Ah, there he was again. The boy of his affections, loitering by the steps to the football field that sat ajacent to the parking lot. The two had exchanged words once or twice, interacted as much as copying homework answers or borrowing a buck or two so the other could grab a cigarette from another student- nothing too remarkable or healthy. Shion considered himself to be a pretty intelligent guy, and for the most part, he was, except when it came to romance- if you could even call the obsession with this boy romantic.
He had worked up the courage today to initiate some sort of conversation, not too sure of what form it would take as they seemed to have no common interests or hobbies. Approaching the boy on the steps, Shion reached into his pocket to grab a freshly opened cigarette pack.
"Hey, Nezumi." Just play it cool.. Sitting down next to the other, Shion pulled out the cigarettes and offered one to the boy. Dark eyes scanned the full box suspiciously.
"I didn't know you smoked." He seemed to shrug with his eyes as Nezumi pulled one, promptly drawing his lighter. As he took a drag he noticed the pale boy hadn't lit his own. "You need a light?"
A burning cigarette sat between Shion's lips. He'd never done this before. Play it cool, play it cool. Nezumi didn't move his eyes. Shion took a drag to appease the other, keeping the smoke in his mouth and letting it out in a small huff a few seconds later. That seemed to be enough to put Nezumi at rest. He leaned back. "What's up?"
Shion hadn't thought that far. He had managed to hold the other's interest, but what should he say to follow up? "I.. I ummm, see you around sometimes but we've never really talked. I guess I just want to get to know you."
The taller boy ashed his cigarette on the concrete steps and put a hand over a small smile. What a lame thing to say. "You wanna get to know me.." Shion squirmed a little bit, not sure whether or not to respond. When Nezumi's eyes met his own, he settled for a quick nod. "I'm not sure why, haha.. You can follow me back- a couple of my buddies and I hangout at this spot outside of downtown."
Shion nodded his head vigorously. Snuffing his cigarette, Nezumi stood. Shion followed suit, leaving most of the stick unburned.
"Do you drive or you need a ride?"
"I live pretty close by so I walk to school, so if you wouldn't mind~"
Nezumi motioned with his head for Shion to follow. They made their way through the parking lot towards an old blue pickup truck. Nezumi hopped in while Shion struggled to operate the door handle. It was one of the old metal ones where you had to push in hard with your thumb and pull simultaneously. Nezumi had already started the vehicle by the time the other had figured it out.
Shion watched as the houses going by got progressively more worn down. A feeling of unease began to set in his stomach, but the excitement to finally get to know more about the boy he had had his eyes on for the past few months overrode his senses.
"This is it!" Nezumi said, slowing down to pull into an autoparts garage.
"Is this where you work?"
"Nah, one sec." The two exited the vehicle and made their way to a side door. The entire building was made of some type of thin metal, perhaps tin. Nezumi began to bang some sort of chaotic pattern on the door. After about 30 seconds, the door opened slowly. A set of eyes peaked out. "It's me, dumbass." The door opened fully.
It was definitely not an autoshop. The inside was set up like a poor man's bachelor pad: some beat up couches probably acquired from the sides of roads, a pool table with -from a glance- at least 3 balls missing, the lofted area had some dingy sort of lighting going on, how it was powered was unbeknownst to Shion. But at least fifteen guys and four girls stood around, talking, smoking, laughing. A few of them looked up and motioned to the outside face. Most just ignored his entrance.
"Over here." Nezumi led Shion over to a bigger guy, someone you wouldn't necessarily want to start a fight with. "Robbie, this is...."
"Right. He's interested in getting to know us.”
“Gotcha.” The Robbie man slapped a firm hand on Shion’s shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”
Nezumi and Shion stood about in silence waiting for Robbie to return. Thoroughly confused, Shion wasn’t even sure what to ask Nezumi to clear up what was going on.
“Here we are,” Robbie said approaching them. In his hand he held a thin sheet of paper and a blue bandana. “Your official welcoming gift.”
“Gift? I’m.. I’m not sure I know what’s going on?”
“Shion, my man.. You want to get to know me, right?” Nezumi pulled two small pieces from the paper, stuck one on his tongue and then made a face at Shion to indicate he do the same. Shion gingerly stuck his tongue out and the other planted the small smiley face sticker thing down on it lightly and smiled. Shion nodded.
“Hello, yes, I’m calling to report suspicious activity?? There’s a boy wandering in the middle of the intersection… um.. of 9th and Central. He looks pretty out of it, like he’s on something."
The phone call was quick to be answered by the receptionist, the information seemed to be appreciated by the tone of her voice. ❝ Thank you, I’ll send someone there right away. Can you describe the boy for me? How old he is? Physical description? Anything at all will help. ❞
After receiving a description of the boy, the receptionist got into contact with an officer who should have been positioned close to that area, but of course, it would be the one officer who walked everywhere. Setsuki received her directions from the receptionist through her radio, and was quick to respond.
❝ Ah, I’m close to that area. I’ll be there as soon as I can! ❞ She wasn’t wrong, she was only three blocks away and arrived in less than ten minutes. It wasn’t hard to spot the boy in question, pale white hair and seemingly stuck in the middle of the road crossing. Traffic was held up as the drivers impatiently waited for the boy to make up his mind of where he was going. The vehicle horns and abusive calls were all that could be heard in the area.
Setsuki was quick to approach the boy, standing in front of him to try and gain his attention. He definitely looked out of it. ❝ Ne, I need you to come with me off the road, okay? ❞ With that, she offered a hand, but it wasn’t really a request, she’d have to pull him onto the sidewalk if he refused to cooperate.