Magical Girl (complete)

    My roommate wakes up at the crack of dawn, and after he does, he wakes me up as well. Sometimes he’ll turn up the radio really loud, or, he’ll push me out of bed, sometimes he’ll rip the covers away. I would rather prefer it sometimes if he’d completely forget about me and let me be late for work. Wouldn’t that torture be good enough?

    My roommate and I are polar opposites. We’re both of the opposite sex, he is male, and I am female. He is tall, thick, masculine. I am short, petite, and dainty. Not that that is anything to brag about, I’d much rather be as huge as a house than the underweight mess I am. 

Our differences don’t just end with appearances. Our personalities are always at odds as well. Or well, we make them that way. I know neither one of us are good people, but we want to prove we’re better than the other. I sometimes wonder how we survive under the same roof together. 

“I know you’re awake,” he growls as he comes into the room.

I continue to pretend I’m asleep even as he stomps into the room. He wrenches my blanket away from me, even as I fight to keep it.

“I said get up.” He tosses my cane onto the bed. “Now.” He turns and stomps out of the room, leaving it open as the radio blares from outside.

    I cuss something under my breath and slowly rise. I hobble out of bed. This isn’t the normal hobble a sleep dazed person has. I hobble because of my bad hip. I sometimes suffer pain and discomfort along with spasms that make my leg kick. I’ve been dealing with these issues for a long time now. The causes started when I was still young with the aspirations of becoming a dancer. They say all dreams die with fury.

    Anders. That’s his name. He was once a teacher. I don’t know why he isn’t anymore, he’s the quiet type. I hate that about him. He’s tall, freakishly tall. I sometimes find myself thinking when I stand beside him that he needs to go into the zoo. He has the build of a superhero. Not muscular, just thick and sturdy with a hard physique. 

    He always has this gloomy, moody look on his face like some sort of Byronic hero. He gets this smirk everyone once in a while that makes me seethe. So smug. Although, I can’t complain. He saved my life a little over a year ago. While he may get on my nerves, I owe him a lot more than I want to admit.

    I also know Anders is hiding something. His appearance is not his own, every once in a while, his visage will flicker, like an old TV screen. It is not something I like knowing. I don’t like masks, and I don’t trust people who wear them. The skin that lies beyond the glamor Anders wears is dark and distorted, and there are eyes that gaze at the world as if it is something else. It’s not the worse thing I’ve ever seen, but it’s up there.

    Anders comes back into my room and glares down at me as I’m trying to make my way to my closet. “What’s taking you so long?”

    “I’m in fucking pain!” I snap back at him. “Give me some time!”

    Anders comes into my room, opening my closet and pulling out my clothes. He makes me sit down to dress and then helps me back onto my feet when I am done. Anders stands back and lets me evaluate my limits. I stand, and my knees buckle. My left leg especially. He braces his arm against my back almost reflexively. I take a few steps forward before I feel the pain wash throughout me like hot water. 

Ander’s is quick to respond I find myself liking him. He picks me up and carries me. But Anders was always so rough about it, especially when he sits me back down in the kitchen. He doesn’t hurt me, but it’s like I’m some sort of rag doll to him.

    I remember it’s supposed to be my morning to cook breakfast. And pain, or not he’s not going to do anything if it’s not his given turn. I inspect his face before he hides it behind his newspaper and I brace my hand against my left thigh. I stand up slowly, the pain’s dull now, and I am able to stand on my own.

    “If you don’t hurry we’ll be late for work,” Anders growls from behind his paper. He then shakes it, and the paper rustles, sounding more like nails on a chalkboard to me than anything.

    I break the yolk of an egg at the sound of his voice. “I can’t move quickly this morning. My hip is acting up again.” I try to keep some level of decorum. After all, he did help me out a bit that morning. But just a bit.

    Anders’ head tilts, and he sighs. “Then why didn’t you just order something from the deli? You knew you were going to cook this morning.”

    I wanted to throw the egg at him, but I bit my tongue. I went back to cooking and tried to ignore the sound of his breathing, the sound of his foot tapping, the way he said certain things aloud as he read.

    I slammed his plate down on the table. “You better hurry up and eat, or we’ll be late!” I snapped.

    “Don’t snap at me.” He grunted, sounding very much like a bear. He looked at me with those eyes of his. Neither gray nor blue, but somewhere in between. I liked his eyes. I knew that I would never stop liking his eyes. But I knew that was what he wanted. This fake appearance of his was made to be that way.

    I sat down and ate, chewing slowly while looking over the entertainment section of the newspaper he always laid out for me. I didn’t care much about it, but I liked to keep a tab on what was going on at the theatre I used to work at. I’m having a hard time focusing this morning though. The pain in my hip was making my mind drift away from the words on the page.

    I looked up and saw Anders finishing off his toast. He shut the newspaper and stood up, glancing down at his watch. “You need any help?” He grumbled.

    I stood up, placing my dishes into the sink. “No.”

    “Your eyes are unfocused.” He moved out of my line of sight, and a second later he placed my cane in my hand. “Don’t argue with me and take the fucking thing.”

    I gripped it hard, wishing to bludgeon him with it several times to show him who was boss. I frowned, moving ahead of him and grabbing my keys from the hook along with my purse. 

    I sometimes felt as if he were babysitting me. It was a job he was obliged to take against his will. But other than taking care of me in our apartment that’s as far as his obligations went. Outside in the real world, we were two strangers. At work, that was a different story.

    Our apartment was right above where we worked. It was an old three story brownstone with a shopfront on the ground level. While I owed Anders for picking me up like a starving stray, I really owed much, much more to our bosses, Ariel Memphis, and Ben Knute. They’re lovers I believe, I’m not sure if they’re married. I also think their names are fake, but I have no way of proving that.

    They gave me a job and a place to live and basically set me back on my feet again. At first, Anders was against having me live with him in his apartment. I can remember how unnerved he was by the prospect of it. If I didn’t know any better, I could have sworn he was afraid and panicked. Ben had to take Anders and have a very long conversation with him. It still took Anders time, but he eventually grew used to me in the apartment. Even if he did resent me a little. 

    While Anders and I weren’t on the same page, he remained a perfect gentleman. He held doors open for me and allowed to walk in and out of rooms before him. It still surprises me when he holds the door to the stairs open for me. Especially on days like these where he’s already done more than his fair share of babysitting.

    “Thanks,” I muttered under my breath as I grabbed onto the special railing Ariel had installed for me. I then gave Anders plenty of room to trudge passed me, but he only took a few steps before he slowed his pace. I often thought he did this to annoy me.

    “Stop taking your damn time if you’re so worried about being late.” I snarled, grasping tighter onto the railing when I felt a twinge in my ankle.

    He turned his head up at me, his misty eyes narrow in a furious glare. “Well if you fall you wanna break your other hip?” His voice echoed like a nightmare in the metal stairwell. I could feel it vibrate under my feet.

    I felt more stunned than I ever had. It didn’t seem like him to worry about someone other than himself. Also, I had never heard his voice sound like that before. It was a bit rattling with his words.

Once again, at the bottom of the stairs, he opened the door for me and allowed me to enter the employee lobby first. 

    I placed my purse in my cubby hole and pulled out my apron. For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to look up at Anders as he put on his apron. I put mine on quickly and hurried out into the store. 

Ariel was waiting outside at the cash register. I adored Ariel, she was beautiful and had the sort of plump, curvy body I had always admired. She had long pastel mint hair, for now anyway, she was always changing between colors. Always pastel. Her bright brown eyes glanced up at me, and she smiled, waving as we walked in.

    “I thought I heard you,” she said as she glanced back to the register and shut it. “I heard Anders yell. What was that about?”

    I looked down at my pigeon-toed feet and the worn rubber stopper of my cane. “I asked a stupid question,” I grumble under my breath.

    “Surely you’d learn by now.” Ariel chuckled as she stood up. “Anyways, I need to talk to you and Anders.” She walked around the counter, the heels she was wearing making her taller than normal.

    I furrowed my brow as she approached. “About what?” I asked.

    She smirked, hiding it behind a clipboard. “I have another special assignment for the both of you. Some extra money.” She wiggled in excitement.

 I liked the sound of the extra money, but I had come to distrust Ariel and her special assignments, no matter how much I admired her.

    Ariel looked down at my three legs and nodded. “You’re using your cane today, so you can operate the register as much as you want. I’ll put Anders on stock duty for today.”

    “I can handle stock!” I clenched my fists tight and leaned towards her. “The more I move around, the less my leg hurts,” I say this, but it isn’t true. I just don’t want to be taken with kit gloves. I don’t want to be treated differently.

    “That’s not what you say at night.” Anders’ voice growled from behind me. “Ariel put her behind the counter and staple her there. If she moves too much in her state now, she’ll be up all night crying her damn eyes out.” He shakes his head and scoffs. “Keep her behind the counter. Tie her down if you have to.”

    I swung around, bringing my cane down on his tennis shoe. “Why don’t you mind your own damn business and not listen in on mine?” I snarl at him.

    “It is my business.” He seethed, leaning down towards me so our eyes were level and his glamor shifted again. I see the yes beneath, the wriggling, muscle-like shadows of my body. As his glamor snaps back into place, the eyes I like so much are bright yellow.

“Do you think I enjoy dressing you in the morning?” Anders put his hand around mine gripping the cane. “Maybe if you had an attractive body I’d enjoy it more. But not with that scar.”

    “Anders,” Ariel’s voice is a breath away from being actual razors. “That’s enough.”

    Anders removed his hand, pushing me so the cane would jump off of his shoe. I felt like killing him while I wept salty tears into his wounds. I’m trying to keep the tears at bay when a big, strong arms wrap around my shoulders.

    “Hey, Anders, why don’t you show off those scars of yours more often?” Ben’s voice snapped. “Then we’ll see how you like it.” He gave me a gentle squeeze. 

    “Thanks, Ben,” I sniffle and wipe at my eyes.

    Ben kissed my temple. “He only picks on you because he loves you,” he laughs loudly, knowing he’s made a joke that will stick in Anders craw. But it sticks in mine too.

    “That’s not how you love someone.” I felt nauseated at the thought. While I loved Ben like a brother, he had the stupidest notion in his head that the reason Anders and I resented each other so much was because we knew we were soul mates and we just weren’t ready for one another. 

    Ben was a mountain of a man. In fact, he was built much like Anders except he carried it better. He was handsome too. He was the kind of guy whose casual was a pinstripe suit with the jacket and shirt unbuttoned. His hair was long and disheveled, always dark. He and Ariel with like Morticia and Gomez, and something I dreamed of having one day.

    “Ben, help Anders with the new stock.” Ariel motioned with her clipboard to the backroom. At twelve we’re closing early so I can brief them on the new assignment I received.” 

Ben’s arm removed itself from my shoulders, and he stepped forward. He leaned down and allowed Ariel to kiss him, his black eyes alight with passion for her. 

Ariel snapped back and slapped her clipboard against her palm. “Let’s get to work!”

    This was the only place where Anders and I shared common ground. When it came to the special assignments, we both disliked them. Not only that but we hated what it entitled us to do. While we were opposite in everything, there was one thing that linked us. 

Anders and I were both gifted with a special gift. Whatever Argus was gave him powers, but there was more to it. Much like me. 

Back when I was young and training to be a dancer, I had been granted magic powers by a small strange creature. I had been promised a happy ending, but instead what my magic powers gave me was a cancer eating my body and eventually taking away my dream to be a dancer. I had tried to end it all and threw myself out into traffic. But it did nothing but make my pain worse. 

Anders too had tried to die and failed, just like me. I don’t know his story, he doesn’t know mine I assume. But we both understand.

    When we were given us a second chance, something in the void between life and death, gave us something else.