Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ My (More Than) Acquaintance with a Rentboy ❯ I think it's time to sober up ( Chapter 4 )

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

my closed eyes, I saw a street.
I was standing in the middle as the crowded figures walked by, blurred, as if my glasses weren't on. An old-time movie with fast-motion moving. Everything was a terrible chalky gray, a pallet of wet newspaper. The fog was stifling... like cigarette smoke...

I coughed as I woke up, reaching a lazy hand over to my black glasses. I had fallen asleep? When? What time was it? It was still pretty dark... was it morning? The small studio apartment was somewhat lit. My face was pointed towards the clock and the red blotchy numbers told me that it was seven. I was hungry for breakfast. Sitting up, I noticed that the smell of cigarettes was still lingering. I turned my head and nearly fell out of my bed. Roz was sitting on the end of it, smoking. He turned his glance away from the television and laughed at my panicked expression. "You're awake huh?"
My heart was still racing from the sudden fright. After swallowing a few mouthfuls of air, I tried to speak.
"W-what...?"
"Damn, are you alright?" He was chuckling as he asked."Sorry, I came in a while ago, but decided to let you sleep." He briefly turned back to the television. " ...I can't believe you don't have cable." The back of his head added.
Here was Roz, wearing the same clothes from the last time I saw him (why that shirt?), nonchalantly breaking into my room without a phone call or a warning. For some reason the neighbor's cat was sitting in his lap. He was watching my TV and smoking, on top of everything else. It was too early in the day to be dealing with it, really. This kid really did have some nerve.
With a steadying heartbeat, I tried again, slowly. "What are you doing here?"
Roz's lips parted for a moment as if contemplating my question. His eyes were so childish. "Didn't you say I could stay if I needed to? Isn't that alright?"
Oh, that. I really must've been an idiot to suggest it. I suppose my face showed recollection, because Roz gave a relieved smile. "You had such puppy-dog eyes, how could I turn down such an invitation?"
"Stop kidding around."
I pushed the heavy comforter off before pulling a shirt clumsily over my head. Roz was watching me through his dark hair as I went through my drowsy ritual of uncoordinated coffee mixing. His cigarette stayed on his lips as he just kept petting that cat over and over, adding smoke and fur to the decor.

After sipping a bit of the coffee, I leaned over the counter. Despite the cold tile, I could have gone back to sleep right there. It felt so good to be waking-up-tired instead of can't-sleep-tired.
Roz was still watching me with his smoky eyes. For such a rough looking kid, he was actually quite effeminate, an artsy look, and somewhat European. Too bad that his street rat look covered it up. Anyway, it was a good face for a portrait.
When I realized he wouldn't stop staring at me anytime soon I asked, " Roz, How did you get in without knocking?"
He seemed to be expecting that question. So as not to disturb the purring feline, he lifting his hips to reach down the back pocket of his pants. A brass object was thrown in my direction, so I caught it, and stared down to see my spare key.
" Underneath the welcome mat, David? You're just asking to be robbed." It was almost a scolding. And it wasn't really a Welcome mat as much as it was just a place to wipe my feet.
"Well, whatever." I dumped the rest of the coffee down the sink. It tasted terrible."You're the only company I'll expect, so keep it." I tossed it back to him and he had to lean far right to catch it. He smirked at my terrible throw, but I pretended I didn't see it.
He glanced at the key in his hand. "You trust me with this?"
"Are you suggesting I shouldn't?"
He shut up, and with that, I took my skillet pan off from the wall. I had left over rice from the day before, so fried rice sounded pretty appealing. Of course, Roz couldn't stay quiet for 2 seconds longer.
"Huh? Are you going to make something?" He stood up from the twin bed, carrying the complacent cat with him. That light blue shirt really was too small; I could see a small space of skin between the shirt and his belt. It's winter- Just what the hell are you thinking?!
I crouched down and inspected a cupboard to see if I had any soy sauce." Please don't bring the cat over here. Unless you want fur in your food."
" You can cook?" It almost sounded like disbelief.
" A little. My dad's a chef." The soy sauce seemed lost behind other condiments. "...Are you really still petting that cat on the counter?"
Roz picked the cat back up and rubbed his cheek against it's head. Stop trying to look cute, you're not fooling anyone.
"Er, well, as much as I'd like to try your cooking, Mel called and asked if she could take us out to dinner. She said to convince you, she has a surprise." He said it a bit regretfully, but there was no doubt that his voice was excited by the time he finished. "I bet she has our tickets" He said anxiously.
"Wait a minute, Mel called? About Dinner? What time is it?" A flurry of questions started whirling around. I was still a little disoriented from waking up.
"Hmm, well Wheel of Fortune is over, so...past seven I think. Turned dark a while ago."
"You're telling me this now?" Had I really lost that much time? It was a bit distressing to wake up and realize that the day was already over. How long had I managed to sleep? And how long had he been here anyways?
Roz shrugged.
So, it was actually night time... And Mel was trying to lure us out for dinner? That's not completely unusual, but it seemed more like she wanted an excuse to know Roz better. Well, I wouldn't really mind the idea if it weren't for the fact that- "I'm dead broke."
"Mel said she'd pay." Roz replied, fastening his scarf, already eager to leave.
Are you kidding? To pay for both of our dinners? For the Mel I knew, that was awfully generous. Anytime she did something for me, it was a contract that I would have to repay for her later. At one time, I spilled paint on her shoes, so I offered to buy her new ones. But that incident ended with Mel having 3 new pairs of shoes and my wallet being empty. Either she knows how to twist me, or I'm easily twistable. In that case, she definitely had something to talk with us about.
"Alright then, might as well humor her." I just hoped I wouldn't owe her too much in return. "I just gotta get properly dressed, and I'll call her back."
"Okay!" Roz nodded. He pulled on that too-small hoodie that he had left earlier and sat with his legs crossed on the couch.
I took a few strides across my matchbox-sized apartment to the dresser. Rummaging through my drawers, I noticed that Roz was watching me again. The cliche line of "Take a picture, it'll last longer." swaggered out of my mouth and Roz snapped his head back to the TV. I smirked at the thought of that line still being effective even after seventh grade, as Roz pretended to pay attention to a home-cleaning advertisement. I didn't know where we were going, but it'd probably be somewhere nearby, so I decided not to worry much clothing-wise. A simple band tshirt ontop of a longsleeve, and my usual paint-stained jeans would suffice. As I turned to pick up my scarf and jacket, cold fingers weaved their way through the hair on the back of my head. I started, to see Roz looking amused. " You sure are jumpy." He mused, returning his hands to my hair and attempting to style it. He had strategically put gel on his palms.
"What are you doing?" I tried to jerk away from him, but Roz just reached his arms out again to make contact. He sandwiched the front of my hair with his hands and pulled it upwards. He let go, satisfied, but gave a small pout when I tried to flatten my hair back down.
"The hell?" I demanded.
He gave a large smile and replied simply, "I tried to give you a fauxhawk. You kind of deflated it though."
I glanced at my reflection in the window and frowned at the wannabe fauxhawk-turned-cowlick. It instantly reminded me of those starbucks-dwelling classmates of mine. I ruffled my hair up even more." What are you trying to do? Make me look like a cafe hipster?"
"Isn't that what you already are?"
My following silence made Roz laugh aloud. " You're mad because it's true and it looked good on you."
"It didn't. Hand me the phone. "


***

When I had called Mel up again, she had told me to meet her at this place called "Red Planet". I had never heard of it, but it was a place she frequented on the weekends. She gave me some really vague directions and heavily implied that we should hurry the hell up. Apparently this place was more in the metropolitan area, which was a bit annoying, but also a bit of a relief. It was a hassle to get to the heart of the city, but I wouldn't refuse a free meal. Not to mention I had sort of missed seeing the brighter and more fun part of the city, after dwelling in the dark part of it for so long. Roz and I walked outside and made our way to the bus stop. The glow of orange and fluorescent lamps were everywhere. It was pretty cold, so I bowed my head. Stepping over trash, flyers, old cigarettes...such filth around this place.
"It's beautiful, huh?"
"What?" I turned my head to look at him. His head was gazing at the sky. I turned my head to look too. The moon was so low, it barely peeked over the skyscrapers in the distance. It even had an orange tint from the pollution. But, no doubt, it was quite beautiful, with the buildings around it lit up. The stars were just starting to flick on.
"I like this time of year, when the moon gets bigger. It's like this almost every night." Roz said. He was smiling.
"...I never noticed." But I'm glad he brought it up. So there were still some things around here that could be appreciated huh? Was Roz one of those people who saw beauty in dark places? Maybe he was a bit of an artist after all.
Our feet sloshed over the puddles of the previous rain. It had been pounding, but had now subsided into a misty sprinkle. I looked over at Roz again. Little flecks of it had stuck onto his hair and wet his face. He winced his eyes against the wind and noticed me. This time, instead of darting his eyes around, he was actually looking me in the eyes. His voice was soft."What is it?"

A familiar cackle of laughter broke the peace. One of the rent-girls that he used to hang out with had turned a corner, recovering from a laughing fit. She was talking with her friends and hadn't noticed us yet, but Roz was already pulling the hood of his sweater up over his messy hair. I didn't know what he was thinking, but sort of got the point that he didn't want to talk with her. Although the more Roz tried not to look suspicious, the more attention he brought to himself. We kept walking on the other side of the street as the rent girl broke away from her usual gaggle of scantily-clad ladies, waving goodbye behind her. Roz had latched onto my arm and walked close to the wall. Too late, it seemed.
"Roz? Roz! Is that you?" Her voice had a laugh behind it. It seemed magnified in the open area.
Roz had stopped in his tracks. For a minute I wondered if he was going to keep walking, but he had turned around with an unnatural smile on his face.
"Ah, you caught me." He said, scratching his head.
"Damn boy, it's been a while!" The gum in her mouth made a smacking noise. Her face was heavily masked with tan foundation, but it didn't cover the premature smoking wrinkles. She was an absolute cartoon character. Noticing my existence, the rent-girl's glittered eyes looked me up and down. I watched as her face revealed that she recognized me. Her smiling, neon mouth opened in amusement. "For real?" She asked, looking back to Roz. "You just won me $50 kiddo." And she started laughing that loud cackle. A few people turned their heads.
I stepped in. "It's not-"
" I know right? Good eye Krystal. Never thought I'd stick with a regular huh?" Roz interrupted with a smug smile.
"How about that..." She said to herself. 'Krystal' seemed quite friendly with Roz. "Well, sorry to bother you while you're on the clock hon,"She suppressed a laugh. "So be on your merry way." With a mock-bow, she unfurled her hand. "Just know that Gregg's looking for you."
Roz's words suddenly turned to venom. "Who gives a fuck about him?"
Krystal's loud laugh filled the area once again. "Later..." She managed to cough out,walking away with a wave. The clopping of her heels echoed around us like the trotting of a horse. I turned to Roz, but he didn't look at me. He slowly pulled his arm away from me, taking some warmth with him. Arms crossed, he walked a bit ahead of me, leaning against the strong gusts. Wasn't he going to give me an explanation? Was he embarrassed? Angry? I wanted to talk with him, but I couldn't think of the right thing to say. I felt like I was diluting myself, thinking I could just randomly pick up a stranger and befriend them into changing. What if there was no helping a person a like him?
"Roz." I called to him, but he didn't turn around. I called him again, louder.
It was hard to hear over the wind, but his voice was audible. "I'm sorry for the trouble, alright? Lets just leave it alone."
So I did. We waited at the bus stop in silence, riding beside each other- with more silence, up the street- the artery-of the city. I wasn't about to pester him, but I at least wanted to break the tension. He didn't want to tell me anything, so I wouldn't ask. It was none of my bussiness anyways. But Roz, can't you see a helping hand when you're offered one?

Leaving the dull orange and fluorescent part of the city behind seemed to put some of the awkward feelings behind us. Although quiet, Roz seemed steadily more excited the farther we got away from the apartments, so I figured it had been awhile since he had last taken a trip here as well. More and more neon signs welcomed us and people swelled the area. They walk, they work, they buy, they sell. They are the cogs in the machine. The mechanical heart. The noise of chatter, cars, and various songs were stagnant in the air, while colorful lights and animated billboards were eye-candy to the passerby. The shining black street helped to reflect the hues on every polished surface. All of the people were just minding their business, going on a date, going home from work...They all had their stories. This is what I truly love about the city.
When we had gotten off at our stop, I had to decipher my own handwriting to figure out where the hell we were going. Mel hadn't given me any street names, just landmarks. It was busy this time of night, and most of the crowd consisted of young people. Roz kept bumping into me, so I told him to walk behind me, which was an even worse idea, since he'd end up ten people away. We didn't really talk much, except for when he'd say "Look at that!" or "What the hell?" when observing some window displays. You'd think he was a child, the way he kept pulling into himself and stopping to look at the tops of higher skyscrapers. His neck would be craned as far back as it could go until I called his name and he'd quickly catch up. I myself had walked these streets many times, when I used to live around the area, before I moved out. It was a nice area to live around, and my past spoiled-self had taken it for granted. A lot of it had changed in so little time; The business area was a living, changing thing.The streets and walkways were loud with the wet steps of various pedestrians, letting colors bounce all over the place around people's feet, but the rain hadn't lasted long enough to make it less stuffy. It was pretty congested, and Roz didn't bother with stopping to light a cigarette.

Two lefts after the modern art sculpture, right at the designer purse outlet, straight past the noodle stand... I wondered if I'd ever find this place, or better yet, find my way back. But finally, in the alley of an alley, some red lanterns alerted me to the final destination. There was no sign overhead, just a painted wooden sign on the walkway that said "Red Planet" all stylized and swirly looking. There were red christmas lights around the windows and it actually looked a bit crowded, with kids standing out front. I wondered how such a secluded place could be so crowded, but I reminded myself that I couldn't underestimate the radar teens had for this type of trendy spot. Roz and I walked past the mob of scenesters, poking our heads around for Mel. The place was two floors, and almost every table was occupied by more artsy looking kids. Like walking into a photo darkroom, the walls, lighting, and decor were all red, which kind of hurt my eyes. There were little red lanterns hanging from the ceiling and random art, many of it comical and modern, hung up on the walls. A disco ball was in the middle of the ceiling, reflecting even more different shades of red all over. I was sick of all the red by the time I saw Mel's hand waving to us from a table of 6 other guys. I didn't recognize any of them, except for Mel's brother, who I had been drinking with once. He stood up and greeted me as I walked over before Mel bounced her way to us. We called him Robbie, and you could tell by his eyes and mouth that he was related to Mel. He had a friendly face.

"Sup David?" He asked.
Mel was pulling Roz over to the table, who seemed to have a frozen look on his face as he stared at the others around the table. Letting go of his skinny arm, Mel grinned ear-to-ear, showing me the guys seated around the table. "Surprise! See? It's Soule's Zine!"
"Huh?" I looked at their faces again. They were the same faces that were on the posters that Mel had been plastering everywhere. A feeling of bewilderment washed over me and I starting smiling as much as Mel. "Oh, no kidding?" The members of Soule's Zine smiled back at me, and told us to have a seat.
"Is your friend alright?" A blond one asked, looking at Roz's dumbfounded expression. I had forgotten that he was a raving fanboy for them. Once he was addressed, he snapped out of it and introduced himself. It was funny to see him acting that way, trying not to gush over them too much and keeping his cool after looking like an idiot. At least I thought he had looked like an idiot. Mel was looking at him like he was the 4th of July.
The band introduced themselves, and for the time I got to know them, they really were a pretty cool group of people.
"You coming to our show David?" the bassist, Tanner asked me.
"Of course, I wouldn't miss it. The semester will be over by then, so it shouldn't be a problem." He looked young, about the same age as Roz." You're still in highschool right?"
"Yeah." He replied a little sheepishly. "But I'll be out too. What about your roommate?"
"Roommate?" I supposed he meant Roz, but he wasn't my roommate as much as he was a crasher. Tonight was still only the fourth time I had run into him, and so far I had no idea how long he intended on sticking around. "Yeah, He'll go." I answered. Looking over at him, Roz was talking with the blond drummer, who didn't seem to catch onto the obvious passes he was making towards him. I couldn't help but roll my eyes.
"Hey, lets do Truth-Shots!" The singer yelled from the other side of the table.
"No way!" Mel yelled back. "You always break the rules. Besides, there are some underage people here." She looked at half of the table. Mel knew I had turned twenty one in September, but she didn't know about Roz. He was obviously underage, but she didn't seem to give him the glare. "Do drinking games some other time." She concluded. An exasperated sigh could be heard in reply.
We had been eating and talking about music a majority of the time. A few times Mel made fun of the fauxhawk that I hadn't quiet snuffed out, while her brother and the singer scoped out for ladies. I was surprised by how much Roz ate, but then again, free food was a rare opportunity. Two hours later, the restaurant was emptying and the plates were finished, but a few of the guys weren't done with the night just yet.


***

The singer, who I learned was called Jung, said that he was going to a party and that we could go as well. I wasn't high on the idea, but Mel tried to drag us along anyway. I figured, if the crowd got rowdy then I'd just catch a cab back to my place. The band parted, and we said our goodbyes to those that were leaving. Roz was brazen enough to tag along with us, but I half expected that. The night air was cold, but refreshing, and my eyes felt relieved to get away from all of that red. A taxi pulled up, and about 4 of us (Mel, the blond drummer, Roz, and I) somehow squeezed into the back seat while Jung sat up front. I thought the driver wouldn't take all of us, but he didn't say anything about it. He just looked irritated and tired. Mel raised an eyebrow at the stuffed animals in the back window. Like most cabs, it had a weird smell and the additional scent of cigarettes from Roz squishing next to me was never stronger. His hair was on my neck and I could smell my own shampoo wafting from it. Mel, who was sitting next to Roz, complimented his shirt, and I looked out the window. Above our chattering, the driver was playing some strange jazz music with Chinese lyrics. It was somehow appropriate as the colors zoomed by, the people all looking in their own direction as they walked; their steps marched in tune with the beats from the gritty speakers. Our breath steamed up the windows, and Roz drew a smiley face on top of it with his finger. I took the liberty of X-ing out the eyes. Traffic was thick for a while, but as the congestion cleared, the car started speeding through the intersections. For such a quiet and tired looking driver, he drove like a stuntman in and out of lanes. He was calm-faced, and driving on the wet streets like they were supposed to make the car swerve. Even the stuffed animals near the speakers tumbled around. The hard jerks of the vehicle made my fellow passengers laugh, but I was feeling sick.

The cab arrived at an expensive looking apartment complex, with large windows and a chandelier in the lobby. At first I wondered if Jung had the right place, but I noticed that a lot of other people, probably students like myself, were hovering around as well. We walked right in past the front desk, and filled into the elevator with gold doors.
"Just who's place are we going to anyway?" I asked.
Jung was observing the mirror on the elevator ceiling as he replied. " My girl is celebrating since her 'rents are out of town." He turned to me with a smile. "She's really cute and asked me to bring as many people as possible, so go ahead and have a good time. Actually, I was supposed to be here an hour ago." Parents out of town? How cliche is that? Well, it wasn't with a clean conscience that I could just come in uninvited, especially to see a nice room get overrun by ingrates. Call me old-fashioned.
The elevator opened, and it was immediately obvious which suite the party was taking place in. There were tons of kids moving in and out of the door that was blasting out music. We made our way over (Jung was practically skipping), and came into a swarm of people drinking, dancing, talking, and generally giving the neighbors a hard time. Inside, there was a fantastic view of the city scape from the patio windows and a high ceiling. It was very dark, with dimmed lights, but there were tens of glowsticks on every table, and around people's necks. Many of the sticks had been carelessly left on the floor, giving the place an eerie glow. Jung's girlfriend must have a burning pocket book.

The group separated almost immediately, dissolving into the crowd of smiles. Roz took off to find entertainment, leaving me to walk around awkwardly. He looked much scruffier than the rest of the crowd, but it didn't slow him down. As for me, it felt like I wasn't really part of this gathering at all. Everyone was already in their own conversations with people they knew, and the fresh faces and carefree conversations felt almost foreign. It wasn't too long ago that I was like these people; not paying for my own place or worrying about my future, because surely it would be fun no matter what, right? At this time of life, happiness is a credit card. Most of the sound in the room consisted of the numbing beats from the music. It was some throw-away hit that sounded similar to all the others, and youth danced close, in a small area that used to be a living room. They swayed together, some with eyes closed, moving their bodies slowly and forgetting the rest of the party around them. I grabbed a bottle from one of the many ice-filled buckets and sat down on a barstool near the kitchen. For some reason, at any type of social event, I usually go for the kitchen. Seems like the cleanest place or something- I don't know. I spyed Jung there, who had found his girlfriend. She was wearing a black and white polka-dot dress, and he definitely wasn't kidding when he said she was cute. Mel was standing with them, completely in niche with the environment. Jung caught my eye and called to me. "Hey, Dave, you wanna do some Truth-shots?"
...Did he just call me 'Dave'? I had heard him talking about shots earlier, but had no clue what he had in mind.
"How do I play?" I asked.
"Ah man, it's easy." He got closer to me, stepping over some glowsticks." You get to ask someone 5 questions, no matter what, and they have to answer truthfully. If they don't want to tell the truth, then they have to take a shot until they're comfortable enough to share. It's the easiest way to really get to know someone, you know?"
Mel cut in."Except I don't play with this guy unless there are some ground rules. Like, no perverted questions!"
"She's really no fun." Jung replied, shaking his head. His girlfriend giggled as she sipped at a beer.
So it was just a question game? It sounded easy enough, but... I wasn't feeling it. Even if it was a drinking game, it was way too highschool. "Uhm, No thanks, I'm not really in the mood."
"NOW who's no fun?" Mel smirked. I shrugged and left my seat. The kitchen now had a small gathering of people who were curious watchers, as the rest of the party continued to thrive. I walked past the bathroom (which had a smell curiously similar to weed), to the large open patio windows. I stayed inside, watching all of the cars below stop and go, ignored by the throng of dancers. Their faces were hardly visible, save for the window's light and the glowsticks around their necks and waists. Roz was there with a girl in skinny jeans, dancing to the music and getting smooshed against the others.

I opened the bottle and swallowed down the sour taste. I didn't like beer, but it gave my hands something to hold as I watched the others dance. A new song came on, and then another, as the shuffle continuously pumped out popular songs that everyone knew except for me. Roz kept dancing with different beautiful girls, and even a beautiful boy. The rhythm seemed to come so natural to them, and it was easy to see why Roz was getting so much attention. A cute young face and edgy looks seemed to get you places nowadays. A few times, girls that were as lonely as I was came up to talk with me, but lost interest when they saw someone that they knew from across the room. The place was getting hot, and I had to wipe off my glasses a few times. I looked outside the large windows , occasionally looking at the reflection to see the party behind me, absent mindedly watching the stop-and-go traffic. The city's pulse. The turning cogs. And already I was getting the familiar feeling of detachment. Miles up, in space, looking down on the little fishtank planet. There's the city, and the building, and there's me looking out the window. And there is a girl coming up behind me. "Hey, It's David!"
I turned my head to the voice, and saw a girl with a lacey top and long poofy hair. She was familiar, but I couldn't plant a name to her face.
"Hey, what's up?" I tried to play it off anyways.
"I'm good!" she said, a little too enthusiastically. "Damn, it's been a while! I haven't seen you or Kitty for a long time; How is she?"
So that's it. She was Kitty's friend. "We broke up a while ago."
"Ohhh..." Her eyes looked downward in embarrassment. "Damn, I didn't know, sorry."
"It's no big deal."
The repetitive beats of the song ended, and the silence following was broken by the sudden fierce frets of a guitar. The music was on shuffle, but it seemed Jung's girlfriend had some Soule's Zine on there as well. The dancers looked around at each other, unsure how to dance to the sudden loud guitar wailing, and I couldn't help but laugh. Roz's head recognized my outburst and looked in my direction. Sorry Roz, there's no way you'd get me to dance; especially with another guy.
One of the guys in the circle started jumping up and down, and soon all the dancers followed suit and made their own miniature mosh pit. Now I felt really bad for the neighbors. Kitty's friend continued to give me some small talk and then eventually drifted away like the rest of them. The last thing I wanted to talk about was an ex-girlfriend, so I busied myself with another bottle and continued to watch the dance floor. Although I hated to admit it, Roz wore that shirt better than Kitty ever did.

***

I don't remember how long that party lasted, but I remember thinking that I should have went home much earlier. As the night progressed, people started to leave, but roars from the kitchen's drinking-games got progressively louder. Everyone was shaken from their laughter, however, when all of the suite's lights abruptly turned on. It was a flash of white light. We all winced under the sudden brightness, and the place quieted in question of what was going on. All of the mess that had been previously invisible in the dark was now witness for all of us. A few men in neat uniforms stepped over the empty bottles, spills, and burnt-out glowsticks to approached the kitchen. "Who's in charge here?" The officer asked. There was a bit of edge in his voice.
Little bits of nervous laughter snuck through the crowd as kids started heading for the door. Their illuminated faces showed the number of hours they had been there.
Jung's girlfriend raised her hand."I am, sir." she replied sweetly, meekly.
I had figured that the jumping mosh pit was enough for someone to call the cops. And now was the time to leave. I looked over to Jung, who had a sick look on his face. He caught my glance, and waved his hand -the signal that I should go. I started looking around for the familiar dark hair that was Roz, but couldn't find him right away. As the groups of teens and college kids headed for the door, I moved against their traffic to search the place. But Roz was nowhere to be seen. There were still to many bodies in the way of finding him. Did he leave with someone? Was he in a drunken sleep somewhere? The kitchen, the bathroom, ...where had he crawled off to? More officers showed up and I didn't want to get in the middle of it. Why did I have to worry about this kid so much? I hated it. He shouldn't be my responsibility.
But I found him soon enough.
In a small space between the window and entertainment center, Roz had the beautiful boy from earlier pushed against the wall. His hands were up the boy's shirt, and their open mouths were kissing in an almost obscene way, oblivious to the commotion around them. He had some goddamn nerve... Without thinking, I grabbed the back of Roz's belt latch, and pulled him off the other boy as hard as I could. Roz stumbled into the wood coffee table, in shock. "What the hell?" He gasped. His flushed face looked to me and fell into a scowl. "What the fuck was that?"
As I looked down at Roz, I immediately felt regret. I didn't mean to hurt him. The other boy gaped at the scene, before sheepishly mixing into the leaving crowd.
"Um, We have to go." I said stupidly. I felt like a brute. What was I, some over-protective older brother?
"Well no shit, I figured that out." He was pissed, and I didn't blame him. But having a make out session with someone he just met? Didn't I have a right to be disgusted? And witnessing two guys kissing...it was just weird.
"Come on, this place is swarming with cops." I pulled on his wrist, but he snapped it away and started leaving on his own. Everyone was pushing their way out the door, but there were few of us left. The hall was filled with angry neighbors in expensive pajamas, not even bothering to hide their disapproving faces.
Alone in the elevator, the silence was unbearable.
"Shit." Roz's small arms were crossed in anger. "Goddamnit David. You owe me big time." With a deep sigh, the tension seemed to ease off a little. "God, he was adorable." Roz said, almost pitifully.
Like usual, I was getting irritable. I owe him? More like the other way around. "Sorry, I guess I was wasting my time searching the whole damn place. Remind me not to worry about you anymore."
Roz rolled his eyes. "Well that's a relief. Maybe I'm better off without the mommy-complex."
I could feel my face flush red, and in the reflecting gold doors, I could see him hiding a smirk of triumph beneath his scowl.

A dead silence occupied us yet again on the way back to my apartment. Both of us were too stubborn to say anything to the other, but silence was a better option than useless bitching. I decided to go cheap by taking the bus, but regretted it later when it started raining as we got off. It was a considerable walk back to the apartment, so we were pretty wet by the time we got there. We didn't bother with turning the lights on, and Roz kicked off his shoes, immediately crashing onto the couch. I hated having to peel off wet clothes, but I changed into a dry longsleeve and plaid sleeping pants anyway. I creeped over and lifted my covers. It was eight hours since I had last gotten out of bed, and I was determined to return to it. I was desperate to try to sleep again.The neighbor's cat was already occupying it, but I didn't care. Roz was sitting crosslegged on the couch, with damp clothes, glaring at me.
"What?"
"You're going to sleep again?"
"Yeah, well, I have to at least try. Besides, I have work in four hours." I was going to go to the cafe for Bethany's job training.
"Oh." He mumbled, flattening down his wet, unruly hair. "I thought you were the type that didn't sleep much."
"That's not even the half of it."
"At least we got to meet Soule's Zine. It was a fun party." Speak for yourself. It was cool hanging out with them, but as far as the party was concerned, I'd have rather stayed in and watched the rain. "But," he added. There's a 'but'? Now he had that obnoxious pout on his face. "I didn't even get to try truth-shots."
"Well you shouldn't be drinking anyways.You're already half-drunk." I pulled the covers over my head.
"Wanna play?"
"What?"
"Truth-shots." He said simply. " I want to play."
I threw the covers off again. "What, are you serious?" I looked over to him and that infectious smile was back on his face. "No way. I'm not going to get drunk around you. I don't trust you." The covers were back to hiding my head. "Besides, I don't have anything for shots. Maybe some other time."
With that, the sound of rummaging was heard outside the comfort of my bed. For a few minutes I heard Roz opening cabinets and moving around the things inside. What was he doing now? I decided I would just try to ignore it for a while. A sudden weight appeared on the edge of my bed and I opened one eye to look up. Roz was standing up, on the end of my bed holding up a huge bottle of vodka he managed to salvage from somewhere. Had that always been in this apartment? ...Right, the last tenant had drank himself to death.
I kept my face covered. "No. Leave me alone."
He jumped off the bed and looked at the lump of pillows and comforter that I had cocooned myself into. With a swift pull, my warmth was now a crumbled mess on the floor. The cat decided to run for it.
"Goddamnit." I slowly pulled myself up, and saw Roz waving me over to the floor next to the sofa. Maybe I am just 'easily twistable'. Zombie-like, I sat on the cold floor opposite of him and put a bored face on. Roz put the unopened bottle between us.
"Okay, okay, who goes first?" he asked eagerly.
"This is so lame...How long is this going to take? Can I just answer quickly, without liquor, and go to sleep? "
"It's a drinking game. That's what makes it fun."
"I'm not drinking. I already have a headache."
"Suit yourself. I'm going first then."
"Go ahead. I have nothing to hide." If he really wanted to ask me anything, he could have done it outside of the game anyways. I reached over to the covers on the floor and pulled them over my shoulders.

"Okay." Roz pushed up the sleeves of the small sweater, ready to ask what was on his mind. "Do you like Mel?"
" Do I like Mel? Sure I do. She's my partner in art. And introduced me to Soule's Zine."
"No, I mean, like, have a crush on her." Both of Roz's palms were on his knees, with this serious look on his face. I had to laugh. This really was a kid's game.
"A 'crush' on Mel?" I couldn't help but be condescending. " Well, I think she's pretty cute, if that's what you mean."
"So, like, if she ever came onto you, you'd sleep with her?"
"Is that your second question?"
"No."
"Then I don't have to answer it." For a such a lame version of Truth or Dare, I was actually having some fun with this.
"Alright fine, next question." Roz seemed a little disappointed that I hadn't given him a straight answer. But he was the one who should have phrased it differently. He pinched the collar of his baby blue shirt. "Who used to own this?"
"Um, That's my ex-girlfriend's. She used to leave her stuff here all the time. Actually, I don't know how you can fit into Kitty's clothes. She was tiny..."
Now it was Roz's turn to look amused. "Kitty?" He asked incredulously. "That's such a stripper's name!" He started laughing, but I failed to find the humor. I thought it was a cute name...
"So, an ex-girlfriend, huh? I guess I kind of figured as much." Then why did you steal a shirt if you knew it was a girl's?! "Damn David, I didn't know you had lady-smarts." and he started chuckling again.
"Why is that hard to believe?"
"Alright, question three."He was ignoring that question. But at any rate, the questions were going by fast. "Have you ever found a guy attractive?"
"Well, I can tell the difference between a handsome guy and an ugly guy, if that's what you mean. "
Roz looked utterly disappointed in my answer. "That's not what I mean."
"Okay well...It's true that I have, but it's nothing sexual. I'm straight, obviously." I'll leave out the part about Roz being one of the few I had found attractive. There's nothing wrong with that ...right? Of course, admitting that another guy is good-looking just means I'm comfortable with myself. At any rate, I was determined to just answer all of the questions and go to sleep without wetting my lips on that vodka.

" Fine, fine, next question." Again, Roz looked dissatisfied with my answer. Well, I never said that I was good at games like these. "So... what are you doing in this god-awful part of the city anyways?"
"That..." Is a long story. But he asked, so... "I came down here to take care of my great aunt. It was at the end of high school that she was...diagnosed. I used to live in the upper part of the city, but my parents thought it would be the nice thing to do... so I took care of her for a while." For the first time, Roz was listening to me very intently. Usually I was the one listening to him, so now I felt like I was a bit in the spotlight. "Er, Anyway, I was going to go to the art school up were I used to live-"
"That really nice one?"
" Yeah, that one." I continued. I felt a little self-conscious now. " But you know, I moved down here, so... At least there's another art academy in the city. I went to the one near here instead. But, my great aunt is now...you know, dead. I've been meaning to go back to the upper part of the city, I just need to finish the semester and maybe if I have enough money...Money's the main problem." I stopped at Roz's stare.
"W-what? It's really nothing..."
"I see. " But he still looked a little upset, staring at the ground like that. "So, you're going to be moving soon?"
Yes, well, I was hoping to anyway. Roz, what's with that look? " Who knows." I replied. "Don't worry Roz, you won't be kicked out of housing that fast."
"Housing. Right." He scratched his head and looked the other way. If you want to say something, just say it!
"You still have one question left. Not counting the last one, I mean."
"Oh, right." Roz's shy smile was back."Uh, anyway, I was wondering...Why are you... helping me?"
"Helping?"
"I mean-! You're giving me a place to crash and everything. And you helped me when I was in that alley..." He looked legitimately embarrassed. This kid with a bad attitude sure had a soft side. I smiled at him.
"Well, why not? I mean, part of it was coincidence, but, I don't know, I guess you're just pretty genuine sometimes." It was true. When I had first met him, we hadn't brushed each other off. At that time on the patio, there was this strange peace between us.
There was a brief silence, and Roz seemed to be contemplating these words, but he had those watery eyes again. Ah geez! please don't get emotional! I'm horrible with that type of thing!
"Uh, um.." I was about to talk again, but in a snap, Roz was back to normal. But this time, the smile didn't look unnatural...

"Your turn!"
"Me?"
I exhaled loudly. I hadn't prepared any questions like he had. "Okay. Um... What's your full name?"
Roz looked surprised at the first question, and even a little disappointed. "That's it? What kind of question is that?"
"I don't know." This is why I didn't play teen-oriented games. Someone is always expecting something outrageous to happen. I'm not an outrageous person. While kids were drinking on the weekends, I was at the art club. "...Just answer it."
Roz rolled his eyes in typical teenage fashion. " Alexander Rozalind McGreggor."
"So you're actually an Alex? An Irish Alex... tch, I knew Roz wasn't your real name. "
"It IS my real name, just in a different order." It sounded like something he had told people many times before.
"Wait, McGreggor, ...as in Nathan McGreggor?"
"That's my brother... you know him?"

Nathan McGreggor...related to this guy? You're probably wondering how I know this "Nathan" right? Well, bare with me for a minute and imagine your highschool days. Remember that stoner kid in class who always sat in the back, usually asleep and/or laughing at things that weren't even remotely funny? Yeah, that guy. Add dreadlocks and a chipped front tooth. That was Nathan McGreggor, sibling to the tart that was sitting across from me. Looking back at Roz, I started to laugh. I didn't mean to, but, well, it was just the situation. Roz didn't take it very well.
"That's not funny. Whatever you knew about my half-brother, just, don't associate it with me, okay?"
Well that was easy. They looked nothing alike. "So, ...about Nath-"
"Next question."
I was trying not to laugh again. I really was. There was probably more than one Nathan McGreggor in the city anyways, right? "Okay." I adjusted the covers wrapped around my shoulders. " What's your age?"
Roz was not holding back his sighs at all. "What's with these boring questions? I'll never get drinking at this rate."
"Come on then."
"Does it really matter?" He was giving me this weird look with those smokey eyes. " ...Alright. I'll be seventeen at the end of December."
"You're fucking sixteen?!"
He crossed his arms obstinately. "Yeah, so?"
I was blown away. Granted, he looked about that age, but I figured he was at least eighteen. So, he wasn't in school? He's supposed to be in English 11, complaining about his teachers, not roaming the street. No school, no place to live, selling his body... My only conclusion was that he was a runaway. A runaway... So he was from a broken home huh? Well, I guess in this city, it's not completely unusual, but...suddenly the mood felt somber. This was my chance to finally know Roz's situation. If I learned about the problem, I could probably throw him a line, right? Uhg, I really am too curious for my own good.

Roz stared at my silence, with a raised brow. "Uhm...You have three more questions." I looked at him, studying his face. He looked back, without expression.
It was bugging me too much...I had to ask. "Roz...Where is your family?"
There was no movement. The wind from outside was the only sound, as it made the fire escape sway. I even held my breath, wondering if Roz was going to open his mouth. But then, a pitiful grin was slapped on his face, as he reached a hand over to the bottle between us.
"Ah geez." He twisted off the cap. "You really want to hear my lame angst story?"
I didn't say anything, afraid that his facade would break like china. Roz took a gulp.
" My brother and sisters are ...god-knows-where. My mom is probably with her boyfriend somewhere in the projects. I haven't seen them in four months, if that answers your question." He said it so nonchalantly, it was a little eerie. Apparently he had come to terms with this in his head, well, at least he pretended to. I waited for Roz to say more, but he didn't. He took another gulp from the bottle and opened an eye to look at my dumbfounded face. He looked irritated now. I guess he couldn't stand sympathy.
" Come on! Two questions left. And make the next one interesting. Damn."
At least the answer wasn't as painful as I thought it was going to be. I wanted to know more, but there was no chance in hell I'd press the issue.

"Alright...What happened that night I found you in the alley?"
"There you go David! I was waiting for you to ask something like that." He didn't seem embarrassed at all. On the contrary, he seemed to be sipping the vodka just for fun at this point. "Okay, I suppose you have the right to know. I'll tell you. It was that bastard Gregg's fault..." and now the venomous voice returned. Gregg...wasn't that the name that the prostitute had said earlier? And she had said that Gregg was looking for Roz...
" This guy, Gregg...He's really stalker-ish. Alright, I admit that I had him as a customer once, " Roz's face was getting blotchy with red. Whether it was from anger or embarrassment, I couldn't tell. "And ever since then, he had been scaring away other people, the damn pedo. This weird protective shit. I couldn't stand the guy. Well anyway, he called me over to his place or whatever. I was really thinking of telling him off. So, I saw him there. He ...wanted another round, you know?" I almost couldn't look at Roz either. He was admitting this with a pretty easy voice, but the anguish on his face showed his true feelings. " I was obviously pissed and didn't want to do it, so I told him he'd have to pay extra, because of all the trouble he had been giving me. It was just so he would change his mind. But.." Roz had been taking multiple sips in between his story. At this point, I had greatly regretted even asking. " But he didn't have any money. He had these...these retarded drugs. Sure, I use every once in a while- for like, recreation. I'm not a drug addict or anything, so I told him I wasn't up for it, ...but he got really mad. There was a struggle, and, well...I don't really know what happened after that, to tell you the truth." He couldn't look me in the face at all. "I just woke up in this apartment and I saw you sleeping. At first I was a little scared, you know? I didn't know if I had hooked up with you or not, but, I was to kind of able figure it out. You have one more question left."
"Huh?" He sure slipped that one in quick.
I realized that I had tensed up my body when Roz was talking... I couldn't think of anything to say. Roz...I had no idea.
"David? Did you hear me?"
"Yeah..."
How could I possibly think of another question now? To think a person could do that to someone...to Roz. What if Roz had been raped? Looking at him now, he looked exhausted. Poor kid... I really did have myself in deep. There are no words of consolation that I could say for him. But, the fact that he told this to me, doesn't that mean he really is ready for change? He's telling me the trouble that he could have otherwise refused to tell me. Maybe he really does want help. After all, he did come back to me. Finally, I did have a question in mind...

"Roz, why did you even come up to me in the first place?"
Roz looked at the bottle in his hand, and placed it down beside him. "I told you that already didn't I? The girls wanted me to go pester you."
"Well I know that, but, why did you listen to them? I mean, was it really that big of a deal to you guys that I wasn't interested?"
He looked to the side, eyes fixed on nothing in particular. "I'll be honest with you. I guess you could say I kind of initiated the whole...betting thing. saw you almost everyday, sitting there at that cafe patio. Always by yourself too. Sometimes you'd sit there sketching or something, and you just looked so out of place. It wasn't really the fact that you ignored us, but more like the fact that...you stood out. I don't really know how to explain it." He scratched his head, looking me in the face. His eyes were so bright. "This part of the city just knaws at people, but you sit there so peacefully, it's strange. Maybe I just wanted a bit of it, that's all. "
"A bit of what?"
"A bit of you." Maybe it was the vodka talking, but he had a very devious grin on the face. He was leaning closer to me...wait a minute, don't get any ideas!
"W-Well..." I rubbed my glasses on my shirt. There was no way I'd let him see the red on my face; He'd definitely get the wrong idea. "Sorry that didn't work out for you."
Roz took the glasses from my hand. He was so close to my face now, that I didn't need them to see his face.
"It can work if you want it too." He moved closer to my face, showing no sign of stopping. I wasn't moving. His hand was on my knee...I could see his eyelashes...
"Roz-" Closer, I could feel his breath, and my heartbeat was quickening. I'm hesitating- Why am I hesitating?!
CLUNK!
The bottle had fallen to it's side beside Roz's advancing body.
Roz and I were frozen in position. Both of us were breathing a little faster. Immediately, I put my hand over Roz's mouth and slowly pushed him away.
"I think it's time to sober up." I picked up the bottle, but most of it's contents had already spilled onto the floor. Roz stood up too. His eyes were shadowed by his hair, but he looked pretty flushed. "S-sorry." He said, throwing himself onto the couch. He turned his back to me and laid still for a while, as I threw some towels over the mess. The whole place was now rank with the smell. My nervous hands mopped up the mess and threw the towels into the hamper, but my mind was elsewhere. What the hell had just happened? Had he honestly tried to...? Uhg! It was frustrating and nerve-wracking. Why did he have to go and do something stupid like that? Wait a minute... Isn't he the one who should be embarrassed? Looking over at him again, his back looked so small as he was curled up with the cushions.

My head was foggy with thoughts crossing each other. I crawled back into bed, pulling the covers over me. But I was awake now, and I'm sure Roz was too. It wasn't entirely Roz who bothered me; the fact that he was drinking and make passes at me wasn't too out of the ordinary. But what bothered me- what really kept me up that night- was the question... As Roz's lips had come closer, why had I hesitated?