The Story of Rings Cory and I had gotten married about a year ago. It was a beautiful day. We soon got a house, it was small and cozy, with yellow paint outside and brown inside. We were in the kitchen, making cookies for our neighborhood party. My wedding ring was a tight band around my finger, the cool metal always reminding me of the day we said "I do." He was behind me, in a green v-neck that had long sleeves. He had rolled them up so they didn't get in his way. He wore jeans and a black belt, and he was ultimately sexy. I was in a baggy white shirt with black skinny jeans, wearing my long fuzzy socks over top of them. In his opinion, adorable. "'Kay, what do I do next?" He turned around and looked at me. He had put in the vanilla. "Now you turn on the mixer." I replied with a smile, walking over to him. "It's like you've never made cookies before."I laughed. I stood behind him so I could guide his arms the way they were supposed to. "I just wanted you to touch me." He turned around and kissed me. I was short, compared to him. My head barely touched his shoulder when I stood next to him, but was probably one of the best things when we hugged, because I could get to hear his heartbeat. I smiled at him and turned around, back to the oven. I put on an oven mitt and pulled out a tray that was full of cookies. Cory turned. "Oh, yay. Those smell really good." He said as he turned on the mixer. A chocolate chip flew out and hit him in the back of the head. "Ow!" He yelled. I laughed. "You set it on too fast!" I set down the tray and reset the speed on the mixer so it was slower. He rubbed the back of his head, and I kissed him. He kissed me back, gladly, then pulled away. He kissed me on the cheek before going back to the cookies. I started putting the ones that were done cooking in a bowl, when I felt a cold breath on my neck. At first, I laughed. "Cory, stop breathing on me." But he just said, "Hm? I didn't." I felt fingers on my shoulders, and freaked. I knew she would come. "Oh god, Cory!" I turned around as a girl with caramel hair pulled back a knife and stabbed him. "Dove! Stop it, please!" I rushed over and tried to pull back her arm, but it was freezing. I pulled back, and she disappeared, leaving the knife in his back. He slumped down onto the ground, blood leaking out of his green shirt. "Cory!" I screamed, falling onto my knees and grabbing him. I felt small and useless, he was dying in my hands and I couldn't do anything. My fingers trembled as they skimmed over his arms. I cried out. I screamed as hard as I could. Nothing could bring him back to me. I just lost my husband, and it was because I got him in the first place. "H-hold on Cory." I said and rushed out of our house to the neighbors. They were very friendly, and had two kids. I pounded on the door am rang the doorbell. Kate opened the door. "Clarity, what's wrong?" She asked me, seeing the tears falling down my face as her motherly instincts kicked in. "Cory!" I gasped. "He just got stabbed!" She widened her eyes. "Paul!" She screamed. "It'll be alright, sweetheart." She tried to comfort me. They both knew about my time in the Haunting, and they knew about what happened here. I fell to my knees and sobbed, my fingernails digging into the skin exposed on my arms. Kate fell to the ground next to me, rubbing my arms and hugging me, saying comforting words. It didn't help. Cory was gone. It was all I could think about. He's gone, he's gone, he's gone. Nothing can bring him back. I felt like screaming. So I did. We called the police a little while after I calmed down. Of course, they knew about the Haunting, because Officer Wryle had returned from it himself. He had them take Cory's body from me. My only piece of him left was his wedding ring. I sobbed on my front lawn. The next week, the neighbors brought me food, fruitcake, cards. The cards would read, "We're sorry for your loss." I would wear his shirts, which would smell like him, and sleep on his side of the bed. Nothing helped. I longed for him to kiss me, to hear his heartbeat, to watch movies with him on the couch, to teach him every time how to make cookies when he clearly knew. But then it got worse. I felt cold breaths in my hair when I was trying to sleep, and it felt like someone was holding onto my waist. When I would wake up, the blinds were already open and there was tea on my dresser. A month passed, and I couldn't even leave my bedroom. There was the constant feeling that someone was there, and it scared me like hell. I would hear depressing sighs and footsteps. I was paranoid. Then I couldn't come out from under the covers. Then I was suicidal. I taped a note on my front door, then left to the kitchen, waiting. I was wearing sweatpants and one of Cory's shirts. I felt the cold breath, and an old friend appeared in front of me. It was Dove. She smiled crookedly. "I can't believe you married him." I clenched my hands into fists. "What did you do." "I got rid of the guy who ruined my #life as well as yours." "My #life? My #life?!" I screamed at her and launched myself at her face. She ducked. "Chill out! He's in The Haunting." I tightened my lips, forcing my hands to open. "Why would you kill him?" "Remember when we used to be pals, and you saw me sleeping? The throat full of pills? He made me commit suicide." I paused to take in the information. "Somebody can't make you do that. It's your fault." She laughed. "No, you see, he gave a medicine to me for my grandmother, but said he would kill her if I didn't die. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? A little like the deal you made with him?" I can't remember anything from my past before The Haunting. But as she said it, a little ding went off in my head. "Leave, and get Cory for me. Thanks." I snapped and she left. I sat on the couch and curled up. When Dove arrived again, she was digging her fingernails into Cory's arm, and he was trying to kick her off. I sat up, my eyes starting to water. "Cory!" I yelled, getting up and walking to him quickly. Dove squinted an eye. "You two have to stay at least five feet apart at all times." I froze and glared at her. "You can't do that, we're married!" Cory yelled. I walked closer to him, grabbing his frozen hand. "...You're chilly." I said and blew warm air onto his hand like he did to me, then stood on my tiptoes to kiss him. Flames erupted between us, and my lips hurt so bad I felt like choking. They started to bleed, I could tell by the liquid dripping down my chin. His hand was getting warmer than it was, and I saw Dove in the corner of my eye struggling to pull us apart. I took my lips off of Cory's (who made a disappointed grunt), and wiped the blood away, walking to Dove. She scowled. "What is wrong with you?!" I screamed at her and snapped my fingers in her face. "You're acting insane! Just leave me alone!" Dove trembled in anger and snapped, turning into dust and then disappearing. Cory pulled me back over to him and kissed me again, deeper. He had his hands on my face and I knew he was turning back normal, I could feel the heat returning in his hands. He picked me up and carried me to the bedroom. ----- Cory is normal again, and I'm grateful, because I have a surprise for him. I'm pregnant.

Man Carved Into Stars This morning the stars spoke to me, Before the sun woke up And as I looked to see, I saw the man look up to me He had blue hair and white eyes And reflected all the skies

The Story Of Cubes I finished putting on my uniform, and I put my black hair into a tight bun on the top of my head. I brushed some pink blush onto my pale face. Turning off the lights, I looked at my sister. She was in a coma, still. Like usual. That would be fixed soon, it made me smile. Fixed right about... Now. I dripped a black serum into her blood. Instantly, her condition improved. I looked at the cube of which the miracle medicine had come from. 30 minutes. I rushed from my house to work. My combat boots squeaked on the polished and flawless floor. I rode up the elevator. Floor 1. 2. 3. 4.... I waited for floor 16, and looked at the cube again. 15 minutes. The elevator binged. I stepped out, silently walking to my station. I set the cube to the side, trembling. 5 minutes. The man. In the black coat. He smirked from the table across me, turning on his shields. I wasn't allowed to... It was part of the deal. A tear slipped down my face as ringing reached my ears and pierced my head. At least my sister was safe. There was black. It was dark. I felt myself slip through something... The explosion. I reached out to grip onto what was happening. I could hardly remember... The cube... It exploded...? Of course it did. That's what it was meant to do. I slipped through something slimy and invisible. My heart slowed. My memories escaped my tight hold. All I could remember was the man. I fell flat on the ground. Where... What was this place? Someone walked over to me. "Welcome!" She cheered. "Welcome to..?" I questioned. "The Haunting!" She replied. "What's your name? You can choose any name you want, since we can't remember our mortal names." I thought for a moment. "Clarity." "Well hello, Clarity! I'm Dove." "Hi.. Dove." She smiled. "As I was saying, welcome to the Haunting! People come here when they've done something bad, or hurt other people's feelings when they die." "I commited suicide! Several pills sliding down my throat. Mm, it's a great memory. I got to come here because of it!" Dove grinned. "What can you remember about your death?" I furrowed my eyebrows. "A cube... A man dressed in black. The cube exploded and..." My eyes widened and I looked up. "Am I dead?" "Of course, silly!" Dove chuckled. "And since you're in the Haunting, you did something bad." She shook her finger in my face. "We should haunt this 'man in black' first!" She sent me on my way to where I used to work, wearing a wavy white dress that was especially tight around my breasts. "The Haunting outfit" She had said to me. I opened the door. The one thing I had refused to take off were my boots. I simply floated to the 16th floor, searching for the man. When I saw him, he was making another cube like what he had given me. He dropped in a bottle of pink liquid. I creeped over. He must've heard me, I don't know. He turned around. "Do you even know my name?" "No." "I'm Cory." I frowned and walked closer to him. "Clarity." I started by letting a breath creep down his neck. He shivered. "You're dead." He said. I smirked, trailing my pale finger down his back. "It's your fault I'm dead." I could sense he was already afraid. "This is fun, y'know–aGH!" I disappeared from my spot behind him to the underground tunnel. Dove smiled. "I saw everything! You should really take off your boots, though, then he won't hear you." "I guess I'll have to go again tomorrow then." --- The next day, I woke up. I had forgotten where I was and started to panic. I saw Dove next to me, her throat clumped. She wasn't breathing. I panicked more. "Dove?" I choked. She opened her eyes. "Morning!" She said and swallowed. The clump disappeared. "Don't worry, it happens when we sleep. Like you, your head was bashed in, you were bloody, and your leg was ripped off!" She smiled. My eyes widened in fear. "Why would you tell me that?" She shrugged. "Ready to go Haunting again?" "Yeah.." She tied the corset onto me. I felt it squish up my breasts, it hurt. "This is too tight." I gulped. Dove raised an eyebrow. "Of course not." She snapped her fingers and I was back at my old workplace. I rose myself to the 16th floor. Cory wasn't there yet, so I sat comfortably in his chair, kicking up my now bare feet. A little while later he walked in, frowning at me. "Hello again, Clarity." I got off the chair. "I warmed it up for you." He sat down and jumped. "'Warmed.'" I snickered. He raised his eyebrows and chuckled. I sensed something different between us this time. He wasn't afraid. It frustrated me. I walked my fingers on his shoulders, it made him shiver. "You're freezing, maybe you should try wearing some gloves." He grabbed my hand from his shoulder and blew hot air onto it. My eyes widened. "Let go of my hand." I frowned. He smirked. "Not until it's warm." I puckered my lips slightly as he tugged for my other hand. I offered it over. He smiled at me, and nibbled my finger. I just rolled my eyes. "Alright, they're warm now." I said and took my hands out of his. They were slightly warm, but as soon as I freed them of his grasp they froze again. Cory twisted his mouth. "You're not very scary, Clarity." I frowned. "That's rude." Cory grabbed my arm with his warm hand and pulled me close. Our noses almost touched, I could feel his hot breath oppose the sharp coldness of mine. He put his lips on mine, and there was fire. Literal fire. I pulled away from him, covering my lips. They were bleeding. "What the hell, man?!" I yelled at him. His eyes were wide, and he laughed nervously. "That was weird." I was teleported from my spot. Dove caught me. "Why did you let him do that?!" She asked me loudly. I passed out. --- When I woke up again, Dove was glaring at me. "No kissing mortals!" "Sorry.." I rubbed my head. "What a rush..." Dove smacked me with my own hand. "He's gonna be driving himself strait for the Haunting now!" I frowned. "What do you mean?" "Clarity, you stupid... demon! He's just formed a bond between him and you! He'll kiss you again!" I furrowed my eyebrows. "Well sorry, I've only been dead a couple days. I didn't know that would happen." "You need to go kill him. It's easy, trust me." Dove urged. "I don't want you to go back to that place. You're my only friend." "Kill him?!" I yelled. "Then he'll come here." I rubbed my temples. "Fine." "You've been out for a couple days." She said. "He might be worried about what happened to you and all that. Don't answer him, just kill him." She said and snapped. I appeared right at his shoulder. He jumped. "Clarity!" He had a cube in front of him. It was counting down in seconds. "Wh–" I was cut off by the flames of our second kiss. The cube exploded. I teleported us. My apartment. My sister was long gone. Our kisses went deeper, and I was warming up as I touched his shoulders and hands. I looked at my hands. They weren't pale. They were... Normal. He kissed up and down my neck, sending me shivers. My Haunting dress disappeared, leaving me in my panties. I made a squeaking noise. He just rolled his eyes and took off his shirt so I didn't feel awkward. "Just a minute.." I said, pulling him off of my neck. "Are you sure you love me?" I asked him. Cory replied with more kisses. --- It's three years later. We're never apart. I'm no longer dead. I still can't remember my name from before then, but Cory likes my name as it is. He says I'm his Clarity. I guess I am.