𝑨𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑷𝒐𝒆𝒕 • Neil Perry & Todd Anderson

ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴇᴛ

    It was a picturesque morning. The sun was shining vibrantly. The city buzzed with anticipation for a new day. The coffee pot hissed and bubbled.

   Todd woke up feeling normal again. He could breathe out of his nose without a sniffle and no longer had the chills. His cold had broken.

   But something else broke within him. He wasn't happy. A suprise greeted him in the living room. He had a clear view of everything. The curses and stumbles. The smack of lips and soft chatter and confessions. He was like the narrator of a romance novel. He realized how much he pitied them. Having to stand by and watch sparks ignite into a mess of emotions.

   Marie kissing Neil.

   Neil kissing Marie.

   There were so many feelings that plaqued him now and he had no way of validating them. Marie was young and enchanting who had found her voice. She could speak up for herself without stuttering and took care of herself. Neil was charming and bold with a force to be reckoned with. Todd was neither. He was reserved. Confused mostly. But he felt greatly and that confused him most.

Neil wasn't his. Marie belonged to no one. He had no say over their relationship. Todd always knew he liked Neil. But now, he wasn't so sure. He wanted to always be near him, drinking him in. That was how it was before at Welton. They were attached at the hip. Ever since New York, Neil seemed to forget and moved on.

   Todd didn't realize how long he had been staring outside the window until his eyes burned from the sun. Behind him, the coffee pot settled and left the pitch black liquid filled to the brim. With a clatter, he arranged his favorite cup into a saucer and lost him self in the swirls of his pouring coffee. This was simple. He devoured the warm bitter smell and almost forgot what was torturing his mind.

Now that his health seemed to recover, he wondered what to do with himself beside sitting in a bed. He couldn't stay in the apartment that was for sure. For two reasons: he had not stepped foot outside in weeks and he couldn't be around Marie after what happened.

She was still asleep on the living room couch. Her body was entangled in the many blankets that she wrapped around herself. Her black hair was a frizzy mess and covered most of her face. Light snores escaped her slightly parted lips. She reminded Todd of a sleeping puppy almost. Every few moments she would open her eyes, huff and then roll over.

She was amusing to say the least. But there was still that uneasiness in the back of Todd's mind. He figured he just needed time to adjust to Neil and Marie kissing and being a couple or whatever they established between one another. Some time away from the house was all he wanted. He didn't want Neil. He wanted freedom. Freedom. Adventure. Liberation. These words were his hymn.

His whereabouts were limited, however. He still didn't have a job or steady income. In fact, he only had a quarter and a penny to his name. That could get him a pretzel from a street vendor. A latte if he was lucky.

That didn't matter. He didn't need money. This is New York. City of wonders and dreams. This was a place to be and he planned on seeing it in all its glory.

    An idea popped into his head. There was an ad in the newspaper yesterday about a museum. Free entries on Friday through Sunday. That's what he'll do. Todd will visit The Met.
~

Many bright and fancy cars littered the streets and the parking lot to the museum. That ad must have made it far. He never saw this many cars in his entire life. He watched kids running around and being yelled at by their parents. Cigarette smoke slapped his face as he walked past a group of young people.