Seeker of Truth

Liam didn’t stop himself from looking skeptical at the bloke’s statement that a haunting suited a bookshop. He got it from a business perspective, only because his boss at the pizza shop really leaned into the haunting rumors over Halloween. But ghosts were nothing to mess with. He also did’t hide the slight smile that formed when Alex started to remind him that there was no such thing as ghosts. Something he hadn’t realized he’d missed till now. Only it was short lived as Alex cut himself off and Liam frowned. Liam cleared his throat to try and pull attention away from Alex. “Doesn’t hurt to be prepared.” He left the conversation on hauntings there. Which seemed to be a good thing because Alex was speaking up again and this time it felt like a good thing. Liam kept the conversation going, asking about what the bloke sold, hoping to give Alex some time to decide if he wanted to say anything about the job. Weird though that asking about what the bloke sold seemed to make him go paler. Was he sick? That would explain how bloody pale he was. If he was dressed like that couple had been, the aliens, he’d have wondered if this bloke wasn’t a…but no, it was day time and he was all pale because he was goth. Probably wished he was a vampire. Weird but most people had some peculiar habit or other. Besides he’d walked right into the shop instead of having to be invited so definitely not a vampire. He listened to what the bloke said, nodding along, resisting to urge to meet Alex’s eyes because he knew he’d give away that he thought Alex should take it. It was’t a library but it was books. Liam smiled and nodded when Alex introduced him to Elias. As Alex kept talking Liam’s smile grew larger. He was going to go for it! Perfect! He still had some concerns about the haunting but this was great. Liam had no clue that his reaction to Alex’s interest in the job was being shared by the ghost that was responsible for the haunting. Liam mouthed the words, ‘Yes, Alexio!’ excitedly at Alex with a fist pump before worrying that Elias might see something in the corner of his eye and forced himself to calm down. “He’s really good with books. And very responsible,” Liam chimed in. He wanted Alex to get this job so much he very nearly offered the bloke free pizza. But Liam was sure if this bloke just interviewed Alex he’d see that he was perfect, no bribery needed. 

“Yes exactly a haunting is perfect for a bookshop. Who else to give good advice on books but someone who knew the authors intimately. Sometimes quite intimately,” Tybalt added with a naughty grin. Though even his enthusiasm waned seeing poor Alexio looking so scared and uncertain. Tybalt had wanted to provide proof of ghosts himself. Had imagined Alex wanting to do scientific studies on him and winning over Liam with his pleasant personality. Nothing scary at all about him. Those blasted wand happy wizards had ruined it. Now Tybalt wasn’t sure how it was going to go. But he would, naturally, win them over. They were family. He was part of the gang. The Fred to their Scooby gang, or Daphne, he’d look like the bee’s knees in those boots of hers. And now Elias could be their Fred! Yes it would all work out. Tybalt was delighted when his words made Elias blush. Oh he loved doing that. His mischievous side wanted very much to continue on. But he didn’t want to ruin Elias’s first impression. Reluctantly, and with great difficulty, he didn’t give in to the temptation. “They’re going to love your shop, tis so grand. Such a shame they’ll only see one side.” The last bit was more of a comment to himself than Elias. While both parts of the shop were wonderful separately, the two, or three actually counting Tybalt’s favorite part, the naughty books, were even grander as a whole. A perfect coming together of muggle and wizard and sex. Just brilliant. Also brilliant was the fact that Alex was interested. “Yessssss!,” Tybalt shouted and floated around the room. “Oh I knew he’d be interested. Look at that spark in his eyes! Can’t resist a mysterious, sexy, stranger. Ha!” Tybalt was thrilled.

It felt like a good sign when Alex introduced himself and Liam to Elias, and it was also a relief that Elias no longer had to worry about accidentally saying one of their names before he was supposed to know them. A surprised smile pulled at his lips when Alex went on to ask about the job. Oh, how splendid! That didn’t even take as long as Elias had prepared for it to take! Elias didn’t worry about the surprise on his face, it was reasonable to be pleasantly surprised there was a well-qualified job candidate sitting right in the shop he’d walked into to ask about putting up a help wanted sign. As if he’d had no idea. He did have to work not to smile too wide at Tybalt’s clear enthusiasm, as well as Liam’s excited response that Elias pretended not to see out of the corner of his eyes. Instead he focused on Alex. “Oh? Is that so? Library experience is certainly a plus. How about I interview you right now, Alex? That is, if that’s alright. If you’d like some time to prepare you can pop back over to my shop whenever you like.” 

The corners of Alex’s lips twitched up into a smile at Liam’s clearly enthusiastic response when he finally decided to say fuck it and try to see if he couldn’t get this job that was apparently open at this bloke’s bookshop. Alex still wasn’t sure about it all, but the fact was he needed a job, and this was a job with books which meant it was a job he could actually do well, and it was next door to Liam’s work. Honestly that last part was what really put him over the edge. And maybe whatever was weird about this bloke had a perfectly normal explanation. One that Alex could figure out while getting paid so he and Liam and Bilbo could keep a roof over their heads. He just had to hope this bloke went for it, but he’d come into a pizza shop to hang a flyer and Alex was a bloke in that pizza shop so he was pretty sure he fit the bill even before you factored in the fact he read a lot of books. Though it was a surprise when he offered to interview Alex right now. “Er--” He resisted the urge to glance over at Liam, because that didn’t look very professional, and nodded. “Um, yeah, alright. I don’t mind that.” He shifted slightly as Elias came and sat across from him at the booth, giving him a pleasant smile that still made Alex feel just a little unnerved. Or maybe it was just because now this was a job interview and those stressed him out. Most normal interactions stressed him out, always a game of how long could he pretend to be normal for until this new person figured out he was a nutcase. Hopefully Elias wouldn’t figure it out until after he offered Alex a job. Alex could do this. He tried to sit up straight and awkwardly ran a hand through his hair. “Er--sorry, I’m not really dressed for an interview.”

Liam’s brow furrowed when Alex looked away. While he could’t tell what was bothering him it was clear he wasn’t as excited as Liam was by the prospect of a job right beside him. But Alex had always been cautious, unless it was about ghost or demons, especially demons. Finding out that Liam had been right that there was a whole other plane of existence out there filled with ghosts as well as some secret society of withes…wizards…stick wavers, had left him more so. Even though Liam hadn’t been right about some of the details. He still hadn’t worked out where these stick people fit into the whole Illuminati/Freemasons conspiracies or any of the secret societies that pulled all the strings in the world that people whispered about. Couldn’t decide if they were just one of these groups or just maybe they were The group. Seemed like they could be. But he’d clearly been wrong about what magic and users of magic were like. Which made him more nervous too. So he bit his tongue instead of saying anything about Alex needing a job. Except when it came to asking about the haunting, that was the sort of information they needed in his opinion. Right up there with pay, hours worked, and ease of getting time off.

The bloke’s answer was a little weird. But it was probably from him humoring Liam. He got that a lot. But ghosts were real. Now he had proof. Not solid, scientific proof, but magical proof which would have to work till he saw a ghost for himself. It felt like they were getting closer to it. “Well good,” Liam said despite the answer being weird. “Might want to consider an exorcism just in case. I know a good priest. Or holy water. Sage if that’s more your flavor.” Lots of options to rid the place of any unwanted guests. Alex’s question had him looking at the bloke again. He’d been so exited about the idea of Alex having a job he hadn’t thought about how this bloke looked their age. An inheritance. So this was some posh bloke who probably didn’t have to work. Maybe who even had ties with one of those secret groups. Except he wasn’t dressed like one. Sort of sounded like one though. It could be he was some posh bloke going through his piss off mummy and daddy phase. As long as he paid well it probably wasn’t an issue. So far Liam hadn’t seen any real reasons why Alex shouldn’t take the job. Aside from the haunting that was. He met Alex’s gaze with an encouraging look. This felt perfect Alex. Maybe too perfect. But Liam didn’t know what a secret society would want with Alex. Those stick wavers just waved away memories, not offered jobs, so he doubted they were behind it. Instead it just might be their turn to catch a break. After all the bad stuff a break would be welcome. “Having your own book shop must be groovy. What sort of books do you sale?” That felt like a good question while Alex was still considering.

Tybalt smiled widely when Alex looked at him despite the muggle not being able to see him. For just a moment it felt like maybe he would. But no. At least it wasn’t like those times Liam thought he saw something in the smoke from their bong. Tybalt would sometimes get upset because he’d be sitting beside Liam not across from him. But he’d only get upset because he would think for a moment that Liam was seeing him. Until he realized Liam wasn’t even looking at him. Disappointing. This meeting with his muggles and his vampire was proving to be the opposite so far. Tybalt laughed and clapped, or attempted to clap, he was too engrossed to think about how he could’t actually clap, at Elias’ words. “Yet to be surprised! Oh how clever you are my Elias,” Tybs replied with a tone that was equally fond and proud. “Mmm sage. Always makes me think of the pretty little Cornish hens the house elf would cook up. I miss food.” There were other things he missed more. Especially when Elias was around. He chuckled when Alex asked about Elias age. Normally he’d be certain Liam would be the one to suss out that Elias was a vampire. But he wasn’t sure how learning about magic would change things for Alex. What he was sure of was Elias’ modesty.  “A young and beautiful face,” he inserted. Which was’t enough to say about that face at all. “Oh if only I was a painter I could capture your beauty in oils. Or a sculpture and could capture all of you in stone, tis not just thy face that’s beautiful.” In one sentence Tybs went from sorrowful about his lack of artistic abilities, ignoring that being a ghost made his abilities irrelevant, to flirty. Not unusual for him to flit between emotions so quick. Or to flirt so easily.

Tybalt had, of course, prepared Elias for the muggles--particularly Alexio--to be distrustful, even with what Elias hoped they’d consider a perfectly plausible reason for him to show up here hiring. It was true, after all, and the best deception was always rooted in truth. Hence Elias’s water bottle of blood with a sticker labelled ‘human blood’ on it, though he’d left that behind for this particular errand. He listened with some amusement as Liam told him he ought to consider some muggle-invented measures to get rid of his ghost--as if Elias would ever want to be rid of his ghost. “No, I don’t think that will be necessary. If anything I think the possibility of a haunting quite suits a bookshop, don’t you?” Elias certainly thought haunts--one in particular--suited his bookshop. He glanced over at the booth Alex occupied when he heard the other start to say, “There no such thing as--” Only to cut himself off and shrink farther into the corner of the booth. Oh, the poor dear. A job to occupy his time really would do him some good. Right next door to his Liam so he’d feel as safe as he probably could right now. Elias decided the best thing he could for the boys was ignore that outburst and simply give Alex a small smile and a nod when he said, “Never mind, not important” to the top of the table. Moving things back to the bookshop seemed to help. Alex being suspicious of Elias was much nicer, at least, than him looking so disturbed. And the questions surely meant he was considering Elias’s job. Only the questions were difficult to focus on when Tybalt was interjecting again. He felt himself pale slightly when Tybalt called his face beautiful, and he only felt  himself go paler still at Tybalt’s addition. If he had a heartbeat it surely would have been picking up. Elias bit back a smile and tried to focus on Liam and not what the muggle would perceive as the empty bit of space where Tybalt was making Elias feel things. “I--oh, yes, it is groovy,” he said with a smile, trying to keep up with what Liam asked him. “I sell a bit of everything. New and used, and I’m not picky about genres. If anything I pride myself on the variety of books I sell. I’ve no doubt I’ve got plenty that would interest you, if you like to read. And--oh, I’m terribly sorry, I’ve forgotten my manners. I’m Elias. Lovely to meet my new next-door neighbors.” 

Liam felt like maybe he should have stayed where he had been or maybe he should move so that he was between Alex and this bloke when the other looked at Alex. It was only a brief feeling. His guard only momentarily up went down once again when the bloke explained himself. He was just a normal bloke, it seemed. Liam took the offered flyer looking at it with clear interest. “Really? The book shop? That’s wild!” This was exactly what Alex needed. A job in a bookshop. Even better a bookshop next door to his work. Maybe they could even have similar work hours. Liam looked excitedly over at Alex who did not look as excited as he was. It was hard not to give away why he was excited but he didn’t want to put Alex on the spot if he didn’t want the job. “I mean really groovy. I can totally help you out there man. We’ve been interested to check out your space actually. Books are rad.” He thought he did a pretty good deflection job there. But he really hoped Alex would consider the book shop. It felt like a much better idea than a bar. Liam smiled over at Alex in a way he hoped Alex would see as ‘what a perfect job for you,’ and the stranger wouldn’t think was anything but him smiling. There was only one drawback and as soon as he realized it his smile faded. “Have you had any issues over there,” he asked as causally as one could ask about hauntings, switching his attention back to the bloke. “Weird shit, I mean. It’s just, I dunno if anyone told ya, but that place is haunted.” Liam knew that a lot of people found talking about hauntings weird but he also didn’t care. The place was haunted and this bloke ought to know and maybe Alex ought to be careful before just taking a job there. Even if it would be perfect. It was a conundrum for sure.

Tybalt left Liam’s side to slide into the booth opposite Alex. The effect was more of Tybalt floating in the middle of the table but he didn’t notice. He hovered his ghostly hand near Alex’s since he couldn’t actually hold Alex’s hand. “My poor Alex, it’s alright, Elias is a friend,” he said softly, trying to comfort him even though the muggle couldn’t hear him. “He’s had such a fright. I’m afraid everything’s hit him a little harder than Liam. Difficult to be a non-believer confronted with the truth I suppose. But a job will do him so good. And he does love books.” As he talked he looked fondly at Alex. He didn’t have a favorite, he loved his two muggles the same. They were both so different. But together such a pair. And now Elias had met them. The solemnness he had when attempting to comfort Alex disappeared as he bounced up, floating back to Elias and Liam quickly at Liam’s words. “Twas I! I am the haunter.” Tybalt laughed happily at being mentioned. It was nice his efforts were appreciated. “Was not as fun as you might think. But oh so worth the effort because now you’re here and they’re here, all my favorite persons living and dead together! What joy! I shall be in ecstasy if you three become great friends. An act that would be the most groovy.” Oh what laughs they would have! Tybalt couldn’t wait.

Alex turned his nervous gaze away from Liam when he felt an odd shift in the air across from him. That was weird. Only a quick glance up reminded Alex their booth was near an air vent, so that was probably what he was feeling. A shift in the air that left his hands feeling a little colder. And then it was gone, and Alex looked over at Liam again as he voiced his surprise that the bloke who opened the bookshop next door had just come by looking for an employee at the same moment Alex was resigning himself to trying to get hired at a bar that would fire him the same day probably. Books, though. He could do books. That’s what he’d done at the school library before they got put on academic probation and lost his work study position. A bookshop had to be similar to working at a library. Books, at least, usually didn’t break if you dropped them. And this shop was next door to where Liam worked.... He returned Liam’s smile with a slightly nervous one of his own. Something still didn’t feel right. Or maybe that was just Alex. It was always hard to tell. Though the one thing he hadn’t been concerned about was that the shop was haunted. Of course Liam was worried about that. And Alex couldn’t even be sure anymore that it wasn’t haunted. Ghosts were real. Just like wizards. Magic. But it still seemed improbable that the shop was haunted. Right? 

“Maybe we should start there, that’d save some money,” he told Alex with a grin. Growing their own weed could be cool. Something for Alex to think about instead of how scary the world now was. Liam always tried to think of something comforting when the world got too scary. Usually that was Alex, which sometimes included thinking about getting high with Alex in a blanket fort once they were safe. Any reply Liam might have had to the list was chucked in favor of just resting his head on top of Alex’s. He felt warm and happy. The world was more fucked up than even he had thought, which was saying something considering he’d always believed in magic. But there was magic and then there was mind wiping sticks that people just waved in your face when you were minding your own business wondering how half a building had gone missing. Liam was surprised when the bell sounded letting them know someone had opened the door. Tuesdays were usually slow. Though he guessed that one customer did’t make a rush. The bloke that came in looked a little like that pair of aliens, or maybe they really were just witches —wizards?—witch and wizard?— stick waving people that were more unnaturally attractive than Alex’s Josh and his stick waving boyfriend and mates. Though paler. Dressed more normal too. Like the sort of bloke you might see going into a punk club instead of a posh place like that pair had been. He squeezed Alex’s hand when the felt his boyfriend —HIS BOYFRIEND!!!— move closer. Liam might have just dismissed him as some punk bloke, perfectly normal probably, if not for how he talked. It just felt weird. Off somehow. It took a moment after what the bloke said for Liam to react. “Shit,” he said jumping up because he was the someone who worked there and probably should do his job so he wasn’t fired. “Fuck,” he added softer when he realized he’d cussed to a probable customer. “I mean, hey, welcome. I’m the bloke you’re looking for, cause I work here.” Liam chuckled. “We’re having a special on uh….oh right!” Liam snapped his fingers as he remembered. “Large pizzas! If you buy two the second one is 15% off. What sort of pizza can I get for ya? ” As Liam talked he moved his way over to the register ready to get back to work. “Or pizzas,” he corrected grinning and doing finger guns in the direction of the weird bloke.

Tybalt was practically bouncing in excitement. It was happening! Elias was meeting his muggles. He felt like a proud hen showing off her chicks. “There they are Elias, aren’t they lovely,” he told Elias when the muggles came into view in the shop. “Yes, good, keep it casual. Probably best not to let on I sent you,” he commented after Elias spoke. When Liam reacted he laughed. “Isn’t he delightful?” Tybalt clapped his hands in delight as he spoke. He also made his way over to the register so he was near Liam and facing Elias when Liam finger gunned, a motion he also did with a large grin on his face. “They’re such jolly good fun!”

Elias’s eyebrows lifted in amusement at the muggles’s--that one had to be Liam’s--reaction to his question. He certainly hadn’t meant to alarm the poor bloke, or even to force him to get up when he and Alex were being so awfully sweet together. A small smile pulled at his lips as he deliberately avoided Tybalt’s gaze, enjoying his ghost’s words all the same. But it wouldn’t do to come off any odder than he probably already was to these skittish muggles, with his pale complexion and permanently youthful features and his clothes probably weren’t helping. Elias was hoping the fact he was forever seventeen might help him here, though. Maybe they’d be less wary of him than if he looked like a full adult. He chuckled softly, more at Tybalt’s clear enjoyment of the muggles than at Liam’s finger guns, though they were admittedly amusing. His gaze flickered over to the booth where the other had shrank over into the corner, fixing Elias with a fearful, distrusting gaze like a cornered animal. Alex. Elias truly did feel for the bloke. Felt a sort of kinship with him. If only it were for better reasons than unknown forces altering the courses of their lives. At least now perhaps Elias could be an unknown force that would help improve Alex’s life, even if only by providing him a steady income at a shop right next door to his Liam. “No, no, I’m terribly sorry,” he said looking back over at Liam with an apologetic smile. “I didn’t mean for you to get up. I’m not here for pizza, I’m afraid.” Elias might have bought one just to cut the bloke a break, but he’d feel badly making Liam go to all that work for something Elias would just have to throw in the rubbish, seeing as eating wasn’t physically possible for him. “You see, I just recently moved my bookshop into the building next door,” he explained, before poor Alex or Liam could worry too much about who he was and why he was here if not for pizza. “And I was hoping you might let me put this advertisement up in your window.” He held out the flyer he’d had made to Liam, advertising that his book shop was looking to hire a part-time shopkeeper at a competitive hourly rate, previous experience working with books encouraged. “I’m still looking for someone to help me out at the shop, you see, and I hoped perhaps one of your customers might be inspired to stop in and apply for the position.” He didn’t say more than that, hoping that either Liam or Alex would decide on their own that this was the perfect job for Alex. Elias was also careful not to look over at Alex, given he wasn’t supposed to know Alex needed the job. 

Liam felt warm and content despite everything going wrong when Alex pushed his knee up against Liam’s. There had always been knee touches and other little touches that maybe were more than best friends but those things being intentional was different. Better. Helped Liam regain his optimism despite all the shit. As long as he and Alex stuck together everything would be great. Maybe not easy but that was okay. His smile was wide and happy at the thought of Bilbo catching fish for them. “That could work! I bet he’d rather them cooked too, so we wouldn’t have to worry about him eating everything he caught.” Liam wasn’t sure how they’d teach him that but they were pretty smart, all three of them, it felt doable. Also made living in the woods easier to imagine. They would just need enough money for gas and weed. “Maybe we could figure out how to grow our own too,” he added knowing Alex would know he was talking weed and not fish. Still they’d need some money. Extra shifts didn’t seem so bad. Be even better if they could bring Bilbo but so far that didn’t seem doable even if he was a well behaved dog. Liam squeezed Alex’s hand back, happy to have that extra bit of grounding feeling Alex’s hand in his gave him. “You’ll find something,’ he said encouragingly. Liam chuckled when Alex talked about working at al lthe pubs. “That actually sounds pretty cool. Just start with the ones closest here and work your way around London till you’re back here again. Sort of fun. Like a job bingo card.” Liam wasn’t sure he’d hold any of them long enough to get any money. But it didn’t have to work or be realistic to be a plan. Especially not if having that in his back pocket as a maybe option made Alex feel better about the whole job search thing. “We can get out the map and the phone directory and make a list.”

Alex smiled over at Liam when he went along with the idea of teaching Bilbo to catch fish for them. If only it would be that easy. The three of them and the van. Growing their own weed, even. “Now there’s an idea, I bet we could figure that out.” Alex had spent enough time studying science to figure he could teach them to grow weed. Never mind that science was a lie and there were people walking around defying all the supposed laws of physics and the universe and it was impossible to tell who had magic world-bending sticks and who didn’t. Alex was grateful for Liam’s hand in his, squeezing back and helping him ground himself in the moment. In the pizza shop, in their normal booth with the tear on the cushion, looking at a newspaper with no good job opportunities for him. He managed a smaller smile at Liam’s encouragement, chuckling at the idea of a bingo card of bars and restaurants that fired him after maybe one day of working there. If he could even get hired at one. It wasn’t the best idea, but they didn’t have a better one. And if it brought some money in, well, they needed whatever they could get. Alex didn’t want Liam working even more shifts while he sat around and didn’t help. “Okay. Better make it a long list, reckon I won’t last more than a day at any of these,” he said with another weak smile before he let out a soft sigh and leaned his head gently against Liam’s, taking advantage of the fact it was just them in the shop. At least until the door opened. Alex straightened up, his hand tightening around Liam’s as he looked at the bloke. There was something...wrong about him. Something that reminded Alex of that weird couple who’d come in a while ago, the aliens as Liam liked to call them. They weren’t aliens. Only Alex wasn’t so sure what was and wasn’t real anymore. He glanced over at Liam to make sure Liam also saw the bloke. He looked their age, maybe a little younger, only....not? Something was off. Something that made Alex shrink a little into Liam’s side, especially as the bloke looked at them and approached with a gentle smile. 

Things had been rough ever since eh’d lost his memories. They were back now, thanks to Alex.  It was like something out of a story book. Alex his very own Prince Charming. Even better he was now his boyfriend. Which almost made being a damsel in distress worth  it. Actually he did  make it worth it. Liam just hadn’t enjoyed the experience. It was terrifying in the same vein as his fear of being possessed. The only upshot was there hadn’t been  anyone sharing his body just someone tinkering with his mind. With a stick of all bloody things. Liam had always had, in his opinion, a healthy fear of lots of things but sticks had never been on the list, till now. Maybe he would have if he’d realized those aliens that took Will had them. Only not aliens it seemed but wizards. Which ironically was one of the few things Liam hadn’t thought might explain away Will. Mostly he supposed because he thought wizards and witches lived in huts outside small villages bent over cauldrons and not out disappearing kids and fucking with people’s minds. Which was nothing to what Alex had learned. His family were wizards. Cousins, aunts, uncles, not his dad. Liam still didn’t understand that. He also thought he’d be pretty pissed off if all his brothers were wizards and he didn’t get any of it. Maybe that was because he still didn’t understand how this magic thing worked. He’d always thought it was just people who knew spells, though he hadn’t ruled out the whole giving Satin a blowie in the woods in exchange for power line of thinking. Instead it was somehow in their DNA like an extra chromosome or something and they went to fucking school for it. Complete with books. Liam had  looked at the one Alex’s cousin had given him, it was damn confusing. Alex had clearly taken learning his entire family were something he never thought existed rough. Given the shit his parents put him  through after Will, Liam didn’t blame him. Liam hadn’t had the same type of screwing with  your head Alex had but it gave him enough of a taste of it to understand Alex better, he though. So instead of telling Alex he always knew he was magical, even if that was true, he had made a giant blanket fort with his boyfriend and coped the way they did, weed. A way to relax away from all the scary things in the world. Sadly there was still work. For him, but Alex always hung out while he worked so it was basically for both of them. Liam liked having Alex there, it felt safe. A lot of things felt more unsafe than they had. But he also knew Alex needed a job. Not just to help pay for the flat, but food too all those munchies were not cheap  even with the discount and free food he scored with the pizza joint. Also because Alex needed something to occupy him. He’d never been the sort who could be in his head too  much. “That bad huh,”  he asked sympathetically as he slid next to Alex on the seat. “You know I’m game. I bet Bilbo would vote yes  too.” It was a nice thought. The only problem was the same as it always was. They had no money for gas and food if they didn’t work. Not to mention weed. Also a necessity. “I can take extra shifts here for a bit.” He wished Alex could work here too. They’d tried that in high school. Alex just wasn’t a pizza joint sort of bloke.

Josh was too preoccupied with his task to notice Alex’s discomfort. A preoccupation that only got worse when Cene clearly noticed his magazines. He shot Cene a smile that was the closest he came to bashful, too much mischief dancing in his eyes to be really considered bashful. Had Alex not been in the room he would have replied but he’d have to come back to that later. Especially because now he was curious if Cene had ever been in the quidditch edition. Yeah, definitely coming back to that one.

For now he continued digging through all the school stuff he’d just dumped in his trunk. Despite the many times his mum had told him to clean it out he’d never done it and it showed. But the plus side was all his school related things were inside. Including the way too many, in his mind, books he had from his seven years in the castle. Once he handed Alex the book he was surprised to see how frightened of it Alex seemed. Surprised only because it had been Alex who’d brought up looking at them to begin with. “Not that one. It’s just a boring old textbook about magical theory. Some of the others do yeah,” he admitted. “But I can make them where they look like regular books if you wanna look at any of them.” It didn’t look like Alex would but Josh didn’t feel like the offer did much harm. There was nothing in any of these books that would work for Alex. He doubted Alex would be waving them about to show them off to anyone aside from Liam either.  

Just a boring old textbook. About magical theory. So Alex didn’t really see how boring that could be. Didn’t Josh have questions about how so many seemingly impossible things were actually possible? Or maybe he was so used to all the magic stuff it was just like people who didn’t question where the rain came from or how electricity worked. Thinking about that too hard made Alex’s head hurt, though, so instead he looked down at the book. Which also made his head hurt. What he wouldn’t give to have Liam here right now. Or at least some weed. Preferably both.  “Erm. Think I’ll just stick to this one for now,” he said, still looking at it dubiously. “Unless you have any others you think would be better, I guess. I’d just like to -- I dunno, to understand. It’s…” Alex kept his eyes trained on the book. “It’s easier to believe things are real if there’s a logical explanation,” he said, his voice softer. If there were rules, if there was a logical explanation to the insane shit his cousin and a bunch of evil people who got rid of Will and erased Liam’s memories could do, then maybe Alex wasn’t crazy. And maybe he wasn’t utterly powerless to keep them both safe.

Josh was confused about why Alex was asking about magic. Confusion that only grew when Alex asked to see the books. “Yeah, I guess so,” he said without thinking. Not showing Alex his school stuff had been a pretty clear rule when he was growing up. But he’d never let being told not to do something stop him from doing it. He had pictures and a long medical history to prove that. Besides Alex already knew about magic. He couldn’t think of what harm showing him some school books would do. The easiest thing would have been to pull out his wand and summon them into a pile on the bed. Despite the fact that Alex was wanting to see the books he was pretty certain Alex would freak if he did that. So Josh moved off the top of his trunk and opened it up. He hadn’t opened it in forever and didn’t remember how he’d left it, aside from a mess. It had always been a mess. Josh smiled when the first thing he saw was his discarded Gryffindor tie on the top, he’d been happy not to have to wear a tie again. He dumped the tie and his robes into a pile beside the trunk before turning his attention back to the contents. The next layer were old magazines, a Witch Weekly quidditch edition sitting on top hinting at what the others were like. None of the magazines were things he wanted to be pulling out in front of his cousin, embarrassing enough in front of Cene. He put those on the other side of the trunk out of sight. There were some other things he’d stuck in the trunk thinking he’d get rid of them eventually, mostly stuff from his dorm at school. Under the pile of Gryffindor paraphernalia was his school things. Including a destroyed cauldron from fifth year he’d forgotten to toss. He chuckled remembering how it had blown up as he set it out of the way before rooting through the books. “I got seven years worth of textbooks here. You’re welcome to look at any of ‘em but this one’s theory,’ he told Alex holding out a dirty book in his direction. Most of Josh’s books look like they’d been well used. The outsides torn, scuffed, dirty and stained. The insides had jam stains from his many attempts at finishing an essay over breakfast, dog eared pages, but most telling of all doodles when his mind would start wondering during lectures. Some of them even still had the comic books he’d magically attached so he could pretend to be studying while definitely not studying.

Josh was surprised by Alex’s questions. Poor bloke sounded on the edge of some kind of nervous breakdown. Maybe this was why muggles weren’t supposed to know about magic.  Or he would have thought that if not for the fucked up way Alex had learned about magic. That in itself was more than enough reason for the bloke to be completely freaked. He shrugged a shoulder as he answered, doing his best to keep confusion as to why Alex wanted to know these things out of his voice. A sure steady voice felt needed here. “Yeah. There’s rules. Things magic can’t do. Everything’s got limits. Even magic. Guess it’s a bit like science.” Potions class was the easiest comparison but Josh hadn’t had anything but an elementary school muggle education, he didn’t know if there were better or even just other comparisons to be made. “There’s even a book that’s just titled Magical Theory. We had to study loads of stuff and write essays on it all.” Josh couldn’t help the grimace thinking about all the boring essays he half-arsed in school. Shooting Cene a quick look because he knew Cene felt the same way. Shame they hadn’t met in school. Unlike in the cab ride over Josh didn’t let himself get distracted by thoughts of Cene, even if thinking about snogging Cene under the quidditch stands wasn’t a bad distraction. Alex’s sort of interest in something magical, the most boring parts in his opinion, was too weird to let his mind wander where it would. Especially given the way his cousin sounded as though he might lose it completely. Josh hadn’t told his parents what had happened with Liam but if Alex had some sort of mental break in his old bedroom he was gonna have to.

There were rules. Magic had limits. Apparently vanishing an entire kid and erasing his existence was not one of those limits -- but still. This was something Alex could cling to, the first flash of something that might allow him to make some sense of the impossibilities that were suddenly real. There was theory. Rules like science. Maybe it was even possible there were rules that lined up with the ones Alex already knew. Rules that explained why the magic was possible that could somehow align with the way Alex understood the world. Or maybe it would make things worse. Alex hesitated, watching the look that passed between Josh and Cene. It looked like they just didn’t think that stuff was interesting. But what if it was something more? Was this all a set-up? Maybe there were no magic books at all, because magic wasn’t real, and this had all been a ploy to get Alex away from Liam and get him to say something about magic aloud to prove he was crazy so his parents could have him carted off again. Maybe this time Alex really was crazy. “Can I see them? The books?” Alex blurted out before he could think it through any further. 

Did Josh just imagine that look of interest? He knew Alex was a bit of a nerd, well a full blown one really. But surely even he wasn’t so much of one that he’d want to look at school shit. Josh sat himself on the trunk and let Cene take the desk chair. “Can’t blame you there. I really thought we’d be learning all sorts of cool shit and then it was just class. Sure magic class but it’s not like I need to know anything about a spell but what it does and how to do it. All that theory and essays we had to write about them felt like busy bullshit.” He looked over at Cene to see if his boyfriend agreed with him before realizing he’d just been talking about magic which was probably what had Alex so freaked.  Shit! “Not sure why my mum even bother’s hiding the takeaway packages anymore. It’s not like your dad doesn’t call her out on it every time,” Josh spoke quickly trying to change the subject from magic. “Anyway um… what’s Liam up to today?” Josh knew he could get distracted by talking about Cene, maybe Alex would be the same way. If nothing else at least it would be a conversation that had nothing to do with magic. He hoped. Ideally it’d calm Alex down some. Liam seemed good about that when he was around, maybe just the mention of him would help. Better than bitching about essays he’d had to write in school.

Alex’s fingers curled into the blanket on Josh’s bed when his cousin started talking about magic class. Like it was normal. Which maybe it was to Josh. Or maybe Josh was talking about a very normal non-magic school and Alex’s brain was malfunctioning to the point that he was just imagining Josh was talking about magic school. That felt like more of a possibility than actual magic school. Only Alex had seen the magic. Or he thought he’d seen the magic. Just like he’d thought Will vanished. Once again Alex could feel his panic building, but while the rest of what Josh was saying and some comment from Cene about school being moring no matter what the subject did not register, Alex’s brain somehow managed to focus in on one thing his cousin said. “Did you say theory?” Alex blurted, eyes darting warily to the trunk Josh was sitting on and then back to his cousin. “They taught you theory? Like -- there’s rules. Like for science. Patterns that you have to follow? Certain things you can and can’t do? Something that explains how it works or -- why it works? You have books about that?” If Alex’s voice sounded a bit desperate he didn’t care, too stuck on the idea that there might be some sort of explanation for all the weird shit he’d seen his cousin do that wasn’t just magic. That maybe there were limitations and if Alex learned them maybe he and Liam could protect themselves from whatever magic could do. Or at least be ready for it. Understand it. The scariest thing to Alex about magic -- or a lot of the things Liam believed were real -- was that they were without explanation, without a way for him to understand them. And if they couldn’t understand it, then what hope did they ever have of protecting themselves? Of saving Will, or other kids like him? How were they ever supposed to feel safe?

Assuming any of it was real to begin with.

Alex had this look like he was thinking about turning around and running away. Josh was confused about what had him so jumpy. Alex was kind of a jumpy bloke so it really could have been anything. Especially since lately he’d had good reason to be jumpy.  It was the question about the comics that had Josh deciding  maybe it was magic that had Alex so jumpy, this time.  “Mum always muggle proofs the house before company so no magic stuff. It’s cool,” he told Alex trying to be reassuring. Josh called out to his parents when they went in the door to let them know they were there. His mum called back from the kitchen that she was still working on dinner. Which he knew meant unboxing everything and making it look like it wasn’t all take away.  She wouldn’t want them in there so naturally was happy when Josh told her they were heading upstairs. On the way he poked his head into the living room to say hey to his dad before leading the way up the stairs, looking back to make sure Alex was following and giving him reassuring looks when he could. The room was a bit small with three adults in it but maybe they could calm Alex down before his parents got there. “You can sit on the bed if you want. It’s non-magical. Just avoid the trunk and you’re good,” he said motioning to his old school trunk at the foot of his bed. “That’s got all my school stuff, pretty sure that’s the only magic stuff in the room. So if you wanted to look at magical stuff,” which Josh knew he didn’t, “you’re out of luck. That’s just boring school shit like school books and clothes.”

“...Right.” His aunt muggle-proofed the house. Because Alex was a muggle, apparently, which only made him feel more certain this was all in his head, and hearing the house was “muggle-proofed” just made him more nervous. People baby-proofed their houses to make sure the babies didn’t hurt themselves. What was in Josh’s house that could kill Alex by accident? Alex followed Josh and Cene inside all the same, his worries only increasing when Josh’s mum said she was working on dinner and Josh immediately steered them away from the kitchen. Alex’s dad often teased his sister when they got together about how she didn’t cook, but was the the truth that she wasn’t ordering takeout but instead serving them magic food and that was why they needed to keep Alex out of the kitchen? If that was the case, he didn’t want to know, so he just gave a wave to his uncle as Josh and Cene greeted him and then followed them up the stairs. Josh’s room looked the same as Alex remembered, if a little smaller. It had been a while since he’d been up here; they’d both been smaller. What was in here that was magic? Alex appreciated that Josh seemed to anticipate the question, but he quickly cast a wary glance at the trunk. The trunk full of magic stuff. Alex didn’t want to know what magical stuff was, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to ask, but he wasn’t expecting Josh to say it was books. School books. A flicker of interest passed over Alex’s fact before he realized they were probably books with weird moving pictures and -- Alex didn’t want to think about that. He sat down at the edge of Josh’s bed, as far away from the magic trunk as possible, half-expecting the thing to explode at any moment. “No, uh, I’d rather not look at any, uh --” Alex couldn’t quite bring himself to say magic out loud. “Any school stuff.” 

Admittedly Josh was a little preoccupied thinking about how adorable Cene was in the taxi. Fuck, he loved his boyfriend. It was really a wonder he had managed to control the urge to jump him in the backseat. But there was Alex in the front not to mention the driver who kept looking in the rear view. Josh had a strong feeling that the bloke would have pulled over and kicked them out if he’d made a move on Cene. Worth it if they’d been alone. They weren’t. For now. He was definitely thinking about sneaking up to his room with Cene before dinner. His dad could entertain Alex for ten, fifteen minutes. Alex’s parents would probably arrive soon. Nobody would notice. A lie but if they were quick… Or he had been thinking about that till he realized Alex wasn’t following them.  That plan would have to wait. “Hey, you alright,” he asked despite the answer written all over Alex’s face. “If you want we can skip the pre-dinner socializing. Hang in my room like we used to. I left some comics here. They’re older editions but you know classics.” Because Superman would always be a classic. Josh wasn’t sure if it was knowing about the fact that his parents were magical or if Alex was just nervous to see his own that was bugging his cousin. Either way hiding upstairs till dinner might be the best option. Didn’t hurt to offer anyway.

“What?” Alex blinked, jolted from his spiral of panicked thoughts when Josh spoke to him and registering what he’d said a moment later. “I…” No, Alex was not alright. And he didn’t really want to hang out in Josh’s room either. What he wanted was to bolt and not go into the magic house and definitely not deal with his parents while he was at the magic house. But the cab had already left and Alex didn’t know the way back to the train station so that wasn’t really an option. So he managed a small nod and forced himself to take another step closer to Josh’s house before he paused again. “The pictures aren’t going to move, are they?” Alex felt crazy just asking it. Maybe he was crazy. Maybe he’d imagined the whole thing and he’d been an idiot not to bring Liam because now there was no one here who would fight for him when they tried to drag him off again. Alex could feel the panic bubbling up again, but Cene was quick to reassure him that the pictures in Josh’s comics didn’t move. Unless he was just trying to placate Alex. But Josh’s boyfriend didn’t seem like the type of person who was good at lying. So Alex nodded and followed the others inside. 

Alex,

Yeah, you don’t disagree with me like lots of other people do. I think it’s good to have other opinions instead of just listening to people who agree with you. Only if they’re nice about it that is. Most of our really fun conversations happen when we’re disagreeing, I think anyway. Ha! When you put it that way, God sounds a bit like an alien don’t he? Kind of like him better that way. But you’re right, about the fact that it’s bullshit that people give us so much shit about it while also believing in things like God. I’ll always believe in you, mate. You’re one of the sanest people I know. A good bloke to have around if you ask me. Even if you don’t believe, it’s okay, I got enough faith for both of us, we’ll see. Ha! I like it. Nah, I don’t think they’d consider that nice, unless of course they were replacing them with better. I think they just abduct people for the company. Those Americans didn’t say anything about seeing a bunch of empty bodies floating around up there and if they were disposing of the bodies down here there’d be something about it. I think we’re the only ones that’d cut up an alien, sadly, another reason for them to avoid us. Course, who else would I be with in a situation where I was about to get in the car with strangers anyway? Besides mum would kill me if I did that on my own. On all the research I’ve done. There’s plenty of proof, just because you don’t believe it’s real doesn’t mean it’s not out there. Guess it’s a good thing I usually have some on me then huh? Deal! The way I see it we’ve got all bases covered.

Liam

Liam,

I think so too. Even when I think you’re wrong you still make me think about things from different angles, and that’s important. Hopefully I do that for you, too. And that’s a good point, most of our most fun conversations do happen when we disagree. Ha! He does, and I can’t believe I’m saying so but I think the idea of him being an alien might be a little more believable, if you ask me. Some ancient alien who’s reached through different universes or something, I dunno. I think quantum physics would be involved somehow but I’m still only on chapter two of that book about it. Thanks, mate. Glad someone thinks that. You’ve got enough faith for both of us and I’ve got enough questions. How do you know? Their culture could be totally different from ours. These hypothetical aliens could have organs that regrow or something and they could think they’re doing you a favor. And those Americans are full of it, they did not meet real aliens. You make a good point about the aliens avoiding us though, they’d be better off that way. Ha! I dunno, just making sure, it’s been a long summer maybe if you got too bored. I just don’t think a lot of that stuff counts as actual proof, is all. Circumstantial evidence is not proof. Guess so, good for witches and robots and bland french fries. Deal. I think so too.

Alex,

I always like how confident you are about this stuff. I guess that makes sense. Agree, don’t get what the big deal is. I appreciate the fact that you don’t have an issue with what I believe in even though you don’t believe in it. Ha! Master debunker. I dunno, they’re nice? Who’d give a bloke a lift without making sure he could get home again? That seems really rude. I think I’d rather accept a ride from people pretending to be aliens than regular people. It’d be way more interesting. Kind of yeah/ I’ve done research, I’m pretty confident that salt rings and holy water will work, pleading not so much but probably would happen regardless thanks to being scared shitless. Those are all excellent points. This is why I’d want you by my side in the event of any sort of disaster.

Liam

It really does.

Liam,

Do you like it even when I’m disagreeing with you? Right? Like it’s okay to believe there’s some bloke in the sky that no one has ever seen who’s controlling everything, but we’re weird for believing in a bloke we have an actual picture of? It’s bullshit. Of course I don’t have an issue with what you believe in. You believe in me when no one else does, that’s what really counts. You’re wrong about most of it though. Maybe you’re wrong about me too. Maybe I am crazy. Maybe you’re not even real. Ha! That’s what they’ll call me one day. Who says they’re nice? How would you be able to tell if they were nice? Even if aliens were real how do you know they’d even have the same concept of nice and polite that we do? What if they thought that kidnapping you and then harvesting your organs was polite? Please never get in a car with strangers pretending to be ghosts. Please. Or any strangers, at least not unless I’m also there. Confident based on what? There’s no proof about any of that stuff. I guess salt could also mess up robots’ gears though. I’d want you on my side too, just in case I’m wrong.