The Modern Adam and Eve

Chapter 19

While the party took place down bellow in the hallways and ballrooms, up above, at the top of the stairways, Alastor watched the festivities take place like a phantom hiding in the shadows. Although he had been invited to this affair he couldn't help but feel like an outsider. A specter haunting the edges of a world that felt just out of reach.

He wanted to join in, he really did, but he was afraid of how everyone would react to him. What if he didn't fit in? True he now looked and knew how to act the part of the well-respected gentleman. But that didn't change the fact that he wasn't normal, he knew that for sure.

"Nervous?"

Someone had spoken from behind him. Alastor turned around, there stood Maximus, wearing a finely tailored suit with a blue jacket in contrast to the red jacket Alastor wore.

"Oh, it's you again." Alastor said. "Never thought I'd see you again."

"And I see that you finally made your escape." Maximus smiled. "So how does it feel?"

"Well it's nice that I don't have to sleep in a stable anymore. But being here is just as scary as being back there."

"I know what you mean. I remember my first gala. I was eight years old, and I was expected to play piano for all the guests. Sir Cassius's bone-headed idea to show off in front of all the snobs."

"Oh? How did that go?"

"Don't laugh but I...I fainted."

"Fainted?"

"I couldn't help it! All those eyes on me, my father and Sir Cassius spending the whole week before threatening me if I messed up, it was too much pressure."

Alastor held in his laughter but couldn't help grinning.

"It was the second most humiliating experience of my life." Maximus continued.

"Second? What was the first?"

"The time I fainted in my anatomy class. I was studying to be a doctor and it was my first time seeing a brain getting taken out of a body. An already dead one, mind you!"

Alastor chuckled, the tension in his chest easing just a bit.

"I suppose it's comforting to know that even the most polished among us have their moments of weakness."

Maximus nodded, his expression turning thoughtful.

"It's true. We all have our fears, our insecurities. It's what makes us human, or... whatever we are." He glanced around the hall, where laughter and music floated through the air, a stark contrast to their quiet corner. "But you know, sometimes it's those very moments that connect us to others. Everyone here is putting on a show, pretending to be something they're not."

"Is that how you see it?" Alastor asked, intrigued.

"Absolutely. Look at them." Maximus gestured to a group of elegantly dressed guests, their laughter ringing hollow. "They're all trying to impress each other, to fit into some mold of perfection. But underneath those fancy clothes and polished smiles, I bet they're just as scared as we are."

Alastor considered this, his gaze drifting back to crowd. The sounds of laughter and music swirled around him like a distant echo. The flickering candlelight cast shadows that danced along the walls, but he remained rooted in place, a solitary figure in a sea of revelry. Anxiety coiled tightly in his chest, a familiar companion that whispered doubts into his ear.