Purely Criminal

Chapter | 4

   Austin had been waiting around the corner for Wren. It was just a hunch, but something had him thinking that the brunette would round that corner. He hadn't expected to be knocked to the ground however, so his thoughts were a little frazzled. But not enough to delay him too long in asking the other male out. Austin hadn't really quite thought out his plan, just that he wanted to be with Officer Wren once more. It was a dangerous game, but Austin thought the dare worth the outcome. Besides, if worse came to worse, Austin could simply end Wren's life.

   Now, the idea of killing Wren was not a pleasant one to Austin, but he would do it if he felt forced enough. But that scared him. Austin had always enjoyed every murder he had ever committed, so it was new to him to have someone he didn't want to rip apart gleefully. Austin had dismembered bodies, torn out organs, crushed skulls, done every evil, sinful thing you could think of. But the mere thought of Wren, lying cold and dead on the ground, by his own hands, had Austin shaking.

   Sometimes a bit of humanity would resurface in Austin, as he wasn't completely lost. It was always very brief, but it often brought the young man to tears, and made him feel things he didn't want to feel. And now, as he and Wren were walking around the city, he couldn't help but feel those terrible feelings. His hands were trembling as they made small talk, commenting on cute shops. On the outside, Austin must have looked completely normal, but if anybody could see how he was feeling on the inside, they might run scared.

   Austin paused for a moment in his speech, taking a small, yet deep breath to calm himself. After he felt he had succeeded, he smiled at Wren again.

   "Sorry, I'm just feeling a little nervous is all." He lied, laughing softly to clear up the mood.

   "Oh, don't worry about it!" Wren returned his happy aura, chuckling along with him. "I totally get it."

   Austin felt himself calm down further at Wren's innocent laugh, and how it rang around in his head. It was so pleasant, almost like a music box that calms a child. Austin couldn't help but smile a bit more wide at that.

   "Aha! How about there?" Wren had his arm out, his finger directed at a small, cozy looking restaurant. Austin recognized it almost instantly, it being the work space of yet another rude worker. He had been terribly ill-mannered to Austin, so that following night, he had been murdered.

   "I've been there before! They serve some amazing soups." Austin replied as they approached the building. A sudden thought struck the blonde young man, making him falter for a moment. Should he have given away that he had already been to the restaurant before? It was probably known that one of the victims had been a worker from this specific establishment. If there was even an ounce of suspicion against Austin, it would probably go up by at least 5%, and he knew that was a big amount. Austin had no idea if he was a suspect, or if there was even anything about him, but he felt it was safer to assume that there was. The more guarded he made himself, the easier it would be for him to survive.

   "Oh, and don't worry about expenses. It'll be on me." Wren said as they walked inside, waiting in front of the hostess booth. 

   In that moment, Austin had made a gamble. His hunch had only struck him once he was right by the police office, so he hadn't grabbed any money before he left home. If this played out correctly, the detective would deny him, and demand that he pay. Austin spoke, careful to sound surprised. "Huh? Oh, it's alright! Really, I can pay..." He made an act of reaching for the wallet in his back pocket, cautious to make it slow down his movements in case he had to revert to plan B. Plan B was to act as if he had forgotten his wallet, but he only wanted to change course if necessary.

   "Not at all, let me!" Wren replied, his hand reaching out and grabbing Austin's gently. Unfortunately, Austin had already reached his back pocket, so Wren's hand rested awkwardly upon Austin's own- And his rear. Flushing a deep red, Wren yanked his hand away, averting his gaze from the young man's. Austin was speechless. He hadn't expected the other man to make such a foolish blunder. His own cheeks tinted pink, and he found himself unable to form words. This felt so cliché to him. 

   Wren began speaking again, but it was more apologetic blubbering than anything. Austin didn't hear it, as he was just noticing a hostess coming their way. Recomposing himself, he also took note that Wren wasn't calming down. In order to avoid an embarrassing confrontation with the hostess, Austin quickly leaned up and pressed a kiss to Wren's cheek. The older male immediately stopped his penitent squawking, his face still a heated shade of scarlet. His gaze soon snapped to the hostess now in their sights. Austin had pulled away long before she had arrived, just hoping that she hadn't seen them. It wouldn't have been impossible not to, so the blonde male was praying that the hostess had been unfocused.

   Fortunately, she didn't seem in any way fazed, so Austin couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. The woman asked her repeated lines, much like any hostess would do. Austin knew plenty of things about those boring, monotonous words, as they were spoken so habitually.

   "Just the two of you?" Her smile was obviously fake, but Austin gave her kudos for effort.

   "Yes." His answer was short, as he wanted to get seated quickly. The woman nodded and, still smiling, motioned for them to follow her. With a quick glance at Wren, Austin slid their fingers together, guiding the seemingly paralyzed man after the woman. When their fingers released contact, Wren seemed to snap back into reality, taking a seat across from Austin.

   "Your server will be with shortly." The woman said and returned to her post, waiting for anyone else to come into the quiet, small restaurant.

   Austin turned his gaze back to Wren, and unsurprisingly, found the Officer looking rather puzzled.

   "W-Why did you do those things?" Wren asked, and Austin nearly giggled at his trembling voice.

   "Because you needed to calm down, and it definitely seemed to work." Austin replied simply, resting his head in his hands.

   "Well-" Wren paused, his cheeks still a slightly dark pink. "I guess so..." He murmured, and Austin could see him shifting in his seat. He laughed lightly, watching Wren joyfully.

   "You really are adorable, you know that?" Austin replied, and without a doubt, he meant every word.