@knifcdge
fuck, fuck, fuuuuuck. this was bad.
god surely had it out for him, or why else would he be punished like this on a sunday night? when the only store open was .... way too many blocks away to be counted as safe distance. but he had no choice. if he wanted to get through his heat, then he had no other choice. face flushed - it was still early stage, but he was crashing fast, he found himself a sweater jacket to tug on, did a quick shirt-check to make sure he wasn't wearing a shirt with too many stains when he left home, because ... well, he could always run into someone & while charlie didn't really speak with anyone who wasn't the cashier ... ever, he.. didn't want to look like the next-best hobo. didn't he anyway? hair an unruly mess, fingers shaking as it fiddles with his wallet. money stuffed into the pocket of his jeans, shoes were pulled on with trembling fingers taking way too long to tie the laces, which was exactly why he preferred velcro, but ... he'd have to go out to pick new shoes up. going out.
he ..held in front of the door, hand on the knob & waited. deep breaths to try & calm himself down at least some before he pushed out through the front door. the sun was setting already, though charlie didn't mind the darkness ...per se. who was he kidding? it did. charles was afraid of everything, including the darkness & the dangers of the night. but the urge drove him through the dim-lit streets. one foot in front of the other. "you got this. y-you... you got this." did he speak to himself often? well, he wouldn't say often, but ... sometimes.
the journey to the store was ... quite the adventure. he almost pissed himself when a wolf-boy suddenly leapt out from a bush right as he walked past it. glowing eyes, fangs & claws, thinking he was funny. he'd jumped so hard his slender tail popped out, though thank god for the darkness, so that nobody had to see the embarrassing display. one foot in the store, he thought he was safe - at least for a little while. the bright artificial light was blinding, but he knew where he had to go & usually he would've been fine too. but ... as fate would have it, someone had spilled soda on the floor just recently & the cheetah didn't notice until his feet were gliding, balance long gone & sending him tumbling into a shelf, bounce off it & into someone standing right by it, fingers dug into ....a shoulder(?), desperate not to fall.
"s-sorry. fuck, it's uh, i'm shit. sorry." oh god, he hated going out so much.
