Carson had spent his whole life being something of an outsider, so different to his parents and his three older brothers, never being able to make friends at school, and never being able to keep anyone interested in him for more than a few hours. Therefore, being embraced to a certain extent by the likes of Riley and Zach who also seemed to share a strand of DNA that made them different from the rest of the human race was something Carson was growing more and more grateful for. “He does have a dangerous job, but he has also made it clear that he wouldn’t let harm come to me. The first time we met he made sure I got home safely when I missed the train” he smiled, although ‘safely’ was perhaps the wrong word, since being with Riley was a different type of danger. “I don’t know if ignorance is bliss, life can be more painless if you care less, but a lot of people think I am dumb and that hurts.” he shrugged.
The slightest of blushes hit the boy’s cheek at the compliment, still watching Zach with the familiar awe in his eyes while the man seemed to become one with the new elements of nature here, the wood, the plants. “Thank you” he nodded at the promise not to tell anyone and Carson visibly relaxed a little after that. At the question he pulled his knees up to his chest a little where he sat and wrapped his arms around them. “Just life, sometimes things get really stressful and hectic and I’m not good at dealing with negative situations…so I run here and hide out until the problems are gone” he explained, perhaps it was childish and naive, but it was what he did. “Do you ever feel like that? Do you think it’s weird of me to sleep here sometimes?”
Zach knew it was most likely that Riley was curious about the boundaries he could cross, than the safety of Carson, but he wasn’t going to pop Carson’s bubble anyways, it would ruin the whole game. “Well, that’s very true, Riley has an outstanding ability to... keep situations under control. If he has made you feel safe, then there’s nothing to worry about”, Zach assured him. While, yes, Riley was entirely allowed ( and basically obliged ) to work in favor of people’s safety, he also wasn’t good news at all. Riley was someone who could get bored easily, who would see most people as nothing else but pets and guinea pigs for his social experiments and research about the human mind. But at least... at least he wasn’t such a physical threat like himself. Riley didn’t have the consuming desire of tearing a body apart and now, there, in that little piece of heaven where no one could hear them, Zach realized the sudden AND MAGNIFICENT opportunity that was being presented to him. It wouldn’t be much, just... just a broken bone or two... nobody had to know, right? So he approached slowly with a little smile as the other expressed his honest thoughts and once close, his own phone rang and even when he was tempted to ignore it, his hand automatically reached to his pocket and looked at the name on the screen: “THE KING”. “I’m... I’m sorry, I have to take this. Give me a second”, he told Carson and walked outside briefly to answer.
“Hello? Basil? What did you--- ?”
“Behave. Don’t try anything stupid. It’s not the moment just yet.”, the other simply replied before hanging up immediately. Zach was speechless for a moment, wondering how Basil always did this kind of things at the right moment. However, he had to obey. Acting impulsively would also bring the spotlight to his friends and that would be just terrible for everyone.
He entered back to the hut and approached to Carson again with an apologetic smile and his cold instincts back in control. “I’m sorry, it was an important call”, he expressed biting his lower lip, “but going back to what you were saying... I don’t think you are dumb...”, actually, he did, “...I think you are just wired in a different way and that’s okay. Being normal is boring”.
He sat next to the other with one leg flexed up so he could rest his arm and take a good position to pay attention to Carson at the same time. His new friend was the kind of person who actively looked for positive attitudes and good energy, while Zach and his friends loved to drown in the deep meaning of negative feelings and problematic situations. “Dealing with problems is really hard and everybody has their own way to deal with it”, he shrugged, “negativity is a part of life, it is essential to keep a balance in all kinds of energy. Maybe you should... embrace this negativity a little more and, I don’t know, see where it takes you”, Zach advised. NO, IT WAS A TERRIBLE ADVICE; you don’t let negative emotions carry you, that’s the opposite of what you should do! “I think that the best way to know yourself is to see what are your limits in every aspect, positive and negative”. Oh, Zach, you devil! Are you trying to turn Carson into an evil minion? Is that what you are suggesting? Still, his expression was gentle and his tone soothing as he kept his eyes on the other. “I don’t think it’s weird you sleep here sometimes, I think it’s cool”.
