The Artistry of Love

by C. J. Scarlett

  That’s when I heard it. There was an explosion and a scream. I immediately heard the connection sever, leaving me with a bit of worry about what to do next. On the one hand, I had to get over there, but on the other, I felt as if there was something holding me back, as if my legs were made of jello or something. I started to move, forcing myself forward. I had to go trace the call.

  It came from the area where there were reports of him. But what could’ve caused the explosion? I didn’t even know, but I hoped that I’d make it before it’s too late.

  I rushed over to one of the crafts that were nearby, a standard leisure craft. This would have to do. I immediately put it in gear and, suddenly, I started to feel it go up. I went in the direction of the call, and where it was all happening. But, when I got there, I realized that this was going to be much different than I expected. I would soon be greeted with a sight that I really wished I wouldn’t ever have to see again.

  ~Tracey~

  I went to get my coffee that day, rushing over to the café in order to get back to the easel. I was super inspired recently, and I wanted nothing more than for this to just fall into place. However, I started to feel a bit anxious. I didn’t even know why.

  Maybe it was because of what Jives told me about his father? I didn’t want to run into him. That was the last thing that I wanted. But would I? I doubted it. I mean, he could be hiding anywhere, but at this point, I’d started to believe that this was definitely going to be a bit different than I thought. After a while though, I finally made it inside the café, getting some coffee.

  I thought about just heading back to the easel, but then I felt my body stop in place. I looked around and, suddenly, I noticed it. There was a figure there, someone that seemed almost oddly familiar. I don’t even know why, mostly because I never expected this sort of thing to happen. I mean, what was this person doing here? After a while, they walked away, and I felt a sigh of relief.

  Then I saw them again.

  Not even ten minutes later I saw him there once more. But that’s when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw that there was something behind him. It looked like a blob of something, and I felt like it was familiar.

  “What in the world is that?” I asked myself.

  “Something the matter?” someone said.

  I looked over and saw it was a waitress, probably just to check up on me. I then began to nod. “Yeah. Everything is fine,” I told her.

  “I figured. I’ll leave you to it,” she said.

  She walked away, and I breathed another sigh of relief. I began to watch what was going on here, and that’s when I began to notice it.

  Holy crap. That was the slime from the night we got attacked at the pier, the night when he first changed.

  I had to do something. But what? I looked around. It was then when I saw the man staring directly at me. He seemed to almost know that I knew about him. I shivered, unsure of what to do in this case. I began to walk over to the restroom, hiding in the corner and pulling out my phone. He couldn’t see me here, right? I began to dial the number Jives gave me, and after a moment or so, he answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Jives, it’s me. You have to come here. I’m at the coffee house. I think I see your father. He had some of those squid things and I don’t really know what to make of it, but I think you need to come here—”

  Just then I heard the sound of something exploding. It was very close, and immediately, the dust that was kicked up hit my mouth and nose, making me cough. I looked behind me, and as I saw the remains of the café, I immediately felt anxious. What was going on? Who bombed the place?

  Was it really him? Then, I saw them. There were slime creatures everywhere, each of them grabbing the humans that were there. They started to entangle them, holding them tightly. I started to run, immediately grabbing my phone and holding it. I needed to get out of here.

  But there was no way out. I could see that the man was guarding the entrance. He walked towards me, and I braced myself. I started to feel slightly nervous, especially since he didn’t dare break eye contact with me.

  He moved closer, making me shudder as I saw the look in his eyes. Bloodlust. That’s what it was. He reached towards me, holding me there, and grinning.

  “You’re the one I’ve heard about. His new little fucktoy. I can’t believe he chose some human bitch. I’m surprised my son even likes you,” he said.

  I could feel his hands, cold and clammy. I started to struggle, but it was no use.

  “Don’t even try. It seems that you’re the one spoiling all of the fun. Now, I guess it’s time for your payback my dear,” he said.

  He slapped me, and I tried to fight him back. But this alien was too strong. He pushed me off into the hands of two of the slime monsters, holding me there.

  “I’m not going to take you away. Not yet. But I think it’s time that I have a chat with my son. After all this time,” he said.

  I struggled to get away, knowing full well that this was impossible to do. I felt scared, unsure of what to make of this. I began to wonder when he would show up. I wasn’t able to tell him where I was because of the explosion, and the fact that it cut off the phone signal. He probably cut some wires around here to prevent telecommunications. I started to wonder just what this man had planned. Why was he here? What did he want with either of us? Was this just a grudge match, or something else?

  I felt nervous, scared, and most of all, at the mercy of this man. I felt like he had a whole lot planned for me, especially since he knew who I was. I was Jives’ partner, the person he’d been seeing, the one that he fell in love with. When he looked at my captor, I could already tell he was thinking of taking all of that away from him, whether he liked it or not.

  I didn’t want that. I didn’t want this to be the end but, at the same time, I could feel the anxiety looming over me. I soon noticed that the slime monsters had everyone. But where was he? Where was Jives? It was then I saw the craft park nearby, and he came forward. He looked at me, his eyes wide with shock, and I looked at him with an imploring gaze. But his father, the man that was responsible for him, and the mess that he made, smiled at him, and it was the most evil smile I’d ever seen.

  ~Jives~

  I can’t believe he’s here.

  I wanted to punch him in the face, to kill him right on the spot, but he had Tracey. I knew that there were others there as well, but the fact that he had Tracey right there, with a smile that screamed his intent to kill, made me hold my fingers together. I looked at him with anger.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” I asked him.

  “I don’t know. Depends. I feel like you certainly would like to know. But I think the two of us need to play a little bit of catch-up. After all, it’s been so long, hasn’t it? You’re probably wondering how I made it out of that lab,” he said.

  “That would be nice to know,” I spat. I can’t believe it was true, that he was alive, and the other man just simply smiled.

  “Well, you can thank Lavvy for that. She busted me out in secret, taking me to her planet. From there, they gave me power because of my research, because they knew that there was something more to me than this. But I didn’t expect this to all come to this. I did work with her and the people there. I’m sent as an emissary to destroy this place. We’ve got our eyes set on it, and if you dare defy me it’ll spell war. You saw how easily I decimated this place and, if you refuse to let me go, I’m going to take your precious little girlfriend with me. She’s quite cute. I never expected you to bed some whore of a human,” he spat.

  How dare this fucker call her a whore! I immediately felt the anger reverberating through my body as I rushed forward, frightened of whatever was to happen next. I started to feel anxious, the feeling almost driving me completely mad. I didn’t want to shift, but I felt that I would have to in order to get the upper hand. I felt the urge to change, the urge to finally show who I really was.

  But I didn’t. There were too many humans arou
nd. I couldn’t put myself at risk like that. The Earth government would have a field day knowing the truth. I began to attack my father, but he parried everything.

  “What’s the matter? Can’t shift? Are you not going to fight me with all of your power in order to protect your precious girlfriend?”

  “I can’t shift here,” I muttered.

  “Well, that’s too bad, because if you can’t then you’re nothing but swine that can’t fight,” he said.

  He punched me in the jaw, sending me flying back. Despite him not shifting, I could tell that he still could tap into his power. I couldn’t shift. Not yet. I don’t want to be seen as a freak by everyone. But, when I looked at Tracey, bound by the slime monsters and at the mercy of their grip, I was tempted to.

  But I had a feeling that tapping into this would be easier. That’s what I did. I needed to protect her. I had so much control over everything here, that just merely tapping into this, using it for good and to protect her, would suffice. I began to close my eyes, my father’s own obviously boring into me. I then gripped my fingers together, my eyes changing color, but I managed to hold everything back.

  I lunged straight at the bastard, ready for a fight. I was still in my human form, and most of the people here would probably just think it was Klanden strength. But under the surface of that was the desire to protect. I wanted to protect Tracey. I wanted to watch over her, to hold onto her, to treat her like the princess that she was. I needed to make sure that she was okay, that this would all just work out when the time was right. My father continued to parry the attacks, his eyes widening at the fact that I could keep up. He seemed to be struggling. Then, I hit him with a blow.

  There was a small air of purple against there. He groaned, and I immediately pushed my hand straight into there once more. He fell back, hitting the wall once again. He looked at me, and I at him. It was obvious what we would need to do now.

  We started to fight, both of us exchanging blows. He seemed to hold his ground well, but I could tell he faltered. I started to smile, knowing full well that this was indeed going my way. After a while, he fell back, smiling at me.

  “So, it seems like you want to put up a fight then. No matter, I guess I’ll be making some arrangements with a few friends. Unless, of course, you can stop me,” he said with a sly grin.

  I shivered, knowing that this was not going to be good. He was probably going to declare war. All because of this. I had to defeat him, and I had to prevent war from firing up.

  He pushed Tracey down on the ground, glaring at me.

  “You can have your little girlfriend back. But, if you want to protect this filthy planet and all of these wretched humans, you better come find me. You know where it is. I’ll be waiting. You have a month,” he said.

  Before I knew it, the other aliens moved away, freeing the rest of the people. It was then when my father and his entourage disappeared, leaving me with worry.

  I grabbed Tracey, holding her tightly and caressing her. Would it be okay? There was a lot that I had to think about but, for now, the safety of my lover was all I could focus on, and I needed to stop this war before it was too late.

  Chapter 8

  ~Tracey~

  I could see the look in his eyes. Fear. I didn’t expect them to attack, but something told me that this was just a warning shot. I looked up at Jives, who seemed to be struggling. I came over, embracing him.

  “Are you okay?” I asked him.

  “Yes. I am fine,” he muttered.

  I could see the truth in his eyes. He wasn’t fine. We needed to get out of here.

  “Quit playing the tough guy. I know something is wrong,” I said to him.

  He looked at me with an expression that screamed he wanted to argue with me on this, but he knew he couldn’t win. He knew that I was the one calling the shots here, and he just had to work with it.

  “Don’t play the hero, Jives. I know you want to argue, but we should go back,” I told him.

  “What about the place here?”

  “We can deal with that later. For now, let’s go back to my studio,” I told him.

  He tried to put up a fight. He could be such a stubborn bastard at times. But I lugged one of his arms over my shoulder, holding it there as I started to move out of the area. The trek was long, and I already knew that we’d have to talk about our future at this point. We got to the ship, and when we stood there, I turned to him with a look.

  “Are you willing to drive?” I asked.

  “I can.”

  We got in, and I punched in the coordinates so that he didn’t try to pull a fast one. We got to the studio, and when we stepped inside, he looked at me, and I sighed.

  “I know what you’re thinking. You want to go after him,” I stated.

  “I do. I want to make that bastard pay,” he said.

  “Don’t be stupid, Jives. You’re rushing into this far too fast, and I’m not going to let you get hurt. You and I both know that a plan of attack needs to be implemented. Your father is an asshole, yes, but it’s also important that you don’t work in the wrong direction. You need to think about this,” I told him.

  “I know, but I’m worried about everyone. About the fate that we’re about to share. About you,” he said.

  “Don’t worry about me. I need you to plan the attack, and I think it’s smart if we take our time here. You need to strategize,” I told him.

  He was thinking about just marching in there still. I had to stop this.

  “I know you don’t want this Jives. But think about it. if you attacked now, could you really win? You’re hurt, and you’re acting on feelings that you can’t control. I know that this isn’t easy for any of us, but I’m going to tell you right now, let’s focus on our plan of attack, and work to stop this war,” I told him.

  He looked at me, and could see I was serious about this. It was then when he pulled me into his arms, and I squeaked. I didn’t expect him to suddenly show affection. But I liked the feeling, and I did the same. Both of us embraced one another for what seemed to be hours, but it was probably just a few more minutes. When he finally pulled back, he looked at me with a smile.

  “Thank you. For everything,” he told me.

  “What did I do?” I asked him.

  “You saved me. You stepped in when the time was right, and I’m happy about that,” he replied.

  I blushed. In a sense, I didn’t expect him to be like this. I mean, he seemed grateful for all that I did for him, and in truth, I was happy about that.

  “I’m glad that you’re happy. I wanted to help you. I just always kind of feel like I never can. Because I’m a human, and you probably look down on me,” I said. I did wonder this.

  Then, he turned to me, pressing his lips to my own, holding me there. The two of us let our lips move and our tongues dance with one another. It was a sudden, thrilling feeling, but I felt like all the issues that I had were gone in a flash. He pulled back, grinning at me.

  “You worry too much, you know that?” he said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “What I mean is, I’m not going to leave you. Sure, I had a warped idea of what humans were like for a long time, but after meeting you, after being with you, after seeing how passionate you are about everything, and how everything seems to be right when I’m around you, I know for a fact that you’re the one that I want. I’m not going to leave, and I want to support you, just as you have supported me,” he said to me with a serious glance.

  I blushed. “Thank you,” I said.

  “You’re welcome. Honestly, I want to plan our next attack, but I don’t want to do it right away. Maybe the two of us should take some time to relax, since we probably need it,” he said to me.

  I blushed, feeling slightly nervous about all of this. I knew for a fact that we both did have our own personal desires that seemed to press forward. But, as time started to pass, as everything began to change, I felt a bit happier, more whole, and much better about this.

/>   “Yeah, let’s relax,” I said.

  We sat down on the bench, looking at one another. I was a strangely intimate moment, and that’s when I felt his hand grasp my own.

  “When this is over, I… I want you to work for me. I don’t want to rush into marriage or any of that crap, but I know that you’re the one I desire, and because of that, I want to see where this will lead, and where we’ll end up,” he said to me.

  I shivered. I knew that this was definitely not going to be easy for either of us. There were a lot of things that we both knew, a lot that we definitely needed to figure out for ourselves. I didn’t want to rush into that either, but the idea of being with him did sit well with me.

  “I’m glad we’re both on the same page, then. I was worried that we might end up how my best friend did. I don’t want to rush into marriage, into love, and into any of that. I want to be with you. I do love you a lot, Jives, I just… I want to get rid of the problems that we have, and I think it’s also important to stop this war and work on planetary relations first,” I told him.

  He looked at me, seeing the determination in my eyes. “You know, I don’t give you enough credit. You’re smart, and you certainly know what you want. I admire the hell out of that, you know?” he said.

  I flushed, feeling excited about everything that was going on. “Thank you,” I replied.

  There was a bit of an awkward silence, and then, I felt him move closer to me. The two of us hugged, but I could tell that something was on his mind. When we parted, he looked at me with a blush, and I began to shiver.

  “Say, there is something that I kind of want to try. If that’s okay with you,” he said.

  I looked at him, a bit embarrassed by what he might ask me.

  “What is it?”

  He then stood up, looking at me with a serious expression. “I want you to paint me. The real me,” he said.

  I looked at him, a bit unsure of what he wanted. I mean, why? I did paint him once before, the night he showed me his secret and it was embedded into my brain. I looked a bit nervous, but then he started to blush.