floriography [ stories five ]

elder shrub || two

[ yeehaw i'm not as hungover as i thought i'd be

are y'all ready bc i'm not tbh

someone pls teach me how to use garageband on my phone

stay safe!
lew.]

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Things started to go downhill when Logan didn't heed Lewis' warnings. He started snooping around the faerie circle, thankfully never crossing, but it was enough to make the more traditional of the fae suspicious.

Odd whispers started around their little community, rumors about why the teenage boy suddenly began hanging around.

"He's trying to steal one of us away!"

"He's here to kill the king!"

"He goes to the same school one of the princes does, and the prince brought him here."

This obviously didn't bode well for Lewis, considering his father was already suspicious of him for multiple reasons. Including the fact that he'd even wanted to leave their community to go to school in the first place.

——

One day, when Logan followed him home, Lewis made sure they had a little bit of extra time. He pulled the football player into a little copse of trees, out of sight of any part of the circle.

"Stop hanging around the damn barrier, you stupid son of a goblin. Everyone is suspicious of you and me, and it's not reflecting well on my family," Lewis snapped, crossing his arms as he tried to look intimidating (which was just a giant joke the poor bastard can't be intimidating).

"What do you mean, 'everyone'? I thought it was just you and your parents out here?"

He sighed and looked around, making sure he didn't see anyone else around before mumbling, "You'd better keep this a secret if I tell you."

"Tell me what?" Logan asked curiously, a spark lighting up his eyes in a way that made Lewis forget the agitation he felt.

"There's an entire world out here that you don't know about. Faerie folk? Like the stories and stuff? We're real."

"So... like Tinkerbell?"

All Lewis could do was stare for a moment before asking, "What the fuck is a Tinkerbell?"

——

Logan took the news surprisingly well. And when Lewis asked him if he'd skip school so he could explain the rest of the story, he agreed in a heartbeat. So, they met in a park not too far from the school, concealed in the area underneath a couple pine trees.

"What do you wanna know the most?" Lewis asked, holding his necklace tightly as he leaned forward.

Logan, who clearly had a bunch of questions ripping their way through his thoughts, settled on a simple first one: "Have you ever watched a Disney movie?"

He shook his head, but then paused and shrugged. "Unless it's been played in class, then... no. We, um, don't have movies or TV or anything like that."

"What exactly are you?"

"Uh, my dad is kinda... the king. Well, my mom was a princess and he married her and then my grandparents faded and now they're the king and queen. And that makes me royalty but they don't exactly like that I wanted to go to a human school, so I'm kinda just there."

Logan just stared at him. "You're just raising more questions than answers."

"Okay, so... you probably know fairies as these cute lil helpful creatures, right? Well, that's somewhat true, but there's like three or more different categories, and I'm supposed to know all of them but it's confusing and I bribed my tutor to let me off the hook—"

"Dude, you're rambling. And confusing. You're making zero sense," Logan told him, reaching out to rest his hand on Lewis' knee. "Chill, dude. Start out with the basics."

Involuntarily, a dark blush rose to his cheeks, so he glanced away for a moment. He wasn't expecting to draw so much comfort from a simple touch, and it was overwhelming. "So. Faeries with an 'e' are typically the more tricky ones. Some people categorize them as the evil ones, but... do I seem evil to you?"

"You seem scared. And stressed. I won't let anything get you, don't worry."

"It's not me I'm worried about. They're more likely to attack you than me."

Logan grinned. "You don't need to worry about me either. You're not the only one who's got a secret identity."

"If you really are part goblin, I'm going to scream."

"It's not part goblin. I promise. I'm just keeping it to myself. What's with the necklace?"

Lewis raised the jar up far enough that he could look at the contents. "Uh... Since we're not really supposed to pass the barrier, it's a charm thing so I can leave. There's like— I think these are bird bones and some weird plant I've only seen at home. My friend Daisy made it, she's great with stuff like this."

"Okay... What's the barrier and why can't you cross it?"

The rest of the school day was spent like this, mostly Lewis answering Logan's questions. Then, Lewis asked a few questions of Logan, and then it was time for them to head home. Logan gave the other boy a much-needed hug before they parted.

It was the best day Lewis had had in a long time, and honestly, he wished it didn't have to end.

——

When Lewis got home, he was greeted yet again by his mother, but this time, there was a panicked expression on her face.

"Your father is home and asking about you. Go change your clothes, then head out to the garden." She instructed, already walking away.

He did as instructed. And in a split second decision, he tucked the charmed necklace into his shirt instead of handing it off. Call it instinct, but something told him he might need it.

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[ okie dokie i was planning on finishing the plot in this part but,,, i got derailed at the tinkerbell bit and it threw me completely off.

next part is the resolution!