Prompt: Write a romance story which involves a bracelet, 'unicorn', 'you're toast', delinquents, and a happy ending706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjLYrnEvmGI
This is the part where I say, I love you.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEveG8nx4iy
I open my mouth, draw in a deep breath, and am promptly knocked unconscious by a delicate china coffee cup disagreeing with my temple. I'm not sure which one shattered first.
Sometimes, I wonder what my life would be like if it were a story.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoeN4c6Tupu
First of all, it would be far more interesting; after all, stories are rarely as boring as my daily routine.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeLGkQsareL
It goes a bit like this: I wake up at six, I brush my teeth, make breakfast (usually cereal, leftovers from takeaway the night before, or Gladys'), catch an update on the radio, and - oh, stuff it. Even I don't want to hear about that.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWu2MZTzH7S
Secondly, I wouldn't always be so bloody miserable. Protagonists in books are hardly ever miserable, and I hope that someday I could amount to something more than the minor character 'annoyed guy across the street', no?706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfgcgiU4Nfy
Thirdly, I should have had a happy ending by now.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNKnoUfb8Yl
I mean, seriously, I'm twenty-nine. And as everyone knows, the age of thirty is practically death. I live alone in a small apartment, have a crummy office job, and really not much else. Oh - I'm also in love. But since when has that turned out well in stories? Like, look at that Romeo guy. I think he dies or something.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8GLokfgtIY
So honestly, I don't have much going for me, for my life. All my friends (ha! friends) guilt trip me about how lucky I am, but to be blunt I can't help feel every morning and every night that I'm on the short end of the straw. You know, the short side of the bendy straw that gets chewed on and spat out.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQb6Kolfl8w
My mum unfortunately knows this too. She moved into the apartment next to mine to 'keep an eye' on me, to 'lend a hand if you need'. Now in the evenings I'm serenaded by the sweet sounds of her explosive diarrhoea. I'll be filing a thin wall complaint when I get the chance.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0tZJHlVE8
Day in, day out, this is my life.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXTcR2Ig04X
So when is my story going to start?
This is the part where the boy escapes on a Unicorn.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡls9S4M7PX9
My favorite haunt is a tidy little coffee shop on the corner between work and home called Gladys'. The food is good, the coffee is great, and the service is stunning, thanks to a magnificent woman by the name of Ellie. I've memorized her time schedule and make sure to check in when she's around, which is why I'm an hour late to work every Monday and Thursday. Gorgeous brown eyes, little chocolate beads they are, and hair like a preened horse mane, which I assure you is a compliment of the highest degree. Her voice is just heavenly, although I do admit I've only ever heard her say 'The usual? Coming right up!'. She wears a lovely china bracelet too, little swirls of blue on white that she fiddles with constantly. I find it rather endearing.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG4aS6me6Ja
It was a fine Saturday - of course it had to be a Saturday that was ruined. You see, I always like to watch Ellie make my coffee - I assume it's because I become slightly mentally unhinged when I am around her. This time, however, I could not enjoy my morning drink due to a particularly disturbing young man.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6O5vq0r8mD
Now, he was clearly a criminal of some sort, despite looking no older than nineteen. Heavy leather jacket, metal studded jeans, and a swagger that exuded sheer unjustified arrogance. I noticed him approaching the counter just as I was taking the first sip of my extra hot coffee.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb62fBNCKxh
'A piece of toast thanks.' He orders.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7gGbiuTEP
'...just toast?' God her voice sounds so soft I could sleep in it.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ4XT0ni1Lr
'Yes. Just. Toast.' His, on the other hand, was so rough I could feel his vocal chords being sanded down as he spoke.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgrH7HhAz2
I watch Ellie as she slips the slice of bread into the toaster, the way her curved finger pushes down the lever. The way she drums her fingers nervously as she waits. Why nervously?706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGwZr2f2Vz
ping!706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqDdx5nvyy
'Here you are.' She doesn't look him in the eye as she hands over a plate with a single slice of toast. 'Your toast.'706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7ou8rHhiv
He doesn't touch it. 'No, Ellie, I've been thinking about those things you said to me - about how I'm too young, how I'm too, what, immature and irresponsible - and I've decided that no, you're toast.'706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSOEifgWJCm
A question mark hangs in the air. 'Jonas, what do you mean?' She knows this ugly specimens?706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMAuBGtIm4
'Look.' He picks up the toast, and in one gloved hand, crumbles it into dust that falls meekly onto the counter. 'That's what I'm going to do to you for breaking my heart.' He storms out of Gladys', and, angered by the look of upset on Ellie's pretty face, I make quick pursuit with my coffee in hand.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo5wvsGpQLf
'Hey! Hey, you!' He stops and turns around at the sound of my call.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkljjWDNXOr
'What do you want?' He snarls.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡplsjDKdhd7
'I want you to keep your dirty fingers off that girl!' I snap at him in a feeble attempt at intimidation.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pGbbSZfgX
'No no no. That's not how it works. A girl turns down the Jonas Jones on a date, they pay the price.' An infuriating sneer, one clearly tempting me to make a move - and that is an offer I'm not going to turn down. I put my extra hot coffee to better use and throw the entire thing into his face, spoon and all.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBEJWfbwqd
'AIEEEE! You're crazy, man!' His shocked eyes stare at me in disbelief, the attack having startled him enough to turn and flee. I watch as he rounds the corner and clambers onto his motorcycle - a painfully pink hunk of metal with the word Unicorn plastered on the side in blue and white.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWI1YAil1p9
Smooth.
This is the part where I try Robin Hood on my mother, an adventurous position to put myself in which involves feeling around the front of her dress.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP8CokYNFZW
My obsession with dear Ellie grows, as does my need to see her happy, after the strange encounter with Jonas Jones. I brainstorm gift ideas - she seems awfully fond of the unconventional china bracelet.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkWUcUjm7fZ
My own mother happens to be quite the china connoisseur - her collection of bits and bobs all on display in an IKEA cabinet in her apartment.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ88hDfdybvg
Now, my average job of tedium was never going to pay for such dainty things, nor, I suppose, will Ellie's, so I felt no moral wrongness in the notion of pulling a Robin Hood on my mum and donating some china pieces to someone who no doubt needs them more. Ahem.
The heist begins with inviting my mum one meter down the corridor to have a 'life chat' with me, a strange ritual which she usually enforces on me once a month. Five laxative pills dissolved into the hot chocolate I've made so lovingly for her.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3P6fTMSML9
I bear through the grueling first few minutes of the talk in which she tells me to 'assess where I want to be in three years' but, much to my pleasure, the rant is prematurely interrupted by a rather rude anatomical sound which I won't indulge with a description.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlVbXddFK2
'Dear me!' She hobbles toward my bathroom, but I stop her -706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70DTrYmpIN
'The flush doesn't work.' I smile.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2Zih56xLM
'Oh, dear, dear, dear!' She's hunched over, and she can't reach into the front pocket of her dress - in which lie her room keys.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj4OuPpxUJJ
'Would you like me to unlock your apartment for you?'706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuay1KVv6lw
'Please!'706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdObJXnM41E
What happened next was unpleasant but necessary. Suffice to say, I retrieved the keys from their storage place, remarkably near my birth place.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXx67Fw1s1p
The moment the door to her room was open, she hurried into the bathroom and locked the door - without thinking to show me out first.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIt9USq3bjr
I collect in a bag the nicest of her china collection - IKEA cabinets don't have much security. An assortment of cups and plates and animals, carefully picked to match the color scheme of Ellie's bracelet. Lovely.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOii29F368T
I leave the keys on dear mother's bedside table, and quickly desert the premises. The unfortunate woman's bowel structure combined with the help I had given to her digestive system meant that she should be occupied for a while.
This is the part where I abandon my preconceptions of love, abandon my apartment, and abandon my sanity in general.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ90EfSrWIqx
I decided I would not return to the apartment. Mum would surely kill me, or worse. So instead, it being a Monday morning, I headed down to Gladys' with a bag going chinkle chinkle tied in red ribbon and a notetag with 'For Ellie' in my finest cursive. Which isn't very fine, mind you, but it's the thought that counts.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPTRSYiKKBw
Gladys' was not the most active of places, and it was not difficult to wait for a moment when no one was looking to place the bag on the counter.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DsVeSO1b6
I sit, and wait, and watch. Could it be that this might win her heart?706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXpLjORyPyx
She sees the bag, looks around confusedly, and opens it there on the counter. She gasps, looks around confusedly again, and closes the bag before placing it on the shelf beside her.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡISLYgOquVH
I walk up to the counter.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0xT71oBm0W
'The usual?' Angelic.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzDjhIN3UaI
'Not quite.' I say. In fact, I decide to abandon all of the usual. I wouldn't be showing up to work today, I wouldn't be doing anything of the sort I usually do.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdic37zGLaD
Forget everything. This is the part where I say, I love you.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQ6GduXsxg
I open my mouth, draw in a deep breath, and am promptly knocked unconscious by a delicate china coffee cup disagreeing with my temple. I'm not sure which one shattered first.
This is the part where I emerge victorious from a deathly battle against cute fluffy creatures.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP6STjHM4DY
'owwwww...' I rise from the floor with a grunt. Above me stands Jonas Jones, and his band of delinquents. I note the bag of china in his hands - the bloody nerve of him.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Xzhkvpzzf
'If the JONAS JONES isn't good enough for someone, no one is!' He booms.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMdxbK9zAR
'Leave her out of this!' I protest, noticing Ellie cowering in the corner of the cafe, the few other people inside watching the course of events with an excited but strangely detached interest. 'Let's take this outside.'706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8COVun35s
'Let's go, big boy.' He cracks his knuckles.
RABBIT. UNICORN. PUG. They stand by their named motorcycles, Jonas in the center. 'Rabbit' was a tall and scrawny pimply fellow, whereas 'Pug' was a much more rotund beast, but just as unattractive as the former. To be honest, I couldn't catch the resemblance between Jonas and a unicorn, though.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyuYb6FQT7p
'You boys are going to leave Ellie alone. And her gifts.' Upon feeling a twinge of pain, I quickly added 'And me.'706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz5nir3osNi
'Make us.' Rabbit pulls out a knife from his pocket.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZ6buewgEH
'Now now, let's play fair - ' but my protest is cut off halfway through by a scream that made the windows of the cafe shake dangerously, threatening to shatter.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSkCBCQhlzh
'WHEEERE IIIIIIS MYYYY CHIIIIIIIIIINAAAAAAAAAAA?!?!?!'706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9cqh0V4TRb
I run into the shop, but the gang is stunned still - and I watch as my mother appears over the horizon, face inflamed red like a microwaving tomato ready to burst.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0SDiHOLjXD
She looks at the bag in Jonas' hands.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5WrOP3pwMO
Jonas looks down at the bag in his hands.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUsXZNKgVu6
Pug grabs the bag and hides it behind his back.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuHnx9ACswu
Mother morphs into her final form and unleashes her rage.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡScxUj7yQRm
'AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!' I can't tell among the carnage who the sound is coming from, but I don't care - I turn around to face Ellie, and I grab her hands.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡicp79iGjDI
'Ellie.' I say, eyes staring into hers.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLOMtPo9DJ2
'Yes?'706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0tg2vr6fxJ
This is the part.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwCH3KtxfC
'I...'706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9Kip3rd6z
'Yes?'706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYwjXdPYYgi
'Ellie, I luh. I lughhhh. I, I, I lughhhhhhhh - '706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlDUcnAUltu
'Oh, shut up.' She lunges forwards and places her lips on mine, and the people in the cafe cheer, drowning out the noise of the scene outside.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡArIOw4776U
And so it is, that my story ends here for you, and just begins for me, with an unexpected kiss and a declaration of love.706Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyZEQP46yQ
I even think that mother might approve.
This, my friend, is the part where you stop reading.
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