Seth was tired the next day, but also still kind of high from Anri’s blood. He seemed to spend his days in a state of exhaustion lately. Once they got his soul shoes or whatever back from Vephar he was going to take a supernatural sabbatical. This couldn’t keep up, not if he wanted to get his Ph.D sometime in the next couple of years. He worried he wouldn’t have the time to dedicate to school if he kept getting wrapped up in these impossible situations. Worse, he might not survive many more supernatural encounters.

He sat outside the biology building on a cold metal bench, not really feeling the cold, staring out over the campus, dwelling on what his life was now. Was it always going to be like this? Demons and elves and vampires?

Well, he’d known Lance his whole life. He just hadn’t known that Lance was an elf. He felt a stab of betrayal. Their friendship, was it a lie? Why were they friends? Why did Lance feel the need to protect him to the extent that he lied to him for their entire lives? Bitterness dampened the cold that seeped into his body, making him numb. What did that mean, that he was an elf?

And…Anri. Something Lance had said was bothering him. Was he only attracted to Anri because of his…because he was a Wren? Was it a condition? He was still human, right? Or was he not human? Before Joro and Anri he’d just been a normal person.

Sure, now he was bound to both of them, and those bonds had given him certain perks. How often was he going to need to use his ‘vampire tracker’ skill in all reality? He imagined their connection and followed it. Anri was…going to work. In a car. He could feel him moving. He smiled, thinking of Anri.

And then Lance’s comments about him only being attracted to Anri because he was a Wren came back in force. Lance had suggested that he could break their bond, leaving nothing left of their connection. Did that mean his feelings would disappear? That his feelings for Anri weren’t real? They felt real.

He’d never felt this way before, and that’s part of why this whole thing scared him. These feelings, they were real, weren’t they? What if they weren’t? What if they were just because he was a Wren? What would that mean for him? For Anri?

No, he didn’t want to think about that. Didn’t want to think that these feelings of desire and love that he felt for Anri were the product of some weird magic, whatever made him a Wren, like the mice infected with Toxoplasma gondii, the brain parasite that made mice sexually attracted to cat pee. Was he just the mouse riddled with amoebas in this metaphor?

Seth sighed. A cold breeze wrapped around him and he hunkered down impulsively, not really feeling it.

Think about something else. His other skills, the ones from Joro, were much more practical. Seth had to admit that stargateing everywhere was super awesome. He focused on the air before him and thought about the space between. He saw the faint glimmer of the golden stardust band sparkle into existence before him, preparing a rift in space for him to move through. He hadn’t picked a destination, he had just thought about a rift, and it had appeared.

Seth reached out and touched the shimmering band of stardust. It was smooth and elastic, bending under his touch. The gold dust danced around the pressure of his fingers on the band. His finger trailed down the band and gold dust danced and swirled, trailing behind his fingertips. He could feel a comfortable heat rushing down his arm from the band, warming his fingertips, then his hand, spreading down his arm and into his torso in mere seconds.

Fingers splayed wide, he tried to grab the band. He could feel the edges and he wrapped his fingers around them. Anyone watching him would probably think he was crazy, but he was curious. What else could he do with these rifts?

The black Joro mote danced lazily in the back of his head. Seth could feel it watching. What? he tried to ask it in his head. Joro-mote skittered but did not answer. It seemed to be waiting for him to do something. Seth shrugged and returned his focus on the band before him.

The shimmering band was about two inches wide and trailed away from his hand until it faded about half a foot either above and below. It was incredibly thin in his fingertips. It didn’t look like it would be thin, but it felt thinner than paper as he grabbed it. He squeezed and the band wrinkled, scattering the gold dust up and down on the band away from his grip. He pulled it gently towards him and it resisted him like a rubberband.

Seth could feel Joro’s anticipation heavy in the back of his mind. It was distracting. Joro sent him an image now, obviously frustrated that Seth wasn’t doing whatever it wanted him to do fast enough. An image of the band pulled open with a deep blackness inside.

Seth pulled his hand aside with the band still inside his grip. It resisted at first and then sprang free with the usual popping sensation of his Rifts. Just like the image Joro had sent him, the tear in space was filled with a deep black.

Seth leaned over the rift. It didn’t have a connection to anywhere. He couldn’t see anything inside of it. He was nearly ready to close the connection when Joro sent him a series of images. An apple, then the rift, then…a sign with a directional arrow?

Seth didn’t have an apple. He wasn’t sure what Joro was telling him to do. Pulling his bag closer to him, he opened it up and dug around one handed until he found a pen, his other hand holding open the rift. Seth thought about putting his hand in the rift, then thought better of it and just chucked the pen inside. Then he let go of the rift.

Like one of his star gates it closed immediately, the band popping back into place and the stardust lazily floating off until it disappeared. Joro sent another image, the pen again, and his hand opening the rift.

Seth reached out to open the rift again.

“Hey, Seth!” Lance called. He jumped, dropping his hand. Joro-mote fuzzed up in a way that seemed to suggest annoyance or anger, he couldn’t tell which. He dropped his hand back into his lap guiltily, then raised it back to wave at Lance.

“Hey Lance,” he returned. He stood up, his body stiffer than he expected.

Lance shook his head. “You’ve been sitting out here ruminating, haven’t you? It’s only like 30 degrees or something. Go inside, you crazy person.” Lance smiled his winning smile, the one he used to impress both men and women alike. Seth had to admit he was handsome, but he didn’t find him sexually attractive. Maybe he really was under some weird Wren-vampire magic?

Seth must have been frowning. “What’s eating ya?” Lance’s smile was replaced with a look of concern.

“Just…nothing, it’s nothing. You ready?” he said passively.

Lance stared at him. He knew him too well, knew he was avoiding something. Seth could see the gears turning in his head, and he wondered if Lance would press the issue or let it go.

He let it go. “Yeah, let’s go. Do you wanna walk or space-gate it?”

Seth’s body was stiff from sitting in the cold, despite the fact that could still feel the warmth that had seeped into him from the rift he had been toying with. “Let’s walk,” he said, stretching his legs out. The Joro-mote in his head whirled around in small, tight circles, either frustrated or mad. Seth felt frustration as well, it knew he couldn’t tell its emotions apart. He pushed it further back in his mind and began to walk in the direction of Lance’s apartment.

Lance rented the second floor of a nice old house just off of campus. He’d been living here since they were freshmen, and Seth had lived his first semester in the spare bedroom of this house. After that first semester, and even though he loved Lance like a brother, he couldn’t tolerate living with him. Living with Lance, they went out way too often. Seth nearly failed that semester, spending more time going out partying every available chance then he spent working on his schooling.

The final straw wasn’t three midterm grades all coming back with barely passing marks, though it should’ve been. The final straw had been when he’d come home to find a very drunk Lance vigorously going at it with a girl that he’d been a mildly serious with, dating her for nearly two weeks. Two weeks with the same girl had been a new record for him. Seth found them in a very creative position, and not Lance’s bedroom, but his own.

Seth found another place to live. He wanted to be upset with Lance but…he just couldn’t stay mad at him. Lance was Lance. He knew that, and had accepted it years ago. And, truth be told, he couldn’t have been that interested in that girl. He couldn’t even remember what her face looked like or her name. Another nameless conquest for Lance. And, it wasn’t the first time Lance had fucked a girl he was interested in. It was the last time, though. Seth had never been remotely serious about a girl since.

Lance and Seth walked quietly across campus. The cold quickly seeped into him now. Lost in thought, he dwelled on trying to remember the name of the last of his faceless girls that Lance had fucked, using that as an exercise to distract him from worrying about the authenticity of his feelings for Anri.

At least he didn’t have to worry about Lance fucking his current crush. He snorted and Lance looked over at him curiously. Seth pulled up his hood, scrunching his shoulders up against the cold, and kept walking.

His worries were spiraling out of control. He couldn’t stand it if his feelings for Anri weren’t real. He’d never felt this intensely about anyone, period. Wouldn’t that mean that they weren’t his, these emotions? How could they be, since he’d never had feelings like this before? What if they were fake? They had to be fake, didn’t they? He was broken, unable to connect with anyone on an intimate level. Everything with Anri, was it really all a lie?

Betrayal burned at the mere thought of the feelings he shared with Anri being a lie. He’d been lied to a lot lately, and he was getting really tired of it. Really tired of everything. Why couldn’t people just leave him alone? And Lance…

Seth’s cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He grabbed for it, punching his hand into his pocket, then stabbing his finger on the screen. Lance watched him, his face unreadable, which just made Seth feel even angrier. No one wanted to tell him what was going on. That was going to stop now. Seth opened his mouth to say something to Lance, even though he hadn’t figured out what yet.

He stopped in his tracks, those unknown words left unsaid. He reread the text from Anri, a small smile forming on his face despite his attempts to stay mad. You okay? You’re with Lance? I’ll kick his ass if he’s a dick to you with my vampire kung-fu skills, which are mad. Miss you. Will you be home tonight? I’ll make dinner if you are.

The betrayal that had been eroding him for the last twenty minutes slipped away, replaced by the swelling of his heart. He loved Anri. It didn’t matter why. Seth read the message again. You cook? he responded, then flicked the screen off. He squeezed the cell phone in his hand and started walking again. Lance said nothing but Seth could tell from the tension in his posture that he was dying to ask.

There was a tug on his connection to Anri. Just a little thing, and he thought he’d imagined it at first. It happened again, two small tugs. He texted Anri. Did you do that?

Anri responded fast. You felt it?

He smiled. How? How did you do it? It feels nice.

Anri’s text came quickly again. I’ll show you when you come home. You aren’t staying the night with Lance are you?

He could feel Anri’s sulkiness and jealousy. It made him smile, made him feel special and loved. I’ll be home, I think. It depends on how well it goes.

Anri responded, still sulky. I know you need to do this. I just. Nevermind. Good luck. Text me later.

He smiled again. Everything was fine, everything felt right with the world.

“You’re talking to Anri?” Lance asked, but it sounded more like a statement.

He nodded, blushing. “You can tell?” He looked at the ground, peeking at Lance from the corner of his eye.

Lance harrumphed. “Of course I can. That stupid look on your face gives you away. That, and you know, you went from some weird type of murderous rage to schoolgirl-giddy in like five seconds. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you like this, Seth.” He rolled his eyes. “Come on, let’s get this show started so you can go home. I really don’t need an angry vampire at my door tonight.”

“You know, Lance,” he said, his emotions leveling out for the first time all day, “sometimes, you’re a huge dick. But…sometimes, you’re all right.”

Lance looked at him, his head cocked to the side as he tried to figure out where Seth was going with his statement. “Okay?”

Seth snorted. “I just mean, you know, you were totally an ass for lying to me for, like, ever. But, I forgive you. Mostly because you’re you. But, also because you’ve always been there for me, even when you were fucking my girls.”

“Huh?” he asked, confused at the turn of the conversation. “Fucking your girls?”

“Yeah,” he nodded appraisingly at Lance, “you slept with any girl I’ve ever even thought about getting serious with. And, it seemed like you were always doing it in a way you knew I’d catch you. Is it a kink of yours?

Lance stopped walking, staring at him. Seth stopped walking, too. “No, not a kink, though it is hot to get caught. But that’s not why.” Lance stared at him until he felt like he had to look away. “Why are you thinking about this now? Because of Anri? I won’t sleep with him, don’t worry. Besides, even if he was a girl, I wouldn’t. Not this time.”

“Then why? Why’d you sleep with all those girls, and why wouldn’t you sleep with female Anri?” he begged, not even caring that it sounded pretty stupid, the female Anri part, when it left his mouth.

Lance turned away from him and began walking again. Seth followed in confusion.

“None of them were good enough for you, Seth,” Lance mumbled as they continued walking.

Stunned, he turned to look at him. “What?”

Lance’s face was pink, but he couldn’t tell if he was blushing or if it was from the cold. “None of those girls were good enough for you. It was a test. If I could get one of your girls to sleep with me, she wasn’t good enough for you.”

Seth snorted. “That’s hardly fair, Lance! You’re ridiculously attractive.” Lance smirked at him. “No, I mean it. What girl would tell you ‘no’ if you asked. You’ve never had a girl tell you no, Lance. Never. It didn’t matter if she was dating me or not.”

“That’s the point, Seth,” Lance insisted. “If any of those girls were good enough for you, they wouldn’t have fucked me, even though I’m like sex on a stick.”

Seth rolled his eyes playfully. “Sex on a stick?”

“Sure,” Lance doubled up his self confidence. “You said it yourself, all the girls want a piece of this.” He trailed his hands down his body.

Seth chuckled. “True enough, you over confidant asshole.” He slapped Lance on the shoulder. “Seriously, though. Why? Why would you tempt my girls to sleep with you when you knew it would hurt me?”

Lance looked over at him, his nose wrinkled up. “Did it? Really? Did it ever really hurt you? I never let any of those tramps date you long enough. Seth, we pick up chicks. None of those girls were ever girlfriend material. The point is just to have fun and get laid. Never to get serious. You’ve always been a bit of a romantic, but you have horrible taste in girls. I’ve just saved you from tons of horrible relationships.”

Seth narrowed his eyes at Lance and he shrugged his shoulders. “Why is it your job? Why not just let me learn my lesson after I got burned a few times?”

“Because, Seth,” Lance sighed as if he were explaining this to a slow child, “I protect you. It’s kinda what I do.”

He snorted. “You protect me from relationships?”

“If any of those girls were keepers, they woulda refused. They wouldn’ta slept with me, and definitely not as easily as they all did. Or, they would’ve at least asked for a threesome,” he added slyly.

“Screw you, dude,” he said. He tried to be upset about the whole thing, but it made sense. Somehow it made him feel a little better.

“You’re welcome,” Lance said.

“You know,” he replied, half joking and half serious, “you can be such a conceited ass. It doesn’t help that you’re so goddamn good looking, and that you know it.”

“A gift and a curse, my man. A gift and a curse.”

Demonbound Chapter 13: As Honest as I Dare to Be

Demonbound Chapter 14: This is Normal?