《HELPLINE》twenty-eight; henry
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T W E N T Y - E I G H T
H E N R Y
i'm on a date and unsurprisingly, it's not going well.
he's a body builder slash teacher, of all things. we met through a dating website (pathetic, right?) and i saw bodybuilder and immediately thought of isaac. not because he's a bodybuiler or anything, but he had a story about one. which was a perfectly decent reason for me to be thinking about him.
yes. perfectly decent.
anyway, the bodybuilder - stan, i think his name was - had taken me to this pizza place (which, admittedly, was pretty good) and we'd made slightly stilted conversation about eastenders and fanfiction (he wrote dramione in his spare time. massive turn-off).
then he took me to his school.
that was when things started getting weirder. like, who takes people to the school they work at on dates? creepy.
and then - then - something ridiculous happened.
i saw isaac.
❄
"isaac?"
"henry?"
"stan?" stan said weakly, bless him. i was almost starting to feel sorry for him. but then again... isaac.
once i'd got over my initial shock, i started to notice my surroundings. we were in a big, spacious room with white walls covered in artwork (most of it was actually pretty good) and several desks surrounded by stools. all that paled in comparison, though, to the life-sized painting behind isaac.
"isaac," i said, sounding extremely tired and slightly flattered, "are you painting a life-size picture of me?"
he just said miserably, "my hand hurts."
"that's what he said," stan snickered, forgetting his hurt for a second.
we stood in awkward silence for a few minutes; partly because my ex-boyfriend was painting a life-size picture of me, and partly because stan had just said that's what he said. frankly, i couldn't decide which was worse.
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"um," isaac said, "hi?"
"we have a lot to talk about," i told him frankly, bounding over to him and grabbing his arm. "get in, loser. we're going for a coffee."
"there's no car -"
"what about me?" stan asked.
(i never answered him.)
❄
"i can't believe you," i mumbled, after we'd ordered our coffee and gone to sit down. "painting a portrait of me. you're still so fucking cute."
"and kind of creepy," isaac admitted, tilting his head to one side.
i sighed and leant back in my chair, ignoring the too-strong and too-hot coffee in front of me. i never liked the stuff, anyway. "isaac, i... i'm still kind of pissed off."
he nodded eagerly, taking a sip of his coffee and wincing slightly. "i know," he said, looking into my eyes, which he didn't normally do - he had a thing about eye contact. "and i'm sorry, hen. really."
i nodded awkwardly.
"there are things i should have done," he sighed, leaning back in his chair. "things i would have done. if i was your man."
something snapped between us. isaac grinned and looked straight into my eyes again. "did you hear that, hen?"
"no," i said hastily. "no. absolutely not."
"same bed but it feels just a little bit bigger now," he warbled. "our song on the radio but it don't sound the same..."
"please stop," i whispered, burying my head in my hands. "please."
"when our friends talk about you all it does is just tear me doooooown - 'cause my heart breaks a little when i hear your name..."
"no," i muttered in horror. "this is not happening. this is not happening."
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"it all just sounds like OOOOOOOOOOOOOH,
MM, TOO YOUNG TOO DUMB TO REALISE...
THAT I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT YOU FLOWERS
AND HELD YOUR HAND"
all around us, people had started to stare. one poor barista had even dropped a tray of americanos on her way to the table next do us. several parents were clutching their crying children. and i was slowly - painfully - dying from embarrassment.
"now my baby's dancing," isaac crooned softly, "but he's dancing with another man."
"i hope that wasn't supposed to be deep," i said, inspecting my nails. "but you're right. i always did love a bit of bruno."
"everyone loves a bit of bruno," isaac said nervously. "henry."
"isaac."
"henry."
"isaac."
"hen -"
"for fuck's sake!" a passing barista snapped. "just spit it out, would you?"
i smiled gratefully at her and isaac cleared his throat. "henry waters," he said, "would you maybe like to be my boyfriend again?"
❄
HERE IT IS FOLKS
i wrote this like two months ago and basically banged (heh) another paragraph and some bruno mars (bc who doesn't like those amirite) on but i hope it's okay!! anyway it would be loVELY if you could chuck me a vote and a comment and i'll see you all soon!
lucy
xox
p.s im back
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Within the pages of folklore and fantasy, tales of people who chase after the dream of eternity, of living forever, rarely find a happy ending. They are either struck by the grim truth of reality, give up, and return to mortality or face a ghastly realization of their wishes. The latter often the worse fate, as they come to realize, only far too late, that what they sacrificed was worth far more than the time they gained. Ultimately, the common thread in these stories is that “immortality is as much a curse as it is a blessing”. People either realize it early and give up or are doomed to inevitably face its consequences. In the world Enrich lives in, that saying does hold merit. Every pathway towards eternal life has shackles of its own. They bring those high above down to the ground, evening the playing field. It is thanks to these fundamental laws that ambitious mortals are able to defy the heavens and achieve immortality themselves. The variety of methods result in each of these bindings varying in intensity and degree of freedom. Enrich’s path doesn't break this trend. Though, after what he did to himself, most wouldn’t even consider him a living thing anymore. On the day of his ascension, a world’s worth of souls were melted and recast. On that day, the human’s path had reached its conclusion, recast into Apollyon. An artifact, a weapon, is eternal, after all. As for the curse? The payment will be made, as it must. So why not offload the curse to someone else? Mortals throw their lives away for all manner of petty reasons, noble or otherwise, especially in desperation. Eventually, someone will be willing to foot the bill. Most will if given the chance. The bait is far too tempting, after all. Power, status, knowledge. All at their fingertips. If only they say “yes”. And Apollyon is very willing to help any lost souls. If they give up everything in return, of course.
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