Bits and Pieces

Second 'Verse, Same as the First

"It's nice to meet you...again? Wow, your hair is so long," Scott commented, tilting his head to see better. "I'm used to seeing you with a very short buzz cut."

"I actually just cut it recently. It was a full on mullet for a while but some of the fans didn't like it and I was getting tired of it anyway."

"Fans?" Scott asked, tilting his head in the other direction, not unlike a curious puppy.

"I'm a singer," Mitch explained, hoping he could just leave it at that.

"Of course you are," Scott said with a sweet smile, taking a long drink. "And I'm sure you're a total star."

Mitch squirmed a bit at the question. "I do alright."

Scott seemed to sense that he shouldn't push any further on that topic but seemed incapable of stopping the conversation altogether. He turned in his seat and gave Mitch his full attention. "So what's your story? What's your world like?"

Mitch frowned. "At the moment, it's a bit of a mess. There's like a global pandemic going on. People are getting sick and dying, so we're staying inside and away from people to keep it from spreading."

"That's horrible! Isn't there a cure or anything?"

"They're working on it, but it will be a while," Mitch replied. "In the meantime, we're going a bit stir crazy at home alone."

"I can't even imagine. It's been so long since I've had even a few moments to be lonely." Scott suddenly winced. "That's probably the wrong thing to say to you right now."

Mitch grinned. "No, it's fine. But I came here to escape all of that for a little while so I'd rather hear about you. What's it like in your world? Is there magic?"

"Actually there is," he admitted a bit sheepishly, moving closer until he was in the next seat over. "I've only known about it for a couple years, but there's a whole supernatural world that exists right under the surface of the normal world. Maybe it's like that in your world too and you just haven't discovered it yet."

Mitch almost responded that he'd seen his fair share of magic, but he didn't want to try and be cute and metaphorical, and he didn't want to dwell on what he'd lost. He simply shrugged. "Maybe you're right. What kind of magic do you have? Wizards and witches?"

"Yep," Scott replied. "But also vampires and lycanthropes and faeries."

His tone was nonchalant but that didn't stop Mitch's jaw from dropping. "You're kidding! Are--are you...something?"

Scott laughed, his pretty eyes crinkling up. "I am. It's sort of a long story, but I'm a hybrid, one of the first of my kind. I'm part vampire and part werewolf."

Mitch's eyes widened. "That sounds...complex."

Scott chuckled darkly. "Oh, it is. It's a full moon tonight, so I'm getting in a few final hours of normalcy before things get complex."

"Makes sense," Mitch said, a bit disappointed. "We don't have to talk about all that if you just want a normal night."

"No, no," Scott said, putting a hand on Mitch's elbow. "I don't mind talking to you. Not about anything. I guess I should forewarn you though."

"About what?" Mitch asked, his voice just a bit higher than usual.

"That red jacket looks so good on you, I can barely pull my eyes away, and it's hard to keep my hands to myself." He took a long, deep breath and his eyelids fluttered. "And also... Even though the wolf inside of me is about to take over, my vampire side is very very aware of how good you smell right now, so I suppose there's a reasonable chance that I might bite you."