran his fingers through his hair, and exhaled once more. “Well, honestly…? Not really…” He drew imaginary circles on the table “In fact, I kinda like the way you think; very deep.”
He looked up and smiled genuinely.


Hah. A genuine smile.
It’s been a while since I’ve last seen one of those.

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Gosh, you have no idea how good it feels to finally update! I feel so accomplished. ^_^ Whaddya guys think of the story? Going too slow? Too much dialogue? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated indeed. :]

01 April 2009

Unspectacular [Chapter 1]

Uh... hello to whoever may be reading this. *waves*
As I said in my first post, I love writing. There's just something about expressing yourself by using words that intriques me. Anyway, I've written A LOT of stories, but I never really felt confident about them. But, after reading something that a friend of mine wrote [Hi, ate Heather!! xD], I felt a little more confident. So yeah... this explains why I'm finally uploading one of my stories up here.
By the way, this is a work of complete fiction. None of this have ever happened to me. I must admit though that this is actually a "fanfiction-ish" work. xD I ADORE My Chemical Romance and some characters in this story are based on the guys from My Chemical Romance. Haha. xD So, if you're a fan of My Chem, you'd have a bit more advantage because it'll be easier for you to understand the story. But if you're not, no worries; I'll explain stuff as the story progresses.
And sorry if I keep swearing. It's all part of the character's personality [who is, by the way, not based on me. She is a completely fictional character which I created.]
Anyway... on to the story... I'm terribly sorry if it's suck-y. xD

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Rain splattered on the windows. Once in a while a raindrop would cascade down the glass, leaving a trail of water behind. There was nothing spectacular about the rain. It was just a repeated process. It’s not something that’s so shocking that you just have to gawk at it as if it was a rare happening. It’s not something so complex that you just have to stare at it as if it would help you understand its intricate process. It’s just the fucking rain for pete’s sake.
And yet a pair of eyes just seemed unable to take its gaze off of it.
He was a rather unspectacular-looking boy. His body was just a little step over average. His black hair stopped at his shoulders and hid his face a bit. He had a small, pixie-like nose and rather thin lips. Like I said, nothing spectacular really. You can pretty much see someone like him just walking down the street.
But somehow I can’t help but be rather intrigued by him. He wasn’t someone I’d usually be attracted to. In fact, his little rocker friend that he was hanging out with earlier seemed like someone I’d definitely flirt with. But alas he just had to leave the coffee shop before I even had the chance to talk to him. Darn it. And he was fucking cute, too; with his Mohawk-ish hair, lip piercing, tattoos, studded belt, faded jeans and Misfits tee.
I took another sip from my coffee and continued to gaze at the unspectacular-looking boy. There was definitely nothing outside that could possibly be fascinating enough for him to stare at all day. It was just a boring old street in New Jersey; a few people walking by now and then; a few cars passing through and disappearing into another street; a few stray dogs would walk into a few alleys. There was nothing interesting out there. Or perhaps he really was just staring at the rain dripping down the windows of the coffee shop.
Seeing that there was no one else in the coffee shop, I downed the little bit of coffee left in the coffee cup and walked up to his table. I hated being bored anyway.
“Hi,” I said simply.
He turned his gaze from the window and looked up at me. A few strands of his hair fell back as he tilted his head up slightly, revealing his hazel brown eyes. “Uh, hi…?” he said, seeming to be rather confused why a total stranger would suddenly greet him. I smiled nonetheless.
There was a slight pause before one of us spoke once more.
“Um… do I know you…?” he asked.
“Uh… no,” I answered, feeling stupid all of a sudden with my answer.
“Oh,” he said. He looked down and started to fiddle around with his hands. Soon he started looking out of the window again.
I sat at the chair in front of him. “So…” I said casually “What have you been staring at out there?”
“Huh?”
“You’ve been staring outside since you got here,” I said “What’ve you been staring at out there?” I looked out and tried to see if there was actually something out there that I couldn’t see from where I was sitting at earlier.
“Oh, nothing… I was just kinda spacing out I guess,” he shrugged. He looked down at his hands once more.
I put my elbow on the table and rested my head on my hand. I studied his face a little more thoroughly. He was definitely an unspectacular boy. If you put him in a crowd of average, everyday people, he’d just blend in. I disliked average people. They’re boring. I hate boring. I was always looking for something different; something unique; something unexpected. He was definitely too simple for my tastes. But somehow he just seems to exude an aura that intrigues me.
“I’m Astrid,” I said, breaking the silence. I extended my hand so he could shake it. He shook it rather gingerly.
“I’m Gerard,” he said. Even his name was something you’d come across any day.
“You seem troubled,” I commented nonchalantly.
“Oh really?”
I nodded.
He chuckled a bit. I smiled at the sound of his laugh; it was rather high-pitched for a guy like him.
“Ehm… yeah, I guess I kinda am…” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
I rested my head on my clasped hands and looked at him interestedly. “Can I ask why, Gerard?” I inquired, although I already suspected what his answer would be; probably another broken-hearted fool.
He let out a small sigh, “Guess I just really want to forget about some things…”
“And what sort of things would that be?” I pressed on.
“Why do you want to know?” he raised his eyebrow.
“I’m just that kind of person who always wants to know what’s going on,” I smiled.
“So you’re like the paparazzi or something?” he laughed.
“Maaaybe…” I said “Or maybe I’m just one of those stalker-type girls…”
He laughed once more, in a slightly higher pitch this time. I can’t help but giggle a bit upon hearing him laugh like that.
“So anyway… what is it that’s troubling you?” I asked, returning to the topic.
“Um…” he bit his lip and let out a sigh “Just last week, uh… my grandmother… passed away…” He looked down and pursed his lips.
“Oh,” was all I could say.
He sighed, “Yeah… and she pretty much… just… made me into who I am right now…”
I expected him to say something like “My girlfriend just broke up with me” or “This girl I like just doesn’t feel the same way”; he seemed like one of those types of guys.
I looked at Gerard, who just brought his hands to his mouth and looked out the window once more. He looked even more miserable as ever. I gave myself a mental-kick to the head. I never should’ve asked; man, I’m too nosy! I took a deep breath and slouched back into my chair, thinking of something to say.
“Why’d you want to forget her?” I asked.
He raised his eyebrow at me a bit, as if to say “Why d’you think?”
I looked down and tried to think of the right words to say. “I never was close to my grandmother,” I said “Heck, I even hated her. All my life, all she ever did was criticize me for everything I did and everything I believed in. And she even stole money from my parents…”
I looked up a bit and saw Gerard watching me rather intently. “My point is,” I continued “Your grandma means so much to you; she must’ve been an amazing person. If I had a grandma like yours, I wouldn’t want to forget her; I want her memory to live on; I want everyone to know how much she has inspired me.”
I looked up. He was twiddling around with his hands once more. “I… I never really thought of it that way…” he said quietly, but loud enough for me to hear.
He faced me and smiled weakly. I smiled back.
“Y’know… for a girl that has a tough-looking and rather wacky exterior,” he said “You think pretty deep.”
I grinned, “I’ll consider that as a compliment,”

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If you hated it, I AM SO SORRY. D: I'm still not that good at writing. I'm so sorry I wasted your time in reading something extremely crappy.
If you liked it, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH. I'd love to get comments/messages on what I should improve, if it's not much of a hassle. :]

Blogging madness

"Woah" is all I can say. xD It usually takes me quite a while to figure this stuff out.

Anyway, hi there~

I'm Amy. I'm currently fourteen years old and turning fifteen on the 8th of October this year. I'm a Filipina.

I'm a writer [well, trying to be] and I'm going to use this blog to post some stories I wrote every once in a while.