Hallween Night: Uncle Troy's Magical Touch

This is a Gay Adult story. It was written by me in November of 1998. This is pure fiction and none of the characters are real. Any resemblance of such is purely coincidental. You must be of age in your country to read this story legally.

Any comments or constructive criticism is welcome. Send them via email to Mathis B. Rogers mathis@mathisbrogers.com

This is the conclusion of "Halloween Night". You need to visit my website at: http://mathisbrogers.com/index.html and get it before reading this one.

Halloween Night: Uncle Troy's Magical Touch

By

Mathis B. Rogers

Copyright November 20, 1998

A gentle breeze rustled the tall grass that lined the outside edge of the broken down fence surrounding the old abandoned house that stood on the hill over looking Hayden, Vermont. With a snap of my fingers, the fence was mended and the grass looked as though it had just been cut. However, I did not change it from burnt yellow to a flourishing green. After all, it was fall and most of the grass around had already turned yellow as it prepared for its long winter's nap.

Fall was upon us. Most of the trees in Vermont had already started turning different colors. I enjoyed flying over the trees this time of year. However, I wasn't in the mood to fly now. I had just returned from tea with my Mother's side of the family in London. My father hadn't been able to join us because he had to stay in town and open the boutique he and Mom owned.

Although I had explained to the family what had happened the previous night - Halloween night - at the old house, I hadn't told them I had turned time back once and was seriously considering doing it again.

The second time around there hadn't been any major problems until I was almost caught in the bathroom closet by James, one of the fraternity brothers from the university. Had I not gone invisible, he would have found me. Since Gavin was supposed to spend the night alone in the house, they could have caused trouble for him had I been caught.

My only concern was not what I was going to tell Gavin when he asked where I had been - I had decided to tell him I was in the shower stall. Neither he nor James had even looked at the shower door when they discovered I wasn't in the closet. No, what I was concerned with was what would happen if Gavin and I did become lovers? I had never had a mortal boyfriend before and I didn't know any witches or warlocks who had, either. Of course, I'd never had a boyfriend before. How could Gavin trust me if I didn't tell him I was a warlock? What would happen if I did?

Brandon had teased me that if I did tell Gavin and he didn't freak out, that, if we ever did break up, I'd have to turn Gavin into an inanimate object. I knew that he had been teasing about that. But, aside from turning time back and not telling Gavin, what would I do if Gavin did freak out?

And, to make matters worse, I hadn't told anyone in my family except for Brandon, that I was gay. If I were to start dating Gavin, how would I keep my secret from my family?

I hadn't actually told Brandon I was gay. I met a guy, Clint, in high school that I spent a lot of time with. I had started to really fall in love with him, but I had never had sex before, so I wasn't sure what I was feeling was really love. One day after school, Clint invited me home with him to study. He wound up teaching me how to masturbate, then he sucked my cock and I sucked his. Afterwards, he fucked me. Right as he came, Brandon popped in, looking for me. At first Brandon was mad at me, but after we had talked and he explained that I was gay if I let guys do that to me, we seemed to get closer. Unfortunately, after that time, school let out for the summer and Clint's dad found a job in another city and they moved away. That had been the only time Clint and I had had sex.

At tea in London, Gramps, as we called my great-great grandfather, had given me permission to do whatever I wanted to with the old house. He and Grams had wanted to sell it when they found the chateau on the French Riviera. Not that they needed the money, they just wanted to get rid of the responsibility for the house. They had owned the mansion for almost a century, so I had talked them out of selling, for sentimental reasons. Now, as I stood in the front yard and looked at it, I wondered if I really wanted to make it a boarding house.

Gavin had told me that he'd move into it, but that I'd have to move in, too. I knew that I had to have the remodeling done before November fifteenth, in order to get the students who were going to be homeless by the fifteenth because of the dorms closing for the holidays. That was only two weeks away. Not that I couldn't have remodeled right then and let them move in that evening, but now that Gavin had been in the house the night before, he knew what it looked like. It would take a lot of explaining if I did remodel with the wave of my hand.

"Damn," I sighed. "I wish I hadn't even thought about doing this."

All of a sudden the old house that I had loved so dearly took on a new look. It appeared to be nothing but an eye-sore. How could I be so stupid to expect anyone to live in it? Everyone in town thought it was haunted. Even Gavin had said he'd only live there with me. Was that because he really loved me or because he knew that I could keep the spooks away?

A rumble of thunder echoed across the clear blue sky and the ground shook as the house crumbled in a pile of dust. The wind that followed blew so hard that the old oak tree in the front yard actually uprooted and fell to the ground with a resounding thud. With tears streaming down my cheeks, I sped as fast as I could toward Jupiter. Molecular transfer wasn't what I needed. I needed to feel the wind in my face. Unfortunately, if you don't go invisible when flying, you can really get hurt by debris - especially when flying through space. I was running - flying actually - from reality. I wanted to get as far from Earth as I could. I was tired of hiding. Tired of not being able to tell the ones I loved that I was a warlock. Tired of not being able to tell the ones I loved, I was gay.

There weren't very many people in the Moonbeam Lounge on Jupiter, but I still managed to almost bump into Uncle Troy when I skidded to a halt as I became visible and landed.

"Shane," he said, moving his drink so it wouldn't spill, "what's going on? How fast were you going?"

I glanced at my watch. "I made it from Gramps' old house in two minutes," I replied.

Uncle Troy grinned at me. "I haven't flown that fast since the time I was upset because Dad wouldn't let me turn my sister into a puppy. If you were just in a hurry to get here, you would have used molecular transfer, so what's wrong?"

Uncle Troy and Aunt Christine, Mom's sister, had been married for almost thirty years, but they hadn't had any children yet.

I sighed. I really shouldn't have left the house in a shambles that way. "I can't really talk about it," I admitted.

He smiled tenderly. "Come on, Shane. Let's go sit over here and talk."

Uncle Troy had a beautiful smile. He really was a hunk. I could see why Aunt Christine was happy with him. I had always had a crush on him. Sometimes I thought he knew. He led me over to a table in the corner and made a bottle of root beer materialize in front of me. Everyone in the family knew that I didn't drink. I sometimes wondered if I was the only person in the universe who didn't drink.

"Now fess up. You can tell me anything," he said. "Whatever you say will stay here between us. I won't even tell Christine."

I sighed and melted into those warm blue eyes. I looked away before he had a chance to scan my mind. I knew that it was possible, but had never done it myself. Mom and Dad used telepathy to communicate all the time, but I had never tried it. They had never used it on Brandon and me, either. No one had ever read my mind, that I knew of.

"As you know, Gramps said that I could do whatever I wanted to with the house," I began and took a sip of root beer.

"Yes. And I think that's good, someone needs to do something with it."

"Well, I just tore it down," I admitted.

He frowned at me. "What for?"

"What would happen if I fell in love with a mortal and told her that I was a warlock?" I asked instead of answering his question.

He took a deep breath and sipped his drink before replying. "Shane, if you have found someone who loves you, then they should accept you as you are. But I've got a cousin who told his girlfriend and she freaked. He had to turn time back to before he told her and then he didn't tell her. He was heartbroken and so was she when he broke up with her. After that, he made a vow to stay away from mortals. Which is the best option. Luckily he found a witch a couple of months later and they've since gotten married and are happy now. They've been married about ten years."

"But what if you don't care for any of the witches that are available?" I wanted to know.

He chuckled. "You don't know them all, Shane. The right one might be out there on the ski slopes just waiting for you."

I scanned the slopes. There were several witches who weren't married or dating anyone and there were several warlocks who were available, but they were all straight.

Uncle Troy frowned. "You just scanned the slopes, didn't you?"

"Yeah," I admitted. "No one there for me."

He looked at me thoughtfully for a moment. He made his empty glass disappear as he stood up. "Come with me, Shane. I have something to show you."

I stood up, making my soda vanish. Taking me by the arm, he snapped his fingers.

I had no idea where we were. We were outside, I could tell we were no longer on Jupiter. The ground was kind of grayish like it was covered in hardened lava. A black cloud hung heavily over everything. It was very hot. "Where are we?" I asked. The planet had no visible life, yet I knew it wasn't the moon because I'd been there before. Had we not been warlocks, it would have been impossible to breathe.

"Venus," he replied. "The planet of love."

"What for?" I asked.

"You'll see," he replied with a grin.

He led me toward a large boulder and I was surprised to see a wooden gate behind it. Uncle Troy held it open for me and I stepped in; he followed.

I felt like I had stepped into the Garden of Eden. It was beautiful. There were trees and flowers everywhere and the sun was shining brightly. We were in an oasis. Right in the center of the area was a red and yellow stripped tent. A nice cool breeze rustled the tree tops.

Uncle Troy held the flap open for me and I stepped in. Now I felt like I had stepped into an old movie from Egypt where there were harems and at any moment belly dancers would come out, hiding behind their veils.

"Where are the camels?" I asked.

He chuckled. An elderly woman came out of the back room. To my surprise, she was absolutely beautiful. She wasn't dressed as I had expected her to be. She wore a pink business dress and her white hair was done up neatly in a bun at the top of the back of her head.

"Good morning, Troy," she said, smiling at him.

"Ms. Marble. How are you?" he asked.

"It's a lovely day," she replied. "I am doing great."

"Good."

She looked at me and smiled warmly. "Is this your son?" she asked.

"No," he replied. "My nephew, Shane. His mother is my wife's sister. Shane, this is Ms. Marble."

"It's nice to meet you," I replied, politely.

"I'm honored to meet you," she replied. I was dying to know what was going to happen. I hoped she wasn't a madam and Uncle Troy was going to set me up with a prostitute. Not that I knew any witch prostitutes, but there was a lot I didn't know.

Ms. Marble turned to a table setting in the corner. To my surprise, it was covered in red and there was obviously a crystal ball under the black felt cloth on top.

"I thought crystal balls were just fantasy stuff," I admitted as she removed the cloth.

She smiled. "If you don't believe, then it is," she replied. "And how many people do you know who think warlocks are just fantasy stuff?"

"Everyone."

"Have a seat, Shane," she said, motioning to the chair.

Uncle Troy stood beside me as she looked into the crystal ball. I noticed her smile fade, but all I could see in the ball were gray clouds.

She glanced up at me and then looked nervously at Uncle Troy before she spoke. "Troy, may I ask you to return to Jupiter? This reading is going to have to be private."

He frowned at me then nodded. "Very well. Shane, join me at the lounge when you're done."

"Okay. Thanks for bringing me here."

He snapped his fingers and he was gone. Ms. Marble adjusted her chair and looked up at me.

"Gavin Sanders is a very special mortal," she told me; I could still only see clouds in the ball. "He will not betray you if you tell him you are a warlock. However, there are other mortals who might find out in the not too distant future. I cannot tell you who they are. You will also have a problem with your family if you decide to become lovers with this mortal."

"Are the problems with my family because he's mortal, or because he's a man? As you seem to know, I haven't told them I'm gay."

"I know," she replied. "That's why I sent Troy away. The answer is both."

"Should I rebuild the house and make it a boarding house?" I asked.

She smiled and shrugged. "I only deal with love relationships. This is Venus, the planet of love. If you want to know that, you'll have to go back to Earth and find a gypsy."

I chuckled. "Thank you, Ms. Marble. I appreciate your time. How much do I owe you?"

She laughed. "I am witch, Shane. What would I do with money?"

"Thank you again," I said.

She nodded and I was standing at the bar at the Moonbeam Lounge. She had sent me back to Uncle Troy.

He smiled at me and said, "Well, I hope it was good news, at least. However, I have discovered that anything private from Ms. Marble is usually bad news."

"At least she hasn't broken her record," I replied, materializing a fresh root beer for myself as I sat down next to him.

He smiled tenderly and rubbed my arm. "If you ever need to talk about it, Shane, I'm here for you. Well, not here, but you can find me. Just holler."

"Thanks, Uncle Troy," I replied. "But there's only one person in this family I can talk to about this one and that's Brandon."

"Okay. Why don't we go skiing?" he asked. "Maybe you can get your mind off of everything as we speed down the slopes. I don't have to be back to Earth until about two-thirty, eastern time, so we have a couple of hours."

I really didn't care for skiing, but I didn't want to return to Earth either. "Okay," I conceded."

A snap of his fingers and we were dressed in warm ski clothes and standing on top of the hill with our skis and poles, ready to start downward.

A couple of hours later, I was exhausted. Reaching the bottom of the hill again, Uncle Troy skied to a stop in front of me.

"It's one o'clock," I told him, glancing at my watch. "I think I've had enough."

"Okay. Come on, let's go back in and get something to drink."

"Good idea," I agreed.

Snapping his fingers, we were back in the lounge and were wearing what we had been previously and we both had a bottle of something cold to drink in front of us. Me a root beer, he a beer.

"Now wasn't that fun?" he asked.

I had enjoyed it, but only because I had been with him. "Yes," I admitted.

We rested for a while and sipped our drinks. Some other people had arrived and were on the dance floor.

"I hope Mom and Aunt Christine find some good stuff," I said. They had gone shopping for new things that Mom and Dad could sell at the boutique.

"So do I," he agreed. "But Christine drug me to this neat little place out in the middle of no where in Wyoming the other day that had some cool things. She said she was going to take Cathy there, so I'm sure they will come back with a truck load of ideas to zap up."

"That'll be nice," I said.

He glanced out at the dance floor. "So, this girl you're wanting to tell you're a warlock, is it Robin?" he asked.

Robin Porter was a friend of mine. My parents thought we were more than just friends. Dad had told me that if I decided to marry her, to remember that telling mortals we were warlocks could be tricky. I told him he didn't have to worry. I was not planning to marry her.

"No," I replied. "But it would be fun if she knew. No, this is someone I met in college a couple of years ago."

"You've known Robin forever, haven't you?"

"Just about. We met in junior high. I get the feeling that she wouldn't mind if she knew, but I still can't muster up the courage to tell her."

"Just remember that if you do tell her, you could ruin a twelve year friendship if she does freak. Because, if you turn time back to not tell her, you'll still remember what happened when you did and that will effect your relationship."

"I know," I replied, sadly.

"But, no, it's not her," I added. "I guess it's best that I don't get serious with anyone, anyway. Every time I get lucky, Brandon pops in right at the wrong time. And just the other morning I was jerking off before getting up and Dad popped in. How do you and Christine keep the family from barging in on you while you're doing it?"

I blushed. I couldn't believe that I had just asked him that, even if he had told me I could talk to him about anything.

"Your Dad did tell us that you never really liked studying, Shane. He said you passed high school and college by the skin of your teeth. Now I see that you haven't been studying your spell book, either. If you were, you would have found the spell that keeps people not only from popping into certain places you want private, but also keeps them from scanning those places."

"Oh, really?" I asked. Now I was really embarrassed.

"Come on," he said, standing up. "I've got an idea. We've still got a good forty- five minutes before I have to be on the Seven Seas, so we can go relax in the hot spring steam baths for a while."

"Hot spring steam baths?" I asked.

"Yes. You mean you haven't been to them before?"

"No, never heard of them."

"Well, you are still pretty young, I guess no one ever introduced you to them."

"No, they haven't." Getting to my feet, I made my empty bottle disappear.

Snapping his fingers, Uncle Troy took us into a workout gym. I could see there were several people working out on the equipment in the room.

A counter stood in front of the wall, there was an attendant working. He was very muscular, had short blond hair and a great tan. He was a hunk. He smiled at me and then looked at Uncle Troy.

"Hello, Mr. Reid," he said. "How are you this afternoon?"

"Just great, Tony," Uncle Troy replied. "This is my nephew, Shane Jordan. You know his parents, Cathy and Dean Jordan."

"Yes, you and Mrs. Reid come in with them frequently."

"We'd like to get a room. He hasn't been here before."

"I'm sorry, sir," Tony replied. "You have to be at least twenty-one to get in here."

"He's twenty-five," he responded.

"Oh, I'm sorry. He just doesn't look it."

"I've got my driver's license," I said, pulling my wallet out of my back pocket.

Tony grinned. "And I have a dozen that says I range anywhere from twenty-one to two- thousand and I'm able to legally drive in every state and continent on Earth," he said, materializing a fold out packet that had driver's licenses in them. "And I've never even been near a Department of Motor Vehicles."

I hadn't realized how difficult it was going to be to prove to a warlock how old I was. I had never needed to before, so I hadn't even thought about it.

He made the packet disappear and said, "Let me see your hand, Mr. Jordan."

I glanced at Uncle Troy and he shrugged. Tony took my hand in his. It was a strong warm grip that sent tingles through my entire body. He smiled and let go of my hand. "Very well, you were born July 24, 1973 at six oh three p.m. You were right, he is twenty-five. You'll be in room A. If you need anything, just call."

"Thanks," Uncle Troy said, grinning as he lead me through the back door to a long row of rooms.

He opened the door marked "A" and we walked in. "How'd he do that?" I asked.

"Honestly, I don't know. Maybe you should look in your spell book," he replied, closing the door behind me.

"Good idea," I agreed. I was beginning to get the hint that if I wanted to use my powers to their full extent, I was going to have to start studying.

The room that we were in was fairly small. On the left side there was a bench with two lockers on the wall behind it and on the right was a shower stall that was large enough for two people. There were two shower heads. At the back of the room was a doorway that led into a larger room. There was nothing covering this door, so I could clearly see a large body of water that was bubbling. I could tell it wasn't a hot tub, just a hole in the ground with hot, bubbling water in it.

"It comes from an underground spring," Uncle Troy replied to my unspoken question.

"Oh," I said. "I didn't think there was any water on Jupiter except for the lake."

"Who knows. The Witches' Council came up with this place a long time before I was born and your dad is the one who introduced it to me when I started dating Christine. So I have no idea."

"I thought they didn't do this until a couple of years ago when that comet hit Jupiter," I said.

"Oh, no. The place was here, but not for skiing. Just for partying. The comet put the slopes in and that's when they moved down here and started the skiing. It used to be up where the equator is. We're close to the bottom of the planet, now."

"I see," I replied.

"So, are you ready to sit in the hot water?"

"Sure."

"Now, to keep others from bothering us," he continued, "use this spell: With this door closed, no matter the time, privacy is ours, Shane's and mine." He drew a couple of loops in the air with his index finger and added, "There. Now if anyone tries to pop in, they'll wind up outside the door. They can't walk through the door, either, even if they go invisible. And, they can't scan in here to see what we're doing or who's in here."

"But what if I'm at home and I don't want anyone to come in?" I asked. "That incantation won't work for me."

"Sure it will. Just adjust it. You'd say, 'With this door closed, no matter the time, inside this apartment, privacy is mine.'"

"Oh, that makes sense."

"Or, if you just want it to be one or two rooms, specify the rooms you want private. But since your front door opens out on the top floor and the steps go down and no one else uses those stairs, except the people on the second floor, I'd suggest just making your entire apartment private. No one will notice people popping onto your front balcony, since that tree is right there."

"Thanks, Uncle Troy, I think I will."

He placed his hand on my upper arm and said, "Now we can relax in the hot spring for a while before we have to go back to Earth."

"Okay," I replied.

To my surprise, he snapped his fingers and we were both only wearing a towel. I presumed that he had put our clothes in the lockers.

He led me into the room with the spring and slipped his towel off. He had an all- over tan. He didn't have any hair on his upper torso, but there was a small trail that ran from his navel down into the soft black hair of his public region. I couldn't believe this was happening. I had fantasied about seeing him nude for as long as I could remember. Now I was actually seeing him.

Quickly diverting my eyes, I slipped my towel off and let it fall on the ground beside the spring. I glanced at him and he grinned. He was already in the water, but he took me by the hand and said, "Watch that first step, it's tricky sometimes."

I stepped in and he put his arm around me and guided me down into the water. "It's going to be kind of hot at first," he said and he was right. I was tempted to turn on the cold water.

"Now, sit back and relax," he instructed.

I sank into the water and it came up to my chin. It did feel good after a few minutes.

Uncle Troy sat next to me and stretched, letting his leg brush against mine. "You never did tell me who the girl is you were wanting to tell you're a warlock," he said, softly. "Or is it a guy?" he added with a sly grin.

Again, I quickly diverted my eyes. He sat up and said, "Don't worry, Shane. I know you're gay. You're secret is safe with me. I haven't mentioned it to anyone in the family. I get the feeling that they all think that you and Robin are getting serious."

"That's a relief," I said. "You know, Ms. Marble said that I could trust Gavin, but I couldn't be lovers with him because of my family. They wouldn't be happy because one, he's a guy, and two, he's mortal."

"You know, Shane, now that you know about the privacy spell, you can arrange it so that they won't know about the two of you."

"I guess that's true," I agreed.

I sighed as he sunk down a little. He wasn't touching me, but I remembered the feel of his leg against mine. Closing my eyes, I couldn't get the image of him out of my mind.

"Uncle Troy?" I asked softly.

"Yes?"

"When you and Aunt Christine and Mom and Dad come here, do you share a room?"

"When we come together," he replied. "Why?"

"Do you all sit in here nude?" I was really beginning to wonder what kind of relationship they had. After all, they did spend a lot of time together.

He grinned. "No, Shane. We wear swim trunks and the girls wear bikinis. You're not a product of a kinky family, if that's what you're worried about. However, when your Dad and I come by ourselves, we do sit in here nude, but that doesn't happen very often.

"If it bothers you to be nude with me, we can get swim trunks," he offered.

"No, that's fine. I was just curious."

"I really do love you, Shane," he said. "But I want you to know that your Aunt Christine is the only person for me. I am straight and I have never been with a guy before. I want to really stress to you that I do love you, but I'm not doing this to lead you on. It's just what we do; sit in the hot tub nude if there are no women present. If Christine and I are here alone, then we sit in the buff. Of course, we do more than just sit," he added with a grin.

I smiled. "Thanks for telling me, Uncle Troy. And thanks for letting me sit here with you this way. I don't think Dad would."

"Sure he would. Sometimes Brandon joins us when we're here without the wives. Of course, since you've gotten yourself a boner, we'd be better off not asking him to let you join us. He might find out that you're gay."

I blushed. I didn't realize he had scanned under the water.

"Now, what about the house?" he asked, changing the subject. "I swung by there on the way back from Jupiter and you did a great job of demolishing it. Are you going to leave it like that?"

"Part of me wants to make it a boarding house, but another part knows that no one will move into it. The entire town thinks it's haunted."

He pushed himself up out of the water. "Come on, let's go look at it. Maybe we can think of something else to do with it."

"Okay," I replied, standing also. I was still boned but he just grinned and didn't say anything.

I let him do the honors and we were instantly dried, dressed and standing before the pile of rubble. "What happened to the tree?" he wanted to know.

"I let the wind kind of give me a boost as I left, right before I went invisible," I explained.

"Yes, a tail-wind does help," he agreed. A wave of his hand and the tree was back where it belonged.

"Now for the house," he said. "Pile of rubble, restore yourself to your original state, on the double." He raised his hand and the house rebuilt itself from the ground up.

"Thanks, Uncle Troy," I said, softly.

"I think what you ought to do is sell this house to the historical society. Your grandmother mentioned that they had wanted to buy it once. I put it back together like it was originally, without the bathroom that she installed. I even repainted it and replaced the broken boards. It's exactly like it was when your Gramps bought it. Complete without the dust and cobwebs, too."

That was the best idea that I had heard so far. It belonged to Gramps and that would be what he probably wanted, too. It would make a nice museum, I had to agree.

"Okay. I'll go talk to them," I promised.

He glanced at his watch. "Christine and I have been invited to sail the Seven Seas this afternoon with my parents," he reminded me, "so I'd better go. But I meant it, Shane, when I said that if you ever need to talk to me about anything - even boyfriends - just call. I'll use molecular transfer and be with you a second later."

"Thanks, Uncle Troy."

"If you don't want to go back to the spring, I'll swing by there and let Tony know that we're out."

"Okay. I think I'd better get this taken care of," I said.

"You can go anytime you want to, Shane," he said. "Just make sure you check in with Tony or whoever is on duty. Having that rule makes it so everyone can enjoy it without having to worry about it always being full. If there are more people than rooms, the attendant can make more rooms."

"That's a good idea," I agreed.

He hugged me and stepped back, smiled and vanished.

I sighed. The house was immaculate but I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone right then. I knew I should have gone to the historical society, but instead, I popped home. The light on the answering machine was blinking. I hadn't checked for messages since I had left for Paris the morning before.

Pressing the button, I climbed up on a stool next to the breakfast bar. "Shane, this is Robin. I got this really cool costume for tonight. Mom wants me to take the kids trick-or-treating. I'd love for you to come with me. Call me."

"Shane, where are you?" it was Robin again. "Sorry you couldn't join us. We had a pretty good time. I noticed the light on in the parlor of the Windham Mansion tonight, but it started raining so we couldn't go up there. I guess you must be going to spend the night up there. Call me when you get home tomorrow."

"Wow, Shane," Gavin's voice came after the next beep, "you really hid good. I guess you're not back from London yet. I still haven't figured out that one. But anyway, call me when you get in. I can't wait to see you again. I really had a good time last night until those goons barged in."

I let the machine rewind. I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, so I decided to go soak in a hot bath. A wave of my hand I was in a hot tub of water in my own bathroom. I knew I could have gone back to Jupiter, but I wasn't in the mood to do that, either.

I must have fallen asleep because the water was cold when I awakened to the sound of someone pounding on my door.

I didn't feel like having company, so I looked through the door. It was Gavin. He had a worried look on his handsome face, so I knew that I couldn't let him leave without talking to him. Using molecular transfer, I was dressed and standing in front of the door. "Hi, Gavin," I said, softly as I opened it.

"Thank, God you're here, Shane," he said, pulling me into his arms as he stepped into the room.

"I just got in," I replied, leading him in and closing the door. "I was just going to call you."

"Well, I stopped by the old house about noon and it had been demolished. I was afraid that you might have been in it. The police had already came up and couldn't find anything, though. The gas company said there are no lines running in, so they don't know what could have caused it, either. I had a class to go to, but afterwards, I decided to come over and see if you were back yet."

He sat down on the couch and I sighed. I had been in London for two hours, then on Jupiter for three and a half hours. It didn't surprise me that the police and everyone had been there and gone by the time Uncle Troy and I got back at two-fifteen.

Glancing at my watch, I was surprised that it was almost six o'clock. I had slept longer than I thought.

"What do you mean, it was demolished?" I asked, bewildered as he turned on the television.

"Just a pile of rubble," he replied as the six o'clock news came on.

I sat down next to him. He was thinking I was worried about the house being torn down, in reality, I was worried about the house having been restored to its original state.

"This is Francis Hughes," the reporter said. It was obvious that she was standing in the front yard of the old house, but they were keeping the camera off the house. "It's a little past noon, Friday. I'm up on Windham Hill at the Windham Mansion - what's left of it."

The camera pulled back a little and spanned the rubble. "As you can see, the old house crumbled to the ground this morning. It was reported about eleven-fifteen. Witnesses in town said that they heard a rumble of thunder in this direction, then heard the house fall."

How stupid could I have been? It wasn't even Gavin who had reported it.

The light in the background changed to dusk and "Live" appeared on the screen above Francis. "I'm reporting live from Windham Hill now," she said. "I haven't lived here in Hayden very long, but I have been told that Windham Mansion is haunted. I don't believe in ghosts and witches, folks," she said, "but now I am not too sure. A few minutes before sunset, some townspeople called the station. Here's the interview I had with one lady."

The scene switched to an elderly lady, Mrs. Thomas - she had been my English teacher in high school but had retired before I graduated. "I was sitting out on my front porch this evening," she explained. "I knew about the house falling down this morning. Heard it on the live report you did at noon. That's why it was really eerie when the shadow that falls over Hayden this time of day fell over Hayden. It actually sent chills up my spine and I got goose pimples. That house had fallen down, but its shadow was still here.

"I got up and called Harold, my husband, to come out and see," she continued. "Sure enough, the shadow was still there. I wasn't seeing things. Harold got the car out and we went up the hill and the house was there again. Standing tall and proud just like it always had been."

The scene switched back to Francis on the hill. I shook my head. I had no choice but to turn time back again. "As we just showed you," she said, "I was up here at noon. Now it's a little past six o'clock and, as you can see, the house is here." The camera spanned back and there stood the house.

"So, before you say there are no witches, then how do you explain how the Windham Mansion fell and restored itself?

"We have tried to contact Mr. and Mrs. Windham, but they moved to Paris a few years ago and are on vacation in London for the next few days. We will let you know as soon as we do, what happened here."

I sighed again as Gavin turned the TV off.

"So you did go to London this morning, didn't you?" he asked softly.

There was no point in lying to him. I was going to have to turn back time anyway. Ms. Marble had said it was okay for me to tell him. Uncle Troy said I could date him with the privacy spell, but I wasn't really sure that would be enough.

Taking his hand in mine, I looked into Gavin's blue eyes. "I really like you a lot, Gavin," I said, softly. "I won't lie to you. I am a warlock. The house belongs to my great-great grandparents. Mom said that Gramps turned two-hundred at his last birthday back in March.

"I had tea with the family this morning - it was this afternoon in London, though - and when I came back, about eleven this morning, I got kind of upset and tore the place down. Then I flew to Jupiter and had a good talk with Uncle Troy. I was only gone for three and a half hours, so that must have been when you and everyone discovered that it had been demolished.

"Uncle Troy restored it and then went to sail the Seven Seas with his parents. I came back here and took a bath and fell asleep in the tub. You woke me up when you banged on the door."

He sat there staring at me without saying anything while I spoke. I was thankful that he didn't let go of my hand.

When I finished, I noticed a twinkle in his eye as he grinned and shook his head. "You really had me going there for a second," he said. "You should be a writer, Shane. You've got a great imagination."

He didn't believe me, but at least he hadn't freaked out. Getting to my feet, I pulled him to his. "Have you ever flown before, Gavin?" I asked.

"All the time. My parents live in Chicago and I go visit them every chance I get. You know that."

"Mm hum," I replied. "But have you ever flown without an airplane?"

"No," he replied.

His warm body felt good as I pulled him against me. "Have you ever seen the fall colors from the sky, Gavin?"

"No."

I smiled and kissed him gently on the lips. He returned the kiss. We kissed for a few minutes. "I wish I could be your boyfriend, Gavin," I whispered.

"You can," he replied. "I'm available and I like you, too." "But my family doesn't know I'm gay," I replied. "They won't like it when they find out, either. And you're mortal. If you were a warlock, it might be different, but you have two strikes against you. One, you're a guy, and two, you're mortal."

"Shane," he said, "I think you're taking this warlock thing a little too far. Just drop it, okay? I understand the part about your family not approving, mine wouldn't approve if they knew I was bi, but let's get off the hocus-pocus, okay?"

I kissed him again. He pulled back; surprised. "Holy, shit, Shane!" he cried as the wind blew our hair out of our faces. I hadn't turned us invisible, but we were flying slowly over the area. It was still light enough that he could see the trees below.

"Aren't they pretty from up here?" I asked.

He clung to me tighter. I could tell he was scared. "Don't worry, darling, I won't let you fall. Even if I let go with my arms, I've got you magically. You won't fall."

He didn't speak. He looked out below us as we swept up toward the old house. The news crew was still there. It was a great feeling to be several hundred feet above the four-story structure.

"I must be dreaming," he finally said.

"No. You're really flying over Vermont. We can go to Jupiter if you like, but we can't be boyfriends while we're there. We can only be just friends."

He looked at me skeptically for a moment. "It's a long way to Jupiter, Shane. It takes the space center months to get there. How could you have gone there and back in three hours?"

"Actually it's a three minute flight one way," I replied. "But we have to go invisible or we'll get hit by flying debris, as fast as we'll be going and it really hurts. I found that out the hard way when I was ten."

I was tempted to use molecular transfer, but then I figured if he didn't see us go to Jupiter, he'd never believe that we were actually on Jupiter when we got there. After all, the Witch's Council had modernized it so well that it looked more like a ski resort that you'd find in Colorado than a vacant planet.

Gavin shook his head at me. I could tell he still wasn't believing this, but we were flying over Vermont. "Okay," he conceded. "Let's go."

"Hang on," I replied.

"Where'd the wind go?" he asked as we went invisible.

"You don't feel anything that is visible when you're invisible," I explained. "That's why you can still feel me, because we're both invisible now."

"Oh."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked.

"Sure," he replied. "But what happens when we break the sound barrier?"

"Since we're invisible, we won't."

I had never flown this way with anyone before. I had been to Jupiter several times, but I didn't remember ever seeing a mortal there. I hoped that I wouldn't get in trouble for taking Gavin.

"Wow! We're really trucking!" Gavin exclaimed as we left the Earth behind.

"Was that the moon we just passed?" he asked as we sped by.

"Yes, it was," I replied. Until earlier that day I had never flown to Jupiter, or any of the planets, before. Doing so now with Gavin did make it an interesting experience, since he had never really flown before.

"This is cool," he said as we passed Mars. "It really is red."

"Whoa, look out for that planet!" He tried to duck but it was too late, we passed through it.

"Don't worry, Gavin," I said. "It's all visible; we're not. Nothing will hit us; nothing will hurt us. That was one of Jupiter's moons.

"I made it in two minutes this afternoon," I admitted. "I almost didn't stop in time. I'll make sure that we don't have any accidents when we land."

We landed gently out on the front sidewalk of the Moonbeam Lounge. It was snowing gently. Everything was covered in white.

"This is neat," he replied. "Looks like at home during the winter."

There was a frozen lake a little ways down the sidewalk. Not turning us visible, I continued to hold him as we walked over to it. There were several people ice skating on the lake.

"This is really nice," he said as we walked. "I've never been out in the snow and not been cold, before."

"That's a fringe benefit of being able to go invisible," I replied.

"So none of these people on the lake can see or hear us?" he asked.

I glanced around. They were all visible. "Nope. No one."

"Cool," he replied. "Then I can do this." He leaned down and kissed me on the lips.

Reluctantly, I pushed him away. "I'm sorry, Gavin, you can't. The problem is that if any witches or warlocks decide to fly in, they'll be invisible and they'll see us. I'm sure it'd be alright, but we can't take any chances. They might tell my folks.

"Come on, let's go in the lounge. I think you'll like it."

I led him up to the front door then stopped and grinned at him. "Did you like going through that moon?" I asked.

"Yeah, it was cool."

"Good, we'll step through this door, then." Holding his hand, we stepped into the lounge without opening the door.

"That was neat."

I had known that if I had let him know I was a warlock the night before, that we could have had more fun. Now I was finally able to share this side of my life with someone I really cared about.

"Remember that TV/boom-box last night?"

"Yeah?"

"It wasn't a gift. I zapped it up."

"Neat. Then I could possibly sweet-talk you into making one for me if we can't find one for me to buy?"

I couldn't believe that he had asked me that. I had expected him to just ask me to give him one. Instead, he was actually telling me that he didn't want anything from me except a relationship. Unfortunately, I had the power to give him the world on a golden platter, but I couldn't give him my love and be his boyfriend, no matter how much I wanted to.

He looked around the lounge. "Where are the staff?" he asked.

There was a long bar against the back wall, but no one was behind it. Several tables were placed around the room and there was a large dance floor in the corner. Although there were several people sitting, drinking and talking while others danced, no one seemed to work there.

I grinned. "We're magic," I replied, materializing a bottle of his favorite beer into his hand. "We don't need staff."

"Thanks, Shane," he said. I noticed the startled look he gave the bottle. It was the first magic thing I had done besides flying, going invisible and walking through a closed door. These three things could have been done with holographics in my living room, but the materialization of the cold beer, couldn't have been done as a holograph. It was the proof that he needed to know for sure that I was a warlock.

Thankfully, he took a swig of beer as I materialized a Dr. Pepper for myself. I kissed him gently on the cheek. "Okay, we're going to become visible now. Make sure you do nothing to show that we are anything more than just friends or I'll get in big trouble."

"Don't worry, Shane, I know how to do that. I have to act the straight-arrow when I go home to my parents', also."

Stepping away from him, I snapped my fingers. We materialized. To my horror, he immediately turned to stone.

I glanced around. No one seemed to notice that I was standing next to a statue. I snapped my fingers. He remained stone.

"Oh, come on, don't tell me I have to use an incantation. I don't know any of those.

"Uncle Troy, help!" I cried above the music.

He appeared next to me with a worried look on his handsome face. "What's wrong, Shane?" he asked.

"I brought a friend of mine to Jupiter and look what happened to him."

He smiled tenderly and shook his head. "Shane, you can't bring mortals to Jupiter. I thought you knew that."

"No," I admitted. "But he didn't turn to stone until we became visible."

"Well, duh," he replied. "You know nothing can happen to you until you're visible."

"So if I turn him invisible, he'll turn back to human?"

"Unfortunately, it's not that simple," he replied. "You have to take him before the Witches' Council and beg for mercy."

"What if I turn time back and don't bring him?" I asked. I knew the Council was on Jupiter for the rest of the week, skiing and there was no going before them until the following Monday; if I could get an appointment. They'd taken the entire Halloween week off and I was sure there'd be a back-log of appointments Monday. I also knew that Gavin didn't have any classes until Monday, so it would have been okay to leave him a statue until then, but I wanted to spend the weekend with him.

However, I had screwed up yet again and it didn't appear that we were going to get to spend the weekend together.

"Yes, that would do the trick," Uncle Troy replied. "It'd probably be the best option, too, since you are the only one who will know that you turned time back and you can correct your mistake."

"It also turns out that the media found out about me demolishing the house before you put it back together," I admitted. "They showed on the news at six that it was back. Everyone is convinced that there are witches living there, now."

"You'd better turn time back to before you did that, then," he suggested. "But remember, you are still able to call on me anytime you need help. We won't be having that conversation again, so I want to make sure that you know that, now."

"Thanks, Uncle Troy," I replied.

"And also remember what Ms. Marble told you. You won't be going to see her again, either."

He glanced at the statue of Gavin. "Is this him?" he asked.

"Yes," I admitted.

He shook his head. "You should go for him," he said. "Remember, you study your spell book and you can have more than you think."

I hugged him and he added, "Figure out the best time for you to go back to, Shane. It'll be easier on you that way."

"I will. Thanks again."

He vanished and I sighed as a couple of warlocks came over to see who the statue was. One shook his head and said, "You can't bring mortals up here."

"I know that, now," I replied.

I snapped my fingers and the statue of Gavin and I were in my apartment.

Now I had a choice to make. If I were to go back to just before I demolished the house, the questions that Gavin would ask about me going to London, were still pending. If I went back to just before I disappeared at the house that morning, then I still had to worry about getting caught, especially if I did really hide in the shower stall.

However, if I were to go all the way back and re-do Halloween night, I could prevent a lot of problems that I had had in the past twenty-four hours.

It had been seven-forty-five when I had arrived at the house the night before. I knew that I had been at Gramps' chateau at five, our time.

Making the spell book materialize on the table in front of me, open to the spell I needed, I knew what I had to do.

"Time turn back, now take to flight, make it five o'clock p.m. yesterday, so I can make things right," I read from the spell book and snapped my fingers. Standing on the veranda of the chateau in Paris, I looked at my watch. It had worked.

"Gramps," I said, "I think I'm going to go spend the night at the mansion. I don't care for skiing and last year some kids broken in. I figure if I go now, I can get some trick-or-treaters before it gets dark."

"Good idea, Shane," he agreed.

After saying goodnight to everyone, I snapped my fingers and was standing in the foyer of the old house. Because I had turned time back, Uncle Troy's remodeling hadn't happened.

I scanned the house, just to make sure that I was alone. This time I was. I really wasn't sure when James and Carl had been there last, but I was pretty sure that they had dropped Gavin off about six o'clock. That would give me an hour to do what I had to do, although it wouldn't take more than the snap of my fingers to get it done.

So, snapping my fingers, I remodeled the entire house back to the way Uncle Troy had. I had decided I would sell it the next day to the historical society so they could use it as a museum. However, since I would be spending the night there and I did want trick-or-treaters to visit, I added back the bathroom in the guest room and placed a generator in the basement and made every room in the house have electric lights, which I turned on. If the entire house was lit up, they would surely come.

"Now, one more thing," I said, stepping up to the front door in the foyer. "Sorry, Brandon, but I need my privacy tonight. At ten thirty, you'll just have to knock on the front door like everyone else.

"With this door closed, no matter the time, in this whole house, privacy is mine," I said and snapped my fingers.

Remembering that Robin was going to call, I materialized my cordless phone from home, making sure that it would work all the way up on the hill in the old house. I also held the storm at bay until after midnight so the trick-or-treaters could have a dry evening.

I had just checked the front yard to see how the jack-o-lanterns looked out on the sidewalk when the phone rang. Caller- id told me that it was Robin. Right on schedule.

"Hi, Robin," I said, answering the phone. She was used to me having caller-id, however, the phone company didn't know I had caller-id.

"Hi, Shane. I found the perfect costume for tonight. Mom wants me to take Mark and Randy trick-or-treating. She and Dad are going to a party. Would you like to come with us?"

"I'd love to, Robin, but I'm going to be staying at the old house tonight. I'm actually there right now. Last year we had some kids break in and I want to make sure they don't this year. I've got lots of goodies for the trick-or-treaters and I turned the lights on, so they'll know I'm here."

"Oh, okay. Well, I'll be sure to bring Mark and Randy up, then."

"Why don't you gather up the neighborhood kids and bring them, too?" I asked.

"Gee thanks, Shane. I'm going to have my hands full with these two." Mark and Randy were only five. Robin's Dad had re- married after Robin's Mom had died of cancer while we were in high school. Mark was Ted's son. Ted was Robin's older brother. Sherry, Ted's daughter, wasn't old enough to go trick-or-treating yet. I was impressed that Robin and Ted cared enough for Brenda to call her Mom even though she was only ten years older than the twenty-seven year-old Ted. Robin was my age.

"Okay, okay," I conceded. "But let their parent's know to bring them up later, then."

"Now that I'll do," she agreed.

"What time will you be here?"

"Probably about seven," she replied.

"Okay. I'll see you then. I have something special for you, too."

"As long as it's chocolate, I don't care what it is," she replied.

Robin was a choco-holic and was the first to admit it, but never did anything to stop it.

"What is your costume?" I asked.

"You'll just have to wait and see," she replied.

"But I haven't figured out what I'm going to wear yet. I don't want to be the same thing you are."

"Shane, it's already after five. You're not going to have time to get to the costume store before they close at five-thirty, so I know you won't be what I am. Besides, I got the last one of what I am."

I scanned her apartment. She was stretched out on the sofa wearing an over- sized jump suit. How she managed to stay thin and eat so much chocolate was beyond me. Sometimes I really wished that I could tell her I was a warlock, but I knew that wouldn't be a good idea. There was a box lying on her dining room table, it was open and I could see that she had placed the costume on a hanger and hung it on the back of a dining chair.

"Well, Gramps and Grams left a trunk up in the attic," I said; I really hated lying to her. "I might find something in it. I did see a Peter Pan costume in there once. Maybe I can squeeze into it."

She sat up quickly. "Don't you dare," she retorted.

"Oh, you're wanting to be Peter Pan, huh?" I teased.

"Yes. If you must know, that's what I got."

"Okay. Too bad I'm not going with you," I said, softly. "I could be Tinker Bell."

"That would be fun," she agreed with a chuckle. At least she knew I was gay, that was some comfort.

"Well, I'll figure out something to wear," I replied. "I think there's a nice tux upstairs that Gramps wore once. It's got a cape with red lining. If it's still there, I'll wear it and be a warlock."

She laughed. "Shane, I've met your grandfather, remember? He's about six inches taller than you and a lot more muscular. There's no way you could wear anything that he used to wear. It'd swallow you whole."

"That's true. Maybe I'll just be a modern warlock and wear the sweater and jeans I have on."

"What's Brandon doing? Maybe he could bring you something."

"No. He went with the others to Paris. I'm here all alone."

"Sorry, hon. I wish I could help you, but...Oh, there's Ted now," she said as I heard the doorbell in the background. "I've gotta run."

"Okay. I'll see you about seven," I promised.

I sighed and hung up. Now the only thing I could be was me since she knew I had nothing to wear. However, I still liked the idea of the tux with the red lining on the cape, so I snapped my fingers and had it on. I could change clothes when she knocked on the door.

Snapping my fingers again, a foil- covered jack-o-lantern appeared next to a plastic jack-o-lantern full of candy, on the hall table beside the front door. The foil was orange with black eyes, nose and mouth and looked just like the plastic one. However, when she pulled the foil open, Robin would be surprised to find that the shell was pure milk-chocolate and it was filled with individually wrapped assorted chocolate candies and fudge bars. After she ate the insides, she could eat the outer shell. If that didn't hold her at least until Thanksgiving, she was more of a choco-holic than I thought.

Making sure to zap up the TV/boom-box, I placed it on the table beside the fireplace where Gavin and I had previously watched it. This time I knew what I was going to tell Gavin when he asked about it and I would be able to give it to him. I also added a cordless stereo headset to it so that when he was in the dorm he could watch TV or listen to music without bothering his roommate.

Lighting a fire in the hearth in the bedroom and the parlor, I materialized myself a cup of hot spiced cider and sat down on the couch and waited for my guests.

A few minutes before six, I heard a car in the driveway. I glanced through the wall - I had the curtains in the parlor closed - it was James, Carl and Gavin.

"I know, I was just here this afternoon about three-thirty," James said as they got out of the car. "No one was here then. I have never seen any electric lights in this house before, either."

I watched James timidly step up onto the front porch. How I longed to turn into a ghost and fly through the door like I had before, but I couldn't. This time Gavin was with them.

At the urging of Gavin, James finally lifted the knocker and let it fall.

The thud echoed through the house. I got up and dashed into the hallway and picked up the pumpkin that held the candy for the trick-or-treaters and opened the door.

"Good evening," I said. "My, what are you supposed to be? Those are the scariest outfits I've seen all day."

Of course, they were all three just wearing jeans and long-sleeved shirts. It wouldn't be cool enough outside to wear sweaters until after it grew dark.

I smiled at Gavin and the worried look on his handsome face melted into a broad smile. "Hi, Shane," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"My grandparents own this house. Last year some kids broke in and did some damage, so I'm staying the night to make sure they don't do it again," I replied.

"Wow," Carl spoke up. "Aren't you scared to be here by yourself?"

"No," I replied. "All the ghosts here are friendly."

Gavin laughed but Carl shuffled nervously from foot to foot. I wondered why. He hadn't acted like that the second time around.

"Well, we saw the lights on," James said, quickly, "and we wondered what was going on. No one has lived here in two years."

"Yes. My grandparents moved to Paris," I replied.

"Yeah, I guess you knew that, huh?" he asked, blushing.

"I've got some fresh hot spiced cider if you'd like to come in for a while," I offered.

"Oh, no," James said. "We've got a party to go to, we'd better get going."

"Okay." I glanced at Gavin and he smiled. "Call me sometime, Gavin. I'm in the book. My phone is forwarded up here tonight, too."

"Will do," he promised. "See you later."

As they returned to the car, he told them, "Shane and I went to HCC together. Even though we're pretty good friends, we haven't seen each other since graduation last year."

Watching them drive down the hill, I wondered if Gavin would come back that night. Although I wanted to, I couldn't put it in his mind to come back. He had to do that on his own.

I had a few trick-or-treaters come up, brought by their parents, before seven. I was thankful that I had chosen to hold the storm at bay and to wear the tux.

When I heard Robin's car, I quickly changed back into my jeans, shirt and sweater and greeted them at the door before she could knock.

"You make a great Peter Pan, Robin," I said as the boys climbed up the steps.

"Oh, I like that scarecrow," she replied, hugging me.

Mark was a ninja turtle and Randy had dressed as a pirate. "Trick-or-treat, Uncle Shane," Mark said. Even though I wasn't related to them, they both called me Uncle Shane.

"I've got just the treat for you, Mark," I replied.

I placed a big handful of assorted candies in his bag and another in Randy's.

"Wow! Thanks, Uncle Shane!" Randy exclaimed.

Of course, I knew that I had given them more than they would get anywhere else that evening.

Robin grinned and said, "Say thank you, Mark."

"Thanks a bunch, Uncle Shane," Mark said, hugging me.

"You're more than welcome," I replied.

"And, as promised," I said, stepping back into the foyer, "here's something special for Peter Pan."

I handed her the foiled jack-o-lantern and her eyes bulged out.

"Don't open it until you get home," I instructed, knowing full well she'd have at least five pieces of candy eaten by the time she got to the bottom of the hill. "It's all chocolate."

"Thank you so much, Shane," she said, hugging me.

"I've got some hot spiced cider," I said, "would you like to come in for a while?"

"No, we have to go trick-or-treating," Randy replied. "Daddy said the weatherman's going to make it rain soon."

"But not before midnight," I replied.

"Actually, he said a storm would be here before eight," Robin informed me.

"Trust me," I replied, grinning at her, "not before midnight."

She looked at me skeptically. "Hey, I'm a warlock, remember? I can control the weather."

She laughed. "If you were a warlock, you would have zapped up some costume to wear tonight, Shane."

Now was my chance to tell her I really was a warlock, but the kids couldn't keep a secret to save their lives, so I wasn't about to say or do anything in front of them.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I reluctantly agreed. "But it's not going to rain before midnight," I stated as I watched them return to her car.

"Thanks again for the goodies, Shane," she called. "I'll call you later."

"Okay. Be careful."

After a few more trick-or-treaters, it started to grow really dark and I knew that there probably wouldn't be any other visitors that night since it was close to eight and the weather man on TV was still predicting that storm to arrive about eight. Walking out onto the front porch, I looked out over the town. It was really pretty with the lights. I hated selling the house because I knew that this would be the last time I saw Hayden from this view.

I was surprised when the next car drove in, but I realized it was Gavin when he got out. He was alone this time.

"Hey, Shane," he called.

"Hi, Gavin. Are you lost?"

"No," he replied. "I thought you might like some company for the night, since you're going to be here all night. If you don't mind, that is?"

"No, not at all."

"I brought an ice chest. Will you help me bring it in?"

"Sure." I walked out to his car and helped him carry it into the house. "Damn, Gavin, what's in here, the refrigerator?"

He chuckled. "No, just some beer and sodas and ice, of course. I stopped by a convenience store and put in a few sandwiches, just in case we get hungry."

"Thanks, I appreciate that. I stocked the refrigerator, too. I can make breakfast for us in the morning. I will warn you though, I have to go see my grandparents in the morning at nine."

"That's okay," he replied. "I have a class at ten, so that will give me time to get home and get ready for it."

We set the ice chest on the floor in the parlor and he got out a soda and a beer. Handing me the soda he said, "Wow, this place looks great considering your grandparents moved to Paris two years ago."

"I did some major cleaning up when I got here," I admitted.

"You must have really trucked it, Shane," he said, popping the top off the bottle and sitting down on the couch. "The yard looks great and James said it was all over-grown in weeds and tall grass when he was here at three-thirty. What time did you get here?"

"Five," I replied.

He grinned. "One of you is pulling my chain," he said and took a swig of beer.

"Not me," I said as he noticed the TV/boom-box.

"Wow, this is cool!" he exclaimed, jumping up and crossing to it. "Where'd you get it?"

"I zapped it up," I said, nonchalantly.

"Come on, Shane, get serious. I'd really like to have one. Where'd you get it?"

"I really am a warlock, Gavin," I replied, stepping over next to him. "You can have this one if you want it, or that one," I replied as another one appeared on the floor next to the table, "or that one," as another appeared next to it. "How many do you want?"

He straightened up and looked at me wide-eyed. "You're... You're really a warlock?" he asked.

"Yeah," I nodded. "I really need to stay here tonight, Gavin, and I'd love for you to spend the night with me, but tomorrow after your second class, we can go flying if you want. I think you'd really enjoy seeing the fall colors from the air."

"Wow," he whistled and slumped down on the couch.

I sat down next to him and rubbed his leg. He glanced at my hand and then up at me, but didn't stop me. "I've also had a crush on you ever since we met back in college," I admitted. I couldn't believe I was baring my soul to him this way. Had Ms. Marble not told me it was okay, I wouldn't have. I knew that I couldn't do anything magically to make him want me, but there was nothing in the rules that said I couldn't come onto him like one mortal would do to another.

I had already made the entire house my private domain and no witch or warlock could see what I was doing, but the look Gavin gave me, instantly told me that I had nothing to worry about.

He placed his arm around me and said, "Well, I've never heard of a gay warlock before, but this is going to be kind of cool.

"But one thing you must know, Shane," he continued, looking into my eyes, "I have a straight, homophobic roommate. If he finds out I'm bi, he might beat the shit outta me and he's a big football player. I may be pretty muscular, but no match for him. So, if he finds out, he might kill me. Do you think you can handle pretending to be just friends when anyone from school is around? I don't want him finding out."

"I have the same problem, except it's my family. Uncle Troy and my brother, Brandon, are the only ones who can find out we're lovers. My best friend Robin can know, she's cool. But no one, and I mean no one, not even Robin, can find out that I'm a warlock. We've got enough stories about this house as it is, if anyone finds out they're partially true, I'd be in big trouble."

He chuckled. "Yeah, James is pretty freaked out about the way you cleaned it up in just a few hours. I was, too, until you showed me that you are a warlock."

"Okay, it's a deal then. We'll both keep each other's secrets."

He leaned over and planted a gentle kiss on my lips. "Mm," he said, softly, "I should have been doing this a long time ago."

I rubbed his strong back through his loose fitting shirt and, as we continued to kiss, I remembered how good it had felt to not only lie with my head on his warm hairy chest, but to fly with him to Jupiter, although neither of those had really happened, since I had turned time back.

I jumped as I heard thunder rattle the windows and the wind began to blow hard.

"Wow, looks like that storm the weatherman's been predicting finally got here," Gavin said.

"It couldn't," I replied, jumping up and heading for the hallway. "I have it held off until midnight."

"Oh really?" he was right behind me. "You can do that?"

"I thought I could," I replied, opening the door.

The lady who stood on the porch wore a black flying suit and a tall pointed hat. I was thankful that she didn't have a broom. "Aunt Margie," I said, surprised, "what are you doing here?"

She glanced coldly at Gavin, who stood behind me, wide-eyed. "Uh, Gavin Sanders, this is my Dad's sister, Aunt Margie."

"Hello, ma'am," he said, nervously.

"Won't you come in?" I asked her.

She nodded and stepped into the foyer. I closed the door behind her.

"What's up?" I asked again, realizing that she hadn't spoken since I had opened the door.

"You just told a mortal that you are a warlock, Shane," she said. "Do you realize the consequences of doing that?"

"Yes, ma'am," I replied. "But how did you know?"

She smiled at me. "Shane, you have the privacy spell around the house, that is why I arrived on the front porch instead of in here, but that doesn't stop the Witches' Council from being notified when you do things that could endanger our secrecy. Although we're on Jupiter this week, I am on call for emergencies."

I glanced at the bewildered Gavin. "I forgot to mention that Aunt Margie is on the Witches' Council, didn't I?"

"Uh, huh," he replied.

Ms. Marble had told me that my family wouldn't approve of this. Now, the worst person on Dad's side of the family to find out was standing in front of me. She would not only tell Dad, but everyone on the Council. I was doomed. "What's the deal with the pointed hat?" I asked, changing the subject.

"When I realized I was on the front porch," she replied, "I figured I'd dress the part in case any trick-or-treaters showed up before you answered the door."

"Oh," I said.

"Now, why on Earth would you tell this mortal you are a warlock, Shane?" she asked, getting back to the subject at hand.

"He's my best friend," I replied. "I am so tired of not being able to tell anyone that I'm one. I know that I can trust him. Uncle Troy took me to see Ms. Marble and she said it'd be okay." I realized too late that I shouldn't have said that, especially since it had never happened.

Aunt Margie frowned at me and glanced at Gavin. "Why would she tell you anything about him?" she asked. "She only deals in love relationships, not friends' relationships."

Taking a deep breath, I glanced from Gavin to her. I placed my arm around him and replied. "Aunt Margie, please do not tell the Council or Dad or anyone, but I am gay and I want to have Gavin as my lover. He has vowed not to tell anyone that I am a warlock. He is interested in having me as a lover, too. I used no supernatural help to win him over. It's real. Will you please keep my secret for me?"

She sighed and looked from Gavin to me and back. She reached out and took Gavin's hand. Without saying a word she nodded, then let go of his hand.

He wiped his hands on his jeans and she said, "Very well, Shane, you have my blessing. Your secret is safe with me. Have a good night," and she was gone.

"Wow," he breathed. "That was freaky."

"Why, what'd she do?" I asked, following him back into the parlor. I was terrified that he was going to want to take his ice chest and go home.

"I don't know. All of a sudden I felt real tingly all over while she was holding my hand."

That was the same thing that Tony had done to me. I had to find that spell, it could obviously be used for more than just finding out someone's birth date. "She must have been checking to see what your intentions were," I said.

"Well, I'll tell you one thing, Shane," he said, sitting down on the couch, "if that's what she did, I want you to do it to me, too, so that you will know for sure that I would never betray you."

I breathed a sigh of relief. Of course, if I did it, then I would be telling him that I really didn't trust him.

"Well, first of all, I do trust you, Gavin," I said, sitting down next to him. "And secondly, I don't know the spell to do that. But, I wouldn't do it if I did, cause I trust you."

He grinned and leaned over and said, "Now, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?"

I kissed him on the lips and he pulled me into his arms and pushed me back onto the couch, pressing his warm strong body against mine as he laid down on top of me.

We kissed for a few minutes then he pushed himself up a little and looked down at me and frowned. "Did your aunt say that she was on Jupiter this week?"

"Now, darling, I can understand that you are bi, but please don't be thinking about my aunt while we're kissing. I mean, that really hurts to think that you're dreaming of kissing someone else instead of me."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he said, tenderly. "No, I wasn't thinking about kissing her, not that she's not pretty, she is. But no, I just remembered that I thought she said she was on Jupiter."

"Okay, just making sure," I replied. "Yes, she's on Jupiter. She's back there now. All the witches and warlocks go to Jupiter this time of year. We don't like the image the mortals portray of the female witches. That's why it surprised me that Aunt Margie was wearing that outfit. I know she didn't fly here, she got here too fast after I told you. It's a three minute flight, one way."

He shook his head. "Come on, Shane, it takes the space center months to get to there. How can you get there in three minutes?"

"I'll tell you what," I said, "I'll take you there tomorrow. We'll have to stay invisible, or you'll turn into stone. If we use molecular transfer, we can be there instantly, but we'll fly since you've never really flown before. I think you'll enjoy the flight."

"Okay, you have yourself a deal," he replied and leaned down and kissed me again.

I pressed my hard rod up against his. He was erect also and I could feel him through our jeans. I was tempted to take him to bed, but I wasn't too sure that we wouldn't have any more trick-or-treaters.

Luckily, I wasn't surprised when the phone rang a moment later. I had left it on the hall table beside the door. I made it materialize in my hand, since Gavin was still lying on top of me.

"Hello, Robin," I said, answering it.

"Hi, Shane. Any ghost and goblins running around there, yet?" she teased.

Gavin sat up and grabbed his bottle off the coffee table and took a swig of beer. "Several, actually," I replied. "I had about twenty total, including you and the kids."

"That's not bad, considering," she said.

"No. My friend, Gavin, that I met when we were in Hayden Community College, came by. He's going to keep me company the rest of the night."

"Oh really?" she asked, I knew her green eyes were twinkling at the thought.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Great, congratulations. I'll let you go. Call me tomorrow sometime."

"Okay, I will. Thanks again for coming up."

"Thank you for the pumpkin. I can't believe you did that. It's marvelous. I've already had ten pieces of the inside candy and have been fighting the urge to eat the shell."

"Keep fighting," I replied. "You need something to hold the insides together with."

"That's true. See you tomorrow."

"Good night, Robin," I said and hung up.

Gavin was flipping through the channels on the TV/Boom-box that was setting on the table. I hadn't gotten rid of the other two, yet.

"Anything interesting on?" I asked, sitting up and rubbing his back.

He wrapped his arm around me and leaned back, pulling me down to rest my head against his shoulder. "Not really. Some halloween cartoons, but that's about it."

"I don't mind watching them if you want to."

"Okay," he replied.

"Shane?" he asked after a commercial came on.

"Yes?"

"Since you're a warlock, do you know if there really are any ghosts and goblins?"

I had forgotten to ask Gramps about that. "I don't know of any, personally," I replied. "I'll ask Gramps when I see him in the morning. We're supposed to meet at three o'clock p.m. in London, which is nine o'clock a.m. here. I'll be sure to fix us breakfast before you leave."

"Okay. If you have to be in London in the morning at nine, our time, what time do you have to leave here to get there?"

"It's a five-second flight to Paris, France," I explained. "I haven't timed to London, but I think it's a second closer. But I won't fly, I'll use molecular transfer and will be there instantly. Therefore, I can leave right at nine and be there at nine."

"Wow, this is really going to take some getting used to, Shane," he said, softly and took another sip of beer.

"Yeah, but it's a big relief to be able to share it with you, Gavin," I replied.

He rubbed my arm and said, "Thanks for sharing it with me, Shane."

I sat up and kissed him on the lips. "I've got a neat-o tub in the bathroom, would you like to take a bath before we go to bed?"

His blue eyes twinkled. "Are you saying I stink?"

"No, I just thought you might enjoy soaking in the tub for a while."

"Sure," he replied.

I had finished my soda and he finished off his beer and followed me into the bathroom. "In the morning when I leave," I said, turning on the water in the tub, "I'm going to restore this house to the way it was when Gramps and Grams bought it. Grandmother put this bathroom in, so I'll be removing it and the generator in the basement. There won't be any electricity in here. After I get back from London, I'll go sell it to the historical society. They've been wanting to make it a museum for some time now."

I noticed a disappointed look on Gavin's handsome face as he unbuttoned his shirt. "Too bad, I'm going to need a place to stay after the fifteenth of November," he said. "The dorm closes for the holidays and we have to leave until January. If you kept this house, I could stay here until then. I was going to go home, but since you and I are getting together, I'd rather stay here."

"Oh," I said. "Well, you could move in with me. I can make another bedroom at my place, so no one will know."

"Okay, that probably would be best," he agreed. Removing his shirt, he tossed it on the toilet seat, which was closed.

"You don't have a job, do you?" I asked.

"No. I guess I'll need to get one if I'm going to stay in town."

"What for?" I asked. "Everything you'll need, I can zap up for you. I don't work. We can spend more time travelling the world if you're staying with me. You can even go home for weekends, if you want. Just have your parents pick you up and drop you off at the airport. You don't even have to tell them what flight you're on."

"That wouldn't work," he said, unbuttoning his jeans. "They always pay for my tickets."

"We can work something out, I'm sure," I replied.

"Is it kind of chilly in here?" I asked, changing the subject.

"A little," he replied, taking off his tennis shoes.

I hadn't realized there wasn't a fireplace in the bathroom until just then. There really wasn't room for one. However, there was a small place on the wall between the shower stall and the closet where there was nothing. I waved my hand and there was an electric wall heater there, turned on. Closing the door, I said, "It'll warm up in here pretty fast, now."

"Especially if you join me in the tub," he said with a grin as he removed his socks.

"Is that an invitation?" I asked.

"Yep," he replied and bent over to kiss me on the lips.

"It's only eight-thirty," I said, "what if we get some more trick-or-treaters?"

"You're a warlock, surely if you can fly to Jupiter in three minutes, you can get dressed, pop out there and greet them and be back in here naked in the tub with me, in a second, can't you?"

"It might take two or three seconds, depending on how many kids there are," I replied, "but, yes, I can do that."

He removed his pants and said, "Good, get naked, then."

I smiled and snapped my fingers. I stood before him, nude. "What's taking you so long?" I asked. "You've still got your underwear on."

Stepping closer to me, he grinned and kissed me. "Maybe you need to remove them, the treasure they hold is for you."

Wrapping my arms around him, I rubbed his strong back while we continued to kiss. He didn't move when I magically transported his white cotton briefs off him onto the toilet seat with his other clothes.

"I think the tub is full," I whispered, breaking the kiss.

"Okay," he replied. He had a surprised look on his face when he noticed I had removed his underwear.

"Yeah," he said, stepping into the tub and turning off the water, "this is really going to take some getting used to. I didn't even know you removed my underwear."

"I'm surprised you weren't hard," I said, stepping in with him - I was.

He sunk into the water and placed his hands on my bottom. "Let me suck that dick," he said softly and pulled me closer to him, taking my erect organ as far into his mouth as it would go, pressing his nose into my blond bush.

He flicked his hot tongue across the ridge at the base of the head of it and I gasped. I was so ready for him that I actually blasted my load down his throat.

Gavin sucked me dry, then looked up at me and grinned. "Do you always come that fast?"

"No," I admitted as he pulled me down into the water.

"You were just horny for me, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah." He spread my legs and placed them across his thighs before pulling me closer to him. Our crotches were touching, he had an erection.

Reaching down between us, I wrapped my hand around his hard organ. As I had figured, he was about eight inches long and pretty thick. I couldn't wait to get him inside me.

Gavin kissed me for a moment while I stroked his rod. "Mm, that feels good," he moaned.

"Your dick is so big," I whispered, "I want it in me."

"Shit," he said, "I forgot my bag. It's in the back seat of the car. I have condoms in it." He started to push himself up, but my legs where holding him down. "Would you mind letting me up so I can go get it?"

"Oh, really?" I asked. "So you thought you were going to get lucky tonight?"

He blushed and shrugged. "One can always hope," he said, sheepishly.

I pointed to the floor beside the tub and his green sports bag appeared. "There's your bag," I said, "but you don't need a condom from it, I have one here." A condom materialized in my hand. It was already out of the package and ready for me to slip over his hard cock.

I rolled it down over him as he grabbed the bar of soap and reached behind me and began applying soap to my ass hole.

"Mm, that feels good," I moaned as he stuck his finger up my hole.

"Your ass is pretty tight," he said. "We might not be able to do this in here."

Raising up a little, I kissed him on the lips. We kissed for a moment, then I lay back onto a pillow on the bed. He was lying on top of me, my legs were spread wide and his hard rod was right at the entrance of my ass, ready for him to push it in. We were both dry. He looked around the room and shook his head and smiled. "Wow," he said, softly.

"That's molecular transfer," I whispered, pressing up against him as he pushed his cock into me.

The fire crackled in the fireplace, the guest room was warm, but I still pulled the sheet and blanket up over Gavin so his back wouldn't get cold.

He pulled out a little, then pressed back in and we continued to kiss. "Your ass is so tight, Shane," he whispered against my lips.

"And your dick is so big. I love the feel of it in me."

"We really should have been doing this ever since we met," he said.

"I wanted to," I admitted, "but I thought you were straight, since you were dating Gina."

"Well, don't worry, I'm not dating anyone right now. Except you, that is."

After Clint had moved out of town, I had had sex with a couple of guys during high school, but that was all it was, just sex. They had even wanted to do it doggy-style. Since I had really fallen in love with Gavin during college, I had basically saved myself for him and hadn't had sex with anyone, so my sexual experiences had only been with Clint and the two guys in high school. Therefore, it surprised me that Gavin didn't try to turn me over and was even willing to keep kissing me on the lips as he slowly pressed in and out of me. I knew that he was actually making love to me and not just wanting to have sex.

I loved the feel of his warm hairy chest against me as we kissed and he continued to pump slowing in and out. Rubbing his strong back down to his firm buttocks, I began to realize what it was like to really be loved.

He was in no hurry. At one point, I began to push up against him harder to get his dick deeper in me and help him come, but he whispered, "Easy, baby, we're in no rush. We've got until eight in the morning to do this."

Not that I actually expected him to last a full eleven and a half hours, but the way it felt to have him lying on top of me this way, I wouldn't have minded.

"You feel so good," I said, softly.

"So do you, Shane," he replied and began to speed up a little. "I'm gonna cum in your ass, baby," he gasped.

"I want you to."

His strong body trembled. I felt his hard rod expand inside me. I pressed up against him and felt his soft bush against my bottom as he plunged in as deep as his eight- inch rod would go. He pressed his lips against mine and let out a small grunt as he blasted his wad into the condom inside me.

After he was spent, he collapsed on top of me, but we didn't stop kissing. A few minutes later, he nuzzled my neck and whispered, "Yeah, Shane, we should have been doing this all along."

He raised up and I moved a strand of hair out of his eyes. "You can do it anytime you want to, now," I replied, tenderly.

He grinned and kissed me. "I'll take you up on that," he promised.

"You'd better."

Pushing himself up, he gently pulled out and rolled the soiled condom off. "Wow, you're a great fuck, Shane," he said.

"So are you."

He got up and crossed to the bathroom door. I had left it closed. Opening it, he said, "Wow, it's really hot in here now."

I had forgotten to turn off the heater.

"Leave the door open for a while and it'll cool off," I said, getting up.

He was urinating when I reached the bathroom. The tub was still full of water and the heater still on. I turned the heater down a little, it would be cold by morning, so it would be best to leave it on overnight.

Letting the water out of the tub, I stepped into the shower.

I had just wet my hair when the door opened and Gavin stepped in. "Mind if I join you?" he asked. The stall wasn't really big enough for two people, when Brandon had come in the first time around, he had stood partially in the wall, since we were both invisible while we talked.

"I didn't realize I was falling apart," I replied with a grin.

"Well, if you're over there and I'm over here, we're apart, which means I have."

Taking him by the arm, I pulled him in with me and closed the door behind him. His warm body pressed against me as I said, "We can't have that, now can we?"

"Nope," he replied.

I wrapped my arms around him and we kissed for a few moments while the warm water cascaded down upon us. "Damn, Shane," he said, moving the shower head out of the way, "whoever made this thing didn't plan on having a lover, did they? There's no room for two people to actually take a shower in here. If someone were really fat they wouldn't fit, either."

"My grandmother made it," I reminded him. "She wasn't married back then and all my family are slender. Maybe this will help." There was nothing but the side yard on the other side of the back wall so I placed my hand on the wall and it moved out about two feet, giving Gavin and me enough room to have a good shower together without getting too far apart.

Although we did kiss a lot, we managed to actually get a good shower, then Gavin turned off the water and opened the door. He had gotten a towel out of his bag and it was hanging on the towel rack, but there wasn't one for me. "Sorry I only had one towel," he said, handing it to me.

"That's okay," I replied. "We really don't need one unless you just want to dry me off."

He grinned. "Well, I can do that," he replied. "But don't you need one to dry me off with?"

I smiled and kissed him. "No." A snap of my fingers and we were both dry and lying in bed. My head was resting on his shoulder and his arm was around me.

"Mm," he said. "I think I'm going to like this molecular transfer thing."

"Me, too," I agreed.

Remembering that Brandon was going to arrive at ten-thirty, I materialized a digital clock on the table by the bed and set the alarm for seven the next morning. "We can wake up at seven," I said, "make out, get a shower and get breakfast before you have to go back to the dorm and I have to go to London."

"Seven?" he replied. "Well, since you did say make out, I guess I can get up that early for you."

"If you don't want breakfast we can wait until eight," I replied. "But I thought it would be fun to have a good breakfast first. When we go to tea we just have scones and tea. That's not a good breakfast."

"Okay, I guess that's a good idea. What time will you get back?"

"About eleven. If you want, I can pick you up at your dorm and we get lunch then fly to Jupiter."

"I have another class at eleven," he said. "I don't get free until noon, then I have another class at one. Why don't you pick me up at the dorm at noon? We can do lunch and, if you're sure you can get me to Jupiter and back in an hour, we can do that."

Now that I had transported him from the bathroom to bed twice, he wasn't as skeptical about going to Jupiter, I noticed.

"Yes, we can actually have lunch on Jupiter if you like," I said.

Glancing at the clock, I noticed that it was nine-thirty-eight. Gavin would arrive in about forty-five minutes. I wondered if he'd actually knock on the door or just go on home if he couldn't get in.

"Do you mind if I go get one of those boom boxes?" Gavin asked. "I'd like to see the news at ten."

"I can bring it in for you," I offered.

"Honey," he said, pushing me over and sitting up, "you don't have to do everything for me. If you keep popping us around and doing everything for me, I'll get fat and lazy and you won't want me anymore."

"I'll always want you, Gavin," I replied as he stood up. "And there is a workout room on Jupiter, I won't let you get fat."

He smiled and trotted into the hallway. A few minutes went by and he hadn't returned, so I called, "Gavin? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied stepping into the door. His muscles were bulging as he lugged the "portable" entertainment center into the room. He almost didn't have the strength to lift it up onto the table beside the fireplace. "Shit, Shane," he said, gasping for breath, "that thing's heavy. I thought it was supposed to be portable. My nineteen-inch color TV isn't that heavy."

"It's not?" I asked.

"No."

"Sorry, I didn't know." I waved my hand and said, "Try picking it up now."

He lifted it with one hand. "That's more like it."

It hadn't dawned on me that I had made it heavier that time than I had the first time around. However, now it was much lighter than the first time.

"I was going to get us something to drink," he said, heading back out into the hall, "but it was too heavy to carry it and the drinks, so I'll be right back."

"Thank you," I said.

He returned a moment later and set his beer on the night stand and removed the top off the bottle of Dr. Pepper he had brought for me and handed me the bottle.

"Thanks," I said.

He crawled back into bed and said, "You're welcome. Are you going to leave all these lights on all night?"

"No," I replied. Waving my hand, I turned out all the lights in the house except for the one in the guest room. I also left the front porch lights and the jack-o- lanterns burning. I would turn them off later.

Gavin adjusted the pillows so he could sit up and watch TV, and, using the remote, turned it on. "I really like this thing," he said. "Thanks for letting me have one. I've never seen them, so I don't know if they really make them or not."

"I haven't either," I admitted. "But I have a feeling that all your friends are going to want one when they see it."

"Probably. Maybe I shouldn't take one after all."

"If they want them, I'll get Mom and Dad to sell them at the boutique and they can buy them there."

"But they don't sell things like that there," he said.

"They might if the public wants it," I replied. "I will ask Mom in the morning if she'll put one on a shelf and see how many people want it. And, if all your friends want one, you can send them to the boutique to get one."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," he said. "Thanks."

"Well, it's just that if you say a friend picked it up for you in Japan, they'll start looking for one and, if they don't find it, it might get tricky. Especially since there's no 'made in' label on it, nor is there a name of who made it."

"That's true," he agreed.

We sipped our drinks and watched the ending of the cartoon that was showing. I slid over next to him and turned my back to him and he put his arms around me and held me with my head leaning back on his shoulder while we watched.

"You know something, Shane?" he whispered against my cheek when the news came on.

"No, what?"

"I could get used to doing this."

"So could I," I admitted. "Since school's going to be out on the fifteenth, why don't you move in with me?"

"Mm, I'd really like that, Shane," he said. "Actually, I've already promised Mom and Dad that I'd come home when school's out. But since you did offer to make another bedroom in your apartment, I guess I can stay here."

"Are you going to come back for next semester if you go home?"

"Yeah."

"Well, there's a closet in the hall next to the bathroom that I don't need," I reminded him. "I can widen the doorway and turn it into a nice bedroom for you. Of course, you won't be sleeping in it, but if any of your friends come over, they'll see that it is your room and I have mine. And you don't really want to load up and take everything home with you, just to have to bring it all back next year, so you could move in with me and only take what you'll need while you're there. Then next semester, you could just stay with me in my apartment and not have to worry about getting Chuck as your roommate again."

"That's true," Gavin agreed. "But I like living on campus. I don't have to get up as early to get to class and they supply meals. It's a lot more convenient. When we were at HCC, I had an apartment and it was always a mess because I was always studying. I was always late to my first class, too. I'm surprised I actually passed it."

"But if you live with me, you'll have a lot more room than you do now and I can make sure that you're never late to class because you can get up in the morning, make love to me, then I can snap my fingers and you can be showered, shaved, dressed and at school."

He smiled and took another swig of beer. "Well, I like the idea of making love to you in the mornings," he said.

"You'll always have clean clothes, too," I replied.

"I'll tell you what," he said, placing his empty bottle on the night stand, I nodded and the bottle vanished, "I'll move in with you on the fifteenth, but I have to go home for a while. I've got to be in Chicago for Thanksgiving and Christmas, too. Since I'm driving, I won't be able to come back until after the first."

"I'll think of something," I promised, glancing at the clock. It was a little past ten, but it would be nine in Chicago. Materializing my cordless, I said, "Here, call your parents and tell them that a friend of yours will bring you home this year."

"But they'll ask questions, Shane," he protested.

"Since you don't want to lie to them, just tell them that I'll be going to visit my brother and I'll drop you off and bring you back. I can have Brandon be there by the time we get there. Just don't tell them that he lives there. Besides, it might be fun to do a road trip. I'll supply the car, don't worry about that. You can leave yours at my apartment. It'll be okay."

He took a deep breath and said, "Okay, if you're sure."

"I'm sure. Call them."

"But it's long distance," he protested.

"No it's not," I replied. "I have an intergalactic long distance company, all long distance calls are free."

"I've never heard of that before, how much does it cost to be a customer?"

"It's called magic, Gavin, you're automatically connected to the phone you're calling without using any phone lines. Just dial the area code and number. Don't dial one. Stop stalling and call them."

"Okay, okay," he replied, dialing the number.

I kissed him on the cheek and said, "I'm going out on the front porch. Brandon should be here about ten-thirty. I'll be back shortly. Talk as long as you like."

"Thanks, Shane," he said. "Hi, Mom."

I crawled out of bed and, snapping my fingers, was dressing in my jeans, shirt and sweater. I also had on my tennis shoes and was standing out on the front porch. I figured it would be easier for him to talk to his parents if I weren't in the room.

It was a beautiful night. The stars were twinkling, the lights of Hayden stretched out below. Again I was reluctant to sell the old house, but I knew that it would be for the best.

Placing my hands on the rail and leaning on it, I smiled as I looked up at the stars. I had really wanted to see the storm that would be there at midnight, but I knew that Gavin and I would be asleep by then. I materialized another soda for myself and wondered if I should go back to Jupiter at eleven the next morning and have Uncle Troy take me to see Ms. Marble. Would anything in her prediction change since I turned time back and hadn't really gone to see her the first time? I would have an hour from the time I got back from London to time to get Gavin for lunch. I had decided to take Gavin to Jupiter, but not turn us visible so that he wouldn't turn to stone and we could enjoy ourselves. I had also figured out that if I turned a hot spring invisible, we could both enjoy it, too. ]

"Excuse me, sir?" I heard an unfamiliar voice behind me as someone tapped my shoulder. I jumped and turned around. The headless scarecrow that I had sprawled across the porch swing stood before me. "I seemed to have lost me head, can ye help me find it?"

I laughed and picked up a jack-o-lantern off the railing. "Here it is," I said. "But be sure you don't turn wrong or you'll catch yourself on fire."

I sat the pumpkin on top of the scarecrow's neck and Brandon appeared beside me. "Ah, much better," the scarecrow said. "Now Ay can dance a jig."

The scarecrow danced his way back over to the swing and stretched out like he had been before, but he had a head now. I put out the candle and said, "Hi, Brandon, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to spend the night on Jupiter."

"Nah. It's really kicking there, but I got tired and decided to go home. I figured I'd swing by and see how you're doing. That's a cool scarecrow. I was hoping to scare you with it more than I did."

I decided not to tell him that I was expecting him.

"What are you doing out here? I tried to scan the house but nothing. You didn't lock yourself out, did you?"

"No," I replied. "Did you ever meet Gavin Sanders when I was at Hayden Community College?"

"No," he replied, "but you talked about him quite a bit."

"He came up this evening and he's in the house. I came out here so that he could call his folks. He's going to move in with me. I'm going to turn the hall closet into a bedroom for him."

"You told him you're a warlock?" he asked, worriedly.

"Yeah. It's great. We've had a blast this evening."

"You're not going to start dating him, are you?"

"I think so. I talked it over with Uncle Troy and he said that I should go for him."

Brandon's handsome face fell in astonishment. "Uncle Troy?" he asked, surprised. "I didn't think you'd tell anyone in the family you're gay."

"Actually, I didn't tell him. He already knew. He said he could just tell."

"Well, I do want you to be happy, Shane," he said, putting his arm around me, "but I don't think letting a mortal move in with you is a good idea."

"It's okay," I promised. "Uncle Troy gave me the privacy spell and I'm going to keep it on the entire apartment."

"Okay. Good luck," he said. "You're just lucky the Witches' Council is out; they would have sent someone to straighten you out for that."

"Actually, Aunt Margie popped in about a minute after I told him," I admitted. "She did something, I'm not sure what, but I've got to find out what it was. She took his hand and he said he got all tingly and then she said that my secret is safe with her and she gave us our blessings."

"Ah, 'The Information' spell," he said. "Yes, it's the way that you can actually find out whatever you want to know about a person and they can't lie to you. However, it always sends the tingly feeling, so they know something is happening, but they don't know what information you're getting."

"Hm. Uncle Troy took me to the hot spring steam baths and Tony did that to me, but Uncle Troy didn't know what it was. I'm surprised you know but he doesn't."

"Because when Dad first took me to the springs, Phil was working and when he did it to me, I asked him what it was. Shane, you're going to have to learn to start studying your spell book and asking questions when someone does a spell that you don't know. It's the only way you're ever going to learn."

"I know," I replied as the front door opened and Gavin stepped out. I was thankful that he had put his jeans and shirt back on, but he was still bare-footed.

"Hi," he said, glancing nervously from Brandon to me and back.

"Hi. Gavin Sanders," I said, wrapping my arm around him, "this is my brother, Brandon. He came back from Jupiter early."

"Oh. It's nice meeting you," he said, offering Brandon his hand.

"Nice to meet you finally," Brandon replied as they shook hands. "Shane talked a lot about you during college," he explained.

"So what'd you're parents say?" I asked, quickly changing the subject.

"No problem. Dad said that if you need gas money to let him know."

"We won't," I replied. "But thank him for the offer. Brandon, after school is out, Gavin and I are going to take a road trip to Chicago. I told him to tell his parents that I'll be going to visit you, so would you mind finding a room at a hotel or something, there for us?"

He smiled. "Sure. How about a penthouse on the top of the Sears building?"

"Get real," I said. "I need something they'd believe."

"Okay. I'll get a houseboat on that river that runs through downtown."

"It's going to be cold and snowing by then," Gavin said. "While you can, I wouldn't advise it."

"We'll think of something," I said.

"Well, it's getting late, Brandon," I continued, "I think we'd better get to bed, Gavin. Thanks for stopping by, Brandon. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay. What do you have planned for tomorrow?"

"I've got classes from ten to noon, then from one to five," Gavin said, "but Shane's taking me to Jupiter for lunch."

"You can't do that, Shane," Brandon said, worriedly. "He'll turn to stone."

"Not if we stay invisible," I replied.

"Oh, well, that's true," he agreed.

"I forgot to tell you, though, Gramps wants us to meet them at The Porcelain Tea Pot in London for tea at nine our time in the morning."

He frowned. "How'd you know that?" he asked. "He just told me right before I left."

"And you weren't going to tell me?" I asked, instead of answering him.

"Well, I forgot. But I would have remembered by in the morning."

"Okay, but don't be late," I said. "I'll see you there in the morning. Good night."

I kissed him on the cheek and led Gavin back in the house and closed the door.

"I understand you're a warlock, Shane," Gavin said as I crawled into bed with him and laid my head on his shoulder, "but I just can't get used to everyone saying they've just left Jupiter when they come visit you."

I chuckled. "We could go now if you don't want to wait until noon tomorrow."

He took a deep breath. "No, I think I'd better wait. If we go now, I might not get any sleep and I've got a test in the morning."

Sitting up quickly, I looked down at him and said, "You have a test and you haven't even studied for it?"

"Calm down, Shane," he replied, grinning at me as he pulled me back down. "I've studied so much my brain hurts. Actually, I think that it'd even be better if we waited until five to go. I'll be totally done with everything until Monday and we can party all weekend on Jupiter if you want to."

"Well, if that's what you want to do," I replied. "But you still need to eat. There's a great little French restaurant right on the East Bank I can take you to. It'll be dinner time there at noon and we can watch the sun set while we eat."

"So when my roommate asks what I did for lunch, I'll tell him I went to France and watched the sun set. I don't think so. How about just going to a restaurant here in town?"

"We can do that, if you prefer," I replied. "Gavin, I don't care what we do, just as long as we're together. But I thought it'd be fun to let you share the supernatural life with me. I've never gotten to do that with someone I care for and it's new for me, too."

"Thanks, Shane," he said, softly. "It's just a lot to digest right now. I mean, I grew up watching the old reruns of 'Bewitched' and was always told that it was just fantasy stuff. I never really believed in witches. When you told me you were a warlock, I didn't believe you until you zapped up those boom-boxes and I really wasn't positive until you transported us from the tub to bed. Just be patient with me, Shane, I'll get used to it one of these days."

"Okay."

I kissed him on the cheek and, taking my chin in his hand, he moved my face so he could kiss me on the lips. "Good night, Shane."

"Good night, Gavin."

Resting my head on his shoulder, I wondered if talking him into moving in with me was the right choice.

Sometime later, I awakened with a start as thunder rattled the windows. Looking at the clock, I smiled. It was midnight. The storm was right on time.

I rolled over on my right side and Gavin rolled with me, placing his arm around me and resting his head on my pillow next to the back of my head. It felt so good to have him hold me this way with his warm body pressing against my back. Mom had said that was called 'spooning' in the olden days, but I had never done it before.

Rubbing his warm arm, I smiled and added another log to the fire before drifted off to sleep as the storm continued overhead.

I had wondered if James and Carl would try anything that night, but I didn't even know if they knew that Gavin had returned to the old house after they had left. Shutting off the alarm, I stretched, pressing my body against Gavin. The morning sun was just peaking over the horizon and the room was fairly light. I added another log to the fire and glanced up at Gavin's handsome face. He was sleeping peacefully. I hated to wake him, but I knew that if I waited until eight, we wouldn't be able to make love and get breakfast before we had to leave. Gavin was lying on his back and I had my head on his chest. Raising up, I kissed him gently on the cheek, then moved down and kissed his neck. Kissing my way through the soft hair on his hard chest, I pushed the cover back a little and flicked my tongue across his nipple.

He moaned as I continued to kiss my way downward. Moving the cover out of the way, I wasn't surprised to see that he was already erect.

I kissed the head of his organ and he stretched, pressing it against my mouth. Slowly, I ran my tongue down the base of his cock to his sack, then back up. Flicking my tongue across the ridge at the base of the head got a better response, he pulled his hips back a little and pushed against me again. I took his hard rod in my mouth and sucked gently, continuing to flick my tongue across the ridge.

He placed his hands on my head and pushed up with his hips, pressing his organ deeper into my mouth. I glanced up and our eyes met. He smiled and said, "Wow, what a great way to wake up; getting a blow job from such an excellent cock sucker."

Smiling, I took his rod in my hand and stroked it slowly as I said, "If you move in with me instead of going back to Chicago, you can have one of these anytime you want it."

Gavin pulled me up by my chin and kissed me on the lips. I continued to stroke him. Without breaking the kiss, he ran his warm hand down my side and, reaching between us, took my hard organ in his hand and began to stroke it.

"Can I fuck your tight ass anytime I want, too?" he asked.

However, he continued kissing me, so the only way I was able to respond was by saying, "Um, hum."

Rolling me over onto my back, Gavin spread my legs and pressed his cock against mine and slowly began to grind us together as we continued to kiss. After a few minutes, he looked up me and took a deep breath. "Yeah," he said, "I think I could really get used to this."

I smiled and he kissed me again. He nuzzled my neck, then started kissing his way down my neck. He stopped only to flick his hot tongue across each of my erect nipples. I flinched when his tongue darted into my navel. "That tickles," I gasped.

To my surprise, and disappointment, he didn't take my organ into his mouth. He kissed it and moved down a little more and took each of my balls into his mouth, one at a time, and sucked on them gently.

Scooting down further on the bed, he lifted me up a little and spread my ass cheeks. His hot tongue flicked across my rosebud, then, as my disappointment of not getting a blow job evaporated, he plunged his tongue in as far as it would go.

After a few minutes of tongue fucking my ass, he started chewing on my hole. I was going crazy, wiggling my bottom up against his mouth. He had obviously done this before and he knew what he was doing. Chewing just hard enough to make it feel fantastic without hurting.

Of course, I had never had a rim job before, but I had no idea that it would feel this good. Before I knew what was happening, he raised up and kissed me on the lips, pushing my legs back against my side. "Honey, you'd better zap a condom on me 'cause I gotta fuck your ass, now."

I could feel the head of his dick at my rosebud. All he had to do was shove and he'd be deep inside me. Materializing a condom on him, I pushed my hips up and he plunged in. While eating my ass, he had lubricated me enough that I was ready for him. "Oh, baby," he gasped, "I love your ass."

"I love your dick," I replied and rubbed his strong back.

His lips found mine and I realized that neither of us had said that we loved the other. I knew then that I had no choice but to go back to Jupiter after tea and have Uncle Troy take me to see Ms. Marble. If Gavin didn't really love me, then I wasn't about to tell him that I loved him. After all, Ms. Marble had told me that my family wouldn't approve if we were lovers.

Gavin looked at me tenderly as he continued to pump his hard rod in and out of me. "Wow, I could do this all day," he said, softly.

"Me, too," I replied and kissed him again.

A few minutes later, he pushed himself up and watched his cock as he pumped in and out of me. He lifted my legs up so my feet were pointing to the ceiling and continued to pump, then he rested my feet on his shoulders and reached down and placed one hand on my hip, raising me up a little. With the other hand, he began to stroke my still hard rod.

It didn't take much longer before I could tell that he was getting close. "Come with me, baby," he gasped. "I wanna blast up your ass while you squirt all over your chest."

Letting my legs fall down to his sides, I humped against his hand and his cock, pressing him deeper into me and making him pump my dick harder. I wrapped my legs around his bottom and squeezed my ass muscles with all my might, tightening my grip on his rod.

"Oh, yeah, baby, squeeze it," he moaned. "Squeeze my dick with all your might."

Placing my hands on his thighs, I gasped, "I'm cumming, Gavin."

He pumped my dick even harder and began slamming his cock into my ass with all his might. I felt him expand inside of me and we both blasted our loads at the same time. My hot semen shot out of my piss-slit and splattered against the headboard above me, leaving a trail of white from my navel, across my chest, chin, face and pillow, when it landed. I had never squirted so much.

Gavin let out a low moan and his eyes rolled back in his head as he continued to unload inside me.

Collapsing on top of me, he kissed me gently on the cheek. "Wow," he breathed.

"Really, huh?" I asked.

He licked the cum off my chin, nose and forehead, then kissed me again and nuzzled my neck.

After a few minutes of lying on top of me he rolled over onto his back and yawned. "Wow, baby, you're a great fuck," he said, rolling the full condom off his semi-erect organ.

Smiling, I leaned down and kissed him gently on the lips and made the condom vanish. "So are you," I replied.

He got up and, walking to the bathroom, said, "I still can't get over this. If you hadn't transported us from the tub into bed, I wouldn't believe that you are a witch."

"Warlock," I corrected him as I followed him onto the bathroom. "Guys are warlocks, girls are witches."

As we urinated, he placed his warm hand on my hip and chuckled. "You'd better not tell my sister that she's a witch, she'll beat you up."

"Well, unless she can do witchcraft, she's not a witch."

"When we go to Chicago, you'll get to meet her. I'll warn you that she's mean enough to be a witch."

"Now see, there you go following the mortal's image of the old-hag witches, again. I know several witches and none of them are mean. They're very nice, actually."

He blushed as we stepped into the shower stall together. "Sorry. I'll try to be good."

"You'd better or I let you go to Chicago on your own power and I won't give you any more blow jobs."

"Okay, okay. You've convinced me. I'll be real good from now on."

After we showered, I asked, "What do you want for breakfast? You can have anything your taste buds desire."

"Well, if you're sure you don't mind," he said, taking his razor and shaving gel out of his bag, "I'd really like to have some waffles and sausage and real, scrambled eggs. At the cafeteria on campus they use artificial eggs or something. And I think the waffles are frozen. Whatever they are, they just don't taste like Mom makes when I'm home. I know it's kind of sudden to ask if you'll do that, but you did offer.

"Maybe I should ask if you're a good cook, first," he added with a twinkle in his eye.

I laughed. "Actually, I do enjoy cooking, the mortal way, but I'll zap up whatever you want this morning."

"Thanks." He smiled and leaned down to kiss me on the lips as he waited for the basin to fill up.

"If you don't really want to shave," I said, "you don't have to." He really did look good with his days growth of beard and mustache. To my delight, it was soft and not prickly like some men's.

"No. Dad wears a 'stache, but I've never cared for facial hair on me or my boyfriends. I'd rather shave."

Smiling, I ran my hand down the side of his face as he squeezed shave gel into his hand and the whiskers disappeared. "I didn't mean grow anything," I said.

He felt my hand against his bare skin and glance in the mirror. "Wow, thanks, Shane," he said and kissed me again. "But what I am going to do with this?" he asked, indicating the gel in his hand.

I pointed at it and it flew back into the tube and the cap went back on and screwed itself down. "Use it when I'm not around," I replied.

Placing his hands on my sides, he turned me to face him and leaned down, resting his forehead on mine with our noses touching. He was about five inches taller than my five foot-seven inches. "I don't ever want there to be a time when you're not around, Shane," he said, softly.

"Me neither, Gavin." I tilted my head to the right and kissed him gently on the lips. I loved him so much, but I wasn't about to be the one to tell him, first.

Breaking the kiss, he led me back into the bedroom. "I'll make the bed while you go start breakfast," he offered, pulling the blankets back on the bed so he could straighten them out. My sperm was still on the pillow and headboard.

"I have a better idea," I said. Pointing at the bed, the mess was cleaned up and the bed made with clean sheets. "I had to change the sheets, too. You couldn't have done that."

"Well, that's true," he admitted.

"Now, what do you want to wear today?" I asked.

"Come on, baby, let me at least dress myself."

"Okay, okay," I conceded, but with a snap of my fingers, I was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a blue and black striped, cotton, long-sleeved shirt.

"Wow, you look nice," he said, approvingly.

"Thank you."

He pulled some clothes that he had brought with him out of his green sports bag and started getting dressed. Sitting down on a wing backed chair next to the fireplace, I asked, "I know what you want for breakfast, Gavin, but what do you want to drink?"

"A tall glass of ice-cold milk and a large glass of grape juice," he replied. "Chuck always kids me because I don't like coffee. The cafeteria never has grape juice, just orange or grapefruit. I don't like grapefruit and their orange isn't fit to drink, so I just get milk there."

"I don't like coffee, either," I replied. "I love grape juice. I'll be glad to keep you supplied with it."

Grinning, he zipped up his jeans. "You're going to spoil me, Shane."

"I'll try," I promised.

Gavin finished getting dressed and followed me into the kitchen. I pointed at the fireplace in the kitchen and three logs burst into flame. The kitchen was cold, I had forgotten to light the fire, earlier. "Do you want to eat in here, or in the formal dining room?" I asked, opening the door to the dining room.

"Wow!" he exclaimed. I thought he had been in the house before, but apparently not and I hadn't given him the grande tour the night before.

The formal dining room was just off the kitchen. It was more of a banquet room than a dining room. Because of our extended life- span, the family was huge. The dining table seated fifty, comfortably. There was a large buffet on the west wall. Of course, Grams never cooked, so the kitchen was small, compared to the dining room.

"I'm not really sure that it was originally this size," I admitted, "but Grams and Gramps loved to entertain. They might have enlarged it when they moved in. I have never asked."

"Since it is cold in here," Gavin replied, "I think I'd rather eat in the kitchen. Besides, if I sit at the head of the table and you at the foot, I might not be able to see you that far off." He grinned and added, "And I don't want you that far from me."

Wrapping my arms around him, I kissed him and whispered, "Neither do I."

We returned to the kitchen, which was warming up quickly. The kitchen table only seated four. A wave of my hand and it was set with two plates of everything that Gavin had requested for breakfast. I thought sausage, waffles and real scrambled eggs, milk and grape juice sounded good. I also added a tub of real butter and real maple syrup.

"Wow, this looks great," he said, his eyes bulging as he sat down.

We ate in silence, but he did place his hand on my leg. "This is fantastic, Shane," he said and took a sip of grape juice.

I grinned and said, "You have a purple mustache."

He leaned over and kissed me. Pulling back he asked, "Did you get it?"

"Yeah."

When we finished eating, he leaned back and stretched. "Oh, man, I'm stuffed," he said.

"Good," I replied. I was too.

A wave of my hand and the table was cleared except we both had a fresh glass of grape juice.

His blue eyes twinkled as he grinned at me. "You are going to spoil me."

Placing my hand on his arm, I replied, "Someone needs to."

He leaned across the table and kissed me gently on the lips. "I love you, Shane," he whispered, running the back of his index finger down the side of my smooth cheek. "Even without all the hocus-pocus."

We continued to kiss for a few minutes. "I love you, too, Gavin," I admitted.

Now I knew that I had to have Uncle Troy take me to see Ms. Marble. I had to know what the family would do now that I had turned time back and hadn't really gone to see her. I really shouldn't have cared what the family would say, but our family was so big and some of them were well over a hundred. Therefore, I wasn't even sure that some of the men would even know what a gay person was and they surely wouldn't approve of their youngest male family member being one. Especially since Brandon and I were the only two warlocks in our generation.

Gavin broke the kiss and stood up. "I've gotta go potty before we leave," he said. "Do you want to meet me somewhere at noon for lunch?"

"Sure. Better yet, I can pick you up at the dorm and we can go to my place. That way you can see the apartment and decide if you really want to live with me there."

"Good idea," he agreed.

Standing on the front porch of the old house, I waved at Gavin as I watched him drive down the hill toward Hayden. I really wasn't in the mood to go to London, but I had no choice. Walking down the sidewalk, I turned and looked back at the house. I knew that Uncle Troy and Brandon were right about me needing to study my spell book so I could learn to use my powers to their full extent. I didn't know any incantations and I had never tried my hand at poetry. All I ever did was just concentrate and point or snap my fingers, when I wanted to do something. That had usually been enough. Of course, I really didn't have to point or snap, it was just something that added to the effect.

Glancing around, I noticed that the storm had passed and the sky was clear. "I'd better not use any thunder," I said to myself.

"Dust mites dancing in the sunlight, a gust of wind, now get this right. Restore this house to it's original state, hurry now, I can't be late."

The scarecrow and the jack-o-lanterns that I had left out front vanished. I scanned the house. Sure enough, the formal dining room was as small as the kitchen. I had figured that Gramps and expanded it. The bathroom was also gone as was the furniture. Maybe I had gone back too far with it, but I figured this would be best. I could change it later if I needed to.

During tea, Gramps gave me permission to do with the mansion anything I wanted. I told him that since no one in the family was interested in it, I would see if the historical society still wanted to make it a museum. He gave me a good asking price and told me to bring him the paper work when it was ready and he'd sign it. And, if I needed him to talk to anyone, just call and he'd be there.

Arriving in the entrance way of the historical society's office building, I was thankful that Dad had always stressed that when popping around in the mortal realm, always arrive invisible. This would allow you to make certain no one sees you materialize. As I arrived, a lady coming out of the office walked right through me. Had I materialized in front of her, she would not only have run into me, but freaked out because she was watching where she was going and would have seen me pop in. A moment later and I would have landed right on top of her.

"May I help you, sir?" the elderly lady behind the reception desk asked as I walked in.

"Yes, ma'am," I replied. "I'm Shane Jordan. My grandparents own Windham Mansion. A few years ago, when they moved to Paris, Mr. Harvey was interested in purchasing it, but I talked Gramps out of selling it. Now we're ready to sell if Mr. Harvey's still interested."

She gave me a nervous look and almost tipped her chair over getting to her feet. "I certainly hope not," she said, under her breath, but I was still able to hear her, although she didn't realize I did. Keeping one's senses tuned in did have its advantages.

"Excuse me, I'll tell him you are here," she offered before I could ask why she didn't want him to buy it.

Without offering me a chair or waiting for my reply, she dashed into the back room.

Glancing around, I confirmed that I was alone. I figured it would be wise to see what she told Mr. Harvey, so I scanned the back room.

It wasn't much bigger than a walk-in closet, but a short, bald gentlemen sat at a desk that took up more room than could be comfortably spared.

He looked up from some papers he was reading when she rushed into the room, closing the door behind her.

"Mr. Harvey," she said, speaking so softly and so fast that I could hardly hear her. "Mr. Jordan is here to speak to you. He is the grandson of the Windhams of Windham hill. I've heard rumors that he's their great-great grandson. He's here to offer you the house."

Mr. Harvey's face lit up as he jumped to his feet. "That's fantastic!" he exclaimed, loud enough for me to hear through the closed door.

"No! You can't buy it, Mr. Harvey," she pleaded, still speaking softly. "It's haunted. I grew up here, Mr. Harvey," she explained. "I know you don't believe me, but when the Windhams lived there, there were always lightening storms up there, even when there were no clouds in the sky.

"I can see the house clearly from my front porch," she continued. "And when I was serving some trick-or-treaters last night, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, but there was a whole lot of lightening and thunder and the wind just blew like crazy and then all was quiet."

I smiled to myself. That would have been when Aunt Margie dropped in. Yes, the family did love to play with the elements, especially thunder and lightening. Of course, I couldn't say anything, I did, too.

"Now, Martha," Mr. Harvey said. "You know that the weather service says that because of the altitude of the hill there are always atmospheric conflicts up there."

"But you have to have clouds to produce lightening," she said, sternly.

"I don't know, Martha," he said, heading for the door, "I just know that's what they said."

"Okay, fine. Then answer me this. Why is it that until last night, ever since the Windham's moved to Paris two years ago, there haven't been any electrical storms up there? And also last night, the entire house was lit up. There was a light in every window. They looked electric to me. They couldn't have been candles, as bright as they were. And you know there is no electricity up there."

"Calm down, Martha," he said. "I'm sure Mr. Jordan will have a good explanation."

Mr. Harvey opened the office door and walked out with a broad smile on his chubby face. He had to be in his mid-fifties. He was pleasantly plump and totally bald and wore silver wire-framed glasses that made his round face appear even rounder.

"Mr. Jordan," he said, eagerly, closing both of his hands over mine as we shook hands. His steel-blue eyes were shining as he grinned at me. "I'm Mr. Harvey. Martha tells me you are interested in selling Windham Mansion?"

"Yes, sir," I replied. "I spoke to Gramps this morning; he gave me permission."

Mr. Harvey shot Martha an aggravated look as she returned to her chair.

"I understand that you haven't seen the house in a few years," I said, before he could ask any questions. "I would be happy to take you up there now, if you'd like? We can go in my car."

"Yes, that would be wonderful," he replied.

"Martha, please hold all of my calls until we return. I'll be back shortly."

I could tell that Martha was very upset about me taking him up there, but she quietly nodded and he followed me out that door.

Scanning the area, I saw no one looking, so I materialized a Trans Am convertible into the closest parking place available.

Mr. Harvey was bubbling all over while we rode up to the house. "Why doesn't Martha want you to buy the house?" I asked.

"She's been here a long time," he explained. "She grew up here and has it in her head that it's haunted."

I chuckled after he explained the electrical storms she had mentioned. "If there haven't been any since my grandparents moved out, it sounds to me like Gramps and Grams were the ones who were making the storms."

"Yes, it does," he agreed.

"I spent the night up here last night," I admitted, steering the car into the driveway, "and there was an electrical storm for a minute. It was strange.

"I spent a lot of time up here when I was growing up, Mr. Harvey," I continued, getting out of the car. "There have been several strange storms like that. Martha was right about them. Gramps and Grams never did understand why, either."

"The place looks nice," he observed.

"Thanks. There was a lot of work to do," I said, unlocking the front door, "but I managed to get the house back to its original state."

"I do hope that you kept all the furniture that was here last time I visited," he said. "I know that they were all antique pieces and you could have sold them for a lot of money, but I really wanted to leave it in it's original state."

"No problem," I replied, replacing the furniture with a nod of my head as I opened the door. Since he had seen the house before, I decided to return it to the way it was then, which meant putting the bathroom back and returning the dining room to it's larger state. "It's just like it was when you saw it last," I replied.

"The place looks great," he said looking around the parlor in awe. "I figured since it hadn't been lived in for two years that it'd be all dusty and have cobwebs all over the place."

"Actually, there were," I replied. "It took a while to get it all cleaned up."

He followed me around the house commenting on certain things.

Handing him a piece of paper with the figure that Gramps had given me to offer him, I said, "This total is with the furniture."

I thought his eyes were going to pop out. "Are you sure this isn't a mistake?" he asked.

"Is it too much?" I asked. "That price also includes the land."

"No. I think it's too little."

Gramps had told me to sell the house to Mr. Harvey for a dollar, but to stress that he had to pay the taxes.

I grinned. "Actually, Gramps wanted to just donate it to the society, but because of the size of our family, he didn't want any trouble down the road. He did offer it to everyone and no one was interested in it, so we don't foresee any problem.

"And, this keeps Gramps from being responsible for the taxes," I added.

"That's true," Mr. Harvey agreed.

"He also told me that if you don't want to buy it for that price, that he will let you rent it for a dollar a month, but you have to take care of the taxes and the up keep."

"No. That's fine. I don't mind paying a dollar for it. Are there any back taxes?"

"No, sir," I replied, following him into the downstairs guest room. "Everything is paid up until January."

"Mr. Windham told me that his daughter had this bathroom built," he explained. "I know it's not from the house originally, but I really like it.

"Of course I'll have to okay this with the Board of Directors," he said, "but I see no reason that we can't make a deal on this."

"Great," I said, leading him back out to the car. "Gramps said that if you needed him, he could come sign whatever."

"I see no reason that our lawyers can't handle everything," he said. "I'm sure that they can mail it to him and he can have his signature notarized and return it. We wouldn't want him to have to come all the way from France for this."

"He loves to travel, Mr. Harvey," I said. "He wouldn't mind one bit. He did mention that he and Grams might come back just to see the house one more time, before turning it over to you, so I wouldn't be surprised if they show up this weekend."

"Gracious. It must be nice to be able to drop everything and fly over anytime they want."

I grinned. "They travel all the time. They've been on vacation this week," I admitted, pulling into a parking place close to his office door. It was not close enough for Martha or him to see me leave, though. "They actually went much further from home than they would have to travel to come here. But Gramps said he'd come in tomorrow if you need him to."

"Thank you again, Mr. Jordan," he said, leading me into the office. Martha had a worried look on her face. I could tell by the way she looked at Mr. Harvey, that she knew he was going to buy it.

"I have to speak to the Board of Directors, Martha," he said. "But it looks like we can afford to purchase the house.

"If you will have a seat, Mr. Jordan," he continued, gesturing to a chair in front of Martha's desk, "I'll go call them now and will be right back."

"Certainly," I replied, sitting down.

He went into his closet office and closed the door. Martha fiddled nervously with some papers on her desk.

I smiled at her. I knew what she was thinking, even though I wasn't reading her mind. "Don't worry, Martha," I said, softly. "It really isn't haunted. I stayed up there last night and there wasn't one thing out of the ordinary that happened."

"What about the electrical storm at eight?" she wanted to know.

I shrugged. "The weatherman said that we were supposed to get a storm at eight," I reminded her.

"Yes, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky. All the stars were out. And the actual storm he was talking about didn't get here until midnight."

"Have you heard or seen anything in the house that would support your feelings?"

"Well, no, but the house was lit up last night."

"I've already explained that I was there," I replied. "I took my generator and some electric lamps so it would be easier for the townspeople to see that I was there. I had about twenty trick-or-treaters, which was a good turn out, considering everyone knows it's vacant."

"Yes, that's true," she agreed as Mr. Harvey came out of his office.

"I have talked to Mr. Peabody, the head of the Board of Directors," he explained, "the price is right and he'll have our lawyers draw up the paperwork as soon as possible. That is, unless you're going through a realtor?"

"No," I replied, glancing at my watch, it was a few minutes before noon. "Well, if you will excuse me, I have to pop over to the university and pick up a friend of mine for lunch. I'll call you if my grandparents do come in for the weekend."

"Fantastic, I'd love to see them again," he said, walking me to the door.

Getting into my car, I scanned the area. Several people were coming out of their offices on their way to lunch, making it unwise for me to get rid of the car in the street, so I drove down an alley and, snapping my fingers, the car was gone and I was standing, invisible, in front of the door to Gavin's dorm room. The hallway was empty so I materialized and knocked on the door.

It burst open and a giant of a man stood there, staring angrily down at me. "Yeah, what do you want?" he boomed.

He had to be at least six-five and couldn't have weighed an ounce under two- hundred and seven-five pounds of pure muscle. He wasn't a bad looking guy, but I wondered if he ever dated. No wonder Gavin was afraid to have him find out he was bi.

I cringed. "Uh, is Gavin here yet?" I asked.

"Not yet," he replied. "Are you Shane?"

"Yes."

He stepped back and said, "Come on in. He should be here soon."

"Thanks," I replied.

I was thankful that I could turn him into an inanimate object if I needed to.

I had not seen Gavin since we graduated from the community college and I had never been in the dorms before. I was surprised how small the room really was.

"Do you have a problem sleeping on that bed?" I asked, sitting down at the desk that was obviously Gavin's.

"Nah," he replied, sitting on the bed. "It's a long-boy, they call it. I've got about an inch to spare."

"That's good," I said, looking around the room.

Gavin had set the TV/boom-box I had given him on a table at the end of his bed. It would be easy for him to lie in bed and watch TV with the cordless headphones and not bother Chuck.

On one wall stood Gavin's bed, which he had made and it looked more like a couch than a bed. He had some pictures of his family on the back of the bed. It was designed to allow the students about a foot of space for whatever they wanted to place there. The desk was on one end of it, and at the other end, a dresser, then the closet.

The other side of the room, where Chuck obviously lived, was identical. However, he had no pictures, but there was a small boom- box on the back of his bed.

There was a door that went into a bathroom, right next to the outside door.

"You're lucky that you have a private bath," I said. "I know some people who live in dorms have a community rest room."

"Yeah, I had that last semester. I hated it. So many faggots coming in and trying to sneak a peek. As big as I am, they want to see my big dick."

Boy, this guy really has an attitude problem, I said to myself. "It's really odd that they let out before Thanksgiving and don't start up again until January," I said, quickly changing the subject. "Most universities keep going up until December. Gavin's going to go home to Chicago. Are you going home or staying here?"

Sighing, he leaned back on the bed and stretched out his long legs. "There is not really a home for me to go to," he replied, bitterly. "I'm planning on staying here. I haven't found an apartment to move into, though. Do you know of any available?"

"Sorry," I replied. "My complex has a banner on the roof all the time saying, 'now leasing' but I think they're full because of school being out. I can check for you if you like."

"Where do you live?" he asked.

"Forrest Cove."

He made a face and sighed. "Never mind. I checked into it for the summer. The manager's gay, so I don't want to live there."

"Hey, Shane," Gavin said, walking in. "Sorry I'm late."

"That's fine," I replied, getting to my feet. Chuck got up, too. "We were just chatting."

"Yeah, well, you should'a hurried," Chuck said, grabbing his jacket. "If he wouldn't have showed up when he did, I would'a had to go. I've gotta eat, too, you know."

"Yes, I understand that," Gavin said, tossing his book bag on the bed as Chuck left, closing the door behind him. He didn't even say goodbye.

"What's his problem?" I asked.

"Don't mind him, he's a jerk," Gavin said.

I started to kiss him, but he stepped away. "He might come back in," he said.

"Oh, okay," I replied, sadly.

"So, where are we going for lunch?" he asked, heading for the door. "Paris, Jupiter, Mars? We only have an hour."

"I thought we agreed on my place."

"That'll work," he agreed. "How are we getting there? We can go in my car if you want."

I reached over and locked the door. "Now he won't come back in," I said. Wrapping my arms around him, I kissed him gently on the lips.

After a few minutes of kissing, he broke the kiss and smiled down at me and said, "I wish we had time for lunch and a quickie, but we'd better..." his voice trailed off as he looked around my living room.

"Wow, this is nice," he said. "I presume this is your apartment?"

"Yes, it is," I admitted. "Thank you, I'm glad you like it."

The front door was to our left. A cream-colored sofa with three rose-colored throw pillows on it, facing the entertainment center, set to our right. A solid rose- colored rocker recliner set on either end of the sofa. The end tables and coffee table were black metal with smokey gray glass tops. A large fireplace stood against the opposite wall from the entrance way. It was easy to watch TV or a fire in the hearth from either chair or the sofa. A large picture window took up the wall between the TV and the wall the fireplace was on. Since the apartment was on the third floor, there wasn't really anything to see out the window from the couch and chairs except for the sky.

At the back of the room, directly in front of the front door, was the dining area. Next to the dining area was the door to the small, U-shaped kitchen. A breakfast bar separated the kitchen from the living room. The kitchen was done in almond.

A door to the hallway that lead to the bathroom and the bedroom, stood next to the kitchen door on the back wall of the dining area.

Walking into the hall, to the right, directly behind the kitchen, was the bedroom, across the hall from the dining room door, was the bathroom and to the left was the hall closet.

"This is really nice, Shane," he said, looking into my bedroom.

There was a queen-sized bed against the inside wall. The drapes were open on a large window on the back wall and we could see out into the courtyard. Sliding mirrored doors on the wall against the kitchen wall, were closet doors. There wasn't a door to the bathroom from this room.

Gavin crossed over to the hall closet and opened the door. I had stocked it with towels, but had never used any.

Frowning he asked, "There's nothing on the other side of this wall, is there?"

"No. There is another building across the courtyard from it. If there were a window there, you'd just see the brick wall of the other building."

"What floor are we on?"

"Third. There is no elevator, though, but we don't need one. We're on the top floor and no one bothers me up here."

"How can you put in a bedroom here without making the bathroom larger, or having to create one for the downstairs apartments? Wouldn't you have to extend the wall like you did in the bathroom at the house?"

"Not really," I replied. "I can make it a virtual room. Anyone who is in it will see it as it is, but anyone outside won't notice anything different. I can even put in windows that look out over the front parking lot, but no one will see them from the outside."

"Okay. May I tell you what I want, or am I stuck with whatever you want to make?"

I smiled and hugged him. "Darling, I'll tell you what, you imagine what you want your bedroom to look like and I'll make it work just like that. But, you have to hold the image in your mind for a minute so I can access it."

"You're going to read my mind?" he asked as I materialized the spell book.

"Sure. I just have to find the right spell. I haven't read anyone's mind before."

He looked at me skeptically for a moment, but didn't respond.

"Okay, here it is," I said. "You stand here, close your eyes and concentrate on what you want the room to look like. I'll do the spell."

"Okay, I'm ready," he said.

Reading aloud from the book, I concentrated, also. "A window, with curtains closed, keeps out prying eyes. Open up the mind as a window without blinds. What Gavin thinks, I shall see and he shall share it with me."

It was as though Gavin's mind was a big screen TV and I was watching it. The bedroom he thought about was nice. It was larger than my room was. There was a large bay window with a window seat that had a red cushion on it, looking out over the parking lot. A king-sized bed stood against the outside wall, where I had planned to put a window looking at the brick wall across the courtyard. The bedspread was black with red stripes. The closet was like mine, on the inside wall to the right as you walked into the room.

"That's a nice room," I told him, using telepathy instead of saying anything. "It'll be easy for me to produce."

"Thanks," he said, aloud.

Snapping my fingers, the virtual room was there. "You can open your eyes now," I said.

He looked through the open closet door. "Wow!" he exclaimed rushing into the room. "It's really here. I can't believe it."

"The only thing is," I said, stepping into the room, "I'd recommend me changing places with this door.

The hall closet door opened out into the hallway. A snap of my fingers and the door was the width of my bedroom door and opened inward, as did mine.

"Much better," he agreed. He walked over to the bay window and looked out. "Do I need curtains?" he asked. "I forgot them."

"Since this room doesn't exist on the outside of the building, no one will be able to look in," I said. "Actually, since we're on the third floor, it wouldn't matter anyway. But for the sake of anyone who comes to visit, it would be best to have them.

"May I suggest these?" I asked. A wave of my hand and the drapes that were on the window matched the bedspread. They were open and basically just hung on the sides of the window. A matching tier hung across the top of the window. If the drapes were closed, no one would be able to tell there was a window seat there because the drapes hung from the top of the window to the floor.

"Wow, thanks, hon," he said, pulling me into his warm, strong arms and kissing me on the lips. "I love it."

"You're welcome," I replied. "Does this mean that we're not going to share bedrooms?"

Grinning at me, he replied, "I was hoping you wouldn't mind sharing this one with me. You can keep your stuff in your room, I'll keep my stuff in here and we can sleep in here. Or we can trade off between rooms, if you prefer."

"I don't care. As long as I'm in your arms."

He smiled and kissed me again. "I love you, Shane," he whispered.

"I love you, too, darling," I replied. "What do you want for lunch?"

"After that fabulous breakfast, I'm not really all that hungry. I saw an ad on TV the other day for a chicken salad. I don't remember all that was in it, but it had chicken breasts, pasta and garlic in it. It was in the frozen section and you didn't have to add anything to it, just heat it up and eat it. I don't care for the idea of it being frozen, but would like something like that, I think."

Since he wasn't sure what it was and I hadn't seen the ad, I wasn't able to make it for him. However, leading him into the dining room, I decided to do something close to what he had seen. Pointing at the dining table, there were two place settings. Both plates had a grilled chicken breast with a pasta salad on the side and garlic bread sticks. To drink, there were two glasses of iced tea.

"I hope this is satisfactory," I said as we sat down.

"It looks good," he said. "I'm sure it will be."

"This isn't what I saw on TV," he admitted, cutting up his chicken, "but it is great. Thanks, Shane."

"You're welcome," I replied.

"When do you want to move in?" I asked as we ate.

He shrugged and took a sip of tea. "I have several finals next week," he said. "So that's not a good time. But Chuck seems to be getting grouchier every day, since he hasn't found a place yet, so I'd like to get outta there. He wanted me to get an apartment with him, but since I was going to Chicago, I couldn't."

"I guess that means I can't just move you over here this afternoon, then," I said.

"No. Although I'd like to."

"You are going to leave some things here, right?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Why don't I go ahead and move you over here this afternoon? You can tell Chuck that you are going to Chicago after school's out, but you will be moving in with me when you get back, so you can leave most of your stuff here while you're gone."

"Yeah, and if I move now, I won't have to worry about having to wait for the elevators in the dorm. When I was moving in, I had to wait about half an hour one time."

He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "Thanks, Shane. I like that idea. But the best thing is that I won't have to room with him next semester."

"When will it be safe for me to get your stuff?" I asked.

"He's got the same class I do at one," he replied, pushing his empty plate out of the way. "I would let you get it when you take me back, but he might be there and start asking questions. Why not wait until tomorrow and we can get moved then?"

"Okay. That's probably best," I agreed. "Do you want anything else to eat?"

"No thanks," he replied.

Leaning over to kiss me, he added, "Thanks again, Shane. It was great. You'll have to make that again sometime."

"I'll be glad to," I replied.

He decided it would be best if he went back to the dorm about fifteen minutes before one so he could use the bathroom and get to class on time. Agreeing, I took us to his room. Chuck wasn't back, yet, so I made us visible.

"What are you going to do this afternoon?" he asked, walking into the bathroom.

While he relieved himself, I replied, "I've got to go to Jupiter and talk to Uncle Troy about something. He's got to go sail the Seven Seas at two-thirty with his parents, but we can get some skiing in before then."

Gavin brushed his teeth, then rinsed his mouth and dried his face before shaking his head and saying, "I can't get used to this, Shane. You're going skiing with your uncle on Jupiter?"

"Well, darling, when you get out of class at five, I'll take you. There are some hot springs there that feel so good to relax in. There is also a great weight room. We can workout for a while because you said yourself that if I keep feeding you this way, you're going to get fat."

He grinned and kissed me. "Okay. I'll meet you here at five."

"I can't wait," I replied. He hugged me and kissed me again.

I stepped away from him just in the nick of time as we heard the key in the door. "I'm outta here," I whispered. "See you at five."

"Okay," he replied.

I decided to stick around and see what Chuck had to say about me, so, snapping my fingers, I went invisible.

"Oh, you're back already?" Chuck asked, closing the door.

Gavin had just picked up his book bag. "Yeah, just got back a few minutes ago. How was chow?"

"Rotten as usual. What'd you have?"

"Chicken breast with pasta salad," he replied. "It was great."

"Where'd you go for lunch?"

"Shane's apartment," Gavin replied. "He's got a nice two-bedroom apartment. I'm thinking about moving in with him this weekend and staying with him next semester. If I do that, then I get more space than here in the dorm and I won't have to take all my shit home to Chicago with me and then lugging it back. The bus goes right by his apartment complex, so I won't have to worry about finding a place to park my car and he won't have to drive me over here, either. And he doesn't mind me moving in then running off to Chicago until next semester."

"Sounds like a good idea, then," Chuck agreed, stepping into the bathroom. To my surprise, he didn't close the door to urinate, but his back was to the door.

"Too bad he doesn't have a three-bedroom apartment," Chuck said. "Maybe I could move in with you."

"You haven't been able to find a place, yet?"

"Fuck no. The rent's too high everywhere and no one wants to room with me."

"Have you ever thought that if you weren't so grouchy all the time, someone might actually like you?" Gavin asked, to my surprise.

"Yeah, right. Everyone but you is scared to death of me. I'm not that bad of a guy, Gavin."

Gavin took a deep breath and let it out slowly as they walked to the door. "I'll tell you what, Chuck, Shane's grandparents own Windham Mansion. He was going to go sell it to the historical society this morning. I forgot to ask him if he got it done. If not, I'll see if I can talk him into changing it into a boarding house and you can live there. There are sixteen bedrooms. Since the house is paid for, it wouldn't cost too much for him to remodel it and then rent it out to students. You're not the only one here who's having a problem finding a place to live."

"But he couldn't have it done by the fifteenth," Chuck replied.

Gavin grinned. "You don't know Shane. If he puts his mind to it, he could."

Since they were obviously going to walk to class together, I figured I'd better tag along. Not that I didn't trust Gavin not to give away my secret, but to see if Chuck said anything about me.

"Jason Barrett said he's found a nice two-bedroom apartment," Gavin continued as they walked, "but he needs a roommate. Have you talked to him?"

"Don't even go there, Gavin," he replied. "You know he's gay. I'm not going to live with a fag."

"Well, just remember that when you get desperate, you might have to," Gavin replied softly as they walked into the classroom together.

"Don't count on it," he replied.

Gavin took a desk at the front of the room and Chuck made his way to one at the back. I didn't know what Chuck's last name was, but I was surprised that Gavin set on the front row. I thought they had to sit alphabetically.

Not needing to stick around any longer, I hoped that Uncle Troy was still somewhere to be found on Jupiter. It had been eleven when I had met him there the first time. It was a little after one now, there was no telling where he might be.

"From east to west, north to south, as I speak these words from my mouth, Jupiter is where my search begins. Whisk me to Uncle Troy, so I may know if Gavin and I can be lovers, or just friends." Snapping my fingers, I stood next to Uncle Troy's brother, Tom.

"Hi, Shane," he said.

"Hello, Tom," I replied. "I didn't know you and Uncle Troy liked to bowl."

"I love it, myself," Tom replied.

Uncle Troy threw his ball and watched for the strike, which he made.

"I like it once in a while," Uncle Troy said as Tom picked up his next ball. "Since Christine and Cathy are out shopping and your dad's at work, I didn't have much else to do. I did some skiing this morning, but that was enough. So when Tom invited me to play a game, I took him up on it. I have to be on the Seven Seas with my parents and Christine in an hour and a half."

"I needed to talk to you about something, Uncle Troy," I said. "In private, if you don't mind. We can go to my apartment, or to the Moonbeam Lounge."

"Did you have fun staying on Earth last night, Shane?" Tom asked, returning from making his final strike.

"Yes, I did," I replied. "I had about twenty trick-or-treaters."

"Oh, you could have had a blast with them in that old house of your grandparents'," he said.

"Yes, but I didn't do anything. My friend Gavin came up to keep me company."

He nodded. "Mortal's can put a damper on things, can't they?"

"Yeah," I agreed.

"Well, thanks for the game, Troy," he said. "I'll pop off so you and Shane can visit in private. I saw a snow bunny winking at me by the fireplace in the lodge when I picked you up, earlier. If she's still there, I'll see if she wants to go play in the snow."

Uncle Troy chuckled. Tom was still single and didn't appear to be looking for a wife, but he didn't spend much time alone.

"Okay, have fun," Uncle Troy said.

"Always. Good seeing you again, Shane. Don't be a stranger."

"Same here," I replied. He nodded and vanished.

"Why don't we go to your apartment?" Uncle Troy suggested. "We'll have more privacy there."

"Okay." A snap of my fingers and we were sitting on the couch in my living room.

"Would you like something to drink?" I asked.

"Got it," he replied, materializing us both a Dr. Pepper.

"Thanks."

"Now, what's so serious that it requires being here with a privacy spell around the apartment?"

I started to get cold feet, but decided it was okay to tell him. Taking a deep breath, I got up and walked over to the window between the fireplace and the TV. "I did something earlier that I really regretted," I said. "I won't tell you what it was, but I did wind up talking to you about it afterwards. I turned time back, so that's why you don't remember it."

"Okay. I can deal with that," he said.

"As you know, which surprised me that you knew, I am gay."

"Yes?"

"And my friend Gavin is very interested in a relationship with me and I'm interested in one with him."

"And?" I kept stopping so he was prodding me along.

"And you took me to see Ms. Marble and we had a nice talk. However, now that I turned time back, some things have been different this time and I'd like for you to take me to see her again - which really would be for the first time because I turned time back - so I can see if it's a good idea for Gavin and me to get together."

Uncle Troy smiled tenderly and got up and joined me at the window. "Shane, you don't need me to take you to see her, she's available anytime anyone needs to talk to her."

"Oh. Well, it'd just be better, I think, if you introduced me to her, again."

"Okay. That's fine. We can go now if you want."

"There's one more thing I think you need to know, before we go," I said, reluctantly.

"What's that?"

"I told Gavin that I'm a warlock. Aunt Margie showed up a minute later. She used 'The Information' spell on him and she's okay with it. She gave us her blessing and promised not to tell anyone in the family or on the Council."

"Well, by all means, let's go, then," he said. "If Margie says okay, then it's okay with me, too."

"Thanks, Uncle Troy," I said, hugging him. "Oh, can we just land in the garden? I didn't like the planet."

"Certainly," he replied with a grin.

We appeared in the garden on Venus and he led me to the tent. "Now remember, she doesn't know you were here before either. She only sees the future of love, nothing else."

"Okay."

We stepped into the tent and Ms. Marble came out from the back room.

"Hello, Troy," she said. "How are you?"

"Doing great. Getting ready to go sail the Seven Seas with my parents in a while."

"Oh, that sound's like fun," she replied, looking at me.

"Is this your son, Troy?" she asked.

"No, ma'am. My nephew. He's my wife's sister's son. Shane Jordan, this is Ms. Marble."

"It's nice to meet you, ma'am," I said, politely.

"I'm honored to meet you, too," she replied.

"Shane needs a reading, Ms. Marble," Uncle Troy said. "He's got himself mixed up with a mortal and you, of all people, know how tricky that can be."

"Oh, yes," she replied with a warm smile. "I certainly do."

Stepping over to the table in the corner, she removed the black cloth. "Please have a seat, Shane," she said, indicating the chair across from her.

"Thank you," I replied. She sat down and so did I.

Uncle Troy stood beside me. She looked into the crystal ball, I still could only see clouds. Smiling, she looked up at me and said, "Gavin Sanders is a wonderful young man, Shane. You're going to be very happy with him. It is a wise decision that you have made for him to move in with you."

"What about my family?" I asked. "Except for Uncle Troy, Aunt Margie and my brother, Brandon, no one knows I'm gay. Is there going to be a problem if everyone else finds out?"

"Yes. They will not be happy, Shane. However, you must be yourself in order for you to find happiness. If they really love you, they will respect that. I suggest that you inform them before you introduce Mr. Sanders as your lover."

I glanced up at Uncle Troy; he shrugged.

"I understand that you cannot tell me whether I should turn Gramps' house into a boarding house or sell it to the historical society, but if I do turn it into a boarding house and I let students move in, what will happen to my relationship with Gavin?"

She looked into the ball and smiled at me. "I can see that you are talking about Charles Wilson," she said. So that was Chuck's last name. No wonder he had sat at the back of the class room on the same isle that Gavin had. They were seated alphabetical. "All I can tell you is that if he moves in with you, nothing will change between you and Gavin."

"Thank you for the information, Ms. Marble," I said, getting to my feet.

"My pleasure. And thank you so much, Troy, for bringing him to see me."

"Thank you, Ms. Marble," Uncle Troy replied.

After we said goodbye to Ms. Marble, Uncle Troy put his hand on my arm and we were standing next to the bar at the Moonbeam Lounge on Jupiter.

"Is that what she told you the last time?" he asked, materializing us each a drink.

"Not totally," I admitted.

"Good or bad difference?"

"More elaboration, actually. Now I don't know what to do. I know that Gavin is going to try to talk me into turning the house into a boarding house, but I've already told Mr. Harvey he can buy it. But there are several students that can benefit from having it as a boarding house. Some have nowhere to go when school's out in a couple of weeks."

"Well, Gramps did say it's up to you, Shane," he reminded me. "You have to make that decision yourself. But I'd say that if you've already offered it to Mr. Harvey, you shouldn't renege on your offer."

"That's true," I agreed. And I really didn't know for sure that Gavin would ask me to.

"We've still got an hour before you have to meet your parents, Uncle Troy," I said. "The last time, you took me to the hot springs. Would you like to do that now?"

"I did?" he asked. "Sure, that'd be great."

I let him do the honors and we were standing at the counter. Tony was on duty.

"Hello, Mr. Reid," he said. "How are you?"

"Great," Uncle Troy replied. "This is my nephew, Shane Jordan. We'd like a room."

"I'm sorry, sir," he said. "You have to be at least twenty-one to get in here."

"He's twenty-five," Uncle Troy replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry. He just doesn't look it."

I decided not to offer my driver's license again.

"Let me see your hand, please," Tony said.

This time, after he finished and the tingling feeling went away, I asked, "What is that spell? I've not found it in my book."

"Most people call it 'The Information' spell," he explained, "but the real title is 'The Hidden Truth' spell. You can find it under that title."

"Thanks, Tony," I said.

"You're quite welcome. You're in room C. If you need anything else, let me know."

"Thanks, Tony," Uncle Troy said.

Again, he led me through the back door. Apparently since it was later now, room A was occupied.

"Is this the same room we were in the first time?" he asked, closing the door behind me.

"No, we were in A. But it looks the same."

"They're all the same," he said. I noticed he drew a couple of loops in the air with his index finger. I knew he had just put the privacy spell on the room.

He snapped his fingers and we were just wearing a towel. I let him step into the hot spring first, then he helped me in, saying, "Watch that first step, it's sometimes tricky."

"Thanks, Uncle Troy," I said.

We sat in silence for a few minutes and he asked, "Isn't this great?"

"Yes. I love it. I didn't know it was here until you brought me."

"Yeah. I guess we should have been bringing you, but usually parents are the ones who introduce their kids to it when they get to be twenty-one. Brandon comes up with your dad and me frequently."

"I know that Gavin will turn to stone if I bring him up here," I said, "but if I kept him invisible, would it be okay to turn a spring invisible so we could enjoy it together?"

He smiled. "I've got a better idea," he replied.

Lifting his hands out of the water, he said, "Diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and gold. Create a ring that when worn by a mortal, his true identity, no one will be told."

A beautiful ring appeared in Uncle Troy's hand. The band was gold and it had a large emerald in the center; slivers of diamonds circled the emerald. I didn't see any sapphires, though.

"Here, give this to Gavin and he can be visible here on Jupiter," he said, handing it to me.

"Thanks, Uncle Troy!" I exclaimed, hugging him.

"You're welcome, Shane," he said, softly. "But there is a catch to this ring."

"Oh? What's that?" I asked, worriedly.

"You can't leave him by himself. You have to stick with him at all times. And you have to make sure that no one finds out he's mortal. If you leave him, someone might start talking to him and find out that he's mortal. If they do, they might go to the Council and complain that someone brought a mortal with a ring that's not married. It's happened before. The Council hasn't made this spell illegal yet, but if they get enough complaints, they will. Right now it's basically only for mortal husbands and wives, not boyfriends and girlfriends. But since you can't marry Gavin in the mortal realm, the only three choices you have are: one, don't date him, two, do it this way, three, create yourself a past on Earth as a woman and marry him as a woman and bring him here as your husband, but you'll have to be a woman here, too.

"I think your best bet is to do it this way," he added.

"I think you're right," I agreed.

"But won't someone recognize this ring if he does wear it here?"

Uncle Troy grinned. "Actually, yes. But if he has a high school ring, you can make it look like it and no one will notice."

"Too bad," I said, sadly, turning the ring over in my hand. "It's really pretty."

"Yeah, but you don't want any surprises, Shane."

"That's true," I agreed.

"Well, it's getting to be time for me to head to Earth," he said, stretching. "If you want to stay here for a while, be my guest. But be sure to tell Tony or whoever is working, that you're leaving and take the privacy spell off before you leave. Since I put it on for both of us, you can release it. If I had put it on for just me, you wouldn't be able to."

"Okay. Thanks again for everything, Uncle Troy," I said as he stood up. I watched the water run off his cock. I was surprised that I hadn't pulled a boner this time. Maybe it was because of the new relationship I had with Gavin that kept me from getting one. I knew that Uncle Troy loved Aunt Christine and I loved Gavin. Although Uncle Troy had a nice dick, Gavin's was all I needed.

"You're welcome, Shane," he said. "And if you ever need to talk about anything or need anything, just yell across the atmospheric continuum. I'll be there for you instantly."

"Okay, I will," I promised.

He bent down and kissed me on the cheek. "Love you, Shane. Take care."

"I love you, too, Uncle Troy," I replied and he vanished.

I still had a couple of hours before I had to meet Gavin at his dorm room. I knew that I had taken a nap the first time around, but I wasn't sleepy now. I didn't want to stay in the spring because I wanted to spend time with Gavin in it later, so I decided to go see if Mom and Dad needed any help at the boutique and to see how the TV/boom-boxes were selling.

Snapping my fingers, I released the spell on the room, was dried, dressed and standing in front of Tony. The ring was safely tucked into my pants pocket.

"How did you enjoy your first visit, Mr. Jordan?" he asked.

"It was great," I replied. "We're done now. Uncle Troy already left."

"You're welcome to come back anytime," Tony said. "You don't have to have a chaperon."

"Thank you," I replied. "You know, I didn't know all this was set up here until Mom and Dad brought my brother and me after that comet hit in 1994. I thought it was all new, but Uncle Troy said it's been here a long time."

"We used the moon until the space center landed there. Then we used Mars for a long time, but then they sent their probe there. So, we got tired of moving and settled down here. We started to move again when they sent Galileo, but we just went invisible because everyone liked it here. The Council started to make the comet pass right through Jupiter, but Earth was watching it so closely, they would have really freaked if they had, so they figured we'd vacate until it hit, then come back after the space center got bored with it. Everyone likes Jupiter so we voted to stay here after the space center left. No matter where we go, it looks like they're going to be exploring, so, the Council has it set up so that anything the satellites look at, all they see is what it would look like if we weren't here. It's basically the same way that if you want to make yourself visible to one person but not another, you can. Therefore, if the space center does land here, they won't see anything and we won't have to vacate again."

"Oh, that's neat," I said.

"Yes, it is. Actually we were located up on the equator, but after the comet hit, it made these great slopes, so we moved down here."

"Well, I'd better get going," I said. "Thanks for telling me this."

"You're welcome. And thank you for coming in. I'll be seeing you more often now that you know we're here, I hope."

"Oh, yes. I might even be back later this evening. What time do you get off?"

He made an obvious pass at me and replied, "I can usually last about half an hour unless I use witchcraft to hold off longer."

I blushed. He must have scanned more than just how old I was when he used 'The Hidden Truth' spell on me.

"I'll remember that," I replied, "but my boyfriend might not approve."

He smiled and said, "Just my luck. I get off in about half an hour. If you come back later, Phil will be here."

"Thanks, Tony. I'll see you later," I said.

I was sitting on Gavin's bed at a little past five when he and Chuck walked into the room. I had hoped that Chuck wouldn't show up yet. However, I was thankful that I was invisible, so they didn't know I was there.

"Hum, Shane was supposed to meet me here at five," Gavin said, tossing his book bag on the bed next to me. "I guess he's running late."

Chuck laid down on his bed and stretched. "Are you going to start moving in with him this weekend?" he asked.

"Yeah. That way I won't have to worry about the elevators all being taken," Gavin replied as I picked up a book that had fallen out of his bag. He noticed it float up and grabbed it and stuffed it back in the bag with a worried look on his face.

"That's a good idea," Chuck agreed, sadly. He wasn't paying attention, so he didn't see what had happened.

I started to materialize for only Gavin to see, but decided I needed to find out what Chuck's problem was, so I popped over to the door and knocked.

Gavin opened the door. "Oh, there you are. What's the big idea with the book?" he demanded in a hushed voice.

"Hi, I came by a few minutes ago and you weren't here," I said grinning at him. "I knew he wasn't watching," I replied softly.

"Are you ready?" I asked.

"Yes," Gavin replied.

"Hi, Chuck," I said.

"Hello, Shane," he said, sitting up. "Where are you going?"

Stepping over closer to him, I pointed at him and he froze. "Now to find out what this guys' problem is," I said.

"What do you mean?" Gavin asked. "What'd you do to him?"

"I froze him," I replied, pulling my spell book out of thin air. "Hopefully I can get this spell to work with him frozen. I don't want to have to explain why he's going to get tingly all over when I touch him."

"Can't you just leave him frozen forever?" Gavin asked.

"Now, Gavin, that's not nice," I replied. "There's something deep inside him that needs to come out. I actually followed you to class this afternoon to see if he said anything about me and I noticed that there seems to be a deep hurt in there somewhere. I'm going to see if I can find out what it is."

"I think he's just a jerk, myself," Gavin replied, "but be my guest."

"Have you ever asked him why he doesn't have any pictures of his family?"

"Well, no," Gavin admitted, sheepishly. "And, now that you mention it, he's never mentioned any family."

"Okay, so don't you want to know why that is? He's about our age, there should be someone important to him."

"That's true," Gavin agreed.

I placed my hand on Chuck's forehead and read the spell. "Tell me what I need to know, tell me so he cannot lie, tell me now, tell me why. Tell me now, tell me true. This spell I cast upon you."

I was falling into a deep dark pit. Dark clouds swirled around me. The stench of fear and hatred was so strong that it was difficult for me to breathe.

Never before had I cast a spell that took me into it this way. There was a light at the end of the darkness, though. I heard a voice cry, "Daddy, help! No! Don't! Make him stop! Daddy! Stop! Please, stop. It hurts."

The clouds cleared. To my horror, I saw a boy who couldn't have been more than ten, lying face down on a dirty floor with his face smeared in mud from the tears he cried. A giant of a man was pounding his huge dick in and out of the boy's ass while a slender man watched with tears of his own streaming down his cheeks. This man must have been the boys' father. He was gagged and bound in a wooden straight-backed chair and there was nothing he could do but watch his son get raped.

After the giant ejaculated, he tossed the boy aside and got to his feet. "Now it's your turn, fucker," he snarled.

He grabbed the gag from the man's mouth and said, "Eat your boy's shit off my dick,"

The man tried to keep his mouth closed, but the giant grabbed him by the jaws, forcing his mouth open and shoved his still hard dick in.

The man took a deep breath and bit down as hard as he could. The giant let out a blood-curdling scream and jumped back.

"You're going to pay for that, shit- head," he snarled.

He slapped the man up side the head and sent the chair sprawling across the room. The man's head hit the wall and blood splattered everywhere. I could tell that he was dead.

The giant pulled his pants on and left, leaving the boy crying on the floor in the corner. The boy crawled over to his father and sobbed, "I'll get him, Dad. I really will."

The dark clouds took over the scene and I felt Gavin's warm hand on my shoulder. "What's going on, Shane?" he asked, softly. "You're crying."

Blinking back the tears, I looked at Gavin. He had a worried look on his handsome face. "No wonder he's homophobic, darling," I said, getting rid of the spell book. I started to tell him why, but realized that if I did, he might change his attitude toward Chuck too much, too fast. Chuck hadn't told Gavin what happened, so it would be best if he didn't know until Chuck was ready to tell him.

"Well? Aren't you going to tell me?" Gavin asked.

"I'd better not. But I have an idea of how we can get him to tell us. I really want to take you to Jupiter, Gavin," I said. "Why don't you make arrangements for us to come back about nine and watch some TV with him?"

He gave me an aggravated look and sighed. "Okay, but I had hoped to spend the weekend with you and not worry about him."

I brushed a strand of hair from Gavin's forehead and said, "He said you're the only person who isn't afraid of him, Gavin. He needs your friendship."

Gavin sighed again. "Well, he is a jerk," he said, "but he is a nice guy when you get to know him."

"Believe me, sweetheart, you don't know him at all."

"I wish you'd tell me," he said, pulling me into his arms. He kissed me on the lips, then, making a pass at me, said, "Please?"

"If we can't drag it out of him tonight," I said, "I'll tell you."

"Okay. Deal," he replied, stepping away from me.

I returned to where I had been standing when Chuck had asked where we were going and unfroze him.

"We're going to my parent's for dinner," I replied so that he wouldn't ask if he could come with us if I just said a restaurant.

"What do you have planned?" Gavin asked.

He shrugged. "Nothing. I guess I'll just sit here and watch TV all night."

"Okay. Uh, we can bring some beer and movies back about nine if you want us to," Gavin offered.

Chuck's face lit up. "You will?" he asked.

"Sure. Anything special you want to see?"

"Whatever you want to will be fine," he replied, getting to his feet.

"Great. We'll be back about nine," Gavin said.

After saying goodbye, we went to the elevators. "I told you that he needed your friendship," I whispered as we waited for the elevator.

"I guess you're right," he agreed.

The first doors to open were going up, but it was empty so I stepped in. Gavin followed.

The doors closed. "Which floor?" he asked with a grin.

"Jupiter," I replied.

"It's not on here."

I put my arms around him as the elevator stopped at the next floor. The next thing Gavin knew we were flying over Hayden. I hadn't turned us invisible because I wanted him to feel what it was like to really fly.

"Wow! This is fantastic!" he exclaimed.

"Isn't this much better than taking a plane?" I asked.

"It sure is," he replied. He wasn't scared this time, I noticed. He had learned to trust that in my arms he was safe and I was holding him tightly.

"I love the wind on my face this way," he said as we flew up over the old house.

"So do I. But if you go very fast without turning invisible, you can really get hurt by debris, especially when flying through space."

"That makes sense."

Although I was enjoying being with Gavin this way, the haunting scene that I had uncovered in the folds of Chuck's past nagged at me. Even if I turned time back to where I hadn't done that, I would remember what I had seen. There was no way for me to escape it. I knew that there was no way for Chuck to escape it either.

"You said it'd take three minutes to get to Jupiter," Gavin was saying. "What happens when we break the sound barrier?"

"We won't. Since we're invisible," I said, turning us invisible, "we can't. Nothing that is visible can hurt us either." I wished that I could turn time back and make what had happened to Chuck wouldn't have happened, but that was several years ago. I had only learned how to turn time back recently and didn't want to risk going that far.

"Wow! We're really trucking!" Gavin exclaimed as we left Earth behind. Although we had done this before, he didn't know it, because it hadn't really happened.

"Is that Mars?" he asked as we flew by.

"Yes, it is."

"It really is red," he said.

"Remember, nothing can hurt us. If anything is coming at us, we'll pass through it, you won't even feel it. You can feel me because we're both invisible."

He grinned at me and said, "I love feeling you."

I kissed him and we continued toward Jupiter.

"What was that?" he asked, breaking the kiss and looking back.

"It was just one of Jupiter's moons," I replied. "We went through it instead of around it."

Landing on Jupiter, I kept us invisible for a while. Since it wasn't snowing this time, I made it start. I wanted to share this moment with him the way I had previously.

I knew that Uncle Troy and Aunt Christine were still on the Seven Seas. Mom and Dad would still be at the boutique until six-thirty. Brandon might pop in, but that was okay. If we did run into anyone in the family, I'd just explain the situation to them and take my chances. Ms. Marble had said they would have to understand if I was going to be happy.

Forcing what had happened to Chuck from my mind, we sat on the park bench watching it snow and watching a few people ice skating.

"Wow," Gavin said. "This looks just like at home, but it's not cold."

"That's because we're invisible," I replied, pulling the ring out of my pocket.

"Uncle Troy gave me this to give you," I said. "Did you ever have a class ring?"

"Yeah, I left it at home though. Mom was afraid that I'd lose it."

"Well, you need to wear this one while we're here. It will keep you from turning to stone and it will keep people from knowing you're mortal. We can't tell anyone you're mortal."

"Can I do witchcraft with it?" he asked. I noted a glint of hope in his eye.

"Nope, sorry."

He shrugged and put it on. "Thanks, Shane," he said and kissed me.

I had made the ring look like his high school ring.

"There is an excellent restaurant across the lake," I said, standing up. "We can eat there, then we'll go to the Moonbeam Lounge and do some dancing. Then we can go to the gym and workout for a while before we sit in the hot springs. If you want to, that is."

"This is your world, babe," he said. "I'll do anything you want to."

"Okay. I'm going to make us visible now, so it will be cold. We will dress for it, though." A snap of my fingers and we were dressed in warm winter clothes and visible. The cold air nipped at our noses.

Holding hands, I led him across the bridge in the center of the lake to the Starlight Restaurant.

The hostess greeted us at the door with a warm smile. "Hello, Shane," she said. "How are you?"

"Fine, Victoria," I replied and kissed her on the cheek. "What are you doing working here?"

"I was bored and thought it'd be fun to try a job for a change," she replied. "But wasn't about to get one on Earth."

"I don't blame you," I said.

"Gavin Sanders, this is my cousin, Victoria Holt. Aunt Margie is her mother."

"Nice to meet you," he said.

"He met Aunt Margie last night," I explained as she led us to a nice table in the corner next to a cozy fireplace.

"Nice to meet you, too, Gavin," she said. "May I take your coats?"

"Certainly," I replied.

With a nod of her head, our coats were gone.

We seated ourselves and Victoria handed us both menus.

"What would you like to drink?" she asked. "We have hot mulled cider. Since someone made it snow, it goes well with the cold."

"Mm, that sounds good," Gavin agreed.

I smiled and nodded.

"Two hot mulled ciders, it is, then." Victoria pointed at the table and two large steaming mugs appeared in front of us. "Would you like a few minutes to look over the menu before ordering?" she asked.

"Yes, please," I replied.

"I'll be back shortly," she said.

"Oh, Victoria?" I asked as she turned to go.

"Yes?"

"Since I'm the one who made it snow, may we have a window here?"

A surprised look crossed her face. "Uh, sure," she replied. She snapped her fingers and a nice picture window appeared. "Thanks, Victoria," I said.

"You're welcome."

"Wow, that's neat," Gavin said, looking out at the frozen lake. It was a great view. The fireplace next to us on one side and the falling snow out on the lake on the other. I didn't put any candles on the table, but it was about as romantic of a seating that I could get in such a public place.

"Yes, it is," I replied. "I'm glad you like it."

"Do you think Victoria will be cool about this?" he asked, softly.

I shrugged. "I hope so. We'll have to wait and see. But the important thing is that we're together. Nothing can spoil that."

Gavin leaned over the table. "I have to know one thing, Shane," he said, softly.

"What's that?"

"What's a 'comet tail combo'? It's under sandwiches."

I chuckled. "It's a patty melt with your choice of cheesy fries, tater tots, or whatever flavored potato chips you want and a drink. It's really good, but if you're like me and don't like rye bread, I suggest you order a 'comet tail with dust combo'. That means on wheat. Likewise, 'comet tail with snow combo' means on white."

"How do you know these things?" he asked.

"Mom had to explain it to me," I admitted. "Here," I pointed to his menu. "Now it shows what everything is. But when you order, use the name they have for it."

"Okay."

He looked over the new menu and said, "Give me the comet tail with dust combo with cheesy fries. I'll drink the cider."

"Good choice," I said and motioned for Victoria to join us. "But you don't have to have just a sandwich if you don't want. It doesn't cost anything."

"Yeah, I noticed there are no prices on here," he said. "But, this really looks good to me."

"Are you ready?" Victoria asked.

"Yes," I replied and gave her Gavin's order. "And I would like 'The Enterprise Special'."

She took our menus and I quickly returned Gavin's to normal before she noticed I had changed it.

"Very well," she said, pointing at the table. "One 'comet tail with dust' and cheesy fries and one 'Enterprise Special'." Our orders appeared before us. Mine was country fried steak with mashed potatoes and cream gravy and fried okra and a hot roll.

After we thanked her, Victoria departed.

"Why didn't we just zap this up for ourselves?" Gavin asked. I was happy that he was referring to himself as a warlock in case someone was listening.

"Because this is a restaurant," I replied. "It would be rude to bring our own food to a restaurant. Now, in the lounge, we can serve ourselves. No one works there."

"That makes sense," he agreed, but I wasn't sure he understood.

We enjoyed our meal as the snow continued to fall gently outside the window and the fire crackled next to us in the hearth.

"Did you get the old house sold?" he asked.

"Mr. Harvey had to talk it over with the Board of Directors, but I'm sure the sale can be finalized by Monday. Are you wanting me to back down and go ahead and remodel so Chuck can live there?"

Gavin took a deep breath and played with a cheesy fry before answering. "It would be nice if he had a place to live," he admitted. "But I don't want to live there with him and I'm sure that he'd find out our secret if he moved in with us."

"More than likely," I replied.

"I'll tell you what," I said, "let's not worry about him right now. I need to talk to Uncle Troy about something, first. I'll see if I can drag Chuck's problem out when we get back to Earth, then I'll see what Uncle Troy suggests."

"Okay."

After we finished eating, I motioned for Victoria and she came over and made our dishes disappear. "Will there be anything else?" she asked.

"Gavin?" I asked.

"No. I'm stuffed. Thanks. It was great."

After saying goodnight to Victoria, she returned our coats to us. I made it stop snowing and brought one of the sixteen moons out and we walked slowly across the bridge.

Stopping, Gavin pulled me into his arms. "I know you don't want anyone knowing you're gay," he said. "But this is just too romantic for me to let pass by and not do this." He leaned down and kissed me on the lips.

"I love you, Shane," he whispered. "Thanks for sharing this with me."

"I love you, too, Gavin," I replied, hugging him. "Thank you for letting me share it with you."

I was thankful that there were a couple of gay warlocks in the lounge dancing when we arrived. I didn't see any of my family, so I removed our coats and led Gavin to the bar.

"Do you want something to drink, or do you want to dance for a while?" I asked.

"I think we'd better dance for a while," he replied. "But are you sure it's safe?"

"No," I admitted, "but we'll take our chances."

Taking my hand, Gavin led me to the dance floor. There were a few couples on the floor besides us and the gay warlocks. They smiled at us and we started moving to the music.

Gavin was a great dancer. He was much better than me, actually. I tried to keep up with him, but he was just too good. After about half an hour, I was ready for a break. Even the other couples had left the floor shortly after we arrived.

"Oh, come on, honey," he said as I pulled him toward the bar, "I'm just getting warmed up."

"That's what I was afraid you were going to say," I replied. "Let me get my breath for a minute, then we'll go again."

"Okay," he said.

I materialized us some cold drinks and was just taking a long swig of my root beer when Mom and Dad appeared next to me.

"Hello, Shane," Mom said. "How nice to see you here."

"Hi, Mom," I replied and kissed her on the cheek. "Dad."

"Hello, son," Dad replied, frowning at Gavin. "Gavin Sanders, right?" he asked.

"Yes, sir." They had met Gavin while we were going to HCC and Dad never forgot a face. "Good seeing you again, sir," Gavin said, shaking Dad's hand.

Dad looked at me and a strange feeling swept over me. "What'd you bring him to Jupiter for, Shane?" I heard his voice inside my head.

I had never tried telepathy before, it was a new experience for me. There was no point in trying to hide it, anything I thought he would know since he was reading my mind. However, I had hoped to tell Mom first and let her break it to him.

Taking a deep breath, I didn't say anything, but thought, "I'm gay, Dad. Gavin is my lover. Uncle Troy gave me the ring to give to him. Ms. Marble told me it was okay for me to tell him."

Dad gave me an aggravated look. His jaw muscle flinched, but he didn't say anything. I thought I heard thunder in the distance, so I thought, "I love him, Dad, and he feels the same way about me."

"Have you had dinner?" Mom was asking.

"Yes, we had a great meal at the Starlight Restaurant," Gavin replied.

"Victoria is working there now," I said, aloud.

The strange feeling left, so I knew that Dad had disconnected. "How's she doing?" he asked.

"She's doing fine," I replied. "She's enjoying the job."

"Yeah. She said she was bored and thought she'd try a job, but wouldn't dare get one on Earth," Gavin said.

"Have you eaten?" I asked as Mom congered up a glass of sprite for herself.

"Not yet," she replied. "We were going to do some dancing then pop over to the Starlight for dinner later."

Placing my hand on Gavin's back, I said, "We were just getting ready to pop over to the gym and work out for a while, then sit in a hot spring. We've got to be back on Earth at nine to watch some movies with a friend of ours."

"Oh, well, you've got over two hours," Mom said, "it's only six-forty-five. Why don't you hang around here for a while and do some dancing with us? There are a couple of pretty witches over there who would probably be thrilled to dance with two cute guys like you."

I glanced over at the table she indicated. Sylvia and Harriet, the Sparkle sisters, were giggling about something. I wasn't in the mood to even speak to them, much less dance with them.

Dad placed his hand on Mom's back and she looked into his eyes. I knew that he was telling her about Gavin and me.

She smiled and leaned over and kissed me on the cheek and whispered in my ear, "It's about time you found someone special, Shane. Congratulations."

"Thanks, Mom," I said, hugging her.

Mom looked at Gavin and asked, softly, "Why don't we just stick together and forget the girls? We don't want anyone finding out your secret."

"Good idea," Gavin replied.

We finished our drinks and the four of us went back to the dance floor. There were a few other couples on the floor.

Using telepathy, I told Gavin, "Don't say anything out loud, Gavin, just think it. Dad cornered me. I had to tell him we're lovers. He told Mom."

"Wow," Gavin thought. "This is freaky. I didn't hear anything."

"No, we used telepathy like you and I are now."

"So I can tell you that I love fucking your tight little ass and no one will hear me?" he thought with a grin.

"Yeah, but your dick is so big that they might notice if you get a hard on, so you'd better not."

"Party pooper," he replied.

The song that was playing ended and one of the witches on the floor pointed to the ceiling. The lights dimmed and multi-colored lights began to swirl slowly around the dance floor. The next song was for a slow dance. Dad pulled Mom into his arms and looked at me. I felt the weird sensation again and heard him say, "I'm not happy that you're gay, Shane, but I love you and want you to be happy. If Ms. Marble has said it's okay for you to have this mortal, then your Mom and I will not stand in your way. I cannot speak for your grandparents, though, especially your Gramps. He's not only old, but he's old fashioned. I'd be leery of telling him if I were you."

"Thanks, Dad," I replied. "I love you, too."

Breaking the connection, he smiled at me and twirled Mom around the floor.

Gavin asked, "Shane? Can you hear me?"

I looked at him. "Yes, darling," I replied with telepathy. "Dad was talking to me."

"Oh. Should we sit this one out?"

Wrapping my arms around him, asked, "What for?"

I placed my cheek next to his and we swayed slowly to the music. It was such a good feeling to dance with the man I loved while Mom and Dad danced with each other.

"Oh, honey," he thought, "this is fantastic."

"It sure is."

When the song ended, Gavin smiled down at me. "I love you, Shane," he whispered.

Placing my hand on his cheek, I replied, "I love you, too, Gavin."

He bent down and kissed me on the lips. The next song began, it was an upbeat tempo again. Pulling away from him, I bumped into Brandon as he popped in.

"Excuse me, little brother," he said. "What's going on?"

"It's getting awful crowded in here," Gavin thought.

"Hi, Brandon," I said, hugging him. "Gavin and I are dancing and so are Mom and Dad. What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd come see if I could find some action," he replied.

"Good luck," I said. "We're going to the gym to workout now, stay here."

Brandon grinned. "Okay. Have fun."

"We will," I promised.

Using telepathy, I told Dad, "Gavin and I are going to workout now. We'll see you later."

"Okay, be careful. I think Gramps said something about going to workout tonight, too."

"Oh. Okay, thanks for letting me know. Give Mom our love."

"Will do," he said.

Snapping my fingers, we were in the gym. "Hi, Phil," I said to the gentleman standing behind the counter. "I'm Shane Jordan, this is my friend Gavin Sanders. We'd like to workout for a while then get a room."

"Certainly," he said. I noticed him glance at a clip board lying on the counter. "I see you came in with your uncle earlier today."

"Yes, sir," I replied. I was thankful that Tony had left word that I had been there, so Phil didn't have to use the "Hidden Truth Spell" on me.

"Enjoy yourselves on all the equipment, Mr. Jordan," he said. "And when you're ready for a room, I have room A reserved for you, just pop into it when you're ready."

"Thank you, Phil," I replied.

Snapping my fingers, Gavin and I were dressed to workout.

We had been working out for about half an hour when I heard Gramps' loud voice echo through the gym. "Howdy, Phil," he said. "Maxwell and I would like to workout, but the ladies would like a room. May we have one?"

"Certainly, Mr. Windham."

"Great, they're here," I said to Gavin using telepathy.

"If there's going to be a problem, we can leave if you want."

"Good idea," I replied. I was thankful that Phil had given us permission to pop into room A.

"Shane, my boy," Gramps said as I raised my hand to transport us into the hot spring. "How's it going?"

"Great, Gramps," I said.

He was dressed in a gray workout suit. Uncle Maxwell, Gramps' oldest son, stood beside him wearing the same type attire. "Hi, Shane," he said. "You look like you've been here for a while."

"Yeah. About half an hour," I admitted. "Gramps, Uncle Maxwell," I said, "this is my friend, Gavin Sanders."

"Nice to meet you, sir," Gavin said, shaking Gramps' hand.

"Like wise," he replied. I was thankful he didn't use the "Hidden Truth Spell" on him.

However, frowning, Gramps added, "I admit that I don't know everyone, but I don't recall anyone named Sanders."

"Gavin is from Chicago," I replied.

"No wonder. I don't hang out in Chicago. That explains that."

Standing up, I said, "Gavin and I were just getting ready to get a room. We've got to meet someone on Earth at nine, so we'd better go if we want to soak for a while."

"Very well," Gramps said. "Grams and your Aunt Heather are in room C, if you'd like to join them, I'm sure they'd enjoy the company until we get done here."

"Thanks, Gramps," I said, "but we've already reserved A and this is Gavin's first time to use the gym, so we'd prefer to be alone.

"And," I added quickly, "Uncle Troy, Brandon and Gavin have finally convinced me that if I want to improve on my witchcraft that I'm going to have to start studying, so Gavin's going to help me do that while we soak. He has always been a grade A student and he can help me out a lot."

"That's great, Gavin," Gramps said.

"Yes, it is," Uncle Maxwell agreed. "Gavin, why don't you show us how you would transport the two of you into Room A?"

I hoped that they didn't see the worried look that crossed Gavin's face, but, I quickly placed a silent spell of my own, "By the power invested in me, Gavin, I share it now with thee." Then, using telepathy, I said, "Since they're wanting visual effects, repeat after me, Gavin. Cosmic wind, lightening flash, thunder rumble, take Shane and me to room A, on the double. Then snap your fingers."

Gavin nodded and said, "Okay. It was great meeting you, Mr. Windham.

"Cosmic wind, lightening flash, thunder rumble, take Shane and me to room A, on the double." He snapped his fingers and the wind began to blow as lightening flashed about the room and we popped into room A. I quickly placed the privacy spell around the room so Gramps and Uncle Maxwell couldn't follow us.

Taking a deep breath, I said, "Boy, that was close. If I hadn't done some studying this afternoon while waiting for you to get out of class, we'd have been in trouble just then."

"You mean I did that myself?" he asked.

"Well, sort of," I admitted. "I found a spell in the book that would let me share my power with you."

"Cool," he said. "So then I should be able to do this. Us both naked," he snapped his fingers, but nothing happened.

"Sorry," I said. "It only works for one spell at a time. But I can do it for you. Us both naked." Without snapping my fingers, we were nude.

He pulled me against his warm sweaty chest. "I only want to be nude when we're together," he said and bent down to kiss me.

Breaking the kiss, I took his now hard rod in my hand and guided him into the shower. "We need to get the sweat off before we get in the spring," I said.

Somehow we managed to only take a shower, then I led him into the room with the hot bubbling spring.

"Wow, this is great," Gavin said, sinking into the water. "I've never even been in a hot tub before. Do you think we could get one in our apartment?"

"Certainly," I replied. "Or we can just come up here anytime you want to. It's open all the time."

"Yeah, but if we wanted to invite some friends over, it would be kind of difficult to explain how we got to Jupiter without telling them that you're a warlock."

"That's true," I agreed. "But it would also take some explaining if I put one in my apartment. I'm sure that other people have lived at Forrest Cove before and they'll know that there isn't a workout room or hot tub there."

"So the best thing is to make sure we don't mention it to anyone and hoard it to ourselves," he said with a grin.

"Yeah," I replied.

He kissed me and said, "I like the idea of sitting in our own hot tub, nude, just the two of us."

"So do I," I agreed and kissed him again.

"Turn around, babe," he whispered.

I turned my back to him and he pulled me against him so I could rest my head on his shoulder while he held me. Nuzzling my neck, he said, "I love you, Shane. I like sitting this way with you."

"So do I, darling," I replied. Turning my head, I kissed him on the cheek.

"Instead of us driving all the way to Chicago when school's out," he said, "could you use molecular transfer to take us? That way we can spend some time together either at home or here. When I moved to Hayden to start school, it took me about fifteen hours driving time. I'd rather spend that time here with you than on the road."

"Yes, I could transfer us into a car there," I replied. "I like that idea, too."

"Of course, I think I'll tell Mom and Dad that we'll stop somewhere halfway and spend the night. That way we can wait until an afternoon to show up."

"Good idea," I agreed, stretching. Standing up, I added, "I guess we'd better get going if we're going to be back to Earth by nine. We might have to talk to Gramps again since I have to stop by the counter and let Phil know we're leaving."

"Okay," he said, pushing himself up.

I smiled at him and kissed him on the lips. "I love you, Gavin," I whispered.

"I love you, too, babe," he replied.

Stepping away from him for a moment, I snapped my fingers. We were dried and dressed. The spell was removed from the room and we were standing in front of the counter. Phil smiled and asked, "How was it?"

"Great, Phil," I replied. "Thank you."

"See you later," he said.

With a nod of my head, Gavin and I were standing invisible in the hallway in front of his dorm room.

"Wow, that didn't take long at all," he said.

"Just a second when you use molecular transfer, no matter where you're going," I replied.

"Now, what do you want us to arrive with?" I asked as someone stepped out of the room across the hall from Gavin's.

"Shh," he whispered.

"Don't worry, darling. We're invisible, they can't see or hear us."

"Oh. Okay."

"How about a case of beer, a six pack of Dr. Pepper, several sandwiches and several bags of chips?" I asked, making them appear in sacks on the floor between us. They were also invisible.

"Sounds good to me," he agreed. "Oh, we forgot the movies."

"Any suggestions?" I asked.

"No," he admitted. [

"Come on." I put my arm around his and snapped my fingers. We were standing in a local video rental store.

"Pick out what you think he'd like," I said. "Instead of renting it, I'll just make a duplicate of it to take with us."

"Great," he said with a sigh. "All these movies and we only have a minute to get some and get back."

"Don't worry about it," I said. "I have an idea."

Glancing around the store, I was not surprised to see that they were busy. Gavin and I were still invisible, so no one could see us.

Raising my hands, I said, "Wind whisper through the willows. Clouds soft, like big fluffy pillows. Bring to me two movies that Chuck, Gavin and I would like to see."

Two video tapes appeared in my hand and Gavin said, "Oh, shoot."

"What's wrong?"

"Look," he said, pointing to a poster on the wall. "This is what he said he'd like to see the other day, but it's not on video until next month."

"How about a sneak-peak video?" I asked, making the video appear in my hand. "Now, which one of these two should we put back?"

He looked at me for a moment and, shaking his head, said, "Wow, this is too cool. Why don't we keep all three? That way he can make up his mind which one not to watch until later."

"Fine with me," I replied. A snap of my fingers and we were back at the dorm.

Unfortunately, at that moment, the elevator door opened down the hallway and several people got off and just stood in the hallway, talking. We weren't able to materialize without them seeing us.

"Shit," Gavin said. "Can you get rid of them?"

"Yeah, but it'd be hard to explain later," I replied.

"I have an idea," I said. "I'll get the beer and the videos. See if you can get the two sacks and soda."

He picked up the sacks, but wasn't able to get soda.

"Let me rearrange you," I said. A snap of my fingers and he had one sack in each arm and was holding the soda in his left hand.

"Okay. Thanks. I'm ready when you are," he said.

A nod of my head and I was holding the case of beer and the videos were in a plastic bag that I held in my left hand. Another nod of my head and the group at the elevator were frozen and we were visible.

"Okay, we're here," I said.

"Chuck! Open up!" Gavin called.

The door flew open. Chuck's handsome face lit up as he took the beer from me. "Great. I was afraid you wouldn't make it," he said as I closed the door and restarted the group at the elevator. Chuck hadn't seen them.

"There was a crowd at the video store," I replied as Chuck took the Dr. Pepper from Gavin.

"What did you get?" Chuck asked, anxiously.

Gavin told him the titles and he said, "What? That one's not supposed to come out until next month."

"Yeah, but I'm a friend of the manager's," I said, "I sweet-talked her into letting us preview it for the store. They always get the stuff in to preview before the video is available to the public."

"Oh, I didn't know that."

I hoped that if it weren't true, he'd never find out.

Gavin and I sat on Gavin's bed and actually spent more time watching Chuck's face beam as he watched the movie, than we did the movie. I got the feeling that he hadn't been this happy in a long time. If ever.

After the first movie ended - the one that wasn't on video, yet - I said, "Now you have to decide which one of these you want to watch."

Gavin got up to go the bathroom. I noticed that Chuck had drunk several beers. Gavin, only four.

Stretching, Chuck yawned and said, "It's eleven-thirty. Do you mind if we don't watch anymore until tomorrow?"

"No. That's fine with me," I replied.

"It's kind of late for you to be driving back to your apartment," Chuck said as Gavin came out of the bathroom, "but we really don't have a place for you to sleep here. The floor's concrete, so I know you wouldn't want to sleep on it."

"I think he'll fit on my bed with me," Gavin said. "As small as you are, Shane, I don't see any problem with both of us sleeping here."

Chuck got up and stumbled toward the bathroom. "Okay, but don't tell anyone he spent the night here, I don't want anyone thinking that I'm rooming with a bunch of fags."

"Shit, Chuck," Gavin said, following him to the door. "You can sleep with a guy without screwing him. You really need to get off this homophobic routine. It's getting really tiresome."

Apparently, they had drank enough that they weren't really realizing what they were saying or doing. Gavin was actually standing in the bathroom door while Chuck sat on the toilet to relieve himself.

"You know, Chuck," Gavin said, "even if Shane did make another bedroom in his apartment, I wouldn't want to live with you because you're such a jerk."

Jumping to my feet, I rushed over to the door just in time to see Chuck start to wipe himself. "Gavin," I scolded, using telepathy. "Don't do that. You promised."

"Oh, shit. I'm sorry, hon," he replied.

"What do you mean, make another bedroom?" Chuck asked, pushing himself up off the toilet. I tried not to stare, but he was better endowed than Gavin and he was limp.

Chuck flushed the toilet and I replied, "I have a bedroom that I'm using as a den. I could turn it into another bedroom for you. I actually have a three-bedroom apartment, but I converted one to a den. The apartment is furnished, so I could have maintenance take out the den furniture and bring me a bedroom suit."

Pulling up his shorts, his face lit up with look of desperate hope. "Would you do that for me?" he asked.

I sighed. "Now see what you've done?" I asked Gavin with telepathy. "How can I tell him no?"

Closing his eyes, Gavin replied, "I'm sorry, darling. Forgive me?"

"Only if you get yourself out of this one, unless you want him to move in."

"No."

"There's only one bathroom," Gavin said. "You'd have to share it with both of us. And you would have to stop being so homophobic."

Chuck washed his hands and sighed as he looked into the mirror. I wondered what he was thinking, but didn't have the nerve to find out by scanning his mind.

Chuck splashed water on his face. After drying off, he led us back into the bedroom. He removed his clothes, except for his boxer- briefs, and laid down and covered up. "Get to bed, guys. I'll explain why I'm so homophobic."

I couldn't believe that this was happening. I thought I'd have to drag it out of him, but he was volunteering it, himself.

Gavin removed his clothes down to his briefs and so did I. Gavin pulled the cover back on his bed and laid down, motioning for me to join him. I laid down with my back to him and we watched as Chuck turned off the TV and sighed.

"Mom had a difficult pregnancy," he began, slowly. "When it was time for me to be born, I didn't want to come out, I guess. They had to induce labor, but that didn't help much. They thought they were going to have to do a c-section, but at the last moment, I came out. I was a huge baby, so Mom didn't survive the birth. They should have done the c-section."

We listened quietly. I felt Gavin tense up but since the light was on, he didn't touch me.

"Dad's sister, Rene, moved in with him to help take of the house and help raise me. She wasn't married and never did get married. Mom was an only child and her parents had divorced and gone their separate ways. I don't know what ever happened to them. Aunt Rene never knew either. I don't know if Dad ever called them to tell them Mom died.

"Dad owned a small grocery store in Mansfield, it's a small town at the bottom of Mount Mansfield," he continued. "One of those Mom and Pop kind that you hear about on TV, only there was no Mom, just Pop. One night when I was seven, it was after school and I was helping him close up. Aunt Rene was at home getting dinner ready for us. She never helped in the store. Just stayed home. Right before I had a chance to put the sign out, a huge guy came in. He looked awful mean. He wound up grabbing me and pulling a knife and making Dad give him all the money in the register. Luckily, Dad had always just kept seventy dollars in the drawer and the rest he put in the safe that had a twenty-minute timer on it, so that in case this happened, he would only lose seventy dollars.

"Anyway," he continued, "the guy was pissed and he took us up to the attic. There was some old rope and a chair up there. After I was born, Dad had thought about committing suicide once because Mom was gone, but chickened out since I wouldn't have a dad if he did. The rope and chair were still there, though, so this guy made me tie Dad to the chair and gagged him with his own handkerchief. Then he laughed and stripped my clothes off and raped me. Forcing Dad to watch. I still remember how much it hurt with his dick in my ass."

I closed my eyes and trembled as I remembered the image I had seen previously. Gavin wrapped his arm around me and pulled me against him. I heard him sniffle and knew that he was crying, too.

"Then the guy got up and told Dad to lick my shit off his dick and Dad bit him hard. He slapped Dad across the room and he hit his head on the wall, which killed him. He left and I swore to Dad that I'd get him, but I never did.

"I laid there crying with my head on Dad's chest for some time before Aunt Rene found us."

Gavin's voice cracked as he asked, "What happened to Aunt Rene?"

"She sold the grocery store after that. We didn't need any bad publicity and I was too young to run it myself. We moved to Burlington and she got a job as a secretary for a law firm. I was a handful, but she managed to raise me right somehow. I got out of high school and got a job, but she was determined that I was going to college and she had been saving money for me all this time. She discovered that Hayden University was cheaper than Burlington. I hadn't bought a car, yet, so she brought me to Hayden herself. Since it's only and hour away, it'd be easy for her to come down on weekends, or I could take the bus home. When I got a car, I could drive myself.

"Anyway," he continued, "on the way home, she had a blow out and the car careened over into the other lane in front of a semi. They said she died instantly."

"Damn," Gavin said. "You poor guy."

I was surprised to see that Chuck wasn't crying. He had told the whole story somber- faced, without shedding a tear. I knew that he had pushed all his emotions deep down inside because of everything that had happened to him.

"Wait a minute," Gavin said, sitting up, "you're a freshman. You started a semester before I did. How old are you?"

"Nineteen," he replied. "I know I look older than I am. The curse of being so big, I guess."

That explained why I thought he was ten in the spell. Now I had to talk to Uncle Troy and see if there was anything I could do for Chuck.

Gavin crawled over me and crossed the room and sat down on the edge of Chuck's bed. I noticed Chuck run his eyes over Gavin's hairy chest and back up.

"I'm twenty-five," Gavin said. "So is Shane. But there's one thing you need to know, Chuck," he said, softly. "The guy that raped you wasn't gay. He was an ass hole, that's all. You have to realize that gays don't go around raping people. And when two consenting adults do fuck, it doesn't hurt like that because they use lubrication and do it gentle enough that it feels good instead of hurting."

Chuck frowned up at Gavin, but didn't ask the question that I knew was on his mind. Even without scanning his mind, I could tell he wanted to ask how Gavin knew.

"I don't want you to think that I care more about you now just because I know this," Gavin said, tenderly. "You know I've always thought you were a nice guy, when you're not being a jerk. I'll talk it over with Shane and see if he'll let you move in with us. I'm going to be in Chicago through the holidays until January and Shane will be visiting his grandparents in Paris some, too, so maybe it wouldn't hurt for you to move in with us so we won't have to leave the apartment empty while we're gone."

I really wasn't surprised that Gavin was saying this, but I hadn't wanted Chuck to move in with us. If he did, then I wouldn't be able to be myself, even if he did accept the fact that Gavin and I were lovers. I couldn't tell him that I was a warlock and neither could Gavin.

Using telepathy, I told Gavin, "Darling, don't forget that he can't find out I'm a warlock. I don't really want him to move in with us, but if you think it'll be okay, then he can. But we have to make sure he doesn't find out about me."

"Okay, sweetheart," he replied, "I promise. It'll be okay."

He looked over at me and asked, aloud, "Would you mind turning the den into a bedroom for him? He really needs a place to stay and we need someone to look after the place while we're gone."

"If the couch makes a bed," Chuck said, "I could just sleep on it."

"No, it's not big enough for you," I replied. "I'll have maintenance take care of it, tomorrow."

"Thanks, Shane," Gavin said, getting up and coming back to bed.

"Yeah, thanks a bunch, Shane. You won't regret it, I promise," Chuck said.

Luckily, I awoke the next morning before Gavin and Chuck did. I was lying with my head on Gavin's chest. I slipped out of his arms and headed to the bathroom. I had just zapped on my clothes when the door opened and Chuck walked in. "Oh, sorry, I thought you might be in the shower," he said, although he couldn't hear the water running.

"It's okay," I said. "I was just finishing up."

I noticed that even though Chuck was wearing his boxer-briefs, they didn't hide the fact that he had a raging hard on. I was surprised that he didn't turn his back to me as he pulled down his briefs and urinated. He was still boned and he must have been at least ten inches long and pretty thick.

"While you and Gavin get around," I said, glancing at my watch, "since it's already ten, I'm going to run home and see if I can get maintenance to get me the bedroom. You can go ahead and start packing and come over when you're ready. Gavin knows the way."

"Good idea," Chuck agreed. He finished urinating and slipped off his briefs. "Thanks again, Shane. I really mean it when I say you won't regret this."

"You're welcome," I replied and left, closing the door behind me.

Gavin was still asleep, but, as the water started in the bathroom, I leaned down and kissed him on the lips. "Wake up, sleeping beauty," I whispered.

I knew it was the kiss that woke him, he was too heavy of a sleeper for it to have been the whisper.

He stretched and grinned at me, then he looked over at Chuck's empty bed. "Morning, darling," he said. He looked up at the bathroom door. "How about a blow job?"

"Chuck's in the shower," I replied. "I'm going home to get the apartment ready for you and him to move in. We don't have time."

"You could freeze time," he reminded me.

"But I'm not going to," I replied with a grin.

He pushed the cover back and pulled his briefs down. He was totally erect.

"Don't tell me you want to pass up the chance to chew on this for a few minutes."

I kissed him and said, "No, but you got me into this, so I have to go get prepared for it."

"Come on, baby," he said. "I love you."

"I love you, too," I replied as Chuck turned off the water.

"Damn, that was a quick shower," Gavin said, "he must not have jerked off."

"Had you ever seen him nude before last night?"

"No. He keeps his briefs on and the door closed. I've seen him in the morning when he gets up with a hard on, though, and those briefs don't cover him up very well. He must be at least ten inches."

"I think so, too. He let me see him while he pissed while ago."

"Oh, really?" Gavin asked.

"Yeah. Come on over when you get everything packed," I said, changing the subject. "I'll have the apartment ready for him by then." I leaned down and kissed him, then, snapping my fingers, went invisible.

Gavin sighed and leaned back on his pillow. "Shit," he breathed.

He didn't hear Chuck open the door. "Gav, you're not going to jerk off, are you?" Chuck asked as Gavin ran his hand slowly over his chest.

Gavin jumped. He didn't realize he was still exposed. Sitting up he pulled up his briefs. It was the first time that Chuck had seen him. Chuck had wrapped his towel around his waist.

"Uh, no," he replied, getting to his feet. "Where's Shane?" he asked, heading into the bathroom.

"He went to get the apartment ready. I'm surprised he didn't wake you up before he left."

"I guess he wanted to let me sleep," Gavin replied, relieving himself. He had his back to the door, so Chuck couldn't see him.

"Or did he pull your pants down and try to wake you up that way?" Chuck wanted to know. "Since you're such a heavy sleeper."

"If he did that then why wasn't he still here when I woke up?"

"Maybe he heard me turn off the water and left before I caught him."

"He would have covered me up," Gavin said.

Gavin slipped his underwear off and turned around, letting Chuck see him. "Then why wasn't my dick wet when I woke up?"

Chuck shrugged. "I don't know, but you should have seen the way he looked at me when I took a piss this morning. I get the feeling he's gay, Gavin."

Gavin sighed. I did, too.

Using telepathy, I told Gavin, "Darling, I'm here. Don't get into a fight with him."

"Okay, I won't," he promised.

"Okay, Chuck," he said. "He is gay. I'm bi, we're lovers. I tried to get him to give me a blow job but he wouldn't since you were in here. When you turned off the water, he left and I almost fell back asleep. That's why I was exposed when you came in. Do you still want to move in with us or not? Because I need to call him and let him know not to worry about the bedroom if you're not.

"We're lovers, Chuck," he repeated. "We're not going to rape you. We only fuck each other and that's because we love each other."

Chuck took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He closed the door and, standing with his back to it, began to cry. I had no idea what to do.

"Darling, can you hear me?" Gavin was thinking.

"Yes, sweetheart," I replied. "He's crying now. Get your shower and we'll see what happens."

"Okay. I love you. I'm sorry about this."

"I hope it'll work out for the best," I replied. "I love you, too."

I started to break the connection, but remembered something and asked, "When I use telepathy on you, do you get a weird sensation all over?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it. Why is that?"

"When Dad did it to me on Jupiter, I did, too. I don't know why it is, though. I'm glad to know that.

"I'll talk to you later, darling," I added. "I'm going to go home now. Call me when you decide what to do."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you, too, Gavin."

Breaking the connection, I watched Chuck for a moment. He finally crossed to his bed and laid down and buried his face in his pillow and continued to cry. I wished there was something I could do for him, but I had no idea what it could be. Deciding the best thing to do was find out why he was crying, I scanned his mind. I hoped that he couldn't feel me do that.

"Damn," he was thinking, "I had a feeling that Shane was gay, but I hoped I was wrong. Shit. What am I going to do now? I've fucked up my chances at finding a place to live until next semester, too. And I'm not going to go live with Jason, either. I'm not going to tell Gavin he made a pass at me last month, either."

He pushed himself up and sighed. "I guess I'll just get a car and go home. I didn't want to do that since that house brings back so many memories, but it's my only choice, I guess. Maybe I can get a job in Burlington. Or better yet, maybe I can have a blow out and get killed in a wreck on my way, like she did."

I had to do something. I didn't realize that he hadn't sold the house he'd grown up in. I couldn't let him kill himself. He needed to stay in Hayden. Maybe I could offer to take him to Burlington to rent the house out so he could make some money off it, if he didn't want to live with Gavin and me.

Hearing Gavin turn the water off in the shower, he got up and got dressed. I snapped my fingers and was outside the apartment complex's office. No one was around so I materialized and went into the office.

"Hi, Todd," I said to the gentleman sitting at the desk.

"Hey, Shane, how are you today?"

Todd was the manager. He had worked there since before I moved in. We had hit it off pretty good. I knew that he was gay, but he never mentioned it. I had considered making a play for him, but since he worked there, I didn't want him to get into trouble.

"Doing great. I need a favor."

"That's what I'm here for," he replied with a grin. "What's up?"

"I met these two really cute guys," I said, as queenie as I could, which wasn't difficult for me to accomplish, "and I was hoping you would let them move in with me."

He blushed. "Uh, you're in a one- bedroom, aren't you?"

"Yes. But I wanted to see if you maybe had either a bunk-bed and a twin bed, or even three twins would be enough. If not, is it okay if you take out your queen bed and let me go get twins somewhere?"

"Well, if they're really that cute, why don't I just take your queen bed and give you a king?" he asked, with a sly grin.

"Because, unfortunately, one of them is homophobic."

"Boy, you are asking for trouble, aren't you, Shane?"

"Sort'a," I admitted.

"Well, unfortunately, I can't do that. We don't have any twins at all. But if you want to go get your own, then I can remove the queen. However, Mr. Donaldson, the owner, really doesn't want three people in a one-bedroom, but we are full so I can't move you to another apartment. I also happen to know that your lease isn't up until June, so I don't want to kick you out, either. Especially since all of the complexes are full because of school letting out on the fifteenth."

"That's why I need them to move in with me," I said. "One of them can't find a place to stay, so I'm getting him by desperation."

"The homophobic one?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Are you sure that you want to live with him? I don't want to get a call that he's beaten you up one night when he gets drunk."

"He won't, don't worry," I promised.

"Okay, if you're sure. What are their names? I'll get them on the lease and get you keys for them."

After I gave Todd their names, he called a maintenance man to take the bed out of my apartment. I could have done it myself, but it was their bed and I had to have Gavin and Chuck on the lease for them to live with me.

"I'll get a helper and we'll be up there in about fifteen minutes," the maintenance man promised.

"Okay, thanks," I said. "Thanks, Todd. I'll catch you later."

"Be careful," he said and I left.

When I got back to my apartment, I returned it to it's normal state by getting rid of the bedroom I had congered for Gavin.

When the guys arrived, I had them take the entire bedroom suit, not just the bed. After they left, I was trying to figure out what to do with the empty room when there was a knock on the front door.

Crossing to the door, I opened it. "Hi, Shane," Grams said, kissing me on the cheek.

"Hi, Grams. Gramps," I replied. "Come on in. What brings you to Hayden?"

"We just swung by to see what you did with the mansion," Gramps replied. "It looks nice."

"Thanks. I'm hoping to hear from Mr. Harvey tomorrow."

"I hope he buys it. You made the offer I told you to, didn't you?" Gramps asked.

"Yes, sir," I replied. "He said it was a great deal and he'd take it, but he had to clear it with the Board of Directors. I get the feeling that he'll take it himself if they don't approve it."

"He probably will," Gramps agreed.

"What are you doing with your bedroom?" Grams asked, changing the subject. She must have scanned the apartment to know that it was empty.

"I'm redecorating," I replied. "My friend, Gavin, that you met last night, Gramps, is moving in with me. I'm going to add two more bedrooms, too, because his roommate at school is moving in, too. It's going to be interesting since Chuck doesn't know about us and he's mortal."

"Has he seen the apartment before?" Grams asked.

"No. That's what is going to make it easy for me to redecorate before he gets here. He and Gavin are packing up at the dorm right now."

"Why would Gavin want to live in a dorm?" Gramps wanted to know.

I shrugged. "Since he's going to college, I guess he wanted the full experience."

"That's a good idea," Grams agreed.

"So, what are you going to do?" Gramps asked.

I led them over to the hall door.

"Gavin has already created his room," I said. "I had to get rid of it so that the maintenance people wouldn't see it when they came to get their furniture. They just left a few minutes ago.

"Since Chuck is so tall," I continued, "I think I'll put a king-sized bed in here."

I made a king-sized bed appear. The head was at the inside wall, like my queen bed had been. The carpet was brown, so I made the bedspread brown with tan trim and gave the large window that looked out over the court yard, matching drapes. I also placed a chest of drawers to the left of the door and matching night stands with brass lamps on each.

"That's pretty, Shane," Grams said. "I'd put a little more color in, but if it's for a guy, it is nice."

"Yes, he's very much a guy," I replied.

"Where's your bedroom going to be, Shane?" Gramps asked.

I turned to the closet door. "Right here," I replied, gesturing to it. I extended the hallway a little and placed Gavin's room to the left of the closet door. Then I replaced the closet with another virtual room that was just like my bedroom had been before the guys came to get the furniture.

"I like it," Gramps said, approvingly.

"So do I," Grams agreed.

"Thank you. Like I said, this one was Gavin's doing. I'm debating on getting a bay window for myself."

"Since it would look over the courtyard," Grams said, "it would be nice."

"Yes, it would," Gramps agreed. A snap of his fingers and there was a bay window where the large window had been. A blue cushion covered the window seat. "There. Much better."

"If you're going to do that, though," Grams said with a wave of her hand, "I'd suggest that you put one in the mortal's room, too. He might get jealous."

I knew she had just added one. "Okay, but I have to make sure it's not visible from outside," I said, with a snap of my fingers. "We can't let anyone see it since no other apartment has them."

"Well, this looks very nice, Shane," Grams said. "What else are you going to do before they get here?"

I led them into the kitchen. The breakfast bar separated the kitchen from the living room. At the far end of the kitchen was a pantry. I walked over to it and opened the door.

It was a small pantry. No room to walk in, but, with a wave of my hand, it turned into a walk-in pantry. At the back was an open doorway that led into a utility room that was large enough for not only a washer and drier, but an ironing board as well. There would be plenty of room for Gavin or Chuck to iron if they wanted to, which they wouldn't, since I would be doing their laundry, magically.

"You've done a good job, son," Gramps said. "I like it."

That meant a lot to me, he seldom said he liked anything I did.

"Thanks, Gramps," I said, hugging him.

"So what are you going to do the rest of the day?" I asked.

"We're going to your parents for brunch. Brandon is supposed to meet us there, too," Grams replied.

"We'd love for you and Gavin to join us," Gramps said, "but I understand that since you're moving in the mortal, you can't make it."

"Yeah. We kind of have to do it all the mortal way," I agreed as there was a knock on the door. I scanned the other side of the door. It was Gavin and Chuck. "That's them, now," I said. "Won't you stay and meet them?"

"Certainly," Grams replied.

I opened the door and Gavin sighed and shook his head. "Hi, Shane," he said.

"What's wrong?" I asked as they walked in.

"Oh, hi, Mr. Windham," Gavin said.

"Hello, Gavin," Gramps said. "This is my wife. Felicia, this is Gavin Sanders."

"Nice meeting you, ma'am," Gavin said, politely.

"Charmed," Grams replied.

"Gramps, Grams, this is Chuck Wilson," I said. "Chuck, these are my grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Windham."

"Nice meeting you," Chuck said. "Shane tells me you are letting him sell Windham Mansion. I wish you'd turn it into a boarding house instead."

Gramps smiled at me. "I said he could do anything he wanted to with it," he said. "It's his decision."

"I've already promised it to Mr. Harvey," I defended myself. "I can't renege now."

"Besides," Gavin said, "everyone in town thinks it's haunted. No one would live there but you, Chuck."

Chuck sighed but didn't say anything.

"Now, Chuck," Grams said, "this is such a lovely apartment. You'll really enjoy living here with Gavin and Shane. Shane was just showing us the room he's prepared for you."

She led him into the hallway and showed him his room. "Neat," he said. "It didn't take you long at all to get it set up."

"The guys weren't too busy," I replied.

"Where's your room?" he asked.

I showed him my room and Gavin's. "And we don't have to worry about going to the laundromat," I added, leading them into the kitchen and showing them the pantry and utility room.

Gavin touched my arm and tapped his temple. I knew he wanted to talk to me via telepathy. "What's going on?" I asked.

"He said he wasn't going to live with us. He still owns the house in Burlington and he's going home."

"While you were in the shower, I scanned his mind. He's also hoping to have a blow out and have an accident so he can die, like his aunt did. I think it'd be best if he stays here because I'm afraid that if he goes to Burlington, he's going to commit suicide."

"Shit. What can we do?"

"I don't know. I'm going to go talk to Uncle Troy later. Maybe he can figure out something."

I felt a funny feeling sweep over me and Gramps asked, "Would you two like to join us out here in the real world? Chuck just asked how much this apartment is a month."

"Sorry, Gramps," I replied.

Aloud, I said, "Three twenty-five, Chuck."

"That's all for a three-bedroom?"

"I've had the lease for a couple of years," I replied. "No one else is getting that price, here."

"Ain't that the truth," he agreed.

We returned to the living room and I asked, "So, do you want to move in with us, Chuck?"

"Well, I was thinking about going home. I have a house in Burlington that I could stay in."

"I think you should rent that out," Gavin said. "It'd give you the money to stay here and not have to worry about some things you've always worried about."

"That's true," he agreed. "I do have plenty of money because of Aunt Rene's insurance, but I don't want to spend it because I'm afraid it might not last too long. Living here with you and renting out the house would give me some spending money."

"And since we're basically going to be gone until January," I said, "you'll be by yourself most of the time."

"That's true," he agreed, sadly.

"Well, Felicia," Gramps said, "I think we'd better run and let them decide what they want to do."

"Good idea, Peter," she agreed.

After saying goodbye, they walked out the front door and I closed it as they vanished.

"Gavin," I said, sitting down next to him on the sofa, "why don't you take Chuck to Burlington and see what needs to be done to the house to make it rentable? I can stay here and get you moved in. I can get Uncle Troy to come help me, since I need to talk him about something, anyway."

"I wouldn't feel right letting you move my stuff, Shane," Chuck said.

"I promise not to forget anything," I said.

"I trust him with my stuff," Gavin said. "I think it's very important that we go now, too."

"Well, okay," Chuck reluctantly agreed.

"Good. Then let's go."

Remembering what Chuck had thought about having an accident, I handed Gavin the keys to my car and said, "Here, take my car. It's got a cell phone in it, so if you need me, just call. I'll have my phone with me, no matter where I am."

Gavin smiled. He knew I didn't have a car. Using telepathy, I said, "It's the silver Trans Am at the bottom of the stairs. It's full of gas and you won't have any problems. I'll probably be with you most of the time, but I will use telepathy to talk to you while I'm there, so you'll know."

"Thanks, hon," he said, aloud. He leaned down and kissed me on the lips.

"Be careful," I said. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

I wanted to hug Chuck, but after the look he gave us for kissing in front of him, I decided not to. "Have a good trip, Chuck," I said. "Good luck with the house."

"Thanks, Shane," he said.

"Here's the key to my car and the dorm room," Gavin said, handing it to me.

"Thanks."

I decided it would be best not to immediately go get their stuff, because Chuck might talk Gavin into stopping by for something on their way out of town.

Since I needed to talk to Uncle Troy, and I had no idea where he might be, I said, "Willows weep, wind blow, take me to Uncle Troy, because that's where I need to go." Snapping my fingers, I stood next to him.

A warm breeze blew in off the water. I was standing on the deck of a large yacht. I knew that we were on the Seven Seas. Uncle Troy was stretched out on a lounge chair. He was only wearing a pair of skimpy red bikini briefs that hardly covered his large organ. Aunt Christine was lying next to him on her own chair. She was also dressed in a skimpy red bikini.

"I thought you were going to sail the Seven Seas," I teased, squatting down next to Uncle Troy.

"This is the only way to sail, Shane," he replied, sitting up.

"Hi, Shane," Aunt Christine said, rolling over onto her stomach.

"Hello, Aunt Christine. Where is everyone?"

"Dad's playing captain," Uncle Troy replied. "Mom's co-pilot. Tom's around here somewhere with some bimbo he picked up on Jupiter. We figured we'd just sit here and soak in the sun for a while."

"Too bad you can't do the privacy spell and lie out nude," I said, looking around.

"Yeah, that'd be nice," he agreed. "But that only works on rooms and structures."

Materializing a bottle of suntan lotion, I squirted some on my hand. He didn't stop me as I began to apply it to his muscular chest.

"I was needing to talk to you about Chuck," I said. I noticed the bulge in his briefs begin to grow as I spread the ointment on his stomach.

"Honey, can Shane have me for a while?" he asked.

"Sure," she said. "Just remember we're having lunch in about an hour. Don't be late."

I stood up and he got to his feet. He bent over and kissed her. "I love you, Christine," he whispered.

"I love you, too, Troy," she replied.

He turned to me and, placing his hand on my arm, snapped his fingers. We were standing in front of my apartment door. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.

"Whoops," he said. "I tried for the couch. You must still have the privacy spell around the apartment."

"Yes, I do," I admitted, opening the door for us.

We sat down on the couch and he materialized some cold drinks for us. After I explained what had happened to Chuck, he took a long swig of his beer and sighed.

"You can't mess with mortal time that way," he said. "I know you'd love to go back in time and fix it so Chuck'd have a father, but you'd have to go before the Council for that one. There is too much that would change between then and now if you did. It's not a good idea to mess with the past. Also, you don't know that Chuck's life wouldn't have been worse if he did have a father. >From what you said, his father wasn't as big as Chuck and Chuck might have wound up beating his dad himself when he got older."

"But what about the guy who did it?" I asked. "Is there something I can do to make sure he got caught and paid for his crime? That would at least help Chuck feel somewhat better knowing he didn't get away with it."

"And Chuck is sure that his aunt told the police?" he reconfirmed.

"That's what he said."

He sighed again and stood up. "Okay, let's go see what we can find out. Mansfield, huh?"

"Yes, sir," I replied, standing also.

He placed his beer on the coffee table. "I get the feeling it's going to be snowing there, now," he said. "We'll dress as we go."

"Okay."

Uncle Troy put his arm around me and pulled me against his strong chest. "Hang on," he said and we were invisible, standing in front of an old grocery store. As he had predicted, the snow was falling gently. Mount Mansfield loomed over us, but the clouds were so low, it was impossible to see the top.

"I feel like I'm in an old movie," I said.

Chuckling, Uncle Troy dressed us in warm outfits and made us visible. The cold nipped at our noses.

He opened the door for me and I stepped in.

Since I hadn't seen the store in Chuck's mind, I had no idea if anything had changed. The sidewalk had been cleared, so Uncle Troy and I didn't need to wipe our feet when we stepped in.

Several rows of groceries stood to the right of the room. To the left, a row of wall coolers. I knew the walk-in refrigerator was behind them. The counter was in the center, at the back of the room. It would be easy for the proprietor to see anyone leaving with goods they didn't pay for.

This setup also explained why little Chuck hadn't had a chance to put the closed sign on the door before the guy came in. If he were working in the walk-in, or behind the counter, it was pretty far from the front door.

"Good morning," a gray-haired gentlemen standing behind the counter said, looking at us over his reading glasses.

"Good morning," Uncle Troy replied, cheerfully.

I glanced around the store. We were alone.

"How may I help you, sir?" he asked.

"My nephew here is in school with a guy whose Dad used to own this place. We were just checking to see if it was still here," Uncle Troy replied.

I noticed the man tense up a little. I got the feeling he knew who Uncle Troy was talking about and what had happened.

"Yes," he said. "I'm still here. I bought the store and the house from the boy's aunt and I've ran it ever since. How are Rene and he doing? I haven't heard from them since they moved to Burlington."

"Chuck is doing fairly well," I replied. "His aunt was killed in a wreck after she dropped him off at school in Hayden. She was on her way back to Burlington."

"Oh, no. That poor boy," the gentlemen said, shaking his head. "I guess he told you his father was killed in a holdup here and his mom died giving birth to him?"

"Yes, sir," I replied.

"Do you know if they ever caught the guy who did it?" Uncle Troy asked.

"No, they didn't," he replied. "It was difficult for the boy to give a good description of him. He was scared to death, just about."

I glanced at Uncle Troy. The proprietor wasn't going to volunteer anything about Chuck getting raped, it appeared.

Uncle Troy leaned his head to the left. The gentleman had just reached up to remove his glasses and froze before he got them off. "Let's see what we can find out about this guy," Uncle Troy said.

"Okay."

Uncle Troy stepped into the center of the room and looked around. "Step back, Shane," he said, softly.

I leaned against the counter and watched in awe as he cast a spell I'd never heard before, "Hands of time, moving swiftly forward, now heed my command: Screech to a halt. Hands of time, standing still, fly backwards like the wind, if you will. Backwards time, turn backwards at the speed of light. Take us back to see what really happened here that dreadful night."

Smoke billowed around us. The wind blew so hard that I was afraid that something would get turned over and broken. The next thing I knew, Uncle Troy and I were standing in a dark room. It was obviously the attic. A single light in the ceiling didn't illuminate the entire room. The room was hot, but we were invisible, so we couldn't feel the heat. The man whom I had seen previously sat bound and gagged, tears streaming down his face as his son got raped by the big burly man.

Uncle Troy wrapped his arm around me and fought the urge to stop him. There was nothing we could do without the Witches' Councils' permission.

"I bet Chuck still has nightmares about that," Uncle Troy said, softly.

"I'm sure he does, too," I agreed.

After the man had killed Mr. Wilson, he pulled his pants up and left. We followed him.

He dashed down the stairs and took the money out of the register. He put the "closed" sign in the window and left the store. He had left a green Pinto parked in the alley.

Uncle Troy and I sat in the back seat while the man drove. He made his way up the side of the mountain and pulled into a long driveway that lead up to a log cabin. Hopping out, the man dashed into the cabin.

We were waiting for him when he burst into the small living room. "It'd be a nice place if he'd clean it up," Uncle Troy observed.

"Yes, it would," I agreed as the man dumped the money on the table and stripped off his clothes.

"Damn brat's shit still all over my dick," he grumbled, throwing his clothes on the floor.

He went to the bathroom and took a shower. Uncle Troy picked up his pants and pulled out his wallet.

"Henry Potter is his name," he said, reading his license.

"Now what can we do?" I asked.

He returned Henry's wallet and said, "Let's go see what happened to him."

"Okay."

"Hands of time, I need your help again. Forward now, not too slow, but not too fast, let us see what has come to pass."

Again smoke billowed around us and the wind blew, but not as hard this time. We were sitting in a truck stop. Snow was falling pretty hard outside the window next to the table. Still invisible, no one could see us.

A man behind me was reading the paper, Uncle Troy scanned it. "It's two months later," he said looking around. "I wonder why we're here. He's not."

I didn't have time to ask if the spell could be wrong. The door opened and Henry came in, trying hard to keep the door from blowing off it's hinges as he pulled it closed. I hadn't realized the wind was that strong.

"Shit," Henry said, "that door needs to be locked."

The guy reading the paper and the waitress behind the counter were the only two people in the truck stop. The reader got up, paid his bill and left, making sure to leave out the other door, so it wouldn't blow open.

"Hi, honey," Henry said, straddling a bar stool. "Are you on the menu tonight?"

"I don't think so," she replied.

Uncle Troy grabbed my hand before I knocked Henry off the barstool. "Don't, Shane," he snapped. "Remember, we can't change the past."

"Sorry," I replied.

"I know, I want to, too."

"My husband's the cook and he's real jealous," she continued, placing a menu in front of Henry. "So, what can I get you?"

Henry glanced at the pickup window. We couldn't see anyone in the back room from where we sat. I scanned the back room. Sure enough, a big burly guy was sitting on a high bar stool, smoking a cigarette and doing some paper work.

I knew that if Henry and he got into it, Henry would finally meet his match. This guy was bigger than Henry, but not as ugly.

"Don't make a sound, Stella," Henry said, standing up. He pulled a switchblade out of his pocket and grabbed her by her uniform collar. "Now, real easy-like," he whispered, "get all the money out of the register and give it to me. We don't want hubby to know what's going on. You do real good, you'll live to see tomorrow. Is that clear?"

"Yes," she croaked.

Henry was so involved in getting the money, he didn't notice the door open and a police officer walk in. Unfortunately, the officer was tiny compared to Henry.

The officer made a motion to Stella not to let on that he was there and, pulling his gun, pressed it against the back of Henry's ear. "Police. Make a move and I'll blow your head off," he said.

Luckily for Stella, Henry had turned loose of her so she could get the money. She jumped back and screamed. Henry ducked and, turning, took a swing at the officer. The officer was small, but very agile and jumped out of the way just in the nick of time. Deciding it would not be wise to fight the officer, Henry started for the door.

The officer, being alone, didn't bother warning Henry to stop or he'd shoot, he just fired as Henry started out the door. Henry ducked against the wind. I knew the bullet would have hit him in the shoulder had he not ducked, however, since he did, it hit him in the back of head and sent him sprawling face down into the snow.

"What the fuck's going on?" Stella's husband demanded as he rushed out of the kitchen.

Stella was still screaming hysterically.

"Relax, everything is under control," the officer said. He rushed outside. Uncle Troy and I were standing beside Henry when the officer reached him. He checked his pulse and pressed the button on the mic he had on his shoulder and spoke into it.

Henry rolled over and started to set up. "What the fuck?" he asked, looking at us. Then he noticed his body was still lying on the ground. "Are you angels?"

"No," Uncle Troy replied as a man dressed in black appeared from no where. "Here's your angel, now."

A chill swept over me. I had never seen the angel of darkness before and I never wanted to, again.

If the angel of darkness knew that we were there, he didn't acknowledge our presence.

"No, wait!" Henry cried as the angel of darkness lifted him to his feet as though he was a mere sack of potatoes.

Flames flickered around them and they vanished. Henry's screams were carried away on the howling wind. I stepped closer to Uncle Troy and he wrapped his arms around me and we held each other for a few minutes. "It's over, Shane," he whispered. "Now you can tell Chuck that Henry is in hell where he belongs."

"Thanks, Uncle Troy," I said.

Uncle Troy stepped away from me and raised his arms. "Hands of time, do your deed. Take us now to our own time, at lightening speed."

Again smoke billowed around us and the wind blew. We were standing back at the grocery store where we'd started out at. This time, we were visible.

Uncle Troy restarted the proprietor and he finished removing his glasses as he said, "You know, several people thought it was a motorcycle gang, but I'd think that they'd have killed the boy, too, if it were."

"Is there a library here that would keep copies of old newspapers?" I asked.

"No," he replied. "But the newspaper does. You could check the morgue there."

The proprietor pointed us in the direction of the newspaper office and, after thanking him for his help, we walked down the street to it.

Snow was still falling gently. "What do you want the newspaper for, Shane?" Uncle Troy wanted to know.

"If they have something about the incident at the truck stop, I can show it to Chuck and then he'll know for sure what happened."

"Good idea," he agreed, "but you could just produce it yourself."

"I know. But I want it authenticated, in case he calls the newspaper himself."

The morgue at the newspaper office was damp and cold. I couldn't believe how unorganized it was. Mr. Horn, the elderly gentleman that showed us the room, said, "I'm sorry it's such a mess, but we haven't been able to hire anyone to take care of it and I haven't had time to."

Uncle Troy looked at a stack of papers that hadn't been filed. "If you want, we'll do it for you," he offered.

"Oh, I couldn't pay you anything and I wouldn't expect you to do it for nothing. It'd take forever to get this straightened out. I'm not even sure you'll be able to find what you're looking for."

"I'll tell you what," Uncle Troy said. "Give Shane and me half an hour and we'll have this place spotless. But, you have to leave us down here alone. You can't watch."

Mr. Horn gave us a skeptical look. "You have a deal," he finally resigned. "But I don't see how you can get this done in half an hour. It'll take days."

"Trust me," Uncle Troy said, pushing him toward the door.

"Half an hour?" I asked after he had left. "It won't take that long."

"I know, but he wouldn't believe a second, now would he?"

"He's not going to believe half an hour, either," I admitted.

"And, I'm going to let you do it yourself," Uncle Troy said.

"Okay," I replied. I snapped my fingers and the morgue was spotless. Everything was in its place. The musty smell was gone and the room was warm.

"How's that?" I asked.

He shook his head and snapped his fingers. It was back to the way it was originally. "Use an incantation, Shane."

"Come on, Uncle Troy, I don't know any incantations."

"Then either get your spell book or make one up," he said.

I materialized the spell book floating in mid-air in front of me, turned to the page I needed. I read the incantation for cleaning rooms and then got rid of the book, hoping I could remember it.

Stepping into the middle of the room, I raised my hands and recited the spell: "Dust mites float. Candles burn. Cauldrons bubble. Windmills churn. Everything has it's place, that's where it should be. Where East meets West, we'll do our best to clean this room spotless, on the count of three. One, two, three." A snap of my fingers and the room was clean again.

"Now are you happy?" I asked.

Uncle Troy grinned. "Very. See, that wasn't too hard. Now find the paper you're looking for with an incantation."

I made the spell book reappear to the spell I needed. It was the finding spell. After reading it, I got rid of the book again. "Do you remember the date?" I asked.

"December 15, 1986," Uncle Troy replied.

"So the paper would be the sixteenth," I said.

"Probably."

"Everything is in it's place, that's where it should be, bring the paper that I seek, to me." The paper appeared in my hand.

I laid it out on the table and found the article that I needed. It had a mug shot of Henry taken the previous year when he was in jail for holding up a convenience store.

"Of course it doesn't mention anything about what he did to Chuck," I said, "but he'll remember him from the picture, I'm sure."

"How are you going to explain how you knew that was the guy?" Uncle Troy wanted to know.

"I don't think I will. I think I'll have him find a copy of this old newspaper clipping in his house in Burlington. Then he'll think it was his aunt who found it and forgot to tell him about it."

"Good idea," Uncle Troy replied.

I made a copy of just the article, making sure that it had the newspaper and date on the top of it, and returned the paper to its place.

"Shall we let Mr. Horn know we're leaving or just go?" I asked. We had only been there for about five minutes.

"Let's just go," he replied.

I hugged him and said, "Thanks for coming with me, Uncle Troy. I couldn't have done it without you."

"You're welcome. I think I'm going to head for the yacht. Should be about lunch time by now. Do you want to join us?"

"No, thanks. I told Gavin I'd be around, so I'd better get over there. They should be getting close to Chuck's house and I want to plant this before they get there."

"See you later, then," he said. With a smile, he vanished.

I went invisible. I couldn't wait to see Mr. Horn's face when he saw the morgue. However, I didn't really want to wait twenty more minutes on him to return, and I didn't want to go get him, either.

Luckily, I didn't have to. He slowly opened the door. I knew he was trying to see what we were doing.

Glancing around the room, his mouth fell open and he stepped in. "How'd they do that?" he asked in astonishment. He gulped and backed out the door and hurried up the stairs.

Chuckling, I snapped my fingers and I was standing in the kitchen of Chuck's house. It was a nice house. All the furniture was covered with sheets.

I heard a car drive in out front. Looking through the wall, I saw it was them. I dashed into the living room and placed the article between the cushions on the couch. Leaving orders for it to fly out when Chuck took the sheet off.

I heard a phone ring somewhere. I pulled it out of thin air. "Hi, darling," I said, answering it. Caller Id said "Gavin."

"Hi, babe," he said, getting out of the car. "We just got here."

"Great. I'm in the living room," I admitted. "I found out something. Make sure Chuck takes the sheet off the couch. There's something he needs to see."

"Okay. Will do. We'll see you when we get home."

"Call me if you need anything."

"Okay. Love you."

"I love you, too, Gavin."

I hung up and watched Chuck open the front door.

Gavin came in and looked around. I knew he was looking for me. I materialized for only him to see.

"Hi. Don't worry," I said, hugging him. "No one can see or hear me but you. We'll use telepathy to talk."

"Okay," he replied with his mind.

"This is a nice house," Gavin told Chuck.

"Yeah. I enjoyed growing up here," he said, sadly.

"Why don't we have a seat on the couch and rest for a little bit before we start cleaning the place up?" Gavin suggested.

"Sure." Chuck yanked the sheet off the couch, the piece of paper flew to the floor, as I had instructed it to.

"What's that?" Gavin asked.

"I don't know." He picked it up.

A look of fear crossed his face when he saw the photo of Henry. He quickly wadded it up and stuffed it in his coat pocket and said, "Let's go ahead and get this place cleaned up."

"What is it?" Gavin asked, again.

"Nothing, just some trash," he replied, harshly. It was obvious that he didn't want to talk about it.

"I'll make him read it," I said. "Offer to check out the kitchen and leave him here alone."

"I'll go see how bad the kitchen is," Gavin said. "You start in here."

"Good idea."

It had only been ten months since his Aunt Rene had died and he had done a good job of covering everything. We later discovered that he had spent the summer there, so it wasn't like it hadn't been lived in for the full ten months. His aunt had been an immaculate housekeeper so there wouldn't be much to do for it to be ready for renting.

Gavin disappeared into the kitchen. Before I could cast a spell that would make Chuck read the article, he glanced at the hall door to make sure that Gavin wasn't coming back, as he pulled it out of his coat pocket.

Although I could tell he tried to hold them back, tears bubbled over his lower eye lids as he read the article. A warm smile spread over his handsome face. When he finished, he crumbed the article tightly in his hand and, smiling broadly, squeezed his eyes shut and whispered, "Thank you, Jesus."

Epilogue

While Chuck never mentioned the article to us, I did show it to Gavin. Chuck's attitude toward everything changed drastically. He didn't even seem to mind when Gavin hugged and kissed me in front of him. I had them both moved into my apartment by the time they got back from Burlington.

During finals the next week, I took it upon myself to go do some things to the house that really needed to be done, but weren't obvious. I also found renters for Chuck. It was a cute little old couple who I knew would take care of it like it was their own.

While Chuck and Gavin were spending most of their time studying for finals, Gavin and I were delighted to discover that one evening when Chuck was studying in the library on campus, he met Jennifer. She was a feisty red-head who had big green eyes that seemed to look right through you. Because Chuck's attitude had changed drastically, we weren't surprised they started dating. He wasn't even ashamed to bring her to the apartment and he was the one who volunteered that Gavin and I were lovers.

Gavin and I knew that she'd be keeping him company while we were in Chicago for the holidays.

Gavin and I had a great time in Chicago. Brandon had put a penthouse on top of a penthouse in a downtown hotel. Gavin's family had come to visit a few times. His sister, Teri, wasn't as mean as Gavin had said she was. She was a "biker babe". She wore a silver stud in the left side of her nose. She could have been pretty if she learned how to wear her makeup, but the way she wore it, she appeared to have been dead for a few years. Her boyfriend was kind of scary. He, too, had a nose stud - it was their "bond" as they explained. They were into leather and rode his Harley everywhere they went. She sat on the back and held onto him. I was surprised that Gavin's parents let him stay with her in her old room, since they weren't married.

Gavin's brother, Bill, wasn't in college. He had found a job as a reporter for a radio station. Unlike their sister, he appeared to have turned out normal like Gavin. It was obvious that Bill was following in their dad's footsteps. Mr. Sanders was the producer of the news at the local TV station.

Mr. Sanders was a very good-looking guy. I could tell that when Gavin got older, he'd look just like him. Bill resembled his dad, but not as much as Gavin did.

Mrs. Sanders, who was very pretty, worked in the superintendent's office at the high school. While they didn't have a lot of money, they had a nice three-bedroom home and they worked hard to put Gavin through college.

Gavin and I still go to Jupiter frequently to workout and soak in the hot springs. Luckily, Gramps and Grams have never found out that he's mortal. He wears the ring that Uncle Troy gave me, constantly.

In order to keep Chuck from finding out that I'm a warlock, I keep my senses locked on Gavin's door while we're on Jupiter or somewhere else, when Chuck thinks we're spending the time making out or just being together in Gavin's room. If he ever does knock on the door, with a snap of my fingers, we're lying on Gavin's king-sized bed and Chuck never knew we were gone.

Chuck and Jennifer continued to date for the next semester. I was surprised when he broke up with her and started dating someone else. I don't think that Allison is as much fun to have around as Jennifer was, but it's his choice. He's finally happy and that's all that Gavin and I care about.

--- The End