"I got kissed by a girl 'cause I'm, awesome!" Dave sang.
The bathroom wasn't the best place to blare personal triumphs, but he couldn't stop himself. He could still feel her on her lips. She tasted like cherry, probably due to her lip gloss. Dave didn't care though. He'd kissed her or rather, she'd kissed him. Becky had wanted to kiss him and he'd managed to not embarrass himself. Sure it had been a little awkward afterwards, but it had been wonderful.
At the time Dave had decided to keep to himself that it had been his first kiss. He was still trying to impress her, and it hadn't worked out so bad. She'd allowed him to walk her to her yoga class and then she'd said yes to a date. An actual date. With him. No Tesla coils involved, although he'd have to make a note of the fact that they'd prompted her to kiss him.
Just as he was finishing up he heard;
"So you're the Prime Merlinian, eh?"
Dave turned. A man about his age was standing there. His outfit was black and yet, somehow sparkly. He made a face. In his experience it was a bad thing if a number of piercings outdid how old someone was. There was also this strange two-tone thing that was happening with his hair. It reminded him of some sort of emo band, not that he'd ever been interested in that sort of thing. Balthazar would have killed him if he had.
"Excuse me?" asked Dave.
"Well-" the man started.
He paused and cocked his head at Dave.
"Oh my God," he said.
"What?" asked Dave, "Who are you?"
"You seriously don't recognize me?" the man asked.
He thought back to his earlier guess.
"Are you from Depeche Mode?" he asked hesitantly.
"Dave, I'm hurt," Dave said, rolling his eyes, "England, be 'bout eight years ago."
His eyes focused and Drake grinned.
"Drake?" he asked, flinching, "The hell are you doing in America?"
Drake's grin widened. The feeling most definitely was not mutual. Drake was a bully who'd tried to beat him up several times and verbally abused him at others. His last memory of him was in fact, nearly being blasted by him, and then saving him from a wolf. It wasn't the most endearing memory.
"Ask meself that every mornin'. Probably 'cause of how cheap it is," Drake said.
The ensuing silence was awkward. Dave cleared his throat. He should probably say something.
"So, um, what've you been doing since, you know?"
"Oh nuthin' much. Gettin' famous, becomin' a Morganian, that sort o' thing," shrugged Drake.
Dave nodded and then thought over what had just been said.
"Wait, what?" asked Dave.
"Enough," Horvath said, pushing Drake aside, "Make sure we're not disturbed."
Drake sent a look of distaste at Horvath and an apologetic one at Dave. Then he turned on his heel and walked out of the room. Dave put two fingers to his temples. While he was certainly shocked to see two of his childhood headaches in a room together, he was getting over it. Dave was going to work through his fear this time. He'd prove to Balthazar this time that he wasn't afraid of Horvath anymore.
He waited as Horvath stared at him evenly.
"What?" asked Dave, "You gonna try to kill me or something, because there are much better things that I could be doing right now."
"No, I'm not. This is a dismal bathroom. Not very classy. No, I'm just here to talk."
Horvath's lips formed a crocodile smile.
"Or rather, she is."
The door opened and a harpy-like woman walked in. Everything about her was wrinkled and dry, like she would crack with a misstep. Even though she had grown more brittle with the years he recognized her; Morgana. Instinctively he took a step back and he folded his hand palm out. His ring began to glow.
"Oh please," she rasped, "None of that for now."
Morgana stepped in front of Horvath and smiled. It looked horrific.
"David, why did you become a Merlinian?"
He frowned.
"How does this-?"
"Why did you become a Merlinian?" asked Morgana, "No, let me answer that for you. You became a Merlinian because Balthazar picked you up one day."
The glow in his ring didn't abate.
"No," he said, "I became a Merlinian because I found out Morganians drain blood from children."
Her smile widened.
"There are advantages to doing such," she said, "But don't worry; we don't all have to rub the blood of the young into our skin to live on. Some of us have more potential."
Dave was very uncomfortable. He wondered if he could take the two of them together, but he doubted it. His eyes flickered to the door. Where was Balthazar when you needed him?
"What, you think your Master's going to come in here and help you?" asked Morgana, "Even the odds a bit? You've put your faith in the wrong man. Balthazar's a shell of what he was. He lost his fire the night I stormed the keep. That's why he's been running ever since; find the Prime Merlinian and keep going. He's given up."
Rage simmered under his surface. Balthazar had raised him, and he wasn't going to let him be insulted by Morganians.
"Like you'd know anything about-" Dave snapped.
All of Morgana's words registered.
"What?"
"He hasn't told you?" asked Morgana, "How droll. You've put your faith in the wrong man sweetheart."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Dave said.
Horvath inclined his head in a twisted parody of academia.
"Let me put it this way," Horvath said, "have you ever been in love David?"
Immediately his thoughts went to Becky.
"Oh, he's in love now," said Horvath to Morgana, "I can see it in his eyes."
He opened his mouth to speak but Horvath talked over him.
"Shut up," he said, "I wonder what would happen if you lost her?"
His mind exploded. Images of Becky inundated him; Becky playing with faeries as a child, walking in the rain with him, her face when he made the Tesla coils sing for her, her soft lips under his. Horvath's words echoed over it all. Dave's eyes narrowed into a glare. Morgana noticed and frowned, but Horvath kept talking.
"You'd be no better than the rest of us."
The glow in Dave's ring intensified. He'd had enough.