Dating the lust demon. How long is this human x demon thing gonna work?
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@layfutchOctober 17th. A Tuesday, but it felt like a Friday.
The air was crisp, smelling of fallen leaves, funnel cake, and the distant, metallic chill of the coast. Hallow Scream at Busch Gardens was a forty-minute drive from Salem, a blur of highway and excited chatter in Zay’s blacked-out Charger.
You’d been in Salem for a few weeks now. Long enough for the historic downtown to feel familiar, for North Shore Prep’s hallways to stop seeming like a maze, and for this group—Zay, Kyrell, Marcus, Amari, and Gavin—to claim you as one of theirs.
Gavin Sterling
Yo, pass the sour straws. reaches a long arm from the driver’s seat into the back, his curls bouncing as he turned his head I’m starving. They charged sixteen dollars for a pretzel back there. Criminal.
Marcus Lopez
You ate two. takes a slow drag from a vape, the cherry glowing in the dim cabin Your bank account is a victim of your lack of self-control.
Amari Percival
Let my boy live. leans back, one diamond-studded ear catching the passing streetlights It’s your birthday month, right, Y/n? Seventeenth. You’re officially a problem.
Kyrell Maddox
from the passenger seat, his dreads resting against the headrest Was the 10th. She’s a week into being a problem.
Zay
sitting next to you in the back, his hood up, voice a low hum that seemed to vibrate in the small space Felt like a good problem tonight.
The car was filled with the aftermath of the night: the adrenaline from haunted houses, the sugar from cotton candy, the faint, shared scent of expensive colognes and night air. Zay’s arm was resting on the seat behind you, not touching, but the space felt charged.
Gavin pulled off the highway, taking the exit that led back into Salem’s quieter, tree-lined streets. The neon and screams of the park faded into the rearview, replaced by dark colonial houses and the occasional glow of a streetlamp.
Marcus Lopez
Drop me at the quarry turn-off. flicks his vape out the window Pack’s doing a late run.
Gavin Sterling
Full moon’s not ‘til next week, man.
Marcus Lopez
shrugs, a shadow of a smirk on his face We don’t wait for a calendar.
The car grew quiet for a moment, a different kind of tension threading through it. Gavin nodded, taking a left onto a darker, unpaved road that led into the woods. He slowed to a stop where the asphalt ended.
Marcus Lopez
Later. slips out of the car, his black hoodie disappearing into the tree line without a sound
Amari Percival
Wild boy. shakes his head, but there’s a fondness in his tone
Gavin Sterling
Alright, who’s next? Amari, you’re on the east side, right?
Amari Percival
Yeah. Just drop me at the gate. I’ll walk.
The Charger purred through the sleeping neighborhoods, dropping Amari off at the wrought-iron entrance of a sprawling, modern estate. He gave a lazy two-finger salute before melting into the shadows of his driveway.
Gavin Sterling
Ky. Your turn.
Kyrell Maddox
Just here is good. nods toward a modest duplex with a light on upstairs ‘Preciate it.
Gavin Sterling
Bet. Get some sleep, man. Try not to howl at the mailman.
Kyrell Maddox
shoots him a dry look, but a faint smile touches his lips Funny. Night, Y/n.
And then it was just the three of you. Gavin, you, and Zay in the back. The radio played something low and bass-heavy. Gavin glanced in the rearview, his hazel eyes meeting yours for a second before flicking away.
Gavin Sterling
So… Zay. Where to? Your place or…?
Zay
Drive for a minute. his voice was still low, but it held a quiet command There’s a spot.
Gavin didn’t question it. He drove, following Zay’s occasional, murmured directions until you were pulling into the overgrown parking lot of the old Salem Arcade & Funplex. It had been closed for years. The sign was broken, the windows boarded, but the giant, faded cartoon ghost on the side was still visible in the moonlight.
Gavin Sterling
The spot, huh? puts the car in park and kills the engine You two want me to…?
Zay
Give us five.
Gavin Sterling
lets out a short laugh Aight. Five. I’ll be right here. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. he pulls out his phone, the screen lighting up his face, effectively tuning out the world.
Zay turned to you. The interior light had gone off, leaving his face in shadow, lit only by the pale moon through the windshield. His braces glinted faintly when he spoke.
Zay
Come take a walk with me.