Darling, I Want to Destroy You

Four

"Are you sure about this? It doesn't look too safe," Dosie called down to Atticus, who had to be cut from his chains of yarn and had already climbed out of the window and back to the ground. She was sitting on the window sill, a small bundle of extra clothes and some granola bars in her lap.

Atticus sighed and cupped his hands around his mouth in a mock megaphone. "Just throw down the stuff and jump, I promise I'll catch you." He even held up his arms to her as though she were a higher entity deserving praise, thinking it would be more reassuring. Really, it just made him look like a bigger doofus.

"Okay, fine, I'll jump." She cursed a few times to herself, wishing she wasn't so short and could've reached the rose trellis too. Leaning over a little, she dropped her things directly on his head, waited for him to take a half-step back, and proceeded to force herself from her perch in the window. Her eyes were closed tightly in the long seconds she was in the air, teeth biting down hard on her lip ring. But after what felt like an eternity, she plopped none-too-gently in Atticus' arms, who then almost proceeded to drop her.

He let her stay curled up in a frightened little ball for a moment, her face buried in his shoulder. But nothing gold could stay, and they really needed to get a move on. "Hey, you're okay, you're alive. Now get your butt down and let's go." Atticus let her slide to the ground, making sure her bare feet hit grass and not a rock. He even helped her pick up her dropped things like the gentleman he lost certainly was not, although he did shove everything back into her arms once it was picked up. "You have the address, right?"

Dosie awkwardly rummaged through her pocket with her hardly free arm, producing the green sticky note she'd written Jenka's address on. "Yes, but we need to pick someone up first." He shot her a death glare; she only shrugged. "I googled it, this detour won't even affect us that much. It's literally just the other side of town, plus he'll provide us with food."

Atticus made another exaggerated groan, which seemed to be his version of a catch phrase already. "Fine, but only for the food. If any more surprise visitors get added, I'm leaving." He didn't have much else to say on the matter, just leading the way with the occasional grumble and glance at street signs. At the very least, it gave Dosie time to internally scream, lift her face to the sun, and scrunch her toes with their chipped up paint in the grass.

It took maybe twenty minutes for the pair to make it to their first stop, mostly because Atticus kept ducking into alleys whenever anyone else's footsteps got a bit too close or a siren went off miles away. But alas, they made it, and boy were they confused. A rather large building with a plain exterior stood before them, a sign faded from years in the sun reading "Novak Home for Foster Children" jammed in the unevenly cut grass next to a gravel driveway. Atticus raised his fist to knock just as the front door swung open.

Jenka popped his head out, a rather large backpack slung across one shoulder. He'd pulled back his hair in a stubby ponytail and had on a shirt a size and a half too big with a sloth in a hammock painted on the front. He frowned as he stepped out of the building, shutting the door firmly behind him. The boy glanced from Dosie, to Atticus, and then back to Dosie before leaning in towards her.

"Okay, is he constipated, or does his face just look like that naturally?" Jenka asked in a hushed tone that really wasn't quiet at all. Dosie couldn't help but laugh as Jenka held out the backpack to her and she shoved her things inside. Atticus, however, didn't seem to be so amused, throwing his arms in the air in what seemed like the most dramatic gesture Dosie had seen today.

"I'm right here, you know," Atticus said, having already decided that he wouldn't like this guy that looked more like a twelve year old than most twelve year old children.

Jenka looked up at him with a look of sheer innocence as he slipped his arms through the straps of the backpack. "I'm sorry, do you actually have to use the bathroom before we leave? There seems to be a major stick up your ass, and we wouldn't want that to cause any problems, would we?"

Dosie had to physically put herself between the boys so they couldn't fight it out right then and there. "Jenka, this is Atticus, he's our human GPS for this trip. Atticus, this is Jenka, I quite like him and would appreciate it if you didn't harm his face. Thank you in advance. Also, Atticus, I still have your precious stolen goods and will not hesitate to throw them into the trash. Am I making myself clear?"

The two boys hung their heads in shame, looking like dogs with their tail stuck between their legs. "Yes ma'am," they muttered in unison, which seemed to at least satisfy Dosie for now.

"Good boys," she sighed, removing her palms from their chests and wiping them on her pants (dear gods, boys smelled weird). "The sooner we leave, the sooner we can rest for the night. Alrighty?"

They nodded again, already knowing that she had them both in a corner, even if she had no idea where they were going or how they were even going to get there. It was because of Dosie that they were going on this insane trip, because of her that they were leaving their nice safe homes behind and going on a journey that could all be for nothing. But hey, an adventure was an adventure, even if it turned out to be pointless in the end.

So the little trio set off, two with high hopes and one that just wanted to get this all over with already so he could sleep. They had hardly been walking ten minutes when Jenka nudged Atticus in the side with his elbow. They were almost the same height, but Jenka still had to stand on his toes to look the other boy in the eye. "Did you really steal something?" He asked, green eyes filled with amusement.

"It was a bag of fricking beef jerky, why is everyone making such a big deal out of it!" He hissed, really wishing he could've eaten some of that dried meat before Dosie tied him up with baby blue yarn, a situation he was dearly hoping she'd never bring up in front of Jenka. Frankly, he just wished no one would stop them and ask where they were going or what they were doing together. It was probably obvious that they weren't friends in a real sense, and Dosie stood out like a sore thumb with that ridiculous hair of hers. He chuckled slightly to himself. The punk princess and her bodyguards, he thought with a slight smile. Wouldn't this make for an interesting story. Sure would be a cool band name, at least.