Prompt: Write a romance story which involves a bracelet, 'unicorn', 'you're toast', delinquents, and a happy ending565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkBjz4UZ1d7
This is the part where I say, I love you.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡicqjvruqoS
I open my mouth, draw in a deep breath, and am promptly knocked unconscious by a delicate china coffee cup disagreeing with my temple. I'm not sure which one shattered first.
Sometimes, I wonder what my life would be like if it were a story.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxwOT7S9WwN
First of all, it would be far more interesting; after all, stories are rarely as boring as my daily routine.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jtt1M5onV
It goes a bit like this: I wake up at six, I brush my teeth, make breakfast (usually cereal, leftovers from takeaway the night before, or Gladys'), catch an update on the radio, and - oh, stuff it. Even I don't want to hear about that.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6QLsn26xVv
Secondly, I wouldn't always be so bloody miserable. Protagonists in books are hardly ever miserable, and I hope that someday I could amount to something more than the minor character 'annoyed guy across the street', no?565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyffyJBryKb
Thirdly, I should have had a happy ending by now.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNPfSoRWqb
I mean, seriously, I'm twenty-nine. And as everyone knows, the age of thirty is practically death. I live alone in a small apartment, have a crummy office job, and really not much else. Oh - I'm also in love. But since when has that turned out well in stories? Like, look at that Romeo guy. I think he dies or something.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHGKF8f0eI
So honestly, I don't have much going for me, for my life. All my friends (ha! friends) guilt trip me about how lucky I am, but to be blunt I can't help feel every morning and every night that I'm on the short end of the straw. You know, the short side of the bendy straw that gets chewed on and spat out.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTlKc37T1Mb
My mum unfortunately knows this too. She moved into the apartment next to mine to 'keep an eye' on me, to 'lend a hand if you need'. Now in the evenings I'm serenaded by the sweet sounds of her explosive diarrhoea. I'll be filing a thin wall complaint when I get the chance.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ38Foja4g1Q
Day in, day out, this is my life.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuzFBazCDxC
So when is my story going to start?
This is the part where the boy escapes on a Unicorn.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRYwKtW0ZL
My favorite haunt is a tidy little coffee shop on the corner between work and home called Gladys'. The food is good, the coffee is great, and the service is stunning, thanks to a magnificent woman by the name of Ellie. I've memorized her time schedule and make sure to check in when she's around, which is why I'm an hour late to work every Monday and Thursday. Gorgeous brown eyes, little chocolate beads they are, and hair like a preened horse mane, which I assure you is a compliment of the highest degree. Her voice is just heavenly, although I do admit I've only ever heard her say 'The usual? Coming right up!'. She wears a lovely china bracelet too, little swirls of blue on white that she fiddles with constantly. I find it rather endearing.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrgZzjeZHEk
It was a fine Saturday - of course it had to be a Saturday that was ruined. You see, I always like to watch Ellie make my coffee - I assume it's because I become slightly mentally unhinged when I am around her. This time, however, I could not enjoy my morning drink due to a particularly disturbing young man.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCcexLhcwOC
Now, he was clearly a criminal of some sort, despite looking no older than nineteen. Heavy leather jacket, metal studded jeans, and a swagger that exuded sheer unjustified arrogance. I noticed him approaching the counter just as I was taking the first sip of my extra hot coffee.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡag4xUatJv5
'A piece of toast thanks.' He orders.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrcGptCeOXV
'...just toast?' God her voice sounds so soft I could sleep in it.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE6p5zoegFn
'Yes. Just. Toast.' His, on the other hand, was so rough I could feel his vocal chords being sanded down as he spoke.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QniWJsAAD
I watch Ellie as she slips the slice of bread into the toaster, the way her curved finger pushes down the lever. The way she drums her fingers nervously as she waits. Why nervously?565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyEeFcppBhZ
ping!565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgrUby6zIkv
'Here you are.' She doesn't look him in the eye as she hands over a plate with a single slice of toast. 'Your toast.'565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡueAtFWQv17
He doesn't touch it. 'No, Ellie, I've been thinking about those things you said to me - about how I'm too young, how I'm too, what, immature and irresponsible - and I've decided that no, you're toast.'565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQEF86o7As
A question mark hangs in the air. 'Jonas, what do you mean?' She knows this ugly specimens?565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6ploW9ocV
'Look.' He picks up the toast, and in one gloved hand, crumbles it into dust that falls meekly onto the counter. 'That's what I'm going to do to you for breaking my heart.' He storms out of Gladys', and, angered by the look of upset on Ellie's pretty face, I make quick pursuit with my coffee in hand.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ju7bX5J7d
'Hey! Hey, you!' He stops and turns around at the sound of my call.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0cBBlCakB4
'What do you want?' He snarls.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxSMsYrUbl
'I want you to keep your dirty fingers off that girl!' I snap at him in a feeble attempt at intimidation.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3lzGZ1D0C6
'No no no. That's not how it works. A girl turns down the Jonas Jones on a date, they pay the price.' An infuriating sneer, one clearly tempting me to make a move - and that is an offer I'm not going to turn down. I put my extra hot coffee to better use and throw the entire thing into his face, spoon and all.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUyoSrkaqNy
'AIEEEE! You're crazy, man!' His shocked eyes stare at me in disbelief, the attack having startled him enough to turn and flee. I watch as he rounds the corner and clambers onto his motorcycle - a painfully pink hunk of metal with the word Unicorn plastered on the side in blue and white.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9OkH97inf8
Smooth.
This is the part where I try Robin Hood on my mother, an adventurous position to put myself in which involves feeling around the front of her dress.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjk2kpbHCbW
My obsession with dear Ellie grows, as does my need to see her happy, after the strange encounter with Jonas Jones. I brainstorm gift ideas - she seems awfully fond of the unconventional china bracelet.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxkBbHE6RpY
My own mother happens to be quite the china connoisseur - her collection of bits and bobs all on display in an IKEA cabinet in her apartment.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZPomxWOWC
Now, my average job of tedium was never going to pay for such dainty things, nor, I suppose, will Ellie's, so I felt no moral wrongness in the notion of pulling a Robin Hood on my mum and donating some china pieces to someone who no doubt needs them more. Ahem.
The heist begins with inviting my mum one meter down the corridor to have a 'life chat' with me, a strange ritual which she usually enforces on me once a month. Five laxative pills dissolved into the hot chocolate I've made so lovingly for her.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEf8fhSqKLR
I bear through the grueling first few minutes of the talk in which she tells me to 'assess where I want to be in three years' but, much to my pleasure, the rant is prematurely interrupted by a rather rude anatomical sound which I won't indulge with a description.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfLTk4TSqmC
'Dear me!' She hobbles toward my bathroom, but I stop her -565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3uZPplb0b9
'The flush doesn't work.' I smile.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXEtRtZrZti
'Oh, dear, dear, dear!' She's hunched over, and she can't reach into the front pocket of her dress - in which lie her room keys.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ88T4rK7e1J
'Would you like me to unlock your apartment for you?'565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrwDU3By60P
'Please!'565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGv9ie5HC2o
What happened next was unpleasant but necessary. Suffice to say, I retrieved the keys from their storage place, remarkably near my birth place.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn9Ua8qh8kU
The moment the door to her room was open, she hurried into the bathroom and locked the door - without thinking to show me out first.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaH5RYTAdUL
I collect in a bag the nicest of her china collection - IKEA cabinets don't have much security. An assortment of cups and plates and animals, carefully picked to match the color scheme of Ellie's bracelet. Lovely.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSDNs06298n
I leave the keys on dear mother's bedside table, and quickly desert the premises. The unfortunate woman's bowel structure combined with the help I had given to her digestive system meant that she should be occupied for a while.
This is the part where I abandon my preconceptions of love, abandon my apartment, and abandon my sanity in general.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7rFcIViuGQ
I decided I would not return to the apartment. Mum would surely kill me, or worse. So instead, it being a Monday morning, I headed down to Gladys' with a bag going chinkle chinkle tied in red ribbon and a notetag with 'For Ellie' in my finest cursive. Which isn't very fine, mind you, but it's the thought that counts.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgPGdwEuba
Gladys' was not the most active of places, and it was not difficult to wait for a moment when no one was looking to place the bag on the counter.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGyC8RMeut8
I sit, and wait, and watch. Could it be that this might win her heart?565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡudCial94YS
She sees the bag, looks around confusedly, and opens it there on the counter. She gasps, looks around confusedly again, and closes the bag before placing it on the shelf beside her.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp42gpFh6v9
I walk up to the counter.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIjGhWGDfZ
'The usual?' Angelic.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡERgIFBQpMK
'Not quite.' I say. In fact, I decide to abandon all of the usual. I wouldn't be showing up to work today, I wouldn't be doing anything of the sort I usually do.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwXHb6wJStq
Forget everything. This is the part where I say, I love you.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxTu7j0vKKr
I open my mouth, draw in a deep breath, and am promptly knocked unconscious by a delicate china coffee cup disagreeing with my temple. I'm not sure which one shattered first.
This is the part where I emerge victorious from a deathly battle against cute fluffy creatures.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK28Q85VhDq
'owwwww...' I rise from the floor with a grunt. Above me stands Jonas Jones, and his band of delinquents. I note the bag of china in his hands - the bloody nerve of him.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZCtCpNn9F
'If the JONAS JONES isn't good enough for someone, no one is!' He booms.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1UHN04kBsn
'Leave her out of this!' I protest, noticing Ellie cowering in the corner of the cafe, the few other people inside watching the course of events with an excited but strangely detached interest. 'Let's take this outside.'565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQJXdOJNJF
'Let's go, big boy.' He cracks his knuckles.
RABBIT. UNICORN. PUG. They stand by their named motorcycles, Jonas in the center. 'Rabbit' was a tall and scrawny pimply fellow, whereas 'Pug' was a much more rotund beast, but just as unattractive as the former. To be honest, I couldn't catch the resemblance between Jonas and a unicorn, though.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZRWxSDNqZY
'You boys are going to leave Ellie alone. And her gifts.' Upon feeling a twinge of pain, I quickly added 'And me.'565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00MkyYA35w
'Make us.' Rabbit pulls out a knife from his pocket.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7P42aTsY1
'Now now, let's play fair - ' but my protest is cut off halfway through by a scream that made the windows of the cafe shake dangerously, threatening to shatter.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4NhEUCkSBg
'WHEEERE IIIIIIS MYYYY CHIIIIIIIIIINAAAAAAAAAAA?!?!?!'565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSXDa6IYEyx
I run into the shop, but the gang is stunned still - and I watch as my mother appears over the horizon, face inflamed red like a microwaving tomato ready to burst.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLQC5tbOiW
She looks at the bag in Jonas' hands.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX1DU0j3oII
Jonas looks down at the bag in his hands.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2IPGGhLCJ
Pug grabs the bag and hides it behind his back.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6IZ65gT9Q
Mother morphs into her final form and unleashes her rage.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF99wrYGff9
'AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!' I can't tell among the carnage who the sound is coming from, but I don't care - I turn around to face Ellie, and I grab her hands.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWAnddSiZKJ
'Ellie.' I say, eyes staring into hers.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfEqLEbPKu
'Yes?'565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3jHIIVFWg
This is the part.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDU43HzlWKm
'I...'565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5wp6Ac7bDb
'Yes?'565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7oaDm0OMbj
'Ellie, I luh. I lughhhh. I, I, I lughhhhhhhh - '565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsnR4zdaV6d
'Oh, shut up.' She lunges forwards and places her lips on mine, and the people in the cafe cheer, drowning out the noise of the scene outside.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNJpdPynfQi
And so it is, that my story ends here for you, and just begins for me, with an unexpected kiss and a declaration of love.565Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡScb6ZQdHTH
I even think that mother might approve.
This, my friend, is the part where you stop reading.
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