Post by Bonejangles rox on Mar 17, 2006 17:07:55 GMT -5
I'M TRIPLE POSTING?! Why do I even bother... Anyway. Here's chapter 7 for Sharon and my other imaginary readers!
Chapter Seven: A Crash Course in Love A short time later, during one of his random wanderings, Bonejangles heard a horribly familiar sound: the sound of Emily’s sobbing. “Baby doll, you okay?” he said, locating the sound at Emily’s coffin behind the Ball and Socket. Does she look okay? he scolded himself. They say you’re smooth… “What’s the matter?”
“Victor,” Emily sniffed. “I just found out—there’s another woman!”
“Another woman?!?” was Bonejangles’s brilliant response.
“We were up there—“ the Corpse Bride pointed to the dirt “sky” of the Land of the Dead, signaling that they had been in the Land of the Living— “and he said he wanted to prepare his parents for the news that he had married me. It wasn’t his parents he was telling,” she finished, a bitter ice to her voice Bonejangles had only heard once before, when she had been telling him more about Lord Barkis. “It was this living girl.” Her face dropped into her hands again and her body shook with sobs.
“I’m sorry,” Bonejangles whispered. “I though he was the one for you, too.” That sounds okay, said the little voice in his head. Even though you don’t mean it. That voice in his head, his own thoughts, was getting even more annoying than the maggot.
“Something like this happened to you, too, didn’t it?” Emily said without looking up. “When you were alive?”
Anna. “Yeah,” Bonejangles said heavily. “I know it ain’t easy, doll. You’ve got the advantage here, though, out of the two of us. You’ve got a chance to recover.” Emily picked her head up ever so slightly. “Me, I died before I could really move on from her. You’re already dead, and he’s still around for you to get him to apologize.”
“How?” Emily said miserably.
“I haven’t figured that out yet,” Bonejangles lied. His plan was foolproof, but part of it was to make it seem that Victor was apologizing on his own. “As soon as I think of somethin’, I’ll get to you before ya know it.” Emily smiled a little, which Bonejangles recognized as her way of saying thank you when she was this upset. “In the meantime, why don’t ya go inside and play a little piano? Always makes me feel better.”
Emily hugged the man who had become one of her best friends since her death, possibly even more than that, and walked morosely inside the pub. Bonejangles chuckled to himself. Now all he needed to do was find Victor…
As it turned out, that didn’t take too long. Victor came skidding to a halt right in front of the skeleton, clutching a stitch in his side. “I need your help,” he said between gasps.
“What’s the matter, cat?” Bonejangles asked, keeping his voice as even as possible so he didn’t give any of what he was trying to do away.
“I’ve just botched my chances with one of the only women I’ve ever had a chance with,” Victor said flatly. (I find that so funny for some reason)“Yeah, figured it was somethin’ like that. She was just here a minute ago. Emily told me all about what happened,” Bonejangles chuckled darkly. “You really hurt her, Vic. Knowin’ what she’s been through, you’d think you’d be a little more careful with the poor gal’s heart.”
“I know,” Victor sighed. “I made a horrible mistake back there. I’ve come to care for her as much as Victoria—she’s the ‘other woman’ Emily probably told you about—“ Bonejangles nodded— “but I’ve never been good at having my words come out the way I want them to.”
“Outta curiosity, what did ya say that made her so upset?”
“Something like, ‘It was a mistake! I would never marry you!’ Why?”
“Seein’ exactly what ya did,” Bonejangles replied. “That’s gonna take a while to fix up, especially if ya can’t say what ya feel and have it come out right.” Victor’s stick straight posture fell a little. “Unless, o’ course, ya don’t talk.”
“What?”
“Em tells me you’re an okay piano player,” Bonejangles said.
“I suppose…”
“She’s inside playin’ the one in there. Some o’ the best relationship repairs I’ve ever seen were over a piano duet.” Victor smiled, the first time Bonejangles had ever seen him do so. “Help ya any?”
“More than you know… But what if it doesn’t work?”
“I’ll talk to her. But knowin’ her, she’ll be mad at ya for a little while, but if ya keep goin’ she’ll come around. I wouldn’t worry,” Bonejangles assured him.
Victor sighed and walked through the back entrance to the pub, wringing his tie nervously.
I think I was trying too hard in this chapter, A) to keep BJ in character and B) to have it not sound like Love of His Afterlife on ff.net (which I LOVE, by the way). For the bonus round, I failed miserably on both accounts. *sigh* I think this and the first chapter are two of the worst I've ever written, but it's not really my place to critique my own work, now, is it?
Chapter Seven: A Crash Course in Love A short time later, during one of his random wanderings, Bonejangles heard a horribly familiar sound: the sound of Emily’s sobbing. “Baby doll, you okay?” he said, locating the sound at Emily’s coffin behind the Ball and Socket. Does she look okay? he scolded himself. They say you’re smooth… “What’s the matter?”
“Victor,” Emily sniffed. “I just found out—there’s another woman!”
“Another woman?!?” was Bonejangles’s brilliant response.
“We were up there—“ the Corpse Bride pointed to the dirt “sky” of the Land of the Dead, signaling that they had been in the Land of the Living— “and he said he wanted to prepare his parents for the news that he had married me. It wasn’t his parents he was telling,” she finished, a bitter ice to her voice Bonejangles had only heard once before, when she had been telling him more about Lord Barkis. “It was this living girl.” Her face dropped into her hands again and her body shook with sobs.
“I’m sorry,” Bonejangles whispered. “I though he was the one for you, too.” That sounds okay, said the little voice in his head. Even though you don’t mean it. That voice in his head, his own thoughts, was getting even more annoying than the maggot.
“Something like this happened to you, too, didn’t it?” Emily said without looking up. “When you were alive?”
Anna. “Yeah,” Bonejangles said heavily. “I know it ain’t easy, doll. You’ve got the advantage here, though, out of the two of us. You’ve got a chance to recover.” Emily picked her head up ever so slightly. “Me, I died before I could really move on from her. You’re already dead, and he’s still around for you to get him to apologize.”
“How?” Emily said miserably.
“I haven’t figured that out yet,” Bonejangles lied. His plan was foolproof, but part of it was to make it seem that Victor was apologizing on his own. “As soon as I think of somethin’, I’ll get to you before ya know it.” Emily smiled a little, which Bonejangles recognized as her way of saying thank you when she was this upset. “In the meantime, why don’t ya go inside and play a little piano? Always makes me feel better.”
Emily hugged the man who had become one of her best friends since her death, possibly even more than that, and walked morosely inside the pub. Bonejangles chuckled to himself. Now all he needed to do was find Victor…
As it turned out, that didn’t take too long. Victor came skidding to a halt right in front of the skeleton, clutching a stitch in his side. “I need your help,” he said between gasps.
“What’s the matter, cat?” Bonejangles asked, keeping his voice as even as possible so he didn’t give any of what he was trying to do away.
“I’ve just botched my chances with one of the only women I’ve ever had a chance with,” Victor said flatly. (I find that so funny for some reason)“Yeah, figured it was somethin’ like that. She was just here a minute ago. Emily told me all about what happened,” Bonejangles chuckled darkly. “You really hurt her, Vic. Knowin’ what she’s been through, you’d think you’d be a little more careful with the poor gal’s heart.”
“I know,” Victor sighed. “I made a horrible mistake back there. I’ve come to care for her as much as Victoria—she’s the ‘other woman’ Emily probably told you about—“ Bonejangles nodded— “but I’ve never been good at having my words come out the way I want them to.”
“Outta curiosity, what did ya say that made her so upset?”
“Something like, ‘It was a mistake! I would never marry you!’ Why?”
“Seein’ exactly what ya did,” Bonejangles replied. “That’s gonna take a while to fix up, especially if ya can’t say what ya feel and have it come out right.” Victor’s stick straight posture fell a little. “Unless, o’ course, ya don’t talk.”
“What?”
“Em tells me you’re an okay piano player,” Bonejangles said.
“I suppose…”
“She’s inside playin’ the one in there. Some o’ the best relationship repairs I’ve ever seen were over a piano duet.” Victor smiled, the first time Bonejangles had ever seen him do so. “Help ya any?”
“More than you know… But what if it doesn’t work?”
“I’ll talk to her. But knowin’ her, she’ll be mad at ya for a little while, but if ya keep goin’ she’ll come around. I wouldn’t worry,” Bonejangles assured him.
Victor sighed and walked through the back entrance to the pub, wringing his tie nervously.
I think I was trying too hard in this chapter, A) to keep BJ in character and B) to have it not sound like Love of His Afterlife on ff.net (which I LOVE, by the way). For the bonus round, I failed miserably on both accounts. *sigh* I think this and the first chapter are two of the worst I've ever written, but it's not really my place to critique my own work, now, is it?
