High [Boy X Boy]

38 - The White Marks To Remain

(Song Recommendation: None.)

Link sat on the bed in the guest room, petting Ivory. He had just trotted in, meowing in need of attention (and probably cat food.)

"... Link?" Vulture asked, knocking on the door. Link didn't reply, continuing to pet Ivory until the door flung open. "... The meet up is in an hour... I'll have to leave now." The teen paused and nudged the soft cat away. "Now?" "Yes. Now. I'll just see you later-" "I'm coming with you." He demanded, standing up and grabbing a jacket. "No, you're not." Vulture pushed him back down and held him by his shoulders carefully. "You have to stay here. If you get worried about me, text me. If I'm not back before eleven, call Red."

"... Sean, you're not going alone, those people might hurt you-!"

"Well then, I'd owe you dinner afterwards."

He leant forwards but as his lips barely brushed over Link's, his body was pushed back with the teen's hands on his chest. "... Just go." Link sighed, looking down at the floor. "Link. I'm sorry-" "Out of all people, I would have thought you would have self-control... Please, just go." He insisted, edging further and further away from the gang leader.

Vulture sighed as Link had done and shuffled closer, sitting in front of him. "... What if I don't come back?" He asked softly. "... Sean... Just go."

"C-Come on, Link-!"

"For fuck's sake, Sean! Get out!"

Moments later, the door had slammed shut and there were loud thumping footsteps on the stairs.

As the front door flung open, there was a long pause. Vulture waited for a few moments, his eyes gazing up at the top of the staircase. He shook the thought of the teen in lingerie out of his mind and left the house, disgusted with himself.

The door shut with a loud bang, frightening Link and Ivory. Ivory hissed and lashed out, scratching Link's arms and face.

"I-Ivory-!" Link cried out at the stinging pain. Ivory chased a blade of sunlight out of the room, stealing the sunset's last breath as the curling blanket of the night's shadow approached.

Link waited in bed, staring down at the phone in his hand. He wanted to hear a beep. A notification. Some form of attention that told him he would feel those blood-touched lips again. "... Sean." He lay down on the golden pillows with a sniffle as he held his phone close to him.

"... D-Don't take me out to dinner."

He stumbled over his words as Vulture stumbled over the tall abandoned apartment building's crooked staircase. Each stair was disfigured and deranged, creaking and on the verge of falling apart.

"W-What...?" He muttered to himself when he found a liquid rolling over and dripping over each stair. He chased himself up the rest of the stairs until he stood face to face with a black, shadow-filled room that suffocated him with the sense of a dark claustrophobia.

"Vulture Venus?"

Vulture lifted his head nervously and flashed an award-winning smile. "Good evening, gentlemen." His hand stretched out to shake that of the other three men in the room.

"Are you here to collect the products, Mr Venus?" A tall male with blonde hair and rose gold eyes asked with a smile and a tilt of his head. He seemed much younger than Vulture, even by the sounds of his voice.

"... I came to inform you about the tragic execution of your buyer... Only so many days ago was he killed by another member of my gang... I apologise ever so dearly for the inconvenience."

"Ah...? That's quite a relief for this situation as a matter of fact yet quite upsetting for that of your side which I do apologise for..." The blonde haired male snapped his fingers, causing the two buff men beside him to pick up two large body bags each.