The Hands

by Andrea Speed, A. B. Gayle, Jessie Blackwood, J. J Levesque, Katisha Moreish

  “That sounds... like it could be fun.” Not that they were dating or anything - after all, one date was not exclusive - but Aiden wondered how Flynn would react to seeing him with Angel. The idea intrigued him. A lot, if truth be told.

  “For you? I’ll even make sure I don’t disappear half-way through the night.” Even if hanging out with Aiden killed his game with the guys, Angel was pretty sure it would only increase how many female phone numbers he went home with.

  “You don’t have to stay with me the whole night, Angel. I’m a big boy. I can handle myself. Besides, I’ll probably just check out the place, say hello to Flynn and then head home.”

  “Aiden. That is lame. You can’t just go and leave. The idea is that you make him look at you all night while he works. It’s about building up anticipation, man.”

  “But wouldn’t that be distracting to him?”

  “Dude. That’s kind of the point.” Angel chuckled at Aiden’s unsure look. “Unless you think you’re so distracting you’ll get him fired.”

  Aiden snorted. “Yeah, I doubt I’m that distracting. The last time I went to a club I was in college... sophomore year.”

  “Do I want to know how that went?” Maybe it wasn’t fair that Angel had been to his first club when he was sixteen, but that was late for a kid whose parents worked in entertainment. Either way, he’d been to so many he’d long ago lost track.

  “Not really. It was a bit of a disaster. Guy I went with found someone more interesting.”

  “Okay. So I’m really not going to leave you on your own now.” Angel wondered if he could find this guy to hurt him a little. “And you’re definitely going.”

  “Please, I went with him as a date. We’d be going as... friends. I’m not going to get in the way of your game,” Aiden said with a laugh. “I’ll go, though, sure.”

  “Please. Nothing can ruin my game. My game is unruinable. And I don’t ditch my friends either.” Angel smirked. “Though if you choose to ditch me at the end of the night for your boy, I won’t be bothered.”

  Aiden gave him a light shove. “You wouldn’t be ditching a friend.”

  “Well, we’ll see how it plays when we get there, all right?” Angel shrugged. Aiden could protest all he wanted. Angel wasn’t going to leave him alone unless he walked off on his own with someone else. He had made plenty of acquaintances in Haven Falls and not many he trusted to cross into the territory of friend. Aiden might be new, but he had potential. He had something that made Angel want to trust him.

  “All right, we’ll see. But... we should get finished with the planning, yeah?” Aiden gestured towards the book in front of them. School he could do. Books he could talk about for hours. Social things... that’s where he was lacking. And he knew it, too.

  “All work and no fun.” Angel shook his head with a grin. “You know your plans look great. They always do. I think you’re more organized than I am. But yeah, end of year worries? Anything you’re not sure about?”

  Aiden thought about it for a minute then shook his head. “No, not really. I have three kids that are definitely failing for the year. Two more if they don’t hand in their final project. Just a little stressed at having to get all of the exams graded and in by their due date. They don’t give much time to get those in, do they?”

  “Nope, and no one outside of our department seems to get the pain of having to grade so many essays. If it’s killing you, tell me. I have less classes, so I can help you out.”

  “I’d hate to ask for help on that. My class load, I’ll deal with it. But thank you for the offer.” Aiden smiled. “It’s sweet of you.”

  “Don’t turn down the offer until you’re done, okay? I had your class load last year. I’m not saying you can’t do it. I’m saying it’s part of my job to make sure you don’t burn out before you come back next year.” Angel smiled before he added. “And I’d hate to know you were bent over tests for an entire weekend while I have time to...” Angel stopped before he finished his sentence. There was probably a limit to how much Aiden wanted to know about his end of year celebrations.

  “While you have time to what? Run around and play?” Aiden asked a small smile on his face. He waved a hand. “As bad as the schedule is here, at least I don’t have parents breathing down my neck about their child getting that extra point for scholarship reason. That was hell.”

  “Yeah. I went to school at one of those fancy schools. Can’t imagine teaching there though. I wasn’t even a huge fan of the mindset when I went there.” Angel shook his head remembering how much he’d fought his dads on going to a regular school.

  “I definitely don’t recommend it. I’m so glad I came here. Everything is so much more... laid-back. And friendlier.” Since they were clearly finished with his book, he gathered it and shoved it back into his bag.

  “I don’t think I could even look at another one of those uniforms anyway.” Angel nodded toward the kitchen. “You on your way out or you want a beer?”

  “I should probably head out. I don’t like to leave Dante alone too long or I get a mess to clean up,” he said and made a face. “The joys of having a puppy. And... I’m supposed to have a beer with Evan later.”

  Angel raised and eyebrow. “Just a beer with a friend?”

  “Yeah... he suggested it.” Aiden stood and shouldered his bag. “Thanks for the help, Angel. I appreciate it.”

  “This develops into more than a friendly beer and you know I’m going to find out, right?” Angel asked, but he didn’t try to stop Aiden’s move to the door. He’d given the man enough hell about Flynn already.

  “I know you will, but it’s not going to,” he responded, glancing back at him. Even if he’d been attracted to Evan from the start. Flynn’s arrival completely threw him off.

  “Then I’ll spare you my speech about playing where you work.” Angel had to admit he wasn’t too worried about that one. Not that Evan wasn’t fun to look at in staff meetings, but with Flynn in the picture, he couldn’t really imagine Aiden balancing multiple men...at least not very successfully.

  “Yeah, you can spare me.” With a smile and a wave Aiden let himself out. “Thanks again. See you later.”

  Haven Falls #41: A Beer and a Decision

  Evan Owens and Aiden Parker

  ____________________________________

  Evan changed his shirt three times. Three freaking times. The black was too tight and in his opinion far to gothic. The blue was too new and wasn’t soft enough as it crinkled and creased against his skin. The red was perfect. Well worn, neat, perfectly ironed and an old favourite. He was wearing his best jeans, but had even wondered whether he was doing that right; it was only beers with a friend. Damn it. Why couldn’t he even relax to enjoy that without second guessing whether he was dressed the right way or not.

  He had the beer in the cooler, some dips and chips on the kitchen counter and held a smooth flyer in his hand. Well, actually to call it a flyer was being generous, it was actually a scribbled note that had photocopied and pushed through his door some weeks before. Tonight was the 4th of July celebration at Haven Falls and he had completely forgotten about it.

  Evan didn’t usually forget things; it was more like not giving over space in his brain to worthless pointless information. Evan didn’t do social events; forever the person standing on the side looking on and feeling like the ugly kid at prom. Maybe Aiden would want to go though; he may even insist on it? Evan sighed. He guessed it might be nice to actually walk to something with someone he could stand with?

  Deefur seemed to sense his worries, sitting close to his legs and casting up adoring looks. Although equally the puppy eyes could be begging for a treat instead of support for Evan.

  He petted Deefur and then carefully placed the piece of paper in perfect alignment to the corner of the work surface. He worried his lower lip with his teeth. He still wasn’t one hundred percent positive that he even wanted to go. What was the point?

  Aiden had purchased some beer - not th
at he knew what Evan liked but it was beer - and made his way to Evan’s house. Once again Dante was crated at home and he felt guilty. He owed that dog some serious playtime for leaving him so much.

  He was dressed casually today with a little bit of red, white and blue on in honor of the fourth. Not that he celebrated it much, or anything, but it seemed fitting. Arriving at Evan’s house he knocked on the door and waited, thinking about what Angel had said earlier.

  Evan heard the knock and straightening from stroking Deefur he went to the front door. He took a deep breath, he could do this. He could be clever and fun and not leave any awkward silences. His hand hovered on the handle; maybe he should have had a few beers already, that might make it easy? Another breath and he opened the door, blinking at the young teacher who stood on his threshold. He was dressed with something red white and blue and Evan looked down at his own red shirt and sighed inwardly, maybe he should change.

  “Hi,” he said instead, and stood to one side letting Aiden pass.

  Aiden slipped inside, giving him a small smile and nodded. “Hi. Umm, I didn’t know what you liked so I just picked up whatever. I hope it’s okay,” he said as he held up the six pack of beer. He almost let out a sigh of relief. Evan looked just as tense as he felt. But this was okay. It wasn’t a date. It was just two friends having a beer and hanging out. He could do this. And if they ran out of things to talk about, they could always talk about school and their students. Yeah, they had plenty in common! Even if Evan was math and Aiden could hardly do the basics.

  “Kitchen,” Evan said simply, waving vaguely in the direction of the rest of the beer, and looking to see Aiden was following he ended up in the kitchen leaning back against the counter, a cold beer in his hand and Aiden leaning on the opposite counter.

  Setting the beer down, Aiden hesitated then grabbed one, popped it open and took a sip. He managed not to make a face as he drank it. Truth be told he preferred the sweet stuff, but he could deal with it. “So...” he started, making an effort. “How was the rest of your walk with Deefur?” Lame, Aiden. So lame, he thought, nearly cringing.

  “Fine...we had almost finished our walk anyway,” Evan hesitated, he didn’t want to resort to school talk, but if he didn’t pull something out of the hat soon, his first foray in to having a friend would be an unmitigated disaster. Inspired he fell back on the only passion outside of Math that he had - basketball. “I coach the school basketball team part time,” he blurted out, feeling the blush rising up his face.

  “Yeah? That’s cool,” Aiden said, smiling a little. He sipped his beer and glanced down at the floor then forced his eyes back up. “I’ve been running the student book club. Not very... athletic. But it’s fun. So you like sports?”

  “Not so much, not except basketball. I saw the book club, I have one of my basketball students who is struggling with English; maybe I should send him your way?”

  “Sure, that’d be fine. I’ll help bring his grade up. I hope it’s not too low. It is close to the end of the year.” The end of the year! Perfect discussion topic. Aiden smiled wider. “Do you have plans for the summer?”

  “It will be next year I think. Plans. Not really, I am teaching some summer school, other than that I want to try some of the longer walks around here with Deefur,” could he sound any more lonely and pathetic? OK, bite the bullet. “Maybe you and Dante could come with?”

  “Sure, I’d like that. Dante would, too. I’ve been leaving him in the crate too much. Good luck with summer school. I did that once. At my last school. I felt like I never had a vacation.” Aiden sipped his beer and glanced at the counter and saw the flyer, which sparked his memory. “Hey!” he said, then blushed at how loud he’d been. “Umm, there are fireworks tonight at Celestial Falls. Do you want to go?”

  Evan swallowed. He thought back to the conversation he had had with himself in the bedroom before Aiden had arrived. If he was going ‘with’ someone then he wouldn’t look out of place. He could drink some more beer, he knew people in the town, he wasn’t a total recluse. Fear caught in his chest. This was stupid, he needed to get over what happened, needed to get past it, and live his damn life.

  “Yes Aiden,” he said confidently, “I would love to go.”

  Aiden smiled brightly, relieved his suggestion hadn’t been rejected. “Great. That’s great. It will be fun,” he said with a nod and quickly finished the beer in his hand. He nearly regretted that decision, but he wouldn’t have another.

  Evan guessed that was it, they had decided. He eyed the plate of chips ruefully and then forced himself not to tip them in a storage container, he needed to act like it wasn’t freaking him out to leave the mess behind. He grabbed at the jacket on the hook by the door and palmed his keys.

  “Let’s go.”

  “Do you want to put the food away first? I can help. I don’t know about Deefur, but Dante would be all over the food the second I left the room.” Aiden had seen the small look on Evan’s face and, being somewhat of a neat person himself, took a guess.

  Evan almost fell on the food in gratitude, scooping and pouring and then looking over at Aiden with a grin on his face. “Thank you...you are right I wouldn’t want Deefur eating it all.”

  The man had a great smile, if only he would smile more. Though Aiden really shouldn’t talk. How often did he smile? “He would probably make a huge mess of it, too. When I first got Dante, he had soft food. He would carry it from his dish to another spot in the house, eat it, and then go back. It was such a mess.”

  “Deefur too,” Evan said, realising that they did have something in common outside of school, their dogs. “Don’t even get me started on the toilet training,” he began quickly, and opened the front door to the evening air. He could do this.

  Aiden followed him out and nodded, commiserating. “Dante still isn’t trained. It’s why I have to crate him. Such a mess if I leave him out.”

  Evan felt himself relax; Aiden was so different to what he expected. It was a welcome surprise, and he was enjoying it. They exchanged stories of horror and fur and he actually found himself laughing as the beer and good company filtered through his reserve. He was having fun.

  Once Evan let his guard down, Aiden was able to relax as well. Celestial Falls was a close enough walk, and Aiden was glad. A drive would mean more concentrating and less talking, and he was feeling at ease with someone other than Angel. This could definitely work, he thought as he laughed yet again at another story.

  Haven Falls #46: Who Are You

  Flynn Archer, Aiden Parker, Evan Owens, & Angel Torres

  _________________________________________

  For a moment, Flynn worried about how he was supposed to dress for a fireworks show at his boss’s place, then figured fuck it, he didn’t really care. He was still distracted by discovering a severed hand in the park.

  Wasn’t that a scene from a David Lynch movie? Well, it was kind of like that at any rate. All day he’d found himself wondering who it belonged to, and how the hell that dog had ended up with it. The cops wondered that too, and after a hot deputy questioned him, Doctor Feelgood, and Mad Max (considering how dumpy he looked, it was more like Sad Max), they spread out across the park, looking for more. He had no idea if they’d found anything else. He did know the cops seemed floored by it - there wasn’t a lot of violence in Haven Falls, apparently. Flynn wondered if he was dragging it with him, like some dark wake, a shadow self.

  He wished he could talk to someone about it, about all this shit, but nobody knew him here. They knew Flynn Archer, a squeaky clean boy who’d never even been in the vicinity of violence, to the point where he may have never even seen a Michael Bay film. Flynn was an All American boy (more or less), who wouldn’t know anything about the dark side of life. It was almost working too; it had been well over a month since he had that dream about the robbery.

  He still couldn’t say why he let Bobby talk him into the gig in the first place. Sure, the money he was offering was good, and he needed it, bu
t robbing a pharmacy? Even though it was after hours, and Bobby swore the plan was foolproof, something in his gut told him it was a disaster waiting to happen, but did he listen to it? Of course not. He was young, stupid, and always after a new thrill. And of all the crew, he only knew Bobby, and just barely. While Bobby was able to disable the security system and Flynn had gotten them past the locks, there were details that had been missed, although that was only obvious in hindsight. He’d been picking the lock of a security cabinet while Bobby ransacked the open shelves, and that’s when Flynn heard the sickening thud in the back room that made him stop cold. Only after Terry came in, shouting they had to get out of there now, did either of them realize that sound had been Terry killing a security guard who had come across the scene.

  Theft hadn’t seemed like a big deal, certainly not from a corporate entity, but murdering some guy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time? Holy shit, he hadn’t wanted any part of that at all. He didn’t want to hurt people; if anything, he was tired of hurting, which had led him to this whole mess in the first place. So he threw off his old life like he was a snake shedding his skin, and became good boy Flynn Archer, who never did anything bad. Well, beyond breaking hearts, but a guy had to have some fun.

  That hand in the park brought it all flooding back, though, and for a moment he wondered if Terry had followed him here or something. Then he remembered he was shot and killed by police last year, and figured it was just some random, weird coincidence that violence was ghosting back through his life. He wanted to run, take off again, but then he remembered Henry Vale and knew he couldn’t. He came here for answers, and he wasn’t leaving without them.

  He dressed in a simple black tank top and brown hiking shorts, grabbing a pair of sunglasses off his dresser before heading out. He wasn’t sure the sunglasses were his, but hey, whoever actually owned them had never come back for him, so by right they were his now.