February 17 | Monday #15
“Hey,” he said cautiously.
“Hey,” Liam replied, sipping a beer from a can.
“So…” Will cleared his throat, not quite sure how to bring it up. “Back when we were playing… did you discard a token on purpose after the question about kissing a guy?” he blurted out, and Liam raised an eyebrow. “To keep Oscar jealous or something?”
“That would be cheating.”
“Right. That’s why you winked at me.”
“What?” Liam laughed.
“You winked at me. Like you were trying to say, it’s just a joke or something. That’s what a wink usually means in that kind of situation,” he grumbled, slightly offended because Liam was still shamelessly laughing at him.
“Will.” Liam placed a hand on his shoulder and looked him deep in the eyes before stating, “Sometimes a wink is just a wink, you know?”
Will frowned.
“So you have kissed a guy.”
“Mhm,” Liam confirmed casually, stepping back.
“Blake?”
“He kept his token, remember?”
“Maybe he cheated.”
“No.”
Hm. Interesting.
“Did you just kiss, or did you do more?” Will pressed. After all, just kissing another guy didn’t mean much. Maybe they were playing spin the bottle or truth or dare, maybe some horny girls had put him up to it, or maybe he was just experimenting…
Liam started laughing again.
“What?” Will grumbled.
Liam just shook his head, not answering.
“But you’ve had girlfriends, right?” Will asked, feeling an incredibly strong need to get answers to his nagging questions.
“You seem very interested in my love life,” Liam noted with amusement.
“I’m just asking.”
“Just asking? You have a boyfriend, yet you’re grilling another guy about the details of his private life. Is that okay?”
“I’m just asking as a friend.”
“Are you?”
“Fine, I won’t say anything else,” Will muttered, offended.
The last thing he needed was to seem interested in Liam. He wasn’t interested. Not at all. Not in the slightest. He was just curious. Anyone would be!
They ducked out of the party a little after one, just in time to catch the last bus. Will didn’t want to part with Oscar just yet, so he decided to walk him home.
“Thanks,” Oscar said when they reached his house.
“Any time,” Will replied softly.
They kissed, and then Oscar went inside. Will took a breath of the cool air, shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, and started walking. He had a long way to go.
Will turned down a nearby street. After going only a few yards, he suddenly heard a loud, “Hey!”
He turned around instinctively, though he didn’t think anyone was calling for him. He saw a large guy in a hoodie walking behind him. There was no one else around. A wave of discomfort washed over Will.
“Hey, stop!” the stranger called after him.
Will picked up his pace.
“Morgan!”
Hearing his last name, Will stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around slowly, waiting for the man to approach him. The voice was unfamiliar.
When the guy pulled down his hood, Will didn’t recognize his face at first either, but then he saw something familiar. A square jaw, blue eyes, light curly hair, and a falcon tattoo on his neck… It was Axel Owens. A senior and the school’s football star. They had never exchanged a single word.
“What’s up?” Will asked uncertainly.
“Will Morgan,” Axel said simply, studying him with a watchful gaze.
“Yeah. That’s me,” Will confirmed weakly. “Is something wrong?”
“No, but it could be.” The blatant and completely unexpected threat made Will take a step back. “You know it’s dangerous to walk home alone at night, right?”
“Thanks for the warning,” Will muttered warily.
“That wasn’t a warning,” Axel stated firmly.
“I have to go,” Will said nervously, turning away quickly.
“Where are you rushing off to, hexer?”
Those words paralyzed him. First, because Axel knew what he was, and second… that term… Norma had explained it was a derogatory name for wizards. For some reason, Will started to think about the lunatic who almost killed him. A cold sweat broke out on his skin.
Axel blocked his path.
“Stay out of our business, or you’ll fucking regret it,” he hissed, looking Will straight in the eye.
“What business?” Will asked, confused.
“Liam’s business.”
At that moment, it all made sense.
“You’re a werewolf.”
“And you’re a little human whose magic tricks don’t impress me. But you hurt one of ours, and we don’t forgive that, understand?”
“What?” Will protested indignantly. “I didn’t hurt anyone!”
“Didn’t you use your powers against one of us?”
“In self-defense! They were hassling Blake!”
“So, to defend a bloodsucker. That’s even worse.”
“I didn’t do it on purpose! I can’t control my abilities yet. Besides, that guy was fine. He got right back up.”
“That doesn’t matter. We don’t forget,” Axel stated, his voice devoid of emotion. “We know very well what happened to our kind centuries ago. How they were persecuted. Marginalized. Murdered for the amusement of people like you. There’s always a breaking point, and it will come this time, too.”
“I really didn’t do it on purpose. I’m sorry. And Liam doesn’t want anything to do with all this, so just leave him alone.”
Axel suddenly grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and pulled him close. Will barely managed to hold back a scream. His heart was pounding like crazy.
“You don’t seem like the type to fight back, so I’ll give you one last warning,” Axel muttered, his face inches from Will’s. “Stay away from Liam, or I’ll fucking make you.”
Then he shoved Will away. Will swallowed nervously before quickly running off, glancing over his shoulder every few moments.
Why did he always find a way to get himself into trouble?
January 28 | Tuesday
Will mentioned the encounter with Axel to Liam, though he left out that it happened in the middle of the night and didn’t relay everything he’d heard; he didn’t want to sound like he was being dramatic.
Liam said Axel was just trying to scare him.
He told Will to ignore it and not to worry, that nothing more serious would come of it, and that he’d have a word with him.
The promise didn’t make Will feel any better. He avoided Owens like the plague.
January twenty-eighth was his birthday. He hadn’t planned anything special, just invited Oscar over, hoping things would take their own course.
Oscar showed up at his place at six sharp.
“Hey,” Will said with a wide smile.
“Hey,” Oscar replied, stepping over the threshold and immediately handing him a small, decorative gift bag. “Happy birthday,” he added, placing a tender kiss on Will’s lips.
“Thanks,” Will replied cheerfully, looking at his present. “Oh… It’s…”
“The new Venom album.” Oscar was full of enthusiasm.
“It wasn’t easy to get. I drove all over town, but there wasn’t a single copy anywhere.
I had to go all the way to New Wing, and even there it took a while, but I finally got it.
I hope no one beat me to it,” he added, apparently expecting a more joyful reaction.
“Hm? No, no. Thank you.”
Will kissed Oscar, concluding that he would probably never be able to confess how much his musical tastes had changed. Still, he appreciated the gesture. It was clear that Oscar had put in the effort.
“So… what are we doing?” he asked, taking a step back.
“It’s your birthday, Will. We’ll do whatever you want.”
“Um… So… do you want to go out or…?”
“Whatever you want,” Oscar repeated with amusement. “You decide.”
Will bit his lip uncertainly, hesitating for a moment before suddenly crushing his lips against Oscar’s. Oscar immediately returned the kiss, pulling Will into his arms.
“Sorry,” Will blurted out, realizing Oscar hadn’t even taken off his jacket yet. “I’ll let you get undressed.”
“Instead of letting me, you could help me,” Oscar suggested with a smile.
Will chuckled. He didn’t need to be told twice.
He helped Oscar enthusiastically—so much so that by the time they reached the living room, Oscar was half-naked. Will quickly shed his own shirt, and then they both landed on the couch. Oscar’s lips wandered over Will’s neck while Will struggled with Oscar’s fly.
Suddenly, Oscar stopped.
“How far do you want to go?” he asked, looking into Will’s eyes.
“What do you mean?”
Oscar’s gaze became more pointed.
“Oh. As far as we can.”
“Are you sure?”
“Why are you asking?”
“Because you haven’t had sex with anyone before, and I don’t know if you want to.”
Will turned red.
“How do you know I haven’t?” he grumbled, figuring he must not have been doing a very good job.
“Because I’ve headed in this direction a few times, but you didn’t seem to be catching on,” Oscar noted with amusement.
“W-What? Like when?”
They had done a lot of things together. A lot of things, but it had never gone… all the way. Will had no idea he was coming off as shy or uncertain. To be honest, he’d gotten the impression that Oscar was the one with reservations. He was glad to be wrong.
“I want to do it,” he announced, wrapping his arms around Oscar’s neck.
“Then reach into my pocket,” Oscar whispered, before placing a gentle kiss on his lips.
Will did as he was told and soon held a condom in his hand. He chuckled, thinking to himself that this present was much better than the first one.
“You don’t mind if I’m on top?” Oscar asked.
“Of course not,” Will replied firmly, pulling him in for another kiss.
Things moved quickly after that. He was stressed, but Oscar was in control. He guided him and taught him, making everything feel right, and the results… Well, Will definitely had no reason to complain.
Half an hour later, they were lying side by side, flushed and just starting to catch their breath. In the meantime, they had unfolded the sofa—they had run out of room—so now they had plenty of space.
“How did you like it?” Oscar asked at one point.
“It was great.”
They exchanged smiles.
“I’m sorry,” Will said after a moment.
“For what?”
“For not being experienced. I probably wasn’t any good.”
“What are you talking about? It was amazing.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Will kissed Oscar gratefully.
“Have you done it with a lot of guys?”
Oscar smiled uncomfortably.
“Only with Brad.”
“God, I’m sorry,” Will groaned, realizing what he’d done.