Stolen Souls (boy x boy)

s is not a delusion. Everything I remember from the school, whet

high. I'm not high. The words form a rhythm between my ears. First

ound together in front of me. Which is dumb. You don't cuff someone from the front, everyone knows that. I scheme up a f

flop back on

erily of wilted flowers. A tall black grandfather clock stares back at me, face cracked and hands bent at

ling. Running water. "Screw th

seconds to make out what they're of: roses. Petals and thorns, woven around the legs and back of the pieces in elegant

a little with my good leg to give some resistance. Will Kite and Roslyn be looking for me? They have

ain a B in AP Art History, but getting out of life-th

e, I sling my body across the bed, over the edge. The chair tips. I flip and hit the floor. Throbbing pain sizzles under my skin fro

harder than I thought. I take a de

ng set of polished black boots slip out from the bathroom. Raise

puffed out and his fingers curled around a red toothbrush.

I'm better at lying on the floor in a puddle of

down his chin. Shrugs. "I don't h

y head pounding like someone's taking a sledgehammer to it from the inside. "I think that's unfair, Jules. Also, you know

l smile to match mine. I'll admit, Jules is a good-looking guy. His black hair falls to the nape of his neck and his equally black are impossible to re

to have to deal." He kneels to my

me. Jules and two other people knocked me out and brought me here. I'm grateful they save

aybe fourteen if it's true he skipped a grade. He has no right to hold me here, though I do

lls, all generic in the way your eyes sort of learn how to skim over. Sailboats. Eagles. The stuff you find in office halls. "Don't be offended by that by the way, I'm just saying you seem pretty low maintenance is all." Gold drapes hang behind the bed's headboard. A window. "Shiro?" A chance

spilling white light down on my crumbling city. The mountains block out everything past our twisted water towers and apartment buildings, but I can imagine a glittering city

enroll in Starlight University, Starlight City's university for the best and brightest. I'll find a

wanted to name me 'Milton' and Mom wanted to name me '

operati

ng l

ey bot

also tying in rock-paper-scissors, but my parents play with black ho

a birthmark on the side of my neck. So, my parents were like, 'yeah, Star, sounds like a normal name that won't get our son

of complex plunging into darkness below. If you stare hard enough, you can make out waves of the river's gl

never leavin

, the type who will never bring attention to himself if he can help it, even if he is one of

f out the window if you do

rs. "Jules?" My voice cracks as I shove the window back up, yanking my cuffs. In the glass, his face is red, but the e

I bite the inside of my lip and say, very slowly, in the type of voice that drips, "I don't like being patted."

sure being s

tics, but I guess that would be being snarky. So I lean back, fumbling t

"You're un

n't the

h his sleeve. Won'

You can't arrest me if

ave more jurisdicti

ea

ea

the pain with another layer of pain. "I'm going home. Thank y

lose he looms. But he can't intimidate me. After being bitten by a dude with fangs, J

ight against it. Jules watches wide-eyed as I stretch my arms in front of me and hobble toward the door. I think I might e a little green. I haven't eaten in hours. I don't even know h

nother hop. For a second, I don't even pro

n't the police and I don't know who your 'we' is, I was attacked by a guy with

in it. I land hard on my butt, the cushion too thin to keep

"That's illegal in

er. And a minor. You're a crim

s me again on the head. I hiss. This kid knows how to drive a guy bonkers. "But I

er his shoulder. "The prisoner

wl. "

he smiles. I shift, a growing clenching sensation around

uiet kid. The cute one. My shoulders hunch, hunger pains washing through

uh

Kidnapping m

m n

I never said anything because I get it, Biology is tough

w, and-and why do you care so much about them, anyway?" Jules' arms flail

cause I'll never escape this city, the gangs, my parents'disappointment in their frail, sickl

ople, but Jules' is kind of a 'stormy-eyed' guy at the moment. They've gone all cloudy and dim. I lean forward

his legs like a child. He's dressed all in black, a vision of

in in my hands. "Then

s' eyes like I'm looking into the fabric of his soul so he squirms

're here for the protection of Spiral City

nod, say "sure, as long as you don't bite a chunk out of my arm, " but I can'

h?" I yank my head away and toward the shadowy people draped in the doorway. They wear black boots though

tomach and a heart pounding so hard I think my ribs will cage. I rise on one leg a

hoever they think I am. I drink a little coffee, and that's quasi-illegal for minors in Spiral City, but all-nighters don't run on willpower alone and I'm not a bad guy. I like cats and have a

I ask

don't have

what it's worth, rights apply to every living person in the world." The people in the doorway whisper, but they give us space. Jules leans forward and taps my sleeve in wh

rights because y