The Blessing and The Curse - Part 15
#15 of The Blessing and the Curse
We could already hear the music emanating from the school gym as Gregory and I exited the limo. The ride was short - after all, Gregory only lived half a mile away - but I don't remember a moment we were in that thing when our lips weren't pressed together. It wasn't the type of lustful kissing that would cause various regions of our body to stir; we both knew there'd be plenty of time for that after the dance. No, this was more affectionate, the kind of kisses you get from someone who doesn't ever want to let you go.
Our grand entrance turned a few heads, but I was actually revelling in the attention now, rather than running away from it. A few older students who apparently had never seen us before thought aloud that Gregory was some sort of chaperone, his baby-blue tuxedo and white hair making him look a lot older than usual - but still much younger than he really was. We walked up to the gym entrance, where the older woman collecting the money gave us a quizzical look, but asked for the admission fee anyway. Gregory reached into his pocket.
"Please," I said, stopping him. "I insist." I reached into my jeans, pulled out a twenty, and handed it to the lady. We got our hands stamped, and strolled into the gym, where My Chemical Romance was blaring out of the speakers.
"C'mon, Gregory," I shouted over the music. "Let's show these guys how a couple of wolves can move."
Gregory smiled, and we both made our way to the dance floor.
Watching Gregory dance was like watching a hypnotist at work. Every beat of the music, his body would sway at an angle I didn't think was humanly possible. He'd probably never heard any of these songs before, and yet he was moving as if he was intimately familiar with each one, like he'd written the words himself. I couldn't help but let the music take hold of me, and soon I was gyrating with him. We may as well have been in the forest, dashing past the trees like we'd done so many times. I bobbed and swung, and it was after a particularly strong jolt that I felt myself slam into the person behind me. I turned around to apologize, only to see the one person I didn't want to run into that night.
"Watch where you're going, fag!" Robbie stood no more than six inches from my face, holding a cup of punch that no doubt he'd boozed up. I could already smell the vodka on his breath.
It wasn't that I was scared of Robbie anymore. That era had long since passed. I was just tired of his constant interruptions. Like the dog that keeps barking when you're trying to go to sleep. "Don't bother us, Robbie," I said dismissively, shooing him away with one hand. "Why don't you run off get a cheerleader pregnant or something."
"Fuckin' cocky son of a bitch now, aren't ya?" he snarled. "Think you're hot shit now, with your prissy little bodyguard over there."
Gregory, who'd been watching us both the whole time, chimed in. "Robbie, I suggest you turn around and walk away before someone gets hurt."
"Is that a threat?" Robbie bellowed. Slowly, the crowd around us started to catch wind of the confrontation, and the dancing slowed to a halt. "C'mon, Queer Eye! Let's go!"
"I'm not going to fight you, Robbie," Gregory replied calmly.
"Well that's too bad for you, then!" Robbie replied, and charged at Gregory. In the split second before Robbie moved, I saw Gregory glance at me, and I immediately knew what he had planned. Just as Robbie made his first step towards Gregory, I subtly stuck my right leg in front of Robbie's left foot. He clipped it, and with the last remaining moments of equilibrium, made a clumsy swing at Gregory, an attack that he nonchalantly dodged. The crowd hooted and laughed as Robbie splattered onto the ground, crumpling his party cup and smashing the rest of his cocktail all over his clothes.
As the chaperones swiftly moved in to restrain Robbie and drag him off the dance floor, I saw a look in his eyes I'd never seen before. Defeat. There was no rationalization to make any more; the two of us had just outclassed the Alpha male of the sophomore pack. He knew it, and now he'd have to live with the fact that he was no longer the big man on campus.
I looked over at Gregory, who smiled at me. "I'm proud of you, Nick."
"Thanks." I smiled back, and took him by the hand. "Let's go for a walk outside."
The cool, fresh air was comforting after spending over an hour in the cramped confines of the gymnasium. Both of us enjoyed the relative quiet, and for a solid ten minutes, neither one of us said a word. But there was a reason I brought him out here.
"Gregory," I began, a little unsure of how to say it, "I just want to say how much I appreciate all that you've done for me."
"Think nothing of it," he calmly replied, looking meaningfully into my eyes. "It's just as gratifying to see you blossom into the special young man you are now."
I nodded slightly, and took a deep breath. "I know it probably hurts, knowing at some point that we'll have to part ways. I mean, you can live forever and I can't."
"It does, at times."
"I guess... what I want to know is, why? Why go through all this if you end up losing the ones you save anyway?"
Gregory looked down at the ground for a moment. "Because, Nick, I have the power to help people. It would be irresponsible of me not to use it."
We were silent for another few minutes, until we reached the outdoor basketball courts - the same place where the two of us had first become friends.
"Gregory, does it bother you that I keep asking you these questions?"
"Not at all," Gregory replied immediately.
And for the first time, I sensed that he wasn't telling me the truth. Something about the tone of voice he used, the way his eyes left mine before he answered, and most of all the quickness that he reacted to the question. It made me wonder if I should press on and ask the question I truly wanted him to answer. But then I remembered his promise, the one he made when I first visited him at his home.
"I don't mean to make you uncomfortable," I said, "but I just want to know one more thing."
"What's that?"
"How did you become a werewolf?"
Gregory looked at me silently for several seconds. I could tell that he was upset with me for even bringing up the subject. "You say you don't want to make me uncomfortable," he said sternly, "and yet you ask me the most painful question there is."
I instinctively stepped away from him. "I... I'm sorry, Gregory. I didn't know. You just said that I could ask you anything, and I was curious..."
The look of hurt on Gregory's face didn't go away.
I turned away from Gregory, embarrassed. "Just... forget I asked." I looked down at the ground, kicking myself for touching what I should've known was a sore subject.
"Nick."
I felt a hand drape over my shoulder.
"I told you... you never need to apologize to me."
I looked back at Gregory. His expression was warm and inviting once again, as if he was ready to confront his own demons.
"Thank you, Gregory."
I turned back around to face him. Gregory took a deep breath, and his story began.
"The year was 1633. I was the same age then as you are now."