Monsterstruck

CHAPTER VIII: Fairy Tale

              Gaiety filled the room. The pounding of the bass that blared over the background got their feet stomping and moshing to the sick beat.  It was a red-letter day for “The Clamor” band. They had signed into an elite recording company.  Etched with much buoyancy and triumph, they did a toast.

               “Cheers to “Clamor!” Craig crowed.

              “Cheers!!!” They all chorused gleefully.

              “This is it dudes. I know it was like hitching one’s wagon to the star at first, but all our hard work and talents have paid off!” Cameron marveled out emotionally.

              “Yes! I can now envision us touring all over the world!” Jake beamed wistfully.

              “Whoa that was huge Jake! But who knows?” Alex crowed as he popped another bottle of champagne.

              “How about let’s hit it off to Boracay this summer?” Craig piped up.

              “Uhmm vacation or are we going to perform there?” Cameron heckled.

              “Maybe we could have it both!” Craig crowed.

              “That’s rad!” They all chorused jovially as they moshed to their debut single “Bullet Skies” playing in the background.

              Unknown to them, Vylet was watching them from afar with much disappointment especially for the lead singer, Craig. So how could he have the guts to throw a party and not gave a single f**k on his father’s case?  Ughh, he is rotten to the core. Hasn’t he read all the tabloids about the rampant killings, missing bodies, and the like? But where is Mrs. Davis? It occurred to her that Craig hasn’t mentioned anything about his mom before.

              Suddenly, a gentle tap on her shoulders snatched her away from her queries. Startled, Vylet spun around only to see the drummer of the Clamor, Jake, grinning like a Cheshire cat at her.

              “Hi!” Jake greeted animatedly at her.

              Pretending that she doesn’t know him, she bluffed. “Do I know you?” Vylet asked, wriggling her brows.

              “Maybe you don’t know me, but I do know you. You’re Craig’s biggest fan, right?” Jake retorted, grinning.

              “Craig who? Ah, the lousy vocalist of a sucky post-hardcore band?” Vylet bantered feistily.

              “Aww c’mon, don’t play like that sweetheart, I have seen that before.” Jake beamed playfully as he winked at her. 

              “Douche,” Vylet said through clenched teeth.

              With that, Jake laughed and shook his head.  ‘Craig was right about this chic’ He thought.

              “Hey Craig! Over here!” Jake yelled impulsively.

              With that, Vylet just shot him a frantic look.

              Craig’s head shot up from the distance as his gaze riveted towards Jake’s spot. He blinked, stunned to see Vylet beside his friend. So, what is she doing here? But he couldn’t deny the fact that this room suddenly lit up the moment he saw her. How he missed those pair of catlike eyes, and its death ray glares at him. How he missed that small mouth bickering at him. Yes, he had met a lot of girls at the course of being a breakout musician and even during his college days, but those were just faces— none of them have gotten his interest.

              As he reached towards her, Craig couldn’t help but to feel enthralled by her bewitching beauty as he always felt with her.

              “Guess I’ll leave you alone guys. I’ll just attend to the BIG guests of our sucky post hardcore band,” Jake countered, smirking lopsidedly as he eyed Vylet meaningfully. Vylet just shot Jake a lazy grin.

              “How did you know our place?” Craig asked incredulously, unsure of what to say first.

              Gritting her teeth, Vylet shoved the tabloid on his chest.

              “Time to keep abreast of all the things around you, rockstar!” She taunted.

              Unnerved by her demeanor, Craig’s fingers grazed on the newspaper. His heartbeat accelerated as he saw the headline on the frontpage: MURDER TOLL ON THE RISE, POLICE SUSPECTS A SERIAL KILLER

              As he read along the details, his eyes almost fell out in its socket as he skimmed the lines —Mr.Davis’ murder case resemblance wherein vines of plants wrapped around the victim’s body.

              “How the heck you didn’t know that?” Vylet asked petulantly.

              Craig’s jaw suddenly tensed as his lips twitched in a bitter curve.

              “It’s no use at all. They can’t bring back my father’s life anyway!” Craig replied bitterly.

              “How about this thing called ‘seeking for justice’, huh?” Vylet shot back.

              Craig just chuckled dryly and crumpled the tabloid.

              “I’ve lost my faith in that justice you’re talking about!” He said in an acerbic tone.

              “Well, suck it. I’m sorry for intruding your personal life. But it hurts to grow up without a father. You’re lucky you were born with a father and a mother. I grew up in an orphanage and luckily, I was adopted by a good woman who is now my mom.  I don’t know who I am, who my biological parents are and why they’ve forsaken me and dumped me into an orphanage. But I’ve realized that I’m still lucky because the woman who adopted me raised and bred me well,”

              Upon hearing that, his heart went out to her.

              “I’m sorry about that,” Craig mumbled apologetically.

              “Is that easy for you to give up for the one you love huh? If I were you, I’ll never stop seeking for justice.  You may lose your faith, but your father never loses his faith on you. Bring on the blood and guts, if I were you, I’ll do whatever it takes to find out who is accountable for all this m…” Vylet trailed off for a second.

What the hell I’m talking about anyway? Didn’t my kinds cause all these killings all along? And here I am telling him to seek for justice? Talk about hypocrisy at its finest.

              Craig looked at her intensely. He admired the conviction of this girl. She never failed to amuse him through and through. Despite of her rebellious façade, there lies a woman with a beautiful heart. Of course, much as he wanted to, he would go in any length in the name of seeking for justice of his father’s murder case. But faith was now glaringly outside of his vocabulary since her mother ruined everything, especially their marriage.

              “And besides, what happened to the healthy mind frame you’re talking about huh? It seems like you’re not practicing it!” Vylet reminded, yanking him away in deep thought.

              “Thanks for your sympathy and I’m sorry about last time,” Craig piped up.

              Last time? It felt like forever since the last time they have spoken.

              “I didn’t come here to sympathize. I came here to wake up your senses.  I think the loud sucky music you’re playing have gone all over your head, that’s why you’re too oblivious to what’s happening around you,” Vylet quipped as she folded her arms.

              Craig was stifling to laugh at her humor.

              “I’m not trying to be funny here,” Vylet retorted as she studied his expression.

              “I know,” Craig shot back smilingly. “…it’s just that you’re so cute when you talk too much,” he added.

              Biting her cheeks, Vylet’s gaze shifted uneasily across the room. Why does he have that effect on her? Damn it.

              “I better get going,” she mumbled, pursing her lips.

              “No, stay,” Craig pleaded in a low voice.

              “Why would I?” Vylet replied icily.

              “Let’s be friends again, Vylet,” he prodded as he eyed her intensely.

              “It’s better off this way Craig,” Vylet replied with a deep sigh.

              “Why? What’s holding you back?”

              “I’m dangerous Craig,” she said tersely.

              “I know,” he replied quickly, rolling his eyes.

              “No. You don’t know…anything!” Vylet interjected as she clenched her jaw.

              Craig pitched her an apprehensive look, noting that she was weirder than he had ever remembered.  Nevertheless, he couldn’t care less.  He liked that in her. Suddenly, a romantic song by Side A, “Forevermore” blared from the background. With that, Craig’s bandmates swept their gazes at him and to her lovely companion, mentally urging him to ask her to dance.

              Without a moment to spare, he cleared his throat.

              “May I have this dance?” Craig asked her, flashing a rakish smile at her.

              “I supposed to head home, right?” Vylet mouthed, exasperated.

              “Please?” He pleaded like a child.

              Reluctantly, she nodded. Craig’s smile was priceless.

              Vylet fidgeted as Craig held her hand. She could feel her feet limping towards the dancefloor. Clearly, dancing isn’t her cup of tea.  In a heartbeat, Craig led her to the dancefloor. He then wounded his hands around her waist. She could hear his bandmates hooting in the background.

              “Don’t mind them,” he murmured.

              “It’s not that. I’m a terrible dancer,” she hissed sheepishly.

              “Well, it’s just basic twirling, and swaying of our feet. Don’t worry, you got me.” Craig assured as he smiled crookedly.

               In no time, Vylet wounded her arms around his neck and bounced her gaze at his eyes. The beauty of his eyes pierced her heart—like a blast of supernova in the sky. They stared at each other as they danced, hearts under their sleeves and trellis of butterflies fluttering in their stomach.  The song finally hit the chorus — the most romantic part of the song. Reveling her fairy tale moment, she closed her eyes and basked on it.

              “I could tell you love the song,” he countered in his velvety voice.

              Vylet nodded heartily as her lips twisted in an overwhelming kind of smile which he rarely sees. How he wanted to capture that moment — sullen purple haired woman, smiling heartily and dancing in a cheesy song, with her loathed rockstar. It was more than they could ever imagined.

              Fighting his urge to trace the perfect outline of her face, Craig twirled her gracefully.

              “Uhmm, can I ask you something Craig?” Vylet asked with a reluctant edge in her voice— as if she was about to ask something that might touch him on the raw.

              “Sure,”

              “Where… is your mom? You haven’t mention anything about her,” Vylet asked, biting her cheeks.

              She was startled when she felt his hands ball into a fist. Aggressively, he swayed her.

              “What was that?” She asked, unnerved.

              “You’re really that interested to me, huh?” Craig jested and shot her a devilish grin.

              “Some people are just really full of themselves,” she snickered. Obviously, Craig was being evasive at the mention of his mom. She wondered why but decided to shut the hell up, not wanting to ruin the moment.

              Craig let out a soft peal of laughter and twirled her once more. She was on his arms as her back bent over his palms. Their eyes met again for an immeasurable moment. With that, they felt a spark ignite in their hearts.

               They didn’t notice the song had already ended and the crooner “First Time” by Lifehouse suddenly played in the background. It was one of Craig’s favorite songs from the band. Delighted, he sang along the first line until it reached the chorus.

              “You’re a fast learner,” Craig chirped.

              “Not really, but thanks,” Vylet replied with a Cheshire grin.

              She felt like they were slow dancing under the pale light of the moon, bathed with the sartorial spell of the moonbeam. She never wanted this to cease, this rare Cinderella moment in her life.

              “Time is up Cinderella. You must go back to reality. C’mon quench your thirst!” said the hollow voice inside her head.

              With that, she fumbled as she gently pulled away from him. Just like in fairy tales, there was always this wicked witch, who would go in all lengths to ruin the moment.

              “I better get going Craig. Thanks for this,” Vylet mumbled in a forlorn tone. No, she didn’t want to go, but she had to, before everything could go downhill. She realized that she was also the antagonist in her own fairytale. But Craig didn’t seem to hear what she just said.

              “Can we go back to the way we used to be?”  Craig crooned.

              “Craig, stay away from me. Please. You don’t know what danger lies ahead of you when you…”

              “I don’t care Vylet!  I once saved you from all those entities!  And still I don’t know what the heck was that and what they want from you. I’m hell bent to save you at any rate because…”

              “You never fail to infuriate me, Craig!  Ughh!!!” Vylet growled and walked away.

              “I like that Vylet. I like that when you get mad. I like that when you’re being tough, steadfast, snooty and anti-social at the same time.” Craig countered.

              She glanced over her shoulders, fighting back a smile.

              “Most of all, I like this feeling,” Craig clipped.

              Vylet’s eyes narrowed into confusion slits. What was he saying?  Slowly, Vylet turned around to face him.

              “What do you mean?” She heckled with her heart beating in unfathomable rate.

              Craig met her bewildered gaze as he treaded towards her, closing their gap. He then took her hands.

              “What…are you doing?”

              “I like this feeling...getting closer to you.” Craig crooned with his melodic imploring voice.