Chapter Text
After years of crushing on him from afar, Ezra finally got to have an actual conversation with Anthony during the fall of freshman year. They were brought together one Saturday morning in October purely by chance, or so it seemed.
It was not particularly surprising that Ezra was at the church Harvest Festival. Church was the one place in his life where he felt like he fit in and was accepted, where he even had a few friends. He liked participating in church activities. Their youth pastor, Mr. Gabe, had been asking him to run a station at the Harvest Festival for weeks, and when he found out he could earn service-learning hours for school at the same time, it seemed like a no-brainer.
It was much more surprising, however, that Anthony was at the church Harvest Festival. Anthony Crowley, who had a bit of a reputation as a bad boy. Anthony Crowley, the troublemaker who had been kicked out of Sunday school in First Grade, and hadn't been back to church since. He was probably the last person Ezra would expect to see on church grounds. And yet, for some reason, he had offered to help at the church event and had been allowed to do so. In hindsight, both sides should have known better.
The Harvest Festival was meant to be a fun, wholesome alternative to Halloween for the younger kids in the congregation. Many of the church families, Ezra’s own family included, frowned upon celebrating the holiday because of its pagan roots. Some particularly devout parents even considered it akin to devil worshiping. At the family-friendly church celebration, the kids were allowed to dress up, but only as innocent, harmless beings, like farm animals or Bible characters.
Unfortunately for Ezra, the festival volunteers were expected to dress up as well. Ezra had tried his best to get out of it, but to no avail. After youth group one Wednesday evening, he went up to the youth pastor and explained, red-faced, that he didn’t have a costume to wear, and he didn’t have the money to buy one, either. He was hoping Mr. Gabe would just tell him it was all right, that he didn't have to wear a costume after all. He had no such luck.
"We can't have that, Ezra! We want to make it good for the kids, don't we?" To his mortification, Mr. Gabe then dragged him back to the storage closet where they kept all the props and costumes for the annual Christmas play. Ezra stood there awkwardly while Mr. Gabe rummaged through the boxes, babbling about how he was sure he had something that would be just perfect for Ezra. After a few minutes of looking, he triumphantly pulled out a white, satiny garment, complete with a sparkly golden halo and wire-framed wings covered in feathers.
Ezra stared in horror at the outfit. Mr. Gabe was holding it out to him with a wide grin on his face.
“I don’t want to be an angel,” Ezra mumbled, looking at the floor. “Can’t I be a shepherd or something?”
But Mr. Gabe wasn’t having it. “Nonsense!” he countered cheerfully, still grinning. “You’ll make a great angel! An angel of the Lord, spreading the good news.”
Ezra reluctantly took the costume. He had been raised to respect authority, and not to argue with adults. Especially adults in the church.
He suddenly felt sick to his stomach.
* * *
The festival took place on the second Saturday in October, on a beautifully crisp autumn day. The morning chill would soon be chased away by warmth of the sun, which was shining brightly overhead. Ezra declined his mother's offer of a ride to church. It would only be a short walk, and he didn't want to have to explain the angel costume to her. He stuffed it in a big black garbage bag, hoping she wouldn't notice it as he rushed out of the house and yelled his goodbyes.
When he arrived at church, he saw that they had roped off a large section of the parking lot, and volunteers were already busy setting up tables for the various stations. Ezra hurried inside to the bathroom and locked himself in a stall to change into the awful costume. It was essentially an oversized white dress with long, wide sleeves. It should have been easy to pull over his head, but he struggled to get it on in the tight space.
When he finally managed to arrange it properly, he emerged fearfully from the stall, not wanting to even look in the mirror. But he had to. He had to know how bad it was.
The outfit was supposed to be long and flowing, but it was also made for children much younger and smaller than he was. On Ezra, it was both too short and too tight. But there was nothing to do about it now. He ran a hand through his pale blond curls before putting on the headband with the halo. Then he awkwardly fit the feathered wings over his back. He stared at himself in the mirror, his own blue-gray eyes looking back at him with disapproval. He looked like a fat angel. He looked ridiculous. It was so humiliating.
Ezra left the building in a foul mood and walked quickly across the church parking lot, his head down in shame. His own clothes were now in the black garbage bag that he carried with him as he joined the group of volunteers gathering around Mr. Gabe. He prayed that he wouldn’t see anyone he knew from school.
As they stood listening to Mr. Gabe explain their job duties for the day, Ezra stole a few glances around at the other volunteers. His heart caught in his throat when he saw that Anthony Crowley was among them, off to the far left, and dressed as a devil of all things. A very handsome devil, but still, clearly a demonic being from Hell. That was definitely not allowed.
Although he knew it was wrong, Ezra couldn’t help letting his eyes linger. Anthony was wearing black jeans so tight that Ezra wasn’t sure how he had managed to even get them on. Or how on Earth he was going to get them back off, although he quickly pushed that thought out of his mind before it wandered into inappropriate territory. The black button-down shirt he was wearing was also quite form-fitting, and the first few buttons were left undone. Anthony looked good. Really good. Ezra’s eyes wandered to the red devil’s tail pinned to the back of his jeans and then up to the devil’s horns and–oh no, oh no, oh no.
Anthony had turned and was looking back at him.
Oh dear God, he’d been caught staring. The fat angel in a dress had been caught staring at the sexy devil. Ezra felt the warm flush of embarrassment on his cheeks. He thought he saw Anthony trying to hide a smirk before he quickly averted his eyes. Ezra wanted to go crawl into a hole and die.
To his great relief, he was sent to a little table in the back corner of the parking lot, far away from the face-painting station Anthony had been assigned to. Ezra's job was to hand out baked goods along with illustrated pamphlets about God’s love, and he was going to stay right there and do that, and definitely not look at or go anywhere near Anthony Crowley for the rest of the day.
And for a few hours, everything went smoothly. Ezra passed out treats and pamphlets to a steady stream of children dressed up as everything from pumpkins to lambs to scarecrows. He even saw a few other angels, all girls, and, he thought bitterly to himself, all of them pulling it off way better than he was. Nevertheless, he smiled his best angel smile at all of the little ones. Some of them were sweet, smiling back at him and thanking him for the treats. A few even told him that they liked his costume, and he accepted the compliments with all the Heavenly grace he could muster. In turn, he pretended not to hear the little boy who pulled on his father's sleeve and loudly asked, "Daddy, why is that boy wearing a dress?"
Art credit to thatskindarough: https://www.tumblr.com/thatskindarough/757381989811748864/as-part-of-goodomensaction-s-gaza-fundraiser
Before long, the children started coming by his table with painted faces, sporting beautiful sparkly butterflies and red and black snakes and elaborate cat faces. Ezra was impressed. He had no idea that Anthony was such a talented artist. However, he also began to notice that the adults were starting to make comments about Anthony, and it had nothing to do with his artistic skills. More than once, he heard parents grumbling to each other about that teenager dressed as the devil, and how Mr. Gabe should do something about it. Ezra frowned to himself, a knot of worry beginning to form in his stomach.
Soon thereafter, Ezra finally got his first break of the day. The organizers gathered all the children together for a costume contest, which meant there was a lull in the activity at the stations. With no one at his table, Ezra seized the opportunity to enjoy one of the strawberry cupcakes he’d been eyeing up all morning. Mrs. Anderson, one of the church ladies, had made them, and it was her most sought-after specialty--a moist yellow cupcake with sweet strawberry jam in the center and fluffy pink strawberry frosting on top.
Ezra eagerly unwrapped one of the cupcakes but then took his time eating it, savoring every bite. He might even have made a few involuntary noises as he thoroughly enjoyed the treat. Mmm... so good. When he finished the last bite, he methodically sucked the frosting off his fingers. The frosting was always the best part. Delicious.
Ezra happened to look up just then, as he was licking the last of the icing from his lips. This time, he realized with horror, Anthony had been staring at him. The boy was just a few yards away, transfixed as he watched Ezra with an odd look on his face. Ezra assumed it was disgust. After all, what else would it be? He blushed and grabbed a napkin off the table to wipe his mouth. Of course it was just his luck that Anthony had caught him stuffing his face like a pig.
Oh God, and now he was definitely walking this way. A cold wave of terror washed over Ezra. He panicked silently as he tried to figure out what to do. Anthony was clearly on his way to Ezra’s table, but why? Was he coming to make fun of him? To tell him off for staring earlier? Maybe he just wanted a cupcake, too, Ezra thought hysterically, trying to reassure himself.
He watched, rooted to the spot, as Anthony sauntered up to the table with a suave confidence Ezra could only dream of.
“Hey, angel,” Anthony teased, a mischievous grin on his lips as he looked Ezra up and down with his gorgeous amber-yellow eyes. They were the most unusual, the most beautiful eyes Ezra had ever seen, and they were looking right at him. Ezra could feel the flush of red spreading across his face.
The way he said the words, the way he was looking at him... it was almost as if Anthony were flirting with him. But that couldn't be. People didn't flirt with Ezra. Certainly not people like Anthony. No, he decided, it was much more likely he was being mocked.
“Uh... hi,” Ezra answered nervously, wondering what clever insult Anthony was about to throw at him.
“You know, I probably shouldn’t be talking to you, since we're supposed to be mortal enemies and all," the boy said, grinning slyly. "You might smite me.”
Ezra blinked at him in confusion. It took him a second to understand. Oh, right, because of their costumes. Well, this conversation was not at all going in the direction he expected.
“Oh, uh…well…I-I would never do that,” Ezra said stupidly, and then blushed even harder. Brilliant. He wished he could just disappear.
Thankfully, in that moment, he saw a distraction coming. Mr. Gabe was striding towards them at a swift pace. However, judging by the look on his face, he was not at all happy. Behind him was a mother with her young son in tow. The boy couldn’t be more than five, and was dressed as a puppy dog in a fuzzy brown suit, complete with a matching hood with big, floppy ears. His face was red from crying and streaked with smears of black and white face paint that hadn't been thoroughly washed off. The mother's face was set in an angry frown. Ezra's worry from earlier grew stronger.
Anthony noticed Ezra looking over his shoulder and turned around to follow his gaze. He scowled when he saw Mr. Gabe.
“Oh great, what does that asshole want?” he asked under his breath.
Ezra couldn’t help but snicker a little. Mr. Gabe was kind of an asshole, although he'd never heard anyone dare to say it before.
In a few short seconds, the youth pastor was at the table, glowering over at Anthony.
“I need a word with you, young man,” he said in a stern tone.
By now, the mother and son had caught up as well, and Ezra saw that the boy had started crying again. Anthony ignored Mr. Gabe, and instead turned to the boy, crouching down to his level.
“Hey, Matt,” he said gently. “What’s wrong, man? What happened to your skull face?”
Matt sniffled. “I had to wash it off,” he said mournfully. “Cuz it’s not godly. But I liked it,” he whined. “It was so cool.”
Anthony frowned. He was clearly nonplussed, but his voice was kind and gentle when he spoke to Matt. “I’m sorry, buddy,” he said. “That really sucks.” The boy’s mother gasped at the use of the impolite word, and Mr. Gabe’s scowl deepened.
“It is not appropriate for a church festival,” the mother snapped angrily. “And neither is your outfit," she added, glaring at Anthony. "You’re scaring the children, and you're a bad influence on them."
Anthony stood up to face her. He crossed his arms defiantly and was about to respond, but Mr. Gabe cut in.
“I’m afraid I have to agree,” he said firmly. “I’m going to have to ask you to take off the tail and horns, and button up your shirt. This is a family event, and there are young children here.”
Anthony raised his eyebrows, maintaining steady eye contact with Mr. Gabe as he slowly buttoned up his shirt.
“I’m so sorry,” he drawled sarcastically. “I didn’t realize I was making anyone uncomfortable.”
Ezra watched in silence, secretly delighting in the way Mr. Gabe's face was turning red.
“And I’ll have to ask you to stick to flowers and animals from now on with the face painting. No more… occult images,” Mr. Gabe continued, willfully ignoring Anthony’s attitude.
Anthony snorted a bit at the word "occult," but quickly realized that the youth pastor was dead serious.
“Fine,” he snapped, ripping off the headband with the devil horns. “See you around, angel," he said in a softer tone, pausing to flash Ezra a smile before turning on his heel and stalking off.
Ezra stared after him. Anthony hadn’t taken the tail off yet, and it was swinging back and forth with the swaying of his hips as he swaggered across the parking lot.
* * *
Half an hour later, Ezra had to walk past the face painting table when he went inside to grab another tray of cupcakes. Anthony was so focused on what he was doing that he didn’t even look up. Ezra saw that he was carefully repainting Matt’s face, this time as a puppy dog to match his costume. The devil tail was now on the ground underneath the table, along with the discarded devil horns.
Ezra felt his stomach do a little flip when he saw Anthony in action at his station. He looked so very good in those tight jeans, sitting on the edge of his seat, leaning over as he painted. He was currently turning Matt's nose and upper lip into a black and white dog snout, holding the boy's chin steady with his right hand as he painted with his left. Anthony worked carefully but competently, a look of intense concentration on his face. It was sweet to see how he was with the little kids, and how seriously he was taking his job for the day.
Ashley, who was sitting next to Anthony and working on a much less elaborate rainbow design, happened to look up just then. Their eyes met briefly and Ezra gave her a friendly smile. It occurred to him suddenly that he'd been staring at Anthony again. He shook himself out of his reverie and hurried into the church, hoping that nobody else had noticed.
* * *
Another half an hour passed, and then Jenny from youth group came over to relieve Ezra for his lunch break. He made his way back to the church hall to grab the sandwich and soda that all the volunteers had been promised. He immediately spotted Anthony sitting at a table with several other kids their age, all of whom Ezra knew from youth group. Although "sitting" was putting it a bit loosely. Anthony had turned the metal folding chair around backwards, and was currently resting the top half of his body against the back of the chair, his legs spread out wide on either side. He'd crossed his arms over the top of the chair, his manicured nails with the perfect black nail polish clearly visible. Now that he was out of sight of Mr. Gabe and the young children, his devil horns and tail had reappeared, and his shirt was unbuttoned even further. The other volunteers were looking at him wide-eyed as he spoke.
“I’m just sayin', no one ever tells it from Lucifer’s point of view. I mean, how do we know he’s actually evil? Was it really so bad that Adam and Eve ate the apple? Isn’t knowledge supposed to be a good thing?” His voice was earnest, almost impassioned. He looked up just then and saw Ezra. “What do you think, angel?” he asked, and he sounded as if he actually wanted to know.
By now, Ezra had resigned himself to having the color and eloquence of a tomato whenever he encountered Anthony.
“I-I don't really know,” he stuttered. “But I guess if the Bible says he’s evil, then he probably must be evil.” Ezra grabbed a sandwich and a can of Coke from the other table and all but fled the room, deciding it would be better if he ate lunch at his station. At least he couldn't embarrass himself any more from there.
He had barely made it back to the table and sat down to each his sandwich when he saw Mr. Gabe gripping Anthony tightly by the right arm and pulling him briskly across the parking lot. Mr. Gabe looked furious.
Anthony, on the other hand, was definitely smirking. The devil tail was swishing back and forth behind him as he sashayed along next to the youth pastor.
"Uh oh," Jenny murmured beside him.
Anthony gave him a friendly grin as they came closer.
“Hey, angel,” he called out playfully. “Thought I might tempt you to an apple?” And then suddenly he was tossing something to Ezra with a slow, underhanded throw. Ezra hadn’t even noticed he was holding anything.
With a surprised gasp, Ezra reached up and caught the object with both hands. He saw that he was holding a caramel apple, wrapped up neatly in cellophane and tied with a red ribbon. Anthony must have made it at the caramel apple station. Ezra smiled, delighted with the treat that the handsome boy in the devil costume had made just for him. He looked up again as Anthony and Mr. Gabe went by.
"Oh, he's cute," Jenny said under her breath.
"Mmm," Ezra hummed, in what he hoped was a neutral tone as he watched the cute boy's retreating backside.
Just then, Anthony turned and threw the angel a wink over his shoulder, right before Mr. Gabe pulled him around the corner and out of sight. The devil had been officially escorted off church grounds.