She was the victim of a childhood cut short and a product of the small town she'd been raised in. She lived with, went to school with the same people her whole life, and she'd never known any different. By the time hormones started to get the best of her; she thirsted to get away, to find life beyond the pastures, and an abundance of trucks. She dreamed of big cities filled with eccentric people; cities that never had a dull moment. And when she turned eighteen she took her long curly brown hair, blue-green eyes, and all the money she'd been saving up to the nearest big city. In a crappy run-down apartment with an assortment of curb side furniture is what Alec could finally call home. It was there in apartment 4C that she became a woman, with a job, friends, and most of all, a life. Soon she was sucked into a world where everyday was different. She blossomed into a girl that made strangers do a double take. Her new found joy for life is always present in her bright eyes and care free smile. Alec never did anything to her hair now, ditching the ponytail, instead letting her crazy curly locks flow. People felt incredibly drawn to her like insects to a porch light. Her happy, optimistic, yet fragile personality made her easy to like. Despite the dark, cunning lure of a big cities criminal activities, she stayed pure. She met men, and discarded them, and the men did the same. Alec had never been good at making connections to males. And it wasn't surprising that most of the men she encountered now we're only looking to get into her pants. So for months she clung to her new life, her friends proving to be comforting and entertaining. She might not have been falling in love with any dark haired, mysterious eyed men, but she was falling in love with her new life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alec had just had an amazing night at her friends house. They didn't do anything special, just a few girls watching a movie, but to Alec it something she'd wished she had back in her old town. Freedom was the sweetest taste, like ambrosia. She was now walking the few blocks to her apartment, smiling thinking about her night. She turned into a dark back alley, the only light provided by one street light, toward the other end of the alley. Alec was deep in thought as she passed under the light when when she felt a chilling tap on her shoulder. She gasped, stopping in her tracks, and twirled around fast almost losing her balance. Her eyes widen as she looks around at the still empty alley. "Hello?" Alec didn't know why she called out to an empty alley. Fear makes you do the strangest things. No one answered. Breathing out a sigh of relief she turns, back around, and all she sees is a blurry black mass. She shrieks. Her breathing is fast with panic, and she puts her hand over her heart as if trying to comfort it. She looks at the black mass, her shadow mimicking her every movement. Alec bursts into hysterical laughter, doubling over from the force of it, wiping at her eyes. It would be a like a small town girl to get scared of her own shadow in a big city full of vast dangers. As she calmed down, wiping at her eyes, someone said, "At least you have the sense to laugh at yourself." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Just a teaser so far! Please, tell me what you think!
Alec froze for the second time that night, calling out hesitantly, "Whose there?" Right before her eyes her shadow began to take another shape. It became buffer, instead of wild curls there were short wavy locks, and the posture began looking more boyish; gaining a swagger. Alec also felt like she could sense a smirk on the shadow's face. Thoughts and questions began pulsing through her head. "I'm here," the shadow replied, waving his hand at her once as confirmation. Alec could have fainted. "No," she said firmly, "you're not." She began to walk away and the shadow man's body was drug along with her, stretching at least give feet. The shadow crossed his arms in frustration. "I am, who else is talking to you?" He said almost childishly, like he was pouting. Alec rolled her eyes, taking another step. "and it's really hard to stay looking like myself when I'm being stretched, thank you." "Stay looking like myself?" She quoted to him, her voice shrill with confusion and rage. "As far as I can remember my shadow is supposed to look like ME!" Alec spit the word 'me' at him, as her fists balled up and she spun so she could see him again. "Well, honey, what can I say? Your life is a lie." He said sarcastically. If Alec could have successfully punched her shadow, she would have tried right then. She wanted to wipe that smirk out of his voice. "Hello, I'm the man you call your shadow, nice to meet you, Alec." Okay, he knew her name, so does that mean he knows everything about her? If her shadow was conscious her whole life then he must know... Everything about her. The thought made her shiver. Alec took a deep breath, closing her eyes, brushing off some of the anger, and putting her hair behind her ears subconsciously. Inside she was still a little pissed. He had a snarky little attitude, like he already had a problem with her. Coming from a small town, and even from the short time she lived in the city, she wasn't used to people coming off to her so negatively like that. Honestly, she was a little hurt. Her own shadow doesn't like her? She shook her head with a sigh, dismissing the thought. Out of all the questions, that one seemed to be the least important at the moment. She opened her eyes and moved so the shadow looked more human-like. "Okay, if I'm not dreaming, or dead, or hallucinating, or on roofies, or-" "I get it." "-and my shadow had a name, what would it be?" Alec waited, crossing her arms, looking down both ends of the alley to make sure no one was watching. She was talking to her shadow, and people seen talking to their shadows we're usually thought of as crazy. "Tiv'B, my friends call me Tiv," he said, the amusement clear in his voice. What the hell did he say his name was? There are more of him? "Okay, wow, I thought I could handle this right now, but I can't," she said walking away in a fast steady pace, fixing her eyes dead infront of her, refusing to watch her shadow stretch and disappear. "I just can't," she muttered to herself. "You'll have to Alec, you can't run from your own shadow," his voice caught her ear, barely a whisper. She walked even faster toward home, ignoring the little signs of her shadow that peeped up in the night from the lights of the city. Once in the comfort of her own home, she relaxed a little deciding not to let a delusion ruin her night. Alec was perfectly content pretending that it never happened. She went to her room and dressed for bed, casting the question if whether or not Tiv could see her getting dressed, to the back of her mind. Though, she did look around for her shadow nonchalantly. It looked like her shadow should. Or should it? "Apparently not," she whispered to herself as she climbed into her hand-me-down bed, rubbing at her eyes, pulling the covers up to her chin sleepily. All of the questions, all of the thinking, was more than enough to make her crave sleep. For a couple of days. Alec's dreams that night were haunted with shadows, unanswered questions, and a strange man that her dreams just knew was beautiful. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The pronunciation of Tiv'B is Tiv'bah. Please leave some feed back and criticism, I would love to know what you think! ^_^
Re: Green Boy am I glad I clicked on this. This is wondrously well written, and it's already gotten my attention. I'd love it if you would continue on, if you please.
Alec moaned, rolling over on her back in bed, bringing a hand up to swipe her hand out of her face, regretting it when the sun stung her closed eyes. Blinking them, she gasps. Her shadow, but someone not her shadow, was right in front of her face. Gentle eyes, a sharp nose, juicy tempting lips over to one side with a smirk. She must still be dreaming, she thought. Something shimmered in his eyes telling her to be still, to be calm, to lose herself for a moment. She saw but didn't acknowledge his hand coming up to her face until it cupped her cheek. The shadow man's hand was cool and surprisingly smooth for what should have been thin air. She could feel the blood rise to her cheeks, feel the goose bumps form all over her body, but all she could think about were his eyes. "Touch me, Alec." she heard him say it but couldn't move, stuck in his penetrating gaze until her eyes moved to his lips. Suddenly, all she wanted to do was feels his lips against hers, his lips claiming hers. What would her shadow man's lips feel like? Smooth like his hand on her face? She watched his smirk grow, transfixed, until something clicked in her mind. Alec brought her hand to his face, just barely letting the tip of her index finger brush against his bottom lip. Desire built up in her body like a nuclear bomb and she closed her eyes. Then she felt a vibrating in her entire body, like she was set on vibrate and someone had sent her a text. She definitely knew she wasn't dreaming now. When she opened her eyes Tiv wasn't there anymore, her hand still poised in mid air. Her room looked different, but she couldn't quite put a finger on what was off about it. Out of the corner of her left eye, Alec noticed movement, jerking her head to the left to see what it was. There was a man beside her bed. A tall, tan, grey eyed, shaggy haired man dressed casually in a black tee and a pair of jeans. He had a smirk on his face and was looking at her with a look of victorious amusement. Alec would have screamed if it hadn't have gotten stuck in her throat. She scrambled across the bed, still staring at him in shock, breaking out in a cold sweat. He got up all the bed putting distance between them. "How did you get into my apartment?! Who are you?!" the panic and her voice making her seem tiny and fragile, even though it take him out as a scream. He laughs, his face twisting up in joy. She had to admit to herself it wasn't a bad look for him. As he calm down he proclaimed, "this is actually my apartment, and Alec, we've met." He looked at her cunningly moving closer slowly. She couldn't quite put a name to the look on his face. And then it registered somewhere in the way he said her name, "Tiv?" He smiled at her smoothly only a few feet separating them now. No, it couldn't be. She felt the horrible, scared feeling sick to her stomach, seemingly weighing her down. " there's a stranger in your apartment for christs sake, do something!" her mind screamed at her and she lunged for the bedside table grabbing the ugly lamp from the 70's that rested there. Her hand bumped against the picture there and her face contorted into confusion as she stared at it. What should have been in the picture was her mother, father, and herself at the park back in her hometown. It was probably taken when she was about 13, when times has been simpler for the Hark family. Before her father lost his job when the fabric factory shut down. Before her mother had to work 3 jobs just so they could get by, and afford the drinking habit her dad had picked up. Back with her mother didn't have to rush from job to job across town, with heavy burdens weighing on her mind. Alec had not yet been forced to grow up and become the woman of the house. In that picture everything was perfect. They were laughing together, tossing a ball back and forth bantering with each other. In that picture, her mother was still alive, filling Alec's world with happiness and endless wonder. Instead seeing Tiv and a couple of nameless people was like a slap in the face to Alec. It brought forward a feeling in her that she couldn't explain, and memories last into her mind like hidden ghosts. Years of pushing the hurt aside to be strong for her father and for herself shattered. Alec never had a chance to mourn her mom's passing, heading to be her father's back bone as he drunk his sorrows away, but tears sprung to her eyes. All of the confusion, hurt, and terrified feelings rushed straight to her eyes, blood pulsing in her ears. This has happened to Alec many times before. This was a panic attack. Tiv'B, noticing the difference in her posture and overall look, took a step in her direction, asking if she was okay gently. All heads of a smirk were gone from his face. She didon't hear him though, or she just ignored him. Alec bolted, leaving her apartment and starting down the five levels of steps to leave the building. She was running away from everything. From her emotions, from the memory of her mother, and from the situation her seemingly harmless shadow had created. Is it felt good. It felt right, like how moving to the city had felt.That's what the move was, an attempt to run away, to forget her past. She ignored Tiv calling her name behind her, concentrating on where she was going instead letting the tears stream down her face. As she reached the bottom of the enclosed stairwell, her legs finally gave, and she collapsed on the ground. Alex gave up, the shock taking control. She sobbed and let it all out. She was there on the floor holding her head in her hands when Tiv caught up to her. He knelt down beside her, not knowing what to do scared he'd run her off again. For what felt like the longest time he sat there watching her, both of them thinking about Alec's past. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thank you so much for reading and telling me what you think! I'm writing this for you <3 I'll update soon, promise.
After her episode, Alec was surprisingly calm. Tiv had lead her upstairs, being her support physically and mentally. He had given her something to drink in 'his' apartment. As she got to looking around she noticed subtle differences. The pictures of her family, and various achievements in her life, scattered around the room were in the same place. Hell, even the same frame, just filled with pictures of his family, and his various achievements. She sat there sitting on the duplicate chair that went to the duplicate kitchen table that was in the duplicate version of her combined kitchen/living area, staring at his pictures. She was trying to absorb all of the small parts of his life as she could get. Tiv'B noticed, but kept going about fiddlinf around the scrambled kitchen trying to scrounge up something to eat. Alec was trying to keep an open mind, but this was far fetched. Comparable to the time her mother had promised her that good things happen to good people. She believed it then, when she was naive and young, but as she grew older she realized it had gotten her mother nowhere. Alec was truly a girl of lost faith. And Tiv knew all of that. She was glad Tiv was taking a break from trying to stuff mind-boggling things into her face. He surely didn't understand her thoughts or feelings, so how could she absorb this? Alec cleared her mind, standing up awkwardly brushing her bed shorts abnd over sized tee down self-conciously. She was the type of girl that liked to plan for things, thinkil things through clearly. This was uncomfortably unplanned for, making an unbelievable circumstance that much harder to wrap her head around. And Tiv knew that too. He'd been through everything she'd been through with her. Even things she doesn't remember, doesn't even think about anymore. But for Tiv'B she was his life, his purpose. He knew Alec like the back of his hand. He probably understood her better than she did. Tiv had been with her since birth, like a third hidden parent. A fly on the wall, but so much more than that. He was there with Alec when no one else was. When she was in the seventh grade and didn't get asked to any dance that year, he was there when she cried herself to sleep. He knew how hard she beat herself up about not being good enough, pretty enough, because of that still. It was because of it that she'd given up on dances, and fairy tales. Most importantly he'd been there at the turning point of her childhood, her mothers death. He knew how much relied on, loved her mom, and he saw how desperately she had tried to pretend everything was okay. Tiv's thought process whirled around her as he watched her practically float around his apartment collecting his memories, pretending everything was fine. Life had made her good at that. Finally, he broke the silence when an acceptable snack was made. "Here," he stated, placing the small plate with a pitiful looking peanut-butter sandwich on the table with a small thud, allowing himself to look in her direction now, "It's not much, but-" "It's fine," she said cutting him off, and retirning to the table, eating the sandwich slowly, as he watched her leaning back against the sink. As she ate the air grew stagnent. Even though she never looked up at him, she could feel his gaze on her like the pressure of a cold blade's dull edge. After she was done picking at the sandwich, she knew it was her turn to break the ice. Alec cleared her throat, managing to give him a small smile, "So, nice apartment." It was only then that she looked up at him, caught in the glow of his eyes the moment that their eyes met. Tiv'B chuckled, crossing his arms, "Thank you." "Where am I?" she asked cautiously, trying to get the more important questions out of the way. The logical way. "You're in H'SH'Wel'Domhh," Alec was fascinated by the way the long vowel sounds rolled off his tongue, "or in English, Shadowless. A seperate universe from yours, that's directly connected." She stared at him blankly, and Tiv bit his tongue to hold back a smile. "In shadowless, there are no shadows, they come from here, but exist only in your world," he explained trying to make it easily understandable. "That's why everything is duplicated." He gestured around the small apartment. "Everything that exists in your world, exists here, except for mortals." Wait, did he just refer to Alec as a mortal? Tiv noticed her brows furrow at the word. "We, my people and I, are immortal. We live at the side of our assigned mortals their entire life, until they die..." his pause was mostly unconcious on his part, as he looked away from hee eyes. "And-and then its on to the next." Alec watched silently as something painful took over his face, then disappeared as soon as it had appeared for that split second, she felt for him. She knew how hard loosing people could be. Spending years and years with someone, knowing, seeing everything in their life, and to lose them just like that... She couldn't even fathom. "So, you've been through everything I've been through, seen everything I've seen?" she asked, already knowong the answer. If everyone on earth knew that their lives weren't as private as they thought, things would be a lot different. He looked at her, his deep, blazing grey eyes seemed to be on fire, their eyes never parting, "Yes, everything Alec." Blood rushed to Alec's cheeks, but she was determined to not be the one who cut the invisible string between them. She just sat there silent for a few moments, working up courage. Tiv'B could tell, and waited with practiced patience. When she'd bottled up enough courage, she let it go, and it exploded inside her like a match inside a powder keg. "Have you seen me naked?" she askes quickly, the words rushed out of her mouth, barely audible. Despite her other areas of insecurities, her body was at the top of her list. Just thinking about it made her start to panic, but she choked it down with a gulp. It was Tiv's turn to blush, and he broke their eye contact looking down at his bare feet for a second. He looked back up, honesty filling his eyes to the brim. "I may have p-peeked a couple of times." She bit her lip, hard. Alec closed her eyes, trying to think rationally about this. He had witnessed all of the morally wrong things she'd done. For example when she was eight and stole a pack of gum from a convienent store, even though her Mom had made her take it back and apologize. Or when she had pecked into the boys locker room as a curious freshman in high school. Only Tiv'B would know those and many other secrets about her. She opened her eyes, only then noticing that he had taken a few steps toward her. He was looking apologetically at her making her think about the many lifetimes she'd seem probably worse than hers. How hard would that be to cope with? Alec saw through the shadow man's immortal presence, and saw more human in him than in any mortal she'd ever known. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H'SZ'Wel'Domhh (Saz-wheel-dom) Hi, to all my knew readers! ^-^ And a greetings to all of my lovlies<3 This chapter took a lot out of me for some reason, so I hope you enjoy it! What do you think of Tiv'B?