Half mad things people do in love

This prompt was to make ‘A story about the half-mad things people do when they’re in the early days of being in love. All that silly giddiness that gets pushed into your brain. Let’s have something on that.’ I took it in a slightly more darker direction just to keep things interesting.

It started just like every other relationship you may think of: a few dinner dates here, a coffee meetup there. Eventually, he built up the courage to ask her to come to his home on the weekend. The weekend came quickly, giddy with excitement, he’d decided to try something a bit creative for their meals. He stood preparing peppers that would look like roses, happily working his way through this elaborate meal.

Blink.

He looked upon what he’d been doing, how many pans he’d used and the failed attempts he had. This was madness, a first home cooked meal was not the place to get so creative; stick to what you know, so it goes well. He was about to step forth and scrape the whole thing into the bin.

Blink.

“But she’d love it, she’d said she loves roses and this was his way to show he’d been listening and cared.”

He went on, back and forth, contemplating between stability and extravagance. He prepared the meal and had it almost finished when the door knocked.

“Dinner is almost ready,” he said joyfully, “feel free to take a look around while it finishes up.” She wandered around, looking around his kitchen. She moved slenderly and calmly, her gaze landing upon the block of knives. “Fancy knives, I’ve the same brand at home. Which ones do you use most?” she questioned. “Erm, I’m uncertain.” he replied, “I just use them all, whichever is best for the task. What about you?”

Blink.

“Why the hell is she so interested?” he thought. “She’s gotta be some sort of serial killer right?” “Probably the carving knife,” she responded; a sweet smile on her face. “I mean, talk about suspicious much.”

Blink.

“I couldn’t even tell you which one that is!” he chuckled. Her smile made him feel a million bucks.

The dinner went without a hitch, the time passed until the clock struck 9pm, and an alarm went off on her phone. “I’m really sorry,” she said, “I’ve got an event on tonight. I need to leave now. Would you like to come with me?” He couldn’t believe his ears. She was inviting him to her event! “Of course I’d love to come!” he responded with glee in his eyes.

Blink.

“But why hasn’t she mentioned it until now?” his thoughts questioned, “Do you even know what you’ve just agreed to?”

Blink…

Not long after, she announced their arrival happily. The building was large and had bouncers on the door. “This must be a fancy club.” he thought, paying no heed to the fact they’d just driven there.

Blink.

Looking at the building, it looked rather run down, and the people he thought were bouncers were wearing what appeared to be cloaks. “What kind of place would have its bouncers wear cloaks?! It made no sense.”

Blink.

He was just happy she’d invited him; he followed her through, politely saying hello to the bouncers as he passed by. Inside was a small room for the size of the building, ornately decorated with drapes and a gothic theme that reminded him of the Addams family a little bit.

Blink.

Where on earth was he? It seemed like a TV show set piece; large red drapes, tables full of glasses of red wine and candelabras lit as the sole source of light. It was maddening. Why, again, had he come here? He noticed something off to one side when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and…

Blink.

She was so happy to be here; her smile made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This may not have been his usual scene, but he could certainly try his best to fit in. “Would you mind taking a seat over there, my love?” she said, pointing to a chair near the middle of the room. He walked over to the chair, feeling everyone look at him as he walked. He took his seat and waited. It wasn’t long until she was back at his side. She smiled at him, ran her hands down his arms, and gave him a smile.

Blink.

Now he saw everything clear as day, her smile was now almost cruel, she wore the same black garments as everyone else. The ground below was carpeted with archaic symbols woven into it. He went to stand only to realise his hands had been cuffed to the chair he was sitting on. He saw a glint out of the corner of his eye from her hand. The panic began to set in. “Welcome everyone!” she cried out. Raising her hands to the roof, her sleeve fell down, revealing an ornate knife with red marks down its handle.

Blink.

She’d said she loved knives. She could have told him she was part of a theatre group, but then maybe his reaction wouldn’t have been so genuine.

Blink.

Shit, shit, shit.