Oneiric

@DugFer: I know I wrote something about Flavius, in the comments of the previous chapter, but I got ambitious and wrote a few pages before the reveal. So, don't get upset that you won't find out about Flavius, in this chapter. :D

“Remember, kids, when you are developing a psychological test, certain rules must be followed:

• Choose a concept that can be measured;
• Think of as many questions as possible;
• The questions must be antagonistic or dichotomic;
• Apply the questions to a test subject and mark the ones with the most answers and the ones with the least answers – these will be eliminated, as they are either too easy or too complicated;
• The remaining answers will represent your test and need to be validated by using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences);

And most of all, try to have fun while learning because that is the best type of learning”, the professor of Psychodiagnosis said while the class had ended.

As there were only ten minutes of break time, Lavinia and I didn’t have enough time for me to tell her about my date with Flavius. I could tell she was really anxious to hear about it. She was like a child, before receiving her Christmas present; impatience was growing inside her. But she would have to wait, until after the next seminar.

We went to the second floor and took our seats in the room where the Social Psychology seminar took place. I didn’t like this subject too much, as I didn’t quite fancy the professor, a former employee of the Romanian Secret Services; some sort of general, he bragged when introducing himself, at the first course, months ago.

Although, his assistant was taking care of the seminars, and she was young, pretty, and slim. I wondered what qualified her for the position, besides her looks. I’m trying to impose anything, but it did make you think. The rest of the boys liked her. Their behavior, when talking about her, outside of class, was rather funny. Their remarks regarding her boobs and butt were the “chorus” of our discussions. They amused me; I’d be in the same boat, had I discussed the bulges or asses of some of the hot guys roaming the halls of our university.

Today’s subject revolved around humans in society and their need for socializing, for their need to belong in a group, and their desire to advance in societal ranks. I might not have liked the professor, but he did raise a good point, during his lecture, last time, when he said that, people wear various roles in society. And each of those roles come with different social behaviors. At home, they would act in a distinct way, whereas when going to work they’d put on another role with other sets of behavior.

He liked to name this roleplay, social acting, and the people, social actors. A professor would act in a way at school, in another way at the supermarket, and in another way when going on vacation. But during the seminar with the assistant, we discussed, more at a philosophical level, about Man in society. 

I always agreed with Aristotle's opinion: ‘Man is a social animal, and he needs society to be good, for, without society and law, man is the worst being in the world.’ I shared this opinion, and one could even link it, in a way, with Nietzsche’s opinion regarding man being a slave in society, because he is bound to respecting the law. Well, if respecting the law, in order to have a civilized way of living, is the price to be paid, then I’d gladly pay it and call myself a slave of law.

I might have judged her as a bimbo of an assistant too harshly; she did know her shit and you did have what to discuss with her. All in all, the seminar was quite entertaining and, to Lavinia’s relief, ending soon. We had a two-hour window until the next class, which the entire student body from Psychology loathed – Psycho-neuro-physiology (PNP).

Lavinia and I decided to take the metro to the city center and get something to eat from one of the myriads of restaurants and locales. Today we tried the Greek fast food-ish dish called gyros. It consisted of a plate with meat cooked on a skewer and thinly sliced, with fries and a dip made from yogurt, cucumbers, and garlic. I bet they don’t serve it like this in Greece, but nevertheless, it was delicious. We sat at a table, further away, in order to talk.

“So, tell me all about it!”, Lavinia couldn’t wait any longer to know how my date with Flavius went.

“As I tried to tell you before the class had started, I went to the mall to buy that Vans pair. I was passing a Dolce & Gabbana store when I heard someone calling me. I turned around and saw it was Flavius.”

“You passed by and didn’t see him in the store?”, she asked.

“I was too self-absorbed in thought. I wouldn’t have seen the Pope; had he been shopping there.”

“Ha, the Pope. That was funny. So, what happened then?”

“We talked about shopping, for a bit. He seemed happy to find me there”, I said, remembering the joy I felt when I saw him, that day. I smiled.

“How could he not be happy to see you? You’re smart, you’re cute. I’d be happy to see you if you were straight”, she said smiling.

“So, whenever you see me, you’re not happy, because I’m gay?”, I teased her, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes. No! Wait, you’re not playing fair!”, she cried, amused.

“I was just teasing you. I know what you meant”, I replied, laughing.

“You prick! Please, continue with you and Flavus”, she said.

“I was also very hungry and, before I could ask if he’d come with me, he said it first. So I took advantage of the moment and asked him to join me. But…”, I hesitated a bit, she sensed it.

“But what? Something bad happened?”, she seemed intrigued.

“Not at all. Quite the opposite, actually.”

“Come on Claudius, leave the suspense for thriller movies!”, she was so absorbed by my story.

“I don’t know how to explain it. It’s regarding my magic and Flavius.”

“What about it?”, she asked.

“Somehow, I can sense his presence. When we’re looking at each other, I can feel his cold gaze caressing my face, my body. When I turn around, I always know he is right behind me. Even if we’re in a very crowded place, I know exactly where he is. I can feel the force, like two magnets attracting each other.”

“Use the force young padawan!”, she joked.

“Ha, I’m not a Star Wars fan, but that was funny”, I replied, laughing.

“Yeah, but back to our discussion. It is plausible that, given the nature of your magic, you are connecting with him. And, if he’s interested, it will work even better”, she explained.

“After I had ordered my food, I returned to our table. He didn’t want anything from my tray and I didn’t insist. He complimented my looks and said he wanted to get to know me better.”

“What did you say?!”, she asked.

“I agreed. Then, he invited me to meet with him, the next day. We exchanged phone numbers and then he had to leave. The next day he drove to my neighborhood and picked me up.”

“And where did you two go?”

“I didn’t have any ideas of places to go, so I let him decide. He took me somewhere outside the town, to a near forest, on a hill where we could see the entire city.”

As I was talking and revealing more and more, Lavinia’s face was all smiling. She was pleasantly shocked when I told her that he kissed me.

“And then he took me to an old manor, nearby. The strange thing was, that I had dreamt of it the night before. And even stranger was the fact that he had dreamt about it too”, I said.

“It is possible that you might have had an out-of-body experience”, she replied.

“What is that?”

“It’s like an astral image of yourself. You get out of your physical body and travel around before you return. I haven’t heard of this happening while dreaming. More so, to be able to invade someone else’s dreams.”

“In his dream, he was dead. But he could talk and move. He didn’t look like him, but more like a corpse. He didn’t seem to know me.”

“Maybe it was some sort of nightmare, but for him”, she said.

“Yes, possibly. Oh, look at the time, we have to hurry if we don’t want to be late to PNP”, I said, not being the very least anxious about the lecture.

The rest of the week had passed as if time had accelerated. It usually seems that way when you are busy taking notes or participating in the seminar discussions. Time passes by faster when you are enjoying yourself, and seems to stop when you are bored or involved in a situation that doesn’t bring much joy. For me it was a mix of both, for I had finished creating my psychological test, and that took away a few hours. But time also seemed to halt when we had boring lectures like PNP or English.

Don’t get me wrong, I love English, but this teacher was too boring, as well as her lectures/seminars (she taught both). When I signed in for this university, I had chosen advanced English, but we were taught at a beginner’s level. I guess it was good for my elderly colleagues, but for the rest of 70%, not so much.

One morning, at eight, my group and I attended her seminar, and she didn’t show up. That annoyed us very much; having to wake up so early and all. And we all decided that next week, none of us would attend her morning class. No one did. And several of my colleagues didn’t bother attending her lectures anymore. We’d just show up at the final exam and that’s that. The professor usually gives a test at her last seminar and, if you’re okay with the grade, it will be considered your exam. I didn’t care for that; I would go to the exam, as English tests don’t scare me. They never did.

It was already Friday afternoon, and I was at home. Today we had only two classes, in the morning. I don’t really like morning classes, as I tend to wake up at around 9 or 10. The first class started at 8, so I had to get up at 7. By noon university had ended and we were free to start the weekend. I felt a bit tired, but I busied myself with playing some computer games and reading from my book. I don’t sleep in the afternoons. I dislike that, even if my eyes keep closing.               

When I was a child, grandma would put me to bed, after lunch. I wouldn’t be sleepy at all and was always hiding somewhere in the house. She would always find me and convince me to try and rest for a little. I would sit with her in bed, she would tell me one of her stories, and I always fell asleep. She knew how to handle brats like me. Nowadays I rarely sleep during the daytime, only when I am really sick. Ha, take that grandma! I thought to myself, then laughed at my foolishness.

While casting spells and slaying monsters on the computer, I had received a message on the phone. I checked it and saw that Lavinia wrote to me.

“Hey Claudius, fancy going out tonight?”, she texted.

“I am a bit tired. I don’t know what to say”, I tried to escape.

“Come on lazy. There’s a club opening tonight. It will be fun.”

“I’m not really in the mood for clubbing.”

“Come on Claudius, please!”

“I’m not sure. You know I’m picky regarding the music.”

“How fastidious can you be?”, she asked.

“Do you really want to know?”

“Not really. Come on! Pleaaaaaseeeee!?”

“Alright. I’ll come!”, I gave in.

“I knew you would.”

“…”, my answer.

I wondered what club it was about. But I didn’t bother to think too much about it. At around half-past ten, I took the metro, to the city center. I met with Lavinia in the proximity of one of the four stations’ exits. She had to lead the way since I had no idea where the locale was situated. It wasn’t in the Old Town, like the rest.

After a ten-minute walk, we deviated from the main boulevard and entered a neighborhood of houses. The streets were narrow and, due to this, the tall trees would cast their shadows, almost making it entirely dark. But as they had lost a part of their leaves, light shone from the lamps, however, inconsistently. Because of that, the shapes and shadows on the ground looked like an odd puzzle.

It was a very quiet area, it felt almost cozy, even though it was kind of gloomy. It was as if we had traveled to the countryside. There, at night time, it would be pitch black, except for a light or two, coming from one of the houses. The distance between houses would be rather considerable. Silence would dominate the entire village, only crickets dared sing their annoying symphony.

It reminded me of my maternal grandparents’ house, in the countryside, in the mountains. When I was small and visited them, I would be too scared to even go out in the garden, because it was that dark. In the Romanian countryside, you can feel totally secluded from civilization, whilst living within civilized surroundings. This feeling was augmented, especially at the mountainside. It was beautiful, though. Never would you feel serenity and calmness elsewhere, other than there.

As we reached the end of the somber street, some noise could be heard. As we turned around the corner, the darkness had faded; there were fewer trees and the street lamps threw their orange light everywhere. After five more minutes, we arrived at an old building, which was clearly renovated.

The club’s entrance was situated on the basement floor of the building and a loud bass could be heard, as well as felt; I sensed a low vibration in my chest. As we paid at the entrance and got some paper bracelets, to be easily identified as having paid entry, we descended into the music-filled darkness.

It wasn’t bad, I kind of liked it. The music too, as I like House, with none, to very few lyrics, this was going well so far. I was glad I had accepted, but I’d never admitted that to my friend; she would never cease to tease me in the future if I did. Anyway, I found out from Lavinia that this was a gay-friendly club, and I have also noticed, afterward, some girl couples, besides boys, holding hands or kissing. The straight people didn’t seem to mind at all. It was like a utopia and how society should act, but doesn’t; kind of like communism. The last thought made me giggle a bit. Communism, to work? What a joke.

The interior had modern furniture, the walls were all black, but the ceiling was the most interesting piece. It had some sort of murals, representing some famous paintings, but made to look gay. The best example would be the famous painted ceiling from the Sistine Chapel, where God and Man touch fingers. Well, this man had a purple braw over his pecs and God had pink nail polish on his long nails. I loved it.

There weren’t too many people, as we had arrived quite early, at around a quarter past eleven. But as time passed, the club filled to the brim. There would be waiters, bare-chested, carrying trays with shots, and on some pedestaled-cages, dancers of both sexes, wearing only underwear, dancing to the rhythm. The male dancer was hot as fuck, and his bulge would move up and down, as his body twerked.

I imagined him moving like that, in bed with his partner. I had to suppress an erection, as Lavinia really likes to rub against me. I wouldn’t want to poke her bum with my pecker. Not that she’d mind, but I do respect her and I don’t want to give a wrong impression. Grandma always said to treat women with the utmost respect, or at least the ones who deserve it and ignore the bitches. Ah, grandma!

After three or four tequila shots – they were on the house, due to the inauguration – Lavinia and I had to take a break from all that dancing. So, she pulled my hand towards the exit. As we walked up the stairs, rubbing ourselves to couples kissing or people talking, trying to making our way through a crowded hall, cold air could be felt.

We went outside, without our coats, and it was acceptable. As we were so hot from the action inside, a little chilled air wouldn’t hurt. There’s a grand superstition in Romania that makes people think they get the flu from a cold breeze or a draft; which is preposterous of course.

There were a few other guys out in the small garden, smoking and drinking beer, chatting, laughing, and making stupid sounds, as boys do; you know how it is. Some of them were really cute, tall, slim or fit. But they didn’t seem to interest me, neither did the dance from before. Yes, they were hot and I would be aroused if I saw them naked, but that was about it.

Flavius was the only one that mattered to me and, even if there wasn’t an official discussion about us forming a couple, I felt loyal to him. I’m like that, you know, when I meet someone and we hit it off, I stop meeting up with other guys; I even stop talking to most of them. Well, I used to do that before getting together with Liviu. It felt so wrong to date someone, but also to go out with other men, as a measure of safety in case you’re dumped. Nah, Claudius is not that type of guy.

We didn’t stay out in the garden too much, as Lavinia heard a song she loved and practically pulled me inside, by my hand; like in one of those Tom & Jerry cartoons when they throw a heavy object, to which Tom is tied, then dragged.

While inside and dancing to the beat, the song didn’t get a chance to finish, as the music had suddenly stopped and screams could be heard coming from the back of the club. Soon, people came running, almost stomping themselves in the process, while a thick, dark curtain of stifling smoke swarmed on the ceiling, followed by red flames. A fire!

I tried to grab Lavinia’s hand and pull her next to me, so we could exit but I couldn’t, as the sea of people rushing out dragged her with them. At least she would be safe. I tried to run, but got tripped by someone and fell to the floor. I couldn’t even try to get up, because the panicked people would step on my hands. I hugged my knees close to my chest and covered my head and waited for the torrent of humans to end.

It was already difficult to see, let alone to try and breathe. I held my breath, seeking clean pockets of air. I remained on the floor, crawling like in the army, trying to find the way out. It was all too confusing and I couldn’t remember where the exit was. The curtain of smoke had lowered and visibility was becoming a luxury.

As I crawled on the dirty floor, I passed by a couple of bodies. The view made my guts churn and great despair had begun to overcome me. Those young people who had families, who would be in pain when they are going to be declared deceased. That thought made my eyes wet.

I realized I was going the wrong way, almost into the heart of the fire. I didn’t want to look at my surroundings, as I didn’t want to confirm to myself that what I saw were burnt corpses. Immediately I had changed directions, hoping to head the right way, towards the stairs, towards the exit.

I almost reached what I had believed to be the base of the staircase, but the ceiling had given away since the fire had advanced, and a heavy spotlight fell next to my legs, trapping me in the pyre. I was lucky to not be hit and killed on the spot, but not that lucky to not be injured by the debris.

The spotlight was too heavy for me to lift, and it seemed to have impaled itself into the floor. I could not have gone anywhere. The smoke lowered, even more, almost touching the floor. Soon, I would intoxicate myself to death, or burn alive. I didn’t even know which I desired, which was the quickest and the least painful.

I could have panicked, but eerily, I was calm. As if I had accepted my fate. I was young, true, but I did experience some pleasures life had given me. I loved and was loved back, I had made a beautiful friend, Lavinia, and I had kissed Flavius. What else could I have done? Why point would it have made for me to cry and scream? I couldn’t free myself and I would certainly not try to kill myself before the flames or smoke did. I felt like a gazelle, caught by the cheetah, not having any other choice but to be eaten. I waited for my demise, for the pyre to consume me.

As the air thinned, my state of consciousness faded little by little. As the last of my thoughts were leaving my mind, I felt as if I was torn between missing Liviu and regretting to have spent so little time with Flavius. I kept repeating their names, one after the other, until all went out; pitch blackness.

I opened my eyes to be met with darkness. It seemed I was alone. Have I died? Was this Hell? I got up from what seemed to be a stone floor and waved my hands in hopes of hitting something. Nothing. I tried to move in some direction, but I barely carried my weight. I felt heaviness in my chest, in my back, as if something was pulling me to the ground.

I tried to use my magic, but it didn’t seem to listen to me. I tried again and managed to only illuminate my irises. It was still dark. I concentrated more on what I desired – to see something. I felt a vortex at the base of my feet which expanded, carrying the shadows with it. It looked as if it was cleaning the blackness around me, carrying it upwards to what looked like a ceiling. 

I was revealed a grand, circular hall, with obsidian walls, and ancient columns supporting the entire structure. Up, on the ceiling, in the center was a round opening, and farther, the moon could be seen. It looked as if I were inside the Pantheon, in Rome, but I knew I was somewhere else.

I was half-naked, wearing only a pair of black jeans, burnt, exposing my knees, barefoot. From my chest, one chain sprung out, leading into the shadowy parts of the hall. There were more chains coming out of my back as well, leading in the other darkened places. When I moved, the sound of metal being dragged could be heard. And resistance could be felt in my body, from where the chains came out.

I raised my voice, asking if there was somebody there, but no response had come; only the echo of my voice could be heard, hitting the walls until it stopped. As I was moving in the round hall, it seemed that the darkness faded as I approached it. I had uncovered stone stairs, which lead up to a stone seat. It looked like a throne. I went up the stairs and saw carvings of corpses, one on top of the other, forming the rising throne. When I reached the stone seat, I saw it was decorated with bones and skulls, also carved into it. 

I did the only thing that seemed natural, I sat.  The seat was hard and cold, but it felt right, as I realized, that it was my throne. With a flick of my hand, all of the darkness in the hall had faded, when fire burst into the torches on the walls, once hidden in the gloom. I was not alone.

My throne room was filled with subjects. But I did not know any of them. I saw that my chains led to the crowd and I ordered for the ones linked to me to come forth. I was astounded when I saw mum and dad. The chains from my back were connected to them, to their chests. The other two chains were linked to my mother’s parents.

I felt great sorrow, seeing my grandparents and parents again. Although I could see them, their shapes were of dark smoke, but I knew it was them; I felt it. I couldn’t distinguish any emotion on their foggy faces, but I could feel remnants of love, regret for departing, especially my parents whose ends were too abrupt. It culminated with all of them missing me.

The chain from my chest lit, red hot. As my view traveled along with the burning rings, it had stopped at a silhouette, who started burning with amber flames. I knew exactly who the blazing man was. I could feel him in my entire being. With every beat of my heart, the chain would vibrate, all the way to him. With each traveling beat, from my heart, reaching his heart, the inferno around him grew. 

I got up from my seat and, with one last distinguishable beat of my heart, I concentrated to extinguish the conflagration. As the final beat traveled through the chain, it lit the rings into a frigid blue. As the cold spark reached the burning man, it killed off the fire, dissipating the smoky silhouette, revealing the beauty of my lost love. Liviu!

Another flick of my hand and all the chains and their linked ones had disappeared, along with the rest, except one. Then, mimicking with my fingers as if I was pulling something, my body started to absorb the blue chain, bringing Liviu closer to me. I was coming down the stairs as Liviu was levitating toward me. The moment he reached me the chain had dissolved.

I jumped into his arms, holding him tight, taking in his minty scent, remembering how it felt to have him close to me. How his skin felt on my skin, how his warmth coalesced with mine.  I took his head in my palms and gave him a kiss. It was so intense, I almost lost my breath, but I wanted more. I wanted him.

We continued the frenzy of kisses while caressing each other’s bodies. He was wearing a pair of shorts and I could feel his stiffening cock, pulsing on my thigh. I let out a moan, as my dick hardened, in the tight prison of my jeans, and pushed against his. I pressed my pelvis into him, rubbing our cocks through the materials covering our bodies.  With a gesture of my hand, I ripped off the shorts, liberating his dick.

I just stood there, taking him in. Remembering every part of his body. His beautiful blue eyes glittered in the light of the moon above us, and his blond hair shone like a firefly in the night. His red lips begged to be kissed. Downward to his pectorals, the two nipples stained with darkish beige the paleness of his skin, and the barely visible chasms on his abdomen were inviting me to tickle them with my mouth.

A silver line of trimmed hair started from his navel, and traveled down to the pubic area, blending in with the rest of the trimmed hair which stood at the base of his cock. My eyes glistened when their gaze had fallen on his erect cock. IT was just as I remembered it, as thick as mine, long and straight. 

I approached him again, and slowly fell to my knees. As I did so, I kissed and licked his abdomen, making him twitch due to the pleasure. My mouth went down, while the tip of my nose being tickled by his trimmed pubes. My hands were resting on his bubble butt, tenderly gripping each cheek, as my mouth went to his cock head. I played with my tongue on his foreskin, before my lips enveloped the head, pushing the skin back and revealing his swollen, pink glans. I didn’t wait for too much and took it all in, past my uvula, until it filled my throat. He moaned loudly while he put his hand on my head and started thrusting, fucking my throat.

With a sudden stop, I took it out and licked and sucked it clean, insisting on pleasuring the head the most, making him not withstand the pleasure anymore. Chains came out of the floor and immobilized his hand and waist. He won’t escape the intense pleasure, even if he couldn’t’ stand it. He deserved this. I deserved this.

“Please, I can’t take the pleasure anymore!”, he begged and I listened.

I rose to my feet, looked at him while the chains had vanished, and gave him a long kiss. This time, it was he who almost lost his breath. I felt ecstatic as if I couldn’t think straight anymore. I was finally alone, with him. Just me, and him. At this point, it did not matter if I was dead. I had found my peace.

My jeans had faded away like smoke, and my cock touched Liviu’s. I put my right hand on his erect member and jacked it off, as he was jerking off mine. After almost reaching climax, we both stopped and looked at each other. Liviu then gently pushed me and I fell on the stairs behind me. He came to me, spit on my rod, then mounted my cock, with his hands on my chest, he rode me into intense pleasure. With my eyes closed, I was concentrating on feeling his body uniting with mine, after so much time apart. I was getting close to ejaculating when it all stopped.

I opened my eyes and I was alone, my cock still throbbing. I got up and called for Liviu, but there was no response. I felt pain in my right foot’s ankle as intense as if someone had stabbed it with a knife. I fell to my knees then to my back, wringing in excruciating pain. I lifted my foot to try and see what was wrong. The dark circle around the ankle was clearly visible and, somewhat emanating a black light. Then, a chain had formed around and dragged me toward a dark vortex of screaming souls. 

I had nothing to hold onto and felt my end was nigh. But I could hear a voice calling my name. Who was it from? It sounded familiar like I knew the person. I remembered a name, which I had associated with the voice. It was Flavius’. But I could not see him and I was nearly sucked in the whirl. 

Another chain had sprung out of my chest, it was silvery, almost white, up to the ceiling, continuing to travel upwards. It lifted my body, pulling me toward the light, while the dark chain tried to drag me into the void. A loud snap could be heard and the dark chain fell into the vortex, which burst into an explosion that knocked me out.

Darkness, again.