Double-Edged Sword - $UICIDEBOY$

Arriving In New Orleans

Author's Note: Hi :) you're really cool!

Ruby led you out and turned back, mentioning an airport not too far away. You halted then, and he turned back towards you. His forehead bunched up, and quickly you explained the reaction.
"So... like, an airport means we're going to New Orleans then?"
He almost looked sick of anymore questions, but made a few hand gestures, "Yeah. I'm taking you back, uh, home- where I'm from."
Before you could reply with more uncertainty and shock, Ruby grabbed your hand and walked towards a new Uber. Your heart fluttered, and you were surprised that your legs moved with his. At first, your fingers nervously clutched his, but finally, you firmly gripped his hand and followed at his side. You caught him glancing down at the entwined hands, but he quickly turned his face away and kept moving. You hid a personal smile, and pushed onwards to the airport.

Ruby was right. The airport wasn't actually far off. You made it there in good time. He was quick to speak at a desk
and book a flight. You realized he had no luggage with him. He'd traveled lightly to come get you and then leave. You tried to find money for a ticket, but he again brushed off your attempt to pay for yourself.
He finally let your hand go when you both found seats to wait in while the flight prepared. You sat down, and his warm grip steadily slipped away. You tried your hardest to not look at his hand, and instead sunk down into the seat. Ruby looked over.
"It'll be aight. Until you get back on ya feet, you can hang with me and Scrim"
"Ruby... I really cannot thank you enough-"
"It's nuthin', really. Like I said forever ago, I know what it feels like to be at a dead end. I know what that dread feels like."
You wanted to say... stuff... but, it was too soon for that. Instead, you smiled at him and rolled your head back to try and nap. The nap was obviously unsuccessful, because how could you possibly rest in those sort of circumstances? The day was probably the wildest one you'd had in life yet. Ruby tapped away at his phone with quite some enthusiasm. Eventually, the flight got called and you both headed out.
As people crowded in, searching for the flight to New Orleans, or one of the other various flights, Ruby reached out for your hand again, but then brought it back to his side and walked faster. You sped up too, and pretended that you didn't see it. Still, another smile bubbled up across your face.
Ruby surprised you yet again when you discovered the seats were first class. Both you and Ruby seemed totally out of place up front, but the irony was entertaining. A richer looking family with two young children tried not to stare at Ruby whose shorts revealed plenty of tattoos scattered across his limbs. The dark undertones of his body-art did little to comfort the soft hearts of the purebred families. The grim reaper on his shin, noose on the other to match, or the "Dead By Dawn" sprawled out under his knee with a matching "Failure by Design" on the other knee were just a few examples. You wondered how they would have reacted if it had been $crim sitting there with practically a full web of tattoos, a few piercings, and precise scarification.
You held back a laugh and kept your backpack close between your legs. Luckily, it had passed to carry-on.
Before Ruby settled down, the son of that family turned around in his aisle seat and peaked at Ruby. When Ruby looked back, the kid smiled genuinely. Immediately, that family's mother grabbed the boy by the collar and pulled him back into his seat. You were amused, but Ruby's face hardened with more sadness than expected.
"That right there is sum'n rare... innocence. And all these typa families, good 'n bad, just... ruin innocence. And not like, purity type innocence, fuck that shit. Like... a special typa ignorance which make you 'accept' everyone sorta. That kid right there saw me and didn't miss a beat. He smiled 'n shit. And like, I mean, I lost my innocence obviously too wit' a poor immigrant fam in a bad town... run-ins with the law and a punk band... but even those rich happy families- they tear down innocence. When that kid is grown up, he's only gonna accept a few typa people in his life. He won't be any better than the rest a'us. No one is safe..."
Ruby immediately pulled the hood far over his face in an almost comical fashion, but it was merely to attain some semblance of sleep. Your heart ached from the echoes of his words. He'd come from such a dark place, and listed off the past with strained casualness. You watched timidly, hoping he wouldn't see you staring. His face steadily softened and his body slumped. You hated that your eyes wouldn't peel away for so long. Again, the whole ordeal was surreal. Of all people to sleep next to you, this was unexpected.
But then again, there was no telling how much or little sleep Ruby had on his way to you. If he had pulled an over-nighter, then it was no wonder he was trying to sleep now. More thoughts crossed your mind, such as why he responded to your call so quickly and flew right out.
Timidly, you outstretched your hand back towards his. He'd done so much for a stranger already, that you knew his heart was good, and not in some plastic sweet way. He was a wholesome person, with a genuine personality, and no idiot either. Your fingers traced the back of Ruby's hand, and from the coffin of sleep, he steadily grabbed yours without lucidly but the kind within dirt dreams.

Again, you had an inability to sleep. The world was simply spinning too quickly. If you looked in one direction, clouds rolled by and seemed to wave you into a new world. If you looked into the other direction, the gatekeeper of that new life rested casually. Nothing, however, felt casual at all. Luckily, the flight seemed short enough. Perhaps the constant adrenaline in your veins had turned the flight into a blur of distorted time, but nonetheless, the wheels of the plane skidded on the runway and Ruby jerked awake.
He let go of your hand unknowingly and rubbed his eyes lazily, then looked around the space as if surprised to be there. Then, he turned his head back to you and grinned, "Welcome to New Orleans Y/N. Ya excited?"