Crossroads

Zoo

Friday, June 19th, 4:15pm:

"Hamlet! No!"

The very moment Jai entered Luke and Beau's house, a large black Labrador trampled him.

"It's okay," Jai laughed as the overly friendly dog licked his face. Luke grabbed Hamlet's collar and pulled him off Jai's chest, where the dog was currently standing against.

"Welcome to the zoo, then," Luke mumbled. The house was moderately sized and only a ten-minute walk from the tattoo shop. It sat comfortably on the borderline of Santa Monica and Beverly Hills. Jai had to wonder what the boys did for a living (if anything) that they could afford such a nice house in such an expensive area.

Jai followed Luke closely as they walked down a long hallway, which led them into a large living area. There Jai recognized a familiar face sitting on the couch—he was taking rips from a large, glass bong.

"Jesus, Skip," Luke groaned. "What did we say about lighting up in the house? It reeks in here."

Skip pulled the bowl from the bong as he deeply inhaled a large amount of smoke.

He exhaled through a cheeky grin, looking back at Luke.

"Don't tell me you think it smells bad, Lukey," Skip laughed. "You weren't saying that last night..."

Luke turned to Jai and rolled his eyes.

"Oh shit," Skip spoke as his eyes landed on Jai. "Oh...shit." He looked at Jai for a while, then back at Luke.

Back to Jai, then Luke again.

"Wow," Skip whispered as he stood up from his position on the couch, slowly but surely. "And to think I thought you were making this all up," he said to Luke. He walked around the couch so that he was right in front of Jai. He was a little bit taller and more muscular than Jai was; his bloodshot eyes definitely didn't help the fact that Jai was slightly intimidated by him.

"Anywho," Skip grinned once more—his eyes were hooded and hardly staying open. "Any brother of Luke's is a brother of mine. I'm Daniel, but everyone here calls me Skip."

"I'm Jai—" Skip cut Jai off with a laugh.

"Oh I know who you are," Skip continued to laugh, almost uncontrollably.

The side effects of smoking marijuana, everyone, Jai smiled to himself.

"Welcome to our home," Skip opened his arms up wide, swaying a little bit as the weed settled into his system.

"You live here too?" Jai asked, surprised.

"Yep!" Skip walked back to his spot on the couch and plopped down. "It's me, Lukey, Jamesy-boy and B—"

Skip stopped short as a coughing noise came from behind where Jai and Luke stood. Jai spun around to face Beau. His hands were in his pocket, eyes on the floor.

"Beau," Luke greeted him. "This is J—"

"Jai," Jai interrupted and reached his hand out for Beau to shake. He was shot down immediately, as Beau simply stared at the hand sitting out in front of him. It was as if he were contemplating whether Jai was actually there and trustworthy. Jai noticed the air suddenly felt thick and suffocating, and Skip's bong wasn't the culprit.

Beau finally accepted Jai's hand in his own, though, after much hesitation.

"Nice to meet you," Beau mumbled, he had yet to make eye contact with Jai.

"Skip?" Luke asked the boy on the couch, who was still taking hits from the large bong. "Would you give us a moment?"

Skip looked up from the bong and smiled lazily at the three others in the room. He obviously didn't understand the discomfort and tension in the living room air. "Course, mate." He picked up the bong and made his way upstairs, slower than a sloth.