A Little Bit of Hell and Heaven

Part 10

"I accept your terms," Simon says, stone-faced. "Let's get this duel started."

Steven and Simon flop onto the couch and grab their Wii remotes. Steven's wings are spread out behind him. Before leaving his bedroom, Steven had put on a plain white t-shirt. Simon is still wearing his clothes from the day before. They stare intently at the TV as they prepare to play "Mario Kart to the Death."

"Mario Kart to the Death" is a challenge version of Mario Kart that Steven and Simon invented. The rules are as follows: the first race course is randomly selected. After that, the winner chooses the course. The challenge continues until one player lets go of their Wii remote. Whoever lasts longer is the winner. The only other rule is that the only vehicles allowed are the standard Kart and the standard Bike.

Steven and Simon play "Mario Kart to the Death" at least once a month. Steven typically does better because he wins more races. However, Simon knows Steven's weaknesses and is better at enduring through discomfort. This time, Simon is doing better than Steven because Steven is shaking with laughter and having difficulty staying in control.

"You alright there, Steven?" Simon smirks, shooting a red shell at Steven's Kart.

"I can't believe you're playing as Princess Peach!" Steven exclaims, laughing so hard he drives off a cliff.

"You don't think I'm a princess?" Simon pouts, batting his eyelashes at Steven. Steven tries to avoid his gaze, but fails. He cracks up, falling over and dropping his controller.

The moment the controller hits the floor, Steven stops laughing and lunges to grab it. Simon is quicker. He snatches the Wii remote and smirks at Steven.

"That counts!" He yells. "That counts! You let go of the remote!"

"No fair," Steven whines. "You specifically picked Princess Peach because you knew I would think it was hilarious and I would be too busy laughing to pay attention to the races."

"So what if I did?" Simon taunts.

Steven opens his mouth to speak, but thinks better of it. He instead pulls Simon close and kisses him for a few seconds before he is interrupted by another fit of laughter.

"Yikes," Simon chuckles. "You have a case of the giggles." He stands up, pulling away from Steven. "I'm gonna get some coffee. Want some?"

Steven shakes his head. "Actually, I really want some cake or a muffin or something."

"Well, you're outta luck," Simon says. "We have coffee... some stale crackers... and a Twinkie that's who knows how old."

"Well, that's unfortunate." Steven slumps back on the couch, his wings drooping a little. "Actually... toss me that Twinkie."

Simon stares at him for a minute, then shakes his head and throws the wrapped pastry toward Steven. It was a bad throw. The Twinkie went wide and would have landed somewhere in the middle of the room behind Steven if his wing hadn't shot out at the last moment. The Twinkie hits it and lands on the floor near him. Steven picks it up, peels off the plastic wrapper, and shoves it in his mouth.

"Thanks," he mumbles through a mouthful of Twinkie. Simon stares and makes a face in disgust, then goes back to drinking his coffee.

"You are so disgusting," Simon sighs.

"What do you expect?" Steven asks. "I'm a 19-year-old boy and I'm hungry." He walks into the kitchen and pours himself a cup of coffee.

Simon rolls his eyes. The two stand in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and sipping their coffee. Steven's wings are folded behind him to avoid knocking anything off the counter or causing other damage to the kitchen or himself or Simon. Steven downs the rest of his coffee and sets his mug on the counter.

"Well," he sighs. "I need to go shopping today. I need stuff to eat. Do you wanna come?"

"No," Simon replies. "I'm gonna stay her and, uh... do... stuff..."

Steven raises an eyebrow at Simon. "Ok, whatever..." He grabs his wallet, shoving it in the pocket of his basketball shorts and snatches his jacket as he heads for the door. Outside, he wraps the jacket around himself and zips it up to his chin. Unfurling his wings, he launches into the sky.

His hair and clothes whip around him from the wind caused by the speed of his flight and the beating of his wings. The chill of the air stings his face and makes his cheeks pink. He lands gently in front of the grocery store, glad  that he is wearing sneakers to guard his feet from the cold pavement. As he walks into the store, he hears frantic whispers behind him.

"Did you see that?"

"... giant wings!"

"... think he's an angel?"

The greeter at the door just stares as Steven walks by. He keeps his wings folded tightly to avoid disrupting the store. Steven heads straight for the candy aisle. He snatches six different bags of candy off the shelves, then meanders toward the bakery section, where he grabs two dozen muffins before going to the checkout.

Steven dumps the groceries on the counter and pulls out his wallet. The cashier, a teenage girl with red hair and wide eyes, is trying hard not to stare. Her gaze keeps getting dragged back to the beautiful wings poking out behind Steven's back. She fumbles with a bag of candy while scanning it.

"Um, did you - uh - find everything ok?" She asks, trying to concentrate on barcodes and Steven's wings at the same time.

"Yeah," Steven replies, distractedly staring into his wallet.

"Your total is, uh, $35.42," the cashier says, bagging the last box of muffins. Steven pulls two $20 bills out of his wallet and hands them to the cashier. She hits a few buttons on the cash register and counts out his change. "$4.58 is your change," she says, handing him the bills and dropping the coins into his palm, all the while avoiding eye contact. "Have a nice day," she adds with a flustered smile as he grabs his bags. She pulls out her phone and snaps a picture of Steven as he walks away.

Steven walks out of the store and stops in the middle of the sidewalk outside. He stares at the two bags in his hands, contemplating the best way to fly with them. After a moment, Steven shrugs and takes off, the handles of the bags clutched tightly in his fists.