The Charmer
Arcus sighed. It had been yet another long day. His boss was getting more racist by the week. Today he was told his tail gets in the way, trips people up. One woman claimed it had a mind of its own and tried to strangle her. But of course, he knew it was because he was different.
Normally a day like today would have gotten to him, but he was still excited about tonight. It was a Friday night, and the sixth Harry Potter movie was opening at midnight. He was headed to the theater to meet his friends and wait in line, and just the thought of it put a spring in his slither.
Navigating on the streets was difficult. He always kept his long tail close behind him so as not to trip anybody up, but surely someone would... And did. A human tripped over his tail and took a spill on the pavement. Arcus, still in an okay mood, turned and offered a hand to help him up. The man responded with a scream and ran away.
Arcus clenched his jaw watching the man flee in terror. "Fuckin' humans," he grumbled. He was already on edge from work, and the neighborhood of the theater was predominantly human. He wondered why his friends picked this one.
Arcus arrived early to see a few people sitting on the street in front of the theater doors. It was a short line, and the weather was quite warm, even a little hot for a summer night. That was good, he thought. Arcus was cold blooded and not a fan of air conditioning. He got in line, bunched his coils up into a comfortable yet compact seat, and settled in for a three hour wait.
The kid next to him, in his early twenties, was taking a nap. He has the smart idea, Arcus thought, but I can't let my guard down in this neighborhood. The human had a cute scruffy look, wearing cargo shorts and a crimson tee. He worried that he may scare this one too when he wakes.
An hour and a half passed. Some other furs got in line, easing Arcus's thoughts, but his friends were nowhere. They weren't even answering their phones. Now he was fed up. His night had been all but ruined. All he had left was the movie. Fuck it, he thought, I'm gonna just see it on my own and to hell with them.
The human stirred, opening his eyes and staring drowsily at Arcus. He sensed this and looked back, preparing for more screaming. It didn't come though. He stared into the boy's eyes. He could have just hypnotized him back to sleep, but he hated relying on that, and he was just too tired to deal with such things. If there were to be an incident, he'd have just called a cab and ended the day.
"What time is it?" he heard the human ask. Glancing back, Arcus saw he was still looking in his direction.
"Um.." Arcus felt apprehensive, caught off-guard by a harmless remark. dug through his messenger bag looking for his phone. A soft light illuminated from the bag onto his face. "Ten thirty-eight."
The human nodded and fell silent. Arcus thought that the end and decided to fidget with his phone. He sifted through his text message history with his friends, growing more frustrated at their sudden absence. It seemed almost too easy for him to become sullen and bitter.
"We match," the human said. Scrolling through his texts and brooding, it took Arcus a moment to process the comment. He looked up, agitated and confused.
"Huh?"
"We match." The human pointed out his red tee shirt and black cargo shorts, then pointed at Arcus's coils, black with bright red circles. "Well, in color at least."
"Oh." Staring down at his scales, secretly hoping the man would leave him alone, he didn't expect a hand to jut out before him, almost hitting him in the snout.
"I'm Sandy," he heard the human say. Arcus looked up at him, surprised and a little too befuddled to respond intelligently.
"Um.. Look, I.."
Sandy realized and awkwardly withdrew his hand. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't even think about it. I forget there's that... thing between humans and -- well, you guys."
And there it is, Arcus thought. He smirked unpleasantly.
"There's a word for it. I'm just not..." Arcus noted Sandy's ramblings as a little crazy and went back to his phone. "Sorry," Sandy continued, "I've been told I get too friendly when I light up."
"That explains it," Arcus mumbled.
"I'm not totally gone, just a little buzzed. Got fired today, so I needed to unwind a bit before I came down here."
"Oh... I'm sorry." Sandy nodded hesitantly, as if he meant to say more but wanted to respect Arcus' space.
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Arcus wanted to enjoy his solitude after his horrible day, but something came over him at that moment. He suddenly felt a connection from their misfortune.
"You know," Arcus broke the silence, "I've had a pretty rough day myself. Not as bad as yours, but I've been looking for a new job for a while."
Sandy looked up, his reddish eyes glinting with a bit of hope. "Oh yeah? What do you do?"
"Ugh, I work in an office all day long. Accounting. I gotta listen to these smooth talkers bullshit me about their expenses, then when I don't approve them they say I attacked them. Once I was accused of poisoning this guy. He pricked himself with a thumbtack twice so it looked like a bite. I got my venom sac removed years ago!"
He sat up next to Arcus. "People are so dumb sometimes. I was accused of sexual harassment cause I asked out a guy I thought was gay. Flew off the handle and fired a stapler at me. If anything I was the harassed guy. I just asked if he wanted to go for coffee sometime."
Arcus chuckled. Knowing Sandy was gay made him feel more comfortable. "Yeah, the last thing I need is to come out at work. That'll go over well!" Sandy laughed at the thought, encouraging Arcus to laugh out loud. "..I'm Arcus," he added with a smile.
They spent the remainder of the hour talking without a breath in between. Arcus bragged about his collection of model planes and Magic the Gathering cards, while Sandy told him about all the art galleries he'd been to in the past week.
Suddenly the line began to move. Unable to contain himself, Sandy leapt to his feet and grabbed ahold of Arcus's arm. "Come on!" he shouted, pulling him up.
Inside the multiplex they stared up the endless escalator steps. The snake glanced down at his tail and frowned. Sandy took note of this and realized that Arcus's tail would get caught in the escalator. "Let's take the stairs," Sandy offered.
"Thanks but we'll be the last ones up there. Go ahead, get yourself a good seat." Arcus began to climb the steps alone. With his form he was at least able to rise them with speed. Behind him he heard the hurried footsteps of his new friend trying to catch up with him. "What are you.."
"Who cares about seats?" Sandy interrupted. "a great seat is no fun on your own."
His offer to join revealed a moment of weakness for the snake. He tried to disguise his smile as a smirk, "So why _are _you here alone?"
Sandy shrugged with a meek smile. "All my friends are going to my ex's party. I didn't want to be home alone tonight." He tried to put on a happy face despite his disappointment.
"Sorry. How long ago did you break up?"
"About five months ago. Valentine's Day actually. We were doing an open relationship thing but he fell in love with somebody else. Or so he says." Sandy shook his head. "I know he was bored with me. And disappointed, I think he just wanted me for my money."
"Money?"
By now Sandy was huffing between sentences. "My parents are rich.... They set up a huge trust fund for me."
"Woah, really? So wait, why did you have to work?"
"Wasn't... gonna take the money..." Sandy could no longer keep up with the speedy serpent. He bent down, hands on his knees, and wheezed for air. His knees wobbled and his body swayed. It seemed his drug-addled state didn't lend itself to running. Arcus quickly saw the telltale signs of fainting and lunged at him. He reached his arms out and scooped Sandy up before he could fall backwards down the steps.
Sandy stared up at him with wide eyes, and Arcus worried he had suddenly crossed the line with him. But before he could let the fear paralyze him, Sandy wrapped his arms around the snake's neck and grinned.
"My hero," he said coyly.
Arcus stared back into his eyes, his cold blood running hot with that familiar spark. But he wasn't sure just yet and tried to play it off with a dismissive grin. "We'll get there faster this way," he remarked.
In no time they were past the ticket takers and in the theater. The seats were filling up fast, and they were relegated to the back row. Still carrying the human as he made his way to the back, they could feel the awkward stares of their fellow audience.
Arcus set him down in an empty chair. "Feeling better?" he asked.
"Much, thank you." He smiled up at his savior and noticed him looking forlorn for another seat despite his standing over one. Sandy patted the empty seat. "Sit down."
Arcus frowned. "I need a couple of seats for my tail. I was hoping there'd be two empty seats so I could put the armrest up."Without hesitation, Sandy put the armrest next to him up and patted again. Arcus was astonished at the gesture. "You do know my coils weigh a ton, don't you??"
Sandy responded with a shrug and a smile. Arcus found himself at a loss for words. He took a deep breath and dared to try sharing the seat. Slowly he lowered his torso down on the empty seat. His eyes still locked onto Sandy's he cautiously laid his coils in a neat pile on the human's lap, dangling the still lengthy tail over the edge. He looked for any sign that the human may reconsider his offer. But as he settled into his seat, Sandy rested his arms atop his coils.
Arcus stared at him. This seemed way too comfortable, and he suddenly became suspicious. Sandy smiled. "Relax, there's nothing to worry about. Look, the movie's starting!"
The lights dimmed and the trailers started playing. Arcus watched but his mind was reeling. He wasn't used to such physical closeness. Maybe it's cause he's a hippie, he thought. Sandy did seem like the free spirit touchy-feely type. Arcus started to wonder if there may even be something more there.
As subtly as he could, the end of his tail crept up the side of his coils toward Sandy's hand. At first it innocently brushed past his hand, testing the waters. Sandy didn't withdraw. Maybe he could be bolder.
No, he thought, his tail freezing in place,_ what am I doing? I'm here to watch a movie, not cop a feel. What the hell am I gonna do? I can't sit like this for three hours!_
He stated intently at the screen while his mind raced. Suddenly Sandy leaned over and whispered, "I like you." The words hit Arcus' heart like a hammer, and his head snapped toward Sandy. "If that's weird, I can find another seat... But I hope it's not."
Arcus couldn't even breathe, let alone respond. Sandy took this as a bad sign and frowned. "It's all good," he said. "Sorry about that, you enjoy the movie." He began to slide out from under the coils.
But Arcus suddenly found his consciousness again. He shifted his coils and trapped Sandy in his seat. The end of his tail wrapped tenderly around the human's hand. This made Sandy smile. He wriggled into the nook under Arcus's arm. "Get comfortable, Arcus," he said softly.
The serpent was floating on air. He slid his coils about Sandy's slender body, until he was completely entwined about his new date. "Can you see the screen?" Arcus asked.
"It's IMAX. Of course I can see it." They shared a laugh and settled in.
A week later, Arcus went back to the theater. This time he actually watched the movie.