Sunlight gleamed on dark locks. An alarm clock rang at an obscenely loud volume next to the delicate shell of an ear. No answer. It was as though a dead body resided in the room. Other than the shrill scream of the alarm clock there was little else to hear. Outside the un-shaded window birds chirped cheerfully at each other as they awoke. Yet, nothing moved in the room. The room in question was a tidy little room with walls and ceiling a deep green. Black carpeting covered the floor. The rumpled, body-filled bed was a clash of red, blue and ivory skin. The blankets twisted around a slender body, as though they were trying to strangle it. A smooth chest rose and fell evenly as the young man slept on, ignorant of the noise next to him.
The pitter of small feet on carpet and then the door was flung open. A much younger male with darker skin and red hair stood there, fuming. “Faylehn! Get up!!!” The child had managed to pull on a pair of jeans before he’d come running through the house, bent on yelling at his elder brother. The person in question rolled over with a groan. Glaring, the redhead padded over to the alarm clock and slammed his fist down on the ‘off’ button, and then he turned to the sleeping figure…And promptly smacked his back.
The named Faylehn rolled back onto his back, blinking tiredly. “Aysel? What was that for?” Glancing at his abused alarm clock, he cursed and sat up. “Alright, never mind, I got it. Now go…” Shooing his baby brother out of the room, Safi stood and began tearing through his dresser. Gathering the articles of clothing he would need, he rushed across the hall and into the bathroom. The door slammed behind him and seconds later the sound of rushing water could be heard. The sound of a child’s laughter trailed down the stairs where Aysel was pulling on his shirt.
Ten minutes later, Safi rushed down the stairs, yanking on a tank top. Stopping in the kitchen, he pulled his short-sleeved button up on and grabbed the piece of toast his brother had been about to eat. Ignoring the cry of indignation, the young man whirled away, catching his backpack on the way to the front door. He stopped for another second to slip into his tennis shoes and finish buttoning up his shirt and then he took the toast out of his mouth and left. Aysel was left staring after his brother. “Wow…That was faster than last time.”
The young man fairly ran down the street, three blocks later he arrived at his work place, the local library. “H-Hello, Graham…I told you I wouldn’t be late.” He managed a grin, though his face was red from exertion. Graham merely raised an eyebrow at the thin young man.
“You were close…Merely luck this time.” The older male reached out and adjusted the collar of his employee’s shirt. “You’re too relaxed, Safi.” With a sigh, he released the dark-haired young man and shooed him off. The boy ran to the back to put his things away. “I want you to begin shelving right away, Safi! No daydreaming,” Graham called after him.
Swinging his backpack off of his body, Safi grumbled to himself. “Yeah, yeah…I hate re-shelving. I wish he’d give that job to the new guy.” He’d been working at the library since he was fifteen and had gone through his rebelliousness here. He’d had several run-ins with Graham, though they’d always gotten over it. The older man was a good friend of Safi’s; they’d known each other since the younger was very small. So they usually threw comments at one another that others might consider insulting.
Grabbing his nametag, he logged himself in on the computer and sought out the front desk. Grabbing the first couple of books sitting on the cart next to the desk, he nodded at the woman sitting there and walked away, already determining where exactly each book belonged. About eight hours later, Safi logged out of the computer system, grabbed his backpack and waved at Graham on his way out. Sitting in front of the library was a mustang. The young man smiled tiredly and climbed in.
“Hey, Safi..” Jasper pressed his lips against Safi’s forehead. “How are you today?”
“Well, worn out, but other than that, pretty good.” Safi buckled himself in and then leaned back into the plush seat as his boyfriend pulled away from the curb. “It’s been what? Three weeks? Four? Since I last saw you. I should be asking you how you’ve been.” Jasper chuckled.
Safi had started dating Jasper just before his best friend had died. He was a much taller blond that the green eyed young man had always admired. And, finally, his realist daydreams had come true and Jasper had said yes when he’d asked him out. Brown eyes twinkling, the blond started in on his adventures in California. As that deep voice resonated in his head, Safi closed his eyes and soon found himself drifting off. Behind his eyelids, burned into his mind, was an image of what appeared to be another world entirely. At least, that’s how Safi viewed it since it was nothing like planet Earth. Yet, it entranced him. Usually, when he visited this strange planet in his mind, he appeared in different places. This time was no different, yet it was stranger, by far, than any of his other ‘visits’.
This time he was falling. It took Safi several seconds to realize that he really felt wind pushing at his body and he opened his eyes, thinking Jasper may have opened a window. Yet his eyes landed on sky. Pure sky and nothing else. He had barely opened his mouth in preparation of screaming when he slammed into something…large. Something large and warm. As his nervous system slowly came back to life, Safi realized he’d landed on someone. With a groan, he rolled off of the much larger body, his eyes catching color. Long, pale hair….Strange eyes and lots of black fabric. “Ouch….I…Owww…Damn. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to land on you.” He turned to face the person he’d slammed into and found himself staring at a rather imposing male. “Ah…wow.”
