Fallen in Love

6 - You Got The Devil on Your Shoulder

That next morning, Bently woke up next to Malik...and immediately began freaking out. Internally freaking out, that is. 'What the- did I- did we-' He really couldn't even form a single full thought in his head.
For the next few minutes, he just lied in bed, watching Malik sleep. That's when he finally noticed it, Malik had this strange...glow to him. It wasn't from the sunrise, because the sun wasn't even up yet!
After a few minutes, Bently finally sat up. By this time, Malik was also beginning to wake up. "Oh! Good morning Bently." He said, also sitting up. Bently blushed and smiled. "Morning." The boy replied. Bently looked at Malik, the blonde boy's hair fluffy and messy from sleep. Malik got up and went in the bathroom to get his usual morning routine started.
Later that day, during class, Bently got up and went in the bathroom. That's when he heard a conversation between two boys. Well, the end of a conversation between two boys. When he walked in, he only heard one word.
"Demon."
Bently had learned about demons, angels, and the fall in his past schools. But he didn't exactly believe in it. "What?" He said, causing the two boys to look up at him. "Oh that's right, you're the new kid. You don't know." One of the boys said. "Know what?" Bently asked. "That girl you sit by in French, Ashlyn." One of them started. The other finished. "She's the devil's daughter."
Bently couldn't believe what he was hearing. "The devil's daughter? But that's impossible! The devil isn't real!" He said. The boys laughed. "Of course he's real, dummy." They both said. Bently, at this point, just wanted to hide.
Bently ran out of the bathroom, bumping into Ashlyn. "Sorry." She said. Even though she was being nice, all he could see now was Satan. She noticed his panicked expression and could see the fear in his eyes. "Hey are you okay?" She asked. He didn't— he couldn't respond. "Bently?" She asked, but still received no answer.
Bently came back to his room in the middle of the night. He'd went on a walk to clear his head, but it didn't help very much. He stayed in the woods for a while, trying to "reconnect with nature". While he was out, he saw something he still can't comprehend. When he asked Malik about it, he just got brushed off. But he didn't give up. "Malik!! Come onnnn." He urged. "Tell me what it was!" He said. Malik sighed, putting his book down. "Describe it again?" He asked. Bently took a breath, and began talking. "It was like this...gray shadow. But there wasn't really anything around casting a shadow...but it was different from what I used to see after the fire. So what was it?" He asked. "It was a Presenter." Malik replied. "A what?" Bently asked. Malik softly laughed. "A Presenter. They're harmless. But they show the past and sometimes the future if you're lucky enough. Some of us can even summon them-" He got cut off. "Can you summon them? And who's 'us'?" Bently asked. "I can summon them, yes." Malik replied. But he ignored the second question.
That night, Bently went back to the woods to find another Presenter. He found one, and was actually able to grab it. It was surprisingly cold in his hands. He tried to get a look into it, but it slipped from his slightly soft grip. "That's not the way you look into a Presenter." A voice said. Bently turned to look at who said that. He couldn't see them. "Then how do you..?" He trailed off. "It takes skill that you don't have." They said. Bently recognized the voice.
Ashlyn.
"What are you doing here?" He hissed. Ashlyn softly laughed. "I think the question is, what are you doing here?" She said. "I saw a Presenter earlier. I wanted to see if I could look into one." He said. "You better get back before you get in trouble." She said. "What do you mean?" He asked. "Your little boyfriend is looking for you." She said. Bently hadn't even thought about how worried Malik would be when he woke up and Bently wasn't there.
Bently got back in his room and back in bed just before sunrise. He was so tired he'd probably have to skip class just to sleep. He dozed off for a few minutes and when he opened his eyes, Malik was standing over him. "Ah! Shit, Malik! You scared me!" Bently said. "You scared me." Malik replied. "W-what?" Bently shakily asked. Malik was scared? That's not like him. "I woke up last night and you weren't in bed. It scared me, Bently." Malik said. "I thought someone took you. Or..." he trailed off. Or you were killed is what he wanted to say. But he couldn't bring himself to. "Nevermind. Just get some rest. You look exhausted." He said after a few moments of silence. Bently nodded as Malik left the room. Ashlyn's words from that night still rang in Bently's head. Your little boyfriend is looking for you. Bently blushed at the thought.
Just as Bently had almost dozed off again, Cain came in the room. "Bently!" He said, hugging the boy. "W-what's this for?" Bently asked. "You scared me last night. Malik told me you weren't in bed." Cain said.
So Ashlyn wasn't referring to Malik as his boyfriend, she was talking about Cain. But Cain wasn't gay. At least Bently thought he wasn't. "I was up all night searching campus." Cain said. "You didn't look off campus for me?" Bently asked in a sarcastic tone. "No. Curfew." Cain said, yawning. "Since when do we have a curfew?" Bently asked. "Since always. What, did Andy not tell you about it on the first day?" He asked. Bently nodded. He didn't even know who this "Andy" was. "No going off campus after 9 pm." Cain said. Bently sighed. So much for his plans with the Presenters.
The two boys lied in bed together until Bently had fallen asleep. "Bently..?" Cain softly whispered in Bently's ear, testing if he was asleep. He didn't respond. Cain was safe to talk. "Bently I-" He started. He paused, thinking about what he wanted to say.
After a few minutes, he spoke again.
"Bently...I-I love you."