don't stand so close to me
Title: don't stand so close to me
Characters: Rufus, Vanessa
Rating/Word Count: PG/372
One-Line Excerpt: Lolita is not a love story. Rufus has to read it twice before he figures it out.
Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul.
Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth.
Lo. Lee. Ta. She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock.
She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line.
But in my arms she was always Lolita.
-Lolita
1.
Lolita is not a love story. Rufus has to read it twice before he figures it out.
2.
Dan brings her home at eleven. Rufus isn’t much of a father, but he tries his best so he makes sure to put out the cookies that Allison baked last night. She smiles up at him, toothy grin stained brown by the chocolate.
Vanessa’s a beautiful child. That much is obvious and it’s only natural to take note of such things.
(Rufus makes sure that other parents agree.)
3.
He hands her candy, the wrapper crinkling against their palms for longer than both know is proper.
Mommy warns against taking candy from strangers but Mr. Humphrey isn’t much of a stranger.
“Vanessa,” she says, small hand fitting neatly into its larger counterpart.
And maybe this is mixing metaphors, but that’s how the Big Bad Wolf did it too.
4.
He leans in too close.
She blushes, more than is allowed.
Nothing happens.
5.
For an obsessive cyber-stalker, there are still some blasts that Gossip Girl misses:
Vanessa doodles Mrs. Humphrey on the margins on her notebooks in pink and draws a heart for emphasis. When people start asking about Dan she giggles in delight.
At twelve she learns the best secrets are the ones that are too good to be shared.
6.
Mustached faces eventually get replaced by smooth cheeks and fantasies of calloused fingers are discarded for softer tips. Vanessa grows up and the crush inevitably gets pushed further and further back.
Humbert loves his Lolita all the while.
6.5
Dan forgets her; (finally) she remembers.
It’s been waiting for her all along.
7.
She smiles, licks her lips and looks up at him from lowered lashes.
“I added flowers.” A perfect pout. “What do you think?”
He thinks of kiss-fucking-ing her.
Rufus makes waffles instead.
8.
“I built it. The least you could do is let me work here.”
It’s a slippery slope, he knows, but he nods anyways.
Later, he’ll pretend this is when he started falling.
9.
He leans in too close.
She blushes, more than is allowed.
Something happens.
10.
Humbert sounds eerily close to Humphrey.
Rufus wonders if something like this can be called destiny.
Characters: Rufus, Vanessa
Rating/Word Count: PG/372
One-Line Excerpt: Lolita is not a love story. Rufus has to read it twice before he figures it out.
Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul.
Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth.
Lo. Lee. Ta. She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock.
She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line.
But in my arms she was always Lolita.
-Lolita
1.
Lolita is not a love story. Rufus has to read it twice before he figures it out.
2.
Dan brings her home at eleven. Rufus isn’t much of a father, but he tries his best so he makes sure to put out the cookies that Allison baked last night. She smiles up at him, toothy grin stained brown by the chocolate.
Vanessa’s a beautiful child. That much is obvious and it’s only natural to take note of such things.
(Rufus makes sure that other parents agree.)
3.
He hands her candy, the wrapper crinkling against their palms for longer than both know is proper.
Mommy warns against taking candy from strangers but Mr. Humphrey isn’t much of a stranger.
“Vanessa,” she says, small hand fitting neatly into its larger counterpart.
And maybe this is mixing metaphors, but that’s how the Big Bad Wolf did it too.
4.
He leans in too close.
She blushes, more than is allowed.
Nothing happens.
5.
For an obsessive cyber-stalker, there are still some blasts that Gossip Girl misses:
Vanessa doodles Mrs. Humphrey on the margins on her notebooks in pink and draws a heart for emphasis. When people start asking about Dan she giggles in delight.
At twelve she learns the best secrets are the ones that are too good to be shared.
6.
Mustached faces eventually get replaced by smooth cheeks and fantasies of calloused fingers are discarded for softer tips. Vanessa grows up and the crush inevitably gets pushed further and further back.
Humbert loves his Lolita all the while.
6.5
Dan forgets her; (finally) she remembers.
It’s been waiting for her all along.
7.
She smiles, licks her lips and looks up at him from lowered lashes.
“I added flowers.” A perfect pout. “What do you think?”
He thinks of kiss-fucking-ing her.
Rufus makes waffles instead.
8.
“I built it. The least you could do is let me work here.”
It’s a slippery slope, he knows, but he nods anyways.
Later, he’ll pretend this is when he started falling.
9.
He leans in too close.
She blushes, more than is allowed.
Something happens.
10.
Humbert sounds eerily close to Humphrey.
Rufus wonders if something like this can be called destiny.