The Devil's Lover Read online

  Peter groans, feeling his stomach churn sickly at the gruesome sight before him. That of flesh and blood of what was once a human being, laying sprawled almost disfigured on the ground. Simone, his current girlfriend, screams in horror and fainted at the sight of it. Peter closes his eyes, refusing to spare any more glance at the crippled, bloody body on the floor. He kneels down to hold the unconscious Simone in his arms. As he no longer knows what to do with the panic voices all around him, the people passing by frantically, he looks the other way and that is when he catches a sight of Trance with William. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Did Trance just smiled? How could anyone smile over such horrid incident? Peter thinks to himself as he notices Trance turning around to leave with William by his side.

  William puts his arms around Trance’s shoulder and just faintly, almost mistakable, almost impossible, Peter detects that William had shot a knowing glare at Peter. It is almost like a warning. Peter feels a current of shock from the glare. He has a weird feeling like that William guy knows what he is thinking. It doesn’t make sense but… he is sure that something is wrong. He knows Trance all his life. Trance is the nicest guy on earth. How can he smile over something so horrifying? He needs to find out, he thought silently. Something is up with the two of them. Something is just not right about them, he thought again in his head. Something is wrong.

  ֍֎֍

  ~1 year and 6 months ago~

  “Hey fag! You try to steal my boyfriend, didn’t you?!” Lindsay lashes out to Trance, pushing him back like a mad woman ready for a cat fight.

  “No. I didn’t,” Trance backed himself up.

  “Well Tyler told me you try to hit on him. Have you no shame, Trance? He will not even spare a filthy glance at you!” Lindsay ridiculed him.

  “I did not hit on him. I really don’t.”

  “That doesn’t change the fact that you’re a fag and you’re sooooo going to suffer for this!” Lindsay promised. Trance knew back then that she will do something really bad.

  “Wait! I really didn’t do anything!” Trance tried to convince her with little success as she is determined to bring him down.

  “Faggie bitchy liar…!” She only replied with another insult at Trance.

  ֍֎֍

  As he was being penetrated deeper, Trance moans to the intoxicating pleasure of pain. William gets undeniably excited with the moan. He thrusts into Trance even more forcefully. Trance starts to groan. “William…” he seductively whispered William’s name. “Please be gentle,” he begged, whispering, almost smiling in a jokingly manner.

  William smiles at the seduction. He understands the fact that they are now in one of the cubicles in the school’s toilet so Trance doesn’t want to make much noise. “Okay…” he said, whispering back to Trance. “This is an amazing payment,” he added.

  Trance smiles at the comment, feeling proud of being praised. He whispers back to William; “I know…” He chuckles a bit as he added; “I could be in love with the devil himself.” They both struggle to keep down their laughing voices at that last remark by Trance. There was havoc on the outside. People are disoriented by a death so sudden and grisly. However, on the inside, to them, there is nothing but delight. The pleasure of suffering from pain and of inflicting pain on others. The perverse pleasure of celebrating death.

  15. NUMBER FIVE DOWN THE RIVER

  Tyler stands still at the edge of the bridge. The river is flowing real fast down below. It is registered to his knowledge that the river is deep… with sharp rocks underneath. It is definite. And he’s going to jump. Yes, he is devastated by the death of his girlfriend, Lindsay a few days back but it’s not like he’s going to take his own life for it. It’s just that he was told to do this. No choice. He has to feel that cold water and that distinctive sharp pain. He has to die. The devil’s order is absolute…

  ֍֎֍

  ~1 year and 6 months ago~

  “Hey Trance… Wait till you hear the announcement today,” Tyler came at Trance with news he had no desire of hearing. He was in the middle of changing his books at his locker. The statement caught him by surprise. There was a wicked smile plastered across Tyler’s face that made Trance felt unsettled. He immediately left after he had said it. Trance wondered what was that all about… but he could feel in his guts that it was not something nice. No. Not at all nice.

  “Announcing to all you listeners out there,” on the speaker of the school, Trance can hear Lindsay’s voice echoed. “The school famous nerdy faggot, Trance Wilson, is such a man-eater! Be careful of your boyfriends, biatch. ‘Coz he may eat them like a wolf! So long, suckers!!!”

  At the end of the announcement, Trance felt his face hot with shame. The fact that everyone else was laughing did not help. They were looking at Trance who stood dumbstruck at his locker. That was the world. Anyone. As long as it wasn’t them. Anyone will do. Anyone else being bullied, as long as it’s not them. All they had to do was laugh along and they’ll be fine. They’ll escape being the victim. Trance quickly ran away through those laughing crowd and hid himself in one of the cubicles in the toilet. Tears were streaming down fast on his face. He felt deeply hurt at the accusation because it was a lie. They were all liars! And it hurts him most because those people, the crowds, they didn’t care of what’s true. As long as it wasn’t them. They didn’t care.

  ֍֎֍

  Trance sings a song as he witnesses Tyler jumping down to the river from a distance; “~Liar… Liar… pants on fire… Liar… Liar… goes down by the river…~” he then leans his head and the side of his body to a tree as he looks at the dark surroundings near the river. There’s nothing but dark woods on both sides of the end of the bridge above the river. The sound of the fast-flowing river fills his ear. William walks closer to his side, looking at where Trance is looking. The moonlight is shining brightly above them.

  “You’re not going to change your mind, right?” William asked.

  Trance shows no sort of emotions in his eyes and face. “Why would I change my mind?” He answered William with another question. “It’s fun doing this,” he stated.

  William chuckles for a bit and then he brushes his lips to Trance’s ears. Trance closes his eyes at the soft tingling sensation he feels. “What about Peter?” He later whispered a question to Trance’s ears.

  Trance is the one who chuckles this time. “Hey, Devil, are you jealous?” He asked.

  William quickly pulls himself away from Trance. “Pay me now,” he ordered. Trance laughs even more at that. It’s obvious that William is avoiding the question. Perhaps the answer is clear. Perhaps it doesn’t matter. Perhaps there’s no answer to the question at all. But still, jealousy operates within an evil heart.

  “Yeah… yeah…” Trance simply said, uncaring of having his question answered. Perhaps he’ll just play along with the game this time. Perhaps he will even come to enjoy it.

  16. NUMBER SIX BY THE RAZOR

  Monique locks herself in the bathroom. She can hear people banging the door from the other side, forcing her to open and let them in. But she can’t open the door no matter how much she wanted to. Because she has to listen to the devil and the devil told her to take the razor and cut her wrist deeply with it. So she does what she was told to do. The pain is unbearable, especially because it is a deep cut. The blood flows fast tripping down from the wrist to the floor. But she can’t even scream from the pain. The burning sensation of the sting from the touch of the cold air to the wound. She can’t even show the pain she feels on her face. Her expression shows nothing but of emptiness. The blood keeps flowing… It will not stop. Until she can’t breathe from the loss of blood. And she will slowly wither away.

  ֍֎֍

  ~1 year and 5 months ago~

  Trance is sitting down at one of the tables in the cafeteria. He sits there alone since no one would sit with him, obviously. If anyone sits with him, they’ll also be ridiculed by the cheerleaders and will be marked by the football team bullies. No. no one wants to live
a miserable life. Anyone else. As long as it’s not them.

  The cheerleaders passed by Trance on the way to their table. The side of the cafeteria which was only filled with the popular kids. That the other kids would only look at, wondering what it will be like to be a part of them. Monique shot a glance at Trance. She was holding a cup of juice in her hand. With a mischievous smile, she turned around and walked back to Trance. She pretended to stumble and the drinks spilled all over Trance. “Ooops… Sorry, I slipped,” she said without any hint of feeling sorry. It sounded more like a joke than an actual apology. Trance could not even say anything back at her since all of the cheerleaders and the kids in the cafeteria were then laughing loudly at him.

  The sounds of their laughter combined filling the air like toxic. Trance almost could not breathe. The air seemed like it was poisonous. It was puzzling to him as to why he was treated like he is some sort of an amusement to them. He stood up slowly, giving up on caring of mocking faces and insulting voices. He walked away slowly, as well, drenched in the sticky fruit juice that had blended with his clothes, passing by the laughing people. He kept walking. He kept walking away. Far from them. Until he can no longer hear their laughter. Until he can be alone and forget about the world.

  ֍֎֍

  “Mrs. Cuttingham, can I have a minute with you?” Peter asked a teacher, out of a sudden, who was just about to enter the teacher’s lounge. The suicide circle that had been going on lately has been the only thing that the people at school are talking about. It only happens among third year and he can’t help but feel a bit nervous about it.

  “Oh, hi Peter. What’s the matter?” She asked, sounding concerned.

  Peter flashes his charming smile at her. “No. Nothing really. I was just hoping that you can give me a copy of the list of students in my class from the first year? It’s just that this is the last year for me so I really want to send them goodbye cards. I thought you might have them since you were our homeroom teacher back then,” he lied with an excuse that no sane persons who knew him would believe him but then again, Mrs. Cuttingham is not one of his friends. She wouldn’t know that he’s not one who would actually write goodbye cards. That’s just plain cheesy and uncool. Cool kids like him don’t do that. But let the teacher believes for a moment that there are kids with good hearts these days. A fictional belief, of course.

  “Oh sure. I’ll get it for you, dear,” Mrs. Cuttingham said, raising her glasses for a bit. Peter smiles at her, pleased that his lie works wonders. He needed the list. Because things are starting to make sense to him somehow... He starts to notice that the students who had committed suicide were his classmates from first year of senior high. He just needs to make sure that he is right. If he’s right, then, Trance might be behind it. He has no idea how just yet but he’s going to find out about it. But he is aware that Trance has every reason to wanting them dead. But how did he make them commit suicide was a riddle begging to be solved. He wants to be the one to solve this, especially when he believes that the new guy William is suspicious. There is a malign feel to his gaze, his smile, and everything about him. And he hates that he has to be with Trance. He wants to be rid of him.

  ֍֎֍

  William gets up from the bed slowly and puts his clothes back on. He looks back at Trance whose sound asleep on his bed. He has a growing affection towards him, he knew. It’s not supposed to happen. He is the devil. He wasn’t supposed to have any feelings. But he’s been keeping Trance’s soul with him for a long time now that it has started to backfire on him. He’s the one who can feel now since he has a soul with him.

  It feels good at times to have emotions, William thought. It is because at times he can feel really happy when he is with Trance and he gets truly satisfied when he has sex with him. But at other times, having emotions is just too much for him since he can feel anger and jealousy. Those emotions are eating his rationality. He has been trying very hard to keep calm these days.

  William quickly walks to the window. He takes one last look at the sleeping Trance before jumping out of the window. He was about to hit the ground when gravity seems to has lost its power on his body. He is levitating for a few seconds before he lets gravity gently pulls his feet back to the ground. Fixing his clothes, he slowly walks away from Trance’s house. The moon is so bright tonight. He likes being outside during the full moon. He feels even more powerful with the moonlight shining on him. He can’t wait for the revenge to be over. But the torment of waiting is a must. It is more satisfying to have what you want when you have waited long enough for it. After that, he’ll get to own Trance as a whole. He has been anticipating it.

  17. NUMBER SEVEN IN THE TUB

  The water had filled the bathtub. Lana, one of the school cheerleaders, looks down onto it with no hint of emotions on her face. She slips into the bathtub and sinks herself into the water. She can no longer hold her breath after 30 seconds. She is suffocating. Bubbles started coming out from her mouth. Asphyxiated. But she can’t get out from the water. The words of the devil are clear. She will have to just wait until she dies. Until she fades into the dark.

  ֍֎֍

  ~1 year and 4 months ago~

  Lana was finally done with copying the posters she had made. And it is especially made for Trance. She knew it in her heart that she was doing the right thing. She had to ask everyone to go against that sick faggot. They were taught in a Christian school, for God’s sake. Of course such disgusting thing should not flaunt his ass around in school. It only made sense if she distributes the posters around. She was doing this in the name of God! No rooms for such abomination! She will paste the posters around school. She couldn’t care less of the consequences because she knew she was doing the right thing. And the faggot must die!

  ֍֎֍

  Among the hall of lockers, Simone stares down at another bouquet of roses on the floor. This time, it’s Lana who died. She feels dreadful. It’s not a common feeling for her to feel but this had been too much. One by one the cheerleaders and the senior year students are committing suicide. It doesn’t even make any sense because when she last saw them, they looked just fine. They looked like nothing in the world is ever going to make them kill themselves. It’s just so odd… She can never understand why people do such stupid things. Why would anyone end their lives? She can’t never even comprehend the thought. It’s all so morbid. It’s all so out of this world. Life is too good to be wasted like that.

  The school is starting to get real gloomy as well. People no longer chat as lively as they always do when they walk around the school and laughter is hardly heard anymore. This place used to be so lively! Feeling completely underwhelmed, she decides to skip school. As she was about to leave the school, she acknowledges William sitting on a bench under a shady tree. He is reading a book. Alone. Looking hot as hell. How can a hot guy like William be gay? She thinks to herself. And that’s when she finds it interesting if she could try to get her mind off of this suicide circle madness for a while. William is Trance’s boyfriend right? Trance is nothing compared to her. Oh come on. He’s probably gay because he never had sex with a woman before. Who knew? And she is one who’s very, very good at sex, apparently. She feels confidence that William will definitely fall for her charm. So, with a mind and a bravery of a child, she walks towards William, getting her sex appeal on full bloom.

  William looks up at her as she draws closer. There’s a small smile that crosses his lips. He closes his book as she sits next to him. “Hi,” she greeted.

  “Hi,” William greeted back. He is smiling a charming smile at her. Anyone would fall head over heels for that smile. Why does Trance got to own this guy instead of her, really?

  “Where’s Trance?” She asked, trying to start up a conversation.

  William licks his lips a little before answering. It thrills Simone to see him do this. It was as if he was flirting with her. “He’s in detention. Apparently he was rude to a teacher,” he informed.

  “Oh… Trance has chang
ed quite so much…” she commented, chest forward. She lets her breast brushes against William’s elbow a little. William notices the gesture. It amazes Simone that William looks like he knows what she is thinking. Or wanting.

  William chuckles a little to the small gesture of her flirtation. Simone smiles seductively at him. But in a blink of an eye, the charming smile that was plastered all along on William’s face disappeared. “Thanks to people like you,” William then said.

  The statement caused the smile Simone had on her face shifted into a frown. “What d’you mean?” Simone asked, playing innocence. She can’t help but feel a little nervous. Only now that she notices that all this while when William was smiling, only his lips smiled. His eyes didn’t. That was well-known as a smile of a sociopath. And even psychopath.

  William puts on a devilish smile this time towards her as if he can read her mind. He holds up the book he was holding in front of Simone. “If it’s up to me,” he said slowly. Evil seems to flicker in his eyes. The book he was holding, then, suddenly bursts into flame. Simone gets up quickly from where she was sitting in a state of shock to see the sudden flame. “I would have you burn,” he continued. Just as quickly as the fire appeared, the fire then disappeared. The book is now back to normal. Simone can’t believe her eyes. She ponders to herself if what she had seen was real. It was like a magic trick. A wicked magic trick! William laughs at the horrifying look on Simone’s face. He gets up slowly and walks away while still laughing at her. Simone still can’t believe her eyes. Her heart is still beating so fast from the shock. And when logic hits her brain, she begins to feel scared. She looks around, hoping for approval. Hoping for sympathy, even. To see if anyone else saw what she had seen. But everyone else seems like they haven’t seen anything. She can’t believe that this is happening to her. No. She needs to quickly head home. She needs to forget all this. She can’t be tricked and played like this!