lukewarm (krii7y)

england

"She see money all around me
I look like I'm the man, yeah
But I was down and out like last week
Tell me where have you been?"

GoldLink - Crew
—

Jaren held a newspaper article from a year ago between his fingers. Upon reading the title, a ball of guilt built up in his stomach. He became uneasy. He tried to put it to the back of his mind.

The young man questioned life as it is, his head was full and his mind was restless. As he made his way into his nearest store to pick up some things, he noticed something different. There was that same guy from a few months ago. He wasn't sure how he recognised him. Jaren's mom had told him to pick up a rug that matched the new sofa, and a vase too. As soon as he made eye contact with him, something changed.

Somehow, Jaren got the courage to approach him.

"Are you all right?"

No answer.

Within seconds, he was holding John in his arms. Jaren's eyes widened and his heart started racing, he wasn't sure what to do. The manager rushed over to see what was causing such a fuss. With his help, they managed to get John onto the nearest sofa.

"I knew it was too soon," the manager muttered to himself as he checked John over, he knew satisfactory first aid.

Puzzled, Jaren made eye contact with the manager and he quickly looked away. The guy who he'd helped, which he guessed to be John, regained consciousness after some time. Slowly, his eyelashes fluttered open. Something weird happened, when their eyes met, Jaren's gaze lingered. It was weird.

"I know this is a lot to ask," the manager began to say as he took some sticky notes and a pen out of his pocket and started scribbling, "but would you mind making sure he gets home okay?"

He flashed Jaren a smile and gave him the sticky note. It was an address not far from where they were. Gently, Jaren hoisted John up, supporting his weight and stopping to check he was okay every now and then, though John never made eye contact with him.

When they came to his door, John was adamant he didn't want Jaren to come inside. Jaren understood that - personal boundaries with strangers and all of that. He smiled at the friend he'd just made and turned around, ready to make his way back home until he heard the sound of a groan and John dropping to the floor. Quickly, he turned around to make sure he was all right.

"Hey, um...I don't think you're okay. We're gonna get you inside. G-Give me the key," Jaren observed.

John kept on resisting, Jaren noticed he was sweating heavily, his neck and face were red. Jaren managed to get the key and get them inside. Immediately, he made John a glass of water and propped him up on the bed. He noticed he was still hot, so Jaren awkwardly sat himself on the bed beside him and started to undo his shirt buttons.

He got halfway, and John had calmed down by then but he froze. Suddenly, he felt the heat of John's hands cupping his. There it was again.

"Are you okay now?" Jaren wondered, putting the back of his hand against John's warm forehead.

The physical contact was a lot, it made John shiver slightly. He blushed and hoped that Jaren didn't notice. The younger boy looked away from him briefly. John nodded shyly.

"Um..have you eaten today? You wanna grab something to eat?"

Confused, John blinked. It was that moment where he recognised the boy sitting across from him. A redness came to his face, and he was at a loss of words.