flames | The Lost Boys (1987) | revised

| TWO |

After only being here for a few moments, I've decided that the boardwalk would be where I spent most of my time here. There was just something about it that drew me in. I could practically feel a heartbeat from how alive it was. So many different types of people were bumbling around, and it put a small smile on my face. I could almost forget about my mother back home.

I had ridden a bus here after unpacking my few belongings and putting them where they belonged. My aunt had slipped me an extra twenty bucks for food after my mother had only given me enough for the bus ride to the boardwalk and back after my aunt recommended I go there to meet people and get to know the place.

The sun was setting on the horizon, painting the sky in beautiful colors and giving everyone a pink glow. People were making their way up from the beaches as it got colder. I pulled my leather jacket closer to myself after a particular gust of wind, fiddling with the matches in my pockets to calm my nerves.

As I made my way down the boardwalk, I ended up grabbing something to eat from the food carts before peering into each of the shops. Only a few things piqued my interest. A few clothing stores, a comic shop, a video game shop, and a small bookstore tucked away into a corner. Out of all the options I had, I ended up walking through one of the clothing shops, a thrift store that was filled with clothing you could easily turn punk. There was even an entire aisle dedicated to leather and denim jackets.

I marked in my head a few clothing items I could see myself buying in the future before I left the store. Unfortunately, I had barely got two feet out of the door before I felt the weight of an entire person slam into me. We both went tumbling, and the boy who hit me ended up sprawled on top of me. I coughed loudly underneath his weight, and he scrambled to lift himself onto his knees, apologizing loudly.

"I'm so fucking sorry, man. Are you okay? I wasn't paying attention to where I was going; I'm so sorry."

I groaned a bit and looked up at him, catching my breath. He looked genuinely worried, so I gave him a weak smile. "I'm good, dude. Just caught off guard."

He stood quickly and reached his hand out to me as an offering to help me up. I took a moment to really take in the sight of him. His long blond hair was teased and windswept, his lips were curled into an apologetic smile, and he was clad in what looked like a mix between a tuxedo and leather jacket, a mesh shirt, dirty, white jeans, and big, clunky boots. "Is your head okay? It sounded like you hit it pretty hard."

I took his hand and lifted myself, dusting off my butt as I did. "It hurts, but I'll be fine." It truly did, but it was more of a dull ache than anything, nothing that I would worry too much about. "Where were you going, running so fast, anyway?"

The boy's smile got bigger once he realized I was okay, and he seemed to lighten up a lot. "My buddy, Marko, and I were racing to our bikes, but I guess he won now." He chuckled. "You sure you're okay?"

I nodded. "Don't worry about it. You got bikes? Like," I paused for a second, "bicycles?"

When he laughed this time, it was a loud, boisterous laugh, and I found myself joining in without realizing it. "No! No! We have motorcycles! We're like," he lowered his voice, "a really scary biker gang." He then laughed again, so I laughed with him.

"A scary biker gang," I teased with a smile. "That doesn't sound like something you'd be a part of. You're like a puppy."

He calmed down a bit and responded. "Looks can be deceiving, doll."

I paused for a second before shaking my head, building a bit of courage inside myself. "Well, can I meet this scary biker gang? After all, I'd love to give- what's his name? Marko? I'd love to give Marko a good punch after he made you run into me." I threw a fake, weak punch as he laughed. "No, but seriously, I'm new in the area, and you seem pretty cool. I'd love to get to know you – as friends, I mean." He seemed harmless. Maybe it was a stupid thing to think. After all, I didn't really know him; I had just met him!