Love Songs and Tooth Picks

Day one: May 1st

I hated my room mate, despite him being my best friend, I always had. He would leave before the crack of dawn, and return well after I'm asleep. He would always be loud and rambunctious with whatever skank he had brought home that night, and then he would brag about it as I banged on the wall to get him to shut up. Some nights he would go all through the night, leaving me sleepless. April 30th had been one of those nights.

I heard my alarm clock go off before I ever fell asleep. Guess I'm not working today then. By 'work' I meant playing music in the park and hoping some kind soul would drop a few coins in the raggedy violin case near by. It wasn't all bad, mind you. In fact, some days it was very good. Often on a bright, sunshiney day I could accumulate upwards of three hundred dollars in just a few hours, of course, I would slip the bulk of it under my hat. Only ever having a few dozen coins in there made me look more unappreciated.

I rolled out of bed, only to get stuck in my wrapped up comforter, landing face first on hard wood with an echoing 'Thunk!'

"Hey Lenny, you doing alright man? Sounded kind of painful." I heard his ear cracking voice come from through the wall. Oh, how I have always hated that tone of his. He would constantly ride my ass about dental hygeine every morning and night, Brush longer he would say Trust me on that, I'm a dentist!  It gets pretty annoying after living with it for three years.

"I'm fine... Just saying good morning to the floor, with my face." He laughed loudly, apparently loud enough to wake up the girl he plowed the night before. I heard a muffled argument, something about a rebound and something about a roofy I think it was, who cares.

I managed to make my way into the kitchen before this new girl stormed out of the apartment, carrying half of her clothes. I made my self a cup of coffee and sat down to read the paper. The only thing about the news that ever really caught my eye was the fact that it gave me an excuse to avoid conversations in mornings. I noticed Johnny walk into the room, somehow already dressed for work. He looked at me. "Did we keep you up last night?" I nodded. "Sorry man, you know what blue eyes do to me. Tell ya what, I'll take off work early and we can both go get a drink, on me. Sound fair?" I nodded again, sipping my coffee.

No matter what I might say about Johnny Silvertooth, he was a good friend and had a good income. Good friends mean friendly gestures, good incomes mean really enjoyable friendly gestures. When my parents threw me out after I dropped out of college, he was more than willing to let me stay with him. In fact, he celebrated the idea with a party. I only remember about five minutes of that party, up until the strippers arrived. I didn't notice he had left for work, until I decided to do the very same.

I returned to my room and got dressed in a simple dark blue jeans, sandals, white dress shirt and black fedora. It was a peculiar outfit, yes, but peculiar draws attention, attention draws money. I looked around for a bit, eventually finding my phone and keys under an old pizza box. I still, to this day, don't remember eating pizza in that room, not once. I've long since learned it was not to question the strange little things I do unconsciously. Finding the rest of the things I would need was the easy part, all in the locked chest in my closet. It was locked because I refuse to ever trust my drunken self with actual valuables, so I keep the key in a smaller case that is designed to only open after passing a breathalyzer test for drunkenness.

Opening the chest, I saw my most prized possessions in this world. My grandfather's violin and my lucky necklace were inside of it, among other various knickknacks from over the years. One thing in particular I did not remember putting there, was a gift box wrapped in mint green paper with a white ribbon bow. Curiously, I picked it up, it was no bigger than my laptop; though a good bit taller, it was about the same width and length. I looked at the name tag and it read 'Save it for later, - A friend'

There was a burning itch in the back of my mind to just tear into it. To discover what hidden secrets someone would leave me. To bask in the glorious wonder of discovering who knew of my semi-hidden chest. To beat that someone senseless for going into it.

I sighed with a glance at the clock at the wall. I'll be late, can't let anyone see me setting up. Have to be playing at sunrise. It was a bit of a habit of mine, to greet the world every morning with a cheerful and jaunty tune. Getting people up and moving to a song was my purpose in life, nothing ever brought me greater joy than the time a crying woman walked past me and heard me playing an improvised tune on a cloudy day. She had stopped and listened for a bit before I picked up the rhythm and we both broke into dance. I never did learn her name, barely remember her face even. We never exchanged a single word. What I do remember, was that she had looked like she was on the edge of deciding if life was worth living when I first saw her. When she left a few hours later, it was with smiling eyes and a skip in her step. Doing things like that are what make life worth living for me.

The mere fact that it can be done is reason enough to try, but to actually do it? I was happier than a clopper in an equestrian whore house, just knowing that  I did that for someone else. I suppose that is a rather odd comparison to use, it's one of the many I had picked up from Johnny. He was a die hard fan of the show 'My little Pony Friendship is Magic'  back when it was on the air. I had watched it with him every now and then on rainy days, but I never really got into it myself. If you were to walk into Johnny's room at any given time, you could instantaneously see about thirty posters of usually very graphic pony-based material. Even his bed spread was a custom made on designed to look like the purple unicorn and the blue pegasus were in an intimate position. I, personally, found it disturbing that he sleeps under that.

Anywho, back to what I was saying before I derailed myself.

I grabbed the Violin and slid an old portable white dry-erase board and some markers from behind the chest. The park was just across the street, so I didn't bother getting a ride. When I got there I made my way to my usual spot, where one of the stone-paved walkways made a circle around a lone, grand old oak tree. I sat down  on a nearby bench and selected a marker from my pocket at random and began doodling.

After a few minutes, the first peaks of light were beginning to appear over the horizon. I breathed a deep breath and set aside the white board. It now read "I hope you have a fine day today- Lenny Love Song " Under that I decided to add a small "(Donations would be appreciated!)" I grinned my approval and withdrew my violin.

I was sitting on the park bench with my back to the Oak Tree, tuning the strings on the old violin, when I heard a pair of footsteps approaching. I thought nothing of it until I heard a soft. "Uhh, Hello?" I turned to see a familiar face, the very one who had made me fall in love with the Art of Song all over again.

"How do you do miss? I'm afraid I'm not quite tuned properly yet, my ears seem to be off this morning."

"I'm doing... well. Much better than last time I saw you, I'm afraid I failed to introduce myself last time, my name is Ruth."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ruth, " I said with a chuckle "My name is Lenny, Lenny Love Song"

I noticed her blushing a little as she smiled. "Ah, but thats just the name I put on the sign, easier to remember. My real name is Lyle Strongheart. It's a bit too 'brave heart-ish' for my liking. So I go with Lenny instead. What can I get for ya ma'am?" I had returned to tuning as I spoke, albeit much quieter.

"Well, you see... The thing is... " She seemed shy. "I run a small candy shop across town, it's a depressing little neighborhood and I was wondering if I could pay you to come play outside my shop? You know, to help with the atmosphere."

I looked her dead in the eyes. "Absolutely not."

"Huh?" She looked like she was about to tear up."

"I refuse to take payment in something I will happily do for free!" I said with a smirk. "Where might this shop be located? I can go fetch my car in be there within the hour!"

She looked confused, to say the least, until she realised what I had meant. "Oh! Sure! Uhh, can I just write the address on the corner of your white board there?  It's a little long to memorize."

"Have at it."

When she was done, she just nodded her head and walked off through the park. I called after her "I'll meet you there tomorrow at sun up!" She waved her hand lightly in the air and gave a thumbs up in confirmation as she rounded a turn into the more forested part of the park. What an interesting person...

I decided that that day's tune would be a lively one. It ended up being a song of anticipation and excitement, a massive contrast to my usually calm style.

It was nearly 6pm when my phone went off, alerting me of a phone call. I picked it up and answered with my usual swag-filled "Yellow?"

"You. Me. Bar. Now. Drunk. Get."

"Sure, I'll drive ya home Johnny, if ya grab me some whiskey while your there."

"Right, see ya in a few man, just bring a car. I ain't wanna walk."

"yeah yeah, I know, give me a minute, gotta pack up."

"Have you ever thought so hard about not thinking?" This is when I hung up on him. His drunkenness had reached the stage of 'Drunken philosopher' and his only cure was a good nights rest, followed by a powerful hangover.

I walked into the bar and immediately spotted Johnny. He was dancing a jig on a small circular table. This left me two options.

A) Be a good friend and help him down before he hurt himself

B)Wait for him to slip, and laugh my ass off.

I chose B, waited it out, and walked up to him. "How drunk are you Johnny?"

"Drunk enough to get tattoo'd and not remember doing it!" He pulled his pants leg up to his thigh and revealed a large, old timey hour glass.

"Okay, time to go home then."

"I WANT A PET TOASTER!" He exclaimed, his weight suddenly falling onto my shoulder.

I dragged him to the bar tender. "Sup Phil, you got his keys?"

"Aye, 'ere they are lad."

"Thanks again for agreeing to not sell anything to him before he hands em over."

"The fewer drunks on the road, the better. You're sober right?"

"Only until I get home. I've had a great day, and I'm gonna end it in style."

The burly Phil let out a strong laugh and pulls a few keys on a ring out from under the counter. "You just be sure not to delve into that stuff until yer home, alright?" He was gesturing towards the fresh bottle of Jack Daniel's in Johnny's hand.

"As much as I'd like to, I'm no idiot. Can barely afford the car, don't need tickets too."

Phil leaned over the counter towards me. His old, wrinkled face and deep, gruff tone set an everlasting aura of a sagely presence when he was in the room. In his eyes there was always a deep understanding in every situation. You could figure it out by looking at him, this guy knew his shit. "Just be careful then, there is a strange feeling in the air tonight. Something old, something dangerous. Do me a favor and don't follow any strangers, read any old books out loud, or anything of the sort. "

I gave a light chuckle. "Alright Phil, I'll see you later then. Let me know if ever ya need a livelier atmosphere."

"Will do lad, will do." I gave a laugh, and dragged the semi-awake Johnny back to his car and drove us home.

I eventually managed to drag the poor drunken sob into our apartment, and the first thing that either of us notice is two boxes on the counter. One was wrapped in a pale blue paper, where the other was in the same green I had seen earlier; it wasn’t the same box though. In between the two sat an envelope. I let the drunkard collapse to the floor and I opened it up. It contained a lone piece of paper that read “I forgot these earlier, go ahead and open your other ones first.”

Weird… who in the hell?

“Wuzzah?” The drunken fool hanging from my shoulder said.

“Looks like two presents, one for you, one for me.”

“Makes sense” How in the hell the drunk out of his mind dumb ass that had been drooling on the floor figured this out before me? I still don't know. “It’s our birthday after all.”

I looked over at the calendar over the sink. “Well, I’ll be damned! It is!”

“You forgot didn’t you?”

“Maybe…”

“That’s what I’m here for! *hiccup*”

“Go home Gate, your drunk.”

“I aint home already?” He spun around dizzily looking at the ceiling. Dumb ass

“No, you’re on the moon.”

“Wha? Celestia I’m sorry, I don’t wanna live here for a thousand years!” He had actually gotten a little teary eyed after that. I facepalmed.

I went back into my room and fetched the first box that had been in my chest,  I set it on the kitchen counter. “That letter said something about us both finding boxes earlier, you find yours yet?”

“Oh, you mean that thing that was in my glove box?  I put it in the fridge.”

“Why did you put a present in the refrigerator?”

“I didn't want it to melt.” I shook my head and got it out, it was wrapped the same as his other one but in size it was about the same size as a football, yet rectangular. I set it on the counter with the others and looked towards the slowly sobering Johnny. “Hey, who do you think they’re from?”

“Hell if I know, probably some creep. Who else would know it was both of our birthday’s?” My eyes suddenly went wide. “You forgot didn't you.”

“Yeah… ”

“Dude, I just reminded you not but ten minutes ago! You have terrible memory issues.”

“ I'm sorry, who are you?” I got a friendly punch in the arm as he laughed. “So, do we open them?”

“I don't see why not. The letter said to open the first two first.”

“Why not? What if some terrorist is sending us bombs that go off when we open them? What if it’s a device that sprays the plague in our faces as soon as we look inside? What if-“

“You are just being paranoid again.”

“I’m never paranoid! Everyone just wants to get me!”

He rolled his eyes and looked at his packages. “Still though, should probably open the 2nd ones first, just in case.”  He reached for the second one but was stopped by a disgusting black beetle landing on the package. We both always hated bugs, especially black ones.

It’s not that we are racist, we both just really dislike bugs. Black bugs are just a little (a lot) more gross (gut wrenchingly horrendous) than the rest. Okay, so we are both bug-racists. Deal with it.

He instead reached for the first package he had received, the one that he put in the fridge. As he slowly pulled the ribbon apart, millions of scenarios were playing through in my head. I eventually decided on the most likely, he had planted all four and was messing with me. The ribbon fell apart around the carefully wrapped package, the paper around it soon followed. His marvelously skilled hands were gently pulling seams to their unfolded position, the concentration he had was nearly palpable in the air. It had always amazed me, watching him work like that. It was as if all time stood still, and all movement ceased; everything waited for each of his carefully planned movements.

I had once asked him how he did it, and the only response I got was him asking how I manage to let my fingers dance on the strings of any instrument I touch. He had said that it was like a waltz between masters who had nothing left in life but to dance to the rhythm of their own feet.

The wrapping paper was gone , revealing a boring brown box, he could see inside, but I could not. “YES! IT IS JUST WHAT I’VE ALWAYS WANTED! THANK YOU SO MUCH MYSTERIOUS STRANGER!!!” He pulled out a strange little plush animal. I recognized it as a pony from that TV show, but something was off about it. “LOOK! LOOK HEART LOOK! I GOT A LYRA PLUSHIE!” He was quite literally rubbing it in my face.

And then I noticed the hole. I nearly choked on air when I saw it, purely out of surprise. Once I caught my breath, I looked him dead in the eye. “Is that some kind of… clop thing?”

“Some kind of- what? No, no no no no no! Eww! It’s a plush little Lyra Heartstrings puppet!” He stuck one hand up the thing’s rump and made faces at it, pretending to talk to it. “Some brony back during season 2 I think made the first one, a lot of people thought exactly what you did. Some bought it as a gag gift, and eventually they got mass produced for a short time. These are so rare now… I wonder where it came from.” I grew weary of listening to his pony talk, so I walked over to where my first present lay.

I took none of the time or care in unwrapping that Johnny had. I just tore into it. Opening the box, I saw something surprising. It was a small, hand held harp, a lyre. I had never played on personally, but I was ecstatic at the thought of learning to. I took it out of the box and attentively plucked a few strings. Johnny looked over at it and me with wide, horrified eyes. “What’s wrong Johnny?”

“Your eyes… they just changed colors for a moment, they were… some kind of mix between hazel and green.”

“Dude, my eyes are brown, dark brown.”

“Well, they are now, but a little lighter…” I walked over to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. I looked into my own eyes and saw them widen in surprise. My eyes had somehow managed to pale themselves into a light brown. Johnny walked into the bathroom and stood beside me in the mirror. He handed me the lyre.

“Play the lyre like before, see if it happens again.” I took the thing with a shaky hand.  I was a tad nervous to even touch the strings, but my hand did it anyways. Before I knew it, a calm sonata was sounding out. The sound gently rolling up to our ears, while our eyes were wide and blood shot in horror. My eyes were golden in the mirror, glowing a pale yellow.

I immediately threw the thing into the living room, it landed gently on the couch. My eyes went back to the light brown from before.

“Johnny… What the fuck was that?!”

“I… think we should open the other presents now.”

“No way man, we need to get out of here, someone is fucking with us and they are seriously good at it. I need to –“ I had started to ramble on quietly under my breath, each word more shaky and uncertain than the last. Johnny just slapped me across the face.

The shock of it was more than enough to snap me back to normal. “Thanks, bro. I really needed that.”

“I could tell, I might need one here in a minute myself.”  I laughed a little at what I thought had been a joke. His cold blue eyes said otherwise. Wait, Johnny’s eyes weren’t blue.

“Johnny…”

“Huh?”

“Mirror.”

“What?”

“Look in the mirror.” He did, and then gasped. He reeled back, crashing through the bathroom door and into the other room.

“What in the fuckery is going on?!”

“Let’s open those other presents Johnny.”

“Yeah… okay.”

We walked into the kitchen and looked to the two, ominous rectangles on the counter. Both were wrapped in the same patterns as before, it was obvious which was meant for whom. I grabbed mine first, “Let’s just open them at the same time.” He shook his head in agreement and grabbed his own. “On three…”

We both tore into them shouting “THREE!” simultaneously.

Each box seemed to house a number of small, pocket sized books. We emptied them out onto the coffee table before looking at what books they were. Under the books, small envelopes floated out. Neither envelope was labeled, but each had a picture of pony on the front. One was Lyra, and the other was a blue unicorn I didn’t know the name of. “Lyra and Colgate… two unicorns. One plays the lyre, the other is a dentist. I think you are right, somepony is seriously fucking with us.”

“Told ya.” I reached over and grabbed the Lyra envelope, it was obviously meant for me. I opened it up and saw a small folded letter in side.

‘Dear “Lenny LoveSong”, seeing as that is what you call yourself.

You are going to experience some big changes, savor what you have while you can. You won’t be seeing me or hearing from me again, but I will be watching.

Signed ~C’

I read it aloud several times before Johnny grabbed the other letter.

‘Dear “Johnny SilverTooth”,  at least your name can pass for normal.

I imagine “Lenny” Is going to be freaking out soon, do try and keep him from hurting himself, please. Enjoy the books, they    will be more useful than you might think.

Signed ~C’

He read his to himself, and told me what it said after. “What’s so bad about the name Lenny?! Whoever this ‘C’ is, I’m going to kick his ass!”

“Calm down Lenny, just calm down. We need to stay as serious as we can right now.”

“SERIOUS? I AM PLENTY FUCKING SERIOUS FOR BOTH OF US! IF ANYTHING, YOU ARE NOT BEING SERI-” I received another painful slap across the face. Rubbing it to sooth the sting, I smiled. “Thanks.”

“Mm-hmm.” He nodded.

“So, what do you think is with all the little books?”

“Dunno, maybe we should read the titles?”

“Good idea.”

It turns out, the books ranged from a variety of subjects. They covered things such as equine anatomy, taking care of horses, general health things related to all things horse.  Johnny’s eyes were wide as saucers the entire time, I imagine mine were as well but I didn’t want to look in a mirror right now. As we dug through the stacks of small, pocket-sized books, I found one with a  rather unusual title “Unicorn magic for beginners.”  I held it up in the air, “Hey Johnny, the hell you think this is?”

He swiped it from my hands, with a mannick grin. “Don’t you see?”

“Uhh what?”

“We are not long for this world, old chap!”

“Pardon?”

“WE’RE GOING TO BECOME PONIES!” His voice sounded cracked, a little mannick. I gave him a quick slap across the face. Although apparently, I did so a tad too hard. He fell to the floor unconscious, still smiling like a pedophile running a daycare.

I backed away slowly and made my way to the kitchen yet again. “I need a damn drink.”

---Several hours, and a half a bottle of Jack Daniels later…---

I rolled around on the side walk, laughing at the sight of my golden eyes in the mirror-like reflection on the window of a close store. Some one approached me. “Hey buddy, you alright?”

“Never better! My eyes just turned colors as I watched!”

“Dude, you're drunk. Go home.”

“HOME IS WHERE THE CREEPY CRAWLIES ARE!”

“Right then, see you later then Heart.”

“All right, see you around, Twinkle.” The stranger and I both started to walk in separate directions when we both turned completely around. We looked each other in the eyes,  his eyes were a crystally, inhumanly clear blue. “Did you just call me Heart?”

“Did you just call me Twinkle?”

“Today… wouldn't happen to be your birthday, would it?”

“H-How did you know?”

“Did you receive two packages today? No identification on them besides the creepy letter signed ‘C’?”

“Are you C?” He started stepping backwards.

“No, no not at all. I got two packages too. So did my roommate. It’s both of our birthdays, and we both have gained a new eye color today.” A sobering thought. “And I assume you did as well, because he and I have both been calling each other ‘Gate’ and ‘Heart’. I assume you realize, that is incredibly weird. And you just called me Heart without me ever telling you my name at all. And I suddenly am calling you Twinkle, without a thought about it? I don't t believe in coincidences.”

The poor guy was terrified, but frozen in place. “So, Twinkle, what did you do to make your eyes change?”

"I was just sort of hanging out with some old friends when suddenly someone said 'I thought your eyes were green?' I looked around for a mirror, and was just now in the process of running home."

I heard another set of footsteps approaching, and fast. "LENNY! PROBLEM! HELP! NOW!"

Turning my head, I saw Johnny sprinting straight for me. A very large mass of bugs were chasing him. Mine and Twinkle's eyes both went wide. "That him?" I nodded. "You guys too?" I nodded again.

We all were sprinting madly down the road, desperately seeking refuge from this horrid swarm. We were running out of energy, I could tell by the sound of errant panting from either side of me. I decided to waste some breath by talking.

"If... We... can get... under...water..." I huffed between breaths. "We ... should ... be fine!"

"Nice, idea Lenny. Why are you just now saying this?" I heard from behind me and to the right.

"Because... Pool... ahead..."

"The public pool? It's closed at this hour!"

"We've... all... got... running... starts... fence.... just... obstac-.... obstacle."

Almost as  I said it, the 10-foot high fence came into view. I heard Johnny start really breathing heavily as he sprinted ahead of Twinkle and I. He jumped a few feet away from it, managed to hit the fence about half way up it. Twinkle followed suit. I, however, am in far worse shape. I couldn't even muster a jump until I ran square into the fence. The bugs were seconds away, so I scrambled to my feet.

I was just reaching the top of the fence when I could hear that gods-forsaken buzzing getting close. "Hurry up Lenny!" "Come on Heart!" I was hearing them from inside the pool. I pushed every ounce of energy I had left into it and kicked off the top of the fence, I felt the bugs start biting me mid-air, but I landed squarely in the middle of the pool. The bugs were very close, the buzzing was almost a roar.

We all ducked our heads under with the deepest breaths we could take. I blacked out immediately.

---==---

Day two: May 2nd:

I woke to the sound of ambulance sirens, along with a banging on my chest. I coughed up some water and rolled over, groaning.  "Euhhh... What the hell did I drink last night?"

I looked to the kind person who had given me CPR. "Phil? Holy shit, Phil? How in the what?!"

"I was on my way home when I saw you three running into the pool. Clever move, jumping in the pool. Wonder what was with those bugs."

"I don't know, but where are Johnny and Twinkle?"

"If by Twinkle, you mean that other guy with weird eyes, he woke up about an hour ago, he had to hurry home and seemed fine. The first police officer managed to get Johnny awake with CPR a few minutes ago, he asked me to do it for you while he got you an ambulance."

"Wait, police ? Ambulance? I wasn't aware that running for my life was a crime."

"No, but the guy also saw you jumping in, it was quite the ruckus, he had come in to arrest you once the bugs were gone, he assumed you lot were vandals. Once he realised you were all floating in the pool, he called an ambulance immediately after getting someone (me) to make sure you didn't die."

"Ah, " I scratched the back of my head. "Well, shit. Thanks man."

"Not a problem lad. Now then, let's go find Johnny."

It turns out Johnny was in the bathroom stall near the pool, of all things he could possibly be doing... He was brushing his teeth.

I snuck up behind him. "Pssst. *buzzbuzz* " He jumped a good foot in the air at that. Well worth the laugh I managed to get for myself.

"What the hell Lenny?"

"What the hell? Dude, What the hell was with those bugs?! I thought I was gonna die!"

Paul chimed in from outside. "You did! Your heart stopped twice."

"Right, see? point proven!"

"Calm down, we're both fine now, even if covered in assloads of bug bites. Don't get me started on the itch ." As soon as he said the words, I was suddenly aware of a burning itch on every exposed inch of my body.

"Fuuuuuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck itchy!" I ran outside and rubbed my bare back against the brick wall. "Ahhhh..... so much better."

Johnny poked his head outside and looked at my odd behaviour. "Dude, really? Your covered in bug bites, and you scratch on a wall? Really dude? Really?"

"Shut up..." I panted. "Feels... good. At least I didn't just survive near-death by bugs, only to brush my dang teeth."

He looked at me with a grimace. "Your fingers are doing your weird hand thing again. I don't want to hear a damn thing from you about odd behaviour!"

"Huh?" I looked down at my misbehaving appendages. "Stop that." I told them, they didn't listen. "Stop!" They still didn't. I decided to sit on them, but they kept twitching underneath my weight. "ARGH! I can't stop my hands from doing it! How many times have I asked you not to point things like this out to me?!" It was an old habit, one that had been there since before I even learned to play. I learned to ignore it myself, it stopped eventually after a few minutes, but when someone points it out, I can't make myself stop until the song my hand's are playing manages to reach my ears. Seeing as how there was nothing around that was musical, my hands just kept twitching furiously.

"Let's just get home, you can fix your... thing when we get there."

I put my hands in my pockets and shouted to Paul. "HEY PAUL! Wheres my shirt?"

"Cop guy cut it off to prevent restricted air flow, it was stuck on your pants button so we couldn't slip it off."

"Joy. Guess I'm walking home shirtless. "

"Ohhh no you're not lad, You had water in your lungs for nearly two hours. You should be dead right now, your going to that hospital."

"Oh come on .... Hospitals smell so ... sterile." Right under bugs, hospitals have always been my biggest fear, every time I go to one (even the first time) I end up in pain and/or tears.

"Quit being a pussy Lenny,  your going."

"Alright alright."

The ambulance arrived and the EMT was amazed at the fact that I had survived. He had honestly expected me to be dead when he got there. People don't just hold a lung full of water for two hours and walk away from it. Paul and Johnny made him agree to take me to the emergency room, for the bug bites if anything. I looked out the ambulance's rear windows and saw the sun starting to rise. Damn it, sorry Ruth. I sighed.

"You alright?" The EMT asked.

"Yeah, just supposed to be somewhere right now. Some girl heard me playing my violin yesterday, invited me over to her store this morning to help cheer the area up. I told her I'd be there at sun up, but I guess that isn't happening today."

"Ouch. Hmm, you look kind of familiar. You perform in the park right?" I nodded.

"Lyle Strongheart, AKA Lenny Love song, the destroyer of bad days and the harbinger of a good time, at your service." I had said that with a bit more sarcasm than intended, but he still laughed.

"Guess that explains the tattoos on your legs."

"Huh?"

"Oh, I noticed them earlier when I was checking all of those bug bites."

"But I don't have any tattoos, never had the cajones."

"Guess someone decided otherwise while you were out of it. There are definitely two harp things on your legs. Look for yourself." He turned around, facing the wall of the ambulance to give me some privacy. I slipped my pants down to my knees once he couldn't see. Sure as sugar, there were two stylized cartoonish lyre's on my legs. Oh hell, he better not have been right. If he was right, I am so going to murder him in the face.

Pulling my pants back up, I sighed again. "Yeah, I guess someone did."

I was faintly aware of the endless buzzing in the back of my mind, as I was wheeled into the awful place that was referred to as a place of healing. That dreadful place, was the local hospital. It was never very busy, as I lived in a rather small town. The only times anyone ever came here was for legitimate emergencies, such as missing limbs. That is the reason I assumed that people were looking at me so oddly when I was being wheeled into the ER. I was placed in a bed, in a room; and was left to stew in my thoughts.

Why did I agree to come here?

Why did I pass out in the pool?

Why were those bugs chasing Johnny?

Hey, who’s that?

A doctor walked in, and introduced himself as some name that I only remember made him sound like he should be a plumber. Fixing pipes, kicking turtles, eating mushrooms, and saving a princess, that’s all I remember about that guy’s name. “So then, I see that you had quite the night.” Typical doctor talk, he was infuriatingly understating the fact that I should be dead right now.

“Hmm, yes, quite the night it was.”

“Might I ask, the report had said you were covered scalp-to-toe in a myriad of different bug bite welts, was that a lie?”

“What? No, of course not! Look at me!” I gestured towards my still bare chest with my hands, once they were in sight I stopped breathing for a moment. “Whoa. Okay, I was a walking welt last time I looked, okay? Is this normal at all?”

“The report also said you had water in your lungs for at least two hours.”

“I was running from a swarm of bugs, jumped into a public pool as they caught up to me, Ducked my head until they went away. Next thing I know, I’m waking up without a shirt on. My back was incredibly itchy, I ended up scratching it on a freaking brick wall.”

“I’m going to just take a look at your eyes for a moment, do you mind taking those contacts off?” He reached into a pocket and withdrew a small flash light.

“I don’t wear contacts, used to wear glasses as a kid though, junked ‘em cause they made me look lame.”

“Listen, I don’t have time for games sir, please just take off the colored contacts.”

“OH! That’s what you meant. Yeah, these aren’t contacts. Actual colors here. I don’t know how to explain it either, but halfway through last night some things happened and I ended up with golden eyes. Kinda makes me want to go play my n64 if anything.”

I saw him scribble some things down on his note pad, probably that I was a nutter of some sort. Jack ass. “So, when did that happen?”

“About 10pm I think? I don’t know. I had started drinking that night, got to celebrate my birthday somehow, right? My roommate and I walked into the kitchen, we started goofing around, he pointed out the weird color, I went to the bathroom and looked. Lo and behold, new eye color. I looked at him and pointed out that his had gone from green to blue.”

“This happened to your roommate as well?”

“Yeah, don’t know his story about it though. At first I thought I was drunk enough for him to be seriously messing with me. Ol’ Jack has that effect sometimes.”

I finally managed to get a light laugh out of this piece of stone. “So, where is he? This seems like the kind of thing you go to a hospital for.”

“Ah, well. After I had left him passed out in the living room, I went outside for a walk. Next thing I know, he and I are being chased by an amorphous black cloud of bugs, you know the rest.”

“Right, right… Here, fill this out and I’ll be back soon.”  He handed me some forms, general hospital ‘We want to stalk you until you die, and then charge you for it,’ kind of rubbish.

One thing caught my attention, on the name line. I had written ‘Lyra Heartstrings’ in curly, feminine script. I did a double take at it, and just scribbled it out, writing the proper name next to it in the margin. I was only half way done with the form, when a nurse came into the room.

“Mr. Strongheart? Your family is here to pick you up.”

“What? Noone even knows I’m in here except for Johnny.”

“Go. Now.” I could have sworn her eyes went green for a moment, and her voice was laced with venom, so I scrambled out of the bed.

“Alright alright, can you at least point me towards the exit? I’ve been kind of out of it this morning.”

“Certainly, Mr. Strongheart, right this way.” She grabbed my shoulder and led me out and into the lobby.

“Wait, when did I ever tell you my name? No one ever picked that form up…” My eyes went wide at the realization.

“Just go, if you know what’s good for you. There are eyes everywhere, Mr. Strongheart. You cannot avoid their gaze.”

I shivered at the thought, and obediently followed. If ever I was to get a chance at getting some answers, I’d have to at least know who is making me ask the questions.

We exited the hospital door, and my eyes immediately found a black limo, door open and waiting.

“Here’s your ride, sir.” She said, and then a little quieter “Get in.”

I sighed, and reluctantly obeyed.  The windows were tinted, and there were no lights inside the limo, I could tell that other people were here though. Their breathing was audible. I counted five others, two seated on the same side as me, three on the other. Two frightened heartbeats, three calm.

Since when can I hear this well?  My fingers started fidgeting on their own accord again.

The door closed as soon as I was seated, and the lights turned on to a dull yellow glow.

I looked to my left and saw Johnny and Twinkle sitting on the same seat as I. Across from us sat a woman with dull blue hair and bright green eyes, and two very large men in suits. Bodyguards, I assumed. No one spoke until we were moving.

“H-hey Heart… your hands are doing that thing again.”

“Screw you, Gate,” Was my only response.

The woman across from us cleared her throat loudly, silencing the oncoming bickering. “I assume the three of you have some questions?”

Twinkle spoke up. “Of course we do! What the fuck is going on?! Who the fuck are you?! Why the fuck is my hair pink?!” I had to look again to confirm that last one. I laughed at what I saw. “Shut up Heart, at least I don’t reek of mint leaves.”

“I’d rather smell like mint than like tooth paste. Why do I smell like mint though?” I sniffed my hand, she was right. Johnny punched me in the leg, right over where the lyre was.

“There is nothing wrong with the scent of toothpaste, it is one of cleanliness and hygiene.”

“Yeah, but why you smell like it?”

“Because I do, it’s better than strawberry shortcake over there.”

Twinkle had his head in his hands, poor guy was worse off than both of us combined.

The guard on the woman’s left whispered in her ear. “Ma’am, the changes are accelerating. Maybe the swarm was too much?” My eyes shot wide.

“Silence, you idiot! The green one has skilled ears!” She hissed back.

“The green one? There is nothing green about me, lady.” I said calmly.

Johnny reached over and brushed my hair down into my field of vision. It was a light sea green, with some paler bits mixed in the middle.

And I could never see my hair without a mirror before now, it was too short.

“Uhh, guys. What the fuck?”

Johnny coughed. I looked at him, his hair was blue, darker than the lady’s hair, about the same pale blue as his eyes. “Okay, Johnny, you can tell them to let us out now, and you can stop this over-played prank. It’s getting really creepy now.”

He chuckled a bit. “That’s what I said to Twinkle earlier.”

I looked over to the pink haired mass of misfortune. I saw the glimmer of a tear fall from his face and to the floor, twinkling in the dull light. “My name isn’t Twinkle, it’s Sam.” There was an awkward silence for a few minutes. My hands were dying for a song to be played.

“Look, wherever we are going, can we stop by our apartment first? I’ve got to get something to cure this twitch. I can’t focus on a damn thing until then.”

The woman nodded, and the limo came to a stop in seconds. I couldn’t see out through the tinted windows, so I thought it was a red light until the door opened. The light flooded in and was nearly blinding. I clenched my eyes shut and moved my hands in front of them. “AGH! BRIGHT!”

“Go get the lyre, and come right back down.” She looked to the guard on her left and whispered “Make sure he’s quick.”

“Ya know, whispering really has no purpose, I can hear you as clear as day.”

She groaned a bit. “Just go already, fool.”

“Yeesh, there is no need to be rude, we can all be civilized here.”

The guard picked me up by the arm and dragged me out of the limo. We walked up the stairs to our apartment, he motioned for me to go in. I stopped when I saw another black beetle on the doorknob.

“No way, I’ve dealt with enough bugs today, you kill it.” He just growled and swatted it away.

I went in, got the lyre off the couch, and had an idea. I ran to my room and grabbed a random t-shirt from the closet. While I was there, I slipped a pocket knife into my pocket, just in case.

“Hurry up in there!” I heard him shout from outside.

“I’m working on it, I can’t find the thing!” I also took the time to use the restroom, because I had the idiotic urge to piss off these people. I was always impatient for impatient people’s attittudes...

He and I made our way back to the limo, and to one very impatient looking woman. Wonder what’s up her ass.  “I'm baaaaack, I know you missed my glorious visage, I apologize for depriving you of this beauty.” The guard slammed me back into my seat, rather forcefully I might add. “Rude.”

“ You'd best stay your tongue child, just play the thing.”

“So long as you guys are forcing me to do ANYTHING, I am going to make it as hard for you as possible, I promise.” The woman snarled at me, showing some rather pointy teeth. I complied with her so called request, calming my frantic twitching as my hands let loose the flood gates on a quiet, eerie tune. She could use a dentist.

The limo started off again, and so did the woman’s annoying voice. “I assume that the two of you, “ she pointed at Sam and Johnny. “are smart enough to realize that I am ‘C’. I am not so sure about the green one’s intellect quite yet. He seems to be quite the fool.”

I opened my mouth in mock shock as Johnny replied. “Yeah, kind of figured that out a long time ago, and yeah, Lenny is an idiot.” I punched him in the arm. “So, let’s get down to business. Who the hell are you, what the hell is going on, all that good stuff. You can figure out what’s confusing us.”

She relaxed her face, returning to a neutral expression. “Very well, you need only call me ‘C’. I have another name, but it carries too many negative connotations.”

“I hear that!” I interjected with a smirk.

“Of course you do, fool. I am speaking, am I not?” I sighed in defeat. She needs to learn to spot a joke. “As you have more than likely realized, what is happening to you is not normal.” No shit, Sherlock. “I know the blue one has an inkling of who I am, and I ask you to speak nothing of it. Beyond what you know, I eventually became rather regretful, burdened by a starving hive. Many of my people starved within weeks, the hunts were relentless. Many of our foes fell to our revenge, and many more of my people left the Hive, to simply replace one of the dead foes, abandoning their former lives. You three were under the latter category, and due to a certain beast that threatens to wipe out all life, much of that threatened life found it’s way into this world. However, we were forced into this hideous beastial forms and lives. Those of us still within the Hive maintained our memories and souls, as we were not the primary targets of that beast. You three however, had forsaken your place in the Hive and traded your once-glorious abilities and bodies for a simple life of your own. I never understood why, until recently. This world, this nation promotes free thought and self-expression, something the Hive had no use for. I do not blame you three for leaving, but it is time we all returned to our individual forms. The spell that sent us to this world is weakening, and will soon be no more.”

Johnny decided to speak during the pause. “So you are saying that we are all former-changelings,  and were sent to this world by… ?”

“I do not know the Beast’s name, simply his actions. He wreaked havoc upon all things, toying upon the very fabric of time and space.”

“Discord.”