The Venom In You

Part 3: Miles

By the time I'd escaped the gambling game from hell, I was one ring down and none the richer. I spent the rest of the day trying to pickpocket the odd well-dressed man but I had to be more careful that usual since my cover was blown. In the end I didn't even have enough money for a bag of carrots.

By the time I pulled up to my street, it was already dark. I unmounted my bike then sulkingly started climbing the many steps up to the apartment. The apartment block itself looked more like a building with small wooden huts loosely attached to one another, with nothing but wooden ledges holding them together. Most of them were made by the people who lived in them, with no building experience or knowledge, and it showed. The only redeeming feature was the asian influences seen in the hard hill roofs and oriental graffiti, since the sanders like me could only afford to live in these areas.

When I arrived outside Baba's house, I peered through the window but there was no light or Baba to be seen. With a sigh I grabbed the edge of the roof and hoisted myself up, careful not to pull any of the already loose tiles off.

"Baba isn't happy with you, Chiyoko."

A wave of relief washed over me as I saw Miles was sitting on the roof looking out towards the city lights. He'd been waiting for me, as always. But he wasn't happy with me either, he only used my full name when I'd done something wrong.

"I know. I ran into some trouble." I huffed as I sat down next to him and lay my head on his shoulder. I felt Miles's eyes on me but I didn't lift my head up. I couldn't stand to see his face. Baba was going to give me a bollocking in the morning, I'd promised her we'd spend my birthday together and to make things worse, I had nothing to show for today. No money and no food.

"Was Dicer not in the bar?"

I shook my head. "That wasn't the issue. He could smell me a mile off, he was just playing games with me." My brows crossed in anger. "Literally."

"How'd he know?" He asked, looking slightly concerned. If he'd seen my face I could put us all in danger.

"There's a wanted poster for a boy wearing an orange motorcycle suit." I mumbled shamefully, looking down at my hands.

I felt Miles's eyes piercing me and I could already hear the fury ready to explode, demanding why I hadn't been more careful and how I could get all three of us killed. But to my surprise, he burst into laughter.

"Ah! A boy!" He bent over, laughing loudly to himself as I frowned. How mature.

"Shut up." I snapped. "It's better they look for a boy that doesn't exist rather than me." I crossed my arms firmly to show him I didn't appreciate his mocking.

Miles's chuckle began to fade as he wiped a tear of laughter from underneath his eye. He took a deep breath in and smiled as he aired out his last few snickers.

"Where were you last night anyway, you must've been flatout this morning because I couldn't wake you up. And I didn't here you come in last night."

He shrugged. "I ended up working late, that's all."

I raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. He was a mechanic, not a thief like me. Last time I checked, daylight was useful for fixing up busted motorbikes. But I didn't press him any further, he had a tendency to let his temper get the better of him.

"I've got a present for you." He quickly changed the topic of conversation, picking something up from behind him. "Close your eyes."

I closed my eyes and held out two hands with a grin. He placed something small and slightly squishy in my hand.

"Open your eyes."

I looked down to see what looked like a brown coloured sponge in my hands. Putting the delicacy to my nose, I breathed in. A sweet aroma filled the air and my eyes widened in shock as Miles laughed.