the kids aren't alright

[Fall Out Boi]

Derrick had just woken up, hungry and sore. The night before certainly would not been one he would look back on fondly.


After trying to steal some food from outside seating at a restaurant, and managing to run away from the angry manager, he lost his hard-earned meal and fell asleep snuggled next to a garbage can in a lovely alleyway.


The cold cement made him feel stiff when he awoke, only adding to the the awkward feeling of soreness in his muscles. Just to add to his lovely morning, he was running on an empty stomach. Since he didn't get to eat those gourmet food scraps for supper, he supposed would have to get something just as good for breakfast.


Using the garbage can for support, he pushed himself to his feet, a curse escaping his lips as his legs screamed in protest. Jeez, how hard and long did he have to run from that manager to make his legs so sore? He knew it had been a while, since that guy looked like he ran marathons in his spare time. Hell, the guy was so fast he even caught him once. He sprinted up behind Derrick and grasped his shoulder tightly, jerking him back. The yank had been so forceful that his shoulder was still in pain from it.


Once he stood, he tried to fix whatever was wrong with the aching shoulder. It didn't feel like his sore legs, though, in fact the shoulder blade felt strangely out of place. It cracked loudly when he rotated his arm around, and any attempt to shove it back to its correct place only caused more cracking.


A more concerning sound arose as his stomach rumbled, growling in demand for food. His shoulder could wait, his hunger couldn't.


Halting before exiting the alley, he looked around him. Bustling crowds made their way down the sidewalks, laughing and talking and thinking. He guessed it was either around lunchtime, judging by the amount of people on the streets. It was the perfect time of day to get some food.


Walking out if the alley, he slipped beside a passing group of teenagers, hoping he blended in with them well enough to go unnoticed.

 

[yaoi man]

Quinten kicked his leg up against the wall, putting all his weight on his left foot. Angry and exhausted, he sighed deeply. The breath coming from his mouth was visible in the frigid air. His eyelids had gravity working against them, 45 minutes of sleep for an entire day really takes a toll on someone. Deciding he had nothing better to do, he closed his eyes in an attempt to nap standing up: it didn't work. With the loud clash of knocking over a trash can followed by an even louder 'god damn it,' Quinten had decided his day was probably at its peak of shittiness; boy how wrong was he. a few feet away from him, a group of kids who had been talking before had now focused their attention on him. He jumped up and resumed his previous position, obviously still perturbed that he fell. The apparent 'leader' of the group turned to the rest and whispered something they all agreed on, because then all of their eyes were on him again and they were walking towards him, the 'leader' in front.


"Hey, kid." he yelled condescendingly, even though Quinten was probably at least a year or two older than him 'wonderful' he thought 'who's this asshole?' he pushed his foot against the wall, forcing himself into a standing position.


"what?" he says bluntly, uncrossing his arms to be ready for whatever is coming.


"how old are you?' He says, stopping about 2 feet away from him, his arms crossed. His face says 'I'm a cocky asshole,' and coxky assholes are Quintens least favorite assholes.


"16" he scoffs."why."


"Don't be rude. It'll get you nowhere. 16, huh. Why're you here anyway?"


Quinten bites his lip nervously, not wanting to tell the real reason why he's here, he considers 'why're you here,' but he decides that's too snarky. Something catches his attention out of the corner of his eye, it's some kid walking by. a lightbulb blinks on in his head. "I'm waiting for my friend- there he is!" He acts suprised "you're here early!" He yells at the stranger. The group of kids looks at the now startled stranger. Quinten hopes He'll play along, or he's toast.

 

[Fall Out Boi]

He took in a deep breath of the cool morning air, the chilly intake refreshing his unwashed mouth. Screw breath mints, frigid air could liven up his mouth more than they ever could.


The cold did send bumps down his dark skin, though. Shivering, he crossed his arms, walking faster to warm himself up. Damn, he really needed to get some warmer clothes. All he had to wear was a pair of terribly ripped jeans, mud-covered boots, and a short sleeved T-shirt. The black shirt used to have some band or logo on it, but whatever the image had been worn away long ago along with his memory of it. Maybe he could snatch a jacket from some unsuspecting chump on the street.


The thought of getting himself a nice, warm coat distracted him completely from the little scene between the group and a lone teenager. That was, until someone cried out to him. He turned towards the shout, a single eyebrow raised in confusion. It only took a moment to evaluate the scene and come to the correct conclusion as to what was going on.


He sighed, uncrossing his arms and glancing from the group to the kid who called him out. In truth, he wasn't in the mood for this, but he supposed some good could come out of it. If he helped the kid, and the guy had some money, he could get a little cash reward from him for being the upstanding citizen he was.


"Yo, hey Dallas!" He greeted the kid, making up the name as he walked over to "Dallas," slapping him on the back. Putting on a fabricated grin, he looked at the staring group of adolescences.


"Aye, are these guys your friends, man?"

 

[yaoi man]

His heart was pounding as he watched the stranger decide on whether or not he would play along, the group of kids already looked skeptic. When he began walking over to them, Quinten noticed that he looked annoyed that he was being called out. "Yo, hey Dallas!" He yelled, covering up his annoyance with a smile and patting him on the back. He glared at the bothersome group of kids. "Aye, are these guys your friends, man?"


"I.. just met them" He answers quickly, glancing back at them.


"No, yea I'm sure we'll make great friends. You too," he says, looking at the new "friend."

 

[Fall Out Boi]

He needed to get out of this situation, and fast. If these kids were in a fighting mood, which it seemed they were, it would bring nothing but trouble, and he had enough problems as it was.


"It's been nice meetin' you all, but me and Dallas here needta split, pronto," He told them, slinging his arm around the other boys shoulder and beginning to walk, forcing him along.


"My man here has himself a hot date, and I gotta get him ready. It's his first, ya know? Gotta get him prepped. She ain't the prettiest, lemmie tell ya, but she got a lot goin' for her in the back area, you all get what I'm saying." By the time he finished rambling, he was past the group of kids. Craning his head around to face them, he waved goodbye.


"See you guys around!"


With that, he quickened his pace. Hurrying out the teens sights and making his way to an uncrowned street, he pushed the other boy away from him.


"So, Dallas." he began, rolling his agitated shoulder and turning to him.


"I'm not usually that nice to people unless they got beach balls for a chest or got a load of cash," his brown gaze lowered to his flat chest. "And I'm sorry to say that you're lackin' in one of those areas."

 

[yaoi man]

Quinten frowned, the truth was he was lacking in both areas at the moment, but he wasn't about to tell this guy that he's broke, so he shrugged. "yeah sorry about that, my only other option was to get stuck with whatever those punks were planning. I, uh have a few dollars in my pockets..." he rummaged through his pockets, hoping he had a few spare dollars tucked in somewhere. he felt paper and pulled it out, examining it. "Yeah, here." He shoved the remains of his money in front of him. "Is 13 dollars enough? It's all I've really got right now.. thanks a lot for helping me, really would've been fucked back there if it weren't for you, man." Avoiding conflict was his main goal, he just wanted to go on his way.

 

[Fall Out Boi]

He took money, flipping through the bills to make sure he wasn't being cheated. Yep, two fives and three ones, that was defiantly thirteen dollars. It wasn't the amount he was hoping for, but it was more than the zero dollars he had before. He could defiantly get a few good meals out of this cash if he spent it widely.


Pocketing the money with a grin, he glanced back up at the other boy.


"No problem, man. Aye, what's your name, anyway?" He inquired, shoving his hands into his pockets to warm them up, as well as to feel that the money was still safely tucked away.


He wasn't quite sure why he was asking for this guys name; it wasn't like he would ever use it, anyway. If he did end up talking to him again, he'd just keep using Dallas. The name actually fit the guy.

 

[yaoi man]

'Why's this dude asking my name?' He wondered, cocking up his eyebrow. "..Quinten." he breathed into the cold air, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets and bouncing on his toes in an attempt at getting warmer. All he had on was an old pair of jeans that's waistline hung below his hips, come corny ass tee shirt, and a beaten up sweatshirt with a worn logo peeling halfway off. The jeans he's had before he began roaming the streets, and the shirt he stole from some nerd, Quinten would never forget the look on that poor dudes face when he got out of the gym's shower to find his shirt gone. The sweatshirt, he found while loitering in the parking lot outside of a concert. That was a while ago, though. He can't even remember what the name of the band was.

 

[Fall Out Boi]

Quinten? Well, that was certainly not one he'd heard before.


"So, since I'm assumin' you don't really have a hot date to go to, I'll be that smokin' date for ya." he said.


"I mean, you already paid me, all I need is a short dress and long pair of heels and I'll have the full getup. C'mon, let's go get somethin' to eat."


In all truth, he was only doing this because he was a bit desperate for some human interaction. This was the first non-aggressive conversation he had in a while, and he enjoyed talking to someone who didn't want to strangle him.


"Do ya know any good places to get a cheap meal 'round here? I haven't been in this place for long." He asked as he began to walk again.

 

[yaoi man]

He racked his mind for the cheapest fast food joint around this block, but the only one he could think of was a Wendys about 5 or 6 blocks up. He barely noticed that his new "hot date" was walking ahead of him, he jogged up to him. "yeah, there's a little wendys not far from here, It's just up this way." he pointed in the opposite direction and began walking. "So I've at least gotta know my 'dates' name before dinner, it's only polite"

 

[Fall Out Boi]

He smiled, curving his back and sticking his chest out, gently placing a hand over it.


"Oh, little old me?" His voice raised irritating high, sounding more like a fourth grader than the sexy lady he was trying to imitate.


"I'm Derrick. Not the prettiest name, I know."


Chest caving back to its usual slight slouch, he lowered his tone to its typical state.


"Its not nearly as exciting as a name like Quinten. Seriously, man, that sounds like some kinda cartoon character. Ben Quin-ten. I like it, though. It's original. Your mom had quite the imagination."

 

[yaoi man]

He stopped, frowning. "I wouldn't know." he kicked a pebble that was at his foot, sending it bouncing off into the distance. "I was adopted.." He could feel the awkwardness in the air, maybe he shouldn't have said that.

 

[Fall Out Boi]

Shrugging, he paused for a moment to watch as the pebble bounced across the hard street, rolling to a stop near some mans feet.


"Eh, it happens," He responded bluntly, beginning to walk once again. The last thing he wanted was to have a conversation about family problems, and he could tell just by looking at this guy that he had a lot to say about the topic.


Halting before the the entrance of the fast good restaurant, he checked for his money, sighed in relief, then entered. An alluring scent of greasy, deep-fried good wavered into his nostrils when he stepped inside, drawing him towards the mouth watering smell. Thoughts of food clouding his mind, he completely forget about Quinten, rushing over to the counter to order some food without a word to the other boy.

 

[yaoi man]

It took him a few moments to notice he'd already left him behind and entered the Wendys. He shook the thought from his head and opened the door, immediately feeling relief from the cold as he stepped in, taking in a breath of the sweet, familiar aroma of a fast food place. Derrick had already approached the girl at the counter. 'probably trying to get a date with her' he thought to himself, knowing that he's most likely the guy to do that. He walked up to the counter, thinking of what he wanted from the tantalizing list of foods, it was like his stomach knew where he was, grumbling as he looked at all of it.

 

[Fall Out Boi]

He stared hungrily at the menu hanging above the counter, taking time in his decision. As much as he wanted to get the greasiest item they had to offer, he knew it wouldn't sit well with him for long. He needed to get something that would keep him energized and full throughout the rest of that day, and if needed, the following day.


Finally, he ordered a simple sandwich and some fries, with a side of Pepsi. He reluctantly pulled out his cash when the cashier told him the total, feeling awful for using it to get food the moment she slipped the bills out of his hand. Did he really need to pay for food? What he should have done was saved the money for warmer clothes and stolen a meal. Getting caught for snatching up food wouldn't land him in as much of a perilous situation as stealing clothes could.


His stress eased slightly when she handed him his change, relieved to have any amount of money back in his grasp. The meal didn't cost him too much, he still had roughly seven dollars. Six more dollars could have gotten him something more important, though...


Slipping the money into his pocket, he went to go get his drink.


He realized that Quinten was still there, and that he hadn't gotten him anything to eat, after the food was prepared and given to him. Oh well, that guy could eat some of his fries if he wanted.


Hurrying to a vacant table, he practically slammed the tray down as he sat, stuffing a handful of fries into his mouth. The saltless, undercooked fries tasted like food made for kings to the starving boy.

 

[yaoi man]

He saw Derrick finishing up his order and taking his food back to a table in the back, noticing he only had a sandwich, fries, and a drink, he felt through his pockets again, searching hopefully for the money that wasn't there. He looked longingly at the menu, then shrugged, starting his way over to the table, sitting down across from the boy shoving food into his mouth as if he'd never eaten before in his life. He rested his elbow on the edge of the table, laying his hand on his cheek and resting his head, enjoying the temporary warmth of the place, watching his new friend, could he call him a friend yet? He'd just met him by incident, but they were eating dinner, so he assumed it was safe to say he was at least a friend.

 

[Fall Out Boi]

After devouring the majority of the fries, he discarded the few remaining small and shriveled ones and snatched up the plastic cup which contained his soda, chugging down half of the liquid before abandoning it for his sandwich. He ate it at a more lento pace than the fries, wanting to get as much enjoyment from remainder of the meal as he could. The fries did not have a taste, and even if they had, he gobbled them down so quickly that his taste buds did not get the chance to register any.


The sandwich was different. Much different. The bread had an amazing texture, the chicken was crisp, the pickles and tomatoes cool and watery; he felt like he was eating a whole feast with each bite!


Tearing off another bite and chewing it slowly, he looked over at Quinten, staring back at him, a single thick eyebrow raised


"So, how did ya get caught up with those guys back there?" he asked in between chewing, assuming they were just some kids from his school who were looking for a fight.


{ MY PHONE KEEPS CORRECTING ATE TO ART HELP ME. }

 

[yaoi man]

He looked at him, shrugging. He'd already almost forgotten the miniature quarrel and hadn't even stopped to think about their reasoning. "probably were trying to get lucky and find some cash on me or something." he reckoned. He glanced out of the window near their table, squinting to see a cat raiding a trash can. He looked back at Derrick. "I really would have been in trouble. I'm gonna try and steer clear of those kids from now on, though."

 

[Fall Out Boi]

"Good thing I'm the one who got ya cash then." He responded after swallowing down a chunk of his sandwich. This kid seemed alright, and he was very generous. Maybe he would even generous enough to give him a place to sleep that night...


"So, where are you and ya adopted parents livin'?" he asked as he took another bite.

 

[yaoi man]

He cringed at the mention of his adopted parents. He'd left the house about two, three weeks ago? He couldn't remember, it was mostly a tearful exchange terminated with him slamming the front door shut for, what he hoped would be the last time. Too many times had his family made him this angry. It was mostly petty bullshit that drove him away. Things like needing more privacy, 'It's part of growing up, Son' His dad used to tell him when he would complain that they installed spyware on his computer, or nagged him about a room that wasn't even dirty. it just made him so mad.


"I don't live with them anymore, I'm on my own for now"

 

[Fall Out Boi]

He could tell whatever the answer to his inquiry was would not be one he was hoping for when he cringed at the question, and the silence which lingered afterwards only caused his suspicion to grow.


In attempts to wash away the bitter taste of disappointment, he took a long chug of his soda, placing the empty cup onto the table with a sigh when Quinten began to speak. Much to his dismay, the carbonated drink was not enough to mask the sour flavor of despondency.


Was he really asking for so much? All he wanted was a nice place to sleep for once, but what did he get? Some runaway kid in exact same situation as himself.


"Well, I'm real sorry to hear that," he mumbled, irritation lining his tone as he leaned his head onto his fist.


"How long have ya been on your own?"


He suspected that it had not been a long time. Hell, he excepted that this was the first time he was living on his own. This kid didn't exactly scream "street smart" to him.

 

[yaoi man]

"Nearly three, maybe four weeks." He answered, brushing off the feeling that the guy was annoyed with him, for what reason he couldn't fathom.


'and a rough few weeks it's been' he thought to himself. He'd underestimated just how independent he could be, but there really wasn't any going back home anymore. He also propped his head on his fist, shifting his jaw to the right with his palm. "you?"

 

[Fall Out Boi]

Yep, just as he expected. This guy was fresh into the fray.


He even looked like he was new to this. Clothes were still undamaged, his skin had no visible scars or serious bruises. All of those things would come with time, though, and if this guy kept going on as he was, they would come sooner than later.


"Shit, is it really that obvious that I'm livin' on the streets?" He replied jokingly, taking his head off his fist and using that head to ruffle his unwashed hair, only making his thick hair look even more unkept. Looking at Quinten, who was still relatively clean looking, suddenly made him realize how awful he probably looked.


He decided he would take full advantage of being in a lovely place like Wendy's and wash up on their bathroom before he left.


"Eh, but it's been...damn, maybe two years?" He shrugged.


"I'm not the best at keepin' time. It's been a while, though."

 

[yaoi man]

damn, two years is a long time, compared to 3 weeks. Quinten knew nothing about living on his own, and this guy seemed like he could survive pretty well. He figured he should try and stick around with him for a while, maybe learn a thing or two. Suddenly, the recent anxiety that living on his own wasn't a good idea was gone, now he at least wasn't completely by himself in this.


"Damn" he responded, "A while, then."

 

[Fall Out Boi]

He nodded, fiddling with the empty plastic pump before him. In all honesty, it didn't seem like it had been that long since he had ran away. It felt more like he had only left a few months ago, not more than one year. That was probably because he had basically been fending for himself long before he decided to leave his old home. Even back then he had been finding his own food, his own money, getting himself anywhere he needed to be. The only difference now was that he didn't have an apartment he could return to and sleep at night. If he had stayed there any longer, though, his family wouldn't of even had that.


"So, how's the high life been goin' for ya?" He asked, wanting to get off of the topic of himself. He had enough time to talk to himself about himself, but he rarely got a chance to talk to another person about their self.


"Is it everything you were wishin' for when ya left?"