The Bad Ones

by Stylo Fantome

She glanced up at the boy who still held onto her arm, as if he was afraid she'd leave. Or as if he doesn't want me to get away …

She was soft spoken. Soft mannered. Soft in generally everything she did.

What an interesting soul.

He was obsessed with her.

She called to him, and she didn't even know it. Didn't know that he understood why she worked so hard to remain obscure – because she didn't want people to see the real her.

Maybe, just maybe, their hidden pieces matched. Con very much wanted to see the real her.

the way she'd stared at him, like she'd known him. Really seen him, through and through. A little scary. A lot exhilarating.

if that's me, are you the little girl?

he mumbled, smoothing his fingertips over her pencil strokes. It almost felt like he was touching her, and he took a deep breath through his nose.

He wanted to grab her by the arm and drag her out of the building. Take her into the woods and tear her apart. Become one with her, consume her. Find out what was wrong with him, and see if maybe she could cure him. Or even better – maybe find out she was the same.

“There's a difference between being an asshole, and being a monster. One is much better at hiding his character.”

“You wanna know why I lit your car on fire?” Con growled, and Dulcie watched as Chuck's eyes opened wide in shock. “You fucking did that!?” he shouted. “Because,” Con ignored him. “I thought you were in it.”

“Are you scared of me?” he demanded, his voice hoarse sounding. “No,” she answered straight away. “I think you should be,” he warned her. She took a deep breath. “I think you should be scared of me.”

As his teeth left bite marks down the side of her neck, she thought maybe she didn't need oxygen anymore. He could just breathe for her.

She wanted his darkness to swallow her whole. She wanted to be a part of it. She wanted to give her own darkness back to him.

She was talking about the feeling she was having whenever he was near. She knew he felt it, too. She was pretty sure if they'd been out in the open, the entire student body would've felt it. That's why he'd pulled her into the dark to kiss her. If they'd been standing in front of other people, they might have seen their true forms.

The only time he felt real was when he was doing something wrong.

when he'd kissed Dulcie. Only when he was completely letting go did he truly feel free.

It was a human sacrifice, and she was offering herself to your altar.

I wonder what Dulcie tastes like. I wonder if she'd let me bite hard enough to find out.

It was like Con had brought something to life in her, then taken it away just as abruptly.

She wanted to go, wanted to corner him somewhere, wanted to kick and scratch and bite until he recognized her for what she really was – his reflection.

Little red riding hood fell for the wolf.

Being a teenager is so very black and white. I long for technicolor.

She was angry. Con had ruined something great. Taken something away from her. She couldn't possibly have imagined it. It had only been a moment in time, but it had been one of the greats. Something she'd remember for a long time. One kiss, and no other guy would compare. It wasn't fair.

Dulcie - I couldn't say goodbye. I won't say I'm sorry, because I'm not, and I think you know why. I should've gotten this for you sooner. You see things other people don't. Take pictures, and then look at them and draw what you really see in the frames. Don't be afraid. And don't disappoint me. Constantine

She'd known it. She'd been right. It wasn't just her, it wasn't just some random moment in time. It had been realer than anything she'd ever experienced.

Constantine Masters, now there was some high-definition for her life.

when you come back for me, you'll see that we're the same.

something she had been missing for far longer than he'd been gone.

Not a day went by where he didn't think of Dulcie.

He couldn't tell where he was when he was with her. Was he bad for her? Or was she bad for him?

Dulcie could ruin his plans, could destroy his carefully built facade.

So much darkness. Falling in love with this chick would be easy, but surviving each other … that's an entirely different story.

She wasn't scared of anything, least of all some stupid party in the woods. And definitely not Con Masters. No, I'm not scared of him. I'm terrified.

I gotta ask, though … this isn't weird, is it?” “What?” Con was confused. “This … y'know. Dulcie and me. Dulcie and you. You two had a thing, right?” Jared asked. Con had to stop himself from replying with “there is no 'Dulcie and you', so why would it be weird?”

Dulcie and I were never 'a thing'.” No, we were almost everything.

She wanted someone to take a bite out of her. She wanted someone to bleed for her. She wanted to make him understand that she would rather stab him in the eye with a hot poker than get naked with him. Jesus, just break up with his poor kid before he realizes you're fucking psychotic.

I want to be in the dark with him.

Wishing for a boy to like you. Wishing to run away. Wishing for magic. You are so tragically young, it's not even funny.

This man, this filthy excuse for a human being, had the audacity to touch her. To think he was allowed to touch her. That she would let him get away with it.

“Who the fuck do you think you are!?” she screamed at him, walking up to his side. He went to sit up and she stomped on his chest.

“I should fucking kill you. Fucking touching me. For even thinking you could touch me. Disgusting. Don't even look at me when I walk away.”

“He fucking touched you,” Con was gasping for air as he finally stepped back from the damage. “No one is allowed to touch you. I can't believe he fucking touched you.”

Didn't he know he was trespassing on private property? The sole property of one very dark boy?

“Did he touch you?” Dulcie knew he wasn't asking about the homeless man. “Not in any way that counts,” she replied, turning to look at him. His hands had moved to grip the steering wheel. “So he has touched you.” “Jared was just an experiment, I wanted to see if -” “You let him fucking touch you.” “You fucking left me!” she was suddenly screaming.

“You fucking left me in this fucking town, without a goddamn goodbye! Without a goddamn word! God, you have no idea what it's been like. That fucking camera, all those drawings. And there's all these people, and talking, and feeling this way, and all the blackness, and I don't even know what's wrong with me, and nothing. You come back, and it's like nothing to you. Oh hey, Dulcie. Where's your sketchbook, Dulcie. Come to a party, Dulcie. Let me just fuck this chick in the woods, Dulcie. So you know what? Yeah, he fucking touched me. I let him fucking touch me. And I hated every minute of it, and I would pretend it was you, and I would hate you, and I would hate myself, and I just let it happen.”

“Stupid little Dulcie,” he whispered, his breath hot against her lips. She held onto his wrists and glared at him, but didn't try to pull away. His fingers got tighter. “So scared of the big bad wolf.” “I'm not … scared of you,” she managed to gasp out, but then his grip grew so tight he completely cut off her oxygen. “Of course you aren't scared of me. I'm not the wolf. You are.”

I wish you'd told me sooner, Con. We could've reveled in our darkness together.

It was easier to believe Con was the darkness, and she was simply drawn to it. Basking in his wake. But that was a lie – she was every bit as dark as him. They were the same animal. She'd just been better at deceiving herself. And now they'd evolved into something else, into a new, higher being.