Your Unbitten Heart

Wandering

Ryan stood, his feet sore and aching. He held onto the last couple dollars he had in his left hand. "I'm never gonna be able to afford anything other than this shithole restaurant." His hand clutched the bills in anger, his feet shuffling as the line in front of him moved ever so slowly. He sighed watching a small kid a couple spots ahead start to cry. "I'll just eat in the morning, I'm not in the mood for this." He stepped out of the line, heading for the door and pushing it open with a small heave. His braids bounced as he walked. Thumping softly, rhythmically against his chest. He hummed to himself quietly, a song he thought of a couple weeks ago came to his mind as he wondered the streets. He knew he wasn't going to find a nice place to sleep, so instead he found a small spot outside an office building and started humming a bit louder as he pulled a small container from his pocket. The road was quiet, and the sidewalks had improved a ghostly feeling. He was alone. He looked down into the small container and picked out a small orange shaped candy. He popped it into his mouth before closing the container and putting it back in his pocket, dropping his things on the ground as well. He stood looking around before he saw a skinny light post near a bench. He wanted to have some fun, and fun he would get. He hummed softly again, his shoes making a clomping sound as he strutted up to the post. He felt the candy melt in his mouth as he wrapped his fingers around the cold metal, spinning himself to the front before leaning his back on the pole and squatting down. He had taken a dance class before for pole and it was one of his favorite ways to let loose. Before he knew it he was up on the pole, his stomach in a fiery pain, his legs clamped around the pole, his knuckles white, and his head flung back. He hollered in joy as he swung , basically becoming a snake as he wrapped his body around the pole. His mind cleared and he took in fresh air as he dropped away from the pole, only holding on with his legs as he spun in circles. However, he forgot that this was a lamp post, and not a pole and it was short. He dropped to the ground with a loud thud, groaning in pain, one of his braids wrapped itself around his neck. He sat up rubbing his back. 

"That fuckin' hurt, Jesus Christ." Before he could stand up, he heard clapping behind him. He jumped and scrambled to his feet, spinning to see who had made the noise. He was met by the gaze of a very tall man in a white shirt, black pants, and a small jacket held over his forearm. 

"Good try stranger. However you need an actual pole to spin like that." The man started to walk off but was stopped by Ryan. 

"Wait! ...Do you have any band-aids?" He didn't actually need them, he just wanted someone to talk to. Being homeless was lonely, and he wanted to find out why a man like that knew stuff about pole dancing. 

"Yeah, they're in my car. Come with me." Ryan struggled to grab his stuff and keep up with the man, having to jog slightly. The man walked to the left side of the car, pulling the door open and motioning Ryan to come closer. Ryan walked to the other side and was pulled into the car, being sat down in the driver seat, his legs dangling out the door. The man squatted down looking up at Ryan. "Where do you need them?" Ryan froze, not expecting the man to try to apply them himself. 

"Uhm, on my knees-" He stammered. He actually scraped them this morning but needed an excuse to not look like an idiot. The man lifted up Ryan's baggy jeans and opened up the small bandages. "So...What's your name?" Ryan hated small talk but he wanted to be nice since this random stranger was offering him his own things. 

"Malakai." The man worked in silence, covering Ryan's wounds with the small strips. Once he was done he stood back up, dusting his hands off. "Anything else stranger?" 

"A job or a place to sleep." Ryan chuckled. The man raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Oh, I thought it was obvious. I'm actually homeless." Before Ryan could think, he was being escorted to the other side of the car and sat in the passenger seat. He asked the man continuously what he was doing but didn't resist. Malakai sat back in the front seat on the driver's side and turned the car on. Ryan stopped talking, knowing he didn't really have a say in this and he couldn't outrun a 6'4" man with all of his things dragging him down. The car started moving. 

"I'm taking you to my place. I can offer you a job and a place to sleep." Ryan's mouth dropped open.

"Why are you helping me? I haven't done anything for you?" 

"Not yet." The corner of Malakai's mouth twitched into an upward smile before returning to its usual resting position.

"What do you mean by that?" Ryan questioned, but got no answer. He leaned into the back of the leather seat, closing his eyes. He didn't care he was being kidnapped, he didn't care a random stranger was helping him, he didn't care that he thought the stranger was quite attractive. All he cared about was sleep. It had been about 3 days since he had last gotten rest and his body was exhausted. He felt his mind go blank as he drifted further and further into sleep, the smell of Malakai's cologne filling his senses. He rolled onto his right side and yawned. Finally his mind rested.