Sex in the Sky

“”Ask me no questions and I will tell you no lies.”

Sorry about the delay, and what a delay it was! I would go into the reasons, but nobody really wants to hear excuses. So, please, enjoy this story, the ending to what I had only intended to be a one chapter delight and turned into a five chapter epic. Thank you for all of your support. You have no idea what it has meant to me.”

@>–,————

Tugging up the zipper of his jeans, Keith ran from the room barefoot, padding down the hall to the stairs. Whipping at his stomach and chest with his open jeans shirt that Mike left on him while he ravished him, Keith looked down towards the door wondering who it could be. Most people he knew were in class at the moment and none would be this insistent on trying to break down the door with their fist.

Mike paused in the middle of the stairs pulling on a T-shirt as Keith began to open the door, just as curious to know who it was that was enthusiastically trying to reshape their door.

Keith opened it to find Kelly, Scott, and a red head standing on the other side. Kelly was grinning from ear to ear and jumping up and down.

“Oh, hi, Keith. Where is Mike?” Kelly pushed past him, leading the read head by the hand. Spotting him on the stairs, she squealed in delight. “Look what I found on my door step!”

The red head stepped forward and looked slyly at him while his jaw dropped. “Hey, Mikey. Been a long time, love.”

“Holy shit! Toni?” Mike jumped down the rest of the way and grabbed her up in a bear hug, lifting the petite redhead off the ground and swinging her around.

Keith stepped back, almost walking out the door until he ran into Scott. Scott smiled down at him and handed him two Tupperware bowls of chicken noodle soup. “Kelly and I were going to bring these over to you guys when we ran into Mike’s ex-girlfriend, Toni. We just couldn’t wait to bring her over.”

Keith glared at him, not missing the lecherous glint in Scott’s eyes as he looked over Keith’s chest and stomach. Taking the soup, he headed for the kitchen and snarled, “Thanks.”

Scott practically skipped as he followed Keith into the tiny kitchen.

“Man, I can’t believe it’s actually you, Toni! Damn, what’s it been, three years?”

“Yep, you bum. You promised to keep in touch!”

Mike released her, looking her up and down. She was just as hot as always with her perky B-cups and tiny little waste. She hadn’t changed a bit. “Sorry, about that. You know I’ve never been good at long distance correspondence.”

“That just means you owe me for all those years, Mikey.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Dinner and a movie. Plus this.” Toni grinned and grabbed his head, pulling him into a kiss that nearly curled his toes. He damned near forgot Keith was in the room. Shit! Keith!!

Mike pulled back and concentrated on focusing his eyes. “Um, Toni, I ah, want you to meet, um . . . um . . .”

Keith could have spit nails had he not currently been trying to keep Scott from getting too close to him. He glared over in Mike’s direction who was staring at him with something close to dismay. “His roommate. They call me no-name.”

Mike shook his head. “No, no that’s not what I meant!”

“Yes, it is. Trust me.” Keith knew acid was dripping from his mouth, but he didn’t really care at the moment. After everything they’d just shared upstairs, Mike forgot his damn name at the first sign of a pretty face and a good pair of tits! So much for being so-called boyfriends. Lifting his hand, he gave a less than friendly wave to Toni. “Hi, I’m his roommate, Keith. Funny, you would have thought he’d remember my name after we’ve been roommates for so long. You must have some powers over him, huh?”

“Well, I did almost marry the guy,” Toni said with a laugh, her hand crawling up Mike’s chest. “I should hope I hold some sway over him.”

Mike grimaced.

Toni didn’t seem to notice and wrapped her arms around Mike’s waist and squeezed. “Not to mention we’ve been best friends for the last eight years.”

“God, I still remember walking in on you two countless times when you were getting all hot and heavy.” Kelly shivered and shared a wicked look with Toni. “Grossed me out countless times.”

“Yeah, until you found your own boyfriend. Then you were practically begging me to teach you tricks I used on Mike to make him moan.”

“Oh, gross. TMI ladies,” Scott gagged from behind Keith. “The last thing I need in my head is a heterosexual female and the way she gets busy with her boyfriend!”

“Don’t be shy, honey, I’m sure you use some of the same tricks.” Toni shrugged with one of the friendliest damn smiles, Keith wanted to hate her for it alone. “If you don’t, maybe you could take some notes.”

“Toni, my dear, you are incorrigible.”

“You know I try, Scott.”

“Oh,” Keith said with a surprised look at Scott. “You already know Toni?”

Scott shrugged. “Sure, Kelly introduced me to her when we first moved in together. Why? Didn’t Mike tell you all about her eons ago?” Scott looked innocently at Mike, a smile quirking his lips.

Mike wanted to hurt him.

“No. No offense, Toni, but I didn’t even know you existed.”

“No offense, dear. I’ve never heard of you either,” Toni laughed as though it was all a big joke. The significance of the conversation was lost on her, but on no one else. Scott grinned, Keith glared, Mike winced, and Kelly stifled a surprised ‘OH’ as the reality of the situation hit her.

“Oh, crap,” Kelly muttered and turned to glare at Mike. Somehow, someway, she knew this was all his fault.

“What?” Toni was beginning to look a little lost.

“Nothing, Toni, nothing. Listen, why don’t you show Toni around the place, Mike? I’ll help Keith get some drinks.”

“I’d really love to see the campus, Mike.” She actually had the gall to bat her eyes at him. The hussy! Keith turned away with a huff and put the Tupperware of soup in the fridge.

“Well, um, okay. I guess.”

“Come on! This will give us some time alone so we can catch up!” Toni began pulling Mike towards the door.

“Don’t forget your coat, sickie. I don’t need you coming back throwing up. I won’t be there to clean it up.” Keith headed for the stairs and didn’t look back. Upon reaching his room, he flopped down onto his bed face down, arms at his sides. He was so tired and his head was beginning to throb again. He could hear mutterings down stairs. Then the sound that made his heart go cold. The front door opened and closed.

Two minutes later there was a soft knock on his door. He didn’t bother to raise his head as the door opened and Kelly’s soft voice called out to him. “Keith? Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know Mike hadn’t told you about her and I just wasn’t thinking, really. We were all such good friends back in junior high and high school that I just brought her over without really thinking about it.”

Keith rolled his head back and forth on the mattress. Kelly could barely hear his muffled voice. “Doesn’t matter. Just proves a point I was too blind to see. I should be thanking you.”

Kelly came in and sat next to him. “Honey, please don’t be upset.”

Keith lifted his head and glared at her. “He forgot my name, Kelly. My freaking name! That’s nearly as bad as calling out someone else’s name when you’re in the middle of sex! And just after we . . . we . . . shit.”

“After you what,” Kelly prompted when Keith didn’t continue.

Keith looked away with shame. “After we got physical and basically said we’d go steady. This has to be the shortest relationship in the history of relationships.”

“Oh, honey,” Kelly said with a shaking voice. Keith looked over to see her wiping away tears. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”

Keith sighed and sat up, pulling her into a hug. He stroked her hair as she cried into his shoulder. “Shh, it’s not you’re fault, Kelly. You didn’t know his ex-girlfriend would make me obsolete in his eyes and try to stick her tongue down his throat in front of all of us. You had no way of knowing she was a cheap whore trying to win back his affections.”

With a choked laughed, Kelly pulled back and hit him in the shoulder. “That’s not funny, Keith!”

“Sure it is. Let’s me forget that I’m insanely jealous and that my now ex-boyfriend just went out with his ex-girlfriend.”

Kelly sniffed. “I’m going to kill him. I really will. Why didn’t he tell just her-” She cut off and threw a guilty look at him.

“Why didn’t he tell her we were together? Good question, one I really don’t want to delve into at the moment.”

Kelly placed her hand on his chest and began to open her mouth to say something, but stopped. Instead her hand moved up to his throat and then up to his forehead, while her other hand when to her own head. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as he pulled his head away with a grimace. “What the hell were you doing having sex and running around half naked while you are running a fever? Get into bed right now while I go get a thermometer!”

“But, Kelly, I-”

“Now, Keith!”

“Fine,” He sighed in defeat. He was just too tired to fight with her.

She stormed from the room as he peeled off his shirt and his jeans. Pulling on some boxer briefs, he slid under the covers with a shiver. The damn sheets were cold.

Kelly came back in shaking an old fashioned glass thermometer, Scott right behind her looking on curiously. Kelly leaned in towards Keith. “Open.”

Keith obeyed and let her place it under his tongue.

“Scott, I want you to make sure he keeps that in his mouth for five minutes while I go make some lemon tea with honey.”

Scott grinned evilly. “Sure thing, doll.”

Scott sat on the edge of the bed as Kelly left the room. “Sick, huh? That means you’re weak, doesn’t it? Don’t have as much strength as you usually do.”

Keith pulled the thermometer out and glared at Scott. “I still have enough strength to kick your ass. Get the hell off my bed!”

“Put it back in, or I’ll tell Kelly you’re not behaving. You don’t want her to get all bitchy on your ass and call the school doc for a house call, do you? She’d do it, too.”

Disliking doctors with a passion, Keith put it back in his mouth.

Scott got a nasty look on his face and leaned down, pinning Keith’s hands to the bed, ignoring the glare Keith threw him. “Do you have any idea how badly I want to gobble you up?”

“You just want me because you can’t have me. I’m nothing more than a prize in a pissing match between you and Mike, aren’t I?”

“Don’t open your mouth, or the thermometer won’t work right.” Scott leaned down and licked the side of Keith’s neck making him shiver. Keith tried to pull his head away, but Scott just followed him, inhaling deeply. “Mmm, you taste divine.”

Keith tried to jerk his hands out of Scott’s grasp and threw his hips to the right away from Scott. Scott just laughed and nipped his shoulder. “I love it when you fight me.”

Keith moaned as Scott found the spot on his collar bone that made him go crazy. Scott laughed darkly in his throat and pulled his knees up onto the bed so he could perch next to Keith. “Like that, do you?”

Keith mumbled darkly, keeping his lips firmly around the thermometer, hoping it didn’t break in his mouth, and glared at Scott’s dark head. Curses floated around in his mind along with ways to get away from him.

“Christ, I want you,” Scott muttered softly. “I could make you happy, you know. I’d never forget your name. I would try everyday to make you smile. Hell, I’d never let you leave the bedroom.” Scott leaned his head down onto the pillow next to Keith’s head. His voice became painfully soft. “Somewhere along the line, you stopped being a prize.”

“Okay, Keith, here you-what the hell is going on, Scott?” Kelly had come back into the room carrying a steaming mug of tea, stopping just inside the door as she witnessed the scene before her. Scott was practically on top of Keith, pinning him to the mattress. Her eyes narrowing dangerously, she took a step into the room. “Get the fuck off of him, Scott. Now, before I kick your ass.”

“Kelly, it’s not what you think,” Scott said condescendingly. He hadn’t seen her look this mad since her last boyfriend had cheated on her. She’d ended up putting the guy in the hospital with severely bruised goods.

Keith took advantage of the moment Scott was distracted, pulled his legs up underneath him and launched Scott off of him. Scott flew off the end of the bed and crashed into a bookcase, books and CD’s falling onto his head.

“Damn it, that hurt!”

Keith spit out his thermometer and lunged at Scott, pulling him up and hitting him across the mouth. “You asshole! No means no! If you ever so much as breath in my direction again, I swear I’ll make you an eunuch! Do you understand me?”

Scott held a hand to his bleeding mouth, but Keith could tell he was smiling. “You’re beautiful when you’re angry.”

Keith punched him in the stomach. Stepping back, he pulled on his pants, pushed past Kelly and left the room breathing hard. Damn that Scott! Double damn Mike for leaving him in the house with Scott! Keith punched the wall as he headed down the stairs and grimaced as pain shot up his hand.

“Keith? Keith, wait! Keith, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left him up there with you. I don’t know what I was thinking,” Kelly yelled as she ran down the hall after him. “This is just my day for screw ups.”

“Don’t worry about it, Kelly,” Keith said tightly as he made his way to the fridge. He could hear Scott stumbling down the steps, groaning as he went. “Scott and I just made some boundaries, that’s all. Right, Scott?”

“Boundaries, yeah. Good strong boundaries. Christ, you’ve got a hell of a punch for a bookworm.”

Keith got out some ice and started breaking it on the counter. Throwing the ice chips into two different sandwich bags, he turned and tossed one at Scott who caught in one hand. “You’re mouth is still bleeding.”

“It’s not my mouth I’m worried about,” Scott said, his left arm pinned around his waist.

Keith glared at him as he put his own ice on his right hand and let out a hiss. “Suck it up, pansy. I didn’t hit you that hard.”

“No, but the bookcase did. My shoulder is killing me!”

Kelly looked back and forth between the two of them and shook her head. Keith still looked pissed and Scott still looked like the cat that had eaten the canary, but they were still talking to each other. Even if they were keeping the entire room between them, why they weren’t yelling and screaming or just beating each other bloody was beyond her. At the very least she’d expected Keith to throw Scott out of the house.

“Sit your ass down on that couch over there, you big wuss, and don’t come near me again.”

“I love it when you’re demanding.”

“Scott,” Keith growled warningly.

Scott raised his bag of ice in surrender and moved off to the large couch, laying on it gingerly. “Alright, alright. Don’t get your panties in a twist. I get the hint, you’re not interested.”

“Damn right I’m not interested.” Keith leaned down onto the cool counter, holding the ice to his throbbing hand. He’d bruised something, he was sure. Sad part was, he was still angry enough he wanted to hit something else, just not Scott. He was sure his rejection hurt enough.

He moaned as gentle fingers petted his head. “Keith, honey, is there anything I can do for you?”

“Can you go back in time and tell Toni all about your gay brother and his hot boyfriend before you bring her over here?”

“No, but I can seriously bitch slap Mike for you.”

Keith laughed. Standing up, he kissed Kelly on the cheek. “I love you, you know that?”

“Yeah, I know. Now go lay down on the other couch while I grab your tea and make some popcorn. Scott, pick out a movie will you?”

“Oh, sure, asked the wounded one to do it.”

“Stop whining and pick a movie.”

Keith walked into the small living room and curled up on the loveseat, letting out a sigh of relief. Pain radiated in every muscle. The fever was up again, he was sure, but he just didn’t care enough to do anything about it.

Keith flinched as a blanket was draped over him. He looked up to find Scott leaning over him. Glaring, he started to rise, wondering if he was going to have to kick Scott’s ass again.

“Take it easy, I just didn’t want you to chill. You’re shivering.” Scott turned and walked back over to his couch. Throwing an arm over his eyes, he spoke softly. “I meant what I said, Keith. I’m not often that truthful.”

Keith was silent for a few minutes. Part of him was sad that he couldn’t return any feelings for Scott, but he just didn’t feel that way about him. It wasn’t there. “Yeah. I know you did, man. It’s the only reason I didn’t throw you out. Well, that and it’s still raining.”

“Good to know. Friends?”

“Yeah, I suppose so. Friends.”

Kelly came down and handed Keith his tea, then sat with Scott’s head on her lap as they watched Sixteen Candles. Scott always did have a weakness for sappy movies.

It wasn’t long before Scott and Keith were out like lights. She sat through the movie for nearly forty minutes before she heard Mike and Toni come back. Getting Mike’s attention with a wave of her hand, she put her finger to her lips.

“Hey,” Toni whispered as she came into the room and sat at Kelly’s feet. She playfully pinched her leg and smirked at her. “You could have warned me, you know.”

“About?”

Toni pointed to Mike who was checking Keith’s fever with a gentle brush against his head.

“Oh, that. I didn’t even think about it, I truly didn’t.” Kelly continued petting Scott’s head as she looked sadly over at Keith. “You really hurt him, Mike.”

“It was my fault,” Toni started, but Mike shook his head as he sat on the floor in front of Keith and stroked the hand that had fallen off the couch.

“No, it was me. I didn’t handle the situation well at all. I’m going to have to do some fancy foot work for him to forgive me.”

Toni cocked her head to the side as she looked at Mike. “You really care about him, don’t you?”

Mike sighed. “More than you could possible know.”

Toni smiled. “He’s a lucky guy.” Toni looked at Keith then looked over her shoulder at Scott. “Damn, Kelly, what did you do? Drug them?”

“Well, I did drug Keith. I slipped some medicine in his tea to help him get over his fever.” She smiled. “They both wore themselves out shortly after the two of you left.”

Mike’s head whipped around to glare at the sleeping Scott. Scott’s bottom lip was swollen and encrusted with blood at the corner. It was obvious the guy had been decked. “What do you mean? What happen?”

“Let’s just say the two of them came to an understanding and leave it at that. If you want details, ask them when they wake up.”

“Oh, believe me, I will.”

“Jealous much?” Toni smiled. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Mike love someone so much. She was sure his eyes hadn’t shined like that when they’d been together. It almost broke her heart except she was so happy for Mike. And here she’d had this grand idea to come to his campus, sweep him off his feet, and work her way back into his life. It was obvious things weren’t going to be like they were before.

In the last five minutes of the movie, Scott stirred awake. “I like this part.”

“So it was a plot to sleep through the whole thing just so you could watch this part,” Kelly laughed.

“Something like that.”

“Okay, I come bearing gifts,” Jason announced as he came in the house carrying a plastic bag and dripping water. He looked up and appeared startled to find so many people in the living room. “What? A party? And here I was worried you two were on your death beds.” He shook his head and wandered farther into the room.

Mike could feel Keith stretch behind him and barely managed to not turn and kiss him. Something about that boy just begged to be kissed every waking moment.

“Jeeze, Keith, you look like shit,” Jason said as he tossed a box of Kleenex to Mike and started taking out vapor rub, Comtrex, Tylenol, and a variety of other medicines and teas.

“Hi, I’m here to collect an order,” Aiden stated collecting his breath. “I was here on Sunday for some contact lenses.”

The lady took the proffered card and put on a pair of reading glasses, reading it carefully. “Ah, yes of course. Have a seat, I’ll just get your stuff.”

Aiden was in no mood to take a seat, he frantically looked at his watch. 17 minutes left. It would take him about 10 minutes if he ran all the way back to university. He could make it to his lecture in time.” He calmed himself and took a seat.

13 minutes of impatient waiting later, an irate Aiden asked the preened lady for the fourth time where his order was.

“It’s just coming,” she answered reassuring him and then called out to someone in a louder voice, “Charles! Get this young man’s order pronto!”

Aiden was peeved to the core. He would never get to his lecture on time now. He might as well forget about it. He huffed and went back to sit on the uncomfortable waiting chairs. As soon as he sat down the lady called out, “Ah it’s here!”

Aiden thanked the lady in a mordant tone and collected the goods. He had missed a lecture on account of their inefficiency. He walked leisurely out of the shop knowing there was no rush to go anywhere now.

As he descended the spiral stair case he noticed the sign for the Horoscope shop again. Well he could go there now, since he had the free time. Or should he?

After contemplating for half a minute whether he should enter a place with a banner like that, Aiden finally decided he would; he had glanced around and made sure no one who could recognize him would see him entering the store.

He pushed the black glass door open as wind chimes above the door jingled signaling his entry. Aiden found himself in the most colorful room he had seen in his entire life, filled with ominous masks and ornamental bands hanging across the walls. A Japanese girl, who Aiden estimated to be his own age, watching television turned to see who had entered.

“Can I help you?” Aiden noticed her white milky complexion and was reminded of the lady he had encountered having the same complexion.

“Uhh, I’m looking for a lady.” Aiden stated unsure of what to ask for.

“The shop’s closed, we don’t cater to any customers any more.”

“The sign outside…”

“We closed shop 3 days ago,” the girl interrupted sharply as she muted the television and Aiden realized she had no accent. “The sign outside will be hammered out in a day or two.”

“But I’m not here to get my fortune, uhh, future predicted…” The girl pursed her lips and waited for Aiden to continue.

“I’m here to meet an old lady who I met a few days back.” Aiden finally managed to say. “Look, this old lady gave me a card to this place and asked for me to call her. I think she runs this place or something” Aiden regretted calling the lady old in front of her probable relative.

The girl’s face went blank. “When did you meet her?”

Aiden recalled the day he had come for his lenses earlier, the day he had gone with Will to the retirement home. “On Sunday.”

The girl bit her lower lip. “That’s the day she died.”

Aiden was taken aback. He had hardly dealt with death in his life before and was not sure how to react. “I’m sorry, I’ll leave if you want me to.”

“No wait, that old lady was my mother. Tell me where you met her.” Aiden looked at the girl unsure of what to say. This girl had lost her mother 2 days ago and was talking about it so normally. She registered no signs of shock on her face, only one of determination.

“I met her near my friend’s retirement home. She came after me and told me about some danger sort of thing.”

“She told you of the devil that was after you,” the girl stated flatly.

“Excuse me?”

The girl swiftly got up, switched off the television and turned towards Aiden. “My mom went nuts on Sunday. That was the day she died. In fact she was murdered. Killed by a demonic force.”

Aiden was trying to follow what the girl was saying, but made little sense of it. The girl noticed Aiden’s expression and stepped closer to him.

“Listen, you may think I’m out of whack, but my mom was psychic. And on that bastard day,” she clenched her teeth, “My mom saw some sort of a vision and went nuts. She kept saying something like ‘a boy would be consumed by a devil’ and drove everyone else in the house mad. Finally she left the house to seek the boy or whatever.”

Aiden scrunched his face and creased his brow. He had no idea what to make of this girl or her story.

“She returned later in the evening but was still inconsolable; she said she had not been able to warn the boy even though she had met him. We managed to get her to go to sleep after a big ruckus.” The girl paused to add the next bit, “And then she was murdered by the devil.”

“She was?” Aiden asked not at all believing what was being said but having no inkling on how to react to a girl who spoke of a dead mother and supernatural phenomenon with such a straight face.

“Yes, she was. When we found her, her eyes had popped out of her head and blood was seeping out through her nose, through her ears, even through the sockets in her eyes.” The girl’s tone was getting louder and louder and she was almost screaming as she said the last bits.

“Uhh, I …”

The girl lashed out at Aiden, “You don’t believe me do you? But you would believe the forensic reports that showed that her brain had exploded inside her skull, turned to mushy pulp, and all while she lay on her bed alone.”

Aiden was having a hard time processing the situation. This girl was getting angry as her entire face had turned from white to red. Suddenly the rage on her face disappeared and tears streamed out form the corners of her eyes as she tried to wipe them with the back of her hand. Aiden stepped away from the girl as if she was an explosive ticking to go off.

“I’m sorry… it’s just…” the rest of her words faded in the sobs.

“It’s ok, I’ll just leave.” Aiden was feeling miserable.

“No, no, forgive me for all that anger.”

“No, no it’s ok.”

“No dammit! Listen to what I have to say!” the girl burst out again. Aiden flinched ready to run off if she took the slightest step toward him. He was terrified of this girl now.

“You are the boy mama was trying to protect. You are the one the devil is after.”

Aiden chewed at his lips.

“You are the one mama gave her life for.”

~~~

A confused boy left the Horoscope shop. Aiden’s head was spinning. What did the girl mean by insisting for him to believe in the devil? Why was she so adamant? And there was one thing that she said just before he left her that made him queasy; be careful of new people in your life.

Aiden was terrified. Did she mean to refer to Will? No, that was impossible! Will was the kindest person he had ever met in his entire life. Will was a new person in his life after all. And then he had met another person lately; Scott. These were the only two significant recent additions in his life lately. Or the girl might have been referring to scores of lesser important people that he encountered everyday.

Finally Aiden felt sick at himself for thinking about such things. Finally he came to a conclusion; he had been a fool who felt for a girl that was so traumatized at her mother’s death. For all he knew, the girl would scream and cry at anyone who entered the shop since her mother died. There was no reason to believe this obviously disturbed girl.

Then how did the lady who came after him in the first place fit into all this?

~~~

Dominic was tapping his fingers against the table waiting impatiently. He was a prompt person and disliked having to wait for anyone. And right now he was waiting for the most punctual person he knew.

Dominic looked up as he heard footsteps, his face registering surprise at seeing Aiden.

“Dude, where are your glasses?”

Aiden smiled feebly though he hardly felt like it at that time. “Oh, I switched to lenses.”

Dominic raised his eyebrows and tried to say something but no words left his mouth. He started again, “What the hell do you mean lenses?”

Aiden’s smile accumulated some joy. “Contact Lenses.”

“Shit!” Dominic exclaimed. “First you change your hair, and now you dumped your glasses? I mean look at you! Who the fuck are you? I can barely recognize you!”

“So how does it look?” Aiden asked hesitatingly.

“It looks nice.” Dominic thought for a couple of seconds before he added, “In fact it suits you pretty well.”

Aiden was happy. Dominic had said he was looking good. He had been distressed throughout the afternoon, immersed in anxious thoughts, and had forgotten about the lenses till Dominic pointed it out.

“So what are all these changes for?”

“Uhh, just like that.”

“Are you hiding something from me?”

The two were interrupted as a new person entered the room. Aiden stared wide eyed; it was Scott.

“So should we begin?” Scott asked smiling at the pair.

“Begin what?” Aiden asked confused. “Scott what are you doing here?” He was immediately aware of his contact lenses again but reckoned that Scott had met him just once before when he had been wearing spectacles. Scott would not know of the switch he had made; the switch that for Aiden had been so dramatic.

“I’m your guide for robot assembling. Didn’t I tell you that I take some courses behind college?”

Aiden stared dumbfounded. Scott was wearing a half sleeved striped shirt and black jeans. And he looked seriously hot! Aiden was watching Scott’s lips move as he spoke and was having a hard time concentrating on what he was saying. ‘Shit’ Aiden thought to himself. ‘If this hunk is gonna be my teacher here, I can safely say buh-bye to robotics with the amount I’ll be able to concentrate with him around’.

“So shall we begin with our Micromouse?” Scott asked.

Scott disappeared into the adjoining room as the budding engineers followed. “You know him?” Dominic asked as they followed Scott.

“Yeah, sorta. Just met him today and played some tennis with him.” Aiden entered a larger room where he found Storm already waiting, sitting on a tiny stool that threatened to give away any moment.

“Okay everyone.” Scott clasped his hands as he waited for the trio to settle down. He took a deep breath before he started. “You all have the university TechFest coming up in 4 weeks time and are wanting to submit an entry for the Micromouse contest.”

“We want to win it.” Dominic interrupted.

“Yes definitely.” Scott continued. “Your contest rules are here with me. The maze design and dimensions are categorically defined. What we will need is knowledge in microcontrollers, knowledge of basic assembly language, knowledge of a few electronic devices and a little knowledge of design dynamics.”

Aiden was impressed through the little he heard when he was not distracted by Scott’s looks. This guy was hot, hunky, smart, and polite. Weren’t drop dead gorgeous people supposed to be snobbish and dumb? He now knew of two people who could shatter that theory now.

“What I require from you guys is your dedication and hard work. We don’t have much time before the contest and we will have to make the most of the time we do have. I will be starting off with some basic circuits that are not actual components of the Micromouse robot. However these circuits will help you understand what you’re doing and impart you important knowledge that could otherwise be left untouched even after completion of the robot.”

Aiden stole a glance at his engineer buddies. They were looking up at Scott with respect and awe. Scott’s dynamic personality had clearly swept them off their feet. ‘He probably has this effect on everyone’ Aiden realized.

The group split up into different tasks; Aiden was handed a bunch of circuitry material to complete a PCB and interpret what it did. Aiden started his work, surprised that a simple circuit could be so challenging when you had to work backwards with it. After some fiddling he called for Scott to find out why it was not working.

Scott lifted the board on which the circuit was mounted and glanced at the components.

“There’s a tiny problem here.” Scott finally stated. “Observe your green LED.”

Aiden narrowed his eyes to observe and then cursed himself. He had soldered the LED in reverse polarity.

“Shit! what a dork!” Aiden muttered cursing himself as he slapped his forehead.

Scott smiled at Aiden. “Happens to the best of us.”

Aiden was smitten. This man was so polite. He loved the manner in which Scott made you realize your mistakes and was not at all patronizing. This man was actually making him understand all the heavy circuitry he had been involved in for the first time. Otherwise Aiden’s knowledge was bookish and pedantic. He could feel his heart warming next to Scott. This man exuded comfort and also some sort of intoxication.

Aiden watched as Scott went over to Storm who was busy fiddling with tiny electronic components with his large bulky fingers, a sight to behold. The two laughed at Storm’s attempts to insert a thin wire into the breadboard grooves. Aiden noticed as Storm got up that Scott was nearly the same height as him. But whereas Storm possessed a lot of bulk and looked generally large, Scott was in perfect shape; perfect arms, broad back and shoulders, and the most perfect butt. Aiden scolded himself, ‘Ok, finish your work first!’ and forced himself to look down at the circuit.

“He’s probably straight anyway!” He reasoned to himself. “Plus I have Will now.”

~~~

It was later in the evening when the trio left Scott and his gadgets. Aiden was feeling much better than he had been all afternoon. But as soon as Dominic and Storm left him he got lost in his own thoughts as he walked towards Will’s apartment.

With the advent of the robotics project, he would now be meeting Scott on a regular basis. ‘Scott White’, he voiced to himself. He chuckled thinking there were two handsome men in his life who had last names of colors. ‘Black and White’.

Scott was immensely likeable, other than the fact that he could almost make Aiden cum in his underwear. He was attracting Aiden like a moth to a flame. And Aiden was having a hard time stopping himself from being lured. But why did he even have to think about anyone else now?

Now there was Will in his life. A person who seemed to desire him as much as he did. And he was absolutely fantastic. Then what was bothering him. Wasn’t all the things the Japanese girl and lady said crap? ‘What devil drivel!’ He suddenly remembered Tinka’s question. ‘Wasn’t Will too perfect?’ Why had his best friend said something like that? Aiden knew it was a harmless question, asked in care, but something like that from Tinka really affected him. Was Tinka feeling there was something wrong behind Will’s façade? Why the hell did she have to feel that way? Just when he was so happy.

So now there were two alpha males in his life. Two men that both looked that they just stepped out from the cover of a romance novel. Men so handsome that they were difficult to fathom. So why was he so distressed?

Aiden reached Will’s building, surprised he had not realized where the journey started and where it got over. He was way too washed out mentally. He was crestfallen and insecure. And he did not know a proper reason to assign for his worries.

~~~

Black opened the swung the door open knowing it was Aiden who had arrived. He was immediately flooded by Aiden’s thoughts.

Aiden stood there in the hallway, trying to smile at him. But Black knew otherwise. He felt the pathos of unanswered questions overwhelming him. Black stepped forward and hugged Aiden, enfolding him within his arms. Aiden immediately closed his eyes and rested his head on his lover’s strong shoulder.

Black gently stroked Aiden’s back, swaying gently, purring sweet nothings in his ear. The boy was insecure and had only him to hold onto. He started analyzing Aiden’s thoughts.

There was the worry of a fortune telling lady’s daughter that had distressed his lover by telling him of a devil. So killing the old lady had not been good enough? There was nothing more that could be done about it now. If he tried to wipe out this daughter now, and Aiden found out, the consequences could be cataclysmic.

Then there was the matter of doubt and uncertainty expressed by a friend. The same girl he had met earlier. There was certainly no manner in which he could intervene there.

And then there was the matter of a new man that confused his lover’s senses. Black decided to root out this man if he posed a problem again.

Black was till swaying with Aiden, still out in the hallway. He gauged Aiden’s worries, fears, anxieties and doubts and felt melancholic himself. He would do anything in his powers to make Aiden feel better. All he wanted was to see this boy smile. No one would be allowed to harm his lover.

Black gently rubbed his cheeks against Aiden’s, still purring soothingly as the boy stood still, holding onto, fearing to let go. Black knew what the boy wanted.

He gently lifted the boy in his arms and carried him inside, ever so slightly shutting the door. Reaching the bedroom he placed him on the bed softly and carefully removed their clothes before joining his lover.

Back made soft and tender love to Aiden, long and slow, completely losing himself in the tender passion and feelings of affection that inundated him. He wanted nothing more than to please this boy. To fill joy in his heart and rid him of his anxieties. To make him understand that everything would be ok. He climaxed the lovemaking, for the first time feeling sated himself.

He lightly ran his hair through Aiden’s hair. He knew his next words should never have been uttered.

“Don’t worry about anything. I’ll always be with you.”

And with that he quietly dozed of with his lover, knowing that the human feelings he was experiencing were going to land him in trouble.

~~~

Fifteen minutes later Aiden groggily got out of the bed. He stepped over to where his jeans lay and fished out a tiny double sectioned box. Stretching the skin below his eyes he popped the contact lenses out and placed each one of them in the small compartments marked L and R. Having finished the task, he moved back into the arms of his lover, cursing the fact that lenses needed to be removed before sleeping.

~~~

——————————–

“Ok, so lots of events in Aiden’s life. A lot of things he’s going through. Black and White are now both key people in his life. We’ll see how he deals with things as they come. There’s still a lot of things left to happen.

Any questions, criticism, and queries are welcome.”

“So you are eh?”

Aiden picked up on Will’s humor and decided to play along. “So should I charge you with embezzlement of retirement home funds?”

“Well actually, this car was given to me as a present on my 21st birthday by my grandfather.”

“No fair! How come I never get things like that on my birthdays?” Aiden harrumphed and folded his arms across his chest. “And to think that I turned 21 just this year!”

“But I do need to ask you one thing.” Aiden added.

“Shoot.”

“How come you walked with me everywhere before? If I owned this baby, I certainly would never walk to go anyplace in my life. Even if the distance is only a 100 feet.”

“But if I would not have walked yesterday, I would not have met you, would I?”

Aiden blushed at Will’s reply. It would take some time before he understood Will’s fascination with him.

10 minutes of car journey later, in which Aiden perused all of Will’s CD’s and tested the potent music system of the car, Will slowed down in a huge compound, in front of a 2 floor storey wide structure.

“Yup. Here we are!” Will stated braking to a complete stop in front of the entrance of the edifice.

“So this is the Joe Black retirement home?” Aiden asked, reading the golden letters above the foyer. He noticed the muted pastels of mauve and green that the building was painted in, giving the whole structure a serene and peaceful look.

“Yup. Joe Black was my grandfather,” Will stated as he switched off the engine and the doors on either side slowly swung up. The two exited the car and walked up to the foyer.

“C’mon, let me take you on the grand tour.”

Aiden followed Will as he pushed open the glass doors and was immediately greeted by podgy receptionist with red cheeks.

“Good evening Mr. Black. We have a guest?”

“Good Evening Doris. Yes, this is Mr. Writer, who’s interested in taking a look around the retirement home. I shall personally escort him.”

“Very well, and should I arrange for something to eat perhaps?”

“No that will not be necessary; Mr. Writer and I have plans for later.” Will was smiling and looked at Aiden who smiled back. Aiden loved the fact that Will always seemed happy and smiled perpetually. He knew for a fact that he always had a dorky grin on his face whenever he was around Will.

Will led him through a door at towards the right leading to a narrow corridor painted in white. “Well, let us start with the indoor recreation rooms.” Aiden followed Will as the passage opened into a set of large rooms filled and bustling with people. There were cubicles one after the other that catered to different activities. “Wow!” he breathed.

“This was constructed by my grandfather 5 years back,” Will stated as he waved to a blonde girl. “It’s the recreation place for elder people to spend some relaxation time in and indulge in their hobbies.” “We even have a home theatre system towards that side.” Will pointed to a large TV screen with equally tall speakers on either side. No one was watching anything at the time.

Aiden looked around, taking in the sights of the rooms. Towards his left a room filled with stands on which white papers attached to clip boards rested. Two elder men were busy painting portraits of what appeared to be each other, while another elderly lady was giving shape to some wet clay. They turned around on hearing Will’s voice greeting him good evening and smiled at Aiden. Aiden smiled back. On the other side was a larger room filled with more than a dozen tables on which were carom boards, chess and other board games. This section was rife with people playing games who all nodded to Will in acknowledgement. “Sunday evening is the ideal time for gamers,” Will explained.

They strolled past a number of other rooms, Will casually telling Aiden about all the activities that went on around here. There was a smaller room in which soft music played as an elderly couple swayed gently to the music. The lady winked at Will as he passed by. There was a reading section with shelves full of books. A few elderly people, some with thick glasses sat in easy chairs as they read them.

“And here we have Mr. Kimberley’s piano,” Will pointed towards the large object. “Mr. Kimberley would not enter our retirement home unless we guaranteed that his piano would come too. He is however banned from playing during the evenings when the most crowd gathers here. Our senior members complain that at their age, they have lost enough hearing and would greatly appreciate losing no more.” Aiden chuckled as he sauntered beside Will.

A blonde girl about Aiden’s age, who Will had initially waved to, suddenly appeared. “Mr. Black,” she said, “How’s your day going?”

“Perfect Rachael.” Will introduced the girl to Aiden. “This is Rachael here. She spends her evenings here helping us in our tasks.”

Aiden and Rachael said hi to each other and Aiden immediately felt that he would also like to spend some time with the people here. Everyday was hardly a possibility, but maybe once or twice a week he could come here. Everything had such a clean and salubrious feel. It would be awesome to spend an evening or two a week here. Black did not at all like this line of thought.

“And here we have our gardens.” Will stated as he led Aiden through an exit to an open space where there were lawns with a few tables and chairs arranged around. “Our elder people spend a lot of time gardening here and they are solely responsible for the number of prizes we have won for their gardening efforts.” Aiden noticed three old ladies who were sitting at table playing cards under a lighted umbrella for it was dark. “Ah, that’s Mrs. Montgomery and her card playing troupe. They never give it a rest.” Black called out to them and asked them to go indoors and play. “After this game dear.” The old lady replied. Aiden noticed the wooden u-shaped hoops and pegs that were sticking out of the ground for playing croquet.

Will then led Aiden to the Medical premises showing introducing him to the head doctor and his nurses. “We have the latest medical technology and appliances.” Will stated. “We better have, for the price many of the people’s children pay for their parents to stay here.

“This place is huge.” Aiden said, after visiting the yoga hall and the sauna rooms. “It never looked this huge from the outside!”

“We currently house 283 elderly people here. It has to be huge for that kind of a number.”

“Hey, can you wait a second?” Aiden questioned. “I need to visit the restroom.”

“Sure, the restroom’s that way,” Will stated pointing to a long corridor. He had been wondering when the boy would ask him of the pressing problem that he had been getting signs of from his mind for quite long. “Towards the outside garden, there are a couple of doors to the right. I’ll wait right here.”

Aiden headed of to attend to nature’s call. He hurriedly finished off his business not wanting to keep ‘his hunk’ waiting. He opened the door of the toilet and bumped into a small Japanese lady.

“Oh Sorry!” Aiden looked down and noticed how small the lady was.

The lady gaped at Aiden and suddenly shrieked, “It’s you! It’s you! I found you!”

“Who me?” Aiden asked bewildered. He noticed that the lady’s complexion was as white as milk.

“Yes, I’ve been trying to track you since so long!” she said, completely dropping of the phony Japanese accent she would assume for her customers, it gave them an oriental feel when she did that.

“Uhh… I…”

“No, you don’t know me but…” the lady stopped as footsteps were heard along the corridor.

“Listen!” she said, “There’s no time! Just listen to me. The devil - he’s with you and he’s after you!”

“After me? What devil?”

The footsteps were getting closer, their soft thudding indicating someone just around the corner.

“Yes, he wants to use you, he wants to…”

Just then Will appeared around the corner. It took a fraction of a second for Black to read both the people’s minds and understand what had transpired.

“What’s going on here?” he boomed in a loud voice. Aiden noticed for the first time an angry expression on Will’s face. The Japanese lady got a horrified expression on her face as she looked at Will. This was the devil of her vision.

“I don’t know… this lady…”

Suddenly the Japanese lady burst out into a string of Japanese, bending again and again as if apologizing. She got close to Aiden and discreetly slipped a card into the back pocket of his jeans. “Call me,” she whispered. Aiden caught a glimpse of the card before she slid it behind him. A vibrant display of black and red colors that read something like ‘Horoscope’.

But stealth was not something that could have fooled Black. He had already read the lady’s intention and knew about the card she placed in Aiden’s pocket.

Then as abruptly as she had entered the scene the lady bobbed off, away from the two. Aiden was still gawking in her direction, befuddled while Black looked at her retreating form with his face as black as thunder. Abruptly his face broke into a smile.

“Senile old people!” he stated, “C’mon, We’ve just been roaming around, let’s involve ourselves with the patrons a bit.” Aiden noticed Will had a large box tucked under his arm. He shrugged and followed Will, dismissing the incident as the doting effects of an elderly person.

Will led Aiden to the residential quarters and knocked on a door with a label stating Mrs. Anderson.

“Come in.” a mellow voice answered.

The two entered a neat room where Mrs. Anderson sat on a chair at the side and another old lady sat on the bed. Both were knitting some kind of woolen wear. And judging by the number of balls of wool lying on the bed, Aiden surmised they must be pretty good at it.

“Dear child! Good to see you!” Mrs. Anderson called out with a twinkle in her eye. Black walked towards her, bend over and hugged her. He hugged the other lady as well.

“This is Aiden here,” he stated introducing Aiden to the two ladies who mentioned what a fine man he was. “And we’ve come so I can oust you and Aiden in a game of Pictionary.” Said Will as he placed the box he was carrying on the bed. Aiden looked at the box and smiled. He was very good at the game.

Aiden was teamed up with Mrs. Anderson and Will with Mrs. Green, the other lady. 5 minutes into the game, Aiden realized that both the elder players were really good at the game. In fact, compared to them he sucked at it! However Mrs. Anderson was good enough to compensate for his flaws. She soon led herself and Aiden to victory.

~~~

A boisterous pair stormed out of Pizza Inn. Aiden was laughing hard leaning against Will’s shoulder who was himself howling with laughter, his eyes tearing.

“Well what else could she have done?” Aiden asked between laughs. “The sand was running out and I was not being able to guess the word.”

“You dolt! How could you not come up with that word? It was one of the easier ones.”

Will was referring to their Pictionary game when Mrs. Aiden had to draw ‘PISTOL’ to advance to the next block. Mrs. Aiden was relieved thinking she had an easy one. She drew a gun shape with a trigger and Aiden started guessing. “Revolver, gun, Policeman, robber, thief!” Aiden had cried out. Mrs. Anderson shook her head fervently and Aiden guessed further on; “Holster, err….trigger, bullet…um rifle, carbine!” Mrs. Anderson had stared at Aiden exasperatedly. The minute glass indicated their time was running out. Finally the old lady sketched a penis, with a pair of testicles hanging and drew a steam of droplets gushing out of the tip. Aiden looked upto the old lady’s face not believing what she had drawn… “Piss??” and then realization dawned upon him. “Pistol!!” he cried out, a second before the last grains of sand trickled down. Mrs. Anderson had leaped into the air, an extraordinary feat for a woman her age, and hugged Aiden. An embarrassed Aiden smacked his head wondering how he had not come up with such a simple word.

And Will was laughing at the same incident now.

“Get over yourself,” Aiden stated with a mock frown on his face as he playfully swatted at Will’s butt. And then burst into peals of laughter himself.

Black was furious inside. He had been laughing along all this time and playing this game. This day had completely drained the Perpetual. With all the arrangements his mistress had to make to create an illusory retirement home and all the troglodyte Empaths she had appointed to stay in as elder people. Each one of those Empaths could read any humans mind and were all commanded by the Empress of Vand to carry out the extended charade.

“So what now?” asked Black, not knowing what the alchemist was going to think of for their next move.

“Ice Cream!” yelled Aiden as he dragged Will towards a small Ice cream outlet which read ‘Frozen Palace’.

~~~

White was close. He could sense it. The white laser-like light he was following was leading to a structure of some sort. ‘Frozen Palace’, it read. Would he meet the alchemist there? White was nervous. For centuries the Kingdom of Light had awaited the arrival of the Alchemist. And soon White would convene with him. What would the Alchemist say? Would he agree to help out a distressed Seraph? He could refuse at once, after all the Alchemist’s powers were his to use.

White made his way across the crowded grounds as people stared at him passing by. It was his external beauty, he knew that. He would know it without even glancing into their minds. The humans were cretins in this matter. Judging things greatly by just their outside appearances. They had a lot to learn yet. He walked past a trio of girls that were openly ogling him. One of them whistled as his imposing form crossed them, nearing ‘Frozen Palace’.

~~~

Back In the Kingdom of the Dark, the Empress of Vand was anxious. And that in itself was a rare thing. She had seen in the seven vision stone, the one she used to watch her Guardian Black and the Alchmest in, that her greatest enemy was in the vicinity of the former two. She had no inkling how her ‘blessed’ rival had found the Alchemist. But one thing was certain; he could in no manner be allowed to intervene right now.

The small girl sat between the 6 crystals she had assembled. She closed her eyes and started murmuring under her breath, her voice getting louder with every word. All of a sudden, the 6 crystals shone brightly, and a six-pointed star was etched on the ground, effulgent in black flames. The voice of the little girl was deafening now, reverberating across for miles. And as she approached the crescendo of her chanting, she abruptly stopped her incantations, opening her eyes. She had succeeded in her task.

“Pi, you will procure us some time.” The pet chimera received her message telepathically.

“Yes, your excellency.”

“You will engage White and prevent him from intervening.”

The Chimera descended, as if bowing with respect as his eyes glowed icy silver. The fanciful creature then shimmered and disappeared onto the material plane.

“White cannot encounter the Alchemist or Black at this moment,” the little lass stated to a nonexistent gathering.

~~~

White cautiously made his was towards the Ice cream parlor following the white light of ‘Quarry Seek’. When he neared the structure, he realized that the laser light passed through the structure and went beyond it. Had he not sensed that the alchemist was near here somewhere? The light of Quarry Seek seemed to say otherwise. He shrugged his shoulders and walked past the glowing letters which stated ‘Frozen Palace’, following the light as it led him astray.

White walked on still wondering what powers the Alchemist possessed. Legends had it that the Alchemist would arrive and the battle between the Kingdom of Light and Dark would be over. Legend also stated that the Alchemist possessed powers beyond contemplation. He wondered what these legendary abilities of the Alchemist could be.

White realized that following the light spell he had been led astray from the crowd. He had been striding for more than 15 minutes and now he walked in an open stretch of land where not a single person was visible. Where was the light taking him to?

Abruptly a chill ran in the atmosphere. White instantly realized that something was wrong. Soft notes of music wafted in the air, steadily getting louder. White looked around rapidly, trying to understand what was happening. The melody resounding in the atmosphere, where was it originating from? It was the sound of a flute. In the next instant came a crashing wave at a high speed, a sonic ice breaker that unexpectedly boomed from behind White and collided with the high Seraph, ramming into him at a high speed and thrusting him along before it impaled him into an iron fence.

White reeled under the blow of the impact and got up unsteadily. The deleterious wave had knocked him face forward into the iron fence. The fence now lay on the ground, mangled pieces of iron twisted beyond recognition, but white had suffered greatly from the blow too. His torso throbbed with the force of the impact and blood dripped from above his right eye brow, blurring his vision before it trickled to the ground. Any pain or pleasure experienced by the corporeal shell that encased him would impair his spirit directly. The attack had caught him completely off guard.

White raised his arm, wiping the blood from his eyes with the back of his palm so he could see clearly. Directly ahead at a distance of about a 100 yards he could make out a hazy shape flitting about, slowly approaching him.

“Who are you?” his voice boomed. White had no clue as to what force could lunge at him with such an inexorable capacity.

“Who am I?” The voice questioned back with mirth in the voice. The shadowy shape slowly evolved into a human form. “Don’t disrespect me by failing to recognize me White!”

White stared dumbfounded at the small 10 year old boy standing 50 yards ahead of him. A boy with white hair standing vertically upright, adorned in a black robe. It was Pi, the pet chimera of his sworn enemy, the Empress of Vand. Only this time he possessed his true form, the one of a 10 year old child with an evil smirk on his face. He held a 2-feet long glass flute in his hand, the ‘Flute of Frost’, White recognized the device responsible for the icy sonic wave that crashed him earlier.

“You!” cried out White.

“Yes me,” the child replied as he lifted the glassy flute to his lips and blew into the grooves, his fingers dancing proficiently up and down the transparent instrument. White tuned his senses to make out the presence of a spiritual cordon that had been placed around, encompassing a circular area with a 1 mile radius. Even the subjects of the dark understood the importance of remaining unknown to the humans. The spiritual cordon would isolate the circular region so anything taking place inside the caulked area would remain unseen from the material plane. So Pi, intended to fight him here? White wondered if the cordoned area would be large enough to withstand the mayhem that was about to take place.

Shrapnels of ice surrounded White’s adversary Pi, as he completed a melody and gathered energy in the form of an icy orb levitating in front of his torso. White stretched out both his hands and placing one palm over the other he aimed towards the child to spout a spell.

“Ability of the Light 21, Flaming Shot.” A red fiery sphere materialized perpendicular to his palms.

White grimaced and fired the flaming ball towards the kid. Pi let out a battle cry as he swung his flute in an arc, hurling his iced sphere towards his opponent. The iced sphere hurtled towards White at an astonishing pace, burgeoning into the profile of an enormous icy wave that screeched an ear-piercing sound as it advanced. It collided with the fiery ball fired by White, causing an explosion leaving behind flames and fumes of boiling water which slowly dissipated.