Blaise celebrated his birthday in his room, away from his family. He wasn’t alone; his dog Caldera was there too. She licked some cake frosting from his face.
“Callie, that’s not good for you,” he said with a laugh.
She barked once, then jumped off his lap onto the floor. He watched her spin around a few times before plopping down on the carpet.
Someone knocked on his door.
“Gerard? That you?” Blaise asked.
“Yes, Master Blaise,” the butler said. “You have a visitor. You do know this… Max Elior, correct?”
“Oh shit. Uh, yeah, let him in.”
“Very good, Master Blaise.”
The door opened, and Max burst into the room.
“Hey there, Blaise,” he said, grinning.
“Yo,” Blaise said, his face warm.
“Oh my god, you have a dog!” Max exclaimed. “Can I pet it? Please?”
“Go ahead,” he said. “She’s real friendly.”
Max sat down beside the black lab and started to pet her.
“What’s her name?” Max asked as the dog rolled onto her back.
“Caldera, but I usually call her Callie.”
“Who’s a good girl?” Max cooed. “You are. That’s right, it’s you.”
Blaise’s heart melted. Max was the most amazing, most charming, most handsome guy he’d ever met.
It wasn’t easy to admit that, even just in his head. It had taken almost three months to process his feelings, and the realization scared him. He’d never had a crush on a guy before Max. At first, he tried to rationalize his crush.
Max’s body is female, so I’m still straight, right? he had tried to convince himself at first, but that felt wrong, and he immediately pushed that thought away.
By now, he’d figured out that he was bisexual, but that didn’t mean he was confident about it.
“So how’d you know?” Blaise asked after a while.
“How’d I know what?”
“My birthday. How’d you know it was today?”
Max put his hand over his mouth. “Wait, really?!”
Blaise nodded, his heart sinking. It was just a coincidence. He should have known that was all it was.
“I was in the area, so I dropped by. Like you said I could.”
There was an awkward stretch of time during which Max avoided eye contact while Blaise watched him carefully. The awkwardness wasn’t silent; Caldera was playing with a squeaky chew toy.
“Happy birthday though,” Max said after a while. “Sorry I don’t have a gift for you.”
Blaise shrugged. He didn’t say what he was thinking, which was that Max’s unexpected presence was a gift.
“I was actually hoping for some help with something,” Max continued after an uncomfortably long pause. “I’m gonna infiltrate that lab again, and I’m pretty sure your fire powers would come in handy.”
Blaise stared at him for several seconds, trying to formulate a response in vain.
“I understand if you don’t want to. It’ll be dangerous, and you don’t seem the type to risk your life for something that doesn’t directly concern you,” Max sighed. “I’ll see myself out.”
“I’ll do it,” Blaise blurted out, if only to keep Max from leaving so soon.
Max gawked at Blaise. “Are you sure?”
Blaise wasn’t sure. “Of course I’m sure,” he said. “They captured me. I want revenge.”
Max’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Tonight at 8:30, behind the Starbucks across the street from the building that used to be Border’s Books… Me, Horys, and a few others will be waiting. Even if I’m not there, you’ll know it’s us if you see someone with purple skin and hair. That’s Horys.”
Blaise nodded. “I’ll be there.”
“Gotta go. Sorry for ruining your birthday.”
And before Blaise could react, Max left the room.
“Thanks for salvaging my shitty birthday,” he muttered, even though Max was gone.