Song: From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea-- The Cure

Trent

Drinking on the beach with Brian calmed his nerves. The alcohol helped him forget, even if it was just for a brief moment. He and Juno were drifting away from each other, their beings slowly parting like the Red Sea before Christ was born. They hadn't spoken to each other for over a week, and if they did it was concise.

She had offered to leave. Trent simply shook his head, and she obeyed.

The bitter sting of vodka slid down his throat. Brian finished off his beer and chucked the glass bottle across the shore to an undetermined area. The sun was setting, the horizon pink with hues of orange and violet. Trent sighed, turning his attention to his young protege.

"I don't know what to do, man. Things are turning to shit."

"Maybe you shouldn't have brought a threatening female into your house when Juno was present," Brian stated, cracking open another bottle of Coors. Trent sighed and dropped his head in his hands.

"You're no help."

"Hey, I'm speaking from experience. Missi's the same way. If any broad tries to get between the two of us, Missi isn't afraid to punch them out."

Trent raised his head, his green eyes flickering in Brian's direction. "You really are made for each other, huh?" He said, following a swig of Smirnoff.

"Definitely, man! Missi's the greatest girl I could ever have. She accepts me for me and it's one of the many things I love about her. She's so... understanding, you know? She keeps me on my toes when shit hits the fan."

"Yeah," Trent said softly. "Yeah."

Brian leaned back on his elbows, his arms in the sand. His snow-white complexion looked almost transparent in the fading sunlight. He withdrew a breath. "You really like her, don't you?"

"Would it be stupid if I said yes?"

"Well, falling in love is pretty much setting yourself up for suicide... but in your case, no, it's not stupid. This girl is obviously keeping you from suicide for God knows what reason."

He couldn't get her smile out of his head. Soft and sweet like vanilla. Her eyes like cremé de Menthe, her lips like a strawberry daiquiri. She was ruining him, just like the liquor. But which would kill him quicker?

Trent took another drink of European liquor before choking on it at the sound of Brian's proceeding question. "What?"

"I asked if you fucked her yet. If you did, then she obviously has you pussy-whipped."

"We didn't fuck," Trent barked. "I'm not like that."

"Not like that?" Brian laughed curtly, "You lying little fuck. Do you remember our little videotape a while back? With Kelly and that other chick?"

Trent huffed at the memory of their drunken sex tape. How stupid were they? "That's the past, Brian. I don't want to treat her like the others... because, well, she's not like them."

Brian simply bobbed his head in comprehension. His beer was half full. Trent's brain was turning to mush as the array of thoughts and ideas crammed their way into his head. Though he was still piqued over the way Juno had acted towards Tori, that former junkie couldn't get out of his head. She was all he ever wanted in a woman. Juno was even better than Andrea. Andrea, the girl from Alleghany who stole his heart then proceeded to rip it to shreds. But she was forgotten now. All Trent could think about was Juno Alexandria McCallister from Boston.

"You must really fucking like this chick, huh?" Brian smirked, peeking over the rim of his sunglasses. Trent stared off into the distance at the cotton candy clouds, drawing his knees to his chest. He could see the moon rising as the sun was slowly vanishing into the ocean. The air was salty.

"Yeah... yeah, I do." Trent tucked his chin against his knees, smiling softly to himself. His cheeks were growing hotter by the minute.

Brian let out a raspy laugh before taking a swig from his beer. "Jesus Christ... what on Earth am I going to do with you, Reznor?"

"I want her to like me, Brian."

"If she gets into a fight with some girl over who you pay more attention to, it's sort of a no-brainer that she likes you."

"I don't feel like she likes me the way I like her."

"Well how do you like her? Medium well or medium rare?" Brian snickered childishly as Trent slugged him in the arm.

"Very funny, ha ha."

"No, seriously, man. How do you feel about this girl?"

"I... Christ, Bri, I don't know..."

He loved her eyes, he loved her mouth. He loved the way her tongue threw out all those erotically fascinating French phrases that made him want to burst. He adored the caramel freckles that sprinkled her nose. The way she curled up next to him in bed when she was in need of his warmth. Her skin to his, her breath warm and fuzzy down his spine.

She was everywhere. Fuck, his clothes even smelled like her. She was an apparition Trent never wanted to exorcise. His only desire was to have her forever, to never let her go. To keep her eternally, no matter how brutal or awful it sounded. Trent wanted her all to himself.

No other man could ever feel the way he felt about her. He wished to feel her internal heat. Trent didn't want to fuck her; he wanted to make love to her. To feel her, deep inside her bones. His name spilling from her lips as she cried out in ecstasy. Those long, brown tendrils in his hands, yanking and pulling on each strand. He wanted it all. He needed it.

The thoughts made him wish to act upon them, but he fought with himself. Juno already trusted him so much, cared for him like she would a brother... like she did Parker. How could she ever have feelings for him? He was absurd for even thinking of the possibiliy of a beautiful, fragile girl like that falling for a destructive, cold boy like himself. 

Trent ran a hand through his jet black locks. "Brian, how did you know you were in love with Missi?"

Brian pondered on his confidant's inquiry for a few seconds. "Because I knew I could trust her with my life. No one has ever accepted me as much as she has, nor have I ever accepting someone as much as I have her. Being in love means that you accept each other, no matter how broken you both are. Nobody's perfect, and being in love means that you recognize the fact that whoever you love has issues. Everyone is fucked up. But when you'e in love, being fucked up is okay. You love them, and they love you either way."

Trent sighed. It was true: Juno was indeed a broken individual. So was Trent himself. But did imperfection really matter? No, not to Trent. He wanted to protect Juno, to guide her, be her personal savior. He wanted to give her the life she deserved. She was fucked up, she had issues, but Trent did not worry about that. All he wanted to do was make her smile, let her shine in this ugly world, let her know that she was as breathtaking as he claimed she was. To let her know that scars do indeed heal; you just have to allow them.

Trent swiped the beer from Brian's grip. "Well, in that case... I think I'm in love."