A prompt from Piig!
"Spastic hyper Ellis and confused Hugo. And a flower."
AN: I'd like to thank the sunflower cup that held my coffee, the chocolate syrup that made the coffee drinkable, and Pikachu for being a small yellow rat.
Hugo and Ellis, flopped in the grass, the field near Willow Pond. Ellis with a fading black eye, Hugo with the remains of a fist-sized collective of hickeys on his collarbone: last week. Now the sky lied that it might someday clear up and the wind gusted unevenly, luminous grey afternoon. They'd kicked the ball around for a bit-- Ellis might have touched it three times, two of those when Hugo'd hit him with it.
"I don't exist, you know," Ellis remarked. Hugo rolled over onto his back. His t-shirt had rucked up a bit, revealing a band of pale tummy. Ellis wanted to push the shirt aside and bite his hipbones hard enough to leave big purple bruises. Maybe take a chunk out and eat it, all red and salty, keep a bit of Hugo with him forever. Create something that would hurt Hugo, affect him, something he couldn't shrug off. That hole in his hip would remind him of Ellis, make sure he wouldn't be able to play without limping, maybe. Any girls he tried to fuck would see the huge ugly scar and ask and then Hugo would be trapped with Ellis's name in his mouth. Marked and owned.
Ellis also lay on his back, one leg braced, the other crossed over and resting on the raised knee. His foot jigged. Hugo'd already told him to stop several times in tones of increasingly shrill aggravation. Instead of responding to the comment Hugo kicked Ellis's ankle, hard. Ellis just kicked back in a halfassed way and set his foot on the grass. His leg resumed jigging.
"Seriously Ellis, quit it!"
Ellis twisted over onto his stomach, not quite wriggling. "Want me to relax?" Ellis asked slyly, peering at Hugo through blades of grass. Hugo gave him an exasperated look.
"Yes!"
Ellis showed his teeth. "I know something that'd make anyone relax..." he rolled over again and braced his feet, knees apart, and thrust his hips up. "C'mon jerkface, you want to. We weren't even all that drunk last time."
Hugo's face creased the way it did when Ellis did something truly disgusting. Ellis's laugh was a curt hiccough of sound. He said, "Maybe I should go find someone else? I know a place. I could find a fuck." Ellis splayed his fingers in the grass, gripped a handful and yanked like it was Hugo's hair. "That might make me relax, maybe. Course you wouldn't be there to see. Want me to go find someone to screw?"
Hugo let out a fervent 'ugh' and thumped Ellis's shoulder. His face still had that creased look. "Do whatever you like. Why do you say things like that? What, are you going to call me up when I'm in Toronto, report everything? God. I wish I knew what the hell was wrong with you--"
Ellis shoved himself up onto his elbows and drew his legs up, dragging his heels through the grass. He yanked at the ratty knot of his shoelaces, tipped his head to the side. "Nothing's wrong with me, dicksmack, except I've got you in my head. I could reach into my ear and pull you out like strings of old spunk. Then everything'd be okay." Ellis leaned towards Hu, braced on his forearms like a dog about to bite. "What about that? Want me to try? I could reach in with a fork--"
Hugo surged to his feet, wound up and kicked the ball like he wished it was Ellis's head. "Ellis, shut up!"
The ball flew in a smooth arc, hit the goalpost and bounced into the ditch. Hugo didn't give Ellis even a look, just trudged after the ball with his hands in his pockets as if it were cold. "Gotta get home anyways, we're having people for dinner and I gotta help."
Ellis watched Hugo for a moment, short and stocky and utterly forgettable, his boring clothes and drab hair. Face like some sculptor got bored halfway. Nobody anyone would build a religion around, no matter what His Fuckship would like to think. Ellis dragged himself to his feet and shook off. Followed.
Catching up with Hugo wasn't hard.
"I'll come to soccer with you," Ellis said, "make the coach cry. What do you think? Did the team ask you who'd given you that mark? You'd lie to them, I bet. Who'd believe the Great Pang would be caught dead humping the Rat?"
Hugo shook his head and sped up a little. "Wish you'd go away, Ellis, wish you'd just-- just fuck off and be someone else's problem for a while!"
Ellis kicked grassblades, wished there were rocks around. If he found a big enough one and kicked it properly, it might hit the back of Hugo's skull--
"I told you, I told you! I'm a figment of your imagination, Hugo. Everything I do is because you wanted it. I'm your fantasy, I'm your perfection--Bet you jerk off at night with me in your head--"
They'd reached the ditch. Hugo's shoulders were hunched into his 'I'm not listening pose', and Ellis couldn't see but he was sure the muscles along Hugo's jaw were writhing, fat maggots under the skin. Hugo slogged down through the damp grass and hunted through the bush for the ball. Ellis flopped by the side and plucked at the grass. Got a dead flower instead, a dandelion's frilly white crown, like captured stars . Ellis gave a puff and watched it explode.
"You created me," Ellis crooned to the bare flower-stem. "I'm only around when you're here--"
Hu twisted around, face scrunched. "What? What? Ellis, you are so many kinds of crazy. Everything in your head is screwed up!"
Ellis grabbed both of his knees and rocked back onto his tailbone, head tipped back to the overcast sky. "Think of it! When have you seen me open a door? Are there any pictures of me? No. Haha. I don't exist except when I'm around you."
Hugo'd found the ball and stood now with it tucked under his arm, lost to the knees in the living green trash in the ditch. He was shaking his head slowly. "Ellis, I've seen other people yell at you."
Ellis shook his head, too, wildly, a tangle of scarecrow limbs with a lank mop of greasy hair. "Only when I'm with you. Hahaa..." He hugged his knees tighter. "All of that shit you think you remember? Your brain is lying to you! Telling you the things you want to hear, telling you that you can fuck off East and leave me here. I'll be in your dorm room, Hugo-- you'll get there and drop your bag and I'll be there... Only way you could get rid of me for good is to kill me -- I've got knife-Anna, what would you have?"
Hugo dragged in a breath. His face must hurt, it'd been scrunched so long. He said, hoarse, "So where do you go once I've left?"
Ellis gave a wide rictus grin, eyes empty like the spaces between the stars. "Noplace."
-END-
AN: I'd like to thank the sunflower cup that held my coffee, the chocolate syrup that made the coffee drinkable, and Pikachu for being a small yellow rat.
Hugo and Ellis, flopped in the grass, the field near Willow Pond. Ellis with a fading black eye, Hugo with the remains of a fist-sized collective of hickeys on his collarbone: last week. Now the sky lied that it might someday clear up and the wind gusted unevenly, luminous grey afternoon. They'd kicked the ball around for a bit-- Ellis might have touched it three times, two of those when Hugo'd hit him with it.
"I don't exist, you know," Ellis remarked. Hugo rolled over onto his back. His t-shirt had rucked up a bit, revealing a band of pale tummy. Ellis wanted to push the shirt aside and bite his hipbones hard enough to leave big purple bruises. Maybe take a chunk out and eat it, all red and salty, keep a bit of Hugo with him forever. Create something that would hurt Hugo, affect him, something he couldn't shrug off. That hole in his hip would remind him of Ellis, make sure he wouldn't be able to play without limping, maybe. Any girls he tried to fuck would see the huge ugly scar and ask and then Hugo would be trapped with Ellis's name in his mouth. Marked and owned.
Ellis also lay on his back, one leg braced, the other crossed over and resting on the raised knee. His foot jigged. Hugo'd already told him to stop several times in tones of increasingly shrill aggravation. Instead of responding to the comment Hugo kicked Ellis's ankle, hard. Ellis just kicked back in a halfassed way and set his foot on the grass. His leg resumed jigging.
"Seriously Ellis, quit it!"
Ellis twisted over onto his stomach, not quite wriggling. "Want me to relax?" Ellis asked slyly, peering at Hugo through blades of grass. Hugo gave him an exasperated look.
"Yes!"
Ellis showed his teeth. "I know something that'd make anyone relax..." he rolled over again and braced his feet, knees apart, and thrust his hips up. "C'mon jerkface, you want to. We weren't even all that drunk last time."
Hugo's face creased the way it did when Ellis did something truly disgusting. Ellis's laugh was a curt hiccough of sound. He said, "Maybe I should go find someone else? I know a place. I could find a fuck." Ellis splayed his fingers in the grass, gripped a handful and yanked like it was Hugo's hair. "That might make me relax, maybe. Course you wouldn't be there to see. Want me to go find someone to screw?"
Hugo let out a fervent 'ugh' and thumped Ellis's shoulder. His face still had that creased look. "Do whatever you like. Why do you say things like that? What, are you going to call me up when I'm in Toronto, report everything? God. I wish I knew what the hell was wrong with you--"
Ellis shoved himself up onto his elbows and drew his legs up, dragging his heels through the grass. He yanked at the ratty knot of his shoelaces, tipped his head to the side. "Nothing's wrong with me, dicksmack, except I've got you in my head. I could reach into my ear and pull you out like strings of old spunk. Then everything'd be okay." Ellis leaned towards Hu, braced on his forearms like a dog about to bite. "What about that? Want me to try? I could reach in with a fork--"
Hugo surged to his feet, wound up and kicked the ball like he wished it was Ellis's head. "Ellis, shut up!"
The ball flew in a smooth arc, hit the goalpost and bounced into the ditch. Hugo didn't give Ellis even a look, just trudged after the ball with his hands in his pockets as if it were cold. "Gotta get home anyways, we're having people for dinner and I gotta help."
Ellis watched Hugo for a moment, short and stocky and utterly forgettable, his boring clothes and drab hair. Face like some sculptor got bored halfway. Nobody anyone would build a religion around, no matter what His Fuckship would like to think. Ellis dragged himself to his feet and shook off. Followed.
Catching up with Hugo wasn't hard.
"I'll come to soccer with you," Ellis said, "make the coach cry. What do you think? Did the team ask you who'd given you that mark? You'd lie to them, I bet. Who'd believe the Great Pang would be caught dead humping the Rat?"
Hugo shook his head and sped up a little. "Wish you'd go away, Ellis, wish you'd just-- just fuck off and be someone else's problem for a while!"
Ellis kicked grassblades, wished there were rocks around. If he found a big enough one and kicked it properly, it might hit the back of Hugo's skull--
"I told you, I told you! I'm a figment of your imagination, Hugo. Everything I do is because you wanted it. I'm your fantasy, I'm your perfection--Bet you jerk off at night with me in your head--"
They'd reached the ditch. Hugo's shoulders were hunched into his 'I'm not listening pose', and Ellis couldn't see but he was sure the muscles along Hugo's jaw were writhing, fat maggots under the skin. Hugo slogged down through the damp grass and hunted through the bush for the ball. Ellis flopped by the side and plucked at the grass. Got a dead flower instead, a dandelion's frilly white crown, like captured stars . Ellis gave a puff and watched it explode.
"You created me," Ellis crooned to the bare flower-stem. "I'm only around when you're here--"
Hu twisted around, face scrunched. "What? What? Ellis, you are so many kinds of crazy. Everything in your head is screwed up!"
Ellis grabbed both of his knees and rocked back onto his tailbone, head tipped back to the overcast sky. "Think of it! When have you seen me open a door? Are there any pictures of me? No. Haha. I don't exist except when I'm around you."
Hugo'd found the ball and stood now with it tucked under his arm, lost to the knees in the living green trash in the ditch. He was shaking his head slowly. "Ellis, I've seen other people yell at you."
Ellis shook his head, too, wildly, a tangle of scarecrow limbs with a lank mop of greasy hair. "Only when I'm with you. Hahaa..." He hugged his knees tighter. "All of that shit you think you remember? Your brain is lying to you! Telling you the things you want to hear, telling you that you can fuck off East and leave me here. I'll be in your dorm room, Hugo-- you'll get there and drop your bag and I'll be there... Only way you could get rid of me for good is to kill me -- I've got knife-Anna, what would you have?"
Hugo dragged in a breath. His face must hurt, it'd been scrunched so long. He said, hoarse, "So where do you go once I've left?"
Ellis gave a wide rictus grin, eyes empty like the spaces between the stars. "Noplace."
-END-