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The moment When he first saw him he knew that he had fallen hard. The way the acrobat stood so proudly In the ring, it was like he was shining. His smile lit up the whole circus tent and most importantly lit the flame in Norton’s heart. He knew he was just one of the faces in the crowd and there was no way the blonde boy would see him, none the less he felt his heart flutter at His smile.
The acrobats name was Mike Morton. It was funny how similar their names were, and the lad slowly falling in love was a fellow named Norton Campbell who worked as a prospector, luck would have it that a circus was traveling by and wanting a break he bought a ticket. How fate was cruel to fall in love with a man who’s life is to travel on the road. The thought of not being able to see Mike ever again after the week of circus shows made Norton’s smile disappear from his face. He didn’t even know Mike personally yet his heart ached.
There was a sudden booing from the audience which made Norton look around in startled surprise. They were laughing just a moment ago before he zoned out? The acrobat has dropped all his juggling balls in the middle of an act and hastily picked them up with a nervous laughter.
Norton was getting concerned about the negative atmosphere when one of the fellow circus boys came to slap Mike on the back. “What’s with ya Mike?” The young boy had a thick cockney accent, it was funny just listening to the boy and as he spoke the room suddenly felt calmer. “Ya never miss up on an act? It’s not like ya to go and ‘Ave a blunder in front of the ladies and gents?” Finally Mike collected his items and straightened up.
“Sorry, Ted! The light suddenly went out for a second and felt a little lost for a second”
“What ya on bout lad, the light never went out?” Mike just shrugged and started juggling again in amazingly fast fashion. You could hardly see his hands move. After a few tricks he let them fall in his hands and with a bow the crowd roared and clapped. “Would be boring if everything went according to plan right?” Mike said with a wink to the crowd. It would have been easier if Norton had been shot through the heart, but instead his heart just beat louder then a drum. Still the crowd laughed in agreement filled the tent up with noise again, Norton felt silly for being worried, with a smile like his there would be no one who keep growing for long. Including himself. “For my next trick I would need a volunteer!” Mike proclaimed to the audience, there were many hands to quickly shoot up. To have a chance to be apart of the great Hallabaloo act himself, anyone would want that, including Norton. Would he do it though? No, no Mike would want someone way better then a dirty random prospector, he’d want someone cute and funny and-
“You sir over there! The one with the handsome mark on his face!” He called out. “Hm?” Norton mumbled out. Everyone was looking at him but no saying a word. “What me?”
“No the old bag with the wort on her nose, of course you!” A knife suddenly flew to Mike’s head but he easily dodged it like it was nothing. “You better watch you mouth young man if you know what’s good for ya!” The elderly lady called out from the sidelines, it was the legendary Sue who excelled at knife throwing.
The crowd laughed again making it great cover for Norton to slink down undetected. Well, now what. He was stuck next to the man he had suddenly fallen in love with, and with hundreds of eyes on him none the less. Suddenly his nerves were given a shock as a solid thump was felt at his back. “Thanks for coming down!” Mike’s smile shined so brightly that Norton quickly ducked his head, he felt his cheeks burning up.
“It’s not like I was given the choice.”
“Ah.” Norton thought “that sounded sort of harsh” Mike didn’t seem to be listening or just decided to ignore his comment since the crowd seemed to find it funny.
“For this trick I’m gonna need you to cup your hands and bring them low for me!” Norton followed as instructed but felt slightly uneasy with so many people watching him, and well...Mike was so close to him that Norton could feel his body heat. Norton really wasn’t sure if his heart could talk much more of this, why did it have to be him of all people? His heart started beating faster then his liking and felt someone like a panic attack coming along. He had no idea what Mike has in store but he surely didn’t want to mess it up for him. With his panicked thoughts running through his mind a soft hand cupped his face, on the side where the audience couldn’t see it. In shock Norton looked up to see Mike looking directly into his eyes with the same bright smile on his face. “It’s okay, trust me!” Norton just gulped and nodded, praying his face wasn’t red as the circus tent right now.
“On the count of 3 you’re gonna throw me into the air and then catch me, simple right?” Mike put one foot into Norton’s cupped hands. “What?” A little more information would have been appropriate but with the amount of eyes on them right now he didn’t have time to think. It was on the third count that Norton threw Mike into the air, it surprised him at how light a man could be. As he watched Norton saw Mike flip effortlessly in the air while juggling only to catch them and fall back down to earth.
“Ah” thought Norton “probably best to catch him” watching Mike was like everything was going in slow motion but almost too fast Mike had landed in his arms and the circus erupted in applauds. The Acrobat looked up with a smile and threw his arms around the prospectors neck for a hug, good thing Mike couldn’t see his face flush red with the sudden interaction and soon enough Mike pulled away to get a better look at the random show goer he had selected from the crowd.
“You did it! You really did....” Mike’s words trailed off as he saw Norton’s face, and so did his smile. It struck Norton’s heart like a bolt of lightning as to why his warming smile suddenly disappeared when he saw his face. Across Norton’s face was an ugly scar which covered his right eye. It was a freak accident during of his jobs as a prospector but it left a lasting impression.
The more time Mike was silent the more he couldn’t take it. Sure, there was the cheers and calls of the circus around them but for Norton it was like the world had gone silent. “I’m sorry” was all he could muster as he gently dropped Mike back on his feet and made his way to the exit of the tent. The crowd was shouting and cheering for Norton to come back on stage but after seeing Mike’s face of...he didn’t even know what that expression was but surely he didn’t want to see what he saw again.
“I’m so stupid.” Norton muttered to the night sky as he watched his breath form mist in the air. Coming to this circus was just a whim, no way was he expecting to find someone who would steal his heart in 5 seconds flat? Now that he thinks about it he should have just carried on after his job and go back to his house and slept but now his heart will always be plagued by a certain smile. Before he even realized it the tears were falling down his face, it was like all the strength he had while holding Mike had gone and Norton just let the tears fall onto the ground. Thinking that it was best to leave now people anyone found him a voice crept up behind him, an unfamiliar one.
“Oi! What do you think you’re doing running off during a performance like that? Mike stood there frozen for a good few minutes because of you, he’s never froze like that before. Did you say something to our star of the show?” Norton turned around to see how’s voice it was, it belonged to a stocky and tall man, who’s frown was comically large and big pitiful eyes. His red hair parted down the middle still puffed out despite the amount of care taken to it. “I-I didn’t mean to ruin it-“
“You didn’t ruin anything, Mike is the best of the best, he could carry on even if his leg broke and it would still be a sold out show. I hate to admit it but he’s better then me at shows.”
“And your shows are….?” To be perfectly honestly Norton had no idea what a sad looking clown could do in such a happy place like this circus.
“I let people laugh at me. I look sad, I act clumsy, they let of some steam by laughing at me. My name’s Sullen the crying clown, so leave the crying to me, kid.” Sullen did a joking sob and then stuck out his hand to Norton who returned the shake while trying to wipe away the tears. “The name’s not kid. It’s Norton, Norton Campbell.”
“Pleasure.” Sullen replied, to say this man’s job was crying and almost scared Norton half to death he seemed rather pleasant. “Don’t you find that job tiring? Getting Mocked all day?”
“Nah, not really. I get to see people of all ages laugh because of me and that’s all I need to live. Besides this is a circus! Who works in a circus to not get laughed at?” For the first time all night Norton actually laughed, thanks to this man suddenly he didn’t feel as shitty as he did just 10 minutes ago, the laugh Norton cracked obviously made Sullen in a better mood too as a soft smile spread across his painted frown. “You can wait next to Mike’s tent if you want, it’s the one with the weird flag with stars.” With that the clown started to walk away. “Wait- why did you tell me where he st-“
“You want to apologize right? It’s written all over ya face. Now if you excuse me, I have to greet the newest members of the family. Segi the smiling clown and a lady named Natalie. Two clown’s are better then one I suppose” This time Sullen walked away despite Norton calling his name. “I’ll be sure to come to your next show!” He called out and got a thumbs up in return. With a soft smile across his face Norton wandered across the tent Sullen had described. It was the furthest one away from the main tent and stripped with colours of green, pink, brown, white and blue… basically if Mike turned his outfit into his home it would be like, Norton laughed at his own bad joke and sat against the tough fabric and waited. As Norton watched the sky above with its shining stars he could hear the crowd still chanting Mike’s name, going ooh and ahh at every acrobatic stunt he pulled. He was happy in a way knowing he hadn’t completely ruined Mike’s show, but he still felt horrible. Mike had eyes which were full of happiness, his smile was brighter then the candles which lit the tent, but as soon as Mike look at Norton it was like that very candle had been snuffed out. If only…Mike had called out to someone else…If only he didn’t meet him.
“N..Nor…Norton…Mr. Campbell are you still alive?” A silky voice rang into Norton’s ears until he blinked his eyes open. “What…?” When he could finally focus two multicoloured eyes were staring back at him, a small yelp escaped Norton’s lips as he fell backwards from where he was sitting. “Aw jeez, I didn’t think I was that ugly” It was Mike. Mike was standing right in front of him as he was sleeping the night away.
“No you’re wrong! You’re adorable!” Norton could have said that a little more quietly but panic took over. “I’m…ha?” A blush spread across Mike’s face, a deeper haze spread across Norton too as he realizes what he just blurted out. “I mean…Your show…I’m sorry I didn’t meant to- I just dropped you and ran and-“ With panicked words spewing from his mouth he didn’t even realize that Mike had kept quiet the whole time, all with a warming smile on his face, the blush still showing. With a gulp Norton didn’t know where to go with his apology next. The flashback of Mike’s greyed reaction slipped back into Norton’s mind and panic set back in. Now was the time to go, he tried his best and even saying sorry was a muck up. “I’m sorry. I’ll be going now so don’t worry about seeing me again.” As he tried to leave with a swift exit a tight grasp gripped his wrist which prevented him from running away.
“You said I was cute?” Mike asked innocently. How was he suppose to respond to his one sided love suddenly asking him this? “I…I did…” Norton was having trouble meeting his eyes, he didn’t want Mike to see the blush flooding to his cheeks or the scars. “Well, I thought you’re quite handsome! Especially out there on stage.”
What? The prospector finally turned around to face Mike and saw his smile widen. “You finally looked at me” The blond acrobat cocked his head to the side and laughed. Still scared Norton realized what he was doing and hid his face by looking the other way again. Instead of the grip loosening he felt Mike’s grip get tighter. “Look at me.” Mike demanded, but Norton couldn’t follow through. “I’m sorry.”
In that moment Norton felt Mike move in front of him and dragged him into his tent, throwing him into a couch set up, despite his rushing thoughts he couldn’t help be amazed at how big it was inside.
“Look at me, Norton Campbell.” Still nothing. An annoyed sigh escaped the acrobats lips. “How…do you know my name?” Norton asked quietly. “Sullen told me after the show, said you went to my tent…you’re lucky. He’s not normally that friendly with new people. If he didn’t like you he would have strapped you to a rocket and sent you flying.
Norton flinched at the thought. “I jest my dear Norton. Sullen likes to make people smile not cry.”
Norton remained quiet, still unable to meet Mike’s piercing gaze. To say how warm he made the main circus tent feel, his frown makes this tent feel ice cold. “Why did you run from me?” The warmth had gone from his voice too, it sent a shiver down his back. Ah, he made his first love hate his guts…good going Norton.
“I was scared ya know? I messed up your show, worried the crowd and-“ Norton stopped and realized he couldn’t finish his sentence. “And?” Mike pressed on, stepped one foot closer at a time as Norton spoke. God who knew a cute acrobat could be so intimidating. “When I saw your face, the way you looked at me I…I felt like I died so I ran like a coward.”
Mike stopped, his feet right in front of Norton’s feet. “Why did you feel like that, Norton?” He felt a shock go through his heart…using his name like this was unfair. “Because I…When I first saw you in the ring I just…” Words were becoming difficult to say again, Mike knelt down and rested his arms on Norton’s knees, trying to peek at his face even though Norton tried his best to avoid the gaze. “I fell in love…when I saw you smile…I’m sorry.”
A chuckle was heard and Norton felt every strand of hair go up on ends. “You apologize a lot for someone who’s done no wrong.” What was he on about? Norton didn’t have a chance to react as a pair of hands cupped his face and pulled him up, bringing him in for a kiss. Norton’s eyes widened as he stared back at the freckled face. Mike pulled away and smiled. “That’s revenge for not looking at me when I said so”
All thoughts in Norton’s mind had stopped working. “You-Kissed me?”
“Congrats you can state to obvious.”
“why?”
“Do I need a reason to kiss the man who I love? When I saw you in the spotlight earlier you looked like you wanted nothing more this, am I wrong?”
“But your face when you saw my…scars…You looked disgusted. I thought you hated me.” Before Norton could try and stop himself more tears started to spill. It was a mix of happiness, shock and confusion all in one. “I wasn’t disgusted Norton, I was…shocked. I will admit that, it’s not everyday you see a man with a face covered in scars like that. But the way you looked at me with such…love, it was impossible for my heart to not skip a beat. And besides, those scares made you looks so handsome I really think my brain shut down for a second.”
“So you…like me?” His voice was quite but this time he managed to look Mike in the eyes this time. Mike kept quiet for a second as if he was thinking over his answer, it was sending waves of anxiety over Norton waiting for the answer. “No.”
No? Did he just hear that correctly? The blood suddenly felt like it had been drained from his body and instead a bucket of icy water was splashed on him instead, Mike saw his reaction and gave a chuckle. “I love you, My dear Norton.” Oh, so that’s what he meant by no. Norton felt his body give way and leaned into Mike’s shoulder, giving him a tight hug with a sigh he covered his tear stained face. “For crying out loud, you almost stopped my heart.”
The blond acrobat laughed again and just like that all of Norton’s anxiety washed away at the sight of that smile. “I’m sorry, but just so you can really realize it now so no more running away, I love you.” He pulled himself closer to the prospector and gave him another small kiss, and then another. As the kiss went on it became more heated and the panting could be heart throughout the tent, Norton broke away from his mouth and moved down to his neck, where he left a few good marks. Almost to make sure that it was really Mike the one he had in his arms right now. A soft whimper escaped from Mikes lips as Norton drew his tongue up and down his neck, right over the marks he just placed.
“Norton…” Mike panted as he felt the prospectors hands move up his shirt. Norton only gave a small noise to show that he was listening as he carried on. “The other tents…my family… they’ll hear” Norton paused and gave it a thought and decided maybe stopping now would be best, everything had happened rather quickly. Besides, he would rather have Mike be as loud as he wanted.
“Okay…Not tonight” Mike smiled back at Norton but the hint of disappointment that they couldn’t have done more was showing. ‘Don’t worry, next time you’re free from show’s you can come to my house, hm?” Mike’s smile beamed as he wrapped his arms around Norton and gave him another deep kiss. “As long as I see you in the crowd tomorrow!”
“Of course, I’ll always be there to see you.” As quickly as it started it came to an end as Norton had to go back to his home. But it was okay since he would come back for him tomorrow, and then finally, finally they could have the night they wanted together. Mike couldn’t wait to see Norton again as he watched him walk away into the woods. Norton didn’t know it, but Mike had always been watching him too, on his way to work as Mike would prepare for his show, he would see Norton walking back and fourth never complaining. That determination and love made Mike fall for him despite never seeing him up close. Now that Norton was his there was no need to worry, tomorrow would be a day he could look forward too.
It was a cold and harsh winters evening, the snow rained down and coated everything around it in a deep shining white, the only heat in sight was the bellowing fire dancing upon top of the Hullabaloo Circus. The cries and shouts were not of happy customers, not of laughing souls. One soul stood alone in the snowy storm, staring at the blaze. Crowds soon gathered to put out the fire from near by towns, the only evidence of what or who starting the fire was foot prints on the ground, too large to be human but just the right size for a clown. Though no one had seen or heard from the well-known Sullen the clown who is thought to have perished in the fire.
Mike just sat in a daze with a blanket around him in the back of a dingy old ambulance as Police questioned him. “Do you remember if that man ever said any hints of who it could had been before he was taken to hospital?” Asked the policeman jotting down notes as the investigation went on. “Huh?” was all Mike could reply at this stage…his home...his family…gone. “The man who pulled you out of the fire? Poor lad was covered in scars and fell right into the snow face first when the doctors took him off you. I won’t be surprised if he doesn’t make it after that ordeal but he kept yelling at us to make sure you were okay first. Strange man I say, doesn’t look like the type who would go to a circus.”
Someone…had rescued Mike from the fire? Scars…Oh no. Reality slapped Mike in the face harder then any of his teachers ever did. “Norton! Norton Campbell, H-He’s the one who rescued me, he promised he would come back to the show and he did…I watched him sit in the crowd and then…Tell me, where is he is! Where’s Norton!” Multiple nurses and stand by doctors came over to keep Mike steady who was obviously still in shock. “Norton? You know the man who rescued you?
“Yes he’s my- He’s my lover!” Mike declared with such force that the officer flinched at the sheer volume of Mikes voice. “A-Ah well um, forget that statement I said earlier young man, he got taken to hospital, I’m sure he’ll be fine soon. Thank you for your time.”
But Mike wasn’t having any of it, he knew he heard the officer say it something about Norton maybe not lasting the night. Norton would die, trying to save him. No, no that can’t be right! They promised they would go back to Norton’s house, he would finally get to be with him!
A pale arm calming reached out and pricked Mike with a needle, and suddenly the world became fuzzy. “It’s alright, everything is going to be fine. You’’ be together soon” Huh, that’s strange. The arm which pricked him almost looked like it was sewn shut, there was even stuffing. “Who are you?” Mike managed to speak but his words were slurred as the world around him started to become fuzzy, his mind was going in circles as he saw the flames rage from the circus. ‘My name is Emily, I will see you soon I’m sure.” And without even seeing the doctors face properly Mike slipped into a world of darkness, not knowing when he would awaken again.
Crows called out throughout the courtyard and a strange long legged creature scrawled across the window outside as survivors started to take their seat at the dinning table to await their match with a hunter. Rumor was that today’s hunter was going to be the one named Smiley, Mike had only versed him once and noticed that his smile was far too wide to be human which was what scared him the most. He seemed…oddly familiar too. He only escaped that match because for some strange reason the hunter didn’t attack him and simply walked the other way to chase other survivors. “Sorry but…Is this seat taken?” A voice called at to Mike as he was too busy day dreaming about the match before. “No, go ahead.” Mike said without looking and heard the noise of a chair scraping backwards as someone sat into it.
“Sorry for the intrusion” the voice said as they pulled the chair bac to the table and Mike sighed softly as he sat back in his chair. “You apologize a lot for someone who’s done no wrong.” It was like someone had thrown him into the salty lake at night as he said those words, he remembers saying something like that to someone a long time ago. Without realizing Mike felt tears fall from his button eyes as he turned around to see who was next to him. Though what he looked back into were buttons were eyes once was, they remined the same colour. Coloured eyes of someone he could never truly forget.
“Norton?”