Note from the author: I almost forgot to mention that ‘Nya’ is pronounced ‘Na-ee-ya’. I created her character around 10 years ago and I have no idea why my teenage self chose this name, but it’s worth clearing up any confusion now!
While the kids were out on their once-in-a-lifetime annual ball night, Ray headed out to his favourite gay bar in town: SASS. It was only a fifteen-minute walk from the penthouse… and besides, he deserved to have some fun too.
And it got boring with Nya and Ash around. He’d taken on the role of their big brother ever since he joined the penthouse a few years ago, around the time he had turned fifteen. Not that there was much of an age difference: he was merely a year older… and he’d experienced his ‘magical’ annual ball only last year.
Although it was more of a disaster.
Back then he hadn’t yet gained the confidence to be openly gay at school, although he was very much open in the comfort of their Mastermind home. Which meant that he hadn’t asked anyone to go to the ball with him.
At least Nya and Ash had each other… and that guy, Jack.
But that was all behind him now as once he had started university, he had found himself in a much more welcoming and open-minded environment… which was how he got to know about SASS.
A few of his classmates loved to go there to… erm… get some.
Though he would often accompany them and admire the beautiful people there, while sipping on his G&T, he had never… yet.
Tonight, he was going alone, on a whim. So maybe…
At the bar, he ordered his usual G&T and took a look around him. It was still early, slightly past 7:30 p.m. The familiar scene consisted of rather good-looking guys, students and working adults alike, most of them dressed in colourful attire, chatting over drinks, humming to the 2000s pop music playlist playing in the background. The bar itself was dim-lit, which made the atmosphere relaxing for some reason. It wasn’t what he would consider a wild place but more of a hang-out spot where it was safe for them to mingle around and enjoy the night.
That was when he met him.
Whenever he would come to SASS, his friends would complain that he was too picky, that he could just pick any guy and go home with him if he wanted to. After all, he was among the rare people around here who had blond hair and golden eyes… He was considered ‘handsome’ by society’s standards, and he had to admit he’d often taken advantage of this…
However, when it came to dating men, he never knew what to do.
Tonight would different.
He spotted him on the other side of the bar, sipping some whiskey. The brown-haired man stood out to him because he wasn’t dressed in flamboyant clothes like the rest of them. In fact, for a Saturday night, he was dressed in formal office clothes: a well-fitted white shirt tucked neatly in his grey trousers, with a matching tie.
He didn’t look too old, maybe in his mid-twenties.
Ray stared back intensely at his G&T. Was he going to go for it? But wasn’t he too young for this? He’d only just become of legal age last year…
But the world could end before he could even get his first boyfriend…
He straightened up, picked up his glass and walked towards the man.
Even if it would amount to nothing, he should at least try to start a conversation. He wasn’t usually this shy… not at school nor at the penthouse anyway…
And he wasn’t afraid of danger. He was a Mastermind after all…
“Sorry, is this seat taken?”
The man looked at him with inquisitive eyes but he nodded anyway.
“Thanks. I’m Ray by the way.”
“Harry. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too. So what brings you here? I’ve never seen you around before.”
“It’s my first time here, in fact. It was recommended to me by one of my patients so I decided to give it a go.”
“Patient? Are you a doctor by any chance?”
Maybe a resident? A medical student? That might explain his attire… He heard that people in the medical field worked around the clock.
“You could say that.”
What was this mysterious answer?
“And you, Ray? You look quite young to be hanging out at this bar. And you make it sound like you’re a regular.”
“I’m old enough to be drinking legally and my friends love to hang out here. Let’s just say that it’s like… a safe space for us.”
Harry nodded and took another sip of his whiskey. Ray couldn’t help but stare at his defined jawline and all the way to his neatly combed chestnut hair. He suddenly noticed his bright green eyes… that shone like…
For some reason, his face looked awfully familiar.
Those eyes looked back at him. Harry chuckled nervously.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Ray felt his cheeks heating up. He shook his head as he stirred the ice cubes in his glass.
“Sorry, it’s just that you remind me of someone.”
Harry leaned forward. “Oh? Who?”
“Well…”
He didn’t know how open he wanted to be with this man. It was hard enough—
But as soon as Harry’s hand touched his, the words came pouring out of his mouth.
“You remind me of my host family. You see I’m an orphan; I never knew my parents and went from one orphanage to another until I turned fifteen. Then, they decided to put me under a young couple’s care, together with other children like me. And you remind me of one of them… she… her name is Heila…”
He managed to pull his hand away from Harry’s and stood up.
What was that? Some kind of… power?
Harry leaned back. Neither of them was smiling anymore. Around them, the music had become louder and people were starting to dance.
“Who the hell are you?” Ray shouted over the music.
“I can’t believe it…”
“I said, who the hell are you? I can recognise all too well when I’m being coerced, human or not.”
Was that man a Mastermind too? If so… was he a fugitive? He had heard of Masterminds that decided to go against the law and rebel against The Oracles. Was he after them? Did he just put Heila and the rest of them in danger?
It made sense that he stood out with that formal outfit to attract my attention…
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. And I don’t mean to hurt you.”
“How can I believe what you say when you clearly forced me to answer you with some kind of ability?”
“Ability?”
Ray had no idea why but Harry suddenly started laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“Oh, it’s just that… only Masterminds would use that word. ‘Ability’… or ‘power’. But no, it was just a spell.”
“A spell?”
A doctor with spells… This meant that…
That guy was a Witch.
It was his first time encountering one of them.
“How about we talk outside? There are a few things I want to ask.”
“There’s no way I’m going in an empty alley with you. If you want to talk, talk here. What do you want exactly?”
Ray was almost hissing between his gritted teeth. He wanted to keep his voice down but he also knew that the people around them wouldn’t care about what they were talking about… even though their very existence had to be hidden.
Humans had no idea of the overlapping government that ruled this world, the system that ruled over the non-human kinds, Homotheans…
Harry took out a photo from his pocket and slid it on the table towards him.
It was a photo of two babies.
“22 years ago, my twin sister was forcefully taken away from me, from our family, by The Oracles’ right-hand men. We couldn’t stay in touch and my parents were forced to officially remove her from their family register. As if she had never existed. I suppose they did the same to her, brainwashing her into oblivion. But I swore to myself that I would find her and be reunited with her. I’m looking for her… and it so happens that her name is Heila.”
Ray didn’t mean to but he burst out laughing.
What a creative story… Novel-worthy.
“You know that there could be thousands of people named Heila in this world. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that I know one of them. I’m sorry, I think you got the wrong guy. The Heila I know doesn’t have a brother or any sibling for that matter and her parents died in a house fire when she was young. And besides, she’s not a Witch.”
Even though he meant every word he said, something about the whole situation made him feel uneasy… Harry grabbed his wrist but this time, Ray couldn’t break free as much as he struggled to. He looked straight into his eyes.
“If she were a Witch like me do you think The Oracles would have taken her away? She’s currently a Writer, am I right? A special one at that…”
Heila was indeed known for being some kind of prodigy among Writers. It was no surprise that she became the one responsible for raising some of the most powerful Masterminds in the world…
No, but this man didn’t make sense… He was certainly crazy…
Though, what if…?
Harry leaned closer. Way too close. “So, it seems I am right.”
This was probably not the right time to think about this but Ray suddenly smelt a whiff of his perfume… and it reminded him why he had approached him in the first place. It felt like a magnet as he drowned in his green eyes…
Why did their kind have to spoil everything? If only they had just been two ordinary human beings hanging out at a gay bar…
Harry let go of him and placed a small card in the palm of his hand. A business card.
“It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about this tonight. But I have a feeling you’re the one who will be able to help me in my quest. So send me a message or give me a call when you’re ready.”
As he was about to leave, Ray took a hold of his arm. He didn’t know if it was the alcohol but his cheeks felt hotter than usual.
“Wait…”
“Huh?”
“All of this aside… at least, let’s finish what we started.”
Before Harry could reply, Ray pulled him closer and kissed him.
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