Against the Horizon - 01 - Under the Hat
Chapter 1 - Under the hat
As Alexander Starcross awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect....no, okay, just kidding. He did wake up from uneasy dreams, though. And he actually was in his bed.When Alex opened his eyes, someone was shaking his shoulder and saying something, even if his brain took at least four of five seconds to translate the noise in coherent words. "Alex, dude, you're sleeping with a hat on," Joss was saying in a perplexed tone. Alex groggily stared at his roommate for a bit, fragments of sleep still trapped under his droopy eyelids; then the realization of what had happened came back to him in full force, and he jumped out of the bed, his hands frantically pulling the beanie hat down. "I, um, I just tried to cut my hair by myself, that's all!" he exclaimed in a totally unconvincing tone. A droplet of sweat traveled down his forehead and came resting on his nose. Joss, however, just nodded, arms crossed on his broad chest. "I know that feel, bro. Two years ago I tried the same after a party... It never ends well." He patted Alex's shoulder. "You should use my electric shaver, y'know. Start anew."Alex lowered his eyes. The pair of Joss' boxers lying on the floor didn't return his gaze. "I'll, um, think about that. Thank you."Joss shrugged. "Don't sweat it." His deep blue eyes widened, like he'd just realized something important. "Oh, yeah, I have to go now. Y'know, we're gonna have this big party on Friday night at the Lambda Zeta Gamma, and we freshmen are supposed to do the hard work as usual..." He sighed deeply, one of his meaty hands scratching the back of his head. "Can't wait to be a sophomore, dude... Being a freshman sucks."Alex grinned back. "Well, you should at least try to take some classes once in a while... Or you'll be stuck as a freshman for life." The hat on his head twitched a bit, but his roommate didn't seem to notice. Joss burst into a quick, hearty laugh. "Don't worry about that! You know what they say: you only live twice."Alex's grin widened. "That's a James Bond movie."Joss beamed back. "I know, right? Sean Connery's the man!" He checked his cellphone. "Well, gotta go now. It's already eleven thirty, and...""WHAT?!" Alex's eyes darted to the alarm clock on his nightstand: the digital display was mercilessly showing him a 11:28, scarlet red in shame and guilt. "Oh, crap, I forgot to set the clock!" Which was understandable, considering what had happened to him last night, but he couldn't help feeling even more depressed and miserable. Joss patted his shoulder again. "Come on, dude, relax! You're, like, a straight-A student, ditching classes for a day is not gonna hurt ya.""Yeah..." Alex replied, dejected. "It's not like I was in the mood for taking classes anyway...""If you're so down for your haircut you should really use my shaver. See ya!" Joss said, before grabbing his frat jacket and slipping out the door. Left alone in the room, Alex sat on his bed mechanically; he was feeling like someone had replaced his brain with a two tons boulder while he was sleeping. "Fuck," he grumbled. He tried once again to relive the previous night, to find some sense to what had happened to his body... With no avail, obviously. Walking like a zombie, Alex slouched towards the bathroom and locked himself in, even if it was extremely unlikely for Joss to come back. His right hand moved slowly up to the beanie, but it stopped when it was literally inches from it. Do I really want to see what's under the hat?, Alex asked to himself, his whole body trembling slightly. Because if I do, it would be like admitting that what happened was real. And I'm not sure if I'm ready. I'm not sure if I'll ever be ready. He took a deep, liquid breath. Then he took a second one. Okay, here goes nothing. And then Alex pulled the beanie off his head. Twenty minutes later, Alex was still staring at his reflection in the mirror, his lips trembling and his eyes wide in surprise, horror and disorientation. If he had been a computer, his face would have shown the blue screen of death. On the top of his head, nestled between his auburn hair, two furry, triangular red ears stood proudly, twitching on their own accord every couple of seconds or so.
After Alex had managed to shake himself from his stupor-induced trance, he had tried to decide what to do. He had pulled the strange ears, but all he had managed to obtain had been a yelp of pain escaping from his mouth; and there was no way in hell he could have cut them off. He would have never had the guts to do that, especially considering that they had effectively replaced his human ears: at the sides of his head there was now nothing more than smooth skin, no trace of anything ever having been there. He had focused on the alien appendages in a fit of impotent despair, trying to wish them out of existence, but he'd just managed to learn how to control their movements a little better.At last, with a sigh of defeat, he had once again pulled the beanie down on his head and decided to text Helena and Thomas. c y @ 6, tom's room. k? Helena had expressed concern but added that she would've been there, while Thomas had just texted back a dry Stop raping the English language, please.Alex had then decided he was in need for some distraction, and thank God it was Thursday. That's why he was now sitting high on the bleachers in one of the campus' gyms, the lone spectator at the male wrestling team's practice.When they had first met, Joss had pestered him for quite a while to join the Lambda Zeta Gamma. In Alex's mind, though, what all the Greeks did all the time was throwing parties and getting drunk, and Joss had basically confirmed his assumptions; it was not like Alex thought all frat boys were slacking idiots full of themselves - his roommate, albeit a little scatterbrained and probably not the brightest bulb in the shed, was one of the kindest people he had ever met - but he certainly didn't care about partying and getting smashed either. The athletes, on the other hand... They had focus, determination. A goal to reach. Also - Alex admitted to himself while feeling something stirring in his groin - watching beefy young men dressed only in spandex singlets wrestling on the mat, their sweaty hot bodies breathing, touching, rubbing each other... It was always a pleasure for his eyes.Alex suddenly felt his new ears pressing against the beanie: the growing arousal was probably causing them to try and perk up. With a half-growl he pushed the hat on. "Nice one, Iceman!"The ears nearly escaped from their prison in hearing that shout. Alex immediately shifted all of his attention to the mat, his eyes suddenly feverish and hungry; it didn't take him long to find who he was looking for.Noah Weiss had just floored his sparring partner, and was now helping him getting up on his feet. Despite being only a sophomore, rumour had it that he was bound to become the next captain after Liam "Knight" St.George would graduate in May; his nickname, "Iceman", fitted him like a glove, and not only because of his smooth skin, nearly-white blond hair and chilling blue eyes, but because he was one of the coolest persons Alex had ever had the pleasure to see. Iceman was in the 165 pounds category, and built like a professional athlete; his face was as handsome and stoic as that of a Greek statue; and despite being one of the most talented athletes of the campus he wasn't arrogant or full of himself in the least.He was, for the lack of better words and despite his nickname, hot as hell.In the past months, Alex had watched the object of his deepest desires from afar, both during the wrestling team practices and the official matches, while in the meantime fantasizing about his smell after a fight and trying to gather the courage to slip into the gym's locker room to steal one of his used singlets. Those thoughts - despite being relatively innocent... well, stealing aside - both intrigued and scared Alex a little: he had realized he was gay during his high school years, but despite having had a couple of minor crushes before, he had never felt so... invested in someone until he had met Iceman.Thinking about the wrestler he loved and admired so much just contributed in increasing Alex's arousal, and he could feel the beginning of an erection forming in his pants. Great, he thought, frowning. Not only I'm a freak, now, I'm also a pervert. In order to calm down, Alex tried to focus on something else, but his thought kept drifting towards those stupid fox ears, and forgetting them for a while had been the very reason he was there. You know what? Fuck that, he finally said to himself, frustrated. It's not like any of the wrestlers would notice I'm popping a boner from down there. Half an hour later the practice was over, and the team, chatting and punching each other jokingly, went back in the locker room. Alex waited until Iceman had disappeared behind the blue door, then slipped away.Well, he tried, until a strong, meaty hand implacably lowered on his shoulder and forced him to stop. "Whatcha doin', pal?"Alex turned around really slowly; Liam St.George was staring at him intently, his arms now crossed on his muscular chest. He was still sweaty because of the practice, and the blue and golden school singlet was literally plastered to his body, showing the twin mounds of his pecs, his flat stomach and his impressive package. Alex relaxed a bit: there was a reason why the captain of the wrestling team was called "Knight", after all. "I, um... I... Well..." his throat and tongue still felt dry like sawdust, though. Liam sighed quietly; he was reasonably handsome, and his deep blue eyes were charming. Not only he was the team captain, but when not on the mat he was one of the best students of his year; the main reason why everybody knew and liked him, though, was the fact that he always strived to be as impartial and sportsmanlike as possible. "It's not the first time I see you on the bleachers during our practice, ya know? I mean, it's not a problem if you want to look at the guy you like while he practices...""What makes you think I'm g..." Alex tried to interrupt, but Knight brought an index finger to his lips. "Let me finish, pal. As I said, if you want to watch our practices, no problem... I just wanted to warn you there could be consequences. Y'know K2, my vice captain, right?"Alex nodded. Kurtis Klein was a mountain of a man, with a neatly-trimmed beard and a big, crooked smile on his face all the time. "He's my best pal, and he also has a boyfriend. Nobody ever dares to mess with them, of course... but it's only because they're big and strong enough to crush anyone mocking them." Liam stopped talking for a couple of seconds, a bitter look crawling on his broad, honest face. "There are tons of assholes in this world, pal; some even in my wrestling team. They simply don't understand that people can be different."Alex's ears under the beanie were so low they were practically flattened against his hair. "G-got it. Can I... Can I go now?"Liam nodded. "Just keep a low profile, pal, 'kay? I know people call me 'Knight', but I'm also trying to win a state championship, and this is my last chance. Understood?""Yessir," and then Alex scrammed off, breathing heavily, his ears trying to escape the hat once again. I never thought I would have said it, he thought, his face as red as his fox ears, but this is by far the worst day of my life.
"Why the hat?" was the first thing Thomas asked when Alex entered his room. The young man was sitting on his bed, his wiry legs crossed, an inquisitive gaze behind his metal-rimmed glasses. His dirty-blond hair appeared unrulier and shaggier than ever."Hey, Alex!" Helena exclaimed, waving a hand in his direction, her pearly white teeth positively shining against her dark skin. She was standing next to the window, probably looking at the dusk slowly setting on the campus. "I was worried when I didn't see you this morning..." The three of them had met each other at their very first lesson last Autumn, and had stuck around ever since. "Yeah, but why the hat?" Thomas repeated. He looked like his patience was wearing thin, but on the other hand Thomas always looked that way.Alex pointed at the beanie. "That's the reason I wanted to see you," he simply explained.Thomas frowned. "It's horrible," he stated with the tone of a judge delivering a death penalty verdict. Helena chuckled. "I think Alex means that he wants to show us something under the hat.""Oh," Thomas replied. He seemed to ponder on the implications for some seconds, then retorted. "What makes you think that your newest haircut should make its way to the national headlines, Starcross?"Alex scratched his head through the hat. "Well... It's not a haircut, actually. Promise me... promise me not to freak out, okay?" And then he grabbed the beanie and torn it from his head.Thomas' jaw looked like it was going to fall on the ground. "Holy fucking..." he managed to mutter, before jumping off the bed and coming closer. "Are they... are they real?"Alex made the ears lower and then perk up again. "What d'you think?" he asked back drily."Can I... Can I touch them?" Helena, suddenly at his side, asked. Alex just nodded, and she timidly extended a trembling finger to trace the contours of one of the ears. Her eyes were as large and round as coins, and she looked like she was on the verge of tears. "Oh my God..." she murmured. "They're one of the most amazing things I've ever seen..."Alex tried to swallow, but a dull, heavy knot was steadily forming in his throat. "You mean... You mean you're not scared? You d-don't think I'm some kind of freak?"Thomas and Helena looked at each other, then shook their heads. "No," Thomas said. "I mean, it's strange, right? In other circumstances I would probably have been repulsed, but it's just like..." He touched Alex's left year, a childish marvel shining in his hazelnut eyes. "It's just like they've always been there and we simply haven't noticed until now, don't they?" Helena completed the sentence for him. "I mean, they look so natural, so right..."Alex shook his head, annoyed. "No, they aren't," he retorted. "And I want to get rid of them as soon as I can."For a moment there a semblance of disappointment flashed into the girl's eyes, but then she nodded readily. "We'll do our best to help you."Thomas, a bit more practically, asked. "Well... It's not like I'm exactly an expert when it comes to random animal body parts suddenly growing on people, but why don't you tell us how and where did you get those?"Alex nodded. "Yeah, I guess it could be a starting point." He cleared his throat and tried to find the best way to tell his story. "Um, okay... Last night I was on the dorm's roof. It was, I dunno, 1 AM, and...""No, wait, wait, wait," Thomas interrupted. "What the heck were you doing on a roof in the middle of the night?"The fox ears lowered. "I, um... Sometimes, I like to go up there and look at the campus under the moonlight. It's like watching a sleeping giant," Alex felt twin red flowers of embarrassment blooming on his cheeks. "I'm sorry, that sounds really stupid...""No, no!" Helena hurriedly replied. "I think it's poetic!""Well, to be fair it does sound a little stupid," Thomas retorted. Helena glared at him, but he just shrugged in response."Anyway, I was up there looking at the campus, when I saw a sudden light streaking across the sky, like a shooting star. I made a wish, and then...""You new ears sprouted?" Helena asked."Of course not. I'm trying to find a way to get rid of those, why would I asked for them in the first place?" He was not going to admit that his wish involved Iceman and himself naked in a hot tub."A light in the sky?", Thomas repeated, scratching his chin. Realization dawned on his face. "Of course! Aliens! Like in that episode of Futurama where they thought human noses were an aphrodisiac.""Aliens don't go around stealing body parts, Thomas," Alex replied. "They make crop circles and kidnap people and, um... mutilate cattle from the orbit. And surely as hell don't leave you fox-eared in return."Thomas, however, looked determined not to let go. "Who appointed you resident alien expert, Starcross? Maybe they did kidnap you, and then made you forget the whole thing!"Alex sighed. "Look, Thomas... I know you are trying to help me, but I'm sure no alien was involved. Okay?"The other guy grumbled between his clenched teeth. "Whatever.""So... what happened next?" Helena asked, trying to get the conversation back on track. "I mean, after the light in the sky?"Alex scratched his head, just behind his new ears. The left one started twitching vigorously. "Not that much, I'm afraid: I was gazing at the sky, hoping to see another shooting star, when I heard a sound; it was deep, rumbling, and it came out of nowhere. I immediately looked myself around, but didn't see anything that could make that noise; a few seconds later, though, the sound came back, and this time was so loud that I instinctively covered my hears... Or at least I tried, because there was only smooth skin there. Obviously I panicked, and it took me a while to discover the fox ears, but that's when I noticed it: a small bug flying around my head. That was the source of the sound."A long, awkward moment of silence slowly spread its tentacles around the three. "That's... that's all?" Helena dared to ask, after a while.Alex nodded, his ears low. "I'm sorry, but that's all I can remember..."Thomas snorted, his arms crossed. "What about telling us, you know... Something actually useful, now?""What did you think I had found, Thomas?" Alex replied, sounding a little pissed. "A rope with a sign saying 'Pull to get fox ears' on it?""Well, that would've made everything easier, at least." His face softened, however, and he patted Alex's shoulder. "Sorry, Starcross. What happened to you really sucks... And I know I can be a real asshole, sometimes."Alex grinned in response. "Only sometimes?"Thomas shrugged, a knowing smirk on his freckled, youthful face. "The rest of the time I'm just awesome, obviously."Helena, in the meanwhile, had finished texting something on her cellphone and looked at them both with the brightest smile on her face. "Okay, Alex, hear me out: what you need now is to relax and have some fun. So what about we order a pizza and watch some movies together? And then tomorrow morning the first thing we do before class is go on the roof and try to find some clues on how to get rid of your problem. How about that?".Alex smiled back, his ears timidly perking up. "Thank you, guys... I really needed to talk with someone after what happened yesterday and this aftern..." Oh, crap. He stopped talking, but it was already too late."Huh? Something happened this afternoon?" Helena asked.Thomas scanned him, his eyes narrow and suspicious. "Are you hiding something in your pants?" Beat. "Oh, God, that came out really wrong. I mean, is there some other fox body part you're not showing us?""W-what? No! It's just that... Never mind". Alex wasn't sure he wanted to talk about what had happened in the gym. The feelings of impotence and humiliation were still fresh and clear in his mind. Unfortunately, his two friends knew him well. Even too well. "You went to see the wrestling team practice again, didn't you?" Thomas groaned. "Have you forgotten what I told you, Starcross? Athletes are assholes."There are tons of assholes in this world, pal... They simply don't understand that people can be different, the voice of Liam St.George echoed in Alex's mind. "Yeah... I know. But..."But whatever Alex was going to say, it was cut when a Hispanic guy with black hair and a charming smile opened the door of the bedroom. "Heya, Tom, what's up?" he exclaimed. "Brought some friends, I see." He then looked at Alex - who was now petrified by terror - with mild curiosity and pointed at him. "You know you have some weird dog ears on the top of your head, right?"And here I thought this day couldn't become any worse..., was the only thing Alex was able to think.