Leonce wasn't quite sure why he liked hurdles.
At least, he wasn't sure why he subjected himself to them. He'd always enjoyed running, but he was generally too unsure on his feet for too much of it to ever be an entirely wise idea. Given that, Leonce was quite timid and desperately afraid of the prospect of physical pain or violence, and factoring in the idea that the whole point of hurdles was to leap aggressively over a ridiculous amount of very tall barriers placed in between the start line and the finish, logically he shouldn't have wanted anything remotely to do with the sport. And yet, the rush of adrenaline he got when he cleared all the hurdles without so much as brushing against the tops always left him wanting more.
And so it was that he found himself standing once again across the empty stretch of grass that spread out behind the school, long after the final bell had rung. Given that it was Friday and there were no scheduled sports practices, the rest of the grounds were deserted, a fact that gave Leonce no small amount of relief; practicing in front of other people always made him nervous. Despite this small comfort, however, he was distracted.
Leonce sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose and under his eyes. He then squared his shoulders and stared down the length of the track, heart still beating faster than normal from his warm-up run.
The heat rose in wavering sheets above the surface of the rubber, making the bottoms of the practice hurdles he'd just laboriously set up appear to churn. With one final calming breath, Leonce exploded into motion, springing off the balls of his feet to propel himself lightly and swiftly forward.
The wind whipped his hair back as he ran, and Leonce felt a slight smile tug at the corners of his mouth as he cleared the first hurdle with a soaring leap. He passed over the next nine in a similar fashion and slowed his steps after the last was behind him, breathing a little harder than he had been but not winded. Leonce smiled properly now, pleased with how his run had gone and the rush of adrenaline that was currently pumping through his veins.
"Maybe I should lean forward more," he said to himself quietly, lamenting the fact that he had no one to comment on his form. It had felt like he was clearing the hurdles with a bit too much height, however, so he turned and walked back up the track for another try.
He was able to run through three and a half more sets before he noticed a figure from the corner of his eye.
He screeched to a stop and looked over at them, smiling slightly once he saw that it was only Alex who was making her way towards the other runners that were currently in the middle of their warmup routine. From where Leonce stood, he noted that she looked drained out, as if all of the life and color in her body had been sucked right out of her. He winced.
She looks so sad... He thought, I hope she isn't still mourning about her aunt.
He watched as Alex glanced about the runners surrounding her who were all doing pushups on the ground. She stared at each and every one of them for a moment but didn't show any sign that she was going to do the same. She just seemed like she just wasn't going to do anything.
She took a step forward and Leonce felt his heart skip a beat and he hoped that she was going to attempt to join her companions but all she did was start her way towards the bleachers where few parents watched their respectable children practice. Leonce frowned.
Maybe I should go talk to her.
Tossing his hair out of his face, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts and waltzed his way over to her. The dark aura that surrounded her made him feel a pang of melancholy the closer he got to her. He felt as if with every step he took, the cold sensation inside of him only swelled. He felt his palms grow sweaty.
"Bon jour, cherrie," he nonchalantly greeted her.
She forced a tiny smile, "Hey..."
"What are you doing here sitting by yourself?" he asked taking a seat beside her, "Aren't you going to join everyone else?"
"Nah. I rather just sit here... alone..."
Leonce felt hurt that she didn't want him there but he was determined to lift her spirits up.
"Your still sad about your auntie, yes?" he asked.
Alex sighed, "Yeah... I am," she paused briefly, "You know, she promised me that she would be there at my first track competition, cheering me on. She kept saying how she was gonna make this big colorful sign for me so that everyone could see. But now she can't do that because she's... she's..."
Leonce laid a hand on her shoulder, "I understand, Alex. But being sad about it isn't going to bring her back."
"Being happy isn't gonna bring her back neither," Alex snapped, "And forgetting about her sure as hell won't do anything."
"I'm just trying to get you to understand that she's gone and that there's nothing you'll be able to do to bring her back. Once someone is gone, they're gone forever. It's okay to mourn about it but it's not okay to constantly be sad about it. What's done is done. All you are able to do for her now is to continue on with your life and stop mourning over hers."
Alex hung her head down and Leonce sighed sadly.
"I'll see you later, cherrie." He attempted to place a kiss on her cheek but she jerked away, grimacing as she did so. He smiled sadly and started towards the field.
He doesn't understand, Alex bitterly thought, He doesn't understand what it's like losing a loved one. No one does.
"Screw this," Alex muttered under her breath, "I'm going home."
No. Not home. It's the place that I live in. Home is where everyone loves you and welcomes you with open arms. The Jackson household isn't my home. I have no home. I'm homeless...
The Jacksons and their permanent guest were currently sitting at the dining room table. Michael's plate was nearly cleaned, Janet was in the process of finishing her vegetables, Katherine was buttering her roll, Joseph was picking at his food and Alex's meat still remained untouched just as it had once she first received it.
There was a baffled moment of silence from the four Jacksons as they stared at Alex. Joseph was the first to speak.
"What? Our guest is refusing to eat?" Joseph was utterly displeased.
"I like my food cold..." Alex murmuringly said.
"You do?" Janet inquired.
"Yeah..."
The table fell into silence.
Michael leaned over to Alex, "Are you feeling okay, Alex?" he asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine."
"You sure? I mean, you haven't been acting like yourself lately-?!"
"I told you, I'm fine!" she snapped. The others stared at her, frozen in shock and startle. Michael was the most surprised.
Alex groaned and quietly excused herself from the table and left to retire for the afternoon.
Michael still had not moved from his seat, his mind struggling to piece together reasons as to why she would act this way. Especially in front of his mother.
"Well, seems like she's happy," Joseph sarcastically said.
"Joseph!" Katherine exclaimed.
"I'm just saying that she should be grateful that we actually let her stay here. I never thought that commoners could be that spoiled."
"Joseph, she just lost a person who was very important to her. She's going through a hard time."
"She's being unappreciative."
The couple began to bicker across the table and the two teens who still sat silently at the table held each other's gaze.
"I think you should go check up on her," Janet said.
"I intended to," he replied, already halfway out of his seat. He gave her a reassuring nod before turning away and rushing off after Alex.
He halted outside the closed door and knocked lightly on it, "Alex?" he called out softly.
There was no reply, yet he knew she was inside, so he slowly pushed the door open.
He expected to see her curled up on her bed or gazing out the window but was taken by surprise when he found her standing right in front of him.
"I didn't ask you to come in," she said putting her hands on her hips in irritation.
"Well, sorry. I was just making sure you were in here since you didn't say anything when I called you. I apologize for not being able to have X-ray vision so that I will able to see through the door." She rolled her gray eyes, "I just wanted to see if you were okay," he gently explained.
He stepped into the room and gently shut the door behind him.
"I said I was fine," she grumbled, turning her back to him, her arms crossing over her chest once more. Then she sighed. "I swear you act like I'm dying or something just because I'm not hungry…" she mumbled.
"Well, I just didn't want to leave you up here alone," he told her gently.
"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" she huffed.
"…Guess you have a point there," he chuckled lightly. She snorted, flicking one hand over her shoulder and sending her hair cascading into the air like an ebony waterfall before she stalked over to her bed. She sat down and crossed her legs, a pout on her face.
"Just go," she murmured. "I want to be alone right now."
Michael stayed where he was and blinked at her once before ignoring her order completely and walking over to the bed and sitting beside her.
"I can tell when you're lying to me. You don't want me to leave, at least, not yet." He heard another sigh escape her lips as she pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and resting her chin on her knees.
A calm moment of silence drifted between them and then, Michael suddenly realized that he had not seen her smile for the past several days. He couldn't even remember the last time he had seen that admiring sight. It must have been days, probably even weeks. He missed her smile and he was determined to see it again, even if he had to do it by force.
But he remained silent for a moment, waiting for her to say something, but it seemed as though that was not going to happen anytime soon. So Michael spoke up first.
"I'm sorry about your auntie," he said softly. The way her shoulders gave a tiny shrug confirmed his thoughts that that had been what was troubling her.
"Why are you apologizing? It's not your fault," she murmured.
"And it's not yours either," he added. "So why are you beating yourself up over this?" Though his words were a bit harsh, they were laced with concern and care.
"I don't know," she exhaled. "I've just been thinking that all this might be completely hopeless." Michael saw the downcast look in her gray eyes in thinking that all her efforts up until this point had been utterly futile.
"You know that's not true," he told her firmly. She lifted her head to look up at him, expecting an annoyed expression. But instead his lips were curved upward into a smile and his onyx eyes were soft.
"You didn't create the cancer. It came on it's own. There was nothing you could do anyway. Cancer comes and goes on it's own. It was destined to happen. Besides, you know your aunt wouldn't like you being depressed over something that can't be undone. Anyways, it would piss her the hell off if you were somehow able to bring her back down to earth away from such a perfect place such as Heaven. I sure would've."
He beamed at her, expecting her to reflect the smile, even if just a little bit, but her face remained dejected, her eyes refused to meet his anymore.
His smile faded and he sighed sadly and raked through his thoughts for other methods he could use to cheer her up somehow. In the end though, he couldn't think of anything.
"You're not feeling sick are you?"
"No," she answered just a bit too quickly, which roused his suspicions even more.
"Alex." His voice grew sterner now, his tone telling her that he could see through her pretenses. "Come on. You're not even hungry? Janet says you haven't eaten for the past couple days."
"That girl's just over-exaggerating."
"But still," Michael went on earnestly, "you live in our house and sometimes we have guests that visit us from time to time. They can't come here and discover a dead body in the dining room because somebody 'didn't feel like eating'," he ended with a laugh, yet Alex remained silent.
"Here, let me feel your temperature. You look flushed."
He reached over and placed the back of his hand on her forehead. He frowned as he tried to decipher whether or not she felt hot. "Hm. I can't really tell, but I think you're okay," he concluded.
"Of course I'm okay! That's what I've been telling you this whole time!" She pushed his hand away and held her tongue for a few seconds before she decided to speak up again. "But no one listens..."
"How about you just lighten up for us then?"
Alex shot him a puzzled look, "Huh?"
"Just…lighten up a bit," he tried to explain. "Having a bad mood can affect your appetite. Maybe since you're sad, you can't bring yourself to food. Maybe you should just... bring yourself up, smile a bit."
"How could I just randomly do something like that?"
"I'm glad that you asked." A devious smirk formed on his lips and Alex blinked, surprised to see him with such an expression. He moved closer to her and she leaned back, a weird feeling bubbling up inside of her at seeing his wide smirk.
"What are you doing…?" she stammered, a pang of panic rising in the pit of her stomach.
"Alex…" He was now so close that her back was forced against the blankets on the bed and she was lying down fully. All sense and will to fight seemed to be drained away from her body and she went limp.
That is until he finished his sentence. "Tickle war!"
"… Huh?" The puzzled girl stared up at him with eyes that said 'are you kidding me?'.
"Michael, what's a tickle-"
She was cut off as his hands shot forward and he began moving his fingers up and down her sides. Alex gasped as an odd sensation slithered throughout her body, a sensation almost like she had felt with grass brushing up against her bare skin, only much more intense.
As Michael continued his assault, Alex lost all control over her body as she curled up into a ball, crossing her arms over her chest to hold her sides in an attempt to shield them. But Michael was too skilled at this sort of fight, and he quickly found her weak spots and went on tickling her.
Alex could not contain herself any longer and she burst out into hysterical laughter. Michael joined in as he poked her sides and stomach and she kept trying to roll away from him to no avail. She kicked out instinctively, thrashing and trying to get away from him but ultimately failed. Michael was now thoroughly enjoying the sounds of her laughter and the smile on her face and he did not let up.
The girl flipped over onto her stomach, trying to catch her breath, but Michael went on, ruthlessly wiggling his fingers along her sides as she kept trying to roll away and fend him off. She wound up turning over again to lie on her back, once more exposing her stomach and Michael went right in on the attack. Her laughter became higher-pitched giggles as she got shorter and shorter on her air supply, still wriggling madly like a fish out of water, desperately gulping in air.
"Michael-!" she attempted to cry out but she choked on her oxygen and it wound up as somewhat of a yelp and she was forced to try again.
"Michael! S-Stop!" she laughed insanely.
"You want me to stop?" he teasingly asked.
"Yes! Pl-Please stop!" she begged.
"And what if I don't want to? This is just oh so much fun," he grinned.
"I'm gonna hurt you!"
"Oh really? And how will you be able to do that when you're in such a vulnerable state?" he asked slipping his fingers under her arms.
"I'll find a way!" she vowed.
Michael laughed, "Good luck with that!"
Chuckling to himself, he let his lips plant playful kisses all around her face, causing her to laugh even louder and higher. The way she had reacted to the playful assaults was almost too much for Michael. She was just so cute to him.
After another moment of torture, her grip on her sides loosened and her arms went limp, giving up all efforts to defend herself, still giggling crazily. Michael was persistent and took advantage of her revealed stomach, still chuckling to himself. Her feeble tries to protect her exposed weaknesses were amusing to him and he loved the smile on her face too much to stop now. She kicked out again as his fingertips ran over her ribcage and she rolled onto her side, her back facing him.
Finally, Michael ceased his assaults on the poor, unsuspecting girl, stopping the movements of his prodding fingers.
"Alright," he chuckled, "I'm done." He reached one hand to lie on her shoulder and he pulled her back towards him until she was lying flat-out on her back once more. She was panting wildly, like a half-drowned dog, small giggles still slipping past her lips from time to time. Michael flopped down on his side next to her so that he faced her direction, resting his hands on top of her stomach as his smile widened.
Alex was still gasping madly even after a few moments of recuperation, the smile still on her face. She finally opened up her teary, gray eyes to stare up at the ceiling, her chest heaving as she inhaled deeply. Her heartbeat was louder than ever as it pounded in her temples, and the way Michael smirked with enjoyment made her wonder if he could hear it.
Michael let his eyes close for a brief moment, feeling his hands rise and fall along with Alex's stomach. He assumed she had never been in that sort of predicament before, and that the absence of a playful family for so many years must have been part of the reason why it was taking her so long to recover.
At last, her breathing began to slow down and become less frantic, and he felt as her chest trembled with one last huge exhale.
"See? I have my ways of making you smile," Michael chortled triumphantly, sliding his hands off of her stomach to rest on the bed. "I'm actually kind of surprised you didn't fight back." There was a bit of a challenge in his smile.
She took in two more gulps of air before pushing herself up onto her elbows to face him.
"Oh yeah?" she retorted with a smirk of her own, her eyes narrowing.
She quickly flung herself forward at him but Michael was prepared, having already had much experience with winning tickle fights many years ago with his siblings. He caught her outstretched arms in his hands and stopped her attack perfectly. Alex's eyes widened in shock as he surged upward and overtook her, flipping her over onto the other side of the bed, pinning her down by the wrists.
"Nice try, Alex. But no way am I letting you beat me at my own game."
She gasped as he released her wrists and poked both of her sides simultaneously, giving her a jumpstart that made her heart skip a beat. She started to laugh again, curling up and clutching her sides, making it an easy win for the boy.
He was a bit more merciful this time and only tormented her for a few moments before he let her catch her breath and lay down beside her again.
But Alex was not going down without a fight this time.
Just as he let his guard down in thinking he had won, one hand shot out from her side and she managed to land a blow on his stomach. Michael burst out into laughter and quickly grabbed her wrist to keep her from moving anymore. Alex wore a small smirk and Michael gave her an approving nod as they both relaxed and caught their breath.
"You learn quickly!" he complimented.
"Good," she wheezed. "One day…I'll get you when you least expect it."
"And I'll be ready, I can assure you that," he laughed to himself.
They both fell into silence.
"Thanks, Michael..." Alex murmured.
"And what are you thanking me for?" Michael asked.
"For making me feel better. You were right. You do have ways to make me smile."
Michael felt the blood in his face flare against his cheeks, "Uh, yeah, whatever. It's nothing."
He stared down at her full lips, wanting nothing more than to just claim them as his own.
Tempting. Very tempting, he thought. But I can't. We were having so much fun. What if I make things awkward for us? I don't wanna ruin what we worked so long to build? I can't risk that... But she looks so damn sexy I just can't miss this chance. Dammit! What should I do?!
He swallowed hard as he bit down on his lip and made his decision.
He squeezed his eyes shut and leaned his face forward until his lips brushed hers and then pulled her chin towards his.
It was moments like that when he could pretend that she was his. He could pretend that she loved him as much as he loved her. He would savor this moment forever, and it just might help him through the years when Alex was grown up and married to somebody else.
He soon enough pulled away, smiling sadly. He wasn't sure what to say and he certainly wasn't going to apologize. He didn't regret anything, and wasn't about to promise to never try that again.
She blinked hard and touched her lips, thoroughly embarrassed and confused. She never realized Michael's "urges", so this sudden attack came out of the blue and hit her like a bolt of lightning.
He let his hand linger where it had been caressing her cheek, and then leaned himself closer against her. The illusion was broken.
He was back to being alone and she was back to being with Leonce.
"Alex, I have something to tell you," Michael said quietly.
"What is it?"
"Well," he paused, "I think I might-?!"
"Michael and Alex sitting in the tree!" a voice from the doorway loudly sang, "K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Mikey Jr. in the baby carriage!"
Michael groaned, "Janet!" he exclaimed. He clambered out of the bed and bolted after Janet who instantly darted her way down the hall, giggling and squealing all the while.
Alex giggled as well but not for the same reasons as Janet. She just felt so giddy after being so playfully and passionately assaulted by Michael. It was amazing to her to what kind of feelings Michael could make her feel. He had made her feel sorrow, misery, dread, grief, rage, exasperation, embarrassed, pain, anguish and everything in between but nowadays, he made her feel joyful, delighted, bold, giddy, merry, blissful, relieved, happy, loved, and... hungry?
"He was right," she groaned, "Your mood does affect your eating habits."
Now, I kind of regret wasting my food...
Author's Chapter Notes:
Enjoy my good peoples!
Chapter End Notes:
I hope you enjoyed it! Please review (no silent readers allowed in me and Mike's territory!:D )