In a corridor with pale yellow walls and stained red carpet, two men faced each other from either end. Other than their haggard breaths, all one could hear was the energy running through the fluorescent lights attached to the ceiling. With his rear end on the carpet, Jason stared at the man ahead of him. It was clear that the young 17-year-old was absolutely frightened by the fellow dressed in a red velvet coat and tight leather pants. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, threatening to drip onto his eyes, which were wide open. Deep brown, his eyes had a glint of terror as they were almost tearing up at the edges. Sporting shoulder-length blonde hair, Charlie, the man in velvet, took a step forward. This simple, natural, and almost harmless motion shook the young boy as he felt shivers run down his spine.
Seeing the growing fright he instilled in the young boy, the edges of Charlie's lips began to curve upwards. It was clear as day that he was enjoying this. Wearing his ear-to-ear wide grin, Charlie bared his teeth as he softly gathered his breath and continued to step forward. Realizing that Charlie had no interest in ignoring him, Jason's body began to involuntarily shimmy itself backwards as his lungs seemed to cry out for more air and his breathing started to quicken.
"No! Please! GET AWAY! NO, NO, NO, I promise I won't say a word! Just leave me alone. Let me live. Please, I beg you!" whined Jason, as tears rolled down his face and strings of spit dangled from his chin.
Charlie's grin grew more vicious as he inched his way closer to the terrified young man, whose whines and short screams became more and more pitiful.
Finally, towering over Jason, Charlie raised his foot in the air as he said calmly: "Leave you alone? Why would I do that when I am having so much fun? Come now, Jason. Let's see how long you can keep me entertained! HAHAHAHAHA!" laughing manically, Charlie stomped his foot down, knocking Jason unconscious.
"Damn, I just bought these yesterday as well..." Charlie groaned, staring at white polished shoes stained with Jason's blood. "Next time I'll be sure to get a pair in red!"
{3 Days Later, Monday - 1pm}
A man standing at 5'10 leaning against a brick wall, staring at his phone in his right hand with a distressed expression, a burning cigarette in his left. "Why is he not answering any of my texts? Is this because I did not want to go on another one of his goose chases last Friday night?" he thought to himself. "He's a grown man now! He should not be so childish!" Taking in a deep breath, he placed his phone into his pocket and turned his gaze up at the gloomy, grey sky. "Whatever, I'll stop by his place after my shift and give him an earful for sure!" he thought to himself.
The air was chilly, the tar was wet, and water puddles were riddled all over on the ground. As the man exhaled, one could clearly see the steam making its way out of his mouth. Lowering his head, his short brown hair hung. Raising his left hand, he placed the cigarette between his chapped lips and drew a puff. At the same time, rumbling began in the sky. The man once more turned his gaze upward to look at the dense clouds. His light brown eyes glinted as he felt something stuck in his throat. There was not actually anything in his throat. The man knew this and he knew it was just him being anxious. "I have a bad feeling... fuck," he cursed under his breathe as he heard footsteps approaching from his left, dismissing any of his thoughts as he believed they were just that. Just a feeling and him being a worrywart.
Breathing out, a girl sporting a red apron and cap walked around the corner and beckoned: "Noah, it's about to pour, get inside the store quick!" She gestured with her hands for him to follow her. Noah complied and threw his cigarette on the ground and followed after her.
Entering the store, Noah stopped and looked at the girl standing in front of him. Her hands on her waist, she wore a serious expression as she said: "Noah! What's with you today? You haven't lit one in a while, and you promised your big brother that you had stopped using those things." Hearing her say this, Noah gulped slightly and lowered his head as he said: "I know. It's just... I don't know, I've not been feeling well since Saturday morning. One of my friends won't answer any of my calls, and he hasn't shown for any lessons this morning either." Noah calmly let out a breath and walked past Beth.
"Still, that isn't any reason to continue those bad habits. I'm sure this friend of yours wouldn't want you to break your streak over worry for them. Besides, I'm sure they're fine at home. They probably just caught a cold from this weather and are just sleeping in for the day," she spoke while crossing her arms and facing him as he went behind the counter and started reading over some book with a red spine and brown cover.
"I hope you're right, Beth," he responded without lifting his head as he continued to skim through the book.
{2 Hours and 30 minutes pass}
Closing his locker, Noah grabbed his backpack and headed out of the employee's lounge, a small room with two sofas and a table with a coffee machine as the only furnishings inside the room. Noah took one last glance as he stepped through the threshold of the door frame. "I should be able to get to Jason's before it turns dark. I haven't seen Aunty Judy in a while too. I should bring some hot crust buns from the Deli."
Stepping past the door, a chime sounded in Noah's ears. Turning around, he glanced behind him with wide eyes. "Hmm?!" Turning his head left, then right, without seeing anything that could make such a sound, Noah was stunned for a minute before he dismissed it as part of his imagination and proceeded to walk toward the store's back goods section.
"Hey, Noah, you leaving?" Pat, an old man who ran the Deli section of the supermarket, greeted Noah.
"Yes, I was just on my way out. Do me a favor and grab one of the packets of hot crust buns, please. You can put it on my tab." As a worker at the supermarket, he was entitled to take anything under his employee's tab that was discounted and deducted from his weekly wage.
"Not a problem!" the man cheered as he joyfully rose from his stool and walked toward the freshly baked goods behind him. Packing a few in a paper bag, he said: "You're in luck; these came out of the oven an hour ago." As he handed them to Noah, he added: "These are on me, boy! No need to fret."
Noah smiled and accepted the brown bag, "Thanks a lot, Old man!" Walking toward the entrance, Noah waved his hand back at Pat and then turned his attention to the front counter. Nodding his head at Beth, he walked out the sliding doors.
Hopping on his bicycle, Noah decided to take one last look at his chats with Jason. Seeing as how he has not replied back till now, Noah grew more anxious. Putting his phone away, he took a moment to stare at the sky. The rain had stopped an hour ago, and yet this weather itself seemed unending. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Noah proceeded to Jason's house, which was almost an hour away by bike.
{At the same time, in Terrence's (Jason's) home}
A middle-aged woman with black hair and eyes, wearing a yellow top, blue jeans, and a white jersey covering only her shoulders, stood in front of a dark brown vinyl table. Squeezing the phone in her right hand, the woman's brows began to crease as she took deep breaths and adjusted the jersey to cover her chest. "Jason hasn't been home in a while. He's probably out with Noah doing something stupid again... He better come home soon," she thought as she stared at the forecast on her phone's screen, which indicated another storm to come.