Thirty-Seven (bxb)

Chapter Four

Danny was having a huge mental panic as he led the two strange-looking guys behind. Why was he leading them to his home? Danny kept asking himself that, but he wasn't able to agree with one answer. Danny just felt compelled to assist, but that wasn't right either.

It had been the teen on the guy's shoulder, the small looking teen.

The one who spoke, the bigger scarier guy, was the one that sent shivers down Danny's spine. When he had demanded Danny to lead the two of them to his home, he had said it with a do-or-die tone that usually would have frightened the living day-light out of Danny. But, Danny was used to that kind of sternness, as it was a good representation of how his father was around him. Danny was used to his father being a stern man. It was simply how he was, which was why Danny left his small home town the day after he turned eighteen. Little did eighteen-year-old Danny know he was going to be moving into a city full of creepy people. That one lady at HotTopic . . . She was NOT someone he wanted to run into again.

But heck! Even that creepy girl's creepiness didn't compare to how the large male made Danny feel. Nothing would be able to compare to the scary guy following closely behind Danny. Danny very clearly could see that even though the guy was scary, he was attractive. Extremely attractive. Danny didn't need to see the teen boy to know he was probably along the lines of attractiveness as well.

From the quick back glances that Danny would give every few seconds, Danny could see that the boy was starting to shiver more and more the longer they walked. Danny was starting to get concerned the more that the poor kid shook. It was more than evident that the kid was cold; it just made Danny wonder if the guy noticed the kid was cold or not.

Why did the guy even have the kid out and about anyway? It was clearly too cold to having someone like him outside without a jacket. Danny wanted to ask the guy but now didn't seem like the time. The guy had a cold look on his face and walked without a genuine facial expression. The teen continued to shiver more and more.

Vses could feel the boy shivering on his shoulder. At first, he didn't think that he was shivering, but when the motion became constant, he knew that the boy was proving to have more and more human traits. Vses could get cold, sure, but these temperatures weren't enough to affect Vses. The boy was another case entirely. Vses knew that this planet would have different climate changes, it would be colder than though, Earth only had one star to warm the planet. The temperature was bone-chilling, even Vses could agree with that.

Danny hurried, noticing that the small teen was cold and needed to get out of this weather. Danny could distinctively remember that the weather on the radio had reported chances of snow, which was the last thing the small boy needed to deal with.

The apartment was only a few blocks away, and Danny wanted to make sure that those few blocks took the shortest amount of time as possible. Danny's apartment wasn't a big one. It was one of the smaller ones in the building. Which meant it was one of the cheaper options. Danny didn't have a very good job, but it was, unfortunately, one of the only ones that would accept him. He didn't attend college. He hadn't been academically smart enough to get scholarships, and Danny's father was in NO way going to pay for him to attend college. Danny didn't have a lot of options, so he took what he could.

Danny didn't care because he was happy with how his life was going. He didn't need the expensive parts of life. Danny didn't need to waste all his money on something like expensive care or a large seventy-inch television. Danny knew that he didn't need those things.

When the apartment building finally came into view, Danny and Vses let out a sigh of relief. Vses had a feeling that the building was the one they were headed towards, especially after the guy leading them to his home, let out a relieved sigh. Vses wanted to sigh as well, desperate to get the kid he rescued out of the cold.

That was probably why when he heard the small boy sneeze, that his heart-stopped. Vses wasn't expecting the kids to catch an illness this quickly, but knowing that his whole life has been sheltered from the upper ground, that his body was probably more sensitive to everything. Vses put a quickness in his steps, wanting to prevent the kid from getting sicker than he probably was going to be.

Danny hurried as well, feeling an urge to protect the kid, even if it was to shelter him for the night, or who knows how long the guys would stay. Danny knew he wouldn't be able to kick them out. The big guy was too scary for that.

Yanking the apartment building's doors open, Danny held it open for the two to rush in after him. The lights overhead hit the two much better than the crappy street lights. The guy shifted the boy in his arms into a bridal style hold. The boy instantly tried to hide his face in the guy's shoulder, looking for warmth.

"Follow me," Danny said quietly, his eyes locked on the smaller looking boy. He had little hints of blue on his face, and Danny was certain that it wasn't something like paint. It seemed so natural.

Vses looked up when the human talked, acknowledging his words. A place for the kid to sleep. A safe place for the night was all that Vses, and the kid needed. Who knew what those scientists underground would do. Without a doubt, they would come after the kid, and Vses would do everything in his power to protect the child. He couldn't protect his brother so that he would protect the kid, in his honor.

Danny led them to an elevator, which would take them to his floor. The ride up was short and quiet, the noise filled with cringe-worthy elevator music.

When the elevator doors opened back up, Danny was the first to get out, wanting to get back into his apartment and go to sleep, hoping that this was all apart of one weird dream. Taking the keys out of his pocket, Danny unlocked the door and flicked on a nearing death lightbulb. The one light lit up the kitchen and living combined area.

Danny closed the door behind the guy, watching as he glanced around. The guy didn't complain.

"Where can I put him?" The guy asked, his voice deeper than Danny was assuming it was going to be. It was scratchy though, sounding as if he hadn't spoken in years. The guy had unusual colored skin. It was borderline pink and nearly red on his face. Not a natural red, though.

Danny didn't question it though, automatically offering up his bed to the kid, who was still shivering. Danny was glad he had an extreme amount of extra blankets he bought at a discount. They were the fluffy ones too! There would be more than enough to bundle the kid and for Danny and the guy to have at least one. Danny led the guy to his small bedroom, gesturing to the bed. It was warmer in Danny's room, which was suitable for the kid's sake.

Vses carefully tucked the kid into the bed, covering him with the comforter, and a handful of blankets. Thirty-Seven was too unconscious to notice all this, and remained a sleeping mess, occasionally sneezing in his sleep.

Danny and Vses locked eyes as they both exited the bedroom. Danny walked back into his small living area, sitting in his favorite chair. He didn't care if the guy scared him; this was his chair.

Vses followed him, not wanting to stray the guy's apartment. Vses sat down in the chair across from the guy, looking at him. He could see the look of curiosity on the guy's face. He knew that he wanted to know more.

Vses didn't know if he could trust this guy, not in the long run. He would have to find another housing solution and fast.