When We Were Still Human

by Vaughn Foster

  “I guess you could say that. I don’t know why, but Beethoven calms me down. Stops me from hurting anyone, I guess.”

  “Ohh, little Avi has a violent spark. I like that.”

  She laughed; he joined in, the pair continuing to talk and joke around until the lampposts flickered on. Though Avia couldn’t remember even saying hello to him before, she found herself staying on the bench and actually enjoying his company.

  “Okay,” she coughed, catching her breath after his last joke about human ashes and a Volkswagen Bug. “This is going to make me sound like a horrible person. Have we met before and I just don’t remember it? Cause I honestly don’t know you, but you seem like you know me pretty well.”

  “Everyone knows you,” Noah said with a wicked grin. “You’re the quiet, straight-A student who dropped out to make mad dough teaching music to rich music. You also have the superpower to transform into the biggest party animal in existence.”

  “That is quite a description,” she said, reflexively brushing back her hair and playing with the ends.

  “I was at the spring break party Leo threw last year, and let me say, you made quite the impression. I mean one second, you were just chilling in the kitchen and talking to some chick. The next you’re dancing on the table, singing at the top of your lungs. Hell, you even got a little weird with Mason’s sister, Jen, for a bit.”

  Avia laughed, and she could feel her cheeks growing bright red. “I barely remember anything from that night. My memory is pretty much just what my friends told me the next day.”

  “Hey, I can’t blame you. I’ve never seen anyone do that many shots, especially a girl.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Why, thank you,” she remarked sarcastically.

  “No, not like in a sexist way,” he said, quickly trying to recover. “It’s just that you guys are a lot smaller than most of the dudes on the football team.”

  “Oh, so now we’re guys? This is just like what I told my cousin last week. Every woman’s accomplishments are compared to a man’s. Well, ya know what? I am a strong independent black woman, I am my own person!”

  Noah flushed, pleadingly waving his hands in front of him. “I’m sorry, no, that’s not what I meant! Wait.” He looked at her again. “You’re black?”

  “No!” she cried, dying from her own joke. “I’m an Israeli-Spanish cocktail.”

  “Well then… Your parents must have been some amazing bartenders, because you are the most beautiful cocktail I have ever laid my eyes on— and I’m an alcoholic at heart.”

  She blinked, her body torn between laughter and curling into a ball and disintegrating into the bench. It took a moment, but she did in fact recover from what had to be the worst pickup line she had ever heard. Despite the horror, however, she couldn’t tear away from the sharp edges of his jawline. Her attention then drifted to the long, dark lashes that he was likely oblivious women would kill for.

  “Well, I guess you’re not too bad yourself,” she said airily, then reached over to squeeze his strong bicep.

  Avia internally cringed. What the actual fuck am I doing? She didn’t even act like this when she was drunk. But still… She eyed him over again and felt a tingle of excitement jolt through her chest.

  “Heh, thanks.” He tried to subtly flex but at that point, any pretext of subtle was out the window.

  So maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world…

  “Okay, so spring break officially starts tomorrow,” Noah said, suddenly all business. “Derek’s throwing the party. Him and some guys rented this huge house for their senior year and we’re going to try to keep the party going all week. You in?”

  Avia was on the brink of declining. The words started to form, but she paused, catching how tightly his t-shirt clung to his sculpted chest. A rave wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world… Plus, she’d been able to easily fade into the aether at the last frat party.

  She remembered Leo’s spring break bash perfectly— it was just a different experience than Noah’s. She, Cheshire, and various other spirits had gone on a two-day mountain climbing exposition, though Cheshire had cheated most of the trip by floating or misting past the hard parts. This “celebration” would probably be just as good. The alcohol alone could check her out for a few days.

  “Hell yeah,” she said finally. She sat up and pumped a fist. “Sounds fun.”

  “Awesome! Give me your number and I’ll text you the address. It’s getting kinda late so I’m gonna head back. Wanna be well rested for the coming chaos.”

  “Or…” she offered, placing a hand on his lap. “We could start our own party a bit early.”

  “What?”

  Avia smirked at the confusion and excitement fighting for control on his face. “I’ve had a pretty shitty few days, but I think you might be able to change that.”

  “Wait, are you saying—”

  “Are you as stupid as you are beautiful?” She leaned in and gently kissed him on the lips. Standing up, she grabbed his hand before pulling him to his feet. “Come on, we’re going back to my place. It’s about two blocks away.”

  As she led him by the hand back to her condo, she could barely believe what she was doing. While he would not be the first guy she brought home, she had never slept with a complete stranger. He was hot, funny, and surprisingly smart—but at the end of the day, she knew he would never be anything more.

  It never crossed her mind what it meant or, rather, what it didn’t mean. She was a slave to her subconscious and, for right now, her subconscious demanded she leave her body. She wanted her throne of candy. She wanted birds singing. She wanted to get out of her skin. Noah was simply her drug of choice for the night—her key into the aether.

  A drug she knew would have no problem seeing its way out in the morning.

  She made sure to fumble with the key and bump the door a few times to give Cheshire a heads up. They practically fell inside, hands tugging clothes and bodies striking walls as lips and tongues fought for dominance. In one motion, Noah pulled her shirt over her head and threw it across the room, then kissed her again. She giggled against his lips, taking a small step back to quickly unfasten his belt and slide his jeans down. As their clothes began to trail to the bedroom, Avia’s mind calmed. Her body wanted him, needed him to fill what she had been longing for the second she had woken up. They collapsed in her bed and she began to drift. Her mind emptied until reality faded away to the soothing nothingness.

  The repeated banging of the headboard transcended into the chorus of birds. The smell of sweat gave way to the sweet scent of lavender that flowed throughout the Spirit World. His hands on her body grew more and more distant until she opened her eyes.

  She was finally home.

  Waking up in the morning, Avia was relieved to find that she was alone. She rolled over and smiled, seeing a note from Noah lying on the other pillow.

  [Hey, last night was awesome! Sorry, had to run, but I’ll see you tonight! Oh, here’s the address—]

  While she would have been in no mood to wake up to find him suggesting they get breakfast or share a shower, it was nice to see he cared enough to leave a note. Manners were a trait most men had devolved out of, the process quickening when sex was involved.

  She grabbed her robe on the way to the bathroom and took a long, scalding hot shower. It was Saturday, so she had nothing planned. She would probably just sit around and watch T.V. until it was time to go to the party.

  Drying her hair as she stepped out of the bathroom, Avia made her way to the kitchen. Halfway through pouring milk into cereal, the room started to shake. The walls stretched and pulled like clay in the hands of a sculptor. Vertigo quickly overtook her senses. It felt like she was falling, dropping into an endless abyss.

  It disappeared just as quickly as it came. Her senses returned, only for Avia to find herself sitting on the floor. A puddle of milk was forming from the flowing carton on the counter.

  A wave of terror swept over and she uncontro
llably shuddered. Her body was hot and cold, and empty. It felt like it was going to happen again. She stayed on the floor for a few more minutes until she was positive the room wasn’t spinning, then pulled herself up to search for paper towels. After cleaning up the mess, Avia carried what was left of her cereal over to the couch.

  “Who was that guy?” Cheshire materialized next to her. His hair was a mess, and there were deep bags under his eyes.

  “Just some dude from the university,” Avia answered. “But what happened to you? You look like crap.”

  “What happened? You asshats kept me up all night! I had to go deep into the Spirit Forest to continue my nap when you brought Captain Biceps home last night. Hell, I barely had time to get out.”

  “Geeze, sorry. Wow, I forgot how cranky you get when you miss a nap.”

  “Ey! It’s not just my nap here. Even in the Spirit World, I couldn’t catch a break. You, and your soldiers, and all the animals are so loud with the singing and the dancing... I swear, there’s nowhere in the aether where your voice doesn’t travel.”

  “Dude, chill. I said I’m sorry.”

  He sighed, shaking his head as he stood up and walked over to the kitchen. “It’s all good, Avi. Ha, I’m sure he was probably more pleasant than shoving a needle up your arm.”

  “Definitely.” Avia glanced down at her arm to see the needle mark from the other night was gone. Whatever she did to herself was always healed by morning. If she broke skin, the wound cauterized itself. Any damage from drugs or alcohol was fixed by the time she awoke from her stupor. She was pretty sure her body did the same with any foreign substance, because she also couldn’t get pregnant. Something she was particularly grateful for, given that neither she nor Noah had thought to use protection.

  “So,” Avia said, turning around. “He invited me to this party tonight.”

  Cheshire pulled the milk back out, took a swig, then frowned. “I thought you just bought milk?”

  “What?” Avia looked up at the empty carton and froze. “Um, yeah, I dropped it earlier. I’ll get more Monday.”

  “Dammit, Avia. No fish, no milk. You are by far the world’s worst cat owner.” He shook his head and dropped the carton in the trash. “But back to Biceps. Is this anything like Leo’s massive drunk fest last year?”

  "Mmhmm. He said this one is supposed to last a couple days.

  “How exciting.” He scratched his chin as he walked back to the couch. “I think I’ll actually go to this one.”

  “Seriously? You? At a party? You looked like you were about to die last night. Plus, you haven’t gone to an actual social event with me in years.”

  “Immortel is overpriced and the music screams ‘do me behind the fog machine, I’m desperate.’” He fell back on the cushion next to her and propped his feet on the coffee table. “House parties are different. I get to stretch my legs, drink free tequila… It’ll be fun. I spend so much time with you that I’m starting to forget what other humans are like.”

  Avia shrugged. “You haven’t really missed much. I’m only going because there should be enough stuff there to keep me in the aether all week.”

  Cheshire’s face darkened and he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Are you sure you don’t wanna take it easy? You’ve been fading out almost every night. Your visits are getting shorter each time. If you keep pushing yourself—"

  "Yeah, I know, my soul might not be able to take it." She shrugged off his hand and rolled her eyes. “I’ll be fine. Besides, the party will probably suck, so it’s not like you should feel obligated to go.”

  "Still, I want to make sure you’re okay. If that means staying in Earth Proper with a house full of a bunch of sweaty college students, then so be it.”

  “Ches..."

  "Not another word," he said with a dismissive wave. "I'm going. As for you, you need to figure out what you’re wearing. Jewelry, or no jewelry? Heels, or flats? Makeup, or are you going like… that…” He scrunched his face and waved a hand over her.

  "Shut up," she teased, punching him in the arm. He clutched his triceps and rolled on the couch in feigned agony.

  Avia shook her head and smiled. "You're ridiculous. But thank you. It means a lot, you coming and all."

  He grabbed the top of the couch and pulled himself back up to a sitting position. "Of course, that's what friends are for, right?"

  "Yeah, I guess you're right," she said, wrapping her arms around him. "I love you, Ches."

  He returned the embrace. "I love you too."

  Chapter 13

  Avia stared at her reflection for a few seconds then grinned. She couldn’t have cared less about what she wore, but Cheshire was determined that she looked good. He had also pointed out that whatever she wore was what she would hopefully stay in for the next few days. After far too many trial outfits, they decided on just a black t-shirt, shorts, and sandals.

  "Hot, but not too flashy," Cheshire said, examining her before giving his approval.

  “Great, now can we go?” Avia held her phone to his face. “The party’s already started!”

  “Calm down, I’m almost done.”

  “You’ve been gelling your hair for like fifteen minutes! And that’s after the fifteen it took for you to pick out that stupid shirt!”

  Cheshire ripped his head away from the bathroom mirror, panic in his eyes. “What’s wrong with the shirt? It has little flamingos on it and everything…”

  “Never mind, you’re perfect,” Avia sighed, pulling him out of the bathroom by the collar. “Now please, let’s go!”

  They pulled in front of the beach house around nine. In all technicality, house was an understatement. The mansion would have taken up half a city block, had it not been isolated in the middle of nowhere. Avia just barely caught a glimpse of the white sandy beach peeking past the haunting lichgate oaks and their veils of Spanish moss. Avia beamed, a new wave of excitement grabbing her reins. The driveway was already full so she scanned the property for somewhere she hopefully wouldn’t get blocked in.

  Stretched before the house was an endless lawn with dozens of vehicles planted across it. Avia found an opening in front of shrubbery tigers and between two BMWs. She put the vehicle in park and breathed in the blasting music and tumultuous thrashing that echoed from the mansion’s open windows.

  “You sure you wanna go in there?” Avia asked, looking over to see Cheshire’s eyes widen in apprehension.

  “What?” He blinked then followed her gaze to the house. “Oh, yeah, totally. Let’s do this thing.”

  “Wait, you forgot something.”

  “Hmm?”

  “Ears.” She pointed to the two cat ears still poking through his hair.

  “Oh, thanks,” he replied. His cat ears quickly faded, replaced by human ones on the sides of his head. “Now I’m ready.”

  As soon as the pair stepped through the side door into the kitchen, the smell of marijuana and spilled beer flooded Avia’s nostrils. Drinks sloshed over plastic cups as dancing bodies tried to match the bass under what looked like amped up Christmas lights. Some were grinding, others ridiculously throwing their limbs about, but no one cared. They were free.

  Shaking off the initial wave, Avia beamed and set her six-pack of beer on the kitchen table. Not that the gesture would be noticed by anyone. There was enough booze to stock an entire liquor store. American, imported, cheap, expensive. BYOB had a totally different meaning when your parents had money.

  Looking to their left, she saw a group of girls already stumbling around, holding onto each other in a stance of unity against lightweightedness.

  Though the amount of alcohol was expected, the open drug use was the real surprise. A guy with a pink turtle tattooed across his arm sat on the loveseat with a smoking blunt in hand. He was stoned out of his mind, completely oblivious to the couple making out on the seat next to him. A few feet away, a group of four or five people stood around a card table. She couldn’t see exactly what they were doing, but the open prescription
bottles and Jack Daniels said enough.

  A thundering crash shattered Avia’s train of thought. Cheshire jumped and nearly fell on top of her. It was then that the football team charged down the stairs, bare chests painted with red and gold.

  “Avia!” She tried to find the source of the voice, but couldn’t see over the crowd.

  Seconds later, Noah had pushed his way through the masses. “I’m glad you made it! Who’s this dude?” He motioned his red cup at Cheshire, who looked as pale as a ghost.

  “Oh, that’s my cousin, Charlie. He’s visiting from Jacksonville for break.”

  “What’s up, C-Man?!” Noah boomed, pulling Cheshire into a series of fist bumps and high fives.

  “Oh… Um, uh,” Cheshire stammered, trying to figure out the lengthy handshake. “Nothin’ much, bruh. Just here to party, you feel me?”

  “Hell yeah, bruh. My boy Leo’s about to pull out the funnel tubes. You game?”

  “Maybe in a lil’. I wanna start off slower, ya know?”

  “Yeah, I get you. See you two around!” Before Avia even realized what had happened, Noah was gone, sinking back into the drunken crowd as quickly as he appeared.

  “Seriously?” Cheshire asked, grabbing a cup from the table. “That’s the dude who you let… tap that?” He gestured to her ass.

  “Whatever ‘bruh,’” she teased. “And hey, he was really sweet when he was sober.”

  “I guess alcohol just reverted him back to his primal state,” Cheshire muttered, taking a tentative sniff, then wrinkling his nose at whatever was in his cup.

  “Yeah, yeah,” she said, grabbing a beer from the table. “There’s too many people here, it’s driving me insane. Just need to get a few drinks in me and fade out. Maybe hit up those guys in the dining room.”

  “Yeah…” Cheshire absently replied, his face growing pale again.

  Avia rolled her eyes. “What is it this time?”

  “It’s just... I don’t want you to mess yourself up. Has anything weird happened lately? Like maybe you haven’t come all the way back after a trip?”