Thursday, June 13, 2013

Thanasius's First Love

She looked like a Halloween Witch and a Beauty Pageant Queen rolled into one. Her golden hair tumbled to her shoulders, and he could tell she had tried to frizz it like the other witches did, but it really just wanted to fly in beautiful curls. She'd painted her eyes with intense red and lined them in dark black, but she couldn't counter the sweetness of her dancing blue eyes. She had done her lips in dark red, too, but he could imagine that they were naturally pale pink -- the same color that mantled her cheeks.
Her smile was so wide, he could see each of her white teeth. She talked expressively, waving her hands in wide, excited gestures. When she laughed, it put him in mind of little golden bells.
"Dude, you're staring." Vance's voice broke in on his thoughts like Housekeeping ignoring the "Do Not Disturb" sign. "And I think you're drooling a little."
Mortified, Thanasius wiped at his mouth. Vance laughed.
"You've got it bad!"
"Please be quiet," Thanasius whispered, glancing nervously at the beautiful girl to see if she had heard. She was still chatting animatedly to Hestia. He noticed the jaunty angle of her pointed black hat and smiled. Everything about her was friendly. Even Hestia, usually a bundle of nerves, looked relaxed as she spoke. The new girl seemed to let off a golden aura of peace and comfort.
"You're doing it again." Vance rolled his eyes. "Just go over there and talk to her."
Wringing his hands together, Thanasius shook his head. "I could hardly do that."
"And why not?" Vance asked.
"She is... ethereal. I would not know how to approach her."
"She ain't an angel -- well, any more'n the rest of us." Vance chuckled at his own joke. "C'mon, Terrance, you're a reasonably attractive guy and only kind of strange. Go talk to her!"
Thanasius fixed his eyes on the girl, trying to convince himself to take Vance's advice. Golden bells rang again, and she tossed her hair back, revealing the fine line of her neck and the delicate curve of her ear. She was wearing earrings shaped like radishes. Was that a reference to Luna Lovegood? His heart banged against his rib cage, and he had to squeeze his hands together to keep them from shaking. From what he could observe of this girl, she was the dictionary definition of Nice. She seemed so approachable. Still, he could not get his feet to move.
"That's it," said Vance, running his fingers through his curly dark hair. "You're taking too long. I'm'a go talk to her."
"No!" Thanasius cried, louder than he had intended. A few of the people around cast him weird looks, but he did not care. If he let Vance make a move on this girl, he knew that his friend would have her making out in a corner within twenty minutes. And there was really no way to compete with that, except to call first dibs. "No, I will speak to her."
"Way to go, Romeo." Vance grinned. Then he raised an eyebrow. "So... you gonna' do that now?"
Taking a deep breath, Thanasius nodded. Forcing his feet forward, he slowly made his way towards the couch.

♥/Kat!e

Today's Novel Idea Prompted by: