And So Darkness Appears Again

'You're that cute redhead!'

It was the first message he saw when he woke up and checked his phone. Beau stood in the bathroom with his toothbrush in his mouth, both hands holding his phone. He thought he had disliked the post fast enough… Was it because he had viewed the story? Surely it still didn't show the viewers. Beau shook his head and quickly finished brushing his teeth.

With hesitance, he answered Harley. 'You are thinking of someone else.'

The last thing Beau wanted was for Harley to see him out on the street and approach him. Beau didn't think he would be able to face him. Not only because of the embarrassment of being caught but because he would have the urge to just stare and admire the other male. Also… Harley called him cute. If he thought about that in front of him he just knew he would be a blushing mess.

Beau started to get dressed to get ready to leave for the dance studio. He sat on his bed to shove things in his bag. There was a sound notification from his phone. All hope that it wasn't Harley was crushed.

'You are him. I would recognize you from anywhere.'

Beau scratched his head, 'No I'm really not him.'

'Stop lying.'

'I'm not!'

'You are. Do you not want to see me again? I'm sad.'

Beau paused at that text. Maybe he should avoid the restaurant for some time. Was Harley going to stay in New Orleans or would he eventually leave? Beau hoped he would leave. He didn't want to start missing his favorite place. He huffed and stood up. Beau shoved his phone into his back pocket and started out of the apartment and to the studio. He wasn't going to let Harley distract him anymore.

If he could continue to catch a glance at him or sneakily look at his page then he would be satisfied. Claude was good looking- Beau had only become his friend because he thought he was good looking (his weakness to beautiful men coming back to bite his ass). However, he hated to admit that Harley was definitely more his type.

It didn't feel like long before Beau was at the nearby coffee shop. It wasn't far from the dance studio much like the Restaurant. He got his regular iced mocha macchiato with whip cream. He had to have the liquid gold at least three times a week to stay sane. Sometimes he was just too busy to think about it. Music from street buskers played as Beau strolled to the dance studio. It was a nice autumn day so he was in no rush. Beau just wanted to enjoy himself and sip on his coffee.

"You can drink coffee but ignore my messages?" that lush voice said. Beau stopped walking and turned his upper body to see Harley standing there with his guitar strapped to his back. There was a smile carved into his cheeks. "I'm a bit disappointed."

Beau parted his lips to speak but couldn't get any words out. With the sunlight basking down on them, he could clearly see Harley's sharp features. His eyes were slanted slightly and his hair was more noticeable. Beau guessed he had got it styled into a short wolf cut recently. His photos on social media sported an average haircut.

Harley's smile brightened more, "Are you busy? I don't really know anyone around here. I mean, I don't know you well but I looked at your socials also. You seem cool. Ballet, right?" Harley spiraled into a short rant.

Beau cleared his throat and lowered his eyes to look down at his coffee, "Sorry. I need to practice." He answered in almost a whisper.

"What? I can't hear you."

"I need to practice." He spoke louder though his voice was still quiet.

Harley took a step closer with a tilt of his head. He looked down at the shorter male, "Can you spare some time? I want to walk with a cute redhead."

As if the universe was teasing him, Beau couldn't control himself when he looked up at Harley who was now closer. The blush was prominent on his cheeks and was spreading to his ears. He did force himself to give Harley a small glare though to try to hide how embarrassed and nervous he was.

"Please?" Harley asked gently. Beau sighed softly, something he found himself doing often. He looked away again to avoid Harley's dark, puppy eyes. He wanted to say no but his body fought against him and he ended up nodding. Harley chuckled, "I'm glad."

Beau was silently cursing himself. They started to walk together in a random direction. After a moment Beau said, "I didn't get any messages from you." It was obviously a lie. He just wanted to keep denying it.

Harley hummed, "I believe you. You don't have to tell me."

Beau glanced at him, "You're not at the restaurant today?"

"No. I'm off today. You can keep me for as long as you want." Beau was taking a sip of his coffee when Harley said that. His shock at the statement caused him to swallow wrong and start choking. Worried, Harley stopped him from walking and took the cup from Beau's hand and patted his back.

When he finally caught his breath, he held out his hands and did a grabby, impatient motion for his coffee. Harley didn't hesitate to give it to him so the dancer could drink some more to get the choking feeling from his throat to go away. He took a deep breath before stating, "I don't want to keep you long. I want to practice. You're distracting me… "

Harley shook his head and started to walk again. Beau followed him without thought. "Are you in any competitions or shows?" He asked Beau, completely ignoring what was previously said.

"No." Beau answered simply. He had no reason to give any further explanation as to why. How do you tell a person you just met that you will be dying soon? He could even drop now. Beau didn't know when it could happen but he knew there were possibilities of it happening with every breath he took. Surprisingly though, today wasn't bad so far besides a headache and some lower back pain.

"Will you perform for me?" Harley asked but then quickly said, "I saw a video you had posted. I was hoping I could attend a show and see it in person but if you're not currently involved in anything I was just wondering…"

Beau was taken back but he didn't stop walking. "It's nothing special."

"I never saw someone dance ballet in person before. You made it look natural in your video. I almost got up to try it myself." Harley admitted.

Beau let out a giggle. He covered his smile with his coffee free hand, "You?" He questioned. Harley's build would make it look awkward but interesting. He still couldn't believe he didn't find anything about the male being an athlete.

"You don't think I can?" Harley took hold of Beau's elbow gently and stopped him. He gazed at Beau who was still covering his smile, "I think if you teach me then I can."

Beau pulled away from Harley. It was amazing that the male was so casual about touching him. He didn't know if he liked how it caused his stomach to turn with butterflies or not. "I should really go practice…" He muttered, looking up at Harley with his shimmering and shy green eyes.

"Nope." Harley started to walk again. "Not yet. I want to see you dance first. I even have a song I want to play."

Beau trotted back to Harley's side. He was confused on why Harley was so persistent on wanting to stay with him. They barely even exchanged words before today. The only time he had seen him was in the restaurant. Was Harley just bored and looking for entertainment. There had been many who made him dance just to laugh at him and call him names. It wasn't anything new but he didn't think he would be able to handle it if Harley, someone he was heavily attracted to, made fun of him.

They walked a bit further until they were at a cleared street. It was quiet and he could barely hear the musicians busking anymore. They were distant. Beau watched Harley take his guitar from his pack and set the case on the sidewalk. "This seems like a good spot." He said to himself.

Beau stood a few steps away, paying close attention as Harley started to play with a hum. He recognized the song as 'The Night We Met' by Lord Huron. It wasn't one of his most listened to songs but the way Harley sang and played the strings once again held him captive. The echo of the street helped a lot.

It was almost perfect. A gorgeous man playing and singing in front of him, trying to get him to dance to the music. If only his vision didn't start to blur and a loud ringing blocked it out. Beau dropped his coffee and bag, bringing his hands up to cover his ears. His brain felt like it was melting as his headache intensified. Beau dropped to the ground with gasps of air and grunts. He could see Harley rushing over to him before he closed his eyes and succumbed to the dark world.