Please note that Tapas no longer supports Internet Explorer.
We recommend upgrading to the latest Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Firefox.
Home
Comics
Novels
Community
Mature
More
Help Discord Forums Newsfeed Contact Merch Shop
Publish
Home
Comics
Novels
Community
Mature
More
Help Discord Forums Newsfeed Contact Merch Shop
__anonymous__
__anonymous__
0
  • Publish
  • Ink shop
  • Redeem code
  • Settings
  • Log out

A promise to be given

The words of a stranger.

The words of a stranger.

May 13, 2020

✹✹✹

Chris wandered out of his classroom, like a ghost, his footsteps haunting and quiet. Tumbling down steps and doors, a drunk on emptiness and void feeling. His eyes, ever so blank, like a canvas waiting for a bitter, joyless emotion. His face faint, as his skin took on a new hue of white. But it was not shock, nor a fear that made his skin appear so, the happiness, and exceeding confidence Chris felt was seeping out, dripping into the empty spaces in the air, feeling like he was feeding an invisible beast who took great pleasure in such feelings of ecstasy.

He found Matius, grinning ear to ear, giggling and laughing, touching a blank brick wall, smoking as usual, in a spot behind the college's theater block.

"Chris!" He cheered, getting up from the two crumbling stone steps he was sitting on. "my not so cathartic friend," he hummed into a coughing chuckle, then sighed happily. "Oh come on, say something, you're never quiet on molly."

With an idiotic smile he turned to Chris, his head swaying along with a gentle push of the wind. Then he stopped, his eyes wide, as a sort of aliveness took hold of them, dropping his cigarette onto the ground. He stared at Chris for a few long minutes not saying a word.

Shortly James began to walk by, the same half witted smile plastered on his face as he approached closer, holding a greasy white paper bag within his left hand.

"Okay," he grinned, prolonging his words, "i bought barbecued chicken wings, and chips from the chip...py…" James's voices faded, as he paused. "holy shit. Chris," he spoke in a jolt, "your eyes."

Chris finally shattered into emotion, as he snapped his head back, rolling on his neck, as he let out a drawn out irritated groan.

"Fuck, alright, i get it, my eyes are-"

"Eerie." Matius put forth.

"Is it that bad?" Chris asked,

"No," James breathed, "their, well, their stunning."

Both James and Matius gazed at Chris, as if he were an exotic creature that would sooner disappear into the wild, then allow for even a glimmer of their beauty.

Chris sighed, leaning his back on the brick wall. "I'm pretty sure the molly has worn off too." He rumbled.

James creased his brows, "it shouldn't, it's only been about," he looked down taking his phone out his pocket, "an hour and fifty."

"Well i ain't feeling all that great anymore," he murmured.

"Maybe the pills you got were a weak dosage," Marius said,

"No mate, he just must be having a faster reaction than us, he's probably on a come down again." but James sounds all too convinced by his words.

Matius chuckled, "It really isn't your day."

Chris frowned at Matius's words, his lip tilting downwards. "What happened with you cat?"

"Decided i couldn't be bothered to run up the hill so i texted my dad to check on him during his lunch break." He said sitting back down to the bumpy steps. "Got to psychology an hour late,"

"You should've just skipped, you'd only have half an hour of catch up."

"Yeah Jane said as much, but she still let me stay, though she did give me a disapproving look for the rest of the lesson. But could be because i was trying to hide in my hoodie"

"I had her last year, before i dropped the class, a bit big isn't she?"

"Don't be a dick." Chris whined.

"What?" he chortled, "it was an observation."

Chris rolled his eyes grumbling as he squatted closer to the ground. "Come on Chris, maybe some food will turn that frown upside down." he laughed like a maniac.

Matius snatched the white paper bag out of James's hands, James all too distracted to care, digging eagerly.

Matius's yearning look soon vanished however, when his eyes stared endlessly into the bag. "What the fuck," his tone sounding annoyed, "You didn't get any chicken nuggets, or battered fish."

"Why the fuck would i get you fish and chicken nuggets?" James spoke, snatching the bag out of Matius's grip.

"To be fair, it is a fish and chip shop." Chris argued.

"Just have a bloody chip," James held the bag out, waiting for Chris to take a rectangular shaped potato, shaking the bag impatiently.

Chris exhaled, lifting his hand up to reach inside the bag taking a single chip out.

James lingered for a moment, watching how Chris's eyes seemed to dance in the light. It was compelling, and frightening how much of allure the ocean eyes had, hypnotizing his every move, his chest felt every bit, a little lighter.

Chris chewed the chip, with little enthusiasm, his eyes looking out in front of him, no care or thought on his face.

"So what happened to your eyes?" Matius asked, "or is it just the molly, and it's in our heads."

"My eyes aren't that different," Chris tried to convince.

"Yeah but yours eyes before were like this deep blue-"

"A dark clouded over sapphire, " James interrupted.

"Yeah, and now there this, this-"

"Gem like green mixed with blue, it's almost the exact colour of the ocean." James spoke.

Matius turned to James, giving him an odd look, "what? My dads a jewel collector, I'm just really good at differentiating colours. Yours is the shade of a light peridot mixed with garnet."

Matius turned away back to Chris, "anyway, the point is your eyes are completely different."

"Has anyone else noticed?"

"Anna in Computing did, stared at me like I was the bloody Mona Lisa." The moody boy then became silent as he began to think, "my eyes only turned this shade after this guy walked in the door, we had one of those awkward moments where our eyes met."

"God i hate that," Matius muttered, "did he say something to you?"

"No, he just went to find a seat, I don't really remember what he looked like, never talked to the guy."

Matius hummed,

"But after that Anna noticed that my eyes were a bit different."

"We should find out who that guy is." Matius jumped a bit too excited, and for a moment a bit of droll escaped his mouth.

"Oh yeah, a little Sherlock adventure." Chris mocked. "It'll have to wait though," he breathed, "next I've got computing is Thursday last."

"And the mystery gets harder." Matius muttered.

Chris began to lift himself up, "I think I'm gonna go home. I feel like shit anyway and I need to start to work on my sociology essay. I literally only got the title down and the words 'gender roles can be,' "

"Harmful?" Matius guessed,

"I was gonna put a variation from one another, but sure." He shrugged, beginning to walk away from the two boys. "See you tomorrow." He rumbled, his voice breaking a little.. He could hear the two start to chuckle, the further he got, as James showed Matius something on his phone.

Chris walked with his hands wrapped around his rucksacks straps, slouching forward, gravitating to the ground as his head fell to his feet, watching them as they shuffled along the black path. He looked up when he got to the gates, finding a boy standing there, his back facing the metal bars, as his face looked to the main road, smoking.

"'ey," he said. Removing his cigarette from his lips.

Chris twisted his face to the boy, drowning in utter confusion, wondering if he knew him. "Hey?" He spoke questionably.

"Headin' 'ome?" The boy asked, his voice a visible accent, though Chris could not place from where, other than knowing it to be a foreign one.

"Yeah,"

"Same," said the boy, dropping his cigarette and stamping on it.

Chris could only but nod, as he moved past the boy following the path up the road. The boy walked close behind, and when Chris turned back, the boy gave him a tight smile, that left Chris to feel uneasy with discomfort. His feet began to move at a slight faster pace till the boy was at least two or three meters away from him on the pavement. Chris stopped however when he came to a corner shop, quickly entering the store, as the bell rang as he opened the door. He was on the crisps and sweets aisle, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turns to find yet again the boy facing him.

"Hello?" Chris spoke,

"You're gonna buy a packet then?" the boy's voice rumbled, speaking board like.

"Um, yeah, salt and vinegar."

"I'm a ready salted kinda guy, I always have a craving for it, salt I mean." He chuckled, though his chuckle came off to be dark, with little amusement.

Chris nodded stiffly, as he went to grab a packet walking away from the boy and towards the counter.

"We're in the same computing class you know," the boy said with little care, "i only started today, didn't look like i needed to catch up with anythin’ though."

Chris ignored the boys words, frowning deeply, placing his packet of crisps on the counter. "Oh and i'll have some of those," he pointed to a pack of cigarette rolling paper.

"Ah, so you're a rollies type of guy." The boys spoke casually.

Chris shrugged. He handed over the money to the cashier, then pocketed the change, snatching the items off the counter in a swift movement.

The boy stood shoulder to shoulder to Chris as they walked out, just about the same height, as Chris at five, eight. The boy combed back his soot like hair, with his fingers, walking out the door before Chris. He turned to him as the shop door closed, his stare was blank, and so was Chris's.

"I'm one seat away next to you." He told him. "sat next to that ginger. The one who was listenin’ to music." He said as the two began to walk again.

"Anna," Chris corrected him, though he cared little of what the boy called her.

"Right." The boy mused, going quiet as he pulled a cigarette from a packet in his pocket, taking a few moments to light it. "I'm Dalmir." He introduced himself.

Chris spoke nothing, only carrying on to walk, the two strode together in a silent lumber, neither looking to one another, as Dalmir puffed and inhaled smoke.

Eventually Dalmir had to go another direction, following a path close to the beach. He smiled stiffly again at Chris, his cigarette near finished. "I'll see you later Chris," he waved.

Chris didn't say anything, leaving when Dalmir turned the other way. Though in his haze of irritation and headache, he could not help the thought, if he had told the boy his name. Chris didn't give the thought much effort though, as he began to climb up the hill to the cliff, back up to his shoddy little house. 

shivahall169
iva.heartarts

Creator

Comments (2)

See all
Aegis
Aegis

Top comment

just started reading but I already love it ❤️

1

Add a comment

Recommendation for you

  • Silence | book 2

    Recommendation

    Silence | book 2

    LGBTQ+ 32.3k likes

  • Secunda

    Recommendation

    Secunda

    Romance Fantasy 43.2k likes

  • What Makes a Monster

    Recommendation

    What Makes a Monster

    BL 75.1k likes

  • Mariposas

    Recommendation

    Mariposas

    Slice of life 220 likes

  • The Sum of our Parts

    Recommendation

    The Sum of our Parts

    BL 8.6k likes

  • Siena (Forestfolk, Book 1)

    Recommendation

    Siena (Forestfolk, Book 1)

    Fantasy 8.3k likes

  • feeling lucky

    Feeling lucky

    Random series you may like

A promise to be given
A promise to be given

7.2k views61 subscribers

the sleepy seaside town of Nereid that Chris resides in, is not notable for anything, nor famous, and if any were to travel along the south west coast of England, they probably would never of heard of a such a town. yet there are mysteries and a strangeness about the history of Nereid, and Chris is beginning to take notice of it.

i should warn that there is, heavy drug use and inappropriate language throughout this novel. this may not be suitable for any young children. thank you.

i'll try updating with a new chapter everyday, but no guarantees.
Subscribe

100 episodes

The words of a stranger.

The words of a stranger.

174 views 7 likes 2 comments


Style
More
Like
List
Comment

Prev
Next

Full
Exit
7
2
Prev
Next