flames | The Lost Boys (1987) | revised

| SIXTEEN |

When Dwayne had told me that he wanted the two of us to go out tonight by ourselves, I was extremely wary. With the thought of the night before still heavy in my mind, I truly wanted to say no, but I also knew that we never really went out much anymore, and it was rare that the two of us had a moment to ourselves. So, I accepted the offer after he promised to keep the two of us safe.

We ended up in a little book shop tucked away in a corner on the boardwalk. I had noticed it on my first night here, but I had never gotten around to seeing the inside of it.

As soon as we walked in, I was flooded with warmth, a big change compared to the cold outdoors. It also smelled wonderful as there were barely any people, and I could see a section to buy coffee towards the back of the small store. Huge bookcases that reached to the ceiling lined the shop, making wide aisles. Beside the coffee area were couches that a few people were lounging on, and beside the couches was the checkout area. Soft music played faintly inside, indie music that brought the entire feel together.

Dwayne seemed to instantly relax at the feeling of being inside the shop, and I did too. I would definitely need to come here more often.

Dwayne intertwined our fingers and pulled me into one of the aisles, his eyes trailing along all the spines while mine watched him. There were few moments where I would see Dwayne fully calm, and I knew to take it in whenever he was able to. Don't get me wrong, he was always laid-back and composed, but he was also always looking over his shoulder, watching people who passed by or talked to us. The only moments he ever seemed to have his guard down was when he was reading, skating, or sleeping, but it was always a nice sight when he did.

"What are you looking for?" I asked as he trailed down the aisles. I swung our hands, happily.

He hummed and shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing in particular."

Yes, he was. I knew he was because he always walked a specific way when he was looking for something specific. He did it alot because the cave was always a mess because of Paul and Marko, so it was something of his that I had memorized. His footsteps would change to a slower rhythm, and his free hand would play with his earring. He would also blink more than usual, which was a strange thing to notice.

I chuckled under my breath and stopped walking so he would, too. "Do you want coffee? I can get you something while you look."

He smiled softly and nodded. "Just get me whatever." He reached into his pocket to get money, but I shook my head and walked away. If I stayed, he would insist on paying, but I never got to pay for anything for them, so I would get him this.

I ordered him a caramel iced coffee, and I got something called a 'frat boy' that had a lot of chocolate in it. The boys didn't drink a lot of anything besides alcohol, I had noticed, and they only ate junk food. I didn't understand how they were able to keep up their looks with it, but David had explained one night that they really didn't need to eat. It was mainly just habit, and they could still taste, so it was something comforting. He didn't truly understand how any of it worked - being dead but still able to do so much - and neither did the others, they just rolled with it. Still, when they did eat, Dwayne had a strong love for vanilla and caramel flavored treats. He actually probably ate the worst out of all of the boys, surprisingly. I wasn't quite sure where it all went, but whenever I did see him eat, it was something sweet like candy or ice cream. He liked the candy apples at the boardwalk, though he never really paid for them.

That was another thing. Dwayne stole the most out of all of the boys, and he did it without ever thinking twice. We'd go into a store empty-handed and come out with five new items, and he never got caught. Meanwhile, Marko couldn't even steal a pencil without getting jittery and making a run for it.