Magnet

“She was once a prostitute.”

“Then she must be experienced!”

“She never went to school.”

“I thought you hated school, Roger.”

“I do, but she might not even know how to read!”

Syd couldn’t stifle his giggle for that one.

“Well, what if she doesn’t like you?”

“No one likes me. I only trick them into thinking they do. I’ll convince her just like I did you when we were 10.”

And with that, he shoved his drink into the taller man’s chest and strutted across the room like the jubilant little boy he was inside.

She was feeling like a jubilant little girl herself. Her eyes were bright and her heart was skipping beats at the sight of all the exciting people around her. She didn’t care that none of them were really paying her any mind; she knew she would’ve just embarrassed herself by being boring or ignorant anyway. She’d rather watch with a bemused smile on her face, dreaming about what it would be like to be one of them.

And so that’s what she did – until a baby-eyed boy disturbed her.

“H-hello,” he said behind his hair and an abused smile.

“Who’re you?” she replied in near shock. Shock looked like a scowl on her.

The question was a knee-jerk reaction. She knew who he was – he was a popstar, after all.

“A… a man who’d like to talk to you,” he replied, his smile evaporating. His expression turned even more shy as he withdrew in intimidation. He’d heard story after story about this wondrous girl.

“And what would you like to say?” She felt her dominance kicking in as his dropped.

He regretted giving his drink to Roger as it would have given him something to occupy his hands with and he wouldn’t seem so serious.

“I-I…,” he murmured, “I’ve heard a lot of things about you.”

An actual blush was creeping up her neck. A popstar had heard things about her. Syd took the initiative and sat on the stool next to her.

“What things?” she wondered, dipping her head down to her drink to take a sip.

“Well, that you were once a prostitute, for one,” he replied coyly, incapable of denying another grin.

She nearly spit her drink out all over him. What kind of a rumor was that? She was surely blushing now.

“Look, if you think that that’s going to make me want to fuck you, you’re dead wrong,” she answered, sitting her glass on the bar that they were sitting at.

Syd’s heart sunk, and now he was pink too. How embarrassing an accusation that was, that he would use such a stupid line to pick someone up with. He shook his head vigorously.

“N-no, of course not, I just wanted to know if it’s true or not, because you don’t look like a… a tart or anything,” he said, trying to make up for it.

“Whatever. I wasn’t a whore you daft bastard,” she answered. “Not that its any of your business anyway. You’ve got some nerve, asking a girl something like that.”

“Is nerve bad?” he asked, catching her eye with his.

His eyes were glistening, seeming to reveal a small glimpse of the world happening behind them. She found herself wondering about that world, thinking that perhaps it wouldn’t be that bad of a place. She cleared her throat, not even recalling what had last been said.

“W-what?” she asked, embarrassed to have been so easily mesmerized.

“Never mind,” he said, “My name is Syd. You’re Macie, right?’

She simply nodded. After seeing his eyes in that light, she couldn’t stop looking at his face. She realized how beautiful he was – and he knew he had her enraptured. Spellbound. Whatever you wanted to call it, she liked him.

She couldn’t understand how she hadn’t noticed it before. She saw how cute his little nose was now, his dimple, his thin eyebrows. But it was his body language that had reeled her in the most. The way he sat on his hands, his shy smiles, the batting of his eyelashes. She just wanted to pull him in for a hug.

“I can hardly breathe in here anymore,” Syd said after a moment more of her gazing. He felt guilty for being so charming. “I’m going to go outside for a smoke, I’ll be back soon.”

He got up and began to walk away, when he was stopped by Macie’s hand. The smile crept back.

“I want to come,” she said.

“Okay. I was hoping you would,” he answered, taking her hand in his and leading her out the back door of the club.

They felt relief wash over them once they reached the chilly, clear night air. It felt so much more real in comparison to the swirling lights and generic music of the interior. Syd took a deep breath as he leaned against the brick of the wall, shutting his eyes if only for a moment.

Macie reached in her purse and took out her pack of cigarettes, pulling one out and placing it in his mouth. He opened his eyes and smiled at her as she lit it for him.

“Thanks…,” he told her. She was just as charming as him. The difference was, she didn’t know.

“You’re welcome,” she answered as she lit herself one up.

All she could think as they stood there was that she didn’t want him to go away. She couldn’t believe how quickly she’d become attached to a boy – and just because of his eyes, at that.

Suddenly, he turned so that he was in front of her, and propped his hand against the wall behind her. Now she could look into his eyes so deeply she thought he was going to swallow her. Or that his soul was going to consume her. Or that she would cry from nerves.

He leaned his forehead against hers, taking both of her hands in his and closing his eyes. He seemed to be inhaling the moment as he drew in a ragged breath. They had long since dropped their cigarettes, having smoked hardly a fraction of either of them.

He opened his eyes once more. There was nothing he could say that he wasn’t embarrassed of. She was beautiful, she was gorgeous, she was intoxicating. Did she feel it? He wanted to ask, he wanted to tell her how he felt, but it would be pointless. He just let the moment mean to each of them what it did and left it at that. Perhaps he was scared that her response would disappoint – or even hurt – him.

She reached up and began to stroke his face ever so gently, brushing her knuckles against his cheekbone. He hummed and closed his eyes, like a satisfied pet.

He rested his hand on her hip as he rubbed his nose against hers, making her smile childishly. His sweet touch was allowing her to fall into some sort of trust with him. Finally, she let her eyes close, silently telling his beautiful brown portals goodbye.

He then brushed his lips so slightly against her chin she wasn’t sure if he’d actually done it. He was rubbing her hipbone in circles with his thumb, his other hand in her hair, feeling at its thickness. She was practically salivating for his kiss by the time he actually did it. It was soft, but certain. It was delicate, but important. It was sweet, but firm, and he was paying attention to exactly how each movement was going to make her feel.

She licked his lip and her tongue was soon against his, and sooner their mouths were completely open and against each other. It was as if they were letting out all the yearning that they’d harbored deep inside of each of them – and maybe it was a kind that was only inside of each of them – upon each other’s lips.

Syd finally pulled away, breathless. Macie felt close to tears. They were thinking the same things at the same times, feeling the same things synchronically. There was such a psychic connection between the two of them, it was making their heads ache. It felt as though there was a magnetic field between their brains.

Neither of them could handle it, and they both walked away without another word.