Prompt: Write a romance story which involves a bracelet, 'unicorn', 'you're toast', delinquents, and a happy ending676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkZykYI6Fp3
This is the part where I say, I love you.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85ofdGhgws
I open my mouth, draw in a deep breath, and am promptly knocked unconscious by a delicate china coffee cup disagreeing with my temple. I'm not sure which one shattered first.
Sometimes, I wonder what my life would be like if it were a story.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGhH4uj9dm
First of all, it would be far more interesting; after all, stories are rarely as boring as my daily routine.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTTiVn4tYl
It goes a bit like this: I wake up at six, I brush my teeth, make breakfast (usually cereal, leftovers from takeaway the night before, or Gladys'), catch an update on the radio, and - oh, stuff it. Even I don't want to hear about that.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNBDCYHKHX
Secondly, I wouldn't always be so bloody miserable. Protagonists in books are hardly ever miserable, and I hope that someday I could amount to something more than the minor character 'annoyed guy across the street', no?676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiKqmo9oP6M
Thirdly, I should have had a happy ending by now.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoPlLUtp03R
I mean, seriously, I'm twenty-nine. And as everyone knows, the age of thirty is practically death. I live alone in a small apartment, have a crummy office job, and really not much else. Oh - I'm also in love. But since when has that turned out well in stories? Like, look at that Romeo guy. I think he dies or something.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFDz2znmH1
So honestly, I don't have much going for me, for my life. All my friends (ha! friends) guilt trip me about how lucky I am, but to be blunt I can't help feel every morning and every night that I'm on the short end of the straw. You know, the short side of the bendy straw that gets chewed on and spat out.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjkzfIpS3j8
My mum unfortunately knows this too. She moved into the apartment next to mine to 'keep an eye' on me, to 'lend a hand if you need'. Now in the evenings I'm serenaded by the sweet sounds of her explosive diarrhoea. I'll be filing a thin wall complaint when I get the chance.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQYAhd9KtE
Day in, day out, this is my life.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGAKXgxxde4
So when is my story going to start?
This is the part where the boy escapes on a Unicorn.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhq3uLGeoYe
My favorite haunt is a tidy little coffee shop on the corner between work and home called Gladys'. The food is good, the coffee is great, and the service is stunning, thanks to a magnificent woman by the name of Ellie. I've memorized her time schedule and make sure to check in when she's around, which is why I'm an hour late to work every Monday and Thursday. Gorgeous brown eyes, little chocolate beads they are, and hair like a preened horse mane, which I assure you is a compliment of the highest degree. Her voice is just heavenly, although I do admit I've only ever heard her say 'The usual? Coming right up!'. She wears a lovely china bracelet too, little swirls of blue on white that she fiddles with constantly. I find it rather endearing.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3SrJT3AKa
It was a fine Saturday - of course it had to be a Saturday that was ruined. You see, I always like to watch Ellie make my coffee - I assume it's because I become slightly mentally unhinged when I am around her. This time, however, I could not enjoy my morning drink due to a particularly disturbing young man.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHT2V07HuE
Now, he was clearly a criminal of some sort, despite looking no older than nineteen. Heavy leather jacket, metal studded jeans, and a swagger that exuded sheer unjustified arrogance. I noticed him approaching the counter just as I was taking the first sip of my extra hot coffee.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvvSvotnU6z
'A piece of toast thanks.' He orders.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOQhVD7uUn
'...just toast?' God her voice sounds so soft I could sleep in it.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9CMrnoiYz
'Yes. Just. Toast.' His, on the other hand, was so rough I could feel his vocal chords being sanded down as he spoke.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu5kgL02bGL
I watch Ellie as she slips the slice of bread into the toaster, the way her curved finger pushes down the lever. The way she drums her fingers nervously as she waits. Why nervously?676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLZN0vdsCF
ping!676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtangVYQzU5
'Here you are.' She doesn't look him in the eye as she hands over a plate with a single slice of toast. 'Your toast.'676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6geaSMDbc
He doesn't touch it. 'No, Ellie, I've been thinking about those things you said to me - about how I'm too young, how I'm too, what, immature and irresponsible - and I've decided that no, you're toast.'676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLH3z3aW6s8
A question mark hangs in the air. 'Jonas, what do you mean?' She knows this ugly specimens?676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xpTgl7Obf
'Look.' He picks up the toast, and in one gloved hand, crumbles it into dust that falls meekly onto the counter. 'That's what I'm going to do to you for breaking my heart.' He storms out of Gladys', and, angered by the look of upset on Ellie's pretty face, I make quick pursuit with my coffee in hand.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BrtEKESDR
'Hey! Hey, you!' He stops and turns around at the sound of my call.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyd6CReSbJv
'What do you want?' He snarls.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjBVZAxOUj
'I want you to keep your dirty fingers off that girl!' I snap at him in a feeble attempt at intimidation.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHCM0Ac524
'No no no. That's not how it works. A girl turns down the Jonas Jones on a date, they pay the price.' An infuriating sneer, one clearly tempting me to make a move - and that is an offer I'm not going to turn down. I put my extra hot coffee to better use and throw the entire thing into his face, spoon and all.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi92CQpGxjR
'AIEEEE! You're crazy, man!' His shocked eyes stare at me in disbelief, the attack having startled him enough to turn and flee. I watch as he rounds the corner and clambers onto his motorcycle - a painfully pink hunk of metal with the word Unicorn plastered on the side in blue and white.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5iLCDtFjiW
Smooth.
This is the part where I try Robin Hood on my mother, an adventurous position to put myself in which involves feeling around the front of her dress.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeLZZpGbBWG
My obsession with dear Ellie grows, as does my need to see her happy, after the strange encounter with Jonas Jones. I brainstorm gift ideas - she seems awfully fond of the unconventional china bracelet.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEVQkVl7wth
My own mother happens to be quite the china connoisseur - her collection of bits and bobs all on display in an IKEA cabinet in her apartment.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjUC2mpNOrG
Now, my average job of tedium was never going to pay for such dainty things, nor, I suppose, will Ellie's, so I felt no moral wrongness in the notion of pulling a Robin Hood on my mum and donating some china pieces to someone who no doubt needs them more. Ahem.
The heist begins with inviting my mum one meter down the corridor to have a 'life chat' with me, a strange ritual which she usually enforces on me once a month. Five laxative pills dissolved into the hot chocolate I've made so lovingly for her.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHf3xbFA7Zz
I bear through the grueling first few minutes of the talk in which she tells me to 'assess where I want to be in three years' but, much to my pleasure, the rant is prematurely interrupted by a rather rude anatomical sound which I won't indulge with a description.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX7O7iKFd6z
'Dear me!' She hobbles toward my bathroom, but I stop her -676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAK0jKxFkSr
'The flush doesn't work.' I smile.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoovpO2Lq7K
'Oh, dear, dear, dear!' She's hunched over, and she can't reach into the front pocket of her dress - in which lie her room keys.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0PgLONF9p0
'Would you like me to unlock your apartment for you?'676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXkPdbP80ST
'Please!'676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgfEUu0oDfu
What happened next was unpleasant but necessary. Suffice to say, I retrieved the keys from their storage place, remarkably near my birth place.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEGQHfzN1yt
The moment the door to her room was open, she hurried into the bathroom and locked the door - without thinking to show me out first.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡreilQKjk4F
I collect in a bag the nicest of her china collection - IKEA cabinets don't have much security. An assortment of cups and plates and animals, carefully picked to match the color scheme of Ellie's bracelet. Lovely.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpXVTXLyS1y
I leave the keys on dear mother's bedside table, and quickly desert the premises. The unfortunate woman's bowel structure combined with the help I had given to her digestive system meant that she should be occupied for a while.
This is the part where I abandon my preconceptions of love, abandon my apartment, and abandon my sanity in general.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8O7B9fIj4
I decided I would not return to the apartment. Mum would surely kill me, or worse. So instead, it being a Monday morning, I headed down to Gladys' with a bag going chinkle chinkle tied in red ribbon and a notetag with 'For Ellie' in my finest cursive. Which isn't very fine, mind you, but it's the thought that counts.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxQ9qdcDBN
Gladys' was not the most active of places, and it was not difficult to wait for a moment when no one was looking to place the bag on the counter.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGkzG1eL1HX
I sit, and wait, and watch. Could it be that this might win her heart?676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9O9hqx63x
She sees the bag, looks around confusedly, and opens it there on the counter. She gasps, looks around confusedly again, and closes the bag before placing it on the shelf beside her.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ86XTa2fvnc
I walk up to the counter.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD8dGEbElHB
'The usual?' Angelic.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvrcJ52z1w
'Not quite.' I say. In fact, I decide to abandon all of the usual. I wouldn't be showing up to work today, I wouldn't be doing anything of the sort I usually do.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHAFimgaOZ
Forget everything. This is the part where I say, I love you.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJYUHhuh9rk
I open my mouth, draw in a deep breath, and am promptly knocked unconscious by a delicate china coffee cup disagreeing with my temple. I'm not sure which one shattered first.
This is the part where I emerge victorious from a deathly battle against cute fluffy creatures.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD9FD5jOg6A
'owwwww...' I rise from the floor with a grunt. Above me stands Jonas Jones, and his band of delinquents. I note the bag of china in his hands - the bloody nerve of him.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPQ40dvQeX
'If the JONAS JONES isn't good enough for someone, no one is!' He booms.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWxDK5FW9ug
'Leave her out of this!' I protest, noticing Ellie cowering in the corner of the cafe, the few other people inside watching the course of events with an excited but strangely detached interest. 'Let's take this outside.'676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMUXvKPmXy
'Let's go, big boy.' He cracks his knuckles.
RABBIT. UNICORN. PUG. They stand by their named motorcycles, Jonas in the center. 'Rabbit' was a tall and scrawny pimply fellow, whereas 'Pug' was a much more rotund beast, but just as unattractive as the former. To be honest, I couldn't catch the resemblance between Jonas and a unicorn, though.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ06K3QUUWUL
'You boys are going to leave Ellie alone. And her gifts.' Upon feeling a twinge of pain, I quickly added 'And me.'676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP7Xh1ADkRN
'Make us.' Rabbit pulls out a knife from his pocket.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Ck8ibEb91
'Now now, let's play fair - ' but my protest is cut off halfway through by a scream that made the windows of the cafe shake dangerously, threatening to shatter.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡemdleVT05c
'WHEEERE IIIIIIS MYYYY CHIIIIIIIIIINAAAAAAAAAAA?!?!?!'676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrga06aaFB6
I run into the shop, but the gang is stunned still - and I watch as my mother appears over the horizon, face inflamed red like a microwaving tomato ready to burst.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjicmSl1RxU
She looks at the bag in Jonas' hands.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFkR3724njh
Jonas looks down at the bag in his hands.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvFXe0wV3TH
Pug grabs the bag and hides it behind his back.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ThHZcbmd9
Mother morphs into her final form and unleashes her rage.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCnrh9ty7ZH
'AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!' I can't tell among the carnage who the sound is coming from, but I don't care - I turn around to face Ellie, and I grab her hands.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7klPMmLVVT
'Ellie.' I say, eyes staring into hers.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡssIDYM37Jk
'Yes?'676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGhxoyrCIh
This is the part.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4uRNhsIujr
'I...'676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxFt0bc5Rhn
'Yes?'676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtufPKdGtvy
'Ellie, I luh. I lughhhh. I, I, I lughhhhhhhh - '676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdVlCDEoW2
'Oh, shut up.' She lunges forwards and places her lips on mine, and the people in the cafe cheer, drowning out the noise of the scene outside.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8vWDh2ZxB
And so it is, that my story ends here for you, and just begins for me, with an unexpected kiss and a declaration of love.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qW1JeRbYe
I even think that mother might approve.
This, my friend, is the part where you stop reading.
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