Chapter Text
There’s an abandoned library on the outskirts of Albuquerque. Its wooden walls were chipped and hanging by splinters, moist and bent and tilted - one gust of wind away from collapsing. A moss-like growth and branches fostered over its sides, over the shattered stained glass windows.
Parts of the black brick roof had fallen in on itself. The rest were close to. The tower at the front centre stood tall still with its spire, vines and withered roses growing in a spiral along its length.
The grass around it was dry. Pale. Tall enough to reach the windows.
A few decayed sheds and barns rotted away along the dirt road, with considerable distance to the library. They seemed to lean in the other direction.
The cold night wind whispered through the couple lone trees as crickets shrieked. Slowly, the faint noise of little rocks and pebbles crumbling under tires faded in, followed by the whir of a car engine.
A rusty, off-white truck drove along the road. It made spurting noises, almost coughing, as grey smoke burst out of the pipes. With a few, weak croaks, it came to a stop.
“No, no, no, no, no,” Troy mumbled to himself. He let out a hopeless sigh and hit his head on the steering wheel.
“It’ll be fine,” Gabriella tried gently and stroked his arm. “We can call someone for help.”
He hit his head on the wheel again.
In the backseat, Chad slept with crossed arms against the door. His chest raised slowly as he let out soft, quiet snores.
Taylor leaned back on her seat beside him. “Who do we even call for this? A mechanic? I don’t know any mechanics. 911?”
“I can call my dad,” Ryan said, “he probably knows a guy.”
“We are not calling anyone’s fathers,” Troy said.
Ryan paused from typing on his phone. “You’re right. I’ll call my mom.”
Troy hit his head on the wheel again , accidentally blasting the horn. Chad jolted awake.
“What the…” He groaned and rubbed a hand over his eye. “What’s going on?”
“My truck is a bitch,” Troy muttered.
Gabriella shot him a pointed, shocked look. “ Language .”
Then, Ryan hushed them and put his phone up to his ear. A moment later, he plastered on a smile. “Hey mama,” he said in the softest, cutest voice he could manage.
Chad turned to him and sneered quietly.
Ryan paid no mind. “Yes, I’m fine. Just…there was a problem with Troy’s car, and…” A pause. “I know. I know. I’m okay, really. No, he’s not-…” Another pause. “Oh. Thank youuuu. Bye, mama, love you!”
His smile dropped as soon as he put down his phone.
“Help is on the way, apparently,” he said. Then, he let out a deep sigh. “I think she put a tracker on my phone.”
Chad, who was still grinning mischievously, leaned in over Taylor’s knees to face him. “ Hey, mama ,” he mocked.
Ryan flashed his middle finger, and Chad sat back again.
“How long until they get here?” Taylor said.
Ryan sighed. “Don’t know. Probably about as long as it took for us to get here.”
Gabriella turned back. “So what do we do in the meantime?”
“I wanna check out that church-looking thing,” Chad said and pointed out of his window.
“The old library?” Taylor asked. “It’ll fall apart any second.”
“Yeah, but there’s probably ghosts and stuff,” he said. “Beats sitting here smelling old farts.”
He opened the door. With one foot out of it, he turned back. “Anyone else coming? Troy? Gabi? Tay?” He smirked. “...Mama’s boy?”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “I’ll go. I need to stretch my legs.” He opened the door and stepped out of it.
“I think Troy needs to rest,” Gabriella said as she stroked his hair.
Taylor crossed her arms. “I’d rather not be present when the ceiling caves in.”
“Suit yourselves,” Chad said and stepped out, closing the door behind him.
Ryan stood by the entrance and gently handled the doorknob. It rattled, but showed no sign of functioning.
Chad walked up behind him, mumbling, “You could probably just…”
He punched the door firmly. With a shriek, it swung open.
He grinned. “I’ve always wanted to do something like that.”
There were no lights inside. Only the moonlight beaming from the windows and the holes in the ceiling. There were moist spots rotting away the wooden floor, and sparse green growth fostering out of the splits.
Dust covered the near-empty bookshelves. Some had fallen down, books and pages sprawled across the floor.
A slight yet thick stench of smoke exuded from the walls. Ryan grimaced.
“I would’ve thought it’d be aired out by now,” he said.
Chad walked further inside. “You know, I bet this was a church at some point. It has that…shameful air to it.”
“Yeah, I could see that,” Ryan said. “Stained glass windows. Very church-esque.”
“Well, aren’t you fancy,” Chad muttered.
Ryan caught up with him. “...Huh?”
“Stained glass windows. Esque . What are you, some kinda…fancy…” He trailed off.
Ryan sneered, stopping to lean against a bookcase. “Have you got something against me, Danforth?”
Chad stopped as well. “Why do you ask?”
“You know. Your desperate attempts to mock me.”
Chad scoffed. “I don’t have nothing against you, Evans.”
“That’s a double negative,” Ryan said with an arrogant smirk. “You do have something against me.”
“Oh, shut up, brat,” Chad muttered. “Barely even know you.”
He turned and walked away to browse a bookshelf on the other side. Ryan snickered to himself, and turned to look through the one he’d been leaning on.
“I wonder if any of these books are valuable,” he said.
“I doubt it. Look at the state of them,” Chad said, followed by a just loud enough mumble. “Of course you’re thinking about fuckin’ value.”
Ryan shot him a pointed look, but it went unseen as Chad was flipping through the pages of a hardcover. It was barely intact.
Ryan picked up a book as well. “Find anything interesting?”
“Not really,” Chad said. “Seems like a…medical journal, or something.”
“Ooh, wonder if they got some kinda treatment for chronic bitchiness.”
Chad scoffed. “You’re asking for trouble, man. Do you want me to have something against you?”
“I wouldn’t care if you did.”
“Didn’t seem like it a minute ago.”
Ryan rolled his eyes with a faint smile. “Whatever.”
Chad put away his book and stepped closer to him. He nodded at the one Ryan held. “What’s that?” he asked.
“Uh…book of spells, I think.”
“Oh, now we’re talking!” Chad said and jogged over to look at the pages, standing right beside him. “I knew there’d be spooky shit in here.”
He leaned his head on Ryan’s shoulder and placed a finger on the page. “...Love spell, huh?” He sneered. “Bullshit.”
“Well…” Ryan started. “You never know with these things.”
Chad pulled away from him, face contorted in disbelief. He let out a surprised laugh. “...You can’t be serious.”
Ryan scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I don’t believe in magic, if that’s what you’re saying. I just think these kinds of things are fun.”
“Okay, then,” Chad said. “Do you wanna try it?”
“The love spell?” Ryan blinked. “On who?”
“Does it matter? It’s not gonna do anything.” Chad’s lips pulled into a playful smirk. “You could try it on me for all I care.”
Ryan laughed. “...Seriously? You’re gay now?”
“No, of course not!” Chad said, crossing his arms with a glint in his eyes. “I mean, like…it really doesn’t matter who you do it on, right? Nothing’s gonna happen either way. So you might as well do it on me- and trust, it’s gonna take a lot more than some old spell to make me fall for you .”
Ryan raised his eyebrows slightly as a smirk grew on his face. He let out a short, breathy chuckle before taking a cautious step forward. “...Are you absolutely certain ?”
“What, that I’m straight?” Chad laughed. “Of course. Of course I’m certain .”
Ryan nodded vaguely. “...Sure.”
“Why don’t you believe me?”
“I said sure.”
“But you said it, like…” Chad hesitated for a moment. “Like, suuuuure . You know?”
Ryan shook his head faintly. “You’re so…odd.”
“Whatever. You don’t wanna do the spell? I don’t care. Makes zero difference to me. You just said those things are fun, so…” Chad’s head dropped as his jaw worked.
A little bright, condescending giggle escaped Ryan’s throat. “I’ll do it if it means that much to you.”
Chad muttered, blushing, “...Shut up, jerk.”
-
The torn and ragged back door swung slightly in the quiet wind, where Chad stood leaning against its frame. Ryan was crouching down over the grass, picking tiny little flowers with one hand and balancing the book with his other. A concentrated frown contorted his face as he held one flower on top of the page.
After a moment of consideration, he muttered, “Close enough.”
Chad scratched the back of his neck, watching Ryan repeat the same process a couple more times. Some of the flowers ended up tossed away in the grass. Others were put between the pages of the book. Ryan would chew a little on his lip every now and then, sometimes poking his tongue out as he searched the field with his hand.
“You look stupid,” Chad said, just to fill the air with something other than his thoughts.
“Too bad. You’re about to fall in love with me,” Ryan said without looking up.
Chad’s shoulders tensed slightly as he bit the inside of his cheek. “No. I definitely won’t.”
With smooth and easy motions, Ryan raised to stand straight. He stretched his legs a little and turned to Chad, giving him a vaguely amused smile.
“Would it kill you to play along?” Ryan said.
Chad turned his head and went back inside.
-
After a minute or two of aimless pacing, Ryan returned with a fistful of indistinct plants and items. Chad didn’t pay them any mind. His eyes had become fixed on the undone button on Ryan’s chest.
With a quiet sigh, Ryan put the book down on the floor and laid the Stuff in a pile on top of it. He sat down on the floor, crossing his legs, and beckoned for Chad to follow. So, he approached, and kneeled down in front of him.
“Now all we need is a strand of your hair,” Ryan said simply.
Chad sneered. “That’s so stupid.”
Ryan raised an eyebrow and gave him an encouraging smile. Chad sighed, shook his head, and pulled out a curl from his scalp, wincing quietly. He laid it in the pile.
“Now. We’re gonna hold hands over the, uh… ingredients , and then I’m gonna say the spell, and you’re gonna become obsessed with me,” Ryan said.
Chad rolled his eyes. “Isn’t it kinda stupid that both people involved in the spell need to…I don’t know, be involved? Like, if two people were to agree to do this, wouldn’t they already be in love?”
“How forward you are, sweetie,” Ryan said through a smirk.
“Don’t you dare,” Chad muttered as he dropped his head, heat blooming behind his cheeks.
Ryan chuckled. “I suppose witches side with consent.”
Then, he took Chad’s hand in his own, holding it between them. “...You need to look me in the eyes, sweetie.”
Chad bit the inside of his cheek as he met Ryan’s gaze, heart thumping in his chest.
All he could was stare. Into his eyes. At how the moonlight reflected in them. How his eyelashes flickered over his cheeks.
Chad searched his face, taking note of every detail. Every pore, every dent. Every curve and glint. The faint, pink tone that covered his cheeks, and the just barely noticeable film of sweat.
The way his lips moved. That, in particular, was what his eyes fixed on. How they opened and pressed. Curved and pulled.
Then, they stopped.
“So,” Ryan started with a sigh. “Are you feeling in love yet?”
Chad shook out of it, blinking. “Huh?”
“The spell’s complete.”
Oh.
Okay.
Chad stood up and stretched his back. Ryan followed shortly after.
“You should be in love with me by now,” he spoke melodically with an arrogant smirk. “Are you in loooove?”
Chad gulped. “No.”
“You’re blushing.”
“I don’t blush , Evans.”
Ryan took a step closer. “You do. Just a little.”
He placed the tip of his finger on Chad’s cheek, which he swatted away immediately - grabbing his hand and pushing their lips to meet.
Ryan let out a muffled gasp, but adjusted promptly and wrapped his arms around his neck, opening his mouth a little. Chad stepped forward as he pulled him closer by the waist, clenching his fists around his shirt, and pushed him against a bookcase. It shook momentarily and a couple books fell, but they paid no mind.
Then, Ryan grabbed his jaw and muttered against his lips, “Been dying to do this, haven’t you?”
Chad kissed him again. “No. I don’t fucking like you,” he snarled. “It’s just the spell…and the lead in the walls.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Don’t care.”
Chad slipped his tongue into Ryan’s mouth, earning a pleased hum from him as he returned the motion. One of Ryan’s hands tangled in Chad’s curls as he pulled on them a little, allowing a shaky exhale to exit his mouth and briefly weakening his knees.
Then, Chad let his hands travel from Ryan’s waist, to his hips, to his thighs, and squeezed them slightly as he pushed his tongue further into his mouth.
Ryan, that fucker, just smirked into the kiss. “You’re such a liar,” he cooed.
Chad bit down on his lower lip, making the other gasp lightly. “I don’t like you ,” he snarled through his teeth. “It’s just. The spell.”
Ryan laughed softly. “Liarrrr.”
The front door creaked.
Chad let go of his lips.
“Ryan, Chad!” Taylor shouted. “Time to go!”
Chad slowly opened his eyes, panting. He still held onto Ryan’s thighs.
“...Never. Speak of this,” he whispered against his lips.
“Only if you don’t.”