Damned Paradise

"You can room with me, brother, if you want. I don't much care for the other guys she decided to keep. They're all a bunch of right assholes except for Sean. Nice boy from Ireland. He can't be much older than 19. He's roomed up with the biggest, nastiest man here. He goes by the name of Medic because you get in a tussle with him and you're going to need one. So it's wise to keep your distance." Milo said, deciding to take the bottle from me and drank heartily.

"The show is about to end. Basically Tara goes in there, plays little mind games with them, driving them crazy, she unlocks their hands, places a knife on table near them and then she leaves. Soon after, sometimes 5 minutes sometimes within seconds, they pick the knife up and slit their throats or wrists and commit suicide. She never physically hurts anyone." Milo said, his words slightly slurring.

I thought back to when she slapped me.

"She hit me though." I said, defiantly.

Milo sighed.

"She hits us that she saves though, but only on rare occasions. It's not a re-occurring thing. She's hit me before. Right afterwards she kissed me though. I held no grudge against her. How can you? Look at the girl. Drop dead sexy. I cherish the dates we have together." Milo sounded love struck. Just like me. I didn't like the fact that my new friend felt the same way I did about Tara. It actually made me a little jealous. Then it hit me.

"Dates?" I tried my best not to sound jealous but I didn't do a good job.

Milo laughed, drunkenly.

"Tara calls one of us guys each week on Friday night to have a date with her. We never know who it is until the night of. She gets a report from the servants on who's been the best behaved and that's normally who gets the date. The servants who didn't vote for the rest of us normally gets hell from us until the next vote the following Friday." He said and instead of me calming down I got even angrier. Not only was my new friend going on dates with Tara but so were 4 other guys. I made a vow to be the best behaved to ensure a date with her every Friday. I was so engrossed in my jealous thoughts that I barely heard Milo tell me to look at Mr. No Name.

I noticed Tara was getting ready to leave and she had placed the knife next to No Name just as Milo said she would. She had just walked in the door joining us when blood splattered across the window. I felt a small chill but ultimately I wasn't really concerned. I was focused on Tara and so was Milo. We both probably looked idiotic because we both sported giant grins as she walked in. How beautiful she was.

"Milo, I see you've met Cain." She said and she came and sat on the edge of my chair. I wanted so badly to stroke her long smooth leg but I refrained. Milo on the other hand didn't. He reached across from his seat and placed a hand on her knee. I wanted to slap it off and tell him off. He winked at her and smiled.

"He's a nice guy. I want him to room with me." He said and Tara nodded her head.

"I'll have someone set up another bed in your room for him. Now since its Friday, I'm going to go collect the reports from the servants and get ready for my date. Good night boys." She stood and as Milo's hand fell from her knee I could see disappointment flush his face. That's what you get, bastard. Keep your hands off of her. I thought spitefully.

Tara left and it was just me and Milo sitting in a room with a blood spattered window.

"Such a lovely dame, Tara is. I hope I get that date but you most likely will because you're new and you haven't done anything yet. Be sure to tell me how it goes." Milo said and he stood stretching. "I on the other hand am about to hit the hay. Come with me so you know the way to the room."

I rose and followed him out of the room and down the hall towards a giant set of double doors with the word Royalty embossed in giant golden cursive letters on them. I inquired about the word choice to Milo.

"She considers us to be her treasures, her royalty. That's why we get treated the way we do." He turned me around and pointed to the other side of the hallway. There were the same kind of double doors but instead of fancy embossed script across the doors there was the word Junk scratched across it as if someone took a knife and carved into the wood. "That's where she puts the people who are brought here to be killed. If you look about halfway down the hall there's a door that says Limbo. Basically there she decides where she wants you to go." Milo said and turned to open our door. I smelled a meadow on a warm spring day and I knew something was odd. I turned to see a large stairwell that seemed to extend upwards forever.

"Do you smell flowers, Milo?" I asked, hoping I wasn't going crazy.

He laughed. "Yeah, brother, I do every time I open this door. You'll see."

We ascended the stairs and suddenly we were in a huge dome with flowers, artificial sunlight, grass, lakes, and some animals. It was like being dropped in an artificial environment. It was so hot in there that I removed my tux jacket and loosened my tie and shirt. Sweat beaded on my forehead. I hadn't even noticed that Milo had stripped down to his boxers and was swimming in a nearby pond until he splashed me and brought me back to reality. I looked at him confused.

"Is this for real?" I asked in disbelief.

Milo laughed and it was filled with a child-like glee. He swam to the edge of the pond and hoisted himself out. Here's where I went a little gay. Milo was built like Adonis. He had smooth, evenly tanned skin and I just wanted to touch his toned muscles but feeling on another man, unless you're homosexual, violates many manly codes.

"This is very real, Cain. This is one of the many simulated environments that Tara has created for us. You up for a snowball fight?" Milo said, pulling his pants back on and slinging his shirt over his shoulder.

This sounded odd to me. I mean we were in an environment with heat, snows worst enemy. My face must've conveyed my confusion because Milo grinned.

"Follow me, brother." He walked to a door that was between two waterfalls and I followed but I was unsure of where we going until he opened the door and there was a winter wonderland right before my very eyes. It was almost as if I was standing in one world looking into another. Milo laughed at my bewildered face and threw the rest of his clothes on. He reached down and shot a snowball into my gut and surprisingly it felt like actual snow, not the fake powdery stuff you get in indoor snowboarding places. I laughed and tackled him into the snow. We both got up and had a giant snowball fight. We were both soaking wet when we stopped. Milo stood up and offered his hand to help me up. I took it and we walked back through the door that led to the meadow.

"Time to show you our room." Milo said and pushed open a set of double doors located next to a koi pond. There was a big common room that we walked into. There were televisions, refrigerators, phones, video game systems and there was even a place set up for writing, drawing, and reading; my three favorite things. We walked a short hallway and entered something that looked like the end of a suburban area. It was giant circular ending with doors circling around us. We walked to the door directly across from the hallway and went in.

We walked in and there were two beds set up with a flat screen T.V, a kitchen area, two doors that I assumed led to the bathrooms, and a balcony that overlooked a vast ocean with the sun setting. It was breathtaking. Milo flopped down on the bed farthest away from the balcony and he answered my confused look with a simple, "I'm afraid of heights and I move too much in my sleep to be safe anywhere near that balcony."

I grinned and was happy that I got that bed. I sat on it and the sheets were made out of silk and were incredibly soft to the touch. Milo began to undress and threw on pajama pants that he pulled out of a drawer and laid down in his bed. He propped his head up on his elbow and looked at me, ready to talk.

"I snore so beware. If I wake you I'm sorry but I can't help it." He said, sheepishly and I waved my hand dismissively.

"I'm an insomniac so I most likely will already be awake." I said.

"Perfect." He said and pulled his hair into a ponytail. He tossed a hair tie to me and said, "You need it more than I do. You have that lion's mane."

I laughed. "Thanks."

"I honestly wonder how you keep it so long. I cut mine. It used to be a bit longer than yours. It was a bother to keep up with." He said and then shrugging his shoulders he turned and pulled his covers over his head.

"Night, brother. We'll talk more tomorrow. Enjoy your date." Those were the last words I heard from Milo that night. The next sounds I heard scared me. It sounded as if a growling bear had started a chainsaw and was on a microphone with speakers on blast.

I couldn't help but laugh and I continued to laugh so hard that I barely heard someone knocking on the door. Milo's bear sounds continued as I opened the door and there stood a tall, pale boy who looked like he was in his late teens.

"You must be Sean." I said and he nodded.

"You're obviously Cain, the new guy. I saw the servants putting a new bed in Milo's room and I figured you were rooming with him." Sean had such a thick Irish accent I almost couldn't understand him. He had fire red hair that obscured his chocolate brown eyes from the world that he had to constantly push away to be able to see. He had a smattering of freckles all around his nose and his cheeks were rosy red. I also noted he had a metal hoop going through his right eyebrow and his left nostril. He looked like a college student.

"Mind if I come in?" he asked politely and I stood back to let him in.

He walked in and I studied his appearance. He was wearing baggy black jeans with a pair of high top black Converses and a black hoody which he removed and what I saw kind of surprised me. He was wearing a v neck black t shirt with the word Chevelle spread across it in blood red letters and his arms weren't thin and bony like how I thought he was. He was actually toned. His shirt was so tight that you could see the 4 pack that was hidden beneath it.

I perceived him to be odd but incredibly cool. He already exhibited his manners so he was a nice boy as Milo had said.

Sean sat down on my bed and looked over at Milo, grinning.

"I remember when I first came here how I hadn't slept for 3 weeks because of that bear over there. Milo's a chill guy." He said, flipping his hair out of his face with that neck jerky movement thing girls do. "So how do you like living here so far?"

"It's not bad. I mean I'm not dead so how bad can it actually be?" I said.

Sean laughed at this.

"How about that fox Tara? Smoking hot, she is. I've been on a few dates with her. Last week included. We hung out in her room. Not much talking goes on during her dates, if you know what I mean." He said, winking at me.

"So her dates are like conjugal visits?" I asked, outraged at his innuendo.

Sean's grin told me all I needed to know. I found myself both wanting the date more and becoming angry at everyone who had a date with her following this news. Sean was talking but I was so immersed in my spite filled thoughts that I didn't hear him. I asked him what he said and instead of getting offended that I wasn't paying attention he politely repeated himself.

"I asked you have you met any other people besides me, Milo, and Tara." He said, kicking off his shoes obviously deciding to stay a while. I didn't mind him as company. He was nice to be around. I could understand why Milo was fond of him.

"I met a fellow named Dean." This was apparently comical to Sean because he doubled over in laughter. He laughed so loud that Milo woke violently, mumbling to himself, and turned to see what was going on. Sean smiled apologetically at Milo but he was still laughing. Milo was fully awake now and he propped his head up lazily on his elbow.

"Hello there, Sean. Thanks for waking me up." He said, sleepily and Sean grinned.

"Sorry about that, Miles. It's just that Cain here said he met Dean." Sean managed to say while controlling his laughter.

For some reason unknown to me, at the mention of Dean's name, everyone started laughing. Milo buried his head in his pillow and let loose a howling laughter and Sean was crying in laughter, doubled over clutching his sides.

"Can someone please explain to me why Dean is a hilarious topic?" I asked, getting frustrated.

Sean managed to calm himself down and rose to stand next to me. He was about my height, if a little taller, and he placed a hand on my shoulder, almost reassuringly. He was still red from laughing.

"Dean is the only guy here who's been here the longest and he has never gone on a date with Tara. He's been here about 4 years now and not once has he ever come close to a date. Tara totes him around like a dog and he does all she asks but she's never even considered him for a date. The poor guy came here a virgin and now at his ripe age of 23 he still is. Poor guy. I'm only 19 and I lost mine when I was 12 to my 17 year old babysitter. Kirsten was her name. Lovely girl. She was a screamer." He said, wiping tears from his eyes.

Milo was grinning.

"You lost yours at 12, Sean?"

Sean nodded and Milo scoffed.

"10 for me. Your girl was 3 years my girls senior but she was experienced." He said and Sean laughed.

The two looked to me, a signal telling me to fess up.

"When I was about 8 to my best friends 15 year old sister." I said, guiltily. The poor guy never knew what happened but granted at the time I didn't know what happened either so I guess it was fair.

Sean patted my back. "Nice." He said, "Was she good-looking?"

Thinking back to it I almost threw up a bit in my mouth.

"Actually no. She was a very heavy-set girl. I had my hair longer than this when I was younger and most people thought I was a girl. She was a lesbian. When she called me to go take a bath considering I was spending the night with my mate, his name was Sean too, when I took my clothes off I think she was taken aback by my genitalia. Next thing I know she's telling me to put it in her and me being a naïve child I trusted her and I did. At the time I was like 'Is this supposed to feel good to me?' because it didn't. She apparently liked it because she told me that I was welcome to come over whenever I pleased." I said, ending my tragic tale bitterly.

Milo and Sean thought this was the funniest thing they had ever heard and they cried in laughter as Sean fell to the floor and crawled to Milo's bed to steady himself. I resented them for this. I frowned and sat on my bed, crossing my arms, not unlike a child who was throwing a tantrum would. I waited for their laughter to die down before speaking.

"I'm happy that's hilarious but that's what happened." I said, defiantly.

Sean moved over to my bed and hugged me. He was still laughing and I knew because his back would shake every so often and he would try to a hide a laugh with a cough but it wasn't working. Sean was a strong boy so when I tried to push him away he held tight.

"I'm sorry, Cain. It's just...you got ripped off. Some fat chick in a bathroom when you were 8? How could you not think that's funny?" he said and he sounded truly apologetic so I let it go. He let me out of his clutches but he was still grinning at me. He locked eyes with me for a moment and I began to feel a little awkward so I looked over at Milo who trying (and failing) to hide his laughing from me as he blurted out a quick "Sorry." Before collapsing in a fit of giggles muffled by his pillow.

"I'm sorry, Cain. I truly am." Sean said, grinning at me.

"Thank you, Sean." I said, feeling a bit better.

"Yeah. Sorry you had a fat chick!" he said and he and Milo burst into renewed laughter.

I shoved Sean onto the floor but he continued to laugh and I stood, making my way over to the dresser. I pulled out a pair of basketball shorts and a tank top and began to undress. I wanted to get away from the laughing so I went through into one of the bathrooms. They were gorgeous and composed of ceramic and tiling. As soon as the door closed behind me the laughing stopped. I dressed, throwing my tux in a hamper meant for dirty clothes, and walked back into the bedroom, slightly pissed. Milo looked up at me and Sean seemed redder than his natural skin color.

"Can I ask you something, Cain? On a serious note." Milo said and Sean glared at him, viciously.

"Don't." he said but whatever Milo wasn't supposed to say he said because Sean got up and left the room slamming the door behind him.

"Do you fancy guys?" was all Milo said and that resulted in Sean's tantrum.

I honestly didn't know how to answer that. I've explored with guys before and I guess you could say that I enjoyed it but could I say that I exclusively date guys? Well in my old life, before Tara, before Milo and all of this, no. I couldn't say that. In my new life, it was kind of like a start over. Why not try something new?

"Yeah, I guess you can say that. Why the sudden interest?" I asked, feeling a little weird at telling someone that I liked both guys and girls. I had just lain down in my bed when the door opened again and Sean came in. He closed the door behind him but he didn't move an inch further into the room and it came to me that he was just outside the door and that he didn't really leave to his room.

"Because I am." He said. He had his head down so that his face was hidden by his hair and his voice seemed almost sad.

"So you're gay, Sean?" I tried to sound as gentle as possible.

"No." he said, and shook his head violently. "I like girls. I just happen to like guys as well. That's all."

I was a bit confused. Why was he telling me this? I asked him. No answer. I repeated my question. I still got no answer. Milo got upset.

"If you don't tell him I will, Sean. Your choice, brother." He said, sternly and Sean glared at him.

"Fine." He said. He looked me dead in the eyes and said, "I'm telling you because I think you're cute. There. I said it."

I let this sink in. Sean was far from ugly but granted we did just meet. I had no idea how to react to this. Should I go fly into his arms and declare him my lover or should I promptly reject him? How confusing it is with relationships even if the other person is of the same sex. I don't think gender has to do with how difficult relationships can be. I think it's the people. Instead of diving headfirst into a relationship with Sean I decided to get to know him better but I had to make it clear that I wasn't rejecting him. I let him know this and even though his face became disappointed his eyes were hopeful. He then asked me something that was toeing the line of the boundaries I was trying to establish.

"Can I sleep in your bed tonight? Milo snores too loud and my roommate isn't exactly the nicest guy." He asked, avoiding my eyes.

I told him it would be no trouble and he left to his room to ready himself for bed. There was a loud static sound that a loudspeaker makes just before a voice starts and the room filled with the beautiful sound of Tara's voice.

"After receiving the votes and tallying them up, I've come to the conclusion that Dean has been the best well-behaved and has won himself a date tonight. Dean, meet me in the corridor at exactly 12:00 am sharp. Do not be late. Good night to the rest of you."

Milo laughed a little.

"Well looky here. Dean has finally got himself a date with Tara. I bet you he's bouncing off the walls."

Sean came back in the room in pajama pants and a t shirt and sat himself at the end of my bed. I pulled my hair up into a bun and moved over.

"Are you going to bed now, Sean?" Milo asked, his hand hovering over the light switch.