'CAUSE I'M SO FUCKED UP IN MY MIND-' the speakers playing the song breaks, as the Mosquito-cosplayer crashes into it.
"Ah, super-strength. Classic. Sad, we already got many of those."
"You think I'd fear you because you mention of the Hero-trafficking? That is just a needle you are throwing to frustrate me, not make me fear you."
"Ah, a poetic one. Now that is needed. Except, they all lose the poems in depression," Cosplayer laughs out loud.
As the people have scattered away, I force my body towards him and punch towards him, but he holds my moving fist with ease, and stares at me.
"Way too many," Cosplayer squeakily-says.
I feel a stinging pain through my fist… my whole hand- AGHHH
"See what you punch, son," Cosplayer says, and slashes something out of my first, a transparent needle-like sword… attached to him. "You can call me," he says, nobly holding the sword like some prideful-soldier, while doing a voice. "Trans-"
I head-butt into his chest, and send him flying into another set of items-in the distance.
"You talk too much," I say.
"What if I had another sword, huh? You want to send me to jail, BY KILLING YOU?"
Faster than me he moves, and slashes his sword to me but I make a lucky dodge with a slight cut on my chin. As he slashes again, I take some fallen wooden-stick and counter with his weapon, but the stick bends with both the equal forces and nothing happens to his sword, which was so small.
Mosquito… a stinger? That is how he got his name, makes sense. Wait, what was his name?
I stop trying to wreck more objects and hold the stinger in my hand, while still feeling a little pain in my fist, but the wound had already covered itself. Hope it wasn't poison or something. I break the stinger after having to use a little more strength needed to break it, than I had anticipated.
As it could be expected, Cosplayer forms another stinger, and before he makes a move, I chop it up and break it. He kicks towards me and I push his leg back to the ground by pushing his knee downwards with both my hands. As his hand comes to hold my neck, I push it upwards. But he does the same with his other hand and lifts it up in the air.
"Quite strong for someone I haven't heard of."
I hold his hand holding my neck, trying to pry it loose. I slowly levitate higher, after realising his grip is no joke.
"Maybe this could be a good first impression then," I say.
In a swoop I take us higher and higher, while still trying to pry his hand away. I stop at one point and Cosplayer stays his momentum, while letting me go and going higher.
"Quite strong yourself, by the way. For someone I haven't heard of."
I feel someone and turn behind, only for that someone to grab my neck too.
"Wait, but I saved you," I say, recognising that it is the girl whom Cosplayer was trying to… do whatever to.
"Aw… and you will surely be rewarded," she says, licking her black lips.
As I try to pry her smooth but steady grip, she smirks and lets me go. As I look at her, she inhales and opens her mouth like a monster, while releasing a deadly sound which buzzes my head and sends my fainting self backwards… without stop.
I crash into something, and faint finally.
But a splash of water… cold and… stinking, wakes me up. I open my eyes to find Antonia in front of me.
"Wha-… how did you… why did you throw dirty water? I may yet be prone to diseases."
Antonia scoffs. "Then don't fall into a dumpster."
I feel the squishy stuff below me and awkwardly, carefully, get out of the dumpster.
"How did you find me?"
"How did YOU find me? This is my dumpster… which you just fell into, in… late at night."
"Oh… I… was in a fight."
"What, are you still fighting? Will they come here?" Antonia gets alert.
"Maybe not… how long has it been since I fell here?"
"A couple minutes actually."
"Then I'm not sure… but the two were ruthless, so they should've been here already."
"Fought two of them? Wow, bad start."
"Not by choice… they baited me with the girl. She cried for help, I fought the guy. The guy… was strong, but then she came when I defeated him, and threw me here."
"But weird of a coincidence, here exactly? Did you know where I live?"
"I… did," I say, feeling awkward. I smelled bad too.
"Hmm, not a problem. But then… did you FEEL you had to come find me?"
"What are you implying?"
"Automated… body response. Maybe you have such a power."
"Like a… controlled reflex?"
"An anticipated one. A hopeful one, maybe. Yes. Just a guess. Quite cool."
I smell myself and feel disgusted again.
"Let's get you back to your home, I'll accompany you."
"Can't I just wash up at your house?"
"Nope. Besides, I wanted to work on our alibi, to your roommate I mean."
"Yeah, making it up on spot… it went bad."
"Yeah… so… we act like a couple."
"How do you mean?"
"Well, what do couples do at night?"
"I'm not… sure, what you mean."
Antonia sighs. "We make her think that we are fucking, Varon. Got it? Now come on, you stink. Maybe we can fuck in the shower, if it can be loud enough from there."
Antonia grabs me and I just get pushed around by a human.
Was she… serious?
I feel my cheeks heat-up, and my eyes stay wide open.
We reach my apartment, which isn't too far away. Not many people being around, nobody seem to notice us or get disgusted by the smell. Even Antonia seems ignorant of the smell.
Antonia must have chosen to stay closer to keep an eye on me. We usually met elsewhere, further away, even when she lived close by. Maybe now such an alibi was useless.
I wash up, while still having Antonia's words in my mind. I slap my cheeks and calm myself, controlling my breath.
I walk out the washroom, wondering if Toni came out at least to use the washroom. But it didn't seem like it was used at all. How long would she be this way?
I find Antonia sitting on the couch, watching TV at a low volume. I see some romantic movie playing, one I didn't recognise but… the actors were upon each other so.
Antonia notices me come and waves at me, and then signs next to her, for me to sit there. And I do, uncomfortably, without trying to look directly at the TV.
She switches the TV off, and we go into the room.
"You should probably get back home. I could drop you."
"No… and didn't we have a deal on extending on the alibi, right? Let's do that."
"I still don't understand."
"How old are you even?"
"Twenty."
"And you have a younger roommate. Are you not into older girls, like other guys?"
"No… I told you, I didn't know her gender or age. Just name."
"Hmm… I'm twenty-five myself, so was hoping to get lucky."
"What?"
"I'm just teasing. Relax. About the play… we just show her that we are having sex. Not actually have it, chill. Besides…" Antonia pauses, and just smiles. "Leave it to me. I'll just moan, and you just bear with it, alright?"
I just stand at the door, and Antonia sits at the bed, and starts moaning loudly. As if she were actually being pleasured. I feel myself get uncomfortable and turn away. This continues for a long time, which I don't count.
"Varon," Antonia says, and I slowly turn behind. "Help me here a bit. I can't be doing everything."
I awkwardly walk closer to her. "What do you want me to do?"
"You know… just… shake the bed. Make it look like… squeak it, you know."
Antonia gets off the bed, and as she starts moaning again, I start moving the bed, in a squeaky manner, while applying a side-ways kind of pressure. She starts blurting out my name, and I grunt out her name. And we finish on this imaginary orgasm together.
"Where are you going?" Antonia, sleeping on the bed, asks.
"I'll just sleep on the floor."
"I won't mind if you just stay on the bed. There is enough space."
"No… this is just an alibi. We can still… just be us. This much should do."
I put the blankets and pillow on the floor. I use one as bed, and one to cover myself. After a while, Antonia switches the lights off.
Would Toni be fine? I only hope she is… and upon that, this alibi… should I just have put off Antonia? That was so dumb of me. What was I even thinking? Was I… anticipating? This sure was a new concept to me… felt weird. So this is how growing older felt.
I hope this doesn't mean losing my innocence. After all… I already loved this… all of this. Enough to keep me going. I don't know if I can, if I lose my innocence.
I choose not to lose my sleep, and simply give-in to my sleepiness than my thoughts.