The City (Merome AU)

7

~*Mitch*~

I look at the man at the counter, not knowing what to say. I've never been in a situation like this. Usually I'd just ransack the place, but this isn't the wasteland. I'd get in serious trouble if I did that here.

"Not much of a talker? No worries. My grandfather isn't either." He looks up from what he was doing and his eyes widen slightly. As soon as I see his face, it clicks. Jerome! That's his name!

"Hi, Jerome," I say with a small smile.

"Benja!" He walks out from behind the counter and smiles at me. "Didn't think you'd come around. How's your arm?" My arm? I forgot all about it!

"Oh. It's, fine." You sound like an idiot, Mitchell. But then again, you can't read...

"That's good. I'm going to have to get you an actual bandage for it though. A dirty cloth shouldn't help much at all." I shrug as he starts to walk around the shop, looking for a bandage.

"It's fine, I don't need-"

"Here it is!" He comes back with a white roll of cloth in his hand. How is that any different from what he already has around my arm?

He grabs my arm and unwraps it, tossing the old cloth away before inspecting it. "It looks a little better than it did earlier." He murmurs quietly before wrapping it with the new cloth. "Were you moving it at all?"

"Well I kind of have to if I want to live," I mutter as he tucks in the end of the cloth.

"Nonsense. If you want to heal quickly, you're going to have to limit any movement." He states, looking back at my face.

"What are you, some sort of medic?" I ask, taking my arm away from him and clenching my fist.

"No, but my grandmother was a nurse before she retired. She taught me a few things here and there." He turns and walks back to the counter.

"I see." So a nurse is a medic for the city folk... I'll keep that in mind.

"Jerome!" I look over to see an elderly woman walk through a doorway. "Dinner is..." She stops talking when she notices me. "Hello there. Who's this?"

"Oh. Um, this is..." He looks over at me and scratches the back of his neck.

"Benja," I state calmly, sticking out my hand.

"It's wonderful to meet you Benjamin," The woman says with a toothy smile, shaking my hand enthusiastically. "Are you a friend of Jerome's?"

"Uh, yeah." I smile slightly before stepping back slightly. "I'm a good friend of his."

"Good for him. I was worried that he wouldn't make any other friends. Abigail was his only friend for the longest time you see." I nod and look over at Jerome, who's face was going red with embarrassment. This is a pretty funny situation. Well, besides the fact the woman thinks my name is Benjamin...

"Grandma," Jerome mutters. "Stop embarrassing me..."

"Oh! I see. Well, Benjamin, would you like to stay for dinner?" The woman smiles at me. I can't say no to an old lady like her. She's too kind.

"I'd love to. But I have to warn you, people say I have awful table manners." The woman laughs like I just told her a joke. It wasn't supposed to be a joke, but I guess I'll go with it.

"No worries! Jerome's manners are terrible too. You'll fit right in." With that, she grabs both Jerome and I's hands and pulls us through the door she came through. People here are very enthusiastic about meeting new people. It's different.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The entire dinner consisted of Jerome arguing with his grandfather, and his grandmother asking me personal questions. "So, Benjamin," His grandfather clears his throat and looks at me. "What happened to your arm there?" My name isn't Benjamin...

"I think Jerome tells it better than I do." I look over at him with a smirk. "Care to tell them?"

"It's a long story," Jerome mutters, taking a sip of his water.

"Not as long as the story when-"

"So it was earlier today," Jerome cuts his grandmother off, his face slightly pink. I smirk and take a bite out of the meat they called "steak." "About the time grandpa sent me out to the courthouse, I went out the shop door, and one of that Kaydee girl's dog was waiting out there for me. As soon as I stepped out, the dog started to attack me.
"Long story short, Benjamin here saved me from being mauled to death." Jerome looks at me and smiles.

"Wow. You saved him from one of those savage wolf dogs? That's incredible. How'd you do it?"

"It wasn't the first time I've dealt with those mutts. You just have to stand your ground." I look over at Jerome again. "What confused me was the fact that it just attacked him out of the blue."

"What do you mean?" His grandfather looks at me with interest.

"Crazy Kaydee's dogs have three triggers for them to attack. The first, hunting prey. Second, if you anger them. And third, which is probably the most likely case in this situation, is that Kaydee ordered them to attack. I can't think of why though."

"Kaydee threatened him about an order that she didn't even make." His grandfather explains. "The police barely came to get her in time. She almost killed him." That sounds like something Kaydee would do.

"She's always been like that." I mutter with a shrug. "Tried killing me a few times as well."

"Well, I'm glad she didn't." The grandmother says. "If you were dead, Jerome wouldn't be here today. So we have to thank her for something." I look at her and smile slightly. These people are so... Different. They welcome someone they barely know to eat with them, and then thank him for something that anyone could have done. Is this what everyone in the city is like?

"I guess so." I sigh softly.

"Well, it's getting late. I think you should stay here for the night, Benjamin." The grandfather says, standing up and clearing his throat. "Those wasteland creeps are always about at night in these parts." Wasteland creeps?

"I really shouldn't," I say standing up. "The meal was great, but I think it wouldn't be right to stay the night as well."

"Nonsense! I insist! Think of it as our thanks for saving Jerome's life. And besides, it's past curfew. Only wasteland people are allowed to wander at this time." They think I'm from the city?

"Well, if you insist." The grandmother's face brightens.

"Wonderful! Jerome, show him where he's going to sleep, and lend him some clothes."

"Yes Grandma." Jerome mumbles, standing up. "Follow me Benja." I smile to myself before following him. I guess the city isn't half bad.
________________________
Writing. Done.

I have to go to a family reunion tomorrow... Let's see how it goes.

Anyways,

:)

Much Luv,
Mickey-Kenzie