Brynn Helena

“How to Buy a Red Panda” by Brynn Helena

[A Continuation of 'How to Slushy a Fuckboy']"I realize he's shy... but it's been almost three months," Summer whispered under her breath, twirling a piece of her golden brown hair between her fingers. Karina nodded along with what she was saying, crossing her legs the other way where she sat on the rubber bus seat riddled with holes and pencil graffiti. She wore a pair of khaki shorts with a pink crop top that had a sweet rhinestoned heart on the chest. She never went anywhere without platforms, so she paired the outfit with a strappy pair ...

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“How to Slushy a Fuckboy” by Brynn Helena

It was barely noon when things started to crumble around Oliver Hanson, a sixteen year old sophomore who did everything in his power to stay in his own lane. When Miss Andrews told him he was needed in the office, with a disapproving look on her over-blushed face, he felt his palms begin to sweat. As he walked down the hallway, tugging his ill-fitting zip-up sweatshirt over his shoulders he ran through every possible thing he could be in trouble for. He thought about being two minutes late to ceramics last week, or sneaking out of class to g...

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“FEVER” by Brynn Helena

Submitted to Contest #196

Maybe in another life. I shot up in bed, my back slick with sweat, and gulped for air, feeling as if I had been drowning. I clutched at my throat, my fingertips running along my adam's apple as I clawed for a breath. My heart rate slowly calmed and I relaxed... though not completely. I could feel him in the room with me, despite the space being empty. As I sat up in bed, rust colored light poured in through my window, crosshatching my beige carpeting with illumination from a streetlamp. Across the room on my desk sat all of my school paper...

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“The Hanged Man” by Brynn Helena

They hated when people called them "friends." Any time they overheard someone referring to them as something so unbecoming of their relationship, they corrected them immediately. They'd snapped at me time and time again for it, until I learned to call them what they were: sisters. Nothing more, nothing less--their words, not mine. It was speculated around the school that there was something deeper going on, something sexual or romantic in nature, but they never commented on any of that. For the most part, the five girls kept themselves a mys...

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“A Doll's Funeral” by Brynn Helena

Submitted to Contest #195

Whenever he found one that looked serene... he tried to savor it. Though, admittedly, it was hard to really stay in such a state once he started moving the body. Particularly, carrying the bodies was always the worst part. He'd noticed over the years that it never got any easier, not mentally or physically. Often he'd heard people speculate: the lighter the body the easier the work. But lighter, usually just meant younger...He didn't agree with their sentiment but he usually just nodded along. This particular girl, maybe three days old—...

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“You Mean Déjà Vu?” by Brynn Helena

She was wearing a pink bra, even in the dim lighting I caught a glimpse of it-just the strap peaking out from beneath the slouching shoulder of her blouse. But, I'd thought, no way. Yet, it really was her. She saw me before I could make a move myself. "Matty?" Her voice barely broke through the pulsating music, but because I was already aware she was walking over, it was hard to miss and she called again, "Matt!"I turned, eyes heavy and posture swaying from the alcohol. She was drunkish too, I could tell from how red her cheeks were.&nb...

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“Did You Know Them?” by Brynn Helena

Submitted to Contest #159

“What do you want? Candy?” Derek asked, smacking a piece of spearmint gum between his teeth, some pop punk band blaring over his car stereo. Felix, sitting completely still in the middle of the road on his bicycle, stared at him with a bored expression. They’d been engaged in said stare-off for about five minutes at that point, Derek intermittenedly laying on his horn to try and usher the boy out of the road. This also wasn’t the first time they had crossed paths, in fact, these run-ins between the two were becoming more and more common. “...

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“Yes, Daddy” by Brynn Helena

Submitted to Contest #158

“Are you sure about this, June?” Mila asked softly, cupping her hand around the flame of the lighter to help June light her cigarette. It was her third in twenty minutes, and June wasn’t a smoker; she’d taken the pack out of Mila’s purse earlier that day before she'd gone to work at the hospital. Mila stared at the blonde with concerned eyes, one of her hands rubbing circles into June’s back as they sat perched on a chipping, yellow curb stop in the hospital parking lot. The sun was beginning to set on a late-August day. Summer was quic...

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“Good Times” by Brynn Helena

Submitted to Contest #157

[Prequel to my story 'Safe Space']She stood across the room surrounded by meatheads and bimbos, dressed in a red mini dress that left very little to the imagination. Every curve of her petite body was on display. Her warm ginger hair fell in ringlets around her shoulders, bringing out the natural red blush in her cheeks. When she laughed all the men leaned in as she did the same, their eyes dipping down to her prominent cleavage. She didn't seem to notice though, or care for that matter, sipping on what looked to be her third or fourth glass...

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“False Awakening” by Brynn Helena

Submitted to Contest #156

Before I even opened my eyes, I knew I was somewhere I had never been. The smell of chlorine was so strong it was almost nauseating, and the air so humid the stench clung to my skin. When I finally did open my eyes I gasped, breathing in a gulp of water as I floundered to find my footing and stood up, bursting out of the water. I choked, my lungs fighting some of the liquid out of my throat, the chemically taste making me gag. Doubled over, I stared at my feet surrounded by crystal blue water and endless white tiles. They floated before my e...

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“The Sun, Moon, and The Truth” by Brynn Helena

Submitted to Contest #156

“Don’t you remember?” Moon whispered, leaning against the wall of mirrors as he and Yujun stood alone in the corner of the room. Their bandmates were goofing off all over the rest of the dance studio space while their manager, Q, fiddled angrily with the stereo. It had been hiccuping all day long, keeping the boys from running their choreography properly for the three or four hours they had already spent there that day. The boys didn’t seem to mind though, taking the time to play cards, write, draw or, in Yujun’s case, read. (Although, if he...

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“as She watches” by Brynn Helena

Submitted to Contest #155

The neon city bustled softly that evening, treading the water of the torrential downpour on Her tip toes. Some nights the city was restless and deafening, and others were so quiet and still it was frankly unnerving. As children splashed their rain boots into puddles, and people rushed out of taxis toward storefront awnings for shelter, two miscreants met in the shadows. And She watched. They looked as unsuspecting as any other person. You wouldn’t have picked them out in a crowd. Yet, they held the city in their hands, and had for longer tha...

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“Safe Space” by Brynn Helena

Submitted to Contest #154

“I just feel like nobody cares anymore,” Gavin sighed, leaning his fist under his chin as he sat cross-legged on the sofa. The room was silent except for the gentle hum of the A.C. and the sound of the man’s therapist, Anna, scribbling notes onto her pad. The walls were speckled with paintings of sunflowers and oceans, contrasted only by the abundance of shiny certification papers Anna had proudly amassed. The carpet was plain, the wallpaper was plain, the sofa was plain. The muted color palette was both calming and a bit frustrating. Even A...

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“Katie” by Brynn Helena

Submitted to Contest #153

"Last night I dreamt that you killed me."I tried to laugh, but my attempt was weak, and Kate wasn't convinced. She never seemed to be. "Y'know," she began, leaning back in her chair as if to get as far away from me as possible without just standing up and leaving, "when you invited me for coffee, that really wasn't what I was expecting you to start with." Naturally, she was defensive and I tried to backpedal. This had always been the yin and yang of our relationship."I just thought it might be an interesting ice breaker.” A lie, fo...

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