Borderline

Chapter 1

I gripped my knees, panting. I had just sprinted for what felt like an eternity.

I pulled the gold-plated pocket watch out from my pocket and smiled. This'll feed me for a while.

Once I had caught my breath, I made my way down the small alley to a door. It may have just looked like an old warehouse from the outside, but once you stepped through that door, you were met with quite possibly the biggest collection of vendors in the city. And it was perfectly legal.

Well, most of it.

I shoved the watch back into my jacket pocket before pushing open the door. I had been here plenty of times before. I even had my own booth.

It was one of the ones that wasn't quite legal.

But I wasn't manning my booth today. I only worked there on Tuesdays.

No, today I was on a mission.

I made my way through the maze of people meandering about, looking for one booth in particular: Joshua's.

Joshua Oliver was the closest thing I had to a best friend. We had a nice little deal going: I brought him things to sell, and he gave me what it was worth in cash.

Of course, everything I brought him was stolen. That was one of my jobs.

I strolled up to his booth and knocked on the wooden table top. Joshua spun around, and I saw a smile form on his face.

"Ryder, my girl! How's it going? What've you got for me today?"

I smirked at him. "What if I told you I didn't have anything? Maybe I just wanted to chat?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Bullshit."

I laughed. "Fine. Here's your stupid merchandise." I pulled the pocket watch out and slapped it on the table.

Joshua's smile grew as he looked at the watch. "Man, where the hell did you find that?"

"In a rich man's pocket, dumbass."

He ignored my insult and ran his hand through is dark hair. He sighed. "How much did you want?"

I smiled. "600."

His eyes widened. "Ryder, you know can't give you that much! How about 125?"

I raised an eyebrow and frowned. "350 and we'll call it even."

Joshua looked at me for a second, before sighing once again. "Fine." He turned around and opened a box that he kept behind his booth. He pulled out 350 dollars in various bills. He counted it quickly before holding it out to me.

I took the money and counted it again while Joshua looked over the watch. Once we had both concluded that the other wasn't scamming us, we shook hands.

"Pleasure doing business with you, as always, my dear," Joshua said.

"Stop lying. You know you hate me," I replied with a smirk.

Joshua laughed. "Damn right. Now get out of here before I kill you."

I blew him a kiss and winked as I turned around to proceed back to the exit. I pulled my wallet out and slid the money into it before shoving it back into my jacket pocket.

I reached the exit and left the building, deciding to go buy myself something to eat after hearing my stomach make noise.

I exited the alley and made my way toward a street vendor who was selling fruit. I ended up buying 2 apples, one of which got shoved into the jacket pocket that didn't contain my wallet for later.

I had just about finished my apple when someone slammed into me from behind, making us both fall to the ground.

Thankfully, whoever was on top of me got off almost immediately. I pushed myself off the ground and turned around to give this idiot a piece of my mind when they said something.

"S-Sorry, sir! I didn't mean to hit you like that!" I was staring at the face of a blond boy who looked about my age. Judging by his clothes, he belonged to a wealthy family.

I brushed off my pant legs and glared at him. "Watch where you're going next time, punk."

"D-Do you need help with anything?"

I ignored him and patted my pockets, silently praising every deity there might be that nothing had fallen out.

"Uh...a-are you lost or something?" I raised an eyebrow. It was obvious that this kid was just trying to make conversation.

Unlucky for him, I hated small talk.

"No." I turned and headed in the direction of my current home. I hadn't made it more than a few steps when I noticed him following me.

I whipped around. "What the hell to you think you're doing?"

He just stared at me.

I waved my hand in front of his face. "Hello? Anyone home? I asked you a question!"

Whatever trance he was in disappeared and he answered, much less shakily than before. "I'm following you."

"No shit, Sherlock. Why?"

He shrugged. "I don't want you to leave with bad feelings about me."

I stared at him like he was crazy.

"I don't like people not liking me."

This caused me to burst out laughing. He watched me with a confused look. After I had calmed down a bit, I spoke again.

"Listen, kid. You're gonna eventually learn that there's always gonna be someone who hates you. But, little piece of advice: following people isn't the way to make them like you. Now scram, before I kick your ass to the curb myself." I turned and continued walking, assuming he had taken my advice and stayed behind.