This story is a figment of my imagination. It has been dancing in my mind for too long and I finally decided to write it down. Hope it serves as a good read.
*
Episode 2
"Steve." Aiden whispered to the sleeping form. "Hey buddy, get up."
Steve rolled towards one side and half opened his eyes to see who was disturbing him.
"Hey C'mon, let's play some tennis."
"What's the time?" Steve inquired groggily.
"It's 5:40."
"And it's Sunday morning right?"
"Yeah, so do you wanna play?"
Steve opened his eyes fully. Aiden was never one to get up early on Sundays. He shot up and sat vertical with a jerk.
"Ok, let's go!"
Aiden hurriedly got up and started to assemble his tennis gear. Yesterday he had returned back to the frat rooms after 1 O' clock and had hardly had four hours of sleep. Yet remembering Will and the kiss, he hardly felt tired. In fact he felt all pepped up and like a hot fudge sundae with nuts. The world seemed like an awesome place to live in. But Aiden reminded not to get his hopes up to high. "Will might never call me again, and it's not like I have any contact number of his." Aiden would have to try and keep his exuberance under control or severe disappointment could be heading his way.
Aiden looked towards Jason's side of the room. Jason was snoring slightly but his lips were shaped into a slight smile Seems like Jason had had a great time with Aditi too.
Three sets of tennis later an exhausted Steve called it a game and slumped down on the benches adjacent to the courts. Aiden was still prancing about not a bit debilitated. Steve had managed to beat him 2-1 but Aiden had almost beaten him in the last set losing 5-7. This was the farthest he had ever come in a tennis contest with Steve.
"So where did you suddenly get all this energy from?" Steve had a questioning look on his face.
"Don't know man." Aiden replied though he possessed some inkling where it all came from. It was the newness of discovering someone. The newness of being enamored by someone who was so out of league, but yet seemed very interested in you.
Aiden made his way towards where Steve had settled down, still swinging his racket and practicing his strokes till he too flopped down beside Steve.
"So how did it go yesterday night with Jason and that Indian chick and all?"
"Oh it went pretty well," Aiden replied still smiling at the events of the day before.
"Jason handled himself well with a girl around?"
"Yeah, although with a little help from me and Tinka, but I think he managed well on his own too."
Steve gazed at Aiden who knew that Steve already understood that there was more to tell about the previous day's events. Aiden cleared his throat.
"I sorta... um, met someone myself yesterday."
"Some guy?" Aiden was uncomfortable once more. What was it about Steve that could put him at unease so easily when it came to this topic. He was usually never unnerved about his sexuality when it came into light.
"Yeah, his name's Will Black. He's 27 years old." Aiden knew that this was all the information Steve would want from him. "And he's a social worker who runs a retirement home." Aiden quickly added the last bit as if it compensated for his apparently aberrant tastes in men.
"Cool." That was all Steve replied. Aiden surmised that since Steve knew he had slept in the frat the night before, he would reckon that this was something better off than a one night stand. Somehow Aiden felt like he had passed a test.
"I'll go get some water," Steve stated as he rose up and walked towards the filters. Aiden sort of wished that he could make Steve meet Will. He was sure that anyone would be impressed by his personable self and he would get to show him off a little or something like that. Will was such am awesome person. His face, his eyes, his body, his personality, his manner; his overall bearing. "I just hope I am not a charity case that he had decided to please for an evening or so," Aiden was trying to calm himself. He wished he could talk to Will again, but then stealing a glance at his watch he realized that Will most certainly would not be awake at 7:30 in the morning on a Sunday.
Just then his cell phone buzzed on the bench beside him. Aiden lifted the set not recognizing the number.
"Hello?"
"Yeah Hi," replied a voice from the other side. Aiden at once knew who it was.
"Will, is that you?"
"Yup, Will here."
"Shit! I was just thinking about you!"
"I know!" replied a cheeky voice from the other end.
"So you're awake so early on a Sunday morning?"
"Yeah, awake and thinking about you!" Aiden blushed thankful that Will would at least not be able to see his crimson face.
"Listen," Will stated, "Hey how about meeting up and going bowling or something?"
Aiden had hardly ever bowled in is life before. He knew he would probably find the sport interesting if someone would just push him a little into it.
"Bowling, er, yeah why not?"
"Cool, can I meet you at 8:30 at the same coffee shop then? We'll grab a bite to eat and then head towards the alleys. The bowling alley opens at 9 o' clock"
"Fine by me."
"Ok, meet you there then."
"Ok."
There was a pause on the other side before Will's voice stated, "I'm really looking forward to meeting you."
Aiden face was positively roseate by now, the smile on his face bigger wider had been in a long time.
"Bye." The phone clicked. Aiden kissed his phone and leaped up in the air with joy screaming "Yesssss!"
An amused Steve was staring at the bouncing form of Aiden. Aiden immediately stopped hopping when he saw Steve staring at him.
"Err, that was Will, the guy I told you about."
"I guessed as much." Steve replied grinning. "C'mon, let's get back to the room." Aiden followed Steve out of the courts.
"And stop grinning so much. You're beaming like a house on fire!"
~~~
Old wooden floor boards creaked as a large Doberman padded across the room and settled down for a nap. It knew its master would not be back for quite some time from now. It shut its eyes and slowly drifted off into doggie dreamland. Suddenly its ears twitched as something awakened it from its vigilant slumber. The large canine opened its eyes and suddenly shot up. It stared into the atmosphere before it and let out a guttural noise. The air ahead of it started to slowly deform and turned turbid. The turbidity got more and more intense until it exploded in white fumes. Another powerful perpetual had just entered the material plane.
White's unclothed human form emerged from the white vapors. White looked down at his nude form. He would need to have garments to mingle with the humans and find the alchemist. Then he looked around at his surroundings.
Had that much changed since he had last been here? The last time he was here, these coordinates comprised of a deserted location. Now he was apparently in someone's home as he looked down at his canine friend growling at him, its mouth showing pointed white teeth. Suddenly the animal balked and fled yelping.
White smiled and spread out both his arms in a crucifixion pose and spoke out. "Assorted Ability 4; Fabric Habiliment."
Rings of white and azure lights appeared around both his wrists. The rings moved towards each other, expanding and contracting in shape as they hovered above the muscles beneath them, leaving cloth in their wake. They reached till his biceps on either side and then suddenly frittered away. White stared at the cloth that covered his alms halfway up to the biceps. He had just entered the material plane and it would be some time before his abilities recovered. He firmly held his alms perpendicular to his body, concentrated within himself and repeated, "Assorted Ability 4; Fabric habiliment."
The rings of light appeared again and started their motion along his alms. They covered the muscles in his alms and moved towards the torso and neck, slowly floating over the ridges and contours on his abdomen and the taut and varied muscles on his back leaving a trail of cloth along. They moved across his nether regions and then to the doughty pillars that were his legs. Completing the entire path along his impressive frame, they reached his ankles, and then slowly dissipated, their task complete.
White now had to search for the alchemist. He brought his palms together in front of his chest, holding them about a quarter feet apart. "Ability of the Light 84; Quarry Seek." A narrow beam of laser-like white light emerged from his chest and pointed towards the South West, continuing through the walls of the house. This light would lead him to the Alchemist. White walked over to the door and exited the apartment. He wondered what he would say to the alchemist once he met him.
~~~
Aiden was happy. Happier than he had been in a long time. He sat grinning opposite Will who was grinning back at him. Aiden had gone bowling with Will, almost a first for Aiden; he had never formally bowled in his life before, just accompanied friends who bowled and Will had given him a time to remember. The two sat outside the bowling lanes, Aiden holding his arm which seemed to be burning now that he had given it so much strain; tennis in the morning and now this.
"What? Why are you smiling?" inquired Will.
"What me? And what about you? You're grinning too!"
"Well, let's just say I found your bowling abilities exceptional!" Will was referring to Aiden's bowling 'techniques', and in particular to the time when he had tried to get Aiden to improve his stance. Aiden, totally enraptured in the 'I-am-gonna-knock-all-those-pins-down-with-this-strike' mood had stepped forward and swung the bowling ball with force. The next moment Aiden slipped and crashed down to the floor beneath skidding to where the ball ought to have gone while the ball went flying two lanes to the left. Fortunately no one was hurt, except Aiden's pride that is. Will soon resolved his pride issues with a smile.
Aiden showed his tongue to Will and stated with a mock frown on his face, "If you're referring to the incident where I goofed up and slipped, it's not my fault that they tell you to take of your shoes outside and play only in your socks."
