The Wrong Way

[evinca]

As the other guy spoke - Cairo had never heard him talking this much - he narrowed his eyes. He was saying very disturbing things Cairo didn't exactly want to hear. How could the boy know if he was all bad or not? They didn't know each other, and Cairo hadn't showed him nothing but the bad. Not much of the good, so far. And maybe it was fair enough that Newbie assumed he was going to hurt him more... What else could he expect, really? Maybe he was right. Cairo was good at hurting people. One of the rare things he was good at.


What did this guy think he knew?


"You don't know me or my life," he muttered. "I'm not scared or sad or lonely--" Hearing the lie in his own voice made him curse in annoyance, but it was towards himself. "Fuck this. Stop pretending to know me... You don't. And I don't know you either. And... that's all. That place is good. He's a good guy, he just... sometimes..."


Shaking his head again, he stepped away from the door, heading towards the bathroom. "I'll take a shower," he said, his voice again blank and emotionless. "I wanna this shit outta my hair, this smell's driving my crazy." He wanted this guy to stop messing his head even more. Fine, Crybaby was right! About being scared, sad and lonely. Yeah. Whatever. But nobody needed to know that. It didn't matter. That boy could tell it, because deep down they weren't so different... which meant Cairo was same kind of a loser. And he couldn't afford to be. Nobody could know.


"You can't help me, y'know," he said from the bathroom's door, just before entering the room. "And... it ain't even normal that you'd wanna. You got your problems, and I got mine, and that's it." And Cairo was one of his problems. "That's how life works, if your mommy and daddy didn't tell ya."

 

[Zotohxan]

Elijah stays silent as Cairo speaks, he'd sort of expected a bad reaction, but... He hadn't expected to hear such an obvious lie in his voice, though... It made him feel bad for the other man. Why couldn't he just accept the offer, admit that he wasn't so okay as he claims?


Though he knows better than to ask those questions, he does say one thing before the bathroom door closes... "You can... C-Come here whenever you n-need to get away..." He keeps his head low as he speaks, not wanting to see the other's reaction. He was terribly afraid it wouldn't be a good one... He may be utterly terrified of the man, but... He's still a human. And even if he's done wrong doesn't mean he doesn't have the capability to do good.


After a few moments Elijah stands and shakily walks to the box with his clothes in it. He grabs the whole pile and walks to where the pillow and blanket are at on the floor, pushing those aside and spreading out the other clothes to make as close to a bed as he could, then puts the blanket over that and pulls it down as if he were making a real bed. After that he gets up once more and goes to the corner, sitting down and leaning against the wall with his arms wrapped around himself. Normally he would put on many of the layers of clothes as extra warmth... But he'd prefer Cairo have it.


And that one is more so he may not get hurt. But, either way, he just feels it's the right thing to do. Perhaps once he gets money he'll buy another pillow and blanket, just in case the other does stay again... And, with that in mind, Elijah starts to doze off. His exhaustion from the day catching up to him, so no matter how hard he tries to stay awake, he simply can't.

 

[evinca]

Cairo shut the door, pretending that he didn't hear what the boy said. After locking it he leaned his back against the door, letting out a long sigh. He knew this was a bad idea. So bad idea to come here. But he had made a choice. He had decided that he was desperate enough, didn't he remember? He didn't want to come, because he didn't want to remember that burn on the other's skin... But this was worse. A whole lot of worse than he imagined.


He took a quick shower - he always took quick showers nowadays, because he had started to dislike them for a reason - and pulled his pants back on. He watched himself from the mirror - and yes, he still looked terrible with his bloodshot eyes and exhausted expression. He couldn't see his friends, not looking as much of a loser as he looked like right now. He had no other choice but to stay.


Maybe the saddest thing was that Newbie was offering him something he could just come and take, as he told that Cairo could come here. As if the other guy didn't think he'd just come anyway, with or without permission. As if he was such a good guy that he wouldn't just take what he wanted. Did... Did that boy really think so? That he wouldn't?


As he stepped out, Cairo noticed him in the corner - and considering he didn't start trembling, crying or otherwise looking terrified, the man assumed he was asleep. He glanced at the bed, noticing it had changed a little. Right, the clothes he was talking about. It made Cairo smile a little. Scratching his damp hair, he watched the boy sleeping for a while, then he started to feel too much like a creep, just standing there and staring, and turned away. After another while he turned the lights off and finally laid down on the bed - heck, if that brat wasn't going to sleep on it, he would - but laid awake for a long time, deep in his thoughts, before finally falling asleep. And one thing about Cairo was that he slept long, deeply and was near impossible to wake up.

 

[Zotohxan]

Elijah wakes up a few times through the night, but never more than enough to just glance around before falling asleep again. By the time he wakes up the next morning he finds that apparently he had woken up for more than that, seeing as how he was laying flat on the ground just beside Cairo and the bed for reasons unknown.


He lets out a gasp of surprise and quickly scrambles away. He leans against the wall for a bit, last night having come clearly back to him, so at least he's not worried about what had happened for the dangerous man to be in his home.


After a few minutes he decides to go take a shower. Sure he has to pay more a month for however much water he uses, but it's better than going around stinking all the time. So he heads to the bathroom, once more hating the fact that he doesn't have any towels, and realizing how bad of a decision it was to have put all of his clothes as the bed... Now he has nothing new to wear. But that's fine... He lets out a sigh and turns on the water, stripping down before getting in and relaxing.


Despite the fact he'd have to pay even more, Elijah decides to actually try and relax. Instead of a ten minute- tops- shower that he usually takes, he doesn't count seconds or otherwise time himself... So much has happened, and he only wants to calm down. So that's exactly what he does...

 

[evinca]

The bed was surprisingly comfortable, and since Cairo was used to sleep in much more random places - sometimes on the floor, even - he slept better than he imagined he could that night. He had been exhausted, after all.


When his eyes slowly opened, he heard the sound of running water behind the wall. It took him a moment to realize where he was, but then again, waking up in an unknown place wasn't anything new to him. Usually he'd just wake up on one of his buddies, or some buddy's buddy, or someone he happened to know through more complicated ways. As he slowly recognized the place, he placed in the 'complicated' category, even though practically this wasn't anything complicated. At least this shouldn't be.


Yawning, he sat up, and rubbed his eyes. He was very bad at waking up. It took him a couple of hours to stop feeling sleepy - unless something happened that required his full attention, that is. The memories of the last night made his shoulders sink a little, but he shrugged them away quickly. This was... this was messed up.


He listened for a moment, then he peeked under the blanket as he got bored. That dude really put his clothes in there. Cairo pushed himself up, checking the box were the clothes had been. It was empty. Hm.


"Yo, Newbie," he called through the door and knocked on it. "I'm awake. You wanna any of those clothes?"

 

[Zotohxan]

Elijah jumps in fear when he hears Cairo's voice and the knock, almost falling but managing to steady himself at the last minute. However, he does still shut off the water rather quickly and scramble to hold his shirt to cover his hips to his knees as he goes to the door and throws it open. He glances up at the other male's eyes but then quickly lowers his gaze once more. "I-um.. It's... I don't... Need them, if you w-want them..." He swallows hard, honestly afraid that the other may just steal his clothing. It's truly all he has anymore...


He can't help but lower his head a bit more, but as he looks down and sees his chest littered with scars of various depths and sizes, he just turns his head to the side, not wanting to see it. The burn mark from last week stands out against the others, but... They're certainly still there.


They crisscross all over his chest, lessening on his stomach, but still clearly there. His sides are almost bare except for a particular pair of scars that go all the way around his torso. One being right over his bottom ribs, the other just above his hips. On his back the scars are smaller, but deeper. All over there are the small, circular ones that obviously came from cigarettes, covering his upper arms, chest, stomach, sides, and back.


The cold air in the barely insulated apartment causes him to shiver more than the trembles from fear, one hand holding his shirt in place to cover himself for as long as he's able, while the other clutches at the door.

 

[evinca]

"No, I-" His sentence is cut off when he stopped to stare at the other guy's almost naked body. He really didn't mean to, but...Just... Just look at those scars! What the hell has happened to this guy?


"Uh, I mean, why would I? Or, well, that's a stupid one..." Why would he, yeah? He didn't just go and steal about all this boy had not long time ago, so indeed, why the hell would this guy think he would steal his clothes too? He clears his throat, not being able to lift his gaze from those scars. Heck, they could be distracting. "I mean, no, I just thought if you wanted me to bring some... or dunno, come and get some..."


Should it make him feel better that he is not the first one, who did something like that? Well, it certainly doesn't. It made him feel even worse, like he was just another one to contribute in this painful 'decoration'. Why would he ever do that? He's not like that. He... Maybe he wasn't the nicest dude around, but he didn't hurt people, not like this. He wasn't that cruel, was he?


Slowly, the man reached out his hand, placing his fingers very lightly - barely touching Elijah's skin - under the burn he made at that night, far enough so it wouldn't hurt, barely realizing the movement himself. He was sure that if he closed his eyes, he'd still see it under his eyelids. Even eyes open, he felt like he didn't see anything else. "Why didn't you run?" he asked quietly, sighing a little. Guilt felt heavy on his shoulders. "You shoulda run. You shoulda run, and come here and lock the door."

 

[Zotohxan]

Elijah hand just glanced up through his lashes when Cairo said he was actually offering to bring him clothes, clearly shocked. Though when he sees where the other's gaze is situated he looks away again. He swallows hard, tears filling his eyes at the countless memories swimming around in his brain, leaving him to feel small, defenseless, terrified.


He stiffens when the other man reaches forward, still not able to process his own thoughts before he feels warm fingers pressed so gently against his skin. It made his breath catch in his throat, how soft the touch was... He honestly didn't know Cairo was capable of being so gentle with someone. And at the older man's words his tears just build a bit more, especially when he unmistakably hears guilt in his voice.


"I-I... If I try to run..." He swallows hard, then sniffles when a couple tears fall down his cheeks. "I get h-hurt worse... And... I'm s-small and weak a-anyway... I'd get c-caught if I ran away, then I'd g-get hurt even worse y-yet... It's better... To just g-get hurt a little... Than a lot..."


He takes in a couple of deep breaths, then decides to dare it as he takes his hand off of the door and rubs the tears away from his eyes. "I-I'm sorry... I... Didn't m-mean to cry, I.." He's cut off by a sob, it shaking his entire body as horrible memories continue to bombard him. "Scary..." He whimpers, squeezing his eyes tightly shut before stumbling forward and falling against Cairo. He knows he'll be pushed off, but at the moment he doesn't even have the strength to move himself away. His mind is flashing with horrid scenarios and images, things that would give the toughest of men nightmares... At least, that's what it is to him.


Every image fluttering behind his closed eyelids are just more and more real-life events. Cursed to haunt him in his sleeping and waking life for all of eternity. And even though he was terrified he would be hurt so badly again by the other male for not only crying but for leaning on him, he can't even find it within himself to care. He just needs to be close to someone without pain... Just for a few seconds. No matter who it is, he's just missed it for so long...

 

[evinca]

There they were again. The tears. Couldn't Cairo do anything else but to make this guy try? Well, it certainly wasn't hard to do that, but he suspected that the fault was in him. Just seeing him seemed to make the boy cry, and considering what apparently had been done to him, and what Cairo had done to him... No wonder.


Well, Newbie got a point there. Better get hurt a bit than a lot. But didn't he see that there was third option as well? Not to get hurt at all. Hadn't that ever been an option to him? Well... that's rough. Cairo wanted to say that he had been so drunk that he had been barely standing, and that even the other could have escaped him, but... He didn't say that. It sounded like the man was blaming him for not running, like it was all his fault. It wasn't.


When the boy apologized for crying, he just shrugged, not being sure what exactly was scary. Him, the situation, the memories of that night, some other memories? He wasn't sure which option he hoped it to be, but at least not the first one. "Mm, that's okay--"


He tensed, his eyes widening in surprise when he suddenly felt the boy's weight against his bare chest. What-? In a social situation he had rarely been as lost as he was at that moment, because for a few seconds he had no idea what to do. So he ended up doing nothing, just standing still and looking down at the other guy in confusion. He couldn't trust that much, could he? Of course he couldn't, after all that shit. He'd be a fool to trust, and still... Suddenly Cairo kind of hoped that Elijah could. Hoped that after seeing what kind of an asshole and a loser he was, somebody could still trust him.


Which, of course, was far too much to hope for, ever.


Would... Would he freak out if Cairo put his hand on his back? Or overall moved even a little? It felt awkward to just stand there, doing nothing, but he really didn't want to scare the boy. He had got enough of that. So Cairo ended up placing his large hand on the boy's shoulder very carefully, giving him as much time as he needed, thoughts racing in his own head. "It's, uh... I'm sure it's gonna be alright," he muttered uncertainly, knowing that it was far from it, but... What else could he say?

 

[Zotohxan]

When he felt a hand on his shoulder Elijah flinched, but realized after just a moment who it was and calmed down again. Well, he didn't worry about the hand, anyway... He was still sobbing against the bare chest of the person who had given him yet another scar, and yet he couldn't pull away at the moment even if he wanted to.


Did he want to? Definitely... He didn't want to be so close to Cairo, it's far to easy for him to hurt the smaller male any way he pleases at the moment. And Elijah wouldn't put anything past him... But at the same time, his mind is becoming increasingly clouded by the minute, making him register more and more only the comforting feeling of being even partially held by someone, and not being hurt.


And after nearly five minutes straight of this, Elijah had completely forgotten who he was holding. His only thoughts are on his past, and the fact that someone was warm and comforting near him. At some point he'd gotten so desperate for a consoling contact that he actually wrapped his arms fully around the other male, his fingers made into fists on his back. Unfortunately, he'd also forgotten the fact that he'd previously been covered by nothing but a shirt...


A shirt which was now on the floor, revealing the smaller boy's more intimate areas which, just as his torso and arms, are covered in scars. It was quite clear by the patterns of the scars there that he'd been hurt in more ways than just physical. The boy had been completely broken,and the scars revealed now prove that if his breaking down in the arms of his most recent abuser had not.


Another couple minutes pass before Elijah manages to start composing himself, sniffling back his tears and taking a bit more of his own weight onto his own legs. Maybe another five minutes pass before he's standing by himself, hands wiping away his tears as he struggles to get his breathing back to normal.


"I'm... Sor-ry... But..." He sniffles once more, then raises his head and actually, properly looks into Cairo's eyes. "Th-thank you... For... F-For holding m-me... And... N-Not h-hurting me..."

 

[evinca]

When the boy flinched under his touch, Cairo tensed for a second, hoping that he didn't fuck this up... But no, apparently not. After that the man didn't dare to do much anything, or say anything, so he just stood still and tried to keep his breathing calm and steady. He wasn't sure why, but he wanted this to last. This fragile peace, when he assumed the other guy maybe wasn't so afraid of him, and that maybe he hadn't done irreversible damage. Just... Maybe?


Being close to someone wasn't anything uncomfortable to him, more like the opposite. To be totally honest, Cairo was very affectionate person, and casually seek physical contact all the time. But still... This was so different, and he wasn't able to relax, not until a lot of time had passed. He wasn't sure, but it felt like forever. Not that he minded.


He glanced quickly up as the boy wrapped his arms around him, and the shirt fell on the floor. Something like that made Cairo very rarely feel awkward, and usually he would very openly use the chance to see the view, but now he couldn't even think of doing so. Even if the boy was standing right against him, and he wouldn't see anything, he kept still watching the walls strictly.


Slowly, after collecting a bit of courage and coming into conclusion that the boy wasn't going to pull away anytime soon, he moved his hand from Elijah's shoulder to his upper back, up his neck to the back of his head, and the hand stayed there, smoothing slowly his hair. He tried to read the boy all the time to see if he crossed a line somewhere.


The moment the boy made the first movement that hinted he might want to step away, Cairo let his arm drop quickly, so it wouldn't feel like the man had trapped him in any way. As the boy finally stepped away and Cairo glanced down at him, he did the mistake of stealing a glance of the parts of his body that had been covered so far - and the man regretted he did so. He fought to not show his shock, and managed to do that pretty well. Just... he didn't try to flirt with this boy on the first day, did he? He didn't call this boy cute, right? Dammit. How idiotic thing to do.


"N-No big deal," he muttered, and when the other guy for once seemed to have courage to look him in the eye, Cairo was the one turning his gaze away as he let it inspect the wall. He just got thanked for not hurting somebody, and it only made him feel worse. He was supposed to apologize, wasn't he? Now. C'mon, do it. Now. But words got stuck in his throat and never came out. So he cleared his throat - didn't help with what he wanted, though - and shrugged a little uncertainly. The apartment felt suddenly so small. Too small. "I, um... I gotta go. Did you want any of those clothes or not?"

 

[Zotohxan]

Elijah continues to wipe away his tears when Cairo tells him he's go to go. He nods slowly, then drops his hands once his face is as dry as it'll get. "O-Okay..." He then glances over toward the clothes on the floor and shrugs, "I-I can get t-them..." His gaze moves to the other man's face again.


To tell the truth, Elijah was confused... Extremely confused... Why had Cairo just let him touch him, hug him, be so damn close to him, and cry? He thought the larger man hated crying... The dangerous man before him should have beaten Elijah within an inch of his life. But, instead of giving the boy even more horrific memories to live with, he comforted him. Stroked his hair to try and calm him down, didn't hurt him in any way...


It's beyond shocking, and inside, Elijah has absolutely no idea about how to react to all this. "It's... T-Thank you, again..." He swallows hard, trying to give a small smile though it's really just a trembling curve of his lip. He's still rather terrified that Cairo could flip and hurt him now, but also just not entirely sure how to react because of the confusion from it all. "And... D-Don't forget... What I said last night.."


His smile becomes a bit more genuine, feeling as if he owed it now to reassure the other that his words were honest. "You c-can come here... Whenever you wa-want."


He may still be utterly terrified of Cairo, but at least this proved to him that the other isn't all bad. And maybe he could actually learn to be a nice person, someday. Elijah had seen it before, long ago. And though he won't bet anything on it happening for Cairo, he'd still like to imagine it's possible... And, who knows. Maybe being around Elijah more would even help him with that.

 

[evinca]

In fact, without knowing it, Cairo was wondering exactly the opposite of what the boy was. How could he allow himself to be so close to the man, how did he dare to lean and cry against him? Cairo had thought he would be far too scared to do that. That he would never voluntarily even be in the same room with the taller man.


Well...apparently he was even more desperate than Cairo had imagined...


And could that be a smile? Like a response to it, a grin was suddenly back on Cairo's face, even though it had been gone since the last night. Grinning made him look more like himself, more like that guy Elijah met in the store. He had been strangely serious, but of course, because the other guy didn't know him much, that was hard to tell. In fact, the boy had seen him only once as his usual self, and that was the day they met.


"Ain't that a smile right there?" he smirked, lifting his brows. He had to drop this seriousness and leave it here; he was an entertainer, he was the one making guys laugh, and... He rarely had time or chance for sulking and being serious. Not around many people, because wherever he went, he had a role to fulfill. Seemed like this dude was an exception, then. Cairo had no idea what that role was with this boy. "Damn, wouldn't believe if I didn't see it with my own eyes."


The grin faded a little, though, as he thought about the offer. Yes, he remembered it from the last night. "Haven't I taken enough advantage of you?" he scoffed, pursing his lips thoughtfully. "Well, what if we make a deal? Both of us must offer something. Your part of the deal is that I can come here whenever I want... And, hmm, let's see... My part of the deal is that...that last time won't happen again. You know, when I was... You know. Anything like that won't happen again. How's that?"


If he only had known he was going to break that promise in three days.

 

[Zotohxan]

Elijah couldn't help but blush slightly when Cairo points out his smile, it being strange to have even done such a thing in front of someone who'd hurt him. At least, without being forced to do so. Then seeing the man's grin just left the boy in awe. He didn't quite look like the terrifying man he normally did, anymore. He couldn't see any hit of maliciousness in his gaze or anywhere else in his expression. And honestly, it scared him a bit more.


How could someone so cruel manage such a kind expression? Then there was the deal Cairo proposes. And that was that. In Elijah's mind, that just solidified the idea that the man may not be all bad. "Yeah..." His smile gets a bit more genuine just before he lowers his head again, feeling nervous from looking someone straight on like that for so long. "I-I like that deal... And... Thank you for making it."


He glances up through his lashes before lowering his gaze again. His cheeks heat up horribly when he sees the shirt laying pooled between his feet, and quickly moves to pick it up, once more covering himself. As to his knowledge, Cairo hadn't seen anything he shouldn't have... At least, that's the way Elijah is choosing to think.


"Maybe... I'll even h-have food, the next time you come..." He gives another small smile, but still doesn't look up at the man. "Since she'll p-pay me in three days... I can go to the s-store before I walk home, and... Buy a couple t-things. But... I-I'll still save up for a m-mattress, though... So.. Don't wo-orry about that."

 

[evinca]

Then the guy even blushed, which was hopefully for something else than embarrassment. Cairo didn't mean anything bad with his comment, it was meant to be just teasing, and... Ah. Right. Maybe it would be better to avoid teasing the boy. Maybe he would get it wrong. Or something. Cairo had no idea just how much humor this guy got. Possibly not much. But hey, what did he know?


"Yeah, I figured you might like it," Cairo replied confidently. His instincts should have warned him. He should have learned by now that he shouldn't make promises, because promises were meant to keep. And it wasn't like Cairo didn't mean it. He did, genuinely. He just often forgot how easy it was to make promises, to say them out loud, but how difficult they were sometimes to keep.


He laughed when the boy blushed even worse and dashed to cover himself, even though he wasn't sure if he felt like laughing. Smiling, joking and laughing were his ways to deal with stuff he rather wouldn't deal with, like thinking about all those scars he saw. That kind of embarrassment could have been cute with some other guy, and with this guy too, if there hadn't been those scars. Now Cairo just had a feeling that Elijah hurried to cover them instead of just being cutely modest.


That reminded Cairo about the fact that he was still walking around without a shirt as well, and went to grab his tank top. Disgusted expression flashed on his face as he smelled the beer, but he pulled it on anyway. Why didn't he bother to wash it last night?


"Three days? Mm, alright." Well... Cairo would see then what he'd do. He didn't know yet. Yes, well, he needed money, but... Ugh, let's just see the situation then. Maybe he wouldn't need it so much after three days, who knew. "Let's... Let's see about that. And let's see about that charger too... But I think I'll find you if I want to, you know. So, see ya."


With that, he walked to the door, waved his hand as a goodbye and closed the door behind him. For a short moment, he stood there, leaning against the wooden surface of the wall. He took a deep breath, rubbing his eyes. Did he already mention that this was messed up? If it hadn't been messed up before... Now it certainly was.


[[soo... seems like changing the scene is on you again, is it? :'D]]

 

[Zotohxan]

((Yep~ x3))


Elijah had waved back at Cairo when he left, then headed into the main room to get himself come clothes. He dresses quickly, letting out a deep sigh and dropping to the floor after. "Please let him keep the promise..." He mutters to himself, deciding to lay down and try to get a bit more sleep in his slightly more comfortable bed.


Three days had passed and not once had Elijah bothered venturing outside. He had no money and no way of getting food, so he just figured the less he moved around and exerted energy, the better. But now it was time for him to head out to his first day of work. He walks the hour with a bit of trouble, seeing as how walking so far without water on your journey when you hadn't eaten for four days could tend to be rather difficult.


But finally he got there, half an hour late, but... He was still present. The woman shows him around the kitchen and then he begins pulling out everything he needs to make 3 different types of eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, hashbrowns, biscuits, pancakes, and he even sets out several bowls of fruits. He sets them around the large kitchen island and manages to escape the room just before 8:30, just as the customers were starting to come in.


Just before he left he'd made himself and the woman plates to eat, then went in to dine with her. Thankfully she didn't make him talk at all through it, as she knows how shy and nervous he is around people... Though with time, even Elijah knows he'll start to open up to this woman. She's far too kind for him to not.


An hour later he leaves, his first ever paycheck in his pocket. In fact, as he walks, Elijah realizes that this is actually the most money he'd ever held in his pocket at one time. The thought makes him smile, that he'd actually done something to earn himself money... That someone thought he could be useful, that he was useful to someone. It may have been 'only' twenty dollars to some people, but to Elijah, it's what will keep him alive.


And as he walks back into town he doesn't even worry that he'd run into Cairo or his friends... He was in such a good mood, he was truly happy- something that never really happens for him. He'd just made money, and the confusingly dangerous man had promised that he wouldn't hurt him anymore. So there really wasn't anything to worry about when Elijah comes up on the store Cairo and his friends stand in front of, right?

 

[evinca]

[[... oh man don't do this to me I don't want my asshole characters to come and ruin all that... poor baby ;_;]]


Yes, they were hanging outside the store like they usually were. There was eight of them, three girls and five guys - one of them being Cairo himself. He sat next to Nathan, leaning against the wall, totally focused on a passionate debate whether or not Mike's new motorbike was better than Nathan's. Once more they were drinking the day away when they didn't have anything better to do, but Cairo hadn't touched the can today. He was smoking, though, because he obviously had to do something to look as tough as everybody else, and Nathan had offered him a cigarette, since everybody knew he was mostly out of money.


"Look." Nathan nudged Cairo's arm, nodding down the street. "Look who's comin'. Newbie... Didn't you say that he'll get cash today? You're gonna go and take it?"


The young man lifted his gaze, and indeed, he saw Elijah walking towards the store - and towards them at the same time. Biting his lip, he hesitated, much to Nathan's surprise. The other one gave him an odd glance, and he hurried to answer. "Well...yeah, of course. But not now. I'll deal with him later," Cairo told vaguely and shrugged. "Don't wanna anybody to witness, okay?"


"What's goin' on?" Mike asked. He was a tall white guy, wearing a baseball cap and a worn red t-shirt. He lifted his brows curiously as Nathan explained him that the boy walking up the street was Cairo's bitch and had just got money he'd take later on, and that it had took forever until that loser had found a job. "Later? Why not now? I wanna do something." He straightened his back. "Hey guys, see that wimp? He's made Cairo wait. That's not right, yeah? And he's got cash. I'd say... We help Cairo out, and the next round's on him."


As Cairo saw agreeing expressions on the faces of his friends and curious glances towards Elijah - who was totally oblivious of this - he felt his palms starting to sweat. "That's cute, really, but I can-"


"Nah, don't be a killjoy," Mike groaned and helped Cairo up, and the man couldn't do much more but to follow the group as they headed towards the lonely guy. "Hey you!" Mike shouted. "You got some businesses with us, Newbie!" Yep, they had all heard about him from Cairo, and the nickname had stayed, and probably would stay even after the boy would stop being a new face around.

 

[Zotohxan]

(( ;w; Apologies~ But.. I had to! x3))


Elijah had faintly noticed the people around Cairo glancing at him and talking to one another, but didn't think anything about it. At last, not until they started walking toward him, and he heard someone shouting to him. He stops in his tracks, his heart starting to race in fear.


'Cairo said it wouldn't happen again... He made the deal, it was a promise... He wouldn't just break it, would he..?' "Y-Yes?" He asks in a small voice, his head down. Already he was starting to tremble a bit... There were eight people heading toward him, all of them potentially dangerous. And despite the fact he's trying to believe in Cairo and his promise, all else that keeps running through his mind is: 'He burnt me, stole the only things I could use for money... There's no way he could make a real promise like he did.'


He wants to believe... he wants to think that there could, potentially, be good in the man who'd brought him fear and pain on only his first day here. But the closer the people- including Cairo- get, the more he doubts it. He'd seen those looks before... They were going to hurt him. Enjoy themselves by watching him scream and cry, then steal anything they could possibly use for themselves.


In all honesty, he believes knowing exactly what's coming is worse than being surprised by it... He knows exactly how badly everything will hurt, and it's as if the memories of such pain are causing his scars to burn in their own remembrance.

 

[evinca]

[]


Oh no. This... This was bad. Guys were bored and needed action, and Elijah looked like he was made to be beaten up for their fun more than ever, looking so meek and timid and unable to say no - and, heck, he was unable to say no. Cairo bit his lip as he saw fear appearing in those eyes, and he wanted so badly to tell that if he could do something, he would. That he didn't want this, he seriously didn't want this. If they hadn't been his gang, if...


And he realized that even that was a lie. He could stop them, but... He didn't dare. He didn't want to be a killjoy, and he just couldn't tell them to fuck off. That wasn't his role, and if he didn't stay in his role, he'd be kicked out before he would even notice. And even worse - so much worse - if he sided with a wimpy loser, and turned against them. He'd lose everything.


But... that promise. That fuckin' promise. Why did he ever had to make it? Dumbass.


"Why don't we go there to talk, you know?" Mike asked as they had reached the boy, nodding towards an empty alley right next to them. Perfect place. Dead end. The redhead pushed Elijah in, with force that'd probably be enough to make the smaller guy fall. The entrance out from the alley was quickly blocked by them, and Cairo stood right there with them, his face serious and emotionless. His usual grin was gone.


Mike's voice was soft, amused, as he stepped closer, the others following a little behind. "I've heard you're Cairo's bitch. And now you've made him wait. We can't let that happen, right? You can't fuckin' make him wait for as long as you wanna, you know. Nah... It doesn't work like that. You gotta learn his rules, so it won't happen again. You got anything to say about that?"

 

[Zotohxan]

((<w< I must agree~))


Elijah whimpers when the redheaded man gestures to the alley, the last time he was in one... He was practically just left for dead. While he was a bit zoned out in the memory he's pulled from it by being pushed. He stumbles in for a moment before falling straight to the ground. He skids a bit, but not horribly. Though, the impact was mostly on his knees and hands, and it was hard enough to send a sharp pain up his still- wounded spine.


He lets out a gasp of pain before forcing himself to try and stand, though the best he can do is sitting with his legs tucked beneath him, and head down, facing the eight dangerous people.


"I d-didn't... M-Mean to-o..." He whimpers, tears starting to well in his eyes as his body trembles. He didn't want this to happen... He didn't mean to make Cairo wait, he just couldn't find a job... And then the person who finally gave him one didn't need him until today. "I-I'm sor-ry..." His hands turn to weak fists on his thighs, his eyes squeezing tightly shut as his trembling gets worse and worse. He didn't like this... Them just talking. He'd much prefer they just got his beating over with... He needed as much time as possible to feel better after this so that he could go to work in the morning.


And, with any luck, this wouldn't repeat every day... Even if they didn't beat him like he knows is coming, he just knows his heart wouldn't be able to handle such scares so often... He'd die of a fear-induced heart attack at 18. Hell, he almost wouldn't be surprised if it happened right now.


"I won't... W-Won't take l-long aga-again... I pr-promise.. Please... P-Please just don't h-hurt m-me... I'm... I'm sorry..." He knew begging would do no good... He knew Cairo was a liar, a man who would say anything just to see someone hurt worse after. But he still wanted to believe in him... He still wants to believe that the other's promise could have been true. If only he'd stop this... If only he'd take his apology, take his money, and he and his friends leave... 'Please just let him keep it...'

 

[evinca]

"You didn't mean to?" Mike laughed, glancing at the others. "You heard him? He didn't mean to. And he's sorry and he promises. Well, that changes everything, right? Right, Cairo?"


The man pushed a calm smile up on his face; dammit, how difficult it was to get there. And he was usually good at faking. Not lying, but faking. "Yeah," he commented briefly, letting the cigarette he was holding fall from his fingers. Maybe - just maybe - it could give the signal that he didn't want to be part of this. Because if he truly wanted to hurt that boy, he'd know exactly what would freak him out worse than hits and kicks would.


Mike nodded and turned back towards the boy on the ground, and suddenly he stepped forward, his feet flying towards the boy's chest and hitting it with full force. It made a few of the others laugh and cheer, and two other guys stepped forward as well, wanting to join in. Nathan wasn't one of them. He was watching Cairo's emotionless expression with narrowed eyes, knowing that his best friend was acting strangely.


A few other kicks followed in different parts of the boy's body, and the gang started to form a circle around him, everybody wanting to either see better or join. Cairo pushed his way on the best place, because he had to see what's going on, and seeing it made him grimace behind that calm mask he was wearing. Oh no no no no... This was going so wrong! It wasn't supposed to go this way! But, well, screaming that in his head wouldn't help anything.


That's why he forced himself to open his mouth. "Hey, hey!" he shouted, stepping to interrupt the scene that was going on in front of him. The others lifted their gazes at him, wondering what was up.


"Where's my cash?" he asked, holding his hand down expectantly. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. "Gimme it."


Maybe, just maybe, they were good to go once Cairo got his money, and this would be all. Wishful thinking, but it was all Cairo got.

 

[Zotohxan]

By the time Cairo shouts Elijah is curled up in the fetal position, trembling horribly and crying, screaming out in pain. Blood seeps through his light grey shirt from wounds made to his stomach and back, his lip is busted, and both his eyes have nasty bruises already forming. "I'm sorry-" He whimpers through the beating, whenever he can catch a breath. "Please.. Stop!" Was what he would plead on the odd breaths he wouldn't apologize again. Begging would do nothing... It actually seemed to make them hit harder. But he had to try....


When everyone stops he lays limp on the ground, just sobbing with his eyes squeezed shut. But at hearing Cairo's voice demanding the money he forces his bruised and bloody arm to move, pulling the crumpled and slightly blood stained check from his pocket and blindly holding it up. He barely had enough strength to do so, resulting in his hand trembling even more than it was before.


Much like the time he'd been burnt by that cigarette, Elijah is hyperventilating as he lays on the ground, unable to get in a single proper breath through his panic and pain. This was too much... He thought this was over.


Cairo lied.


"Ple-lease... Sto-stop..." He begs, his voice holding all the pain and hopelessness he feels as he doesn't even try to open his eyes. Really... He almost doesn't even care if they do stop, anymore. While he knows much more pain could be inflicted upon him, he doesn't think any of them have any weapons... And with just their bodies- at least the way he hopes they wouldn't go so far- they can't do too much more. He's already pretty sure they broke his left hand.


But, still... Even if they did hurt him more, obviously there's a reason for it. Obviously he's done something horrible in his life, otherwise, he wouldn't be punished so horribly for so long. He just doesn't know what he did... If he did he would've righted it by now. But he doesn't know... So deep down, despite desperately wanting the pain to go away, he feels as if he deserves it.

 

[evinca]

Cairo snatched the check from the trembling, bruised hand and put it in his pocket. He felt sick, and as he listened the boy's breathing and begging, he really wanted to stop this. He had listened Elijah's begging long enough already, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could listen to it anymore. He wanted to run, like he always did, because deep down he was a coward. He just couldn't let anybody else know.


"Whatever," he scoffed nonchalantly and turned away, and maybe he really managed to make it look like he didn't care at all. Like he hadn't felt sick and disgusted, and like that hyperventilating breathing hadn't made it hard to breath for him too. "Alright, I'll buy you stuff, let's get outta--"


"C'mon, we just started," Mike protested, and Cairo heard a shoe meeting an unprotected body before he even had time to turn around. Dammit! He opened his mouth to say something - anything - but they had already continued, and he couldn't do more than to clench his jaw, squeeze the check in his pocket and pray that they wouldn't accidentally kill that brat.


"Okay, okay, c'mon, this way he's not gonna work tomorrow and I won't get my cash..." he tried to reason without sounding like he was on the same side with the helpless kid. Heck, no, no, of course he wasn't, that was even a stupid idea, but... He was being reasonable. Yes, that's what it was, exactly. Nothing more, nothing less.


Mike stopped and gave an odd glance towards him. "Really, where's your guts, dude? Since when you've been such a coward?"


Cairo's fists clenched. Now everybody was looking at him, and he couldn't let this guy talk to him like that. "What did you say? I ain't any coward."


"Well, prove it," the man smirked, nodding towards the guy laying on the ground. "He's your bitch. Ain't fair if we do all your dirty work, yeah? Of course you gotta do your part. Otherwise he won't learn to respect you. That's what you want?"


Oh man. That's what he had been scared of. "Fine then," he muttered. No, no, no... He knew he had fucked up far worse than usually when he stepped closer to Elijah, feeling everybody watching him. His mouth felt dry as he pulled his foot back, and then kicked the boy's side that was bruised for sure already. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

 

[Zotohxan]

'He tried to stop it... He tried to walk away, they wouldn't let him." Elijah focuses on what's happening around him rather than what's happening to him, trying his hardest not to have a panic attack. It isn't working very well, though... Especially as he listens to the short conversation between Cairo and his 'friends'.


Really... He's not sure what to think anymore. Cairo honestly doesn't seem like he wants to do it. He just doesn't want to be seen as weak. Or maybe he does want to, maybe he's the one who organized this whole thing. Maybe he only made the promise to catch Elijah off guard...


But, either way. He still feels as if he deserves it. So instead of keeping his eyes closed he manages to open them, and he looks up at Cairo through the teary fog over everything he sees. He watches as the man steps toward him, then brings back his foot. Elijah braces himself, and gives the dangerous man a look that says: It's okay. As he feels the impact he once more screams out in pain, his body instinctively curling up to cover the newest inflicted wound.


Though he could have imagined it- it would be extremely easy to see things when in such a panicked and pained state- Elijah could've sworn he saw apology in Cairo's eyes when he was kicked... And he holds onto that. He still doesn't want to believe the other male could be all bad, even if he did break his promise. So he opens his eyes again after a few moments and gives him the same look as before, hoping he knew that Elijah wouldn't hate him for this...


He feels the air getting heavy, his breathing comes faster and his heart races in fear. The panic attack was getting worse and worse, and Elijah could already feel himself losing consciousness. Black dots dance across his vision while he feels the pain all over his body increase with every heavy breath, with every choked sob. Even if he is forcing himself to believe that Cairo doesn't want this, even if he forces himself to see apology or regret within the man's eyes, he's still terrified. Because no matter what the other feels, he's still doing it. He still allowed it to go on. And that's not something he can just forget...

 

[evinca]

To be totally honest, Cairo could tell that it wasn't all. It wasn't over. That they'd want more. So he wasn't surprised when he heard Mike's voice. "Think that's gonna teach him anything? C'mon."


Cursing in his mind, the man thought that maybe he should have kicked harder. No holding back, but using everything he got instead. Maybe they would have been happy with it then. Or maybe not, and he would have ended up breaking the boy's rib for nothing. "Don't forget he's mine," Cairo huffed, glaring at his friend. "You wanna see how I teach my bitch? Fine then." He forced a grin on his face.


Cairo turned back towards Elijah, dropping on the top of him, his knees on the both sides of the boy's torso. Grabbing the boy's shirt he pulled him to lay on his back, his other hand clenching into a fist. He... kind of wanted to wipe off that accepting expression he had seen on that face. He wanted to scream that nothing was okay, and nothing would ever be okay between the two of them, because that's just not how it's supposed to be. Couldn't the other see that?


Instead he was a good boy and played the role he was supposed to. Like he always did. "Listen up," he growled, holding the boy's collar. He could see that the other one was slipping into unconsciousness, and hoped it would happen fast now that they had come to it. "I need that cash and I'm tried of waiting, you hear me? Make sure it'll never happen again, or you're gonna be so sorry!"


He let his fist fall, again with a gentleness of a hammer, straight to the boy's face. And again, and again. Then he let go and stood up, and the expression was perfectly nonchalant as he turned to look at the others. Are you proud of yourself now?


Mike laughed and tapped his shoulder in accepting way that still managed to make Cairo feel a little better. He was junkie for that acceptance. "That's the spirit!" He turned to spit on Elijah, giving Cairo a challenging glance, and the man had no choice but to follow, spitting on the boy's face as well. Maybe...hopefully...he was unconscious by that point, though at least a little bit of added humiliation wouldn't hurt, so... who cared. Who the fuck cared about anything now? Cairo felt exhausted and cold, and he wanted just bury his face into a pillow and sleep this day away and forget it, because he didn't fucking stop it even though he could have.


As they left, Cairo was careful not to look back. He didn't know it yet, but he had a feeling that this event would eventually make him plead.