An Eternity of Eclipse (21 page)

Clearly baffled with what was happening, DonKi—
er
—Don!—nodded and shook Eclipse’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine,” said Eclipse. “I hope you don’t mind me tagging along. Gracie and I have been”—he faked a blush—“hanging out a lot lately and we wanted to spend more time with each other.” He laughed boisterously, patting Don’s shoulder with brotherly love. “Plus, it doesn’t hurt to make new friends, right?”

“Yeah,” Don agreed uncertainly.

Don’s confused gaze darted to me. Soft accusation twinkled within his light brown eyes, but he was too polite to react as any other red-blooded guy would, which was to storm out after having another guy impede on his date.

“Yeah, no, it’s fine.” Don forced a smile to graze his lips. “I definitely don’t mind. Heh . . .”

I wanted to die.

I was thunderstruck, absolutely paralyzed with mystification. It was only when I caught the bewilderment on Don’s face did my rationale—along with my anger—return to me.

“Eclipse,” I said sweetly, standing up and tugging at his arm, “can I talk to you outside?”

“The movie’s starting, Teacup,” he replied dismissively, making a move to lean back in his seat.

“
Now
, Ashtray,” I said through clenched teeth. I wanted to say, “Now, asshole!” Despite the temptation, I couldn’t bring myself to curse in front of Don. I was determined to appear demure and perfect for my potential future husband.

Eclipse studied me tentatively. A tired sigh emitted from him before he nodded and obliged with my subtle demand.

After giving Don an artificial smile and a determinedly upbeat assurance that we’d be back as soon as possible, Eclipse and I excused ourselves from the theater and went to a quiet area in the lobby.

“I thought you were invisible?!” I shrieked, staring up at him in outrage. My mind was still churning with mystification. “How is it possible that Don can see you?” I glanced at the girls admiring Eclipse from afar and felt the anger multiply within me. “How is it possible that everyone can see you? Why are you suddenly visible?”

He gave a non-committal shrug, his muscles undulating under his light gray dress shirt. He feigned innocence by stuffing his hands into the pockets of his black pants. “I may have the option of choosing between being visible and invisible, and decided that since I was bored, it would be more fun to be visible and officially be part of your life now.”

I gawked at him in intensified horror. “You
decided
that it’d be more fun to be visible now?”

Oh crap, this wasn’t good.

Invisible Eclipse was already tough to deal with; how on earth was I supposed to handle a visible Eclipse?

Eclipse bobbed his head, oblivious to the miserable thoughts simmering in my brain. “It conserves more of my powers to stay visible anyway. Being invisible takes up too much unnecessary energy.”

My eyes morphed into poisonous slits. “Why didn’t you tell me that you had the option of being visible?”

His lips quirked into a playful curve. “It was more entertaining conversing with you while I was invisible. It adds more of a personal touch, don’t you think?”

“You wanted to laugh at me while I tried to figure out how to talk to you without looking crazy,” I accused, knowing Eclipse too well. He couldn’t care less about adding a “personal touch.” He only wanted to torture me for his own amusement.

Eclipse grinned. His eyes glanced favorably at my earpiece. “Your earpiece idea is very smart, Gracie. I was very impressed when you bought it for future meetings with me. You’re definitely a clever little human.”

“A clever human would have been able to get rid of you by now, not be stuck with you and your now visible self,” I blurted out on impulse.

His lighthearted grin remained, yet his voice grew sterner. “No, an ignorant human would attempt to get rid of me. A clever human would put up with me, and a strategic and intelligent human would see the advantages of having the Demon of Lust by their side.”

I groaned. I disregarded his recent statement when something he mentioned thrust into my mind.

“And what were you talking about? Why do you need to ‘conserve’ your powers?”

Akin to being doused by ice-cold water, humor fled from his face. Eclipse uncomfortably tilted his head and avoided eye contact. It was apparent that he did not want to disclose this information. However, after taking a moment to think it over and concluding that he needed someone to vent to, he relented with his usually secretive state.

“My powers are dwindling as we speak,” he shared, arresting my attention with this shocking revelation. “I have to pick and choose carefully which powers I want and which I can do without. Unfortunately, as of this moment, becoming invisible requires too much energy. I need to conserve my power—basically only use it when it’s necessary. Making myself visible to humans is a small price to pay to keep what’s left of my powers.”

I folded my arms and canted my head. Curiosity clawed at me. “What powers do you have left?”

“You can look at my situation as a smartphone without a charger,” he supplied. “After I became a Dimmed Demon, I was charged at my fullest power. Yet, with every progressing day, my battery power decreases in strength. As of this second, I have to conserve my powers because there is no recharging my batteries. I’m trying to perform the least strenuous activities as possible, just in case”—he paused to find the right words to use—“bigger issues arise. If anything big comes up, I’ll still have enough power to take care of it.”

“Wow,” I remarked dryly, finding it ironic that the great Demon of Lust was so crippled. This must have been his biggest nightmare come to life. “You must really hate your life right now.”

For the first time, Eclipse showcased frustration, contrasting his typically easygoing demeanor.

“I’ve never been more miserable,” he admitted with a groan. He briefly closed his eyes before flashing me a hopeful smile. He placed a suggestive hand on my hip and gently moved us closer together. “That’s why you should endeavor to make my stay here a bit more bearable, Teacup. Perhaps you can give me your soul to make me feel better?”

I broke out of his hold and glared at him. He was making
my
life unbearable and he had the audacity to make it appear as though he was suffering more than me?  

“You’ve completely ruined my date,” I said angrily, reverting back to our original topic. I remembered how touchy-feely he was with me in the theater, when I had no idea that he was visible. I belatedly realized that Don must have caught sight of Eclipse whispering sweet nothings in my ear, behaving as though he was my boyfriend. I wanted to cry. I could only imagine what was running through Don’s mind. “Now DonKi thinks I’m some mean hoe who is playing him.”

I was beyond frustrated, so much so that I was even calling Don, DonKi now. It was difficult to no longer call him by his full name when we all knew what it was.

“He’ll get over it,” Eclipse dismissed offhandedly. “Now, let’s go back in. You don’t want to appear like some mean hoe who ditched him at the movies, do you?”

That jerk. He had a point.

Dejected with how sucky my date was already going, we walked back in, and I made it a point to ignore Eclipse. While doing so, I also leaned in closer to DonKi. I was adamant on making things right—I would not allow Eclipse to ruin this date.

“Eclipse is just a friend,” I whispered to DonKi, gently squeezing his hand in the darkness. I gave him my most charismatic smile. “He was really depressed today. I felt bad so I invited him along to help him feel better. I really hope you don’t mind.”

Upon hearing this, DonKi, being the sweet guy that he was, bestowed me with a reassuring smile. “Of course I don’t mind. You’re such a good person, Grace.”

I beamed at him, ignoring the accusatory cough coming from Eclipse when he overheard DonKi calling me a good person.

I kept my sole attention on DonKi as the movie commenced, whispering things into his ear about how funny I thought the movie was and offering him my baby carrots (which he appreciatively ate). DonKi was a former overweight-turned-disciplined-dieter as well and that was one of the reasons why I wanted him as my future husband. We could be diet partners and watch out for each other as we grew older and lazier in life. It was a match made in Heaven.

Eclipse must have sensed my resentment towards him while on the date. Being the strategic guy that he was, he used my weakness to his advantage. He was hell-bent on getting back on my good side.

“Fries?” he offered amiably, extending the box to me so I could get a side-by-side comparison of my boring baby carrots and the delicious looking fries.

I swallowed convulsively, staring at the food like it was an offering from Heaven. My first weakness was sweets and my second was fries. I was already ravenous from getting a whiff of the sinful food Eclipse possessed earlier, but these hot new fries were a new addition and a very tempting one. There was no contest. I couldn’t . . . I just couldn’t say no.

Giving into temptation, I handed DonKi the remaining baby carrots. I covetously curled my fingers and dug into Eclipse’s fries with the fervor of a famished hyena.

“Do you want some as well?” Eclipse offered to DonKi, holding up the delicious box of food like it was a temptation from the Devil himself—which wasn’t far from the truth since Eclipse was the spawn of Satan.

When it looked like he was about to say no, DonKi suddenly bounced his head like a bobbing figurine. He reached over, grabbed the mouthwatering hot dog on the top of the pile, and took the biggest bite I had ever seen in my life.

My jaw fell to the floor.

I was scandalized!

DonKi told me that he had been on track, completely eating healthy for the past six years. Never once did he give into temptation—until now. Talk about falling off the wagon!

“Thanks man!” DonKi said appreciatively to Eclipse, who laughed as he smoked and ate his fries with me.

And that was how the three of us remained throughout the entirety of the movie. We immersed ourselves in Eclipse’s platter of junk food like three fat kids who had been released from captivity. We would surely regret our decision tomorrow, but for tonight, this sinful vice was worth every delicious calorie.

“All my life I’ve dreamed of my Prince Charming.”
15:
The End of Eternity

After the movie was over, the date continued as planned. DonKi proposed that we get a bite of something to eat (even though we had stuffed ourselves silly in the theater), so that we could have the opportunity to get to know each other a little bit better. Although hesitant to stuff more food into my mouth, I agreed, and we decided on street food.

We settled under a red canopy at a nearby food stand and happily munched on our noodles. Cool air coursed around us, mixing with the steam that rose from the freshly made noodles. It was crowded and loud under the tent, but it also felt romantic and laid-back. The cacophony of noises eventually became an unobtrusive, dull buzz for us.

As the rain drizzled down, DonKi and I talked about our childhood, our favorite movies, our struggles to lose weight when it all seemed impossible, and our thoughts on college and post-grad life. It was the very picture of a beautiful date. The only unfortunate anomaly was the third wheel in the form of the ever-attention-grabbing Eclipse, who was right there alongside us every step of the way.

To my pleasant surprise, Eclipse was pretty considerate. He was quiet as we spoke about random things, politely listening to us while he ate his noodles and smoked his cigarette. I had assumed Eclipse was quiet because he was being thoughtful. On the contrary, I came to learn that he was only being quiet because he was being observant. He was simply bidding his time before his crass personality appeared again.

“If you still don’t make a move on her, then you’ll regret it.”

My gaze rounded when Eclipse’s voice interrupted us from out of the blue.

DonKi angled his body in Eclipse’s direction. I was seated between them at our square table while they sat across from one another. Although he had been polite to Eclipse all night, it was clear in DonKi’s unhappy expression that he didn’t appreciate another guy impeding on his date. I kept assuring him that Eclipse and I were “just friends” (even though that was total bullshit—I would never consider Eclipse to be a friend), but DonKi wasn’t stupid. It was obvious that Eclipse liked me, and for this reason alone, DonKi had every right to be annoyed with Eclipse.

Swallowing heavily as a means to keep his patience intact, DonKi forced a courteous smile to materialize on his face. Politely, he asked, “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” Eclipse replied, his face cool with challenge. He couldn’t care less about DonKi’s opinion towards him or about being politically correct. “I said, if you still don’t make a move on her, then you’ll regret it.”

I drew in an anxious breath. Oh no, what was Eclipse up to? Why was he suddenly threatening DonKi? Weirder yet, why was he telling DonKi to make a move on me?

DonKi clenched his jaw. Annoyance started to line the features of his face. “What are you talking about, man?”

“Eclipse, stop it!” I shouted, staggered by his actions. I could already feel the testosterone-filled tension move around me. I did everything I could to quell the growing tension by asking, “Why are you telling DonKi to make a move on me?”

Eclipse looked at me like I was high on drugs. He raised a critical brow at me. “Teacup, no offense, but why the hell would I tell some other guy to make a move on you when I’m courting you?” The tone he used on me was soft and calm, but when he returned his attention to DonKi, his voice was hard as steel. “I wasn’t talking about Gracie. I was talking about the actual girl you’re lusting after.”

“Who?!” I pounced, shocked with this revelation. I whipped my head back to DonKi. My face swarmed with bewilderment. I thought we had a connection. Was it possible that DonKi was lusting after some other chick while laughing and dining with me? Could he be that messed up?

DonKi regarded me with a wary gaze before tentatively darting his eyes towards Eclipse.

“What are you talking about?” he said again, irritation brimming in his voice.

“Okay, Gracie here is the epitome of the type of girl us guys want,” Eclipse resumed just as our waitress brought us several more bottles of soju. Smoke danced away from his cigarette as the explanation flowed from his lips. “We all want to throw her into our beds, rip her pretty little white dress off, worship every inch of her body, and be the animals we’re meant to be with her.”

That mental image was too enticing.

“Shut up,” I hissed, forcing the images to filter out of my head. I could feel the blood threatening to trickle out of my nose and I knew I had to control myself before I had another embarrassing nosebleed.

Eclipse pointed at DonKi and ignored my demands for him to be quiet. “But you’re not lusting after her like that—not even a little bit.”

“Thanks for the clarification,” I muttered dryly.

“This means that you are either whipped or gay,” Eclipse concluded. “And seeing as you haven’t made the effort to hit on me, I’m pretty sure a girl has got you whipped and whipped good.”

I could see DonKi’s features switch into anger at the accusation Eclipse was hurling his way. He looked outraged. He looked like he was about to scream at Eclipse and deny everything—until his face softened and he confessed, “She has a boyfriend.”

DonKi, you piece of donkey shit!
I cursed in my head once he confirmed these blasphemous accusations.
Do you know how hard it was to sneak out to meet up with you? How can you be lusting after some other girl when you’re supposed to be the perfect husband material?!

“So?”

“
What?
” I cried, appalled that Eclipse was dismissing such an important detail. I faced him, revolted that he could be making light of the fact that this other girl was taken. I was upset with DonKi for leading me on while lusting after another girl, but I was more pissed that Eclipse was encouraging DonKi to go after a girl that was already taken. “What do you mean
so
?”

“And her dad is scary,” DonKi added, ignoring my indignation. “I don’t want to mess with him or make him mad. He’s like a father to me.”

“Why does this bastard’s happiness come before yours?” Eclipse continued as well, paying no attention to me. Almost instantly, the night went from Eclipse impeding on our date to Eclipse and DonKi having some male bonding time while I was trying to get a word in edgewise. “You humans are like that—”

“You mean
us
humans?” DonKi provided softly, hanging onto Eclipse’s every word like he was a prophet from the Lord.

“Yeah, sure,” Eclipse dismissed carelessly. He forged on with his pearls of wisdom. “
Us
humans are like that. We try to brood and be morally just, but in the end, we only end up making ourselves miserable.” Severity throbbed in his eyes before he took another whiff of his cigarette. “Just go for her, DonKi. Tempt her, seduce her, cheat with her, and steal her away. If she really loves the other guy, then she’ll stay with him and that’s something you’ll have to live with. But if she doesn’t love the other guy enough and she actually wants you, then you two can be together. Whatever the outcome, at least you’ll know that you did everything you can for her and at least you’ll get closure. Life is short. Do not spend it trying to be a martyr when it is in your nature to be selfish. Your happiness has to come before someone else’s happiness—never the other way around.”

I couldn’t believe the ridiculous “advice” that Eclipse was spewing out. Who did he think he was? How dare he give such sinful and self-serving advice that was not applicable to a human who was trying to make it in a morally just world? I felt terrible that DonKi had to waste his Saturday night listening to this nonsense. DonKi was a good guy. He would never do something so atrocious—

“I’ll do it,” DonKi declared at once, interrupting me from my thoughts. Determination pulsated in his confident voice. “I’m going to convince her to cheat with me.”

“What?!” I cried, flabbergasted with DonKi’s blasphemous words. How did my perfect, ideal guy become another self-serving jackass?

“Good.” Eclipse nodded approvingly, proud that DonKi was smart enough to heed his advice. A frown then disturbed his handsome face. He leaned across the table just as DonKi was about to excitedly dig into his food. “But try not to eat anymore tonight,” he advised, pulling the steaming hot noodle bowl away from DonKi. “Girls respond better to eight-pack ripped stomachs, not ten-pack stomachs filled with rolls of fat.”

DonKi blinked at Eclipse, undoubtedly grateful that he had someone to watch his back before he did something so appalling as to eat more fattening noodles.

Yeah, as opposed to preparing yourself to tempt someone else’s girlfriend to cheat with you
,
I thought glumly.

“You’re right, Eclipse. You’re right.” DonKi stood up from his seat like he was a man on a mission. He looked between us. “You guys enjoy your night. I’m going to go workout, burn off the hotdogs and noodles I ate, and prepare a plan to steal her and make her mine.”

“Good luck, DonKi,” Eclipse said with a regal nod that a general would bestow to his soldier. “Never give up. Remember: your happiness is the only one that matters.”

“Thanks man!” DonKi shouted before looking at me and saying, “This guy’s a keeper, Grace. Don’t let him slip away.”

And with that insightful advice, DonKi ran off, disappearing into the rainy night while leaving us in his wake.

“You know, I really like that DonKi,” Eclipse murmured approvingly. He took a drink of his soju. “He’s a lot more open-minded than I thought he would be.”

“I can’t believe you just did that,” I grumbled quietly. I glared at Eclipse with disbelieving eyes. “You just advised him to tempt a girl to cheat with him!”

“I didn’t put a gun to his head,” Eclipse countered unapologetically. “You humans are inherently selfish creatures. You may think you have evolved since the dawn of time and became ‘civilized,’ but the simple truth is that
none
of you have evolved. You’ve just become very good at hiding your true nature. DonKi had it in him to cheat. Hell, he’s probably considered it a thousand times. You saw how it happened. I didn’t even need to push him in any direction. He was hanging onto my every word before I even finished what I was saying.” He sighed empathetically, taking inventory of my disappointed eyes. “You shouldn’t be too disappointed with DonKi. He’s a good guy. He’s just doing bad things—at least from the perspective of a human anyway.”

“And what is your perspective?” I inquired pointedly.

A shimmer of pride sparked in his eyes. “He’s fighting for what he wants, and he would take no prisoners in the process. I applaud anyone who can fight their society’s expectations of them and do what they believe in, no matter how hated and despised it may make that individual to the majority.”

I blew out a dejected breath.

“You just told the guy I had a crush on to go and steal someone else’s girlfriend,” I reiterated in terms he would understand, not even truly absorbing what he was saying. I was too preoccupied with my own selfishness. I gulped down my soju as the torrential rain and the crowd around us livened up in the background. “You not only screwed me over, but you also screwed over the boyfriend. If that girlfriend of his actually becomes a hoe and cheats with DonKi, then he would be devastated. I don’t care how you spin it. You were the catalyst, and you know it. DonKi may have had the bomb in him, but you lit the fire and ignited the destruction to come.”

Eclipse nodded at my retort, impressed that I was calling him out on his bad influence.

“Well, that little love triangle is their problem, not yours, Gracie.” A playful smirk outlined his lips. “And you’re not even attracted to DonKi like that, so I don’t understand why you’re acting like you just got the love of your life taken away from you, Teacup. You think he’s easy on the eyes, yes. You think he embodies all the morals that would make him the ideal husband, yes, but that’s where the attraction ends. You feel nothing for him other than your admiration for the potential he has to be a good husband.”

I shot him a dry look. “You think you know so much about me, don’t you?”

His shoulders lifted into a coy shrug. “There are some things about you that I’ve observed and can deduce, yes.”

“Give me your deductive reasoning then,” I prompted unthinkingly. He was always such a smart aleck. I wanted to challenge him to see how good he really was.

Eclipse gave me an “are-you-sure?” look. When I nodded carelessly as my confirmation, he went to town, effectively making me regret giving him the green light.

“You see DonKi—or more specifically the morals and virtues that you thought DonKi had—as being your savior, the thing to save you from your own sadistic personality.”

My blood chilled at the verity of those words. Not too keen on letting him know that his deduction touched a nerve within me, I kept my face free of emotions. Despite how uncomfortable I felt with how on point he was, I continued to listen.

“You’re very satisfied with your life, very much so. But the distinction that should be made is that you’re satisfied, but not happy—not by a long shot. You know that there’s something wrong with you and that you cannot continue living life as this sick, sadistic human being. You’re aware of all of this, but there’s little to nothing you can do about it. You can’t do anything about it, but someone else might be able to help you—someone else might be able to save you. Someone holier than you, someone pure, and someone with admirable morals because you trust that in being around them constantly, you would endeavor to be like them. In turn, you would be able to quench your sadistic tendencies and be the person you’ve always dreamed you could be: a normal girl. Completely and utterly normal.”