Keeping the Cookies in the Jar - A Multi-Ship Multi-Author Megafiction

Welcome to this multi-ship multi-author fanfiction that I only approve approximately 80% of!

Collaborating Authors:
- Forsaken
- Haseo
- AndrewTemari101
- Korosu
- Plums
- Guardian Soul
- Sumi
- Saxima
- Jayn

(?) What?

Consultants and Advisors (AKA the two people who do not completely approve all aspects of this story for obvious reasons but have been included anyway for some reason)
- What?
- Cookiie


xxx



By Forsaken.

Chapter II
The Siren and the Saxophone
By Haseo.

Intermission I
The Shamrock and the Thistle
By What?​

 

I will allow this ... for now ...

 

Woot this is finally starting. I honestly can't wait to read the rest of the chapters kekekek.
Right then, Chapter 1. Do enjoy it~

----
Chapter 1: The Tooth Sinks Into The Plum

There I am, just like everyone else, in this room full of people, watching everybody do their parts. The creaking sounds of the chairs around me were no distraction, and I paid no attention to the chitter-chatter of the people behind me, nor the other students playing the instruments. I'm only staring at him.
It's 7pm at the moment. The whole town is at the school right now, watching the school orchestra play. Clawtooth is playing his Violin along with the rest of the school’s band, but he stood out the most between then. To me, though, everything just took so long. At the moment, I'm lost in a train of thought. “What should I do” and “What have I done”, I kept thinking. Nothing really mattered anymore. No pain, no sorrow. Everything bad seemed nonexistent, at that very moment.
Nothing is ever so simple, is it?

Fourteen days ago:

It's Valentine’s Day. Everyone's hustling and bustling to get there valentine’s a gift or a card. A majority of people had a valentine, but there still quite a few who were left without one. Some of them didn’t mind that much, others were quite hurt by that though. That morning, in school, I went to check my locker in case someone had left me something. “Heh, still nothing, as usual” I thought. As I closed the locker, a familiar voice called out to me “What’s wrong Plums?” I turned around, and found a small Asian girl looking at me with her big bright eyes. She had long brownish black hair. “Oh, hey Cookiie”, I said, “No, nothing’s really wrong I guess”.
“Still didn’t get any cards?” she replied. “No, I really didn’t get anything this year. Then again, I never get anything. Thanks for caring though.”
“I-I wasn’t caring! I was just asking! I-It’s not like I worry about you or anything!”
I laughed “It’s okay; you don’t have to act like that. What about you, did you get anything?”
“Err, no, nothing” a sudden frown came on her face “I was expecting a specific person to leave me a gift or a card, but I didn’t get anything”.
I started giggling “D’aww, you’re so adorable when you’re like that”
“W-What?”
“Yeah, it really doesn’t happen often, but you do have a cute personality, I do hope the person you’re waiting for understands what you want”.
“U-URUSAI” She kicked me in the knee and ran away.
I started screaming in pain “Ow! What was that for! Goddammit she ran away. I’ll get her next time”

A few hours later, I walked to class with Enzy and Sabby, who decided to play a game of who-can-annoy-plums-the-most.
“Plums, why does everyone mistake you for a girl?” Enzy said as she was poking me
“It’s probably because he wears all those pink clothes Enzy” Sabby answered
“Yeah, that’s probably true” Enzy replied.
“Hey Plums, when are we going to get married?” Sabby said
Enzy laughed at Sabby “Marry you? He’s marrying me! Who do you think you are?”
“Ladies, ladies, please. One at a tim-“ Before I could finish my sentence, Enzy cut me off.
“Then again, we could do a lot better”
“Yeah, you’re right. Who needs Plums anyway? He’s not that great.” Sabby said enthusiastically “We should just be together!”
Then they both ran off to do something else. “What the hell just happened?” I said aloud.
When suddenly, someone bumped into me, and both me and that person fell on the floor. Confused, I turned my head to see a guy with extra long hair, wearing a scarf and a huge coat.
“O-Ouch!” He said “Watch where you’re going!” He had this very strong Scottish accent. You could actually hear him roll his “R”s.
“Where I’m going? You bumped into me!”
“Well don’t just stand there next time with that confused look of yours!”
“What confused look?” I asked.
“There’s that look again!”
I chuckled, and then got up. “Here, let me help you up” I grabbed his arm and pulled him up, but I stumbled as I was pulling him and he grabbed on to me as I fell. So there I am, on the floor. This wouldn’t be so bad, if I weren’t wearing my backpack. My back felt so curved, like one of this performers you see in Circus acts. Except I’m not Asian. And I have an actual, normal spine. Worst is, I can actually feel the scissors I decided to put in the back pocket of my backpack. Worst decision ever. Oh, and there was also this Scottish kid on me.
As he scuffled to get up, I could feel his elbow hitting me once or twice. I think both of us were too embarrassed to notice though.
“Oh god oh god, I can’t believe that just happened” He shouted when he got up.
I got up after him, feeling my spine crack as I did. “It’s alright; you don’t have to be so embarrassed. It happens”.
“Embarrassed? Please. I don’t get embarrassed.” He replied “It’s just that I’m late for class, and I really need to go.” He picked up his stuff and ran off as soon as he finished his sentence.
Huh. He's actually kind of cute. I wonder what his name is. This was a weird encounter though. “I hope no one saw that” I said out loud.
A sudden voice came out of the sea of students. “Don’t worry, we ALL saw that.” It was Llave, who said that with a snicker.


Thirteen days ago:

The next day, I wake up to the sound of my little brother screaming at his video games. I really dislike my brother sometimes. I go downstairs to have my breakfast. I sit down on the kitchen chair, and notice the same breakfast my mom’s been making for the past three weeks. “Oh god, Raspberry Jam Sandwich again.” I thought. I’m so sick of that, but it’s better to eat anything rather than going off to school hungry. I finish my breakfast, pick up my backpack and run off to school. When I get to school, I see some of the cool kids outside, looking cool and all. The group consisted of Rissy, P, Kitty and Catsora. People called them the Prem group, for whatever reason. God I wish I could be like then.
I finally get inside the school, 10 minutes before my class starts so I still have time. I can still taste the raspberry jam in my mouth, it’s so terrible.
I bump into What on the way to class.
“Hey there What. How are you?” I told him.
“Oh hello there sir” He replied “I’m fine and you?”
“I’m alright, thanks for asking. Say, you know most of the school’s students don’t you? I’m looking for someone”
“Oh?” He said with a grin “Did someone finally catch our lovely Plums’ heart?”
“No, it’s not that. Well, I don’t know. Maybe. The student was pretty cute to be honest.”
“Sound like a crush to me” he whispered.
I sighed “Can you help me or not?”
“Oh sure sure. Go ahead, what does this person look like?”
“Well, Scottish accent, long hair, not so tall.”
He started pondering “Hmm well, only two people fall into that category. The first is Kitty, the other is Clawtooth.”
Clawtooth huh? That’s such an adorable name. I should probably tell him I was looking for Kitty though. I’m not ready to admit anything to anyone at the moment. Maybe I should sa-
What suddenly cut off my train of thought “So you find who you’re looking for?”
“Err, yes. You were right, it’s Kitty. Thanks What.” I replied.
“You could do worse, I guess.”
“What about you though? Anyone you have in mind?” I asked. “Yesterday was Valentine’s, after all.”
He suddenly became all red “Oh well no. I had wished I had acted sooner. I don’t know what to do anymore.”
“Vague much?” I retorted.
“Yes. Sorry. It’s just that this has gotten somewhat strange lately. I guess I’ll have to explain it to you some other time. I have to go to class now though; I’ll see you later Plums.” He said as he ran off.
That What is always a strange one. Although it’s a bit nice to see that he’s finally thinking about someone, rather than drowning himself in more history books.

It's finally the end of the day. Thursdays tend to be so long, we barely get to take a break. As I was heading outside, I suddenly started hearing some lovely music coming from one of the classes. I started looking where it came from, and suddenly found the source. There he was, that guy from yesterday, Clawtooth, alone in class playing his violin. An actual violin. Wow. I can’t believe I’ve never noticed this guy before. He's sitting on a chair that was turned to the windows, looking over the horizon as he played. I hadn’t noticed before, but the school’s surroundings were actually pretty beautiful. You could clearly see the sun set from this view, and the sky darkening. The sun’s light reflected upon the lake. It looked like it was on fire, and that fire would spread among the trees and tall grass surrounding the lake. And I found myself looking at him again. The music he’s playing is so soothing. I wish could stay here for hours just staring into that horizon and listening to the music Clawtooth was playing. He stopped a few moments later, as if he was pondering something.
“Why did you stop? What you were playing was really beautiful” I told him.
He jumped out of his chair and froze right at that moment whilst holding his violin up high, as if he was going to use it as means to defend himself “WHAT, WHO’S THER-O-oh, it’s you. You’re from that guy from yesterday. Plums, was it?” He put down his violin on the chair.
“That’s funny, I don’t remember telling you my name.” I said.
“Right, well I must have memorized it from some other time then”
It’s strange. I’m pretty sure I hadn’t met him before yesterday’s event.
“Probably. Anyway, what you were playing was really amazing.”
“Yeah, I was rehearsing. We have a play in a few weeks, and I’ve been practicing very hard lately. Actually, I was heading to a rehearsal when you bumped into me yesterday”
“YOU bumped into me.” I corrected him
“Well whatever. It doesn’t matter who bumped into whom. I was late because of you.”
“Gosh, I’m sorry. It’s not like I had done it on purpose.” I paused for a moment “To be honest, you don’t need that much practice. You’re great.”
He turned his head away from me, as if he didn’t want to show me that he was blushing “I-I’m not. You don’t have to say such lies”
“I wasn’t lying. You really are amazing. How long have you been playing the violin?”
He turned his head back at me with a smile on his face “Ever since I was kid”


And so we started talking, the sun still setting, and the sky still darkening. We talked for hours. I even walked him back home. I found out that we have a lot of things in common, such as the same books, the same authors, the same video games. It’s actually kind of scary. For the next 12 days, we talked so much. I’ve never talked so much to a single person before. There were never any awkward silences between us, never any sort of arguing. We went to the movies, ate together, and went to the park together. I even met his parents at one point. Most times, I’d just be with him while he’s practicing for his play. You know those moments when something bad happens, and they seem to last forever? Like those few seconds could last months? This was that same feeling, except it was a good feeling in this case. It’s weird. These were easily the best moments of my life.

That day:

It was morning, and the light emitting from the sun shone through the blinds, and woke me up. I actually convinced my mom to change our breakfast a few days ago. Now she stuck with making Strawberry Jam Sandwiches, rather than varying between different kinds each day. Oh well.
I’m supposed to meet Claw at the school’s entrance today. We’ll barely get to talk today since today is his play. But today was the day I was going to officially ask him out. We’ve been hanging out so much these past few weeks that I finally wanted to make it official.
When I got to school, I saw him there looking at the distance. He seemed like he was lost in his thoughts about something “Hey” I said to him. Nothing, no reaction “CLAW, HEY”. He suddenly snapped out of it.
“Oh, hey Plums…”
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing. Well, actually, I had a therapy session this morning.” He deadpanned
“You go to therapy? I didn’t even know”
“Yeah, well, I never really told anyone about that”
“So what happened during therapy, Claw?”
“I was diagnosed with an antisocial personality”
“How come they told you that?”
“It doesn’t surprise me, honestly. I’ve always been distant and cold towards other people. I really don’t do well with socializing. It’s just that I have a severe lack of emotion towards anything”
I laughed “So it’s basically another term for being a sociopath?”
I probably shouldn’t have told him that though. He got angry at me at that moment “How can you see such a horrible thing?!”
“Please Claw, you can’t believe everything a therapist tells you.”
“But I’m living proof of that diagnosis!”
“You’re taking this way too seriously. You’re always like that. I don’t understand why you can’t just joke a little.”
“You’re a jerk.”
“Stop being so childish Claw. I don’t understand why you’re so clingy to what they’ve told you. And if it’s true, so what? This is why I hate you sometimes.”
“So what? You know, you’re terrible. I can’t believe I actually spent time with you, and I hope you die alone.”
He turned around, headed towards the door and left me there, contemplating what I had just told him. I know I probably shouldn’t have said the things I did, but I can’t believe something like that. I won’t. I should have probably used a different tone though.

So there I am, alone, like I always have been. Several hours later I found myself sitting in a room full of chairs with a bunch of other people, watching the school’s orchestra play, and watching Claw play his Violin. I didn’t want to be here, but our presence was mandatory, for whatever reason. I wasn’t paying attention to anything though. I was still thinking about what had happened earlier today. I should have acted better. And then it hit me that I would probably not meet anyone like Claw again. Eighteen years of my life I’ve been waiting, and this was it.
The deep voice of the school’s principal snapped me out of it, as he announced that the play was over, telling everyone to applaud. I’m probably the only one not clapping at the moment, actually. My arms felt too heavy to lift up.

After the show was over, everyone was on their way home. My parents were waiting for me in the car. When I got outside, the first thing I noticed was the weather. It was very cloudy and cold, as if the universe decided to symbolize the mistake I had made earlier today. Suddenly, I see someone outside. It’s him, Claw. It felt like he was waiting for someone. He was wearing the same clothes he wears all day, and his violin was stuck in his backpack.
“Hey Plums” he told me.
“Uh, hey there. What are you doing here?” I really didn’t feel like talking to him, especially after they what he had told me. Before talking again, he took a sip of the Irn Bru he was holding in his arm.
“I was waiting for you. I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry for the way I acted”
I shook my head “Don’t be. It’s not your fault. I should be the one who apologizes.”
“What happened to us?” He asked
“I don’t know. I guess we were both having a bad day. I’m just sorry, I really am.”
“Thing is, I’m so attached to what they had told me in therapy because I’ve never felt this way before. I’ve never had these feelings ever in my life before I met you. It’s hard for me to just believe these feelings, especially after they’ve been absent for so long. ”
There was a slight silence for a moment. Claw’s mouth was still open when he stopped talking, as if he wanted to tell me more. “I…think I feel the same way.” I said
“Really? “
“Yeah. I’ve always wanted to feel this way about someone.”
“I’ll be honest…You’re really cute. And you’re such a great guy.”
“I think this is first time I’ve heard anyone tell me that. You know, I didn’t mean most of the things I said earlier today.”
"If I told you that I liked you, would you take it as a joke?" He said.
“I honestly don’t know. Why?"
Claw replied, "Because I know you don't like me, I know you love me"
We stared at each other for a few moments. This was one of these moments that seem to last forever, when you don’t know what to reply or say. Goddammit, I wish there was a manual for these kind of things. It always felt like there was this sort of class everyone in the world attended to learn how to be romantic, and I didn’t get invited to it.
“So..What now?” He asked.
There was a slight pause again. I was looking for the most natural thing to say, lost in a thought I’ve been meaning to say out loud for a long time now. After I snapped back to reality, thinking about what I should say, I just say the first spontaneous thing that came to my mind. “..Want to be my boyfriend?”
Claw took a few steps back after hearing that, as if it was something he’s been waiting for me to say. “W-what?”
I continued “We obviously both really like each other, and we’re both lonely, so do you want to be my boyfriend, Claw?”
“I don’t know what to say… “
“A Yes or No would be a great start, to be honest.”
That moment, after you ask that question, and waiting for the answer, feels like a thousand years. It’s so horrible.
“Y-Yes…” He whispered.
I chuckled “That’s all?”
“Well, what do you want me to say?”
“No no, I meant that’s honestly good enough. I thought there was going to be a ‘but’ in that sentence. I guess it’s too hard for me to believe, Claw.”
Basically, today was the day that everything changed for me. It felt like it’s been a long time since I actually cared for something, since I actually wanted a moment to last forever.
I grabbed his hands. As I closed my eyes and reached in for a kiss, he reached in too, but his nose hit my nose, and we ended up bouncing our faces back.
“Ouch” I said.
“I’m sorry; I’ve just never had a boyfriend before.”
I laughed, let go of his hands and put them on his cold, yet blushed cheeks “It’s okay, I’m new to this too”.

Edit:
Plums x Clawtooth theme recommended by What.

Spoiler

[video=youtube;NOkeFOkE7No]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOkeFOkE7No[/video]

 

That was amazing. Absolutely brilliant. Cannot wait for the next chapter! c:
Pawtooth / Clums >:L super cute. ​

 

Pawtooth's not a very common ship. I approve though, it was a beautiful fic. Copious amounts of ghey, but I don#t mind, it's all in the spirit of fun.

 

Enzy and Sabby I HATE YOU oh my god >:L

And poor What? ;___;

Anyway, that was really good Fork. xD

Despite being a totally crack pairing, it kind of reminded me of Green's writing a bit. There were some grammar errors here and there, but nothing that made it unreadable. Looking forward to the next chapter, whoever is writing. o:

 

This is awesome and if there if room for another author, I'd potentially like to join in.

 

Oh man, you guys. This is the best idea we could have ever conjured up.

Great work Fork. Haciendo, I'm looking to you for more enjoyment.​

 

Cute! I can't wait for the rest.

I picked out some quotes/parts I really liked.

^Oh god claw is a jerk.

Overall, great job. It was a fun read.​

​

 

In defense of jar!Claw, he did just get a pretty harsh diagnosis.

 

I do not scream at my video games! >:L

GOD DAMMIT FI, WILL YOU ACTUALLY HELP ME ONCE IN A DAMN WHILE!?

*cough cough* I mean, wut?

All jokes aside, I really enjoyed this chapter Fork. Very sweet. c':

EDIT; Oh, and also, can't get enough of that sweet, sweet yaoi. c;

 

Credit goes to Ashwin for the title. o:
Mood Music:
----
Chapter 2: The Siren and the Saxophone

Today was Valentine’s Day, single people’s most hated day of the year. If you asked me last year, I would have told you I hated it, too. But this year was different. I looked at the piece of paper I held in my hand. It was Valentine that I made myself. It was nothing special, just a card with the best calligraphy I could manage.

I walked towards the Valentine submission box. I prepared to insert the card into the cardboard box, but hesitated. Why am I stopping? I thought. It’s not like he’ll know who sent it. All the Valentines were sent anonymously. I might as well get it over with before school started, instead of waiting until the last minute. Quickly, I shoved the Valentine into the box and rushed off to my first period class.

---

The next day, I was walking through the hallways. My friend Llave was by my side, telling me about something he saw yesterday. “…and so he crashes into that Scottish guy, Claw…”

“Mm…” I replied, not really listening to what he was saying. My mind was still on the Valentine. What did he think of it? Does he even have any idea who sent it?

“Hey, Saxima, look,” Llave said, interrupting his story. He pointed towards the bulletin board. Sheets of paper with club meetings were posted on it: Orchestra rehearsals, Anime Club, KHV Chorus, and – what the hell? – Shipping Club, among others. But in the middle of the board was something completely different. A Valentine – my Valentine – taped onto a piece of paper. In big, bold letters the paper said ‘GUESS WHO GOT A VALENTINE? –AMAURY’. “Doesn’t he know that the board isn’t a blog?” I could hear a mocking tone in his voice. “Isn’t he such a dork?”

“Uh, yeah…” I replied, awkwardly. “Who would want to send him a Valentine…?”

“Hey, Misty, people are cursing again!” Speak of the devil. Amaury had a reputation around the school: the Staff Alarm. Whenever someone was reported to the hall monitor, you could be sure it would be him.

Misty walked up to him. She had on a Star Wars shirt, as usual, with the sky blue hall monitor vest over it. “Amaury, you know there’s nothing in the school rules about cursing, right?”

“Oh yeah…” Amaury replied. “I guess I forgot about that. It’s just that whenever I think someone is doing something bad-”

“Yeah, yeah,” Misty cut him off. Obviously, Amaury had started to try her patience. She pulled a small booklet out of her vest pocket. “Here are the school rules. If you ever think someone’s breaking the rules, just look here first.”

“Thanks, Misty. So guess what, yesterday I got a Valentine…” Misty walked off while Amaury was in mid-sentence.

“Let’s go, Saxima,” Llave said to me. “We should leave before he starts talking to us.” We hurried to our next class. Why did I have to have a crush on Amaury of all people?

---
I sat down at the cafeteria people. On my tray were a slice of pepperoni pizza and a bottle of Dr. Pepper, my usual lunch. Across the table from me was What. Even though he was only a freshman, he was one of the wisest kids in the school, probably second only to Makaze.
However, I chose to speak with What. I doubt I would get a straight answer from Makaze.

“Do you have any advice on crushes?” I asked him, trying to be vague.

“Does the person you have a crush on know you like them?” he replied. His smooth voice gave away wisdom beyond his years.

“No… I sent him a Valentine yesterday, but it was anonymous.”

“I would say that you should try talking to him before telling you how you feel.” The answer seemed simple, yet it would definitely be hard to accomplish.

“Thanks,” I replied, taking a bite out of my pizza.

“You’re the second person I have had to give love advice to today, actually.” He took a sip of tea. “Plums spoke to me before school started. It seems he has a crush on Kitty.”

“You seem pretty knowledgeable about love, What. is there anyone you have a crush on?”

“W-what?” Even with his darker skin, his cheeks still flashed red. “O-of course, not. W-why would you think that?” His brown eyes looked to one side. I decided to leave it.

“Never mind. Forget I said anything.” I wonder who his crush is… I shook my head. It’s not like it involves me.

---

I decided to write a note for Amaury. I thought would be better to meet him in private than be seen talking to him. I looked over the note once more. ‘Meet me in Mr. Soul’s room after school.’ It seemed discreet enough. I stuck the note into his locker, and hurried away before anyone could see me.


On my way to Mr. Soul’s room, I spotted some club meeting. They were all gathered around a whiteboard. I recognized the two standing by the board. On one side was Kelly, who seemed to be speaking to the group. On the other was Haseo, who was drawing a diagram on the board. The diagram showed to people’s faces with an arrow and a heart between them. Was this the Shipping Club? I decided to keep walking. I had to make it to the room before Amaury.


Amaury came to the room only a moment after me. He looked at me and held up the note. “Are you the one who sent me this?” I nodded. “You’re uh…”

“Saxima,” I told him.

“Right.” He scratched his head. “I’m not good at remember the names of people I haven’t reported to Misty.” He looked back at me. “So why did you want me to meet you here?”

“Er…” I was stumbling for words. “Will you… go out? With me, I mean…”

“You want to me to go on a date with you?!” His eyes lit up. “Yes! I’ve never had a girlfriend before!” He turned around and started to shout into the hallways. “Hey, everyone, I have a g-”

I put my hand over his mouth before he could finish. “N-no need to tell the whole school.” He turned back around. “Let’s just keep this private for now, okay?”

He nodded, but I could see the excitement in his eyes. I couldn’t help but sigh. Yes, Llave, he is a dork. But he’s my dork.

 

Saxamaury4life yo.
That was brilliant, and incredibly cute haha. I also liked the references you made to the previous chapter/pairing.
All in all, this was really great. You do not disappoint Haseo.
Keep up the good work guys.

 

Ahhhhh, my face is red . . .

Well, you did a good job, Haciendo . . . but I d-don't like Amaury or a-anything!

;~;​

 

That was adorable.
Saxima and Amaury are the most wonderul ship I have heard of in a long time.
That was just lovely my dear,and I cannot wait for the next addition to this beautiul shipping fanic thingy.
<3~

 

Intermission I: The Shamrock and the Thistle​

The stormy north shores of Orkney were not a proper place for a young boy to inhabit, cold and alone, even if he was the keeper of the only lighthouse this side of Scapa Flow. Feenie "Finny" Flumpfoot, the fish-boy of the Firth, living isolated in the northernmost lighthouse of the Isles. A year ago Shetland dropped contact, back when Finny's father ran the place. That was a year ago, however. A great deal of things had changed since then.

He was the only boy of his kind this far north. Heck, he was, perhaps, the only boy this far north period. Ever since his thirteenth birthday, he had not seen but a single soul near this monolithic Ionic column of a lighthouse, save for those surreptitious ships upon the stormstruck seas. He barely considered them, though - all they knew of him was the single, blinding lighthouse beacon, already past its prime and bound to lose its life soon, and all he knew of them was the build of their ships. It was a separative, glass-walled existence.

Tonight was like any other night. Finny had thought the nights of the north had lost their magic as he continued to lose the warmth of his being. Living alone for a good year does that to a person, especially a poor boy of his young fourteen years of age. He sat in his usual spot - slumped by the large lighthouse lamp, flickering at times, but continuing to shine its beautiful moonlight beam into the dark and tumultuous seas below. A beacon helping to guide lost seabound souls towards home, run by a lost soul who had only the beacon to call home.

Finny's face was mournful, even in the light of the room. His flat cap had almost intentionally evolved upon his head to slope more and more downward, obscuring his constantly tired eyes. The boy was nocturnal - his night time was the time to save lives - but lately the winter skies had been dark enough for his beacon being forced to shine even in the afternoon. His soft, barely expressed frown had almost become a component of his face. His eyes had run out of the tears he would sometimes meet as the only other thing in this lonely lighthouse, but they stopped. Every night, he would always be cold. He would be shivering, huddled up next to the enormous lamp, his knees close to his chest in a veritable effort to gain some warmth from himself. Most nights, however, he fell asleep with the hand of a frost or chill upon his shoulder. He took days of sunshine - rare as they were - with a careful quality, but the nights would always let the cold return. He missed his blanket. He missed the blanket that his father would let him use. That was long gone, now. He missed people in general. Some nights he wondered if he would always be alone in this manner. Never to see a soul again. It scared him and hurt him. He did not want this. He had no choice, though. Living a life of eremitic solitude to keep the job of his father going - that is, to save the lives of innocent people. Sometimes, it was the only thing that kept the poor boy going.

Tonight, however - tonight, he was tired. He was tired and struck with a bout of cold worse than usual. He let out a soft sigh, and brought his legs close to his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around them as he had done time and time again. He still shivered, struck by the seaside chill. He would always continue to shiver. His eyes dropped to his feet. The same shoes he had worn for a good year now, becoming more and more ruined.

He began to drift off to sleep for a quick moment. A snap. However, his eyes quickly lit as he heard the tell tale sound of a ship - a small one - rocking against the tides of the lunar-struck sea. He rushed off to the edge of the window, the open space sans glass that opened up into a long fall towards the sea and rocks below, and peered outward. Even in the light of the beacon, he did not find anything. Yet, his aural sense of shipward sound was impeccable and absolutely perfect. This surely meant he missed a ship come by.

He slumped to the ground. He missed a ship. He missed a life - a lost soul upon these seas that could have been and may still be in danger. Whatever could he do, though? He did not hear any prevailing winds that may have sent the ship off into the rocks directly. Neither did he hear the ship steer off course towards the primary concentration of rocks in the first place. A slight bit of relief overcame him. He sighed again. This, however, brought the attention of the coldness to his consciousness again. He let out a shiver and moved back to his position by the beacon.

What a way to live a life, especially for such a young boy.

He missed hearing the voice of another person, if not just to reassure him everything was going to be okay.

Then he heard something he had not heard for a year. It let him lift his head. His eyes lit up again.

It was a knock. A clear knock - a knock on the door of the lighthouse, down at the bottom, that reverberated through the entire stone structure.

He rushed towards the door. His footfalls were thunderous upon the ancient stone steps and it was as if he flew downwards upon the great, twisting staircase. His legs could not take him any faster. When he reached the door, however, he felt a pang of doubt within his heart. He slowed down. Nobody in their right mind would visit this lighthouse at the end of the world. It was his imagination. Those bangs were simply thunder from the storm. They had to be.

But then there was another hard rapping of the large wooden door, and a muffled cry from behind. What in the world?

Finny opened the door. With the sudden downpour descending upon the lighthouse only a moment ago and the fog that arrived with it, at first he could barely make out the shape of any person. But as his eyes adjusted he laid his vision upon the form of a young girl, about his age but shorter, with bright green eyes and a three-leaf clover in her long hair. She stood shivering, wet from the rain, and immediately ran inside the building.

He was surprised. Extremely surprised. A person. Another human being like him - right next to him. His mouth was agape and his eyes wide. A person. There was another person. A person right here. A person in the lighthouse. A second person. Another person. And - god, what was he doing? He suddenly snapped back to reality as he saw the girl on her knees, huffing and puffing and wrapping her arms around herself in her shivering.

The girl did not say a word, but after a while, she looked up at him with a kind and grateful stare. He decided to do the best thing he could - unbuttoning his wool coat, he walked over to the cold girl and draped it around her silently. She blushed for a moment, and brought the coat closer around herself, closing her eyes in the feeling of its warmth.

The room was filled only with the noise of the thunder and rainfalls outside, the two remaining silent for a long while. Eventually, the girl turned towards Finny.

"T-thank you." She said, softly. A smile appeared on her face. "What's your name, anyway?"

Her accent was rather peculiar. Finny had never heard it before. Then again, he had never been anywhere south of Glasgow.

"Uh, name's Finny."

The girl let out a soft laugh. "Finny! Cute name. I like your accent too, it's grand! I've never heard anything like it before, though."

Finny looked down as he blushed at the comment. "Where'd you come from anyway?"

The girl closed her eyes for a moment. "Across the sea. My ship landed here due to the weather."

"Across the sea?"

"Yep. Across the sea. Guess you could say that."

"That isn't any help! The sea's all around this bloody place!"

The girl stood up and walked over to the boy. She placed her hands on her hips and stuck her face out at him. "Well, at least I'm lucky enough to have found something here, barely! Maybe you can take some hints as to where I hail from later on."

Finny looked away back to the door in contemplation while the girl began to move around the room. It was rather drab - filled only with a few pictures of Finny and his father, a large wooden wardrobe, a very small, very antiquated kitchen stove, and a simple, untidy bed. She leaped on top of it and rested her head on the flattened pillow.

"Uh, apologies at my little outburst there, miss." Finny continued to look at the door.

"Huh?" She turned to him. "What? You're a silly guy! You don't have to be sorry over something that's not even insulting!"

Finny turned towards her. "I'm aware, but I - what - what are you doing on my bed?"

"It's comfy, isn't it! Really warm and nice from a cold outside. It sort of reminds me of your coat. And anyways, I've gotta know what it'll be like for my sleeping conditions!"

"Your sleeping conditions? That's my bed, though! And even - " Finny cut himself off for a moment as he began to realize. This poor young lady had been out on these dangerous and stormy seas for a good while, especially in the horrendously cold weather that shrouded the islands at this time of the year. "Ah, it's okay. You need the bed anyway. I'll take the floor or sleep upstairs or something."

"Don't be silly, Finny! I thought you'd know we'd be sharing this bed!"

"W-what?"

"I'm not letting you sleep on the cold floor in this godforsaken cell of Kelvin. We're sleeping in this bed together." She smiled mischievously.

"How - even - what - it's too small, first of all, and - sleeping in the same bed!"

"Oh nuts, both of us can fit here, y'know."

Finny's face had turned a stark red. He brought the brim of his flat cap down and began stomping towards the stairs. "Right! Okay! You know what, it's still some time until I can actually even get back to sleep! I'm gonna be staying upstairs looking out for a while! Good-bye! Right! Stay in bed!"

"You're getting flustered for no reason, lighthouse boy!" The girl called from down below, her voice growing quieter as he continued up the stairs.


Finny reached the lamp room of the lighthouse. The rain poured through the open spaces of the windows and the wind was rough. The lamp shook a bit beneath the strain, and the bright moonlight beam flickered. He was used to this. He once again sat next to the lamp, his legs huddled to his chest, as carefully scanned the rough seas. A person. There was a person with him. A person there, here, right in the lighthouse. And - it thus dawned to him - he left her there. He left his only company since forever down in his bed to sleep. She would probably leave the next morning. He did not even get her name! His shoulders suddenly felt heavy and a knot surfaced in his stomach. He could not go down and chat with the lass - lives were at stake. But it was after a year. A year of only himself. There was another person here in the lighthouse - in his home - and he could not even meet her. It hurt him. He was an idiot for even inviting her - for giving himself this false sense of hope and then a constant coaxing of visiting her when he almost physically could not. He felt tears - tears, for the first time in months - roll down his cheeks. He felt like a pathetic boy. He felt pathetic and helpless. And - heck, he could be missing ships - lives at stake! He was dawning on this too much. He ignored the streams of bitter tears now running down his greyed and grim face.

The wind grew colder and more violent. He grit his teeth as he huddled himself up into a ball. He did not even have his jacket with him. The wind was biting at his body and his soul. He could barely handle all of this. A loud sniffle of his echoed through the chamber and his breathing grew heavy. A drowsiness associated with overwhelming quality overcame him. He was too tired - oh so tired. Too tired to think or want to think.

But he then heard soft echoing footfalls upon the stairs. He did not turn to look. He did not even react. He closed his eyes. Suddenly, however, he felt a surge of feeling - the warmth of a blanket draped over his body. The warmth of that girl suddenly hugging him tightly by his side, resting her head close to his. Her warm embrace seemed to invigorate him - to comfort him on a deeply soulful level - and with such an effort, he simply managed to open his eyes and stare at the equally-wide, bright ones of the blushing-yet-smiling girl latched onto him.

"You gave me somewhere warm to stay while I was out here," The girl said. "It's only right for me to save my saviour, isn't it?"

Finny was speechless. This girl - the one person he had met after a year - had saved him from another night of despair. Another night of loneliness and harrowing, dismal depression. For the first time on these windy nights, he felt warm. The blanket never helped, neither did the jacket. He was warmed simply by the the tender and gentle presence of the girl next to him - the presence which warmed both his body and his heart, as the two sat very close together, resistant to the cold, in the lamp room of the lighthouse. He only just met her, but it seemed as if they had already been close friends for a long time. He did not want to lose her. The girl giggled.


"My boat was able to let off a distress radio signal earlier then. I'm pretty sure a few boats that I passed and bantered with would be able to track us here and get us back home. Both of us." She smiled. "I'm pretty sure the coast guard or the lighthouse administration or what have you don't think it's right for a child to be out alone here. You've done your job and you've done it well! In fact, I think tomorrow morning is when we'll be okay and all rescued."

Finny dawned upon this for a moment. The lighthouse was the only home he had, yet it never truly was a home for him. He had always been a lost soul. He loved the idea of living close to people, however. Suddenly, another thought crossed his mind.

"You never told me your name," Finny pointed out in a whisper.

"Daxa."

"Thank you, thank you for everything, Daxa." He smiled.

For the rest of the night, the boy and the girl would take turns resting and keeping watch of the seas around the lighthouse, in a final stand-off against the forces of the ocean and the tides. Whenever the storm became more intense, they would huddle up to each other and cuddle each other. Finny loved these moments of being able to hug someone. Daxa always let out her soft giggles that seemed to turn the atmosphere more optimistic.

Upon the break of dawn, a handful of fishermen brought the two children to the town of Kirkwall. Finny was amazed at how many people were in this town. Daxa was horrendously happy to be reunited with her parents again. She had taken off on one of her father's boats to assist in his marine research near the west coast of Scotland, but a storm had blown her off course and she had been moving on open sea for many days. If not for the beacon of the lighthouse drawing her boat to the island, she would have missed it completely and would have moved into the cold, open waters of the North Sea, far from any other boats. She, too, had missed the comforting presence of a person.

Daxa and her family were to return to Ireland, it turned out. However, Daxa spent a sunny afternoon in a town cafe attempting to convince her parents to take Finny with them. He had no home. Her attempts were successful, and as the sun was setting, Finny had already cleared the old lighthouse of his possessions. The new lighthouse watchman - a gruff, older man who had many direct connections with both the people and the town of Kirkwall itself, and whom was considered to be much more adjusted to such jobs - bid the boy a hearty farewell from the top of the building.

His leave was bittersweet. He had spent quite a bit of time in the lighthouse, and had a close connection to it. He was going to miss the lighthouse, and his role him and his father played there. Yet, he also knew the lighthouse for how it trapped his soul like a forgotten gaol on the corner of the world. Solemnly, he reached for his pocket and retrieved a small thistle. Moving towards the placard next to the door, worn and damaged with the wisdom of ages by the sea, he stuck the stem between the wood and the stone, and there the thistle was laid to rest.

He lived with Daxa's family in Dublin. He felt it quite odd, being the thistle amongst the field of shamrocks, but he became used to his unique position. Daxa and Finny spent a large amount of time together, and they shared quite a bit of interests, though she could only give him hugs when her parents were not present. Finny would always jokingly refer to her activities and interest in him, along with her love of such actors as Tim Curry, as "stalkerish". It was in these times, however, Finny, would constantly smile more and more. Of course, how could one not smile at least once when they had someone to love and to be loved be?

He had been a lost soul guiding souls. Finally had his soul ceased its incessant wandering and searching, guided by another lost soul from an unlikely location. Now he would bloom anew. Whenever he visited these stormy islands, however, he would always return to the lighthouse, if only to reminisce on his role as a saviour of lives thought to be condemned to a life that would never be saved and forever trapped. This lighthouse allowed him to bloom, however - even if the result had been something prickly at first, he would always be softened by his constant interaction with his beloved lucky clover.


o o o o o


The book closed with a soft thud. Llave's gentle eyes were slightly tearful behind his glasses. What an interesting read. Whenever he had time, he would usually visit the school library and pick out any sort of intriguing story that caught his artistic eye. The peace and quiet of the library, along with its immaculate collection, gave him time to think and reflect - whether it be on his next artistic work, or his own life. Such was the power of fiction. Llave let out a quiet sigh of satisfaction.

His tranquillity was then suddenly interrupted as the placid silence of the library was suddenly shattered by the cantankerous and obnoxious sound of his ring tone. He immediately scrambled into his pocket to retrieve his phone, but upon viewing the name of the caller on the screen, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Haseo? Why in the world would Haseo be calling me?"

 

Saxima had me read it, so I thought I might as well help out.

You wrote them both well.

This should be peoples', if I am not mistaken. Actually not certain.

Star Wars, not Star War.

There should be a comma there instead of a period,

Question mark.

Addressing the audience is a bad idea for first person.

 

Outstanding work, Ashwin. The premise itself drew me in, a very originative read. Were you to publish a book, I would be wont to read it.

 

Forsaken has a chronic problem with regarding his punctuation. I actually find it kind of strange that his stories are written worse than most of his posts, but oh, well.

I will assume, for the sake of this piece, that placing periods outside of quotes is proper due to some UK writing rules or some-such.

Red text means something needs changed or deleted. I will leave comments explaining what is to be changed.

Green text means something needs to be added. A forwardslash (/) between markups means that either could be used there.

This should be "their".

Either/or for the last mark.

The period should be a comma.

The "he" should be lowercase.

Same deal.

Comma.

Comma and lowercase "he".

This should be "say".

Unnecessary space.

Comma.

Unnecessary space and backwards quote mark.

Currently reading What?'s chapter. Wish me luck.