Ruination

>> Prelude <<

Dakota Southerly had a habit of sitting alone on buses with their bass case sitting on the seat next to them. Usually, Dakota would carry the navy blue leather case with a sparkling royal blue and white electric bass guitar inside wherever they went to avoid being talked to. But today, Dakota did not have their bass. Dakota also happened to be on a very crowded bus.

Maxwell Winters was a strange man, and almost the opposite of Dakota in the likes of his interests and personality. Maxwell enjoyed the company of large crowds and was not musical in the slightest. Even on nearly empty buses, Maxwell would choose to sit next to people. Due to his assertive nature, it was hard for him to meet people who were not put off by his introductions. This was why Maxwell enjoyed crowded buses, and today, Maxwell happened to be on the same crowded bus as Dakota.

Dakota had the pair of seats closest to the front. Their appearance was slightly intimidating to passersby, allowing the seat next to them to remain clear until it was the only empty seat left on the bus. Dakota had shaved a quarter of their hair off, leaving a brown cascade down the side. Their hair was only slightly darker than their brown skin. They enjoyed wearing low-cut tops which showed off a flat chest and skirts that revealed smooth legs, which confused people about their gender. Also, many people in their neighborhood thought Dakota to be a sort of threat to traditional family values, which helped greatly with keeping people from sitting next to them on buses.

As Maxwell Winters boarded the bus, he noticed Dakota's striking appearance among the other people on the vehicle. He saw that the only open seat was that next to Dakota, and decided he would rather sit next to the strange person than stand. Maxwell took the seat next to Dakota, figuring that he was, in fact, stranger than Dakota.

Dakota scowled and looked Maxwell up and down. The man seated next to them had sandy blond shoulder-length hair that was slightly curly. He wore a lavender tank with gray sweats. His limbs were long and thin,  but not in an attractive way. A slight stubble sprinkled the man's chin. Dakota reached into their bag and pulled out their smartphone, hoping to distract themself and show the man that they were not interested in a conversation.

Maxwell did not take Dakota's hint. He never could take hints very well, but he could introduce himself with no problems, and this is what he decided to do in this particular situation.

Maxwell tapped Dakota on the shoulder, hoping to gain the person's attention. Dakota looked up, scowling. "Yes, what do you need?" they asked in a rough voice that seemed to be almost perfectly neutral.

"I don't need anything," Maxwell said, smiling in a voice that crossed the line between bass and tenor. The rest of his appearance was unkempt, but his teeth looked like they belonged in a Colgate commercial, aside from the particularly sharp incisors. "I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Maxwell Winters."

"Okay, nice to meet you," Dakota said listlessly as they looked back at their phone. They opened the photos app and decided to delete some pictures. Dakota scrolled through the photo album, looking through the pictures.

"Whatcha looking at?" Maxell asked, leaning over and peering onto Dakota's screen. His eye caught on a picture of someone he once knew. "Wait, you knew her?"

"Who?" Dakota asked bitterly, turning their phone screen away from Maxwell. Dakota knew exactly who Maxwell was talking about, but decided to play dumb. She came from a part of life that Dakota would rather forget at the moment.

Maxwell tilted his head. "That girl that you have a picture of on your phone. You know her, don't you?" he asked. This time, he did not sound as friendly, but sounded like he wanted answers to some questions. Worry underlined his speech.

"Ah, yes. Her. Yes. I... I do know her," Dakota said. They flexed their fingers nervously and felt their voice being to waver. "Or rather knew her. She's... kind of... gone."

"What do you mean, gone?" Maxwells' tone had turned from pleasant to incriminating. "What happened to her?"

"Like I said, she's gone. She, uh... was gone a year ago today."

"What happened to her? The last time I talked to her, she seemed fine, besides the fact that we were not getting along very well. She seemed like she was going to be okay."

"When you talked to her she may have seemed fine, but she sort of spiraled downward a month or two after we met."

Maxwell looked apprehensive at this statement, albeit slightly guilty. "What... Why... How did she d-, uh, I mean go?" he asked, with a hint of concern.

"Listen, I would rather not talk about this with a stranger I just met," Dakota said, attempting to close themself off from Maxwell.

"I need to know more of what happened. I need to know why she's 'gone.'"

"I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to relive those moments. I just don't. Please, leave me alone."

"No, we need to talk about this. I need to know if she was okay because I feel slightly responsible after not talking to her for so long. I just feel responsible in a way that's hard to explain without a long time to explain it." Maxwell seemed oddly desperate. He usually wasn't manic like this, especially in front of practically complete strangers. "Listen, if it will make you feel better, I'd be willing to talk this out with you."

Dakota whipped around to face Maxwell. "I don't want to talk about it. Leave me alone."

"No. My apartment is coming up, and I need to get some things off of my chest. Just, please, come with me and just listen. You don't have to say anything. I just want someone to listen to what I have to say."

Dakota ran their hands through their hair. "Okay. I will go with you. If I decide to leave after you start, you will not object. I still feel slightly responsible, so please don't mention too much specifically about her."

"Deal," Maxwell said. "Just give me about forty-five minutes, then you can leave after that, or stay if you like."

"I can do that."

The bus then screeched to a halt. "This is my stop. Remember, you made a deal, and I never back out of deals."

Dakota nodded, then the pair got up and exited the bus. The bus stop was about a block away from Maxwell's apartment, and the two of them walked silently, neither of them saying anything. Dakota and Maxwell walked next to each other, with Dakota following Maxwell's movements.

The two of them reached the apartment building's door. Maxwell's apartment was in a shady area of town, and didn't seem very safe. Dakota nervously adjusted their skirt as a tic. They were never that competent in stressful situations.

After what felt like an eternity to Dakota, Maxwell unlocked the door and headed up the stairs. Dakota followed closely at his heels in fear of the other citizens. They worried that maybe the people in this apartment would not be as accepting to people who identified outside the gender binary.

They reached the door to Maxwell's apartment. He unlocked the door and signaled to Dakota to go inside. "You can sit down if you'd like," he told Dakota as he vaguely motioned to a pair of obviously used armchairs. "This might take a while, and you might as well get comfortable. I can go make some food or something if you'd want any."

Dakota brushed the seat off and sat down. "I'm fine, thanks." They said this in such a way to suggest wanting to leave as soon as possible. They were not entirely certain about this, as they had only just met this Maxwell character. A thousand worries passed through their head.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. I just want to talk to you about her," Maxwell said, trying to comfort Dakota. He could tell that Dakota was panicking. Maxwell then sat down in the other armchair.

"I'm going to start a timer the second you begain your story or whatever," Dakota said tensely. "Can we get this over with?"

"Yes. We can get this over with," Maxwell said. "I guess I should start when I met her brother."