A Hazy Night

Amidst the thick incense and cigarette smoke in Lucien's otherwise rather empty room, lies Allen Ginsberg. Indeed, only Allen could be found in Lucien's room... and despite the questionable nature of such a thing, it was a frequent occurrence. Carr and Ginsberg naturally had each other's room keys, and Allen much preferred being in Lu's room to escape his own rather obnoxious roommate.

Tonight, his roommate was especially frustrating, insisting that he bring a girl over and that "they were gonna 'do it' whether Allen was there or not". Al, instead, could've head to the library or a bar... but it was a Wednesday night, he was tired, he needed to be drunk, and he had been sick all week. The only resolution to such an ailment was going to Lu's room, taking advantage of his collection of liquor and vinyls, sitting in his bed (or excuse for one) with a cigarette in his mouth and an arm over his eyes. Though, with the sudden jingling of keys unlocking a door, he bolted upwards into a seated position.

"Ginsy, what are you doing here?"

"Well it's... nice to see you too" Allen retorted, smirking through the pain of his achy, sick body.

"You don't look good."

Allen rested his head on his hand as a wave of nausea struck him. Yeah... of course I don't look... good. He thought, feeling hazily bothered by such obvious remarks.

"Oh come on, lay down" Lucien continued, despite the silence to his previous statement. As expected, Allen listened to this command. The blonde boy sat next to him and then lay down, in a singular swift movement.

"I'm in here... b-because I need a favor," Allen said, with a smaller, more slurred voice than usual.

"Mhm?" Lucien responded, taking the cig out of Allen's hand–allowing his fingers to brush against Allen's for a second too long– and taking a long drag.

The two made eye contact, and silence hung in the air. The cigarette hung out of Lucien's mouth, nearly a stub by now, causing him to shift to put it out.

Allen drowsily closed his eyes and turned to face the ceiling again, and he listened to the gentle sound of Carr's new cigarette being lit.

"So are you going to tell me what you need... or what..." Lu murmured with grace, breaking the silence. He turned to face the curly-haired brunet, noticing just how ghostly he was looking; he reached out and brushed one of the curls out of Al's face, which instinctively caused the smaller boy to open his eyes again. The eye contact resumed.

"I'm drunk" Allen croaked, with a thin smile coming onto his face. "And... 'M sick. I need you to help with..." He shifted a little, "I dunno... I need you t' do me a favor."

"You're drunk? How damn much did you drink? Oh, Ginsey..." Lu let out a small laugh, "You look like... really sick."

"I've had a cold" Allen stops to think about what he is going to say next. "And I feel really bad. A-and... I just need someone to. I dunno. M'be I shouldn't-"

He continues, his words slurring together even more. "-Yanno... my mom... she couldn't take care of me much." Allen hiccups, as his thin smile soon was replaced with tear-filled eyes. "And m' dad didn't really either." He turned to face the other direction, avoiding any sort of eye contact with Lu. "And I usually am... I'm m-mostly fine. But I've been sick. And I can't get better. I just-" His voice faded into a blubbering, sobbing mess.

"Oh, Ginsey-" Lu's face softened, and he put his cig out in a nearby ashtray. He then took off Allen's glasses and set them on the window's ledge.

"I just really need someone to hold me. I don't r-remember the last time..." Allen lets out a wail, which would soon haunt and humiliate sober him. "...that I was held. I'm so tired Lu."

Allen had scrunched himself up into a ball, making him appear even smaller than usual.

Lucien, despite his collected outward appearance, was taken aback by such a breakdown of Allen's. He had only ever seen small pieces of tiredness, but Al had always kept an eager and optimistic mood, trying to help Carr whenever he could. In all honesty, Lu felt pathetic for not offering reciprocation in all of the care that had surrounded him and his own problems.

Despite the inner thoughts that seemed to devour his brain, Lucien pushed them aside, to the best of his ability, and helped uncoil Allen from his knotted mess of sheets and his own bunched-up body. Then, with great care, he wrapped his arms around the shaking boy. Immediately, Allen clung onto Lucien like it was the last thing he would ever do. His sobbing seemed to only grow louder, which confused Lucien, but he inwardly agreed that this was exactly what Al needed.

When the crying slightly decreased to sniffles, Lucien felt Allen's face pressed into the crook of his neck. He smiled to himself, as the heat that radiated off of Allen's body was something that Lucien unknowingly needed too.

Carr began to run his hand through Al's hair, which caused the brunet to shudder. He took that as a good sign and continued, taking his time to feel every curl. Suddenly, the crying began again, and Lucien halted immediately.

"I'm sorry" he whispered, sounding desperate and nervous to have just re-upset Al. But, in response, Allen shook his head quickly, with his face still pressed against Lucien.

"It's just... Nobody has ever done that to me before." He said, almost pathetically, while shifting his face to be a little less pressed into Lucien.

"Oh-" Carr uttered, feeling his heart begin to break. How could this be the first time in his life experiencing such a thing? 

Not knowing what to say next, Lucien silently continued where he left off... making sure to be even more delicate and thorough than before. Allen practically melted into Lucien's arms, and in that comfort, both boys fell asleep peacefully and embraced for the whole night through.