The Gatekeeper (LGBT+)

Here Beginneth the Lesson

I stumble to my feet, wobbling all the way.

I step up nervously, knowing that once this battle starts, it won't end until one of is gone.

I'm prepared for it.

I want it.

I stand in my living room, staring at the thing that has been haunting my dreams since I was a teenager. Maybe even before. I feel as if he was my boogeyman. He's no longer the boogeyman. I'm not afraid of him, not in a debilitating way.

I bring my hand up to my nose, feeling the warmth of my own blood.

He smirks at me from across the room.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes." I say without hesitation.

"Then let's begin."

I sneer at her as I see his arms lift. I lift my arms as well. A dark, abysmal energy shoots out of his hands, while a pearlescent white light shoots out of mine. The forces collide, causing a backlash that causes the house to rock on its foundation.

And so it begins.

                                                                                      -

24 hours ago...

"Lift with your arm." Jason says as he teaches Eva and Charlotte some kind of self-defense move. He no doubt learned it from Troy. It's familiar to what Porter taught me and what Dad taught him. Jason lifts Eva's arm, "Higher. You want to break noses, not tap them."

I watch them from the porch as they are training in the backyard. It's nearly sundown in Endor Hills. I can feel some kind of tension in the air. It's like I can feel the battle, even smell it at times.

"He's right," I say calling their attention, "You need more arc. Imagine punching Londan Morton."

Eva and Charlotte smirk as their arms hit straight on. I smile at them. Jason seems impressed.

"I think I deserve a drink. What do you have?" Eva asks.

"Juice and milk." I smile.

Charlotte and Eva exchange skeptical expressions before staring at me again.

"David has some God-awful beer in the fridge, behind the juice."

"Classy." Charlotte chortles as they pass me.

Jason stands in the twilight with his hands in his pocket. I gesture to the swing on the porch and we both move to it. I take the first seat and he plops down beside me, causing the swing to lurch.

"Oh...kay, that was something." Jason examines the swing, "So, we're really doing this. Finally?"

I nod.

"It's weird you know. I always thought we'd be surprised and it'd come from nowhere."

"Jason..."

"Whatever you're going to say—"

"I need you to take Micah and the kids away from here."

Jason stares at me with a look of confusion on his face before anger settles, "You're not sidelining me. Not from this."

"Jace—"

"No!" He says angrily, "Do you remember what you said to me all those years ago?"

"Vaguely."