Bewitched

by Max Hudson

  “It's an ouroboros.”

  Noah huffed slightly. “Yes, the snake that eats itself. You must be one of those guys who is into that occult stuff.”

  “Occult stuff?”

  “You know, black candles and ancient demon books.”

  Ari smirked. “Do you want to see my bookshelf?”

  “I'll show you mine if you show me yours.”

  Noah winked as he handed the ring back, his calloused fingers slightly nudging Ari's. The brief contact alerted Ari, reminding him how long it had been since he had been in close physical proximity with any human. Though he was regularly surrounded by humans, his contact with them was limited to a verbal relationship.

  As he cleared his throat, his eyes lingered down Noah's collar, glancing at the tuft of hair sticking up from between two undone buttons. He rapidly fixed his eyes to Noah's face where a genuine smile crossed his lips. This was rare for him, a foreign yet lovely occurrence that inspired a light chuckle.

  He slipped his ring back on his finger. “The others are just symbols.”

  “Well, they must be more than just symbols, right?”

  “I suppose they have meaning.”

  Noah hummed. “What do they mean to you?”

  “Power, regeneration, intuition—you know, occult things.”

  “Should I be intimated?”

  “Do you feel intimidated?”

  Noah met Ari's gaze daringly, irises sparkling as the corners of his eyes wrinkled up to reflect the smile that surely sat on his lips. Something flashed there—perhaps a thought—and he shyly dropped his gaze, biting his lower lip.

  “It comes with the territory,” Ari continued. “I'm used to people being intimidated by my appearance.”

  “Well, I'm far from intimidated by the black getup. I think it's hot.”

  “Oh?”

  Noah grinned. “What about me? Do I look weird to you?”

  “You look like you rushed.”

  “Is that all?”

  Ari huffed with amusement. “I guess you look average as we like to say in the office.”

  “Average—does that mean normal?”

  “Oh, we don't use that term.”

  Noah laughed. “Why not?”

  “Because normal doesn't exist. We think more in terms of average functioning.”

  “That sounds fair.”

  Ari hummed. “Would you care to order more food?”

  “Oh, I would love that.”

  Ari flagged the waiter over and ordered a new meal, quietly turning to Noah to give Noah a turn. Even after the waiter left, he kept his eyes on Noah. The way the man spoke held his attention. He wanted to learn so much more.

  “Tell me more about the code you write,” he insisted. “Although I'm sure that's a rather boring question.”

  “No, it's a fair one.”

  Ari gestured for Noah to continue.

  Noah grinned. “I analyze the needs of the client and then develop a software to match those needs. We typically run each code through a series of tests prior to delivering the final piece. Running system tests with each phase of the project optimizes the software and reduces bugs.”

  “Fascinating.”

  “It's all a bunch of gibberish.”

  Ari chuckled. “Is it?”

  “I mean, it looks like equations at first, but they don't quite make sense. To me, they make plenty of sense. I can take a peek at whatever someone is working on and venture to guess what it is from how the code looks.”

  “That's incredible.”

  Noah shrugged. “It's a job. I'm hoping to develop this user application for phones that can detect blood pressure. Anyone who suffers a heart attack could have an EMT at their door two minutes after the heart attack begins.”

  Ari raised his eyebrows. “That's quite impressive. When do you hope to have that done?”

  “I'm not sure. I'm used to working with security systems, you know? But I like the challenge. I've been staying up late working on it.”

  “So, you work your own kind of magic.”

  Noah raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I wear all these occult symbols of my fingers, so someone could assume I work with energy or magic. You do the same sort of thing, but with computers.”

  “I guess I never thought of it that way.”

  Ari smirked. “You're a magician.”

  “A magician—I like that.”

  Noah winked.

  “Would you...care to go for a walk once we finish our meals?” Ari inquired. “It's a lovely night and I believe there's a festival up the block. We could do some people watching.”

  “I'd like that very much.”

  “Excellent. Ah, right on cue.”

  The waiter returned with a friendly grin and two plates of food. As the waiter set them down, Ari stole another glance at Noah. Noah looked pleased with the buffet sitting in front of them. As the waiter retreated, Ari redirected his eyes to his plate. The steam curled up in wisps from his carne asada, inspiring him to grin.

  “This looks amazing,” Noah commented. He grabbed his glass of water and lifted it, holding it out to Ari. “To a budding friendship.”

  Ari grinned and repeated the gesture, holding out his glass. “To a budding friendship. May it be fruitful.”

  “In more ways than one.”

  Their glasses clinked when they met, inspiring Ari to grin all over again. His eyes never left Noah. He couldn't possibly look away.

  How could he look away when a seemingly average human was capturing his attention?

  Chapter Four

  Noah

  The night air bit through Noah's shirt as he stepped on the sidewalk and turned to hold the door open for Ari. As the air whipped around his shoulders, he shuddered against it, releasing the door to favor his arms. He hugged himself tightly.

  Ari arched his right brow. “Are you cold?”

  “No, I think I'm overheating.”

  “Would you like my coat?”

  “Oh, Victorian style isn't my thing. Do you have anything more modern?”

  Ari chuckled jovially, his eyes sparkling as he glanced down at his outfit. The fabric of his coat was made of velvet, appearing soft to touch. Noah mindlessly reached out to stroke the sleeve of Ari's coat. When he realized what he was doing, he retracted his hand immediately.

  This made Ari chuckle again. “It's alright. You can touch my jacket.”

  “It just looks nice.”

  “I bought this one specifically for its thickness.”

  Noah hummed. “Do you get cold easily?”

  “It's the unfortunate truth of being a walking skeleton.”

  Noah cackled as he trailed his fingers up to the shoulder of Ari's coat. He paused there, waiting for his brain to catch up and signal whether he should move to Ari's collar or return from whence he came.

  He dropped his hand at his side. “I suppose I should grab a sweater from my car. It's right here.”

  He drew his key fob from his pocket and popped the trunk. He rummaged through an assortment of items—an empty gas can, a collection of used cardboard boxes that were flattened against each other, and dozens of books on code—until he found a rather lint-ridden sweater in the shade of olive green.

  While he pulled it over his head, the hem of his shirt rode up. A patch of cold wind greeted his stomach and caused him to squeak. He cleared his throat as he adjusted the sweater, blushing slightly as he realized Ari was watching him.

  He coughed as he shut the trunk of his car. “Shall we?”

  “Gentleman first.”

  Noah feigned shock as he stepped up on the sidewalk and began walking in the direction of the autumn festival. He slowed his pace, allowing Ari time to catch up. Though it didn't appear that Ari was struggling to keep pace. It was more like Ari established his own slow crawl, a meandering beat that he kept with his steel-toed boots.

  The buckles on his boots gleamed in the streetlamps, silver squares glinting b
ack at Noah. His jeans were black, ripped in a few strategic places, and tighter than a wet wad of paper sticking to the side of a water bottle. Noah found himself studying the rest of Ari, observing the slight bulge at the front of Ari's jeans as well as the silver buttons leading up to Ari's slender neck.

  Ari's skin was olive, clear, and even smooth in its appearance. He had a slightly pointed chin set beneath a pair of thin lips. His cupid's bow trailed into an Aquiline nose, centered perfectly in his face between two round eyes that roused Noah's curiosity. His eyes weren't quite black, but close enough, nearly looking like two pools of dark water. Trim brows rested above his eyes and moved easily with the muscles of his face, matching each expression he made as if they had a life of their own.

  Most of Ari was a mysterious enigma. He seemed to be opposed to colors, save for the gold watch that sat in the breast pocket of his coat. When his dark eyes noticed Noah, the corners of his lips turned up, tugged into his high cheekbones.

  “Was it something I said?”

  Noah huffed slightly as he chose to witness the path ahead, suddenly aware of everything on the sidewalk. The lamps flanking either side illuminated the debris on the path, the wads of crumpled newspaper and weeds sprouting up from between the cracks of the cement appearing supernatural in the dim light.

  “No, not at all,” he replied quickly. “I was just...looking.”

  “You were looking pretty hard.”

  “Well, I like what I see.”

  Ari chuckled. “I feel much the same.”

  “I'm not too average looking for you, am I?”

  “Is that something you're worried about?”

  Noah hummed curiously. “Wow, you really are a shrink.”

  “My apologies. I don't mean to take my work home with me. I tend to...try to keep those sorts of comments out of my usual engagements.”

  “No, I liked it. I think that's something a lot of us worry about.”

  Ari nodded thoughtfully. “I often wonder what people think of me, but I do well to remember that it's none of my business.”

  “Do you want to know what I think of you?”

  “Ah, I seldom encounter this opportunity. I would love to know.”

  Noah paused near the edge of the festival. The smell of fried dough floated in the air between Ari and him, inviting him to smile wide. Though it wasn't quite the scent encouraging the smile as much as it was the way Ari held his gaze. Haunting circus music played nearby, drifting between the other sounds echoing in the background.

  “You're real,” Noah complimented. “And I feel comfortable talking to you.”

  “Already?”

  “Sometimes, I just know with people.”

  Ari smirked. “I like that. I think I feel the same.”

  “You think?”

  “Oh dear. I've invited a monster to be born with my shrink comments.”

  Noah cackled and nodded toward the center of the festival. A lonely green bench sat within the chaos, a prime area for people watching. Ari followed as if having the same idea. As Noah relaxed into the wood, he watched Ari carefully, noticing that Ari's movements were delicate yet calculated. Ari was confident with every gesture, every word, and each look.

  “I think I'd like to do this again,” Noah said. “Maybe with something spookier in mind.”

  “I do like spooky things.”

  “I gathered as much.”

  Ari guffawed, his eyes closing to slits as his mouth widened. When the laughter faded, he tucked his black hair behind his ear, the raven strands loosening despite his command. It was the only thing that seemed unruly about the man. All other parts of him were prim, proper, and clean, reflecting a sophistication of sorts. But his hair was rebellious.

  “Does your job mind that your hair is long?”

  Ari shrugged. “Does it matter? I help people.”

  “That's fair.”

  “I like my hair. I take a lot of pride in it.”

  Noah chuckled. “But it doesn't seem to like you.”

  “I come from a long line of men with thick hair. It despises the humidity and it refuses to stay straight, no matter how many times I pass a straightener over it.”

  “So, it's like you.”

  Ari stared for a moment, blinking blankly while the joke registered. A Cheshire smile spread over his lips as he dropped his gaze, appearing for the first time during their date to appear somewhat bashful. The smile faded but didn't exactly recede, reflected in the dark sheen of his eyes.

  He shrugged lightly, thoughtfully. “That's an astute observation.”

  “I like to watch people.”

  “I can tell.”

  Noah hummed with amusement, turning to observe the crowd trickling around them. People sped by wearing large witch hats, black robes, spiritual symbols, and other spooky items. Some folks sported plastic knives while others carried about great scythes made of the type of toy rubber one could find in cheap holiday stores.

  A group of children were dressed as fairies, running with sprightly speed toward a tent lined with bagged fish. Adults gathered around children, chatted idly, looked on with appreciative smiles and tired eyes as their kids jumped from one vendor to another.

  “Do you like to dress up for Halloween?” Noah directed the question to Ari without glancing in Ari's direction. “Or is everyday Halloween for you?”

  “Both.”

  “I like that.”

  “And you?”

  Noah shrugged, settling his gaze on Ari with shy confidence. “I used to. I'm not so sure anymore.”

  “What spoiled your fun?”

  Don't mention Floyd. That would just ruin the mood.

  “I guess I lost my love for it,” he lied. “I must have just lost the joy of it a long time ago.”

  “That doesn't sound true.”

  Noah widened his gaze as if an animal caught in the middle of the road. He gulped quietly, trying to soften his muscles to appear less frightened than he felt.

  “The joy for the supernatural is always there,” Ari explained. “We just have to find it and bring it out of you.”

  Noah grinned with relief. “I suppose we could start with a cheesy festival ride, right?”

  “What ride?”

  “Over there.” Noah nodded behind Ari. “Those weird, rickety rides that are really made to spook kids. I always find them thrilling.”

  “Loud music, bright lights, fog machines.”

  “Cheesy decorations. Plastic masks. Everything one could possibly want for a proper Halloween.”

  Ari grinned. “I think I like where this is going. But I should ask first.”

  “What's that?”

  “Are you sure you're not just trying to get me alone?”

  Noah smiled slyly. “If I wanted to do that, I'd just ask.”

  “I do appreciate forwardness.”

  “You seemed to be the type.”

  “I am.”

  Noah blinked. Although the festival crackled with activity around him, nothing could possibly command his attention in the way Ari was commanding him now. His breathing slowed to a paced crawl, a rhythmic roll that alerted his senses. He waited for the sensations to increase. He anticipated his heart rate rising and his skin crawling, hair standing on edge in patient arousal for what was to come next.

  But instead, he drew back and nodded to the attraction on the other side of the festival.

  “Let's catch a ride before it gets too late.”

  Ari, with a slight flourish of his coat, rose from his side of the bench and extended his arm to Noah. The soft, plush sleeve greeted Noah's shoulder, rousing him from his dreamy gaze back to reality.

  But he didn't want to dance in the firelight of streetlights and carnival attractions. He wanted desperately to sink his fingers into Ari's hair, to tease the skin of Ari's scalp, and to scrape his lips against Ari's mouth. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and shrugged his shoulders lightly as they approached the booth selling ride tickets.
/>   “I'll get them,” Noah insisted while whipping out his wallet. “You caught dinner. This one is my treat.”

  “A true gentleman.”

  Noah paid for the tickets and grabbed the small batch of stubs, taking Ari's arm again as he wandered toward the attraction. A grim reaper towered above them with a mischievous, toothy grin, eyes hollowed out save for the miniature red lights flaring within the gaping holes. Children bounced between the line and their parents, eyes wide and grins shaky, nervous.

  He shuddered slightly as they approached the attendant accepting tickets. Once he was tucked beneath the worn metal of the seat, his heart skipped a few beats, leaping into his throat.

  There it is, he thought. I was wondering when that was going to happen.

  “Noah,” Ari whispered as they glided along the track toward a set of rickety wooden doors. “Do you believe in ghosts?”

  “This might be a bad time to mention that I'm terrified of jump scares.”

  “Should I hold your hand?”

  Noah grinned and chuckled nervously. “That would be helpful, yes.”

  “My hand is all yours. You can have both if you like.”

  The doors squeaked eerily as the car scooted along the track, jaggedly curving into a tunnel thick with darkness. Noises echoed around him, a mixture of cats squealing, bat wings flapping, and exaggerated growls from various animals. He snickered with delight when the car halted abruptly in front of an empty glass.

  Light flickered over the glass to illuminate a ghastly witch situated on the other side. In the same instant, the witch pounced at the glass, causing Noah to squeal and shove his chuckling lips into Ari's velvety shoulder.

  An insidious cackle spewed from his left, inspiring him to lift his head to inspect the noise. But he found it was Ari pouring with amusement. Ari seemed far more open than Noah had initially met, eyes absorbing every sight available and features alight with mirth. The sight inspired Noah to echo his own excitement and he turned bravely to the new flashing lights and gnarled faces on the path of the rickety track.

  The car jolted side to side and came to a skittering halt near a pair of intimidating doors that appeared to lead out of the attraction. An emergency light flashed in the distance, clouding the area with a red hue. Ari turned curiously to Noah.