The night was cold. Wind howled from seemingly all directions, and light rain pattered down and slowly soaked the rooftop. Pyro sighed. He took a step up, leaning against the freezing, wet iron rail. A piece of paper crinkled in his pocket, and he put one hand down to feel it, almost as though he was physically checking it was still there.
He looked down over the city, bustling with night life. Streets illuminated with glowing signs, bright white street lamps, cars driving past and late open shop fronts. For the time, there were people everywhere. He wondered what they were all doing. Everyone was going someplace different, from different homes, different families, with different intentions and different backgrounds. And, of course, as Pyro always remembered, different problems. Problems so different to his they probably couldn't imagine it.
Pyro shivered. Not necessarily from the cold, but from one specific memory that invaded his mind, which waited until he had almost let something else dull it, before it struck him like a bolt of lightning.
The door slammed. "Pyro!"
Pyro flinched. Pause wasn't meant to be back yet. He was supposed to be back in two more hours. Worse yet, he knew Pause had been out drinking. He froze.
"Pyro!" He shouted again, louder.
"Hey, Pause," Pyro shrunk away from the much taller man who was now stood on the doorway, glaring down at him. He stood up promptly. "I thought you were coming back at 1?"
"No, you useless fuck," Pause spat. "Can't you even remember a fucking time?"
"S - sorry," he leaned back again, as if to get away from Pause.
"Sorry," Pause mimicked in a high pitched voice. "That's all I ever damn hear from you,"
"Sor..." Pyro trailed off.
Pause stayed silent.
"I was just going to, uh, go thr- go through to my, uh, room, just now," Pyro stuttered.
"Were you now? Trying to avoid me, eh?" Pause slurred.
"N-no, of course not!"
Pyro mentally slapped himself.
"Then why?"
"I have some - work, that I have to finish,"
"Why can't you do it through here?"
Pyro froze again, unable to come up with an answer. "The - the work is... through-"
"You are trying to avoid me, aren't you?" Pause cut through his words and glared at him again. "Why, Pyro? Why do you feel the need to avoid me, ey?"
Pyro subconsciously took a step backwards.
"Stop being scared of me, Pyro," Pause said angrily. "There's nothing to be scared of,"
He shook his head, a rushing sound making itself present in his ears.
"Stop," he whispered. "Stop it," he repeated, louder. Pause only laughed quietly, somewhat losing his aggressive body language.
"I'm going to my room." Pyro said quietly, a hushed fear seeping through his voice.
Pyro tried to slip past Pause, ducking past him, but he was roughly shoved against the wall, earning a yell from younger, terrified man.
"I was kidding," Pause said, leaning in close to Pyro's face, grabbing him by the neck of his shirt. Pyro flattened himself against the wall, trying to get away. The smell of alcohol was suffocating. "You have a lot to be scared of. I'll kill you if you tell any of your pathetic little friends about this. Oh, sorry - you don't fucking have any! I'm all you have, Pyro. You have no choice,"
