Jax woke up outside, his blue tee covered in grass, a raging headache pummeling his temple and pounding through his forehead. He groaned as he grabbed the front of his forehead and realized his curly red-tipped hair had collected a few twigs. He noticed he was covered in dirt, and in trying to get it off smeared more across his arms. He felt a sudden electric shock throughout his body as he remembered: Citrus? Where’s Citrus?

Jax scrambled to his feet and brushed off the grass and dirt from his clothes. He looked around hurriedly, and then he saw Citrus, still unconscious, just a few feet away from him. Jax’s eyes bulged as he saw a stain on Citrus’ arm…a dark red stain.

He walked quickly, but clumsily, toward him and fell to his knees.

“Citrus? Citrus, wake up!” Jax shook him hard until he heard a groan and his hand slowly raised up. Quickly, he slapped Citrus across the face.

“I was having such a fun dream!”

Jax sat in shock for a second, and then bent down and gripped Citrus in a tight hug. “I’m so glad you’re alright.”

“Where are we?”

“Not in Kansas, that's for sure.”

“We weren’t in Kansas to begin with.”

“So we’re definitely not there at least!”

Jax and Citrus laughed in harmony, but their worry increased steadily. Citrus stood up, the red stain on his arm proving to have just been a stain from the red indicator in science class. Jax still checked Citrus for scratches, though. 

“Get off me! I’m fine, I’m fine!”

“No I don’t believe you, I need you to be okay.”

“I’m fine, I swear, Jax!”

“Remember when you broke your arm on my trampoline and you said you were okay? Yeah, I’m not trusting your sense of pain anymore.”

“Fine.”

“Lift up your shirt.”

“What? No!”

“Just let me look for a second! I’m not trying to be weird, man!”

Citrus sighed, “Alright.” He lifted up his shirt, his pale skin sweaty and sticking against his chest binder. 

“Everything alright?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Jax touched Citrus’ stomach and spun him around to look at his back, realizing he’s never actually seen his friend's stomach or back before, not even while swimming, and he didn’t hate it, “Yeah, you’re alright.”

“Satisfied?” Citrus asked snarkily.

“Very, thank you.”

The two stood uncomfortably for a second, looking around at anything but each other. They were lost, and certainly not anywhere near Mr. Maxum’s class. Hopefully they wouldn’t be late for lunch. 

Everything was brighter here, wherever here was. The grass was a vibrant green and the sun reflected off of their skin. It seemed -off. It was off. After all, they had just been magically transported to some random bright and happy place. And if these two horror fans knew anything, bright and happy places don’t stay bright and happy forever.

“We should look for people, or shelter, right?” said Citrus, looking around as if they weren’t obviously alone for miles.

“Isn’t the first rule of horror movies to go look for people? And then they end up getting killed by those people?” Jax had a playful smirk on his face that tried to hide his concern.

“Yeah. So we just-”

Citrus was cut off by a loud and long sound, a roar? It couldn’t be, there can’t be lions here; they're in a grassy tree-covered knoll and it’s sixty degrees outside. Not a prime condition for a lion. Instead of a lion lunging out from behind a tree, a large bird-like creature swooped down from the canopy and came crashing down towards Jax. The bird-like creature looked like a pterodactyl, a long and angular beak jutted out from its scary face and its body was covered in hideously bright green feathers and peachy skin. Jax ran towards a bush and tried to duck down under it, but not before the monster pierced his back. The beak poked out the other side of Jax like a knife through a piece of steak as the blood ran down his stomach. The creature pulled back its beak, now bloodied from Citrus’ best friend's corpse, and faced Citrus. Citrus’s eyes moved from Jax’s body to the bird-thing that was now rearing up its hind legs, preparing to attack again. Citrus felt something wet running down his chest before he could even comprehend that he was next. He looked up towards the sky and the creature flew off, only killing us for fun, Citrus thought. His eyes watered and tears began to run down as he toppled over and crawled to where his best friend laid, the life sucked out of him. He reached for Jax’s hand but before he could touch it he passed out for the second time today…

…only to wake up again in another new place to Jax’s familiar face, smiling and full of life.

“Jax!”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s good to see you too, sugarplum.” Jax snickered and pulled Citrus into a hug.

“Why is it always you getting us in trouble and me waking up to find out?” Citrus held onto Jax before pulling away to look at his face, “Okay, my turn now.”

“Your turn for what?”

“I just watched you get stabbed by a giant bird and now we’re both in a fiery hellscape, let me check you for scratches, dude.”

“Fair enough.”

Jax pulled off his shirt so naturally, like he’s been practicing, and now was his chance to show off for Citrus. His hair ruffled as his tee went over his head and Citrus propped himself onto his knees and gently smacked the top of Jax’s curls. 

“You’re all set” said Citrus, with a twinge of teasing in his voice.

“You sure you don’t need me to do a little turn too?” Jax rose from his sitting position and did a little twirl. 

“You’re so dumb” the smile on Citrus’ face couldn’t have been any bigger in his seventeen years on this planet.

“I know…” Jax’s face changed as the boys were brought back to reality. They couldn’t explain anything that had happened to them since leaving Mr. Maxum’s class.

They were stuck again, in another different, much scarier, place. Citrus wasn’t lying when he said they were in a fiery hellscape, in fact they were in hell. 

They stood up and looked around them. The rock they stood on was warm and a reddish brown, a trail of embedded crystals in the ground lit up a path along a rock bridge surrounded by a pit of lava. Stalagmites and stalactites covered the walls and ground, As they looked forward the two boys also noticed treasures scattered across the ground. 

“I wonder what the real estate is like for this place,” said Jax while putting his shirt back on.

“Can’t be any worse than where the bird was living,” replied Citrus, looking over towards Jax with a smile on his face. 

They looked towards each other and nodded, both understanding that the only way back to chemistry class was forward.

Jax stepped forward and Citrus followed, their shoes hitting the soft ground with gentle thuds as they moved slowly towards the treasures. The ground felt as though it would crumble underneath their weight, but it was holding steady, or at least they hoped it was. They approached the heaps of gold, swords, and other plunders but stopped as something caught Citrus’ eye. Citrus stepped forward and grabbed a small leather bracelet with a thick white thread pierced through it, he slipped it on over his hand and tightened the tarnished gold buckle.

Jax looked around and a pair of bright yellow Converse caught his eye. He walked over to them and knelt down to put them on. Once they were tied in Jax’s classic double knot he began walking over to Citrus again.

Jax stepped first onto the bridge as the two boys followed the crystal path. The crystals were illuminating their faces from underneath, making the boys’ faces look sunken and tired. As Citrus stepped across the bridge he heard a crunch. He had stepped directly onto the crystal which now had a crack in it. The light that once illuminated their faces was now searingly bright. It was like the pressure of the light had been building up underneath the thin layer of the crystal and was now bursting through the soft ground around Citrus’ foot. Jax looked back towards Citrus, his knees bent as he held his arms out like he was ready to grab anything if they fell, or grab Citrus if they had to run. But nothing happened. The ground stayed steady, the roof of the cave didn’t collapse, and the two boys were surrounded by an eerie quiet. The boys loosened their stiff bodies and began to calm down, they began to move from their crouched positions but as they did, the ground around Citrus’ foot cracked and he began to sink in. Citrus looked up towards Jax, his eyes glistening while his eyebrows dropped into a scared expression. 

“Jax…”

“Stay right there, I’m gonna get you out of this,” Jax’s steel framed face and stoic demeanor seemed to crumble as he realized he couldn’t really save his friend. “Do you trust me?” 

Jax's face looked grim and scared.

“I do.” Citrus’ eyes told the truth even as his voice quivered, he was scared, but seeing his friend scared was far worse.

“And…” Jax looked down at his feet, scared of the fleeting thought that crossed his mind but far more scared to lose his friend, “You know that…that I…” Jax looked into Citrus’ eyes, “I love you.”

Citrus’ eyes widened, but before the returning thought could even fully form in his mind Jax was taking huge, racing lunges towards him, “No! Wait!” but it was too late.

Jax took another leap and grabbed Citrus’ hand and yanked him to the other side of the bridge, Citrus tripped and tumbled down, rolling over his neck and hearing his spine crack as he landed on his back, the wind knocked out of him. He stared up at the cave's ceiling, gasping for air. He couldn’t move, all he could do was lay there and catch his breath as he worried about Jax. 

Jax, on the other hand, was hanging onto the edge of the ground from where they had originally woken up, desperately trying not to fall into the scalding lava that lay just mere feet away from him. Arms tingling, face sweating, Jax tried to pull himself up. But it was his off season, swimming hadn’t started yet and he definitely had not been keeping in shape since he’d rather be with Citrus. Citrus. Was he okay? Had Jax saved him? He had to push these thoughts from his head, the only thing he could imagine was his best friend sinking into a pit full of lava, it entirely being his fault.

Maybe if I was stronger, maybe if I was more careful, maybe we wouldn’t be here, wherever here was. Jax couldn’t stop his racing thoughts, until suddenly he was being lifted up. He wasn’t pulling himself up, in fact, no one was. No one had taken his arms and tugged on him, in fact, he hadn’t even heard anyone approaching. 

Then, he saw her. A beautiful woman stood in front of him, her skin looked like it was made of gold, she wore a dress made of flowers, lilies and tulips all sprouted from her chest down to the ground and dragged behind her. Her air was slicked back and a shining dark brown, her eyes welcomed Jax, but her powerful presence did not. One of her hands was on her hip, the other was facing upwards and a black powder seemed to ooze out around it, like smoke rising from a fire.

“Well look at what the cat dragged in.” Her voice sounded like honey being drizzled into warm tea. She flicked her wrist and Jax’s body floated next to her, then dropped onto the ground. Jax panted and scrambled to his feet, dazed and confused and way too hot to process this.

“Where’s your little friend?”

“Who? Citrus?”

“Yes, yes, that’s the one.”

Jax pointed to the other side of where the bridge used to be, hoping that Citrus had made it over. The strange lady tsked and with another swish of her wrist the bridge rebuilt itself, pieces from from the lava, cooling off, and magically reassembling itself. She began to walk over to Citrus, who was still laying on the ground breathless. Jax quickly followed her, lengthening his gait and trying to remain aware of anything this woman might do. 

They reached the other side of the newly formed bridge, and when Jax saw Citrus lying on the ground he forgot he was supposed to be keeping track of the new woman and immediately raced over to him. 

“Citrus! Citrus!”

Citrus turned his head and smiled as he saw Jax’s face, unharmed. The smile faded once he saw the golden woman approaching them, he tried to sit up but couldn’t as the woman moved closer and knelt down. She placed her hands over Citrus and the black magic wisped through the air. Jax backed away from Citrus as the power wrapped around his body. 

“Hey! What’re you doing to him?!” The fear rose in Jax’s voice, he just saved his friend, he wasn’t going to let some magic lady take him away.

“Hush, he’s healing.”

Jax stood back and allowed for the woman to touch his friend, although he felt a twinge of jealousy that it wasn’t him who was healing Citrus.

I don’t even have magic hands! Geez, Jax, let the lady with the magic hands handle it.

Once Citrus was healed and on his feet that's when the questions could begin. “So, who exactly are you?” Jax asked.

“The Queen.”

“Queen of what?”

“This place. I’m the bridge between the living and the dead. Currently you two are dead, but you’re not from this place so it makes this a little harder, now doesn’t it?”

“I guess so…”

“Well, chop, chop. You two have got a lot of work to do if you want to get back.”

“So you’re gonna help us get back?”

“Not quite, but my ex husband will.”

The Queen - she would tell them later that Hamaldya was her name,  brought the boys back to the world they had first appeared in, explaining on the way how her ex husband, Mortius, was a trickster but he was the only way the boys could make it back to their world. Hamaldya was the bridge between this world's living and the dead, and Mortius was the bridge between all worlds. He had been renovating his home lately and a few portals had opened in strange places. Hamaldya used to use these portals to store her things, which led to their divorce.

“He’s still torn up about me hiding all my heels in your world so I’m sorry if he mentions it.” The Queen flicked her hair across her shoulder and rolled her eyes, seeming exasperated from a problem she created.

“So, you were saying we need to see him to get back to our world?” Citrus tried to change the subject quickly or else they’d be there forever.

“Oh yes, he’ll get you back. Just give this to him,” Hamaldya handed Citrus a brass key, “This is how I kept all those portals hidden, he’ll be able to seal you two in once you go through again.”

“And you’re going to take us to him?”

“Yes and no.”

“What do you mean?” Citrus’ eyes crossed over to Jax.

“I’ll get you to his door, you can deal with him from there.”

The trio continued to walk through the floral oasis, all while hearing loud roars from every direction, similar to the roars that had brought Citrus and Jax to Hamaldya. 

Soon after the conversation ended The Queen walked into a clearing where a grand castle overshadowed a small hut, made out of straw and mud and appeared very out of place next to the shimmering pearlescent exterior of the tall castle. 

“Here’s your stop. Remember what I told you, he’s tricky, but easily fooled. Use your resources to your advantage.” Hamaldya glanced at the bracelet and sneakers the duo had taken, Citrus and Jax glanced at each other, having just assumed they were cool trinkets to take. The boys stepped forward toward the castle and Hamaldya flicked her wrist, the black smoke-like magic swallowing her up.

“Wait,” Citrus paused, “she said that he’s tricky, right?”

“Yeah, that’s why we need to get inside the castle sooner than later.” 

Jax pushed past Citrus and before he could get to the mahogany door his feet began to pull himself in another direction. Jax looked down and saw two wings sprouting from each of the All Star logos on his new yellow Converse, flapping in the direction of the hut.

“Resources,” Citrus whispered under his breath as his eyes lit up and a smile stretched across his face, “Resources! She gave us resources!”

“Yeah! I can see that!” Exclaimed Jax.

Citrus extended the arm that held his leather bracelet, a shining gold cloud puffed around his bracelet and transformed into a shimmery sword, the hilt was the same leather and thread that his bracelet had been but it now was held in his palm and curved. The blade reached out and was engraved with tulips and vines. 

“You got the cooler resource!” Shouted Jax, now balancing himself in the air.

But just as quickly as the smile on Citrus’ face stretched out it went away as he saw the door on the hut open up and hit the outer wall with a bang. Citrus held his sword in two hands as an older man stepped out, covered in purple ink and coughing.

His robes looked like a fictional wizard's robes, covered in yellow stars with a dark blue background and gold trim. The man himself didn’t look like a fictional wizard though, he had a small goatee and hazel eyes, and very few wrinkles despite seeming to be in his forties. The man looked up from his coughing fit and saw Citrus and Jax standing in front of him, Citrus’ sword extended and Jax’s fists up.

“Hamaldya sent you, didn’t she?”

The boys froze in their confusion.

“Yes…” said Jax skeptically, darting his eyes from Citrus to Mortius over and over again. 

“Ugh,” Mortius straightened himself and patted down his starry robes, “well, allow me to give in to her every desire then, come in.” Mortius bowed and extended his right arm into the hut. The boys lowered their guard and stepped forward.

The boys were sitting upon large maroon cushioned chairs inside a small living room, combined with a kitchen where Mortius was making them tea.  Mortius sat down with a tray of tea and sugar cubes and sighed.

“Let me guess, she’s given you something I want in return for something I already have?”

“Well, not exactly, you see, it’s actually something we want.” Citrus gripped his cup of tea tightly, not taking a sip even after having cooled it down with his breath.

“Oh,” Mortius shifted in his chair and placed his hand under his chin, “I’m listening.”

“We want you to take us home in return for this key.” Citrus lifted up the bronze key and dangled it just out of Mortius’ reach, almost mocking him as his eyes watched it swing back and forth.

“I’ll help you, but there’s one thing you should know,” Mortius leaned forward and propped his arms on his knees, “I’m only doing this because I still love her.”

Jax and Citrus side-eyed each other, a little confused but not upset that they weren’t going to have to do any more tasks, or die any more times.

“Here,” Mortius rose from his position and walked over to the other end of the hut, where a small crooked wooden door was attached to the wall, “this is how you kids will be getting home.”

Mortius grabbed the door handle with his wizardly-worn hand and pushed the door open. Inside was a long, blinding hallway of light, the boys shielded their faces from the brightness and when their eyes adjusted they saw a long winding hallway filled with doors.

“That key opens the last portal I’ve had to close, thanks to Hamaldya. And also thanks to Hamaldya for sending you to give it back.” Mortius stared at the key that was still dangling in Citrus’ hand, his arm outstretched ready to take it. Citrus looked at Jax, who had now risen from his seat, his tea left untouched. Citrus stood up and took Jax’s hand. 

“Let’s go home.”

They moved towards the door and Citrus held out the key before yanking it back, “Not before you bring us to the door.”

“Very well, let’s go.”

The group walked down the twisted hallway, passing doors of all varieties, big grandeur doors to small garden fences, until they approached an average front door with a brass knocker and keyhole. Mortius extended his hand toward Citrus, who finally handed him the key. Mortius slipped the key through the keyhole and turned it…

Click!

“One last thing, boys,” Mortius turned his head away from the door and faced the two kids, “don’t ever give up on love.”

Mortius opened the door and the same whirlwind of colors that had hit the boys while trying to find a new un-smashed beaker hit them again, as their vision faded and the wind blasted towards them Citrus whispered to Jax, “I love you too.”

Jax woke up outside of the old science wing, on the ground, with a beaker gently sitting next to him. He looked over toward Citrus, already standing and on his way to grab the beaker. Jax stood up and Citrus turned around. 

“The roles are reversed now, eh?”

Jax took a hard look at Citrus, at this boy who has been his best friend, and so much more, for forever, and for the first time he was really ready to tell him just what he thought, without the possibility of falling into lava to save him from embarrassment if the feelings weren’t returned.

“Citrus…”

“Yeah?”

Jax looked into Citrus’ eyes, and Citrus looked back with the same longing. Jax stepped forward and put one arm around Citrus’ waist and pulled him closer to him until their lips were barely touching.

“Jax…?”

Citrus breathed out heavily as Jax pulled him into a kiss, the beaker dropped from Citrus’ hand and smashed on the floor.

That makes seventeen.

END