Hickory

Getting Settled

On the car ride to the apartment, everything happening to Hickory began to catch up. Within just a few hours he had been able to secure himself a new home. It all seemed to happen so fast. Granted he had talked to Gilbert previous to their encounter, and his mother seemed somewhat relaxed about the situation, so it should all be okay.

Hickory parked next to Gilbert's car, and Gilbert came over to help him carry some boxes up to the room. Within twenty minutes they had carried up what they were able to fit into the cars.

"Hey, sorry I can't help ya out tomorrow", Gilbert sighed. Wearily he ran a hand through his tousled red hair. Hickory smiled at him brightly, just glad to be somewhere else.

"It's no problem mate. You've already helped enough." If Hickory had known him better he probably would have hugged him, but he held off.

"I'm going to get that blow up mattress for you", Gilbert said, then disappeared.

Hickory stood at the center of the house. Next to the entrance was a small kitchen, wooden counters lining the wall accompanied by a fridge, stove, and sink. On the other side of the room was a space cut out to fit a booth meant to be the dining table. Above it was a large window, displaying the city before him. To the left and right were the bedrooms, each with its own bathroom.  Compared to his previous home, it was tiny, but he felt it was perfect.

Gilbert came back in, carrying a box in his arms. "Alright, here's the bed. You know how to work this right?"

Hickory shook his head, Gilbert laughing at him. He walked to the right bedroom, looking back at Hickory and beckoning him to follow. He did so, watching as Gilbert set the box to the floor. The red head boy opened the box, separating the contents. In it were the mattress, a machine, and a tube.

"Now watch how I do this. Who knows if you'll need to use one again." Gilbert attached one end of the hose to the machine, unfolded the mattress, and fit the other end into a hole of the mattress. He tossed the plug to Hickory, and he plugged it into the wall. Gilbert pressed a button and a loud noise started. Hickory jumped at the noise, his face growing red from being frightened by the whir.

"It'll just take a few minutes to blow up and then it'll be ready. You had some sheets in a box right", Gilbert shouted over the machines buzzing. Hickory nodded, opening boxes to find the comforter set. By the time he found it the mattress had been bloated to its full size.

"There." Gilbert put the equipment back into the box and set it aside. Hickory began laying the sheets down, Gilbert helping to fit the best they could to the mattress. Once finished, Hickory happily plopped down.

"Thank you Gilbert", he said lazily.

"Mhm. Also, I'll probably be gone before you wake up tomorrow, so feel free to help yourself to some food. I got some eggs and toast you can make for breakfast."

Hickory flopped over on his back. He propped himself on his elbows, blowing hair out of his face. "Alright mate. I really appreciate all this, really. It already feels so cool to be sleeping in my own house. I mean our house.. no wait that doesn't sound right either."

Gilbert chuckled as Hickory became flustered. "I get ya champ. I had that feeling once too. Don't get too excited though. The joy only last so long."

"Then I plan to take advantage of it as much as possible."

Gilbert walked to the door and switched the light off. "Night Hickory."

"Night", he called out. Gilbert closed the door, Hickory now in the confines of his dark room alone.

Little slivers of city lights peeped through his shades, casting shadows among his room. As childish as it was, he felt a little nervous. He turned to face the door, shutting his eyes tight, blanket up to his chin. Soon his fears simmered down, sleep taking over him. In minutes he was out.
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Hickory awoke in a cold sweat, blankets sticking to his exposed skin. He wasn't sure what caused him to awake in such a terrible state, but it definitely felt awful. Not only did he feel gross, but something smelt disgusting. He took a sniff of his clothes, the scent not becoming any stronger. Despite it, he was convinced it was him.

Hickory got up, stumbling past some boxes to the bathroom door. He felt around for a switch, light flooding the room when he hit it. Hickory started the water, letting it heat up as he peeled off his shirt and jeans. Once he got in the shower, his muscles relaxed, as well as his mind. Unfortunately he forgot to get out any kind of soap, so he was left just to rinse the stench with water.

Getting out didn't feel as good as being in. The air was brisk, and he couldn't find any towels. Pushing the bathroom door wide open, he let the light illuminate the room. Quickly he rummaged through the boxes to find some clothes.

Behind him the door opened and more lights came on. Hickory didn't realize what had happened until he turned around to see Gilbert standing at the door. He seemed frozen in place, and so did Hickory. Soon things snapped as both realized what was happening.

Gilbert awkwardly glanced away.  "Whoa man whoa, you didn't say you were some nudist. You're not gonna walk around like that right?" 

Hickory felt a sense of disbelief, now frantically looking for new clothes. "No no! I was just taking a shower because it was super hot and I needed to cool off and when I got out I couldn't find a towel so I came in here to look for clothes I wasn't he expecting you to walk in", he said hurriedly.

Finally Hickory found some clothes and put them on, not even worried about how mismatched they were. He shamefully sat on his bed, head bowed.

"Calm down Hickory. I'm sorry man. I should of knocked. I just got freaked out cause I forgot someone was here."

Gilbert laughed at his own stupidity, but Hickory failed to find the humor in it. After a few silent moments, Hickory looked at Gilbert, who had a silly smile on his face. Hickory noticed his shirt was soaked too.

"Hey, you mind turning down the temp? You seem to be sweating too. How do you even sleep like that? And no offense, but I think you could use a shower too."

Gilbert touched his wet shirt. Something weird crossed his face as he wiped his hand on his pants.

"Uh yeah sorry about that. I was actually about to shower myself. That's the only reason I was awake to hear yours. I'll go ahead and turn the thermostat down."

Hickory's sheets had dried out, and they hadn't smelt as bad as he thought they would. Nevertheless, he decided to keep them off.

"Thanks Gil. You go take your shower then. I'm gonna go back to sleep."

Gilbert nodded, turning his back to Hickory. He noticed something smeared red on Gilbert's skin.

"Hey, are you bleeding? Looks like blood on your lower back."

Gilbert felt around, feeling something sticky touch his fingers. He lifted to see the red streaks on his fingers.

"Oh that? I think it's just where I scratched a bug bite. Might of went overboard."

Hickory stared at him quizzically. "You sure you okay? That looks an awful lot for just a bug bite."

"Yes im fine", Gilbert said. He seemed a bit annoyed so Hickory laid off.

"Alright, sorry. Night then."

Gilbert didn't say anything, just turned off the light and left. Hickory rolled over, the light in the bathroom still on. He was too lazy to bother turning it off. Instead he went to sleep, and this time stayed asleep.