Found

Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR: ALEXANDER

What the hell did Fabian do this time? The poor kid looks like we're going to kill him or something!

He did, too. As soon as he saw us, he tensed up just like he did back at the alley, and the electric signals I'm picking up on the kid suggests that he's close to panicing. I glance over at Sebastian to see if he noticed it too. He was smiling, but there was some flickerings of doubt in his eyes that told me he was worried like I was. Oh, well. Can't think about that now; we're already here.

"Hi, there cutie. I'm Alexander and this is my brother Sebastian --" I stopped because something changed in his energy, and now he was backing away from us. Was it something I said? "Umm, hey. About this afternoon, I really am sorry for running into you. I wasn't trying to attack you or anything --" At this point, the kid had backed himself all the way against the pole, which was as far as he could go. He looked like a caged animal, and just as terrified. "Seriously, it was just an accident! Please don't be scared of us!"

Sebastian stopped me by putting a hand on my shoulder. Then he reached for the kid's hand. "Would you mind telling us your name, little one?" He just eyed Sebastian's hand as if he expected him to turn it into a fist at any second and just whop him one. He didn't say anything, and he didn't take his eyes off of Sebastian either. This really isn't going well...

"His name is Iris."

Oh, yeah! Fabian is still here. Why are we always forgeting that?

"Iris..."

I test the name out; it feels good to say, like my lips were just waiting for me to be able to say it. Iris looks up at me, startled, and my heart speeds up. He's just so pretty and little and perfect! There's no way I'm leaving here tonight without him. Luckily, we have a plan. We just need one more thing to implement it...

"IRIS!"

Bingo.

"Yes, Jason?!" My heart did another flip when I realized that this is the first time I've ever heard him speak. His voice was so soft, like he doesn't use it very much, but I intend on changing that.

"Iris. Why aren't you seating these fine gentlemen, hmm?"

Iris was so flustered, when he opened his mouth no words came out, just a strangled little squeak. His cheeks blushed pink, which just made him all the more adorable!

"First, you show up late. Then, you can't even be bothered to do your job correctly and take these men's orders. Are you asking me to fire you?"

"N-No!"

"Then I suggest that you --"

"Uh, hey! Boss-man. Y'know, no one likes a bully."

Iris's manager -- Jason -- stopped and looked over at Fabian with a stunned look on his face. "Sir?" Fabian gave him one of his most wicked grins. He was laying back in the booth with his legs propped up on the chair opposite him, all calm as can be, playing with a salt packet in his hand.

"'Sir?' Do I look old enough to be called that?" Kind of a trick question considering Fabian was older than everyone in here except for me and Sebastian, but to everyone who didn't know his true age, Fabian just looked like a punk-assed twenty-one year-old.

"Yes, sir. I mean -- I'm sorry!"

"Yeah, you should be. Where do you get off picking on people who can't fight back, huh? Aren't there laws against bosses who harrass their employees, or somethin'? And then you have the audacity to call me sir! Man, what kind of a terrorist cell did we walk into?"

Fabian was steadily raising his voice as he continued his monologue, and more and more people had stopped what they were doing to eavesdrop. Jason was getting more and more flustered, he didn't even notice Sebastian pulling Iris into the back of the diner.

"Sir, would you ple--"

"AGAIN with the 'sir!' Jeez. What is your problem, man? I mean, haven't you ever heard of 'the customer is always right?' How can you expect to make your customers happy if you won't even listen to them?"

Just then Sebastian came back with Iris. He had his bag around his shoulder, and he looked confused and scared. I raised my eyebrow at Sebastian, and he smiled at me and nodded. I gave Fabian the signal to wrap things up.

Jason was still trying to control the situation, but he was clearly struggling with that ugly temper of his. "Look, you little big mouthed punk, I don't need you coming in here trying to ruin my bus--" Just then, the salt packet that Fabian was holding ripped -- seemingly on its own -- shooting salt grains everywhere. And that's when all hell broke loose...

"MY EYES! THEY'RE BURNING! IN MY EYES! WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!?!"

"Beats me." Fabian gave me a wink, and I turned on my heel and walked out the door.

Everyone was so preoccupied with Jason's one-man-show routine, that no one noticed two gorgeous twenty-something-year-olds carrying off an equally-beautiful-yet-younger boy who was supposed to be working, out into the night life of the city.