FSE

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I woke with a start, sitting bolt upright. The sheets were over me, and I was alone in the dark room. I heard voices outside, all familiar to me, so I stood and quickly dressed. Stepping out onto the tiny deck that served as a porch for the room, I felt the bitter October air blow across my flesh. The wide dirt driveway was cleared of cars, and the clang of steel on steel drifted up. I looked out over the rail, watching Robert best Ken once more during their sparring. They used blunted steel weapons, the same size and weight as their sharpened counterparts. I watched them for a moment, until a white sedan drove up. Seeing the sparring people, the car parked at the side of the road. A feline with dirty blond hair hanging to his shoulders stepped out, black leather trenchcoat flapping in the wind.

"Ken, Robert, Thorn!" The tabby said, waving.

"Alex, yo." I said as he approached and I headed down the stairs. Ken and Robert disengaged, looking to Alex.

"So yeah. You been filled in, mate?" Asked Alex, fumbling in his trenchcoat for something.

"As fully as I can, I think." Alex produced a pack of cigarettes and a Zippo, lighting his own then mine. I adored the scent of cloves, and it was really the only thing that centered my mind.

"Any developments last night, oh abjurationist?" He said with a grin to Ken. He held out a hand.

"Cigarette or nothing." He flashed an equine smile. Alex, with a deep sigh, produced one and handed it to him. He lit it with his own lighter. "Fae, so far as I can tell. Bounced right off my dome."

"Fae? Like...fairies?" I asked, blinking.

"Yep." Said Robert, leaning against one of the many junked cars that lined the left side of the massive driveway. It was more like a dirt field in front of the house, room enough for many cars.

"So what I recommend is we take another jaunt out there, see what's a-brewin'." Ken said, looking at the burning tip of his cigarette. "Hopefully more prepared than we were last time."

"So we've got the forest all energetically...energetic, the fae acting up once again, and unknown attackers." Alex ticked this off on his fingers, covered with fingerless gloves.

"Well, it's most probably the fae that have been attacking." Added Ken.

"They couldn't be powerful enough to damage my wards. They're shamanistic, they don't have power against that method." Robert interjected. There was a long pause as the trio thought, and as I gathered my thoughts.

"Guys, I can't even cast." I said.

"You can't?" Asked Ken. I shook my head in response.

"Well hell, that makes things fairly difficult." Said Robert. "Listen. If shit goes down, you run. Got it? No greatsword waving antics."

"Maybe." I said, being evasive.

"So tonight we see the fae. Today, what do we do?"

"World Of Warcraft." Said Alex, grinning.

I had never really been overly interested in massively multiplayer games, but I did have a character. It was an excellent waste of time, and an excuse to chat with Ken. We knew each other from high school, but he was a sophomore when I graduated. It'd been two years since we last spoke.

"Eh, metal and gothic rock." He said, when I asked him what kind of music he was into nowadays.. We both sat in the 'back room', a spare room mostly used for a pair of computers and spare beds for any guests. Robert and Alex were upstairs, using the computers there. "And I despise country."

"Hear you there." I took a drag off my cigarette, glancing over at him. The light off the monitor reflected off of his glasses, obscuring his eyes. "Hey, have you see Lisa? She isn't here."

"She said she had work." He pressed a few buttons, casting a pair of spells in the game, then sat back and watched. "And she had some family thing to go to. I didn't press." A bit of silence passed between us, until I spoke up again.

"You sound nervous." I said.

"Me? Nah, not nervous at all." He responded. "Just kind of pissed, actually."

"Why?"

"My mom." He was only seventeen, still living with his parents. He was over for the weekend; normally it was just Robert and I living here. "Found my porn, wants to send me to some Christian school."

"Damn."

"I mean, what the hell's wrong with them?" He said suddenly, pressing another pair of buttons a bit harder than he probably meant. "There's so many damn gay celebrities out there, and they aren't hounded for being 'impure'. Well, they probably are, but they're not threatened with nuns."

"Gay? You're gay?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah." He fell silent, as did I. I technically strongly preferred guys, mostly because women were the source of a lot of my issues in life.

"Well, it's not a bad thing." I said. "I've been bi for a long time." He looked at me, and I looked back. Oh God, I knew that look anywhere; he was interested in me. Inwardly I shrugged; what did I have to lose?

"Ah." He said simply, going back to his game.

"You don't have to be nervous." I explained.

"Watch your back." Ken muttered, pressing a quick series of buttons. I twitched and looked at my screen, as the goblin that had been sneaking up on me fell to a spell.

"Oh, thanks."

"No biggie." He dropped his spent cigarette into an empty soda can, after taking a last drag. "Hey, I didn't mean to make you...you know, uncomfortable."

"Dude, I'm not uncomfortable." I laughed. "Hell, we went to school together. Nothing about you is going to surprise me." He blushed deeply at that. "What?"

"Nothing. Just...well, gym."

"What about it?"

"Can I confess something to you?"

"Of course."

"I think...well...you're really fucking hot." He averted his eyes, focusing on the game. "During gym, in the showers, I'd sneak a peek at you. You're...huge." I was at a loss for words to say, and he suddenly blushed infinitely deeper. "Oh god dude, I'm sorry...I didn't mean to..."

"Seriously, it's alright." I laughed. "Really. Calm down a few notches." He looked at me, his blushing almost comically deep. "If you got the hots for me, you got the hots for me."

"But, you've probably got a lover or something." He said, sadly.

"Nope. Free as a bird." I looked at him, smiling. I wouldn't mind going out with him, but he definitely needed to buck up a little. "I'll do it. Wanna get something to eat later? Dinner, maybe?"

"Uh...s-sure..." He said, nervously. I smiled, turning back to the game.