Bill

I knew I shouldn’t be here, and I kept having this overwhelming feeling that this lecture hall was the last place I should be, seeing the last person on this planet I should even care about right now. But care about him, I did.

When I thought back to earlier in the day, I hadn’t thought anything of going to Nathan’s lecture. I thought it would be nice to see him, listen to his latest research, maybe grab a drink after like colleagues often do in this day and age.

The feeling of being compelled in the opposite direction became more apparent the closer I got to the lecture hall. When I reached the doors, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. That was too drastic a change in such a short time period to make me think it was anything other than magic actively working to thwart my forward progress. I walked away from the building, and my symptoms eased immediately.

The frustration I felt could have blighted a small garden. I wasn't accustomed to people making decisions for me. I wondered who might have made this one. I backed away far enough to take stock of the magic woven around me. It was subtle, but there. I reached for it, then broke it with just a couple of twists and pulls of my own magic.

Witch’s magic. It was strong and done well enough that I didn’t recognize it until I tried to focus my will to separate it from myself. If it were a lesser skilled witch, it would have been more like a fly buzzing around my head, which meant it was Shelby.

I know she wasn’t trying to hurt me, and actually, it was the exact opposite. She probably set the spell to remind me what Nathan had done to me. To warn me away from hurting myself. Sometimes best friends were a pain in the ass. My phone buzzed in my pocket.

I answered it. “I hope you have a particularly good reason to do a binding spell to keep me from Nathan, Shelby. I didn’t enjoy that in the least.”

“Bill, I know you’re upset with me, but I wanted to make you think before you did this. I don’t want him to hurt you again.”

“Regina Shelby. You’re one of the most amazing people I know and my best friend, so I’m going to say this out of the love and respect I hold for you. Butt out. I know what I’m doing.”

“It’s not you I’m worried about, Bill.”

“See you tomorrow, Shelby.”

I turned off my phone and went inside the lecture hall. Nathan spent two hours holding the crowd in rapture with his wit and charm, along with an impressive amount of science about artificial cell structures. I sat in the back row. My original intent was to watch the lecture then leave, but I found I couldn’t. I was somewhat rooted to the spot and didn’t stand until the last guest left. I stood in the aisle, watching Nathan pack his things. I knew he saw me. With his satchel in hand, he walked toward me and stopped, meeting me halfway.

“William.” Nathan always called me William when he was serious.

“Nathan,” I mimicked his tone. I tended toward the opposite. I never called him by his full name unless I was joking. The tense look on his face made me think he hadn't picked up on it. He was always too serious for his own good. I waited until I saw when he made the connection and relax a bit. 

“It’s good to see you. I’m glad you were here tonight.”

“Oh? I wasn’t sure you’d be happy to see me considering everything that happened.”

“I know.” Nathan shuffled his feet a little. “You think we might be able to go somewhere and talk, have a drink, maybe?”

“Sure. Where are you staying?”

“The Van Zandt. They have a nice bar if you’d like to join me?”

“Yeah, I think I have the time.”

We caught a cab over to Rainey street and went up to the bar. As we ordered drinks, I got the feeling that Shelby was right, and I was about to do something epically stupid.