Chapter Six, Daman

“Do you happen to have any black candles and some red ink with a quill?”

“Why of course,” Damon's lips curled up into a devious grin. “Meet me at the school. I know a place where we can get them.”

“Will do, see you in a bit. Bye.”

“Bye~.” Daman pressed the end call button and then put his phone into his back pants pockets.

He walked over to his closet and pulled out one of his many hoodies and pulled it over his head, causing his raven black hair to stick up all over the place from the static. He walked over to a mirror and pushed as much of it down as he could with a brush and then ran his fingers through his fringe in a sideways motion, flattening the end of it to frame his face. After he gave up on flattening the top of his head he pulled away from the mirror and walked over to his shoes. He pulled his black converse on and then rolled his pants down over the shoes. After that he checked himself out in the mirror one more time, messing with the hair on the top of his head again, and then grabbed the keys and his wallet off his desk and stuffed them into the front pouch on his hoodie. Daman walked out of his room and out of the house then made his way towards the high school.

At first glance no one would have noticed the silhouette of the boy with his raven black hair and black hoodie along with his black skinnies standing next to the building. The only amount of color were the faded white parts of his converse. The night sky didn’t help either. It seemed to be a starless night, more known as a cloudy night, but the raven boy thought that wasn’t as poetic as starless. It was too bland, nothing interesting about clouds in the sky. But no stars. That’s something different.

Much like him actually. He tried his best to present in a bland way by having his hair straight down, almost in his eyes, and emotionless simple colored black or grey shirts almost always being covered up by a black hoodie. Even his shoes lacked any form of personality. Just plain old black converse. You could even say he presented himself as a cloudy night. But why say he’s like a starless night when he see’s himself as a cloudy night? Simple. He may not present himself to be interesting in anyway whatsoever….but he is. He has secrets much like everyone else, maybe his are worst than some, but he still has his secrets. What are his interests? Why does he present himself all gloomily? You see all these questions? He get’s off on those. It makes people question him, makes them wonder. Much like the phrase “a starless night.” And that’s why he’s much more like a starless night than a cloudy one.

The short sixteen year old rested his back against the cold brick walls of a wide high school. He always wondered why they called it big, yes it was indeed very spread out, but large? Not so much. It was all one floor, which did have it’s advantages, but with a school of this size it would need two floors in order to be comfortable to fit its student body size. The school would probably look better too if it was two stories. More aesthetically pleasing. Something about a two storied building just looks better than a one story. At least, to Daman. Everyone has their opinions.

Daman shoved his hands into the front pouch of his hoodie and slid down the bricks to an even colder concrete sidewalk. A slight breeze blew bits of his hair over his eyes and he curled in on himself some. Such a cold night. It’s not even fall yet, what is this? He moved his keys from one finger to another, the quiet sound of metal clinking on metal soothing his ears of the painful silence working with the screeching of what shouldn’t be a fall breeze. Sighing he stood back up, his butt numb from the cold, and wandered around in circles. What could be taking so long? How long has it even been? He looked up at the sky and saw a bit of the moon peeking out from a gray blob. He cheerfully let out a “hello friend, nice to see you coming out of your shell for once.” and then laughed at himself a bit, glad no one was out walking during this time. Of course if they were, they would have no room to judge because no sane person takes walks at this time of night.

Sadly, the moon didn’t keep him company for long and went back into hiding while the rest of the blob rolled forward and blocked its view yet again. Daman averted his eyes from the black sky and turned them towards the road next to the building. Every now and then he would see two yellow dots appear in the distance and watch them grow bigger as they got closer, every time at about halfway he would get himself ready for a car to pull into the lot but then go back to his leaning position on the wall when the cars showed no sign of turning. After about fifteen minutes, more like an hour to Daman, a blue car slowed down  and turned into the school drop off zone. Daman pushed himself away from the wall and strode over to the door, opening it slowly and climbing into the warm space and loosening himself up from the cold outside.

“Not used to this cold weather. Especially around this time of year. Is it always like this?”

“Eh, give or take. Usually we just plan for three different kinds of temperatures throughout the year at any given time. I got a winter coat and pair of shorts in my trunk just in case I need one of them.”

Daman laughed softly and clicked the buckle into the socket and adjusted himself against the tan leather seats.

“Here, this’ll warm you up.” Salem reached over and pressed a button on the control panel that had a chair drawn on it with some wavy lines.

Daman sighed happily and thanked him. He snuggled up against the warm chair and enjoyed the feeling of his buns getting toasted. Salem turned up the radio and sat back in his chair and drove out to the light.

“Where are we going?” Salem turned to face Daman.

“You know where the circus is being held?” Salem quirks his brow but
nods. “Yeah...we’re not stealing from the circus tents are we dude?”

“Nah, my dad owns it and I work there. He always tells me if my friends need anything from the tents I’m welcome to let them borrow it.”

“Alright….” Salem’s voice trailed off as the light turned green and he pulled out into the street.

The two boys sat in a comfortable silence. Daman situated himself so that he could comfortably look out the window while still managing to absorb all the heat coming from the chair underneath him. Damans mind trailed off and the music around him slowly turned to blurred background noise as his eyes stayed fixed on the blurring of trees and other cars passing by. He felt the car turn down a dirt road, the smooth ride of rubber on pavement quickly turning to rubber jumping on dirt and rocks, making popping and cracking sounds as it tossed them about the car. He watched the light fade to pitch black except for the bright yellow lights in front of them due to the sudden abundance of trees. Daman closed his eyes and smiled a bit.

“Just like home.” He thought. And it was. The rough road reminded him of when he and his late mother would go get in the car and go drive down dirt roads for hours on end and just talk. It was always three times a month. Once in the beginning of the month, then the middle, and lastly the end. The middle was always his favorite one because it was all usually just sitting in the car and listening to music while watching the trees. When he was a little kid he always thought it was a way for his mom and him to become closer and get to know eachother better, but as he got older he soon realised that she would force herself to talk. So as a favor he stopped answering her questions and the two of them sat in a comfortable silence. That’s really when he started enjoying the car rides. Just him, his mom, and the trees. No words. Nothing. It was a place for both of them to clear their minds of any troubles they were having. He really missed those times. He missed any time that he had spent with his mom to be completely truthful. He never told her that he loved her, and he wishes that he had told her and hopes that his mom always knew that he did. The car made a jagged bounce and Daman snapped out of his mind and gripped Salem’s arm and the door.
“Mom be careful!” Daman spat out panicky like.

“Hey, hey, calm down. We’re fine, just drove over a rock.” Salem’s heart dropped a bit, a heavy thought falling into his head, and patted Daman’s arm and looked over to see his face plastered in fear. “Dude you okay?”

“Yeah….yeah. Sorry for calling you mom.” When he finally registered what had happened he quickly let go of Salem’s arm and softened his face.

“You’re fine….” Salem stopped and rolled into an open field and drove over to an area fenced in with orange tape and then put the car into park. “So uh, why did you call me your mom and tell ‘her’ to be careful?”

Daman turned his head to the side and shrugged. “I dunno, guess I wish I had said it sooner.”

“What do you mean?” Daman shook his head and unbuckled himself then quickly climbed out of the car. Salem sat there and watched him climb out, making no movement himself. Daman stared at the boy in the car and tisked then grumbled. “Are you getting out or not?”

“Yeah sorry.” Salem turned the car off and got out then walked towards one of the tents, followed by Daman. “You know you can always talk to me if you need to.” He put an arm around Daman who instinctively leaned into him and sighed.

“I don’t know. I did just meet you.” Daman smirked and walked ahead of the other.

“Oh so you’ll kiss me but you won’t trust me with your troubles. You’re lucky you’re cute.” Salem laughed and caught up with the other.

Daman giggled and grabbed at the other’s hand. “I’m well aware of how lucky I am. I managed to get you.”

Salem linked their fingers together. “Got me? I wasn’t aware that we were dating.”

“Do you want to be?” Daman looked over at him and swung their arms lightly as they walked.

“Hmm, sure. Why not.” Salem smiled and kissed Daman’s cheek.

Daman pulled the taller boy along with him towards the area that the performers used to get ready and weaved the two of them all the way to the back, entering the biggest on there. He pulled the red and gold trimmed flap of one of the tent to the side and stepped, Salem following after him and closing the flap back up. The inside was neatly cluttered with trunks full of overflowing clothes and various stage props or equipment lined up against the edge of the tent. Lanterns were hanging in from hooks that had been set up on wooden beams staked into the dirt ground, unlit of course, causing Salem to bump his head on one of them. Daman let out a soft chuckled and turned on his phone’s flashlight to make it easier to see, stopping in front of a cluttered make up desk near the back of the tent. It looked rather old, the paint was fading and chipping, but it had been taken care of. The previous owner took great care of it and it obviously showed. The vanity was full of makeup stage makeup and had clothes hanging off the side of it as well as some personal items such as drawings that children had made or gifts given to him. A single black rose sitting in a slim vase stood out to Salem the most. Daman walked over to the vanity, still holding onto Salem’s hand, and started moving things around and off to the side. He let go of Salems hand and then handed him three medium black candles that had been next to the rose and then turned back to the desk. Daman moved papers, most likely to be flyers, to a new spot and then picked up a long thin cardboard black box. He put the box into his pouch pocket and turned to Salem. He held his phone up and guided them back out of the tent to the car. When they got back to the car Salem placed the candles into the same bag that Omile had given him for the flowers and Daman placed the box in the front up on the headboard and crawled back out of the car, closing the door behind him.

“Looks like it’s gonna rain.” Salem said looking up at the sky.

“Yeah.” Daman said distantly, focusing more on Salem’s shirt than anything else.

“So uh, your dad works at the circus?” Salem asked, turning his head back to the other.

“More like owns it. I work in it though, one of the performers.” He pulled Salem
closer to him.

“Oh really? That’s hot.” Salem whispered as he leaned toward the other and kissed his cheek.

“Is it now~?” Daman smiled and pulled Salem closer to him. “You should perform with
me.”

“Nah, not my kinda job.” He kissed him softly and then faintly pulled away. “But I will come and watch you.” He kissed his jaw softly.

“How sweet of you.” Daman turned his head to the side as Salem kissed down his neck.

“I try my best~.” Daman giggled as Salem pressed the smaller boy up against the cold car door. Daman ran his fingers through Salem’s blond curls as the taller boy pressed his soft lips to the other’s vulnerable neck, leaving tiny marks where his lips once rested. One of Salem’s hands weaseled it’s way into the back pocket of Daman’s jeans and the other one rose up the front of his hoodie and under his shirt, softly rubbing his thumb along his hip bone. Daman leaned into the touch and Salem weakly protested when Daman cupped both of his cheeks and pulled him away from his neck but quickly got
over it when soft lips pressed into his own. Daman tilted his head and leaned in closer to Salem, only pulling back slightly when he felt a cold rain drop fall on his head. Daman looked up at the sky and giggled again then pulled Salem back into their kiss. Salem moved his one hand out from Daman’s shirt and fumbled around the car door looking for the handle, finding it, and then pulled Daman off of the door so he could open it. Daman fell into the back seat and moved the bag of candles and other things in it to the car floor then backed further into the seat as Salem followed him in and closed the door behind them.

      Daman slid down to a laying position on the cold leather seats and Salem held himself over the smaller boy with his hands pressed against the tan leather on either side of Daman’s head, causing rain droplets from his hair to drip down onto the other boy’s face. Salem giggled as Daman instinctively closed his eyes and scrunched up his nose while wiping the rain off of his face with the back of his hand. Daman pushed Salem’s hair back and laughed while pushing Salem’s falling glasses up for the other and got a kiss for what he presumed to be a thank you, wrapping his arms around the others neck, and pulling him closer. Salem smiled into the kiss and played with the loose strands of the others hair splayed out on the seat, handling it carefully. Salem pulled the

other's shirt up slightly and ran his fingers lightly along the other boys stomach. Daman giggled and swatted at the other’s hand, pulling his shirt down.

“That tickles.” Another drop of rain fell onto his face and Daman wiped it off again.

“Oh does it now~?” Salem slowly raised his shirt up again and slowly slid his finger down the other's stomach.

Daman tried holding in his fits of giggles by covering his mouth with one hand and tried to stop the tickling feeling by attempting to grab onto Salem’s hand.

“Alright, alright fine. You win, I surrender.” Salem kissed his nose softly and moved his hand away from the others stomach and then softly kissed it.

Daman smiled and pulled his shirt off, Salem seeing it as an offer to kiss wherever, and softly stroked Salem’s cheek. Salem slowly kissed up his chest and left soft kisses on the others neck, causing Daman to let out small squeaks and gasps in surprise, and then pulled him into another kiss. Daman wrapped his arms around Salem’s neck and sat up, resting his back against the door. Salem followed him and ran his fingers along Daman’s chest and across his stomach, only stopping to mess with Daman’s pants. Daman pulled away from the kiss and pulled Salem’s hands away from his pants.

“Not yet.” Daman patted Salem’s cheeks.

“Alright.” Salem smiled and kissed Daman’s nose, who erupted into a fit of giggles.

“Is it okay if I say I love you? I mean, I know it’s early but….I think I do.” Daman asked
while messing with the other’s shirt collar.

“Seeing as how when I first met you the first thing we did after introducing ourselves was making out I think it would be okay to say that you love me. Especially since I feel strongly towards you too.”

“Well then, I love you.” Daman pulled him down by the collar and kissed him softly,pulling away after a few seconds and kissed his nose.
“We should head back, my dad’s gonna kill me and my sister if he finds out I’m not at home.”

“Alright.” Salem pulled away from him and climbed to the front of the car and situated himself in the passenger's seat. “You got your license?”

“Yeah.” Daman climbed to the front of the car as well and plopped himself into the driver's seat and held his hand out for the keys.