What an adventure

Chapter one: The beginning

Nick took the cig out of his mouth and exhaled the smoke. He felt the calmness flow throughout his body as he looked up at the night sky. It was filled with stars that were scattered all over.

The calm moment was interrupted by a pebble hitting his head.

"Ow- What the hell?" He looked over the side of the roof to see Eli, Nick's next-door neighbor's kid. He had red hair, bright blue eyes, and a scar on his chin that led to his nose. He never told Nick where he got it from. At the moment, he had a handful of pebbles. He dropped the pebbles when he spotted Nick.

"Hey, Nick!" He whisper-yelled, Nick groaned and laid back.

"Beat it, kid, I'm not in the mood to babysit," Nick said. Eli ignored what Nick said, shimmied up the drainpipe, and plopped next to Nick on the roof.

Nick put out his cig on the roof and sighed. He may hate kids, but he hates second-hand smoking much more.

Eli dangled his legs over the edge and hummed a calm tune as he stared up at the sky.

Nick looked over to Eli then back at the sky, "Your dad?"

"Passed out."

Nick nodded his head slowly, Eli looked over his shoulder at Nick. He cleared his throat and scooted back to where he was right next to Nick.

"So...can I sleep here tonight?"

"Kid, you know how that would look-"

"I'll pay you back."

"Kid."

"I'll clean your house."

"Kid."

"Please!"

"Kid!-"

"Eliza Noelle Joss!"

Nick and Eli whipped their heads over to where the yelling had come from, it was Eli's dad, he was yelling from inside of the house. Eli's eyes widened in fear, he stumbled to his feet and hid on the other side of the roof that wasn't visible.

Nick looked over the side of the roof to see a tall man with a potbelly, stumble out of the two-story house. Nick groaned and laid back on the roof. The man stumbled over to Nick's house, clearly intoxicated.

"Hey! Hey you!"

Nick sighed and put on the fakest smile that he could. He looked over the side of the roof and spoke in a well-mannered way.

"Yes sir?"

"Where's my daughter!?" He shouted.

"Who?"

"My daughter, Eliza! She's always sneakin' out at night, little *****! And I bet you like little kids, huh? Where's my daughter you ******!?"

Nick gritted his teeth but composed his temper, "Sorry sir, I don't know your daughter. But, I do know your son." He smiled slyly, the old man scowled and spat on the ground.

"Son? I don't have a f*cking son! You ******* are always spouting ****." The drunk man grumbled as he stomped back into his house. Once they heard the front door slam shut, Eli stumbled back over to the side of the roof that Nick was on.

"You can sleep on my couch, no payment," Nick said. Eli's eyes sparkled and his smile grew, showing his silver braces. The kid went in for a hug but Nick quickly stopped him. "Under one condition."

Eli grinned, "Name it!"

"Next time your dad hits you, you tell me and I'll deal with it."

"Deal!"

Nick ruffled Eli's hair, the two laid on the roof till it was one in the morning, they headed inside when the cold began biting at their skin. Though the quietness of the town was calming, the cold wind was too much to handle.

The next morning, Nick woke up to the sun shining in his face through the curtains that hung over his small window. He sat up from his stiff pillow; his head pounding, which was a normal morning for the twenty-year-old. He reached to his bedside table and pulled out aspirin from the small drawer. He grabbed his bottle of water, swallowed one pill, and chugged down the water. It had a bitter taste. He looked over to his calendar, May 1st, thirty days till he turns twenty-one.

He threw his blanket off of his lap and sat at the edge of the twin XL mattress. After sitting there for a straight five minutes, he finally got the energy to stand up and get ready for the day. He changed into a long sleeve, white shirt, and black sweatpants. He slipped on his house slippers and walked out of his room.

As he walked to his living room, he could hear The emperor's new groove playing on his tv in the living room. He walked into the living room to see Eli sitting on his couch, surrounded by blankets, holding a ceramic bowl with ramen inside, and watching, you guessed it, The emperor's new groove.

Nick picked a pillow from off the ground and threw it onto the couch, he plopped down and began watching the movie with Eli.

"G'mornin, there's ramen on the counter for you."

"Kid, I said you can sleep here, not live here. But, thanks. And, morning. You sleep well?"

Eli slurped on the juice from the ramen and nodded his head, "Yes, this is a top-tier couch, very comfortable. I would like to marry the couch now."

Nick laughed a bit, "Not happening, the couch and I have an intimate relationship."

Eli was about to reply but was interrupted by someone knocking- no, banging on Nick's front door. Eli looked at Nick but Nick only shrugged. The older stood up from the couch and walked over to the front door and opened it up to see Eli's father standing there, his bushy brows furrowed together, he looked about ready to punch someone.

"Where's my ******* daughter? The ***** didn't return last night and I know she came to speak to you."