Page 25

What the hell , Anders? I’m going to give him so much shit for bothering customers. After apologizing to Amanda and Kieran, I seek out my asshole mate and find him grumbling as he stocks the shelves. I pick up a book and smack him gently on the head with it.

“Ow,” he snaps.

“What in the fuck, Anders?”

He recoils from my harsh tone.

“You can’t antagonize customers like that. I don’t care what beef you have with them. Which, by the way, what is your problem with Kieran? He’s a nice guy.”

Anders’s face flushes red with rage. What did I say? “He’s not!” he snarls, lurching to his feet. “He’s the human who seduced my brother, the human who threatens the future of our pack!”

Oh. Well, that explains his attitude toward Kieran, even if it’s still unacceptable. I just saw a whole other side to him, a side I’m not sure I like. “Anders, you’re better than that.” Isn’t he? I wonder, as I remember the fear that flashed across Kieran’s face. Anders wouldn’t have…

“What did you do to him?”

Anders’s anger falters, his shoulders dropping from where they’d hunched around his ears. “I…” His voice becomes softer, smaller, and he breaks eye contact with me. “Leave it, pet. Don’t ask me again.”

“Why? What happened that’s so bad you won’t even tell me?” I grip his arm.

“Because if you knew, you’d bloody hate me!” Anders’s expression shutters, but not before I see the fear in his eyes. “Never ask me again.” And he turns and shoves past a few shoppers as he ducks into the bathroom.

I can’t believe he shut me out like that. What did he do to Kieran that’s so bad he thinks I’d hate him? Anxiety makes my stomach churn.

In preparation for our movie night, I dress myself up as a hobbit. Okay, so maybe my hobbit is more on the twink side, but I hear Tolkien had a lot of queer friends, so I’m sure he’d be down with it.

“Jamie, hurry up!” Jace calls from the living room.

I twirl in front of the mirror so my cloak can spin dramatically around my ankles. Looks good. Now I just hope it won’t get caught in the subway doors. It’ll be easier to beat the traffic if we take the train to Bailey’s place in Queens.

In the living room, Jace has dressed up as an elf and is playing pretend with his plastic bow. I’m disappointed to find that Anders refused to dress up in the costume I loaned him, but that’s okay. He can be boring. I’ll love him anyway.

“What are you wearing?” Anders gives me a double take.

“I’m Bilbo! Or I guess his gay cousin Dildo.” I spin my cloak around. “Cool, huh? Now, let’s go on an adventure!” I say in a terrible British accent and take Anders’s hand, but I can’t help feeling a twinge of disappointment when he doesn’t hold on tight like he usually does.

Something has been eating at him ever since his encounter with Kieran. Maybe seeing him just brought up some bad memories. I wish I could do something to help.

“Jace, excited to watch the movies?” I ask once we’re on the train.

He grins, swaying side to side with the train’s movements. “The first trilogy is the best. The other one is just goofy.”

From where he stands, gripping the pole over our heads, Anders leans down and asks quietly, “What is a movie?”

Oh, right. This will be his first time seeing a movie.

He’s in for a treat. “It’s like a story, but you can see it.

” I don’t know how to describe it. “None of it is real, but it’s acted out.

Actors memorize their lines off a script, which is the story.

Then they act it out as their characters.

It’s like… playing pretend when you were a kid. ”

“Ah.” He still looks confused.

“You’ll see for yourself. Trust me, you’ll love it.”

When we arrive at Bailey’s apartment, we’re buzzed in. Bailey answers the front door dressed up as an elf—pointed ears, medieval dress, and all. They look stunning. “Welcome, ring-bearers!”

Anders looks them up and down. “Bailey? Why are you dressed like that?”

Bailey clears their throat. “You are mistaken, Master Human. I am Legolas.”

Jace gawks. “Hey, no fair! I’m Legolas!”

Bailey stares intently off into the distance, clearly seeing something we can’t. “Inside, quickly! There are orcs coming!”

“What?” Anders squawks as Bailey tugs us inside.

Jess and Bailey have gone all out, even cooking LOTR-inspired food. Anders picks up a piece of lembas bread, the elven bread that can fill the stomach of a grown man with a single bite. He sniffs and takes a nibble.

Jess wears a red wig and a fake beard, clearly cosplaying as Gimli, the dwarven member of the Fellowship of the Ring. “Hey, guys.” She waves.

Bailey rolls their eyes. “Jess, come on, get in character!”

Jess coughs and deepens her voice. “Greetings, Master Elves, Master Hobbit. We have food and drink aplenty, even for elves, I suppose.” She glares at Jace.

Jace holds his head high. “I suppose I can tolerate your presence, dwarf. But only for the sake of the greater good!”

Jess touches the fake axe in her belt. “Keep your weapons stowed, elf, and so shall I.”

Jace huffs. “Agreed!” They both hmph! and stalk dramatically away from each other.

Anders shoots me a confused look. “What is going on? Why is Jess armed? I thought she and Jace were friends!”

I snort, realizing how bewildering this must be for him. “We’re LARPing. Playing characters,” I explain.

“Why?”

“Because it’s fun!” Grabbing a couple of handfuls of the lembas bread for myself, I go and sit on the couch. “I haven’t eaten since second breakfast!” I declare in my god-awful accent, plopping down on the sofa.

Jess turns on the TV and opens a streaming channel. “Urgh! I hate these confounded magical objects! If only Gandalf were here. There we go.” She locates the film collection. “Shall we watch the extended edition?”

“Let’s just watch the regular editions,” I suggest in my normal voice.

Bailey dims the lights, then bounds over to sit next to Jess, who puts an arm around them.

Anders squeezes in between Jess and me while Jace is squished to my left.

Anders gasps as the prologue plays out across the screen.

I bite back a laugh at his wide, astounded eyes as the forces of the Dark Lord Sauron clash with the heroes.

Anders gets up and cautiously approaches the TV, only to jump as the fighting gets more intense.

“Anders, sit down. I can’t see!” Jess says.

I’m trying hard not to laugh as Anders reaches out and pokes the television screen before jerking his hand back. “Incredible!”

Jace covers his mouth, shoulders shaking with giggles.

“He’s just never seen such a high-quality TV before,” I say, laughing nervously, then wildly motion him over.

Anders drops back down beside me, his whole body tense as he watches the fighting. “They’re trapped in that box. What happens if they get out?”

“It’s a TV,” I whisper. “And it’s not real. I promise.”

Anders’s face goes pale as a character dies in the battle against Sauron. “Y-you’re sure?”

I take his hand and squeeze. “I promise, puppy dog. It’s all make-believe.”

He grips my hand tight. “O-oh. All right then.” Anders relaxes more once all the fighting has stopped. He has lots of questions. “Where is this place? It’s beautiful.”

“They filmed a lot of the movie in New Zealand,” I whisper, handing him some bread.

“Why is the little fellow so short? He doesn’t look like a child.” He points at Frodo.

I chuckle. “He’s not actually short. Special effects make him look short.”

Anders loves the scene with the fireworks. I almost like watching him more than the movie as he gasps in awe and astonishment, earning a few amused looks from Jess and Bailey.

He’ll fit in with my friends just fine.