FicWad

"i hope i didn't freak you out or anything..."
"no, no... i'm just... shocked i guess", i said.
"i'm sure"
he looked up at me, his eye glowing orange. my jaw had dropped long before, and i just now noticed. i closed my mouth and swallowed.
"i remember the sadness in your eyes. it was unforgettable", he said chokingly, like it was hard for him to say. he frowned, took a last drag, and flicked the smoke into the night.
"do you still work there?", frankie asked, keeping his eyes away from me.
"no. i'm just doing this at the moment. i'm not a slut--"
"you don't have to point that out. i know"
"...oh"
i looked down and let out a breath.
"and you let taryn take those pictures--"
"because you need the money. and my penis can help out". frankie looked at me and laughed. i joined in. as our laughter faded and completely went out, he took me by the hand.
"if any of those dudes touch you again, i want you to tell me"
"what for? i mean, you don't even know me..."
"for a long fucking time i've thought about you, every fucking day. i swore to myself that i would never forget you until i could help you. and now that i've found you, out of the unlikely circumstances", he looked around smiling, "i'm gonna help you. i don't care what i have to do. you're not going back to that piece of shit place".
i felt a lump in my throat erupt. i couldn't hold the tears back. this guy that i had just met... i had a connection with as soon as his eyes met mine. now i knew why that was. this guy... he had looked right into me and into my past.
"this is weird", i said.
"yeah"
suddenly, frankie jumped up and offered to help me up. i stuck my arm out. he grabbed it and pulled me into a hug. it was the warmest embrace i had ever felt. the warm and fuzzy feeling? yeah, present. he rubbed my back. i felt his breath hit my neck over and over, and it made chills run up and down my spine. i then decided to actually join in the hug and put my hands around his waist. he grabbed me harder and pulled me closer to his body. all this was soon interrupted by--
"what the fuck is this? you just met and you're already all over each other"
taryn's head was sticking out of the window.
we quickly unlocked.
"um, yeah, ... i mean, no...", frankie said. he looked down at his feet.
"whatever! well, yeah, i'm done. i've got everything ready. let's go?", taryn asked.
"yeah... i guess". i looked at frankie. "give us a minute?"
taryn looked blank, then gave out a quick laugh.
"okay... i'll wait for you down there". she ran down the fire escape stairs.
i waited for a minute and then walked over to the stairs. i looked down to make sure taryn was gone. i turned to face frankie again and proceeded to walk towards him.
"you get me"
"what?"
"i wanna see you again"
he stared. he hesitated.
"come by tomorrow night. don't tell anyone you're coming here. please"
"yeah, no problem"
"so, i'll see you tomorrow?"
"of course"
he came up to me and kissed my forehead.
"i'm here for you. i'll always be here"
i smiled, fixed my jacket, and ran down the steps.

taryn and i were walking down the dark road.
"where are you going tonight?"
"i guess... yours? i don't know... am i allowed?"
"after you acted like such a fucking idiot today, i don't know. you tell me"
"what the fuck is your problem"
"my problem is that you don't hit on our victims, penny"
"i wasn't fucking hitting on him. i was playing along"
"being a slut is not playing along"
"what the fuck taryn"
"no, what the fuck penny"
"i'm not gonna deal with this. that guy knows something about me that i've never told anyone, not even you. i wasn't fucking hitting on him. at first, i was just playing along, but he told me something about myself that i never thought anyone would ever be able to help me with. if you don't get that, then fuck you"
taryn stared at me frantically. her blue eyes were twitching back and forth, always focused on my face.
"penny, i'm sorry"
"yeah, me too"
"so, do you still wanna come over"
"not tonight taryn... not tonight"
i turned and ran.
"PENNY!", i could hear her screaming. i ignored her.
i ran and ran. i ran back to frankie's room. i ran up the steps and knocked on the window. i knocked and knocked. after a few seconds, a drenched frankie, holding a towel around his lower half, pulls the curtains apart and sees me standing out in the cold. he pushes the window open, and i climb in. our eyes lock in a gaze.
"you came back?"
"yeah"
"i thought you would"
"dude, i trust you. i have never felt like this about anyone. i want you with me"
frankie pushed through me and closed the window behind him. he closed the curtains.
"why do you trust me?", he asked, now walking around and fixing everything that was out of place.
"because you... know things about me. you've been unconsciously there for me for so long, you know? that's a connection. it's hard to explain. but i know that you're right for me. i mean... you're sure to be a good friend... yeah"
he was still organizing.
"and if i could stay here tonight, you would be doing me a really huge favor... i fought with taryn--"
"that was expected"
"and now i have nowhere to go"
"you can stay here"
"really?"
"yes, really"
"thanks"
"yeah, one problem though. i don't have another bed or another bathroom, so we're gonna have to share, if you don't mind. i would sleep on the floor, but i've got a long day tomorrow and it wouldn't be good for me"
"i guess there's not a problem with that... if you want me to sleep on the floor--"
"hell no, i'd never make you sleep on the floor". he was pulling the sheets off the bed now.
i smiled.
he looked up at me and smiled.
"let me go get some clean sheets. feel free to jump in the shower or whatever"
"yeah, i think i'll do that. do you think you can find me some clothes to wear? i've been wearing these for three fucking days"
"shit happens when you're a hobo, huh?", he laughed.
i giggled.
"i'll try", he said.
i entered the bathroom and closed the door behind me. it was a spacious bathroom, with a bathtub on the right and a shower on the left. up ahead and in the farthest point of the room there was a sink and a vanity. to the left of that was the toilet. i could see it through the shower walls (they were clear). on the right side of the room, above the bathtub and vanity, there was a window as wide as the room itself. they view was terrific. the high buildings were visible, with lighted windows like stars.
i turned on the shower and started to take off my clothes. i felt so disgusting. i hadn't showered in two days.
the water hit my body. it felt like i was getting massaged by ants. it was amazing. i washed my hair slowly, taking in the wonderful scents. i washed my body. the water was about black. i had been through five rainstorms in the past two days. the shower felt like an eternity, until frankie walked in shouting over the sound of the water.
"i've got some clean clothes for you! i know they're not of preference, but they should do!"
"thanks!"
"what?!"
"THANKS!"
"YEAH!"
"DO YOU MIND IF I CONTINUE WITH MY BATH?!"
i though about it. i was taking over his room. i interrupted him. i should at least let him finish up.
"NO, I GUESS NOT!"
"THANKS!"
"NO PROBLEM!"
i heard the water splash as he entered the tub.
i stayed in the water for some more. it just felt so good, being in there. and i didn't know if i would be able to take another shower like this again in a while. after i had wasted enough water, i turned off the faucet.
"you done?", frankie said.
"yeah... i feel so much better. thank you"
"don't thank me. thank that amazing shower head."
i laughed.
"where's the towel?"
"right out here"
i opened the shower door just enough to see around me. the towel was at hand's reach. i grabbed it, closed the shower door back up, and began to dry myself.
"so frankie, why'd you and your band break up?"
"things..."
"oh..."
i stepped out of the shower , the towel wrapped around me. frankie looked at me, then quickly looked away. the tub was filled with bubbles. he looked like a little kid.
"the clothes are on top of the vanity"

"boxers?"
"better than nothing, right?"
i laughed.
after i was done putting my clothes on, i went towards the door.
"i'll see you in a bit?"
"sooner than you think", frankie said. i smiled. i closed the door behind me.

i was sitting on the bed, stretched out with my hand on the left side of my head, for support. the lights were really dim, a cold breeze coming from outside (i had opened the window back up; i needed air). the television was still on, now playing an infomercial about pilates.
the bathroom door opened, steam pouring out. frankie came out with the old towel hugging his hips.
"hey", he said. "aren't you cold?"
"no... are you?"
"nah"
"cool", i said. "how was your bath?"
"great dude. i feel a lot better"
he bent over and seemed to be looking under the bed. his body erected a few seconds later, clothes in his right hand. he sat on the bed and pulled the towel off.
'haha!', i thought, 'i can see his ass crack!'
i examined his every move: he put his boxers on, then a pair of black, ripped jeans. he flung the towel over his wet head and shook it, pressing it onto his hair. he then threw it on the floor, out of sight. he laid on the bed beside me and looked to me. he smiled, his eyes opening wide. i came back to reality and grinned.
"you wanna tell me why you really came back?", he asked.
"huh?"
"yeah, i know you want me", he said playfully.
i laughed.
"you want my body! you want my sex!". he laughed and made me boast out in laughter. he jumped on me and messed up my hair and pinched my cheeks. i tried to push him off, but he was too heavy. i started tickling him, which made him crouch up. he looked like a big red ball. i tickled his stomach and pinched his legs.
"i give up! I GIVE UPPPP!!!!", he screamed in a shout slash laugh slash cough.
i stopped tickling him, but i couldn't stop laughing and pointing at him.
we both laid back down, grabbing ourselves around the diaphragm.
"you're a good tickler", frankie said, still kind of laughing.
"you're a good cheek-pincher. who would've thought i could make the seventy year old lady come out of you?"
we looked at each other. frankie turned his body to me and grabbed me by the waist. he moved his lips towards mine, and kissed me. i hesitated at first, but then i couldn't resist. i kissed back.
it wasn't a long kiss, but it was the most amazing kiss i had ever experienced. i couldn't move a muscle. we had both pulled away and shyly smiled, with our eyes.
a pause.
"what made you look for a job as shitty as that one?", frankie asked.
i looked at my hands.
"i needed money. lots of it. i needed enough to pay for a place to live. my mom kicked me out of the house because she thought i was pregnant. i was fucking fifteen, you know. fifteen year olds can't get jobs. i found out about a guy that took pictures of girls, paid well... it was the only job i could take. i didn't think much of it at first. he only took pictures of me in really cute outfits, and i thought maybe they were pictures for catalogs... a few months after i started, i could pay for one of my cousins to take me in. at work, the guy asked if i wanted to do swimsuit shots, saying it paid even better. i didn't think it over twice. he made the shoots sexier and sexier, and i, like a fucking idiot, went along with it. a couple more guys came one day and requested that i do nude shots. i hesitated, but they pressured me so much and offered to pay me five thousand dollars per shoot. i accepted... that must have been the day you saw me, because later that night, they took me and two other girls out to the club and said it was a better environment to take pictures in. i walked off that shoot by the second set... but obviously long after you had been there. a few weeks later i went back, and asked if i could keep working there, but only taking pictures where i was fully clothed. he slapped me across the face and told me to leave, and that if i ever told anyone who he was, he would kill me. i started to sleep over at taryn's all the time... we've been friends since the third grade. anyway, one of the kids at school was fucking around with his new cellphone one day during lunch. he and all his friends started pointing at me and laughing. turns out the naked pictures of me were all over a website for pedophile trade or whatever those sickos call it. now i'm seventeen, god knows where those damned pictures are... that fucked up my life really badly. as soon as i turned sixteen, taryn and her mom asked me if i wanted to stay with them permanently. i accepted the offer, obviously... and now we do this, because taryn's mom is dying of melanoma and we need to save up money. you took those pictures for one reason, but taryn really needs the money too. so you've not only helped me, but the two of us"
frankie smiled and nodded.
"how long does she have to live?"
"about two months"
"are you still in school?"
"of course. my dream is to go to college"
"good"
he scooted up to me hugged me. he played with my hair, then put his mouth up to my ear.
"you'll be okay?"
"yeah", i whispered.
we fell asleep soon after that, still, holding each other.