He hated this new house. It was too big and too fancy and there were too many rules. ‘Don’t touch this. Don’t go in here. Take off your shoes.’  Hmph. Stupid

He wasn’t a baby anymore, he was 7 now. He knew how to be careful without everyone freaking out at him every two seconds. 

He sighed aloud as he found nothing exciting when he went searching through the huge attic or any of the bedrooms or even the drafty old basement, save a few cobwebs and huge spiders. It was boooorrrinnng. Leave it to his parents to pick a house out in the middle of nowhere with no other kids around. He still hadn't forgiven his father for taking this new job and ripping him away from all of his friends in Arlington. It really wasn't fair. 

He continued to pout as he made his way outside, heading out towards the lake and the huge garden that covered acres of their new land. It was surrounded by a tall wall of topiary and looked like something you’d see in one of those movies about old rich people. At least it was colorful.

He’d been wandering around amidst the foliage when he swore he heard giggling. He would have been afraid, but it really sounded like another kid.  Maybe there was a neighbor!  

Sometimes his curiosity got him into trouble, but hopefully that wouldn’t be the case this time. He chased the voice all the way to the far wall of greenery. He put his head closer to the leaves, listening as he kept hearing the giggles, and then a quiet singing. He stood back, trying to figure out a way through the thick bushes and into the woods on the other side. It took awhile but after a bit of searching he found his way out. He was able to wiggle on his stomach through a weak spot near the base of the wall and he grinned triumphantly once he was on the other side, dusting off the dirt he would no doubt get in trouble for later.

It much darker now that he was in the thick cover of the trees, but he wasn’t deterred and he took off once again after the voice. After quite the trek he pushed through the brush and into a clearing, complete with small stream, a few huge rocks and a boy about his age chasing some butterflies.

 He laughed when one of the butterflies landed on the tip of the boys nose and he let out a giggle as he tried to look at it. 

The boy gasped a bit once he set eyes on Scott, eyes wide with a look that was a lot like the one Scott usually made when his mother had just caught him doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing. The butterfly quickly flew away. 

“Hi. Are you my new neighbor?” 

The strange looking boy tilted his head and regarded him as if he’d never seen another boy before. He took a step back. 

“I’m Scott.” 

“What is Scott?”

He laughed.  “Me. My name is Scott.” The boy didn't seem sure if he wanted to answer or not. Scott took a minute to look over him. 

Kids sure do dress weird here. 

“My name is Mitchell.” 

“Wanna play, Mitchell?”

The boy just watched him with wide, strangely teal colored eyes and a raised eyebrow before giving a shy nod.  

They laughed and chased the butterflies, watched the fish swimming in the small stream. Mitchell taught him how to climb the trees without breaking the branches or falling and shouted words of encouragement when he got scared. 

They were sitting on one of the huge rocks while they caught their breath after chasing a bunny for quite some time before Mitchell insisted that it was tired and was done playing. 

“Why are your clothes so weird.” He looked over the strange clothes, the embroidered lines, the sparkling silver thread and the icy blues of the fabric. He looked like he came out of that movie with the hobbits and the guys with wigs. 

Mitch pouted and looked down at what he was wearing. “My clothing? You are the one whose clothes are .... weird. You look like a sunset moth.”

“What’s that?” Scott looked down at his now filthy tshirt and shorts and his neon green shoes. He liked his clothes.

Mitch grinned and laughed again. “You are funny.” 

“Your ears are weird.” 

“Yours are too.”

Scott started to ask another question but he could hear the sound of his mom’s voice calling his name in the distance.  He sighed and slid off of the big rock.

“I gotta go.”

“Alright” Mitch’s smile fell as he hopped gracefully from his perch.

“I’ll come back tomorrow. We can play then.” He heard his mom getting closer. 

The boy nodded in agreement.

“See ya later, Mitchell!” He turned and hurried back towards the sound of his mom’s voice and wiggled his way back through the small space.  He took off running towards the house with a huge smile on his face. Mitchell was weird, but he was fun. 

Maybe this new house wasn't so bad after all.

___

"Why are your ears pointy?" 

"Why do you not have eyebrows?" 

"I have eyebrows!" The blonde pouted as he reached up to touch one. "They're just pale." 

The brunette boy giggled. "I do not know why my ears are pointy. You are the first being I have ever met whose ears are not. It is very strange looking." 

"Well, you're the first person I've met who HAS pointy ears. You look like an elf." 

Mitchell giggled again. "Tell me more about people, humans." 

"You should meet my dad, he knows everything about humans. He's a really important doctor." 

"What is a doctor?" 

"How do you know English but you don't know what a doctor is?" 

He giggled again. "I do not know English, but you are also not speaking it. You are speaking Illyrian. The magic is translating. That is how we can understand one another." 

"What's translating?"

"Turning my language into your language and your language into my language so that we can understand one another."

"Is that hard?"

He shook his head. "So, what is a doctor?"

"Oh. He fixes people when they're sick. He works on brains when they're broken. Mom calls him a specialist. Not sure what makes him so special." 

"Oh, he is a healer. We do not really have those. We do not really need them. Fae are not subject to illness, but we do have healing potions. The are really rare and really hard to make, but that is probably because no one has a lot of practice making them." 

"I bet my dad would love that." 

"You cannot tell him." 

"Tell him what? About the healing potions?" 

"No, about any of it. He cannot know about me or my people. No one can. I am not supposed to go through the veil." 

"I'm not supposed to go out of the garden either, but my mom just thinks I like the flowers." 

"Scott, you can never tell anyone. If you do I will have to go away and I will not be able to come back. They will close the veil." 

"Is that like a door?" 

"Similar." 

"Your eyes are green now. How did they do that!?" 

"Oh, they change sometimes." He shrugged. "It just happens." 

"Coooool."

"So you have to keep it secret. Me, everything I tell you." 

"It'll be our secret. We can have a handshake too!" 

Mitchell raised an eyebrow in confusion, but the blonde boy took his hand and after a bit of coaching they soon had their very own secret handshake. 

"So what do you eat?" 

"Scott!" 

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "That's my mom. I gotta go. Will you come tomorrow?" 

"Of course." 

"Bye, Mitchell." He moved his fingers to his lips and made a motion as if turning a key in a lock before taking off to find his mother. 

____

“Mitch!” He hurried into the clearing and smiled brightly when he saw his friend sitting there on their rock. 

“Happy Birthday!” Mitch grinned at him. 

He climbed up to sit next to him. “Thanks.”

“I don't think I'll ever understand why you celebrate your age.”

“Hey, being twelve is a big deal, OK!?”

He laughed that melodic laugh. “Well, in the spirit of celebration, I brought you a gift.”

“Really? I thought you said your people don’t do birthdays.”

“We don’t, but you always tell me that it is customary to give something to the person whose birth is being celebrated.”

He smiled and took the small drawstring pouch that Mitch offered him. He carefully opened the delicate string and emptied the contents into his hand. It was a tiny ornate purple bottle with some type of sparkling liquid inside. He held it up to watch it sparkle in the sunlight that leaked through the center of the canopy.

“It is a healing serum. It can cure anything, but there’s only enough for one use so don't take it for something trivial. Oh, and it can’t bring back the dead. It's really hard to make so don't lose it.”

“It looks awesome.” Scott’s blue eyes found the golden flecked eyes of his best friend. “Your eyes are gold again.”

Mitch looked away with a shy smile and when he looked back they were a swirl of brown and deep green. “Sorry.” 

Scott smiled brightly. “Why do they turn colors? You never want to tell me.”

“They just do.” He shrugged, but Scott could see the blush on his cheeks.

“Well, thank you for my present. I love it.”

“Make sure you keep it safe, and do not tell anyone about it.” 

“I know, I know. No one can know about you. I got it. I won’t tell, I promise.”

Mitch smiled again and watched him through bright eyes. “I have something else for you.”

“Yeah?” 

“Hold out your arm.”

He did and Mitch held it gently in his fingers as he turned it over.

He watched the boys face, all angles and perfect pale skin, fun little indents in his cheeks. Then he looked into his eyes, completely captivated by the ring of bright blue appearing around the very outside of his irises. He loved watching his eyes change color, always wished he could do that too.

He was pulled from his thoughts as Mitch ran cold fingertips over the soft skin on the inside of his wrist and as he did two shimmering gold lines moved and swirled into a beautiful pattern before settling into his skin like a tattoo. He didn’t feel a thing.

"That's awesome! But, my dad will kill me if he sees it!"

“Only we can see it, do not worry. Now if you ever need me you can just call my name, think of me and I’ll come.” 

“Any time? Anywhere?” 

“Only emergencies, Scott. I could get in a lot of trouble, you know that.”

He smiled and nodded as he ran his finger over the lines. 

"You only tell me every single day. How could I forget?"  He gave him a playful smirk which Mitch didn't seem all that impressed by. "Anyway, I have something for you too.” 

He seemed confused. “But it is not the anniversary of my birth.”

Scott laughed and moved a bit closer. “It’s OK. Sometimes you can give a gift just because you want to.” 

“Alright.”

He smiled and leaned over to place his lips against Mitch’s cheek, lingering for a few moments before he pulled back with a blush.

Mitch smiled and touched the cheek with the pads of his own fingers. “That was nice.”

Scott giggled. “Your eyes are gold again.”

Mitch pouted and closed them quickly as Scott burst out laughing.

______

“Mitch?” 

“Yea?” 

“I wish I could show you the beach. You’d like it.”

“I’ve seen beaches before.” 

“Yeah, but those are time pocket weirdo beaches. They aren't the same.”  

“I wish I could show you my world. You’d love it.”

“I wish you would let me bring my friends to meet you, they’d love you.” 

“Scott, you know I can’t. You know what would happen.” 

“Why? No one would know! They wouldn’t tell. They wouldn't try going through the veil!” 

“It’s too dangerous. We made a pact. You can’t tell anyone or-“

Scott sighed. “Or you’d have to disappear and make me forget. Right.”

It got quiet and tense for a couple of moments as they lay there on the blanket staring up at the stars. 

“I wish you could meet my friends too. They would think you’re really weird, but they’d like you.” 

“Do people get picked on for being gay?” He looked up at him.

Mitch shook his head. “Love is different where I’m from. It doesn’t matter who you fall in love with, but love is sacred. Once you give your heart away, there’s no getting it back.” 

“You, like physically rip out your heart?”

“No, silly.” He laughed and rolled his eyes. “Like, when my father fell in love with my mother…  he didn’t do it on purpose, but he did and it was forever. When she died...” He trailed off for a moment as he tried to keep it together.

Scott slid his hand over and intertwined their fingers together, squeezing gently.

Mitch gave him a small smile and continued.  “He still loves her and only her, and will continue even when many years pass. It’s a forever bond and forever is how long he will mourn her.”

“That’s really sad. I can’t imagine never being able to love again. That has to be the worst feeling ever. So, I guess you have to be really careful who you give your heart to then.”

Mitch turned back to look at the stars in the sky. “Does your mom know you’re camping out here?”

“I’m 14, I don’t have to ask permission to go camping in my own backyard.” 

Mitch laughed that melodic laugh again.

“Hey, Mitch?”

“Hmm?” 

He sat up a bit on his elbow. “Can I give you a present?”

“If you want to.”

Scott fidgeted a bit but finally he just gave in and leaned down to press his lips to the rosy pink pair he kept dreaming about. He felt tingles all through him, and it took him quite a few moments before he pulled away.

Mitch smiled up at him and they both sat up to look at each other.  “I liked that present.” 

Scott grinned. “Yeah?” He leaned in again and shared another and then another and another.

He held the golden eyed boy as they both practiced the art of kissing, over and over again.

___

Mitch sat and waited, but no one came.

He wasn’t surprised by now, but that didn’t stop the disappointment. 

As Scott got older he was hot and cold, distant and yet sometimes so loving it left him giddy and breathless.

Tomorrow was another day.

___

“I’m telling you he’s real. He can do magic and his eyes change color and he has pointy ears just like in the movies. He's beautiful.” 

“Scott, there’s no such thing as fae or whatever you called him.” Kevin shook his head. 

“I think you’ve been spending too much time with Avi and his dragons.” Kirstie joked.

“Or maybe he just can’t hold his alcohol.” Esther smirked.  They all giggled.

“Guys, I’m telling you, he’s real. Just trust me.”

“How much further.” Esther whined a bit. 

“We’re almost there.”

He finally came to the clearing and let his three friends come in behind him. 

“Aww this is so cute. Can we come camping here?” Kirstie spun around as she looked, almost losing her balance and teetering slightly as she laughed. "We could build a bonfire or something." 

“Mitch?? Mitch! Come out, I want you to meet my friends!”

“Is your boyfriend shy?” Kevin laughed a bit as he took another drink from the bottle in his hand.

Scott looked around, calling his name again, even going so far as to touch the golden symbol on his wrist that only he could see, but still no sign of his friend.

“It’s ok, Scott. This place really is beautiful by the way.” Kirstie tried to be supportive of her friend, but all of this talk about his imaginary boyfriend was really starting to worry her.

“I swear he’s real. He’s probably just hiding. But … he doesn’t need to. They’re good people, I swear!”

“C’mon. Let’s go get some food, I’m starving.” Kevin shook his head and headed back the way they came.

He took one last look around and headed off behind them with a sigh. He didn’t see the boy in the trees with tears sliding down his cheeks.

__

“MITCH!!!” He called his name again, standing in the forest for the third time that week and still he got no answer. He’d started to panic when the golden lines that always made him feel close to Mitch no matter where he was looked as if they were starting to fade.

He gasped as he turned around and there he stood. 

“What took you so long! I’ve been trying to find you all week! I need you to fix it! Something’s wrong!” He held up his arm, but Mitch just gave him the saddest look. 

“I told you not to tell.”

“I’m sorry, I had a few drinks and they didn’t believe me anyway. You made me look like an ass.”

He just stood there, eyes locked on the tall blonde. 

Scott seemed to pick up at least a bit on the sadness radiating in waves from the other boy. He walked over to him and lifted his chin to kiss him softly. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.”

“I’ve never seen your eyes turn lavender. It’s really pretty.” He ran his thumb over his cheek. 

Mitch just nodded, still melancholy. 

“I’m going to go get the tent, ok? I want to hold you tonight. ” He hoped that would help cheer him at least a bit and it gained him the smallest hint of a smile from those lips.  He gave him one last kiss before he hurried off.

The sad boy gave himself to Scott completely that night, clinging to him after it was all over. Scott kept kissing his face, telling him he loved him, that he was beautiful, perfect. He would hold on tight to this memory, the last he would ever have. 

As Scott slept he easily slid from his arms. He placed one last kiss on his cheek. “Goodbye, Scott.”

He closed his eyes as the magic escaped from his fingers and the golden lines on his wrist disappeared. His own cheeks were wet with tears that would continue to fall for a long time.

He took one last look at the sleeping blonde before he left the tent.

He didn’t have to see to know that his eyes had turned silver, just like his father’s had.

______

What the hell?

He awoke in a tent in the middle of the woods, for some insane reason.

I’m never drinking again. 

He groaned as he packed everything back up and headed back for the house, still wondering what in the hell had possessed him to camp out in the woods alone when he had a perfectly warm bed only a few hundred feet away. He was nearly 18 for Christ's sake! He was way too old to be camping alone in his backyard!

He kept feeling like he was forgetting something, but as the days passed the feeling faded.

Life moved along…

Just like normal.