The Hopeless Poet
Laura's POV:
I can't believe I'm actually considering this. It's been 3 days since this jacket was placed on me and I'm still considering returning it to the owner. It was a nice gesture but why did they leave it? Had I been asleep that long? It was just strange. I couldn't keep it, my conscience wouldn't allow me to, which only left me one option. I sighed grabbing my beanie and satchel and walking out my appartment door.
- - - - -
Carmilla's POV:
"I can't believe you dragged me here. I've told you before I don't want to recite anything of mine." I say crossing my arms sitting beside Mattie.
"I didn't bring you here to recite anything dear, I brought you here for your passion. We always do things I want to do, I thought it'd be nice to change it up for a night." The poet currently speaking wasn't even speaking poetry, more like stand up comedy. "I'm slowly regretting my decision." She says causing me to laugh.
"You don't have to stick around you kno-"
"Thank god, I thought you'd never give in. This was my mistake let's go!" She says standing up trying to rush out.
"I think I'm gonna stay awhile. Maybe throw some things at the terrible comedians here." Mattie gives me a smile.
"Well then I'll be out for the night. Try not to have too much fun without me" she laughs and I give her a salute to send her on her way. She leaves in a flash.
I sat there alone for awhile lost in thought. These "poets" were terrible.
All they spoke was slang, cussing and about girls in the most sexist of ways.
This guy's obviously just doing this for female attention, I think to myself rolling my eyes. It seemed to be working because he managed to make a table of girls laugh. They're all the same these days.
"Alright thanks for that!" The host takes the microphone from the guy mid-sentence to stop him from making even more of a fool of himself. "Well that's all the entries on the list, would anyone care to come up and give it a go?" Everyone looks around at each other and I smirk. This is lame.
Suddenly I hear the door open from over my shoulder and feel the gust of wind come through it. I turn to see who it was, along with everyone else in the crowd, and I see the back of a girl struggling to close the door behind her due to the harsh winds. She somehow manages to close it. I could hear her sigh in the silence of the room as she turns around. My mouth suddenly props open.
Her?
She brushes the snow off of my leather jacket, which I now snap into realization that she was wearing. Cute. She starts walking forward looking for a seat.
"You there!" The host points to her and the spotlight turns to her. She freezes mid-step. You could almost see the fear in her eyes.
"How bout some poetry!" The host says cheerfully.
She gives an awkward smile and shakes her head then looks down.
"Come on just a few words? You look like the type to be strong with her words!" He teases and my face feels heated as I see the girl start turning red with all the people's eyes on her. She doesn't like this, I think to myself. I wouldn't either. She starts playing with the zipper on my leather jacket and shakes her head again. Her face was almost scared like.
"Come on up here!" He's says again causing her to slowly back up.
"Leave her be cheese-for-brains, the girl doesn't want to talk, alright?" I say from my seat. The spotlight turns to me as I take a sip of my coffee.
He gives me an angry look probably due to the nickname I gave him.
"How 'bout you then leather pants?" He says back. Oh how original. I laugh at his comeback. "Why don't you just come up here and show us a little something. A view like you couldn't possibly have much to say." He teases. He was really beginning to get on my nerves.
I place my coffee down and give him an intimidating stare. Ha, I laugh under my breath. I look at the girl who is staring at me with a sympathetic look. Everyone else's eyes were on me as well.
"Fine." I say rolling my eyes.
"Alright!" He yells as everyone begins to clap. I stand and walk towards the girl and whisper to her,
"You can have my seat." I smile and open my chair for her. She keeps her eyes to the ground and whispers back a small "Thank you." as she sits down.
I nod and walk to the stage. The spotlight now back on me.
"Here's a bit of a short paradox." I say sighing into the microphone.
"I, am nobody.
A resistance to anything but temptation.
A mere spec in the spectrum we consider life.
I've seen light in periods of darkness.
But rain in the bitter sunshine.
It's causes chaos to my mind.
The pleasurable pain.
Shall it end?
Merely where it begins.
The cycle goes on as it shall remain.
Does this pain have a purpose?"
I sigh into the microphone and begin to walk off as the crowd claps and the host looks at me as if he'd never heard poetry before. At least it got him to shut up.
I look over my table to see the girl lost in thought.
Wonder what was on her mind.
I go to sit beside her and she sends me a smile then looks back down at the table.
"Quite shy aren't we?" I smile at her. She begins to play with the table cloth in front of her. I sigh. She must be ignoring my existence. I look at the stage and watch as the next person walks on.
"T-thank you." I hear her whisper from beside me. I smile. How adorable.
"For what cupcake?" I hear her move in her seat as if she tensed up at the nickname.
"For.. saving me from that.." I look at her and she points at the stage. "I um.. I never could have done it."
"I don't believe that for a second." I turn my chair to face her.
"What do you mean?" She sends me a confused sad look.
I point at her bag.
"A girl who reads has got to have an abstract beautiful mind." I say sending her a smirk. She looks down at her satchel as her cheeks seem to turn a warm rosey color then back at her hands playing with the cloth still. I take a sip of my coffee.
"Nice jacket by the way," she instantly looks up at me. "Wouldn't happen to know where I could find one myself?" I say smoothly.
"A-actually, it's not mine."
"Oh?"
She nods.
"Well, whose is it?" I say smiling pretty big.
"I'm um. Not really sure," she says with a sad smirk. "A kind strangers."
I smirk now trying to be smooth about the whole situation. "Interesting."
"You know.." She says observing me. "It would definitely match well with your leather pants."
"You don't say?" I look down at my pants then back at her. I wanted to see how long I could drag this out.
She nods.
"Well I think it looks really cute on you cupcake." She's staring down again and I swear I could see a smile form on her face. She begins to yawn. Poor tired creampuff.
"I actually came here to find the owner of it." She says sternly. "I found a flier for this thing crumbled in the pocket and decided I'd like to return it."
I had forgotten Mattie had handed me a flier. I thought I had threw it on the street. Oops.
"That's very thoughtful of you. Chivalry really isn't dead, huh?" I give her a curious look.
She raises her shoulders as if to say she wasn't so sure about that, but she nods anyways.
"You don't say much do you?" I tilt my head as if I was a curious cat. My cat-like mind sometimes mixes with my 'normal' behavior.
She shakes her head.
"You should though."
She looks up at me. Her face was tired. I still can't hear a single heart beat from this girl. Even sitting beside her! She purses her lips.
"Why's that?" She asks in a slow low tone.
"You've got a beautiful voice." Her face stays plain and unimpressed by my comment but her cheeks give away another blush and her eyes almost seem to have softened but she snaps out of her daze instantly and plays with the zipper on the jacket.
I sigh. Someone's guarded.
"Right. Well I'm gonna get out of here, got some stuff to do. Maybe I'll see you around, um" I stop and wait for her to insert her name. She stays quiet. "Cupcake it is." I say placing my hand out to her. She shakes it and I stand up grabbing my coffee. She stares at the person on stage.
"By the way," I bend beside her and whisper in her ear from behind, "you can keep the jacket. It really does look better on you." She tenses up and turns around to look at me with an astonished expression. I give her a wink and walk out drinking my coffee. My mind stained with the image of her soft smile.
I still have no intentions of getting involved here.