9A Mouse Surrounded by Sakura
Precinct No. 38
Prompt: Write a first sentence that's never been written before.
Rated T: language, implied scenarios
Wyatt Fisher was different. That's what being a pyromaniac does to someone. It makes them different. This never bothered me. It had no reason to. At least until two weeks ago. That was when Wyatt Fisher decided he was going to become my personal stalker.
Perched on the branch of a cherry blossom tree fifteen feet above the ground, I found myself wondering why and how mice could be so entranced by fireworks.
Of course, I only knew of one particular mouse to which the stated attraction could belong to. Wyatt Fisher, the kid who always sat in the back of the class, the one who prided himself with his talents as a fire-juggler. Almost everybody had seen him mess around with flames, but he'd never done it for entertainment purposes. Especially never for anyone else.
He was also the boy who happened to follow me every day after school to where I found solace among the aroma of cherry blossoms. My very own pyromaniac stalker. Needless to say, taking after-school naps became a bit more difficult.
I sighed and stared at the petals of pink fluttering in the wind above me, my back flat against the bark, hands behind my head. Spring had always been my favorite season and I was determined to enjoy it while it lasted. Unfortunately, this year provided certain…obstacles.
I bristled uncomfortably, feeling those strange eyes staring at me once again from down below. "Go home, Fisher."
"Not until you come down and let me walk you home."
I rolled my eyes, refusing to even turn my head to look at him. "We're in high school, Fish. Lines like that don't exude chivalry anymore. It sounds more like you're hoping to get lucky tonight by following me home." Somehow I doubted it.
I heard him scoff, just as I thought he would. "Just come down already." The stubborn idiot showed no signs of giving up. He'd been following me around for almost a full two weeks, ever since the day he'd asked me what my name was. His reason for doing so, however, was a complete mystery.
With a hefty and unnecessary groan, I pulled myself up into a sitting position, dangling my legs off the sturdy branch. "What do you want, Fisher? I don't need your help. I can take care of myself, you know."
Wyatt raised a brow, looking thoroughly amused. "Really? That's not what it looked like a few days ago, Miss Independent."
I brushed off the jibe. "That was all due to a momentary lapse of judgement. You seem to be forgetting the part where the moron said he wasn't going to do anything to me. It was just standard gang intimidation."
Wyatt laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, after I showed up and beat the shit out of him. By the way, you still haven't thanked me for that."
"I figured there was no need," I said nonchalantly. "We're even now. I got your lighter back from Amer Thompson and you saved me from a street thug like some fairy-tale hero or whatever."
"Hero, huh?" I didn't have to look at him to know he was smirking. "Wouldn't that make you my love interest, princess?"
I said nothing, aware he was baiting me.
"And I didn't need you to be my little retriever," he continued when he saw I wasn't responding, "Amer was just pissed off when I refused to join him and his party in another one of his escapades."
I glanced over the week's past events in my head before coming to the right one. "Oh, the bathroom vandalism thing?" At Wyatt's nod, I sighed exasperatedly. "That's such an Amer thing to do. So utterly lame."
"Exactly why I didn't do it," said Wyatt, pulling out his infamous Zippo lighter. He flicked it open and close with his thumb, letting the sharp sound echo ever so slightly. I wasn't sure if he was even aware of it. "I might've found it more interesting if he was planning to burn it down completely, but he just wanted a quick and easy job that night. Nothing that really gets you excited, you know?"
"I'm glad you didn't," I said, ignoring his acknowledged and preferred form of defacement. "Those dumb-asses got themselves caught before they could even do anything. Amer and his gang have to be the lamest rebels to ever walk the halls of Medley High."
Wyatt's amber eyes gleamed. "What's this? I didn't expect the princess to worry about me. Maybe my love story will come true faster than I thought." He lit up a small flame with the Zippo, taunting me with a mocking grin.
I narrowed my eyes and wondered whether my shoe would hit its mark if I threw it at him. Probably not, I thought, the angle was off by a bit.
"So what did you do?"
The sudden question startled me. "What?"
"What'd you do? There had to be a reason that bastard had you pressed against the building when I saw you in the alley that night. Don't try telling me it wasn't anything serious."
I yawned, already bored with the topic. "Don't worry about it, Fisher. Like I said, it was a momentary lapse of judgement. The guy was meeting with a supplier and I just happened to see them finish the transaction. When the other dude left, he saw me hiding behind the dumpster and was in the middle of persuading me not to snitch when you showed up."
He furrowed his brows. "And how was that a lapse of judgement on your part?"
I shrugged. "Should've left when I had the chance. I wouldn't have been caught any other way."
"That's stupid."
I glared at him, only to find him already scowling at me. "Excuse me? What's so stupid about a girl witnessing a drug deal? I didn't have anything to do with it."
He stood up, dusting off fallen petals from his jeans. "The fact that you were there at all is what's stupid, TJ." And with that statement hanging over our heads, he started climbing the cherry blossom tree.
My cherry blossom tree.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I growled at him. "Get out of my tree, Fisher. Right now."
He paid no attention to me as he continued making his way up. I inched closer and closer to the end of the branch where the support wasn't as assured. That didn't matter to me, though. I wasn't comfortable near the pyro. When he asked, or demanded really, for my name when I returned the worn-out lighter, there had been some weird spark in his eyes. Next thing you know, I was yelling at him to please leave me alone and go creep on someone else.
Wyatt finally heaved himself up to my branch and slung his legs on either side of it. He took in the view, nodding appreciatively. "I see why you like it up here. It's nice, almost as if fit for a princess."
I felt an eye twitch with irritation. "Wyatt Fisher, you better have a good reason for invading my territory."
At this, Wyatt barked out a laugh. "Your territory? TJ, you might go to school with a bunch of delinquents, but that doesn't turn you into one yourself. As far as anyone is concerned, you're the untitled and secluded princess of Medley High."
"Oh, yeah?" I seethed. "Well then, why are you following me around? Two weeks ago, you wouldn't have spared me another look and now you're like my freaking bodyguard."
Wyatt pinned those amber eyes of his on mine. "Two weeks ago, I wouldn't have given you a second look. Two weeks ago, I found myself wondering who the hell had got my lighter back to me, TJ."
My mouth dropped open. "We're back to this?!" I pushed my discomfort for the boy aside and scooted closer to him, ready to jab an angry finger in his face. "Listen, you digressing piece of—"
"Just hear me ou—"
"CAN YOU STOP INTERRUPTING ME?"
"Can you?" he asked mirthfully.
I all but groaned with agony. "Fine. Talk. I'll sit here quietly, okay?"
Wyatt regarded me with some sense of curiosity. "You know, you didn't give as much of a fight as I thought you would've, princess."
…That's it. I'm done.
Wyatt's hand grasped onto my wrist before I could launch myself out of my beloved flowery tree and pulled me against him. Immediately, I felt my face heat up at the contact. "What are you doing? Let go of me!" I struggled against his hold, my annoyance spiking up when I found him tightening his grip.
"You're going to fall if you keep struggling."
I huffed. "And whose fault would that be, Fisher?"
Wyatt chuckled. "Alright, fine. I'll be serious." He released his hand and I retracted my body from his, massaging my wrist.
"Honestly, though. Why'd you bring it back to me?"
Though a part of me was happy he heeded my request, I didn't like the change to Wyatt's voice. It was almost… hollow sounding. Or close to it, at the very least.
"You've heard the rumors. Everyone has. How I shut everyone out, how I 'play' with fire, how I destroy anything I get my hands on. I bet everybody was glad when Amer had taken the Zippo during his temper tantrum when I declined to join him."
I averted my eyes from him, feeling my heart thud more and more. "Does it matter what they think?"
"It always has to me."
The confession hung in the air solemnly as the once overhead sun began its descent toward the unknown horizon. The harsh and darkening light from the sky shone against Wyatt's eyes, giving those strange orbs an almost ethereal feel to them.
Nobody knew much about Wyatt Fisher in the first place. He stuck to himself, sitting in the back of every class, never talking to others. He didn't dare approach anyone during lunch nor did people try to make him feel welcome. They were all aware of him, but they left him alone. Usually, that is.
I clenched my fist as a wave of indignation overcame me. "Why do you care about them? They're all a bunch of assholes. They avoid and repudiate you, telling everyone you're a short fuse and can't handle others, but they're the ones who take advantage of you. They refuse to let you fit in just so they can have someone to mock silently behind people's backs. You're nothing but a toy to them."
He was a mouse surrounded by rattlesnakes.
"Not you though." I was surprised to see a ghost of a smile on his lips. "You avoided me, but you avoided them as well. You ended up with as many friends as me."
I huffed. "So? I don't care whether people like me or not. I transferred here two years ago and saw no reason to get along with any of the idiots here. They're all a bunch of—"
"Assholes, you've said that already," he said, but not without a spark of amusement.
"Actually, I was going to say hypocritical pigs, but that works too," I said. "I don't like repeating the same insult."
At this, Wyatt Fisher laughed. I mean, really laughed. It was deep and full and I found myself entranced by the sound of it. "You're a unique one, TJ."
"Gee, how long did it take to figure that one out?" I drawled sarcastically.
Wyatt shook his head, still chuckling. "You know, you never answered my question."
I turned my head away from him, choosing to focus on the sunset instead.
"I got your lighter back because I was pissed off. I only ever knew you as the fire-obsessed anti-social kid. That day, when Amer bragged about what he had done, I felt like he had stolen your identity. You were a nobody without it and the fact didn't settle right with me."
The view from the cherry blossom tree was always so pretty. Dancing wisps of silvery clouds flew across the painted sky. Colors were everywhere. Orange, yellow, salmon, lavender, and those outlining hints of red… And through it all was pink. Pink petals scattering erratically as the wind came in, spreading the light yet succulent scent with it…
"Why do you come up here every day?"
Wyatt's sudden question threw me off kilter. He wasn't teasing. There wasn't even a hint of a smile on his face. His expression, however, made me widen my eyes. And that's when things started to click. I let out a small giggle despite myself. "For the same reason you've been following me for the past week or so."
"Oh, really?" he asked bemusedly, though not without a small grin. "And what reason is that, princess?"
And for the first time that day, I smiled. "It keeps you at peace."
With that, silence built up between us. All that could be heard was the rustling of the flowers as they desperately clung to the branches against the prevailing wind.
I think Wyatt stared at me for a while, thinking on my answer. Before I knew it, his feet were planted firmly on the ground. I looked down at him, shocked that I hadn't even noticed him jump, and then blinked with confusion as he held an outstretched hand to me. "What now, Fisher?"
Instead of commenting on my snarky attitude, Wyatt gave me a dazzling grin, leaving me shell-shocked. Standing in the shadows of the cherry blossom tree, looking up at me… he looked different from his usual self. A better different.
He laughed, probably aware of what I was thinking. He was creepy like that. "Come down, TJ. I want to show you something."
Flushing slightly, I crossed my arms. "What something?"
It was then that I saw it, though it was only for a split-second. Those amber eyes… there were too many emotions within them for me to discern, but I knew what they were saying.
"How would you like to be the first person to watch me juggle fire?"
Thank you for not leaving me alone.
"As long as you treat me to dinner afterward. I get hungry after a show."
It just happened to be something I owed him as well.
A couple days ago, while I was procrastinating on my story due to a terrible case of writer's block (yes, I know I'm terrible), I came across a bunch of writing prompts on tumblr and this is the (strange) result of my inspiration. Leave a review if you liked it or if you thought it was god-awful
(._.) ~ One of my first attempts at incorporating curse words into fiction... Epic Fail. I've also never written an implied romantic one-shot before... Double Epic Fail