W o r k i n g  o n  CorruptedHeart-Chap31.txt

./script.sh - F i l e  CorruptedHeart-Chap31.txt  n o t   f o u n d .

W o r k i n g  o n   FILENAME.txt

U n a b l e   t o   r e a d    f i l e  '<FILENAME>'

O V E R R I D E |

O p e n i n g  'FILENAME ' . . .

Steven's seen his fair share of idiots, but he was sure that I had taken the cake. The terrified screams that left my mouth, my eyes shot open with horror, yet even though I was intimidated, I wasn't running away. I was glued to the spot as if inviting the monster for a free meal. Steven clicked his tongue, "I've never seen someone so stupid", he grunted in resentment. Garnet's voice rang in his head, only fuelling his frustrations. She would always say that he could be quite headstrong, especially when it came to new people; That sometimes, he let his anger get the better of him, which made him hard to befriend. Steven shook her voice out of his mind. Garnet didn't know what she was talking about. He wasn't being harsh, he was just pointing out what he could see. And what he did see was someone who clearly couldn't care less to get killed.

He leapt off the beach porch and landed in a tumble. Rushing towards me with determination, he stretched his hands out and engulfed us in a rose-coloured bubble. The gem monster hissed and shrieked, thunking against the impenetrable shield, to no avail. Steven's lips pressed into a smirk at the sight of it attempting to claw its way to us, unable to compensate its efforts with so much as a dent. It gradually began to tire itself out, but it didn't stop it from circling us like a predator waiting for the right moment to strike. I fluttered my eyes open, the blow to the back of my head caused by me falling backwards sent a spark of dizziness through my mind. I caught a glimpse of a boy, his frizzy brown hair had a few specs of sand caught in it, a salmon pink shirt with a gold star pressed in the middle and his eyes were narrowed into a scowl. His shirt brought out the rosy hue on his cheeks that definitely were caused by rage.

"Why didn't you run, you idiot!", he scolded me, his attention no longer on the plant monster that had its mind set on eating us. "You could've gotten hurt! I shouldn't have to save you just because you're too stupid to use your legs".

I felt agitation crawl up my back as he spat those words out at me. My lips trembled as my head bowed down so I wouldn't have to face him. "I'm sorry", my voice came out tiny and petite. I glanced to see his scowl had hardened. He must not have heard me. I opened my lips, raising my voice, "I'm sorry! I was just so scared, and--".

"I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses", the boy's irritated expression didn't falter by my apology. "Next time, use your head and save yourself!".

He unclenched his fists, causing the bubble protecting us to suddenly pop. The sound made my heart stop beating for a mere moment and the piercing growl the monster let out at the sight of us vulnerable liquified my bones, making me unable to move.

The boy caught sight of my panic and scrunched up his brow, his eyes rolling. His annoyance at my behaviour only materialised more questions. Wasn't it reasonable to be scared in a situation like this? Why is he acting like I'm behaving irrationally?

The Monster began secreting a dark-ink like substances in its mouth as I concealed myself behind the boy. After all, he seems to know what he's doing, I certainly don't. He seemed to know what was happening, a part of my brain was convinced this was a result of some hyperactive dream I was having. Sooner or later, I'd have to wake up, right? He suddenly materialised a rose-tinted shield into his grip. My mouth gaped slightly as I began blinking hysterically to check if sand had gotten into my eyes and was causing me to see things. He raised his shield to his chest and began fiercely blocking the monster's attack. Each projected goop landed effortlessly on his shield, before sliding off into the sand in a mucky heap. With each blast, I cowered into my hands, hearing the boy's snappy remarks over the cries of the monster.

"Seriously? Not even thank you? How rude can you be!", his voice was so sharp that part of my mind began to fear him instead. I kept my hands on my face as he sneered, "Maybe I should feed you to it instead since you're being so useless!".

My head snapped up as I began shaking my head and pleading, "N-No! Please don't! I'm sorry! I want to help, but I don't know what to do".

"That's just an excuse people use when they're being useless!", he grunted.

The Monster, after taking a short breather, was about to shoot at us again when it suddenly shrieked in agony; its cries reverberating across the sand. I glanced down to realise it was pierced with a pastel blue and white spear, straight through its chest. The creature stumbled around, its cries filled with misery before it collapsed to the ground and erupted into dust. I convulsed slightly, trying not to inhale whatever it was. When it smoke cleared, all that was left was a polished, purple gem, slightly buried in the sand.

Forgetting about my existence for a mere moment, the boy casually walked towards it, his face filled with triumph and a sprinkle of arrogance. He clutched tightly onto the gem, picked it up and held it in his hands.

"Steven!". A rather tall woman rushed out of the house. She was the most muscular woman I've ever seen. She covered her eyes with a rather large visor. Her hair and skin colour resembled the colour of Ruby.

The boy's face scrunched in vexation, "Oh great...", he puffed out under his heated breath.

She instantly ran down from the deck to the boy and kneeled down to his level to inspect him for injuries. "Are you ok?".

The boy made a repulsed expression and shoved the woman away. He still hadn't acknowledged me. I attempted to catch a swift glance at him, but the moment our eyes met, he spontaneously turned away, glaring in every direction but mine. His shield. That monster. Even after witnessing it, I still couldn't believe that had happened. Or maybe I still hadn't woken up. Either way, had that boy not stepped in--

I didn't want to think what could've happened. I didn't need to. He had saved my life.

"I'm fine, Garnet! Don't touch me!", he dusted off the area she had her hands on like it was now contaminated.

Soon after, another lady ran through the door, examining all different directions for the same boy. She had a slender, thin build, ivory skin, sky-blue eyes and pointed nose. She was quite tall. Just inches shorter than the other woman. That's when I noticed something strange. She had a gemstone. A real gemstone was located in the middle of her forehead which glistened when the sunlight came in contrast with it. That's strange. I wanted to point it out but didn't want to come across as judgemental. As soon as her eyes made contact with the boy, she came rushing down the steps of the beach house and scampering through the sand.

"Steven, what did I tell you about touching bubbled up gems?", she asserted, making her way in front of him. She reached out her hand and clutched onto the purple gem in the boy's hand. The gem soon began to drift out of her grasp and into mid-air, before being secured in a pale blue bubble be vanishing from sight. I widened my eyes wide in astonishment. How...How did she do that? My eyes darted in every direction, looking for the gemstone that was previously in her hand and now was out of sight. Nothing. Questions piled up endlessly in my head, so much so I felt a mild migraine forming.

The boy, whose name I guessed was Steven, folded his arms over his chest. He finally turned to face me, but with a look that made me shrink. "This is all your fault! Thanks for getting me in trouble!".

I interlocked my fingers, feeling a wave of heat and shame rush to my cheeks. All eyes were on me now. Apologise. I had to apologise. I cleared my throat and found my voice, "I'm really--".

"Don't even think about apologising!", Steven had marched his way to be right in front of me. Only now could I see the true rage in his eyes. "Apologising isn't going to make you look less stupid!".

"Steven, calm down. You're not in trouble", the tall woman reassured him.

His eyes darted between us as if evaluating whom he should yell at. Eventually, he kicked his heel into the sand, let out an enraged huff, turned around and stormed off. If I wasn't mistaken, I would've sworn an actual storm cloud was brewing above his head, visually representing his bitterness and irritation. I glanced up at the other two women. Their faces were filled with discomfiture and remorse. I guess Steven was usually like this. Without even thinking, I trailed behind him. I hadn't been able to thank him yet.

"Wait!", I called after him, attempting to maintain my speed as each step in the sand sunk my foot. Steven didn't stop moving. In fact, I noticed his pace began to pick up. After a lot of calling and ignoring, I managed to catch up with him. I was slightly out of breath by the time I was by his side. "I never got thank you!", I puffed out and sent him a smile. His head remained forward and his eyes shot sharp glances at whatever was in front of him. He still had not made eye contact with me. "What you did back there was so cool! No; it was amazing!! How did you summon a shield like that? Or, did you always have a shield in your hand and I just didn't see it?".

Steven let out a groan that made my smile falter. "Why are you following me?", his voice was strained, as if he was attempting for it to sound like a question rather than a threat. He failed miserably.

I still continued to keep by his side. Even though he wasn't looking at me, his eyes still sent a shock of aggression down my backbone that made me cower slightly. "To thank you!".

"Well, now you have", he grunted. "So kindly get lost".

I pursed my lips and felt them twitching downwards slightly. By now, we've almost reached my new house, which still didn't really feel like home. Memories of my old home came back like a tidal wave. I felt my throat forming a lump as I fought back the urge for my legs to give up on me. The process of moving away was hard enough. The process of actually being away was even tougher. But, I was only fifteen. What could I do about it? I went through almost every stage of grief. Denial; I convinced myself that my mother's idea of moving was just that; an idea. Depression; Having to tell my friends the bad news left a horrible feeling stained in my chest that wouldn't go away. Bargaining; I begged my mum to let me take an after-school job to help her out and keep our house. She wouldn't go through with it. Anger; I was never the angry type, I considered myself a very collective person, but I was annoyed at life for throwing such an obstacle in my path. Acceptance; I was still stuck at that stage.

-- 'FILENAME'   i s  u n s t a b l e . ---

"I just moved here", I ignored his request for me to leave. "I don't know anyone here, so maybe you could show me around!".

Steven let out a laugh. It was the first time I saw him express something other than anger. But that's when it dawned on me that it wasn't a joyful chuckle he let out. "No way!", he spoke in a rigid tone even though a smile played on his lips. "Surely you can't be so incompetent that you can't even find your way around a town THIS small".

"Well, I'm sure if I tried I could. But, I'd rather be shown around by someone who's more familiar with this place. And besides, what will I do if that giant plant monster comes back?".

"Beg for mercy, because I'm not coming to save you twice", Steven grumbled, his face twisting back into his default scowl. I noticed him shuffling closer to the edge of the water, probably to keep his distance from me.

I stuck out my hand and pressed on my cheeriest grin. "My name is (Y/N)", I greeted him.

Steven's brows lowered, " I didn't ask for your stupid name", he huffed under his breath but loud enough for me to hear the toxic words leaving his mouth. As he rammed my hand away from him in such a forceful motion, it left a shock of pain in my wrist. Though it mildly stung, it only lasted for a few seconds. I still kept on my cheerful demeanour, even if it was just a facade to cover up how badly his words (And his grip) stung my chest.

I suddenly ran into his back when he came to an abrupt stop. An aggravated pair of eyes made their appearance suddenly. The deep brown colour almost strangled me in its grasp and gradually sucked out the oxygen from my lungs. I pressed the back of my finger against my throat, just to ensure it hadn't dried up.

"Clearly--", he began, shifting closer to me as I took a hesitant step back. "--You don't know how to listen. How many times do I have to tell you to buzz off until you finally get it through your thick skull that I don't want you here?".

As I turned my head towards the ground, I felt the ground beneath my feet shudder. "Sorry, I'm not trying to annoy you on purpose. I just thought we could--".

He stuck a hand out to interrupt me. He'd probably grown fond of cutting me off to see my bewildered face. His nose scrunched up in repulsion as his hand gripped into a fist before falling by his side. "You thought what? That we'd hang out? That would be friends?", he sneered. Every word that dripped out of his mouth put me on the hot seat. "The last thing I need is dead weight on my back. If you can't even use your feet, what use would you be besides Monster Chow for me to bait with?".

I pushed aside his remarks to the back of my head. Though they pricked, I didn't think he really meant it. At least, a part of me hoped he didn't mean it. I parted my lips and exclaimed out an apologetic, "I'm sorry I didn't run. You're right. I should've, but I didn't. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be a burden on you. Can you please show me around? I'm super sorry".

By now, even I'd grown tired of hearing my apologies that now sounded empty. Steven clicked his tongue, his eyes narrowing, though becoming a bit softer in tone. He seemed to be calming down slightly. "You better be. But sorry doesn't change the fact that you were useless back there. You really want to be helpful?".

I nodded, blissfully. I thought for a moment, that maybe he was reconsidering. A sudden bubble encased around him, so large that it pushed against my body and pushed me onto the sand. I glanced up in shock. He has surrounded himself in the same rose coloured bubble he used to protect us against the plant monster. His eyes, though was difficult to tell through the pink hue, were filled with hate once again.

"You're being a giant thorn in my side! If you want to be helpful, stay away from me!", he shouted, his furious voice muffled slight, but still delivered his bitterness effectively. He turned his heel, hesitating slightly to deliver my one more scathing glance over his shoulder, before walking away. This time, I didn't chase after him. Instead, I sat in the sand, the warmth grazing against my fingertips as I watched him walk out of sight. I was alone.

My eyes didn't--wouldn't--leave the direction he disappeared. Steven.

My mouth curved into a small grin. I think we can be ϝɾιҽɳԃʂ--------------------------

----------

'FILENAME'   u n e x p e c t e d l y   c r a s h e d .

HAPPY APRIL FOOLS!!! Since I couldn't get you guys a new chapter, I wrote you the next best thing! It may be stupid, but hey; I enjoyed writing it!