This Book Sucks Blood

Chapter 6: Love and Fear

The beers flew off the table, and Harrison felt a prick in his chest. He couldn't tell what it was at first, but he thought he knew as he cracked open his beer and chugged half of it in one gulp. It was the eyes. The way Mystique looked Naomi up and down and decided that her outfit wasn't enough. The way the emperor stalked around the grounds, licking his lips as if the contestants were in a....in a...

Harrison remembered the stories his family told of raising horses. The Blue House was known for them, massive spiraling stalls from which other houses would visit and pick their favorites. All of his life, Harrison had been a cowboy, ogled out of admiration, or maybe something more. Pride for a fallen world? Jealousy?

But now Harrison knew what it felt like to be one of the horses his family sold. And the revolver he always kept, a security thing, like a blanket you would give to a baby, was on his bunk. He was just himself, without even the hat. When Haldyn leaned in his direction, eyeing him up and down, it wasn't from the cowboy stuff. It wasn't twisted thoughts about his lasso (comments about he got plenty). It was something else.

Harrison crumpled his can and grabbed another. In about five minutes, servants were already refilling the table with more glossy red cans. He felt his jaw clench, watching the scene as if it was from a distance. Elody sipped from her can slowly, sloshed it even, holding it up to her nose for a second before she drank. The way one would drink an expensive wine, tasting for notes.

She laughed, and it sounded delicate, like glass wind chimes clanking together in a light breeze. "Haldyn, why don't you come into the pool for a swim!"

But as the sky darkened, the masks glowed. It was a bright, silvery sheen that conformed the eyes to the simple butterfly shape. It was hard to tell the difference between everyone, as even the differences in body type and dress quickly faded to the butterflies' lights. He smirked a little at the thought of all Elody's work going to waste.

It was only then that he felt a brush against his shoulder and heard a man's laugh that sounded just as light and tinkling as Elody's. "Hey, do you want to fight?"

Seth looked up at him with big eyes. In the dark, Harrison could only see the mask.

"Well, normally yes, but on tv?"

Seth leaned up on tip-toes. His mouth brushed Harrison's ear. "It'll earn us some eyes. C'mon. It's all-Larken, they'll eat it up."

Harrison looked over Seth's head, into the pool. Claudine floated on an innertube, glancing frustratedly around. Even in the darkness he could see her scowled brow. Could he blame her? She'd been sitting with the guys, attempting to play the part of cool and detached beauty, but all the other personalities seemed to eat away at the attention. He saw a figure sitting at the pool's edge. Naomie, he figured. And another figure, dancing in the grass. Further out, there was a cluster of masks, and Harrison could make out their conversation.

"Larken? I hardly even know 'em!" Griffin's voice. Maybe he was getting comfortable.

Harrison shrugged. Attention was the name of the game, right? He gave one warning nod before crushing his beer, exploding the last of it into his mouth.

Seth was the first to pounce. It was a surprising amount of strength from a slim man. His lips pressed against Harrison's ear as the larger man fell to the ground. Harrison was mid-laugh. "No hard feelings, man, but this is a game we both have to play to win."

Harrison didn't know what he felt; sad? Shaken? But he understood, and so, he gave a nod. So small that he doubted Seth would even see it. Seth wrapped himself around Harrison, pinning his arms down into the grass. Harrison threw him off with one heave of the chest, scrambling to get to his feet. If he lost the fight, that would be bad. Bad bad bad. But if he hurt Seth?