Death comes for us all, though never when we’re ready for it. You cling onto life and the mortal coil as long as you can. But the coil unravels, and you’re dropped into the deep abyss of the unknown, before being dragged kicking and screaming into the pits of hell. The icy hand of fate around your throat, the feeling of helplessness and regret for the words left unspoken, the actions left undone, the feelings left unfelt. You plead and cry, “Five more minutes!” That’s all you need, it’s all you want. But there is no escape from the inevitable. 

“Joey, c’mon, get up already! We’re gonna need to leave soon if we wanna beat the rush.” Lance pounded on my door as I tried my best to cling to unconsciousness.

“Five more minutes!” I mumbled through my pillow in what was certainly an inaudible groan. But I didn’t care, I just wanted to sleep. 

“Last time I let you sleep in you complained the entire time we were waiting.” He was right, but bed warm and pillow soft.

I strategically retorted with a grunt and whine, still trying to cling to the sweet feeling of not being fully awake. 

“If you get up now I’ll pay. You can get whatever you want and I promise not to tease you about any of it.” Damn him. He knew my weakness, free coffee.

I begrudgingly rolled out of my bed and grunted with each movement of getting dressed. I could hear the smugness in Lance’s voice as he told me he’d be waiting in the car. Between shitty dreams, waking up cold, and hearing...noises, from Lance’s room, it was going to take an IV drip of caffeine to wake me up properly. I pulled my hoodie over my head and rubbed my eyes. I felt like death incarnate but there was no way I was passing up the glorious lifeblood and feast fit for the gods. Or as most people call it, coffee and pastries.

After a short drive, we arrived at my favorite coffee shop, The Corner Café. Simply walking in slapped you across the face with the smell of heaven, or hell depending on which deity you prefer. The aroma alone permeated my very being, my soul salivating at the knowledge that it would soon be rewarded with the coveted bean juice. It achieved the goal that Evanescence sang about all those years ago. I was waking up inside. 

“Welcome to the land of the living.” Lance grinned at me. “How’d you sleep last night?”

“Oh you know, the usual. Weird dreams and not enough actual rest.” My chest started floating at the thought of Lance catching me and the noises I heard coming from his room. “What about you?”

He looked away, “Oh um, I was up a little late working on a thing. Since, you know, I had a nap before bed.” He looked back at me and playfully shoved my arm, “How was the ending to the movie? Did the girl convince the guy to love Christmas and overcome the death of his twin?” 

“Actually, it turns out, the twin wasn’t dead, he came back and the girl fell in love with him instead and the guy ended up hating Christmas even more.” I kept as straight a face as I could.

“Wait...really?! Wow, they really stepped up their game this year.” 

I couldn’t help but giggle. Lance always liked to tease me so it was sweet revenge when I was able to get him back. 

“You dick, you’re messing with me aren’t you?” 

I burst out laughing, “Well, duh! Yeah, they totally just overcame his hatred of Christmas and had the big romantic gesture in front of a mall Santa. It was so cheesy.” 

“Those movies are always so bad and predictable. Why do you even like them?”

I looked at the floor; maybe it was because I really liked bad movies. Maybe it’s because I love the winter season and the holiday movies hit that scenery and feel just right. Maybe it was because seeing a happy, loving family on the holidays gave me a semblance of hope I might get to have that experience one day. Or...maybe it was the thought of two people who weren’t supposed to fall in love, but ended up defying the odds and did so anyway. 

“I just love bad movies. I’m a sucker for a cut, copy, paste sapfest.” I looked back up at him and smiled. 

We had somehow, during my inner ramblings, reached the counter to place our orders. The barista was wearing a green beanie and had a well rehearsed cheerful demeanor about her. 

“Hi, welcome to The Corner Café. What can I get started for you?”

Lance looked over the menu, he was always so indecisive when it came to ordering. But I knew exactly what I wanted. Enough espresso to jump start a monster truck, and a croissant flakier than a Tinder date on a weeknight.

“I’ll have a large, hot, vanilla bean latte, with three extra shots and a croissant, please.” 

The barista typed in the order and shot me a glance when she tapped the button for the espresso three times. Six shots may be a lot for some, but for me, it was the only way I was going to get through a day of working on four D&D characters for a DM who commissioned me and had a list of notes about each one. 

“Can I get a medium cappuccino and an orange scone?” Lance got out his wallet and handed the barista his card. “That’s a cool pin by the way. Where’d you get it?” He gestured at a pink, blue and white pin that said ‘Pride Was A Riot’ on her jacket. I had seen the color scheme on people’s profiles before, but I never bothered to look up what it was

“Oh, thanks! A friend of mine made it. They sell them online. There’s a business card on the community board near the side door.” She finished ringing everything up. “Can I get a name for the order?”

“Yeah, um, L.” He looked nervous. Was he flirting with her? Giving her just his initial so she’d ask for his full name and number or something? If so, he was doing a lousy job.

“We’ll have that ready for you in a minute. My name’s Madison if you need anything.” 

We made our way to a small table and I pulled out my phone to check my messages. I had gotten another redraw request for the elf bard. I let out a deep sigh and was ready to crawl back into bed. 

“What’s up?” Lance asked.

I put my phone away and dragged my hands over my face in frustration. “I have to edit the stupid bard again. Apparently, the chest isn’t big enough. I had asked for a cup size and drew what they said, but if you wanted the titties big enough to smother a whale, just say so. That’s gonna add on more time and I just want this one over so I can get the rest of the payment and make my portion of rent on time this month.”  I slumped down, letting my face fall into my arms on the table, utterly defeated.

“Dude, it’s not a huge deal. I can cover rent this month. Don’t stress yourself out about it.” He put his hand on my shoulder. 

My head was aching while my anxiety was playing the tambourine in my chest. “You already cover more than half of rent. I just need to do better so I can make things easier.” 

Lance started to say something but was interrupted by a barista calling out our order. There was a moment of silence before I heard him get up and walk away. I lifted my head as he made his way back over with our order and handed me my drink and pastry. I eagerly removed the lid from the cup and took a long, deep whiff of the tantalizingly sweet yet robust elixir of the gods. 

We took our time eating, drinking, and going over the schedule for the following week. Lance was the only one of us with a car, so if I had to go anywhere outside of walking distance I needed to coordinate with him. Luckily I didn’t have much going on aside from working on commissions so the conversation quickly delved into video games, what we were going to do for dinner, and Lance complaining about his coworker who had been giving him grief about his hair. 

He sighed and looked over to the side of the café. “Gosh, they look really happy don’t they?”

I looked in the direction and saw two girls sitting across from each other smiling and laughing. One was wearing a red dress with sneakers, and the other had the whole punk butch aesthetic down to a science. Then the girl in red leaned in and kissed her. I quickly looked away, trying not to be a creep.

“Uh, yeah. They look like they’re having fun.” 

“No, it’s like, don’t you want that? To be able to look a pretty girl in the eyes, knowing that she’s just as head over heels for you as you are about her, and just existing together. Living life and going on dates...sneaking a kiss in a coffee shop.” He was staring longingly into his cup. 

Lance never really dated much. There were a couple of girls who expressed interest but nothing ever really came of it. He deserved to be happy, to get everything he talked about, and more. He was the best person I had ever met and I could never imagine a life without him. But maybe I was holding him back. My constant reliance on him had to have been frustrating. I wonder if he felt like he could even take the time to date. 

“Well, you should go out and find one. Any girl would be lucky to go out with you.” I took a long sip of my coffee, trying hard to mask the weird feeling I had in my stomach from saying it. 

He looked at me and shot me a smirk, “You know, you make a pretty girl when you dress up. Maybe I should take you on a date.” 

All feelings, all emotions, all of time stopped as the burning sensation of coffee ran up the back of my throat, through my nostrils, and shot out of my nose onto my shirt and the table. I started coughing and tried not to make a complete scene. Lance just started laughing as I fumbled for napkins. Damn him, he was messing with me like he always does. I should have known it was all a setup for a joke. 

I cleaned myself up and called him a slew of names for making me sneeze coffee while he giggled the entire time. We sat for a bit longer and finished our drinks while browsing Twitter and sharing memes, then decided it was time to head back home. We walked outside to throw our cups away when Lance proposed the worst bet ever. 

“Hey, you see the trash can over there?”

“The one with the cup sized hole in the side of it?”

“Exactly! I bet I can throw my cup from here and make it in.”

He couldn’t be serious. “There’s no way you could make that shot. It’s at least seven feet away, and the hole is on the side of the lid. I’ve seen you throw a football and let’s just say it’s not happening.” 

He paused for a moment. “Then why don’t you try it. Since you’ve always been the athletic one.” 

Nope, that was one hundred percent, certified, painfully obvious, unmistakable bait. “Oh yeah? What do I get if I make it in?” And damn if it wasn’t working.

“If you make it in, then I’ll make dinner tonight. But if you miss, then you have to dress up as a girl…” Yeah, yeah, the usual wager. “...and go to vampire night at the goth club as a girl.”

Oh, oh fuck, those stakes were like brewing a pot of tea, they were steep. I needed to think about it. Dressing up as a girl around the apartment and Lance was one thing. But we had never done anything in public like that. The goth club seemed like a lot of fun; maybe actually going without everyone else would make the experience worthwhile. Dressed as a girl, though? My heart started pounding at the thought. But if I made the shot, then Lance would cook dinner. It had been a minute since his last attempt at making pasta which ended up setting off the smoke alarm. Maybe, if I made the shot, I could tease him about his awful cooking as payback for calling me pretty. Yeah! There was no downside.

I shot him a cocky grin. “You’re on!” 

I planted my feet, reached my arm back, took aim, and threw the cup as hard as I could. My ego had gotten the better of me once more as the cup fell to the ground about two feet from the can and bounced with the sound of defeat. 

Lance let out a smug laugh and looked triumphant. “Looks like you’re gonna have to...bite the bullet and suffer the punishment huh?” 

“Oh yeah? I bet you can’t make it either. Same rules! Go for it. I dare you!” There was no way in hell he was going to make it, and I’d be damned if I was gonna be the only one enduring a punishment that severe.

He gave me his signature smirk. “I can do this with my eyes closed.” 

Lance then proceeded to look away, cover his eyes, reach back and toss the cup in the general direction of the trash can. That’s when something happened, something that made me question reality’s very existence and whether or not there was a god. Something that left me utterly speechless and dumbfounded in a way I never thought possible. The fucking cup made it in the trash can. Lance opened his eyes, he looked at the trash can, then to me, then to the can, and back to me.

“...did that just...fucking happen?” Lance stared at me with an equally bewildered look, though he had a hint of something else on his face.

I simply nodded. There were no words to describe the dimensional sphere of fuckery we had entered and found ourselves in. Confused and most likely still in shock, Lance made his way to the car. We ended up driving home in complete silence. It felt like there was something that should have been said, but I was too nervous and had no idea what I would even say. Once we got home, Lance went to his room and I began working on the massive mommy milkers attached to an elf. 

It was late in the night, but we had decided to play Mario Kart like in the old days. But this time I was Rosalina and Lance was Peach. The addition of more girl characters made things a bit more interesting. But I was losing, I kept brushing my hair out of my eyes and Lance kept cheating by tapping my head and making my wig move. 

“Haha! I won!”

“You cheated!” I turned to him and stuck my tongue out.

“Doesn’t matter, I won. You know what that means don’t you?” He set the controller down and turned to me.

His eyes cut through me like nothing else could. The black liner, the devilish grin, the way he inched closer to me, one strap of his dress falling off his shoulder. He was inches away from my face. 

“It means you lost, and you have to be punished.” I was promptly pushed over on my back as she slowly crept her fingers up my body. 

She eased on top of me, her legs straddling my lap as her hungry gaze held me in place. Her hands brushed my cheek, eliciting a soft moan from my lips. 

“You’re going to be a good girl and take your punishment won’t you?” 

I felt a wave of sensations rush through me. I whimpered and nodded. Unable to speak, unable to think properly. Each touch was like lightning dancing throughout my body. I felt my lower regions start to stir. She kept moving and grinding on top of me, I couldn’t help it. Her eyes shot down then back at me.

She giggled, “Looks like someone’s enjoying this.” She leaned in close to my ear, “I’m going to make this the best punishment you’ve ever had...Kenzie.” 

My heart stopped, my mind broke, my body was lit like the torches of Gondor calling for aid, her aid. Something set off in me, something deep. I wanted more, I wanted her, I wanted whatever she had planned for me. She smiled, leaned in, and pressed her lips to mine.

“Dude, wake up.”

I shot upright, knocking my tablet over and onto the kitchen floor. My heart was racing as I looked up at Lance, who was staring at me a bit startled from my reaction. 

“Hey, are you okay? Looks like you fell asleep drawing. You were making weird noises so I thought you might be having a nightmare.” 

My face felt hot, there was no hiding how red it was. “Uh, yeah...nightmare. Th-thanks d-dude.” I did the only thing I could think of at that moment and practically ran to my bedroom. 

I didn’t know what was worse, having nightmares about the past, or having wildly confusing dreams about my best friend. I curled up on my bed thinking about what Lance had called me. Where had that even come from? I mean, it’s not like I hadn’t had the stray thought before, everyone has those kinds of thoughts. But that’s not something that could ever happen. Even if I did admit I had those thoughts, Lance deserved so much better; he deserved the world. I could feel the spiral start to set in. It wasn’t the first time I had gone down my own hole of self-deprecation; it was best not to think about any of it. I just needed to stop being so weird and get back to work; I had to do better, I had to be better.

RavenKane

I hope y'all are enjoying this series so far. I really excited to share it and it's been a lot of fun to write. Early access to everything I have for it so far is available through my Patreon. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you like what comes next.