The Boys Are Back in Town (11 page)

“I thought they were Wiccans. Earth worshippers and stuff,” Pix said.

Brian shook his head vehemently. “Not even close. Wicca didn't even exist until the twentieth century. Sure, there were pagans. Earth worshippers. Druids. But that was a whole different thing. And none of it's witchcraft.”

A ripple of heat ran up Will's back and he felt himself flush. Trepidation made his pulse race. He glanced at Caitlyn and Pix, who were surprisingly attentive, and then back at Brian.

“How do we know?” Will asked, amazed that the words were coming out of his mouth. These were things he had thought and wondered for a long time, but it was the sort of fanciful thinking that his friends had crucified him for in the past, and probably would again. Still, he wasn't going to stop now. “I mean, maybe some of them
were
witches. Into magic and shit.”

Brian hesitated, watching Will with a strange caution.

“You mean for real?” Caitlyn asked. “You believe in magic?”

Will knew he should shut up now, but he had already committed himself. “I don't know. Maybe I do. It just . . . some things don't make sense to me without it. I'm not sure if it still exists, but I kinda think that maybe . . .”

The din of the cafeteria, the voices and the clatter of trays and dishes, seemed to disappear in that moment.

“Maybe it did, once upon a time,” Brian said, nodding slowly.

The bell rang. Lunch period was over.

But something else had begun.

March, Sophomore Year . . .

There was just a hint of spring that day. The sun was warm and Will had seen a bunch of sparrows earlier. Every time the wind blew, it was a little reminder that winter had not surrendered just yet. As dusk stole the last of the sun from the sky and the darkness descended upon Eastborough, the air had turned cold in a brisk snap, as if the winter had been hiding, waiting for its time.

Spring would come, of course. As always. But until it truly arrived, winter would be tenacious in its hold.

The jukebox in Athens Pizza played En Vogue's “Free Your Mind.” Behind the counter, the brothers who ran the place bickered in an odd fraternal shorthand that might have had to do with business, or not. Perry and Arthur were Greek, and their native language crept into their dialogue with such subtlety that half the time they did not even seem to notice.

Will held on to Caitlyn's hand under the table; from time to time, she would spider-walk her fingers up his leg. They sat in a booth with Ashleigh and Eric, who had just started dating. It was odd for Will, knowing Ashleigh was kissing the guy, that he was probably getting into her pants, or would be soon. Not that he was jealous, but Ash was like his sister and he felt extremely protective. Eric was all right, though, and it was clear he genuinely liked Ashleigh. As to where things would go with them, the jury was still out.

There were still a few pieces of pizza left on the metal tray between them, and Will picked up a slice that was heavy with pepperoni. As he lifted it to his mouth he felt that tickling on his leg again and tensed, then shuddered as Caitlyn's fingers crawled up his inner thigh. He could not help fidgeting when she did this, and turned to her with an admonishing grin.

“What?” she demanded, masking her amusement poorly. She tossed her hair back and cocked an eyebrow. “Eat your pizza.”

It was this playfulness about her that had greatly contributed to his falling in love with her. Now he reached his right hand out to caress her face and slid closer to kiss her. No matter where they were, or what they were doing, she was unable to resist this kind of intimacy. Will knew it, but he did not use that knowledge to manipulate her. His heart drove him to it, and if asked he would have confessed that he believed she saw it in his eyes and that was why, even now, her mischief ended and she closed her eyes as their lips softly met. Of course, if he had confessed this, he would have been tormented mercilessly.

“Hey, lovebirds, snap out of it for a second!”

Danny Plumer started messing with his hair. Grinning, Will batted his hand away. Danny had his coat on already, always put together, always better dressed than anyone else. Behind him, Mike Lebo was pulling a fleece sweatshirt over his head and Nick was just standing up, jacket in hand. Brian was there as well, but he seemed oblivious to the great exodus of his companions, scarfing down the last of a piece of pepper-and-onion pizza. Typically, there were a couple of stains on his shirt.

Will always enjoyed having everyone together; that was his role in the group. Danny was the natural leader, the pretty boy. Mike was the fan boy, the one who picked the movies and whose enthusiasm was infectious. Nick was the smart one, though he tried to hide it. The three of them played football together. Then there was Brian, the misfit, just as smart as Nick but with few social skills, and Ashleigh, whom they all adored. Eric was on the football team as well, but was there because of Ashleigh, and of course Caitlyn was friendly with Ash, but was Will's girlfriend.

With the exception of Nick and Brian, they all got along. And Will was the one who brought them together, the axis upon which the whole group seemed to spin. He relished that.

“You guys taking off?” Eric asked his football teammates.

“Yeah, what's the rush?” Will prodded.

Danny laughed. “Please. Bud, you forgot we were even here.” He glanced at Ashleigh and Caitlyn. “Not that the rest of us boys don't love you, girls, but when you're around, your boyfriends are useless blobs of flesh.”

Caitlyn chuckled evilly. “Not so useless.”

“Wow,” Mike said in amazement. “Get a room, Cait.”

Everyone was laughing, but Will was focused on Danny, troubled because what his friend had said was true. “Sorry, bud,” he said, all earnestness, using the nickname the two of them nearly always called one another, but rarely used for anyone else.

Danny shrugged. “It's cool. Who can blame you. We're all just jealous because our table only had penises.”

Still seated, Brian nearly choked on his pizza, laughing, and had to spit some out into a napkin to catch his breath. The other guys started to laugh at him and any tension that had existed was quickly dispelled. Ancient AC/DC played on the jukebox now, and that was one of the things Will loved about Athens Pizza, the bizarre variety on the jukebox.

“Mike's dragging us to the comics shop,” Nick put in, rolling his eyes. “We tolerate his geekdom.”

Lebo shot him the middle finger. “A lot of comics are shit, but some of them are really amazing. Plus they're like jazz, man. One of the few truly American art forms. Trashing on comics is un-American.” He grinned, pleased with himself. “One of these days you're going to realize what you've been missing.”

“Possibly,” Nick replied, and then his expression became crestfallen. “And then, tragically, I'll also be the target of cruel mockery.” When he lifted his chin, his grin was devilish. “But I'll deserve it, just like you. Fan boy.”

Mike shook his head and sighed, used to the ribbing by now. He put a hand on Danny's shoulder and they looked down at Will.

“You're staying at Brian's tonight?” Mike asked.

“Yeah.”

“Another meeting of the young magicians' club?” Danny asked. “What is it tonight? You guys still trying to pronounce abracadabra?”

Brian slid to the edge of the booth the guys had just abandoned and kicked Danny in the butt, then quickly assumed an innocent pose, soda cup in hand, straw in his mouth. Danny laughed good-naturedly.

“Nah,” Nick mused, shooting a lewd glance at Caitlyn. “They're trying to figure out how to use their wands.”

Across the table from Will, Eric laughed and Ashleigh actually blushed so deeply scarlet that her ears were pink. Caitlyn only sat further forward in the booth, leaning in as though to share some secret.

“Actually,” she said in a confidential tone, “Will never has any trouble with his wand.”

Lebo actually blushed right along with Ashleigh at that one, but Danny and Nick wore expressions of surprise and delight as they hooted and high-fived each other. Will thought it all was pretty ironic. For all her talk, Caitlyn was shy when they were alone together. She teased, but she was nervous about sex. They had spent hours touching one another, but Will suspected it was going to be a long time before they got around to the real deal.

On the other hand, if she wanted to tease the other guys—who sure as hell weren't getting any—and make it seem like the two of them were fucking like rabbits, Will wasn't going to argue. In her way, Caitlyn was defending his and Brian's interest in magic, and he appreciated that. It was a hobby. People had hobbies. Lebo had his comics. Danny hit on girls. Nick lifted weights. Will was glad that he had found someone else who shared his interest in the subject, and Caitlyn didn't seem to mind at all.

“So, tell Superman I said hello,” Will said.

“I don't read
Superman,
” Lebo said, rolling his eyes at the way Will had so effortlessly turned the mockery back in his direction.

“No,” Brian said, still behind them. Will could barely see him past the others. “You only wear the underwear.”

Lebo nodded to indicate that he did indeed have Superman underwear. Will presumed he was kidding. Hoped he was. Nick, however, took the opportunity to turn his attention back to Brian as well.

“Speaking of underwear, how's Dori?” he asked.

Brian was used to this. “My little sister hears you talking about her underwear, she'll castrate you, Acosta.”

The matrix of lines that connected their group was fairly solid, but there were exceptions. Lolly and Pix, for instance, came and went within the group and weren't permanent fixtures. Nick and Brian, on the other hand, sometimes got along and other times seemed to actively dislike each other. Nick ignored him now, turning to Will. The glint in his eye was not altogether pleasant. There was more than friendly teasing going on here.

“Will, tell Dori I send my best, okay? And if you get a chance, steal me a pair of her panties.”

Ashleigh and Caitlyn uttered a chorus of revulsion and, as she was closest, Ashleigh smacked Nick in the chest.

“For a smart guy, you're such a pig,” Ashleigh said, her nose wrinkling as though she'd smelled something particularly disgusting.

“True,” Nick said, nodding without a hint of penitence. “But so's Danny.”

Caitlyn curled her lip. “Danny just doesn't oink quite so loud.”

“I'm going to take that as a compliment,” Danny decided, zipping up his coat. He glanced at Lebo and Nick. “Let's go.”

Will clapped hands with him and said good-bye to the other guys, and in moments they had all gone, save for Brian, who sat at the opposite booth amidst the remnants of a pizza feast, the veritable fifth wheel now that only the two couples remained. Brian didn't seem to notice, and Will knew Caitlyn didn't mind. The three of them had often spent time together of late. But after a few minutes, Eric nudged Ashleigh toward the edge of the booth.

“We should probably get going, too. Gonna be a Blockbuster night.”

“What'd you rent?” Caitlyn asked.

Ashleigh stood up from the booth and took her jacket from Eric. “
Witness,
” she said. “I've never seen it, but Eric says it's great.”

“Very cool movie,” Will agreed. “Harrison Ford. Danny Glover.”

“And the added benefit of Kelly McGillis's naked breasts,” Brian added in between sips of his soda. “Can't go wrong with naked breasts.”

Eric smiled. “Wouldn't that depend on who was naked? Like, I really don't think I'd want to see Mrs. Grundy's breasts.”

Will clapped a hand to his forehead. “Oh, fuck, that image is like broken glass in my head.”

Ashleigh promised to call Caitlyn the next day and reminded Will that her mom was going to take the two of them to the mall in Framingham. There was a moment when Will thought either Eric or Caitlyn would suggest that the four of them go, but no one did, and Will was sort of glad. No matter how deeply he felt for Caitlyn, he didn't want to stop making time for him and Ashleigh to just hang.

After Eric and Ashleigh had left, Will and Brian walked Caitlyn home. Her house wasn't exactly on the way to Brian's, but it was only about a half a mile off their path. Not a big deal at all. Brian was cool with it and didn't even mind waiting on the sidewalk for a couple of minutes while Will and Caitlyn kissed good-bye.

Then it was just the two of them, what Danny had called the “young magicians' club.” The name was stupid, just Danny razzing them, but it wasn't entirely inaccurate either. In the time since they had discovered this shared interest, Will and Brian had sifted through every bit of arcane weirdness they could dredge up, even getting their parents to bring them into Boston to sift through the dusty stacks in specialty bookstores and the Boston Public Library. Too often they learned of the existence of certain books but couldn't seem to get their hands on them.

They studied stage magic, even trying to learn to perform many of the tricks they discovered. Will was better at the sleight of hand, the close-up work, while Brian had a better natural understanding of the more complex illusions. Not that they were going to try to build any of them. Their passion did not drive them very far in that direction. Stage tricks, at the end of the day, were just tricks.

Though there was an ongoing conversation between them in which they acknowledged that it was all bullshit, that magic wasn't real, there was also something underlying that conversation that neither one of them wanted to address. The truth was, Will wanted to believe, and he thought Brian did as well. From time to time their hobby would unearth the smallest bits and pieces that supported the idea, and it was at these moments when Will and Brian would become most vocal about the idea that magic did not exist. They had read about ancient pagan rituals and modern Wiccan belief, had studied the fictions of H. P. Lovecraft and the rantings of Aleister Crowley and Gilles de Rais, and had been briefly fascinated by tales of the alchemists Fulcanelli and Saint Germain. If one were going to attempt magic, it seemed to both of them that turning iron into gold was an admirable pursuit.