Tall Tales, Young Hearts: Alex's Stories

[Tanner Larson]

Here's where I'll post my stories. I'm not sure how it works on other folks' threads, but feel free to comment if you see anything you like! /reviewwhore

[Warning: This fic mentions sex, but only briefly and not graphically. Fair warning!]

Down, Like Her Temperature

“You know, sometimes I feel like you just use me for sex.”

“We’ve been over this, Tanner; I do.”

Tanner shrugged his bare shoulders, settling down into the pillow upon which his head lay. He lifted his sweat-drenched arms to stretch them for a brief moment, before bringing them back behind his head to rest. His nose picked up the scent of his own body odor, but he didn’t mind; after all, sex would do that to you, and Lucy seemed to be fine with that.

She seemed to enjoy every part of the process, as it were. She never said so, and rarely hinted at it, but Tanner could tell. It was in the way she would let out the softest of moans every once in a while, and then visibly scowl in reaction to her own inadvertent cries. It was in the way that her fingernails – her sharp, cat-like fingernails – always seemed to find his butt and dig into the flesh at just the right moment. It was in the way that, every so often, she wouldn’t kick him out of bed the moment it was over.

Now was one of those times. The two teenagers lay there, relatively still, neither one saying another word. As far as Tanner was concerned, this was bliss. As far as Lucy was concerned, this was better than listening to him talk at her. It was a shaky peace, perhaps, and certainly no foundation for a real relationship, but both students were content to leave well enough alone.

It probably didn’t hurt that Tanner was surprisingly well-endowed.

It had always been this way: Lucy egged him on, and Tanner put up with her. Why he did it, he didn’t know, and she was just as clueless. But it worked somehow, it just worked, so they never questioned it.

A soft sigh escaped the boy’s lips as his eyes gently closed, a complacent smile forming on his features. The scent of cigarette smoke wafted through his nostrils, the woman beside him having lit a post-coital cigarette as she was apt to do. It was another one of her little habits that he found adorable; the very thought of this word made him wince slightly, as she was also apt to hit him when he was being too cheesy.

Ah, young love.

There’s had always been a peculiar sort of relationship. Even the first time they had spent the night together was one for the history books.

Tanner was standing at the front entrance to La Maison Magnifique, the burlesque house at which he had been performing for the past few months. He wore a light jacket over the black shirt and dark jeans he would be wearing onstage that night, as the November air was particularly crisp that evening. The blonde had already been there for several hours to rehearse for that night, but he had come outside to await Lucy’s arrival a few minutes ago. Noticing that he could see his own breath in front of his face as he exhaled, he decided the girl ought to arrive soon.

Their date wasn’t exactly consensual on both sides; Lucy had won the boy at the auction a few weeks beforehand, in which Tanner had only participated to help Kiara (and, truth be told, because Zac had all but tricked him into signing up). So now here he was, determined to show the girl a good time, but not exactly feeling one hundred percent ‘there.’

As it was, this girl intrigued him; after all, it wasn’t every day somebody bid on you, and it certainly wasn’t every day somebody bid on you twice. Perhaps she had seen something in him she liked, or perhaps she just wanted to check this place out. Either way, he had to admit he was somewhat flattered, if baffled.

He spotted her coming down the road, hair teased up and decked out in a cute little number that left plenty to the imagination while still being very appealing. She wore a perfunctory smile on her face, and looked like she was looking through him rather than at him. She was stunning.

“Lucy,” he said as the girl approached, sticking out a hand in her direction; he had recognized her from the crowd, but this was actually the first time they were meeting in person (he had gotten her number from Kiara after the auction and had made their arrangements that way). “Tanner, nice to-“

Instead of the girl’s hand, Tanner found in his a folded up piece of paper. He looked up, confused; she was already walking away again.

“Dearest Tanner,
I don’t want to go on your shitty date.
Kisses,
Lucy”

”Hey, wait a minute,” he called out, crinkling the piece of paper in his hand and running after her. She didn’t stop walking; he kept pace with her. “What’s wrong?”

That cold little smile remained plastered on her face. “Not interested,” she said simply, as she kept walking.

Tanner’s eyes went wide: Not interested? How could that be? She had fucking bid on him, for Christ’s sake. “What do you mean, you’re not interested? You came all this way for nothing?”

“Admittedly not the most efficient method,” she said, thin hands stuffed into the black peacoat which covered the top half of her body. “But I did get to see the look on your face.”

Tanner looked hurt.

“Yes, that’s the one.”

The blonde rolled his eyes; he knew she would be a bit difficult based on her behavior at the auction, and he didn’t let it dissuade him.

“Just a little while, okay? I’ll buy you a drink. They make good ones here.”

“Not interested,” she repeated lightly; she practically sang the words.

And then Tanner did something he never thought he would do; he reached out, put his hand on her shoulder, and stopped the girl in her tracks.

She turned to look at him, one eyebrow raised, but remained silent. Tanner sighed.

“Look, if you could come all the way here, then it’s not like you have anything better to do, right?” He received no response to this. “Lord knows I got nothing going on, either, so why don’t you just humor me a little?”

Lucy looked longingly towards the direction from which she had come, before letting her eyes reconnect with his. “Fine,” she replied at length. “For a little while.” She turned back towards the House, as did Tanner. “If the drinks are on you, I guess I’ve got nothing more to lose.”

And that was how it had started. The rocky, odd relationship they developed almost never happened. Since then, Tanner had learned Lucy was actually double-booked that night, and was planning on ditching him for some other guy; she only changed her mind after seeing how impressively persistent he was. (She had used the word ‘desperate’ at the time, but he knew what she had meant.)

Tanner fucked her sooo good the night she told him this.

The blonde smiled. Yeah, it was good. All of it. Even when she was calling him a dweeb, or slapping him for trying to be sexy, or withholding sex just to see him squirm, he still came crawling back. Maybe he had a masochistic streak, but he couldn’t resist her.

“You playing tonight?”

Upon hearing these words, Tanner looked up; Lucy was sitting up, the blanket drawn around her bare chest, a cigarette hanging between two fingers.

“Yeah,” he replied softly. “Nine-thirty.” He would have to be forgiven if he was surprised she was asking, but it thrilled him. “You wanna come?”

“Hm, nah.”

“Oh.”

She would be there; she usually was. But Tanner didn’t need to know that: it would just make him cocky, and they were no fun when they weren’t malleable. So she insulted him, bit him, pissed him off and pushed him away just to see if he’d return; he always did. She’d seen almost every performance since they had started dating; he knew nothing of this.

She sat in the back, where the lights were low, where she knew he wouldn’t be able to see her from the stage. But she could see him, could see his eyes roaming the crowd as he sang to see if he could find her. He never did.

It made her heart race to know he was looking for her.

Tanner was convinced that Lucy used him. She did, but not for sex. Tanner wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t great. But having him think this was convenient, for it meant he didn’t need to know the truth.

The truth was that Lucy was in love. Madly, deeply, unceremoniously in love, and had been since the first time she had heard him sing.

”I’m about to go on,” Tanner said into Lucy’s ear; it was loud enough that this was more out of necessity than flirtation. “Did you want to go up with me?” He had promised as much at the auction; he was merely following through on his offer.

“If you so much as try to drag me up there, I will bitch slap you into your next reincarnation.”

It seemed Tanner could take a hint, for he was off walking towards the backstage area, leaving Lucy at their place at the bar. She had a martini in hand – it was her third, but she could hold it well – and as the blonde man walked onto the stage, she instinctively rolled her eyes at the applause his very presence seemed to elicit from the crowd.

“I’m here with a friend tonight,” she heard him say, and in that five seconds she had come up with twenty ways of killing him. “This one’s for her.”

Lucy’s left eye twitched involuntarily as the music started. It was Jay Sean’s “Down.” Because, you know, it was 2010.

If Lil Wayne came out for the bridge, she was leaving.

She settled into her stool, swirling the remains of her third drink around in its glass as her date began singing. Okay, so he wasn’t bad. Actually, he was pretty good. She supposed she should have expected no less, as this was his job after all, but still. Damn, nerd could sing.

And then he got to the chorus.

”So baby don’t worry,
You are my only,
You won’t be lonely,
Even if the sky is falling down…”

Tanner was singing out, and sort of swaying his hips, and running his hands up and down the mic stand like he was caressing a beautiful woman. His face was sort of scrunched up like he was in the middle of – well, suffice it to say he was looking pretty fucking good.

”You’ll be my only,
No need to worry,
Baby are you down, down, down, down, down?”

Lucy fanned herself with her free hand, eyes darting around the room. Had somebody turned the heat up? Was she having a hot flash? Or could she just not hold her liquor as well as she had thought?

The moment Tanner had gotten off the stage, Lucy had grabbed his arm, muttered a quick “We’re going,” and dragged him out of the club.

Just thinking about that night made Lucy feel hot once more, and she subconsciously smiled to herself as she allowed her eyelids to flutter shut and a puff of smoke to exit through her nostrils.

Yes, she loved him. She would scream it a thousand times in her head, but never once would she say so out loud.

This little content gesture did not go unnoticed by the young man reclining beside her.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Lucy’s eyes rolled nearly to the back of her head. Must he always ruin these precious moments?

“I was just thinking about how it was about time you got going.”

Tanner obeyed his cue, slipping out from underneath the sheets and searching for his clothing. Lucy reluctantly did the same, and not long after Tanner was tying up his shoelaces as Lucy fixed her hair in the mirror, humming a song Tanner thought he knew.

“So, I’ll, uh, see you around.”

Tanner stood awkwardly in the doorway. Their goodbyes were always a bit awkward; Lucy didn’t always want to kiss. He usually waited for her to make a move.

The brunette turned towards the boy, another plastic smile adorning her features. “Yeah,” she replied. “Around.”

She would be at the House that night, cheering him on like every other night. That wouldn’t change, nor would his obliviousness to this fact.

Lucy approached Tanner, planting a kiss to his lips the boy wasn’t quick enough to return. The door was soon shut behind him, and Lucy found herself alone in her room, heading towards the bathroom to shower off that afternoon’s activities. As she walked, she sang softly to herself:

”Baby are you down, down, down, down, down…”

[Tanner Larson]

((Gift fic for Sha, more than loosely based on Taylor Swift’s “Love Story.” It’s non-canon, AU, etc, etc. I wrote it to be sort of classical/Victorian/Shakespearean. Hope you enjoy!))



Fly

“It’s getting late, dear.”

The words pierced Kiara Lilien through the heart like a rusty dagger. She closed her eyes, her chin lifting just slightly, defiantly into the air. Hands clenched into fists, knuckles turning white. Her face remained calm, her clenched jaw unseen beneath fair skin.

“Just a little longer yet.”

Her request was met with silence, which she accepted as acquiescence. The young woman’s fists loosened, hands reaching down to busy themselves smoothing out the crinkles in her dress.

Around them, snow fell, adding fresh powder to the blanket that had already cloaked the landscape in white. The tail of Kiara’s dress stained the ground crimson red, but the continuing snowfall had begun to coat the dress in streaks of white.

The young woman looked down, eyes falling to the clumps of snow that were hanging off her dress. A deep, shuddering sigh escaped her throat, her body tensing in a shiver for but a moment, before she relaxed again.

She looked to her right, towards the gate leading into the campus of the Hammel Institute, her home for the past ten years. Everyone she knew, every friend she had ever made, resided within those walls. All this, she was willingly sacrificing for her love. For no love could exist past that gate, where the meta-humans were kept safe from human eyes until they had mastered their unnatural abilities.

No love could exist, for such emotions only served as a distraction from one’s training. For this reason, men and women were kept separate from one another, living in different buildings and taking different classes. It was said one could complete one’s entire training at Hammel without ever laying eye on a member of the opposite gender. As it were, boys and girls seen intermingling were punished severely.

But one could not account for chance meetings. And when Kiara Lilien’s eyes met with Tanner Larson’s one day while walking through the courtyard, both knew that something more than pure coincidence had brought them together.

She looked ahead of her, and saw the dirt path leading away from the school. The road was lined with spruce trees frosted with the freshly fallen snow. Down this path lay her future; Tanner had told her as much on so many occasions, when they lay huddled together in Kiara’s bed late at night. The dorms were always so cold; Tanner kept her warm, his strong arms wrapped tightly, protectively around her as he spoke of how they would leave Hammel and create with one another a new life outside of those walls. He had said it so frequently, that Kiara had started to believe it. And once she had been convinced, they had started making plans.

She looked to her left, and saw looking back at her the portly figure of Aunty Helga. Helga Janisson was one of the maids who tended Kiara’s residence at Hammel. It was she who had discovered Tanner in her quarters one night, after curfew had been called and the rest of the students had gone to bed. It was she who had listened so sympathetically as the girl poured her heart and soul out to her, as she professed her undying love for this boy and all her innermost desires, both innocent and passionate.

It was she who had unlocked the gate for Kiara, and it was she who had agreed to wait with her for Tanner’s arrival.

Aunty Helga was a plump woman who almost always wore a smile. Her penchant for making anyone laugh had filled Kiara’s younger years with so much joy. But the cheeky grin that so often adorned her features was nowhere to be seen this day. In its place was a deep, worried frown, accented by a furrowed brow and sad eyes. It took all of her strength to speak these words:

“I don’t think he’s coming.”

It was these words that broke Kiara’s seemingly collected composure. She raised her hands up into the air, as though accusing the very heavens themselves.

“Oh, cursèd fate!” She cried, bringing her hands down once more to shield her eyes. “Must you mock me so?!”

It simply broke Helga’s heart to see Kiara affected so deeply. She took a step towards the girl, black boot sinking into the snow with a soft ‘crunch.’

“Something must have happened…” She trailed off as she turned abruptly away from her ward, aware of the implications of such a situation.

Kiara could only nod at first, eyes squeezed shut as she fought back ice-cold tears. “My love has not betrayed me,” She managed. She knew, as Helga did, that for Tanner to be this late meant that the unspeakable had occurred.

He had been caught.

”Tanner, I… I’m having second thoughts.” The words sounded weak, and she regretted them as soon as they had left her lips.

The young man’s initial response was to race over to the girl, grabbing her with both hands on each shoulder. “There can be no second guessing this, my love,” he chided. “There is a whole world out there we are missing. I want to share it all with you.”

Kiara was not entirely convinced. “What do you know of this world, darling?” She asked, the skepticism vivid on her face.

Tanner smiled handsomely. “I know that a man can love a woman freely, can shout it from the rooftops for all to hear,” he said enthusiastically; his voice then lowered as he leaned into the girl. “There is nothing to be afraid of,” he whispered, lifting the girl’s chin with his thumb and forefinger to allow their eyes to connect. He then released her from his firm yet gentle grip, returning to the girl’s bedside, upon which lay a large suitcase half-filled with articles of clothing. There was work to be done.

“Now,” he began, as he rummaged through the girl’s drawers to determine what they ought to bring and what they ought to keep; he had moved his own clothing over to her room little by little over the past few months in anticipation of this moment. “Tomorrow at two o’ clock, when campus security changes staffs, you will meet Ms. Janisson at the front gate. She will have a key with her that will let you through.”

“But what about you?”

“My journey will be the more harrowing,” he said simply, not taking his eyes off his work. “I don’t want to tell you too much, but I will have the luggage and a means of transport with me when I arrive. Until then, you will have to wait for me.”

“For how long?”

When Tanner did not immediately respond, Kiara took a few ginger steps towards the young man. He turned, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Now Kiara, I want you to listen to me,” he said, and the fervent tone in his voice made Kiara shudder involuntarily. “If I am not there within the hour… I want you to assume the worst.” He could not have her standing out in the cold for much longer than that; he simply couldn’t bear the idea of her freezing after him. “Don’t wait for me any longer than that.”

The rest did not to be said; once three o’ clock arrived, she would not be able to get back to her room without being spotted by security personnel. They only had one shot.

At first, Kiara was reluctant. “I’ll wait for you as long as you take,” she offered stubbornly.

Tanner would have none of that. “You need to do what’s wisest,” He chided. “If I’m kept… I can’t risk having you be seen. Promise me you’ll fly at three.”

Kiara turned her head to shake, but then stopped herself. “I promise,” she said, nodding her head.

The belltower that stood in the center of campus had rang three times nearly twenty minutes ago. Tanner was late.

A million possibilities flew through Kiara’s mind in a whirlwind of dread and rationalization. She nearly grew dizzy.

With one last look back at the gate, Kiara took a deep breath and resolved to press forward. It was what Tanner would have wanted.

“I want you to go back.”

Helga’s mouth opened, though for a moment no words came out. “My dear…”

“Go, Aunty. I don’t want them finding you here with me.”

This statement sent the old maid into a tizzy. “If we hurry, perhaps I can get you back in,” she explained anxiously, fumbling in her pocket. “This key works both ways-“

“Go, Aunty,” the girl repeated, more firmly than before. “I’ll have none of that. You know there is no going back for me.”

Helga sighed, knowing her charge was right. “But where will you go? What will you do?”

Kiara did not like these questions, for they forced her to face down her own uncertainties. “I will figure it out,” she said solemnly. “You always said I was a smart girl.”

A sad smile broke across the woman’s features as she raced to embrace the blonde for the last time. “The brightest I ever knew,” she said, voice cracking as she wrapped her arms tightly around her.

The two women stood in this way for a time, the snow falling around them as both enjoyed the other’s warmth one final moment.

It was Kiara who broke free first. “Now go,” she urged. “And don’t look back. I will find my way.”

Helga nodded, turning away and letting herself through the gate. She reached behind her to lock it, but did not allow her eyes to lay themselves upon this poor girl one more time before turning away and making her way quickly up the walk.

Kiara watched the maid’s retreat before retraining her eyes on the path leading away from the institution. She didn’t allow herself the gulp that welled up in her throat. Tanner had urged her to be strong should it come to this, and she would live up to his entreaties.

Taking a moment to shake the snow off of her dress, the girl took a first, shaking step through the rapidly accumulating snow in the direction of her lonely future. Every nerve resisted this forward march. But she forced herself to take a second step, and then a third, and then-

The sudden sensation of a hand upon her shoulder caused Kiara to jump nearly out of her skin, a loud gasp escaping into the frosty air. She whipped her body around, fully ready to defend herself against whatever horror had just approached her.

“Tanner!”

Their lips crashed into one another’s fervently, frantically, arms finding their way around each other’s bodies. The suitcase Tanner had been holding fell to the snow.

“You’re freezing,” Tanner noted, a single hand trailing down the side of the girl’s face as he looked her over.

Kiara was fighting back tears. “Oh, Tanner, I waited as long as I could.”

The young male brought her face into the crook of his neck. “It’s alright, my dear,” he said, his other hand rubbing her back. “I’m here to warm you.”

Kiara melted into the man’s unnaturally high body heat. That he was here now was nothing short of miraculous, and she would not take it for granted.

She looked up after a time, eyes widening. The boy’s nose was bloodied. “Tanner, your-“

“I’m fine,” he said frenetically, moving away from the girl to fetch their suitcases.

Kiara could scarcely believe her eyes as she watched him do this; as far as she was concerned, it was as though he had come back from the dead. “Tanner, my love, what happened?”

The man approached her once more. “There will be time to explain that later. But come, we are late as it is.”

As she heard these words, the sound of several footsteps came within the girl’s range of hearing. She looked up to see two Clydesdales marching towards them, pulling behind them a white carriage on large wooden wheels. This image moving towards them through the winter snow looked nearly divine. Kiara brought her hand to her breast.

“Tanner, what is this?” She asked incredulously; this was the second time in as many minutes that Kiara was entirely convinced her eyes were playing tricks on her.

Tanner smiled proudly. “Do you remember when I told you that if we ever left this place, I would see to it you were treated like the princess you deserve to be?”

Kiara blushed at these words. “Every day,” she admitted.

Tanner nodded. “Well, my lady, come: our chariot awaits.”

Kiara wrapped slender arms around Tanner’s broad shoulders. “Oh, but Tanner, where will we go?”

“I don’t know, my love,” he admitted, though he did not seem reluctant to do so. “I must admit I do not know much of anything of what awaits us at the horizon. But I know that I love you, and that will have to be enough for now.”

Kiara smiled. It always was.

As Tanner helped her into the carriage, Kiara allowed herself a final look back at the Hammel Institute, her home for nearly a decade. Memories flooded her mind like so many raindrops, but she forced those away for now. The rules, the secrecy, and the forbidden courtship were at last behind her, and there was only one way to go now: forward into the future, heart full and head held high, into the big, wide, wild world.

[Tanner Larson]

((Gift fic for Apollo. Hope you like it!))



Float on the Wind

I didn’t really get out often enough. Juniper knew this, and she tried to coax me out of my dorm room as frequently as I would allow her to. But between my studies, my job, and college applications, there just never seemed to be enough time in the day to waste on frivolous activities.

It was one Thursday evening, as we were sitting in the library poring over a large stack of books for an upcoming assessment, that June approached me about taking a day trip one weekend to the Wrightsville Reservoir nature preserve, just forty-five minutes outside of Pilot Ridge. She had spoken of it meekly at first, as though broaching the subject made her a bit uneasy. But it seemed like an interesting idea to me, and when I said as much, her eyes simply lit up. Hearing about her talk about the preserve so excitedly rubbed off on me, and we decided to spend the day there that same weekend.

We arrived to the preserve on a warm Saturday mid-morning after a half-hour or so drive around the border of Montpelier. We had taken Juniper’s car, and her musical selections for the drive had been interesting to say the least. Certainly not the type of thing I would perform at the House, but it was good enough to wake me up for the hike. Parking the car, Juniper showed me a large map carved into a wooden plank standing by the curb, detailing the many nature trails and interesting sites around the area.

“This one’s my favorite,” she said, standing on sandaled toes to reach up and point at a trail marked in red. “It’ll take us through the woods, up the hills and straight into the reservoir.”

Having no opinion of my own, as it was my first time there, I happily assented, and we were on our way. It wasn’t long after we had started up the first hill, down a dirt path cutting through rows of dead trees, that Juniper casually attached herself to my arm. Physical contact, particularly with the opposite sex, was not something I was used to, and I hid a blush I’m pretty sure she never saw as we continued on our way.

“In truth,” the girl began to say, and I turned towards her, quirking an eyebrow. “I come here every weekend.”

This didn’t surprise me; Juniper was very much in touch with nature. And one could simply see her naturalistic tendencies on her: it was in the way she dressed, the way she walked through the grass of the courtyard so delicately as though she danced on the blades, the way she always had a flower balanced just perfectly behind her ear. She was a vision of one truly in touch with nature.

“You must really like it here,” I offered. I sucked at small talk.

Juniper only nodded, before releasing me from her grip and scampering over to one of the trees along the path.

“Look,” she said, kneeling down on the ground, her long, purple and green skirt bunching up around her as though she sat on a multicolored cloud. Rising to stand once more, she produced in her hand a small flower with red petals and a healthy green stem. “Isn’t it amazing that something like this could live amidst all this death and decay?” She asked, turning the flower around and around between two fingers and observing it intently. I subconsciously winced at the rather callous choice of words. “That it was able to get enough light filtering down through the canopy to grow is nothing short of miraculous.”

I quirked an eyebrow for a second time that day; it was interesting, to be sure, but it seemed to me like picking the flower from its roots sort of diminished the point. I kept that thought to myself.

“I’m keeping this one,” she noted aloud, allowing it to settle comfortably into the palm of her hand as she took my arm once more, leading me up the gradually inclined path. “We should be getting to the reservoir soon.”

We continued walking much in this manner, with Juniper chatting up a storm about every subject under the sun as I listened patiently, the girl occasionally leaving my side briefly to pick a few more flowers here and there before returning to me once more. The whole thing had made me feel a bit out of place at first, but eventually I grew relatively comfortable with this setup. It was certainly peaceful.

Just as she had promised, we soon thereafter arrived to a point at which the woods opened up to a large field of long grasses dotted with flowers of purple, orange, and yellow. Suddenly, among all of this floral life, Juniper seemed to light up, letting go of my arm and throwing her hands up into the air as though to thank the heavens for such a scene.

“Come, this is my favorite part!” She called to me as she kicked off her sandals and took off running through the meadow, leaving me standing dumbfounded on the edge of the woods. Her skirt flowed behind her like the tail of a rapidly receding comet. With her feet and ankles hidden in the tall grass, she appeared almost to float.

“Uh… coming!”

I wasn’t going to run – that just seemed unordinary – but I strode quickly through the field until I caught up with her standing like a statue on the edge of the reservoir. My eyes left her face and drifted out over the large body of water, which stood completely still under the sunshine. It was certainly impressive. I was about to voice this thought, when Juniper spoke up first.

“There is God in all this.” The words sounded matter-of-fact, and she opened her hands to allow the group of flowers she had accumulated during our walk to drift out of her palms and down into the water ten or so feet below us.

I wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to that, so I kept quiet. A breeze came in, allowing the girl’s massive brown hair to sway gently behind her. She had an awful lot of it. Brown curls led down to a white and light blue striped shirt with a rather deep neckline, and finishing out the unique look was the aforementioned long skirt, the hem of which rested tenderly on the grass. She looked over the reservoir intently like it was her ward, like she alone could protect it from… some unseen threat.

She was beautiful.

I smiled at this thought, just a bit at first but then feeling, despite my conscious efforts to the contrary, my lips spreading further. I guess I couldn’t help it.

Apparently June had been watching me out of the corner of her eye, for she turned now, eyes alight with some sort of mischief. “You have a nice smile,” she said, and it sounded almost more like an observation than a compliment. “You smile with your whole face. You should show it more.”

I guess I didn’t smile that often. I did not have time to ponder this, however, as June took me by the arm once more and led me away from the reservoir.

“I said that was my favorite part, but I was lying,” she said through a fiendish grin. “My favorite favorite part is up here.”

Having turned from the water, I saw before me a large hill leading up to a grouping of three trees, the branches of which held seemingly trillions of small flowers with little pink petals.

“I can see why,” I breathed as I allowed the girl to lead me up the hill. It was steeper than the path we had taken to get to the reservoir, and after climbing all the way up I had to take a moment to catch my breath.

I really needed to start working out.

“Not just yet,” June chided, bringing me to a spot directly in the middle of the three trees, which seemed to form a triangle with their trunks. “Now, look up.”

She gestured with her free hand towards the canopy formed by the branches of the three trees. I did as I was told, and as her tan, silky hand swept across my line of sight, my eyes widened. Traces of sunlight shone down through the breaks in the petals, making it look as though a million pink stars twinkled above us. It was positively enchanting.

“Cherry blossoms,” I noted.

“Plum blossoms, actually,” she corrected. I hadn’t realized there was a difference.

We stood there for a while, just looking up at the blossoms. We could still feel a bit of the breeze through the tree trunks, and occasionally a bird would call out or a squirrel would rustle in the grass. It was the most at peace I have ever felt.

At some point, my hand found hers. She didn’t seem to mind, so I kept it there.

After a while, I noticed that the wind seemed to pick up. About to ask if we should start heading back down, I turned towards Juniper to see her eyes closed, a very content smile on her face. Was she making this happen?

The wind continued to build, until the branches above us began to sway. It was then that the girl opened her eyes, just in time to watch as a million pink petals broke from their perches, floating down from the sky to settle into the ground below.

“The world is so full of a number of things,” I heard her say, eyes fixated on the branches above. “I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.” It took me a moment to realize this was a rhyming couplet.

We stood in this way a while longer, myself watching Juniper as she watched the flower petals raining down onto us. I was conscious of the petals accumulating on my hair and shoulders, but I didn’t move to brush them away. I felt my heart beat strongly in my chest, my hand tightening around hers. If she noticed this gesture, she did not show it.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” She asked whimsically, and I wholeheartedly agreed, though our minds were on different matters.

“Ravishing.”

[Tanner Larson]

((Gift fic for Jam! It’s kinda short, but then again so are you. Love youuuu. Note that this is mature for sexual themes, but I don’t think it’s too graphic.))

First Mistake

When Tanner Larson showed up at my door one warm Thursday night, I could smell the alcohol on his breath immediately. He leaned against the doorway, swaying gently in place, eyes glazed over. On his face was a shit-eating grin the likes of which I’d never seen on the kid before.

I’d been expecting him. Why the hell else would I be in on a Thursday night?

“You’re drunk,” I stated simply, stepping aside to allow him to stumble in. “Go home.”

Within seconds, he was up against me, grabbing sloppily at my collar and bringing his face temptingly close to mine. I didn’t let my surprise at his boldness show on my face.

“You told me I’d come around…” He whispered into my ear, kicking the door shut behind him; I could feel his breath on my earlobe, and it made me shiver in spite of myself. “You were right.”

That was all I needed to hear; placing a hand on each of the boy’s shoulders, I pushed him firmly up against the door, my face burying into the crook of his neck as his hands found their way to my hair.

“Zac…” he moaned as I planted fervent kisses on his collar bone. “I’m hot.”

I snickered before looking up, allowing my eyes to connect with his. “I know, kid,” I said, allowing my hands to trail up his shoulders to either side of his face; the heat was simply radiating off of him. “You’re a pyro, remember?”

Tanner shuddered under my touch; perfect. “No,” he crooned, shaking his head defiantly as he arched his backs, allowing our fronts to touch. “I mean really hot.”

Oh. Well, then. The kid was probably expecting me to rip his clothes off then and there. But I’d learned one too many times that when it went fast like this, it often didn’t end well. I wasn’t in the mood to break any more hearts.

“You sure you can handle this?” I asked, one of my fingers trailing across his lower lip; he tried to bite it.

“You’re talking too much,” he protested, before pushing me unceremoniously down onto my bed.

---

”Hey, fag.”

I always greeted him like this; the way he rolled his eyes at my insolence always drove me wild.

“Hey, Zac,” he replied, forcing his way past me and into my room. I had invited him over for a cooking session. I’d told him there was someone I wanted to impress, but that was bullshit. I just wanted him to cook for me.

“So, what’s on the menu, scamp?” I asked, leaning against the fridge, with one of my knees bent so my foot could rest against it. I was aware of his eyes as they trailed quickly and – so he assumed – discreetly over my body.

“Chicken parm,” I heard him say, as he placed the plastic bags he had brought down onto the counter. “And you’re helping this time. No free-loading.”

Rats. I headed over to him, helping him unload his bags. “You’re gonna make it up to me, though,” I joked. Hmm, trading favors…

Tanner clearly had the same thought I did, as he lowered his head in a vain attempt to hide the blush that had appeared on his face. I loved making the kid blush; he was adorable when he did.

“Speaking of which,” I began as I watched him slice open a package of raw chicken. “You lost your V-card yet?”

There was another of those cute eyerolls. I loved how easy it was to get him all hot and bothered. He usually shied away from the sex jokes, but at other times, he could dish them as well as he could take them. I was clearly rubbing off on him.

“Uh, let me see,” he said, taking a moment to pat his back pocket as though feeling for his wallet. “Nope, still got it.”

I felt myself licking my lips despite my brain having given no command to do so. His butt had sorta jiggled when he’d done that; what the fuck was I supposed to do?

“Well, I could help you with that,” I relied, determined to egg him on as far as I could, “but I charge extra for first timers.”

Tanner laughed through the bright red color that had become plastered all over his face. “So that’s how you got all your money,” he mused.

I ignored this remark as I nudged his shoulder with mine. “Pfft, you know you want this,” I shot back, allowing my arm closest to him to flex, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by the blonde. “I could show you things you didn’t even know existed.”

Tanner took a step away to reach into the cupboard for a pan, and when he came back, he was standing even closer than before. Feeling the boy’s body move against me while he pounded the chicken practically sent me over the edge right there. What was it about a virgin?

“I’m sure the pleasure would be all yours,” he sang as he continued working.

Well, that was definitely true; I was a selfish lover and felt no shame in it. In response to this, I simply shrugged my shoulders. If I knew Tanner as well as I’d thought, he would take my silence as a declaration of defeat, which was exactly what I wanted.

“Besides,” he added, right on cue; it was as though he was taking a victory lap. “If I really wanted you, it would’ve happened already.”

That was all I needed to hear. I grabbed his upper arm, forcing him to turn towards me. His eyes were wide; I could almost see a hint of fear.

“Hey, I know you’re saving it for your little knight in shining armor,” I said, eyes piercing into his. “But you’ll come around, bro. And when you do, just know the invitation still stands.”

That was the last thing either of us said on the matter.

---

The room came back into focus slowly as I came down from the highest orgasm I think I’ve ever had. I was laying on my back, naked body tangled in my comforter, one hand behind my head as I looked up at the ceiling. For a while, all I could feel was my chest as it rose up and down.

I soon became conscious of Tanner’s body up against mine, his head resting on my shoulder as one of his fingers traced circles around my left nipple. My free arm was around him, fingers dancing lightly up and down his side.

That had been really good. Like, really good. Damn, why hadn’t I done this sooner?

I was aware of Tanner’s eyes pinpointed on my face, as though trying to read me. I kept my expression blank. I had no plans to say anything, so he spoke first.

“So… did you wanna do something this weekend?" His voice sounded hopeful, uncertain.

I suppressed a heavy sigh; I knew this would happen. It always did with virgins; they mistook their lust for love and became dicknotized by the first guy to stick it in. I couldn’t say I blamed him; I was very good at what I did. But I couldn’t let this continue: I’d just end up breaking the poor kid’s heart. Normally I didn’t really give a shit, but Tanner was a good kid. And this was sort of my fault; I’d practically demanded he come here.

I made a mental note to stop having sex with my friends.

“Uh, maybe,” I replied at length. “I have a few things to do, but… yeah. Maybe.” Noncommittal was the best I could give him.

I looked over at the blonde, expecting to see a look of disappointment. I found it, but only for a fraction of a second before it was replaced by a sneer.

“Yeah, I guess your street corner won’t prowl itself.”

I chuckled; damn if this kid couldn’t make me laugh. That was part of what I liked about him; he wasn’t always in a joking mood, but when he was, it was a good time.

I felt his lips press against the corner of my mouth as I laughed and, when I looked up at him, he was smiling down on me in a way I don’t think I’d ever seen before.

Damn. This kid really liked me. And that sucked for him, cuz I was kind of a bastard.

I lifted my head up, returning the kiss quickly before letting my head fall back down to the pillow. I had to think carefully about this. I didn’t like to do a lot of thinking, but it was sort of necessary now. I liked Tanner a lot, but as a friend. And I was attracted to him, but then again I was attracted to a lot of people. He really seemed to like me, but I just wasn’t sure I could return that – and if I couldn’t, then I didn’t want to lead him on. He deserved better than that.

I raised a hand thoughtfully, allowing my fingers to run through his spiky blonde hair before trailing them down his cheek. He looked at me curiously. I bit my bottom lip.

But on the other hand, maybe a guy like Tanner could be good for me. He was smart, focused, driven. He could make me laugh, keep me grounded, and damn did I like to hear him groan as I thrust into him.

“We could go out to lunch on Sunday,” I offered. Kid’s eyes lit up like it was fucking Christmas. I still think it was the cutest thing I think I’ve ever seen.

I didn’t want to break his heart. Maybe I didn't have to.

[Tanner Larson]

((Gift fic for Lauren and Rae! This is kind of written in the style of film noir, so… read it that way XD Also, sorry I made Vincent way OOC, but I can’t write a good Vincent D: Enjoy!))

Any Other Way

So this was the House. La Maison Magnifique, as they called it. It sure as hell didn’t look French. The scent of stale liquor and musk permeated the air and made me want to gag. The seat beneath me wobbled from side to side like one of the legs was too short; the table upon which my drink sat had the same problem. The carpeting was dull and stained in several places; the stage looked worse for wear, and the curtains lining it probably hadn’t been cleaned in a decade.

Etre calme, mon coeur de battement.

I wasn’t really sure why I’d come that night. This was where Brendan worked, and I was trying to avoid him. But after haunting most of the bars in this one-horse town, I was in the mood for something different. Something to take my mind off things, if just for a while.

We had fought again that day: that was happening a lot. We were both stubborn as hell, and with our Type-A personalities, clashes were bound to happen. But this one had been pretty big, and it was my fault on top of it; I didn’t want to get into it, but I’d pushed him a bit too far and felt like a total ass for doing so. If I could make it up to him, I would. But I sucked at showing my affection: yeah, a kiss here or there or something was nice enough, but I needed something a bit more substantial this time.

A bit more magnifique, as it were.

The band had been playing something a bit jazzy when I’d entered, but as I took a sip of the dry martini I’d been nursing for several minutes, I noticed some blonde kid coming out onto the stage. His hair was spiked up like some goddamn nineties’ boy toy. Spotlight surrounded his face like a fucking halo. He had a scrawny body – like mine, I didn’t want to admit – decked out in a tight black tee shirt and jeans.

He was a pretty little thing. Not my type.

The music started and the lights went low. He started singing, and at first I listened without really watching him.

”I've been taking what you've given,
Now I'm thinkin' I've been livin'
The fantasy of your sweet smile.”

The crowd was egging him on with catcalls and whistles. I felt like I was in a fucking 1980’s strip club.

”Sad as blue and blue as only
You can cast the color on me;
Can you see my fire red?”

I let my eyes drift back towards the stage to see that he’d sunk to his knees; the audience was fucking eating it up. I had to admit, I could see why.

”Boy, you swallow truth like honey
As you spew your lies upon me,
Sweet and smooth as it goes down;
C'est La Vie.”

Kid was practically having a seizure onstage for how much his hips were moving. It was a bit much, but he had stage presence, I would give him that. Like I said, the crowd sure seemed to love it. Maybe there was something to this.

If I could do something like that, if I could perform like that for Brendan, maybe I could show him how I felt that way. Maybe he’d get me, be impressed with me or some shit. At any rate, I could be sexier than this.

The song wasn’t over before I got out of my seat and hurried out of the room, dropping a Hamilton on the wobbly table as I did so.

---

The scent of cigarette smoke hit me like a brick as I opened the door into Cynthia DeMato’s office. The sign on the door had said she had an open-door policy. That was good, because I had a no-knocking policy.

Seated on the other side of a large wooden desk of mahogany was a middle-aged woman, skin white as a ghost and pitch-black hair tied into a tight bun. She held a long cigarette holder in one hand, wisps of smoke pouring out through her nostrils as eyes looked down at a newspaper through frameless glasses.

So this was the Pilot Ridge Madame.

She looked up at me, a finely-trimmed eyebrow curving upwards as she brought the cigarette to her mouth. She said nothing, so I spoke first.

“Name’s Vincent,” I greeted confidently, helping myself to a seat in the chair positioned opposite her desk. “I was quite impressed with your performer just now.”

This seemed to pique the woman’s interest. “Tanner,” she stated, figuring a name was what I was after. It wasn’t. “He’s been with us a few months now.”

“I’d like to have a word with him.”

She leaned back in her seat, crossing one arm over her body as the hand holding her cigarette leaned outward. “Private meetings cost extra.”

I could tell she was joking, but I wasn’t looking for a laugh. I got up out of my seat, taking a step forward before leaning over the desk, two fists down on the tabletop.

“I’m a stubborn man, Ms. DeMato,” I said, my eyes piercing into her threateningly. She didn’t show it, but I could tell she was a bit intimidated. That had been the plan. “I would very much like to meet this… Tanner.”

She looked back down at her newspaper, apparently deciding our conversation was over. “He’ll be out back in twenty,” she said simply. That was all I needed to hear.

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

---

I was met with a chilly December wind as I exited La Maison Magnifique, my coat wrapped tightly around me. I made my way quickly down an alleyway around the perimeter of the nondescript brick building.

The backdoor opened just as I arrived there.

I leaned against the side of the building with one hand, making known my intention to block his way.

“You were good up there,” I offered.

“I don’t talk to strange men.” The response came so fast I developed the impression that this wasn’t the first time he had uttered those words.

“Then just listen,” I replied just as quickly; I had no time to make long stories of this. “Look, you’re good at the whole performing thing. I have someone I want to impress. You must know what that’s like.”

The blonde looked away thoughtfully before returning my gaze, but said nothing. I took that as a cue to continue.

“I don’t like asking for help,” I admitted. “But if you could show me a few moves and help me do a little number for that someone, I’d… be grateful.” I wasn’t going to promise anything in return; I was pretty selfish and figured I’d own up to that upfront.

Tanner seemed to look around as though considering. “Yeah, I’ll help you,” he said, his voice light and airy, just above a whisper.

I smiled; this was falling into place easier than I had anticipated. “So when do our lessons start?” I asked facetiously.

“Right now.”

---

The kid’s apartment was a mess. I wasn’t exactly neurotic, but at least I knew how to clean up for company. His living room was littered with sheet music, letters of some nature, and empty beer bottles.

“Sit,” he said, taking a moment to toss his wallet and keys onto the table by the door. There was a couch right there, so I obliged. The whole situation was somewhat odd: here I was sitting in this guy’s living room, and he didn’t even know my name. But if the end result was making something special for Bren, then the awkwardness would be worth it.

Suffice it to say I wouldn’t be telling him I went home with one of the performers.

“I can’t teach you how to sing,” he called behind him as he went into the bathroom. When he emerged, his face was wet; I assumed he had just washed off his stage makeup.

“I don’t need you to,” I responded. I wasn’t a great singer by any stretch of the imagination, but I was good enough to get the point across.

The blonde walked right up to me, standing by my knees. “So then let me guess,” he began, allowing himself to crawl into my lap, pushing my shoulders against the back cushion. “You want me to teach you how to be sexy.” He played with my collar thoughtfully. “But what do I get in return?”

I placed my hands on his sides, gently pushing him off. “The only thing I want to give you is a sandwich,” I stated evenly, crossing my arms in front of my chest: might as well make my intentions clear right away.

He rolled his eyes, climbing off of me. “I was making a point,” he explained, turning away from me for a moment. “Did you notice how I climbed onto you without breaking eye contact? How I was able to push you back without using force? That’s the power of sex appeal.”

I suppose I saw what he was saying. “Well, nobody questions your sex appeal,” I offered. “But I need you to teach me how to have stage presence; how to make someone want to watch me.” There was no sense of getting up on some stage and singing if I wouldn’t be able to hold Bren’s attention.

“It’s the same thing,” Tanner protested, turning back towards me. “I’m the best singer at the House, but that’s not why they’re cheering. Stage presence is just your ability to make every single person there feel like they’re the only one you’re singing to. And to do that, you need sex appeal.”

I couldn’t help but smile at these words; if I could do that, then maybe I would really get somewhere.

He must have noticed my smile, because he leaned over me, hands on his hips. “I’ll teach you everything I know,” he said, “and I’ll make sure you can put on a show.” He reached a hand out, allowing a finger to touch my lips as though urging me to keep some unknown secret. “You just leave the rest to me.”

---

I’d never been onstage before, and as I looked out at all of the empty chairs, I couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous. That wasn’t something I often felt.

It was Saturday morning, a time Brendan was expected to show up at the House and help build new stage pieces for the next week’s performances. I had left our apartment before he had woken up; he was probably wondering where I was. Things had been tense for the past week since we’d had that big fight. I still hadn’t apologized; I was waiting for today.

There were a few folks milling about, cleaning tables and getting ready for that night’s show. This was just as well, as I wasn’t hoping for any sort of crowd: this song was just for one person.

When Brendan walked in and saw me standing onstage behind the mic stand, the look on his face was absolutely priceless. But the music began before I could say anything by way of explanation. So I just sang.

”I hate the world today;
You’re so good to me, I know,
But I can’t change;
Tried to tell you
But you look at me like maybe I’m an angel underneath,
Innocent and sweet…”

I became vaguely aware of a spotlight clouding my view. Boy, Tanner sure pulled out all the stops on this one. Had the whole freaking staff working for me, or so it seemed. I closed my eyes, trying to focus on what he had told me about swaying my hips to the rhythm. When the chorus came, I opened my eyes and found Bren standing in the back of the room, gazing up at me like there was nothing else in the world.

“I’m a bitch, I’m a lover,
I’m a child, I’m a mother,
I’m a sinner, I’m a saint;
I do not feel ashamed;
I’m your hell, I’m your dream,
I’m nothin’ in between;
You know you wouldn’t want it any other way.”

When the song was over, I hopped offstage as fast as I could, ignoring the smattering of applause from the lingering group. My little blonde tutor was upon me as soon as I hit the floor.

“Good job, kid,” he greeted with a wink. “I think it worked.” He must have been looking.

I couldn’t help but smile. “That was fucking awesome,” I replied. “I owe it all to you.”

“It was my pleasure.”

“Why did you help me, anyway?” I had to admit I was curious; it wasn’t like I had offered him anything in return.

“Because you were right,” he said almost immediately; he must have been expecting the question. “There was someone I wanted to impress. But I never got the chance.” We both turned at the same time to see Bren weaving his way quickly through the rows of tables towards us.

“Don’t fuck up,” I heard Tanner say, touching me on the shoulder as he drifted away.

Brendan practically tackled me to the ground.

“That was freaking amazing!” He exclaimed excitedly, arms wrapped tightly around me. “I can’t believe you did all that.”

I was grinning. “Well, I wanted to do something special for you.” I looked down at the ground despite my usual over-confidence. “I’m sorry we fought.”

The brunette kissed me on the cheek. “I’m sorry, too,” he said, taking one of my hands into his own. “Look, it’s never gonna be perfect, but we’ll make it work. I know we can.”

I smiled, looking back up at him. “Hey, that was the point of the song, right?”

He exploded into a bright smile, pulling me in for a strong, fervent kiss.

“I knew beneath those snakebites and all that eyeliner, there was just a big ol’ sap,” he laughed, tousling my fringe with one of his hands.

I smirked, wrapping my arms around him and pulling him in close. “And you wouldn’t want it any other way.”

[Tanner Larson]

((Gift fic for Trix! Note that this uses short!Lucah, since I like him better that way hahaha. Also, I’m basing the song selection off this particular performance, except… with piano instead of guitar XD. Enjoy!))

When You Walk Away

“I wasn’t sure you’d come.”

The boy standing before me was looking down at his shoes, eyes refusing to meet mine. Raven hair was tossed to the side by the wind; a black sweatshirt covered his upper body, and pale hands were stuffed into its pockets. As he breathed quietly, I could see the condensation exiting through his nostrils.

“I wasn’t going to.”

This didn’t surprise me; after all, he had been avoiding me all week, and when I left a note on his bench earlier that day asking him to meet me outside of the club that night, I had known even then that it was a leap of faith. But then, here we were, standing in the alleyway around the back of La Maison Magnifique. Surrounding us were two walls of dulled brick, the color of rust only interrupted by a grey door that led into the backstage area of the House. The December evening was quiet, save for the occasional sound of a car speeding by or a few people’s idle chatter as they strolled past the alley down the sidewalk. It was an unusually chilly night, and while this didn’t affect me, I could tell he was a bit cold. I resisted the instinctual urge to embrace him.

“So what made you change your mind?”

It was then that he looked up at me, icy blue eyes piercing into mine. I could see the creases of a frown on his face, a furrowed brow wrinkling his forehead. In that moment, he looked every bit as uncertain as the first time I had laid my eyes on him.

---

The House was a flurry of activity that morning. Sunday’s usually were, for that was when the performers got their assignments for the next weekend, the crew began constructing new sets, and the staff scrubbed the place down floor to ceiling. I enjoyed the busy atmosphere.

I had been performing at La Maison Magnifique for several months now, and by this time, I had made several friends among my fellow cast members. As I walked into the main hall, littered with tables and chairs and scattered with folks milling about in anticipation of the weekly Sunday meeting, I spotted two of said acquaintances standing over by the stage.

Approaching them, I discovered that they both seemed to have their eyes on something. Following their gaze, I saw a boy with whom I was unfamiliar.

“Who is that?” I asked curiously as I joined them, eyes wide with wonder.

“New musician.” The response came in the sultry tones of Valerie Danner, one of the dancers at the House. She was one of my more recent friends, having met her through some of the other performers with whom I was better acquainted. The brunette was wearing a skimpy pink robe that didn’t cover very much; it looked like something out of a sleazy French film. She had likely been trying on costumes and hadn’t yet gotten re-dressed.

“Some Romanian transplant,” she added through a puff of smoke; dangling out of one hand was a half-consumed cigarette, and I watched her for a moment as she took another long drag before expelling the fumes into the air.

Feeling an arm come to rest on my shoulder, I turned towards Callie, whose eyes were still on the boy in question. Her free hand was up by her face, pointer finger twirling around one of her blonde curls.

“Ooh, I am gonna get me some o’ that,” she growled, puckering her lips in a kissy face the brunette did not notice.

At this, I could only blush. Well, he was certainly a handsome young man. He was standing by himself, arms crossed tightly in front of his chest as his eyes looked towards the ground. Nobody approached him. He looked sort of angry to me.

”Attention, s'il vous plait.”

The over-the-top faux accent of Cynthia DeMato, owner of La Maison Magnifique, brought all side conversations to a halt as our eyes collectively moved to center stage; such was the respect she commanded in her establishment. The woman wore a jet black trench coat that fell past her knees with black heels and large, tinted sunglasses completing the outfit. Her black hair was teased up into a tight bun behind her face, topped with a small black hat. Ruby red lipstick contrasted strikingly with her fair complexion.

Always was she a vision of aesthetic perfection.

“Thank you all for showing up,” she began, pacing the length of the stage’s dulled edge. “I’ll be handing out performance schedules in a moment, but first it is my divine pleasure to welcome to the family our new piano accompanist, Lucah Ivaskov.” She gestured toward him, and I looked around wondering if we were supposed to applaud or something. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him give a somewhat curt nod to the assembled group. Now that I had gotten a better look at him, I realized he didn’t look angry: he looked nervous.

“Lucah is from Romania,” Cynthia continued, over-pronouncing the name, “and we are very excited to have him with us. Now, onto our assignments.”

Ten minutes later, I was standing by myself in the main hall, looking over the sheet of paper I had been given. Scanning the list for my name, I found it towards the bottom.

Tanner Larson: Utada, “Simple and Clean” (Acc. Lucah Ivaskov)

That was odd; I was usually accompanied by the entire band or, even more commonly, previously recorded music being pumped in through speakers. I wasn’t sure how comfortable I felt performing such a stripped-down number, particularly with a pianist with whom I’d never before performed.

As if on cue, I heard Cynthia’s heels clicking towards me.

“Tanner, I am so excited for this,” she called enthusiastically, waving her own copy of the assignment sheet in one of her hands. Her sunglasses had been lifted up off her face, and her brown eyes were wide with glee. “It’s gonna be real bare-bones, just you and the piano. I’m gonna move the ol’ baby grand onto the stage, get you sittin’ up there while he’s playing – ooh!” It was unscripted moments like this where the woman’s Italian American background really showed.

I smiled politely, though I was still unconvinced. “Are you sure?” I had to ask, trying to make the question sound as objective as possible. “I mean, I’ve never performed with just a piano before…”

The Pilot Ridge Madame scoffed. “You can do it- hey, if anyone can do it, you can.” I was flattered by her confidence in me, even if I felt it to be a bit misguided.

As though sensing my unease, she gave me a light pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll set everything up. Why don’t you swing by tomorrow evening, I’ll have him do the same, and you’ll get to practicing.”

I simply nodded my head; it wasn’t like I was going to decline the offer.

“Perfect,” she sang as she turned to move away from me, calling out over her shoulder: “Oh and don’t worry about sitting on the piano; you ain’t that heavy. I do it all the time!”

That, I knew, was true.

---

The next day, when I strode back into the main hall for our first rehearsal, Lucah was already sitting at the piano. I hopped up onto the stage, shoving my insecurities into my back pocket as I approached the boy, acutely aware of the fact that a number of people were likely fairly jealous of this private session.

“Ah, hi,” I greeted, extending a hand towards the boy. “I’m Tanner.”

The raven looked up from his sheet music; his fair skin seemed to gleam under the stage lights. “Lucah,” he replied, taking my hand into his.

My eyes widened involuntarily; this boy’s skin was very cold, particularly relative to my own; judging by the boy’s furrowed brow as he looked down at his hand, he seemed to be having the same reaction.

“Uh, so…” I mumbled, opening up the book of sheet music I had been holding under my other arm. “We’re doing ‘Simple and Clean’ by… Yutada.”

“Ooh-tada,” the other male corrected. Well, sue me.

“Right,” I replied. We were clearly off to a great start. “Um, so do you wanna just kinda… jump right in?”

Lucah nodded, turning his attention back towards the piano. I moved to stand on the opposite side of the instrument so that I could watch him as he played and keep time. I decided against actually getting onto the piano now, instead choosing to concentrate solely on my vocals. As far as I saw it, there was still time to convince Cynthia to ditch that little detail.

Lucah began playing. It was a simple melody – the title had led me to assume as much - but quite pretty. The boy’s eyes slowly closed as he wove his way through the introduction, head bobbing from side to side gently with feeling as his fingers danced across the keys. No wonder Cynthia had hired him: watching him play was like witnessing an intricate yet finely-tuned dance.

I looked sharply away; I needed to focus. Taking a moment to quickly clear my throat, I started to sing.

”When you walk away,
You don't hear me say,
‘Please, oh baby, don't go.’
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight;
It's hard to let it go.”

Well, so far so good. The song was definitely within my vocal range, which was always a bit touch-and-go since I didn’t have any formal training. It also sounded really good with the piano. I was starting to think Cynthia had been onto something when she’d chosen this arrangement.

”You're giving me
Too many things, lately.
You're all I need;
You smiled at me, and said,”

It was during the pre-chorus that I became conscious of his eyes on me. I thought very little of this, though, figuring that he was just trying to keep time with my vocals. I had to admit that feeling his eyes on me made me feel somewhat strange, but I forced the frog in my throat back down to continue singing.

”’Don't get me wrong I love you,
But does that mean I have to meet your father?
When we are older you'll understand what I meant when I said, no,
I don't think life is quite that simple.’

When you walk a-”

I cut myself off, noticing that the music had stopped. I looked over at Lucah, wondering if perhaps I had done something wrong or he had lost his place. The deep, enigmatic stare I was met with caught me off-guard, and for a moment, I had no idea what to say. So I just looked back at him. It took me a few moments to notice that I was looking at him the same way he was looking at me – but once I made that realization, I knew what needed to be done.

“Come here.”

I had said the words softly, but firmly, and Lucah obeyed. He rose up off the piano bench without a sound, moving wordlessly toward me. Within seconds, he was in my arms.

My lips found his, hesitantly at first, but then pressing more confidently into him. His ice cold tongue invaded my mouth, exploring the area timidly as my hands trailed up his spine. The boy seemed to melt into my warm touch. For a brief moment, we were one.

And then he broke away; I didn’t even have time to reach out to him before he was out of my reach, racing down the stairs and out of the room, his sheet music still sitting on the piano.

I dropped my hand back down to my side, running the other irately through my hair as a stiff sigh escaped my lips. I looked around the room, which was now entirely empty, my eyes eventually falling to the piano. We hadn’t even gotten through the song once before I’d managed to completely ruin everything.

I licked my lips subconsciously. They were still cold.

---

“He just… left?”

It was Thursday afternoon, and I was sitting on the floor in Juniper’s room, the girl laying on top of her bed looking up at the ceiling. Her purple skirt spilled over the side of the bed; I was bouncing a little yellow ball I’d found absentmindedly. Her room was filled with all sorts of weird knick-knacks.

I sighed. “Yeah, no explanation or anything,” I added, catching the ball in my left hand before throwing it down again. “And I haven’t heard from him in three days. Either I’m a sucky kisser, or… I dunno.”

This suggestion was met with a silence that didn’t exactly fill me with confidence. I bounced the ball a couple of times just to hear something.

“Well… I mean, he’s new, right? Maybe he got freaked out.”

Bounce. “Freaked out?” I repeated, turning to look up at her quizzically.

The girl nodded. “Where did you say he was from? Romania? Maybe he’s new to this whole… guy thing.”

I caught the ball in my hands, keeping hold of it this time. That was an interesting proposition. “So, like, I was his first kiss?” I liked the sound of that.

“Well…” I could practically hear the eye roll in her voice. “Why don’t you try to talk to him about it?”

I nodded my head resolutely; I had already attempted to call him using the number Cynthia had given me, but I had never heard back. This time, I would do so in person. I sort of wished I had thought of that before the day of our performance, but what was done was done.

“I’ll try,” I declared. “I don’t know that he’ll let me, but I’ll try.” I stood, turning towards the girl as she looked up at me from her position on the bed. “Thanks, Juniper. I can always come to you for this sorta shit.”

Her lips spread into a grin.

“I live to serve.”

---

It was dark in the wing backstage at the House that night, as it usually was during shows. Still, I could make out the boy’s silhouette by the light of the stage lights pointed at the piano. Now wasn’t an ideal time – I was usually fairly nervous right before performing, and he was probably trying to focus – but I didn’t want to go on without having come to some sort of settlement. I made my way towards him filled with what I now recognize as naïve optimism.

“Hey-“

But he moved past me like a ghost, walking into the light of the House stage. I had waited too long: it was time to go on. Sighing heavily, I tried to shake the frustration away before moving onstage as well.

The lights dimmed as I arrived at center stage, and I noticed a stool sitting by the piano. I used it to climb gingerly onto the instrument, taking a casual seat on the lid, legs dangling over the side facing the audience. Lucah’s eyes never left the sheet music.

He started playing as the lights came back up. I tried not to let myself get lost watching him; I had to focus, since we were performing the entire second half of the song for the first time together. I wasn’t much a fan of improvisation, but I hadn’t been given a choice. As my part began, I looked out to the audience, choosing to address them instead.

”The daily things
That keep us all busy
Are confusing me;
That's when you came to me and said,

‘Wish I could prove I love you,
But does that mean I have to walk on water?
When we are older you'll understand it's enough when I say so,
And maybe, some things are that simple.’”

The chorus came, and I couldn’t help but let my eyes wander back toward the boy.

”When you walk away,
You don't hear me say,
‘Please, oh baby, don't go.’
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight;
It's hard to let it go.”

It occurred to me, somewhere in the deeper recess of my mind, that these words were relevant to me, and as I continued singing, he looked up to return my gaze; his cold blue eyes remained on me for the duration of the song.

”Hold me; whatever lies beyond this morning
Is a little later on.
Regardless of warnings
The future doesn't scare me at all;
Nothing's like before.”

When the song was finished, I nodded in recognition of the applause that rose up from the audience before quickly hopping back down off the piano and making my way offstage once more.

Cynthia was waiting for me in the wing as soon as I got there.

“That was fantastique!” She exclaimed, wrapping her arm firmly around me and leading me in the direction of her office. “Come, let’s chat.”

No. Now would have been the perfect time; I looked behind me as I was getting dragged off, hoping to catch a glimpse of Lucah, to see what he was thinking, anything. I couldn’t find him anywhere.

I would talk to him. I had to. I would find a way.

---

“Well?”

That was unlike me, but he hadn’t yet answered my question and I was growing impatient. I had waited too long to be denied now.

His eyebrows creased and his eyes narrowed just slightly, almost defiantly, as though to ask what right I had to demand an answer of him.

I sighed; I was doing that a lot lately. I had learned that he wasn’t much of a talker, but I had been hoping this would be a bit easier just the same. But if he wasn’t going to talk, then I would just have to do so myself.

“You know…” I hesitated for a moment, cramming my hands into my pockets self-consciously. He quirked an eyebrow. “It was my first kiss, too.”

That sure got his attention; the way his eyes widened to near dinner plate size was almost adorable. But still he remained silent, so I forced myself to continue.

“Look, I don’t really know much about all this… stuff,” I added vaguely, eyes not focusing on anything in particular. “I get the feeling you’re not exactly looking to rush into anything, either. But, I thought… well…” I trailed off; I wasn’t even sure what I was getting at.

“I guess I just surprised myself,” he replied, taking one gloved hand out of his pocket and running it through his hair. “I’m usually a bit more… in control.”

I smiled, taking a step towards him. “I am, too. I couldn’t really believe I had the courage to kiss you.” The boy laughed, color coming to his cheeks. “But I guess sometimes it can be fun to lose control.”

The brunette nodded. “Well, perhaps we can… play again together sometime.”

My smile grew. “I’d like that.”

It seemed like Lucah had decided to lose control again sooner than expected, as I felt his cool lips pressing against mine once more. I wrapped my arms instinctively around him, keeping him close as I allowed my lips to linger against his.

“You’re hot as hell,” I heard him mumble through our kiss, and it took me a moment to realize he meant it literally.

“You’re freezing,” I chuckled, rocking him back and forth playfully.

He beamed up at me. “Well, I guess opposites attract.”

I nodded in agreement before leaning in for more. ’And maybe, some things are that simple…’

[Tanner Larson]

((This was originally going to be my entry in this month's writing challenge. However, I never really liked how it came out, so I took it down from there and will keep it here instead.))



Together With You

“It’s a perfect day for a walk, isn’t it?”

Powdery snow crunched under the weight of a pair of beige sandals as Tanner made his way down the frosted sidewalk. Anyone else wearing such footwear after a three-inch snowfall would surely be considered mad; but with his abnormally high body temperature, it was only in the cold of winter that this boy felt truly comfortable. As it were, a tee shirt and khaki shorts were plenty to keep the young pyrokinetic warm on this chilly December day.

Downtown Pilot Ridge was decorated to the nines for the holiday season; entryways were lined with holly, doors were spotted with wreaths, and large banners announcing the greetings of the season zig-zagged across the main thoroughfare. All told, the neighborhood brought to mind the famous Christmas Village scenes of one’s youth.

“Everything looks so magical, doesn’t it?”

As the young man strolled down Main Street, speakers that weren’t quite visible pumped music into the street, gentle songs of the season encouraging shoppers to get into the holiday spirit. Said shoppers were largely absent, however, due to the recent snowstorm, and so these tunes were scarcely heard that day.

“Just hear those sleigh bells jingling,
Ring ting tingling too;
Come on, it's lovely weather
For a sleigh ride together with you…”

Tanner closed his eyes briefly, allowing the music to be the only thing he sensed. A content smile filled his features.

“Oh, Robbie, this song’s my favorite,” Tanner breathed, allowing his eyelids to slowly open as if awakening from a beautiful dream. “We used to sing this back home, before I came to Hammel. Don’t you love this song, Robbie?”

Reaching the edge of town, footsteps followed the sidewalk as it transitioned into a wide dirt path lined with spruce trees leading into the countryside. The path was covered in snow, no plow having traveled this far down the road since the snow stopped falling earlier that morning. This promenade would ultimately lead to the lake on the outskirts of Pilot Ridge. Tanner stuffed his hands into his pockets; his extremities did sometimes get a bit chilly if the temperature was cold enough. He didn’t even own a pair of gloves.

“I’m really happy you’re here with me,” he offered gingerly as a bench came into view on the side of the path. “I can’t imagine spending a day like this with anyone else.”

Robbie didn’t respond. He never did.

Tanner didn’t quite recall when he started imagining Robbie’s presence. Not long after the last time he had seen the weather manipulator, he assumed. That was over a year ago.

He had realized at the time that they were hurtling towards some indeterminate end, that the train was speeding down the tracks, having lost control, and was coming into the station too hot. But he was cocky – stubborn, really – and had refused to believe that anything but true love would reward his efforts. So forward he pushed, and it wasn’t until Robbie told him he was leaving for good that Tanner understood that sometimes, events were simply beyond one’s control.

Their first kiss had been magical. It had been spontaneous, heated, and completely unexpected by either one.

Looking back, it seemed so obvious: seated so close to one another, Robbie’s head on Tanner’s shoulder, a textbook neither boy was reading nestled between their knees. Tanner had been in the middle of explaining something uninteresting when he felt the other boy’s hand gently come to rest on his thigh. He fell silent. Robbie looked up, and their eyes locked.

When the textbook hit the floor, they were already on top of each other.

It was a whirlwind romance from there. Wasn’t all young love? The boys were inseparable from the start. They ate together, studied together, slept together, and fucked like the world was ending. Robbie professed his love daily; Tanner always made him say it once more. Their jokes about eloping were becoming less and less facetious. The individuals had ceased to exist; they were simply Tanner and Robbie.

But just as the blossoming flower is destined to succumb to the winter frost, so too was their love ill-fated from the beginning.

Their obsessive personalities led to codependency. They knew they were losing themselves. Tanner threw himself willingly, hungrily over the cliff. But Robbie, faced with the demise of his own individuality, broke free, let go, and ran off. Even as he watched him leave, Tanner didn’t believe it was happening. He didn’t for a while. And when he finally realized his Robbie would never return to him, he fell to his knees and screamed louder than he ever had before.

The pain had been unbearable and unrelenting. Eventually, Tanner had decided he couldn’t take it anymore, and so he retreated into his mind – into an alternate reality in which Robbie never left, his heart never broke, and Tanner was truly happy. In this reality, he needed nobody, for Robbie was all he ever wanted. He lost touch with his friends one by one, letting them slip away with the time.

Kiara called one day. Tanner didn’t pick up.

At first, it was a simple longing. He would pretend Robbie was sitting beside him as he read, or hug his pillow close as he slept like it was another man’s body.

It was this magical thinking that led him down a more perilous path.

Deep down inside, Tanner knew that he was alone, that Robbie wasn’t really with him. But he obsessively pursued the idea, willing himself to believe that if he could just talk enough, maybe the other blonde would hear him. Maybe he would say something back, an acknowledgement, an encouragement, anything. He would try a thousand years if he had to.

Eventually, it became routine. Tanner would speak to him no matter where he was; in his dorm room alone, at the supermarket, in class. He had never cared what the other students thought of him, so when they started staring at him like he was crazy, it didn’t dissuade him. What did they know of love?

He enjoyed taking long walks like this, where he could be more or less alone with his thoughts, with his Robbie. He could say anything and, having nobody to give a real response, hear in return exactly what he wanted. It was the ideal. He took strolls of this nature every weekend, reveling in his own chimerical company, in his absent companionship. He lost himself, and it was okay. He didn’t need finding, because he wasn’t lost alone.

A large pasture now stretched out before him, a field of pure, blanketed white leading to the lake now frozen over. Tanner took to the field, allowing his footsteps to stain the blank canvas. As he neared the lake’s edge, he could see a pair of footsteps beside his own, could hear that beautiful boy’s gentle laughter, could feel his gloved hands push him playfully into the snow - could absolutely believe his fervent professions of eternal love.

Tanner sank down like a boulder, bare knees hitting the snow as his hands came up to claw desperately at his face. This was not the first time he was ever gripped so suddenly by overwhelming despair, tears falling from his eyes like so many raindrops down from the darkened heavens. He let them flow, for he knew no cure. There was no healing a broken heart.

“It’s been really hard,” he managed between sobs, eyes squeezing tightly shut, head shaking back and forth. “I’m just still not over you.”

It was several minutes before the tears subsided, before he could force his body to stop quaking. Finding no tissue in his pocket, he sniffed deeply, shuttering involuntarily as he allowed his arms to wrap around his own body.

As he sat there in the field regaining control, not a sound permeating the atmosphere, it started to snow once more. The boy looked up, blinking quickly to shield his eyes from the snowflakes as they drifted gently towards the ground. The snow, as it brushed against his skin, felt strangely cleansing, as though the crystalized precipitation could almost wash away the blemishes of the past. He squinted; the sky above him was so, so bright.

A snowflake hit his nose like an epiphany. He looked down from the sky as though returning to earth after a long time gone. The world was big and beautiful. He was missing it, wrapped up in his own delusions. He had given up everything for someone to share his life with, but had left himself with nothing to share.

And he laughed at this revelation, because he simply did not know what to do with himself. He laughed, knowing he laughed alone. But maybe he could grow to be comfortable being alone.

Finally rising from his place on the ground, Tanner sniffed one last time, hands finding their way back into his pockets.

“Thank you for keeping me company today,” he said, shrugging his shoulders deeply as his eyes hit the ground. “I think I’ll be okay one day.”

He looked up from the ground and gazed across the lake. Surveying the frozen landscape, the boy managed to conjure up a smile. All was still; all was quiet.

[Tanner Larson]

((Is this canon? I don't even know. I want it to be, but I guess that's not really up to me XD Enjoy!))

Happy Ending

When Tanner asked Robbie to attend his performance the following evening, the blonde was stunned; hadn’t he just said they should spend time apart? The confusion was evident on his face, but Tanner had already turned away from him. At his request that he bring Danicca with him, Robbie could only nod; he wasn’t sure whether that was a good idea, especially given the rather heated kiss they had just shared. But if that was Tanner’s ‘last wish,’ so to speak, then he would do everything in his power to make it happen.

Tanner, for his part, had resolved to give Robbie the best gift he could. The way he saw it, it was owed, not just because Robbie had given him a present already, but because he had given him a really great day on top of it. It was a day the blonde pyrokinetic would not soon be forgetting.

Settling back down onto his bed, the boy reached for the bag Robbie had given him earlier in the day. Opening it rather excitedly, he took out a snowglobe – typical Robbie – and a package that was wrapped up in bright green wrapping paper. Tearing into the paper, he found folded up within an apron that, once unfolded, read in bright orange letters, “The food is not the only thing on fire.” This made him smile – Robbie had clearly put some thought into this – and he hugged it tightly to his chest. He would wear it every time he cooked.

But for now, he had work to do.

---

THWAP!

The sound of a packet of paper being smacked down onto her desk made Cynthia DeMato look up from her notes. One eyebrow arched, she lifted her head up to peer through frameless glasses at the source of this noise.

“Tanner,” she greeted, offering him a seat that he did not take. “What’s up?”

The boy had a hand on either side of his waist, looking like he was determined to make something happen. “I want to sing this,” he said, pushing the paper into the woman’s hands. “Tonight.”

“Tonight?” repeated the Pilot Ridge Madame, picking up the paper and looking it over. His performances for that weekend had already been decided and rehearsed, but she supposed she could make some adjustments if he had his heart set on something new. “That shouldn’t be a problem,” she added as she looked over the music.

The boy leaned in, two fists planting themselves on her mahogany desk. “No,” he protested softly, “I mean really sing this.”

Cynthia smiled. She knew exactly what he meant.

“Then it sounds like we have some work to do.”

---

It was a rather frigid evening that Danicca Waylan arrived at La Maison Magnifique, slim figure wrapped in a dark purple pea coat that was unfortunately doing very little to keep out the chill. She looked skeptically up at the building’s undistinguished brick façade, nose crinkling a little bit as she stepped under the awning; she had heard of this place before, had never gone inside, and had until that day had no intention of ever doing so.

But Robbie had asked her there. She had questioned him, but he had answered all of her inquiries a bit enigmatically. Finally he had admitted to her that he didn’t really know why they were going, but that it was extremely important for her to be there. So she had agreed.

She was met at the door by a rather burly man who stood more than a foot taller than she. She looked up at him rather hesitantly. “Um, I’m not really… allowed in?” she began awkwardly, immediately questioning in her mind why she had openly admitted to that. It was true, though: she wasn’t eighteen, and she certainly wasn’t twenty-one.

The man looked down at the clipboard grasped in one of his bear-like hands, scanning the attached paper with a pudgy finger. “You Danicca Waylan?” He asked, looking down at her suspiciously.

That surprised Dani. “Yeah,” she responded with a nod. The man stepped aside, swinging an arm behind him as though gesturing for her to go inside. “Uh, thanks…” she replied meekly as she scampered past him.

Five seconds at the House, and she was already feeling like this was the weirdest thing ever.

Looking around the main hall – a large room anchored by a bar by the door and filled with tables and chairs angled towards a large stage at its front – it took Dani only a few seconds to spot Robbie sitting at one of the tables close to the stage. He stood out; most of the people there were women.

“Robbie!” She called as she approached him, sitting down in the seat beside him.

“Dani,” he replied, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for coming.” He looked somewhat nervous about something.

The girl smiled, but in a manner most confused. “What’s going on, anyway?” She asked, not aggressively but curiously. “This isn’t exactly one of my usual haunts…”

“I know, I know,” the boy replied quickly. “Um, there’s something that I wanted you to see.”

“What is it?”

“I… don’t know, exactly.”

Dani laughed. “Okay, so we’re off to a great start,” she quipped. Assuming the glass by her place was for her, she took a sip, wincing as the alcohol burned its way down her throat. “Hoo boy,” she reacted with a laugh. “What exactly did you get me?”

Robbie blushed. “Uh, someone brought these over as soon as I sat down,” he replied with a shrug, gesturing towards his own, which was half empty.

Dani looked around the room. “Why do I feel like I’m in one of those hidden camera shows?” She wondered aloud with another laugh. “This is so unreal…”

Suddenly, the lights sent down. A few moments later, they came back up on the stage, and a young blonde was sitting on the grand piano situated at center stage.

“That’s him!” Robbie whispered excitedly, leaning over to his girlfriend.

“What?” She asked, refocusing her gaze on the stage. “Who’s him?”

Robbie was looking up at the other boy, smiling proudly. “My friend Tanner,” he said simply.

The man who was sitting at the piano on a small black bench began playing, and the lights dimmed once more so that Tanner alone was captured in a soft, yellow spotlight. As usual, a few of the more inebriated women in the audience were cheering for him, but most others were watching with quiet interest.

“There’s someone here tonight whom I owe a gift to,” Tanner said into the microphone he was holding in one of his hands as the pianist winded his way through an introductory piece; the blonde wasn’t looking anywhere in particular as he said this, but the statement elicited a few more cheers. “I hope that… this will do the trick.” Sitting up where he was seated on the piano, he began to sing.

”The smell of your skin lingers on me now.
You're probably on your flight back to your home town.
I need some shelter of my own protection baby;
To be with myself and center:
Clarity, Peace, Serenity…

I hope you know, I hope you know
That this has nothing to do with you;
It's personal, myself and I,
We've got some straightenin' out to do.
And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket,
But I've got to get a move on with my life.
It's time to be a big girl now,
And big girls don't cry.”

Dani looked over at her boyfriend in wonder; he was absolutely enraptured by the performance, eyes glued to the boy on stage in front of him. Subconsciously, and without letting his eyes tear themselves away, he reached over to Dani and took her hand into his own, squeezing it tightly.

Tanner, for his part, had his eyes closed, having lost himself fully in the music. There was a smile on his face that the audience wouldn’t recognize as manufactured, and his free hand came up to his chest as he continued singing.

“The path that I'm walking I must go alone;
I must take the baby steps 'til I'm full grown.
Fairytales don't always have a happy ending, do they?
And I foresee the dark ahead, if I stay…

I hope you know, I hope you know
That this has nothing to do with you;
It's personal, myself and I,
We've got some straightenin' out to do.
And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket,
But I've got to get a move on with my life.
It's time to be a big girl now,
And big girls don't cry.”

As the second chorus was finished, Robbie allowed himself to turn away from the stage, looking over at Dani, who was still looking at him. I love you, he mouthed, not wanting to interrupt the song. So much.

”Like the little school mate in the school yard,
We'll play jacks and uno cards;
I'll be your best friend and you'll be my Valentine.
Yes, you can hold my hand if you want to,
'Cause I want to hold yours too.
We'll be playmates and lovers and share our secret worlds.
But it's time for me to go home;
It's getting late, dark outside.
I need to be with myself and center:
Clarity, Peace, Serenity…

I hope you know, I hope you know
That this has nothing to do with you;
It's personal, myself and I,
We've got some straightenin' out to do.
And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket,
But I've got to get a move on with my life.
It's time to be a big girl now,
And big girls don't cry.”

As the song finished, Tanner hopped gracefully off the piano, planting his feet firmly on the stage floor; it had taken him a while to learn how to do that without making it look like a freefall. Taking a deep bow as a chorus of cheers rose up to greet him, he headed very quickly offstage.

“Tanner!” Cynthia was standing backstage, fingers intertwined under her chin as she watched him singing from the wing. They had spent all day working on the vocals, the style, and the emoting, and she was extremely pleased with her handiwork. “That was beaut-“

But before she could finish her compliment, the blonde had pushed past her, all but tossing the mic at a stagehand as he shot like a bullet out of the wing and into the backstage hallway. The woman followed him and, due to the greater length of her stride, ultimately caught up with him.

“Hey,” she called, placing a delicate hand on his shoulder. “You okay?”

Tanner turned around, and when he did so, she saw that he was crying. He was every bit as surprised as she was.

Without another thought, Cynthia brought the boy into a tight embrace. “Hey now,” she said, having temporarily dropped her faux French accent. “You’re okay.” She rubbed his back with one of her hands comfortingly. “More than okay.”

Tanner wasn’t so sure he was okay: not just yet, but he would be. Someday soon. He just needed a little more time getting there.

---

Robbie and Dani had left the House shortly after Tanner’s performance, and for a few blocks as they walked back to Dani’s dorm, both were quiet. Finally, it was Dani who broke the silence.

“So,” she offered, feeling inexplicably uneasy at the moment. “Hey, your friend is really talented.”

Robbie nodded. “Yeah, he is,” he agreed, a small smile coming to his face; he was proud of the boy, that was for sure.

“So…” Dani shook her head, there being a question on her mind that she wasn’t exactly sure how to phrase. “Why had he wanted you to see that?” Why had he wanted me to see that? she added to herself.

Robbie sighed, knowing this question was coming but still having come up with no adequate response. “Dani, listen,” he began, taking her hand to stop them both in their tracks. “Things have been kind of weird between us for a while. Tanner and me, I mean. I don’t really understand everything, but…” he sighed a second time, becoming a bit frustrated with his inability to articulate what he was feeling. “I love you, Dani, and that never changed. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” He pulled her into a warm hug. “Thank you so much. For everything.”

Dani shook her head. “Robbie, you’re the best,” she said simply with a bright smile. “You’re an amazing boyfriend and, from what little I’ve seen, a really good friend, too.”

The blonde smiled, somewhat sadly. “I hope so,” he replied.

The girl nodded reassuringly as they both resumed walking back towards campus, hand in hand. She had a feeling that there were some things she would never quite know or fully understand, but she was okay with that. Not everything in life was perfect; not every fairytale had a happy ending.

[Tanner Larson]

((Mature themes, though not in explicit detail. Enjoy!))

Eat You Up

The sound of laughter could be heard echoing down the hallway. Tanner Larson and Zachary LaRousse were the source of this laughter, as the two boys stumbled through the dorms in the general direction of Zac’s room.

The pair had spent the evening at one of Zac’s friend’s dorms, where a rather raucous party was going on. It was Tanner’s first college party, and Zac had insisted on bringing him to one while he was visiting Harvard University for the weekend. The initial purpose of the trip was to allow Tanner to see what college classes were like, but the mimic had wanted to make sure he got the full college experience, so off they had gone.

It was two o’ clock on Saturday morning that the two boys found themselves unlocking the door into Zac’s room, and when they arrived inside, Tanner had to lean against one of the walls for support.

“Hoo, boy,” he managed through laughs. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt quite like this before.”

Zac rolled his eyes. “Even when you’re drunk you sound like a nerd,” he retorted as he stripped his jacket off.

Tanner replied with a wide yawn. “Well, I think it’s bedtime, anyway,” he stated, making his way through the living room over to the loveseat that sat against one of the walls. “This thing’s too short for me,” he observed, practically collapsing down onto it as he kicked his shoes off.

Zac scoffed. “You’re not sleeping on the couch, fag,” he replied, standing over the boy.

A blonde eyebrow was arched. “Whaddaya mean?”

Zac threw his hands into the air. “Fuck, you need a goddamn invitation? You’re sleeping in my bed.” He shrugged his shoulders, moving towards his bedroom. “Besides, I don’t have an air mattress or anything.”

Tanner laughed. “That’ll be the day,” he replied, eventually managing to stand up. “No way I’m sleeping in your bed, I’ll probably wake up with you… molesting me or somethin’.”

Now it was Zac’s turn to laugh. “Yeah, I’m sure you’d really hate that,” he replied, turning back towards the blonde. “Like you don’t want this,” he added, flexing one of his arms ostentatiously.

Tanner was always impressed by the boy’s physique; he looked pretty skinny, but he was actually rather buff, and he envied that. However, he would never admit such a thing out loud. “I don’t know what gave you that idea,” he replied haughtily, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “’Sides, I see the way you look at me. I’m probably the finest thing that’s ever been in this room.”

Zac was in his bedroom by now. “You tell yourself that, kid,” he replied simply from the other room, taking his shirt off and tossing it into the hamper. “Now you comin’ to bed or what?”

“Dude, I’d rather sleep on the floor.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Zac reappeared in the doorway separating his bedroom from the living room. He had a smile on his face that Tanner couldn’t quite read. “Well if you’re gonna sleep on the floor like a dog, then I’m gonna treat you like a dog,” he stated evenly, before disappearing back into his bedroom.

This statement left Tanner justifiably perplexed, and he briskly followed Zac into the bedroom. “Wh-what do you mean?” He asked.

As he crossed the threshold, he heard the door close behind him. When he turned around in place, Zac was up against him. He turned Tanner around to face the mirror on the opposite wall. The blonde watched as Zac produced in his hands a black leather collar, which he began fastening expertly to the blonde’s neck.

“Uh, Zac? What are you doing?” He asked; he could see in the mirror his own confused expression, and Zac leaning in to whisper into his ear.

“For the rest of this weekend, you belong to me,” he said through a sly grin, buckling the collar just above the boy’s collar bone. “I own you.”

The mimic bit down firmly on the skin of Tanner’s neck just above where the collar had been clasped; the blonde swooned, eyes rolling to the back of his head as he leaned back into Zac’s grip.

“You’ll do as I say,” Zac continued, wrapping his powerful, bare arms around the blonde’s slender waist. “You’ll give me what I want, when I want it.” He chuckled lowly, brushing his lips across the boy’s ear, causing Tanner to shudder involuntarily. “You got that?”

Tanner looked back into the mirror; Zac was looking at him like he was about to eat him alive. A goofy grin spread across Tanner’s face.

“Yes, master.”

[Tanner Larson]

((Fic for Tyler! A bit mature.))

Set Me Free

Tanner Larson slammed the door behind him, stepping huffily into his dorm’s common space. It was not long after he collapsed exhaustedly onto the loveseat that the same door opened once more.

“Uh, I think you forgot I was behind you,” came the meek voice of Michael Arceneaux. The brunette gave a nervous laugh, remaining in the doorway and eyeing the other boy cautiously.

Tanner folded his arms tightly across his chest, glaring at the television; he refused to make eye contact with the other boy. “No, I remembered,” he responded simply, voice low.

Michael rolled his eyes, letting a deep sigh escape his throat. “Look, Tanner, I’m sorry, okay?” He asked, taking a few steps towards the boy. “It’s not like it was intentional.”

Tanner replied through a clenched jaw. “I’ve never been so humiliated in my entire life,” he growled, ignoring the boy’s apology. “How could you do that to me, and in the middle of the freaking mall? Do you have any idea how many people saw us like that?”

In spite of how clearly angry his roommate was, Michael could not help but chuckle. “Dude, come on, it was an accident,” he pleaded. “You gotta admit, it was kinda funny…”

“Uh, no, it wasn’t,” the blonde protested, rising up again from the couch and moving towards the other boy. “It was horrifying. How the hell do you still not have control over your power?” He asked, jabbing the boy in the chest with one of his pointer fingers. “To be stuck against you for ten whole minutes was… mortifying!”

The brunette grinned; this only made Tanner frown more deeply.

“You are making this up to me… so hard,” the blonde stated. “I don’t know how, but I’m gonna think of something really bad.”

Such a statement only served to spread Michael’s grin further; he could think of a million favors he would be all too happy to do for Tanner. “That a promise?” He asked.

Tanner’s brow furrowed; he knew exactly what the other boy was getting at, but he wasn’t in the mood to joke. “Yes,” he replied simply, turning away from the boy and moving towards his own bedroom. “Jesus Christ, I’ll never be able to go to that mall again,” he muttered, mostly to himself.

Michael watched Tanner as he walked away, eyes falling to the boy’s jeaned butt. Subconsciously licking his lips, he decided he had nothing left to lose; he was already in his dormmate’s doghouse.

“I know how I can make it up to you,” he offered, one eyebrow arched high on his forehead. This would provide for an interesting experiment.

Taking the bait, Tanner stopped in his tracks and turned back towards the other male. “That so?” He asked, arms crossing once more. “How?”

With a small smile, Michael watched as Tanner, for the second time that day, came flying towards him.

“Not funny, Michael[/b].”

The boy’s arms wrapped themselves loosely around Tanner’s captive waist. “Come on,” he cooed, “not even in the privacy of our own room?”

Tanner looked down, face blushing a furious shade of red. “Especially not in the privacy of our own room,” he protested. Placing his hands on the boy’s chest, he attempted not to notice the boy’s defined pectoral muscles flexing under his touch as he pushed himself away. “Very cute. Now let me go.”

Michael obeyed, if reluctantly, the smile still painted on his face. “With pleasure,” he replied, but it wasn’t long after the blonde had turned away from him to retreat to his bedroom that Michael was pulling him back in again, this time pulling him in backwards.

“Michael!”

The brunette laughed playfully, letting his arms slink back around the boy’s waist. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this…” he teased, allowing his chin to rest on the boy’s shoulder.

Now it was Tanner’s turn to roll his eyes; he was facing away from Michael, the boy’s hands clasped together by his belt. He could feel the boy’s warm breath on his ear. After a moment, he realized that wasn’t all he felt; his eyes went wide.

“Michael! I can feel that!”

“Oops.”

It was no accident, though; Michael couldn’t help how he saw Tanner, and the fact that the boy’s butt was currently pressed up against his front certainly didn’t alleviate the situation. He couldn’t see Tanner’s face, but he could only assume it was a deep shade of red at this point.

“Something wrong?” He teased, rocking the boy gently back and forth, a shit-eating grin on his face; he knew this was driving the boy up a wall.

The blonde squirmed in Michael’s grasp. “Michael, this isn’t how-“ he cut himself off, giving a deep sigh. “Let me go.”

Michael could take a hint, smile falling just slightly. “Okay, I’ll let you go,” he said softly into the boy’s ear. “And if you don’t come back on your own, then I’ll never bother you again.”

It was with this confidence that Michael dropped his gravitational pull, allowing Tanner to pry himself away from his roommate. “I’ll see you later,” he mumbled quickly before darting in the direction of his room. But halfway there, the blonde stopped himself again, turning slowly back towards the other boy.

Michael was standing there, in the middle of the common space, one hand on each hip, looking hopefully at the other boy.

For a moment, they just looked at one another, as though sizing each other up or imagining a host of potential outcomes.

It was Tanner who made the first move.

Their lips met with such force that Tanner wasn’t sure whether it was Michael’s gravity, or his own lustful urges. Michael wrapped his arms around the boy’s waist for a third time, and this time, Tanner arched his back in response. They stood like this for a time, their lips pressed against each other just as their bodies were., one of Michael’s hands trailing up Tanner’s back to come to rest on the back of his head.

After a few moments, Tanner opened his lips, allowing Michael to push his tongue in. They explored one another’s mouths in this manner for several minutes, their hands wandering up and down each other’s bodies as the heated kiss continued.

Michael broke away first, allowing his lips to leave delicate kisses across Tanner’s cheekbone and up to his ear. The blonde shuddered involuntarily under these expert touches.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment since I first laid eyes on you,” Tanner admitted, resting his hands delicately on the boy’s broad shoulders.

“I know,” came the curt reply. And he had; the brunette had known for a while now just how Tanner felt about him, and their little ‘incident’ at the mall that day had been no accident.

Tanner bit his bottom lip as he allowed his icy blue eyes to meet Michael’s loving gaze. “Well, you don’t need to use your little power anymore,” he breathed huskily, lips spreading into a smile. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Michael chuckled. “It’s just as well,” he replied, “’cause this time, I’m not letting you go.”

[Tanner Larson]

((This is the Secret Santa fic I made for Sean. I posted it in its own thread, but I like to keep all of my work in one place so I'm re-posting it here. Enjoy!))

Humbugged

The snow had just started falling when Cobalt and Ben arrived at La Maison Magnifique. Pilot Ridge’s house of burlesque had been selected as that year’s location for the annual Holiday Bash, and the normally nondescript brick exterior had been decked out in wreaths, red and green ribbon, and of course a sprig of mistletoe dangling in the doorway.

Nobody could say that Cobalt looked forward to the yearly holiday party – Ben knew as well as anyone how anxious such large-scale social settings could make him – but he had been surprisingly at-peace with the situation this year; perhaps he had simply come to terms with the fact that occasionally, attendance at such festivities was warranted.

It was, after all, only once a year.

The middle-aged man looked up at all of the decorations, blue eyes scanning the façade of the building. It certainly screamed “Happy Holidays.”

“Bah,” he exclaimed as the two men made their way into the building. “Humbug.” He gave Ben a knowing look and just the faintest hint of a grin, which the other man returned with an encouraging smile.

Reluctantly, Cobalt allowed his partner to pay the entrance fee for both of them, before the pair walked as a unit into the main hall. The large central room was just as decorated, with streamers tangled in the rafters, boughs of holly zig-zagging across the bar, and the tables and chairs cleared out of the middle of the room so as to create a makeshift dance floor.

A dance floor, as it were, that Cobalt would not be taking advantage of.

“Do you want a drink?” Ben asked his partner, eyeing the rather crowded bar; given all that was on his mind that evening, he could surely use one himself.

Cobalt had also noticed how many people had gathered around the bar – and the party had only just begun! – and suddenly felt a pang of anxiety. A few friends, he could deal with. But this was a large group of people, and the grouch was suddenly a bit unsure of himself.

It was going to be a long night.

“Let me go hang up my coat first,” he demurred, gesturing towards the entryway. “I’ll meet you at the bar.”

Ben nodded his head understandingly, watching for a moment as Cobalt disappeared from the room before moving in the opposite direction. The first familiar face he made out upon arriving at the bar was that of Dr. Sean Neville and, sitting beside him, his partner, Josh.

“Happy holidays,” Ben greeted to both gentlemen as he stood near to them, waiting to grab the bartender’s attention. “I trust you’ve both been well?”

Sean nodded his head politely, giving Josh a comforting squeeze on the thigh. “The season has been treating us kindly,” he replied with a soft smile. As he watched Ben order his drink, the doctor’s brow furrowed. The man seemed nervous about something – troubled? uncertain – and it did not take long for Sean to deduce just what was on his mind.

Rising from his stool, Sean placed a hand on Josh’s shoulder for but a moment. “I’m going to use the restroom,” he stated, before turning towards Ben. “I will be back shortly.”

With that, he headed confidently out of the main hall and into the entryway, though the restroom was not his intended destination; he had seen Cobalt leave the room shortly after having entered it, and based on what he had gathered from Ben’s nonverbal cues, he had decided to pay the attorney a little visit.

The coat closet was small, but plenty large enough for two grown men to fit in comfortably with space in between them. Sean made for his coat as though grabbing something out of one of his pockets; Cobalt turned towards him briefly as he placed his own onto one of the hangers.

“It looks like it’s started to snow,” Sean said, breaking the silence through casual conversation. “I suppose it will continue through the night.”

Cobalt turned towards the other man yet again; he was a bit at a loss for words, having very little skill in the art of small talk. “I suppose so,” he replied at length. It was a holiday party, and Cobalt had resolved himself to be polite to all whom he encountered. Including any nosy psychologists.

“And how have you been doing?” Sean asked; though they moved in similar social circles, it had been a while since the two had actually seen one another. While the doctor could always feel Cobalt’s particular brand of mental anxiety, it had been somewhat quieter than usual over the past few weeks. This delighted him doubly, as it made things a bit easier for him and also meant that Cobalt was likely doing well, which he would be happy to see.

Cobalt thought for a moment as he moved a few hangers out of the way to make room for his coat. “I’ve been doing well,” he replied simply; despite their shared experiences, Cobalt would never be fully comfortable talking about his feelings or anything of that sort. Sean would simply have to be comfortable with general answers.

The doctor nodded. “I’m glad to hear that,” he said, and this statement was genuine. “There was actually something I had been meaning to talk to you about.”

Cobalt suppressed a growl; there was always something Sean wanted to talk to him about, or so it seemed. “And that would be?” He asked, trying to make the question sound less accusatory than it was.

“Nothing bad,” Sean replied to start, figuring he had might as well calm the man’s palpably rising nerves. He moved towards the closet door, figuring they could have their little conversation out of doors, where they could be more certain their words would not leak their way into the ears of a passerby.

Finding the door closed – funny, Sean did not remember ever having shut it – the man placed his hand upon the knob and turned.

The knob didn’t turn. The door was locked from the outside.

Hand still on the knob, Sean’s lips spread across his features in spite of himself. “Do you believe in fate, Cobalt?” He asked enigmatically, eyes still on the door in front of him.

Cobalt arched an eyebrow. “I believe in God,” he replied firmly. “But I don’t think that’s what you had wanted to talk about.”

A soft chuckle escaped Sean’s throat; their belief in God was a trait that the two men shared. “True,” he replied, “but fate – or what have you – seems to have decided that we will be in here a while longer.”

Cobalt moved swiftly towards the door. “You’re kidding,” he stated as he attempted to turn the knob himself. Sean watched this frantic display with mild amusement.

“I am afraid not,” he replied once Cobalt had given up. “Not to worry; I am sure it will only be a moment before someone new arrives and has need to hang up their coat.”

Cobalt nodded, supposing Sean’s logic was sound enough. Still, he moved to the other side of the small room, crossing his arms over his chest. “Two old queens in the closet,” he muttered. “Some comedian, somewhere, is having a field day.”

Sean laughed more heartily than he had in quite a long time. “So I suppose you are in the holiday spirit,” he observed aloud. “So tell me, how are you and Ben doing?”

“Fine,” Cobalt replied quickly. “I wonder why you ask, though.” He was, by now, used to the other man’s prying questions, but this one had seemed without cause. “Do you know something I don’t?” He asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice.

Sean raised a single hand. “I know nothing,” he replied. The man did not like to lie, but this one seemed to have merit; what he knew was none of Cobalt’s business until Ben chose to make it known. Who was Sean to intrude on Ben’s plans or timing?

The doctor turned as he caught, out of the corner of his eye, his own shadow moving on the closet wall. Turning instinctively towards Cobalt, he found the other man also looking in that direction, and it was clear that the shadow’s movement was his doing.

Sean remembered that Cobalt found the use of his ability relaxing in times of stress.

“I am glad to hear you are both well,” he offered. “I must admit I have remained concerned since our… drive around town.”

Cobalt rolled his eyes, the memory of that evening still all too vivid on his mind. “I appreciate your concern,” he stated, and whether this was genuine or forced was not readily apparent, “but think there is no need.”

Sean nodded, and for a few moments, the two men stood there silently. It was Cobalt who broke this silence.

“This is ridiculous,” he exclaimed, gesturing with a hand towards the door. “Locked in a closet at the Pilot Ridge holiday party. Utterly absurd. I haven’t felt this trapped since…”

“Since?” Sean was giving the other man a knowing look.

Cobalt was familiar with Sean’s ways: he knew he didn’t have to state anything out loud if he didn’t want to. “You know how I feel about the school’s compulsory attendance policy,” he muttered.

Sean nodded his head. “I am aware of lingering resentment on this issue,” he replied evenly. “Have all things, when considered as a whole, not treated you well?”

This question got Cobalt thinking. “I could have arrived at such a state on my own,” he replied, but even he wasn’t entirely convinced of this statement’s veracity. “You know I… love the school,” he continued, for want of something to fill the silence. “But I maintain my disagreement on this one matter,” he added rather quickly.

“You left the Church over one disagreement.”

Cobalt gave a bitter laugh; he knew Sean was simply making conversation and meant no harm whatever, but he wasn’t taking the bait. Sometimes he was in the mood for a discussion on the hot issues, but now was not one of those times.

“We always end up on the same topics,” he mused aloud, steering the conversation expertly in his preferred direction.

“Familiar subjects with familiar faces can be comforting.”

For a second time, Cobalt rolled his eyes. “A fortune cookie as always, Dr. Neville.”

The man smiled. “If I didn’t know you any better, Mr. Weaver, I would say you were making a joke at my expense.”

Cobalt shrugged his shoulders in acquiescence, turning more fully towards the other male. “Don’t take this the wrong way, friend, but you bug me.”

Sean’s smile spread. “Humbug, as it were.”

It was then that the two men heard, both at once, a muffled voice coming from the hallway. It was feminine in sound, but neither could quite place to whom it belonged.

Sean turned towards the door. “It appears as though help has arrived,” he stated, though he made no move towards the door himself.

Cobalt scoffed, placing his hands on his hips. “Just after the nick of time.”

When the closet door opened, Cynthia DeMato was standing on the other side, holding a jacket in her hands. A look of confusion, and perhaps a bit of amusement, painted her features as she discovered one man, and then a second, standing in her hall closet.

“Uh, hey, fellas…” She greeted, though she did not know either of these two men. “Party’s out here.”

Sean smiled politely. “I was wondering where everyone was,” he replied facetiously as he gave her a nod of gratitude.

The two men stepped out into the hallway, lingering there for a time. Cobalt spoke first.

“Well,” he offered, shoving his hands into the pockets of his suit pants. “I think I speak for the both of us when I say that I sincerely hope such a thing never occurs again.” He gave a bit of a laugh at this thought. “Oh, and a Merry Christmas to you, Sean.”

Sean smiled. “Happy holidays to you, as well.” He paused for a moment. “I hope you have… a very memorable evening.”

Cobalt eyed the man strangely. “I’m sure I already have,” he replied. “But come: time and an open bar wait for no man.”

And it was with this final thought that Sean Neville and Cobalt Weaver headed back into the main hall, to rejoin the festivities and their respective partners on this merriest of holidays.

[Tanner Larson]

((This is the fic that won the December Writing Challenge: Winter Wonderland. I'm pasting it here because I like to keep all my fics in one place! Enjoy~))

Last Time By Moonlight

”We walk this road together, one last time by moonlight;
But nothing lasts forever, not even the starlight.”

Tanner Larson and Robbie Wilkes strolled through downtown Pilot Ridge, the footsteps they left in the snow crafting parallel lines on the frosted sidewalk. They walked together, yet somewhat apart, a small space hovering between their bodies keeping them separated as they walked. They walked mostly in silence, only the crunching of powdery snow under the weight of their strides rising up from the quiet. The evening stars twinkled up above them like so many candles.

As usual, Tanner was dressed inappropriately for the season. Sandals covered his feet, allowing him to feel the cooling bite of the snow as his feet sank down into it. Anyone else wearing such footwear after a three-inch snowfall would surely be considered mad; but with his abnormally high body temperature, it was only in the cold of winter that this boy felt truly comfortable. As it were, a tee shirt and khaki shorts were plenty to keep the young pyrokinetic warm on this chilly December evening.

Robbie, on the other hand, was more typically dressed, jeans and a navy pea coat both wrapped flatteringly around his trim figure. A black wool hat covered the top of his head, flattening his blonde bangs down to just above his eyebrows. Gloved hands were stuffed into his pockets, and it was obvious which of the too was feeling the winter.

Downtown Pilot Ridge was decorated to the nines for the holiday season; entryways were lined with holly, doors were spotted with wreaths, and large banners wishing residents happy holidays zig-zagged across the main thoroughfare. All told, the neighborhood brought to mind the famous Christmas Village scenes of one’s youth.

“Everything looks so magical, doesn’t it?”

The words slipped through Tanner’s lips like running water, and Robbie turned to the boy to see a light smile dressing his features. Smiles being infectious, Robbie felt his own lips begin to spread as well, though he gave no verbal response.

As the young men strolled down Main Street, speakers that weren’t quite visible pumped soft music into the street:

”Green is in the mistletoe and red is in the holly,
Silver in the stars above that shine on everybody;
Gold is in the candlelight and crimson in the embers,
White is in the winter night that everyone remembers.”

Tanner closed his eyes briefly, allowing the music to be the only thing he sensed. A content smile filled his features.

“Oh, Robbie, this song’s my favorite,” he breathed, allowing his eyelids to slowly open as if awakening from a beautiful dream. “We used to sing this back home, before I came to Hammel.”

The other blonde’s eyes were glued to Tanner’s. “It’s beautiful,” he agreed. He gave the other boy a look of longing that was never seen.

Reaching the edge of town, footsteps followed the sidewalk as it transitioned into a wide dirt path lined with spruce trees leading into the countryside. The path was covered in snow, no plow having traveled this far down the road since the snow stopped falling earlier that morning. This promenade would ultimately lead to the lake that sat frozen on the outskirts of Pilot Ridge.

The two boys settled into another comfortable silence for a time, Tanner’s eyes on the night sky and Robbie’s eyes on Tanner. Both boys were smiling.

Somewhere down the path, the two young men came across a bench. It was Robbie who sat down first; Tanner hadn’t been planning to, but he joined the boy agreeably. The space that lingered between them remained.

“I’m glad we did this,” Robbie offered, a denim leg bouncing casually up and down on the snow. “I wasn’t sure whether you’d agree to meet me.”

Tanner turned to him. “I am too,” he replied. “It was a good idea, I think.” When they had come across one another earlier that day, he hadn’t been so sure it would be.

Tanner was walking through campus, a dark red backpack slung over one shoulder. Having just taken his last final of the semester, the boy was looking forward to a few days of relaxation before going home to New Jersey to spend the holiday with his family.

The courtyard was relatively peaceful that day: most of the students had already gone home or were still holed up in their rooms studying for their exams, and so the snow-blanketed landscape was mostly empty.

Mostly.

Hearing footsteps behind him, the boy turned towards their source; since he had started working at La Maison Magnifique several months ago, Tanner had made more friends around town and on campus, so it was possible that this other person was someone he knew.

It was someone he knew, but it was not someone he would have expected to see here, not now.

Robbie Wilkes stood in the snow, having noticed Tanner at the same time Tanner had noticed him. The grocery bags he had been carrying in his hands fell to the ground with a dull thud. After a moment, a wide smile spread across his features.

“Tanner!” He called excitedly, racing over to the other blonde and wrapping him in a tight hug. “Buddy, how’ve you been?”

The pyro was wide-eyed, the sudden presence of this boy after an entire year having completely stunned him. He didn’t return the hug, nor did he move out of it. “Um, hi,” he replied meekly. “I’ve been… good.”

He suddenly felt very empty inside, for seeing Robbie again after all this time made him remember the circumstances surrounding their last meeting. Something about that day was still very bitter in his memories, and in fact he would be lying were he to say he hadn’t thought about that moment several times since then. They had been so close, and then so far, for so very long. In the past year, that scene had played through the boy’s mind so many times, and so many questions remained. Had he done something wrong? Had he misread the other? Robbie had really surprised him that day, and in a small way had actually upset him. And now there he was, arms wrapped firmly around him, seemingly so happy to see him.

The boy finally released Tanner from his grasp, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Wow, I can’t believe I’m seeing you,” he said, a large smile still on his face. “It’s been, like, forever.”

Tanner blinked, subconsciously clenching his jaw; he couldn’t articulate why, but he was suddenly very angry. “Uh, yeah, it has,” he agreed, his hands crossing protectively over his chest as his weight fell to one hip. “Why is that?”

Mistaking the question, Robbie gestured towards the bags that were still lying in the snow several feet away. “Oh, I’m just here to see some friends,” he stated by way of explanation.

Tanner simply nodded his head as he listened to Robbie’s response. Friends, right. Hadn’t he been one of those at one point? The blonde had actually sort of forgotten that the weather manipulator had graduated and went off to college. That explained why it had been so long since they had spoken, but only partially: the awkward avoidance had started before Robbie had left Hammel, not after.

“So… what happened?” The words surprised Tanner as he heard them leave his mouth, but they had been on his mind ever since he’d seen Robbie, and finally they had simply voiced themselves with or without his consent.

He heard Robbie sigh, looking down at his half-buried shoes before allowing his eyes to trail back up to Tanner’s. “You mean in February,” he replied, and whether this was a question or statement was not immediately apparent.

As it were, Tanner was surprised Robbie remembered it that clearly, having figured he was the only one who still thought about it, and so he merely nodded his head.

Robbie brought a hand to the back of his neck, rubbing at it furiously as though doing so would help him come up with the words. “Look, I’m… really sorry,” he stated, and while the words sounded genuine, Tanner just wasn’t satisfied. “I was going through a really difficult time, I had a girlfriend and… well, I still do. I love her, Tanner.”

The other blonde took a step back, as though the words had physically pushed him. The look on Robbie’s face as he professed his love for this girl – wasn’t that look meant for him?

“So that’s it, then,” Tanner said, arms unfolding to dive into his pockets. Robbie understood what he meant immediately.

“I didn’t mean to lead you on,” he stated, longing to move to the other boy but not letting himself do so. “I really like you, but…”

Tanner raised a hand, closing his eyes tightly; his brow was furrowed. “I don’t need your pity,” he spat. He turned away for a moment, standing with his back to the other boy before rotating back around. “I don’t believe you, though,” he added at length. “You didn’t mean to lead me on? You expect me to believe that?” He shook his head, giving a bitter laugh. “That’s bullshit, Robbie. That’s bullshit.”

That seemed to set the other boy off. “Look, what do you want me to say, Tanner?” He asked, throwing his arms up into the air. “That I felt the same way you did? That I was confused and frustrated and torn and hated myself for what I was feeling? That I wanted to kiss you and hold you and never fucking let go? Is that what you want to hear!?” He dropped his arms back down to his sides, shoulders rising and falling as he forced himself to maintain eye contact. “You’re a smart kid, Tanner,” he said quietly. “You should have figured all that out by now.”

Tanner looked down; for once, the boy who had an answer for everything was entirely speechless. Realizing he wasn’t going to get a response, Robbie continued.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay?” He asked. “And I know I could say that a million times and it wouldn’t help, but you have no idea how much this has affected me.”

Tanner shook his head; no, apparently he didn’t. “It still hurts,” he said finally, bringing his hands up to his shoulders. “I didn’t think it would, but it does. I… I just can’t believe I’m seeing you.”

Robbie finally closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms strongly around the other boy. “Hey, it’s okay,” he whispered, allowing the other blonde to sink into him. “It’s okay.”

After a time, he felt Tanner pulling away from him, and so he let go, instead placing a hand upon the boy’s shoulder. “And hey, what would you do with an idiot like me, anyway?”

Tanner couldn’t help but smile. “What wouldn’t I do?”

Robbie jabbed him playfully. “Hey, don’t start with me,” he warned through a smile.

At some point, they had started walking together, and when they came across a snow bank in the middle of the courtyard, Robbie looked at Tanner with a mischievous grin.

Tanner noticed the powdery mound as well, and he turned back towards Robbie, shaking his head furiously as a smile appeared on his own face as well.

“I would never forgive you,” he protested, but he was already letting the backpack slide off his shoulder.

Robbie’s grin spread. “I could live with that.”

“I mean, I would be really angry.”

“You already are.”

When Tanner hit the snow, he was already laughing.

The two boys rolled around like little kids, pelting each other with messily-packed snowballs and pushing each other lightheartedly to the ground, laughing all the while. When Robbie ended up on top of Tanner, hands on either of the boy’s shoulders keeping him pinned to the ground, he remained there, smiling down at him.

Tanner was breathing heavily. “I can’t remember the last time I actually played in the snow,” he mused, smiling back up at the other boy.

“Spend the night with me?”

The pyro was surprised by the question. “Robbie…”

“Not like that,” the boy clarified quickly. He pulled off one of his gloves, running his cold fingers down the boy’s warm cheeks. “We could just go walking, or something. Spend time together. I really missed you.”

Tanner looked uncertain at first, but finally he nodded his head. “Yeah, okay,” he replied slowly, thoughtfully. “We could do that.”

As the moon shone down through the trees, the snowy path before them glistening in the filtered moonlight, Tanner became aware of Robbie’s eyes on him. He turned, finding the other boy facing him on the bench.

“You look happy,” he observed, to which Robbie nodded.

“I am.”

Tanner smiled. “Me too.” He shifted to face the other boy, taking one of his hands into his own. “But… you know we can’t do this again, right?”

Robbie’s face fell, but he nodded yet again. “I know,” he admitted. “To be honest, I’m… not sure we should see each other anymore.”

It was Tanner’s turn to nod; that was what he had meant. Both boys knew that if they kept seeing one another, eventually they wouldn’t be able to resist each other anymore.

“Tanner,” Robbie continued, squeezing the boy’s smaller hand in his own as he looked down at their interlocked fingers. “Tonight has been… just great.” He looked back up to find the other blonde looking back at him hopefully. “Would you let me make it perfect?”

And the space between them was finally vanquished, as Robbie pulled Tanner in for their first and last kiss. Robbie’s lips were ice cold; Tanner’s were warm, and the older blonde melted into them. For but a brief moment, the two boys sat there, lips pressed nervously yet feverishly together as the stars glimmered up above them.

It was Robbie who pulled away first, and it had taken every ounce of his self control to do so.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered, running his fingers through the boy’s spiky blonde hair.

Tanner blushed. “We should get going,” he stated just as reluctantly. The two boys stood, but their hands remained connected.

“Thank you for coming out with me tonight, Tanner,” Robbie said, feeling somewhat awkward now that their evening was coming to an end. “I didn’t want to remember you being angry with me. I want to remember you like this.”

Tanner smiled; it was a sad smile, one of opportunities missed and feelings forever confined to the eternal tomb of ‘what if?’.

“I’d like that,” he replied, and together they walked back into town, the moonlight shining down on them, together one last time.

”Remember this; for no one knows the way love goes.
Oh! Ho! Remember this! For no one knows the way life goes.”


((Special thanks to Nu, whose thread with me inspired this piece. You can listen to my musical inspiration here.))

[Tanner Larson]

((Because I’m a whore. Or rather, I’m a pimp, and Tanner’s my whore. Enjoy!))

Join the Club

Well, this was certainly different.

Lucy Serrano wasn’t normally the type of student to get involved in extracurricular activities. But having seen the flyers around campus, the Australian had found she was too curious to resist. Her date with Tanner had gone fairly well – he hadn’t turned out to be the dweeb she had expected him to be, at least – but she had been surprised to see that there was actually a fan club dedicated to this kid. Sure, he had a good voice, and he could definitely dance better than most white boys, but a fan club? Really?

The academic building was mostly empty, which was no surprise given the fact that it was a Saturday afternoon. Walking through the quiet hallways was a bit eerie for the girl who was used to running late for class and having to push her way past several other students to get to her classroom. Ultimately, she found room 407, and hesitated a bit before turning the knob and opening the door.

Inside the room, she found several girls and a few boys sitting at desks in a seemingly random configuration, facing the front of the room. At the front stood a slender girl with blonde, curly hair. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, Lucy sat in the back of the room, finding that there was a redhead seated not far from her. The girl was blushing, her eyes glued to her desk.

“Okay, everyone!” The girl at the front called out. “I think we can get started now. This meeting of the Tanner Fanners will come to order.” She banged a plastic gavel down weakly on the teacher’s desk. “As you know, I’m Kiara, Founder and President of the Tanner Larson fan club. I will start by calling roll. “ The girl reached for the piece of paper that was laying down on the desk, bringing it up to eye level.

“Michael?”

“Here.”

“Scout?”

…

“Scout?”

“Uh, here…”

“Val?”

“Yup.”

“Spencer?”

“Here!”

“Callie?”

“Here.”

“Noam?”

“Yeah.”

“Kiara? Here!” Kiara giggled to herself. “Umm… Ellie?”

“Here.”

“Ceri?”

“Yep.”

“Natalia?”

“Present!”

Kiara placed the paper back down. “Okay, great, we’re all here.” She looked around the room, eyes falling on Lucy. “Ooh, it looks like we have someone new!”

If Lucy could have melted into her seat and simply disappeared, she would have. She had been hoping to just sit in the back and check out the competition, but it seemed like she was destined to be called attention to. “Er... yeah…” she replied simply, hoping that would be enough to satisfy Kiara’s curiosity.

It wasn’t.

The probability manipulator’s eyes lit up. “That’s fantastic!” She exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “Come up here and introduce yourself?”

“Rather not.”

“Oh, come on!”

“…Fine.”

Lucy slipped out of her seat, moving rather reluctantly towards the front of the room before facing the assembled group. She noticed that there were quite a few pretty faces in the crowd.

“Uh, okay, let’s see, I’m Lucy, right? From Aussie. Yeah, that’s it.”

Kiara smiled. “Well, welcome to the fan club!” She said giddily. “OH! But before you can become an official Tanner Fanner, there is one thing you must do.”

Lucy gave Kiara a curious look. “And what’s that?”

Kiara turned towards Elisa. “Ellie, bring out the cardboard cut-out!”

Ellie jumped up from her desk. “With pleasure.” With that, she went into the supply closet on the other side of the room, emerging with a life-size cardboard cutout of a shirtless Tanner Larson.

Lucy blanched. “Oh, come on, what is that?!”

Ceri laughed from her seat. “That’s my date Friday,” she said with a grin, as several students around her chuckled.

“Ooh, check out those sweet abs,” Callie cat-called from her seat in the middle of the pack.

“Hey, take a number and get in line, blondie,” Val said to her friend and coworker, giving her a playful punch on the arm.

Kiara watched all of this with a large smile on her face. “Okay, Lucy, in order to become an official member of the Tanner Larson fan club, you must choose… your favorite part of his body!”

Everyone in the room laughed, with the exception of Lucy. “Are you having a laugh?” She asked incredulously.

Kiara shook her head fervently. “Not at all! We all had to do it. Come on, go ahead. Just take this,” she said, taking a paper heart with a piece of tape stuck to the top, “and put it on the part of him you like the most.” She sat down in the teacher’s seat to watch Lucy make a selection.

“Oh, and don’t choose the crotch,” Michael advised. “I already made that joke when I joined.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. This whole thing was a very silly exercise, but she supposed she was already there so she might as well partake. “Okay, well, I guess…” she said, looking around the cut-out like it was some sort of scientific specimen. Eventually, she reached up, placing the heart under the boy’s left eye. “Eyes,” she explained simply. “He has nice eyes. Okay? I’m sitting down now.”

“Hell yeah, he does,” Ceri said, leaning back on the back two legs of her chair.

“Ooh, I could go swimming in those pools,” Callie added with a laugh.

Lucy folded her arms tightly over her chest, returning to the back of the room as Ellie took the cutout and put it back in the closet.

Kiara rose from her seat, clapping her hands once more. “Okay, great,” she said, “and as always, thanks to our good friend Zac for providing us with the photo Tanner never knew he took.” She moved to lean back on the teacher’s desk. “So, Lucy, why are you here?”

“Just curious,” the brunette replied, before deciding to give a more extensive explanation. “I won a date with him at the auction, and it was cool, so… yeah. I’m surprised so many people are, you know… into him.” Wasn’t he just a quiet nerd? That was what she had thought.

Noam turned towards her from his seat in the front row. “That’s nothing,” he said with a smile. “I went on a real date with him.”

Callie rolled her eyes. “He brags about this every meeting,” she complained, shaking her head.

Lucy scoffed. “Well, we planned another, “real” date for next week, so that’ll put me at two, and you only at one.” She smiled; okay, so these people seemed pretty friendly. Might as well have a little fun, no?

“He’s all talk,” Ellie said as she reclaimed her seat. “Hey, Noam, that date go anywhere?” She asked him, already knowing the answer.

Noam frowned. “Well, no…”

Kiara smiled softly. “Aw, not brave enough to kiss him goodnight?” She asked with a laugh.

Noam flushed furiously. “Next time,” he promised. “And there will be a next time!”

Michael stood from his chair, drawing attention to himself. “Well, I may not have gone on a date with the guy, but I’ll bet I’ve gotten closer than anyone else.”

Kiara’s eyebrows raised, unsure if that was actually the case. “Oh? Do tell.”

Michael grinned. “Well, while we were at the mall a while back, I used my power of gravitational pull to force him up against me for, like, ten whole minutes,” he explained. “I told him it was an accident. He acted mad but I could tell he liked it.” He placed his hands on his hips, puffing his chest out proudly.

Callie laughed out loud. “Hey, non-con doesn’t count!” This remark got the group into a wide debate over whether forced or one-sided touching could still be bragged about.

Kiara raised her hands up. “Okay, okay, settle down,” she said, pacing the front of the room. “Besides, as we all know, I’m the only one here who’s actually kissed him.”

“And I still hate you for it!”

“Who said that?” Kiara asked with a laugh.

Spencer looked off, whistling innocently.

“Well, nevertheless,” Kiara continued, a proud smile forming across her features. “I’m still reigning champion. I mean, we didn’t just kiss once, either. It was several times. So there!”

“Yeah, but me and Val get to see him changing backstage every weekend,” Callie replied, shrugging towards her friend.

Kiara laughed. “Hey, I still work there, how come I don’t get to see that!”

Val chuckled deeply. “Gotta get onstage, girl.”

Kiara shook her head, eyes landing on Scout, whom she realized then hadn’t spoken. The girl was red as a firetruck, eyes glued to the floor. “How ‘bout you, Scout?” She asked, trying to get the other girl into the conversation.

Scout, though, would rather have not spoken. She liked attending the meetings, but as an empathy, it was a bit difficult to handle all of the… excitement, for lack of a more subtle way of saying it. But when ten girls got together and talked about how much they liked a boy, it made Scout very flustered.

“Well,” she said softly. “I… well, one of my dogs jumped all over him.”

Ceri threw her head back. “Ugh, to be that dog…” She chuckled. “We’re just friends. Really. He comes into my store at least once a week. But seriously, sometimes I just wanna throw him onto that register and… ooh!”

This got the group into another discussion, which could not possibly repeated here, but which made Scout feel very, very uncomfortable. This raucous, no-holds-barred conversation continued for several minutes until Spencer stood up from her chair, waiting for a hush to fall over the group.

“I saw him cry.”

The group was on its feet almost instantly, hooting and hollering over this revelation.

“Tanner cried?” Michael asked incredulously. “What the hell did you do?!”

“Aww, my poor baby,” Callie cooed, wrapping her arms around Val facetiously. “Come here my little pyro~”

Spencer was laughing. “Well, he’s afraid of water, so I tried to get him into the pool, and... yeah, it didn’t go very well.”

Kiara threw her hands up into the air to silence the group. “This is not an appropriate topic of discussion!” She yelled above the din, very much aware that she had also caused the boy to become a bit emotional, and still feeling very sorry for it. “Only happy Tanner thoughts. You know the club mantra!”

After a few minutes, the group settled down, and Kiara decided the meeting was over for the week.

“Okay, productive meeting, everyone. Now, for your assignment for the week!” All eyes were glued on her. “This week, you need to get Tanner’s signature.” As soon as she said it, everyone started discussion what tactics they would use to get the boy to sign his name for them. “I don’t care how you do it. Autograph, contract, bad check, whatever you have to do! Whoever gets it first, will win a prize…” It was the sweatshirt he had loaned to her the day they had met after a snowstorm.

The group dispersed after this, with most of the students going back to their dorms or other places of residence. Lucy approached Kiara, who was packing up her things.

“Some club you got here…” the brunette offered with a laugh. “Kinda weird…”

Kiara looked up. “Weird?” She asked. “Why’s that?”

Lucy shrugged. “I mean… kid’s a dork. Told me so himself. Does he even know about this?”

Kiara giggled. “That’s what we love about him,” she replied. “Besides, his not knowing is the best part about it.” She threw her bag over her shoulder, turning towards the door. “So… see you next week?”

Lucy thought for a moment before nodding slowly. “Yeah, I guess.”

As the girls – and two guys – exited the academic building, Natalia veered away from the group, ducking into an alley. She had never interacted with Tanner, but knew all about him. Enough, at least, to have become enraptured.

The girl closed her eyes tightly, and it was just after this that her body started changing. A few moments later, a young man could be seen leaving the same alleyway.

“I may not have dated him or kissed him or anything like that,” Roger said to himself as he headed back to the dorms, “but that boy is mine.”

[Tanner Larson]

((For Sha! It’s a second installment in [url= Fly, the fic I wrote earlier on. I still don’t like that title, but I need to think of a better one. XD Enjoy!))

Fly II

The afternoon sunlight leaked through the windows of the boys’ dormitory building, creating patterns of light and dark on the stone floor and opposing wall. Tanner stood in one of the windows, one hand placed against the frame. Blue eyes scanned the snowy ground beyond the window, brow furrowed just slightly in thought. Behind him, he heard footsteps echoing from down the hall, growing louder as a figure approached him. He didn’t have to turn to know who it was.

The other male stopped a few feet away from him, eyes examining the other’s countenance carefully. Short brown hair was matted to the boy’s face, and his clothes were slightly wet; he had evidently been outside earlier in the day, when the snow had still been falling. Labored breathing could be heard, though these noises faded as the man stood still, catching his breath.

“Have the preparations all been made?”

Michael’s ears perked up at the question, and he gave a small nod before realizing he would have to vocalize his affirmative response, as Tanner was still looking outdoors. “Everything is in place,” he stated, before taking a few more steps to join the blonde by the window.

No sooner had he spoken the words, than two metallic chimes could be heard ringing down the hall, the two sharp sounds prolonged by the stone architecture. It was then that Tanner looked up, as though to a clock that wasn’t there.

It was two o’ clock. Tanner had twenty minutes to get to the entrance to the Hammel Institute to meet Kiara, who would be there waiting for her with Ms. Janisson. If he had any anxiety regarding the journey that awaited him, he did not show it.

“Well,” Michael began, trying to sound content though it was clear that he was feeling uneasy, “I suppose it is time to be going.”

Tanner nodded, eyes falling to Michael as he sensed the discomfort in his voice.

“Yes,” he agreed simply, reaching down to pick up the suitcase that had been sitting beside him until that point. “I would like to go alone,” he added.

Michael would not say so, but he was relieved: escaping from Hammel was one thing, but escaping only to turn around and come back was a suicide mission. “Are you confident you can make it through on your own?”

The blonde nodded a second time. “Very,” he replied. “Beyond that, I simply couldn’t live with forcing you to shoulder this burden with me any further.”

The young brunette looked down at the ground for a moment.

Tanner moved towards Michael, placing his free hand on the boy’s shoulder. Michael looked up at him, mustering up a smile.

“Michael,” Tanner said softly, fondly. “You have always been a friend to me. So long as I live, I shall never forget that.”

Hearing these words caused a lump to develop in the other male’s throat. “Will… will you write?” He asked, voice shaking out of genuine concern for his friend. “From the outside?”

Tanner smiled. “So often as I am able,” he confirmed, though in truth he could not be sure whether such a letter would make it through campus security and into the hands of his friend and roommate. The possibility that he would not make it out at all did not even enter his mind.

“Now I must be going,” he said, the tone of his voice changing, becoming more fervent. “The security staff is changing shifts, and there is no time to spare. Michael, I know I don’t need to remind you never to speak of this – or of me – again…”

Michael nodded, forcing himself to turn away from Tanner. “I’ve never seen you in my life,” he stated simply, a hand reaching up to wipe away a tear Tanner would never know had fallen.

Tanner waited for Michael’s shadow to disappear around the corner before turning in the other direction. Without another thought, he headed quickly towards the stairwell. His footsteps echoed up the shaft as he descended to the third, second, first floor. Producing a key from his pocket, he opened up a large metal door at the bottom of the well, beyond which was a second, smaller staircase.

These stairs would lead to the network of underground tunnels connecting all of the school’s buildings – and all of the buildings to the school entrance.

The tunnels were dark, dank, and dripping. The floor creaked underneath the boy’s weight as he made his way briskly through the underground corridors. The squeaking of mice could be heard occasionally over the sound of water hitting the floor, having fallen from pipes zigzagging the ceiling above.

It was a long five minutes that Tanner made this subterranean trek, focusing himself singularly on what lay ahead. Once he reached the end of this tunnel, it was mere meters to the gate, and to his love.

A pinpoint of light grew and grew as Tanner approached the tunnel’s exterior exit. He squinted slightly as he approached, eyes having adapted to the darker interior. But as his eyes adjusted, he saw before him a sight that brought a look of horror to his face.

Standing at the entrance to the tunnel was a campus guard.

Impossible, Tanner thought, halting in his tracks. He was supposed to be gone ten minutes ago.

But the guard had spotted him, pointing a big, beefy finger in the student’s direction. Tanner accepted the challenge, resuming his pace towards the exit.

“Hey!” The guard called out as Tanner drew near. “You there!”

Tanner’s countenance darkened, forehead wrinkling as he pressed forward. “Out of my way, man,” he warned, bringing his suitcase behind him defensively. “I have somewhere to be.”

The guard moved to block Tanner’s path out of the tunnel, patting the baton that was dangling from his belt. “Boy, I suggest you head back from whence you came.”

The two men were standing face to face now, the guard standing nearly a foot taller than the blonde. But Tanner was not intimidated: he had worked too hard for this to turn back now.

“I said out of my way.”

And that was when it happened. The guard grabbed Tanner by the shoulder, throwing him into the stone wall. Tanner let out a groan of frustration, dropping his luggage to the ground before approaching the guard: this was not part of the plan. He swung a fist into the man’s chest, but unfortunately it was not strong enough to send the man reeling.

The first of the guard’s punches, Tanner had been able to duck. The second was a direct hit. Tanner stumbled backwards, one hand reaching up to his nose, out of which blood was now spilling.

“You made a big mistake today, son,” the guard stated as he approached Tanner. He took his baton out, swinging it around and around in his hand. “Now you’re going to suffer the consequences.”

Tanner looked up, a fear he didn’t think he was capable of evident on his features. He winced, preparing for the first blow.

“Excuse me.”

A loud feminine voice rang through the tunnel, and both men looked up to see an older woman approaching. Her pale skin almost seemed to glow from the light reflected off the snow; dark hair was tied up in a tight bun behind her head, and a maroon dress with white fringe fell from her shoulders to the ground. She stepped into the scene with an air of regal confidence, both hands strongly behind her back.

“Headmistress Morgenstern!” The guard exclaimed incredulously, standing up straight and placing both feet together. “I found this boy attempting to escape.”

Tanner was frozen against the wall, chest rising and falling quickly. How could his plan have gone so wrong, so quickly? He looked down to the ground, eyes shutting tightly in silent prayer. What would become of poor Kiara if he did not show up on time?

“This is no escape,” the bone-thin woman stated, looking towards Tanner with an odd look. “I have sent this child on an errand.”

Tanner looked up, mouth widening, though no words came out. What was this he was hearing?

The guard, for his part, gasped audibly. “But my lady-”

“There are no buts here, officer,” the woman shot back firmly, silencing the man. “My protégé shall be kept no longer. Is that clear?”

The guard hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Y-Yes, Headmistress.”

The woman nodded. “Now, be on your way,” she suggested, nodding towards the tunnel behind her; as she did so, her hands remained behind her back as they had always been. The guard simply nodded before disappearing quickly into the dark.

Once he had left, Tanner finally found the courage to move from the wall towards the woman. “I… I don’t believe it,” he said, and he was just about to thank the woman when she spoke first.

“Believe it,” she said, and Tanner noticed instantly that her voice sounded different. More… masculine?

He watched in absolute shock as the woman’s face contorted, dissolving into an amorphous, grey mass before reconfiguring as the figure of a young man. Smiling, he brought his hands back around for the first time, revealing broken chains around his wrists.

“Ugh, even shifted I can’t get rid of these things,” he murmured to himself, right hand grasping his left arm and tugging at the chain.

Tanner was at a loss for words for a moment, but eventually curiosity got the best of him. “Roger?” He asked in disbelief. “Is it… is it really you? I scarcely believe my eyes.”

The boy’s smile turned into a grin. “In the flesh,” he replied, hands coming to rest on either hip.

“But why?” Tanner asked, head shaking from side to side as though still unsure that what he saw was real.

Roger scoffed, rolling his eyes playfully. “I had a feeling you would need me,” he replied as he moved towards Tanner’s suitcase, picking it up before handing it to the dumbfounded blonde. “Love has blinded you. Figured you could use a thief on your side.”

Thief, yes: it had been Roger who had retrieved the basement key for him, and it had been Roger who had been locked up having been caught doing so.

“But how did you escape your cell?” Tanner asked, accepting the suitcase into his hand.

Roger moved towards the edge of the tunnel, looking out onto the bright landscape as though checking to ensure they were in fact alone. “You underestimate me,” he stated enigmatically, before turning back towards the other male. “I may look weak, but I can change into someone who isn’t.”

Tanner nodded with understanding. “But why? Why did you help me? I mean, again. If you had been caught…” If stealing a key was rewarded with solitary confinement, and in chains, then he could only imagine what the punishment for impersonating the head of the school would be.

Roger frowned at this question, taking a step towards the boy. “Your love for that girl is… impressive,” he said measuredly. “The lengths to which you would go for her… I must admit, I am in awe.” He would not say he was jealous, that he wished it was himself Tanner wanted, that it was he who had disguised himself as the girl Tanner had danced with at the masquerade so many months ago. That was not knowledge Tanner needed in his possession.

It seemed he had enough already.

Tanner was confused still, but he nodded his head. “I cannot properly express my gratitude,” he offered, head tilting slightly towards one side as he regarded Roger with interest. “For what you did for me today, I will be forever grateful.”

Roger shrugged his shoulders. “I made my decision,” he replied. “Now you should go; you won’t want to keep her waiting.” There was bitterness in his voice that Tanner did not discern.

“Yes, of course,” Tanner agreed, shifting his suitcase from one hand to the other. “A second time, thank you for your… assistance.”

In a fit of boldness, Roger moved towards Tanner then, placing both his hands on the older male’s shoulders and bringing his lips dreadfully close to the other’s. ”Love her forever, Blondie,” he whispered, before pushing the other away and retreating quickly into the tunnel.

This sudden gesture confused Tanner, but he did not take the time to consider it now: he would have time to ponder this boy and his eccentricities once he had reunited with the love of his life.

For now, it was time to complete his journey; Kiara was waiting for him, and he couldn’t keep her waiting any longer.

[Tanner Larson]

((I wrote this for the 100 Prompts Writing Challenge, Number 99: Powerless. I love the idea of these strong women! The scene is based on a similar one from "Man With the Iron Fists." What can I say, Lucy Liu excites me.))

Drop-Dead Gorgeous

Pilot Ridge wasn’t what it once was.

Once a thriving metropolis – a shining beacon for humans and meta-humans alike – the city had long since descended into ruins. Now a decrepit shell of what it once was, the Vermont town now served as temporary refuge for those seeking solace from the harsh, loathsome outside world.

It hadn’t always been that way. There was a time when Pilot Ridge drew men and women of all kinds. It was a beautiful city, filled with stores, residences, and businesses of all kinds. The park was lush with natural beauty, the lake was pristine, and the downtown area was always bustling. The nightlife was just as spectacular, with dozens of local clubs and bars offering a good time to all those who wanted to partake.

First among these clubs was the fabled La Maison Magnifique. Led by Madame Cynthia DeMato, the so-called “House” and its magnificent showgirls provided entertainment of all sorts to locals and visitors alike. The flashy neon sign acted as a beacon of sorts, bringing folks into its warm, inviting atmosphere. And inside, things were even hotter.

Yes, Pilot Ridge was thriving, and nobody ever thought things would change.

But change they did, and nearly on a dime. When Nicholas Kells and the Humanist Party came into power, war was declared on the metahumans – special people who had lived among the rest peacefully for so long – almost instantly. Those found to be using their abilities were hauled off to undisclosed prisons; many of them were never heard of again. The Hammel Institute, which had trained thousands of meta humans over its history, shuttered, its buildings falling into disrepair. Pilot Ridge, so long the final destination for metas the world over, was abandoned by most, considered a dangerous place to be associated with.

Raids were common. Battle, quite frequent.

Yet even in this most desperate of situations, La Maison Magnifique powered on. Its neon sign was faded, and the stage now had cracks, but it was as enticing as ever. Inside, one could find a strong drink, a hot show, and – were one willing to shell out the necessary cash – much more. It went this way every night: the girls did their tricks, the man paid through the nose, and Madame Cynthia DeMato climbed ever higher on the perverted social ladder that was Pilot Ridge.

Tonight was different, though. Tonight, the House would be filled with a different sort of guest. Tonight, the showgirls of La Maison Magnifique would be putting on a different kind of show.

Tonight, Kells’ army came to town.

Cynthia stood in the dressing room backstage, watching her girls as they got dressed. This was a common occurrence: nightly, Cynthia would give new costumes to the girls, and make sure they fit just right. But whereas the costumes were normally gaudy, scanty, and colorful, tonight’s wardrobe was decidedly darker.

“Playtime is over, ladies,” she stated, pacing back and forth by the door as the girls silently slipped into their black outfits. “Tonight, we put on the show of our lives.”

One by one, the girls stood at the ready, feet shoulder-length apart, hair tied back behind their heads, and hands placed together in front. They were the sexiest army ever to exist.

When the last girl was ready, Cynthia spoke.

“What is the nature of man?” She paused, allowing the question to sink in. “He is, by definition, an animal. He lusts for blood. For sex. For power. Yes, power… Power is what he wants, over all people and things.” She exhaled deeply. “He seeks the subjugation of all.”

The long cane in her hand was passed from one hand to the other as she resumed her pacing. “Man feels nothing if he is not above someone. He finds his validation in the conquest of others.” She looked from one girl to the next. “All men are, at heart, the same. Remember this.”

She slammed the cane down suddenly on the wooden floor, causing some of the girls to jump slightly. “Men,” she continued, practically spitting out the word, “think women are nothing without them. They see us as powerless, as pieces of themselves, as mere extensions of their own, dominating sexuality.” She calmed down a bit, coming to a halt by the door, from which she had a full view of all of her girls.

“But we’re not powerless, are we?” She asked. “No, not at all.” Her eyes moved from one girl to the next, considering each one’s abilities.

There was Chloe Singleton, one of her oldest and most trustworthy dancers. Her blonde hair was kept loose, cascading over her shoulders in honey yellow curls. She wore a tight, black leather corset and a short black skirt. Her black leather boots stretched up past her knees, almost reaching the hem of her skirt. In one gloved hand was a long whip, which split at the end into three, thin metal pieces.

She was Goldilocks and the Three Snares.

There was Kiara Lilien, one of the best singers Cynthia had ever hired. Underneath her saccharine exterior was a cold and calculating individual: one heartbreak too many had made her, much like her boss, entirely distrustful of men. Her childish façade betrayed the fact that she had a young child to care for at home. She wore a tight pair of bell-bottomed pants and a blouse that complemented her slim, lithe figure. Resting on the dresser beside her was a long, thin knife, painted crimson red.

She was the Scarlet Dagger.

There was Calliope Gallo and Valerie Danner. The two usually performed together – and just as they danced together, so too did they fight together. Calliope – skinny and supremely flexible – and Valerie – buxom and beautiful – wore contrasting jumpsuits, Callie’s white with black splotches, and Valerie’s black with white. Their weapons of choice, currently sheathed at their sides, were long, thin swords shaped in crescents. Together, they formed a complete circle that could take out an entire room of intruders.

They were Yin and Yang.

There was Takchawee Ominotago, the Native American belle whose beauty far outshined all the others. She was as seductive as she was light on her feet; her dancing could always keep a crowd enraptured. She wore a long, stunning black skirt and deceptively simple black top. On both hands were long pieces of metal, out of which could extend several long, sharp, metallic claws. These claws remained retracted into their metal sheaths – for now.

She was Dances with Wolverines.

There was Angel Laveaux, one of the newest of the girls at the House. She wore a short, strapless black dress which managed to cover all of the necessary parts and not much else. From afar, it could almost appear to be a gothic sort of toga. Over one shoulder was slung a bow, and over the other, a quiver of arrows.

She was Cherub.

There was Elisia Lark, Ceri McCay, and Adrianna Carstyn. These three women – staples at the House for a while now – were fun, flirtatious, and devastatingly sexy. But as dangerous as their looks were, so were their weapons: long chains, at the end of which were heavy, spiked balls. Said balls dangled down near the floor, as the women – decked out also in black – stood in a row by one another’s sides.

They were the Chain Gang.

And there was Madame Cynthia DeMato herself, the woman who ran it all, the woman who had navigated La Maison Magnifique through some of its darkest hours, and through it all shined like a diamond. Covering her short yet intimidating frame was a long black trenchcoat, which jutted out at the bottom like a ballgown. Tall high heeled shoes were spiked at the end for skull-piercing kicks and lunges; the long cane could be unsheathed to reveal a long, needle-thin sword, just as deadly as her heels. Brown hair was tied back in a bun to give her free range of movement.

She was Mame Maim.

These were the women of Pilot Ridge’s House of Burlesque. These were the women who so frequently entertained male visitors. These were the women who would take on Kells’ army and defend Pilot Ridge that very evening – for some, to the death.

“No, we are not powerless,” Cynthia continued, nodding her head confidently. “They will underestimate us. Ignore us. Dismiss us. And they will find that their arrogance is their greatest folly – and their ultimate downfall.” A smile tugged at her lips. “They think they are the powerful ones, but no: they need us. They are nothing without us. Women, we give these men life. And we can take it back just as easily.”

Her free hand tightened into a fist. “Some of you are meta. Some of you are not. But they are coming for us. And when they’re done with us, they’ll come for the rest. Make no mistake: none of us are safe. And so we fight.”

She moved the cane to rest just in front of her, both hands grasping the silver handle. Pulling with one hand, the long, thin sword came out of its jet black sheath, the pristine metal shimmering under the dressing room’s incandescent lights. “Power, my girls, is better possessed than shown, more easily lost than kept, and always ripe for the plucking.” Her lips spread into a grin. “And tonight, we’re going to show the world just how powerful we are. For we are strong, we are brave… and we are magnificent.”