Apathy & Empathy

Chapter 1

The sun was setting. The days were getting shorter and shorter as winter was approaching. Despite the bite of cold in the air, two young men were out digging around in the dumpsters looking for things to set alight. The blond haired young man waved his companion down from where he was standing.

"Hey, Henry, can you give me a boost?" The young man asked. Henry walked over with zero hesitation.

"Sure, Man." Henry replied, walking over to his friend. The blond smiled at him in turn. "Okay, give me a sec." Henry crouched down at the base of the dumpster and the blond climbed up on his back and vaulted into the dumpster.

"Hell yeah!" The blond exclaimed. Henry stood up and looked into the dumpster to see what was so exciting. His friend was holding a rather large, matted teddy bear. Henry grinned.

"Dude, that's awesome! That stupid thing should burn really good!" Henry took the teddy bear from his friend and the young man jumped out of the dumpster, satisfied with his find. "You got the lighter, Luclan?" Henry asked. Luclan nodded and pulled out his blue Bic lighter from his pocket.

"Alright, set Mr. Fluffles down on the ground and we'll start the bonfire!" Luclan proclaimed, holding his lighter above his head. Henry laughed a bit and set the bear down on the asphalt, taking care to place him away from anything else.

"Dude, you can come up with a better name than 'Mr. Fluffles'." Henry replied, backing up from the bear. Luclan paused for a moment, looking at the bear on the ground. After about thirty seconds, his face contorted to a mischievous grin.

"We can name him 'Baloo'!" Luclan proclaimed. Henry started laughing.

"Dude, what is it with you and your damn Disney naming conventions?"

"I don't know, Henry, your naming conventions are completely ridiculous but you don't see me questioning them." Luclan crossed his arms, a smirk on his face. Henry put his fist to his chest and gasped mockingly.

"I thought you liked how I name things!"

"Just because I think your names for things are ridiculous, doesn't mean I don't like them. Now enough of this arguing, we have a 'Baloo' to burn!" Luclan's face was that of pure, mischievous glee. He clicked his lighter and slowly lowered the flame to the bear. Both boys were quiet with anticipation as Luclan moved the flame closer and closer, until finally the flame made contact with the bear's synthetic fur. It started slowly, but the flames eventually engulfed the entirety of the teddy bear. Luclan took a step back, admiring his handiwork. Henry was quiet, entranced by the flames as they grew bigger. The two stayed like that for a while until the flames began to die down. Luclan looked at Henry, a softer smile on his face compared to the more wicked one he had been sporting while the fire burned.

"Think we have time to burn one more thing before we go home?" Luclan asked. Henry shrugged.

"I mean yeah, I think we can." Henry was relieved that Luclan had suggested one more. He wasn't quite ready to go home yet and he was always happy to hang out with his best friend. Luclan grinned again and ran over to the dumpster.

"You cool giving me another boost? I saw a big wooden box in there that should burn really good!"

Henry nodded and walked over to the dumpster. He lowered his body to the ground and felt his friend climb up onto his back again. This wasn't Henry's favorite part of the process, but he understood why he was the one getting climbed on and not the other way around. Henry was slightly more stocky than Luclan. His shoulders were broader and it was almost certain that Henry weighed a bit more. Luclan was more tall and lanky.

"Found the box! Help me get it out, okay?" Luclan called out from the dumpster. Henry stood up and reached out for the box, grabbing it with a bit of a struggle. Luclan wasn't kidding when he said it was a big box. Henry, however, was able to carry it out far enough away from everything so it wouldn't catch anything else on fire.