Wasteland // Kim Seungmin

8 - When You Say Pretty...

He shook his head. "If you're sure. Yeah, go snoop around, everything in here is yours. Get me if you need me, okay?"

"Okay, sleep well." And I closed the door.

Finally alone, for the first time since I left my parents' house. Could that only be two days ago?

And alone in the normal way, not in the way alone is used here.

There was a table and 3 mismatched, rickety chairs in the kitchen area. There was a stove, but no sink like Chris and Toni's. We must have to go somewhere else to get water. And use the toilet.

Crap, I shouldn't have thought about the toilet.

Really, I had no real desire to snoop, I felt like I was trespassing. Everything in here either belonged to Sky, or Meredith, or even that Dana from before Meredith. I was going to have to wear their clothes, wasn't I?

Toilet, my bladder reminded me.

Judging from Sky's steady breathing in the other room, he must already be asleep. I'll just go find someone and ask.

As soon as I stepped outside into the late afternoon sun, I came upon Toni, hanging up my wet clothes on a clothesline. I jogged over to help her with the rest of the laundry.

"Thanks," she said. "You know, I haven't done this in months, I used to have a girl for this," She winked. I appreciated her trying to make light of the very weird situation we were in.

"Yeah, that's on me." We both laughed.

"My parents were like you and Chris, y'know," I said conversationally, continuing where we left off earlier, "They stayed together the whole 5 years, and they are still together to this day."

She smiled, "I think it's so sweet, you don't hear about a lot of couples like that. We are very lucky, we made friends early on, and looked out for each other. Chris and I came to this compound 4 years ago, and we're the only ones of our original group left."

"When did the others come?"

"Well, a lot of people are looking for a place like this, so we have a decent amount of people who wander through hoping for a vacancy, so when someone moves on, like they return or they die, it isn't long before they're replaced. Minho and Carrie have been here for almost 3 years. Jeongin and Lydia came last winter, so a little over a year. And Sky and Dana came here about 10 months ago. Of course, others came and went in all that time. And there were a few alones like Sam here and there.

"I know you and Chris are obviously together, and I am guessing Minho and Carrie too?"

Toni thought for a moment, "They're together sometimes, but not always. Right now they are, but I think it's just the partner thing."

"When you say the 'partner thing'..." I hinted. Really, I was desperate to know what the 'expectation' was for a partner. As in, what did Sky expect me to do for him, with him?

"Well you spend all of your time with someone; you're going to develop strong feelings one way or the other. And I mean, I don't think I know a single pair that isn't physically involved." She wiggled her eyebrows, but I just gulped.

"How soon?" I croaked.

"Hm?"

"How soon will he expect me to...Am I allowed to say no?"

Toni dropped the laundry she was hanging, "O my god! Yes of course! Listen, Sky is...can be.. well he's just been around a lot and a long time, he can be a little intense. But you are absolutely allowed to say no, he doesn't own you."