by Noah Harris
Roger and Mike both ooh’d and ahh’d, despite obviously having seen it before. The two smiled at him as they held the phone out to him with insistence. Barry stood motionless.
“Speechless? I know. I was too.” Mike said.
“It’s probably just special effects. Maybe they used some kind of fuel or something? I’dunno, I’m not a magician or whatever this guy is.” Roger replied as he shook his head, pushing the phone towards Barry again. “There’s more videos of this guy, too. Seriously, they’re awesome.”
Barry’s finger trembled as he looked down at the screen where a wide array of videos flashed, all centered on Xanathen in that dusty field. He pressed play on another video and sure enough there was Xanathen standing in the middle of the field, delightfully flexing his muscles and eyeing the camera with confidence.
“Do that trick for us again!” someone, probably the person behind the camera, shouted.
Xanathen nodded and jumped in mid-air, executing a perfect front flip. As he spiraled in the air an aura of purple radiated from his body surrounded by waves of indigo. When his feet hit the ground the light around him popped like a burst bubble and the earth beneath him shook with a thunderous boom. He flexed again, making his muscles pulse for the camera, without breaking eye contact with the viewer.
“I am The Dragon!” he shouted victoriously, kneeling on one leg and extending his arm out towards the sky, his other arm bent like he was going to shoot an arrow.
Barry instinctively hit the next video and it was taken in the same place. Xanathen still held center-screen and another baseball bat. He swung at the ball as it was pitched and it went screaming out of the field and into the stratosphere, at least that’s what it looked like. Again there was an array of cheers and Xanathen showboating for the camera with his declaration of “I am The Dragon!”
In the next video, Xanathen was still in the field as someone threw a metal bat at him and he headbutted it clear out of the field. College kids went scurrying to find it. He was concussed as he turned to the camera and shouted “I am the Dragon!”
Next video: Xanathen piled into a car with several of the familiar faces from the field. By the look of the surroundings, Barry could tell it was a drive-through. With some choppy editing it skipped to Xanathen shoveling a burger dripping with all the trimmings into his mouth. He tilted his head back and widened his jaw as the food combusted into a flare of blue light, that shot right from his mouth, before it crumbled into tiny pieces, sliding down his throat. The cast all cheered and laughed while he turned to the camera with a smug nod.
The rest of the videos all bore the same formula: Xanathen displaying feats of strength or odd talents and tricks with a blend of otherworldly magic, all followed by a grin and his declaration of “I am The Dragon!”
Barry’s hands gripped Roger’s phone tightly as he nearly pressed his face against the screen, tearing through the information on the videos. They were all fairly recent, including some from today. Despite their recent uploads they had already built up quite a following. His eyes nervously scrolled through the comments, reading each one closely. Aside from the off-topic political arguments, the comments had developed a large conglomeration of “So cool!” ‘Whoa, how does he do that?” “I AM THE DRAGON.”
All the color drained from Barry’s face trickling down to the floor as he handed the phone back. Roger and Mike waved hands in front of him, assuring him it was just editing and nothing to really be afraid of, but their words fell on deaf ears. The screaming maw of chaos just stretched even wider and the maddening drumbeat of his heart pounded loudly and furiously in his chest. He could feel himself drifting from his body and being pulled into the constant barrage of nonsense. Barry’s period of levity had come to a screeching halt.
Barry’s hands gripped tight to the steering wheel as he screeched onto the road and high-tailed his way towards the baseball field. His mind raced as he tried in vain to think of just what he could possibly say to Xanathen, if anything at all. He wasn’t sure what he was trying to accomplish. Still, something compelled him to find that field and at least try to find Xanathen. If he could find him, he might at least get a firmer grasp on the situation.
He pulled into the parking lot surrounded by grassy fields and as he stepped out of the car his ears were bombarded with the sound of a clamoring crowd. He followed the sound to the source where sure enough a gathering of people were clutching on to the chainlink fence surrounding the field. Barry drew closer to investigate the source of excitement, squeezing his way past several people to press his nose against the metal.
Xanathen stood high on top of the framing with his hands extended towards the sky, looking down at the small crowd below with a confident sneer. His thick chest had puffed out with pride as the crowd cried out and cheered on ‘The Dragon’. He seemed to grow more satisfied with each cheer that came his way and was more than content to let them chant his title forever. Down below were several people with cameras extended, luring him down from on high. Xanathen’s knees bent and he launched himself from the framing above, springing wildly, right out to the center of the field. He landed on the ground palms down and stuck the landing with a burst of white light that caused the ground beneath him to quiver and shake. He stood perfectly still until the ground had settled back to normal and the crowd erupted into a frenzy of cheers. He got to his feet and addressed his adoring public shouting out his catchphrase: “I AM THE DRAGON!”
The ones with their phones, who Barry recognized as having been in several of the other videos, all circled him and cheered him on the most, while those who had been watching from outside filed onto the field to bombard him with questions. Barry entered with them, as he observed the situation.
“How did you do that?” someone asked.
“Trade secret.” Deryl said, shaking his head as he brushed someone away from Xanathen.
“How long have you been able do that?” another person asked.
“I was born great,” Xanathen answered with a gleaming grin.
“What does ‘I am the dragon’ mean?”
“It means I’m the dragon,” Xanathen replied simply.
The crowd all laughed at his frankness and continued their impromptu interview.
“Do you have a girlfriend?” a girl, the pitcher from the original video, asked dreamily.
Xanathen stopped and tilted his head, flexing his muscles in a variety of poses so everyone could see the perfection of his toned body. “I do not. I do have a boyfriend, though. Feel free to keep calling me hot. That’s alright from anyone.”
The crowd continued to chew on his answers. That wasn’t the answer they had expected but the way they were being brushed away it seemed clear they wouldn’t get any more answers. Instead, they opted to move out of the way. The show was over, at least for now. The passersby petered out until only Barry remained, eyeing Xanathen with a stern look engraved on his face.
Xanathen, however, met the sudden surprise of him turning up with unbounded enthusiasm. His golden eyes twinkled with delight as he saw Barry and moved closer.
“Hi Barry! I didn’t think you’d be here!” Xanathen said, extending his arms as he raced towards his blond.
Barry’s expression was cold and unimpressed as he wrestled off any attempts at affection, “I could say the same to you.”
“I told you I could find the baseball field.” the dragon replied softly. His excitement had immediately been extinguished. Barry glowered in silence as Xanathen slowly came to the realization that Barry was not here to shower him with praise. “Oh. What did you want to talk about?”
“I just think we should talk. Alone.”
His eyes darted to the rest of the group who quickly got the message. They began to approach him but as his eyes intensely flashed to them they stopped in their tracks and said they’d meet up at Deryl's car, before scampering away. The field was empty, all except for Barry and Xanathen.
“So this is what you’ve been doing?” Barry asked.
“Yes! Isn’t it great? People love me!” Xanathen exclaimed. Barry’s response was sullen and silent. “Oh, I’m not allowed to have that now?”
“No, that’s not what I’m mad about. Xanathen, you can’t go showing off your powers like that!”
“But I have been doing it, and so far your so-called government hasn’t shot me once. I get praised for the things I can do. Deryl even says with more videos we can try to get something called monetization, which I assume is a good thing.”
“Xanathen, you have to be more discreet than that. ‘The Dragon’? Really? People are already asking questions.”
“I don’t have to answer them if I don’t want to.”
“It’s suspicious.”
“Only to you, apparently. Everyone else is just fine with it.” Xanathen pressed, then smiled as he wrapped his arms around Barry and placed his head on top of Barry’s. “You don’t need to be jealous. I love you, Barry.”
“This isn’t about jealousy!” Barry said as he pulled out of the embrace. “I’m just looking out for you, and you won’t even humor me!”
“I have humored you. That was me staying alone in the apartment for days at a time. I don’t want to go back to that.” Xanathen’s deep voice rumbled.
“You know what? Fine! Go ahead! Keep doing whatever you want!” Barry cried. “You obviously know what you’re doing. Have fun!”
“I’m not doing this to hurt you,” Xanathen said.
“And I’m not doing what I do to hurt you.” Barry’s voice lowered with a sympathetic tone. “I just…I…I need to stop worrying.”
“Thank you.”
“Ready to go home then?”
“Not just yet. I’d like to continue talking to my friends. You can join us if you’d like.”
“No. No thanks. I’m not in the mood. Have fun.”
Xanathen pecked Barry on the lips softly with a pleasant smile before waving goodbye to go join his friends, thanking him again for his forgiveness.
Barry writhed furiously as he stood there, watching Xanathen race across the field to join the group. He felt his anger boil hotter and hotter until suddenly he felt nothing. He felt a calm emptiness as he stood in the field with the sun on his back. There was nothing more he could do. As much as he pleaded or even tried to talk sense into him, Xanathen would do whatever he wanted in the end. There was no controlling the storm, and while all the panic and worries screamed in a whirling vortex inside his mind, there was a strange calmness in the middle of it all with the realization that this wasn’t something he could control.
There was nothing he could do. This was strictly Xanathen’s problem and Xanathen alone would have to deal with it. If he wanted to learn the hard way, that would be his lesson to learn. In the center of it all there was a serene peace, one of disappointment and self-righteousness.
Barry could only find it in himself to go back home. What else could he do? There was no more to say. With heavy footsteps he began to trudge back to the parking lot, letting the earth crunch beneath his feet. He had a bit of a grumble as he thought about going home to his apartment. If he went home alone he would tear himself to pieces with how empty it felt. If he went home with Xanathen, there would just be a bitter fight that he didn’t feel like having. He could delay his trip home for a few hours. If Xanathen was going to try new things, then why shouldn’t he try to have some fun himself?
I’ll try that bar I always pass by. That’ll be fun, he thought to himself assuredly as he shut the car door behind him. He gave one last look to where Xanathen and his friends were laughing loudly in the parking lot, as they planned whatever their next ‘big stunt’ was. Barry shook his head and drove away.
The Idle Glass was filled with anonymous faces drifting between the bars and the booths as the music played filling lulls in the awkward conversations between strangers. The dim lighting barely gave out much light at all, letting people mask themselves in a veil of mystery for a few hours. People wandered in with the desperate hope of being someone that they weren’t for a little while, in the hope of feeling some small shred of joy or maybe a connection with another human being.
Barry let the leather squeak as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat while watching the people around him. Something about it all seemed so odd and unnatural. A heavy feeling of disappointment stuck with him even more as he continued to watch with a growing feeling of dread; was he just as bad as these people?
“Not your scene, eh?” a voice made its way through the muffled pop music.
A stranger slid his way into the other side of the booth without so much as a second thought. The pale lights glinted off a pair of murky sunglasses that sat perched on top of tufts of chestnut waves. The stranger’s round eyes gave off a warm feeling accentuated only by a small, but pleasant, smile on his thin lips.
“That obvious, huh? No, not really.” Barry said as he took another swig of his drink.
“I could tell. Probably more from the S&M circuit, I’m guessing.” His soft goatee curled upwards with his impish grin as Barry did everything in his power not to spit out his drink. “Relax, man, it wasn’t that funny.”
“Ah, sorry, just—”
“Took you by surprise. I know, I know.” He waved his hand dismissively. “You look like you have a ‘B’ name.”
“It’s Barry,” Barry replied with a bit of awe to his voice.
“Ha, I knew it! I’m Guy,” Guy replied and interrupted before Barry could say anything, “And yeah, I know: most default name ever. ‘Look at that guy over there. That guy did it. I’m just looking for a decent guy.’ Apparently I’m everywhere, doing everything, and everyone wants me.”
“I dunno, I’ve never met a Guy.”
“What, were you raised in a convent?” There was a twinkle in Guy’s silvery gray eyes at the sound of his own joke.
“I meant I’ve never met anyone named that. I’m pretty sure ‘Bob’ is more of a default name,” Barry reassured.
“That or ‘Mike’. ‘Matt’. Super standard. Pretty sure there’s at least 10 Matts in here.”
“With a light sprinkling of Ryans,” Barry added.
“Eugh, there’s Ryans in here? Fuck, party’s over.”
Barry let out a guffaw which made him cover his mouth. He continued to chuckle along with Guy as he ordered another round of drinks for the two of them. The duo drank their drinks while Barry continued to look him over. His wavy hair reached past his shoulders and brushed against a brown vest that was draped over his narrow frame. His eyes were wild and expressive, sparking with the intrigue of someone who has seen more stories unfold than have ever been told to him. His thin lips fluctuated expressively above his pointed jawline. He seemed more than comfortable striking up conversations with total strangers.
“So. Have you seen those dragon guy videos? What a riot, right?” Guy asked after taking another sip and letting his head bob along to the beat of the music.
Barry’s attention turned to his drink, a sour expression forming on his face. Just hearing about the videos made his blood boil. He had come to this bar to get away from all that. If it had gone viral already, he wasn’t going to be escaping it for quite some time. “They’re not bad. Got some impressive stunts. Editing isn't bad either. Not sure why that’s the big buzz right now, though. Kinda overrated. People have been doing stunts like that for hundreds of years, so it’s seriously not as huge a deal as people are making it out to be.”
He swirled his drink around his glass as his eyes focused on the swirling amber liquid. If only everyone found it overrated, then Xanathen wouldn’t be trending all over the world.
“Hey, what’s up, man? Lemme guess. You’re in love with the guy?” Guy asked.
Barry froze in his seat and sat as motionless as a statue. His mind screeched in a panicked frenzy, wondering how he, or anybody, could just guess something like that? Was he joking again? His mind raced at a million thoughts a second as he stared uncomfortably at the man opposite him.
“I’dunno, I—”
“Y’don’t think I’ll understand?” he finished his sentence. Barry gave a surprised, awestruck nod. Guy smiled back at him. “Listen. Been there, done that, card-carrying member of the Dude-Lover association myself.”
“…Really?” Barry asked, stunned.
“I could prove it if you wanted.” Guy replied with a wink. “But seriously, lay it on me.”
A small wave of relief flowed through Barry as he heard Guy say that. Since he had gotten home he hadn’t talked to a single gay person besides Xanathen, or at least anyone who was open about it. There was something so liberating about finding someone else who had boyfriend troubles, and finding someone that wouldn’t judge him for his lifestyle. Still, there were certain things Barry had to keep out of the conversation.
“So…the Dragon guy is my…my boyfriend. We met almost a year ago, and I brought him here to live with me,” Barry started simply, pruning so many details from the story. “Agh, sorry. You don’t wanna hear this stuff.”
“You’re doing fine, I’m not bored.”
“Long story short, I don’t like him making those videos. I didn’t know about it until today. I work for the Coast Guard. I work several days straight and I find out he’s doing stupid shit like this? He doesn’t listen to what I say. It’s always about him! He’s gonna hurt himself or expose himself—”
“Expose himself?”
Shit, Barry thought. “Yeah. Expose himself. I mean, what if he gets me in one of those videos? And calls me his boyfriend? Or kisses me? Or—”
“Ohh, I see. Well, I doubt he’d do something like that without your permission, right?”
“Bullshit. He forced me to talk to my parents and then forced me to come out before I was ready!”
“Wow.” Guy held the ‘wow’ on a long ‘o’ in surprise as he shook his head. “That’s fucked up.”
Barry moaned, burying his face in his hands as it burned with mortifying regret.
