My First Time

“So when was your first time?” Slade leaned back on the couch smiling, if he wasn’t so damn cute I would have hit him.

“None of your business.” I tossed a throw pillow which he dodged effortlessly.

“Come on, tell me?”

“Fine.” I tugged on the zipper of my hoodie thinking back to a time before I knew about the Doorknob Society. “It all started inRome.”

0O0

I was fifteen and it would be a year before I found out anything about the Old Kind and my unique talents. Dad had gotten a contract to perform his magic act for two months and I was thrilled.Rome is by far one of my favorite cities, with its history and culture it’s a living, breathing place. And the citizens are as amazing as the city itself… at least some of them are.

I sat people watching, my hood pulled up over my long blonde hair blocking out the light, my lighter in my hands as I flipped the top open and closed. One of dad’s rules was to always have a lighter on you, he didn’t smoke and either did I. But being a magician a lighter was a practical tool to always have available. Plus it gave me something to play with to pass the time.

“Ciao!” Bruno yelled across the plaza and I waved to him. The sun was high in the afternoon sky and I was sitting on the edge of the Trevi fountain letting the mist of the water cool me off. Tourists mingled with locals on their lunches. I tossed my phone into my hoodie pocket and brushed my hair behind my ear.

“Chow, I wasn’t sure you’d make it.” I smiled not able to conceal my joy at his having enough time to meet. He reached out grabbing my hand and squeezed it as he sat down. He leaned over and I met him kissing him lightly on the lips. I pulled back after a moment feeling awkward doing something so personal in public.

“And I wasn’t sure you would be here?” He smirked and I rolled my eyes.

“Just cause I’m American doesn’t mean I run around with every cute Italian I meet.” I laughed.

“So you admit I’m cute.”

I shoved him and didn’t answer. Of course he was cute, his short black hair was brushed back and framed his face perfectly. Olive colored skin complimented his bright green eyes and he was always smiling and happy. In sharp contrast to me with my hood pulled up and lily white skin, the sun was not my friend.

“How much time do you have?”  I asked as he looped his arm through mine and pulled me close. His cheek was near mine and I did my best not to fidget and run away, this whole relationship thing was not something I was good at.

“Enough, Tesoro mio.”

My Italian wasn’t perfect but I blushed when he called me treasure. My hair fell forward and I reached up to push it away and felt him pull back. I glanced up and saw him staring passed me.

“What’s wrong?” I turned and saw three men approaching us their eyes locked on him. “Bruno?”

“We need to leave now.”

He grabbed my arm and yanked me up. I stumbled and clutched my satchel that almost crashed to the ground. Tossing it over my shoulder I got my feet under me as we ran around the corner of the Trevi fountain passing a door that looked a couple centuries old. My stomach turned and the hairs on my neck rose, I didn’t know what kind of trouble Bruno was in but I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like it.

We reached the end of the block and Bruno spun around trying to decide which way to run. I glanced back to see the three men charging down the street. I was getting a little tired of this. I wrapped my hand around Bruno’s wrist and jerked him forward. I dragged him after me and tore down the street as fast as my feet would go. Reaching another intersection I didn’t wait to choose I turned left and ran.

“Where are we going?” Bruno shouted as we dashed passed a group of tourists.

The clicking of camera’s and shouts of bystanders we crashed into didn’t slow me. I knew in my gut this was not a good situation. I skidded to a halt, one of the men chasing us suddenly appearing at the end of the street.

“Damn.” He must have split off from the others and circled around to cut us off.

“Oh, no, what are we going to do?” Bruno’s head twisted back and forth looking for an escape.

“Dove sono i nostri soldi, Bruno?” The man sneered paying no attention to me.

I made out most of what he said and realized that they were looking for money from Bruno.

“I don’t have it.” Bruno’s voice cracked and the man shook his head and smiled.

I didn’t like that at all, I could hear the commotion behind us and I assumed the other two would be here shortly. My hand slid into my pocket and my fingers wrapped around my lighter, my fingertips brushing against bits of paper.

The man glanced in my direction looking me up and down like you might inspect a horse, my stomach turned at the look on his face.

“Forse mi prendo la bambina, invece?” My Italian isn’t great but that definitely sounded like it had something to do with me, which I didn’t like one bit.

“I’m not going anywhere.” I yanked my hand out of my pocket and a fireball exploded toward the man. He screamed dropping to the ground as I snatched Bruno’s hand and jumped over the man rolling on the ground.

“What was that?” Bruno stuttered out the question.

“Flash paper, my dad uses it in his act all the time.” Score one for dad always making me practice his act. I took a quick glance behind us and like I figured all three were after us once again. But this time they weren’t just focused on Bruno.

“Damn it.” I swore under my breath, why do I always seem to make situations worse. A side alley came up on our right and I pulled Bruno down it, jumping over a stray cat that hissed and spit as we went. The buildings on either side were so close you could stretch out your arms and touch them at the same time. The alley ended at an old wooden door with a brass doorknob. I grabbed the knob and twisted, nothing. The door was locked.

“It’s locked? We’re trapped!” Bruno’s voice trembled and didn’t make me feel any better about our situation. He spun around and started to run back down the alley leaving me stranded. He stopped before he got a few paces and started backing up.

“Per favore.” He mumbled and I knew the men were at the end of the alley and coming our way. I dropped down and searched the door handle for a keyhole I might be able to pick. Another skill dad had made me practice; if I made it out of this alive I needed to remember to thank him.

There was none, just the damn doorknob. My hand rested on it, the brass cool to the touch. Under layers of wear and age I could see scroll work had been carved into it. My stomach lurched and my legs began to quiver. I’d performed in front of large audiences with my dad and had never gotten scared. I was now and my body reacted. A wave of nausea overtook me and I thought I might lose my breakfast. My fingers gripped the knob tighter and my vision swam, everything taking on a blue shade. I forced myself to stand and glanced back at Bruno who was staring at me his face drained of color. I was about to walk to him when I heard a whisper behind me.

Turn me

It seemed such a reasonable request that I tried the doorknob once again. It clicked and turned, the door gliding open effortlessly. The alley was illuminated with light and for some reason I thought of dad and his magic act. How he would do his Disappearing Man trick and walk through a door on one side of the stage and exit on the other.

I reached out grabbing Bruno’s hand and pulled him toward me. This was our chance to escape, yet he was struggling to get away from me. I was a bit disoriented but I knew we needed to leave. I pulled him toward me and tripped falling backward through the doorway. The last thing I saw was the look of horror on the face of the men who had been following us as they ran terrified from the alley.

The world shifted and became insubstantial as we drifted through nothingness, the image of my father stayed with me and suddenly everything came into stark reality and Bruno and I crashed to the floor.

I struggled to my feet and dizzily glanced around. The auditorium where my dad performed his magic act was empty at midday and I was standing on the stage near one of my dad’s door props. Bruno was on his hands and knees wrenching uncontrollably, I rushed to him placing my hand on his back. He flinched and crawled away from me, pulling himself to his feet and spun to face me. All color was gone from him and he looked as if he hadn’t slept in a week.

“What kind of a freak are you? What did you do? That door leads into….” He stammered and his voice trailed off as he pointed at me, I didn’t know what he was talking about I was still trying to figure out how we got here.

“What?” I was shocked at his reaction and took a step toward him and he backed up.

“Stay away from me, I don’t know what you are freak. But don’t touch me.”

That was the second time he had called me freak and after I had saved us. “You little worm! I saved your butt is what I did.” I was angry and recovering a lot quicker from what had happened then him.

“Just stay away from me,” he said and rushed off the stage and out of the auditorium.

I watched him run off and walked to the edge of the stage sitting down in the dark and sighing. I had no idea what had happened or how we got here, but one thing was perfectly clear I was terrible at relationships.

0O0

“That was the first time I used my abilities, satisfied?” I dropped onto the couch beside Slade and he chuckled and draped his arm over my shoulder. He leaned in close and whispered to me.

“Yes, now about this boyfriend?” I laughed and grabbed the pillow beside me hitting him square in the face with it. See, still not good at relationships.