The pair made their way into the cramped room, dimly lit by string lights that decorated the walls. Near the corner of the room sat two beat-up couches which framed a large pot, a bit like a cauldron in size and shape. It was an overall messy place, with records and CDs scattered across the floor, a broken bookshelf, a record player and a telephone barely hanging on the line.
"Make yourselves at home," Paradise spoke up as Hiroshi stood there, taking in the room.
"Uh, speaking of-" Billy began, making his way to one of the old couches, "Could we stay here for the night? I'm a bit far from home, and it's getting kinda late."
They both looked over at the laid-back young man who was eyeing Billy. He seemed rather irritated but lightened up his expression.
"Of course, my friend, after all, you've worked so hard today, right? A very fulfilling day." His gaze lingered over to Hiroshi. "C'mon, Hiroshi, have a seat." he continued, placing a hand on his shoulder, leading Hiroshi to one of the old couches, sitting him down with himself. Paradise fixated his gaze on Billy once again, kicking away a record under his feet.
"So. How did you and Hiroshi meet, huh?" He finally muttered, leaning against the couch's patched arm. Billy paused for a moment, thinking.
"Um... We met um... today! I was just taking a drive and met him on the side, so we talked a bit! Then he decided to join me for a ride." He stumbled, trying to overlook the fact he practically kidnapped Hiroshi.
"Really, huh? Weird. Didn't you have some kind of... a real reason to meet him?"
"Oh-! Not particularly, no."
"Why would you stop your drive to talk to some stranger on the road?" Paradise raised his eyebrow, shifting his lips to the side.
"Uh... He um..." Billy looked over to a somewhat nervous Hiroshi, "He's just so... charismatic! Look at that cute little face!" He leaned over and cupped Hiroshi's face in his hands, squishing his cheeks, "How could you not want to talk to him?" He grinned, nudging Hiroshi's face towards Paradise's way.
"Huh." Paradise looked down at Hiroshi, "Why'd ya decide to reply? Is it true, or is it somethin' else?"
"Um- Why not reply? Y-You know... He seemed like a friendly guy and all, so we started chatting and we just really hit it off." He twirled his hair, anxiously going along with Billy, not wanting to cause any trouble. "And well, I always really thought motorcycles were pretty neat, so he let me hop on and we just drove for a while! I guess we got too caught up in the conversation and ride, so here we are now!"
"Yeah... huh, alright then. That's all it is then, I see." Paradise replied, slumping into the couch.
"Hey, listen, I'm real tired-" Billy got up from his seat, "Mind if I go sleep now?"
"Not at all, not at all! I can hang out with Hiroshi here until he crashes anyways," He motioned his hand to the other room across from them, "Beds in there. I can sleep on the floor, it's fine."
"Ah, alright! Well, goodnight you two." He made his way to the bedroom, leaving Hiroshi and Paradise alone. Hiroshi gazed into the doorway and looked over to the blonde man.
"Is it... fine if I made a phone call? There's someone I really need to speak to." He asked softly.
"Huh... Fine, alright, sure man." Paradise motioned his hand to the telephone hanging near the bookcase, "Knock yourself out."
"Thank you," Hiroshi made his way over to the phone, gently dialed a number, waiting.
"Hello...?" a gentle, groggy voice answered.
YOU ARE READING
Fallen Rose
Fantasy2001, a famed musician under stress due to a multitude of unfortunate events; A loss of two lives dear to him, a jailed fiance, a crumbling mind as he cares for his daughter alone. He's been brought under a new pressure as soon as everything settles...
