The days blurred together after that phone call. Eli found himself trapped in a constant loop of thoughts, each one more confusing and suffocating than the last. Every time his phone buzzed, his heart skipped a beat, expecting a message from J.M. It wasn't like he wanted to hear from him not exactly but there was a craving there, an impossible need to know more. To understand what was happening to him.
The worst part? He wasn't sure he even wanted to stop it.
Jason had been a quiet presence at his side, a reliable friend who seemed to sense when Eli was on the edge. But no matter how much Eli wanted to open up, to tell Jason everything, the words always stuck in his throat. How could he explain J.M.? The overwhelming pull he felt? The way J.M. had started to creep into his thoughts, his dreams, his very being?
Jason was his best friend. His lifeline. But this? This was something Eli couldn't even explain to himself, let alone someone else.
That evening, as Eli sat in the small apartment they shared, Jason knocked on the doorframe, his voice cutting through the silence.
"You still haven't told me what's going on," Jason said, his tone more concerned than Eli had heard in a long time. "Come on, man, I know you're not okay."
Eli exhaled sharply, his fingers tapping nervously on the edge of the table. He didn't want to lie, but the truth was even worse.
"I'm fine," he said, but even to his own ears, it sounded hollow. He couldn't lie to Jason, not forever. But how could he explain this obsession, this strange magnetic pull toward someone who was essentially a stranger?
Jason didn't buy it. Of course, he didn't. But instead of pressing further, he simply nodded, watching Eli with a knowing look.
"I'm here if you need to talk," Jason said quietly. "You know that, right?"
Eli swallowed hard. "Yeah, I know."
Jason lingered at the door for a moment longer, but eventually, he left, his footsteps soft against the floor. Once the door clicked shut behind him, Eli felt the weight of the silence in the apartment. It wasn't the comforting silence of solitude; it felt more like a waiting room, where everything was on the edge of something… dangerous.
He should've been relieved, but all he could think about was J.M.
When the phone buzzed again, Eli's breath hitched.
It was a message from J.M.
> "I know what you're doing, Eli."
"You're trying to resist me, but you're mine now. You can't walk away."
"Just let it happen."
— J.M.
Eli stared at the screen, his heartbeat erratic. His fingers hovered over the keys, tempted to reply, but he couldn't. He wasn't sure what J.M. wanted, what kind of game he was playing, but one thing was clear: it wasn't going to end until J.M. had all of him.
He dropped the phone to the table with a shaky breath, his head spinning. He wanted to scream, to throw something. The feeling that he was losing control, that someone was pulling all the strings, was unbearable.
But in the back of his mind, a part of him against all logic wanted it.
The next morning, Eli went to work on autopilot. Jason had left earlier, giving Eli some time to himself. But no matter where he went or what he did, he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.
Every glance from a stranger, every passing moment, felt like J.M. was there, lurking just outside his vision, always watching, always waiting.
By noon, Eli's nerves were frayed. He couldn't concentrate on the work in front of him. His thoughts kept drifting back to J.M.'s words. He couldn't escape them, no matter how hard he tried. There was no denying it anymore he was hooked.
He stepped outside for a break, hoping the fresh air would clear his head, but the streets were just as crowded and noisy as they had always been. Still, Eli felt like the noise around him was drowning him in a sea of emptiness.
"Eli."
His body tensed at the sound of his name, and without thinking, he turned.
Standing in front of him was J.M.
His dark eyes pierced through the crowd, locking onto Eli with that same unsettling intensity. Eli's breath caught in his throat, his heart slamming against his chest as J.M. took a step closer.
"W-what are you doing here?" Eli stammered, trying to mask the panic rising in his chest.
J.M.'s lips curved into a slow, knowing smile. "I told you, Eli. I'm not letting you go. I'm here to help you understand."
The sound of J.M.'s voice, so calm and possessive, sent a chill down Eli's spine. "I don't need your help," Eli said, his words faltering as they left his lips. He wanted to push J.M. away, to tell him to leave. But every fiber of his being screamed for J.M. to stay.
"Don't you?" J.M. murmured, his voice low and dangerously seductive. He reached out, his fingers brushing against Eli's arm.
Eli's pulse quickened at the contact, his skin tingling as if every inch of him was awakening. It was ridiculous, how easily J.M. had this effect on him. He shouldn't be feeling this way. This was wrong. This was dangerous.
And yet…
"You don't need to resist, Eli," J.M. continued, his voice smooth, hypnotic. "You're already mine."
Eli pulled away sharply, his breath ragged as he stepped back, trying to put distance between them. But J.M. was relentless. Every time Eli tried to take a step away, J.M. was there, just a little closer.
"I'm not yours," Eli spat, though even as he said the words, they felt empty, hollow. "Stop this. Leave me alone."
J.M. didn't flinch. He didn't react. He just stood there, watching Eli with those dark, unreadable eyes.
"It's too late, Eli," J.M. said softly. "You've already given yourself to me. It's only a matter of time before you realize it."
Eli's heart raced. His pulse thundered in his ears. His breath was shallow, his chest tight. The world seemed to collapse in on itself, and all he could focus on was the man in front of him J.M. The very man who had walked into his life without warning, without explanation, and turned it upside down.
J.M. was right. It was already too late.
"I'm not like you," Eli whispered, the words trembling on his lips. "I can't be."
J.M. stepped forward, his fingers gently tracing the side of Eli's face. "You already are," he murmured. "And one day, you'll thank me for it."
And just like that, J.M. turned and walked away, leaving Eli standing in the middle of the street, his entire world shifting once more.