The City (Merome AU)

16

~*Jerome*~

I wake up to bright light shining through my window. Wincing at the brightness, I roll over and get out of the bed. Might as well start the day while I'm up. I wonder what time it is. Shaking my head, I walk out of the room and knock on the door of the guest room. Or at the moment, Mitch's room.

After a few moments, he responds. His voice was still rough from the lack of use. "One second!" I smile softly to myself and wait quietly by the door. He's just too cute...

Not long after, he comes out of the room, his hair a mess. Which made him look even better in my opinion.

"Good morning sleepy head." I tease, smiling. "It looks like you slept well."

"You could say that," He murmurs, smiling slightly before yawning and running a hand through his hair. "I stayed up pretty late."

"Why?" I ask as we start walking down the hall.

"Just thinking about things," He says with a shrug before walking in front of me and going down the stairs. Weird. Shaking my head, I head down after him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"So Benjamin, what part of the city are you from?" My grandfather asks as we eat. "You didn't tell us the last time you were here."

"Oh!" Mitch clears his throats and sets down the glass of water is his hand. "My parents kicked me out of the house when I turned 20. They said I should be able to live on my own. Originally I was from the north eastern part."

"We would have done that, but Jerome won't live for very long on his own." Grandmother looks at me with narrowed eyes before turning her attention back to Mitch. "We've been hoping he'll find a nice girl to marry and move it with. So someone other than us will be able to take care of him." I look at my plate and keep quiet as I eat.

"I see. Having trouble with the ladies eh?" I can tell he's teasing me. I can feel his eyes on me.

"You know who would be good for you Jerome? Officer Leonheart." I almost choke on my food when Grandma mentions that name. Abby is my friend... not... no. That would just be weird. Really weird...

"I can see that." Mitch adds. You're not helping me Mitchell.

"See, Jerome? Even your friend thinks it's a good idea." I clear my throat.

"May I be excused?" I ask, looking up at everyone.

"Of course. Just make sure to clean your plate," Grandpa states.

"I know the rules." I say calmly before taking my plate to the kitchen.

"Benjamin, have seen any strange behaviour coming from him lately?" I overhear my grandmother ask Mitch.

"Not really no. Why do you ask?"

"I just worry that he's starting to go down the wrong path. Staying up in his room more, his work ethic has been slacking, I'm worried about him."

"I'll keep an eye on him. If I notice anything abnormal, I'll tell you."

"Thank you Benjamin. I knew I could count on you. Also, before you go, I think I should mention something."

"What is it?"

"If Jerome tries to do anything, funny, to you, tell us. I fear that the path he's heading down also involves an interest in the wrong gender."

"Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on him."

"Thank you again."

"No need to thank me. Think of it as my own thanks for letting me stay here."

~*???*~

There are many issues with being small, and having a non-masculine sounding name. One of which, is people always confusing you for being a woman.

"Hello there. What brings a little lady like you so far from the city?" Sighing softly, I turn and look over to see a rather large man walking over.

"I don't know who you're talking to," I say with a small laugh. "But there are no women here."

"On the paper outside, it said Craft and Star are in here. You must be Craft. So where is the girl?" Again, I laugh at him.

"I think you're confused." A rather tall blonde man states, standing beside me. "I'm Craft, and this is my comrade Star."

"W-wait, so Star is transgender?" The man looks severely confused, looking at me like I've grown two extra heads.

"No. I'm not transgender. I was born a male," I state calmly, crossing my arms. "Just because I'm short, you assume I'm a woman? Guess you don't know much about me." I smile to myself before pulling out my knife.

"Wait, what?!"

"You haven't heard of us?" Craft asks the man in confusion. "We are are a pretty popular duo within the wasteland." As Craft speaks, I inspect the knife for any flaws. There's a finger print. Sighing, I pull out a clean white cloth and start to clean the blade.

"N-no. Always thought wastelanders would be much larger, and more threatening looking. Like the ones in the city!" Comparing wastelanders to the city wannabes? That's a death sentence kid.

"That's genuinely offensive!" I state, looking up from the knife and putting the cloth away. "Craft and I were born out here, and we take don't take lightly to people comparing us to spoiled city brats."

"We aren't-"

"Growing up, did you have to worry about how food was portioned so you would have enough to last you through the week? Did you have to worry about making sure coyotes didn't sneak up and kill you in your sleep? No." I raise my knife. "You city brats don't know anything about how things work out here."

"I'm not scared of you!" The man states, puffing out his chest. "My name is Leon Thomas!"

"Thank you for telling us your name, Leon." Craft says with an evil smile. "I don't think you realize why we all have fake names."

"Don't tell him Craft. It's best he finds out the hard way," I state calmly, a small smirk on my face.

"Find out what?"

"That you're dead."
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Mickey-Kenzie

2018 Mickey: Luck