Week 1 Storytelling: Colt Collides with Bullet

"THERE was a little boy and a little girl
Lived in an alley;
Says the little boy to the little girl,
"Shall I, oh! shall I?"

Says the little girl to the little boy,
"What shall we do?"
Says the little boy to the little girl,
"I will kiss you." 
(A traditional nursery rhyme)

"Colt Collides with Bullet"

The lighter felt like a live wire against my hand, as I ran from the gas station that I stole it from.

Borrowing things from people has become a career for me, and yet each time I feel that same Pop! Zing! and Zap! of adrenaline.

I tossed the lighter in my over-sized bag, and kept running until I found the dank, dirty, and dark alley. The crumbling alley walls was the closest we had to a home.

(Image from: Judy van der Velden)

"Bullet, there you are!" A familiar voice said. "I was wondering if you got caught this time."

I looked up into equally familiar chocolate brown eyes and a sideways grin that flashed crooked teeth. Dirty bottle-dyed black hair spilled out from under his beanie.

"And on that day Ragnarok will swiftly come, Colt," I said. I slid down the brick wall of the alley, settling against a lumpy pillow. I pushed stray strands of brown hair from my face.

"I bet I beat you," Colt said.

"Then let's hope Thor can kill Jormungandr, 'cause Ragnarok's on it's way," I said and laughed.

"Sure, sure," he said, looking up into my eyes, but my eyes settled on his chapped lips.

I shook my head, because, no Colt was my friend and nothing more. Or, well, we were supposed to be just friends. Try telling my heart that...

"Alright, so I got..." Colt said and emptied his backpack on the ground as he announced, "Protein bars, candy bars, instant coffee, and..." He stopped for a moment. "Well, I'll have you wait for the grand finale."

I shrugged and emptied the pockets of my purse into a pile next to his. I had got snack cakes, trail mix, and a water bottle. "I'd say we're about even."

"You sure about that?" He challenged me.

"Unless you have a house in that backpack, yeah."

"Maybe not, but...here, turn around."

"What?"

"Just do it," he said rolling his eyes.

I rolled my eyes back at him before I stood up and turned to the wall.

I suddenly felt a coolness against my throat, and I looked down to see a beautiful silver necklace. There was a heart-shaped locket on it. I gasped, and turned to him.

He smirked and said, "Open it."

I opened it up, and etched into the silver were three little words: "I love you."

My heart beat wildly as I glanced at his chapped lips, wondering, should I, oh, should I, kiss him?

"Bullet, what, oh what, should we do?" He asked as he leaned towards me.

"Should I..." He whispered and he cupped his hand under my chin.

"Kiss me." I finished his sentence, but it came out more like a command.

His hand still under my chin, I placed my hand against his face, and I pulled his lips against mine, into a kiss.

My first kiss.

(Image from Kayla) 

Author's Note:
I turned this Nursery Rhyme into a short Young Adult story, since Young Adult is my favorite genre to write in.

I typically write Young Adult Fantasy and Paranormal Romance, but I had a fun time writing this one. As you could tell, I changed the little boy and girl into a teenage boy and girl that live on the street. I also kept them living in an alley.

Though this one wasn't fantastical, the world was interesting to me.

I loved the bit of dialogue in the original version, so I kept that in my story, but I made it more modern with "should" instead of "shall." I think the dialogue was both cute and fit Colt's personality quite well.

I created Colt and Bullet just for this story, but I really like them, so you may see more of them in the future! In fact, they are in my story, "I Got Your Heart, You Got Bullet Holes."

Also, I snuck in a little nod to Norse Mythology and their version of the apocalypse, Ragnarok.

Bibliography:
This story was based on a love and matrimony nursery rhyme from The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang (1897).