previously titled beserk
A young gay witch with deadly powers on the fringe is traveling the U.S. in search of a substitute for suppressing his magic and a way to control his powers. Ezra Pierce was born into a religiously strict family with no one...
"there is always a glimmer in those who have been through the dark" w o r d c o u n t : 1,084
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Peace. The next six months consisted of peace.
There was no more sightings of witches, no more immediate threat of vicious vampires thirsting for revenge, no more worries of imminent death.
Just training and occupying time.
"Once more, Ezra." Alice prompted, and a bolt of lightning struck the crude dummy made from old clothes that Rosalie discarded. "Now from your hands." Alice prompted gently, careful not to break the concentration that it had taken him an hour of mediation to amass.
Electricity crackled in Ezra's palms and a bolt of lightning struck the dummy, lighting it on fire. "Fuck yes!" Ezra breathed, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand.
"You're doing amazing, Ezra." Alice praised with a fond grin. "C'mon, I'll make you and Niki dinner."
"Sorry Alice, I can't tonight. Niki and I are going to Emily's for dinner. I was supposed to eat with them the day we left with Bella." Ezra explained, lifting his shirt to his nose. He cringed, dropping the shirt and taking a deep breath of fresh air. "After I shower of course."
Ezra took the stairs two at a time, peeling off his clothes as soon as he shut the door to his room. He showered quickly and when he got out, Ezra shouted in surprise. Niki was laying on his bed, reading a thick book so worn he couldn't make out the words printed on the spine in gold lettering. He hadn't heard the door open at all, in fact, he hadn't even noticed her until he grabbed his clothes out of the wardrobe.
He scrambled to keep his grip on his towel as she glanced boredly at him. "Hurry up and get ready. Rosalie went hunting and now I'm bored."
"Get out so I can change!" Ezra protested as embarrassment radiated from his cheeks to his ears, turning them bright red at the tips.
"Please, I'm not into the situation you have down there. Just get dressed I'm not gonna look." Niki rolled her eyes, her brown eyes unwavering from her book.
Ezra sighed, keeping his towel high on his hips until he tugged on a pair of dark wash jeans.
"Wear the blue flannel, Paul likes it best," Niki remarked, smirking at Ezra as his fingers brushed the aforementioned shirt.
"I don't dress for Paul Lahote." Ezra huffed.
Niki let out a sharp laugh. "You should put that on a t-shirt." She paused for a moment. "Why are you so against being with him? He's a nice guy. Sure he's had a rough past with the trouble and a bit of a womanizer and some anger issues but he's changed. He changed for you."
"I just can't. We're better off as friends, anyway." Ezra insisted, snatching his bag off the bedside table.
"Yeah, that's what I told myself about Rosalie and now I'm getting some bomb pussy!" Niki called and instantly Ezra groaned.
"I don't want to hear about her vagina that's disgusting!"
Ezra wore the shirt and as soon as they entered the room Paul complimented him on it.
Niki started cackling and Ezra's face turned bright red. "What'd I say?"
"Don't worry about it, Paulie. Em! I'm here, I'm queer, and I make some bomb ass potato salad!" Niki cheered, heading into the kitchen where Emily was cooking chicken and mac and cheese.
"What'd I say?" Paul asked quietly, sitting beside Ezra on the couch. Instantly his cheeks warmed and he bit his tongue.
"It's nothing. Just Nik being Nik." Ezra brushed off slyly.
"How are you doing now?" He asked worriedly. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good. I actually got you something." From his pocket, Ezra pulled a small engraved silver case. "It's bound patchouli. You burn it like sage and it's meant to create a barrier to ward off vampires. The smell constricts the vessels in their brains and stops the venom from traveling through their veins and causes a lot of pain." Ezra explained as Paul opened the case. "Just in case. I made some for everyone." Beneath the patchouli was a braided leather bracelet with a piece of oddly fractured quartz in the middle. "The quartz was struck by lightning. My lightning and I had it made into a bracelet. A thank you, for everything you've done for me and dealing with me while I was bedridden."
Paul was at a loss for words, his lips parted in shock as his breath hitched. "I-I. Thank you, Ezra."
The moment was quickly ruined by Kim. "Oh thanks for showing us all up, Ez. Now I gotta step up my game!"
Ezra laughed, grabbing his bag to distribute the patchouli. "A little goes a long way so be careful and if you need any more just ask, I grow it myself. You burn it in every perimeter room every two days." Ezra explained, tossing some to Kim. "Nik, I didn't give you any so the smell doesn't get to Rose."
"Yeah, I know. She's around enough it's not that big a deal." Nik brushed off with two finger guns.
"Okay kids, dinner time!" Emily called, setting the chicken on the table. "Go wash your hands, Embry, you grab silverware, Jared, you grab drinks, Paul, you get plates out." Emily ordered as Paul quickly wrapped the bracelet around his wrist.
"Looks good on you." Embry remarked with a smirk, rolling his lip between his teeth.
"Thanks. The guy that got it for me is a knockout. Although he really shouldn't have because I'm not worth that much." Paul said with a small smile.
Ezra's eyebrows shut up and he seized Paul's hand. "Don't you ever say that again. You're worth all that and so much more."
Paul swallowed thickly, the words that he couldn't dare say just resting on the tip of his tongue, begging to be released. He exhaled sharply, his focus fading from anything but the boy he stood toe to toe with until Nik's voice broke them both out of their stupor and shocked them away from each other, shooting them back like lightning had struck between them.
"Paul, come on, we need napkins to eat unless you want everyone to wipe their hands on their clothes like a neanderthal!"
