Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ My (More Than) Acquaintance with a Rentboy ❯ you were looking for me? ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Days passed, routine followed.

Winter blanketed the city in a fine lace of snow.
It was a dark season, and that did not make leaving the comforting warmth of my room any more enjoyable; especially only to stalk my way onto the frosted streets. Night classes were great during the summer, but now I thought I had to be an idiot to continue them into winter. The nights were numbing and merciless in the black of the city, so I started taking the bus if I could help it. It was worth sitting next to the mildly insane that frequented the public transport to at least get my blood thawed. I didn't feel like I was in any danger on the bus, even at such a late hour. A poor art student living by himself didn't look flashy or worth the time of a thug. Don't get me wrong; I'm definitely clean; but a ragged old coat and paint-stained jeans didn't quite make me a prime target.

With the settling chill, it seemed the homeless suffered the worst. Wherever there was a pile of filthy rags, there was undoubtedly a poor bastard making a home beneath it. I averted my eyes usually. There wasn't much I could do about it anyhow. Except...I wondered if he had found a place. If he was frozen to the cement next to a dumpster, like the last time I had found him. A pitiful scenario that I didn't want to think about.

Roz had left that one morning like I had asked (well, demanded actually...but in his delirium, I'm surprised he even heard me), but his cigarette-stenched hoodie was still sitting on my couch. It was small, like a girl's, and hung off the couch's arm, casually, as if it was welcome there. Pissed me off…leaving stuff in my room. I wanted to throw it away, but I didn't want to bother with it. I would just walk by it every time, glance at it, and continue on my way. Besides, to throw it away...it would be rude, wouldn't it? If he ever came back...It had been almost a week since.

That boy was fucking up what little sleep schedule I had. If he was never seen again or showed up dead, I would feel responsible. How the hell would I be able to sleep then? Another day, and it was near five am when I had woken up ( two hours sleep), stumbling my hand across the nightstand to find my glasses. Nearly tripped on the neighbor's cat on the way to take out the trash. The thing practically lived outside of it's owner's room; since they left the door open all the time. I was obligated to leave it food sometimes, but I kind of enjoyed taking care of it. Stepping over the cat again on my way back in, I reached for the nearest mug and filled it with coffee. It was bitter, and I was missing the cafe. It wasn't often that I got to relax during the day. I had finished my project early, so the professor was cool enough to give me the option of either starting the new project early, or just coming back the day the new project started. I opted for the later, of course, but this day was my last, and then I'd have to return. To even further my free time, I gave up my job. With the holidays coming, the last thing I wanted to do was put myself into a situation where I was between finals, impatient holiday shoppers, and my "wake disorder". My wallet was starving as a consequence, but I just had to wait a couple weeks with what my parents had me save up. I already knew Bethany was ready to offer me a spot at the cafe as soon as I raised my voice about it. However, I knew I shouldn't rely on kindness, so... I decided it would be better to actually ask. Alright, I'll go to the cafe. I threw on some clothes, tied my shoes, glanced at Roz's hoodie, and left.

The sky was gleaming white from the cloud cover. The city was darkened by it, but to look up at it stung the eyes. Little puffs of smoke rose from the various pedestrians, and we all related to the cold this way. It was our breathy harmony. It was a short walk before the merging traffic came into view, and my little comfortable cafe was waiting there, looking as inviting as ever. Windows lit brightly, steam sifting from the roof, outdoor bushes still preening with life...it was a little shining star in the grayscale of the season.

I already felt 10 degrees warmer, just by walking up to the door. With a welcoming ring of the door's bell, Bethany's aging face had turned a smile towards me immediately. Her old yellow dress and white apron made me think of my great aunt.
"Hey Hon! It's been a while!" She hit me with her notepad on the arm, but her face was still warm. "You haven't been going somewhere else have yah?"
"Bethany, you know you're the only one for me."
She gave a small laugh.
I scanned the café offhand, groggily happy, and I hardly had to look before noticing the back of a very familiar scruffy-haired head. My stomach dropped immediately. Why do I keep running into this guy? After disappearing all this time...
"He was looking for you. Friend from your school?" She commented. Bethany noticed my eyes avert away from him and frowned. "Well, if he wants to copy your work or something, just tell him no!"
I suppressed a laugh. "I'll just...have the usual please."
She nodded and we parted. I made a bee-line to the afore-mentioned booth, passing table after table of water-rings on wood. The familiar head was lowered and now staring blankly into a half empty cup of what looked liked cocoa.
Without hesitating, I swung myself into the seat opposite of Roz.
He almost jumped when I made my appearance, but gave a sigh and a his mouth twisted into a small smile when he focused on who it was.
Roz still looked a little ragged, but much better than the last time I had seen him. His hair was clean, but still messy. He seemed to have a little bit more color, but a small maroon bruise was blossoming under his right eye. I had almost forgotten how irritatingly fetching his looks were. To my horror, he was wearing a small blue shirt that once belonged to an exgirlfriend. I knew that he had thrown his ruined shirt from that one night into the trash, ...but of all the clothes at my apartment, he had to steal that one? Did that little thing even fit him?
Pushing the thought away, I spoke up first. "You were looking for me?"
He stared out the fogged window with his chin on his palm. Through his fingerless gloves he muffled: "Yeah."
I leaned back, a little unamused. "Well. Here I am."
He gave me a sarcastic glance, but he still seemed humored.
"Took you a while. I'm not getting any younger, you know." He said sighing. His smile was back. "You look terrible."
"You were waiting?"
"Well yeah. I figure I might as well thank you properly." He scratched the back of his head nervously. It was almost cute."And to apologize."
"Well..." That was the last thing I was expecting. Maybe a "Can I crash again?" or a "I want my sweater back" would have been more presumable. "I see..."

Five full seconds passed, and Roz was still looking at me to see if I had anything else to say. When I didn't say anything he looked away again.
" So, yeah. I mean, thanks for that. You were helping a total stranger and everything." His finger was tracing a small spiral onto the foggy glass window. I didn't realize that I was staring at him until he kept glancing me. I looked at my hands instead. He continued, "So, sorry. If I can make it up or something, I will."
"What are you talking about? You don't owe me anything."
His head shot up at my reply. "Seriously?"
"Of course. I was just doing what any decent person would have done. Don't even worry about it." My voice was on the edge of annoyance again. It seemed a common event, whenever I talked with this guy. Any normal junkie wouldn't even worry about crashing at someone's place, and forget about it. So why was Roz going out of his way to apologize and even offer a compensation? He was so guilt-ridden, it was almost disturbing. Obnoxious. He must be one of those people who's used to being taken advantage of. "Anyway, you didn't have to go through the trouble of seeking me out. As long as you found a place now, that's all that matters. Maybe you'll finally clean up your act; or stop the urban street-rat bullshit." I said the last sentence with a bit of contempt and wondered how I could be so brutally honest with this kid.

Now it was my turn to feel uncomfortable under his stare. His eyes looked watery, and I wondered if maybe he was really pissed off.
"Tch." He shook his head and unexpectedly ...cracked a smile. Always that catty smile.
Bethany came up to the booth just in time for Roz to shadow his eyes beneath his hair. It never took that long for coffee and toast: She must have been trying to spy. She placed down my order, before looking back and forth between Roz and myself, almost as if she was expecting an explanation. When she didn't get one, she walked away quietly and I starting sipping at my coffee.
"So...was that all you wanted to say?" I asked.
"Why, you're tired of me already?"
"..."
Roz laughed at my silence. "I was just kidding." He flashed a flirty smile and I instantly realized why he made me so uncomfortable in the first place. He was the one who came up to me and offered his services after all... I tried to lift the tension by changing the subject. "So where are you staying now?"
"Oh, ah..." he looked away from my face. It seemed like whenever he was talking to me he'd look away, and when we weren't talking, he was staring at me. I noticed this especially, since I always look people in the eyes when I'm talking with them. "A friend of mine. I met him a month ago."
" Hm." I was trying to keep the conversation light. Maybe I could convince him to get a real job." You working?"
" You could say that."
I bet you could. That look on his face as he pulled out a cigarette seemed to confirm my suspicions. He was probably still whoring himself around.
"You're not allowed to smoke inside."
"We're in the smoking section. That's why I'm cooped up in the back."
"Are you even old enough to smoke?"
"Maybe."
"Touché."
He exhaled and the silver smoke floated around our heads. I coughed, and he smiled. Perhaps he was a bit of a sadist.
Of all the disgusting habits, Roz had to pick one that was harmful to everyone in the vicinity. That smell... which reminded me of the black hoodie that was still lying on my couch. "By the way, you left your sweater at my place. If I had known you would be here, I'd have brought it for you."
"S'all right." he pulled out the ash tray that was hiding behind the condiments. "I'll just pick it up later or something. I still remember which building you're in."
I took off my black-rimmed glasses to wipe them on the bottom of my shirt. I couldn't tell whether they had a fingerprint on them or if the smoke was just blurring things.
"You're pretty hot without your glasses on."
"I don't want to hear that from you."
Roz leaned forward on the table with a grin. "Then who would you want to hear it from?"
I put my glasses back on. "I don't know. A girl I know or something." My thoughts went briefly to Mel from my figure-drawing class.
"Don't compliments from friends feel dishonest?" His stare was out of the fogged glass again. "Compliments from strangers are more straightforward."
"Well, I don't trust strangers, and I have honest friends." I replied, as if that settled it.
Roz sighed, exhaling more smoke and rubbing at the bruise beneath his eye. The irritation was turning the skin more red. "I wouldn't know. I haven't had friends in years."
"What about the guy you're staying with?"
He paused and I could tell I had just caught him in a lie.
"So you're not staying with anyone then." I didn't bother to phrase it as a question, and Roz didn't bother to answer.
There was a moment of silence, and then tension, with my anger steadily building. It was really frustrating having to worry about this kid all the time. Liars really are the worst, in my opinion.
"For fuck's sake..." I sighed heavily. "You can't keep living on the streets. I guess you don't mind if you end up dead then right?"
Roz was staring at me, without any intention of interrupting my scolding. It was probably the same look he gave to his mother. I continued regardless. "Christ, people these days just completely take their lives for granted. Fine. Just fucking crash at my place like you intended. That's what you want me to say right?"
"I didn't ask for anything like that!" Roz replied, looking perplexed and harassed.

At that moment, the bell at the café entrance jingled. With my seat facing that direction, I distractedly stole a glance and saw, with an armful of posters, the cute young face of Mel. Almost immediately, she saw our booth in the back, and her face burst into a grin. "David!" Without a second's notice, she had scurried down the row, bending down to throw her arms around my neck. "Geez! I was so bored in class without you!" She dropped some of her posters as she did it. My attitude seemed to go from annoyed to sunny in a New York second.
Roz noticed, and was looking at the scene in front of him a little begrudgingly. He was looking her over, from the pretty brown Filipino eyes, to the striped stockings and fluffy snow-bunny boots. He suddenly had a wicked look in his eyes, and I didn't like it.
Mel saw Roz's face and seemed to have mistaken his lewd grin for a charming smile. "Who's your friend David?"
Roz opened his mouth before I could. "I'm Roz. Do you need a hand?"
Mel had collected all of the rolled up posters that had fallen, and I felt a twinge of guilt that I hadn't offered first.
"No, I'm fine, thanks! Oh, I'm Mel, David's classmate." She jumbled with her arms to offer a handshake, and he took it.

"I've never seen you at this café before." I inquired.
"Yeah, I was going to ask the owner if I could put up a poster." She gestured to the armful, "Since Soule's Zine is having an upcoming concert and all. My brother's friend is in the band, so he let me help with promoting." She said it more in Roz's direction.
I had almost forgotten about that; I had been so distracted. I hadn't been to a concert in a few years…not since high school.
"Are you serious?" Roz was almost out of his seat. "I love Soule's Zine! I've only seen them live once, but they are amazing. I have their demo CD."
Mel was equally excited, and quite flattered by Roz's enthusiasm. "Yeah! They're coming out with an album soon! That's what this next concert is for! It's on New Year's, and you guys had better come! I'm surprised you haven't heard by now!" She had unraveled one of the posters to show us a picture of the band, Soule's Zine, in front of their instruments with a strange overall Asian and punk theme. "It's a small venue, but I expect it'll be a good turnout." Mel couldn't suppress her volume anymore. Bethany had poked her head out from the backroom to gawk at the sudden youthful customers who were making a commotion.

"Aw, I have to go to it. I guess I better pick up tickets." Roz said, admiring the advertisement.
There was a bit of red behind Mel's chestnut cheeks, and she seemed utterly bewitched by Roz's cute face. "U-um, I can get you guys tickets for free if you want."
"For real?" Roz seemed to have caught her in his web and he knew it. He was giving her the same look that he had given me when we first met.
"Yeah! It's really no problem, so leave it to me!" They had a bit more small talk about the band as I sat there forgotten. It was none of my business who Roz flirted with, but I didn't want Mel getting involved in his drama.

Eventually Bethany came over to ask if Mel wanted something to order, but Mel politely declined and said to us that she had better leave, to put up more posters.
"We should all go out together sometime!" She said, before turning.
She was asking Bethany about putting up a poster as she walked away from us.
"Cute girl." Roz smirked.
"Don't go getting her mixed up in your street-life." I warned.
Roz's face was delighted at my reaction. "Hey, I got you a free ticket." He shrugged.
"She probably would have offered anyways, since she's a nice person." Implying that the manipulative person across from me now, was not.
Roz was pouting at me, but he looked satisfied.
Looking at the café clock, he stood up. "Well, I guess I've bothered you long enough right?"
As he said it, I had just realized that the coffee in my hand was cold. I stood up as well. I still had a painting to finish for Bethany before Christmas. Not to mention I hadn't even asked her for a job yet, which was the whole reason I had come to the café in the first place.

Roz followed behind me quietly as I walked towards the counter. At the register, Bethany was still in the back, so he pressed a bill and some coins into my hand. "Here, can you pay for me?" He seemed almost rushed to leave, but I had just gotten comfortable to his company. He was leaving this café, this warmth, to return to the cold streets. To the cold people. To whatever it was that he occupied himself with during the day.
As he turned away I was surprised to see that my hand held onto the sleeve of his under-sized sweater.
He paused and turned to me, curious as to why I halted him.
"About what I said earlier, if you really do need a place to stay…"
He stared affectionately at my hand that was still grasping his arm. I pulled it away quickly. "I mean, it's better than nothing, so…my doors open for you, or however you say it." I looked away as I felt my face get hot. Saying something like that was a little cheesy, no matter who it is.

I don't know why I was embarrassed, but Roz just gave me a meek smile. He scratched the back of his head nervously. "I'll see you later David."
And almost regretfully, he turned away from me again and walked out the door, pulling his scarf up around him.

I watched him leave, and after paying, I asked Bethany if she had a job open for me. She looked overjoyed, but as I walked back to my apartment in the crisp cold, I felt a little empty.