It was another lonely night for Taerae. Lying in bed, staring up at the blank ceiling of his dorm room, he couldn't stop thinking about how awful his summer had been so far. He spent the days wasting away in the heat, his body hunched over at his desk, reading up on quadratic fractions and nuclear fission. There was literally nothing else for him to do, other than study. It may have been less painful if his friends were here, but they had all gone home to spend this time with their families, and where were Taerae's parents right now? Oh yeah, frolicking around Europe.
Only two weeks had passed, but he couldn't take much more. If he had to read one more page of The Great Gatsby, he was going to slam his head into a wall. His summer shouldn't be spent studying, I mean, it goes against the whole reason Summer break exists in the first place. There had to be a way of making his days more exciting, but how? It took a little while of thinking, and a convenient head turn towards his roommates side of the room, for a light bulb to go off in Taerae's head.
You see, his roommate Hao loves the occult, and it was something he never really understood about his friend. Hao would regularly talk about summoning demons- just the good kind, he'd say. The ones that bring good fortune, or are fun to talk to. Taerae wasn't superstitious, or was even sure he believed demons were real. Honestly, he had kinda assumed there was some sort of hallucinogenic in those lavender candles Hao loved so much, and that he was simply imagining meeting those demons. He never thought he'd take an interest in the practice, but as the clock ticked scarily close to midnight, Taerae found himself flicking through Hao's spell books.
It was a lot more complicated than he expected. The method in itself wasn't that difficult, but there were a ton of rules he needed to follow, or else, he'd summon, as Hao described, a terrifying, three eyed spider creature [NEVER AGAIN!!!]. To make it slightly simpler to follow, he wrote down a quick cheat sheet of everything he'd need and everything he had to do.
With a bag full of supplies, Taerae carefully pushed his door open, met with the eerily silent and pitch black hallway. Students aren't permitted to leave their rooms past curfew, so Taerae was very cautious as he made his way down the hall. Apparently he needed to do the ritual somewhere quiet and away from other people, and it's not like he wanted to summon a demon in his bedroom anyway. He settled on the old auditorium, which was currently under renovation.
Standing in the middle of the dark stage, Taerae plopped down his bag of supplies and got to work. First he laid down a large ring of salt, then drew a circle with chalk inside it, followed by a large inverted pentagram- Hao said to put a lot of heart and soul into it, so the demons know he cares or whatever. He put a candle at each point of the pentagram and one in the middle, lighting them with a single match. The circle now smelt firmly of lavender. The last thing to do was to put an offering in the middle. Hao had a really long list of different offerings, but Taerae only had one thing on that list, dark chocolate. So, he placed a half eaten bar of dark chocolate in the center, and stood back to admire his creation.
Not bad, he thinks to himself. After double checking the cheat sheet, he was sure he did everything right. This meant he could finally start the ritual. To summon the demon, he needed to chant this short sentence of words he had no idea how to say, and almost immediately, he messes up. About to start over, all of the candles in the room flicker widly, and he could have sworn he felt a shiver race down his spine. It was weird, but probably just a coincidence, and Taerae starts again. When he successfully chants the sentence five times, like Hao had instructed, nothing happens. He stands there confused, chewing on his bottom lip, glancing around the auditorium. Wasn't this the moment when the demon shows up?
"I knew it wasn't real." Taerae mumbles to himself, irritated that he ever believed there was a chance this could work. Crouching to the floor, Taerae was one sharp exhale away from blowing out the candle, when suddenly, a beam of red light went shooting around the ring, sprinting to each corner of the pentagram, until it held a solid glow. "Holy fuck." Taerae never swore, but this was one of those occasions, where it was definitely justified. He stumbles backwards, heart racing, stomach in knots. The brunette was a bundle of nerves, waiting and waiting for whatever would happen next, but it wasn't what he expected at all.
The glow disappeared,
the candles blew out,
and everything went black.
Never in his life had Taerae felt more terrified. Sure summer was boring, but he did not need to go to this extent. He regretted ever letting himself do something this stupid.
Then the auditorium lights turned on.
Taerae yelps seeing a figure standing in the circle, caught so off guard, he falls to the floor. Jaw dropped and eyes full of fear, Taerae stares at the demon, becoming increasingly confused about his appearance. He was tall, blonde, and so handsome, Taerae felt his cheeks turning pink. You could have mistaken him for a human.
The demon didn't speak at first, seeming to examine Taerae in a similar way, but it felt cold and judgmental. "You could have dressed up for me."
Instantly, Taerae looks down to his clothes, almost forgetting that he hadn't changed out of his pajama's. He was wearing a plain white top and some colorfully patterned sweatpants. The thought of dressing up for the demon never crossed his mind, but as the demon stood there in a suit, he felt a little self conscious about his outfit.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Who the hell? Is that some sort of pun?" Ricky scoffs, and Taerae blushes harder, that wasn't his intention. "I forgot how irritating humans can be. Well, you may call me Ricky, son of Lucifer and future ruler of hell."
"I summoned the son of Lucifer?" Taerae mumbles in a shaky voice. "I thought I was summoning a friendly demon."
"You must have messed up; you actually summoned for one of the darkest demon's in hell. Usually you'd be assigned someone by my father, but only I was in his office when you summoned me, so here I am. You should be grateful, if it wasn't for me vising you, you'd be face to face with one of those weird three eyed spider creatures by now." Walking to the edge of the circle, Ricky scowls at the line of salt, then directs his gaze over to Taerae. "Break the barrier, I do prefer to walk while I talk."
Remembering back to Hao's spell books, he noted that demons can only roam the earth freely once the salt barrier is broken. If you don't break the barrier, they'll stay there for 24 hours, and then go back to hell. When the barrier is broken, you can't send the demon back even if you want to, unless they willingly go back inside the barrier. Breaking the barrier for Ricky was a big risk, because he really had no idea what the demon was capable of. However, he'd come this far, I mean he literally summoned a demon, so he decided to commit. With one sharp motion, Taerae swipes a section of the salt away.
"Ah much better." Ricky says as he steps outside the barrier. "Now onto the real question, why have you summoned me here?"
It was about time Taerae got off the floor, so he pushes himself to his feet, unintentionally planting himself right in front of the demon. Their faces were only separated by mere inches, and he felt himself shrinking under the demon's sharp stare. "I was bored." He replies with a gulp.
"Bored you say? I can work with that." Ricky smirks and steps past him, not bothering to look back as he makes his way out of the auditorium.
"Wait! Where are you going?!" Taerae panics, running after the demon.
"We're off to have some fun human-" Ricky swings around for a second, a curious twinkle in his eyes. "I really should get your name."
"It's Taerae."
"Okay Taerae, point me in the direction of your nearest convenience store."
Though the request was strange, Taerae complied, after a long while of contemplating of course. Sneaking out of his room was one thing, but leaving the premises was a whole different ball game. He really didn't want to get kicked out of school, but he felt monumentally pressured by the demon to do as he asked, because disobeying the son of Lucifer was most definitely a terrifying thought.
There was a convenience store only a couple streets away from the school, so he took Ricky there, since it was open all night. The time was currently just past one in the morning, and Taerae couldn't stop thinking about how he could have been in bed right now, fast asleep, but no, instead he was following a demon down the brightly lit isles of a convenience store. What a strange night. Ricky forced Taerae to carry the basket, and piled it full of every strawberry flavored item he came across. When the basket was overflowing, and Taerae's arms were shaking from how heavy it was, Ricky glanced towards the registers.
"Go get a bag."
Dropping the basket as carefully as he could, Taerae looks at the demon in confusion. "Do you have human money?"
"No, but I don't need it."
Taerae tilts his head. "How will you pay for it then?" A long, frustrated sigh is all he receives as a response, but that was enough for Taerae to understand what Ricky was implying. His jaw drops, and he crosses his arms angrily. "I will not let you shoplift."
"Oh it's fine! I used to do this all the time," Assuming that Taerae wasn't going to do it, Ricky grabs a bag himself, and starts packing all of the strawberry snacks into it. "Plus what's good about being the son of Lucifer, if I don't make the most of it."
"Being the son of Lucifer doesn't mean you can just do whatever you want."
Ricky hums in disagreement. "It kinda does."
"Well I'm not getting banned from the only convenience store in the area because of a self entitled demon." Taerae snatches the bag from Ricky and brings it over to the counter.
Holy shit, he just stood up to a demon, and not just any demon, the frickin son of Lucifer. An intense feeling of anxiety washed over him, his heart racing faster each time he scanned an item. He didn't know what Ricky would do to him once he was finished paying, but his brain was filled with the worst outcomes imaginable.
"You're taking too long."
Taerae flinches feeling the hot breath of the demon on his ear. His body freezes, and he's too afraid to turn around, quickly scanning the last item, and tapping his card to the scanner. "S-sorry." He mutters.
Turns out Ricky had no intention of punishing him, he simply grabbed the bag and headed out of the continence store. It was hard to believe Ricky wasn't plotting his revenge for later, but for now, he seemed preoccupied wolfing down those strawberry flavored snacks. His eyes lit up each time he took a bite, creating this soft aura around the demon, that Taerae almost thought was cute.
"So- uh...what's the plan for tonight?" Taerae asks sheepishly.
The demon side eyes him and purses his lips, taking a bite of his strawberry cake pop. "To kill your boredom."
That answer was too vague to put Taerae's mind at rest. That could have literally included anything, and as they had started off the night with a near bout of shoplifting, Taerae wasn't inclined to believe that Ricky had anything moral in store for him.
"And how are we going to do that?"
"Uh I don't know, why do I have to come up with all the ideas?" Ricky groans.
"Because I summoned you for this very reason."
"Hmm fine, I'll think of something, let me see-" Ricky abruptly stops in the middle of the street. It forces Taerae to come to a screeching halt, that nearly sends him tumbling to the ground. As he tries to steady himself, he doesn't notice the blonde positioning himself right in front of him, only realizing when Ricky takes a hold of his chin, and brings their faces dangerously close together. "You're a perfect student, who probably gets straight A's, you strongly oppose breaking the law, and have very little interest in fashion, since your head is always buried in a text book. Your parents don't care about you, considering they left you at boarding school all summer. So, I can assume that what you're looking for is a single night of rebellion, do I have that right?"
Taerae was speechless. He wasn't sure if he felt offended, or impressed that Ricky had figured him out so easily. It didn't help that they were still so close together, and he could feel the demon's breath dancing along his skin. Never had he ever been around someone this handsome; it was impossible for him not to blush and dart his eyes away nervously.
"Guess I'm right." The demon concludes smugly. Though he drops his hold of Taerae's chin, he retains their closeness. "Let me make another assumption, you've never drank before have you Taerae?"
Eyes glued to the floor, Taerae shakes his head.
"Good news for you, I love to party." Swiftly turning on his heels, Ricky heads towards the town.
Yet again, Taerae had to go running after the demon, his panic spiking the most it had all night. "I can't go clubbing! I'll get in so much trouble, and they'll never let a high schooler in anyway!"
"Will you ever stop complaining?" Ricky scoffs. "Maybe you're not bored Taerae, maybe you're boring, ever thought of that?"
Ouch- that hurt, but damn, did it awake something in Taerae. All his life, he had to put up with being called a boring nerd by the popular kids, and ignored by his parents, even though he was literally the perfect son. What had being good ever done for him? He didn't want to be boring anymore, he didn't want to be perfect anymore. The son of Lucifer was right here in front of him, so if there was anytime to break away from those labels, then it was now or never.
Without saying another word, Taerae goes marching down the street.
ZeroBase night club: the most popular night club in town. Kids at school talked about sneaking in there all of time, even Hao had done it before. Taerae was always too scared to tag along, but tonight, he found himself confidently approaching the building.
There was a bouncer at the door, which Ricky dealt with easily. He must have some kind of ability to compel people, because he simply told the bouncer to move aside, and he did, no questions asked.
The loud music, bright lights, sweaty bodies stuck together on the dance floor. This place was so much more intense than Hao had described. Taerae was constantly bumped into, or shoved out of the way, as drunk people navigated the busy club. He felt so out of place, and severely under dressed, he wraps his arms around his body and hugs himself for some sense of comfort.
"Yep this is enough rebellion for me-" As Taerae turns towards the exit, a hand wraps around his wrist and pulls him through the crowd. His heart sinks, seeing the exit slowly disappear from his vision. There goes his chance of escaping.
Ricky takes him over to the bar, where he places his arm around his waist, and holds him close. Whispering something in his ear about not wanting him to get lost among all the people. Taerae didn't really care about the explanation, it didn't help him feel any less flustered.
"Two piña coladas, two mojito's, two cosmopolitan's, two martini's, and two strawberry daiquiri's."
The bar tender nods and gets to work preparing the drinks.
"Woah you ordered a lot." Taerae says, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the amount of alcohol Ricky was expecting him to drink.
"It's your first time drinking, you have to try it all." Ricky replies, completely unphased. "I'll order more once you're done with those."
"Here's your drinks."
Taerae's eyes widen, seeing all ten drinks placed onto the bar in front of them. His heart was racing from the nerves, and he could only hope Ricky wasn't able to feel it, since their chests were practically squished together.
He watches Ricky separate the drinks, five for Taerae-
"Wait that ones also mine." He takes the second strawberry daiquiri.
Well four for Taerae. Ricky was very possessive over strawberry flavored things.
"What do you want to start with?" Ricky looks at him, their height difference meaning that Ricky was staring down at him.
"Anything's fine." Taerae mutters, avoiding eye contact at all costs. He knew how pink his cheeks were getting, and from the low chuckle that the blonde let out, he was sure the demon knew it too. Searching for anyway to cull the embarrassment, Taerae grabs one of the drinks [he didn't know which one it was], and chugs it down clumsily. He could feel the liquid spilling down his chin, but he didn't stop, until all the liquid was gone. The flavor was strange at first, he even scrunched his face thinking he didn't like it, but after a few seconds had passed and it all settled on his taste buds, he realized he actually enjoyed the drink. "That's really good!" Taerae chimes in excitement.
"Glad to hear that." A smirk tugged at Ricky's lip as he took his thumb and swiped up the liquid on Taerae's chin and lips.
The action would have probably flustered Taerae, if he wasn't feeling buzzed already. "I want to try another one!" He lets out a happy giggle and picks up the next drink.
From there, everything got a bit out of hand. Taerae drank a lot, and I mean, a lot. So much so, by the fourth round of drinks, he could barely stand up straight. He'd never felt this good in his life before, completely care free, without a worry in the world. He swayed to the music, feeling such an intense urge to dance, he abandoned the fifth round of drinks, grabbed Ricky's hand and led him to the dance floor.
"You're a different person when you're drunk." Ricky chuckles, but Taerae only pouts.
"But you're not drunk! That's no fun!"
The demon must have had a high tolerance for alcohol, or his tolerance may have been non existent. Can demons even get drunk? Nonetheless, it bothered Taerae; he didn't want to be the only one drunk.
"Who says it's no fun? I'm having a great time."
Despite the very real, alcohol induced annoyance Taerae felt towards that sentiment, his focus swiftly turned to the blonde's smile. "So pretty." He airs his thoughts, cupping his hands on the demon's cheeks. Taerae couldn't take his eyes off of him. There's a lot of beautiful people in this world, but Ricky transcended that word, and it would almost be a disgrace to describe him as such. As if any human could ever compare to what Taerae was looking at.
A soft hand reaches up to caress over Taerae's, pulling it away from his face, Ricky places a gentle kiss on the top of his hand. "You're the pretty one."
In that moment, Taerae felt trapped in Ricky's gaze, unable to move or hold back from saying the words forced out by the butterflies in his stomach. "I've never kissed anyone before, can I kiss you?"
Ricky doesn't answer with words, instead, he leans forward and presses their lips together. Taerae tries to match his rhythm, but being both drunk and inexperienced, he let Ricky take the lead. He kept it slow and sensual, swiping his tongue along Taerae's bottom lip to request entry. Taerae didn't hesitate to let him, his body growing hotter at every skillful move of the demon's tongue. Ricky places his hand on the back of Taerae's neck, adjusting his position slightly, to create the perfect angle to kiss him. It didn't take long for Taerae to become addicted to it, and when they do eventually part, he whimpers at the loss.
"Don't you worry," Ricky comforts him. "That won't be the last time we kiss tonight."
_____
The first thing Taerae felt when he woke up was the pounding sensation in his head. He often got headaches from how much he studied, but nothing had ever hurt this bad. His whole body ached, his mouth was insanely dry, and when he sat up, everything started to spin. He drops his hands to the floor to anchor himself to the world, and after a few seconds, it stopped spinning. He breathes a sigh of relief, as if that had continued, he probably would have thrown up. Now he could think properly, his brain got to work piecing together everything that happened over these past few hours. Though it was blurry, it wasn't that difficult for him to remember everything...yes, everything. His face flushes a rosy red, playing those kisses over in his mind. He couldn't believe his first kiss was with a demon.
Glancing around, he moves his focus onto his surroundings. He seemed to be on some sort of hill, resting under a large oak tree. The moon was still in the sky, so he could only assume it was some time in the early morning still. How he got here, he couldn't quite remember, but he knew it most likely involved the demon sitting only a few meters away from him.
"What time is it?" He asks, attempting to push himself off of the ground. It ends up being a major fail, as his arms buckle underneath him, and he falls back down on the grass. His only option was to crawl over to Ricky.
The blonde greets him with a soft smile, one that Taerae reciprocates. "Around four I think? You haven't been asleep for long."
"Oh, I guess I drank too much." Taerae chuckles awkwardly, shuffling to sit more comfortably, he crosses his legs and rests his hands in his lap. "I should probably head back soon, the lights switch on at six, and I-" He pauses, suddenly feeling unsure of whether to continue or not. He needed to send Ricky back, but why did it feel so rude to say? Still, it was something he needed to bring up, so he chose to word it differently. "Don't you have to get back also?"
There was a switch in Ricky's mood at that question, as if he became dejected, a sadness flooding his eyes. His body slumps, and a sigh slips past his lips, he turns his gaze from Taerae to the moon. "I don't want to go back."
"Why? You're gonna be the future ruler of hell, and I'm sure your dad misses you." Strangely, he felt the need to comfort Ricky, even without confirmation that anything was wrong. Though, he knew his words held little sincerity, despite being well intentioned. He just wanted him to feel better.
"It's not like that, and...I've not been honest with you." After taking in a long breath, Ricky turns back to Taerae. "I'm a huge disappointment to my dad, and he swore he'd never let me take over hell. He even banned me from coming to the human realm, the only reason I was able to come here, was because dad wasn't around to stop me."
"This- this is confusing. What did you do wrong?"
"Well, when a human summons a demon from the darkest pits of hell, we're usually supposed to lure them into making a deal where they sign away their soul. I'm not very good at that. I just want to have fun, party, eat strawberry snacks- seriously, why don't we have strawberries in hell? They're the most delicious things I've ever eaten." Taerae laughs at Ricky's random strawberry tangent, which in turn, lightens the mood a little. Even Ricky seemed to relax slightly. "It all reached a breaking point, when I made this girl cry, not knowing my dad was observing me. But like it wasn't my intention to hurt her feelings, I just couldn't fathom why she would be wearing nylon. That's the sort of fabric we make people condemned to an eternity in hell wear. My dad officially banned me after that point."
It never once crossed Taerae's mind, that Ricky's life could be so complicated. He had kind of assumed that demons wouldn't suffer the same family drama's that human's face, but he had definitely been proven wrong. Turns out, no matter where you're from, parents can be shitty and not bother to appreciate the child that they have. "Would you get in trouble if you stayed?"
Ricky shrugs. "Maybe, but I don't think dad would care much."
"Then you should stay." Taerae suggests quietly. "I still have four weeks left of summer break, and there's a spare bed in my room." It was nerve racking making this offer, not only because it meant he'd be sharing his room with a demon for four weeks, but there was also a chance Ricky would decline it.
"Really? You'd let me stay with you?" Ricky sounded surprised.
Maybe it wasn't the smartest decision, considering he didn't know where Ricky would go after those four weeks, and Hao wouldn't be happy- actually he'd be elated that the son of Lucifer had stolen his bed, and probably wouldn't shut up about it ever, but Taerae liked Ricky's company and genuinely wanted to keep the demon around.
"Yeah, if you stay with me, I won't be so bored anymore."