Michael: Three
He took his time walking back to the city; he had to as he could barely afford to stand. Rebelling in not eating had seemed like a good plan at first, but he never really thought as far as actually getting out. He honestly never thought he’d get out. He stumbled into the first fast food place that he spotted, ordering numbers without looking up at the menu, not caring what he got as long as it filled him.
“Mickie?”
The name startled him, looking up from counting the cash in his hand and he blinked in surprise at the familiar black boy. His heart soared as he remembered the warning he had been given the last time he was on the streets. He was practically good as dead on the streets now if he remembered and despite how starved he was, he suddenly lost his appetite. “Yo Willie.”
Michael watched the other wearily, waiting for some reaction, but Willie only looked at him with confusion and it was silent between before the manager shouted at him to get back to work. Throwing one more glance at Michael he took the money and went to get his food. He wondered if he should bolt for it, not needing for the black boy to call in others that might be looking for him. But was stopped when the food was placed in front of him, he looked at the bags of food, noting that there was way more then he ordered and he looked up in confusion.
“Going on break!” He shouted into the back as someone else took his spot at the register. He leaped easily over the counter and grabbed the tray for Michael as they made their way into a corner booth. The place was empty for the most part and he figured it had to be late at night. The moment they sat down he grabbed the first burger and ate it in three bites. “Mickie, what the fuck happened to you man? A day or two disappearing is alright, but where the fuck have you been for the past week… you look like shit.”
He took the lid off the large cup and chugged down the sweet soda, gasping as he reached for another burger as he tried to think up what sort of bullshit to get him by. He grinned in the end, but try as he might, he couldn’t hide the desperation in his eyes and face. “You wouldn’t believe me even if I tried- and I won’t.”
He wasn’t about to spew his guts out to the other, sure he considered him a friend, but he knew Willie would sell him out if it meant him gaining something. He wouldn’t be surprised if there were a couple of thugs waiting for him outside already. His answer made Willie sigh and lean back, he looked thoughtful and Michael took that moment in to take in the others appearance. He had the uniform on for the joint, but his dreads and piercing gave him away to being anything but a normal teen. He spotted the tattoo that peeked form his sleeve and linked it to one of the local gangs.
“Fuck man, you look like something is chancing yah,” Willie finally answered and he nervously glanced around as if he expected whatever it was to come out now. Michael all but snorted after shoving another burger into his mouth and he shook his head.
“Whatever is chancing me, you don’t have to worry about, it’s my fucking problem… but it’s also the reason why I’ve been gone,” He mumbled the last part and sighed. He just wanted to sleep, but he’ll have to wait for now till he found a safe location. “Can you put in the word for me that I haven’t sold out?”
He looked desperate, something he never wanted to show on the streets, but he had no where else to go at this moment and he was positive he’ll rather get beat up to an inch of his life then crawl back to the vampire. Willie looked thoughtful and he glanced out the window, he didn’t follow his gaze, as he knew what he was looking at. His gaze landed back on him and Michael all but ignored him as he continued to eat, there was no point in trying to add anything to the plea, as he couldn’t exactly give away anything else.
Willie sighed and waved his hand in a shooing motion at the window before his brown eyes fell on his again. He looked seriously, worn and aged, but a look that shouldn’t have to be on an eighteen year old. They had both seen their fair share of shit and it just aged them considerably; for the better or worse. “Alright man, but only because you can’t get that kind of look without having gone through some serious shit. If I hear you’ve been asking questions or even hinting at being a rat, no matter what level of friendship- or whatever you call this- I can’t save yah.”
That was all he needed and he nodded with a small relieved sigh, his stomach unclenching and feeling the full force of his hunger as he continued to cram the food in. Willie seemed to watch him for a bit, occasionally stealing a few fries since he had way too many. The only question that Michael did ask was for a good place to crash and Willie set it so that he could crash at one of the local places. With food in his stomach and knowing he had a place to crash, he waved and gave thanks to Willie before he left out into the night. There were a couple of people hanging out in the parking lot, but for the most part they just eyed him and didn’t approach, something he was grateful for as he made his way to the building that the other had mentioned.
Walking the streets at night calmed him more then any smoke or drink and he found the white little puffs of air from his mouth a mesmerizing calming affect. He shifted into an alley, figuring he could take a short cut and grab as much sleep as possible. But the moment he did he stopped dead in his tracks as a growl broke through the silent night and his heart leapt to his throat. Despite his heart racing though he couldn’t help but smile as he spotted what made the growl and he continued to walk in its direction.
“Hey Fries, I think you’re the only one I most definitely missed on the streets you know.” He laughed, reaching into his jacket and pulling out the bag of food he had planned on saving for later. He was so use to giving the stray his fries that it had somehow become some kind of ritual. He looked up when he heard the tapping of its paws start to head in his direction, but he frowned when it broke into a run and for a moment he thought it was going to attack him.
That thought changed though as the dog itself changed. Michael wasn’t sure what exactly happened as an extremely tall man suddenly had their arms around him, squeezing him so tightly that he gasped from surprise and pain. His mind spun and the world seemed to spin with it as he tried to make sense of what just happened. But his mind wasn’t lying though as it kept going to the same result in the end. No matter how hard he tried to run from the supernatural world; he had always been apart of it.
“Master. Master I’ve missed you.”
The final words before his mind shut down as his body lost all its strength and the many sleepless nights caught up to him. Fries caught his master before he fell, squatting down and brushing the hair out of his face. He cursed himself for revealing himself, but he had been too excited and the worry that had built up in him broke any logical thought, as he was too relieved to find that Michael was alive. Though he couldn’t help the growl from the back of his throat as he took in a whiff of the vampire scent that was so heavily wrapped around the boy.
He nuzzled the sleeping boy closer to him and picked him up gently bridal style, fully intent on finding shelter for the both of them and hoping to explain what just happened. Along with ask what could have happened to have such a strong vampire scent on the human boy.