My Element: Chapter 3
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. _________After closing the door to his bedroom, William fell into his bed exhausted, unable to fall asleep, mind swirling with the events of the day. His dinner with Aragon had gone well, the food was delicious like Aragon had claimed, and William was glad that he had let Aragon order for him. He found Aragon to be a pleasant guy to be around and enjoyed his company. He was puzzled though, at the reaction of the waitress, Krystyn. When she brought out the food she seemed rather hesitant to give him his plate. She had done no such thing with Aragon. Stranger still she continued to look nervously at him as he made to take his first bite as if she was expecting William to start choking or something. But as he ate and nothing happened Krystyn's expression changed from one of worry to one of awe and looked to Aragon who had a wide grin on his face, emerald eyes sparkling. He looked at her and leaned over to whisper something in her ear. She then left leaving the two young men alone. The rest of the meal passed by quietly. William noticed that every time he looked up to face Aragon, he was picking at his food, a dreamy faraway look in his still sparkling eyes. "Weird" he had thought. When the time for the bill to be paid came, Aragon simply stood and left a fifty on the table and began to walk to the door. As William followed, he saw Krystyn in the doorway to the kitchen and gave her a wave. She gave a small wave of her own and blushed shyly. That left William puzzled. "She wasn't shy before," he thought, "What that all about?" He left the building and walked up to Aragon who was talking on his cell. He looked annoyed about something, almost angry. When he saw William he quickly finished his call with a short,"Fine!" He ran his hand through his hair and he regained his composure. Turning to face William he chuckled nervously and said, " Sorry about that Will. My boss just called with some bad news about work." The way he said it gave William the sense that though he wasn't being lied to he wasn't being told the whole truth either. "Oh well," he thought, "Not my business to pry into Aragon's work life." "Well, I hope that it wasn't to bad, William said with concern, " You didn't get fired did you?" Aragon seemed to brighten at that question and said, "No, no, not anything like that. Just that I've just received an assignment that is going to be a little difficult to do." He then ran his hand through his hair again as if he was thinking his job out. William put his hand on Aragon's shoulder and
shrugged, "Well if there is anything I can do to help..." Aragon looked at William and smiled. "Thank you for your offer Will, but I think I will manage." The two off them began to walk down the street in the darkening sky, the street lights turning on. That when William's curiousity got the best of him."What kind of work do you do, anyway?" William asked. Aragon's face reddened for just a second and he said slowly, "My job is one where I, sorta, follow people around and... uh... gather information about them." William got excited at this. "You mean your one of those private detectives like on TV?!" he asked, although he knew it sounded more like spying to him."Well... Yeah. But without all the glamor and the ladies, " Aragon admitted. He seemed almost relieved at William's apparent believal of his job. William noticed that, but said nothing. "So Will. I know we just, like, met and all, but would it be okay if I walk you home?" Aragon asked face turning red with embarrassment as he asked. Truth be told, William wasn't all that comfortable walking home in the dark. Even though the city had a low crime rate, things like muggings still happened. So when Aragon asked to walk him home William accepted immediately. And so the two of them began to walk the distance to William's apartment. Talking all the way back, William learned more about Aragon. He came from a divorce family, in which he was the only child, and lived mostly with his father in Vancouver, B.C. Aragon had already gone through a rush online course for his education and had moved to Seattle about a year ago due to his work, and he had three workmates that he was good friends with. He was currently single and he lived in a downtown apartment with one of his coworkers, a man named Coleson. All and all Aragon appeared to be a normal person, which according to William's senses he was anything but normal. His entire background sounded rehearsed, like a story. This Aragon person, if that was even was his real name, was hiding something. By the time it was William's turn to tell about himself they had arrived at his apartment building. Looking awkwardly at Aragon, William muttered a goodnight and turned to head inside. As he was about to open the door, when a hand landed on his shoulder that spun him around, so he was face to face to face with Aragon. He looked into Aragon's eyes which were full of kindness and compassion and had that shine to them. And then Aragon kissed him, full on the lips. William didn't pull away or try to stop him. Something about the kiss felt so familiar and so right, he just couldn't pull away. As the kiss went on, various images came into William's head. They were fuzzy and he couldn't see them clearly. The kiss lasted for minutes, until they reluctantly broke apart from each other to breath. Aragon looked at William alarmed and his voice cracked, " I'm sorry I shouldn't have done that!" He then turned to run
away when William grabbed his wrist tight. Aragon turned to face the object of his affection preparing for a rage and anger, but instead was shocked when William wrapped his arms around him. "Don't stop" he gently whispered into Aragon's ear, and looked up into Aragon's face, who wrapped his own arms around William lovingly. "I won't let you go," Aragon whispered back.But just as things were about to get intimate again, the sounds of two phone chimes went off. Both giving a little groan, they seperated looking at the messages. Both of them read the same, "Where the hell are you?". Looking at each other awkwardly and seeing just how late it was, they began to say their goodbyes and walk away, William to his door and Aragon down the street, when William stopped and turned around rushing to Aragon giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, and then rushed inside. Aragon rubbed the spot where William had kissed him gently and began to walk away feeling better than he had ever felt. William took the elevator up to his floor and simply filed away everything about his day into the mystery file that was Aragon Terrance. And so he drifted off to sleep._______Unbeknownst to the two, a pair of eyes had watched the entire exchange. The eyes stared, cold, hard and empty of any sort of compassion as they went their seperate ways. A gruff voice said evilly, "So, It looks like we have found you, Aragon Terrance. And you seem to have a new lover." The shadowy figure did a quiet laugh and muttered, "Hope he lasts longer than the last one." _______Aragon walked into the large living room of his residence with a giddy look still on his face. He dropped his coat off on a nearby hook on the wall and flopped onto the couch, taking in all the events of the day. His heart beated with a feeling he hadn't felt in six years, love an true joy. He had found him, his lost friend and secret love, "Well now not so secret now," he thought and chuckled. Suddenly a loud booming voice rang out, "Well, well, well, look who finally decided to come in." And a thick scalely muscled arm wrapped around Aragon's neck pulling him into a headlock. "Hello Stephan." He managed to say and squirming in Stephan's grasp then added, "Could you let go of me, please? Need to breath." Stephan laughed a teasing laugh and let Aragon go before walking around the couch and flopping down next to Aragon. Rubbing his neck gingerly he looked at his roommate and comrade. Stephan Owens, nicknamed 'Scales' by his friends due to his rough skin, was a handsome 7' 2" light brown dragon with a build that would put even the best human body builder to shame. His eyes were a pale brown color and on his head he had a very sharp pair of foot long horns that swept backwards, giving him a very intimidating look. Stephan often claimed that he could snap a tree in half with his strength, and Aragon, knowing from past sparring exercises, did not disagree.
Stephan's entire body was basically a boulder. But underneath all that scariness and strong muscle was a good heart that could melt a marshmallow. Aragon saw that Stephan was wearing a very tight fitting shirt and pants that outlined every muscle that it covered. Aragon teased, "You know, you don't have to dress up to show off like that. I've seen you enough in the barracks showers back in training to know what is underneath there." Stephan stretched his arms and flexed his muscles and said, "What! And let you miss out on all this awesomeness. I don't think so." "So why are you still up," Aragon inquired, "Round this time you are snoring away in your bed." Stephan looked at Aragon with a knowing smile, "And not have you tell me about your newest flame. Come on man, give me details." Aragon became slightly defensive, "This is not just some new flame you bastard! This is a love that was taken from me. That I have been looking for for 6 years and have finally found." Stephan put a hand of Aragon's shoulder, "Hey it cool man, Topaz told me all about your suspicions earlier, and believe me I was excited to here that. So..""So... What?" "Damnit man tell me about it. Were you right?" Aragon looked away from Stephan and blushed softly and said softly, "Despite him being in a human body for 6 years, William is still a damn good kisser. Fireworks still flying man." "Shit that is some great news," shouted Stephan, grabbing his smaller friend into a bone crushing hug, "I'm so happy for you! You will tell me all about it when you get changed, right?" Struggling once again to breath right Aragon said, "I sure will." Stephan did a little cheer and put Aragon back down on the couch before rushing off into the kitchen. While Stephan was busy Aragon slipped away into his room, and undressed himself. He then reached for and opened and nearby pouch and took out a syringe of containing dome kind of serum. He took the syringe and injected it into his arm. The effects were immediate. A patchwork amethyst coloured scales grew out of his skin until it completely covered him. His hands became larger, his finger nails turning in large sharp claws and his feet did a similar transformation. A tail, nearly as long as Aragon was tall sprouted out from his lower back and near the end of it several sharp spikes jutted out of it. His face change, becoming a more reptilian visage and a pair of 8inch horns sprouted out of the back out his head. Finally a pair of wings longer than his arms grew out of his back which he then folded into a resting positions. It was surprisingly painless and the entire transformation only lasted 5 minutes. Aragon did a few stretches in order to get the blood moving through his original body. He groaned, "Man I wish I didn't have to go through that every time." Throwing on a pair of clothes better suited to his dragonic form, Aragon left his room and went
back to the living room, where Stephan had gotten out a couple bottles of beer. Grabbing the one offered to him, Aragon sat down on the couch. Taking a long drink from his bottle, he proceeded to tell Stephan about the whole day. From him picking up the magazine to taking care of an unconscious William, to the dinner, and the kiss goodnight. Stephan put down his empty bottle and said, "Wow, you took him to Krystyn's place to eat and ordered him that dish? You must have been 100% sure that he was The William. That food can only be handled by dragons and other lizard creatures back home. You took a big risk." "My heart knew it was him. That smile, those eyes, that laugh. It could have only have belonged to my William," said Aragon. That's when he remembered the phone call. "Oh yeah, the commander contacted me about my suspicions, and told me that if it was the missing William, to not take any chances. I am now supposed to follow and protect him at all times. " He sighed. "Easier said than done. William didn't seem to entirely believe my story or my explanation for work" "I told you, you have to add feeling to it," Stephan said jokingly. Aragon looked at him dryly and said, "What I'm saying is, he is already suspicious about me. How is it going to look when all of a sudden I start following him around. He'll think I'm stalking him." Stephan nodded his head as though he was in deep thought. He then smiled at Aragon and produced from behind him a certain pair of sunglasses. Aragon recognized them immediately. They were William's! He grabbed them from Stephan and asked him hurriedly, "Where did you get these? No the better question would be how did you get these?" Stephan gave Aragon a grin and said, "I knew all about that call the brass gave you, and knowing you would be having a hard time figuring out how to follow these orders, I did something to help. I had Krystyn lift the glasses off of William's person when you were at the restaurant." No even bothering to ask how he knew about his and William's dinner, Aragon asked, "To what purpose did you do this?""You, being the one in need of getting involved in this guys life, are being very dull about it." said Stephan acting exasperated, "Tommorow, go to his apartment and give them back, then ask to tag along with him for the day."The simplicity of the idea astounded Aragon, who said, "How did you think of that?" "I'm not just all muscle," smiled Stephan. "No you're not'" grinned Aragon who hugged his friend. He let go and stood up yawning. Grabbing the pair of sunglasses he said, "Well if I'm going to do this, I should probably get up early. Goodnight." And he walked to his room and fell into his bed. But sleep did not come easily to Aragon. The prospect of spending an entire day with William, HIS William excited him too much. After all these years they were back together, to a degree at least. He would need to give William
time to re-adjust. Eventually though, his body cried out for sleep, and he fell reluctantly into sleep.______In his sleep, William was in the white void again. He was standing around tapping his foot, impatiently waiting for whatever was to happen to happen. Hearing a noise he turned around find his twin smiling widely at him. "What?" William asked his double.His copy kept smiling and said, "I saw the whole thing. It was so romantic." "You... saw everything," William asked becoming red. When the double nodded he groaned. "Why are you so embarrassed about it," the other William asked, "It was cute." He then became serious, "You aren't regretting it are you?" William thought hard about that question. When he and Aragon had kissed, it had felt so right, but at the same time it somehow felt wrong. It had nothing to do with the fact that both of them were guys. William was entirely cool with that. It instead felt like it was all Aragon, like it was he was a guy that William wanted to be with, but something about him was off. Like it wasn't the same. But how could it feel different? This was his first time with a kiss like that. That's when he remembered all those fuzzy memories. They were part of his past but he couldn't get them clearly. Why was that? A thought came to him then Maybe one of them was about Aragon. He looked to his double who was still looking at him seriously. "I don't regret it at all," he said, "No way I could deny the feelings. But something just isn't right about all this. There's just... I don't know."The double said, "Aragon is a person who would never hurt you purposefully you know. He cares about you too much. Don't let that interfere with you feelings." William was immediately suspicious and asked, "You seem to be very knowledgable about Aragon. What do you know about him." The copy gave a warm smile and said, "I know only as much as you do, I just remember it better. It'll all come back to you in time. Until then, you should get ready for the day. You have the regional finals today." With that he snapped his fingers and the void started to crumble, and Before he could protest, William was once again thrown into the outside world. _____Benji was sitting at the table in the morning sun with a coffee in his hands, thinking about his roommate. Ever since William had come back from last night with that dopey look on his face, Benji couldn't help but wonder what had happened after his friend had left him at the diner. "And left me with the bill," he thought angrily. The anger quickly dissipated though. Benji could never stay mad at William, it was just against his personality to stay angry at a friend, specially one as close as William. Heck, the two of them were like brothers. Benji sighed, and took a look out the window. In the year he had known William, he had grown accustomed to his friends actions and traits, but William walking
in late with a love struck look on his face was not something Benji was used to. In fact it never happened, and listening to his friend's experiences in the years before they had met, had never happened before either. "So why now?" he wondered aloud. He was brought out of his thoughts be the sound of a door closing, followed by the sound of footsteps. Benji was surprised to so see his roommate up and fully dressed an hour before he normally was awake. "You're up early," he stated. William faced him with a grin and said, "Yeah, I know. Today's the day of the finals so I thought I'd get up early for once." Inwardly he said, "Besides I couldn't fall back asleep after all that weirdness.""Well I'm proud of you for getting up early after such a late night," said Benji. William went a little red and said, "I'm sorry I got home so late."That made Benji laugh, "Dude you don't need to apologize, I'm not your mom. I don't care when you come back." He then added, "As long as you come back in one piece of course." The red in William's face went away and his smile came back. He was about to say something when there was a knock on the door. He went over and opened it slightly and saw a tall thin sickly looking man dressed entirely in black standing in front of the door. William opened the door wider and asked somewhat hesitantly, "Hello, can I help you?" Something about this man was very sketchy. The man looked hard at William before saying, "Yes I believe you can William Kresali." He reached inside his jacket and took out a photo of Aragon and William and handed it to him. William's face paled as the picture was of them kissing from last night. The man continued, "I believe it is safe to say that you are familiar with our mutual friend Aragon Terrance." When William nodded he resumed, "I just think you should be aware that bad things often happen to those who hang around Mr. Terrance. Those he gets close to are prone to... accidents." He said that last part like it was a hidden threat. William began to back away from the door and Benji walked towards the two for William's support. The man reached into his jackets other side and took a small file. Handing it to William, he leaned over and whispered, "There are many things you don't know about Mr. Terrance, Mr. Kresali. I hope this can help you understand more about him." Straightening up suddenly he said, "Thank you for your time gentlemen." Glancing at Benji as he approached he said, "Mr. Rioza, I would think you would like to finish your coffee before it gets cold." Turning to walk away, the man said, "Hope both of you enjoy your day. Give it your all at your regionals." And with that, the man vanished down the hall. William shut the door, picture and file shaking badly in his hands. Benji had never seen his friend so shaken, and rushed to his side as William slumped to floor. William was still shaking as he thought, "Just who are you
Aragon, and what have you gotten me into."