Jonathan Casts a Spell

Jonathan Casts a Spell

Copyrightx 2008 Sebastian Fforde

(BB, teen, high school, romance)

This story is completely fiction. Well, most of it is, anyway. If you aren't interested in reading sexually explicit love stories about high school age boys, then you can stop right now. But if you ARE interested, then read on.

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.

Jonathan Casts a Spell

Chapter 4

Alex was hiding in the Kabbalah section of the Chrystall Dragon Bookshop, spying on Jonathan through the shelves. Jonathan had not seen him enter.

Alex had been avoiding Jonathan for several weeks after the incident in the leaf pile. However, every day on his way home from school, Alex went out of his way to pass by the Chrystall Dragon Bookshop. He would spend about five minutes peeking in the window watching Jonathan helping other customers or stocking books for Ms. Findhorn, the owner of the bookstore. If Jonathan happened to glance at the window, Alex would quickly duck out of sight.

What was happening to him? What had made him kiss Jonathan? And why had he started to obsess about the older boy?

Alex had performed the love spell on Katie MacMillan a second time, but as far as he could tell, it wasn't working. Katie still ignored him. Alex was starting to think this magic stuff was a lot of nonsense.

Alex had finally come to the bookshop to try to set things straight with Jonathan. He needed to explain to his friend that he was not gay, and that the kissing in the leaf pile was just something that had happened unexpectedly. Something that would never happen again. He was waiting for Ms. Findhorn to leave the shop so that he could speak to Jonathan privately.

Jonathan was at the counter, opening up a shipment of books. He seemed to be in a bad mood, and was complaining to Ms. Findhorn about the selection.

"Imelda, you really should let me do some of the purchasing! These books are ridiculous!"

"If I let you do the purchasing, Jonathan, we'd never have any business."

"We'd have more intelligent clientele if we stocked better books. Look at this garbage!" Jonathan began to read off the titles of some of the books. "Werewolf 90210, The Haunted Skate Park, Junior High Vampires, Ghost Prom, The Banshee Wears Prada. I'm embarrassed that we even stock this stuff!"

"Lighten up, Jonathan! It's books like that that pay the rent! I know they're silly, but I try to have a little something for everyone! And if kids want to read stuff like that, that's fine! Just stock them and be happy that we have bestsellers like Werewolf 90210 to keep us in business! And don't start with me about changing the name of the store! I know it's corny, but the customers remember it!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Jonathan mumbled.

"I'm going to step out for a few hours. I've got some errands to run. Do you want anything from Pasolini's?"

"Yeah. Can you pick me up a sandwich? Eggplant parm."

"Sure."

Ms. Findhorn left and Jonathan began stocking the teen werewolf and vampire titles. Alex stayed hidden in the Kabbalah section, waiting for Jonathan to find him. He looked through the Kabbalah books. One thin volume had a picture of Brittney Spears on the cover. The book next to it was much thicker and was filled with Hebrew letters and a variety of convoluted diagrams.

He looked back at the Brittney Spears Kabbalah book. He understood what Jonathan had been complaining about – a lot of the books in The Chrystall Dragon did seem downright frivolous.

Alex put the Brittney Spears Kabbalah book back on the shelf.

"It goes on this shelf, Alex," Jonathan said softly.

Alex jumped. "How long were you there – watching me?"

Jonathan smiled. "I was wondering when you'd come around again. It's been a few weeks, hasn't it?"

"Jonathan, we need to talk!"

"What do we need to talk about?"

"You know what we need to talk about!"

Jonathan was enjoying the little cat and mouse game with his young friend. "There are plenty of things we can talk about, Alex. What did you have in mind?"

"You know damn well what we need to talk about!"

"Tell me."

"About what happened when we were raking leaves!"

"And?"

"When I, uh, kissed you. We need to talk about that."

"I kinda wanted to talk to you about that, too. You kinda surprised me in the leaf pile. I wasn't expecting you to be such a good kisser. Come with me while I stock these stupid teen werewolf books and we'll talk."

Alex followed Jonathan back to the box of books on the counter.

"Well, uh, you know I'm not gay, right?"Alex said, nervously.

"Alex, I already told you it doesn't matter to me if you're gay or straight. I like you a lot and I enjoy your company." Then he smiled. "And you really are a good kisser, too."

Alex blushed. "I like you a lot too, Jonathan. Just not in that way. But I still really want you to be my friend."

"You want me," Jonathan paused, looking into the younger boy's eyes, "to still be your friend. We are still friends, aren't we?"

Alex looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry if I keep messing things up. I mean, you must probably totally think I've been trying to come on to you or something. First the Ouija board thing."

"You were scared, Alex. You just wanted someone to hold you close." "And I don't know what came over me when we were jumping in the leaves. I have no idea why I did that."

"Did what?" Jonathan asked teasingly.

"You know, uh, kiss you. I don't know why I did that. But I'm glad you didn't get mad or push me away. Things could have gotten really messed up if you freaked out on me. It was cool that you actually let me do that, and that you, uh, kissed me back. I don't know what came over me."

"You were just being spontaneous, Alex. We were having fun together and at that moment you just felt very close to me. And you did what felt right at the time."

"But I'm not gay."

"Of course you're not gay. If you were gay, you'd know it, right?"

Alex seemed puzzled. "Yeah, if I was gay I guess I would know it, wouldn't I? Like, I've never did anything like that with a guy before you. I never even thought about it. I'm just so confused." Alex put his face in his hands.

"It's okay, Alex. Really, it's okay. There's nothing to worry about. Okay, so you were maybe just a little curious, and we were having such a good time together that you just couldn't help yourself. Since we know you're not gay, it's no big deal."

Alex peeked at Jonathan through his fingers.

"Well, uh, I could be bi."

"That's true."

"Yeah, I might be bi. But just a little bi."

"Okay, so you think you might be bi."

"Only a little. But I'm pretty sure I'm mostly straight." Alex paused. "Thanks for being so understanding, Jonathan. I'm really glad we had this talk."

Jonathan finished stocking the books and flattened the empty box. Alex followed Jonathan to the storeroom.

"Jonathan?"

"Yeah?"

"There's something else I wanted to ask you."

"Okay, shoot."

"What's the bookstore's return policy?"

"Usually you need to have the receipt, but for you I can make exceptions."

"I wanna return the book I bought."

"How come?"

"It didn't work. I mean, my spell didn't work," Alex explained, blushing. "You see, I tried to put a love spell on a girl and it didn't work. That's why I want to return the book."

Jonathan shrugged. "That's funny. The spells always work for me. But sure, bring it in and I'll give you your money back."

The next day Alex returned to The Chrystall Dragon Bookshop to return his copy of The Magic Spellcaster. Jonathan handled the exchange and the two boys started talking.

"I guess my love spell on that girl didn't work because it wasn't in my karma," Alex sighed.

"I don't believe in karma," Jonathan replied.

Alex was surprised. "I thought you believed in all that stuff! You work in a new age bookstore!"

"That's what I love about working here. I'm surrounded by books. When it's quiet I can read whatever I want. And when customers come in I almost always end up having interesting conversations with them. I read a little of everything, but I only believe what makes sense to me."

"Okay, so why don't you believe in karma?"

"Well, I do believe in causality - cause and effect. But people think of the idea of karma the same way they think of an all-knowing god who rewards and punishes people. My mom believes in karma. If something bad happens to someone she thinks they must have deserved it because of something they did in a past life. A lot of people think that way, and it doesn't seem very logical to me. I don't think anyone deserves to have bad things happen to them. I also don't think magic is about karma. For me, magic is about trying to get a better understanding of cause and effect, which is how I think the universe operates naturally."

"This is really interesting," Alex said. "I really enjoy talking about stuff like that with you."

"I've still got a lot to learn," Jonathan admitted. "And a lot more to read!"

As Jonathan had been explaining his beliefs, Alex found himself slowly moving closer and closer to the older boy.

Alex had wanted to say something to Jonathan, but part of his mind struggled against it. He had been thinking of asking if he could spend the night with the older boy, but he resisted because he knew there would be too much tension if they did spend the night together. Especially after al of the weird things that had been happening since they had met. Finally, Alex couldn't help himself.

"Jonathan, I was wondering," he started cautiously. "My parents are going to one of those Indian casinos for a few days, and they were going to drop me off at my grandparents while they were gone. But I was thinking, maybe instead, well, um,"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I thought it might be more fun if I spent the next couple of nights at your house," Alex blurted out. There, he said it.

"Oh sure, Alex, that'll be fun!" Jonathan said excitedly. "We can fix up the guest bedroom for you."

Alex was a little disappointed when Jonathan mentioned the guest bedroom. He really wanted to spend the night in Jonathan's room, but he didn't want to say anything because he didn't want Jonathan to get the wrong idea.

"Okay, cool. I'll tell my parents. I'll meet you here tomorrow after school."

Alex met Jonathan at the bookstore the next day. Ms. Findhorn gave Jonathan the rest of the afternoon off so he could take the younger boy home with him.

Soon the boys got to Jonathan's house. The first thing that Alex noticed was that Jonathan's house had no lawn. The small yard was a beautifully landscaped garden of flowers, herbs and vegetables. The house itself was a cozy little brick cottage. Jonathan's mother was in the garden weeding vegetables. She was a very beautiful woman, and Alex could see that Jonathan got a lot of his good looks from her.

Jonathan's mother spoke briefly to him in Thai, and he answered quickly before he introduced Alex. He seemed uncomfortable about speaking a foreign language in the presence of his friend.

"Mom, I'd like you to meet my friend Alex," Jonathan said proudly.

Mrs. Drexler took off her gardening gloves and shook Alex's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Alex. Are you happy boy like my son?"

Alex was perplexed. He looked at Jonathan. Jonathan was wearing a faded Joy Division t-shirt, studded belt, black jeans and black Doc Martens, had a dyed emo hairstyle and also wore a silver pentagram necklace and had his lip ring in. The words `happy boy' didn't exactly come to mind.

"I uh, guess I'm a happy boy too."

Jonathan's mother smiled when Alex said that.

"Good. Good. Two happy boys!"

Jonathan turned to Alex. "First let's put your stuff in the guest bedroom. Then I've got some stuff to do in the garden. You can help me with that if you like."

"Sure."

Alex looked around at Jonathan's house when they were bringing his things in. "I like your place, Jonathan. It's really nice!"

" It's a very old house. It was built in the 1800's," Jonathan explained. "Of course, it's been fixed up a lot."

Alex followed Jonathan to the back of the house. "This part of the garden is all mine," Jonathan explained.

The younger boy was admiring some beautiful, trumpet-shaped flowers. "What are these?" he asked Jonathan. "They're real pretty."

"Those are my daturas," Jonathan said proudly. "And those are my poppies, the hens and chicks. Morning glories on the trellis; over there is wormwood, henbane and belladonna."

"Boy Jonathan, you sure do have a green thumb! These plants are beautiful!"

"Thanks." He pointed to a row of plants in earthenware pots on the garden wall. "The only thing I'm going to need your help me with is bringing those in the house for the winter."

"Is it mint?" Alex asked. "It looks like mint to me."

"No, those are my salvia divinorum plants. They can't take the cold so I need to get them in soon."

Alex helped Jonathan move the salvia plants into the house and then they cleaned up and had dinner with Jonathan's family. Alex got to meet Jonathan's father and little sister. Jonathan's mother had prepared an authentic Thai dinner for the family, but Alex thought it was funny when he noticed that Jonathan's father wasn't eating any of it – he had made a little pot of spaghetti and meatballs for himself.

Alex was having trouble eating his food. Most of it was either too spicy or smelled too fishy.

"I don't want to offend your mother," Alex whispered to Jonathan, "but I don't think I can eat this."

Jonathan smiled. "They don't serve papaya salad like that in restaurants around here," he laughed.

"Why does it smell so, uh, fishy?"

"Fermented crabs."

"Ugh."

"Well have some of the fish, then."

"I can't figure out how to eat it. Too many bones."

"Here. Let me help you." Jonathan showed Alex how to bone the fish so the boy could eat at least part of his dinner.

After dinner the boys spent the evening in Jonathan's room. Jonathan's room was small, and was pretty much how Alex expected it to look – cozy and filled with books and CDs. Alex looked through the CD collection. Most of the bands he had never heard of.

"Oh, I see you have some Pink Floyd," Alex observed. "At least I've heard of them."

"Put some on if you like. The older Floyd albums are great, but I have a bunch of rare tracks on my iPod."

"The only Pink Floyd I have is Dark Side of the Moon." Alex said, pulled out a CD. "Ummagumma. Huh. How's this one?"

"Put it on, if you like," Jonathan replied. "It's a two disc set. The first disc is live and the second is studio recordings. I like the second disc better."

Alex put the CD in the stereo. The album was a lot more surreal and experimental than the Pink Floyd songs Alex had heard on the radio, but he soon found himself enjoying it. It certainly set the mood for spending a night with a spooky boy like Jonathan.

"Is this what you're reading now?" Alex asked, picking up a copy of Lautreamont's Maldoror that was on Jonathan's nightstand.

"Yeah," Jonathan said, taking the book from Alex. He opened it at random and began to read:

"How astounded he was when he saw Maldoror, changed into an octopus, bear down upon his body with eight enormous arms, any one of which solid lashes could easily have reached around the circumference of a planet! Taken unawares he struggled for a few moments against that viscous embrace, which contracted and contracted."

Then Jonathan read another random passage:

"With a head in my hand, gnawing the skull, I stood on one foot like a heron at the edge of a precipice slashed into the flanks of a mountain. I was seen descending into the valley while the flesh of my bosom was still as calm as the lid of a tomb!"

Then Jonathan closed the book. "It's a bit melodramatic, isn't it?"

"Sounds like a gothic horror novel!" Alex laughed. "Maybe you should try reading it with a British accent!"

"Good idea." Jonathan put on a phony British accent and began a dramatic reading of more random passages, gesticulating wildly and pretending to be a drunken poet. Alex started to smile, then to laugh. The weird sounds of the Pink Floyd album in the background made Jonathan's reading of Maldoror seem all the more absurd. Alex was having a lot of fun, and Jonathan was being very entertaining. Then Jonathan stopped reading.

"Well, actually, Maldoror was written in French. Let me try it with a French accent!"

Jonathan's French accent was even more hilarious than his British accent. He had Alex cracking up.

"Try it with a German accent!" Alex insisted, laughing.

"No I can't!" Jonathan giggled. "I can do a good Bela Lugosi, though!" Jonathan opened up another passage and began to do his best impersonation of Bela Lugosi. Soon the two boys were laughing so hard they were practically rolling on the floor.

Jonathan was laughing so hard he was gasping for air. "It's getting too ridiculous! I can't read any more! Come to think of it, Maldoror is just about as ridiculous as Werewolf 90210!"

"Hey Jonathan," Alex said. "Speaking of accents, I noticed your father didn't have an Australian accent at all. I thought he was gonna be like, `g'day mate!' and all that!"

"He moved to the US when he was a kid," Jonathan explained. "If you listen really carefully you'll notice he does still have a bit of the accent."

The two boys spent most of the evening talking in Jonathan's room. Alex looked at Jonathan's digital alarm clock. The time was 11:11. "I'm feeling kind of tired," Alex said. "I think I'll go to sleep now."

"Okay, Alex. You know where the bathroom is. Just let me know if you need anything."

Alex brushed his teeth and went to the guest bedroom. Meanwhile, Jonathan got undressed and went to bed. But he didn't go to sleep. He lay in bed and waited. He knew it wouldn't be too long before Alex would be back.

About an hour later Jonathan heard his bedroom door creak open. Alex stood in the doorway in his t-shirt and boxer shorts. He looked like he had a terrible fright.

"Jonathan! Jonathan! Are you awake?" Alex whispered urgently.

"Yeah. Come on in. What's the matter?" Jonathan turned his night light on.

"I'm not going back in that room!"

Jonathan didn't look surprised at all. "Did you see something or did you hear something?"

"Something moved! A chair moved right across the room!" Alex exclaimed breathlessly.

"Oh yeah. I should have told you about that."

"You mean your house is haunted?"

"Could be, the house is old enough. But it probably wasn't a ghost. We think it's a poltergeist. Come on in, Alex, and close the door."

Alex crept into the room and closed the door behind him. "Poltergeist? What's the difference?"

"Most ghosts are trapped spirits. Not even spirits, really, more like a memory that plays over and over again. But a poltergeist is an energy manifestation. We think my sister is causing it. Or it could be me, but I doubt it."

"Whatever it is, I'm not going back in there. I wish I could go home!"

"Don't worry about it, Alex. It's harmless."

"Jonathan?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I sleep with you tonight? I don't want to be alone."

"Sure. Here's a pillow. I'll get some blankets and you can sleep on the rug."

"No!" Alex said urgently. "I wanna sleep with YOU!"

"In bed with me?"

"Yes!"

"Come here then," Alex said, lifting the covers.

Alex looked at Jonathan's lean, smooth body. Jonathan was wearing nothing but a pair of white jockey shorts. The older boy was hairless except for the wiry black hair that sprouted from under his arms. At that moment Jonathan looked very inviting. Alex was eager to join the older boy in bed.

Alex climbed in and Jonathan wrapped the blankets around the both of them. Alex embraced Jonathan, holding the older boy tightly. He could smell Jonathan's familiar smell – that combination of musky boy sweat and spicy cologne. The pillows and bedding smelled like Jonathan, too. Alex inhaled deeply, burying his nose in Jonathan's hair. He found himself getting an erection as he felt his own skin pressing against Jonathan's warm body. The smell of Jonathan alone, Alex had discovered, would trigger an almost instant sexual response. He inhaled even more deeply.

He couldn't get enough of Jonathan's scent. But he was still frightened. His heart was racing madly. He was afraid of two things – he was afraid of the poltergeist in the other room, and he was afraid of losing control with Jonathan again.

Once again, Alex couldn't help himself. He kissed Jonathan lightly on the ear. Jonathan turned around. Their lips met. The younger boy's tongue instinctively explored until it touched the metal of Jonathan's lip ring. Jonathan's lips parted, welcoming the younger boy's tongue inside.

Alex jumped up in bed. He looked at Jonathan with suspicion. "What are you doing to me?" he shouted.

"Nothing yet. What would you like me to do to you?" Jonathan looked at Alex with sleepy eyes.

"You're messing with my head, aren't you?" Alex insisted.

"If anyone's messing with anyone's head, you're messing with mine," Jonathan said patiently.

"What do you mean?"

"Who made the first move?"

"Well, uh, I guess I did. I was the one who asked you to hug me when I was scared. And then I was the one who kissed you first in the leaf pile. And yeah, I wanna sleep with you tonight, but it's just because I need to be near you right now. I know what you're thinking, but it's not like that at all!"

Jonathan pulled Alex back into bed with him, wrapping the boy under the covers again. "Don't worry about it then," Jonathan whispered, as he put his arms around the boy. "Just go to sleep. When you're in my arms, you'll be safe."

"Thanks, Jonathan."

Jonathan fell asleep quickly, but Alex could not. He was too emotionally charged, and he was unaccustomed to sleeping in the same bed with another boy. He spent the whole night listening to the faint electric hum of Jonathan's clock radio and staring at the glow-in-the dark numbers. He had an erection that he hoped Jonathan hadn't noticed. He was mixed up, frightened and confused. But there was one thing he was starting to become less confused about. Alex was falling in love with Jonathan.

To Be Continued

Are you enjoying my story? I hope you are. If you like, you can check out my other stories on Nifty: Tanner's Talent in the Adult/Youth section, Where's Willy? in the Encounters section, Smelly Sneakers for Skyler in the Young Friends section and Skyler Gives a Foot Rub in the Adult/Youth section. If you want to get to know me a little better, feel free to email or chat with me, or check out my MySpace page, which is http://www.myspace.com/sebastianfforde. My Yahoo ID is sebastianfforde.