“You tried to fucking kill me!”
“You tried to freeze me!”
“Which you somehow resisted, what in the actual fuck. Not to mention I wouldn’t have let you die!”
“And you are a trained swimmer, I’m sure you know how to hold your breath. I’m not Codi, you forget my powers work just as well no matter where I am, so immobilizing me isn’t going to bear much threat. I didn’t come here to play with you. This shit is going to end right here and now.”
“You aren’t going to come to my room and tell me what-”
“Actually, that is exactly what I am going to do. When children act like brats, they need to be disciplined.”
“Oh, so now I’m a child?!”
“Well if the shoe fits…”
“Fuck you!”
“You don’t get those privileges right now. So rather than acting like a little baby about this, why can’t we, I don’t know, act like the grown, extremely powerful men that we are, and resolve it as such!”
“I already tried fighting you! You won’t fight me!”
“Because you will lose.”
The words from Anaar’s mouth were like a hard slap across his face that had a resonating sting that stubbornly refused to go away. “You think you are hot shit, just because you are a Water Affinity, a True Quintessence at that.”
“I am still the same person I have always been before you found out about the real nature of my powers. It is you who seem to still have some deep-seated resentment toward the fact I’m a Water Affinity. Before finding out, you always felt you were in control, that you were the Alpha. You have always been in situations where you were the Alpha, and those you were with were submissive to you. You liked the chase, the idea of pursuing me because it meant you were in power. When you found out the person you had been pursing all along was an Alpha too, everything changed. Well guess what, deal with it. Whether you like it or not, we are both Alphas, that is what you signed up for.”
“How am I supposed to protect you if you are stronger than me?! That scares the fuck out of me! That is my job, to protect you!”
“Has it ever dawned on you maybe I neither want, nor need your protection? You say it scares you not to be able to protect me. Is it because you think I will get myself into situations that if they are beyond my power, they are surely beyond yours?”
“Of course! If you can’t handle it, what the fuck am I supposed to do about it?!”
“Live.”
“What?”
“Live. Get help. Any number of things. If I get into something that I can’t handle on my own, what I need is you to not get yourself killed trying to be cavalier. I need you to protect yourself because you may be a target too. Did you forget the people who know about my true nature are some of the most powerful people on the planet? Oh, by the way, Maggie knows now, so there adds another person to the team.”
“Wait, you get to tell Maggie, and I can’t tell Codi?!”
“Newsflash, my secret, I get to tell who I want. Plus she figured it out, but we can discuss that later. You said not being able to protect me scares you. You want to know what scares me? No, it terrifies me. The fact that the person I have given my heart to is going to leave me someday no matter what!”
Phavian stands stunned, not even bothering to shake the curls hanging from his eyes from his face. “I…”
Rushing up to him, Anaar grabs him by the shoulders. “You what? Never thought about that? Never thought about the fact at some point I’m going to just stop aging and you will continue getting older? Maybe you could say that if were we involved in an accident, that would solve things. Nope, survived my own megaton nuclear explosion without a scratch. I am fucking terrified that I literally have no choice but to lose you some day! I know that is just a part of life for everyone, but it is particularly more poignant to someone who does not know when they will cease to exist. So you worrying about something like ‘protecting’ me is laughable, and moot, not because I don’t trust your strength, but because I know I will always come back. If I lose you, what am I supposed to do then? Am I supposed to honor your memory, feeling validated because you sacrificed yourself for me? Great, but what does that leave me with?”
Falling to the floor, Anaar finds himself overwhelmed with emotion for the second time in a single day. Lowering himself to the floor with him, Phavian rubs the back of Anaar’s neck to comfort him.
“You know, I always imagined that out of anyone I ended up with, they couldn’t be a long-lived Water Affinity. I guess you are right that I have some resentment and some sort of fears of my own. That is also probably why I don’t find myself connecting with Water Affinities as much either. You talk about me growing old, and I am afraid you are going to leave me. You are gorgeous, smart, strong… Why the fuck would you waste your time changing my diapers when I am all old and wrinkly and you are walking around as beautiful as the first time I laid eyes on you? I guess I just figured if I went down in a blaze of glory protecting you, at least you would remember me as brave, a hero, as someone still worth loving.”
“I can’t tell you what the future holds. That one didn’t come in the package. I can’t say that we were going to be together forever anyway. I mean we are still kids really. Have you seen the divorce rate? How many people actually stay together that long? Even still, I don’t want to go into this planning for our inevitable failure, creating some self-fulfilling prophecy. I’d rather press on, giving it everything we have, doing what we can to make things be the best they can be. Maggie told me something today that made a lot of sense. Our relationship has no balance, we are either swooning, or fighting. We need to even that out. There are going to be things we need to address over time, but that is probably one of the first.”
“So she isn’t trying to sabotage us in the background or something?”
“No, she admits she still has a few issues of her own to work through, but I believe she wants if nothing else, what is best for me. If that is us being together, she wants to support that.”
“What about Dan?”
“Ok, so the first thing that will probably help us out. Stop worrying about losing me to my friends, or anyone else for that matter. I’m in love with you, though sometimes I wonder why, especially looking at this room...”
“Hey! I resent that.”
“Resent away. You are almost universally desired. Do you know who I worry about taking you?”
“Who?”
“Death. That is the only thing I fear will take you away from me, because I trust you to stay true to me. If you are true to me, no one can take you from me. The same should go for you, except I’ve already kicked Death’s ass, so you don’t have to worry about that bitch.”
Laughing, he grabs hold of Anaar’s hand. “I guess you have a point. If I can’t trust you, I don’t deserve to have you.”
“If there is ever an issue, or you feel there is something you need, just talk to me. I can’t promise anything, many things are beyond even my control. I don’t think there is a problem having that infatuation type love, but I don’t want it to just be that. I want something solid, which takes a ton of fucking work from what I hear.”
“I can agree to that. I promise to stop getting angry over every little thing, or blaming you for my own insecurities. Or at least try my best.”
“That is good to hear. Next thing on the list is cleaning up this room.”
“What?! This is the part where we make up and have sex!”
“Yeah, no. We have other things to expend that energy on.”
“I think we are wasting perfectly good make up sex…”
“We are always having some kind of fight. I won’t be surprised if something pops up tomorrow.”
“I thought we were being positive?!”
“Positivity and being realistic are two separate things. Get started on gathering these clothes. If you are a good boy, I’ll even ask Harston to wash them for you. I need to get something planned before it gets too
late.”
“You aren’t going to help?!”
“It is your room! I didn’t tell you to live in squalor. I’ll help when I get all of this organized. I’m not used to being the organizer of events. I just show up.”
“If you aren’t going to help, I should at least get sex as a reward!”
“Rewarding you for doing something you should have done already? We have a lot to work on.”
While Phavian gets his room in order, occasionally being slapped over the head with an aquatic hand, Anaar gets busy sending out invitations, trying to curry positive responses from people. Finding the task was far more arduous than he cared for, he resolved to remind people that he never does this, so it may never happen again. Surprisingly that had quite a positive response, with almost everyone being quick to point out the validity of the statement and hop on board for whatever rare circumstance this was that would cause his proactivity.
By the time he was finished, Phavian had cleaned the majority of the sitting area and all the clothes were in piles by color. Together they washed the dishes, and he gave Phavian a pass on the bed as they were going to be getting in it soon. Finishing up for the night, the two showered and headed to bed, to face their first day of classes as the reigning champions of the school.
Whereas Phavian had become so accustomed to staying in Anaar’s room, and the subsequent perks such as laundry, Anaar did not stay in Phavian’s room nearly as often. Because of such, he had not brought over any additional clothes, opting to wear his prior day’s outfit, since he usually only stayed with Phavian on weekends.
Waking that morning, he found himself being treated like a paper doll, as Phavian found infinite amounts of pleasure in dressing him. Because their difference in size, and Phavian’s tendency to wear much more fitted attire, it was much more difficult for him to wear Phavian’s clothing. Even then, this did not stop Phavian from working until something came together.
Though he felt constricted in his tight clothing, the looks he received showed that his discomfort was apparently a small price to pay for others’ delight at his different image. The looks from most people he passed, as everything he had on hugged him, accentuating the magnificence of his well cared for physique, made him only more uncomfortable as they drank him in.
Even Hobb had taken to spending most of the day reminding him of the attention he grabbed just by changing things up slightly. This caused the day to pass in almost a blur, as he moved toward his grand event he had set up. Between classes, he had even worked to make special accommodations to see this be a success. When the time came, he enlisted the help of Phavian to play host in his absence.
In order to celebrate not only Phavian’s triumph in the school rankings, but that of many of his friends, he had called together the largest gathering for dinner that he had ever been to. While he often had dinner with some combination of his core friends, with the more ancillary ones rotating out from time to time, his goal was bringing them all together to celebrate and meet one another. He understood it would make for something far less intimate, but he wanted to have everyone he thought applicable in attendance so they did not feel left out. What resulted drew attention from others in the Cafeteria, not only because of the rearranged tables to accommodate the situation, but because of the people in question.
To his delight, everyone had followed his instructions to the letter, getting their food first, then meeting at the table by the designated time. He had even given a choice in where they ate, with the second floor winning by a landslide. With everyone together he stood up to begin making his announcements as the host of the event.
“Everyone, I’m actually really glad you all said yes to having this dinner together. There are a couple of reasons I wanted to do this. I consider all of you here my friends. As I look around at the faces here tonight, that both humbles me and boggles my mind, because as many of you know, I was a very different person when I first started Sophangence.”
Piping up as she was apt to do, Codi screams out, “What he means is he was an antisocial asshole! Wait, what exactly has changed?” This causes the group of people to explode in laughter, pointing and nodding at his expense.
“Ok, I said I was different, I didn’t say I was a completely new person. Some of you have been with me since the beginning, and it was due to your hard work, tolerance and patience, that I have been able to come so far. I want to give you a special thank you. There are others of you who have only recently come into my life, but you are still important to me. I had the opportunity to make a new friend, and I could tell she would be an amazing addition to all our lives, so another of the reasons for this gathering is to introduce her to everyone.” Giving a slight motion to get her to stand, he beams his heart melting smile as he continues. “Everyone, this is Pryshka. She is the number 1 in the Sophomore class, and as you can see, diversity of classes is something my friend group severely lacks. We share a similar sentiment toward this, and I would love to work toward changing that.”
Standing up, her shirt stopping just below her breasts, exposing her bare chiseled torso, she looked quite different, as she was wearing makeup and a number of accessories that made use of all her flattering features. “Hello everyone, I’m Pryshka! I wasn’t expecting Anaar to be so serious about introducing me to his friends, and definitely not so quickly, but I am happy he did. Though we could stand to be more diverse in our classes, I have never had the opportunity to be with this many people outside my class, so I think that is a major step. Every class and affinity is represented here, which I think makes this group truly special. As the lone Sophomore, I hope you lean on me so that we can work together to keep the momentum of interclass communication going!”
As she sits, Maggie has to pop Stefani on the thigh to stop her from giving dirty looks in her direction. As a show of good faith and no hard feelings, Maggie takes the opportunity to jump up, speaking after Pryshka. “If you would have told me I would be having dinner with the woman who ripped me to shreds just days before, I would have laughed. Somehow, I am not surprised given the man who brought us all together. We all are extremely talented in our own right, so I think it would be foolish to think that we would not have our paths cross in competition. I just want to salute Pryshka as becoming part of our ragtag band, and I look forward to learning more from you, and about you!”
Clapping his hands at the support from his best friend, Anaar continues his speech. “I think Maggie said it best and made a great point. Looking around, we have somehow managed to collect some of the best in our fields. There is so much talent at this table it is absurd. Collected here we have more than a quarter of the top ranked students in the school, and even more that should have been amongst that number, as they are the top ranked in their class.”
Taken aback by his statement, Codi quickly recovers, giving him a nod, then blowing him a little kiss. “He speaks no fucking lies!”
Once again the group erupts in laughter, Anaar waiting for them to settle down before he finished his speech. “The last reason why I wanted to gather us here, is to celebrate the accomplishments of those of us who did place into the school rankings, but particularly there is one I wanted to celebrate in this number. Everyone please help me congratulate our number 1 in the school, and my better half, Phavian Ingraham!”
The group erupts, as they shower Phavian with praise and congratulations. What was more though, was that people had begun listening in to Anaar’s speech, causing the entire second floor to explode in applause as they celebrated the accomplishments of Phavian. Though he had not expected this was the reason behind Anaar’s gathering, he could not help but feel humbled and loved, as so many people had come together, whether invited to the dinner, or just listening in to cheer him on. It was at that moment he realized just how much he cared for Anaar, and made a silent promise to do what he could to be worthy of such a man.
With the speeches completed, everyone commenced eating again, most staying for a couple hours just to enjoy one
another’s company, and get to know new people. All throughout the meal, people came over to congratulate not only Phavian, but Anaar and Ripp as well for being the top three in school. Some people were even a bit star struck to have the confirmed three strongest people together in once space, dining as friends. They found it inspiring, and little did they know the word would spread throughout the campus that all the top people in their classes were friends, and as a result the top students in the school bore no ill will, nor animosity toward one another, but instead worked together to challenge themselves to greater heights. This caused a massive swell in the morale and overall climate of the school, showing how one small gesture could create such a massively powerful effect.
22
It had been days since the end of the School Rankings Competition, and JaMarkus Schrodes found himself in a far more depleted state of mind than normal. His drug use had increased so much, that he had not even been to class that day. Nothing about his current situation made any sense to him. Injecting himself again, while downing an entire bottle of alcohol, all he wanted to do was forget what had happened.
Sitting in the chair, his mind recovering from its ephemeral stupor brought on by drugs that would instantly kill other humans, he realizes that he was hearing a voice he could not quite place. Finally focusing, he is able to make out the words that were streaming past his ears.
“Mr. Schrodes, this is the fifth time your father has called. Would you care to receive the call at this time?”
The room spinning in a haze of colors and shapes, he groggily responds with a grunt, and the words “Do it,” that came out much slower than he could perceive.
A giant holoprojection of his father’s quite disgusted face appears before him, though in his state of mind, it was of little consequence. “Look at you. Nothing but worthless scum. Over $2 million in drugs in just a few days. You think you have something worth celebrating?!”
Divulgence (Song of Sophangence Book 2) Page 27