Author's note:

This story, while using original characters, have characteristics similiar to that of the PetShop of Horrors.  Hope you all enjoy reading it!

Reptilian Cold 

By: Azure A. Blue

(Revised on Oct 17, 2002)



C&C of this story will be much appreciated at aquariel2000@yahoo.com

 

Go to Fevered Dreams:

http://www.geocities.com/aquariel2000 

for more of my stories and artworks!!

 

Everyone sees me as this sunless abyss of emotional void, just as they see you to be a delicate flutter of fragile warmth. But I have to wonder whose heart really beats colder; mine, or yours?

That which we share . . . what is it called? 

 

 

Even standing among friends, Susanna Flowers felt a faint chill as she regarded the youth warily out of a corner of her eye. 

He was leaning against a corner in a narrow wisp of dark hair and clothes; a stark contrast against the colorfully clad teens passing by. A hundred curious eyes were on him; a hundred curious eyes he coolly ignored.

His eyes were looking their way.

His gaze was upon her friend.

Naomi Cage, commonly regarded as a desirable young woman for having rich brown locks and a slender built, was glancing back at him, languidly smiling.

His dark eyes narrowed in a thin smile; his gaze bounding tightly around Naomi like a serpent�s coiling length. Naomi, on the other hand, sweetened her own smile such that it encased him back like petals of an illusory flower . . .

Susanna decided to break the spell then.

"Naomi?"

Breaking eye contact with the boy, Naomi turned back towards her friend, cloying smile fading into a more civil one.

"Yes, Susanna?"

"You were . . . locking eyes with Ethan."

The other girls around them all gasped, scandalized and yet excited as they looked around eagerly. "Ethan Close? Where?!"

But the boy was no longer in sight.

"Damn! He didn�t even stay to talk to us, what an introvert."

"The �cheekbones on a stick� who always wear black . . ."

"The loner guy who had kept to himself even after having transferred here for weeks,"

"So, Naomi," the girl�s friends, minus Susanna, leaned close towards her and leered. "You got a thing for the resident goth?"

Unfazed by the onslaught of words (perhaps even subtly disdainful of their simpleminded crudeness, judging by the sharp-edged curling of her lips), the dainty young woman instead asked back, " . . . I think we were talking about Heman�s party tonight? Were we not?"

". . . Oh, right!" The other girls were immediately reminded of their most pressing concern at hand. "Susanna almost had us sidetracked there. As, we were saying, those obnoxious St. Maria girls are gonna be at Heman�s party tonight. Knowing them, they�d be flaunting their Prada gears again. If you don�t want to get upstaged by those hussies, you�d better come shopping with us after school."

"I don�t know . . ." Naomi glanced away, pointed disinterest masked but by a thin veil of civil courtesy. "I�m a little tired. I might not be going."

"Naomi! It�s your own boyfriend�s party!"

"Aren�t you worried that Heman would get seduced by one of those snobbish bitches?"

At that, Naomi chuckled, its sound as sweet as it was coolly dismissive. "Heman isn�t my boyfriend. He asked me out and I went; one date, that�s all."

The other girls were all visibly startled by her statement. Perhaps amused by their expression, she smiled back at them like a princess at her court jesters, "You know, I heard he�s inviting some of the top athletes from the other schools to this party tonight. Have fun, you all."

With that, she left; sly, elegant figure disappearing as she turned a corner.

The other girls all stared after her with variations of the same frown.

" . . . do we see a red light shining on the relationship?"

"Ah-huh . . ."

A moment of silence, and then . . .

" . . . do we see an opportunity?"

"Right on!"

"Yeah! It ain�t fair that a stud muffin like Heman had to settle for that stuck-up stick insect!"

"Let�s all go shop for something hot to wear for tonight�s party!"

With that, the flock of young girls all rushed off in peals of gleeful giggles, ready to indulge in yet another fickle pursuit of the moment. 

All but Susanna, who remained behind as she stared after the direction Naomi disappeared into with worried curiosity.



The sunset stained everything red with its blood-crimson. 

Down an empty street he walked, black clad figure desolate as a desert mirage.

"You walk fast for a boy of such sedated appearance,"

Turning around at the nectar-sweet voice, he was greeted with the sight of Naomi standing right behind him, looking as serene as she was delicate.

"I had problem catching up," she finished, smilingly.

Smiling back at her, Ethan asked. "*That* again?" 

Glancing briefly around, Naomi then asked, "Shall we take this conversation to your shop?�

Ethan�s smile deepened. "Let�s,"

With that, the slender duo walked on side by side, sharing a silence that was somehow more intimate that of a conversation.

Neither of them noticed Susanna, who was tailing them with a frown on her babyish face.

She was the only one at school to know about their constant meeting ups after school.

Naomi Cage, school waif, and Ethan Close, school weirdo . . .

Upon close inspection, perhaps it wasn�t as outlandish as it first seems. 

Despite being a loner, Ethan does possess a sort of edgy appeal: the overt lankiness and the too-long legs, the pointy-chin and the too-high cheekbones, the eyes and posturing that radiated something coolly intense: an intriguing depth that made him stand out from among his crude, common peers (a quality he shared with Naomi) . . .

Had he been a character in a book, the readers will probably be intrigued by him.

But in the flesh, a young man�s appeal is firmly connected with a package of details: wealth, social status, popularity, well-roundedness . . . the list went on and on.

Ethan, an reclusive transfer student who had yet to join any clubs or make any friends at their school despite having already been there for more than a month, whose getups were in no way composed of expensive brand names, was not exactly a teenage girl�s ideal of an eligible boyfriend. 

Heman Cable, who was vigorously pursuing Naomi, was the son of a well-off businessman and the school�s number one jock. His blond-haired, blue-eyed good looks had captivated many a girl�s heart at their school. 

There was no way Naomi could possibly have chosen Ethan over *that*, Susanna decided, nervously tugging on one of the twin tails she wore her red locks in.

Up above the once scarlet sky dimmed up, casting everything under a grayish tone. 

It was underneath this new light that Ethan�s shockingly pale complexion was truly brought out.

Ashen, almost barrenly so, the boy�s complexion, combined with his dramatic thinness, betrayed his made him appear almost like death incarnated. 

That, was the other thing about Ethan that worried Susanna: she would never for the life of her believe that the guy wasn�t on drugs.

He qualified as dangerous company.

One that her best friend was deeply involved with. 

One that her best friend was regularly meeting up with at some secret spot.

A possibility came to Susanna then, shocking the girl into almost gasping out loud.

Could it be . . .?

 

 

Cloaked under the shadowy dim lights, male and female, together . . . 

". . . and still you�re being secretive about this," he spoke; his voice sardonic and brassy.

"Only because I�m all too aware of the importance of appearance in this world of ours," she murmured, her voice light and sweet. 

"Ashamed?" 

"Have I ever been?"

He laughed, before asking, huskily. "Why choose me out of all the others you can have?"

"Because there isn�t any other I know who can give what you do," she replied

"Which is . . .?"

"Well . . ."

"That is enough!!"

With that abrupt cry, sterile white lights speared down from above, revealing the angry girl with twin tails raising a broom over the two who were squatted down behind the counter.

The slender girl arched a brown brow at the comically dramatic sight. " . . . Susanna?"

"Naomi, it�s all right now," Susanna assured, large green eyes still glaring at the boy beside her. "You scumbag!! How dare you try and entire a girl with drugs?!"

Ethan merely stared flatly up at her. "Excuse me?

"Susanna," Naomi sighed, annoyed and yet also amused. "You�ve got it all wrong-"

"You don�t need to be defending this lowlife!" Susanna said as she turned to face her friend. "To think that . . . that . . ."

Her sentence trailed off as she got a good look at what was in Naomi�s hand. 

"That-that�s . . ."

"The Opheodrys major," said Ethan as he took what appeared to be a willowy snake with lustrous jade-green scales from Naomi�s hand, and coiled it around his own. "More commonly known as the greater green snake. This exotic beauty originating from the oriental wilderness has been many a reptile keeper�s dream." Smiling slyly, he moved the reptile such that it was right in front of Susanna�s face. "Want a feel?"

As if in greeting, the reptile flicked a forked tongue at her nose.

A high-pitched scream resounded across the cramped confines of the pet shop.



"Many of the animals in his shop are light sensitive: you�ve upset them by suddenly turning on the light just like that." 

"Oh quiet, Naomi!" Susanna snapped, still as embarrassed as she was angry. "How was I to know that you�d be disappearing after school with that weirdo only to be fiddling with a snake of all things?!"

"It�s . . . a pet shop," Naomi spoke slowly and mockingly, "in case you haven�t read the sign out the store front?" 

"I thought you got enticed by him into taking drugs or something!" Susanna said, agitatedly. "I mean what kind of wacko goes into a pet shop to pet a pet of all things?! 

For a moment, Naomi looked like she wanted to actually give a reply befitting of the stupidity of the question, before simply saying, "The green snake is a pet I bought at Ethan�s petshop a while back. I left it there since I had problems keeping it at home, that�s all."

"Oh, please," Susanna rolled her eyes. "You�re as much of a reptile lover as . . . I dunno, you. That thing is just there to provide an excuse for you to go see Ethan."

Naomi gave her a sideways glance then. " And you care because . . .?"

The redhead growled at her friend�s look. "I care because I care about you, Naomi! What are you thinking, hanging around with that kind of guy? One look at him and you could tell he�s on drugs! And that freaky, dark shop . . . just what kinda pet shop is immersed in total darkness? I mean, the customers can barely see the goods, if those reptile thingies could be called goods. And-and, you! You�re gullible enough to be alone with the guy in that sinister place, and . . . and . . ."

"And you�re worried about me," Naomi�s small face turned indulgent. "Because you see him as being dangerous, and me, fragile." 

"Naomi . . ."

The brunette then chuckled with amusement. "How na�ve you are."

Susanna�s growled like a volcano on the verge of erupting, "NAO . . . MI . . .!!"

Smiling still, Naomi draped her slender arms around her friend�s considerably more athletic built, and said. "As the president of the women�s self-defense club, you measure strength on physical terms. But Susanna," her voice turned sweetly conspiratorial as she purred in the girl�s ear. "The power relations between women and men aren�t all about kicks and punches; as for those that are . . . I don�t want to think about them. So . . ." abruptly cheerful, the brunette began to usher her friend towards a caf� in sight, "let�s go snack! My treat; to reward the heroic efforts of my very best friend!!" 

Susanna protested. "H-Hey! Don�t change the subject! I�ve said it before and I�ll say it again: it�s not good for you to hang around that kind of-"

"Susanna," the brunette spoke with steel underneath her soft voice. "Ethan isn�t the dangerous one in our relationship." 

The redhead blinked at her friend�s tone. " . . . What?"

"Don�t you know?" Naomi went on, brown eyes narrowing as in a smile. "Even the most ferocious of pets lives under the whim of his master."

Susanna�s eyes widened at those words.

"Come," Naomi�s voice was as potent as sweet nectar as she lead her friend into the caf�. "I�ll feed you to your heart�s content." 

 

The next day, at school . . .

"C�mon, babe, at least tell me why you�re being so cold to me lately?"

"I have no idea what you�re talking about. Now if you�ll excuse me, I have a class to run to."

Hurrying after Naomi, who was striding through the school hallway in wide steps, Heman spoke pleadingly, "I�ve already told all the other guys that we�re an item. If you don�t go along with this now, it�ll make me look bad-"

"I think," Naomi cut him off with a twinkle to her sweet voice. "You should save that line for someone who had actually agreed to go along with whatever it is you�ve been cooking, should you not?"

"But we dated-"

"One single date, which you hidden-cam-ed for the sole purpose of boasting to your football buddies." "That . . . but . . . it�s just a guy thing!"

"Hmph . . ."

Under everybody�s amused gazes, this went on, the top jock unsuccessfully pursuing the resident supermodel.

Standing a little to the side and watching like everyone else, Susanna alone was frowning.

If only that Naomi would just came clean with who she was really interested in, she could have avoided all this hassle.

And yet her friend continued on with this pointless secrecy.

. . . why? 

Finally frustrated, the blond jock grabbed Naomi by the shoulder.

"Will you just listen-"

Alarmed by the escalating spat, Susanna was just about to stepped forward to interfere when Naomi�s glare, disdainful and cold as a sliver of ice, struck the boy like a physical brow, forcing him to retract his hand.

"Naomi . . ."

Without waiting for him to say anything further, she walked on, leaving the jock behind.

"At least tell me this!" Heman yelled out after Naomi. "Is there another guy? Cause if there is, I�ll gladly leave you alone!"

She didn�t answer him. Instead, she merely stepped into the classroom with a twist of her breakable-looking thin waist, leaving the guy out cold and humiliated in front of all.

Seemed that waif-thin Naomi wasn�t exactly as fragile as she looked after all. 

It was then that Susanna caught sight of a flash of dark clothes disappearing to behind a corner.

He too was there watching, in silence.

 

"That looks *so* evil . . ."

Eyes wide with fear and yet fascination, Susanna found herself unable to look away from what appeared to be a huge mutant lizard with an oversized head and a stumpy tail. It was resting upon the sandy-sediments of the exotic desert setting that was the shop�s window display. With expressionless eyes it stared back at her, it�s dark irises deep as the abyss of night.

"So why not look away?"

Startled, she turned around to see the black-clad youth standing behind her with a faint but effectively sly smile over his too pale face.

"It�s a desert skink," he said. "A delicate creature needing careful maintenance on the pet keeper�s behalf to survive." His dark eyes narrowed at her. "I wonder what he has done to warrant your disgust?"

Feeling insulted by Ethan�s attempt to intimidate her, Susanna glared back at the boy. "His appearance?"

"Appearance is a deceptive thing," Ethan murmured as he produced an amber pendant he wore underneath his dark shirt. Within it was what appeared to be an exquisite flower frozen in time. A closer look, however, revealed it to be a preying mantis endowed with the appearance of the flower. "The Malaysian flower mantis, looks like an orchid but is in fact infinitely deadlier."

Susanna snorted at that, saying nothing. 

Smirking coolly, Ethan put the pendant back under his shirt. "I assume you�re here wanting to talk about my relationship with your friend?"

Susanna nodded. 

His smile turned more sardonic. "And what makes you think this is any of your business?"

Susanna glowered at him. "My best friend keeping dangerous company *is* my business."

"Well, then . . ."

Like the maw of a vast beast, the shop�s door opened, revealing to her eyes its threateningly dark interior. Holding the door with one hand, Ethan gestured at its ill-lit inwards with a sweep of the other. 

"Shall we take this conversion inside?"

Nervous, yet unwilling to show it, Susanna squared her shoulders, and stepped into the darkness.

 

"The lights are off . . . just like the last time,"

"That�s because most of the pets here are light-sensitive."

The pet shop was almost completely unlit, but for the violet glows illuminating the shadowy occupants of the various tanks. Sounds, ranging from crickets chirping to snakes hissing to some utterly unidentifiable growls, echoed within the murky dimness, effectively adding to the eerie atmospherics.

"I only got a C in Bio, so admittedly I don�t know much about animals. But . . ." Susanna gestured wildly all around the dark room in outrage. "Just what kind of freaking monsters need to be kept under in the dark all the time?!"

"The most pathetic kind," Ethan replied without turning around as he walked on ahead through the darkness. "The different and the misunderstood that hid in dark corners, forever fearing the light since attacks so often came along with it."

Susanna�s lips tensed. "No riddles, please."

"Well . . ." Ethan drawled on his word as if to take time and count, "there are reptiles, amphibians, spiders, insects, certain species of fishes and aquatic invertebrates . . . in short, the place is a cold-blooded pet specialty shop."

"That�s . . . pretty unusual," Susanna commented. "What makes you decide to work here in the first place?"

"It wasn�t exactly my decision," Ethan said. "My grandma, who runs this place, adopted me after my parents died. I have been helping her run the shop since"

Susanna�s eyes widened in horrified realization. "I�m . . . sorry to hear that."

A orphan growing up amidst a crowd of cold-blooded animals . . . 

 

"Don�t worry about it," Ethan replied simply as he continued to lead her through the dim, enigmatic expense of the pet shop. 

. . . would that have to do with why he came to be a loner?

 

". . . It . . . must be quite a childhood," Susanna commented, awkwardly. "Spending it taking care of these . . ." she winced at seeing what looked like a giant centipede in one of the tank, ". . . commodities."

"It is," Ethan agreed. " I get to serve customers who are often as interesting as the pets they choose." The boy raised a thin, long-fingered hand, and slid it along a roll of tanks housing various exotic creatures. "There is Deborah, who keeps sea anemones since she believes them to embody female power-"

"How?" Susanna couldn�t help but ask. 

"She sees the invertebrate as an aquatic queen getting waited on by her subjects the crown fishes."

" . . . oh,"

"Then there is James, who keeps chameleons since he finds them magical. And Nathanael, he keeps butterflies whose short-lived splendor give him the illusion of love . . ." 

"What poetic nonsense. I keep them cause I like their colorful wings, that�s all."

Susanna jumped at the abrupt presence of the new voice. Chucking softly, Ethan pulled at what appeared to be a switch for a hanging light, and beams of highly concentrated lights speared down from the above, revealing a sofa formation surrounding a tea table. There was already someone sitting on it, someone whose appearance almost made Susanna jump again.

"The man himself," Ethan smiled indulgently as he sat himself beside what appeared to be a slender albino youth all dressed in red the color of his irises. "What brings you by? Just last month you sold all the eggs back to the shop since Vanessa is scared of caterpillars."

Nathanael sighed. "She�s been having seconds thoughts about the relationship after seeing her friend�s reaction to my taking her to her school dance. Now that she isn�t coming by anymore, I figure it�s time for me to pick up the hobby again."

"Well," Ethan scratched his chin. "Seeing that you�re a friend, I could sell you the same caterpillars again with a seventy-percent discount: they are, after all, already a month into their lives-"

"That�s terrible!"

At that, the boys both looked up at Susanna, who looked a picture of girlish outrage.

"That kind of cowardly woman would just leave a guy cause her bitch friends don�t approve is truly . . . awful!" She slapped her hands onto the albino youth�s shoulder. "Forget about her; for sure there will be other girls that can see beyond the narrow views of the world!"

Red eyes framed by pale, lush lashes blinked at the girl. 

"You are . . . a new customer of the shop?"

"Oh . . ." Susanna retracted her hands and blushed. "Actually, um . . . I�m . . ."

"She�s Naomi�s best friend," Ethan answered for her.

"Her?!" Nathanael�s eyes widened in surprise. "But she�s so . . ."

"Opposites often do attract." Ethan said as if in explanation. 

"Hmm . . ." the youth ran an awkward pale hand through his lush, white hair as he stood up. "Anyway, Ethan, rather than getting back those caterpillars, I�d rather wait until the next shipment of �painted lady� eggs arrive." Turning towards Susanna, he smiled. "It�s nice meeting you."

With that, the slender albino stepped into maze of glass tanks, leaving in a shadow-cloaked wisp of red and white.

Ethan sighed softly as he went to the small fridge nearby and began rummaging through it.

"You meant well saying what you just did, Susanna. But I wonder if it might have come off as being hurtful rather than kind?" 

"What?" 

"The scientific name of the painted lady butterfly. . . is Vanessa cardui." 

Susanna�s eyes widened at the revelation.

Even being treated like this, he still remains attached to that girl . . .

 

Ethan handed her a canned ice tea, which she took with slightly shivering hands.

. . . keeping beautiful insects bearing her namesake, tormenting himself with their bittersweet memories; alone

The girl who keeps mantises, the boy who keeps butterflies . . . 

This place is as much of a pet shop as it is a meeting place of the empty-hearted.

 

"So," Ethan studied her troubled expression with piercing dark eyes. "Shall we talk about what you�ve really come to talk about?" 

Biting down on her lower-lip, Susanna met his gaze. "Let�s."

 

In the darkness of this pet shop I work; everyday after school, every weekend, day and night . . . an eternity.

 

Footsteps, delicate and dainty, echoed through the darkness.

Just like the pets, the customers I get range from common to the rare, the dull to the striking. And yet . . .

 

Perfume, subtle but effective as an orchid�s scent, permeated the once sterile atmosphere of the pet shop, livening it. 

The day she stepped into the shop . . .

 

Brown eyes narrowed in a smile, the girl waif whom he had caught but glimpses of at school now stepped up to stand in front of him, poised as a flower yet no where near as passive.

. . . I found myself drawn towards that charismatic femininity she exuded.

 

"I�m looking for something with a cool appearance but also appreciates handling," Naomi spoke in a voice like nectar. "You mind guiding me through the choices?"

 

"Wait a second!"

At Susanna�s protesting cry, Ethan merely stopped his story, and stare flatly at her.

"What you just said about Naomi, that�s . . ." Susanna began, almost protesting, before her expression mellowed down, ". . . that�s just the kind of innuendo-changed thing she�d do." Exhaling in resignation, she hung her red-haired head. "Go on."

" . . . anyway," Ethan took a leisurely sip of his drink, and continued. "I guided her through the shop�s commodities as per her request . . ." 

 

Into the trap I went, a trap by the name of �allure� . . . 

 

". . . that is the South African sun spider. I won�t recommend handling that one without gloves on."

"I can see why . . . what disproportionately huge fangs."

"And the arachnid section is done. Would you like to look at the insects next?"

"Let�s . . ." Naomi looked around at the wide-assortment of female-repelling creature with what appeared to be genuine interest. "This place really do have a huge collection."

"Yes," Ethan ran a slightly bashful hand through his dark hair. "Grandma is very resourceful in the pet trade."

"That�s . . . wonderful," 

Ethan raised a brow at the girl�s words. "How so?"

"You see, my father is a financial adviser and my mom a housewife," Naomi explained. "Seeing someone whose family works in such an exotic business . . ." she tapped a long finger on a butterfly tank, and watched with interest as the insects flapped their dramatically-colored wings. " . . . really interest me."

Ethan eyed her with much interest. "You really aren�t scared at all?"

Naomi met his gaze with a mask of surprise. "Of what?"

"Most people gets unnerved by the shop�s various . . . commodities," Ethan tried to explain. "And see that you look kind of dainty, I thought-"

She chuckled then, the sound of which cut of his sentence.

"Appearance is a deceptive thing," she said, smiling at him with narrowed eyes. "You, who work with these exotic creatures, should know that better than anyone."

Ethan couldn�t/wouldn�t retort: Naomi raised a good point (not to mention that teasing smile on her face made his heart pound). 

"Besides," the girl continued on, "the items in this shop are in truth no more scary than what they represent to us, the customers." 

"Which is?" he asked. 

"Love," she replied, smilingly.

Ethan raised a dark brow at the girl�s reply.

"Just like a lover, a pet receives from you and then give back accordingly," Naomi spoke in a voice mesmerized. "When loved, it repays you with beauty and obedience; when hated, it repays you with savagery and illness; 

Like the petals of a flower mantis, her words were; 

 

"When forgotten, it was the one that leaves you behind in death," she finished on a note of silky melancholy. 

. . . enticing me towards her dainty claws.

 

Smitten, Ethan decided to make an opening.

"You know . . ."

Through the maze of glowing glass tanks he led her, black clad figure indefinite under the shop�s dim lights. 

"Some people refrain from keeping pets, fearing the pain of having to let go when they die.

"Others keep them anyway, going from one pet to the next like partners in a dance; remaining emotionally detached from beginning to the end.

"Still others keep only the most cold-blooded of animals: the reptiles and the arachnids that are as decorative as they are alien. Frosty by nature, they are incapable of giving warmth when you caress them, incapable of feeling loneliness when you desert them. Being so, it�s easy to assume that their pains are less than that of their warm-blooded counterparts. After all, when a dog dies, its owner would probably cry. When a frog dies, it just . . . dies."

So you see . . .

 

"They say those you cannot hurt can�t hurt you back."

Stopping in front of a huge terrarium housing a willowy snake with scales like jasper, he turned to face her with anticipatory eyes dark as the night. 

"So," he gestured at the exotic creatures all around them with a spidery hand, "what would you be looking for?" 

. . . the perfect choice is right in front of you . . .

 

 

"H-Hold on!" Susanna stood up in outrage. "You�re saying that you offered yourself up to Naomi as a willing *pet*?!"

Ethan stared up flatly at her from where he remained on the sofa. "Our relationship had begun since the first week I transferred to your school. Aside from you, Naomi�s best friend, does anyone at school even know about it?"

" No . . ."

"Back when Heman was pressing her about whether there is another man, do you hear anyone mentioning my name?"

"N-No, but-" 

"Then you should�ve realized that Naomi has been purposely hiding me in the dark all the while, and that I let her. Now what do you think that implied?" Finishing his drink, he tossed the can into the trash bin. "Can�t you see? I have no means of being a danger to your best friend, because she is the one in control in this relationship." 

"That�s . . ." Susanna ran a rough hand through her red locks. "If what you just said is true, then it�s even more outrageous! Why in the world is a guy like you surrendering all this control to that little twig of a girl?!"

"Because given the right bait, even the smartest of creatures will knowingly succumb to entrapment."

Jumping at the familiar voice, Susanna whirled around to see Naomi standing right beside her. 

"Interrogating my guy for me, Susanna?" She petted her on her head while brushing past her. "What a considerate friend you are." 

Casually stepping around the sofa, Naomi reached out her delicate hand, and ran it through Ethan�s dark locks in an owning gesture. "You poor thing; she didn�t bully you too much, I hope?"

"I�ll survive," Ethan shrugged. "You really should be grateful to her though," the sarcasm in his voice deepened. "Friends who are willing to repeatedly made fools of themselves on your behalf? Now that�s rarer than anything this shop has to offer."

"I know, Ethan," Naomi hugged him from behind with beautiful arms that now looked claw-like to Susanna�s eyes. "Which is why I�m going to feed her real good afterwards. 

"You like beef, Susanna? There�s this new steakhouse down the block that I�m dying to try out with friends."

" . .. all three . . . of us?" the redhead asked in a voice so hoarse it startled herself.

"Oh, Ethan won�t be going," Naomi said. "He doesn�t enjoy being among the ordinary crowds where he stands out and gets looked at."

" .. . or do you simply don�t want to be seen with him in public?" 

At Susanna�s question, Naomi merely gave her an adult smile that bordered on being condescending. 

"Appearance matters, Susanna. Look at our so called friends; Debby and Millie and April and June, they care only about who wears the most trendy clothes, whose boyfriend scores the most on the field, who to laugh at for her outdated fashion sense, who to pick on for having no friends . . ."

Amidst the orchid shrubs, the mantis dwelled. 

"And still I pretend to be their acquaintance, smiling at their bad jokes, listening to their sick gossips, singing praises to their vulgar fashion . . ."

With limbs like petals she stepped amidst the common flowers, hiding herself from her predators� claws, helping herself to her own preys . . .

 

The redhead was both confused and shocked by her friend�s revealing words. "Why even bother with the friendly act if that�s the way you feel about them-"

"Because people like them are everywhere," Naomi stated. "On the street, in family gatherings, at school . . . they are the ones I socialize with, do group projects with, and get votes from during student council elections! Whether I like it or not, I live surrounded by narrow-minded people intolerant of those are different from themselves." 

Camouflaging one�s difference with the environment is the smartest way to go through life. 

 

"To survive, I need to get along with them, sometimes even having to pretend to be like them, no matter how distasteful I find the idea to be."

The game that would lead to either heaven or hell, depending on whether you could follow its draconian rules . . .

Suffer us children who have been born to play it.

 

"So you see, Susanna; it�s not about me not wanting to be seen together with Ethan in public, it�s just that I don�t want to bring attacks upon our relationship. That which is shared between a woman and a man is, after all, an all too breakable thing that doesn�t fare well under pressure."

"She�s been having seconds thoughts about the relationship after seeing her friend�s reaction to my taking her to her school dance."

 

"I like what I have with Ethan," Naomi concluded by hugging the dark-haired youth tightly against herself. "And I will not risk ruining it by letting it come out under the light where it can be attacked. Ethan thinks the same too," she purred in the boy�s ear. "Don�t you?"

The boy�s voice was impassive but for a faint trace of wistfulness. "If you want me to."

This trapped creature could never leave the firm grasp of his mistress� petal-covered crawls.

He simply didn�t want to.

"Well . . . Naomi," Susanna licked her dried lips. "It�s nice to know that you are really under no danger being with this seedy-looking guy. In fact, you obviously have no problem in controlling him, so much that he�d even allowed himself to be hidden in the dark like some random pet in this freaking store. So I guess . . ." she turned on her heel. "I guess it�s time for me to leave!"

Without waiting for her friend�s reply, the redhead stomped through the darkness of the dimly lit shop, and left amidst a particularly loud slam of the shop�s front door.

"She seemed upset," Ethan noted. Naomi sighed.

"It�s only natural," she mused. "Susanna is, after all, still a child who believes in black and white, in righteousness and fairness, in perfect relationships. But, judging by what I heard around school lately, she�ll get a taste of adulthood pretty soon . . ."

 

My very perception of everything has been turned upside down.

 

Through the crowded streets she stormed, sullen and angry.

The menacing serpent turns out to be a willing slave, the fragile damsel turns out to be a powerful dark sorceress, and the amazon who fancies herself a heroine turns out to be the biggest fool of all.

The hell with those twisted two; I�m washing my hands out of their business once and for all. And to think I treated that crafty witch as my best friend . . .

 

"Susanna Flowers? What�re you doing crying on the streets?" 

Whirling around, Susanna came face to face with Heman, whose blue eyes were watching her in apparent concern.

"I�m not crying," she muttered even while rubbing at her wet eyes.

Scratching at his nose ridge as he observed her state, the jock then asked. "So . . . you wanna go to this movie with me? My date dropped me at the last minute, and I now have a spare ticket . . ." 

Susanna�s eyes narrowed at the invitation. "You aren�t planning on taping me, I hope."

Heman arched a blond brow. "In a dark movie theatre?"

"Right . . . stupid," Susanna slapped herself on the forehead. "Well . . . why not?"

Heman smiled at how easily he got the cute redhead to agree to this. After all, the movie theater that he chose was one with few audiences, just the perfect spot to initiate a make out scheme. 

His friends are all betting on his success tonight, he won�t disappoint them.

 

"In the end, all relationships come down to a struggle of powers," Naomi sighed as she cuddled against Ethan�s cool frame on the sofa, warming him up with her own body-heat. "Master and slave, owner and pet, woman and man . . . and whoever is stronger gets to dominate the other, that�s the way it is."

"Hey, Naomi . . ."

"What?"

"That which we share . . . what�s it called?"

Glancing down upon her pet�s beautifully lost face, she spoke in a voice like honey, "I�d like to call it love."

At her answer, Ethan closed his eyes in a smile, and said no more.

End

Story copyrighted by its original author (yes, Azure A. Blue is a pen name).

 

 

 

 

  



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