Could It Be Magic

by Heather Mar-Gerrison

  Saul nodded eagerly. He would like nothing more than to leave the party, “Sure.” He agreed.

  “Wanna come back to mine?” Laars offered as they made their way from the party back towards their dorms, “It’s not that late. We could play on the games console?”

  Saul nodded, “That would be great.” He said, “I’d love to.”

  Laars smiled, “Cool.”

  Chapter 18 – All night long…

  Laars

  Laars had got the impression that Saul just didn’t want to spend any time with Freddie (and truth be known, neither did he) rather than actually being tired and wanting to turn in for the night.

  Laars was mildly surprised to find that he actually just wanted Saul all to himself and was delighted when Saul agreed to go back to his place to play a couple of games.

  “You can crash at mine for the night if you like.” Laars said as he cracked them both open a can of beer, “Like you said, there’s plenty of room in the beds.”

  Saul’s eyes went round, “Are you sure?” he asked, a little breathlessly.

  Laars nodded, his heartbeat beginning to pound slightly in his head at the idea of being so close to Saul all night long. “Sure.” He said, grateful that his voice came out sounding normal.

  “Great.” Saul said with a big smile that made Laars heart do a flip in his chest. Hell, he was far too good-looking…

  “So, uh, what shall we do first?”

  Saul raised an eyebrow, “What did you have in mind?” he asked in far too sexy a voice.

  Laars swallowed. He didn’t want to come across as totally uncool, but the truth was that he was more on the uncool side in the grander scheme of things. He’d never really mastered coolness. Aloofness, yes. Coolness, nu-huh.

  Still, Saul didn’t seem to think that he was uncool. He was regarding him now with the utmost interest.

  Blushing slightly, Laars tried and failed to shrug carelessly, “Whatever you want.” He said, “We could play on the games console, or we could see what’s on Netflix. I’ve got the password in my phone somewhere…”

  “Netflix.” Saul said, “definitely.”

  All Laars could think of was the phrase “Netflix and chill” and he found that his breathing had gone a little funny.

  They watched a couple of episodes of something that Saul chose, but in all honesty, Laars couldn’t have told anyone what happened during the show. He was too engrossed in the way Saul’s eyes widened at the shocking parts and his little gasps and his chuckles at the funny bits. He was surprised to find that he’d spent the entire couple of hours just watching Saul.

  He yawned widely as the credits rolled and switched it off, “Time for bed.” He said firmly, “Big spoon or little spoon?” What the hell am I saying?

  Saul’s smile just about lit up the room, “Little spoon,” he said, “If that’s okay with you?”

  Laars grinned back at him, his heart thudding away in his chest at the thought of holding Saul close all night, “That’s fine with me.” He said.

  Chapter 19 – Recipe for eternal happiness…

  Saul

  Saul bit his lip. It was the following afternoon and he was back in his own dormitory and he was alone.

  Laars had said he needed to call his mother and they did, realistically, have to at least spend some time apart. People would begin to think they were permanently attached to each other… Not that he’d complain about that. Being in Laars arms all of the night before had been heaven on earth…

  He glanced over towards the sideboard. His spell book was inside, because he’d put it away in there on the day it had mysteriously appeared and that was where it had stayed ever since.

  Did he dare take a look?

  Well, he reasoned, it was his book of spells, so why not? Would it register in the magic world that he was practicing magic in the human world from just taking a peek?

  He wasn’t sure. But it wasn’t like he was underage or anything. He was twenty, for God’s sake, almost twenty-one. An adult. But he’d never even been able to perform something as simple as levitation before…

  The next big event that was going down at uni was Halloween and Laars had already invited him to go with him and the guys.

  None of the rest of the student at uni seemed to think it was anything particularly special – but they weren’t from his neck of the woods. It was really quite significant for him, however. It wasn’t just a party. It was being held on the night of Halloween – and it was going to be a full moon. In his world that was something pretty damned special. It could be the difference between him and Laars remaining just good friends or for things to develop between them into something so much deeper than that – and he knew the answer was in that damned book somewhere…

  Fuck it. He was going to check.

  He closed his eyes and summoned the book to appear before him.

  Opening his eyes, he couldn’t quite believe that he’d actually remembered the incantation he’d had to recall from year six of his magical schooling but he had. The book sat on his desk, looking exactly the way it had when it had first been presented to him on his seventh birthday.

  And he wasn’t all that more excited about it now as he had been then.

  Well, okay – maybe he was quite a lot more excited about it, actually, since he needed to know something of weighty importance.

  Taking a deep breath, he approached the book. If the book didn’t detect magical ability, it simply wouldn’t open – and if you did manage to trick it into opening through a dark deed, then the pages would just be blank or the whole thing would self-combust and Saul was terrified that it would happen. How on earth would he even begin to explain to his angry father what he was doing?

  No. He wasn’t going to worry about what his father might say. This was important. This was the difference between life-long love or life-long loneliness…

  He reached out a hand and opened the book.

  The pages shimmered before his eyes before rapidly turning, as if a strong wind was blowing them and then they stopped.

  Saul’s heart was in his mouth as he leaned over to read the words on the page.

  Never before had he seen words in the book. His magical ability had barely been enough to open the book back at home and the only reason he’d been able to attend the school he’d gone to until his twentieth birthday had been because he could open the book.

  All of his pretty pathetic knowledge had been through making copious notes in class – and the only reason he’d done that was because he was so afraid of his father’s temper.

  But now, being away from his father, but more likely due to being close to the demi-god, Laars, his magical ability was flourishing.

  He read the passage. It was written in fancy script but he could read the words easily.

  The recipe for eternal happiness…

  You will meet the person of your dreams

  But you may not know at the start

  That this person will lead you to the path of love

  And holds the key to unlocking your heart…

  Halloween is the night it will happen

  And the full moon will shine full and bright

  All that is need is true love’s first kiss

  And then all will see the light…

  He read the words over and over.

  True love’s first kiss? Seriously? Saul scratched his head. Wasn’t this just the stuff of fairy tales? He grinned inwardly. Trust him to think that way – he never really had got his head around the whole magic thing. He’d believed other people were capable of it – of course they were – his own father was quite the most magical man on the planet, albeit in the worst kind of way. He’d always very secretly compared his father with the character, Jafar from the Disney movie, Aladdin. Cruel and calculated. But never with the nicer magical folk, like the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. Now he came to think about it, his ability to shield his thoughts against his father’s probing mind was something he was really accom
plished at but he’d never really considered it a magical ability before.

  Why couldn’t there just be an easier way to find out if he and Laars were made for each other? Like a written test or something. Something tangible that he could depend on, like his rocks?

  And would Laars even want to kiss him this early in their friendship?

  He couldn’t deny that he’d dreamt of little else since they first laid eyes on each other but he had no idea what Laars felt about him.

  He closed his eyes and thought about Laars’ beautiful face. Oh, God. He could almost feel himself kissing Laars when he thought about his and he had to fight with himself to not keep summoning him every two minutes.

  There was nothing else for it. He was going to have to kiss him and find out that way. If he was right, they’d fall in love instantly and live happily ever after. And if he was wrong? Well, then. He’d probably get a punch in the mouth and lose the best thing that had ever happened to him…

  Chapter 20 – Halloween…

  Laars

  I’m not gonna lie, I’m a bit jealous of that drink.” The barmaid winked at Laars, who smiled blandly back at her. She’d made plenty of passes at him during the first week of freshers but Laars had barely noticed. His mind had always been on the dark-haired, dark-eyed beauty that he now happily called his best friend.

  And that was a good point. He was supposed to be meeting him here, like, now – and yet, he was nowhere in sight. What the hell was going on? Where was he? He’d promised that they’d turn up together so neither of them felt silly in their fancy-dress get-up.

  And Laars couldn’t deny it, he felt very silly in his get-up without Saul at his side to laugh with. Still, it was what Saul wanted to do and he wasn’t about to let him down – not when it seemed to mean so damned much to him. It was the biggest event of the semester other than the Christmas Party at the end of term.

  Laars had never been into such things before he’d come to uni, but somehow or other, Saul’s enthusiasm for this Halloween party had rubbed off on Laars and he couldn’t deny that he was quite excited to be here and was kind of stoked with the spooky theme. He was dying to see what Saul was going to wear.

  Laars smoothed his hands down his Lycra leggings, nervously. He’d dressed up as a red devil and was sporting a pair of bright red Lycra leggings with his red trainers, a bright red skinny rib top and had finished off the look with a pair of red horns. It was basic but it was the best he could do in the time.

  He looked around the room. It was absolutely incredible just how much effort the committee had put into decorating up the SU bar. Cobwebs hung down from the ceiling with creepily realistic spiders dangling from them precariously.

  There were what appeared to be moving eyes in the walls all around the room and the ceiling was lit up with millions of tiny lights that looked like the stars. All the blinds had been pulled up at the windows to show off the very full moon. It was, in a word, magical.

  Feeling a little less silly now that more and more students were turning up, all in just as ridiculous outfits as the one he was sporting. Since he’d been waiting the room had filled up and Laars was now surrounded by a couple of ogres, plenty of zombies, some rather dubiously dressed witches, a few ghouls, some well-dodgy looking devils and then some terribly dressed people that hadn’t tried at all.

  George, on the other hand, had gone all out and looked like a real horse. Heaven only knew how he was holding up the body of his costume and God only knew where his real legs were. If Laars didn’t know better, he would swear that George was actually magical. “How the hell did you get into this costume. Forget that – where the hell did you find it?” he asked as George ordered a pint and looked at it dismally, or rather, the horse’s head that seemed to be able to talk did.

  “I didn’t want to be all sparkly and bright for Halloween,” he explained, “I wanted to look badass for a change.”

  Laars nodded, “Well, you managed that.” he said, “A demon horse.” He deadpanned, “I can honestly say that I’ve never seen one.”

  George snorted rudely, “Philistine.” He muttered before trotting off.

  Laars turned towards the door, just knowing that he was going to see Saul there and he wasn’t disappointed.

  Holy shit. He’d gone all out to look absolutely stunning.

  His jaw dropped as Saul started to walk towards him. Holy hell… Well, it looked like he’d planned his outfit for months in advance. It was fucking perfect. He was dressed as a black cat. His skin-tight body suit, sporting a sleek, black tail that seemed to waver behind Saul like a real cat’s tail would and the air seemed to crackle around him with some sort of magical force. Hell, it was lighting up the space he was walking through with an eerie green haze… His cat ears looked real, as did his whiskers and the prosthetic facial make-up was unbelievably realistic. There was no mistaking the eyes however, even if they did look more like the shape of his own – that would probably be down to the amazing make-up job. Laars would recognise Saul’s eyes straight away even if there were a million cats in front of him.

  Their eyes met and Saul’s face lit up into the most delighted smile that Laars had ever seen. Oh, God. He wanted nothing more than to kiss those luscious lips. Maybe he would later, once they’d both had a couple of drinks to loosen them up… A dark corner, Saul’s favourite cocktail or two and then he’d make his move… He walked over, his legs feeling ever-so-slightly wobbly at the turn his thoughts had taken. The effect that Saul had on him was sometimes a little alarming.

  “Hi.” He said huskily, “You look awesome.”

  Saul beamed at him, “Do you like it?” he asked, his voice going up in delight, “I made it all myself.”

  Laars’ eyes roved over his friend’s body. He’d made it himself? Wow. And fuck, he looked sexy. Trust him to have come to the Halloween party as a black cat – and to even have a moving tail. Weirdly, Laars couldn’t see the outline of his cock through his body suit and it was something he’d been noticing for weeks on end, if he was honest. Where the hell was he hiding it? Maybe he’d have to ask…

  Saul’s lips twitched when he broached the subject but he was remaining oddly cagey about the whole thing. There was definitely something that he wasn’t telling Laars.

  He narrowed his eyes and looked at Saul suspiciously, “What’s the trick?” he asked.

  Saul’s eyes widened in surprise, “There’s no trick.” He said indignantly, “I’m just really good with a sewing machine.”

  Laars snorted, “And that enables a tail to waver behind you, apparently of its own accord, does it?” he asked sarcastically. And where the fuck is the green, hazy light coming from?

  Saul smiled sweetly, “It’s called invisible cord for a reason. I’m controlling the movement. Every time I move my arms, it pulls on the cords and they move the tail. It’s quite simple, really.”

  Laars was quite sure that Saul wasn’t telling him the whole truth, but he really had no other explanation for any alternative. It was just because it was Halloween – made all the spookier by it being a full moon.

  His mother had told him to stay indoors tonight but there was no way on this earth that he was going to listen. Miss out on a party when his gorgeous friend was going to be dressed to impress? And where alcohol was going to be drank in copious amounts? Hello? That was code for kissing and then some… Well, hopefully it was, anyway. To be honest, Laars would settle for the merest of kisses, just to know, for sure, if Saul was as into him as he was to him…

  With his heart in his mouth, he leaned in to Saul, “Fancy a cocktail?” he asked.

  Saul’s mouth curved up in the sexiest smile Laars had ever seen on another human in his whole life. Holy shit. Never had he felt so totally out of control of his emotions. It was like magic or something. Saul had bewitched him. It was the only logical answer… “I’d love one.” Saul said.

  Laars grinned. Taking Saul’s hand in his, he pulled him over to the bar, “Come on then, my beautiful pussy
cat,” he said in a low voice, “let’s go and get one.”

  Chapter 21 – Demi-demon…?

  Saul

  Holy shit, Laars had never looked more devilish. He couldn’t have found a more apt outfit if he’d looked for a hundred years – and that was something else, too – how old was he? Was he really only twenty, as he’d told him? Or was he one of those demi-demons that could live forever and just got reborn every hundred years or so?

  Yes, he was being a little overly imaginative but hell’s teeth – where else had his newfound ability to perform magic come from, if not for their meeting?

  Surely, his father couldn’t have had anything to do with it? Saul put that ridiculous notion straight out of his mind. He couldn’t possibly have. His dad was as homophobic as they came…

  “There you go, gorgeous.” Laars winked at him as he clinked their glasses together and grabbed his free hand to pull him towards a free table, “Bottoms up.”

  Saul laughed nervously. Hell, Laars was very tactile tonight. That was the second time he’d taken his hand and it was so unbearably exciting that he began to dare to believe that the magic spell book was right…

  Could they really be soulmates? Could it really be real? God, he hoped so – so badly it was beginning to make him hyperventilate.

  Keep your cool, Saul. He told himself. You don’t want to freak him out, particularly if he is a demi-demon…

  “I’m really loving your costume.” Laars breathed, leaning towards him.

  Saul preened a little, “Do you really?” he asked, fluttering his eyelashes, “I really did make it all myself.”

  “Unbelievable,” Laars murmured, his eyes raking up and down Saul’s body again and making his blood thrum in his veins. Fuck he was unbearably sexy when he did that. His eyes seemed to gleam from within when he looked at him that way and it was as scary as it was exciting. He looked so much more devilish with that twinkle in his eye. “And I’m not convinced about the tail. It’s swishing now and you’ve got both of your hands where I can see them. You’re not pulling any sort of invisible string. So, go on, tell me – what’s the secret?”