‘Psst!’

‘Yo~’ Tao jerked his head, not looking up from where he’d gone back to floating cross-legged three feet in the air, having already claimed Sehun’s phone again.

‘How did you do that!?’

‘Ehehehehe~~~ A Replication Spell is elementary, my dear Gnome’

‘…….is…your version of Watson a gnome?’

‘…huh…????’

‘…never mind.’

‘No problem~~’ Grinning, Tao ruffled Sehun’s hair, making him squeal – then hastily try to turn it into a cough, hacking hard enough so he could shake his whole body in an excuse to wiggle Tao off.  He needn’t have bothered, though, coz the next minute the demon had whirled into the air of his own accord, before slamming into his desk at 90mph in excitement. ‘Sehuuunnnaaaah!!!!!! Look!!! I got thirty thousand five hundred and sixty-one!!!! Look!! Loook!!! I beat the ranking board!!’

‘Alright, alright!’ Shaking his head, Sehun pushed him off – quickly turning to stare at his textbook as Kyungsoo flashed him a sharply suspicious glance.

 

‘…………………………… ……………….

 

……………………….

 

 

… S…e…Hu….man……’

 

‘….what’s the matter? Ehehe, you sound ill~’

‘…What do I do now, I’m bored!’

‘Play the game!’

‘…no!! It’s boring now, I already beat everyone!’

‘…well….. do something else.’

‘Like what!!??’

‘…….I dunno!!! Shusshh!!! Shuttup, before I get into trouble!’

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘Hey…… …….  Hey, demonboyo~~ What are you doing, you’ve been real quiet for a while…’

‘Humph.’

‘…Ehehe.. are you sulking?’

‘….. humph!!’

‘..coz I said to shuttup? Awww, I’m sorry~~ c’mon little kitty~~ Turn around so I can see you~’

‘….. ‘

‘Taotao~~~ hey, if you talk to me again, I’ll buy you anything you want for lunch – ah! That’s a meal, er..food –‘

‘Oh, I’m reading~~ This is really informative~’

Grinning, Sehun rolled his eyes as the floating baby demon finally deigned to turn around. ‘Oh, sure, that worke - Omg, ehehe, what’s with that nerd look, what’re you reading, show me- …………………………

 

…………………….

 

 

…………………………………. Omg you !!!! Where did you – what are – whaaa – ‘

 

‘Huh?? This was the magazine that guy on the train was reading, hiding behind his newspaper.. I did a replication…
Wow…
Sehun, you humans are so talented!! Look at this – look, she’s got her legs at such an incredible angle around his – ‘

‘- ….Tao!!!!’

‘Ah!! And look here, the way he’s tied up, look, so all six of the girls, plus the hairy animal can his – ‘

‘Tao!!!!!!!!!!!’

‘Oh and look, look, the next story – this guy has tied clips to this other guy, while another one stuffs this huge poky thing up his –‘

‘TAO!!!!’ desperately, blushing to the roots of his hair, Sehun tried to hiss at him – loud enough to make him shut the hell up, but quietly enough so no one else could hear –

‘Sehun, let’s try this out, it looks fun!!’

‘…………………………..’

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘Sehunnnnnnnnnnnnnn..’

‘Yeah? And if you say another weird.. anything, I’m-‘

‘I’m bored again~~’

‘…read your…. magazine or something, dumb dumb.’

‘I finished it~ Here, you want it, you can rea-‘

‘No!!!! Nono – Tao!! Stop, don’t make that thing visible!!!!!’

‘…huh….?’

‘…you can’t- You – that – That sort of – ‘

‘…huh??’

‘….. never mind. Here, take my phone – play something.’

‘Na, I’m too good for your human games~~ hehe’

‘Well, I can’t help you then… Look, why don’t you listen to Teacher, see – chemistry~~ It’s all… equations and fun~~’

‘…no way!!! I’m on a job, the last thing I’m gonna do is school!!’

‘…Fine, in that case, just…..erm… ‘

‘Can I go explore?’

‘NO!!! Do NOT even think about it, don’t you – you are not stepping one foot outside this classroo-‘

‘Well, can I explore inside?’

‘…….fine..okay, alright, but you can’t draw any attention to yourself, ‘kay? Don’t touch anything without making it invisible, coz you can’t have random objects floating up into the air – and don’t make anything invisible that someone is looking at or touching, duh. And –

Tao!

 

Tao!!!!

 

Arrgh stupid boulderhead, he’s already –

 

Okay, you can only explore around me, alright, just the next row –

 

Oy!! Tao!! Come back!!!!

 

 

Tao – don’t put boogers in his hair!

 

Tao!! Don’t  - what are you doing – don’t breathe down people’s necks- ‘

 

‘….Why not~~ I don’t even have to make anything invisible, I’m not touchin’ anything… It’s nice to watch them squirm and get all.. goosepimpley~~ Ehehe, we study this in Haunting, but I’ve never had such a lotta lab rats to test it on - ’

 

‘Huh…. I didn’t think you’d actually hear – wait, how the hell can you hear me all the way over there, I’m whispering! You’re way across the room - ……

 

Wha….

 

the…

 

!

 

Tao!!!

 

For ’s sake, stop looking down people’s shirts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!’

 

‘…..why not!! These human chicks are kinda hot~ Ohh, and I can hear you coz I’m a demon and you’re a dumb human, and I’m awesome~~’

 

‘……… Tao!! You can’t do that!! Especially not if they’re hot!!  - I mean, even otherwise, it’s wrong – and -  That’s a guy!!!’

 

‘…so? His abs are nice~ and his pecs aren’t half bad either~’

 

‘……………………….. ……………………… …………………………. ing hell. Tao.

 

Tao.

 

Tao! Don’t – ‘

‘Sehun, what is this?’

 

‘……. TAO!!! Put that back in her bag!!!!!’

 

‘…but I made it all invisible and stuff, just like you said, so no one will see it float in the air……’

 

‘……… the hell are you pouting for, put it back!!!!’

 

‘But what is it??’

‘I swear to , demon, if you don’t – ‘

 

 

‘……….. ………………… fine, fine! Tcheh…

 

Sehun’s so mean! Cruel, all Tao do this, Tao do that, Tao don’t do anything…. I can’t even breathe without you making a big fuss about it…

 

You never let me do anything!

 

 

Every time I find anything even a bit interesting -’

 

 

‘……… Your self-pity party isn’t really convincing when you’re doing it while trying to make balloon animals out of a .’

 

‘I’m making a bloatable whippersnapper out of.. what is this thing?’

‘……… it doesn’t matter, please put it back into Kyungsoo’s pocket..and be careful, if he catches you, you’re dead, demon or no demon.’

‘….fine! Can I, at least, eat this?’

‘Did you take that lunchbox from – oh…. Heeheehee yeah, go ahead, you can totally eat his! …………oh, now you’re coming back over here….’

‘Yup~~ Sehunnie wanna bite?’

‘………………… …………… aaahhaahh you’re impossible. Fine. Yeah, sure, gimme a piece –

aaaaaannn –

Oh.. oh this good!’

‘It is, isn’t it? Ehehe~~’

‘Yes yes, you’re a brilliant scavenger~~’

‘The best?’

‘Uh-huh~ The bestest~~’

‘..ehehehe~~ Pet me more, then!’

Grinning, Sehun patted his head again. ‘Good boy. Good boy!!’ – almost laughing out loud as the demon wiggled in pleasure, happily dropping bits of seasoned rice all over the floor.

‘After you’re done eating, stay here beside me, kay? You can download any game you want.. or go play one o’ those online role playing games, there are some super tough ones, ya know!

‘…okay…’

 

 

 

 

 

 

☲☲☲

 

‘….Hey, Demon.’

‘…. No!!! No, you Crud!!! I need you on my flank!!!! Shoot!! Shoot!!! The Gatekeeper is gonna – ‘

‘Tao!! I’m talkin to ya.’

‘Ohh….. sorry, yeah - alrighty, playaa~~ lemme pause diz shizzle….. Okay, whaddup dawg~~’

‘……….. stop pickin up weird styles from the game chats!’

‘….. thattit~~??’

‘…… no… ermm…. I was just gonna.. thanks.’

‘Ehh.. …..? What for??’

‘…ya know… umm… earlier.. that… my homework… you really saved my ..’

‘Oh, the replication? Don’ mention it~~’

‘Yeah, well.. anyway, it’s your fault I couldn’t do it in the first place! If you hadn’t shown up - ’

‘HEY!! I didn’t show up, you summoned me!! If you hadn’t summoned me, I would be hanging out with my friends right now, or partyin – well, right now, I’d be asleep actually, coz it’s ya know..’ waving his hand towards the window beside Sehun, where the sun was streaming over the grass in golden fury. ‘But then I’d be partying or playing around, Lu met up with some sprites on his last job, and he was gonna invite them over this new moon…. they’re pretty easy, ya know.. – or  basically, living my life.. instead, I’m hanging around here just…

……………………

……….

………………………………………….

………….

HEY!!!’

‘OUCH!!  – ah!’  Gasping, Sehun gaped at the rest of the class - everyone had turned to look at him at his outburst. ‘Sorry! I just… err…jammed my..finger..sorry!!’

 

Teacher Junmyeon smiled at him, sweetly nodding; while Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes, his suspicion growing – his expression clearly one that broadcasted he knew Sehun was Up to No Good. Bowing his head multiple times, Sehun sat up straight, fully concentrating as Teacher demonstrated how to get the valences right for the equation to balance…

Till the attention had all turned away from him, leaving him free to punch the closest part of Tao he could reach – his knee, as hard as he could.

‘Don’t yell in my ear!!’

 ‘But you still haven’t even told me why you summoned me!! I forgot to keep asking you about it yesterday after you fed me that Euphoria Potion – Ah!! AHHH!!!! Is that why you gave me that???!!!!! You were trying to drug me!!’

‘Okay, look – ah – ‘ Abruptly, Sehun leapt to his feet, ing his hand into the air. ‘Teacher!!’

‘…………..yes, little one?’

‘May I have a hall pass?’

‘….ah… is your finger all right?....Ah, okay good, right, go ahead..’

Excusing himself, Sehun made his way out of the class, hissing under his breath at Tao to follow him.

 

 

 

 

‘Okay, listen.’

Taking a deep breath, Sehun shoved the tall, muscular monster into the bathroom, pushing himself in too; and, closing the door firmly behind him, quickly scanned all the stalls to make sure they were the only ones there. ‘First of all.. it was chocolate, not.. any kinda potion, k!! You just had too much!! And secondly, and more importantly, I did not summon you!’

‘………erm…..yeah you did! You drew the Sigil, marked all the signs, said the chant and summoned me!’

‘…… No!! I did what everyone – Minseok and Jongin and Baek and Chan - all did, whatever was written in that old book we found in the disused part of the library…and it didn’t work, or all of them would’ve had …demons… with them..and every one of them said it didn’t work!! So why would I be the only one – well, unless they were all lying and their demons were invisible too – ‘

‘Na, man, I’d have seen them – the Conceal wouldn’t work on me… now can I please have the Bleepy?’

‘No!! For one, it’s called a phone – foo o one – and geez, focus here, okay – why me??!! Why would it only work for me???’

‘Dude.I dunno!! How the am I supposed to know what they did?! All I know is.. the sooner you tell me what you wanted – what you wished for when you summoned me, the sooner I can give it to you, take your soul, and head home. So come on!’

‘Look..look…’ Sighing, Sehun flicked on the tap, cupping his hands under the stream of cold water and splashing his face. The rough splatter echoed off the plain white tiles, the quiet of the toilets, deserted now that classes were going on… - Luckily, coz soon there were balls of fire floating in the air, heating up the room, the flickers glowing against the porcelain as the demon started re-decorating, sticking his hands into the flames as he played about, juggling them

‘I didn’t summon you, you just .. popped over on your own.. so.. just..

 

… go.’

 

‘Na-ah..that’s not how it works. You summoned me fair and square, so give up~~’

 

‘… You know what?? Okay! That’s how you want it, fine!! You want me to wish, I’ll wish, I - So…… ………. ………..  

………………..erm……

………. I wished for chocolate!!

Hey, Yeah!!  Lots and lots - a lifetime’s worth, of chocolate. So.. … give me chocolate!!’

 

‘…seriously?? Euphoria potion? How come you didn’t just tell me yesterday, you kept freaking out over..’ as he spoke, the demon happily pulled his hands out, working his sleeves up over his elbows as he rubbed his palms together, ready to –

 

‘…………………………………. ………………………

 

……………………..

…………..

 

 

Hey!!! You’re lying!!!’

 

‘…erm?????’

 

‘You lied!! That’s not what you wished for!!’

 

Frowning, the demon dropped down to land softly on his feet like some sort of black leather coated giant cat, before stalking towards Sehun…His inky black hair beating... his boots padding delicately over the tiles, the buckles chinking like blades... His tail hovering over his shoulder… With each inch he closed in on Sehun, his eyes darkened like yet another drop of blood blossoming outward from his pupils, and a dark mist wrapped about him, blurring his edges, so he was actually cloaking himself in shadows –

Intense…

Intense, but different from…say, from the time he’d burnt that ball - he wasn’t angry now, it was something else , Something that was...just…

Somehow..

 

So much more dangerous.

 

Suddenly, inexplicably, unable to breathe, Sehun backed away – his feet felt like they were stuck to the yellowing floor, his sneakers squelching in the puddle he’d dropped as he washed his face.. stepping back, with a strange almost-panic budding in his calves...

till the unyielding ceramic of the sink hit the small of his back......and he froze.. 

with nowhere to go…

 

His heart seizing…

 

Tao stepped right up to him, angling his face down so their eyes were level – he’d never seemed this tall before, he hadn’t seemed.. so much.. bigger than him before!! '...arhmm...'  Swallowing sharply, Sehun stopped short - his eyes bulging at the imaginary spotlight that seemed to have magically appeared somewhere above his head to flood a torrent of light down on ... his... his hands –

 - His fingers –

The demon’s fingers, moving so smoothly, so jointlessly, like they were automatons, rose up… up…to Sehun’s cheek –

long, slender fingers.. strong, warm, just as warm – no, warmer, than a human’s, but so silky as they his chin…

 

 

the air right out of Sehun’s body, his head spinning as the glow from the orbs of fire glinted over his eyes – the guy’s – the demon’s - unnaturally long, dark eyelashes... the manly, strong, peak of his nose…

 

 

Painfully, Sehun swallowed again, every instinct screaming to his muscles to turn away – now!! Now!! C’mon – turn!!! – but it was like he couldn’t hear himself

 

Only the sudden bellow of the blood rushing to his head echoing through the still, white space…