Golden Autumn - Part Thirteen
This episode is part of a larger story, Soft Touch. If you haven’t yet, you can go back and read it from the beginning right here.
After the first round of shots things really begin to fly.
I didn’t do one, since I've decided I won’t be getting drunk tonight. I’ll smoke a little, but that’s all. I don’t want Aiden to be the only one who’s not partaking.
I really don’t mind going without, though. The energy of the Fling Thing is like being drunk, no actual drinking necessary. As we get settled in and fired up, all the faces of our group glow with excitement, then with a little bit of booze, then with laughter as Noah takes all three of the joints Ralph brought out from his pack and sticks them in his mouth as one. Ralph barely gets the lighter away from him before he can torch them all.
But the first one goes around, and Kent begins pouring out steaming cups of buttered rum hot chocolate from his thermos.
“An event planner knows to bring the little touches to the potluck,” Melanie tells us, following Kent around the circle, adding whipped cream and a sprinkle of salted caramel sugar to everybody's cups.
All the cups are lifted together, with me and Aiden holding our non-alcoholic hot chocolates up to the rest. There’s a cheer of excitement, deep sips taken of all the drinks, a puff of smoke from the joint, and the golden autumn afternoon is kicked off.
And it’s chaos, right away.
With no explanation, Noah instantly goes bounding off towards the giant unlit bonfire, a move so alarming that Kent drops his hot chocolate and goes running after him. Ripley takes off running after Kent, although it’s not clear if he’s going with the intention of helping or escalating. Aiden watches them go bolting off, shrugs his shoulders, and pours himself another hot chocolate, pouring one for Ralph when he also holds out his cup.
Angie starts unwrapping the nachos, releasing a waft of delicious-smelling steam, and is immediately swarmed with eager takers. Somehow Gabby gets the entire tray out of her hands and tries to flee with it, only to be mercilessly run down by Calla before she can escape.
We all struggle not to laugh, watching the girls go down in a shouting tangle. Rasheem wrangles the tray out of Gabby’s hands before it can go flying, then takes off with it himself, making another chase-down necessary. He outstrips Destinee’s reaching hands, turns to grin victoriously over his shoulder, then twists around in disbelief as Noah comes streaking past from the other direction, snatching the tray without slowing down. Noah lets out a triumphant laugh, then a small scream of fear as Ralph suddenly joins the chase, sprinting right for him.
Now clearly running in a panic, Noah spots Alix chatting with a friend from City Hall and heads right for her. She sees him coming from the corner of her eye, turns to face him in confusion, and finds herself in sudden possession of the nachos as Noah leaves them in her hands and flees off to the left.
Alix sees Ralph charging her way and stares at him, bewildered. Before Ralph can take another step he goes flying out of his trajectory, having been divetackled from the side by Ripley. They both tumble down onto the grass, rolling a few feet before Ripley sits up on his elbows, panting hard.
“Run, babe!” he shouts to Alix. “Save the nachos!”
Alix - still watching in confusion, and tipsy from the jello shots - pops one of the nachos into her mouth. “What are you guys doing?”
What Ralph is doing is catching Ripley and pinning him down to the grass, grimly ignoring his struggle to free himself. Noah immediately circles back to rescue him. He flings himself straight into Ralph, knocking him off of Ripley and sending all three of them rolling.
Aiden lets out a deep sigh, sets down his hot chocolate, and goes over to start pulling everyone apart. Rasheem comes sprinting back over, and seeing the battle happening on the grass, seems to assume that’s where the nachos went. He throws himself directly on top of the pile, taking Aiden down with him.
Meanwhile Melanie, Calla, Gabby, Alix, Des, and Angie have gathered up to watch them all roll around, shouting and throwing punches at each other. They’re eating the nachos as they watch, dipping them in sour cream, trying not to laugh.
Raj, Luca, and I exchange a bright grin with each other, all of us still working on our hot chocolates.
“It’s so beautiful out, brothers!” Raj sweeps an arm out at the glimmering sky, the joint smoking between his fingertips. “What a day to be blessed with, you know? Type of one that reminds you every day that got you here was a blessing, too.”
“Yes!” Luca agrees enthusiastically, right as I answer - “Definitely!”
We both smile warmly at Raj, then gaze out at the dreamy skyline, the muffled sound of kicking and shouting continuing on from behind us. The mountain really is something today, in its chilly autumn beauty. Especially with a nice hot drink in my hand. The sky - pink, blue, and white - looks absolutely endless.
“Can I get a little help from the cupcakes, please?” shouts Aiden’s exasperated voice from behind us.
“We’re having our hot chocolates!”
“Why do you guys even want the nachos this badly?” Angie laughs, as Ralph and Noah go rolling past trying to kick each other. “I know some of you haven’t even tried them before!”
“We’ve - heard - good - things!” Ripley pants, digging an elbow into Ralph's ribs. “Aren’t those the orgasm nachos Jamie was talking about?”
Alix pauses with a nacho lifted halfway to her mouth, her eyes filling with obvious alarm. “Wait, what? What does that mean?”
“It means they make you do this,” Gabby explains, then lets out a moan so orgasmic that Alix nearly drops the tray on the ground.
Kent, who had just arrived back and has no context, freezes to stare at her in blushing bewilderment. Everyone involved in the wrestling match on the grass also stops to stare up at Gabby, panting and wide-eyed.
She lets out a tipsy laugh, popping another nacho into her mouth. “Hey, look at that! I brought peace to the kingdom again.”
“Like a true leader of the people! And with just one move, too!” Alix casts a look of earnest admiration at Gabby. “See, this is why you're the City Manager. I have a lot to learn from you.”
“Damn, Gabby,” Ralph laughs, getting back to his feet, dragging Ripley up with him. “Kind of thought making noises like that in public was off-limits to government officials.”
“In this, as in all things, I’m breaking down the barriers,” Gabby answers, with such moving gravitas that she sets Alix off laughing again.
“On an important issue,” Kasey says approvingly, touching down beside Gabby. “Which reminds me, Jamie, I never got to answer anything Melanie told me about her Raj-romp. You’re gonna need to translate for me.”
“Oh. Oh, god.” I wince deeply, pondering the things I'm about to have to hear, and worse, repeat out loud. “Maybe, um - maybe Aiden wants to take this one?”
“Nah, no, I'm good,” Aiden says hastily, backing away.
“Coward,” Kasey sighs, shaking her head at Aiden. “And this cowardice right in front of your boyfriend, too.”
Aiden winces with his whole face, then takes off his snapback and runs a hand through his hair. “What if - can I just do half of it, or something? And I’m taking the ghost glasses off if Noah comes up, that’s non-negotiable.”
“Okay,” I answer despairingly. “I guess half and half is fair.”
“Okay, wait a second,” Kasey giggles, seeing the dismal expressions on both of our faces. “I have an idea. Can you guys have Melanie go over there? And - bring Calla, too.”
Calla and Mel were already looking at us curiously. All I have to do is beckon for them and we’re headed off across the field, weaving our way through all the picnic blankets. At the edge of the trees Kasey just keeps going, so Aiden and I follow her into the sunlit forest a few paces.
“What are we doing, Jamie?” Mel asks, burying her hands in her soft red tartan scarf.
“Um... that’s a good - I’m not sure. Kase-face? What are we doing?”
“I’m gonna try to use my new power.” Kasey stops in the shade of an Atlas cedar, closing her eyes to concentrate. “I’m not sure if it’s gonna work, but I should be able to do it without burning through all my energy right away, since we’re in Ketterbridge. I mean, I was screaming when I did it during our camping trip, so I haven’t exactly got it fine-tuned yet. I figure if it does work, Mel can pretend she’s talking to Calla if anyone asks. And I can introduce myself to Calla, too! If it works. Hang on.”
“Oh - yeah, try it!” I answer encouragingly. “It’s worth a shot!”
“Yeah, definitely!” Aiden agrees, more than a little relieved.
Kasey falls silent, her eyebrows knotting up in concentration the same way they used to do when she worked on school stuff in my old apartment. Aiden and I watch her glow brightly in the shade, her hands clasped to her chest as she focuses.
She begins moving her lips like she’s forming words, but no sound comes from her mouth. Instead a soft, sighing whisper drifts through the air, barely distinguishable from the rustle of the breeze through the treetops.
Melanie...
Melanie takes in a sharp gasp, her eyes going perfectly round, her hand flying up to seize my arm. “Holy sh- Kasey?”
Yes, the trees and the air and the forest whisper back faintly. Can you hear me?
Melanie and Calla stand there frozen, listening in stunned silence.
“Yes,” Mel stammers weakly, after a moment. “Oh, my god. Yes.”
Kasey breaks into a victorious grin, without opening her eyes or breaking her concentration.
Okay, comes the ghostly whisper again. So, first of all, good for you, girl.
Mel’s astonished expression suddenly melts into a startled laugh, her fingertips flying up to her mouth. “Kasey!”
I’ve been going on some marathons, myself. Ghost sex is something else, let me tell you. And I do plan to tell you.
“Oh, yes, that’s her!” Mel giggles, staring in disbelief at the trees that seem to be whispering to her. “Oh, Kasey - I’m so sorry about what happened to you, we - we’ve all missed you so much-”
Don’t be sorry! You wouldn’t be if you knew how happy I’ve been lately. I can also basically fly now, no big deal. Besides, I’ve been right here! Just on the other side of things.
Melanie looks unsure about whether she wants to laugh or cry. She’s holding her own braid very tightly.
And I’m sending you a well-deserved high-five all the way from the hereafter, babe, Kasey goes on, the devious grin on her face showing itself in her voice. Are you sure you’re not pregnant again, after last night? Based on what you described it just seems like you’re asking a lot of one birth control pill.
Melanie dissolves into helpless laughter, then breaks into a wide grin to match Kasey’s. “Yeah, I’m sure! But I get why you would ask, because oh my god, I’ve barely even told you the half of it-”
“Okay, let’s - we should go!” I jump in hastily, seizing Aiden’s hand.
“Don’t talk too long, Kasey, you may burn up all your power,” Aiden warns her over his shoulder.
“Man, just one birth control pill?” I ask Aiden, as we set off through the trees together.
He looks down at me in apparent confusion.
“I mean - yeah?” he asks, after a moment.
I look up to meet his gaze, equally confused. “Shouldn’t she have taken a few, just to be safe? Like five or six of them? If she and Raj were going all night?”
Aiden blinks hard at me a few times, then lets out a sharp laugh and wraps his arms around my shoulders, squeezing me up against him.
I let out a startled laugh, pushing his face away as he starts brushing kisses up the side of my neck. “What?”
“Nothing,” he murmurs, his soft laughter breaking against my cheek. “That was just - cute. Very gay of you.”
“Was it?” I ask, surprised.
“It was.” Still grinning enormously, Aiden folds an arm around my shoulders as we head back out of the forest and towards our picnic blanket. “Hey, you two. What's going on?”
Ralph and Noah stop before us, both of them looking confused.
“Well, we just saw you guys take both of our girls into the forest, then come back without them,” Noah says, with one pierced eyebrow arched up. “So, you know. Thought we’d come see what that was about.”
“Oh, we were just taking them to chat with one of the ghosts.” I turn my head, catching a glimpse of something troubling in my peripheral vision. “What’s, um - what’s that about, does anyone know?”
I’ve just noticed a guy edging his way down the side of the field towards us, his mistrustful eyes narrowed on me and Aiden. A scary-looking guy, with a lot of lean muscle and a dark scowl on his face.
Ralph catches his eye, gives his head a very slight shake, and silently mouths: it’s okay.
The guy casually puts his hands into his pockets and drifts right past us without stopping, apparently headed off to buy something from one of the food vendors.
Aiden and I look at Ralph with the same silent question in our eyes. He shrugs his shoulders, twisting his fingers through his leather wristbands.
“I’ve got a few of my boys here, in case anyone wants to buy. I didn’t tell them to keep an eye on Calla, but they’re all getting to be pretty fond of her. Seems that all of them consider themselves to be her personal security now, whenever she’s around.”
I let out a disbelieving laugh as we all start walking for the picnic blanket. “I’ve never met anyone less in need of personal security than Calla! She can handle herself and then some.”
“Yeah, Jamie, why do you think I didn’t ask for this?” Ralph hands me the blunt, half-laughing as he breathes out some smoke. “Matter of fact I told them outright that they don’t have to do it, and nobody listened. This is actually the first time I can ever remember that any of my boys have just ignored my orders. Much less all of them.”
I fall slightly behind Aiden and Noah to walk beside Ralph, stealing a fond glance at him. I’m very sure that even if it’s unheard of for his people to ignore his orders, he could absolutely make them follow his orders, probably with just one simmering glare. But he chose not to put his foot down about this. Maybe he does secretly want some extra protection for Calla, even knowing just how capable she is of protecting herself.
“Get those eyes off of me, Sharpshooter,” he murmurs in exasperation, noticing me looking at him. “And don’t mention any of this to Calla, I don’t want her getting the idea that I don’t think she can look after herself. I’m not gonna fuck this up the way I fucked up my chances with Lacy Dekker in high school.”
“Lacy Dekker?” I draw back in disbelief. “You had a thing for her, Ralph? But she was, um - didn’t she slash a guy’s tires junior year, after they broke up?”
“Yeah, she did,” Ralph sighs dreamily. “I saw her do it. I still think about it sometimes. Or I used to, until I met Calla. Now I’ve got better memories than that. All part of why I refuse to fuck this up.”
He glances nervously at me, then adds - “You guys would tell me if I was fucking this up, right?”
I bite my lip, trying not to laugh, then have to redouble my efforts when I overhear Noah talking to Ripley and Kent, filling them in on the details of our camping trip and our experience with Nolan.
“So, dude’s mom is basically trying to turn him into Johnny Reb. Poor guy is like, I just want to journal.”
“I can't believe I’m saying this about anything in any context ever,” Kent laughs, refilling his spiked hot chocolate, “But I’m actually glad you guys exploded that place. That was nice work.”
“We didn’t explode it!” I protest immediately. “It didn’t even really explode! We just-”
“Never a good sign to walk over and hear Jamie insisting that he and Aiden didn’t explode something,” Gabby laughs, coming over to drop the empty nacho tray on the blanket.
“No, actually, in this case it’s fine,” Kent tells her, much to her obvious surprise.
“Aw, man,” Ripley sighs sadly, his green eyes falling on the nacho tray, which only has a few crumbs left. “First I don’t get to take part in exploding the Confederate hotel. Second I miss out on the nachos.”
“You guys really thought I didn’t bring another tray?” Angie giggles, joining us at the picnic blanket with a new tray heaped with nachos in her hands. “No chance, I learned from last time.”
She bursts out laughing as everyone who missed out on the first round instantly goes charging right for her again.
As it always does at the Fling Thing, time begins to fly. Before I know it we’re all rushing around, talking rising to shouting as the noise of the party begins to whip up. The rowdiness starts to take off as Gabby’s jello shots, Ralph’s joints, and Kent’s spiked hot chocolate disappear.
Angie and Des listen to the story of what Ripley and Noah were planning to do with the skateboard, resulting in Des whipping up a poem on the spot in their honor. It’s entitled ‘Fall of the Clowns’, and it’s met with universal acclaim. Kent makes the mistake of telling Noah that his suggestion of finishing a joint in one rip before working his shift at the shop was impossible to do, anyways. Noah effortlessly spins the joint up into his mouth, takes an unbelievable drag meant to prove him wrong, then has to lay down for a few minutes.
Aiden, Rasheem, Noah, and Gabby start rushing around the field with the soccer ball, and the rest of us get a lot of entertainment from watching them slipping and sliding around on the fallen leaves. Alix’s sweet bread cinnamon rolls are devoured at staggering speeds. Raj (very stoned) comes up to me and beckons for me to lean in like there’s something confidential he has to tell me, begins shouting at the top of his lungs, then stops in confusion to ask me who’s yelling.
Will and Kasey do a lot of what Kasey has started to call ‘kite riding’, laughing as they soar wildly in the breeze far up overhead, dangling by their fingertips from the edges of the kites. Kasey lets hers go to free fall back to earth, and Will streaks down as a flash of silvery white light to catch her just before she can fall through the grass.
The overall layer of talk and music and laughter is rising throughout the whole crowd. There’s no faking this kind of enthusiasm, the one that comes over everybody on the Fling Thing day. We’re far from the only ones sprinting from place to place or chasing someone down or getting into foolishness. At one point Raj gets blasted directly in the face with a water gun that doesn’t even belong to anyone we came here with.
At another point a tall, heavily-muscled, heavily bearded person wearing a shell-pink sundress, a pair of angel wings, and sparkly mascara came over to say hi to Calla. Turned out to be someone named Silvia, who Calla has done some programming work with before. It was a quick conversation, and wouldn’t have been especially notable. Except that Silvia got introduced to Ralph, and, upon leaving, gave his ass a hard, playful slap instead of saying goodbye.
The thunderstruck, half-flattered, half-bewildered expression on Ralph’s crimson face just about nearly killed me, Calla, and Aiden, left us in hysterics until Ralph threatened to strangle all of us.
“Was I - was I supposed to do it back, or - what’s polite?” he stammered in my ear a minute or so later, setting me off laughing again until my ribs ached.
I lose track of people from our group and find them again, sometimes in startling ways. At one point Noah sprints up to me, grinning widely, to say - “Jesus Christ, that was wild, haha! Almost blasted my face off! Are my eyebrows still there?” then disappears again before I can ask him any follow-up questions, or even tell him that yes, they are.
Despite that - and the fact that Ripley went streaking after him smelling faintly of smoke - I’m having so much fun that I'm just not worried about anything.
The food alone is enough to keep me busy. The summery foods and drinks we normally bring to the Fling Thing have been replaced with ones that are rich and creamy, hot and filling. Warm sandwiches, warm ciders infused with spices, steamy savory cakes with meat and melty cheese. Aiden and I end up sampling a little bit of everything, eating everything we brought for ourselves, then hitting the popcorn ball guy twice. Then the hot dog guy, which we figured was perfectly reasonable despite how much we’d already eaten, because we hadn’t noticed him all the way on the other side of the field.
It’s been a whirlwind. At various times I’ve been tackled by Noah, hug-tackled by Raj, had a piece of Luca’s Pão de queijo snatched directly out of my fingers by Calla, who moved so fast that I stared at my empty hand for a solid five seconds confused about where it went before I spotted her trotting backwards and eating it.
But most of all I’ve been with Aiden, just like last year. He’s right beside me every time I turn my head, one arm around me at all times. Except when he’s doing things like confiscating a full fistful of yet-unlit sparklers and a large grill lighter from Noah.
He’s in a playful, silly, carefree mood that I love to see on him.
I can’t take my eyes off of him, the warmth of his smiling eyes, the golden sunshine on his beard, the way his soft sea-green henley strains across his chest when he stretches his arms. I find myself watching him laugh instead of watching whatever made him laugh. Even when it’s a very drunk Kent bolting past us, having forgotten that he was in the middle of giving Gabby a piggyback ride, now seemingly just running for the fun of it. Aiden’s expression crumples with laughter when we see Gabby holding on for dear life.
“Like a baby koala whose mom is wanted by the feds, and just realized a bounty hunter is on their tail. Their literal tail.”
I smother a laugh at that, hugging my knees to my chest, watching Aiden with all my warmth in my eyes. He’s gilded now with the last of the sunlight. An indigo-purple twilight is spreading across the sky behind him as we sit together on the grass near the edge of the mountain.
As dusk began to fall over the mountainside all kinds of different lights were brought out. There are little portable lamps, flickering miniature torches, the glow of embers in sizzling outdoor grills. Melanie pulled a string of battery-powered fairy lights out of her bag and looped it around our picnic blankets. Some people at the far side of the field have hung lanterns in the nearest trees. From far off they look like warm orange fruits growing from the branches. Somebody also took the initiative to mark off the pathway leading in and out of the field by placing a small barrel on either side, then filling them with water and small floating candles.
And there are the fireflies. A lot of them. Enough that I think Aiden might have been accidentally making them all day. I guess they could be regular fireflies, but they’re remarkably calm around the noisy crowd, and whenever anyone extends a finger for them they hurriedly drift away instead of landing. They add their soft, flickering glow to the lights that everyone brought with them.
The result is that as twilight begins to deepen across the Fling Thing, the mountain starts to glow with a collective low, dim light. Formed of many small pieces, in all different colors and sizes. They glitter behind Aiden’s shoulders, reflect in his eyes as he turns his head and smiles softly at me, his elbows resting on his knees. He’s taking a break from wearing the ghost glasses.
“Man, I don’t blame Kent for having an energy surplus,” he tells me. “I’ve been running around like I used to when I was a little kid. The Fling Thing brings it out.”
I smile adoringly at Aiden and wrap my arms around my knees, twisting the heist ring around my finger. “I like to picture that. You as a tiny little Guardian. Actually - what was it like, being a Guardian as a kid? Somehow you’ve never really told me the details. I can’t believe I haven’t asked.”
“You mean what was it like with my magic?” Aiden blushes, makes a yikes face at me. “Bad. A mess.”
“No!” I laugh, shaking my head to drive home that I don’t believe it one bit.
“Oh, god, yeah. You know how you’re not always thinking about what you’re doing, when you’re a little kid? Sometimes you’re just doing things.”
“Yeah?”
“That’s how it was with my magic, too."
“Tell me!”
He breathes out a huff of laughter. “Who cares about-?”
“Me, I do!” I break in earnestly. “I want to hear anything you want to tell me.”
Aiden pauses, smiling softly at me, then gives his shoulders a slow shrug.
“Stuff would just - happen. I’d make things by accident, break things by accident. Or turn things different colors, or get the water for my aunt’s tea to boil faster. Apparently I went through a phase as a toddler where I was cracking rocks open, and my aunt had to explain there wasn’t anything inside of them for me to get at. She thought maybe I got the idea from our Easter egg hunt, since we had those plastic eggs you could hide candy inside.”
I let out a soft, wondering laugh. Aiden hesitates, then goes on when he sees he’s got my rapt attention, that I’m waiting to hear more.
“Just little stuff, I dunno. I’d put my ear to the ground and listen to something happening a couple miles away. Call my soccer ball back from our neighbor’s yard without meaning to, which - may or may not have broken our fence one time. Got spooked by a shadow once, and then there weren’t any shadows at all in our house for like a week, even when there definitely should’ve been. Oh, and there was the time I froze my aunt’s bedroom. It really snowed in there, too. There were piles of it on the rugs, and her mirror iced over… she wasn’t happy with me.”
I let out a startled laugh, my eyes growing very wide. “What? Seriously? You did that?”
Aiden spreads his hands at me helplessly. “It’s not like I meant to! She told me she was tired because it was harder for her to sleep in the summer, since it was too hot. Next morning I wake up in enormous amounts of trouble for accidentally solving that problem in my sleep.”
“Because you solved it a little too hard,” I laugh, resting my chin on my palm. “You probably just pulled all the heat into your room, Heliomancer.”
“Yeah, that checks out,” Aiden sighs. “Some of my sneakers melted. My aunt wasn’t too stoked about that, either. Don’t know where the snow came from, though. Maybe I was dreaming about it?”
I bite my lip, holding back another laugh with only mixed success. “I never realized what poor Aunt Sarah went through. You handful.”
“Hardly my fault!” Aiden protests, around an indignant laugh. “And once I used my magic to catch a bat that got into the living room! No one was complaining that time!”
“You caught it with magic? How?”
“I just wanted it, and it came down and landed on the towel I was holding and let me put it outside.”
I break into a delighted smile. “Aw! My little sorcerer, holding a bat. Perfect mental image for the autumn Fling Thing.”
Aiden shakes his head at me, but he’s smiling, too. Fidgeting with a strand of his wind-tousled hair.
“You know,” I add, after a moment of thought, “Hearing all that from you, I refuse even more to believe that your magic was all bad back then.”
“Mmm - yeah, no, guess you’re right,” Aiden says, his deep voice and devastating blue eyes growing thoughtful. “It was a lot more out of my control, but it felt a lot easier to use, too. Came so much more natural to me. I’m actually kind of trying to get back to that, now.”
I can’t help but stare at him in open fascination and curiosity. “When did it stop feeling that way? Do you remember?”
Aiden grimaces in frustration, lifting his snapback up and down over his hair. “Right around when I went into what you might call formal training. Trying to use my mom’s methods instead of my own.”
I gaze at him thoughtfully, my head tilted to the side.
“Hm... I hope this isn’t wrong to say, but sometimes I’m glad that you were only subjected to a couple years of your mom’s training. Like - maybe that was actually for the best.”
A little smile plays around Aiden’s mouth as he looks at me, thinking about what I said. As it often does with him, it takes a stretch of silence before he has an answer for me. When he does, I have to resist the urge to close my eyes and only listen to the sound of his deep, soft-spoken voice, forcing myself to hear the words, too.
“You’re always making me think about things in - just...” He stops, blushing, then lets out a casual laugh. “Look, it wasn’t all pretty when I was a kid with my magic. I definitely started a few small fires.”
“Did you?” I laugh adoringly. “I hadn’t thought of that as a little Guardian risk, but now that I am thinking about it, it makes perfect sense. Good thing we’ve got Roger on our roster, huh? For the - for the future…”
I trail off, because now I’m the one blushing as my brain catches up to my mouth.
Aiden is still smiling at me, though. That intimate little heartthrob smile that makes me feel as shy as if this was the first twilight we ever spent together. It’s that, and... sometimes when the light catches him a certain way, while he’s looking at me a certain way... I can almost see the fifteen-year-old version of him, the one who sat beside me on the beach for just a few minutes all those years ago. His face is a man’s face now, lost its adolescent boyishness a long time ago for much stronger, even more graceful lines. But there’s some of that sweet shyness still in his eyes, and that’s all I need to see the old him. That, I definitely recognize.
It makes me get all melty and nervous, twisting the malachite necklace in my fingers. Like I’m fourteen, and he’s fifteen, and somehow we’re hanging out together. I quickly push a hand through my hair, struck with the sudden feeling like there must be something about myself I need to fix or cover up before a stud this handsome should be allowed to look at me.
“What were you saying?” Aiden murmurs, his slow, soft-spoken voice picking up a teasing purr. “Before? What were you starting to say?”
“I - oh, nothing. I don’t know.” I blush hard as he begins to chuckle. “Look, don’t annoy me, Callahan!”
He laughs. I could swear all the fireflies around us sparkle beautifully as he does. “Or what?”
“Or I - I’ll activate one of Ralph's secret operatives, tell them you’re trying to take Calla hostage!”
Aiden pulls a wounded face, although the fireflies are shining just as happily as ever.
“You know, you threaten to kill me or have me killed a lot more often than I expected when I pictured us being together.” He takes a strand of my hair and gives it a hard tug. “Naughty little brat. I never got this much back-sass in my imaginat-”
“Oh, my god,” Gabby laughs, striding up to stop in front of us. “Are you two serious?”
We both look up at her in confusion. I barely even processed what she said, because I’m still blushing wildly and unable to hear over my own heartbeat after naughty little brat came at me out of nowhere. Especially in a voice as deep and rumbling as his, especially in his voice, specifically.
“Why, what - what happened?” I stammer, as Kent comes up to stop beside Gabby.
“Wow,” Kent laughs, apparently already seeing what Gabby finds funny. “You two literally live together, and we’re at a once-a-year party with half the town here, and you keep slipping off to go hang out with each other. Exactly like you did at last year’s Fling Thing.”
“Oh, alright,” Aiden says skeptically. “You’re not breaking off every now and then to hang out with just Gabby?”
Kent raises his eyebrows. “Breaking off every now and then? You guys have been sitting over here talking for over an hour.”
Aiden and I blink up at Kent, then look at each other, equally startled. I don’t think either of us realized that so much time had passed. I guess I should’ve noticed the sky changing, but I was so focused on Aiden that it slipped my attention.
I’m always just so happy, sitting and talking with him. Like my soul is cuddled up someplace soft and warm, having itself a nice back scratch.
I look around in a little bit of a daze, realizing that a golden autumn moon has risen in the darkening sky. The stars are out, and the forest is humming with nighttime bugs.
“It has been over an hour, right?” Gabby leans against Kent and puts her arms around him, her usually immaculate ponytail halfway to coming undone. “How would you know, Kent? You’re so super drunk.”
“Oh, okay,” Kent says, trying to pull on a sober expression with very little success as he squints down at Gabby. “Well, isn’t that just the pot calling. Call the, um... just. It calls. The black calling pot kettle drunk. Drunk.” His expression clears into a victorious smile, like he’s sure that last one was right. “Anyways I checked my phone and it has been over an hour and you two are about to miss the bonfire lighting.”
“Oh, shit!” I scramble to my feet, catching Aiden’s hand. “Okay, we’re coming!”
“Good,” Kent approves, then stabs a finger at Aiden’s face indignantly. “Before we go, what do you mean by calling me so super drunk?”
“I didn’t, Gabby did.”
“I’ll have you know,” Kent goes on sternly, clearly not hearing him, “That a man is perfectly entitled to a day off every now and then, and this man can handle his booze, aight? You don't even have any proof that I’m fucked up.”
“You’ve got some of Gabby’s lipstick on your nose,” Aiden snickers, grinning widely at Kent. “And evidence of cinnamon rolls on your fingers. And Melanie’s scarf, for some reason-”
“Excuse me, is this a list I asked for? I don’t think so! And I don’t need to have good judgment on this day, that’s part of the joy of this day, so I’ll thank you to remember-”
I hide my grin behind my hands, watching as Aiden submits to the full scolding Kent is laying down on him. He’s all mournful meekness on the surface, but I can see the laughter glimmering in his eyes as they briefly flit to meet mine over Kent's shoulder.
I smile back at him, my breathing fluttering almost painfully. Haloed in the last shimmer of rosy light left by the sinking sun, my Sugar Maple gives me the striking impression of something I’ve seen in my dreams, in moments of confusing, complicated longing. But he’s also the boy I knew before he left, and the man that came back, and the one who saves that smile only for me.
It’s a lot for my heart to take.
Once Kent wraps up his lecture and staggers off, Aiden straightens out his henley, settles his snapback over his hair, all calmly and casually - then rushes right for me.
I let out a startled laugh, taking a stumbling step backwards. “What are you-?”
That’s all I get out before I turn and start to run. Why, I'm not sure. I don’t know what I was thinking there. Trying to outrun Aiden, of all people.
In less than a second he’s caught me by my waist, and before I can even gasp in a breath my Converse have left the ground. The next thing I know I’m grabbing a fistful of Aiden’s jacket to steady myself out as he settles me onto his shoulders.
“Thought you’d want a good view of the bonfire lighting,” he tells me, as I start slapping wildly at him, trying to struggle free.
“Put me down, you big, dumb-!”
I’m cut off as Ripley rushes up to us and sticks something in my face. “Jamie! Hold that for me for a second?”
I take it from him, discover it’s an unlit sparkler. Ripley touches the flame of his lighter to it, setting it off.
“Okay, cool!” he says brightly, then takes off again, leaving me with the now fizzing, snapping sparkler in my hand.
“Are you serious, dude?” I shout after him, holding it out so the sparks don’t hit Aiden. “Oh, my god. Aiden, put me down, you know that holding sparklers makes me nervous! Ripley saw me trapped up here and jumped on the opportunity!”
“It's important to face your fears, Keane,” Aiden answers very seriously, carrying me across the field towards the bonfire. “The sparkler thing first, and then you'll graduate to bears.”
“Oh, will I? Then I’m doubly determined to never ever face or deal with the sparkler thing!”
“You’re facing it right now.” Aiden flashes me a smile over his shoulder. “Proud of you. And that moving light looks pretty against your freckles.”
“Oh, well, I’m sure that’ll be a great consolation to me after I’ve burned myself to bits-” I begin, then pause in concern as we reach the bonfire.
The crowd is gathered around the big pile of wood and kindling, waiting for it to light up. A couple of guys are crouching near the base of it, arguing with each other. As we stop beside Mel, Noah, and Raj, who are quickly being joined by the rest of our group, one of the guys places a lit piece of kindling into the wood heap. It goes out almost immediately.
“What's going on?” Aiden asks, finally letting me scramble down from his shoulders.
Roger comes around the side of the unlit bonfire, frowning as he stops before us.
“I think what happened is that the storm we got recently made the firewood everyone picked up all damp. It’s gotten a pretty heavy soaking over the last few days.”
“So wait, no fire this year?” calls a disappointed voice from the crowd. “Is that what that means?”
“Hey, don't give up yet!” Roger calls back, crouching by the base of the fire as a few groans and grumbles go up from the crowd. “We’re still trying! You gotta believe, people! Believe in the power of the Fling Thing!”
“We believe, brother!” Raj shouts back. “You got this!”
“Yeah, you can do it, Roger!” Luca calls earnestly.
Roger begins lighting up another piece of kindling, and I drop my gaze to the sparkler in my hands, which I’ve been holding out and away from me. Two sparks just pulled off from all the rest, like they’re caught on a powerful breeze that’s affecting nothing else.
They swirl lightly out from me, fluttering towards the fire the same way the autumn leaves have been twirling on the breeze. The sparks definitely should’ve gone out by now, but instead I could swear they’re getting brighter, picking up a molten golden glow more radiant than the one they had before. I only see them for a second before they blow softly into the heap of firewood, right as the piece of kindling is tossed in.
A fierce, brilliant little flame sputters to life at the center of the fire. Rising bravely against the wind, throwing its glow out onto us and up at the darkening sky.
Everyone freezes. The entire crowd waits in suspended, hopeful silence as the tiny flame wavers, licking against the firewood as if feeling it out.
The flame sparkles, folding a gust of the light breeze into itself, then sweeps up with a roar, catching on one of the logs like it was doused with lighter fluid. It leaps up the length of the woodpile and unfurls over the top with a dramatic sweep, tossing a handful of molten sparks up into the air.
The crowd gasps, and then lets out a delighted cheer as the fire begins to burn with a warm, cheerful crackling sound. The music that had been paused while the problem was being discussed is switched back on. Laughing people begin dancing around the fire.
The sparkler in my hands has gone out, temporary little piece of brilliance that it was. But the big fire is ablaze, and something about those defiant, shining flames seems inextinguishable to me. Like magic.
I slowly lift my gaze to Aiden, who’s turning his snapback backwards again.
There’s still a shimmer of icy blue magic fading out of his eyes as he holds out his hand to me, smiling intimately. The light of the new fire reflects softly in his eyes, too. Melting into the beautiful blue, one with it.
With no hesitation at all, I take his hand, and let myself be swept up into the dance.
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