Safe Place

11; Funny

When Sonny got home, Joel was, in fact, either very drunk or very high. He grunted to Sonny as he pushed past him out the front door of the apartment complex as Sonny was coming in, mouse head hiding his scratched up face. Sonny stood on the steps watching Joel wander down the street, probably going to some rave party or something. Sonny stared at his back until it faded away, and then he spoke.

"Maybe I won't even miss him when I'm gone," Sonny whispered in the darkness as he turned towards the door, "Maybe I won't even remember his name in a few months... He'll be ol' Joel Whatshisface." Sonny laughed softly at the thought as he approached the elevator and took it to the forth floor.

The following afternoon, Sonny woke up to noises in the apartment. He had fallen asleep attempting to read, his nose almost pressed to the page as he tried to sound out words in the dim light, eyes strained, Meowingtons pawing at his leg and mewing. It had been futile, and Sonny had barely passed the fifth page of a book meant for children by midnight, when he curled up on the bed, hugging the books and the cat to his chest. When his eyes opened the next afternoon, there was a ruckus in the next room. Sonny blinked in the hazy light and for once, felt very well rested. He couldn't remember a time when he had slept so late. He sat up and stretched, listening.

Coming from the bathroom, he could hear moving around. Sonny was confused. If it was Joel, why had he not woken up Sonny? Sonny bit his lip and approached the door very hesitantly. He laid his hand over the doorknob and pulled it open.

He wasn't about to say the sight complete surprised him, because it didn't. It shocked him, sure, but it certainly didn't surprise. On the floor, Joel lay in his boxers with another man, whom, was entirely naked, his face down on the floor. Joel was awake. The whole room reeked of booze and smoke, and Sonny pressed his hand over his nose.

"You don't knock much, do you?" Joel said coarsely. He glanced at his partner on the floor and then stood, abandoning the naked man and walking away, past Sonny.

Sonny looked down at the man's backside one last time before he closed the door and looked at Joel. "Is he going to be okay?" Sonny asked watching Joel move around the still wreck of a room.

"I don't know. I don't really care," He muttered, moving to a cabinet. Joel pulled it open and took a tiny blunt from inside a zip-lock bag, "Get me my lighter. It's in my pants." He gestured to the jeans laying on the linoleum by the bathroom door.

"Who even is he?" Sonny asked as he bent down and stuck his hand in Joel's pockets. In one pocket, Sonny's hand found a shiny, small package. Joel was always carrying at least one of these, and Sonny had not the slightest clue of what they were.

"Leave that in there. I might need it later," Joel commanded, leaning against the counter. He paused for a second and waited for Sonny to toss him his blue lighter. Joel lit the blunt and took a puff, closing his eyes. "I don't know. We... Met last night, and he wanted to get to know me better," Joel shrugged his shoulders, "If he doesn't wake up by tonight, I'll dump him off somewhere."

"When did you get home?" Sonny asked, looking over at Joel nervously. Dump him off? What if he was sick or dead or something?

"I don't know, Sonny. I don't remember a single fucking thing from last night," He snapped, holding the blunt between two fingers as he glared over at Sonny, "I blacked out when I got home. I don't even know if I actually did anything with that guy. That's how drunk I was." Joel moved his free hand to his head and rubbed his temple, "Fuck this hangover."

Sonny decided at that moment he was going to tell Joel of what was going to happen. He felt confident. Sonny raised his head slightly. "I'm not going to be living here anymore, Joel," Sonny announced proudly, "I'm moving."