digibutter.nerr

[Inyro]

Well, this story has been my major piece of work for about three weeks now, but as my passion to write it dies down slightly, it will have to fight for writing time (against my major novel work and a PokeGirl story, no less). I expect to be updating the story with a new chapter no more than once every 8 days, depending on the chapter length.

And so, without further introduction, Author's Fantasy:

Prologue

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"Have you ever felt the story you were writing come alive? Did the ink from your pen, the pixels on the screen transform the simple letters into a whole new world?" Ryan wrote the quote on a Post-It note, like he did so many other quotes like this one. His wall was covered in such Post-It notes, livening up the dull gray paint with vibrant neon oranges, pinks, greens, and yellows. He sighed and let his head drop in failure, crumpling up yet another page of yet another rejected story. The small trash can to the right of his desk overflowed with looseleaf balls, the fruitless attempt of a mystery story. The quote freshly posted on his wall floated into his mind, "...a whole new world."

That was it, Ryan thought. A new world. A new sheet of looseleaf paper sat in front of him, blank and ready to let his simple ballpoint pen make it come alive. A moment to think about what he would write, and a spark of inspiration to ignite his wrist muscle to move. Pen hit paper, and almost without comprehending what was happening, the first lines fell onto the white paper.

Emotion feels so dull right after the battle ends, and that moment of blissful apathy gave Breeze such a rush. She was addicted to the indifference toward anything, anyone, that could only be felt after the last of her enemies fell to the ground, their lifeless corpses slipping off her blade...

"Breeze," Ryan mused, closing his eyes as he imagined what she looked like. "Silky white hair, flowing to her elbows so gently, so beautifully. Soft green eyes on her soft face, her delicate lips smiling," he muttered, finding it easier to remember the character's description if he vocalized it. "Her body - so beautiful - modest but not in the least bit underdeveloped. Those blue fingernails matching her eyes perfectly, her clothes the color of her lips. And the sleek rapier, white hilt and golden blade in a silver sheath studded with a single emerald and a single sapphire gemstone, neither bigger than five inches." He smiled gently as he opened his eyes. "She's perfect."

\End Prologue

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Chapter 1-- "Chapter 1"

"Wake him up yourself!" came an exasperated voice from the hallway, rousing Ryan none too softly. He sighed as he listened to his parents arguing again. His mother, yelling at the top of her lungs, angry at his father again. Ryan knew she had good reason to be. He may only be sixteen, but he had been able to deduce the problems his parents were having. His dad, working ridiculously late and yet never seeming to get much overtime pay. His mom, attempting to keep her two jobs and still be able to take care of her debilitating father.

"I'm awake," Ryan shouted at the top of his lungs, praying it would stop the fighting long enough for him to get out of the house. He hastily closed his binder of looseleaf paper and shoved it unceremoniously into a simple, navy blue messenger bag he slung around his neck. Throwing on his sneakers and checking his hair for signs of bedhead, he grabbed his cell phone and rushed from his room. Without stopping to talk to his parents, Ryan threw open the front door and strolled briskly down the five-yard front walk. His mom stopped in the doorframe as he turned right down the block, escaping his battlefield of a home.

"Yo! What up, Berys?" Ryan's friend called from down the block. Ryan Aberysthye shrugged and slowed his quick pace as he neared the second boy. "Parents at it again?" the friend asked. Ryan nodded silently, and the boy patted him on the back.

"Forget that, Greg, I have an amazing new story in the works," he said, opening the bag strapped over his shoulder and pulling out the binder. "I'll buy breakfast if you read it."

"You'd better," Greg said, throwing his arm around Ryan's shoulder and walking with him. "No offense, man, but you seriously need to give up on that 'Carmen San Diego' ripoff."

Ryan nodded eagerly. "Believe me, I did, as soon as I wrote the first line of this," he said, waving the binder in Greg's face.

"Does 'this' have a title?" the friend asked.

"I call it... 'Apathy'," Ryan said, the name jumping into his mind in the same way the words had last night. "Just wait. You'll see."

Greg laughed lightly as the two stopped at the corner. "Let's hope so." The two crossed the street and entered into the Dunkin Donuts, the bell above the entrance tinkling as Greg walked straight to the counter. "I'll take a plain bagel with cream cheese, a strawberry frosted donought, and... a bottle of Diet Pepsi." He looked to Ryan. "You getting anything?"

"A discount, I hope," he answered sarcastically. "I'll have a plain bagel with cream cheese and a second diet coke." The cashier nodded and rang up the sale. The price of '$17.40' appeared on the small black screen facing Ryan. He grudgingly pulled a twenty from his pocket and paid as Greg sat at the nearest table. With a sigh, Ryan got his change and turned to his friend. "I paid," he said, and plopped the binder onto the table. "Now read."

Greg ruffled Ryan's thick black hair, just to annoy him, and chuckled as Ryan snapped his head away quickly. "All right, I'll read it. I did promise."

Ryan turned back to the counter and collected the food, giving the cashier a quick smile before seating himself across from Greg. He saw his friend slowly read the opening line, and watched the boy's eyes grow wide as he continued reading. Ryan opened his bottle of coke, alerting Greg to the presence of food, and he raised his head in a state of shock. "So? Is it that bad?" Ryan asked anxiously.

"Who are you, and what did you do with Ryan?" he asked incredulously.

The author raised an eyebrow. "That good?"

Greg opened his own bottle of soda. "Yes. That good."

/End Chapter One