The Runaway 3

My alarm went off at five in the morning and I was up instantly, shutting it off before it could wake Blake. I grabbed my clothes for work and headed to the bathroom to shower and complete the rest of my morning routine. I took an extra moment to style my hair since I'd found that I liked the extra tips looking good would get me from the girls. I left the bathroom and headed for the kitchen, starting up the coffee pot before opening up the freezer.

"Hungry?" I asked, glancing towards the couch. I figured he was awake. If he was worried about people jumping him while he slept there was no way that the shower hadn't woken him up if my alarm hadn't. He shook his head.

"Still full from last night," he said, staying curled up under his blanket. "I am thirsty though..." I nodded some and poured him a glass of juice after dropping a couple of frozen waffles in the toaster. I didn't eat lunch when I worked so I needed the energy to get through the day. I carried the glass over to him, smiling a bit.

"Here ya go," I said, holding it out to him. He took the glass and quickly drained about half of it one go before he lowered it again.

"What time do the stores open?" he asked, taking another smaller sip of the juice.

"The hair place opens at eight and the clothing store opens at ten," I replied. "You have free reign over the apartment until then. There's frozen breakfast foods in the freezer to heat up if you get hungry after I leave." I went back to the kitchen to make my cup of coffee before taking the waffles from the toaster and munching on them.

"Right," he said, fiddling with his glass. "Thank you… again, for being so nice to me. You didn't have to and I appreciate it. If there's ever anything you need. Just ask and I'll try to help." I nodded some, but the only problem I ever seemed to face I couldn't ask him to help me with. There was no way I was going to admit to anyone that I liked taking it up the ass now. No way in hell. As soon as I finished eating, I went to my room to get the money from the lock box for him.

"Here," I said, putting the cash on the table. "To make it harder for you to have trouble spending what you need to, I don't want more than twenty dollars in change," I added. "I'll see you after lunch. The spare keys are in the kitchen drawer closest to the front door." He nodded.

"I'll see you then," he agreed. I nodded and headed for the door, going to work to begin my long twelve hour shift and tell my boss about him. On the way, I lit a cigarette, needing the extra kick of nicotine to get me started. I put it out before I knocked on the back door of the restaurant for one of the cooks to let me in. I immediately went to my boss to tell him about a possible dish washer for him that had the same problem I did. When I explained that the boy was my brother, he didn't question anything further and told me it was going to be the same deal I had. Worked for less than minimum wage in exchange for not filling out paperwork. I nodded some. I doubted Blake would care about working for less as long as the person he was running from couldn't find him.

Knowing that Blake would be taken care of, I went about serving the customers with my usual smile. Only today it wasn't entirely faked. I was happy that I had been able to help the boy and even happier that my secrets were still my secrets. No one outside of Blake and I needed to know what we were running from or the things we'd done in the past. Once again, the future was looking brighter. I smiled more as Blake walked in the door and immediately went over to him.

"The boss is currently running the register," I said, my eyes taking in the emo style he had gone with. It was okay. It wasn't like we would dress the same anyhow. "He's already agreed to let you work for seven an hour. So all you have to do is go talk to him." His eyes widened.

"Talk with him?" he echoed, slightly panicked. "B-but... what if he recognizes me? And even if he doesn't, what am I supposed to say?" he asked, glancing around some.

"Even if he does, it doesn't matter," I said, putting a firm hand on his shoulder. "You don't do that anymore. And all you have to do is introduce yourself. He's been waiting for you to get here." He shifted some, still nervous.

"A-alright," he muttered. "Where was he again?" he asked and I gave him a reassuring smile.

"At the register," I replied. "Just remember, I'm here for you if anything happens. So there's no need to be scared." He nodded and made his way to the register as I went back to waiting on my tables. Still I kept an ear out for him and our boss's conversation.

"H-hi, I'm, um, Blake Taylor..." he said, fidgeting. "Andre said to talk to you." Our boss smiled warmly at him.

"I'm so glad to finally meet you, Blake," he replied. "I'm Mr. Long. I've been expecting you. Did Andre already fill you in on the details?" He nodded a little.

"You need a part-time dishwasher," he replied. Mr. Long nodded some.

"Indeed I do," he replied and motioned for him to follow him to the back. "This way to the kitchen. Did he tell you how much I'll be paying you?" he asked. I had to turn my attention fully back to the customers as they got too far away for me to hear without following them. Through the afternoon I kept checking on Blake, not speaking to him since he seemed to be absorbed in what he was doing. It only required a visual check anyhow as I put in orders and picked up plates. At five, the old dishwasher came in and I knew it wouldn't be long before it was time for us to head home.

"Blake, why don't you make sure all the clean dishes and pots have been stacked," I called as I picked up some plates from the window. He was kind of cute though, looking like a lost puppy unsure of what to do next. "We'll be ready to go in about a half hour," I added before taking the food out to the table it belonged to. As soon as my time was up, I handed my customers over to the waitress who had come in for the last few hours the restaurant was open and caught up with Blake.

"Come on," I said softly. "Let's go. Have an idea of what you want for dinner? We need to go by the store before we go home anyhow." He shook his head some.

"Anything is fine by me," he said, pulling what I could guess was a new hoodie closer to his body. I nodded some.

"Okay, well, fair warning. I am a sucky cook so it'll be tv dinner or soup and grilled cheese," I said as I led the way out the back door. "So when by the time we get to the store, pick one for dinner tonight."

"Better than rooting through the trash," he replied softly and I frowned a bit, reaching over to ruffle his hair some.

"Never again," I said just as softly. "Even if some of my cooking can be worse... We'll order delivery if I screw it up too much."

"Or I can cook," he suggested. "I don't have a huge list of meals I can make, but I have a few," he added thoughtfully. I nodded, smiling at him.

"Sounds good to me," I replied. "We'll pick up the ingredients for what you can make and that way we shouldn't need to worry about dinner this week," I added as we got to the grocery store.

"Spaghetti, hamburgers and hot dogs, baked chicken, and tuna salad," he listed for me. "Those are my best meals but I could probably throw some steaks together too. Anything on a grill really."  I nodded some as I grabbed a cart.

"Sounds good," I replied. "We'll get a grill this weekend then or at least one of those indoor electric grills. So... we'll need..." I started listing off the things I knew we needed for groceries, making sure that we got milk and juice to help replace nutrients he'd probably not had during his stay on the streets. By the time we were done, I was glad my apartment wasn't that far from the store. Our hands were a bit on the full side.

"Are you sure two people need so much food?" he asked as he shifted his grip on one of the bags. "I would hate to have to throw any of this out because we didn't get a chance to eat it all." I nodded a bit.

"Yeah, it'll cover dinners for the next four days," I replied. "Just saves from having to go to the grocery store in the mean time. It's just the necessities, I promise."

"Hmm, still seems too much," he muttered. "But I've never really been grocery shopping before either." I nodded some.

"It's because when the ingredients are bought for dinners, they take up more space," I replied. "I did get the milk mainly for you though. I imagine you didn't get much in the way of it after you ran away and you're still growing. And a toothbrush that is yours wasn't a bad idea either."

"Mmm, I guess you have a point there. Oh, I have change for you from this afternoon," he said suddenly.

"In the apartment," I replied. "My hands are a little full here," I added, chuckling a bit. Not for the first time I wished my apartment was on the first floor, but at least it was only one flight of stairs with the heavy bags. I set them down for a moment to unlock the door and let us in, breathing a sigh of relief once I locked the door behind us. He waited until I'd set the bags on the counter beside his before pulling some cash out of his pocket and handed them to me.

"Thanks, Blake," I said, putting the money in my wallet without bothering to count it. "Let's get this stuff put away so we can make dinner." He nodded and started putting away everything that needed to be refrigerated, leaving me with the rest. I put the bread and buns in the bread box, the cans, boxes, and jars into the cabinets beside the stove.

"So, how about hot dogs tonight, since it's getting so late?" I asked, leaving the hot dog buns on the counter.

"That's fine," he said, pulling the hotdogs out again. "What do you like on them?" he asked as he eyed the different condiments in the door.

"Ketchup, mustard and cheese," I replied as I pulled a pot down and filled it with water. I set it on the stove, turning the heat up to high before opening the hot dog package. "Wait, how many do you eat?" I asked before dumping the dogs in the water. He thought about it for a moment before shrugging.

"You keep feeding me so I doubt more than three or four," he answered as he took out the list I'd given me. "Hotdogs aren't the most filling meal after all." I nodded and simply dumped all eight of them into the water before moving over to the other counter to sit.

"Now it's just a waiting game, right?" I asked as I watched the pot.

"That's right," he agreed. "Though you know what they say about watched pots and boiling right?" he asked with a bit of a smirk. I sighed some and nodded.

"Yeah," I replied. "So, what do you propose we do in the meantime?" He shrugged a bit.

"I guess you could watch the news," he suggested. "Or tell me how your day at work was. It seemed pretty busy from the dish washing station…"

"It was chaotic," I replied as I pulled out a cigarette. "I did get the numbers for a few more of the college girls though. So maybe I'll call one of them at some point this week." I lit the cigarette and took a deep inhale as I tried to stop the desires I didn't want from getting any further into my head. He nodded some.

"You get numbers a lot then?" he asked and I nodded, keeping my eyes off of him as much as I could. I didn't want to be rude, but he was cute and my toys were starting not to take the edge off.

"Yeah... I do," I replied. "I don't use them much though. Usually for a date and a shag, but nothing more. They just... don't do it for me, I guess." He paused some and looked over at me.

"Why do you date them then?" he asked. "I mean, if they don't 'do it' for you then why don't you find someone that will do it for you?"

"'Cause I'm not gay!" I spat, slipping off the counter. "I don't... I can't give in to what they've turned me into.." I muttered, putting the cigarette out on the inside of my wrist without really thinking about it. He jumped back a bit at the tone I'd used.

"I-I'm sorry... I just.. I didn't mean to make you upset," he said, sliding out of the kitchen and quickly going to the bathroom. I sighed, rubbing my face some before going to the bathroom door.

"Blake.... I'm sorry I snapped," I said, loud enough for him to hear me through the door. "I'm not upset with you. I'm frustrated and my usual methods for dealing with it aren't working as well. I'm sorry. Forgive me, please." He hesitated for several minutes before he finally opened the door some to peek at me.

"You aren't mad at me for prying?" he asked and I shook my head some.

"Not at all..." I replied. "You're the only person who can and understand what I mean..."

"I guess..." he muttered as he opened the door a bit more. "I should go check on the hotdogs," he said as he carefully slipped past me. I sighed again and went to my bedroom to change out of my work clothes. I couldn't even keep a decent relationship with him and he'd wondered why I didn't have any friends. It was just too difficult to do anything other than lie. I came back out in my pajama pants, my head bowed some in shame for having snapped at him. As I came out he handed me a plate with half the hotdogs on it.

"What do you want to drink?" he asked softly.

"A soda is fine," I replied softly, lingering at the edge of the counter so he wouldn't have to carry it for me. He nodded and got one for me before he started making his own hotdogs up. Once he was done, he took them and a glass of juice back over to the counter to eat his own dinner. Surprisingly, he wrapped his blanket around his shoulders too.

"Is it always so cold in here?" he asked and I shrugged.

"I didn't think it was cold, but I can turn up the thermostat some," I said, gesturing to the box on the wall by the door. "I've never touched it so I have no idea what it's currently set at." He got up and walked over to it.

"I'm always cold for some reason," he said, turning the thermostat up a few degrees.

"That's fine, just set it where you need it to be to be comfortable," I replied. "I'm used to being hot and cold depending on the season so it won't bother me." He nodded and turned it up a few more degrees before coming back to the counter and his dinner.

"Thanks..." he said, picking at the nearest hotdog bun. "I'll try to keep it reasonable though." I nodded some.

"Like I said, it's fine," I replied. "I'm really sorry about earlier. I just... they screwed me up."

"I understand," he said before taking a drink of his juice. "I just don't want to say something that'll upset you again."

"I just don't want you to think I'm going to hurt you," I replied. "I'd never do that. I'll never ask anything of you either. My sexual issues are my problem." He nodded a bit.

"Don't worry... I know you don't want me like that. I won't bring it up again." I nodded, though for some reason it made me feel worse and not better about it all.

"Okay," I finally muttered, drinking some of my soda to remove the clog in my throat. He quietly finished eating before taking his dishes back to the kitchen and started to clean them up.

"So... what do you do to entertain yourself after work?" he asked curiously.

"Watch tv and try to relax," I lied easily. He's already made it clear he didn't want to dig too much into my personal life aside from the mundane, so lying was the easiest way to go. No need to tell him that I usually tried to find some relief to the desire to be fucked in the ass. He nodded and came back to the counter.

"Are you done? I'll wash the dishes for you while you find something to watch," he said, nodding towards the tv slightly.

"Yeah... okay," I said, taking my drink with me as I went to sit at the corner of the couch that he hadn't had his head on the night before. I picked up the remote, flipping through the channels until I found some stupid sitcom. He quickly washed the dishes and then joined me on the couch. He started off just sitting there, but eventually began to slide a bit closer to me. Finally he ended up leaning against me.

"You're warm," he told me. I nodded and let my arm rest on his shoulders so he could get more comfortable.

"It's fine. I don't mind," I said, glancing down at his dirty blonde hair for a moment before turning my eyes back to the tv. He curled up against me and watched tv for awhile. Soon he was drifting off a bit. I just let him go and when I grew tired I carefully replaced my body with a pillow and gently laid him down. I made sure the blanket was tucked securely around him before turning off the tv and heading to bed. I laid down, staring at the curtain covered window as I curled up under my sheets.