Page 21 of Circus From Hell

“Yep. That.” Arlo rubs the back of his neck, looking around, searching for something. Or someone. But she’s gone. “Let me guess. You’re going to go back to being a cunt, and I’ve got to pretend to ignore the fact it hurts?”

I wasn’t expecting him to be brutally honest, but Arlo is nothing if not exactly that—honest. In every way possible.

“I’ve watched you lick up your own cum, Arlo. I don’t think we’ll be going back to normal.”

He looks at me suspiciously, and I know he doesn’t believe me. I’d convinced myself that I’d be too much for Arlo, that I’d hurt him or break his heart, but maybe his brain is fucked-up too. After everything that happened, the trauma he was put through, the fear he felt for a considerable time before he understood why I did what I did when we were teenagers, it all convinced me I’d never be good for anything other than his protection. He’s always been the sunshine in the room, but he can be shy about his emotions, and he gets defensive if he thinks his heart is at risk. Which it was. I did reject him before, and I did hurt him.

“I can’t promise I’ll be perfect,” I admit quietly.

“I’ve never asked you for perfect, Micha. I’m pretty sure I asked you to not be a total dick.”

“I’ll try, but it’s going to be really hard now that I know you’re a freaky little boy with a pain kink and an obsession with some circus monster.”

He rolls his eyes, looking back down at the alleyway where we found said circus monster before. The body is still there—I think Arlo and I both forgot that part, too consumed in lust.

I haven’t really acknowledged the fact we found the circus girl eating some dead woman.

I froze when she targeted Arlo. If she had hurt him… I don’t know what I would have done.

“What are you thinking, Pipsqueak?”

“We were supposed to confront her, but she confronted us.” He shivers from the sight of the dead body. Blood still freaks him out since that day. The worst day of our lives.

“I wouldn’t exactly say ‘confronted’. More like attacked.”

“Regardless, we’re no closer to understanding what she is or what she wants.”

“So?” I ask as he slowly starts walking out of the alley. “Didn’t you hear her? She said she would ‘eat you alive’ the next time she sees you, Arlo.”

“She also said my ‘hard cock saved me’. Whatever that’s supposed to mean.”

“Maybe she fancies you too,” I tease, elbowing him in the side, but he’s quick to shove me away. He thinks I don’t see his little smile, and it’s now I realise which direction he’s walking in. “Wait, are you going to the circus?”

“It was you who suggested we go in the first place. You said it yourself; they’re here for another two weeks. So unless we hide out for two weeks, we may as well bite the bullet.”

He has a point, but even I was freaked out after what we saw in the alley. Arlo has bigger balls than I gave him credit for.

The showground doesn’t take us long to reach. Without the lights and music, it somehow manages to look even creepier, which I didn’t think was possible. There isn’t anyone lingering around, and I’m secretly happy there aren’t any clowns out front. Arlo knows I don’t like clowns.

He pulls back the tent entrance that we walked through days ago. “Do we just… waltz in?”

“How about you check if it’s empty first, genuis?”

He narrows his eyes on me before slipping his head inside. “Yeah, it’s empty.”

We cross the dirt path between the towering bench stands. It feels colossal now it’s free of other people, and the tall peak in the centre of the show ring disappears into darkness.

When we walk into the ring, Arlo spins in a circle. “Where do you think she’ll be?”

“Sssshh.”

We jerk at the sudden, foreign sound, stepping back and slamming into each other. Arlo mutters, “Fuck,” and rubs the back of his head. I drag him to my side with an arm around his waist. I won’t hesitate like I did last time.

“You sssshouldn’t be here,” the husky, feminine voice whispers, the noise somehow both loud and quiet. “Get out.”

“No,” Arlo whisper-shouts back, looking blindly for those glowing green orbs. He keeps spinning on the spot, eyes wide and examining, but we can’t see anything. “We want to talk to you. We won’t hurt you if you don’t hurt us.”

“You hurt me?” She laughs, but the noise doesn’t sound right. Like it’s broken. “Funny boyssss.”