Page 86 of Quiet
Interesting.
It had taken some getting used to, but Briar was beginning to pick up a pattern of the magic bonding them together. At first it seemed random when it would work and when it wouldn’t, but now Briar was forming an idea about its basic framework. Isa always seemed to understand Briar when he absolutely needed him to, but if Briar wanted it too much or relied too heavily on it, the effect seemed to get jammed up. Right now, Briar really didn’t want Isa to know what he was thinking. If he had even a clue, his face would be fifteen different shades of red and pink. So, if Briar didn’t want him to know what he was thinking, maybe Isa couldn’t?
The revelation was a relief in several ways. As much as Briar loved Isa and loved how easily they could communicate, it would be nice to have the option to keep certain thoughts to himself.
Especially the one telling him how much fun it would be to pin Isa against his door and see how hard they could shake the framework of the house.
There would be time for that once Isa was healed. Right now, he had to rescue the boy from the yellow tie-dye pants he was trying to put on.
* * *
“Isa, honey! I was just teasing you. You didn’t have to come here.” Will flapped his hands anxiously as he circled Isa. “Look at your face! I can’t believe those jerks. I should have kicked every last square inch of their asses.”
After a stop at Isa’s dorm room, they tracked down Will using Isa’s phone. When he’d shown Briar how he could use his phone to find his friend, Briar handed Isa his own phone and stared at him until he connected their phones as well.
“I can’t let this stand. Every time I look at you, I’m going to feel the need to go murder someone.”
Briar fully understood the sentiment. Before Isa’s attack, he hadn’t been a fan of Will. After, Briar found himself learning they had more in common than he’d realized. They both loved Isa and wanted to protect him, keep him safe, and murder anyone who hurt him. They even had the same issues keeping their hands off him. Which they were going to need to discuss soon. Once Briar figured out how to talk to him without Isa’s help, that is.
“Thank the goddess I haven’t packed up my makeup kit yet.” Will gestured to his backstage setup. All around them were people in various stages of cleanup and break down of the set. “Come over to my office, and I’ll get you set up. I can coordinate with your outfit! It looks so good today. Nice job, Briar!”
“How do you know it wasn’t me?” Isa protested, looking a lot like an angry kitten. Briar wanted to bite him.
“No offense, love, but there is no way you put this together on your own. I’ve seen your idea of fashion, and it’s a mix between hobo-chic—the bad kind—andI exclusively shop for clothes behind the Walmart dumpster.”
“Hey!”
Will kissed Isa on the top of the head. “You know I love you even if you can’t dress yourself.”
Briar wanted to remove the guy’s lips from his face. But it was a desire thought, not an action thought. He set the phrase on repeat in the background of his mind.
“As a reward for letting me fix your face, I’ll let you grill me to your heart’s content about my upcoming wedding,” Will said with a mischievous smirk as he rummaged through his makeup kit.
“You’re actually getting married?!” Isa’s voice hit a register Briar was previously unaware the boy was capable of.
Will laughed so hard he nearly knocked over his blush palette. “Darling, you’re too easy.”
Briar leaned against the sturdiest looking prop he could find and watched as Will painted over Isa’s bruises and regaled him with tales from his night with Alice. Briar didn’t know the girl, but he began to want to. While Will didn’t say so outright, Briar could tell from the light in his eyes and the way the man’s hands stopped working on Isa’s face so they could help illustrate her virtues that Will was smitten.
It made it a lot easier for Briar to deal with the way Will was openly manhandling Isa’s face and shoulders.
“And that was the second time we had to run from the cops.” Will patted a fine layer of power across Isa’s cheeks as he finished telling the story of how he and Alice had ended up with two bags of flour and a portable ice cream machine. “Our ill-gotten gains are at her bestie Nate’s place until we find a good place for them.”
“Okay, that part makes sense, but now I have about fifty more questions and none of them are appropriate to ask.”
“Very wise of you to understand, love.” Will nodded sagely, but the glimmer of mischief in his eyes hadn’t faded one bit.
“I’ll ask this instead. What about Eddie? You were all about him two weeks ago.”
“Oh him.” Will made a pfft sound. “He was all talk and no follow-through. Alice knows exactly how to put her money where her mouth is.”
“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” Isa said with an adorable glare.
Briar didn’t understand exactly was going on between the two, but he had a feeling it had something to do with Will being flamboyantly gay and Alice being a woman. Otherwise, he was at sea about the entire conversation.
“Isa, you’re so pretty!” The director of the play hurried over to examine Will’s work. “Whoever messed up your face earlier should be shot.” She touched a finger to Isa’s shiny lower lip. Briar felt a pain in his hand and heard the crack of wood splintering behind him. “Does it still hurt?”
“No, everything is fine now. It looks far worse than it is. Thanks for fixing that, by the way, Will.” Isa examined his face in the mirror. It was even more breathtaking than usual, and the bruise on his cheek was completely covered.
