Page 16 of Halluci-Dating A Demon
I’m hit with an onset paralysis, and as a hazy feeling comes over me, my eyes begin to lose the fight to stay open. As I go rigid in the recliner, a familiar blond appears with purple highlights instead of only tips. His center charm lights up like a rainbow, as if he’s not sure what emotion or feeling to settle on. He looks down, mouth gaping as his clothes begin to fade, and he snatches a blanket from my couch.
“Sorry.” Arien blushes. “I had no idea how much energy was required to have my clothes travel with me until recently, and changing my appearance also drains too much from me.”
I want to tell him not to then. To come as he naturally is and that I much prefer his original form anyway. Those strong, curving horns that transition from dark purple to light purple.His beautiful light-purple skin and black hair with purple tinting. He’s the complete opposite of Brody, and maybe that’s what the problem was with all those other guys. Even with different hair color and eyes, they still felt too much like what I once had.
It wasn’t about how good they could make me feel, per se, because I knew giving myself a glimpse of happiness before immediately ripping it away would hurt more. So I continued to search out company for that very reason, to get as close to feeling as helpless as my brother did in his last moments of life. To feel the burden Brody had when he was the only one around to pick up all my broken pieces.
He gave up on trying to stick them all back together again, drained of energy and life the more he tried to breathe both back into me. I felt like I was letting him down again somehow, when all I could do was picture his face while the other men kissed me. I tried the Monster Match app once but no one really caught my attention. Would Arien have if I’d seen him on there?
He sure did have most of it when he’d entered my coffee shop, and preventing myself from staring for too long didn’t last. My eyes kept finding his again, and the hoodie that had a label in the corner of it just like mine.
Arien must think I want him here this way, after seeing pictures of me with Brody, but it actually makes it harder to look at him. That’s why I’d clung to any difference I could—the purple ring around his irises and purple creeping into his hair.
Arien sits on one of the armchairs, singing another song I don’t recognize. The lyrics are so random and are about him wanting to be more helpful than he is . . . to not be tempted to snoop in my candy drawer again.
A light goes off inside me, and if my lips could move, they probably would. He’s making this all up as he goes. Purple creeps up his arm and he sighs.
“Yeah, this isn’t working, is it? I was sure this would work.” He continues to ramble on, and I haven’t got a clue what he’s going on about, but I do know his disappointment starts to weigh heavily on me. My knees weaken and my head spins.
He stretches out his arms as his skin turns a pale shade again, and he shakes his head. “Not how it’s supposed to happen. I’m not supposed to add to it. Son of a hogglememphias.”
Hoggle what now? Is that his way of substituting curse words? A spark strikes against my chest, and my stomach reacts with a bubbly sensation I haven’t felt in a long time. My body wants to release a laugh. A dress appears behind the blanket he’s holding, and he jumps up with excitement. Flowers sprout across the fabric—some have happy faces and others have fangs. Does he see these in his world? Will I get to see more of them in my dreams?
Spinning around, he sings a different song with the same beat but more uplifting than before. “Oh, what a good time to be wrong and to sing a song. I made you feel something other than sadness and probably with all my madness.”
The corners of my lips shake, and my fingers move one by one. And just like that he’s gone. His silly songs, however, remain in my head, following me to the shower and influencing my mouth to sing along. I smile the whole time, so fucking big, and I can’t hate it right now. I try and try but keep burying myself in his rambling and the memories of his bad dancing.
Laughter spills from my lips, and there goes that buckling in my knees. My feet feel like they’re slipping away from the floor and my eyes grow smaller.
Arien is jumping up and down, wearing way too many layers of clothes. “This is incredible. It’s working! And you do sing in the shower! I knew it.”
Then he blushes when his eyes take in more of my naked body. “I’m sorry. I just realized you’re in the shower. Humans like theirprivacy during those if I remember correctly.” He spins around, his charm lighting up bright yellow.
Zaps of electricity shoot through me, and I can’t stop all the wonderful sensations from spreading—my body is too relaxed and inviting.
Burying his face in his hands, he sings a new song, the beat changing in some places and the lyrics even more ridiculous than before. His hand is over his eyes as he spins around. “‘Firework’ by Katy Perry,” he blurts.
Huh?
“That’s your favorite song.”
Not even close.
“‘Birds of A Feather,’” Billie Eilish.
Nowhere near the right genre.
“Um . . . ‘Pocket Full of Sunshine.’”
And we’re going in the wrong direction again.
“No, I got it . . . ‘Hotel California’ by the Eagles.”
As much as I like that song, never once have I considered it a favorite.
“Wait, I got it!” he shouts, moving his hand away and then squealing when he remembers where he is before covering his eyes again.
My body buzzes and my shaking lips help bring feeling back into the rest of me, and once again he’s gone. Fog covers the glass from the hot water running for so long. Using my finger, I write, “Getting warmer,” and then I shut off the water. The cold tile shocks me more awake, and I quickly cover myself with a towel as I make my way to my room.
