Chapter 2

Eli had seriously misjudgedtaking on the job at the diner. He hadn't prepared himself for all the conversations. Eli knew ninety percent of the patrons who came in during his first shift, and not a single one failed to comment on how great it was to see him back in town. They all seemed to take him working here as a sign he was staying in Moonlight Falls for good.

"I'm actually only here temporarily to study the vein in town," he told Tony Harris, the elementary school principal. Mr. Harris had been a teacher when Eli was younger and had spent most of his life in Moonlight Falls. A true townie if there ever was one.

"Study it?" Mr. Harris looked impressed. "Well, if that's what brought you back, great. There's lots of people here who'll have stories for you about Moonlight's magic."

Eli didn't bother pointing out that his study was based on quantitative data and anecdotes really weren't of interest. He just smiled and thanked the man before turning and taking his order to the kitchen.

"Everyone's happy to see you," Parker teased as he set a burger on the pass-through.

"Just goes to show nothing interesting ever happens here," Eli grumbled, adding the new order slip to the clips above their heads.

Parker snorted. "Come on, uninteresting isn't something you can accuse Moonlight Falls of. Stranger shit happens here than in LA, without a doubt."

"Then it's no wonder you like living here, you weirdo." Eli picked up the burger and turned away. He was feeling more like himself around Parker now, not so flustered.

Parker barked a laugh, calling after him, "In that case, you fit right in, Eli. Can't pretend otherwise."

Eli suppressed a smile. He'd always liked getting a laugh out of Parker. He felt light, almost fluttery, as he delivered the burger to one of James's next-door neighbors sitting alone by the window.

Other than all the chatting and the almost cult-like welcome home the town was giving him, the night was going smoothly. Kaylin had given him half the tables to wait on once he'd seen how she ran things out front. Tuesday nights weren't the busiest, and they probably didn't need two servers, but Kaylin said she was happy to have the help.

"You're a natural." She grinned at Eli, dimples framing her lipstick-red smile as she joined him behind the counter. Kaylin was in her early forties and had worked at the diner for as long as Eli could remember.

Eli continued rolling cutlery in napkins. "It helps that I already know the menu."

Kaylin set a new pot of coffee brewing. "Hey, we switch it up, but you're right. It doesn't change much. Some things you can't get rid of or people would riot." She laughed, and Eli smiled.

There were little signs on the tables declaring that pumpkin pie was back for the season, just as it was every September. Most people didn't need the reminder, but if the diner stopped putting out the signs, Eli had to admit even he would have asked what was going on.

The diner's décor hadn't changed in the five years Eli had been away, which he'd already known since he came here with James at least once every time he visited. The blue vinyl booths gleamed. All the pictures of the town lining the walls were the same. It made him nostalgic in a heavily melancholy way.

Eli remembered coming here with his parents and James. He'd adored the diner when he was little, coloring on the seasonal placemats they gave the kids, poking at the mini jukeboxes on the tables, and flicking sugar packets at his brother, who would send them flying back with magic. Avoiding all those memories was the other reason he wouldn't have minded commuting for a job.

After most of the tables had cleared, Kaylin sent him on his break. Eli walked through the kitchen where Parker and Aydin, the kitchen hand, were cleaning up.

"Hold on," Parker called out before he could slip past.

Eli turned. Parker held out a piece of pie on a small plate. He took it. "Thanks."

"No problem." Parker handed Eli a fork. "I was just remembering the first time your grandmother came in to buy a Moonlight pie for your birthday."

"The first time?" Eli had had the diner's signature pie on his birthday for what felt like forever, but the tradition had started after his parents died. His mom used to bake him a cake, but his grandma's talents lay elsewhere, and she'd always said it'd be cruel to subject the boys to her baking.

"Yeah." Parker chuckled at whatever he was remembering. "She said you wanted the whipped cream to be blue."

Eli's mind flooded with a scene he hadn't thought about in ages. His first birthday without his parents. James had been fifteen and he'd been turning eleven. His grandparents had gone all out to make his day special. He remembered a bouncy house and a pie that had turned everyone's tongues and teeth blue.

Eli frowned. "You were working at the diner back then?"

Parker nodded. "Full-time since graduating from high school."

Eli knew that already but hadn't thought about how it lined up with his own life. He did the math. Parker would have been nineteen then. Hell, that made him feel young. And not in a way he liked. "I'm surprised you remember. It's not like you and James were friends back then."

"No, but there's no way I'll ever forget the mess I made with that blue cream."

Eli couldn't help smiling. It had been fun, his grandparents laughing at their own stained faces in a rare moment where they were all lost in silliness together like everything would be okay. "My mouth was blue until the next day," he admitted.

Parker's eyes seemed to zero in on Eli's lips. "I really should have aimed for a baby blue, not navy." Parker blinked and looked up, his expression not matching his casual words, like he was focusing hard on something important.

"Right." Eli swallowed. His insides squirmed. "Less food coloring would have been smart."

They looked at each other for a long moment.

Eli shook himself and thanked Parker for the pie again before hurrying away. He sat in the office and looked at the pie in his hand.

It was weird thinking of Parker knowing who he was all those years ago. It couldn't be helped in a town like this, especially one with a tight-knit community that never left. Eli shouldn't care. It didn't matter that Parker had made his eleventh birthday pie.

He took a bite. The pie was as good as ever. Some people thought pistachio cream was gross, but Eli had always liked the green pudding and sweet, subtly nutty flavor. It reminded him of home in a good way and was one of the things he could admit to liking about Moonlight Falls.

The rest of the shift was quiet. Kaylin showed him how to close and couldn't seem to help telling him again how nice it would be to have him at the diner.

Eli was overwhelmed. It was hard to remain firm in the face of everyone's kindness. But their happiness at having him around didn't mean he had to like being here. The community had never been Eli's problem with Moonlight Falls, though sometimes their unwavering support had been stifling. He knew that was a ridiculous thing to complain about, but no matter what people here were like, they couldn't change the fact that everyone in Eli's life had died except for James, and he didn't want to be in a place that was littered with reminders of his loss.

At the end of the night, Eli called a quick goodbye to Parker, who was back in the office. He didn't stop on his way out the door so he wouldn't get caught up in another chat.

He stepped into the cool night air. It was only the start of fall, but after living down south, the contrast in temperatures made him shiver.

His and Parker's cars were the only ones left in the lot. Eli dug in his pocket for his keys as he made his way over to them. His phone buzzed. He pulled it out to see a message from his roommate in LA asking where the carpet cleaner was.

Eli frowned in annoyance. He'd hoped it'd be a message from a friend, saying something more substantial, but he was finding that, even after such a short time away, he was out of sight, out of mind, and if people weren't texting him to meet up, they stopped texting.

He tapped a quick reply to his roommate.

A creaking sound came from over by the cars. Eli paused, looking up. What? He took a few steps closer but didn't see anything. Sliding the phone back in his pocket, he unlocked the driver-side door.

Something cold wrapped around his ankle. He shouted in surprise, jumping back and losing his balance, falling hard on his backside. An inky-black hand gripped his ankle, reaching out from under his car.

It was a shade. Eli tried to scoot back. The beasts could materialize in solid form when they wanted, and the bony grip was strong. Tendrils of dark shadow wafted off its fingers, sending chills up Eli's leg.

"Fuck." Eli kicked at the hand with his other foot.

There was a hiss and the hand retreated. Before Eli could push himself up, eyes appeared, staring out from under the car. Two large reflective onyx orbs shone amidst swirling shadow.

In a sudden rush of movement, the shade lurched forward. Eli gave another involuntary shout. The beast overwhelmed him, pushing him flat on his back. It was huge. The shade's shadowy form turned solid and imposing. Eli panicked, shouting again. He had a light on his keyring but had dropped his keys and couldn't see where they'd gone.

The shade snapped its teeth in front of his face. Eli closed his eyes.

Light flared around them, bright even behind his eyelids. Eli looked in time to see a floating ball of sunlight collide with the shade's face. The beast burst into fragmented shadows and disappeared.

Parker rushed forward, kneeling beside Eli. "What happened?" He wrapped an arm around Eli's shoulders and helped him sit up.

"It g-grabbed me." Eli's voice shook with lingering shock. "Caught me off guard." It had been a long time since a shade had gotten the better of him. He felt ridiculous, but as far as he remembered, shades didn't usually make physical contact. Not unless the human started it.

Parker looked him over. "Did it scratch you?"

"No." Eli shifted out of Parker's arms. "But I'm pretty sure I'm going to have a bruise on my ass."

Parker didn't laugh like Eli had hoped. He stayed serious, worry lining his face.

Eli climbed to his feet and brushed himself off, even though he could have sat on the ground catching his breath for longer.

Parker straightened, still eyeing him. His magical display had been impressive. Calling light took a decent amount of power, and Parker had done it quickly and precisely. What was more, he didn't seem phased by the exertion. Doing magic required you to expend personal energy. In the most extreme cases, it could be deadly if you overextended yourself, but more typically, it tired people out.

Eli bent to retrieve his keys. "I dropped my light." He clicked it on and the small device produced an enhanced beam. It was a shade-light, and though it wouldn't have banished the beast back to Beyond as Parker had done, it would have scared it away.

The beam of light shook in Eli's unsteady hand. He turned it off, his heart still thumping.

"Are you sure you're okay, Eli?" Parker touched his arm, rubbing it soothingly.

"I'm fine." Eli didn't pull away this time. Parker's steady presence felt good. The shade had rattled him more than he wanted to admit. Too much time in the city. That had to be it.

"You look less than fine," Parker pointed out, seemingly without judgment.

Eli had to look away from him. He closed his eyes, which only directed his attention to the hand on his arm. It was an odd preoccupation, and he tried to ignore it. "Didn't that shade seem different? Bigger, or something?" He peered up at Parker. His heart pounded.

Parker's brow furrowed. "I don't think so. It seemed normal. You're just not used to them anymore."

"Maybe," he muttered, forcing himself to take a steadying breath.

"Want me to take you home?"

Eli bristled. "No, I'm good." He could take care of himself, despite recent evidence. He didn't need Parker looking after him. He was an adult, a researcher, not the little kid who needed blue whipped cream on his pie.

"All right." Parker took a step back. "And hey, don't worry about the shades. You'll be used to them again before long."

"I wasn't worried." Eli didn't bother pointing out that there was no need for him to get used to anything in Moonlight Falls.

Parker seemed to be waiting for him to leave first, so Eli got in his car. Parker didn't move to get in his own vehicle until Eli was driving out of the lot. As if he wanted to be sure Eli actually was fine to drive home.

Everything between the two of them had been weird that night. Different. Only Parker's protective side was unchanged, and it was the thing Eli wished Parker would let go of. He didn't want to be Parker's best friend's little brother. He wanted to be on equal footing if they were working together, but he also wished he didn't care. None of it mattered when he was counting down the days to leaving.