It had been 2 months since the tragedy. Oliver no longer goes to school, he had no time for it at all, and he couldn't risk getting injured again. Everyday since that day, he would go to the market to sell cookies and hopefully earn himself enough to get by the day.
James would occasionally help, drawing attention to oliver as he chirps and flies around. How did an American goldfinch get that smart you ask? Well honestly, I dont know either.
~Len's PoV~
Walking down the streets, its really boring here. Nothing EVER happens in this world, and I'm not even exaggerating. Everyday, every household would be doing the same routine. The father wakes up in the morning to go to work, the children wake up later to go to school, and the mother would go to the market to shop.
"Why was I even sent here?" I muttered aloud, crossing my arms behind my head, looking up at the clear blue sky. Just then I heard a cry for help from what seemed to be a small shack.
"Aah.. haaah! Help!" The voice cried. I rushed towards the shack to witness a disturbing scene. A blonde boy, no older than myself, had been stripped and tied up with ropes, seemingly tortured by an older guy.
"Dont move!" The man threatened him, "or I'll make it even worse for you."
The small boy stopped, scared. I had to do something to help him. I slammed at the door, breaking it open. Quickly, I grabbed the nearest object I could find, which was a mug, and threw it at the man. It hit him on his face.
I got my emergency knife and quickly cut the ropes. "Quick, get out of here!" I commanded the little boy.
He nodded and froze for a second, before sprinting out of the shack to who knows where.
The man slowly got up. He was furious that I had freed his victim. He threw a punch at me, which I easily dodged. His anger somewhat toned down when he saw me though.
"You are quite the cutie yourself." He said with a smirk. Slightly terrified, I slowly backed away from his advance.
~Oliver's PoV~
"Hah.. hah.. huff..." I'd been running for over 10 minutes before I became aware of my almost-naked state. Embarrassed, I quickly sought for shelter.
After a bit more running, I arrived home. Thankfully most of the people kindly looked away when they saw me... either that or it was because of my age. I rushed in and changed into my t-shirt. Calmed down, I think back to what had happened. I had been saved by someone. But who was he? Or was it a she? I start to slightly regret I had not been able to properly thank my saviour, nor will I seem to be able to.
I felt something was missing. Sure I missed my clothes, but they weren't the reason I'm feeling this way this time.
"Hey James uhh..." thats when I realised James had gone missing. Panicking, I ran back outside, calling out for my little birdie.
I went back to the market where I last saw him. Pushing through the crowd, I caught a glimpse James.
"James!" I yelled; however, the bird had only glanced at me before taking off to the other direction. Why was he flying away? Did I hurt him?
Naturally, I followed him. I ran through the crowd, focusing only at James was going. Luckily, I was faster than him. I slowly caught up before he suddenly stopped in front of a yellow-haired boy, slightly older than me.
THUD...
the older boy almost shouted, "Ah! ouch watch whe-", he stopped when he saw me.
"I'm so sorry!" I bowed apologetically.
"Oh you're that kid." He said bluntly.
'That' kid? Does he know me? Do I know him? Have we met before? My thoughts wandered about, trying to find an image in my memory that fits him but to no avail. "Umm excuse me b-but do I know you?" I asked as politely as I could.
"Probably not. We didn't get much time to chat or anything when we met." he shrugged and asked "I'm Len, what's your name?"
"O-oh, I'm Oliver"
"Nice to meet you Oliver!" He held his hand out for a shake.
I accepted awkwardly, "y-you too!". Hey, it's not my fault I'm awkward to strangers, I've practically never made friends before. not that I've never tried, they just weren't interested in befriending someone like me.
"How- did you know me?" I asked him curiously, trying to not stutter.
"I saved you from the shack." I swear I saw a hint of a smirk on his face as he said that.
Wait!? HE was the one who saved me? I should thank him now! Yes!
"O-oh I'm sorry I haven't been able to thank you properly, thank you for saving me!" I bowed again.
"H-Huh? No it's alright" he said in a calm monotone voice.
~Len's POV~
This boy, he looks kinda cute.
"...you for saving me!" Dammit Len, you just had to space out while he was talking didn't you? And what the heck, did I just call him cute? This shouldn't be happening, what did he just say? He said something about saving him, was he thanking me?
"H-huh? No it's alright." I answered, hiding the mess of emotions and thoughts currently inside me.
"U-uhh Len?" Oliver asked nervously. I nodded to let him continue, "do you have any p-plans for today?"
I shrugged again. I had been bored for a while now so it wouldn't hurt to hear what he wants to do, "No, do you?"
"W-well I haven't thanked you properly yet so I thought I-you could... u-umm..." Oliver was hiding his face. I normally don't like talking to shyer boys, mostly because of how difficult it is to talk to them. But he feels different... somehow.
"What is it?" I asked nicely, patting on his shoulder, trying to hide my slight irritation.
"Ithoughticouldinviteyouovertomyhouse." Oliver quickly said. His face clearly red, it was apparent even under those hands.
"so I could thank you properly." He added shortly after, his face still red.
I thought about it for a while. Honestly, I didn't need him to do anything for me, I was more than happy to help, I had nothing better to do anyway. But going to his house might be more interesting than to just wander around aimlessly as I had for the last month or so, so I decided to accept the offer.
I nodded and asked, "Sure, how far away is it?"
"It's not far, should be about 20 minutes from here if we walk." He said with a hint of cheerfulness. Huh, Where did his shyness go?
※ I decided to end this chapter here. Next chapter will mostly be fluff between these two :)
Please leave a comment, I want to hear your thoughts. Constructive criticism is always welcome :)
