Him and His (BoyxBoy)

Empty Chairs

[Rocky P.O.V.]

I hadn't been to school in about three weeks. I couldn't bring myself to get out of bed unless I was visiting John in hospital. John convinced me to invite 'That New Girl' to Starbucks with us. He described the hospital as a prison; dark, cold and the food wasn't much better. I was slightly embarrassed for Megan when she openly admitted her little crush. 

"Hey," John waved his hand in my face. "Didn't you hear the nurse? You need to leave now,"

I shook myself and rose from my seat. I turned around and saw the image of my otherwise beautiful boyfriend lying with a drip in his arm. He was brave; like a soldier. He was My Brave Little Soldier. The bus home was boring. The night was dreamless. The morning monotonous and school was a shadow looming over me- dark, heavy and daunting. Everyone knew about me, some people were bound to know about John, too. My bag had been ready for school for the three weeks I was off. I pulled on the white shirt and horrible tie. The summer air was still peaking and so I decided to wear a waistcoat jumper and left with my bag hung over my shoulder. My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was my 7:30 alarm. I had started walking as if to catch a bus, but I decided I would go to the nearest café, get a bagel and walk the three miles to school. I did have over an hour! I found a snug little café hidden among tall buildings and found an empty chairs at empty tables. I suddenly felt a rush of nostalgia come over me as I remember Dylan, John, myself and many others used to come here to celebrate great achievements with a Yorker's Danish. Now all I had was John. We used to dream that we ruled the land. It was our own little fantasy; our own escape from reality. Dylan, the tom-boy, always wanted to design tall buildings that could touch the moon and beyond. I told her, that all I wanted was a big life in a little town. Keep things intimate. John wanted to build a large sports arena that sat three billion people. Our childhood minds were amazing, then high school came and we forgot about it all.

"Sorry, sir," a young waitress said from behind me. "We don't open until eight," 

"Oh," I said disappointingly. "It's fine I can-"

"If there's a specific one thing you'd like, I guess I could get it for you," She said. "I know who you are,"

"You do?" 

"You're Rocky Patterson, aren't you," 

"Yeah," I said. "And you are?"

"Jessica Sinclair," she said. "I'm Megan's big sister. She really likes you,"

"Yeah, I know," I said nervously. "Can I get a Yorker's Danish, please."

"How do you make that?" she said.

"I'll show you,"

I had made the dish a hundred times in that kitchen all them 

I slipped behind the counter and into the empty kitchen. I pulled on a hairnet and put oil in a pan. I pulled a danish pasty from the second left drawer above the sink and cut it open. I put raw bacon, cheese, mushrooms and pepperoni and let it cook in the oil. I flipped it over every minute or so while Jessica just stood in awe. It was finally ready and I cut it in half. 

"This is amazing," She said after a large bite. 

"Just one final touch," I said as I opened up a bag of salted crisps and placed them on the side. "Enjoy your Yorker's Danish," I said throwing a fiver on the counter and left with my half of the Danish and some crisps in a takeaway dish. I had no change to catch a bus and had spent so much time in the  café that I began running all the way. I got there with a belly full of bacon and five minutes still to go until the start of first period. I slowly walked toward the gates of Hell. One small step at a time.

~~~

A/N Who got the Les Misérables reference.