Inflorescence

// ARI

He never thought he'd be desperate enough to be a live model, entrapped in glass, lit up by neon lights in the middle of an exhibit full of horny teenagers. Although it was for a good cause (the back pocket change charity), time was against him. His shift at the club was ready to start soon.

The clock on the wall was taunting him. Each stroke ticking a second away from his life as the kids laughed back at him.

"He looks like a Ken Doll." Someone yelled.

Ari pressed his arse cheek up against the glass, right where the kids mouth was and rubbed it has hard as he could.

"I thought he was meant to be a still model."

"The only thing still here is my hard-on for ye, Kid." Ari winked at him, sitting back down on the stool again. His friends laughed. "You're welcome, Babe."

The hundred grand was going to be his soon. All he had to do was wait it out. Smile, pose and be fabulous. Even be late to work if he had to. Apologise to Lalo and say it was a charity event. Be chill about things. Donate some of the money to a place of his choice.

Move on from the brief moment of embarrassment that was going to haunt him eternally on social media for years to come. (As long as no-one retweeted things, he'd be happy. They could spam Facebook, for all he cared. Never went on there much. Instagram and Twitter where his money makers. But as long as no-one knew his username, right?)

Two minutes had passed. He wanted to call Lalo, but his phone was in the locker room, hidden under a code which began with 69 (no doubt). Sighing, some sweat dripped down him. It reflected against the light. A lone pink droplet, lost in a dark maze of hair.

He hated shaving his body. Not because he was scared of exposing it, but because it grew back fast and maintenance was annoying. So he'd decided to go natural about ten years ago and hadn't looked back since. It was liberating. And his dates/loved liked it, so why not?

Smiling at the group of passing tourists, a bunch of them stopped by to take pictures out of intrigue. Amazed, some of them shot a short video as he belly danced around the container.

No-one had seen anything like this before. Especially not around these parts. The whole idea was Ari's. A stupid bet between him and Spencer to settle things. To see how long Ari could last a whole day in a "glass tank" being exposed to the public without any food or cover. Or entertainment.

If he lost the bet, he had to give Spencer back everything he owed. Over fifty grand of debt. If he won, he'd get a hundred grand off Spencer, and he wanted nothing more than that. For everything he'd put up with. The look on Spencer's face would have made him happy.

Gazing around the room with glee, he was happy to observe the passing numbers of people and be on display for their entertainment...

...Until the power cut out suddenly. The timer had stopped. Everyone was lost and confused in the dark room. No music, no lights. No air conditioning. Nothing except a black abyss of murmuring people.

The air became thick with claustrophobia. The doors were locked and everyone was shut inside. Within seconds, a thick gas of pink smoke arose and consumed the breath of anyone moving. No-one could hear their screams as a deafening ringing noise took over.

Swallowing in air, Ari began to choke in his own vanity. His skin began to melt and his sense of smell cut off. Then his hearing, eyesight and lastly, his sense of taste.

He became the nothing he was destined to be in the blink of an eye. No-one could save him. Nothing mattered anymore.

Floating in and out of consciousness, Ari began blinking rapidly. He could see the light at the end of the tunnel; blurry images on one end, the void on the other.

A silhouette veered closer to him. He could make out a muffled voice but he didn't know whose it was. It sounded like it was screaming. He could feel something grab him and pull him up from the void. But it didn't seem to be fully working. The figured continued the tug-of-war for another couple of minutes, until more figures emerged. The stronger their grip became, the harder it was for the void to resist.

Eventually, it gave up. Gasping for air in the light, he felt his body being transported to another place. Another dimension, possibly? His heartbeat was beginning to thump harder the more he felt the compression against his chest. Attempting to let out a scream, water released itself from his lungs. He could see red, blue and white lights in the distance.

The closer he got to the source, the more secure he felt. His drained life source came back. He began to become more conscious over the following hours, until a visible figure emerged from the blurry mess.

It was Spencer.

"I'm so glad you're okay," he added with a smile.

Ari looked around the room, realising where he'd ended up. "Why am... in hospital?"

"You almost overdosed. They all tried to save you."

"They?"

"The doctors, nurses and me. I called the ambulance and done CPR until they got there."

Ari reached out to hug him. "Thank you. Do I still owe you more than fifty grand?"

Spencer shook his head. "It's even worse than that. You owe me your life."

"... What?!"

That was when he decided to never to drugs before a pool party again.

(A/N: This is a short piece about Ari, no idea where this come from or what it was inspired by, but I might make it into a short series within Inflorescence if enough people are genuinely interested in it).