Writing Cinderella

As if electrified by some amount of sheer, crazed delight; it seemed that the thunderstorms and in particular the clouds painted up gracefully yet raging like mad men in the skies matched the mixed emotions I saw in my own eyes with ever reflection I caught of myself in shop windows I passed by on the way home. The sweetest sounds of bubblegum k-pop music playing through my headphones that I'd been listening to ever since I stepped foot off the bus 15 minutes ago seemed to keep me balanced as the tender roars coming from the sky only urged and added onto the miserable feeling of the day I'd ensured. Catching me off guard, soon enough - a sickle pour of slick and heavy rain came down harder and faster than I could have imagined for an autumn day.

The violet hem of my heavy cotton skirt along with the white delicate lace bust of my blouse had both quickly become drenched and transparent. As usual, with rampant and moody weather, the ends of my hair curled in towards my shoulders eagerly as if trying to hide themselves for protection and the glasses I wore - thin, dark green framed; began to fog up. To make things worse, my shoes were completely wet - flooded by every misstep I took as I tried to choreograph my way through the puddles carved deep along the sidewalk as I upped my pace, quickly wanting to make it home before a more violent storm started brewing through town.

Even in somewhat misery; the downtown city of Waterhaven had this upmost fresh and crisp scent that I wasn't still quite use to; an eclectic mix of ground coffee beans infused with lemon sorbet that confused the senses into think it was spring all year round. Nothing though, was able to compare to the smell of home sweet home - which was both warm and inviting, and within a few steps, I was there.

Riding up the elevator alone and in complete silence; it occurred to me that home was an apartment on the 29th floor of a building reserved for widowers and nocturnal freaks yet for some reason, this felt comforting. Forcing the unlocked front door open at the end of the hall when I'd gotten there to escape the elements which had followed me inside; I could hear the gentlest of whistling - a kettle on the stove in the kitchen, which mocked the failings of injured bluebirds who'd lost flight as I wanted down the tiny corridor to the back of the apartment. Shaking off the cardigan I'd been wearing from my shoulders which did nothing for protection, I tossed it over to rest on the back of an antique dining chair and quickly attended the kettle, not bothering to turn the lights on in fear of possibly short circuiting the place.

Pulling the kettle off the heat and turning off the stove, I poured the hot water into two dainty china mugs which were already set out on the bench and enjoyed the last moment of heat which the kitchen had. From the corner of my eye, a torn piece of lined paper caught my attention. Leaving it where it was; I let my eyes faintly skim over the scribbled blank ink as I took a deep breath and came to the end of what I was reading. Sighing, I licked my lips with a deep curiosity and placed the mugs on a small wooden tray deciding to carry them upstairs.

K,
S called this afternoon.
Said something that I can't quite remember.
The kettle is boiling.
Headphones are on.
I'm in my element.
- H

Remembering what was written - I cut a small orange up to drop into the bottom of the tea mugs before adding a shot of whiskey and carried the tray upstairs, giving the citrus time to infuse with the tea Harry had brought back from his time in Taiwan before I got to his bedroom door.
"Harry...", I called out before quickly remembering he had headphones on.
A gentle kick with my foot at the bottom of the bedroom door didn't go quite well with getting the boys attention although I managed to ajar the door; slipping through the tiny entrance I'd made and making my way into the dark yet dusk room.

A string of dainty coloured party lights had been strung which were a new addition; I hadn't seen them the last afternoon I was in here. They framed the bed and small window perfectly; shining fantastic colours of bright reds, teasing purples, silent yellows, lustful pinks and fresh blues. It was like a wonderland - I guess things like this just added to Harry's 'element'.

Noticing the extra presence in the room, Harry dropped the little black bound leather journal he was holding onto his chest and shot me a smile, pulling the headphones off his head and tossing them on the bed beside him. He'd been scribbling; a pen held between his teeth almost childlike before he quickly propped himself up onto his forearms as I placed the tray down on the bedside table. My wrists exhausted.

"You should have knocked.."
"You wouldn't have heard..."

Picking up a mug and pressing the rim of the fine blue painted china to his lips before taking a sip, Harry inhaled the warm cocktail tea I'd made in a rush and with an alluring smile of inquisitiveness, pushed himself back on the bed to rest against the headboard as I laid down beside him, relaxed as a cat.

"How was work?", Harry asked, his voice husky and rough. I wasn't sure if he'd been asleep by the sound of it or if the whiskey had kicked in; lining his throat already.

"Work was alright...", I responded in a huff, "Same shit different day."

Throughout our college life together and even during the last two high school years, Harry and I had gotten comfortable with the idea of friendship in which heavy suggestions and secrets were out; certainly if not always in the open between us. We’d spent hundreds of school days and wasteful studying hours passing notes to one another and making suggestive taunts towards one another; it only seemed right now that after all that time, not a single insult or fuck could be given with care.

"Simon called...", Harry continued after taking another sip. The smirk on his face increased with an added print of adolescence and I couldn't tell if it was alcohol induced or that he'd become to take a disliking at my misfortune and awkwardness of my work situation. My boss; who I'd been with all day - had decided to ring.

"What did he want?", I asked with a yawn - stifled, it scraped my lips as I stretched out, eyes tracing over the window frame and the polaroid photographs which were tacked on the wall; taken last weekend at Harry's 23rd before finally running up Harry's lean frame and working their way to his lucid, dark eyes.

"To see you", he muttered in response, "Something about business and a new opportunity..", he finished by snapping his fingers together as if the constant scrapping of skin against skin with each unplanned friction would tickle his memory.

"He's always about business..."
"A plan or a proposition I think..", Harry whispered in between sips of tea, "I was too busy--."
"Writing and drinking", I finished off his sentence for him as I shut my eyes.
"You know me too well Katerina."
"So what have you been writing all day? Will this get published?", I asked with curiosity.
"Perhaps", Harry mumbled, "It depends if I like the end result.."
"The end result?", I questioned raising an eyebrow.
"When someone reads my work, I'm stealing their time Kat. In which case...", he paused searching for the right words, "I might as well be sure I offer them a time where they can laugh and cry and feel happy."

The sound of furious knocking and egoistic mind-numbing yelling came from downstairs and momentarily ended our perfection on top of the sheets. I found it hard to move; the heat vent above the bed transforming the room from the harsh chills I'd experienced only minutes before outside to an alluring sanctuary I'd grown fond of. I hadn't even begun my tea.

"That would be Mel..", Harry mumbled, a frown showing through his gesture as he placed the tea he was having back down onto the tray. My arm quickly finding his waist, I pulled him back down hard against the bed trying to keep him still as I mumbled faintly too myself incoherently, letting out a small whine before rubbing my eyes as if they'd just been exposed to a harsh light. Melissa always had a talent for showing up at the most inconvenient of times. Times that Harry and I never got to experience anymore.

"Harry... stay..", I mumbled into his side softly, "Let her just wait in the cold. I barely get to spend anytime with you."

"Kat...", he laughed like a child, "That's what growing up does to you."

Rolling over onto his side; Harry brushed some hair from my face and I shut my eyes eagerly at histouch; letting out a cliché deep sigh I was so use to giving in situations such as this. I could feel my blood starting to boil as it pumped feverishly through my veins. I adored Harry; but his naiveté to most things I mentioned really rubbed me up the wrong way some days.

“No Harry, that’s what relationships do. Everything was fantastic between us until she showed up..”
“Between us?”, he muttered under his breath, probably in the hopes I wouldn’t hear him.
“You know”, I stuttered nervously at my choice of words, “I’d fuck up, run to you for help and with the snap of your fingers, everything was fine again. You make everything turn out how it should be..”

The knocking became faster, louder, un-amusing.

“If she’s going to ruin the afternoon at least let me get it”, I finished with a sigh pulling myself up and off the bed lading feet first. The warmth I’d created had disappeared within seconds; a yawn and long stretch above my head, arms up exposing my stomach sightly caused a restless pattern to emerge. I shook my hair out of the messy twist I’d thrown it up in this morning and headed for the front door in silence.

Peeping through the lookout hole, I quickly played with the lock, unsure of why Mel hadn't tried to just burst her way through knowing that it would have just been opened and pulled the door inwards, exposing my tired self to the two people who stood on my doorstep; Melissa who wasn't enthused to see me, which I reciprocated and my boss Simon, in full clad suit.
"Looks like someone has a stalker", Melissa muttered under her breath as she waltzed in, pushing my aside as she made herself at home.

"Simon... it's like 7 o'clock? This couldn't wait until tomorrow?", I asked my boss crossing my arms wondering why he'd shown up and not just called my cell.

"No time for that... c'mon we have to hurry...", he explained like a maniac short on time, "You're never going to believe what happened..."

Notes

Slow... I know, but I promise - the story is going to soon be on a roll x
Let me know what you think! I've taken an old story of mine and twisted it into a brand new fairytale ;) xx