Catching Midnight:

Simone’s Notes:

Limerence can often be what is meant when one expresses "having a crush" on or infatuation with someone else although limerence, unlike a crush, can last months, years or even a lifetime. It is characterized by intrusive thinking and pronounced sensitivity to external events that reflect the disposition of the limerent object towards the individual. It can be experienced as intense joy or as extreme despair, depending on whether the feelings are reciprocated. Unlike English, many other languages have traditional terms to denote limerence, like in German Verliebtheit or Russian vlyublyonnost; both expressions may roughly be translated to “fallen-in-love-ness”. The concept of limerence first originated in Tennov's research in the mid-1960s. She interviewed over 500 people on the topic of love. Tennov coined the term "limerence" in 1977, publishing it in her 1979 book "Love and Limerence: The Experience of Being in Love".

Syd was coming home when he first saw the map. It was late night and Syd was coming back from his visit with Ivy. He was walking down the hall when Molly’s map caught his eyes. So far, Yasmine’s, Izzie’s and Alphonse’s relationships didn’t offend him. But then, he saw it! Syd name was attached to Ella and Ivy. Rage filled him up quickly. The deity rushed back to his apartment.

“ELLA!!!” he yelled out in the living room. He found his bird sitting in the living room sharpening her sword. Syd stormed over to her pissed. Ella looked up at him slightly.

“Yes Sydney?” she asked him calmly. Syd was breathing in hard like an angry bull.

“What the f**k did you do know?!?” he barked. Ella looked at him innocently.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Molly’s map!” he exclaimed.

“What about it?” Ella asked. Syd was becoming angrier.

“You added my name to the damn map!!!” he yelled out.

“Oh!” Ella said aloud. “Did I?”

“YES!!!” Syd yelled. Ella pretended to think about that for a moment.

“Oh so I did!” she said aloud. Syd was in rage now.

“WHY?!?” he yelled. Ella just shrugged.

“Revenge!” she replied. Syd looked at her shocked and confused.

“What?!?” he asked. Ella sat up straighter.

“Every time you screw me over,” she replied. “I will write down every single person you have slept with in your life for the whole world to see! Ivy was the first one. So now, there are a few more to go. My advice? Suck up to me or I write more!” Syd glared at her in anger and walked off. His bird smirked to herself coldly. She had won the argument!

Syd sat in his room angry. He sat down in front of the window and looked out. “That bitch!” the deity thought. “How dare she!” Ivy was dead; had Ella no respect for that? Syd shut his eyes tightly. His mind wandered back to when he first met his sweet-beloved Ivy.

*Fifty Years Ago*

Syd was lying in the grass one hot summer night smoking towards the sky. He was just bored out of his skull. Life in the council days just sucked. The deity had tried, drank, and slept with anything free in the land. Even the young Ella wasn’t helping him much either. Syd was just now tired of life in general. The man was slowly falling asleep when he heard beautiful music. He quickly jerked his eyes open and looked up. Syd thought that he was hearing things at first. So, he listened really closely. There was soft music playing in the distance. Curious, Syd rose to his feet and followed the sound.

He came to a lavish house near the woods. Someone was playing piano inside of the house. Syd peeked into the main bay window. The whole room was dark. Only the moon in the kitchen windows was the only light. A woman was sitting at an old red grand piano in the back corner. She was very thin and pale-looking. She also looked to be all dressed in black. Her hair was tied back into a black ponytail. Syd was intrigued and infatuated with her. The deity wanted to get to know this angel. So, Syd knocked on the window heavily. The woman quickly looked up from her music and looked out the window. Syd smiled and waved at her. Instead of being scared off, the woman got up and walked over to the window. She opened it in silence. Syd’s smile got deeper on his face.

“Love your playing,” he said to her.

“Thanks,” she said slightly surprised. A long pause passed over them .Syd lightly took her hand.

“Could you play for me this time?” he asked her boldly. “I’m Syd, by the way.” The musician didn’t know what to say at first. This was the first night that anybody had stopped by the house to hear her play since the death of her dojin. The request filled her up with excitement.

“Sure!” she said. “My name is Ivy. You want to come inside?”

“You bet!” the deity said to her. Then, he leapt into the open window and followed her to the piano. They sat down at the bench and Ivy began to play again. Syd just listened in sweet bliss. It was safe to say that he had fallen in love with her through her music. The deity then just had to have more than Ivy’s music in his mind. He wanted this lovely angel in bed with him. He wanted her to be his lover forever. Syd just had to have her! From then on, the deity decided to make it his mission to have this gothic angel’s heart as his own.

*Present Day*

Syd’s thoughts were interrupted with a loud knock on the front door. He came back to earth pretty pissed off. The deity was still in a bad mood from Ella’s revenge on Molly’s map. He glared down the hall coldly. “Aw, who the f**k is at my house at this hour?!?” he thought in anger. Then, Syd rose to his feet and stormed all the way to the living room.

But to his surprise, a woman was at the door. Ella had opened it when she heard the knock as well. Both stood in complete shock at her. The woman looked terrified out of her mind. She was dressed as if she had just gotten out of bed. She had on a long lacy pale nightgown. Her feet were all dirty and had black-salt hair was up in a messy bun. Though she didn’t have a single visible mark, expect for the deep claw marks on her arms, on her body, this woman seemed to be hurt in some way. Her face was so blank and her blank eyes were blank with fear. She looked as if she would snap at any given moment. Syd and Ella were afraid to touch her at first. Who was this woman? What was she doing here? And what the devil had scared her so badly that she was in this state?