Demons and Diners

Candles and Chases

I take far longer than necessary under the scalding stream of water, hoping to clear my thoughts, but it doesn't help. Chris' words have burrowed into my head and latched on tight, and I can't fight them off. What if I'm just a novelty for him? I towel off, scrubbing at my hair and head twice as hard in the hopes that my nerves will be sucked away with the water.

It doesn't work, of course, and I end up in my room, deciding that I won't just give into whatever he asks, he'll have to put forth some effort. He's got to chase me. That'll prove he's not just using me to get his 'I slept with a human' card. I'm completely committed to the idea. Until my phone buzzes.

Phil: Have a few errands to run today, shall we get dinner together this evening?

And there goes my heart. I battle with the idea of making him wait, or outright declining, or maybe not even responding at all, but it takes my fingers all of five seconds to type my answer and hit send.

Dan: Sure :)

I sigh, dropping to the bed. So much for that. At least he didn't just say 'hey let's hook up' or anything...I hold that tiny, silly bit of hope in my heart.

Phil: Dining room on the 3rd floor, 8pm

I send a quick confirmation, then pause - I have no clue where that is. I'm about to ask him when I remember the extremely useful map on my phone. Alright, time to go exploring. Once I've oriented myself on the map, I scroll up to the third floor and start scanning the rooms. Most are unlabeled, though they look to be living quarters similar to this floor and the first. Toward the end of the hall, I notice the dining room and drop a pin, requesting that the app direct me there.

I follow the navigation to the stairwell - great memories of that, I think as I scoff aloud - and push open the door. By the time I get to the third level, I'm huffing and puffing like I ran a marathon. Fucking hell, I forgot the grand ballroom had such high ceilings...I had to climb the equivalent of four flights of stairs, and I am in no shape to be doing that regularly. Alright, I need to arrive early tonight so I don't sound winded when I meet Phil, I make the mental note as I push through the door.

My breathing still hasn't returned to normal by the time I reach the end of the corridor, standing in front of what my mini-GPS is telling me is the dining room. The door is fairly regular-looking, and I wonder for a moment if it's been perhaps mislabeled on the map. I do a quick double-check, then twist the handle and push lightly on the door. I hope nobody's in here...the thought occurs to me at the last second, and I've already opened it a crack, but it's fully dark and I sigh in relief.

I swing the door open wide, and I'm met with a pitch-black room. I fumble around the walls, searching for a light switch; when my fingers find the panel, I flick the lights on triumphantly. Except nothing happens - rather, nothing happens at first. I'm about to switch them off again, to attempt the old tried-and-true method of turning them on and off until they start working, when I notice a small glow from across the room. Is that...

I make my way across the barely lit space, hands extended at every angle to avoid running into any unfortunately-placed furniture; I manage to find my way to the small flame without incident, though, and shift my focus to inspecting it.

The fire looks realistic, and I wonder for a moment if technology has gotten so advanced that those little LED candles can look like actual flame. My face is about half an inch from the light, and I can feel the warmth tickle my nose. Surely not...I lift a finger, bringing it closer to the wick that looks far too real to be a tiny bulb. The moment before I can touch it, though, two more candles light beside me, right next to the first, and then two more - I realize I'm staring at the first candle in a rather ornate candelabra. I pull back as the flames spread, popping up on more candelabras and smaller candlesticks nearby; before I realize it, I'm spinning to watch the candles light themselves around the entire room, and my breath catches in my throat. It's beautiful, like stars in the night sky, or fireflies, but softer.