The Robot, The Cyborg, And The Duckling Part 2

The Robot, The Cyborg, And The Duckling Part 2, SMOLDERING EARLY BIRD SPECIAL

 

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Her feet were tired.

 

“Elsa.”

 

It was too hot.

 

“Elsa!”

 

She wished she was back in her room.

 

“ELSA!”

 

She felt a hand grab at her wrist. The hold didn’t hurt, but it was firm. Elsa didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

 

“Go back to Rapunzel, Eugene.” She said icily, trying to tug her hand away.

 

“She’s just trying to help, Elsa!” Eugene said, trying to keep up the pace.

 

“I don’t WANT her help!” Elsa screamed, and instantly she felt her throat go hoarse. She wasn’t used to the volume.

 

“At least she’s TRYING, Elsa! Or maybe you’ve forgotten what that’s like?” Eugene said.

 

“What makes you think you understand? You’re just a normalfag!” Elsa said, her voice reedy as she tried again to free herself from Eugene’s grip.

 

“I understand plenty!” Eugene said with a tone of anger that Elsa had never heard from the usually sarcastic and glib man. She felt herself being pulled back, and turned around to look straight into Eugene’s scowl.

 

“Normalfag, normalfag, normalfag. You two just throw that word around like it even MEANS anything! Well maybe I CAN get that feeling or whatever it is you two keep whispering about! So you went a few years without your sister right next to you, huh? Why don’t you try EIGHTEEN without a single person to turn to?” Eugene said, not yelling, but matching the turmoil that Elsa felt in her own heart.

 

“You think you’re alone? Try being ONE kid in an orphanage dorm filled with nineteen empty bunks and just some shitty paperbacks to read because nobody wanted a kid with ‘a history’ or didn’t want you because you’re fucking ‘too old’.” Eugene said, his eyes smoldering, and Elsa could feel the untapped heat underneath Eugene’s glare.

 

“You don’t even know what Rapunzel’s been through, do you? Look at you, Elsa. Your parents loved you, Anna loved you, and from what I hear, up until college, you weren’t even that fucked up either.” Eugene said throwing Elsa’s hand down in disgust. “Maybe if you had a childhood like mine or Rapunzel’s, I’d have some sympathy for you. Maybe if you were a monster or something, I’d give you a pass. But you’re just a selfish robot wallowing in self-pity.”

 

Elsa stood there, shocked as the words spilled out of Eugene’s mouth, each syllable cutting deeper and deeper into her already fractured soul.

 

“Did you ‘feel’ that, Elsa? I hope I used the word right.” Eugene said, turning his heel and walking away from the broken girl. And break she did.

 

The pain in her voice forgotten, Elsa let out a shriek and launched herself at Eugene’s back, clawing and tearing at his hair.

 

Eugene was surprised, but it was hardly the first time he’d been caught off-guard and getting attacked by a hellkite. Elsa managed to give him a few scratches on his cheek and pull out some of his hair, but soon enough Eugene held Elsa’s wrists tight, the girl only weakly struggling as tears and sobs replaced the anger and acid.

 

“Shut up… shut up… I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I don’t know why I’m like this. I don’t know why I feel this way.  It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault. It’s not…” Elsa said, though her mouth opened wide to shout, only hoarse whispers coming out.

 

Eugene felt like he’d been sighing too much lately in the past few days. Gently, he lowered Elsa’s arms and slipped his own around the girl, hugging her tightly as her shaking sobs quieted and grew still.

 

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry was even born… I’m not even a real person.” Elsa managed to choke out, no longer caring about harming Eugene and thoroughly drenching his clothes as she buried her face in his shoulder.

 

“Nah… you seem plenty real to me.” Eugene said, holding Elsa as she finally stopped crying and just let herself be held.

 

“I don’t want to be this way, Eugene. I just want to be fixed.” Elsa whispered, though whether she was whispering because of the weight of her words or the pain in her throat, she didn’t really know. Eugene loosened his embrace and nodded.

 

“Yeah, I don’t think people can be fixed, Els. Everybody’s pretty broken one way or another. I think that’s just how we come out.” Eugene said, smirking, but it didn’t have the usual vigor behind it.

 

“Anna thinks I can be. Rapunzel too.” Elsa said, and she couldn’t help but letting a sad smile slip through as well.

 

“Well, those two aren’t exactly rocket scientists. Well actually, I read a few of the books that Rapunzel has lying around so maybe… ugh, whatever. They don’t act like rocket scientists.” Eugene said and threw up his hands. Again, in spite of herself, Elsa let out a choked laugh.

 

“I’m sorry, Eugene.” Elsa said, lowering her gaze to the sidewalk.

 

“Nothing to be sorry about. I would have clawed out my eyes too if I said any of that garbage.” Eugene shrugged, smirking again. He let that mask slide a bit and talked honestly with Elsa. “Listen. I got carried away back there. You might not have had a really dark past like me or Rapunzel, but that doesn’t mean that I get to talk shit about what goes on in head. I mean, I still don’t really get what goes in mine, so I shouldn’t be the one talking about not understanding.”

 

Elsa tried to say something, and she wasn’t even sure what she did want to say, but the toil of the night and the emotional roller-coaster finally caught up with her and all she could manage was a little cough.

 

“And that’s my cue to take you back to your sunny, loving, IMPULSIVE cousin so she can shower you with apologies and we can let this pity party roll on past dawn.” Eugene laughed, throwing his arm around Elsa’s shoulder. “Well, only if you want to, I mean.” He said as an afterthought, stopping his stride.

 

Elsa just gave a win smile and nodded, taking a step back towards the Snuggly Duckling and Eugene broke into a wide grin.

 

“That’s the spirit! You know, this reminds me a lot when I first met Rapunzel. Now if you want to talk about a girl being a downer, you should have seen her…” Eugene said, and he launched into a story as the pair shuffled back to where they once came from.