31 Tales (Volume II) - Powers Unlocked

The Year 2000

The Year 2000
"Melissa would you like to go to the disco with me? No that's too forward. Hey Melissa how would you... no that doesn't work either" Thomas pulled at his eyes whilst staring into the bathroom mirror. "So" he turned quickly startled "oh, sorry Charlie I didn't see you there. How's it hanging?" Charlie cleared his throat as he began washing his hands in the sick beside Thomas' "I was wondering if it doesn't work out with Mel maybe we could go to the disco together... I mean as friends of course" he looked down nervously. "I'd loved to Charlie" Thomas patted his friend on the shoulder, hopefully it works out with Mel so I don't have to embarrass you like that mate" he smiled as he left the bathroom. "Embarrass me" Charlie looked up at the mirror. "You could never do that" he smiled with a sigh.

Thomas ran through Charlie's open back door waved to Charlie's Mum who just smiled and shook her head. Thomas leapt over the back of the sofa Charlie was sitting on frightening him to death. "Hey, you made me die in this game. Now I have to go back to the start" Charlie sulked. "Forget about your old PlayStation I have some exciting news" Charlie raised an eyebrow intrigued "pray tell my good sir" Thomas smiled with the cheesiest of grins "Mel said yes, I have a date to the disco" Charlie's Mum walked into the room "oh that is great Tom, don't you think Charlie? Who are you going to ask?" Both Charlie's Mum and Thomas looked at Charlie awaiting an answer. Charlie wasn't sure what to say. "Yeah... th... that's great Tom I'm so happy for you. I'm not bringing anyone I'm just going to go by myself" Tom looked at his friend with a frown "oh Charlie you got to get yourself out there mate you don't want to be single forever."

11th October 2020
"You've been single forever" Charlie rolled his eyes as Tom flipped a burger on his barbecue. "I said you could bring a date and here you are" he waved a spatula at his old friend "dateless" Charlie sighed "all the better really, who decides to have a barbecue in October?" Thomas laughed wholeheartedly "it's nice at least and the food will warm us up. Burgers, Sausages... it'll make up for the boring summer we've had, don't you think?" He turned back to his burgers. Charlie couldn't find an argument against anything Thomas had said so he just sat down on a chair two metres apart from the other two. "Oh that does smell good" Melissa smiled walking out into the garden" she smiled at Charlie and then kissed Thomas, her husband on the cheek. "Did you not bring anyone Charlie?" She asked sadly as she headed over to her chair. "Not today" he replied with a sigh. She nodded as Thomas headed over with two plates of burgers. "Here you go, two burgers for my two favourite people" he headed back to collect his own plate. "So, how is your mother doing? I know she hasn't been feeling good lately" Melissa asked concerned. Charlie smiled sadly "she's doing ok, she tested negative but she wants to self isolate anyway just until she feels better" Melissa nodded as she took a bite out of her burger. "Oh, I love a nice piece of meat" Thomas claimed heading back over. Charlie choked on his burger. They all laughed. "Oh, I almost forgot" Melissa began "I have the perfect sauce for these burgers" she stood quickly and rushed back inside. Charlie stared over at his old friend watching him greedily dig his teeth into his burger, licking the grease from his lips. Charlie imagined those soft lips on his own. Twenty years and he still longed to be kissed by his friend. Thomas looked over to Charlie and stood. He carried himself over slowly. He looked Charlie directly in his eyes and leaned down to plant a kiss onto his lips. The moment lasted a lifetime as both gave into their natural desire. Charlie stood quickly panicked. "This is wrong you're married... I'm not gay" he rushed into the house refusing to look back at his friend. He ignored Melissa as he ran to the bathroom.

"That was wrong" he looked into the mirror seeing his sixteen year old self staring back. "Wasn't it?" He thought over every possibility. He had thought about kissing Thomas and then Thomas had kissed him? That couldn't have been a coincidence. Had he somehow made Thomas kiss him? Did he have the power to urge people to do things? "I'm a Wielder" he gasped at his reflection."he will never want to be my friend now. He's probably telling Melissa and they are planning to kick me out..." a gentle knock tapped on the door "are you ok Charlie?" Melissa asked kindly "you seemed a little out of sorts" Charlie didn't want to open the door. He couldn't look his best friends' wife in the eyes. It was his fault Tom had cheated on her by kissing him. Thomas must have been so embarrassed and confused. "I... I'll be out in a minute" Melissa left quietly. "What do I do? How can I face them. Why me? Why did I become this?" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "No? I have to come clean. I have to come out. It's the least they deserve." He stood up straight and placed a hand on the door handle. "Here we go" he whispered as he opened the door to the long walk ahead of him.

Melissa and Thomas sat besides each other as they watched Charlie slowly walk back to his seat. "Charlie... look" Charlie placed a hand up to stop his friend. "I'm sorry" Thomas blinked in confusion "what happened is my fault. I wanted you to kiss me and then you did. I've wanted you to kiss me for two decades" Melissa placed a gentle hand on her husbands shoulder "Charli..." again Charlie stopped him "I think I'm a Wielder. You know like you hear about on TV I think I have the power to make people do things they don't want to. I hate it. They should just cart me off like they did with those sisters last night. What were their names? Kendra and... oh, I don't know... Walrus Girl?" Thomas laughed and shook his head. "Charlie, I've been wanting to kiss you for two decades as well" Charlie's jaw dropped in disbelief. "What... what do you mean?" Thomas took a deep breath "ever since I saw how sad you looked on your sofa, after I told you Melissa had accepted my invitation to the disco, I looked into your eyes and I felt a pang of regret. I wished I had taken you but I also liked Melissa and I don't mean I wanted to take you as a friend I mean as a date. You looked so beautiful on that sofa. It was the year two thousand, I couldn't ask my best friend to go to the disco with me as... as my boyfriend. It was absurd" Charlie hung on every word and then looked over to Melissa who just smiled "I've always known Charlie. Tom came out to me years ago. He didn't want to marry me if he felt he was lying to me" Thomas smiled nervously. "Love is complicated. I know my husband loves me. Of course I do, I love him just as much but sometimes you can love more than one person at the same time. The heart has no restrictions when it comes to how much love it is willing to hold. Right beside me Charlie you are there. In his heart and who am I to stand in the way of love?" Charlie couldn't believe what he was hearing "you're not a Wielder" Thomas began "well, at least not in the way you thought. You didn't make me kiss you. I wanted to. Melissa and I spoke about it last night and we decided if you didn't bring a date with you I should make my move. It wasn't the best of timings I guess but she made herself scarce to give us room." Charlie shook his head "why didn't you just tell me this years ago? Why now?" Thomas felt guilty. "This year is different to any other, forest fires, a pandemic, people gaining weird powers. Never has there been a time where I genuinely feared the world might end tomorrow. I can't live a lie Charlie. Not if we won't be here tomorrow" Charlie looked at his feet "and you knew about this Melissa?" She nodded "not only that but I encourage it. I want you to, to be the boyfriends you always should have. He's still my husband, that's not going to change but would you consider maybe going on a date with my husband?" She laughed at the absurdity of the question. Charlie looked over to Thomas who smiled shyly awaiting a response. "Ok, I'll go on a date with your husband" Thomas burst into tears of joy. Charlie rushed over to him as Melissa placed a hand her husband's shoulder. "I've never been so happy this is the best day of my life" Melissa cleared her throat "sorry, joint best day with the day I married her" all three people laughed as they thought of what the future could look like for them. As Thomas' laugh grew louder the spatula on the side of the barbecue lifted into the air. He looked over with a joyful tear in his eye "oh, looks like the Wielder was me all along" if there was to be a future. Their only hope was that they'd get to live it happily ever after.