Deals With The Devil: Our Purpose

Pearly White

'Back in the states!' I cheered, raising my arms over my head and moaning at the feeling of the warm sun hitting my skin.
'Don't moan like that.' Devin playfully nudged my shoulder before turning back, gazing at all the gloomy faces behind us. 'They all look so...'
'Dead? Josh and Ricky I can understand, but everybody else is just tired.'
'You think?' He asked.
'Chris tried to stay up late so he can talk with me, Vinny was up crying and Ryan was probably jerking off.' I smiled, trying to keep the mood up. I stared back at Chris, heart practically shattering when I noticed how sad and tired he looked. I thought for a moment before suddenly getting an idea. 'Now that I think about it...' I began to mumble, 'I'm pretty tired too. My legs feel all wobbly...' I yawned. A moment later, I was scooped up into Chris' arms. 'Oh, it's okay, y-you don't have to...' I timidly stuttered, raising my hand up to cover my lips.
'You shouldn't walk if you're tired...' I could tell that he knew I was faking it, but it seemed to cheer him up anyway. I weighed practically nothing when I wanted to, since being an Illusionist meant being able to bend reality. I leaned against him, burying my face in the crook of his neck for comfort.
'I always feel safe around you...'
'Gay.' Ricky shouted as he began to step quicker, passing the both of us before standing alongside Devin. 'How're you feeling?'
'I'm alright. The sickness passed pretty quickly, so-'
'No, I mean...' Ricky gestured over to Vinny with his elbow, just subtly enough for nobody else to notice, 'how're you feeling?' Devin bit his lip for a moment, obviously debating whether or not to actually talk to Ricky of all people about it.
'Oh, well...I don't know. We're just taking a break is all.'
'Yeah, I've heard that before.'
'I'm serious! I'm just sorting stuff out right now.'
'By going on a million dates?' Ricky sassed, turning his head up slightly so he could see Devin blush profusely.
'Shut up.'
'Guys or girls?'
'Both.'
'Do you always dress nicely or do you sometimes just show up in tracksuit pants?'
'I try to dress decent. If it's a girl, I dress more masculinely and if it's a guy, I dress more femininely but sometimes I make exceptions. Why do you care?'
'Well I just thought I'd try and catch up, I guess. I'm a 96 year old man, I don't know what the kids are doing these days.' It was pretty nice hearing Devin and Ricky talk. It was nice to know that Ricky was willing to put in the effort. Maybe seeing Sophie again really did open him up.
'It's nice seeing the two of them get along. Devin really needs a friend to keep him grounded.' I smiled.
'Yeah. Plus it takes the stress off of you...'
'Uh, guys? We've been walking in the completely wrong direction.'

After almost an hour, we finally made it to the inn we were booked at. It was a lot more cosy than I thought it was going to be. Each room was like that of a real home, and a few cats even hung around. They freely wandered around the inn, exploring and meeting new people. The moment Chris and I got to our room, he practically collapsed onto the floor. I had to wiggle out of his grip before sitting in front of him, studying how tired he was. 'Am I really that heavy?'
'No...I'm just so tired from walking...' He yawned, curling up in the doorway. Half his body was still outside of the room which I knew would alert anybody passing by. I slipped my backpack off and went to Chris' aid, hooking my arms around his waist and easily lifting him over my shoulder. I pushed the door shut before dropping him down on the large king sized bed which was perfectly made with lush black sheets. The whole room looked oddly romantic, the walls a pale peachy colour while the carpet was a dark brown. It was so soft that the moment I kicked my shoes off and felt it, I almost died. After placing Chris down, I stripped myself of all the sweaty clothes I was wearing. I wasn't used to how warm it was, but I knew I'd adjust quickly. 'C'mere...' Chris muttered, lifting the sheets up enough for me to slip beside him. I curled up close, pressing both my hands against his chest and breathing lightly into the pillow.
'Thank you for carrying me...'
'Thank you for pretending you were tired.'
'I was...' I lied.
'Thank you...'

'Your neighbourhood is so...'
'Religions?' Ricky finished my sentence for me, also noticing the amount of homes with crosses on the doors. I wasn't one for commenting on religion but it was ridiculous. The way people stared at us as we walked by reminded me of when I was homeless, so I clung to Chris's arm for support.
'Don't worry, I've got you...' He cooed, sneaking his arm around my shoulders.
'It's just where I was raised. After my dad died, we shut ourselves out from the outside world. We moved here and my mum practiced her religion endlessly while I had to keep quiet about my gift.' Josh sighed, stepping ahead of us on the long pavement. The houses we passed were all pearly white, as well as the people. They were all the same, pale white skin, long wavy brown hair for the women and short, almost grey hair for the men. The women all fire floral dresses and the men all wore polo shirts with dress pants. It was scary. We all looked like asylum patients compared to then. I was dressed in tight black jeans that came up to my waist with a rather revealing top that showed off my belly button. Chris's studded leather jacket was slumped over my back, making up most of my weight. Ricky was hiding underneath a large black hoodie that covered all of his skin, besides his ripped jeans. Ryan was the only person who dresses remotely normal, with yet another pair of jeans and a plain black shirt. It was then that I realised everybody was practically wearing the same thing. Black jeans with a black top and/or hoodie.
'They're all so normal...' I murmured.
'How did you come from a place like this?' Devin asked.
'...when I was a kid...I could...see ghosts...'