Pitch Episode 39: Let's Talk
#52 of Pitch
Halloween night. It was a special holiday. Humans usually dressed up to go trick or treating, but creatures often stayed home. No one wanted to celebrate a holiday where people dressed like them as a joke. Luckily for Daybreak, something was going on that night for the creature community. Velmer was throwing a Halloween party in his underground hideout. Humans weren't allowed because Riz would be there. Not even Nerf brought his girlfriend, but that might have been for another reason.
Despite my goblin friend knowing of Halloween, he, like many others, never got to celebrate it.
The party was next door, but somehow I was running late. I didn't know if it was a good idea to wear a costume or not, so I tried to wear something semi eventful. With a leather jacket, blue jean's, and explorer hat, I looked like an extra from an old hidden temple movie. Still, I was missing something to make the look perfect. I dug around the back of my closet, looking for anything to tie the pieces together until I came across a forgotten shoebox. It held the magic gloves I got from Beth. The gloves I put away when I decided to give up magic. I hesitated before taking them out, but I put them on. Just as I remembered, they were a perfect fit. They even matched the leather of my jacket. I was satisfied with my look and ready to go.
Unfortunately, when I turned around, I nearly died at the sight of Danger standing behind me. I remembered a time when nothing snuck up on me. My ears were like sonar. I suppose my skills must have been slipping.
"What more do I have to do," he said.
"What?"
"I got our old job back, got a girlfriend, I even went on our favorite TV show, but not only do you refuse to use magic, you joined a secret society that hates it," he continued.
I felt my pockets searching for my cellphone frantically. Danger waited for me to realize it was gone before he tossed it back to me.
"You don't know what you're talking about," I argued as I caught the device and tucked it away in my jacket pocket.
"We have the same memories, do you really think I can't figure out the password to your phone?" Danger admitted as I pushed past him to leave the room.
He caught my arm, but quickly let go once I turned back around.
"I saw all your messages. You hate me, and you want me gone. I can understand that, but you aren't willing to do anything about it," he taunted me.
The sound of the house air conditioning kicking in broke the silence of the room, but not enough to lift the air.
"What do you want?" I asked plainly.
"For you to be more like me," he answered.
"There's not enough crazy in the world for that," I joked.
"I've tried being patient, I've tried being mean. How are you so sure a life without magic is worth living," he questioned.
I could tell it was an honest question. He wanted an honest answer, but I was annoyed.
"How are you so sure it isn't, and why do you care," I said.
"Because it saved me! When nothing else could, magic saved me!" Danger exclaimed as his presence exploded, and I felt the need to step away.
He tried to compose himself, but it was too late. I saw that unhinged thing. He carried it in his eyes, in his scars, and even the words he wouldn't say. That monster inside of him is what made us different. Forget about the black fur, whatever grew inside him when he was a captive of Scribe made him my opposite.
"Magic doesn't solve everything," I said.
"Sure it does," he answered just as quickly as I took my next breath.
"Then why are you still a rabbit?" I posed a question I knew he couldn't retort.
He held his tongue.
"Right. If you went through my phone, you should know I'm doing better now. I have Wes, I'm going to a member of The Ring, and I'm going to be happy," I spoke when he couldn't.
Our conversation was over. I turned to leave the room.
"For now, but all of this won't last forever. Eventually, high school will be over. What life are you going to have without magic? All the friends in the world won't pay bills or buy a house. Friends won't keep you from getting stuck in a dead-end job or being left behind. How long can you go on being the side character to other people's lives? Magic is your only shot at being the frontman," Danger went on a rant, spouting accusations and paranoia while I twisted the doorknob.
I almost let him get under my skin. He knew exactly what to say to scare me. He knew exactly how to make me doubt myself and my decisions. He was the perfect devil's advocate. He stood for everything I denounced, and he made it look easy.
Why did it always look so easy?
But he made one mistake. He let me know it was all a game. He let me know he meant to change my mind. I understood his motivation, even if I couldn't understand the reason behind it.
"You were never dating Vista, were you? You did that to mess with my head," I spoke as I pushed the door open.
"Are you listening to me!?" He exploded.
He tried to use some sort of spell to pull me back into the room, but something stopped it from working. My gloves. They were made to keep any magic I cast from hurting me. As they glowed, I came to the realization they would keep anything Danger did from hurting me as well. His look of frustration as we both noticed his lack of power was the perfect sight to take with me as I left.