Meeting You

Whether they admit it or not everyone wears a mask, a facade that they show to others because they are unsure whether their true self would be accepted by others or not, Aiden felt the same too, to all his friends, family and colleagues he was a timid and shy guy who was also very polite and helpful.

Aiden felt safe in wearing this mask, this mask helped him to feel comfort in the knowledge that he won't be rejected by others and it helped him to get along with everyone, even though it made his day to day life easier, he sometimes felt miserable that he couldn't be true to his self but then his true self was too scary to be accepted by others.

Since he was fourteen, he had started reading thriller novels and eventually moved to horror novels and movies, the gore and the violence of the genre was what interested him most but this interest of his was something he felt afraid of sharing with others because he was afraid of being judged.

He had read novels by many authors, from American horror classics to Japanese ones but his enjoyment always felt incomplete because he had no one to share it with, he wanted to share the joy he felt in finding new works to read with someone, someone who could guide him to other greater works.

He was part of an online forum that discussed about horror novels but it still didn't give him the kind of satisfaction that he yearned for, until he happened to meet Ethan at the local bookstore.

Ethan was searching through the books by the famous horror novelist, N. Brooks, when Aiden felt compelled to point out that 'Feathers in the snow' was one of the best books he had read, Ethan turned around in astonishment and his expression seemed to be of gratitude.

They started hanging out at the local cafe and bonded over shared interests, it was really surreal to Aiden at first, he couldn't believe he had met someone who had the same interests as him at first but then slowly things started to seem more real, he let his facade of a timid and shy guy slowly fade away.

Ethan had almost read all the books by N. Brooks by the end of the month and they had moved on to discuss other authors, from authors they moved on to films, and it amazed Aiden how their interests aligned even in horror classics, they had started to plan out at whose house they will watch the next classic.

The horror fan art that hung in Ethan's room always made Aiden stop and wonder on how and from where he found the courage to openly discuss this kind of an interest, his horror classics were always stacked safely inside the drawer, a private hobby that he didn't want anyone else to know about.

"I love the blood splatter in this one, the author has perfectly put to words how the blood drains out from the woman's body, you know it gives an eerie chill but thats what horror is all about", Ethan said as they discussed the new novel they had read.

"More than the blood splatter, I like how the author gives the reader an insight into the mind of the killer, I feel that is more eerie, how he enjoys dissecting people and draining their blood out", Aiden said.

To an unknown observer their conversation would seem very frightening, as if they were discussing a murder they had committed and were proud of it but to Aiden it completed his enjoyment of reading a good book, he finally had a friend to discuss all the things he liked about the book rather than typing with a dull face online.

Hang outs soon turned to sleepovers, since Ethan lived alone, they both felt more comfortable to watch movies in his house, there was no need to worry about what mom would think if she saw him enjoying all the blood splatter or that dad would find him weird if he caught him watching someone get dissected with glee.

"What do you like about horror?"

That question was out of the blue for Aiden, he had been reading horror for almost a decade but it never struck him before Ethan asked, that there was something particular he liked about horror.

"Honestly.....I don't know, what about you?"

Ethan looked around and thought for a while before answering,

"There are a lot of things, I can't recall everything, but the way it gives you those chills and how you get inside the mind of the killer or the thrill of being chased, that is what I enjoy the most!"

His answer was still in Aiden's mind when he went to discuss the new book by N. Brooks with him, 'A death so brutal', was somewhat of a sequel to 'Feathers in the snow' and he felt excited that he will get to read more about the killer Mike, he couldn't contain his excitement but he was disappointed when he reached Ethan's house and didn't find him there.

As he turned to leave he saw the door was open, perhaps Ethan was in the lawn mowing down the grass, he went in and waited for Ethan in the study, as he was waiting, his eyes caught sight of a book cover on the desk, on a closer look he found it was 'A death so brutal' lying on the desk.

His excitement grew tenfold knowing that Ethan had also got the new book, they were both fans of the same author, it was impossible to miss such an opportunity!, there was something else beside the book, he picked it up to see, it was a letter written to a fan named Emily, as his eyes fell on the signature at the end, he felt a sense of shock grasp him.

It was signed by N. Brooks, how could it be?, so Ethan was the N. Brooks they both liked?, why did he have to hide it from him?, as his mind was going through all these questions he heard a loud thud, he went running to see what it was, he was met with another shock as he entered the room.

A young woman was struggling to get up, her hands and legs were tied up and her mouth was gagged, he instinctively reached out and untied the woman, she was terrified at first, but revealed she lived in the same city and had been kidnapped as she came back from work and tied up here by a young man with dark black hair and green eyes.

The description fit Ethan, Aiden had difficulty processing everything, was it all just a bad dream?, as he helped the woman to get up, he saw Ethan was standing at the door, he couldn't say though whether he was angry or not, he just kept staring at Aiden.

"What are you doing Aiden?!"

Before Aiden could answer, the woman got up to run but Ethan easily subdued her before turning his gaze on the terrified Aiden, he took out a knife from his pocket and walked up to Aiden, he wanted to run but fear froze him in his place.

As Ethan dragged the lifeless body of the woman to his car, he looked around to make sure there were no blood stains anywhere, he looked at Aiden who was lying in the front seat and bleeding from his wound.

"I told you not to interfere!, I didn't mean to hurt you."

He looked at him angrily, the wound on his hand wasn't much but still it hurt, if only Ethan would have told him about the plan before, he would have been prepared and helped, after all Ethan was his best friend and even though he wasn't a violent person, a part of Aiden found the actual blood and gore better than simply reading about it.